Story Reader / Main Story / 26 Cradle Parade / Story
About an hour and a half later...
Everything is in place. The trio retreat to a safe zone and activate the detonator.
With a loud bang, the great tree and all the replicated memories stored beside Cthylla turn to ashes in the blaze.
The entire space turns dark amidst the shaking, reminding Lamia of the darkness she saw when she fainted from the severe pain.
Ever since she touched that giant egg, she's had a vague feeling... that this entire space itself is alive.
Hard to believe there's even electricity in this forsaken place.
He activates the portable light on his terminal, casting light into the dark tunnel, where countless maws and fangs are glowing in a ghastly white.
****! We hit the jackpot!
The call comes too late as swarms of giant-toothed anemones charge directly at Lillian, following the light.
She frantically pulls out two rusty daggers from behind, but before she can retaliate, another Abyss Angel descends from above, taking a bite out of her flesh.
Arrgh!
Sharp teeth pierce through the artificial skin, leaving a patch of crimson blood on her back.
The bullet, following the predicted trajectory, hits the creature clinging to her, and silently slides down to the ground.
Shorthalt pushes Lillian aside, his sword slicing through the gaping maw just in time.
Just one left!
With it, Shorthalt immediately tosses the grenade he's been holding to cover the two retreating behind him.
The grenade explodes in a blinding light.
Standing back to back, the three of you pass eyes over your surroundings without turning on your flashlights.
...
......
—Click.
A crisp sound echoes down from up the stairs.
Click, click, click...
It sounds like someone walking—in a slow and abnormal fashion.
The crimson particles of the Punishing, like a stream rushing amidst a downpour, start gushing down from the depths as the sound slowly moves this way.
The lights that have gone out start flickering in the comforting twinkle of the red light spots.
With the darkness swallowing the light, she walks over a carpet of shadows.
She nods gently at the trembling souls, allowing the light to outline her form before darkness finds its way back into her body again.
...
Hurry up... and run...
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We're stuck! There's nothing but those monsters from earlier back there.
Commandant, we need to get rid of her here! She's going to join Lithos and have us cornered if we let her get away now!
The Hetero-Creatures back there are going to start jumping on us if we wait any longer. We can't learn how she fights unless we fight her!
No what? Do you have a better plan?
Just make sure these things don't get in my way, yeah?
Shorthalt grips his weapon, standing in front of the two.
Tsk, the light's out again!
Shorthalt raises the gun he's been holding and takes aim at the shadow lurking in the darkness.
Right when she has come close enough, a bullet hits Cthylla squarely in her claw. With an agonized scream, she takes a few steps back.
Watch out, the egg in her hand is missing!
Behind you!
A rush of crimson light bursts into your arms, shattering one of your ribs before you have a chance to dodge.
Your skin starts blistering right after coming in contact with the egg, and your jacket becomes soaked with the liquid that's a mixture of your blood and the red fluid of the Hetero-Creature.
Showing up fashionably late, two daggers thrust deep into its most crimson part. Lillian jumps up, flips over, and holds it in place with her own weight to keep it away from you.
The blistering would have been more than skin-deep had it stayed a few more seconds longer where it was.
Woah, direct contact with a Hetero-Creature?! Are you both okay?!
I'm fine!
For some reason, she sounds calm and firm.
Commandant?
Before you can say more, Cthylla lets out another scream that sounds like a moan.
My head... hurts... my M.I.N.D...
With it, Lamia starts seeing a whirlwind of memories of people who are long gone.
Enveloped in emptiness, Lamia is plunged into a deep sea of solitude, accompanied by a familiar agony.
But...
I can't let them see me because no one is going to accept a wolf in a sheep's skin—and it doesn't even matter that I never asked to be like this.
While her chaotic memories trap her on the spot, the egg breaks free of her dagger and returns to the embrace of its mother.
In a panic, you try to alert Shorthalt to that which keeps itself hidden in the dark.
How can I possibly...
As a source of intelligence, you will find your worth in survival.
She seeks answers from reason, only to be met with a chaotic whirlwind.
A source of intelligence... Right! The egg... We have to be... careful!
You've been paying extra attention to that thing for quite a while now!
Because it... ugh... my head still... hurts so much!
Like a predator that has its eyes on a target, it charges straight at the now-defenseless human.
The egg charges at the human again and, with seven of its Punishing stingers, pierces the human's arm.
She fires several shots at the twisted creature—which successfully drives it away in screams and splatters of blood.
...Run... or you're gonna die!
We can't do that. We can't just let her go like this, and there is no going back now. We have to stop her here once and for all.
The pain is so excruciating that it all but knocks you out cold, though it doesn't seem like the world wants to go any easier on you.
Commandant! Get behind me!
Why would anyone not want to live?! Have you all gone crazy?!
Light once again returns to the world around you—and that's when you see Shorthalt...
Before the two's very eyes, his sturdy figure shatters into countless pieces, plummeting to the ground without even affording him the opportunity to shout or utter a final word.
Shor...
With it, Shorthalt's vital fluid and M.I.N.D. splash onto Cthylla.
It takes less than a second for the fluids to seep into "her" body.
How could this be...!
The ground wriggles and swallows the pieces that were once Shorthalt.
The man who once fought for the past and future and for Valeria, who once looked out for the other you—has made its way back to the womb of Mother and Earth in pieces...
...without leaving so much as a trace.
Wait, up there!
Lillian pushes you out of the way before there's even time for you to react. The two of you tumble toward the corner in confusion.
It's flying... and it's super fast...
The girl struggles to get back on her feet and falls onto the ground. In trembling fear, she has to lean against the wall behind her to keep herself from falling again.
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Ugh...! The interference... it's very bad!
The egg is making an irresistible hum, attracting the one who once embraced "it."
W-what?!
The wriggling noise is inching this way by the second.
Aaaaah...
—At her wits' end, she grasps your scarred hands.
The strange sensations coming through your Mind Beacon seem to explain why the "girl" has refused to connect with you this entire time.
The giant egg, however, charges this way again, leaving you no time to ponder further. This time, it's coming straight for Lillian.
You still barely know her, but she did play her part in helping all of you find Lithos' M.I.N.D. replicas and trying to protect you just now.
...!
Yet in this moment, she remains frozen on the spot as she trembles in fear.
Hearing the gunshot, the "egg" turns around immediately, sending your last bullets flying straight into the empty tunnel.
The tunnel starts shaking so violently that it looks like it might collapse any second.
Having regained her composure through the M.I.N.D. connection, Lamia quietly counts her blessings.
Let's run!
There's still hope as long as she can get out of this place—she can live on as Lillian.
To...
In a panic, she frantically tries to look for a way out.
Like spectators in an arena, the monsters make no move whatsoever as they watch the two of you struggle to find a way out.
In the dim light, the hunter walking right in front of you throws out her "pet," while she circles leisurely around her prey behind.
I can still... No, wait...
I... am not alone. W-we've already...
I...
She trembles as she watches you charge alone into the pitch-black nightmare.
You refuse to give up—even with your wounds screaming in excruciating pain from festering, and your splotchy, blurring vision warning you of your Mind Beacon's corruption.
Your arms no longer possess their usual power, so you decide to fling the sword and take advantage of the inertia that comes with it.
Ready, set...
As the sword is flung off, Shorthalt's vital fluid lands on the egg. At the same time, the egg takes a slash on its outer layer from the sword because of the sword's inertia.
Wounded, the giant egg crashes onto the ground and starts wriggling hideously.
You cough out a spit of blood, feeling your head grow heavier by the second. You feel a warm trickle of fluid flowing down the corner of your eye—and without even touching it, you know that it's blood and not sweat.
And you know that it has to be blood—because there is no way you are going to shed tears here, not even when you might pass out cold the next second.
The dark space around you shakes again. The monster, apparently having sensed something coming its way, steps back warily, leaving Cthylla pausing her movements temporarily.
Raising the sword again and with every last ounce of your power, you deal another blow at the egg that's still struggling.
The sword pierces through the giant egg and nails it firmly to the ground. With it, the egg lets out a sharp cry—to the point of being ear-splitting.
The cry alerts its "Mother". Hesitating no more, Cthylla walks over this way in hurried footsteps.
You raise your hands—now feeling as heavy as rocks—and train your weapon squarely at Cthylla who's coming straight for the egg.
At this point, you're so worn out that you lose balance and collapse against the wall behind you from firing the shot.
The monsters run in every which direction as the roaring and shaking intensify—and you're sure that Lillian would have no trouble making it out of here now on her own if she takes advantage of this window.
...Should I ask her to run for it? Can I really tell if she's an Ascendant... through a M.I.N.D. connection?
Your head overflows with a gazillion thoughts as your body cries in excruciating pain. On top of it, Cthylla is fast approaching you, leaving you no time to think.
Ah... Ahh...
Trembling incessantly, Lillian looks back and forth between you and Cthylla who's trying to save the egg.
There's still a chance for redemption.
All she needs to do to increase both her and the human's chance of making it out of here alive is to lose her disguise and fight Cthylla as the Ascendant that she is.
Except she knows that she'd be putting her own life at risk if she loses her disguise now only to find out that Cthylla has never trusted Lamia—and she doesn't see what she stands to gain from that.
But every second that passes by puts the commandant—someone who's trusted her—that much closer to death.
But why does she care when their relationship is as good as transient...?
That's right...
To an Ascendant who keeps a safe distance from the Punishing, these people are essentially "coffee cups," "network cables," or "writing pads"... in short, they're substitutes for toys.
But I like this one, and this is the only one I like.
I hate myself for not even being able to keep a coffee cup.
She has to face Cthylla alone either way—whether she lets the human die or lets Cthylla see that she's here.
I... I...
But living in constant fear is truly torturous.
...Screw it! Here goes nothing!
She screams hysterically as she charges toward that which she knows she has no chance against.
A split second later...
Her Halberd Blade clashes with Cthylla's long whip. In the blinding sparks that ensue, her mermaid form overshadows her body.
I'm sick and tired of having to give up every time! And I'm sick and tired of being scared!!!
Surrounding her, a high concentration of the Punishing turns into countless blades that shoot straight at Cthylla.
Might as well take a step forward if I'm going to end up regretting it anyway!
Controlled by the Ascendant, the Red Tide around Cthylla ceases flowing. Cthylla and her egg, too, have slowed down.
As a splitting headache hits you, the world around you seems to turn into a kaleidoscope with glass balls flying in every which direction.
While Lamia is aflame with determination, the corruption of your Mind Beacon is quickly dragging you all the way down to the darkest part that lies at the bottom of the flames.
The more she uses her abilities, the faster it's wearing you down.
This is what happens when one connects themselves to an Ascendant—and being a "genius" only alleviates this consequence to a certain degree.
And it doesn't help that there is only a thin layer of protection standing between you and the highly dense Punishing that permeates the air around you.
What little light there is left starts flowing toward the mermaid.
You struggle with breathing as your airway becomes clogged with blood.
No longer able to keep yourself upright, you collapse against the wall.
The world around you shakes more violently by the second. It probably won't be long before this place falls apart.
You see her—she who is still fighting the monster in the dark—and reach out your hand at her with the last bit of your being...
With it, your consciousness shatters into pieces, and the world around you grows twisted, crumbles, and sinks.
And the last thing you see... is the mermaid holding onto the egg that's nailed to the ground.
