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If we wrap around from this side, we should just be able to make it...

Urgh!

Watch out!

...Come over first. Watch your step.

Joanna shifts her feet, and several rocks tumble down the cave, the sounds of dislodged pebbles echoing through the cracked crevices as they fall. She shudders.

So deep... You'd probably turn into a stain on the ground if you fell from this height...

Damn those Victorians for causing trouble in the mines... Else, we wouldn't have to come this way...

Huh? Saintess, what are you looking at?

There's a light ahead; it must be the path leading to the main ore vein. Come—let's hold hands, just like before.

We are just a few steps shy of our answer. We mustn't run into danger here.

Soon... We will find all our answers.

The map is illuminated by the flickering light of the oil lamp. They hardly converse, moving forward in silence, their steps filled with both fear and anticipation.

But eventually, the search comes to an end.

...Are you sure this is the right place? Might we have made a mistake?

No... I'm sure of it.

This is the mine I previously calculated and located... There's no way this could be the wrong place.

But...

What are you two talking about? This is the place we were looking for, yeah?

According to my plan, we should be able to find an Originium vein here... My deduction can be proven correct, if and only if it exists...

But, this place...

...is an Oriron mine.

What...?

I've investigated and analyzed everything; these are all just ordinary Oriron deposits. There's no chance they're related to Catastrophe...

...Let alone any traces of 'extraterrestrial objects'. Where did we go wrong?

But, why?! We clearly saw a bunch of trucks transporting Originium on our way here! How could this all just be Oriron?

It doesn't take long for Enya to grasp the schemes of the man bonded to her by blood.

Indeed... We came to the wrong place.

The mineral vein here is not the 'Heart of Karlan', but rather, the 'Bones of Kjerag'...

The bones that uphold Kjerag's spine...

...Um, may I say something?

The Heart of Karlan is a pure core that validates faith. Man's eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and hands can deceive, and only the heart cannot. Such is written in the <i>Kjeragandr.</i>

But, I don't think we're being unfaithful or impious.

We all know how much we've done... and surely, She must know too.

Just like how give everything on the hunt, only to come up empty-handed and go hungry through the night.

But, we must have faith. Faith in the land of Kjerag. Faith in Kjeragandr's protection. She promised us that as long as we have our two hands, we shall not starve or freeze to death in Kjerag's lands.

So, Great Saintess, come. Let's try again––

Huh? Try... what?

Use your bell to call Kjeragandr.

That sweet bell—the sound of the Saintess who played to awaken Kjeragandr, the clear sound beloved of Her, the sound that is Her call.

So it says in the <i>Kjeragandr</i> that burdenbeasts wearing this bell will not be snatched away by wild beasts; they shall not fall ill or die young, and shall find their way back home should they ever be lost.

For one's 'heart to be astray' is to be lost too, right? I don't totally get what it means, but I heard it from one of the clerics at the Vine-Bead Court!

Unlike her two dejected companions, the girl shows no signs of discouragement and is eager to try again.

That's right. We should keep trying. Perhaps Kjeragandr will respond to us.

The silver bell rings out on high, its engraved patterns shimmering beneath the hazy light of the miner's lamps.

She had tried to call out like this before. At the Vine-Bead Court, in her own bedroom, among her books, while resting among the snow-capped mountains.

Ring—ring—

The clear, cold sound of the silver bell echoes through the empty cave.

...Woah, that's...!

This sound, this frequency... Why does it sound so alike?!

Did you discover something?

That frequency! The echoes of your bell throughout the cave sound just like that one audio recording from the observatory—almost identical, even!

Is that just a coincidence?

A coincidence? No...

'In nature, no two snowflakes are exactly alike'...

Say, Saintess... Where exactly did that bell come from?

That would require going back to very ancient legends...

In Kjerag history, there was a long span of time where Kjeragandr fell into deep slumber until She was awoken by a devout Saintess.

It was Kjeragandr's gift to that Saintess.

I've also heard that when subsequent craftsmen made bells for the Saintesses, they sought to imitate the sounds of the mountains...

The sounds of the mountains...? What kind of mountain could make a sound––

A Feranmut?

Impossible... How could that be...

Snap out of it, Elena... You're a scientist. How could you let your faith falter at a time like this...?

Elena, are you saying that on the day before the Catastrophe, something fell onto Mount Karlan, thus creating that sound?

Based on my previous conjectures, yes...

So think about it this way... If we think of the mountain as a huge bell, doesn't that mean there's probably a huge hollow inside it?

Theoretically speaking, that would... be possible... But, do you know where a massive hollow like that could exist?

There is a rumor not recorded in Kjerag's official history, and it also happens to be related to the Saintess who awakened Kjeragandr.

A long, long time ago, there once was an uprising against the Vine-Bead Court in Kjerag.

The people had grown dissatisfied because Kjeragandr had not performed any miracles in a long time, and so they marched upon the Vine-Bead Court. Their wrath was only quelled when the Saintess awakened the sleeping deity.

During the chaos, a number of clerics took their precious scriptures and took refuge within Mount Karlan, therefore preserving some of their valuable knowledge.

Yet regardless, the classic works of the Vine-Bead Court still suffered a break in continuity around that time.

What if... the account of Kjeragandr leaving her people within the scriptures... is actually a description of this event?

Great Saintess... If this sanctuary truly exists, will we find traces of the 'Kjeragandr' there?

Where should we even look?

Behind the Vine-Bead Court... the place leading to Mount Karlan's summit.

Enya tightly grips the silver bell in her hand. She seems to hear the wind and the snow, as well as the footsteps that would occasionally shadow her while she worked at the Vine-Bead Court.

Whose voice was that? Who was calling to her from behind? Who would pat her on the shoulders and bring honeyed cystymilk to her while she was burning the midnight oil to organize her scriptures?

All she can hear and see is the pure white snow that never stops blowing with the wind.

O Kjeragandr on high, please grant us your guidance.

May the path we walk be true.

'A cleric from the Vine-Bead Court, in collusion with Victorian agents, stole important military intelligence and was arrested yesterday.'

'Great Elder Adso confessed to some of these allegations, and agreed to fully cooperate with the investigation. During this time, all activities of the Vine-Bead Court are to be suspended.'

'There is considerable evidence suggesting that Victorian agents are involved in a string of unusual natural and social phenomena.'

'Karlan Trade is also assembling scientific researchers to assess the possibility of an espionage-related Catastrophe.'

'As a reminder to all citizens of Kjerag: If any foreign national approaches you under the guise of offering charity, business ventures, or gathering news, please be extremely vigilant...'

I knew it!

The Great Elder and that Victorian duke are in cahoots! Look what those bastards have brought upon us!

Couldn't it just be one big misunderstanding? If even the Vine-Bead Court has betrayed Kjeragandr... My goodness...

They've been mucking about with the Victorians, and you still give them the benefit of the doubt?

But, hasn't the Karlan Trade you seem to trust so much been dealing with Victoria this whole time...?

The only reason you can even hear all this on the radio is thanks to Karlan Trade. But what about the Vine-Bead Court? What've they ever done for you?

Stop your bickering. Victorian broadcasting has a response. Shut up and listen.

I don't give a damn what they have to say!

...I need to make sense of all of this.

'Sir Wilson, you are highly respected by Her Grace the Duke, as well as an expert on the Kjerag affair. We would like to ask you—how should we interpret the attitude displayed by Enciodes Silverash?

'I see it as nothing more than a way of quelling the public discontent in Kjerag. Enciodes has always been a close partner of Victoria.'

'Don't you find that somewhat difficult to believe?'

'Even based on publicly-available information, it is an indisputable fact that Victoria has been the primary beneficiary of many of the trade contracts strongly spearheaded by Enciodes himself.'

'With the help of Karlan Trade, Kjerag's development has almost entirely come off the back of Victoria's aid, from the import of breeding beasts and fertilizers to railway technology and even Originium processing.'