Zeroth Directive

Archive II

Oh? I had been wondering how to handle my interviewer while in the locker room earlier, but I didn't expect that it would be you, Doctor. So it worries you to have someone else interview me? Are you worried about them, or about me? Hmm? ...Hehe, forget it. Our current relationship should be enough to let us skip the more trivial questions, no? Hm? You're asking why someone as smart as me would be seeking information on the mythical K'uk'ulkan? Did you also try this line on our cute Elf, Doctor? Hehe... In terms of social status in today's society, surely the resources and position I held at the Maylander Foundation were far more powerful than the 'K'uk'ulkans' who exist today only in name, yes? Let's say we disregard authority and just focus on raw strength instead. Could a 'K'uk'ulkan' in its prime handle a few Columbian army divisions? How many seconds could we last against a laser from S.H.A.F.T.? Me, my parents, and each and every one of my ancestors residing in my memories. How can we pretend that the very same civilization we have all lived in doesn't exist? The fact that I can talk about this subject is proof enough that there is no actual 'curse' forcing me to act this way. In other words, I could abandon this whenever I want, and so could my ancestors. Then why, why oh why, did we not do so? Why did we continue the chase? ——That would be a perfectly normal response, from a bystander's point of view. But for me? I have had this obsession lingering in my mind ever since I was born. My first word was neither Mama nor Papa, but 'K'uk'ulkan.' So naturally, all of my childhood education was ultimately directed towards pursuing the 'K'uk'ulkan.' This mission is always on my mind, and the most I can do is ignore it for a short while. Do you accept it, or ignore it? And if you do choose to accept... Can you understand how it feels to spend your oh-so-short life chasing after something, only to end up with nothing, Doctor? Would you be willing to let it all be forgotten? Or would you pass on your mission to the next generation, and have them inherit your pain, your anger, your pursuit? Honestly, it's more like a curse that we've put upon ourselves. ...Well, it seems like you managed to wrap your head around my words. Well, aren't you clever? Yes, even then we should be able to ignore our mission, if we really didn't want to continue the chase. Indeed, the main reason why 'become a K'uk'ulkan' has remained a desire until now is because of my choice to do so. Our choice. History, to us, is a mandatory class. We have always been looking for our answer within it, and when we see through the dense fog and realize that we have been performing to no one on an imaginary stage, that modern history is surrounded by towering walls, we lose all interest in the present. The more glorious a civilization becomes as it advances with its technology, the more enthralling our legends become to us. To soar in the skies in our majestic forms with the wind and thunder. To us, the word 'K'uk'ulkan' means both the force of our might, and the truth of our history. Call it superstition, habit, or just plain ignorance. I'll allow you the thought, Doctor, because I sometimes think the same. As we continue our pursuit of 'K'uk'ulkan,' we also look for an alternative to free ourselves from our fate, but we always end up where we began. Until Kristen said those words to me. Let's call it a day here, Doctor. The rest... is a secret that you'll have to work hard for. ——Recording of a conversation between the Doctor and Ho'olheyak (1)

Archive III

The K'uk'ulkans used to be one of the most powerful Elder races in Sargon. They could soar in the skies and harness the power of wind and thunder, and to this day still exist in the myths of some Sargonian tribes. And as someone who bears such a myth on her back, her current physical condition and Originium Arts assimilation are simply stronger than most, but that's about it. For someone like me who grew up in an environment full of lineages and glory and all that jazz, I can't say I don't understand her at all. But those kinds of Arts are simply too much for me. Manipulating such delicate things as memory, emotion, perception, and whatnot is no easy feat. As far as I know, only some of the oldest Sarkaz Royal Court records mention similar Arts, and they're all difficult to work with and come with some kind of absurd price to pay. The Arts of the K'uk'ulkan are completely unrelated to those of the Sarkaz Royal Court, but rather a twisted product of some clue they found somewhere in the annals of their history. In fact, their Elder lifespans are still longer than most people, even halved. But their lives will be forever incomplete. Did Ho'olheyak have a childhood? Will she be able to enjoy retirement? In conclusion, it's neither a curse nor the damage to her physical body that cut half her lifespan away, but the structure of her brain has been permanently altered. Imagine this: you're a newborn baby with a still-developing body, and someone takes the opportunity to pour a load of information into your brain so it can be passed down to the next generation, unforgotten. To put it bluntly, it's less about the Arts themselves than the extremely inhumane brain surgery carried out with said Arts. The one who invented this procedure was undoubtedly talented. Ethics aside, one can probably only cast that kind of thing on an infant. There's no way to simulate it to test my theory, but I think once an infant becomes self-aware, this crude method of importing information might not only shatter their mind, but also their very being. Such a procedure is practically unheard of, based on what I know of modern science and Originium technology. And according to Ho'olheyak, her inherited history began more than four centuries ago. So achieving such a fantastical feat was something you could only dream of in an era when medical science wasn't a thing yet. You'd also have to be a damned lunatic to even try it though. The chances of a procedure like that succeeding aren't very high, and I dare not even ask how many other siblings she had. Even if there were other successes, the damage done to the infant's brain is irreversible. That's the main cause of their shortened lifespan, when as Elders should rightfully be living longer than ordinary races. Their so-called 'legacy,' 'past glory,' and 'absolute power,' have turned their Arts into a curse on their own bloodline. ——Warfarin

Archive IV

Ah, good evening, Doctor. Lovingly attached to your work as usual, I see. ...Hm? No, it's nothing, I only— you shared with me how it feels to have amnesia, yes? I thought it was time we continued our previous conversation. ...Eh? Have you forgotten? If you have, I won't mind wrapping my tail around your neck to jog your memory. Oh, yes. We stopped at 'Until Kristen.' We believe the past holds the truth, and that truth would reveal our true future. She scoffed at our belief, stubbornly asserting that the past is worthless, but the present will lead to the future. She pulled me into her plan, and as it was nearing completion she brought it up so casually... A life pod, I believe was its name? Anyway, she basically gave me all the data from the sarcophagi and told me, now, you can choose to lie in this sarcophagus and turn back into a 'K'uk'ulkan.' But she also asked me: 'Will it really be worth it, to sacrifice all of your people's lives just to return to the past?' This question has come up in our history too many times to count, but it has never caused a sense of... self-doubt as it did then. And Kristen... she only came to this conclusion after learning everything. So I had to acknowledge it. I'm sure you know the rest, Doctor. I escaped from the Tin Man and rushed into that underground space, witnessed the fall of 'God,' and brought whatever remained to you people. I obtained nothing from that death that had nothing to do with me. Questions, answers, the past, the future, nothing at all. Doctor, I've been on Rhodes Island for a while now, and I now believe that you and Kal'tsit know just as much as Kristen does. What did you see down there underground? What did you hear, feel? ...Don't get the wrong idea now. I didn't look for you and Rhodes Island to find an answer. The answers from the past became meaningless when I stopped pursuing the 'K'uk'ulkan.' Kristen cruelly opened the doors of truth, leaving everyone behind, and my sole stroke of luck was to find the two of you standing in front of it. Right now I find myself inexplicably smug, but on a lone boat in the middle of a vast ocean. And you, as the only lighthouse that can guide my way. So now, I'll give you a piece of good news and bad news. The good news is that my lifespan will have me dying before you do. As for the bad news, your existence will be passed down through my bloodline, and you won't be able to escape. ——Recording of a conversation between the Doctor and Ho'olheyak (2)

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