Team Member I: Target not in Building 2!
Team Member II: Confirmed, target not in vicinity of the house!
Semmelweis: They're not here.
Semmelweis: Our intel was wrong. We were set up.
"Razor": A fenébe!
"Razor" swings his hand in frustration knocking a hole clean through a wooden bookshelf.
The notes lying on the shelf fall and scatter.
Semmelweis: Calm yourself, "Razor." Tearing up this place won't get us anywhere closer to our target.
Semmelweis: This "Beyond" has been alive for over two hundred years. It's a living legend, we knew it couldn't be this easy.
"Razor" pulls his arm out, breathing out steadily.
"Razor": You're right. I lost my composure.
Semmelweis: I am not one to admit defeat, but we are out of time to contain this vampire.
Semmelweis: We need to go back to the Foundation; we can't afford to take risks with the "Storm."
"Razor": We know so little about this vampire's arcane skill. It has made it next to impossible to track.
Semmelweis: Which is all the more reason to hunt it.
Semmelweis: All that aside, our operation wasn't entirely fruitless.
Semmelweis bends down to pick up the papers now lying on the ground before the shelf.
She scans the page, absorbed in thought.
"Razor": What does it say?
Semmelweis: It's an old bill.
Semmelweis: The Laplace researchers might be interested in this. At the very least, it could help us study the dietary habits of vampires.
Semmelweis: "Record of Delivery," a "baguette," "bottle of red wine," "bouquet of flowers"...
Semmelweis: This suggests that the vampire doesn't exclusively feed on blood as we thought.
Semmelweis: It apparently also dines on bread, wine, and flowers. Perhaps they consume pollen for energy.
"Razor": ...
Semmelweis: Just a little levity, "Razor." I am not suggesting that vampires are the nocturnal answer to bees.
Semmelweis: "Gruss an Aachen." I must say, this vampire has exquisite taste in flowers.
"Razor": Hm? What's this?
While Semmelweis is bent over the documents, "Razor" catches sight of something shiny in the corner.
"Razor": It looks like an Orbuculum ... uh-oh!
The Orbuculum flares up with a red glow.
"Razor": ...!
"Razor": Get down!
Woosh!
Dark red incantations shoot towards them.
A folded blade swings open. "Razor" swipes down on one spell after the other.
"Razor": Semmelweis, get out!
It's too late.
A shadow appears from behind Semmelweis.
???: ...
Semmelweis: ...!
A sharpness pierces her neck, pain radiates through her body as if tearing her in two.
The shadow covers Semmelweis entirely, crushing her beneath it.
Semmelweis: No—
Semmelweis: No!
Semmelweis: No—
Semmelweis: ...
Semmelweis lurches up from the bed. She reaches out to place her hand on her chest, trying to calm the erratic beating of her heart.
She gasps for air, then puffs it out again as if trying to expel the memory.
Semmelweis: Was that a nightmare? Or perhaps a hallucination?
It's difficult to tell the difference, nothing feels real now.
She takes a deep breath and touches the wound on her neck.
The scars have nearly faded now, she traces her fingers over the twin puncture marks.
Semmelweis: ...
Semmelweis rises from her bed to look out from the window. The streets of Vienna are bustling with activity.
Carriages and trams roll side by side down the wide street, gentlemen engage in animated discussions at the cafe. It has an odd tranquility about it, like the calm before a storm.
It is a scene far removed from the mountains she remembers. She takes in three deep breaths.
A knock on the door interrupts her thoughts.
Emil: Captain, are you awake?
Semmelweis: What is it, Emil? Come in.
Emil: As per your instructions, I collected the latest newspapers from across Vienna.
Emil places the neatly sorted stack on the table.
Semmelweis leaves the view behind as she goes to pick up a newspaper.
Semmelweis: "The actress Isolde is about to hold an art exhibit in memory of her late brother, the famous artist Theophil's posthumous works will be displayed for the first time ..."
Semmelweis: Isolde ... I remember her. She was the star of the city's opera, before I left.
Emil: It seems she's still the hottest topic in Vienna today.
Emil: But the talk has shifted to this upcoming exhibit of hers.
Emil: "... The organizers hope to use it to provoke thought about and attention toward the Arcanists' plight."
Emil: Certainly it's one of the greatest issues of our time. But what good will an art exhibit be for that?
Emil: It won't change anything!
Emil points to the date on the newspaper.
Emil: But we are just in time. The exhibit is today ... Or even more precisely, in three hours.
Semmelweis: Of course, what could be more tantalizing to the Viennese public than a glimpse at the final works of a dead artist.
Semmelweis leafs through several more newspapers. Without exception, the front pages feature Isolde and Theophil's mourning portraits.
Emil: "Rising suicide rates," "museum thefts," "assassinations," and "major demonstrations" are all playing second fiddle to this event.
Semmelweis: I'm afraid it's hardly novel. There's something about when an artist takes his own life—that potent mix of tragedy and brilliance—No matter the era, it has always grabbed the headlines.
Semmelweis: All the more so that he was "the last male scion of an ancient noble house," the exact sort of gossip the Viennese gobble up. Politics and revolutions will have to wait their turn.
Emil: I guess I shouldn't expect any difference. This city has always found a way to distract itself with sensationalism, never mind that the Empire is falling apart at the seams.
Emil: They can't even put effort into addressing the "Arcanist" problem, which I'd say is the easiest to solve.
Emil: All their registration policies do is force law-abiding Arcanists to be weighed down by unwieldy bureaucracy.
Emil: Never mind that the lawless fanatics couldn't care less about the damned registration!
Emil: Mark my words, captain, these lunatics will drag the normal Arcanists down right along with them ... Uh, sorry, I didn't mean to ...
Emil catches himself, remembering perhaps too late that his supervisor too is an Arcanist. Embarrassed, he stops his tirade.
Semmelweis: If left unaddressed, these "Arcanist lunatics" are certain to turn many normal Arcanists into lunatics themselves. Unrest breeds further unrest, and crackdowns.
Semmelweis: However, I spare a little sympathy for the Empire, between the Bohemians, Croats, and Romanians, they're verging on total collapse. It is little wonder the Arcanist problem has been left to fester.
A wave of nationalism is sweeping through this era. With each side pulling apart, the tapestry of this ancient empire seems destined to be frayed and torn.
Noticing Emil's agitation, Semmelweis smiles disarmingly.
Semmelweis: Oh, never mind that, Emil. It's often unpleasant to deal with Arcanists. I admit, I am myself, not very fond of Arcanists.
Particularly when it comes to The Beyond.
Semmelweis: Please continue your report, Emil.
Emil: Arcanists ... Captain, that is to say, it relates to Arcanists.
Emil: I conducted a cursory investigation into the Arcanist refugee community here in Vienna and gathered more information about this so-called "Lorelei from the Rhine."
"Lorelei from the Rhine."
Even though she has been expecting it, Semmelweis catches her breath as she hears the name.
She instinctively recalls that letter—the one whose contents she has not disclosed to anyone in the Foundation.
Emil: Lorelei's reputation among the lower-class Arcanists is beyond what we had imagined.
Emil: Using her gift of "prophecy," she has united many Arcanist groups, so far preventing them from directly clashing with the Empire.
Semmelweis: "Prophecy?"
Emil: I prefer to call it "Arcanist nonsense."
Emil: It seems to me that only Arcanists could come up with and believe such superstition.
Semmelweis: But nonsense or otherwise the Arcanist refugees are convinced.
Emil: According to this prophecy of hers the world is a valley with a flowing river and we are colonies of ants living on either side of it.
Emil: In times past, we lived and died beside the river, enjoying its bounty, just as our ancestors did.
Emil: Today, however, the river is facing a cataclysm. The floodwaters will soon come rushing down to devour everything in their path.
Emil: And our valley will be no exception.
Emil: In her words, we are entirely helpless against this irreversible reckoning. All we can do is seek help to escape it.
Emil: But Lorelei claims to be the savior who will rescue everyone.
Semmelweis: ...!
Emil: It's all a bit cliche, isn't it? She may as well just call herself "Noah."
But to Semmelweis, this story meant something entirely different.
Semmelweis: Do you think this "flood" that Lorelei talks about may be the "Storm"?
Semmelweis: Just another doomsday prophecy, or is she really an oracle for the "Storm?"
Semmelweis: What is her goal in promoting this "prophecy?"
Countless questions begin to swirl in Semmelweis' mind.
Whether or not Lorelei's "prophecy" turns out to be true, she can no longer ignore the existence of the "Storm" in the Arcanist world.
Semmelweis: ...
Semmelweis: So, what about Lorelei? Did you find her?
Emil: Ah, unfortunately not, I haven't gotten any leads about Lorelei's whereabouts.
Emil: Except that she seems to have disappeared.
Semmelweis: That's strange. She should have returned to Vienna by now. Why else would she have me look for her here?
Emil: Captain? What are you talking about?
Semmelweis: ... Nothing. Please continue.
Emil: Simply put, after Lorelei disappeared, the Arcanist refugee community has splintered.
Emil: It's not yet risen to the level of the other crisis that the Empire is facing, but these out-of-control arcanists are threatening to cause significant problems.
Emil: According to the data, just this month, demonstrations and vicious incidents have been happening left and right. The Arcanist crime rate has doubled.
Emil: Some of the refugees have turned to the Manus Vindictae and have begun fighting what they call "the human powers that be."
Semmelweis: ...
Emil: Unfortunately, more than just some.
Emil hands a few selected articles over to Semmelweis.
Semmelweis: Riots, marches ...
Emil: They'll only continue to grow as long as the Arcanists lack a better voice to rally behind.
Semmelweis: Then we must find Lorelei as soon as we can.
Emil: We may find some more intel at the Vienna branch office.
Emil: They've investigated these groups in the past. I am sure they must have also taken the opportunity to investigate Lorelei.
Semmelweis: I see. Thank you for the information, Emil.
Semmelweis: I'll head over to the Vienna branch now.
Emil: Do you need me to go with you, Captain?
Semmelweis: No, I would prefer to go on my own.
Emil: Understood. Then the team and I will wait for your return.
Semmelweis turns to look out the window at the crowded street.
Semmelweis: Lorelei ... what on earth is she trying to do?