3 3 301 DialogEnable Yarha is adjusting the data on his terminal in the dimly lit Construct Laboratory. Projected before him in the holo-screen is a white-colored Construct slowly taking shape.
4 4 301 Ever since he took the assignment to design the new specialized frame, Yarha has had to stay in this room.
5 5 301 Even with how focused Yarha is, the slightest breeze or movement around him makes him double-check his surroundings before returning to his work.
6 6 201 1 500499 19
7 7 301 1 Yarha Phew... It's alright... Just dropped a pen. 1
8 8 301 He is clearly scared of the girl in the center of the laboratory—the Ascendant Luna.
9 9 301 Although he does not know much about Ascendants, even the mad scientists of Kurono consider them to be extremely dangerous.
10 10 301 For no particular reason, he recalls the other white Construct who startled him in the past during the first test.
11 11 301 Yarha Dammit... I really should stay away from anything white next time. 1
12 12 301 His gaze lands on the unfinished white Construct in his terminal, and he sighs.
13 13 301 Yarha Sigh. I guess I'll leave Kurono after completing this frame... 1
14 14 201 1 500500
15 15 301 1 ??? Hey... 1
16 16 201 1 500499 7
17 17 502 PanelActor1Shake
18 18 301 1 Yarha Aaargh! 1
19 19 301 Right as Yarha is about to dive back into his work, he is startled by a greeting from behind, so much so that it makes him toss his terminal away involuntarily.
20 20 301 Luckily, the flying terminal gently lands on the ground, and Yarha is reminded of the Moon's lower gravity.
21 21 203 1 0.25 -400
22 22 201 2 500494 12 400
23 23 204 1
24 24 301 1 Seeing his terminal is still intact, Yarha finally has time to check who greeted him—and finds Karenina standing there.
25 25 301 Yarha Karenina... Why are you here? 1
26 26 301 Karenina picks up the terminal for Yarha, and she notices the frame on the screen.
27 27 301 Karenina Hey, is this the design for the new specialized frame...? 2
28 28 301 Yarha Yeah. It's not too different from what we planned. With the data we got from this agent, the frame can absorb the Punishing Virus in a larger area before eliminating it with the Omega Weapon inside. 1
29 29 301 Karenina I thought you people from Kurono would have kept this secret. 2
30 30 301 Yarha Given that the guards let you in, it means Collins is fine with whatever you do. 1
31 31 301 Karenina Hmph, it seems so. After all, he needs us to maintain this Omega Weapon... but there doesn't seem to be a reason to turn it on. 2
32 32 301 Ever since Luna woke up, she has not put up any resistance despite her indifference, providing Yarha with the data he needs for the new specialized frame.
33 33 204 1 7
34 34 301 Yarha No! No, no! There are still plenty of reasons! Please make sure it's working properly, Karenina... 1
35 35 301 All his fear is the fear of the unknown. No one knows when the gentle girl before them will turn into a bloodthirsty monster.
36 36 204 1
37 37 301 Karenina Seriously... Why did you take this job if you're so afraid? 2
38 38 301 Yarha Because the person using this frame is someone I knew. I want to do my absolute best for her—right, you might know her too. 1
39 39 301 Yarha opens up the list of testers for the new specialized frame... and the first and only person on it is none other than Liv of Gray Raven.
40 40 204 2 7
41 41 301 Karenina Liv?! I thought the Gray Ravens were still on the surface! Why would she... 2
42 42 301 Yarha They're trying to get Liv and her commandant back to Babylonia so that they can perform adaptation on her while treating that commandant. Liv will need to connect to her commandant when she switches her frame. 1
43 43 204 2 4
44 44 301 Karenina But if Commandant doesn't wake up in time... 2
45 45 301 Karenina remembers from previous files that without a commandant with high adaptability to stabilize the M.I.N.D. of the new specialized frame...
46 46 301 Yarha The user of the new specialized frame will suffer from unknown M.I.N.D. illnesses and die in three hours at the latest. 1
47 47 301 Karenina Liv... Does she know about that? 2
49 49 301 Yarha For the people with her, for the entire humankind... she still chooses to become this "necessary sacrifice." She hasn't changed at all, not hesitating to put others before herself. 1
50 50 301 Yarha takes out a small bullet shell from his pocket. Once a symbol of his cowardice, it now gives him courage.
51 51 204 1 2
52 52 301 Yarha So I'm going to do my best to help. After all, it's rare to work on something righteous like this in Kurono. 1
53 53 202 1 2
54 54 301 Yarha scratches his head as he closes his terminal before leaving Karenina behind, telling her he needs to submit some reports to Data Analytics.
55 55 201 1 500494 13
56 56 301 1 Karenina Is that a "necessary sacrifice"...? 1
57 57 301 Karenina knows that no one wants to sacrifice anyone willingly, but "there is no other way," "we cannot help it"...
58 58 301 Humanity is simply facing an impossible choice. If it were not Liv, it would have been Lucia, Bianca, the Gray Raven Commandant... or even Karenina herself.
59 59 301 Still, Karenina cannot help but think that this sacrifice is her fault... or the fault of the entire humankind. They are weak—they have been weak, so they need to sacrifice someone in exchange for hope.
60 60 401 1 36
61 61 301 ??? Humans have always been like this. There has never been progress without sacrifice.
62 62 401 1 207
63 63 301 Karenina almost forgets that there is still a frightening presence in this laboratory.
64 64 201 1 500238 4
65 65 301 1 She looks up at the speaking Luna. Enveloped in dim blue light, the girl in white looks ethereal.
66 66 301 Luna Countless humans stand at the crossroad of choice, sacrificing the fated few, surviving due to the science built upon absolute rationality. 1
67 67 201 1 500494 13
68 68 301 1 Karenina You... are also one of the few sacrificed in the name of science, aren't you? 1
69 69 301 Karenina remembers what Collins said. Luna only became a Corrupted because the Construct technology back then was flawed—and Karenina's grandfather was the one responsible for the theories on Construct Tech.
70 70 201 1 500238 4
71 71 301 1 Luna It doesn't matter to me anymore. Like what that man said, I was simply... unfortunate. 1
72 72 301 Perhaps Luna does not care about what will happen to her anymore. Be it an unjust fate or the consequences of her actions—Luna cannot go back and choose another path.
73 73 301 Luna But what does that mean to you? The culmination of absolute rationality is now in the palm of your hand... Can it bring hope without requiring sacrifices...? 1
74 74 201 1 500494 13
75 75 301 1 When Karenina was very young, living in the slums where hunger and death stained the air, she also tried to be a well-mannered child and fit in with others.
76 76 301 No matter how hard she tried, however, it always ended in a fight.
77 77 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Karenina used to wonder about the similarities between her and science, if its developments and her constant brawls were simply a curse of destruction, destroying nature, the earth, and eventually, themselves.
84 84 301 AniZhuanchangEnd 1 Kalon Karen! Look, it's a full moon tonight! It's been exactly 29 days and 12 hours since the last one... 1
85 85 301 Karenina No, it's 29 days, 12 hours, and 43 minutes! You got so mad when I didn't remember the exact time, Grandpa. 2
86 86 301 Kalon Is it? Haha, I've forgotten. But it's no matter—Karen can remember what I forgot, can't you? 1
87 87 301 Kalon Right, let me tell you about the stories with the Moon and the rabbits before I forgot... Once, there was a bunch of happy rabbits... 1
88 88 301 Karenina Grandpa, why aren't you mad... I had a fight with someone again today. 2
89 89 301 Kalon Is fighting other people fun for you, Karen? 1
90 90 301 Karenina Fighting... It hurts where I got hit, and my fist hurts when I punch, but I can't hold back even knowing that... They say I only know how to fight and destroy, and I'm just as mad as you. 2
91 91 301 Kalon How boring! Let's look at the Moon instead. That's way more interesting... 1
92 92 301 Kalon Alright, pop quiz! Do you know how the Moon was formed, Karen? 1
93 93 301 Karenina The Moon... Wasn't it always there? 2
94 94 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Kalon Of course not! Once upon a time, a giant meteor clashed with the Earth, and "Poof!"—a massive chunk of the Earth got separated before becoming the Moon. 1
98 98 301 AniZhuanchangEnd Karenina So the land we're standing on was once connected to the Moon up there?
99 99 301 Kalon Haha, you got that right! There would be no Moon without destruction. Isn't that something? So destruction itself isn't inherently a bad thing, you see!
100 100 301 Kalon And it's not just the Moon! A theory says that the universe was just a lifeless singularity before it exploded and created everything beautiful! So the greatest power of all is actually explosions, haha!
101 101 301 Karenina Oh... I see.
102 102 301 Kalon Alright, onto the next question!
103 103 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Karenina Hold on, Grandpa! I'm not ready...
109 109 301 AniZhuanchangEnd 1 Karenina Scientific discoveries always accompany uncertainties. Perhaps, like the development of zero-point energy, they will bring about endless disasters and create many "necessary sacrifices" like you... 1
110 110 301 Karenina smiles, meeting Luna's gaze.
111 111 301 Karenina Perhaps we aren't strong enough yet, and our best researchers are as naive as the children who wonder about the Moon. 1
112 112 301 Karenina But the knowledge we amass is not for nothing. One day, we will transform science's destructive power into a new hope. 1
113 113 201 1 500238 1
114 114 301 1 Luna cannot help but smile. This is the first time she feels human to Karenina.
115 115 301 Luna ...Unwilling to give up hope... You're as stubborn as my sister. 1
116 116 201 1 500494 1
117 117 301 1 Karenina Lucia and the others are still fighting on the surface... Hmph, I'm not going to lose to them! 1
