Story Reader / Main Story / 30 Stars Ensnared / Story
On December 15th, Spaceport A1, the central transit hub of the space fortress, one of the petals that belong to the most dazzling flower in Babylonia, is engulfed in the highly-concentrated Punishing Virus. The vast crimson glow looms ominously, almost as if it could devour everything in its path.
At last, the influence of the Punishing reaches a boundary and stops. After one hour and thirty-two minutes, the spaceport, completely transformed by the Punishing corruption, rips itself away from Babylonia like a living creature, bit by bit, and begins to fall toward Earth.
The turbulence from the tear affects all of Babylonia, forcing it off its original orbit and triggering a cascade of structural failures across vast sections.
As the awakened spaceport plummets, intermittent explosions tear through its surface, each blast ejecting fragments of its structure. Like a sentient being devoid of emotion, it adjusts its descent by shedding its own flesh piece by piece.
And its final calibrated trajectory points directly at the Clean Zone on the surface, where that tower reaching to the sky stands.
Video: S Luna_Text Cutscene (PV Cut)
In that instant, a white flash engulfs everyone's vision.
The Inver-Hetero Tower emits a deafening drone—a mournful wail, as if lamenting an entire era—drowning out the once-piercing alarms warning of rising Punishing concentration.
Employees who had only earned their Clean Zone credentials last month run screaming from the burning rooms, throwing themselves into the lingering white light outside.
Ahhhhhhhh!!
L-look out!
In the fading white light, a petite Construct catches the stumbling human in her arms.
In mere moments, the Clean Zone—symbol of humanity's hope—is ignited by falling Shards, transforming into a sea of flames.
Babylonia... what's happening...
Hey!
As the ringing in their ears begins to fade, alarms and cries for help flood in.
Despite the early warning, the flames still manage to reach those who can't escape in time.
Hey!! The support unit over there, come help these people, quick!
Someone shouts, pointing at the injured being pulled from the collapsed buildings.
Put out the fire first! Where are the robots we brought down from Babylonia? Deploy them to help!
The newcomers rush toward the most intense flames with fire extinguishers in hand, but are halted by another warning shout.
Stay away from the fire!!
These buildings already have automatic fire suppression systems, and worse still, the Punishing concentration in the Clean Zone is rising—any robots rushing here could turn Corrupted at any moment!
These words send waves of panic through everyone present.
What did you say?! The Clean Zone?! The Punishing concentration?!
Is something wrong with the Inver-Hetero Tower??
Even worse... Look!
What?
Following his pointing finger, everyone looks around and realizes that there are fewer areas burning than they expected.
These fragments aren't the only things that hit the Inver-Hetero Tower, right? Where's the biggest one?
It's... gone...
What did you say?! Really?
He yanks up the Construct who's covering her eyes and demands answers loudly.
Of course it's true, I saw it!! I never took my eyes off it!! That's exactly why my visual module got damaged... ugh, it hurts.
How did they vanish?
The moment they touched the Inver-Hetero Tower... they just... vanished.
Is the abnormal Punishing Virus concentration... caused by the Inver-Hetero Tower too?
The Punishing Virus concentration is abnormal? What's the situation now?
The Construct monitoring the Punishing Virus runs a trembling hand over the detector. Seeing the anxious, worried faces of his companions, he can't bring himself to speak the grim results.
The detector's screen shows the Hetero Zone creeping into the edges of the Clean Zone. Though its expansion has slowed during the conversation, the fact that it's still happening is clear evidence that the Inver-Hetero Tower is on the wane.
The Clean Zone is shrinking, and extremely low Punishing concentrations have also been detected near the tower.
This place... is no longer safe.
Standing around won't help. Let's focus on getting people out first. In a situation this intense, you know the elite squads won't just sit around.
Let's leave the Inver-Hetero Tower situation to them. They're the only ones who can handle it now.
The setting sun bathes the land in its dying light.
Half an hour after the fallen Spaceport A1 vanished into the Inver-Hetero Tower, Gray Raven finally leaves the chaos of Babylonia behind as they approach the Clean Zone.
According to the environmental scan below, the fire has been contained.
But... your concerns were right, Commandant. The Clean Zone is no longer free of the Punishing Virus.
If this is caused by another interference with the Inver-Hetero Tower... Commandant, are you feeling alright?
It seems there's no Mind Beacon corruption this time.
The Clean Zone has gotten smaller, but thankfully, the area around the tower still has low concentration levels and hasn't returned to its former state.
We can't let our guard down yet. Even though the increase rate is slow, the Punishing Virus concentration near the tower is still rising.
How can we possibly stop something like this...
This tower... there's still too much we don't understand about it.
This tower harbors too many mysteries. Its operational mechanics and means of entry remain completely unknown to us.
If we invest all our reconstruction resources into it, there's no guarantee this unknown entity won't vanish just as suddenly as it appeared.
But right now, we have no other hope. We must use it to rebuild our homeland, and through the opportunities it presents, find a way to bring it under our control.
I know.
Lee falls silent, his eyes fixed on the approaching surface below.
One hour after Babylonia's Spaceport A1 crashed into the Clean Zone, the transport vessel from Babylonia finally touches down at the edge of the disaster area.
It's Gray Raven!
They immediately stop their current tasks and hurry over, delivering their report on the damage to the Clean Zone.
The situation isn't critical yet. Most of the Clean Zone territory swallowed by the Hetero Zone is made up of uninhabited and undeveloped areas with no defenses.
In addition to this, we just investigated the Inver-Hetero Tower and discovered an unfamiliar door that wasn't there before.
A door?
It might be more accurate to call it a door-like structure... We've all tried, but no one has been able to get through it.
I'll lead the way.
Led by the Construct, the four of you quickly make your way around to the other side of the Inver-Hetero Tower.
Within the tightly interlocked blue crystals, a narrow, dark doorway faintly emerges.
When you shine an emergency light inside, there's no reflection—it's as if the light is swallowed up, leaving no echo to escape.
Just like the light before it, the bullet vanishes instantly into the void, leaving no trace behind.
Your forearm vanishes beyond the doorway, yet you can still feel everything—your fingertips make contact with something solid inside, as if the door is only about half a meter deep.
In the next instant, a searing pain stings through your fingertips.
Your hand's corrupted!
There's still a considerable Punishing concentration in there. We need to be careful.
The young man silently nods before stepping into the pitch-black doorway, only to emerge moments later.
It's sealed off inside. Can't see anything, and there's no way through.
...
Something's not right here. You went inside before.
Is it because of the frame? Or has something changed within the tower again?
They take a few steps back and begin to whisper among themselves.
Maybe it's really because of the frame?
After all, the specialized frame has built up quite a bit over time—from Empyrea's experimental data, to the Enhanced Inver-Device documents Egret found, and later, the findings from the Phantom Tracer and Ascendant technology.
Who knows? Any one of these could be the key requirement for entering this tower.
If this door stays open, we'll have our answer soon enough.
What do you mean?
I heard that the higher-ups are still working on another frame of the same specs. But it's not going well—they're missing something that was originally captured in the Phantom Tracer, making it difficult to replicate.
They brought back a similar egg, but even after all this time, they still haven't managed to make it work.
Do you know who this frame is intended for?
Who else could it be?
His eyes dart toward the four people behind them.
...
Lee reaches out, running his fingers across the blue crystals. The dormant heaviness in his chest stirs once again.
Is it an illusion, or a premonition?
This tower will bring about something irreversible—yet he can no longer enter it.
...Why?
He feels a dull ache in the depths of his M.I.N.D., where an indecipherable voice whispers secrets missing in his memories.
What exactly have I forgotten?
Once you leave here, you will lose your ability to see the future and interfere with time.
You will forget all that you have seen about the past and the future, and you will never get to change the past again. Everything that has happened here will be erased from history.
Even so, are you sure you do not want to go through this gate?
The emotions that should have vanished within the tower still fall like scattered fragments.
Lee dimly recalls answering someone's question, though the memory feels distant.
No matter what the future is like, I will find it together with them.
...
Looking back, his companions stand not far away.
It's nothing.
—Even though some things are inevitable, next time, when he's fully prepared, he'll face them together with everyone.
After countless struggles tearing at her very being, the long-standing shackles that bound Luna have finally met their end.
As the crystal-formed chains shatter and scatter, most of her power crumbles away with them.
Now, Luna can no longer sustain her usual hover. She is left to walk through the muddy ground on frail legs, more fragile than those of an ordinary Construct.
...
Unable to watch her stumble any longer, Alpha strides to her side and firmly grasps her hand, becoming her strength. Meanwhile, Lamia takes point ahead, staying alert for potential attacks.
As she slowly emerges from her long-sealed prison and lifts her gaze to the sky again, the rising moon stares back at her with its cold, silvery light.
...The night grows deep.
Answering the call of the moonlight, the girl steps onto the land tainted by the Punishing Virus. She bends softly by the muddy ground, cupping the Red Tide that has gathered in the shallow hollow.
What's your next move?
...
Sister, what are your thoughts on these Red Tides?
Another form of the Punishing Virus.
Yes, but there's more to it than that.
When I first saw the Red Tide with Gabriel, I only saw its flaws.
Even in battle, the Red Tide's deadly high-concentration zones may spell instant death, but how could they ever compare to the lethal fields conjured by the Ascendants?
It crawls along the ground, only able to gather and flow at the Ascendants' command.
It can't be controlled with the precision of Punishing, can't be wielded as a weapon, and certainly can't be integrated into a frame.
The first Hetero-Creatures were merely Gabriel's playthings, arrogant yet fragile... Their way of devouring life through tidal surges was meaningless—nothing more than mindless slaughter.
Luna closes her eyes, as if listening intently to whispers emanating from the Red Tide.
It wasn't until I saw those Red Tide projections that I finally understood—the true purpose of the Red Tide is to absorb the information stored within the Ascension-Network, allowing Earth's concepts to more seamlessly fill the Punishing Virus.
Punishing is constrained by the Red Tide—and that's precisely what makes it more controllable.
She opens her hand, letting the crimson liquid seep through her fingers.
Sister, do you remember the story you once told me about the imprisoned stars?
...I do.
I was once like that old man with his mirror, seeing only a partial reflection of the Ascension-Network. But now, "she" who has broken free from my control is just like that old man, seeing only a fragment of who I am.
The girl who once looked down upon everything below now grasps her sister's hand in return, rising on her own two feet from the mire.
Next, I need to use the Red Tide to achieve an effect similar to that "egg," using the re-filtering process to restore my frame's power.
W-what? How is that possible? Vonnegut spent so long preparing for the egg, and we only have one day at most!
First, we need to find "someone" who can weave the Red Tide.
Are you talking about... Lithos? True, he does handle the Red Tide quite skillfully.
If Lithos were really up to the task, Vonnegut wouldn't have any need for Cthylla.
Besides, if my guess is correct, he'll come to us on his own soon enough. We won't need to search for him.
Lithos? What's he doing here?
I spoke with Vonnegut not long ago.
What did you discuss?
It just confirmed some theories I already had—nothing useful beyond that.
However, he did warn me to be wary of Cradle.
...
Cradle? That humanoid Hetero-Creature that appeared recently? Why should we be wary of her?
...I only learned about this Hetero-Creature from Roland. She's similar to Cthylla, but more complete...
More complete... but weaker in combat ability. Is it really necessary to be cautious of a Hetero-Creature like that?
Her true nature... rather than being a mere creature, is more akin to a title. Right now it's Cradle, but after her death, another Hetero-Creature could take her place. That's why she cannot be truly eliminated.
This trait resembles that of an "agent," doesn't it? Even if it weren't me, someone else would become an agent.
Is she part of your next move?
Correct. I intend to make a deal with her, and for that, I'll need Gray Raven's assistance.
Alpha furrows her brow.
Why?
To achieve an effect similar to the "egg" in such a short time, I must enter the Red Tide. I need a M.I.N.D. connection to stabilize my M.I.N.D., and only the commandant can provide that.
One more thing, even if I pass the re-filtering and regain my frame's power, I must still reclaim my rightful authority as an agent.
It fell into the tower in the Clean Zone along with "Selene". I can sense her location.
...That... Inver-Hetero Tower?
Could it be...
To get inside, we'd have to step into the Clean Zone. With no knowledge of its terrain or defenses, sneaking in wouldn't be a smart choice.
If Gray Raven were to support us, gaining entry wouldn't be difficult at all.
They have no reason to help.
They do have a reason. You mentioned it yourself—part of the fallen Babylonia disappeared into that tower, didn't it?
Those "humanity's heroes" must be desperately trying to find a way to prevent this disaster from escalating further.
Even for us Ascendants, only re-filtered agents can enter that tower. Humans will only find it even more troublesome to deal with.
And finally—there's Cradle, an issue humanity cannot afford to ignore.
...
This is dangerous. Tell me what you'll do if you fail.
There are no other options. I'm prepared for this.
Luna gazes at the Red Tide ahead, a serene smile crossing her face.
If I lose myself to the Red Tide, at least you'll have a Hetero-Creature that talks just like me as a memento.
That's not going to happen.
Trust me, Sister.
