Paint with Fresh Ink

Endmin, you're finally back! Are you feeling better?

I heard you visited Lady Si's place for treatment. A proxy's home must be totally awesome.

I really wanted to go looking for you, but Perlica kept me here!

That sounds really ... cryptic.

But after seeing her powers at Yinglung Pass, I wouldn't be surprised if she could draw anything...

Really? Is it even prettier than Wuling?

Oh. Is it someone from Hongshan?

What weapons did this martial artist use? Is this warrior up for some sparring?

If you're visiting Lady Si, please, take me along, Endministrator!

Now I feel as though a huge burden has been lifted off my chest.

Hmm. You're looking much better.

I have many dependable colleagues in Wuling who can keep the city running, even in my absence.

I was here when you left. So here I must be, to welcome your return.

Endministrator, we still have a long road ahead of us, but ... I sincerely hope you can pay more attention to yourself.

If you need a quiet place to rest and recover, Wuling is open to you, anytime.

Ahem ... the city is recently welcoming other new blossoms...

Endmin, you're finally back.

Not too long. It's just me getting too worried about you. After all, nobody can guarantee the outcomes of her treatment...

Good... I guess I think too much.

If there's a chance, we should properly thank her.

Dijiang is undergoing routine inspection and system upgrade. A few sectors have been closed off.

Perhaps you've really been ... away for too long.

Must be Lady Si... Endmin, why don't you talk to her? I'll explain once you come back.

Here so soon? I thought you'd spend more time with your Little Miss Supervisor.

Mmhmm, now that's common decency.

Your Medical Division will be running an additional set of diagnostics. Use this opportunity for a proper break.

Why do you sound reluctant? You're not down with the flu. You need proper care that requires extensive planning.

Of course you have. Look outside. I am not seeing any Foundation attacks.

Hmph..

Sounds like once I leave, you will immediately revert to workaholism?

I should've kept you in Yuanyuan Manor. Bringing you back to Dijiang is a mistake.

Oh, come on! Not that face again! You've always liked playing mysterious!

How did you figure it out?

I must've overlooked a few mistakes ... and you're not telling me on purpose!

*Sigh*. You've made quite a recovery. Maybe I just worry too much.

Here. Take this.

I knew you could do it!

Ahem. Don't get this idea that I can't beat you. I just couldn't get my mind off the past, and it's distracting.

Yeah. Happened over a century ago. But you ... probably remember none of it.

It was right after the war, and the Civilization Band was just taking shape. People were really busy everywhere.

I had never been so far from home. It wasn't my business, and no one needed me. So I hung my painting here, and kept to myself.

Then you popped up from nowhere. It was you! You used pretty words and cajoled me! I ended up agreeing to help Hongshan!

Don't ask me. I have no idea.

But ... it felt good. I was a lot happier back then.

I actually treated you like another older, umm ... sister. / I actually treated you like another older, umm ... brother.

Yeah... I have siblings too. What's so surprising about it?

This painting is a gift from one of them... You're all very important to me.

Anyway, you broke a promise ten years ago!

You gave me a ton of work and headed north, promising you'd take me on a proper tour to Seš'qa, Samivegr, and the other sights of Talos-II.

Guess what? I heard you had an accident, and then slept for ten whole years!

You finally came around, but you lost all your memories! I couldn't even get mad at you. Instead, I gotta rush around and fix your mess!

Wait, what are you doing?!

Alright. You've been treated, and even won the fight. Only the last step of "Zeroth Directive" remains.

Y-you better promise! You'll hang out with me, and wipe out the Foundation! If you forget again, I'll chain you to a floating rock!

Hold your questions for now. You could ask them later.

Someone you wish to meet, who also wishes to meet you.

Perhaps your gaze is the only thing that can pierce the karmic cycle, and will know when my future self is capable of bearing the "Zeroth Directive".

Please help with this "trial", Si. I pray that when the time comes, "I" remain capable of solving your Feranmut puzzle.

Yes. You have my word.

You've arrived.

Hmm. That doesn't feel right. I should've said: "Here I am."

You know, it took me a while to persuade Si to preserve a portrait of me. Just in case the "future" needs it.

A "future" that we can fight for, one with endless possibilities.

Thanks for putting up with Si. She can be quite a handful. Now, I believe you have many questions for me.

Oh. Very straightforward.

Isn't self-knowledge the most difficult part? Based on my waking hours, I'm barely older than Perlica right now.

Yet, in all honesty, I couldn't imagine losing my memories and goals.

The way I see it, there are things we can do to overcome and go beyond our issues and learn who we really are.

You chose to push onwards as the "Endministrator". Why?

Perlica and M3 never forced you to fight. Yet you never hesitated. You rushed from one crisis to another.

And why do the enemy's words cause you unease? Why do you instinctively recoil from the touch of Æther?

From the most pragmatic perspective, there should be safer ways to accomplish the "Zeroth Directive". So why do you insist on joining the frontline?

...fell in love with this world.

Saving this world ... is the duty we chose when disasters approached. Revering this world ... is the lesson we learned when enemies fought us for survival.

But many, many years ago, someone taught me ... and you, to love the cycle of life that has endured and will continue to do so.

You love Endfield, the Civilization Band, Talos-II, Terra, and even the Foundation... You love them all.

It was a delightful kind of love. Love might not be the best word, but I can't find another to better describe that feeling.

You can be anyone. You can be {player}, or be whatever others see in you.

You've been allowed to choose again, and your answers remain the same.

You did not forget the most important thing, and you remain dedicated to the care and protection of this cold, harsh world.

Then I'm really relieved. I asked Si to help me just to confirm this with you.

It seems I still have some time to spare from Si... Since we have this chance, let's talk about you.

In a little while, I might be gone forever. Feel free to vent or confide in me. I'm interested about ... my journey in the future.

And who we are has nothing to do with the expectations placed upon us since birth.

I have completed every task you asked of me... Time for you to head back to Dijiang.

You're getting a ton of work... Don't give me the details. I just want to know, are you confident about the journey ahead?

Great.

Since you're taking up your great enterprise again, this isn't the time to fool around with you. I got better sense than that.

It's been over a century. I know everything that HAS knows. Talos-II has always been in a terrible situation.

You always said, how you'd just hold on till someone could take over your burden. And so you kept yourself busy.

People respect you, but there are those who fear you. They think you're dependable, powerful, and ... distant.

Please don't get hurt again. If you need my help, I'll always give you a hand.

You literally just did...

But once you recall what you did in the past, you'll still be surprised.

Just imagine an unmasked version of yourself, one who talks slower and has a stiffer face...

Wait. I thought you'd already met?

Actually, when compared to last time, you are a little different indeed.

I had felt that way at Yinglung Pass. This trip just made that feeling more obvious.

How? You got doltier, but also ... funnier. The differences are not that bad at all.

Alright. I gotta run my inn, so I won't see you off.

What are you thinking! I'll do it for your little supervisor and let you head back to clean up your mess!

And starting today, I'm giving Endfield access to this place. You owe me big time. If you can't be here, your Endfielders better pick up the slack!

But I have one condition...

Don't forget me again.

So, ready to head back?

Patience, Nuli. I still have a few words with our Endmin.

Many Tianshi of HAS are very concerned about your safety. I must head back and report to them.

Fate might be at play. When I was young, she got her eyes on my prey during a hunt.

The prey managed to escape, but it sparked a competition between us. One that lasted a day and a night, from the cliffs to the woods.

I ended up leading her back to my home.

At least she doesn't hate it.

It was ten years ago, during the <entry=narrativeNote_40>Polar Expedition. In the battlefields of the north, you saved a young and reckless soldier.

Without that humbling encounter, he would never have known the true size of the world, nor the actual duty of his life.

Once this is over, I shall return the debt of life to you, and finally fulfill an old wish of mine.

I wasn't permitted to intervene in Lady Si's arrangements. But since you're affected by them, I felt compelled to explain.

Besides, my companion has realized that we're in a painting. She's getting a little agitated.

So you were awake back then. I suppose you wish to ask about that "debt of life"?

"Li" is a Yanese word for a dark galloper. "Nu" describes her lightning-quick and thunderous charge.

"Nu" also means "fury" ... which reflects her bad temper.

(Snorts impatiently)

Endministrator...

You slept really soundly back then.

But now, Lady Si is waiting for you in the backyard. Please meet her there.

Respiratory rate stable, like a well-working machine... You seem to have recovered.

During your absence from Dijiang, I have been conversing with the Law, praying for your safe return.

The Law continues to watch over and protect the promised one.

I shall rejoice, and heighten my focus. Fare thee well, Endministrator.

Perlica is leading the entire Endfield Industries...? She must have looked pretty cool.

I actually had hoped she could lead an easier life, but since it was her choice...

Landbreakers... Jakub's loyalists and descendants of Siracusan families? Fate has dealt a strange hand indeed.

Do not underestimate these Landbreakers. They are a problem that truly belongs to the Civilization Band...

Wuling City... Tianshi Zhuang...

I remember that girl. Lin Yu's disciple. She endured a lot ... yet she remains as resilient as ever...

You even sealed the Very Large Rift. Given enough time, the HAS might be able to seal the planet-sized stellar rift...

Ardashir... We were close before... He ended up choosing the Foundation. It's not his fault...

The heroes of Terra ... left quite a few legends behind...

So that's what happened. Sounds like Si is still ... as mischievous as ever...

Hoo...

Before I go... Sorry for making you ... go through all this...

Hoo...

You're back...

The "Zeroth Directive" ... finally...

M3... Warfarin... Lesun... Zasso...

The "spark" ... is yours ... now...

Endmin, you're finally back.

I should have kept you company.

Thankfully, only a few hours have passed. I actually planned to contact Lady Si later today...

Really? When?

I think I know what's happened here.

I kept vigil aboard Dijiang for a few hours. I didn't zone out and would have seen you.

I've heard about Lady Si's powers. From what I see, you have been through quite a wondrous journey...

Endmin? You feel a little different...

Working already? You sure you don't need to rest a while longer?

I know you won't.

While you were resting, M3 made contact with us...

She wants you to visit a place once you're ready. Rhodes Island.

Rhodes Island, or more completely as Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, was the predecessor of Endfield Industries. It was also the leader of all Originium technologies in Talos-II.

When the Terrans first explored Talos-II, they played an instrumental role.

But after the <entry=narrativeNote_41>Treaty of Confidence was signed, Rhodes Island, out of strategic considerations, gradually disappeared from public view.

You once fought along their side, Endmin... Also, for the actual creation of Protocol-Originium, Rhodes Island was indispensable.

One might even say, from Terra to Talos-II...

...Rhodes Island is the beginning of everything.

Conflict between the Civilization Band and the "Exiles" is inevitable. The next war ... might be lurking around the corner...

How about a vacation, Endmin? We can visit our old friends at Wuling.

The "spark" ... is yours ... now...

Can you picture this mountain all covered in snow?

We went through quite a bit of hassle and finished something big. It's time to change the mood.

Since you're here, why don't you give me a few ideas ... or maybe you prefer Autumn?