Arknights story · Guide Ahead
GA-8 Shadow and Ash
'Lemuen forgave you. Mostima forgave you. Yvangelista XI forgave you. Even if all of Laterano forgives you... I will not.'
2 scenes, 266 lines
1. Before Operation
161 linesIt was a small Iberian town, one that you can't even find on a map or in history books.
When people still lived there, it was called Rocamarea.
The Bishop of Rocamarea raised a young Sankta. A Sankta... growing up here, learning here, and enjoying life to the fullest.
This was a humble and barren place, but well suited for the asceticism of a pious life.
Except after the Profound Silence, life in Iberia was always fragile, no matter how hard people worked.
One plague, one famine, or one premeditated infiltration was all it took to bring everything crashing down.
To save the hometown that, at the same time, was not his hometown, the Sankta arrived in the holy city of Laterano to ask for any amount of support.
The answer he received was simple: You are one of us, but they are not.
When the Sankta returned to Iberia, that 'hometown' had disappeared.
Everything had been completely smoothed over, erased, as if it never existed at all.
Like a grain of sand disappearing into the desert, or a drop of water dissolving into the tide.
After a long journey, the Sankta returned to Laterano an emaciated, lost soul.
He went to the chapel to seek a canonized bishop, in search of answers or guidance.
But even the canonist could only remain silent in the face of such great doubt.
On the pew he sat, remaining there from dawn to dusk.
Fiammetta, that was the first time I met Andoain.
Sigh...
Forget it, I'll pay for it myself. The repairs here cost too much.
We'll just have to cut back on the afternoon tea and sweets.
Your Holiness! I heard the sound of fighting coming from the Basilica! Are you alright?
What... You were attacked by heretics?! I'm sorry! I failed in my duties!
Fret not, Paolario. Did you forget who won the Basilica's last arm wrestling tournament?
You did.
I was just exercising my wrist a bit, and ended up causing a bit of an accident.
The unrest within the city has already subsided.
Yes, they've dispersed. I didn't even get a chance to grill––
Excuse me, can I come in?
Ahem, my apologies. Your Holiness, I'm making a fool of myself.
What I meant was, the ones you asked for are here.
Please come in, my children.
Salutations, Your Holiness...
Good day, Your Holiness. I am Cecelia.
Ah, welcome. You'll have to forgive me for the mess here.
As for you two...
What sweets do you like with tea?
Do you... need me to make something?
Hmm, let me think...
Maybe add a few cubes of sugar into your teacup?
Ezell, perhaps you should add a few more. Some sweetness will mellow out your nerves.
Ah! Y-Yes...
Your Holiness, if I... wanted to leave Laterano, would you let me go?
If I said no, would you obey me?
Maybe not.
Then go.
...Your Holiness?
I'm just a poor old man whose greatest wish is to spend the rest of his life in a soft rocking chair. How could I muster the effort to manage a young girl's travel plans?
But, Cecelia is...
Is what? Do you still think she's some hybrid of angel and devil, a saint who will usher in the Revelation?
Cecelia is just a little girl who wants to go outside and see the world, is she not?
......
You're still carrying your mama's guardian gun, right?
Ah, I'm sorry! Should I leave it with Mister Ezell?
But...
It's fine, my child.
The acquisition of a patron firearm is a solemn affair. It is supposed to require a grand ceremony, the presence of a guardian, the approval of a mentor, as well as lots of troublesome paperwork...
But, you aren't even of age to obtain a guardian gun. So, just take it with you quietly.
Is that really okay?
I wouldn't dare say call this my boon to you. Each and every gun is a valuable asset to Laterano.
But, if this is the only keepsake a child has of her mother, I'm sure no one could oppose that.
Take it with you, my child. You may not have the physical ability to pull the trigger and take out a bad guy... but it will always remind you that wherever you go, your journey began in Laterano.
...Okay, thank you, Your Holiness.
Ezell, go with her. Call it your long-term field mission.
Just remember to stop by every now and then.
......
Do I... really have the right to do that?
Of course you do. Is this not the choice that you made?
I will do everything in my power to fulfill this mission.
Look after Cecelia well.
Alright, now be on your way. Time waits for no man. When you get to be my age, all you think about is taking your next nap.
Mister Pope...
I promise to follow this path to the very end.
Oh?
In that case, I will pray for you.
Your Holiness, are you satisfied with this outcome?
I got to enjoy some sweets with them. I am satisfied with that.
The man has left, just as you instructed.
Should I have kept him around a bit longer? Maybe a piece of chocolate would've cheered him up?
Your Holiness... you're too soft-hearted.
No, Velliv, the dream of becoming torches in the cold night is doomed to failure. For all of us.
But, serving a functionary a hot cup of tea... that's something we can always do.
'This world is hostile to beauty...' May those who reject this aphorism find success.
It is time for us to move on to our next task as well. Now that the riots have subsided, let's convene the foreign envoys.
The Revelation is clear, I will do what I must.
I often think back to what happened that night.
At first, it was just an ordinary cleanup mission, just another group of Sarkaz raiders.
We tracked them down as they made their escape, and came upon the place.
Unusual, but there were no signs of hostility.
Only... traces of those men locked in their own time.
I received that emergency request for aid... I left you.
I abandoned you.
The distress signal wasn't from very far away. The round trip would be half a day at most.
I even rushed back early...
I remember the mottled texture of the tiles under my feet. I remember the sensation of cold rain falling on my face.
I remember your black horns. And your tightly closed eyes.
And Andoain, who had gone missing.
But... it was just a cleanup mission.
It was just another cleanup mission!!!
Why did it have to happen like that? Where did it all go wrong?
If I had never left... If I had stayed there, if I had been with you, would none of that have happened?
At least... At least it wouldn't have been...
That by the time I arrived, everything was set in stone. It couldn't be undone.
It's an awful feeling. Truly, unbearably awful.
That the only thing I could do was watch...
I should've been there to shoulder the burden alongside all of you.
That's not true, Fiammetta. You don't have to shoulder anyone's burden.
No, that is my choice.
I don't care what power he was lusting after, what secrets he was trying to uncover, what answers he was trying to find.
I don't care about his ideals, his lofty cause, who he redeemed, or who he guided.
I will not forgive him.
Not because of my beliefs, not because of Laterano, not because of the Pontifica Cohors, and not even the time that I've lost...
I will not forgive him, because––
Andoain, you betrayed the people who trusted you.
My old friends.
How come...?
How come... you're asking me that again... The path was never there in the first place. What good does it do groping around in the nothingness?
Is this your penitence?
Penitence? No, I have nothing to repent... Where can I repent? There is no light, no path. Those who suffer must continue to suffer, those who grieve must continue to grieve.
There is no salvation, no paradise. This is Laterano, and it is the only thing that belongs to us.
If the light has always been a lie... No, not a lie... It's real, but not as we wished...
There has never been a light... let alone illumination...
What are you babbling about, Andoain?
Have I given up? Why would I be here if I had given up?
With a barrier this thick, how am I supposed to embrace them? How am I supposed to embrace them?
Maybe I am nothing more than a swindler peddling false hope... who deceived myself into believing it...
I don't understand. What is Its judgment? Where does It want me to go? Its very presence has already blocked my path...
Where shall I find my path?
Andoain! Wake up! Look who's standing in front of you!
Who... Ahh... Fiammetta...
Why are you losing your mind again?! Where did your honey tongue go, your righteous air? Have you lost your spine?!
How am I supposed to convict a husk of a madman? Take a good look at who's standing in front of you!
...I'm in Laterano, Fiammetta. I'm above the Basilica.
I'm glad to see you all again... No, I'm not glad at all.
......
......
......
Do you think you did nothing wrong?!
I have made countless mistakes.
You're still pretty damned smug, aren't you?!
God forbid.
Listen up, Andoain. I don't give a damn what your beliefs are, nor do I care if all your beliefs have gone to shit.
Lemuen forgave you. Mostima forgave you. Yvangelista XI forgave you. Even if all of Laterano forgives you... I will not.
I'm so sorry, Fiammetta.
I'm not the one you should be apologizing to.
If I had the chance, I'd probably do the same thing all over again.
You know that won't accomplish anything.
You think I care about accomplishing something?! I in malam crucem! You think that if I kill you right here, Lemuen gets eight years of her life back?! Or that Mostima gets the whole rest of hers?!
Pedicabo ego te et irrumabo! Accomplishing something!
I want revenge for the sake of getting my goddamned revenge! Do you get that, Andoain?
Are you so completely obsessed, Fiammetta?
2. After Operation
105 linesObsession, is it?
This is your obsession.
What's wrong with a little obsession?
I don't care if it's irrational, meaningless, or futile - when I make up my mind to do something, I do it!
Why do you think we fight?
Those empty platitudes of yours - did you think they weren't a form of obsession too?
Why are each of us here, if not for our own obsessions?
A shot rings out.
However, the target was not Andoain.
Before he realizes it, his gun had left his hand.
But he feels at ease.
For his gun will forever remain in Laterano.
He may never say it, but how can anyone help but love Laterano?
Those peaceful days, those joyful times, those happy moments.
But because of this 'love', he has had regrets, guilt, shame, and doubts.
He may never become a true Lateran.
But in this moment, when he thinks about his gun staying here forever...
At this very moment, under the glare of the faces looking at him...
A kind of peace floats to the surface like a bubble, then pops.
He walked ten thousand miles on the path of faith and doubt.
From one path to the next.
He thought he was wandering the wilderness, far from his roots.
But perhaps this was not true.
In more ways than one.
He whispered a word of gratitude.
No one will ever hear it, not in the past, present, or future.
But it was enough.
Finally. I thought maybe you had dozed off.
Come on, cut me some slack. It's hard finding a good sniping vantage point.
This is it, Andoain. Hands up—
(Whispers) Here... out of obsession...
How could one find salvation alone?
No, not salvation, but a life with dignity.
You come before me because of your sense of justice, and I arrived here because of mine.
It comes to myth, to obsession, to the ultimately futile crossing... the path was always beneath my feet.
Why do we place our hopes on salvation? What we have done is not for the sake of salvation.
But to save ourselves.
Have you come to your senses, Andoain? Then look me in the eye—I felt like I was shooting a target dummy.
I'll walk my own path, whether this is my mission or not.
I must thank you, Fiammetta.
You're welcome. I'll be sure to tell your friends about this epiphany at your funeral.
As for right now, you're—
I'm afraid it's not yet time for that. I still have a use for him.
Someone blew up one of the support beams. We need to go!
Who the—?!
The explosion was approved. I personally submitted the application and stamped it myself.
Oren! Why you—!
What are you doing, Oren? Is this what you came to do?
Welp, cat's out of the bag.
(Go, Andoain. I'll find you later.)
......
Fiammetta, Mostima... perhaps we'll meet again.
Wheresoever that may be, let us hold onto our obsessions.
For as you say, they are why we exist.
Please, miss, I must ask you to come down from the signboard.
I'll have to call the Guards if you don't comply.
But while we're at it, I just have to know.
How on Terra did you get up there with a wheelchair?
Where there's a will, there's a way.
That dust cloud... another explosion? There's been too many of those lately. It's starting to seem more like a fireworks show than a conference.
You must be joking! What is wrong with Laterano's crisis management? That explosion damaged my collection! I demand an explanation!
The Lateran bells are ringing for the first time in a thousand years? Was this prepared by His Holiness as a special welcome for us?
Being with you barbarians is too much to bear. If not for my respect for His Holiness, I'd—
Tell the cook to prepare dinner. I refuse to attend another Lateran banquet.
Can these people really bring change? Most of them are opportunists, at best.
Yes. This is something that only Laterano can do - Laterano, the city of miracles, forever fair and just.
Your Holiness... I will pray for us.
Rare to see you so nervous, Velliv.
I'm too old for parlor tricks. All I can do is to keep walking, as far as I can.
Your Holiness, the broadcast is ready.
Thank you.
Let my words and deeds honor my name and title.
Greetings, honored guests. I am Yvangelista XI, and I welcome you on behalf of Laterano.
We are facing a great challenge, one that threatens not just Laterano, but all nations across Terra.
As you know, our countries are built on the backs of nomadic cities.
Indeed, the advent of such cities established the very concept of the modern nation state.
In the past, a state was simply a gathering of people of similar lifestyles, huddled together for safety in the face of Catastrophe. 'National borders' were simply whatever lay within their sights.
This all changed with the birth of nomadic cities.
As is the human condition, conflict began to arise as these states interacted with each other.
Perhaps even the word 'conflict' is an understatement.
I saw the fall of Gaul with my own eyes.
The 'Capital of the World' fell overnight. Armored battleships went silent, and the Old Vanguard of Gaul was reduced to ash.
But it was more than Gaul that fell that night. It was the fall of civilization itself.
All the might of the Gaulish Emperor and his legions could not save an empire that once stood proudly as the center of all lands.
What, then, could possibly preserve our own civilization, that the people of Terra have painstakingly built, piece by piece, under the dark cloud of Catastrophe?
Laterano gave much for the war that engulfed the entire continent. Our Messengers crossed both the wilderness and the royal courts, building Laterano's reputation.
The Sankta heard your calls for peace.
But our lands had seen too many shades of this so-called peace, pooling in the dark corners of castles, palaces, and tents.
We've seen the birth of secrets, meant only to benefit a select few, that lie in wait to undermine peace and order when least expected.
The old wars of conquest may be a distant memory, but in their place we have tacit understandings and secret dealings, that determine the fates of lives and nations from out of sight.
Today though, Revelation has come.
It is my hope that the process of building peace be transparent from the very start. That we will all reject secret agreements between the few.
There are questions that anyone who does not cling to the past, anyone who is concerned about the future of this land, should be asking.
How do we ensure the survival of civilization?
How many people are endangered when peace is threatened?
What does safety for one country mean for the safety of other countries?
Civilization is key to survival. Peace is something to be shared with others, not hoarded for oneself.
As such, I call for the establishment of an accord of mutual assurance between nations.
We have far more common interests than many would imagine.
Terra must stand together, or fall together.
Yvangelista XI's speech on March 18th, 1099, later known as the 'Lateran Declaration,' is quoted on the first page of every edition of the International Summit Handbook.