Near the Ruins of Ezette
Surface
Clank.
A small pebble arcs through the air, striking the metal door ahead. It poses no threat, yet its dull clank carves a brief sound into the silence of the rock desert.
It's so fun though! Wanna give it a try, Commandant?
Yeah! And there's another way too. You could shout at the entrance, "Open Sesame—"
With that, Kamui bends down, selects another stone, and throws it at the neighbouring door.
This time, the door answers with a sound distinctly clearer than the last.
Aaaand boom. That's it.
Okay, jokes aside, I found it. The real entrance. Let's roll.
But for real, I was just scouting! Ezette's entrance game is wild. These doors look exactly like normal walls to confuse intruders. You gotta figure out the real entrance by the thickness of the metal plating. Sneaky, right?
Kamui approaches the door, feeling along its side until he triggers a hidden mechanism. He pushes inward, but the structure shows no response. Not even a shudder.
His brow furrows slightly, his expression immediately turning serious.
...That's not right. According to protocol, soon as we find the entrance and hit this hidden comm thing, someone's supposed to buzz us in.
But now...
If the signal that contacted Babylonia is solid, then Ezette's got survivors. And they should know we're coming. Just to be safe, lemme double-check.
Kamui pauses, considering, then brings his hand down against the metal plate with increased force. The reverberation sings back to him, clearer now, revealing the rough thickness of the barrier.
At the same time, his eyes catch on a crack that's running along the seam where the door should seal shut. Someone has already forced their way through.
Back up a little, [player name].
Suspicion prickling at the back of his mind, Kamui readies himself. He raises his weapon and swings at the metal door.
Bam! Bam!
The crack splits open, widening just enough to reveal a sliver of faint light from within, accompanied by nothing but deathly silence.
This is not what a reception team should look like. Not according to the signal.
On it.
Kamui peers through the gap for a moment, then pulls hard to widen it. The metal door's structure is already damaged, so it takes him little effort before it gives way completely.
Complete silence greets you.
Kamui scans the area, only to find no one in sight. He feels along the wall until his fingers find the light switch, flooding the passageway with illumination.
He advances carefully, deeper into the corridor. Nothing stirs. No enemies lie in wait. It seems, for now, you're truly alone.
—Wait. The signs of forced entry from outside flash through his mind. Perhaps "alone" isn't the right word. Perhaps they've already met a grisly fate. The possibility settles over him as Kamui begins to examine his surroundings even more meticulously.
This is...?!
Kamui's gaze catches on several indentations nearby. He closes the distance immediately, crouching to examine them with sharp attention.
These are fight marks. Like, recent fight marks. No dust settled yet.
And... traces of the Punishing Virus.
Yeah. And that means we play this smart. No splitting up, [player name]. I'm sticking close to protect you.
The odds aren't in your favor. Kamui remains vigilant, weighing possibilities as he searches for a path forward.
Oh...! Wait. The message board!
I remember every entrance in Ezette has one for emergency comms. If anyone left word, it'd be there.
The memory is still hazy, but Kamui remembers roughly where the device should be. He jogs over to the message board he mentioned and presses the power button, heart racing with anxious hope.
To his relief, the screen flickers to life. It's still operational.
Please enter your designation for verification. Access to the message board will be granted upon confirmation of authorization.
He hesitates briefly before typing in a designation, one he's never once mentioned to another soul.
Match successful. Designation [SUE-03], Member [Kamui]. Authorization confirmed. Message board system access granted.
It's my training days callsign! Told you about it on the transport craft, remember? Good thing it still has enough clearance!
Anyway... I mean, we can't even be a hundred percent sure that [SU-0] is really me, right? So rolling with something I know is mine just makes sense! Saves us time in the long run!
System has detected [1] unread message on this board. Would you like to view it?
[Yes].
Acknowledged. Displaying unread message content.
Kamui, it's a relief to know you're still alive. We'll skip the formalities for now. Plenty of time to catch up once we're together.
We were ambushed by an agent. After contacting Babylonia, we made the call to fall back to the comms room along with the device.
We're aware of the situation. The solar essence we left for you should come in handy.
Things are tense out here. Make your way over as fast as you can. We'll hold out in the comms room until you arrive.
Watch your back.
—Leif
Leif, huh...
Yeah. But I only remember who he is, for now. After Project Barleycorn kicked off, the World Government sent him to Ezette as military commander.
And... even though I can't remember much else? Just hearing his name... is weird. Makes me feel safe! Like I trusted him, y'know?
...But that's assuming this is actually "Leif" himself.
...Nah. Appreciate it, though. But here's the thing, I'm not letting my guard down just 'cause a name feels familiar.
Before we jump to any conclusion, I'll check everything and make sure you're safe, [player name]. I won't let you fall into any possible danger, no matter what!
If this "solar essence" they mentioned is real? That's our first test.
Aaaand... here it is.
Message boards in Ezette typically have storage compartments built into their base. Kamui searches, and sure enough, inside one of them, he finds the solar essence mentioned in the message.
Good thing Asimov gave me this portable detector. Lemme test it first.
Take a small sample... drop it on the test strip, and wait 20 seconds...
We've got a result! Gold. We're good!
Yeah! I'm all set and ready for the connection!
Once the connection is complete, Kamui places a small amount of solar essence into his chest for absorption. The core within him begins to rotate as the essence takes effect.
He feels it clearly. The essence spreads outward, gradually flowing through every circuit in his body.
It's incomparable to Babylonia's synthetic essence. This surge feels different, more alive. It might finally be enough to break through the limitations that have bound him.
...?!
Suddenly, a weight like thousands of tons of stone crushes down on him, forcing Kamui to one knee against the wall. At the same moment, piercing pain drills into his brain, violently tearing his M.I.N.D. apart before brutally fusing it back together.
He knows this sensation all too well. During his adaptation to the Aeternion frame, he endured this same tearing multiple times before his M.I.N.D. finally recovered to its current state.
But this time, it's far more overwhelming than anything before. Kamui recalls an archive he once read, detailing the training process of Project Barleycorn:
Was this what he experienced back when he was still in Ezette?
D-don't... nngh... don't worry. I'm... I'm okay, Commandant.
It's... like before. M-my M.I.N.D... it's... fixing itself. Just more...
AHH—!
The words die in his throat. Another surge of agony tears through him, stealing what little strength remains.
Deep within his M.I.N.D., the scattered shards shudder, then pierce, as needle-thin threads impale them. Like surgery without anesthetic, his memories are forced together stitch by agonizing stitch, each seam weeping blood.
Kamui looks up, and there they are. Two faces, once shrouded by the intangible mist of his memories, now clear before him. He knows what he should call them, but until now, he could never recall a single detail of their features.
Until now. Finally, he sees the complete picture.
Mom... Dad...
But he only remembers their faces. Nothing more.
His red-haired "mother" and silver-eyed "father" simply stand there motionless.
This is as far as his repaired M.I.N.D. can take him, for now.
The faces he'd only just remembered begin to blur, fading like mist until they vanish completely. The scene before him shifts. He's now back in Ezette's ruins, and standing in front of him is the familiar human commandant.
...Yeah.
Finally, having endured the agony of his torn consciousness, Kamui slowly rises to his feet.
This essence stuff is actually working on my damaged M.I.N.D.
And that message board... it had Ezette's internal code markings. So I'm thinking...
Unable to overcome his hesitation, Kamui swallows the rest of his words.
"So I'm thinking... maybe these people really are from Ezette. Not enemies trying to trick us. So maybe we really can trust them?"
Even he knows this reasoning isn't convincing enough.
So I'm thinking... I'll leave it to you, [player name]. You decide. That way, I don't lead us wrong just 'cause my feelings are all mixed up in it.
Aight, I trust your call.
For real? Why?
...Alright. Then let's do this. Together.
I'll finish absorbing the rest of the essence. Then we move.
The interval between the two absorptions is short, so there won't be any severe reactions. After absorbing the remaining portion, Kamui chooses not to linger and immediately heads to the next destination.
If that message was legit, then the survivors should still be holed up in the comms room.
Problem is... Ezette's passages are locked behind clearance levels. Different passwords for different paths. And if I recall correctly, the comms room should be in a higher-level path.
Which means... we hit the archive room first! Master access controls are there. We unlock the path from the source.
This way! Follow me, Commandant!
Huh? No way!
No, no, no. Okay, so here's the thing: Ezette doesn't have maps.
Lemme think... What did they say back then...?
"A map for your own home? Only a fool with no sense of north from south would need that. Ezette has no place for those who can't find their own way."
Yeah! So they've got these signposts, but they're written in this specific code. You just gotta know how to read them. Maps don't exist.
Harsh, right?? When I was a kid learning this system? I got chewed out constantly.
Yeah, it's like super exclusive to Ezette! No other base does this. It's our whole thing!
Actually, y'know, I think I heard it wasn't always like this. Apparently, they used to have regular signposts.
But as far as I can remember, this was just how it worked.
Check it! See this symbol? That means "archive room." And this little symbol next to it is telling us to take the left corridor.
Let's roll!
Words still hanging in the air, Kamui's hand closes around yours and tugs you onward, tracing the path he just described.
Oh hey, wanna try guessing what the symbols mean, Commandant?
It's actually super fun! And once you get the hang of it, you can navigate Ezette like a total pro. Solo mode unlocked!
Oh! Perfect timing! Check it out—three pathway signs, right in a row! This is literally the best teaching moment ever.
Just a tiny hint: try using those coding patterns you already know, Commandant!
You examine the signs for all three pathways. Sure enough, traces of familiar coding patterns reveal themselves in each one.
This is why you're you, [player name]! Your brain just works.
You're totally right! The last sequence is the route directions. Like this one? That's the "yes, this is the right path" symbol. And the one after? That's the archive room.
And this last bit means follow this corridor all the way to the end, then hang a right, and we're there!
Ohhh, that one? That's a special creation! One-of-a-kind! It basically means:
"This path just loops you around in a big useless circle and dumps you back where you started. So maybe don't be that big dummy."
Yeah! I've been getting little pieces back about her. That's exactly the kind of thing she'd do.
Apparently, her first idea was to just blindfold herself and scribble randomly. Whatever came out? That's the symbol. She said it'd be a secret code no enemy could ever crack.
She never even got to pitch it! Dad intercepted that plan immediately. Talked her down to something that actually, y'know, worked.
Yeah! That's my dad.
Speaking of these memories he'd never shared with anyone before, Kamui's mood visibly brightens.
I still can't remember most of it... It's more like... a feeling, y'know? Like I just know back then life was good, happy.
That's probably 'cause of how Ezette was set up. Different from other military bases. Here, it was all about families.
Family garrisons. Little units coming together to make one big one. I really hope I get it all back someday...
Even these little pieces, though? Just thinking about them makes me happy. They must've been really worth holding onto.
Kamui talks as you walk, offering up fragments of memory, some real, some maybe imagined. He doesn't stop to notice until the archive room door looms before you: he's been spilling his thoughts the entire way.
...Commandant, have I been talking your ear off?
Then when I remember more, I'll tell you. Every little bit!
For now, let's head in.
It is the joy of rediscovering something he thought was gone forever. The emotion wells up from deep within him, impossible to contain, a desperate wish to share this happiness with the one who means everything.
Identity verification complete. Authorization confirmed. Opening entrance now. Welcome back.
You slip into the archive room without incident. Screens hum with light, machinery churns quietly; everything here is still running, still active. Someone's been using this place.
Access permissions... permissions...
Kamui's eyes scan the electronic displays flickering across the main console. A few deft inputs later, and he's found the pathway to controlling access permissions for every corridor.
Warning: Current account [SUE-03 Kamui] does not have administrator access. Authorization denied. Please log in with an account that has administrator permissions.
An account with administrator permissions... that'd have to be the leader.
Kamui doesn't hesitate. His finger finds [Odile] on the login screen, and he types in the password without pause:
Logged in as [Odile]. Identity Level: Leader. Access permissions granted.
Ha. Of course that's the password. Mom never changed it. Ever.
Kamui's voice carries a warmth he can't hide. The number tugs at something deep, and suddenly he's back in that afternoon, feeling it all over again.
Honestly, we're all kinda the same. Every place in Ezette that needed a password from me? I used this same date too.
Yeah. It's from when I was real little. Can't even remember exactly how old. Ezette's Family Day. March. We took our first family portrait together!
...Also the only one we ever took.
