Story Reader / Main Story / 16 Evernight Beat / Story
The moon is hanging high above the city by the time your work to support the conservation area is over.
Defensive artillery runs silently at the city outskirt. Building repairs inside the conversation area are not over; people set up tents at the foot of the CPF, resting and dining by the sporadic campfire and the moonlight.
You can hear the conversation of two soldiers from a nearby tent. They have kept their voices low to avoid disturbing others' rest, but you still manage to hear them, having sat close by.
Why aren't you sleeping?
...Can't sleep.
Something on your mind?
...
The Scavenger soldier sighs heavily after a long silence.
Sigh... It just feels unreal.
Before you lot saved me and took me here, my friend and I were just wandering about.
There was no tent, not to mention a bed, just in case some Corrupted showed up during our sleep and took us out. We had to rest back-to-back, guns in our hands, hidden in a hole somewhere.
Now there's a tent, and food, and Babylonia to keep us safe. We ain't relying on our junk equipment to protect ourselves no more.
There's still a gun in my hand, but my friend couldn't last long enough to get help from Babylonia.
I'm sorry.
There's nothing to apologize for. Ol' Johnny and I both knew we'd die any moment. No despairin' without dreamin', that's how we Scavengers see it.
But seeing the conservation area being rebuilt, hearing the news of other cities getting taken back, and receiving supplies from Babylonia—that's when I knew that the days of living in fear were over.
Safety and stability are back, and it all just feels so unreal.
I understand.
I used to be a soldier fighting on the frontline as well. Barely got rescued from underneath the grim reaper's scythe, and now I'm stationed way back here in the conservation area.
The cries of my company when they died still echo in my ears. I can still feel their broken limbs on my fingertips.
Enemies with overwhelming power easily took down my squad. Despair had shattered my will to fight.
The last thing I saw before I blacked out was a raven-winged Ascendant.
But you still survived.
Yeah. I found out afterward that a squad managed to defeat the Ascendant and held the defense line.
Who were they?
Gray Raven. That's what the report said.
Aren't they the ones here earlier today...
That's right. They're still fighting on multiple battlefields, even to this day.
It's because of soldiers like them that I don't think humans are hopeless in this war.
I see... We were both crushed by despair, which is why the safety we're feeling now is so unreal, I guess.
Enough with the cheesy stuff. We're alive, after all.
As long as we live, we have to carry on our companions' hopes and dreams and bring them to fruition.
...You're right.
Don't you have some cards with you? If you can't sleep, how about a game?
Sigh... Sure.
...
...
Dammit... I can't even hold my cards steady now...
The old, raspy voice of the Scavenger sounds shaken.
I'm going to bed... We'll play next time.
Having said that, the Scavenger does not seem to have fallen asleep, given the rustling sound you hear from the tent.
Right, next time. Both of us.
You hear quiet sobbing from the tent, and his weeping adorns the silent night.
You stand up and walk far away.
You hear a lullaby, on and off, on your way. Following the sound, you see Liv sitting in a crowd next to a woman, humming along with her. The woman is teaching her how to sing the song.
Between the two lies a familiar, kitten-like boy. The corner of his mouth is still dotted with crumbs of rations; Liv has covered him with a blanket, in case he catches a cold during the night.
The woman teaches Liv as she watches carefully at the sleeping boy, gently rubbing away the crumbs by his mouth.
Liv gestures to you to be quiet. It seems that the boy has just fallen asleep.
The woman carries a cup to you.
This is some soup that we made. I hope you won't mind.
You find yellow-tinted broth inside. Behind them is a pot with barely enough soup cooked, but she still fills your cup to the brim. The sweetness of corn perfumes the air.
Yes. We planted them on the experimental farm inside the conservation area.
Akdilek brought us excellent seeds for corn from other conservation areas, turning the impossible dream of growing crops possible.
You take the cup from the woman and take a sip.
The initial bitterness turns to sweetness as the corn mixture passes your throat, its fragrance filling your mouth. As the woman has said, this is something impossible to dream of in the past, with the harsh environment on the surface.
There's something I want to say to you ever since leaving the no man's land.
Looking at Liv and you, the woman is getting emotional. Her lips are trembling before eventually saying two words.
Thank you.
You didn't mind how hostile we were when we first met, saving my grandson nonetheless and bringing us here to this conservation area.
Even though we agreed with relocating here, we still didn't approve of everything Babylonia did when we first arrived.
But after living here, we start to realize something we didn't want to accept—that even though the World Government has abandoned us once, it doesn't mean that everyone there has given up those of us remaining on the surface.
The conservation areas built one after another are the best evidence.
Old habits die hard, but we Scavengers have left the no man's land behind. Perhaps it's time we start anew.
After thanking you, the woman's words come out nonstop like a broken dam.
My apologies. Someone my age should be able to remain calm despite the changes, but it turns out I'm still as sentimental as ever.
She wipes away the tears from the corner of her eyes, returning to her grandson's side, sitting down and caressing his cheek.
Still, the gentle smile hung at the corner of her mouth cannot hide the sorrow underneath.
They finally have food on their plates and a roof above their heads, but the only family they have left is each other.
All her other relatives, much like the many families on the surface, have been lost during the war with the Punishing Virus.
Liv reaches out and gently pats the woman on the back.
The woman is no longer the defensive mother she once was, leaning her head on Liv's shoulders and drifting off to sleep.
Seeing the woman and child by her side, Liv looks at you and nods, indicating that you can leave this area to her.
The temperature begins to decrease as the night continues. People gather in their tents in groups, soundly asleep, accompanied by the moonlight and the lullaby.
It is midnight by the time you confirm all the recent mission logs.
Gray Raven's main mission in the coming days will be to boost morale in each fighting region to establish people's hope for victory.
Just like what the President said. Clearing Corrupted, scouting, transferring supplies—simple, cumbersome, and focused work has become the major theme of your recent days.
Conservation areas are being built one after another behind the frontlines. With the help of Akdilek, people are trading with each other. ARU is being steadily rebuilt. Lost bases in some areas are recovered by the Forsaken.
With each of your recent missions, you can see the surface is on track to being reclaimed.
You have also fulfilled your objectives perfectly, encouraging the men and women on the ground as the Parliament hopes.
Yeah. I found out afterward that a squad managed to defeat the Ascendant and held the defense line.
Who were they?
Gray Raven. That's what the report said.
Aren't they the ones here earlier today...
That's right. They're still fighting on multiple battlefields, even to this day.
It's because of soldiers like them that I don't think humans are hopeless in this war.
It's great to have Gray Raven here.
There's hope if Gray Raven's with us.
Don't give up. Gray Raven's coming.
Similar phrases have been appearing around you. People's attention has also become another form of scrutiny, protecting as well as pressuring you.
The mission logs before you are both approvals and bounds of the Gray Raven.
Commandant, you're still awake?
Lucia, Liv, and Lee step inside the room one by one, interrupting your spiraling thoughts.
Liv walks toward you with a steaming tea cup.
Tea I made with the lavender I planted in the break room. Drinking it can relax your mind and relieve pressure.
You take the cup from her, and its warmth casts away the coldness on your fingertips after having swept through the mission logs.
Commandant, the pressure must have been building up inside you. What are you thinking? Talk to us about it.
Lee shakes his head, seeing the logs on the desk.
There are so much more to do, so many problems we can solve instead of staying in the back, safe and secured.
The situation isn't officially steady yet. We can't let our guard down on those who took the commandant away in the first place.
This name has been appearing around you more often lately.
If you do anything out of the ordinary during this time, even the President can't protect you.
President Hassen and the others have realized the danger you could encounter since back then.
Kurono's behavior was also quite suspicious when you were connecting to Cerberus.
Why would they withhold the coordinates of Luna's home from Cerberus in the first place? Why did they give them the wrong coordinates and task you to locate them?
That arrangement was not a mistake. It was a deliberate test.
And ignoring the underlying threat Kurono is presenting, hidden beneath the calm surface of Babylonia—
You have been discovering Dead Zones along the railway, and you have heard of stagnant Corrupted in multiple areas. All of them point to the fact that something is changing on the surface.
A threat is lingering around you, the dots waiting to be connected.
Clearly, the Parliament wants to keep Gray Raven safely in the back and shape them into idols of hope. Sand down the sharp edges, and Gray Raven will become the tool to comfort the masses.
This does not bode well to everyone on the team. The thought of breaking the stalemate is on the edge of all of your minds, and that is when your terminal rings.
