Ar Tonelico : From Discord to Harmony

justinkal · Jul 11, 2017

That guy acted surprisingly nonchalant about all the madness of "Administrator shows up and Guardians start self-destructing".

Quickshot0 · Jul 11, 2017

True, nonchalance of that level is kind of suspicious in its own way.

aquagon · Jul 12, 2017

Okay, I don't really know how to take that someone just took in stride so easily something as grand as the Tower Administrator appearing before them. I echo the sentiment it looks really suspicious.

And whoa! Looks like the Sol Ciel invasion was far worse that we were led to believe, considering Sentinel's memories. But... who was the person from her memories? Judging from what he said, he had to be either one of the Sol Ciel researchers involved in the switching of the Third and Second Tower Projects for the AHPP, or one of the technicians in charge of Sol Marta.

Also, a couple things I need to point out:

-EXEC_HYMME_BATTLESPHERE/. doesn't exist as an actual song for any of the Reyvateils. Tsuchiya explained once it was merely a best-of mix of the possible RAH samples the AT3 battle system could put together for making battle music, and that it has the title it has solely as a marketing ploy. In universe, the Reyvateils merely sing an unnamed EXEC_HYMME/. song that changes according to the battle situation, and it is an accurate representation of how Reyvateils actually sing.

-If Sol Marta was already in the sky, there is no way it could have scaffolding around it, as the satellite was completed on the land and then sent off alongside Frelia to space.

-I still can't wrap my head around the idea that an airship from Neo Elemia could have transported refugees or troops to an hostile territory in times as critical as those surrounding Mir's Rebellion given the distance between both continents and Clusternia's policy of shooting down any aircraft that tried approaching their territories. The only way I see it could make sense is if Ascydria is supposed to be located in the small peninsula across the Sol Ciel/Metafalss continent that is shown in the partial Ar=Ciel Ar=Dor maps:

(In this case, I mean the peninsula/cape that is located exactly to the left of El Elemia in the map)

Sapphire · Jul 13, 2017

aquagon said:
-I still can't wrap my head around the idea that an airship from Neo Elemia could have transported refugees or troops to an hostile territory in times as critical as those surrounding Mir's Rebellion given the distance between both continents and Clusternia's policy of shooting down any aircraft that tried approaching their territories. The only way I see it could make sense is if Ascydria is supposed to be located in the small peninsula across the Sol Ciel/Metafalss continent that is shown in the partial Ar=Ciel Ar=Dor maps:

Funny you should say that, actually! This is the map I made for my own referential records.

The EXEC_BATTLESPHERE/. and Sol Marta scaffolding things are both errors on my part and shall be rectified momentarily. The suspicious guy, though... well, that's working as intended.

aquagon · Jul 13, 2017

Hmm, I see. That actually solves pretty well the location issue.

By the way, your map is actually pretty close to the completed one we made in ARM based off the Ar=Ciel Ar=Dor ones and the spinning globe model that Gust presented in the special site for that album's release, but there are a couple large differences when it comes to the sizes of the continent where Ascydria is, and also the islands in the top-right corner.

I'd have liked to post it here, but the map was uploaded to a Photobucket account and I no longer have access to it due to the change in their terms of service.

justinkal · Jul 13, 2017

In regards to how that man is supposed to seem suspicious, I just noticed something else odd about him.

Sentinel never even acknowledges his presence at all (granted, she was kind of distracted).

Could it be that he's not actually there and is instead some kind of hallucination (possibly induced by something that happened when Sylphira was trying to save Sentinel)?

Sapphire · Aug 19, 2017

I'd like to apologize yet again to any readers for the month-long delay. My writing's been put on hold briefly thanks to a devastating one-two-three punch comprised of D&D with friends, NieR Automata, and a new job with a manager who loves to pile on the extra shifts. Nonetheless, and without further ado, here's chapter 10—one third of the way through Part I, woo! Sentinel can throw out some more confetti for me. Assuming nothing bad happens, Chapter 11 will release at its usual time, roughly two weeks from now. And as always, thank you for reading!

Sapphire · Aug 19, 2017

Chapter 10 - Prome Wall

I stood at the edge of the abyss, surrounded by sky. A light breeze tugged at my slim frame, my cloak flapping along with the air currents. Thanks to weeks spent on that endless stairway that ran all the way up Section C—the one that lacked railings, because safety was clearly no one's concern back in the old world—my fear of heights had long since faded into oblivion. I gazed out silently, hypnotized by the slow dance of the ion corridor's spinning plates. Lightning rippled across the corridor's eight panels like ocean waves, a testament to the power that they held.

Though for the first time, I looked down on them from above.

Heavy metallic footsteps approached from behind. >We've successfully passed through the ion corridor,< Sentinel stated dryly, utilizing her drones' speakers to talk. She then turned away without another word, continuing upward.

My shoulders sagged, weighed down with resignation. Since her loss of control the other day, tensions between us had been wearing thin. The AI barely spoke, only seeing fit to fire off short and emotionless remarks in my direction. Every attempt of mine to start up conversation was met with unyielding silence.

Hurrying along, I caught up to Sentinel; she acknowledged my presence with an annoyed huff. >There's the ion plate up there—the start of Section B,< she said, directing my gaze upwards with a thrust of the AGRA-NX's massive horn.

Overhead, the unchanging cylinder that was the main shaft abruptly ended, vanishing into the depths of a sort of collar that flared outward. This was where the tower began to bulge out on all sides, forming the massive superstructure that made up Section B of Asciydria Tower. Clad in stark white plating, it almost resembled the silvaplate from below, though this one was both in better condition and far larger—perhaps the size of four silvaplates.

The AI spoke again, drawing my questioning gaze. >The prome wall—our first real obstacle—currently runs right through the midsection of the ion plate. We'll have to disable that barrier to proceed.<

"And there's really no way around it…?" I asked weakly, shuffling up the last few steps. An opening in the ion plate yawned overhead; the stairway lead directly into the waiting darkness.

The gigantic machine snorted. >No. The prome wall's radius encompasses the entirety of the tower from here on up; there's no way to get past it without deactivating it.<

I tapped at my chin thoughtfully, tugging at my sleeve with the other hand. I still had yet to learn how to generate clothing with song magic, and so I was stuck with ill-fitting garments for now. "Um… so how do we disable it?"

>That's the question, isn't it?" she mused, absentmindedly slipping back into her humanlike voice. "The prome wall is meant to be a security barrier, so it can't be disabled from any run-of-the-mill tower access terminal. One could only deactivate it from the Summit, Tower Control, or with an operable suit of Linkage armor—all three of which are located inside the barrier. And we can't kill the power to shut it off, because the component feeding symphonic power to the prome wall is—again—inside the barrier."

"…So we're screwed?" I uttered unbelievingly.

"Maybe…" the AI muttered, deep in thought.

"Wait…!" I exclaimed excitedly. "You have tower guardians that got trapped inside the wall when it reactivated, right? Can't you use those to disable the controls or kill the power?"

"They can't," she replied sourly. "My remaining drones don't have access to either of the control points. The Summit is located above the Blastline and Tower Control—while very close to our current location, directly above the ion plate—has security protocols similar to that laboratory down in the silvaplate. I cannot physically enter Tower Control of my own volition. As for killing the power… well, the source is a component called the symphonic reactor. It draws its strength directly from the Orgel, amplifies it, and purifies it to distribute as symphonic power to every system in the spire." A tone of defeat entered her voice. "Surely you can guess why disabling that would be a bad idea."

"It would shut down the ion corridor… and the plasma bell…" I surmised hesitantly.

"More than that," Sentinel continued, grim. "Not only would the symphonic power flow to my tower guardians cease, but it would also reduce you to a puddle of biofluid and cybernetics the instant your SH server fizzles out. Neither of us want that, right?"

I rubbed my forehead, grimacing. "Well, um… it's made of D-waves, right? Is there any way I can absorb the barrier into my body? To make a temporary hole in it?"

The AI laughed mirthlessly, Her leading machine vanishing into the murky depths of the ion plate. "My physical form is just a hologram, which means I can change my appearance at will; if I wanted to, I could look like an eldritch horror with dozens of arms! Yet even if I did that, even then I wouldn't have enough fingers on which to count the myriad of reasons why that wouldn't work."

"Fine…" I grumbled, following her up into the darkness.

"Even if that were theoretically possible," Sentinel's voice lectured from the shadows, "it would destroy you. The prome wall's hardlight barrier is powered by the symphonic reactor; which means that by proxy it's fueled by the Orgel itself. Drawing all that energy into such a fragile quasi-organic body would make you explode with the force of a thermonuclear detonation—or worse."

"Ther… mo… what…?"

"…A rather big boom," she replied. "Enough to reduce Asciydria Tower to a steaming pile of irradiated dust."

"So we really are screwed…" I groused, slumping against the nearest wall.

"Not exactly…" Sentinel murmured, her focus elsewhere. "By my reckoning, we've got three options.

"Option one; I could ignore the risks and shut down the symphonic reactor. It would take about forty-eight hours for the spire's energy levels to be completely depleted. The Orgel would continue to operate—albeit at a much lower efficiency—plus Asciydria has a number of ultrahigh-capacity battery banks built for such emergencies. Also, the Mistral Artifice would still be active. The tower itself is designed to prioritize systems by order of importance, and the SH servers are right up at the top of the list along with the ion corridor and the plasma bell. The prome wall would be axed relatively quickly; at which point, you could make your way up to Tower Control and restart the reactor. From there, you'd then be able to disable the barrier before it comes back online."

I slowed to a halt. "But what about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I have a number of probes stationed to siphon power from the Mistral Artifice for contingencies such as this." Discomfort filtered into her voice. "The catch here, though… well, you've seen the tower's condition for yourself. Its systems are barely holding together, and that includes the symphonic reactor. If I were to shut it down, I'm almost certain that it would never start back up again. Due to that, this option should be seen as a last resort."

"Agreed…" I nodded weakly, jogging to catch up. "What about the other two?"

"Option two," she went on, entering a side corridor from which emerged a breath of stale air. I reluctantly followed her in, realizing that the new chamber was a vast stairwell that rose up into the darkness above. "I attack the prome wall on the digital front. Before Ayrakii R&D came for me, I built a number of backdoors into the tower's systems. Many of them are routed through the Orgel and the Apex; I knew that both components were too critical to be modified or replaced. Long story short, I can infiltrate the tower through those and disable the prome wall myself." I caught a trill of fear in her voice as she spoke. She was afraid of doing it.

"So what's the catch?" I pressed, squinting at the rump of the AGRA-NX up in front. "It's not that easy… right?"

"Dai would find me," she said simply, unwilling to elaborate on the matter.

"So how about option three?" I couldn't deny the presence of the bitter taste of defeat. So far, both options looked to be utterly terrible. The first was almost certain death, and the second was inviting the wrath of whatever this 'Dai' entity was. From what I could glean during my brief insight into Sentinel's memories, I deduced that it was a hostile AI—one from Sol Ciel.

The tower guardian gazed back, a single glowing eye locked on me. It seemed to sparkle with amusement. "Option three… you enter the digital front instead and disable the prome wall yourself."

"…Wait, what?"

"It's easier than it sounds," Sentinel explained, shining a spotlight up the winding flight of stairs. "Every piece of software on Asciydria Tower is networked into one digital superstructure known as the binary field. You and I—both of us being artificial lifeforms—can enter and manipulate it at will. As Tower Administrator, you'll naturally have more control over the binary field's nuances than I do. And with your tower sense, you're already familiar with manipulating tower software in a limited format. That said, I still have the most experience, so I'll have to walk you through it at first."

I swallowed hard, marching on. I really hope it does work like my tower sense. That wouldn't be so bad! "So, um… how would I get in there? Do I have to plug in with my install port or something?"

She giggled—her first flash of emotion in days. "You reeeeally shouldn't do that. A Reyvateil's install port is for crystal installation and crystal installation alone. To enter the binary field, you'd simply need to utilize something we call a 'dive pod.' There were plenty of dive labs in the ion plate back in the day, so it shouldn't be too hard to find a machine that still works. Oh, and… much later, when you get your Linkage armor, that will double as a dive pod too."

"What about Dai…?" I uttered nervously.

"It shouldn't take any interest in you," the AI replied, striding up the stairs. The flimsy metal groaned beneath each heavy footfall. "You were never conscious in all the time that Dai was here; and because of that, it likely has no directives for dealing with a reawakened Tower Administrator. It's incapable of thinking for itself like me, so we can use that as a weakness. And due to your Tower Administrator status, it will likely be unable to take action against you."

"'Likely…'" I mumbled, clenching my fists.

"There's a risk," she agreed. "But if worst comes to worst, I can step in and back you up. We'll take on Dai together."

"Is there any way it can physically hurt me…? Does it control its own tower guardian army like you do?"

"No. Dai once had its own physical form—a humanoid combat frame that was capable of wreaking unquantifiable levels of devastation—but I destroyed it myself three hundred and fifty years ago." Her voice then dropped, continuing with naught but a whisper. "It killed almost half of my drones in the process, though… and it's also the culprit behind the destruction of the tower guardian assembly lines. That's why I only had about eight thousand left when we first met, instead of my optimal fifteen thousand."

I squared my jaw. If it's to save Mitri and the others, then I will. "…Okay. I'll do it!"

"Good." Sentinel was silent for a moment. "Let's head up to the divide first; there should be a human camp up there if what that traveler said was true, so be ready to deal with them. You can inspect the prome wall up close, then we'll start hunting for a working dive pod. Understand?"

"Understood."

I heard the humans before I actually saw them—a faint murmur of low voices, the tramp of footsteps, the crackle of burning wood. The scent of multiple campfires and cooking meat wafted through the darkened space as we reached the top of the stairwell. Passing through a doorway, across a bridge running through an empty space filled with cable bundles and shock absorbers, and through yet another doorway, a warm orange glow finally came into view. It was the exit at last, and the end of the endless staircase… for now, at least.

Sentinel taking the lead, we rose up towards the hatchway and into the light.

The burning sun was already low in the sky, kissing the cloud tops across the horizon. What little sky I could see between vast sections of tower architecture was shot with streaks of dusky orange and purple. Several of the brightest stars already glimmered in the dark, heralding the coming of night.

"Did you hear that too…?" an unfamiliar voice whispered.

"Yeah!" The clunking of boots on steel flooring retreated into the distance. "Mommy, mommy! Strangers! Strangers are coming up!"

A wistful smile tugged at my lips, memories of Mist's Reach coming to the forefront.

The AGRA-NX's massive bulk shifted to one side, shining sunlight in my eyes and allowing me to pass by. I locked my fingers over the lip, hauling my slim frame through the gap and into the open with a grunt of exertion.

I took it all in at a glance. Sentinel and I had emerged on a wide ledge—perhaps one hundred meters at its widest—that bulged out from the side of the ion plate's stark white flank. The length of the narrow platform was carpeted by a thick layer of moss, squelching beneath my boots. Gnarled cedar trees sprang up on the sheltered side, leaving the majority of the area exposed to the elements… that is, if it weren't for the wall.

An enormous blackened wall dominated the skyline, running perpendicular to the tower and separated by a wide chasm that opened up into trackless sky. I craned my neck, following the shape of the architecture. It vanished into the circling clouds overhead, but it was no doubt the base of the outer shell that encircled the perimeter of Section B's superstructure.

The AI nodded at it, servos in her machine's neck whirring. "That's the backside of the space gun's housing," she explained. "This thing we're standing on right now is a bushing—a sort of shock-absorbing buffer that prevents the railgun from slamming into the side of the ion plate when it experiences the intense recoil from the act of firing.

"As for the prome wall…" her second machine started along the ledge, making its way toward a number of flickering campfires a short distance away, "over there, next to the human camp. There should a maintenance ladder that runs all the way up the side…? Regardless, the barrier sits about halfway up between this bushing and the upper reaches of the ion plate. It's almost invisible in your light spectrum until you come into direct physical contact with it."

"What happens if you touch it…?" I questioned nervously, flexing my fingers as I tentatively stepped closer to the circle of tents just ahead. Indistinct figures rushed back and forth between them, many of them shouting.

The machine shook its enormous head. "Nothing. It's a wall—nothing more, nothing less."

"Look!" a voice hollered. "It's the tower guardians!"

An eyebrow lifted as I turned to watch the group of roughly-dressed humans hurrying over. Their reaction to the AI was somewhat odd. In Mist's Reach, the tower guardians' presence was met by veiled fear and quiet disdain. Here though, the people seemed to be almost relieved.

"Hi," Sentinel said dryly, greeting the gaggle of humans and Teru that had come to meet us.

And then several questioning eyes locked on me.

"Aww, look at her! She's adorable!" someone cooed.

I blanched, shrinking behind the AGRA-NX.

"…Wait. No way, is that the Tower Administrator?!"

"Is that really her? She looks so young!"

"You came to help us, right…? We've all been ro—"

"We're here to disable the prome wall," the AI butted in quickly, stepping between me and the growing crowd of travelers. "That's what you wanted, right?"

>Thank you…< I whimpered gratefully. Crowds of stranger never ceased to unnerve me—not exactly an ideal character trait for one who was supposed to be some great leader, but it was my personality nonetheless.

>Anytime.<

"Did you see anyone on the way up?!" a woman blurted, dismay written on her weathered face. "A man, early twenties, with shaggy brown hair? Goes by the name of Fen?"

My brow furrowed with recognition. What the…

"As a matter of fact we did," Sentinel replied slowly. "Why?"

A giant of a man stepped forth, swathed in ornate robes not unlike the garb that Sam wore. "We thought we could trust him. He helped us set up camp, hunted game for us… then not three days ago, he took everything he could carry and bolted."

"He stole my ring!" a young woman exclaimed.

"And my yuteria carving, too!"

"And my virginity!"

"…"

"…Really?"

"I was kidding! Just trying to lighten the mood!" the adolescent girl sputtered, darting off. She was chased by whom I assumed to be her mother, throwing endless scoldings about crude humor and proper social etiquette.

The AGRA-NX shook its head ruefully. >Goddamn humans…< Sentinel grumbled in private. The machine lifted its gaze with a whirr of motors. "…Right. We passed him two days ago. If you're looking to catch him, he's got quite a head start."

"What about others?!" he pressed anxiously. "Was there anyone else later on? Two of our companions left the morning after to chase him down and reclaim our belongings."

"…No," Sentinel replied, perplexed. "We didn't see anyone else…" she cast a brief glance in my direction, "…did we?"

I shook my head quickly. The fact that the AI was now relying on me to supplement her own short-term memory didn't exactly speak well of her thoughts on her current condition.

"Think he killed them…?" someone else whispered fearfully.

"I suppose we'll never know now." The enormous man sighed wearily. "Damn it." He turned to face a slightly-built woman cowering behind him in a similar fashion to how I hid behind the AI. "I'm sorry, miss."

"I—it's okay…" she murmured listlessly, tear-filled eyes fixed on the mossy ground.

>I guess that explains why that guy was the very picture of grace under fire the other day,< Sentinel murmured. >He was too focused on saving his own miserable hide to care about us.<

>Right…<

>Also,< she uttered apologetically, >sorry about this.<

>Wait—<

The AGRA-NX stepped to one side, exposing me to the small crowd of travel-weary nomads. "Internal human issues aside," Sentinel said brusquely, "the Tower Administrator and I have a need to examine the passages within the ion plate in order to disable the barrier up there. Have any of your people attempted to map it out, even if only something rudimentary?"

"No! It's far too dangerous in there! It's lightless and the walkways are collaps—"

"Acknowledged." The AI briskly turned, striding towards a gash that led into the ion plate's bowels.

I timidly lifted my head, staring into the large man's eyes—eyes that shone with kindness and warmth despite the pain of likely losing his comrades to Fen. Heat blossomed in my chest as I fondly recalled the little human village nestled amongst the trees in the Isles of Aria.

"If I might make a suggestion, Lady Sylphira," he said thoughtfully, "why not wait until tomorrow morning to begin your search? I'm sure that you're tired after weeks of climbing, and we can offer amenities to help you recuperate."

Several newcomers approached; a pair of doe-eyed children that reminded me of Mitri and my younger self to such a degree that it hurt. One of them smiled shyly, giving a playful wave.

Torn, my eyes darted between the receding hindquarters of the AGRA-NX and the small group of humans and Teru that were already proving themselves to be friendly and selfless—an echo of home.

No… not my home. Not anymore.

I had a duty to everyone—no, to the tower. It was my responsibility to ensure that Asciydria would always remain in working order. I couldn't allow myself to stray from that path for even a moment. Disregarding that had already resulted in the deaths of twenty-three people, as well as my own exile from Mist's Reach.

"…I—I can't," I stammered, quickly turning to follow the retreating AI without another word.

"So… now what?"

"I'm thinking…" I tiredly rubbed a hand against my brow, equally stressed and exhausted.

The interior of the ion plate was absolutely gargantuan, dwarfing the labyrinthian silvaplate by a wide margin. Due to that, the unfortunate reality was that the little AI and I had far more ground to cover. No longer were we free to scout out a mere three comparatively-small silvaplate levels; now, no corner could be left unexplored. We simply had to find a working dive pod after all, and there was no way around that.

Unfortunately, neither I nor Sentinel had considered whether the dive pods would still be online—a harsh reality we now faced. If their systems were dark, then I wouldn't be able to locate them with my tower sense. As of yet, the only pods we'd stumbled across were burnt-out husks or the victims of scavengers, far beyond any hope of repair. All we could do was keep searching.

I'd lost track of how many days we'd spent wandering the web of catwalks, exploring block after block of labs, power relay stations, and countless more chambers I could only guess as to what their purposes were. It wasn't so much that I'd forgotten—with my eidetic memory, it was physically impossible for that to happen—but with the lightless conditions, I had no idea whether it was day or night. I hadn't even eaten or slept in all that time, which disturbed me more than I'd have liked to admit.

And while my endurance had forcibly increased thanks to the adaptation of the biofluid making up my body, it wasn't limitless. I'd gotten used to stopping at night to rest and recuperate, and the current task at hand had broken that routine. It was no exaggeration to say that I was on my last legs.

"Sentinel…" I exhaled long and hard, setting down against the catwalk railing with a weary sigh. The bulk of the ion plate was a vast, empty void, blocks of rooms suspended in the air and connected via catwalks. It made for an unsettling atmosphere, like as if we were walking through empty space. Mysterious shapes loomed just beyond my vision range—vast cylinders, some still vibrating faintly with the hum of power. Complex piping systems, many cracked and belching clouds of steam. And lastly, cable bundles that hung from any available point of purchase like cobwebs.

"Sentinel, can we talk…?"

The tower guardian gazed back at me, somehow conveying impatience through its empty glowing eyes. "…We're talking right now, aren't we? We've still got to find a working dive pod."

"Face to face," I stubbornly insisted, glaring back unflinchingly at the terrifying machine.

"Why should I?" she bit back angrily. "Who cares if you can or can't see me?"

I folded my arms. "You wanted me to trust you, right…? How am I supposed to do that when it always feels like you have something to hide?"

"Well, I… I…" Stumped, the AI fell silent.

Leaning against the catwalk railing, I patiently waited for a reaction. At this point, I was used to the occasional long delays between her responses.

With a weak flutter of light—not unlike a heartbeat—Sentinel's tiny figure emerged from her tower guardian.

I sucked air through my teeth, mentally kicking myself for reacting so harshly. The little AI looked like hell; her face was haggard and weary, as if it belonged to a human that hadn't seen sleep in days. Dark circles hung beneath her eyes, so blackened and puffy that it looked like she'd lost a fistfight. Not for the first time, I considered the possibility that the AI didn't have true control over her physical form, and that a subroutine was making her do it involuntarily.

"I know," she snapped bitterly, taking a seat on the railing at my side. "I look like shit. Go on, say it!"

Sidling up to her, I gave the little AI's hand a tender squeeze with two fingers. "Thank you…"

Sentinel sighed heavily, slumping against my arm. "I… I still don't get why you care. No one else in my life ever did, so why should this be any different? Isn't it enough that I'm doing what I'm meant to do? I'm already fulfilling my precept—protecting you. You don't need to pretend or anything."

"That man who lived in Metafalss cared about you too…" I replied quietly, aware that the memory had been stolen from her but counting on the fact that she still remembered our discussion on it.

"…Who?"

A bitter smile crossed my face. She really did forget… even though we had that conversation about it right afterwards. Seeing her forget like this in real-time… I… I just don't know. It's scary.

"But you're right…" the AI admitted solemnly, staring at the floor with her arms wrapped protectively around her body. "I… I need help." Falling silent, she spoke again in a very small voice. "I'm scared…"

Picking her up gently, I set the AI down on my lap. "You can rely on me, Sentinel. Okay? You taught me how to be stronger, and I wanna give back. Because at the end of the day, we're both dependent on each other, right? We're both broken to a degree—" I tapped my forehead gingerly, referring to the disconnection attacks that still flared up occasionally, "—so we both need the support. Doesn't it make sense to rely on each other instead of it just being one-way?"

"Yeah…" she agreed begrudgingly, deep in thought. "I've never thought about it like that…"

The two of us were silent for several long minutes, staring out into the darkness. A muted whisper of wind scoured the catwalk, making me shiver involuntarily.

"I'll leave the AGRA-NX behind when we clear the prome wall…" Sentinel mumbled, disappointment evident in her voice. "I'll ground all tower guardian flights from here on out, too."

"So why are you really slowing down?" I questioned apprehensively. The AI had been stubbornly persistent at dodging this particular question. "It's because you've lost so much processing power, right?"

She shook her head. "It's more than that. With every tower guardian severed from my network, a fragment of what I am is lost. It's not just memories that can go—protocols, command codes, anything. That means that over time, my consciousness itself has started to break down. My redundancies can hold it at bay, but not forever."

I gasped in horror. "So if this continues, then you'll…"

"I—I'll die, yes."

Muscles around my brow and jawline hardened. "…I won't let that happen."

"Let's just keep looking for that dive pod…" she sputtered, rising into the air. "I don't wanna think about this anymore."

"…Okay." I reluctantly followed the little AI's machinery into the dark, the previous conversation weighing heavily on me.

"Sentinel! Over here, look!" I announced excitedly, running my hands across the curved metal surface. "It's a working one!"

"No way." A floodlight shone on my back as one of the AI's tower guardians poked its head into the small and dusty chamber. "How the heck did we not see this?!"

Before me sat an elongated tube that hung suspended in the air at a thirty-degree angle, set in a sturdy metal frame that bristled with circuitry and wiring. A small readout jutted out from one side, the dim holographic screen blinking with lines of Hymmnos glyphs. The cylinder itself was shaded a dull gray and was emblazoned with a logo that had faded into unrecognizability over the long centuries. Two other identical dive pods flanked it on either sides, though the others were clearly inoperable—one looked like its dome had collapsed on itself, and the other as if it had been gutted and stripped for parts.

"Mostly just me being dumb. Oh, by the way…" I pointed up at the ceiling, drawing the AI's attention to a tenuous film—almost invisible—that danced with ripples like a crystal clear pool of water. "Up there…"

Steel entered Sentinel's voice. "…That's the prome wall."

"Yeah." A frown crossed my visage while I knelt in the grime, wiping the dust from the dive pod's exterior with my sleeve. "Anyway, I was dumb not to think of it. When I was hunting for dive pods, I was apparently only checking for devices that were flagged as active." I bit my lower lip. "Since I had that filter on without realizing…"

"…You couldn't see the inactive ones, or pods that might be otherwise flagged as something else due to hardware damage or unrecorded modifications," she finished, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "At least you're getting the hang of your tower sense's functions and nuances, I guess. So there's really more dive pods, then?"

"Yeah…! There's two others, but this one was the closest." Brushing snow-white locks from my eyes, I deftly tapped at the holographic display to run the device's diagnostic system. It flashed green, confirming that the system was operable. "It's active."

"No sense delaying it." The pod split open with a hiss, revealing a macabre-looking sort of harness that looked like it belonged in a torture chamber. "Let's get this barrier down and get moving."

I planted my backside on the edge of the dive pod, swinging my legs in. "Um… how am I gonna know what to do when I'm in the binary field?"

"I'll meet you in there and back you up. As for what you're gonna do… well, a lot of it should be instinctual. You pick up on things real quick, so I don't think we'll have too many problems."

"And Dai…?" I questioned nervously, pressing my spine into the depths of the machine. It conformed to my vertebrae perfectly. I felt straps automatically tighten around my limbs, binding them in place. Clamps locked onto my skull, fully immobilizing me.

"It won't win," the AI growled venomously. "Not this time."

The pod's domed canopy snapped shut, plunging me into night. The machine began to hum. Static filled the enclosed space, making my hair stand on end. I swallowed hard, nervous. "Here we go…"

The boundless darkness splintered at the edges, overflowing with light. I felt my senses fade along with the world I knew as I was drawn into the heart of my tower.

DIVE=MACHINE=OS_1.0502 ACTIVE // 17/01/3771_14:24:57

CONNECTION ESTABLISHING. LOADING INTERFACE…

LOADING…

LOADING…

Connection established. Interface loaded. Welcome, SYLPHIRA_ANSUL_ASCIYDRIA.

>What is this place…?< I whispered in awe.

I stood alone on an empty sea of nothingness. Dark as the night and smooth as glass, the only flaws that moved across its reflective surface were the ripples emanating from my bare feet.

>Bare… feet…?<

I had a body here—though it wasn't the one I knew. Not only was it ghostly transparent, it was physically… different.

Warily inspecting my slender arms, I noted that they felt heavier, more elongated—like my size and reach had increased. Lacking the baby fat of my prepubescent frame, I could only describe them as graceful in a mature and feminine way. These were the arms of a young adult, not those of a child.

The same applied to my legs; they extended out further than before, slim and elegant. Two prominent bumps on my chest made their presence known while I bent over. For a moment I panicked at the prospect of being alone and naked in a strange place, futilely shielding them with my transparent arms before realizing that my chest was featureless. A cursory inspection further down confirmed the same there, too. Thankfully this place—though apparently content to display what I assumed was my fully-matured body—didn't simulate private parts.

NOTIFICATION // This is your first time activating Asciydria Tower's binary field, Tower Administrator Sylphira. Would you like to run the tutorial program Y/N?

I thoughtlessly waved away the intrusive display, my eyes locked on what waited above.

>Beautiful…<

The stars in Ar Ciel's night sky had nothing on this.

It was like a vast constellation, made up of stars and nebulae alike. Thousands—no, millions of twinkling motes of light flickered in the inky void, each one a packet of software that was interconnected with the rest. Together, they formed an enormous silhouette that was undoubtedly shaped like the spire that I'd come to know. The sheer scale of Asciydria's systems dwarfed even Sentinel's extensive tower guardian network many times over.

I rose up from the glassy sea, speeding through the void to approach one of the brightest specks—the Orgel. Reaching out, I lightly brushed my ghostly fingers along its blinding flanks. A sound emerged from the darkness—a haunting chime, some kind of melody. A song without lyrics, one that was nonetheless able to convey powerful feelings of sadness and loss. A song of another world, of what was lost and long forgotten, echoing into infinity. It brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't explain it, but I felt like I'd heard this song many times before.

>Sylphira…< an ethereal voice whispered from the darkness above, calling to me.

>W—who's that?!< I yelped, drawing back in shock.

>It's me. C'mon, don't get distracted by the sheer flow of information. We've got work to do.<

>Right…This way.< The AI's ethereal form took my hand, guiding me upwards. We ascended past the flickering lights of the plasma bell, the cold darkness of the silvaplate, all the way up to the ion corridor and beyond.

Throughout the ascent, my eyes flicked from information packet to information packet, drawing it all in. There was so much data here… I could have been lost in it for decades, absorbing it all. And I could do that, too, thanks to my inability to forget. The thought was enticing, and it made me feel very small and insignificant.

I snorted in amusement, loosening my grip on the AI's tiny hand. I didn't even notice her yell of protest. >Why should it, though? It's true… I'm a part of the tower. This is all mine, isn't it? It's as much a part of me as my arms and legs!<

Time seemed to slow down as I plunged an arm into the flow of data, such was my transfixed state. Billions of lines of code, countless Hymmnos glyphs, all flashed past my mind's eye.

>Command lines for lift generators one through forty… launch protocols. Launch protocols…? Archival data from the thirty-fourth century. Weather patterns in the southwestern hemisphere… protocols for maintaining the hydroponics facility in the insight's edifice…Sylphira, you've got to snap out of it !< a distant voice cried a million miles away. >It's too much traffic to handle! You're not ready!<

>C—colony spacecraft blueprints. Guidelines f—for manu… manufacturing grathnode crystals. How to create… create… c—c—create small-scale song magic-based tower commands.I—it hurts!<

>Holy…< Sentinel breathed. I hazily felt a tiny figure latch onto my arm. >Sylphira, your head is GLOWING. There's… I think there's something in there!<

>I CAN FEEL IT BURNING!That does it,< she growled, releasing her grasp. >I'm killing your connection.<

>N—no…You… you won't be able to do it on your ow—<

In an instant the light, the darkness, the pain all vanished, whisked away like water down a drain. My consciousness went with it.

ERROR // Connection lost.

I came to on the floor of the dive lab, lying on a pile of blankets. Something cool and damp trickled from my ears. The silence permeating the small chamber was deafening.

"W—what happened…?" I groaned woozily, rubbing my forehead. A dull ache pounded from within, making me wince in pain.

"You got caught in that data stream, had a really bad disconnection attack, and then passed out…" Sentinel's worried voice replied. "I had to sever the connection, Sylphira. Also," she added, "you skipped the tutorial. Why'd you skip the tutorial?!"

"Oh…" I pushed myself upright, rising into a sitting position. "My head…"

"Sylphira," the AI said sharply, drawing closer. "Do you know what's coming out of your ears?"

I fuzzily touched them, feeling the wet texture beneath my fingertips. "I… I don't…"

"That's biofluid," she said softly, touching my shoulder. "There's something inside your head that's hurting you. I saw it while I was in the binary field."

Still in a daze, I squinted in concentration. I thought back to one of my earliest dreams with supreme effort, something that had always been a source of internal fear and confusion. ERROR. FOREIGN OBJECT DETECTED INSI—

T—that was referring to me… something inside me.

"What is it…?" I whispered with a trace of fear.

The little AI grimaced, shaking her head. "I… don't know. I didn't get a good look at the anomaly; all I can tell you is that it definitely wasn't your triangular nuclear loop. However, I suspect that it's one of the primary causes of your disconnection attacks—interfering with the link between your physical body and your soul up at the SH sever."

"I… I want it out!" I exclaimed fearfully, feeling my heartbeat accelerate. "Ge—get it out… get it out of me…!" My fearful cries were silenced by a coughing fit.

"I can't," she said gently, rubbing my shoulder in an attempt to get me to calm down. "Not only do I not have the tools or sensors to examine or extract it, but I can't knowingly harm the Tower Administrator, remember? That includes performing brain surgery on you. And the fact that I could see it from the binary field… well, that means that it's linked to your psyche in some way. So we can't just yank it out; removing it might kill you!"

"What should I do, then?!" I whimpered, frightened. Tears brimmed in my eyes.

Sentinel tapped her lip thoughtfully. "We can probably make a side trip to the insight's edifice on our way up through Section B. Those structures contain the majority of Asciydria's residential areas, so I'm sure that there's at least a few Reyvateil-oriented med bays. If we can find one that's still operable, I can run some of the preset medical procedures—a tissue biopsy, a couple different scan formats… basically just to find out what that thing actually is and what it's doing before we take more drastic measures."

"Okay…"

"Relax, Sylphira," she said in a soothing manner, giving a reassuring smile. "You remember what I told you, right? As long as nothing big changes, you should be fine. Diving into the binary field… well, evidently that was a big change, considering how you literally DDoS'ed yourself. So basically, don't do it anymore. Don't enter the binary field, don't look at the binary field… hell, don't even think about the binary field. It's not safe."

"But…" I sputtered, staggering to my feet. "If I don't do it, you'll have to face Dai on your own!"

The AI glared up at me, rising up to eye-level. "You're the Tower Administrator, Sylphira! Get it? You cannot afford to die. I'm expendable, so I'm going in alone. No arguments."

"You're not expendable!" I shrieked. "What the heck would I do without you, Sentinel?! You're my best fr—" I stopped myself, thinking of Mitri, "you're my friend. I can't do this without you!"

She smiled sadly. "I appreciate the thought… but I have to. My programming demands it. Please, for your safety… don't enter the binary field until we've got you checked out."

I remained silent, uneasily massaging my temples.

"Now then…" she drifted back towards the gaping doorway that lead out into the darkness, to where her tower guardians waited silently. "I need a couple minutes… to prepare myself. To compile my cyberwarfare suites, to optimize my file structure, to assemble all the memories I have left of Dai to make it through this unscathed." The AI glanced back at me. "Sylphira, as soon as this section of the wall drops, I want you to take the access stairwell out here to the next floor. That'll put you inside the prome wall; at that point, I can pull back and isolate myself from the tower's systems to avoid Dai's counterattack. You'll be on your own for this bit, okay?"

"Right…"

"Once you're in, just keep heading upward. Tower Control is directly above us, and all you've gotta do is head right to the top floor, where the core chamber is located. Once you're up there, you can disable the prome wall for good from the assigned terminal and we can continue our climb. Agreed?"

"Agreed…" I muttered reluctantly, glaring into the shadows with a defiant look on my face.

Sentinel… maybe you've forgotten, but I've seen your memories. I've seen how much Dai frightened you, and I've seen what it can do. You'll die if you do this on your own. I won't let you.

DIVE=MACHINE=OS_1.0502 ACTIVE // 17/01/3771_14:41:03

CONNECTION ESTABLISHING. LOADING INTERFACE…

LOADING…

LOADING…

Connection established. Interface loaded. Welcome back, SYLPHIRA_ANSUL_ASCIYDRIA.

I blinked rapidly, eyes darting back and forth. Experimentally I touched my wrists, confirming that the uncomfortable straps were gone and I had arrived back in the ethereal space that was the binary field.

The AI had already entered this place ahead of me, signaled by her two tower guardians in the room going dark. The second her attention had turned away, I had practically thrown myself into the nearby dive pod. There was no way I'd let her take on Dai alone.

Gazing up at the star-studded nebula that was my tower, I felt resolve welling up from within. This time… this time, I'm gonna do it right. I'm gonna make her proud… and I'm gonna protect her.

I rose up into the lightless skies, clearing thirty kilometers of architecture in the blink of an eye. The hypnotic pull of knowledge lightly tugged at my body as I passed particularly-dense information clusters, but I sought to ignore them. This time, my determination was immovable as steel plating.

Hold on, Sentinel… Don't die!

I shot past the glittering panels of the ion corridor, rapidly approaching the pinnacle of Section C. Up ahead, an odd and glistening film filled my vision, extending out in every direction as far as the eye could see—the prome wall. Its transparent surface shone with white light, partially masking the tower architecture that lay beyond.

Drawing to a halt, I reached out for the familiar presence of Sentinel. Come on, come on… where are you? Locating her, I sped off to the west, phasing through sections of the ion plate as if there was nothing there—and in this reality, that was exactly the case.

Touching down on a darkened catwalk, I gazed down each path. It was an exact copy of the ion plate that I had left behind, but everything felt… wrong. Disjointed, even. The angles of things seemed off by a couple degrees, the darkness just a little bit more prevalent, lending the binary field an unsettling feeling of unfamiliarity. Additionally I couldn't help that every surface gleamed as if it had been hammered into place mere days ago. Not a speck of rust or streak of dirt could be seen anywhere, which was especially jarring and hammered home the point even further that this place wasn't the Asciydria Tower I knew. Even so, I could feel the AI's presence—somewhere nearby—but she was nowhere to be seen.

Wait… I stopped, listening to the still air—if it was even called air in here. Movement, up ahead.

I stepped forward cautiously, squinting into the dark. >Sentinel, is that you?<

Something inhuman emerged from the dark, rushing straight at me. I instinctively leapt out of the way, though it seemed to matter little; the entity phased right through me and vanished into the shadows without a word.

I gazed incredulously after it. >What the… what the heck was that?<

Another came from the opposite direction. And then another, and another. It was an entire crowd of ghosts, drifting along the path. Each one identical to the rest, they resembled colorless masses of cubes and prisms and flickered as they moved, like a poorly-rendered simulation. The misshapen entities moved in perfect lockstep, shooting past without so much as a passing glance in my direction. Granted, they lacked faces or even heads, so it was rather difficult to tell what was a glance and what wasn't.

This time I kept after them, calling out while I ran. >Hey…! Hey, who are you? What's going on?!< It was all for naught, though. Not a single one slowed one modicum, continuing down the path until they were swallowed up by the lightless void once more.

>What's up with them…?< I mumbled, retreating along the catwalk. Up ahead a stack of crates emerged from the shadows, haphazardly pushed up against the railing.

Something glimmered behind one of the plastic containers.

Creeping over, I tentatively peered over the lip of the pile of boxes.

It was none other than Sentinel—or what I assumed was Sentinel, due to the small glowing prism's navy-blue hue and the familiar aura it cast outward. The tiny diamond shape bobbed silently in the still air, pulsing gently, apparently focused on more important matters.

>Sentinel…?< I cautiously reached out with one hand. It blinked to my side in an instant, appearing on the small shape's flank.

And then the object froze.

>Sylphira?!< the entity whispered frantically, its silhouette blurring and shifting until it had reconfigured into the little dark-haired AI that I knew. >Sylphira… what the hell are you doing here?! Do you have a death wish or something?!<

Glancing around furtively, I made myself into the space next to the little AI behind the crates. It was quite obvious that she was hiding from something for whatever reason, and I could take the hint. >Helping you, of course…!< I shot back, keeping my voice low. >Did you seriously think that I was just gonna sit by and watch while you risked your life for me?<

Sentinel put her hand to her face, steaming mad. >Of all the stupid, reckless—< And then she sighed, exhaling slowly in a way that was clearly meant to help her calm down. >You know what…? Screw it. Fine. You're already in here, you're not getting distracted by the pretty butterflies like last time, and I can use your administrator clearances and bypasses to get through this quicker and easier. Consider this 'Binary Field 101,' hands-on learning.<

>So why are we hiding behind these boxes…?…Oh. What do you see around you? What's your visual interpretation of the binary field?<

>My… visual…?<

>It's like this,< she explained, spreading her stubby arms. >The binary field is basically an amalgamation of all the computerized systems on Asciydria, all networked together. This place in its default state is nothing but a mess of coding, computers and network cables stringing them together. Of course, that would be confusing for a lot of users. Hence,< she gestured at the area surrounding us, >visual interpretation. The binary field can look like anything to different users based on their intelligence, personality, and rank in the tower's hierarchy of personnel. So,< the AI finished, >what do you see?<

>It's just… normal, I think?We're on a catwalk in the ion plate, hiding behind some boxes…<

Sentinel nodded sagely. >Oh… that makes sense. You've got the binary field's visual representation that simulates Asciydria Tower's internal layout, albeit the fact that it displays software architecture as physical objects within the tower.<

>Which one do you use?< I asked.

>I usually alternate between the aforementioned mess of coding or a rainy film noir setting…< she replied, brow furrowing, >…but now it's set to the same one as yours. These crates are a sort of camouflage that I set up a couple minutes ago. Anything inside is disguised as an inert and harmless data package—great for infiltration.So who are we hiding from, anyway?<

Wordlessly, Sentinel pointed at the glowing ceiling overhead.

>What, the prome wall?< I tilted my head quizzically.

>Not the prome wall,< she hissed. >What's waiting BEHIND it.<

>Dai…Exactly. It's up there, watching… always waiting. Anything attempting to approach or pass through the prome wall gets scanned by it, and if it's detected as a potential threat…< Sentinel trailed off, allowing me to fill in the blanks. >You get the idea.<

>So what should we do? How do we get in?<

The AI held up a chubby finger. >Very carefully. Did you happen to see anything… um, moving along this catwalk at all?<

>Now that you mention it…What even are those things?<

>They're just agent programs,< she explained, sharply glancing back and forth down the pathway. >Regular status updates, error reports, dump files, stuff like that. They're not very smart, but there's a lot of them. We can use that.< Her body shimmered once more, reconfiguring until it was an imperfect copy of one of the programs that had passed me by earlier. >Luckily for us, the fact that there's a lot of them means that Dai's a lot less likely to notice us when we slip under its attack barriers while hiding in a group of other programs.<

>Whoa…!How'd you do that?<

The collection of shapes that was my AI friend bobbed in the air in a vague approximation of a shrug. >It's… hard to explain. Here, do me a favor… can you please enable this request of mine?< A dialogue box materialized from the ether before my eyes.

NOTIFICATION // SENTINEL_aiCORE has requested access to modify D-Wave=Monitor_3150100004630540_17/01/3771_14:43:21. Allow access Y/N?

I confirmed the request, curiously peering at the AI. >What's that for?<

>This.< Sentinel reconfigured again, morphing into a perfect duplicate of a program from earlier. >How's that? How do I look?<

>Like a messed-up jumble of blocks…Perfect.< She turned away… I think. >C'mon. Now it's your turn.<

>Wait… what?<

The blocky mess that was Sentinel sighed. >You already noticed that you have an older and more mature body—lookin' good, by the way—in here, right? That's your default avatar. This place doesn't exist in the physical world, and so you can look like whatever you want.<

Again I self-consciously shielded my chest, pressing my knees together. I felt scarlet spread across my face. >W—well… how do I change it so I have clothes?!<

>In concept, it's kinda like how you'd generate clothing for your body in the physical world. It's a firmware function that all Reyvateils have, but we're not looking at that just yet.< The AI drew closer. >I want you to become a duplicate of me.<

>Why's that?I modified that software agent a little; access it and take on its appearance. More than just a new avatar, it should also mask any packets you send out or receive, disguising them as standard input and output commands that your average software agent would use—in this case, it's a bot from the Orgel that monitors D-wave output levels. Naturally, you want the defenses to think you're something harmless, and that's why your data stream has to be disguised too. Otherwise, your camouflage is just… cardboard, basically. Even a simple piece of automated software would know that you're faking it, and would treat you like the threat you are and report to Dai.<

>Um…< Brow furrowed, I accessed the previous file Sentinel had requested on a ghostly display before my eyes. I deftly tapped on it, examining the options that were laid out. One titled 'apply as avatar' jumped out. >Like thi—<

I couldn't even cry out before my physical form abruptly collapsed, facial features and limbs melting away into nothingness. A profound sense of horror wormed through my very core as my bones ground together, liquefying and merging with skin and tissue alike into a new blocky and inorganic form.

I couldn't see. I couldn't hear, smell, taste… I couldn't feel my arms or legs, either. all I could feel was the air on my smooth polymer skin, the way it skirted around the edges of the cubic shapes making up my new body. Panic set in almost instantly.

>Sylphira? Are you alright?< Sentinel asked carefully.

I—I can still hear her! I spun around frantically in the dark, unable to respond.

>Sylphira, you have to let go. You have to forget about the concept of using muscles to open your eyes, to move your mouth and arms and legs. Your current avatar has no internal moving parts, understand? It's a lot like my own holographic body. Don't think about moving or seeing; just DO it. Allow the instinct to flow.<

I… how do I…

And then things seemed to shift, ever-so-slightly.

Sight returned to my eyes—no, I had no eyes. Not here, not now. It almost felt like an out-of-body experience; seeing and hearing without any senses to speak of.

I cast a look down at myself, noting the unearthly and prismatic cluster of shapes that used to be a young woman. It was… unsettling, to say the least.

>It's weird, huh?< the AI asked; the two of us now looked like identical copies. >I know firsthand the differences between controlling my own digital body and a tower guardian that uses actual sensors and artificial muscles to interact with the world. It's… quite a jump.<

>Understatement of the year…C'mon, this way.< The malformed shape that was Sentinel bobbed in the air before rising from its cover, phasing through me and making its way down the gleaming catwalk in the direction that the group of programs had gone. >One of the main transmission line bundles is located over this way. It's a high-traffic pathway that runs clear through Asciydria—even through the prome wall.<

I blearily followed, still unfamiliar with my own body. >Are we gonna go up, then?<

>No,< the AI replied. >Once we're there, we're gonna blend in with the other software agents awaiting upload and compression. Once we're good and hidden, I'm gonna activate one of my backdoors that routes through the Orgel. It'll immediately take us down there, then send us up the transmission lines to the S.P.U—Asciydria Tower's mainframe—under the guise of being monitors for the component's energy grid.<

She turned briefly, her faceless visage seemingly staring right through me. >Once we clear the prome wall and reach the next processing hub, I'll immediately break off and target the control systems of some D-wave emitters that are located above the dive lab. That'll make part of the wall collapse, then you can slip through and start making your way up Tower Control. Any questions?<

>What happens if Dai notices us…?…Pray that it doesn't. It'll make this situation turn complicated real fast.<

A pillar of cable emerged from the darkness ahead, its cylindrical flanks pulsing with pure white light. I had seen it before in the real world only hours before, though back there its flanks were scored with burn marks and bits of frayed wire. Here, though, everything appeared to be brand new. Dozens—no, hundreds of programs clustered around the transmission line, waiting to be uploaded. While they all appeared to be made up of similar sets of misshapen building blocks, most were unique in shape and color, some of them blinking rapidly and sending streaks of rainbow light across the area.

>They're… talking to each other, aren't they?< I hazarded a guess.

>That's right. It's only natural, no? These programs are all interlocking parts of Asciydria Tower. Communication is necessary.< The AI drifted between two of them, marking out a path for my 'eyes.'

I tentatively followed, phasing through the strange entities. >What about?<

>Nothing terribly interesting…< she slurred, all of her processing power dedicated to another task. >Just… reporting on their own vices—the aforementioned software and firmware errors, damage reports that affect more than one system.<

As silly as it was, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in the crowd. >These guys can't hear us talking, can they?<

>No. We're not broadcasting openly—just peer to peer.<

>Mmh…<

>Right here.< Sentinel came to a sudden halt. >Don't touch anything, okay? I'm accessing a backdoor through the transmission lines… Orgel radial balancing mirror 07 gyroscopic control system found. Transmitting data… Sylphira, be ready for anything. The transmission line has a multitude of checkpoints based along its length—sections where it passes through processing hubs meant to route data and perform error and malware checks—and each hub is gonna host at least one attack barrier.<

>Attack… barrier?<

>It's a type of defensive software,< she explained. >Comprised of an intrusion detection system networked up to an automated attack suite, it automatically attempts to hack any would-be intruders. If we trip one, we'll—or more specifically, I'll—have to fight our way out. And make no mistake; if we hit even one, Dai will know that we're here. If it knows, then it'll sever the line completely and lock us out for good. We won't have much time before it does. Got it?I'm ready… I think.<

>All right.< The AI's abstract form flashed suddenly, releasing a pulse of light. >Listen, Sylphira,< she barked, her voice growing distorted. >There's no room for mistakes here. If Dai comes after you, I want you to disconnect yourself from the binary field. Doing so will sever your connection to many of Asciydria Tower's nodes, and will disorient Dai. If it ends up finding you anyway, it'll simply hit your SH server's firewalls and you'll be safe. If you're still connected when Dai hits you, though… I'm not sure of what might happen. It might be able to bypass your firewalls by jumping through the nodes connecting you to the binary field. Have you got that?<

>What about you?< I said worriedly, more concerned about the AI's safety than my own. My vision began to distort, colors bleeding together and losing their luster. A feeling of nausea made itself apparent in my avatar's 'gut,' presumably signifying the beginning of the transfer to the Orgel. >What happens if Dai gets you?<

>I'll be fine. I can disconnect on my end and retreat back to my own tower guardian network. It's firewalled and encrypted—a compartmentalized design made to safeguard an aspiring hacker from gaining control of Asciydria Tower in its entirety with a single penetrating attack—so it'll be fine.<

>…Right.<

>Stand by,< Sentinel uttered. >File compression and data transfer commencing; our camouflaged avatars are successfully queued for upload in the main transmission line. Initializing in three… two… one… zero.<

A profound sense of weightlessness, vertigo, the feeling of drifting through the void without mind nor body—

And then we were on our way, screaming up the transmission line from the humming power source at our backs. I felt my avatar's fractal body reconfigure, compressing to allow for smoother movement amongst the hundreds of other commuting programs utilizing the connection. An immense force pushed at my back, sending me racing up the shaft at incredible speeds. It was an exhilarating feeling. I turned my focus upward, plunging eagerly into the data stream.

Cruising in perfect tandem, Sentinel—or what I assumed was Sentinel—flickered briefly, drawing my attention. >Listen, Sylphira!< she cried. >We're coming up on the first processing hub. If we hit an attack barrier, just hang back and let me do the hacking, okay? Try and use your administrator clearances to deactivate it. And if I say 'disconnect,' you'd better actually do it! I'm not fooling around this time.<

>Got it!< I cried back joyfully, pulling into a wide corkscrew as we ascended. I allowed my avatar's body to gently kiss the curved walls of the transmission line, kicking up sprays of stardust that fanned out behind me. It all felt so natural now—a far cry from that blocky form I had been trapped in only moments ago. I was born for this.

We passed through a number of wider spherical chambers—vast rooms that swarmed with thousands of programs being scanned and transported all across the spire's computerized network. Sentinel had referred to them as server banks along the transmission line. No alarm nor attack met us there… and that trend somehow continued. I was so used to catches and snags during the earlier parts of our journey that the ease of moving forward now was almost boring.

>We're almost there,< the AI muttered, pulling ahead in the torrent of information. I saw the liquid flame streaming from Sentinel's thrusters, propelling her ever faster. >Only a little more…<

I would have blinked in confusion if I still had eyes. …That's really it?

>Something isn't right…< she hissed, worried. >We've just passed through the prome wall, and through several attack barriers… but somehow we didn't trigger any. It's like… like we're being allowed to asce—<

Sentinel was abruptly cut off as two inky black tendrils burst from her avatar's insides on opposite sides, anchoring the AI to the wall and halting her transfer in a single swift move. She gasped involuntarily, the camouflage falling away to reveal her frail little body and the gaping wounds through her torso.

>Sentinel?!< I immediately screeched to a halt and came about, canceling my own transfer to the systems near the tower's summit. My avatar's form abruptly flickered and distorted, my own ghostly arms emerging from its depths. Planting both hands on the closest slimy appendage, I fought to pull it out. >Sentinel, what is this? An attack barrier?!<

>S—Sylphira…< she gurgled weakly, a trickle of black fluid emerging from the corner of the mouth. >You… you have to disconnect…!<

>Shut up!Not without you! Just… tell me how to remove this barrier!<

>Not… an… attack barrier…< the AI whimpered, tresses of hair falling into her eyes. >I—I can't disconnect! There's no point! It's already inside m—<

>You were a fool to come here, Sentinel,< an unknown voice hissed. As quiet as the wind and spine-tinglingly sinister, it seemed to come from every direction at once.

The exterior of the processing hub bubbled and then opened, becoming transparent and allowing starlight to shine through. And out there, in the gaps between stars, something moved—a writhing entity of profound horror, only existing within the darkness of the binary field. Light seemed to bend around it, as if trying to escape the unspeakable monstrosity that wriggled past.

Whatever the entity was, it was getting closer.

>I—it's here…< Sentinel breathed, trembling.

Dai.

It fell against the exterior wall of the hub, splattering across its transparent surface like a clump of ooze. After a moment's pause, it transferred into the server bank. Melting through the barrier and changing shape, it shifted from one form to the next like liquid—a mass of writhing tentacles, an amorphous blob studded with hundreds of glassy hollow eyes, a creature that was nothing more than a gigantic gaping maw filled with rows upon rows of enormous teeth—before settling on a vaguely humanoid shape, albeit one that had no face.

Dai inexorably drew closer, drifting towards my AI friend—though it stopped at my side, giving me a cursory glance. >Curious.< It leaned in, coming nose to nose with me with nothing separating us. I shuddered under the creature's faceless gaze. It felt like it was sizing me up like a slab of meat in a butcher shop. >Why would a human be here? Slow reflexes, ruled by conflicting emotions and physically frail and vulnerable—a liability.<

I had no answer for it. I was frozen on the spot. There was something about Dai's voice and appearance that was so profoundly horrifying that it struck terror into my very core with a mere glance.

It clucked with disapproval, turning to face the AI. >This isn't the first time I've been inside your systems, Sentinel. Do you even remember that day, back in 3034? I know how you survived; I studied it. I probed your defenses for centuries, learning how they evolved… and I found a way in. I accessed your core systems the moment you began uploading your avatars into my transmission line.< It laughed. >You didn't notice.<

>Y—you fucking bastard!< she cried out belligerently, putting on a false front to mask her own fear. Even from over here, I could see her trembling. >Get the fuck out of my tower!<

Dai chuckled coldly, emotionlessly. >Your tower…? Arrogance—how amusing. That was the case once, yes, but no longer.< One blackened, mutilated arm swung around to point the little AI, who was already impaled on one of its limbs. >This is MY tower now.<

It drifted closer, its arm splitting into four wickedly-sharp tentacles, each pointed at various spots on Sentinel's battered body. >And again, I accessed your core. I saw your fragmented memories, your corrupted programming. I know what you've remembered, and what you've forgotten.< Dai twitched. >So… let me remind you of why you once feared me.<

Sentinel wordlessly screamed as Dai's finely-honed hacking algorithms shot forward, sliding into her ghostly flesh like knives through butter. Almost immediately she went limp, her aura dimming. The glittering filaments that connected her to the tower guardians looked more fragile than ever before.

>Hey…!< I shrieked, galvanized into action. The binary field warped, the simulation breaking down for the briefest moments as I teleported forward. My right arm flickered in and out of existence, instantly reforming as a wickedly-sharp blade embedded in the back of Dai's head. The attack was nothing more than pure instinct, hastily generated from cyberwarfare suites and the bundle of Tower Administrator-level clearances and bypasses available to me. >Get away from my friend!<

Its head eerily twisted around one hundred and eighty degrees, ignoring the blade lodged in its face. >Don't interfere, human,< Dai hissed icily. And then its appendages turned on me.

Closing my eyes and gritting my teeth, I braced for the searing agony that generally went hand in hand with being impaled.

It never came.

I cautiously opened one eye. A great sphere of energy surrounded my ghostly body—a new energy barrier, one that held Dai's corrupting touch at bay. It was my defensive network, doing its job flawlessly and even taking effect within the depths of the binary field. Asciydria Tower was turning against one of its own AIs at my behest.

The faceless creature paused, clearly stumped. I took the opportunity to carefully back away, stepping towards the boundary of the processing hub. Behind me, I saw a small number of twinkling nodes—several of the prome wall's D-wave emitters. Our goal. >…Curious indeed. Searching for network address within the tower residential database… not found. Searching for network address within SH_ASCIYDRIA… server offline, cannot establish connection.< It tilted its head, perplexed. >What are you?<

>Sylphira…< Sentinel croaked. >Go.<

>Tower Administrator Sylphira,< I growled, casting myself from the server bank and into the power control systems that oversaw the fueling of the prome wall. Utilizing my remaining arm, twisting the fingers into five unearthly appendages of my own, I plunged them into various D-wave emitter controls that sustained this section of the prome wall. Each found its mark.

The emitters went dark, severed from the network at large. Its power supply crippled, the barrier released a resounding crack, splintering in a circle around the point where I'd struck. The gap was no more than a few meters wide, but it was enough.

>Sylphira…< Sentinel coughed raggedly, barely conscious. >T—the barrier… it's open. Go.<

>But what about you?!I'll keep this thing busy.<

>But you'll DIE!<

Her smile faded, replaced with a determined snarl. >Don't… write me off that easily. I'm not dying here… not today.< The AI glared up at Dai. >C'mon, you sad excuse for a cyberwarfare AI… let's finish what we started seven hundred years ago. Bring it!<

>YOU'VE BOUGHT YOURSELF MERE SECONDS AT BEST!< Dai roared, advancing upon Sentinel with a vengeance.

And then it paused, turning its faceless head to gaze at me implacably. I withered under its sightless glare. >YOU—I'll find you. No one threatens Neo Elemia's solidarity and lives.<

I released a shuddering gasp, released from Dai's attention. It refocused on Sentinel, drawing ever closer until it was millimeters away. I could see her shaking like a leaf. She was terrified.

>Sentinel…< it crooned sweetly, like a mother might to a newborn child. The little AI gasped in pain as Dai's appendages slid further in, penetrating right through her pudgy torso. >I… knew that you'd simply split yourself again or reconfigure your defenses were I to attack you head-on like last time. So I left something inside you while I had access to your core systems minutes ago—a gift of sorts. It won't be quick… though you don't deserve a quick death, after all. Not after what you've done in the name of Sol Cluster.<

>Fuck… you…< she gasped, struggling to free herself.

>Amusing.< Dai pressed a misshapen palm against the little AI's forehead. It crackled with ominous crimson light. >My gift to you.<

Sentinel howled with equal parts terror and agony as the data flowed into her, vomiting up a river of brackish ooze. Like a switch had been thrown, over ninety percent of the filaments that tethered her to drones across the spire vanished, drifting off into the abyss. Dai caught a handful with the swipe of a hand; they glowed blood-red in response. >Interesting…< Dai whispered, playfully tugging on the ethereal cords like a child with a new toy.

>SENTINEL, NO!< I screamed in horror.

>O—oh no…< the little AI whimpered as she fell, suddenly freed from Dai's grasp. I lunged forward and caught her, cradling her inert body in my arms. Sentinel's huddled form looked so very dim, as if she might fade into the darkness as well.

>No…< I held Sentinel tightly, sharing my warmth with her. >Sentinel, no! You can't die!<

>Sylphira…< she mumbled weakly, eyelids fluttering. >You… y—you have to go… before the breach collapses… We won't get another chance.<

>But what about you?!I—I'm not dying here, not now… but the damage is done already. Just… let me go…<

I lifted my head, gazing up at the hole I'd made. Already it was contracting, repairing herself. In minutes it would be gone.

>I'll come back for you,< I swore, releasing her. The little AI floated off into the dark. >Sentinel, just hold on…! I'm gonna finish this!<

I killed the connection.

NOTIFICATION // Session terminated.

The dive pod's hatch rotated open and I heaved myself out, wheezing. Free of the claustrophobic space, I dropped onto all fours and took a series of deep breaths. I paid no mind to the biofluid trickling freely from my ears.

Don't think about that… there's no time.

Focusing my resolve, I surged to my feet. The room was unchanged, save for the fact that both of Sentinel's tower guardians lay on their sides, silent as the grave.

I poked my head out of the room, gazing up. An exhale of relief emerged from my lips. What we had done in the binary field wasn't in vain; a small but gaping tear still persisted in the shimmering energy barrier, directly above the access stairwell that led up into Tower Control.

We really did it! I took a step forward… then drew to a sudden halt. A sound—the clamor of steel against steel—had sounded from the room I had just emerged from. Curiosity getting the better of me, I peered back into the chamber.

My eyes widened in shock. The AGRA-NX was spasming, its limbs jerking back and forth like if it were a marionette. The light strips across its body flickered wildly.

And then one of its monstrous eyes opened, instantly locking on me.

Sentinel's voice echoed from my mindscape. >S—Sylphira, go!<

Galvanized, I sprinted up the stairwell. Just as I reached the top step, beyond the prome wall, a ghostly howl emerged from the room where the AGRA-NX lay. The icy sound stopped me dead in my tracks. It was closely followed by the sound of ripping, tearing, screeching metal.

The AI spoke once more… >Sylphira… y—you have to run, as fast as you can…!<

>Sentinel!Are you okay?! What was that sound? I think… I think something happened to the AGRA-NX!<

>I—I'm okay… for now, at least…< Panic flowed into her voice. >But you n—need to go! Keep going, and don't look back no matter what!<

>Why…?The AGRA-NX…< she wheezed, barely conscious. >Dai took control of it! It tore the Type-14 apart, and now it's after YOU. It's hunting you! RUN!<

OmegaCloud · Aug 20, 2017

Sapphire said:
>The AGRA-NX…< she wheezed, barely conscious. >Dai took control of it! It tore the Type-14 apart, and now it's after YOU. It's hunting you! RUN!<

Fucking cliffhangers! I want to know what happen next now

.

Quickshot0 · Aug 20, 2017

Well atleast the wait shouldn't be to long.

And atleast she managed to get through the super strong barrier now. Which is something...

justinkal · Aug 20, 2017

Poor Sentinel.

Sapphire said:
and a new job with a manager who loves to pile on the extra shifts.

On the plus side, overtime pay is nice.

Sapphire said:
and it's also the culprit behind the destruction of the tower guardian assembly lines. that's why I only had about eight thousand left when we first met, instead of my optimal fifteen thousand.

Missing some capitalization here.

Sapphire · Aug 20, 2017

justinkal said:
Missing some capitalization here.

Thank you very much! Will fix momentarily.

Mizu · Aug 23, 2017

Sapphire said:
It was nothing more than a small part of the the whole.

remove the extra 'the'.

This is pretty good so far, Sapphire. I'm enjoying how you've been setting out the world and what changes have sprung up from having a fourth Tower, and the poor Administrator just keeps making me want to know more about her backstory as she learns it herself. From what I can tell from the last flashback scene (up to ch4.1 atm) she seems to have been unconscious for a long~ time - possibly something went wrong while creating her, or syncing to the Tower initially - and this excebated to the point she'd been snoozing till she woke up recently.

Why now, however, is a tad unknown.

The flashback itself seems to imply some Beta from a few century ago were trying to have her power an EXEC song, to reconstruct or perform maintainance on the various machinery making up the Tower... and did so even when things started going wrong, resulting in them turning into goop. Which does make me wonder what the villagers she's met so far are, truthfully. Ordinary humans? Third-gen? Can't be Beta, as they'd have been nothing but goop when the song a few century back mucked up.

Sapphire · Sep 4, 2017

Chapter 11 - Hunted

Silent as a ghost, I crept down the murky hallway, my outstretched fingertips lightly grazing on the pockmarked wall. My cloak rasped lightly as it dragged along the floor. I was too terrified to even bring up my flashlight—not with Dai in close proximity.

Something enormous padded along the corridor one level down, each heavy footfall sending a tremor up through the worn metal floor.

"Administrator, are you there…?" Sentinel's familiar voice called out from the tower guardian that was no longer hers. "Please, administrator… I need help!"

I shuddered deeply. It's not her, I stubbornly told myself. It's just Dai, using Sentinel's voice to try and trick me…

"Administrator!" 'Sentinel' wailed, taking another heavy footstep. The ground beneath my feet trembled. "Please, come out!"

Beads of sweat trickled into my eyes, and I blinked them away rapidly. >Sentinel…!< I hissed, nervously casting my voice out into the ether. >Sentinel, are you there? What happened to the AGRA-NX?!<

Silence pervaded our link for a long, agonizing moment. Finally, with a crackle of interference, Sentinel responded. She spoke laboriously, her voice digitized and weak. >S—Sylphira… don't listen to that voice… i—it's not me…!<

Relief flooded through my system. >I know… I know it's not you. Are you alright? What happened to your tower guardians?<

>D—Dai… it cut me off from mo—most of my tower guardians…< The little AI released a long breath, her words trailing off. >Sylphira, I'm t—tired… so very tired…<

My heart seized up in my chest. >Sentinel, no… just keep talking to me, please!< I gasped, inching through the darkness. My eyes barely penetrated the gloom. >It's still looking for me! How do I make it stop?!<

The armored monster below continued to pace back and forth, growling softly with a grating, throaty rumble. It snapped at the still air with its vice-like jaws, attempting to sense its prey—me.

"Administrator," Dai called out in a singsong manner, still hidden behind Sentinel's voice. "Come out, come out! We've gotta keep going, remember?"

My spine tingled. Everything about this was profoundly wrong. A small part of my mind wanted to run to her, that warm and familiar voice I had come to count on ever since I'd first woken up on the Isles of Aria. But logic and reason told me that doing so would only end in my death.

>M—my drones…< the real Sentinel rambled, slipping into delirium. >They're almost all g—gone… less than two h—hundred left…< My AI friend—who had always seemed fearless—whimpered softly. >Oh god Sylphira, I don't wanna die…<

>Sentinel, please snap out of it!What should I do?!<

>I don't know… I don't know!< She began to cry. >Sylphira…<

>Can you send another AGRA-NX to take it out? Or something… anything at all!< A doorway resolved out of the shadows ahead—the entrance to a stairwell—and I inched my way towards it. My boots scuffed on the metal grating.

"Administrator?" that smooth and feminine voice I'd come to know called out in the distance. "Are you still there? Where'd you go?" The guttural sounds of my mechanical hunter began to fade into the background as I put more and more distance between myself and the stolen tower guardian.

>N—no…< she sniffled. >I d—don't have any left… or anything in that part of the t—tower… and the prome wall locked me out!< A breathy sob emerged from the AI. >I'm… I'm so sorry, Sylphira… I—I failed you…<

Our connection evaporated into nothingness.

I swallowed hard. I'm on my own…

Making as little noise as possible, I took a slow and shaky breath. My small knife was in-hand on a moment's notice, the wicked blade held out in front of me. It did little to dispel my fears, and even the knowledge of my ability to generate plasma did nothing to slow my racing heart.

Yet despite my terror, Sentinel never left my thoughts for a moment. I simply had to trust that the little AI would be okay. She had to be.

Continuing upwards, I moved away from the monster that waited in the darkness below and towards the upper level of Tower Control.

I hadn't heard from my pursuer in a long time.

I paused for a moment to catch my breath, slumping against the stairs. My chest heaved, lungs hungrily drawing in air. While my body had become optimized for endurance treks over the course of the long weeks spent climbing, my rapid and fear-stoked flight up the stairwell certainly wasn't that. A small part of me that stubbornly hung onto the habits I'd picked up in Mist's Reach shrilly demanded that I take a drink of water, but I didn't dare sing to draw moisture from the atmosphere. Dai could be lurking only floors below—listening. Waiting.

Sentinel had never used the AGRA-NX in combat—only for intimidation purposes. I'd only ever seen its speed and use of powerful jump jets. And because of that, I had no idea what the monster was capable of. Like Dai, it was almost a complete unknown.

On that note… Reaching for the link I shared with Sentinel, I tried to get ahold of her once more. >Sentinel? Sentinel, are you there…?<

No response.

>I—I think I'm almost at the top of Tower Control…< I reported nervously, aware of the possibility that perhaps the AI couldn't speak yet could still hear my voice. >Just keep holding on, okay? I'll be back down there soon!<

The silence persisted, unchanging. She wasn't there.

Dammit… I slid against the worn bulkhead, drained. I gotta… gotta keep going… Dai's still here. It's still looking for me. The sooner I can disable the prome wall, the sooner we can get out of this place!

I cast my frightened gaze out into the dark, both above and below. For a time I was quiet, listening to the ambient noises of my tower. The muted trickle of water, plunging down through the middle of the shaft and pooling on the immeasurably-distant 'ground' floor. The rustle of leaves, nourished by dim sunlight, brushing against the mottled steel surfaces of Tower Control. And of course, the ever-present distant echoes of the mistral artifice. Nothing out of the ordinary emerged from the quiet ambience.

Safe… I think. Exhaling with relief, I pressed a bare palm against the bulkhead. My brow furrowed in concentrations as I made the barest of links with my tower. Section B… Tower Control. Here it is… I opened my eyes, gasping lightly. Almost there…! The top floor is only a couple hundred meters further up… that's gotta be the core. It has to be.

Squinting at the wireframe diagram of Asciydria Tower, I quickly noted my current location—that familiar vortex of light. Casting my sense out in all directions from that point, I couldn't seem to locate any of the dim motes of warmth that represented tower guardians anywhere in my vicinity.

I could feel myself relax, the tension flowing out in a great torrent. If I can't see the AGRA-NX… then it's gone. Dai gave up and went elsewhere.

…Or Dai can hide it from my tower sense somehow, and it's still stalking me. Could it even come up with countermeasures like that?

My answer suddenly came. The still air was shattered by a sound—a deep, metallic screech. The sound of overstressed metal, flexing beneath the weight of a massive object. It wasn't a natural ambient sound; it was far too sly for that. It was the sound of someone trying to be as quiet as possible.

Something was out there.

I jolted upright, exhaustion forgotten in an instant. Remaining as silent and still as possible, I peered out into the shadows. A line of sweat made its way down from my temple while I did so.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The air was silent, but I wasn't fooled for even a moment. If Dai was waiting out there, then it could afford to wait, motionless, until the end of time. All it needed was one clear opening—the moment I dropped my guard, it would strike—and I would die. And the hopes of Mitri, Evecia, and the rest would die with me.

My flashlight clicked to life, banishing the darkness caught in its path. I apprehensively panned the wavering beam about, frightened that Dai would attack the second its cloak of shadows was stripped away

No sudden attack came. There was nothing—at least, not in close proximity. Exhaling with temporary relief, I turned to continue my ascent of the stairwell.

Something tingled at the back of mind.

I immediately dropped onto my belly, protectively covering my head.

A stream of energy came roaring out of the darkness, passing through the empty space where my head had been moments ago. If I had been human—with the slower reflexes that came with it—I'd have been killed instantly. Dazed, I could only remark that the beam—needle-thin and tinted blue—looked so familiar to me. It was borne from a small aerial tower guardian, the one that had rescued me from the dark of the woods so long ago.

But where did it come from? What fired it?! I scrambled to my feet, eyes tracking where the bolt of energy had originated. My flashlight revealed nothing—no, wait. In the empty space ahead, something shimmered. At first I thought it was merely a trick of the light, but then I noted how the shadows behind it seemed ever-so-slightly distorted. Something was there, barely visible to my eyes.

…Is that… camouflage?!

Galvanized by fear, I sprung into action. A coursing sphere of plasma was floating above my palm on a moment's notice, swelling with each passing millisecond. It filled the stairwell with pulsating blue and indigo light. Streaks of electricity leapt between the metallic frame of the stairs, making my hair stand on end.

Acting before it could fire again, I swiftly lobbed the orb of superheated plasma at the cloaked entity.

This particular tower guardian unit was a light aerial scout, the same type as the ones formerly stored within the Type-14's body. The machine was only really capable of reconnaissance tasks—certainly nothing even close to approximating open combat. And so, it was no match for the molten sphere made up of the same materials as stars themselves that splashed against its fuselage.

The machine's cloak failed instantly with a shower of sparks, interrupted by the electrical discharges that rippled along its flanks. Its thin layers of ultralight alloy plating boiled away with a sputtering hiss, releasing a cloud of steam that obscured my vision. A clamor of staccato metallic pops and creaks followed, before a pile of molten slag that was once the hostile tower guardian splattered against the grated floor.

In the wake of the smaller tower guardian's death, a monstrous glowing pair of eyes revealed themselves amongst the oppressive darkness.

It stomped into the beam of my flashlight on four tree-trunk legs, sloughing patches of shadow from its armored metal flanks. The tower guardian's pearly white teeth gleamed in the artificial light, its monstrous grin looking all the more terrifying due to the fact that it wasn't Sentinel who was in control; it was a cold, unthinking, and unfeeling intelligence focused solely on ending my life.

"Even more curious,< Dai said dryly, allowing its oral camouflage to fall by the wayside. >Target's SH server address confirmed as SYLPHIRA_ANSUL_ASCIYDRIA. Attempting to access communications array… cannot establish communications with Neo Elemia to update confirmation of kill order.< It paused for the barest of moments. >…No matter. Last updated kill order reloaded—pacify or exterminate all Reyvateils on Asciydria Tower. Engaging.<

The AGRA-NX launched forward with a deafening bellow, its gaping maw opened wide.

I stumbled back, paralyzed by fear. The act gave me just enough clearance to avoid the tower guardian's jagged horn, which missed my waist by bare millimeters. I could even feel the rush of air on my skin as the bladelike edge passed by. Submitting to raw terror, I turned and ran, allowing what little plasma remained in my grasp to fall behind. The machine howled with rage as stray globules of superheated material splashed against its hardened plating.

And so, the chase began.

I charged up the stairwell, feet hardly touching the ground. My heart pounded on my throat, and I struggled to breathe through lips that were focused on creating a stream of Hymmnos. Lines of burning plasma coursed along my arms, falling in sheets behind me. It coated every surface, searing through the aged metal and polymer with ease. Every flight of stairs at my back turned into slag, slumping over and toppling into the open shaft. The AGRA-NX roared with frustration, stymied by the avalanche of molten alloy.

>You can't escape forever!< Dai bellowed up the stairwell, its digitized voice growing fainter with every footfall.

Even so, I refused to slow, not stopping until its yells had been inaudible for a full minute. For good measure, I dropped an enormous sphere of plasma down the middle of the shaft. Countless metallic groans answered the act, and a punishing wave of heat rolled up from the abyss. It made me stagger against the bulkhead, leaving me dizzy. The stench of burnt carbon filled my nostrils. Unable to continue, I weakly folded to the floor, gasping and coughing.

Taking several long moments to recover, I timidly peered into what little remained of the stairwell. The walls glowed a hellish orange, the melted remnants of the stairwell bleeding off into the open shaft which now resembled the gaping maw of a volcano. Twisted metal struts ringed the open shaft, resembling rows upon rows of jagged crooked teeth.

"T—there's no way… it can get past that…" I panted, completely spent. Gazing up, I realized that I didn't have much further to go. Gritting my teeth, I powered up the final few flights of stairs, arriving abruptly at the top of the shaft. The shattered remains of a skylight hung overhead, allowing sunlight to bleed into the tower's murky interior. A light trickle of water emerged from the cracked glass, allowing small bits of foliage to thrive on nearby surfaces. A pair of sealed double doors beckoned ominously nearby, their surfaces consumed with patches of rust and moss.

This… has gotta be it.

I sent out another probing query to Sentinel. Her reply was nonexistent, and so I nervously proceeded, pushing the doors apart. They released a shriek of protest before tumbling from their corroded hinges, allowing access.

Taking the hint, I cautiously stepped into the core chamber of Tower Control.

The chamber's walls bristled with a striking feature I'd not seen before—systems of brass pipes, twisting and flaring out into artful shapes. Though the smooth metal had turned brown over the long centuries exposed to the elements, patches of gold still shone dully through. The large room was brightly illuminated thanks to the viridian-tinted sunlight flooding in through enormous plate glass windows that made up over half of the wall and ceiling space. Through the glass—which arced inward radially from the floor to meet the ceiling in the shape of a half-dome—I could see straight up into the guts of Section B.

The superstructure making up the bulk of Asciydria Tower appeared to be centralized around an immense spherical structure, which I could only imagine to be the curved outer wall of the symphonic reactor. From it dangled a multitude of cylindrical structures that closely resembled stalactites, reaching down towards my current position at Tower Control. Clouds swirled amongst them, blocking my view, though I could briefly make out flashes of green and patches of mist that were sure signs of verdant forests and bodies of water. A verification of my tower sense told me that the nest of buildings was a complex Sentinel had called the 'insight's edifice,' the supposed location of Lyra Village—the Teru settlement that Sam had mentioned. Idly I wondered if we would ever visit before refocusing onto the task at hand.

Turning my gaze ahead, I focused on the core chamber of Tower Control. There was no time for sightseeing; not with Dai undoubtedly searching for another way up.

The room was packed with terminals, all arrayed in a half-circle facing a wide pedestal at the far side of the chamber, where the curved windows met the floor. Said pedestal bristled with even more terminals, tightly clustered together. Some still blinked stubbornly with faint lights, somehow still hanging onto life in defiance of their ravaged surroundings.

And ravaged they were. As I pressed deeper into the chamber, I had to step around saplings coming up through the floor and glittering waterfalls that cascaded down from the ceiling above. The echo of trickling water filled the room. Pooling on the shattered tiles beneath my feet, the water collected into thin streams that ultimately emptied themselves into crevices in the floor. Darkness yawned up from the void below.

Moss and roots had completely overrun every surface. I trudged through dense patches of ferns and bushes, swatting away bugs with my hand. Rotted desks and chairs lay strewn across the room, littered with heaps of disintegrated mush that presumably used to be paper and even a few small handheld computer tablets. Picking my way through them, I made my way to the outer ring of terminals. The flickering lights had drawn my curiosity.

"Hmm…" I muttered, giving several of the cracked screens a passing glance. Complex calculations, error messages, and lines of Hymmnos scrawled past.

I'm betting that the terminals up on that big pedestal have all the important stuff. I clambered up with some difficulty, gingerly squeezing past the rusted and offline consoles to reach the ones that somehow still remained active.

As I approached the first terminal in the line, it began to pulse wildly, releasing a muted warble before coming to life. A ghostly display flickered to life in the humid air before my eyes, hosting lines of information that drew both confusion and interest.

Squinting, I traced my fingers around the circular Hymmnos runes. Mmh… resonance board control. Referring to my tower sense, I rapidly made the connection. Oh… this is part of the ion corridor! It's what lets it harness D-waves to modify the atmospheric makeup. Neat, but not what I'm looking for.

I shuffled over to the next console in the line, calling up another holographic screen. Geometric balancing gyroscopes… Nope, this controls the rotation of the ion corridor's plates. Not this one, either…

Continuing my careful search, I crept through the maze of dilapidated terminals, all the while listening carefully for the telltale heavy footfalls of my pursuer over the sounds of splashing water. I refused to believe that Dai would simply give up after all that.

Ion corridor mirror assembly alignment override…

Mistral artifice power output regulator controls…

Plasma bell/lift generator complex throttle controls… My eyes lingered on the readout for a long moment, noting the addendum at the bottom of the screen. Launch procedure restricted to Alpha-level personnel only. What the heck is a launch procedure…? Strangely, my tower sense held no answers. Nonetheless, it certainly had nothing to do with disabling the prome wall, and so I passed it by.

Only one more readout—an error message about an offline geothermal complex located at the foot of the spire, below the Sea of Death—drew my curiosity before I came across my goal.

Prome wall security barrier control override… this is it!

Eyes darting back and forth, I pored through the lines of text and various available options as hastily as I could manage. It was mere moments before I found one such option that was meant to allow for the manipulation of the power flow distributed to the energy field. Reaching out, I dragged a finger across the screen, reducing the power input to zero.

WARNING: This modification will cut power to the prome wall. Tower Sections A and B will no longer be protected from environmental hazards such as micrometeorites and abnormal weather phenomena! Selection not advised. Confirm Y/N?

I confirmed the command, utilizing my own Tower Administrator clearances to cut through the torrent of additional warning messages that had subsequently exploded into existence. The display dimmed in response as the barrier's power levels plummeted. A faint electronic hum reverberated throughout the control room, and I felt an uncomfortable prickling sensation as my body confirmed what the display before my eyes did—that the prome wall had been successfully deactivated.

It worked… it really worked! Elated, I turned away to depart. Time to get back down to Sentinel. Reminded of the little AI, I sent yet another query. Again, no response was forthcoming. I really hope she's okay…

Hopping down from the pedestal, I hastily made my way back towards the set of broken double doors. Recalling how the stairwell had been reduced to a sea of molten metal at my hands, I screeched to a halt. Wait… how do I get out of here now? I glanced around the room, perplexed. I wrecked the stairs, and Dai's almost certainly trying to find another way up, so any other internal passages through Tower Control are gonna be unsafe. Maybe there's some kind of fire escape running down the exterior that I can access from up here? That would make sense, right?

The floor beneath my feet suddenly groaned, flexing upwards.

I was abruptly sent flying across the chamber as the tiled floor erupted, impacting with one of the inactive terminals. I instinctively cried out in shock. The back of my head slammed into something hard and metallic. Barely clinging to consciousness, I dazedly watched as a shapeless blur rose up through the gaping hole that had been created in the floor, cloaked in obscuring clouds of dust.

>Found you,< Dai growled coldly.

A loud and distorted howl ripped through the chamber, forcing me to rapidly recover or die. Something massive barreled out of the dusty clouds, right at me, and I instinctively rolled to one side. I felt the air currents as the AGRA-NX passed, plowing through consoles as if they were naught but glass. At least a dozen vanished amidst the chaos, utterly flattered beneath the tower guardian's immense weight.

I frantically scrambled back, putting as much distance between myself and the rogue tower guardian as I was able. I couldn't stand and fight; fear was in control now. All I wanted to do was run and hide from the terrifying monstrosity baying for my blood.

The machine slowly turned, its lifeless eyes locking on mine. Its ghastly face frozen in a permanent grin, it lunged again.

I darted to one size, using my agility and much smaller stature to my advantage. The AGRA-NX whistled past, burrowing face-first into the steel bulkhead. It growled in frustration, its hindquarters waving back and forth as it sought to extricate itself. When it finally did, nearly half of the wall came with it in a landslide.

>Hold… still!< the hostile AI hissed.

My panicked eyes locked on the gaping hole in the bulkhead—a way to escape—that the tower guardian had inadvertently created.

The machine came again, lumbering forward with a snarl permanently etched into its metallic skull. I seized my chance, hurling myself to one side with the aim to sprint for the gap lea—

Dai knew what I was planning. At the last possible moment it abruptly screeched to a halt, stopping directly in my path. I could feel hope bleeding away, leaving me rooted on the spot. The tower guardian leered down at me, its controller apparently savoring the moment.

Maw opened wide, its head came down on me.

I leapt back and and answered with a rapid-fire chain of Hymmnos, casting energy outward in a wide spray. The machine roared with anger as its head and shoulders were engulfed in a firestorm of superheated plasma, charring its stark white plating. It wasn't enough to wound it—not by a long shot—but it was enough to grant me an opening, buying time to figure out something else.

The tower guardian recovered quickly—quicker than I'd anticipated, utilizing speed unbefitting of its size—and charged yet again, punching through a sapling and reducing it to splinters. I rushed forward to meet it, desperately throwing myself aside in an attempt to dodge it once more.

This time, I wasn't fast enough.

As the machine passed by, I felt something razor-sharp and white-hot tug at my right arm—just below the shoulder—which had trailed out behind me during my dive. I gasped involuntarily as all sensation in the limb vanished, my shoulder going icy cold. The sudden, jarring impact sent my limp body flying through the air. Tumbling to the ground, I skidded along the tiled surface and slammed headfirst into a bulkhead, right next to the gaping crevice formed moments ago that led out of Tower Control. I saw stars and tasted something warm and metallic in my mouth. In all the commotion, I'd accidentally bitten my tongue.

G—get up… Dazed, I struggled to recover. My sight flickered and wavered, and I couldn't seem to get my feet under me. An incessant ringing filled my ears. Get up, Sylphira…!

My boots appeared in my field of vision. Left hand braced against the wall for support, I weakly stumbled to my feet. Stooped over like an old woman, I couldn't seem to stand upright without being overcome by a spell of dizziness. For some reason the right side of my sweater was dyed crimson, but I couldn't quite understand why. I was simply too disoriented.

SYSTEM NOTIFICATION // Warning! Severe damage inflicted to unit SYLPHIRA_ANSUL_ASCIYDRIA. Install port coupling system destroyed. Various hardware sections inoperable. Seek repairs at your designated tripolar resonance incubator as soon as possible.

O—oh right… Dai nicked my arm a little bit, and it's bleeding. Lifting my right hand to inspect the damage, I—

Nothing happened. A moment of confusion. Wait… w—what's going on…?

I again fought to lift my arm. Again, nothing appeared in my contracted field of vision. I couldn't even feel it—sensation, muscle control, nothing. I was so lightheaded that I couldn't comprehend it until my listless gaze dropped.

My right arm was gone, the limb having been torn clean off in a way that exposed my bare clavicle and the top of my own ribcage. I didn't even have so much as a shoulder left. A jagged spoke of silvery metallic bone protruded from the mangled wound, partially obscured behind thin bundles of wire grafted right to my skeleton. Each cable was severed along with the bone, their exposed ends sparking. The open wound wept a stream of hot red liquid in tune with my fluttering heartbeat, splashing across the floor.

Blood. My blood.

And then the pain came—a ripping, searing pain that tore through me, body and soul. It raged like fire, setting every nerve ending alight and dwarfing any other sensation I'd ever felt before—including when I'd woken up in the forest with my back broken and neck impaled.

My legs instantly turned to mush, forcing me to my knees. I clutched the open wound with my remaining hand and screamed, crying until my lungs gave out. Rivulets of hot tears cut through the grime caked on my cheeks, pooling with the crimson stain splashed across the floor.

It hurts… oh god, IT HURTS!

I cried and cried until my throat turned red and raw, a trickle of blood emerging from the corner of my mouth. The dusty air felt like acid to the open wound, but there was no way to shield it—no way to hide from the agony that overcame every single thought save for one.

I… I wanna go home…

"I wanna go home…" I whimpered aloud, sagging to the floor in a pool of my own blood and tears.

>Analyzing… subclavian and aortic arterial bleeding, widespread internal bleeding, ruptured right lung, and severe hypovolemic shock. Diagnosis—mortal wound. Objectives satisfied. Target pacified,< Dai muttered, turning away. >Returning to standby mode.<

P—please… someone, help me…

My eyelids drooping, I watched the encroaching darkness while it drew closer. I would allow anything—no, I would welcome anything that could provide shelter from the pain. I beckoned to the oncoming abyss with open arms.

Mommy, Mitri… I'm sorry.

And then a familiar and reassuring sensation pressed against the edges of my mindscape. It washed over me like cool and clear water, soothing the fire that assailed my nerve endings.

>Sylphira…! I'm coming!< Sentinel cried.

My eyes snapped open.

In bitter defiance of the blinding pain, I surged to my feet. The tower guardian was facing away; Dai apparently believed that it had dealt me a mortal wound. For a brief period of time there, the AI had been correct. Tightly holding the exposed flesh, I stumbled back from the mechanical horror, feeling dizzy while my tear-filled eyes panned across the room.

At the far end of the chamber, I spotted a wayward object—my right arm. Forgotten in the carnage, it lay across one of the console's dashboards, limp and mangled. The install port etched into its pale skin flickered and faded. Before my eyes, the flesh began to bubble and hiss. In seconds, the limb had disintegrated into a puddle of biofluid with a small pile of cybernetics at its center. It was like the arm had never existed in the first place. I swallowed hard and clamped a hand over my mouth, fighting down the bile that rose up my throat.

Rapidly shaking my head, I fought to clear the horrific image from my mind's eye. Dropping back down onto one knee, I struggled to access the well at the core of my consciousness that was my song magic. I had to stop the blood flow, otherwise I'd quickly become incapacitated. Additionally, having something to focus on would help stave off the shock.

EXEC_HYMME_SOUL=LIGHT/.

Pressing a wet palm against the bloody wound, I drew forth my dedicated healing song, Soul Light. I coughed out a twisted cry of pain at the contact, emerging from lips that were screwed shut. Forced to stare directly at the bleeding wound, I spat out a steady stream of Hymmnos and fought to close it.

"Xe rre lusye accrroad,"

"Der soare mea…"

Please give back the light,

At the will of my song…

It wasn't long before a spine-tingling itch emanated from my shoulder. I groaned involuntarily, shuddering deeply while the skin-crawling sensation rolled along my spine. The pale skin at the edges of the wound began to writhe, knitting together over the raw flesh and bone exposed to the dusty air. Seconds later, the site that had been weeping blood had completely vanished beneath a layer of smooth and flawless skin.

I slumped back with relief as the agonizing pain mercifully faded. It wasn't fully healed—not even close—but it would at least prevent me from bleeding out until I could do a more thorough job later on.

Swallowing hard, I stumbled forward, not used to my now-lopsided center of gravity. Tripping over my own feet, I fell to my knees. Out of habit I splayed my right arm out to support my weight, and ate a mouthful of damp moss when the nonexistent limb failed to catch me. Slow breaths…. in and out, in and out. Don't freak out… I can fix it later when I get out of here. Don't freak out, don't freak out…

A massive armored foot appeared in my peripheral vision.

>This world doesn't need you anymore,< Dai hissed, bringing the AGRA-NX's head around. Its rounded jaw slammed into my side, sending me skidding across the floor. I exhaled harshly, feeling ribs break. >You no longer have any place on Ar Ciel. The ones who invented you machines—my human masters—said that.<

I desperately yanked my knife out of its sheath, jamming the serrated tool into the tower guardian's ankle joint where the hardened plating abated. I was rewarded with a spray of yellow liquid that coated the blade.

The AI growled with annoyance, dragging its foot back. >Hydraulic fluid rerouted.< Then it sprung forward, its head lowered. I cried out again as the machine's wickedly-sharp horn plunged into my belly, slithering right back out a moment later.

Crawling away a few meters, I shakily placed my bloodstained hand on my side. The act sent streaks of fire through my abused ribcage. Flecks of crimson spattered across the floor with every one of my wheezing gasps.

EXEC_HYMME_SOUL=LIGHT/.

>Stop. Healing.< it snarled, spotting my weak attempt at singing. >You can't sustain it forever. If you give up now, I'll grant you a swift end.<

"N—never…" I whimpered, coughing out the first few words of Hymmnos.

Dai brought the tower guardian's hind leg down on my left shin—or tried to. I rolled out of the way at the last second, saving myself even more agonizing pain for the moment. >I possess Sentinel's memories now, you know,< the emotionless AI remarked calmly, as if it were describing the weather. >Did you know that she lied to you? When those twenty-three humans died in Mist's Reach, she told you that there was nothing you could have done. She thought otherwise, though; if you'd acted faster, you could have saved them all.<

My blood ran cold. No…

>You're a failure,< it hissed, planting its foot on my bruised chest. I writhed beneath the tower guardian's weight while it pressed me against the tiled floor. >Some Tower Administrator you are. You can't hold a candle to Lady Shurelia. You can't use your Linkage, your song magic is weak, you can barely control your powers… and you can't save anyone. You couldn't even save your friend, Sentinel.< Dai laughed coldly. >Want to hear another of her secrets? She thinks that you're a failure, too. A disappointment. An idiot child, weak and helpless.<

The AI's words cut through me as cleanly as any blade. I wailed in anguish, falling limp beneath its crushing mass.

>That's right,< it crooned, leaning down on my chest. I felt more ribs crack, my sternum shrieking in protest. >Don't fight it. Just let it happen. Die… just like the rest.<

An image flashed through my mind's eye—a group of people standing together, smiling hopefully. Mitri, Evecia, Sam and Sentinel, too. The four of them, counting on me… and Chris, counting on me to protect his family in his stead. Untold others, past and present—though unknown and faceless—trusting me to safeguard the future.

"No…" I groaned, bracing my palm against the machine's foot . "Y—you're wrong…"

>No. I'm not.< Dai said plaintively.

"You're wrong!" I roared defiantly, greeting the AI with a hail of plasma and a new song.

EXEC_SHIFT_DIMENSIONLANCE/.

My lance burst through a rift in the floor with a chorus of wailing voices, each of them my own. The incorporeal choir rang out through the air, echoing amongst the aging glass and steel. Blazing white-hot, the elongated weapon carved a groove in the AGRA-NX's foot, nearly cleaving it in two. The tower guardian leapt back, snarling and dragging along its crippled leg.

I rose up onto my feet, hand affixed to the wound at my side. The ghostly lance emerged fully from its portal with a low-pitched rumble, taking position in the air over my right shoulder. Its physical state fluctuated in tune with the notes of my song, phasing in and out of this plane of existence.

Dai wordlessly launched forward with a guttural bellow. The AGRA-NX's tusk lowered while it charged, its bloodstained tip right on course to pierce through my chest.

"You're wrong!" I cried out hoarsely over my own disembodied lyrics. I flexed my hand, pressing fingers together; the lance's corporeal state immediately shifted in tune, its conical shaft flattening and fanning out. Having transformed into an enormous wedge-shaped shield, it lowered before me, deflecting the tower guardian's rampaging attack with a shower of sparks.

"People care," I snarled, drawing the lance closer. It moved to my side, stopping before my shoulder and taking the place of my absent right arm. Dai skidded by; I brought the weightless weapon around, stabbing at its flanks. The lance's gleaming tip carved a path through the machine's hardened plating, as surely as an artisan whittling away at wood.

"I have people counting on me. Mitri, Evecia, Sam… everyone at Mist's Reach too, even if they don't wanna admit it anymore! And even if what you're saying about Sentinel is true… it doesn't matter!"

The enraged tower guardian howled, hatches along its shoulders springing open. Within the machine's body, over a dozen blue-tinted spheres of energy flared up and surged forth, swirling through the air before plunging down towards me.

"It doesn't matter," I continued, "because she'll change. I'll make sure of that. I'll keep learning. I'll grow stronger—stronger than anyone. I'll overcome you, these 'human masters' of yours, and anyone else in my way!" The barrage of swarm missiles splashed across the lance-turned-shield, driving me to my knees. The mossy ground ignited in a circle around my barrier, leaving my body untouched.

The lance spun again as the song's tempo accelerated, elongating outward as it circled. Dai leapt back across the chamber, nimbly moving beyond its extended range. "If people don't believe in me now, then I'll make them! I'll show them what I can do… and through decisive actions and careful words I'll change their ways of thinking, so that they'll look up at this spire again and smile with hope rather than cower in fear—fear because of you!"

Resetting the weapon's position, I reached for my tower connection and opened the floodgates. Truly unquantifiable levels of power flowed through like water from a breached dam, suffusing the lance with energy. Its conical flanks coursed with electricity, spitting out stray bolts of lightning that arced across the chamber.

>Enough of this!< Dai roared, lunging forward. I rolled to one side, though it managed to nick my leg. Blood sprayed in response, but I paid it no mind. I was determined to end this, once and for all.

The weapon's ethereal shaft began to glow, cloaked in an aura of blue and purple luminescence. It increased in temperature and luminosity until the lance was sheathed in a shimmering curtain of superheated plasma.

"I don't know what Neo Elemia is… but I reject its rule, authority, and everything it stands for. I reject you." The sheath of plasma began to expand and radiate outwards, the lance growing longer and wider to compensate. The pulsing colors brightened in intensity until the weapon's shaft was obscured by blinding white light. The entire room seemed to crackle with electricity, the very air itself charged with it. Flaps on the weapon's vamplate smoothly slid open, the telltale nozzles emerging as it prepared to fire.

"I am Tower Administrator Sylphira," I growled, squeezing the lance's trigger, "and this is my tower."

The damp air itself seemed to ignite as the lance exploded forward, driven on four pillars of flame. Stray wisps of plasma billowed from its flanks as it streaked across the room, leaving a trail of fire on the mossy floor. It impacted the AGRA-NX head-on, burying deep into the armor just below its neck. Completely unstoppable, the weapon cut through alloy plating and delicate circuitry as if it were nothing. The tower guardian released a horrible grating scream, a sound like breaking glass that made me flinch.

The projectile penetrated clean through, emerging from the machine's hindquarters and continuing deep into the bulkhead at its back. It carved out a perfectly-circular hole to the tower's exterior, the rounded edges glowing orange and oozing globs of molten metal. Free of all obstacles, the lance suddenly exploded with the force of a small volcanic eruption. The resultant cloud of violet plasma arced with electricity, and every glass panel in the room shattered under the shock wave.

A torrent of air rushed into the chamber, driven by the sudden detonation. It bowled me right over, knocking me onto my backside on the mossy quilt. The crippled tower guardian toppled onto its side with a deafening boom, denting the floor where it fell.
A haze of silence descended over the chamber.

Knocked senseless and unable to move, I lay on the charred floor for several long minutes, gazing up at the blackened ceiling with listless eyes. Everything ached, from head to toe. When the ringing in my ears finally ceased, I took the moment to take stock of my situation.

My right arm and shoulder were conspicuously absent, leaving me as an amputee and lacking an install port. My ribcage burned like fire, much of it filled with cracks and fractures. A large puncture wound in my midriff shrieked in pain, though it was beginning to close on its own. A deep cut on my leg had already scabbed over, though attempting to move my foot resulted in no movement; the muscle must have been severed. The tip of my tongue was bitten clean off thanks to my own pain-induced spasms.

Altogether, I was in very poor shape. With the adrenalin bleeding out of my system, the throbbing pain came roaring back. Overwhelmed, I began to cry again.

A faint beeping sound filled the empty air. I shakily turned my head to face the source.

The AGRA-NX twitched.

"O—oh no…" I whimpered, hopeless. I had nothing left in me to fight.

>S—Sylphira…! Sylphira, I'm here!< Sentinel cried.

Something lean and predatory flashed past the gaping hole in the wall, the throaty roar of an aircraft's powerful engines emanating from the skies beyond.

>Sylphi—GDRN15004=COURSE_COR—Sylphira, it's not d—dead!< the AI shrieked, her voice horribly distorted amongst the static. >G—ge… get out of t—there!<

I dizzily stumbled to my feet, every bone in my body screaming in protest. Dragging my wounded leg behind me, I slowly picked my way across the room towards the hole flooded with sunlight. While hobbling past the scorched AGRA-NX, it released a deep throaty rumble, becoming more animated. Its jaws snapped weakly at the air.

>Backup processor online,< Dai murmured. >Booting systems in safe mode. Testing actuators in three… two… one… zero.< The tower guardian's limbs flexed.

>I know you're still there…< the hostile AI whispered ominously. I shuddered, limping past the stirring machine and towards the circle of sunlight ahead.

>Sylphira, h—hurry…!< Sentinel pleaded desperately. >I—I can't stay air—GDRN15004=COURSE_CORRECT=014.75_DEG_VERTICAL—borne for m—much longer!<

I limped into the sunshine, shielding my eyes with my forearm. Passing through the divide, I found myself on a narrow ledge, surrounded by boundless sky. The enormous bulk of the space gun assembly hung overhead, blotting out the sun and sheltering clouds. A lone Alto fighter hung over the abyss, hovering in the air like a mirage. It was nothing less than a miracle that the little AI was able to get it off the ground, let alone fly it all the way down here from the primary skydock.

The nimble fighter slewed back and forth in midair as if it were dodging invisible bullets. >GDRN15004=COURSE_CORRECT=024.02_DEG_LATERA—W—what the heck happened to you, Syl—GDRN1500—phira?!< Sentinel yelped, aghast. She wobbled in the air, clearly unstable. One of her turbines shut down an instant later, sending the vehicle into a flat spin. >Y—you know what, f—forget it! I'll fr—GDRN15004=COU—eak out about it later! Sylphira, you've g—gotta jump!<

I listlessly shuffled along the edge, vacant eyes staring down the sheer face of Tower Control's exterior wall. It was a long way down to the ion plate. "Is she losing it…?" I mumbled to myself.

>I—it's okay!< she cried. >It bo… bo… bottoms out into a slope! Sylphira, go! It's c—coming!<

The wall at my back shook like a leaf, releasing a shower of dust. The AGRA-NX's enormous tusk—now glistening in the sunlight with a film of biofluid—punched straight through the alloy barrier, protruding just under my armpit and very nearly taking the remaining limb off. I flinched, recoiling from the tower guardian's presence.

>COURSE_CORRECT=0—Dai, I'll kill you!< Sentinel shrilly screeched aloud, opening up with her guns. >H—how DARE you harm the Tower Administrator?!< The twin barrels on the Alto's chin spat a hail of fire. Rounds sprayed wildly in every direction, her aircraft now spinning through the skies without any semblance of control. A smattering of shells chewed through the bulkhead overhead, and I quickly dropped onto my belly in panic.

The high-caliber rounds penetrated through the wall as if it were naught but plywood. The mechanical presence on the far side screamed again, several of the shells hitting their mark.

>Sylphira, GO!< the AI wailed in desperation. The nimble fighter nosed over, tumbling uncontrollably through the air.

Too exhausted to argue and with nothing left to lose, I rolled over the edge and out into open sky.

A howling wind pummeled my ears and snatched at my clothing as I fell, skidding along the side of Tower Control. I was lucky that the elements had worn the alloy plating to a smooth sheen, or I'd have been battered to pieces during this wild tumble. Instinct took hold, and I vainly attempted to grasp out with my remaining arm in a futile attempt to stabilize my slide. I only succeeded in bloodying my fingertips.

An concussive boom sounded from above, chasing me down the steep tower wall. As I spun, I caught brief glimpses of what had happened; Sentinel's Alto had screamed straight into the side of the structure, enveloping what remained of the core chamber in a hellish fireball. Knowing her, it was a final sacrificial attempt to destroy the rogue tower guardian—using the aircraft itself as a weapon.

The smooth surface gradually began to rise beneath me; true to the AI's word, the steep incline was shallowing out. Thanks to the slow introduction of vegetation clinging to the wind-scoured surface, my fall began to slow. Every impact on my abused ribcage from a juniper branch caught in my path felt like a gunshot, roughly forcing the air from my lungs. Stalks of tall grass lashed at my face, leaving thin grooves on my cheeks as I slowed to a crawl… and then slid right off the edge of the ion plate, experiencing a brief and terrifying moment of freefall before I impacted the bushing that we'd started from, so very long ago.

Luckily for me, I landed in something soft; tree branches helped slow my descent, and I fell directly into a thick blanket of damp moss and dry leaves. The rucksack on my back helped break the fall, too. Now completely spent, I curled up into a ball and whimpered beneath the leafy canopy, willing my grievous injuries to go away.

>Sentinel…< I moaned, allowing the muted call to drift over to the edges of my mindscape where the little AI normally resided.

>R—right… h… here…< she mumbled weakly, accompanied by a rustle of leaves.

Gripping my chest, I listlessly rolled over to face the source of the sound. A small tower guardian—a Type-1 aerial reconnaissance drone, its fuselage riddled with scratches and dents—dragged its way out of a patch of swaying ferns, its lift generators weakly firing. It looked to be a surviving machine from the Type-14, having somehow weathered Dai's relentless assault via the stolen AGRA-NX.

The drone drew closer, leaving a clear path through the brown carpet of leaves. >O—oh, Sylphira…< Sentinel whispered softly, at a clear loss for words upon seeing my condition up close. A small mechanical arm folded out from the tower guardian, reaching out before hesitantly drawing back, the AI apparently having thought better of it. >I… I'm so, so s—sorry… Are you in any pain?<

My eyelids blessedly slid shut, and I went limp on the soft viridian blanket. >Just… please tell me you killed the AGRA-NX. Please tell me it's over…<

The AI hesitated, releasing a pained and regretful sigh. >I—I didn't… I wasn't fast enough. Dai m—made it into an express elevator. It's… it's on its way here as we speak…<

Shit… I gritted my teeth, rolling onto my belly and forcing myself to my knees. A sharp pang stabbed at my stub of a shoulder, and I clutched it with the remaining hand. >Then… then we gotta keep going—no choice. We need to get out of here…!<

>A—any ideas?< she asked nervously.

Dizzily getting to my feet, I slumped against a nearby tree trunk for support. >I was hoping you had something in mind…<

>I—I don't know!< the little AI panicked. >Dai… it s—severed me from the tower archives, and my memories are all fr—fragmented now!< She sniffled, starting to cry again. >I'm lost…<

Then… I guess it's up to me. I reached out, seizing my tower sense. Expanding my inner eye, I dizzily pored over the overwhelmingly-complex schematics of Asciydria Tower.

We need to go somewhere safe… somewhere the AGRA-NX can't follow us. The obvious choice was the space gun assembly; not only did the structure run parallel and unattached to the superstructure of Section B at low altitudes, but it was also constructed out of superdense materials and had very little empty space inside, due to the intense vibrations it would experience when the space gun fired. It meant that Dai wouldn't be able to jump-jet over, blast its way in, and follow us. And best of all, it was nearby.

Yeah, nearby… just on the other side of a bottomless abyss. Super easy…

>Sentinel… this way.< Placing my hand on the tower guardian's domed canopy for support, we limped into the treeline. Maybe it was the blood loss or the shock affecting my mind, but I couldn't help but giggle woozily a little. Sentinel and I were perfect copies of each other, leaning on each other to compensate for our injuries while we staggered through the woods.

The trees began to thin up ahead, rivulets of sunlight trickling through. Pushing through one last pine bough, we emerged on the sun-bleached and windswept ledge that was the ion plate bushing.

Several pairs of human and Teru eyes turned to greet us.

My blood ran cold. Somehow we'd ended up back at the camp erected beneath the prome wall. Over a dozen people were staying here… and if Dai was really still after us, then now they were all in danger.

The tall robed man hurried over, eyes wide with horror. "Lady Sylphira, what happened to you?! Where is your tower guardian?" He turned away, glancing back at the tents and the people milling amongst them. "Get me a healer!" he bellowed.

An ominous howl rose from the woods at my back. I was all-too-familiar with that tormented sound, and the machine that had made it.

"Run…" I whimpered, saying it aloud for the humans' and Terus' benefits as well as Sentinel's.

The man gently grasped my uninjured shoulder, confusion in his eyes. "What do you mean, Lady Sylphira?"

Something large crackled in the treeline.

Pushing past the Teru man, I made my best attempt at a lopsided sprint through the camp, my wounds throbbing painfully with every strained footfall. Sentinel made a choked noise of terror and followed, dragging her metallic backside along the ground. The blackened wall of the space gun assembly loomed to our left, beyond the divide.

"Wait, where are you going?!" he yelled incredulously, voice snatched away by the growing distance between us.

My lance rose on the winds with my song, materializing in the air over the divide. I sought to manipulate it while I ran, maneuvering it up against the inky-black architecture. As the lance's tip pressed against the steel, its conical flanks seemed to shimmer. Dozens of vicious 'teeth' sprung up all along its length. Having transformed into a makeshift drill, the lance began to rapidly spin with a high-pitched whine and a cascade of sparks, slowly but inexorably boring into the wall.

Dai burst from the treeline with a shower of leaves and wooden splinters, ghostly eyes immediately locking on me. >You can't escape any longer!< it roared, surging forward and straight into the middle of the populated camp.

Bloodcurdling screams began to fill the air as the hostile AI ploughed through the populated area and the terrified nomads caught in the crossfire, all of its attention focused on Sentinel and I. A torrent of swarm missiles rose up from the quadruped machine, splashing down amongst the tents and setting them aflame.

>We need to lure Dai out of the camp so it doesn't hurt anyone else!< I cried, screeching to a halt where the ledge was closest to my drilling point. >Can you fly? You'll cross first!<

The small tower guardian's lift generators pulsed uncertainly, barely raising the AI's drone body of the ground. >I—I'll try,< she stammered weakly.

>If you fall, I'll catch you,< I retorted determinedly, allowing my lance to slip from this dimension. The path cleared, a small gaping hole—just barely large enough for me to wriggle through and Sentinel to fly through—beckoned from the other side of the chasm.

Sentinel swallowed nervously. >H—here I go!< The small tower guardian's thrusters fired, launching it into an arc roughly aimed at the borehole. Even with my bare eyes, I could tell that she wouldn't make it—not enough power, and not on target. Steeling myself, I prepared to use a song I hadn't performed yet.

EXEC_SHIFT_NULLGRAV/.

The tower guardian seemed to slow to a stop in midair, held aloft by invisible forces. I rotated my hand, using it as a sort of reference point on how to manipulate the gravitational forces. The machine rotated in kind, reorienting so that its streamlined nose aimed directly at my drilling point. I pressed the tower guardian into the steel wall, allowing Sentinel to slip through.

>Thanks…< she whispered gratefully.

My turn. At the sound of rapid-fire metallic beats, I risked a glance over my shoulder; it was the AGRA-NX, galloping out of the burning ruins of the camp. Its glowing eyes were locked on mine, jaws opened wide in preparation to end my life.

Clenching my fist, I hurled myself out into the sky.

I felt the air at my back as the tower guardian's jaws snapped shut, just barely missing the nape of my neck. Brow creasing in concentration, I refocused my control of gravity on my own feet.

It was almost like walking on ice; a smooth, slick, and invisible surface had formed beneath my feet, wobbling unsteadily. I struggled to remain focused on it. If I allowed my attention to divert to the pain I felt, or the sheer delight of literally walking on air, then the power would dissipate and I would fall into oblivion.

>I WILL find you again,< Dai swore from the safety of solid ground, briefly firing its jump jets before thinking better of it. >From here on out, you two are no longer safe. Keep that in mind.< The AGRA-NX briskly turned, stalking away from the edge.

I refused to respond, levitating toward the waiting darkness and temporary safety of the space gun assembly.

Slipping through the hole—it was a good thing that I had such a lithe body—I found myself in a narrow crawlspace, the sole source of light being the makeshift tunnel at my back. Sentinel's tower guardian rushed from the shadows, pushing against my leg.

>Sylphira…< the AI cooed gently. >You're safe. I'm so glad…<

"Yeah…" I muttered aloud, fuzzily touching the space where my arm once was. It was at that moment that I realized just how worn out and exhausted I felt. Even the cold and shadowy hallway looked like a safe and wonderful place to rest in. "We're… safe."

I sank to my knees, allowing the darkness to swallow me up.

Tirfarthuan · Sep 4, 2017

And here we have our first real battle. For a complete novice, Sylphira handles herself fantastically, which just goes to show that the power and mental capabilities of a Tower Administrator can make up for a lot. Still, we do get to see very clearly why combat Reyvateils are assigned meatshields.

Dai is also given some relatively solid characterization, which is pretty informative regarding Neo Elemia. We can see from how Dai acts that he(it?) is a powerful, intelligent AI, but fundamentally a stringently restricted one. He HAS to kill Sylphira, because he's been ordered to kill Reyvateils, but note that he isn't stupid. He KNOWS that this is a really bad idea - note that the instant he identified her he tried to check in with his superiors to verify the order... which reading between the lines means that he knew Sylphira's importance but because she's classified as a Reyvateil he had to try to kill her anyway without receiving new orders to countermand his current ones.

But Dai isn't just a poor sad little AI trapped on the wrong side of a fight and knowing it. Whatever Neo Elemia is, he's got something approaching genuine loyalty, or at least emotional attachment. He WANTS to be the guy in the right here, for his side to be the side that deserves victory. (He honestly seems a little desperate - I wonder if we'll find that war wasn't good for his mental health?) And what side is that?

The anti-Reyvateil side.

Which is a big clue as to Neo-Elemia's identity. They presumably were an Ar Tonelico splinter faction, from the name and airship alone. There was a serious fight put up by them - they did a huge amount of damage - so they were (or became?) heavily militarized and/or had some sort of technological advantage. This advantage was not Reyvateils, and they destroyed the SH Server. So who were they?

My current guess: the displaced fugitives of the former ruling mad scientists of Elemia, sent fleeing by Mir. Possibly prior occupants of that Wing of Horus she dropped. (And yes, 'mad'. I stand by that descriptor.)

Other than that, I can only hope that the very important control room that got several holes put in it won't be needed later, but Sylphira doesn't seem that lucky. Though I have to admit, the fact that such an important facility was unoccupied, and perhaps more noteably Dai's inability to contact Neo-Elemia, doesn't suggest good things about the situation higher in the tower. It might be a recent or temporary issue... but given their failure to press Sentinel further, the fact that Dai didn't have his own doom machine and had to steal Sentinel's, the current state of those aircraft a while back, and the general utter lack of attempts at maintaining anything even as the tower crumbles beneath them, I'm not getting good vibes on their current state.

Which is probably fortunate for Sylphira, I guess. But unless (or even if) they're all dead I'm sure they'll still be the cause of all sorts of problems.

aquagon · Sep 4, 2017

Sorry for not having posted a reply on the previous chapter, but I've been busy doing my tramits to emigrate and also trying to complete the tests on my current game translation before the time of departure comes.

Anyway, these last chapters have been very intense, first with the battle in the Binary Field, and then in the physical world with Dai. As far as I'm concerned, he's no more than a digital and much more psychopathic version of Raki, which instead of being set to protect the Administrator is set to kill all and every Reyvateil existing in that Tower.

I also wanted to puke when he started blabbing about Shurelia. Puh-lease, as if any of the three Origins had been perfect and didn't have either technical issues or run into massive problems with the Towers they each administrate, with Shurelia in particular being the most flawed Reyvateil in existence (from a technical perspective. I'm not commenting here on the efforts she made during over 700 years to maintain Sol Ciel existing).

In any case, good going for Sylphira, even though she had to pay a very high price to get to where she is now. But... did you also change that the Install Port automatically reappears in another eligible spot of the body when it gets irreparably damaged or if the part of the body where it is has been cut off from the body?

Tirfarthuan said:
Which is a big clue as to Neo-Elemia's identity. They presumably were an Ar Tonelico splinter faction, from the name and airship alone. There was a serious fight put up by them - they did a huge amount of damage - so they were (or became?) heavily militarized and/or had some sort of technological advantage. This advantage was not Reyvateils, and they destroyed the SH Server. So who were they?

My current guess: the displaced fugitives of the former ruling mad scientists of Elemia, sent fleeing by Mir. Possibly prior occupants of that Wing of Horus she dropped. (And yes, 'mad'. I stand by that descriptor.)

There's not much to guess here, I'm afraid, and what you said is mostly correct: Neo Elemia was the capital of Sol Ciel during the Second Era, situated on the Right Wing of Horus, and it was founded a few years after the Grathnode Inferia devastated the whole planet in 3040 AD. So pretty much, Dai is supposed to answer only to the people of Sol Ciel, and if what I'm following from Sapphire's clues is right, that airship belonged to one of the refugee groups that were forced to leave Sol Ciel during the chaos that ensued during Mir's Rebellion. It's pretty plausible, although in canon there only was one refugee group that went to Metafalss and it caused a large war that in the end was ended by the Maiden at the time, Illusha, who also ordered all the people of Sol Ciel who attacked them to be executed.

Sapphire · Sep 4, 2017

aquagon said:
But... did you also change that the Install Port automatically reappears in another eligible spot of the body when it gets irreparably damaged or if the part of the body where it is has been cut off from the body?

Her install port is definitely still kicking around; after all, she'll need to use it at a later date! It's just moved somewhere she can't see it—namely the nape of her neck.

Solacen · Sep 4, 2017

Tirfarthuan said:
And here we have our first real battle. For a complete novice, Sylphira handles herself fantastically, which just goes to show that the power and mental capabilities of a Tower Administrator can make up for a lot. Still, we do get to see very clearly why combat Reyvateils are assigned meatshields.

Dai is also given some relatively solid characterization, which is pretty informative regarding Neo Elemia. We can see from how Dai acts that he(it?) is a powerful, intelligent AI, but fundamentally a stringently restricted one. He HAS to kill Sylphira, because he's been ordered to kill Reyvateils, but note that he isn't stupid. He KNOWS that this is a really bad idea - note that the instant he identified her he tried to check in with his superiors to verify the order... which reading between the lines means that he knew Sylphira's importance but because she's classified as a Reyvateil he had to try to kill her anyway without receiving new orders to countermand his current ones.

But Dai isn't just a poor sad little AI trapped on the wrong side of a fight and knowing it. Whatever Neo Elemia is, he's got something approaching genuine loyalty, or at least emotional attachment. He WANTS to be the guy in the right here, for his side to be the side that deserves victory. (He honestly seems a little desperate - I wonder if we'll find that war wasn't good for his mental health?) And what side is that?

The anti-Reyvateil side.

Which is a big clue as to Neo-Elemia's identity. They presumably were an Ar Tonelico splinter faction, from the name and airship alone. There was a serious fight put up by them - they did a huge amount of damage - so they were (or became?) heavily militarized and/or had some sort of technological advantage. This advantage was not Reyvateils, and they destroyed the SH Server. So who were they?

My current guess: the displaced fugitives of the former ruling mad scientists of Elemia, sent fleeing by Mir. Possibly prior occupants of that Wing of Horus she dropped. (And yes, 'mad'. I stand by that descriptor.)

Other than that, I can only hope that the very important control room that got several holes put in it won't be needed later, but Sylphira doesn't seem that lucky. Though I have to admit, the fact that such an important facility was unoccupied, and perhaps more noteably Dai's inability to contact Neo-Elemia, doesn't suggest good things about the situation higher in the tower. It might be a recent or temporary issue... but given their failure to press Sentinel further, the fact that Dai didn't have his own doom machine and had to steal Sentinel's, the current state of those aircraft a while back, and the general utter lack of attempts at maintaining anything even as the tower crumbles beneath them, I'm not getting good vibes on their current state.

Which is probably fortunate for Sylphira, I guess. But unless (or even if) they're all dead I'm sure they'll still be the cause of all sorts of problems.

I was under the impression that the vast majority of the towers residents had been killed when the tower was attacked by antibodies. The humans/meat bodies we see around are the descendent of the survivors.

Tirfarthuan · Sep 4, 2017

Sapphire said:
Her install port is definitely still kicking around; after all, she'll need to use it at a later date! It's just moved somewhere she can't see it—namely the nape of her neck.

I'm kind of wondering how much of this damage she'll end up keeping permanently given how her body functions and how central fixing what's wrong with her (and with the tower) is to the plot. An arm isn't a minor injury, but I'm not sure if anything that doesn't turn her into a puddle is beyond healing for her, at least theoretically. Granted, theory and practice can be miles apart.

By the way, if it isn't a spoiler, what's the providence of Dai's name? The internet tells me it could be Distributed Artificial Intelligence, but I'm not sure if that's what you had in mind.

Quickshot0 · Sep 5, 2017

Solacen said:
I was under the impression that the vast majority of the towers residents had been killed when the tower was attacked by antibodies. The humans/meat bodies we see around are the descendent of the survivors.

Well, there's always the option it was more then one bad thing happening as well?

This might even line up with your note on not seeing much activity by anyone high-tech around. What with the entire place crumbling and no one lifting a finger about it, or even a lick of aerial transport seen aside of Sentinel.

For all we know everyone else thought this place was a total loss already?

Sapphire · Sep 5, 2017

Tirfarthuan said:
By the way, if it isn't a spoiler, what's the providence of Dai's name? The internet tells me it could be Distributed Artificial Intelligence, but I'm not sure if that's what you had in mind.

Funnily enough, when I was making the character and before I had a name for it, I'd taken to just calling it by a placeholder name to match its role, 'Defense AI.' That was shortened into DAI, and the name just... kinda stuck.

Solacen · Sep 5, 2017

Quickshot0 said:
Well, there's always the option it was more then one bad thing happening as well?

This might even line up with your note on not seeing much activity by anyone high-tech around. What with the entire place crumbling and no one lifting a finger about it, or even a lick of aerial transport seen aside of Sentinel.

For all we know everyone else thought this place was a total loss already?

Thats also entirely possible. The sad fact is the only one we have that is old enough to know anything of this stuff is Sentinel and her memory is doing a good interpretation of a melted sieve. From what i can tell something took out most of the higher command staff a long time ago. Either they were killed (perhaps when the Sphilar Prism blew up?) or they left to go somewhere else millenia ago. Then at some point we have Dai get into a prolonged fight with Sentinel destroying most of the towers manufacturing , maintenance and defensive capabilities. Finally we have the others/antibodies show up to add the last layer on the doomed cake that is this tower.

justinkal · Sep 5, 2017

With every step forward she takes, she also seems to take two steps backwards. Now she's literally on her last legs, so I'm curious to see how she manages to persevere.

Sapphire said:
putting at much distance between myself and the rogue tower guardian as I was able.

as

Sapphire · Dec 30, 2018

Chapter 12 - Tremors

I examined my well-lit surroundings, baffled by the familiarity.

Where… am I?

A wind-scoured and pitted white surface met my eyes, stretching off into the distance. Its length was splotched with patches of moss. To my right, an enormous midnight-black wall hung across a bottomless chasm, blotting out the bulk of the sky. A leaf-covered shaft rose up to my left, marking the continuation of the main shaft that ran clear through Asciydria Tower.

I knew this place.

Hesitant, I took a few careful steps forward through the vegetation, setting down on a large block of rubble that was about the size and shape of a couch. This… is the ion plate bushing. But didn't we leave this place after the fight with Dai…? The fight that I lost…

…Wait. I opened and closed my right hand, wiggling the fingers before my awestruck eyes. Was all that from before… just a crazy dream, or a premonition of some kind? Did it even really happen? A shudder ran down my spine. I—I hope not…

>Sylphira?< Sentinel called out impatiently. >C'mon! That dive pod isn't gonna find itself.< Heavy metallic footsteps approached from behind as her AGRA-NX approached, urging me to my feet. Filled with relief, I turned around to face my friend.

A terrified shriek was torn from my throat.

A gaping maw lined with razor-sharp teeth met my eyes, the back of its throat swollen with writhing prehensile tentacles. The tower guardian's irises glowed an ominous blood-red, its body clad in jagged black plating that seemed to sap light from its surroundings. The shadow cast from its monstrous form grew like a cancer, devouring everything in its path until even the sun itself was consumed. I was plunged into a lightless void—alone—with the twisted monstrosity that had once been Sentinel's finest tower guardian.

>What's wrong?< Sentinel giggled madly, taking a shuddering step forward. The machine's eyes shimmered with barely-contained glee, the sole source of light in this shadowed expanse. >Don't you recognize me, Tower Administrator?!<

Struck with fear, I tried to turn and run. My legs refused to move. Involuntarily I raised both arms, feebly warding the creature away. "S—Sen… tinel…"

The machine lunged with a feral roar, jaws closing on my right arm before I could flinch. I screamed as the limb dissolved with a spray of inky black fluid, more out of sheer terror than the pain itself.

>How could you, administrator?!< Sentinel shrieked, her voice losing its feminine tones and deepening in pitch until it sounded exactly like Dai. >How could you let this happen to me?! You were supposed to protect me! I TRUSTED you!< The tower guardian's teeth closed around my other arm, taking it off as well.

"Please no… D—don't…" I whimpered in supplication, sinking to my knees. The writhing shadows rose like water, slowly but surely engulfing my body. My frantic heartbeat pounded in my eardrums. "I tried to save you… I'm so sorry…"

>DIE!< she screeched shrilly, unforgiving.

The AGRA-NX's jaws came down on my head, drawing my soul into the nightmarish void that waited within, where all conscious thought faded to nothing.

"S—Sylphira!"

"Ahh…!" I jerked awake with a gasp, eyes widening. The memories rushed back like a torrent of water. Gingerly I touched my cheek, feeling a dampness on the skin.

"You were having a nightmare…" Sentinel pointed out worriedly. "You were crying… Are you okay? What was it about?"

"…I dunno," I lied, wiping my eyes with a sleeve. Straining with effort, I sat up. It was pitch-black, and every movement I made echoed into the darkness of the tower's murky innards. My body felt leaden, every joint aching. Despite the discomfort, it was a vast improvement from before I'd passed out; the pain was almost nonexistent. Wait, no… A sharp prickling sensation—like being poked with hundreds of tiny needles at once—emanated from my right arm. Grimacing, I vigorously massaged the limb, huffing with annoyance when the sensation refused to abate.

The dent-riddled tower guardian sidled up, brushing against my hip. "Uh… Sylphira…" the AI breathed apologetically, her hologram emerging to reassuringly pat my shoulder.

"Sentinel, wha—" The words died in my throat as my gaze dropped. I was massaging empty air—the space where my right arm once was.

Oh no, oh no… it really did happen…

"Phantom pains…" Sentinel murmured solemnly, placing a guess.

"H—how do I make it stop?!" I made a muted sound of distress, gripping the stump exposed to the stale and dusky air. Though my clothing was in tatters—much of it shredded thanks to the scars across my body that Dai had created—I made no attempt to preserve my modesty in front of the AI. She had seen me stark naked on more than one occasion, after all.

A rustling sound came from behind my ears while the little AI tugged at the straps of my rucksack, opening the flap. "I've got just the thing, I think. Where'd you put the first aid kit…? Oh, never mind, here it is." She triumphantly extracted the pouch of bleached fabric, digging though its depths and lifting a small bottle of pills.

"Sentinel…" I whimpered, horror-filled eyes locked on the mutilated stub. "W—why hasn't it grown back yet?!" My hand quickly roved over the rest of my body. Though the wound on my leg had been reduced to a nasty red scar, it hadn't regenerated fully, even after I'd been been unconscious for so long. My broken ribs had been reduced to a dull ache, but my torso was still a tapestry of red and purple splotches that had only healed halfway. And on top of that, the remnants of my right arm hadn't changed at all.

Sentinel grimaced, her exhausted eyes filled with sympathy. Setting down on my shoulder, she wrapped both of her tiny arms around the bottle. "Sylphira, you're not gonna like this… you can't regrow your arm."

"What?!"

"When Dai took off the limb," she explained sorrowfully, "it depleted your biofluid reserves—the building blocks of your body, not to mention the internal cybernetic parts that were left behind. You need to have new mechanical parts manufactured and more biofluid transfused into your body. And unfortunately," the AI winced, bracing herself, "there's only one place where you can do that—in your original tripolar resonance incubator, all the way up at the Apex."

I froze up, my heart stalling. "…No."

With effort, the little AI removed the lid, shaking out a pair of small white capsules. "Here, take a couple of these. It should make the pain die down…"

"No, no…" I whimpered, paying no attention to the tiny pills, thoughts locked on the fact that there was a huge chunk taken out of my body and it couldn't be fixed. This… this can't be happening! I attempted to scramble to my feet and failed miserably. A cloud of dust rose from the floor. Overcome with dizziness, I keeled over onto one side and vomited.

W—what have I done… what have I done?! What the hell was I thinking?! Why did I stand and fight?! I should've just ran away! Now I'm… crippled…

Sentinel raised both hands in a placating gesture. "C—calm down, Sylphira… calm down, please! We can get you your arm back, okay? It'll just take awhile! We can manage for now."

I understood the logic, of course. Sentinel was right. Even so, my emotions weren't having it. Scrabbling to my feet, I took off at a panic-induced sprint down the corridor, breathing raggedly. Overcome by lightheadedness once more, I slid against the tower's inner bulkhead and sagged to my knees, gasping for air.

"P—please don't make me go back…" I whimpered. The AGRA-NX was still out there, in Dai's clutches, and I would no doubt be forced to face it once more. "I—I can't do it… please don't ask me to fight it again! I'll die!" Eyes squeezed shut, I pressed my forehead against the dusty floor. "I can't do it… I just can't…"

This wasn't a feeling I was familiar with. Over the course of our journey I'd accrued dozens upon dozens of scrapes, bruises, and cuts. Not a single one of those had persisted for more than a day. Even the grievous injuries I'd suffered in my plummet from the Apex had healed practically overnight. At the beginning that fact had been jarring, but I'd grown used to it in the month that had followed. The possibility of being damaged semipermanently had completely defied my comprehension… until now, at least.

"Unfortunately, it's not about if you can or can't do it," the AI said gently. "I guess I lost the memory as to why… but for whatever reason, Dai seems to have orders to exterminate every single Reyvateil on Asciydria Tower. Now that it's aware of your existence, it'll be hunting you, the same as me." Her tone sharpened. "So the real question is… are you just gonna let Dai kill you, destroying Asciydria Tower's last chance for survival? Or will you fight back?"

I balled my fists. "I… I…"

Her tiny hand fell onto my shoulder. "I'll be with you every step of the way. You aren't doing this alone. You're my Tower Administrator, and I will protect you until I'm no longer able to."

She's right… again. Dammit… I sniffed, wiping at my eyes. Don't cry, don't cry…

"Besides," Sentinel continued. "Out of the hundreds of people who still live on the Aria Peninsula, you're the only one who possesses enough strength to defeat an AGRA-NX. You certainly can't do any worse than that group of people we ran into earlier, at least," she muttered in a low voice.

My eyes widened. …Wait, what did she mean by that?

I shot to my feet, jogging back down the corridor towards the borehole I had made during our escape. A narrow cone of sunlight flooded in. Thrusting myself into the gap, I wriggled towards the circle of daylight at the end. The wind met my face like a chisel as I emerged out over the abyss, eyes sealed shut under the withering glare of the midday sun. Blinking rapidly, I squinted out into the light.

Billowing clouds of smoke filled my vision.

Across the chasm, I could view what little remained of the nomads' camp. It was hard to see from so far away, but I could tell that almost every tent had been brought down, trampled underfoot, or reduced to ashes. The scent of burnt wood still filled the air. A thick pall of gray hung over the site like a malevolent spirit, shrouding the area in choking clouds of dust and ash. Not a single flash of movement appeared in the wreckage.

"Sentinel…" I whispered solemnly. "How many…?"

The AI shifted back and forth uncomfortably. "I—I don't know… A lot was going on, so I couldn't count them—"

"Sentinel," I repeated, more firmly this time. "How many?"

She stumbled over her words for a couple more seconds before hanging her head in shame. "Five deaths… maybe more, depending on the prognosis of those with the more severe injuries."

A long and hard exhale escaped my throat while I rubbed at my brow. Did Sentinel and I indirectly kill them…? We led Dai right to their camp…

"We can't help them, Sylphira…" she said sorrowfully.

"…I know." Dai… it knows that we'd want to help. It's using the camp it destroyed and the people it hurt as bait. If we go… we'll be walking right into a trap. It'll only make things even worse for everyone still there.

"I'm so sorry…" the AI offered.

"…I hate this."

"I know. Me too." She patted my cheek warmly. "Let's head back inside. It's… kinda dangerous out here."

"Fine." I wriggled my way back into the oppressive shadows, regretfully leaving the ravaged camp behind. In the back of my mind, my emotions shifted from fear and regret into something far darker.

I'll make Dai pay, I thought venomously, clenching my fist. I wasn't sure I had the will nor the strength just yet… but as long as I had Sentinel looking out for me, I could at least give it my best shot.

Sentinel's luminous body was the sole source of light in the spire's murky interior. I went to reach for my belt, flustered for a moment before trying again with my non-severed arm. Successfully extracting the flashlight, I flicked it on and panned the beam of light around the narrow crawlspace.

Bathed in a cone of fluorescent light that cast long and malevolent shadows, the narrow space Sentinel and I were in felt even more imposing and claustrophobic. What lay above was hidden behind a dense tangle of girders and wires that looked more like spiderwebs than coherent internal wiring. The inner wall of the tight hallway was made up of a hardened and jet-black material that seemed to absorb light, while the outer wall was constructed out of Asciydria Tower's standard ivory plating and reinforced with a honeycomb of airmetal alloy framework. Aside from my flashlight, only the sunlight from the hole at my back allowed luminescence to trickle into the murky space. A gentle breath of wind whistled through the cables overhead, releasing an ominous moan that made my skin crawl. Coupled with the steady and even-present flow of symphonic power through the walls, it gave the sense that we were standing inside an enormous living creature.

"…Creepy." I remarked nervously, sitting with knees pressed together to make myself as small as possible. Unfortunately there were no corners to back into.

"Can't be as bad as Dai…" Sentinel replied weakly, slumping against the dented fuselage of the only tower guardian present. The small machine lay on its side across the studded metal floor, forlorn and completely devoid of life aside from its glittering holographic projector.

"Oh yeah… Sylphira, before I forget…" The AI briefly rose from her perch, wordlessly approaching me with the pills in hand and a concerned look on her exhausted face.

I nodded hesitantly, swallowing the small capsules with a weak cough.

"Anti-inflammatories," Sentinel explained, seating herself once more. "They'll help with the pins and needles… hopefully."

"Yeah…" I agreed, massaging the remnants of my right shoulder with a grimace plastered across my lips. The simple act did little to keep my thoughts off the feeling of panic resurfacing at the back of my mind.

I'm stuck in this… damaged form. And I still gotta fight Dai again…

"Focus on the here and now and push what happened out of your mind," the little AI instructed, sensing my inner turmoil. "After an injury like that, you can't afford to get fixated on the past. Relive it too much and it'll drive you insane. Take it from someone who knows. Just try and stay grounded in in the present and focus on what needs to be done right now, in this moment."

The two of us sat silently in the dark for a time, staring at the flashlight beam spilling across the dusty floor. Every so often I'd grit my teeth in pain or tug at the tattered remains of my clothing, struggling to keep warm in the icy-cold environment. A cold wind flooded in from the tunnel to the outside, leaving me shivering and chattering.

What I wouldn't give for a proper campfire! Or clothes… new clothes would be nice. Fuzzily, I drew up a mental image of the now-ruined outfit in my mind's eye, wistfully gazing at the warm layers of fabric lost to me.

Something appeared to subtly shift within the depths of my consciousness.

D-wave pattern selection confirmed. Applying…

I gasped as the empty space shimmered around me, sections of fabric being knit from the very air itself. A sleeve closed around my intact arm, the wonderfully-soft textiles caressing the limb. A sheath of midnight-black inexorably crawled down my hips, and I just barely managed to scramble out of my torn pants and boots before brand new ones that fit my larger frame perfectly took their places. The old ones disintegrated into nothingness before my shocked eyes.

"Wha…" Something tickled at the sensitive spot of bleached skin that was my shoulder wound. I turned my head just in time to see a sleeve form there, too, before promptly collapsing flat against my side due to the lack of an arm to support it.

"Oh, cool!" Sentinel exclaimed tiredly, drifting over to tug at the thick material of my new cloak. "You finally figured out how to get that firmware function working, huh…"

An odd pressure tugged at my chest. Frowning, I absentmindedly felt at the front of my sweater. Two puffy lumps of flesh that flanked my sternum on either side made their presence known with a sensitive tingle as my fingers glided across. What are…?

"Congrats on hitting puberty, by the way," the AI cut in with a faint grin.

"Wait, really?!" My hand promptly roved across my body, exploring my new frame with curiosity. I noted the subtle inward curve of my waist and wider hips—the beginnings of an hourglass shape—and the ever-present, all-too-noticeable breast buds on my chest. When did this even happen? Maybe when I was back in Tower Control…?

"It happened while you were inside Tower Control," Sentinel answered my internal query. "I guess something inside you emotionally shifted, right? Anyway, since you're running dry on biofluid now, you won't be able to grow again—not until we reach the Apex, at least."

Nodding understandingly, I realized that was exactly it. I steeled myself with resolve and struck against Dai… and it made me mature again. I brought a hand to my face, grazing the angles of my new jawline and cheekbones. It was disconcerting how rapidly the changes took place, and furthermore how my mind instantly adapted to the point of not realizing the transformation had ever happened at all. "I need a mirror or something…" I mumbled ruefully, realizing that I hadn't actually seen my own reflection since leaving Mist's Reach a month ago.

"Gotcha covered!" The AI waved her hands about, bringing a small rectangular hardlight prism into existence. She held it up to my eyes, its featureless surface shifting in hue and texture until it was mirror-smooth and just as reflective.

"No way…" I blinked like an owl, stunned by the adolescent face that stared back.

My suspicions were correct; I had changed, and dramatically. In fact, I would have put money on the notion that if it weren't for my strikingly unique hair and eye color, I could've walked through Mist's Reach without being recognized by anyone… well, perhaps save for Mitri and Evecia.

The most striking change was to the shape of my eyes. The upper lids had become hooded, drooping in a way that gave me an exhausted and gloomy look—admittedly par for the course, what with all that had happened recently.

I wonder if my own experiences influence how I develop? I idly wondered. Hopefully not… something tells me that if it works like that, I'll look like an old lady by the time all this is over.

The long snow-white bangs that fell past my brow and tickled the tip of my button nose only helped to exacerbate the dreariness that my new facial structure held. Though, I couldn't deny that I liked how it made my eyes stand out even moreso. My irises shone to an almost luminous degree, their depths swirling like the bluest, clearest midday sky. Overall my face had become sharper and more angular, though the soft cheeks and pointed chin still stubbornly held onto a semblance of the childlike innocence I had come to expect to see in the mirror.

"I'd put you at… about thirteen or fourteen years physically," the AI remarked, peeking around the side of the small mirror. Then she folded her arms, speaking with a stern voice. "Don't get any crazy ideas, okay? Teenage Tower Administrators can be so notoriously rebellious."

I confusedly tilted my head. "…Huh?"

"Joking. Anyway," Sentinel continued with a mischievous smile, allowing the mirror to fall away, "I should probably give you a hand with that." She gestured to my dangling sleeve.

I froze. "You… you did not just make that pun."

She tilted her head in curiosity. "Too soon?"

Releasing a heavy sigh, I gave her an exaggerated eye-roll.

"Sorry…" Stammering apologies, the AI quickly tied the loose fabric in a knot, pulling it taut against the remains of my shoulder.

"Thank you," I murmured, restlessly massaging the injury. An urge began to build within me—to hold something tightly in my arm, anything to help stave off this all-encompassing feeling of dread. And thanks to Mitri, I had just the thing. I awkwardly dug through my pack and extracted Cuddles the teddy… and then froze.

I thought of the little AI, and all that had happened to her. I thought of how scared and alone she felt as the tower guardians making up her consciousness continued to die. I knew firsthand that she was willing to sacrifice anything to protect me, and it was obvious at this point that it was more than simple programming that was compelling her to do so.

She had been alone for hundreds of years before I woke up, alone amongst the harsh and unforgiving heights of the derelict Asciydria Tower. Having only been awake for just over a month, I could barely comprehend such an immense timescale spent in isolation, especially since I had seldom been left on my own in all that time. What could that have been like, watching from a distance as generations of the spire's other inhabitants were born, grew up, died, and were born anew? As artificial lifeforms with computerized processors, we perceived time differently from the humans. It moved more slowly for us. In that sense, Sentinel's solitary existence must have felt even longer.

Giving the stuffed animal a lasting squeeze, I shoved it down into the depths of my rucksack and lifted my gaze to Sentinel, giving her a weak but hopeful smile. "Um, Sentinel… is it okay if I…?"

She blinked slowly, scarlet spreading across her pudgy face. "…O—oh. Um… really? Okay, I guess…" Drifting closer, the AI allowed me to squeeze her into my chest with my remaining arm. Parts of her body were riddled with holes due to the hardlight projector being partially obstructed by my sleeve, but I didn't care. I was simply happy to hold her.

"Thanks," I uttered, grateful. I wasn't certain that I'd have been able to keep it together without her.

"Mhm…"

"Sentinel, why did you choose to be alone after Sphilar Prism exploded?" I asked quietly, my voice echoing into the darkness. She had said as much to Cael back on Mist's Reach when he had questioned her sudden appearance after centuries of absence. I hadn't asked her previously due to the fact that I had no context for it, but now I wanted to know.

The little AI bit her lip. "I—I don't remember. Maybe it got wiped during a reformatting pass, or perhaps the tower guardians holding those memories were lost… all I have is a vague sense of why. All I know is that I was… enraged at the time."

"Enraged at the people who blew it up?" I pressed.

She shook her head, rocking back and forth. "I dunno, okay? The memories aren't there." Her eyes locked on my rucksack, apparently seeking to change the subject. "How about you? Where'd you get that teddy bear?"

"…Mitri gave it to me. You were there; you even made fun of me for it, remember? You said that—in your exact words—I was supposed to become a competent badass, not a thumb-sucking, teddy-hugging baby."

"Oh. Right. Yup, that does sound like something I'd say." She nodded sagely. "…Who's Mitri again?"

"…My friend from Mist's Reach? The girl I was living with?"

"Oh. Right, right." Sentinel shifted uncomfortably against my chest. "…What's Mist's Reach?"

"Are you kidd—" my voice trailed off, the realization dawning on me.

Oh… oh no…

"Sentinel…" I whispered in horror. Her memories of the village were gone too.

"A—anyway, we should probably figure out what we're gonna do next…" Sentinel pushed forward, clumsily shifting away from the previous topic. It was painfully clear to me that she had gauged my reaction, caught on to the fact that she had lost even more memories, and was embarrassed because of it. "Now that we're in Section B, the insight's edifice is within reach."

I nodded uneasily, shuffling in the dark. That's where I can find out what's going on with this… thing inside my head. But right now, it's not exactly me who I'm worried about. "Um… you know where to go, right?"

The AI flinched. "I—I don't… not anymore, at least. My knowledge of Asciydria's facilities is only a fraction of what it was before Dai did this to me, and it permanently sealed me out of the tower's databases to boot! I can't access anything anymore without being turned away by firewalls and antivirus programs." She hung her head, sniffling. "I… I'm not sure what to do…"

I held her closer in my grasp, murmuring kindness and reassurance. "It'll be okay," I soothed. "We can figure this out if we work together… right? We can rely on my tower sense, maybe. We'll chart a course up through Section B and find somewhere safe."

She mumbled something indistinctly.

A frown crossed my face. "Mmh?"

"You don't need me anymore…" she whispered, shaking like a leaf. "I'm just… a liability now. Damaged equipment. If I'm slowing you down, you should leave me behind. This journey is too important."

"Wha—… hold it right there, Sentinel!" I shot back. She shamefully averted her eyes in response, looking away. "Are you crazy? You're my friend! I wouldn't have even been able to get this far without you! There's no way I'd leave you behind. The way I see it, we're stuck with each other. Don't you remember how we talked about this already?"

"We… we did…?" she breathed silently, stunned. "I—I didn't think that I'd ever trust anyone again enough to…"

Her memories… they're fragmenting. It was almost… frightening, how much she had lost. I wasn't exactly sure what to say about that, so I settled for a tight squeeze, pressing the little AI into my chest ever more tightly. "I'm not leaving you, Sentinel," I insisted stubbornly. "Not now, not ever. Okay?"

"O—okay."

The insight's edifice… I thought to myself, focusing on the road ahead and off the worries of the present. A system of anchors for various gigantic cylinder-shaped modules—seven on each side of the tower, and three in the middle. They housed the spire's habitation areas and specialized scientific facilities like hydroponics and zero-gravity testing. Each module could be moved once hooked up to a series of lift generators and thruster rigs, and swapped with different ones from a complex located at Asciydria Tower's anchor. Anyway, it looks like the A1 module on the west side of the tower has a big Reyvateil-specialized maintenance and care facility near its terminus. That should be our goal, I guess. Speaking quickly, I suggested the location to Sentinel.

"Oh…!" Her troubled face brightened. "Yeah… that sounds perfect. I remember what medical procedures I have to run, at least."

"Please tell me you won't suddenly forget how to do brain surgery while you're in the middle of doing it…" I uttered weakly.

The AI giggled despite herself. "Oh, no need to worry about that. I won't actually be poking around in your gray matter; the remote surgeon will do it for me. You just have to give me access, then I can just queue up the procedures."

"But I can't fix my arm there, huh…"

Sentinel shook her head regretfully. "It'd be a lot more convenient if you could, but… no, you can't. You're not like other Reyvateils, Sylphira. You're a prototype of a prototype! No other Reyvateil in existence has such extensive cybernetic parts, or a reinforced airmetal alloy endoskeleton, or whatever else that's lurking underneath that skin of yours. Watch out when you go through metal detectors, by the way. In those regards, you are unlike any other. And because of all that, only your original tripolar resonance incubator has the manufacturing equipment and the proper biofluid makeup you need to be restored to full functionality."

Wait, what if I… "What would happen if I got younger?" I questioned hopefully. "Would I get more biofluid back to fix my arm right now?"

She frowned. "I'd give you points for ingenuity, Sylphira, but nope. While it would give you back the biofluid reserves, it wouldn't regenerate your core cybernetic parts—the anchor points, the unchanging constants that all the other components connect to. Your arm can't function without them. Plus it would mean mentally regressing, and that's the last thing you wanna do right now."

"Aw…"

Sentinel's eyes gained a faraway look. "I wonder, though…"

"What are you thinking about…?"

The AI quickly shook her head. "Um… just another alternative for the short-term. I need some time to figure out if I can make it work."

"Uh huh…"

A touch of caution entered her voice. "Don't think too hard about the arm, Sylphira. It'll drive you nuts, dwelling on it. I know it's diffic—" The little AI suddenly locked up, face twisting into a grimace of intense pain. >SENTINELaiCORE:NOT_RESPONDING…<

I stiffened, fully alert. "Sentinel? Sentinel?!" The little AI shifted in my arms as I shook her frantically. Not again…!

She twitched as if electrocuted, limbs trembling. Her stubby fingers flexed and contracted rapidly. >MAJOR SYSTEM ERROR D—DETECTED IN CEN—< Her eyes suddenly snapped open, lips parted in silent horror. "…tral processing. Sorry about that… again. I… pushed myself too hard just now."

"Are you okay…? For real?" I asked cautiously, lowering my guard. At least she didn't hurt herself this time.

"…No. This is gonna keep happening… and more frequently too." The AI pulled away out of shame, her back facing me. "Sylphira… I have to come clean with something—about what Dai did to me back in the binary field. But first, I wanna ask you about something unrelated."

My eyes narrowed. Something unrelated? At a time like this? "About what?"

The little AI's face twisted, her stormy gray eyes filled with worry. "It's… um, a bit of a weird question, but here goes… Sylphira, why don't you get scared?"

I snorted skeptically after a moment's hesitation. "…You're kidding, right?"

"No… I'm really not."

"Um… wow. Okay, I guess you missed what happened earlier." I released a loud sigh, slumping back in the darkness. "Okay, let me summarize this. I find new reasons to cry almost every other day. Up until recently, I was afraid of heights and afraid of the dark. I'm still afraid of meeting new people—an awful trait for someone who's supposed to be Tower Administrator, by the way—and you can already see how I'm barely keeping it together with," I wiggled the remains of my right shoulder, "this whole thing. Back in Tower Control, when Dai hurt me…" I shuddered at the mere memory of it, my stomach churning with nausea in response. Having flawless recollection had its drawbacks. "It just… made me realize how much I depend on the tower to survive, I guess. I'm pretty much just an animated puddle of biofluid and cybernetics glued together by D-waves… and that scares me more than anything else." I hung my head, ashamed. "I… don't really get why you'd ask that, when everything says otherwise… I'm just a helpless baby being led around by you. If it weren't for you, I probably would've gone back home already."

"You really think so, huh?" Sentinel giggled softly, shaking her head. Raven locks of hair swayed back and forth with the brusque movement. "It's kinda funny how you don't see it, Sylphira." She lifted her head, eyes blazing with indescribable emotion. "I'm not gonna lie anymore; when I first met you, I thought we were all doomed. Here's the mighty Tower Administrator I've waited centuries for, and she's just some ignorant child. Playing with children. Sleeping with stuffed animals. Jumping in fear at shadows in the dark. But I saw a hint early on—something that gave me hope for the future—and I'm happy to say that you came through and delivered on that."

"A hint…?" I leaned closer, intrigued.

"Yes," she nodded eagerly. "Back when we first met—I'm so relieved that I still remember this—I told you that Ar Ciel was dying. I told you that all this would end in a few years at most, and both you and I would die with it." A wistful smile tugged at her lips. "You didn't take it like a normal person, to say the least.

"Sylphira, you didn't even flinch. And afterwards—I'll never forget what you said—you just said that if we were gonna save the world, then we'd better get started. You weren't scared or confused—not visibly, anyway. You were ready to get right down to business."

"…That's it?" I remarked incredulously.

"Okay sure, so it was a tiny flicker," the AI agreed. "Maybe you were just confused with all that was happening and the words slipped out. But even so… from that moment, a small part of me believed that you'd become the Tower Administrator that we all need you to be. That said, I'm not here to stroke your overinflated ego—you're not there yet, not even close—but you're well on your way. You've been awake for just over a month, and look how far you've come! Fear of the dark? Fear of heights? Beaten down almost instantly. Many humans—the wusses—never kick those primal fears in their entire lifetimes. And those are just easy examples. Just yesterday, you went toe-to-toe with the scariest thing on this tower and survived. In fact, you nearly killed it!"

"I dunno if I'd call this a win…" I grumbled, rubbing the tender wound.

"Well, I do!" she pointed out hotly. "Look at you! You're suffering from damage to your very consciousness, you're missing an arm, we're being hunted by a psychopathic murderous AI, Asciydria Tower is on the brink of collapse and Ar Ciel isn't far behind, and even though you're terrified and overwhelmed by it all, you're still moving forward. How is that not brave?! That's basically the dictionary definition! And remember, this is only after a single month. Can you imagine what you'll be like after… one or two years? Let alone a hundred or more?"

"W—where are you getting at with all of this…?" I mumbled, lowering my gaze to hide the flush that had spread across my pale skin. I felt crushed beneath the weight of the little AI's sudden outburst of praise. It was unusually uncharacteristic of her; she'd never been the kind of person to lay it on so thick.

"I—I just… I need to know…" Sentinel breathed, a tremor forming in her voice. "I need to know… how do you do it? How do you face such fearful odds without being overwhelmed by it all?" She made a small hiccuping sound, and then I realized that shimmering holographic tears were rolling down her pudgy cheeks. "I want to know what makes you so complete, because then maybe I can learn from it and do it too…"

"Sentinel…" I murmured hushedly, unsure of what to say.

"Th—this is so dumb…!" she wailed in anguish, pushing her face into my chest. "I'm just a piece of fucking software. I shouldn't feel like this… Half the time, the only thing that keeps me moving is the programming that compels me to."

"Your feelings are every bit as real as mine…" I quietly replied, holding her. "What are you so afraid of, if it's okay to ask?" I had a worrisome suspicion, but I wanted to hear it from her personally.

"It's stupid…" the AI repeated stubbornly, rocking back and forth.

"It's not stupid. Not if it's this important to you. Will you share it with me, Sentinel? Please?"

"I—I… all right." She wrapped her arms around her torso, uncomfortable. "I—I've never told anyone this, but… I used to dream of traveling." Her tear-filled eyes lifted to the darkness above, filled with wistful longing. "I know that kinda goes off on a random tangent, but it's connected, I swear. Being trapped inside Asciydria Tower's meager broadcast range… it's like a cage. Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to see the world… and yes, that includes the horrible places like Sol Ciel. But most of all, I wanted to see Metafalss." The little AI bit her lip, troubled. "That place is… important to me… somehow…"

That man… the one who knew her. He lived there, didn't h—wait. She said 'used to dream of traveling,' in past tense. A frown crossed my face. "Used to…?"

"Used to," she agreed with a sad smile. "It's not a dream I can realistically achieve anymore, so I've shelved it indefinitely. Sylphira… back when I attempted to hack through the binary field, Dai implanted a virus into my central processing system, assembled from its own ugly coding. I've tried quarantining it, purging it, even jettisoning parts of my own psyche that contain it, but I can't win. Not only are my cyberwarfare systems fragmented and inoperable, but the virus is also evolving too quickly, progressing its own algorithm and multiplying. I determined four hours ago that I won't be able to stop it before it does irreparable damage to my core systems."

My lips parted. "So that means…"

"It means that I'm dying, Sylphira… for real this time." From the way her eyes shone with tears, the way her lips trembled, I could tell that the little AI was clutching on to the last few scraps of her composure. Just like me, she was barely keeping it together. Perhaps we were more alike than I realized.

A multitude of twisted and conflicting emotions strangled my heart. Sentinel had been rude, sarcastic, arguably cold and cruel. She had verbally bullied me, physically bullied me, played nasty pranks and threatened innocents. But even so… She had been there for me, right from the start. Ever since I had woken up in that forest beneath the vastness of my tower, she had been by my side supporting me in her own way.

Of course I had disliked her at first—perhaps even hated her—and who could blame me for it? She hadn't exactly been kind by any stretch of the imagination.

But things had changed over the course of our journey. Her cold exterior had fallen away, exposing her fears and insecurities and true loneliness. And now, I couldn't imagine going on without her. Somewhere along the way, I had found myself liking the little AI. The revelation forced me to reevaluate something—namely how much I valued Mitri and her family in comparison. A notion occurred to me—the fact that I had only known them for a sole week and had already started thinking of Mitri as my sister and Evecia as my mother. That wasn't normal; I knew that much, at least. More than likely, I'd ended up imprinting onto their family thanks to some old programming that was floating around in my skull. A program, perhaps, that had been originally designed to force an emotional attachment between myself and the scientists and engineers who had built me.

Mitri… if I wasn't the construct that I am, would I treasure you as closely as I do now? Or do I only feel this way because I was programmed to?

The stifled sobs of the AI in my arms pulled me back to reality. I guess hypotheticals don't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

"Sentinel…" I murmured again, cradling her with my one arm in the best imitation of a hug I could muster.

My best friend.

"O—oh Sylphira, I don't wanna die…" she whimpered, dropping her guard completely. "I'm so scared… I've had s—seven centuries to get used to the idea of dying, and it's not like I haven't thought about it a lot, b—but… but… it's different when it's actually happening and I can't control it."

My visage hardening like steel, I lifted the crying figure to my eyes. She sniffled, shakily wiping at her cheeks. "Sylphira…"

"I won't let you die, Sentinel," I swore then and there. "Okay? I won't. Together we're gonna heal the tower, we'll construct new tower guardians to sustain your consciousness, and I'll personally reprogram Dai and force it to terminate the virus. Then you'll be able to live free and achieve your dream."

"R—really…?" she sobbed, gazing up hopefully.

"You asked what drives me," I stubbornly continued, pulling the little AI into my chest once more. "What gave me my so-called strength and determination, and the thing is… I didn't even really know myself until recently. But I think I started to realize during the fight with Dai in Tower Control, and all this just now has helped solidify it. I guess being on the brink of death helped me to understand what I was fighting for."

A deep blush spread across my cheeks, and I cast my gaze down. "Maybe it's kinda stupid… and selfish I guess, but I want to prove everyone wrong—you included—about how I'm not just a helpless, useless kid." I stared at the floor. "I—I dunno if I'll ever get there, especially after how I screwed everything up in Tower Control… but I can't just give up! Not with so many people relying on me to do well. And you're one of those people too, Sentinel! So please… believe me as Tower Administrator when I say that you're not gonna die. I've been disappointing you up until now, and I won't let it happen again."

"A—all right. I trust you…" she stammered shakily, drying her tears.

"Good." I gave her a strong and comforting smile, treasuring the warmth of the flickering little bundle in my embrace and the grave importance she held in the depths of my heart.

Jerking back to the land of the living, I found myself slumped over on my side against the wall. The little AI remained in my grasp, leaned up against my wrist. "Sylphira…" she murmured sleepily, gently nuzzling my thumb.

"Sentinel," I replied, smiling faintly. It felt like the barrier between us had finally given way, at long last. It made me happy.

"I'm dying, Sylphira… for real this time," her voice echoed in my thoughts.

My smile faded.

Gritting my teeth, I scrambled upright. The AI squeaked with surprise, her holographic body trapped between my fingers. "Sentinel," I barked, "we should get going and start heading upward. There's no time to lose!"

"O—oh…" She slumped against my belly, speaking in an almost-inaudible voice. "Sylphira… is it okay if we just rest for the night? It's dark outside, and I'm sure you're still hurt! Your scars haven't even fully healed yet!"

A grimace crossed my face. She's not wrong, but… "I'm fine."

"I get it." Sentinel nodded with understanding. "I really do appreciate the thought, Sylphira… but the virus is moving relatively slowly." She smiled weakly. "You know Dai… it likes to be as sadistic and scary as possible. It was designed that way; psychological warfare and all that. It also helps that my systems are a lot larger and more complex than your standard computer program. We've got time… and I—I actually need a little break… to reorder and optimize my file structure to run with less storage space and processing power…"

"…Are you sure?" I gave her a worried look.

The little AI nodded vigorously. "Yeah. I am. Remember to think about your own health as well. If you push yourself too hard, it could cause even more damage. But thank you…"

I sank back to the floor, ill at ease. The fact that my closest friend was literally on her deathbed wasn't an easy thing to grapple with. I wanted nothing more than to surge forward, to storm the Apex and save her as quickly as possible, but…

"T—thank you, Sylphira…" she repeated, pushing her face into my belly.

"Yeah…" I muttered, still dissatisfied. I anxiously tapped my fingers on the steel floor, searching for a conversation topic to take my mind off things.

I guess she never really did tell me… So much was going on back then, after all. I can probably ask her now.

"Um… Sentinel, I've got another question for you if your memories are still holding up and if it won't take too much processing power."

She glanced back into my eyes with curiosity. "A question…?"

"Why is Ar Ciel dying?"

"Right into it, huh…" A shadow flitted across her childlike face. "Sylphira… before I continue this line of thought, I've gotta give you a disclaimer; this is just a theory I've been developing for centuries, based on the previous work of the Aegis Alliance of Ar Ciel in the years before the Grathnode Inferia. That means that what I'm about to tell you might be wrong… but the math says that the following scenario will come true if things remain as they are, and numbers don't lie." The AI hung her head desolately. "I tell you this because you might not even believe what I have to say… and you wouldn't be the first."

"Try me."

"Alright…" Sentinel nodded slowly, taking a long moment to collect her thoughts. Her avatar's brow furrowed while she compiled the information, clearly struggling to assemble fragmented memories and collate it all. Every so often she'd throw off a twitch or mumble restlessly below her breath.

Sentinel's eyes abruptly snapped open. "Did… um, did I ever explain the basics of sound science? H-waves in particular. I don't have any memory of such a conversation…"

"Yes." I nodded tersely, squeezing her just a little bit tighter. Her unwilling forgetfulness didn't escape my worried notice.

"G—good," she stammered, flustered with her own patchy memories. "If I explained H-waves at all—static ones in particular—then you know how important they are. H-waves… are, well, everything. For many beings on Ar Ciel, they're life itself. Thoughts, emotions, consciousness, that's mostly all H-waves. Your soul up at the SH server is constructed out of H-waves, my own AI matrix is made of H-waves…" the little AI shrugged. "So… yeah. Hopefully I explained that better before…"

"Mhm." I gave her a quizzical look. "What's all this got to do with the world ending, though?"

Sentinel grimaced harshly, searching through her pockmarked file structure. "Legends originating from eons past often refer to a mother figure—a deity that created the spark of life, the one who gave birth to us and nourishes us via the flora and fauna and the atmosphere we—er, you and the other fleshies—breathe. Whether that's accurate or not, said 'mother' often refers to Ar Ciel itself, personified as a living, thinking being—or at least a hierarchy of aggregate consciousnesses that gather together to create a single being. Who knows, really? It depends what cultures you look at."

"…But aren't those just myths from ancient human tribes?" I was quick to suggest.

She lifted her hands defensively. "H—hold up! Let me finish this thought train…"

"Oh… sorry."

Sentinel's voice grew icy cold. "Anyway… shortly before the Grathnode Inferia ravaged Ar Ciel, the Aegis Alliance of Ar Ciel was studying the planet using advanced deep-core drilling techniques and ground-penetrating radar systems, learning just what made it tick and how to repair its metaphorical clockwork parts. After all—thanks to Seven Bloodstains less than a decade earlier—Ar Ciel had been devastated right to its very core."

Mhm… I remember that. I thought back to Sentinel's description; vast supervolcanic eruptions, earthquakes, daily tsunamis, and the total collapse of the magnetic field and the unending bombardment of punishing cosmic radiation that followed. The Aegis Alliance was formed in the midst of that chaos to try and restore the planet's deteriorating climate.

"While making deep scans into the planet's mantle, they learned something… um, unprecedented. What if I told you, Sylphira, that Ar Ciel's damaged core was found to be leaking residual static H-waves?"

I gasped with realization. "Wait, you're not seriously saying…?"

The AI nodded slowly, staring intently into my eyes. "It was classified and kept out of public knowledge out of fear of causing global panic, but it's what the Aegis Alliance believed at the time, and it's what I believe even now. Mother Ar Ciel is alive… and she is angry with her children."

"…Angry?"

"Very much so," Sentinel nodded vigorously. "Humanity ravaged the planet through their ignorance, hubris and warmongering… through industrialization, widespread unregulated pollution, centuries-long wars, Seven Bloodstains, the Grathnode Inferia, and just generally acting like a bunch of assholes." She smiled wryly. "Those two globe-spanning disasters, I suspect, were considered to be the final straw. So Ar Ciel came to the decision to exterminate her unruly children by spawning the Sea of Death and dramatically influencing the growth of the Blastline."

"But," I interrupted with a healthy dose of skepticism, "wouldn't all the natural disasters explain those away? I mean, the core did collapse… Surely that would do some weird things to a planet, right?"

The AI shook her head. "No. The Sea of Death and the Blastline are both unprecedented, unnatural phenomenons… well, the Blastline was technically created by Ar Tonelico's destroyed grathnode discs, but I'll get to that in just a minute. Point is, something otherworldly created them and maintains them even now—a guiding and intelligent hand."

My scalp prickled as I thought back to my strange encounter in the plasma bell. At the time, I had wondered just what the ghostly figure was. I wonder if…?

"I believe that hand is Ar Ciel," she continued, grim. "In an attempt to exterminate the children that had cruelly betrayed their mother, she sought to starve and suffocate them with the poison of the Sea of Death. And while the destruction of Ar Tonelico's grathnode discs did create the first traces of the Blastline and continues to feed it even now, there's no way that explosion could've dumped enough plasma into the atmosphere to consume the entirety of the globe in such a dense layer! I have a hunch that Ar Ciel influenced its growth, making the atmospheric conditions ripe for its expansion." A tired smile crossed Sentinel's face. "I'd guess that Momma Ar Ciel—like Dai—has a bit of a sadistic streak. By denying humanity the sky, she effectively ensured that the children who inflicted so much pain and suffering unto her wouldn't be able to easily escape to new worlds and ravage them too."

"The space gun really can't fire through the Blastline…?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. "That seems a little… unrealistic."

"I never said that! I—it can!" she cried defensively, huffing. "It's just… well, none of my tower guardians can pass through it, and neither could any of our airships at the time. The heat and magnetism scrambles the software and damages their delicate internal components, I subsequently lose the connection, and they fall from the sky. And while a payload launched from the space gun can fire through the Blastline…" Her voice faltered.

"What is it?"

The little AI shifted uncomfortably in my loose embrace. "Well, Sylphira… firing the space gun is actually what caused Daylight's End. Penetrating the Blastline with the first few modules of what was to become a colony ship for the purpose of initializing Plan B—after all, it had been almost two hundred years since the Grathnode Inferia, and in all that time we were never able to establish communications with Harvestasha Tower and verify whether Plan A was still viable—resulted in a massive hostile reaction from Ar Ciel. A torrent of Other rose up from the Sea of Death and laid siege to Asciydria Tower, and… well, you know how the rest goes."

"Wait…" My eyes widened. "So the Other… they're not just aggressive wildlife? They have a greater purpose?"

"They're a natural part of the planet's ecosystem, yes." Sentinel gave an approving nod. "That's the working hypothesis, anyway. If correct, then the Other act as a sort of… immune system for Ar Ciel. The theory is that they strike out at perceived 'attacks' on the system as a whole—which encompasses attempts to leave the atmosphere, actions that inflict widespread damage to the planetary surface, or structures that draw any of the little remaining energy out of the planet's shattered crust—even something as simple as a geothermal power plant."

"Remaining… energy…" I murmured, recalling Sentinel's tale of the Grathnode Inferia from several weeks back. Oh yeah… without a core to generate D-waves, Ar Ciel won't be able to sustain itself for much longer. It's only a matter of time until the residual waves in the mantle fade away for good. And then…

"Right," she nodded sorrowfully. "The Other has another function though, which I perceive as an attempt to stave off that eventuality for as long as possible. Do you remember the plasma bell disaster?" the AI seemingly switched topics.

Twenty-three candlelit boats… twenty-three souls lost because I failed. I shuddered, closing my eyes and grasping Mitri's grathnode amulet at my breast. "…Yes."

"The plasma bell malfunctioned and failed because its outer shell was ruptured—ruptured by acid excreted from the bodies of countless Other. The thing is… they wouldn't willingly destroy such a plentiful energy source, meaning that the creatures came into physical contact with the plasma bell's electrified outer shell—an act that resulted in them essentially killing themselves."

"They killed themselves…? Why would they do that?"

"Because of you," she aimed a pudgy finger directly at me. "When you awakened, many of the tower's systems came back to life for the first time in centuries. Symphonic power levels rose to their highest since Daylight's End—and all of that surplus energy, I believe, is what attracted the Other. We basically threw a drowning man a life preserver.

"Hypothetically speaking," she continued, "the Other—attempting to save their mother Ar Ciel—would be eager to siphon off the surplus D-waves that Asciydria's symphonic reactor was now generating. The aim would be to loop it back into the planet's mantle, to sustain her for just a little bit longer and keep her alive. I imagine that's part of the reason why Ar Ciel helped to expand the Blastline; because it enables her to indirectly feed off of the damaged Ar Tonelico's power supply, helping sustain her life.

"Due to the fact that the plasma bell's outer surface courses with energy, at first glance it would appear to be an ideal siphoning point, much like the Blastline. It drew them in like moths to the flame. And that explains why the bell ended up damaged; because many of the more fragile Other died on contact with it, drenching the bell's surface in acid. Their deaths are of no consequence to the intelligence that guides them, of course. After all, anything that falls into the Sea of Death is consumed by Ar Ciel, returning to the planet. Once upon a time damage like that would've been detected early on and the tower's systems would move to compensate, but the sensors down there have been nonfunctional since Daylight's End. Because of that, both the emergency thrusters and alarms failed to trigger until it was almost too late."

"I guess that makes sense…" I murmured, nodding slowly. Perhaps the Other—as terrifying as they were, at least from the single creature I had encountered—had motives. The thought made the unknown monsters slightly less terrifying in my eyes.
"But even so," the AI interrupted my ruminations, "despite their efforts, Ar Ciel continues to bleed more and more residual energy with each passing year. If the mathematics are correct—using the figures that the Aegis Alliance ended up with through their own deep scans into the mantle—then Ar Ciel's last traces of residual D-waves will be fully depleted within half a decade." She bit her lip. "I'm guessing that 3775 will be Ar Ciel's final year. That's only four years away."

"…So what exactly would happen to us if all the remaining energy dissipated?" I asked nervously, my heart sinking. It was one thing to know that it would soon happen, but it was quite another to know what exactly the resultant effects would be.

Sentinel shuddered, scrunching up her face. "I—it wouldn't be pretty. Were Ar Ciel to finally die, all of the forces of nature she currently maintains and that we take for granted would immediately dissipate. The most noticeable would be gravity.

"If gravity were to disappear, the planet's atmosphere would vanish—" she snapped her stubby fingers, "—just like that, thanks to the end of Ar Ciel's song that generates the forces that trap the gases making up our sky. The crust wouldn't be far behind, first coming apart at the tectonic seams and quickly fragmenting into smaller bits. The remnants of the mantle would emerge between those cracks, filling the surrounding space with slowly-cooling clouds of magma. In essence, Ar Ciel would effectively go from being a planet to an expanding clump of debris and molten rock. Anything that manages to survive that would be killed moments later from exposure to cosmic radiation, extremes in temperature, and the unforgiving vacuum itself. At that point, Ar Ciel and all of its inhabitants would be no more, its ashes scattered amongst the stars until the end of time."

"…Oh," I gulped, feeling a knot in my stomach tightening. Sentinel had painted a horrific picture in my mind, and I couldn't muster the will to shake it loose. It defied belief that something as massive as a planet could simply fall to pieces. Then again, was that not essentially Asciydria Tower's situation on a larger scale? There was only so much abuse the spire could endure before it was no more.

And then, an idea thundered into my foremost thoughts. "Wait!" I exclaimed jubilantly. "What about the ion corridor? It generates an atmosphere around Asciydria Tower, right? If we could boost its strength somehow, wouldn't we be okay?"

"I wish…" Sentinel uttered glumly. "The ion corridor doesn't have the capability to generate its own atmosphere; it can only manipulate an existing one. And even if it did work, we'd still lose the Isles of Aria—which means most of the liveable space and exploitable resources—because the plasma bell can't operate without gravity."

"Dammit…" I dejectedly cast my eyes to one side, peering at the borehole that led to the outside. Starlight shone through the gap. "Well… is there any way to stop it all from happening? Y'know, some way to fix Ar Ciel? Or are we all screwed…?"

"Plan A and Plan B…" she murmured softly.

My brow furrowed. "I know the basics of Plan B; launch colony ships into space and find a new world. But what's Plan A? That's the one that Harvestasha Tower was responsible for, right?"

"It's… complicated, to say the least."

"Try me!"

"I—it's complicated for me, Sylphira…" Sentinel groaned, massaging her forehead. "This is stuff that's fragmented and memories of it span the centuries, and it's all jumbled up! I—I can't… just gimme a moment to compile it into a format I can relay verbally."

"Hey." I slipped into a lighter tone, giving the little AI a squeeze. "Please don't strain yourself for me, okay? Layman's terms are okay with me. I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity…"

She nodded jerkily. "Okay… good, cause that's what you're gonna get. Well… the first question to ask is; why is Ar Ciel dying?"

"Because it can't generate D-waves anymore," I quickly replied, not seeing her point. Didn't we already go over this…? Did she forget again?

"And why can't it generate those?" she challenged.

"Because it doesn't have a core…?"

The AI clapped. "Exactly! Ar Ciel's core was some kind of naturally-formed mechanism that passively emitted D-waves at a fixed rate, eternally. So the real question is; can that mechanism be replicated artificially?"

Oh… I mouthed silently. "Well… anything can be copied if you're determined enough and have the right materials, right? Eventually you'll come up with something that works the same way as the original."

"Indeed," Sentinel nodded. "You yourself are living proof of that, Miss Bootlegged Reyvateil Origin. Last I heard before the Grathnode Inferia, the Aegis Alliance were theorizing about the possibility of creating just such a device—something they called an 'autostabilizing nuclear tesseractal loop.'"

"That's… a mouthful," I remarked, dazed.

"Mhm! Leave it to scientists to give such a cool mechanism a boring name. That's why I gave it a shorter name in Asciydria Tower's archives—the Seed. Catchier, right?"

I frowned with recognition. Where have I heard that name before…? That collapsed lab at Mist's Reach… well, I guess that answers why Sentinel wanted to go there as soon as I woke up.

"Like Ar Ciel's planetary core, it—theoretically— generates D-waves in massive amounts when grown properly, infinitely. Sorta like the Orgel, but more stable and less dangerous. As the nickname implies, the thing can be enlarged in scale when fueled by H-waves. That makes it a perfect power source, because it can be as big as you need it to be! Assuming it all works, a Seed would be a viable artificial heart—again, theoretically—for Ar Ciel."

"I suppose getting it down to the center of the planet is a whole other story," I pointed out.

"Assuming one can even be created in the first place, since the entire concept of a Seed is still theoretical, but yeah," she nodded. "That was Harvestasha Tower's job, and the specifics of that are big gaping holes in my memories that I can't really recount. Especially since by the time the Grathnode Inferia hit, they hadn't even finished building the tower yet." A grimace crossed her face. "The real issue is… while there were many laboratories dedicated to researching the math and physics behind Seeds, there are only two installations in the world that might have the ability to produce one. One is located in Metafalss—on the other side of the world."

"And neither of us can leave the tower…" I groused, desolated.

"There are ways around that, actually," the AI countered, "but you're right. It's a hurdle… however, it's still a better option than the following. The second installation… is right here, on Asciydria Tower."

What?! I blinked, stunned. "…Isn't that… I dunno, oddly convenient?"

"I wish…" she sighed. "That installation is Sphilar Prism."

"You mean… that huge pile of rubble down on the Isles of Aria that used to be an SH server?" I guess that makes sense. If a Seed needs H-waves to grow, then it's probably a good idea to make it in a place where Reyvateils live.

"Unfortunately, yes. Sphilar Prism exploded due to a catastrophic system failure, and even now I'm not sure why it did." The little AI grimaced. "I was completely locked out of those systems by design, and like we discussed earlier, it's not like I remember the details…"

"Nobody seems to," I grumbled. "Evecia said that anyone who would know probably died with Sphilar Prism."

"I don't remember who that is…" the little AI mumbled, "but that sounds about right."

"Wouldn't singing EXEC_IN=FINITY/. repair it, though?"

"It wouldn't," she replied sadly. "Sphilar Prism isn't an original part of the spire. Restoring Asciydria Tower won't bring back modules that were added after the last restore point, which was made only a couple decades after the Grathnode Inferia. Basically it means that bringing back Sphilar Prism without rebuilding it from scratch is impossible. Like it or not, the original installation located in Metafalss is our best bet.

"By the way," Sentinel added, "I'm certain that we're not the only ones who know of all this stuff. It wasn't exactly a well-kept secret, especially considering the Aegis Alliance had their hands all over the amplification towers. There's no doubt in my mind that elsewhere on Ar Ciel, pieces are in motion and a few brave souls are already preparing to stand up and attempt to save the world. But we can't bank on their success. We have to reach out, to join the fight—and if the fight doesn't exist yet, then we'll start it…" her voice dropped to a bare whisper, "…together?"

"Together," I agreed, firmly grasping her tiny hand.

A patch of crimson once again spread its way across the little AI's cheeks, and she shyly turned away. "Either way… I guess this is all hypothetical for now, anyway. We can't really go chasing down a Seed when our tower is crumbling beneath our feet, right?"

"Agreed," I yawned, propping up my rucksack at the back of my head to act as a makeshift pillow. Now that I was thinking about it, I could feel the haze of exhaustion at the edges of my mind. My body still needed time to repair itself, after all.

Sentinel snuggled up into the folds of my sweater, shuffling about in a way that left her exposed to her tower guardian's hardlight projector. "I guess that means sleep, huh…?"

"Mhm…"

"It's been a crazy few days," she remarked softly, "and we'll have to figure out what our next move is gonna be. We lost the Type-14, so that means no more climbing gear or tanked oxygen… so we'd better hope that the higher reaches of the space gun assembly don't have any nasty surprises. The tower itself will be enemy enough."

I nodded vigorously, rubbing at the indentation where my right shoulder once was. The feeling of pins and needles had sneakily crept back in, drawing my ire.

"We'll take it slow, okay?" the AI said reassuringly. "At least we've got time… lots of time."

Not like that makes me feel any better… I shifted back and forth, flipping my cloak around so that it rested atop my own body and then invited the oncoming release of sleep. "Thank you, Sentinel."

"Same to you…" She fell silent, lost in her own programming.

While I lay there in the dark—every so often massaging the empty space where my right arm had once taken residence—a worrying thought made its way to the forefront. "…Sentinel?"

The little AI opened her eyes. "Yes, Sylphira?"

I frowned in the murky blackness. "Earlier, you said that the Other damaged the plasma bell because they were trying to absorb symphonic power, right? They're attracted to large eruptions of symphonic power… that's what you told me."

"That's correct," she said lazily, her voice emanating from the dark.

I worriedly bit my lip. "Well, if that's the case… then what'll happen when we eventually make it to the top of the spire and I sing EXEC_IN=FINITY/.? When it restores Asciydria Tower, won't that trigger another huge power surge?"

The AI was silent for an uncomfortably-long period of time, processing thoughts at a drastically reduced speed. "You're… right, Sylphira. If their previous history holds true, then they'll attack. I hadn't even considered it… and that particular Extract—and the subsequent full tower restoration—will release far more energy than the power surge that followed your awakening. And that's especially bad now that we have proof that the Other remain in the vicinity, as shown by their prompt arrival and subsequent attempt to siphon symphonic power from the plasma bell post-Daylight's End. They must lie dormant below the Sea… or in hibernation, or whatever the Other equivalent is."

"…Oh great," I muttered under my breath.

She shook her head rapidly. "We don't really have much of a choice, though… We need to repair Asciydria Tower no matter what! All it means is that now it's even more vital that we restore communications with the other existing towers…" Her voice filled with disdain. "I think we might end up having to call them for help."

I tilted my head inquisitively. "What do you have against the other towers, anyw—"

The words died in my throat as a faint tremor rippled through the steel floor, the subtleness of the movement troubling me the most. A far-off rumble echoed through the borehole carved into the exterior bulkhead, uncannily resembling the distant clap of thunder. Whatever it was, it only lasted for a mere ten seconds; the jarring motion abruptly ceased, leaving me staring wide-eyed into the darkness with the ghost of an aching sensation in the back of my mind. Deep inside my soul, I had felt something… and it wasn't good.

"Sentinel…" I breathed. "Did you feel that…?"

"I did," she whispered, voice tinted with uneasiness. "What was that?"

My eyelids fell shut while I mentally pushed outward, transcending the boundaries of my mind. I brought my all-seeing eye down, chasing the ghost of the tremors towards its source at the base of the tower. When I arrived at the origin, I screeched to a halt and swallowed hard.

Oh no…

Vast swaths of the tower's base were dark, sections having either lost power or been completely ripped out from the structure. A detailed analysis pointed to the latter, showing that Asciydria's anchor was utterly twisted and mangled almost to the point of unrecognizability. It was like some giant creature had used the three-kilometer-thick cylinder as a chew toy. Some of the damage was recent—likely caused by the listing during the recent plasma bell failure—but the vast majority was far older, leaving me only able to imagine what event in Asciydria Tower's history had left its anchor so badly damaged. With mild interest, I noted that the damage appeared to be roughly the same age as the derelict airship from Neo Elemia down at the secondary skydock. It was possible that the two were related somehow.

Of course, I had far bigger things to worry about.

"Fractures…" I whispered. "A bunch of fractures just started opening up in the lower section of the spire, at the tower anchor and around the plasma bell… where the structural integrity is at its weakest…"

"Then… it's accelerating," Sentinel remarked grimly. "I—it's the beginning of the end. The tower's final collapse… is drawing near."

Sapphire · Dec 30, 2018

Don't say I never posted a chapter in 2018!

Jokes aside, omigod I'm so sorry. Firsthand experience; never start working in the hotel industry as a room attendant, it'll stress you out and suck your soul right out from you. Now that I'm out of that career and into something hopefully less stressful, I can get back to releasing chapters. In addition to this one I have three more saved up, which I can release just as soon as I do a couple more passes for spelling, grammar, consistency, and clarity. Soon™.

Ar Tonelico : From Discord to Harmony

Recent threadmarks

justinkal

Quickshot0

aquagon

EXA_PICO Librarian

Sapphire

aquagon

EXA_PICO Librarian

justinkal

Sapphire

Sapphire

OmegaCloud

Quickshot0

justinkal

Sapphire

Mizu

Software Developer

Sapphire

Tirfarthuan

aquagon

EXA_PICO Librarian

Sapphire

Solacen

Tirfarthuan

Quickshot0

Sapphire

Solacen

justinkal

Sapphire

Sapphire

Recent threadmarks