act42side

Hey, Aurela?

You don't believe me, you listen for yourself.

Ouch! The sound hurts my ears... it's just noise! I can't make out anything!

What's going on, Aurela?

You're asking me?

You're a gun-knight. Were, at least. You know more about these things than we do.

You said it yourself, I <i>was</i> a gun-knight.

The static is bad enough. You wanna add to the noise, and I know plenty of ways to shut you up.

Sister...

Don't be afraid, Hugo.

(Please, Aurela. The children are watching.)

(These Sanktas have come a long way after a terrible ordeal that left them with broken halos, and a heart full of fear, with no comfort in sight...)

The intercity net of Laterano has always been very stable, with dedicated personnel performing regular maintenance on communications equipment located in settlements outside the city.

This emergency communication post is only three kilometers from the Lateran City. If any one of them is still working, this would be it, but I've sent a dozen hails through the special channel with no response.

Is Laterano really done for? Hah.

Could you try a few more times, Aurela?

You look even more nervous than them.

Do I?

Nueda does not say more. A few children come over and grab the hem of her dress, staring forward with her.

The white walls of Laterano are already visible from this settlement. Impeccable as the clouds, it looks like the abode of a holy spirit who accidentally ventured into the mortal realm, a miracle that should not exist.

The pilgrims are but a stone's throw away. Dusty and tired, their broken halos and wings seem even darker in this wilderness.

The pilgrims have reached the end of their journey, but is it truly the end of their suffering?

That's it... Laterano...

Looks like the people in there can hardly even fend for themselves at this point. Get your things, we're going in.

You're right, we can't wait here forever. Let's go!

But if we enter the city without the Curia's permission...

Tell me, did we fallen sinners ever ask the Curia for permission when we decided to return?

Don't tell me you came back to repay Laterano's kindness. I'll put you first against the wall.

Stop.

You must not enter Laterano.

Look who we've got here. A Notarial Hall executor.

Are you Aurela?

You know who I am?

I looked you up in the Notarial Hall database after receiving your message.

Aurela, former citizen ID LC0073458, former captain of the Third Gun-Knights. You were tasked to escort a Lateran caravan through the northern wilderness in the winter of 1090, when you engaged a group of Sarkaz mercenaries in combat.

You completed your mission, but the nomadic abbey encountered a small-scale Catastrophe on your way back. The Sarkaz prisoners attempted an insurrection and were executed on the spot, by you.

When a fellow gun-knight attempted to record the events truthfully in a mission report, you threatened your cohort with a gun in order to hide your excessive use of force.

In the chaos that ensued, you killed your cohort, resulting in you being stripped of citizenship and exiled from Laterano for life.

And what of it, Senior Executor? Are you trying to remind me that Laterano will never forget my sins?

Look at the hundreds of people here. Some are fallen angels who were exiled like me, some are errari who left the Holy City for different reasons...

Some of them have never even seen the Holy City, growing up in a cesspit like Bolívar, yet still believing in the tenets of Laterano...

Have you not seen their halos? Are they fallen, or are they sick? They've crossed mountains and rivers to come here, for an explanation, for any comfort they can find.

And all the Lateran does is send a single executor to stop us from entering?!

More and more errari Sanktas gather, surrounding Federico, pointing their weapons at him.

You'll keep us out because we left Laterano for too long and forgot how to live like other Sanktas?

The Law punishes sinners, but what sin did I commit when all I did was live twenty honest years in Leithanien?

If the Law is that cruel, then it's not us who should be punished. It's you—you and your cohorts, tuskbeasts of the Law!

I fell because you punished an innocent man! You've never used your power for good!

Federico watches the crowd quietly.

The street lamps have lit at an inopportune time, casting eerie colors upon their faces. Fear, anxiety, anger, confusion, panic... all these emotions come together to twist their visages.

Their hands tremble as they hold their weapons. The tension is palpable in the air.

Federico is confident he can take out their leader quickly and suppress the rest by force, bringing the situation under control.

He has always done so. It has always worked.

Federico is an outstanding executor. He has been with the Notarial Hall for eight years. He knows what he is doing.

This is his third year as a saint. Other than a burnt flower and a few chance acquaintances, there is no one to guide him or instruct him.

Slowly, he moves his hand away from the gun at his belt—making sure the tense crowd sees it—while his eyes never leave them.

I did not come to repeat the judgment that Laterano once passed upon you.

I am not here as a representative of the Notarial Hall, the Curia, nor any other official Lateran organ.

The reason you must not enter Laterano is because the city is currently affected by anomalies beyond comprehension. Your presence may cause the situation to further deteriorate.

I will explain, but I need time.

Arturia? You should not leave the Holy City.

Don't worry, I met the Doctor... and I am here on the Doctor's instructions.

The Doctor's discovery confirms our hypothesis. All of Laterano is caught up in some kind of dream, but the anomalies in the dream are being reflected in reality.

A calamity has descended on the entire city.

...Like the Kargereich invasion of Zwillingstürme, after the disintegration of the Witch King's Pavillon?

Maybe. I don't fully understand it myself. But there is no doubt that millions of Laterans are being caught in a struggle between reality and illusion, and we need help.

The violators and errari...

A chance dissonance is often the beginning of an interesting variation.

I concur with the Doctor.

However, if the calamity has engulfed all of Laterano, they are likely to enter the dream the moment they enter the city.

That's why I came looking for you. And I brought my cello.

Over here, Doctor.

Squeeze in a bit, so this dessert cart's in front.

Finally, a chance to catch my breath.

Thanks for going through all that.;Whose dessert cart is this?

You must be here for the ceremony, seniora!

W-Would you like to try my ice cream?

Before Mon3tr can even refuse, the little girl gleefully shoves a cup of ice cream into her hands.

I-It's not a flavor you can get anywhere else in Laterano—

(I can take her out. Nobody would notice.)

As Mon3tr gives you this paranoid suggestion, she plops a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth without thinking about it.

Wow. That's really good...

*ahem* Could you tell me your name, kid?

It's got my answer for me, confessor.

Dadadeedeeda, I'm called Idida.

You named yourself after the dessert cart's music?

Don't be silly! I customized it to sound like my name!

Did you know those Guards, Idida—;Aren't you scared of this lady, Idida—

Wow! I've never heard a confessional speak like that before!

It's the latest model.

(Sighs);Looks like she buys that explanation.

Were you helping cover for us just now, Idida?

Yep... Because all of Laterano needs to change!

That's what you think too, right?!

W-Was I just imagining things? You're the first person to say my sugar-free carbonated-water-flavored ice cream was tasty, seniora!

(Well, that explains why it's so refreshing.)

Mamma and Tata were right, this is a rocky road I walk... But I've finally found a little bit of success!

Mind... explaining a bit more?

'Desserts connect every Lateran'—but if you eat too much sugar, not only are you gonna get bad teeth, even your halo will start getting cavities!

Tata's a dentist. Every time he says that, people think he's just trying to get more business for his clinic.