()||<BIN>9</BIN><黑屏1>0,10</黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:
()||<黑屏2><BIN>550</BIN><BGM>GF_22W_BGM_2</BGM>:Inside Amaris' neural cloud.+The pale moon hangs high above the fated twins. The two of them face each other in this silent realm, as streams of data flow past them.
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:You won't be able to kill me with just this much.+Did you use all your strength just to keep me in the depths of your neural cloud for just a bit longer?
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:...Aliana.+How on earth did you kill them?+I can't even recover their neural cloud cores...
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>;NPC-SCAR-H(0)||:I've told you many times, dear sister.+It was through the final resting place of every soldier—their "dog tags".+That is also why I can find you, and only you, no matter where you are.
NPC-SCAR-L(0);NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:...
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>;NPC-SCAR-H(0)||:Now that I've answered your question, its time for you to answer mine.
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:You... Why were you in the "Daybreak" squad?
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:You'll find out soon enough.
()||:Amaris smiles. This is an expression Aliana has never seen her make before.
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:Aliana, why do you think I am the "moon"?
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||<黑屏1>:...
()||<黑屏2><BIN>563</BIN>:In the endless darkness, Amaris takes a seat in a corner of this unviewable realm.
()||<SE1>AVG_Water_Drip</SE1>:Drip...+It is as though a drop of water has fallen into this still, stagnant, dead water.+In the next moment, cool moonlight chases away the darkness and scatters the fog before Amaris' eyes.
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:You...
()||:The light is so gentle that even Amaris, who has been in the dark all this time, does not feel any discomfort viewing it.
()<Speaker>Laura</Speaker>||:Congratulations on finding your whole self.
()<Speaker>Samantha</Speaker>||:Congratulations.
()<Speaker>Morea</Speaker>||:Well done, Amaris.
()<Speaker>Olivia</Speaker>||:...I always knew you could do it
()<Speaker>Nicole</Speaker>||:Well, I've got to hand it to you now.
()<Speaker>Callisto</Speaker>||:How does it feel to be "Amaris" again?
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:You guys...
()||<SE1>AVG_Applause</SE1>:(Applause)
()||<SE1>AVG_Applause</SE1>:The darkness is fully gone now, and one familiar face after another appears before Amaris.+She stares dumbly at them from her seat, unwilling even to blink, as though they might leave if she did.
()||<SE1>AVG_Water_Drip</SE1>:Drip...+A tear courses down her cheek, but she doesn't notice at all.
NPC-SCR(0)<Speaker>Eula</Speaker><GradientShow>2</GradientShow>||:Amaris.
()||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:A hand gently pats her shoulder. Amaris shudders, then slowly looks up to see Eula standing beside her, smiling as kindly as always.
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||<BGM>BGM_Scar_Morichongfeng</BGM>:Eula...
()||:Amaris' tears obscure her vision.+In the data realm of the base layer, physical obstructions are meaningless.+She knows full well that this is just an outcome she is trying to avoid.
NPC-SCR(0)<Speaker>Eula</Speaker>||:Amaris!
()||:It is Eula's voice that reawakens her.
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:Are you... going to leave me now?
NPC-SCR(0)<Speaker>Eula</Speaker>||:...
()||:Eula looks at her and gently pats her head.
NPC-SCR(0)<Speaker>Eula</Speaker>||:Amaris, I've always known that you had the strength and bravery that we didn't.+You knew the truth and what you had to do from the beginning, didn't you?
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:...
()<Speaker>Laura</Speaker>||:Heh, don't worry about us. I don't want to be a bad big sister who drags her little sister down at the end.
()<Speaker>Callisto</Speaker>||:Aliana was once the sun that illuminated us.+But to us, you are the patient moon.+Amaris... this is a duty that only you can perform.
NPC-SCR(0)<Speaker>Eula</Speaker>||:Are you ready, Amaris?
NPC-SCR(3)<Speaker>Eula</Speaker>||:Don't be scared. We're all by your side.
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:...
()||:Amaris nods. +All the familiar faces close in around her like a loop. Some are kind, some encouraging, and some are approving.+As she bathes in their gazes, Amaris sighs heavily before slowly lifting her head.
NPC-SCR(0)<Speaker>Eula</Speaker>||:...Tell us. Who are you?
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:I am the moon that swallows the sun.+Just like how the eclipse is the shadow that swallows all daylight.
()||:She is the last sister of "Daybreak", the one who was loved by all—these memories and this support have allowed her to be selfish and survive until now.+This selfishness nearly made her forget her duty, which was to serve as the "fatal flaw" for a certain someone.
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||<黑屏1>:...I am Amaris.
()<Speaker>??</Speaker>||<黑屏2><BIN>568</BIN><回忆>:Your name has been chosen.+Daughter of the Moon, a gift from the gods.+Amaris.+Thus, we have decided to give you a little gift of our own.
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:...What is it?
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>??</Speaker><同时置暗>||:It is a door, one that you will use to store a little redundant data in your neural cloud space for the future of Daybreak Squad.
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>???</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Are you willing to strive hard for the future of Daybreak Squad?
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:...I am.
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>??</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Good. Her end will also be your beginning.+The key to this door is yours now, but you must not use it lightly.
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>???</Speaker><同时置暗>||<黑屏1>:Lock these memories away for now, for when the time comes... No, that time should never come.
()||<黑屏2><关闭蒙版><BIN>563</BIN>:The seat below Amaris has already vanished.+She is standing now, her head held up high as her tightly-shut eyelids begin to open. There is no longer any doubt in her shining eyes.+Eula, Laurel, Callisto... One familiar face after another stands behind her.
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:The Dog Tag System, you say?+The thing that destroyed and imprisoned you.+...Today, I will put an end to all this.
()||:The door bound by steel chains that glows with a dangerous light sits quietly before her.+Amaris reaches out to it without a second thought.
NPC-SCAR-H(0)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker><Shake>||:...!
()||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:Eula's hand covers hers.+Laurel's hand covers hers.+Callisto's hand covers hers.+One after another, their ephemeral shades overlap with her hand.+Amaris does not look back, even though she knows there is nobody behind her.
()||<SE1>AVG_Door_Open_Close</SE1><黑屏1>:Creak—+The heavy chains snap one by one, putting up no resistance whatsoever. The door that always rejected Amaris finally begins to open for her.
()||<黑屏2><BIN>550</BIN><SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:Whoosh—
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker><Shake>||:...!?
()||:A stream of data she's never seen before suddenly floods into this domain.+The phantasmal moon overhead grows brighter. Beneath its light, people and objects that did not originally exist in this place appear before her eyes once again.
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||<黑屏1>:...I see, so it was you.+I'm so happy it was you, Amaris!
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||<黑屏2><BIN>551</BIN><BGM>BGM_Scar_Shenzhizi</BGM>:You have three minutes to say your last words.
()<Speaker>Samantha</Speaker>||:Pfft, you're so cute when you act tough, Aliana.
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:...
()||:Samantha's smile slowly vanishes, and she lowers her eyes.
()<Speaker>Samantha</Speaker>||:The death of humans on a battlefield is always a very painful thing.+The melding of neural clouds is just a forced merging of data, so it shouldn't hurt so much, right...
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:Frankly speaking, I don't know.
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Samantha</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Tell me, Aliana, will there be an end to war?
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:This is what I should be doing.
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Samantha</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Although I already knew this, I still couldn't convince myself when the time came.+Whether I was blown up by a stray bomb, or melted down by the enemy...
()||:...+There is a long silence.+Samantha closes her eyes and her body shudders.+Aliana reaches out her hand and places it on Samantha's chest.+A blue light glows.
()<Speaker>Samantha</Speaker>||:Ali, no matter who lives in the end, please remember our mission, to end the war and bring back the light of day...+That way, it'll be as though we completed our mission...
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:...
()||<黑点1>:Samantha's face grows paler and paler.+Her neural cloud data is forcefully extracted and fused...+A massive stream of data quickly takes shape.+Samantha's sorrow, fear, pain and resignation... they all flow into it.+These rich feelings tear at Aliana's neural cloud and make her feel like she's split into two Dolls.
()||<黑点2>:...
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:(Pants heavily)
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Callisto</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Hah—Dammit.+I always wanted a proper showdown.+Still, there's no chance for that; you took me out so quickly...+I didn't think the end would be so boring...
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:...Is that all you have to say?
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Callisto</Speaker><同时置暗>||:What else is there to say?+Wars end when the bullets run out.+I just didn't expect you to fire the last shot...
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:There will be an end to war.
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Callisto</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Unfortunately, it's got nothing to do with me.+It's got nothing to do with the tens of thousands of people who have died all these years too.
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:...
NPC-SCAR-L(0)<Speaker>Callisto</Speaker><同时置暗>||:Do it, don't make me suffer.+Daybreak will come eventually, for one person or another...
()||<黑点1>:Callisto's image wavers and is eventually consumed and shredded by the flood. Aliana's face grows paler.
()||<黑点2>:...
()<Speaker>Laura</Speaker>||<黑点1>:It's sad... But although it's sad, I feel nothing.+Am I broken?
()||<黑点2>:...
()<Speaker>Nicole</Speaker>||<黑点1>:Why... I don't understand... Why...
()||<黑点2>:...
()<Speaker>Olivia</Speaker>||<黑点1>:Aliana...
()||<黑点2>:...
NPC-SCR(4)<Speaker>Eula</Speaker>||:Aliana...
()||<SE1>AVG_2022Saros_SCARH2</SE1><黑屏1>:Bang—!+Aliana pulls the trigger and blasts the final phantom, Eula, to bits.+Eula's cold face becomes Amaris' face. This time, one of them is still looking haughtily down on the others, but their positions are reversed now.
()||<黑屏2><BIN>9</BIN><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:Like a poison deep in her bones, all that data runs rampant throughout Aliana's body.
()||<黑屏1>:Her body is torn apart and put back together over and over again, barely managing to hold onto its original shape.+She looks at Amaris before her and smiles thinly.
()||<黑屏2><BIN>571</BIN><narrator><黑屏1><BGM>BGM_Scar_Morichongfeng</BGM>:You win.+...+After I die, will you inherit my memory fragments like you did theirs?+I won't. You don't deserve to be in the same room as them, even as fragments.+...That's a relief. I hate the feeling of being watched. Even if it's by you, Amaris.
()||<黑屏2><BIN>570</BIN><narrator><黑屏1>:Heh. I can't kill you like you killed them. +What a shame... You won't be able to take my dog tags...+I've already taken back everyone's things.+Have you?+And you... Aliana... You don't matter any more.+...+At least, not to me.
()<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||<黑屏2><BIN>546</BIN><火花>:Your "Dog Tag" system is bound to my "Door".
()<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:...I see...
()<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:Or rather, they're the same system when they're put together.+However, they felt that you were the future of Daybreak Squad.+That's why they gave you everything that could improve your capabilities.
()<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:Haha, lucky me, then—
()<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:And... All the things they considered useless, like accumulated emotions and redundant memory data, they gave to me instead.+Thanks to that design, they've been keeping me company for 13 years.
()||<黑屏1>:Amaris' voice trails off, as though she's lost interest.
()||<BIN>566</BIN><黑屏2><Night><SE1>AVG_wind_grass</SE1>:Clatter.+The howling night wind bursts into the center of the skyscraper through the broken windows, and it sounds like wailing as it blows through the building's interior.+Aliana is lying in the center of the structure, staring dazedly at Amaris, who is standing tall before her.
NPC-SCAR-H(5)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||<SE1>Stop_AVG_loop</SE1>:...
()||:Amaris looks at Aliana, who has collapsed and is powerless to stand back up. She takes a piece of paper from her waistpouch and tosses it at Aliana.
()||<SE1>AVG_20Winter_Book</SE1>:The paper spins in the wind as it falls, and it finally lands beside Aliana's head.+It is a picture of two people.
SCAR-L(1)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:...
()||<黑屏1>:Amaris looks Aliana dead in the eyes.+Aliana returns her gaze, staring deep into her eyes.
()||<黑屏2><BIN>543</BIN><黑屏1>:It is only then that Aliana realizes something.+The weak, useless Amaris that always needed to be cared for by others...+At some point, when she was not aware of it, she had sprouted, blossomed, and grown into a towering tree that even she could not budge.
NPC-SCAR-H(5)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||<黑屏2><BIN>566</BIN>:Did you know? I used to envy you.+And for a moment, just a moment, I wondered if I should become you.+And yes, I did dream of becoming someone like you.
SCAR-L(1)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:...
()||:Aliana doesn't say a word. She can speak, but right now, she chooses not to.
NPC-SCAR-H(5)<Speaker>Amaris</Speaker>||:But right now, that place...+The place that I always admired and longed to reach...+The person standing there isn't you anymore.
()||:As she looks at Aliana's dull eyes, Amaris wipes her face and turns away.+This is a determination she has never shown before.
SCAR-L(1)<Speaker>Aliana</Speaker>||:...
()||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM><SE1>AVG_footsteps_cave</SE1><黑屏1>:Aliana looks at the empty ceiling.+She listens to the endless, hollow echoes of footsteps.+Finally, they vanish in the direction of the exit.+...The night is silent once more.