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The death of Barbara Claudia and the emergence of the Great Will.
Two events, neither light nor insignificant, were unfolding right before our eyes—simultaneously.
["Commander! What's wrong?!"]
Esther, unable to accept the current situation, cautiously reached out toward Isabel, but I stopped her.
"Don't."
["But...!"]
"That is not Isabel."
["...Ugh."]
We still didn't know exactly what the Great Will was, but if Esther, a Spectral Entity, approached Isabel in her current state recklessly, something terrible could happen.
In the worst case, she might be swept away entirely by that immense ether flow.
"What is this, exactly..."
Colonel Belov, a level 7 ether adept, seemed to have noticed the strange phenomenon occurring with Isabel to some degree and couldn't hide his shock.
No—everyone present here felt the same.
"What happened to the lady...?"
"I don't know what exactly happened, but for now, it's best we get out of here."
"What? Barbara Claudia ended up like that, and you want us to run?"
"This is no longer something we can control."
Colonel Emily Croft was about to say something to Colonel Belov but soon nodded.
It seemed she instinctively understood that what was happening had moved beyond their grasp.
"We're retreating!"
"Secure the Brigadier General!"
White Line soldiers began to quickly evacuate the area.
Even as Colonel Belov and Colonel Emily Croft led the soldiers away, Isabel did not make a single move.
As if she had never had the slightest interest in them to begin with.
"..."
In that strange silence, the one who finally spoke was the Turncoat King.
["In the end, has the irreversible current led fate to this place?"]
It was still incomprehensible speech, but it was clear that the subject was Isabel.
[Creak, screeech──]
[KIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA───!]
[Crack, crkkkk!]
Ether particles, densely packed and colliding with each other, emitted horrific shrieks that pierced our ears like blades.
What on earth was causing them such pain?
It was time to face the truth.
"Isabel."
I looked at Isabel.
She, too, looked at me.
["Carl Marcus."]
The voice and ether of Isabel, which once sounded disturbingly discordant, had now completely synchronized.
It meant the being before me was no longer just Isabel.
"What... are you?"
When I came here, I had never imagined the situation would turn out this way, but perhaps it was for the best.
Project Noah and Project Eve.
And the secrets hidden within the Great Will.
This was the perfect opportunity to uncover them.
["Longing. Obsession. Regret. Any of those could be what we are called."]
Just moments ago, Isabel had looked unstable and on edge, but now she seemed perfectly calm.
As though she had completely become one with it.
To be able to speak so coherently despite the intense ether surging around her—it only served to show how powerful Isabel's ether sensitivity truly was.
"We... huh. What is it that's inside you now? The Great Will?"
["A ridiculous name. We are not great, nor do we possess any will worthy of such a name. We are merely the sum of longing, regret, and lack."]
"So, you don't deny it."
["There's no need to forcefully change the perception you hold."]
Surprisingly open.
The fragment of the Great Will that tore Barbara Claudia apart was engaging in conversation more smoothly than expected.
Or perhaps, on the surface, it barely seemed different from Isabel herself.
"What exactly is the Great Will?"
The moment the name was spoken, Isabel's expression turned melancholic.
["They are the sorrowful and sad. Those trapped in a prison forged in the name of survival. That's the truth of the ones some dare to call great."]
"...What?"
Barbara Claudia had described the Great Will as a godlike entity.
But the words that came from the mouth of Isabel—now practically a vessel of the Great Will—were entirely different.
Just the sorrowful and sad.
Far from the grandeur of something called a god, the Great Will that Isabel spoke of was just... that.
"A prison? Are you saying someone imprisoned the Great Will?"
["It was not for greatness that they were imprisoned. The ones who were trapped gathered, and only then were they called such."]
"That prison... is it Mount Noah?"
Isabel gave a small nod instead of answering.
["We are disappearing."]
"Disappearing?"
Isabel spoke plainly of the Great Will vanishing.
["And that fate... will soon become yours."]
"That's not something I can just ignore. What do you mean by that?"
["It's not difficult to answer you right now. But that would mean it's no longer your own will. If you face a truth you did not uncover yourself, you'll lose the chance to ever judge it on your own."]
What truth was so immense that Isabel and the Great Will would speak like this?
Several theories swirled in my head, but none felt certain.
No—in fact, if Isabel was right, even forming a certainty could be dangerous in itself.
["Time is running out."]
Isabel looked at me.
And then, calmly, she began to speak of what was to come.
["Soon, the true end where all cycles cease will arrive."]
"The cycle will end?"
Isabel gave a slight nod.
["Originally, it should've been delayed a little longer... but things have changed. It can no longer be postponed or stalled. The unstoppable tide of fate has begun to surge."]
"No more delay, huh…"
The notion that the timing of the end had accelerated sounded all too familiar to me.
If, as I once suspected, The Defense was a game with a time limit, then the more I changed things, the more natural it would be for the end to come sooner.
["Within the unstoppable gears of fate, you will make a choice."]
"A choice, huh…"
Every word.
Not a single one could be brushed off.
"What choice do I have to make?"
["That is not my role to decide. We may wish for a certain conclusion, but we cannot force it upon you. That wouldn't be a proper ending."]
Isabel smiled softly.
A smile that looked like both laughter and sorrow.
["Whatever choice you make in that moment, I will respect it, Carl Marcus. No matter the outcome."]
Even though she clearly wished for a specific answer, Isabel said this.
What did she mean by that?
Sadly, before I could even begin to answer, the swirling waves of ether around Isabel began to fade.
["If it's you, this world may yet reach the proper ending. I believe in you. And so, I believe in the choice you will make."]
With those final words, Isabel's body collapsed limply.
"...Isabel?"
["Commander!"]
I quickly caught Isabel as she fell and gently laid her on the ground.
'...Is she alive?'
I carefully checked under her nose, and thankfully, she was still breathing. Her life didn't seem to be in danger.
It was just that the overwhelming ether had pushed even Isabel past her limit.
Likely a side effect of accepting such a massive amount of ether into her body.
'At least that's a relief.'
I didn't want someone like Isabel to die so meaninglessly.
Though our first meeting wasn't ideal, by now she was one of the few people in this world I'd had real conversations with.
More importantly, if something had happened to Isabel here, it would've delayed discovering the truth behind the Great Will even further.
I still didn't fully understand what the Great Will truly was, but I had gained many clues.
'There's no helping it.'
There were still many questions I wanted to ask Isabel, but in her current state, I'd have to wait.
"Bring Rook here."
[Gigit!]
Ideally, we should take Isabel to a proper medical facility in case of further complications, but the problem was her current situation.
She was a suspect in the murder of Barbara Claudia, a member of White Line's House of Representatives.
Even though Isabel was known as the lady of White Line, this was not the kind of incident that could be swept under the rug.
Especially when there were numerous witnesses.
'Of course, if the El family intervenes directly, it might be handled... but at this point, it's impossible to predict their move.'
The entire Ark was in chaos.
Inside, the Machine Cult was stirring a mechanized revolution, while outside, the Kronos Union was making contact with the Church of Morte to stir further conflict.
In this situation, there was no telling how White Line would punish Isabel—or how they'd react.
For now, it was best to keep Isabel somewhere beyond White Line's reach.
'That aside...'
While waiting for Turncoat Rook, I briefly reflected on the conversation I'd had with the Great Will that had borrowed Isabel's form.
'A prison, huh.'
According to the Great Will, they were sorrowful beings imprisoned within a cage.
'And that prison... was Mount Noah.'
Project Eve aimed to control the Great Will using a human vessel.
If the Great Will were those imprisoned in Mount Noah, then Project Noah must have created that prison for a certain purpose.
'And the Great Will said they were vanishing.'
From what I knew, aside from a few exceptional scenarios, the massive ether surge from Mount Noah persisted until the late stages of the story.
That meant, due to some butterfly effect I'd caused, the moment meant to arrive only in the final stages had come far earlier.
'To know the truth about Project Noah… I really must head to White Line.'
Barbara Claudia, my only direct link to White Line, was dead. And even if she hadn't died, someone above her would've been necessary to learn the truth of Project Noah.
'So, in the end I have to go to White Line.'
The truth was right before my eyes.
And to reach it, I had to head to White Line myself.
'But before that… there's one place I must visit.'
According to Barbara Claudia, under Lania's lead, the Kronos Union had contacted the Church of Morte.
From the circumstances, that incident was likely related to Project Noah and the Great Will.
'I need to meet Lania.'
What was she thinking, risking everything by making contact with the Church of Morte, an act that could fracture the alliance with the Ark?
I needed to find out.
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