Operation story: 14-22

Characters
Previous 14-21	Next 14-23
Doctor Amiya Amiya Theresa W (Wiš'adel) Kal'tsit Logos Paprika Ines Shining Margaret Nezzsalem Nadine Manfred Theresis Sudaram Excited Mercenary Crumbling Soldier Dying Infected
Backgrounds
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Before operation[edit]

After operation[edit]

<Flashback starts here>
Summary Theresa is defeated, but completes her final mission. For a moment, every Sarkaz senses the thorough dissipation of the myriad souls. The Doctor and Amiya bring everyone out of the Assimilated Universe.
<Background 1>
[A patient's heart monitor is beeping.]
Dying Infected	Huff, huff... cough... You're here again... Amiya.
Amiya	Look, miss! I drew you something!
Dying Infected	Ha, I can hear you drawing something on the quarantine cabin walls... Amiya. But I can't see anymore... I've been blind since yesterday.
Amiya	... Oh, I know! I'll come in—
Dying Infected	Don't. I might just—
Amiya	It's alright, Miss. I'm Infected too, remember? Babel's doctors are close, so I'm sure they'll take good care of us. Miss, give me your hand, and I'll draw it out for you!
The tiny Cautus gently takes the hand of the Infected patient lying on the sickbed into her own—Black crystals cover her entire body, an enchanting Originite sheen circulating inside the crystals. Amiya knows what this means for an Infected. She has seen it before. Her finger earnestly traces a shape on the patient's palm.
Amiya	You said the name you got from your parents is a flower you've never seen. I went to ask the Doctor and Theresa about it, and they brought me to see the real thing! Can you feel it, Miss? I'm drawing it on your palm with my finger. Your name is so pretty!
Dying Infected	...
Amiya	Um, was my drawing too messy? I can try again...
Dying Infected	Little bunny... Don't you scare me?
Amiya	Huh? Why would I be scared of you?
Dying Infected	... We've just recently arrived at Babel, but I'm fond of you, Amiya. We're friends, right...? Can you help a friend out? Help me ring a doctor with the bell. I'd like them to bring me to see... no, to touch those flowers.
Amiya	...I want to go with you too.
Dying Infected	No can do. You're sick as well, so be good and stay here.
Amiya	Then I'll wait for you to come back.
The Infected patient says nothing, and only rubs Amiya's head. Amiya sees the patient trying her best to bear the pain, and the shiny Originium crystals on her arm.
Amiya	...
Amiya, you had just followed the Doctor to Babel then. I still remember you sat at the door of the quarantine cabin for a long time, persistently refusing to move. The Doctor found you in silence, and sat down to join you. You only started crying when the Doctor hugged you. I too, wanted to hold you in my arms, but I couldn't bear to disturb you both. Amiya... you're a bright child. You knew that Infected would never return. She didn't want you to see her leave. It would be too cruel for a child to witness. But she didn't know just how strong you are. I see many things from your gentle eyes. You want to help them... No matter their race or Infection status—you see them all as lively, lovely people. It was from that moment I began to harbor a selfish idea— Perhaps... you could bear this crown in the future... Perhaps... you can go further than I have. I was in no hurry to hand over a responsibility this heavy to you. I thought I had the luxury of time to be by your side as you grew up— I'm sorry, Amiya. I broke my promise.
<Flashback ends here>
<Background 2>
Doctor	...The Arts that trapped us in there is gone.
Amiya	Theresa's aura... is fading away. Doctor, Dr. Kal'tsit... is it over?
Doctor	Is it... all over? But... what about "Amnannam"?
Amiya	I'm sorry, Doctor... I didn't find any leads to the primordial Originium from Theresa.
Kal'tsit	We were one step too late.
Doctor	"Amnannam" is no longer here... / The first Originium has been sent away.
Kal'tsit	So you've noticed, Doctor. Can you still see the top of the spire now?
Amiya	Dr. Kal'tsit, aren't we standing on...
Doctor	...Those huge white pillars are still extending downwards... / I can no longer see where they end...
Kal'tsit	I'm afraid the dust isn't going to settle so easily.
Doctor	Wait... / Where's W?
[An explosion rings out.]
???	These threads are such an eyesore—
[Another explosion rings out.]
Amiya	There she is!
W	Bunny! Help me out! Everyone's saying she's gone, but I have to see it for myself.
Pink-white threads fork out like branches, attaching and growing on the white pillars. They land on the red roots, wrapping, twisting... Eventually covering this tower of infinity completely.
W	Amiya, I'm not going to regret like I did back then again. At the very least, I hope this time...
Amiya	I know. The same goes for us.
Amiya walks to the silk-wrapped roots, gently touching the soft matter. Sparks of flame drop from the hem of her skirt, leaving clusters of fire in her path. The flames under her do not extinguish easily, but spread to the threads. They continue to climb, replacing the fractured white threads as they wrap around the only tower standing between land and sky.

Threads flutter and fall to the floor. They quickly cover the roots, like a garden in bloom by wind, with flames burning within. Theresa sits among the flower-like flames, leaning on the roots as she looks at the golden ocean in the 'sky' coming to a calm.
<Background 3>
Theresa	Amiya, you're so much stronger than I imagined. How warm these flames are... 'Flames that burn away all decay', you've really done it, Amiya. Well, since that's done, come over. Closer.
Amiya	Theresa, we—
Theresa	Ssh... I know what you're thinking in that little mind of yours. Look at the ocean above our heads. The waves we made are calming down. Soon we'll leave. Amiya. Some wishes shouldn't be voiced out loud, because they'll only leave more sorrow behind.
Amiya	No, Theresa. I don't want to leave any more regrets. I wish... we all wish you can stay.
Theresa	Even if I'll let you all down again?
Amiya	Isn't it more important to have the people I care about know how I feel? That's what the Doctor taught me.
Theresa	... smiles You've truly grown up, Amiya. ...I'll always be with you, Amiya. As I promised you... Originium no longer contains the slightest bit of my own information, but I'm sure you won't abandon the ideals I once hoped for.
Amiya	Is there no other way to let you stay—
Theresa	To save me, and end this war? There is no one on this land that will manage to realize every single wish. That includes even the creator. Amiya, do not lament over the dead. Exercise more concern for the living, especially those who scoff at the notion of hope. But for now, before we leave... let's quietly—
[W rushes over.]
W	Your Highness! Sorry, I-I just, couldn't keep it in anymore.
Theresa	Oh... W? Is this a hug from you?
W	Your Highness...? Your eyes...
Theresa	I can't see clearly anymore. The information flow holding this body together is fading away. But I still have my sense of touch. And I can tell you're not crying. That's good.
Theresa reaches out and returns the embrace, gently patting W's shoulder.
W	—?! Your Highness, y-you don't mind...?
Theresa	Why would I? Hm... I suppose worrying about that isn't anything strange coming from you. You haven't changed one bit, W. I can still remember our time back at Babel, when you were hiding in a corner with your camera in hand, hesitating to come forward...
W	...Y-You saw me?!
Theresa	Of course. Actually, I was even waiting for you to come over for a photo together. But you never did manage to muster up the courage.
W	Your Highness?! You saw—and even remembered that?! E-Even—
Theresa	Taking a cheeky picture of me? Not just that. I didn't think the reckless mercenary from back then would grow into the woman before me today. The truth of how the Chernobog and Lungmen conflicts were actually settled, the mercenary group giving Manfred headaches for the past few years, and of course, your appearance in this place that shouldn't have happened at all... You can achieve so much more than you imagine, W. You should have realized by now I'm not so divine as you believe, and you're not insignificant.
W	Haha... Hahaha! I don't care if you're consoling me, or deceiving me—I'm taking it to heart! Your Highness, you really are always so... gentle. When we first arrived in this damn place, when I saw you, I was so afraid— I want to make up for that missed photo opportunity, Your Highness! Camera, camera... wait, when did it break—That damn Qalid'čoa!
Theresa	I'm afraid it wouldn't work here, even if it wasn't broken.
W	...
Theresa	W, I know you don't want to leave any regrets. I am the same. I don't want to leave you thinking I break my promises.
W	Wha?!
Theresa	I still owe you a name, remember?
W	—?!
Theresa	"W" belongs to a departed Sarkaz, and a cycle that should have ended... As I said, you deserve a more fitting name. A proper name for a Sarkaz woman like yourself. Well, I did want to wait until the dust settled in Kazdel first, but I'm afraid I won't get to see that day come.
W	Wait, Your Highness! Hold on, I, I... still don't get... Give me some time! Wait, no! I should be writing this down! Screw it, I don't care anymore! I'm ready!
Theresa	"Wiš'adel".
W	...
Theresa	...Will that be hard to remember?
W	How could it be? "Wiš'a", and "del", right? Del means home, that I know. But Wi... wiš'a...
Theresa	It means to "Wish".
W	To wish... for a home.
Theresa	Yes. Kazdel's destiny—could you witness it, in my stead?
W	But... I... you... Theresis...
Theresa	Kazdel's future is in your hands. Not mine, nor Theresis's. You'll understand when the day comes.
Wiš'adel	Haha... Alright! Wiš'adel... Wiš'a—del... It's engraved onto my brain forever. I'll never forget it! I like it. Sounds so much better than the names Hoederer threw at me from his dictionary. Kal'tsit, Amiya, and you in the hood. Heard that? Call me Wiš'adel from now on. And you'd better not get it wrong. Also, I just decided to head down to the Military Commission later and bomb my name out with explosives. That way, nobody'll ever forget it. Or maybe the roof's better. I want the flames to spread so far you can even see it from Londinium...
Amiya	Wiš'a...del.
Wiš'adel	I know what you want to say. I'm not crying. I'm shaking because... hehe... hah...
Amiya	...
Kal'tsit	...
Wiš'adel	ahem Why's everyone all quiet now?
Amiya	You.. I... can't find the words to say...
Kal'tsit	Go, Amiya. Before she vanishes completely... she'll be happy with you by her side. Even if she'll never admit it herself.
Amiya	...
Kal'tsit	Doctor, we may be standing against Theresa now, but I have to admit she has achieved something beyond the limits of my imagination. I believe you as you are right now, should already have some conjectures in mind even if you're missing your past memories.
Doctor	It has something to do with that mysterious person. / ...Priestess...
Kal'tsit	Theresa, our mission is far from being over, yes?
Theresa	...
Kal'tsit	Have you already handed the first Originium to him? ...Theresa, this difficult problem you're leaving us with is truly—
Theresa	Kal'tsit, things don't always go the way we want. All we have done is to do what we should, nothing more. Doctor, your appearance before me right now is proof I've won our earlier bet.
Doctor	Theresa... / You still hide so many secrets.
Theresa	Hah. Doctor, allow me to instill a little bit more suspense. You're still not ready, even now, even if all of you've surpassed me— See the ocean waves billowing? We don't have much time left.
Kal'tsit	I always knew our reunion only meant another parting.
Theresa	My dear Kal'tsit, since we're all clear about our respective endings, why should we go through sorrow yet again? Can you come closer?

Theresa stretches out her hand and touches the ends of Kal'tsit's hair.
Theresa	Ah, here you are. I hope my staunch and strong Kal'tsit isn't shedding any tears this time either.
Kal'tsit	You're always like this.
Theresa	I'm a very fortunate soul, Kal'tsit. Every time I leave, I do so with my dearest friend by my side... Thank you.
Kal'tsit	...
Amiya	Theresa... she's disappearing...
Wiš'adel	She's what? Bunny, what kinda nonsense is that? Isn't Her Highness with us right now? I'm even hugging—
Theresa	Wiš'adel, haven't you achieved what you wanted to do...? You met, defeated me, and finally, killed me. It's time to let go. I will leave without a trace, and no longer exist anywhere you can see.
<Background 3>
Kal'tsit	Theresa, do you mean that the Originium will no longer bear any traces of you?
Theresa	Yes, I won't allow Originium to become our cage. All that I've strived for, is just to free the Sarkaz completely. The Sarkaz should be free, in both life and death. "Destroy something, to create a ladder..." Even if what I end up destroying is myself.
Doctor	You're so... different from the Theresa I had in mind.
Theresa	Dr. {nickname}... This is our "first" meeting, isn't it? What bits have you heard of me... what kind of Theresa do you have in your mind? A founder of Babel, a faultless idealist? Or a cold, calculated King of Sarkaz, a schemer who instigates war?
Doctor	No, neither. Both are roles that others need you to play.
Theresa	Is that so...
[The environment suddenly shifts.]
<Background 4>
Theresa	I didn't think we'd get the chance to say our farewells so peacefully.
Doctor	This is...? / I've never been here before.
Theresa	A friend bid farewell to me here, a long time ago. I witnessed my friend's death, and from here I began walking towards my own. ...I like this place. But it is also somewhere I cannot reach or visit, ever. It only perpetually exists in the memories of the void, unreachable throughout my whole life. Dr. {nickname}, what kind of person do I seem to you right now—?
<Dialogue branch starts here>
Doctor	Someone who would do everything and anything for the fate of their people.
Theresa	Is that so? Quite the interesting answer. You and me, past and present, what is gone, and what is to come... Time seems to hold no meaning here. Perhaps we have already said something similar at some other point in time. But what you say isn't completely baseless. I was once warned about my future, but I was clear this was my path to tread. I wouldn't give up, no matter if I lived or died, regardless of place and time. However, the very same words coming from you hold no irony at all. Thank you, Doctor.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	Someone always chasing after a lofty ideal.
Theresa	What defines a lofty ideal? Who ought to define it? I exacted violence on other races for Sarkaz freedom. I renounced the belief I once defended with my life, and stood against all of you... The Rhodes Island of today has already stepped out of Babel's shadow... Though it has abandoned some concepts Babel once adhered to, for the Sarkaz. You fly peace as your banner, but employ violence to help our oppressors bring back suffering to the Sarkaz. But at the same time, I can't deny your own lofty ideals, just like how I can't deny my past self. Perhaps you believe you completely comprehend what "lofty" means... but for me, the phrase still weighs too heavy. However, thank you, Doctor.
<Dialogue branch>
Doctor	I... don't know.
Theresa	... I can sense you're not lying right now. But if you're still going to give a perfunctory reply at such a moment... my disappointment will only grow. Of course, a little loss isn't surprising at all. I really want to know your answer, Doctor. Doctor, don't give up on finding the answer. If you're still just following Rhodes Island's ideals as you go— I worry if you're ready enough to handle whatever it is that you encounter in the future. Just keep going, like how I hoped you would in the past.
<Dialogue branch ends here>
Doctor	...To be honest, I can't give you a proper evaluation. / You're still a conundrum to me.
Theresa	You're cautious, still hostile and wary toward me just like you were back then... of course, we stand now on opposing sides like we did before. But no matter. You merely haven't had enough time to figure out each and every single enigma there is. A pity we always have our chats when the clock is ticking down so fast.
Doctor	I heard so many stories about you on Rhodes Island. You've done so much. / You still have many regrets.
Theresa	My mission is over. Many years ago, you and Kal'tsit pushed a door opened for me, to a wider world. But I was already a sovereign to the Sarkaz. I bear their suffering, their fate. My ideals and vision may transcend that sky of nothingness, but the weight of reality still pulled me back down to earth. I was already convinced back then that the person who could change the Sarkaz, or even the future of Terra itself was absolutely not me—it has never been me. A close friend whom I trust the most already predicted this end.
Doctor	And that person... is me—?
<Background fades out>
Theresa

Theresa	Yes, I had the fortune to meet your "truest" self. That person was wise, gentle. Though bearing with the heaviest of duty and wearing the strongest of shackles, that one never gave up hope, ever. I'm gratified. You stand alongside Kal'tsit and Amiya now, and so I believe I made the right choice back then. The choices we made on our own have also determined the path to where we are now. Our original meeting in haste was just like this parting between two strangers... was it not?
Doctor	I can't sense any... resentment from you.
Theresa	Resentment? Why? To this day, I still feel only regret and a longing from when I touched the depths on your soul and the unimaginable truth. Yes... it is because I touched the depths of your heart that I hold so much regret... we lost a chance to walk on the same path. Perhaps that person was so fascinating due to an internal conflict no one else can empathize with.
Doctor	...Just what kind of person was "I"? / ...Speculations, questions—I can't piece together fully what "I" was. / All this contradictory information is making me feel confused and anxious.

Theresa	Haven't you noticed? You don't doubt your decisions now. What shapes your true self? Everything that you've experienced, or your already concealed past? Look at where we are, Doctor. Those silent memories and the truth of everything, are they not by your side...?
Doctor	Originium...
Theresa	Past, present, future. Time is no longer defined by the rules we find so familiar at the end of Originium. You no longer remember... But you told me once, that "Originium"— Brought an innumerable amount of suffering upon this land, along with countless possibilities. Created by hundreds of millions of sacrifices in the era you came from. When you created Originium, what expectations did you harbor towards it and this land? Look, at everything recorded inside this golden ocean... do they line up with your expectations?
You see it... Ursus's inferno, Kjerag's wind and snow, Iberia's tides... A torrent of information rushes past you, in units of civilizations, from time and space since time immemorial. You suddenly realize—
Doctor	All the questions I have... / All the past I forgot... Can be answered and found in this field of Originium. No. / ... / ...No.
You retract your hands.
Doctor	It is all that I've gone through that shapes what I am today. And not my concealed past.
Theresa	You always have a pleasant surprise in store... Doctor... we managed to meet once more while I lie deep in the sea of information after our parting. It is my past, but it is your future. Though you might still be on a path to find yourself, you still want to prove to me that you're— "Just as I always have been." How I wish I could see you find the answers with my own eyes. But I'm sorry... I can't go any further.
<Background shakes>
Theresa	Doctor, I have to go, and so do you all... If you have no intention of being trapped in this infinite nothingness for all eternity, that is. Goodbye, Dr. {nickname}. My dear friend whom I've never met.
<Background 3>
Doctor	—Theresa!
There is no response. The white figure atop the tower has vanished. Nothing remains.
Amiya	Theresa... She's gone.
Wiš'adel	...Oh.
Kal'tsit	Doctor, what did you see?
Doctor	Theresa... told me...
Doctor	What kind of person she was. / What kind of person I am. I found it... where "Amnannam" is.
<Background fades out>
We'll leave this place. The waves of information have subsided. Do you hear the voices of the myriad souls departing, Banshee—
Logos	The tower is at peace, Your Highness... The waves are flowing backwards into a hell we cannot comprehend. The flames that could burn even these roots have no way to light up the infinite night. Where will all of you go from here?
An eternal void, a true death.

Theresa	We will no longer stay on the other side, Aefanyl. "Logos". You should get more used to being called by this name. You've made your choice, the choice of a Rhodes Island elite operator.
Logos stands on the endless flow of information, his own figure leaving its mark on the vast ocean. The slender figure on the other side stands in silence. Ripples cause her silhouette to waver, no longer clear.
Theresa	When I heard you sound the knell for yourself by the river, I was already waiting for an old friend to appear on this side. sigh A pity Laqeramaline is still unwilling to involve herself in this war.
Logos	Mother... she did indeed rescue me from death.
Theresa	With an ingenious method, but one befitting her former character. She has also made her choice, as you have. I saw you confronting the myriad souls, no less impressive than the time your mother and I stood side by side in battle. I'll have no way of seeing her again. Say farewell to her for me, Logos.
Logos	Your Highness, your figure is fading—
Theresa	Departure is also a form of resistance. This is what we've chosen for ourselves. Originium shall not cage us here for eternity.
Logos	I... don't understand. Where did the cage come from, and what do you seek for?
Theresa	There's no need to comprehend it, Logos. You need only know the trapped myriad souls are now dissipating into freedom via a complicated flow of information impossible to parse. No longer readable, recordable—
Logos	"A true death". All kings and heroes will no longer respond to my words, and no longer will anyone be on the other side... Your Highness, will the myriad souls still exist after today?
Theresa	No.
Logos	Will there be ferrymen with an array on torches lighting up the other side?
Theresa	No more.
Logos	Then where will our kin go, when they leave us?
Theresa	I don't know... I'm afraid it's too late for me to find that answer. I've walked to the end, and the truth of civilization lies before me in fog. There is no way for me to touch it, but it does not mean the rest of you cannot cross it.
Logos	Your Highness...?
Theresa	chuckle I've just unloaded the burden of worrying for the future. What the myriad souls care about is only the Sarkaz. "From death comes new life"... you understand the inevitability of fate, but you have yet to clearly perceive the truth of death. The myriad souls are no longer our shackles, and Originium will no longer be the sin we bear. Logos, our departure also serves as our liberation. No longer will there be prolonged indignant murmuring for a myriad years, nor an unforgettable legacy of suffering to be inherited. For the first time we have a future that can be changed.

"For the first time we have the right to choose."
<Background 5>
Excited Mercenary	hiss... huff... No surrendering here. Only death.
Crumbling Soldier	Y-You don't have to kill me... Just look at the bloody crystals on my body... ugh... and my comrades... they haven't appeared from the fog... I can't live on—I don't want to die—
Excited Mercenary	Heh.
The mercenary's blade stops right before it makes contact with the dying soldier. He looks toward the sky, and feels something leaving. The impatience to kill gradually fades away from inside him.
Excited Mercenary	...Gah. Did I imagine that?
Crumbling Soldier	sobs...
Excited Mercenary	... ...Heh.
[The mercenary thrusts his blade.]

"The Sarkaz will no longer need to live for the shackles of history." "We will live simply for survival. Resist against suffering the exact same way as everyone else does on this land."
<Background 6>
Paprika	No, my ball of yarn!
Ines	Caught you. Careful, Paprika.
Paprika	Phew! Thanks! Y-You can put me down now, Ines!
Ines	We'll find a way to rescue Amiya and the rest, so don't panic. Your life is worth more than these few balls of yarn.
Paprika	...But my Nana gave them to me before I left home... Huh...? Wait, did you feel that, Ines?
Ines	Feel what?
Paprika	—! A pounding in the depths of your soul.
Ines	... I was concentrating on the skeleton. I need to make sure it stays somewhere safe—somewhere no one can locate or affect it. Paprika, what did it feel like exactly, and will it affect any future plans?
Paprika	I-I can't say. But... from everyone's faces, it seems like it wasn't just me!
Ines	You're... crying?
Paprika	Oh, you're right! But... why?

"But what about you?" "Me? The same as every other Sarkaz." "Depart. Dissipate. Die."

"Please continue accompanying Rhodes Island on their path. There's no need to doubt your decision." "Thank you, Logos."
Logos	Your Highness, perhaps you may share my doubts on whether the myriad souls' departure will truly allow us to bid farewell to the past... The other side will be bare, but where will the plague of death from this battlefield send the souls of our kin to? Your Highness, I will witness our end in your stead. The ferry is no more, so I shall guide the souls. If they have nowhere to go, I shall be their boat. My voice will set the torches on the other side aflame, and I hereby vow— Only when I no longer hear the roaring of my kin on the other side... When our compatriots can rest in peace on this land... Will the knell cease to ring.
Ripples form on the golden water as the myriad souls respond. Kings and heroes, regular spirits or resentful wraiths, they leave with haste. Traces of the Sarkaz existing within Originium dissipate.
Logos	Now... please allow me to send both you and the myriad souls off.
An elegy sounds from his lips as he readies to walk over the water. The young Banshee sends the myriad souls off.
<Background 7>
Sudaram	(Indistinct Sarkaz language) ...Leave... Patriarch...
Nezzsalem	She is gone. (Ancient Sarkaz language) "Amnannam" has bloomed, destiny already in our hands. She honored her vow, so the war will also abide by her. Go, no longer shroud yourself with the fog. Water death with death, and honor departure with victory. Victoria's condolences... I shall personally receive it in her stead.

The blue fowlbeast pecks at the tears of the white-horned demon. She caresses the fowlbeast's feathers on its brow—Can Nightingale's inherently empty soul feel the pain of that departure?
<Background 8>
Shining	Liz... did you feel that? The throbbing in our souls, lamenting whispers echoing in our minds.
The corners of Liz's eyes twitch minutely, unable to respond in her deep slumber.
Margaret	Shining, is her condition worsening?
Shining	No, she'll be fine. Margaret, we have to meet with the Doctor and the others with haste.
Margaret	...Is it because of that thing transforming in the sky earlier? When it began changing, you started acting strange. Is this another Confessarius conspiracy too?
Shining	No... at the very least, he will be unable to involve himself in this matter for the time being. Though it definitely has a link to his schemes. Every Sarkaz has probably felt it—the departure of someone extremely important to us all.
Margaret	Hm... I can't fully comprehend what exactly you're talking about, but any new accidents in our current situation might affect how the war will go. You're right, the Doctor and the rest should have more pivotal information on their end. There's no more time to waste, let's go.
<Background 9>
Nadine	General, General!
Manfred	This place is...
Nadine	We were cleaning up the battlefield when we so fortunately found you... General... we failed to recapture the "Lifebone".
Manfred	... Am I the only one here? Ascalon...
Nadine	General, your wounds... We'll bring you back to camp for treatment right now.
Manfred	No. We missed our chance, and time is no longer on our side. Our top priority now is to return to Londinium and discuss our next move of our plan with the Regent. Contact the spy sentries ahead to cooperate with us, and prepare to cross this warzone.
Nadine	General! Look at the blood dripping nonstop... you're in terrible shape! The Military Commission can't afford to lose another high-ranking officer!
Manfred	I gave an order. ...This is for the remaining, living Sarkaz.
Nadine	—! Yes... sir.
<Background shakes>
Nadine	What happened...? ...Impossible. This feeling—
Manfred	Your Highness, is this the price you spoke of...? For the Sarkaz's future...
<Background 10>
Theresis	From today onwards, there will be no trace of your existence anywhere, even within Originium... The "gods", or the arrogant being professing to be the creator... Will you see them at the end of your path... Theresa? After I felt you brushing past me, your voice has turned harder to hear. All I hear now from the void surrounding me is muffled, vapid noise. The path ahead is clear, and it's time for everything to end. Theresa—
<Background fades out>
"Can you still hear my voice...?"

I can. Yours, the newborns, and the dying ones... here, we can hear the voice of every Sarkaz... The souls are stranded in an ocean of unconsciousness, shouting our names before they drown as they await guidance. In a present no longer recorded anywhere in time, the name we respond to the most... is "Theresa". I can hear the raging rumbling from skeletons that fell from the sea of stars into the ice field ten thousand years ago. Unknown, dreadful, terrifying. We have ended the oppression that was branded into our blood from that time onward... No, we have yet to do so. We questioned ourselves: Did our resistance hold any meaning then? ...The future will prove it to us. Then, what about now? Now we shall go far, far away. That is my reply.
<Background Black>
Theresa	The myriad souls who never gave up resisting until they completely dissipated, did one last thing for the Sarkaz within the Originium— They fought for a future where everyone has a right to survive, for the ones still alive. ... Onward, everyone.
That day, a certain exhausted Sarkaz girl fell into a deep sleep within the warm flames of the Kazdel Soul Furnace for some reason. She dreamed of her mother far away in a foreign country, standing in light within the pitch-black darkness speaking to her. She couldn't hear her clearly, but she did not cry either. Because she saw her mother smile. Then, she woke up, opened her eyes, and saw a pure white flower in full bloom by her head. The black dust from the forge burning death landed on the fragile flower petals, but it unexpectedly highlighted the flower's dazzling vitality even more instead. Here, death and light congregate. The girl shed tears at the beauty created by setting death aflame. After that day, Sarkaz passing by the Soul Furnace would see a girl show up every single day to water a flower growing in the Originium dust and bones with drops of dew. She offered tribute to the light until the day that flower withered and died.

"Is that how the story ends...? Why is it so sad, Theresa? "Sad? I actually see it as a happy tale of hope arriving, Amiya." "The flower withered, returned to dust. But the seed of new life has already been sown."
<Background 3>
Wiš'adel	...Did the revenant get left behind?
Kal'tsit	No, the myriad souls never took in revenants. Even if he regather^[sic] his thoughts, his intrinsically Originium-influenced self cannot be reversed or changed. So he was never to depart with the myriad souls.
Wiš'adel	So Her Highness never planned to take him away from here either?
Kal'tsit	I have no way of knowing.
Wiš'adel	Heh... so it's not like Her Highness can't lie... I didn't expect you to end up in my hands, old fossil.
Amiya	There's no reason to harm him anymore, W.
Wiš'adel	I told you to call me Wiš'adel! Relax, bunny. I'm not going to smash him to bits... I'm just taking him away with me. He already died once, so it's not hard to guess why Her Highness let him remain here. Up 'til her death she always craved for the Sarkaz to unite, so her plan for the revenants is super simple— To first live like people. Well, even if he no longer looks anything like one. You don't have to set everything on fire. Your mission ended a long time ago, so leave the rest to more capable people. Like me, for example... Bah, just stay in this weapon for the time being, yeah?
"Do you still remember the story about the puppet, Amiya? He went into a river of tears, and sank to the riverbed..." "Grief, despair... But it doesn't mean it's a true ending set in stone. You can always continue a story for as long as you want, but what's more important, is the storyteller."
"The storyteller... are you talking about yourself, Theresa?"
"Me? No... Amiya, I'd prefer the storyteller be you."
Amiya	Hold on, do we have go back to where we came from to leave? Is that possible?
Kal'tsit	We won't have time. This place is changing faster than I expected.
Wiš'adel	So what are you and the crone planning? How the hell are we leaving this place?
Doctor	I'm still trying to figure that out!
Wiš'adel	(Takes out explosives)
Amiya	Wiš'adel! Calm down!
Kal'tsit	Doctor, I cannot tell you how to leave this place. The secrets in here are beyond even me. But I believe Theresa definitely mentioned a piece of key information to you.
<Background shakes>
Wiš'adel	NOW WHAT?!
Amiya	Doctor, Dr. Kal'tsit! These roots are breaking apart, and... floating upwards?!
[The space cracks and crumbles.]

"Theresa, what if... the puppet was never alone in the first place...? Maybe his companions were waiting for him down there all along!" "Just like us. Doctor, Dr. Kal'tsit, and you... and everyone in Babel!" "Little people made of pebbles, white, black, green, red... a whole lot of them!" "They'll surround the puppet and bring him far away following the fierce river waters—" "Hm... but where can they go...?"
<Background 3>
<Background shakes>
Kal'tsit	We are currently "falling" from this platform. "She"... finally noticed what Theresa has done. This tower is being erased. All the information that was organized and put together here is being broken apart.
Amiya	But I can still feel Theresa's presence here, as if she still exists within the scattered information... Everywhere, although it's vanishing quickly—
Kal'tsit	She's fighting against it... as are the myriad souls.
Wiš'adel	Get your head moving, hood! Even the platform we're on is breaking apart! Shit! The—thing's—falling—down—
Kal'tsit	Doctor—
Amiya	Doctor, I've got you!
Wiš'adel	Old hag! Your little freak isn't here to help you, so stay still, unless you wanna fall and shatter into a million pieces. I have an idea on how to slow down our descent. Old fossil, get out here and help! I know you can do it!
Amiya	I'll wrap everyone up in my Arts too!
Doctor	I don't see the landship! / ...Where's Logos?
[Arts flash by and everything begins to slow down.]
Logos	The landship got swept away with the ocean waves when it was coming to a calm. But I remain, and I will be your ferry. I told you, Doctor. We will reunite in peace and tranquility.
<Background Black>
"I got it! I know where the puppet will go, Theresa!" "The pebble people will take the puppet along the river of tears—"

"{nickname}."
<Background Black>
"Even if they get dizzy from the river's current, as long as they don't give up and stay together hand in hand..." "They'll never get lost within the tears of sadness—"

"When you are truly confused by everything, you will remember: the answers you seek were here all along."
<Background Black>
Doctor	...I think I figured out how to leave.
Amiya	Theresa, are you the one guiding us? Doctor—
Doctor	(Nods)
You and Amiya subconsciously raise your hands at the same time. Within the silent space, a familiar ship rises from the sea of information. The airship that was supposedly shattered into pieces is reconstructed anew according to your intentions, hovering below you. The both of you gaze at the giant diamond shape in the distant void... Originium. Truth. Priestess. Theresa. "It's time we left this place." The airship accelerates forward, tearing apart the void as it enters the light.
"The puppet and his friends don't know how much time has passed, but they never give up, even though they're super tired..." "They share the same wish, and when the water slowed down, they seized the chance to float all the way up. They succeeded, and finally they saw—" "A sea, a golden sea painted gold by the sun." "It turns out they didn't just cross the river of tears, but also a vast ocean they didn't know about behind them." "They set foot on land once again."

"See you, {nickname}. I'll be here waiting for you."