Story Reader / Main Story / 26 Cradle Parade / Story
The egg's<//CINDERELIK'S> consciousness is quickly dissipating.
Before long, "she" will be completely shattered and turn into a bunch of chaotic data that, just like all the normal Hetero-Creatures, is completely worthless.
Holding the dimming chunk of red in her arms, the mermaid slowly makes her way toward the exit of her dream, where the single-winged girl stands.
It seems that this illusion is the last obsession she harbors within the egg.
...This is a long time coming...
The girl gazes at the illusory horizon as she whispers to the stars.
I wanted to show Kana's father the true worth of Project Cthylla, and that it would have been a success anyway if he hadn't rushed things or decided to call it quits.
I've done so much...
Why... did he choose to end his life down the new path?
...
What do I even have to show for everything I've done?
I've got all these points but can't buy what I've always wanted to buy.
Cinderelik tiptoes and reaches her hand into the faraway sky. She tries to grasp something in there, but flying is not something she can do with her single wing.
Had she listened to Kana and left the building back then, she probably would have ended up better off than she is now.
And yet no one has shown her the world out there before she made her choice. The only light she had in her world was Mother and Kana, so it's only natural for her decision to have been influenced by them.
This, no matter how one cuts it, is a tragedy of utter boredom, coming to an end as abruptly as Project Cthylla—something that they called a "pipe dream."
When the disappointed audience has all left, only one spectator climbs onto the stage and desperately cries out on behalf of the deceased.
...Project Cthylla is worthwhile and didn't need to be abandoned...
...So let's at least leave their traces behind...
...Alright...
It took a certain spectator a few decades to finally get here—but here they are, finally holding those hands that can't reach the sky.
...Please allow me...
Are you sure this will do? Starting over is going to be even more difficult now without Cthylla.
Yes, this is what Vonnegut wants. We need to prioritize preserving the commandant's consciousness.
They tried to break Cthylla's shackles at the cost of their life... and it's a decision that deserves our respect.
Well, gotta say this is one hell of a loss we're suffering from.
A lot of plans need to start from scratch, and I'm sure this also means that certain gentleman no longer has the luxury of doing his research behind the scenes like he always has, no?
...True.
He said the Hetero Zone is about to expand, although he didn't say why he thought that.
But what can we do without Cthylla? We can't stop the expansion, and we can't convert them into our army anymore.
...Hmm... he asked me to come down here to lend y'all a hand the moment I woke up, so I know nothing about the specifics of these.
We should head back before Babylonia's people get here. We need to hatch the child as soon as we can since we don't have Cthylla around.
The boy soothes the egg in his arms gently.
Alright, alright.
By the way, I still owe you a proper greeting here, don't I?
Nice to meet you, Lithos.
...Pleasure is all mine, Lilith.
The downpour is reminiscent of one's vomit, as much as it is of the tears that the dead didn't have the time to shed.
After the two Ascendants have left, Lamia waits in the rain for a long time before Babylonia's army hurries to the place they once stood.
Everything happened as the commandant had anticipated—"she" would have been taken away by the Ascendants who came ready to do their job if the commandant failed to merge with Cthylla's consciousness.
For the last time, the mermaid looks at the egg in her arms, hugs her tightly, then dives into the sea and swims toward the crowd.
High concentration of the Punishing detected! We have an incoming Ascendant!
An Ascendant is coming this way! We need Elite Squad here now!
An Ascendant, they said... which makes sense. Why would they address her as "Lamia" anyway?
To them, an Ascendant is all that Lamia is.
It's okay...
She's mentally prepared for this.
Lamia raises her head—the same way she did in the cold rain on the day she set sail.
With all the laser sights trained at her in hostility, leaving her covered in countless red dots, everyone is on high alert waiting for her next move.
As the torrential downpour slaps against the water, she can feel the noise sounding through her heart.
They all stand silently as they wait for Elite Squad to arrive, none of them dares to lay a finger on this Ascendant that suddenly showed up out of nowhere.
So, she takes the initiative and speaks first.
I... uhh... just wanted to give these back to you guys...
She takes out two name tags and places them on the shore at their feet.
Did you... kill them?
...N-no, I didn't...
These name tags belong to Shorthalt and the Gray Raven Commandant...
Wait, did you really just say what I think you said?
I don't know about Shorthalt, but the Gray Ravens are all alive and well!
...Are you sure...
Through a narrow gap comes a human in perfect condition, observing Lamia quietly.
...Yes.
They seem like a star—one that seems like one she's seen before, yet too far beyond her reach.
She looks at this person—who stands in front of her now with every last inch of their skin intact and not a single droplet of blood dripping.
At this moment, she hopes the human could stay this way forever.
Oblivious to what's going through Lamia's mind, the human picks up the name tags and begins scrutinizing them.
...
Lamia isn't sure how to explain herself so people won't think she's lying.
Then, it hits Lamia that she's holding the ultimate trump card.
931206... Does that ring a bell?
Lamia sees a subtle change on the human's face.
You told me about this... well, another you, that is.
They told me that they had been abandoned... before they died right before me.
Surrounded by people with weapons who are closing in on her, Lamia finds herself trembling like a plucked string.
Please give me a few moments to tell you everything.
With it, the tense crowd takes half a step back, giving Lamia enough room to work up her courage to recount her journey.
She speaks of how she encountered wounded lost souls in the cradle slaughterhouse, how they planned to escape together—only to witness them sacrificing themselves one by one...
...How she lived through their regrets, their memories, and their final words... and how she accepted the last wish coming from the "Gray Raven Commandant".
...We figured out a way to reach the world outside. We established a connection with Babylonia but never got a response.
The human before Lamia falls silent without raising any question.
You know what I am talking about, don't you?
And they took our call as some sort of prank because they already had you here?
...
Can I ask you a question?
She probably already knows the answer to the question... still, she wants to bring this up one last time before she gives everything away.
Let's say you found yourself in a situation... where you could either save yourself if you waited for just a few dozen hours longer, or sacrifice yourself to save someone else.
Would you still, for a future that's not your own, sacrifice your own chance at life?
...Why?
Lamia looks up as she questions the human, knowing that the human is no longer the person she knows them to be.
You'd do that at the cost of your life? But what do you stand to gain from it?
...Please tell me...
The human says her name softly.
...I came... to...
The lone mermaid holds up the dead egg in her arms, making herself completely vulnerable.
I came to fulfill my wish, in the most perfect way possible.
Lamia answers firmly.
She looks these people in the eye, knowing full well that she will have to part ways with mankind the moment she hands over the egg.
Yes.
So please take "her" with you.
This is "her" wish, as much as it is a request from both me and "you."
Just... be careful. You don't want to touch "her" because, to you people, she's still a Hetero-Creature.
She's no stranger to what Hetero-Creatures are capable of, and the last thing she wants is to see the tragedy repeat itself.
A few seconds later, Lamia sees an isolation case passed into the commandant's hands.
...
Seeing the commandant come close this way with the isolation case and the rest of them exchange knowing looks, she knows that they're ready to capture her.
And that's when it hits her that, even after everything she has done, the humans still don't see her as an equal.
She can hear the deafening warning bell coming from inside of herself.
And, as soon as she puts the egg in the case...
...!
She's gone! Hurry up and look for her!
Lamia vanishes, sinking into the deep sea.
...
The story comes to an end as the "villain," for a tomorrow that in all likelihood will never come, hands over power that has the potential to destroy the world.
All her wishes, like bubbles of "greed," are handed over to the people on the shore.
The heroes must be happy about this, right?
But why is Lamia, who's the "villain" in the story, feeling happy, too?
...
Unable to find an answer, the mermaid drifts with the currents, only surfacing at a safe distance when the voices on the shore have faded with the storm.
The sky, before she knows it, has cleared up.
The bright starry sky and the lonely moon gaze at the sea surface, twinkling along with the distant lights.
She steadies her floating body on the sea, looking at the shore.
The crowd looking for her slowly moves away, among whom are the Gray Ravens and their commandant.
These people sparkle in the lights, redolent of distant stars shining in her eyes.
For a moment, she thought she saw that human stopping in their tracks and turning her way.
...
For a moment, she thought she heard someone saying something to her.
—Would it still be a simple "thank you"?
How wonderful would it be to hear another "thank you" and see another friendly look in those eyes?
—Is this asking for too much?
But asking for more than they deserve is what villains usually do, no?
But out here, she hears nothing but the whispers of the wind and the waves.
The mermaid remains watchful for a long time, until all the lights vanish into the distance.
She lifts her head, seeking a more eternal light from the star-filled sky.
...So far away...
Be it their silhouettes or the stars in the sky.
The stars...
She once had the chance to touch the stars but willingly let it go.
Because I remember those words.
Keep pursuing the starry sky and never stop moving forward.
And I'll always remember them.
She remembers what the human commandant said, and this is how she has been living up to those words.
—Now, instead of plowing ahead alone with the egg, she is keeping around those who can move forward.
I have no regrets...
Lamia has asked herself again and again, and her answer never changed.
It's just...
She might have no regrets, but that doesn't mean she doesn't still long for humans and the starry sky, or that she doesn't feel sad and lonely knowing that she's getting exiled to the deep sea.
But I'm not giving up.
Someday, she will step into that distant starry sky—without leaving anyone behind, that is.
—But how much longer is that going to take?
...It's going to take a long, long time...
The mermaid has an infinite amount of time.
Dejected, she looks down at her fishtail that the ocean is embracing.
The sea holds the reflections of the star, in the same way her eyes once held the silhouettes of the people she saw.
The stars gaze upon the sea... In its embrace lie the sails... And now...
Alone, she starts singing the song she's just learned—one that doesn't belong to her—to the reflections of the stars that are within her reach.
She knows that this is just herself—an outcast—trying to make herself feel better.
Being a villain driven into exile, she can only pretend that she once belonged to that kingdom where only heroes lived.
...
—Drip.
When her tears drip into the ocean, the ripples form an eye that drinks in all the stars she yearns for.
With her singing and tears...
...She sends the love letter that can never reach the stars to their reflections.
