Conservation Area 368
Morning
Conservation Area 368 Morning
"All compelling narratives must be built on a fundamental structure, and a story's resolution must feel earned through its characters to be believable."
Liv reads the words on her terminal, her eyes skimming the forum post without truly seeing it. Her attention is scattered, her mind adrift in a fog.
Well...
Lately, it seems every article and post has echoed the same sentiment... Just like yesterday...
Yesterday... What had she seen yesterday?
Her thoughts plunge into an unexpected void, a perfect blankness where the memory should have been. She suddenly could recall nothing from yesterday at all...
Knock, knock—
A faint knocking sound echoes at the door, like a small animal seeking shelter.
?!!
Liv jolts, the sudden movement startling you as you approach the table, two steaming cups of coffee in your hands.
Liv?
Ah... Oh! I'm so sorry!
For a few seconds, Liv remains frozen under your gaze. Then, blinking, she shakes herself free and hurries to the door. A small girl with long blue hair stands there, twisting her hands.
Upon seeing Liv, the girl carefully extends her hands, offering a handful of wild fruits.
Good... morning!
She crouches down with a smile, bringing herself to the girl's eye level, and accepts the gift with both hands.
Good morning, Aisling! Thank you. You must've worked really hard to get these.
Though, you really don't have to bring fruits... every day?
Liv's words hitch for a fraction of a second as she tries to recall their time spent together. The thought doesn't break her sentence, but it settles in her mind, sending quiet ripples across the surface.
You helped me. Fresh fruits... for you.
Aisling shakes her head, then nods, before scampering off.
Ah! Wait...
Liv's sentence hangs in the air, unfinished. The girl is already gone, her retreat so immediate and seamless it feels like a well-worn routine.
With a final, fruitless glance, Liv carries the fruits back to her room. She lays them gently on the table beside the commandant, who is already absorbed in work.
Aisling again?
I've told her a few... a few times already? But she just keeps coming.
Commandant? You're still working?
Yeah... Just finishing up the report on our mission at the mine for Babylonia.
The mission at the mine... You mean the operation to clear the Hetero-Creatures from the mining area, right?
A flicker of confusion prompts Liv to lean in, but the commandant responds by putting the terminal to sleep and drawing subtly back.
Yes. I'm starting to suspect a larger Hetero-Creature was present, one that could control the others. I think we need to reassess the situation...
With the terminal shut down, the commandant's focus now fully shifts to a serious analysis of the "anomaly" in the mine.
Liv freezes for a moment. As she begins to speak, the commandant's voice cuts her off.
...Melinoe?
Following the commandant's gaze, Liv turns to see Melinoe standing in the exact spot where Aisling was before, waving to her.
Good morning, Liv.
Sunlight dapples Melinoe through the swaying tree shadows. In the shifting light, Liv's mind sharpens, her eyes narrowing with newfound clarity.
Liv and Melinoe stroll through the conservation area, talking idly on their way to the central plaza.
...Those medical techniques you shared have been incredibly useful. I'm planning to compile them into a pocket handbook to improve field safety for everyone.
...I see. I'm glad to hear it.
Liv gazes into the deep reaches of the conservation area, where a heavy mist clings to the overlapping mountain peaks, blurring all boundaries between sky and earth.
...You don't seem very interested in this topic?
...Oh, not at all. I was just lost in thought.
I thought... you'd be happy to hear about this.
...I am happy. Really. It was just something else that crossed my mind...
Liv pulls her gaze away from the distance and turns to face Melinoe.
You don't seem as wary around me as before.
...
When we first met, you were always very honest, but I could feel you keeping a careful distance from Commandant and me.
Uh... you... you don't like it?
I thought... our relationship would be closer because of Aisling...
An odd sense of dissonance hangs between them as they enter the central plaza.
The plaza is dotted with small clusters of people. From within one group, a familiar small figure with blue hair catches their eyes.
Gazing at the playful Aisling in the distance, Melinoe takes a few steps forward and seizes the opportunity to change the subject.
...I know I've said this many times already, but I still want to thank you both for saving Aisling.
Back then, if you hadn't been there...
"Back then."
Liv's voice is soft, but it deftly catches the words Melinoe let slip.
...Hm?
The conversation cuts off mid-sentence as Melinoe goes momentarily still. Her head turns slowly, and she fixes Liv with a look of bewilderment.
Back then, if Commandant and I hadn't been there, Aisling would have been lost in the mine forever.
Y-yes... Without your help, she would have died in the mine a few days ago...
So... when exactly do you mean by "a few days ago"?
...
How many days have passed since we brought Aisling back, Melinoe?
You said that you'd find a new adoptive family for her. May I ask... how that's coming along?
The warmth gradually drains from Liv's voice.
I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean... You seem upset.
Has Aisling been misbehaving? Is that what's bothered you?
This has nothing to do with Aisling, Melinoe.
Someone has been keeping Commandant from me. That's why I'm upset.
Ever since that disorienting moment at the dining table, Liv has been running constant diagnostics on her internal perception modules. She has meticulously sorted through the fragments of inconsistency, again and again.
The blurred sense of time. The endlessly stretching autumn days. And...
Liv lowers her gaze.
...I don't really understand what you're saying, Liv. Are you feeling unwell?
Such a convincing illusion you crafted... You almost completely got me.
A faint smile touches Liv's lips, the ghost of a memory in her eyes.
But that's not the Gray Raven Commandant.
The smile drops from Liv's face. She regards Melinoe, her expression wiped clean of all emotion.
Tell me, where is Commandant?
Mine Tunnel
Time Unknown
Mine Tunnel Time Unknown
The mine tunnel twists through the deep earth like a serpent's coil. The portable light from your terminal throws a frail pool of illumination, pushing back only a few feet of the oppressive darkness.
Where... are we... now...
A timid voice breaks the silence at your side. You maintain your alert posture, eyes scanning the unseen threats in the gloom, but one hand finds the child's head, offering a gentle, reassuring pat.
As you round a corner, still murmuring comfort, you draw a knife and score a fresh mark into the rocky wall.
With the motion, a torn strip of cloth bound tightly around your arm flutters. Your gaze involuntarily catches on it, and the sight unleashes the recent memories.
Some time earlier, the two of you were preparing to leave the mine with the little girl. Then—
A deep, thunder-like rumbling echoes through the rocky cavern.
The mine shuddered in intermittent spasms, likely caused by aftershocks from the explosion earlier. From the darkness occasionally came the sound of rock layers cracking and shifting.
Ugh...
Liv pressed a hand to her temple, her steps faltering.
The moment you tried to steady her fluctuating M.I.N.D., a searing, needle-like pain stabbed into your own mind. The very surroundings began to blur, split, and double before your eyes.
There was no time to determine if it was the minerals or the Hetero-Creatures. You grabbed your coat and forcefully tore a long strip from it.
Commandant...?
You then wound the other end tightly around your own forearm. It was a physical anchor. So even if your minds descended into chaos together, you wouldn't lose each other.
Are you... alright?
Aisling timidly tugs at the edge of your clothes, pulling you back from the grip of memory.
The broken half of the cloth strip remains tightly wound around your arm, but Liv is nowhere to be seen.
A sudden, searing pain lances through your skull. You stumble, the world tilting, and barely catch yourself from falling.
!!!!
Are you... okay?
Ever since the separation from Liv, a presence has been trying to attack your consciousness, or more precisely, your Mind Beacon that still connects you to her.
The assaults have repeated, wave after wave, but each has shattered against your mental defenses. Now, as the latest one recedes, you push back against the rock wall, steadying yourself as you struggle to your feet.
With the child close, you advance. At every fork in the tunnel, you leave a clear mark—a guide for Liv, and a trail of breadcrumbs for yourself.
Conservation Area 368
Morning
Conservation Area 368 Morning
Liv stands motionless in the shade, her gaze locked on Melinoe. After a prolonged silence, the latter's lips twist into an unsettling smile.
So you noticed...
Then this place... has no value anymore.
Her voice is hoarse, distorted—like a soulless marionette's. And in that same instant, Melinoe's empty shell collapses before Liv's eyes.
Another puppet in disguise...
!
The very ground beneath her rots away, collapsing into a seemingly bottomless whirlpool that threatens to swallow the world whole.
Liv lurches into the air as the sky shatters like a mirror, fragmenting into a thousand glittering shards.
...!
And then, a pulse of abnormal sounds echoes through her M.I.N.D. It's the deep, resonant hum of the mine tunnel that floods her audio receptors.
Liv jolts awake in absolute darkness. Commandant is nowhere to be seen. The ground trembles faintly. An earthquake, perhaps.
Before her lies the mine tunnel: damp, dark, dripping with stalactites. Eerie minerals glow from the walls, and a twisting abyss coils ahead like the spine of some massive serpent.
—She never left the mine.
A fracturing pain radiates from her M.I.N.D., a relentless cycle of memories being stripped away and clumsily rebuilt across countless moments—
Then, everything seizes, freezing into a single, stark point in time.
Why are they sleeping there... like that?
The child seems unable to grasp the concept of death. She only stares at the two adults lying on the ground with puzzlement, wondering why they don't simply stand up and continue on their way.
They must be... just very tired. They'll wake up later.
Liv kneels down and gently pulls the child into her arms, shielding her from the grim spectacle.
Commandant, could you please take her to the next junction ahead?
I'll take care of things here and join you later.
A deep, thunder-like rumbling echoes through the rocky cavern.
So it started back then...
Pain still flickers through her perception modules, but Liv pushes past it, pulling out her terminal to contact the commandant.
Beeeep—
The terminal emits a weak, final dead tone. A complete comms blackout.
As a last resort, she closes her eyes and plunges her consciousness into the depths of her M.I.N.D., reaching for the familiar signal of the commandant's Mind Beacon...
Ugh...
Her vision blurs and trembles violently, the environment smearing into a dizzying double-exposure.
With no other option, she has to terminate the attempt within her M.I.N.D.
She sags against the tunnel wall, calibrating the fluctuations of her visual module. Her trembling hand slides down the cold stone, and her fingers find an unnatural etching carved into the rock.
!!!
It's... a mark left by Commandant!
A triangular symbol, meaning "enter from here," is etched into the rough rock.
Return from here, and then... the next mark.
Further along this path lies the side tunnel where she buried the two foster parents. A quick check confirms nothing is amiss; the temporarily sealed branch entrance remains as she left it, obscured by rubble and soil.
And then—
As her fingers trace the rock wall, a voice suddenly calls out, freezing Liv in her tracks.
Aisling—
...Melinoe?
Her visual module has been glitching with M.I.N.D. interference, but her audio is clear. She knows that voice instantly.
How come she's in the mine...?
Could she still be trapped in the "illusion" right now?
Holding her breath, Liv slowly moves toward the sound of Melinoe's voice.
Aisling... are you there? Aisling?
Melinoe paces anxiously through the dark, winding tunnels, calling Aisling's name in a hushed tone, likely afraid of drawing the attention of Hetero-Creatures.
...Aisling? Can you... can you hear me?
She seems equally unfamiliar with the passages; in just twenty minutes, she has backtracked through this same branch three or four times, repeatedly taking wrong turns.
Concealed in shadow, Liv watches, scrutinizing her every move.
She doesn't trust Melinoe.
Whoever—or whatever—is weaving this illusion must know Melinoe intimately to use her as such a central puppet...
That alone suggests Melinoe may not be as innocent as she seems.
It's just that...
Liv weighs her options carefully.
With her visual module compromised, she can't tell if her "disorientation" stems from M.I.N.D. fluctuations or physical shifts in the tunnel layout.
Communications are still down; she can't reach Commandant. Recalibrating her M.I.N.D. to locate Commandant's Mind Beacon would cost more precious time.
Under these conditions, anyone in the mine could be a clue to break the stalemate. She must reunite with Commandant quickly. She can't leave Commandant alone in this dangerous illusion.
Aisling... are you there?
Nearby, Melinoe drifts through the deep passages like a mournful specter, her voice a haunting echo as she calls the child's name.
...
After forcibly recalibrating her visual module once more and confirming her battle systems are nominal, Liv finally speaks, her voice soft.
Melinoe... is that you?
Who's there?! Who is it?!
Melinoe stumbles backward in a panic, her shoulders pressing flat against the tunnel wall.
It's me, Liv.
From the mouth of the shadowy side passage, Liv steps into the faint light.
I heard your voice...
...Thank goodness! It really is you!
Recognizing the familiar face, Melinoe's fear shatters, replaced by a wave of pure, visible relief.
H-have you seen Aisling?!
Aisling...
Ah, you probably don't know her by that name...
The look on her face is raw with urgency and unmistakably sincere.
You know, the one with the blue hair and amber eyes! The little girl you gave the gruel to, and you helped her once, too. Do you remember her?
...Her name is Aisling?
Yes, that's... that's the name I gave her.
The family that adopted her never called her that. It's... a secret just between the two of us.
A melancholic smile forms on her face.
But... I have this feeling. That I'm going to lose her again.
