Last Resort
Still...? Still not working?
...Tch. Either the Captain's rejecting it subconsciously... or Kuku's struggling with the link...
This isn't working. Let's give up on this method for now and try again next—
Lydia, behind you!
Eeek!
Krrrraaa!
Ahh...!
Lydia! Asherah! Damn it...
Captain?! What are you doing?! Olberos is closing in!
Watch out!
Ever since Kuku wrapped around my head and burrowed into my mind, I hadn't been able to hear a single sound from outside.
With no idea how much time had passed, I could only guess what was happening around me from the vibrations beneath my feet.
Had I taken a reckless gamble for nothing? I had just begun to regret it, wondering if I should pull Kuku off even now, when...
The ground beneath my feet shook as if it were collapsing.
...!!
At the same time, I felt someone grip my hand tightly and pull me along.
Through the layer of slime enveloping me, I thought I heard a muffled voice calling my name.
Ceres...?
Suddenly, an overwhelming surge of power flooded into my head and coursed through my body.
At that same moment, I lost my footing.
The distant voice calling to me soon faded away as well.
...
I carefully opened my eyes, but I couldn't see anything.
I blinked a few times, but whether my eyes were open or closed, all I could see was darkness.
Wondering if Kuku was still covering my head, I touched my face, but my fingertips met bare skin.
And beneath my other hand was...
...
...Mmm.
Where... am I...?
...Ceres...?
...Where are we? Where's Olberos?
What about the Western Liberators? Where did everyone go...?
...And why do you look younger?
Huh? You're right...
It seemed her appearance wasn't the only thing that had changed.
Her way of speaking and her behavior were unmistakably childlike, unlike the Ceres I knew.
...There's nothing here at all...?
I'm scared...
She even started whimpering, clutching at my pant leg...!
I-it's okay! It'll be okay...!
We'll figure this out one step at a time...
As I walked a few steps forward, trying to comfort the tearful Ceres...
Images burst before our eyes, one after another.
The images Lydia had described.
Olberos falls. A black tree grows. The sky splits open, and a black abyss swallows everything.
Ah...? What's that...?!
So this... is the vision Lydia talked about...
Ah...! No...! Lavistar, it's...!
Lavistar, now a mass of gray stone, was slowly vanishing into the darkness.
The vision Lydia had described was almost over.
A voice... Right, she said she heard a voice.
I closed my eyes and pushed the flood of images to the edges of my awareness.
I focused all my attention on my hearing, searching for even the faintest sound.
In the endless silence, I heard a faint voice.
Ceres...
She's here!
Who...?!
The voice calling Ceres came again, faint and far away.
You're looking for Ceres, right? She's here!
I opened my eyes and shouted toward the source of the voice at the top of my lungs.
If you can hear me, show yourself!
As if answering my shout, a bright light burst from somewhere and spread through the darkness, washing it white.
It was a pure white space.
There was no up. No down. No horizon. Just endless white, and nothing else.
Only one thing broke the emptiness. Far away, someone stood with their back to us.
Dazzling silver hair. The uniform of the Western Liberators.
...Are you...?
...Venera.
Venera!
...You've finally found your way here, Ceres.
And... you, Captain.