Story Reader / Main Story / 30 Stars Ensnared / Story
April 5th—One year after the disappearance of the Gray Raven Commandant, and eight months before Gestalt data wall would be torn down.
Lamia returns to Luna with a bag of nuts after escaping from the underwater incident.
...Miss Luna, I am sorry for being late. I took a detour to get some gifts.
Luna looks at the bag of nuts in Lamia's hands and lets out a soft sigh.
Is this all you got back?
It... is quite a long story.
Get to the point.
There's... there's more to it, but it's complicated.
...
She examines the timid mermaid before her. Lamia's nature seems to have subtly shifted in the past few months. She now cares about gifts and has a larger vocabulary.
Miss Luna, you already know what happened by the sea... don't you?
Roland got back before you did. He told me everything.
I... I ruined Vonnegut's plans. Do you think he might... take revenge while you're still recovering...?
Don't worry so much. You know how meticulous he is, so he would have stopped you right from the start if you really ruined his plan.
His absence alone proves he is still hiding something.
I might not be particularly close to him, but we're both Ascendants, so there's no need for a fight.
The girl imprisoned within the crystal takes another look at Lamia and the nuts in her hand.
Is this all you have to say?
I... um...
The mermaid finally gathers her courage to tell Luna about what happened under the sea. She talks without looking at Luna for half an hour while peeling nuts.
Anyway... that's how it is...
Lamia carefully offers Luna some nuts.
...
Under Lamia's evasive gaze, Luna lets out a sigh but accepts the gift.
I wanted to bring back the egg, but "Cthylla" linked "her" to herself instead.
...The egg stopped responding after that battle. It became just like any other Hetero-Creature.
And then Cinderelik in the egg said... she wanted to save her memories of the Cthylla Project for Babylonia, so I...
Cthylla was trying to stop you from taking the living egg even at the very end.
...I...
Don't blame yourself. The intelligence you found is far more valuable than that dead egg.
Also, Vonnegut created it. He would never have let you deliver it to Babylonia if the egg was still alive and had any value.
...Y-you're right. Lilith was very close to me... If she wanted to stop me, she would have already...
They fall silent for a moment.
What should we do about the re-filtering process?
Lamia, how much do you know about Hetero-Creatures?
Before obtaining the egg, she thought Hetero-Creatures and the Corrupted were similar, but now she knows better.
A Hetero-Creature... is what remains when an individual is recycled and reconstructed by the Punishing.
...To control the Punishing is to influence Hetero-Creatures to some extent, and to determine what forms they take.
To pass the filtering, first you must maintain your sense of self.
Usually humans are ripped apart when their consciousnesses enter the Punishing. Only a few survive, and that's why we remain so low in numbers.
This "survival" requires not only mind stability but also favorable opportunities and conditions.
In contrast, the Ascension-Network determines who controls the Punishing by simply seeking out entities with greater information "weight."
This is why we used to believe that becoming an Ascendant required intense emotions—be it love, hatred, or an endless void.
That egg perfectly met the Ascension-Network's criteria—it was a Hetero-Creature formed from concentrated Punishing, and had a consciousness stable enough...
Agents could accomplish so much more with such a tool.
Maybe Vonnegut isn't as omnipotent as they believe. He's just using tools.
That agent has done a lot of research on M.I.N.D. fusion. Is it to increase the "threshold" through patchwork?
...The patchwork of consciousnesses...
That's right. Cthylla, who created all the children, has two distinct conciousnesses. Most of the time, both of the conciousnesses included Lithos himself.
Lithos' consciousness was deeply intertwined with Cthylla's. It helped her control both her humanoid form and the Tree of Life.
I think Lithos stopped her from escaping until he was forcefully expelled in the end...
Lithos' consciousness influenced her, but what about the other one?
That consciousness only helped her control the "Leviathan" beneath the waves, a cradle for the rebirth of the dead.
Consciousnesses within the Giant Whale had always maintained a minimal connection with Cthylla—they were practically unrelated.
They might be free from Lithos and couldn't sense the others anymore, but the chains at the bottom of the sea were still...
Lamia suddenly lifts her head to look at Luna at the mention of chains.
Miss Luna... you're stuck here because you can no longer control the Punishing properly, right?
Luna stays silent.
Um...
Lamia takes several steps backward to keep a safe distance. She stops only after making sure that the bound Luna cannot reach her.
There's not much I can do, and I hope Miss Luna won't think I'm rude...
If you tell me what's happening with you, I will do my best to help...
Why?
Because I... I have always wanted you to stay...
Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to say anything bad about you, Miss Luna. I just want to stay here with you.
That's why I hope you'll pass the Filtering safely. Then I can... I can stay in this familiar place.
Would that be alright...
Luna gazes intently at Lamia. She has always thought that this mermaid acts mostly in her self-interest.
Her core nature hasn't changed, but she has grown more selfish—she now includes Luna in that self-interest.
...Perhaps this isn't so bad.
I am really losing control over the Punishing.
But my situation is the exact opposite of Cthylla's.
She was "patched together" with other consciousnesses, which gave her enough power to control the Tree of Life and spawn countless Hetero-Creatures.
My consciousness is being dismantled and stripped away. I can feel the Ascension-Network's connection shifting toward... someone like myself.
Also, the Ascension-Network has evolved because of that Hetero Tower. The information stored within the Punishing has been searching for autonomy for a long time.
Similar consciousnesses can have similar requests for the Ascension-Network... That's what happened with my sister and "that" sister back then.
I've been hearing less and less of those noises lately, and my authority as an agent has been fading with them.
I despise it, but it looks like I have no choice but to swallow this bitter pill.
She falls into deep thought for a moment.
...Go where you wish to be, Lamia.
When freedom arrives, I will call for you.
For now... I will use my remaining power to search for whatever is left on the Ascension-Network.
Luna's gaze goes past Lamia and lands in the distance. At the very far edge, a pale phantom stands where the Punishing concentration is highest.
...
The phantom slowly turns, extending both hands to her to reveal a crimson nightmare—a correct path to pass the re-filtering process.
There is but one path to the future—find your lost hatred.
