Episode 07

Episode 07: The Birth of Tragedy
In Other Languages
Simp. Chinese	苦难摇篮
Trad. Chinese	苦難搖籃
Japanese	苦難揺籃くなんようらん
Korean	고난의 요람
Episode Information
Story arc	Act I: Shatter of a Vision
Previous	Episode 06
Next	Episode 08
Release Dates
CN	April 25, 2020
Global	December 30, 2020
TW	May 27, 2021

The seventh episode of Arknights' Main Theme is titled The Birth of Tragedy.

Synopsis

War and Betrayal

After most of Reunion were routed from Lungmen, another major problem occurs: Talulah has set the core city of Chernobog on a collision course with Lungmen. To make things worse, the core city is still considered Ursine territory. If the two nomadic cities collide, it will not only be the catalyst of war between the empires of Ursus and Yan, but also will destroy the illusion of safety all nomadic cities operate under.

W asks Talulah about the plan during a private meeting, and she explains that although Reunion has activated the core city, they still need two "keys" to have full control over the way it stops. However, this is all a ruse from W to try to assassinate Talulah and prevent her from attacking Lungmen. Although W had set a trap with Originium explosives, Talulah was able to weaken the blast with her Arts. W blows herself up rather than die by her superior's hands, her body falling into the core area. Talulah then entrusts the Key which can stop the city to Patriot. She then promises the Sarkaz mercenaries formerly led by W a great war.

"I'll go, even if it means killing my family."

Back in Lungmen, Wei Yenwu and the rest in his office receive word that the Ursine government will not stop the collision, as they have written off Chernobog after the Catastrophe and handed it off to Reunion. Despite the others' protests, Wei Yenwu gives the order to prepare for war with Ursus and attack first, which would not only be an open declaration of war but make Lungmen look like the aggressor. Ch'en volunteers to head the mission stop Reunion, but ends up bickering with Wei over his decision to destroy the slums. Disgusted by Wei for turning his back on the Infected, Ch'en declares that she, too, is Infected, having contracted Oripathy in the course of her work. Suddenly, the leader of Wei's private army, the Shadow Guards, bursts into the office, begging him to send them to Chernobog and stop the collision. Wei screams at them to leave. Although he had warned her that leaving Lungmen would make her a traitor to Yan, Ch'en turns in her badge and unleashes Chi Xiao on the Shadow Guard, who is able to block the blast. Wei, however, will not allow them to hurt Ch'en and orders them to fall back. Ch'en demands again to be sent to Chernobog, but Wei begs her not to risk her life. Despite this, Ch'en severs ties with her uncle, declaring that they are now strangers, before jumping out a window to escape.

While she is on the run, Ch'en runs into Hoshiguma, who has recovered from her injuries. Hoshiguma tells Ch'en that Wei Yenwu should be the one dying for Lungmen, not her, and that Lungmen still needs her. Ch'en finally confesses that she is Infected—a fact she had been hiding from her partner for three years—and that Reunion's leader, Talulah, is her sister. Still, Hoshiguma holds her ground, refusing to let Ch'en die for nothing. Hoshiguma eventually lets Ch'en go after a brief struggle, knowing that she will never see the other woman again.

Meanwhile, Wei Yenwu dismisses the Shadow Guards, preventing them from going after Ch'en. Fumizuki says she will go and bring Ch'en back herself, but Wei prevents her from leaving. Wei's plan is to lead his army against Reunion himself and then die in battle, his sacrifice being what is needed to end the war. Kal'tsit proposes that Rhode Island fight the battle in Chernobog instead, as only the Infected can face the Infected. After some persuasion, Wei reluctantly agrees that Lungmen not interfere with any of Rhodes Island's affairs until the end of the Lungmen-Chernobog conflict, though he still openly distrusts the Infected. Kal'tsit then asks for the remains of Edward Artorius, Talulah's deceased father, planning to keep it safe for future use.

Protector or Traitor?

The Rhodes Island landship leaves Lungmen and begins its infiltration of the core city. During the mission, Dobermann's team uses the "Bad Guy" VTOL to lure the enemies. In the meantime, the team led by Nearl, Firewatch, and Elysium uses an upcoming sandstorm to hide themselves from enemy detection. Other Elite Ops led by Amiya, Kal'tsit, and Rosmontis help clear the path for the infiltrators, although the sudden brutality of the latter gives the Doctor an uneasy feeling. Meanwhile, Fumizuki and Wei Yenwu discuss Talulah, who they believe has been raised by Kashchey to be his heir. Despite his wife's protests, Wei has the Shadow Guards escort Fumizuki to Sargon, believing that the conflict must end with his death. Meanwhile, Talulah is informed that Faust, the Yeti Squad, and FrostNova are dead, Mephisto is incapacitated, and Crownslayer has seemingly defected.

A familiar face, with different uniform.

Rhodes Island discovers evidence that Ch'en is alive, but wounded. They also encounter the missing Guard, the sole survivor from Ace's and Scout's sacrifices, in a nearby warehouse. To their surprise, he is now a Reunion member in service of Patriot's guerrillas. The Guard attempts to comfort an Ursine Infected named Tatiana, who accuses Reunion of intentionally spreading Oripathy to her, though the Guard argues that Patriot's guerrillas are much more disciplined than the rest of Reunion. The Guard manages to convince his former employers that he did not participate in Reunion's crimes, and only defected to Reunion to help the innocent Infected refugees. He explains that the only reason so many Ursus were able to make it through the Chernobog catastrophe is thanks to Patriot, who handed out supplies in war-torn areas. He has a deeply-held respect for Patriot and separates the guerrilla from the rest of Reunion, believing that R.I. and Patriot do not have to be enemies. However, Kal'tsit reveals that R.I. are responsible for FrostNova's death, and that they may come to be enemies.

Now that they have reached the core city, Rhodes Island clears a path through the central district to the bridge and generator area controlling Chernobog's movement. Rosmontis uses her Arts to locate the guerillas' scouts and take out the guerillas' communications, with Amiya also using her arts to regulate Rosmontis' emotions. After taking out multiple scouts, however, Amiya, Kal'tsit, and Rosmontis immediatelt encounter Buldrokkas'tee the "Patriot," the mightiest leader of Reunion, and his armored Shieldguards, the famous "Aegis of the Infected."

The Last March

"Rhodes Island, I advance!"

Amiya, Kal'tsit, and Rosmontis try to negotiate with Patriot peacefully. Although Patriot recognizes Kal'tsit from their shared pasts and trusts her, he knows that Amiya and the Doctor are responsible for the death of his daughter, FrostNova. He also appears to know that Talulah has sent Chernobog on a crash course with Lungmen, but maintains his loyalty to her as to not break up Reunion and start a civil war. Despite this, he still blocks R.I.'s way, not out of vengeance for his daughter but for the sake of Reunion, as Reunion cannot fail before it liberates all Infected. Patriot declares that only by defeating him can R.I. continue, proving themselves to be the only ones who can defeat Talulah.

With his enormous strength and heavy armor, Patriot proves to be a formidable opponent. he is eventually defeated by both Amiya and his worsening illness. Patriot recognizes Rhodes Island as worthy of killing Talulah, entrusting R.I. with the Key to stop Chernobog that he had received from Talulah. Amiya conjures up pleasant visions of his family for Patriot, but he realizes that Amiya is actually the next Lord of Fiends and the genuine successor of the previous monarch Theresa, thus fulfilling the Kazdelian prophecy that the "Lord of Fiends," the King of all Sarkaz, would kill the last pure-blooded Wendigo. Patriot hallucinates a prophecy that the King of Sarkaz will enslave all people, and initially attempts to kill Amiya, but he suddenly stops himself at the last second. He dies right with his hands out stretched to reach her, his body frozen in place. Snow begins to fall upon Patriot's death, which coincides with R.I.'s cremation of FrostNova's body. Knowing that the phenomenon is a sign from their deceased leaders, the Shieldguards willingly put aside their disagreements, despite their wariness, to form an alliance against Talulah's tyranny.

Sparking the Flames

In the wake of Patriot's death, civil war breaks out in the core city between Reunion fighters siding with the Shieldguards and Talulah's ardent supporters. To the rebels, they openly proclaim that Talulah has betrayed Patriot and all of Reunion. Amidst the tension, the Rhodes Island team splits into two, with the Doctor and Kal'tsit going to the Chernobog Sarcophagus and Amiya, the Shieldguards, and the rest headed to the control tower. Along the way, the former group encounters W, who had survived the explosion during her getaway from Talulah. Though she is gravely wounded, W still antagonizes them, calling the Doctor a murderer (who she longs to kill) and Kal'tsit a loonatic. Kal'tsit uses Mon3tr to toss W through a wall and out of the plot. Beneath the city's underground structure, Mephisto drags himself towards the Sarcophagus, intending to use it to "forget" everything. Meanwhile, Ch'en has finally arrived at the city's control tower, preparing herself to confront Talulah.

Somewhere in the royal palace of Londinium, Victoria, Theresis, the Regent of Kazdel, is plotting to resurrect the deceased Theresa as part of his plan to reunite the Sarkaz and end their ages-old civil conflicts. A new storm is brewing..

Operations

Harder operations are in orange-red; sub operations are in light gray.

Trivia

• Before the Heart of Surging Flame Rerun client update in the Global server, most of Episode 07's mid-operation story dialogues were left untranslated from the original Chinese text. This is most likely an oversight.