The smell of gunpowder hangs heavy in the air.
The once magnificent columns are now reduced to rubble and irregular stones.
Blood rings in her ears, drowning out all other sounds.
Why?
Sophia: I remember now. The island fell ill, and 6 summoned all the integers to the cleansing ceremony. 37, she went to Apeiron.
Sophia: They tended to their missions. I went to the square to pray for them, and then ...
Sophia: There was an earthquake.
Sophia: Uhm!
Warplanes thunder above, whipping up debris and the girl's garments in their passing.
Sophia: The human army? Wasn't the Foundation mediating the disputes?
Sophia: Did they betray us?
Calm now, Sophia. Your soul is imbalancing toward the excess.
Sophia: I need to calm down. I-I need to find the others.
Sophia: Slow down and breathe. Stability is an essential virtue to becoming an integer.
Sophia: Okay. Let's clean up the place first.
She places a hand on the brass ruler at her waist and, as pious as ever, begins to recite the incantation.
Sophia: @
Nothing happens.
Sophia: The incantation didn't work?
Sophia: Did they fail to perform the cleansing ceremony?
She stands frozen for what seems like an eternity, disoriented and unsure. It feels like her world has crumbled beneath her feet.
But then, she notices a familiar figure in the distance.
Sophia: Is that 42?
Believer I: ...
The man struggles to stand, rambling to the emptiness around him.
Believer I: No one survives the oblivion.
Sophia: His hysteria is acting up again. I should help ...
Soldier I: Hahahaha! Die, you lunatics!
Soldier I: This is our land! Right from the beginning!
"Boom!"
When the smoke clears, 42 is gone.
Sophia: Ah, ahh. No, NO!
Sophia: Be calm, be stable, think.
Integers are the living example of virtues, the standard of purification. It is the representation of a soul in the world of Forms, a true being.
Sophia: I have to go check on him. I can do this.
Sophia: Uhm. almost throws up
Everything is a number.
Everything is a number.
Sophia: Stay, stay calm. He-he is just ...
Sophia: He is divided into two numbers, 6 and 7.
42=6×7
Sophia: vomit
Sophia: I have to find the others. I have to tell them about 42.
Believer II: Sophia, what are you doing here?
She hears a recognizable voice coming from the ruins.
Up on the hill, a woman raises her hand and calls to her.
Believer II: Get to the shelter. It is at—
"Boom!"
Sophia: Ah, ahh! Ms. 18! No!
Sophia: I can't ... This can't be happening! I ...
18=2×9
Sophia: I, I have to keep it together. Move, Sophia, get to the cave.
Sophia: Find ...
???: Sophia!
A quiet sob comes from the bushes. A child cowers in the foliage, shaking in terror.
Kid Believer I: I, I'm so scared. Everyone's gone crazy.
Sophia: It's okay. I got you. Come out now, Lacey. We will go find the others.
But the child stares at her in a panic, hugging her knees even closer to her chest.
Kid Believer I: No, no! I don't want to see them!
Kid Believer I: They have all gone crazy, everyone.
A droplet of paint emerges on her face.
Sophia: Lacey! Your face!
But Lacey brushes her hand away.
She turns around and runs deeper into the forest.
Sophia: ...
It is the floating points behind the decimal which hinder the process of our purification.
Sophia: Her soul has tilted toward excess. This is "wrong."
Sophia: I am the Corrector. I have to help her, or she'd get herself killed.
Sophia: I have to right the wrongs here.
COMBAT
The world is warping, painted over with vibrant oil hues.
Her headache is splitting, each step feels like walking on lava.
Sophia: Come on, Sophia. Keep yourself together, keep your soul in balance.
She closes her eyes and breathes.
Tilt not toward the excess.
Sophia: ...
Lacey has gone out of sight, only her sobs remain to haunt her mind.
Something needs to be done.
Sophia: 37. I must find her. I promised it to her.
37=1×37
Sophia: She is going to be fine. She's a prime number, and prime numbers are not as divisible as the others.
Sophia: She will pass the test of Apeiron and receive the transcendental Truth, for she is the genius, the wise one who returns.
Sophia: We will right the wrongs and restore things to how they were.
Because that is the salvation promised by the Truth.
But take heart, the race of man is also blessed with divinity. For nature has already revealed her secrets to them. Once you understand this blessing, You will easily achieve all that is set upon you. You will heal your soul, And be freed from evil and suffering. —The Golden Verses
A ray of light breaks through the darkness.
37: Sophia! You really waited for me!
37: Hm? What's happened to your clothes? Did you fall on your way here?
As always, she tilts her head curiously.
She has not yet seen the chaos of war. She remains innocent, untouched by the dust of the phenomenal world.
Sophia: 37, I'm so glad to see you.
Sophia: You passed the test. You did it!
37: You seem emotional. Why? I told you it wasn't going to be difficult.
Vertin: 37. Things don't seem right out there.
Sophia desperately grabs 37's arm.
Sophia: 37, you have seen Apeiron, right? You asked the question, didn't you?
37 blinks, too focused to spare a glance at the world outside.
For she is busy sharing her findings with a close friend.
37: Yes, and I got the answer! The answer that will save us from the "Emanation" once and for all!
37: And the answer is ...
It's the Truth that transcends everything.
The answer that will save everyone.
The last and final hope.
The moment she has been waiting for.
Sophia: ...
Sophia: Is that it?
Sophia: The one true answer from Apeiron is a string of numbers?
37 nods, having just recited the last number.
37: Yes, because the transcendental Truth is beyond the limits of our mortal flesh. It cannot be described by words, seen by eyes, interpreted by logic, or perceived by the senses.
37: It is passed to us in a form we can understand—numbers.
37: This is the key to the Truth! Give me some time, and I can decode it.
Warplanes still roar in the sky.
Smoke still chokes the air.
Her lungs burn with every breath she takes.
Time is ticking, and people are dying.
Helplessly, mercilessly.
Sophia: Time ...
Sophia: 37, how long do you need?
37: Hmm, a month? Or a week?
37: I will spend all my time working on it. It is not an easy question—could be the hardest one I ever dealt with in my life. But I will get there.
37: And then, we will be freed from all these problems once and for all!
37: Even if we don't know its meaning yet, it will eventually lead us to the kingdom of Truth!
37: ...
She stops her enthusiastic explanation and looks at her friend worriedly.
37: Sophia? Why are you crying?
Sophia: ...
Sophia looks up at her.
Tears stream down her cheeks.
Sophia: That long? 37 ...
Sophia: A Truth that distant won't change ...
Sophia: ... what's in front of us now.
She breaks free from her friend's grasp and races into the smoke and dust of the phenomenal world.
Sophia: cry
Sophia: Ahhhhhhhh!
37: Sophia?!
37: Sophia!
She no longer knows why she's running.
She no longer knows the purpose of her existence.
She only knows of the wild, fiery sensation rising in her chest.
Everything is a number ... Everything is a number ... Everything is a number ...
Sophia: No.
Is this the Truth? Is this the answer?
Sophia: Calm yourself, Sophia.
Even if the Truth can keep people from the wheel of birth,
what good is it for those already in it?
Sophia: I have to ...
Arcana: You seem astray, child.
Sophia: ...!
A detached figure looks on from the ruins of the beach, unperturbed by the chaos.
Arcana: And sad. What pains you so?
Arcana: Has the "Truth" not graced thee with its miracles?
Sophia: ...!