With the lost girl found, the salt-collecting crew finally leaves after a long delay.
You settle Teddy at a temporary rest point and carefully check her frame for any further damage. Only when you confirm there is none do you finally hear, in her own words, what caused her strange behavior.
A small mercy, really. At least it only affected me... Still within control.
I am the one who made it. I knew exactly how limited its destructive power was, so I—
A vague unease rises in her mind, stopping her mid-sentence. You can tell that what she said was not the whole truth, but she clearly doesn't want to think about what else might be behind it.
Its original purpose was only to use a copy program to repeatedly extract specific fragments of memory data. But now it seems that in actual use, unexpected results can appear depending on individual differences.
No. That thing showed up out of nowhere. It wasn't here before... Before, it was just a silly stuffed toy.
You raise your voice in disbelief.
It was not dangerous.
That new simulated consciousness only looks threatening. A Construct cannot die from suffocation.
Do you think I can't handle it myself?
As long as I stay rational, I'll always know how to save myself.
Before she can finish, the look of shock in your eyes hits her like a delayed wave, shaking the fragile dam of her rationality.
(Did I really stay rational just now...)
(Can I even still claim to be rational...)
She freezes where she stands. In her eyes, deep purple whirlpools begin to swirl again.
You grab her wrist and pull her back before the chaotic thoughts can take over.
Sorry... I think I'm still affected.
A faint trace of embarrassment crosses her face—an expression that feels oddly out of place for her. The sight makes your heart tighten.
You lower your voice.
You've sensed her unusual excitement throughout this journey but never thought deeply about it. Only now do you realize you've already glimpsed another side of her.
Tch. I should've told you sooner.
But by then, I was already affected. The program must have been interfering with my mind all along...
I didn't even realize I was hiding things... Or maybe... I just didn't understand why I was doing what I was doing.
A brain that refuses to listen. What a rare experience.
What's with that look? Relax. I can take care of it myself.
What, you don't trust me?
She forces a smile.
(Rely on you...?)
Her breathing falters. She closes her eyes and sighs softly.
"Rely"—a simple word that stretches a thread between two hearts. One end is wrapped in sweetness, the other tightens around the soul.
A deep fatigue wells up from the depths of her M.I.N.D. It should not affect her speech system, but she falls silent, searching for the right words.
I'll handle this myself.
In the end, she can't find any lighter way to say it.
...
The weight of fatigue pressing on both of you seems to sink into the night.
Fine. After the music festival, I'll get my frame thoroughly checked.
I promise. There won't be any problems.
The night deepens as rain clouds slowly veil the stars. Unable to sleep, you sense a steady disturbance pulsing through your M.I.N.D. Connection with Teddy.
After a moment's hesitation, worried about Teddy's M.I.N.D., you decide to dive into her consciousness.
As you enter, two figures appear quietly behind you—one small, one tall.
Go.
Huh? Me? Why don't you—
Chris places a hand on Deerbear's neck and gives a light, threatening squeeze.
You're the one who looks harmless.
You really think that's a compliment...
My patience is running out. Go distract that human, act clueless. If you can make them drop their guard, I can talk to them properly.
We're both dangerous clones trying to destroy the original. This works out for you too.
Hey, that's what you want, not me! Don't drag me into—
Before it can finish, Chris grabs it by the back of its neck and lifts it right in front of you.
Talk! Now!
You instinctively tense up.
You catch on quickly.
See? I told you your face gives it away.
What about me?
Yep, I'm a teddy bear!
I told you to play dumb, not be stupid.
I'm not stupid.
The two personalities—so different yet from the same source—ignore you completely, arguing like a pair of squabbling kids.
You can't help but think how priceless Teddy's expression would be if she could see this...
Maybe it's because you're inside her mind, but you start seeing flashes of her childhood—a little girl furrowing her brow, debating with herself before making decisions.
Huh... how'd you know that?
What else could I do? Everyone else was either too dumb to understand me, or too clever not to use my honesty against me.
Chris freezes for a moment.
When danger's all around, talking to yourself is the safest choice.
<i>There were too many problems no one else could help with.</i>
<i>To survive, she had to become someone who could do everything—the one who could turn the tide when no one else could.</i>
<i>To make sure no one looked down on her, even when she was alone,</i>
<i>she had to be proud and unbreakable.</i>
<i>And with all those buried feelings, all those forbidden weaknesses, </i>
<i>even her simplest wishes became impossible to express.</i>
<i>So you never really got to grow up. You just kept pretending to be an adult.</i>
You grow serious.
I didn't have a choice.
We're just programs, bound to rules. I'm the side that solves problems, so no matter what it costs, I have to remove obstacles and move forward.
Because of that virus, she lost some of her boundaries and let out emotions she'd sealed away.
The signs were all there, yet that fool Karenina didn't act. And that useless toy did nothing either.
Hey! I'm right here, you know.
Good. At least your ears still work.
Anyway, those two lost their grip. I'm the only one who can still think straight.
First, we can both think fine. Second... um... second—
Are you pretending to be dumb again, or is stupid just who you are?
I told you, I'm not dumb.
At that time, shutting her down was the best way to stay on course toward our goal.
To stay rational. To never fall into chaos.
She was already on the edge of madness, unfit to make decisions for this frame.
Isn't it?
Seeing the confusion on her face, you're at a loss for words.
You're not afraid I'll hurt you? Deleting you would be an effective way to fix the problem.
You're clever.
I tried.
You call that trying? That was attempted murder.
You're noisy.
She flicks her wrist, and Deerbear disappears like chalk wiped from a board, gone without a sound.
Let's continue.
Anyway... emotional problems can't be solved with logic. At least, not by me.
I've already given up the right to decide my own happiness. Fighting myself won't help anymore. I need answers from you.
Can I just ask you one question, [player name]?
Her soft voice drifts like mist.
The mist swallows your reply.
What are you doing?
A sharp strike cuts through the air, aimed straight at Chris's face. She dodges easily, as if expecting it.
Took you long enough to wake up.
Teddy awakens from her self-repair cycle, instantly aware of the intrusion, and attacks without hesitation.
How dare you...
She checks on you first to make sure you're safe.
You've got some nerve showing up like that. Do you really think I can't deal with you?
I just wanted an answer. That's all.
Oh really? Then I'll make sure to remember this for you.
The entire mindscape shakes violently. A surge of data like a tidal wave forces your consciousness out of its core.
You're expelled from Teddy's mind.
What do you think you're doing?!
I've been too soft. If you're so determined to provoke me, I'll just delete this unstable program entirely. Right here, right now.
Here? Aren't you afraid of damaging your M.I.N.D.?
Really... you regain a bit of clarity and already want to fight? Look at me.
Her body's edges begin to blur, fading like melting ice.
You don't need to do anything. I already found my answer. According to the rules, I'll disappear soon and won't return.
Don't worry, though. I'll never tell you what that answer was.
You—
Before Teddy can move, Chris's figure scatters like smoke, vanishing into the data stream.
Show yourself.
After a long silence, Teddy suppresses her churning emotions and speaks with icy detachment.
You planning to cause trouble too?
The air ripples. Deerbear pokes its head out carefully.
We just wanted answers.
Oh? And after all that, did you find any?
Deerbear falls silent for a moment, its gaze quietly darting toward where you had been.
Ask the commandant, just like we ask ourselves. Trust the commandant.
Before Teddy can reply, Deerbear fades away, disappearing before she can get angry.
Teddy's consciousness snaps back to reality, like breaking the surface after a deep dive. Her senses are once again filled by the real world.
I'm fine. Don't worry.
They're just programs that simulate my thought process, giving form to different ideas in my mind. They're not real personalities.
Once the program finishes running, I'll be completely normal again. No lasting effects.
Your expression softens a little, but Teddy looks uncertain and asks quietly.
She asked you something, didn't she? The other me?
Never mind. I don't want to know.
You're right. They're getting more dangerous... maybe we really should end this trip.
Her mood sinks like a stone dropped into the sea, falling slowly but unstoppably into the depths.
Then the alert sound from Teddy's terminal cuts through the silence.
The path of Typhoon No. 9 has changed. It's expected to make landfall along the Constellia coast tomorrow.
Due to the typhoon, many festival performers cannot arrive as scheduled. After multiple safety assessments, the music festival has been cancelled. Thank you for your understanding.
Another heavy weight crashes down from above, striking an already unbalanced scale.
Whether you ever truly wanted to reach the destination or not, the purpose of this trip evaporates in an instant, faster than morning dew before dawn.
...I understand. It's fine. Really, it's fine.
Next time, then.
It's just as well. Now's not exactly the right time anyway.
She stretches her tone deliberately, making her disappointment sound like lighthearted teasing.
You sigh softly and ruffle her hair.
Clouds hide the stars. The night wind is damp and cold. The landscapes that looked so picturesque in daylight now wear a veil of darkness and silence. It's far from an ideal stage.
Still, you can't bear to let her walk away empty-handed again.
The gentle request feels like a soft straw catching hold of a heart about to sink.
That song...?
...Since you put it that way, I guess I could.
I uploaded the instrumental to the transport terminal earlier.
No point. It won't sound any better.
I know my own limits, thank you very much.
You laugh, and she can't help but smile too.
She closes her eyes, ready to run through the song in her M.I.N.D.—the piece she'd written for the festival.
Can't remember it?
But nothing comes.
Teddy's brow furrows as panic, long buried deep in her heart, rises to the surface for the first time with undeniable clarity.
How can it be... gone?
Only fragmented melodies drift through her M.I.N.D., scattered and broken like a spiderweb after a violent storm. No matter how hard she tries, she can't weave them into a complete song.
The beast called "fear" claws at her mind. She frantically opens her terminal, trembling fingertips swiping through file after file.
Just like her hollow M.I.N.D., her terminal holds nothing but a few sound samples—no new audio files, no complete track.
The song that marked both the start and the end of this journey, the one meant to be sung at the music festival, exists neither in Teddy's memory nor in her terminal's storage.
How is that possible?
It doesn't exist? Could it be...
(Was it... all just in my imagination?)
That's impossible... I edited the files during the trip. I even hummed the melody...
She digs through her memory data in a panic, replaying every moment from the past few days over and over again.
Nothing...
The "edits" in her memory were nothing more than samples dropped into blank files. The "humming" she remembered was just fragments of broken, chaotic notes.
If the song was never real... then why did I go to the festival? And the car... why did I even prepare that car for the trip?
Earlier memories begin to take shape.
Hmm? You got an invitation to the music festival. Aren't you going?
For a moment, the faint silhouette of someone flashed through her mind. But reason swept it away before the thought could take form.
I don't have time. And besides... what would I even do there? Add it to my rejection list.
That song, a fleeting spark in her M.I.N.D., had never actually existed. She would've had no reason to give up her rare vacation for a music festival she didn't care about.
The invitation that could've started everything was refused the moment it arrived.
A convertible? Planning a trip? I can find you a nice one. When do you need it?
I don't know. Maybe I'll use it, maybe I never will.
In idle moments, she had imagined a long road trip, every detail clear down to the vehicle's color and model, yet she never pictured who would be sitting beside her.
The weight of duty always pressed harder and faster on her M.I.N.D. than her daydreams, reminding her she had no right to freely indulge in emotion.
Just an idea. Probably one that'll never happen.
Imagination had always been enough comfort. She'd never truly intended to make it real.
As the memories become clearer, one truth becomes painfully clear.
This was a journey she never planned to begin.
And the song meant to express her heart had never existed at all.
That gentle straw of hope had been nothing but drifting silk, unable to weave a web, unable to catch a falling soul.
If this song was never real... then what about "me"?
The broken strand of silk tugs her deeper into darkness.
In that suffocating silence, Chris's words echo again in her ears.
You, the one controlling this body, you're weak. A fool desperate to be loved.
Controlling this body...?
So the "me" making decisions all this time... is just a virtual personality born from that desperate longing to be loved and seen?
And the one who tried to interfere, the one Deerbear mentioned... that's the real "me"?
...
Teddy lets out a soft chuckle.
You always wanted someone to stop you, didn't you? I guess the feeling of losing control really does hurt...
So the source of all this pain... is "me."
If this weak, struggling part of me disappeared, maybe Teddy as a whole could finally break free from the foolish trap of wanting to be loved.
Everything would be better if "I" just disappeared.
A self-destructive peace settles over her. She doesn't fall—the collapsing abyss rushes toward her instead.
Her unfocused eyes spiral into ominous purple whirlpools. The Construct girl's body falls backward, collapsing into your arms.
