Liberi Reader

There's an entrance here. Hm, it doesn't look like the builders intended for this to be here.

The edges are pretty rough, like it was hacked open with an axe. Perhaps the bounty hunters did this? I heard some of them like to come 'treasure hunting' here.

That's probably because they aren't Iberians...

Right, ruins like this one are more than 'toxic' to those who got out of that alive.

As for the ones that stayed behind... The Church, the Inquisition... They have no way to make it here.

They already pay too high a price, and they wouldn't want to see any of this.

It's just like how I never wanted to look at my legs when I was a kid. No matter how much I tried, they just couldn't run. Iberia as it is now doesn't want to see any of these broken parts.

Look at you, using yourself as an analogy again. I'm starting to feel bad.

Hm, I can tell you are joking this time.

Electromagnetic Pulse Field released.

So, should we go up? Or down?

Your call.

I'm thinking up. I'm not entirely sure why, but I feel up is the way to go. This place is like... a tower.

A tower? How tall do you think it is? The part that stands above ground is at most three stories. What could its purpose be?

In that case, I guess we should go down.

Hm?

You just reminded me that we have no idea how far down it might go.

Let's find out, then. And don't worry. I got your back.

That puts my mind at ease, though I do hope we won't end up in a fight.

Hm, it's dark in here.

The lighting system is busted.

You can't fix it?

The Iberian technology here is several decades old. Their wiring is nothing like Raythean's. If you gave me a few days...

Don't worry about it, then. We'll let Closure and Engineering worry about it later. We won't be staying in this coffin pit for long.

Coffin?

It's an analogy, or maybe not. There is a foul stench lingering in this building.

It's been abandoned for years, and then it was flooded with seawater and buried by mud...

Shh.

Hm?

Say, if we don't talk, do you suppose we'll hear ghosts screaming?

G-Ghosts...?

Oh, it's just a joke. Try not to tug so hard on my clothes. I like this new outfit a lot.

Oh... We should switch on our portable Originium lamps.

Now it's much brighter.

Hm...

You seem to be a big fan of these technological ruins.

This kind of technology only existed in the coastal towns of the past. You don't see them much in Iberia these days.

What... are they for?

For observation? To relay signals? Or could it be... for sightseeing?

Perhaps it was for locking people up.

Possibly...

When we look at the Iberia of the past, we some see the technology that they left behind, like gold covered in dust.

Yet, during those radiant times, there were countless bones buried underneath El Dorado.

I'm sorry...

What are you apologizing for? The bones of the Ægirs who took my ancestors away to Iberia have long been eroded by the sea waves.

I don't hate Iberia, nor do I hate the Ægir people. Now, I suppose I don't even hate myself as much anymore. This is all thanks to the Doctor and you, Glau.

Does this technology... give you any bad memories?

All I care about is whether this place will be of any use to Rhodes Island.

In the end, this is what we are here for, no?

Right... We're here to scout out the surroundings, to analyze the data, and to confirm what we can retrieve.

Too bad that this place has been torn apart inside and out, though. If it was just the time and the environment, the parts wouldn't be this wrecked.

Look at this part here. It went so far... Ah!

What's wrong? Why did you pull out your Franker all of a sudden...?

T-There's a ghost!

A ghost...? You mean the shadow in the path ahead?

It isn't moving. Doesn't seem to be alive.

Judging from his getup... It seems he was a bounty hunter.

We haven't made it very far from the entrance. Perhaps he was the one who cracked it open, and he died here after he came inside.

Oh, I see.

Wait, let's not get any closer yet.

Hm?

We still don't know how he died.

You think it could be dangerous?

A bounty hunter died so close to the entrance.

We'll have to watch out for whatever killed him.

Hm...

Stand back a little more.

I can smell... the scent of the seawater.

Seawater? We're pretty far away from the shore.

......

You don't mean...

Okay, it's just some seagrass.

It's a full skeleton. No sign that he was eaten by any monsters, and there are no other fatal injuries.

*Sniffs*

No trace of any common toxins that could lead to death either.

Judging from his posture, he likely got himself tied up in the seagrass and drowned.

I don't see any water, though. It's dry everywhere.

Take a closer look at the rust left on the wall.

Hm... I can see some areas are more rusted than others.

So this place was flooded twice, then?

The seawater destroyed the building the first time around. Whatever its function was, that was when it failed. The second time, the seawater gushed into this place again, flooding its insides once more.

And this poor bastard happened to be in here at the time. He likely thought he'd hit the jackpot, and was happily tearing away at the things in the wall.

He didn't manage to escape in time when the seawater began to flood the building, and the seagrass had his arms and legs caught. He lost his life after struggling for a while.

You can't really blame him. He was a Kuranta.

Poor guy... They don't know the strength of the sea.

The Doctor once mentioned that research on the ocean is for the most part done only by a handful of oceanologists. It's not a very popular field.

Well, it's not really that strange. We are only interested in the things that we can see and conquer.

Perhaps... the Iberia of the past was the sole exception.

It's all in the past. I haven't seen the ocean myself either.

Hm... I'm not even sure why you're so sensitive to the scent of seawater.

Have you heard that rumor?

Ugh...

About the disasters?

We... don't talk about that. That's not allowed in Iberia.

You're all used to avoiding the subject.

It's hard to kick your habits. We don't talk much about... our homeland at Rhodes Island. Besides, each of us has a different impression of that incident, and sometimes even about that whole area.

I've talked to Weedy about it. Both of us are Ægirs who grew up in Iberia, and I've come to realize the Iberia in her eyes is totally different from the one I see.

That's nothing strange, no? If you are not allowed to discuss the incident, then the only thing you will remember of it is the small fragment that you saw with your own eyes.

They... are taking the chance to piece the fragments together, from the people.

Hm, there's only the two of us now. I could talk about it, but... I'm afraid to do that. It's like something has my throat blocked.

I'm worried that as soon as I talk, the shadows cast on the path here will charge toward me.

And I say that even though I know it's just shadows cast by the Originium lamp.

Shadows... What a fine analogy. They skillfully redirect everyone's attention away, such that they fear the shadows rather than the enormous truth that lies behind.

It's so cold... but I'm sweating.

In the past, I would never even imagine that I could stand here and talk to you about this.

Everyone feels that way.

I suppose this pitch-black, sealed-off building is protecting us.

There's a dead body here, and we don't know what lies ahead. But this keeps me even more at ease than a wide open space.

The walls here give us a false sense of security, a sense that everything's under our control.

You're right. At least there isn't another pair of eyes staring at us.

Now I'm not sure about that.

Stop trying to scare me...

Okay, okay. I'll stop. Back to the topic of the disaster. The Inquisition isn't actually to blame for that decision. The decision to not talk about that was made by the Ægirs who came ashore.

Huh?

I guess it was a form of self protection.

Self... protection?

Do you know why the Ægirs came ashore?

I... don't know. I thought we were meant to be here to begin with, though it seems most Iberians don't agree with that.

I'm not too familiar either.

Yeah... but you know more than we do, at the very least.

It's funny. The history slowly disappeared from the Ægirs' memories, and we are the ones who still remember any of it.

My ancestors were taken away by the Ægirs some hundred years ago. They wanted the 'toxic' ability that we are born with.

Why... is that?

They kept extracting the toxins for experiments. They were trying to figure out whether these subterranean toxins could be used as some kind of weapon...

What were they trying to attack with that?

I have no idea. How could I have seen it? From my elders tell me, it was an enormous, terrifying monster that doesn't exist on land.

It's from the sea...

All I can say is that's extraordinarily likely.

I thought about asking the Doctor or Dr. Kal'tsit... or even the hunters directly.

Once, I happened upon Operator Skadi. This question immediately rose to the top of my mind.

I doubt she'd tell you...

Right, I don't think so either, and I didn't ask her in the end.

I'm not sure I have the courage to find out the truth...

Just like the Ægirs who came ashore, it took them several hundred years to forget that fear. That's how they could finally put down roots with their minds at ease to slowly become a part of Iberia.

No one would cast aside a new life they earned for themselves to fight what could be an endless war. Especially not when nobody knows when that disaster would actually strike, and when it actually strikes, everything could still be futile.

Even I wish that I could live a new life, even after the Doctor has taught me so much.

In that case... perhaps we should turn back, then?

We can still make it.

Perhaps.

You're still going straight ahead...

Oh, you're right. I'm still going straight.

Thinking back, after all these years, I haven't once thought of giving up my abilities to use my toxin.

Perhaps I've never managed to break free of the souls of those Ægirs who enslaved my ancestors, and, deep down in my heart, I believe that the toxins in me will get the enemies they're meant for.

How far down have we come?

I lost track.

Me too.

This tower is deeper than I expected... Uh, taller. The confined space here is disrupting our senses.

Oh, I think I'm hallucinating.

What did you see?

(Blinks)

A light up ahead.

......

And it's slowly floating upwards.

!

(Quietly) Switch your light off!

(Let's get closer. Slowly now, don't surprise them.)

(Is it a threat?)

(Prepare for combat...)

(Franker at the ready.)

(Okay, we'll be making contact soon. There's a corner up ahead. Watch my hand. I'll knock three times. On the count of three—)

Franker, maximum power!

W-Wait!

Amplifying microwave—

I mean no harm!

Hm?

*Cough*... Oww... hit my back... what a shockwave...

Please don't do that again...

If it's mercy you want, you should stop casting, Caster.

Uh, you mean my light? N-No, you're mistaken. This is just for lighting up my surroundings.

I defended myself on reflex. Please believe me! I don't want to hurt you at all!

No wonder... it feels kind of warm... and bright... Nothing about it makes me feel sick.

Glau, don't let your guard down just yet.

Her Originium Arts are not to be underestimated. This seems a little special, even.

Hm...

P-Put it down, please! Could you also move your bolt away from my neck...? Just a little, please?

I... I'm too scared to even breathe now... *Whimpers*...

I can lower my crossbow.

But you need to drop your staff too. If you try anything funny, believe me, your reflexes are no match for my bolts.

Okay...

Originium lamp.

Alright.

So that light was yours...

Are you after us?

No, that isn't what I meant.

I was waiting down below. There's no one else here, and when I saw your light, I thought maybe somebody decided to check this place out, so I started climbing the stairs to meet this guest.

You said you've been here for a while. Who are you?

Oh, I forgot to introduce myself... Um, my name is Aria.

Well, Aria, are you an Iberian?

Yes. Why, is it obvious?

I figured I'd ask. If you'd said no, I would've guessed Columbian or Victorian. I have my ways to make you talk.

Why, that's sending chills down my spine...

You're an Iberian and a Caster, and your Originium Arts work as a light. Are you affiliated with the Inquisition?

The Inquisition? No, no, no! I haven't ever met them.

What are you doing here, then?

(Isn't this almost an interrogation? We're just here to check this place out.)

(It's more efficient to ask her directly. Besides, it doesn't seem like she noticed anything's off yet.)

Mmm... What am I doing here again?

Why, I'm not actually so sure myself...

Hm? Do you have amnesia, perhaps?

No, of course not. I remember how I got here and that I spent the last couple days here.

Two days ago, I asked a local about any opportunities to make some money in the area. I needed work... Otherwise I would go hungry.

He took the last few coins I had and told me I could come seek riches here.

(Sounds like she ran into a con man...)

......

He might've mistaken you for a bounty hunter.

A lot of bounty hunters used to come to this area in the past. You have a staff, and you, well... you look like you are from a rather well off family, by your appearance. They may have thought you an aristocratic young lady looking for adventure.

Oh... Is that it? So they misunderstood me...

(They probably didn't... They could tell right away what a gullible girl you are.)

(Smiles)

I-Is that funny?

No, my friend here may be a little shy around strangers, but she seems to be worried about you.

*Cough*...

Huh? W-Why, thanks! It's okay. I'm just lost, and since I saw a lighthouse here, I thought I'd come rest in here a little...

Huh?

I-I was lost, yes...

No, that isn't what I was asking. You said this used to be a lighthouse?

Oh, yes. You can find lighthouses everywhere in Iberia. Have you never seen one before?

(Shakes head)

Hm... Perhaps they're only seen along the coastline. I've been away for about half a year now, and the towns farther from the coast don't have lighthouses.

Did you grow up by the sea?

Yes, and not far away from here. It's a small town, so you probably haven't heard of it.

How is it doing...?

Okay... I guess?

There aren't that many people, so we all got along well. My teacher said we were lucky. The sea's disasters spared our home.

Phew... That's great.

Well... except our lighthouse. Ever since that day, our lighthouse has never lit up again.

Since that day?

Right, that one day several decades ago. The day when disaster struck.

In that one brief moment, the entire Iberian coastline was shrouded in darkness.

Ever since... it's never lit up again.

Aria, you seem rather familiar with lighthouses.

Why, that's because I grew up in one.

In a lighthouse like this...?

Please don't get the wrong idea. My town's lighthouse is in much better condition. There wasn't a lot of damage, it just won't light up anymore.

The mechanical parts, the central control system, the power circuits, the automation core, the outside wall Hologram emitter, and the wireless communications were all fine.

My teacher would take me around the lighthouse every day to inspect and maintain everything, according to the manual. We even repaired the outside walls regularly.

Why, I can confidently say that, aside from the aging materials, our lighthouse is in just as great a condition as it was decades ago.

That's amazing...

Your eyes light up when you're talking about your lighthouse... Just like when I talk to anyone else about Franker.

Do you and your teacher manage lighthouses?

Oh, I'm sorry if I forgot to mention. Yes, my teacher is a glorious lighthouse keeper.

As for me... I'm afraid I'm not there yet... A lighthouse only needs one official keeper, and I, uh, I'm just an apprentice...

And it's been so long since I left... so I guess I'm not even an apprentice anymore. *Sigh*...

You left long ago, but you still remember all the steps like the back of your hand.

That's because I recite them before bed every night!

......

You really love your job, Aria.

I want to see the scenery my teacher described to me. It was something her teacher had described to her too.

Under the night sky, a multitude of intersecting courses in the sea lit up by the lighthouse.

All the grand drilling rigs and sea forts glimmering in the dark as ships large and small come and go in their surroundings... It was far more bustling than any city on land and far more radiant than even when the sun burned its brightest...

If you got close enough, you could even see the underwater cities that the Iberian Ægirs built along the continental shelf.

—

All of this was possible thanks to the thousands of lighthouses that stood on the Iberian coastline.

Now, disaster struck our energy system. None of the lighthouses can ever light up again as they once did.

Yet my teacher and I stayed to tend to the lighthouse.

Every night, my teacher would try to light it. The signal lamp doesn't work, so we made a new light source.

Our light source may not be able to stand in for a real lighthouse and illuminate the whole sea around us, only a small corner.

And ships may long have stopped sailing the sea—

But we are still here.

......

And you'll be there to watch the lighthouse even if the coast will remain forever silent?

Yes, we will.

This is the top of the lighthouse.

I inspected it a couple days ago. The lighthouse is in a really bad shape... There was hardly anything left of it before.

This is the only thing still here.

What is it...?

It's a kind of energy core that Iberian lighthouses use. The most advanced technology they use... and also the first to be destroyed.

Is it broken?

The original technology was lost... Neither I nor my teacher could restore its design. Without the complete energy system, we don't have a way to use the core to its full potential.

Perhaps... Hm... If you don't mind, I would like to take this back to Rhodes Island and inspect it with Closure.

Oh... I'm not saying I have a good grasp of this... Iberian technologies from those days have some really special wiring... Just like this core. All I can tell is that it's not based around Originium technology.

It doesn't use Originium as its energy source?

Not quite. It most likely still uses Originium for its energy, but... the foundation of the technology is very different. I'm even thinking that perhaps Originium energy isn't the best power source for this device.

Oh!

W-What's the matter? Is what I am talking about too boring...?

Can you really light up the lighthouse again?

I think it's worth a try. It may take a while.

I... I think I want to come with you.

Huh?

Does that Rhodes Island you two are talking about need people like me? I don't know much... but... I'll work as hard as I can.

Ugh...

First, you need a resume.

What's a resume? I...

Mm... Weird... Why, I'm feeling kind of dizzy...

Huh?

She passed out. What's the matter?

(Shrugs)

Oh... did she get poisoned?

Here I was thinking that Phidia is immune to my toxins, like you are.

Though it looks like it just took longer for it to affect her.

(How should I say this? Perhaps her body isn't special in anyway. She's just... a little slow?)

(Let's not analyze this right now. D-Do you have an antidote? You're out on a mission with me alone, so you got to have one, right...?)

Relax. The paralysis is temporary.

Let's head outside. She should come around after she gets a little breeze.

Disable EMP field.

Finally! How are you, ladies? Have you run into any trouble?

Only a brief interlude...

*Cough*...

Oh, you're finally awake?

Sorry, it seems like I fell asleep...

You came back around sooner than I expected.

—

No need to worry. Our investigation was a success.

So why can I hear a third person? Sounds like a young lady with whom I've not had the pleasure...

We met her at the mission location. Her name is Aria, and she gave us some valuable information. She'll be coming with us to Rhodes Island to hand PR her resume.

Ah, well, let me welcome you in advance!

H-Hello...

Right, in conclusion, this was a lighthouse.

Hm? A lighthouse? Did I hear that right? Our informant said it was 'really complicated by the looks.'

(I thought it was some important facility...)

It was built before that disaster in Iberia.

I get it now...

The inner structure is still pretty intact, though the related technologies suffered heavy damage. We don't know for sure how much we can retrieve from here.

And let the engineering team following this up know—

This place has the potential to become a new Rhodes Island office.

Okay...

*Sigh*... If this actually ends up becoming a new office, I will probably have to run back and forth all the time, won't I?

And it's so close to that place too...

Well, I guess we don't exactly have much choice. We aren't the only ones that need this, either. The informant said there's been some refugees who escaped the destroyed towns to the south. They have a tough journey ahead, and they'll need someone to look out for them.

Right. Perhaps this lighthouse... will end up being fairly useful.

We can provide medical services for the Infected in the area and help those in need, and we can... watch the tides that draw towards the land closer and closer day after day.

It may not shine upon the area anymore... but it can still watch over this coastline.