Ha, I can hear you drawing something on the quarantine cabin walls... Amiya.
Dying Infected
But I can't see anymore... I've been blind since yesterday.
Amiya
...
Amiya
Oh, I know! I'll come inโ
Dying Infected
Don't. I might justโ
Amiya
It's alright, Miss. I'm Infected too, remember? Babel's doctors are close, so I'm sure they'll take good care of us.
Amiya
Miss, give me your hand, and I'll draw it out for you!
The tiny Cautus gently takes the hand of the Infected patient lying on the sickbed into her ownโBlack crystals cover her entire body, an enchanting Originite sheen circulating inside the crystals.
Amiya knows what this means for an Infected. She has seen it before.
Her finger earnestly traces a shape on the patient's palm.
Amiya
You said the name you got from your parents is a flower you've never seen.
Amiya
I went to ask the Doctor and Theresa about it, and they brought me to see the real thing!
Amiya
Can you feel it, Miss? I'm drawing it on your palm with my finger.
Amiya
Your name is so pretty!
Dying Infected
...
Amiya
Um, was my drawing too messy? I can try again...
Dying Infected
Little bunny... Aren't you scared of me?
Amiya
Huh? Why would I be scared of you?
Dying Infected
...
Dying Infected
We've just recently arrived at Babel, but I'm fond of you, Amiya.
Dying Infected
We're friends, right...? Can you help a friend out? Help me ring a doctor with the bell.
Dying Infected
I'd like them to bring me to see... no, to touch those flowers.
Amiya
...I want to go with you too.
Dying Infected
No can do. You're sick as well, so be good and stay here.
Amiya
Then I'll wait for you to come back.
The Infected patient says nothing, and only rubs Amiya's head.
Amiya sees the patient trying her best to bear the pain, and the shiny Originium crystals on her arm.
Amiya
...
Amiya, you had just followed the Doctor to Babel then.
I still remember you sat at the door of the quarantine cabin for a long time, persistently refusing to move.
The Doctor found you in silence, and sat down to join you. You only started crying when the Doctor hugged you.
I too, wanted to hold you in my arms, but I couldn't bear to disturb you both.
Amiya... you're a bright child. You knew that Infected would never return.
She didn't want you to see her leave. It would be too cruel for a child to witness. But she didn't know just how strong you are.
I see many things from your gentle eyes. You want to help them...
No matter their race or Infection statusโyou see them all as lively, lovely people.
It was from that moment I began to harbor a selfish ideaโ
Perhaps... you could bear this crown in the future...
Perhaps... you can go further than I have.
I was in no hurry to hand over a responsibility this heavy to you. I thought I had the luxury of time to be by your side as you grew upโ
They quickly cover the roots, like a garden in bloom by wind, with flames burning within.
Theresa sits among the flower-like flames, leaning on the roots as she looks at the golden ocean in the 'sky' coming to a calm.
Theresa
Amiya, you're so much stronger than I imagined. How warm these flames are...
Theresa
'Flames that burn away all decay', you've really done it, Amiya.
Theresa
Well, since that's done, come over. Closer.
Amiya
Theresa, weโ
Theresa
Ssh... I know what you're thinking in that little mind of yours.
Theresa
Look at the ocean above our heads. The waves we made are calming down. Soon we'll leave.
Theresa
Amiya. Some wishes shouldn't be voiced out loud, because they'll only leave more sorrow behind.
Amiya
No, Theresa. I don't want to leave any more regrets. I wish... we all wish you can stay.
Theresa
Even if I'll let you all down again?
Amiya
Isn't it more important to have the people I care about know how I feel? That's what the Doctor taught me.
Theresa
...
Theresa
*smiles* You've truly grown up, Amiya.
Theresa
...I'll always be with you, Amiya. As I promised you...
Theresa
Originium no longer contains the slightest bit of my own information, but I'm sure you won't abandon the ideals I once hoped for.
Amiya
Is there no other way to let you stayโ
Theresa
To save me, and end this war?
Theresa
There is no one on this land that will manage to realize every single wish. That includes even the creator.
Theresa
Amiya, do not lament over the dead. Exercise more concern for the living, especially those who scoff at the notion of hope.
Theresa
But for now, before we leave... let's quietlyโ
W
Your Highness! Sorry, I-I just, couldn't keep it in anymore.
Theresa
Oh... W? Is this a hug from you?
W
Your Highness...? Your eyes...
Theresa
I can't see clearly anymore. The information flow holding this body together is fading away.
Theresa
But I still have my sense of touch. And I can tell you're not crying. That's good.
Theresa reaches out and returns the embrace, gently patting W's shoulder.
W
โ?!
W
Your Highness, y-you don't mind...?
Theresa
Why would I?
Theresa
Hm... I suppose worrying about that isn't anything strange coming from you. You haven't changed one bit, W.
Theresa
I can still remember our time back at Babel, when you were hiding in a corner with your camera in hand, hesitating to come forward...
W
...Y-You saw me?!
Theresa
Of course. Actually, I was even waiting for you to come over for a photo together. But you never did manage to muster up the courage.
W
Your Highness?! You sawโand even remembered that?!
W
E-Evenโ
Theresa
Taking a cheeky picture of me? Not just that. I didn't think the reckless mercenary from back then would grow into the woman before me today.
Theresa
The truth of how the Chernobog and Lungmen conflicts were actually settled, the mercenary group giving Manfred headaches for the past few years, and of course, your appearance in this place that shouldn't have happened at all...
Theresa
You can achieve so much more than you imagine, W.
Theresa
You should have realized by now I'm not so divine as you believe, and you're not insignificant.
W
Haha... Hahaha! I don't care if you're consoling me, or deceiving meโI'm taking it to heart!
W
Your Highness, you really are always so... gentle. When we first arrived in this damn place, when I saw you, I was so afraidโ
W
I want to make up for that missed photo opportunity, Your Highness!
W
Camera, camera... wait, when did it breakโThat damn Qalid'ฤoa!
Theresa
I'm afraid it wouldn't work here, even if it wasn't broken.
W
...
Theresa
W, I know you don't want to leave any regrets. I am the same.
Theresa
I don't want to leave you thinking I break my promises.
W
Wha?!
Theresa
I still owe you a name, remember?
W
โ?!
Theresa
'W' belongs to a departed Sarkaz, and a cycle that should have ended...
Theresa
As I said, you deserve a more fitting name. A proper name for a Sarkaz woman like yourself.
Theresa
Well, I did want to wait until the dust settled in Kazdel first, but I'm afraid I won't get to see that day come.
W
Wait, Your Highness! Hold on, I, I... still don't get...
W
Give me some time! Wait, no! I should be writing this down!
W
Screw it, I don't care anymore! I'm ready!
Theresa
'Wiลก'adel'.
W
...
Theresa
...Will that be hard to remember?
W
How could it be?
W
'Wiลก'a', and 'del', right? Del means home, that I know. But Wi... wiลก'a...
Theresa
It means to 'Wish'.
W
To wish... for a home.
Theresa
Yes. Kazdel's destinyโcould you witness it, in my stead?
W
But... I... you... Theresis...
Theresa
Kazdel's future is in your hands. Not mine, nor Theresis's.
Theresa
You'll understand when the day comes.
Wiลก'adel
Haha... Alright! Wiลก'adel... Wiลก'aโdel...
Wiลก'adel
It's engraved onto my brain forever. I'll never forget it!
Wiลก'adel
I like it. Sounds so much better than the names Hoederer threw at me from his dictionary.
Wiลก'adel
Kal'tsit, Amiya, and you in the hood. Heard that? Call me Wiลก'adel from now on. And you'd better not get it wrong.
Wiลก'adel
Also, I just decided to head down to the Military Commission later and bomb my name out with explosives. That way, nobody'll ever forget it.
Wiลก'adel
Or maybe the roof's better. I want the flames to spread so far you can even see it from Londinium...
Amiya
Wiลก'a...del.
Wiลก'adel
I know what you want to say. I'm not crying.
Wiลก'adel
I'm shaking because... hehe... hah...
Amiya
...
Kal'tsit
...
Wiลก'adel
*ahem* Why's everyone all quiet now?
Amiya
You.. I... can't find the words to say...
Kal'tsit
Go, Amiya.
Kal'tsit
Before she vanishes completely... she'll be happy with you by her side.
Kal'tsit
Even if she'll never admit it herself.
Amiya
...
Kal'tsit
Doctor, we may be standing against Theresa now, but I have to admit she has achieved something beyond the limits of my imagination.
Kal'tsit
I believe you as you are right now, should already have some conjectures in mind even if you're missing your past memories.
It has something to do with that mysterious person....Priestess...
Kal'tsit
Theresa, our mission is far from being over, yes?
Theresa
...
Kal'tsit
Have you already handed the first Originium to him?
Kal'tsit
...Theresa, this difficult problem you're leaving us with is trulyโ
Theresa
Kal'tsit, things don't always go the way we want. All we have done is to do what we should, nothing more.
Theresa
Doctor, your appearance before me right now is proof I've won our earlier bet.
Theresa...You still hide so many secrets.
Theresa
Hah. Doctor, allow me to instill a little bit more suspense.
Theresa
You're still not ready, even now, even if all of you've surpassed meโ
Theresa
See the ocean waves billowing?
Theresa
We don't have much time left.
Kal'tsit
I always knew our reunion only meant another parting.
Theresa
My dear Kal'tsit, since we're all clear about our respective endings, why should we go through sorrow yet again?
I didn't think we'd get the chance to say our farewells so peacefully.
This is...?I've never been here before.
Theresa
A friend bid farewell to me here, a long time ago.
Theresa
I witnessed my friend's death, and from here I began walking towards my own.
Theresa
...I like this place.
Theresa
But it is also somewhere I cannot reach or visit, ever.
Theresa
It only perpetually exists in the memories of the void, unreachable throughout my whole life.
Theresa
Dr. {@nickname}, what kind of person do I seem to you right nowโ?
Someone who would do everything and anything for the fate of their people.
Theresa
Is that so? Quite the interesting answer.
Theresa
You and me, past and present, what is gone, and what is to come...
Theresa
Time seems to hold no meaning here. Perhaps we have already said something similar at some other point in time.
Theresa
But what you say isn't completely baseless.
Theresa
I was once warned about my future, but I was clear this was my path to tread.
Theresa
I wouldn't give up, no matter if I lived or died, regardless of place and time.
Theresa
However, the very same words coming from you hold no irony at all.
Theresa
Thank you, Doctor.
Someone always chasing after a lofty ideal.
Theresa
What defines a lofty ideal? Who ought to define it?
Theresa
I exacted violence on other races for Sarkaz freedom. I renounced the belief I once defended with my life, and stood against all of you...
Theresa
The Rhodes Island of today has already stepped out of Babel's shadow...
Theresa
Though it has abandoned some concepts Babel once adhered to, for the Sarkaz.
Theresa
You fly peace as your banner, but employ violence to help our oppressors bring back suffering to the Sarkaz.
Theresa
But at the same time, I can't deny your own lofty ideals, just like how I can't deny my past self.
Theresa
Perhaps you believe you completely comprehend what 'lofty' means... but for me, the phrase still weighs too heavy.
Theresa
However, thank you, Doctor.
I... don't know.
Theresa
...
Theresa
I can sense you're not lying right now.
Theresa
But if you're still going to give a perfunctory reply at such a moment... my disappointment will only grow.
Theresa
Of course, a little loss isn't surprising at all. I really want to know your answer, Doctor.
Theresa
Doctor, don't give up on finding the answer. If you're still just following Rhodes Island's ideals as you goโ
Theresa
I worry if you're ready enough to handle whatever it is that you encounter in the future.
Theresa
Just keep going, like how I hoped you would in the past.
...To be honest, I can't give you a proper evaluation.You're still a conundrum to me.
Theresa
You're cautious, still hostile and wary toward me just like you were back then... of course, we stand now on opposing sides like we did before.
Theresa
But no matter. You merely haven't had enough time to figure out each and every single enigma there is.
Theresa
A pity we always have our chats when the clock is ticking down so fast.
I heard so many stories about you on Rhodes Island.
You've done so much.You still have many regrets.
Theresa
My mission is over.
Theresa
Many years ago, you and Kal'tsit pushed a door open for me, to a wider world.
Theresa
But I was already a sovereign to the Sarkaz. I bear their suffering, their fate.
Theresa
My ideals and vision may transcend that sky of nothingness, but the weight of reality still pulled me back down to earth.
Theresa
I was already convinced back then that the person who could change the Sarkaz, or even the future of Terra itself was absolutely not meโit has never been me.
Theresa
A close friend whom I trust the most already predicted this end.
Yes, I had the fortune to meet your 'truest' self.
Theresa
That person was wise, gentle.
Theresa
Though bearing with the heaviest of duty and wearing the strongest of shackles, that one never gave up hope, ever.
Theresa
I'm gratified.
Theresa
You stand alongside Kal'tsit and Amiya now, and so I believe I made the right choice back then.
Theresa
The choices we made on our own have also determined the path to where we are now.
Theresa
Our original meeting in haste was just like this parting between two strangers... was it not?
I can't sense any... resentment from you.
Theresa
Resentment? Why?
Theresa
To this day, I still feel only regret and a longing from when I touched the depths on your soul and the unimaginable truth.
Theresa
Yes... it is because I touched the depths of your heart that I hold so much regret... we lost a chance to walk on the same path.
Theresa
Perhaps that person was so fascinating due to an internal conflict no one else can empathize with.
...Just what kind of person was 'I'?...Speculations, questionsโI can't piece together fully what 'I' was.All this contradictory information is making me feel confused and anxious.
Haven't you noticed? You don't doubt your decisions now.
Theresa
What shapes your true self? Everything that you've experienced, or your already concealed past?
Theresa
Look at where we are, Doctor.
Theresa
Those silent memories and the truth of everything, are they not by your side...?
Originium...
Theresa
Past, present, future. Time is no longer defined by the rules we find so familiar at the end of Originium.
Theresa
You no longer remember...
Theresa
But you told me once, that 'Originium'โ
Theresa
Brought an innumerable amount of suffering upon this land, along with countless possibilities. Created by hundreds of millions of sacrifices in the era you came from.
Theresa
When you created Originium, what expectations did you harbor towards it and this land?
Theresa
Look, at everything recorded inside this golden ocean... do they line up with your expectations?
You see it...
Ursus's inferno, Kjerag's wind and snow, Iberia's tides...
A torrent of information rushes past you, in units of civilizations, from time and space since time immemorial.
You suddenly realizeโ
All the questions I have...All the past I forgot...
Can be answered and found in this field of Originium.
No.......No.
You retract your hands.
It is all that I've gone through that shapes what I am today.
And not my concealed past.
Theresa
You always have a pleasant surprise in store...
Theresa
Doctor... we managed to meet once more while I lie deep in the sea of information after our parting.
Theresa
It is my past, but it is your future.
Theresa
Though you might still be on a path to find yourself, you still want to prove to me that you'reโ
Theresa
'Just as I always have been.'
Theresa
How I wish I could see you find the answers with my own eyes. But I'm sorry... I can't go any further.
Theresa
Doctor, I have to go, and so do you all...
Theresa
If you have no intention of being trapped in this infinite nothingness for all eternity, that is.
We will no longer stay on the other side, Aefanyl.
Theresa
'Logos'. You should get more used to being called by this name.
Theresa
You've made your choice, the choice of a Rhodes Island elite operator.
Logos stands on the endless flow of information, his own figure leaving its mark on the vast ocean.
The slender figure on the other side stands in silence.
Ripples cause her silhouette to waver, no longer clear.
Theresa
When I heard you sound the knell for yourself by the river, I was already waiting for an old friend to appear on this side.
Theresa
*sigh* A pity Laqeramaline is still unwilling to involve herself in this war.
Logos
Mother... she did indeed rescue me from death.
Theresa
With an ingenious method, but one befitting her former character.
Theresa
She has also made her choice, as you have.
Theresa
I saw you confronting the myriad souls, no less impressive than the time your mother and I stood side by side in battle.
Theresa
I'll have no way of seeing her again. Say farewell to her for me, Logos.
Logos
Your Highness, your figure is fadingโ
Theresa
Departure is also a form of resistance. This is what we've chosen for ourselves.
Theresa
Originium shall not cage us here for eternity.
Logos
I... don't understand. Where did the cage come from, and what do you seek for?
Theresa
There's no need to comprehend it, Logos.
Theresa
You need only know the trapped myriad souls are now dissipating into freedom via a complicated flow of information impossible to parse.
Theresa
No longer readable, recordableโ
Logos
'A true death'.
Logos
All kings and heroes will no longer respond to my words, and no longer will anyone be on the other side...
Logos
Your Highness, will the myriad souls still exist after today?
Theresa
No.
Logos
Will there be ferrymen with an array on torches lighting up the other side?
Theresa
No more.
Logos
Then where will our kin go, when they leave us?
Theresa
I don't know... I'm afraid it's too late for me to find that answer.
Theresa
I've walked to the end, and the truth of civilization lies before me in fog. There is no way for me to touch it, but it does not mean the rest of you cannot cross it.
Logos
Your Highness...?
Theresa
*chuckle* I've just unloaded the burden of worrying for the future. What the myriad souls care about is only the Sarkaz.
Theresa
'From death comes new life'... you understand the inevitability of fate, but you have yet to clearly perceive the truth of death.
Theresa
The myriad souls are no longer our shackles, and Originium will no longer be the sin we bear.
Theresa
Logos, our departure also serves as our liberation.
Theresa
No longer will there be prolonged indignant murmuring for a myriad years, nor an unforgettable legacy of suffering to be inherited.
Theresa
For the first time we have a future that can be changed.
We were cleaning up the battlefield when we so fortunately found you...
Nadine
General... we failed to recapture the 'Lifebone'.
Manfred
...
Manfred
Am I the only one here?
Manfred
Ascalon...
Nadine
General, your wounds...
Nadine
We'll bring you back to camp for treatment right now.
Manfred
No.
Manfred
We missed our chance, and time is no longer on our side. Our top priority now is to return to Londinium and discuss our next move of our plan with the Regent.
Manfred
Contact the spy sentries ahead to cooperate with us, and prepare to cross this warzone.
Nadine
General! Look at the blood dripping nonstop... you're in terrible shape! The Military Commission can't afford to lose another high-ranking officer!
Yours, the newborns, and the dying ones... here, we can hear the voice of every Sarkaz...
The souls are stranded in an ocean of unconsciousness, shouting our names before they drown as they await guidance.
In a present no longer recorded anywhere in time, the name we respond to the most... is 'Theresa'.
I can hear the raging rumbling from skeletons that fell from the sea of stars into the ice field ten thousand years ago. Unknown, dreadful, terrifying.
We have ended the oppression that was branded into our blood from that time onward... No, we have yet to do so.
We questioned ourselves: Did our resistance hold any meaning then?
The myriad souls who never gave up resisting until they completely dissipated, did one last thing for the Sarkaz within the Originiumโ
Theresa
They fought for a future where everyone has a right to survive, for the ones still alive.
Theresa
...
Theresa
Onward, everyone.
That day, a certain exhausted Sarkaz girl fell into a deep sleep within the warm flames of the Kazdel Soul Furnace for some reason.
She dreamed of her mother far away in a foreign country, standing in light within the pitch-black darkness speaking to her.
She couldn't hear her clearly, but she did not cry either. Because she saw her mother smile. Then, she woke up, opened her eyes, and saw a pure white flower in full bloom by her head.
The black dust from the forge burning death landed on the fragile flower petals, but it unexpectedly highlighted the flower's dazzling vitality even more instead.
Here, death and light congregate. The girl shed tears at the beauty created by setting death aflame.
After that day, Sarkaz passing by the Soul Furnace would see a girl show up every single day to water a flower growing in the Originium dust and bones with drops of dew.
She offered tribute to the light until the day that flower withered and died.
'Is that how the story ends...? Why is it so sad, Theresa?'
'Sad? I actually see it as a happy tale of hope arriving, Amiya.'
'The flower withered, returned to dust. But the seed of new life has already been sown.'
Wiลก'adel
...Did the revenant get left behind?
Kal'tsit
No, the myriad souls never took in revenants.
Kal'tsit
Even if he regathers his thoughts, his intrinsically Originium-influenced self cannot be reversed or changed.
Kal'tsit
So he was never to depart with the myriad souls.
Wiลก'adel
So Her Highness never planned to take him away from here either?
Kal'tsit
I have no way of knowing.
Wiลก'adel
Heh... so it's not like Her Highness can't lie...
Wiลก'adel
I didn't expect you to end up in my hands, old fossil.
Amiya
There's no reason to harm him anymore, W.
Wiลก'adel
I told you to call me Wiลก'adel!
Wiลก'adel
Relax, bunny. I'm not going to smash him to bits... I'm just taking him away with me.
Wiลก'adel
He already died once, so it's not hard to guess why Her Highness let him remain here.
Wiลก'adel
Up 'til her death she always craved for the Sarkaz to unite, so her plan for the revenants is super simpleโ
Wiลก'adel
To first live like people. Well, even if he no longer looks anything like one.
Wiลก'adel
You don't have to set everything on fire. Your mission ended a long time ago, so leave the rest to more capable people. Like me, for example...
Wiลก'adel
Bah, just stay in this weapon for the time being, yeah?
'Do you still remember the story about the puppet, Amiya? He went into a river of tears, and sank to the riverbed...'
'Grief, despair... But it doesn't mean it's a true ending set in stone. You can always continue a story for as long as you want, but what's more important, is the storyteller.'
'The storyteller... are you talking about yourself, Theresa?'
'Me? No... Amiya, I'd prefer the storyteller be you.'
Amiya
Hold on, do we have go back to where we came from to leave? Is that possible?
Kal'tsit
We won't have time. This place is changing faster than I expected.
Wiลก'adel
So what are you and the crone planning? How the hell are we leaving this place?
I'm still trying to figure that out!
Wiลก'adel
(Takes out explosives)
Amiya
Wiลก'adel! Calm down!
Kal'tsit
Doctor, I cannot tell you how to leave this place. The secrets in here are beyond even me.
Kal'tsit
But I believe Theresa definitely mentioned a piece of key information to you.
Wiลก'adel
NOW WHAT?!
Amiya
Doctor, Dr. Kal'tsit! These roots are breaking apart, and... floating upwards?!
'Theresa, what if... the puppet was never alone in the first place...? Maybe his companions were waiting for him down there all along!'
'Just like us. Doctor, Dr. Kal'tsit, and you... and everyone in Babel!'
'Little people made of pebbles, white, black, green, red... a whole lot of them!'
'They'll surround the puppet and bring him far away following the fierce river watersโ'
