Story Reader / Main Story / 16 Evernight Beat / Story
It has been several hours since the twins left the main battlefield of the Pulia Forest Park Ruins.
The large transport craft mentioned in the transmission finally appears in the form of the burning carcass of a plane, crash-landing before the teams that retrieved the sample of the Hetero-Hive Mother.
Eventually, the different teams could only manage to save the pilot, and they begin their retreat on foot.
But they see the same thing regardless of where they go: a crumbled CPF tower, farms burned down, and the lingering stench in the air like the smell of white phosphorous burning through flesh.
These disasters from the Punishing Virus have never left Earth. More and more people join the retreating forces; they abandon the well-constructed defense lines and conservation areas, moving the frontline back.
To live, people are giving up on the rebuilt houses, the unwieldy weapons, and the stored rations. Everything they built is now given up for survival; all they can do now is search for survivors.
...
Numb, Liv drags an injured survivor forward.
Even though her frame is almost entirely spent in the previous fight, Liv is still pushing herself to go forward.
Every step she is taking stresses her frame. The feeling of pain spreads from her feet to her entire body, but that does not stop her from moving forward.
How many has there been...
After settling [player name] and the rest, Liv returns to the front of the rescue line.
Her mind is way too foggy to know how many times she has performed first-aid and moved the wounded.
I... need water...
The survivor makes a plea. His voice was weak, but resolute in his last request. Hearing that, Liv immediately takes him to one of the last few water supply points within the ruins.
But the water at the supply point is already murky and stained. The survivor on her shoulders never got to take a sip of water from his homeland before he passes.
They were talking just a second ago. Now, they are a life apart.
In the blink of an eye, a life passes away next to Liv, quietly.
Even with all the treatment she can do, Liv still cannot save this life from the call of death.
Ugh...
Ever since she has become a medic, Liv has been in the company of death. She should be used to the fact that she cannot save everyone by now.
But, regrettably, she can still remember every name on the casualty list and the desperation she felt as they passed. In the face of death, Liv cannot become accustomed to it.
The wounded cannot wait. Liv adjusts her emotions before she continues searching in the ruins like a machine.
At least she will not miss the next one.
I must... move forward...
Liv knows that as long as the Punishing Virus is ravaging Earth, no one can afford to stop to grieve.
Is the eternal solitude of death the only cure for this depressing reality?
Sharp machine parts are sanding down Liv's artificial skin, revealing the mechanical skeleton underneath. The constant act of moving the wounded has her hands sparking.
Another crumbled wall has been moved. Liv wipes away the dust covering the face of the injured buried underneath, finding a small Construct, her short, white hair darkened from the fire, stained with vital fluid and blood.
I... I want to go home...
That's alright. Don't be afraid... I'm taking you home...
Seeing the girl's face, Liv remembers a past memory.
In the memory, Liv was lowering her voice to comfort the girl before her, as Liv was the last one facing the massive Corrupted that destroyed the city.
Stay quiet. I'll count to three, and you run toward the hill, okay?
The girl looked at Liv and nodded.
In that distant past, the army was also retreating like they are now, giving up on the districts one after another.
During that retreat, Liv saved the little girl that was at a similar age to when Liv enlisted, adorned with silver hair like her.
As she sees the girl who got turned into a Construct and got injured on the battlefield of despair, Liv begins to feel a sense of familiarity. A question rises in her mind.
Did I really save her...?
The last time she saw the girl, she was alive, direct in her expressions and fear.
This time, she is another chilling Construct like her, having trekked through countless battlefields.
Having saved her from a hopeless battlefield, Liv has delivered her to countless wars to confront death.
What will she think when she is about to die? Will she want to go home like she once did?
If death is inevitable, should they not suffer as little as possible?
Can I really save everyone...? Does anything that I do mean anything?
Is this really salvation in this ocean of pain?
It's not just her...
Hans... Simon... Lucia... Lee... and [player name]...
Everyone has fulfilled their duties as soldiers to their dying breath.
But now, so much is lost.
A breeze blows past the battlefield, sending a bag of hydrangea seeds from the little girl's arms to Liv.
What flower will blossom, and what fruit will they bear when the seeds are planted?
No one will know. The farmers are gone. The farms are lost.
That bag is damaged by the fire of war, the seeds soaked in blood and fuel.
Liv looks at the hills of remains before her.
She knows this scene exists not only here.
The cities and defense lines lost all look the same in the transmissions.
Humanity is once again connected: Akdilek, the Forsaken, ARU, and the countless Scavengers... not by hope, but by the desperation that the Punishing Virus has brought.
Can we really fix this now...?
There is a higher mountain after this one.
Another battlefield after this war is over.
As long as the Punishing Virus exists on Earth, nothing will be fixed.
It is a Sisyphean struggle, where momentary calmness is easily shattered the next moment.
How will humanity break this endless cycle?
