Procession of Kings

In short, we got two things.

One, for some unknown reason, we were dragged into the Originium along with the airship—not that anybody knows how tiny little rocks can have this huge place inside of them.

Two, we're not dead, and we don't know how we're still alive inside this... 'universe' in the Originium, right?

...A reasonably accurate summation of the matter.

...

Eh? No reaction, not even a raised eyebrow?

W!

Did you just... throw a bomb into the sea?

What else would I throw?

I had to test the waters somehow. That bomb's as good as my hand, right?

The old hag said that we got stuck inside the Originium. Maybe I could have oh-so-conveniently blown a hole—

Look out!

—What the hell just happened?!

It was like... there was something pulling on me.

The yellow stuff down there is liquid Originium, right? What else could the bomb have blown up?

It would not have ignited. There is no energy present to fuel a reaction.

I cannot sense any Originium within this Originium sea.

...Perhaps I should phrase it differently. As all Originium outside this realm exists in a combination with other matter, so too must it abide by the laws of the external 'universe'.

But here, those laws are dictated by the Originium itself.

You're not making any more sense than the old hag.

We have entered a place that operates on its own grammar.

I can sense the... language contained within this ocean of Originium. Vast, boundless, without limit. As of yet, I have been unable to thoroughly analyze it.

Stop, Logos.

Do not attempt to comprehend this 'language' for now. We should not... disturb it.

Although it is highly likely that we are already within danger's sights, the fact that this ship is permitted to exist is proof enough that we are safe, at least for now.

This Rhodes Island exists because of you, Doctor.

We should have been assimilated by the Originium and become part of the ocean. Thanks to you, we were not.

You have changed... No, redefined a portion of the law.

Under circumstances that you yourself could not perceive, you have used this 'language'.

Hah, who would have thought you had that sort of thing in you? Don't tell me that those weird dioramas on the ship were all your dream or something?

Those 'heart-warming' illusions were... disgusting.

...Hmph.

The real question is, now that we've barged into the Originium, how do we get out?

Can this haunted ship take us somewhere?

The ocean's surface seems static. Everything does, really.

It's too quiet. I can't feel anything. Flowing emotions, rich memories... It's all faded away.

Dr. Kal'tsit, this is inside Originium, right? I don't understand. It's already devoured so much...

Cities destroyed by Catastrophe, people died of Oripathy... Shouldn't traces of all those lives be here in this sea?

Why is there nothing here?

...

Because this is the end.

Everything sealed away by the Originium is trapped in this unchanging, undying end.

Oh, how wonderful! A 'good' place where even the dead can't die. Not even the Laterans could think up of something so heavenly.

No wonder that there's no Sarkaz aboard the ship. How could a sweet, blissful place like this have devils like us?

No Sarkaz?

You might be right. Other than you and Logos, I haven't seen a single Sarkaz since we arrived.

The Sarkaz... They are closely connected with Originium, but where are they?

...

'SIGHT'.

—

—!

Those shadows are Sarkaz! They're—

—Marching.

The war eternal continues, no matter if it is on the battlefield outside, or in here. No matter if they are dead or alive.

War.

The Sarkaz's war against everything, persisting through millennia, never ends.

This is where the myriad souls of the Sarkaz return.

Rhodes Island is straight ahead! Hang on!

(Panting heavily)

I—

Shining? What's wrong?!

...The door has been opened.

The distance between life and death is closer than ever now.

It is something that all Sarkaz can hear.

...

I can hear it...

Did the Feranmut speak to you again? What did it say?

No... It's something else...

...I can hear all of history's wars, happening at once.

Look, Vina! Is it just me, or did that big red thing above Londinium get even bigger?!

...

Not just bigger, the red's darkened now.

It's like the entire sky's turning into Originium...

Storm's not calming down, either.

The Sighs of Kings can't cover a range that wide. The Sarkaz will destroy the entire city, and far, far more besides.

Amiya...

You must make it in time.

The myriad souls bar our way.

Here, in this place where everything is stilled by Originium, only they continue to fight.

How interesting. Looks like a bunch of long-dead Sarkaz heroes are still fighting their asses off. I guess this is what they meant by 'a living hell'.

But why are they blocking us off...?

...

Hey, that thing in front of us, the 'tree' root, don't you guys think it looks like a tower?

...Babel.

The airship's goal was here all along.

She must be on top of the tower, guiding the myriad souls!

Indeed. She is waiting for us.

That tower is our only beacon in this featureless ocean.

All the answers we seek are where we started.

We will climb Babel and face her.

And then...

Amiya.

Yes?

I'd say I'm pretty clear-headed right now.

Making it all the way here... There's no way that I haven't figured out what I want to do.

There's still lots of people on the outside fighting their asses off. If we weren't so quick on the draw, I think we'd be seeing a few more familiar faces here among the dead heroes.

Hey, old hag, bring your little monster out to help us!

It's gonna be pretty rough, the way we're headed.

I... cannot do that. Mon3tr is unable to appear here, and I do not wish to arouse any unnecessary attention.

—?!

Grrr, another one of those reasons that you don't want to talk about?

Doctor, I am severely limited by the environment here, but it should have no influence on you.

I will need you to move the ship.

You need not worry.

The heading of this Rhodes Island does not depend on your skill at the helm, nor on any machine or energy generator.

We are within Originium.

You will have noticed by now that you hold special significance to Originium. The reverse is very much the same. It is equally as irreplaceable to you.

My silence has many reasons.

Frankly speaking, I still have reservations on whether or not I should be helping you retrieve this knowledge.

Hate, torment, anger. I cannot deny it.

At the time, I did not only lose Theresa.

I also lost someone that I once hoped I could trust.

I was very disappointed... in myself.

I was not completely aware of your 'changes'. Or rather, my preparations were insufficient to reverse the outcome.

We were able to glimpse the first rays of light of our goal, but Theresa's sudden departure extinguished the flame.

Once more we are plunged into deepest night. If we do not make the right choices this time, the darkness will be eternal.

...No. I should trust you.

I did worry that if I allowed you to regain your memories regarding Originium... it might bring about unforeseeable changes.

But over and over, you showed proof to me, to Amiya, to everyone, that my worries were unfounded.

The only thing I can say for certain is that we walk the same path. From Chernobog to Londinium, your experiences and your emotions have shaped who you are today.

And now—

You protected us, saved us from being devoured by the Originium and turned into complex flows of information.

You made Rhodes Island appear, and have afforded us the opportunity to continue on in this stillness.

Doctor, show us the way out, and find the right path for yourself.

The direction that our future takes, where Rhodes Island heads next... It is all up to you now.

Why's the sea so choppy all of a sudden?

The myriad souls are affecting the surrounding environment.

The Assimilated Universe... is no longer stable.

The myriad souls are angered.

They... They're all looking this way.

Sure, let them gawk.

They can watch me step on their heads! Gonna run right over them!

W!

Haha! I knew it!

That thing isn't part of the Originium sea! I can blow it open!

I never thought—I would get to open up—

BABEL!

Let's go! Quickly!

...

The myriad souls...

Go on ahead, Amiya.

Go and see Her Highness. Obtain the answers you seek, and overcome them.

Logos...?

I also miss Her Highness.

But we have long since bid farewell to her.

When Babel still yet roamed the earth, the first circle of our fellows vowed to dedicate our lives in service of our ideals. Her Highness and I were no exception.

As for the voices of the myriad souls... I will respond.

I have been waiting for this moment, ever since I sang my first elegy.

There are no roads that we have not walked, no hardships we have not shouldered.

You have not the strength to match us.

You have not the fearlessness to match us.