Story Reader / Main Story / 21 Spiral of Chronos / Story
The alarm begins blaring the same time the ground roars in rage, plunging the entire conservation area into chaos and screams.
In the distance, a dilapidated building totters on the brink of collapse, its steel framework squeaking as it sways violently. As far as anyone can see, everything is shaking.
Unable to stand firmly and on their wits' end, people hold on to whatever objects they can find and keep their bodies low to wait the quakes out.
No textbook or video can ever come close to describing the horror they are going through at this very moment.
They see with their very eyes how powerless they are, and every shake chips away at their will. Everything they once thought was indestructible crumbles into pieces with jaw-dropping ease. They try to escape out of instinct—only to find themselves completely at the mercy of Mother Nature.
In the face of Mother Nature, mankind is no better than a bunch of inconsequential small fry.
And yet...
Stop what you're doing at once and evacuate like you've been drilled to! And don't push!
Take cover where you are if you're in the medical zone. Pay attention to the injured! We've reinforced the shelters there, and y'all can count on it to sustain even the most violent of shakes!
Everything's going to be okay, and we aren't going to let another person get hurt!
There isn't a single idle soldier in sight, each and every single one of them doing what they should to help—which means that Gray Raven can't let anything stand in its way, either.
After a moment's hesitation, Gray Raven jumps into action.
Helping Bridget drive her longsword deep into the ground to steady her, Lucia nods at you, her eyes calm and reassuring as always.
Liv, on the other hand, fires at a concrete pillar teetering on the verge of crumbling with a Levi-Gun, blowing it into pieces that pound the ground where no one stands.
After pulling some residents away from the trial ground and out of harm's way, you turn around and, at the top of your lungs, shout your question at the Construct that was holding a monitoring device just now.
Nothing except that the epicenter is ten-to-fifteen kilometers away from here. Will have to go to the command center to find out the rest!
All channels are temporarily down!
On it!
It's right there! Three o'clock from the signal tower!
After pointing into a certain direction in the conservation area, Bridget tosses a set of keycards over this way.
There are people on duty around the clock, but in case you don't see anyone there, the underground garage is right outside the command center's safety tunnel!
The wind and the chaos that now dominates the conservation area flood your ears the entire time you sprint toward the command center.
With the most violent of trembles behind, the conservation area is now deep in screams and cries, as well as people assisting those calling for help.
Right then, out of the corner of your eye, you see a pair of trembling hands with a thumbs up that dangles off a stretcher being carried away by a few Constructs.
Aren't you a tough one, huh...
Yes, come what may—because together, we're strong.
As soon as you open the door to the command center, you are met with an unbelievable mess. Sitting right in the center of the gigantic central system with a straight face are two Constructs, their hands flying over the control panel so fast that your eyes can't even catch up.
One of the Constructs' arm seems obviously crushed out of shape, except she seems completely unaware of it.
The spacetime distribution and characteristics... and the electromagnetic parameters... What in the world is going on? None of this is making any sense!
Emergency communications is 98% activated... 99%... There we go! Damn it. We aren't hearing anything back from Conservation Area 27!
Oh, thank God!
The liaison officer almost jumps out of her seat.
We aren't going anywhere!
The Construct says without even turning his head around.
Not good at all. No comms, and we still haven't heard back from Babylonia.
Not good at all. The abnormal electromagnetic signal of this earthquake is weird, and...
Yes, and it's right around Conservation Area 27, which is 17 kilometers away from here. The seismic depth is highly unusual, though. Is this really just a normal earthquake?
The epicenter is 2,000 meters underground, if our device got the measurement right.
Which makes no sense at all... because if that's where the epicenter is, then we should be seeing catastrophic damage here just 17 kilometers away from the epicenter!
And Conservation Area 27 can only be having it worse... because they have a bigger population than we do with their high-power CPFs...
Wait. Use the car down in the underground garage!
The car comes with a mobile emergency command device that contains all our data. You'll be able to connect to the nodes with it. We've had a dozen nodes set up already.
We'll keep trying and see if we can get in touch with the other zones.
Exchanging a look with Lucia and Liv, you scurry toward the safety exit.
The Constructs, on the other hand, stay where they are.
Please fasten your seatbelt, Commandant. The road is about to get bumpy.
The entire time the military vehicle speeds down the quake-stricken highway, Liv busies herself with adjusting the radio in the car.
Half an hour later, you finally hear a voice emerge from the white noise that's been filling the air.
This is the [BUZZ—] Commandant speaking. This is an SOS message to all squads from Babylonia.
I repeat. This is the [BUZZ—] Commandant speaking, and this is an SOS message to all [BUZZ—] from Babylonia.
A group of Hetero-Creatures [BUZZ—] attacked [BUZZ—], and unknown electromagnetic radiation [BUZZ—] abnormal...
Commandant! That was an SOS message just now!
Just confirmed the sender to be Apodidae under Task Force. Their last mission report was made 3 hours and 25 minutes ago, stating that they were on a joint mission with Engineering Force around Conservation Area 27.
That's probably the squad Bridget was talking about.
On it. SOS message received by Gray Raven. We're on our way!
The closer the car approaches the location shown, the stronger the reaction of Punishing you pick up.
You can't be sure if there will be aftershocks, but you decide to go with the most safe-looking route that goes around the city—in case you ever need to engage any enemies when an aftershock hits.
The weather seems worse than it was just now. The heavy clouds descending upon the horizon quickly rob you of your visibility and turn the gray buildings in the distance into a twisted mountain range.
Over the never-changing line of gray, however, a red flash quickly swooshes past.
When you turn your head around for a better look of what that was, however, you see nothing.
We're in close vicinity of where the SOS message was sent out, Commandant.
...Found them! I'm picking up reactions of them and Hetero-Creatures 923 meters away at 2 o'clock!
—!
Target has been directed to selected location, Commandant!
Laser barrier set up on the right!
On it!
Firing from across you, the mounted laser cannon accurately blows off a corner of the building you just marked.
Dealt the coup de grace, the already teetering walls crumble to the ground with an ear-splitting bang, whose falling concrete blocks block the Hetero-Creatures' way out.
Then, like a mille-feuille that rots in a time-lapse, the floors of the building go down in a chain reaction, instantly burying away the Hetero-Creatures that try to make their way up and crushing them into a crimson pool of syrup in the remains of the building.
In the rolling smoke, a few Hetero-Creatures make their way out of the debris—and among them is a deranged Hetero-Sapien that dashes straight at you, whose broken arm you can see sandwiched between broken concrete blocks.
Commandant!
Right when you pull the trigger, you hear a loud bang from behind you—and before you know it, something swishes past you with searing heat and heads straight for the Hetero-Creatures.
Right away, you roll over and brace yourself for what's coming next. A wave of eye-searing heat and blinding light later, what were still the Hetero-Creatures and the remains of the building until moments ago are now a pile of overcooked black stones.
The world is quiet again as your terminal beeps to inform you that all enemies have been neutralized.
Commandant! Are you alright?!
Turning around, you see a girl in her commandant uniform collapse to the ground, the rocket launcher over her shoulder still spitting out smoke.
Ha... ha...
Blood oozes through her fingers that wrap tightly around her arm.
Right. I'm on it!
Some simple patching should do.
Please stay still... and let me inject this serum for you.
Thank you... Wait, I mean. Oh my god. I'm terribly sorry!
Her arm still getting patched up by Liv, Sica apologizes at the top of her lungs as she looks out of the corner of her eye at the pile of burning metal a few meters away...
That was the vehicle you were still riding ten minutes ago.
The shot that took down the building took a turn and landed squarely on the car, which you never saw coming... but you're just glad that no one got hurt.
I'm feeling okay. See, I can still move...
Y... Yes!
Straightening herself and looking your way, Sica looks flustered. It seems like she hasn't yet recovered from everything that happened just now.
Yes, I know who you are...! I mean, everyone from my class... Wait, no. Everyone who's been to F.O.S. knows who you are...
Says Sica, looking more flustered now.
Oh, silly me!
I'm Sica LeBron. I came fresh out of F.O.S... and I currently serve as the Apodidae Commandant. It's truly a pleasure to meet you!
With the introduction, Sica pays you a proper, ceremonious salute—which you reciprocate with a salute.
Fresh out of F.O.S. and already serving? Now, that's rare.
(LeBron... I must have heard it somewhere before.)
Seeing Sica's glittering eyes brings you back to all the moments you looked into the shining bright eyes down in the audience when you delivered graduation speeches.
T-thank you...
But Commandant, you're not... Uh-hum, never mind...
You totally look the part now, Commandant.
I never thought you'd be the one getting my SOS message, Commandant [player name]...
Clenching her fist, Sica sounds upset.
Right... Of course, Commandant [player name]!
It doesn't seem like she heard you.
How she addresses you, however, is hardly what you want to discuss now.
It's just me... The rest of my squad is on a different mission, and I lost contact with them.
Sica quickly goes over what's happened.
She was sent here on a mission to help Engineering Force install new communication devices—but stumbled across a group of Corrupted and Hetero-Creatures on her way.
In the best interest of the engineers and the communication devices they came to install, she decided to stay behind to fight the enemies while the rest of her team escorted the engineers to safety in the nearby Conservation Area 27.
And everything went as planned—until the earthquake suddenly hit and severed all means of communication. In the last message she got from her team before the earthquake, they wrote that they had detected electromagnetic radiation of an unknown origin.
I sent out SOS messages multiple times while moving toward Conservation Area 27 but never heard back from anyone.
...And I only have myself to blame... for failing to come up with a more well-thought-out plan...
...Right, of course.
Going through Apodidae's last message in your head again, you can't help but think that the electromagnetic radiation is a new form of attack that Corrupted and Hetero-Creatures came up with—and if that's true, then you need to get to where they are as soon as possible.
Abruptly, an incoming call jolts the communication terminal to life.
It is the liaison officer, whom you met not long ago, her face looking grim.
We have an emergency.
A message was just received from soldiers near Conservation Area 27.
It's being addressed. A squad with communication expertise and their commandant headed to the site shortly after the support request was sent.
From the on-site report we just received, the situation is... far more dire than we could've ever imagined.
Have a look yourselves.
The attachment sent by the officer only contains a video and a string of coordinates.
What is this...?
Had you not known that the video was captured on-site, you would've been overwhelmed by disbelief upon seeing the projected image.
It unveils a spiral tower stretching toward the heavens.
With its crimson exterior and the ominous number displayed on the screen, the severity of the Punishing Virus concentration becomes apparent. Not even the most extensive protection would grant a human survival inside for more than a single minute.
However, its appearance is even more dread-inducing.
No word can convey its unearthly presence that surpasses any structure rooted in the ground. Its sturdy foundation pierces through the soil, while the sharp summit thrusts into the clouds.
At the sight of it, one cannot help but wonder: if the Tower of Babel—a testament to human ambition seeking to ascend into the realm of gods—were to materialize, would it bear an uncanny resemblance to this otherworldly creation?
Yet, its very existence evokes not awe and admiration, but a sense of impending menace within humans.
It's said that the ancestral primates took millions of years to evolve into distinct lineages of humans and modern apes. In stark contrast, the development of the Punishing Virus, from chaos to the emergence of Hetero-Sapiens, transpired almost in the blink of an eye by comparison.
Subsequently, the humanoid creatures birthed by the Hetero-Hive Mother unleashed havoc upon humanity a mere two hours after their genesis, leaving a wound that remains unhealed to this day.
You are inevitably reminded of the Central Purification Filter standing in the Pulia Forest Park, enveloped by the entangled mass of Hetero-Plants.
Unlike that one, this spiral tower before your eyes does not even bother to put up a camouflage, only blatantly revealing its danger and hostility to all humans on the surface and in space.
Emerging from "Eden" and the "Tree of Life", they have meticulously observed and emulated every facet that defines humanity. Which path will they embark upon next? What evolution awaits ahead?
No one dares to venture a prediction, yet the answer unfolds before the eyes of all.
—Their pursuit now gravitates toward the stage of civilization.
A profound silence engulfs everyone, leaving all utterly speechless. Yet, you see the same conclusion etched upon each face.
Are you still with me?!
The area hasn't witnessed any Hetero-Creature attacks so far. However, considering the event in Pulia Forest Park, it's imperative that we evacuate all residents before the situation spirals out of control.
There's no way to know. We can't possibly approach that tower with the Punishing Virus concentration as it is. Without complete immunity, attempting to enter would be no different than an act of suicide.
Such a high Punishing Virus concentration is beyond enough to raise any form of alarm, but we didn't notice any indications of it on the way here...
And the sharing of satellite images from Babylonia stopped forty minutes ago.
Forty minutes ago... Right around when the last wave of earthquakes began.
Which means the tower had already risen by then... How come we didn't see it at all?!
Suddenly, a recollection flashes in your mind—that of a twisted structure's silhouette you glimpsed in the distance while traveling. At the time, you dismissed it as a mere hallucination caused by the persistence of vision...
I still can't reach my squad...
Sica clenches the terminal in her hand.
I must get to them immediately!
We are not able to locate them precisely yet due to electromagnetic interference.
All we know is that Woodcock and Mountain Owl have already arrived. The other squads that were on missions in the vicinity are en route to provide support.
Wait, I-I want to go too! Please, let me come with you!
Although Apodidae is a newly formed squad, I see each member as my important teammate... We've lost contact for a while, and I'm really worried about them.
Sorry... I know these words may sound immature coming from a commandant like me, but I... And please don't worry about my injury. I assure you I won't slow you down!
You nod at Lucia, and she immediately discerns your intent.
Destination: Conservation Area 27, coordinates confirmed.
