Story Reader / Arcade Anima / On the Brink of Abyss / Story
The Path Chosen
Unlike the others, you have greater potentials.
Greater potential?
That's right. Your bodies have a greater affinity to Tantalum-193, which means you can become Constructs.
Constructs? What's a Construct? Are you turning us into robots?
Your bodies will be completely replaced, but your minds, the most human part of you, will be preserved.
That way, your physical bodies won't be defenseless like our flesh and blood against the Punishing Virus.
You will obtain superhuman powers. You will become sparks. You will become our last hope.
Nikola looks at the two girls who are in each other's arms.
This is how you can truly protect those you love. Otherwise, your struggles in this broken world are futile.
You don't need her. I can be the Construct.
All I want is to protect Luna. If I can do that, it will be enough.
Have you made up your mind?
I...
Yes, I have.
Lucia hears a voice behind her. Nikola looks past her toward Luna, who has been hiding behind Lucia.
Luna steps forward, moving past Lucia...
Lucia?
Lucia reaches out and grabs Luna's hand tightly, stopping her from stepping into the darkness.
I won't trust you anymore. I won't let Luna leave me again.
...
Nikola remains silent, but the menacing darkness behind him lunges toward the two girls.
This is not a memory. This is the nightmare Lucia fears. Tragedies join together into a chain, bounding her to the tracks of fate.
But at least she will not compromise this time.
Before it is too late...
It's too late.
Do it, Lucia. She's a Corrupted now. There's no saving her.
The only thing we can do is end her suffering.
The limbs of the Construct before her are torn away. She is infected with a highly-concentrated Punishing Virus.
The ludicrous claims that Constructs' bodies and minds "will be protected from the Punishing Virus" become "will withstand the Punishing Virus for a little bit longer" on the battlefield.
It is too late by the time Lucia and Hiro arrive after following her distress signal.
Her mutilated body crawls toward Lucia, her mouth making an inhuman shriek.
Her artificial skin peels away as it scrapes against the ground, revealing her silver Tantalum frame.
Her artificial heart beats forcefully, pumping the vital fluid out of a torn tubing and leaving behind a trail on the ground.
Lucia raises her katana, ready to bring an end to the infected Construct's torment.
L-Lucia...
...!
Your sister, her procedure failed.
She has already been processed and disposed of...
In the last stage of the experiment, an immensely strong Punishing Virus reaction appeared inside her—it took over and corrupted her almost instantly.
Which means that Luna became a Corrupted. We had to dispose of her.
I'm sorry, but you won't be able to see her again.
Her blade strikes, and the Corrupted stops screaming.
I will always find her, no matter how long it takes. This will not be her end.
That day wasn't my end. That was a new beginning.
They were right about one thing, Lucia. The Construct body is capable of protecting the body and mind from the Punishing Virus.
But becoming a Construct is not enough. You have to pass the filtering from the Ascension-Network.
The filtering from the Ascension-Network?
We don't have to fear the Punishing Virus anymore. Through the filtering, we can control it.
That is our only way out.
That is humanity's only way out.
That is Earth's only way out.
This is the only way to realize your wish.
This time, you will gain the power to protect her for real.
I've heard something like that too many times.
Babylonia, Ravenge, you... You're all the same.
Lucia slowly points her katana toward the doppelganger before her.
I'm not falling for that again.
Aaargh! Let me go! I was just checking on her.
The sound of the outside world reaches her ears again. Lucia slowly opens her eyes.
She finds Lamia stunned as Roland ties her up with his chain blade.
I can't let you disrupt her. After all, approaching an Ascendant like this can take your life, even just from an unconscious reaction.
It's not easy to find someone worthy.
But didn't you say... Wait a minute. She... she's also an Ascendant?!
Why is she like this, then? Didn't you say there's no more pain after becoming an Ascendant?
Like a frog thrown into a pot of boiling water, Lamia instinctively wants to leap away from Lucia.
Ouch... It hurts.
But she has clearly forgotten about the chain around her, losing her balance and falling flat on her face due to her giant tail fin.
Wiggling her tail, she looks like a fish on dry land, flapping around in protest.
Let me go!
Let her go, Roland.
...
That was the first time you said my name. What an honor.
Roland loosens the chain, and Lamia immediately stands up. She wants to approach Lucia, who spoke on her behalf, but Lucia's threatening appearance stops her in her tracks.
Standing between the two Ascendants, Lamia is not sure what to do with herself, waiting for them to speak.
Why do you want to become an Ascendant?
Lucia can deduce that Lamia met Roland long ago, judging from the snippets of conversations she heard.
And the reason a Construct seeks an Ascendant is plain as day.
Because that's the only way to survive, isn't it?
You'll become one of the Corrupted if you fail.
What?! I can fail?!
Lamia stares at the quiet Roland. He shrugs and smiles.
His smile seems to have reminded Lamia of something horrible, and she slouches like a deflated balloon.
Whatever. What difference does it make? At least I have a chance to survive this way.
Lamia says sluggishly.
As long as I can survive.
As long as you can survive, is it...
I think you can't know if this is a tragedy until it is the curtain call.
Let's go back. The Babylonians might come back.
Roland contemplates the coldness in Lucia's voice before smiling inconspicuously.
Certainly. Luna will be delighted to see you return.
Lucia notices her reflection when she walks past the display window of a boutique.
Her thick, suffocating military uniform is tattered, and the color of her synthetic hair has faded. Even someone who knows her might not recognize her now.
...Give me a second.
Lucia pushes open the rotting wooden door to the shop. The antique copper bell above rings upon hitting the door.
Luna's Ascendant group finds their fourth member that day, and Lucia finally sheds her heavy uniform.
Alpha is awakened by the sound of a bell similar to the one in her memories.
She looks down to find a white kitten staring at her curiously. A bell hangs around its neck, ringing crisply as the cat shakes its flurry head.
Go away. I don't have anything for you.
Perhaps it has not seen other living things for a long time. It approaches Alpha upon hearing she speaks, rubbing her foot affectionately with no intention to leave.
Alpha moves her leg to the other side, and the cat follows.
After a few attempts, the kitten is still not relenting, even treating this as a game. Alpha sighs silently.
She searches her pockets and finds some fishing bait.
Crouching down, Alpha places some of it in her open palm.
Meow...
The white cat walks up to Alpha's palm and smells, its bell ringing.
Then it takes a small bite of the fish bait.
Alpha does not try to pet the cat, nor does she retract her palm once the cat finishes its meal.
She just lets the kitten lick her metal palm, and her furrowed brows relax.
Ascendants are all driven by strong emotions and grand aspirations, more or less.
They are either buried deep inside or presented proudly and openly.
Whichever it is, they are the starting point that guides the Ascendants through the filtering.
What was her starting point?
You have a sister now, Lucia. You have to protect her.
Take Luna and go, Lucia. Protect her. Live.
I can offer you a choice if you have someone you want to protect.
Lucia... become who you wants to be.
Alpha stands up and leans on her motorbike and her threatening composure returns.
Go away.
As if noticing the changes to the person before it or being intimidated by her composure...
...The white kitten quickly vanishes at the end of the street.
Alpha's wish has never changed. Luna is her only family.
Before Alpha became a Construct, she used to believe that Babylonia would give Luna a peaceful life.
In the end, humans abandoned Luna for their own goals, and Alpha lost her for a while.
After she became a Construct, she thought Gray Raven could stop the same tragedy from happening again under Ravenge's leadership.
But his kindness was a mask that hid a poisonous heart, and she became a part of the tragedy herself.
Did he really lose his arm because an infected member attacked him?
Alpha will never know.
But she will not make the same mistake again. She will not entrust Luna's safety to someone else.
...Even if it is the Ascension-Network, which gave Luna her power.
Alpha stares at the blue spire in the distance and gets on her bike.
Wait for me, Luna.
The engine thrums. Dust rises, concealing the lone, departing figure.
