Story Reader / Affection / Liv: Empyrea / Story
Liv: Empyrea VII
The fading light turns into a white snowfield.
The scars and pain that were previously held at bay by her dream attack your senses the moment you arrive here.
The six M.I.N.D. shards you were holding in your arms also drop on the snowy ground, whispering how this journey has been hasty but arduous.
The person who believed the nightmare was over has come right back into another nightmare.
The snow is knee-deep. You struggle to trudge forward. The pain and fatigue are wearing you down. You can fall at any time if you are not careful.
Her last M.I.N.D. shard is right here.
According to Liv in the dream, this memory is about "death."
But memory might not be the most accurate word to describe this because it is the future she saw via Ascension-Network.
Before entering the corrupted M.I.N.D., you saw footage of her in combat in that church operation.
After the chaotic memories and death, she used the algorithm of Ascension-Network to see the future.
Though it remains to be seen if such an algorithm is accurate, the memories it brings Liv have turned into this place where there is nothing but snow as far as your eyes can see.
The snow doesn't answer or show you the way.
The snowstorm lifts up a heavy cloud, putting a heavy burden on the lost seeker. Whenever you shake off the snow on your shoulders, your body grows even stiffer because of the cold.
Sorry, Commandant. All I ever brought you is pain.
While your mind is drifting, you see Liv's phantom appear by your side. Is this an illusion because you miss her so much, or is it the M.I.N.D. shards in your arms guiding you?
I just... don't want to be a burden to others...
You don't feel like I'm a burden, Commandant?
...Thank you...
The girl's phantom points to the east where the sun shines before vanishing into the snow.
Following in the direction she pointed for you, you walk and walk until the midnight sun is buried under the horizon.
Without the guidance of sunlight, the seeker is once again lost in the dark.
Are you lost?
Her phantom appears to greet you.
Where are you going?
What does my future self look like?
Really?
Then... why does this place bring me sadness?
This is my future, but why do I feel... overwhelming, suffocating sadness?
Is that really the future I hope for?
Okay...!
Over there.
She points at where Polaris is.
Don't forget to ask my future self.
The phantom waves you goodbye and vanishes into the night.
When the polar night is done, the person who's been through an arduous journey arrives at the end of the snowfield.
Just like the first dream, you see nothing but snow that extends beyond the horizon. The cold wind blows.
Have you ever thought perhaps the reality you are living is just a dream and your dream is the reality?
The same questions come to your mind. Except for this time, you have an answer.
...Even if you can't live long enough to see that day?
So long as peacetime will eventually arrive, her dream will come true. Our dream will come true.
With this unwavering faith, the person bearing scars stands tall at their final destination.
The day is dark. You search that corpse dressed in a military protective suit... and find the name tag with the name "Gray Raven Commandant [player name]" on it.
The heroic story ends here.
...That's right.
Shadows of the past and the future intertwine at this very moment. In this desolate snowfield, the girl finally appears before you.
She kneels next to the pale corpse and lets out a heartbreaking cry.
...Commandant...
[player name]...!
I'm sorry I'm late... I'm sorry... I'm terribly sorry...!
The sorrowful girl is overwhelmed and tearful.
Please don't go... Don't leave us... Please!
The snowstorm is unforgiving as the cold wind freezes her streams of tears.
Like an ice sculpture, the girl has become one with this boundless snowfield.
...And when that day comes, people parted by death shall reunite once more.
...Commandant...
The phantom from the future hears your call as you from the past take her into your arms.
Okay...!
The snowfield turns into white light. Every M.I.N.D. shard comes together at the chest until a complete M.I.N.D. is formed.
Let's... go back.
The white view starts to sink into the depth of this dream. You struggle to open your eyes and find yourself in a cold white laboratory.
...Commandant!
...
[player name] is awake. The Mind Beacon corruption is controllable.
What about Liv? Everything going well?
I am trying to simulate and repair her M.I.N.D.
What's this...? I can't believe this. [player name] found a M.I.N.D. shard that we didn't manage to find.
It was hidden too deep.
...
With his brows furrowed, he concentrates on the various kinds of equipment before him.
The girl lies on a maintenance table, sleeping soundly in silence.
You drag yourself to her side and gently take her hand ridden with scars into your own.
...
...
... (Moans)
She is waking up. How goes the simulated repair?
Looking good. But it is too dangerous to repair her Empyrea frame. I'm heading to the 2nd maintenance deck to change her frame.
Alright. We'll head there and get prepared. Bring Liv and meet us there when you are ready.
The two hustle, taking the terminals and equipment with them before leaving the laboratory in a hurry.
...Commandant...
She can't see very clearly yet, but the girl is calling and looking for you.
Yes... I'm back...
Did I... make you worried?
...Hmm...
I believe that...
...I have always... believed that...
She tightens her grip on your warm hands.
Even if one day the reunited people will inevitably be parted by death,
the girl has returned to this broken world with determination and no regrets.
This isn't just for that distant, beautiful dream...
It is also to hold the hands... of the most important person in her life.
