11 11 301 AniZhuanchangEnd 1 Construct My family died on Earth. I wasn't able to hold their hands as they died, but in their last moments, all they held in their eyes was only hatred, not your so-called blessing. 1
12 12 301 Construct Those who were abandoned had only hatred and those who fled had only remorse. This Eden arose from enmity and countless corpses. 1
13 13 301 Construct People would die just like animals in that war, meaninglessly. 1
14 14 301 Construct Without faith, without glory, and most definitely, without forgiveness and blessing. 1
15 15 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Construct There's just hatred and anger that knows no bounds. Damn! Why did we have to face all of that? Why did it have to be us who were there? Why did we get to a point when we were forced to destroy everything? 1
30 30 301 AniZhuanchangEnd She understands. She finally understands it all now.
31 31 301 Only at this moment when she is on the receiving end of it all does she understand the anguish that laid beneath the soldier's accusatory words.
32 32 301 The words of Allen, the WGAA leader, rings in her ears.
36 36 301 AniZhuanchangEnd 1 Allen Your opera once took Babylonia by storm and the WGAA thought highly of your career. There was no doubt you had real talent and skills. 1
37 37 301 Allen You come from a wealthy background, and your career is supposed to be as bright as a diamond. There is no compelling reason for you to be a Construct. 1
38 38 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Allen So why did you become a Construct and join the Archaeological Team? 1
42 42 301 AniZhuanchangEnd She did not know how to respond to Allen then, but the answer is as clear as day now.
43 43 301 It is because of her arrogance.
44 44 301 That arrogance is rooted in every fiber of her being.
45 45 301 She had depicted a hell that did not exist, eulogized false ideals of war and peace, and extolled her perceived ideas of humanity's glory.
46 46 301 What shameless arrogance that was. She had "an epiphany" during the soldier's rebuke and was determined to redeem herself for her arrogance. That made her determined to become a Construct.
47 47 301 Because as a Construct, she would one day have the chance to step onto a real battlefield, to truly experience hell for herself, and with that, she would personally compose a 'reality' that no one can find fault with.
48 48 301 It was not until she was truly in hell that she realized how arrogant her so-called notion of "redemption" was.
49 49 301 To think she became a Construct for such a foolish reason. To think she entered the battlefield for such stupidity.
50 50 301 It was wrong of her, she knew that now. She should not have left her comfortable and cozy home for such naive and frivolous reasons, or her half-baked epiphany.
51 51 301 What significance did the art that she dearly loved have?
52 52 301 What significance did those operas and music hold, that she had her fought so hard for them till this point.
53 53 301 What this place needs are weapons that can eliminate enemies and zealousness that can end wars. Her ludicrous beliefs about art are nothing but self-reassurance, no different from self-paralysis.
54 54 301 She can now see the error of her ways.
55 55 301 Please, somebody, save me!
56 56 301 Please, anybody, take me away from here!
57 57 301 Such weak thoughts flooded her M.I.N.D.
58 58 301 AniZhuanchangBegin She has to get out of here. She has to get out of here. She has to get out of here... There is nowhere to run.
61 61 301 AniZhuanchangEnd Another rustling sound came from the other end of the corridor. She instinctively stands up, alert to the crisis at hand. She holds on to the door for support and looks behind her.
62 62 301 A maroon light pulses in the darkness.
63 63 301 The enemies gather and pack the corridor tightly, their eyes on the geometric core shard in her arms.
64 64 301 Perhaps death in battle here will be a form of deliverance after all.
65 65 301 The thought flashed through her mind, but is suppressed by another.
69 69 301 AniZhuanchangEnd AniZhuanchangBegin 1 Task Force Cpt I'm sorry we couldn't get you out, but... Selena, the shard you're carrying may be a critical key and you must get it back to Babylonia, no matter what the cost... 1
83 83 301 AniZhuanchangEnd 1 Selena I must... get it back to Babylonia, no matter what the cost... 1
84 84 301 She is repeating what she hears in her M.I.N.D., partly trying to convince herself.
85 85 204 1 4
86 86 301 Selena I must get it back to Babylonia, no matter what the cost. 1
87 87 401 2 1508
88 88 201 2 500013 -400
89 89 201 3 500013 -100
90 90 401 2 1508
91 91 301 1 An enemy pounces on her and at that very moment. With one hand, she slams her weapon into the floor hard, and with the other, opens the airlock. 1 2
95 95 301 The vacuum of space instantly sucks everything in the entire corridor out.
96 96 401 2 1512
97 97 301 Selena holds onto her weapon's handle for dear life to avoid being sucked out into space with the enemies.
98 98 401 2 1512
99 99 301 She is stuck in the exit, and a large number of mechanoids slam into her before being swept away. She can only grit her teeth in pain.
100 100 401 2 1512
101 101 301 Selena looks in the direction they have been sucked in, and sure enough, there is nothing outside. There is no spaceship to meet them, only stars that seem permanently sewn into the backdrop of the cosmos.
102 102 301 They are so far away, and so, they are everlasting.
103 103 401 2 1509
104 104 301 Selena turns away and once all enemies in the corridor has been sucked out, she closes the airlock with great difficulty.
105 105 201 1 500283
106 106 301 1 Selena I must... find a way... to check if there are any survivors. 1
107 107 401 2 1513
108 108 202 1
109 109 301 AniZhuanchangBegin She drags her weary injured body back the way she came.
111 111 301 AniZhuanchangEnd Selena did not expect that he would still be alive.
112 112 301 To think he can still be alive in this state.
113 113 301 His limbs are all gone except for his left hand. Half his head and the components within it are missing as well. It is surprising that the broken speech module is still able to operate at a minimal level.
114 114 301 When the Archaeological Team left, he was not damaged to this extent. A fierce battle must have occurred here after that.
115 115 401 2 1516
116 116 201 1 500006
117 117 301 1 Task Force Cpt Who... are...? 1
118 118 202 1
119 119 301 It seems his sound reception module is still functioning. Even under such circumstances, it is able to pick up her footsteps.
120 120 301 Selena walks to his side and gently kneels beside him. With her hand, she gently holds his broken palm.
121 121 201 1 500006 -300
122 122 201 2 500283 14 300
123 123 301 1 Task Force Cpt Is it...? 1
124 124 301 Selena It's me. 2
125 125 301 She chokes back a sob, answering him gently and confidently.
126 126 301 Task Force Cpt Oh, it's... it's you... from the Archaeological Team... Se... Selena... was it? 1
127 127 301 His voice sounds like it comes from a rusted windpipe, intermittent and with a quality similar to a steel wire scratching against an iron plate.
128 128 301 Task Force Cpt Why... did you... come back? 1
129 129 301 Task Force Cpt Did backup... come? 1
130 130 202 1 2
131 131 301 No, they didn't. Babylonia's abandoned us. We've been betrayed.
132 132 301 For a second, she cannot control the tears flooding her eyes and so she tilts her head upward so that they would not fall.
133 133 301 It is strange indeed. Why is it that even though they have already given up their human bodies, they still have to keep their M.I.N.D. stable by simulating exclusively human physiological systems?
134 134 301 Why is it that even though they've become Constructs, they are still unable to leave their human weakness behind?
135 135 201 1 500006 -300
136 136 201 2 500283 14 300
137 137 301 1 Selena Yes, backup has arrived. Don't worry, everyone's being saved. 2
138 138 301 Task Force Cpt That's... really... great. 1
139 139 301 Task Force Cpt But... why... don't I hear any footsteps? 1
140 140 301 Lying begets more lying.
141 141 301 Selena Perhaps your sound reception module has been damaged and is not picking up more distant sounds. 2
142 142 301 Selena But don't worry. The medics will come and take you away soon. We're Constructs. We just have to switch to a new body and we'll be fine. 2
143 143 301 Task Force Cpt The information... and sample... 1
144 144 301 Selena Have been delivered. 2
145 145 301 She repeats herself to make her words more convincing.
146 146 301 Selena Don't worry, they've been delivered. 2
147 147 301 If he cannot be saved, at least let him pass on without regrets.
148 148 301 Task Force Cpt Okay... 1
149 149 202 1 2
150 150 401 1 33
151 151 301 His hand suddenly starts quivering.
152 152 301 That is when Selena realized that he has seen through her lies.
153 153 301 But they have both chosen to remain silent.
154 154 201 1 500006 -300
155 155 201 2 500283 14 300
156 156 301 1 Task Force Cpt Thank you... 1
157 157 301 Selena ...I've done nothing to deserve your thanks. Rather, it is I who should be thanking you for saving me then. 2
158 158 301 The Construct shakes his head with great difficulty.
159 159 202 1 2 1
160 160 201 1 500006
161 161 301 1 Task Force Cpt When your team... called you Selena... 1
162 162 301 Task Force Cpt I remembered why I seem... to have seen you before... 1
163 163 301 Task Force Cpt It was at Babylonia's opera house... wasn't it? 1
164 164 301 Task Force Cpt I remember... you were... holding an opera performance there. 1
165 165 301 Task Force Cpt There was a scene... Your aria was the accompanying music, sung acapella style... That's why... your voice was so familiar. 1
166 166 301 Task Force Cpt I thought it was strange. You were... human then... Why did you suddenly become a Construct... I didn't recognize you immediately. 1
167 167 202 1 1
168 168 301 Selena is caught off-guard that a stranger knows about her past and freezes, as if ashamed. She replies.
169 169 201 1 500006 -300
170 170 201 2 500283 14 300
171 171 301 1 Selena Those are just some things not worth mentioning... 2
172 172 301 Task Force Cpt There's nothing... not worth mentioning... I remember it clearly. 1
173 173 301 Task Force Cpt That was the requiem for... the dying protagonist. 1
174 174 202 1 2
175 175 301 His words brought her back to that time in her past, a time that she has buried deep in her heart.
180 180 301 AniZhuanchangEnd 1 Construct Do you really think that when you're out on the front lines, the world is still as orderly as it is in Babylonia? It would be utterly impossible for that grand funeral service you had in your show to actually happen on the front lines. 2
181 181 301 AniZhuanchangBegin Construct And a eulogy with accompanying funeral music? Pfft... We don't even have time to attend to the cries of the living, so how on Earth would we have the time to comfort the dead? 2
185 185 301 AniZhuanchangEnd There are too many who died, just like stars in the night sky. No one remembers their names, nor the place where they fell.
186 186 301 It was utter nonsense and hopeless naivety to dedicate a requiem to the death of a single soldier... That was what that soldier had told her then.
187 187 301 She was so ashamed of her ignorance then that the accusation haunted her even her dreams.
188 188 301 Why was she composing songs? Why was she writing librettos? Why was she singing? And now, why is she fighting?
189 189 301 She did not know.
190 190 301 Oh? Even now, as you lie on the brink of death, you've chosen to condemn her naivety?
191 191 301 AniZhuanchangBegin It was just like her encounter with that soldier all over again. She purses her lips, closes her eyes and waits to be judged.
193 193 301 AniZhuanchangEnd But judgement does not come.
194 194 201 1 500006
195 195 301 1 Task Force Cpt Before that... I always thought... when humans died... there was nothing left. When a Construct is broken, they're just scrap metal. No one remembers. 1
196 196 301 Task Force Cpt I thought... no one would... care... but... you sang for him... 1
197 197 202 1 1
198 198 301 Selena is taken aback.
199 199 201 1 500006
200 200 301 1 Task Force Cpt That was... the most beautiful voice... I've ever heard in my entire life... 1
201 201 202 1 1
202 202 301 She suddenly feels the urge to stop him from going on.
203 203 301 It was nothing but a lame method of expression. An important character in the opera had died, so naturally, it necessitated an aria to give voice to the emotions. It was just an awkward, presumptuous eulogy.
204 204 201 1 500283 14
205 205 301 1 Selena Please don't go on, it was just... 1
206 206 202 1 1
207 207 301 It was just her childish fantasy, nothing more than wishful thinking on her part—that is what she is about to say before he interrupts her.
208 208 201 1 500283 14 300
209 209 201 2 500006 -300
210 210 301 1 Task Force Cpt Just... naivety. 2
211 211 301 Task Force Cpt But... it was... truly... 2
212 212 301 Task Force Cpt ...Beautiful. 2
213 213 301 Task Force Cpt If everything was... really like that... how nice... would that be? 2
214 214 301 Task Force Cpt I'm... sorry. We... didn't fight hard enough. 2
215 215 301 Task Force Cpt That's why... someone like you has to come to a place like this... and encounter... such situations. 2
216 216 301 Task Force Cpt But could you... sing for me... that song you... sang then? 2
217 217 204 1 7
218 218 301 Selena ... 1
219 219 204 1 8
220 220 301 Selena It'll be my honor... 1
221 221 202 1 2
222 222 301 The tears that have been welling up in her eyes finally fall, as she gently kisses the back of the other Construct's broken hand.
223 223 301 She has been plagued by self-doubt for a long time, never finding the answers she has been looking for.
224 224 301 To think that at a time and in a place like this, and from another in the same position as her...
225 225 301 She has found redemption flooding in.
226 226 201 1 500283 8 300
227 227 201 2 500006 -300
228 228 301 1 Selena That's the greatest honor I have ever received... Sir. 1
229 229 202 1 2
230 230 301 There are some differences between a Construct's voice module and a human throat, so she fumbles a little at first.
231 231 301 But she quickly gets the hang of it.
232 232 301 Producing the most beautiful sounds possible is an instinct she was born with.
233 233 301 She croons for a long time.
234 234 301 A very, very long time...
235 235 301 1 AniZhuanchangBegin Until the tears on her face have dried.
