Story Reader / Main Story / 26 Cradle Parade / Story
After a grueling six hours of nonstop battles, the trio finally reaches the entrance to the passage Shorthalt spoke of.
Counting the time spent backtracking through debris for supplies, it's been over ten hours since you awoke.
If everything here is under Lithos' control, how long will it be till his "final shot" finds you?
Something feels off...
Things are going too smoothly. Is this really a base of Lithos'?
Lamia might not have even noticed herself, but she's become a bit more proactive compared to in the beginning.
He probably doesn't even care. I've been in the area for almost a month, and it's always been like this.
Uh, maybe you're special to him? He clearly wants to kill me, but he hasn't caught up with us yet nor sent any Corrupted to stop us.
Besides, the terrain is really complex here, but we managed to find our destination without much problem.
That's true. I thought we would've at least spent one whole day searching for the right path, yet we're here already. It's like someone's been guiding us...
Ha. Who knows? There can very well be someone else in a place like this. For example, a Lithos clone, or a ghost of his... or one of those big guys up there.
He points upward at the swimming whales that clearly don't belong in the sky.
There's nothing normal about this place... or that Ascendant. Who in their right mind would decorate their lair with flying whales, right?
...
Perhaps it's the physical manifestation of someone's imagination...
The amusement park... and these whales... they're like a fantasy from the M.I.N.D. of a child trapped at the bottom of the deep sea.
She lifts her head and gazes up at the whales swimming in the sky.
Ascendants skilled in disrupting others' M.I.N.D.s induce hallucinations using the Punishing Virus. The hallucinations are usually connected to the memories of the corrupted person and the Ascendant themselves.
Sometimes they also use certain special methods... for example, in hospitals and laboratories, there are existing Corrupted with similar capabilities...
They'd use those methods to set up a fixed illusion, and all nearby Constructs would be dragged into that illusion after being corrupted.
Designing a massive illusion and inputting it into the mind of a Corrupted requires a lot of effort, though. It's usually much easier to use one's own daydreams as a template.
It's just that... the scope of this place seems to be beyond what can be achieved by corruption alone. It's more like the building itself is a Corrupted.
No, no... I simply heard about it, that's all.
It could also be an illusion created by a large number of virtual reality equipment and Corrupted.
I'm more inclined to believe this explanation. Even during the Golden Age, many themed resorts would use virtual reality equipment as decor.
Still, if this is really all a projection, it sure feels real. It's like I'm going insane! Plus, this place is ridiculously vast... probably bigger than even an aircraft carrier.
Could that purple-haired midget really have done all this alone?
One of Luna's buddies?
Huh?
Makes sense.
...
Huh? What door? Is there something wrong with your eyes?
Upon closer inspection, you realize that you mistook the side of a fence for a door.
Are you all right?
He approaches with concern and grasps your arm with his rough palm. You try your best to hide your fear and disbelief from his scrutinizing gaze.
Your eyes are bloodshot. How long has it been since you last rested?
This doesn't make sense...
Puzzled, he cradles your face in his hands, yet his soft touch immediately sends a sharp pain shooting through your left cheek.
The skin he just touched has split open. Blood streams down from the wound and drips onto your chest.
Shorthalt lets go right away, staring at his hands in disbelief.
You...
You touch your cheek wound tentatively, and a whole piece of skin peels off, landing in your palm.
...Eek!
Your corruption must be quite severe. The serum shot you got won't last long.
But it doesn't add up... If the severity of the corruption were due to the high Punishing concentration here, Lillian and I should feel it too.
But see, as high as the concentration may be, it shouldn't be causing this much damage so soon.
...
She extends her hand, but hesitates and looks down.
N-nothing. Forget it.
Let's split up and investigate, then. Lithos had been through three doors in this square, so let's each take one. That should save us some time.
Uh, actually, let me take the left one.
The previously timid "Lillian" suddenly blocks the door.
...Um...
Of course, Lamia can't reveal the truth: she claimed the door on the far left because she sensed a path behind it that's filled with Red Tide.
Neither Constructs nor humans can normally enter such a path. This makes it an excellent spot for Lithos to hide his secrets.
I guess I just have this feeling in my gut... like the door might lead to somewhere only someone my size can squeeze through... or something.
All right, you go left, then.
For some reason, this seemingly illogical statement immediately convinces Shorthalt.
We gotta trust our gut sometimes, after all. And it's not like the two of us are especially partial toward the left door.
I'll take the middle. Commandant, you go right. That door doesn't seem very secure, so it's probably less guarded inside. It'd be a better choice for you since you're injured.
He points to the door on the far right, making sure that you won't mistake something else for a door once more.
In that case, I'll...
Wait, I think someone's coming...
What? So you had a scouting device on you all along!
We'll talk about this later. Hurry and hide!
The trio crouch behind the carousel. Soon, you hear combat noises from not far away.
Hard to tell. Let's wait and see.
A moment after the battle noises cease, light footsteps sound from behind the door on the right.
You peek out from behind a wooden horse and look toward the cage door...
Cleaning... complete. No... anomalies... found.
A monster you've never seen before is uttering human language in an elegant voice, struggling with the syllables as it goes.
...Darn it. These Hetero-Creatures are becoming increasingly similar to humans.
Shh...!
Lithos... still refuses... to let us... kill Loki.
He says... Loki is... protecting. Haha... he just... cannot let her go... even though... he knows that... it does... more harm than good.
Not worthy... to be... Mother's child.
Finished... four hours later... you... continue cleaning.
Understood.
...
Before you can make a sound, the girl next to you gestures desperately, as if it's taking every ounce of her self-restraint to refrain from reaching out and covering your mouth.
No, don't try to get his attention...
That's not the real Noan... just a copy created by Kurono. His memories have probably been tampered with as well. He definitely won't remember you!
Realizing that she had revealed something she shouldn't have, the girl quickly retreats into the shadows.
I'm not sure either... I...
Lamia hasn't quite grasped the distinction between "Kurono", "Project Winter members," and "defectors" yet.
All she can do is vaguely relay what she's heard from Lillian.
It's just what I heard... They told me that those people wanted to trade with Lithos but were afraid he'd betray them and simply disappear after getting what he wanted...
That was why they had to hand Lithos a clone instead of the real thing... after all, only the original person themselves can be cloned.
Noan is in Babylonia most of the time. The only opportunity someone could have copied his M.I.N.D. would be during an examination.
Could there be members of the Purifying Force lurking within the Science Council?
I think Simon once mentioned that, after the Red Tide Influx, Dark Aries was taken away for questioning. Could it have happened then...?
He's gone.
Let's stop worrying for now. We can investigate when we get back.
Our top priority now is to find where Lithos stores the M.I.N.D.s. Only by killing him can we escape.
Do the terminals you're holding work?
All right. If we don't hear from one of us after half an hour, the rest of us will head in their direction to find them.
Be especially careful, Commandant. Your wounds haven't healed yet, so please be extra cautious.
If you get seriously hurt here, we can't carry you out and transform you into a Construct right away. You won't survive.
Caught in the pit of despair, the four and a half people finally meet here. With different feelings in their hearts, they embark on a solitary journey following their own track.
