Story Reader / Main Story / 21 Spiral of Chronos / Story
Advancing to the liaison officer's coordinates, a disorienting timelessness surrounds you. Intense heat and palpable tension blur your thoughts. Sweat trickles down, a reminder of the toll.
As the summit of the spiral tower comes into view, it presents a striking image—a sharp, red thorn piercing the fabric of the horizon, appearing both majestic and ominous. It seems to suspend itself above the planet, resembling the Sword of Damocles that may fall upon one's head anytime.
However, no matter how far you have journeyed toward that trenchant blade, it remains out of reach, perpetually hanging near the edge of the sky.
[player name]...
Beside you, Sica, the young commandant, does not appear in a state any better. She brushes aside her sweat-soaked hair with a heavy breath, and raises her terminal once more to confirm the direction.
I-it is the correct direction...
She immediately responds upon hearing your call.
Commandant, the satellite map suggests that we are getting closer to our destination... Huh...?
Anything wrong?
Liv seems a bit hesitant but still shakes her head.
Don't worry about it... It was just a momentary glitch on the screen, most likely due to the unstable signal.
Liv turns off the holographic projection. As you and Lucia exchange glances, a somber and serious expression settles on both of your faces.
The closer we get to that tower, the more off everything feels... Nevertheless, let's stay on our toes. Since it's already in our sight, the direction we are going in can't be wrong.
Roger that!
Got it, Commandant. I'll keep an eye on the surroundings and everyone's state.
Eh?
Hold on a moment... Commandant, the Support Force didn't respond to my communication request. I've been constantly sending signals to the liaison officer through the temporary channel.
I can't reach anyone through my terminal either... Just in case, I'll open the authorization of my terminal so that I can immediately pick up signals once the connection is restored! I-it's not like I'm on any important missions anyway...
Please don't even mention it! This is the least I can do now!
Yes, Commandant.
As you continue your march, the lack of response from the liaison officer weighs heavily on your mind. The photos and string of coordinates you received earlier now seem like the final communication from her...
In a daze, you suddenly hear Liv's hesitant voice coming from behind.
Um... Everyone... have you smelled... anything strange?
Smell... anything?
I think I've smelled grass...
All of you come to a halt, your gazes fixated on the desolate and barren ground beneath your feet.
And the saltiness of seawater...
The scorching sunlight penetrates through the thick clouds, causing your neck to be seared by its rays. Sweat trickles down your body, drenching your clothes, while a growing sensation of thirst consumes your mouth.
Now that I think about it, I have... Since just now, I've smelled something delicious... like food. But where's the source of these smells...?
As Liv's words reach your ears, a sudden realization dawns upon you. The air around you carries a distinct and familiar odor—a scent reminiscent of gun oil, the very one that you only smell when repairing firearms.
As if in a disorienting haze, you notice that your own voice sounds distant, and the focus of your vision begins to recede.
In your blurred sight, you perceive Sica's arm extending toward you in a languid, slow-motion manner. The shock that fills her eyes unfolds at an unusual speed, as if time itself has been distorted.
[player name]... You are bleeding...!
As you touch your lip, blood flows out, staining your finger, yet you remain strangely unaffected by any sensation of touch or pain.
Meanwhile, a colossal crimson wave resembling a nuclear mushroom cloud emerges silently from the sky's edge. It slowly expands outward, yet only takes a mere instant to shroud your group. Relentlessly, it keeps extending toward the other side of the land, as though in pursuit of the endless horizon.
Before Sica finishes her words, her body suddenly stiffens, and she collapses to the ground as the uncanny incident unfolds before you.
The eerie light wave leaves no time for you to process or react, forcing your knees to buckle. Your mind feels constricted as if grasped by an immense hand, and a delayed pain pierces through your being, blurring your vision. Your senses start to fade, and you lose control over your limbs.
—It's the Mind Beacon contamination! You know you must quickly steady your mind...
The rapid progression of the contamination renders you powerless, unable to sever the M.I.N.D. Connection with Lucia and Liv or halt its relentless spread. In a devastating instant, the impact strikes deep within your brain, reminiscent of thousands of needles piercing through your Mind Beacon.
Consequently, Lucia and Liv collapse on the ground right before your eyes.
As your Mind Beacon struggles to stabilize, a sharp and distinct pain jolts through your body—unlike the contamination, it originates from a physical strike on the back of your neck. Your senses fade away, leaving you immersed in a state of unconsciousness.
The darkness resembles an inky beach after a neap tide, or sacrificial grounds of an alien civilization that sits at the barren border of another planet.
You find your feet settling on a surface constantly collapsing and reforming. Before you stands a lofty tower composed of multiple pillar-like formations, with its pinnacle shrouded in clouds like the mythical Tower of Babel.
In the hazy surroundings, red dots of light glow faintly, casting irregular crimson shades that dance across the layers of clouds.
The universe itself seems to reverberate in your ears. Echoing through the depths of space and time, distant voices converge into a cacophony of sound, carried by gushing winds that roar and scream.
As you take a step forward, the crying winds, despite their tremendous sound, offer no resistance. You find yourself landing on emptiness, akin to floating in space.
In this weightless state, you sense the presence of two threads pulling you downward, anchoring you to the ground. They are preventing you from drifting away into the vast void and being devoured by the crimson light emanating from the tower's peak.
Your aimless wander ends at the bottom of the tower. The black blocks that compose the tower swiftly transform, shifting into the form of a door, beckoning you to open it.
—Yet, the door opens itself the next moment.
You see Lee seated at a desk, repairing his frame.
A scene you have seen before. Once again, the familiar smell of gun oil permeates the air surrounding you. This image, the oil scent, and the coldness your fingertips feel upon touching the door handle abruptly pulls you into the "truth of memory"—
[player name], it's time to wake up.
As your consciousness gradually returns, the sense of touch is the first to resurface. Alongside the lingering pain in your nape, you realize you are in an uncomfortable posture, where your hands are bound tightly behind your back.
Next, a multitude of sounds flood your ears. From the front, you discern the sound of rapid, anxious breaths, accompanied by the sharp clatter of gravel being kicked around.
Then your sense of smell comes alive. You immediately detect the distinct odor of earthy soil and a metallic tang that hints at the presence of blood.
Your sight recovers at last, gradually regaining focus and readjusting to the brightness of your surroundings. Your gaze is drawn to a pair of military boots moving rhythmically back and forth, similar to the ones you are wearing. Looking up, you see...
Standing before you is Harley Jo, clad in a commandant uniform. Hearing your call, he halts his pacing and turns to face you... to be more precise, spares you his merciful sight with an arrogant demeanor.
Ambush? Ambush?!
Harley Jo seems deeply offended by this word. With a sudden burst of aggression, he pounces toward you, his eyes widened and pupils dilated to an abnormal degree. The rise and fall of his Adam's apple reveal his anxiety, and his fingers at his waist are twitching rapidly at an irregular pace.
The present Harley Jo seems a completely different person than the one you have known. For some inexplicable reasons, he is in an extremely abnormal mental state.
Ha, sure! Only something filthy and tricky can match up with a defector like you, don't you agree?
Save your cunning excuses. I saw it with my own eyes... you were messing around with two, no, three Ascendants! Three!
All of you are defectors! You think I'm so stupid that I can't realize it? You took advantage of the disarray in Babylonia, doing filthy business with the Ascendants! Now that I've caught you, just you wait. I'll make you pay for your greed...!
I've already contacted the Purifying Force!
Harley Jo raises the terminal in his hand. The screen is shattered, its cracked pieces obscuring any clear view of what lies beneath. However, he persists in frantically tapping on the screen, seemingly oblivious to its non-functional state.
Madness has devoured him, and you can only hope that such damage to the psyche is reversible. That wave of red light... You were also struck by its abrupt contamination. No—something tells you that the effects have been taking hold since you first entered the domain of the tower.
Akin to an alien creature hunting its prey, the tower emits a sweet, alluring poison, clouding minds and diminishing awareness.
Casting a swift glance around, you discover Lucia and Liv tied together behind you. Their frames are still in emergency sleep mode, likely a response to the turmoil in the M.I.N.D. connection. Nearby, Sica lies motionless in the same position as when the contamination erupted.
Before you can further check their states, a hand forcefully grasps your jaw, violently redirecting your gaze. Your vision is dominated by the delirious visage of Harley Jo.
Alright, the Purifying Force is heading here now... Before they arrive, let me take the life of you, the top dog of the defectors, to avenge my teammates who fell on the battlefield!
Hmph, yes, I will kill you. I'm going to kill you now... Your Ascendant friends are on their way over. I knew it!
Harley Jo is not even conversing with you, absorbed in his frenetic illusion as he presses his dagger against your skin. Powerless to stop him, you, however, are about to cut the rope binding you with the retractable knife hidden in your glove, and the connection with Lucia and Liv will soon...
You suddenly catch a glimpse of a person struggling to stand. The moment that figure raises an arm—
With lightning speed, you instinctively evade the anesthetic needle, the sharp tip grazing your face and drawing blood. Ignoring the wound, you swiftly break free from the rope and pin Harley Jo down with force, catching him off guard.
I-I... I...
Behind Harley Jo, Sica fails to steady herself due to the lack of strength and collapses on the ground once more.
I'm sorry...
Arrrrgh! How dare you!
Harley Jo fiercely resists in your arms, and you know that your weak control will not hold for long.
Commandant!
From behind, Lucia's voice breaks through the chaos. The emergency frame rebooting process is complete, and you regain the connection with your two Gray Raven members.
Sica manages to retrieve the dropped anesthetic gun and does her best to aim it at Harley Jo. The injected medicine successfully weakens his struggle, yet it fails to stop him from unleashing a barrage of malicious and venomous words.
You scum... Filth... Traitor of mankind... Running dog of the Ascendants...!
Upon breaking free, Lucia and Liv swiftly join your side, lending their assistance in restraining Harley Jo. Meanwhile, Sica stumbles over and seizes the rope you just cut to bind Harley Jo.
What happened?
I only know that my M.I.N.D. was affected for a moment... then I immediately lost consciousness. Commandant, I'm glad to see you alright...
I've detected signs of contamination in both Commandant's and Miss Sica's Mind Beacons... Please give me a moment. I'll run a quick check for you.
Thank you, Liv!
Commandant, how are you feeling?
Lucia responds to your bitter joke with a faint smile, but it only lasts a fleeting moment before her countenance turns even more serious.
You have my faith, Commandant. The connection between us seems very stable. I'm just surprised that even you couldn't notice the impact of the tower immediately, which means greater dangers lie ahead on the surface. I'm afraid the situation in Babylonia...
...I will do everything I can to help!
In response to your words, the young commandant before you undergoes a striking transformation. Her eyes sparkle like precious gems, reflecting a newfound energy and determination, and her face becomes illuminated with a radiant glow.
A swarm of filthy vermin!
Uh...
I'll run a contamination check on Commandant Harley Jo as well and try to find the cause.
Ah, this is actually a surgical anesthetic for emergency self-treatment. So it can only achieve local anesthesia...
I see... Leave the rest to me. I'll put Commandant Harley Jo to sleep for a little while.
—With the disarray finally settling down, you take the opportunity to carefully observe your surroundings.
It turns out that you have already arrived at the foot of the tower. Previously perplexed by the Mind Beacon contamination, not until now can you see a clear image of this tower emitting an unsettling red glow...
Unlike seeing it through a video, the shock of witnessing the tower with your own eyes surpasses anything you have ever felt.
Initially a mere dot in a photo and now a colossal red giant, the tower occupies more than half of your field of vision. The sheer magnitude of its presence reinforces the realization that this structure is far from ordinary, an alien creation that defies the boundaries of possibility.
The summit of the tower is emitting a glaring red light that pierces through the atmosphere. The structure resembles an ethereal ladder, stretching toward the vast expanse of outer space. The sight leaves an impression of a pathway, a bridge that may one day invite the arrival of guests unknown.
Upon gazing up at the tower from its bottom, anyone would be engulfed by a deep, overwhelming fear, whether it be a human, a Construct, or any being driven by biological instincts. It is a profound and heartfelt apprehension in the face of an alien creation that should never have existed.
Both Sica's and your terminals suddenly sound at the same time, shattering the suffocating silence.
Comms is recovered...!
Finally...
You hear Asimov's voice, but his image is nowhere to be seen. The camera jolts violently before it finally stabilizes, revealing a holographic projection on a table. A luminous blue screen of light materializes, displaying a vast expanse of red with a striking crimson dot at its center.
This is the 13th time I've requested to communicate. I'll make it brief. I believe you've already noticed that tower. We don't know yet how long it had existed underground before manifesting itself, but I seriously doubt it took long.
In other words, this thing rose from the ground out of the blue. It is the cause of all the earthquakes that have recently occurred on the surface.
It can emit electromagnetic radiation in the form of a visible red light that can contaminate the Mind Beacons of humans, causing several side effects such as mental disorders, hallucinations, drastic changes in personality, and even an increase in hostility.
And the contamination can affect all the Constructs connected to humans through their M.I.N.D... Also, the corrupted commandants can forcibly connect with Constructs.
...The range of the contamination can already reach Babylonia. The closer to the tower, the more exponentially the Punishing Virus concentration and the contamination level will increase.
So far, we have not discovered an effective approach of defense. Ordinary anti-radiation equipment proves futile against it. Only commandants who can resist Mind Beacon contamination can [BUZZ—]... Damn it...
[BUZZ—] you are the only one... can [BUZZ—]...
Asimov!
A girl's piercing scream erupts from the background, and the camera begins to tremble violently. Something abruptly covers the vision, plunging everything into absolute darkness.
Save the people who are still not affected! You must inform others of the situation [BUZZ—]... stop it from spreading [BUZZ—]...
Lee [BUZZ—] the key... the new frame is completely immune to the Punishing Virus. He—
The call is terminated.
Will Asimov be alright...?
Lee's new frame is completely immune to the Punishing Virus? I'm so relieved to hear that. Then his safety is guaranteed... I'm sure he will protect everyone in Babylonia!
...[player name], the distress signal is being sent in a larger range, and I've received more responses!
Sica raises her terminal. A constant stream of rendezvous comms from other squads pops up, thanks to the opened authorization. It seems that there are many more who have not yet fallen victim to that Hetero Tower.
Swallowtail, Caribou... and Strike Hawk?
Chrome's squad is also nearby? Let's meet up with them first!
Meanwhile, the terminal of Harley Jo, who still lies unconscious nearby, also begins to ring incessantly.
Abnormal heat sources are detected approaching from behind. They should be different commandants with their squads! But they are not responding to our comms requests, likely affected by the unknown radiation. There are three squads in total... now increasing to four!
From a distance, your gaze sees figures rushing toward the tower, like moths drawn to a flame. As the figures approach, their numbers steadily increase, forming a growing crowd. Some individuals even begin to fight each other along the way.
—This is probably the "Purifying Force" he called.
No problem!
Sica rises abruptly, driven by an overwhelming urge, but her attempt to maintain balance proves futile, causing her to collapse back onto the ground. Blood begins to flow from her nose.
Um... I-I'm sorry... Guess I need a bit more time...
You have sent a rendezvous request to all the terminals nearby, disseminating the crucial information Asimov conveyed through the secret code of F.O.S. to the commandants and Constructs who still remain unaffected—
Stay connected with your squad, reject any connection requests from commandants unknown, and rendezvous at the coordinates provided.
Leave it to me!
Commandant...
The frantic crowd on the horizon gradually swarms toward your location.
I'm ready.
