The time she's spent on this mission has already exceeded our worst-case calculations.
Kal'tsit
How's Nightingale doing?
Shining
......
Shining looks past the window and at Nightingale, sleeping soundly under the trees outside.
Shining
Not great.
Shining
Liz has never been more stable than she is right now, but the amount of Originium in her body is rising, and it's highly likely her nociceptors will be affected.
Kal'tsit
This can't be an ordinary Infection symptom.
Shining
Perhaps it's due to the Sarkaz witchcraft devices on the battlefield, or maybe the whispering of the revenant... I don't know.
Shining
There's no way I can tell Liz that 'I feel her pain'. For I have no idea what's going on.
Shining
But yesterday, she was happily telling me how she hasn't been feeling any pain in her dreams for a long time now...
Kal'tsit
You're hesitating.
Kal'tsit
You've been like this ever since you returned from the Confessarius's place alone.
Kal'tsit
Do you remember what you told me, when you applied to come with me to Londinium?
Shining
To 'heal Liz', Dr. Kal'tsit. This goal I've never wavered on, ever.
Kal'tsit
We may not know the exact status of her illness, but we all know what it means to 'heal' her.
Shining
The things we need to do will not change... on this I'm clear.
Kal'tsit
I have faith in you both.
Kal'tsit
The way you look at Nightingale isn't just with compassion. You're not just her doctorโshe's healing your fears too.
Kal'tsit
Her body has its issues, but she's a member of the 'Followers', as well as your companion, and not a delicate flower that needs your protection.
Kal'tsit
The Confessarii secret is truly a sickening affair, but we might only be able to uncover the truth by facing the abomination lurking in the utmost depths head on.
Shining
......
Kal'tsit
I know you may be somewhat worried.
Kal'tsit
But as I said when we first agreed to work together, Rhodes Island will help you if you ever need a hand.
Shining
โโThank you, Dr. Kal'tsit.
A blue fowlbeast chirps as it lands on Shining's shoulder.
This is Liz's usual way of greeting her.
Shining
Liz's awake. I'll go fetch her.
Nightingale
I'm fine, Shining. You don't have to look after me so meticulously.
Shining
Liz, we were just discussing your condition, and there are some signs... that aren't too great.
Shining
The vicinity of Londinium has turned into a warzone, and there are some things that are affecting your health.
Shining
Dr. Kal'tsit and I are currently discussing our next course of action. This place is also just a temporary foothold.
Nightingale
Shining... come here. Closer.
Shining
Alright.
Nightingale
Look at you. Why wear that face when you've already made up your mind?
Nightingale
We can't run forever.
Nightingale
The way things are now, we might as well confront them with our dignity intact, right?
Nightingale
I know you'll stay with me, so I'd rather stay here, and be a little more proactive.
Shining
Liz...
Nightingale
Be strong, Shining. Your brows have been knitted ever since you met with them. Are you nervous?
Nightingale
Oh, right. While I was napping under the tree earlier... I had a dream.
Nightingale
I think we were children, walking in a stream...
Nightingale
The water didn't even reach our calves. It was cold, but very pleasant. We didn't speak, only walking along quietly.
Shining
......
Nightingale
And then I woke up. I saw a strange fowlbeast pecking at its own plumage.
Nightingale
It seemed to be pecking at its bruise-covered body until it was entirely covered in blood...
Nightingale
It gazed at me with a pleading look in its eyes, crying as it huddled in its own nest, but it was not liquid pouring down its face, it was white wax...
Nightingale
Even its mess of feathers were all frozen, and it was still chirping before it diedโ
Qui'sartuลกtaj bears witness.
Nightingale
It was a strange melody, that sounded like...
Qui'sartuลกtaj bears witness.
Nightingale
*Ancient Sarkaz Language*.
Shining
Liz...?
Shining spots a black fowlbeast resting on the tree, weakly nesting on a crown made of dead branches.
It looks back at Shining, and a trembling cry resounds from its syrinx, a rhythm permeatingโ
*Ancient Sarkaz Language*.
A black feather floats from the crown of dead branches.
It covers everyone's vision despite its tiny size.
???
You led me here.
???
And so I've come to take you home, Liz.
Kal'tsit
Mon3tr!
Mon3tr
(High-pitched braying)
???
Return from whence you came.
???
The structure is so fragile. It seems Theresis's blade is sharper than I imagined.
Nightingale
Watch out, Shining!
Shining
It's fine, Liz. He can't harm me.
Confessarius
You've regressed.
Confessarius
It will be a challenge to return your body to its peak condition. That will eat into my experimentation time.
Shining
To think you'd willingly leave that sordid lair of yours...
The black fowlbeast rests on the dead branches in the Confessarius's hand.
Its robust body is covered by an abundance of feathers, shining with luster.
It was reborn so easily and instantly from corruption.
Shining
It seems like you're anxious about something as well.
Confessarius
We have already arrived at the gate.
Confessarius
We've made great strides in our experiments, even just knocking softly on the door.
Confessarius
You must attend the final ritualโ
Kal'tsit
Mon3tr, meltdown!
Mon3tr
(Angry howling)
Confessarius
Five minutes will be enough, Salus. Stop her with your life.
Confessarius
Do not let them hinder me.
Salus
Of course.
A black curtain of satin drapes down.
It binds the howling monster in multiple layers, giving it less and less space to struggle.
Mon3tr
(Pained howling)
Shining
Her Arts are black...?
Shining
Is that... Amiya's? What have you done to her?!
Kal'tsit
...No.
Kal'tsit
They didn't defeat her.
Salus
I should have been able to present the King of Sarkaz to the leader unharmed. It's a pity.
Salus
But no matter. Even just getting a glimpse can let the fake take another step forward.
Salus
So, little creature. Don't disturb our leader at workโfollow me elsewhere to wait till he's done!
Mon3tr
(Angry wailing)
Kal'tsit
Mon3tr!
Shining
Dr. Kal'tsit, you're in no shape to exert yourself.
Shining
I said last time that our next meeting would be on the battlefield.
Confessarius
Oh? Then why are you concealing your sword even now?
Confessarius
You swore to sever your ties with our lineage when you left home, and this whole time I've been looking forward for you to return and fulfil your promise.
Confessarius
I gave you time, but you disappoint me again and again.
Confessarius
We were supposed to produce the next me. We would have created the most intangible bloodline in the last hundred years.
Nightingale
Ugh...!
Confessarius
Hm.
Confessarius
Sharp, but so impure. What's happened to your soul?
Confessarius
Did you think you still had hope to cling onto, after leaving us?
Shining
......
Shining
Liz!
Shining
Come back!
Nightingale
......!
Nightingale
I won't...
Nightingale
Let you manipulate me!
Confessarius
Oh...? You're a creation that has surpassed my expectations.
Confessarius
You're supposed to be just a shell, and yet you can touch 'me'?
Nightingale
Now, Shining!
Nightingale
I... I can't hold on much longer!
Shining
......
A strange feeling surges from within Shining.
Nightingale is resisting the Confessarius, and even suppressing himโthe ancient devil's soul has never manifested in such a vulnerable state before.
Bloodline. The word itself sounds unreal, but at this moment there only seems to be an extensive crack of blood right in front of her eyes.
But Shining hesitates.
Why is this so simple?
How could it be this simple?
Kal'tsit
Nightingale, stop!
Kal'tsit
It's a trap! He's waiting for your Arts to resonate!
Nightingale
โ!
Time slows down.
Mon3tr fights with Salus as Kal'tsit yells out. Everything flows past like streams of light.
Confessarius
Both you and I know where fate will lead us, but those without self-awareness will only trap themselves in their own pitiful cage.
Confessarius
It's futile to despise your bloodline and resist your fate. No one can deny the natural gifts bestowed by our bloodline.
Confessarius
I will do for you what you're hesitating to do, to crack an opening in the cage... Enter it with me, and I will bring you back onto the right track.
A white sword pierces though a heart atop a stone platform covered with dead branches.
Shining remembers the first time she cried, she remembers just how amazing it was, the birth of an unexpected emotion.
A brand new soul is carved anew under the blade.
???
I've seen... pain... your... tears...
Confessarius
Accidents are bound to bring surprises. You could have stopped your explorations here and now, but you just can't bear to destroy the ignorant consciousness in that hollow shell.
Confessarius
And so you sew memories into the empty husk instead.
Shining
She's Liz. She shouldn't...
Confessarius
You did this of your own free will, filled up this consciousness with a name, with 'Liz'.
'Liz' is afraid of the completely silent person sitting across from her at the long table.
They agreed to sit here every night at the same hour for dinner together.
But the white-horned Sarkaz opposite her with a sword in her hands no longer speaks or moves outside of recording her every action she can remember today.
'Liz' always asks herself, have I done something to upset her?
'Liz' misses the beautiful memories, of how their lives were before...
Liz?
I keep having the same dream every day. I dream of us as children, walking in a stream hand in hand...
Liz?
Then I flew upwards, and kept going higher and higher. You couldn't hold me back, and I saw you crying from the clouds.
Liz?
Every time, when I wish to return to your side, I always wake up in pain.
Liz?
I ache from your suffering, and I want to bear it for you.
Liz?
I just need you to tell me why you feel like this...
Liz?
Qui'sarลกinnag.
Shining
......
Confessarius
Qui'sarลกinnag. This name means 'inseparable hope'โour destiny.
Confessarius
Poor 'Liz'. She think it's all her fault, because of the momentary kindness you showed her.
Shining
I've already abandoned that sinful name. I'm called Shining now, and will always be.
Confessarius
Is that so? Are you sure you can resist your family's destiny that has carried on for a millennium?
I feel like I've slept for a long time, lost myself within an infinity of fragments.
Nightingale
But I heard your voice, and you guided me to a place buried underneath the countless fragments.
Nightingale
I dug up some of my splintered memories there... and I still haven't remembered them all.
Nightingale
But I've recalled the question that I should have given you my answer to long ago...
Nightingale
I forgave you long ago.
Nightingale
Even before you resolved to seal all the memories of that laboratory away...
Nightingale
So I'm angry with you for deciding to act on your own without asking me.
Shining
......
Nightingale
'Liz'. I've always loved the name you chose for me.
Nightingale
Don't run away and bear everything by yourself. Didn't we promise to face it all togetherโ
Shining sees Nightingale's eyes, and her smile.
When she comes back to her senses, the hand has already quietly slipped away from her sleeve.
Confessarius
A tragedy we have here, but the ending has already been determined.
Confessarius
You killing me will turn you into the breeding ground for the next in our bloodline, or, you can look on helplessly as you watch me take her away and drown in your regrets after.
Confessarius
It's all the same, Sister.
Salus
Sir, we need to retreat!
Salus
Ugh!
Ascalon
......
Ascalon
How many bloodlines have you yet to touch, Chimera? Show me.
Ascalon
How many times can you put blood back into your body, and tell yourself your own fate?
Mon3tr
(Confused growl)
Mon3tr?
(Angry howling)
Mon3tr
(Excited cry)
Confessarius
Your little monster's copy is quite poor.
Confessarius
Is this because you're not as strong as you were before your rebirth, or is Dame Kal'tsit, beloved of all tribes, even more injured than I thought?
Mon3tr?
(Disdainful roar)
Damazti Cluster
Qui'sartuลกtaj. The other part has chosen you.
Damazti Cluster
So what will you bring him?
Confessarius
The name 'Qui'sartuลกtaj' itself is the answer.
Confessarius
(In ancient Sarkaz) 'Inextinguishable hope'.
Confessarius
Qui'sarลกinnag. The cage is already awake. If you continue to keep her by your side, she will only... like the dewdrops of early dawn, evaporate and fade away in the light.
Shining
......
Confessarius
I will take her away, and I will help you maintain her, I will help you make amendsโ
Confessarius
I will forge this cage into a crown.
Confessarius
And then, you will, we will beโ
Confessarius
The King of Sarkaz for all eternity.
Kal'tsit
There's no point in chasing after him.
Kal'tsit
Take stock of our losses and prepare to move at once. We still have unstabilized wounded, but our cover here has already been blown.
Shining
Dr. Kal'tsit.
Kal'tsit
Operator Nightingale is an employee of the Rhodes Island Medical Department, and we will not allow anyone to take her away or to do her harm.
Kal'tsit
But we might place her in greater danger if we make any rash moves. After all, we're facing an immortal 'Lord of Fiends' that has been coveting the crown for thousands of years.
Kal'tsit
Qui'sartuลกtaj. The one who knocks on the door, the King of Usurping Kings.
Kal'tsit
I knew the threat of the Confessarii since the days of Babel, even though my numerous countermeasure attempts were all in vain.
Kal'tsit
Theresis concealed them so well that everyone merely thought of them as the regent's guards.
Shining
Please be at ease. I know what we have to do now.
Ascalon
I thought you'd be less calm than this.
Ascalon
What's your plan?
Shining
Liz... She has made her own choice.
Shining
A choice even I had never dared to think of, daring, aggressive, and also the most effective method. It seems like the one afraid of loss and death has always been me...
Shining
What I need to do. Heh.
Shining
Is to catch up to her.
Kal'tsit
...I believe in you both.
Kal'tsit
How's Amiya, Ascalon?
Ascalon
She and the Doctor were also beset by the Confessarii's surprise attack, and are now with Logos.
Ascalon
Amiya has been affected by some kind of witchcraft. The one who they call Salus tried to seize the King of Sarkaz's power from her directly and failed, but Amiya's current condition is... very strange.
Ascalon
She's fallen into a coma.
Kal'tsit
Amiya's connection with the 'Lord of Fiends' is only growing stronger, so we can only place our faith in her.
Ascalon
We also discovered several of the Vampires' Arts Circles, accompanied by some 'illusions' from history.
Ascalon
The Doctor mentioned that the Originium used to build these Arts Circles was very 'special'.
Kal'tsit
......
Kal'tsit
'Special'.
Kal'tsit
Well then, Lord Damazti, I thank you for your assistance. What do you seek from us?
Damazti Cluster
We seek change. To hone ourselves. And meaning.
Damazti Cluster
We seek the meaning of living a long and disordered life. You will show it to us, and we will verify it.
Damazti Cluster
......
Damazti Cluster
...That's all.
Kal'tsit
......
Kal'tsit
Tell Closure and Feist to sweep this place thoroughly. We'll leave in three hours.
Kal'tsit
Leave a message for W to head towards Brentwood as per our original plans.
Hey! Uncle Nowell! The lens in my glasses fell out again!
Nowell
*Sigh*
Nowell
I told you so many times your ears are too soft.
Nowell
You grip on the frames so hard every time you feel your glasses sliding down that you break and change their shape. So of course the lens won't stay in place.
Nowell
Let me have a look.
Infected Child
It's because you gave me such a heavy pair to wear!
Infected Child
But I found a better method, look!
Little Susanna pulls out two leaves from behind her, and wedges the stems on her ears with the tips resting on her nose bridge.
Ah, glasses of green, fashioned with leaves.
Infected Child
Ta-da! What'd you think?
Nowell
Can you see with them?
Infected Child
I can! Really!
Infected Child
Just face the sun, like thisโ
The child goes over to Nowell and puts two leaves on his eyes.
Nowell's vision is filled with a verdant green.
Nowell
Alright, kid, youโ
Infected Child
Just look!
Leaf veins.
The sunlight at noon in the forest is not very strong, but it is enough to shine through the thin leaves and reveal their interlaced veins, clear for all to see.
Infected Child
How is it? You can see, right?
Infected Child
You won't see anything interesting with that frown always on your face, Uncle Nowell!
He stares blankly at the sun with the leaves covering his eyes.
Nowell
...I can't see anything at all.
Nowell
But, I know of a story from Yan of the east, a tale of 'missing the forest for the leaves'โ
Infected Child
Nuh-uh, not listening! You're as boring as ever, Uncle Nowell!
The child with the glasses made of leaves comes and goes like a breeze, and disappears into the distant camp in the blink of an eye.
Talulah
It seems like you don't get along with the children, Mr. Nowell.
Nowell
If it isn't Talulah. Done with work?
Nowell
I told that story to my son once... however, he didn't like hearing my stories either. Maybe I'm just not suited for it.
Talulah
You have an abundance of experience, even if we only know it from a smattering of phrases.
Talulah
An average downtrodden Victorian optometrist who fled here after his shop was taken away from him amidst the war.
Talulah
He sympathized with the Infected who were being discriminated against, and so chose to join their group and help out a little with his abilities.
Talulah
You've always displayed a respectable character ever since I got to know you, Mr. Nowell.
Talulah
But it's because of that... I...
Talulah
......
Nowell
Please speak your mind, Talulah.
Talulah
I'm just curious why a long-lived like you would deign to conceal your identity and do such insignificant things.
Nowell
......
Talulah
I noticed. Of course, this is still much better than the worst-case scenario I thought of.
Talulah
However... you can deny it, and we'll speak of it no more. I'll tell Nine though.
Nowell
I won't.
Nowell smiles, plucks a leaf and fiddles with it.
Nowell
There are actually many Victorians who I'm well-acquainted with, that know my identity... I only wish to avoid scaring my travel companions.
Nowell
But I'd like to correct you on one point, Talulah. I'm not 'deigning' to act like this.
Nowell
My longevity aside, I doubt I'm any more talented than ordinary people.
Nowell
The long-lived gain their longevity through different means, as diverse as the Originium Arts they use.
Nowell
But we aren't always influential figures, Talulah.
Talulah
......
Nowell
In fact... I'm much more interested in your story.
Nowell
A descendant of the red dragon, founder of Reunion, and the leader of the Infected movement that took off in Ursus. To think you'd still act so shrewdly towards a so-called 'long-lived'?
Talulah
...Who exactly are you, Mr. Nowell?
Nowell
Just some guy.
Nowell
A hundred and fifty years ago, I was telling my third son the fables I learned from my travels in Yan, and he left my side from impatience.
Nowell
And as I stood before his granddaughter's granddaughter, I was once again a stranger in a large family.
Nowell
So now I harbor anger and pain inside me, giving up entirely on both family and love as I try to locate the villain hiding in Victoria who manipulated my fate.
Nowell
I spent the last century researching... researching the ''long-liveds', the 'gods', the 'masterminds', the 'immemorials', and myself.
Nowell
I tried to benefit from the system of nobility, to hone my Originium Arts, to accumulate wealth and exchange it for secrets...
Nowell
I tried every method you can fathom to get closer to the truth, but I haven't been successful at all.
Nowell
I didn't manage to become nobility or wealthy. I only had a little shop... that's all I really had. Combat abilities wise, I might not even be able to defeat Mr. Guard.
Nowell
Time has only taught me to recognize the reality that I hold no talents at all.
Nowell
......
Nowell
That's the story of an ordinary person, Talulah. This tale I can freely share with you.
Nowell drops the leaves that were in his hand, and the breeze blows them far away.
He dusts himself off, and picks up his suitcase once more.
Nowell
Please, rest assured I hold no ill intent towards you all. I only wish to find... the 'hands of fate' that cursed me.
Nowell
She hides behind the country, treating her monarch as her glove, and the city-state her chessboard.
Nowell
She merely looks upon everything labeled 'Victoria' with a cold gaze. If needed, 'Victoria' can even be destroyed and rebuilt, and topped off with a new flag after.
Nowell
How can I believe she isn't involved in our current turmoil of absurdity?
Nowell
She's definitely hiding within the dukes. Watching the Sarkaz and Victorians engage in mutual slaughter. Bloodshed and sacrifice are merely heartless parameters and indicators to her.
Nowell
Perhaps you might have been manipulated by a similar pair of 'hands' beforeโyou have royal blood running through your veins after all. She has no reason to let you nor Alistair's daughter go.
Talulah
Me? I do know another conspirator, but he doesn't deserve to be called a god, nor can he manipulate my fate.
Nowell
But that's exactly how they live on, Talulah.
Nowell
I want to know how to kill them.
Nowell
Or perhaps, how to kill myself.
Talulah
......
Nowell
It's getting late, I need to fix little Susanna's glasses.
Talulah
Mr. Nowell, you...
Nowell
Talulah. The reason why I willingly tell you all of this, and why I joined Reunionโdo forgive my selfishnessโit is due to the intuition I've honed by the extra century I've lived.
