38-21 New World
...You're awake.
Consciousness returns to Hassen in a sterile room at the Star of Life.
He registers the dull, persistent ache in his wound, but the silence and lack of urgent care around him are a quiet reassurance: he is no longer in critical condition.
What's Babylonia's status?
After you lost consciousness, the Punishing Virus corrupted Gestalt, causing Babylonia to fall toward Earth. The "core" Teddy secured provided the critical computing power needed to reboot Gestalt. The engines are now functional, but Gestalt... still has not recovered.
Thanks to Teddy, [player name]... and the efforts of many others, Babylonia managed to arrest its descent before reaching the point of gravitational capture.
It has since returned to its standard orbital altitude.
And F.O.S.?
Asimov seems momentarily taken aback by the question.
...We've lost contact.
We cannot confirm if their silence is due to activated self-preservation protocols or another cause. Regardless... F.O.S. College performed an emergency separation from Babylonia.
Perhaps... F.O.S. is somehow connected to what caused Babylonia's fall?
Hassen catches the probing intent behind Asimov's words and decides to let it lie.
The cause of the fall is likely linked to the Phylotree.
Teddy should be returning soon as well.
...Is Teddy's frame related to the Phylotree like Liv's? Could it be a [Sefirah Frame]?
Hassen is taken aback by Asimov's bluntness—previously, his approach had been far more cautious and probing.
Teddy's current state is clearly unlike any of our existing frames. Its data closely resembles records we had in the archives.
Hassen's gaze lowers, turning inward. Asimov waits for his answer. For a moment, the room falls into silence.
...You still want to ask about the Phylotree of Ousia, don't you?
What I can tell you is that Teddy should be a Sefirah Frame, but the situation differs from Liv's.
There's no point in keeping the secret anymore. These frames have emerged regardless.
Hassen has always maintained his silence with Asimov, but today he seems to be opening up. Seeing his opportunity, Asimov decides to press his advantage and test his other theories.
So the Phylotree of Ousia actually consists of two separate schemes? Are they direct opposites?
Asimov.
Hassen's voice, firm and final, cuts Asimov off.
After all, everything needs a backup plan.
Let's call it a day. We both have plenty of other matters to attend to.
Are you completely sure about coming back to Babylonia with me?
She glances back at Elean. They have reached the exit point of Elysium, poised on the threshold between the virtual world and reality.
Yes. I'm ready to face whatever comes next. Whatever judgment awaits me... I'll accept it.
That's what he taught me, after all.
Elean doesn't face Teddy as she speaks, her gaze instead drawn to the shimmering outline of Elysium.
This was the city—the kind of vibrant, bustling place she and Moore had dreamed of, a future haven for after the war. A future that died with the real Moore.
Utopian dreams, it seems, can't last forever.
...I thought you might want to stay with Moore a little longer.
"He" is not Moore.
I've always known, deep down, that Moore is gone. Letting go is the only way we can both be free.
Otherwise, when we meet again someday, he'd hate seeing me still trapped by that false illusion.
I couldn't bear to see him look at me with disappointment.
Elean holds back the tears welling in her eyes and turns to walk toward Teddy.
Aren't you taking the core from the Dark Room? Wasn't that your original mission?
Hah... My mission...
Teddy takes three seconds to quell the irritation rising within her.
I already got the crucial "information" I needed. Now it just serves as Elysium's "foundation," providing the computing power this city needs to exist.
This core—this quantum supercomputer—isn't special to anyone else anymore.
This is where it belongs.
A breeze stirs around them, seemingly from nowhere, as if all of Elysium is silently bidding them farewell.
...Let's go.
Oasis
Surface
Boss, our observations confirm Babylonia has returned to its original orbital altitude.
Okay.
Watanabe allows himself a quiet breath of relief. Two disasters were avoided: Babylonia didn't plummet into the atmosphere, and the 7295 unguided missiles were never launched. A fortunate outcome for both sides.
There's more to this incident than we see. We should be more concerned about the common enemy that may be lurking behind it.
Akdilek Commercial Alliance
Surface
A descent crisis with no clear cause...
Jamilah lowers her gaze, deep in thought.
It seems a new power has set its sights on Babylonia.
Risk and reward are always intertwined. I suspect this is only the beginning of the troubles.
But Akdilek has never shied away from risk, and we specialize in seizing opportunity from chaos.
Commander, you didn't have to come down here with us. You could just leave it to us.
Nikola steps off the transport craft as the Construct soldier beside him speaks.
This time, I'm escorting [player name] back personally.
Besides, it's been years since I last stood on the surface. This seemed a good opportunity.
Understood.
Everyone finds tasks to busy themselves while awaiting the transport craft carrying [player name]. Nikola, however, remains still, his gaze sweeping over their surroundings.
How long has it been since he last stood on Earth? Ages. The ground beneath his feet is coarse and solid, and Earth's natural gravity holds a subtle, different weight from Babylonia's artificial pull.
Have I really forgotten what Earth's gravity feels like...
But some longings are inescapable. The call of Earth is a phantom limb, an ache in the blood.
Even those exiled for decades, or those who have never felt the warmth of its soil, carry this ancestral homesickness deep within their bones.
This is...
Nikola's gaze falls on a small sapling standing alone not far away. He moves closer and crouches beside it. In the midst of the desolate, barren landscape, this tiny plant is the most vivid presence.
A fragile but stubborn punch of life.
Is something wrong, Commander? Have you found something?
No. Just a sapling.
Oh... But surviving out here? That's something special.
Maybe next time we come back, it'll be a full-grown tree.
The soldier, a man of lively disposition, excitedly shares a few more thoughts about the sapling's future before catching himself. He turns to Nikola with an apologetic look.
My apologies, Commander. I got carried away.
No need. High spirits are a sign of strong morale.
Life needs hope to have a future.
In the distance, a transport craft settles to the ground. The commandant emerges, wearing a cape emblazoned with a shield-and-wings insignia.
Before walking toward [player name], Nikola casts a final glance at the sapling. It calls to mind a concept Hassen once described—humanity's only path to breaking the stalemate to come.
He understands now. They are not the tree itself, nor its crowning fruit. They are the soil—the unremarkable dust, forgotten by the river of time.
Those who hold power now have never been the true architects of destiny; that role belongs to others.
<color=#ffffffff><size=50>But none of that matters.</size></color>
They will be the foundation, the rich earth from which a colossal tree will rise.
They will nurture its ascending branches and countless tendrils until it blossoms, until it bears a harvest for all of humanity.
A new chapter begins.
