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Are you hiding something, my little manta ray?

Clementia does not answer. She instead raises her head to look at Horatia, face to face. With the simulacrum erasing the distance between them, she knows that Horatia will be able to see every detail of her expression.

But the curve of Horatia's lips do not change, her eyes are as gentle as ever, too.

Clementia hopes that her own expression is as firm as hers.

I am still the Chief Designer of Warfare on the Waterway Program before you arrive, Horatia.

Naturally.

Your calculations may have arrived at the correct outcome, but I had to handle the situation in my own way. The Academy of Science and Academy of Technology each have their own duties.

Hmm... Yes, of course.

I only hope that this obsession with self-reflection will not cause any complications. Your keen judgment must stay unclouded.

I won't let that happen.

*sigh* Here, come a little closer. We still have some time.

Kal'tsit, Rhodes Island, Iberia, the Inquisition... You'll be busier than ever soon, so best not keep frowning like that...

(Rapidly convulses its gelatinous body)

(Quizzically sways fine tentacles)

Trying to run?

Smart. Your kin are behind this wall. A lot of them.

It's the end of the road for you, though. What a pity.

Ishar-mla?

Ishar-mla.

A sudden voice, tinged with surprise.

Skadi turns, looking towards its source. A conical creature exuding light leaves the shadows of the buildings, shielding the two cornered Seaborn with its body.

Leave, kin.

Through the eddy ahead, return to the sea.

You're so honestly gentle with them. Disgusting.

I'm guessing you're the leader?

Our meeting was preordained, Ishar-mla.

Huh? You know me?

Skadi grips her sword tightly.

Ishar-mla.

From Sal Viento to Gran Faro, from the Stultifera to here. You scum have been watching me this whole time.

What, do you see your 'god' in me too? Are you here for 'family,' or revenge?

(The nuclei within its skull rotate slightly)

No.

Ishar-mla... Ska-di, you are not nutrients to complete the cycle. You are its end.

Our kin will not prey on you.

On the contrary, they respect you. Protect you.

They await your transformation. They await your evolution.

Skadi looks at the being's 'eye.' For whatever reason, this monster she has never seen before seems familiar. Very familiar.

The bizarre organs surrounding the Seaborn disperse and surround her in turn. A shimmering 'umbilical cord' connects her body with the Seaborn's.

Skadi suddenly remembers when she faced the first Seaborn to talk, in that cave below the church. She also experienced a moment of distraction back then.

She had just been through a fierce battle, her blood boiling with frenzy. But now, she feels herself uncontrollably responding to the Seaborn's touch... She curses herself for this moment of distraction.

...Why?

A natural phenomenon. One I am also helpless to resist. This is the answer, Ska-di.

I ate of His flesh, and He lives within you.

You are He. I am He.

Our hearts connected. Our blood interlinked.

You need not waver. You need not doubt. The kin will not demand you walk with us.

Ishar-mla chose you. Chose you to continue His life. Perhaps this is the only way He will witness what He must witness. Travel the road He must travel.

What did He see in you?

Perhaps, perhaps...

Could it be, Ska-di, that in that cold, dark future, in the cosmos where all things are doomed to fade away, you are the one hope, the spark, the possibility...

Are you the one who bears the final wishes of untold lives?

Skadi.;Abyssal Hunter Skadi.;Rhodes Island Operator Skadi.

Doctor?

Skadi swings her sword, her grip never once relaxed. It slices through the 'umbilical cord.' She stares coldly at the creature before her.

Everyone's looking for you.;Figured you'd be here.

Dr. {@nickname}, Ska-di. You... know each other?

Is that so strange?

She's one of my cute little operators.;We met on land.

(The nuclei within its chest pulse)

This is the first time something stirs the peace within the Seaborn's chest.

The oddly-colored nuclei, along with the bizarre organs floating by their side, begin to wave as rhythmically as the tides.

It does not approach, but both you and Skadi can sense a burst of emotion: joy.

No matter if you personally took part, Dr. {@nickname}, no matter if what took place in the cerulean cave had aught to do with you...

After countless, countless years, you now stand alongside Ishar-mla.

The connection between you and the kin cannot be erased. It is you who wrote this instinct into our memories. We depend on one another.

The wheel of fate still turns. The surviving successors will one day meet, and achieve the most improbable of possibilities—

The hardship we suffer is ever present.

The life we thirst for is ever present.

I await you at the endpoint of evolution, Dr. {@nickname}, Ska-di. I await you both.

Don't give chase, Skadi.;Handle things in the city first.

I couldn't understand that thing at all. What was it talking about?

Some kind of declaration of war.

Didn't sound like that to me.

You woke me up just now, Doctor.

When I was face-to-face with that Seaborn, I remembered something I felt back in Sal Viento.

Nothing good, I presume?;I assume you weren't a fan?

I hated it.

What good could come from a Seaborn rambling to a human?

Don't worry. I know what happened.;You didn't want to listen, did you?

Good. I couldn't explain even if I wanted to.

You don't seem surprised, though. No wonder Kal'tsit asked you to come underwater.

Of course not!

I have no interest in chatting with a Seaborn.

That thing sounded like it'd been looking for you?

It's a long story.

...So we were both being watched.

There won't be a next time.;Next time, I'll be by your side.;It'll be you waking me up next time.

Mm.

Don't worry, Doctor. I'm Skadi. Abyssal Hunter Skadi. Rhodes Island Operator Skadi. Always have been.

Doesn't matter if that thing comes looking for me or you.

I'll cut its vocal cords before it can speak.

I trust you, Skadi.;Remember who you are, and it'll work out.

...The tide's coming in, outside these walls.

Sounds like it won't stop for a long while.