endbook_rogue_3_3_4

Typhon strokes the piece of fabric she had stashed in her quiver. People brought back this piece of clothing left behind by Valarqvin at that great ring, and since then she has habitually carried it within her quiver and on her person, just as she used to do with the little pieces of snow back when Amma was still around.

Things in Sami have improved. A number of researchers from the megastructure back then had invited her to see the land beyond Sami, to 'see how beautiful the new metal trees made from brand-new materials are.' Typhon did not know if Valarqvin had a hand in this, but she agreed anyway out of nostalgia.

A few years ago, Valarqvin had lost her life in an experiment to activate the megastructure. Just as she prophesized, she walked through the ring into the deep darkness and never returned. The researchers told Typhon, who had not present been present for it, that soon after she entered the megastructure, a Collapsal appeared from the ring, accompanied by a large-scale spatial tear. Most likely, Valarqvin was attacked by it on the other side of the gateway.

––What they failed to mention was the more likely hypothesis. Based current theories, the high-threat Collapsal that the research team was forced to eliminate was most likely Valarqvin herself, whose state of being had changed after passing through the megastructure.

'The failure of that experiment was a great tragedy for us all.' On a vehicle approaching the city, a scholar told Typhon about the research that had been kept under wraps for years, due to pressure from all sides. A maelstrom of conflicting feelings raged through her. 'But, she did bring us extremely valuable observation data, which helped us verify a core hypothesis concerning the megastructure. Everyone respected her as our guide and prophet, which is why we believed she should take the first step in the experiment, on behalf of all of us. We probably should've erected a statue of her somewhere using the new alloy we got from studying the megastructure, but...'

'She doesn't need one.' Typhon finishes the sentence calmly, her eyes fixed on the nomadic city not far away.

'Yeah, that's right. That's what she would've said.'

'After all, the technological prosperity we enjoy now, and more importantly, humanity's lasting peace, are all thanks to her.'

After the incident with the first activation, scholars from every field and intellectuals representing every culture gathered at a conference table at the newly re-secured icefield research base. Though the meeting could not be widely disseminated due to the nature of the Collapsals, it would nevertheless quietly change the fate of mankind.

That was not the first large-scale Collapsal incident to erupt during the restoration of the megastructure, and for the first time, voices calling for an end to the project gained the upper hand. On one side, experts from various fields insisted that people had been making the best use of the mysterious structure, analyzing each and every material within it and exploring the history behind every trace. On the other, their hypothesis had already been verified, the observation results completely lined up with their expectations, and they already understood how this megastructure caused the Collapsal entity to penetrate into reality. From this and other clues, one could conclude that it was the 'gateway' through which the demons launched their initial onslaught on reality, and that the manmade structure and its spatial-stabilizing devices were the culmination of previous confrontations with the demons. While there remain some holes in this line of speculation, it has come to be widely accepted by researchers.

Because there is no longer any more opportunity for debate.

The most important consensus to come from that meeting was that it was potentially possible to safely dismantle the megastructure without exacerbating the spatial rift.

That would be an ideal ultimate solution. Sami had been fighting this enemy of Terra for thousands of years, and it was high time to end the war once and for all.

In the years that followed, the Collapsal incidents reported by the Sami expedition team gradually decreased, which is why Typhon agreed to temporarily leave the country. However, it was not until today that she learned that the expedition team had withdrawn completely from endless icefields, and that the ring at its terminus was dismantled long ago.

That didn't sit well with her.

'This is not the fate that Arges foresaw. She, as well as Amma, did not sacrifice themselves so that we could shut our eyes from our perilous fate.'

'We did see it, which is why we chose to challenge it, to deny it.'

'But our fate is also our future. Arges always said that the gate is also an eye, from which people will be able to see even further––'

Before she finishes speaking, Typhon raises her head.

In front of her eyes, the metallic forests of the Southerners glimmer with silvery light, yet she feels her bow become heavy.

––Nothing is forever, and her weapon recognizes its prey.

'Now, we're trapped here.'