Zeroth Directive

Archive II

When she informed Młynar that a campaign knight swordstaff with the Nearls' crest had appeared in Kargereich, the two of them returned to Kazimierz and informed Margaret. The news undoubtedly affected the Nearls greatly. It implies that Margaret's parents and Młynar's brother and sister-in-law had left behind a tiny clue to their whereabouts. Viviana has a deep understanding of the dangers of Kargereich. Not to mention that the Nearl family does not currently have the slightest clue how to reenter that strange unreality, and with Margaret still occupied with helping the Infected of Kazimierz, it would perhaps be a long time before they could investigate... So Viviana promised Margaret that she would provide all the help she could. At the same time, she also sought her advice regarding her future. Although she had returned to Kazimierz, that did not mean she would once again become a competition knight—she had long since tired of that status. Although her foster mother, Rossi the Grand Knight, had lunch with her on the day of her arrival and expressed her concern, she was unable to find Viviana a place to go. Returning to Leithanien was also not an option in the short term. After she pondered this over and over, Viviana was even prepared to return to Ognisko to continue her pastoral lifestyle. However, Margaret was able to read the hint of helplessness in her words and knew that her friend would not be satisfied with simply living a quiet life. Hiding deep within her heart there was a desire to help those around her, however possible. But because of her experiences and perspective, she had yet to find her way. Margaret was naturally more than happy to help with this. As such, she recommended Rhodes Island—Not its Kazimierzian offices, but Rhodes Island itself. Viviana had heard a few things about what they had done in Kazimierz: They led a well-trained team of operators to help the Infected and dealt with all the corporations of the General Chamber of Commerce. This rather piqued her interest, and as she listened to Margaret's descriptions, she noticed something even more special about them she found attractive: Rhodes Island could provide her the opportunity to go somewhere far away from both Leithanien and Kazimierz, where she could once again seek out poetry and stories. And when Margaret told her about the time she faced Reunion in Chernobog and mentioned the Doctor and Amiya, the smile in the corner of her mouth and her unusually resolute eyes both got Viviana very curious. The changes Margaret went through from the time she quietly left Kazimierz after winning the championship, to her return to the Grand Knight Territory and taking the crown once more—before subsequently settling down—must have all been thanks to her time with Rhodes Island. What exactly was this island like, for the Radiant Knight, as impetuous yet unadaptable as she is, to become someone able to withstand the pressure of the GCC and stay in the Grand Knight Territory? What kind of place could earn such trust and loyalty from the knight she so admires? What kind of bewitching powers does the leader known as the 'Doctor' possess? She wanted to see it all with her own eyes. And so, a few weeks later, Viviana arrived on Rhodes Island.

Archive III

There was a power outage in the library, and the room fell into darkness. Although the administrator tried to raise his voice to calm the operators reading there, he was unable to quell the circulating complaints. Naturally, Viviana was already used to this kind of darkness. She took out her sword, placed it by the table, and used her Arts to light up a candle on her sword to continue reading the epic she had borrowed. Ever since she was small child, this was how she would always read. A small candle is more than enough to completely dispel an entire swath of darkness. When she was young, she relied on the light of a candle to read her books. There was much that she was unable to do in darkness, and perhaps the only resistance she could put up was to light a candle. ...... Viviana lifted her head to find a great number of operators gathered around her. They all wanted to keep reading, but none wanted to leave the library, and so they had gathered around this lonely light source. Viviana pondered a little, and used her Arts to light up the candle on the other end of her sword. Immediately, the long table she occupied was enveloped by a warm glow. The operators around her all expressed their gratitude, and she simply nodded and continued reading. Before, in the arenas, her candlelight was much more radiant than it now was. It was able to outshine the flashes of the cameras and the spotlights of the arena. Men gushed after her like surging tides as they yelled her title. Everyone had smiles on their faces, carefully choosing the words they showered her with, yet in their hearts—and Viviana knew this better than anyone—they were all trying to extract value from her. There were flames of greed burning in the eyes of her colleagues in the Nova Knightclub, and there were flames of fervor burning in the eyes of her fans. It was the light of these flames that lit the Grand Knight Territory. Her candlelight was but a part of this light, and this light of sickness was exhausting to her. And so she extinguished her own candlelight and walked into the darkness. ...... They huddled around the tableside candlelight and continued reading for a good while. The administrator then walked in and pointed out that the power had been restored, and they had to flip the switch in the breaker box back on, but as it would be very difficult to work alone in the dark, he asked if Viviana would be willing to help guide the way. Viviana kept her sword by the tableside, and lit her own candle holder. The faint flame brought with it an enormously bright glow that lit the library up like daylight. The administrator walked ahead of her, as she followed with her candle held high. As she looked on at the silhouette that straddled between darkness and light, she couldn't help but think back on what she had endured in Kargereich. There had been no one to guide her. She could only raise the candle in her hand by herself and attempt to find something in that darkness. She walked past countless herselves, each with a candlelight that lit, only to go out. In the end, all that was left was— The administrator reached the breaker box, and he signaled to her that she may now put her candle away. Thus, she waved her hand. The flames on the candle holder and her sword all extinguished at once, and a darkness befell the space around them. Emptiness, hollowness, and the freezing cold. These were once the things she was most afraid of. But she had gotten through all of them. The ice-cold darkness of her childhood was unable to defeat her, nor the hollow darkness of Kargereich after she had grown up. Is it because she is the light that illuminates the dark, or is it because she is the darkness itself? The lights of the library slowly lit up, and everything returned to normal. Viviana returned to her table, picked up her book, and continued reading.

Archive IV

In that dream of Kargereich, Viviana saw her younger self. She saw her many mistakes and regrets. Many past events have faded as time went on, and can never again be recovered, but there are a few insignificant bits and pieces that can still be retrieved from the corners of her memory. There are still certain childish parts to her adult self. In the past, because of her constraints and to stay out of the reporters' sight, she could only keep those urges hidden deep in her heart, but now... 'Um... Er...' Nearl the Radiant Knight did not have the words to express everything going through her mind when she saw the dream-like palace built of a variety of dolls in the corner of the dormitory. On the other hand, the master of the palace welcomed her dumbfounded guest with a smile that embodied her satisfaction and joy. It was no surprise that the knight was so flabbergasted. In that realm, there was a green patch of grass and a lake painted onto the carpet. The half-open cabinets in the corner of the wall formed a mountain range and a castle. There was a warm, gentle glow emanating from the light hanging above, with everything surrounded on all sides by dust covers. Wild, woolen beasts of all kinds fed on the ground, paying no heed to the humans toiling nearby. The tin sentinels held their long spears tight in their hands. The silver princess ran barefoot in the field of grass. The knight was about to say something, only for the master of this tiny realm to press a button and the castle in the cabinet began to change shape, revealing even more eccentric scenes: the Gesatzswächter trimming vines with a pair of shears in his hands, the blindfolded lady playing a foreign instrument with ease, the poet embracing his wife and lounging on a chair, and a finely-crafted model of what appeared to be a sword or a spear laid sound asleep in the wool by their feet... Still unable to recover from her shock, the knight thought carefully about the pile of dolls. Especially the woolen one with the Nearl family crest in the corner. Aside from giving her old friend an embarrassed smile, the knight could not think of what else to do... This sudden, minor farce did not last for long. After a simple round of teasing, the knight obtained the records she had wanted from her friend: inside were the complete sequence of events Viviana had compiled from her recollections. With all the matters she had to attend to dealt with, the two's meeting aboard Rhodes Island came to a close for the time being. Before she departed though, Margaret suddenly had a question. She had seen herself among the puppets, yet their master herself was nowhere to be seen among them. The master did not give her an answer. She simply smiled and flipped another switch. The 'sun' slowly turned and revealed the secret hidden inside— A young 'Master' slept curled up within, but her two antlers were already interwoven with light, illuminating the entire room.

Search

Viviana

Archive I

Promotion record

Outfits

Operators

Archive II

Archive III

Archive IV