37 stands dazed on the beach.
She looks around at the familiar island.
The once pristine shores are now cluttered with the debris of human weapons.
37: How did this happen?
37: I passed the test. I was granted the Truth. I have the answer with me.
37: What did I do wrong?
Vertin: No, 37. None of this was your fault. Hysteria has come to this island, and people are caught up in it.
Vertin: It is the Storm Syndrome taking the form of "war."
The mind is growing increasingly tense, the situation has gone far beyond expectations.
Vertin: Has it been six hours since we entered the cave?
Vertin: That strange dream, it lasted longer than I thought.
6 gave two hours to leave, and now six hours have gone by.
But the islanders and the visitors are all too wrapped up in their own misery to notice.
Vertin: This is bad. The plan we have with Zeno ...
This objective is of the utmost importance.
But where is the team now?
Vertin: 37, I have to go.
37: I have to find Sophia!
She dashes into the forest, desperately searching for any sign of her redheaded friend.
Just as she goes further, a faint call stops her.
6: 37.
37: ...?!
37: 6?! You seem ...
6: cough
The leader looks even paler than usual.
His robe is in tatters, and his crown is covered with dirt.
He rests his back against a broken pillar, gazing up at her.
6: Have you passed the test? On what question did you seek Its knowledge, and what answer did It give you?
Stunned by everything she's just been through, 37 recites the numbers for the third time, still a little dazed.
He listens intently and falls into a silence.
37: 6, weren't you going to perform the cleansing ceremony? And Sophia, she ...
6: ...
37 trails off as she notices the dark fluid seeping from his robe.
6: Please come up to me, Ms. Vertin. I wish to have a word with you.
His voice is gentle, but his expression is grave.
A gash runs across his stomach, his robe is soaked in crimson.
6: Fifty strides from here, on the semicircle square, you will find your friends and the rest of our people.
6: I have done as much cleansing as I could. If nothing goes wrong, they will regain consciousness soon.
Vertin: May I know what happened during the cleansing ceremony?
Vertin: 37 and I each had a bizarre dream after the earthquake. Did everyone on the island fall asleep, too?
6: ...
6: The island's order is forged by our faith.
6: And now, that faith has been broken. That is all there is to it.
37: What did you say?
Vertin: Upon our arrival, I sensed a large-scale ritual surrounding the island.
Vertin: Is that the circle you kept talking about? Was it broken during the ceremony?
6: No. The ceremony was just a ceremony, was never the source of our faith.
6: Our journey was ended by the same thing that began it, Ms. Vertin,
He whispers softly, without looking at 37.
6: which is the Truth.
The waves crash onto the shore,
bringing debris from the planes with them.
Arcana: It doth not surprise me.
Arcana: The wise, so blinded by their pursuit of knowledge, they oft neglect the harshness of reality. A common downfall of the contemplative.
Arcana: Pray tell, in the midst of such overwhelming destruction, where has their vaunted wisdom gone, and what good does it bring in this final hour?
Sophia: ...
Arcana: I can hear thy weeping and bellowing within, Ms. Sophia.
Arcana: Many a time you have knelt at the temple of Truth, devoted yourself, prayed for your people, and withstood the tribulations set upon you, all for the betterment of others. Thy character is without reproach.
She lifts her hand, smiling. Above, the roar of warplanes persists.
Arcana: Yet the Truth has never deemed you worthy, has It?
Sophia: No, that's not ...
She wants to leave, but her feet are rooted in sand.
She wishes to defy, but her body refuses to budge.
And where would she possibly go, after all this?
Arcana: You shall be granted a greater opportunity.
Arcana: A blessing that befits thy devotion.
Her unsettling tone causes the girl to instinctively step back.
Sophia: No. That's a violation of the Scripture!
Sophia: We shouldn't ...
Arcana: The Scripture?
Arcana: Yet you were never truly counted as one of them, do you not agree?
Arcana: As evidenced by the decision that Truth hath made.
Sophia: ...!
Arcana: Heh-heh.
Arcana: No one escapes their fate as ever.
Sophia: ...
Sophia: I ...
37: I, I don't understand.
She looks at 6, eyes wide in disbelief.
He has just effectively declared that their faith is dead.
37: I know the answer given to Mama was right. The transcendental Law is gone, and the supreme existence is in chaos. This caused our model to fail and allowed the discord in the phenomenal world to affect the "essence" of things.
37: But did the "Truth" really fall apart? Chaos is also a form of Truth, is it not? Just like how irrational numbers are numbers. Despite our dislike of them, they still exist and cannot be denied.
She steps forward, hoping for an answer.
37: But how, how did this become the destruction of our people's faith?
6: ...
6 still does not look at her.
6: You will hear no answer from me, 37, for that is not the question worthy of your attention.
6: Do you still remember what you answered to me in the cave?
She nods, holding back the whirlwind of questions in her mind.
She kneels beside him and takes his hand in hers, gazing at him with intense focus.
Her eyes are still glittering like the stars above, unaffected by the tumultuous waves below.
6: That would be enough then.
There's a hint of relief in his tone.
6: Don't waste your time on the collapse of the faith. Don't question yourself because others think differently. Walk on, onto the path you have chosen.
6: You have done nothing wrong.
This is a lesson that takes time to understand, one that can't be grasped so quickly.
She blinks softly, holding the lesson close to her heart.
6: Ms. Vertin, I'm afraid I must trouble you for a favor.
He weakly places his hand over the wound, and a faint glow of his arcane power coalesces in his palm.
But the glow lasts only a moment, like a shooting star disappearing into the night.
6: As you can see, I can hardly take part in this matter for any longer.
6: Should the situation turn for the worse, please take 37 to safety and assist her in decoding the numbers.
37: ...?!
Vertin: You have my word.
It is a weighty request with unspoken implications.
The leader nods, looking on to the distant ruins.
His empty blue eyes are getting dimmer by the minute.
6: We are born facing a choice.
6: Either we restrain ourselves and strive for harmony and discipline, or succumb to destruction fueled by passion and madness. Though the former may be challenging, the latter will only plunge us into eternal darkness.
6: From 1 to 10, each number has its moral purpose and mission. Among them, only 6 was chosen to be the leader.
Vertin: Because 6 stands for balance.
6: Yes. We must pay heed to the balance between passion and reason, so as to stay on the right path and not be led astray by the calling of our blood.
6: For generations, we committed ourselves to the Scripture and stayed true to what we pledged. We left the trivialities and troubles of the phenomenal world behind, and served the supreme existence with the fruits of our knowledge.
6: This kind of faith was how the island prospered, and it was the source of our salvation.
6: Through diligent practice and contemplation, we managed to remain secluded and independent from the rest of the world.
Vertin: The "irrational numbers" that your people rarely appreciate—are they faced with a different path, a path of passion and madness?
The leader nods slightly, acknowledging her speculation.
6: We have been long isolated from the outside world by one "Emanation" after another.
6: Four years ago, we tried to seek proof in the outside world, but failed. We regrettably lost some of our best scholars and friends in the process.
6: However, it was not the failed attempt that led to this upsetting situation, but a crisis from within.
6: Now, with our ship capsized and our scale fallen, I am no longer able to reconcile the tilt of people's hearts and souls.
6: We will be divided. The fanatics from the foreign lands can finally spread their hatred amongst the ruins of our shattered beliefs.
Vertin: I will stop Manus Vindictae.
6 closes his eyes. His face is now as pale as the pillar behind him.
6: Forget not your promise, Ms. Vertin.
Footsteps approach from the distance.
6 recognizes them—they are the fractions who weren't taken to the cleansing ceremony, and the apprentices still seeking their numbers.
But they're dressed completely different now.
Manus Believer I: 6. We came to bid you farewell.
Manus Believer I: Everything happened here proves you to be an incapable leader. Your preachings of moderation and reconciliation were nothing but excuses for cowardice.
Manus Believer I: Where were you when the humans dropped bombs on us? What did your "cleansing" do to help us? If those virtues are meant to be the virtues of an integer, then I would prefer to be a fraction.
37: Please listen, the integers were unconscious during the attack, because the ceremony was ...
Manus Believer II: Out of my way, 37! You knew nothing about what happened. You were in that cave having fun with your little games!
Manus Believer II: The envoy from Manus Vindictae was right. We have grown too complacent on the island and have forgotten how to fight. We foolishly believed that staying out of conflicts would guarantee us everlasting peace.
Manus Believer II: Now, open your eyes to the humans' atrocities against us! How can we not seek revenge for our spilled blood?
Manus Believer II: We must act and reclaim what was taken from ours. That is the true meaning of "salvation."
Their anger continues to escalate.
37 shakes her head firmly, refusing to back down.
37: It is true that I was absent earlier, but please listen to me. Everything will get better, because I already have the "Truth" with me!
Manus Believer I: The "Truth"? What good will it do right now?
Manus Believer I: Will it drive out the humans? Will it reclaim our home? Will it bring back our deceased friends?
Manus Believer I: Πάσας τὰς ὀρθὰς γωνίας ἴσας ἀλλήλαις εἶναι!
The man recites an incantation, a simple spell derived from the Truth that anyone in Apeiron could cast on their first day.
But now that their faith has crumbled, the radiance is no longer there.
Manus Believer I: What salvation did your "Truth" bring when steel pierced our chests?
Manus Believer I: Manus Vindictae granted us the power to fight back. What did the Foundation do?
One angry question after another. Sticky, slimy fluids seep through their masks.
Manus Believer II: Don't waste your time with these integers! The Foundation's envoy is here. It is clear they have taken the side of the humans!
Manus Believer II: Kill the envoy, cut off her head, and bring it to our "Mother"!
37: What? Y-You ...
Vertin: The mask has robbed them of reason. There's no point in talking further.
Vertin: Take 6 to safety, 37. I'm the one they are after.
37: Then how are you going to ...
Vertin: I will meet with Sonetto at the square. Ms. Radio is with them, and we will contact our people from there.
Vertin: Don't worry. We had a plan against the Manus, and we can still carry it out.
Vertin: Now, on my mark ...
Vertin: Run.
COMBAT