Story Reader / Main Story / 29 Source Beacon / Story
With the simple ceremony complete, new tombstones and fresh hopes hang from the branches.
You've got everything packed? We need to leave soon.
I'm sure we're gonna find ourselves a new home...
Bzzz—Commandant!
The terminal suddenly sends in Lucia's faint and distorted voice.
Bzzz—there's a Red Tide ahead! And we picked up a sign of a bunch of—bzzz—Hetero-Creatures!
The Red Tide is—bzzz—rising! It's coming your—bzzz—way!
Copy—bzzz—
You can't help but wonder why the reception is as poor as it is when Lucia is supposedly not that far from where you are.
Having no time to contemplate, you relay the news to Liv and Lucille right away.
There's no time. We have to get out of here immediately...
Let's go and get the supplies we have stored up in the back.
Lucille wastes no time heeding the call.
We're out of time!
Lucille waves you off before starting to pass down commands. The severely injured, elderly, and children board the large vehicle. Most of the young and able-bodied individuals head toward the supplies at the back.
Is there anything else that needs to be done?
You vaguely recall that this old gentleman was rescued by Lucia from the Red Tide.
Ah, I haven't had the chance to thank you yet. If it weren't for you, I probably...
He points to his bandaged leg and palm, which were mildly ulcerated from contact with the Red Tide's shallows.
Living may feel pointless, but at least I am still breathing and have something to hope for.
Is there anything I can do? I'm not as badly injured as the others. I can still move.
You're still recovering... You shouldn't be doing this kind of work.
Hey, it's alright, I can still walk.
These items go here. I'll push them over.
But...
Ha, don't worry. At least I can still walk.
If we move quickly, the chances of meeting or rescuing Garry will increase, even if just a little.
He's a good lad. I even promised him I'd help him find a girlfriend later.
...
Don't worry. Go do what you need to do. I'll be fine.
It's okay to be rescued, but we can't just sit around and wait for others to save us.
This land is yours as much as it is ours. In today's world, there are no true survivors.
Alright, leave this to me.
You should take a break, young lady. You've been working for a while now. Even Constructs need to take care of themselves.
...
Liv stands frozen in place.
Not far away, young and able-bodied refugees have already salvaged the first batch of supplies and loaded them onto the large vehicle.
Lucia hurries back from scouting and assists you in helping the refugees with the first batch of supplies and the injured.
Is it because this group of refugees in particular has a lot of supplies?
No... it's not that.
The little girl sucks her finger. Her longing gaze falls onto the compressed biscuits among the rescue supplies.
Well, then I presume it's because things on Earth have gotten better?
No... That's not it, either.
With the Red Tide and Hetero-Creatures surging in, humans now face a shrinking living space.
In this world, no one is truly a survivor...
She mumbles, repeating the old man's words.
Commandant?
The young girl's eyes are firm and clear.
Hey... you're severely injured... Don't move! Your leg needs to be held in place!
Before she even finishes what she has to say, another wounded person draws her attention.
The retreat operation continues orderly with everyone's help.
Lucia has secured a safe location. Before the Red Tide flooded the previous settlement, the Gray Raven team had already relocated with this group of refugees to an area far from the Red Tide.
Just as they are settling down, a group of unexpected individuals approaches the camp.
Is... is this place safe?
We... There are 13 of us. Can we rest here for a while?
Just a quick rest. We won't use any of your resources. We'll leave as soon as we're done resting...
The elderly woman nervously rubs her hands on her mud-stained clothes.
Don't worry. This area is safe—for now, at least.
We've already sent scouts to check the area. You can rest easy here!
Lucille points the elderly woman away from their supply tents. One by one, disheveled refugees emerge from the forest behind her.
Finally, a place to rest...
A Construct?!
Seeing Liv bandaging the wounded, the tall refugee jumps up in surprise.
Yes. I mean, we wouldn't have been here without them...
Why? Why didn't you guys show up sooner?!
Why... why did you withdraw the patrol nearby?!
Why? Why!
If only you guys had come to our rescue from that way... and if only you had shown up sooner...!
Then she wouldn't have died!
The man roars, shaking with rage.
If only you had come a bit earlier, just a bit earlier... she wouldn't have died... My mom...
I don't want to see her in the Red Tide. What am I supposed to do...
Exhausted, he falls to his knees and cries out in anguish.
The camp falls into a dead silence.
Sigh... so did my husband...
Feeling the sorrow, another weary refugee begins to sob quietly.
Why is Babylonia's rescue team always late...
Nobody would have chosen to be born into a world like this had they had a choice...
...
Having grown accustomed to such accusations, they know that silence is their best response.
The patrol... was withdrawn because Constructs are susceptible to the virus, too.
You wouldn't want to battle infected Constructs while dealing with the Red Tide, would you?
...
But that doesn't mean Babylonia can just abandon humans on Earth.
He jumps up in anger and clenches his fists tightly, but is unsure whom to direct his anger at.
Hey! It's not like that.
Lucille gently holds his clenched fist and softly loosens his stiff, dirt-covered fingers.
We're not giving up on anyone, and that's why we came.
Cry if you need to. Grief is a divine right given to humanity, and tears are the proof of the lives once lived.
The sun will rise again, right?
In times like this, food is the best comfort for sorrow.
The friction between the two groups of refugees quickly subsides. Soon they are sitting around the bonfire and sharing a pot of steaming wild vegetable soup.
Are you... Liv?
Ah, yes, I'm Liv, and you are...?
Didn't think I'd run into you here!
Do you remember conservation area 043? You... you saved me once!
I, I followed you to conservation area 046. I was going to head back to conservation area 043 to meet with you guys when I heard you'd defeated the two monsters, but...
The refugee pauses.
I... I came to thank you!
I don't think I would have survived without the last bit of serum you gave me...
Here... I've got a little something for you.
What's...
It's the serum tube... You saved me when you poured out the last bit of the serum and cleaned it with saline.
I kept this bottle, filled it with soil from the basement, and planted a seed I found in a crack in a car.
And...
This is what it's like now.
Planted in the glass tube, the delicate green shoot wobbles, looking every bit as fragile as it is resilient.
Thank you, but I don't think I can take th...
The refugee, however, turns and disappears into the crowd before Liv even finishes what she has to say.
...
The crowd huddles for warmth by the bonfire, but the one person they wished to see is absent.
Well... she's probably fine-tuning her vehicle... See, that one over there.
Walking toward where Elean is pointing, you find an orange-haired woman humming a tune as she scrubs the dirt off her vehicle.
Geez... These traces of the Red Tide are sure hard to get rid of.
Pretty sure Mika would have known what to do had she been here...
Huh?
Holy... Hey, Gray Raven Commandant!
Wow... Didn't know commandants have names, too! I thought you were all just called Commandant 1, Commandant 2, and so on...
Huh? What?
Thanks for speaking up tonight.
See, we're not terribly good at handling things like these.
Oh, that? It's nothing.
There's no point in putting blame. Their sorrow is justified, but you haven't done anything wrong.
As someone who benefited from your rescue, I couldn't directly take your side and speak up for you back then.
I mean, I probably would have been the one crying had your transport craft landed over there.
Eh... Sorry, was that a bad joke?
Sometimes Mika says I can't read the room... Sigh.
We've had our fair share of encounters like the one from today, but it never gets easier when you see people suffering.
Had there been no Red Tide... Had there been no Hetero-Creatures...
Had the Punishing Virus never even happened in the first place...
These people would have been living the most ordinary of lives in this world, no?
There's no need to beat yourself up over things from so long ago... There's no "what if" in this world, right?
Most of the refugee groups on Earth dislike Babylonia because of the Great Evacuation.
I don't know if it's because I was too young to remember things, or if it's because my thoughts of what life was like back then haven't really changed...
But I always find Earth more livable and comfortable than Babylonia.
Calling it Babylonia makes it sound nicer than it is when it's just a cage hanging in the sky.
Well, let's not forget that you've got to deal with all the Corrupted and Hetero-Creatures on Earth...
Babylonia isn't absolutely safe, is it?
The crimson spiral tower flashes in your mind. Lucille senses the answer from your silence and smiles.
Hey, look.
In this world, no one is truly a survivor.
Babylonia is good in some ways and so is Earth.
Constructs fight endlessly for humanity to return to Earth, and humans should do their part, too.
With our hands, our minds, our vehicles... We don't need anyone to pity us. We can save ourselves.
We will survive, no matter what.
Our civilization will forever be rooted in Earth.
She hums a song as she continues to polish her beloved vehicle.
...
Back at the bonfire, Liv is calculating the expansion speed and direction of the Red Tide.
The Red Tide... is completely random.
The current expansion speed of the Red Tide is almost three to four times faster than before, and its direction is completely unpredictable.
Judging from the pattern of the last "tide", the route I scouted this morning should be safe.
Well...
It's a good thing that Commandant had me scout ahead, or else we would have all been seriously screwed.
Completely random.
Red Tide... Hetero Zone... Expansion...
An eerie sense of deja vu, M.I.N.D., anomaly...
All these ideas pop into your mind, but you can't quite seem to connect the dots.
Bzzz—
Right then, the terminal lets out a buzz.
Strange... even the signal booster isn't working...
Could it be that Babylonia's communication satellite is malfunctioning?
The terminal struggles to connect to the video call. Asimov appears on the screen, the dark circles on his face making him look gloomier than usual.
...We ain't got no time for jokes.
I've requested a transfer order from Nikola. A transport craft from the nearest conservation area is already on its way to pick you up.
Well, you will in no time.
A mission update pops up on your terminal.
In short, we're planning to add an external interface to the Inver-Device and connect it to Gestalt, which is going to amplify consciousness and enhance the Inver-Device's processor.
After receiving the so-called "Dominik's Invitation" from Qu, you had a lengthy encrypted conversation with Asimov.
Based on Qu's description, Asimov deduced that "Dominik" might be a set of data stored within Gestalt that entered Huaxu's simulation through Gestalt itself.
Well...
Hmm.
Asimov gives you a long, thoughtful look.
So far, you're the only Commandant who has engaged in operations within Gestalt. We need you to collaborate with the Constructs for this experiment.
The test model has been validated. Success rate went from 64.13% to 69.29%.
As long as the probability isn't zero, there's a chance it can be done.
The transport craft will arrive in about five minutes. Get ready.
I'll fill you in on the specifics once we're back in Babylonia.
With it, Asimov ends the call.
I've received a new mission order to help the refugees enter the Clean Zone with Liv.
Commandant...
Lucia and Liv seem worried.
...We'll all see one another again.
The sun will shine once more.
With one phase of the experiment temporarily complete, the team members hurry off to take a rest. Teddy sits alone with a blank face behind the unfinished prototype while going through her terminal.
Tsk... Ain't got nothing on Victoria, huh?
That's just sad.
You even have the old man to help you...
She lowers her gaze, apparently recalling something unpleasant.
Christina, what's buried there is the seed of civilization.
Your father went on a great mission.
You must follow his path, trace his footsteps, and bring back his legacy.
Only Dominik, only Dominik... can lead humanity back to Earth.
...Bunch of nonsense.
Can a faith pursued with flesh and bones find its way to divinity?
Even if Dominik once led Norman Mining Corp to great heights...
Pale blue data shines in the pink-haired Construct's eyes as she focuses her attention on the screen.
Leonardo, you better have a way to stop them...
Or else...
The codes in her terminal flicker as the pre-set interception program quickly captures the necessary information.
Project Herald cannot be reinitiated, no matter what...
Absurd beliefs should not be revisited, nor should meaningless sacrifices be glorified.
She intercepts the information she needs and ponders for a moment before forwarding it.
