Trail of the Spokes
Thirty-one.
Thirty-two...
One memory for each day.
I had to work through my memories one by one, including those I didn't much want to revisit.
...
Of all the memories to come back...
*Splat*
The sensation of the cold stone floor touching my cheek.
Ugh!
What is this place...?
An empty space.
I look upward, but there is no telling how far this place extends.
At its center stands a machine that resembles a telescope.
...Alicia!
You are deep within NOA, at Dirac's Well.
What are you trying to do...? Why have you—
The Cycle will now begin to turn.
And to keep the Cycle going... it needs a spoke.
Cut the cryptic nonsense—
You need a purpose...
While this world needs a spoke.
I hope this proves to be a fair contract.
Fair...?
Who gave you the right to—
Hehe...
The unsettling witch disappears as my wounds tear open.
No matter how I reached out, there was nothing to grasp.
I must have passed out then.
...Shall we begin...?
Whose voice is that?
I scan my surroundings as a voice abruptly fills the air.
I cannot see anyone other than myself.
Captain...?
The Captain, then...
Surely not... the Star Savior...?
Yes. The Star Savior Succession Trial, the [Journey].
*Whirrr*
With a loud whir, the telescope stirs, rotates, and directs its light at me.
...!
Light pours out.
No... No, it can't be...!
Only then do I realize.
Ah... Ahh...
AAAAAH!
Here I am, inside the witch's Cycle.
I am a spoke in that very Cycle.
I see... So that's what happened.
That's... what happened...
Haha... Hahahaha...
I can feel my body being engulfed in searing light.
I need a purpose, and this world needs a spoke.
...Fair enough, I suppose.
I suppose there's nothing left for me to do here... but dance.
The cage opens its door.
I close my eyes.
Kgh...!
*Thud*
Against my cheek is the cold floor of the witch's well.
I feel my body fading away.
Why did I come into being, only to fade away like this?
The purpose my master entrusted to me...
Everything...
The words left my lips on their own, like a meaningless prayer.
*Clop* *Clop*
...Huh?
A man in a black hoodie approaches me as I lie helpless on the ground.
He crouches beside me, apparently saying something.
His words were muffled, as though I were underwater. I could barely make them out.
Yet one thing still came through clearly.
It's not... an order...
...To my dismay, my consciousness begins to slip away.
Are you insane?
Do you even know what you're talking about?
I'm an Executor. I serve Lord Aldebaran and exist to destroy Lavistar.
And now... you're asking me to join the Journey?
And so, you're saying you could find me a goal?
How unbearably arrogant.
Who are you to find a goal for me?
*Gasp*
I regain consciousness, only to find myself still on the bottom of the well.
There is no one here.
*Whirrr*
The giant telescope was swinging back to face the other way, as if it had finished its task.
...A whole day gone already.
The same blue planet. The Divine Barrier, clear and sharp.
One memory for each day.
...
Every time my master addressed me, it was followed by a task to fulfill.
Executor. Cull them. Everything there is.
And yet, that man...
...
...What was it he said to me?
Somewhere down on the planet, wherever that man might be...
I posed the question anyway, though no answer would come.