40-1 The Weight of Truth
>I need hot water and a pair of sterilized scissors right now! Prepare three rolls of bandages! Prioritize patients with active bleeding!
Triage patients according to injury severity! Red markers indicate priority patients, and markings on left arms indicate risk of internal bleeding! They need immediate bed rest and IV access!
It had been three minutes since Nirvatia arrived at the field hospital.
She takes a deep breath, wipes the blood from her face with cold water, and thrusts herself back into the crowd of refugees who, like her, have hastily fled their homes.
****... Somebody help me up! I can't see my legs anymore!
Don't move. The bleeding has stopped. You're going to be alright.
You're lying! I can't feel my legs!
They're broken... I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!
Nirvatia firmly grips his chin and leans down, staring intently into his panicked eyes.
Calm down. Look at me.
I'm a Carthaki Scout. No one is going to die. I promise I'll get you all out of here alive.
This disaster struck without warning, but you're not alone. We're right here with you.
Nirvatia! We need help over here!
Lie still, now. I'll get someone to take care of you.
Coming!
Nirvatia tucks her hair behind her ear, rushing back into the chaotic crowd.
Make way! Severe wounded coming through! Avoid the stretcher!
Hold on, ma'am...!
Aargh... Ugh...
Make way! Please!
Step back! Don't cross the security line!
Officer! She's been hit by a stray bullet, and her right lung has failed! She needs an emergency tracheotomy—
Back up! Colonel's orders were clear—no civilians are allowed inside!
My name is Nirvatia. I'm a Carthaki Scout. Major Li knows me, and Colonel Pavlov decorated me himself.
This woman is bleeding out. She needs proper medical...
Click—the soldier cocks his weapon and turns to face her.
—!
Only then does Nirvatia notice the soldier's right arm. The mangled flesh is exposed to the air, emanating the acrid smell of burnt skin.
Officer, are you...?
...Who made it here without a cut or two? Everyone's hurt!
Step back... This is your final warning.
Temporary Command Center
Riverbank Central, Carthaki
Comrade Pavlov, Major Li has arrived.
My apologies, Colonel. The situation is complete chaos. All departments have suffered heavy casualties...
Before the major can finish, the officer at the desk raises his hand and cuts him off.
Brief me, Major.
...Yes, sir. The last firefighter team lost contact 20 minutes ago. They managed to contain the fire, but the condition inside the research institute remains unknown.
We still don't know what caused the reactor to explode or why it triggered a Punishing Virus outbreak.
4 minutes ago, the Corrupted broke through the 3rd Battalion's defense, and Captain Ibn fell in the line of duty. The main Corrupted force is expected to reach the riverbank within 30 minutes.
Based on our rough estimates, about 30000 civilians have reached the riverbank just beyond the security perimeter, but...
The major pauses, lowers his eyes, and clears his throat twice.
The naval officers just informed me that our last cruiser, the Spartacus...
...It can only accommodate 1200 people.
Good god...
...
Pavlov places a cigarette between his lips and flicks his lighter.
Colonel, our military terminals are connected to Gestalt. It wouldn't be impossible... to filter the database for suitable candidates.
Major, you're asking me to choose 29000 Carthaki citizens to die in the next 20 minutes.
But... at least some people will survive.
This isn't about how many ****ing people we save. Look at my uniform.
Pavlov points to the three silver stars on his shoulder.
...Captain Ibn and countless soldiers performed their duties to the very end.
If we delay any longer, their sacrifices will be for nothing, and... we'll go down in Carthaki's history as sinners.
His voice trembles, intertwined with fear and anxiety.
Sinners...
Pavlov leans back in his chair, muttering to himself as if comprehending the weight of that word for the first time.
****...
First my wedding, now my city...
He takes a deep drag from his cigarette, repeatedly rubbing his weathered forehead with his right hand.
Punishing Virus... It's like some goddamn ghost. Just when you think you have it figured out, it sneaks up to remind you how worthless your life really is.
Colonel, we're out of time...!
Pavlov shakes his head.
Time... mine ran out long ago.
Hot ash falls onto his finger as he reaches for something at his waist.
Babylonia finally got through on comms just now. You know what they said?
Years later, Major Li will still remember everything that happens next vividly.
Avalanches always arrive without warning. When the heavy, frozen snow crashes down, everyone would be caught unprepared.
Pavlov is no exception. He suddenly draws his silver service pistol and presses it against his temple.
They...
Colonel?! Wait—
!
The gunshot rings out, and everything turns silent on both sides of the security line.
Hey! What's happening in there?!
Oh God... the c-colonel is dead!
Pavlov's dead? Who did it?
Who's in charge now? Let us in!
M-Mommy...
Unease spreads like ripples expanding outward, scalding and ready to boil over.
...Stay calm, everyone! Hold your positions and maintain the security line!
...?
Fear and adrenaline stretch the few seconds into an eternity as Nirvatia's ears catch a steadily intensifying buzz.
The sound approaches like drumbeats, cutting through the surrounding clamor of voices and reverberating like a pulse.
Sweat trickles down her spine as a primal instinct issues the final warning:
Whose terminal keeps ringing? Shut off the damn thing!
No, that's not a terminal...
S-Sir, we're getting readings on the detector!
Fast-moving targets detected in the sky!
The Punishing Virus is coming!!!
A streak of red light tears across the sky, roaring over the heads of thousands.
—Airstrike!!! Take cover!!!
And then, 2000 kilograms of aerial bombs pour down like torrential rain.
Mommy...
Get down!!
Just before the explosion, Nirvatia grabs and clutches the closest child to her chest, diving to the side.
BOOM————
Debris pelts her body as heat waves sweep across her back. The violent shockwave nearly shatters her eardrums.
She holds the child tightly in her arms, refusing to yield even an inch to the Grim Reaper.
About ten seconds later, the ground finally stops shaking.
Nirvatia loosens her grip, shakes the debris from her back, and opens her eyes to find herself staring into a child's innocent gaze.
Are you hurt? Tell me if something hurts.
I'm okay, miss...
Nirvatia helps the child stand up and surveys the terrified but largely unharmed crowd—it seems the bombardment from the Corrupted has missed the riverbank, causing minimal casualties.
She tightens her hairband and decides to return to her post.
Raarrgghhh—
Cough!!!
Suddenly, something pierces through Nirvatia's chest.
She looks down to see a blood-soaked steel blade. Nirvatia instantly loses all senses and collapses to her knees.
Excruciating pain wraps around her heart like thorns. Each breath feels like rusty metal sawing through her blood-filled throat.
She slowly turns her gaze to glimpse the perpetrator, the one who has planted a festering wound in her heart for the years to come.
RAAAARGH!!!
A shriek tears through the air as countless discordant sounds suddenly converge, thundering into her ears like a raging torrent.
Blood gushes from her wound, draining away all her strength. Nirvatia gasps hoarsely as the world twists and trembles before her eyes, the crowd's screams echoing in her ears.
G-god...
As the smoke gradually clears, countless crimson lights emerge from the distance.
Open fire! Push forward! Hold the perimeter!!!
Die! Die!!!
Die—AAAAAARRRGGHHH!!!
No...
You monsters! You won't take another step forward!
This is Carthaki!!!
No...
On March 16, 2162, a catastrophe silently descends upon the Post-Pandemic Age, crushing everything Nirvatia holds dear.
Yet years later, when Nirvatia enters the World Government Archives to review everything that happened that day, she receives only this answer:
The bizarre incident, the city of despair, the fallen soldiers... All of them are forever erased from the pages of history.
We'll be friends from now on, okay?
You never cared about Carthaki! You never cared about ▇▄▇█!
Nirvatia, promise me you'll █▇█▇▇▄.
Weathered by time, those once passionate, brilliant lives and their stories fade into darkness, silently scattered to the winds.
M-miss!
The girl looks at Nirvatia with concern, completely unaware of the Corrupted raising its blade behind her.
RAAAARGH—!
Stay back—AARGH!!!
The butcher's blade of the past eclipses the setting sun. Nirvatia raises her hand, but the relentless march of history pays no heed to a girl's desperate cries.
Of course. Who would care?
A sharp blade flashes in the air, cleaving through the shadows before the girl's eyes with a resounding clash.
—
The mirror reflecting the past shatters. Light cuts through the crimson mist, showering down upon her body.
Cracks spread across the sky and the earth, stripping away color and dissolving scenery wherever they reach, like a mirage shattering into nothing.
Nirvatia looks up, meeting a pair of crimson eyes identical to her own.
Who... are you...?
I am you from the future, Nirvatia.
In the frozen, fracturing world, all motion ceases, leaving only the two of them, their eyes locked.
...The future?
So I... didn't die?
Many unseen names have carried us forward. Life is far more resilient than you can imagine.
...I don't understand. Please, save Carthaki! We need help!
I know. That's why I've come back.
A gust of wind sweeps through, carrying away the dust from this land three decades later.
I have waited far too long for today.
It is now the Reconquista Age. Decades after the Carthaki incident, Nirvatia finally sets foot on her homeland once more.
RAAAARGH—
The illusion woven by the Punishing Virus has failed to trap her. Countless Corrupted emerge from the mist, surrounding Nirvatia.
She walks forward slowly, placing her foot upon the corpse of a fallen enemy.
So much time has passed...
Lifting her face and stretching out her hand, she can feel the long-absent air and sunlight of this land.
Then, she looks down at the tide of enemies, revealing a smile filled with rage and contempt.
Since this world has chosen to forget—
Her massive scythe swings through the air as purple lightning flashes.
Then I will bring the truth back myself.
