Story Reader / Main Story / 28 Polaris Bond / Story
A silhouette resembling a peacock descends from the sky, pinning the last Corrupted that breached the defense line to the ground.
No one dares to approach her.
Qu...
Heh, we meet again.
Lucia and Lee, who stand guard over the civilians, remain vigilant, perpetually prepared to resume the battle. However, Qu's gaze moves beyond them—
As Chief, can't you even speak?
Is that so? What a pity.
If you say so.
Qu exerts sudden force, and the Corrupted, impaled by her glaive on the ground, twitches a few times before falling still.
It seems I've achieved my goal then.
During the execution of Tabula Akasha, I don't want any disturbance.
I-is it... Lady Qu?
A girl, wrapped in bandages but still clutching a weapon, gasps in astonishment.
Lady... Lady Qu...
Grandpa... was right...
Qu's gaze is briefly drawn to the girl.
She looks familiar...
You—
This look... There's no mistake!
Qu! It's Qu!
More and more civilians and members of the Kowloong Crew begin to gather around.
They do not appear to be daunted by Qu's Transcendant status, perhaps because they are unable to sense the Punishing Virus on Qu. More people, initially intending to withdraw further, gather in the vicinity, yet none muster the courage to approach her.
Seeing the crowd gradually gather, you have no choice but to gesture to Lee and Lucia to lower their weapons.
Qu... It's Qu...
Monarch of Kowloong, you didn't abandon us!
...Go away! Get lost!
You're the one who wouldn't let us go home. You rejected us... We will never forgive you!
"You are no longer part of Kowloong"...
You said that, didn't you?!
We live in fear every single day outside, and you're just watching from underground the whole time?
Do you know how tough it's been for us out there? And you did absolutely nothing!
Say something!
The clamor of the crowd intensifies, each surge overpowering the last.
Even so, no one is willing to take a step closer to Qu.
This Monarch of Kowloong, who once rejected others, now stands alone in the empty space, quietly bearing the rejection of others.
Well then, let me tell you the truth.
Over the years of Kowloong's development, I became its ruler.
Then Villier impersonated me. He sneaked off with a copy of Huaxu and activated Plan B—the KCC Vessel, the Nighter.
And the rest is history. Villier grew attached to the copied system, and his indiscretion eventually led to the demise of them both.
Huaxu came up with the plans for this city and the ship. And yet in their sordid little parallel, the other Huaxu met such a pathetic end. What a disgrace to Kowloong.
And as for...
You have the cheek to come back after you slunk off with Villier...?
Now, Kowloong does not require you anymore. I appreciate you bringing the ship back in one piece, but you are no longer part of Kowloong.
You and those on the ship used to be part of Kowloong, but after what you people went through out there, your mentality has changed.
If I order you to attack Babylonia right now, will you do it? Will those on the ship do it?
Three years ago, before that war began, she turned away those who were wandering outside, yearning to return home.
Three years later, as another war sweeps through Kowloong, the world has already changed.
She...
It's about what happened back then in Kowloong.
When we and the Nighter arrived at the port of Kowloong, she openly refused to let the Nighter residents return home.
I don't understand a single thing she has done so far.
But in hindsight, she did successfully fool us all.
Back then, I also believed Gabriel had killed her. If the claims of that Kowloong Crew member, Heng Ji, are accurate, Huaxu has always been under her firm control.
In other words, the so-called "Huaxu" taken by Gabriel and Luna was, at most, just a terminal...
Qu remains standing in the middle of the empty space, silently enduring the anger of those she had once rejected.
Unexpectedly, a figure stumbles from the crowd into the open space, and the once raucous crowd slowly hushes into silence.
Qu also notices the person slowly approaching, diverting her gaze from you to the individual.
Why...
The man appears rather slender, with his face and attire dust-covered and the glasses on his nose slightly askew.
Why...
Why didn't you open the gate earlier?
Why... Why...?
He stops just three meters away from Qu, murmuring softly.
If only it had been a little earlier... just a little earlier...
An hour... even forty minutes would have been enough.
Or just half an hour earlier...
Rice... wheat... the synthesis furnace...
Those devices... they wouldn't have been... lost...
All those costly devices, all those things saved...
Could have been brought in... They could have been brought in—
With a thud, the man in a suit collapses in front of Qu.
In the profound silence, Qu speaks first, her tone icy.
Is there any medic among you who can help him?
Can't you see that he needs medical attention?
Several medics in uniform quietly approach Qu, promptly beginning to treat the unconscious Nighter merchant.
Seeing someone come to handle the situation, Qu's gaze once again turns toward you, cold as steel.
You need to continue moving downward; it's not safe here.
She says in a soft voice.
Then, she pulls her glaive from the ground and walks away without looking back.
Upon her departure, the crowd erupts once more, their intense gazes scorching her ever-cold back.
Kowloong, November 10, 00:29, Meanwhile, Kowloong, Inner Area, Fissure in Tabula Akasha's Isolation Layer
The ancient Kowloong architecture is now marred by the thick Punishing Virus residue. Under the firelight that blazes through the night, two figures stand amidst the ruins—one tall, the other short.
The smaller figure dons a cloak, with two brown braids falling from the hood.
The other figure is a battered mechanoid, with sparks continuously emanating from its body.
That's how it goes with civilizations—they fall, rise, and then fall again; this is the story of civilization.
These things are known as "history," and history has "patterns."
It's just rhetoric.
These are just justifications for their wicked actions and their self-centered praises.
Have you read these stories too?
Many.
A cluster of weeds springs up beside her, and she strokes the grass, a deep purple flower blossoming by her touch.
Many human stories are recorded here.
Along with the stories of this planet.
As long as the information is sufficient, this place makes the entire Earth.
Thank you, kind one.
Neither of us harbors any kindness.
In the world I yearn for, you will not exist.
In the "civilization" you yearn for... I will not exist either.
We are just using each other now.
Use, as in human stories, is also a form of game.
You have learned deception.
I learned that from you.
Do not compare me to humans!
...Here, we part ways.
Sooner or later, there will be an unavoidable conflict between our kinds.
When that time comes, you will not see me like this.
Conflict between civilizations is also a "pattern" of civilization.
The girl delicately shuts the book in her hand and tucks it into her cloak's pocket.
You surely love reading... Hmph.
Carrying a book everywhere is not a good habit.
Books, stories...
Fortuity... is also inevitability.
