Arknights story · Babel
BB-10 Goodbye, Goodbye
Theresa decides to wipe the Doctor's memories in her final moments. Within the endless memories, she finds that unexpected figure.
2 scenes, 308 lines
1. Before Operation
56 linesTheresa is glad to see Amiya asleep.
Amiya did not see the Doctor's betrayal, nor Theresa's final bout of sorrow.
The Black Crown finally lands neatly in Amiya's hands as Theresa takes down the final assassin in the room.
It's alright, Amiya. Everything's fine...
It's over.
Theresa does not look at the one frozen in place before her. She gently pats the back of the child in her arms and leaves a kiss on her puerile cheek.
......
Theresa. I can't throw away this opportunity I spent millions of lives and myriads of years to reach.
I can't let you ruin the plan for Originium. I can't... let you turn this great land into a beautiful but fleeting dream.
And that's why you put Amiya in harm's way.
......
...Seeing as the King of Sarkaz has already seen my memories, I believe there's no need for any further explanation.
Do you hate me?
You hurt Amiya. You're about to hurt Kal'tsit, and the fighters who trust you so deeply.
Is this how you treat those lives?
I'll do what I can to ensure their safety in the ensuing conflict. This is what Theresis swore to me as well.
We only... need you to die.
Doctor... did you present yourself before me out of guilt?
Guilt... is too light of a word, compared to everything I've done.
We made too many choices in a time that even Kal'tsit isn't familiar with.
I just...
When Amiya grows up, if she remembers me, if she asks about me, will you tell her the truth... of how I left her?
No.
I'll help them search for another way to live.
You'll help them search for a final moment of peace before Originium destroys Terra?
I'm sorry... That's the one thing that's set in stone.
You know it's futile... and yet you still wish to cure Amiya's sickness.
Even if her family and homeland will all turn into the same hunks of Originium in the not-too-distant future, along with anyone and anything you'll ever know...
You still don't want the girl before your eyes to suffer.
That's what you sincerely feel. Your purest thoughts. Your innate nature.
......
And actually... I'm glad, Doctor.
I'm glad you're real and true—the one who Kal'tsit willingly trusts, and in turn trusts us.
You... the creator of Originium... Doctor. You are the poison that ruins everything, but also the antidote to it all.
...What?
Theresa strains to stand up, stretching her arms towards the Doctor, instilling in the latter an instinctive urge to retreat.
The Doctor tries to move, but fails. Sorrow far surpasses the collapsing rationality at this moment.
Theresa touches the face beneath the mask.
You're crying, Doctor...
Well, that's the kind of person you are. You know your own fragility, you know how much of a threat I pose to you even at a time like this... and yet... you still came here.
So, I still... am willing to believe in you.
To trust in who you really are.
To trust in our Doctor who brings the rain, dew, and sun.
This face is both familiar and strange. Theresa knows its features well.
She never had a chance to directly perceive the emotions on it until now.
She smiles and stretches out her finger, snipping the scene before her into two, as if it were made of cloth.
Then, she slowly pulls out a loose thread from the rift, and the remnants unravel as the Doctor's memories dissipate.
Theresa goes in deeper, without looking back, until every memory is taken apart into a mess of disconnected white threads.
Like the very night, a long time ago, when she was still young, teaching herself to sew with Theresis by her side.
The memories disintegrate until a mere fragment of the soul remains.
A silhouette stands at the end of that memory. Theresa thinks the figure both familiar and strange.
It's the Doctor. It's not the Doctor.
What are you doing to me, Theresa?
We're done here, but I suddenly feel like leaving you a surprise... so don't blame me for this, Doctor.
I'll say to you this one thing...
'Find yourself.'
2. After Operation
252 linesTheresa holds the hands of the one before her, as if it were their first meeting.
She quietly faces the other pair of eyes, looking at the emotions shifting within until finally, only a void remains.
She knows then, every memory has been wiped clean, the soul purified.
Your memory is gone, and your soul reborn...
A truly terrible trick...
But they underestimate your benevolence, your desire for victory. They underestimate us, and what makes Terra so tenacious.
Doctor. Allow me to call you by this name for the last time...
This is my little revenge on you.
And also... my final gift to you.
Memory does not shape who you are. So, with your original self...
Live again... on this land. See the world, feel the various emotions life brings, meet the many people of Terra...
Perhaps... your journey will start in suffering, and you may never manage to escape the murky moon shadows of this land, but you will always... get to see the sun rise.
I trust you will find a new solution. One that is truly your own.
An answer that... sounds just like the murmur Kal'tsit and I once heard...
A most moving answer.
Life slips away.
Her ears gradually pick up an elegy from afar. Laqeramaline did establish a connection with her after all.
Theresa feels her own breath growing feebler, but she also feels unprecedentedly relieved.
She tries her best to keep Amiya in her arms, protected. Amiya's heartbeat calms her own.
I'm... a little tired. It's exhausting, holding onto that crown.
I should rest when I'm tired. Isn't that right, Amiya?
I once imagined that...
Perhaps, one day... We'll be able to let everyone on this vast land fall into peaceful slumber.
It may take a long time to come, but maybe, you could see it for me...
Amiya, when you wake up...
You'll have to keep going.
*sigh*—I'm so tired...
No, she's not here yet...
She clings to her final strand of remaining strength.
She is waiting for someone she must see.
Fortunately, the sound of her footsteps already draws near.
And then finally, even though she no longer has the strength to keep her eyes open, she knows—
She is here—
Kal'tsit...
Kal'tsit.
......
Theresa...
Amiya... Doctor...
I knew full well this possibility always existed... Why...?
I should have stayed behind—it's my...
......
The...resa.
I... We should have...
Theresa... confirmed... dead.
Mon3tr, heed my command...
Prepare... for any follow up attacks.
The Doctor and Amiya... nothing must happen to them. Protect them at all costs!
Mon3tr—!
Kal'tsit...
Kal'tsit.
—!
Amiya opens her eyes, pink rhombuses faintly visible in her pupils.
Theresa's eyes remain shut tight.
But Kal'tsit knows.
It's her.
Kal'tsit... I've been waiting for you.
Theresa! I—
It's alright, Kal'tsit. It's fine.
Listen to me—
I'm already dead.
What you see now is my consciousness put into the crown. I'm borrowing the body of this girl to bid you farewell.
Kal'tsit, tell me. Did you raise Babel's banner high up in the sky over Kazdel?
I sent it back to Kazdel, and watched it ascend myself...
Thank you.
I came back too late, I knew there might be a possibility...
Don't blame yourself for this, Kal'tsit. You had your own mission to fulfil.
And... I managed to hold this long for you, and that's enough.
I'm sorry, Kal'tsit...
...I understand.
Please don't blame yourself for this.
We trusted the Doctor, and I hope you can continue on our path into the future.
Kal'tsit, there's no need for any further misgivings.
I took a life, but I also saved it.
So please, take it to where it should be, if it can wake again...
Guide it, and it will in turn lead us to the end of our path—
I have no doubt about that.
I understand.
However... we can no longer take the risk of venturing into... the depths of Rhodes Island.
I will entrust someone I know to send the Doctor to Ursus.
Chernobog will be safe. It is too... dangerous to allow the Doctor to stay on Rhodes Island.
That's good... Kal'tsit. I'll leave the rest to Amiya then.
She will walk a difficult road.
I will be with her, and Babel... as well.
She is so young, but so strong.
Kal'tsit, giving the crown to Babel... to her, I did not do this on a selfish whim.
To break the cycle and deal with what is to come... The King cannot only be a King of the Sarkaz, nor can it only be a King of Terra.
The role is no fetter, controller, or unparalleled power.
The role is a key. The King is... 'Civilight Eterna'.
But Kal'tsit, keep this a secret from Amiya. She doesn't need to bear all of that now.
She will understand once she embarks on that path, she needs to understand—
Only by overcoming every obstacle can we find the doors that lead to this world.
...And you?
I will be gone in the pursuit of my ideal. As for her...
She will become the flame that burns all corruption to ashes.
'Kal'tsit, a new war is about to begin.'
'Theresis, my kin...'
'He will descend unto the cradle in Victoria that belongs to us, and Originium will cover that patch of land...'
She is leaving us.
'He will bring suffering to the other races on this land...'
While you will become the final struggle for her ideals.
A last-ditch effort.
'He will make everyone else on Terra see the Sarkaz as enemies once more.'
Deathmongers—
Do not attempt to abandon your efforts, before her end is set...
Prove to me that her path still holds the chance to win a future—
'Prevent that day from turning true, before everything becomes irreversible...'
Prove to her the peace you strive for is still worth a response.
Though I regret to say this, my compatriots...
The call to repay this blood debt is already resonating throughout this great land—
'Kazdel's hatred should not continue to spread.'
Her death has been determined.
You have lost a Sarkaz King.
I have lost my only kin.
......
And I will not let these sacrifices be in vain.
My people—
Whether you've come for peace or vengeance—
I will hear your voices.
'Revenge. War. Survival. Future.'
You will see where the Sarkaz's true path lies.
The blood with which you stain the steps of Victoria will eventually return to where it belongs—
We must make this place a new beginning for us.
'I can still hear the Sarkaz voices even now, Kal'tsit...'
'The closer I get to the myriad souls, the clearer their voices become.'
'What I can glean from their shouts and cries is—'
Suffering will descend once more—
All of Terra will surrender—
Starting from this very spot.
The Sarkaz—
'The Sarkaz—'
—Will rise again.
'—Will ruin the land.'
We have to stop him, Kal'tsit.
But... that's not something Babel can do, as it is now.
You'll find a way.
Besides, you'll never be alone. With the Babel we built together—
'Our companions will help you.'
'They wield a fierce determination.'
...Your Highness...
I'm back, Your Highness...
You would always welcome me back here when I returned.
But this time... you're not here.
Can you still hear me...?
Why couldn't you wait a little longer...?
...Damn it! Damn it all!
I'll make them pay... this I swear to you.
Every single one...
Even if it's... even if—
Master... Theresis—
Theresis...
He must face me... I... I have to find him!
All traitors... will suffer...
Your Highness Theresa... Theresis...
My... only two... I couldn't...
Clouds cover the setting sun, and Ascalon is shrouded in shadow.
She has lost her light, her faith, forever.
She struggled. She strived.
Only death remains for the one born in the storm.
'They are the most remarkable of all.'
......
......
......
...Logos.
Let's retreat first.
Let's... return to Babel.
'They will never doubt our ideals, even for a second.'
......
...It's over.
Why...? Why I feel...
I too am baffled, King of the Nachzehrers.
I thought I was long accustomed to a King of Sarkaz's demise.
'Those—the ones left behind, you do not need to question their loyalty.'
......
...No way.
Who sent this *Sarkaz expletive* comm? Did the Military Commission intercept this? Are they screwing with us?!
I don't believe it... I... Shut the hell up! Scout!
The landship... should be this way!
Theresa... she couldn't have just... died like that!!
Winter of 898, The King of Sarkaz dies.
Yliš dies and Kazdel falls into ruin.
The explosion of the Soul Furnace sends dust flying all across Kazdel's territory for three whole days and nights...
Finally, it falls to the ground like black snowflakes.
Burying the bones of the invaders.
Along with the ruin once known as 'Kazdel'.
Kazdel... is no more.
But Kazdel has never been gone for good.
That's what I heard from the King of Sarkaz. He said Kazdel has met with ruin more than three thousand times, but it will always eventually be rebuilt anew.
Perhaps that was just a ploy by Yliš to deceive the people.
He's dead, Theresis.
But even if it were only a tale he spun while wasting away in the palace... I could, at the very least, sense a strand of longing from his stories.
A yearning for a stable life.
What happens after victory? Now, everyone will only begin wandering the land once more...
Our people will praise us as heroes, but we can only return to ruins devoid of life.
What can we even do now?
'Heroes'... Once this war is over, that title will be meaningless...
Indeed.
Also... I seem to have picked up the myriad souls whispering in my ear from a while ago...
Their voices are becoming even more distinct...
I don't know where the myriad souls hope to lead me...
What about you?
I hear the same.
I dismissed it as a delusion brought on by the euphoria of victory... but it seems to be more than that.
The myriad souls beckon us.
Then let's go, to wherever they beckon.
Yliš, King of Sarkaz, rests here for eternity.
Underneath a massive mountain of corpses.
In the far future, not a single soul will know there was once a King who died here.
He was so mediocre, so ordinary.
The Sarkaz do not remember the defeated.
In this war that changed their fate, the people will only remember the names of six incomparably dazzling heroes.
Here we are.
I remember this place... It was here we gathered to swear our oaths and join the battle, after Yliš's chariot was destroyed.
This is where we started...
A clothesmaker, and a guard.
Did you hear that, Theresis?
The myriad souls speak from under our feet...
Ah.
There it is.
Yes.
To think it was this small.
The crown.
With death as a witness—
As well as the myriad souls—
The twins raise the crown in unison.
The crown chooses the twins in return.
Atop the ruins, the myriad souls, whose existence remains uncertain, select two distinct hopes at a time.
...You should wear the crown, Theresa.
Why?
The King of Sarkaz is but an optimistic fantasy for the pitiful when history chooses to stay silent.
Indeed... we will change the Sarkaz's fate, with or without relying on an external force.
But in this age of despair, it will bring a glimmer of hope to our people.
I'm not fit to be that hope bringer.
My blade will cut our path forward. And you will lead the way.
...I understand.
The war has just ended. How long will we bear this crown?
Until we find a home again. Until the Black Crown swallows us into its suffering...
Until everyone under the same sky can fall into a peaceful slumber.
'Lead the way forward', you said. Do you still remember that adventure of ours?
You held your sword and carried me...
And you guided me through the bushes until we got home.
Theresa...
Allow me to crown you myself.
Alright.
Theresis...
I swear this vow to every Sarkaz...
'We will always be equal.'