Evolve (17)
Impulses were not the kind of everyday desires that occurred routinely. Because they manifested as sudden internal stimuli, if I failed to recognize them, there was a high likelihood that I'd unconsciously act on them.
If I realized such stimuli, I could consciously control them, but from that point, it became a battle of patience. I had to wait for the urge to settle down or find some other way to relieve it.
If I failed to do so, the tension would persist. That was how I felt right now.
'... I need a tail.'
My hand felt empty. I kept opening and closing it into thin air. If I could touch Nadia's tail, I thought I might feel better, but Nadia was far away, and Celestia was close by.
Given that, increasing the distance all of a sudden would make the situation awkward, so I couldn't do that either. I suppressed a sigh inwardly and feigned calm.
"You're planning to use this? What does that mean?"
"I heard you succeeded in processing the exoskeleton. That made me think we could finally put the Whiteout material—once little more than a bother—to use, so I came to check. Fortunately, I was right."
Celestia's expression, which had been fixed on me, shifted subtly. She still kept her bright smile, but the persistent way her gaze lingered felt a little obsessive.
Or perhaps everything was the same as usual, and only I was feeling strange. Maybe that was possible.
"I've been making equipment, too, just like you, Hyun-woo. I tried to make do with what I had, but it turned out very inefficient."
"So you want to try using this?"
"Yes. Is that possible? I'd prefer to use the tail rather than the head."
"Of course. It's possible."
I nodded. Celestia had a stake in this too. I'd been debating what to do with the material anyway.
"So, what are you planning to make? And why just the tail?"
"I've only had ideas so far, so I'll have to take a closer look first. Can I tell you after that?"
Celestia gave an embarrassed look, saying she'd be a bit shy if her excitement was premature. I told her to go ahead and handed her Whiteout's tail.
"You can change the form to some extent, so keep that in mind when you look."
"Okay!"
Celestia stretched out the tail, which was much longer than an arm. Whiteout's tail was as hard as Blue Eye's exoskeleton, but with a different kind of strength.
If you looked in the light, you could see hexagonal scales attached. Where it had been torn, the cross-section revealed elastic biological tissue under the scale.
Because it was highly shock-absorbent and elastic, Whiteout could use its tail for both offense and defense. The way it whipped like a lash and accelerated in a flash sent chills down my spine.
There was even a sharp barb at the tip; if I hadn't dodged and had been hit squarely, I probably wouldn't be standing here intact.
"Hmmm..."
Celestia pulled an unfamiliar device from her belt pouch and attached it to the tail. She activated it and carefully checked the data displayed.
'It would probably be easy to process it into a whip.'
I kept my thoughts to myself. Even if it was easy to process, making it into a whip wouldn't do. Whips as weapons were niche and counted as melee weapons.
They were hard to handle as it was and couldn't be used unless you got close. In this day and age, who uses melee weapons? The only reason I wielded something like a plasma cutter was because I had the stamina and strength to cover its weaknesses.
Celestia could achieve a level of strength beyond an average person thanks to the assistance of her suit, but that didn't mean picking a melee weapon was wise.
'In a world dominated by ranged weapons.'
No matter how good the suit was, waving a whip around would just get you riddled with bullets. Whether you were in their lines of fire or not, enemies would keep pulling the trigger.
I waited quietly, and soon Celestia set the tail down. Judging by her bright expression, things must have gone well.
"Hyun-woo, I think it'll work. The energy conductivity is amazing."
"And what's good about that?"
"You can cut down on loss, and boost output. I'm thinking of making a linear rifle with this."
A linear rifle. Nadia had previously mentioned it as armament for the power loader, so I knew which type of weapon it was—a special weapon that accelerated and launched projectiles using electromagnetic force rather than gunpowder. It was a type of railgun.
As technology advanced, several similar weapons were developed, but most were designed for machines like power loaders. The models released for personal use were plagued by so many problems that they had essentially been scrapped.
The recoil was too severe for an individual to handle, and it was hard to bear the battery pack's weight, and so on. In the end, the problem was efficiency, then and now.
At least with the mining of blue crystal, energy wasn't much of an issue anymore. People just kept pushing the limits: "If this works, what about this? And how about this one?"
It just led to an arms race in firepower.
'Well, Celestia probably already knows all that.'
Celestia surely knew it even better than I did. So there was no reason for me to nitpick. Even if there were efficiency issues, the weapon wasn't completely obsolete.
What I was curious about was something else.
"How are you going to make that with the tail?"
"The tail itself will be the barrel. If we hollow out the middle and build the structure based on the tail's skeleton, I think it'll work."
Celestia said that to properly design it, we'd need to separate the tail by material.
"The bones will be the barrel, the scales will serve as conduits for rapid cooling and energy transfer, and as for the biological tissue, I'll set it aside as its use is unclear. If it's awkward to incorporate into the equipment, we could give it to Carrot for research."
"Ah."
I understood what Celestia was envisioning. Seeing her face flush with concentration made me feel like a fool.
Up until now, Ian's emotions had kept me on edge and made me respond passively, but now I felt a little more at ease.
Celestia didn't know anything, yet I'd been suffering alone and pushing her away—wasn't that strange?
With a change of mind, my body, which I hadn't realized was tense, relaxed. Since then, I started participating in the conversation more actively.
"So rather than reshaping, the important thing is to preserve the form while separating the materials."
"That's right. Of all components, the scales are the most important. Can't lose even one."
"That'll require some fine processing skills..."
There were only certain people with that skill—Kyle and Nadia. But I couldn't assign it to Kyle. He was already pushing himself beyond his limit with the engineer team.
That left Nadia, but giving it to her wasn't ideal either—especially since she was in the middle of a modification job I couldn't even talk to her about.
As I hesitated, Nadia, who had been simply listening to Celestia and me, peeked over from atop the power loader. She was smudged with soot from her tinkering, just like yesterday.
"Hyun-woo, should I help?"
"You sure? Separating all this won't be quick. You haven't finished the core parts yet, right?"
Nadia seriously considered my words. Then she squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.
"I-I'll sacrifice my sleep!"
"No way."
I replied firmly. Preserving her strength was at least as important as the project. Why were we doing all this in the first place? To push back the pureblood supremacists and escape Titan.
Until we crossed that finish line—escape—I couldn't afford to let my guard down. Lacking strength at a critical time meant you'd stumble. And if you stumbled, our enemies wouldn't miss that chance. They'd tear into us and make sure we couldn't get up again.
"Then how are you going to do it?"
"Hyun-woo and I will try together, Nadia. We have the equipment, so if we put in the time, I think we can manage."
Celestia reassured the anxious Nadia. She stepped forward to stand in front of me—right where she blocked Nadia from view. Turning, Celestia smiled sweetly.
"You agree, Hyun-woo?"
"Uh..."
"Saying we can't lose a single scale was just a joke. We can recycle damaged ones, so don't worry too much. It's not such a fragile material. So, will you help me?"
"Why not, let's go for it."
I answered spiritedly—half on impulse. Celestia's pleading eyes reminded me of her as a child for an instant, and I replied before I knew it.
Once that tension faded, I failed to filter the sudden urge that surged up. I regretted the answer as soon as I gave it.
'I'm not confident. I can't even do it with telekinesis.'
I was good at solving things with brute force, but I had no confidence in tasks requiring fine detail. Even if things could be reused if damaged, everyone wants the best possible result.
But I couldn't take my words back. Celestia's happy smile left me speechless.
"Hyun-woo, are you sure you can do this?"
Nadia cocked her head in concern. She knew I didn't favor tasks like this, so her confusion was only natural.
"... Yeah. I'll try."
It was already done. Despite my true feelings, I spoke differently.
"If you ever need my help, let me know."
"Okay."
"Good luck!"
Nadia raised her fists in support and returned to modifying the core parts. Carry promptly passed her the right tools, and the clanging resumed.
I let out a small sigh. Celestia, sensing my anxiety, smiled gently. She took my hand and led me to a nearby work table.
"Don't worry too much. You already move with a delicate touch."
"... I do?"
"Of course. You're incredibly strong. You can lift or set down something like that without effort. Despite that strength, you handle daily life fine—right? That's proof."
Celestia said that since I always controlled my strength, I never broke things or accidentally hurt anyone. Listening, I almost accepted it on the spot.
I tried to point out that this task was different, but Celestia was faster—she placed her hand over mine.
She moved her free hand to create the illusion that she was caressing my hand resting on hers.
"See? If you hadn't been controlling your strength, my hand would have been crushed the moment you grabbed it."
Blinking blankly, I realized my hand was now holding a scale-separating tool, not Celestia's hand. Celestia sat close to me—or rather, she half leaned against my back.
"I think it's a matter of will and awareness. So, focus on your fingertips—on the sensations gathering there. I'll help."
She closed the distance so suddenly I flinched. I instinctively glanced toward Nadia. Seated atop the power loader, she was mostly blocked from view—I could only see her tail swaying out.
"Hyun-woo, I told you to focus."
Celestia narrowed her eyes with irritation and tapped my hand. When I met her gaze, she relaxed her eyes again.
"The first time is always hardest. Once you get past that, it's much easier after."
The tool Celestia gave me was a so-called universal processing tool, highly sensitive. It was designed for humans to do tasks machines should perform.
I considered letting the Beta series handle it—only, not a unit was nearby, even though they had been present not long ago. Summoning new ones wasn't what Celestia wanted, either.
"Use your thumb to activate the tool. It'll power on and you'll feel a faint vibration inside."
I did as instructed. It wasn't hard—a simple button press, even I could manage that.
"Can you feel it?"
"Yes."
"Wow, good job!"
As the tool started working, Celestia smiled and clapped. It wasn't anything spectacular, but I blushed from the praise.
I wanted to hide my face. When I inadvertently applied pressure, the tool recognized it and extended tiny pincers.
Each time I flexed my fingers, the tool extended or shifted into various implements. It felt like my hand had become an extension.
As Celestia watched my slowly moving fingers with a giggle, she suddenly spoke as if remembering something.
"Hyun-woo, did you know that every finger has a different meaning?"
"There's such a thing?"
That was the first I'd heard of it. When my curiosity showed, Celestia offered to explain while helping set the tool sensitivity.
"Hearing an explanation alone sounds dull, so I'll mix in a bit of my story. Promise you'll listen?"
Just an explanation sounded interesting, but I didn't say so. No, I didn't dare—it was clear, as she sent me a shy, blushing glance and a soft cough, that I had no choice in the matter.
"Luck has already found you."
She fiddled with her pinky, making that comment. Was she referring to the 'serendipity' I'd mentioned? She didn't say directly, answering with ambiguity.
Next, her attention shifted to the ring finger on her right hand.
"Thanks to that luck, I found stability."
Celestia stroked each of my fingers as she spoke.
"Relationships are a bit tricky. Still, I'm not tired. It's my will to keep at it."
From her right hand, she crossed to her left, from thumb to index.
"I like this side, too, but I prefer this one. It's a little longer—whether it's relationships, or life itself, or anything."
Glancing in Nadia's direction, Celestia dragged her nail lightly along my ring finger. The gentle grazing of my skin made me shiver. Finally, she tapped my pinky.
"It might be difficult, but I believe opportunity will come my way."
When there were no more fingers to examine, Celestia reluctantly withdrew her hand from mine.
As I was left dazed by the finger game, she turned her gaze to Whiteout's tail.
"I know you're worried."
"... How did you know?"
Surprised, I scratched my cheek, realizing I hadn't hidden it as well as I thought. Celestia shrugged.
"I'm always watching you. No matter what answer you reach, I'll respect it—my way."
"You don't know what the worry is."
"Even so. You don't have to know to respect someone's feelings. I respect you because I trust you. I believe in you."
Celestia said this was how she'd always been, and smiled softly. Then she changed the subject.
"Did you listen to my tool explanation?"
"..."
I forgot it all. Honestly, I'd been concentrating wholly on the sensations in my fingers; the actual instructions had gone in one ear and out the other.
"No way—don't tell me you heard none of it? I explained so hard..."
"... Can you go over it again?"
"Sure, anytime."
Celestia looked even happier now, not a hint of annoyance or displeasure on her face.
I resolved to listen properly this time and focused on her continued explanation.
***
Heaven Mining Base. Somewhere within the hydroponics facility.
At the center of a mass of organic tissue sprawling like roots was a single cocoon.
It was wrapped in several layers of a membrane, and from within the cocoon, a red light shone, filtering dimly through, or rather, piercing it as the membrane could no longer hold back the glow.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
A pulse beat from inside the cocoon—as if it were alive. Before long, the sinister red glow did more than seep outward—it finally cracked the membrane.
K-krrrk. Crackle.
Despite appearing thin, the membrane was tough, but as it split, the liquid within spilled across the floor.
Sssshhh. The slightly viscous fluid spread out, flooding the floor. The cocoon's internal fluid level visibly dropped.
When the last drop seeped out, something stirred in what appeared to be the now-empty cocoon. That stirring oozed out through a fissure.
At first, a pale human hand emerged. That hand pressed against the ground, raising the connected body up. A figure, fully human in form, staggered and collapsed, drenched in suspicious fluid.
"... Cough."
The blond man choked out a lump stuck in his throat with a cough. He raised his head. Blue eyes scanned the surroundings—but more out of instinct than awareness.
It took some time for him to come to his senses, and as clarity returned, confusion began to show in those blue eyes.
"... Who am I?"
His voice, hoarse and low, echoed through the wrecked facility, bouncing off the walls in ripples.
"Want me to tell you?"
At the sound of a woman's voice ahead, the man turned. Those sky-colored eyes fixed on her—a woman with gemstone-red hair and crimson eyes: Lobelia.
Her complexion was gaunt, unlike her usual self, but the playful glint in her eyes remained.
Lobelia approached and gently lifted his chin, meeting his gaze. She spoke as if to impress it upon him.
"Well-made. Visual organs are fine, language function is intact—good, you inherited the data perfectly."
Satisfied, Lobelia smiled. She leaned down.
"Aren't you curious who you are? I could tell you."
"... I want to know."
The man showed no wariness toward Lobelia, instinctively relying on the first face he saw.
"Your name is Ian."
"... Ian."
The blond man—no, Ian—muttered his name. As Lobelia let go of his chin, he naturally dropped his eyes, staring blankly at his hand as he clenched and unclenched it.
"Ian. My name."
As he murmured, the name was engraved on his shoulder. The very name he just spoke.
He grimaced in pain as if it burned, but only for a moment. Ian: gift of God. Once he understood its meaning, he looked approvingly at his reflection in a puddle on the floor.
And that image was being watched by Lobelia, Blackout, and Whiteout. Blackout's voice sounded, low and serious.
「Even the supernatural power is the same. I say this every time, but you really have terrible taste.」
"I say this every time too—it's just a personal preference. Got battered by Rebound for days, so think of this as a reward for me. Anyway, this was always part of the plan. Things got complicated, but the timing ended up just right. For once, it's not on a whim."
Though Lobelia spoke as if justified, everyone knew it was sophistry. The fact that Ian's dead physical data was installed on the first vessel was itself an unpredictable variable.
This variable wasn't necessary. Even if events continued as they were, the plan would stay on track.
In fact, there was a higher probability of this variable causing trouble. Lobelia knew that, yet carried on brazenly. Her mother wouldn't punish her for such a small prank—or so she thought. In fact, living forever was punishment enough, and Lobelia truly believed that.
「...」
Blackout turned and vanished into the darkness, making it clear she didn't want to prolong the conversation—not the first time this had happened.
Lobelia chuckled and followed after.
All that remained were Whiteout and the man now named Ian. But even he disappeared at the sound of fingers snapping in the darkness—leaving the ruined facility completely empty.