Venera
...So you're... Venera?
Yes. A pleasure to meet you, Captain.
Thank you for everything you've done to help Ceres. I've been watching through Olberos's eyes all this time.
Venera...!
Venera, is it really you? It really is you, right?!
Yes. It's me.
Ceres's voice trembled.
Whimpering, she spread her small arms and tried to rush to Venera, but Venera stopped her.
Venera...!
...I'm sorry, Ceres.
We don't have enough time for a proper reunion.
But...! But...! We only just found each other!
Ceres...
I see... Deep down, you're still just a child.
What... do you mean?
The way you look now is the version of you I remember.
It means that deep down, you still see yourself as you were back then.
In this place, what's hidden in your subconscious is reflected on the outside.
That's why you look... so young now.
...!
Ceres flinched. Her small shoulders stiffened.
Her arm hung in the air for a moment, then slowly fell back down.
If this space truly allowed no lies, then I didn't need to ask what Ceres still hadn't been able to move past. Her childlike appearance said it all.
...Where are we now?
If I had to call it something... a rift in consciousness, perhaps.
It's the only place inside Olberos where my mind can remain awake.
Captain, the moment you linked with that [black book]...
Ceres happened to be holding your hand, so you both managed to reach this place.
Ceres...? My hand...
W-well...
You had that weird thing over your head and were flailing around like an idiot...!
She was just trying to grab your hand and pull you to safety.
It was a close call, though.
...Hmph.
Perhaps it was luck...
No. Perhaps it was inevitable.
...Yes. There isn't much time, but please listen.
Back then, I led the Western Liberators and made it safely to the Void Core...
And fought the Void Core after it had taken the form of Olberos.
I knew there was a being guarding the Void Core... but its power was beyond anything I had imagined.
If only I'd been a little stronger, a little more prepared...
...But it was already too late for regrets.
The others had all fallen, and believing I'd soon follow them... I gave up on everything.
But... Olberos's final attack did not bring me [death].
The moment Olberos's sword cut through me, it [absorbed] me.
My soul and all, into this place.
And as I became one with Olberos... I learned truths we had never known.
Venera paused for a moment.
As if she were choosing where to begin and how to explain it.
The thing people have called the Void Core all this time...
It was actually... a [sealing vessel] meant to contain a far greater [Void Force].
A sealing vessel...?
Within Olberos... or rather, within the Void Core itself, lies a far greater and deeper Void Force.
A fragment that broke away from Aldebaran in the Age of Darkness, countless ages ago.
A shard of immense power once called the [Sword of Aldebaran].
It contains enough Void Force to become the seed of a terrible calamity.
Someone sacrificed their own soul to create a sealing vessel to contain it.
That is the true nature of the being we've called Olberos.
That can't be...
The souls of those defeated by Olberos are drawn inside, becoming fuel to maintain the seal around the sword.
To keep the seal intact, it continues drawing in new souls without end.
It meant the very thing the Western Liberators had devoted everything to fighting was, in truth, holding back an even greater calamity.
I couldn't dare say a thing.
I thought Asherah would have said something by now, but she wasn't here.
I only learned that after I was absorbed.
After that... my consciousness became one with Olberos's, and I no longer even realized I was still myself.
It was only a little while ago that my self-awareness as [Venera] returned.
A little while ago...
When the Western Liberators resumed their operation to destroy the Void Core, it reawakened as Olberos to defend itself.
And Ceres. When you crossed blades with Olberos...
I felt a familiar presence, and it stirred the sleeping part of me awake.
So back then... you were inside Olberos...
Yes. But even after waking, there was almost nothing I could do.
I could not control Olberos's movements through my own will.
All I could do was watch from within.
And... I saw what happened.
I saw you collapse... unable to wield [Daystar]'s power.
...
Just before your soul was absorbed...
I drew out everything I had.
To hold Olberos back, even for a single instant.
Using not my own knowledge, but the knowledge Olberos held...
I tried to hold Olberos back any way I could.
And from that moment, time began to rewind.
...Yes. I would have rewound time the same way, to stop that from happening.
As you understand now, this was never a real [solution].
To prevent time from ever reaching either Ceres's defeat or the Void Core's destruction...
All I could do was keep [putting it off].
I wanted to bring this endless loop to an end, but I couldn't find a way on my own.
So when Lydia happened to link with Olberos, I sent her a message in the form of a vision.
Couldn't you have appeared directly, like now?
This place is cut off from normal spacetime.
For an ordinary being, it takes a long time just to become self-aware here.
If Lydia had continued repeating the loop, she might eventually have been able to meet me here more clearly, but...
It would have taken a very long time.
If anything, you're the special one, Captain. You became aware of yourself the moment you entered, and even managed to bring Ceres with you.
...Even if you don't know it yourself, there must be a reason.
As Venera opened her hand, the battlefield of the Western Liberators appeared before us, as though a screen had flickered to life.
With Kuku still over my head, Ceres was pulling me along by the hand.
Everything was frozen, with Olberos's sword poised just above our heads.
This is the [space between moments], just before time rewinds again.
I can't hold this for long. Soon, [the Cycle will turn] once again.
That's why I have a favor to ask.
For everyone's sake... the Void Core's seal must be maintained.
But... Venera...
Ceres.
Do not strike Olberos with Daystar.
Give it to Olberos.
Th-that's...
If I can just resonate with Daystar and strengthen my self-awareness even further...
I can return the awakened Olberos to its Void Core form.
And the time loop will end as well.
But... then what about you, Venera...?
...
I will remain here with Daystar, sealing the Void Core for all eternity.
I will use [Daystar] to strengthen the sealing vessel's power even further.
So that no new [fuel] will ever be needed again.
...No. You can't do that.
That... I can't let you do that, Venera.
Ceres.
This is the only way I have right now.
There has to be another way!
There has to be a way to seal Olberos without sacrificing you—
There is no other way.
...Ceres. You don't have to hesitate.
If anything, if you do that for me, I can go on living here...
Forever, just as you see me now.
It may be hard for us to meet like this again... but I should have died back then anyway.
...
Venera's voice was almost too calm.
As if she were simply reciting a conclusion she'd reached long ago.
But something about what she said didn't sit right with me.
Yes.
No being lives forever.
Everything wears down with time.
Why would the sealing vessel have needed [fuel] in the first place?
Energy. A soul. A sense of self. Whatever it may be.
Can you really call that [eternal life]?
...
Captain...
It doesn't add up. You know that, don't you?
...
Even so, we have no choice.
What if we destroy the Void Core?
I told you already. If the [Sword of Aldebaran] reappears in the world, it will become a powerful weapon for the Void.
And Ceres, as she is now, cannot destroy the Void Core.
Ngh...!
Daystar still hasn't accepted her.
Perhaps she still lacks the resolve to lead the Western Liberators.
As if part of her heart is still a child who misses me.
That's... that's...! *Sniffle...* *Sob!*
You're still a crybaby, Ceres.
...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to blame you or push you.
If I'm being honest... Ceres, I never wanted you to carry a burden like this. I wanted you to live as the kind-hearted girl you are.
Venera...!
Ceres finally broke down in tears and ran to Venera.
Her small hands reached for Venera's.
In that instant, Venera's form began to waver.
Her once-pristine form began to distort.
Ah...!
...Venera?
Her silver hair and Western Liberators' uniform shifted as her form wavered.
Venera... what's... happening to you...?
Her silver hair had lost its sheen and darkened to gray.
Her uniform was worn through and frayed in places, looking ready to crumble at any moment.
Venera's skin was covered in cracks, like cracked porcelain.
...So you were barely managing to hide your true form.
Venera...!
...
...You're right, Captain.
Eternal life, in other words...
It means being bound somewhere forever.
...But that's fine.
This is my final duty.
...Venera.
No, no! I don't want to hear it!
What... what am I supposed to do...?
...Ceres.
Because you fought, I was able to wake up.
Because you were here, we were able to talk like this.
...Thank you, Ceres.
Venera... I... I don't know...
...Hehe. Ceres, my dear little sister...
Please... grant me this one request.
...But if you want to stand as the commander of the Western Liberators...
Think it through and decide for yourself.
Do you understand? When you take up a sword, keep your eyes on one thing only.
Keep your eyes on the result waiting beyond everything you cut through.
Venera...
Captain.
Stay by her side... so she can do what she must.
...I will.
Ceres.
You can do this. I know you can.
Venera slowly raised her cracked hand.
It stopped in the air, as if about to gently touch Ceres's cheek.
I'm sorry.
I'll hug you someday. ...I promise.
It was then.
Pure white light surged up from every direction.
Venera, wait...! Don't leave!
No...! Not yet...!
Ceres's voice and Venera's afterimage dissolved into the light.
And once again, I lost my footing.
...Time was rewinding. Again.