Blue Archive story · Volume 6, Chapter 2, Episode 9
Vol. 6 Ch. 2 Ep. 9: Apocrypha
1 scenes, 143 lines
1. Part 1
143 lines
It really existed.
What Trinity concluded as pseudepigrapha...
The Apocrypha they tried to hide away and eradicate!
How long must your servants wait before they may rise in the name of their vengeance of blood?
Until when must they endure the mocking questions of truth and lie?
Wow... What a strong start. "Vengeance of blood"...
For days of tribulation, when all the wicked and godless are to be removed.
Words for the elect and righteous.
Huh? The Apocrypha stopped here. And this is...?
I see.
The history of Arius was recorded alongside the Apocrypha.
Trinity may have sentenced us to excommunication, but they know naught what they have truly done.
In banishing us, they have sentenced themselves to a lifetime of solitude.
Those who cannot embrace their own sister can never trust the embrace of another.
Banish us to Nicomedia they may...
...but here shall we henceforth build the foundation of Arius.
We, Arius, were the first ones to face the barrel of Trinity's gun.
Like a child with a new toy, Trinity sought any excuse to deploy their new weapons.
What better target than Arius, those convicted heretics?
For behold, the time will come, when the signs which I have foretold to you will come to pass,
that the city which now is not seen shall appear, and the land which now is hidden shall be disclosed.
And as truth and people reveal, those who remain until that day will rejoice forever.
Isn't this from the Book of Revelation...?
But it's worded a little differently from what's written in the common scripture's Book of Revelation.
Well, given the definition of "Apocrypha," I guess that's only natural...
The world, which is not yet awake, shall be roused, and that which is corruptible shall perish.
For whereas the righteous are not many but few, while the ungodly abound
for you will rejoice over the few who shall be saved.
And not grieve over the multitude of those who perish.
Reporting in! We've set up the base, just as you ordered!
I see. Good work.
How's it going here, Subaru?
I wouldn't...go as far as to call it a clue, but I did find some hidden scripture.
Scripture unique to Arius. Trinity probably doesn't even know if it exists.
Then there must be something important there!
Before that, Subaru, uh, everyone's been talking about something...
Some of us thought we should come ask you about it.
There didn't really seem to be anyone else who could make big decisions besides you.
What is it? Feel free to tell me.
Right. So...
If you count all the students here right now...
There's a lot of us! We're bigger than a platoon...but smaller than a company...
Some groups split off, but that's besides the point.
Yeah, so, some people were saying we should have a name.
You know, like the Arius Squad did.
...Ugh. I hate having to say THEIR name.
Aha. So that's what it was about. But is that really that urgent of a...
...
Actually, you're right. Names are important.
Yes! Thank you for understanding!
So, uh, do you...have any ideas?
Nico...media?
Understood!
I have no idea what it means, but I like it!
Are you really sure about this? Actually, I didn't expect you to be the one to suggest it, Sensei.
"Honestly, I'm not 100% sure. But I still have to go."
"I have to at least try talking to her first."
Um, Sensei?
What if...
What if Subaru rejects you? If she says she can't accept this?
Wouldn't that make your going to Porta Pacis...
...completely meaningless...?
"I still have to do everything within my power..."
"It's not about whether or not they forgive me."
"I can't let this end with so many things left unsaid."
...That's how we...plant possibilities for a better future?
...
You're really incredible, Sensei. I...
I...
I want to become a better person...
Like you...and Subaru.
Although Subaru...
*sob*
Even after what Subaru did, it's hard for her to let go.
Subaru has a weird magnetism. She makes people want to follow her.
Worse, she never seemed to even realize it.
...Yeah. She didn't.
H-Heehee... We really lucked out with Saori.
Yes. Saori is a very good leader.
...
However, Subaru is doing her best in the way she knows how.
"Best" isn't enough. You know that.
...Yes.
"Huh? Is something wrong? Should we stop?"
It's nothing, Sensei. We're coming.
We shouldn't be slowing you down right now, Sensei.
We don't know what lies ahead of us. Let's go.
(And the next page...)
To believe in coexistence with Gehenna is blasphemous.
Trinity's grasp for power, oppressing and absorbing opposing factions...
...can only be described as heretic.
You who claim to be glorious.
You who present as all-knowing.
From the very start, humility was not a virtue you knew.
Vanitas vanitatum. All is in vain.
(Records of the frequently changed ruling powers in Arius, vitriolic curses towards Trinity and Gehenna...)
(Enough of that. I'm sick of it. We all are.)
(What we're looking for now is what can...or must be done.)
(And the truth behind the angels appearing in Arius.)
The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be.
and that which is done is that which shall be done, and there is no new thing under the sun.
And so, vanitas vanitatum. All is in vain.
(It returned to the scripture.)
("Vanitas vanitatum. All is in vain.")
(It might be a coincidence, but it's staying true to that verse...)
This world is a corpse-eater. All the things eaten in it themselves die also.
Truth is a life-eater. Therefore no one nourished by truth will die.
Angels are merely symbols. Representations of each of you.
(Wait...)
(Angels are symbols...representing us?)
(I've never...seen this interpretation before...)
(Wh-What is this?!)
And the council hereby declares...
...the permanent and irrevocable excommunication of Arius.
In the name of our holy parents, holy children, and the holy spirit.
There was no path forward. With nothing but bloodied hands and battered souls, we forged our own.
Light faded from existence, and we were sacrificed to the shadows. They left us to rot in sewage and despair, existences no better than the rats that scuttled beneath their feet.
Trinity thirsted for our complete eradication.
From the highest reach of the sky, to the deepest pits of this land, they wanted our existence to be expunged from reality itself.
So many were lost.
Meaningless loss soon became entangled in the rhythm of our daily lives.
Hatred spread through us like poison.
And therefore.
Vanitas vanitatum. All is in vain.
This voice...?!
The past is the foundation upon which the present is constructed. The events of the past echo into the present.
Had the Council only decided differently, had Arius not been exiled due to a mere difference in interpretation...
...what kind of life would we, Arius, be living today?
Such things haunted every shadow of Arius.
Who...are you?
We are Arius. We, Arius, are those who were left behind...