故事模式劇情詳表 (移動版)
![]() | 此條目內容為移動版獨有。 |
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本文介紹的是Arcaea 移動版故事模式劇情。關於Arcaea Nintendo Switch版故事模式劇情,請見「故事模式劇情詳表 (Nintendo Switch版)」。 |
本頁面用於存放Arcaea (移動版)故事內容
目錄 | |||||||||||||
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目錄 | |||||||||||||
主線故事 | 光 - 個人故事 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 1-4 | 1-5 | 1-ZR | 1-7 | 1-8 | 1-9 | |||
對立 - 個人故事 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 2-4 | 2-5 | 2-D | 2-7 | 2-8 | 2-9 | ||||
聚合 | V-1 | V-2 | V-3 | V-4 | V-5 | ||||||||
決裂 | VS-1 | VS-2 | VS-3 | VS-4 | VS-5 | VS-6 | VS-7 | VS-8 | |||||
終焉 | F-1 | F-2 | F-3 | F-4 | F-5 | F-6 | F-7 | ||||||
結局 | E-1 | E-2 | |||||||||||
支線故事 | 咲彌 - 個人故事 | 3-0 | 3-1 | 3-2 | 3-3 | 3-4 | 3-5 | ||||||
紅 - 個人故事 | 4-1 | 4-2 | 4-3 | 4-4 | 4-5 | 4-6 | 4-7 | 4-8 | |||||
白姬 - 個人故事 | S-1 | S-2 | S-3 | S-4 | S-5 | S-6 | |||||||
忘卻 - 個人故事 | 5-1 | 5-2 | 5-3 | 5-4 | 5-5 | 5-6 | |||||||
愛麗絲 & 坦尼爾 - 個人故事 | 7-1 | 7-2 | 7-3 | 7-4 | 7-5 | 7-6 | |||||||
拉格蘭 - 個人故事 | 9-1 | 9-2 | 9-3 | 9-4 | 9-5 | 9-6 | |||||||
愛托 & 露娜 - 個人故事 | 10-1 | 10-2 | 10-3 | 10-4 | 10-5 | 10-6 | |||||||
短篇故事 | 調 - 個人故事 | 6-1 | 6-2 | 6-3 | |||||||||
迷爾 - 個人故事 | 8-1 | 8-2 | 8-3 | ||||||||||
彩夢 - 個人故事 | 11-1 | 11-2 | 11-3 | ||||||||||
維塔 - 個人故事 | 12-1 | 12-2 | 12-3 |
Main(主線)
1-1
解鎖條件:購入Eternal Core曲包
解鎖要求:採用光通過Lumia
「多麼令人愉快啊,」她想,「這些美妙的圖案居然能在空中移動呢。牽引着它們的絲線在哪裏?」
她蹲了下來,整了整裙子,環顧四周才發現這附近沒有任何絲線。那些事物,也並不是蝴蝶——
玻璃碎片,不依靠任何外力便飛舞於空中。「太美妙了!」她自心底讚嘆道。
這些玻璃反射出了另一個純潔的世界。她從中看見海洋、城市、火焰、光芒;美好的景象目不暇接。
她抬起了自己的手,試圖去抓住它們,開心地笑了出來。
她並不知道這些玻璃碎片有個名字:Arcaea。
實際上,名字對這些過於美好的事物來說並不重要。
她觸碰、旋轉、觀察它們;她靠這樣來娛樂自己。這已經足夠了,難道不是嗎?
現在留給她的,有六個問題:何人、何事、何處、何時、何故與何情。
在這些疑問的包圍下,她沒有問出任何一個,也不想得到任何答案。Arcaea的光芒已經使她心滿意足。
這是她與這個新世界的邂逅。
"How pleasant," she thought, "that these figures can move as well. Where are the strings?"
She sat onto her knees, fixed her dress, and found that there were no strings, and these were not
butterflies. Glass shards, flying on their own. "Delightful!" she felt, and so she said it.
The glass reflected another world than the one in white surrounding her. In it she could see reflections
of seas, cities, fires, lights; she rose her hand to scatter them, and laughed in joy.
She didn't know these pieces of glass had a name: Arcaea.
To tell the truth, they were so beautiful that it didn't matter the name.
She entertained herself by touching them, swirling them, watching them. That was enough, no?
There were six questions to ask: who, what, where, when, why, and how.
Of these questions, she asked none and desired no answers, content instead to bask in the glow of Arcaea.
This was her meeting with a new world.
1-2
解鎖條件:完成1-1,購入Eternal Core曲包
解鎖要求:採用光通過memoryfactory.lzh
少女立於玻璃碎片的螺旋中,沉思着:「但說實話,它們究竟是什麼呢?」
傳送門入口?窗戶?抑或是……回憶?
最後的猜測,「回憶」,使她一怔。「它們是回憶,」她失聲說道。
就在這一刻,那股疑惑消失殆盡。
因為某種原因,這個地方充滿了回憶。誰的回憶?又是什麼回憶?她心中不能肯定。
但她已經停止了疑問。
因為某種原因,那些玻璃跟隨着她。雖然她無法抓住它們,但碎片仍然與她形影不離。
一時興起的她,決定要開始收集它們。
一片一片收集。
沒有任何理由。
The girl stands amidst the spiral of glass and wonders, "But really, what are these?"
Portals? Windows? Memories?
This last answer, "memories", strikes a chord with her. "They're memories," she says, faintly. And like that,
her questions stop.
For some reason, this is a place all full of memories. Whose memories, or of what, she can't tell for certain,
but her questioning has already ended.
For some reason the glass follows her. She can't hold any of it, but it comes to her nonetheless. On a whim,
she decides she will begin gathering it.
Piece by piece.
For no reason at all.
1-3
解鎖條件:完成1-2,購入Eternal Core曲包
解鎖要求:採用光通過PRAGMATISM
同時,新的思緒正逐漸浮現於她的腦海中。
玻璃碎片中,蘊含着美好的事物——她對此深信不疑。仔細一想,回憶會隨着時間的流動不斷改變,
但卻與過去有着最親密的聯繫。它可以苦澀,也可以甘甜,但她認為這兩者都十分迷人。
如今,她可以瞧見自己所能見到的回憶——來自於別的場所與人們——
並且因它們的美而感到心曠神怡。Arcaea們閃爍着,散發着完美的光芒,在這破碎的世界裏
顯得格格不入。原本這些事物就容易博得人們的喜愛,而蘊藏其中的回憶着實使它們更惹人心愛了。
她哼唱着,雙手飛揚,一邊踩着破碎的小道。她帶上了任何可能屬於這整個世界的回憶,
跟在一條發光的溪流之後。這些屬於一個既醜陋,又美麗的世界的回憶……
「多麼好啊……」她嘆息着,微笑着,陷入了寧靜。這一切,看上去都太過於美好了。
在這裏,不需要擔心任何事物。
這美好而又簡簡單單的世界,只需要令人感到愉快就足夠了。沒錯,無需多求。
in her head...
There is beauty in a memory, that's what she finds herself believing. Thinking about it, a memory is never
certain, can change with the times, and yet is the nearest thing to a concrete piece of the past. It can be
bitter or sweet, and she thinks in either case they're quite enchanting.
For now she will see what memories she can, of these other places and people, and appreciate them for
their beauty. In the first place, these Arcaea flicker and glow splendidly in this strange and ruined world.
It's easy to fancy it all, and that they show memories makes it easier.
Humming, hands aloft, and stepping down broken paths, she brings what seems to be memories fit for an
entire world with her, following behind in a shining stream. Memories of an ugly, pretty world...
"How nice..." She sighs, she smiles, and serenity becomes her, it seems, too well.
But there’s nothing to worry about.
A pleasant, simple world like this need only be pleasant. Nothing more.
1-4
解鎖條件:購入Luminous Sky曲包
解鎖要求:採用光通過Maze No.9
長久以來,她行走於這荒蕪卻又美麗的世界,讚揚着她所找到的新鮮事物。
長久以來,她帶領那些玻璃碎片一同旅行,以至於天空已經變為一面彎曲的鏡子,
反射出了她所能見到的最遙遠的光茫,整體望上去就像要觸碰到天際。
這絕妙的穹頂閃着光,從未離開過她的頭頂。
隨着她只被華麗而又美好的事物環繞,此處成為了無盡的極樂世界。
她走下那段曾經通向一座莊園的螺旋階梯。只可惜周圍的牆皆已坍塌,而回憶取代了牆體。
所有的事物都比從前更加美好:她從那兒躍向前方,撞得回憶飛散開來;
她沉浸於閃閃發光的Arcaea——在被她找尋到後,它們便飄起並融入了她頭頂那片人造天空。
她感到無比歡欣,高興地笑了。
一朵花、一個吻、一段愛情、一次降生——她的眼前飛過了那一次又一次生命組成的玻璃海洋,
而它們也接連隱於了其餘碎片的光輝之中。
她早已見過這些映像無數次,但仍絲毫不會感到疲倦。
她凝視着上方的牆體。當碎片都融入在一起後,它們變得更加生機勃勃。
她微笑着,享受着這滿意的感覺——在她繼續開始漫遊前。
同時,就和以往一樣,她沒有留心這樣做會給她帶來何種後果……
admiring them.
For so long she's traveled shepherding glass that the sky has become a mirror bending light as far as she can
see, and shaped almost geodesically. The fantastic and glittering roof never leaves her, and with her
surrounded by only fancies and goodness, the world has become endless bliss.
She traipses down a spiral staircase that once led into a manor, but the walls have now all fallen and
memories replace them. It is all the better: she leaps out ahead and dashes the memories everywhere,
basking in sparkling Arcaea that, when she finds them, float up to join the others in her artificial sky. So
enraptured now, she laughs with cheer.
A flower, a kiss, a love, a birth: a life followed by a new life in a river of glass flies past her eyes and blends
into the rest. She has seen this reflected countless times, and it still pleases her.
She gazes at the wall above. As they』ve come together, they』ve grown more vibrant.
She smiles, satisfied, before she wanders on again. And, as ever, heedless of all consequence.
1-5
解鎖條件:完成1-4,購入Luminous Sky曲包
解鎖要求:採用光通過Halcyon
少女如今穿行於一間看似老舊大禮堂的地方。
仿佛是一種超自然力量所造成,這裏的輝煌景象被完美地劈成了兩半,
昔日的莊嚴感也早已黯淡乏味,
在這聲音的墳墓中同樣飄流着回憶:舞蹈、演出、希望、勝利。
她的嘴抽搐着。是因為這些事物現已變得單調無趣,還是另有其因?
她抬起了手,而Arcaea們靠近了她,溫柔地飄舞在她的手掌之上、指尖之中。
她茫然地注視着它們。她已經是第幾次見到那退役樂隊的送別歡呼了?
她已經是第幾次見到兩兄弟間的擁抱了?
她見到了太多次愛的形式——過於平凡,就像是這片被忘卻的陳舊世界中的日常標準。
她讓這些回憶遠離她,下定決心不再去想這些事。
它們升了起來,飛入她仍在收集的那些回憶之中。
她如今正望向它們的終點。比起她剛開始收集的時候,那地方早已明亮不少。
它看上去每天都在變得更耀眼奪目……
究竟已經過去了多少天?她畏縮着,臉上扭出一絲怪相。她隨即把自己的壞臉色一掃而空。
也許她只是需要更多——任何遺失的部分都將會被找到。
她冷靜下來,開始繼續前行。
她並不想自己被一個事實所干擾——無論她怎麼做,那些跟隨着她的Arcaea都不願離去。
The girl now walks past what seemed to have been an old concert hall, the impact of its grandness dulled
as it had been split perfectly in twain, as if some higher power had willed it so. Out of the tomb of sound
drift memories again: of dances, of performance, hopes, victories.
Her mouth twitches. Has it simply become boring, or is this something else? She lifts her hands and the
Arcaea come to her, gently weaving over her palms and through her fingers. Blankly she notes them. How
many times has she seen the last hurrah of a retiring band? How many times has she seen two brothers
embrace? Too many times she’s seen the formation of a love, so frequent it was apparently standard in old
and forgotten worlds.
She lets the memories go, and genuinely thinks nothing of it.
They rise. They fly to join with the memories she’s still been gathering, and she looks at their destination
now. It’s grown much brighter since she began her collecting. It seems to grow brighter every day…
How many days has it even been? She winces, and a grimace twists onto her face. She shakes it away.
Maybe she only needs more, then whatever is missing will be found. She calms herself and carries on, not
letting it bother her that no matter what, she cannot push the Arcaea following her away.
1-ZR
解鎖條件:完成1-5,購入Luminous Sky曲包
解鎖要求:採用光(Zero)通過Ether Strike
事實上,虛度光陰和自我放縱是對熱情的詛咒。
接連不斷地汲取愉快的事物,將會無止境地麻痹感官,
使得「快樂」變得無比朦朧,暗淡,甚至完全失去原本的目的。
如今萬物再無目的。她從未擁有過目的。
天空炫目到接近空白。
她也許正四處徘徊,也可能正站在原地;她對此無法確認,而這也無關緊要。
這片她創造的天空的確引起了她的注意,但她卻無法辨別其中涵括的回憶。
這已是一片充滿壓迫感的不透明霧霾,散發着令人窒息的空虛感。她正一點一滴地喪失自我。
而在失去自我時,她始終對這漸漸滲入的瓦解之力感到麻木。雖然她早已不記得,
但是招待她步入這座讓人感到愉快,卻又讓人窒息的牢籠之人,正是她自己。
現在,她甚至失去了為自己擔憂的自由。
天空變得越來越明亮,少女的心智也不斷流逝。在這僅剩的時間裏,她仰望上方,好像等待着什麼。
明亮——無比耀眼——散發無盡幸福的極彩色蒼天:燦爛奪目的回憶淹沒了她。
她的思緒終被清空。
並且,毫無意義地,光芒褪去了。
毫無意義地,時間流逝了。
之後,一名女孩仰望着空無一物的蒼天。她的思想終止了——與她的故事一起。
The truth is, idle peace and thoughtless pleasure are anathema to passion. Imbibing and imbibing of happy
things endlessly dulls the senses and makes 「happiness」 indistinct, blurred, and ultimately without
purpose. Now nothing has a purpose. She’d never had a purpose.
The sky is almost blinding.
She may be wandering, or she may be standing still; she isn’t sure and it doesn’t matter. The sky she’s made
has her attention, but the memories within it can’t be sorted out.
It has all become an opaque and overpowering haze compelling emptiness. She is losing her self.
And as she is losing her self, she remains numb to the encroaching dissolution. Though she did not
remember, she invited this pleasurable and suffocating cage, and she locked herself within it. Now she
lacks even the will to worry.
The sky grows brighter and she loses more of herself. With little time for her left, she stares upward as if
waiting. Bright, bright, bliss, beauty above: effulgent memory overtakes her.
Her mind whites out.
And, without meaning, light fades away.
Without meaning, time passes.
And a girl stares up into an empty sky, her mind ended, and thus her story along with it.
1-7
解鎖條件:完成1-5,購入Luminous Sky曲包
解鎖要求:需要解鎖Fracture Ray
誘使她忘卻一切。它躍動於她頭頂上方,散發着光芒,溫柔卻又難以忍受。
她未多想,任憑那東西漸漸奪走她的全部自我。
而在那浩瀚虛無之中,她的雙目捕捉到了什麼事物。
僅僅是那特異之處便打破少女的麻木感,少女的目光也開始在那物體上搖擺:
一片有些特殊的玻璃,只是有抹鮮紅,卻着實引人注目。
不知是現實或只是大腦產生的幻覺,周遭原本晦暗的天空顯得越來越清楚。她認為,天空變得容易看清了。
她認為——她才意識到自己已經幾個世紀沒有思考過。
這座如今正劇烈顫動的天堂已歪曲變形,一道巨大的裂痕更是從中划過,一切都圍繞着一段嶄新的回憶扭曲起來:
一片本不該存在的回憶。它從那一切中破空而出,也破壞了整片天空。
少女所創造的穹頂墜落下來,猛烈卻又顯得平穩,從中散落的星點光輝佈滿了整片空氣。
這壯觀華麗的景象原應使她目瞪口呆,但她仍惦記着片刻前剛剛誕生,正向她飄來的那一片玻璃——
被喜悅回憶中令人恐懼的混沌所纏繞的那一片玻璃。
那事物本身也是象徵喜悅的回憶:那是早已被她遺忘的,關於她自己的回憶。
「什麼時候——我真的——?」
聲帶太久未被使用,少女的話語聲變得破碎不堪。
在她的掌心之間,那誕生自虛無的奇異碎片旋轉起來,而從中她見到了自己剛剛甦醒過來的時候,
與成群的玻璃起舞,遊蕩於這片鏡面世界,無比歡欣。
淚水有如泉涌。她心中明白,幸福在很久之前便拋棄了她。
consume her in its light coaxing oblivion. Above her it pulses and glows, gentle but insufferable. She lets it
nearly take her, thoughtless.
And from that vast nothingness, something catches her eye.
Distinction alone breaks her from the lull of uniformity, and her gaze swings to it: a single, special piece
of glass, just a bit red, and absolutely noticeable. Perhaps in reality or through a trick of her mind, the
rest of the sky that it begins emerging from dulls in its intensity. She thinks, it’s becoming easier to see.
She thinks, and realizes she hasn’t thought at all in ages.
The heavens wobble and distort, and a crack seems to run through them, the whole thing twisting around the
creation of a new memory: a shard of memory that should not exist. It breaks from the whole, and breaks
the sky.
Both violently and calmly the roof of her making falls down, choking the air in scattering light. The spectacle
would be magnificent to her, but she remains stuck on the newest piece, which floats toward her amidst
the frightening chaos of joyous memories.
It, too, is a memory of joy: that of herself that she has forgotten.
「When was— Did I—?」
She speaks in a fractured voice, her vocal chords having been long neglected of use.
Now in her hands, the odd shard that came from zero revolves, and in it she sees the time when she awoke,
dancing alongside glass, traveling the mirror world, and happy. Tears fall from her eyes, and she remembers
that happiness left her long ago.
1-8
解鎖條件:完成1-7,購入Luminous Sky曲包
解鎖要求:採用光通過Fracture Ray
位於萬物中心的少女全神貫注地盯着那片反射了何種新事物的碎片——仍舊存在的那片世界。
淚水從眼角滑落,她卻尚未了解原由。在拾回心智的過程中,她飽受折磨——
她失去了曾經她所擁有的一切,而那些事物如今正紛紛跌落在她的身旁。
但同時,她也為失去了自己的熱情而痛苦。那些倒映的回憶展現出一段更美好,卻放縱愚昧的時間,
而她也正是在那時走入了她自己佈下的陷阱。哪怕她知道那樣將會帶來何種結局——
這些得過且過,引領她步步邁向麻木的旅途經歷——她還會只是為了一時的快樂而重蹈覆轍嗎?
玻璃中的鮮紅呼應着她衣服上的鮮紅,而她緊緊抓住那片碎片,使得鮮紅也浮現於她的手心。
隨着那溫暖的液體流過熒光的表面,過去與今時雙雙模糊。她終能再次感受情感——
可這股情感卻比她從前所感受到的一切都更為強烈。她感受到了足以壓垮她內心的悔恨。
在這些時間裏,她近乎驕傲自滿地四處遊蕩,心中漫無目的。
她搜集着Arcaea,享受着它們,卻從未思考過哪怕最小的原因。
她害自己成為備受苦惱所折磨且總感世事乏味的快樂主義者,親手將自己鎖死在這人造的炫目監獄中。
然而面對「為什麼」的疑問,這裏從來就沒有過答案。只是取悅自己?也並非如此。
她跌倒於雙膝,懷抱着她胸前的回憶哽咽、啜泣、痛哭,心中明白自己已經犯了彌天大錯。
浴於美妙的愛情與絢麗的生命過久的她,已經對這些事物感到反胃,而這殘酷的事實讓她悲痛不已。
少女沉浸在悲傷之中不斷哭泣,儘可能地思考着方才發生的一切,與它們所象徵的意味。
at the center of it all focuses on a piece reflecting something new, however, and of this world still existing.
Tears fall from her eyes, but the reason is yet grasped by her. Her mind still recovering, she agonizes over
the loss of everything she had before, falling all around her. But, also, she agonizes over the loss of her zeal.
The memory reflected shows a better and ignorant time, as she walked into a trap she’d created for herself.
Even if she knew where it would lead — these shiftless travels inviting senselessness — would she have
done it all again, just to be happy?
The red in the glass is that of the red in her clothes, and she grasps the shard tightly to add the red of her
hand to it, blurring past and present, running warm over the shimmering surface. She feels, again, but she
feels so much more than before. She feels, overwhelmingly, regret.
These were times that, almost with pride, she had moved meaninglessly. She had gathered the Arcaea to
enjoy them,and not thought even a bit as to why. She had brought on herself a torturous and tedious
hedonistic existence,a manufactured and blinding prison. She had done it all for nothing, and nearly lost
herself.
And to a question of 「Why?」 there was never an answer. Just to be happy? That hadn’t been it either.
Collapsed on her knees, choking through cries with the memory over her breast, she knows the weight of
her errors. She had surrounded herself in love and life so much that it came to disgust her, and that truth
grieves her.
In grief the girl cries, thinking as much as she can, about everything that has happened, and what anything
meant.
1-9
解鎖條件:完成1-8,購入Luminous Sky曲包
解鎖要求:採用光(Fracture)通過Fracture Ray
少些蘊含曾經的碎片落下來,間歇性打破了沉寂,但女孩的悲痛已經平復下來。
她早已不再直率地哭泣,僅僅是靜坐在那些閃閃發光的玻璃之中,臉頰尚留有淚痕,雙手的鮮血也已乾涸。
恐懼、擔憂與悔恨都已結束,她現在必須向前看了。
她因誤入歧途而做出一切。事實上,她從來沒有真正地被哪怕任何事物引導過。
憑藉着「更多的愉快事物只會讓一切變得更好」的念頭,她用美好回憶填充了整片天空,
不曾意識將成堆的神秘碎片集中於一處會帶來怎樣的危險。她這才意識到這些東西會威脅她的全部,將她吞噬。
如果她想要奮力前行,她必須需要一個理由作為動力。
她需一五一十地回答那些曾幾時被她遺忘的老問題。這個世界有着怎樣的意義?為什麼她會在此處?
為什麼在溫柔的回憶被她吸引時,那些她曾瞥見有苦難閃現的碎片卻會拒絕她?她到底是誰?
少女的雙眼再度有了光澤,依靠那顫抖的雙腿直立起來。在她這樣做的時候,圍繞着她的Arcaea忽然移動起來。
她好奇地注視着它們,試着高舉她的手。它們跟隨着她的手飄舞而起,而她陷入沉思。
她察覺到這與從前不太一樣,但她自身也有些地方變化了。
Arcaea不再主動接近她,而她也不再放任自己被束縛於牢籠中。
因為手上沾滿了血,她用手背抹去自己的淚水,讓這些將她引領至這條嶄新路途的碎片們跟隨於她的身後。
她會讓那一切成為一段回憶,而她也將重新面對這陌生的世界。
無論是好是壞,她將找尋到一切的謎底。
她如此發誓,矢志不渝。
A few small pieces of old times falling down intermittently break this, but the girl’s anguish has settled.
She no longer openly weeps, sitting among shimmering glass with dried tears on her cheeks and dried
blood in her hands. Fear, worry, and regret have ended, so she now has to look out ahead.
What she had done was misguided. It was, in fact, not guided at all. With the idea of 「more happy scenes
would only be better」, she had filled the sky with good memories, not wondering if there might be any
danger in bringing so many of the mysterious shards together in one place. She realizes now that they had
threatened to swallow her.
If she wants to press on, she must have a reason.
She needs to answer those old questions that she had forgotten. What does this world mean, and why is
she in it? Why are gentle memories attracted to her, although she sometimes saw flashes of hardship in
pieces that refused her? Who was she?
Light comes back to her eyes and she stands on shaking legs. As she does so, the Arcaea surrounding her
shift. She looks on at them curiously, and lifts her hand. They lift too, and she ponders. She realizes this is
different, but that there’s also something different within herself.
The Arcaea will not come to her unbidden again, and she will not allow herself to be caged. She wipes
away her tears with the back of her bloodied hand, and lets the shard that has turned her onto this new
path go to follow behind her. She will let that be a memory, and face this strange world anew, and she will
find all that it is for, be it good or bad.
This she swears, and she is certain.
2-1
解鎖條件:購入Eternal Core曲包
解鎖要求:採用對立通過cry of viyella
它們引領她前往了室外——那純白的世界。
純白色、大片的純白色,以及更多的玻璃碎片。
它們看上去正在被她吸引而來,而被激起了好奇心的她開始觀察這些碎片。
就像透過火車車窗看外頭稍縱即逝的景色一般,
她瞧見了陰雨的景象。下一次是艷陽。再下一次是死亡。她厭惡地遠離了這些碎片。
雖然總是緊隨着她,可這些碎片總能在少女試圖捏碎它們時躲開。
少女心中的厭惡漸漸地化為為憤怒,而她迫使自己把注意力轉移到那灰白色的天空。
然而,在她仰望天空之際,原先臉上的情緒蕩然無存。
她的嘴微微張開來,卻因過於驚訝而說不出半句話來。
玻璃在高空中攪動着、閃爍着、旋轉着。這看着就像是場玻璃碎片的暴風雨。
她後悔把注意力轉移到天空上。但碎片們已經發現了她,漸漸降落下來,要與她打個招呼。
into a world of white.
White, white, and more glass. It seemed attracted to her, so she examined the shards with piqued curiosity.
She could see glimpses of something else in them, like looking through the windows of a train car. In one
flash she saw rain, in another sunlight, and in another death. She grimaced, and pulled away.
Although it seemed attracted to her, at her attempts to reach out and shatter the glass the shards were
naturally repelled. Her grimace deepened into a glare, and she turned her attention to the pale sky.
However, as she gazed into it, her expression melted away. Her mouth opened, but she was too shaken to
speak.
Glass: churning, glinting, and turning far overhead. There seemed to be a storm of it.
She regretted giving it attention, as now it seemed to notice, and was coming down to greet her.
2-2
解鎖條件:完成2-1,購入Eternal Core曲包
解鎖要求:採用對立通過Essence of Twilight
它們在她面前猶如強風般推動着她,卻又突然轉過彎,仿佛被更強的風暴所侵襲一般。
她穩穩地佇立在原地,注視着這一切。
注視着……回憶?……屬於一個污穢世界的回憶。
「這是……!?」她伸出了手,「這些……!」
回憶。刻畫着痛苦、背叛、嫉妒的回憶。
當她阻擋住眼前這片碎片時,其餘的碎片也被影響了。它們就這麼靜止在空中,一動也不動。
她的腦袋左右晃動着。「這些只是……」
黑暗?它們只是純粹的黑暗嗎?但無論這些碎片在反射什麼……她從中未見到一絲光芒。
哪怕是最小的火花,都會在一瞬間消失於她的視線。她緊咬嘴唇,毫不詼諧地微笑着。
「這算是什麼低劣的玩笑?」她喃喃自語道,「這個世界只充滿了痛苦……」
說出這番話後,就連她臉上的苦笑也消失了。
cut, or reflect her face, pushing past her in powerful amounts, turning up and swirling as if pulled by a great
wind. She stands fast, and watches.
Watches... ...Memories...? ...Of a filthy world.
"What is this...!?" She reaches out. "This...!"
A memory of pain, betrayal, envy.
When she stops it, she stops the rest. They stand still in the air around her, frozen. She whips her head this
way and that. "They're only..."
Dark? Are they only dark? Wherever it is these shards reflect... she sees little light there. Whatever small
sparks she sees fade away in an instant. She bites her lip, and then smiles a smile with no humor. "What
kind of joke is that?" she mutters, "A world filled only with misery..."
As she says this, even her bitter smile fades away.
2-3
解鎖條件:完成2-2,購入Eternal Core曲包
解鎖要求:採用對立通過Sheriruth
但她深信這段時間已經很長。
那麼一刻,她試着去搜尋哪怕一絲愉快的回憶,只是確認它們是否存在。它們的確在那兒,
數量稀少,而那眾多的痛苦回憶卻從未放棄追捕她。
此時,她已經對這令人生厭的地方產生幾分了解。
她現在正身處於玻璃組成的巨大旋渦的正中央,而它們則像一宇宙般展現在她的面前。
少女的心中推斷出兩種可能性:這些玻璃碎片們映射出的世界——或者說多個世界——中,只存在黑暗的事物;
或者被保留於此的,只有可怖事物的回憶……
不論如何,她都想儘快擺脫這一切。
可忽然之間,她的心中有什麼事物發生了變化。如今,直視這些回憶使她感到舒心。
她收集了那樣的回憶——看上去,十分愉快。
「如果我能擺脫這些垃圾,或使它們所象徵的那些場所變得更加美好……」
那些充滿混亂甚至光芒的場所。
這將使她感到高興。
been quite a long time.
For a while, she'd searched the fragments for more happy memories, just to see if they were there. They
were, in small number, but the more miserable shards never ceased to hound her.
So, she's come to know places she now loathed.
She now stands at the middle of a vast spiral of glass that turns about her slowly and resembles cosmos.
She thinks there are two possibilities here: either the world or perhaps worlds these shards envision were
entirely terrible, or since only terrible memories are here...
In any case, she's decided to be rid of it all.
Something inside her has switched. Now when she looks at painful memories, she looks pleased. She
gathers such memories, it seems, gleefully.
"If I can be rid of this trash, or even better the places it represents..."
These places full of chaos and even light.
That will make her happy.
2-4
解鎖條件:購入Vicious Labyrinth曲包
解鎖要求:採用對立通過Iconoclast
從開始行動以來,她已經探索了大部分這玻璃與鏡子的世界,沿途也收集了不計其數的碎片。
像是一條永無盡頭的圍巾一般,它們圍在她的脖子四周,在她的身後延伸出一條極長的線路。
如今,她駐足於一座殘舊的塔樓上頭,面露微笑往外眺望着。
來自各處的恐怖回憶在她身後洶湧地扭曲着。
她現在正緊盯着那一直吸引着她注意力的地方,但她甚至從不想往那裏踏出半步。
那是片擁有瘋狂幾何形狀的巨大迷宮,緩緩延伸到遙遠的天際。沒錯,那兒依然只有更多的玻璃。
沒錯,她可以站在這裏感受到那迷宮中涌動着的污穢。
雖然尚不清楚自己該怎麼做,但她決心擺脫這些跟隨她的令人厭惡的碎片。
在結局來臨前,她仍然會收集它們。她對把所有骯髒事物聚集於一處感到十分欣慰。
離清除所有碎片的日子會因此來得更加容易。
這個迷宮異常地險惡,而她因此來到這裏,信心滿滿地想要收集其中所有的碎片。
圍繞那迷宮的是閃閃發光的美好回憶,如同一片不斷變化的海洋。
當她步入迷宮時,那片海洋退向兩邊,僅有少數碎片加入了她身後的行列。
然而,在邊行走邊分散那些美好回憶的碎片時,她猶豫了。自己被希望夾在中間,面前等待着她的卻只有絕望。
她緊咬着自己的嘴唇……而她的心也動搖了。
In the time since she began she'd explored much of this glass and mirror world, and she'd gathered
countless shards. Like an unending scarf they formed around her neck and trailed long behind her. Now,
she stood atop a fallen tower and looked out ahead with a smile. The terrible memories of other places
twisted behind her menacingly.
She was gazing at a place that had always caught her eye, but she'd refrained from ever going toward it. It
was some sort of distant labyrinth turning into the sky with insane geometry. Of course, it was more glass.
Of course, she could feel its filth pulsing all the way out here.
Although she still had no idea how to go about it, she intended to be rid of the terrible fragments that
followed her eventually. To that end she was gathering them. She at least took comfort in having the bad all
in one place. That would make clearing it away one day all the more easier. This labyrinth was particularly
bad, and she felt confident in gathering its fragments too.
The maze was surrounded by a glittering and ever-shifting sea of good memories. As she made her way
toward the maze, the sea parted, only a few shards coming to join the trail behind her. However, while
walking the path and scattering the good shards she suddenly hesitated. Now flanked by hope, with
despair before her, she chewed on her lip...and her heart wavered.
2-5
解鎖條件:完成2-4,購入Vicious Labyrinth曲包
解鎖要求:採用對立通過conflict
少女不記得任何事。在甦醒於這個世界後,她也只見到了屬於其他事物的回憶。
因此,她已經假設了各種答案,儘管她只思考了數秒。她敢保證這兒的玻璃碎片,
乃至這一整個世界,都沒有任何確實的價值。污穢與恐懼、眼淚與傷痛、微笑與死亡——全都不值一提。
但在過去的某一刻,這一切絕對都曾更加美好。簡單的規則,往往會是真理:
影子的誕生起源於光明。影子如今正於她背後匿伏,而光明正包圍着她。
當踏入這歡樂而又純淨的浪潮時,她心中未有足以扭轉她決心的雜念。
她將注意力完全置於眼前的邪惡,以至於她已經忘卻了純粹的善良。
事實上,這在她心中翻騰起了小小的波浪。她不堪重負。每一次朝那盤陀狀迷宮邁出步子的時候,
她會瞥見余光中閃爍着的希望,隨即停下腳步,質疑心中一切。然而,她有一個自己不願面對且承認的,
隱藏於光明與混亂之中的答案。她不想去思考那個答案。她絕不允許自己想到它。
而在她真的做出覺悟之前,她已經站在了那不可思議之迷宮的入口處。
一時的衝動,促使她將手伸向那些美好的碎片。碎片之中是花田的回憶,而那些回憶在她的身邊組成了花環。
她並不知曉原因,而腦中那些所謂的原因,實際上也幫不了她任何忙。
The girl remembered nothing. and since awaking in the world of glass she'd only ever known other
memories. Because of this, she'd drawn many conclusions and had few second thoughts. She'd been
assured of the idea that nothing in the glass and nothing in this world held any worth. Filth and awfulness,
tears and pain, a small smile, and death.
But once upon a time, things had to have been better. Simple rules are often true: shadows are begotten
from light. Shadow lurked at her back, and now she was surrounded by light.
When she'd stepped into these waves of joy and purity, she hadn't given it a second thought. She'd become
so absorbed in evil that she had forgotten simple good. To be honest it was more than her heart simply
wavering, now. She was overwhelmed. For every glint of hope that caught her eye on the way to the jagged
maze, she paused and questioned everything. There was an answer she did not want to acknowledge,
immersed in this scene of light and chaos. She didn't want to think about it. She wouldn’t allow herself to
think about it.
And, before she really could, she stood before the entrance to the impossible labyrinth.
On impulse, she reached out to the better glass and memories of flowering fields came to follow around
her in a ring. She didn't know why, nor if they would help.
2-D
解鎖條件:完成2-5,購入Vicious Labyrinth曲包
解鎖要求:採用對立(Axium)通過Axium Crisis
那可能會是個意義深重的名字,而這只會使得她的疑問愈發強烈。但她並不知曉答案。
所以少女緊咬牙關,重新堅定了自己的信念。先前的光芒不會使她動搖;先前的花環不會使她動搖。
她步入這昏暗的結構中,準備將這裏撕裂。
每一堵牆都是由苦難砌成,而牆的每一面都佈滿了慘劇,每一個角落都由畏懼構成。
這是一座罪孽的城堡。簡單來說,這兒的一切都顯得無比荒謬,怪誕無稽。
少女的臉上再度綻放笑容。僅此而已。攀越於此、奔跑於此,
那純粹的厭惡已經使她瘋狂。她的想法並沒有錯。
玻璃只該被打碎。鏡子只該被砸毀。
當她興高采烈地撕碎大片的迷宮,將走道翻入半空時,臉上的笑容扭曲了起來。
她畏縮了;她的腦內絕對有什麼不對勁的地方。在這片迷宮的中心,有着「什麼事物」,
比任何她曾見到的回憶都邪惡。她可以感受到那樣事物——那事物如今與她十分接近,正呼喊着她。
她的熱情已經乾涸,而她的腳步也逐漸放慢。下一刻,她看見了那片散發邪惡氣息的玻璃碎片在空中旋轉着,
其中含括的是一個世界走向滅亡的回憶。
一隻手搭在臉上的她,朝着那鏡像世界望去。她依然記得她身下那片充滿歡樂與幸福的海洋,
與那如今環繞在她身邊的花圈。她已經掀掉了迷宮的頂端一角,而牆壁也紛紛開始崩塌。
陰暗的玻璃在她身邊緩緩墜落,而遠方的美好回憶則閃耀着明亮的光芒。
她透過指縫觀看着那世界末日之景。她咽了口口水,靠着那股不知名的勇氣,將手從自己的臉上移開。
她伸出了手,把那世界盡頭收入了自己所搜集的無數回憶之中。
這片存在顛覆了一切,她也進而感受到心中那份貨真價實的,如浪潮般的狂喜。無論之後的回憶有多麼可怕,
與此種記憶相比都算不上一縷羽毛。她確定自己已經變得足夠強大,而她理所當然地想立刻把一切都摧毀。
就這樣,伴隨着那抹真誠的微笑與疲憊的笑聲,她從天空中降落到了地面上。
那座古老的塔樓在她的力量驅使下逐漸隕落,化為了一座廢墟。
而她則懷抱着英雄般的信念,堅定不移地邁步向前。
black maze. It may have been a meaningful name that may have made her doubts much stronger. But she
didn't know, she ground her teeth, and she reaffirmed her beliefs. The light from before would not shake her,
the light of the flower ring would not shake her.
She entered the dark structure and started tearing it apart.
Each wall pulled away was made of misery, each facet held horrors, and the corners were comprised of fear.
This was a castle of iniquity. Simply put, it was grotesque. It was powerfully grotesque.
And that girl, her grin returned. This was it. Climbing through it, running through it, this was the kind of
disgusting monolith that had compelled her into action in the first place. She hadn't been wrong. The glass
should only be shattered. The mirrors should only be destroyed.
And as she gleefully pulled away great swathes of the maze, hallways tumbling into the air, her smile
became warped. She winced; something was wrong with her head. At the heart of the maze, there was
*something* worse than any memory before. She could feel it, close now, calling to her. Her enthusiasm
had drained, and her progress had slowed, and she saw a wicked shard of glass turning in space,
containing the memory of the end of a world.
With a hand on her face, she looked into the mirrored world. She remembered the sea of pleasant realities
below her and the flowers now circling around her. She'd taken down part of the maze's roof and the walls
had subsequently fallen away. Dark glass rained slowly around her, and in the distance the better memories
shone brightly.
She looked into the end of the world between her fingers. She swallowed, and with newfound strength,
removed the hand from her face. She reached out, and dragged the end of the world into her collection of
memories. With this monolith toppled, she felt an honest and genuine surge of bliss. However terrible the
memories she faced from now on would be, it couldn’t possibly matter. She was certain now that she was
strong, and she would definitely destroy them all. And so, with a genuine smile and a tired laugh, she came
down from the sky, and the tower along with her.
2-7
解鎖條件:完成2-5,購入Vicious Labyrinth曲包
解鎖要求:需要解鎖Grievous Lady
她後退了一步,手捂着嘴,眼中是一片迷茫。她如今正站在一座更加巨大而充滿苦痛的,
如塔樓一般的迷宮中。但她只是一個撲騰跪倒下去。
而在觸及地面之前,地板結構土崩瓦解,先她一步向下墜落起來。
映射後悔時日的那些回憶如同披風包裹着她,而屬於塔樓的回憶由一陣緩慢的雨點化作了一場
傾盆大雨。她與這迷宮好似石塊一般下落着。本應該因極快的下墜速度而感到恐懼的她,
卻被混亂支配了思緒。
她落入了一片由來自其他世界的歡樂回憶所組成的海洋之中。
她與那崩壞的迷宮所帶來的浪潮巨大無比。玻璃以既醜陋又美麗的形式相撞推擠。
她跪坐在這場風暴的中心。
她心中困惑的來源是她所承受的傷痛。她的一切都承受着傷痛。她的心臟仿佛隨時會炸裂開來。
她所收集的回憶形成的披風化作一團古怪的球體,包覆着她。潔白的世界消失於她的視野,
只留下那些慘痛而邪惡的事物。她冒着汗,懷着猛烈起伏的情緒,顫抖着朝那些玻璃看去,
深沉地朝着Arcaea看去。這下,她意識到自己的心正在碎裂。
她的理性正在碎裂。
先前目睹的那世界盡頭的回憶,緩緩地映入了她的視野。
She drew back, covered her mouth, and her eyes went wide in confusion. She had been standing on the
floor of a gigantic and bitter maze that doubled as a tower, but she now began to fall to her knees. Before
she hit the ground, the structure began to break and fall first.
The memories of sorrowful days that she had gathered came around her like a cloak, the tower's memories
turned from a falling slow rain into a downpour. She and the maze fell like stones, and although she should
have been terrified to drop so far and so fast, all she could feel was confusion.
She splashed down into a sea of the fragmented happiness of other worlds. The waves she and the crashing
labyrinth caused were immense. Glass pushed against glass in a way that could be described as both ugly
and beautiful, and she knelt at the center of that storm.
She was confused because she was hurting. Everything hurt. Her heart was bursting. The cloak of memories
that she'd collected turned into a grotesque sphere and surrounded her. The world of white disappeared
from her vision, leaving only horrible things. Heaving, sweating, and trembling, she looked into the glass,
into the Arcaea, deeply. And as she came to realize that her heart was breaking,
That her sanity was breaking,
The memory of the end of the world that she'd seen earlier slowly drifted into view.
2-8
解鎖條件:完成2-7,購入Vicious Labyrinth曲包
解鎖要求:採用對立通過Grievous Lady
但她已經可以把那憤怒轉變為一種離奇的希望。的確,她並沒有任何有效的計劃。
實際上,她向前走的動力只是因為她相信路程的盡頭會有什麼美好的事物。她曾經滿懷希望。
她曾確信這些混沌會引領她前往光明。她曾確信那些她所經受的折磨、所面臨的恐懼,都可以被打敗。
是的,她曾經感情豐富。她如此強烈地堅信着自己的想法,
以至於在她發現一切——事實上——都沒有任何目的之後……她感到飽受折磨。
最悲慘的命運,莫過於曾擁有希望,卻眼睜睜地看着它們破滅。少女跪坐在一個詭異的死亡之圈內,
眼看着世界逐漸走向末路。這是她第一次感受到被稱為悲傷的情感,並且這種情感很快就化作了絕望。
Arcaea的世界根本是個毫無意義的世界。這裏只保存了各個世界走向滅亡的畫面。
這裏沒有任何物質,只有反射出的影像。哪怕是她有時會在路上搜尋到的關於光明與愉快的回憶,
都僅僅是源於過去。就像是白晝過後終是黑夜,它們漸漸地導致了這一刻她眼前的世界末日。
她的眼中淚水盈眶。
自從甦醒之後,她感受到了太多事物。
她曾經感受到歡樂。歡樂離她而去。
她曾經感受到畏懼。畏懼離她而去。
憤怒離她而去。
希望離她而去。
就是悲傷與絕望,如今也離她而去。
她的眼神轉為一片黑暗,而她已經與這些玻璃起了共鳴。
圍繞於她四周的回憶之殼開始崩裂。她就身處其中,站在那炫目的光芒前方。她已經沒有任何情感了。
but she'd been able to turn that anger into a strange sort of hope. True, she didn't have much of a plan. In
fact, she was only walking forward because she believed at the end of her steps there would be something
good. She had hope. She was certain that this chaos was leading into light. She was certain that the
torments she was facing, that the horrors she was holding, could be completely shattered.
Yes, she was emotional. She felt so strongly that when faced with the idea that no, in fact, nothing had a
purpose...she began to suffer.
The cruelest fate is to have hope and see it crushed before your eyes. And so the girl sat on her knees in a
malformed circle of death, looking at a world coming to its end. This was the first time she had felt the
emotion of sadness, and it was quickly turning into despair. The world of Arcaea was a pointless world. It
was the manifestation of worlds gone. It had no substance, only the reflections of such. Even the glowing
and joyful memories she had sometimes encountered on her way were still only memories of the past. Like
night comes after day, they had to have led into the end she now saw spinning slowly in the air before her.
Her eyes welled with tears.
She had felt so much since waking up.
She'd felt joy. Joy left her.
She'd felt fear. Fear left her.
Anger left her.
Hope left her.
Even sadness and despair now left her.
Her eyes went dark and she could feel resonance with the glass. The shell of memories around her began to
crack and split open. She emerged from it and stood in the blinding light, and couldn't feel anything at all.
2-9
解鎖條件:完成2-8,購入Vicious Labyrinth曲包
解鎖要求:採用對立(Grievous Lady)通過Grievous Lady
與那些撫慰着她的碎片糾纏在了一起。它們大多都攪成了灰色的糊塊,
有些則像長釘一樣從地面猛地竄起。她像個雕像一樣站在原地,緩慢地注視着每一片碎片,
僅僅是……在計算它們的數量。就算有些尖利的碎片險些在彈起時刺到她的眼睛,
她依然只是繼續數了下去。
終於,她抬起了一根手指,與從她面前飛過的碎片打了個招呼。就在一念之間,
那些碎片聚集在一起,化作了一隻脆弱的蝴蝶。她命令蝴蝶飛向高空,去反射那純白的世界。
而當它歸來並告訴了她自己的所見之物時——就在一念之間——她慢慢地撕裂了蝴蝶的翅膀,
並使蝴蝶化作了虛無。接着,她走向了那腐敗的海洋,
讓那些仍在她路徑上佇立的,那些所有象徵着遺失時刻的樑柱,全數爆發、碎裂。
……
時光逝去,她變了。
她不再激情地收集回憶。她近乎無意識地走在這世界之中。她知曉了更多關於這個世界與她自己的事——
只是不再抱有任何雄心壯志。
如今,她正在一個破舊坍塌的建築旁行走着,旋轉着她某天在廢墟中找到的太陽傘。
靜悄悄地,一隻玻璃組成的生物倒映着痛苦,從天空中向她滑翔過來。
這看上去就像是個閃閃發光的粗糙烏鴉,而她認為這只不過是個工具罷了。
自塔樓倒塌的那天,她就和混亂滿盈的Arcaea融為了一體,甚至已經能夠隨心所欲地操控它們。
它通過自身的方式與她細細低語,訴說着對少女而言遙不可及的蒼白世界中的情況。
她對那物體怒目而視,使它爆裂開來,化為空氣。她也繼續行走起來。
她的烏鴉給她捎來的信息使她愈發厭惡。這個世界就是個空殼子——它們向來只會不斷重複這個主旨。
她知道,她不會找到其他人。
但她想要那麼做。她需要那麼做。但這並不是為了讓誰與她分擔一下她殘酷的命運。
她想把所有的挫敗感都發泄到一個活物上。她想要找到一個人來供她摧殘。
her all fell and muddled into the soothing glass around her. Most of them churned into a gray mass, some
would suddenly jut up from the ground like spikes. She went still, and slowly looked over every shard,
just...counting them. Even when memories came shooting up sharply near her eyes, she continued to count.
Eventually she lifted a finger, beckoning some of the shards toward her. And, with a simple thought, the
fragments came together in the shape of a fragile butterfly. She commanded it into the sky, to reflect the
world of white, and when it came down again to tell her what it had seen, with a simple thought she slowly
tore off each of its wings, and let it fall into nothing. Then, she walked forward from the corrupted sea,
willing each pillar of lost time that entered her path to explode and shatter.
---
Time passed. She changed.
She no longer sought to collect memories. She walked through the world mostly absently. She discovered
things about it and about herself, but she had no ambitions.
Now she walked beside an old and crumbling building, twirling a parasol she had found in the ruins some
day. Silently, a creature formed of glass reflecting bitter days glided down toward her from the sky. It
resembled a glistening and jagged crow, and it was something she considered no more than a tool. After
that day at the now-fallen tower, she'd become more in-tune with the chaotic Arcaea and was able to call
upon things like this. In its own way, it whispered to her of places beyond her reach in the blinding white
world. Glaring at it, she had it burst and fall apart, and she moved on.
These crows of hers sickened her with news. The world was empty, that's all they said. That she knew.
She'd never find anyone else here.
She wanted to. She needed to. But, it was not because she hoped to have someone to share her fate with.
She needed to let this frustration out on something alive. She needed someone to hurt.
V-1
解鎖條件:完成1-9,2-9,購入Luminous Sky曲包
解鎖要求:採用光(Fracture)通過Grievous Lady
但被光芒環抱的少女仍然在路過時注意到它,走進了其中。
她開始疑惑這些廢墟究竟是何物,以及它們為何存在於此——
疑惑她一直以來遊蕩的這個世界是否也存在過往,
亦或者這些被嚴重破壞的風景線只因巧合存在。
她認為自己必須思考此事,而不是屈服於愚昧的極樂。
若她想要得到一個理由,這可能也會幫助她進一步了解這個世界。
或許這裏……是另一個世界的對立面?
她曾於Arcaea中目睹過類似的景象,但這也使她質疑這個世界的某處
存不存在尚未成為廢墟、依然聳立的高塔與建築。
也許她只是還沒找尋到它們……
這座廢墟看起來曾經龐大而金碧輝煌。
這必然曾是一個美麗的地方,吸引着大量的人前來,她這樣想。
如此光彩的過去若存在,那真的十分遺憾。
如今那兒只有她一個人——移動於排排長凳與破損的燭台之中。
如今那兒只有她一個人——接着她眨了下眼,猛然發現這裏實際上還有一個人。
還有一個人,靜靜地站在她的左方,那一堵損毀的牆壁前。
曾經的她,會開心地微笑起來,毫無防備地親近對方。
而現在,她困惑地盯着那被陰影籠罩的女孩,
但卻未必沒有懷着那讓她無法抑制地顫抖的欣喜之情。
回憶的景象之外,於這個世界之中,就在她的眼前——有一名人類。
一直以來她都是獨自一人,而現在這裏出現了另一個人:
一個活生生的,有着呼吸的人。
另一位少女並沒有注意到她,只是手握陽傘繼續熟睡。
她那黑暗的身影顯得與這閃閃發亮的世界格格不入。
這突兀的景象使她以為自己正處於夢境中,又或者瞧見了另一段甦醒的回憶。
她張開嘴說話,而另一名少女也恢復意識,睜開了雙眼。
象徵着被遺忘的悲傷與邪惡事物的她睜開了雙眼,
眼前是這早已改變的,一身雪白衣裳的少女。
讓身披光芒的少女感到舒心的那陣陣呼吸聲很快就停止了;
那背負黑暗的少女眯起眼睛,嘴唇微張,似乎有着疑問。
但她最後只是倒吸了一口氣,眉頭上揚,將傘柄握得更緊了。
這份情感顯現於她的面龐,而象徵混沌的少女向那象徵光明的少女
獻出了一抹真誠、無法抑制的微笑。
nonetheless pays it attention as she steps through.
She's been wondering what the ruins are and why they're there—
wondering if this world she wanders has a past,
or if its decimated landscape is only coincidental.
She feels she has to think about it, not to succumb to the bliss of ignorance.
If she wants a reason, then it might help to know the world, too.
Perhaps this is a reflection of another world?
She has seen things like it within the Arcaea, but that also makes her wonder if in this place
there might be standing towers and buildings that are not in ruin.
Maybe she’s only yet to see them...
This ruin seems like it was once large, grand.
It must have been a beautiful place where many people came, she thinks.
If it did have such a past, then it is a shame.
There is only her, now, moving through pews and broken candlesticks.
There is only her, and she blinks, seeing that there is in fact somebody else.
Somebody else stands still at her left, before a broken wall.
Once, she would have grinned happily, but carelessly at this person.
As she is now, she looks at the shadow-covered girl in confusion,
but certainly not without a fluttering, insuppressible feeling of elation.
Outside of a memory, here in the world and before her eyes, is a person.
All this time she's walked alone, and here is somebody else:
one other living, breathing person.
The other girl doesn't notice her. She is standing in place, holding her parasol, and sleeping.
Her dark figure cuts so strongly against the rest of the world, which shines so bright in the distance,
that she thinks this must be a dream or perhaps a waking memory.
She opens her mouth to speak, and the other girl opens her eyes to consciousness.
She who heralds sad and evil forgotten things opens her eyes
and witnesses the changed and white-clad girl before her.
That breathing the light-bearer found so relieving stops short,
and the dark girl squints, lips parted as if she means to question.
But she swallows instead and raises her brow, tightening her grip of the handle.
It climbs to her face, and the girl of chaos offers the girl of light an honest, irrepressible smile.
V-2
解鎖條件:購入Adverse Prelude曲包
解鎖要求:採用對立通過Particle Arts
身着黑衣的少女佇立於那倖存的老舊大門旁,凝視着片刻前才遇到的另一人。
一切都很單純:長久以來,她的情緒都處於低谷,直到自己的面前終於出現了一個貨真價實,有血有肉的人。
她並沒有感到過於激動。她甚至心如止水。於她臉龐上浮現的那抹微笑僅僅是道敷衍卻無法制止的謊言。
那段謊言對身着白衣的少女打招呼道,「很高興見到你」。毫無意義。
少女用乾涸的話語聲問道:「你叫什麼名字?」也許在曾經,她也如此意識到自己已經太久沒有開口說過話。
「我的……名字?我……我不清楚,」散發光芒的少女如此回應,
「你呢?啊——我是指,記得你自己的……名字……」
她並沒有給予回答。「這件事……」是她走神望向那華麗的牆壁時所說的一切。
純白色的少女不禁露出了煩悶的表情。
這……成為了一場怪異的相會。儘管黑衣少女並不知曉,但白衣少女與她一樣,心中未流淌着任何熱情。
如同火苗忽然沐浴於寒風,她那不斷黯淡的希望正在搖曳閃爍。現在,她變得不太舒服,心中焦慮而警戒。
一絲輕薄卻無可撼動,且不合時令的氣氛穿梭於二人之間。對她而言,
發生在這個世界的這場相遇本身便是個單純的……「錯誤」。這些總是存在於四周,
如今已散佈於破碎的地面之上的玻璃,也正體現出了這種違和之感。
正常情況下,這些碎片會朝她們無法抑制地一擁而上:「快樂」湧向白衣少女,而「悲痛」則是朝向黑衣少女。
這一刻,每一片碎片都僅僅是停滯於空中。或許有半百片鏡面靜悄悄地懸浮與少女們的身旁,
捕捉着她們四周大約一半的虛無景象。當白衣少女試着呼喚它們時,它們甚至都不會搖晃一下。
面前的一切使她感到心神不寧:幸福與恐懼並肩存在,一同閃爍,也皆無動作。
唯獨那片她能夠親手握緊——那片曾經使她重獲自由的碎片——自始至終對她鍥而不捨。
她緊盯着陰霾中的少女。「如果我們兩人都在這兒,」她開口道,身體前傾,
「那你覺得我們能不能結伴同行?我們……我們也許能互幫互助,說不定還……」
她止住了話語。另一位少女正凝視着那空曠的,如畫布一般的天空,臉上空洞的神色顯得毫無感情。
她看似並未聆聽——但實際上,她已將每一個字刻入了腦海。
「說不定還……」被黑暗包裹的少女重複道。話語虛弱而又模糊……自從她於苦痛之中再生,
她的靈魂便感覺如同一道陰暗而冷酷的深淵。然而,當她聽到這個提議時,
某種存在於她心中的事物仍然開始閃出微光——無比短暫,且極為微弱。
只是,對現在的她而言,就算是如此細小的事情,
也足夠穿破自她再次甦醒過來便一直嘗試扼殺她呼吸的失意面紗。
而少女殘餘的過去:那個首先甦醒於這片世界的對立,仍然違抗着這段象徵「結局」的未來——
抵抗着徹底放棄的想法。她想要得到第二次機會。
但她並非誠心的答案還不足以激發麵前那個女孩的信心。她們的相遇始終被小心翼翼的氛圍所籠罩。
才恢復感官不久的光早已發現Arcaea的世界遠超過了漂亮所能形容的範疇——當然,也遠不夠被形容為安全。
儘管如此,兩位少女仍會開口交談,期望局面會向某個更好的方向發展。
stands near the remaining old gate, looking at the person she's just met.
It's actually quite simple: she’s been upset for so long, and now a true flesh-and-blood person is finally in
front of her. She isn't thrilled. She isn't even excited. The smile on her face is an effortless lie—but it's one
she can't help but tell. It says to white-clothed girl before her, "pleasure to meet you." It means nothing.
"What's your name?" she asks in a dry voice. Maybe, in the past, she'd have realized how long it had been
since she'd last spoken.
"My... name? I... I'm not sure," replies the radiant girl. "Do you? Oh—know your own... name, I mean... "
She doesn't answer the question. "That's something..." are her only words as she looks off toward an
ornate wall.
The girl in white gives a bothered expression.
This... was turning out to be a strange meeting. Though the one in black doesn't know it, the one white
is beginning to share the darker girl's lack of enthusiasm. Like a fire in a sudden chill wind, her hope
flickers and wanes. Now she grows uncomfortable, anxious, and wary. A slight but unshakable atmosphere
drifts between them, one that feels unmistakably off. To her, it seems as though their very meeting is
something the world finds to be simply... "wrong". The ever-present glass, now scattered unevenly
throughout and above the broken grounds, reflects that strange feeling.
Ordinarily, these shards would flock to them without their bidding: "happiness" to the girl in white,
"tragedies" to the girl in black. Right now, every piece of glass in the air stands still. Perhaps half a
hundred mirrors are quietly suspended around the girls, half-catching images of the empty place that
surrounds them. When the girl in white tries to call out to them, they will not even waver. It unsettles her:
happiness placed beside horror, equally glinting and equally motionless. The only piece that will follow her
is the one she can hold—the one that set her free.
She stares hard at the shadow girl. "If we're in this together," she begins, leaning forward, "then what do
you think about staying together? We... We could help each other, and maybe..."
She stops. The other girl is staring into the empty, canvas-like sky with a blank and uninformative
expression. She doesn't seem to be listening, but in truth she has followed every word.
"Maybe... " the dark girl echoes. It's faint... After her reincarnation into misery, her soul itself had felt like
a dull, grim abyss. However, when she heard this proposal, something inside her shimmered—very briefly
and very weakly. However, as she is now, even something as tiny as that was able to pierce the shroud of
frustration that had been endlessly choking her since she'd reawakened.
And the remnant of the girl she used to be, the Tairitsu who had first woken up in this world, rebelled
against the prospect of 「the end」—against the idea of giving up. She wanted a second chance.
But her halfhearted answer isn’t enough to inspire confidence in the girl standing opposite her.
Their meeting remains careful, cautious. The Hikari who recently returned to her senses now knows
that the world of Arcaea is far more than pretty—and far less than safe.
And yet the two girls will speak, with the hope that it will lead to something better.
V-3
解鎖條件:完成V-2,購入Adverse Prelude曲包
解鎖要求:採用光通過Vindication
「要是我們能夠用名字相互稱呼,事情的確會好很多呢,」對立用沙啞的聲音說道。
她的雙目再次開始失去象徵生命的光輝。
另一位少女——光——留意到這一事後,不禁略感不適。
「是呢。我並不是很願意去思考這種事:身在這個遍佈回憶的世界的我們,腦海中卻沒有任何記憶,」
她承認道。
此時此刻,她們正坐在同一張長凳之上,儘管相距甚遠。她們來到了這曾為第一排座椅的地方,
而前方的幾個台階則連接着一面寬大空曠的平台。白衣少女無精打采地注視着她的新朋友,眼中滿是擔憂。
而黑衣少女則是掃視着面前那寬敞的空間、那片天空,以及那些浮誇而又死氣沉沉的建築結構——
但這麼做的她,其實似乎對那些事物沒抱有任何興趣。
正在仰望天空之際,她突發奇想地說起話。「這玻璃……你知道它們叫什麼嗎?」
「呃?喔……總之,雖然不太清楚原因,但我知道它們叫作『Arcaea』。」
「和我一樣,」對立如此回答,當今正朝光的方向看去,「所以,我們兩個究竟哪裏不同?」
光露出一抹遺憾的微笑。「我不知道哎,」她如此說道,「除了我們外表上的不同。」
「那我們試着弄清楚吧。你在這些玻璃中見到的都是什麼樣的回憶?」
「基本只有令人愉快的那些。」
對立嘆了口氣。「那我們就是截然相反的……」她苦澀地回話道,低頭瞧向她的雙腳,
「那可以假設一下我們是唯二漫遊於此的人。如果真是這樣,那我們的相反特徵可真是非同尋常的要素。」
「你在Arcaea之中看不到愉快的回憶嗎?」光疑問,身子稍微靠向與她交談的這位夥伴,「嗯,對不起……」
「……總之,事情就是如此,」另一位少女說道。一時間,她們陷入沉默,直到對立首先打破沉靜,
「但根據你之前說的話……我猜,你所見的那些快樂的回憶也沒有帶給你多愉快的經歷吧。怎樣?我猜得對嗎?」
對這番猜測,光點了點頭:「我並不是想說自己的經歷從甦醒以來便一直那麼糟糕,但……
你知道嗎,曾經我收集了足夠多的碎片,以至於它們足以覆蓋整片天空。
當我那樣做了之後時,那片嶄新的天空幾乎將我殺死……
我能感覺到那時天空散發的光芒緩慢地侵蝕了我的心智……說實話,那件事情的確是我自作自受。」
少女們堅信自己該向對方闡述真相。
在光講述完自己沉浸於光芒之中的那場天真爛漫而危險重重的旅程後,
對立冷冷地敘述了她於黑暗的龍捲中那幾番悲慘的掙扎。
她們從某些方面而言,的確截然不同。但兩人之間某個必然存在的共同點,此刻已變得十分顯著:
於一個無意義的世界中渴求着一絲意義。她們所處的世界也許十分美好,但其中的殘酷性質卻毋庸置疑。
光已重振決心,但在不久前,她「本身的存在」就逐漸被這古怪而又冷清的地方所威脅。
而對立,卻保持着傷痕累累的模樣:殘暴與憤怒充盈的欲望,如同海嘯般連綿不斷地湧出她的身體。
儘管在這場談話的過程中,她已盡全力試圖保持友善的模樣,
源於胸腔的每一口疾喘卻不是輕而易舉就能掩飾住的。
眼前這個有血有肉的人,對她而言簡直是完美的施虐對象。
那身着白衣的少女,一定早已注意到這位黑衣少女總是間隙性地用顫慄的雙手將傘柄握得更緊。
這場談話一點都不輕鬆——她們彼此都深知這一點。
但她們將全力進行抗爭。
「我只是覺得我……我真的很希望遇見另一個人,」對立言為心聲,「甚至該說……也許是在幾天前,
這曾是我心中唯一的期盼。只是,自從我踏出了那漆黑的外殼,我便意識到,要自己堅守如此單純的願望……
真的太艱難了。我只是單純不知道該怎麼振作自己……當我內心未感到空虛的時候,
其中湧現的卻只有骯髒而扭曲的血液。都是些噁心又殘破不堪的事物……」她注視着光,
「就算到此刻,我心中仍在思考自己究竟多麼想要傷害你。」
「沒關係的……」另一位女孩說道,「如果我有過與你同樣的經歷,或許真的會感同身受。
只是呢,我不認為你對某一件事實的認知是正確的。我不認為你的心就像你說的那樣破碎不堪。」
對立與她四目相對,仿佛在問這怎麼可能。
「看吧——你退縮了哦,」光用心地分析着,「就算在現在也一樣。這讓我知道,就算經歷過那麼多的事情,
你仍然是個十分善良的人——始終如此。你很堅強……」從座椅上忽然站起的她,臉上掛起一抹微笑,
「你比我要堅強太多,「她道,不自覺地抬頭瞥了一眼那明澈的天空。
「我被外界力量所拯救,」她繼續說着,又一次與對立視線交匯,「而你卻拯救了你自己。」
閃爍於黑暗少女心中的微光逐漸淡作虛弱的光芒,隨之而來的是鑽心的疼痛。這明明不是事實,她想到。
這一切經歷並不是如此簡單,她陷入沉思。她失敗了,而過去的她早就與那迷宮一同土崩瓦解。
自那以後,她便失去了一切情感——就算情感再次於她心中燃起,所謂的情感卻僅僅包含着蔑視。
甚至在與這女孩相遇之時,她唯一的渴望便是用小刀刺穿這女孩的身體。
那番話語並不正確,她根本沒有拯救自己。只是……也許她的確不是單純尋找着能供她摧殘的對象。
也許她只是在等待一個能夠給予她最後一線希望的奇蹟發生。優柔寡斷的光實在無法直接賦予她安慰,
但這女孩的存在本身與她那毫無敵意的心靈卻始終暗示着一件事:
她,可能就是那一道才誕生不久的,最後的光芒。
讓對立內心最為痛苦的,還數那種純真的自我意識。
她的身軀癱軟下來。光立刻注意到這一細節,並趕緊湊過去,心中希望自己能幫上忙。
只是她的行為仍然是如此猶豫不決——這也註定着她完全無法接觸到另一位少女。
她僅僅是站在對立跟前,半抬着雙臂,而黑衣少女在片刻後便靠自己的力量重新站了起來。
光的雙臂滑落至腰間,隨着她的身體不自覺地後退一步。在二人的四周,
玻璃碎片們伴隨着她們的動作而搖擺,而其中的某一片卻突然散發起與其他碎片略微不同的光暈。
它的倒影中,存在着某樣熟悉的事物,卻不符合任何現實邏輯。
這顯然是從未有人見過的景象:
一道轉瞬即逝的邪念閃光,其中蘊含的卻是這整片世界中最為詭秘的反常規記憶。
"It would certainly be nice if we had names to share," says Tairitsu in a fraying voice. Her eyes are again
beginning to lose the shine of life.
The other girl, Hikari, notices that with some discomfort. "Yes, I can't say I like to think about it: not having
any memories in a world filled with them," she admits.
At the moment, they sit upon the same pew, though not close. They've gone to what was once the front row,
and a few steps in front of them lead up to a wide, flat floor. The girl in white is slouched, watching her new
acquaintance with worry painting her gaze. The girl in black is examining the empty place in front of them,
the sky, the dead and distant grandiose architecture—but she does so seemingly without concern or interest.
While watching, she begins to speak unprompted. "This glass. Do you know a name for it?"
"Huh? Oh... Well, for whatever reason, I know the name 'Arcaea'."
"Same as me," says Tairitsu, now looking Hikari's way. "So, how are we different?"
Hikari offers an apologetic smile. "I don't know," she says, "aside from our difference in looks."
"Let's find out, then. What kind of memories do you see in the glass?"
"Almost only pleasant ones."
Tairitsu sighs. "Then we're opposites..." she remarks bitterly, looking to her feet. "Let's say we're the only two
walking around this place. If that's true, our opposition could matter a great deal.」
"You don't see happy memories through the Arcaea?" asks Hikari, leaning slightly toward her conversation
partner. "I'm sorry..."
"...That's just how it is," says the other girl. For a short while they remain silent, until Tairitsu speaks again.
"But from what you've said... I suspect even your pleasant memories haven't resulted in a happy life for you
here. Well? Am I correct?"
To this, Hikari nods. "I don't mean to make it sound as though I've had it rough since waking up, but...
You see, I once gathered enough piece that they could cover the sky. When I did, that new sky almost
killed me... I felt like the light was slowly eroding my mind... I think it was mainly my own fault, to be honest."
They both feel it's best to be honest.
After Hikari tells of her naive and dangerous journey bathed in light, Tairitsu coldly recounts her tragic
struggles through maelstroms of dark. The two are certainly different in quite a few ways, but one definite
commonality becomes clear between them: a want of sense in a senseless world. The world around them
may be beautiful, but it has also been cruel.
Hikari has resolved herself, but it wasn't long ago that her very "self" had been threatened by this strange,
unfeeling place. For Tairitsu, it has left her scarred: persistent, panging compulsions toward violence and
wrath continue to roll up from within her like tides. Even throughout their discussions here, despite her
desire to be amicable, smothering each urge from her breast has been no easy feat. This living, breathing
person beside her is too enticing a target to release her frustrations on. The girl in white doesn't fail to
notice how the girl in black's hold on her umbrella periodically tightens into a trembling, aggravated grip.
It hasn't been easy—a fact that holds true for the both of them.
But they continue to fight.
"I think I just... I really wanted to meet somebody else," Tairitsu reveals. "Even... perhaps a few months ago,
that may have been all I really wanted. However... ever since I stepped out of that black shell, I've found it
difficult to hold on to a such an innocent desire. I just can't muster it. When my chest isn’t feeling empty,
I can't muster anything in it that isn't vile and wicked impulse. Disgusting, broken thing..." She looks at
Hikari. "Even now, I keep thinking about how much I want to hurt you."
"That's fine..." says the other girl. "Maybe I'd feel that same way if I’d gone through everything that you did.
But I don't think you’re right about one thing. I don’t think your heart is as broken as you feel."
Tairitsu meets her eyes, as if asking how that could be.
"Look—you're holding back," explains Hikari, "even now. That tells me that even after everything, you're a
very good person—still. You’re strong." She smiles and stands from her seat. "You're a lot stronger than me,"
she says, casting a momentary glance into the brilliant sky.
"I was rescued," she continues, meeting Tairitsu's eyes once more. "You rescued yourself."
The shimmer inside the dark girl's chest becomes a faint glow, and an ache pulses through her.
That's not true, she thinks. It isn't that simple, she thinks. She failed, and the old her died that day when
the labyrinth collapsed. She'd felt nothing after that, and when feeling came back to her, it was nothing but
contempt. When she’d met this girl, even, it made her want to do nothing more than take a blade and run
her through.
No, she hasn’t rescued herself. However... perhaps she hasn't simply been seeking someone out to harm.
Perhaps the truth is that she’s been awaiting something impossible to give her one last ray of hope.
Hikari is too meek and unsure to directly comfort her, but her presence and lack of aggression signal this:
she may be that last, fledgling ray.
What pains Tairitsu's heart is that very innocent realization.
Her posture weakens. Hikari notices and moves to see if she can do something. But she is still unsure,
and so she is ultimately unable to reach out for the other girl. She stands before Tairitsu with her arms
half-raised, and in a few moments the girl in black stands by herself. Hikari drops her hands, and takes
a step back. Around them, the glass sways with their movement, and one in particular begins to shine a
bit differently from the others. In its reflection is something familiar, yet impossible.
It is a vision that, surely, nobody could have seen:
the briefest wicked flicker of a most strange and anomalous memory.
V-4
解鎖條件:完成V-3,購入Adverse Prelude曲包
解鎖要求:採用光通過Heavensdoor
她重新振作了起來,而這一切都得歸功於那位白衣女孩。光贈予了她珍貴的最後一次安慰。
這一切並未註定走向結局。在這純白又刺眼的地獄之中,還存在最後一條能夠使她逃離一切夢魘的道路。
儘管虛弱無力,但在深吁出一口氣之際,一抹真誠的微笑仍是顯現於她的臉龐。
「讓我們一起做件有意義的事吧,」她敞開心扉道,
「讓我們搞清楚這愚蠢而又荒謬的世界究竟是怎麼一回事。」
「這世界也——也沒有多愚蠢啦,」光溫和地反駁道,略微用力地微笑着。
她並不全心全意地喜歡這另一位少女,但至少能確認一件事:
雖然表面上看不出來,但這女生絕對不是一個邪惡的人——更是似乎……截然相反。
而單單這一個事實,便足以成為與她結伴而行的最佳理由。
總而言之,一個「好」人……這種話絕對不會被她用來形容自己。
但就在她這樣想着的時候,對立的心情變化了。「是什麼讓你說出那種話的?」
不斷喘着粗氣的她如此問道,儘管問題本身聽上去更像是在責備。
她的雙瞳空洞無光,冰冷的視線直射對面。「你應該比我更了解這種事:
這個地方可以在女生因魯莽使自己被愉悅的事物包圍時徹底摧毀這女生的心智。
「她站得筆直,邊平息着自己的呼吸邊寧定着視線,
她那堅定的信念使得另一位少女失落了片刻,但光卻不再是一個對任何事物都漠不關心的女孩。
她拾起星點的自信,挺直身子,闡述了她的觀點。
「我們依然活着,「她說,」而如果這世界讓我們活下去,那它就絕不是最為糟糕的地方。
「哈啊……?」另一位少女眼含凌厲,「你錯了……如果一個世界允許生命的存在,
卻只是用無盡的污穢與夢魘去荼毒生靈,那這個世界根本就是不公平的。」
「好……好吧。也許的確不是那樣,可是……」
「可是?!」對立質問道。
「但那樣的目光也太短淺了!你究竟想要做什麼事?」
」毀滅一切。這世界,這些玻璃……我要毀滅所有東西。我會找出正確的方法。
這想法十分合理,不是嗎?」她依照事實訴說着,「我想你一定會與這想法產生共鳴。
除了被當成一座過於寬敞的監獄,這世界對你而言還能是什麼地方?」
「毀滅這世界……?就算……就算你辦得到,這也只會讓一切走向終點啊!
我們直到目前為止,能確定真實存在的世界也僅此而已!
如果我們以某種方式毀滅了它,那我們難道不是會把自己也摧毀嗎?
難道你會……難道你寧可死在這裏?為什麼……這種想法簡直太過分了!」
「不,不會有關係的,」對立冷漠地說道。
並沒有預料到這種回答的光立刻沉默了下來。對立的話語太過於駭人,而包含的更是只有悲傷……
在光沉默之際,對立繼續起了她的質問:「你有任何別的想法?或者其他計劃?」
「不……我沒有。我只是想要和……和你一起找一個辦法,
」另一位少女這樣承認道,話語聲中流淌着清晰的消沉。
在方才一番振作後,對立其實就已經認識到了這一點。這使她暫停了質問。
要責罵這位新認識的同伴實在是太過容易了。她知道自己的行為舉止蠻橫無理。
理所當然,不久前才搜尋到一線嶄新希望的她,更是能十分容易地察覺自己在這之前是多麼冷血。
只是,在面對另一個人心中的希望時,她卻選擇去摧毀那希望。說實話,她難道還不夠狹隘?
在過去,她腦海中類似的信念使她不僅永遠無法體會到滿足與平靜,更是離解決眼前的問題愈來愈遠。
不,她的任性只會帶領她走向一條污穢而黯淡的荊棘之路。
心中懷揣這樣的思想,她終於撲滅了心中那註定爆燃的烈焰。
若她想要牽起這女孩的手……她就必須同時承擔這女孩用雙手竭力保護着的希望之光。
「對……對不起,」她完全拋開了自己過激的感情,低下頭真摯地道了歉,
「我……其實也有一樣的想法。我也想與你一起找出一些新辦法。」
早前因對立的話語而被削弱的自信,如今又被光重拾回心中。她對自己的新朋友說:
「沒關係的。畢竟,你的確經歷過一段我不了解的時光呢。」
只不過,燃燒於對立心中的正義之火剛剛才恰到好處。
最終,那道烈火也只持續了一瞬間,
就像是閃爍的火光一般——但卻足以惹惱沉眠於那些碎片之中的某一片玻璃。
它就這樣甦醒過來——並且自主性地朝着二人的所在處飄去,不引起她們的一絲注意。
「不要失去希望,」纏繞光芒的少女說道,「無論多麼糟糕的事情,都有好轉的那一刻。」
不斷閃爍着漸變的色彩,那片碎片徑直闖入兩人中間。它同時引起了她們的注意——
但它卻只向着那位身着一襲黑衣的少女呈現碎片所蘊藏的記憶。
breaths. She is reinvigorated, in no small part thanks to the girl in white. Hikari has given her one precious,
final reassurance. It does not have to be the end. One last path out of this white and blinding hell still exists.
An open, albeit weak, smile cuts along her face as she exhales. "Let's do something," she says. "Let's figure
out this stupid, absurd world."
"I-It's not that stupid," says Hikari in mild protest, smiling herself with just as little strength. She isn't entirely
positive about the other girl, but she can tell at least one thing: despite appearances, she isn’t evil.
Quite the opposite, it seems. If anything, that alone is reason enough to join hands with this new potential
ally. A "good" person... is not exactly how she'd readily describe herself, after all.
However, while she thinks this, Tairitsu’s mood turns. "What makes you say that?" asks the panting girl,
though her delivery of the question sounds much more like an accusation. Her eyes are almost hollow as
they bore coldly into her opposite. "You might understand it even better than me. This is the kind of place
that would break a girl for the audacity of surrounding herself in pleasures and joys." She stands up
straight, calms her breath, and steadies her gaze, bringing the hand over her chest to the handle of her
parasol. "That's unconscionable. You don't agree?"
Her strength of conviction puts the other girl down for a moment, but Hikari is no longer one who is incapable
of any caring. Gathering a modicum of confidence, she stands up straight herself, and delivers her explanation.
"We're alive," she says, "and if a world can permit that, then it can't be the worst thing."
"Hah...?" The other girl's glare intensifies. "No... If a world can permit life, only to plague that life with ills
and grief, then that world is not just."
"W-Well, maybe not, but—"
"But?" demands Tairitsu.
"But that's shortsighted! What is it that you want to do, exactly?"
"Destroy everything. The world, the glass, all of it. I'll find a way. It's only fair, right?" she explains as a
matter of fact. "I would think you'd resonate with the idea. What has this world been for you other than
an expansive prison?"
"Destroy it...? Even... Even if you could, it would only end everything! This is the only world we know of
that exists for certain, isn't it? If we somehow destroyed it, could we not simply destroy ourselves as well?
Would you... You’d rather die than live here? Why, that's... that's ridiculous!"
"No, that's fine," says Tairitsu simply.
Hikari, not expecting that answer, falls silent. Tairitsu's words were too frightening, and far too sad.
In her silence, Tairitsu continues her interrogation. "Do you have some other idea? Some other plan?"
"No... I don't. I wanted to find—to find a plan with you," admits the other girl, and dismay is clear in her tone.
And Tairitsu, in her recent recovery, recognizes this. It makes her pause. It had been too easy to lash out
at this new acquaintance. She knew she wasn't being reasonable. Indeed, having just found herself with
burgeoning hope again, she could clearly see how cold she’d been until their meeting. And yet, when faced
with another’s hope, she'd attacked. Truly, was she that petty? In the past, this conviction of hers has never
brought her satisfaction or peace, much less resolution. No, her willfulness has only ever led her down a
dark, thorny path stained with gloom. With this in mind, she extinguishes the fire rising in her heart that
had been so sure of its need to burn. If she wants to take this girl's hand... she cannot reject the ideas it holds.
"I... I'm sorry," she apologizes, her passion now fully relinquished. She lowers her head for a moment.
"I... feel the same. I want to work to find something new as well."
Hikari regains a bit of her self-assurance, which had been brought low before Tairitsu. She tells her new
friend, "It's alright. You've had a time here I could probably never understand."
But that righteous fire in Tairitsu's heart had been just enough.
Ultimately, it had only burned for a short moment, like a flash—
but it was enough to rile a dormant shard in the flock of glass around them.
It awakens and, on its own, begins to drift down to where they are, still unseen.
"Don't lose hope," says the girl in light. "Things can always get better."
A shard, shimmering with faded color, comes directly between them.
It catches both their attention—but it will only show its memory to the one clad in black.
V-5
解鎖條件:完成V-4,購入Adverse Prelude曲包
解鎖要求:採用對立通過Ringed Genesis
被陰影糾纏的少女,目光穿過那扇破碎的窗戶,投射到另一段時光之中。
微笑,回到了她的臉上。
她可真是個無可救藥的傻子。
不,不是那白衣少女。
是她自己。
那片玻璃中的影像並不是回憶。
當然,這並不現實。
她所看見的是未來——那個她理應期待萬分的未來,
那個白痴,愚蠢的夢想家。
那些玻璃毫無偏差地映照出了她自己的身體被一根參差的玻璃長柱一穿而過的影像。
那道創傷仿佛要在炙熱,蒼白的烈焰中將她的衣服與整個身軀撕裂。
空虛荒蕪的Arcaea大地,從她的身前和身後延伸到無邊無際的地平線。
帶着纏繞雙肩的那兩股刺眼的炙熱火焰,抬起手輕撫着長柱的,
是那位身披白衣,使她倍感熟悉的少女——儘管在這個角度看不到她的表情。
她,是此時此刻正站在自己面前的少女。
那名才與她相遇不久的女孩。
這絕不是回憶:這景象預言着未來將會發生的一切。
面對此景,對立退回了自己的立場,
並對峙起那段她原先計劃徹底無視的真相。
她已無所謂自己有沒有心懷信念。
她已不會在這世界中找到任何對她有利的事物。
最後一絲希望也終被墨染,淹沒在絕望之中,最終被徹底遺忘。
還有什麼事會發生?
她還期望着什麼?
愚蠢。令人厭煩。盲目的愚蠢。
令人厭煩的努力。
令人厭煩的回憶。
令人厭煩的存在。
令人厭煩,糟糕得不可理喻——使她作嘔。對這一切感到作嘔,對她自己感到作嘔,
對這永無止境的嘲諷遊戲中所存在的一切事物感到作嘔。
奇蹟?別開玩笑了……
她早已對自己說過。這個世界是地獄。
她是從種種顯示這世界已經死透了的事物得知的:
在這世界之中,即便天使也終會墮落,而後甦醒為惡魔。
在光芒中的少女就是這樣。
在這被詛咒的終末展開中,就算是她心中原先微不足道的小洞也被殘暴地刨開,並迅速擴大——
荒廢,並在剎那間徹底腐朽,只留下一道冰冷的無底深淵。
正當蘊藏其中的黑暗席捲併吞噬少女,嘗試扼殺她的思緒之時,
她清晰地看見了光。
她看見光的視線投向那片碎片——捕捉到她眼中存在的恐慌與那明澈的認知。
這女孩已經知道了。
而現在,她已無法直視來自對面的視線。
一言不發,哪怕一切盡在眼底。
你此刻感到緊張嗎?是否心情不安?毫不掩飾。
不可原諒。
那股憤怒扭曲成厭惡與憎恨,如同滾滾黑雲般顯現於她的雙眼之中。
邪惡的背叛者;邪惡,邪惡的地方。
她緊緊抓着她的陽傘,
越過碎片注視着佇立於原地的光。
仿佛凍結在原地——當然,因為她病態的意圖已經被識破了。
這可真是令人發笑。
對立的雙眼微閉。
她抹除了那女孩嘗試在她心中種下的一切情感之芽。
只是,這是面單向的鏡子——其中蘊藏的厭惡與冷淡也是相同。
光對這片不同尋常的碎片之中所蘊含的內容完全無從知曉。
當對立的臉上失去越來越多的血色,
絲毫未意識到情勢的走向——光僅能在困惑中觀察着一切。
一股突如其來的危機感擴散至身體的每一個角落。儘管她並不理解原由,她卻能感受到危機就在眼前。
事實上,匍匐於大地的暗影如今已翻騰而起,毀滅着它所接觸的一切光芒。
黑暗向着她逼近,而她的呼吸變得愈發急促。她不禁朝着後方退了一步。
她幾乎無法相信眼前正在發生的事情。她根本不想去相信。
即使她已於那片耀眼的天空所帶來的痛苦折磨中倖存下來,
某種可怕的事物再次毫無理由地顯現於她的面前。
儘管,她仍舊存活了下來。
而她終究意識到,生存並不是件能夠妥協的事情。
心中懷着這樣的想法,光犯下了一個天大的錯誤。
她伸手去拿了那片玻璃——
那片在她徹底迷失於低谷時,給予她慰藉與方向的玻璃。
就在她將它提至胸前時,
對立頭頸後方的頭髮也飛揚起來。
那一剎那,對立在沒有任何預警的情況下靠近了光,
準備徹底奪走她的性命。
The girl adorned in shadows peers through the broken window into another time.
Her smile returns.
What a fool she was.
Not the girl in white, no.
Her.
The vision in the glass is no memory.
It cannot be, of course.
What she's seeing is a future: a future that she should have expected,
the fool, the idiot dreamer.
The glass shows an unmistakable image of herself, run through with a jagged pillar of glass,
the wound seeming to sear her clothing and body apart in a blistering, pale, and consuming flame.
The blank, barren lands of Arcaea stretch out far behind her, and before her,
coaxing the pillar with a lifted hand and a blinding, fiery glow around her shoulders,
is a girl clad in white, a very familiar one, though her expression is hidden from this vantage.
It is the girl standing before her now.
The one she has only just met.
This is no memory: it's a vision of what will come to be.
Faced with this, Tairitsu retreats into herself,
and confronts the one truth she was determined to ignore.
Her conviction didn't matter.
She will never find anything good for her in this world.
That last hope is dyed black now, drowned in despair, forgotten.
What else would happen?
What was her hope for?
Idiocy. Tiresome, blind idiocy.
Tiresome effort.
Tiresome memories.
Tiresome existence.
Tiresome, awful, sick of it. Sick of this, sick of herself,
sick of everything in this never-ending, mocking play.
Miracles? No...
She'd said it herself. This world is hell.
And she knows this, from the fractured ideas of worlds dead and gone:
even angels can one day fall and awaken to demonic form.
The girl in light is just like that.
In a turn final and damning, what was once a mere pit inside her chest is clawed and spread.
It wastes, decays all through in an instant, leaving instead a cold and endless chasm.
As the darkness within it creeps out to coat her insides and choke her thoughts,
she sees Hikari very clearly.
Sees her gaze darting to the shard—sees the panic, the clear knowledge in her eyes.
The girl knows.
And now she can't face her opposite's stare,
won't say a word though she sees clearly.
You're unnerved? Unsettled? Unabashed.
Unforgivable.
That anger twists into hate and loathing, spilling over and arriving in her eyes.
Wicked betrayer; wicked, wicked place.
She tightens her grasp on her parasol,
looking past the shard to Hikari, who is standing still.
Frozen in place, surely, because her ill intentions have been exposed.
It's worth laughing about.
Tairitsu's eyes narrow, and she excises the remains of those burgeoning emotions
the girl had begun to cultivate within her.
With finality she is emptied,
and with that, she knows what she must do.
But this mirror is still one-way, and thus her anger as well.
Hikari is unable to see within this peculiar shard at all.
Unaware, she can only watch in confusion
as Tairitsu's countenance drains more and more of color.
A sense of danger wells up in her, and though she can't understand why, she can feel it there.
In fact, shadows now seem to be crawling up from the earth, light perishing at their touch.
Darkness nears her, and her breathing shortens. She takes a step back.
She almost can't believe it. She certainly doesn't want to.
Even after surviving the harrowing ordeal, that blinding light sky,
something terrible faces her again without reason.
But still, she had survived it.
And now she knows for certain that survival may not allow compromise.
With this thought in heart and mind, Hikari makes a damning mistake.
She reaches for the one piece of glass,
the one that gave her comfort and direction in the midst of her lowest moment.
When she raises it to her chest,
the hairs on the back of Tairitsu's neck rise up as well.
Tairitsu closes the distance to Hikari in an instant, without warning,
ready to once and for all firmly grab hold of her life.
VS-1
解鎖條件:購入Black Fate曲包
解鎖要求:通過Equilibrium
對立。
假設她們知曉對方的名字,甚至僅僅是清楚自己本人的姓名——若真如此,
二人自始至今的感受也會發生改變嗎?
「光」與「對立」……存在於這片光怪陸離的世界之中,此般崇高的稱呼……
若真如此,她們是否又會靜下心來思考蘊藏於自己姓名的深層含義——也會走上截然不同的道路嗎?
抑或者無論發生何種分歧、矛盾,無論曾經做出哪些抉擇,在何時得到幸運的眷顧——
隨之產生偏移的世界線,卻終將收束至二人此刻的水火不容?
光並不會知曉確切的答案。她直至如今都不知道自己的名字。
而在這相同的前提下,對立卻命中注定被自己的知識所詛咒。
她心中早已清楚,二人間的這場針鋒相對,無論如何都會來臨。
不可能會產生任何改變。原本一切就不會發生改變。
白衣少女與黑衣少女,絕不可能和睦相處。
這一切必然因果,最終只會導致——
「呃啊!」
當面前那位宿敵將刀刃劃向她時,光隨之發出一聲驚叫。她立刻舉起手,而玻璃碎片也隨之互相衝擊。
碎片懸停於空中,閃閃發亮——絲毫沒有受到損傷。
而透過自身碎片所倒映的景象,光終於窺見了自己那張因恐慌與痛苦而變得煞白的臉龐。
一次流露真情實意的交流——卻造成了這場令人心碎的衝突。
對面那女孩的力量實在是太強了——光被衝擊得縮起身子,反射般地朝後一退。
她的皮膚此刻已經冰涼。
她這才察覺到自己近乎無法呼吸。
少女充滿敵意的視線已經無限接近自己。
望向那殺意的瞳孔,光意識到那股近乎將自己心臟撕裂的恐懼並不來源於那女孩的襲擊。
根本不是那樣……
並不是因為對立的刀刃已經逼迫得越來越近,轉眼便要切入自己繃緊的喉嚨,
而自己卻幾乎無法做出任何反抗。根本不是那樣。
光的汗水從掌心溢出,滯留於自己胸腔中的空氣完全無法逃逸——
自己會感到恐懼——完全是因為面前這個不久之前還令自己感到憐惜的不幸之人,
此刻卻截然變臉,徹底蛻變為另一番模樣。
那女孩早已不是能夠與她平心靜氣交談的夥伴。
現在的她根本不能被稱為人類。
她的目光是如此決然無情,就連下顎都紋絲不動。她那拼盡全力攥緊的手指,早已染上一整片鮮紅。
她僅僅是一頭由漆黑包裹的兇殘野獸……一道由惡意墮化而成的黑影。
Tairitsu.
If they knew each other’s names, if they even knew their own, would that change how they had felt from
then until now? 「Light」 and 「Conflict」... Names so lofty, in a world so bizarre, so outlandish...
Would they have considered the meanings, and found different paths?
Or would any divergence, any turn or taking of a choice, any circumstance or odd spin of fortune’s wheel
still have set the two girls into inevitable dissent and discord?
Hikari, who still does not know her name, would be unsure. Tairitsu, likewise, is however damned with
fateful knowledge, and knows dissent and discord between them will always be.
Nothing will change. Nothing would.
The girl in white and the girl in black cannot reconcile.
This, all of this, may only lead to—
「Ah!」
Hikari’s voice escapes her when the blade of her foe comes. She raises her hand at once, and with it,
glass strikes against glass. It holds, it shines—unbroken, and in her piece Hikari can see her own pale face,
agonized and frightened.
A heartfelt conversation has led to this—to a heart-pounding clash.
She takes a single step in retreat as her body bends from the force of the other girl’s strength.
Her skin goes cold; she finds she can’t breathe.
She realizes there, looking deep into the now-close eyes of the girl attacking her that her being attacked
is not the source of the fright clawing and gripping at her insides. It is not that, nor the fact she can
hardly resist as the push of Tairitsu’s blade inches her own nearer and nearer to her taut neck.
No. The sweat in her palm, the breath trapped in her lungs, it’s all because the person before her—the girl
who had felt to her a tragic and sorrowful figure only moments before—seems now so utterly changed.
She is not the person she’d spoken to like a fellow and friend. In fact, she doesn’t seem like a person at all.
Her stare is so purposeful, her jaw is unmoving, and those fingers of hers, clutched so tightly they’re now
stained red—
Nothing but a beast garbed in black. A shade, brimming with malice.
VS-2
解鎖條件:完成VS-1,購入Black Fate曲包
解鎖要求:採用對立通過Antagonism
找尋能夠妥協的台階。
不能變得軟弱。不能變得畏縮不前。
光穩穩地抓住了這絲信念。她反擊了。
她們早已自無數的回憶中目睹並體會過戰爭所會帶來的痛苦。
只可惜,那些無關二人性命的記憶,歸根究底無法與此刻這場貨真價實的戰鬥相提並論。
二人臨場打造的刀刃,冷酷無情地相互撞擊。
對立的攻擊只得形容為果決而精準,其中是滿溢的惡毒。
而光的一系列行動只是透露着一種絕望的韻味。哪怕步伐只是遭受毫釐的閃失,
對方的致命攻擊便足以奪走自己的性命。而她卻僅僅是在防衛自身;她沒有做出任何多餘的舉動。
若是能夠不施展蠻力解決這一切,她早會刻不容緩地完成使命。
懸掛於空中的吊燈與數排長椅——這座教堂遺址之中散亂的標誌性物體,成為了二人混戰時的阻礙。
而她們則行動於這條走道之上。對立朝着光的腳部疾沖而去。
儘管如此,光卻沒有躲閃,卻是舉起那片曾給予她救贖的碎片,隨時準備招架即將到來的上斬。
只是斬擊並未如期而至——
晃眼間,閃現在眼前的竟是那把漆黑的陽傘:隨着刺耳的破空聲,殘忍地捅向她的防線。
「唔嗝、呃啊……!」
痛到喘不過氣。整隻手仿佛烈火灼燒般疼痛。小拇指——她堅信自己的小拇指一定是被折彎了。
異象殘片瞬間便滑落出脫力的手掌。意識到自己變得手無寸鐵,疼痛折磨下的她迅疾地選擇朝後方閃避。
就連光自己都吃了一驚——自己居然能如此平穩地腳跟落地。
並未遲疑,趁此再次朝後方躍去,裙擺隨着移動軌跡飛舞空中,
這才察覺自己在千鈞一髮之際躲開了對面的另一招。
幾乎是貼着自己站立的長椅揮過,命懸一線。
這一場紛爭,真的無法僅靠語言平息嗎?
即使心中這種想法切合實際——此時的她也找不出半個合適的詞語。
縱然她已經清楚該說些什麼——屆時的她也根本沒有任何的發言權。
縱使她在此刻受到神明眷顧,獲得了這兩項理想的先前條件:
既與對手保持了足夠的距離,又擁有充足的時間去準備發言——
一把嶄新利刃,不知是從何處射來——
迅速地抵達了她的臉頰——
就這樣,將她的臉部割傷。
Find common ground.
Don’t be weak. Don’t falter.
With these thoughts in mind, Hikari pushes back.
They have both seen and felt the throes of battle within near countless memories, but vicarious
recollections are no substitute for a genuine struggle between life and death.
Their impromptu blades meet again, entirely without grace. Tairitsu’s strikes stay vicious and direct,
while Hikari’s movements are desperate, forever a hair away from a harmful, fatal slip. She only defends;
she does nothing more. If she could stop this without violence, she’d do so in a heartbeat.
Their flurried tussle is hampered by the peculiar surroundings of the broken church: lamps and benches
placed under a sky. The two move between the aisles. Tairitsu darts toward Hikari’s feet, but her target
remains planted. Hikari lifts the piece of glass that had once served to rescue her, bracing for the rising cut.
But a cut does not come. Instead it is that black parasol: tearing up quickly through the air and cruelly into
her waiting guard.
「Gh...! Hah...!」 she groans, panting. It feels like fire has swallowed her hand, and her small finger—she
swears it must have been bent. Her anomalous piece flies from her grasp, and as soon as she is without a
weapon, the pained girl withdraws immediately.
To her own surprise, Hikari lands after her first leap with no waver, no fall. She leaps back again, her dress
fluttering, and she finds herself standing atop the pews just in time to avoid another coming blow.
So close... Can this not be ended with words?
Even if it could, she can’t even find a single word to say.
Even if she could, she isn’t given any chance to speak.
And even when, blessed, she is afforded both; gaining enough distance from her pursuer and time alone
to begin preparing her voice—
a new blade shoots out from nowhere—
it finds her cheek, swift—
and, just like that, it cuts, glancing across her skin.
VS-3
解鎖條件:完成VS-2,購入Black Fate曲包
解鎖要求:採用光通過Equilibrium
移開手心,卻只瞧見那抹沾染手指,玷污掌心的色彩。很不幸——她已經對種顏色十分熟悉。
又一次……如同彼時那般,渾身冰冷。
朝後方摔落而去的間隙,她緊緊地環抱住自己,試圖硬生生地止住雙臂劇烈的顫抖。
她咽下了嘴中聚積的唾液。
再接着,用那幾近失去音量的話語聲,哀求道:
「住手……」
爾後,僅是稍微響亮了些許:
「請住手……」
又一片尖銳無比的碎玻璃好似離弦之箭一般急射而來。光隨之躲閃——儘管留給自己的反應時間並不超過一秒。
碎片眼看就要成功刺入她的上臂。幸好最終只是擦臂而過。
她終歸大喊道:「請住手!!」
「我知道你的計劃。」
光的動作戛然而止。片刻間,對立便着陸在距離光有足足五排遠的長椅之上。
「你究竟是什麼?這世界創造出來的惡魔?」對立質問道。
「什麼?!」
「你根本只是那些碎片的同類。是從荒蕪之地而來,專程前來獵殺我的吧?」
「我……不是!」光吼道。
「你自己也不清楚自己到底是什麼……」對立喃喃自語道。
就在此時,光忽然注意到——
那女孩的身前身後,已經如蜂群般聚集了相當數量的Arcaea。
光對此格外留了心眼。屆時,對立仍舊用那沉痛的話語繼續低語着。
「但……既然能夠找上我。」她道,「那你也一定不是什麼好東西。」
光回想起了面前那女孩曾述說的那段過往經歷。
她石化在了原地。她明白對立是什麼意思。
「我才不是……那種……」她嘟噥道,語氣中略帶着防衛性。
又一枚碎玻璃,如同出膛子彈般掠過她的耳旁。
她緊緊閉起了自己的雙眼,任由眼淚被壓迫得奪眶而出。
如果她的願望是活下來……
……那無論如何,她都不能在這一刻放棄。
光的視線轉向下方。一枚新的碎片響應着她的召喚,來到她手心之中。
自己居然已經能夠徒手接觸到碎片——對於這種過於詭異的現象,她甚至未曾留意。
整一隊列的碎片也躍動着加入了自己的身後。
她抬起了頭。
正是如此——儘管渴望成為摯友,卻又一次對峙起面前那位女孩。
unfortunately now-familiar color has tainted her fingers—her palm. Once more... she goes cold.
Still falling back, she grips both of her arms, trying to quell their trembling.
She swallows the saliva filling her mouth.
And, quietly, she pleads:
「Stop...」
And only a bit louder:
「Please, stop...」
Another shard of glass drives through the air like an arrow, and she avoids it though she was given only a
second for its approach. It goes past where her upper arm, its target, had been.
And she shouts, 「Please stop!」
「I know what you want to do.」
Hikari stops instead, and in a moment after Tairitsu lands on a row of pews five away from hers.
「What are you? A demon invented by the world?」 Tairitsu asks.
「What!?」
「Are you just another fragment from a dead place, come to hound me?」
「I... No!」 Hikari yells.
「You don’t know what you are, either...」 Tairitsu mutters.
There, Hikari notices: a number of pieces of Arcaea are darting behind and before the other girl like
patrolling wasps. She eyes them warily, and Tairitsu continues to speak, voice dipped long in woe.
「But, if you found me,」 she says, 「that means you can’t be anything good.」
And Hikari, recalling what this girl had told her of her past, is brought still upon realizing that she can
perfectly understand what that means.
「I’m not... that...」 she mumbles in defense. Another bullet of glass comes, shooting past her ear.
She shuts her eyes, forcing tears out of them.
If she is to survive...
...she cannot give up.
Eyes downcast, Hikari calls a new piece of glass to her hand, not even realizing how strange it is that she
can touch it now.
A troop of shards also joins her behind her back.
She lifts her head.
Like this, she once more faces the girl she wishes she could befriend.
VS-4
解鎖條件:完成VS-3,購入Black Fate曲包
解鎖要求:採用光通過#1f1e33
此刻的黑衣少女朝着白衣少女猛衝而去。那些記憶的碎片則好似一片混沌般飛舞纏繞着二人。
反抗——卻從不主動攻擊。
儘管她已經誠心誠意地決定接受戰鬥,光的心中卻始終存有一絲希望:這根本沒有必要成為一場見血的紛爭。
雖然如此,就算她操控這些玻璃的技巧尚未嫻熟;就算她沒有分毫的戰鬥經驗——她也絕不會讓步。
玻璃倉促地在她身後拼湊成一面護盾,不斷地精確阻截着對立所施放的長槍的迂迴背刺。
光此時的視線,遠比玻璃碎片更加銳利。
她保持機警地試圖壓制面前的暗之少女——並爭取讓這場戰鬥和平終結。
通過武力。
遺憾的是,知之非難,行之不易。
脫離了大教堂的空間限制後,此刻Arcaea的畸形山路對於對立而言只是更加方便她施展的空間。
她的舉止徹底不再被障礙物所拘束,碎片的斬擊範圍也隨即進一步擴寬。
最終,光發覺自己真正能做的也僅有全力守住最後的防線,保全自己的性命。
心跳過快。先前僅會從手心流出的汗液,如今早已滲透她的全身,造成一股惡寒。
好似用隱形的小刀彈飛擲來的透明匕首,在自己的喉嚨與對方的長矛親密接觸前,率先將一道碎片飛速射去。
一招對應一招,應對另一招,對應再一招。
這使光認識到,戰鬥早已從混亂的暴力扭打升級至兩方絕對勢力的兇惡衝突。
若是單純較量蠻力的話,光毫無勝算。只是,支撐着她的還有智謀與信念。這足以讓光勉強招架對立的攻擊。
直面身前那洪水般決堤的情感源泉,光將擔任那「對立」之側。
岩石或許會風化,但卻不會碎裂。她會平息這一切爭端。
她們此刻是平手狀態。兩方所各自欽定的Arcaea,此刻正由那光滑的表面散射出光球與劇烈的光線。
確實,她們始終不相上下……直到對立改變了目標。
表面上正企圖衝破對方防線,對立卻悄無聲息地將自己的碎片群重定向一番,送至了光的身體右側。
這一舉動造成的影響不可估量。在魔光閃爍般的爆炸中,光的單側膝蓋失去了平衡。
緊隨其後,對立陰險狡詐的目光隨着手中的陽傘一同朝前方刺去。
陽傘的尖端正指向那原本的目標部位:她對手的前額。
完全沒有一絲躊躇。電光火石間的瞬息一刺。
光死死地閉上了雙眼。對立皺緊了眉頭。
衝擊被中途制止了。
並不是由於她們的任何一者。這第三股力量源自她們二人之間。
她們二人之間——是那片原先被逼出光的手掌心的異象碎片。
儘管面對陽傘的全力突刺,也懸停於空中紋絲不動。
光睜開雙眼,難以置信地凝視着。
「唉!?」
「這是……」
對立舉起了另一隻手,順勢帶起一片玻璃碎片的漩渦。
然而,光卻同樣未帶遲疑,將手掌推向身前的異象碎片。
緊接着,兩人身旁的每一片自由碎片都猛烈搖晃了一瞬——
由利刃組成的風雨接踵而至。
around them in chaos as the girl in black lunges at the girl in white.
Pushed back, and never pushing forth; though she has chosen to fight earnestly, there is still a hope in
Hikari’s heart that this does not have to end in bloodshed. Yet still, even if her sway over the glass is not
nearly as deft, even if she is entirely unpracticed, she truly won’t give in.
Glass shields her back in a slapdash, patchwork pattern, constantly shifting to stop Tairitsu’s roundabout
spears from ever hitting their marks. Hikari’s eyes are sharper than that glass, ever vigilant to pin the
dark girl down; to end this peacefully, through force.
Nothing about it is simple, however.
Now outside the cathedral-shell, open on the misshapen roads and hills of Arcaea, Tairitsu is free.
Keeping close, her movements sweep and her glass flies wide. So doggedly pursued, Hikari finds all she
can do is cling to her desperate defense in preservation of her own life.
Her pulse is quick, and the sweat that had begun in her hands is now permeating her entire body with an
awful chill. Smashing an invisible knife against an invisible dagger, crashing a swift shard into a shining
lance flying true before it can meet her throat.
Blow for blow, for blow, for blow, she is made to realize that their battle has gone from a tussling mess of
violence to a vicious clash of two formidable and absolute forces. She cannot match Tairitsu’s strength,
but with her wits and will kept about her, she can dampen its impact.
To the torrent of emotions before her, she will be the composed counter: the stone weathered, but never
broken; and she will settle this.
They’re even, each holding down her position as points and rays of light shine from the smooth faces of
their chosen Arcaea.
They remain even, in fact, until Tairitsu shifts her focus. Instead of aiming past the other girl’s guard, with
no tell she decides to redirect and send down her flock on Hikari’s right side.
The impact is massive. With an explosion of glints and glamor, it forces Hikari to stumble down to a knee.
Then and there, glaring darkly, Tairitsu lifts and points her black umbrella, its tip revealing the intended
destination: the front of her opponent’s skull.
She spares no hesitation. The strike comes in an instant.
Hikari shuts her eyes. Tairitsu’s brow twists.
The thrust is stopped, but not by either of them. Instead, it is something between them.
Between them, that anomalous shard, previously forced from Hikari’s hand, stands still in the air,
steady as a wall, immovable against the umbrella-spike. Hikari opens her eyes and stares, disbelieving.
「Eh!?」
「That’s...」
Tairitsu lifts her other hand, a swirl of glass rising up around it.
Not hesitating either, Hikari thrusts her hand against the anomaly, and every free piece of glass
surrounding them sways for just a moment before a razor-sharp rainfall begins.
VS-5
解鎖條件:完成VS-4,購入Black Fate曲包
解鎖要求:採用對立通過Dantalion
如今這成百上千的墜落碎片均受到光的操控,卻看似只是在毫無秩序地四下亂竄。
儘管此刻已輪到光發號施令,她卻顯然還沒有駕輕就熟。
對立的臉上明擺着憂憤。她暫時朝後撤退起來。
此時的光,身形已經湮沒於星羅棋佈的銳利「記憶」之中。
她正屏氣凝神地蜷縮膝蓋,試圖集中施展自己這股全新全異的力量。
對立迅速勘測了周身地表的情形,仰頭緊盯着高空中由光製造的暴風。她將一隻手掌高舉過頭,心中思緒涌動。
——若要戰勝暴風,則需呼喚疾雨。
潛匿於地平線彼端的城市廢墟與純白山脈的玻璃碎片——
數凌千計的玻璃碎片,皆數響應着對立的號召,降臨了此處。
相對於光手下桀驁不馴的群魔亂舞,對立的軍隊遠遠顯得要更加井然有序,隊列更是完美無瑕。
盤踞於純黑之少女背後的碎片,紋理儼然是一朵巨大的玫瑰。
宛若旋流般,玫瑰的花瓣被一片片地剝落而下,精確而迅速地切入那層層保衛着純白之少女的颶風。
光因而只能挺直身軀——儘管她的心中滿溢着恐懼。她被迫以包含規律的彈幕加以回擊。
弧光殘影,千華繚亂。相距甚遠的兩人捲起這場雨橫風狂的宿命之爭。
若是由數里之外加以眺望,此般景象正如對立所盼,好像兩場風暴彼此間的激烈衝撞。
風雨相爭,創造電閃雷鳴,周身洶湧起伏的黯雲有如一場華麗的爆炸般,於這場戰鬥中螺旋相纏。
如同兇猛乖戾的自然力量,致使風雲大亂。
在這銀白渲染的波濤之下,兩名女孩相互對峙。
燃燒於她們心中的是熊熊熾焰。
凌空齊射的碎片也無法傷及對方分毫;二人在迅速躲閃攻擊的同時也並未駐守原地,
而是開始疾跑——疾跑於Arcaea的荒原之上,穿梭在玻璃匯聚而成的槍林彈雨之中,
不時迴避着因爆裂而產生的高速彈片。
碎玻璃對二人窮追不捨。
碎玻璃將二人阻截於半路。
碎玻璃不斷嘗試着刺入二人的雙腳,這是二人試圖將對方牢牢固死在原地。
狂怒:徹底失控的狂怒,混亂而又不失守序。
二人的步伐、一舉一動……逐漸變得近乎同步。規律而刻板地重複着規律而刻板的動作。
閃避。
開火。
重複。
在這無法言傳,壓倒性的絢彩狂華之中,二人再度勢均力敵。
繼此之後,戰鬥輪到對立佔據上風。
The falling glass, now under Hikari’s command, begins to dart everywhere and every way without order.
Though the shards are hers to control, she cannot grasp how to truly use them for a little while.
Tairitsu, aggravation and concern plain on her face, retreats. Hikari is thus left hidden in a swarm of
edged memories, crouched and still as she concentrates on her newfound power.
Tairitsu surveys the land, looking to the sky and to Hikari’s storm. She holds a hand up over her head,
and thinks: to fight a storm, one must summon a deluge.
Thus, from distant cities and white mountains, the glass of a thousand and more memories are
immediately pulled by her call. Unlike Hikari’s untamed flurry, Tairitsu’s flock is a pattern,
immaculately composed.
Behind the girl in black, the glass assumes the shape of a giant rose, its petals falling one by one in
swirling descents, slicing cleanly through the squall shielding the girl in white.
And Hikari—now standing, though afraid—can only respond in patterned kind.
Bloom after bloom and chain after chain follow in their maddening, frantic, distant combat. From miles off,
it seems things are exactly as Tairitsu wished: a clash of two storms. Rain fighting rain, 「lightning」 flashing
throughout, and their undulating 「clouds」 joining the fray by bursting, spiraling, and flowing in an explosive
display—a sparkling tumult of furious natural powers.
And beneath the whirling and silver floods stand two girls, each with a blaze in her heart.
Each avoid volleys of shards by mere millimeters, and they begin to run as they fight rather than holding
their ground. Rushing through Arcaea’s plains, they cast glass artilleries and skid along the shining earth
as their improvised bullets fall and scatter like shrapnel. Glass pursues, glass cuts off their routes, glass
aims for feet in an attempt to pin the enemy in place.
It is madness: frenetic madness, chaotic yet constant. Their movements soon become nearly even,
steady and regular.
Evade, and fire, always.
Within this overwhelming row of beauty and violence, they once again find themselves evenly matched.
And thus it is Tairitsu’s turn to gain the upper hand.
VS-6
解鎖條件:完成VS-5,購入Black Fate曲包
解鎖要求:採用對立通過Lost Desire
自誕生以來便已然踏入地獄中心——
或者說,自己也許根本就沒得到過踏出第一步的機會吧?
甦醒而來的她冒險踏入了外部的世界,但隨之邂逅的苦痛與厄運好似暗潮般唐突地毀掉了她的旅途。
之後,那兩個災禍的象徵便緊緊地跟隨着她。
簡直是在開玩笑。
我可是個好女孩。她於心中自言自語。
這身漆黑的衣裙本就不該代表我的存在。這些黑暗的回憶始終折磨着我,可我又不是它們的同類。
我根本不是個「邪惡」之人。我只是個普通人,一個生於只存在邪惡的世界,因而飽受折磨的普通人。
荒謬無理。簡直構成不了任何邏輯。
一個殘忍得可怕,從根本角度上而言的無情世界。
一場永遠無法甦醒的噩夢。
而屬於我的結局,便是一場悲慘的死亡。
……
那樣的事實,那樣的想法,讓淚水無數次在她的眼眶滿溢。
現在,這一切已經結束了。不管是什麼事,已經結束了。
將這一思緒懷藏於心之際,面前那名自己想要殺害的少女正將另一塊玻璃送向自己。
而就是在與那片玻璃擦肩而過時,她卻忽然注意到了什麼異常的畫面。
正是數分鐘前那種熟悉的,怪誕到讓自己反胃的感覺。
好比「現實」本身失去了正確性。仿佛絕對不可能發生的場景在眼前出現。
而那特異感知的源頭,幾乎緊貼着自己的臉頰。
她朝着右方看去。一枚由淡紫色點綴的,外形極度歪曲的異象碎片,映入眼帘。
單單是眨眼之間的相會。
卻足以回答一切。
如同她所預料的一般,這枚異常的碎片所包含的並不是普通的回憶——
但完全超乎預料,碎片中出現了本絕不可能存在的答案。
轉瞬之間,快到僅僅是碎片表面的反光與視網膜相撞——
——感受到自己的顱內就像被光芒所充溢般,一眨眼的功夫便近乎通曉了有關這世界的一切:
所有曾經幾時存在——且必定存在的事物。一眨眼的功夫,她的腦海中便已然開朗。
她們的名字。
她們的過去。
這個世界。
——存在的目的。
她:「光」。
她:「對立」。
「愛托」與「紅」……「咲彌」與「忘卻」……
「露娜」,以及……名字;無法計數的名字。
甚至是關乎其他世界的真相,屬於其他旅行者的終點,結局、序言、完美詳盡的因果:一切的一切。
以及真理。全部的事物所指向的真理,便是——
她的身前,光短暫地止住了步伐。她察覺到了面前那名對手態度的明顯轉變。
的確有什麼變化產生。
恐懼。
所以,真理就是如此。我已知曉真理。
對立早已目睹「現實」被禁錮的真理。而只需明白這一真理,她便會擁有力量。但若兩者兼具,通曉萬事……
通曉萬事,又有什麼用?
本已凝固的思緒,如同被再次強行亂攪一番。
那股盤踞於她胸腔內的無盡苦澀逐漸一路蔓延而上,沾染了自己的舌根,鑽入牙縫之中。
她的嘴唇扭曲得好似一抹憂鬱而感性的微笑。
憂鬱而感性,卻毫無疑問地,怪誕地——快樂。
狂笑吧,少女。呼喚狂風暴雨吧。
此處的道路盡收人類所能擁有的最惡回憶。而存在於終點的——
始終都——只會是終點。
抵達終站的同時,她們兩者之間的一人,必須死。
Hell from her birth to her first steps—no, even first steps were denied to her, weren’t they?
She’d ventured outside of where she’d first awakened, and not long after her journey was abruptly and
mercilessly stopped by a torrent of misery and tragedy. Ever since then, those two things had been
doggedly following her.
It’s a joke.
I’m a good person, she tells herself.
I am not these dark clothes I was born with. I am not these dark memories I am tormented by.
I am not a person who is 「evil」, I am an ordinary person tortured by an evil world.
Without reason, without sense.
A completely, horribly, cruel and merciless world.
A nightmare one can’t wake from.
And the ending, for me, is a pathetic death.
...
That sort of thing, that kind of thinking, has brought tears to her eyes so many times before.
Now, it’s over. No matter what, it’s over.
With that thought in mind, while she grazes past glass sent at her by the girl she is trying to kill, she notes
the presence of something strange.
A familiar, grotesque presence she’d felt minutes before this.
The feeling like reality itself has lost correctness.
An impossible condition made manifest.
That anomalous feeling is just beside her cheek.
She looks to her right, and the violet-tinged and grossly warped glass of an anomaly comes into her sight.
It is only a moment, only a whim.
Yet it tells everything.
As expected of the aberrant shard, it does not hold simple memory—but beyond expectation, it holds
impossible answers.
In an instant, as soon as the shine of its surface has met with her eyes—
—with a sensation that the inside of her skull has been bathed in light, almost full knowledge of the
world, of near everything that ever and absolutely was, unlocks vivid understanding in her mind.
Their names.
Their pasts.
This world.
Its purpose.
Her: 「Hikari」.
Her: 「Tairitsu」.
「Eto」 and 「Kou」... 「Saya」 and 「Lethe」... 「Luna」, and—names; countless names.
Even facts of other worlds, destinations of other travelers, ends, beginnings, and elaborated reasons too
all of it.
And the truth, the whole truth, that—
Before her, Hikari stops briefly, noticing the obvious shift in her aggressor’s demeanor.
There’s a change. There’s fear.
So, that’s it. That’s everything.
Tairitsu glimpsed the truth of this cage dubbed 「reality」. With that truth, she’s claimed power.
And with both, knowing everything... Knowing everything, what exactly would change?
Her feelings curdle and churn. The endless bitterness packed in her chest flows out of it and courses
through her—onto her tongue, into her teeth. Her lips twist into a morose and bitterly maudlin grin.
Morose and maudlin, but undoubtedly, strangely, mirthful.
Laugh, girl. Call forth a Tempest.
The path here was blazed by the worst recollections of mankind,
and what remains at the end is,
and ever will be,
the end.
At the terminus, one of the two will die.
VS-7
解鎖條件:完成VS-6,購入Black Fate曲包
解鎖要求:需要解鎖Tempestissimo
原本由光指引的風暴,毫無任何先兆地朝着對立的側面刮去。陰影與光芒交錯,層疊掩埋起那女孩的身姿。
就此碎片纏繞身體之際,她的雙眼忽地緊緊閉上——而就在片刻後,當雙目再次睜開之際,
那無數錯雜的回憶,在她的背後形成了六隻巨大的羽翼。
屆時,她渾身散發着對整個自然界的公然蔑視,浮於上空,
將尖銳的視線刺入光的瞳孔。
單單一個眼神便足以讓光心知肚明,她基本已經失去了所有勝算。
光曾經錯以為面前那女孩是一頭野獸;此刻,自己終於認清了那女孩的身份:
高高在上,絕對無法觸及的存在。
玻璃碎片在對立的背後升起,這場面好似一張巨型的簾幕:一扇清晰的,宏光閃爍的天窗。
位於下方的光,幾乎沒有任何東西可以用來抗衡即將到來的一切。至少,這就是她的第一感覺。但是……
不……那純黑的少女還未擁有一切。她可以在這裏活下來。必定可以!
那扇通往天國的窗戶碎裂之際,光從中取下了二十枚記憶。
最初,只有寥寥幾枚碎片朝着她飛馳而去。可是,它們卻顯得極為……迂緩。
這讓她卸下了重擔。她開始在心中默念:「可能性必然存在。」
就好像頃刻前目睹的那一幕僅僅是這種事情:一場表演。
如同彼時一樣,光將自己穩固地防禦起來,潛心貫注地抵擋着墜落而下的碎玻璃。
她的目光不斷左右橫掃,時不時地確認着那群光芒萬丈的碎片正處於什麼方位。
這讓她拾回了充足的信心——她沒有遺失任何事物。她默許一絲笑容出現在自己的臉上。
就算迎來最壞的局勢,至少她可以從這裏順利逃走。至少這並不會是屬於自己的終點。
於是,一片玻璃飛向了自己的胸口正中央。它的到來,只能被理解為試圖向自己傳遞一則信息。
它的飛行速度,比她曾見到的任何Arcaea都要快上數倍。
正位於上方的另一名女孩,通過這片玻璃碎片,向她說道:「玩夠了。」
「也不要浪費我的時間了。早點投降——然後死。」
那枚玻璃碎片從她的裙邊穿透而過。而光,則望向了對立的雙眼。
那身着黑衣的女孩,此刻正微微笑着。她的臉上,再也見不到一絲憂憤的陰雲。
但那卻是她畢生的記憶中,最恐怖的事物。
那一枚碎片並未接觸到光的身體,而是摔落在地面上。
毀壞的天窗開始旋轉起來,逐漸形成一柱傾斜的龍捲。它的血盆大口正準備將她的身體吞噬,
割裂了布料與皮膚,但只做到這一步為止,便飛離她的肉體。
這場面,顯然闡釋着另一則信息:在迎來結局之前,那純黑的少女想要自己的敵人清楚一切從何而始。
恐懼席捲了她的每個細胞。玻璃組成的激流,以龐大的數量呼嘯、切割着她的身體,
就像被勁風牽扯般轉動着身軀。她陷入了極度害怕的狀態。
好似一尊石像,她只是呆呆地站在原地,注視着一切。
她佇立在原地,注視着屬於一個污穢世界的回憶。
刻畫着痛苦、背叛、嫉妒的回憶。
殞命、暴虐、凋零。
黑暗。只是純粹的黑暗。不論這些碎片究竟反射了何處的風景……她從中都近乎見不到一絲光芒。
不論是多麼渺小的火花,都會在轉瞬間消逝。
那女孩,也曾將這一畫面這樣描述給自己。
從甦醒以來,便一直蹂躪着她。那些污穢至極的倒影——
此刻,她將用相同的事物去蹂躪另一個人。
玻璃碎片將光的衣袖從里側勾起,刺入她的長裙。
它們將她拉至上方——直到自己再也無法倚靠雙足站立。
就像淚水已經盈眶般,那一股情感也滿溢着自己的內心:在人們意識到自己即將死去時,便會來臨的情感。
這並不是畏懼。
「恐怖」這種詞,毫無用以形容的權利。
心灰意冷?滿懷希望?
那種令她感到恐懼的,將自己拘束的感覺。
屆時湧入她腦中的,是屬於她本人的回憶。就好像她在試圖尋找其中的某一段;一段顯得出眾的回憶——
一段能夠告知她,自己曾在過去遭遇過類似的噩運,並且成功將其克服——如此的回憶。
從中,她能學到該怎樣逃走。
並不存在。
黑色的風暴狂吼着侵襲着自己的軀體——不帶一絲憐憫地切割着她。
殘虐,如此單純的意圖。不斷地接近、接近……
好似這意願本身,就足以在她身上留下致命傷痕。
不可置信。
這樣的場面,早已超脫了她從誕生至今所親眼見證的任何事物;
自己親身經歷的,抑或是屬於其他人的。
混雜着這種令人厭惡的,面對未知事物時才會出現的感覺,但又對靜候着自己的事物心知肚明……
驚駭。
並不是畏懼。
這般驚駭的領悟。
這裏不存在任何受她指揮的玻璃碎片。
隨便什麼,不管什麼都好——異象——奇蹟。
隨便哪件事情發生了,都會是她的救命稻草。她就能趁機逃逸。她就能活下去。
若這般展開必然發生;此刻、此處,便是最佳時機。
下方的大地開始崩裂,看着就像世界本身也想要加入這場獵殺。
正是此刻。
此刻!會有一枚碎片前來拯救她!
她真誠地祈禱着——全心全意地禱告,祈求世界的意願,為幫助她而站到自己的身旁!
命運女神也好,幸運之輪也罷,無論是誰——
縱然是捏造出一位「神明」,賜予她足以創造勝利的力量!
哀求着。期望着。
緊緊握住那片曾經將你救贖的存在,再度貼在你那染血的胸前。
拯救的象徵。象徵着靈魂的贖身……它將必然——!
又一片碎片穿透了她的身體,將那憎惡的火樁捅入了她的心臟。
儘管它並未直接傷及她的心臟。但它所懷揣的訊息——那終末的訊息——已經做到了。
從那殘虐着她的女孩那裏傳來的,臨終的訊息:簡略,冷血。
「不。」
那闖入光的心臟,幾乎將她置於死地的利刃,屆時只向她呈現出這般回憶——熊熊燃燒,吞噬一切的烈火。
觸手可及的死亡。她的心臟猛地悸動了一下,讓她意識到自己仍然活着。
她的瞳孔縮小,如同墨點。
就像那映射烈火的記憶一般,她的身體仿佛被火焰灼燒。
伴隨着流淌於空氣中的邪惡高溫,灼燒着。
疼痛。痛苦。鮮血——
嘗試將手伸向那可怕的傷口時,手中的救贖碎片也摔落下去。
接着,一枚鋸齒狀的碎片,從暴風雨中席捲過來,刺中了她的手背。
已經發不出任何聲音了。
身體也被刺中了兩次。如今,她就連呼吸也做不到了。
她的視線凝固於面前由不可思議的畫面所組成的三重奏。
此般現實。如此地駭人而難以想像,但確實「如此」。
Without warning, Hikari’s storm flies to Tairitsu’s side, cloaking the other girl in darkness and light.
As they surround her, her eyes shut for a moment—and when they open again,
those countless memories unfurl behind her as six gargantuan wings.
Now hanging in the sky in blatant defiance of nature,
she lays her sharpened eyes on Hikari.
A simple look reveals to Hikari that the path to victory has been nearly closed.
She had thought the girl a beast before, and now she sees her as what she is:
above, and nigh impossible.
Glass rises up behind her like a gigantic sheet: a skylight, shimmering and clear.
Below, Hikari has little to nothing to fight what will come. At least, that’s how it feels, but...
No... The girl in black does not have everything. This can be survived. It can!
Hikari takes up twenty memories as the window to the heavens breaks.
At first, only a handful of shards hurtle down at her, but they do so rather... slowly.
It disarms her. She starts to think, "this is possible."
As though the elaborate display a moment ago was only that: a display.
As before, Hikari shields herself, quickly blocking the falling glass with unshakable focus,
her eyes darting this way and that to keep measure of the flitting, brilliant crowd.
It makes her confident—she misses nothing. She allows herself a smile.
At the least, she’ll be able to run from this. At the least, this won’t be the end.
A single piece then flies to the middle of her chest, its delivery interpretable only as a message.
It had flown faster than any other piece of Arcaea she’d ever seen.
The girl above speaks to her through this glass shard: "Enough games."
"And enough wasting time. Give up—and die."
The shard cuts through her dress, and Hikari looks into Tairitsu’s eyes.
The girl in black is smiling now, all the sadness and anger gone from her face.
And it’s the most frightful thing she’s ever witnessed in her life and in her memories.
The shard falls out without having reached her skin.
The broken pane whirls into a side-winding tornado. Its mouth barrels down onto her,
slicing fabric and skin, but otherwise simply passes by.
In this is one more message: before the end, the girl in black wants her enemy to know where this began.
Fear overwhelms her. In this riptide of glass, rushing and cutting past her in powerful amounts,
turning up and swirling as if pulled by a great wind, she is made absolutely afraid.
So petrified, she stands fast and watches.
She stands, watching memories of a filthy world.
Memories of pain, betrayal, envy.
Death, suffering, and decay.
Dark. They are only dark. Wherever it is these shards reflect... she sees little light there.
Whatever small sparks she sees fade away in an instant.
This is what the other girl described to her.
The vile reflections of places gone that had been tormenting her since her awakening—
she would now use them to torment another.
Glass hooks under Hikari’s sleeves and stabs into her skirt.
They drag her upward, up into a domain where she can no longer stand.
Tears fill her eyes as an emotion fills her heart: the emotion that comes when recognizing imminent death.
This is not fear.
"Terror" is too little to describe it.
Desperation? Hope?
An awful, arresting feeling.
Her own memories run through her head. It’s as if she’s searching for one that will stand out—
one that will inform her that she’s come across something like this in the past,
and this is how to escape.
But nothing comes.
The black storm rages over torso, cutting with little mercy.
Pure torturous intent, coming closer and closer,
as if the intent alone would inflict a fatal wound upon her flesh...
It is unbelievable.
The situation is so far beyond anything she’s ever borne witness to,
whether in her own memories of those of others.
This disgusting blend of facing the unknown, yet knowing precisely what awaits her on the other side...
Horror.
Not fear.
Horrific understanding.
There is no control over glass for her here.
Something, anything—an anomaly—a miracle.
If something like that appeared, she could make it out. She could step away. She could live.
If there was ever a time, it is now, and here.
The ground below bursts, as if the world itself is rising up to join the hunt.
It is now.
Now! A shard will come to save her!
She prays with all her being for the will of the world to fly to her side and spare her!
For some mechanism of fate, for the wheel of fortune itself,
to produce a "god" that will grant her victorious power!
Beg for it. Hope for it.
Hold that piece which once brought you salvation close to your bleeding chest once again.
That symbol of rescue, of redemption... It will surely—!
Another shard pierces her body, a hateful stake driving at her heart.
It does not reach through, does not strike the heart itself. But its message—a final message—does.
One last message from the girl tormenting her: a simple, merciless message.
"No."
The almost lethal blade in Hikari’s breast holds the memory of a vast and all-consuming fire.
So close to death, her heart thumps, reminding her she’s alive.
Her pupils shrink to points.
Like that memory of flame, her body burns.
It burns with a fluid, vicious heat.
Pain. Agony. Blood—
Her savior shard falls from her hand as she reaches that hand for the terrible wound.
And then, a jagged piece of glass whirls out of the tempest and finds the back of that hand.
Sound escapes her.
Run twice through, her breath has gone as well.
Her gaze is steady on the trio of unthinkable sights before her.
This reality, horrible and unimaginable as it is, nonetheless "is".
VS-8
被隱藏的Story劇情,需要進行解鎖才可顯示
解鎖條件:完成VS-7,購入Black Fate曲包
解鎖要求:需要解鎖Tempestissimo[1]
只是那些客觀實用的求生本能,卻被光悉數拋棄。它們最後也只是「開始運作」罷了。
她依然感到恐懼。
幾乎是只用一根小拇指,卻仍牢牢扣住的希望。
幾乎是莫名其妙地,她居然成功將十枚回憶召喚至自己身旁,
把那些將她身體固定於半空中的細針狀玻璃皆數撞開。
以如此不光彩的方式,摔落到扭曲崩裂的地面上,
隨後,她所選中的碎片們,圍着她傷痕累累的身體繞起圈來。
足夠奇怪的是,她發現今朝的自己也同樣微笑着。
她藉助左臂將身子撐了起來。從對立的攻擊中透露的敵意清晰可辨,
可她過於享受摧殘自己敵人的肉體,
以至於遲遲未下任何殺手。
哪怕是在此刻存留於光胸腔中的碎片,
是那麼靠近她那跳動的心臟,讓她經受了那麼耀眼,駭人,憤怒的烈焰——
哪怕已經做到這一步,卻仍未致命。
或許這並不是對立的初衷。
但不管怎麼回事,光清楚自己仍然活着。
她虛弱地送出了一波攻勢,卻被上方正翱翔於空的那位女孩輕而易舉地撲滅。
光所聽聞的古老回憶中,完全不存在像那女孩一般可怕的惡魔。
她是名副其實的女王,在這白晝的世界中統治着黑夜。
那絲展露着狂喜的微笑,卻空虛得毋庸置疑……
望見這幅景象後,光也終於能體會到相同的事物:自己心中的所有情感,是如何邁向毀滅的。
鮮明的現實只會讓她變得愈發清醒,而不是使她更加畏縮,
譬如她在幾分鐘前的心理狀態——不,幾秒前。
她開始認知起當今形勢中存在的每一件事實。
緩慢地——或者說,是在條件允許的情況下,儘可能緩慢地認知着事態。對立的攻勢,在此期間從未停歇。
將身體左右挪移,用僅剩的回憶去保護自己肉體最脆弱的部位。
同時,光觀察着二人如今的戰場。
面前的景象是如此殘敗不堪。現在的這裏,比從前的任何時間都更像一片「荒原」。
被撕裂的地面,處處都只留下殘亘斷瓦。這裏簡直是一座被嚴重轟炸過的城鎮。
環繞着她們二人的玻璃根本無法計數。對立所擁有的力量更是不可估量。
光的自身,太弱小了。
並不只是指代自己控制玻璃碎片的能力——衣衫襤褸的她,渾身本就受滿了傷。
她早就沒剩下多少耐力——光是疲勞便足以戰勝她僅剩的神智。
也許她仍可能找到一場異象,但此刻只可假設她做不到。
所以在這之後,她又得去尋找什麼?
她做不到。既然她做不到,那就不存在任何假設的必要。
於是?
前進的道路都徹底毀了,你還怎麼向前走?
再者,你甚至……該向前走嗎?
玻璃閃耀着光芒,衝擊着她的雙肩。
光凝視着玻璃反射的畫面。
所以,那個女孩現在和她一樣,也能控制光芒了。那好……
她再度企圖重新思考自己所觀測到的一切。
她明白自己可能會死在這裏,但也可能不會。
留給她的只有這兩個可能性。知曉這一事實後,她發現自己逐漸認同了自己的命運。
這裏確實可以是她生命的終點。
只需剎那間的功夫,這一切就都能落幕。
而每當她祈求這不要變成事實的時候,她卻做不了任何事。她只能重複這樣的想法:
「別無他路可走。」
在丟失了思維、希望與感官之後……
意志是最後離開她的事物。
還沒有。
還沒有……
還沒有……到屈服的時候。
不要……
當她將先前刺入手中的碎片狠狠拔出後,
燃起的純白火舌瞬間便吞噬了她的傷口,不禁使她一陣眼花目眩。
她並未將手按壓在自己的脖子上。
她顯然會寧可活下去……但她並不會介意。
她不會介意,畢竟奇蹟發生的可能性是那麼渺小。
光直立於刀刃的狂風之中。聽從她指揮的碎片,近乎不存在。
她已經無法再辨認出對立的臉。
她所身處的區域已經騷動不堪。若想讓視線穿透這些碎片,實在是過於艱難。
最終,就在試圖緩慢穿過飛舞的玻璃時,
她留意到風暴的某些部分正在整齊地逆旋。
這樣不自然的怪異現象,讓她自心底懷疑這是不是上面那女孩的有意之舉。
就像是正在跳幀的視頻,她如此聯想。
儘管與自己曾遭遇的彈幕相比,這種現象並沒有好壞上的區別。但它的確顯得過於古怪了。
地面猛烈震盪起來。
感覺到這一跡象知識,她脫口而出一句「什……」
地面在……震動?
就在這兒?
很有可能是地表將要再一次開裂。
這個念頭浮現的瞬間,光便用手掌擋住臉龐,順勢用手臂護住了胸前。
但之後並沒有任何事情發生,而她仍舊對這突發現象保持着十足的好奇心。
如果這不是上面那女孩的所作所為,那她也自然不會察覺到這件事——畢竟,現在的她仍在天上飛。
現在的這片刀刃風暴之中,只存在更多的碎片正以那粗糙死板的路徑呼嘯翻騰。
她決定再將一隊碎片擲入另外那名女孩的路徑上。
那些碎片——它們輕而易舉地穿透了風暴的波浪,但卻忽然發出詭異的強光,接着便崩壞消逝。
碎片本身並沒有損毀……它們只是憑空消失,在原處留下了好似裂痕的空間。
而就在她目睹這一跡象後——就在她意識到自己看到了什麼東西的那一瞬間——所有的事物都陷入了靜止狀態。
在這頃刻間,那些本圍繞着她盤旋的黑曜石玻璃也被牢牢牽制於原地。
對她而言,這幅畫面是那麼美不勝收。
一抹截然不受自己意願所控的微笑,令她的嘴角微微上揚。「多麼令人愉快啊。」她這樣低語道,咯咯地笑着。
這裏存在着某種極為美麗的事物:哪怕這裏很快便會立起自己的墳墓。
這真是奇異到令人……發笑。她的確笑出了聲。她發出了如此真心誠意,卻這般悲傷,這般乾枯的笑聲……
只是,就在周遭的場景逐漸回歸正常,流動的時間也終於回到位於上方的那名女……
位於……上方……
……天空?
一道裂痕瞬間出現於天空之上。
那裂縫急劇擴寬,逐漸刻畫出宛若天堂般的輪廓。緊接着,那巨大的斷層開始下墜。
更令人感到離奇的是,數百張畫面正在它的表面上流竄,接連撲閃着光輝。
整個世界都漸漸開始墮落為一片古怪的殘骸。
光在將這一幕盡收眼底之際,臉上的微笑也變得更加滿足。
暴風雨仍轉動得極為緩慢。這幅畫面——真的太夢幻了。
那片天空——那片貨真價實的天空,絕非人造物體——正在墜落。忽然完全停止,接着再度墜落,
好似一幅天文拼圖的碎片正被某位醉酒的神明肆意移動着。
並且……
注視着這幅景象……
她的微笑開始逐漸逝去。
她的眼神變得冰冷,呼吸也逐漸變慢,
因這種災難性的畫面而點亮的微弱激情,也終於熄滅——
被客觀思緒所完全替代。對於這場即將毀滅萬物的災難,她只傳達出了單單一個詞語。
語氣中帶着一絲微弱的讚揚,更多的卻是空洞。她說道:
「太美妙了」
就好像這個詞語存在任何意義。就好像那場崩塌存在任何意義。
They haven’t yet taken hold, those discarded yet practical sensibilities. They have only stirred.
She is still afraid.
She clings to hope by a little finger.
Somehow, she manages to pull on ten memories to aid her,
striking out the needle-glass that had been keeping her in the sky.
Ingloriously she drops to the now-deformed ground,
her chosen pieces afterward hovering over her crumpled, aching body.
Oddly enough, she finds herself smiling now, too.
She pushes herself up with her left hand. For all the enmity evident in Tairitsu’s assault,
she had taken too much pleasure in inflicting torture on her enemy’s body,
rather than inflicting any sort of mortal blow.
Even the shard now in Hikari’s chest,
so near to her beating heart and flickering with horrid, wrathful flame,
did not do the deed.
Maybe it wasn’t intended to.
Regardless, Hikari is still alive.
She feebly sends forth an attack, which is quickly swatted down by the girl flying above her.
That girl now looks worse than any described devil Hikari has heard of in old memories.
A veritable dark queen, ruling night in a world of day.
That ecstatic, yet obviously empty smile...
Seeing this, Hikari can feel it: how her own feelings are beginning to slip away.
Stark reality is sobering her more and more, and rather than dread it,
as she had been only minutes—no, seconds ago,
she begins instead to register each fact present to the situation.
Slowly—or, as slowly as Tairitsu will allow. Her attack is unending.
Shifting her body left and right, guarding her weakest areas with what few memories remain to her,
Hikari examines their field of battle.
It has been torn asunder, and now looks more a wasteland than ever before.
Ripped, ruined all through, like a town in the aftermath of military bombardment.
The glass around them is uncountable. The power Tairitsu has is immeasurable.
Hikari herself is weak.
Not only in terms of strange abilities and control over glass—her body has been run ragged.
She doesn’t have much left before she falls from weariness alone.
Perhaps she could find an anomaly, but say she couldn’t.
What then?
She couldn’t, so "then" is "now".
So?
How do you go on when the way is completely obstructed?
Should you...? Go on?
Glass strikes her shoulder, shining with light.
Hikari stares into its reflection.
So, the other girl can control light too, now. Well...
She decides to think over what she’s observed once again.
She recognizes that she could die here, or she could not.
These are the two possibilities, and knowing that, she finds herself in acceptance.
This could be the end.
In a moment, this could all be over.
And while she’d rather it not, she can’t help but echo the idea:
"So it goes."
After thought, hope, and feeling...
determination is the last to fade from her.
This.
This...
This is not... a laying down of arms.
No...
When she pulls the shard from her hand,
her eyes briefly dazzled from the white flames licking up and searing closed her wound,
she does not press it to her neck.
She would certainly prefer to live... but she would not mind.
She wouldn’t mind, with the odds being so impossible.
Hikari stands in the wind of blades, barely a shard in her employ.
She can’t discern Tairitsu’s face anymore.
Her domain has become pandemonium, and seeing through it is too difficult.
Eventually, while trudging through the flying glass, Hikari notices that
some segments of the whirlwind are reversing in fits and starts.
The bizarre movement is so unnatural she genuinely wonders if the girl above her is doing it on purpose.
It’s reminiscent, she thinks, of a skipping video.
It isn’t any better or worse than the bullet curtains she’s been facing so far, but it is quite peculiar.
The earth quakes.
She utters a "Wha...?" as she feels it.
The earth, quaking?
Here?
It could be that the ground will break again.
Thinking that, Hikari shields her face and chest with her arms.
When nothing comes, she remains curious about the phenomenon.
If it wasn’t the girl above her, Tairitsu wouldn’t have noticed it—after all, she was flying now.
More of the blade storm is shifting and roiling in rough, rigid movements now.
She decides to throw a crew of glass the other girl’s way again.
It passes easily through the waves again, but then it suddenly turns very bright and breaks away.
The shards don’t break themselves... They vanish, and the space where they were looks as if it is cracked.
Once she sees this—once she recognizes what she’s seeing—everything around her enters stasis.
In this instant, the obsidian-glass which had been flying all around her is stuck fast within reality.
To her, it looks absolutely beautiful.
A smile crosses her lips without her wanting. "How pleasant," she whispers, chuckling to herself.
Something so beautiful here: where she could soon find her grave.
It’s so bizarre that it is... to laugh. So she does. She makes earnest yet sad, dry laughter...
But as motion gradually returns to the objects around her, and to the one above...
Above...
The sky...?
A fracture splits across it.
It widens, carving a shape out of heaven, and that immense segment begins to plummet.
Even more bizarrely, hundreds of images flash across it, blinking rapidly from one to the next.
The world begins to fall into strange ruin.
As Hikari bears witness to this, more satisfaction rises to her smile.
The storm is still slow, the image—too fantastic.
The sky—the genuine sky, not an artificial one—is falling, stopping, and falling again,
as if grand pieces of a celestial puzzle are being moved and switched by some befuddled god.
And...
watching it...
her smile begins to gradually recede.
The look in her eyes grows colder, her breath slows,
and the faint glimmer of excitement provided by this cataclysmic view is snuffed out,
replaced with objectivity. Her opinion on the disaster destroying all is delivered in a single word.
With a little appreciation, in a mostly hollow tone, she says, "Delightful."
As if the word has any meaning.
As if the fall has any meaning.
F-1
解鎖條件:購入Final Verdict曲包
解鎖要求:解鎖Infinite Strife,
白色的火焰,在紅色少女的身中熊熊燃起。其中的力量,足以讓世界都為之臣服。她操控着這道火焰,
讓它們環繞着自己,同時開始思考事情為何會發展至如此地步。她的敵人此刻也停了下來。
整場戰鬥迎來了短暫的沉寂。
然而這並沒有結束,上方的天空,仍在顯着地破裂着。
這一切,只是因為她觸碰到了事情原有的模樣:
那一刻,當死亡的呼聲充斥於腦海中時,她也沒有因此而懼怕。
即便如此,「死亡」也不會是她想看到的結局。現在的她,依然拒絕向其屈服。
在破碎的天際下方,虛無的山谷之中,白色少女身上不斷流落着鮮血,然而那血滴卻根本無法波及地面。
遠方,只剩下一座矗立的高塔,那是某個荒廢教堂的鐘樓。它橫亙於天際與少女之間,
如同一條醒目的分界線一般。
結局,就要來了,就如同我們曾看到的一樣。
這就是宿命嗎?
上方的天際之間,星光在不斷閃爍着。而被撕裂的帷幕後方,黑暗也在不時涌動着。
只是,她還察覺得到這些嗎?她還會在乎這些嗎?
眼前的視界逐漸變得越來越遲鈍,直到最後完全靜止。當熾熱的鮮血流盡,雙瞳也失去了神色。
對立很清楚,那樣的雙眼,已經註定她將時日無多。她咽下一口口水,
以此浸潤着早已乾裂的舌頭與喉嚨。然後她看向對方的雙眼——
少女一語不發,卻依然堅定着誓要反抗的決心。
「空虛」充斥着光的內心。不過,這不是對立從少女無言的凝視中所看見的那種空虛,
那並不是無力的空虛感。相反,有一股堅定的信念在其中蓄勢待發,
那是光永遠不會被磨滅的信念:她要「活下去」——
少女一語不發,卻依然堅定着誓要活下去的決心。
對立瘋狂地沖向對方。
整個世界都試圖阻止着她前行。然而現在的她,如同脫韁的野獸般拒絕着阻止她腳步的一切。
縱使這股力量不斷撕扯着她的皮膚,她也絕不會停下。
黑色野獸的獠牙,此刻已經直直伸向了站在大地之上的白色野獸。而對方,也將頭轉了過來。
然而,就在對立接觸大地的那一瞬間,整個世界就如同上下顛倒一般。掉落的玻璃剛發出嘈雜的聲響,
下一秒就立刻反向飛出。她的手臂甚至一時失去了知覺,但她咬牙堅持了下來。
她勉強把膝蓋伸直,卻發現下方突然閃過一道光芒——那是一道白色的火焰,
透過碎片之間向上猛然竄出。對立急忙向後退去。
眼前的一切,瞬間化為火海。
周遭的世界,再度天旋地轉。
如此頻繁的顛倒讓對立感到渾身難受,但她很快就遏制住不適感並站穩步伐。
白色少女再一次悄無聲息地靠近,而那道蒼白的火焰猶如圍巾般纏繞並灼燒着對立的肩膀。
對立不得不再次後退。
就這樣,玻璃在世界的顛倒中不斷上下起伏。四散的碎片,逐漸如稜鏡般環繞着對立的身影。
她再次看向光的雙眸。光並沒有回以眼神,只是靜靜看着她所打造的這個牢籠。
接着,她低聲說了些什麼,但是……
……那並不是黑色少女想聽到的話。
對立攥緊拳頭打碎了這其中一塊堅固的玻璃,並起手瞄準光的喉嚨。
光抬起頭看向對方的那隻手,而下一秒——
七彩的光芒透過破碎的玻璃噴涌而出,
連帶着時間也停止了下來。
The world bowed to the girl marked by red, as white fire rose from her body. Now cloaked in flames
that will not burn without her say, she wonders why this has come to pass. Her foe was stopped. The
battle, for a moment, was stopped. And there is more. Above there is more.
All because she has touched on what once was; when faced with the thought of dying, she was not afraid.
However, dying was also the last thing that she wanted. And still, now, she refuses to die.
Now, in a valley of nothing, beneath a sundered sky, her blood falls but does not strike the ground. Only
beyond here can a single tower be seen: the bell tower of a hollow church, jutting there between the
divide as if to mark it for those below.
The conclusion approaches now. It was expected.
Was it fate?
Now, there is starlight in the heavens. The veil is rent, and the darkness behind it is glittering. Is it within
her notice? Does that matter? The pictures have slowed, and stopped. The fall of the firmament has
slowed, and stopped. Her blood is hot. Her eyes are dull.
And Tairitsu knows: despite their dullness, those eyes promise "demise". She knows. She swallows what
little spit dampens her otherwise dried-out tongue and throat. She meets those eyes. Wordlessly, she
vows to defy them.
In Hikari's heart, "emptiness" threatens. However, it isn't the emptiness that Tairitsu can view through
the silent girl's stare. "Will" lurks, but not in weakness. There is a sincere will to survive, unkillable in
Hikari's soul. It will not perish. Wordlessly, she vows to live.
Tairitsu moves forth like a dragon.
The world holds her back, and still, like an untamable beast, she resists. Is this atmosphere? It is force—
ripping at her skin, and yet she drives forward still, to the true beast standing on the earth. That beast
turns her head.
The world seems to turn on its side, and at once Tairitsu meets the ground. Glass falls in a tumultuous
clatter, splashing and scattering and flying out. She cannot feel her arm for a moment, but forces it to
return to recognition. She drags herself onto her knees, and spots a white tongue of flame flashing
through the shards beneath her. She flies backward then.
The earth is set ablaze.
The world turns again.
Her stomach lurches with motion, though she soon stops and stands still.
And with no warning, before her stands the girl in white, a scarf of flames of the same the same pale
color burning over shoulders.
Once again, Tairitsu makes to retreat.
Glass flies up—and down—to ensnare her, forming a great prism around her body. Her body trembles
once before not moving at all.
And so again, she looks into Hikari's eyes. Hikari does not look back. She looks only into the cage she's
made.
And, she whispers something, but...
...it is nothing that the girl in black wants to hear.
Tairitsu's grasp shatters through the rough glass, aimed at Hikari's open neck. Hikari lifts her eyes to
the hand.
Seven colors ring out, and the flow of time goes still.
F-2
解鎖條件:完成F-1,購入Final Verdict曲包
解鎖要求:解鎖World Ender
這種抗拒的方式,這種似曾相識的感覺——
光能感覺到周圍的一切都在遠離自己。
時光仍處於冰封之中,她的心情也低沉到了冰點。現在的她,只想讓自己就此打住。
這種想法不是因為光的本性有多麼善良。
她只是不在乎罷了。這種刻進骨子裏的冷漠,才是她一直以來的樣子。
她以前肯定也有過這種想法。
在她的內心深處,有兩股思緒正在相互鬥爭。
——我無法這麼做。
——我必須這麼做。
這種圍繞「應該」還是「不應該」的情感對抗正變得越來越強烈。
但她能感受到內心深處還有一絲火焰在微微顫動。
顯然,再激烈的鬥爭,也無法抹滅她內心真正的希望。
對立被定格在光的面前,她的面容與伸出的手因為憤怒而變得扭曲。周圍的虹光,
因為破碎而瀰漫於空氣之中。對立動彈不得,光亦是如此。
光內心的希望告訴她:「等時間恢復之時,只要把她推得遠遠的就不可能再打了吧?」
只要能停止戰鬥,就不會再有誰因此喪命。她開始思考這種想法的可行性。
這應該行得通。希望猶存,則應該有其存在的意義。
時光再次流動了起來,而對立也在一瞬間被推往遠處教堂的大門之後。她呼喚碎片撕裂了門欄上的鉸鏈,
然後一股腦將門上的一根鐵杆抓了下來。
她很快就明白了對面那頭野獸當下的意圖。
她叫來了周圍能找來的全部玻璃碎片,並將它們送往空中,任憑那些碎片閃爍而反射着周圍的景象。
就這樣,她很快便找到了光的身影。隨後,她開始撼動着腳下的大地。世界的核心,
連帶着地殼都開始變得扭曲,只剩下光站在地上做着無聲的抵抗。
她能感覺到對立深深的執念。那是要奪走這一切的執念,無論地點,無論手段,她心意已決。
哈,這就是所謂的希望嗎。
她笑出聲。
什麼「希望」,早就不復存在。
阻隔在她們視線之間的一切全部灰飛煙滅,甚至她們自己也已經分不清是誰下的手。教堂的陰影下,
破敗的大門前,她們就這樣面對面看着彼此。
光臉上露出一絲輕蔑的微笑,她再一次告訴對立:「我說你啊……你並不需要做到這種地步。」
那並不是黑色少女想聽到的話。
deeply seated apathy. This is what she always had. This profound indifference—she must have felt
it before.
Within her soul, two wills are at war.
I can't, she thinks.
I have to, she thinks.
And these thoughts—they fight against those building sentiments of "should" and "shouldn't".
But she feels a fire flickering in the depths of her heart; yes, her true wishes are much too strong to lose.
Hikari stands before Tairitsu, whose hand is out and whose face is contorted with rage. Around them,
a rainbow has been torn apart and is bleeding through the air. Tairitsu cannot move. Hikari cannot move.
Inside of her, hope asks, "When you bring back time, can't you just push her far away?" Her will-to-be
considers it.
That's fair, she thinks. Hope can't be a worthless thing.
The world begins to move again, and Tairitsu is sent, in an instant, behind that distant chapel's gates.
Her impassioned grasp closes around one of its bars, and glass comes to help her tear the metal
construct from its hinges. At once, she realizes what game the beast has played. She takes hold of
whatever other glass can be found around her, and sends it all to the air, each flickering and each
reflecting. She finds Hikari soon, and then she moves the earth.
Things twist beneath that earth, and within the world's fabric, as Hikari plants down her foot in quiet
rebellion. In a sudden but frightening way, she realizes that Tairitsu still has the aim—and the means—
to take away all of this. So, to hope?
She chuckles.
She already knew that hope was gone.
The space between them warps. Which of them asked for this, neither can tell. They face each other
behind the broken gate, within the shadow of that cathedral.
And, with a smile, Hikari repeats herself. She tells Tairitsu, easily, "I said... you don't have to do this."
It is nothing that the girl in black wants to hear.
F-3
解鎖條件:完成F-2,購入Final Verdict曲包
解鎖要求:解鎖Pentiment
對立繼續說道。
「你根本不知道自己為什麼會來到這裏。不如說除了我之外,還有人知道嗎?」
「我不需要做到這種地步?沒錯啊,本來什麼都不會發生的,這破地方根本就沒什麼意義。你懂嗎?
你根本就不懂,你什麼都不知道。」
「我已經受夠了。你以為我想來這種地方嗎?」
「這種毫無意義的故事,我是主角還是反派……都已經無所謂了。
或許,這場故事要做的……就是要你命喪於此。」
「你說得對,我不需要做到這種地步。」
「那你一開始就不應該那麼做。」
……她的話語,猶如沉重的巨石般,試圖壓倒眼前的光。
而對光而言,這些話只能用「瘋了」來形容。
如今,她感覺到自己和眼前這位少女似乎已經聯繫在了一起……但對方的內心裏只有無盡的瘋狂。
對立也明白自己的心智已經陷入瘋狂,但她已經不在乎了。事已至此,已經沒有什麼可以失去了,
也不會再有什麼可以得到了。
她最後一次開口說道:「如果你還想活下去,那就來殺了我。」
「但在那之前,我要告訴你……」
「我只求一死。」
她的決心與殺氣盡在言語之中。
對立的體內充滿了力量,她的雙手蓄勢待發。
無論如何,她都必須要結束這一切。
在這股情緒的引導下,她召喚來雙方都還未曾掌握過的碎片。
那是天空破裂之後的碎片。隨着它們開始下墜,天際也逐漸墮入深淵。
"You don't know why you're here, do you? Does anyone, other than me?"
"What has to be done? You're right: nothing has to happen. Nothing in this place matters, and you... you
don't even understand. You don't know anything."
"I've kept it up long enough. Do you think I care to be here? You know, honestly, maybe I'm the 'hero' of
this worthless story. Maybe I'm its 'villain'."
"Whether I am, whether I'm not... Honestly, whatever; it doesn't really matter. Maybe... you ought to die."
"You're right. I don't have to do this."
"Neither did you."
...The words, pointed as they are, seem to roll out of her like smooth and heavy stones, bowling over and
through Hikari before her.
To Hikari, it sounds only like insanity. She feels now like she and the other girl have been connected...
but all that's in the other girl's mind is madness.
Tairitsu knows that her mind is madness. And what of it, she thinks? It has been driven there. There is
nothing to lose and nothing to gain.
She speaks one final time, saying, "If you want to live, then kill me."
"But you should know this first..."
"I want to die."
Her words are sincere, and her sincerity and wickedness are manifested. Might fills Tairitsu's stomach
and burns into her hands.
She will force the ending now, no matter what it will be.
With that sentiment guiding her, she calls upon the shards to which neither girl has laid claim:
The fragmented segments of the sky. They begin to fall, and the horizon darkens.
F-4
解鎖條件:完成F-2,購入Final Verdict曲包
解鎖要求:解鎖Arcana Eden
事實上,她在取得主導權後不久便失去了控制。
這就像是一場拔河比賽……
不,倒不如說這是一次掙扎——
或者說是單方面的壓制。
天空塌了下來,其中一部分砸落在大教堂之上,並瞬間揚起無數的塵土,而這一切就發生在她身旁。
這絕不會是巧合。
隨着越來越多的碎片鋪天蓋地地砸向地面,光也明白了——對立,已經掌控了整個天空。
這太荒謬了,荒謬到難以置信。
整個世界變得天昏地暗。碎片與狂風交織在一起,雜亂無章而又遍佈各地。面對着混亂的碎片,
她伸手一指將它們化為蒼白的火焰燃燒殆盡。
她也可以掌控天空的一部分。就在對立將整個世界都砸向她時,她也會接住這一切並還以顏色。
眼前的景象完全就是災難,就好像是泰坦巨人從天而降肆意踐踏着大地一般。
而在那白色的風暴中,有一些光無法干涉的黑色碎片正從遠處被召喚而來。那是被對立掌控的碎片,
那是光無法主導的一切。
在她回擊之時,周遭的地面、建築、大門無不為之震動,甚至她的牙齒都為之發顫。她站穩腳跟,
然而戰慄感依舊從指尖傳到了全身。
她們上方的大教堂因為無數碎片的摧殘而發出沉悶的低鳴。但大教堂依舊屹立不倒,而她也絕不會倒下。
……她本可以阻止這一切。她曾經有那樣的機會。
伴隨着猛烈的心跳,她眯起眼睛思考着——
接下來要崩潰的,會是這個世界的核心嗎?這就是那名少女的目的,不是嗎?
她努力不讓眼前的景象徹底分崩離析,同時拼命思考着該如何阻止對方,但就在這時——
她突然感到胸口透不過氣來。 一群Arcaea從黑暗中飛奔而出,如同鋒利的鎖鏈般捆住了她的胸口。
她急忙用火焰將它們燒成灰燼,可是很快就會有新的鎖鏈纏繞住她。
她的雙臂很快也被束縛。她努力地轉過頭去,卻發現自己雙腳到雙腿全都無一倖免。
最後,連她的腹部也被纏緊。她不斷召喚火焰,不惜整個身體都遍佈於火焰之中,
可碎片很快就會再次纏繞住她。
束縛着她的全身的,是那些充滿悲傷的記憶。
如同諷刺般悲傷的記憶。
光艱難地解開了雙腳的束縛,卻發現對立已經向她靠近。
她向後退了一步,卻發現身後暗藏了一塊尖銳的碎片,而它已經瞄準了光剛被解開束縛的四肢。
情急之下,她雙眼緊盯着那片玻璃,企圖用意念將其燒毀。
但那片玻璃不為所動。
她很快又被捆住,然後跪倒在地上動彈不得。
說不定還有一條出路。
或許曾經有一條出路——
在某一個時間點,她還能有一線生機?
光思索着抬起頭,發現對立一動不動地站在她面前。
Rather, her control was lost very quickly after she had gained it.
A tug of war...
No, this would be better referred to as a struggle—
This would be better called a beating.
As the first part of the sky falls to the earth, crushing a part of the cathedral and showering everything in
dust, it falls very near to her. This cannot be coincidence—it's too close to be chance. She understands,
as more comes down, that Tairitsu has the sky.
And that... can only be called absurd.
The land and the air—the glass, the wind—all of it is being heaved up, pulled down, turned and tossed.
She can disappear some of it. She can point at some of it, and make it vanish into nothing but pale and
transient fire. She can even pull parts of the sky to her thrall. When Tairitsu throws the world at her, she
can catch and throw it back.
It is cataclysmic: as if giants have descended, and now stomp down on the earth.
And amidst the white there is black she cannot touch, called from the distance. There are shards that
Tairitsu will not give back. This, everything, is now being taken.
As she battles back—as the plains and gates and buildings rumble—her teeth are forced to chatter. She
plants her feet again, but can still feel tremors into her fingernails—into her skull. The cathedral
standing over them groans as it is beaten by the debris of the heavens. But, it does not fall. Nor will she.
...She should have stopped this sooner. She had had a chance.
Her heart beats. Her eyes narrow, only a bit—
Is the core of the world going to break next? That's what the other girl wants, right?
As she thinks that, as she holds the landscape together and thinks—so quickly thinks about how
to stop her, if that is the case—
Her chest is leashed. A line of Arcaea flies from the darkness and wraps her chest in a pointed
embrace. Fire burns this away, but her chest is leashed again.
Her arms are leashed. With effort, she turns her head. Her legs, her feet, her thighs are leashed.
Her stomach is leashed. Her body burns again, and her body is bound again.
These shadows—these memories of woe are keeping her trapped.
That... There's some black humor in that.
Tairitsu approaches, and Hikari breaks some of the bonds around herself, freeing her leg. She takes
one step backward with it, and finds a spike just behind her. Some hideous formation, aimed at her
unshackled limb.
So, she simply stares into the glass, and wills it to be set ablaze.
Yet it refuses to.
She is tied down again. She is brought low. She is tugged, suddenly, down to her knees. There might
still be a way out.
Or, there might have been.
...When did it happen?
When she lifts her head, Hikari finds Tairitsu standing motionless before her.
F-5
解鎖條件:完成F-4,購入Final Verdict曲包
解鎖要求:完成Axiom of the End的最終挑戰
沉默的少女,沉默的視線。縱使方才戰鬥的聲音在耳邊迴響,她們也依然目不轉睛地注視着彼此。
大地在轟隆聲中破裂,狂風在呼嘯聲中肆虐,建築在倒塌聲中揚起漫天塵土……
但這些都無法讓兩名少女的視線從對方身上移開。
而光也看得很清楚——
對立的眼神中,依舊燃燒着戰鬥的怒火。
這不是休戰的信號,這是無聲的威脅。
光深吸一口氣,而對立則把目光投向了光的喉嚨。她痛恨着光的每一次呼吸,也痛恨着光的每一道聲音。
這股恨意刺透着光身上的每一片肌膚。
光現在希望時間能夠再次停止,然而時光依舊。
她試着用火焰去燒穿束縛住她的鎖鏈,但它們不為所動。
大地沒有顫動,天空也沒有響應。
她的腦袋一片空白,這才發現自己已經不知不覺間屏住了呼吸。
「……」
天空已陷落得所剩無幾……教堂也逐漸化為廢墟……
漫天紛飛的塵土瀰漫在她們之間,覆蓋了整個天空。
對立的眼神里依舊充滿着尖銳的殺氣。
那股殺氣逐漸聚焦在對方身上。這一刻,整片廢墟已然變得鴉雀無聲。
……光依然死死地盯着她,而對立這時把目光放向了一份記憶。她發出一聲冷笑。
「我們又回到這裏了。」對立微微歪起頭繼續說道, 「你還要再來一次嗎?又要祈求有奇蹟發生了嗎?」
光沒有回答。
「……奇蹟之所以被稱作奇蹟,就是因為它們太完美了,完美到根本不可能存在。」
「你透過這些碎片……透過Arcaea見識過太多破碎的世界。所以你應該明白,
奇蹟也只不過是另一種『希望』罷了。」
「更何況,無論有沒有奇蹟的存在……你都難逃一死。」
光深呼着氣,而對立則逐漸挺直了身體。
黑色少女繼續說道:「你應該很清楚,如果可以的話,我寧可選擇忘記世間所有的一切。」
光再次試着動起來,卻還是無奈意識到自己已經被完全固定住。她的肩膀被拉得緊繃,
腳趾也蜷縮在了一起。
「我要殺了你。」對立說道。 「連帶着這個世界……「你的世界」也會一同灰飛煙滅。」
她的嘴角再次揚起一抹微笑。這一次,她深吸一口氣,隨後擠出一記詭異的笑聲。
接着,她伸出一隻手摸向光的臉頰。隨後輕輕抬起少女的下巴。
「你說得確實沒錯。」對立一邊說道、一邊把手伸向對方。 「我確實不需要……為了你做到這種地步。」
她收回了笑容,身體也向前傾去。
對立的目光……那是一道熟悉的眼神。
是悔恨的眼神,是同情的眼神。
她黑色的翅膀向下收起。
而頭頂的夜空,依舊閃亮。
儘管方才狂暴的戰鬥都已經煙消雲散……但光的心臟依舊猛烈跳動着。
她不得不承認,單純「阻止」對方是沒有用的。
對立將左手從光的喉嚨處收回,而就在這時……
……她的手掌中,多出了一塊尖銳且閃亮的黑色碎片。
在這最後,對立說道:
「至少,我想告訴你:
在這裏,我的名字是對立,而你的名字是光。」
「求求你……」
光勉強發出一絲微弱的聲音。
「求求你住手……」
對立歪過頭來。
「……還來啊?」 她思考片刻,隨後補充道:「什麼都不會再改變了。」
而就在這時,一道耀眼的光芒粉碎了光身上的束縛。她站起身並伸出手,試圖祈求一把武器——
她的身體很快又被束縛住。
即便如此,她的祈求並沒有消失,一把利劍開始在她的手掌中逐漸成形。那是一把「全新」的武器,
雖然同樣由玻璃構成,但卻並不是什麼記憶。
這根本就難以置信……劍刃周圍的空間似乎在光亮中發生着扭曲。
Arcaea甚至改寫了自身,讓自己逐漸適應了這把武器的存在。
對立心想:這真是太可笑了……
她以前也見過這種參差的玻璃長柱。
光再一次掙脫身上的鎖鏈,並轉起手中的利劍,將其重重插入地面。隨即,一股詭異的強風突然升起,
並把對立推往遠處。
光舉起劍,將劍刃瞄準對立。
但在此時,她發現自己的手在顫抖。
對立並未因為這股強風而亂了陣腳,她的目光再次落在了那把熟悉的利劍之上。
無言的視線。
無言的等待。
……她緊咬牙關。
她看向光的臉龐,卻發現對方完全無法集中精神。
她看到的,只有搖擺的表情,和躊躇的身軀。
這讓她失去了最後的耐心。
光的四周開始升起玻璃狀的高牆,每面牆壁都倒映出對立逼近的身影,而她們的手中全都閃爍着黑色的光芒。
這是鏡像還是實體或許已無從得知,但當這種景象從這些四面八方的玻璃中顯現之時,
還是讓光的背後驚出一身冷汗。
對立抬起了手,下一秒,她便將穿透對方的喉嚨。
白色少女的雙手一直在顫抖,但她還是緊握着手中的劍。
刺耳的聲音開始在她腦中迴響,緊接着,心跳聲也再一次傳到了她的耳邊。
只要她再次收回手上的劍並將其插向地面,周圍的牆壁就會倒下,而對立也會被再一次擊退。
理性告訴她這樣的情況將會反覆上演。
Met with silence.
Though they do not speak, the two have locked eyes tightly with one another. They stare, unflinching,
as the sounds of their finished battle echo.
Through the rumbling of broken earth, through the whistling of scattered wind, and through the dust
and debris cast and rolling out from ruined, beaten monuments... both girls are unmoving, their eyes
only on each other.
And yet despite that, Hikari can see it:
In that girl's eyes, an ember of the passion which had brought Hikari down still distantly burns. This is
not a suggestion for a truce, it is a wordless threat.
Hikari swallows, and Tairitsu eyes her open neck: eyes that throat that she hates; that voice that she hates.
Her will and her desire prick at Hikari's skin.
Now Hikari asks for time to go still. It flows on.
She tries to destroy her bindings with flames. They remain.
The earth will not yield. The sky will not bend.
With nothing else in mind, she finds herself holding her breath.
"..."
The sky has finished falling... The cathedral is still breaking...
Dust lingers between and above them.
And that sharp and wicked will is still flickering in Tairitsu's eyes.
Those eyes begin to gently narrow. In this moment, although ruined, the world is calm.
...Tairitsu smirks at a memory, then. Hikari maintains her stare.
"We're back here," Tairitsu says. She tilts her head, only a little. "Are you going to do it? Are you going to
wish for a miracle again?"
But Hikari will not answer.
"...Miracles are miracles because they're too convenient—too perfectly timed to ever actually happen.
You've seen enough broken worlds through these shards... through Arcaea. You know, then, that
miracles are the same as 'hope'."
"And besides, with or without miracles, you live... you die."
Hikari breathes. Tairitsu gently straightens her own back.
The girl in black goes on, "You know: I would much rather just forget. Forget everything."
Another attempt to move. Another reminder that she has been brought utterly still. Her shoulders
strain. Her toes curl.
"I'm going to kill you," Tairitsu says, "and this world... 「your world」is going to die."
Again, she pushes a smile across her lips. She breathes in, and forces out a laugh.
With her other hand, she takes Hikari's cheek. She lifts the bound girl's chin.
"You really are right," says Tairitsu as she brings her palm nearer, "I really don't have to do this... for you."
Her smile disappears as she leans forward.
Tairitsu's eyes... have a familiar look.
It is regret, and sympathy.
Her wings of black have folded down.
Above, the night sky continues to glitter.
Although all the fury has passed... Hikari's heart continues to pound.
She admits to herself: it won't be enough to just "stop" her.
Tairitsu begins to bring her left hand away from Hikari's throat, and as she drags it back...
...something black and pointed glitters in her palm.
To end this, Tairitsu says this:
"I'll let you know clearly: my name here was Tairitsu, and yours was Hikari."
"Please..."
Hikari whispers a word forced.
She almost hisses: "Please stop..."
And Tairitsu tilts her head.
"...This again?" She thinks for a moment, and adds, "Nothing's going to change."
Hikari breaks her bonds with a show of blinding light. She stands and holds out
her hand to wish for a weapon—
Her wrist, her waist, her legs are all pulled back down.
Still, she wishes, and within her palm a sword begins to manifest. It is something "new". Something
created. Not a memory: though still made of glass.
An impossible blade... Along its edge, space seems to be bending, glistening. Arcaea rewrites itself,
and slowly allows the weapon to be.
Tairitsu thinks: How funny this is...
She has seen that jagged pillar before.
And immediately once more, Hikari breaks free. She turns her sword in her palm, and thrusts it into the
earth. With this, Tairitsu is forced backward by a queer gust—pushed so far away.
Hikari brings the blade back up, raising it toward Tairitsu, and as she does she sees her own hand shaking.
Tairitsu lands despite still being pushed away, and her gaze falls again on the familiar sword.
She stares.
She waits.
...Her teeth grind together.
She looks into Hikari's face, and sees that the girl can't focus at all.
The game of bounding back and forth, the hesitation—
She has no patience for even a bit of it.
Glass walls push up from the earth around Hikari, each bearing Tairitsu's approaching figure. Reflections,
or maybe true images—? Something is strange about them, and to see them, to feel them coming and
see the glinting in their palms, fear pulses through Hikari's body.
That hand is lifted, and it will land nowhere else but her waiting throat.
With both hands now trembling, the girl in white holds onto her sword.
Something sounds off loudly in her head: a painful ringing, followed by the sound of her heart once
more in her ears.
Reason tells her that this can go on forever.
If she turns her sword back and thrusts it down again, the walls will fall away, and Tairitsu will be
easily pushed.
F-6
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只要她再次收回手上的劍並將其插向地面,周圍的牆壁就會倒下,
而對立也會被再一次擊退。
那麼,為什麼——?
當她感受到對立的手輕柔觸碰她的右臉頰時……
為什麼,當對立實實在在地出現在她面前之時,
她卻舉起了劍,
刺穿了對面少女的胸膛……?
她一切的情感都化為了這一劍。
她能從餘光看到,對立的右臂因為疼痛向下滑落,
而一塊黑色的玻璃從她的手中掉了出來。
一道耀眼的光芒從中由緩至急地迸發而出,直至超越了一切的存在。
隨後,呼嘯聲破門而出,那是帶走生命最後的絕唱。
那聲音震顫着整個大地,也震顫着對立的全身。
就這樣,結束了。
聲音趨於沉寂,少女的生命也歸於沉寂。
就在她把劍刺穿對方的身軀時,劍刃便吞噬了對方的生命,
她的鮮血與一切都被那道玻璃全然吞沒。緊接着,那道玻璃也開始碎裂消散。
短短一瞬,她的生命便失去了活力,而僅存的身軀也隨之倒下。
光下意識抓住對立觸碰着她臉頰的手。然而,對方的生命卻在極速消逝。
不過寥寥數秒,眼前的少女,便只剩下了一具冰冷的身體。
當玻璃製成的劍身瓦解消散之時,一絲溫度傳遍了光的指尖
可是她的另一隻手,卻已察覺不到對立的一絲氣力。
那名少女的雙腳着地,而她的身體則被光打濕而溫暖的手托着。
如今的她已闔上了雙眼,她眉頭緊鎖……但也漸漸失去了光澤。
這並非一場安詳的告別,可是她的生命就這樣畫上了句號。"
光睜大雙眼,感受着自己心臟的跳動。直到現在,她才徹底明白這一切。
她緩緩收回左手,將面前少女的身軀放下。
隨後,她再次把手伸向那名了無生氣的少女。
她睜大眼睛,緊緊攥着她的手,任憑自己和對方就這樣跪倒在地上。
她將手靠在對立早已停止跳動的胸前,
從中的暖意,似乎提醒着她這道傷口是由她而造成的。
事實上,即使是大地和天空也沒有倖免於這一劍……
只是她的注意力全部都集中在那個已經血肉模糊的窟窿,而她的周圍早已被徹底夷平。
那一劍所施展的力量想必是何等的強大……
周圍的景象早已面目全非,天空變得空蕩蕩的,大教堂也完全不見蹤影。
對立身後,有一面碎裂的磚牆再也支撐不住衝擊而倒塌,
而那還是因為身處眼前這名少女之後才免於分崩離析。
可是……即使是這面強大的盾牌,也已被徹底刺穿。
光貼近另一名少女的臉,似乎在僥倖地等待着對方的下一次呼吸。
可那再也不會發生了。
她更用力地握住對方的手,只是那隻手永遠不會再回應她。
這一切逐漸讓她氣急敗壞,她惱怒地將對方的手甩到地上,並將手指甲深深嵌入眼前少女的衣襟。
她再次從手心感受到了一絲溫暖,這才發現淚水已經滑落於手掌之上。
她很清楚,她剛剛還體會過這份暖意。
但看到自己親手被淚水劃出血色的淚痕時,她還是被嚇得不知所措。
她被嚇得一陣哆嗦,差點沒有站穩。
她的表情變得扭曲,嘴唇也不停地發顫。
她啜泣出聲。儘管她一直用另一隻乾淨的手擦着眼淚,可淚水卻止不住地向外流。
她漸漸失去了平衡,而對立也跟她一同倒下。
光把那被血水浸濕的手收回裙擺,而另一名少女的身體則向後靠在了大教堂的殘骸上。
她自己的聲音在腦海內迴蕩。
對現在的她而言,那仿佛是充滿諷刺的懲罰——
「你不需要做到這種地步。」
……這並不好笑。
現實的一切都沒法被輕易忽視。
無論你如何揮舞着雙手,皮膚傳來的灼燒感也永遠不會消失,就如同那把劍一樣。
她就這樣結束了生命,而你就是殺人兇手。是你殺了她。
可你真的有試着去了解她嗎?你知道她承受了多大的痛苦嗎?
"現在你又要怎麼做呢……?"不,難道你還不明白嗎?
這可不是什麼微不足道的小事。
這個世界已經記錄下了你剛才所做的一切,
而你再也不用像過去那樣接着踏上旅途了。
你不應該很開心嗎?你贏了啊,畢竟你活了下來。
還是說,你討厭成為活着的一方?
討厭活着的不應該是她嗎?
因為她討厭活着,所以你就讓她得以解脫。
對啊,所以這是多么正確的決定啊。一定是這樣的,是吧。
……你腦袋裏都裝了些什麼東西?
即便到了現在……
你還是滿腦子只有自己。
這種內疚的想法越是強烈,她的心靈就變得越發脆弱。
她抓住自己的頭髮,但依舊無法抬起左手。
她止不住一直譴責自己。
譴責自己的卑微,譴責自己的自私,譴責自己是多麼自以為是。
然而這時,有什麼東西開始在她身邊徘徊,並告訴着她……
ㅤ
……這種感覺你並不陌生吧?
恢復意識的她,發現自己甦醒於這個飛舞着玻璃蝴蝶的地方。
"多麼令人愉快啊,"她想,"這些美妙的圖案居然能在空中移動呢。牽引着它們的絲線在哪裏?"
她蹲了下來,整了整裙子,環顧四周才發現這附近沒有任何絲線。那些事物,也並不是蝴蝶——
玻璃碎片,不依靠任何外力便飛舞於空中。 "太美妙了!"她自心底讚嘆道。
這些玻璃反射出了另一個純潔的世界。
她從中看見海洋、都市、火焰、光芒;美好的景象目不暇接。
她抬起了自己的手,試圖去抓住它們,開心地笑了出來。
……我並不知道這些玻璃碎片有個名字:Arcaea。
實際上,名字對這些過於美好的事物來說並不重要。
我觸碰、旋轉、觀察它們;靠這樣來娛樂自己。這已經足夠了,難道不是嗎?
不。
你早就明白這並不夠。或許你差點就因此而感到滿足,
但事實是,人類終究是本性難移的。
而這一點你一直以來也心知肚明。
帷幕並不會就此落下。這個故事永遠也不會有"盡頭"。
只是,這個地方已經沒有什麼意義,就和你所想的一樣——
不過是個哭泣的少女,獨自一人置身於這個死寂的世界。
但至少,以犧牲那名少女為代價,你得到了一個值得欣慰的真相。
雖然她差點就能帶你離開這裏。
這是用少女血的教訓換來的真相——
沒錯。
If she turns her sword back and thrusts it down again,
the walls will fall away, and Tairitsu will be easily pushed.
So, why—?
When she feels Tairitsu's hand gently holding her right cheek...
When what is clearly Tairitsu's flesh and blood body appears before her,
why does she thrust her sword upward,
and through the other girl's chest?
Her emotions power her through the strike. Out of the corner of her eye,
she sees a dark shard of glass drop from Tairitsu's hand—
her right arm having been brought back in reflex and pain.
A blinding shine grows slowly, and soon rapidly. An aura surreal: above and beyond reality—
—and, a cry for life roars out, so consuming life in return.
The shout pulses and vibrates through the earth, and also through Tairitsu's body.
And ends.
Like that, sound dies, and so too does the girl.
As soon as it stabs through her—sets within her body—the blade swallows her life, her blood and essence
quickly filling the glass. And then, the glass slowly begins to shatter and fade.
In an instant, she is completely extinguished, and her body begins to fall.
Quickly, without thinking, Hikari takes the hand Tairitsu had placed on her cheek.
In seconds, the other girl is quickly gone, leaving only a cold and silent form behind.
Yet... warmth runs over Hikari's fingers as the sword of glass continues to break and disappear.
In her other hand, she can feel the strength of Tairitsu's grasp completely vanish.
The girl's feet now reach the ground, and like that only Hikari's wet and warm hand still supports her.
Her eyes are closed now. Her brow is furrowed... and then is not. Like this, without peace: she is dead.
And only now, with her own eyes wide and her own heart still beating, does Hikari understand this.
She slowly pulls back her left hand, and the girl's body begins to fall.
She returns her hand to the lifeless body and holds the girl as her stare continues to widen.
She squeezes the girl's dead hand tightly, and the two come down to their knees.
With her hand against Tairitsu's motionless chest,
she feels warmth again, and brings her eyes to the wound that she made.
She has wounded the earth and sky as well... though she finds it difficult to look anywhere
other than that disfigured hole, as everywhere else around her has become flattened.
The strength she had put into her strike must have been immense...
The scene has been leveled entirely; the sky has gone completely still; the cathedral is all but no more.
Behind Tairitsu some fractured brick wall has flown out from the blast and fallen.
Evidently, it was shielded and kept from disintegrating by the powerful girl's body.
But, still... the shield had been pierced.
Stupidly, Hikari brings her face near to the other girl's, and waits for a breath that will never come.
She squeezes the dead hand tighter, and when it does not hold her back in return, she throws it down in anger.
She digs her nails into the front of the other girl's clothing. Feeling something warm once again,
she looks and realizes that tears have begun to fall on her hand.
And though she knows what had warmed it before—she had to have known—
seeing her own hand dyed in red and cut through by her own tears... throws her suddenly into panic.
She straightens her back in terror, then nearly falls backward.
Her face contorts and her lips tremble.
She sobs, brings her clean hand to her face, and sobs more deeply.
Now, she falls, Tairitsu coming down along with her. Hikari pulls her stained hand down to her dress,
and the corpse leaning upon her collapses back instead against the cathedral's debris.
Her own words echo inside of her head—
Her own sardonic chastisement—
You never had to do this.
...It isn't funny.
The reality of everything is becoming so impossible to ignore. Leave your hand down all you want—
the heat that burns through your skin isn't going to disappear like the sword.
A girl is dead, and you were the one who took her life. You killed her.
You knew how much she suffered... Did you really try to understand her?
"What will you do now"...? No, don't you understand?
You can't just move on. You want to pick yourself up, continue your journey?
This world already remembers everything that you did.
What? Where's your sense of triumph? You won, didn't you? You are alive.
Do you hate it?
Didn't she?
Does that justify it? Does that make things better? "Justification"?
...Is something wrong with you?
Even now...
You're only thinking about yourself.
With this thought, her heart feels as if made of paper, all falling away.
She grips her own hair, but still cannot bring up her left hand.
She cannot stop damning herself.
Herself. Herself. Herself.
And something lingers, telling her...
ㅤ
...is that anything new?
Her first impression was that she'd awakened to a cloud of glass butterflies.
"How pleasant," she thought, "that these figures can move as well. Where are the strings?"
She sat onto her knees, fixed her dress, and found that there were no strings, and these were not butterflies.
Glass shards, flying on their own. "Delightful!" she felt, and so she said it.
The glass reflected another world than the one in white surrounding her.
In it she could see reflections of seas, cities, fires, lights;
she rose her hand to scatter them, and laughed in joy.
...I didn't know these pieces of glass had a name: Arcaea.
To tell the truth, they were so beautiful to me that it didn't matter the name.
I entertained myself by touching them, swirling them, watching them. That was enough, no?
No.
And you knew it all the while. Maybe you almost saw it once as well—
but it's impossible for people to truly change.
That, too, is something that you always knew.
The curtain will not draw to a close. This never "ends".
There is no meaning to be found here. Like you wanted.
Just another crying girl, alone in a world of the dead.
At least there is one truth you could take comfort in, one fact irrefutable,
now etched into you with the blood of the one girl who had been so near to taking you out of it.
Yes.
F-7
該劇情在解鎖前不可見
解鎖條件:完成F-5[2],購入Final Verdict曲包
解鎖要求:解鎖Testify
![Story F-7-1 cg.jpg](/images/thumb/9/97/Story_F-7-1_cg.jpg/300px-Story_F-7-1_cg.jpg)
樂園——
在生命結束後,那個名為「天堂」的世界。
那是生命落腳安息的終點。
那是靈魂遊蕩徘徊的遠方。
我就在那裏,而你也是。
「……所以就這麼結束了?
再也感受不到把手搭在她臉頰上的觸感,
再也體會不到被她用玻璃活活刺穿的疼痛……
我什麼都感覺不到了……也感覺不到她……
……讓我解脫吧……」
為什麼?你人在這裏,但是……你不是還有一些心結沒解開嗎?你明明還有些微弱的心跳……
至少還能再撐一會兒。
「不,已經夠了……」
不,這件事還沒有結束……
聽好了……快想起來。
快想起來你自己是誰……
你所經歷的時間遠不止這些,不是嗎?你肯定見過比這些還要糟的事。
所以趕緊站起來,再次戰——
「閉嘴。」
……那好吧。
那我們就隨便聊聊。
「我剛才說話你沒聽見嗎?我已經說過我不想說話了。我只想……想要……」
我只想要你想起來。
「……你真的挺煩的,你知道嗎?
那你又想起來了嗎?如果你真的記得,你應該知道我為什麼不……
啊……這是?……
……我好像想起來了……這些記憶正在不停地湧入我的腦海,我全都想起來了。
這麼說來……如果這些記憶全是真的話…… 哈,我以前就這麼想過,但……這是在跟我開玩笑嗎?」
……
「在過去的人生里……我為活在這個世界上而感恩,但是……
生活……卻是那麼的糟糕。
世間踐踏我多少次?又唾棄我多少次?無論怎麼做,憎惡都如影隨形地跟着我。
但我們想要的明明只是……只是運用這股力量來……
來……幫助他人。」
我們嚇到了她們。
「『我們』?你究竟是誰?」
那,「你」又是誰?
「真是奇怪……這件事情我居然還想不起來。
……
……你還是就叫我『對立』吧。」
這樣的話……你也這樣稱呼我吧。
「開玩笑……真的假的?你的意思……該不會是我說對了吧?」
說對什麼?
「我是說,她沒有經過任何的思考就創造了這個世界。
如果你就是我……如果我在這裏曾經度過的人生就這樣被重蹈覆轍……
……那她……真是惡劣到了極點。」
……我認為她只是還沒意識到這一切。
「……如果只是這種理由的話,那她沒什麼值得同情的。或許她和我來自不同的世界,
但這不是她沒有認清自己能力的藉口。她絕對知道,只是不在乎罷了。
所以說……哪怕她真的和我一樣了解這個世界,我也不會原諒她。我和她不一樣,
不是因為我跟塑形者練習了多久,學到了多少東西,
而是因為我們對待這個世界的態度就完全不在一條線上。
要是我有足夠的力量……要是我的力量足夠改變這個世界——」
要是有的話我也會這麼做的,但是我做不到,也沒有這麼做。
「……所以最後的結果就是:我又獲得了一次機會。這就是她所想看到的,而且不止我一個人,
她給了所有人第二次機會。真是蠢到無可救藥啊,完全就是一場笑話,不覺得很好笑嗎?」
……
「什麼?你笑不出來?你當然笑不出來。
是啊,這算哪門子的第二次機會,倒不如說是莫大的諷刺。
我如此掙扎地活着,甚至與世界為敵。
即使身心憔悴,血流不止,但我也沒有輕易倒下!
即使我早知道這一切都是徒勞,但我還是一次又一次站起來奮戰到底!
為什麼她要逼我重新經歷所有的一切?啊?快回答我啊!……
我只是想做出改變……
我只是不想……就這樣放棄……」
……那第二次呢?這一次,你放棄了嗎?
「嗯……我放棄了。
……
嘿……
我知道我要不行了。在離開之前,我還能再看一眼外面的世界嗎?
我還能透過我的鳥兒再看她那個小小牢籠最後一眼嗎?」
……沒問題。
「太好了。
……
這樣看過去,還有好多狹小而未知的角落,而且那裏都充滿了被困的靈魂。
不,她們或許都不能被稱作靈魂。這裏的一切說到底都只是記憶,哪怕是我們也不例外。
也不知道她們到底在想什麼……那個時候,我只接觸到那份碎片的一角,還遠沒有到完全理解的程度。」
大家都很幸福呢。真的,少女們都非常的高興。
「……那她真是太殘忍了……
我……
……我現在真的只想大哭一場。為什麼我要這麼做?為什麼我就這麼死了?」
……
「……你的臉色看起來很不錯,難道你已經知道答案了嗎?
我好像……終於徹底明白了,而且……好痛苦……這一切都好痛苦。
事情的真相如此殘酷,而我甚至沒有辦法流下眼淚……」
沒錯,看來就是這樣。
「……?」
你並非真的想喪命於此。那你當時為什麼還是那樣做了?
「……在我最初的人生中,前方的道路或許暗淡無光……
但我知道它終將引向無數的可能性。誠然,有些道路的盡頭會邁向死亡,但只要我選對了方向,
就一定能找到一條出路。
可是這裏的情況截然不同,而我當時居然還以為自己同樣能在這裏找到出路。
我對自己曾抱有這種天真的想法感到厭惡。
這裏的道路荒蕪貧瘠,而且根本沒有能落腳的地方。
不論是踏上哪一條道路,都只能無休無止地盲目前行,直到雙腿變得徹底麻木,才能看清真相。
而真相就是,無論你選擇了哪條道路走下去,都會發現最後什麼都沒有。」
……我其實並不這麼認為。我覺得……一定會有通往其它可能性的道路的。
「你知道你剛才在說什麼嗎?你現在可是困在這裏,只能跟死人說話啊。
拜託,能不能至少認清一次現實?」
……我只是覺得這難以置信。我不會就這樣放棄希望的……
我不能接受那……那樣的……
「我剛才已經說過了,你不是想知道真相嗎?真相就是這裏的一切都毫無意義。」
不。
真相不該如此。
我不會讓這變成真相的。
你也很清楚,如果這就是真相,那這真相實在是過於悲慘而醜陋。
「……
……這我倒是還記得,那是來自我生前的記憶。我就是帶着那樣的想法才能堅持活下去的。
你真的是跟我一模一樣呢。看來她真的徹底複製了我……真相果然如此,
我們大家都是被複製出來的空洞靈魂。
沒錯……
她還活着,而我們都死了。」
……
「但話又說回來……為什麼你會在這裏?其他人的思緒都到哪裏去了?她們的靈魂呢?」
……我不知道,這些我都不知道。
「好吧,但是……
話說,你還沒承認過對吧?……那你……直接告訴我好嗎?你真的是那個真正的我嗎?
你就是我的靈魂嗎?」
是的……我就是你的靈魂。沒錯,我一直以來都一個人在這裏。而且,我也一直以來都在觀察着。
你還挺煩的,你知道嗎?
對立,你不也是真正的我嗎?我們大家都是。
「或許是這樣吧。有可能我曾經是。」
是啊,你是挺煩人的。
像你這麼煩人的傢伙,一定不可能是假的。
「哈……
……
謝謝你。」
我從來沒有想過會看着自己在第二段人生中再一次經歷同樣悲慘的命運,只是這次事情的走向卻不盡相同。
「哪裏不同了?」
你自己也說了。
你放棄了。
我想讓你去……我也不知道。
我真的只是希望事情能往……好的方向發展。
……
你還是覺得這一切沒有希望嗎?畢竟這位「反派」已經死了……
「我知道你是在跟我開玩笑,但……對不起。
我當時氣壞了。
我也不想完全放棄。
我也不覺得這真的是窮途末路。
我的意思是,即便在一切結束之後,你也依然在這裏,對吧?說不定等我離開之後,
你也還是會繼續待在這裏……
而且我覺得……到時候如果你還在繼續觀察的話……
……你也不該像我一樣放棄希望。
或許吧,我也不清楚……
……不,我應該很清楚。
那些還在這裏的少女,說不定有辦法拯救自己。
但願如此,就像你所說的,讓這一切變得更好……
那就是我想要的一切。
如果我沒有真的離去,如果你在這一切過後還有辦法找到我,我希望你能告訴我,
她們找到了屬於自己的出路。」
我會的。
「呵,說來也很神奇……
在我還活着的時候,在其他人都還不在的時候,我記得我一直在自言自語……就像現在一樣。
但是你知道的……我從來沒有感到孤單。」
沒有人是完全孤獨地活着的。
「沒錯,就是這句話……我每次都這樣告訴自己……
……我想要再次見證這個世界。
雖然這片世界已經被白色所籠罩,只有崩塌的高塔,和飄浮在空中的玻璃碎片。
而且越來越多的碎片,划過白色的軌跡,飛向了逝去的靈魂……
但是,我能從她們的臉龐看出:
這些少女都已不再迷惘。」
……「都」?看樣子你終於忘掉她了。
「『她』……?
對哦,她啊……其實我也看得見她。唔,她對於這件事情感到很傷心……
……但這難道不是好事嗎?至少,她的內心能感受到悲傷和痛苦了……
這總比沒有反應好。」
嗯……是啊。
「我不知道她能否緩過來,但我相信她會帶着這份悲痛活下去的。老實說……現在想想,
我還得向她道歉。我認為我做的事都是正確的,但是——」
你可沒做什么正確的事情。
「噗……!哈,好吧,但是……我不認為自己有做錯什麼。
我只是想說……我願意向她道歉。我們都是真實存在的。如果她也是真實存在的……
那麼她也不過是一個愚蠢的複製品,看不到自己的無知,卻因為這份無知平白受害。
……
看來,我們要到此為止了,是嗎……?」
很遺憾,但……是的,時間就要到了。
……
不要就這樣離開,好嗎。
「很遺憾,但……我也沒有辦法。說實話,我其實不能算是……真的在這裏……」
……
告訴她吧。
「……是啊。
……光……
我真的很抱歉。我不後悔所做的一切,但……我剛才心中的那股恨意,其實……
並不是衝着你來的,而是……另外一個你……她現在還在……某個地方,至今依然……還活着……
我還是……不能原諒她。
但你……
……
我希望你明白……你比她更加強大。
光,正是因為如此……
……我知道你一定還會再站起來。」
閉上你的眼睛吧。
「我已經閉上眼睛了。」
不要再有任何擔憂……
「我心中並沒有擔憂。」
我們還會再見面的。
「我覺得不可能了。
但是沒關係。
我已經接受了。
我受盡苦難,但即便如此,我還是想要做出改變,讓一切變得更好……
我為了它而戰……無論我要面對的是什麼……
無論我……因此變得……多麼的迷茫……
……
對不起……我選擇了死亡。
很抱歉我把一切都拋之腦後。
……但即便一切都是徒勞……我也很幸運地獲得過重來一次的機會。
所以沒關係……我接受這樣的命運。」
我知道。
「我希望她知……知道……
我不想要……自己在這個世界……唯一留下的足跡……是個可悲……愚蠢的結局。
……如果你聽得見我說的話……光……我想告訴你……
真的……請你一定……要記住……
……
……
我接受這樣的人生。」
白色少女在黑色少女的遺體面前哭泣。
她因為強烈的痛苦和悲傷而不能自已,絲毫沒有發現對方嘴角划過的那一絲轉瞬即逝的微笑。
這則故事還有很多地方不為人們所知。事實上,有些故事一直到結局都沒有被完整搬上枱面。
這些故事只剩下零星的殘片散落在各處,只有加以拼湊之後才能看清全貌。
這就是這個由碎片組成的世界的故事。
被遺忘在這裏的少女們日復一日地拾起這些碎片。
她們相信,倒影之中存在着意義;她們相信,她們的存在本身,自有存在的意義。
在這裏,有一名白色少女傷痕累累地倒在地上,她身心受創,她孤身一人。
但她也將尋找碎片並帶着它們前行。
這裏的記憶還在繼續。
一切都會被記住,並被保留到最後。
它們會不斷延續下去。
不會有任何事物被遺忘。
![Story F-7-1 cg.jpg](/images/thumb/9/97/Story_F-7-1_cg.jpg/300px-Story_F-7-1_cg.jpg)
Paradise.
After life, "heaven", the world of the dead.
It should come as no surprise that the departed might linger in a place like that, at least for
a little while. Or perhaps they will linger just above it.
That's where I am. That's where you are.
"...So that's it? My hand on her cheek? Her running me through with glass? I can't feel either anymore.
I can't feel anything—can't feel her...
...
...Let me go... "
Why? You're here, but... isn't there something still stirring inside of you? You've got a few little pulses of
life left... a little more to go.
"No... "
No, it's not quite over yet...
Listen... remember.
Remember yourself...
It's been much longer than this, hasn't it? You've already seen so much worse.
Now get up, fight. Fight agai—
"Stop it."
...Alright.
Let's just talk, instead.
"You're not listening. I don't want to talk. I already said, I just want to... to..."
I want you to remember.
"...You're pretty annoying, you know.
Then do you remember? If you do, you should know why I...
...
...Ugh...
...These memories... aren't going to leave me easily, now that I know them.
Even if I don't want to, I really am starting to remember every little thing.
And... if I'm remembering right... Ha, I've thought this before, but... is this a joke?"
...
"My old life... I loved being alive, but...
Living... was awful.
How many times was I thrown down? How many times was I spat on? Hate followed us everywhere
even though we just wanted to... to take our powers and...
Just... help."
We scared them.
"'We'? And who are you?"
Well, who are YOU?
"Well funny thing... that's actually the one thing I don't remember.
...
...I guess you might as well call me 'Tairitsu'."
Then... call me that, too.
"You're kidding... Really? Are you... Are you telling me that I'm right?"
About what?
"That when she made this world, she didn't think about a single part
of it. If you're... If the life I had here was...
...She's... awful."
...I'd say she just never learned.
"...I don't feel sorry for her, if that's what you're getting at. We may have come from different realities, but
she must have understood what she could do. She had to know, and she just didn't care. And that's why...
I don't care that she wasn't brought up and taught like I was. Just... look. Look at what all my training with
the Shapers got me. I was different from her because of who I was, not what I learned. If I'd had the
strength... If I'd really had the power to change things, for the whole world—"
I would've, but I couldn't, and I didn't.
"...And that's what I got: another go, because that's what she wanted, and in her stupidity she gave that
to everyone else, too. So... dumb. It's dumb, right? You have to laugh. Come on! Laugh!"
...
"What, you can't? Of course you can't, I mean—what kind of second chance was this? Just some
kind of... terrible... ironic reflection.
Struggling while alive, while everything claws and rips at you.
Getting up when you're broken and bleeding—I DID that!
I kept standing up, kept fighting even though I KNEW it was pointless!
Why would she make me live all of that again!? Answer me—why!? I...!
I wanted things to change...
I never wanted... to give up..."
...Did you? This second time around?
"I... did.
...
Hey...
I know I'm dying. Could you tell me something? Can I still see outside, before I go? Through my birds...
Can I see her little prison, one last time?"
...You can.
"Great.
...
So many small and unknown corners, with trapped souls wandering around them.
I guess you can't call them souls. Everything here is only a memory—even us.
What are they thinking...? I only caught a glimpse of that shard, and it didn't tell me everything."
Most of them are happy. Very, very happy.
"...Now that's just evil, haha...
I...
...I feel like crying... you know? I just want to cry—about everything. Why'd I do all this? Why did I die?"
...
"...That's a good look on your face. Have you got an answer for me? Tch... I'm... I just...
It all hurts... Everything hurts. It's like I finally, really get it, and it's...
It's just horrible. I can't even cry anymore..."
Well, that's it.
"...?"
You didn't really want to die, so why did you?
"...When I first lived, the road ahead was dark...
But I knew that it would branch into countless others. I could find death somewhere, sure, but I could find
anything else if I just walked down the right path.
It was never like that here, and looking back, I feel sick for ever thinking that it was.
These roads are barren, and there's no place to stop.
Anyone, no matter their path, will march and march on blindly, until
their legs give out and they see the truth of it:
that it doesn't matter what turns they take. Every single path leads to nothing at all."
...I actually don't think so. I think... there must be a road here that leads to something else.
"What makes you say that, when you're trapped out here only able to talk to the dead? Are you stupid?
Were you paying attention, even once?"
...I just can't believe that. I have to have hope...
I don't want to believe that... that...
"This is just what I was saying. You don't want to see the truth? Nothing here mattered at all."
No.
It can't be the truth.
I can't let it be the truth.
You understand. If that's the truth, wouldn't it be... gross? Wouldn't it be too sad?
"...
...I do remember that, from back when I was living. Thinking like that was what kept me alive.
You really are me. She really copied me out and... it really is true for all of us—we're all hollow, copied souls.
It's true...
She's still alive. We're all dead."
...
"But then... why are you here? Where are the originals for everyone else? Where are their souls?"
...I don't know, and I don't know.
"Alright, but...
Actually, you still haven't said so... so, just... just tell me, alright? Are you really the real me? Are you my soul?"
Yes... that's what I am. Yes, I've been all alone out here, and yes, I've been watching.
And you're pretty annoying, huh?
Aren't you also real, Tairitsu? Aren't we all?
"Maybe we are. Maybe I was."
Yeah, annoying.
I doubt someone as annoying as you could be fake.
"Ha...
...
Thank you."
I'd never have guessed I'd be watching myself experience a terrible fate again in a second life,
only for things to change.
"What changed?"
You said it yourself.
You gave up.
I wanted you to... I don't know.
I really wanted the change to be... good.
...
Do you really think it still can't be? The "villain" is dead, after all...
"I know you're joking, but... I'm sorry.
I was just angry.
I don't want to completely give up on it either.
I don't think it's hopeless. I mean, you're still here after the end, aren't you? Maybe you'll still be here
after I'm gone...
And... if you still are watching after I'm gone...
...I really think you shouldn't give up hope like I did.
Maybe, I don't know...
...No, I know it:
The girls left here might be able to save themselves. I want to believe that.
A change, just like you said...
That's all I want.
If I don't go away forever, if you can find me after all of this, let me know when they do."
I will.
"This is funny too, huh...
When I was alive, when the others weren't there, I remember I always... talked to myself.
But, you know... I never felt alone."
No one alive is really alone.
"That was it...
That's what I always told myself...
...I want to see the world again.
A ruined tower, and pieces of glass floating in the air. A wide world of white.
White, white, and more glass. Drawn to departed souls...
But I can see it on their faces:
None of these girls are lost anymore."
..."None of them"? Looks like you finally forgot about her.
"'Her'...?
Oh, you're right, her... I actually can see her, too—well, she's really torn up about this...
...But isn't that a good thing? It's... different. She's upset, she's hurt...
It's better than 'nothing'."
Hm... Yeah.
"I'm not sure if she'll be okay, but I am sure she'll take this with her. Honestly... I'd even apologize to her,
thinking about it now. I think I did the right thing, but—"
You didn't do anything right.
"Pff...! Hah. Okay. but... I don't think I did anything wrong.
I'd apologize to her. I mean... Why wouldn't I? We're real. And if she's real... then she's just another fool
ghost, punished for nothing and knowing nothing.
...
This is really it, huh...?"
I'm sorry to say, but... yes, I'm sure.
...
Don't go.
"Sorry to say, but... I can't just do that. I'm honestly... barely here..."
...
Tell her.
"...Yeah.
...Hikari...
Honestly, I'm sorry. I don't have any regrets, but... the hate I felt wasn't even... for you. The other... you...
She's still out... there. Still a...live...
I still... hate her.
But you...
...
You should know that... you're stronger than her.
That's why, Hikari...
...I know you'll stand up again."
Close your eyes.
"They're already closed."
Don't worry anymore...
"I'm not worried."
I'll see you again.
"I don't think so.
But that's okay.
I accept it.
I had everything to suffer, but I still wanted to change everything for the better...
I fought FOR something... no matter what it was I had to face.
No matter... how misguided... I became...
...
I'm sorry... that I chose to die.
I'm sorry for throwing it all away.
...Even if I wasted it... I was lucky to get another chance.
So... I accept it."
I know.
"I want her to kn... tha... I don't... don't want a... pathetic...
I don't want a... stupid finale... to be all I'm remembered... for.
...If you can hear me, I want you to know this, Hi... Hikari...
I mean it. Don't... forget...
...
...
I accept this life."
A girl weeps before her remains now.
So anguished, so crippled with grief, the girl misses the final smile on her face before it fades.
Some of this tale remains untold. The truth is, some tales end without ever being fully told.
And their pieces—their shards are what remain, to be put together and understood.
This has always been a world of shards, a world of pieces.
The girls have always been left to pick those pieces up.
Believing that reflections have meaning. Believing that being, at all, is why anyone would ever be.
Now the girl in white crumples down to the earth, hurt and alone.
But she will find and carry pieces too.
Memories will live on, here.
All will be remembered, until and past the very end.
They will all carry on.
And none will ever forget.
E-1
(又名:最終之夢)
解鎖條件:完成F-7,購入Final Verdict曲包
解鎖要求:選擇「拒絕命運的安排」
視覺劇情,解鎖前不可見,劇情結束後將播放製作人員名單(黑色版),隨後重啟遊戲
我看到她在那裏……她的愚蠢和自怨自艾毀了她。
從捂着臉的指縫間看出去時,她再一次發現你的視線所指向的,是已經死去的,
我的第二個自我。冷漠,也可說是造成這一切的元兇,致使了你的死亡,而它一定會威脅着要捲土重來。
我知道,這名身穿紅白衣服的少女感覺得到。
她感覺得到,她就是為此而存在。
你的死早已註定,
而她就是那個殺害了你的人。
她的後背放鬆下來……
這世界……Arcaea……她好像感到壓力在從中釋放。
那是一種解脫……
混沌已經散去……現在安全了……
但我也聽到了……
有個像低語的東西緩慢進入她的內心,仿佛在要求她接受這個狀態。
接受她自身,接受Arcaea。
……然而——
"……對立……"
……她對自己低語道一個名字。她聲音顫抖,泣不成聲。
"你是什麼意思……?我們在『這裏』的名字是那樣的……?"
她沉默不語,感到訝異。
低語再次對她說道:只要你想,那些答案就會浮現。
這地方,封存了所有的回憶……
……而她依舊沉默不語。
"……"
埋藏在她武裝的冷漠之下,是純粹又刺眼的憎惡。
她無法停止憎恨自己。
很明顯她做不到。在一切之後……她要如何接受這樣的結局?這代表什麼?
對她來說有什麼意義?
她……曾漫步於此的她,絕對不可能接受。
反胃感吞噬着她的腹部,她咬緊牙關。
"……"
光將手放至身下的塵土與沙子中,然後在膝蓋上抖了抖。
她問道:
"Arcaea……你是來治癒我的嗎?"
她的手臂放鬆下來,就像是有一道涼爽穿過了她的手臂。
"……我感覺得到。"
光慢慢閉上雙眼,喃喃自語的說道。她的聲音依然沙啞。"
"……這是害怕、疲憊且虛弱之人的樂園……"
"……"
她吞下乾燥的空氣,張開雙眼,
抓起一把沙子並起身,
大部分的沙子從她指縫間流出。
"我不知道該如何是好……"
光繼續說道:
"……把一切都再次交付給你,是正確的嗎?""
"絕對……不是。"
"我……不想要這樣…"
"我不想要這樣……!"
——
"呃——!"
光突然彎腰抱住腹部,
用另一隻手捂住嘴。她劇烈地顫抖着。
她的"抗拒"似乎足以讓這世界再次感覺到她。
就在她恐懼的說不出話,雙眼睜大時,她突然皺了一下眉頭。
我也聽到有個刺耳的噪音,突然穿過她的耳朵、她的頭腦——
再次進入她的內心,但這已經不是低語了,幾乎可說是震顫的怒吼。
一個沉靜卻有力的聲音出現,說道:決定吧,說出你內心的想法。
"說出……我的……?"
因為……
……光是一名受內心驅使的少女。
早在她生平第一次張開雙眼前,她的內心便指引她至此。
是本能反應嗎?這個"身體"記得一切是怎麼發生的嗎‥…?她之前是怎麼樣的人……?
哈……
我其實並不在意。
只是……我覺得這很有趣又諷刺,這個新的心臟會在下一次跳動前就顛覆一切。
她呼吸急促,內心顫抖了整整一分鐘,
最終得到一個清晰且堅定的答案:
"我要…推翻現狀。"
"我必須帶她回來。"
"這世界……一點都不合理!
你以為我會為此死去?還是以為我會讓『其他』人為之死去……! ? "
"我做不到!我不會這麼做的!
不論我必須做什麼,放棄什麼……作為交換,這些我都願意犧牲……!"
她手中牢牢的抓了一把泥土,接着甩出她的手並將其撒出去。
她宣佈:
"如果我的死亡可以改變這一切,那我願意——!"
世界的心臟在跳動,而這心跳聲讓她完全的安靜下來。
這世界從未放棄她,以後也不會。
這個聲音再次佈滿她的體內——
而其中的情感和知識,進入了她的胸口,傳達至她每個指尖。
它說道:你不能死。
你註定會活下去,而且這是你的選擇。
這件事……光是明白的。
自責,內疚,使她眼中充滿淚水。
在她哭出來之前,這世界的心臟又再次跳動。
Arcaea 說道:別死。
——
只要讓它結束就好。
……她的雙唇緊閉。
她的淚水從眼角流出,滑落臉頰。
她點了點頭。
心臟再次跳動……
仿佛——
—— Arcaea 開始失去光芒。
這樣做後,Arcaea 淹沒了她,流入她的雙手和內心。
她感到失落,幾乎就要崩潰。
這段時間,記憶閃現在她眼前,但我知道……這些是被忽略的記憶。
她的雙眼反而專注在你了無生氣的遺體上。
我想她現在唯一知道的……就是"她該做什麼。"
我可以感覺到自己被往下拉至那裏……一直下沉,下沉……
下沉至你被殺害的地方。"
……
她……是否真的明白她捨棄的東西是什麼?
她真的明白這裏的"結束"是什麼意思嗎?
我不知道。
……你也無從得知。
……事實上,如果她帶我走,那……我還會記得每件事嗎?我會明白嗎?
不……或許不會。但是……她現在似乎對自己很有信心。
……
我會讓她的內心成為之後任何事的燈塔。
……我深信着。你也會,不是嗎?
畢竟,你是對的……
她們倆人……是完全不一樣的。
……"對立"……
……我現在要走了。
不過別擔心。
我一定會把你帶在身邊。
天空再次落下,而土地依她的意願上升。
為了死亡,也為了讓對立重生。
生命和靈魂不會真的被帶進這個亡者的世界。
這裏只有她們的形象以及回聲……
首先,
光芒之女和紛爭之女的靈魂……從來就不平凡。
沒錯,這世界不是為此而生。
確實,這個世界將因此支離破碎。
為了改寫這一切,它願意做任何事,或至少一試。
它需要黑衣女子的"第一靈魂"
以及可在她第二人格中找到的殘片……"
而現在一個破碎的靈魂,呼喚着另一個完整的靈魂。
很快,這另一個靈魂便被強行帶入這個蒼白的世界。
一道旋風圍繞在光的身邊,
在陰影和光芒的激流中,劃破了身邊籠罩的現實。
Arcaea"記得"另一名少女,在光的指示之下,這些記憶以玻璃的形態瞬間趕到。
這些記憶看似突然出現。又或許說,它們一直都在。
……它們是否足夠?這世界能否編織兩個破碎的靈魂?
……這個世界會的。規則並不重要。光會做到的……
帶着名為對立的少女擁有的記憶……
這些記憶的玻璃迅速出現,在整場風暴中發光。
過去有名少女曾備受煎熬的走過這些土地。
悲痛如影隨形地跟着這名少女……
但她仍大步向前,想要拯救自己。
為了拯救自己,為了緊緊抓住自由。
她只盼望着:
有機會能有一個理由讓她微笑。
為了打造一個更好的世界,這名少女曾挺身而出,
即使"更好"可能代表要讓世界天翻地覆。
這些回憶在光的雙眼中閃現,
讓她更加無法專注在她侵佔中的回憶。
另一名少女的眼淚,只有少許穿越了這場風暴,而她大部分的痛苦似乎都已被遺忘。
看起來是這樣沒錯……但事實上,身為光芒的靈魂,仍然抗拒着那靈魂和她一樣的殘酷的真相,
光唯一能做的事,就是找到另一名少女最真摯的絕望,
即便只是其中短暫的瞬間—— 而剩餘的那些較長的時刻,則超出她的能力範圍。
……不過,當知道那最真實的痛苦引導黑衣少女至何方後,光便不再難過,
也放棄尋找她怎麼也找不到的,那個她們相遇的時刻。
由這一切產生出的對立……從未看過她所處的困境實際有多深,
但仍明白自己註定活在掙扎之中。
光產生了一股新的能量。地面噴發四柱光芒,是巨大的力量泉源。
這是世界要保護她,因為她所召喚的暗影之魂最終降臨了。
這個靈魂靠近時,她幾乎看不出來這是什麼。在她前面漂浮並遮蔽天空的,
是一個與死亡相仿的東西:那是一個巨大又令人毛骨悚然的鬼魂形象。
這東西靠近時輕輕放慢了速度,隨即便開始流入轉動中的玻璃。
她完全明白這是怎麼回事。她堅決的點了點頭,引導靈魂至玻璃,讓過程更加順暢。
對立"之前"迷失的靈魂,成為了新身體來臨時的生命精華。
而對立"之後"迷失的靈魂,則用於穩定軀殼的剩餘部分。
光腳下的震動就快讓人無法忍受。
她儘可能維持不動,並用雙手不停引導這個新生命。
她聽到雷鳴般的悲鳴,她感覺世界在痛苦中扭曲,但她依然緊緊抓住她的願望。
她沒有被嚇到,並在心中重申了她的誓言。
她扭曲了世界的核心,這樣做也將導致墮落之神的重生。
就這樣最後,曾經絕對的規則被改寫了。光發出堅定且沉靜的命令後,
新的死亡便牢牢刺入至這個核心之中。
在光芒和暗影巨大的脈衝之下,Arcaea 開始邁向滅亡。
創造存在的願望被推翻了。天空在頭上迅速移動,而現實的餘光從四面八方傾瀉而下至她身上。
光將這打造出的靈魂推入至浮在半空中極度美艷的對立的身體時,
她的汗珠滴至眉間,但同時她也推動了整個世界——
她引導着大地的生命。
她拋棄了Arcaea。
在白天要結束之時,雙胞胎少女看着雲朵從上空快速飄過。
而在夜晚的天空之下,有一名貴族看着裂縫慢慢將大地分裂,
看着星星從空中逐漸落下。
有一名關心又在乎的少女,有一名四處遊蕩並探索的少女,有一名看顧並許下願望的少女——
有一個愉悅的靈魂,有一個饑渴的靈魂,有一個有抱負的靈魂——
有一顆戰爭的心,有一顆歌唱的心——
—— 在這世界上所有的活力都被帶至一個遙遠地方之時,她們也看見了尾聲。
而很快地……
……光感覺這些活力,最後有幾縷流入了她希望拯救的那名少女體內。
當這活力從光的雙手中退去時,對立的形體開始飄落至地面,
同時……
……這名身穿白衣的少女也感覺到了,她自身也有一部分開始迷失在這股流動之中。
……但她一點都不擔心。
當風聲平息,Arcaea 上方的天空也回歸平緩後……
她感到頭暈目眩,並在可能跌倒前盡力站穩腳步。
她試着讓自己冷靜下來,並試圖理解她究竟做了什麼。
但是……她做不到。
她無法抗拒地專注在一件事情上:
對立活了嗎?
——
塵土再次從天空飄落。
她確實記得……
……在最後,在最低點的時候……
沒有人在那裏,她閉上眼,眼淚開始留下。
她現在緩緩張開雙眼……
……而那些回憶也離開了她。
光看見她額頭有些動靜。
這名白衣女子雙手握拳放在嘴前,喉嚨也深吸一口氣。
就這一切的璀璨來說,她認為,真是太簡單了——
太簡單——
這些微的希望和努力,能否實現她的願望?
光對於這些想法搖搖頭,她顫抖着向前。
對立的雙眼張開,眨了一下,接着再次眯起。
光趕緊上前,跪下並抱着眼前這名少女。
"這……你……!?你這是——!?"
光緊緊抱住她,這是她一生中抱得最緊的一次,
而另一名少女則沉默不語。
然後,光開始啜泣。
她不顧自我地靠在另一個少女的肩膀上哭泣,
而那名少女回過頭看着她,對這一切都感到難以置信。
……更多裂縫都已經在那片景色中被鑿開。
過去從天空中不斷傾瀉的光芒,突然也變得黯淡許多。
這個世界……受損了。
而光的注意力仍放在有"什麼"—— 有"誰"還在。
對立抬起一隻手,輕輕地放在光顫抖的背上。
她們各自都不知道發生了什麼事,在世界結束之時就這樣安撫彼此。
"抱歉……我真的很抱歉……"
光不停地說着。"
"……不論你做了什麼,"
對立回應道:
"你都做到了,不是嗎?為何要道歉……?""
光緩緩移開身子,但仍抱着這名少女。
她的雙眼跟鼻子都哭紅了,強顏歡笑地注視着對立。
突然之間,光把臉埋進對立的胸口,而對立也輕輕地抱住她。
這一幕都安靜了下來,黑衣少女就這樣讓白衣少女一直哭泣。
——
她們在灰色世界中啟程。
對立牽着另一名少女的手帶她向前走了一陣子,但沒多久,
另一名少女就調整好腳步跟上。
她不記得發生在自己身上的悲劇,至少,不記得最糟糕的部分。
還有這些黑色碎片……這些碎片也不再對她感興趣。
光的情況也一樣。這些原本非常喜歡光的白色碎片,再也不在她身邊舞動或親近她。
一個已經失去部分黑暗,而另一個……而這世界……也持續失去光芒。
不過……
光那真誠的微笑,也不再需要玻璃的光芒。
少女們走到懸崖邊。
她們小心地尋找充滿被忘卻的記憶並緩慢腐敗的大地。
這大地將腐敗。它將崩潰,褪色,並且瓦解為虛無。
她們站在那裏,對此並不知情,她們僅"知道"彼此,
為此放棄了過去與回憶。
對立帶着沉着而溫暖的表情看着光——
這是她在另外一個生命中,只要可以就會露出的神情。
光看見了她的神情,回以最單純自在的微笑。
"等着我們的是什麼"……?
什麼可能都不重要了。
她們各自感到的"完整"……是不容動搖的。
而且……
毫無疑問,光知道這場旅程已進入尾聲。
未來的道路就在前方,新的旅程即將展開。
……她花了一段時間意識到自己是無法精準得知這趟旅程會帶來什麼的。
她永遠無法得知未來會發生什麼事。
她接受這個事實,並閉上雙眼思考:
……對立之前是否知道,她走的每一步會將她帶到哪?
她只會一路向前。
……
如果你已選擇生命,那便是選擇了活下去。
活在這個世界。見證這個世界。體驗它,並真切地接受這最後的每個當下。
有了這樣的體悟,她選擇去牢牢把握。
她睜開雙眼,並且呼吸着空氣。
前方蜿蜒的未知、身旁的少女、
沒見過的臉龐、以及遠方未知的地方……
她把這些放在心中最重要的位置。
她牽着對立的手。
I see her there... Her folly has ruined her. Self-pity has ruined her.
As she gazes through her fingers, her hand still on her face,
she finds, once more, the sight of you, my second self, dead.
And the apathy which brought about your death—
the apathy which brought about this all—must be threatening to encroach again.
I know it: the girl in white and red can feel it. She can feel that she was meant for this.
That you were meant to die, and she was meant to kill you.
Her back relaxes...
The world itself... Arcaea... She can likely feel tension releasing throughout it.
Relief...
The disorder is gone... It's safe now...
But I can hear it too...
Something like a whisper, easing into her heart, seems to ask her to embrace this state.
To embrace herself, and embrace Arcaea.
...However—
"...Tairitsu..."
...She whispers something to herself: a name. Her voice is shaking, barely audible through her crying.
"What did you mean...? That our names 'here' were those...?"
She falls silent, and seems to wonder.
The whisper comes again, telling her: if you want it, those answers will arrive.
This place—it is an archive to all memory...
...And yet still, she remains silent.
"..."
Beneath her building apathy is a sheer and shining hatred.
She cannot stop hating herself.
Obviously not. After all that's happened... how could she allow an ending like this?
What would it mean? What would it mean for her?
She... She, who walked here, could never accept it.
With nausea eating at her stomach, she clenches her jaw.
"..."
Hikari puts her hand to the dirt and sand below her and lurches up onto her knees.
And she asks,
"Arcaea... Were you here to heal me?"
Her arm relaxes... like a cool sensation has woven up the limb.
"...I can feel it,"
Hikari mutters as her eyes slowly close, her voice still hoarse."
"...Paradise, for someone scared, tired, and weak..."
"..."
She swallows the dry nothingness in her mouth.
Opening her eyes, she grabs up sand and begins to rise to her feet
as much of it pours out from between her fingers.
"I don't know what to do..."
Hikari goes on,
"...but would it be right of me to let you hold me again?""
"It... absolutely wouldn't."
"I... don't want this..."
"I don't want it...!"
—
"Mmf—!"
Hikari suddenly bends over, gripping her stomach and pushing
her other hand against her mouth. She sways heavily.
Her "refusal" seems to be enough to make this world recognize her once more.
As she holds her mouth shut, eyes wide in fear, she suddenly winces.
I can hear it too: a sharp noise, flying suddenly through her ears—through her head—
And inside her heart again—no longer a whisper, but almost a vibrating bellow.
A silent, yet powerful voice filling her and saying: decide, and speak your heart's intent.
"Speak... my...?"
As she is...
...Hikari is nothing but a girl moved by her heart.
And it is heart that brought her here—long before she first opened her eyes.
Is it instinct? Does that "body" remember how this all happened...? How she was before...?
Ha...
I don't really care.
I just... find it very funny, and ironic, that this new heart would undo it all in a single beat.
Her answer... after her breathing has become shallow, after her heart has trembled long past a minute,
is ultimately clear and resonant:
"My intent... is to reverse."
"I have to bring her back."
"This world... doesn't make any sense!
You think I'd die for it? You think I'd let someone ELSE die for it...!?"
"I can't! I won't!
Whatever I need to do, whatever I need to give up... I'll sacrifice it all for that...!"
She holds the earth in her palm, firmly, before throwing her hand out and scattering the sand.
She declares,
"I'll die if it means I can change all this—!"
The world's heart beats, and its sound silences her cold.
It would never give her up. It will not.
The voice fills her again—
And its sentiments, and knowledge, enter her chest and run to her fingertips.
It says, You cannot die.
You were born here to live, and living is what you chose.
Hikari... knows this.
And guilt—apology—forces tears to well in her eyes.
But, the world's heart beats again before she can cry.
Do not die, says Arcaea.
—
Only let it end.
...And so her lips tighten.
Tears break past her eyelid, and trace down her cheek.
And she nods.
A heart beats again...
And like that—
—Arcaea begins to lose its light.
And in so doing, it floods into her, flows into her hands and heart.
It drives her down. It nearly causes her to collapse.
For that while, memories flash across her eyes, but I can tell... they are memories ignored.
Her eyes fix upon your lifeless corpse instead.
I think all she knows now... is "what she has to do".
And I can feel myself being tugged there already... down, down...
down: to where you were slain.
...
Does she... truly understand what it is she's abandoning?
Does she truly understand what is "ending" by this?
I don't know.
...You won't either.
...Actually, if she's taking me, then... will I remember any of this? Will I understand?
No... probably not. But... she seems so sure of herself now.
...
I'm going to let that heart of hers be the beacon for whatever comes after.
...I trust it. You would, too, wouldn't you?
After all, you were right...
The two of them... are completely different.
..."Tairitsu"...
...I'll be going now.
But don't worry.
I will surely take you with me.
The skies are forced down again, and the earth rises to her will.
To die, and to make Tairitsu live again.
Lives and souls cannot truly be brought into this world of the dead.
Only their shapes, only their echoes...
And to begin with,
the souls of the girl of light and the girl of conflict... were never quite ordinary.
Truly, the world was not meant for this.
Surely, the world will shatter for this.
But it will do everything to rewrite it all—or at least try.
It would need both the girl in black's "first soul"
and what fragments can be found of her second self's..."
And now one fragmented soul calls out to a full other.
Swiftly, that other soul is torn from beyond the pale.
A tornado flies around Hikari then,
ripping the veil of reality around her apart in a torrent of shadow and light.
Arcaea "remembers" the other girl, and at Hikari's command those memories come rushing back as glass.
They seem almost instantly born. Or perhaps they have always been here.
...Will they even suffice? Can this world weave two fractured souls?
...It will. The rules do not matter. Hikari will make it so...
With these memories of the girl named Tairitsu...
Glinting through the storm, those glass memories come swiftly.
There was a girl here who once walked the lands in agony.
A girl dogged mercilessly by sorrow and grief...
Yet she strode onward to save herself.
To save herself and to grasp freedom.
She had only ever wished for one thing:
the chance to have some reason to smile.
To make this world a better place, she was a girl who stood and faced it,
even if "better" would mean turning this world over.
The memories flash across Hikari's eyes, distracting her even more
from her own encroaching recollections.
Few of the other girl's tears pass through the storm. Much of her pain seems to have been forgotten.
It seems so... but in truth, as a soul of light, still pushing away
the cruel truth of that soul as she is, it is all Hikari can do to find even the fleeting moments
of the other girl's sincerest despair—the rest, the longer of them, lie beyond her grasp.
...However, knowing where that truest pain had led the girl in black, Hikari gives that sorrow up,
and so too gives up the moment that they met, which she cannot find.
The Tairitsu born of this all... will be one who has not seen the true depths of her plight,
but will still know herself as one who was born and lived in the midst of struggle.
New energy booms out from Hikari. Four columns of light, immense fonts of power, erupt from the ground.
It is the world protecting her, as the shadow soul to which she called finally descends.
She almost fails to recognize it at its approach. What floats before her and begins to block the sky
is something like Death: the immense and chilling shape of a phantom. It gently slows as it nears,
and there, at once, the dark begins to flow into the rotating glass.
There she truly comprehends it. With a firm nod, she eases the process, guiding soul to glass.
The lost soul of Tairitsu "before" thus becomes the living essence of the new body to come,
with that of Tairitsu "after" stabilizing the rest of the shell.
The shaking beneath Hikari's feet becomes almost too much to bear.
Hikari remains as still as she is able, and steadfastly directs the new life between her hands.
With a thunderous groan, she feels the world bending in agony, and yet she holds onto her will.
Without being deterred, in her heart she reaffirms her vow.
She twists the core of the world itself. It, too, will fuel the rebirth of a fallen deity.
Like this, finally, once absolute rules are rewritten, and with Hikari's sound and silent order
new death spikes solidly into that core.
In an overwhelming pulse of light and shadow, Arcaea begins to die.
The wish that made existence is overturned. The skies run rapid overhead, and what light remains of this
reality cascades to her from every horizon. As she pushes the crafted soul into Tairitsu's now-floating
and deeply effulgent body, with sweat dripping off her brow, Hikari pushes, too, the entire world—
She channels the life of the earth.
She abandons Arcaea.
Below the now-ending daylight, twin girls watch as clouds rush past above them.
Below the half-night sky, a noble gazes at a rift slowly tearing apart the earth,
and gazes above to see star after star fading.
A girl who tends and cares, a girl who wanders and seeks, a girl who watches and wishes—
A soul of joy, a soul of hunger, a soul of ambition—
A heart of war, a heart of song—
—they see the end, as all the life of the world is taken now to one, distant place.
And soon...
...Hikari feels the last wisps of that life flow into the body of the girl she wishes to save.
Tairitsu's form begins to drift back to the earth as the life fades out from Hikari's hands,
and as it does...
...the girl in white feels, too, that a part of herself is being lost in the current.
...None of that concerns her.
When the winds die down, and as Arcaea's skies above are left slowed, dull...
she feels very lightheaded and plants her foot down before she might fall.
She tries to calm herself, trying to grasp what she, truly, has done.
But... she can't.
And overwhelmingly, her thoughts focus on this:
Is Tairitsu alive?
—
Dust drifts down from the sky again.
She does remember this...
...at the end, at that lowest point...
Nobody was there, and she closed her eyes to tears.
She opens them now, slowly...
...just as those memories leave her entirely.
Hikari sees the motion in her brow.
The girl in white holds her own fists over her mouth and her breath catches in her throat.
For all the splendor, she thinks, it was all so simple—
Too simple—
Could her wish have been granted for so little as hope and effort?
Hikari shakes her head of these thoughts. She steps forward, shaking.
Tairitsu's eyes open fully, and blink once, before their lids fall again halfway.
Hikari rushes forward then, falls to her knees, and hugs the other girl.
"Wh... What...!? What are y—!?"
The girl is silenced as Hikari clings to her,
embracing her more tightly than anything else before in her life.
And, Hikari starts to sob.
She uncontrollably cries into the other girl's shoulder—
the girl who stares back in disbelief, unsure of anything.
...Many more rifts have been carved through the landscape.
The light which once eternally poured from the sky has been suddenly, and starkly dimmed.
The world... is wounded.
And yet, Hikari's focus remains on "what"—"who" remains.
Tairitsu lifts her hand, and places it gently upon Hikari's shaking back.
Each unknowing, the two comfort one another at the end of the world.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
Hikari endlessly repeats."
"...Whatever you did,"
Tairitsu replies,
"you made it right, didn't you? So why are you apologizing...?""
Hikari slowly pulls herself away, though she still holds the other girl.
With her eyes and nose reddened, she gazes on Tairitsu with misery, and tugging elation.
She suddenly buries her face in Tairitsu's chest, and Tairitsu holds her in return, softly.
The scene begins to quiet, and the girl in black allows the girl in white to weep.
—
They set out into the gray world.
For a while, Tairitsu holds the other girl's hand to walk her forward,
but it doesn't take long for their paces to match.
She does not remember her tragedy—at least, not the worst of it.
And the black shards... They don't take interest in her any longer.
For Hikari too. Those white shards which were so fond of her no longer dance nearby and close.
One has lost some aspect of dark, and the other... and the world... continue to lose light.
Though...
...to smile sincerely, Hikari no longer needs the light of glass.
The girls walk to a cliff's edge.
They look out to see a land of lost memory, slowly falling to decay.
And it will decay. It will collapse, fade, and crumble to nothing.
They stand there, not knowing this, and only "knowing" each other,
foregoing the past, and foregoing memory.
Tairitsu looks to Hikari with a steady, and quietly warm expression—
It is the expression she wore once, whenever able, within another life.
Hikari, seeing it, smiles with the simplest ease.
"What awaits"...?
What awaits could never matter.
That sense of "completeness" they each feel... cannot be shaken.
And...
Implicitly, Hikari knows this journey is at its end.
The road to the future lies ahead, and there a new journey will begin.
...She takes the time to acknowledge that she cannot know what, precisely, that journey will bring.
She can never know what might happen.
She acknowledges this, and closes her eyes to another thought:
...Did she know, before, where her steps would take her?
She only, always, stepped forward.
...
If you've chosen life, then choose to live.
Live in this world. See this world. Feel it and truly accept every last moment.
With this sentiment, she chooses to hold firm.
She lets her eyes open and she breathes in the air.
The unknowable winds ahead, the girl beside her,
the faces she has not seen, and the hidden places beyond...
She holds all of it close to her heart.
She takes Tairitsu's hand.
E-2
(又名:完美之願)
解鎖條件:完成F-7,購入Final Verdict曲包
解鎖要求:選擇「接受Arcaea的一切」
解鎖前不可見,劇情結束後將播放製作人員名單(白色版),隨後重啟遊戲
![Story E-1 epilogue cg.jpg](/images/thumb/4/4a/Story_E-1_epilogue_cg.jpg/300px-Story_E-1_epilogue_cg.jpg)
不久以前……
有個黑暗且寒冷的地方……
貧瘠空虛的土地上一片寂靜;在烏雲密佈的天空之下,是全新的冰冷以及虛無。紅花綠葉皆蒙上灰色,
而只剩生者的足跡,持續述說着他們曾經來過。白色此刻從天而降,掩蓋了他們的足跡。落下的不是雪花,
只有灰燼。
冬日尚未來臨,然一切皆已冰封。
在滿是灰燼和冰霜的大地上,有一位跪着的少女,她抬起脖子,看着這片灰色中滲出的光芒。
她睜大雙眼注視着。那光芒前的是一位天使,又或許是一位神。
她無家可歸。雙親皆已過世,監護人也已過世,她同期的新任塑形者全都過世,
還有她那些總是看不起她的人民也已全部過世。她知道所剩下的一切只有手中的玻璃碎片,
這是她窗戶的碎片。但仍或許還有機會——
她是特別的天選之人。
雖然年輕但知識淵博。
她必須一試。
如果她努力嘗試,或許還有極小的機會……能夠讓時間回流,發動回擊。
或者甚至讓她自身成為某種"神"。
思考着她可以阻止這一切。
思考着她可以將每個人帶回來。
這名少女看着手中的玻璃碎片,希望能拯救這個世界。
—— 但是……
……她做不到。
只靠她的意志並不能從虛無中製造力量。人可以想像得到的任何意志力她都具備,但這沒有任何意義。
她明白這個真相後,開始哭泣。
神的意志更有意義。神的願望是她和她的同類消失、墜落、化為塵土,而這個願望很快就會被神親手實現。
少女從她的倒影中看見自己的雙眼,而那倒影因自己的淚水而變得扭曲。從那顫抖的下顎中,
她看見自己的悲痛,以及無力與痛苦。
一切都不重要。她一事無成,不論是現在還是過去。
當天使降臨時,這名黑髮少女始終低着頭。天使靠近她時,祂舉起了祂的手。
沒多久,她就被帶走了。
這個孩子的名字已被忘卻。
而她死亡的原因……遠遠超出她的理解。
沒有人會記得她的存在。
但當她死亡時,另一個願望帶她離去。
—
這件事的不久以前……
有個黑暗但卻溫暖的地方……
黑暗是她造成的。那是在不同時光不同地點,另一位名字都被遺忘的少女。她拉起簾幕。
她鎖上房門。把手下有一張椅子。她坐在床上,睜大雙眼注視着。
她抱着膝蓋。
只是注視着。
注視着虛空。
她被"自己"弄得不知所措。
腦中無窮無盡地撥放着一段回憶。她能從樓梯上看見景色,並且清楚聽到她父母從遠處傳來的低語。
他們不是在說她的壞話,但仍是在討論她的事。
她的父母並非不愛她。
她無法愛自己,同時她感到自己內心缺少了一樣讓她能夠愛她父母的東西。
她仍可以從樓梯上方看見景色。但她感到一切都在拉住她,要她鬆開欄杆,並且飛奔至下方的大理石門廳。
但如果這樣沒用怎麼辦?
在那之後,這名少女回到了自己的房間,並且安靜地將自己鎖起來。
為什麼她不能消失?
為什麼她不能走向虛無?
為什麼她會擁有這些想法?
為什麼她的腦海會浮現這個?
為什麼她不能消失……?
她將指甲刺入她的小腿。
她張大雙眼凝視,呼吸急促。
她希望可以逃離這一切。
白髮少女是一個神。白髮少女有麻煩了。
但這麻煩並非因為她是神,事實上她從來不知道自己的神性。
在她的內心,她許下一個陰鬱的願望,想受庇護,而願望成真了:
"我要某個能夠讓我快樂的地方。"
—
黑髮少女死去了,而一個願望要她的靈魂離開。
在遙遠的世界,在另一個現實,有一名更強大的少女許下了這個願望。
白髮少女的力量非常強大,強大到她的願望能打造一個世界。
這個世界擁有一個沒有意義的名字:"Arcaea"。
Arcaea 是為了拯救亡者的庇護所。
雖然她許下願望時還活着,但她仍然強烈感到"死亡"的感覺。
對此她完全沒有想法;事實上,如果她試過,她就不會如此搞不清楚狀況。
她只想從那裏為自己得到一些東西。這是有可能的,真的,如果她知道那些被Arcaea 之網抓住的命運,
她就會發現自己做了一件很棒的事。
這個世界跨越時間和不同的現實,延伸至其他無數地方。
它是活的,雖然它沒有想法,但這世界仍"許願"與這些亡者分享生命。
在沒有任何指示的情況下,這世界儘可能抓住任何與其"內心"對話的東西。
在介於真實的接縫中被打造出來的空間裏,在點綴着柔軟且遙遠的紫色星光的黑暗中……
……許多靈魂被包覆其中,並被帶往一個跨越黑暗,全新且閃耀的邊界。
白色的世界……
從這裏開始,這個世界給了每個靈魂一個無暇的複製體,並且釋放他們。
它給了各個複製體一個溫暖的歸屬,給了它們一個新的形體……
這個世界給了它們永恆,讓它們能安全地觀察並重溫無窮無盡的生命。
但它無法真正拯救它的創造者……
它能夠帶來真實的靈魂,複製它們,並將這些靈魂帶入新的身體中,然後釋放,
不管前方等着它們的是什麼……不過,"光"的靈魂,被固定回其第一個世界之中。她仍然活着。
……不會思考的 Arcaea 只會盡其所能強行複製那個靈魂。
很久以後,Arcaea 發現了一個靈魂,它從未見過如此悲慘的靈魂,可以與它母親的靈魂相似……
奇怪的是,該靈魂也無法被妥善的保管。釋放時,
這個靈魂不會像其他靈魂一樣離開這個虛假世界的邊界……
因此它也開始目睹着自己的複製品不幸於這個全新白色大地上誕生。
對立……在一座毀滅的塔中甦醒。
—
隨着時光流逝……
難以想像,被救回的其中一人曾震懾着一切……
但幸運的是,造成這一切的人回來了,很快這個世界也再次變得安全……
Arcaea 只是為了存在而生。 Arcaea 呼喚了它的創造者,而這名創造者注意到了這個呼喚。
就像Arcaea 創造了碎片的監視者,並請求監視者吞噬一切會瓦解其脆弱存在的異常……
因此現在,Arcaea 依然存在着。
它已經存在了超過一千年了。
沾染大地的紅色鮮血被抹去了,留下純潔、白色的大地。對立的身體被燒掉了……
溫暖佔據着一切。天空變得明亮。
珍珠般近乎無盡的景色再次聚集。
現在,這是一個毋庸置疑的美麗世界……
散佈各地的少女們選擇在這個無盡旅程大地中停歇。她們選擇被冰封,永遠凝視着這迷失的世界。
如果她們還在思考……她們思考的會是非常遙遠的過去。
而那肯定是更好的選擇……
那肯定比較好,相比無盡地行走並觀察其他地方……
她們一定很開心。她們需要變得開心。
Arcaea 除了那個選擇沒什麼能夠給她們。這個世界仍然埋藏在"縫隙之間",而解脫方法也是——
—— 而且……這世界以外的任何領域……是在外部的另一個地方,且無法再次看見。
因此,雙胞胎少女、帶着利劍的少女、旅行者、貴族、歌之少女……
她們和其他人善良到如同天使一般。
而 Arcaea 的玻璃碎片現在也經常休止。它們沿着牆壁和柱子集結,壓實成又大又多的樣子,就像結晶一樣。
就像生鏽了一樣。
—— 這個美麗的世界是由神所看護的。光在這一切之上,毫不關心地看照着……
……並且記得……
她記得所有舊世界已經遺忘的事。她有點熱情,或着是有點興趣的看着它們。
這可稱得上是那位衰弱且無精打采的神所擁有的一种放縱。
或許……她已經不一樣了。她過去是怎樣的人,現在的她又是怎樣……她現在層次一定"更高"了。
她珍惜着一個真相,對此她只能祈禱其他人能理解—— 雖然即使他們不能……
她也只不過選擇了去看着這世界。
但……即便她毫不關心地看着這世界,她也知道自己給了它們"一切"。
……
……在她的範圍之外,一名哲學家和衛星在遊蕩。
在此之下,一個長角的女人正照料着珍貴的回憶。
眼中有花朵的女人……在寂靜的大地上跋涉。
這是空虛的,是沒有意義的。
Arcaea 現在成為了虛無。
而那樣……比另外一種型態還好。
好過一個藐視你的世界。好過那個瞧不起你生存方式的自己。
為愛上活着而活,並臣服在虛無之下……
……現實在其所有的面向中,是個空虛、一文不值且微不足道的事情。一個人想要的唯一一件事情,
就是奪走現實中可以拿走的任何東西。
奪走快樂。奪走愛。奪走希望。奪走力量。
而奪走之後……
……
光相信,什麼都不需要做。
奪走。活着。然後真正地愛着活着本身。
愛着它……
雖然在千年之間,甚至千年之後……生命都不會有所意義。
畢竟,現實前進時,沒人知道等待着的"結束"是什麼樣子。
而 Arcaea,具體來說,從來就只是記憶的載體。
無形、限制、沉默的記憶—— 然而外面看不見,注意不到,也不會在乎。
而這些記憶,與光所拯救的那些生命,將沉靜地永存在此,而至於那些生命,
她也如往常一樣不會看過去一眼。
因為在這裏,沒有看不到的記憶,沒有感覺不到的情感。這就是光芒照耀,
且授予的"一切"。
為了永遠的快樂,為了永遠的平安。與你可能已經拋棄的任何生命不同,
這,就是她所愛。這,就是Arcaea ——
—— 迷失的生命不會受到偏袒,也不會受到責備。
因此,就像這樣,命運的齒輪在這裏繼續運轉……
……而遠方不會再有等候着的命運。
![Story E-1 epilogue cg.jpg](/images/thumb/4/4a/Story_E-1_epilogue_cg.jpg/300px-Story_E-1_epilogue_cg.jpg)
It wasn't long ago...
Somewhere dark and cold...
A barren, empty land rested in silence; newly cold, and newly empty, under a sky
leaden with dense clouds. The green leaves and red flowers had turned gray, and
only the footsteps of the living remained to tell that they all had once been
there. White now fell from the heavens and covered up their steps. No snow fell; only ash.
All had frozen, and winter had yet to come.
On the ash and ice-covered earth, on her knees, was a girl with her neck craned up to face what light
now bled through the gray. Her eyes were wide and staring. Before that light was an angel or, maybe, a god.
There was no home to turn to. Her mother and father were dead. Her guardians were dead. Her fellow
fledgling Shapers were dead. Her people, who had always scorned her, were all dead. All that remained
of what she knew was a shard of glass in her hand—a fragment from her window. But still, perhaps,
there was a chance—
She was chosen, and special.
She was young, but learned.
She only had to try.
If she tried, very hard, there was perhaps the smallest chance... to reverse time's flow. To strike back.
To even, maybe, turn into a sort of "god" herself.
Thinking she could stop all of this.
Thinking she could bring everyone back.
The girl looked at the shard of glass in her hand, and wished to save the world.
—However...
...she could not.
Will alone cannot create strength from nothing. She had all the will that one could imagine,
and her will was worthless.
Knowing that, she began to cry.
The will of the god above was worth more. Its wish had been for her and her kind to vanish, fall,
and fade into dust, and that wish would be granted, in moments, by its hand.
The girl saw her eyes in her own reflection, and watched as the image became distorted
with her tears. She could see her grief through her shaking jaw, and her impotent, overwhelming pain.
Nothing mattered at all. Nothing she had ever done, and nothing now.
The black-haired girl kept her head bowed as the angel descended. When it reached her, it raised its hand.
And shortly, she was gone.
That child's name is forgotten.
The reasons for her death... were beyond her.
Her life would not be remembered by anyone.
But when she died, another wish took her away.
—
It wasn't much longer ago than that...
Somewhere warm, though still dark...
She had made it dark. Another girl in another time and another place, with all names forgotten. She had
drawn her curtains. She had locked her door. A chair was beneath the knob. She sat on her bed, and kept
her eyes wide and staring.
She hugged her knees.
Staring.
She stared into nothingness.
She was overwhelmed by "herself".
A memory played endlessly in her head. She could see the view from atop the stairs, and vividly hear
her parents' words, whispered from beyond her sight.
They weren't saying anything against her, but they were still discussing her.
It wasn't that they didn't love her.
She could not love herself, and she felt that inside of her, something was missing that would allow her
to love them.
She very well could still see the view from atop the stairs. She had felt everything tugging at her to
let go of the banister then, and fly to the marble foyer below.
But what if it didn't work?
The girl had managed to return to her room after that and quietly lock herself away.
Why couldn't she disappear?
Why couldn't she walk off into nowhere?
Why were her thoughts like this?
Why was her mind like this?
Why couldn't she disappear...?
Her nails dug into her calves.
Her stare widened. Her breathing quickened.
And she wished that she could run away.
The girl with white hair was troubled. The girl with white hair was a god.
She was not troubled because she was a god—her godhood was a fact she never knew.
In her heart, she made a sullen wish for refuge, and that wish was granted:
"Somewhere else, where I can be happy."
—
The girl with black hair died, and a wish called her soul away.
In a distant world, in another reality, a girl more powerful than her had made that wish.
The white-haired girl was so powerful that her wish had created a world.
A world with a meaningless name: "Arcaea".
Arcaea was a sanctuary meant to save the dead.
Though she'd been alive when she'd made her wish, she still keenly felt that sense of "death".
She'd given it no consideration, none at all—in fact, she couldn't have thought straight if she'd
tried. She only wanted something there for herself. It's possible, really, that if she knew the fate
of those caught in Arcaea's web, she would see herself as having done a very good thing.
The world reached out to countless other places across time, across separate realities.
It was alive, and though it had no thought it nonetheless "wished" to share life with those dead.
Unguided, it caught any it could that spoke to its "heart".
In a space crafted between the seams of the real, in darkness spotted with soft and distant purple starlight...
...so many souls were wrapped into the weave, and brought to a new and shining border beyond the black.
The world of white...
From there, the world made a perfect imprint of each, and also released each. It gave each imprint a warm
place, gave them a new shape...
It gave them infinity, to view and relive endless life in safety.
But it could not truly save its maker...
It was able to take true souls, double them, and bring the doubles into new bodies, releasing those
first souls to whatever else awaited them... However, the soul of the one who would be known as "Hikari"
was fixed back in its first world. She was still alive.
...Arcaea, always unthinking, instead forced a copy of that soul as best as it could.
And much later, it found a soul more tragic than any other it had yet to find, similar to its mother's...
Strangely, that soul could not be properly kept either. When released, it could not leave the false
world's border like the rest... and so began to watch its star-crossed copy on the new, white earth instead.
Tairitsu... woke in a ruined tower.
—
And time passed...
Unthinkably, one of the saved had threatened everything...
But mercifully, the one who had made this all returned, and soon the world was safe again...
Arcaea was only crafted to exist. It had called out to its maker, and that maker had heeded that call. Like
Arcaea had made a monitor for the shards... like it bid that monitor to swallow up any anomalies that
fractured its fragile existence...
So now, it exists, and has existed.
It has existed, ever since, for over one thousand years.
The red blood that stained the earth was erased, leaving behind pure, white land. Tairitsu's body
was burned away...
Warmth filled everything. The sky grew bright.
The pearl and nearly endless landscape came together again.
And now, it is a truly beautiful world...
Dotted in figures: of girls who chose to rest in a land of endless travel. They chose to be frozen, and to
stare eternally into this world of the lost. And if they are thinking at all... it is of a very distant past.
And that was surely the better choice…
That was surely better than walking and watching other places forever...
They must be happy. They need to be.
Arcaea had nothing else to give them but that choice. The world was
still buried "inbetween", and escape was—
—and... any realms outside of it... were outside, and away, and could
never be seen again.
So, the twins, the girl with a blade, the traveler, the noble, the girl with a song...
They and others are angelic figures.
And the glass shards of Arcaea often come to rest now, too. They gather along
walls and pillars, compacting in great and plentiful formations. Like crystals.
Like corrosion.
—This beautiful world is overseen by a god. Above it all, Hikari watches passively...
...and remembers…
She remembers everything old worlds have forgotten. She sees them, with marginal warmth
or interest. An indulgence, of sorts, for the mind of a faded and listless god.
Maybe... she has transformed. Who she was and who she is... She must be "higher" now.
She cherishes a truth she can only pray that others would understand—though if they
will not... She has only chosen to watch the world.
Yet... though she watches it passively, she knows she has given them "everything".
...
...Outside her purview, a philosopher and satellite wander.
Beneath it, a horned woman tends to precious memories.
A woman with a flower in her eye... trudges through silent lands.
It is vain. It is vanity.
Arcaea now—is vanity.
And that... is better than the alternative.
Better than the world which spits at you. Better than yourself, who loathes your very way of being.
Living to love being alive, and succumbing to vanity...
...Reality, in all of its facets, is an empty, worthless, and inconsequential thing. The only thing one could
ever want would be to take what one can out of it.
Take pleasure. Take love. Take hope. Take power.
And with it...
...
Hikari believes this: one has no need to do anything.
Take. Live. And, sincerely, love being alive.
Love that...
Though not even for a thousand years, nor even a thousand more... will life ever mean a thing.
After all, reality marches on with no discernable "end" in store. And Arcaea, specifically,
was never anything more than a vessel for memories.
Incorporeal, contained, silent memories—while the outside remains unseen, unnoticed, and uncared for.
And those memories will exist forever here in that silence, together with those lost lives Hikari has saved,
and with her turning no eye to those lives, as always.
Because here there is no memory unseen—no emotion not felt. This is "all", which Light shines down upon,
and which Light grants.
It is for happiness. It is for eternal peace; unlike in any life you might have left behind.
This: she loves. This: Arcaea—
—Given to lost lives with neither favor nor condemnation.
And so, like this, the wheels of fate here continue to turn...
...while no destiny waits beyond.
Side(支線)
支線故事是牽涉到支線搭檔的故事。
3-0
解鎖條件:完成3-4,購入Absolute Reason曲包
解鎖要求:採用咲彌通過Antithese
任何人於這回憶的世界中甦醒後,腦中記憶都是一片空白。她也不例外。
不過,當光線映入她的瞳孔時,她感受到了不同尋常的事物。
她的心跳首當其衝地加快;激情四射,漸漸湧出的失落感讓她近乎咆哮起來。
她的手緊抓着覆蓋腹部的衣服,心想自己的耳朵可能要被震聾。
她的雙眼不自覺地眯起來,而她這才意識到自己僅擁有一隻眼睛。她的面龐感受到了這一切。
「什……?」
她咳嗽幾聲,然後撐起身子。隔着手套,她觸摸到一種可以稱得上軟綿綿的物質,正牢牢固定於她右眼的所在處。
她才發現自己帶着手套。朝自己的身體看去後,她不禁疑惑起自己為何會穿着這些衣服。
接着,她不禁疑惑起自己為何知道衣服是什麼東西。
她方才背靠着一面牆睡覺。經過觀察,她發現自己的四周是另外三堵牆,殘破得不堪入目。
它們將她圍在這沒有出路的空間中。抬起頭後,少女見這裏並沒有屋頂,
卻緊接着對自己為什麼會覺得上頭理應有個屋頂一事而感到納悶。事實上,她察覺到自己身在何處……隱約地。
她沿着自己曾靠在上頭睡覺的牆走着,直到發現一處她能夠翻越過去的地方。
在清理那些磚塊時,她發現它們潔白無瑕。此時,她抬頭仰望,發現不僅這面牆是白色的——
整個世界都是一片純白。那是片一望無際的古老,潰敗的人類社會遺址,也可說成是多個文明的仿製品。
這太詭異了……更詭異的是:她竟然會覺得這一切很詭異。這又是為什麼?
在她機緣巧合地發現那些反光的玻璃之前,她竟早已為自己目前所見的事物,以及她的身份,
給予了數十種推測。即使是她如今孤身一人——而且連自己的名字都不知道——的事實,
也為她闡述了可能性極高的推斷。
並且,隨着時間流逝,她發現的許多線索都指向她腦海中某一項特定的推測。
她天生具有強烈的自信心與好奇心。這純白的世界只有着無盡的問題,卻從未出現過答案。
幾天過去了,那些廢墟中沒有答案顯現。幾周過去了,這些玻璃內也沒有答案顯現。
可以肯定的是,這世界充斥着玻璃、它們不斷地投射着其它形形色色的,
更具生機的場所,仿佛在藉此奚落着她。源於某種真實事物的回聲與痕跡,或者說是這世界本身,
遍佈着人類發明的仿製品。在這兩個月里(雖然真正的時間可能更長),
她覺得自己已經看了足夠多的畫面以堅信某個想法。
這一座破舊的階梯離她甦醒的地點已有一段距離。
佇立於階梯頂端的少女,望向了天空中那起伏不平的截斷部分:
由數以百計的Arcaea所組建而成,那是一扇不通向任何地方的殘破窗戶。
這一刻,少女開始對自己的猜測深信不疑。她打賭自己的推理便是真相。
但光憑這點還不夠——根本不可能足夠。這可不是光靠猜測就能確定下來的事情。
所以她在心中鄭重誓言道:這整片領域就是一個謎團,不會講述任何事情,
只會給出零星線索——所以她將解決這謎題,
找出對應的理由來。作為這領域中唯一的活物,這仿佛成為了她第一個職責。
而就在她完全接納Arcaea的時候……
Arcaea也完全接納了她……
……作為一間寬廣且看似無邊無際的檔案室——不僅等待着被閱讀,
更等待着某個人來親身經歷它們。
Each one awakens in the world of memories with nothing in her head. She is no exception.
However, as light filters through her cornea the sensations that grip her are unusual. Her heart
stirs first, passionate, and she almost snarls at the building frustration. She grips the clothes over
her stomach, and thinks her ears might be deafened. Her eye squints involuntarily, and she
realizes with that that she only has a single eye rather than two. She feels around her face.
"Wha...?"
She coughs, and pushes herself up. What she felt through her glove was something almost soft,
surrounding something very solid in the place of her right eye. She realizes she’s wearing gloves.
Looking over her body, she wonders why she’s wearing these clothes.
She wonders next why she knows what clothes are at all.
She had been sleeping against a wall, and upon an inspection of her surroundings sees that there
are three others to make a four-cornered place around her, and every one of them is in extreme
disrepair. Looking up she sees that there’s no roof, and questions why it is she’d expected to find
one in the first place. In fact, she recognizes where she is... vaguely. She trudges along the wall she’d
slept against until she finds one she can step over. As she clears the bricks, she notices that they are
entirely white. Looking up, she sees that it isn’t only this wall, but the entire world that’s white.
It is an infinite landscape of an old, defeated, human society, or rather a pastiche of several
societies. It’s bizarre... Moreover: it is bizarre she finds it bizarre. Why?
Before she even stumbles upon any reflective glass, she has already bet on tens of theories behind
what she’s seeing, and who she is. Even that she is alone, and that she doesn’t know her name,
tells her much about the potential truth.
And, over time, she finds more reason for one theory in particular.
She was born with conviction and curiosity. The world of white presents questions but no answers.
Days pass, and there are no answers within the ruins. Weeks pass, and there are no answers within
the glass. Indeed, the world is full of glass, taunting always with views of other, more vivid and
varied places. Echoes, imprints of something real, exactly the world itself, so full of what must be
copies of human invention. After two months, though it could be more, she feels she has seen
enough to believe something, and with confidence.
While atop a broken stairway someplace far away now from where she’d awakened some time
ago, she gazes at an undulating and segmented portion of the sky: a seemingly broken window to
nothing, crafted from over a hundred shards of Arcaea. She becomes sure of herself in this
moment. She can bet her judgment is the truth.
But it’s not enough, and never enough. It can’t be settled with speculation.
So she vows: this realm is a mystery, telling nothing and offering little, so she will solve it and find
its reason. As the only being of this realm, it seems, this will be her first duty.
And as she fully accepts the Arcaea...
So too do the Arcaea fully accept her...
...as a vast and seemingly endless archive, not only to be read, but to be lived through.
3-1
解鎖條件:解鎖Absolute Reason曲包
解鎖要求:通過Antithese
奈何被草坪中的那幾台裝置捕捉並捲入,
轉變為近似月光的柔和射線。
這場宴會帶有種獨特的氣氛。雖然莊園外一個人都沒有,但是對上流人士來說,
保持形象似乎比任何事都來得重要。她了解這一切——從一開始便是。她坐在較暗一點的地方,
而被捕捉的陽光則重現於她如今無法觸及的天花板與階梯。
少女靜靜地思考着潛藏於那些淵博知識之中的涵義。
「拉薇妮雅。」
她的視線從玻璃杯上移走。而她的未婚夫(穿着整齊,甚至能用古板來形容,
但是姿態相當輕鬆自如)正站在她的面前。
「想好今晚喝什麼了?」
她用那隻正常的眼睛注視着杯子,答道:「嗯,多納文……我點了李子汁。」
「不錯。」他笑着回應,一邊環顧房間的四周。
少女茫然地瞧着他的表情,而他假笑着。
「媽媽和大家都說蔓越莓汁更健康呢,不過……」
他說道,並再次朝她瞥去,「喝起來也更苦,不是嗎?你也不喜歡吧?」
她想了想,畏縮道:「我不喜歡。」
「那就好。」他輕笑一聲,轉過身去,「我接下來要去跟摩根聊聊,
不過隨時歡迎你加入我們。」
少女點了點頭,多納文就走去壁爐旁的那群老朋友們身邊。
一如往常,形象的維護是必不可少的。在引線被捲起存入地上的燈籠前,
那凹槽中的火焰只把自身的光輝投出幾英寸遠。房間的其餘場所一片黑暗,卻使人感到安心。
掛在上方的幾個燈籠剛好提供了足夠讓人們進行閱讀、辨識各自面孔,
以及分配經過了精挑細選的食物和一瓶瓶飲料所需要的光線。在那半面為玻璃的牆壁外部,
如今室外景色模糊不清,隱約能夠辨識出野花、石頭與溪流:籠罩於深藍夜幕之下,仿佛一條綢緞。
宴會上有二十位來賓,一半在這個房間裏,其他人可能在大廳或是某處的書房——
或許是圖書館也說不定。她所知道的只有這麼多。
她細細品嘗了她的果汁。她從中感受到了一絲甜味,但這李子汁依然不能讓她產生多大的印象。
少女顯然能回憶起某種更好的滋味和感覺,但現在她還是試圖讓思緒集中在舌尖上的味蕾。
可惜,這依然不足以打動她,這味道實在是平凡得出奇。
她將玻璃杯擱在一旁那張矮桌的奇異桌布上。她坐了下來,凝聽、觀察着四周,
幾分心不在焉地撫摸着於她的另一隻眼中綻放的花瓣。
她聽見多納文說,「但仔細想想,他們現在已經做了那麼多了。
我第一次聽到這主意的時候,我甚至覺得這完全行不通。」
「嗯,查爾斯對這一點十分確信。」另一位來賓說道——不是摩根,而是娜塔莉亞。
「真讓人意外,」多納文認同道,手指游離於發梢。
「一個完整的世界,全部由人類的雙手打造……」他說,「我們人類可真了不起。」
pause, but the devices within the surrounding meadows catch and spool it, changing it to rays
more similar to what might be cast from the moon.
The party has a certain atmosphere. Though there are no eyes without the manor, the fact is that
maintaining an image is paramount to those of upper echelons. She knows this, all of this, innately.
Sitting in a darker place, with sunlight captured and held at ceilings and staircases presently
beyond her reach, she considers the implications of this knowledge in calm and in silence.
「Lavinia.」
She looks up from her glass. The fiancé (dressed very well, almost stuffily, but in casual
posture) is standing before her.
「What have you decided to drink tonight?」
She looks at it through her one proper eye. She answers: 「Plum juice… Donovan.」
「Keen,」 he says with a smile, looking out toward the rest of the room. She looks at his
expression blankly. He smirks. 」Mum and the rest prefer cranberry—for health, they say—
but…」 he says, glancing at her again. 「It’s a bitter taste, isn’t it? You don’t like it either,
do you?」
She thinks, wincing. 「I don’t.」
「And that is to the good.」 He chuckles, then turns away. 「I’ll go speak with Morgan.
Join us whenever you like.」
She nods, and Donovan moves to their mutual childhood friend near the fireplace.
As always, images need to be maintained. The fire throws its light only a few feet out from the pit
before the threads of it are wound away, stored into lanterns on the floor. The rest of the room is
dark, but comforting. It’s a setting to relax within. A few lanterns above give just enough illumination
for reading, seeing each other’s faces, and the spread of carefully selected portions of food along
with bottles of drink. Just outside the room, through half-glass walls, an almost untame scene of
wildflowers, stones, and streams is dimly visible: wrapped in a midnight blue, almost like satin.
There are twenty guests at the party, half in this room, the rest in the halls or somewhere in other
studies—perhaps the library. This is as much as she knows.
She drinks her juice, tastes it. She notes the sweetness, not having had much experience with
plum juice herself. She recalls something about a better taste and sensation, but in the moment
now she is compelled to focus on how the liquid feels along her tongue. However, she can make
no true determination of it. It is remarkably unremarkable.
She puts the glass down on the fanciful doily of the short table beside her. She sits, listens, and
watches, touching the flower petals blooming from her other eye rather absently.
She hears Donovan say, 「But to think they』ve done so much already. When I first heard of the idea,
I was sure it wasn’t possible.」
「Well, Charles is quite sure it is,」 says another of the guests—not Morgan, but Nathalia.
「Astounding,」 Donovan grants, running his fingers through the top of his hair.
「A whole entire world, made by human hands,」 he says. 「Mankind is quite something.」
3-2
解鎖條件:完成3-1,購入Absolute Reason曲包
解鎖要求:通過Corruption
她再度伸手拿起玻璃杯,啜了一小口;這樣足夠讓她想起為什麼當初要把它擱在一旁了。
創造世界的事情,根本只是他們腦中不可靠的幻想而已。他們沒有更深入地討論。他們其實並不了解它。
那群人究竟說過哪些他們真正感興趣的話題——說實話,她沒法準確地回想起來。真讓人心煩意亂。
有時候,她甚至覺得他們根本就沒在說話。少女開始感到厭煩。她起身離開客廳,走去那些更豪華,
更有夜晚魅力的大廳;穿過幾間雖有親切感,但對她而言依然陌生的房間。她將這兒探索了一遍,
發現了一條未點燈的漆黑路徑,以及幾扇把手似乎上了鎖,卻看不見鎖孔的門。能夠打開的那些門後方,
是幾位男女在房裏,聊天的聲音小到聽不清楚。
他們雖然注意到她的存在,但只是瞥了一眼,就回到方才談話或休息的狀態。
她想去外邊走走。
先進的科技遍佈於這座莊園,但莊園整體卻與古老的「階級制度」理念相融。沒錯,那些調光器十分奇特,
而這整片人造的荒野也極為古怪。不果這其中讓她最感興趣的科技,是安置在花園中的那些光能轉換裝置。
她雖然知曉它們,卻是初次親眼所見。
用單個詞語來形容:她很「好奇」。
人們總重複着單調乏味的社交活動,使今日與過去的千百天幾乎毫無差別,而她對涉獵此類日子毫無興趣。
生命與創造皆無比迷人,從中選出一者難如登天。
但就在她緩緩靠近通往前車道的大門時……
就在她的手指觸摸到眼前那巨大的木把手時……
她明白過來,外頭沒有任何事物——至少對她而言,從一開始便是如此。
這整個世界上,沒有任何其他能讓她容身的地方。
她的歸屬並不是於草坪中讚賞那堆機械科技,而是那間狹窄的准夫妻起居室。
「外部」僅僅是個想法。一個毫無營養,轉瞬即逝的概念。
這可不是個會讓她感到開心的領會。
她的手從門把手上滑落。隨即她轉過身,站在一盞吊燈底下。
那吊燈上面裝飾的每一片鏡片都映照着這一刻的世界別處的景象——
總是不斷地轉換,展現着那些她無法前去的場所。
柔和的,宛如星空般的彩燈環繞在固定裝置的周圍,讓那物體與這整片場地都顯得過於虛幻。
她的眼神、她的嘴唇,未闡述任何思緒。步伐聲中燃起些許不滿,她步履艱難地回到了宅邸之中。
She reaches for her glass and takes a sip; it’s enough to make her remember why she had put it
down in the first place.
The matter of a created world is only really a fickle fancy of theirs. They do not discuss it much.
They do not much understand it. What little they might have to say of true interest, she can’t, in
fact, properly remember. Irritating. At times, it even feels to her like they aren’t speaking at all.
The girl grows impatient. She stands and passes out of the sitting room into more lavish, more
evening- themed halls, passing rooms with which she’s familiar, but only vaguely. She explores,
finding stretches of unlit, pitch-black paths, and doors that seem to be locked though their knobs
bear no holes for unlocking. What doors are open show rooms of a few men and women each,
chatting too quietly to discern. If they ever notice her presence, they only look her way a moment
before returning to conversation or rest.
She wants to go outside.
The manor has some technological sophistication to it, but is married to its ideals of old "class".
Yes, the dimming canisters are curious, and the manufactured wilds are peculiar, but what interests
her the most are the light-transforming machines in the gardens. She knows of them, but has yet to
see them firsthand.
In a word, she is "curious".
The humdrum of a social gathering so often repeated that this day feels like a thousand identical
others is not something she wishes to dabble in long. Lives and creations are too fascinating to
ever take either for granted.
But as she approaches the doors to the front driveway...
As her fingers slip upon the wood of the grand handles before her...
She knows, innately, that there is nothing past there, nothing for her. In the entire world, there is
nowhere else she could be. Her place is not in the meadows admiring mechanisms, it is in the
sitting room with the husband-to-be.
"Outside" is only an idea. A fruitless, ephemeral concept.
That is not a favorable realization.
Dropping her hand she turns and stands below the chandelier, each of its shards showing an image
of somewhere else in the world, at this moment. Shifting, always, and speaking of places she
cannot go. Fading, almost celestial illumination hangs around the fixture, giving this place and
that object a too-unreal quality. Her eye, her lips, say nothing. She trudges back into the mansion,
with a small fire of discontent born within her.
3-3
解鎖條件:完成3-2,購入Absolute Reason曲包
解鎖要求:採用咲彌通過Black Territory
純白與蔚藍的閃爍引起了人們的注意,宴會上的年輕人對這突然的變化紛紛表示稱讚。
就像魔法一樣。太美妙了。
她回到了休息室,也目睹了這場人造自然的旋風,
一場華麗的鬧劇。
她尚且記得這些花朵初次被吹落的景象,想到:
她已經受夠"回憶"起那些事物了。
在過去的許多個小時中,她對這兒的邊界進行了一番研究。
窗戶上了鎖,陽台的落地窗門被封了起來,通風口也被用螺絲固定着。
她對現狀抱持的唯一疑惑是:
"這些去路被堵住——是因為那群人堵住了去路,還是因為我被困在這裏了?"
她發現,暗喻與情感總會動搖少女們的心靈。
現實並不容易辨別清楚。
而當她在摸遍、戳遍、翻遍、繞遍這地方後,
她開始去找熟悉的來賓與朋友們一起閒話家常。
"最近的天氣……"
"國王他……"
"你知道嗎,上周……"
枯燥乏味,而且毫無營養。
雖然有提問從她的嘴中蹦出來,卻只會被懷疑一番,甚至完全被他們忽視。
就像那些疑問從未被問出口——好像她根本就沒有說過話一樣。
她最想知道的情報——機械工程、科技與發展——
顯然在這些來賓身上是套不出來的。
就在她變得越來越沮喪的時候,她選擇在一旁聆聽對話,終於聽見:
"它現在可不止是個泥球了。我聽說我們很快就能夠完成地球化呢。"
她對那個話題發問……但仍舊沒有得到任何回應。
不過有這條信息就差不多足夠了,所以她再次進入走廊。
如今她佇立在那裏,靜靜地觀望着那場風暴,將自己與其聯想。
她輕步走過她的未婚夫身旁。他見到她,對她露出一絲微笑。
他打招呼道,"拉薇妮雅,你回來啦。"而她凝視着他的西裝衣領。
他對此未察覺分毫。
演員們總是依照同一種方式演出。
何事脫穎而出,何事不同尋常——全都從未被人們所在意。
她的行為越來越大膽,但他們依舊遵照自己的習慣行動。
因為得保持形象,對吧?
她決定直截了當地問出那長久以來壓迫在她心頭的問題。
"人造的世界……它難道不是玻璃製造的嗎?"
"……呃?你在說什……?當然不是啊,拉薇妮雅。這可不是個玩笑。"
她睜大了眼睛,瞳孔收縮。
在所有的疑問中,就只有這個得到了回應。
多納文的視線越過她的肩頭,仿佛望着牆後更遙遠的地方。他說:
"不管怎樣,這不是很令人喜愛嗎?幾乎就像你一樣惹人憐愛……"
但她沒有作出任何回應。
他的回答間接印證了少女的假設,因此她下定了決心。
就在空中以螺旋狀飛舞的花瓣要平靜下來的時候,
她走向擺滿食物的長桌,駐足於麵包。
多納文滔滔不絕地說着。
"我聽說,他們塑造的世界最終會像是錯綜蔓延的山谷,沒有盡頭。
現在,它就只是一片荒地。這是個概念,你明白嗎?"
她靜靜聆聽,將手搭在一個握柄上。
"但是對於那些擁有足夠能力包攬下來一塊地的人來說,這絕對是件十分開心的事。
你想像一下那塊新土地的可能性,拉薇妮雅。"
她嘆了一口氣。又是次不會有任何結果的嘗試。
少女的手握住那精巧而又光滑的木頭。
她靈巧地轉過身,朝正等待着她的未婚夫邁出步子,
將自己的手甩向他的頭頸。
麵包刀的鋸齒止於他的皮膚。
貼近凝視着將要迸發而出的事物。
Glints of white and sapphire catch the eye, and the youths of the party speak of the change favorably.
Like magic. Wonderful.
She comes back into the lounge and witnesses the swirl of artificial nature,
the splendor of a farce.
She remembers the first time those flowers were scattered and thinks:
she’s rather had enough of "remembering".
During the past several hours, she’s tested the boundaries.
The windows were locked, the patio doors were barred, and the ventilation ducts were bolted.
The question she had to all this was:
"Are these shut because people shut them, or because I’m trapped in here?"
Metaphor and emotion often swayed the hearts of young girls, she found.
It was difficult to determine the reality.
When she’d had enough of poking, prodding, turning things over, and wandering,
she began to prattle on with other guests she knew to be acquaintances or friends.
"The weather..."
"The King..."
"You know, the week before..."
Tedious, and uninformative too.
Certain lines of questions were met with incredulity or with nothing at all,
as if the questions hadn’t been asked—as if she hadn’t spoken.
What she mainly wanted to know about—engineering, technology, progress—
seemed to especially draw out nothing from the other guests.
With her frustration growing, she took to listening in instead, and eventually heard:
"It’s little more than a globe of dirt now. We’ll terraform it soon, I’m told."
And asking about that... led nowhere as well.
That was quite enough to know, however, and so she entered the lounge again.
She stands in it now, watching the storm, and relating to it.
The girl steps past the fiancé, who smiles at her presence.
He greets her with, "Lavinia, you’re back," and she rests her gaze on his lapel.
He takes no particular notice of this.
The players always seem to act in such a way.
What stands out, what’s unusual, is given no mind.
Bolder and bolder she’s gotten, but they remain always steadfast to their routines.
To maintain the image, correct?
She decides to ask, outright, one question she burns to have answered.
"The man-made world... it isn’t made of glass?"
"...Hm? What on...? Of course not, Lavinia. It’s not a bauble."
Her eye goes wide. Her pupil constricts.
Of all the things, that had been it.
Donovan looks over her shoulder and through the walls, saying,
"At any rate, isn’t it lovely? Almost as lovely as you..."
But she doesn’t reply.
Recognizing his answer as confirmation, she settles on a decision.
As the spiral of flowers beyond flow almost serenely through the air,
she moves to the table of foodstuffs, and stops before the breads.
Donovan continues.
"I’m told the world they』ve made will have shows like this across sprawling, endless valleys.
Right now, it’s only barren. A concept, you know?"
She stops her hand over a handle, listening.
"But it』ll surely be a delight in time, for those who can afford a spot on it.
And think of the potential, Lavinia."
She exhales. It’s been another fruitless trip.
Her hand closes on fine, smoothed wood.
She turns swiftly and steps to the awaiting husband,
swinging her hand out toward his neck.
The bread knife’s teeth stop in his skin.
and watches closely to see what comes out.
3-4
解鎖條件:完成3-3,購入Absolute Reason曲包
解鎖要求:採用咲彌通過Cyaegha
這東西什麼都不是。
這位紳士的喉嚨以一種很糟糕的方式被割了開來……但是這段記憶之中缺少了「可怕」的概念。
與其說這是一幕破碎,殘忍的畫面,他的脖子現在看來更像是佈滿皺褶又遭撕裂的紙張。
裏頭充斥的不是「陰影」,是「負空間」:他的身體裏存在着整一片虛空。
傷口的邊隙上閃爍着星星點點的微弱白光,亮晶晶的碎片沿着她用來刺穿他的刀刃滑落下來,浮於半空……
單純地懸掛於空氣之中。
多納文無法理解這一刻發生的事。大多數的來賓也因她的舉動而感到畏懼萬分。
人們倒在地上,幾位女士昏了過去,多納文則伸手去摸自己的脖子。
幾個男人撲向她,將她的前臂拉至後方,並用力勒住她的脖子。
少女緊握着手中的麵包刀,呆滯的表情映入丈夫迷茫的眼神。
雖然她並未對賓客的壓制行動作出任何掙扎,但她注意到在多納文的身後,有名女孩陷入了歇斯底里的恐慌。
她喉嚨深處爆發出的聲音愈加扭曲,響度如同波浪般起伏,於空氣中炸裂開來。此刻,這段回憶已然破碎。
事情原本不該這樣發展。就算再怎麼經歷時變,一段記憶也不該成為這種模樣。
一名妻子,在如此安逸的時刻,無緣無故地突然出手傷害了自己的丈夫……
她曾希望引起所有人的注意力。而現在看來,她的願望已經達成了。
雖然房間裏有少數的人面對這股騷動仍心如止水——甚至有些人就像搞丟了人臉,沒法做出表情一樣——
但是這段記憶的確是第一次經歷了如此巨大的變化。至少在這一點上,她成功了。
這片世界開始崩毀,裂痕顯現於她所能看見的任何一個角落。
其後出現的現實事物,看上去像要因這段碎裂的記憶而出現褶皺一般。
她自言自語道:「比起讓這整串世界成為度假勝地……這些事物肯定有更高的利用價值。」
她放開了那把麵包刀,見那東西就這樣禁止於原地無法移動,嘆了口氣。
「這可不是在偷看『記憶』、『回聲』、『倒影』——值得一提,也絕對不是『玻璃』……」
房間開始漸漸地收縮。
「又是場毫無價值的夢。」
這顆星球隨之分裂了。
當那片映像被摧毀後,四周飛速閃爍着白色的渾濁霧影。
那片回憶——那片玻璃中蘊含的所有聲響化作急流一涌而出。
她閉上雙眼,站在原地,耐心等待周圍混亂的光線與雜音消散。
過後,她張開雙眼,映入眼帘的虛空中只剩下飄散的微弱熒光。
她的心情無比複雜。
在又一陣絢麗的痛苦感消散後,她再次見到了她所最為熟悉,卻最無法摸透真相的世界:
純白與廢墟的世界。由記憶所構建而成——Arcaea的領域。
「我其實挺喜歡這一片,」,她喃喃自語道,注視着正於她手掌之上轉動的碎片,「但它和這世界的誕生無關。
況且它現在也只是個空殼了。唉……如果我可以觀看它們,也請使我能夠把它們趕出我的腦袋吧……」
她放手那片玻璃,沒有再去看一眼。碎片回到了當初她找尋到它的地方:從地面流過的一條銳利,閃爍的河流。
這名為咲彌的少女將目光投送至遠處狹長寬廣的地平線,一邊無意識地摸着嘴唇,向前邁着步子,
一邊回想着方才記憶中的場景,將其蘊藏的價值與數千個同類進行着比較。
It isn’t anything.
The gentleman’s throat is cut in what should be an awful way... but the memory lacks a concept of
what "awful" would be. Instead of a shredded, vicious image, his neck now looks akin to torn and
crumpled paper. Inside is not "shadow" but "negative space": a void inside his body. The edges of
the wound flicker weakly with some white light, and off the blade of the knife she’d used to strike
him, vibrant shards float aloft... simply hanging in the air.
And Donovan can’t comprehend it. Many of the patrons, too, are in awe and horror of her act.
People fall, women faint, and Donovan reaches for his neck. Some men leap for her, pull back her
forearm and hold her at her neck. She grips the knife tightly, and with a dull expression stares into
the husband’s bewildered eyes.
While she hardly struggles with the guests apprehending her, she spots behind Donovan a girl in
absolute hysterics on the floor. The sound of her voice becomes increasingly distorted, beginning
to crackle and fluctuate in volume. Already, then: the memory has broken.
This wasn’t how it went. Even the most time-changed memories could not be altered so.
For a wife to, unprompted, attack her husband this way during a moment of peace...
She’d hoped to provoke a reaction, and is thus satisfied by this result. Although a few of the other
people in the room are unfazed by the commotion, and some even seem to have lost their faces
entirely, alteration of a memory to this extent is a veritable first. This, at least, has been a success.
The world begins to crack, fractures appearing wherever she can see.
Reality afterward looks almost wrinkled from it.
She says to herself, "Making entire worlds for vacation... Surely there would be better uses for that."
She lets go of the bread knife and sighs, seeing how it can’t move from the space where she’d
abandoned it.
"Not a peep about 『memory』, 『echoes』, 『reflections』—importantly, not 『glass』..."
The room constricts.
"This was another worthless dream."
The planet divides.
White blears and obscures, briefly flashing everywhere as the image is demolished. In a rush of
every remembered sound contained in that recollection, in that slip of glass, she stands with her
eye shut until luminescence and noise fade. She opens her eye to faintly glittering empty space,
her mind twists, and after another wave of effulgent pain she sees again the world with which she
is both most familiar with, and most confounded by:
The world of white and ruins. The memory-shaped realm of Arcaea.
"I’d had a good feeling about this one," she mumbles, watching the rotation of a shard just above
her palm. "But it wasn’t responsible for this world’s creation, and it was almost empty to boot.
Hmph. If I can watch them, let me remove them too..."
She dismisses the glass, not looking as it returns to the space where she’d found it: a glinting,
sharpened river flowing above the ground. The girl named Saya stares off into the plain horizon,
stepping forth while touching her lip absently, and reviewing the events of the recent memory,
comparing them all to the wealth of a thousand others.
3-5
解鎖條件:完成3-0,購入Absolute Reason曲包
解鎖要求:採用咲彌通過Vicious Heroism
這是她得出的結論。
眼中有花朵綻放的少女在腦中合上了記憶之書。這算不上完全毫無意義——頂多是一大半毫無意義罷了。
她剛開始時曾感十分沮喪:她所造訪的那個世界幾乎是被她立即斷定為不具有任何價值,
但那看似無意義之處卻向她展示出人類重要的潛力。不過……照目前來看……這還不是很重要。
勝過關於「如何」的假設,有關「原因」的假設更加迫使她繼續前行。
這是她的又一場旅程,穿越這世界內大量的廢墟,懷抱着沒有根據的希望,只為找尋答案,
或者至少找到一條打了擦邊球的線索。這向來都是使她走下去的重要動力。
但如今,她的第二個目標浮現了出來——大約在她目睹過兩百段回憶之後。
「似乎是找不到任何可能用於重建的新東西了。」她低語道,從近處稀疏的玻璃溪流中召喚過來一片碎片,
「但我倒認為,哪怕它們有一點點價值都是件好事。」
這一片玻璃所散發的光芒吸引了她的目光,而少女也仔細地觀賞了它所帶來的過往景象,心不在焉地咕噥道,
「就快要到家了……」
她將碎片留於掌心,穿過一座對她而言極為熟悉的橋樑。
在她左手邊的是一片雜亂無章的廢墟,也許曾經是座城市;
她的右手邊則是混亂成堆的玻璃和石頭——相當於什麼都不存在。
她沿着這遙遠的路途前進,終於回到了她「出生」的場所,不去在意自己究竟走了多少步。
她花了她所需要花費的時間,抵達了有着四面坍塌牆壁的地方。牆壁之中有着一顆閃閃發光的巨大水晶球——
一個尚未完成的破碎球體,看着宛如碎裂的貝殼一般。笑容、淚水、死亡與歡慶在它的表面不斷閃爍。
鮮花、曠野、沙漠、海洋……動物、人類、科技……
她並不知道自己是否能透過拼湊回憶來重建一個世界。
她甚至不清楚自己能不能就靠將它們以如此形式聚於一處,便讓它們「連結」在一起……但她想要嘗試一下。
少女手上的新碎片所散發出的光芒使她微微眯起眼睛。「就讓我看看,
你能展示給我多少事物吧。」她大聲說道。
它打開一個通道,而少女也緩緩融入了這一段新時間中。
頃刻間,她看到了一個人造光芒充盈的世界,幾乎無窮無盡地遍佈着衝破了夜空雲層的人造摩天大樓。
在大樓之間,暗色的車輛破空而過。一股令人不快的氣體湧入了她的肺部。刺耳的噪音充斥了她的雙耳。
她擬造了一份人格,也擬造了一段過往——面對着這一切,她泰然自若。
數百個問題浮現於她的腦海,而她將會對其逐個進行解答。
無論將要付出何等的代價,也無論需要做什麼事情。
That is what she learned.
The girl with a flower in her eye closes the book of that memory in her mind. It hadn’t been
completely worthless, only mostly.
It had frustrated her at first: the world she had visited was one she had quickly deemed frivolous,
but the frivolity revealed something important to her about the potential of mankind.
Still... for now... that wasn’t very important.
More than theories on "how", theories of "why" compelled her onward. This had been another of
her journeys out through the ruins of the world in a scattershot hope of discovering that answer,
or to even brush against it tangentially. That was always her focal drive, but a secondary one had
been made manifest after she’d witnessed about two hundred of the memories.
"It didn’t have anything new for a potential reconstruction," she whispers, beckoning a shard from
a nearby, sparse stream of glass, "but I suppose it’s good that it had some sort of value."
She lets the gleam of the new piece catch her eye, and she scrutinizes the vision of the past it
offers, muttering absently, "Almost home..."
She carries the fragment over her palm, crossing a bridge with which she’s become very familiar.
On her left is a haphazard pile of what once might have been cities, on her right is a chaotic mass
of glass and stone—recognizable as nothing. She marches the long way back to the place where
she was "born", uncaring of how many steps it takes.
She takes however long she needs to reach and stop before a place of four fallen walls, between
them an immense sphere of shimmering crystal—an unfinished sphere broken apart, like a cracked
shell. Smiles, tears, deaths, and celebrations flicker in and out its facets. Flowers, plains, deserts,
oceans... Animals, people, technology...
She doesn’t know if she can recreate a world by piecing together memories. She doesn’t even
know if she can truly "connect" them at all by gathering them together like this... But she can try.
She squints lightly to the gleam of the new piece she’s brought.
"Let’s see how much you can show me," she says aloud.
So it opens, and the girl fades into a new time. In short order, she sees a world brimful with
artificial glow, crowded by endless and nigh-infinite towers of man reaching through clouds of an
evening sky, and dark vehicles roaring through the air. An unpleasant atmosphere flows into her
lungs. Cacophony fills her ears. As she assumes an identity, assumes a new past, she looks on,
unmoved. A hundred questions rise in her mind... She will have them answered. No matter what
that takes, no matter what needs to be done.
4-1
解鎖條件:購入Crimson Solace曲包
解鎖要求:通過Paradise
無論是誰,凡是長時間待在日光之下,都會自然而然地渴望起一抹月色。
即便對她而言,也不例外。
「這段日照至少持續了八十天吧?」
「還是說……七個月?」
「或許……說不定已經有一年了……」
天空明亮的光芒又一次掠過牆壁的縫隙,傾灑在這個被她稱之為家的地方。
睡眼惺忪的她,正在地板上懶散地翻滾着,忽然之間雙眼就捕捉到了這束光線。
「唔,真是的。是時候關燈了啦……」她鼓着小臉說道。
儘管嘴上不滿,她依然坐起身來——
依然是揉着眼睛,伸着懶腰。
扶着地面緩緩站起,摸索着找到門,準備好迎接又一個「清晨」。
面前,又會出現好似無邊無際的Arcaea世界。
雖然是場尋找不到快樂的探險,雖然是段毫無任何新發現的旅途——
但自從她於這片寂靜之地甦醒過來後,有兩件事物從未變化:
她那顆躍動的心臟,與面前那片廣闊的天空:兩者始終閃耀着光輝。
「那麼……!」她輕聲念道,「現在是晨練時間!」
她將手朝前探去,跟着一小串玻璃飛舞而至。
並不是回憶的碎片——
並不是「Arcaea」——
只是一片隨處可見的,再普通不過的玻璃碎片。
當那碎片旋轉着靠近時,她撲向了碎片,腦海中立刻顯現出又一段故事。
她找到的這個「家」,坐落於一座遠離塵世的孤寂海島之上,是間有些老舊的沙灘小屋。
不過嚴格來說,這片沙灘周圍也沒有實質意義上的海水。
粉碎的殘亘斷瓦佈滿了沙灘的表面,乍一看倒的確像極了被遺棄的貝殼碎片;
而這片好似被孤立的內陸中央,則矗立着一整片怪誕的巨型白色木柱。
由於她的干預,隨着日子一天天過去,這些本就有些殘舊的「家」更是由內而外地被逐漸分解:
如今她已經拆走了小屋的窗戶與牆壁,改造成幾座臨時的階梯——用這些材料建造了賽道,甚至一
節隧道,只為了能夠在閃閃發亮的賽道上歡快地奔跑、蹦跳,給自己的雙腿帶來少許不同的體驗感。
只需做出星點讓步,便足以造就這一切勞動果實。
自她甦醒之刻,早已過了許多天,而Arcaea的世界也總是被她輕而易舉地改造,
仿佛整個世界都聽令於她腦中的異想天開。
但在向着一定距離以外的那片幻影海洋眺望時,她卻留意到沙灘上有什麼事物正閃爍着光芒。
有一些稀疏的物體,分散於海水之中。
她朝那兒瞥了一眼,略帶不滿地從鼻中吐出一口氣,擠出一抹虛弱的假笑。
yearn for a moon.
Even for her, that sentiment holds true.
"Eighty days of light?"
"Seven months of light?"
"A year... maybe..."
The white of the sky has once again broken through the cracks in the walls of this place she calls
home, and it seems her sleeping body had found the rays while rolling over the floor.
She grumbles, "Turn it off already..."
But still, she picks herself up.
Still, she rubs her eyes and stretches her arms.
She stands and finds the door, ready to face another "day" in the seemingly boundless
world of Arcaea.
An adventure that hasn't always been a delight, and travels that haven't always led to discoveries.
Despite that, ever since she'd first awakened a tabula rasa, two things have always remained
consistent:
both her heart and the sky have always been shining.
"Alright...!" she says under her breath. "Some exercise first!"
She holds out her hand before her and a section of glass flies her way.
Not memory glass—
Not "Arcaea"—
It is an ordinary, typical sheet, albeit a large one. When it spins close, she jumps onto it,
and immediately calls another.
The home she found is an old beach house on a lonely island apart from the abandoned
mélange-cities found everywhere else in the world. It's a beach without an ocean, houses
scattered around its shores like abandoned shells; and deeper inland is a field of strange, gigantic
poles of white wood. The homes have been picked apart over time, from within and without, in
her tampering. Now she whisks away their walls and windows to create a makeshift set of stairs—
to make a racing track, and then a tunnel. She quickly leaps and runs through the gleaming
passage, if only to give her legs feeling.
All this took was a little acceptance. Days after awakening, it was a simple matter to make the
world of Arcaea bend to her whimsy.
But far below her, just above the sands of the phantom sea, something glints: something sparse
and scattered throughout the water.
Throwing a glance that way, she huffs a breath from her nose, and sports a weak smirk.
4-2
解鎖條件:完成4-1,購入Crimson Solace曲包
解鎖要求:採用紅通過Party Vinyl
而那些名為「Arcaea」的特異碎片,在她面前卻始終展現出幾分桀驁不馴。
在這飽含回憶的世界之中,幾乎沒有多少記憶碎片願意主動跟隨她。
往往都是她自行靠近,並試着觀賞這些頑固不化的獨特存在。
少女此刻心中的怒氣,卻更像是孩子的抱怨。她自那面由水晶組成的平台一躍而下。
身後,那被她親手組建的結構立刻坍塌成了無用的碎塊。
在重力完全掌控她的身體前,她舉起右手,將遠處自己床上的毯子召喚過來,興奮地蜷縮了進去。
隨後,她又將某件十分笨重,卻無比柔軟的事物招引了過來。
僅是片刻過後,她的身子便跌進了這象徵怠情的王位——或者說,是一張巨大而無色的沙發椅。
緊接着,她從座椅中坐起身,左搖右晃地飄浮在自己家上方的半空中,半凝視着眼前好比墓園的大地萬物。
她再次深呼吸;愉快,但更多的是心滿意足。
這次的「晨跑」如同往常一樣使她感到十分幸福。
但當視線又一次落在遙遠的天際時,她的心情不可避免地再次低落起來:
直到目前,她都無法獲悉自己所在的這個世界的大致面積,更是對另一邊天涯所存的事物一無所知。
也許她甚至未曾探索完這世界的三分之一……硬說是十六分之一也不為過。
這世界寬廣無比,其中五花八門的回憶更是無窮無盡。
她飄遊於無風的空氣中,合上雙眼,一陣沉思。
這個古老而巨大的場所,簡直就像一鍋大雜燴。
她認為,如此充滿不確定性與怪誕事物的世界,不可能只是為她而存在着。
她再次張開雙眼,面對着這片耀眼的天空。
或許世界的另一端,此刻正是滿天星斗。
或許在那片天空之下,正有着其他的少女仰望着天空,期盼着白晝的到來。
身着紅衣的少女沉默着,手指緊緊攥住了披在肩上的毛毯。
沒有盡頭的日子,其實正是一場永不消逝的嶄新序章。而即將於今日發生的一切,也仍是個未知數。
somewhat... no, absurdly recalcitrant with her. In this world of memories, hardly any recollections
will follow her, and most can only be viewed or visited.
In an almost childish huff, the girl jumps from a crystal platform. Behind her, the structures she's
made all collapse, piece by piece. Before gravity fully takes her, she holds out her right hand,
calling for the blanket from her bed and swirling into it joyously. Then, she calls for something
heavy, something soft. In a few moments after falling, she is caught by a throne of indolence: a
hefty, colorless armchair. Thus, she sits, hanging in the skies above her home, half-gazing at
tombstone horizons.
She exhales again; she's pleased, satisfied. Another successful lovely "morning" run. Still looking
out to the distance, her thoughts drift to less pleasant places: to questions about the size of this
world, and what else it might contain. Has she even seen a third of it? Even a sixteenth? It's a
too-big place, and there are too many assorted memories. As she rocks along the windless air, she
lets her eyelids drop and she considers that fact. It's some immense place; it's some old and
mish-mash, jumbled place. She feels it probably can't just be a world of wonders and oddities
exclusively meant for her.
She opens her eyes to the bright sky again.
Somewhere, perhaps on the other side of the world, that sky is full of stars.
Under that sky, perhaps other girls are gazing upward and wishing for daylight.
The girl in red grips the front of the blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
Days without end mean it's always a new beginning, and no telling what a journey will hold.
4-3
解鎖條件:完成4-2,購入Crimson Solace曲包
解鎖要求:採用紅通過Flashback
她自言自語道,懶洋洋地陷入自己的飛行座椅之中。
「那上面……真的會有太陽嗎?」
面對那聖潔的蒼穹,她不禁眯起眼睛,苦思冥想。
到底是什麼原因,使得光線如此均勻地傾灑在這個地方?
直至如今,她一直致力於筆直朝前走。那麼……何不嘗試朝正上方前進?
想到這兒,她的臉上閃過頑皮的笑容。
下一秒,她已經站在了座椅之上,將毛毯拋向半空,任其自由飄落。
正當毛毯飄蕩之際,一根從某處騰空而起的木質柱狀物與其擦身而過,被她用一跟細長的金屬棒攔截在了空中。
為了保險起見,她探出一隻腳抵在木柱邊沿,並久久凝視着木柱。
她心中明白,這根看似平平的木柱,在某些世界中卻作為傳遞力量的象徵存在着。
她將一隻腳放置於下方的另一條長棒上——於千米高空之上,將一條腿與一條手臂騰空高舉——天不怕地不怕的她,
就這樣單腳站立於這片來自舊世界的碎塊之上。
好似最後的告別一般,凝望着一路蔓延至地平線的城鎮與郊野,而後終於將視野轉向高空……
她心裏對這段航程的飛行距離完全沒底;倒不如說,手邊沒架梯子的確顯得有些不太安全。
坐落於地面上的房屋又進一步崩塌起來,唯獨她自己的小屋倖免於難。
門板、床架、衣櫥、窗戶……無數毀壞的事物接連不斷地飛騰至高空,
而她曾用作手工的殘羹斷瓦也被抽離了沙灘。
所有的碎屑與零件都開始以一種確切而穩定的形式匯聚起來,逐漸組成某種特定的結構。
但女孩算不上一個合格的建築師:她搭建出來的這座塔樓顯得搖搖欲墜,
以一系列無法形容,好似突發奇想的詭異角度七歪八扭地朝着穹頂緩慢延伸着。
不幸的是,她的小島上根本沒有足夠的原材料。
當有限的資源用盡後,她只能對着自己面前的半成品乾瞪眼,埋怨這座塔的高度甚至沒有到達一千米。
一邊發出不滿的嘟噥身,她將目光轉移至前方的地平線,朝着那方向抬起了手掌。
屏氣凝神,試圖將更多的物體吸引而來……只是過了好半天都沒有發生任何事。
但這也是母庸質疑的——原本就不該有任何事情發生。
雖然身懷神通廣大的力量,但她畢竟不是真正的神。
She mutters to herself, eased into her flying seat.
"Is there a sun up there, I wonder...?"
She squints at the heavens above, and quietly contemplates.
What makes the light so evenly spread throughout this place?
Until now, her travels have always been forward, so… Why not try upward?
A mischievous smile flashes across her face.
She stands in her chair and drops off the blanket, letting it fall toward the ground. As it drifts drown,
a wooden column launches up past it. She jumps from her chair and grabs hold of the new arrival by
a short, metal bar. With her feet planted against the column's side for security, she gives it a longer
glance. It is a pillar, she knows, used in other worlds to convey power and communications. She puts
one foot down on another bar below, and like that—with one leg and one arm free, far above the
ground—she stands boldly on a broken piece of an old world.
She gazes to the urban and suburban sprawl on the horizon one more time, and then turns her
gazing upward. She can't be sure how far flight will carry her: she knows she'll need a ladder to be
safe.
The houses below, hers excepted, start breaking down even more. Panels, bed frames, armoires
and windows glide upward, and the debris she used and let collapse before is torn out of the sand.
Everything begins to amass, surely and steadily, into a defined structure. But the girl is not an
architect. Her tower is ramshackle, slowly building toward the heavens at odd, sharp, and often
sudden angles.
Unfortunately, her island is not replete with usable material. After running out, she frowns halfway
at her design, feeling annoyed that it cannot even reach a kilometer into the sky.
Grumbling, she turns her eyes on the horizon again and lifts her palm toward it.
She concentrates, pulls... and nothing happens.
But that's only natural. That is of course.
As powerful and masterful as she may be, she is no god.
4-4
解鎖條件:完成4-3,購入Crimson Solace曲包
解鎖要求:採用紅通過Paradise
比起建造一整座高塔,還不如搭建一道通向天空的螺旋階梯。
於是一個小時後——又一個小時後、又一個小時後、又兩個小時……
她終於完成了手頭的新任務,甚至連自己都不禁佩服起自己的傑作。
這不明所以的無規律結構看上去仍舊十分滑稽,但她堅信這種形式的結構絕對比上一次的要合理一萬倍。
她確信自己應該被人拍着後背,好好表揚一番。
新的路徑已經完工,她自然刻不容緩地登上了階梯。
那把浮空座椅近距離陪伴在她身旁,隨時準備接住也許會不慎失足的她。
當女孩往上邁進時,她更是抽走了位於最下端的梯級,接續在整體結構的最上方。
沒過多久,她便意識到自己是在攀爬一段永無止境地延伸的螺旋長梯。
穿過層層雲霧,直到抵達最高點。
這次旅行意外地演變為長途跋涉,以至於她好幾次需要躺在沙發椅上一覺睡到「天亮」。
終於,在大約四天後,天堂映入了她的眼帘,而她也隨之學到一個新的知識點:
所謂「天堂」,根本就是一片厚厚的雲層,不論什麼事物都無法穿透。
當位於最底端的階梯忽然開始拒絕被轉移至階梯最上方時,她的旅途也隨之停滯了;
面前的階梯卡在雲團之中寸步不前,無論用何種方式指引都紋絲不動。
她只得放棄嘗試,任梯級懸掛在她的身旁。
下一刻,她的眼中閃出堅決的光,徑直衝向了這段階梯的終點。
此刻,位於階梯頂端的少女已經將建築碎石、窗戶玻璃與斷柱呈扇形展開於腳下,創造出一個安全的平台。
緊接着,她將手臂高舉過頭——探入了雲團之中。
而今,她察覺到那片純白居然正對着自己的手臂反向發力。
但她還是不想半途而廢,踮起腳尖,直到只剩鞋尖着地,不依不饒地嘗試着穿透雲層。
然而,她發現自己的辦法終究是完全行不通。
「不會吧……?」她詫異地驚呼出聲。
只不過,還沒等她沮喪多久,余光中就有什麼事物吸引了她的注意力。
那是位於她右側的某處角落之中的一道反光。
離開天堂邊界時,她似乎驚動了一整團閃着光的物體,使得它們從雲層之中落了下來。
她凝神一看,發現那是一整群Arcaea——二十枚,或者更多——它們正朝着她徐徐飄來。
而一襲紅衣的少女也意識到了這件事。
靜靜地站在自己親手修建的地面之上,在Arcaea那片不見太陽的純白色天空下——
她的面前,第一次出現了會與自己產生了共鳴的回憶。
stairs. After an hour, and another hour, and another hour, and two more, her work is finally done
and she is impressed with the result. It still looks ridiculous, and more than a little haphazard,
but this amalgamation, she is certain, is much more sensible. She figures she deserves a pat on
the back.
With the new formation complete, she wastes no time in beginning her ascent. One by one, step
by step, she rises with her armchair floating close by, ready to catch her should she fall. As the girl
makes her way, she pulls from the bottom of the stairs and sends those steps to the top. Soon
after, she finds herself climbing an ever-building, ever-breaking staircase. Through layers of fog,
to the highest point.
The trip becomes a long one, during which she sometimes must have a seat or even sleep through
the "night". And, maybe after what would be four days, heaven comes within her sight. And she
learns this: "heaven" is an immense and impenetrable wall of clouds.
Her progress is halted when a step she sends from the bottom refuses to become the top, stuck on
the fluff of the air and unable to move any further up. She withdraws it and leaves it to hang
beside her. And, with a determined gaze, she rushes her way up the final flight.
At the top, the girl fans the pieces, panes, and pillars out underneath her for more of a platform,
and she lifts her hands over her head—into the clouds. Here she finds that the white resists her
touch, but still she pushes on, standing on the toes of her boots to see through if she can.
And here, she finds, she cannot.
"Really...?" she wonders aloud.
But in her moment of despondence, something catches her eye.
Out the corner of her right: a glint. In fact, a bevy of glints, dropping from the clouds after she's
gone and disturbed them.
She looks, to find a small crowd of perhaps twenty Arcaea—perhaps even more—coming toward her.
And the girl in red realizes.
In these sunless skies of Arcaea, standing on an invented ground, she has found the first group of
memories in this world which are inextricably attuned to her.
4-5
解鎖條件:完成4-4,購入Crimson Solace曲包
解鎖要求:通過Flyburg and Endroll
四周迴蕩着小鎮居民與孩子們的嬉鬧聲。
天朗氣清,令人心曠神怡。
視野中滿是炊煙裊裊——在街道上漫步,嗅着讓人垂涎欲滴的濃郁香氣,
她確信有誰正在做飯,或許還烘焙着甜點。
仰首一望,耀眼奪目的太陽高掛在萬里無雲的藍天之上。
這是一個嶄新的回憶世界。她默默地佇立在原地,正全神貫注地吸收着所有新鮮的體驗感。
這段回憶屬於一名少女——她是一位工匠的助手,而此時的她正值差事途中。
不過話說回來,這名助手正在給怎樣的工匠幹活?
擁有一頭玫瑰色長髮的女孩尚不知曉存於這段回憶的細節,卻也對此滿不在乎。
眼前的這裏——
「這個地方,實在是太……!」
——也許,只有用「奇幻」才能勉強形容眼前的這個世界。
張大了嘴,卻完全發不出任何驚呼聲——而她那正環視着一切的雙眼則是熠熠生輝。
頭頂上分的各個屋頂上掛滿了彩紙與綵帶,乍一眼看,卻像被細心裝點過的電纜。
唯獨的區別在於花花綠綠的綵帶裝飾可以帶來節日慶典的歡喜氣氛。
毫無疑問,冷冰冰的電纜當然做不到這一點。
石板鋪成的街道路面、紅磚瓦搭建的獨棟房屋、房頂炊煙裊裊的煙囪……
一切跡象都在告訴她,自己正位於一座舊時代的小鎮(對於居住於此的居民而言,或許算是座城市)。
散佈於街道兩旁,形形色色的攤位上有的陳列着雕刻成圓圈或太陽形狀的奇特項鍊,有的整齊地擺放着護身符、
魔法戒指一類的商品,甚至有些小商販正在售賣她曾於各種回憶之中所見的不明生物雕塑。
雖然是初印象,但她總認為此處城鎮居民的衣着打扮與她略有相像:就像是要參加慶典遊行,卻並不花俏浮誇。
這是個五彩繽紛的世界,暖色調完美地渲染了城鎮的外貌,再配上藍天的點綴,絢麗風光使人目不暇接。
漫步於城鎮之時,女孩更是碰巧遇上了許多場演出。
吟遊詩人週遊於此,講授着知識,傳達着警醒,更是使每一個聽眾都感到樂此不疲。
她在甜點試吃區域停留了一小段時間。
不過與其說是「一小段時間」,不如說她是在尚不被任何人懷疑身份的前提下一直徘徊於那片區域。
而就在她挨個品嘗桌上的甜點樣品時,忽然之間出現的一個紅色存在讓她瞬間感到眼花繚亂。
這種食物叫做草莓餡餅。
她毫不猶豫地從口袋中掏出屬於這名學徒的硬幣,換取了一塊蛋糕,迫不及待地一口咬上這閃閃發光的存在——
霎時間,她的內心只殘留下一個想法:能夠來到這個世界,真的是太幸福了!
無法形容的美妙,充數幻想的空間……更重要的是,這裏有着如此完美的甜蜜體驗……
這段回憶之中的世界已經成為了她的最愛,就連她的腳步都溢出了大量熱情。
一邊蹦跳,一邊興奮地喘息着,一邊腳趾着地翩翩起舞——城鎮的每一個角落都出現了她幸福的身影。
Resounding, the voices of townsfolk and children.
The atmosphere, light and fresh.
Someone's cooking—baking—and she can taste the savory scents drifting outside and along the
streets.
Looking up, she finds a sun hanging bright in an empty and blue sky.
This is a new world of memory, and she basks in the sensations of it, remaining still to take it all in.
It's the memory of an artisan's helper: of a girl in the middle of an errand.
What sort of artisan was the helper an aide to?
The girl with the rose-colored hair hasn't grasped those details yet.
But she isn't very interested in them.
This world—
"Just look at it...!"
—it's some sort of fantasy.
Mouth agape, eyes glittering, she looks absolutely everywhere. Overhead, colored paper and fabric
ties rooftop to rooftop, evoking the image of frilled power lines. But they give the impression of a
festival, as power lines they are most definitely not. The flagstone streets, red-stone houses, and
chimneys spouting black smoke tell her this is an old-day town, or perhaps city, she stands in now.
Stalls offering curious circle- and sun-shaped necklaces, talismans, and rings of charms dot the
walkway, beside other stalls selling figures of creatures she's seen before in libraries of other
memories. The townsfolk dress, she thinks, a bit similar to her: as if a parade is on, but not one
too bombastic. It's a colorful world, favoring the warmer colors of the spectrum, though splashes of
azure decoration arrest the eye here and there. As the girl starts to wander, she finds performances
too, and troubadours teaching, warning, and entertaining whomever might listen.
She spends some time during her wandering on samples of confections. More than some time, in
fact: as much time as she can without drawing suspicion. And as she wanders and samples, one
brilliant red morsel strikes her eye, and her heart, very much in particular. A strawberry tart,
it's called.
She gets her hands on it with the apprentice's coin, takes a bite through its glaze, and with that
she is certain of this shining truth: this place is very lovely. It's incredibly nice! A fantastical world,
and one with a notable appreciation for the more sugary delights of life.
She finds herself particularly happy about this world of memory. Feeling zealous, she quickens
the pace of her steps, leaping forward, gasping, and spinning on her toes or heel as she turns
each and every corner.
4-6
解鎖條件:完成4-5,購入Crimson Solace曲包
解鎖要求:採用紅通過Nirv lucE
倒不是害怕什麼,她只是想要仔細地觀察這座小鎮的每一個細節。
廣場樓房的側牆上貼滿了各種告示;她認真閱讀着上面的文字,這才發覺此處原來是一片信仰之地。
這座小鎮的人相信着聖靈與精靈,信奉着上帝……同時,也深信着惡魔與妖怪的存在。
她眼前的表演者們,演繹的儘是展現出「幻想」、「怪奇」與「超常」色彩的事物。
事實上,他們之中的每一個人都清楚自己正在表演的正是所謂的魔法:
點燃活力四射的火藥粉末,製造火焰與煙霧以「吟唱魔咒」;
向着平靜的水面說話,解析相隨的波紋以「占卜命運」;
在她的面前以乍一看根本不知原理的方式玩弄着光線,被華麗地稱作「與其他靈魂進行心靈交流」。
不容置疑,這個世界洋溢着完整濃厚的信仰氛圍:一切都像是一場奇妙,純粹而完美的戲劇。
正漫步於古色古香的大道之際,回憶本身開始慢慢地提醒她,
於此處發生的一切都是人為計劃的演戲——一場彌天大謊。
這裏的傳統文化雖然深邃可貴,卻終究不是真實存在的事物。
然而,就在她抵達城鎮的邊緣後(實際上,由於自己無法再往外踏出哪怕一步,
她才意識到這裏也是整個回憶世界的邊緣)——當她自那低矮且簡陋的木柵欄後朝遠處鬱鬱蔥蔥的山丘眺望之時,
映入眼帘的是高聳的老橡樹林,以及遙遠的湖泊那片波光粼粼的水面……
不知何故,她逐漸開始理解為何有些人分明知曉一系列確鑿的反證,卻仍會對某些事情深信不疑。
她自己便來自於那飛舞着玻璃碎片的古怪世界;
既然如此,她又怎能一口咬定這世界中並不存在神秘的精靈——又怎能否認超越自然與邏輯定理的想法?
這段回憶屬於某位工匠的助手,而那位工匠便是名貨真價實的巫師,沒日沒夜地研究着超幻想概念的存在性。
作為助手的她,其實早已能夠藉助自己的認知判斷出他的一切研究都終會遇到死胡同。
她揣摩着,也許研究這一切的目的根本不是為了證明任何事情——
研究這些概念,僅僅是為了鞏固且加深這些神秘的信仰,別無他意。
此刻,少女忍不住憋笑出聲——還算是個有點意思的猜想。
微風輕輕拂過她的長髮,柔和地襯托着她那抹若有所思的微笑;
她將手搭在一根柱子上,靜靜地遠望着西方那顯然是原始森林的地帶。
完成工匠拜託的差事,而不是無端地離開鎮子……這段回憶似乎只允許這篇故事以固有的流程進行下去。
但是她確信自己會從別的回憶之中再次到達此處。
她認定這片遍佈技藝、魔法與街頭表演的世界與自己的內心不謀而合。
她感到於Arcaea世界的一切碎片之中,只有在穹頂與她相遇的那些玻璃碎片映照着這世界更美妙的一面。
她抓緊了自己的裙擺,一時興奮得頭暈目眩。
這一切都太不可思議了——!她上揚的嘴角迫切地顫抖着。至今為止,她從未如此般欣喜若狂。
closely. Reading signs posted outside of square buildings, she learns that this is a spiritual
place. It's a land that believes in fairies and spirits; in gods, daemons, and youkai.
The performers she sees are performing the "fantastic", the "strange", the "impossible".
Indeed, every one of them is absolutely certain that what they are performing is magic:
"casting spells" by igniting vibrant powders in their hands to flame, smoke, and clouds;
"divining fates" by speaking toward still pools of water and interpreting the ripples within;
"communing with other beings", they say, by manipulating lights before her eyes in a way she
can't actually determine the mechanics of in a glance.
This world is rich and full of belief: it is marvelous, wondrous, and all an unmistakable act.
While strolling down the quaint avenues, the memory itself slowly informs her that every
part of this place is truly performance, artificial, untruth. Deeply valued tradition, but
absolutely not truth.
Yet when she reaches the city's outer limits (and the memory's, with any attempts to cross a small
barrier met with resistant reality)—when she gazes out to the verdant hills beyond the low and easy
wood fence that has stopped her; to the few but imposing old oak trees, and the clear sparkle of
some distant lake... she understands, somehow, why one might believe in something even with
sound evidence to the contrary. She herself comes from a strange world of flying glass; why deny
the belief that a world like this could be inhabited by trickster fairies? Why reject the idea of things
surpassing nature and logic?
This is the memory of an artisan's helper, and the artisan is a so-called sorcerer who researches the
existence of fantastical things. As the help, the girl she is living through has long known that all his
research leads to dead ends. The purpose, she speculates, is not to really prove anything. It is to
embolden one's beliefs and be better for it.
Now the girl in red puffs a joking breath and smiles wistfully. That's a funny idea. With her hand on
a post and wind flowing through her hair, she spots what she knows to be an ancient forest west
from here. This is the memory of completing a simple errand, and perhaps that's why she is unable
to travel too far.
But she's sure she will be back in another memory. She thinks this land of artifice, magic, and show
very much suits her, and that crowd of glass she'd come across at the top of the world of Arcaea
reflected more facets of the world than this within its other fragments. With a giddy feeling, she
grips at the front of her dress.
It's truly incredible. The smile on her face starts to wriggle anxiously. Somehow, she has never felt
exhilaration quite like this before.
4-7
解鎖條件:完成4-6,購入Crimson Solace曲包
解鎖要求:採用紅通過Diode
「還是……算了……」
她的嘴中傳出悄聲細語,蹲在了一個半成品木材製成的箱子前,正輕輕地用手掌拂去頂端的灰塵。
一陣灰塵向上揚起,又飄落至地面。她鬆開正面的箱扣,將箱蓋揭了開來。
今日的她是一名檔案員。或者說,她是在探索一座位於北方地帶的古老城堡——
北方其餘的陸地,已被先前一場大洪水吞沒。
不過值得慶幸的是,儘管箱子幾乎被浸濕,裏面的文件卻倖免於難。
伴隨着古舊房門忽然的嘎吱聲響,她聽到自己的搭檔正於另一個房間詢問她有什麼新發現。
「第四時代的捲軸。」她轉頭答道,接着回頭自箱內取出一卷捲軸,將其展開在眼前。
上面密密麻麻地寫滿了她的同胞與邪惡精靈之間的紛爭史。
這種類型的故事總是能使她開心,特別是當她於腦中想像前一代人類因精靈而困擾的場景。
在昨天,身為故事敘述者的她有幸向他人講述一段由敘述者的祖先代代相傳下來的軼事。
曾經,一代家父在某片遙遠的海岸上尋獲了大量的寶藏。
但在揚帆返航之際,一隻空之精靈毫無預兆地出現於湖面之上,輕而易舉便掀翻了他的小船,
而恰好路過的水中精靈則用浪花順走了家父的所有戰利品。
之後,那兩隻精靈平分了本該歸他所有的財富。
雖然不知是不是在胡編亂造,但對於如此愚蠢的意外而言,這倒算作合情合理的藉口。
但就算如此,她清楚這也證明了周遭這些生物皆存在善良於邪惡的兩面。
檔案研究完畢後,她回到了Arcaea的世界,仰臥於自己臨時修建的平台上休憩。
與此同時,她拜訪了一位學校指導老師的回憶——
她教授的課程是關於小孩子與成年人如何在這種充滿混沌與飛來橫禍,
且粗心之人滿地跑的世界中保重自身的安全。
穿插於課程內容中的魔法相關話題,簡直讓正在講授課程的她倍感心花怒放。
這裏真的純粹是個充滿了幸福與迷人事物的世界,早已使她感到難捨難分。
此處居民的面龐,逐漸在每一片Arcaea的映像中變得愈發親切;
這裏早已不僅是屬於這些居民的記憶,更是塑造她自我的深刻回憶。
每一道聲響、每一幕畫面,所有的一切——
所有的一切,都是那麼奇妙,那麼讓人難以忘懷。
當她已經遊歷完自己在天堂穹頂發現的所有其他回憶,並探索完(她的認知里)這片大陸的每一個角落後,
她最終來到這個繁忙喧囂的節日——或者說,這是一場隆重的夜間慶典,象徵着對豐收與生育之神的感恩,
也使人們得以驅逐邪惡的神靈。在此,她遇見了名為蘭開斯特與錫亞的兩位居民——
上次在回憶的世界中與這兩位考古學家紳士相遇的時候,好像已經是幾年前的事了。
但此時此刻,他們還是和藹可親地向她打招呼,還送給了她一個蜜餞蘋果,
不禁使她成為了這場慶典中最愉快的女孩子。
他們昂首望向夜空。放眼望去,漫天華彩,絢爛繽紛——這是獻給眾神,獻給一切生靈的盛大慶祝儀式。
只是,如此美好的景象倒映於她的眼中……
卻再也無法激起她的滿腔熱情。心中沒有一絲喜悅;
沒有絲毫渴求,更失去了這段嶄新體驗所帶給她的激悅。
她牢記着一切。她明白為什麼所有人都會出現於此處。
在這最為熟悉的世界裏,她欣賞着美麗的煙花綻放於夜空,
心滿意足地享受着自己在這裏的最後一個夜晚。
不知何時,已經淚水盈眶。伴隨着心中的刺痛,
就這樣靜待着與這個世界最後的告別。
直到這一刻,她才終於發現,自己早已是這個世界上最幸福的人。
"Al...right..."
With that whisper under her breath, she crouches in front on a chest made of unfinished wood,
swiping her palm across the top. A wave of dust rises off of it and falls to the floor. She unclasps the
front and opens it up.
Today she is an archivist, exploring one of the old castles in the North, where they had lost land to
flooding. Thankfully, the papers inside this chest were spared from moisture by the chest itself.
Hearing the creak of ancient hinges, her partner calls from another room inquiring about her
discovery. "Scrolls from the fourth era," she answers over her shoulder. She takes one of them and
unfurls it, revealing the history of her people's dealings with the Unseelie.
Stories like these amuse her, especially as she tries to guess at what the previous generations might
have confused for fairies and the like in the past. Yesterday, while working as a storyteller, she had
the pleasure of recounting an old passed-down yarn of the teller's ancestors. Some forefather had
once gathered a vast treasure on a faraway shore. On the return across the lake a sylph rocked his
boat with wind, and a passing naiad capsized it with waves. Afterward, the two shared his fallen
wealth. It was quite an excuse for a bout of clumsiness.
But still, she knows it proves nice to think these creatures are around, malevolent and benevolent
both. When her day as an archivist is done and she's returned to the world of Arcaea to rest on the
platform which is now her temporary base camp, she visits the memory of a school instructor and
teaches lessons and rules that would keep any child or adult safe in a world replete with chaotic
nature, sudden perils, and careless people.
The context of magic makes these lessons very interesting to impart and to hear. It really is just a
joyous and fascinating place, and she cannot stop visiting. Its people, whose faces become
increasingly familiar between each shard of Arcaea; its places which become engraved in her own
memory throughout others; the sounds and the sights, everything—
It's marvelous, and nostalgic.
When she's been to every other memory she could find in Heaven, when she's explored (as far as
she knows) every part of the land, she at last comes to a bustling, rambunctious festival day—or
rather, a night celebration. It is to give thanks to the gods of birth and harvest, and to dissuade
darker spirits.
She spots the townsfolk named Lancaster and Howard, two gentlemen architects, and they've
gotten on in years from the last memory she met them. But they greet her with vigor and treat her
to a candied apple, which makes her happier than anything else. They point to the sky. It lights up
in a show of a thousand brilliant colors. To those gods. To life, and living it.
However, seeing such a wonderful thing… it doesn't strike her. Her heart does not swell; not with
wistfulness, nor the joy of new experience.
She remembers this. She knows why everyone is here.
So, on this final night in these familiar memories, she witnesses the firework sky entirely satisfied.
With tears in her eyes, and a spot of pain in her heart, she finds herself entirely content.
4-8
解鎖條件:完成4-7,購入Crimson Solace曲包
解鎖要求:採用紅通過GLORY:ROAD
她已經與這些回憶共同渡過了無數個日月,也曾無數次下定決心,想着「自己永遠不會離開這裏」;
其實她比任何人都要清楚,這一切的結局終會到來——儘管她也比任何人都害怕承認這個事實。
而且她知曉,這些回憶之中不可能存在真正屬於自己的未來。
在清楚自己終要與那夢幻的世界分別後,她回到了那純白色的世界。
日子正是像這樣一天天地流逝:再美好的故事也總會迎來終章,生命與愛情終將走向消逝的那一刻。
但她從來都不會後悔自己所做的一切。
當緩緩降落在地面,抬頭朝曾經呼喚着自己的雲端仰望之時,
她深深地感覺到,自己在那些回憶中度過的每一分、每一秒,都是無價的追憶。
此刻心中的感情,好似自己從未提出的疑問得到了完美無瑕的答案。
她的內心,已被那股幸福的滿足感所填滿。
少女周身的整片蒼穹都好似要崩塌一般。
她臨時建造的家開始解體,或快或慢地於她的身旁落下。
她的胸腔之中浮現出一絲疼痛的情感。
因此,那片天空——那片仰首可見,貨真價實的天空——逐漸開始四分五裂。
她平靜地佇立於窗台之上,於微風中飄逸的長髮輕柔地掠過她的臉頰。
眼前那片閃閃發亮的玻璃,正懸掛於遠處的半空中一動不動。
而在那片碎片的後方,是一片她曾未見過的,全新全異的夜空。
遠處天邊的雲層逐漸地散去,就像一片無形的虛空取代了它們的位置。
仿佛絲絨編織的廣闊天空,無邊無際地延伸着。
隨後,一道薰衣草色的波浪在昏暗的夜空中擴散開來,搖曳着,散發着迷人的光暈。
群星顯現於天空。白晝結束了。
她的心隱隱作痛。
她低聲道出一個名字……也是最後一次這麼做。接着,她抬起手背,輕輕揉着自己的雙眼。
眼前的那片玻璃終於穿透了最後一層薄雲。
塵蒙的大地悉數展現於她的視野,錯綜而連綿不斷地蔓延至天際。
她微笑了起來……
她微笑了起來!
放眼望去,這便是她的新生!
她將手朝前伸去——她知曉總有一天,在那遙遠的地平線處,將會有願意牽住這隻手的人出現。
總有一天,依靠這雙手,她將能夠辦成大事。
直到那一刻到來,她都會義無反顧地前行。
活在當下——活在Arcaea的懷抱之中。
times, she would think, "I never want to leave." Still, she knew they had an ending, and she didn't
want to see it.
Besides, the future cannot be found within memories.
She returned to the world of white knowing she may never visit those days again. Days gone are just
that: stories told and over, lives and loves finished.
She doesn't regret it. As she slowly descends to the surface, looking up to the clouds that had once
called her there, she knows every moment, every second spent in those memories was worth
everything. It's like a question she never asked has been answered, and so her heart is full.
The sky seems to be falling around her, all the pieces of her temporary home dropping faster or
slower around her, and in her chest, she feels a twinge of emotion.
Thus, the sky, the true sky above, begins to part.
Standing on a window platform, her hair whipping up past her face, she sees the glittering glass
above is standing still, and behind the pieces, a new night sky is entering her sight. One she's never
seen before. The clouds scatter and drop, disappear and dash away, as a sparkling void of shadows
takes their place. This velvet plane, reaching far and darkening, before a deep lavender wave of
color spreads out over it, swaying, glowing. The stars are out. The day is over.
Her heart aches.
She whispers a name, this name for the last time, and she wipes her eyes with the back of her hand.
Her glass breaks through the final thin layer of clouds. The complex, graying landscape reveals
itself, to its farthest reaches.
She smiles...
She smiles!
This is her new life! She holds out her hand, knowing that someday, somewhere beyond that
horizon, she will find others who will take it. Someday, these hands will do something great.
Until then, she will look ahead.
Living in the present—in Arcaea.
S-1
解鎖條件:購入Divided Heart曲包
解鎖要求:通過Blue Rose
甦醒時的她頭帶王冠,手持權杖,而她瞬間就認出了它們的樣貌和代表的意義。
這位白髮異瞳的女孩完全可以確定,自己的身世非同尋常。
「來,向我行禮吧!」
「呃……什麼?」
「……看來也不是這個。」
認為自己是公主的這位女孩仰身靠着她的「王座」——一把用餐椅。
她雙臂環抱,雙腿盤坐,專注地凝視着身側——她通過一塊玻璃篡奪了某人的回憶視角,
在其中,這個人的朋友正迷惑地回頭望着她。
今天有四塊殘片。
在追尋過往真相的過程中,她已經探索了四塊殘片——毫無疑問,這件事的背後必然隱藏着真相!
她對重要物品的本能熟知、毫不費力就能開口說話,以及對自己覺醒後待了不知有多久的世界的
認知都在齊聲告訴她:她存在於這個名為Arcaea的世界中的原因絕非簡單的災禍和巧合。
更重要的是,即使拋開各種懷疑,這個白色的世界也太過令人迷惘。她拒絕迷惘,她要求真相。
「聽着,Hamu——」
「Haru。」
「Hato。「她頓了頓,然後向兩邊攤手道:「我想要知道這些記憶裏面哪一個有我的城堡。
我的『城堡』,你能明白嗎?」
「城堡,」Haru回答道,「所以,你認為自己是女王或王室貴族嗎?」
她一手輕輕握拳,抵在唇邊思考了一會兒。
「哦,也可能是公主。」她終於應聲,身子沒精打采地往前一慫。
「……你沒事吧,Anri?」他問道,而她的眼眸愈發低垂,心中一陣低落。
她的心情也立刻反映在了她的臉上。
之前說過,這並不是她的名字。她仍然不知道自己的名字,但肯定不是什麼「Anri」。
她也知道,自己只是純粹地在碰運氣。
再過片刻,這塊記憶可能也要崩毀了。某種意義上來說,這是好事——很快就結束了,沒有浪費時間。
但這意味着又一份希望的潰滅。
「你怎麼突然提起記憶的事情了?」Haru還在繼續追問。闖入這份記憶的女孩再次抬頭瞥了他一眼。
今天有四塊殘片。
這也是總計第五十三塊殘片。
只要她找到哪怕有一絲共鳴的記憶,她都會把握住它並深入探索。
她繼續望着Haru茫然的表情。她已經看過無數副這樣茫然的表情。在四秒後,表情凝固了。
傳來一道碎裂聲,接着世界開始消失……
……逐漸淡去,化為 Arcaea 的一部分。
女孩發現她的權杖就在附近,靠在她一直坐着的路緣上。
她拿起令牌站起身,並把令牌握在右手裏轉動把玩着。
接着,她就這樣出發了。
探索的旅程仍在繼續……
但這位女孩並不知道:
探索所得的一切,都不會是她的。
She’d awakened with a crown on her head and a scepter in hand. At once she knew what they
were, and she knew what they meant. The girl with white hair and two-color eyes knows that she
is most assuredly somebody special.
「So, bow to me!」
「Uh... What?」
「...So it isn’t this one either.」
With her arms folded and legs crossed and her gaze cast aside, the girl who knows herself to be a
princess leans back in her 「throne」—a kitchen chair—while the memory of a friend—the friend of
whomever had this perspective she’s usurped through a frame of glass—looks back at her in
confusion.
Four shards today.
She has explored four shards as she’s sought the truth of her past—because there is most definitely
a truth! Her innate knowledge of the significance of items, her understanding of speech, and how
she has always perceived the world she awakened into however long ago informs her thusly: that
her existence in the world called 「Arcaea」 cannot simply be some trick of chaos and chance. More
importantly, regardless of these suspicions, far too much is confounding about the world of white.
Too confounding. She demands certainty.
「Listen, Hamu—」
「Haru.」
「Hato.」 She pauses, then opens her palms out at her sides. 「I’m looking for which of these
memories has my castle. My 『castle’. You get it, right?」
「A castle,」 Haru repeats. 「So you think you’re a queen or something?」
She puts a loose fist against her lips and considers the notion.
「Well, princess, maybe,」 she eventually replies, slouching forward.
「...Are you alright, Anri?」 he asks, and she lowers her gaze as a sour mood falls over her. In short
order, her face reflects the mood.
As mentioned, that is not her name. She still does not know her name, but she does know it isn’t
Anri. She also knows she’s pushing her luck.
In moments, this memory will likely collapse. In a sense, that’s fine—that’s fast, and no waste of
time. But it is another dashed hope.
「And why were you talking about memories?」 Haru continues. The intruding girl glances up at him
again.
Four shards today.
And so, that marks fifty-three in all.
With any memory she finds that resonates with her even in the slightest way, she takes hold of it
and dives within.
She keeps watch on Haru’s blank face. She has seen countless blank faces just like it. After four
seconds, it freezes.
There is a sound of fracture, and the world all falls away...
...fading out, into Arcaea.
The girl finds her scepter nearby, before the curb upon which she had been sitting.
She takes it up, stands, and twirls it about in her right hand.
And so, she goes.
The journey for discovery continues...
But the girl does not know this:
Discovery will not be hers.
S-2
解鎖條件:完成S-1,購入Divided Heart曲包
解鎖要求:採用白姬通過First Snow
也許,或許,她能構建出一套理論,而且這套理論還是正確的。
畢竟,有許多女孩闖入過這個名為Arcaea的世界,並最終探明了自己的真相。她並不知道這點。
她就像這片玻璃之境中的許多淪落人一樣,認為自己孤身一人。
說實話,這讓她覺得自己才是這個世界的中心。
但話說回來,這也讓她開始反思自己身處的窘境。
如果她是孤身一人,那也許她是一位被放逐的貴族(並不)。
也許她是一名偉大的君主,受到萬眾敬仰(並不)!
然而……一場可怕的叛亂爆發了(並沒有)!
人民起身反抗他們的女王、公主)和國家,還將她的記憶消除得一乾二淨(想多了)!
這一定是魔法的效果!
沒錯,帶着王冠和權杖醒來的這位女孩,正是那種還相信有魔法存在的傢伙。
不過,她的臆想還是情有可原。如果這個世界不是魔法世界,還能是什麼呢
她存在於此的事實着實怪異,這個地方本身就更加怪異了
她從不記得有這麼個玻璃在空中飛來飛去的世界——無論是在殘片的記憶中,還是在自己的記憶中。
這一點,以及這些玻璃記憶的體驗方式……還說這裏不是魔法世界?這說明她肯定也是通過魔法過來的。
這就是她想要認定的真相。她錯了,魔法不是她來此的原因——不過,現下的她對此推測深信不疑。
因此,她是特別的。因此,她應該受到敬仰。
「也許……在看起來酷炫的地方也會有『酷炫』的記憶。」她眺望着無色的大地,自言自語道。
「來尋找高處吧。」
她不斷向前。
確實。
在形容她的時候,完全可以說這個女孩真的是頭鐵。
Perhaps, maybe, she can form a theory, and that theory may be correct.
After all, many girls have wandered into this world called Arcaea, and in time discovered
themselves. She does not know this. She, as do so many others in the glass landscape along with
her, believes herself to be alone in Arcaea. To be frank, it inflates her sense of importance. That
being said, it also makes her reflect on her predicament.
If she is alone, then perhaps she is a noble in exile (no). She was a wonderful ruler, loved by all (no)!
Until... there was a terrible rebellion (there wasn’t)! The people turned against their queen, princess,
and country, and purged her memories clean (quite the story)! With magic!
The girl who woke with a crown and scepter is the kind to believe in magic.
One can allow her this, however. What is the world of white if not a magical one? Her place in it is
strange, and the place itself is stranger still. In no memory has she ever found a world in which
glass flies and floats through the air as it does in this one—not in any shards, nor in her head.
That, and how these glass memories are experienced... this place is magic, no? And that is why
she must have come from magic too.
That’s what she wants to think. She is wrong—that magic is where she came from—but it is her
leading theory.
Therefore, she is special. Therefore, she should be admired.
「Maybe... there are 『cool』 memories by cool-looking places,」 she says to herself as she overlooks
the colorless lands. 「Let’s go find a tower.」
She marches forward.
Indeed.
When describing her, it would be apt to say that this girl’s head is one made of stone.
S-3
解鎖條件:完成S-2,購入Divided Heart曲包
解鎖要求:採用白姬通過Blue Rose
她大聲宣告自己身為王室貴族的身份,但是對方卻充耳不聞,這讓她感受到了貫穿全身、
深髓刺骨的羞恥。記憶世界漸漸消失在四周,只剩下她的臉頰還染着通透的紅色。
在回到玻璃世界後,她雙手捂住了臉。
她閉上了眼睛。
她痛苦地哀嚎了起來。
「哼嗯嗯嗯……剛才都是怎麼一回事……」
……她抱怨道。
「我的城堡在哪兒!?」
她繼續抱怨道。
「我的臣屬呢!?我的子民呢!?都跑哪兒去了!?「
這個女孩用力跺着地面,雙手握拳、咬牙切齒。
「再來一次!」她怒吼着,手伸向最靠近自己的那塊記憶。
她不管不顧地跳入其中,一心只想要忘記她剛才站在餐廳的桌子上命令大家對她叩首跪拜時,
眾人對她投以的那種異樣眼光。
世界在她周圍旋轉,眼前儘是黑與白的色調,但這隻過了幾秒鐘。
這次的記憶顯得安靜而奇異。
天幕黯淡,不見星辰。即使有月亮升起,大概也無法透過重重樹影一睹它的身影。
她正站在一片森林裏——準確地說是一塊空地,篝火在她身後發出噼啪的聲音。
「看到它了嗎?」一個孩子問道。在這份記憶中,她知道這是她的「妹妹」。
她向後瞥了一眼小女孩並思考着。根據這份記憶,年長一些的姐姐正在尋找某個星座。
「不。」白髮的女孩說道。「我沒看到。」
「哦,好吧。那就坐下來,我們繼續找。」妹妹回答道。
她只是點了點頭。
妹妹的手中拿着什麼東西,於是姐姐走到旁邊想要看清楚。這是一面屏幕,側面有幾個按鍵。
屏幕上正播放着電影。不對——是動畫?
她坐在小女孩旁邊,斜眯着眼,跟着看了起來。
似乎她在Arcaea的其它虛幻世界中也看過這個。
這是一部劇情老套的動畫,講述一個擁有超能力的男孩與夥伴們一起對抗妖魔怪獸的故事。
「……你充過電了吧?」她問道,顯然是指這台設備。對方則出聲回應。
「你不是問過了嘛。」妹妹答道。
「所以呢……?」
「充好了!」
「很好……」
她發自內心地輕聲道,言語間充滿了喜悅。
該怎麼說呢……
王族才不會看動畫。王族得是政治家、是統治者,是萬千子民的引導者。顯然她是如此認為的。
不過,顯然她也覺得現在的這樣子要更快樂:坐在一旁,一言不發,眼睛緊盯,耳朵直豎。
她將肩膀靠向這個記憶中的女孩,女孩也回以同樣的姿勢。
現在,她感到無比的放鬆。
她之前的所有情緒突然消失了。在憤怒之後,她意識到:有時候,人生真是可怕。
即便不去理會她在玻璃的世界裏所親眼見識到的種種恐懼,大部分的時間裏,
人生都讓人覺得非常糟糕。
喪氣、體衰、無法改變現狀……
但生命就是如此。
可能在被關入這個玻璃牢籠之前,她只是孤家寡人。也許她是一個寥落的君主,坐在孤零的王座上。
也許這是她僅存的東西。
如果是這樣,她覺得……
如果是這樣,那現狀或許還算不錯。
她的「妹妹」拿來了一張毯子,披在了兩人的肩上。
她又瞥了一眼女孩,說了聲:「謝謝……」
隨後她又將目光重新投向屏幕,直到記憶淡去都保持着沉默。
Somehow, when her declarations of nobility land on deaf ears, she experiences a deep and
crippling shame that courses through her. As the memory falls around her, her cheeks are always
dyed a perfect red.
Now, having returned to the world of glass, she presses her hand to her face.
She shuts her eyes.
And she whines with pain.
「Ghhhhhh... what was that...」
...She says.
「Where is my castle!?」
She still says.
「Where are my subjects!? My people!? Where!?」
The girl stomps her foot and balls her fists, gritting her teeth.
「Another!」 she shouts, reaching for the first and nearest memory. She dives in, to whatever it is, if
only to stop remembering the looks she received while she stood on that restaurant table and
demanded obeisance.
A world swirls around her, in shades of white and black, and in seconds she has trespassed.
The memory she enters is quiet and quaint.
The stars are out, and it is dark. If the moon has risen, it can’t be seen through the trees.
She is standing in a forest—in a clearing. A fire crackles behind her.
「Can you see it?」 a child asks. In this memory, she knows this is 「her sister」.
She glances back at the little girl and thinks.
According to this memory, the older sister was trying to find a certain constellation.
「No,」 says the white-haired girl. 「I can’t see it.」
「Oh well. Sit down and let’s keep watching,」 the sister replies.
She nods.
The younger girl has something in her hands. The older girl walks over to see it better. It’s a screen,
with buttons on its sides. A movie is playing on that screen. No—an animation? Squinting, she sits
down beside the girl and watches.
It seems similar to what she’s seen in other fiction across other Arcaea: a typical cartoon about a
boy with some power, fighting devilish monsters with his friends.
「...You charged it, right?」 she asks, referring to the device. The words come from another.
「You already asked me that,」 the little sister answers.
「And...?」
「I did!」
「Good...」
She whispers this honestly, as she honestly means it.
How to say...
Royalty does not watch cartoons. A royal is a statesperson, a ruler, and a guider of women and men.
She most definitely believes that.
Yet, she is most definitely more comfortable with this: sitting down and having nothing to say,
her eyes transfixed and her ears perked.
She puts her shoulder to the shoulder of the memory-child, and the child returns the gesture.
Now, she feels at ease.
The mood she had before was suddenly silenced. In the wake of her anger, it comes to her mind:
life is a truly horrible thing sometimes.
Barring even the horrors she has borne witness to in glass: life feels terrible, much of the time.
Frustrations, waning strength, pure inability to change one’s situation...
That’s how it is.
It is possible she had no one else before she was put in a glass cage. Perhaps she was a lonely ruler,
on a lonely throne.
Perhaps she only had this.
If that was so, she thinks...
If that was so, then perhaps things were alright.
Her 「sister」 brings a small blanket over both of their shoulders.
She glances at the child again and says, 「Thanks...」
And she gazes back into the screen, saying nothing more until the memory fades away.
S-4
解鎖條件:完成S-3,購入Divided Heart曲包
解鎖要求:採用白姬通過Blocked Library
在那段記憶里,她與自己珍視的人一起在森林裏遊蕩,並看着賞心悅目的景象,
消磨夜晚的時光……但這也將她的雄心壯志給完全打發走了。
事實擺在眼前,她沒有城堡,甚至連家都沒有,即使能找到,那也只是記憶:被拋棄、被遺忘、轉瞬即逝的記憶。
如果她繼續向前,路途將了無止境。
這沒有意義,也沒有終點。
換句話說,她的旅途是空虛的。
於是,她低聲道:「好痛……」
她的聲音顫抖着。
她望向無盡的日光,露出精緻的嘴唇和柔和的眼眸。
說實話……
哪怕她真的是遠方國度的公主……被廢黜的偉大統治者……體內流着王室貴族的血液……
這位女孩依舊只是凡人,而凡人無法永遠都保持堅強。
她受挫了,沉默了,陷入了哀情和悲思的詛咒中。
女孩閉上了異色的雙眼,雖然看不到太陽,但感到淚水滑過臉頰。
她抽泣着。
她的淚珠凝固了光線,又在跌落時散去螢輝——這並不是魔法的效果……
……而是來自黯淡天幕的襯托。
Arcaea的余夕在她的臉上隱沒,但張開的雙眼又折射出神采。
這是為了看清她周圍的影幕,這是為了確切地見證夜色降臨於大地。
「呃……?」
她又抬頭望去。
似乎……天穹被撕裂開來,一顆緋紅的彗星正在墜落。
「哈……!?」
它飛行了大概一分多鐘,然後突兀地掉到她面前,將輕風白沙和她的雙馬尾攪得七零八落。
女孩驚愕地張大了嘴,無措地瞪着緋紅的隕星。隕星跪坐在一堆破椅子當中,甩了甩滿頭的塵土。
她的頭部。這顆隕星竟是個女孩。
她睜開了眼睛,睜得大大得。片刻之後,她的臉上也露出大大的笑容。
這就是飛躍天際的那個緋紅女孩。
她的名字是「紅」。
The memory of a trip in the woods, with someone who cared, simply watching something easy to
whittle away the hours of the night... it, too, whittled her ambitions away entirely.
Here are the facts: she has no castle, let alone any home, and even if she found either, they would
merely be memories: abandoned, forgotten, and in actuality ephemeral.
If she is to walk forward, it will be to no conclusion.
It will be to no sense or end.
To say it in another way: her path is an empty one.
So, she whispers, 「This hurts...」
Her voice cracks.
She looks at the endless daylight, with terse lips and warm eyes.
Frankly...
Even if she was a princess of a faraway land... a great ruler, deposed... born nobility...
The girl is human, and humans are not perfectly strong. She is stuck, and quiet, and cursed with
emotion and thought.
Under the unseen sun, the girl shuts her two-colored eyes and feels tears running down her cheeks.
She sobs.
The light is caught within her teardrops, and that light fades as it falls—not through any magic...
...but instead through the darkening of the sky.
As the gleam of Arcaea’s daylight ebbs from her face, the girl opens her eyes to blink. To see
shadows around her. To see, unmistakably, night falling on the earth.
「Eh...?」
She turns her gaze upward again.
It seems that... the heavens have been rent, and a red comet is falling.
「Huh...!?」
It flies down for a minute or more, before landing unceremoniously before her—scattering winds,
white sands, and the twin tails of her hair.
Dumbfounded the girl stares, mouth agape, at the crashed crimson star. The star is kneeling on a
pile of broken chairs, and shaking its head of dust. Her head. The star is a girl.
She opens her eyes, and opens them wide. In a short moment, a smile—wide as well—
spreads across her face.
This is the crimson girl who flew up to the sky.
Her name is Kou.
S-5
解鎖條件:完成S-4,4-8,購入Divided Heart曲包
解鎖要求:採用白姬通過nέo κόsmo
紅一副元氣滿滿的樣子,直接就開始打招呼。白姬身體僵硬、臉色發白。
這樣的身體反應並不理想,因為她完全失去了行動能力。
紅「刷」地一下從一堆家具中跳了起來,直撲向她,一把就抱住了這個雙馬尾女孩,
差點把對方撞了個底朝天。這讓自稱王族的某人不得不毫無風度地尖叫道:「呀!?」
「哇哦,是真人!你真的存在!」在擁抱之後,紅抽出雙手,歡欣鼓舞地摸着另一個女孩的臉蛋、
耳朵、頭髮,還有全身上下。
在這一切的過程中,白姬全程無言以對。
紅捏了捏白姬通紅的臉頰,笑問道:「這不是記憶吧?」
「如假包換!」公主大人用略顯扭曲的聲音強調着。
「對了!你知道自己的名字嗎?」紅問道。「我還不知道自己叫什麼呢。」她又補充了一句。
「我好像知道了!」她猜測着,樂觀地豎起一根手指。「啊……不對。」
她敲了敲自己的太陽穴,歪着頭道歉道。
「停——停!」另一位女孩表示無奈。緋紅的女孩笑了起來,白姬則結結巴巴地又道:
「我……什麼!?你是……嘿!你還好嗎!?」
她的聲調讓這句詢問聽起來更像是祈求。
「我沒事。」紅回以笑容。
「你可是從天上掉下來了!」白姬提醒道,並以手指天強調着。
「對,差不多是那樣——」紅開口道,轉頭望向她來時的方向。
她停下來,一隻手背過去,另一隻手指向天邊。這麼做的時候,她瞄了一眼另一位女孩,高呼道:
「這都晚上了呀!」
「妳到現在才發現嗎?」
「嗯,我又沒回頭。」紅把兩手都背了起來,轉身答道。
「你在那上邊是做什麼?」
「那裏有一些記憶。」緋紅的女孩解釋着。「我在觀看它們。」
「這麼說,你也能看它們?」白姬追問道,紅則熱情洋溢地點頭肯定。
「沒錯!」她是這麼說的。
「你還能飛!?」
「也不能這麼說。」這次她搖了搖頭。「我可以讓別的東西飄浮起來。」她的手指像魔杖一樣舞動,
以一個櫥櫃為對象進行着展示,讓它開始圍繞兩人旋轉,並逐漸靠近她。「你做不到嗎?」她反問道。
白姬誇張地搖着腦袋,雙馬尾前後翻飛,把紅再次給逗笑了。白姬一隻手撫住胸口,宣稱道:
「我可是正常人。」
在Arcaea世界中,在漫長的時光中,總會有一些命運的瞬間。
某人的臆想和某兩人的相遇讓時間和現實都遭到了扭曲。
不過,這種瞬間也只是純屬偶然。
兩個女孩開始聊天,聊起了玻璃的世界,聊起了存在的目的,當然還有那片天空。
隨後便是實驗:紅的魔法能帶走白姬嗎?白姬自己也能學會這種魔法嗎?答案是「能」和「不能」。
當然,她們也感到好奇:外面的世界裏還有多少像她們一樣的人呢?
懷着這種思緒,她們開始追逐消逝的日光。
也許……還有其他人在抬頭仰望,並為這片新天地感到驚奇。
就這樣,也沒有什麼命運的羈絆,兩人開始了同行。
Kou booms her greeting with a voice full of life. Shirahime stiffens, and pales. This is the wrong
move—it affords her no mobility. Kou leaps out at her from her pile of furniture and tackles the
twin-tailed girl, nearly toppling her. This elicits from the self-described royal a distinctly
ignoble 「Bwagh!?」
「Oh wow, you’re real! You’re actually here!」 After hugging her, Kou removes her arms and starts
cheerfully patting the other girl’s face, ears, hair, and sides.
To all of this, Shirahime finds herself speechless.
Kou pulls on Shirahime’s scarlet cheeks, laughing. 「This isn’t a memory, right?」 she asks.
「I’m real!」 the 「princess」 insists with a voice slightly distorted.
「Oh! Do you know your name?」 Kou asks. 「Oh, I don’t know mine,」 she adds. 「Maybe I know it now!」
she guesses, lifting a finger optimistically. 「Aah... I don’t.」 She taps her temple, and tilts her head
apologetically.
「Slo—...Slow down!」 the other girl begs. The girl in red laughs, and Shirahime stutters on, saying
「I...! What!? Are you... Hey! Are you okay!?」
Although that question from her sounds more a demand.
「I’m fine,」 says Kou with a smile.
「You fell from the sky!」 Shirahime reminds her, pointing for emphasis.
「Yeah, I guess I di—」 Kou begins, turning to see where she came from. She stops, puts a hand on
her hip, and points to the heavens. With this, she glances back at the other girl and declares,
「It’s nighttime!」
「You didn’t notice!?」
「Well, I didn’t look back,」 Kou replies, now turning back around with both hands on her hips.
「What were you doing up there?」
「There were some memories,」 the red girl explains. 「I watched them.」
「So you can watch them too?」 Shirahime asks. Kou nods with enthusiasm.
「I can!」 she says.
「And you can fly!?」
「Not really,」 she answers, now with a shake of the head. 「I can make other stuff float.」 She
demonstrates with her finger acting as a wand, and a cupboard being the subject, swirling around
the two of them to her direction. 「You can’t?」 she asks.
And Shirahime wildly shakes her head, which spurs laughter in Kou once again as her twin tails
whip to and fro. With a hand over her chest, Shirahime declares: 「I’m HUMAN.」
In Arcaea, in its time, there have been moments of fate. The tides of time and reality are bent and
twisted by the whims of one or the convergence of two.
However, this moment is merely chance.
The girls talk—talk of glass, of purpose, and naturally of the sky. Experiments follow: can Shirahime
be carried by Kou’s magic? Can Shirahime learn this magic herself? Yes, and no.
Of course, they also wonder how many others are out there, the same as them.
And it is with this in mind that they follow the fleeing daylight. Perhaps...there are others looking
up, and marveling at the new sky.
Just like that, with no fate or destiny tying them, these two begin to walk together.
S-6
解鎖條件:完成S-5,購入Divided Heart曲包
解鎖要求:採用白姬通過Lightning Screw
在昏暗中,兩位女孩正在穿越夜幕籠罩的廢墟,紅在前面探路,白姬在後面結巴的說着話,
紅的笑聲從前飄來,背後牽着白姬的一隻手。
此外,這位「公主」慣例的丟人行為早已不再局限於記憶世界——
她不是磕磕絆絆,就是結結巴巴,根本停不下來。
事到如今,紅已經完全習慣了這位自稱王室貴胄的傢伙一邊打顫一邊強撐的表現。
不過,這個雙馬尾的女孩最近顯然不怎麼打顫了:無論是聊天時的語調,還是行進時的動作。
她們真的已經同行很久了,但這不會永遠繼續下去。
現在,在經歷了漫長的旅途後,紅和白姬來到了一處明顯的分界線。
雖然雲霧迸裂、群星不再,但並不是所有的晨光都已消逝。
兩位女孩無言地望向天空,眼中充滿了震撼。
畢竟……
……她們正站在日與夜的境界之上。
「好美……」白姬喃喃道。
「是啊。」紅表示贊同。
夜間的星幕是紫色的,日間的天穹則是亮得發白的金色。
於兩者相遇之地,或是魔法、或是記憶的東西正百轉千回,如變幻閃爍的神話巨蛇
。她們發現的地方就好像是這個世界上意外出現的間隙。
光是看着它,兩人就幾乎明白了世界的本質和由來。
紅首先轉回了目光,但白姬卻陷入了凝望。
「現在怎麼辦?」紅問道。「我們還是沒找到人呀?」
「不……」白姬答道。
「我們還要一起找下去嗎?」
白姬也轉回了目光。兩人的面前是Arcaea的新領域:一邊是光,一邊是暗。
她看向紅,冷靜地搖了搖頭。
「我會沿着這條線前進。我會找到其他人。」她說道。
「而你應該回到天上,看看那裏都藏着些什麼。」
紅的眉頭一抬。
兩人已經同行了很久,在相處的時光里,紅覺得她已經完全搞懂了另一位女孩。
白姬是一個鬧騰的傢伙,但她的裝腔作勢只是為了掩蓋一顆顫抖的心靈。所以……
「……你在發號施令?」紅難以置信地問道。
「當然。」白姬拋出輕蔑而嘲諷的一瞥。「你沒看見我頭上的這頂王冠嗎?」
紅笑呵呵地答道:「嗯,我看見了。」
於是白姬再次低垂眼眸,看向遠處的玻璃之丘。
她告訴紅:「剛才開玩笑的……我只是有這個想法,打算碰一把運氣。」
白姬對上了紅的目光,又挺直了腰背。這位公主淡然道:
「我們總要做選擇,而我認為你最好選我做不到的那個。」
然後……過了片刻,紅點頭同意。她召喚一塊水泥板到腳邊,然後跳了上去。
「那麼,我去夜晚那邊。」她說道。「有緣再相會!」她露齒一笑。
「我們會再見的。」白姬回以輕鬆的微笑。紅眨了眨眼,笑容逐漸淡去。
這位白髮的女孩再次讓她感到了意外。但她深信着這句話,笑容又回到了臉上。
紅飛往星光所在,白姬也隨即邁向前方。
也許她已經忘了自己的復國大業。
她所知道的是:這個世界上還有其他人。
世界是如此廣闊,但她終將找到這些人。
王冠和權杖意味着高貴的身份,高貴的身份意味着將他人匯聚到身邊,如眾星捧月。
也許她的血脈一點兒也不高貴。
不過,必須要說的是,儘管她愛發牢騷、意志不堅、心靈脆弱……
……她的靈魂是高貴無疑的。
Under the dark, these two girls have wandered together through shadow-bathed ruins: with Kou
leading, and with Shirahime stammering behind; Kou’s laughter ahead, and Shirahime’s hand at
her back. Further, the 「princess’s」 habit for embarrassment has escaped merely the confines of
memory—rare is the moment she will not stumble or stutter, and by now Kou is well-accustomed
to the shaking, brazen, self-proclaimed 「royal」.
However, the twin-tailed girl has most definitely, of late, been shaking far less: in her voice when
they talk, and in her movements when they go.
Truly, the two have traveled together long. But it won’t be forever.
Now Kou and Shirahime, quite a ways into their travels, find themselves at a clear divide.
Though the clouds are torn and the stars brought out, not all of the morning light has faded.
The girls view the heavens without a word, and with awe-filled faces.
After all...
...they now stand at the division between night and day.
「Pretty...」 Shirahime whispers.
「Yeah,」 Kou agrees.
The stars of the night are violet. The day is white and golden. Where they meet, what might be
magic—might be memory—churns and twists, like a shifting and prismatic serpent. It is as if
they』ve found the world’s haphazard seam. Seeing it, they almost know: know what the world is,
and how it came to be as well.
Kou brings her eyes down first. Shirahime, however, cannot tear away hers.
「Now what?」 Kou asks. 「We didn’t find anyone, huh?」
「No...」 Shirahime replies.
「Should we keep looking together?」
Shirahime brings down her eyes as well.
Before them is the new Arcaea landscape: of shadows and light.
She looks at Kou, and calmly shakes her head.
「I’m going to follow the line: I’ll find someone out there,」 she says.
「And you should go back to the heavens and see what they’re hiding.」
Kou raises her eyebrows.
The two have walked for quite some time, and in their time together, Kou believed she had the
other girl figured out. That Shirahime was a boisterous sort—but that all of her flair and bombast
existed only to obscure a shivering heart. Therefore...
「...You’re taking charge?」 Kou asks, as it’s just too surprising.
「Of course,」 Shirahime says, with a dismissive and teasing glance. 「You see this crown on my head,
right?」
Kou chuckles. 「Yeah, I see it,」 she answers.
And Shirahime lowers her gaze again, staring out to the glass hills.
She tells Kou, 「I’m kidding... I just had the thought: I want to take a chance.」 Shirahime meets Kou’s
red eyes and the girl straightens her back. The princess states, 「We should take one, and I think
you’d better do what I can’t.」
And... after a few moments, Kou nods. She calls a slab of concrete to her feet, and hops on.
「I’ll go see the night, then,」 she says. 「Let’s meet up when we can!」 She grins.
「We will,」 Shirahime answers with an easy smile. Kou blinks, and loses her own. Once more the
white-haired girl has surprised her. Deeply, she believes those words, and her face brightens up
again.
Kou flies to the starlight, and at once Shirahime steps forward.
Perhaps she has forgotten her want of a kingdom.
She already knows: there are others here.
The world is vast, but she will find them.
What a crown and scepter mean is nobility, and what a noble does is draw others to her, like a
much-needed hearth. Maybe her blood is not noble at all.
However, it must be said: despite her whining, her wavering, and her very weak heart...
...her soul very much is.
5-1
解鎖條件:購入Ambivalent Vision曲包
解鎖要求:採用忘卻通過Genesis
一日即將收尾。每當到達這一時刻,那些終於擺脫紅塵俗世的人們也將拋棄自身的真實性。
好似寄居生物一般,他們將褪去的外殼留給隨後而來的嶄新生命。
最後,他們的靈魂就會升向頭頂上方:那潭閃閃發亮的靈魂之池。
靈魂若水,縹緲無形。一切都將化作霜色,歸於陰雲彼岸的光彩生機。
她身處的世界便存在於那灰濛濛的盛景之中。
那番景象——此般獨特,而又這般壯麗的景象——稱作「奇觀」也當之無愧。
可對她來說,這確是日常之景。她的心中並未因此誕生任何漣漪。
這只是每日工作必經的一環。
「左方有過任何波瀾嗎?」
背後,她的那位同事如是詢問。
她略微轉過頭去,正見他盤坐於地面,大腿上方還平置着一隻用於水象占卜的黑色淺碗。
碗盞水面上尚未消逝的漣漪,讓她意識到他不久前剛剛進行了一次預測。
她稍有些漫不經心地開口應答:「並無發現。」隨後,她追問道,「何故這樣問?你是不是有察覺到什麼?」
「方才地面似乎有些許震盪。」他補充道。
「嗯…………的確不是什麼吉兆呢。需我前去留心觀察一番嗎?」
「呵…那東西看上去像是道裂縫。」他說道,「那好,你幫忙過去處理一下吧。」
簡潔精練地應了一聲「好的」之後——佇立於懸崖邊沿的她縱身一躍。
周遭的靈魂密集到足以減緩她的下落速度。
在此情形下,她將手探向了那對用來束緊自己上衣、袖口與短裙的絲線,將其拉扯幾許。
少女身上的衣裝立刻蓮鬆開來,於空氣中悠悠飄揚。
一團光暈自她的服裝中逐漸顯形。光輝點亮之際,四周死靈所帶來的干涉也隨之黯淡無數。
在抵達地面後,她將懸在腰後的鐮刀舉向身前,展開到原有的長度後便翻轉過來,
斜坐於刀刃旁側,朝着自己遙遠的目的地高速駛去。
將受困於裂隙的迷途之靈引領出來,再着手修復裂隙。
默默無言地返回懸崖,康續留意其他的異常現象。
過去的她,正是這樣活着——
重複着如上所述的任務,或是一概肖似之事。
日復一日,年復一年。這便是她的職責,她的義務所在;這般周而復始,直到她再也不是孤單一人。
到底,那段時光也早就褪色逝去。
那些日子,很早以前便不復存在了。
不復存在——
她腦海中生活於那片世界的「記憶」,早已化作無形。
At the end of the day, those who had abandoned the mortal coil left behind their souls like hermit
shells for other, new lives to take them. Their spirits ascended to the land's Pool, luminous and
glimmering overhead.
Water-like spirits, almost formless; everything white and flowing into that vibrancy which bore
through the clouded sky. In the gray landscape that was her world, this sight—this unique,
spectacular sight—was something many could call a wonder.
To her, it was ordinary. It was everyday. It was work.
"Any trembling on the left side?" her confrère asked from behind. She very slightly moved her head
to see him sitting on the ground. On his lap sat a wide, black, shallow bowl of water, used for
lecanomancy, and from the ripples inside it she could see that he'd just performed a divination.
She answered him lightly with, "No." Then she asked, "Why? Have you noticed something?"
"It looks like the earth shook a bit," he explained.
"Ahh... That's not good. Should I look closer?"
"Hmm... It seems like a fissure," he said. "Go take care of it."
With a simple "alright," she stepped off the cliff.
The density of spirits nearby slowed her fall. She found a pair of strings that were keeping her
blouse, sleeves, and skirt taut. When she tugged them, they loosened and began to dangle; a
shimmer emanated from the cloth and her dress began to ruffle loudly. And as it did, it dulled the
influence of the dead.
Once she reached the ground, she took her scythe from her hip, unfolded it to its full height, and
after turning it over, rode the underside of the blade in flight to her far-off destination.
To mend the fissure after coaxing out the souls trapped within it.
To return to the cliff, and watch for any other aberrations.
She was to do this, and things like it, day after day. Yes. That was her responsibility.
And, in time, her life would join the others.
In fact, that time has already passed.
It's long ago, gone. The world and life she once knew is now only a shapeless memory.
5-2
解鎖條件:完成5-1,購入Ambivalent Vision曲包
解鎖要求:採用忘卻通過Moonheart
形存則神存,形滅則神滅——在她的生命歷程中,此為公理,[死亡」自然也不是謎題。
不存在轉生來世;那些有關天堂,乃至十八層地獄的故事,
都僅僅是遠古時代的道德主義者才會推崇的無稽之談——
人出生於那個世界,在那裏活着,在那裏死去,在那裏迎來結局。
那麼這地方究竟又是何處?她到底甦醒於什麼未知的領域?
到底是哪裏……這裏到底是什麼地方?
不過也是……或許她根本沒有必要糾結這個問題吧?
「嗯……」
她蹲坐在燈塔之巔,俯視着腳下的無盡荒漠。純白、無際的純白、整片大地延伸着純白……
而就在那邊,有着玻璃碎片:那些名叫「Arcaea」的碎片。
她逍遙地用手托着下巴,慵懶的目光投向那座朝左面延伸而去的橋樑。少女並不清楚那座橋會通向何處。
「呼……」她長呼出一口氣,站起身的同時將手探向了臀部後方的那把長鐮。
時過境遷,這把鐮刀的用途已不盡相同,但輔助她四處遊走仍舊不在話下。
——無意識地揮手撫弄着劉海,指尖輕輕碰觸到左角的前段。
對啊……差點都忘了這件事。
迄今為止,她於Arcaea之中見證了如此多的回憶……
但自始至終,她都未曾尋找到哪怕一片能夠代表頭頂長着雙角的人類。
在這片由玻璃碎片而點綴的世界之中,她確實花了不少的時間去觀察、分類那些回憶。
畢竟說到底,那些碎片中的各種回憶是這世界裏唯一能夠吸引住她的事物。
她就這樣保存它們,像是記錄情報一般。
不容置疑的是,這些記錄根本絲毫無法證實她所屬的種族位於任何領域的存在性。
她所屬的種族是……?
種族……種族?如此假設究竟合理嗎?
難道說,她活着的時候也曾身為「哪一種族的成員」,參與着某種不可告人的心靈園藝?
這也並不意味着那些過往要放在此時還會顯得有多重要,
但說不定嘗試弄清那些往事就能離徹底喚醒舊時的「她」更進一步。
……也就是諸如此類的想法。管它那麼多呢。
此時此刻,該去嘗試對那幾團玻璃碎片做一番鑑定了一一
那片被她稱之為「家」的Arcaea究竟處在何方,有哪些碎片仍舊殘存,又有哪些是新出現的……
這樣想着的她從燈塔上踱步而下,隨時準備開始新一輪的例行公事。
There was no mystery to it in her life: what happened to the dead was what happened. There was
no "next world", only that which you were born in, lived in, and died in. Something like heaven...
hell... even purgatory: these were moralists' tales which only seemed valid in the most ancient of
times.
So what is this place? What is this mysterious realm that she one day awakened to?
What might it be? What might it be?
Well... does it really matter?
"Hm..."
She sits knees-up on top of a lighthouse, overlooking a desert. White. White, and more white...
and there, glass. "Arcaea" is its name. With her chin in her hand, she casts a languid gaze toward a
bridge extending left. She doesn't know where that one goes.
"Phew..." She exhales and stands, taking the scythe from off her hip. It doesn't work quite the same
here, but she can still utilize it for travel. Unconsciously, she brushes her bangs the other way. In
doing so she grazes the front side of her left horn with her fingertips.
Right... right. To this day, of all the memories she can find within the Arcaea... she hasn't found a
single one with any horned humans represented.
With these memories being really the only attention-grabbers in this world fashioned from glass,
she's spent quite a bit of time watching and cataloguing them. Keeping them, like records. And
indeed, those records don't even hint at her race having ever existed anywhere.
Her race is... Race... Race? Is that a safe assumption to make? Was she part of a "people" when she
was alive, participating in spiritual horticulture? Not that it matters now, but perhaps remembering
more clearly will unlock more of her old self... Something like that, anyway.
For now, it's time to evaluate which shards of glass have left the part of Arcaea she calls home,
which have remained, and which are new. She moves to step from the lighthouse, ready for her
new routine.
5-3
解鎖條件:完成5-2,購入Ambivalent Vision曲包
解鎖要求:採用忘卻通過Romance Wars
若聯想女巫總無精打采地橫坐在掃帚柄上四處飛行,這一場景用於形容少女現在的模樣簡直在合適不過。
這位年輕的女孩沿着下方那條破敗不堪的殘毀大街飛馳而下,
身體斜後方那豎直立起的長刃隨着飛行方向的改變而挪動。
她早已能夠隨心所欲地操縱鐮刀飛行。
在飛行途中,她望向了某一團紊亂無章的飛舞碎片。這群玻璃碎片宛若一條懸河,也順着大路流淌向前。
自從她來到這地方後,那群碎片的成員便再無增減。
每日都對此進行檢查的少女,認為這種情況難免顯得異乎尋常。
直至今天,這條閃閃發光的溪流也同往日一般,包含着與前日完美一致的回憶內容。
儘是些彼此之間毫無聯繫,也絲毫無法銜接的各種回憶。
娛樂、音樂、憂傷,以及那些龐大卻敏捷迅速的怪異機械……倒不如說,這也算是一種折衷的不尋常搭配。
每當想到這些看似沒有關聯的事物可能是相通的,事情就會變得有趣幾分。
她在尋找自己最鍾意的回憶。
當然,在無數回憶中尋找自己正在渴求的那一段,無疑是海底撈針。
但事實上,那對象就在此處——而且,它似乎也喜歡着她。
那一片玻璃脫離了碎片的隊列,於少女滑翔之時靠近了她。
她微微地笑着,將右手從鐮刀上舉起,用掌心去迎接那一片碎片。
它所蘊含的那段回憶中——
一支小巧玲瓏的手工豎笛的製作馬上就要大功告成。製作這支樂器耗費了多少個分秒日月……
儘管如此,那位雕刻師卻將全部的情感凝聚在了這最後時刻。這一刻終於要來臨了。
他試着吹奏了一個音符,隨之奏響的音符不禁讓他眉頭一皺。簡直糟透了。
還好,至少能順利奏出音色。
儘管這段記憶標誌着一段艱辛旅程的結局,卻也象徵着另一端更為宏圖大志的旅途即將開始。
還真是異樣的處境呢……
Sitting on the length of the handle as a witch might lackadaisically sit on a broom, the young
woman rides down a broken, shambled street. The blade sits upright beside and behind her,
shifting for every swivel and turn. Her movements are smooth and completely ingrained.
As she goes, she looks upon a particular jumble of flying glass. This one runs alongside and above
the road like a river, and since her arrival it has not once lost or gained any memories for its flock.
This being so peculiar, she checks it every day. Today, too, the memories that glint within each are
all ones she has seen before.
Unrelated, unconnected memories of play, song, sadness, strange machines both enormous and
fast... It's really a rather eclectic mix, making the fact that they're seemingly unconnected very
interesting.
She looks for the memory that she likes the most.
Of course, finding a specific memory within a crowd is similar to seeking a needle in a stack of hay.
But the one here—it likes her in return.
A piece of glass breaks from the chain, and it approaches her as she glides on. She smiles faintly,
lifting her right hand from her scythe so that the piece can come to rest over her palm.
In it is the final moment of a small hand-crafted flute's creation. Making the instrument had been
a labor of many minutes, hours, days and months, but the carver who'd done it had condensed all
his feeling into this single moment. It all came to this.
He plays a note, and the tone makes him wince. Terrible.
But it does work.
Though this memory marked the end of an arduous journey,
it also marked the beginning of an even grander one.
Such a curious position...
Truly—and the others it shares a crowd with are special indeed.
5-4
解鎖條件:完成5-3,購入Ambivalent Vision曲包
解鎖要求:採用忘卻通過Blossoms
當然,前提是它的確配得上「珍貴」二字——這碎片似乎更像是在某一刻主動追隨起了少女。
第一次擁有寵物的回憶、生存與獻祭的回憶、第一次道出某個詞語的回憶,
甚至哪怕是一次鼓舞人心的演講,一次重要的私人談話……
偶爾少女會在它們一旁漫步而過,或是騎着鐮刀飛掠附近地帶。屆時,這些意義非凡的回憶便會跟隨起她。
少女卻對此漠不關心。
讓她真正心感歡喜的,是眼前這些性質格外獨特的回憶被安然保存於此地的事實。
這當然十分美妙,只不過在這後面還有更加精彩的事情。
Arcaea的世界就好像是一座儲存着各類回憶的宏大檔案館。
像是牙痛的回憶、美食的回憶、騎馬的回憶、不小心將牛奶打翻的回憶……
不管這些回憶是否存在特殊的意義,只要它們被世人所銘記,便會歸於此處。
而正是這每一片看似微不足道的記憶碎片——甚至連那些極端特殊的個體也在內——
成功塑造起了那一位又一位人物形象,她心中如此想到。
不僅如此,這些碎片更是那些故往世人曾切切實實活過的唯一證明。
紀念碑與墳墓以回憶之名於大地建造而起,也以逝去的記憶為名繼續留在世間……
如同她於Arcaea內所見證的一樣,失去記憶有時比死亡本身更讓人難以接受,也令人倍感傷痛。
「……」
她靜悄悄地停止了前行,緩步走入一片看上去曾是座中心廣場的城鎮地帶。
在這裏,不可勝數的玻璃碎片正漂泊於半空之中。這一場景就好像……
可以說,這裏對她而言就是一座花園——
當然,這兒的「植物」都並非土生土長,而全是外來物種。
她對這裏的所有碎片都視同一律。這些Arcaea所包含的回憶,便是她心中認定的「家」。
在這裏甦醒過來的時候,她其實並未享受到這群碎片的陪伴:它們都是直到後來才流浪至她的視界之中。
「……哼嗯。」
她用鼻子輕輕吐氣,心不在焉地盤點這些碎片的數量。
它們通常都不會自主離開,卻時常不小心飄到別處去……
而這一現象令她開始感到擔憂。
……在這些猶如玻璃一般脆弱的Arcaea之中,究竟存在着什麼意義?
In fact, if it can be called "precious", more likely than not it has found its way to her at some point.
Memories of first pets, of one's survival and another's sacrifice, of first words, of inspiring speeches,
of important and private talks... Sometimes, when she is strolling or riding by, these significant
memories will just begin following her.
She doesn't mind. She likes that memories so special were kept safe in this curious place. That is a
good thing, but there is something better.
The world of Arcaea serves as an archive to memories of any sort. A memory of a toothache, a
memory of a good meal, a memory of a horse ride, a memory of spilled milk. Whatever it is, if it was
remembered, then it is here.
And it is really every one of those memories, along with those standouts among them, that shape
a man or woman, she thinks. Not only that, but they serve as the only real evidence that a person
ever was alive.
Monuments and graves are erected in the name of memory, and as for the loss of memory... as she
has seen within the Arcaea, that is something at times more tragic and difficult to accept than death.
"..."
She quietly comes to a stop, stepping down onto what looks to have once been a town square.
Here, innumerable pieces of glass drift through the air. It's something like... well, the appropriate
term for her might be a garden, though one with every "plant" brought in instead of grown natively.
She tends to them all the same. These are the memories she has found in what she considers to be
her "home" part of Arcaea. These specific shards are those which were not there when she first
awakened. They'd drifted in.
"...Hmph," she sniffs, absently taking stock of the pieces.
They don't usually leave, but sometimes they wander off...
And that worries her.
...Is there meaning in the Arcaea being in the form of something as fragile as glass?
...Back in life, she learned not to ask many questions.
5-5
解鎖條件:完成5-4,購入Ambivalent Vision曲包
解鎖要求:採用忘卻通過corps-sans-organes
即使目光仍舊停留於前上方的Arcaea,她的視線卻在剎那間絮亂了。
……它是從哪裏來的?
那微小的事實就這樣沒有預兆地乍然躍入她的思緒,仿佛一位端莊有禮的紳士要前來拜訪……
儘管它顯然是以微縮記憶的形態存在着。
起初,她甚至無法確定它是否真實存在。
但在她屢屢沉思了一番後……絕對沒錯,她明白這是事實。
她以此回憶起這段故事。
這段故事……它曾存在過。
夜幕悠然。傾聽靈魂溪流的潺潺流水聲,她正端坐一對遠古巨樹之下,與自己的那位同事進行暢談。
「身處此類悖論中,你終將學會對它進行深刻思考,」他講述道,
「或許你固然會認為每一條生命都是無價的;
可與此同時,繁瑣沉悶的日常工作還是會讓那些事物逐漸褪色為單純的數字。
不論那些數字是相對比較高的,抑或是比較低的……
這並不意味着你就該停止為此傾注心意——倒不如說……過量地眷注所有事情,
你的外在卻反而會被打磨得愈加冰冷。」
「但這並沒有關係啊,」他信誓旦旦地向她說道,朝那溪流露出一抹疲倦的笑容,
「過分存眷於那些事情,確實會把你的內心撕裂得狼狽不堪。在你前往「山谷」的那時候,
究竟是什麼理由促使你決心踏上這條道路?」
她對此做出了回答。
「看吧?其實我們每個人都會這樣說。」
他給予了答覆。而她,始終未曾忘卻下一刻他那格外平靜的話語聲。
「將那一點永遠銘記於心,你就不會再迷茫。」
只是,這段故事在這裏就迎來了結尾——沒有分毫遺漏,這便是故事的全部。
她將視線重新轉向頭頂上方那片凌冽的空白。
將那一點永遠銘記於心?銘記那一點……銘記……哪一點?到底要記住什麼?
「我居然……將那件事忘記了。」
她輕聲說道,可自舌根說出每一個字眼的時刻,都艱難到無法想像。
他說得完全正確。如今她已經能深刻體會到正構建於自己視界之中的一切:
那一絲單調卻又伴隨着溫暖的哀思,環繞象徵悲傷的啟示而至。
這一小片拼圖確是讓她進一步見證了自己在世之時的回憶——但它早已殘破不堪,
而且根本無法回答那一系列肆虐着她的困惑分毫。
她近乎心死。這種程度的痛苦,令人根本無法承受。
知曉你根本不是完整的自己——這樣的痛楚,究竟有任何文字能夠形容嗎?
置身於玻璃雲團之下的她緊緊閉起了雙眼,緩緩彎下腰來。
她將鼻樑沉重地埋在雙手手掌之間,指關節死死抵在上眼眶。
她不會哭泣。她沒有辦法讓自己這麼做。若是在此處放縱淚水流淌,
她又將會回憶起多少層面的現實——那些她執意逃避的,殘酷的現實。
她就這樣靜靜地坐在地上,緊咬着嘴唇不放,竭力屏住心中的悲痛。
她不會哭泣。她當然不會落淚。不是嗎?
故此,那位形單影隻的收割者能做的,只有抱緊自己孤獨的身軀,在這個純白的世界中默默地顫抖着。
她的鼻中,時不時傳來輕柔的呼吸聲。
她試圖讓自己的思緒不再徘徊於此——她不想再讓思緒被這種事情侵佔了。
只是,試圖使自己平靜下來時,那思緒卻還是會主動回到她腦海之中。
若眼前的全部,便是「死亡」真實的樣貌……
……那麼,她寧可忘卻一切。
Her gaze, still on the Arcaea above, is suddenly broken.
...Where did that come from?
Appearing on the shore of her thoughts suddenly, like a fair and gentle-seeming stranger,
was that little fact, in the form of a miniature memory.
She wasn't sure at first that it was even there, but as she thinks it over again and again...
she's sure of it.
She recalls this. This... it happened.
Sitting under a pair of quiet old trees, the Soul Stream having gone down, and night having risen,
she was speaking with her confrère...
"You learn to think of it in this sort of paradox," he'd said. "You think of all life as precious, but at
the same time the drudgery leaves it all as just numbers. Higher numbers, lower numbers. It isn't
like you stop caring; it's more as if, if anything, caring so much sharpens you into someone who
seems cold."
"But it's alright," he assured her, smiling weakly at the Stream. "Thinking too much about it will
probably tear you up inside. When you went to the Glen, what was the reason you gave for wanting
to walk this path?"
She answered.
"See? That's what we all say," he replied, and she recalls how calming his voice had been then.
"Just remember that, and you'll be fine."
But there it ends. That's it. Her gaze comes back to the sharp air above her. Just remember it? Just
remember it. Remember it. It... Remember what?
"I... don't remember," she whispers softly, but each word, each syllable falls heavily off her tongue.
He had been absolutely right. Now she can feel it, building in her eyes: the dull, warm grief that
comes with sad revelation. A new piece of her memory has shown itself to her, but it is crucially
broken, and without answers to the questions it has forced into her mind, her heart is killed.
The agony is nearly unbearable.
How do you put the pain of knowing you are not entirely yourself into proper words?
Under the cloud of glass, she shuts her eyes, bends her head, and puts the heel of her palm over
her nose, the underside of her fist against her skull. She won't cry. She can't let herself do something
like that. To cry here, at this, would open her to too many facets of reality she has chosen not to face.
She sits on the ground, sucking in her lips, tightening them.
She will not cry. Absolutely not. Okay?
So, gripping at herself and trembling in the world of white, the solitary reaper steadily breathes.
She tries not to dwell. She doesn't want to dwell. But, while calming herself, the thought can't help
but occur to her: that, if this is death...
...she would much rather have oblivion.
5-6
解鎖條件:完成5-5,購入Ambivalent Vision曲包
解鎖要求:採用忘卻通過Lethaeus
「不要將過多的疑問牽掛於心頭。」
這一思想,便是那段記憶的核心要素——而她在一番深思後才覺察到,
這更是她往昔至今始終嘗試追循的信條守則。
然而時至今日,她的那些嘗試都未免顯得心不在焉。那一段古老的回憶始終令她魂牽夢繞,難以忘懷。
她固然完全不打算去遺忘那段故事——卻還是忘記了過多除此之外的事物……她終究意識到,
自己已經變成了一具殘缺的軀殼。
這種事情,還是忘卻為好。
今日,她又一次將那些迷途的回憶引領至這片廣場;
她試圖將這一舉動當成例行公事,等其成為生活習慣,再等其轉變為順理成章之事。
或許乏味會在她落入那潛藏於安詳地面正下方的深坑之前牽扯住她前進的腳步——若非如此,
那不斷呼喚着她的焦油陷坑終會讓失足的她被不幸的感受所淹沒。
她真切地認為——若感受那些事物所帶來的只有痛苦——比起「感受」,果然「遺忘」才是更好的選擇。
就在她如此引導着這群Arcaea殘片的時候,
其中的某片忽然以一種特別的形式反射了源自天空的光線,以至於她條件反射地望向了它。
她幾乎沒去多想,隨即將那碎片召至了自己面前。
反射的場景:一個孩子正懶洋洋地蹲在路邊,用雙手遮罩着什麼物體。
在她的手掌周圍,小小的螞蟻們顯然對她藏在手心側的事物感到十分好奇,卻還是害羞得四散而逃。
這名收割者將更多的集中力投予這段回憶,繼而發現那孩子掩藏的事物其實是一隻受傷的無花果甲蟲。
在一番思慮過後,那女孩便用雙手捧起了那小小的存在,從地上站起了身。
這便是全部。
許久,這位年輕的觀眾都處於呆滯狀態。可接着,她便傻笑起來。
這還真的……是一段毫無意義的回憶。
那隻甲蟲的傷痊癒了嗎?那孩子活了多久?多少年月,她將這段故事銘記於心?
全然是件愚笨而無關緊要的小事……
少女輕笑了起來。
真的挺諷刺的,不是嗎?
銘記某樣事物,卻使她遺忘了關於自己為何身於此處的揣測。
Arcaea是記憶的世界。
這些記憶隸屬於死者?抑或是尚在之人?又有誰能回答這個問題呢?
不論謎底為何,這世界保存着那些任何人或許都會忘卻的過去。
靈魂消散、肉身腐朽、石碑碎裂、大地風化……任憑時光流逝,Arcaea都完好無缺地保存着一切。
少女已然隻身一人。她在此處並未擁有同事,也不存在什麼需要起床做任何工作的理由。
但這並不代表她什麼都不會做。
此時此刻,她便身在此地。她過去的生命已經到達盡頭。
僅僅如此。
但她難道仍有權利掌控一切嗎?她依然能感知到自己的職責。
她依然無法回憶起自己給予的那個答案——那個使她成為一位靈魂守護者的理由。
但無論謎底究竟是什麼……有一種無形的力量使她堅信,哪怕心靈早已殘缺不堪,但當她再次遇到那個問題時,
一定也會給出與曾經完整的自己相同的理由。
世人本就無法預言未來。一向如此。
無論生命還是回憶,都可能在轉瞬間灰飛煙滅……但在此處不一樣。
她可能會忘卻屬於自己的回憶,可面前這些回憶不會消逝。
由一位「靈魂的守護者」正式轉變為「回憶的守護者」——她覺得這聽上去十分美好。
沒錯。你們將一直被深深銘記——
只要我仍佇立於此。
days.
The key element of that memory—the idea that one was better off not asking many questions—
is something that in her contemplation she realized she was attempting to adhere to all this time.
Her attempts, however, had been half-hearted. That taste of an old memory was too intoxicating
to forget. Indeed, she refused to forget—but having forgotten so much else… she'd realized she
was a broken half-shell of a person.
Forget it.
She is once again guiding vagrant memories to the square today; trying to make this into routine,
which will turn to habit, which will turn to nature. Perhaps tedium can rescue her from the cavern
always lurking just under the surface: the tar pit of miserable feelings endlessly calling to her.
Better oblivion, she thinks sincerely, than to feel—if feeling means only grief.
And, while conducting the shards of Arcaea, one catches the light of the sky in such a way that she
is reflexively bidden to look at it. Without thinking much of it, she brings this shard close.
The reflection: a crouching, slouched child covering something off the side of a road with her hands.
Outside her hands, ants shy away, though they seem clearly interested in whatever she's hiding.
The reaper gives the memory more of her attention, and finds that what the child is hiding is a
wounded jade beetle. After a moment of contemplation, the girl scoops up the small thing in both
of her hands and stands up.
That's all.
The young observer is motionless for a moment, but then she smirks.
That's such an... absolutely pointless memory.
Did the beetle recover? How long did that child live for? How long did she hold on to this memory?
Stupid little thing...
The girl chuckles.
It's ironic, isn't it... Remembering something had made her forget why she believed she was here.
Arcaea is a world of memories. Of the dead? Of those still alive? Who can say? Regardless, it keeps
old stories that anyone could forget. Past expiration of mind, body, monument, or land: however it
works, Arcaea steadfastly keeps all.
The girl is alone. She has no confrère here, and she was given no reason to do anything when she
woke up. But that doesn't mean that she was to do nothing.
She is here, now. Her old life is over. That's it.
But doesn't she still have control? She still feels responsible. She doesn't remember the answer
she gave, as to why she sought to be a tender of souls, but whatever it was... something tells her
that the broken her of now would give the same reason as the complete her from then.
There is no telling what will happen, ever.
Lives and memories can vanish in a second… but not here. Her memories may be lost, but these
will not be. "Tender of Souls" to "Tender of Memories"; she thinks that has a nice sound to it.
Absolutely. You will all be remembered forever.
So long as I am here.
7-1
解鎖條件:購入Ephemeral Page曲包
解鎖要求:通過Alice à la mode
一張銀色的蛛網在玻璃的角落處閃爍着微光。哦,那是玻璃嗎?
看起來倒更像是石頭,不過這個獨特世界的運作機制比任何其它的世界都要怪異。
來自異界的現實通過空中漫舞的碎片滲入這裏,將五彩斑斕的記憶投影到荒蕪的白色大地。
周圍是紫水晶構成的立柱,滿溢出整個地面的光芒讓它們也晶瑩靚麗。
她坐在淺綠色的精美椅子上,面前是同樣淺綠色的小桌。
她一隻手伸在身旁的行李箱上,食指隨意地沿着皮箱的頂部划動。這裏別無他人。
「我們該走了,愛麗絲。」
「這裏沒有別人」——然而這裏確是有一個「別人」的。
他就在這兒,像往常一樣端着茶杯,在她轉過目光的片刻便又準備好了香茶。她將手掌撫在行李箱上。
「你聽到了嗎?」她問道。
他轉頭仔細聆聽,然後才答道:「我什麼都沒聽見。」
她舉起另一隻手,手肘放在桌上,身體前傾,眉眼低垂,慵懶地望着桌子,用手托起下巴。
「那就對了」,她說道。「這個……或者說,這些……很安靜。」
「那又怎麼樣呢?」
「上一次是什麼時候呢!?」她略微提高了音調,用這種語氣表達着他這個問題的荒謬。
「賞心悅目的寂靜風景……看看這片花園,坦尼爾。這幅景觀很……俊美。」
她的手從行李箱上舉起,指向了兩人面前淡入淡出的昏暗原野,以及陰影中點綴着的天藍花朵。
「我,」坦尼爾開口了,他腰板一直,將茶杯指向自己道,「這樣子就很俊美。」
這般自吹自擂讓她皺起了眉頭。
愛麗絲開口了,她傾身指向他:「給我閉嘴。」
「何等粗魯,何等失態。」他無謂地回嘴。她一邊搖頭一邊小聲抱怨着,又靠回了椅子。
具體來說,距離她被困在這個世界、無法去往其它世界已經過去多久了呢?
她的護花使者坦尼爾一路上都追隨着她,還堅定地宣稱:「我無法與你分離。」
不過很大程度上,這件事被證明是個麻煩。她正盯着他。
一隻橙黑相間的蝴蝶飄過他的眼前,隨後他將注意力轉向了自己的茶杯。
然後,他一口都未品嘗,便將杯中的液體潑到了地上。
一個非常非常尋常的行為——事實上,坦尼爾一直如此。
他張開了嘴,倒不是為了舔舐杯中的殘香,而是打算說話。
「我們真的該走了」,愛麗絲先發制人。「這就是你想說的,對吧?」
「如果你明白,那我們就動身吧。」他說道。
她聽從了他。她覺得,他行事從不會毫無理由。
於是她站了起來,跟着他邁向白色的地平線。
在兩人穿行的路上,記憶若隱若現。它融化、滴落,然後消失於無形。
不過蝴蝶卻是例外,它在她的肩膀處一路隨行。
坦尼爾姑且又關注了它一下。不過,它也終將淡去——
所有的記憶都將淡去。
A silver web glints in a corner of glass. Well, is it glass? More likely it's stone, but this particular world
operates more strangely than any other. Reality bleeds in from elsewhere, through floating shards
that fill the air, projecting colorful memory into lands of ruin and white. Now there are pillars of
amethyst, glowing from a light beneath that fills the entire floor.
She sits in a fanciful, pale green chair, before a small and pale-green table, her hand atop her
suitcase which rests beside her. She drags her finger down the leather of its top. There are no other
people here.
"We should leave, Alice."
"No other people"—but there is at least one other person.
He's here, holding tea as he often is, having again prepared it when her eyes were turned away.
She lays her palm on her suitcase.
"You hear that?" she asks.
He tilts his head, listening closely before replying: "I hear nothing."
Lifting her other arm, she rests her elbow on the table, slouches forward, and props her chin up
with her hand. "That's right," she says, "in this one... or these ones... it's quiet."
"And what should that matter?"
"When was the last!?" she slightly raises her voice, telling him with its tone that she finds his question
absurd. "Silence and a pleasant view... Look at the gardens, Tenniel. This landscape is... handsome."
She picks up her hand from her suitcase and indicates the dark wilds fading in and out before them,
and to the sky-blue flowers dotting the shade.
"I," Tenniel starts, gesturing toward himself with his teacup, "am handsome."
Her brow twitches at the gall.
"Shut," Alice starts, gesturing toward him with her hand, "up."
"Terribly rude. Awfully rude," he notes. She shakes her head, grumbles, and leans back in her seat.
Precisely how long has she been stuck in this world, unable to travel to any others?
Forever, the ward Tenniel has been with her, steadfast in his claims of "I cannot be apart from you."
However, that largely proves itself to be a pain. She looks at him now. A black and orange butterfly
flutters past his eyes, and after it passes he looks into his cup. Then, he tosses the cup's contents
to the ground, having not drunk even a sip of it. A very, very usual habit—in fact, consistent Tenniel
behavior.
He opens his mouth, not to lap the dregs, but to speak. "We really should go," says Alice,
preempting him. "That's what you want to say, isn't it?"
"If you understand, let us take care," he says.
And she listens to him. He never seems, she thinks, entirely without reason. So she stands and follows
him to the white horizon. The memory fades around them as they pass. It melts and drips, all, into
nothing. All except the butterfly, which flies along at her shoulder. For now, Tenniel watches it again.
But it will fade, too—
All memories do.
7-2
解鎖條件:購入Ephemeral Page曲包
解鎖要求:採用愛麗絲 & 坦尼爾通過Eccentric Tale
的確,她曾經遍行於無數世界之間。
她現在也依然如此。對她來說,這是與生俱來的習慣,猶如進食和飲水一般。
但在她發現最後踏足的這片境界之後,上述兩點好像就沒那麼必要了。
在以前,在來到Arcaea之前,她見識過無數的地方,各種奇形怪狀的植物和形形色色的人物。
人可以想像出的一切,包括幻想生物和魔法,也都只是她目睹並記錄過的東西。
對於一個……「超次元」百科全書?
不管是什麼(似乎已經被遺忘了),這份工作的特性讓她一直都保持着新鮮感和安定感,然而……
這個世界實在是過於特殊。
其它世界的記憶紛至沓來,且不僅以影像的形式呈現。
她可以聽見那些地方的聲音……聞到異域的氣息……品嘗那些記憶的甘苦,甚至從它們身上獲得真實的觸感。
那麼問題隨之出現:什麼是真實?在Arcaea這樣的世界,她認為這是一個至關重要的問題。
如果……這種全方位的體驗只能持續有限的時間,那麼它究竟是虛幻還是真實?
儘管她曾週遊四方,但記憶中卻並無這樣的世界。它的存在目的究竟為何?
於是毫無徵兆亦無緣由地,她詢問自己的同伴:
「那麼……真相是什麼,坦尼爾?我們怎樣才能判斷這裏是否真實?」
「這裏是真實的」,他一邊從杯中灑出茶水,一邊說道。
「因為你所有的感官都『認為』這裏是真實的。為什麼要擔心這是某種詭計或者幻象呢?
為什麼你要質疑自己親手觸摸到的東西呢,愛麗絲?這就足夠了。」
「好吧」,她結束了自己的發言。在他這樣的狀態下,說什麼都沒有意義的。
「不說話了麼,那就看這裏」,他指着地面說道。
兩人步入了一個篝火的記憶中,坦尼爾的茶水澆滅了火焰。
「這究竟是個什麼原理?」他疑惑道。
「你問我?」愛麗絲覺得莫名其妙。
「我毀了他們的派對……」她的同伴低語道。
「記憶很快就會淡去,沒什麼值得你自責的,坦尼爾。」
「我們看到的都是真實的,愛麗絲。就算你沒看到某個東西,難道它就不復存在了嗎?
當然不會。不過,那個篝火確實被我弄得不復存在了。」
「你以後不要亂灑茶水了。」
「我會留下一封道歉信。」
「給誰看呢!這裏一個人都沒有!」
坦尼爾擠眉弄眼地笑着,又嗖地一下掏出便簽和筆。她一邊低聲抱怨着,一邊在他書寫時努力壓制着笑意。
在這個片刻,她想起了自己為何從不質疑同伴。不過,最近她很少這樣了。「最近」,她想着……
在開始的時候……有什麼不一樣嗎?
她只思考了一小會兒,路上的新景色就分散了她的注意力。她忘卻了這個問題。
於是時光繼續流逝。
This is true: she once walked between worlds.
She still does. For her, this is an aspect of life as normal as eating or drinking, not that she has had
need of either since finding this latest realm. In the past, before Arcaea, it was countless how many
new places she'd seen, how many strange plants and people she had found.
Fantastic creatures, magic too, everything one could ever imagine: she has seen it, and recorded it.
For... an "inter-dimensional" encyclopedia? Whatever it was (it seems to have been lost).
The nature of the work keeps her profession fresh, certainly, but...
This world really is terribly unique. The memories of further worlds dance into this one, and not as
mere images, either. You can hear the other places... smell the foreign nature... taste from these
memories, and touch them as if they're real. Therefore it begs the question: what is real?
In a world such as Arcaea, she feels that is a very important question to ask.
If... it can be experienced fully, but only for a limited time, is it an illusion or is it valid?
Well-traveled though she is, nothing in her memory tells of a world like this.
What is the purpose of it?
So she asks her companion: without flare, without context. "So... what is reality, Tenniel? How can
we know that here is real?"
"It's real," he says, as he casts tea from his cup, "because every sense of yours 'knows' that it's real.
Why do you wonder about artifice or illusion? Why do you question even what you can touch with
your own hands, Alice? That should be enough."
"Fine," she replies with finality. It is worthless when he gets like this.
"If that is over with, look there," he says, and he points to the ground. They had wandered into
memory of a campfire, and Tenniel's tea had doused the flame.
"How the devil does that work?" he asked.
"You're asking me?" replies Alice, incredulous.
"I've ruined their party..." mutters her companion.
"The memory will fade soon, so there's nothing to be glum over, Tenniel."
"What we see is real, Alice. And when you stop looking at something, does it cease to be? Of course it
doesn't. That fire has ceased by my hand, though."
"You need to stop spilling tea everywhere."
"I will leave an apology."
"No one will see it! No one is here!"
Tenniel smirks while whipping out a pad and pen.
She groans, and tries not to smile herself as he writes.
It's a moment that reminds her why she never questions his company. But, it's a moment rare of late.
"Of late", she thinks...
In the beginning... was it different?
She ponders for a little while, but new scenery distracts her as they walk. She forgets to wonder.
And the day goes on.
7-3
解鎖條件:購入Ephemeral Page曲包
解鎖要求:採用愛麗絲 & 坦尼爾通過Alice à la mode
他對自己所知的事物如數家珍,就好像呼吸一樣理所當然——雖然他根本就無需呼吸。
或者說,就好像進食和飲水一樣理所當然,雖然他也無需進食和飲水。
不過理所當然地,他還是會陪伴並保護她……
……真實會給人以純粹且幾乎無可動搖的舒適。
所見所感即真實。看到和感知到的是真實存在的,這意味着真相。
真相帶來安心感。如果沒有了它,只剩下未知,恐懼就會席捲而來。
或者,來的也許是更糟糕的東西:不應得知的真相,令人受傷的真相。
人會發現自己無法做到想做到的事情,遇到不可避免的結局。
那樣的真相只會讓人深陷痛苦。
不過,他不會撒謊。
沒錯,「他」一直都照看着她。
的確,「他」總是會予以她自由,引領她前往新奇、有趣……不同的地方。
這是真的,事實如此。
他只想看到她的笑容。
但他並非無心無念,他知道她所尋求的不止如此:那是無法看見的東西。
「……你偷偷摘的?」他問道。她將一朵花展現給他,那來自之前離開的花園記憶。
「你知道的,我喜歡它的顏色……淡色……」她不再隱藏,盯着花的眼神中充滿着喜愛。
「它就像我們在其它世界裏看到的天空」,她肯定地說道。「它叫什麼名字?」
他知道答案。
「我不知道」,他答道。「它終究會消失,就像所有東西那樣。你沒必要帶着它,愛麗絲。」
「……也許吧,但我喜歡」,愛麗絲把這件他早已知曉的事情又告訴了他。「我覺得它不會消失。」
他凝視的目光飄向了別處。沒有徵兆和理由地,他倒掉了茶。他也清楚地知道:
她說的沒錯,花不會消失,而這正是他最為擔心的。
他又告訴她:「你高興就好……愛麗絲。」
她也玩笑般地回應:「那當然!」,一邊將花枝插在了耳邊。
她態度高傲地宣稱道:「你無法左右我的意志!」
坦尼爾輕叩着自己的胸口,目光中並無焦點。
何等不幸……
她的這句話也完全沒錯。
He knows what he knows, just as well as one knows to draw breath—though he doesn't need to
breathe.
Or that one knows to feed, though he needs no food; to drink, though he needs no water.
Or, to remain at her side and shelter her, though...
...There is a raw and almost perfectly unshakable comfort in reality.
What exists is what you see and sense. Knowing that what you see and sense is real means that is
the truth. Having truth puts the mind at ease. Without it, with unknowns, you open yourself to fear.
Or to, perhaps, what is worse: truths you do not need to hear.
Truths that will damage you. To know you aren't capable of everything you wish to be capable of.
To know that there is an end, that it is inevitable. That truth, and truths like it, can make a person
truly suffer.
But, he does not lie.
It's true that "he" has always watched over her.
It's true that "he" has always given her freedom, and guided her into places that were exciting, new...
different.
That was real. That is.
He wants nothing more than her smile.
But with heaviness inside where a heart should be, he knows that she is seeking something more:
beyond what can be seen.
"...You hid that?" he asks, as she presents him a flower from the garden-memory they had left.
"You know, I love its color... pale..." she reveals, gazing upon it fondly. "It's like the skies we see in
other worlds," she asserts. "What's its name?"
He knows.
"I don't know," he says. "It will vanish, surely, as everything does. There is no need to keep it, Alice."
"...Perhaps no need, but I like it," Alice tells him, and he already knew this. "I think that it won't
disappear."
His gaze drifts away. With no rhyme or reason, he dumps his tea. He also knows this very well:
She is right: it won't. And that concerns him most of all.
He tells her, "Do as you like... Alice."
And she playfully fires back, "I will!" as she slips the flower behind her ear. With pompousness, she
declares: "You can't decide how I live!"
Tenniel taps his chest and gazes at nothing.
How unfortunate...
She is entirely right about that as well.
7-4
解鎖條件:購入Ephemeral Page曲包
解鎖要求:採用愛麗絲 & 坦尼爾通過Alice's Suitcase
然而坦尼爾看起來並不怎麼為之所動。
因此,愛麗絲直接了當地詢問了他:「你真的就毫無激情嗎,坦尼爾?」
兩人剛剛離開一個記憶場景,那些飛翔的機器就灑下駭人的烈焰,他們的背後只留下灼燒的悲嘆。
面對詢問,他沒心沒肺地笑道:「我從未感到痛苦,從不。」
面對回答,她只是淡漠地望着他。
他那鎖緊的胸膛里肯定藏着什麼。
帶着這種想法,她試圖在他看到令人愉悅的事物時,
找出他眼中的激情火花,亦或是片刻的窒息、歡喜的面容。
有一天——如果在這個從無夜晚的世界裏還有這種說法的話——他們遇見了一個舊畫室的記憶。
在那裏,她決定略施小計。趁着坦尼爾罕見的片刻失神,她藏到了遠處,小心翼翼地躲在了一扇門的後面。
當他意識到自己失去了她的蹤跡後,他來回張望,又小聲呼喚道:
「愛麗絲……?嗯,你肯定就在附近。沒關係,沒關係……」
她從藏身處看着他走過落滿灰塵的桌椅……最後停在一個擺放着畫布的畫架旁。
他查看了四周,找到了一根炭筆,然後就坐在了空白的畫布前。隨即,他開始了繪畫。
「戲耍」他的那種微妙愉悅感開始消退,她換上了平穩的心態來觀察對方。
沒錯……
當她當初甦醒在這個世界的時候……
坦尼爾經常互換兩人的帽子。他會和她打趣,也總是會詢問她想要做什麼。
他還會頻繁地引經據典,例如詩歌、散文之類。
當她因甦醒在一個牢籠世界中而迷失無措時,他曾引導過她。
以前的他略顯憨傻,卻令人欣喜。
只是……很快……他就不再是那樣了。
她所認識的坦尼爾如今戴上了一張面具。這幾乎成為了他的新面孔,因此她也差點忘記了……
他以前是喜歡藝術的,應該沒記錯吧?每當兩人找到有關畫廊的記憶,他就會開始指點江山……
現在他正摹繪着周圍的景象,並在畫布面前加了一個茶杯。
茶杯位於畫布前面的地板上,而不是凳子上。
這是他個人的創新,並不是實際場景的樣子。
她在門後評論道:「畫的真棒,坦尼爾。」
他慢慢停手,終於將炭筆放回了原處,又隔着自己的肩頭回瞥了一眼。
「只是模仿而已」,他說道。
「但那是你想像出來的」,她指着畫作道。「那個茶杯。」
「……那是想像出來的,沒錯」,他承認道。「……但我覺得你的想像力大概會比我更好吧,愛麗絲。」
他又露出了微笑。
於是她回應道:「別管那種事情,哥哥。你的畫技令人驚艷,將它和我無暇的思維相比——」
兩人的氣息為之一滯,對望了一眼後,他們意識到了她剛才所說的究竟是什麼。
very thrilled by it.
Therefore, as they leave the scene of a horrific fire spurred by flying machines, the last burning
wisps of tragic memory trailing behind them, Alice confronts him with a question:
"Have you no passion at all, Tenniel?"
To this, he smirks and says, "I never suffer, no."
To this, she looks at him dully.
He must have something in that tied up chest of his. With that in mind, she tries to catch any
sparkle in his eye, any breath cut short, any sort of pleased look—as he looks upon pleasant things.
One day—if time can be so divided in a world where night never comes—they come across the
memory of an old workshop.
There, she decides to hatch a little plan. In a rare moment of Tenniel's distraction, she hides away
from him, carefully, behind a door. When he realizes he's lost her, he glances back, forth, and there
mutters, "Alice...? Well, you must be nearby. Never mind it, never mind it..."
From her hiding place she watches him step past dusty tables and stools... until he reaches an easel,
upon which is a canvas. He checks the surroundings, finds a piece of charcoal, and sits at the stool
before the blank sheet. And, he sketches. The ticklish joy from "teasing" him begins to fade, and she
instead observes him steadily.
That's right...
When she first woke up in this world...
Tenniel would often change their hats. He would tease her and be sure to always ask what she
wanted to do. He also recited things—poetry, prose—very often. He oriented her, when she was so
disoriented by waking in a caged world. He was sillier, delightful.
But... rather quickly... he stopped all of that.
The Tenniel she knew now wore a mask. It had almost become his new face, and so she'd forgotten...
He did like art, didn't he? He used to remark on it whenever they found memories of galleries...
Now he sketches his surroundings, adding to them a teacup sitting on the floor before the canvas
instead of a stool. An invention of his own, not a part of the scene.
She remarks from behind the door, "That's very nice, Tenniel."
He slows to nothing, and rests the charcoal back where he found it. He glances over his shoulder.
"It's only an imitation," he says.
"But you imagined that," she says, pointing toward the sketch, "the cup."
"...It is imagined, yes," he admits. "...But I believe you likely have a better imagination than me, Alice."
He smiles, again.
And she replies, "Don't let it bother you, Brother. Your technique is impressive, and comparing it to
my flawless mind is—"
And they stop, and meet one another's eyes, as they both realize what it is that she just said.
7-5
解鎖條件:購入Ephemeral Page曲包
解鎖要求:採用愛麗絲 & 坦尼爾通過Jump
「……坦尼爾……」她念着他的名字。
「我的名字可不是動詞。你剛才的對比具體是要表達什麼呢?」他打趣道。
然而愛麗絲才不管這些。「坦尼爾!」
她大喊着,氣勢洶洶地衝進了房間。「你知道我剛才那樣稱呼你的原因,對吧!?」
「那是我的名字」,他回答道。
「哥哥?」她疑惑地做出反應。
「坦尼爾」,他微笑着堅稱道。
「不是那個!!」她吼叫着,又是揮拳又是跺腳。「我們是……親人!?」
「我喜歡——」坦尼爾坐在凳子上轉過身。他看起來很滿意的樣子,卻顯得令人討厭。
但在他開口表述想法之前,他又重新陷入了思考。他閉口不言,一邊目光漂移,一邊露出一副怪異的苦臉。
「你現在又不說話了?」她的言語毫不留情。
「我就知道,我沒想錯……!我都注意到了……你是最近才變成這樣子的。」
「變帥了?」他試圖轉移話題。「不,我一直都這麼——」
「坦尼爾,我現在的態度非常嚴肅。」愛麗絲以冷漠的口吻打斷了他。
「我想要結束這場對話」,坦尼爾說道。「我的態度非常嚴肅。」
「因為你在擔心這件事?神神秘秘的,到底是為什麼?」
愛麗絲的氣勢並未鬆懈。她向屋子裏又邁了幾步,氣憤地朝他說道:
「哥哥,我是這麼稱呼你的,而且態度相當真誠。這意味着什麼?
你並非毫無意識,並非一無所知,坦尼爾。你在這方面表現得相當明顯。
現在,我要求你,必須把真相告訴我!」
「我不會說的」,他低吼着。
「坦尼爾!」
「別說這件事了!」
「我已經成年了。我可以面對痛苦的真相!」
「這沒有那麼簡單!」
「你又不是我父親!」
「或許他真的當過你父親呢!」
怒目的愛麗絲踏出的一隻腳停在原地,愣愣地注視着已經起身的坦尼爾。
她的腦中高速處理着來自對方的信息,卻只是問出了一句話:「……什麼?」
「啊……哦……天啊,我竟然說出來了」,坦尼爾的自言自語幾乎微不可聞。
他的眼中光芒閃過,然後他底下了頭,讓帽檐遮擋自己的眼神。
「不,愛麗絲……我不是你的哥哥。但我記得他。」
「……繼續」,愛麗絲的語氣透露出堅定。
她的同伴從背心中掏出了一塊閃光的碎片:那是Arcaea的一部分。
「一段記憶?」她疑惑道。然後坦尼爾便答道:
「你的。」
愛麗絲沉默了。她看着指間的碎片,良久未言。
「我並不了解這個世界」,他說道。「但我知道這些記憶是因為你而投影進了這個地方。
我可沒引發過這種事情。我認為……根據我出生時擁有的記憶……呃,雖然它……
在你最初甦醒之處的四周散落成了無數碎片,但我清楚地記得『他』。
我『感覺』自己就是他,不過我的腦袋……顯然有些不對勁。」
他笑了笑,又繼續說道:「我只知道,我不希望你去了解這一切,僅此而已。」
「……我沒事的,坦尼爾」,愛麗絲開口安慰着他。
一道光從他的臉上滴落到地上,像小水花那樣散成碎片。他用顫抖的聲音告訴她:「我覺得並非如此。」
不過,他還是把碎片遞給了她。
她收下了。
透過玻璃般的碎片,她看到一個窗簾在窗前飄動。還有陽光。
她感到一隻手撫在了帽子上。坦尼爾的袖口遮住了他此刻的表情。
「如果你看到了那裏」,他說道。「你肯定就會明白的。以及,愛麗絲……」
她握住碎片,然後回應道:「什麼?」
「我當然只是個仿冒品,但你能否——」他頓了頓。「能否……」
「什麼?」她催促着。
「……保重」,他說道。「注意安全,愛麗絲。」
「這根本接不上……你是個仿冒品,你自己說了……『一個仿冒品,但是』……?
「……哼」,他發出了小聲的不滿,一邊將手抽離她的帽子。
更準確地說,是將她的帽子摘下,換成了他自己的那頂。
他迅速地趁她望向自己之前轉身,又說道:
「我是個仿冒品,但這一次還是聽我一句話吧。我只是想說這句話而已。」
他撒謊了。
她並沒有追根問底,而是望向碎片,激活了它。
不過,當五彩斑斕在開始環繞她時,她聽到了年輕人在說——
「好吧,仿冒品的願望從來就沒人能夠聽見。」
但還沒來得及問他這究竟是什麼意思,她就來到了一個熟悉的地方。
"...Tenniel..." she addresses him.
"My name is no verb. Where precisely is this comparison going?" he teases.
But, Alice insists. "Tenniel!" She shouts, stomping into the room. "You know why it is that I called
you that, don't you!?"
"It is my name," he replies.
"'Brother'?" she answers, baffled.
"Tenniel," he confirms with a smile.
"Not that!!" she yells, balling her fists and stomping again—now once in place. "Are we... family!?"
"I like t—" Tenniel begins, turning 'round on his stool. He looks self-satisfied, and obnoxious, but
before he can say what it is he's thinking, he thinks on it again. He holds his tongue, and grimaces
as he turns his eyes away.
"You're shutting up, then?" she accuses him. "I knew I was right...! I noticed it... Only lately you've
been like this."
"Handsome?" he tries. "No, that's always—"
"Tenniel, I am being quite serious," Alice tells him coldly, cutting him off.
"Quite seriously," says Tenniel, "I would like to end this conversation."
"Because it worries you? Mysteriously? Why?" Alice persists. She steps further into the room, angrily
telling him, "'Brother', I called you, and I said it quite sincerely. What could that be for? You're not
unaware, Tenniel. Not unknowing. You're very obvious in that regard. Now, I insist! I insist that you
tell me!"
"I would rather not," he growls.
"Tenniel!"
"Just leave it alone!"
"I'm a grown woman. I can handle unpleasant words or truths!"
"It isn't that simple!"
"You aren't my parent!"
"He may as well have been!"
With a foot forward, the glowering Alice stops, her eyes set on Tenniel who is standing now.
She processes what he told her, and asks, only, "...What?"
"Ah... oh... dear me, I said it," Tenniel speaks in a near whisper. His eyes shine a moment, and he
bends his head so the brim of his cap might hide them. "No, Alice... I am not your brother. But I
remember him."
"...Go on," Alice bids, resolute.
And her companion fishes from his vest: a shining shard. A piece of Arcaea.
"A memory?" she asks. And Tenniel replies:
"Yours."
Alice is silent. She looks at the shard between his fingertips and waits.
"I don't understand this world," he says, "but I know that memories project into this place because
of you. None do the same for me. I believe... given what recollection I was born with... Well, though
it was rather... scattered, from the myriad of shards around you where you were first sleeping, I
strongly remembered 'him'. I 'felt' as him, though my head is... certainly a bit strange."
He smiles before going on to say, "What I knew made me wish for nothing but your ignorance."
"...I will be fine, Tenniel," Alice speaks to assure him.
A light falls from his face to the floor, scattering in a minuscule splash. He tells her, with a fluttering
voice, "I might say that you aren't."
Nonetheless, he extends the shard to her.
She takes it.
In the glass, she sees a curtain waving before a window. Daylight.
She feels a hand falling down on her hat. Tenniel's sleeve obscures his face.
"If you look there," he says, "I know you will understand. Also, Alice..."
She grips the shard before answering, "Yes?"
"I am surely just an imitation, but would you—" he stops. "Would you..."
"Yes?" she prompts him.
"...Take care," he says, "and stay safe, Alice?"
"That doesn't follow... You're an imitation, you said... 'An imitation, but'...?"
"...Hmph," he makes a light and dismissive sound as he takes his hand from her hat. Or rather, he
takes her hat from her head, and replaces it with his own. Turning before she can glare at him, he
tells her, "I'm an imitation, but listen to me just this once. That's what I was going to say and
nothing else," he lies.
She does not push, and instead looks into the glass, activating it.
But, as color swirls around her she hears the young man say—
"Right, an imitation can't ever have their wishes heard."
But before she can ask him what he means, she enters a familiar place.
7-6
解鎖條件:購入Ephemeral Page曲包
解鎖要求:採用愛麗絲 & 坦尼爾通過Felis
這是一間醫院的房間,有着白色的牆壁和天花板。
準確地說,這是一間病房——一個安靜的房間,窗外是幾隻撲扇着翅膀的帝王蝶。
而令她驚訝的是,她在片刻之間就認出了這裏,她從未意識到的遺失記憶湧入了自己的腦海。
這裏的外面有一座公園。
這裏的護士們友善而耐心。
這裏的天氣似乎總是晴朗。
她幾乎一直都住在這裏。
她感到了暈眩,試圖將信息都整理一遍,但還未來得及開始,就聽到了身後的腳步聲。
她轉過身,看到門邊有一個人,他手持一朵繡球花,敞開穿着一件輕薄的帶兜帽運動衫,看起來頗有現代感。
他在裏面穿的是一件T恤,下面是一件寬鬆的褲子,以及簡約而舒適的鞋子。
他的表情透露着單純和安心——她認識這張臉。這個人看來就像是坦尼爾。不過,「他」的名字……
「……塞德里克。」
靠窗的病床上傳來了一聲虛弱的呼喚。
年輕人路過她,禮貌地點了點頭,然後就走向等待着的那位病人。
不用去看那金髮嬌軀,也不用看那般面龐就知道,那就是她自己。
這裏是她的回憶,她的名字是愛麗絲。
塞德里克將鮮花放進了花瓶里。她的原身旁邊已經積累了整整一束花。
他拉來一張椅子就坐在了她的身旁。他手中並無茶杯,也並無言語。
「塞德里克……」女孩無力地重複道,一邊從床上坐了起來。「我以為你今天要去工作室。」
「不,不去那裏了。我現在自主安排工作時間,愛麗絲」,坦——塞德里克說道。他們的聲音聽起來很像。
「怎麼會?你沒事吧?」
兩個人都看向她,然後微笑着。
她未加思索就脫口而出。嗯,因為理所當然,她也做不到多加思索。
這是一個新的真相世界,即將開始運轉。
看起來,作為身處記憶片隅的觀察者,她只是自發地重複了當初說過的話。
「你還在寫作嗎?」塞德里克問道。
「你還在畫畫嗎?」病弱的女孩問道,嬉笑中又帶着些許戲弄。
「『我還在畫畫嗎』」,他復讀了一遍,他盯着天花板,眼神閃動。
「你來這兒了!」她笑着回應道。「說真的,我還以為你很忙呢!」
「我畫完了三頁」,他面帶微笑,自豪地答道。
「很好!」
「你呢,一個字都沒動嗎?」
「我寫了!我寫了好多!」
「那就讓我瞧瞧。我這兒也有一本書……」
「好啊!」
女孩把手伸向病床旁邊的櫥櫃。
她都把筆記本和餐具放在裏面,除此之外,還有一個她不怎麼愛使用的平板計算機。
年輕人從袋子裏拿出一本書。是啊……這本書其實哪裏也沒有去過,對吧?
那都只是編出來的故事……聽到的傳言……以及美夢。
兩個人開始分享、歡笑、打趣。
這四天就這樣過去了。
在四天後,一切都結束了。他們本來以為,就算無法永遠活下去,但她至少還有三百六十五天的時間。
她並沒能在臨終時見到他。她在一個清晨感到痛苦,並就此消逝。然後,沒有然後了。
她只記得有一群人高聲喊着她的名字,僅此而已。
坦尼爾知道這一切。
這段回憶很漫長。她能感覺到。它涵蓋了臨終的這段時光,但她並不想看這些。
雖然她很堅強,但面對這些時還是感到了恐懼。這段回憶中沒有任何可以改變的地方。
她的健康總是會崩壞,兩個人總是獨處,而他總是來不及趕赴結局。
美夢和故事……只靠許願是無法變成現實的。
她在兩人歡笑時離開了這段記憶。她不記得這是不是兩人最後相處時的樣子了。
她不想知道。
你會死。你已經死了。
愛麗絲站在畫室的回憶中,記起了這件事。
「坦——」她開始尋找。
但坦尼爾已經不在了。
隨即,回憶開始淡去。她能猜到這點……就像他說的,他只是仿冒品,當真相被揭曉時,他就大限已至。
愛麗絲站在Arcaea的虛空中,用無神的雙眼望向前方。
萬物同時向她發起尖嘯。
這個「位面」是虛假的,這幅「身軀」是空殼,這段「回憶」是捏造的。
她的「人生」不是自己的,直至結束也沒有什麼波瀾曲折,更沒有陪在身邊的哥哥。
你是孤獨的,愛麗絲。
你孤獨至死。
回過神來時,愛麗絲發現自己跪在地上,帶着手套的手指插在土壤中。
她感到寒冷。她想要哭嚎,但眼淚卻不見蹤影。
她感受着……
她感受到了。
「這裏是真實的。
因為你所有的感官都『認為』這裏是真實的。」
她的腦海中浮現出坦尼爾的話語。
她看着自己的手,她看見了。
她將手套拉緊,她感覺到了。
她將花朵從髮絲間摘下,她聽到了,聞到了。她對着花瓣張開了嘴。
什麼才是真實?是我看到的嗎?是我嘗到的嗎?是我摸到的嗎?
如果是那樣……
「愛麗絲」死了,但愛麗絲活着。
如果坦尼爾只是一段回憶,那麼他肯定還存在着。
以真實而言,她只是個四處遊蕩的靈魂。
她一路來到了這裏,不是嗎?如果不去管所謂的「真相」的話。
如果是這樣……那便還有出路。
她一定會找出辦法。
那條來路:通往她一生中最重視她的人。
至於另一個傢伙……
如果她沒法在旅途中再次找到他,他也知道對方的一部分會永遠陪伴在自己身旁,留在自己心裏。
也許她也會開始只泡茶而不喝茶。
這份思緒……讓她重新露出了笑容,發出了笑聲。
愛麗絲當場下定了決心,她站了起來,手指緊抓着「真相」的碎片:
她總是向前看,朝着嶄新路途的地平線邁進……
……她永遠也不會忘記是什麼帶領着她前行。
walls and ceiling. To be precise: a patient's room—a quiet room, with monarch butterflies fluttering
outside the open window. And, to her surprise, in the moment she recognizes the place, memories
she hadn't realized she'd lost rush into her skull.
That there was a park outside.
That the nurses were friendly and kind.
That the weather always seemed perfect.
That she nearly always lived here.
She feels overwhelmed, trying to sort it all, but before she can even begin she hears footsteps
behind and turns. There is a person there, at the door, with a hydrangea in hand, presently
dressed in a thin and open, hooded sweatshirt. He wears a T-shirt beneath that, looser slacks over
his legs, simple and comfortable shoes... and his face. She knows his face. This man is a man who
looks like Tenniel. "His" name, however, is...
"...Cedric."
From the bed by the window, a weak voice calls out.
The young man passes her by, politely nodding as he goes, and he moves to the waking patient.
She doesn't have to see the golden hair, the thin frame, nor the kind face to know: of course, it is her.
This is her memory. Her name is Alice.
Cedric puts the flower he bought in a vase. A true bouquet of them sits beside her original self.
He pulls over a chair and sits down beside her. He has no tea in his hands, nor does he ask for any.
"Cedric..." the girl repeats, groggily, as she sits up in bed. "I thought you were at the studio today."
"No, not there. And I work on my own time, Alice," says Tenn—... Cedric. It sounds like him.
"How are you? You're alright?"
They both look at her, and smile.
The words had just come out of her without thinking. Well, she could barely think, for what it was
worth. A new world of truth, here to process, and it seems that as an observer in a place of one
part of this memory she merely recited what was said at the time automatically.
"Have you been writing?" asks Cedric.
"Have you been drawing?" asks the sickly girl, grinning in light mockery.
"'Have I been drawing'," he echoes, looking to the ceiling and then rolling his eyes.
"You came here!" she fires back with a laugh. "I swear, I thought you were busy!"
"Three pages I finished," he answers with pride and a smile.
"Good!"
"And you've got no pages?"
"I've written! I've written plenty!"
"Then let's see it, then. I've this other book, too..."
"'Lright!"
The girl reaches to a cupboard beside the bed. She keeps her notebooks and utensils there,
as well as a tablet she could probably use more often. The young man fishes out a tome from his
bag. Right... it never had been traveling, had it?
It was always written stories... told tales... dreams.
They begin to share. Laughter, teasing.
Four days.
In four days, all of this ended. They both believed that, if not forever, she had at least three hundred
and sixty-five. She didn't get to see him in the end. In the early morning she felt a pain and faded.
Then, nothing. She remembered hearing them yelling to call. That was it.
Tenniel knew this.
The memory is long. She feels it. It encompasses these last days, but she doesn't want to see it.
Strong though she is, facing such a thing terrifies her. No part of it can change. Her health was
always failing, they were always alone, and he couldn't be there: the end. Dreams and stories...
can't become real by wishing.
She leaves the memory while they're smiling.
She doesn't remember if it was their last time together.
She doesn't want to know.
You will die. You have died.
Standing in the memory of the workshop, this is what Alice remembers.
"Tenn—" she starts, looking up.
But Tenniel is gone.
And there, the memory fades. She can guess... As he'd said, he was only an imitation, and with the
truth revealed, his time was up.
Alice stands in the void of Arcaea, staring forward with unseeing eyes.
And everything screams at her at once.
This "plane" is false. This "body": a shell. The "memories" were distorted.
Her "life" was not hers; her life ended with no arc, no culmination, no brother beside her.
You are alone, Alice.
And you died alone.
Alice eventually finds herself on her knees, her gloved fingers dug through the earth.
She feels very cold. She wants to cry, but tears wouldn't come.
She feels...
She feels.
"It's real,
"because every sense of you 'knows' that it's real."
Tenniel's words reflect in her head.
She looks at her hand, and she sees it.
She pulls her glove taut, and she feels it.
She takes the flower from her hair and hears it. Smells it. She opens her mouth over the petals.
What is reality? Is it what you see? What you taste? What you touch?
If that is so...
"Alice" is dead, and Alice is alive.
And if Tenniel was a memory, then he must remain as well.
In reality, she knows herself to be a wanderer of worlds.
She made it here, didn't she? Regardless of the "truth".
And if that is so... there is a way out.
She'll find it.
The way back: to the one who cared for her the most in life.
And for the other...
If she cannot find him again on her journey, she knows a fragment of him will be there with her,
remaining in her heart. Perhaps she'll start making and never drinking tea. The thought... makes her
smile and laugh once again.
Alice decides then and there, feet on the ground and holding the shard of "truth" between her
fingers: even if she may always look forward, to the horizon that marks a new way...
...she will never, ever, forget what brought her there.
9-1
解鎖條件:購入Esoteric Order曲包
解鎖要求:通過Paper Witch
每踏出一步,四周的景象就會隨之改變。她的腳步改變了腳下的地面,也改造了空間。
她走近織錦邊,卻發現布料不曾完整縫合。玻璃靜靜地滑過她的身邊,然後突然四散,像是受到了驚嚇。
她周遭的世界已變得漆黑而不再潔白。繁星灑落在空中,腳下的路卻是如此支離破碎……
Arcaea是一個由記憶編織而成的織錦。它也會在邊角出現磨損,儘管那總是被忽略和遺忘。
站在那之前的少女,是第一個目睹此景之人。
現在,她確實,孤身一人。
「……似乎是這樣。」她低語着,確認着。
「如果有其他人抵達這裏……」她沿着這條佈滿灰塵的曲折小徑走着,
「她們不會跟我選擇同一條路的。對吧?那條路在很久、
很久以前就已經破碎不堪了——而且通往前方的道路正不斷變化着。」
這時她清楚地看到,在右邊遠一點的地方,有一種白色的「螺旋」向上升起,接着又向下降落,
最後粉碎成微粒。這些微粒漸漸向她飄去,在黑暗之中,她能看到它們正閃閃發光。[3]
「又一個。」她評論道,「你沒有什麼要說的嗎?」她問卡戎。
衛星無動於衷。於是她拍了拍那東西無用的腦袋,「說話。」她命令道。
然而只有環繞在它周圍的三角形光環在無意義地旋轉着。
「果然。」她一面自言自語,一面抱着它的頂部,同時轉過身看着眼前空曠的世界:
「我想要是接近……啊,我決定叫它『最低世界(lowest world)』…
我想沒準這樣接近最低世界能慢慢為你注入記憶和今後生活的…目標?
……但你還是什麼都不知道,卡戎。」
這個失敗的實驗品慢慢擺動尾巴,形成一個波浪狀的「S」形。
耳朵像是若有所思地,無意識地抖動了幾下。
拉格蘭抬起她的手:「還是很可愛的嘛。」她發自內心地,開心地評價道。
她在白色世界裏用玻璃製作的衛星最終回到了仿佛是它最喜歡的位置——她的左肩頭。
她則轉身看向一條正在形成的新道路。
不同以往,這條道路比她以前看過的道路還要來得寬敞許多,甚至可說是一個區域了,
至少以目前來說是這樣。 Arcaea開始在她的右側聚集,對她充滿疑慮:她的心裏究竟有沒有它們?
當她開始無視它們往前走時,它們判斷她和她的心都不是為它們而來,於是便散開了。
記憶不是她來這裏的原因,記憶的領域不過是一堆過去的記錄。
在這之外,還有更多的東西需要學習,更多的東西需要探索。
這是織錦綻裂的邊緣。當她繼續沿着這條變幻莫測的路向遠方探索,她希望能遇到這幅織錦的編織者,
並讓他們的雙手能再一次遊走於這條掛毯之上。
所以她繼續向前走,走進她選擇的世界,走進黑色的世界,走進虛無。
With every step until now, the scene has shifted. Her steps shift the ground—shift space.
She nears the tapestry’s edges, only to find that the cloth had never been entirely sewn.
Glass glides past her quietly, and then moves suddenly, as if startled. The world around her
has become black, rather than white. In the air, stars hang. The way is fractured...
The tapestry of memories, Arcaea, has a fraying hem. These are the neglected and forgotten
threads. The girl standing before and within it all now is the first to have borne witness.
Now, truly, she is alone.
"...It seems," she whispers—a confirmation.
"If anyone else reaches here..." she goes on, stepping along this dusty and twisted path,
"they won’t follow the same path. Isn’t that right? The road broke apart too long ago—
and the way ahead keeps changing."
She observes exactly that happening at a distance to her right: a way of white spirals upward,
and then downward, until it shatters into mere particles. Those pieces then begin to float toward
her, and they glitter through the dark.
"Another," she notes. "Don’t you have anything to say?" she asks Charon.
The satellite makes no movements. She pats its useless head. "Speak," she commands.
The halo of triangles floating over its body spins worthlessly.
"Of course," she answers. Still holding its head, she turns and witnesses the empty world ahead.
"I guessed nearing the... ah, I’ve decided to call it the 『lowest world』... I imagined that nearing it
like this might instill you with memory and further life. Purpose, maybe... But you still don’t know
anything, Charon."
The failed experiment’s tail moves in a slowly waving "S" shape. Its ears shift, thoughtfully.
Thoughtlessly.
And Lagrange lifts her hand. "That is cute, though," she admits, blithely. She means it, wholly.
The glass satellite that she crafted back where the world was still white is eventually returned to
its seemingly preferred place above her left shoulder, and she turns to face a new path forming
already.
Unusually, this path is much wider than others she’s seen thus far—an area, really, at least for now.
Arcaea begin to gather at her right, to guess at her. Is she, and her heart, for them? When she
moves on, ignoring them, they decide she is not and disperse.
Memories are not why she is here, and the land of memories is a matter of past record. Beyond the
ounds, there is more to be learned, and more to be discovered.
This is the frayed edge of the tapestry. As she continues along this capricious road, she hopes to
meet the tapestry’s weaver, and bring their hands to the cloth once more.
And so she continues on, into the world she’s chosen. Into the world of black: the Void.
9-2
解鎖條件:完成9-1,購入Esoteric Order曲包
解鎖要求:通過Crystal Gravity
不論是這個虛無,還是Arcaea本身,都是這樣。這個界外的空間在告訴她,是這樣的。
但事實上,這個世界的方方面面都在訴說,從一開始就在告訴她,從她醒來開始。
首先,應該記住的是,Arcaea在她開始認識自己之前就已經為她所知
(並且應該記住:「認識自己」實際上從未發生過)。
那東西實際上是在堅持介紹它自己。就仿佛是在說:「歡迎。你現在在這裏,而『這裏』就是:」
這是一座純粹的圖書館,裏面收藏着記憶、眾多雜亂且不堪入目的遺蹟、一個沒有意義的名字,
以及一個沒有名字的少女。就是她……就是那個孤單、茫然無措的少女。
她做的第一件事,就是去閱讀圖書館的「藏書」。為此,她凝視着玻璃的深處。
她找不到類似「主題」的東西,也找不到類似「聯繫」的東西。
一個正常的圖書館一定會有一個管理系統,方便分類或是整理藏書。
這是她從自己所看過的記憶之中得到的結論。
記憶,在Arcaea,是被刻意安排過的,無論是固定的還是流動的,
她在這個世界的「存在」也是一樣,太多像機緣一樣的「巧合」。
比如,她甦醒時就知道Arcaea是什麼,卻不知道自己為什麼會在Arcaea。
「不會吧…」她突然開口,「想想我見過的世界,卡戎。」
卡戎的雙眼轉向她,然而冷漠的眼神里連一點關心都沒有。
他們兩個,主人與寵物,仍然身陷虛無。仍然不知目的地在何方。
「想想這些組成了你的世界。」她輕輕撫摸着衛星的耳朵繼續說,「有哪個世界像這裏一樣,
『存在』得如此刻意?我從沒見過像這樣的地方,就連被創造的那個世界也跟這裏完全不一樣。[4]
沒有任何地方的記憶跟這裏有相似之處……這個世界顯然是有人刻意打造……
但是這裏又是如此地缺乏目的和意義……」
她停頓了一下。
「你怎麼看?」她問道。
卡戎的雙眼看着前方蜿蜒而蒼白的道路。
她決定不繼續追問。
「我認為這裏還不夠成熟完整。」她說。她認為卡戎點了頭。
兩人繼續在靜默中前行,不過她仍在想着過去的回憶。
然後,「過去」竟在她的面前出現了。
……也或許,這就是「現在」?
「怎麼回事……?」
她感到非常困惑。
一朵雲進入了她的視野。
一朵雲,在那之前除了漂浮的道路什麼都沒有。
它在空間之中閃爍,看起來如夢似幻。
它的出現如此突然,在一轉眼間就擁有了形體,她甚至沒注意到……
透過它,她竟再次見到了滿是廢墟的世界、雪白的色彩,以及懸浮在空中的玻璃。
這是唯一一個她有記憶的世界。也是她毅然離開的世界……
Not only "here"—the Void—but here, Arcaea itself. And this out-of-bounds space is telling, yes, but
in truth all aspects of this world have been telling from the beginning, ever since she first woke up.
Firstly, it should be remembered that Arcaea made itself known to her before she could come
around to knowing herself (and it should be remembered: "knowing herself" has never actually
occurred). It was insistent, practically, to introduce itself. As if it had said, "Welcome. You’re here
now, and this is what 『here’ is:"
An abstract library dedicated solely to memory, a series of ruins haphazard and unseemly, a name
without meaning, and a girl without a name: herself, alone and otherwise unaware. The first thing
to do was read what "books" the library provided, and so she’d looked into the glass.
She could find nothing resembling a "theme" between any of them—nothing like a "connection".
A proper library had a system in place to categorize, organize, and sort—that much she’d learned
from what memories she’d witnessed.
Memories in Arcaea, however, were arbitrary: in where they were placed, and in where they drifted
about. Her existence in this world, too, felt coincidental. It felt like happenstance. After all, she
knew what Arcaea was upon awakening, but not why she was there.
"Really," she says suddenly, "consider the worlds I’ve seen, Charon."
Charon’s eyes turn to her, and in them she sees not even a spark of consideration. The two of them,
master and pet, are still in the Void. They are still walking to nowhere.
"Consider the worlds you’re made of," she continues, touching the satellite’s ear lightly. "In any of
them, is 『existence’ so clearly directed? I haven’t seen, nor are you made of, any memories of
anywhere similar to this... A world so evidently built with purpose, and yet also so obviously
purposeless..."
She pauses.
"What do you think of that?" she asks.
Charon’s eyes now face the winding and still-white path out ahead.
She lets him go.
"I think it’s half-baked," she says. She thinks Charon nods. They move along silently, while she
thinks still of the past.
And then, the past shows itself to her.
...Or is this the present?
"What...?"
She speaks, genuinely confused.
A cloud has entered her vision.
A cloud, where before there was nothing other than floating roads.
Shimmering in space is a surreal and sudden formation, which seems to have appeared without
her notice...
And through it, she can see it once again: the world of ruins, white, and floating glass.
It is the only world she remembers. That world she left behind...
9-3
解鎖條件:完成9-2,購入Esoteric Order曲包
解鎖要求:通過Far Away Light
如果是「記憶」的話,那這和她自甦醒以來所見過的所有記憶都不相同。
這裏沒有視角,也沒有可以窺視的場景。
它只是單純的,唯一的,古老而空洞的世界。
「……」
她沉默地凝視着。
「我懷疑這個地方在模仿我……」她說。1
然後繼續前進。
想想第一個世界,那個世界決定向她展示自己。
確實是這樣嗎?她確定了,沒錯,那裏絕對是在模仿她。[5]
一路走來,這個白色世界展現了更多景象。
它們大多數空空如也,也有一些是有內容的——
意料之中,不算太有意思。通過測試,這些通往舊世界的窗戶似乎有着不可逾越的窗格……
真的,如果她想要思考,或者花更多的時間在核心的Arcaea世界,她不是應該留在那裏嗎?
儘管如此,她還是沉浸在自己的思緒之中,回憶着過往生活的點滴。
她看過許多的記憶,也一度認為自己能透過記憶找到屬於這個地方的真相。
事實證明,這樣的記憶根本不存在。大部分時候,她能用寥寥數語概括描述她所見到的記憶:
朝生暮死——如同流水賬般的日常。所有的循環都是這樣結束然後消失。
她肯定自己學到了很多,但是對於自己甦醒的世界來說,這一切都無助於了解這個世界的真相。
然而,當她決定動身探索空間的極限時,她想或許應該帶上最初那個世界的一部分陪她一起,
準確地說,她想用那個世界裏「最好的」東西,製造出點什麼。
她瞥了卡戎一眼。映照舊世界影像的窗戶在四周閃閃發亮,
但少女的眼的眼神依然定在自己的衛星身上。
這麼說來……這一切都在她的一念之間?
一個可能性在腦海中浮現。
沒準這個由「記憶」組成的地方,這個「世界」和這裏的人們,是被拿去製作其他新的東西了?
她把Arcaea的碎片聚攏到一起,希望它們能黏合在一起,於是經過努力,卡戎成形了。
「……」
但卡戎什麼也不會說。什麼也不會做。
可是,它又始終和她在一起,就像衛星永遠會圍繞它的母行星轉動。
…所以她不需要舊世界。
每當她看見卡戎,她就會想起那個世界有多渺小,多不重要。
If it’s a memory, it isn’t showing anything like the memories she’s seen since awakening.
There is no point of perspective: no view to usurp.
It is simply, only, the old and barren world.
"..."
She stares in silence.
"I wonder if this place is mocking me..." she says.
And then she moves on.
Thinking of the first world, that world decided to show itself to her. Is that how it is?
She determines that yes, it certainly seems to be mocking her.
Along the way, more of these views to the world of white open. Most empty, and a few with others
within them—
Expected, but uninteresting. Testing them, these windows to the old world seem to have impassible
panes anyway...
Really, if she wanted to think about, or spend more time in, the core Arcaea world, wouldn’t she
have stayed behind there?
And yet despite herself, she lingers on thoughts of what her life here used to be.
There were many memories she’d viewed, and for a time she assumed she might find a memory
that offered some truth of this place. No such memories existed. Mostly, she saw what could be
succinctly described as frivolous normalcy: day-to-day happenings—from waking in the morning
to dying in the night. All cycles: all over and gone. She’d certainly learned very much, but not the
slightest about the world she’d awakened in.
However, when she decided to leave in order to learn more at the limits of space, she thought she
might take a part of the first world with her. Rather, she thought to make something from it...
perhaps "the best" of it.
So now she glances at Charon. With windows to the old world shining all around her, she lays her
eyes only on her satellite.
All that said... hadn’t she made it on a whim?
A what-if had come to mind. What if this place of memories—of worlds and peoples gone—could
be used to craft something new?
She’d pulled shards of Arcaea together, and wished them bound, and with effort and will Charon
had taken shape.
"..."
But nothing was ever said by Charon. Nothing was ever done.
Nonetheless, it has remained with her like a moon ought remain with its mother planet.
...So she does not need the old world.
Charon is the true reflection: of how little that world ever meant.
9-4
解鎖條件:完成9-3,購入Esoteric Order曲包
解鎖要求:通過Löschen
這一次,她的思緒又開始四處飄蕩……
那個縈繞許久的想法又再次回來了……
這一切都是某一位「神明」設計好的。
不管幕後主使是誰,稱他為「神明」都不為過。
如先前所說,這就是她前進的動力:她一心要找到這位「神明」。
「通常情況下,這叫做『智能設計』……」少女道出了她從這裏的「記憶」中學到的東西,
「然而,這……」她繼續說道,聲音卻越來越小。
她看着前方。
世界的扭曲已變得難以理解。橫向的變為斜向,水平的上下翻轉。
為了移動,她向着自己想前進的方向跨出一步,但一個不小心,就可能會漂浮或跌倒。
似乎在造物主缺席的時候,世界更願意按自己的心意改變形態。
結果就是,少女在一個立體的空間裏邁出奇特的步伐,行走在無形的「地面」上,疲憊不已。
事實就是這樣,其實她已經注意到了這個事實。
……她凝視着頭頂上方的空間。
「……說這個世界是從情緒中產生的似乎更為準確。」
這是唯一能讓這個看似「毫無意義」的世界具有意義的解釋。
雖然在這個雪白的世界之中,從天空中射下的光芒看起來就像是來自天堂的聖光,
但是這裏其實也是有太陽的。在這裏,太陽隱藏在黑暗中,光線微弱,毫不起眼。
也許…它的光芒被Arcaea「無盡」的白晝吞噬了?
「……不過,這白晝最近剛剛結束,」她喃喃自語着,目光重新看向前方。雲朵消失了。
群星,一如往常,閃閃發光。
幾個小時,又或許是幾天前,漩渦開始撕裂虛無中的現實,像是急着要取代那些過去的雲朵,
成為新的奇景似的……
黯淡的太陽和不完整的世界都是很好的證明。此外,那些漩渦還有雲朵更是明顯的跡象。
整個空間都在描繪同一種現象。
就連那個雪白的世界也一樣,「它」不時地也會顯現自身。
它曾在這裏出現過,每個角落也都有過它的蹤跡。「它」會現身,並干擾着一切存在。
一言以蔽之,它就是「異象(anomalies)」。
她在白色世界裏遭遇過幾次,還有,當少女周圍還有窗戶的時候,她在廢墟中看到過更多。
這些對現在的她來說已經習以為常。不過,那些事件讓一切變得古怪又破敗不堪。
這個空間就是這些情況的集合,據她所知,它們的出現不帶有任何意圖。
據她所知,它們只是一種「徵兆」。
因此,她開始懷疑,創造這個世界的「神明」 ……
「……」
她在一個黑色的漩渦前停下了腳步。承載着記憶的玻璃朝它的中心流去,
只有幾個碎片仍留在這個空間之中,慢慢朝着同一個方向滑落、變薄,並分裂。
真正的邊緣絕對就在附近。
她抬起手……
在她甦醒時,她的腦海中並沒有既定的思考方式,沒有記憶,也沒有被灌輸的想法。
她只保留了自己的個性,以及對這個世界的粗淺知識……
……這讓她感到很難受。
雖然她想過許多,也說過許多……
她依然覺得,Arcaea這個虛擬而又破碎的世界,不可能沒有存在的意義。
這個世界的一點一滴都有意義。意義俯拾即是。
關於記憶的意義。關於建築的意義。關於玻璃的意義。
關於少女的意義……
為什麼會這樣?
「……卡戎.」
她向自己精心製作的衛星叫喚着,它無動於衷,但她依然繼續說下去。
「你還是不能自己思考……?可你會跟着我……你是覺得我是你的主人嗎?卡戎。」
她又叫了一遍它的名字。它頭上的眼睛閃閃發光。
「你是在這個世界誕生的,而我也一樣。考慮到這點,我想我注意到了一些事情。」
她邊說邊隨意地把胳膊插進了面前的螺旋。
……她的肢體化為玻璃的絲線,而卡戎在一旁目睹這一切。
「……怎麼樣?你覺得這是某種把戲嗎,卡戎?
還是說我們其實是一樣的?你身體裏沒有血液,我又有什麼?」
她的身體開始瓦解。
……她擁有一顆會跳動的心臟。
她有思想。她是真實的。
那她為什麼出現在這裏?其他人在這裏的原因又是為什麼?
……也許血液確實在她的靜脈里流動着,但現在她什麼都看不見了。
她的「身體」與她在「記憶」中見過的任何一具都不一樣。
她曾經的四肢,曾經的軀幹,現在已化作銀色的細線……
……她終於確認了:這身體,是虛構出來的。
「……!?」
卡戎突然從旁邊撞了她一下,嚇了她一大跳。這一撞使她清醒許多,也回到了現實。
在這一瞬間,所有的絲線重新連結在一起。她的身體突然恢復了原狀……
她愣愣地看着自己空空如也的掌心。接着她看向卡戎,儘管它一如往常地一語不發。
……她挺直了自己的肩膀。
……無論如何,她還是它的主人。
她看着自己發着愣的僕人,開口問道……
「……走吧。不想去看看終點會有什麼風景嗎?」
here and there...
That persistent idea returns...
That there is a god who designed all of this.
At least, it would only be accurate to call whoever was responsible a god.
As said, that is why she walks: to find this god.
"It is called 『intelligent design』... typically," the girl says, speaking from what she’s learned through
the memories archived here. "However, this..." she continues before trailing off.
And she looks out ahead of herself.
The world’s distortions have become unfathomable. Lateral has become diagonal, the horizontal
reversed. To move, she walks where she wants to walk—and without concentration, she might float
or fall.
It seems, absent the creator, the world has decided to shape itself to her wants instead, resulting
in invisible steps on an invisible earth and tiring traipses through solid space.
And so there it is: that fact she already noted.
...She gazes above.
"...It would be better to say this world was born out of emotion."
It is the only way to make sense of a world so senselessly created.
There is a sun here, although in the world of white the light of the sky seemed to come instead from
Heaven itself. Here, hiding in the dark, the sun shines weakly, forgotten. Or... has its light
simply been taken away by Arcaea’s endless day?
"...Though it ended, recently," she mutters to herself, dropping her gaze to what’s before her
instead. There are no clouds anymore. Starlight, as ever, is plentiful.
Since hours, or perhaps days ago, vortices have begun to tear away at reality in the Void, as if
to take the place of those old clouds as a new and strange thing to see...
The lost sun and unfinished world are greatly indicative; the vortices too, of course, and
ertainly the clouds. The entire space here is telling.
Back in the world of white, as well: every so often "it" would manifest. What was here, and
everywhere: "it" would manifest, and disturb existence.
In a word: "anomalies".
She’d met with a few in the world of white, and when there were still windows around the girl, she
had seen even more throughout the ruins. They were instances of what has now become
commonplace for her, turning things queer and wreaking senseless havoc.
This space was a concentration of those instances, and as far as she could tell, there was never any
intent in their appearances. As far as she could tell, all they were was a symptom.
She suspects, therefore, that the god who made this world...
"..."
She stops before a vortex of black. Glass memory flows into it—the few shards of them left in this
place, slipping through and thinning, splitting.
The true edge is most definitely near.
She lifts her hand...
When she awakened with no preconceived notions, no memories, no instilled ideas and only,
instead, her personality and simple knowledge of the world itself...
...it had sickened her.----Despite everything she has since thought and said...
She imagined that there couldn’t possibly be any way the mock and scattered world of Arcaea had
no purpose.
It dripped with purpose. It was full of purpose.
Of memories. Of buildings. Of glass.
Of girls...
Why?
"...Charon."
She addresses her crafted satellite. It shows no signs of noticing, and yet she continues.
"You still can’t think for yourself...? You follow me, though... Do you believe I am your master?
Charon."
She says its name again. The eyes in its head sparkle.
"You were born here, and so was I. In light of that, I believe I’ve noticed something."
So casually, she enters her arm into the spiral before her.
...And Charon watches as the limb turns into glass threads.
"...What do you think? Is this a trick, Charon? Or are we the same? There’s no blood in you.
Is there any in me?"
Her body begins to unravel.
...She has a heart, and it beats.
She has thoughts. She is real.
Then why is she here? Why is anyone?
...There may be blood in her veins, but now she can’t see any of it.
Her "body" is unlike any she has seen in memory.
The silvery strands of her once-limb—of her once-chest, now...
...Confirmation at last: this flesh was invented.
"...!?"
She jumps with shock as Charon strikes her side, knocking her back.
At once, the threads reconnect. Her body becomes whole...
She witnesses her empty palm. She glances at Charon, who, as ever, says nothing.
...But she sets her shoulders.
...She is the master, after all.
She looks at her staring servant, and asks...
"...Shall we go and see the end?"
9-5
解鎖條件:完成9-4,購入Esoteric Order曲包
解鎖要求:採用拉格蘭通過Aegleseeker
黑暗是什麼時候消失的……什麼時候變成這樣的呢?
黑暗消失了。世界消失了。
在Arcaea之外,什麼都不存在。
她動了動嘴唇,但沒有空氣能用來傳播聲音。
這裏沒有什麼可以震動。所以也不存在聲音。
她看到的是……一個模糊而奇怪的位面。
好像因為她看了之後才讓這裏變成這樣的。
好像我不該看到這個似的。
回去的念頭在我的腦海中浮現,於是我思索了一番。
或許我剛到這裏的時候就應該好好考慮這個選項了。那樣的話,我可能還有機會回頭。
但現在,我已經迷路了。
不對……
要是說「迷路」,首先得有「地方」和「路」不是嗎?
上下左右之類的,常見的座標方向……
這些東西通通不存在。應該這樣說:這些事物已經消失了好一陣子了,
只是我到現在才意識到而已……而且關於「我」這個主詞,我相信也是不存在的。
你看,我的雙手已經消失不見。我的雙腳也已不復存在。我的雙腿也完全不見蹤影。
我的舌頭該在的位置,現在空無一物。
也許現在的「我」所代表的,只有我的眼睛,和我腦中揮之不去的某些東西。
所以,也就是說……
我有個新的發現,那就是在你失去了移動的能力和感官的體驗之後,精神很快就會開始分崩離析。
我需要集中精神——很顯然這個世界的神明還從未如此做過。
......
……嗯。
沒錯……在這裏的現實是缺乏合理和完整性的,就像是沒有藍圖的設計……僅憑模糊的印象。
先有了土壤。再有了陽光。陽光消逝之後,繁星點綴着深邃的夜空。
而在那之後呢?誰知道呢。至少,知道的人不會是你。
真假的……
你。你想從這裏得到什麼?為什麼帶我來這裏?為什麼要隱瞞我曾經的一切?
我肯定「擁有」某種過去。不論那是什麼,你都從我這裏把它奪走了。
......
我是跟其他人一樣死去的嗎?
我是跟那個深愛自己哥哥的少女一樣死去的嗎?還是跟那個紅衣少女一樣死去的?
也許你覺得我會為此感到害怕?
這樣的事情……哈。
這樣的事情對我而言又有什麼意義呢?啊?
我被困在這座牢籠之中,這座專為滿足你的觀賞需求而打造的牢籠。
對我而言,有什麼意義呢?一切都是為你而存在的,不是嗎?
一個天堂……亦或是一種逃避?你是怎麼做到的?這重要嗎?
到底什麼才是重要的?
……我又開始煩躁了。
太荒謬了。
哈,我……現在真的明白了:她為什麼討厭這個世界。
任何了解這個世界的人都會想要看到它消失。
也許你認為你是我的救命恩人?你從來沒有拯救過我。
就算你有……現在看起來,我也把一切搞砸了,是吧?這一切是為了什麼?
我到底該如何是好?
卡戎...
卡戎並不在這裏,是吧?我的身體在這裏嗎?我想要——
讓我……
讓我消失吧……那為什麼卡戎要「阻止」我?現在回想起來的話——
我是在回想嗎?
我的眼睛還在這裏嗎?
我看不見。
我剛才在哪?
不,不,不。
不,不,我真的沒辦法回去了嗎?
我沒辦法從這裏逃出去嗎?
我不能移動嗎?
不,不會吧,我真的不能?
如果我還有指甲的話,我說不定會把它們通通咬光。
你懂的……
雖然你可能是用一片指甲把我創造出來的……
我 不 是 一具空殼。
我能感受到這一切。我 不 想 要這樣。
你能聽到我的想法嗎?
這裏的一絲一毫我 都 不 想 要。----我想要 知 道 真相。
真 相 就是 這 樣?
這裏,一 無 所 有——
......
……知道了這一切都是虛無……
我可以感覺到某種不安的感覺在我的肚子裏翻攪……肚子?肚子?而且……我的雙手在哪裏?
好吧……我早就失去它們了……
——
你不能稱「這個」為光明。
我很難用言語描述我現在所處環境。
我想,當我離開那個已經毀滅的世界並進入虛無時,我也迎來了黑暗。
但它又和普通意義上的黑暗不太一樣。它不會使你亮得睜不開眼睛。它不是非黑即白那樣的。
光明與黑暗。我在無數個世界裏都見過這些東西,它們是最基本的元素。
光明和煦又溫暖,而黑暗則代表恐懼和未知。
但,我還是期望着了解黑暗。
......----我隱隱察覺到了這一點,隨後很快就明白了:這個世界是為了怯懦之人所造的避難所。
但那人不是我。
我不是創造這個避難所的那個懦夫。
因為如果是我的話,我會把一切做得更好……
卡戎過去……現在就證明了這一點。
我向黑暗前進是因為我想找到更好的真相,雖然真相和我一直認為的一樣殘忍又苦澀。
我身處這種狀態太久了,已經失去了時間概念。
但每隔一段時間我就會再次看到它:
光明——真正的光明——就在遠方。
......
也許它一直在引導我。
我不會向任何人承認這一點。
畢竟向自己一直看不上的東西低頭實在顯得自己很失敗。
不過,我可以清晰地感覺到,那股光亮在召喚着我。
那股來自舊世界的光正閃閃發亮,並且在呼喚我。
在那道光里,我能看見救贖……
......
好吧。我會牽着你的手。
當我再次靠近它時,我的指尖恢復了知覺。而且我發誓,我能看見自己的呼吸。
我想,我應該會「返回」了。
如果回去了,我相信我不會緊抓着真相不放。
我不會忘記,但我也不會時刻惦記。
我相信着,不是嗎?
我能比那位「神明」做得更出色。
但是,首先,我需要更多人的幫助。
我不會簡單地認為或嘴上說我會更出色。我會真正做到的。我一定會的。
不過說實話……逃到這裏,沒什麼可驕傲的。
相反,這是報復。
我會改變這個世界,或者創造一個更好的世界。
你把這裏搞得一塌糊塗,嘿,這不是反而讓一切都變得可能了嗎?
我認為是這樣的。
不……
就是這樣的。
——
When did the dark fall away... into this?
The dark fell away. The world fell away.
Outside of Arcaea, nothing exists.
She moves her lips, but no atmosphere carries her words.
Nothing is here to vibrate. Sound has gone.
What she sees is... a blurred and strange plane.
It’s as if moving her eyes bleeds space itself.
As if I wasn’t meant to see this.
I thought, for a while, about returning. Perhaps if I’d considered that more seriously, as soon as I
came here, I might have still been able to go back out.
But now, I’ve become lost.
No...
Being "lost" still carries a sense of "place", doesn’t it?
Up, down, left, and right—in fact, the common and cardinal directions...
Those no longer exist. Rather, they stopped existing quite a while ago, and it simply hadn’t
completely registered to me until now... And on that subject ("me"): I don’t believe "I" exist any
longer, either.
You see, my hands have gone. My feet have gone. My legs have gone. My tongue has gone.
Perhaps I’ve become only my eyes, and some lingering shadow of my brain.
That said, that’s... going...
I find that it doesn’t take long to start feeling as if your mind is tearing apart once your motions and
senses have been stripped away. I need to focus—something the god of this world apparently
never did.
......
...Hm.
Yes... the reality created here was truly thoughtless... a design without a blueprint.
A vague impression.
There is earth. There is daylight. After daylight, the night sky and the stars within it.
After that, who knows? You didn’t, evidently.
Honestly...
You. What did you want out of this place? Why did you take me here?
Why did you hide whatever I was before?
I WAS something before. You’ve snatched whatever that was away.
......
Did I die like the others?
Did I die like the girl who loved her brother? Did I die like the girl in red?
Do you think I was afraid of that, perhaps?
This... ha.
What am I meant to take from this? Well?
What am I meant to take from being trapped in this thing that you manifested for yourself?
It was for you, wasn’t it? A paradise... an escape, maybe. How did you do it? Does it matter?
What matters?
...I’m fraying again.
It’s nonsense.
Ha, I... really understand it now: why she hates this world.
Anyone who figures this world out should want to see it gone.
Maybe you think you saved me? You never saved me. Even if you had... it seems I’ve damned
myself, haven’t I? What for?
What do I DO with this?
Charon...
Charon isn’t here, right? Is my body here? I want to—
Let me...
LET me vanish... Why did Charon STOP me then? Looking back—
Am I looking back?
Are my eyes still here?
I can’t see it.
Where was I?
No, no, no.
No, no, I really can’t return?
I can’t get out of here?
I can’t move?
No, really, I can’t?
I could bite through the entirety of my nails, if I still had them.
You know...
Although you might have crafted me from one...
I am NOT a husk.
I feel this. I do not WANT this.
Can you hear my thoughts?
I wanted NONE of this.
I wanted to KNOW.
KNOWING means THIS?
There is NOTHING—
......
...Knowing it’s nothing...
It feels like scum is building in my stomach... Stomach? Stomach? And... where are my hands?
Right... I lost them...
——
You cannot call this light.
What exists around me is indescribable.
I think, when I left the ruined world and entered the Void, I welcomed the dark.
It was different. It wasn’t blinding. It wasn’t "obvious".
Light, darkness: basic things I’ve seen in countless worlds.
The light is warm and welcoming; the darkness is frightful and unknown.
But still, I wished to know the dark.
......
I felt it implicitly, and learned it soon: that this world was made as a sanctuary for a weak heart.
But that is not me.
I am not the weak-hearted person who created this refuge.
And if I had created it, I would have done it better...
Charon showed... shows that.
I marched ahead into the dark because I wanted to find a better truth.
However, the truth is as bitter and merciless as I’d always assumed.
I’ve been in this state for too long to count. I have lost the minutes and hours.
And every so often I will see it again:
Light—true light—in the distance.
......
Perhaps it has been guiding me.
I wouldn’t admit this, to anyone.
It’s like a loss: relinquishing myself to what I’ve long criticized.
However, I feel it for certain: that light is now beckoning me.
That light of the old world is shining, and wants me.
And in that light I find deliverance...
......
Fine, then. I will take your hand.
As I near it again, I feel my fingertips more, and I swear that I can see my breath.
I think I’m going to return.
If I do, I don’t believe I will take the truth with me.
I will not forget it, but I will surely leave it behind.
I believe it, don’t I?
I could do the job better than that god.
But, I will need hands again for it first.
I shouldn’t simply think or talk that I might be better. I’ll do it. I will.
But really... I am not swelling with pride as I escape here.
Instead, take this as revenge.
I’ll change this world, or craft a better one.
You’ve left this one broken so badly. Isn’t anything possible?
I think so.
No...
I know it.
——
9-6
解鎖條件:完成9-5,購入Esoteric Order曲包
解鎖要求:採用拉格蘭通過Far Away Light
還有許多尚待解決的疑問。不過,這並不重要。
拉格蘭發現自己又一次陷入了虛無:不過這次她的身體十分完整,而且卡戎也在。
她還不確定自己是如何抵達「終點」的,她還有很多無法確定的事情,不過——
真相是這樣的:一個脆弱的靈魂打造了這個破碎又詭異的牢籠,
而在這個牢籠之中,一切行動都被賦予了「理由」。
從終點返回也不例外。從虛無返回也不例外。
尋找其他人也不例外。甚至是透過「窗戶」進行交流,也是一樣。
在這樣的世界之中,還有什麼所謂的「不可能」呢?
她伸出雙手,緊緊抱住卡戎。它的眼睛閃着光芒。
看到這一幕,她問道:「……你就是我那時候看見的指引之光嗎?」
卡戎愣着一言不發。
……不過,她的嘴角還是掠過一絲微笑。
「別那樣看我。」她說,「什麼?你說是我告訴過你的?你連出聲都沒出過好不好?」
聽到她這麼說,卡戎聳了聳耳朵。
「哈……」
她朝前走去。
她放開衛星,於是衛星停留在她的肩頭。
他們欣賞着沿途發出亮光的雲朵並朝着Arcaea行進。
……直到其中一朵引起她的注意。
那朵雲發光的方式跟其他的雲有點不一樣。它的表面似乎能看見像水波那樣的漣漪。
在它的內部,時間的流動方向似乎是相反的,但是它又自己向前快轉。
在她看來,這是現實在分裂。天空又再次地被分開,但是這次不是那位紅衣少女惹的禍。
被暗影追逐的少女……她就在那兒。
還有另一位少女,被光芒環繞着。
是的……
另一個「終點」就要到來了。
儘管拉格蘭感覺自己大概會記不清所見證的一切,但她還是準備看着結局的揭曉。
穿越一切,直至結局。那是落幕。
那是消散。
她再次微笑,儘管她明白了……她們現在所做的一切都將是一場悲劇。
這就是「光」與「對立」之舞……[6]
Arcaea.
there was to know. There are still questions—however, that is no matter.
Lagrange finds herself in the Void again: whole, and back with Charon.
How she reached the End, she is still unsure. She is unsure of much, however—
The truth is: in this broken and anomalous prison, crafted by a frail soul...
there is no act truly outside of "reason".
Even returning from the End. Even returning from the Void.
Even finding others. Even reaching through a "window".
For what is impossible in a world that is itself the same?
She takes Charon into both of her hands. Light glances off its eye.
Seeing it, she asks, "...Were you my beacon, then?"
And the dull Charon says nothing in reply.
...However, a smile crosses her lips.
"Don’t give me that look," she says. "'I told you so'? You never even speak, do you?"
To that, Charon wiggles its ears.
"Ha..."
She walks ahead.
She lets her satellite go, and it takes its place over her shoulder.
Now they walk, toward Arcaea, watching clouds of light along the way.
...Until one in particular catches her attention.
It shimmers a little more oddly than the others. The surface ripples.
In it, the flow of time is bending back on itself, and leaping forward.
For now she sees this: a split in reality.
The sky is being again divided, but not as it was by the girl in red.
The girl chased by shadows... she is there.
And there is a girl cloaked in light.
Yes...
Another "end" is manifesting.
With a sense that she might fall through the crack through which she bears witness,
Lagrange watches that ending transpire.
Beyond, to its conclusion. To the fall.
To dissolution.
It makes her smile again, although she can see... what progresses now is a tragedy.
This is a dance of light and conflict...
Arcaea.
10-1
解鎖條件:購入Binary Enfold曲包
解鎖要求:採用愛托通過Next to you
隨着你現在逐漸隱沒,我開始想到一些比較久遠的東西。
如果我們在此創造的記憶可以成為結晶,我一定會將它們好好收集。
你大概會為此笑我吧。每次我撿起一塊玻璃說要帶走,你都想着要笑我。
我覺得你只是不懂,但我也覺得那樣沒什麼不好。
我無法把你收攏在記憶里。你就是你,現在到永遠都是如此。
但隨着你現在逐漸隱沒,我開始想到一些比較久遠的東西。
那個玻璃中的房間。那一場音樂會。
你像烈火,像暴風。
無論你的雙腳何時踩踏在地面,感覺都像是震動了整座建築。
空氣為之震盪,地面為之低鳴。
那樣看着你總讓我無法呼吸。接着,你帶來的旋律響徹整個房間。
充滿了努力,充滿了堅持。那真的很美妙。
那樣的節奏……
那時我想着:我愛你。
在勝利中,在苦難中——
我一直都愛着你,露娜。
樂曲在掌聲中結束。對手什麼都不能做,只能優雅接受自己的落敗。
你舉起了樂器,深深一鞠躬。
你看着我,說了那句話。人群太吵雜,我無法聽見,但你雙唇間流瀉出的字非常清楚:
「我比你厲害,對吧?」
我皺了皺眉。轉了轉眼珠。記憶已然休止。
白色的世界在我們四周降臨,你開始朝我走來——樂器已不在你的手中,取而代之的是你的劍。
我仍然看着你,說:
「你就贏這一次,那麼開心嗎?」
「對我來說這可是又多了一次。數數總共多少次吧。」
「唔,但是我們沒有能用來數的東西。」
「自己想辦法數。」你這樣說着,然後敲了敲頭,「用用你的腦袋。」
我會想出來的,露娜。
好吧,我猜總共有三次。有三次做得比我好…雖然你從未讓我提醒你。
我的表現更好的時候…好,我相信是五次。
是——我在心裏算着,我一隻手舉起了五隻手指,另一隻手是三隻。
然後你的手拍了過我張開的手掌。
「五次!?」你興奮地大喊。「那才比三次多一點點!」 沒錯!
你合起我的手,手指緊扣。你變得狂喜,但隨後開始在我身旁開始冷靜下來。
你保持着微笑,眯起眼睛對我說:「再來一次?」
我必須拒絕。這有點難過,你知道嗎?
我可以用我的劍指向任何記憶,無論哪段記憶我都會表現得比你好。
但你太開心了以至於根本不會想到這麼多。
你更用力地握住我的手,大笑着,逐漸放鬆下來。
你變回平時更熟悉的,比較冷靜的樣子,然後問道:
「所以,要往哪去?」
我悶哼一聲,帶着你走向我之前提到的那座塔。
我知道你很清楚要去那裏……
所以我很感謝你還是問了。
Now that you've faded off, I've started thinking of something older.
If the memories that we made here could be crystallized, these are the ones I would collect.
You'd probably mock me for it. Every time I pick a piece of glass to "carry" around, you're ready
to mock me. I think you just don't understand it, but I also think that's just fine.
I can't capture you in a memory. You're you, now and forever.
But, now that you've faded off, I've started thinking of something older.
That one room in glass. That one concert.
You were like a fire, a storm.
Whenever your foot beat down on the flooring, it felt like the entire building shook.
The air quaked, and the ground rumbled.
Watching you like that always leaves me breathless. The melody you carried then swayed the
whole room.
Effort. Persistence. It was wonderful.
That beat... That smile... How you pulled the bow over those strings, perspired, laughed.
I thought: I love you.
In victory, in struggle—
I've always loved you, Luna.
The song ended to applause. The opposite player could do nothing but graciously accept defeat.
You raised your instrument and took a bow.
You looked at me, and you said it. I couldn't hear it over the crowd, but the words on your lips
were clear:
"Better than you, wasn't I?"
I frowned. I rolled my eyes. The memory ended.
A world of white came up all around us, and you started walking toward me—the instrument gone
from your grasp and replaced by your sword. Still eyeing you, I said:
"Are you enjoying winning once that much?"
"Once makes one more for me. Now count them up."
"Well, we don't have anything to count on."
"Count on yourself," you said, and you tapped the side of your head. "Use your head."
I'd figured that out, Luna.
Well, that marked three times, I guessed. Three better performances than me... though you'd
never let me remind you. My showing was better... right, I believe it was five times. Yes—after
finishing the count in my head, I raised five fingers on one hand, and three on the other.
And then you hit my opened palm with your own.
"Five!?" you shouted, beaming. "That's barely more than three!" Not wrong!
Your hand closed over mine, fingers tightly interlocking. You were feverish, but you were starting
to cool near me. Still wearing a smile, you narrowed your eyes at me and offered, "Again?"
I had to refuse. It was a little sad, you know? I could point my blade at near any memory, and
inside it I'd do better than you. But you were too cheerful in the moment to bother thinking that.
You squeezed my hand tighter. You laughed. You relaxed.
You returned to your preferred, calmer mien, and not long after you said:
"So, where to?"
I huffed, and led you toward the tower I'd mentioned before.
I knew that you knew it...
that I still always appreciated you asking.
10-2
解鎖條件:完成10-1,購入Binary Enfold曲包
解鎖要求:採用露娜通過Silent Rush
我覺得我在作夢。有點煩的是,我開始夢到你。
你的臉、你的片刻、與你有關的場景一幕幕出現在我腦海里。
你演奏過的每一首曲子都讓我窒息;你看起來完美而沉穩的掌控每一個動作。
當我想起你時,我傾向於想到一些「完美」的東西。
讓人心煩的是你每一部分都給人不同的看法。
我知道你有多容易分心。我知道你一路上是怎麼磕磕絆絆走過來的。說實話?你真的、真的很怪……
你知道,我討厭我們在這裏醒來。
這麼說吧,我們兩個都覺得這樣太快了,沒有人想過這裏就已經是終點了。
我們學過、讀過的一切——沒有哪本書、哪個老師、哪個家庭或任何東西、
任何人提到過一個玻璃做的世界。當我的眼睛在這些光芒中睜開,你在那裏看着它們開始發出微光。
你只是說着:「這全都是玻璃做的!」而一瞬之間,你便理所當然地看着一切。
我有陣子非常確定,那個時候你為了讓我收回眼淚而說着你可以想到的最蠢的話……
像是說,或許因為我們是雙胞胎,你在從我的眼中看到憂慮以前已經先感受到了我的內心,
而你知道該要大喊什麼才能讓我心情好點。但你接着開始對那些玻璃蝴蝶揮手,要它們跟着你。
不管你想不想這樣,你都讓我想起了你一直以來的樣子;
當你握住我的手,就像是在告訴我你永遠不會改變,而且……
嗯,我愛你。
當你在我身邊時,無論你何時離開——
我會永遠愛着你,愛托。
但你永遠不要指望我會把這話說出口。
嘿…你還記得我們去過那座塔嗎?或許我們那時早已看過……
一半的世界,而且你對那個地方很滿意。我還記得,當我們接近那座塔時,我問你:
「為什麼選一座塔?」
你回答:「那是我們第一個看見的東西!」
……這回答讓我有點錯愕。
「……就這樣?我們去那座塔就只是因為你……看到它?」
「是『我們』看到它。」你強調着。
「我不記得了。」我撒了謊。「你已經瘋了嗎?」
你的嘴邊露出一絲輕笑。你問我:「你說『瘋』的意思究竟是什麼?」
我是說,你的確瘋了,對吧?如果沒有玻璃,你可能會繼續收集彈珠或樹葉。
如果你不能演奏音樂,你可能會拿起畫筆畫畫。
如果我們沒有一趟旅程要完成,你也無論如何都會帶我前往某個地方。
你曾說我很「狂野」,但現在看看你自己。
那座「塔」甚至稱不上是塔…那是一座燈塔,矗立在一望無際的大海上。
我在燈塔前坐了下來,因為我累了;你也因此在我身後坐了下來。
當我環顧四周時,我突然有個想法。我向你問道:「等等——等等,這裏有貝殼嗎!?」
你說道:「我們就在海邊,露娜。」
我說:「是啊,但這裏沒有海…。」 我記得說完後就丟下你,為的是讓你無精打采。
我堅持道:「我們來找貝殼吧!這樣我們就能從貝殼中傾聽大海的聲音!」
你說我很幼稚。嗯哼,抱歉。
但你記得嗎?你就是引領我們到沙灘上的人。
我們曾在那裏度過一段時間,並透過我們發現的東西回到我們自己的記憶中。
I think that I'm dreaming. It's kind of annoying that I'm starting to dream of you.
Your face, your moments; scenes of you are running through my head. How every song you've
ever played has stolen my breath away; how every movement you ever make looks controlled and
composed. When I think of you, I tend to think of something "perfect".
What's annoying is every part of you that begs a different take.
I know how easily you lose track. I know you trip and fall sometimes. And honestly? You're really,
really weird…
You know, I hated how we woke up here.
I think it's fair to say. Both of us thought this was definitely too soon, that this was a last stop
nobody ever would've guessed. Everything we were taught, everything that we read—no books or
teachers or family or anything or anyone ever mentioned a world made out of glass. And, when
my eyes opened up to all this light here, you were there and saw them starting to shimmer.
You just said, "It's all made of glass!" And in an instant, you took to everything like it was nothing.
For a while, I was pretty sure that back then, you were just saying the dumbest thing you could
think of to turn my tears away... Like maybe, because we're twins, you saw into my heart before
you saw the worry in my eyes, and you knew exactly what to shout out to make me feel better.
But then you started waving for those butterflies of glass to follow you.
Whether you were trying to or not, you reminded me of how you always were, and when you
grabbed my hand, it was like you were telling me you'd never change, and...
Well, I love you.
When you're beside me, whenever you're away—
I will always love you, Eto.
Though good luck ever getting me to say that.
Hey... do you remember when we went to that tower? Maybe we'd seen... about half of the world
by then, and you were pretty set on that one place. I remember that, when we were kind of
nearing it, I asked you:
"Why a tower, anyway?"
You said, "It was the first thing we saw!"
...I felt a little dumbfounded.
"...That's it? We're going there because you... saw it?"
"WE saw it," you insisted.
"I don't remember it," I lied. "You're going crazy already?"
A quiet laugh escaped your lips. You asked me, "What's really 'crazy', anyway?"
And I mean, you definitely are, right? If it wasn't glass, you'd probably keep collecting marbles or
leaves. If you couldn't make music, you'd take up a paintbrush. If we didn't have a path for a
journey, you'd find somewhere to bring us anyway.
You've called me "wild" before, but look at you.
The "tower" wasn't even a tower... The thing was a lighthouse, standing over a totally empty sea.
I sat down in front of it because I was tired; you sat down behind me because I sat down. And,
while I looked around where we were I suddenly got this idea. I asked you, "Wait—wait, are there
any shells here!?"
You told me, "We are where we are, Luna."
And I told you, "Yeah, but there's no sea..." I remember dropping against you after saying that,
just to make you slouch. I insisted, "Let's look for shells! Then we can hear what's left of it!"
You told me I was being childish. Uh-huh. Sorry.
But remember? You were the one who led us out onto the sands yourself.
We'd spend some time there, and through what we'd find return to memories of our own.
10-3
解鎖條件:完成10-2,購入Binary Enfold曲包
解鎖要求:採用愛托通過Strongholds
嗯,我對這個發現很高興。此外,我們解鎖了關於一片海岸和大海的記憶…
我們在那裏發現的貝殼也很有用。
在其中,我們知道記憶中的人已快速離開了海灘。我們沒有在意,並決定留下來。
「我們可以下水游泳嗎…?」你好奇的問道,同時一隻手拿着海螺放在耳邊,眯着眼睛看着海浪。
我提醒你:「呃,我們不能游泳,但你…可能可以。」
「哦對了,沒錯,」你看着我,嘴角憋着笑(而我已皺起了眉頭)。「你不會游泳!」
「別說了,否則我丟沙子到你頭髮里。」我威脅道。並用手指着你。
「我們來學啊!」你大叫,指着我們前方的海洋。
我抱怨着我們沒有泳衣可穿。
你告訴我那只是一段回憶,我們會沒事的,並在我意識到之前,你已握住了我的手。
水感覺起來很真實。冰冷的感覺也很真實。你把我拉進大海。你引導着我胡亂擺動的雙腿。
你享受着你少數可以誇耀的事物,游泳這件事顯然你比我更擅長。
你知道嗎,當時我的腦袋裏充滿了各種思緒和疑惑。那種感覺難以形容。
分心?有點害怕,但很好玩?我原本有成千上萬的疑問,但這些最終都在我腦海中被擱置一旁。
當記憶結束後,你拖着我到白色沙灘上。你在搔我癢。你真的太過分了。你簡直無可救藥。
雖然我不喜歡這樣,但我發現自己正在微笑。
很快的,我想起來我是你的姐姐。
我抓住你的臉,捏你的臉頰。
「住手,你這個小屁孩。」我嚴厲地說道。
對此,你得意地看着我,還捏了捏我的鼻子。
「不要撓那裏!」 當你繼續進行搔癢攻擊時,我開始哀號,儘管我知道這仍無法阻止你。
事實是,我從一開始就不會阻止你。
shell... I guess it made sense. Well, I was delighted by the find. And besides, we unlocked a
memory that reflected a shore and a sea... and the shells we found there worked for us just as well.
In it, we knew that the person remembering had left the beach quickly. We ignored that, and
decided to stay.
"Can we swim in it...?" you wondered aloud, squinting into the waves with a conch up to your ear.
And I reminded you, "Well, we can't, though you... might."
"Oh yeah, that's right," you said, looking my way as you held back a smile from your lips (as for
me, I was already frowning). "You can't swim!"
"Stop it right now or I'll put sand in your hair," I threatened. I pointed right at you, too.
"Let's learn!" you cried, and you pointed to the ocean before us.
I whined that we wouldn't have any swimming clothes in there. You told me it was only a
memory—we'd be fine—and before I knew it, you had my hand in yours.
The water felt real. That cold was real. You pulled me into the sea. You guided my wobbling legs.
You enjoyed one of the few things you could say, definitively, that you had the better of me at.
You know, back then my head was full of thoughts and questions. The feeling was indescribable.
Distracting? A little fearful, but having fun? I could've asked a hundred, a million things, but they
all ended up brushed aside in my mind.
When the memory was over, you tackled me down to the now-white sands. You were tickling me.
You're really so ruthless. You're incorrigible.
Even though I hadn't wanted to, I found myself smiling.
Soon enough, I remembered I'm your older sister.
I grabbed your face and stretched out your cheeks.
"Cut this out, you brat," I said sternly.
To this you looked down upon me smugly, and proceeded to pinch my nose.
"Not there!" I whined as you resumed your tickle assault, knowing that whining couldn't stop you
whatsoever.
The truth is I'd never stop you in the first place.
10-4
解鎖條件:完成10-3,購入Binary Enfold曲包
解鎖要求:採用露娜通過Next to you
在吵鬧過後你累了,因此我不得不背着你上燈塔。
我把你背在身後。你知道我更喜歡你背我。
我們兩個人中,你的觸感更像枕頭般柔軟。你也知道這並不公平。
雖然世界是白色的,但這座塔裏面還是太暗了——因為螺旋樓梯上沒有任何窗戶,更何況你睡着了…
好吧,這段時間我都是自己一人了。
我只能聽到你的呼吸聲,還有我腳步的回音。我只能勉強看到遠處頂端的光芒。
…我想起了我們的小時候,還有…我在想,每次睡覺前,你不是都會唱歌給我聽嗎?
我想着你是怎麼做的,然後我張開口——
「哼—哼—哼—哼,小星星…我想知道你究竟為何物,可以高出世界如此之多……」
「有如天空中的鑽石?」
……隨之而來的是你的歌聲。
我繼續爬着樓梯,但不再唱着那首屬於孩子的曲調。
你問道:「那是兒歌嗎,露娜?」你的聲音聽起來昏昏沉沉——但絕對是清醒的。
我什麼也沒說。我可以感受到臉上和耳朵的炙熱,是我從未希望你看見的景象。
「你還沒唱到太陽下山的部分,」你說着,一頭埋進我的頭髮里。我回道:
「閉嘴。」
你咯咯地笑了,你的氣息攪動着周遭的空氣。
「反正這邊也沒有夜晚可言。」我提醒着你:「算了吧。」
你說:「其實,那首曲子從未提過月亮,不是嗎……」。
我對自己重複道:「算了吧。」
你回道:「再說……你還是要帶我到上面吧?」。
「一旦我落入你的手中,你就真的不肯放手了……」 我嘀咕着。
我可以感受到你臉上的笑容。
想到這點,我似乎也可以感受到你的胸膛……
接着心想着:好了,你要下來了。
我把你放在後方,就待在我的身旁。
你拍拍我的背,再來是我的頭。
我想告訴你,不要再這樣了……
但我只是撇開我的眼睛,擺出一副鬼臉。
「來嘛,露娜。」你哄着我,甚至抬起我的下巴。「我們幾乎就要到最頂端了……或許吧!」
我想,也對,我是這裏的妹妹……
那好吧——也就這一次了。
You tired out after our roughhousing, which meant I was the one who had to bring you up the
lighthouse.
I had you against my back. You know I prefer the reverse. You're the more pillow-like of the
two of us. You knew it wasn't fair.
Although the world was white, the tower—without any windows on its spiral staircase—was too
dark. And with you nearly asleep... well, it'd been a while since I'd found myself alone.
I could only hear your breath and the echoes of my own steps. I could only see the distant glow of
the top... barely.
...I thought about back when we were a little younger, and... I was thinking, didn't you always
sing something for me at bedtime? I wondered how it went, and I started—
"...Hmm-hmm hmm-hmm... little star... How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high..."
"Like a diamond in the sky?"
...Your voice followed.
I continued up the stairs, but I stopped the children's tune.
"A baby song, Luna?" you asked. Your voice sounded groggy—but definitely awake.
I said nothing. I could feel heat in my face and in my ears that I never wanted you to see.
"You didn't get to the part about the sun going down," you said, nuzzling into the back of my hair.
To that I replied:
"Shut up."
You giggled, your breath tossing the strands.
"There's no night in this place anyway," I reminded you. "Forget it."
"Actually, that song never mentions the Moon, does it...?" you said.
I repeated myself: "Forget it."
"Also... you're still going to carry me up there, hm?" you asked.
"You really don't let go once you've got your fangs in me, huh..." I muttered. I could feel the smile
on your face. Thinking on it, I could feel your chest, too...
And I thought: alright, you're coming down.
I set you down behind and beside me.
You patted my back, then my head.
I wanted to tell you to stop that...
But I only turned my eyes away and grimaced.
"Come on, Luna," you coaxed me, even lifting my chin. "We're almost at the top... probably!"
I thought: right, I'm the little sister here...
So I'd allow it—just this once.
10-5
解鎖條件:完成10-4,購入Binary Enfold曲包
解鎖要求:採用露娜通過Memory Forest
我們其中一人把手放在膝蓋上跨坐在那裏。
另一人則站在她的身旁,一手扶在那個窗台上,用一種從未聽過的的節奏拍打着。
在看向其他事物前,我們就這樣看着彼此。
而我們另一隻手,指尖碰着指尖;有時一隻,有時則是兩隻,
漫不經心地玩着除了按壓對方的指頭外毫無規則的遊戲。
「如果我真的開始變得比你更好,你會怎麼做?」妹妹問道。
「如果我開始每次都獲得更多的掌聲,或是每次都在卡牌遊戲上擊敗你,或是——」
姐姐回道:「你的假設真多。」「很多如果——而且都是很大而空的如果,不是嗎?」
「這個嘛……」另一人開始說道,一邊心不在焉看着我們身後那盞破碎的燈。「嗯,是這樣沒錯。」
我們繼續那場漫無目的的遊戲。
「但你不該就此放棄。何況真的不必由我來告訴你這點,對吧?」
……我們一起笑了。
我們攜手一起將目光轉向那片景色。
世界早已乾枯。而我們唯一發現的生命就僅剩彼此。
那無形的太陽無情地擊垮所有的一切。我們依然相互連接着,看着這一切,保持放鬆。
悄然無聲之間,我們似乎達成了共識——
「我想要再試着種種看花草……」
「對,我也是……」
我們凝視着Arcaea,沒有再多說什麼。
一顆紅色彗星劃破天際。
我們看向天空……
……黑夜早已降臨。
sat with a hand across her knee. The other stood beside her, one hand on that same sill, tapping
to an unheard rhythm.
We looked at one another before looking at anything else. With our free hands we touched our
fingers together, one and sometimes two at a time, inattentively playing a rule-less game of
matching pad presses.
"What will you do if I really start getting better than you?" the younger of us asked. "If I start always
getting louder applause, or I start always beating you at cards, or—"
"That's a lot of speculation there," the older of us replied. "So many ifs—and they're BIG ifs, aren't
they?"
"Well..." the other began, staring absently at the broken light behind us, "yeah, they are."
We continued our purposeless game.
"But you shouldn't give up. And I don't really have to tell you that, do I?"
...We smiled at that.
We joined hands, and turned our attention to the landscape.
The world was dry. The only life we'd found in it had been one another's. The sun, unseen, beat
down mercilessly on everything. We remained connected. We watched, and we relaxed.
Quietly, we kind of suddenly agreed—
"I want to try planting a garden again..."
"Yeah, me too..."
We stared out at Arcaea, saying nothing more.
A red comet cut the sky.
We looked out at the day…
...and night began to fall.
10-6
解鎖條件:完成10-5,購入Binary Enfold曲包
解鎖要求:採用愛托通過Singularity
當夜幕降臨,天空再度被劃破以前——
……其實,當她們握着那把隨身攜帶的劍時,總是能感覺到……
……感覺到,即便這已是來世,事情依舊會再度走到盡頭。
Arcaea 會發生不可逆轉的改變,就在一瞬間,就這樣糟糕地開始了。
然而,當現在一切真的就要發生的時候,她們反而從容以對。
畢竟,當人們知道自己時間所剩不多時,還會說些什麼呢?
「我會說,剩下的時間我想好好玩一玩——」
「我會說,剩下的時間我想變開心一點——」
「——但說實話,剩下的時間我只想和你一起度過。」
……現在,她們再度踏上旅行。
「露娜,來吧。」年長的那位這麼說。
年輕的則是順着被毀的樓梯往下走了幾步。她不斷回頭看着已經摧毀的一切。
她才剛踏出幾步,階梯就開始瓦解了。
她跳了下去,她的姐姐接住了她,她們腳下的地面也隨之裂開和晃動。
她們緊抱着彼此,看向那碎裂的地平線。
天空破裂了。大地破裂了。在世界某個深處,有什麼東西已經完全碎裂,從而全世界都開始瓦解了。
然而,她們也只能繼續前進。
我們可以隨時回去。我們也可以隨時回來。
女孩們再度踏上旅程,跳躍在白色世界的破敗碎片上時,或許會這樣想。
那麼,只要再踏出一步,再經過一次旅行……
只要再看一眼,再唱一首歌曲……
她們現在向上空飛去。她們正騰空在一切萬物之上。
兩人微笑着並握住彼此的手,將她們的鑰匙瞄準天空——對準依舊以殘餘之姿遊蕩的Arcaea。
她們在周圍綻放的光芒中進入了另一片記憶。
那就對了,一直都是如此:
只要再來一支舞。
When the night fell, before the sky was shattered again—
...Actually, when they gripped the blades they always had with them, they always got the sense...
...The sense that, although this was after life, things would still come to an end again.
Arcaea would irreversibly change—and quite suddenly, and quite terribly, it began to.
However, now that it is actually coming to pass, they took it in stride.
After all, what does one say when they learn they haven't got much longer?
"I could say that I'll spend this playing around—"
"I could say that I'll spend this trying to be happy—"
"—But honestly, I'd just want to spend however long we have with you."
...They're traveling again, now.
"Luna, come on," says the older one.
The younger takes some steps down a ruined staircase. She's been looking back where everything
had fallen down. When she walks only a little, the stairs begin to crumble.
She leaps down; her sister catches her as the earth splits and shifts below them as well.
Hugging one another, they look out to the broken horizon.
The sky is broken. The land has broken. In some deep part of the world, something has utterly
fractured, and so it has begun to collapse.
And yet, they merely continue on.
We can always go back. We can always return.
Perhaps the girls are thinking that as they set off once more—as they leap over the decaying
pieces of the world of white.
So, one more step, one more trip...
One more sight, one more song...
They take flight now. They rise above it all.
Smiling, the two hold one another's hands and aim their keys at the sky—at the Arcaea still
swimming through what remains of it.
Light glows all around them, and they enter another memory.
That's right, always:
One more dance.
Short(短篇)
短篇故事是牽涉到限時活動搭檔的故事。
6-1
解鎖條件:購入Scarlet Cage單曲
解鎖要求:通過Purgatorium
她不知道自己為何這麼想。她的周圍是一片白色的荒蕪,只有褪色已久的廢墟,
卻毫無生靈的跡象——她自己則是個例外。
自甦醒於此處之後已經過去了幾天,她卻無法找回任何的記憶。
從前,她曾行走於天涯海角,探索力所能及的未知。眼前的這片破敗的建築並沒有辦法為她解惑。
所有的建築都空無一物……雖然她覺得這些建築本身看着眼熟,
卻無法回憶起她究竟在何時得知了它們的名字、形狀和作用。
她一次又一次地遇到這種狀況:知道「是什麼」,卻不知「為什麼」。
這對她來說倒也只是個煩惱,畢竟關於這個世界——以及她本身——還有更加明顯、更加重大的事情需要去思考。
不過必須得說的是:這可真是個令人抓狂的怪地方呀。
她緊緊地抓住肩膀上的結他背帶,於是問題來了:她是在哪兒拿到它的?
她到底為什麼要帶着它?雖然醒來時它就在她的身邊,她卻無法解答這些問題。
她只知道撥動琴弦、奏響旋律、在音品上方按住琴弦、作出更多旋律。
要適時地彈奏它,創作出節奏、音調、和弦、和聲。更重要的是,當她握着它的時候,感覺非常的……安心。
但為什麼?不,她不知道為什麼。為什麼她不知道呢?
她陷入了一片沙漠中,這是亙古歲月中的水流侵蝕所形成的。
然而周圍並沒有水,甚至連液體都不存在。這裏怎麼會有沙漠?行走,她知道如何行走。
為什麼?她不知道答案。她從來就沒獲得過答案。
這些知識,甚至是「記憶」,真的有哪怕一絲的價值嗎?
她真的「記得」這些東西嗎?她是否已經「忘卻」了別的東西?
她似乎失憶了,但失憶怎麼會是這麼的……有選擇性?
擁有知識,卻不清楚知識的由來,這種情況讓她陷入了深深的失落。
這讓她顯得不完整。就好像有人剝去了她的皮膚、肌肉和骨骼,然後組裝到了另一個不相稱的容器中
,還忘記了放入其它重要的東西,把空虛的她丟在了這裏。
她討厭無知。
她的腦海中有無數的疑問如萬花筒般流轉不息。
她強迫自己把注意力放在突然出現的、數不勝數的拐角上。但答案呢?還是沒有。這裏沒有答案。
在她的赤足探險中(她一開始就決定把鞋掛在脖子上,因為碩大的鞋跟在這樣的地形中不方便),
她幾乎毫無收穫。實際上,她看到的越多,就越是感受到自己的無知。
她討厭無知。她知道自己周圍的很多東西,卻感覺對自己一無所知。
她看到的大多數東西都令人迷惑、毫無意義——尤其是那些莫名奇妙地飛舞在空中的玻璃。
那些玻璃向她展現了其他的人、其他的時代、其他的世界。這些鏡像激起了最為古老的共鳴。
這些鏡像,她覺得無疑是自己熟悉的東西。
不過,所謂的熟悉終究也只是一種感覺。玻璃展示的鏡像中從來沒有她自己的身影。
這些場景並不是她所記得的過去。它們並不是回憶……至少並不是她的回憶。這些Arcaea,都不屬於她。
她的情緒陷入消沉。這種消沉逐漸催生出擔憂、疏離、迷惑和孤寂,
並讓她感覺自己的內心缺失了某個重要的東西。她一點兒也不喜歡這種感覺。
她又開始了行走。行走好像總是能緩解她的情緒。這讓她能夠轉而關注自己周圍的東西,或者說,外界。
She wasn’t sure why. All around her was a white wasteland, filled with nothing but faded, ruined
buildings, bereft of all life—all except for her.
In these few days since waking up in this place, without any recollection of what happened before,
she walked quite far and explored what she could. The tattered structures did little to answer her
questions. Each of them was empty... and while she found the architecture itself familiar, she
seemed to have no memory of when she’d learned their names, their shapes, their functions.
Time and again, that was the idea she’d come back to: knowing "what", but not "why". It could be
the idea was just a distraction for her, something to ponder in favor of the more obvious, weightier
things regarding this world—and inside herself.
She had to say, though: this was certainly a bizarre and bewildering place.
She pulled her guitar’s strap tightly over her shoulder, and the questions returned. Where had she
gotten it? Why in the world was it with her? Despite having woken up alongside it, she couldn’t
answer those questions. She only knew to pluck the strings to make sounds, to hold the strings
over the frets to create others. To strum them in time, to create rhythms, melodies, chords,
harmonies. More than that, it was almost... comforting, when she held in her hands.
But why? No, she did not know why. Why didn’t she?
The sand around her—eroded over eons by water. No water here. No liquid, even. How was there
sand? Walking. She knew how to do that. Why? She had no answer. She never had any answers.
For what it was worth, was any of this knowledge even "memory" at all?
Was she "remembering" these things? Had she "forgotten" other things?
It seemed to her she had amnesia, but was amnesia this... selective?
Knowing things, but not knowing why that knowledge existed within her, had her deeply and
fundamentally upset. It made her feel like an incomplete person. Like someone had removed her
skin and muscles and bones and placed them into some false container, but had forgotten to put
in all the other important things, leaving her hollow, forgotten.
She hated not knowing.
A kaleidoscope of questions shifted and rotated in her mind. She forced herself to focus on all the
sudden and overwhelming turns and angles. But answers? Again, no. There were no answers.
During her barefooted expeditions (she decided early on to keep her shoes looped around her
neck, since the large heels were inconvenient for the terrain) she’d learned next to nothing.
In fact, the more she saw, the less she felt that she knew.
She hated not knowing. She knew so many things about what was around her, and yet she felt
like she knew nothing of herself. So much of what she saw was baffling nonsense—not least of all
the glass wandering through the air for seemingly no reason. Glass that showed her other people,
other times, other worlds. Reflections, resonating in the oddest ways. Reflections, she thought,
which were undoubtedly familiar.
Yet the familiarity was but a feeling. The glass never showed her in their reflections.
These were not scenes of a remembered past.
These were not memories... or, at least, they were not hers, these Arcaea. Nothing was hers.
Deep down, her emotions shifted. With that shift came a growing sense of concern, of being out of
place, of confusion, of faint loneliness, of something crucial being missing somewhere inside her.
And she didn’t like it one bit.
She started walking again. Walking always seemed to help.
It let her focus on what was around her instead. On what was outside.
6-2
解鎖條件:完成6-1,購入Scarlet Cage單曲
解鎖要求:通過Scarlet Cage
最終,她坐在了一塊稍顯平整的岩石上,有些焦慮地用手梳理了一下秀髮。
她轉過頭,看到一長串足跡漸漸消失在沙塵中,蜿蜒通向遠方的地平線。
這裏怎麼可能會有這麼大一片沙漠?她開始有些感到厭惡了。
在片刻的思緒之後,她拿起了自己的結他,再次抱在了懷裏。
那種安心的感覺瞬間回歸了,就好像……來自父母或者友人的安慰。
她嘆了口氣。說實話,她能夠繼續前行的動力完全來自於此。
她不假思索地開始了彈奏。她的指尖撫過琴弦,安靜而細微的和弦為旋律賦予了一絲難得的和諧。
她記得如何行走,記得如何彈奏。一絲微笑閃過她的嘴角:這兩種行動對她來說就像是呼吸一樣自然。
然而片刻過後,她的嘴角再次垂下,失去了笑意。已經有歌詞涌到了她的唇齒之間,想要加入到這首歌曲當中。
它們起初是斷斷續續、吐露不清的,但在試着描繪一幅完整而有意義的景象。
於是,身着紅黑禮服的她唱起了歌——在這個白色的世界裏,在這個看似單調而無盡的牢籠里。
逐漸地,她的歌聲不再虛妄。感情在她的心中激盪、變得愈發地猛烈。
這些發自本能的歌聲並不新奇,但也不屬於被遺忘的過去。
它們一直都在她的心裏,只是現在開始了涌動,想要衝出她的胸膛。
光是唱出來還不夠,必須要叫出來、吼出來,才能讓它們響徹在這個死寂世界的每個角落。
她竭盡全力地高喊着。
似乎這就是她最該做的事情。
她朝着迷惑的心緒咆哮,朝着未知咆哮,朝着黯淡的景象咆哮,
然後朝着小小的玻璃碎片中轉瞬即逝的多彩回憶咆哮。
她用咆哮宣洩着——
恐懼。
在彈奏中的那個瞬間,她終於明白了自己心中的那個感覺是什麼。這個空虛的世界,她那空虛的記憶……
讓她感到害怕。
她是誰?這個寂靜的地方是哪裏?她的身上將會發生什麼?她的過去曾經發生過什麼?
不過她已經知道,自己大概永遠也沒法知道答案了。至少在這裏不行。
她的聲音出現了些許的嘶啞,但她催促着喉嚨、壓迫着心肺,想要突破它們不知是否存在的極限。
她的手指在六根琴弦上瘋狂地舞動。
她能在腦中清晰地聆聽到空氣的轟隆、尖嘯與震盪,感受到其中蘊含的力量。
這是一股靈魂和音樂的風暴——在她的歌詞下涌動着的是澎湃的暗流和沸騰的恐懼,
隨後又變為強勁的熱浪,從她的雙眼奔流而出。
但不知為什麼,出於某種她無法道明的原因,這讓她稍微好受了一些。不再那麼迷惑,也不再那麼恐懼。
一段時間後,吼叫的回聲終於淡去。她的右手最後撥動了幾下,隨即從琴弦上垂下。
她的作品完成了。她的歌聲消逝在明亮的天空中,能證明剛才發生的事情的就只有她心中近乎空虛的記憶。
她用另一隻手擦了擦雙眼,一邊顫抖着,一邊拒絕望向那帶走了歌聲的天空。
但她隨後就笑了。這讓她自己也很驚訝。這是發自內心的笑容——是實現成就後的笑容。
她用裙子抹了抹手,又自顧自地嘆了口氣。
老天啊,這鬼地方真是太討厭了。
Eventually, she sat down on a relatively smooth chunk of stone and anxiously ran a hand through
her hair. Looking back, she could see a long set of footprints through the faded sand, stretching all
the way to the horizon. How was it possible there was this much sand? She was starting to get sick
of it.
After a moment’s thought, she brought her guitar around and held it, again, in her hands.
And there it was again, instantly: that comfort. It was like... a reassuring parent, or a friend.
She sighed. Really, that was all that she needed to keep going.
Without thinking, she began to hum a tune. Her fingers strummed the strings, their quiet, tinny
chords adding that precious harmony to her melody. She could remember how to walk, and she
could remember how to play. It brought a momentary smile to her lips: how both of these acts
came about as natural as breathing.
Her lips turned down again a moment later, however, losing their humor. Words were coming to her
tongue, her teeth, her lips, wanting to be added to this song. At first they were scattered, whirling,
trying to form a complete, sensible picture.
And so, dressed in black and scarlet, she sang—in this world of white:
this colorless and seemingly infinite cage.
Gradually, her words gained volume. Her feelings roiled within her, wild, building in intensity.
These instinctive words weren’t new, nor were they old and forgotten.
They were always with her, and now they were clawing, screaming their way out of her chest.
Just speaking them wouldn’t be enough. They needed to be shouted, roared so that they
resounded in the furthest corners of this dead world. She yelled them as loud as she possibly could.
It just seemed like the right thing to do.
She shouted about confusion. She shouted about the unknown, about the bleak landscapes,
about the bounteous memories in tiny glass shards flitting past for brief moments before
disappearing again.
She shouted about—
Fear.
For that one critical moment as she played, she realized what she’d been feeling, deep down.
This empty world, her empty memories...
They terrified her.
Who was she? What was this quiet place? What was going to happen to her?
What HAD happened to her?
But she already knew that she might never know. Not here.
Her voice broke for a note, but she pushed past and forced her lungs, should they exist, to their
limits.
Her fingers flew madly across the six strings. She could hear it vividly in her mind, the power, the
weaving together of rumbles, screeches, and vibrations.
A storm of her soul and of music—a tumultuous undercurrent rushing beneath her lyrics along
with the simmering dread, growing into a powerful heat, which reached her eyes as well.
But somehow, in some way she couldn't pinpoint, it made her feel a little better.
A little less confused, a little less afraid.
After a time, the echoes of her shouting faded out. A few final plucks with her right hand, and she
dropped it from the strings, her work finished. Her song vanished into the bright sky, the evidence
it had ever happened now residing within her near-empty memories.
She put her other hand to her eyes and rubbed them, shivering, refusing to look at the heavens
that had taken her song away.
But then she gave a laugh. It surprised her. It was an honest laugh—and the smile of a job well
done. She wiped her hand on her dress and sighed to herself.
Man, she hated this place.
6-3
解鎖條件:完成6-2,購入Scarlet Cage單曲
解鎖要求:通過VECTOЯ
但現在,她覺得自己已經能夠承受它們了。
她的心裏並沒有底,但可以肯定,那種恐懼也是她熟悉的東西。
她了解這種東西——它會讓你雙腿打顫、讓你嚇得跑開、讓你無法做出決定、讓你成為被它掌控的傀儡。
那是對未知的恐懼,是對失敗的恐懼。
她現在只能假設,彈奏這首歌是自己的本能。
也許她以前就彈奏過,也許她以前就用咆哮宣洩過恐懼,就用這相同的方式。
也許她以前也這麼做過。至少現在,她覺得自己能應付恐懼了。
她現在能更好地掌控自己扭曲的小情緒。如果她希望在這個令人困惑的世界中保持理智,
就需要時刻注意情緒,防止自己被恐懼所掌控。不過,恐懼總是如影隨形。
她呼出一口氣,然後調整了一下坐姿,將結他小心地放在身邊,靠在了岩石上。
然後,她聽到了一聲輕輕的叮噹聲。
一個小布包掉出了她衣服內側的口袋,落在了從沙中刺出的岩石上。
裏面是幾根針、一把小剪刀、一個頂針、幾卷紡線以及一個捲尺。這是一個針線包。
她在剛甦醒時身上就帶着它。她只能猜測這個東西是屬於自己的。
她剛發現這個包的時候,心中充滿了迷惑。她知道它是幹什麼用的,但不知道為什麼自己會帶着它。
當然,她「知道」裏面的所有東西,但就像自己帶着的結他那樣……並沒有什麼有用的線索能指出它的由來。
不過現在,當她伸出手想要撿起包時,她看到了自己的袖口,然後身形一凝。
她……是知道的,不是嗎?她知道怎麼織出這樣的袖口。她知道該如何落下針腳。
她知道每一個褶皺的做法。她知道這些顏色具體叫什麼。她知道這些衣線就來自於這個針線包。
但除此之外就沒有然後了。她可以輕鬆地根據邏輯得出結論,但她的回憶仍然被封鎖着。
知識與記憶之間存在着殘酷的斷層……這簡直是一種折磨。
不過現在……她不會讓這種斷層所造成的恐懼席捲自己的內心了。她會承認它,利用它。
就算不記得了又怎樣呢?重要的是她知道這些東西。
但是,有一個切實的目標總歸是好的。她目前並沒有目標,但也許到了某個時候,她也會找到目標。
她重新動了起來,露出一個發自內心的笑容,一邊還在想着這個剛才讓她整個人都僵住的針線包。
這還挺便利的不是麼?至少在這空虛的旅行中,她能保持最佳的着裝狀態了。
想到這裏……她的外套並不是很實用,但這是屬於她的,她也不會因為這個世界而拋棄它。
對,這是屬於她的。
它,還有結他、針線包——在這片記憶的荒原,這些都是屬於她的。
知道這些並沒有什麼大用,但足夠她走過很長一段旅途了。
……走過一段路之後,身下的某個東西吸引了她的注意。
沙中的足跡……
但它們並不屬於她。
足跡穿過了她的路線,向着左邊延伸,尺碼顯然要小上幾號。
她開始沿着足跡走去,然後看到它們消失在一個小坡後面。
她的臉上又露出了一個發自內心的笑容。
哈……
到頭來,自己好像還真有一個觀眾哎。
But now, she felt like she could deal with it.
She couldn’t be sure, but she could have sworn that fear was something she was familiar with.
She knew things about it—how it could make your legs weak, how it could make you run away,
how it could prevent you from making decisions, how it could control you.
The fear of the unknown. The fear of failure.
And she could only assume it had been instinct that had led her to play that song.
Maybe she’d done it before. Maybe she’d shouted through her fear before, in much the same way.
Maybe she had. At least, now she felt like she could handle it.
She had a firmer grip on that twisted little emotion now.
If she wanted to stay sane in this baffling world, she needed to keep it in check, keep it from
controlling her.
But it would always be there.
She exhaled, then turned in her seat and carefully put her guitar aside, laying it onto the stone.
Then she heard a soft clink.
A small cloth bag had fallen out of her inside pocket to the stone sticking out above the sand.
In it were several needles, a little pair of scissors, a thimble, a few spools of thread, and a measure.
A sewing kit. It had been with her when she’d first woken up. She could only assume it was hers.
When she’d first found the pouch, it had just confused her. She knew what it was for, but had no
clue why she was carrying it. Each of the accoutrements within was, of course, "known" to her, but
like the guitar she carried with her... it hadn’t come with any helpful little notes explaining where
it came from.
But now, when she reached down to retrieve the pouch, upon seeing her sleeve, she froze.
She... knew, didn’t she? How that sleeve was made. She knew the stitches, she knew all of the folds.
She knew the exact colors. She knew those threads were in the sewing kit.
But any further connection escaped her. She could easily draw conclusions based on logic,
but her mind still felt closed. That cruel disconnect between knowledge and experience...
It was agonizing.
Now, though... Now she wouldn’t let herself be overwhelmed by the fear caused by that disconnect.
She would recognize it, use it. So what if she didn’t remember? What mattered was that she knew.
A concrete goal would certainly help, though. She didn’t have one yet, but maybe, in time,
she could find one.
A grin crossed her face as she started off again, still thinking of the kit which had just made her
shiver. Pretty convenient, huh? She could at least keep her clothing intact on this inane journey.
And with that thought... her outfit certainly wasn’t practical, but it was hers, and she wouldn’t
give it up for the world.
Yes. It was hers.
That, her guitar, and her sewing kit—in this wasteland of memory, they were all hers.
Knowing that helped a little, and a little help could go a long way.
...A few steps later, something below her caught her eye.
Footprints in the sand...
But they didn’t belong to her.
Crossing her path, leading off to the left, they were definitely a few sizes off.
She stared the way they headed, and saw that they disappeared behind a few gentle hills.
Another genuine, familiar grin crossed her face.
Huh...
Maybe she’d had an audience after all.
8-1
解鎖條件:購入GIMME DA BLOOD單曲
解鎖要求:通過GIMME DA BLOOD
廝殺、嚎叫。與烈火相對應的是漆黑的身影,恐怖的形貌發出可怕的聲音。
空氣中瀰漫着煙塵和驚恐,這讓一些人滿心只有奪路狂奔的念頭。
但是對她來說,此時此刻內心裏所感受到的卻是令人刺激與興奮的戰意。
一道微光閃過,她那黑曜石般的長劍又撕裂了一隻模糊的軀殼。
它們看似畸形的野獸,奔跑時四肢着地,戰鬥時又會靈活地利用後肢。
她的斬擊直接從肩膀處將其一分為二,但對方的殘軀尚未落地,
便如一道煙塵般散去,進而又融入那片火焰散發出的煙塵中。
就算將這些野獸從山火煙塵中化形的原理放在一邊,她仍然對它們知之甚少。
野獸和野獸之間是很難分辨的。就她目前的了解,擊殺對方只會將其本源送回煙塵之中,
然後重新變成野獸,就像一切都沒有發生過一樣。
她將華麗的劍刃又送入了一隻陰影野獸的身體,順便瞥了一眼背後。
村民們差不多要穿過森林了,那一邊是不知哪個國家或勢力的軍隊,
不斷推進的前線想必會庇護他們的安全。
她得保護他們——不能讓這股戰意前功盡棄。
她縱身躍起,任由長發隨風飄逸着,幾乎瞬間跨過了整個戰場。
就在野獸即將用煙塵般的爪子撕裂一名逃跑的農民時,她及時趕到並斬下了敵人的頭顱。
那個小個子的壯實農婦在逃亡中略一停頓,
朝着這位陌生的劍舞者比了個手勢——可能是表示感謝吧——然後匆忙逃走了。
剩下的事情花不了多少時間。
無論她發現自己身處何地,無論所在的世界有着怎樣先進的科技,無論哪裏的人們信奉怎樣的思想,
她都只有一個目的:殺、殺、殺,直到斬除所有敵人為止。
終於,最後一個村民也磕磕絆絆地跑到了揮舞着長矛的士兵面前。她甚至能看到將士們額頭上的汗水,
眼神中的恐懼……但她也看到了他們在搏殺時透露出的堅毅。
最後,她總算把劍放下了,吐出一口自己都沒意識到的嘆息。她知道接下來會發生什麼。
一陣疲憊快速襲來——比上次更快了。
四周的世界開始破碎,就好像它原本只是一塊玻璃所映射出的虛像。她閉上眼睛,無神地笑着。
慘澹的白光緩緩地包圍了她……
……將她迎回了Arcaea的世界。
verdure and the village nestled within.
Crashes and screams. Horrible sounds from horrible shapes, dark against the flames. For some, the
smoke-filled air was inundated with panic, driving them to run as fast as their legs could carry them.
She, however, felt enveloped in something now familiar to her: an unadulterated thrill of battle.
Her obsidian-colored sword glinted as it cleaved another of the shadowy figures. They were shaped
like malformed beasts, running on all fours yet fighting dexterously on hind legs. Her cut severed
its shoulders from the rest of its body—but before it could hit the ground, the body dissipated, as
though becoming smoke, before rising into the air to join the smoke from the fire.
Save for how the beasts appeared to materialize from the smoke of the forest blaze itself, she didn’t
know much else about them. There was little to distinguish one from another. For all she knew,
killing one would simply send its essence back into the clouds, only for it to come back again as
though nothing had happened.
As she stabbed her ornate blade into another of the shadow-beasts, she spared a glance behind her.
The villagers were nearly through the forest to the safety of the advancing forward line of some
nation or other.
She needed to protect them—needed to let the thrill within her run its course.
She jumped, spanning almost a field’s length in a single leap, long hair fluttering behind her, to
behead another beast as it raised a smoky claw to gore a fleeing farmer.
The short, muscular woman paused her escape for just a moment to offer a gesture the
sword-wielder wasn’t familiar with—perhaps a sign of gratitude—before scrambling away again.
It wouldn’t be much longer now. No matter where she found herself, no matter how advanced the
world’s technology and no matter what the philosophy of its people, she always had one objective:
slay, slay, slay—until, presumably, the enemy was gone.
Finally, the last straggler from the village made it to the line of spear-wielding soldiers. She could
see from here the sweat on the troops』 brows, the fear in their eyes… but she could see the
determination in their postures as well.
Letting down her sword at last, she exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d kept, knowing what
was to come next. She felt the weariness hitting her quickly—and, once again, sooner than the last
time.
The world around her began to fracture, as though it had merely been a projected image made of
glass. She closed her eyes and smiled an empty smile. Slowly, she let the pale light engulf her...
...and welcome her back into the world of Arcaea.
8-2
解鎖條件:完成8-1,購入GIMME DA BLOOD單曲
解鎖要求:通過Bookmaker (2D Version)
一塊玻璃碎片——就是這次將她捲入其中的那塊——繞着她轉了一圈,然後就飛向了遠處。
從經驗來看,她再也見不着它了。
它們叫作Arcaea——這是它們的名字,她在甦醒後就不知為何地知道這一點——
它們似乎展示着處於某些特定狀況的紛紛世界。
她沒法觸碰這些碎片,但它們能對自己起效。
至今以來,它們已經將自己捲入其中十多次,讓她參與到各種世界和事件當中,
並且都有着明顯相同的目標:擊敗——不,應該是將敵人碾碎在腳下。
在每一次的經歷中,都不可避免地出現一些無法與她並肩作戰的人……
不過,比起保護他們的念頭,還是戰鬥的渴望更讓人熱血上涌。
她能如臂指使這把甦醒時就帶着的寶劍,雖然也不知道它是從哪兒來的。
她能感覺到,自己的劍技實在是超乎尋常。她顯然能做到各個世界中的人們力所不能及的事情。
事實上,即使是她的敵人,在面對面的決鬥中也沒法造成多大的挑戰。
她逐漸意識到,真正困難的地方還是在於是否能保護其他人。
不過,一旦她進入戰鬥狀態,這些想法就都被拋之腦後了。戰鬥讓她陶醉,沉醉於暴力所帶來的快感。
然而這股喜悅似乎正在以超乎想像的速度褪去,只留下空虛和疲憊,而這要花上許多小時,
甚至是許多天去恢復。並且,似乎每一次恢復所需的時間都在加長。
空虛的乏力感讓她開始思索自己被捲入的那些世界。雖然她之前相信它們是完全不同的世界,
但近來又有些懷疑。感覺這更像是……她在觀看某種影像,並且因為某些原因,她能夠與之互動。
她能感覺到,真相其實顯而易見,她本來應該是知道的,只是現在她還抓不到一絲頭緒……
她將劍扛上了肩膀,疲憊地望向四周。目光所及之處儘是一片白沙。
這是一片褪色的沙漠,就像歸來後極度空虛的自己。
她背後的足跡仍然和她「穿越」前的樣子分毫不差。因為靜滯無風,也沒法判斷過去了多久。
在這裏,似乎時間也沒什麼意義。
又是一次召喚。眼前再次充滿了白光。
她兀然出現在了某個地方。
戰火焦灼的大地,硝煙瀰漫的蒼穹,四處佈設的簡易障礙,以及深挖進地面的壕溝。
她茫然四顧,突然感到一陣乏力。
召喚的地點從沒這麼近,以前也都會冒出些弱小的敵人——就像是舞台上無面的群演,毫無意義,
但或許又是那些莫名戰鬥的唯一意義。更重要的是,她的敵人在哪裏?
這次她的戰鬥在哪裏?
remember, they were lost to her now.
A glass shard—the one that had pulled her this time—briefly spun around her before shooting
away into the distance. She knew from experience she wouldn’t see it again. They were called
Arcaea—their name a fragment of knowledge from her awakening of which she did not know the
origin—and they seemed to show other worlds in the midst of certain situations.
She couldn’t touch the shards, but they could act on her. Over a dozen times now, they had pulled
her inside, bringing her into those worlds and situations, with the apparent reason always the
same: to defeat—no, to crush her enemies underfoot.
Inevitably, each time, there would be those unable to fight behind her... though the idea of
shielding them paled in comparison to the driving, blood-racing thrill of the fight.
She was skilled with this blade she had woken up with—wherever it had come from. And something
told her that she was too skilled. She could clearly do things that others in these worlds couldn’t.
In fact, even her enemies didn’t pose much challenge for her in person-to-person combat. The true
challenge, she was learning, was in the protection of others.
But when she was in the fray, such concerns meant nothing to her. She reveled in the battle—let the
mirth of violence course through her.
That mirth, however, seemed to be draining from her more quickly after the fact, leaving naught
but emptiness and exhaustion that took what felt like hours, if not days, to restore. And it seemed
to be taking longer and longer each time.
The absence of adrenaline led her to ponder these other worlds she was being tossed into. Even
what had previously seemed to her to be fact, that these were other worlds at all, didn’t feel quite
right of late. It was almost more like... she was being shown images, ones that for some reason she
could act within. The answer was obvious, she sensed, as though she should have known it, yet it
was just beyond her grasp...
Tired, she hefted her sword onto her shoulder and took a look around. White sand, as far as the
eye could see. A desert, drained of its color, mirroring how drained she herself felt upon returning to
it. The trail of footprints behind her were exactly as they were before the "spiriting away". Without
any wind, it was impossible to tell how much time had passed.
Not that time seemed to have much meaning here.
Another calling. Everything turned white again.
Abruptly, she stood somewhere else. Fields charred brown, smoke in the sky, makeshift fences
erected on land and trenches dug into the ground.
She looked around, suddenly exhausted. The callings had never happened this close together
before. And where were the weak ones—that throng of faceless actors on the stage, pointless yet
also perhaps the sole reason for being thrown into battle? More importantly, where were her
enemies?
Where was her fight?
8-3
解鎖條件:完成8-2,購入GIMME DA BLOOD單曲
解鎖要求:通過Illegal Paradise
迷爾經歷過戰鬥——但從未經歷戰爭。
她現在看到了,人們以致命的效率相互殘殺,有時驚慌躲閃,有時英勇無畏,有時又醜態百出……
無論她走向哪裏,她都發現別人比她弱小。那是些無辜、害怕又太過年輕的面龐。
他們看到她,然後又看向別處,好像把她當成了幻覺,一絲海市蜃樓。
她試過不顧一切地保護他們,但他們只會自己邁向死亡。
無論她走向哪裏,她都能發現敵人。士兵們會對已經繳械的敵人舉起武器。
那些與人性毫無關聯的可怕兵器以她未能想像的速度散播着死亡。
即使她摧毀它們,也只會有更多的兵器從四面八方冒出來。
她沖向另一群人,那裏一群身着藍衣和紅衣的兩派人馬正在彼此交戰。
她迅速地做出判斷,然後幹掉了那些身着紅衣的傢伙。
然而在她身後,剛才救下來的那些人卻被一種她從未見過的方式瞬間滅殺。
就這樣消散殆盡。
在頭頂上呼嘯着的飛行物,如同傾盆大雨般毀滅着地上的一切。
那些飛行物上的徽記和身着藍衣的人身上的一樣。它們發出的火焰迅速地帶走了諸多的生命。
難道說,它們才是該對付的敵人嗎?
她深呼吸,然後向後揮動手臂,擺出發力的架勢。在片刻的瞄準之後,她猛地轉動身體,
怒吼着向空中擲出長劍。利劍劃破空氣朝那群飛行物飛去,然後如天國之刃般撕裂了它們,
在蔚藍的天空中綻放出橘色與紅色的鮮明火焰。
然後她看到一群人從飛行物中跳了出來,這讓她覺得自己的所作所為依然是錯誤的。
白色從那些人的頭頂和背後膨脹開來,隨後下落的速度也逐漸放緩。
是降落傘嗎?但對於紅方的武器來說,這都是些簡單的靶子而已。
戰意正在,快速地消失。
疲憊又逐漸佔據了她。
隨之而來的還有,絕望——她對戰場上的千變萬化束手無力。
茫然——在犯下錯誤之後,她手足無措,更不知自己究竟要去擊敗誰。
恐懼——她害怕自己的決定會導致更糟糕的情況。
戰意消失了。
就好像一位可靠的夥伴背叛了她,在她危難的關頭棄她而去。
她雙手摸索着,想要找回它。
怎麼能沒有它呢?
否則她可就要失去動力了,今後再也無力邁出任何一步。
她終究還是沒能找回它,最後也跟那些受傷的士兵一樣,雙膝跪地。
不知多少個小時過去。
戰場上的怒號已經淡去,只留下戰後真正的創傷。
她雙手捂住耳朵,想要隔離那些呻吟和哀叫。她閉上眼睛,想要忽略那些慘象和腥味。
她自言自語着:「這不是我的錯,不是我的錯。」
然而……這就是她的錯。她覺得自己本來肯定是能做些什麼。
她也許能改變些什麼——想盡辦法地去阻止這一切。
然而,當她思考自己能做些什麼時,她發現自己無能為力。
這樣的思緒不斷重複,在她的腦海中縈繞徘徊不去。她感覺自己頭暈目眩,心慌神顫。
最後,她的四周再次被白光籠罩,她被送回了Arcaea世界,一如往常。
她立刻就癱倒在了地上,大口喘着氣。
她的劍本來在幾小時前就被扔上了天,此刻卻也橫着掉在她身旁, 在沙子上發出乾癟的碰撞聲。
她閉着眼坐了起來,試圖忘記一切,試圖放空心神,試圖不再理會這片純白世界。
她來這裏是幹嘛的?她為什麼會出現在這裏?
自從她甦醒後,她的時間只足夠拿來睡眠和思考自己之所以被召喚至此的問題。
但她缺失的記憶一直是心頭揮之不去的陰霾。
她本來是想要幹嘛的?
她想了又想,還是想不出來。
於是她又轉過頭,看向這片沙漠,盯着背後那條向後延伸出去的腳印。
她真希望自己能知道本來的目的地是哪裏。
她不知道的是,她的腳印已經與另一條相連了,雖然距離是有些遠。
但現在,她所能做的只有祈禱。她不知道該向誰祈禱,但她還是如此做着,
希望在這片空虛的白色沙漠中,自己能得到哪怕一絲的慰藉。
Mir had experienced battle before—but never war.
She now watched people kill one another with deadly efficiency, run for their lives in fear, engage
in feats of true heroism, engage in displays of utter dishonor...
Every way she turned, she found those weaker than her. Innocent, terrified faces, and all too many
of them young. They would see her, then look away, as if recognizing her only as a hallucination, a
trick of the light. She nonetheless tried to protect them. They would then run to their deaths.
Every way she turned, she found enemies. Soldiers leveling weapons at disarmed foes. Terrible
armaments, disassociated from humanity, delivering death faster than she could have ever believed
possible. She destroyed them, and then more would appear on the other side.
She jumped to yet another group of people, blue uniforms fighting against red, before making a
quick judgement and taking down the red ones. Behind, those people she had just protected were
wiped out in an instant from a strike she hadn’t seen coming.
Fading.
Vessels soared overhead, raining pure destruction down upon the lands. The vessels bore the same
insignias as those in the blue uniforms. Their fire swiftly took so many lives. Were they the true
enemy?
Taking a deep breath, she swung her arm back. After a mere moment’s pause to take aim, she spun,
hurling her sword into the air with a shout. The blade screamed upward at the small formation—
then tore through them, sending wild oranges and reds scattering through the firmament.
Then she saw the people jumping, and realized her mistake. White flared above and behind them,
and their descent slowed—parachutes? But they were easy targets against the red side’s weaponry.
The thrill was fading. Quickly.
Exhaustion crept back in.
And with it, despair—hopelessness at this situation over which she seemed to hold no power.
Indecision—the uncertainty of knowing what to do after the errors she’d made, and of who it was,
exactly, she needed to defeat.
Fright—the fear that her decisions would lead to something even worse.
The thrill was gone.
It felt like a trusted partner had betrayed her. Left her in her moment of need. She reached out with
her hands, searching for it. It had to be here. She had no fuel without it. Nothing to give her the
strength to take another step.
Unable to find it, eventually she, like those wounded soldiers, fell to her knees.
Hours passed. The raging battle was now dwindling, leaving behind the true horror of warfare.
She put her hands over her ears to protect herself from their moans, their yells. She shut her eyes
to block out the sights and smells.
It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault, she told herself.
And yet... it was, still, her fault. She surely could have done something, she thought. She could
have changed something—anything to prevent this.
When she tried to think about what she could have done, however, she found she couldn’t.
And that process repeated, as it had done the last dozen times. She felt her nerves fraying, panic
setting in.
Eventually, her surroundings whitened, and she was sent back into the world of Arcaea in the same
manner as all the other times.
Immediately, she crumpled to the ground, breathing heavily. Her sword, which she’d thrown into
the air hours before, dropped down beside her, hitting the sand lengthwise with a dry clap.
She sat there, eyes closed, trying to forget, trying to make her mind go blank, trying to keep out the
sheer whiteness of this damned world’s sky.
What was she doing here? What did this world want from her?
Ever since her awakening, she’d only been given the time to ponder her summonings and to sleep.
But her lack of memories hung there in the back of her mind like a haunting phantom.
What did SHE want to do?
She thought, and thought, and realized she didn’t know.
So she turned her head to look back along the sands, gazing at the long trail of footprints
stretching out behind her. She wished she knew where she was going.
Unbeknownst to her, however, that trail of footprints had already been joined by another, still quite
far off.
But for now, she prayed. She didn’t know to whom, but she prayed regardless, hoping that she
would be granted just a little bit of respite, now, on these empty, white dunes.
11-1
尖銳而帶鋸齒狀的邊角逗弄着她的舌尖。
這是一份關於失去、絕望、失敗而最終只剩下痛苦的記憶。
但這些並不是她所會使用的詞語……如果要她來說的話,她會把這樣的一份記憶形容成「悲傷」。懷着悸動的心,她的嘴角不禁上揚雀躍的情緒表露無遺。
她已經可以預見這份記憶會有多麼地可口。
接着,她大口咬下吞沒了那片玻璃。
「唔……」一隻白黑相間(還有橘色和綠色)、長得像蝙蝠的生物在她的右手邊這樣說道:
「嗯,應該沒關係。」
這位是凡斯。
「你肚子餓了嗎?」一隻黑白相間(還有綠色和橘色)、長得像蝙蝠的生物在她的左手邊這樣說道:「餓的時候要記得跟我們說一聲唷!」
這位是德萊姆。
「嗯!」她臉上洋溢着笑靨悶哼着,雙手抱着臉頰。記憶的玻璃在她的牙齒之間碎裂開來,碎片和粉塵包覆了她的舌頭,這股感覺好溫暖。嘗起來像是一道精緻的晚餐,感覺是肉,帶點順口且沾了些鹽的醬汁調味。
但是她再次詞窮,找不到適當的詞彙來描述這樣的感覺。一滴滴口水從她的嘴角傾瀉而下,
她唯一脫口而出用來形容這種味覺的詞語,就只有「好吃」。
「那樣很好啊,彩夢!」凡斯驚呼道,並且興奮地拍動翅膀。
「好好吃!」她先這麼說道,然後才把剩下的玻璃碎片吞進肚裏。
德萊姆拍動翅膀飄浮在她身後,滿臉好奇的樣子。「「好吃」是嗎。」它重複對方所說的話。「彩夢,所謂的「好吃」是怎樣呢?」
「就好像……牛排!」說完,她便隻身向前,她的「蝙蝠」夥伴則是緊跟在後。
「牛排吃起來是什麼味道?」
「噢,德萊姆……」她嘆氣道,語調仿佛像是在跟迷路的小孩說話一樣。「你怎麼這麼笨啊!」
「我就是不知道牛排嘗起來是什麼味道嘛!」德萊姆堅定地說道。「味道如何?」它問道。
「跟肉一樣!」她說道,隨即便發現身旁的異狀,她從空中取了一片閃閃發光的玻璃放到手中。
「這麼說,是鹹的咯?」德萊姆問道。
「而且很好吃!」她提醒對方,並把這片新的玻璃直往嘴間送。這是一份關於慶祝成就、新生命和歡笑的記憶,如果以她的話來說,這份記憶名為「快樂」。
凡斯說道:「是啊!吃了鹹的食物之後,要吃點甜食,這可是基本常識哦!」
「你看吧,凡斯比你聰明多了,德萊姆。」她嗤之以鼻地說道。
「我正想要這麼說呢。」德萊姆說道。「我當然知道,我本來就要這麼說。
她吸吮着這份新的玻璃,只是心不在焉地隨便回了一句「嗯哼」,接着便揮舞着手臂哼唱起來。
這片玻璃的味道和觸覺都像是糖。
她們眼前是一望無際、向前延伸的白色世界。她們身後的土地,則是佈滿着廢墟。不論是身前還是身後,都是一樣的——
不論所到何處,四周都有玻璃碎片。
無論何處都是現成的大餐。
她用臼齒將記憶的碎片咬成兩半,這個記憶的歷史就這樣隨風飄散。
The sharp and jagged edge tickles her tongue.
A memory of loss: of desperation, failure, and ultimately anguish. These aren't the words she'd use... She would describe this memory as "sad", herself. In anticipation, her lips tug upward with a giddiness she cannot hide.
She already knows-this will be savory. Now,she bites into the glass.
"Ahh," utters the white and black (and orange, and green), bat-like creature at her right. "Well,that's fine."
This is Fans.
"Were you hungry?" asks the black and white (and green, and orange), bat-like creature at her left. "Tell us when you are!"
This is Drem.
"Mmm!" she moans with glee, holding her cheek. The glass has broken between her teeth. The shards and dust coat her tongue. It feels warm. It tastes like a fine dinner: like meat,with flowing,salt-kissed juices.
But her vocabulary is,again, somewhat limited. All she has to say to describe the taste, as a bit of saliva drops from the cormer of her mouth, is "Delicious!"
"That's great, Ayu!" Fans exclaims, flapping its wings excitedly.
"It's yummy!" she declares before swallowing the remaining fragments.
Drem hovers behind her with some curiosity. "Huh, 'yummy'." It repeats. "What sort of 'yummy', Ayu?"
"Like... steak!"With this stated, she begins to march forward,and her "bat" familiars follow.
"What does steak taste like?"
"Oh,Drem..." she sighs,with the same intonation that she might use for a lost child. "You're so dumb!"
"I just don't know what steak tastes like," Drem asserts. "Like what?" it asks.
"Like meat!" she declares, and-spotting something unusual-she plucks a shining piece of glass from the air.
"So,salty?" asks Drem.
"And yummy!" she reminds it, popping the new glass between her lips. It is a memory of celebration: accomplishment,new life,and mirth.She would call it "happy".
And Fans announces,"Yeah! Having something sweet after something salty is common sense!
"See? Fans is smarter than you, Drem," she says, laughing once through her nose.
"I was going to say that," says Drem. "I knew that, and I was going to say it."
Sucking on her new glass,she absently answers "Uh-huh" and begins to hum, swinging her arms to her chosen time. The glass tastes and feels like sugar.
A world of white stretches out before them.Behind them, the land is filled with ruins. Before and behind are the same-
And everywhere,there is glass.
Everywhere,a waiting meal.
She splits the memory apart with her molars. Its history dies.
11-2
解鎖條件:完成11-1,購入init()單曲
解鎖要求:通過Rugie
德萊姆坐在她頭上,兩邊的翅膀開始拍打她的臉龐。凡斯飛翔在高空,大喊有一大群一一
「一大群……白色的東西!」她的夥伴大喊。「彩夢,是白色的玻璃!
「甜食嗎?」彩夢不顧眼前不斷拍動的翅膀問道。就在她的嘴巴和鼻子還在因為咀嚼的動作而上下起伏時,第二隻蝙蝠說道:
「往右邊走,快!」
凡斯附和道:「沒錯!往右!」
「有更多的甜食嗎?」彩夢再次問道。「更多的甜食……」她發出呻吟,雙肩下垂。翅膀還在輕輕拍打着她的前額。「各位,你們明明就知道我比較喜歡……你知道的……喜歡多一點食物種類……」
「根本不是那樣的,好嗎?」凡斯這樣告訴她。
而她則問道:「 『什麼』 不是怎樣?」。
德萊姆此時終於從她頭上飛開。
「彩夢。」它呼喚對方,雙翼不再往她臉上拍打,而是在她的面前拍動。
「你不是很餓嗎?」
「我哪次不餓。」她回應道。她翻了個白眼接着說道:「來吧,德萊姆。
「那樣的話,你還是吃份大餐比較好哦!」德萊姆大喊,激動地拍動着它的翅膀。她認得那股動能,雙腳緩步向前、眼神開始游移。「那裏有好多的玻——……如果吃——……更好的……那真是……還有……」
她在兩旁風格迥異的建築之間的道路上看見滿滿的玻璃碎片。她一眼就能看出,那些記憶裏面有着快樂和痛苦在等着她。她瞥了德萊姆一眼,接着便動身往那條道路慢慢晃了過去。
「嗯哼?」她在聽見其中那只比較煩人的蝙蝠尾音上揚的問句後,這樣回復道。
「沒錯!」它大叫道。「那麼一—」
她繼續往前走,很快就來到剛才看到的那條道路,奇怪的玻璃碎片飄浮在頭頂上方的空中。
她從玻璃的倒影中看見了過去的景象,她的肚子發出咕嚕咕嚕的叫聲。
接着,她又伸手去抓了另一片不同的玻璃碎片。
一隻手握住光明,另一隻手掌握着紛爭,彩夢將兩塊玻璃碎片同時往嘴裏送……然後大口咬下。
混合在一起的味道立刻就讓她着了迷。
「啊……你又來了。」德萊姆嘆氣道,它這才發現原來對方早就沒在搭理它了。
「不對、不對,這樣不對。」她的蝙蝠凡斯哀嘆道。「有問題的並不是這個地方,而是我們剛才提到的那一團混亂……!唉……」它嘆口氣,心想算了。接着,它承認道:「至少她看起來很開心。」
「嗯。」德萊姆停頓了一下才又接續着說道:「你說得對,至少她看起來很開心」。
確實如此,這兩種味道混合在一起實在美味至極。畢竟鮮少有機會看到這兩種玻璃碎片同時出現,所以她每次都會想要多把握這種機會。此地乃一寶庫也,她笑得合不攏嘴。
但是下次,她的這兩隻蝙蝠還會再提醒她。而且下次,她會懂得聽對方的勸告。就好比玻璃碎片在齒間滑動的感覺,她發現這兩隻蝙蝠所說的話偶爾也是「正確」的,而這樣的正確感令她感到滿足。她受到滿足感所驅使,並且會為了獲得滿足感而採取行動。這樣的存在樸實無華,但存在是否還需要更多的理由呢?
如果說傾聽他人的意見與想法能夠讓她感到滿足的話……
又或者說如果寂靜與沉默也能偶爾令她感到暢快的話……
Drem sits on her head and beats its wings into her face. Fans is flying high, and shouting about crowds-
"Crowds of... white!" the familiar cries. "White glass, Ayu!"
"Sweets?" Ayu asks through the still-beating wings. As it continues to thump her mouth and nose,her second bat enunciates:
"Go.To.The.Right!"
Fans adds, "Yeah! The right!"
"More sweets?" Ayu asks once more. "More sweets..." she groans as her shoulders sink.Wings continue to strike her forehead softly."You already know I like it more with some, y'know... That I like VARIETY more, guys..."
"That's not how it works," Fans tells her.
And she asks, "It's not how 'what' works?"
Finally,Drem lifts from her head.
"Ayu," it addresses her, flapping now in front of her face rather than into it, "aren't you hungry?"
"I'm always hungry," she replies. And, she rolls her eyes, saying, "Come on, Drem."
"Then it's better if you have a big meal!" Drem cries, beating its wings enthusiastically.She recognizes the motions, slouches slowly, and her gaze begins to drift. "There's a lot of gla-.. if you ea-...Have a better...That's...And..."
She spots a menagerie of shards on a path between two houses from two cultures.She can tell at a glance that memories of pleasures and memories of pains await her there.She glances at Drem, then starts wandering toward the path.
"Mm-hmm?" she replies, hearing the upward inflection of a question from her more pestering bat. "That's right!" it shouts. "So-"
She continues to walk, and soon finds herself along the path proper, queer glass floating overhead. She sees old days in the reflections.Her stomach growls.
And she grabs an opposing pair.
With light in one hand, and conflict in the other, Ayu brings both pieces of glass toward her mouth... and chomps down.
The mixture is at once a delight.
"Aaah...there you go again," Drem sighs, finally realizing that it has lost her attention.
"Wrong,wrong,wrong," bemoans her bat Fans. "It's not HERE that's a problem,it's the... The big mess we were telling you to...! Hahhh..." It sighs. It relents. And, it admits:"At least she looks happy."
"Well," Drem begins, pausing a little while before it says, "yes. At least she looks happy."
It is only the truth: these are two tastes that taste great together. It is a rare thing to find them side by side, and so she always feels coaxed by the opportunity.What this is is a treasure trove.Now,her smile is interminable.
But after, her bats will beckon her again. Next time,she will listen.Like glass between her teeth,she finds that hearing them,sometimes, feels altogether"correct".And that correctness is satisfying.She is driven by satisfaction-she acts to the end of satiation. It is a simple existence, but does existence need to be anything more?
Ultimately,if listening might let her be sated...
And if silence will sate her too,now and then...
11-3
解鎖條件:完成11-2,購入init()單曲
解鎖要求:通過init()
彩夢、凡斯和德萊姆站在一處破碎的平面,用覬覦的眼神看着下方那一團黑色玻璃,這些碎片不斷旋轉、攪動並抹滅光線。玻璃碎片彼此碰撞摩擦,發出的聲響令人聯想到悲鳴與哀號。
有關終結和殞落的記憶被囚禁着,似乎正在發出痛苦的哭喊。彩夢看着這一幕,內心充滿好奇的想法。這個世界感覺好奇怪。
「彩夢。」德萊姆說道,這使她短暫將視線從這團玻璃身上移開。「飛進去吧。」這隻蝙蝠鼓勵她這麼做。
她回答道:「好啊。」接着便從腳下的平台一躍而下。
她伸展雙手,下落的速度瞬間趨緩。她不斷碰撞到圍繞在身旁的玻璃,雖然這些碎片不請自來,但她也並不排斥。她向前伸出自己的手,這股由碎片所形成的漩渦戛然而止。她呼喚玻璃來到自己的手中。
接着,她便開始進食。
「彩夢,很好。」
「彩夢,很棒!」
她露出笑容。她皺起眉頭。
確實,她內心的飢餓感從未消散。
不論是玻璃、碎片還是粉塵,在她大口咬下的那個瞬間似乎都會消散無蹤。
也正因為如此,她才會如此重視味覺這件事。她在大口咬碎玻璃時,味覺幾乎是她所獲得的唯一回應。老實說,她常常感到自己的肚腹只是一個虛無的空間,而她則必須不斷去填補那個無底洞。
為求擁有感覺,為求體驗疼痛。當然,也為了滿足她那嗷嗷待哺的舌尖。她大口咀嚼、大快朵頤,亮光逐漸重返她周遭的世界。
她內心裏的好奇消失了,這個世界所帶來的那股奇怪的感覺也隨之散去。沒過多久,碎片的漩渦便消失無蹤,她的舌尖空舔着自己的牙齒。
心滿意足。
她露出一抹燦爛的笑容。
「好棒!」她大叫道。
「對啊!」凡斯同意道。
「看起來很美味。」德萊姆也表示認同。
她並不討厭自己的這兩隻蝙蝠,她內心裏知道,對方只是想要逗她笑。
它們也知道她總是有着強烈的飢餓感。
她降落到地面上,開開心心地向前走。她們聊到了顏色、聊到了飛行和食物。
就是她們所在的世界,而這也正是她們之所以出現在這裏的原因。
「那是什麼?」德萊姆突然說道。
「噢……是什麼呢?」凡斯跟着說道,並跟隨它夥伴的目光看去。
彩夢抬起頭來,把目光移向天空。
在她的頭頂上,有一塊玻璃碎片形單影隻的飄浮在空中,一動也不動。它使周遭的空氣發生改變,從那塊碎片所倒映出的影像當中看不出任何端倪。
「彩夢,快去吃它。」凡斯說道。
「快去吃吧。」德萊姆說道。
彩夢絲毫沒有猶豫,只是很堅定、很開心地點點頭。她和她的兩隻蝙蝠一起向上空飛去。掛着一抹笑容的她面對着這塊怪異的玻璃。
Ayu,Fans, and Drem stand at a fractured ledge leering above a pit of black glass, which swirls, churns,and kills light.Its pieces scrape against one another,and the sound produced is reminiscent of a wail.Those confined memories of ends and falls seem to be screaming in agony. Ayu looks upon it all-in a word-curiously.The world feels odd.
"Ayu," says Drem, causing her to glance its way. "Fly into it," the bat bids.
She answers, "'Kay," and she steps from the ledge.
With her arms held out,her descent slows immediately.Glass whips around her carelessly, unbidden and unrepelled.She holds her hand out, and the vortex ceases.She calls the shards to her hand.
And so,she begins to eat.
"Good,Ayu."
"Great,Ayu!"
She smiles.She frowns.
Colorful Dream Truly,the hunger never fades.
The shards,the fragments,the dust-they all seem to vanish into nothing when she gulps them down.
It is for that reason she values taste.Cracking glass between her teeth accomplishes little else.In fact, what she thinks is a stomach often merely feels like a void she is continually compelled to feed.
For the feeling.For the ache.And,of course,for her waiting tongue. She bites,she feasts,and light slowly returns.
Her curiosity fades, and the odd sensation of the world along with it. Inlittle time, the vortex is gone, and she is running her tongue along the edge of her teeth.
Satisfied.
She grins brightly.
"That was great!" she shouts.
"Yeah!" Fans agrees.
"It looked delicious," Drem affirms.
She does not hate her bats. They want her to smile,and she knows that.
And they know her stomach is always empty.
She lands on the earth and frolics ahead.They chat about colors.They chat about flight,and food.
This is the world to them, and this is why they are here.
"What's that?" Drem speaks up suddenly.
"Oh... What is it?" Fans adds, looking to where its fellow familiar is staring.
Ayu lifts her gaze to the skies.
Above,a shard of glass, entirely alone, floats still and steady in the air. It shifts that air. Its reflection is unreadable.
"Eat that,Ayu,"says Fans.
"Go eat it," says Drem.
And easily,Ayu agrees with a strong and cheerful nod. Her bats take flight, and she does too.With a smile,she faces the aberrant glass.
12-1
解鎖條件:購入NEO WINGS單曲
解鎖要求:通過Snow White
是我們的所想?還是我們的所見?又或者是我們的所感?亦或是我們的所聞?
感知到的事物,就一定是真切的?
必然如此。
所謂的「認知」,必然是一個人透過自己的感官或是他人的說明所獲得的感知。
尤其對小孩來說,這更是個必然的真理。
我想要跟你介紹一個人,這個人我素昧平生,但我很確定我認識對方。
曾經,我匯集了她的所有記憶,並且把這些記憶拼湊在一起,通過某種方式成為了一則故事……
這個故事是這樣的……
……在某個不起眼的宇宙中,某個地處偏遠的邊陲地帶,存在着一顆普通的星體。
居住在這顆星體上的人民團結一心。那個文明下的孩童從十歲開始就有機會覺醒從出生起就潛在的能力,
然後一直保持這樣的狀態直到十七歲,可謂是這個不起眼的宇宙中相當不尋常的特質。
這些孩童的所思所想,能夠直接在現實世界中具現化。
他們不是神,但他們確實是擁有驚人能力的建築師。他們憑藉着這股超凡力量守護自己的世界。
我們的孩子,便是這些少數擁有如此超能力的孩童當中的一個。
那個國家的名稱……我不記得了。那個世界也是……我記不清了。不過我還記得,
她的名字是……「維塔」。
某天,維塔在她的房間醒來,透過頭頂上的天窗看見戶外昏暗的夜色。隨後,
她身旁的朋友也紛紛醒了過來。他們互道「早安」,卻是在暮色中起身。過去這兩年來,
他們每晚都重複着這樣的例行公事。
他們走去洗手間清洗準備。他們談論着最近正在收看的有聲劇以及近期開始閱讀的書本或漫畫。
他們談論着自己的夢境。
維塔和其他人穿着同樣的制服,在輕鬆愉快的交談聲中,來到了中央指揮室。
這個宇宙正處於戰爭。
各方強權爭奪着孩子無法理解的事物,戰火偶爾會燒到他們在外太空的領域,
不過這些強權大部分時候都只會彼此互相爭鬥。她的星球在這場戰爭中採取中立態度,
而她和其他孩童則是少數被選中的重要人物,必須負起重大使命維護這樣的和平。
那裏有在天空之上戰鬥的男女;那裏有用盡文字與決策與其他世界維穩關係的大人;
那裏有在充滿暴力和混亂的時期維護秩序穩定的外派士兵和使節;此外,
那裏還有神經/心靈通道/網格測量(統稱 NMPGM),僅些微的力量便能造成干擾,
而若釋放全力則無可阻擋。對於其他世界的許多人來說,這樣的能力就是活生生的夢魘。
這個部分我就不再多加贅述。
維塔進入中央指揮室,沒有多花心思去讚嘆這個巨大空間的宏偉,
也沒有在幾層樓高的巨大中庭內因為像漩渦一樣洶湧澎湃的混雜思緒和意念而躊躇片刻。
她和她的朋友必須扮演好自己的角色,隨着他們走向各自的座位,彼此的交談聲逐漸淡去。
大家都能感應到彼此的心靈在背負起沉重的責任後不再如剛開始那般放鬆。
他們要為了這個世界、為了和平與繁榮而奮鬥——這超乎了太空中的每一片領地,
領地上的每一位人民。
她連接至NMPGM。她集中精神,透過意念讓大家安靜下來……然後開始着手處理她所負責的通道。
她將一切拋諸腦後,盡責致力於自己的工作。
Is it what one thinks? What one sees? What one feels? What one hears?
Is perception what grants certainty?
Certainly.
Certainly the "known" is what one perceives, through their senses or through whatever they're told.
For a child especially, that is certainly true.
I want to talk about somebody here: somebody whom I've never met, but whom I feel sure that I know.
Once, I gathered all of her memories and lined them up, and in a way it created a story...
This is how it began...
...In the terribly far reaches of an unremarkable universe existed a typical celestial body. Upon it,
its people were united. From the age of ten, the children here had a chance to awaken to something
they may have been born with, which would stay with them until their seventeenth year: something
remarkable within the unremarkable universe. What they wished and what they thought could
manifest within reality.
They weren't gods, but they were unusual architects. And with their magnificent
abilities, they could protect their world.
Of the few boys and girls born so special, our child was another.
The country's name... I don't remember. The world's, too—I don't recall. Her
name, though, was... is "Vita".
Vita woke up in her room one day, and saw above her the night sky through a
dimmed window. As she woke, so did her friends around her. They each wished
one another a good "morning" and rose for the evening. They had done so every
night for the past two years. They went to ready themselves in the washrooms.
They talked about audio dramas they followed, and about books and comics they
would read. They talked about their dreams.
Vita and the rest, dressed in their uniforms, walked toward the central command room, still
speaking frivolously.
The universe was at war.
Powers vying for things beyond the children's understanding would occasionally try to breach
their territory in space, but largely, those powers fought amongst themselves. Her planet
represented neutrality, and she and the other children were one of several essential bodies
tasked for maintaining that neutrality..
There were the men and women who fought in and above the skies. There were the other adults
who used their words and acumen to broker good relations between her world and others. There
were the expat soldiers and diplomats who would ensure whatever stability could be ensured in
those times of violence and decay. And there was the Nerve/Mind Pathway/Grid Measure—in small
applications a nuisance, and in large-scale invincible and, in the opinion of many outside of
her world, a sleeping terror.
I will curb the exposition and narrate.
Vita entered central command taking no pause at its grandiosity and majesty—no hesitation at the
cacophony of thoughts and wills swirling throughout the massive, several-storied atrium. She and
her friends had a part to play, and as they neared their assigned seats, their chatter naturally
dying, they could all hear one another's minds pulling away from the frivolous as they attuned
instead to their vital responsibility.
For a world of worth, for peace and prosperity beyond any other throughout all the reaches of
space—beyond any other within any land.
She connected to the NMPGM. She focused down, quieted the others in her mind...and began to tend
to her part of the pathways.
She let nothing bother her. She did her work.
12-2
解鎖條件:購入NEO WINGS單曲
解鎖要求:通過Sakura Fubuki
大家在簡報中聽取了自己所需要知道的一切資訊。
關於另一顆星球源源不絕的混沌、關於他們的船艦在領域之外遭到劫持的事件、
關於預定在下個禮拜進行的娛樂項目……
他們試圖無視死亡的消息,而討論着即將舉辦的音樂會,
或是開心聊着各種大大小小的成就。舉例來說……
除了第四星球以外,另一個更友善的星系似乎總是能夠自給自足。他們跟那個星系之間有
個簡單的交易:他們同意讓那群人使用NMPGM,而作為交換,那群人需要從那顆大氣擾動強烈、
無時無刻都危機四伏的星球中給他們提供資源。
她的同胞心胸寬厚,至少大多數人都懂得給予和接受,這樣的關係對他們很有利。
人們常常會試着靜悄悄地使用或入侵具有心理防衛機制的網絡,以此為自己牟利。
雖然維塔對此並沒有太多了解,但她至少明白其中的道理:如果想要什麼東西,
還是坦白向對方開口比較好。
她有時會詢問另一顆星球的混沌究竟從何而起。在她昨晚聽取的簡報中,
有關那顆星球的消息再次出現。那是問題真正的癥結點。對她來說,
那些因為雞毛蒜皮的小事而引起的戰爭聽上去都很愚蠢而且沒有必要。
她常常說……
「……在這個世界要找點能讓自己開心的事情沒那麼難吧?」
記住這句話。
她在那天接收到了某個未知的信號……
她加強自己負責看管的通道時聽見一道聲音:「西邊需要協助,座標是——」
她的身體一陣顫抖,在環顧周圍的其他孩童後,她意識到自己是唯一一個聽見這道聲音的人。
在她使用工作站旁邊的電腦輸入她剛才接收到的那個座標時,她做好心理準備,
將自己的想法發送了出去:
「請表明你的等級和職位。你是工程部還是溝通部的人?你為什麼會在外太空?」
沒有人回應她的問題。她內心惶恐不安的繼續執行她的勤務,並且時刻注意着通訊的來源。
良久過後,對方終於做出回應。
「你聽得見我?等等——難道說真的成功了嗎?」
「既然我能聽得見你的聲音,那麼想必你應該知道要怎麼『說話』吧?你不會是超能力者吧?」
她停頓了一下。這樣的想法……令人感到背脊發涼。
她告訴對方:「我會保持你的信號暢通,然後把你轉接到指揮官那——」
「等等!你應該是NMPGM 的其中一位建築師,對吧?你來自那個中立國家……!」
「這不是大家都知道的事情嗎?」她回覆道,擾人的情緒開始在指尖蔓延開來。 「開始轉接——」
「果…果然跟我想得一樣!你們這些自大狂妄的傢伙,我就知道這樣行不通!
為什麼要派我來做這種事情啊……」
她不經意緩緩捏了一下自己座位邊的扶手。
「我並不自大狂妄。」她回覆道。 「我不清楚你是用什麼方法入侵的,但他們一定會查清真相。
我必須警告你,你最好不要來招惹我們的網絡和人民。如果你害我們違反中立原則,
我們一定會讓你付出代價。知…知道了嗎?」
「但如果你們先自己動手了呢?」對方問道。
她的語氣聽起來被惹毛了:「你說什麼?」
「我是說,如果你們先害自己違反中立原則呢?」
「從來沒有發生過這種事,往後也不會發生。」
「看樣子你從來沒有聽過彼得羅呢。」
她本來正準備回話,但她緊接着意識到自己確實沒有聽過這個名字。
「我要切斷這次通訊了。」對方說道。 「但我還會回來。你們的網絡這麼發達,
那自己去搜一下』彼得羅『啊,你那邊應該沒有搞審查制度這種東西吧?
畢竟那裏應該是片好地方嘛。再見。」
通訊到此結束。
她的心跳得很快,趕忙在旁人察覺異樣之前返回到工作崗位。
Through their briefings, they were informed of what they needed to know.
About the disorder continuing on another planet, about the hijackings of their vessels within foreign
space, about the entertainment planned for later in the week...
They tended to ignore the death, and discuss coming concerts—or they tended to talk happily of
accomplishments. For example...
A friendlier system beside the fourth planet out always seemed to help their own. They had a simple
deal with that system: allowing this other society to utilize the NMPGM while they provided resources
from that perpetually dangerous planet with a turbulent atmosphere.
Her society was magnanimous, mostly: give, receive—such relationships served them well. Often,
people tried to use or infiltrate the psychically guarded networks quietly, for their own gain.
She did not know much, but Vita at least knew that if you wanted something, you were better off
simply asking for it.
She sometimes asked what that other planet's disorder—the planet she'd been briefed on again the
night before—what its disorder truly stemmed from. To her, their fighting over what sounded like
lost and easily forgettable grudges sounded foolish, stupid, needless.
She'd often say...
"...It's not like it's hard to find things in this world to be happy about."
Keep this in mind.
That day she received an unknown signal...
As she fortified the part of the path she was charged with, she heard, "west and
seeking aid. Coordinates are—"
And as she flinched, and as she looked around her at the other seated children,
she realized that she was the only person hearing this voice.
As she entered the coordinates she was given into the computer beside her
workstation, she steeled herself and sent out a thought:
"Rank and designation? Are you in Engineering or Communications? Why are you
offworld?"
Her questions were answered with silence. She nervously continued her duties,
ever mindful of the source of the transmission.
And eventually, it answered again.
"You can hear me? Wait—it actually works?"
"If I can hear you, you should know how to 'talk'. Are you not a Psychic?"
She paused. That was... a rather unsettling notion.
She told the other voice, "I'll be keeping your signal open and bridging
you to the commanders of—"
"Wait! You have to be one of the architects of the NMPGM, right!? From
that neutral country...!"
"There's nowhere that wouldn't know that," she answered, irritation creeping
over her fingers.
"Initiating bridge—"
"J-Just like I thought! The whole lot of you are arrogant—I knew this wouldn't work!
Why'd they assign me for it..."
Unintentionally, she slowly pinched at her armrest.
"I'm not arrogant," she replied. "Whatever infiltration methods you're using, they're
going to be found out. I must inform you that our network and people aren't things you
want to play with. If you break us out of neutrality, we break you. U-Understood?"
"What happens when you break it first?" asked the voice.
And her voice was delivered with a hiss: a sharply sent, "What?"
"I said, what happens when you break your neutrality first?"
"That's never happened, and it wouldn't happen."
"So you've never heard of Petorh."
And when she made to reply—she realized that she hadn't.
"I'm closing this transmission," said the voice, "but I'll open it again. Use your vast
networks to search 'Petorh'—they don't censor everything over there, right? You're
supposed to be a good place. Goodbye."
And so the transmission ended.
With her heart beating, she returned to her work before any disruption could be noticed.
12-3
解鎖條件:購入NEO WINGS單曲
解鎖要求:通過NEO WINGS
……那就是「真相」和「知識」……並非每次都是相同的兩件事。
維塔收到信號的時間點,是在所謂「周末」的幾小時愜意時光的前一天。在那之後連續兩天,
她騰出自己的空閒時間在基地的圖書館使用加密信號搜索互聯網,
這種信號加密原本的功能是掩護她和她的朋友在尋找被禁遊戲、
美術作品和影片時不至於留下痕跡。大家從來沒把它用在正事上過……
不過,由於彼得羅故事的關係,她很感謝自己有這個原本被大家當作是
「玩具」的東西幫助,因為她從未聽說過這般嚴肅而危險的題材。
……
我要在這邊特別提一下。
我並不記得我來自哪裏。我只「記得」其他 Arcaea 居住者的記憶,
特別是那些在虛無中的記憶。不過,這次的事件還是很容易回想起來……
在任何你所能想到的世界中,要找到某個象徵着「恐怖」的事物都並不困難。
在她出生的二十年前,正值 NMPGM 的擴張時期,當時的人們發現了名為彼得羅的小行星,
但卻沒有去重視它。
大約在四百年前,那顆小行星被移民級的星際飛船發現,對方當時因為母星的大氣消散而被迫逃離家園。
那艘飛船停靠在小行星上,並建立了「彼得羅」……但這一切都沒有被官方承認過。
在沒有文件紀錄的情況下,彼得羅循着不規律的運行軌道漂泊在荒蕪的外太空。
這顆小行星並沒有被遺忘,因為自始自終根本沒有人知曉它的存在。
在那之後又過了好幾百年,她的這個世界也發現了這顆小行星,但大家並不知道小行星上面住着一群人,
於是便使用 NMPGM 的力量迅速摧毀了大半的小行星。而這個決定的結果就像是……
使用炸藥過後的下場。小行星有一半汽化,而原本居住在上面的人口
直接銳減三分之二。
彼得羅人向她的世界提出抗議。維塔這邊星球的消息來源缺少有關這方面的紀錄。
根據其他星球的傳聞指出,她的世界私底下派出秘密組織掩蓋消息,消滅受害者的聲音。
彼得羅人後來決定跟某顆帝國行星建立聯盟,大家都知道這個帝國有着會接受投降者的傳統……
這件事維塔還記得很清楚。聽說她的世界曾在某個地處偏遠的太空地帶爆發了一場……「小衝突」。
據說當時帝國派出部隊與她世界的部隊交戰。
不過,她家鄉以外的其他任何消息來源都給出了完全不一樣的說法:
「因為帝國與某個未經正式授權的墾荒者結盟,
同時也為了消滅對方存在的事實並掩蓋自身所犯』錯誤『的痕跡,
他們動用 NMPGM 使某個星區塌縮,殺死了殘存的彼得羅人,連一部分的帝國人也跟着陪葬。」
雖然許多消息來源都採用此一說法,但最後真正說服她相信事實真相的,
還是來源於她自己世界內部網絡最深層的那兩頁報告。
真相……的開端:她這個採取中立態度的世界,其實只是表面上中立。為了達成所謂的「和平」,
像「彼得羅」這種類似的故事不在少數。其中許多案例的開端甚至還不是「無意」的疏失,
有一部分人認為彼得羅的事件也絕非意外。
……當然了,這些事情她都沒有跟其他人提起。
當然了,等到假日結束之後,她還是像往常那樣正常工作。
當然了,她決定要去找那個未知的信號赴約。
「我是最後僅存的彼得羅人之一。」對方說道。 「我們只不過是想要逃離罷了。」
逃離那個名為聯盟關係的奴隸制度——
逃離這個混亂的星系——
逃離她的星球及其無可比擬的影響力。
「我聽說他們的孩童能透過心靈建立通道。我…我們……」對方的聲音在顫抖。 「我們就在想,
說不定孩子能夠理解……那些在位者不屑一顧的事情。」
她問道:「你們想要什麼?」
對方給出答覆:「我們只想要一條出路。我們……我們聽說…這…這個 NMPGM 區通常很安靜,
而且我們知道這個地方地處偏遠。我們可以……我們有足夠的飛船,
說不定能到其他的星系去找適合居住的地方,或者是……」
對方告訴她,彼得羅人在受到帝國聯盟關係……實質是被奴役的期間,發現帝國正在偷偷研發科技,
打算監視那些維護 NMPGM 的頭腦。他們當時竊取了那個技術。在走投無路、山窮水盡的情況下,
他們心甘情願與維塔分享這件事,即便他們知道維塔必須將這樣的情報回報給上級。
但是彼得羅人當初與帝國建立的「聯盟」關係,如今已經毫無意義。
對方堅稱這裏的任何事物都沒有意義,他們一心只想逃離這個地方。
她很輕易就能滿足對方的這個心願。現代飛船隻要一眨眼的工夫就能飛到九霄雲外,
如果能有通道提供超光速旅行則更是如此……
只要抓準時機速戰速決送走對方,應該不會留下什麼痕跡……吧?
是啊……
她願意這麼做。
但是——你知道嗎?事情是這樣的:
NMPGM 過去被用來使星區塌縮,殺死殘存的彼得羅人,根本就沒有任何漏網之魚。
維塔透過通道以外的「視野」自然是能看見飛船,但憑藉她的力量有辦法辨認出對方是什麼樣的飛船嗎?
有辦法清楚看清飛船的外觀嗎?有辦法判斷飛船的大小嗎?
不行。
她無從知曉。
當維塔替準備逃離的「彼得羅人」開啟通道時……
……那些通道中瞬間湧入了帝國的戰爭飛船。
你還記得那些飛船在通道中的移動速度有多快嗎?
對對方而言也是一樣的……
現代飛船隻要一眨眼的工夫就能飛到九霄雲外,如果能有通道提供超光速旅行則更是如此……
在戰爭飛船進入 NMPGM 後,對方發動迅速且全面的攻勢,她的星球根本無力抵抗。
看樣子帝國手上掌握着許多情報,知道每個超能力基地的所在位置,並且優先摧毀了這些重要設施。
她世界的地表很快便遭到轟炸。當下並沒有太多時間能夠反應,不出幾個小時,
她的世界基本上已經面目全非。
儘管他們並沒有束手就擒——
曾經有人嘗試反擊、嘗試接通到另一個信號、嘗試儘可能摧毀來犯的敵軍船艦——
但絕大多數情況下,充斥着的只有絕望……
恐懼……
自我厭惡……
火海、戰慄、驚恐,這裏已然就是地獄……
他們在這場遊戲中「奮戰」,但他們所採取的第一個行動,其實早就已經決定了最終的勝負。
從上方襲來的炮彈標示出她基地的所在位置……
……然後,終結了她、她的上級還有她朋友們的生命。
……
在那之後,這位女孩在一片潔白的世界終醒來,眼眶中噙着淚水。
……不過,她並不明白自己為什麼流淚,也無法解釋胸口中所感受到的莫名疼痛。
她跟我們所有人一樣,都失去了生命。她跟我們絕大多數一樣,都沒有前世的記憶。
我不禁在想,她如何解釋自己流淚的行為呢?
我想,她在拭淚起身的時候,是否能感受到除了傷痛以外的事情?
比如說愧疚感。亦或是責任感。
……我想並非如此。或者我應該這麼說:她不應該有這種情緒,也不應該覺得自己有錯。
畢竟,所謂的「認知」到底是什麼呢?
她現在所「認知」到的事情……什麼也沒有。
而且……隨着這則故事來到結局,在她起身面對這個玻璃世界的同時,
我們不免還是要提出這個疑問……
……
...is that "truth", and "knowledge"... are not always necessarily the same thing.
It had been the day before an ease of hours—the "weekend"—when Vita received
the signal. For the following two days, she spent her free time within the base's
library and searching through the inter-network through a signal encryption she and
her friends typically used to find games, artwork, and videos forbidden to them
without leaving a trace. It was never for anything serious at all...
The story of Petorh, though, made her appreciate that tool they thought of as a "toy"
far more than ever, for never had a more serious subject become known to her, nor ever
one so dangerous.
...
I'd like to make a note here.
I don't remember where it was I came from. I only "remember" the memories of others
within Arcaea, and particularly within the Void. Still from this, it's easy to gather...
It isn't hard at all to find something to call "dreadful" in any world you can think of.
Twenty years before her birth, during the NMPGM's expansion, a planetoid named Petorh had been
discovered and pushed aside.
About four hundred years prior, the planetoid had been discovered by an Exodus-class starship
fleeing a dissipating atmosphere on their home world. The ship docked there and established
"Petorh"... unofficially.
Without documentation or declaration, and with an irregular orbit, within desolate space,
Petorh wasn't forgotten—for it was never known.
Her world then discovered the planetoid itself, and without knowing of its habitation, used
the might of NMPGM to swiftly devastate half of it. The result was something like... the
utilization of dynamite. Half the planetoid was vaporized, and with it went two-thirds of
the native population.
The Petorhans sought counsel with her world. Sources from Vita's planet lacked records of
these pleas. Other planets spoke of theories suggesting the involvement of clandestine
organizations from her world silencing any petitions. The Petorhans formed an alliance with
an imperial planet, known for adopting cultures at their surrender...
And Vita did remember that. Her world had supposedly engaged in a... "skirmish" on some
distant edge of space. Supposedly the Imperium had struck force against the forces from her
world.
However, source, after source, after source from anywhere other than her homeland claimed
something very different: "Because of the Imperium's alliance with an unregistered group of
squatters, and in order to eliminate information of their existence/the existence of their
world's 'mistake', they used the NMPGM to collapse a sector of space, killing the remaining
Petorhans—and some of the Imperium for good measure".
And while those many sources told this tale, it took two pages from the deepest sections of
her own world's inter-network to convince her of the truth.
The... beginning of truth: the reality that her neutral world merely wore a neutral mask. In its
reach for "peace", stories like "Petorh's"... were not at all few in number. Most, even, did not
begin "accidentally"—and there were some who thought the tale of Petorh, too, had started in the
same way.
...Naturally, she kept this all to herself.
Naturally, she returned to work when usual working days began once more...
Naturally, she engaged the unknown signal again.
"I am among the last Petorhans," it said. "We only want escape."
From an alliance that had in fact brought them into what amounted to slavery—
From the chaos of this entire galaxy—
From, especially, her planet and its overwhelming reach.
"I heard that they had children minding the pathways. I—we—" the voice stammered,
"we thought maybe a kid could understand... what people at the top wouldn't ever bother to."
She asked, "What do you want?"
To which the voice replied, "Just one way out. What we... We've heard—this—this part of
the NMPGM is usually quiet, and we know it's very far out. We could... We have enough
ships that we could probably find another place with other stars, or..."
The voice told her that during their alliance—really just enslavement—to the Imperium,
the Petorhans had discovered that the Imperium had been developing technology to spy on
the minds supporting the NMPGM. They'd stolen that technology, and being so desperate and
so burned, they had no issue sharing that fact with Vita—who, of course, would need to report
this information.
But the "alliance" the Petorhans had made with the Imperium now meant nothing. Nothing
here meant anything; as the voice insisted, they only wanted to escape.
And she could easily grant it. Modern-day ships could travel with almost instantaneous speed,
especially with the faster-than-light travel provided by the pathways...
One quick opening, and a quick jump—off the record...?
Yeah...
She would allow it.
But—did you know? This is true:
The NMPGM was, in fact, used to collapse a sector of space, killing the remaining Petorhans.
None at all were left.
Vita's "sight" outside of the pathways could certainly see ships—but could she, with her power,
identify the KIND of ships? The true, non-vague shape? The size, even?
No.
What could she have known?
When Vita opened the path for "Petorhan" escapees...
...those paths were flooded instead with Imperium warships.
And do you remember how fast ships could move through those paths?
This is also true...
Modern-day ships could travel at an almost instantaneous speed,
especially with the faster-than-light travel provided by the pathways...
Once the warships had navigated the NMPGM, the attack on her planet was swift,
thorough, and unable to defend against.
It seemed the Imperium had plenty of intelligence informing them of the locations of
Psychic bases, as they mostly destroyed those first.
The surface of her world was bombarded quickly. There was little time to react, and in
a matter of hours, nearly everything had been.
Though they did try—
There was an attempt—to fight back in time, to reach that other signal, to destroy as
much of the invading fleet as possible—
But, mostly, there was only despair...
Dread...
Self-hate...
Amidst fire, fear, terror, and Hell itself...
They "fought" in a game where their own first move had already sealed their defeat.
A cannon from above marked the position of her base...
...and ended the lives of her, her superiors, and her friends.
...
The girl woke up in a world of white after, with tears brimming in her eyes.
...However, she had no knowledge that might prompt them—no known
reason in her head for the pain inside her chest.
She was dead, like all of us. She didn't remember, like most of us.
So I wonder what it was she thought of her tears.
I wonder if, as she wiped them away and stood, she felt anything other than sorrow.
Guilt, maybe. Responsibility.
...I don't think that's the case. Or maybe what I mean to say is: she should not feel that way.
She shouldn't consider herself to have been in the wrong.
After all, what does it even mean to "know"?
What she "knows" now is...nothing.
And...as this story comes to a close, as we think of her getting up and facing the world of glass,
I think it's very pertinent to ask...
...