The Twining Threads

Year: 984 - 05

Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Episode 5 - Episode 6 - Episode 7 - Episode 8 - Episode 9 - Episode 10 - Episode 11 - Episode 12 - Episode 13 - Episode 14 - Episode 15 - Episode 16 - Episode 17

Episode: 1
Location: LCE Morgue
A funeral was held for Marton and the LCE researchers today.
I thought I'd seen more than my fair share of deaths throughout my journey with the Sinners...
... but never before had I witnessed this many people gather in one place to mourn the deceased together. The unfamiliarity made me feel a bit out of place.
Sinclair	... Am I doing this right?
Most of the Sinners seemed to be feeling that similar sense of being out of their element as well.
Some of them were asking Meursault—apparently the most knowledgeable of them all when it came to funeral process and etiquette—all manner of questions for pointers.
Meursault	Expressing respect is the primary purpose. Hand placement and gesture are unimportant if that objective can be accomplished.
Rodion	Hey, where do I put this?
Meursault	Mm. Beneath the third pillar to the right...
Outis	Can't any of you quit chattering for one second? Have you all forgotten the instruction to carry yourselves with solemn propriety that befits the occasion?
Rodion	Cut me some slack. I haven't been to funerals all that much.
Ishmael	I mean, I did tell you to read the manual. I even underlined all the important parts for you...
Rodion	*groan* Sorry, Ishy. The wall of text was just too much for me. My focus started fizzling out from page 30 onwards...
Outis	Hadn't every Sinner here attended a funeral before... back when we set foot in that grim manor in T Corp.?
Don Quixote	Ah! Thou speakest of the funeral held in Young Heathcliff’s manor, dost thou not? The one bereft of the dead.
Ishmael	Bereft of the dead? I mean, someone had to have died, because there wouldn't have been a property dispute big enough to involve the Öufi Association's notarization otherwise... I've said this time and again, but it was just an intentional anonymity to prevent family strife.
Don Quixote	Intentional anonymity, is it...
Don Quixote	If the situation was indeed as thou sayest, then there was no helping it, forsooth... Yet, 'tis a pity that the dead wasn't named at their own funeral...
Heathcliff	... The name of the deceased... was...
Dante	<... It was Catherine's funeral. She was very dear to Heathcliff.>
Meursault	I have thoroughly reviewed the past 5 years' worth of local newspapers pertaining to the matter, yet no such name relevant to the case was identified, Manager.
Heathcliff	.......
Heathcliff	It's fine, Clockhead. At least you remember—that's good enough, innit.
It had to be the Golden Bough's influence. Somewhere along the way, everyone's memories of the event at Wuthering Heights had become warped.
The Sinners seemed to think that the Golden Bough had always been there in that manor, and that Nelly was coaxed into stealing it by Hermann. Linton, in their minds, was now a grieving brother who had been conducting research for his dead sister's sake...
Nobody questioned it. Not Don Quixote, not Faust—every single Sinner believed the twisted version of the memory as if it was a proven fact.
Heathcliff and I gave up trying to correct them. Instead, we'd just check in on each other's memories every now and then.
Because if there's something that he and I realized, it was that anything tied to Catherine had already been painted over... every detail gilded and glossed over with the glow of the Bough.
Ishmael	The point is, how should I put this... The circumstances of that funeral didn't exactly leave us much room to properly express our condolences back then.
Ishmael	Between Heathcliff running on a rampage and that Hindley guy bent on interfering with the execution of the will... *sigh*
Dante	<I assumed that sort of impediment was pretty common stuff for funerals, but apparently not, huh?>
Ishmael	No, well... I think it's actually rare to see a place that follows proper funeral procedures. I've traveled around quite a bit myself, but I can't confidently say that I've ever been to a legitimate "funeral."
Ishmael	The one at Wuthering Heights was one of the more proper funerals, if only for pretending to have a process. They at least prepared a coffin and even had a formal reading of the will.
... It seems funerals are far from being an everyday custom in the City.
Hohenheim	Funerals are considered a rather extravagant practice here as well.
Hohenheim	Corporations are not eager to grant time-offs just because an irrelevant someone has died, and the price of real estate seldom makes it viable to buy land and erect memorial houses on it.
Dante	<Then... what other options do people usually have?>
Rodion	We used to just... leave them where they died. And after one night's sleep... the bodies were gone, just like that.
Heathcliff	Better than paying loads of money to bury 'em somewhere just to have that stir up a load of daft rumours, eh?
Dante	<Rumors?>
Heathcliff	You know—rumours about there bein' valuables buried with the bodies, or an arm being some fancy prosthesis... all that rot.
Heathcliff	Better to let the dead go in peace than to bury them in a grave just for some sods to later desecrate it.
Hong Lu	In Hongyuan... People tend to set up graves if they have enough room to spare. Of course, there wasn't a guarantee they wouldn't lose the burial room by the next Restructuring Day.
Hohenheim scoffed and hung his head.
Hohenheim	Otiose foolishness, all of it.
Hohenheim	Comforting the soul of the departed? Another mendacity.
Hohenheim	All those funds so carelessly squandered, all for the purpose of furnishing the living with a fragile excuse to cling on.
Are those words from his heart, or just something said to convince himself?
Whichever was the truth, I couldn't see the look on his face with his head tucked so low.
The funeral didn't last long.
It was just a brief moment of silence, followed by a few quick goodbyes that were shorter still.
The ceremony came to a close once Alyssa, who was still in recovery, came to pay her final respects.
The flames devoured the coffins of Marton and the other researchers, announcing the end of their existence with the crackle of firewood.
Alyssa	So... I suppose you'll be leaving now?
Dante	<Oh.>
Dante	<... We're staying until Gregor's stable enough to travel.>
Hong Lu	Dante says we'll remain here until Gregor's condition settles.
Alyssa	Ah...
Gregor came to his senses again a few days after his unforeseen metamorphosis in the battle against the Thumb Nursefather.
He was given a check-up, and Hohenheim said there is no cause for concern...
... Physically, that is. The psychological assessment turned up disastrous, to say the least. Gregor was declared unfit for combat deployment for the time being.
Alyssa	So you won't be leaving just yet. Good to know.
Alyssa	Then I assume you'll be okay with us borrowing Sinclair for a while?
Dante	<Hmm?>
Sinclair	M-me...?
Alyssa	Yes, you. The LCE wants to look into the Sign you manifested, Sinclair.
Alyssa	The higher-ups didn't waste a second green-lighting the project. Which means what I'm telling you is more a notice of investigation than a request for permission...
Sinclair	Huh...? W-what investigation? What are you—
Hohenheim	It's just a rather rudimentary instance of human experimentation. Calm yourself.
Sinclair	Human experimentation?!
Alyssa	Did you really have to put it like that, Boss...? Not to worry, Sinclair. A swipe or two on your skin and maybe some talk therapy—that's all there is to it.
Alyssa	Of course, if we had your consent, the avenues of research could be vastly—
Sinclair	No, I'm not giving you my consent!
Hohenheim	For your reference, the other departments have also submitted some quite enthusiastic requests for research and observational purposes.
Alyssa	Oh, you have no idea. We had to get Boss to fend off the LCA's Mirror World Observatorium Department and their hissy fits. They wanted to be the first ones to get their hands on you and spearhead the research, you see. Haha...
Alyssa	And had we allowed them, they'd have kept you for a good few months before letting you go. So the least you could do to thank us is be a good boy and cooperate—Ah! Just in time. Our researchers are here.
Alyssa waved at the researchers who were filing out of the funeral hall after paying their respects. It wasn't long before Sinclair found himself surrounded on all sides.
Sinclair	W-wait! I'm... I'm perfectly capable of walking there on my own, so just... just don't run any painful tests on me...!
Alyssa	Of course, of course.
Dante	<Stay strong, Sinclair...>
All I could do was to offer an unspoken encouragement to Sinclair, who sounded ready to collapse into full-blown panic any minute.
Heathcliff	What about you? You not goin' with them?
Alyssa	Oh, it's back to the long-term recovery ward for me.
Alyssa	I always thought scientific research was the one thing that flamed my passion, but with the recent events having introduced me to the merits of paid sick leave... I realized that time off beats research projects in my book. Marginally.
Hohenheim	Enjoy it while it lasts. I highly suspect that every request for PTO submitted by our department will be rejected for the rest of the year.
Ishmael	Well, it's true your average corporation doesn't give more than a week off a year.
As soon as Alyssa trudged off with her dragging steps, the researchers seized Sinclair and whisked—carried, really—him away.
Ishmael	All right... we should get going too.
Dante	<Oh, do you all have somewhere else to be?>
Hong Lu	Well~ I thought I'd go visit Gregor. I'm worried about him.
Heathcliff	Got something I said I'd help with—gotta be there for it.
Ishmael	I'm going with Sinclair to get some rest. Also to keep an eye on the researchers and stop them if they try anything fishy with the experiments.
Ishmael	Let me know later if you need anything, Dante.
The Sinners fanned out in different directions. They seemed to have their own errands to run during our stay at the LCE.
Dante	<Everyone's busy with their own thing...>
Ryoshu	*puff*
The only ones keeping me company now were Ryōshū, who'd been filling the air around thick with cigarette smoke, and Don Quixote, who was sniffing and asking around at every corner for Vespa in a valiant quest for the new Color Fixer's whereabouts.
Faust was still here, too—staring blankly into the air.
Is she accessing the Gesellschaft?
Hohenheim	You seem to have some time to spare, Manager.
As I stood there, wondering what I should do next to pass the time, Hohenheim, who had apparently finished tackling and signing the stack of papers, walked over to me.
Hohenheim	This makes things rather convenient. There is something I had intended to discuss with you and Sinner Ryōshū—a matter that requires your assistance.
Dante	<What kind of assistance?>
Ryoshu	W.K.O.A.? says C.H.
Wait a minute... Did Ryōshū just... step in as my interpreter?
It's not that I don't appreciate her gesture—especially since she'd usually snap at me and tell me to find someone else to interpret whenever the issue came up...
But... I can't help but doubt whether her choice method of interpretation actually accomplishes anything.
Hohenheim	... There is, I must admit, a certain novelty in witnessing the reconstitution of that which requires interpretation into yet another linguistic form equally demanding of it.
Hohenheim	It would seem we are in need of more manpower.
Scratching his head, Hohenheim looked around for a moment before coming to a sudden pause as though an idea had crossed his mind. At the end of his gaze was a certain someone who was busy badgering LCCA employees with her relentless questioning.
Don Quixote	Who else, pray, might know where he is if thou knowest not?! Now listen closely! The one I seek is a bearer of hair fashioned in the likeness of a bowl...
Hohenheim	You there. Why don't you join us too?
Don Quixote	Hmm? Eh... Dost thou speak of me?
The LCCA personnel, who were cornered by Don Quixote and her rather forceful interrogation regarding Vespa's whereabouts, took the opportunity and fled the scene without so much as a backward glance the moment their captor turned her head to answer Hohenheim.
Hohenheim	Indeed. There is a task that requires your assistance.
Don Quixote	B-but I have yet more words to trade with the most noble Yellow Harpoon...
Hohenheim	You seek to emulate the virtue of chivalry. Does that entail turning down the earnest plea of those in need?
Don Quixote	Aah...! I... I...
Hohenheim	Hmm... For the sake of clarity and distinction, it would be prudent to assign you a different identifier from that of my assistant. You are to be "Number 2"—that is, Assistant no. 2.
Don Quixote	... I have not yet concluded mine exchange with the Yellow Harpoon, but no true knight would abandon those who call for aid! Pray, speak thy quest! How may I be of service to thee?
Hohenheim	Delegating the interpretation of the Manager's speech to Sinner #4 has proven to be counterproductive. As such, your task will be to report to me what the Manager says.
Don Quixote	Oho! That is indeed a simple task!
Don Quixote	However, this "W.K.O.A." eludeth mine understanding as well! Prithee, allow me but a liiittle time to uncover its mystery!
Hohenheim	... Relay the Manager's words, not Sinner Ryōshū's.
Faust	.......
Faust	They are asking you what kind of assistance you need.
Hohenheim	The request for interpretation was not directed to you, but I cannot deny that your meddling, in the present circumstance, is a welcome one.
Faust	It was simply that the irrationality and inefficiency of your suboptimal staffing choice and workflow have become sufficiently unbearable.
Faust	Faust hopes this was not some guileful scheme devised to elicit Faust's cooperation.
Hohenheim	... Hah. In any case, Manager, this request of mine concerns an investigation into the "Backdoors" located in the House of Spiders.
Hohenheim	I deemed that the two of you should be the ones most familiar with the structure and layout of the House. After all, you were the one monitoring the entirety of the five-pronged assault operation, and Sinner #4's familiarity does not bear repeating.
Dante	<Do we go to the House of Spiders right away?>
Ryoshu	H.O.S.R.A.?
Hohenheim	... You have assisted enough.
Hohenheim	Perhaps you could... help, Faust.
Faust	... Sure.
Although not word-for-word, Faust relayed my intention to Hohenheim, who responded by shaking his head.
Hohenheim	Not immediately, no. There is one more member you should bring along.
Dante	<One more member?>
Seeing me tilting my head, Hohenheim pushed up his glasses.
Hohenheim	The Apprentice who was captured alive in the House of Spiders...
Hohenheim	Kira. She has regained consciousness.

Episode: 2
Location: LCE Recovery Ward
The place Hohenheim led us to looked less like a recovery ward and more like an interrogation chamber...
Though every single medical equipment installed around seemed to be state-of-the-art.
Dante	<This place looks well-equipped.>
Faust	Probably a direct order from upper management.
Faust	Although technologies to restore lost body parts are common enough in the City, a facility of this kind is required to preserve the original form of her lower body in the reconstruction process while keeping the cost reasonable.
Dante	<"Reasonable," huh. Do I want to ask how expensive the other options are if this counts as "reasonable"?>
A windowless room thick with the sharp scent of medicine and chemicals.
Kira was sitting on the bed at the center of the room, kicking her feet as she regarded us.
For someone recovering from bisection, she didn't look much different from how she'd appeared when I'd seen her through the Sinners' shared vision.
Kira	.......
Faust	She was captured alive for the extraction of information, yes? How far along is the progress of the extraction?
Hohenheim	Ah. It hasn't yet begun, actually. We are waiting until the lines of information that warrant questioning can be isolated.
Hohenheim	So far, all available personnel have been fully engaged in analyzing the documents and items discovered in the House of Spiders.
Kira	Then whatcha even doing here?
Hohenheim	There is work to be done contingent upon information obtainable only from a recent inhabitant of the House of Spiders,
Hohenheim	and following a discussion with the upper management, I have decided to put you to use as the company had originally intended.
Kira	No TV, no comic books... Just a super-prickly glare and a cold shoulder whenever I ask for something to pass the time.
Kira	And now you suddenly need my help, huh? Gimme one reason I should cooperate.
Hohenheim didn't so much as twitch an eyebrow at Kira's biting tone. He merely gave her a nod with a steely, imperturbable expression.
Hohenheim	I didn't ask for your help. "Put you to use," I believe, is what I said.
Kira	Wha...?
Hohenheim	Your survival is not incidental—it is the result of a calculation. The company anticipates a potential profit by keeping you alive. "Expected gain," as the term goes.
Hohenheim	Without such a forecast on the company's part, you would have already been disposed of. The upper management consists of people who would be disinclined to tolerate the daily maintenance and depreciation costs of this room, even at half their current numbers.
Hohenheim	Which brings us to our next point: Should you insist on maintaining this uncooperative attitude, the company may decide to convene a meeting to reassess your worth, or shall we say, lack thereof, in its projected income statement.
Hohenheim	Well... suffice to say that such a reassessment would skew heavily against your favor. The outcome would be a recommendation for immediate disposal.
Hohenheim always had a way with words that could prickle and sting,
but with Kira, it almost felt as if he'd traded the usual thorn off for a sharper knife, intent on twisting it right where it hurt.
Kira	... I'm dead meat as soon as my usefulness runs out, anyway.
Kira	It's not like you're gonna let me live, not after I killed a bazillion of your guys.
Hohenheim	.......
Hohenheim	Ah, so you anticipated some form of a corporate-level retaliatory response against your person. That is indeed a curious line of reasoning.
Hohenheim	Then I must tell you that, unlike your typical Backstreet Syndicate such as the Middle, corporate entities of the City tend to avoid choices that may incur losses.
Faust	The value of the information that could be extracted from an Apprentice of the Middle, and the combat prowess honed under the tutelage of a Great Brother of the Middle—these two considerations are likely what increased your value in the eyes of the company.
Kira	Hah! Y'all got zero self-respect, huh?
Hohenheim	... You should consider yourself fortunate.
Kira	... Huh? The heck are ya on about?
Hohenheim	Other companies would not solicit your cooperation by means of a verbal exchange. Your interrogator would simply open your cranium, harvest your brain, and extract any and all necessary information without going through intermediary steps such as this.
Hohenheim	Even without resorting to such methods, the range of available means to compel the disclosure of information is practically limitless—truth serums, hypnotic suggestions, electrical shocks and stimulations, and of course, procedures utilizing Distortions and Abnormalities.
Hohenheim	That being said... the LCE Department prefers to distance itself from such uncivilized approaches that may entail complications and aftereffects.
Kira	.......
Hohenheim	I do hope that we share a similar predilection.
Kira	You're so frickin' annoying, you know that, Mister?
Hohenheim	... The feeling is entirely mutual.
Leaving the biting chill of his threats to sink in, Hohenheim turned toward the exit.
Hohenheim	... Give her some push and bring her along.
Hohenheim	I don't quite seem to be myself today... No, disregard that. That too was a rather foolish thing to say.
Hohenheim	I will defer this matter to you, Manager. Work of this sort likely falls more within your capabilities than my own.
And with that, Hohenheim stepped out of the room, leaving me to deal with Kira.
His reaction was understandable. The LCE had only just finished laying its dead researchers to rest. Kira was probably the last person anyone would want to face right now, much less speak to.
Dante	<What should I even say to persuade her?>
Ryoshu	*puff*
I was still caught in thought when someone, quite unexpectedly, made her way to Kira.
Kira	Yoshihide...?
Ryoshu	You. Heard you got stabbed in the back by Matthias.
Kira	.......
Kira	That's... not true.
Kira	... Papa wasn't landing a fatal blow unless he cut through me too. That's why he did exactly that... to aim for the enemy's head.
Kira	Besides... he made the right choice. A little sacrifice ain't a thing in a family.
Ryoshu	Hah. "Family," coming from him—a Middle mutt thrown out of his kennel.
Ryoshu	Doesn't it sound ridiculous even to you?
Kira	That's...
Dante	<Thrown out?>
Ryoshu	That fucker Matthias... was a G.B. only by technicality.
Ryoshu	He fucked up badly. He was still family by name, but underneath it, everyone hoped he'd disappear quietly on his own. He was that family member nobody wanted around.
Ryoshu	Same treatment for me, being his brat. Not surprising it's the S.T. for the bowl-cut too.
Don Quixote	Same... Tastes...? Hoh! Young Ryōshū, could it be that thou also dost harbor a passionate zeal for Fix—mmph!
I quickly clapped a hand over Don Quixote's mouth as she smoothly chimed into the conversation.
Kira	... So what exactly is your point?
Ryoshu	The point is you're taking too long. If you can't decide whether you want to live or die, I can shorten the hesitation.
Ryoshu	C.Q., or I'll S.Y.N.C. right this instant.
Kira	Uh... What does that mean?
Ryoshu	Cooperate quietly, or I'll snap your neck completely right this instant.
Ryoshu	S.Y.N.C. isn't such a bad way to go if you're keen on taking that loyalty act straight to the grave.
Kira	... Hah. This is so crappy.
Kira	Whatever. I get it, okay? I'll talk if that's what you want so bad.
Dante	<... That actually worked?>
Kira	... Fixers who go out in a blaze of glory aren't actually the strong ones.
Kira	It's the ones who survive... the ones who live to see another day and keep getting stronger.
Kira	Anyway, Yoshihide... what's up with you talking in weird-ass abbreviations?
Ryoshu	.......
Kira	Like, "S.Y.N.C."? That's so random. Who even says that...?
Ryōshū didn't bother to reply and simply chewed on the mouth end of her cigarette.
Dante	<But is this really the right call? To her, we're probably people she needs to settle the score with.>
Ryoshu	As if.
Ryoshu	Half her tattoos are gone, Clock. They even confiscated her Book. You think the Middle's sorry excuse for "loyalty" means so much for this stray that she'd bite us?
Ryoshu	Besides... *puff* no, better hear it from her instead.
Ryoshu	Hey. Tell me why Matthias kicked the bucket.
Kira	That's 'cuz...
Kira	Well, 'cuz papa was weaker than y'all.
Dante	<.......>
Ryoshu	Hah.
Ryoshu	Yeah, you're the jerk's brat all right.
Kira pushed herself up from the bed with a sour face, but at least she didn't argue back...
... and we called Hohenheim, who'd been waiting outside, back in.
Hohenheim	I assume the prisoner was successfully persuaded.
Hohenheim	Come. You will find your weapon on the table—you may use it in the event of an emergency.
Kira	... What the hell? I can't even unsheathe it!
Hohenheim	Ah. You won't be able to use it without authorization. The code has been slightly adjusted.
Kira	.......
Hohenheim	Now then, let us head to the House of Spiders at once. The Backdoor is up and waiting for us.
We made our way to the House of Spiders, with Kira trailing behind us, looking like she was smelling something particularly fishy on us.

Episode: 3
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather
Only a few days had passed since our last visit, but the place looked markedly different from what we remembered.
The sight of the hollow, frigid atmosphere and the endless stretch of Corridors hadn't changed,
but Callisto's so-called "artworks" were now covered in white sheets, and unfamiliar devices were affixed all around the Backdoors.
Don Quixote	Prithee, who might those people thither be?
???	.......
Ryoshu	Looks like some shady bastards moved in already.
Our guarded reaction prompted Hohenheim to step forward and gesture to one of the oddly-dressed figures.
Hohenheim	It seems introductions are in order for both sides.
Hohenheim	... This is Team Leader Alan from Wayfarer Company, who will be working with us on the investigation into the House's Backdoors.
Dante	<Wayfarer Company?>
Faust	A corporate entity partnered with Limbus Company, responsible for providing portal technology. It has, on prior occasion, been referred to as the "new" or "aspirant" W Corp.—though the name is an unofficial one.
Alan	Our employees also have taken to calling you the "new L Corp." Something we have in common, given that we're both chasing after the same horizon.
Dante	<Ah...! I remember. That company vying to take W Corp.'s place, right?>
"The same horizon." He's probably talking about getting recognized as a Wing.
After all, the old L Corp. has already fallen, while W Corp., from what I've heard... is free-falling at this point.
Hohenheim	And these are the Manager and the Sinners of the LCB Department, our field operations unit. Frequently deployed to deal with on-site matters firsthand.
Hohenheim	They have more personnel, but the rest are tied up with other duties elsewhere. Only a handful will be joining this investigation effort.
Alan	I understand. Field operations units are almost always understaffed, anyway. The support you've provided is more than sufficient.
Alan gave an understanding nod. The man slipped off his bulky helmet before extending his hand in greeting.
Alan	Pleased to make your acquaintance. The name's Alan, Leader of Doorbreach Team 4.
Dante	<L-likewise...>
Before Faust could even relay my reciprocal greeting, words spilled out of Alan's mouth in a strangely uneven rhythm—as if my ticking didn't bother him at all. Like he was sticking to a script he had rehearsed.
Alan	I've heard great things about you, Manager Dante of Limbus Company, and the Bus Team's performance.
Alan	You capitalized on the suppression of Distortions at T Corp. as leverage to push your products... and the profits were nothing short of staggering, I heard...
Dante	<Oh yeah, we're supposed to be Distortion-resolving specialists to the public... But what's that "product" part about?>
Faust	... The Manager says it was merely a matter of luck. They also look forward to working with you on this task.
Alan	Oh, are you the interpreter? In that case, I'll be sure to consult the manager only when both of you are available.
Faust	... Sure.
Faust didn't seem particularly pleased with the role Alan had pinned on her, but she nodded anyway.
She quietly came to my side and answered my earlier question while Alan carried on with Hohenheim.
Faust	He is referring to the Monolith sales project. The credit was attributed to the LCB, at the express request of Mister Hubert, T Corp.'s Executive Director.
Dante	<Oh... So that's how the rumor spread, huh.>
Alan	We've reviewed the agreements. Now, I understand you'll be assisting in verifying what lies beyond the Backdoors.
Alan	I'd appreciate it if you could share any prior knowledge you have about where these Backdoors connect—as detailed as you can make them, if you don't mind.
Hohenheim fixed Kira with a pointed look.
Though Kira responded by defiantly cocking her head in a show of irritation, she still gave up a sliver of the information she had.
Kira	Honestly, I've got pretty much nothing if it's about robo-unc and his room.
Kira	I mean, I've seen Albina hit up that door and the other one over there when she was popping out to farm stuff, but...
Alan	"Farm"...?
Kira	Oh, it's, uh... gathering material.
Alan	I see. What kind of material?
Kira	Human guts and all that. She'd come back hauling piles of 'em.
Kira	So they're prolly connected to some Backstreets area.
Alan	The Backstreets... Hmm. Any more details?
Kira	Can you stop prying? You're lowkey pissin' me off.
Alan	.......
Kira	What? That's literally all I've got, for real.
For a moment, Alan leveled Kira with a stiff expression...
... and even before I could register what had happened, Kira's head jerked to the side from a sudden punch by Alan.
Kira	Ungh!
I thought Kira was nimble enough to dodge a surprise attack easily, but this one seemed to have caught her completely off guard. She stood there blinking, eyes round in rude surprise.
Actually, it wasn't that he caught her off guard; it was the motion of the punch itself that somehow felt off. The fist being raised, the arm being extended, the blow making contact... the chain of actions was there, but it just didn't look... normal.
Kira	D-did you just hit me...?
Kira	What the hell's wrong with—
As Kira reeled from the unexpected strike,
Don Quixote spoke up in a cold, sharp tone.
Don Quixote	... Thou. What manner of discourtesy is this?
Alan	... Ah.
Alan	With all that whining, I thought the brat could use a lesson to remind her of her place.
Alan	I had no intention of damaging your company asset, of course. I simply assumed the level of warning would not be inappropriate in this case.
Hohenheim	.......
Hohenheim	Team Leader Alan.
Hohenheim	That sort of conduct may not be an issue in your organization, but it is here.
Hohenheim	Should it happen again...
Hohenheim	Do understand that we may choose to terminate today's joint engagement without delay.
Alan	My apologies. I will keep that in mind going forward.
Alan stood down without arguing back, but Kira looked far from satisfied with how Hohenheim handled the situation.
Kira	He gets to sock me in the face and walk off scot free?
Kira	So frickin' annoying...
Fortunately enough, her grumbling didn't escalate into her lashing out at Alan.
Dante	<That punch just now, though... What was that?>
Faust	... It exhibited a behavior that defied the standard laws of physics.
Faust	Presumably a form of technology utilized by Wayfarer Company.
Hohenheim	... Let us resume the task at hand.
Hohenheim	Sinner Ryōshū. Give Manager Alan whatever information you have.
Ryoshu	*puff*
Ryoshu	That door... should lead to one of the Ring-protected turfs.
Ryoshu	The other two on the left... I remember they were marked with an X painted with blood...
Ryoshu	... but I H.N.I. where they actually lead. It's all blurry. Tsk.
Hohenheim	It seems that's all the information we can provide. Will that suffice?
Alan	We now know that the doors likely connect to a perceivable area. That's already a big improvement in terms of intel for Wayfarer Company's Backdoor mapping progress.
Alan	Which means there's less chance of us encountering a space beyond human perception past those doors.
Alan	All right, then... I'll proceed with connection verification. Which door shall we test first?
Hohenheim	.......
Hohenheim	We'll start with the one Sinner Ryōshū mentioned.
Kira	Hah! Ya don't trust me at all, huh?
Kira	Then why even bring me along?
Ignoring Kira's jab, Alan began setting up various devices on the door, and soon, an elegant white door opened before us.
Hohenheim	Shall we?
Don Quixote	Art thou joining us as well, Young Hohenheim?
Hohenheim	Just this once. There are procedures for handing over field operations.
Dante	<Okay. Let's see what's in there.>
Location: ???
Dante	.......
Dante	<What the... Is this some kind of wildlife exhibit...?>
The moment we stepped in, the lights hit us all at once, drawing squints and frowns from the Sinners. Thanks to my lack of physical eyes, I could make out a room filled with statues or, perhaps, taxidermied animals.
It felt like a gallery of sorts... but it was so quiet that the air itself seemed to carry a strange, somber weight.
After a moment, someone shattered the silence—but it wasn't Don Quixote, our usual suspect.
Kira	Holy shit... The scale is just insane! Th-that's the Whale from "Eight Association: Great Lake" special issue!
Kira, who'd seemed beaten-down all along, exclaimed with a bit more energy in her voice.
Kira	Man, seeing it in real life sure hits different... And the Indigo Elder solo one-shots these monsters with that harpoon of his, huh?
Dante	<... It's a Great Lake Whale. Doesn't look like the one we've encountered, though.>
Faust	Organisms of various sources can be identified here—Singularity-modified, Outskirts-born...
Dante	<Th-they look almost alive... They're not, right?>
Faust	No, they're—
Kira	Not. Duh. Though robo-unc did say that the Ring has these zoos where they put monsters on display alive...
Kira	Man, this would've been way more fun if we could see the moving ones. Everything here's dead... meh. Still looks crazy sick, though. The vibe really hits.
Even though she was trying to play it cool, Kira kept sneaking glances at the massive horned display off to the side, clearly surprised in a way she couldn't hide.
That said, I felt a distinct shortage of hyperactivity, given the presence of a certain someone in our party...
Don Quixote	.......
Dante	<Don Quixote?>
Don Quixote	The eye of a Second Kindred... of House Tepes. What is it doing here...?
At the mention of the word "Kindred," I couldn't help but follow Don Quixote's gaze.
Opposite the Whale was another kind of exhibit—it contained items leaning on the more gruesome side of things, starting with a crimson eyeball that caught Don Quixote's attention, and body parts like hands and bones that looked as though they had been stripped from the human body.
Ryoshu	It's a Gallery...
Location: Fauvist Gallery, Somewhere
Ryoshu	... of the School of Fauvism. Probably a Main Studio, at that... which comes with a Maestro's atelier and an auction house.
Hohenheim	... Alan.
Hohenheim	We will be making our exit shortly. Prepare to initiate lockdown sequence.
Before Hohenheim could even finish his urgent transmission...
... numerous footsteps closed in from somewhere nearby.
Turning toward the sound of shoes clacking on the floor, we found strange figures wearing animal masks, staring directly at us.
Kira	.......
Kira	That presence... it's kinda like papa's...
Kira	Ain't no way... That's not a raid boss we can clear at our level! We gotta get out of here!
Hohenheim	... It's not that simple. Retreating is not a viable solution here.
Hohenheim	This door is connected to the House of Spiders. Escaping without installing a security system will invite pursuit.
Hohenheim	We must stall them until Alan is ready to initiate the lockdown sequence.
As tension thickened, one of the strangers, who wore a peculiar bone mask, stepped forward.
The voice that spoke to us carried equal part curiosity and delight.
???	You came through that door...
???	Then the House's fall... wasn't just a baseless rumor.
???	A stray little spiderling, fallen from her parents' web. How many years has it been?
Ryoshu	.......
Ryoshu	You... Who are you?
???	Ah, right... It makes sense that you would fail to recognize me. I used to wear a different mask back when I used to visit as your tutor, didn't I? A wolf, if memory serves right.
???	Yes, that must've been when I was quite captivated by the sensation of tearing into the raw, still-thrashing flesh of living prey... and the predator's ferocious yet cavernously resonant howling.
Ryoshu	... Rings a bell.
Ryoshu	You're that Maestro whose whole lesson was a 3-hour sermon praising the intensity of primary colors and the strength of living creatures. Benoît, was it?
Émile Benoît	That's right—Émile Benoît. And they say you can't hatch a phoenix from a chicken's egg... Doesn't always apply, I see.
Émile Benoît	Looks like that mind of yours is still sly as a raven... unlike your Nursefather's.
Ryoshu	Tch. Don't presume.
Ryoshu	I only remember you because the tactility of hides and guts... made for a passable A.W.
At first glance, it looked like Ryōshū was casually taking a trip down memory lane with the Maestro...
But I had a feeling she was, in fact, dragging this out on purpose to buy us time.
Dante	<That lockdown sequence thing, how much longer 'til it's ready?>
Don Quixote	Young Hohenheim, the lockdown sequence...
Don Quixote, who had been shooting the Ring members an incensed glare sparked by the discovery of a Kindred's eye, swiftly relayed my words to Hohenheim without even a hint of her earlier shenanigans.
Hohenheim	... I'm afraid the progress and speed of the lockdown sequence lies in Alan's hands, not mine. It is, by its nature, a time-consuming work—we cannot expect haste.
Hohenheim	Perhaps... that does make this a suitable juncture to trial Plan A.
Dante	<Plan A...?>
Faust	... Any suggestions that involve Don Quixote removing her shoes will not be dignified with a serious discussion.
Faust	Instead...
Maybe what Hohenheim had in mind had nothing to do with Don Quixote's shoes, because he opened his mouth as though he was about to retort to Faust's categorical rejection.
But the moment he followed Faust's eyes and saw what she was looking at, he quietly shut his mouth and said nothing further.
Hohenheim	Faith in potentiality is not something I dislike.
Hohenheim	As for this, however... This seems more like grasping at straws.
At the end of their gaze was Ryōshū's blade—Arayashiki.
Ryoshu	Hmph. I was going to try using it anyway.
Ryoshu	I've long wanted to see if a Maestro's death is any different.
Dante	<Telling him that we were just leaving... won't work, will it?>
Faust	No, it won't. Every individual present here would be quite the fascinating specimen to the artists of the Ring.
Faust	We are practically a windfall of inspiration and material that has so conveniently been delivered to them. Is it improbable that they will allow us to return unharmed.
Faust is right. She and Hohenheim are geniuses, and Ryōshū is the wielder of Arayashiki.
Don Quixote is a Kindred of a higher generation, and I happen to house a Golden Bough in my head.
I have no idea how much information the Ring has on us...
But even if they knew nothing, they wouldn't let us go easily.
Dante	<... Are you sure about this, Ryōshū?>
Ryoshu	Doesn't matter if I'm S.A.T. or not, Clock.
Ryoshu	... Think of that woman as Lei Heng, and do as you did in H.C.'s mansion.
Ryoshu	I'll take care of the rest.
Dante	<... Right. That's probably our best shot.>
What Ryōshū meant was quite clear.
Resonate with the Golden Bough, secure an advantage to fight on equal footing, then catch them off guard by slowing down the flow of time.
A cut from the Arayashiki, even if it doesn't give us a real fighting chance, might at least stall the Maestro long enough to give us the time to get away.
Émile Benoît	This floor of the exhibit only houses submissions from Students and Docents...
Émile Benoît	But if you look closely enough, there are some passable ones that show the promise of excellence.
Émile Benoît	And above all, this is the gallery of the School of Fauvism...
Émile Benoît	... and mine. The gallery of Émile Benoît.
Émile Benoît	... Which is why I would've preferred to take you without an unnecessary fight, if possible. A shame.
Émile Benoît	Still, we're talking about a unique Relic here, a masterless one at that. Acquiring the Arayashiki makes it worth the cost.
Ryoshu	*puff* If you want a taste...
Ryoshu	.......
Ryoshu	...?
Confusion flickered across Ryōshū's face as she tried to unsheathe her blade.
Dante	<What's the matter?>
Ryoshu	How...?
Ryoshu	The lock the House of Spiders used to bind the Arayashiki no longer exists. So why...
Ryoshu	... why can't I draw the blade?
Émile Benoît	... Now that's unexpected.
Émile Benoît	So the rumors of you mastering that Relic... were they false?
Ryoshu	...!
The Maestro only gave a loose swing of her arm, but it was enough to make Ryōshū recoil—a shadow of surprise crossed her face.
The wound looked like nothing more than a light gash, yet the Maestro's contemplative gaze shifted between the blood on Ryōshū's arm and her own as though the attack had been an experiment to prove a hypothesis.
... It wasn't hard to guess what she was thinking.
Ryoshu	... Tch. Noticed, did you?
Émile Benoît	I had my doubts from the moment I saw you today.
Émile Benoît	Was the House of Spiders a success... or a failure?
Émile Benoît	Tell me, Yoshihide. What do you think a serpent's defining strength is?
Ryoshu	What are you on about now?
Émile Benoît	Ask any Student, and they'll give the same, predictable answers: the deadly venom, the sleek scales... Why, it's lamentably disappointing.
The Maestro advanced toward us with an assured certainty...
... then seized a beige thread dangling from the ceiling—no, calling it a mere thread would be wrong. It was something that resembled a thread, yet felt much more disturbing.
Émile Benoît	I, for one, have a particular liking for the jaw and the spine.
Émile Benoît	The flexibility of the spine, linked like a chain; and the jaw, bound not by bone but by ligaments that allow the animal to swallow its prey whole... Perhaps I should've said that I admire their structural refinement.
The thrice-coiled ring on her ring finger gave off a cold glint, and the walls and the ceiling suddenly began to echo with the sickening squelch and crack of flesh and bones assembling.
Dante	<W-what the hell is that?!>
Émile Benoît	Which brings me to ask... What better way to claim this delivery of promising material with a single bite than a work of art fashioned from a snake?
The Maestro plunged her arm into the long, serpentine body of a monster.
Her sheer presence radiated a pressure as oppressive as that of the Nursefathers, only more primal and untempered.
Émile Benoît	Consider it a privilege.
Émile Benoît	This is the first time this piece has ever been exhibited to an outsider.
Faust	Hohenheim. Is the lockdown sequence still not ready?
Hohenheim	1 minute to go! Step aside!
The attack from the E.G.O Gear Hohenheim hastily brandished didn't even last a moment—the weapon was knocked from his hand.
As I scrambled to equip the Sinners with their Identities, something abruptly stopped the beastlike appendage midway through its hurtling motion.
And the one who intercepted the blow...
Kira	Hah... Shit.
... was Kira, struggling to push back against the serpertine arm with her still-sealed blades.
Dante	<K-Kira?!>
Did she suddenly have a change of heart I wasn't aware of...?
Kira	Shit shit shit... This wasn't the plan at all...
... Obviously not. She couldn't have changed her mind that quickly,
because the look on her face couldn't be anything other than that of utter regret.
Émile Benoît	The Middle, hmm? ... For someone who doesn't seem to be a proper member, you've inked quite the quantity of tattoos onto yourself...
Émile Benoît	Aha, you must be the new kit Matthias took in.
Émile Benoît	Why do you stand in my way?
Kira	Fucked if I know... I'm already regretting it, alright?
Kira	Damn it... They're defo gonna ditch me here... Why did I even...
Ryoshu	Heh. Must be instinct taking over. Couldn't fully shake off the opponent's killing intent, so the body chose to clash head-on.
Hohenheim	So the behavioral facet of the psyche can be controlled with suitable training. Unexpected data, but useful to be sure.
Kira	Nnghh...! Shut it, Mister! Quit yapping and let me use my blades!
Hohenheim	Authorized and ready. Lifting locks... Now!
Kira's thermal weapons emerged from their sheaths with a metallic clang. She used the recoil of the motion to skid back and assume a defensive stance.
Naturally, that broke Benoît's arm from the deadlock as well. The Maestro lashed out again with that monstrous limb, but...
Kira	Huh...?
Don Quixote	'Tis a foul injustice to strike against an unprepared opponent in a duel!
Don Quixote	Behold, for I shall allow thee a glimpse of the badass form that only the most renowned of Fixers have displayed through the ages...!
Seeing an opening, Don Quixote slammed into the arm with her full might, knocking it off its trajectory...
Predictably, however, the sheer force of the Maestro's attack instantly reduced her to a red sludge of flesh and bone, sending her remains crashing into the door.
Alan	Ready to initiate lockdown sequence. I will seal the door immediately upon your exit.
Hohenheim	Everyone to the door! Faust, retrieve the... organic remnants of Sinner #3!
As Faust made her exit with what was once Don Quixote, the Students of the Ring surrounded Kira, barring her way out. A hollow chuckle slipped out of her lips.
Kira	Haha... called it for real. This is exactly why I didn't wanna get involved...
Taking Kira back with us would mean having a sizable force of the Ring trail right behind her through the door.
Kira, too, seemed to have realized the risk that no one in their right mind would want to take. She lowered her head in defeat, as though she knew full well the fate that awaited her.
Kira	I'm such a dumbass... What was I thinking, divin' in like that?
Hohenheim	You! Don't just stand there! Get over here now!
Kira	Huh? B-but... these guys're gonna come floodin' in if I...
Ryoshu	You T.T.M. Want to get cleaved in half again?
Kira	... You pin this on me later, you're gonna pay.
Blocking the Maestro's arm by a hair as it came down on her again, Kira hurled herself toward the door with every bit of strength she could muster.
More than a few Students rushed in through the doorway, chasing after the Sinners who had gone in ahead, but...
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather
Alan	Lockdown sequence complete. All Backdoor links have been cut.
... fortunately, Alan managed to sever the connection between the two Backdoors before the Maestro could cross over.
Ryoshu	*puff* ... Bowl cut. Think you can still use your arms?
Kira	... Am fine.
Ryoshu	So she says.
Kira would be a strong enough addition to fight for us, but the Ring members that have managed to cross formed a rather sizable force.
Fighting them off with just the Sinners I have at my side would not be the best course of action.
In that case...
Dante	<Guys. I assume you're all available right now?>
As soon as I call out to the Sinners, their voices come through Hohenheim's radio one after another.
Ishmael	Huh? Uh... I guess so?
Outis	Ready for your order, Executive Manager! I, Outis, am prepared to answer your call whenever and wherever—
Rodya	Eh?! H-hang on, I just need to finish this bite...!
Dante	<Everyone to me.>

Episode: 4
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather
Faust	It's only the first door, and the impediments are already beyond expected levels.
Kira	I swear, I thought that was it for me back there...
Hohenheim	Events of this nature... *sigh* won't be frequent. We were merely beset by ill luck.
Kira	If you'd just listened to me and picked another door, we wouldn't have gotten cooked like that in the first place.
Kira	Like, why even drag me into this if you weren't gonna trust me? Weirdos...
Ryoshu	We would've opened them all at the end of the day. S.D.
Kira	S.D.? What's that?
Ryoshu	Same difference.
Kira	Again, why shorten it like that? Just say "duh" or something. Or just spell it out and say it was anticipated.
Ryoshu	That's "W.A."
Kira	...?
Alan	Good work, everyone. Wayfarer does have a team dedicated to this sort of task... but the mortality rate is quite high. Honestly, I was bracing myself for the worst.
Alan	The odds of completing the first door of an expedition without any casualties are under 15%. This, by all measures, counts as a flawless expedition.
Tapping away at his device, Alan addressed us with an amicable smile. He seemed totally different from the same man who had manhandled Kira with a fist to her face.
Dante	<Those Fauvists won't be able to cross over anymore with the door completely locked down, right?>
Faust	That... cannot be asserted with certainty.
Dante	<... Are you saying more might come?>
Ryoshu	The Corridors and Backdoors have always been the Ring's turf, Clock.
Ryoshu	And those Fauvist beasts... have endured as a long-standing faction within the Ring.
Alan	If they've got that much history...
Alan	They must know many Backdoors—both the origin and destination points.
Alan clarified what Ryōshū was hinting at.
Faust	Yes. Compared to them, we lack sufficient knowledge of alternate routes, which makes it difficult to prevent infiltration.
Hohenheim	Hm. No need to concern yourselves overmuch.
Hohenheim	Even if that were the case, it is unlikely they would move on the House of Spiders so soon.
Kira	Eh? They could always rush for a surprise attack, though.
Hohenheim	Even that Fauvist Maestro seemed to lack clear intel on the event that took place at the House of Spiders.
Hohenheim	If so, it follows that they will need time to assess and deliberate about the situation.
Don Quixote	The situation...?
Faust	The logical scope of their concerns will be identifying the organization that has secured the House of Spiders, the possibility of additional traps beyond the Backdoors, and the like.
Alan	Once all Backdoor-related procedures tied to the House of Spiders are completed, the resulting security framework should be able to preempt and block any infiltration attempts.
Dante	<This operation is more important than I thought...>
Ryoshu	*puff*
Ryoshu	That aside, why couldn't I draw the blade?
Ryoshu	Is it the new scabbard's fault?
Ryōshū lifted the sheathed sword with an irritated frown...
... and that's when I felt a faint vibration—the blade was twitching ever so slightly.
Don Quixote	Th-that quivering most faint... 'Twas seen by all, indeed...?
Kira	Damn, I saw it too... Is it possessed or something?
... Looks like I wasn't the only one who saw the sword twitching as though it wasn't pleased at all with how Ryōshū was talking about the scabbard.
Ryoshu	…….
Ryōshū's gaze lingered on the sword before slowly shifting toward the Backdoors.
Could it be... that seeing the scabbard brought back some memory of Araya?
Dante	<Ryōshū... Do you—>
Ryoshu	Is it an S.S.?
Ryoshu	A demon edge? An enchanted blade? Which is it?
Dante	<…….>
Dante	<It's... probably neither of those. Nor is it a sentient sword.>
Hohenheim	Hmm. This presents a fine opportunity to conduct another examination of the sword. Excuse us for a moment, Team Leader Alan.
Alan	Please feel free to go ahead. The attack just now damaged some devices, so we're going to have to perform some maintenance before continuing. There's plenty of other work for me to do while you're away, too.
Don Quixote	Are we to return to the Headquarters Research Facility, then?
Hohenheim	No, that won't be necessary. There is a facility here that should prove more than adequate.

Episode: 5
Location: The House of Spiders Forward Base
Hohenheim brought us to what looked like a research lab, lined with cables, rows of screens, and diagrams full of complex symbols and shapes.
Dante	<I didn't know there was a place like this in the House of Spiders...>
Faust	This is a forward base constructed by Limbus Company following Operation Spider Pyre. It did not exist prior to the House's fall.
Faust	It is intended for additional Backdoor investigation and research into irregular phenomena observed during the operation.
Dante	<Irregular phenomena?>
Faust	... An example:
Faust	Research subjects such as "A Spatial Analysis of the Correlation between the Emergence of Sinner #11's Sign and the Manifestation of Possible Future."
Dante	<Oh...>
Looking around, I spotted Sinclair and a group of researchers surrounding him—the same people who had dragged him off earlier.
They were accompanied by... a gaggle of Sinners who had tagged along to either watch the show or kill some time while they took a breather after work.
Faust	Hohenheim. How long will the examination take?
Hohenheim	Hmm. With Sinclair's biometric assessment concluded, the analyzer device should be available for the Relic now.
Hohenheim	Which means that it should be finished in... an hour from now, at the latest.
The scabbard rattled again at the mention of "an hour."
... I don't know why, or how... but the way it swayed... almost felt like a child trembling.
Hohenheim	It's moving again.
Hohenheim	Come along, Ryōshū. I expect you will want to witness the procedure.
Ryoshu	Fine.
Ryōshū and Hohenheim headed off to the side—the examination was probably going to start immediately.
Dante	<Time to get to Sinclair, then... Wait.>
I was making my way toward Sinclair, who was getting bombarded with questions, when an unexpected figure behind a pillar caught my eye.
It was Vespa Crabro, with a big piece of paper covered in crooked handwriting taped on his back.
Dante	<"Snack... thief"?>
Sinclair	Ah. Manager.
Charon	... Charon's snacks. Mister String Bean ate up all of them.
Vespa	... Sorry, but I think there's been some misunderstanding...
Charon	Verg. Kick his ass.
Vergilius	*sigh*
Vergilius	... Not only is this matter not worth pointing fingers over, but Charon also shares some of the responsibility for leaving them out on the table unattended.
Vergilius	Still, I would prefer you exercise more care next time... Or you'll put me in a tough spot.
Vespa	... Understood.
Vergilius	... Charon.
Charon	Charon, Super Sulky Mode engaged. Not talking for half a day.
Vergilius	Deploying "Super Pass Bitter Candy."
Charon	... Beep, beep. Mode disabled.
Vespa	Mm... I'm not sure if this is an appropriate request, but may I remove the paper from my back now...? It's a little... inconvenient for me.
Charon	Charon forgives this time. Next time, no mercy.
Vergilius	... Best make sure she doesn't listen to that radio channel again.
Vergilius looked on with an inscrutable expression as Charon peeled the "Snack Thief" sign off Vespa's back.
Vergilius	Make sure to remember this... so I don't have to think I'm burning through what little candy chance I have left on such trivial nonsense.
Vespa	... Thank you.
Vespa gave a polite thanks, but he was already picking something off another plate and stuffing it into his mouth.
Rodion	W-wait a minute... I was saving that for later!
Vespa	... I assumed you were being picky.
Rodion	Well, now you know! Yet I still see you gobbling up my share!
Rodion	Ugh...! He took my snack, too, Verg! Kick his ass!
Vergilius	... Rodion. Rodion Romanovich.
Vergilius	I am aware that half of the total snack budget allocated to each Sinner is being funneled into your snacking expenses... And now you're raiding the LCE's supplies as well?
Rodion	Chill~ That's totes been agreed upon, mmkay~?
Rodion	Besides, that's that, and this is this!
Vergilius	*sigh*
The lines on Vergilius's brow looked deeper than usual today...
Hoping to help him out of this endless cycle of snack-related headaches and to satisfy my own nagging curiosity, I drew near our guide and broke his brooding silence with my tick-tocks.
Dante	<... Did we learn anything about Sinclair's Sign?>
Faust	Dante is inquiring about the outcome of the research on the Sign.
Vergilius	I've heard from the researchers... but nothing of particular significance came out of it.
Faust	Observation of the Sign has so far been limited to two individuals: the Manager and Sinclair. Due to the limited accessibility to the phenomenon, the only verifiable information has so far been its existence.
Faust	Researching that which cannot be observed is bound to be difficult.
... Faust has a point. Aside from Sinclair, none of the Sinners can actually see the Sign.
And the same would go for the researchers. Even Sonya said only a select few people could perceive it.
Faust	If there were more individuals bearing Signs, there would be a wider pool for a comparative analysis of statistical samples to narrow down the scope...
Faust	However, records indicate no suitable references exist. At present, the research effort is limited to reducing variables such as whether or not the irregular phenomena are tied to the location where the battle took place.
Dante	<By "individuals bearing Signs"... Do you mean people like Demian and Sansón?>
Rodion	Wait, then could those guys do what Sinclair did? Pull in some superpowered future self and just wreck everything?
Rodion	Even Sonya...?
I should step in and put an end to this subject before Rodya gets the blues.
Dante	<I don't think so. From what Ishmael and Faust reported back then...>
Ishmael	Right. Sinclair from the future said each Sign carries a different power, I think.
Ishmael	Maybe, you know... those layers of light rings Demian used to finish off Kromer, or Sansón dragging us into his "story"... those could be it.
Don Quixote	... Aye, that doth seem plausible.
Dante	<So none of that is information we can confirm yet.>
Faust	Correct. As you have stated, any discussion of this subject would not venture beyond the realm of wild speculation. Nothing has been proven yet—ergo, fear would be an unnecessary response at present.
Yi Sang	Hmm...
Yi Sang	This is, at best, grounded in supposition, but it would seem that the researchers are coaxing forth a hypothesis from the vestiges left in the wake of Sinclair's future self.
Heathcliff	Oh, that... That bit about the Sign maybe being some Singularity or whatever, yeah?
Meursault	The precise position of the hypothesis was that the fundamental principles of the Sign's working may be equivalent to those of Singularities or Relics.
Meursault	But as no actionable evidence was obtained from Sinclair, there is presently no means by which this hypothesis may be validated.
Dante	<I see... Then nothing came out of them dragging Sinclair off for that research.>
Sinclair	Oh, you also thought I was being "dragged off," but still let it happen anyway...?
Dante	<Ah...! No, I mean...>
Sinclair	Haha... I'm kidding. Just thought I'd try going along with the mood.
The old Sinclair wouldn't have even thought to joke around like that... He's really changed lately—for the better, I think?
Dante	<So... Did anything happen that we should worry about?>
Ishmael	I stuck close to him just in case. Nothing serious came up.
Ishmael	Just took some blood, a small skin sample... Oh, and they were also checking if the Sign reacts to electrical stimulation.
Sinclair	Yeah. And, um... ah! I had to fill out some questionnaires too.
Sinclair	Things like "Please describe what you remember from the battle exactly as it happened" or "List the sensations you felt when you regained consciousness."
Yi Sang	And... your memories of that moment have yet to return?
Sinclair	No... I don't know if they'll ever come back, actually. Faust said they only exist with my future self, so...
Sinclair	Wait, but for my future self to even have those memories... shouldn't I carry them in the first place? Um... which comes first?
Yi Sang	A paradox, it would seem. Hm... in such a case...
Faust	That Sinclair is merely one branch among many possible futures.
Yi Sang	If the future unfurls into boundless branches by means of ceaseless bifurcation... then the body of information that constitutes a certain future would scatter into grains more fleeting than dust, too diminished to ever reverse their course and trace their path back to the self that now exists... Is that the theory suggested?
Faust	Not a certainty, but a plausible interpretation.
Heathcliff	Here you go again, more of that nonsense only you lot understand...
Heathcliff	Oi. Memory or not, that future guy still came outta him, didn't he?
Heathcliff	Then some part of him's got to be left in there somewhere, yeah? Like muscle memory or whatever, perhaps he can still pull off some of those tricks from back then...
Sinclair	Tricks from back then...?
Heathcliff	Heard you kicked off proper out there. Even pulled out that trick you picked up from that... plastered old geezer, right?
Ishmael	Not just that. He was using that "Mang (望)" technique quite effortlessly, too.
Heathcliff	Wha?! That glowin' ring thing?!
Ishmael	Yup, the glowing ring thing. He had two of them coiled around his weapon.
Sinclair	I used the glowing ring thing?!
Dante	<.......>
Sinclair	... Th-this is the first time I'm hearing anything about it...
Rodion	... All right, so what exactly is that glowing ring thing? Anyone?
Sinclair	Uh... Maybe some technique that enhances physical capability?
Rodion	I mean, I guess that flashy aura that makes ya real tough's one part of it. But there's gotta be more, right...?
Heathcliff	Dunno... could be a secret Finger thing they pass down to their members. Technique, gear... somethin' like that.
Heathcliff	Look at it—that black coney leader, that Lei Heng prick... and the Nursefathers we fought. Whole lot of 'em's Finger, ain't they?
Yi Sang	Hm... the notion seems to unravel... for even among the LCD, there were those who came to wield it.
Ishmael	And Vergilius too.
Heathcliff	Hm... so what, only the proper hard bastards can use it? Some posh top-end trick, is it?
Without anyone in particular prompting it, the Sinners slowly turned their gaze toward Vergilius and Vespa.
Vespa	Hm...
Vespa	I only learned to wield it from my team leader, too. I have a sensory understanding of Shin (心), but I can claim nothing too profound.
Vespa	However, what I can spare are some rumors, though they are all without proper sources.
Sinclair	Rumors...?
Vespa	They circulated among elite Fixers and Association leadership.
Vespa	That there exists a power called Shin—capable of enhancing the body without having to pay expensive upkeep costs.
Don Quixote	A rumor among Fixers, sayest thou?
Vespa	Yes. Even the technique to manifest it—how-to tips, really—spread through hearsay.
Kira	Oh yeah, that tracks. That Super Rookie Column in the latest mag bonus vid? Bro was really poppin' off with it—straight up aurafarmed with a shiny Mang wrapped around the weapon!
Don Quixote	Hm? It must be that mine eyes are yet to be privy to seeing such a marvel in a video...
Kira	Wait, you serious? It's in the latest issue. Literally on the videotape in the back. Maybe you missed it?
Don Quixote	Video... "tape"? Uh...
Don Quixote	Alas, uh... For many a week have I been stranded from Mephi, reaving me of a chance to read not only the prior chronicle, but the latest one as well...
Don Quixote	Khh... Woe is me...! When I return, I shall feast through the night upon those noble exploits of adventuring Fixers...!
As Don Quixote dramatically spiraled into a state of utter dejection, Outis cut into the conversation, her gaze narrowing with suspicion.
Outis	... From what I recall, the mantle of Shin grants its users a high degree of physical enhancement.
Outis	There is no such thing as reinforcement without supplies. No power of that magnitude comes without an equivalent cost to wield it.
Vergilius	That power...
Vergilius	... relies on emotion and will for manifestation. Its output is not consistent like prosthesis and augmentation.
Vergilius	And depending on how it is used, the "consequence" it demands can reach levels comparable to the E.G.O you use.
Yi Sang	... You mean to say that it exacts a toll upon the mind.
Vespa	I can walk you through the fundamentals if you'd like.
Outis	... From what I observed, it appeared to be a technique reserved for those of considerable strength. At our current level... is it not unreasonable to assume we could make use of it?
Vespa	Regarding that... our Team Leader has been conducting intensive research,
Vespa	and according to her, physical strength itself has little bearing on one's ability to learn and wield Shin.
Vergilius	.......
Vergilius	As the Yellow Harpoon says,
Vergilius	it is, in essence, a power that can be learned by almost anyone, provided they know the proper method of training.
Vespa	.......
Vespa's brows visibly twitched the moment "Yellow Harpoon" left Vergilius's lips.
Yeah, doesn't seem like he's a big fan of his own title. "The Yellow Harpoon"... Hmm.
Well, it fits, I think... He's got those yellow stripes on his clothes, and he uses a harpoon, too. Can he argue with that?
Vergilius	If I were to exaggerate, even Sinner Yi Sang's pre-contract self could manage to learn it.
Yi Sang	... W-why must this self of mine be chosen as the point of comparison?
Heathcliff	Well... 'cause you're the... wimpiest one here.
Sinclair	Don't let it get to you...
Yi Sang	Ahhh...
Vergilius	Even so, it would be a mistake to assume it's a power anyone can grasp with ease.
Vergilius	As long as you are bound by contract as "Sinners"... your ability to wield it will be severely limited,
Vergilius	unless you rely on particular Identities or come upon an extraordinary circumstance.
Heathcliff	Tch… Shame that. Would've been useful.
Kira	... Hey, then what about me? Can I learn it too?
Kira, who had been fidgeting with her fingers, raised an arm and asked as though she couldn't hold the question back any longer.
Come to think of it... the Middle Nursefather didn't use any Shin or Mang.
Kira	Papa never taught me how to use it... He always said I could get stronger without a stupid crutch like that.
Vespa	Hah! It wasn't that he didn't teach you. He couldn't.
Vespa	He was a man who probably had never once reflected upon his own sins. A piece of trash like him would be incapable of even comprehending such a power in the first place.
Kira	.......
Vespa's responses always come back dripping with venomous hatred whenever the conversation turns to the topic of the Fingers.
Kira must've noticed too, or perhaps she simply couldn't find the right words to push back.
Either way, she held her tongue, her expression settling into a blend of frustration and something that looked a little too close to sadness.
Vergilius	If you want to reduce it to a yes-or-no... then yes. You will be able to learn it with the odds in your favor.
Vergilius	That is, assuming that the company decides to tolerate your... continued existence.
Kira	... I already said I get it.
Vergilius	As it stands, you're nothing more than a pending case of disposal. Closer to a threat than you are to an ally, strictly speaking.
Vergilius	Don't get comfortable because the Manager and the Sinners treat you with lenience. Step out of line, and you will be the one who pays the price.
There was nothing in what Vergilius said that I could argue with.
Kira had been a member of the House of Spiders. She murdered scores of LCE researchers...
... and left us with plenty of memories we'd rather not revisit.
For now, we're just... working together. Not contesting that decision doesn't mean we have no hard feelings toward her.
Leaving Kira alone with her thoughts, the Sinners slipped back into their own business—snacks, idle chatter, and conversations about whatever had happened around LCE.
Hohenheim	The examination is concluded.
Hohenheim	I suppose it won't be an issue to let you hear the results together.
And before we knew it, Hohenheim and Ryōshū returned.

Episode: 6
Location: The House of Spiders Forward Base
Hohenheim	To present the conclusion first—no, the notion of the sword being a sentient one is incorrect.
Hohenheim	The locus of the will is not the blade, but the scabbard.
Hohenheim	An E.G.O forged in a rather paradoxical nature... yes, that would be the most appropriate description.
Ryoshu	.......
Ryoshu	Tch. Not a sentient sword, huh.
Ryōshū's grumpy dismissal made the scabbard quiver almost as if it had taken offense.
... Somehow, I felt like I could understand what Hohenheim meant by "will" now.
It was a reunion of sorts. One that gave both a tinge of sadness... and hope.
Dante	<If the scabbard has its own will... does that mean the owner of that will can be resurrected?>
Faust	It is too premature to deliberate on the matter. The state of existence under question is not one that may be defined as death at the moment.
Hohenheim	I assume they asked whether it can be "revived" or "brought back to life," so to speak.
Hohenheim	Even supposing that "survival" is a fixed variable, and that the reconstitution of the original corporeal body falls within the realm of theoretical possibility... The probability approaches zero given the limits of today's technology and conditions.
Hohenheim	We researchers are inclined to entertain even infinitesimal chances, but in the terminology of the laypeople like yourself... such a prospect would be labeled impossible, wouldn't it?
Dante	<.......>
Hohenheim	There is no need to fixate on the impossibilities of the present, Manager Dante. Such matters are reserved for us scientists to hold onto.
Dante	<... Right.>
Hohenheim	Ah, but we may have uncovered a thread—something that could lead to restoring Sinner Ryōshū's memories. Though, again, that too is merely a possibility.
Hohenheim	A far more practical avenue for you to pursue at the moment, nevertheless.
Hohenheim	And to that end... hm... yes. Further analysis on the scabbard itself would be necessary.
Hohenheim	Coordinate with Alan for your next duty. He should still be in the Ring Nursefather's quarters. That will be all.
Hohenheim cut himself off there, clamping his mouth shut as if any further exchange might scatter and mess up the theories he'd constructed in our conversation.
Dante	<All right, then. Before we go...>
Dante	<Anyone wanna tag along?>
Munching on food, averting their gaze—the Sinners were pretending they weren't interested at all,
but going by the way their forks had long since stopped moving, it was pretty clear to me that they'd been intently listening in on our conversation.
Yi Sang	Where are we to go...?
Dante	<Ah—right. Sorry. Forgot the rest of you weren't there with us earlier...>
Dante	<Faust, Don Quixote, Ryōshū, and I have been checking where each Backdoor leads.>
Kira	.......
Dante	<Oh, and Kira too.>
Outis	The prisoner of war, Executive Manager...?
Kira	We talkin' about me?
Kira	Um, yeah, I guess... I'm working with them too, yeah.
Outis	Hm. Best remember to tread carefully. Should you cause even the slightest harm to the Executive Manager, you will be held accountable without exception.
Kira	Yeah sure, whatevs~
Kira needled at Outis with a mocking pout, but oddly enough, she didn't appear particularly irritated.
Dante	<Anyway, I think it'd be better if we had a few more people, just to be safe.>
Dante	<One of the doors we went into earlier led straight to the Ring's Corridor... That was a close call.>
Outis and Heathcliff's hands shot up the moment I finished speaking.
Outis	I would very much like to accompany you, Executive Manager!
Dante	<I knew I could rely on you, Outis.>
Outis	Heh. Your recognition of my loyalty honors me, Executive Manager! I, Outis, understand better than anyone your concern about the peril of working with a prisoner of war so liable to betray.
Outis	To have your indispensable self proceed with only a handful of soldiers under your command—this cannot stand! I'm afraid I won't be able to focus on other duties without personally seeing to your safety...
Dante	<I... I get it, Outis. You've made your point clear enough.>
Heathcliff	Not keen on how I just keel over the moment you summon me. Feels a bit dodgy, that. Better I stick by your side an' scrap it out myself.
Ishmael	You probably don't need me to come along, then. I guess you can just summon the rest of us like you did earlier if shit hits the fan.
Yi Sang	A research yet unfinished holds my efforts. I shall join you once it has found closure.
Rodion	Haha... I don't think I can be much help wherever you're going.... I'll pass~
Meursault	I will follow if that is your order, Manager.
Dante	<N-no, it's fine. Just get some rest.>
It'll probably be okay... I can always summon them again if things get too dangerous.
For now... I should go see Alan again.

Episode: 7
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather
Alan	Ah, you've arrived. I was waiting for you.
Alan	We sifted through and isolated the doors with the highest probability of leading into the Ring's gallery.
Alan	The next step would be to enter the alternate door you mentioned, but...
Kira	Hold up a sec.
Kira	... I was actually gatekeeping more stuff.
Dante	<Huh...?>
Alan	"Gatekeeping"...? Are you saying you have more to tell about gates—doors?
Kira	Yup.
Kira	That door over there? Pretty sure it connects to N Corp.'s Nest. I saw Albina going in, all hyped about some canned... whatever it was.
Kira	And that wooden door with bandages wrapped around the handle... Papa'd go in there to cross out Vengeances. From what the Book said, it's probably a turf "protected" by a Thumb subsidiary or something.
Unlike earlier, when she offered only vague snippets, even about just a single door...
... Kira was now feeding Alan a stream of intel that seemed solid even to someone as clueless about the Backdoor as me.
Outis	Hm... She's far more cooperative than anticipated. Even after that Alan character roughed her up, from what I hear.
Dante	<Yeah... You'd think she'd clam up out of spite... I wonder if she changed her mind about cooperating with us.>
Outis	Nevertheless, we mustn't let our guard down, Executive Manager. There's no telling when she'll turn on us...
Kira	Frickin'... I can literally hear everything you're saying, y'know?
Alan	All right, then. Based on the intel... please proceed by investigating the safest doors first.
Alan	As for the high-risk ones... I'll continue checking and let you know which ones you need to enter.
Alan tinkered with the devices around him and flashed a couple of doors with blue light.
Guess that means we start with those.
Dante	<Where do you guys wanna go first?>
Heathcliff	They all look about the same. Just start with the closest one.
Well, Alan did say these are the safest ones... so it shouldn't matter which one.
Just as I reached for the nearest door as Heathcliff told me to, Ryōshū suddenly veered off, stopping in front of another one that stood a few steps apart.
Ryoshu	This door... it feels familiar.
Dante	<...! You recognize that door?>
Ryoshu	I think I passed through it a few times when I was little...
Hardly had Ryōshū stopped speaking when a fragmented memory, painted over in parts, slipped into my mind.
Location: ???
Yoshihide	Sorry... it hurt a lot, didn't it?
Yoshihide	I... I should've finished my homework faster.
Yoshihide	Oh, I know! Let's go for a walk!
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather
Ryoshu	*puff* But I don't recall much about it.
That memory just now... Could it be tied to Araya?
Dante	<Let's start with that door.>
Heathcliff	Okay... This one, yeah?
Heathcliff	Here we go.
Location: -1
Impatient as ever, Heathcliff shoved the door open and strode in first. The rest of us followed, including Kira and the other Sinners.
Location: A Park, Somewhere
Dante	<And this place is...?>
Faust	Judging by its state, it seems to be a welfare facility located within a Nest. Most likely a park.
Heathcliff	Every sod walkin' here's dragging some animal along—means they've got money to burn. Proper rich lot, this place.
The "walk" the past Ryōshū mentioned in her memory... and the sight of people fussing over their pets.
The pieces clicked together, and I voiced the other memory I saw back at the House of Spiders.
Dante	<Did you ever come here... with a puppy named Saru?>
Ryoshu	... Yeah. I remember that.
Ryoshu	Not a puppy, though.
Ryoshu	Saru was... a bit bigger by then.
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather, Past
Yoshihide	Sorry... it hurt a lot, didn't it?
Yoshihide	I... I should've finished my homework faster.
Saru	*whine*
Yoshihide	Why isn't she getting any better...? I gave her lots to eat...
Yoshihide	Oh, I know! Wanna go for walkies? You love walkies, don't you, Saru?
Saru	*bark*
Yoshihide	There's this Workshop dad always visits—the door there's connected to a park.
Yoshihide	We can go right now!
Saru	*pant* *pant*
Location: A Park, Somewhere
Ryōshū's childhood memory burned bright in my vision before passing.
Heathcliff	... That was her as a kid?!
Don Quixote	Verily... such gentleness doth seem most unlike thee, Young Ryōshū.
Ryoshu	.......
Ryoshu	Hey, Clock. Who said you could show them my memories willy-nilly?
Dante	<No, I... Come on. You know it's not something I can control...>
Ryoshu	Tsk... G.G.
Back in the House of Spiders, I was the only one who could see the vision of Ryōshū's past.
This time, though, her memories seemed to manifest for everyone around, just like what we experienced in H Corp. with Hong Lu.
Which probably means...
Kira	Why are y'all staring at me? That's so random, what the hell.
Outis	... Did you not see that just now?
Kira	See what? You guys zoning out together?
Dante	<Guess it doesn't apply to Kira.>
Then again, unlike how it was between Lin Daiyu and Hong Lu, Kira doesn't have any direct connection to Ryōshū. I guess it makes sense.
Don Quixote	Was that adorable hound thy companion of old, Young Ryōshū?
Ryoshu	Indeed. My one and only best friend.
Ryoshu	And because of that, Saru...
Ryoshu	*puff* would be locked away in the Vault every time I had to depart on an assignment. With a Spiral driven through her.
Ryoshu	... The first-ever leash. Looking back, it might've been a kinder fate had she died sooner.
Don Quixote	To inflict such cruelty upon a voiceless animal... How can such wickedness be borne...?
Dante	<What happened to Saru... in the end?>
Ryoshu	*puff* ... She died before her time.
Ryoshu	I don't recall why, but there was this day when Saru wouldn't stop whimpering in pain. And I... shut myself in my room, crying.
Heathcliff	You were? Not someone else...?
Ryoshu	Who else? O.C. it was me.
Even after witnessing the fragment of memory, Heathcliff looked utterly unconvinced.
Ryoshu	And while I was grieving... Callisto offered a solution. Said he would give me a gift the next day.
Ryoshu	And what I received was...
Ryoshu	Something he called the Beastbone Blade. A tanto that would whine and yelp in Saru's voice with every swing.
Kira	Ew—no way.
Kira	... I always knew there was something creepy with robo-unc... So that's how he killed your dog, huh?
Ryoshu	No. He didn't kill Saru. That tanto was alive.
Dante	<Did you just say alive?>
Heathcliff	Bloody hell... A right nutter, that psycho...
Ryoshu	Her eyes were embedded in it like adornments, and they'd stare at me in accusation. The tiny heart beat as though it was quaking with fear.
Ryoshu	It was a horrible sight. And I felt "pity."
Ryoshu	*puff* So I shortened what remained of her time... with my own hands.
Heathcliff	Got me thinkin' after hearing all that... Why do you still mess with that "art" thing, then? Let's be honest—after seeing somethin' like that, you'd wanna steer well clear, yeah?
Kira	Right? Those things he called "artworks" were all so cursed. Straight-up nightmare fuel.
Kira	Like, I haven't really checked out other Ring artworks outside Albina and her Nursefather's... so maybe I'm just a noob when it comes to all that, but yeah, their stuff never gave me any art vibes, for real.
Ryoshu	I thought the same.
Ryoshu	Well, I was terrified at first. Yet as I learned more, there were some facets that suited my taste.
Don Quixote	Thou findest appeal.. in those grotesque creations...?
Ryoshu	From what you've told me about Callisto, it looks like he failed to stick to his own advice...
Ryoshu	But there's something he always used to say.
Ryoshu	"Art is wholly subjective, and thus one must never expect the understanding of others."
Ryoshu	*puff* The uncanny, the horrible... There's a beauty that lies in the grotesqueness of it all.
Heathcliff	... Can't say I quite get it, but if you say so...
Heathcliff	Nah, but bloody hell. How do you end up gettin' used to that kinda thing?
Ryoshu	Why do you need to understand? You're not an artist.
Ryoshu	I got used to it, but that bastard Callisto's installation artworks caused night terrors and nightmares for—
Ryoshu	.......
*rattle*
The scabbard moved, and Ryōshū came to a pause.
It trembled, but there was at once a strange liveliness to it—as though it quivered between fear and anticipation.
Ryoshu	Night terrors... crying from nightmares... in the House of Spiders...?
Kira	There was actually someone who got scared of Ring stuff back in your day?
Ryoshu	.......
Ryoshu	I need to check something. We've seen enough here—let's go back.
Dante	<Yeah, let's. Nothing else worth checking around here anyway.>
With the inspection complete, we quickly followed Ryōshū back.
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather
She stood in front of the "artworks" covered in sheets of cloth, lost in thought.
Ryoshu	Right here. There used to be a huge artwork displayed here.
Ryoshu	... I don't know what kind of impulse struck him, but the bastard went about fussing, saying he needed practice so he wouldn't lose his touch.
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather, Past
Araya	*sniffle* Mommy...
Yoshihide	... What's wrong?
Araya	O-over there...
Yoshihide	... Thought I told you to keep the exhibition in your room.
Callisto	Ah, you've returned, Yoshihide.
Callisto	I decided to attempt installation art of a somewhat larger scale this time, but I ran out of space in my gallery.
Araya	M-Mommy... people were screaming...
Callisto	Dearest Yoshihide, Araya has reached an age where she may be introduced into the world of aesthetics. Surely this wouldn't be a problem?
Yoshihide	It would.
Yoshihide	... You liking it and me acquiring the taste doesn't mean Araya will.
Araya	Waaaah! *sniffle*
Yoshihide	... Let's get you back to our room.
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather
Ryoshu	... I was hugging something in my arms. It was crying.
Location: -1
Ryoshu	Saru...? No. Too big to be Saru.
The lacerated memories can never be made whole no matter how many fragments are glued together.
We could tell Ryōshū everything we knew about Araya, but it'd never truly reach her.
Ryoshu	... I see. This hollow void... this must be "Araya."
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather
The sensation and emotion for what's been emptied begin to entangle with Ryōshū's memories...
... and that makes it possible for us to reminisce about Araya together.
The soft rattle Araya gave seemed to show how pleased she was with this small step.
Dante	<All right. Time to check out the next door.>
We entered several more Backdoors that Alan pointed out,
but unfortunately, none of the places we ended up at stirred Ryōshū's memories any further.
Kira	Pretty much nothing here. I think we're don—hmm?
Kira	Wh-what the... How'd they get in here?
Startled, Kira pointed ahead, where figures wearing animal masks were hauling what looked like massive lumps of flesh hidden behind a tent of sorts.
Dante	<Those Ring assailants from before...?>
Don Quixote	Didst thou not say thou hast sealed that door earlier? How then do these villains come to stand before us once more?!
Alan	They probably infiltrated via an entirely separate route. Another Backdoor.
Alan	As you can see... their objective appears to be the retrieval of the Ring Nursefather's artworks.
Fauvist Student	Get on with it!
Fauvist Student	We need to move as many pieces as we can before we pull out!
Kira	Wait, but I thought robo-unc was washed? He's got so many fanboys and fangirls here!
Ryoshu	... Hah. Does his artwork possess value in and of itself,
Ryoshu	or is it just a case of posthumous premium of "death effect?" Think about it.
Alan	Some of the pieces have already been taken.
Alan	Of course, they are of little value to both our companies...
Ryoshu	Watching them sweating and struggling to drag those mediocre pieces with them... Pretty funny.
Ryoshu	But imagining how those pieces will be labeled with some pathetic notion of "heritage" connected to my name on their description plaques...? Pretty unsavory.
Outis	They may be occupied with transporting those objects for now, but they will likely soon find cause to harm the Wayfarer and LCE personnel stationed here, Executive Manager.
Outis	It would be prudent to eliminate them without delay, considering the Ring's reputation.
Dante	<Outis is right. Better to wipe them out before they try anything stupid.>
Dante	<... Guys, looks like we've got another job to do. Lend me a hand.>
The radio didn't buzz with the Sinner's replies this time... but it should be fine.

Episode: 8
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather
Faust	With this, the last of the Ring's infiltrators have been eradicated.
Ryoshu	Is that all of them?
Ryōshū kept glancing around as if searching for someone, but fortunately... no other Ring members were in sight.
Heathcliff	Right, but where the hell were those lot comin' from, anyway? Weren't just the first wave—had more of the sods leggin' it in from the back like they'd been lurkin' somewhere else.
Alan	According to the tracking logs recorded by the surveillance devices installed here... they appear to have crossed over from another Corridor.
Dante	<Another Corridor?>
Faust	What precisely does the designation "Another Corridor" refer to?
Alan	The room resembling a shopping mall—the one filled with batches of toys on display. Your company, if I recall correctly, designated it as... the Corridor of the Middle Nursefather.
Kira	Oh...
Alan	I suggest we relocate there. Your assigned tasks here have been wrapped up.
Alan	Oh, and before we set off... do you have any information to share in advance?
Alan	We are planning to compile a comprehensive encyclopedia cataloging the notable characteristics of these Corridors and all of their connection loci. Your cooperation will be most appreciated.
Kira seemed to hesitate, gnawing at her nails as if she were going through an inner struggle. Before long, however, she snapped out of it like she'd just locked in on a decision.
Kira	Sure. I got stuff to tell you. Like, hella stuff.
Kira	Some parts are kinda fuzzy, not gonna lie. But I can still recall like 20 places clear enough.
Kira	I mean... it was home for me and papa, so.
Ryoshu	*puff*
Ryoshu	I got nothing. I never once regarded that fucker's room as a "home"... and my memories of it are all fragments at best.
The scabbard gave a faint, restless stir. Perhaps it wanted to comfort Ryōshū in the only way it could.
And accompanied by its tremors, we began our move toward the Corridor of the Middle.

Episode: 9
Location: Corridor of the Middle Nursefather
Kira	... The heck, they swiped everything that wasn't nailed down, huh?
Don Quixote	Fret not! I espy thither half of thy worldly possessions! Articulated Fixer figurines, videogame cartridges—
Kira	I'm not talking about my toy box, 'kay? I had hella many of 'em anyway.
Kira	... My TV's gone. The couch, too.
As Kira said, only a conspicuous empty space was left where the television and family couch set used to be.
Alan	Oh, those? LCE Researchers hauled them away. From the sound of it, they're going to set them up in their staff lounge.
Alan	As for the leather and the ornaments—they said they'll be selling them off.
Kira	... Yeah?
Outis seemed to notice something the moment she caught Kira's wistful look. The corners of her lips curled into a faint smile as she spoke with feigned nonchalance.
Outis	Who knows? With sufficient cooperation, perhaps they'd become more receptive to the idea of returning those items.
Kira	... Assuming much? I never said I wanted 'em back.
Kira	Anyway, I'll tell ya all about what I know, so come this way if ya want in.
Kira	These two doors here made from paper and wood—they connect to S Corp.
Kira	And that one reinforced with steel, that one leads to V Corp. Backstreets, where...
Having lived here and made frequent use of the doors herself, Kira was clearly the right person for the job of identifying where each door Wayfarer Company had asked us to explore led.
Location: -1
Directed by Kira and accompanied by Alan, we checked the doors one by one...
Alan	Hm... Good work. All data seems to match—thank you for your cooperation.
Location: Corridor of the Middle Nursefather
... until there was just one Backdoor left to open.
Heathcliff	I know this isn't anything new, but I've gotta say, these Backdoors are just too bloody convenient. Them portals, too.
Heathcliff	It ain't doin' anything shady like the WARP trains either, is it? Yours is as simple as turning the knob and enterin'. Seems to me you'll outpace your business rival in no time.
Alan	I'm a bit hard-pressed to agree with the "too convenient" sentiment when it comes to using Backdoors and portals, but...
Alan	... since your intent was to claim Wayfarer's superiority over the current W Corp., I'll take that as a compliment.
Heathcliff	... Did I say somethin' wrong?
Faust	Every technology comes with a cost, Heathcliff.
Alan	Aptly said. While this has been a workday relatively free of casualties thanks to the quality information you have provided,
Alan	do understand that Wayfarer Company's primary services include pathfinding, path security, and path maintenance.
Alan	Each of those services is fraught with life-threatening dangers for our employees. Some never return after embarking on a pathfinding journey, some are killed while battling monstrous entities—whose exact natures haven't even been confirmed yet—that appear in the liminal space between paths...
Alan	It also costs a pretty penny to keep the secured path, well, secure.
Alan	I'd say our operating cost is on the rather steep side, especially considering that we are also trying to prevent our rivals from taking this corner of the market.
Thinking back, I don't think I've ever seen Alan enter a door to a new location with his helmet off. It must be one of his precautions... just in case.
Maybe his dry smile and unsettling lack of reaction to anything are hints that he's simply seen too much to be fazed by most horrors.
Alan	Still, our work's gotten considerably easier for this job thanks to the help from everyone here. Honestly, this partnership is working much better than I'd expected.
Alan	Very well then, let's take a look at the last door.
Kira	Ah, it's the door Papa used to walk through all the time.
Location: -1
I followed Kira into the door, and the second I crossed over the threshold, a breeze carrying an oddly familiar, salty smell tickled the tip of my nos—uh, one of my clock hands.
Location: Giant Stingray Portship
Outis	This one connects to somewhere in the general Great Lake area, it seems.
Kira	Welcome to U Corp.'s Giant Stingray Portship.
Dante	<Stingray, huh... Why does that ring a bell...?>
Heathcliff	Hang on a minute, it's that... It's that place, innit? That Portship that has Salon du Moelleux... the private hair salon.
Heathcliff chimed in with a shudder, as though the sheer weight behind his words terrified him.
Don Quixote	Ooooh! Doth it signify then, that we shall finally be made audience to Young Heathcliff and his hairdo most luscious?!
Heathcliff	Ugh... Quit it with that luscious nonsense, lass. Why encourage me now when you were so cavalier about blastin' my "villainous" arse back at the Lake?
Don Quixote	Hmm, indeed... Alas, 'tis true that punishment wrought upon our merry band hath severely outweighed the crime; wouldst thou not agree, Young Heathcliff, that to put the coupons to use would remedy thy pain a smidge...?
Heathcliff	Ah, bugger it.
Heathcliff	... I ain't even got anyone to spruce up for anymore.
Kira	Sweet, then can I use 'em?
Kira	We were regulars at that Moelleux place, papa and me.
Kira	Papa would ask the Middle fam for a favor, and he'd bring loads of coupons back home. They give away a hair coupon every 10 visits, y'see, so I—
Kira	... Ugh. What am I even yapping about all excited?
Kira, who'd seemed ready to launch into a cheerful rant, came to an abrupt pause like a bike tripping over a ledge. Her face fell as she lowered her gaze and scuffed a pebble away.
Kira	Looking back, I guess papa did... did hella care for me, so why...
Kira	... But it's also true these guys went out of their way to get me outta there even though they didn't know me so well...
Kira	Ugh, why's it gotta be so complicated?
Ryoshu	Matthias gave you that unaesthetic B.C.?
Kira	The heck's a B.C.?
Ryoshu	"Bowl Cut."
Kira	Bro, listen... Like I said, that's not how you shorten these things.
Ryoshu	*puff*
For some reason, Ryōshū seemed almost gleeful to hear Kira correcting her acronym.
It was reminiscent of that self-satisfied look she'd get after confusing us with these acronyms, especially during the early days of our bus journey.
Thinking back, ever since Sinclair's translations became reliable enough...
... the Sinners had less reason to voice their frustrations with Ryōshū's acronyms, which in turn gave her fewer causes to snicker about.
Dante	<I'm not sure why, but...>
Dante	<... something tells me that she might be making her acronyms ridiculously incomprehensible on purpose.>
Outis	If your conjecture is correct, Executive Manager, she has one tasteless sense of humor.
Ryoshu	From what I recall, the toys and games he was into were pretty retro.
Ryoshu	Must've been annoying to play along.
Kira	... At first. But the more I played along, the more I got into it.
Kira	Still corny and juvenile as shit, though.
Don Quixote	I know aught of that conflict within thee.
Don Quixote	Trifling and apocryphal they may be, yet we are all compelled to peer hindwards at the interests of the family.
Kira	... Yeah. I wanted to know what papa was into, to really "get" what he was talkin' about. Besides, I needed to know these things if I wanted to chat him up and talk about a mutual subject, so...
Ryoshu	*puff*
Kira	He'd tell me about you all the time, Yoshihide. Proud shit.
Kira	Not a day went by without him sayin' stuff like "Yoshihide learned this in 2 days" or "Yo, this was Yoshihide's fave," y'know?
Ryoshu	Too bad I wasn't here to tell you that his words weren't worth shit.
Ryoshu	I once thought of him the same as you do now—a good man, at least among the Nursefathers... Caring enough to bring me gifts.
Ryoshu	But one day, I realized that he'd never understand the things I really cared about, even if his life had depended on it.
Don Quixote	One day, thou sayest? Pray tell, was there aught that had changed thy perception of that man?
Ryoshu	That... I don't remember when or why. Just that it happened.
Kira	Wait, I might know this. Wasn't it something that happened at school?
Kira	Papa told me that things started getting awkward between you and him ever since you quit school.
Ryoshu	... Bullshit. I've never been to school.
Ryoshu	I'd never even thought of wanting to go to school.
Ryoshu	Matthias must've been talking out of his ass again—
Kira	Huh? No way, bro. I even saw a clip of it.
Ryoshu	What...?
Kira	Papa showed me that video when he was teaching me how to use these doors. I even saw baby you goin' "I'm off to school, Dad!" in that video, so I'm pretty dang sure!
Ryoshu	But I don't—
As Kira went on, Ryōshū's confidence from her initial retort seemed to slip away. I couldn’t blame her—so much of her memory had been mutilated.
Ryōshū didn't sound like she was denying it out of hand, though. She seemed to mean it when she said she'd never been to school and had never even wanted to.
And I want to glimpse the fragment of memory that made her say that.
The moment I willed it, a scene from her past suddenly flashed across my eyes.
Location: ???
???	Very well, Yoshihide. I will register you in an institution that is... not entirely dissimilar from school.
???	There is an ■■■■■■■ ■■ ■■■, a subsidiary of the Ring.
Location: Giant Stingray Portship
Dante	<... Academy.>
Dante	<You sure it was a school? Not like an art academy or something like it?>
Kira	Wait, that kinda makes more sense, yeah! Musta been an academy, not a school.
Ryoshu	.......
Ryoshu	Academy of art.
Ryoshu	Hah.
Ryōshū muttered a few words as though they were pieces of a puzzle she was assembling.
Then, after a brief moment, she turned toward me with an astounded scoff and a look of mild irritation...
Ryoshu	Clock.
Ryoshu	You deserve a smack.
Dante	<...? Aaugh!?>
... then lightly smacked me upside the head with her scabbard.
Dante	<Wh-what was that for?!>
Ryoshu	This memory sucks, Clock. I would've been just fine without it.
Ryoshu	But at least I got to remember the incident that changed my perspective on Matthias.
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather, Past
Yoshihide	Dad, how do I go to... a school?
Callisto	... School, Yoshihide? Well, I don't see why you would wish, let alone need, to go to such an institution when we Nursefathers are here to provide you with all the education you require.
Callisto	You would later find our unique style of homeschooling to have been much more enlightening than trudging through any of the Nests' formulaic educational systems.
Yoshihide	But, but, Dad... I saw 'em in a picture book.
Yoshihide	And... I dun have any friends here...
Callisto	Oh, Rien and his pointless—
Callisto	Hm. But it is true that there are qualities that can be learned only through group erudition that engenders competition.
Callisto	Very well, Yoshihide. I will register you in an institution that is... not entirely dissimilar from school.
Yoshihide	Really...?
Location: Corridor of the Index Nursefather, Past
Callisto	I intend to send Yoshihide to an academy as part of my educational curriculum.
Callisto	There is an academy of art, a subsidiary of the Ring. Companionship with other talented children of approximately her age will nourish the spirit of inspiration that will guide Yoshihide's growth.
Rien	…….
Rien	The Prescript approves.
Rien	But Callisto, I'll tell you now that you might be making a mistake.
Callisto	Hm. And how are you so certain of that?
Callisto	Do elaborate if you can, hand-puppet of the Prescripts by whom every aspect of existence is articulated... What do you even know of choice? Of what is right or wrong?
Rien	And off they went.
Rien	Perhaps a little more situational awareness would've... prevented what is to come.
Location: Giant Stingray Portship
Ryoshu	Callisto had found me a rather decent academy.
Ryoshu	The "artworks" that used scare me when I was alone weren't so bad when I was with other kids.
Ryoshu	No, that's not quite it... It'd be more accurate to say that I started to understand people's perspective on "beauty."
Ryoshu	Of course I would, when all we ever did was nod along to the lecturers and spout purple prose, all the while making pincushions out of people's bodies like it was nothing.
Location: The Ring's Subsidiary Art Academy
Instructor	Our lesson today will focus on Corporist techniques.
Instructor	Now, take a good look at the diagram here, then the manikins before you. Weave the blood vessels in the same pattern as the diagram, and...
Miffed Child	I dunno why we're even learning about Corporist stuff in this day and age.
Picky Child	Right? I don't get what the point of this slog is, tying and shaping blood vessels to make a color that a drop of ink can do better. I read that in a book.
Yoshihide	…….
Miffed Child	*sigh* I'm more excited to learn about Cubist technique than this crap...
Miffed Child	Honestly, why's this washed-up movement even a part of the curriculum? It's just boring, shallow gore stuff—
Yoshihide	No. It's... Ya, it's gory, but... It's boring and shallow only because you guys are bad at it.
Picky Child	What? Aw, you mad 'cuz your daddy's a lame Corporist?
Miffed Child	Oh, is he? No wonder her stuff is just as—o-ow!
Yoshihide	... I was taught that people who say bad things about my family deserve to get their butt kicked.
Location: Giant Stingray Portship
Ryoshu	... Them badmouthing Callisto wasn't actually what set me off.
Ryoshu	I didn't have any special reverence or attachment to "family" like Matthias did, either.
Ryoshu	It's just what I was taught to dislike, that's all.
Ryoshu	Just one of those tantrums kids of that age have. Kids'll be kids, and all that.
Location: Corridor of the Middle Nursefather, Past
Yoshihide	I'm home, Dad.
Matthias	Hey, Buddy! You're home early! Oh man, must've been playing rough today, huh? You've got dust all over—
Yoshihide	Got into a fight.
Matthias	A fight?
Yoshihide	Yeah. They kept saying dumb things about class stuff, so I smacked 'em.
Matthias	... What about you? They didn't hit you anywhere, did they, Buddy?
Yoshihide	On my cheek, but it's ok. 'cuz I punched them thiiiis many more times. Did I do good?
Matthias	... That's my girl.
Yoshihide	Dad?
Yoshihide	Where are you going?
Matthias	Oh, ya know. Just got some business to take care of.
Matthias	Why don'tcha sit tight and work on a coloring book? Daddy'll be home 'fore you know it.
Yoshihide	Mhm... Mmkay. Is it Bro business?
Matthias	No, it's...
Matthias	... Family business.
Location: Giant Stingray Portship
Heathcliff	I ain't seein' what's so bad about taking care of your own. Them snotty sods don't learn respect 'less you beat it into 'em.
Ryoshu	... Hah.
Ryoshu	If only he'd been a simple-minded fool like you... then the story would've ended right there with a pat on my head.
Heathcliff	What?
Kira	... Papa—I mean, the Middle doesn't stop there. It never does.
Kira	You hurt a member of the family... That automatically gets you written up in the Book.
Ryoshu	Yeah. And he did what he did in the end.
Location: The Ring's Subsidiary Art Academy
Yoshihide	Huh...?
Matthias	Ha ha, there you are, Yoshihide! Is class startin' already? My diligent little girl—wonder who she takes after.
Yoshihide	D-dad...?
Matthias	I know, I know. I said I'll be back before ya know it, but I got a bit lost tryna find my way through the Ring bastards' tricky mazes. Y'know how they are.
Matthias	Oh yeah, and there are so, so many snivellin' brats here.
Matthias	Well, as for their crimes... they slapped my buddy's face hard enough to leave a mark. That's an arm for ya.
Matthias	As for the instructors... well, anyone'd agree that they did one sorry job of keeping these tykes under control.
Matthias	In that case, pursuant to Title 2, Section 52 of the Book... "execution by beheading." They clearly don't got much use for what sits on their shoulders, eh?
Yoshihide	Ah... ahh...
Matthias	How do ya like it, buddy? Papa's the best, ain't he?
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather, Past
Callisto	How dare he...! Such senseless, barbaric violence...!
Callisto	Uncultured, uncivilized animal...!
Yoshihide	*sob*
Callisto	Do not be discouraged, dearest Yoshihide. I have eyed out yet another academy worthy of your talents—it is a much more significant and prestigious institution this time.
Callisto	I assure you, even an intemperate berserker like Matthias won't dare force his way into such a place as he did the previous academy.
Yoshihide	... dun wanna.
Callisto	Yoshihide...?
Yoshihide	I don't wanna go to an academy. I don't wanna go...
Yoshihide	I don't... need friends anyway...
Location: Giant Stingray Portship
Ryoshu	For all his posturing, nothing that was ever important to me held any significance to Matthias.
Ryoshu	He took a lot away from me just to feel good about himself.
Ryoshu	*puff*
Ryoshu	So I hoped he, more than anyone, would never find out about the things I held dear, because I was afraid he would take them away from me like he did the others.
Ryoshu	But... he'd always catch on faster than he had any right to.
Ryoshu	... Every contract that took me away from the House of Spiders made me tremble in anxiety.
Ryoshu	Because I was worried about— I don't remember what. But I do know that I could never stop thinking about my room.
Ryoshu	So... whatever occupied the room in my absence must've been the most precious thing to me in the world.
The scabbard, which had been stirring lightly as Ryōshū recounted her past, soon began to rattle audibly.
Ryoshu	... It's doing that thing again.
Ryōshū patted the scabbard with a gentle, reassuring hand.
The scabbard that was once Araya. A memory without attachment.
It appeared to me almost as though she was pacifying a crying child.
Heathcliff	…….
Seeing that gesture, Heathcliff briefly cast a sullen yet faintly expectant gaze between Ryōshū's scabbard and my device.
He must be thinking back to his last conversation with Catherine.
But Catherine's existence, unlike Araya's, was erased by the Golden Bough itself.
... I doubt this device could do anything for Heathcliff at this point.
Outis	From everything we know, the Ring Nursefather seems to have been the... least awful parental figure in your childhood.
Kira	Huh, yeah. Didn't know that robo-unc was such a radical guy. He sent you to an academy like you wanted and even got angry on your behalf?
Ryoshu	Oh.
Ryoshu	Hazy memories. Almost forgot to mention.
Ryoshu	A few days after that... Callisto left a "snowman" by my pillow as a gift. It was made of heads.
Kira	... Heads?
Ryoshu	Yes. Decapitated heads from the incident at the academy, threaded together into a sculpture.
Ryoshu	Tsk. Thinking back, it was one sorry excuse for an art. He's sorely mistaken if he thought some low-effort bullshit like that could make me feel better.
Outis	Hmm...
Heathcliff	... Ugh. Could've spared us the details, lass.
Dante	<Well, with that covered, do you guys wanna head back?>
Heathcliff	... Hang on.
Kira	Whassup? Gonna get that luscious treatment before heading back?
Heathcliff	Shut it, you! That ain't it! Look there, those blokes walkin' out of the salon—
Fauvist Student	.......
Heathcliff	Fauvists, ain't they? They've found us.
Faust	It would not be odd to find a field branch of the Ring's art movement in different Districts of the City, especially that of the Fauvists' scale. However...
Faust	... various evidence, such as their masks and the fact that our group has immediately drawn their attention, suggests that they are in the same pack as the one making regular incursions into the House of Spiders.
Outis	This is LCB, speaking to Team Leader Alan. Requesting immediate commencement of lockdown sequence.
Alan	Copy that.
Dante	<Then why don't we—>
Kira	Holy shit, guys! Stop!
Heathcliff	Bloody hell! What?!
Kira	Don't you know where you are? You're... smack-dab in the Middle-protected turf.
Kira	Cause a scene, and Bros and Sisters of the Middle'll be here any second.
Dante	<Oh yeah... That's gonna be a problem.>
We've already drawn the Ring's unwanted attention—we certainly don't want the Middle coming after us to the House of Spiders, too.
Ryoshu	Sounds like you've got a G.I.
Ryoshu	Talk.
Kira	Ever played whack-a-mole?
Kira	Like, why give ourselves a countdown? Just head back through the door now and beat up whoever thinks it's a great idea to walk in through the door.
Outis	She puts forth a sound strategy, Executive Manager. As long as there's no high-ranking Officer among them, it would be to our benefit.
Dante	<Well, then... Let's do as Kira says.>
Location: Corridor of the Middle Nursefather
Alan	...? That was quick.
Alan blinked, shooting us a puzzled look as our entire squad came pouring through the door long before he finished the lockdown sequence.
Faust	... Due to newly emergent complications past the door, we have concluded that this location is the optimal point to intercept and engage the infiltrators from the Ring.
Alan	This location, you say?
Alan	Ah, wait. That door leads to a zone under a Syndicate or a Wing's protection, doesn't it? Better idea to fight here, then.
Outis	... Happy to work with someone quick on the uptake.
It wasn't long before the Fauvists began rushing in through the open door...
Dante	<I didn't want to summon them while they're relaxing, but... Welp, it can't be helped.>
... and I summoned the Sinners back to work.

Episode: 10
Location: Corridor of the Middle Nursefather
Alan	Okay! And that about wraps up the Middle's Corridor.
Alan	Thanks to you folks, we managed to cut the door cataloging workload by 80%! I really appreciate everyone going the extra mile to check each and every door, too. Made my life a whole lot easier.
Outis	It's all thanks to the Manager's excellent strategization.
Alan	Next up, the Thumb's Corridor. ... But we actually found a lot of intel lying around there, so we just need you to check some of the doors in its basement.
Dante	<Intel...?>
Faust	The manager expresses interest in the aforementioned "intel."
Alan	Ah, that. In the Thumb's Corridor, we came across a bundle of papers detailing the comings and goings of the Thumb's members and the orders they were carrying. Whoever wrote the logs has been diligently keeping them updated—the last entry was written not so long ago.
Alan	While the contents of the notes weren't all that interesting, they helped us get an idea of where each door in that Corridor leads to.
Ryoshu	... Valencina's shitty scrap papers.
Ryoshu	She'd been keeping up with that useless shit this whole time? Hah.
Dante	<Useless shit?>
Ryoshu	*puff* Remnants of her desperate search for a thread to cling to.
Ryoshu	You found one of her "backup ticket" hoards.
Alan	I've marked any doors that need work with a drone—there should be about three or four of them. While you guys do that, I've got some leftover work to take care of over here, so...
I've been noticing this throughout our interactions,
but whenever anything irrelevant to his work came up, Alan seemed to have a way of unhearing and maneuvering right past it as though he didn't even register what was said.
Recalling our conversation with Cesara back at P Corp., that deeply uncurious indifference might just be one of the essential personality traits to go on as a corporate employee in the City.
Faust	Understood. We will explore the areas past the marked doors and return here.
Alan	Thanks a ton. Well, then...
With Alan returning to where the other Wayfarer Company employees were huddled around, we decided to follow the Corridor to the left.
Location: Crumbling Corridor of the Thumb Nursefather
Dante	<Hey, there's someone in there. More of the Ring, maybe...?>
Outis	Going by their silhouettes, they're unlikely to be members of the Ring.
Kira	C'mon, lady. Get outta my way so I can see.
Kira	Uh... It's the Detective, some stubbly guy I don't know, and... that annoyingly airy dude.
Sounds like Moses, Gregor, and Hong Lu, respectively...?
The trio's conversation grew clearer the closer I approached them.
Gregor	You okay, fella? You bumped your head earlier.
Hong Lu	Ha ha... Fine as a fiddle! It was just a minor fall.
Moses	... This is the third time it's occurred.
Moses	We ought to discuss this issue with the manager once this consultation is over.
... I think I'm seeing a bump on the side of Hong Lu's head.
Gregor	Anyway, you know what to do, right? If, at any moment, you see signs of—
Hong Lu	Don't worry, Gregor.
Hong Lu	You made it through the explanation and the footage both. You're going to be fine again—I believe in you.
Hong Lu	Look at you now. We're right where it happened, but your arm is stable. See?
Moses	*puff* Ironically, fear tends to grow most unmitigated when it is distant and unseen.
Moses	I understand what you might be worried about, but... I don't see even the earliest portents of it.
Moses	So don't hesitate to share the unfiltered thoughts that arise while you're in here.
Gregor	.......
Gregor	I know what I saw in the footage, but I'm still having a hard time believing it. Or, I don't know—maybe I'm just avoiding the truth when it's staring me right in the face.
Gregor	My case is nothing like Don Quixote's. She just needs to keep her shoes on, and it's all good and dandy for her, isn't it? Things don't work out that way... for me.
Kira	... Whatever they're talkin' about sounds hella deep, guys.
Kira	Ya sure about eavesdropping on him like this?
Dante	<Uhm...>
Heathcliff	... That geezer's always weirdly cagey about himself. Maybe now's our chance to... learn more about 'im.
Ryoshu	He's sharing such an I.S. about himself for once. Why walk away?
Don Quixote gives a nonsensical interpretation of Ryōshū's acronym as Kira rolls her eyes out of exasperation.
Between the bickering Sinners and Kira, however, Outis stands in silence with an inscrutable look on her face. She is listening to the exchange between Moses and Gregor like a woman possessed.
Dante	<... Okay. Let's keep listening, then.>
Gregor	Outis was right. Dammit, she was right all along.
Gregor	The War isn't over. It never was. And it can't ever be over as long as this... fucking joke of a gift stays attached to my arm.
Moses	... Barbed words.
Moses	Now, let's revisit a question you couldn't answer while the footage was playing... Hopefully, it's become easier to answer now. You've been using that arm to fight just fine so far. How?
Gregor	*puff*
Gregor	... I don't mind fighting hostiles or enemies. I'm... not the kind of person who worries about people trying to kill me.
Gregor	But killing my comrades, that's—that changes things, doesn't it? I can't even control it. There's nothing I can do to even brace for it. It's... unstoppable. Like... some kind of time bomb counting down to unleash a disease you never know when its symptoms'll set off.
Even Heathcliff, who was always the first to step up when people began to spiral into self-hatred...
... stood in conflicted silence, his lips drawing a hard, straight line.
Besides, Gregor wasn't wrong in that, at present, there wasn't any way to stop his transformation should it occur again.
We've still got a good chunk of the journey left, and eventually, we'll have to—
Outis	…….
Location: Fathoms of Ego - La Mancha Eye, Past
Outis	No matter what lurks in the pasts of us Sinners...
Outis	Even if they have killed hundreds, thousands—no, tens of thousands of innocent people? Will you still... embrace them?
Location: Crumbling Corridor of the Thumb Nursefather
... We'll eventually have to confront an even darker, bleaker truth of the War.
Can I really trust Gregor not to crumble under that inevitable pressure?
Hong Lu	I see. You're afraid you'll end up hurting us.
Gregor	Well, that's... At first, I thought I couldn't give a hoot whether or not I accidentally murdered some of you.
Hong Lu	It's a bit... saddening to hear that.
Gregor	You know how it is, Hong Lu. We—the bus team—didn't exactly get off to a rocking good start.
Gregor	But through our journey, I've begun to think of you all as my comrades. And I was okay with that because...
Gregor	Because I had too much faith in my own weakness.
Gregor	When I realized that I'd grown so weak that I couldn't even take down some Backstreets thug with this arm, I was... relieved.
Gregor	Imagine that. The same arm—my arm. A weapon that stabbed the heart out of countless people during the Smoke War.
Gregor	I'll be honest, when that Hohenheim fella said that I was an "exception," the thought alone made me hope.
Location: -1
Gregor	"Exception." A potential to be harmless, weaker than even a noncombatant like Yi Sang. It made me hope for a life that... didn't sound so bad.
Gregor	We all know how that went though, don't we? Blew up in the worst possible way.
Location: Crumbling Corridor of the Thumb Nursefather
Gregor	And after all that... I just couldn't bring myself to fight again. Because I no longer know when this fear would eat me up again—because I'm constantly afraid of this damn "gift" manifesting again.
Moses	.......
Moses	The same fear you've carried all this time.
Moses	How did you endure it before?
Gregor	.......
Gregor	Badly. Barely. Holding on to the idea that the living's gotta live on, and nothing else.
Gregor	Hah. This really brings me back years. The memories are so clear that it's like they all happened yesterday.
Gregor	... *sigh* Best you kick me off the bus before push comes to—
Hong Lu	That can't be the answer, Gregor.
Hong Lu	You can walk away, but the danger of our journey won't leave with you. Dante and the rest of us will still be facing an endless repeat of peril.
Hong Lu	And it's not like leaving the bus will bring peace to your heart.
Hong Lu	Our deaths can be reversed should an accident occur... even if it comes at the cost of Dante's suffering. The same can't be said for most people in the City.
Gregor	.......
Gregor	*chuckle* Now that's something I never expected to hear from you.
Gregor	I guess you're right. If we're seeing this through to any kind of end, this would be the place to do so. Not many places in the City have some warmth to them like this one does.
Gregor	Boy, this consultation thing's pretty embarrassing.
Gregor	I mean, it's not like I was forced to go through something as traumatizing as yours, Hong Lu.
Gregor	Truth be told... I'm not some special case. Everyone who participated in that war must've gone through more or less the same experience—Miss Moses, Outis, and even Valencina, that piece of work.
Hong Lu	We can't attach a number to our misfortunes as if they're something to be measured.
Hong Lu	When I fled from my past, I tried my hardest to avert my eyes from it. But you, Gregor... you're not like me. Every few steps that distanced you from the past, you'd come to a pause to spare a look toward the path you had walked.
Hong Lu	All those years I let slip by, all those that slipped you by are dotted with fathoms of suffering that are both ineffable and beyond measure.
Moses	*puff* Different experiences, different pain.
Moses	Still, if there's one thing common to everyone, it's that trauma leaves aftereffects that linger for a long time.
Gregor	... What're yours?
Moses	I... dislike loud noises and people who talk too much.
Moses	They sound too much like the cacophony of the War, like screaming comrades who resented me even as they lay dying—and the wounds they left in my heart bled me dry.
Hong Lu	Mmm... But I thought you were fond of Miss Ezra, Miss Moses?
Moses	... I've talked too much.
Moses	That aside...
Moses	Haven't you heard your fill? Might as well come out from that corner you're hiding in.
Kira	Aw man, they knew we've been dropping eaves this whole time?
Dante	<Uhh... I was actually waiting for just the right time to come out and say a few words, but I couldn't find an appropriate moment to—>
Gregor	Ah, well... I would've had to share this with Manager Bud or the rest of you fellas sooner or later, so I don't really mind. But...
Gregor	What's she doing here...?
Ryoshu	T.A.
Hong Lu	Hmm... Temporary... Ally?
Ryoshu	No. Temporary Accompaniment.
Kira	Don't be an asshole. I'm working my ass off to help you guys.
Hong Lu	Fuhu... Pleased to make your acquaintance.
Moses	*puff* You're right on time.
Moses	I've been working on a theory, but I don't have all the clues to be absolutely certain. A word from someone in the know may immensely improve my confidence in the theory.
Moses	Kira. Do you know which "door" the Thumb's Nursefather was most attached to?
Kira	Huh? No. Duh.
Heathcliff	... "Duh?" That supposed to be obvious?
Kira	Didn't you guys all see her? Ya think I'd just chat up a scary lady like that?
Kira	Dude, she was beating the everloving shit out of Lucio every time I saw them together.
Kira	Oh yeah, he went down fighting you guys to the end, huh?
Gregor	*sigh*
Heathcliff	Yeah. Said stuff about her generosity and all that and fought 'til he died.
Kira	Damn, that's unexpected.
Kira	Being real for a sec here, I thought he was totally gonna swap sides.
Heathcliff	Really? That lad?
Ryoshu	And why is that?
Kira	Y'know, the vibes. You guys don't know 'cuz you haven't seen him long without the scary lady always looming over him.
Location: Corridor of the Thumb Nursefather, Past
Lucio	.......
Kira	What's up? Gonna stab 'er right in the spine?
Lucio	...! You...
Kira	Look, I think you might be training wrong 'cuz, like, you're not improving as much as you should from all that grind. Lemme show ya what I learned 'bout sword swings from this comic book—
Lucio	That is not how my master has instructed me.
Lucio	The Textbook cannot be permitted to have even a single deviation if it means to repay the debt it owes her.
Kira	Why're you so obsessed with all that crap anyway? Ya don't even like that old lady.
Lucio	.......
Lucio	But... you're not so different from me in that regard, are you?
Kira	B-bro, the heck ya talkin' about? I love my papa.
Location: Crumbling Corridor of the Thumb Nursefather
Kira	Seriously, I thought things were gonna crash and burn before Yoshihide even came home.
Ryoshu	Hah. Suppose "Textbook" and I had that in common.
Moses	Hm. If this one doesn't know, let me redirect that question toward you, Sinner Ryōshū.
Moses	Hopefully this touches upon one of your more intact memories. Do you know which of these "doors" the Thumb Nursefather showed particular attachment to? Or the door she used most often?
Ryoshu	Why ask me?
Ryoshu	... Fine. Yes, I do remember. Don't even need Clock's help to piece it back together.
Ryoshu	It's that one.
Ryoshu	The door with metal pieces dangling from it.
Location: Corridor of the Thumb Nursefather, Past
Valencina	Holy shit, I almost died out there...
Valencina	Son of a bitch, a fucking fly... Where did those G Corp. fucks even drag those gross pests from?
Yoshihide	M-Mom...? Are you okay...?
Valencina	Do I look okay to you, Ticket?
Yoshihide	N-no, not really...
Valencina	Ha... I'm fine. You know I don't break easy.
Valencina	You should've been there to see me tear the head off that G Corp. vermin, Ticket.
Yoshihide	But Mom, you're... your leg's bleeding a lot...
Radio	*tzzt*
Valencina	Here comes another mission. Boy, they really can't do shit without me, huh? So much for a break.
Valencina	The fuck is this?
Yoshihide	B-bandages... for you...
Valencina	... Is this kid serious? They've got truckloads of expensive treatments on the ready to patch me up the moment I get back to the fiel—Well, okay. Never mind that.
Valencina	Hey, this works.
Yoshihide	Mom...?
Valencina	Sit tight and don't start any trouble. I'll teach you some sword techniques once I'm back.
Location: Crumbling Corridor of the Thumb Nursefather
Moses	... Must've been her years in the Smoke War.
Ryoshu	Yeah. Fighting in the War took a lot out of her and left her perpetually exhausted.
Ryoshu	But she marched to every battle with a smile. Stopped drinking. Stopped beating me, too.
Ryoshu	Like a blissful idiot who forgot that she was still neck-deep in the inescapable pit called the House of Spiders.
Dante	<.......>
Ryoshu	Well, the ironic peace didn't last.
Ryoshu	Some time after the War ended, someone she called the "Consigliere" of the Thumb visited the House of Spiders as a tutor.
Ryoshu	And that's when she went right back to drinking herself into a shit-faced stupor day after day.
Ryoshu	The beatings returned, and so did the edge in her profanities.
Ryoshu	It was pathetic.
Gregor	Hold on... Why, though? Sure, I was on the losing side...
Gregor	... but wasn't Valencina on the winning side? A war hero, at that.
Moses	.......
Moses	Ever heard of the regulation that prevents Smoke War participants from moving into I Corp. and K Corp. Nests?
Outis	.......
Moses	The common thread between these post-war rules is that they make the lives of veterans difficult. Dubious rules that don't discriminate between winners and losers.
Dante	<I see... There must've been things going on behind the scenes there, too.>
Heathcliff	But... doesn't that mean that Backdoor'll drop us into a trench they dug during the War?
Moses	Yes, and Gregor will be the one to open it.
Gregor	Wait, me?
Moses	Yes. Others can do it for you, but what would be the point?
Heathcliff	... You sure this won't just end up giving him more nightmares? I don't see how this helps him in any way.
Moses	We do not have any means to treat whatever it is that slumbers within his arm.
Moses	However, I would surmise that the underlying cause of his sudden transformation wasn't the arm itself.
Heathcliff	Then... what?
Moses	It's trauma. His arm took control after his psyche was crushed by the weight of the unspeakable memories coming back to haunt him.
Moses	It's not because the arm went berserk that he started reliving his painful past—it's the other way around. Isn't that so?
Moses	If you can come to understand that the War is really over, and that what others say, no matter how closely they echo the past, is not necessarily aimed at you...
Moses	... then you may be able to loosen your grip on the fear and anxiety that your arm could metamorphose at any moment.
Gregor	.......
Faust	While her suggestion may seem blunt, it is one of the basic treatment principles of M Corp.'s psychotherapy centers.
Gregor	*puff* Fine. Then...
Gregor	... guess I'll open it up.
Gregor walked up to the door, grabbed its handle, then paused—taking slow, deep breaths.
And with one arm, he gently opened the door.
Location: -1
Tomah	Why are you running? You should be taking the lead on the front lines with our G Corp. banner held high!
Kind Citizen	I-I don’t wanna die!
Yuri	*chuckle* It’s nice to have a place to go back to.
Hermann	Oh, right. Happy 15th birthday!
Valencina	But you can't possibly have the cheek to call me cruel.
Valencina	You G Corp. pests were far more messed up than I ever was! Ripping people apart, cannibalizing them—you were nothing but a swarm of fucked-up monsters!
Location: ???
Gregor	I thought I'd woken up from the dream,
Gregor	but I was still...

Episode: 11
Location: An Office Building, Somewhere
Gregor	.......
Gregor	This place...
Kira	Eh? It's just a boring ol' office. I was kinda ready to be shook, thinking we were about to walk into a warzone or something.
Dante	<You recognize this place?>
Gregor	Hah, 'course I do.
Gregor	My last job before Limbus Company.
Gregor	... And my desk was... over there.
Gregor	Here's a tip, fellas. When you're working in an office like this, always get a corner desk facing the wall if you can help it. Lets you hide from the bossman.
Gregor	Out of sight, out of mind, you know? You can do whatever you want that way. Work, chill, or even freak out in terror at the slightest sound of metal clinking... Nobody will catch you—nobody will think you're a bother to other people.
... Gregor grins—a bitter, mocking smile directed at himself.
Gregor	The only downside of this desk arrangement being... people walking up behind me to get my attention.
Gregor	Higher-ups just had to holler "Hey, Vet Hire!" and I'd scuttle right up to them, but others can't do that.
Gregor	So whenever people walked up to me from behind, I'd get afraid that I might... cause an accident.
Moses	"Vet Hire"... must be about the Post-war Veteran Special Employment.
Gregor	Right, but I couldn't possibly complain. Wouldn't have gotten that job without it, you know? Not everyone was lucky enough to be considered for that.
Gregor	I was better off than most—
???	Gregor?
Gregor	Hm?! Head Manager—Ted?!
Gregor whipped around, his hand instinctively leaping to his other arm. There was an unfamiliar man in a clean suit standing behind us.
Gregor	.......
Ted	It really is you, Gregor!
Ted	And—I see some new faces with you...
Ted	Oh, wait. Oh! You folks must be the account that the guys on the other team asked us to leave the meeting room open for.
Ted	Landed a new job, huh? I see you've got a new employee card right there.
Gregor	W-well, um... So... How have you been doing?
Ted	Me? Same old, same old—well enough. It's not like I've got anywhere else to go, right?
Gregor	Aha, ha ha...
Ted	I'm not surprised you found new work so soon. You were always a dependable guy.
Ted	Is the pay good? How's life, man? Oh yeah, you were gonna sell that uh, commemorative coin? Some kinda medal, right? Hope you got paid good money for that.
Gregor	.......
Ted	Look at me. Asking "how's life" to a fellow Citizen. Can't imagine anybody would have anything good to say to that, huh?
Ted	Tsk. Moving on... Hope no one's hounding you with "Vet Hire" shit over there.
Gregor	No, not at all. There's none of that here...
Ted	Hey, that's good to hear, man~ Glad you don't have to deal with that dang jackass of an Exec VP messing with you like he was a war veteran himself.
Ted	Y'know how many years I had to hear that geezer bragging about how he profiteered from the war, pulling himself up by his bootstraps, about how in every peril is an opportunity waiting to be found, blah blah blah—I'm preaching to the choir, aren't I?
Gregor	Hah, ha ha.
Gregor	... That guy, huh. Is he still taking his "sauna breaks" during work hours?
Ted	Haha, what do ya think? His seat misses his ass every day.
Gregor	Hahaha...
Ted	Oh, and get this. Remember how he used to call you special employment fellas "Nepo Force"? A few days ago, his name showed up in the HR report. Guess what it said.
Ted	Turns out he was lining his pockets with kickbacks when we were choosing the Fixer Office for a partnership project. Heh, there's about to be a vacancy in the office real soon.
Gregor	Really? Isn't he... you know, an actual nepo? Thought he's the president's family.
Ted	Yeah, man. It's that bad. It's what anyone ever talks about by the water cooler.
Ted	If there's anything I learned here, it's that people obsessed with "back in my days" are all kinda like him.
Ted	They hate how their glory days are behind 'em. Kinda like, a distraction from how pathetic they are now.
Gregor	...!
Ted	And hey, a Backstreets kid like myself don't have "glory days" to look back on and yearn for, right?
Ted	I look back, and it's all doom and gloom. Y'know, if you've ever hit rock bottom, you also know the only way left to go is up.
Gregor	You've said something like that before, yeah.
Ted	Bwahahaha, yeah? Guess it's my own brand of bullshit philosophy!
Ted	Oh boy, look at me, runnin' my mouth in front of our customers. Sorry about that, folks.
Dante	<O-oh, don't worry about it.>
Ted	Eh? That's a pretty unique prosthesis you've got there...
Moses	... No worries. But it seemed that you were on your way to submit those proposals?
Ted	Gee golly, I'm late...! Thank you for snapping me out of it. I'm gonna get one heck of a scolding...
Ted	Anyway, Gregor! Hit me up sometime, eh? Let's go out and catch up over a drink or something.
Gregor	... Sure, if I get the chance.
The man who seemed like Gregor's former coworker hurried away, but he didn't forget to wave us a good-natured goodbye.
Hong Lu	Fuhu, I can see a little bit of him in the way you talk, Gregor~
Gregor	C'mon, I don't sound as old as he does, do I?
Moses	*puff*
Moses, who had been quietly observing as Gregor and his former coworker chatted, exhaled a light stream of smoke and slowly began to speak.
Moses	Many of us who returned from the War seem to suffer from a certain misconception.
Moses	When we are told to remember, it does not mean we are bidden to live through the nightmare of the past over and over again.
Moses	We are not being cursed to relive the pain and suffer in it.
Moses	Both Ezra and I, we're... we are both still trying to be free of the misconception we inflicted on ourselves.
Gregor	... It's not like I remember because I want to.
Moses	Well, if you can't bring yourself to forget them...
Moses	... might as well include in your memory the fact that the War has indeed ended.
Gregor	.......
Gregor	... Fine.
Gregor	You're not wrong there.
Gregor stared at his right arm for a while, quietly contemplating.
Gregor	... Manager Bud.
Gregor	Can't say I can give you any reassurance, but... just going on with my life seems to be the best answer for now.
Gregor	I want to ask if you're okay with that, though. I'll manage, but it's you who's going to have to deal with the aftermath.
Gregor would always say the same to those suffering from the cruelty inherent in living.
Still, live on. Just live on.
Yet even as his lips spoke those words, his eyes would take on a desperate and unfocused look, shaded beneath despair.
Today, though... Today, the gloomy gray seemed to give way to just a hint of the blue sky beyond.
This may be no more than a single ray of the sun peering through the dark clouds that have long suffocated the sky. It would probably take much more than this for the shadows to be fully lifted, but...
Dante	<Don't you worry. I'll be fine.>
... it's a big step forward for him to have addressed even a little bit of that persistent anxiety from his past.
Location: Crumbling Corridor of the Thumb Nursefather
When we emerged from the door, we saw Outis facing away from us, her weapon drawn.
Wait, I don't think she even followed us through the door...
Dante	<Huh? Were you here the entire time?>
Outis	... Yes. I was told by that Alan figure that someone has to stay behind and watch the door during these operations.
Outis	So I stayed, and...
Fauvist Student	.......
Kira	Aw man...! It's those asshats again!
Ryoshu	... Weird. The Corridor's not a place for those newbies to be roaming around on their own.
Outis	... as you can see, a few uninvited guests have decided to visit us through a different door.
I looked past Outis just in time to see more Fauvists pouring into the Corridor through a different Backdoor.
They must be trying to find a way to get to the Ring Nursefather's Corridor...
Dante	<Well, we can't just let them through, can we?>
Dante	<Kill them all.>

Episode: 12
Location: Corridor of the Index Nursefather
Once we dealt with the Fauvists who invaded the Thumb Nursefather's destroyed Corridor, we left for the Index's...
... and ran into a few familiar faces, waiting for us at our destination.
Dante	<Huh...? Don't you guys have today off?>
Ishmael	Yeah, but... I thought I might as well come along.
Sinclair	It's... you know... You keep summoning us while we're in the middle of something, so I decided that it might actually be more convenient for us to be with you in person.
Yi Sang	Your summoning occurred at the most... unideal moment.
Rodion	Now, I know you weren't doing it on purpose, but all three times you summoned me, I was leaning over snacks topped with buncha whipped cream.
Rodion	Today I learned that blacking out and waking up to a me-shaped indent in a cake I was about to chow down doesn't make for a very relaxing break, ha ha.
Dante	<S-sorry about that...>
Dante	<I should'ved checked in with you guys before summoning, but... I'm still getting used to it.>
Ishmael	Okay, now you're being too sorry. No hard feelings here, you know.
Ishmael	I'm tagging along 'cause I need some exercise, that's all.
Alan	I appreciate the additional employee assignments. Now, if you could share any information you know about yet another Corridor?
Kira	I hung out here all the time, so I know this place a lil.
Kira	There was this super clingy, annoying little...
Kira	Uh... No, that wasn't the masked dude. There was this other... um...
Kira	.......
Alan	Is there something you don't remember?
Dante	<Oh, right... Kira probably doesn't remember Sora.>
Sinclair	Sora...? I don't think that name rings any bells for us either.
Sinclair	Is that someone who used to live here?
Dante	<Yeah. Well, Sora was the Index Apprentice, so she probably lived here.>
Don Quixote	Forsooth, the Index Apprentice... Hooh... Pray tell, wherefore is it that the Middle, the Thumb, and the Ring each have Apprentices, yet the Index and the Pinky lack them?
Yi Sang	Hm... It would indeed be quite odd if a mere three of the five Fingers kept an Apprentice each.
Yi Sang	Retrace I might my recollections, yet I find it like following a trail of odorless air—invisible and unreal.
Kira	... No, no. There was someone. But I can't—
Faust	The representations of the Pinky and the Index's Apprentices are... missing. No—to be more precise, a merciless blade has shredded and reduced them to intangible formlessness.
Ryoshu	*puff* How refreshing to hear that same impression from someone else rather than myself for once.
As it seemed that I was the only one who remembered the two Apprentices, I retraced back to our first meeting and briefly shared what I knew about Sora.
Kira	Huh... She doesn't sound like a very forgettable character...
Dante	<Well, the Arayashiki cut her into ribbons.>
Outis	That would explain why it feels as though I'm recalling a sequence of events... with a critical part missing in between.
Kira	I can almost imagine her... giggling to herself like a creepy loner, and... she probably wears glasses too, right? Like one of those gloomy introverts from anime.
Ryoshu	... I see. So that's why it feels like I'm tearing through each strand of a weave.
Dante	<Ryōshū?>
Ryoshu	Let's say the world's made of strings or threads, Clock.
Ryoshu	With every slash, this blade would be cutting through the flow of strands that twine to compose one's existence.
Ryoshu	When an object is severed forever beyond repair, you'd think neither trace nor shape would be left of it...
Ryoshu	But now that you've pieced some of it together, it's almost...
Instead of elaborating further, Ryōshū fell silent again, save for the sound of the tip of her cigarette turning to ash—like she was recalling another incomplete memory.
... I guess she's trying to avoid overspeculating on what she doesn't know for sure.
Kira	... Damn, that totally breaks the meta. I had a vague idea of how it works, but this is the first time I'm hearing the deets.
Kira	Papa had to go through four ramp-up stages and remove seals to like, even make full use of his sword... Honestly, yours needs a trade-off. Your sword totally powercreeps papa's!
Ryoshu	*puff* T.O.? There's plenty already.
Kira	Ohhh, so true. Guess slicing your memories away is one helluva trade-off, sorry.
Alan	Okay, so... I'm guessing you don't have anything to contribute for this Corridor—
Kira	Ah, I've got one.
Kira	I dunno where it leads, but... the Index guy used it all the time.
Outis	Hopefully it doesn't drop us into an army of Indexes.
Ryoshu	T.P.U. They rarely gather in big groups.
Sinclair	She said "That's Pretty Unlikely."
Ryoshu	.......
Sinclair	O-ow! What was that for, Ryōshū?! Wait, did you just hit me with that sword handle?!
Ryoshu	...? I didn't do anything.
But I saw it.
I saw Ryōshū's scabbard—Araya—suddenly jerking to the side, prodding Sinclair like it was annoyed by something.
Ryoshu	I won't S.T.S. I'll S.Y.L.C. until you can barely walk.
Sinclair	I-I swear, this isn't a "slander" or whatever! Look, you poked me so hard it left a mark on my arm, here!
Well... I don't want to read too much into it, but... the scabbard was rattling like it was irritated by something.
Stop interpreting for her. This is why she won't stop making up these nonsense acronyms...
He's making it worse. I gotta stop him from translating for her, somehow...
Dante	<... Araya?>
Wait, that voice just now... it sounded a lot like Araya's...
Sinclair	D-Dante, you saw that too, right?
Dante	<Uh...>
Dante	<Ryōshū didn't do anything.>
Sinclair	Wait, really...? It really wasn't her...?
Dante	<Nope...>
Ryoshu	Heh... then it's decided.
To be fair to Sinclair, no one else but I saw in full detail how the scabbard came to be.
Which means that he couldn't imagine in his wildest dreams that the scabbard poked him of its own volition.
It doesn't seem like any of the Sinners heard that voice, either...
Kira	Damn, you guys bully him a lot, huh?
Heathcliff	Well... The lad's been long overdue for a little smack upside his noggin.
Dante	<We should head inside. Let's not keep Alan waiting.>
Kira directed us toward an almost disturbingly normal wooden door, so featureless that I could've mistaken it for any of the dozens of doors we'd walked past in other Nests.
We were greeted by a whiff of stale, musty air the moment we walked through the door...
Location: A Dungeon, Somewhere
Dante	<I think this leads to a basement...>
... and emerged to what appeared to be an almost dungeon-like basement area.
Location: Rien's Dungeon
Kira	Whenever the masked unc's beeper rang, he'd walk through this door.
Kira	So... who are they?
Ryoshu	The Index...
The Index Proselyte	…….
Ryoshu	Signs of life... There were people living down here, up until just a few hours ago.
Ryoshu	Why are you here, Paper Slips?
The Index Proselyte	We were only executing the Prescript.
Ryoshu	I've had it with these Prescripts. Though at least yours don't make annoying beeps.
The basement was stocked up with shelf-stable and non-perishable food...
... and the cells were all completely empty save for what looked like a makeshift bathroom in each of them.
Faust	... It is likely that this dungeon was used to imprison individuals of varying features that may be required to complete a Prescript.
Kira	Seriously?
Faust	This room seems to have been used for something worse than simple incarceration. Among Faust's conjectures is that the captives were... "conditioned" in body and mind in various ways to match the Prescript's liking.
Ishmael	Ugh... Sounds like that guy was just as crazy as the rest of 'em.
Kira	Wait, wait. That staircase right there leads up.
Kira	Let's check out what's—
The Index Proselyte	.......
Kira	... Friggin' annoying, man. The heck are you doing?
The Index Proselyte	You cannot enter through this door.
Kira	Oh, I see. Another griefer bodyblocking in the doorway.
Ryoshu	... Move. I need to see something.
The Index Proselyte	The Will of the Prescript forbids you.
The Index Proselyte	You cannot enter through this door.
Dante	<What do we do?>
Gregor	Um... Is it worth forcing our way in there? They seem pretty adamant about not letting us in.
Outis	... I'd prefer if we stayed as far as possible from anything that has to do with the gods—I mean, Prescripts, but... nothing in this basement gives me any indication as to where the door connects to.
Ishmael	Outis is right. We're gonna have to get upstairs somehow if we wanna get an idea of where this door leads.
Ryoshu	If Rien's been using this basement, then...
Ryoshu	... I'd like to see what's upstairs.
Honestly, learning that this door connects to some basement is more than enough intel to cross it off the list.
Still, if this has anything to do with Ryōshū's memories...
Dante	<Alright, then. Let's push through.>
Outis	Executing your command, Executive Manager!
The Index Proselyte	The Will of the Prescript is absolute.
Dante	<... Is it, though?>

Episode: 13
Location: Rien's Dungeon, Past
Araya	What's... up there?
Rien	... You may speak to me casually, Araya. But...
Rien	... in the presence of other Apprentices, perhaps you should find it preferable to mimic the tone of the Dihui Star.
Araya	... C'mon. It's not like I wanted to be Dihui Star. Just lemme do whatever I want while I'm here.
Rien	Certainly. You have a point.
Araya	So what's there... up the stairs?
Rien	Hm. I'm not sure myself.
Rien	I've never been upstairs.
Araya	Aren't you even a lil curious?
Rien	... Why bother peeling back the heavens to see what is beyond?
Rien	Those wanting of yearning needn't raise their heads skyward.
Dante	<Am I seeing... Araya's memories?>
Ryoshu	Clock, what did you see?
Dante	<I'm not sure. But...>
Dante	<... now we've got another reason to check what's upstairs.>

Episode: 14
Location: Rien's Home
Kira	Kind of a letdown when they were bodyblocking the door like there was some big secret behind it.
Gregor	Right? Looks just like any other average family home.
Kira	*cough* Oh man, I get cleaning up's a chore, but peeps should at least dust their home once in a while!
The thick layer of dust covering every surface and the blotchy wallpaper made it clear that no one's been living here for a good while.
Sinclair	Whichever family lived here must've had a child.
Sinclair	Look, there are drawings... and dolls, too—though it seems like the place has been abandoned for quite a long time.
Sinclair	Could something bad have happened in here?
Kira	Yeah, something musta happened in here that caused the family to flee. And they never got to return.
Heathcliff	Yeah, lots of evidence suggestin' that. The open door, the single shoe just lyin' around...
Ishmael	So someone fled from home for some reason, never to return...
Ishmael	I don't know, it's kinda hard to narrow down the cause—it really could've been anything.
Dante	<Are you searching for something in particular, Ryōshū?>
Ryoshu	... Yes. But it doesn't seem to be here.
Ryoshu	Every framed photo is singed beyond recognition, and whatever documents there were have been torn to shreds.
Ryoshu	*puff* Kinda like my memories.
Ryoshu	So this wasn't where he escaped to, huh...
The Index Nursefather... Rien. The last time we saw him, he fled the House via the Corridor after suffering a severe wound at Ryōshū's hand.
If by some miracle he survived, there's a chance he'd come after Ryōshū again, but...
... something about our last encounter led me to believe that it was the last time Ryōshū would ever see him.
Ryoshu	This is...
Dante	<Do you recognize this drawing?>
I found myself hoping to see Ryōshū piece together another memory—she'd been recalling new details all day whenever something caught her attention.
Sadly, she responded by softly shaking her head.
Ryoshu	... No.
Ryoshu	I don't.

Episode: 15
Location: Corridor of the Pinky Nursefather
After leaving Rien's quarters, we explored the Index's Corridor for a while...
... but didn't find anything that could help piece Ryōshū's memories back together.
Alan	Great work. Now that leaves just the Pinky Nursefather's Corridor...
Alan	... But that room didn't have any Backdoors for us to explore. There were countless more in the adjacent Corridor, but our guideline makes it a bit difficult to delve into each and every one of them right away.
Alan	Which means that our work here is done. Thank you for your assistance, Dante.
Dante	<Ah, okay... Glad we could help.>
Faust	Dante replies they're happy to have been of assistance.
Alan	Well, then. It's been a pleasure.
After a brief round of handshakes, Alan returned to the forward base.
We probably should've done the same, but...
Dante	<Wanna take a look around here anyway?>
Ryoshu	... Sure.
... as we had more business here than simply checking the doors, we decided to stay a little longer and investigate the Pinky's Corridor.
The Pinky Nursefather's room had a... peculiar structure.
Each door we opened led to a room identical in shape to the previous one.
And even though I was certain we'd traversed through quite a few rooms, we somehow found ourselves back at the starting point.
Ishmael	There are some small design differences between each room that help to tell them apart, but... it's difficult to tell which is which unless we look really hard at every detail.
Dante	<Where are we now?>
Kira	The kitchen?
Ryoshu	...? How do you know that?
Kira	I've been here before. Someone ghosted me after promising to watch Fixer clips together, so I thought I'd come visit.
Kira	It's someone y'all have met too, I think, uh...
Kira	It was... uhm...
Ryoshu	Must be another one who was severed by the Arayashiki.
Kira	Damn... You might be right.
Dante	<His name was Ren. The Pinky Apprentice.>
I tick-tocked, but no one here really seemed to have anything to say to that. I suppose that only makes sense—after all, his existence registered to no one here but me.
Gregor	So, when you said back at K Corp. that you'd cooked before... you were talking about this, huh?
Ryoshu	*puff* Yep.
Ryoshu	I used to perform intense culinary artistry here.
Dante	<... Um, your scabbard's shaking.>
Ryoshu	The reviews were glowing. One of them was Y.U.M., meaning "Yeah, Unbelievably Mouthwatering!"
The scabbard—Araya—was defiantly shaking from side to side in a valiant effort to deny Ryōshū's claim.
Must've been pretty damn bad, huh...
Gregor	Tsk... I'm having a hard time believing her, if you ask me.
Sinclair	What did you usually make?
Ryoshu	... Boxed lunch.
Ryoshu	Boxed lunch that... kids might bring to grade school. With sausages cut like octopuses and tamagoyaki.
Ishmael	A bit simple to be "intense culinary artistry," don't you think?
Ryoshu	I.F.
Ryoshu	Didn't you know? There's nothing like a school lunchbox rivalry.
Location: Ryōshū's Room, Past
Araya	So I want octopus sausages, tamagoyaki, and...
Yoshihide	... Why are we making sausages out of an octopus?
Araya	No no, I mean sausages cut like octopuses!
Yoshihide	And why are we... cutting sauges into octopus shapes?
Araya	Cuz it's adorbs, that's why!
Location: -1
Yoshihide	…….
Yoshihide	... Something like this?
Araya	Wha... what's that...?
Yoshihide	Sausage carved into an octopus shape. Didn't miss a single suction cup.
Araya	C'mon... I didn't mean like, a real-life octopus! It's gotta be adorbs, 'kay?
Yoshihide	... Isn't it all the S.D. once it goes down the gullet...? Why's this so important?
Araya	But... Mommy, there's nothing like a school lunchbox rivalry.
Yoshihide	... I.D.U.
Araya	... Huh? You're doing your weird acronyms again, aren't you?
Yoshihide	It means "I Don't Understand."
Araya	*sigh* That's when you say "IDK," Mom! SMH!
These must be some of the happiest memories Ryōshū and Araya shared.
The Sinners, me, and Araya, even as a scabbard, could imagine or recall them in full...
... but for Ryōshū, the most important part of those memories remained sliced away.
Still, if we can continue to piece more and more of her memories together by going over these places...
Location: Corridor of the Pinky Nursefather
Dante	<Do you wanna check out what's upstairs, too?>
As soon as I asked, however, the Sinners' footsteps came to a simultaneous stop.
Kira	... Wait.
Heathcliff	Hang on, Clockhead. Don't open the door just yet.
I looked back and found Kira and Heathcliff poised to fight, hands on their weapons...
Meursault	This way, Manager.
... and Meursault, who realized what that indicated, yanked me to the back of the line.
And in mere moments...
Ryoshu	So, there was someone guiding those whelps. Figures they'd send more than fodder to the House of Spiders.
Ryoshu	*puff* Stinks of wet dog.
... the claws of a massive paw slashed through where we had just been standing.
???	.......
Dante	<Wolf mask...?>
???	It really is as Maestro Émile Benoît said—this place is already occupied.
???	If you would be so kind as to help me with directions...
???	... Is this where Master Callisto's art is located?
The question came from a woman who appeared from one of the doors that led to a different Corridor. She was wearing a wolf mask, and unlike the Fauvists we had encountered thus far, she seemed to make it a point to speak and act with decorum.
But the subtle hint of violence in her voice quickly betrayed this air of faux-civility.
Kira	Sure you're at the right address, lady?
Kira	Robo-unc's, uh, stuff... ain't in this part of the House. Find a different Corridor.
???	Hm... Yes, I am aware.
???	But I'm not here looking for his creations, which are easily mistaken for mass-produced garbage.
I could feel her intense gaze even though her face was obscured by the mask...
... and there was no doubt that her eyes were bearing down on Ryōshū.
Suddenly, I was reminded of what Rien said moments before he fled through the Corridor.
Dante	<... We let them observe us too freely.>
Sinclair	What? What does that—
Dante	<The Fauvists got to confirm a lot of important intel—including the fact that the House of Spiders has fallen, and that Ryōshū currently has possession of the Arayashiki.>
Dante	<... They want Ryōshū for themselves, whether she's "completed" or not—Ryōshū as she is now.>
Ryoshu	*puff* Isn't that...
Ryoshu	... intriguing. For once.
Rufo	My name is Rufo.
Rufo	Yoshihide, the blade coveted by the Five Fingers, Master Callisto's final and posthumous masterpiece...
Rufo	As a Docent of Fauvism, please allow me the honor of escorting you to our gallery.
Ryoshu	*puff* ... Do I want to?
Ryoshu	Don't see the point in hanging out with people in those unaesthetic A.M.
As expected, Ryōshū declined Rufo's request with a curt reply,
and Araya, too, rattled angrily in the Docent's general direction.
Rufo	Then... I'm afraid my only remaining option is to rely on our usual method of ushering.
Dante	<... How are our odds?>
Kira	I dunno, she's prolly tougher than me at my maxed-out stats.
Ishmael	Really?
Faust	... The shape of her ring suggests that she is a Docent of the School of Fauvism. Her position is comparable to that of a Capo of the Thumb or a Big Sibling of the Middle.
Don Quixote	Verily, that maketh her a foe who may surpass even Ricardo's might, or... with a stroke of ill fortune, even Lei Heng...
Ryoshu	Doubt she's anywhere near as strong as Lei Heng.
Ryoshu	... our chances are H.O.H.O.M.
Kira	Half, Or Half Or More? I like those odds.
Ryoshu	Half Of Half Or More.
Kira	Dude, really?
Ryoshu	*puff*
Ryoshu	"Outmoded," "has-been."
Ryoshu	Why seek out the art of a "has-been" after all this time?
Rufo	It was a decision met with much confusion from the outset.
Rufo	To entrust such a momentous project in the hands of one such as Callisto... Why, everyone agrees that it is no less foolish than casting a pearl before swine.
Rufo	And they were quite on-point with that assessment. His oeuvre, recovered from the House, were more tools than art—the sort that the likes of Workshop Meisters might assemble.
Rufo	No self-respecting Maestro would create such mundanities and call them "art."
Rufo	Now, I must ask for your forgiveness for presuming that you would be no different from the rest of his work...
Rufo	But what I observed above this room completely changed my perspective.
Rufo	The scorched Corridor, the ferity with which you've scarred the walls and the floor, as though a frenzied beast had torn through them...
Rufo	There is but one tool that could possibly have left such marks behind.
Ryoshu	At least you've got a passable eye for art.
Rufo	Yoshihide, I ask you: Have you ever considered pursuing art of a further elevated beauty?
Rufo	It will be an experience that departs from the dilapidated remnant that dubs itself "Corporism"—a movement so constrained by its obsession over the human corpus that, once it had depleted all meaning it had to offer, it began piling on empty definitions onto itself.
Rufo	Fauvism is a movement that has broken from the traditional mold. Unfettered like a beast that roams free, we dare ourselves to ask questions that challenge the mind: What is "man"? What are "things"? What does it mean to trace the origin? How do we define that which we call "<ruby=wild beast>le Fauve</ruby>"? These are the subject matters that have led us Fauves into the field of fertile creativity.
Rufo	Should you, a wielder of that Relic, enter the fold of our movement... it will layer your work with such an unrelenting spectrum of colors that it will be destined to leave an unforgettable impression in the annals of history.
Rufo	In other words, what we can offer you will be of much greater worth than what you may have learned from a teacher like Callisto.
Ryoshu	*puff* Never considered him my teacher. Not a real one, anyway.
Ryoshu	Finding beauty among the carnage of blood and flesh is a lesson I learned on my own.
Ryoshu	And yes, I know enough about your movement.
Ryoshu	Maybe I considered some of the works created by your School acceptable, at least among the Ring's art... or not. I can't remember.
Rufo	Then, will you...?
Ryoshu	But I don't know.
Ryoshu	I don't know what makes your art more "elevated" than the one I pursue.
Rufo	The one you... pursue?
Ryoshu	Didn't the sight you claimed to have seen clue you in?
Rufo	Oh, it did. I do understand.
Rufo	Your art may appear to be no more than unchecked chaos at a glance, but upon closer observation, it reveals a fierce, dominant force that threads the entire scene together with its keenness as the connecting suture.
Rufo	Your bladework, too, shows such multilayeredness. Mere keenness often entails mundanity, yet you have transcended such a limit by scorching the tail-end of each slash—truly, a unique aesthetic sense.
Rufo	I believe I've sufficiently understood the full extent of the artistic merit imbued in that scene—
Ryoshu	*puff*
Ryoshu	No, you didn't.
Ryoshu	Lesser painters like you are such mediocrities that they fail to recognize the beauty that lies in the grotesque.
Ryoshu	They do little beyond painting the hell reflected in their eyes and call that shallowness hell's beauty.
Ryoshu	The sorrow condensed into a cry held in an instant, wrath unbound from the yoke of reason, the fading gleam of despair in the hewn...
Ryoshu	You give no thought to what each of those emotions signifies, instead obsessing over the cursory qualities of what is beheld. Let me teach you otherwise.
Ryoshu	Pay attention, because I won't afford you another long-winded lesson.
Ryōshū readied her scabbard.
Ryoshu	Pointillists, Fauvists, Suprematists, Blaue-Reiters, Cubists...
Ryoshu	I've visited my share of the Ring's galleries, heard their commentaries.
Ryoshu	But none of them were to my liking.
Ryoshu	Your art is an overcomplicated pile of definitions buried under symbols, caked in patchworks of empty shells.
Ryoshu	You and your art both talk too damn much.
Ryoshu	Just like Callisto's. Kept trying to take from other movements, forcing meaning where there was none.
Ryoshu	Excess is easy. Anyone can do it.
Ryoshu	What's beyond most... is making it succinct—the art of abbreviation.
Rufo	Alas, if all is one by one abbreviated away, nothing remains in its absence...
Rufo	... making the void left behind completely bereft of meaning.
Ryoshu	No. The void is what remains.
Ryoshu	And it holds things that can't be found anywhere else.
Rufo	What is this, a... Minimalist manifesto?
Ryoshu	No, my aesthetics go beyond the pursuit of simplicity.
Ryoshu	I pursue the natural germination of artistic immaculacy—a state of perfection wherein further abbreviation is an impossibility.
Ryoshu	S.A.N.G.R.I.A.
Rufo	.......
Rufo	A bit abstract, isn't it? Too removed, too plain, with a distinct lack of any meaningful, striking qualities.
Rufo	What exactly is it, that elevates your art above that of Fauvism?
Ryoshu	*puff* Painters.
Ryoshu	We're the stubborn sort that mere words can't convince.
Rufo	Indeed, there is no discipline more subjective than that of art.
Rufo	Discourse concerning its nature may extend for days on end, but it will not change the fact that unseen arts are meaningless, pretentious illusions at the end of the day.
Ryoshu	Then I suppose I'll have to carve it right into your eyes.
Rufo	Please do, though I'm afraid it may be overshadowed by the sheer vibrancy of my aesthetics.
Rufo	I, a Docent of Le Fauvisme, shall personally welcome you to my critique session.

Episode: 16
Location: Corridor of the Pinky Nursefather
Rufo	Gah...
Ryoshu	See? You're already looking much better with those superfluous animal parts removed.
Rufo	You're... serious about founding your own movement...!
Ryoshu	I already answered that.
Rufo	... But you'll need time. Under the Fauvists' wing, at least until you can fully cultivate your movement, perhaps—
Rufo	... I don't suppose words have any meaning now.
The Docent raised her giant arm as though to strike us in her final act of defiance...
... then slammed it down upon the door we entered through instead.
Rufo	All I can do is... buy time... for...
Mid-sentence, the Docent suddenly went limp like a marionette whose strings were cut.
Ryoshu	... Dead.
Ryoshu	And here I thought at least her last words were going to be succinct.
Yi Sang	Ah. Thus we are made foes with yet another Finger, the Ring...
Gregor	Let's not doom and gloom already, fellas. We beat an officer of the Fingers all on our own for the first time, didn't we? I see this as a pretty definite win.
Kira	... All on your own, huh?
Kira	C'mon, bro. I was fighting my ass off out here.
Faust	Herr Gregor has a point. The outcome of this battle would not have changed by a significant margin even if you had not been here, Kira.
Ryoshu	This is more like it. Won't have to freak out over a mere B.B. anymore 'long as we're with Clock.
Outis	Ha! Don't start congratulating yourselves for achieving the bare minimum. Those who celebrate over so small an occasion don't deserve to stand beside the Executive Manag—
Sinclair	Well... I guess this isn't impressive at all to people who used to be much stronger, like Outis or Don Quixote.
Don Quixote	Prithee, speak not such folly, for the joy of my compatriots is mine own!
Yi Sang	Have you any inkling as to why she might have, in her final moments, elected to demolish the door?
Rodion	Right? It's not like we've a shortage of doors in here.
Ishmael	Are we really debating the logical thought process of someone who was 2 seconds away from dropping dead? C'mon, let's get outta here so we can bring everyone else up to date.
Ishmael	Uh... Didn't I just leave this room?
Ishmael walked out through the door we'd entered through... and appeared from behind us.
Kira	Oh shit, where'd the exit go?!
Kira	Don't tell me the exit changes every time someone walks through it...!
Ryoshu	... No. Can't be that easy.
Dihui Star	I am... barred from enjoying the fresh air of the world outside,
Dihui Star	no longer free to travel the mountains and cliffs as my feet would carry me... as the other members of the Pinky are.
Dihui Star	I wish to no avail that I should be allowed to weave the delineations of Wings and Backstreets.
Ryoshu	Hah.
Ryoshu	So this is what she meant.
Yi Sang	The Backdoor through which we traversed is a passage to the Corridor of the one called the Index Nursefather.
Yi Sang	Cross the broken door we might, however, it avails us but a brief jaunt to the Pinky Nursefather's azure Corridor afore it returns us to this room...
Ryoshu	... Room's now locked in a loop without a starting point. Won't matter what door we open.
Dante	<Is there anything we can do?>
Faust	... A rescue team will arrive in time.
Faust	As this location adheres to the regular flow of time, unlike the WARP trains... it will be approximately between a week or two from the present before we can return.
Dante	<That's pretty long...>
Ishmael	Well, the first problem we're going to have to deal with is food. As far as I'm aware, we should be good to go for at least 3 days—thanks, Rodya—so let's—
Rodion	Uh, I didn't bring any snacks.
Rodion	It's not like we were about to walk into one of the L Corp. branches or a dungeon, so...
Ishmael	Yeah... makes sense. Looks like we're going to have to give this room a thorough search, then.
Ryoshu	*puff*
Ryoshu	No need.
Ryoshu	If there's no exit... we cut open our own.
Heathcliff	What about the part where it... cuts into your memories, too? Deal with that yet?
Ryoshu	No. The sword, it... still cleaves my memories with every slash.
Ryoshu	Don't know what memory it'll slice away this time, but it'll be something recent... or one I hold dear.
Heathcliff	Oi...! Wait! Don't be so bloody rash about it!
Other than me, no one but Heathcliff still remembers the person he holds in the loving depths of his heart.
Ever since the day of the sepia tempest, memory took on a special, precious meaning to Heathcliff.
Heathcliff suddenly reached out and grabbed Ryōshū's arm.
Though Ryōshū and Heathcliff's circumstances were undoubtedly different from each other, it was clear that Ryōshū's reckless attitude toward sacrificing her own memories triggered a sort of anxiety in Heathcliff.
Ryoshu	... What?
Heathcliff	Didn't you hear? Them nerds'll be here in a week or two to get us out.
Heathcliff	Why don't we just... keep that sword nicely in that scabbard and wait it out?
Outis	The radio... doesn't work.
Sinclair	What if we went up to the rooftop and entered one of those doors up there? There are thousands of them.
Faust	Out of the question. By doing so, we will be putting ourselves at a greater risk—that of casting ourselves into the endless maze that is the Corridor.
Kira	Okay, but we're dead meat if that brick wall of a Maestro wanders right into this room. That wolf lady's last words, man... I'm seeing the flags!
Kira	It's a hella risky move, yeah, but... I think Yoshihide and her OP sword is our best bet.
Heathcliff	Right, but what if we got lucky and they find us in a day or two—
Ryoshu	Quit freaking out, H.C.
Ryoshu	It will only be forgotten, not lost.
Location: -1
Ryoshu	Well.
Ryoshu	Good memories don't tend to last very long.
Ryoshu	It's been a fun excursion, Clock.
I look toward the scabbard, expecting it to rattle violently as it did earlier, but it remains still.
The white blade soon reveals itself,
and cuts across the wall where the door used to be.
And naturally,
as the Arayashiki's blade cleaves through the wall, so does it Ryōshū's memories.
Aw, we were really getting somewhere…
The thin strands of Araya's image, which had just begun to coalesce, slowly unraveled and fell apart once again.
Even still, Araya released the blade without hesitation,
But it's ok. We'll try again, so...
conveying no resentment, no hatred, but a few words of consolation...
don't feel too bad.
... as her voice faded into the gentle dark with Ryōshū's memories.

Episode: 17
Location: Corridor of the Ring Nursefather
Alan	Ah, welcome back.
Outis	... Question.
Outis	What exactly was the point of verifying every Backdoor within the House of Spiders?
Alan	Oh, Hohenheim didn't fill you in?
Alan	Any information regarding these doors holds an enormous value for us. Not to mention the higher-ups requesting us to reorganize the House of Spiders into a base of operations as soon as possible, even if we had to rush our work a little.
Alan	Only speculating here, but I'm quite convinced that they're preparing for a conflict of sorts. These little pockets of absolute safety are extremely valuable during these "operations," as you already know—
Gregor	... Wait, stop right there. What? What conflict? What operation? Are you saying that your bosses are preparing for a war or something?
Ishmael	I just feel like there isn't enough alarm in his voice, considering the... considering what he's saying. Preparing for what...?
Outis	Not even trying to hide it anymore, huh.
Alan	Hm? Did I say something wrong?
Yi Sang	... Must you ask to know?
Alan	Aha... I thought everyone already knew. I mean, it's an open secret, at this point.
Alan	L Corp. has already fallen. W Corp. is teetering on the brink of collapse.
Alan	You call us the "aspirant W Corp." We call Limbus Company the "aspirant L Corp." Meaning, we have a shared goal.
Outis	.......
Alan	But unlike the dead-and-gone L Corp., the current W Corp.'s still kicking, despite its rapid decline in recent years.
Alan	And as we all know, companies in the City aren't worth much unless they've got the military force to back them, right?
Alan	It's only natural that a business conflict would lead to a physical one as well.
Alan	This is just a mere team leader speaking, though. Who knows what the higher-ups in our companies are thinking?
Alan	Either way, much fruitful collaboration was had today. This'll reflect pretty well in our performance metrics, and we didn't even suffer that many losses.
Alan	I can safely say that you should expect a positive review from us regarding this collaboration.
After saying our farewells to Alan, we returned to the forward base...
Location: The House of Spiders Forward Base
... and shared with Hohenheim everything that's happened so far.
Hohenheim and Faust both did not seem willing to discuss the subject of the looming "conflict"...
So we instead decided to have Ryōshū's memory and sword re-examined.
Heathcliff	... Oi, Hohenheim. Results out yet?
Hohenheim	Not yet, Assistant. I clearly remember telling you 3 minutes ago that it would take about 20 more minutes. Have you forgotten already?
Ryoshu	He talks too much.
Ryōshū sounded irritated as she scolded Heathcliff, but I could sense a definite undercurrent of anxiety from the way she kept puffing her cigarettes to a stub at increasingly shorter intervals.
Hohenheim	*cough* This room might be more smoke than oxygen at this point... Mind slowing down a tad? You're practically fumigating the room with cigarette smoke.
Ryoshu	Then speed up, Glasses. Gonna bounce as soon as I hear the results.
Hohenheim	... Both of you need to learn to respect that things take time. Yes, "time" is indeed relative, but the fact that I have managed to complete an in-depth analysis of an item of such mystery in a single day is an incredibly fast turnaround and therefore deserves your appreciation.
Hohenheim	I have been attempting to rein in the more self-indulgent part of myself as of late, but I believe this achievement deserves to be elaborated upon; it is an evident truth that such a result could not have been replicable had it not been for my genius brain. Go out to the hallways and grab any passing researcher and tell them about my incredible turnaround time, and you will hear them say, "Whoa, done already?" And to that, I will answer—
Ryoshu	S.T.F.U.
Evidently tired of the two Sinners alternating turns hounding him for results, Hohenheim seemed to speed up the analysis... and managed to hit the finish line much earlier than 20 minutes.
Heathcliff	Whoa, done already?!
Hohenheim	Yes, there are times when test results are extracted earlier than the predicted timeframe. Many of those instances are easily attributable to my genius at work.
Ryoshu	... Then why aren't you saying anything? Gimme the T.R., now.
Hohenheim	You did tell me to "shut the fuck up," so I am attempting to observe the exact merits of doing precisely that.
Ryoshu	…….
Kira	Ha! Ya think Yoshihide would ever use known acronyms straight?
Kira	What if it's something like, uhm. "Sheesh, That's a Full-day. Unwind after work, though"?
Hohenheim	... And your verdict on her interpretation?
Ryoshu	*puff* ... That is exactly what I meant. She's better than M.T.L. in some ways.
Dante	<... How she lies as she breathes.>
At that moment, I might've caught a glimpse of the scabbard rattling slightly atop the examination device.
Almost as though it were giggling.
Hohenheim	Very well, then I'll get right into it. First, the memory of the time she was complimented for her cooking has been erased.
Kira	Huh? That's it?!
Hohenheim	Hardly.
Hohenheim	Second... a name has been erased from her memory.
Hohenheim	Do you recall the name of the man who works with Manager Saude?
Ryoshu	... Effie?
Hohenheim	I would have asked in the past tense, had it been him whom I was referring to.
Sinclair	Glad Miss Saude wasn't here for that...
Ryoshu	... That kid. Right, I don't remember his name.
Dante	<She forgot... Pilot's name?>
Hohenheim	That she did. Among other miscellaneously deleted memories are 172 hours of Don Quixote's tales of adventures and the types of food she fed to a seagull.
Don Quixote	F-fie upon it! Dost thou say that the memories most precious to young Ryōshū and me... have been thrown into utter destruction...?
Rodion	Look, Donqui, I'm not tryna be mean here, but...
Rodion	... that seems pretty acceptable, doesn't it...? For the price of unsheathing a sword like that...
Ishmael	If we're going by sheer volume, I wouldn't quite say its mileage is "acceptable." It erased several days' worth of memories just for a single swing, didn't it?
Rodion	I mean, yeah. But they kinda sound like inconsequential memories, don't they? Greg and Heath forget stuff all the time, how's this any different?
Hohenheim	The seemingly "inconsequential" nature of these particular memories weren't achieved by sheer luck.
Hohenheim	... In fact, it seems to have been impacted by the scabbard of the Arayashiki—or, to be more precise, the power of Araya's E.G.O.
Ryoshu	... That so.
Ryōshū looked down at the scabbard with an uncertain, hollow look in her eyes.
All that remains of Araya in Ryōshū's recollection is a blank space where the fragments of her existence used to be, severed and removed again...
Hohenheim	While it takes a rather significant amount of time, the scabbard seems to be... yes, capable of selecting which of Sinner Ryōshū's memories are to be erased as a cost of using Arayashiki.
Ryoshu	Sounds like... I should be grateful, then.
... but Ryōshū regards the scabbard with a conflicted look,
as though to approximate the outlines of the void she left behind.
Kira	Ooh, so it's got like, a cooldown timer? She can use it whenevs as long as she gives it time to select the trivial memories?
Hohenheim	I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss them as "trivial." The memory of the time when you were complimented for your cooking—it was quite a precious memory, wasn't it?
Faust	... You've performed an inverse calculation of the Relic's cost.
Hohenheim	Yes. According to our measurements, the sword seems to factor in the "weight" of each memory when calculating the cost of wielding it.
Hohenheim	It's become rather clear that it takes more than "light" memories to properly wield it.
Hohenheim	So, have her memories been restored?
Faust	As presumed, attempts to recall the erased being's existence have resulted in... failure.
Hohenheim	That is... quite discouraging.
Dante	<... But not all is lost.>
Dante	<Simply by knowing that something used to be in that negative space...>
Dante	<... many things can still be reminisced upon.>
Dante	<Like Ryōshū said. Forgotten but not lost.>
Heathcliff	…….
Ryoshu	... Clock.
Ryoshu	You've just stepped foot into the world of S.A.N.G.R.I.A.
She flashes the briefest of smiles, then scatters it away with a plume of cigarette smoke.
Ryoshu	... Collecting the G.B. will restore it.
Ryoshu	What used to be here, in the pockets of void in my heart. My one and only...
Ryōshū's gaze traced the invisible, the unperceivable.
Location: -1
A few more days passed us by.
We didn't spend those days idling—we visited Saude and Pilot in recovery, did a few odd jobs here and there like helping suppress a Distortion containment breach caused by a new LCE hire...
But with all the loose threads tied up, we managed to finally, after so long...
Location: Aboard Mephistopheles
Dante	<Kinda feels like... we're home again.>
... return to the bus.
Rodion	Hah~! Bus sweet bus! The chair could use a little more cushioning, but there isn't anything like it out there! Hnh!
Kira	Damn, this is your ride? Hella badass...
Faust	…….
Charon	Heh.
Between the two individuals, who were looking rather pleased at Kira's astonishment, Hohenheim squeezed through to warn us about some things to watch out for.
Hohenheim	I asked Team Leader Alan to set the coordinates somewhere as close as possible to the Nest. Keep driving through the door, and it will bring you right to an empty spot on a highway.
Hohenheim	Don't hesitate or hit the brakes, because if by any chance there is a car driving behind you, it will crash into the bus.
Charon	Nods.
Heathcliff	So what're you two doin' here on the bus? Decided to join the better team, did ya?
Hohenheim	I must admit to a certain degree of interest in hearing of your exploits, but to accompany you through them is an entirely different matter, isn't it? I'm only here to adjust your coordinates.
Hohenheim	... Speaking of which, just how did you manage to escape your confinement?
Kira	I told 'em I had some stuff to help ya with, and they let me out after making me scribble over some docs.
Kira	Solitary confinement's hella boring, so I thought I might get some air. Might as well say goodbye too while I'm out and about, right?
Hohenheim	... I see. You exploited the fact that the new hires don't have any grudges against you.
Hohenheim	I thought I'd told them to impress upon the new hires that prisoners are to be treated as exceptions to the—ah, right. The person in charge of that training is currently checked into the long-term recovery ward. More problems stemming from the shortage of manpower—I'd best include this in the report.
Dante	<Sounds like they're both here to see us go.>
Hohenheim	Well, then... time for a valediction, I suppose.
Hohenheim	Hm. Perhaps I've grown far too used to seeing your faces—saying goodbye doesn't come out as easily as I expected it to.
Yi Sang	Another day of reunion must await in the future.
Faust	I would appreciate it if such a reunion had a low probability of occurring.
Hohenheim	While I am not very partial to mathematical statistics like the probability theory, I hope your prediction is dead right.
Hohenheim	Well, then.
Kira	... Hey, Yoshihide.
Ryoshu	What?
Kira	We're... I wouldn't say we're "family" exactly, but...
Kira	... Listen, there's a lot of stuff I wanna say to you, and a lot of stuff I wanna hear from you. Okay? So...
Kira	S.Y.L.
Kira	Did I do that right?
Ryoshu	*puff*
Ryoshu	Acronymize it into "L."
Ryoshu	And call me Ryōshū, not Yoshihide.
Ryoshu	Prefer the echoes of that name.
After a round of goodbyes, the two disembarked from the bus, and...
... no sooner had the machinery clicked into place than the bus’s wheels finally began to turn,
bringing us closer and closer toward a blindingly radiant portal massive enough to engulf the bus whole.
Well, off to our next destination, I guess...
Dante	<... Oh, right. Where are we headed next?>
Faust	Dante inquires about the next destination, Vergilius.
Heathcliff	Hah! Now that's more like it. Been too bloody long since I heard that question.
Ishmael	Yeah, don't get too excited. When has an answer to that question ever led us to anywhere that's not downright bizarre?
Vergilius gave me a faint, knowing smile as though to confirm Ishmael's pessimistic remark, then delivered a comment that sounded too light-hearted for its gravity.
Vergilius	Hm. "Downright bizarre," is it? ... Well, let me just say that it's high time we faced such a sight.
Vergilius	Our next destination is District 14.
Vergilius	In other words, Manager Dante, we are now en route to N Corp.
Sinners	.......
Sinclair	So we are going there, after all. N Corp.
Gregor	... Plenty of faces there I'd rather not see.
As the rest of the Sinners voiced their various gripes and discontent with N Corp.,
Meursault, who probably had the most amount of history with the Wing, simply flipped open his newspaper like usual and began reading it with the same, unchanging expression.
Meursault	.......
As though for him, none of this changed anything.
Charon	Now departing. Vroom-vroom.
With that, the bus resumed its journey to a yet another tale.