Глава 14

Even if everybody was quiet about it, I could still guess. There was only one possibility.

I have guessed, but I still don't understand...

The Doctor I knew, the one who saved me, brought me so many different places, told me so many stories...

The one who brought me back to Babel, the one who tried anything and everything to cure my Oripathy, the one who promised me that I had a future...

That incredibly kind person, why did that Doctor... why did that one kill the equally kind Theresa, the person who loved everyone...

I don't remember.;I don't know.

I still have so many questions I want to ask you, Doctor.

The you who rescued me, the you who murdered Theresa, the you who stands before me right now... In the end, which one is the true you, Dr. {@nickname}?

I just didn't know how to ask you...

Since you awoke from the sarcophagus, despite the loss of your memories, you always stood with us no matter the danger... How could I believe someone like this could be a murderer?

I promise you.

I will find an answer.

You reach a hand out to Amiya.

Doctor!

The deck of the airship suddenly begins to shake violently. Amiya immediately grabs your hand.

The dark shadows that once gathered within the cabin have begun to bloom in the sky.

Below the glow of the crimson horizon, a black blossom, dark enough to swallow all light, furled itself around the airship.

The airship is collapsing.

We must withdraw immediately.

—!;Those shadows are trying to block our escape route!

Stand behind me, Doctor—

'Collapse not in disorder'.

As I speak these words, thus do nature's laws restructure.

The shadows enshrouding your thoughts are dispersed.

Golden incantations break apart the inky blackness, raining down upon the damaged areas of the airship.

The words fall apart as they touch the surface before reforming, suturing together the ship's broken body, healing its wounds.

Logos!

Everyone, allow me to handle the shattered fragments.

Pass through the shadow. The skeletal nerves that will ferry us back are ready.

The banshee's bone pen hangs down from his hand, lightly touching upon the surface of the shadow.

With shadow as parchment, the banshee scribes his incantations with restless flicks of his wrist.

Golden veins wend their way through the shadows, as the fires are slowly extinguished.

I can see the nerve bundle!

We're ready to withdraw, Logos.

Very well.

Hold my hand tight, Doctor—

The nerves... snapped?

You all fall back down onto the deck of the airship. The hull beneath your feet continues to shake, but the revenant keeps his silence.

The shadows circle underneath everyone's feet, as though mocking you.

White crystals extrude from the hull, radiating a cleansing light.

A gentle light. A graceful light. A light that pacifies all confusion, mayhem and disorder.

The rays wash over the shadow, becoming ever more dazzling.

The purest white erases all color around you.

Immediately after, a black hole appears in the distance, devouring the radiance whole.

Darkness. Tranquility.

Amidst the pitch-black dark, a singularity emits its first ray of light.

The light of thought. The light of emotion. The light of rebirth.

The ray of weak, reddish light begins to grow and expand.

Illuminating the hand that wrought it.

Illuminating—

Theresa...

She walks forth from the darkness... No, she has been there all along.

It is just that for a moment, she chose to let her gaze fall upon you. For only a moment.

Within her embrace, the revenant's scattered consciousness coalesces once more.

All his sorrow. All his misery. All his rage.

They dissipate as she consoles him, and at last, the revenant returns to serenity.

She carries her compatriot, abandoned by death as he is. She brings rebirth. She rewrites fate.

Theresa!

There is no response, but you manage to glean some curious information from her expression.

You dare not say for sure.

Everyone holds their breath because of her presence. Everyone awaits the first words out of her mouth.

Silence.

She says nothing, retreating back into the gloom.

She leaves no tracks. It is like she were never here.

But everyone understands that she has finally taken action.

Did I miss Her Highness say something—

Hey, wait, the airship's moving again?! It's even at full speed!

I thought the old fossil was—

It is Originium.

We have gotten too close to Amnannam. The airship is an Originium-rich environment, and its stocks onboard fuel it with energy.

Theresa...?

The nerve connections snapped?

Through the openings in the skeleton, she sees that the great witchcraft-powered construct has already broken free of the nerve bindings, now hurtling at unchasable speeds towards Amnannam hanging in the sky.

W...!

Hoederer! You're awake?

Emergency landing...

What did you say?

The Feranmut... It left a final bit of energy inside the Lifebone.

Perform an emergency landing... in Londinium, somewhere safe...

W and the others are still on the airship!

I already... promised Dr. Kal'tsit... and the Doctor.

To do everything we can... to save more lives.

All we can do... is try our best...

But—

Many have called you by these titles.

'The evil spirit of Babel'. 'The Doctor of Rhodes Island'.

Many have believed in you. Believed that you always make the right decision. That no matter how despairing the circumstances, you would always be able to find a way out.

But—

You are far from omnipotent.

It all happens in a flash of lightning.

Theresa does not reappear, having gathered up the shadows and taken them with her.

As you approach the Cunabula of Suffering, the crystallization advances ever more rapidly.

Now that the tides of shadow have retreated, you finally notice that the crystals have covered the entirety of the airship.

Your companions still stand by your side. They are great fighters all, but in the face of this fated disaster, you are all powerless.

The airship, unable to stop, rams into Amnannam—

And is brought to a standstill.

The instant that the ship is about to touch Amnannam, the colossal vessel, once hurtling at full speed, is slowed to a crawl.

Time itself stagnates.

The great Originium tree rapidly grows new limbs, firmly grasping the airship.

The lush branches quickly extend and envelop the ship.