GA-6 Requiem

Oh, Ezell, good morning! Off to work?

Good morning. I don't... have work today. I'm taking a couple days off.

Up so early on your day off? And look at you frowning like that. Is something bothering you? Getting bullied at the Notarial Hall?

I told you, it may look like a decent place to work, but it's total misery over there!

Hahaha...

Here, Ezell, I just bought some cupcakes. Take some. Let your worries go!

It doesn't matter if work is bothering you. It's just a job. Don't think about it on your day off! Besides, aren't you still a trainee? If the ceiling caves in, it's gonna crush all your bosses up top before it ever reaches you. Don't make it so hard on yourself.

Cheer up! It's not worth getting upset over!

Not worth it, huh?

Still letting it bother you? Haha, anyway, I'mma get going.

Thanks for the cupcakes.

How about a crepe?

No thanks... I've got these cupcakes...

It's you?!

The crepe shop on the corner there only sells two hundred of their signature crepes each day. You need to get up early to have a chance at buying one.

Thankfully, their hours haven't changed.

What are you doing here?

I'm out for a walk.

In a city that has an arrest warrant out for you?

Sure.

What happened to the people at the Ecclesia Requietum?

They're all in a safe place. Once everything is over, they'll leave Laterano with me.

Where to?

Who knows.

Are you going to take Cecelia with you?

No, she left.

......?!

H-How did you...?

She has something she must do. It may seem trivial right now...

But she's found her path, and she will continue down it, overcoming obstacles we could never overcome, treading into predicaments that we wouldn't dare to face, and making it to faraway places that we could never imagine.

What are you talking about?

Relax, Brother Ezell. She's far more brilliant than you and I could ever dream to be.

But she might need you.

Why me? I'm nothing special.

This is pretty embarrassing to say, but I was playing hero in front of her the whole time. I told her my word is my bond, and I wouldn't mind losing my job...

But after I got home last night, I spent the whole night freaking out about everything that happened.

A mixed-blood Sankta, a fallen angel, a Legatus, the conference at the Basilica, the Sarkaz, and a strange heretical group...

How did I get mixed up in all this?

I thought I just wanted a decent job. A desk job would be all the better. I would go to work and leave on time, live a quiet, peaceful life... I figured that'd be pretty good for me.

Everything that happened the last couple days could be just like an interlude. I should count myself as lucky for being able to get away from it all before it's too late, and in a couple decades, I can tell stories about it to my friends...

That'd be a pretty solid life, wouldn't it?

Maybe I shouldn't even be talking to you right now... I should just turn and run.

Aren't you going to run, then?

......

There's no need to fool yourself.

How am I supposed to know... what it is that I really want?

You and Cecelia both asked the same question.

She asked you that too?

Phrased a little differently.

And how did you answer?

I told her a story.

Suddenly feeling like I shouldn't listen to you...

Why?

I just get the sense that you know how to influence people. What if you're about to sucker me into something here?

As long as you don't want to, you won't be.

That sounds awfully sketchy...

I'm here only to give you a message.

What comes next is for you to decide.

Cecelia is going to the old bell tower.

What is she doing there?

Saying her goodbyes.

......

Is something wrong?

Oh, Cecelia, aren't you scared, walking the streets all by yourself this early in the morning?

Where are those friends of yours?

Guide, it's Oren.

No matter. We'll see what he's planning first.

There is something I need to do here.

You're so little, but you have lots of big ideas going around in your head, huh?

I really don't get what that guy is thinking, but... sorry, little girl. I can't let you go.

Are you taking me to the Basilica?

The Basilica? No, no, Cecelia. I can't let you go to the Basilica.

As long as you don't go to the Basilica and the old man, you can go anywhere.

At first, I thought it wouldn't be so bad if Andoain took you away. He's had a change of heart, but it's no biggie. I'll do it myself.

It would be bad if I go to the Basilica?

It's hard to say, Cecelia. Hard to say.

You're actually really important to me, you know? Feoria and I were friends... a long time ago, but still...

Anyway, your very existence is much more useful than whatever it is you're thinking up in your little brain. If we put you to good use... you could be the greatest danger to Lateran City in a long time.

After all, you're a Sarkaz, but you also became a Sankta.

I don't really want to put Laterano in danger, but I need some leverage that can influence things... a bargaining chip that I can use in a deal.

And you could be such a precious bargaining chip. I wouldn't want to see you lose your effectiveness over a tiny, little threat.

I don't understand what you're saying.

You don't need to understand, Cecelia. I'm just trying to show you I'm sincere. I won't do anything to get you hurt. I'm never one to resort to violence, if peace is an option.

It doesn't matter what you want to do. Not now.

Could you move out of the way? I'm going to that bell tower.

Grr...

Didn't you hear? She wants you to get out of her way.

Mister Ezell! You came!

Yes, Cecelia. I promised to help you find your mama and be there when you said goodbye to her, right?

Aww. This is so touching. A mixed-blood girl between a rock and a hard place, with an executor who's true to his word... Am I watching the Lateran soap opera of the year? Makes me want to clap for you two.

But uh, if I could, I would rather not be the villain here. This is no fun.

Ngh!

Mister Ezell!

Sankta can't point our guns at our own kind, but violence comes in other forms. So that's no hill to die on, right?

Now! Cecelia, go! The bell tower is straight ahead!

But...!

I'll promise you one more thing—I'll be fine!

Alright...

I'll wait for you at the top, Mister Ezell.

Very nice. You came prepared, huh? I didn't expect you to be able to hold me here.

But still, even if I don't like screwing around with empathy, I can feel the fear in you.

Save it.

Have you ever considered that we might be walking the same road here?

We're definitely not right now, at least.

Show me what you've got, then.

Have you even realized the weight of the burden you're trying to shoulder?

Can that trainee executor really hold Oren there?

Oren's not taking this seriously, and Ezell isn't a Notarial Hall executor right now... He's not actually an obstacle to Oren.

Actually... Guide, while I would never go against your decisions, I can't say I really agree with this...

Cecelia should stay with the Pathfinders. It's not only for us, but for her sake too.

That isn't my decision. I can't decide her fate. This is a decision that only Cecelia can make for herself, Patia... Perhaps we should call it an honor to show her the choices before her.

Don't worry. What I must do remains the same.

*gasp*... *gasp*...

Kid, for an executor in training, you aren't half bad.

I... I'm still standing...

Looking to spend some time in the hospital, huh? I'm not out here to break bones, though.

You don't have to do this. You're just a normal guy living in Lateran City. Go home, lead a happy life. Munch on some cake or take a sip of tea, whatever.

I've made up my mind already.

You folks really like talking about choices and decisions, huh? Has it ever crossed your mind that there's a price to pay when you make decisions?

This was only going to be an insurance policy, but well... Sorry, fellas, I need your help.

We aren't here to help you, Oren. We're doing this because we think it's the right thing to do.

......

So what do you say? 'A wise man adapts himself to circumstances.'

Oh, that's a Yanese idiom, you see. It means...

Too bad, Ezell...

*Sigh*...

Federico!

Trainee Executor Ezell Pastore, you're being temporarily recalled. Your leave has been canceled. Please assist me with this arrest.

Oren Argiolas, your identity has been confirmed. The Seventh Tribunal has revoked your credentials as a Legatus. Please stop resisting and proceed with me to the First Tribunal.

Must I? I still have lots of work to take care of.

Yes, you must.

Ezell, your eleven o'clock.

Ngh!

That was close!

Come on, it's not like fighting is going to get us anywhere. Why don't we call it quits?

You really don't know how to listen, huh?

Ezell, I thought you were really worried about Cecelia. She might just be safer with me, you know?

Did you think I'd believe that?

I'm never one to lie.

Even if you're telling the truth, if that isn't what Cecelia wants, then there's no way!

Sometimes I really think Andoain's giving me way more than I bargained for.

!!

Stay focused, Ezell.

No... Federico!

Can you feel it?

Well, look at that...

Ezell, new directive: investigate the bell tower.

Leave the traitorous Legatus to me.

Your Holiness, what's going on?!

Shh—

Velliv, seal off the central sanctuary and halt all meetings.

What is happening?

......

Did you know? My predecessor, the last Pope, had an interest in history.

No...

I don't blame you. He was an amateur in the field. His writings were riddled with mistakes and hardly worthy of praise.

Rather than studying history, perhaps it's better to say that his interests lay in using history to let his imagination run wild.

He was particularly fond of certain... romantic metaphors in his writings. Perhaps a little promiscuous for a history paper, but they did truly leave an impression on his readers.

He said, 'History is a musical movement written by a shapeless titan in countless voices.'

Going by his analogy, our titan musician seems to have started writing his next measure.

Bells... from the Tower of Revelations...? That's impossible!

That bell has never rung!

Except... except when...

When the first saint still walked the land.

......

'During the day, the Sankta looked up at the sky to find darkness shrouding even the sun. At night, the devil's army came and slaughtered countless Sankta. The Sankta lost much of their radiance.'

'The saints said: follow me. Thus they rose. The saints said: listen to me. Thus, the bells began to ring.'

'The bells echoed throughout the wilderness, uniting all the Sankta.'

'This is a revelation. This is an exhortation.'

'There will be light throughout the day, and it shall never be shrouded again.'

'The saints said: build a city. It will be the Sankta's paradise.'

'The saints said: this city shall be called Lateran.'

How...?

The Tower of Revelations is one of the oldest structures in Laterano. No, according to the texts, the Tower of Revelations was here before there was a Laterano.

And now the holy bells ring again...

For our little Cecelia.

But... why?

Perhaps the shapeless titan musician wanted some crescendos in his music, and he picked Lateran bells for his arrangement because he liked the sound.

Cardinal Velliv, you and I stand in this church at this moment. I wonder if that is good or bad.

Your Holiness, we must know immediately why the holy bells are ringing... No, no matter the reason, it is the responsibility of the Church to explain why and how it happened.

With envoys from the nations gathered in Laterano, all of the attending representatives are now witnesses to this event. This could be an opportunity.

Go, Velliv. Inform the envoys that the Lateran bells ring for the first time in millennia, and this portends change. We must come together and prepare for the future.

What about the Tower of Revelations, then...?

We have waited long enough. Let's get to work.

Guide, did... did you know this was going to happen? What exactly is Cecelia...? S-She's mixed-race, but... is there some other secret about her?

No, of course not. She's the Cecelia that both you and I know. She may come from a unique background, but there is no secret to her.

It's just that, perhaps Laterano itself is thirsting for change, and Cecelia... she just so happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Or perhaps, she is actually the one who will end the thousand year conflict between the Sarkaz and the Sankta, and so Revelation came and the bells rang.

Of course, it could also just be a misunderstanding, a coincidence, a kind of black humor in the course of history.

But we both know that the truth is never what's actually important.

Hmm... No matter what, this is an opportunity. If I have to say, it might even be proof that we are actually blessed.

The Church is most likely putting all their attention on the envoys and the Tower of Revelations right now...

We'll pave the path forward for you. You need only walk it.

Andoain... the bells have started to ring.

The bells belong to a child who is about to begin her journey.

Oh?

You sound very relaxed. You've made your decision.

My decision has never changed.

Even if you must give up everything?

Even if I must give up everything.

Is there any meaning in this?

Meaning... Meaning does not exist for nothing. All our choices merely conceive it, mold it, and give it the chance to descend upon us.

I get it now.

I hope you'll find your peace.

Patia, what you just said goes against our original goal.

All men are cornerstones, and the roads that we lay are paved for those who follow us.

I must see His Holiness right now!

Gun-Knight Talvadore, His Holiness is praying right now. No one can see him.

But!

Please understand.

An explosion?

Probably another one of the people's pranks.

No! The explosion came from the envoys' village. We stopped handing out approvals for explosive activities there!

G...Gun-Knight Talvadore, the envoys' village is under attack, and there have been multiple fires and explosions all across the city!

It's the Astray! They can't sit still now that the holy bells have sounded, can they?

There are Gun-Knights stationed in the envoys' village, but... after the ambush and explosions started, the envoys started demanding more Gun-Knights to protect them.

Understood.

Dammit, why now of all times?!

Cardinal Velliv!

The bells of the Tower of Revelations are ringing. This is the holiest moment in Lateran history. We even get to share this with the first 'Summit of Nations' and the envoys of all the lands. How joyous.

Yet the heretics' remnants are taking the opportunity to sow chaos. They plot to disrupt the conference and overshadow Laterano's radiance.

Gun-Knight Talvadore, by order of the Apostle Himself, the Pope, you are to go to the envoys' village and defend them alongside the Gun-Knights there, thus ensuring the Summit of Nations will commence as planned.

I will accompany you.

Very well. Your Eminence, if I may...

I'm sure you've noticed as much, but the energy that's surging from the Tower of Revelations...

Watch your words, Reverend Gun-Knight.

That is glory itself.

Lemuen, did he do this?!

Maybe...

You're still going to cover for him?!

Fiammetta, come here.

What for?

Come here.

......?

......?!

I'm sorry.

I shouldn't have said what I said the other day.

Let go of me...

Not until you forgive me.

I AM mad at you.

But there's something else I'm even angrier about.

And it might just be me.

I want you to trust me on one thing, Fiammetta.

If he really wanted to do harm to Laterano... I'd never forgive him.

Then what is it he's trying to do?

Maybe... He's just asking a question.

Of who?

His Holiness.

And what is he asking him?

A question that the Sankta must never ask.

You can't be more specific?

I'm not entirely sure myself, you see... This question has probably been bothering him deep in his mind for a long time... He hasn't ever told me about it. I've just got a hunch.

But it's true. What happened eight years ago has something to do with the question.

Wait... so, Mostima, you knew about this?

Of course not. I'm not Lemuen.

She might understand him. Me, though? I didn't think he was worthy, that's all.

If you ask me, he's a poor little guy. And I have something more important to take care of, so let's leave it at that.

How come it feels like you're ticking me off even more than Lemuen?

You and I are different. I did everything I could. And you... I'm guessing you would probably rather it was me, right?

......

Lemuen, what else do you know? Tell me.

I thought you didn't want to hear any of it?

I have to hear to find out.

......

Cecelia La Porta, by order of the Apostle Himself, the Pope, I am here to protect you.

Because the bells started ringing?

Are they ringing because of me?

I cannot say.

Please follow me to the Basilica at once.

......

It's okay, Mister Ezell. Don't worry.

Let's go.