Story Reader / Affection / Luna: Laurel / Story
Let us... sing...
For all will... be well...
You open your eyes to find yourself in a corridor.
Looking at the furnishings, this seems to be an abandoned church. Most of the paint is peeled off, giving a discordant feeling to the room. A faint song, sung by children, can be heard from beyond the wall.
You move through the corridor, and hear some people speaking at the end of it.
I already ate all of it! What do you want me to do?
Yeah! Whaddya want?
No one to blame but your own gullible selves.
Pl... please...
Lucia...
Please... My sister and I... won't be able to live through this winter...
Lucia... I'm sorry...
Luna stands out in the crowd of children, but she does not seem to notice.
Lucia... This time, I can protect you...
She mumbles, slowly raising the dagger in her hand.
If I do this, then all of this wouldn't have happened.
Hearing someone call for her, she turns over stiffly. Seeing that it is you, she reveals an icy smirk.
[player name]... Do you not realize that I am Luna herself?
Not from the beginning... but not too late, hm?
If I kill you here—kill everyone here—I can remove my weakness.
If I do so, I'll become the most formidable agent. I can protect Lucia and live with her in a new world.
I don't believe in you! I don't believe in anyone!
I paid too much for believing in others... I only trust my own hands.
If I didn't believe in Gabriel... If Shome's fantasies were real... If I didn't kill that "sister" of mine in the landfill...
If only I went through the Construct modification successfully... If only I managed to protect my sister... If only I never lent out the food we saved for winter...
...If only it weren't for you messing it all up!
I'm just trying to go back, and destroy it all.
This is my dream.
But... can Constructs dream...?
I don't even remember the dreams in my childhood.
If Ascendants have dreams, they must be like mine.
Dark... sinister... and foul...
I know of people who held on to their humanity... even under more horrific circumstances than mine...
But that is not who I am.
Every step I've taken, is my very own decision.
Just like how you weren't a part of my life—whatever you do now, is pointless.
I am the Ascension Network agent, Luna, and... forever will be.
She trembles. A certain human holds onto her hand, and the dagger falls from her grip. The children around scream at her, calling her a monster, and run away.
The human hugs the pure white Construct, the arms firm and reassuring like an anchor.
...
—And how lost you are, and what you have been through, the betrayals you faced... Everything.
You know full well that when you wake from this dream, you will both return to reality—return to being enemies, return to your duties... But...
Wind tunnels through the room. It envelops the figure like a warm veil and reshuffles the world.
When the gale finally comes to rest, the room has become a simple but cozy children's room.
...
The weight of the girl presses on your shoulders, as if she has suddenly taken on a real form.
I see... So this is how it... feels.
Under the glimmering light of the small room, Luna's thin lips seem to have curled into a faint smile on her pale face.
I feel like... I've heard this before.
...Really?
Sister... If only I could... stay asleep forever in this dream.
Stay by my side... until I fall asleep...
The dreamlike girl before you murmurs. Her usual calm, collected look resurfaces.
You leave the night light on the bed table. Finally, you manage to give her the present.
A wave of fatigue washes over you, and you feel your signal connection grow clearer and clearer.
Let us sing, for all will be well.
Blossoming flowers and sea-washed sand castles, milk and warm bread and birch tinder that crackles.
