Ibis Harbinger 

The top floor of Ibis Tower, where one could see a sweeping view of the fantastical city of Neon Nebula, was devastated beyond recognition, likely from a fierce battle. Two guards lay unconscious on the floor, and what looked like blueprints were scattered all around the private room of Ibis, the building's owner. Most of the floor had been destroyed with the Hyperion's sudden activation. Someone moved across the floor, undaunted by its exposure to the wind—the automaton Gigi. She went to Ibis's private room and walked in, where she found a blueprint caught under the rubble.

"Momo, please take a look at this."

Gigi picked up the blueprint and lowered her gaze so that Momo, relaxing in the extra space in her head, could see them. On it was a drawing with a certain charm to it. Momo looked at the blueprint through Momo's eyes and squinted as if staring into the distance, fondly recalling a memory of Ibis.

----------

Before Neon Nebula was divided and ruled by three people, angry shouts echoed through the joint research lab at the northern edge of the city every day.

"Why'd you keep adding all this unnecessary stuff! Didn't I tell you to split up the uses?!"

"Why go out of my way to keep it separate when I can combine them into one!? One machine can perform many roles—that's the truth of this world!"

Before them sat robots that embodied each of their ideals. Today was a regularly scheduled day on which they would check each other's development progress. The robots used a common frame, and today was the day they would present the final products...or it should have been, if they worked at a regular pace. However, while most of Momo's work was complete, Ibis was only halfway there.

Momo scrunched up her round eye in amusement, pointed to Ibis's machine, and said, "Looks like goin' for a multipurpose machine caused problems for the joints—you're never gonna finish it, are you!?"

"I have a vision, I tell you—a great dream!"

Ibis ran her robot's transformation function to make Momo understand how amazing her work was. As programmed, it shifted from bipedal to quadrupedal movement, but it toppled over, unable to support its own weight.

"Must be a nice dream."

"Ngh... All I want is to create a machine that can operate in any environment. Is that so wrong?"

"The bigger the scale, the less room there is to do whatever you want. You can't go chasing dreams like this."

Momo and Ibis's robots were decisively far from ideal. Momo's had a refined humanoid body with the absolute minimum equipment. Ibis, on the other hand, not only piled on all sorts of functions, but preferred combining elements of humans and other creatures. It was only natural their opinions would not match.

It was the same with urban development. They specialized in different fields, so they divided up the roles as development proceeded. Momo handled matters of security and food, while Ibis tackled infrastructure issues, like electricity. By the time preparations were ready, many months had passed. Momo and Ibis had each moved their base of operations to separate places, and because of the physical distance, they no longer saw each other face to face.

When the growing Neon Nebula transitioned to the current three-ruler system, Momo, who was able to entrust the majority of her operations to Gigi and her subordinates, wanted to see Ibis's face for the first time in a while, so she decided to go see her.

"She sounds fine from her voice, but I'd better see her."

Compared to the long-lived Momo, humans like Ibis had short lifespans. For Momo, she often said "the other day" when talking about something ten or twenty years ago. Momo had just had the discrepancy in her sense of time pointed out to her in a recent meeting. That discrepancy had been the cause of conflict between them. So, Momo decided to visit Ibis Tower to speak with Ibis again during her lifespan.

"Haven't seen her in a while and she built all this, huh?"

Ibis's district was filled only with buildings constructed for research purposes.

"Sure enough, she hasn't thrown in the towel..."

Thinking that just going to see her wouldn't change anything about their relationship, Momo went to the man guarding the entrance of Ibis Tower and told him she had come to see Ibis.

"...Unfortunately, it seems Dr. Ibis cannot meet with you, Ms. Momo."

"Why's that?"

"Dr. Ibis has fallen ill and will not be seeing anyone."

"I heard that in the meeting! Why doesn't she wanna see me!?"

"That I do not know. Dr. Ibis has not wanted to see anyone for a long time now."

With that, the doorman shut his mouth. Even as one of the city's rulers, if she caused a disturbance in another district, Momo would be punished. She went home, unable to meet Ibis.

Their conflict began when Ibis made a suggestion when the urban development plan was between stages.

"Before the interstellar matter fills the sky, I think we ought to move to another planet."

"What kind of stupid idea...?"

Before Momo could say anything more, Ibis continued, "I've already thought of a plan. We'll build a giant migration ship, and take all of Neon Nebula's residents to a habitable planet!"

Seeing Ibis speak proudly of her ideals even now, Momo concluded that it was far too preposterous an argument. Doubts came to mind one after another, like whether they could actually find a suitable planet to migrate to, where to store the ship, or electricity. However, there was something even more important than those questions to ask.

"Everything we've built 'til now—are you gonna act like it never happened!?"

"We may have a place to live now, but this planet won't always be stable. That's why I want to prepare to leave the planet at any time!"

Ibis was still as hot-blooded as ever, but there were faint signs of age and fatigue in the tone of her voice. Having dedicated half her life to Neon Nebula without proper rest, she must have realized that her dream wouldn't come true if she missed this chance.

"..."

She wanted to be closer to Ibis emotionally. However, before she was Ibis's friend, she was a ruler of Neon Nebula. There was no way she could support Ibis's opinion.

"I can't accept that. Neon Nebula is finally stable, and you want to force your ideals on it!?"

"...!"

At first, Ibis wanted to argue against Momo's cold rejection, but she merely fixed her lonely gaze on her, saying nothing. After a long silence, Ibis spoke.

"...I just thought surely you, Momo, would support my idea."

"Why now, Ibis? You're old now, but you've still got a long time ahead of you. Even if Neon Nebula is more stable than it is now—"

"A long time? You wouldn't understand! Your lifespan is so much longer than ours!"

"Wait, Ibis, I wasn't fin—"

Ibis left without listening to her warning. And so that day marked the turning point of Momo and Ibis parting ways.

----------

Recalling the scene of their parting back then, Momo uttered weakly, "...Wonder what I should have said to her."

Paying no mind to Momo drowning in regret, Gigi began to roam about the room, and discovered a clue to Ibis's actions.

"Momo, please take a look at this."

"It's...Ibis's research journal?"

What she was researching was unclear from the burnt cover, but from the fragments of information Gigi put together, it turned out to be research on the infrastructure of Neon Nebula that she was in charge of—the energy problem.

"Solved the energy problem: Found a place to migrate."

With that message and the name of the Hyperion, Ibis's journal came to an end. There was no detailed information about the Hyperion written anywhere, and with Ibis's room in such a disastrous state, it would be difficult to investigate how she completed it on her own. Momo decided to confront Ibis again once it was all resolved, and poked her face out from Gigi's head.

"Forgive me, Ibis."

She looked out at the Hyperion, losing control and falling to pieces as it plummeted to the ground.

The Hyperion fell from Neon Nebula's sky, spewing black smoke. Without the float units, it could not control the attitude of its massive body. The complex structures of its tail and arms slowly crumbled, scattering fragments wide across the ground. Only the torso remained intact. If it fell as is, it would crash into the wall surrounding Neon Nebula, causing enormous damage to the area. As it drew closer to the city, it was illuminated by the neon lights. Then, atop the body, where no one should have been, a figure walked along with casual steps.

It was a woman in a pale gray jacket and red bodysuit—the enforcer Astor. She swung her sword horizontally and returned it to the sheath hanging from her waist. She had done what she had to. Astor had taken Clayg's advice and destroyed the remaining three float units that William and Eirene could not in order to stop the Hyperion.

"And with that, the crisis on this planet is over."

Her duty fulfilled, Astor was about to return to Clayg, when—

"—uh...gh... Ah..."

Astor's ears caught the sound of someone groaning. She followed the sound of the voice and saw a man caught in the claws outstretched from the Hyperion's torso.

"That's...the aberrant who attacked the building—what's he doing here...?"

This boy had the power to contort what was right before his eyes with just a snap of the fingers. His power alone had caused massive damage to a whole city block.

"He should be judged by the people who live in this city. But...a power that strong is beyond their control. Well, here we are..."

The next moment, Astor leapt high toward the claws and retrieved the boy—then vanished toward the ground.

With the crash of the Hyperion, the chaos surrounding Neon Nebula came to an end. However, not everything had been brought to light. The whereabouts of the Hyperion's creator Ibis, who should have been involved in the turmoil, were utterly unknown, and with part of Ibis Tower collapsed, what she was trying to do was unclear. Some things would likely become clear with time, but at present, it was difficult to pursue. That was how deep the Hyperion's aftermath ran.

Neon Nebula was a city constructed in a limited space. It had once been expanded horizontally, but now the only option was to extend vertically. The buildings and the spider's web of roads connecting them extended all over the city, and the falling fragments had caused a chain of collapses.

The residents had not suffered a catastrophe until now, but their hearts were not broken by the terrible sight. Those who could move were already working toward recovery, rescuing the injured and clearing away the wreckage. Those who were only lightly injured soon joined as well, building the momentum of restoration.

There were no racial barriers among those hard at work, as Anthros and Humans alike sought as one to restore the city. Oddly enough, the disaster of the Hyperion seemed to have brought a great change to their relationships.

In the midst of it, William and Linne worked alongside the busily moving restoration group. The two of them were using hammers to break huge chunks of rubble into smaller pieces.

Wham!

William's hands went numb in less than ten swings, and he had a hard time even holding the handle, so he sat down on the hammer, panting.

"S-So they don't use machines for this here..."

"Tired, huh, William," Linne said as they skillfully swung the hammer down with their feelers. William slumped his shoulders at the act that seemed to defy the laws of physics.

"Are you kidding me...? Sigh... I shouldn't be whining. I won't even be able to protect Eirene—no, protect myself like that."

William once again looked back on the battles he had fought. He had fought Ankh several times, and the battles just so happened to go well, but if he had fought Lavina, the future might have been quite different. Moreover, there was one other thing worrying him. That was the red flash headed for the Hyperion. No sooner had it reached the Hyperion than the float units were destroyed in the blink of an eye and it began falling to the ground.

"I don't have a clue who that flash was, but I get the feeling we'll run into them again somewhere."

William wanted to consider them an ally, but if their interests happened to align this time, it was possible they could be an enemy the next. If that happened, their adventure in this unfamiliar world would be over.

"I've gotta find something..."

As William sighed, he noticed that some kind of commotion had begun nearby. He turned around to see the group of Anthros he encountered when he first set foot in Neon Nebula, all lined up in a row.

"Hard at work, are ya, Human!"

"Um, Dino, was it?"

"Oooh! You remembered my name—I just might cry!"

Back then, William had challenged Dino, who was far bigger and brawnier than him, to a duel. They were about to fight when Gigi intruded, beating Dino and making him run with his tail between his legs. But Gigi wasn't here right now. As William wondered if he was here to continue what they started, Dino shouted.

"Listen here! You lot protected our city, didn'tcha!?"

His attitude had changed immensely. There was no contempt—his voice was enthusiastic, as if reuniting with an old friend.

"Uh...um...?"

"Whoa, whoa, what're ya scared stiff for? I'm sayin' we already accept ya! Here, look!"

When he said that, Dino and his underlings stuck out their right shoulders and showed them to William. Some sort of letters were tattooed there.

"Wh-What's it say?"

"Ain't it obvious!? It's your name! And next to it is ours!"

"H—Huuuhhh!?"

Before he knew it, William had become revered among the Anthros as a hero who protected Neon Nebula.

"That's right. You heard me, William. You wanna protect someone, don'tcha? Means you wanna train your body, right?"

"Ah, yeah. I guess."

"Then let us handle it! Even a Downy like you can be reborn if ya train with us!"

"Reborn?" Linne asked.

"Yeah! Even your twig of a body can change!"

"Sounds fun!"

Somehow, Linne had joined the conversation, taken their side, and joined in on inviting him. It seemed like they would overwhelm him at this rate.

"Warning. William is exceedingly confused by your overbearing solicitation. Should you persist in this manner, I shall be your partner."

Of course, she meant in actual combat. With Gigi's firm words, she raised one leg and flashed the blade folded into her heel. After making all that racket, Dino and the others paled and retreated.

"Thanks, Gigi. You saved me."

"There is no need to thank me. I simply look after you all as I am ordered by Momo."

"Look after us, huh..." William muttered, when a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Does that mean you'd train me in martial arts and fighting techniques?"

Gigi looked William over head to toe, and flatly replied, "Question. William, it would seem you already know a certain amount."

"Huh? I guess I do..."

Just as Gigi said, William had learned martial arts as a child. Still, he didn't think it amounted to much.

"I still don't think I've reached a point where I'm confident in myself."

"Is that so? Then, if it is what you wish, William, I will be your opponent any time."

"That'll be a big help, thanks. Anyway, you came here for some reason, right?"

"Affirmative. I have brought Eirene."

Then, Eirene poked her head out from behind Gigi.

"Great work, William, Linne."

Her voice rang out like a bell, and she smiled. Just seeing her laugh happily was enough to make William feel all the fatigue leave his body.

"I actually brought refreshments for you two."

"Re-fresh-mints?"

"Yes. I hope you'll enjoy it too, Linne..."

"I'm sure you will! Right, Linne?"

"Yep!"

There was just one thing William was fed up with since coming to this world—the food. Vast as the city was, there was limited space. Neon Nebula had no large-scale farmland or grain-producting regions like William's world, so there was no freedom in regard to food. The only foods Momo prepared for them were a kind of gooey paste and something solid like dog food. Lavina had given them the same thing in her lab, so it must have been typical food in this world.

"Oh... I'm getting hungry just thinking about it..."

"Here you are, William!"

As he groaned and held his stomach, Eirene showed him what she held behind her back. His chest pounding with anticipation, he looked at her hand to see a mix of some sort of pills in cubes and spheres.

"...What...is it?"

Eirene picked up a cube-shaped pill and cheerfully explained, "Miss Momo let me use her equipment to try and recreate the taste of food from my world ♪"

As he struggled to find a response, Linne put it in their mouth.

"It's good, William."

"Okay, here, William!"

William took the yellow-green pill and put it in his mouth. The moment he bit into it, a strong bitterness spread through his mouth, and an intense sweetness to counteract it.

"Mm, hm..."

"William?"

"William?"

The two of them checked on him. Behind him, Gigi seemed to be smiling somewhat.

"...'s good, Eirene. It's got...how should I say it...a gentle flavor."

"I'm glad ♪ There's still a lot more where that came from, so please, hang in there and give it your all on the restoration work, okay?"

"Haha, thanks, Eirene."

William felt like he got a glimpse of why the members of Fangsta loved drinking and brawling in this world with little concept of entertainment. That day, William found a new goal: a trivial goal, to take Eirene to a diner from his own world. He picked up several pills and put them in his mouth. Sure enough, no matter how many he ate, he'd never get used to it.

As Neon Nebula began making its way toward recovery, Clayg and Astor made their way to the underground facility outside the city where they had detected the root of the erosion. Their original purpose for coming to this Otherworld had been to search for the missing Logos investigator. Then, if the cause was erosion, they were to dispose of it.

Astor cleared away the swarm of living weapons deployed as the facility's defense system, and they returned to the place they were forced to retreat from previously. A huge cylindrical machine sat at the center of the room, and looking in through the transparent window on the side, they could see translucent creatures floating there. Those creatures were Lemures, lesser beings than the Larva they had fought. When they held up the erosion-detection device to an especially concentrated area of Lemures, there was a strong response. Astor confirmed that the cylindrical machine was piping power to the surrounding machines, and asked Clayg a question.

"If we destroy this and shut down the erosion, what will happen to this Otherworld?"

"Eventually, it will perish."

"We can't—"

"But that is not now."

Clayg added that the majority of Neon Nebula's electrical power was supplied by the dam.

"If they continue to live their lives as before, they will eventually fail to provide for themselves and collapse. However, I don't believe the residents here will do that. I'm sure they will choose a better future."

Clayg stopped speaking and set about dealing with the erosion. Astor followed suit and drew her sword.

----------

Clayg took measures to prevent anyone who eventually discovered this place from reaching the Lemures, and asked Astor about a new matter of concern.

"How's his condition?"

"He's got some nerve. He's been asleep the whole time."

"I see. In that case, it's about time to wake him up. Now that we've done our duty, there's nothing else we can do."

Clayg and Astor left the underground facility and headed to the dam where he—Ankh—was waiting.

Plshhh!

The sound of splashing water echoed through the dimly lit room, and Ankh awoke.

"Nn...cough... Bleh...bleh!"

His whole body shivering, he hurriedly checked his situation. The water dripping from his bangs was in the way. Ankh tried to sweep his hair back, but it was then that he realized he was tied to a chair.

"Hey, what's the deal!? Lavina! Is this your doing!?"

"Finally awake, huh? Moron."

The voice was just as cold as the room itself. Ankh heard the sound of someone quickly tapping the floor, and a young woman in a pale gray jacket and red bodysuit appeared in front of him—Astor. He whistled playfully at the strong curves of her feminine body.

"You tied me up pretty tight. This what you're into? Gyahahaha!"

"Shut up."

"Hah, I dunno who the hell you are, but you better be ready if you're gonna torture me. 'Cause you started this!"

Ankh's shout echoed through the room, making Astor grimace slightly.

"...Sheesh, all tied up and you've still got all this energy."

"You...don't think I can do anything, do you?"

"Heh, am I wrong?"

Furious at her sneering, Ankh aimed for Astor's left arm, resisting the pain from the wire biting into his hands.

"Twist!"

Snap!

The moment Ankh snapped his fingers, the sleeve of Astor's jacket twisted...and only the sleeve.

"...Huh?"

Her hand was unscathed, and she checked on it like nothing happened.

"Did you do something just now?"

"Are you fucking kidding me!? I said twist!"

He unleashed his power at Astor's neck with more force than before. But nothing happened. She took Ankh's power head-on.

"No way... That's not possible..."

It was the first time he had met such an opponent. Ankh's face twitched involuntarily at experiencing something so mysterious.

"You're so shallow." For the first time, Astor's arrogant expression dropped. Her face was one of pity. "You think putting up a bold front will make other people back down? That kind of thing only works on people lower than you."

"Shut up!"

Ankh still couldn't help but shout. His body was tied up, and he couldn't even rely on his power. There was nothing he could do but act tough and make himself look bigger.

"Seriously... Cut it out and quiet down. No one's going to help you, and you can't hurt me."

"Hah... That so!?"

There was a comical squelching sound. Ankh had spat out a mix of blood and saliva from his mouth onto Astor's nose and lips.

"Looks pretty good on you! Gyahaha—"

With a great thwam!, Ankh and the chair went flying, tumbling over twice and falling to the floor. He writhed in agony, all out of energy to speak. Astor squared her shoulders and walked over to Ankh when Clayg, silently watching the scene from behind, spoke up.

"Enough, Astor. Humans can die easily from a blow of your strength."

"I won't kill him. This is discipline."

"...Good grief. It seems you haven't realized. The moment you let him provoke you, you stooped to his level."

"...!"

Astor's eyes went wide and she let out a shout. Then, she softly cleared her throat, lifted Ankh's chair as if nothing had happened, and stepped back behind Clayg.

"...God damn...steel...bitch..."

Ankh took heaving breaths as Clayg said calmly, "Hm, I don't mind if you begrudge us, but it would be best if you were aware it's thanks to her you haven't died."

"What?"

Clayg explained what happened to Ankh. He had lost consciousness on top of the Hyperion as it fell to the ground, and Astor had saved him. Then, because he was burned all over, she spent a long time nursing him back to health.

"I-I don't think you needed to say all of that."

"No, it's important that he fully understands his position."

"What, you saved my life so you're acting like some kinda god now? Steel bitch."

"You—"

Clayg held Astor back with his hand as she once again fell for his provocation, flatly muttering, "You're still young."

Then, before another petty squabble could begin, he cut to the chase. "We'd like to invite you to Logos."

"Huh? The hell's that?"

"..."

Astor looked at Clayg in disbelief. Ankh's bleeding lips bent ever so slightly at her confusion.

William and Eirene were talking on the roof of Momo's temporary base. The usual topic of conversation was Ankh's utterly unknown whereabouts. With Gigi's help, William had been investigating the area where the Hyperion crashed.

At the height of their battle with the Hyperion, Ankh, who attacked them on Lavina's flying saucer, was caught in the explosion of a bomb Eirene teleported. They didn't know what became of him after that, and a week had almost passed.

"Looks like no luck today either?"

"Yeah. We found the wreckage of that saucer Lavina rode right away, but...nothing leading to Ankh."

They hadn't even found a single part of his body at the crash site. Without a trace left of him, the other thing he could think of was the red flash that brought the Hyperion down. Just thinking about how that flash may have brought the Hyperion down and saved Ankh made his hands tense up.

"...I can't give in, no matter what."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. You'll be okay, William."

"I hope so."

"Heh, I know so."

Eirene thought back to the days that had passed in the blink of an eye. Back there, back then... As she kept on desperately running away, if she hadn't trusted William and reached out her hand, she wouldn't be here now. That was why she felt a debt of gratitude she could never repay him.

"There are so many people here who can help you, William. I'm one of them, too."

"Thanks, Eirene."

Eirene smiled as she spoke, and William smiled back.

"If you're ever feeling unsure, you can always tell me," she said.

"Yeah, it's reassuring to have you here."

Her expressions had become far more animated than when they first met. Seeing her like that, William thought, rather than holding on to all his vague anxieties, it would be better if he gave names to them one by one, the way Eirene gave names to picture books. When he thought about giving form to them, his body somehow felt lighter. If he came up with any good names, he would write them down. As William thought that, he reached into his pocket—and realized something that should have been there was gone.

"...Oh, that's right."

William sometimes got his thoughts in order by leaving notes or audio recordings on his mobile device. There were several movies he liked on it, and it was thanks to those he was able to save Eirene. It was probably buried in the sand or deep in a sandworm's stomach by now.

"What is it?"

"Oh, no, nothing important."

William stopped thinking about the device. There were memories of his father on it, too, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Besides, what was important to him lived on inside him.

As William and Eirene were about to return to their rooms, they caught sight of a figure heading down a dark alleyway.

"Is that...Linne?"

"I wonder what they're doing there."

They both called out, but Linne wouldn't answer. They decided to follow them before they completely lost sight.

----------

Linne silently walked down the dark alley, following the voice whispering inside their head. No matter how much they tried to stop, their body kept moving against their will. They finally came to a stop, where a shaft below their feet connected to a Neon Nebula culvert.

THERE. OPEN IT.

Linne did as the voice said and unsealed the shaft.

"...?"

There was nothing but darkness inside the culvert. Linne cocked their head and was about to close the hole when a strong wind blew from the darkness.

"Hn...!?"

They heard the voice in their head again, much more clearly this time.

LAVINA WAS SUCCESSFUL. NOW I WON'T LOSE THE BODY IT TOOK SO MUCH TROUBLE TO OBTAIN.

"Wha?"

IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU, LINNE. I AM...

"Heeey, Linneee!"

"Liiinneee!"

The voice ringing in Linne's head vanished.

"What were you doing spacing out in a place like this?"

"..."

"Linne?"

"Oh, nothing."

With a lonely smile, Linne's usual mood returned. What had that voice in their head been...? Linne tried calling out to it several times, but no response came.

Across the desert of Wasteland thrashed by raging winds and fierce sunlight, a lone sand rat ran. A woman in a black cape rode atop its huge body, and several men lay unconscious in a sand rat-sized knapsack. They had chased after the girl who awakened to her Teleport ability when a sandworm suddenly appeared behind them, and the woman used that to her advantage to hunt them down.

She was a merchant who dealt in human lives. She was glad to have obtained high-quality goods, but she wondered what they were trying to do by abducting that useful tool of a girl from her home.

"I'd have liked to at least catch one alive," she complained, when she caught sight of an out-of-place color at the edge of her vision. Pitch-black space floated along the boundary between the sky and desert. Warily, she drew closer, and in that space was a sight she had never seen before.

"This can't mean that Eirene is up ahead—"

Just as she approached to peek inside for curiosity's sake, a person wearing metallic armor appeared on the other side. Seeing the extraordinary presence of that person as they shaped liquid into a sword, the woman made a graceful retreat. As the sand rat shook her field of vision, she pondered the scene she saw on the other side.

"Things are getting quite exciting, hmm?"

She had only barely seen it, but it was teeming with things that didn't exist in Wasteland. Just as she began to take stock of her circumstances and wonder if she could somehow go to that world, something gleamed in the direction she was headed. She pulled on the sand rat's reins, ordering it to stop, then dismounted from the sand rat and crouched as she cautiously approached the object. Before long, she had picked up something that was buried in the sand. It was a long, thin slab, with cracked glass on the front and black metal covering the back.

"Now what's this...?"

She tried holding it in her hand and waving it, but nothing happened. She had been on guard because she thought it was a weapon at first, but apparently, it wasn't. Next, she tapped the glass front several times with her fingertip. At that moment—

Ra-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

"Whoa!?"

The sound of gunfire rang out through the area, making her cover her ears instinctively. She lay to the ground and looked around, but nothing in particular had happened. If anything were to happen, it would probably be a sandworm who heard the sound and came over.

"Damn, just a trick. I've never seen such a noisemaker before..."

Growing impatient with the nonstop ringing, the woman fumbled around with the glass. At last, the sound stopped. When she swore at the slab, someone's voice came from the other side of the cracked glass.

"I had that dream again today."

What she heard from the slab seemed to be a record of someone's everyday life. It wasn't a daily record, but something this person used to organize their thoughts and feelings.

"Heh, what a pansy. This guy would be the first to die in Wasteland."

To look at it another way, that meant that he lived somewhere with a completely different land and culture from Wasteland. She listened to several recordings, but it was all trivial nonsense.

"Well, with something this rare, I can raise the price as much as I like, hmm?"

She listened halfheartedly to another recording. It was about time for the sandworms to close in, so she would listen to one last recording and withdraw—or so she thought, but when she heard the speech, she gasped.

"...That day, I saw a 'bad guy.' He wore a hat like a boomerang, and turned glowing silver liquid into a sword."

"Oh? This kid is connected to the guy on the other side of that hole, is he?"

She had to go to the other side of that opening. The woman licked her lips under the veil that covered her mouth and vanished beyond the dunes.

The voice in Linne's head speaks entirely in katakana, giving it an unnatural, inhuman feel. Notably, the voice uses the personal pronoun アタシ (atashi), used by Ibis/Larva as well.