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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.

A hunter is walking on seacoast way♪

With homeland left a mile behind, his path lies ahead♪

From his forebears and children, he was torn♪

Into the seas his lover was swept away, floating in the deep, dead♪

A hunter is walking on seacoast way♪

With homeland left a mile behind, they must lament and pray♪

There is no end to his path♪

The road ahead is shrouded in gray♪

A hunter returns by seacoast way♪

His journey ended, his home close at hand♪

Sound of waves past above the spray♪

Why do his feet disobey his command♪

Why ever does his heart still sway♪

Long time no see, Skadi.;Hello, Skadi.

Been a while, Doctor.

You were supposed to meet that chatty Liberi, but you don't seem surprised to see me.

You and Elysium are both Rhodes operators.;This is a lot closer to your homeland, after all.

Hmm. True.

You're an hour later than Kal'tsit estimated.

I guess the Inquisition's review process is strict, even with an official notice from a Saint.

After only three months, nearly all the town's residents have moved inland, aside from a few workers. Replaced by lots of people from the Penal Battalion.

They must be preparing for something.;They look pretty tense.

Ægir contacted Iberia a week ago. This forgotten town has become a lot less quiet since.

Being surrounded by sea scum already sets the young soldiers on edge. Hearing Ægir's voice only made it worse.

It demands a response, maybe caution.;When the undersea nation finally speaks, you have to listen.

Turn left at the sculpture, and the sea is a quick ten minute walk.

We'll head straight to the Eye of Iberia.

Say, Doctor, do you hear the sound of the waves?

Skadi turns her head slightly into the sea breeze. Her hair dances in the wind, the same color as the shadows in her eyes.

Their layering has gotten complex. I hear... the sound of stars drifting across the sky. The never-ending song of nature. And a language, forever incomprehensible...

Ishar-mla.

I'm here.

The hardship we suffer is ever present.

The life we thirst for is ever present.

Are you alright, Skadi?;Did reconnecting with home put you on edge?

It's like I get more nervous the closer I am... Never mind. It's hard to explain.

Maybe I'm sleep-deprived. Ever since our last voyage, I feel like I've inherited Shark's nightmares.