Turning Point (28)
I had no intention of denying the saying that conversation means setting right the things that have gone awry between people. But even that only works when both parties are at a certain level where aligning is possible.
Someone as twisted as Lobelia, warped beyond mere misalignment, could not achieve the true purpose of conversation. In this case, it had to be seen as a game of the one in power.
We, who were below, were desperate, without any other options; Lobelia, above us, regarded the situation itself as trivial. In such a conversation, where the scales had entirely tipped to one side, promises exchanged were more fragile than glass, liable to break at any moment.
Yet even so, we had no means of refusing that conversation. Breaking the scales would bring about horrific danger.
"Ask anything you want. You've had plenty of questions while you made your way here, right? Ah, if there are too many and it's hard to decide, I can pick some keywords for you."
Licorice's physical state, my still unrevealed past, the creators of the Archive. These were the options Lobelia presented.
'I know that Licorice's body is acting strange.'
It was only natural. Although Licorice loathed even the idea, to the extent she wanted to deny it, she was born from a line belonging to Lobelia; she had no choice but to know.
Licorice had already suffered greatly from the unintentionally opened bypass. Not long after we entered the Archive, she experienced unbearable nausea and dizziness.
Lobelia's influence was undoubtedly the major—no, the only—factor here.
'Should I be relieved that she's not being overtly hostile, contrary to my expectations?'
No, that wasn't it. Her attitude could suddenly turn at any time. It wouldn't have been strange for her to attack and try to kill us all on a whim. So, before that happened, I had to at least attempt it. I mean 'conversation'.
'Licorice's body temperature is rising.'
She was only able to endure because of the suit's power. Without its bodily maintenance functions, Licorice wouldn't have even been able to stand.
Licorice was barely holding onto consciousness and couldn't speak, and Nadia couldn't hide her fright—so in the end, I was the only one left to step forward.
"So, what's the cause? Licorice said she obtained the intuition to understand the Archive's structure due to your interference."
"I already told you before, didn't I? I was actually in the position of stopping her."
"Then why is this happening!"
"It's not my problem, but rather that doll's issue."
Doll. A word not used for people, which she used to refer to Licorice. My expression hardened instinctively, but Lobelia didn't care.
"I placed a suggestion. Do not ever leave Titan."
"What?"
"I carefully crafted that doll, so I couldn't allow it to slip away from my hands and go somewhere else, right? I don't like my hard work going to waste."
Lobelia asked if I hadn't noticed anything strange when passing by the Archive's Stasis Storage. I recalled the empty stasis chamber—the storage that felt vacant because what should have been there was missing.
A suspicion flashed through my mind. Archive serves as an ark for the next world. Since this next world had already come, it made sense for it to be empty. There was even content in the data Licorice had found about dangerous things being isolated.
But it seemed that's not all there was to it. And Lobelia confirmed my guess.
"Of course, that was only a suggestion, so it could have been undone at any time. So I set up a backup safeguard. Using the very rare materials I have here. Even if these are replicas, that doesn't mean they're ineffective."
As expected, this Archive seemed to be a copy of Earth's. Since 'replica' means 'copy'.
I focused to make sure I didn't miss a single word about the safeguard Lobelia had set on Licorice.
"The most representative one is... Oh, I remember. Warp rejection reaction."
"......!"
"Setting limits this way is much more convenient than just a suggestion. The body instinctively senses danger and rejects. The doll's abnormal symptoms are from that rejection reaction."
Lobelia clapped cheerfully, pleased at having uncovered the cause. She might have been expressing pure joy, but to me that gesture felt like ridicule. After all, the cause was that device she planted.
But I couldn't afford to focus on that. I clenched my trembling hands from rising emotions, opening my mouth to speak only to close it weakly, repeating the action.
A suggestion to never leave Titan and a safeguard called the warp rejection reaction. According to Lobelia, that suggestion caused the body to automatically display rejection responses.
'So that means... for Licorice....'
Contrary to what appeared on the surface, maybe deep inside she never wanted to leave Titan. I had no idea. Licorice always smiled faintly and nodded whenever I said we should go to Earth.
I thought that was all there was to it, and it made me genuinely happy since Licorice seemed to be planning to come with me.
'What a fool I've been...'
Maybe Licorice had been sending signals in her own way. It was just me who failed to notice them. Maybe not, but I couldn't help blaming myself.
"... Ha."
"I also placed several other settings. So I can move her however I want, whenever I want."
Lobelia moved her hand, as if she were about to manipulate Licorice. Upon seeing that, I immediately moved to stand between her and Licorice. I formed a repulsion field using my supernatural power—telekinesis—almost at the same instant.
"... Don't touch her. This is a warning."
"It amazes me every time. You're always so prickly, yet you can step up with such sincerity. What made you this way? Is it just your personality?"
Lobelia tilted her head.
"Because she was the one who saved me."
"She's a doll I set in motion so you'd see her that way."
"The time we spent together after that wasn't fake."
"Maybe I didn't directly control every aspect of her personality and actions, even if I did tinker and occasionally give suggestions."
Smiling brightly, Lobelia insinuated that in the end, I'd only ever faced another self. Part of me wanted to curse her out, but I didn't. No, I couldn't.
I realized that if I didn't resolve the warp rejection reaction, Licorice would never be able to come with me to Earth. The key to that problem was in Lobelia's hands.
If I angered her, I wouldn't get that key. She wasn't one to respond to threats, so I had no choice but to rely on her whims.
"... There's a way, right? There has to be a way, doesn't there?"
Lobelia stared at me, the playful smile slowly vanishing from her lips, until only a cold, inorganic atmosphere remained. Her face now was more doll-like than anything.
"It's not fun when things get too serious. Let's move on to the next topic."
"Answer me."
"I said let's move on to the next story~."
"Tell me."
"Next story~!"
I muttered 'crazy bitch' under my breath. Clearly, she had no intention of truly conversing. She was just holding us here for her own amusement, like the common drunkards in Sector D of the residential area.
"Aren't you curious about your own power? Why do you have it, how did you come to possess it? Things like that!"
"... It's related to Ian, isn't it?"
"Half right, half wrong! Lee Hyun-woo, Lee Hyun-woo, Lee Hyun-woo.... You absorbed the power held by Ian's construct, but that's not all. There's one more, a rare resource that can never be obtained again."
When I frowned, Lobelia stifled a giggle behind her hand and continued.
"This is tricky — where should I start so I don't waste too much time? What I'm going to talk about next is closely related to the creators of the Archive. It's important, but I can't tell you every last detail. The story would take too long."
I was confused, but didn't show it. I didn't know why, when talking about my own past, the Pilgrims were being brought up — but I figured I'd learn soon enough.
Lobelia asked,
"How much have you figured out? Here in the Archive."
"... That there was a previous world. That this place I'm standing on is the second Titan, that the Archive acts as an Ark and the native biosphere from the first Titan is kept here. That the Pilgrims were involved in all these things. And that the pureblood supremacist group is full of madmen."
I answered honestly. There was nothing to hide; whatever she asked, she must already know. This was just a formal procedure to keep up the appearance of a conversation.
"Ah, you've figured out exactly enough — not too much, not too little! Good. I've decided. I'll mix things up and tell you just the right amount!"
Lobelia hopped onto the nearest railing. Walking a perilous line. Whether she was unstable because it was hard to keep her balance or just pretending to stagger, Lobelia swayed with her arms stretched out to both sides.
"Like you've discovered, the current world is the second. To be precise, by my standards, it's the second. There might have been yet another world before, but I don't know about that."
"......"
"The Age of Mystery, the Age of Purity. An era when all sorts of mysteries had form and moved at will, where refined purity under the name of mystery made up the world."
I realized that era was the one the pureblood supremacists so fervently praised. Judging by what Lobelia said, mystery didn't just mean the supernatural powers I used. It seemed to be a much broader concept—perhaps things like technology that can't be explained by our current science, or the vast energy contained in the Blue Crystal, and so on.
"Our Mothers were the center of that era, and I was made under those Mothers. And then the Great War broke out. Ah, was I created during the Great War? It's such an old memory that I get confused. Anyway, back to the main point: the era of our Mothers ended with the Great War."
Lobelia explained that the Great War was instigated by beings who came from outside. They called themselves Pilgrims, and the Mothers attempted to converse with them.
But there was no conversation. What unfolded was a situation that could be called a massacre without exaggeration. From that point on, the meaning of 'purity' started to fade.
Soon, self-purging occurred everywhere, and these conflicts spiraled uncontrollably, spreading to the entire world. That was the Great War.
"They described the Great War as this—"
Purification Plan. A series of phases designed to burn away everything that made up the world and start anew from nothing.
"The Age of our Mothers vanished because of the Purification Plan, leaving behind only faint traces."
Listening to just Lobelia's story, it seemed the Pilgrim group was as crazy as the pureblood supremacists. But I felt that might not be the whole truth.
After all, the Age of Mystery and Purity she described was an era very different from ours. The meaning of 'purity' was also completely different from how we use it now—I could sense that instinctively.
Lobelia's story wasn't the full picture. I was sure of it. She herself had said she couldn't tell everything in detail. That meant she would only tell what she wanted.
The Purification Plan that ended an era. The Purification Protocol designed to keep planetary and satellite dangers from leaking outside. If the Pilgrims really designed those, it meant they had standards.
For now, we matched those standards, but for anyone who crossed the line, relentless punishment would come crashing down. The satellite gravity cannon was probably part of that.
'Still, we have to consider them allies. At least for now.'
Sensing my disposition, Lobelia's eyes softened. I looked right at her. A shadow that should not exist was growing darker and longer, asserting itself.
"Is revenge what you want?"
"Revenge? Hmm... I did feel that way at first. But time wore that away. Now, not even a crumb of it remains."
Lobelia crossed her arms and brought her fingers to her lips.
"But still, I had to do what I was supposed to. The remnants left by the Mothers wanted that. Over the ages, I gathered power, stayed out of the Pilgrims' sight, constantly set up and broke down various organizations to distract attention."
"......"
"And finally, this moment arrived. There's no need to hide anymore. As the Mothers wished, the world is returning to the old ways. My efforts paid off! ... Though, now that it's succeeded, I don't really feel that happy. But a success is a success, regardless."
Lobelia even confessed she created the pureblood supremacist group herself. The timing was anything but bashful, but hearing her say it that way made me feel sick.
"... Do they know? That they're just puppets? That you're pulling the strings in the background?"
"They have no idea!"
"Do they not realize what they're actually doing?"
"They probably don't!"
"The fact there's nothing at the end they're striving toward?"
"That, they definitely don't know! Those people are just drunk on themselves. They believe a new era will come, and are ready to die for what they see as their noble mission."
Lobelia said that not everything was a lie — at least, she said, they would receive the Mothers' grace. But even that would surely not be what the pureblood supremacists were hoping for—any fool could see that, especially given the mischievous glint in her eye at that moment.
"So it's all your fault. You're the problem."
"Come on, be fair. If the Great War hadn't happened, we wouldn't even be standing here together like this."
I barely swallowed the words that rose to my lips. Even if I couldn't control the conversation, I was determined to control my breathing.
I'd learned what happened behind the scenes of those needless deaths. It was the kind of story anyone would be shocked by. But I still couldn't find how I was connected to that story.
"... So what does any of that have to do with me?"
"It's simple. Lee Hyun-woo, you were made from a relic belonging to the Pilgrims' leader. And blended in with that is Ian's construct."
For a moment, I doubted my own ears. First disbelief, then realization, and finally understanding.
It didn't feel good at all to have the veil of the past, full of doubts, lifted. I only felt confusion.
"Whimsy, but it was also fate."
"... Fate, you say."
"Tell me. If everything was set from the start, would you believe it? If destiny existed, would you believe it? If every action led to the same ending, ...would you believe it?"
Lobelia took a step closer with each word. The steadily shrinking distance made me feel as if my very presence was fading in her overwhelming aura. I clenched my teeth.
"I don't believe in fate—or whatever you want to call it."
"Even if the future foresaw you being here, right now?"
"Yes."
Shaken as I was, I didn't change my answer. At some point, Lobelia was standing right in front of me, studying me. When I met her eyes—depthless, impossible to comprehend—I felt as if I was plummeting.
But that was nothing more than an illusion. The reality was that I was merely frozen to the spot.
"You must have some idea about the true nature of the Sprout you're carrying. Right?"
"......"
"At its core, it's the same as our Mothers. Can you trust that being? Can you give it your trust, and how far would that trust go? Right now, it's small and weak, so defenseless it can only depend on you, but have you considered what might happen once it's fully grown?"
I had wondered along those lines myself. In my visions, I'd seen two beings—one, a giant tree with overwhelming presence and power; and the other, the Sprout I'd chosen.
If I had picked the first, escaping Titan would have been easy. I'd have received so much power that I'd have had no reason to struggle like this.
But I didn't choose that. If I had, I was sure I'd have lost myself.
I acknowledged it: this Sprout, too, could change completely in the future. But that's not a fixed future.
"... What I chose was possibility. The future you saw is wrong. It's not coming."
"I never said whose fate it was, did I?"
Lobelia giggled, but her eyes were not smiling. Strangely, what I sensed in her gaze was not contempt or displeasure. It was trust. Even if I tried to deny it, nothing about it changed.
"Give it a go. I've seen it too, you know. That possibility you chose. That's not why I made you, but maybe this too is destiny—one granted to me."
Lobelia reached out her hand. Just before her hand touched my face, it was blocked by the repulsion field I'd generated. Whether it was an automatic reaction or not, terrifying red lines sprang out from Lobelia's hand, etching themselves into the air.
Crimson lines against a black backdrop, as if abnormal code had become reality and burst forth. When those lines touched the field, my barrier quivered as if it would shatter at any moment.
Even though she had the strength to break it, she didn't. She just swept her hand across the field instead. There was a reaction of rejection, but it did nothing at all. Lobelia didn't care.
"Did you know that our Mothers are furious—absolutely furious—because their hopes were betrayed?"
"Me? Or you?"
"Both of us. You chose the Sprout, and I let you live. If neither of us had made those choices, none of this would have happened, nor would we be alive, but you made your choice. You chose to stand on the opposite side."
"... So whose side are you on?"
Lobelia was clearly our enemy. There was no other way to see it. Yet, it felt off to just see her that way.
Why she was telling us all this, why she hadn't killed us even though she could, what exactly she wanted from us—it was all a mystery.
"Who knows."
As expected, Lobelia didn't give a straight answer. Her demeanor was like that of a puppet without even a shred of autonomy.
"Unfortunately, it's not time for me to step onto the stage yet. Well then, goodbye. I don't really like crowds."
Just as if she had never existed, Lobelia vanished without a trace, and an external communication came through at the same moment.
—Attention, all personnel within the Archive! Pureblood supremacist fleet approaching! Large-scale hostile force incoming...!