Глава 15

However, we will eventually awaken from our beautiful dream.

It sounds like we have to open the Abyss.

Indeed. After all, PRTS is still operational to this day. Its core server and power sources are buried within the depths of the Abyss. We can't touch them or analyze them.

We can never be too cautious when dealing with such an unknown space.

I'll share everything I currently know about it with everyone involved in the operation.

Can I help you with anything?

No… For the version of you that exists now, even approaching these hazy fragments of the past takes a heavy toll, and right now, I have no way to help you shoulder that burden.

Go help Amiya and the others—leave the Abyss to me.

If you choose to trust me, that is.

Of course.

I just want you to know...

You're not alone here, Kal'tsit.

Thank you for your concern, {@nickname}.

...I understand.

Visitor: Kal'tsit

Hello, Kal'tsit, we meet again.

You look like you need my help.

I do.

Please search for a technical document, keyword 'Slumber Bridge'.

Are you still there?

I'm here.

Sorry, Kal'tsit, I still can't output the answer you're looking for.

You have crossed the line.

I know.

But we need it, 'Theresa'...

The evolution rate of Oripathy is accelerating, and the threat from Originium is increasing. Rhodes Island must find a more effective method to respond to it.

I get what you're saying, but I cannot provide what you're asking for, as your request violates the underlying logic of DWDB-221E.

But I do have a way to circumvent its limits, Kal'tsit.

'Deep Dive'.

'Universe'? 'Deep Dive'?

What you're saying and what I've seen.... it's all beyond my imagination.

I have just far too many questions and opinions about this Kingdom, but...

Language. Yours. Cannot describe. Mine. Cannot explain.

Commonality. Thought. Existence.

Hack your thought. Hack your language.

Thought. Is. Language.

Follow me.

The massive instrument instantly catches the Cautus's attention.

Her vision swims; the instrument distorts the light, and her consciousness.

To the Cautus, it sometimes appears to spin faster than her eye can follow—other times, it appears completely still.

No, it, it still appears to be moving, very slowly... very slowly.

She stops looking directly at the device that seems capable of devouring her consciousness, yet she still can't stop herself from falling over.

The ice-cold co-traveler catches her.

Thought. Resonance.

Accept. It. Forsake. Resistance.

Hear. Yourself.

'Death'.

The Cautus instantly hears several different tones at once.

She hears several foreign languages she can identify: Rim Billitonian, Ursine, Standard Victorian—and Gaulish, which she's only ever heard spoken by the clergy. But what she hears above all else is a strange language she's never heard before, a language made up of tones.

Yet somehow, she understands what the strange tones mean.

(Strange tone) 'Death'.

(Strange tone) ♫

I, I can understand you... how—

Thoughts can be anchored, and words can be deciphered.

Language is a tool, a right, and one of the key elements that helps shape our existence.

Anseta is one of the greatest inventions of our time. We've erased the barriers of language—we've bridged the gaps between civilizations.

That symbol...

An anchor for thought, the meta-script that deciphers all known languages, and a tool for interpreting unknown languages.

'Death'.

That is the language that, up until now, you have thought the most about, Hierda.

'Reincarnation'.

That is how you all communicate...?

Communicating via voice is inefficient. However, it is very intriguing and a good way to express emotion.

Many still stubbornly hold on to this tradition, deepening their emotional bonds with one another.

...I don't fully understand you.

Can you tell me where we are right now?

A ship that salvages death from the grave.

We seek answers to the ultimate questions among the ruins illuminated by light... before the same destruction befalls us.

Before 'death' befalls us.

The place you have visited, its master calls it...

<i>Rhodes Island.</i>

The Cautus is confused.

She's no longer confused by the strangeness of her surroundings. She's perplexed by a different question:

How can a god die?