BP-8 'What is Survival?'

*cough*—

Phew. That woman nearly got me—

C-Cassia? I've been looking for you forever! Where'd you run off to earlier?

Lucilla?

What are you doing here, child?

The city unit framework needs servicing; it's a standard combat duty. But... look at the beacon tower... What happened inside the city?

The Seaborn have broken into Milliarium. That tower has become one of their nests.

Leave this to me. You should get out of here, quick.

It's too risky. I'll stay here with you.

No need to—Urgh.

Are you hurt?!

Yes.

It must have been the Seaborn as you came over—

Wait, no, a scratch like this couldn't be left by a Seaborn...

Did someone attack you?

*cough*!

Wait, why are you pulling out the safety valve?

Hey, don't push it! It'll cut off the ground level self-diagnostic system, and the city framework will stop working—

No, you know that way better than I do...

You've been trying to do this all along, Cassia? Are you... with the Church of the Deep?

......

When the Sea Patrol investigated Tullia, you deliberately turned them against her? Don't tell me it was you who made her disappear—

What's this you've put on my neck?

Longbeard combtooth grass. Something made by a friend in charge of raising road-side coral. Don't move. You'll die if its bristles pierce your skin. Quite painfully, if I may add.

Now—*cough*—Leave this place, child. Once it senses you've gone far enough, it'll fall off by itself.

You want to leave, don't you?

To be honest, before we became coworkers, I happened to see your assessment at the Institute of Development Planning.

......

You care so much about that data scientist because you've never forgotten that evacuation of Milliarium, have you?

You watched as the distant lights of the volcanic power station went out, surrounded in endless darkness, with only strange rumbles and rustling carried to you by the currents...

The ocean as it once was.

At that very moment, you were the closest to the ocean out of all of Milliarium. You, standing at the mezzanine of the dome, all alone.

The IDP assessment was that there was too great a psychological burden, which is why they agreed to transfer you from the dome system to ground level. Your so-called 'fear of heights' was just a little joke of yours.

I'm afraid that you yourself don't even realize what lies deep within your heart.

......

The remaining Seaborn will soon discover that this route is still open. You wouldn't want to meet them again.

Go, quickly, before it's too late.

......

Lucilla?

Hah, in any other situation, I'd definitely give you a piece of my mind, or stuff this whatever-grass into my ink bottle and tell you this sort of practical joke is beneath you.

But it's so bright... the light from where the tower sank in, from the dome above us... Every Seaborn on the whole continental shelf is rushing towards Milliarium, right?

Just what is behind those strangely colored lights?

You're not wrong, Cassia. The Seaborn have eroded away at our lives. I've experienced the truth of that myself, and I'll never forget.

I envied Tullia. Our experiences were so similar, but she was able to protect what she treasured all along. An amazing woman, really!

And look at me, I escaped the dome and got back to the ground. Before you arrived, I was even thinking of escaping from here, too.

But where would I go?

I can't let you break the framework, Cassia. I can't let the Seaborn get into any other Milliarium's unit, even if this grass thing kills me in the process!

Because... Because there's no going back for me.

*cough*...

You really are strong, child.

Laurentina's parents once told me that while the dome may be beautiful, this transparent structure is actually the true eye of the city.

In fact, I've been asking myself recently... Since we're at war right now, shouldn't the eye be on the lookout for danger?

You can let go now, Lucilla.

Cassia, she...

Temporarily paralyzed. I only managed to graze her with my shot, which is why the paralytic took so long to take effect.

Sorry for putting you at risk.

This is Consul Clementia. Citizens of Milliarium, heed me!

Once the city unit containing the beacon tower has been fully ejected, the rest of the city shall break through the Seaborn encirclement and move towards dry land!

Reactivate the linkage mechanism in the city's framework and perform a structural reorganization. Force fields at full power! We'll stop the Seaborn tide from setting a single tentacle onto land!

Legions VIII and X, along with the Sea Patrol: send all operational warships out in turn to escort the city!

It might be more appropriate if you were the one to handle the report regarding Cassia, Lucilla.

I see. You should be heading straight to the port now. The mission just declared by the consul is more urgent.

Cassia's already subdued. I'll take her to a doctor first, and then... she should be punished.

And if the city is going to undergo structural reorganization, the dome system will be the focal point of the force field to hold off the Seaborn. So they could probably use some extra hands up there...

Maybe I should submit an urgent application to return to my old post.

You're very brave, Lucilla.

Oh, so you heard all that earlier...

I did. Before you submit that application though, you ought to see a doctor yourself. Longbeard combtooth grass does in fact contain a potent neurotoxin.

Ah. Right, I will.

Ramming armor, check. Ship cannon mounts, check. Monitors, check. Camouflage coating, check. Propulsion system, check. All system diagnostics complete, ready to launch.

We'll be heading to the designated waters at full speed to block the Seaborn tide from the north.

All weapon system permissions granted. No need to hold back. Don't let them get near Milliarium.

We'll do everything we can.

You're just part of the first sortie. We'll be sending the rest of our ships into battle after you.

You're to escort Milliarium in shifts while it's reorganizing, serving as an extension of its 'Great Wall' and preventing the Seaborn from making landfall.

So remember, the moment you get the order to change shifts, you must return to resupply immediately.

Understood.

Seaborn spotted!

The remaining Seaborn in the city are attacking the port! Do not let them approach the warship docks!

(Pained convulsions)

Not content with ambushing us in their nest, they made a sneak attack on our city, too?

...How annoying.

(Rapidly flaps fins)

Wrapping around a statue? What, have the Seaborn developed a taste for art since entering the city?

That said, the Sorrowdrinker is hardly a masterpiece, so I won't feel too bad when I've reduced it to rubble.

Honestly, I think it's got more charm with an arm broken off.

Thanks for the glowing review, Skadi. Are you feeling better now?

Yeah, ever since we left the nest.

Good to hear.

It's the Hunters!

The Abyssal Hunters have safely returned to the city!

Swordfish.

Captain Gladiia, you've met...

Yes.

I saw him.

We've arrived at the right time. You must have heard Secunda's report over the emergency frequency.

Infiltrating Milliarium, breaking into the beacon tower's control room, murdering the weapons technology advisor of the Waterway Program, and finally, choosing to return to the ocean with the Seaborn.

Ulpianus has not made it easy to clear him of suspicion.

To capture him, or even execute him is a duty we Abyssal Hunters must perform in the future.

Captain Gladiia...

......

But for the moment, our mission is to search for the remaining Seaborn scattered around the city units, and put every last one of them to the sword.

...What must be said, I have said.

You've avoided answering the question at the heart of all this, Mártus.

The question... at the heart...?

From your description, everything that transpired beneath the ruins, the crimes you committed and the consequences incurred... They all seemed to stem from some mysterious 'inevitability.'

But the Mártus I know was an eccentric yet gifted man. He was doubtful by nature, and not one for making arbitrary decisions.

He would not have rashly discarded all reason and played at being the mystic. And he would have been even less inclined to reject his own existence, or ignore the worth of others.

The choices I have made, the outcomes I have borne.

Why do you care what the past Mártus thought, before he made his decision?

His past choices have made you who you are now. Without understanding his reasoning, we cannot understand your existence.

You would care about such trifles as well, Kal'tsit?

(The nuclei within its skull spin)

I understand now.

Of course you would care. How could you not?

The human that once ate the strange flesh experienced such struggle, too. Was it a day, or perhaps several? In the depths of the ruins, time holds no measure.

He feared. He doubted. He was compelled to think over every possibility.

Where will the next crisis come from? When will it descend upon Terra? He used a lifetime of knowledge to attempt to decipher the undecipherable, to comprehend the incomprehensible.

If there exists a lifeform that could survive the cosmos of quietus, even if only as a singular being, how would it be born?

Given infinite time, even the tiniest fin will be able to type out the ultimate truth of all things on a terminal using its tail. But time was our most precious resource.

Admittedly, the Feranmut before him had foreseen our ruinous prospects, but could He and His progeny continue bearing the torch of life through it all?

Supposing they could, before they instinctually iterate a way of overcoming that destruction in a limited time, how large a population and how efficient a fecundity would they require?

Would they have to consume a patch of sea? A whole planet? An entire star system? How many must die to support their lives?

Supposing they could not, then where did the true answer lie? On the other side of the ocean? On the other side of the sky? Or perhaps it is somewhere out in the sea of stars, untouchable by Terran hands?

Even if you spent your entire life simulating, you would not have been able to obtain a definite conclusion.

The information you possessed was simply insufficient to calculate every possibility.

Indeed, Kal'tsit. But the past Mártus had no choice but to try.

Danger and possibility both hung above his head, while below his feet he found only an unseen tightrope.

You could have informed your country from the start.

Ægir would have helped take on your burdens. The oldest records of the Academy of Science could verify the past you saw. The latest inventions of the Academy of Technology could model the future you envisioned.

To cede the choice to others. Is that a solution, or an escape?

The choices of the countless many against the choices of the few. Are they more accurate, or more ambiguous? More earnest, or more capricious?

Suppose the means for life to continue is not civilization, and the species that transcends ruin is not humanity. If so, how would Ægir react?

Enough, Mártus.

If you had thought of every possibility and foresaw the bitter price to pay, then your final decision is even more inexcusable.

No, Ægir, I do not mean to defend my choices.

What I wanted to say was that, at the time, there was an immature lifeform that interrupted my flights of fancy.

Its tentacles were minute, and its body yet uncoordinated. Beneath its translucent membranes, simple organs could be clearly seen.

Born from Ishar-mla, it had unknowingly crawled past the cabin wall, and was licking my ankle happily.

Was it unaware of how swiftly its death would come?

Did it not know that it was destined to become one of those insignificant dots among the millions of bio-signatures on the monitor?

Being the progeny of a Feranmut, could it have not seen the frightful vision its parent saw? Was it unaware that the destiny of its entire race was only to foretell and greet ruination?

It just wriggled calmly towards its foreordained destruction, acting out of instinct only.

As for us, there are countless possibilities to consider before making a decision, countless trade-offs to worry over.

We find ourselves unable to ignore the costs of our decisions, or the results, or the value and meaning of those results.

Humanity, glub—Humanity is ever a prisoner of itself, ever one step behind 'fate.'

This is the essential difference between humanity and the Seaborn. This is why they are suited to bear the duty of continued existence.

If there is any life that can survive that future of quietus, no matter what form it takes...

It is worth fighting for, no matter the cost.

'There is no justice here. Only the path ahead.'

You should understand now why you must help we many evolve.

You are not the first one the Doctor and I have seen who can barely qualify as human, but they all made their hard choices.

No one had ever made a choice as horrifying as yours.

Before you ate that flesh to become a Seaborn, you had already renounced thinking as a human does.

From my perspective, that which you abandoned in your final moments—your doubts, misgivings, concerns, and struggles—were the most precious of treasures.

......

The Seaborn are swallowing Terra's life whole. You have not denied this, nor can you stop it. How are we to see them as our hope?

What is your choice then, Kal'tsit? To incubate Originium?

The collapsed stargate, the extinguished sarcophagi... Of the countless failed plans, is Originium the only one still in operation?

Stones amidst the land and sky, ever silent. They are an incurable disease, harming life atop dry land.

And yet, they are a plan left by the prehistoric civilization, one expected to save all existence at the very end... In ways incomprehensible to the average person.

Glub—The stairwell to survival can only be forged in the fires of destruction.

No. Such destruction must not happen.

Much like Caerula Arbor, Originium at some point turned to the annihilation you speak of. It changed in ways none can understand, and none can reverse.

And since it has changed, it must now be stopped.

Whatever the case, using life to feed life or ruin to beget ruin would only serve to remove all meaning from survival.

...Kal'tsit. Or rather, AMa-10 from the records. You surprise me.

You and I should have arrived at the same conclusion via different paths. No. You should have been even more rational, more decisive.

I merely noticed a spark of the prehistoric civilization and took on its mantle. You, however, were born for this task. You held aloft its torch eons before I did.

You have kept watch over their distant aspirations and legacies. You have carried out your assigned mission. You witnessed changes. You bore loss... No human could have toiled for as long as you have.

But now...

Has endless 'life' rendered you feeble, Kal'tsit? Has it turned you human?

Was it... because of this one?

Dr. Doctor, or rather... Oracle?

Many facilities, many doors, your fingerprints, face, voice... Within the cerulean cave, among the ruins... traces of you lie everywhere.

You have visited the depths of the abyss before.

I recognized you. I have been speaking with Kal'tsit until now only because it is more efficient.

You must know the truth. Your visitation is sure to have meaning. Perhaps you are able to explain why the project is at a standstill.

But your title is different now; something has happened to you. Otherwise, Kal'tsit would have held no doubts about what had happened to the plan.

For several reasons, the Doctor is unable to remember many of the things back then.

(The nuclei within its skull spin)

'Memory loss'... Glub, unsurprising.

Losing one's memory is perhaps the most insignificant sacrifice you could make.

Even the most resilient of life cannot withstand the ravages of tens of thousands of years. The fact that you still exist upon Terra is in itself a miracle.

What I saw, what He saw, what They saw. Those frightful visions are an absolute truth to you.

You have lost your proud civilization and homeland. Heaven and earth have lost all color. Time and space have become vast prisons.

You have been exiled by despair. You have stopped to rest upon Terra. You have not escaped your fated ruin... All men will perish, all things rendered meaningless.

Despite this, you have not stopped fighting for hope. This planet has been forever marked by your resistance... Even if those marks are mostly wreckages.

I revere you and your cause. You, the people of a bygone age.

Dr. Doctor, whether you accept it, deny it, or are undecided, it matters not to me. I am not hoping to win your understanding.

I seek not your approval.

You, and your comrades, had planted hope in the depths of the sea. A possibility. A spark.

Perhaps you have forgotten it. Perhaps you have renounced it. Perhaps you now stand against it, come what may. Now, it is I who tends to this light. And I shall not see it extinguished.

The rejection of our flame's kindler will not waver the many's resolution.

Let's stop trying to prove ourselves. We shall return to the reality itself.

We many sense the oncoming crisis. Perhaps the eye beyond the clouds has caught a glimpse of Terra's exceptionality, a sword hanging above all our heads.

Terra is but a cage, trapping countless souls unaware of the truth.

Now there is a crack in the bars. A crisis, also an opportunity.

Sight. Sound. Smell. Touch. The rushing of the ocean waves.

Within the cage that is Terra, the children of the sea are the most resilient race. Never have they stopped evolving.

You cannot deny that We Many have become the most magnificent of miracles. They will become the sparks in the wake of the Big Bang, the seeds from which the cosmos will blossom once more.

They are the closest to... success.

Tell me, Kal'tsit, Dr. Doctor, and the Ægir...

Do you now choose humanity, Originium, or the Seaborn?

It is true that a crisis fast approaches. There are still many questions I am unable to answer. Many truths I am unable to grasp.

But this does not imply that life can be reduced to a hollow concept. That would simply erase its original meaning.

You consider this a weakness, Mártus. I consider it my drive, bestowed upon me by this endless life of mine.

The Seaborn are a calamity that must be stopped.

On this, the Doctor and I will not change our positions, and neither will Rhodes Island.

Without civilization, how can you speak of survival?

......

Without survival, how can you speak of civilization?

This ridiculous debate has gone far enough, Mártus.

We have excised the diseased organ from Milliarium. Your 'kin' in the city are being eliminated as we speak.

You'll have plenty of time to reflect on what you've done and share the rest of your secrets with us in prison.

(Furious howl)

You, Ægir, and that ebon monster...

It is futile to contain me. You alone, your city alone, are not enough to slay me. To slay Ishar-mla.

The city has completed its reorganization. I can imagine how it will look as it bars our current, but we many will surpass it.

There is no right or wrong here. So let your brief resistance provide our soundest proof.

Next, I will rouse the slumbering Firstborn. I will lead our kin to the moons.

You will become a part of this magnificent cycle, Kal'tsit. As will you, Dr. Doctor.

......

Maestro.

Su Santidad, I am here to make my report.

No need. Ægir has already informed us of what transpired beneath the waves.

What of Kal'tsit and the Doctor of Rhodes Island?

They're still in the city.

We're connected, sir.

Th-This is...?

A real-time image of the sea's surface. All thanks to Ægir's drone matrix projecting directly onto the great lighthouse's display.

The Seaborn tide and the Ægirian city, both approaching the land. They're less than ten nautical miles away.

That stirring spray, those intertwined currents... Are they all... Seaborn? Even the color of the seawater has changed...

That's only the portion exposed to the surface. The tip of the iceberg.

The Seaborn took advantage of Ægir's landfall. This entire sector of sea has become their nest.

Ægir's defensive perimeter... How long can that transformed city of theirs hold?

I do not know.

Have we come to the conclusion that Ægir's Waterway Program has failed?

All the Ægir in Milliarium are still fighting as hard as they can.

For the past two months, the Penal Battalion has requisitioned all operational vessels along Iberia's coast. They've been on standby in Gran Faro, and are now ready to set sail.

I will personally lead them to reinforce Ægir's defensive perimeter. Together, we will stem the Seaborn tide.

I'm afraid you won't have much time to rest, Irene.

It seems not. I saw the Inquisitors in formation at the base of the lighthouse earlier.

In the end, Iberia has found herself walking a tightrope with no margin for error.

Survival, or utter destruction. There are no other paths before us.

Should Ægir's great wall fall, it will be up to us to educate the Seaborn on the significance of land, and the price they must pay for desecrating it.

—

M-Maestro! Doña Irene!

You stay here, Jordi.

This lighthouse will be our final bastion. The Penal Battalion's operations will depend on its signals. Do what you can to keep it going.

No, not that—

Look out the window.

...Light.

Is that... a lighthouse?

But aren't we at the only operational Eye of Iberia?

What's going on? Why are we suddenly receiving so many identical signals?

The lighthouses along the submerged coast, which have sat in silence for more than half a century...

They have all lit up at once!

¡Dios mío!

The silent technology of the Islanders... What are you responding to?

......

(Faint mechanical cry)

—!

What are you escorting, Seaborn? What is it you're protecting?

......

Nutrients.

Life.

Kin.

And you, Ul-pianus.

We many, together as one...

......

Have you not yet given up on these games, Ægir, despite your own noose around your neck? Or is this also a part of your plan?

There you are, Consul Clementia.

We noticed an extremely unusual bio-signature in the Sophontheatrum. I'm glad you're unharmed.

What's the status of the frontline?

Legions VIII and X, alongside the Sea Patrol, have been sending out escort ships alternatively, as per your orders.

The city's reorganization and the force fields are both complete. Milliarium is holding against the Seaborn tide.

Inform every relevant researcher in the city. I need a minute-by-minute breakdown of the situation of this region of sea.

We're still being far too passive even with our contingency plan put into motion.

Madame Consul, you may want to see what the drone matrix just sent back.

Hm?

These passages of light between the Seaborn...

'Waterways'?

Consul Clementia, we've re-established communication with the home territories! We just got a dispatch from the Institute of Scientific Development Planning.

......

Any news from the Hunters?

Three of them have returned to Milliarium. They're cleaning up the remaining Seaborn in the eastern city units.

Contact Gladiia. Tell her to come meet us immediately.

Yes, Madame Consul.

Let's go, Kal'tsit, Doctor.

You need to deepen your contact with Ægir.

(Whisper) Doctor?

Madame Consul, the Doctor still has some affairs to settle.

...Very well.

The final battle for the Waterway Program has concluded with a Seaborn invasion of Milliarium. I require an explanation, Consul Clementia.

Gladiia.

Were any of you harmed?

I see you're here too, Kal'tsit.

We had a few unexpected encounters, but nothing we couldn't handle.

I believe that, as an envoy of Iberia, Dr. Kal'tsit also requires an explanation.

I could use one myself, if we're being honest.

There is someone who wishes to see you all.

—

Consul Horatia.

Whyever do you look so fatigued, my little Gladiia?

Though the transmission efficiency of the Waterway is much higher than I anticipated, I fear our simulacra are still unable to transmit my feelings.

Otherwise I'd stroke your hair and give you a nice, big hug.

No need. You know the risks of doing so.

The changes on the sea's surface, as well as the sudden appearance of the 'Waterways'. Was this your doing?

Whether Ægir or Seaborn, we all find ourselves competing over time.

The Seaborn must keep sending nutrients to every region of sea they conquer. They wish to quickly transform the entire continental shelf into one great nest.

Every issue has two sides. This disaster has also blessed us with bio-energy beyond measure.

More than two centuries ago, the beacon launcher would have required a dozen cities' bio-energy systems to continually fabricate the nanomachines comprising the Waterways.

Now, those nanomachines are being fostered by the Seaborn, who regard them as harmless kin.

Using the data flow between the nanomachines as a medium, fleets and cities in squeezed state could traverse the oceans in an instant.

Though these machines cannot take Ægir to the stars as our forebears imagined, they are more than enough to carve a path of life for civilization in its time of need.

But that would mean that, for the foreseeable future, Ægir will have no choice but to enter into some kind of symbiosis with the Seaborn, using that... scum, as they in turn use us.

Is this another of your so-called 'games'?

It is how we will break through this siege.

The term 'Waterway,' the path ahead for Ægir, has never referred only to pure waters.

You have always had your doubts about the Program, and that is fine. But if that doubt serves only to put you in disarray, then it is useless.

As Ægir is determined to open a Waterway between sea and land, there was no question that it shall do so.

I do not doubt your success, but perhaps there is still room for debate as to your methods.

Dr. Kal'tist, I presume. Consul Horatia, of the Institute of Scientific Development Planning. It's a pleasure.

It pleases me that there are still those on dry land who have inherited the will of the prehistoric civilization. That Ægir is not alone in our duty.

I am also glad to see you have begun our discussion with a firm diplomatic stance.

Then can I take it that you speak for all terrestrial civilizations, and that we can dispense with establishing diplomacy with them one by one?

I, too, am glad to see Ægir abandon its contentment in isolation and seek out cooperation with the land.

But I regret to inform you, Madame Consul, that I do not represent it in its entirety. I merely understand it more than most.

That said, I believe what Ægir needs now is exactly a thorough understanding of the terrestrial civilizations.

You and I both know that this Waterway will not be used only for resisting the Seaborn. Ægir has its eyes on every unnatural existence in these lands.

It is the only means for us to ascertain the intrinsic nature of Terra, and to eliminate the disasters hanging above our heads at the source.

And I am sure you are aware of how such actions will be perceived by the terrestrial nations.

Compared to the Seaborn, you would be seen as the more direct threat.

We bear them no ill will. We need not stoop so low.

The cruelest thing we could do is ignore the need of help of other tottering civilizations we meet on the road to settling this crisis.

Of course, we will first help them to learn how to walk.

Bottlenecks of development, dilemmas of war, barriers of race, clashes of cultures, trends of ideology, changes in the structure of society...

Over the millennia, Ægir has grown freely beneath the waves. It has faced every issue a country might face.

We wish to share our experiences, without reservation.

And how would you do so?

Using Milliarium as our main port, we would send talent and technology ashore, to aid the Iberians in revitalizing their home.

Feranmuts perceive the oncoming crisis far more keenly than humanity. That young one will not shelter Kjerag forever.

We can aid that nation long trapped in snow in breaking through its developmental barriers in a few short years, so that it may stand equal with its neighbors.

We can aid the Sami in purging the demonic corruption permeating every inch of snow, and restart the abandoned stargate in the north.

Ursus? Kazdel? If the flames of war rage, we will calm them. If there are disputes, we will resolve them.

Bolívar? Higashi? National unity is but a few fruitful negotiations away.

Ægir will aid them in every predicament. Ægir will guide them towards the only goal they need. Under the leadership of Ægir, the land and sea will share a common future.

Madame Consul, I do not doubt Ægir's sincerity, but... I fear your proposals will not have the effect you expect.

I am sure you have the means to bring Kjerag up to par with the Core nations in a few years.

But will dialogues between equals necessarily center around peace and development?

Were Ursus's internal problems to be resolved, who is to say they would not bare their fangs once more, and attack their neighbors to satisfy their regained appetite?

Bolívar's many regimes might reach a consensus under Ægir's pressure, but how will you eradicate the profound, deliberately provoked hostility?

Dr. Kal'tsit, are you saying that Ægir's efforts to aid the terrestrial civilizations will only result in the opposite?

I am saying that we can establish a more equal and profound cooperative relationship between us.

With only your probes, you are unable to understand a civilization's needs. With only your experiences, you are unable to force a nation to skip over its path to development.

Before you act, you must learn more. Otherwise, the winds you stir on land may become some great storm you cannot turn a blind eye to.

We would be more than happy to hear your suggestions, then.

On the condition that you do not allow us to be held back by excessive caution and meaningless apprehension.

Seeing the gulf between us, between land and sea, I understand that we will need many more discussions before we can make progress.

Once the Waterway opens, I look forward to meeting you in the flesh. Whether on land, or in Ægir's home territories.

I as well, Madame Consul.

What about you, Gladiia?

Do you agree with Dr. Kal'tsit on this matter?

The IDP need not question Rhodes Island's sincere wish for cooperation, nor Dr. Kal'tsit's ability. I can vouch for both of those.

And there are indeed essential differences between Ægir and the nations of the land.

The land dwellers are shortsighted and clumsy, which makes them frail. Forcibly removing the differences between them would be no different from destroying them.

It is truly necessary to show good faith.

Hmm.

I've never seen Gladiia place so much trust in someone, Dr. Kal'tsit. A feat, to be sure.

Perhaps she can be a bridge between our peoples, and aid us in coming to a consensus.

You will see that Ægir's plans are no mere idle pratter.

Now, do allow me a moment alone with Consul Clementia.

Secunda, a fleet approaches from the land!

Iberia.

Hail them via the drone matrix.

This is Praefecta Secunda, of the Milliarium Sea Patrol.

Err... It's me.

Irene?

We're currently in a head-on battle against the Seaborn. Don't come any closer.

Your ships are too crude. I'm sorry, but they may get sucked into the eddies around Milliarium.

You're saying that Iberia should just wait quietly on land?

That I should just watch Milliarium get invaded by Seaborn, and let the Waterway transform into some kind of god-knows-what that even you Ægir never foresaw?

We've already talked about this, Secunda. I'll be there in five minutes.

Halt all attacks.

If we are going to pick up the Iberians, we'll just have to open the access channels to the rear. Why stop attacking?

Look at the screen.

The Academy of Technology just sent an urgent communique.

This...

What do we do?

Are those light-emitting nanomachines components for the Waterway?

But the Seaborn are still attacking the city. If they've fused with the nanomachines and bear identical bio-signatures, our weapons won't be able to locate and attack the Seaborn only...

Don't tell me the Legions want us to halt our covering fire and rely only on Milliarium's force fields to hold them back?

May as well slit our wrists and be done with it.

......

Scribbling on your device again? You know, sometimes I really admire your ability to keep a cool head.

Use the images from the drone matrix to render a 3D model.

Rendering in progress.

Perhaps the answer lies within the riddle itself.

The bio-signatures of the nanomachines and the Seaborn are identical, but we still know clearly that the nanomachines have formed a Waterway.

How?

......

We can see them! Each machine emits a particular light that's clearly visible!

Contact the Academy of Technology, and tell them we have a proposal for modifying our weapons' targeting systems.

But... recalibrating two Legions' worth of auxiliary optical systems would take a lot of time.

What about using a lighthouse on land?

Irene.

It seems we arrived in the nick of time. A dozen or so lighthouses on the lost coastline have resumed operation. They're... responding to your Waterway.

Combined, they should be enough to illuminate this entire patch of sea. Maybe they could serve as your auxiliary optical systems?

I'm hardly an engineer, but these lighthouses were built with Islander... er, Ægirian technology. They should be compatible with your existing systems.

That should cut the time needed in half. I'll let Consul Clementia know.

...Thank you, Irene.

The Inquisition would be overjoyed to see these newly unclouded Eyes become part of the combined defenses of land and sea. We're partners now, Secunda.

Though maybe we should be thanking Breogan instead.

Breogan...

He truly dedicated himself to these lighthouses.

A naval architect drifting into a foreign land, striving for the day when land and sea could work together. He foresaw calamity, but left no answers behind.

It's a pity that Ægir saw him as an outsider, while Iberia never truly accepted him. He died alone and miserable. But now, his plans will finally have the chance to become reality.

...We acted far slower than he did.

Indeed.

But it's not too late. Or rather, now is precisely the time.

Let's get started, Irene.

I'm still more used to you with your veil on, Horatia.

Hmm?

Did you show off the scar below your ear to let Gladiia know that, as her mother, you will tolerate her setbacks just as you accept the blemish she left on your face?

Hah, I'm not that strict a mother.

But this is no blemish. It's beautiful. Trivial for a doctor to erase, but I refuse.

My little Gladiia was barely five at the time. She was taking her first career development assessment, and through this made her wishes rather clear.

You don't know how glad I am to see her grown.

She's certainly more suited for the life of a legionnaire than in the Institute of Social Planning or Institute of Scientific Development Planning like you expected.

No matter. Whatever field she joins, she is sure to excel. She was born for Ægir.

I remember when she was two, the Institute of Incubation said your disposition and the nature of your work made you ill-suited to raise her, and suggested you place her in their care.

They said the same when I first decided to raise her myself. Saying that again two years later would not change my mind.

But what truly pleased me was seeing young Gladiia reject it as well.

I wouldn't say you have the best bond as mother and daughter, but you do have an odd kind of rapport.

Alright, that's enough, my little manta ray. I suspect we have more pressing matters to discuss than reminiscing about my daughter.

...Can you please not call me that?

Very well, Consul Clementia.

While we spoke, every city in the home territories has been conducting an unprecedented investigation into the Church of the Deep.

As the core of R&D, Blandus was able to tamper with the Class IV weapons, but his actions should absolutely have been detected at some point before they were put to use.

Meaning there are many behind him fanning the flames.

All members of both Academies who had anything to do with the weapons' design, manufacture, and maintenance are receiving the most thorough investigations possible.

In response, the Church has brought their full influence to bear. By grasping at a single leaf, we may be able to pull out an entire rotten branch.

And with Mártus, no doubt we will be able to identify the Church's deepest roots.

...Ægir itself is undergoing a grand surgery.

Surgery to cut out a festering tumor. Isn't it?

The Waterway is open, and the fallen who corrupt our nation have been revealed. Both are of great value, as I see it.

Are you trying to console me over the superficial Waterway Program's failure? To tell me that the sacrifices Milliarium made were not without meaning?

Why do you insist on double negatives? They make you seem weak.

There is no such thing as a 'superficial' program in Ægir, Consul Clementia.

If the IDP has approved a program, it means its planning and members are entrusted with the hopes of Ægir.

We believed you are capable of using the Class IV weapons to purify our waters and open the Waterway. This has always been an official part of the program.

...Yet it failed.

The theoretical success rate of oceanic purification was never high. However, the Waterway Program was a guaranteed success.

Did I not promise you that, before you set off? Trust in me. Trust in Ægir.

I don't doubt that even if this city were to sink, consigning all ten thousand or so Ægir souls in it to the depths, the Waterway would still open without hitch.

However, of all the possibilities you've accounted for, how many call for sacrifice?

How I wish this meeting of ours never had to happen, Horatia.

Is that why you've worked yourself to the bone, my little manta ray?

I've read the reports on Milliarium. As consul for the entire city, you need not throw yourself into each and every little affair.

The stimulants you abuse will not hide the exhaustion on your face.

You really have thought of everything. As you always do, Horatia.

All these losses and sacrifices, the falls and the betrayals, even Mártus's secret... Are you not the least bit shaken?

Speaking of Mártus... You've reminded me of something.

Of what?

Mártus regards himself as the 'gardener of sin'. At times like these, he is wont to hide himself behind history.

I can infer why he'd seek cooperation from Dr. Kal'tsit, but from the way you describe it, those 'discussions' quickly devolved into a vapid declaration of war.

I find it difficult to imagine he would be satisfied with such a failure of negotiations. That is, unless he gained some other information...

We will continue to track his whereabouts.

Are you hiding something, my little manta ray?

......

I am still the Chief Designer of Warfare on the Waterway Program before you arrive, Horatia.

Naturally.

Your calculations may have arrived at the correct outcome, but I had to handle the situation in my own way. The Academy of Science and Academy of Technology each have their own duties.

Hmm... Yes, of course.

I only hope that this obsession with self-reflection will not cause any complications. Your keen judgment must stay unclouded.

I won't let that happen.

*sigh* Here, come a little closer. We still have some time.

Kal'tsit, Rhodes Island, Iberia, the Inquisition... You'll be busier than ever soon, so best not keep frowning like that...

......

(Rapidly convulses its gelatinous body)

(Quizzically sways fine tentacles)

Trying to run?

Smart. Your kin are behind this wall. A lot of them.

It's the end of the road for you, though. What a pity.

Ishar-mla?

Ishar-mla.

Leave, kin.

Through the eddy ahead, return to the sea.

You're so honestly gentle with them. Disgusting.

I'm guessing you're the leader?

Our meeting was preordained, Ishar-mla.

Huh? You know me?

Ishar-mla.

From Sal Viento to Gran Faro, from the Stultifera to here. You scum have been watching me this whole time.

What, do you see your 'god' in me too? Are you here for 'family,' or revenge?

(The nuclei within its skull rotate slightly)

No.

Ishar-mla... Ska-di, you are not nutrients to complete the cycle. You are its end.

Our kin will not prey on you.

On the contrary, they respect you. Protect you.

They await your transformation. They await your evolution.

......

...Why?

A natural phenomenon. One I am also helpless to resist. This is the answer, Ska-di.

I ate of His flesh, and He lives within you.

You are He. I am He.

Our hearts connected. Our blood interlinked.

......

You need not waver. You need not doubt. The kin will not demand you walk with us.

Ishar-mla chose you. Chose you to continue His life. Perhaps this is the only way He will witness what He must witness. Travel the road He must travel.

What did He see in you?

Perhaps, perhaps...

Could it be, Ska-di, that in that cold, dark future, in the cosmos where all things are doomed to fade away, you are the one hope, the spark, the possibility...

Are you the one who bears the final wishes of untold lives?

—!

......

Doctor?

Dr. Doctor, Ska-di. You... know each other?

Is that so strange?

(The nuclei within its chest pulse)

No matter if you personally took part, Dr. Doctor, no matter if what took place in the cerulean cave had aught to do with you...

After countless, countless years, you now stand alongside Ishar-mla.

The connection between you and the kin cannot be erased. It is you who wrote this instinct into our memories. We depend on one another.

The wheel of fate still turns. The surviving successors will one day meet, and achieve the most improbable of possibilities—

I couldn't understand that thing at all. What was it talking about?

Didn't sound like that to me.

You woke me up just now, Doctor.

When I was face-to-face with that Seaborn, I remembered something I felt back in Sal Viento.

I hated it.

What good could come from a Seaborn rambling to a human?

Good. I couldn't explain even if I wanted to.

You don't seem surprised, though. No wonder Kal'tsit asked you to come underwater.

Of course not!

I have no interest in chatting with a Seaborn.

That thing sounded like it'd been looking for you?

...So we were both being watched.

Mm.

Don't worry, Doctor. I'm Skadi. Abyssal Hunter Skadi. Rhodes Island Operator Skadi. Always have been.

Doesn't matter if that thing comes looking for me or you.

I'll cut its vocal cords before it can speak.

...The tide's coming in, outside these walls.

Sounds like it won't stop for a long while.

—