Thero Dawid

• Derogatory use of the word “invalid” to refer to Thero by both others and himself. This is further explained in the translation notes at the bottom of the page.

• Nonconsenting medical procedures and experimentation. Nonconsenting surgical procedure described in detail in episode 4.

• Thero’s relationship with Cainan has very heavy existential overtones.

Ahav, the Hardline leader—his research into the Paragon takes another leap forward after the discovery of a chip discovered in a certain city.

Extending service service life and releasing repressed emotions—the key to these things was inscribed upon this chip. One by one, Ahav tore down the walls erected by the mechanical gods.

And then, finally, he began to see progress in his long-running research into restoring the reproductive functions of the Paragon.

However, no results were achieved following the success of Bathsheba—a Paragon with reproductive functions.

“This makes us inferior to the old humans…”

Ahav was deeply disappointed.

For a researcher like himself, a “half-baked” result—neither a success or failure, was meaningless.

Especially if the results were unable to be reproduced…

Dispose of anything unnecessary. That was the rule of the laboratory.

Thero, a Paragon asleep in an incubation pod, was destined to be discarded alongside the rest of the individuals, but Ahav decided to keep him.

Ahav’s noisy synthetic voice echoed throughout the silent lab.

“My body will inevitably perish as well…”

Ahav had replaced most of his body with machinery, and he had lived far longer than his natural lifespan. But even so, he was beginning to realize he could not escape his own death.

If that was to be the case, all that was needed was a talented individual to inherit Ahav’s wisdom.

Thero had shown particularly impressive numbers in regards to intelligence.

“This one shall be my vessel….”

Even in his old age, Ahav’s ambition remains undiminished.

Bathsheba is the hope of the Paragon, and the mother of all. If only a Paragon was born to be her mate, the earth would eventually be filled with Paragon.

“The earth belongs to us—to the Paragon. We will prove that this world has no need for the Returning humans or Machines!”

The flames of delusion had scorched the earth, giving birth to long-lasting conflicts and endless tragedies.

――

――――

Ahav, the leader of the Hardline Innovators, passed away in battle with the Returning humans.

The Paragon of the Olympias Colony were shocked by the news. However, there was little disruption due to a swift transfer of power. Regardless of the battle, he foresaw his own death and took action.

The situation was changing by the day, but to Thero, who spent his days in the lab, it didn’t matter.

Ahav had been conducting experiments to transfer his personality and memories into Thero, and Ahav had died. As a result, the experiments to implant false memories and a personality—close to its practical stage—was put on hold.

As a side effect, the personality Thero was meant to develop was destroyed, and he was rendered virtually an invalid.[1]

Thero lives an empty life. One day, a visitor appears before him. It's a girl accompanied by a servant carrying a ritual sword - Bathsheba Ahithophel.

Now the leader of the Hardline faction, she is the only Paragon born naturally, and with reproductive capabilities. She is the symbol of hope for Ahav and the other researchers.

She was the one to become the mother of the future Paragon.

The researchers who remained in the lab could not hide their excitement upon seeing Bathsheba.

"Oh! Lady Bathsheba! The 'Child of Destiny' has come here herself—" 

A male researcher runs up to her, but his head is lopped off by the ritual sword.

"You mean a tool to fulfill your desires... Don't embellish it with convenient words."

Bathsheba’s expression didn’t change even slightly as she snuffed out his life. She kept a pure smile on her face.

“I can feel it. We must eradicate this evil now…”

She came here to destroy every single one of the laboratories left behind by Ahav, who had experimented on her body in numerous ways.

Bathsheba wanted to eradicate the Paragon from the earth. She wanted to eliminate all possibilities of their future.

Clutching her blood-stained sword, Bathsheba wandered the lab, demanding the researchers to either die or submit.

But the researchers who followed Ahav chose death. Here too, not a single person swore obedience to Bathsheba. They were all loyal to Ahav's ideals like devout followers.

“Is that all of them?”

"There are no researchers left. All that's left is a Paragon they kept for experimental purposes."

Bathsheba's face contorted as she looked over the documents handed to her by her attendant. With a measured step, she made her way to the isolated area for the experiment.

Despite the foul stench that permeated the dimly lit room, Bathsheba walked on without changing her expression.

“—Who are you?”

“You… You’re Thero, right?”

“I’m the only one here, so if you aren’t Thero then I’m Thero. If you have no use for me, then leave.”

Glancing at the blood dripping at Bathsheba's feet, Thero says "how terrible" as if it's none of his business, and tries to shoo away the unexpected visitor.

However, Thero showed no signs of leaving.

“Is there anything else?”

“I want you to listen… Because you can be freed if you wish..”

“...And?”

“That’s all.”

“Even if I was freed… It wouldn’t make much difference. I’m hardly even ‘alive’.”

His words brought back memories for Bathsheba.

The time that Ahav and the others had toyed with her body—even from the inside.

The shackles that activate when she wishes for her own death have eaten away at her so many times.

His words were similar to what she felt then.

“You’re…Just like me.”

“I wonder.”

“If that’s the case… Why won’t we find out? Let’s see if the world will forgive us.” Bathsheba said, reaching her hand out to Thero.

“How will the world be destroyed?”

Thero, who showed a certain level of understanding of Bathsheba’s ideology, demonstrated his skills to the fullest as her confidant.

And soon, others who had endured Ahav’s research, much like himself, gathered together—transforming into a fanatical group centered around the same ideology.

Backed by Bathesheba and her reign of terror, no one could openly voice their opposition.

As a result, the Hardliners—now stronger and coated by a more refined intent—made great strides. Improvements in combat techniques, production speeds, weapon development, and so on and so forth.

By improving multiple facets of the Paragon’s potential, they began to rival the Machines in power.

However, the ultimate goal of these fanatics wasn’t the Paragon’s prosperity.

Everything was for the sake of granting her wish.  

Bathsheba and her confidants work to make her wish come true, but as they press forward with the invasion of the Perses Colony, Thero is struck by one question in particular.

Even if we eradicate all life, all of it is meaningless unless we destroy the System that is the source of it all.

The thought comes to him following the actions of a Returned girl Bathsheba encountered at the Zeleucia Colony,

Somehow, she had infiltrated the central tower where Bathsheba was located, and destroyed the mobile weapon that had begun to stir.

With a single blow. Just one blow.

Thero was shocked to see that kind of supernatural power before his own eyes.

Bathsheba, meanwhile, begins to suspect this must mean that the Returnees have access to the colonies that existed across the world—in other words they had the power to connect to the System.

As if in confirmation, it was discovered that the colony’s power supply had been severely disrupted.

Suspicion soon turned into certainty.

Thero spearheads examinations into the bodies of the Returnees, and remains recovered from Ionia were shown to have possessed functions that the Paragon did not have.

After this, Bathsheba’s behavior changed drastically.

Gain access to the system—and then this forsaken world would bow down before her ideals. As if in response to her wishes, the Hardliners further increased their advance momentum.

One night, as the invasion of the Perses Colony drew near, Thero was alone and formulating a plan for its destruction.

“This plan has turned out to be more far-reaching  than I had imagined.”

As Thero was reminiscing, his thoughts naturally turned to Bathsheba.

Once, she had said to him and the others, “All of man's works are within me.”

As a result of the repeated experiments on Thero’s memories and personality, he was destroyed to the point of becoming an invalid.*[2]

It was simply a fact, and Thero didn’t feel any emotion such as anger or resentment. 

But what about Bathsheba?

She looked at the world with cold eyes, and she never got angry, broke down, or even despaired.

There was not a single fluctuation in her emotions—as if they are all living in perfect harmony based upon a single will.

It was as if it were simply natural to “exist” that way.

“...”

—I am not the same as Lady Bathsheba.

Even though I am closer to her than anyone else, I feel a deep gap between us.

The Paragon gathered under her will.

However no matter how many people share the same intentions, the quality of a group that continues to spread will decline the thinner and farther out it goes.

Then, the least I can do is continue to be Bathsheba’s greatest supporter until the day her wish is fulfilled.

Even after this body perishes, I will—

“Whatever it takes, I will accomplish it.”

Thero had prepared the groundwork for this.

However, the plan he had prepared unexpectedly goes awry.

The light of Saint Bathsheba’s life was about to go out.

The deep blue city of Samarakanda.

In the center of the abandoned city chosen by Thero, who was forced to change his plans due to Bathsheba's death, a battle between the Machines and Paragon was unfolding.

Facing the Paragon Cainan Melvias is a female Machine with a cold smile—Eva Dominance XII.

Brought to Samarakanda by Cainan, she awoke just before he was about to carry out his plan, and became his greatest threat.

Eva headed straight for the pod enshrined in the center of the room—and inside the pod lay the corpse of Saint Bathsheba.

She concludes that this was an essential part of whatever plan Cainan was attempting to carry out.

“This ends now!”

Just as Eva was about to deliver a powerful blow to the pod, her attack was blocked by Cainan desperately standing in front of it.

“Ggh… hgh…”

“I don’t understand. What’s the point of doing something like that?”

Eva, guided by rationality, is unable to comprehend the meaning of Cainan’s actions.

Red liquid was spreading at his feet. There wasn’t any need to do anything now. He would die on his own if left alone.

But even on the brink of death, Cainan still had a fearless smile on his face.

“Well, whatever.”

“The plan was a success… I… made it happen!”

Eva replied curtly, not understanding the hidden meaning behind those words, "Is that s–o– a-a-a-a—gh?”

As she was about to slam Cainan against the pod, Eva suddenly stopped moving, emitting a horrific sound beyond the range of human hearing.

Her steel body collapsed into a pool of blood, and cables extend and are inserted into her body—

“...Where did such naivete come from?”

A mechanical synthesized sound reverberated. Right next to Eva stood a mechanical soldier.

It has no distinguishing features aside from what resembled eye sockets. It was a disposable mechanical soldier that was simply used in battle.

As the machine stood there, looking down at Eva, Cainan gave a mocking laugh.

“Ha… You look pathetic, Thero Dawid…”

“...”

The mechanical soldier called Thero remained silent.

“Is it over?”

“...Eva Dominance is dreaming.”

Looking at Eva again, he sees that her eyes are twitching and gazing in the wrong direction.

Since she hadn’t returned to normal, it seemed the sea of consciousness in her brain core had been eroded.

“The conditions for opening the gates of paradise have been met.”

The robot then lifted Eva’s body and laid her face down on a nearby pedestal. Adjacent is another pedestal, where a woman in white armor was sleeping.

She was a Returned girl that Lotto had retrieved for this day Nia Judith.

She had been chosen as the vessel to house Bathsheba’s consciousness.

The robot calmly attached several cables to her head.

“Get up, Cainan. There’s still work to do.”

“Hmph… This body is a part of you, too.”

Cainan was a Paragon who possessed Thero’s implanted memories, created by further developing Ahav’s research.

Thero didn’t know what had prompted Cainan to continue resisting Thero’s control up until now, but looking at him now, it seemed that the takeover had been completed. Their memories had blended together in total synchronicity.

“We’re moving on to the next step.”

That goes without saying.

Cainan tightly bound his bleeding abdomen and heads towards Eva.

Taking a position where he could look down on her head, he removes a tool stored on the side of the pedestal.

—We will now remove Eva’s brain core.

Cainan’s body is screaming.

But he has to go through with it.

So he didn’t lose his reason to live.

While Thero watches over him, Cainan takes out a device stored on the side of the pedestal.

A variety of tools were lined up, from thin needles to scalpels and circular cutters that looked like they were for amputation.

Cainan moves towards Eva’s head, lying face down and pinned, and touches the nape of her neck.

A thin line ran across the border between the artificial skin and the real skin.

Cainan thrust the scalpel into the hole and made an incision. Next, he slowly peeled the rolled up skin towards the top of her head.

Like a flower opening, the skin from the top of the head was peeled away, revealing the dull colored mass protecting the brain core.

“...”

Cainan continued working, enduring the pain in his stomach that threatened to render him unconscious.

With a circular cutter, Cainan carves into the dull mass—the square shaped lump sinks into the interior with a sound like air being released.

By removing just that one part, they had finally succeeded in exposing the most integral part of a Machine—the brain core.

The brain core, modeled after humans, continued to emit a constant light even when exposed to the outside air.

It meant that Eva had not stopped functioning and was still operating.

Caian widens the hole large enough to remove the brain core and inserts several needle-like terminals into the brain core—which is covered in a translucent membrane.

With a pop, the membrane broke. Then, one after another, the terminals began to light up with a faint blue light.

After confirming that the lights were flickering at equal intervals, Cainan calmly announces, “Remote connection complete.”

Without even knowing that she had been dismantled while she was still alive, Eva had been transformed into a tool that connects to the Metaverse System.

“Superimposition.”

Having witnessed Cainan’s work, Thero claps his metal arms in approval.

And so, Thero had finally obtained the key. 

The invasion of the Metaverse—the door to the inviolable realm—would soon be opened.

Using the brain core he recovered through Cainan, Thero activated the control unit that linked to the city’s central functions. When the brain core housing opens in the cylindrical support pillar—there is already another brain core inside.

The brain core belongs to Isaac Dominance, an older generation supervisor that had been used for the test activation.

Thero casually removes Isaac’s brain core and replaces it with Eva’s.

The control unit rebooted within a few minutes. Countless strings of characters flashed rapidly across the screen. Eventually, Samarakanda was able to link to the Metaverse System while being disconnected from the other networks. 

All that remained was the return of Saint Bathsheba.

Bathsheba’s consciousness—freed from her body—would be implanted in the female Returned girl using Paragon technology to transfer implanted memories and she would be revived in the land of Samarakanda.

“How long have I waited for this moment?”

More than a dozen years have passed since Bathsheba’s body had died.

Thero had also lost his original body, and after transferring to other vessels countless times, he had exhausted himself to the point where he could barely recognize himself as an individual.

If this failed, Thero’s plan would have been for nothing.

An answer had finally arrived after the end of a long journey, and now it was displayed before his weary eyes.

“It’s finally time.”

He was asked if he wanted to carry out the “mind transplant.” 

He answered without hesitation, and the consciousness transplant was completed.

Nia's body, lying on the pedestal, pulses and thrashes violently as Bathsheba reacts quietly inside the pod.

“Aah!! Hng—ah—ha—ah!!”

Nia’s consciousness merges with Bathsheba’s, and gradually they become one and the same.

But Nia continues to resist, occasionally letting out voiceless screams and convulsing.

However, such resistance is futile… Nia gradually becomes more docile.

The word “complete” appears on the console.

All that remained was to see whether Bathsheba had regained consciousness.

Suddenly, there was another movement on the console. The footage showed two shadows heading towards the center of Samarakanda.

Not many people made it that far in.

“...Are you trying to be compassionate, Lotto?”

Thero spoke in an uninflected voice as he saw Lotto working together with Void.

They both have warped feelings for their mother.

Lotto was candid and straightforward about his feelings, which probably made him act the way he was in this final stage.

“Okay, Void. I’ll take you to meet Mom.”

As soon as he reached the center, Void was transfixed by the sight of his mother, Bathsheba, sleeping in the pod.

However, that alone wasn’t enough for Void.

Void was shaking with joy, but just as he ran to get a closer look at his mother—someone appeared to stop him.

“Don’t get any closer to Lady Bathsheba.”

“W-who’s that!?”

As if to say, "What are you doing interrupting this emotional reunion," Void quickly took out his rifle and aimed it in front of him.

Void, who held a high position but was not used to using a gun, left himself wide open.

Feeling tense and anxious, Void repeatedly looks around the area, but all he sees is a silent corpse of a soldier and a mechanical standing in the back.

That's when Void finally noticed.

On top of a pedestal, slanted so it was difficult to see, there was the Machine Eva with her head opened up, and a Returnee woman sleeping as if she were dead.

“What the hell is this—”

“It's a ritual.”

The person who answered Void’s question was Cainan, who was sitting in the shadow of Eva’s pedestal.

As Cainan slowly rose to his feet, Void reflexively aimed his rifle at him.

“C-Cainan, you…treasonous BASTARD!!”

Cainan scoffs at Void’s surprised panic.

“Heh, if you shoot me, Lady Bathsheba’s soul will remain inside that corpse for all eternity, won't she?”

The ritual was already complete, and all that remained was to wait for Bathsheba to awaken. Cainan’s lie was a bit absurd, but when it came to his “mother,” Void was the type of man who would always respond.

“Mother has already honorably passed away. If you dare toy with my mother’s sacred remains, I’ll kill you with my own hands!”

Void was screaming in a high-pitched voice, but, as expected, he was unable to pull the trigger.

Cainan dismissed him.

“No, she’s alive. In there.”

What Cainan saw before him—lying on the pedestal—was the Returned woman.

“W-What…”

“The vessel will soon be filled… Saint Bathsheba will be reborn.”

Saint Bathsheba would be reborn with a new body.

Cainan said this was natural.

But to Void, such a thing was impossible.

Even if they were successful, would the Returned woman with Bathsheba’s consciousness really be Bathsheba?

“T-truly? Mother…?”

Nevertheless, Void cast aside all of his anger and doubts toward Cainan, and simply began making demands of Cainan like a child who wanted to see his mother.

“Hurry, hurry up and let me see my mother!”

“Heh…haha… You really are…laughable…”

Those were the words Thero Dawid, the man who created Void.

“It's superimposition. This level of obsession… that’s been created. Honestly, this result exceeds my expectations.”

“Results? What do you think you know about me, you bastard!?”

“I know you. You and I are both fools after all. It’s hard not to understand that.”

“I started this war to fulfill my mother’s wish! I conquered the Perses Colony! I was the one who brought prosperity to the Paragon! My mother’s favor—the honor! It’s mine! It’s only for me!

“Whose wish was that?”

“...What?”

Void looked at Cainan with a dejected expression, as if the unexpected remark had struck him like a shot from a toy gun.

“People aren’t born with wishes. I’ll ask you again, whose wish is that?”

Void reels in the threads of his memory, but no matter how much time passed, he couldn’t find a memory that supported his actions.

“That’s ridiculous… That's impossible. My wish is for Mother—!”

“If you can remember, then do so. You have no beginning.”

“I…I….Mother…”

“You don’t know your mother. She’s been here from the very beginning.”

“Then…what am I…”

“You’re nothing. A nameless man who was not even given the name of Ahithophel."

“H-how did you know that…? The man who did is already dead! He’s dead! That man… Thero Dawid!”

“But here I am.”

Upon seeing an expression mixed with fear and anxiety, Cainan laughed fearlessly.

"To be precise, I should call him a part of me."

Thero used himself as an experimental subject to further the research Ahav was trying to conduct. It was a technology to transfer a Paragon’s memories into another.

One of the subjects was a Paragon named Cainan Melvias.

“...!”

“Let me tell you. Where your wish comes from.”

Powerlessly, Void collapses on the spot.

With his existence denied by his creator and his bloated self-esteem deeply wounded, there was only one thing Void could hope for.

Void’s hollow gaze turned towards his mother, and a high pitched sound rang out.

“Now, let’s wake up.”

“Ah…ha… haha…hahaaaaa….”

It was the culmination of the wishes of those who wished for the destruction of the world.

It was proof that in the Returned, Bathsheba had been reborn on this earth.

"This is... my body... There’s no pain or suffering... Ah, with this, I can take everyone with me..."

Upon awakening, the woman was released from her restraints and sat up on the pedestal. She is both Nia and Bathsheba—Nia Bathsheba smiles in ecstasy as she moves her body casually.

“Ah…So much freedom.”

A sense of omnipotence overflows deep from within her body. 

The shackles that had prevented her from committing suicide so many times now no longer existed. By discarding her old body and obtaining a new vessel, she was finally freed from the curse of being a Paragon.

“Motheeeeeeer!!!”

“...”

Bathsheba glanced around as if nothing had happened, and then she turned to Cainan and the mechanical soldier.

“Thero… You’re the doll this time, right?”

“You seem to have gotten sharper.”

“You seem like you’re having a lot of fun.”

Cainan, standing next to him, questions this.

“Yes. So, so much—”

“Motheeeeeeer!!!”

Void was crying and rubbing against Bathsheba’s leg. Cainan attempts to remove him, but Bathsheba pays him no attention and crouches down to look Void in the eye.

“You... worked very hard, didn't you?”

Those were the words Void wanted to hear more than anything.

He spoke enthusiastically, as if he had been a dying fish placed back into the water.

“That’s right! I seized control of Perses for you, Mother! I brought victory to the Hardliners! All of it for you, Mother!”

Bathsheba smiled softly and stroked Void's head as if to soothe him.

“Thank you for all of your hard work so far.”

“M–m-ueeeeh—”

Void stopped moving after that.

Was it because his mother acknowledged him, or was it because he felt loved for the first time? Perhaps it was both. Either way, Void was so excited that he collapsed on the spot.

“I’m sure… You’re having a sweet dream, right?”

After releasing Void, Bathsheba urges Thero and Cainan to connect to the Metaverse.

They would head from the real world to the Metaverse—an electronic paradise—and take down the System that had distorted the world.

After that, life on earth would be free from the curse of flesh.

“Come, together we’ll go see a wonderful tomorrow.”

As Bathsheba spoke, she quietly turned to the door.

“—Nia!”

The voice that came from the other side struck Bathsheba with a sense of affection and nostalgia.

“Aah…”

The girl, looking straight at her, bore a vague resemblance to the Returned woman Bathsheba has encountered in Seleucia when she was alive.

But there was more to it than that.

The emotions bubbling up within her were screaming.

I know her.

With all of my heart, I want to meet her.

—Because I am Nia Judith.

Bathsheba started running.

Her heart is leaping with excitement for the long-awaited reunion.

"I missed you, Mithra... Mithra Tercera.”

“Huh…?”

The same face. The same voice.

As Nia approached, Mithra couldn’t move.

Mithra’s intuition whispers to her.

—It’s wrong. Something is wrong.

“Who…are you?”

For just a moment, Bathsheba looks puzzled—but then she smiles back softly at Mithra. It’s the smile of a saint.

Instantly, Mithra understood. The woman before her wasn’t Nia.

“Where’s Nia?”

“Hehe, I’m right here, aren’t I?”

“That’s not true. I know it isn’t.”

“That’s right. I’m not alone anymore, there’s two of us.”

“Nia, you’re… Nia isn’t alone…”

Mithra completely lost her composure. She couldn’t understand the words of this “not” Nia. Without thinking, she tightens her grip on Mitron.

“Give Nia back.”

Mithra spoke faintly, as if she was speaking to someone beyond the depths of Nia’s eyes.

Bathsheba slowly approached Mithra and embraced her.

“Look… Nia’s right here.”

As soon as she touched Nia’s body, Mithra finally understood.

She’s Nia Judith, but she isn’t Nia. And she must still be in there now.

“—!”

Convinced of this, Mithra embraces Nia back.

“Nia, I’ll definitely get you back!”

“Before that, I have to keep my promise. It's a request from a dear friend. I'll think about it after that.”

“What promise?”

“We'll all welcome the same tomorrow. In a wonderful world without pain or suffering—"

There was no evil in the words that came from her mouth—only blessings for the people.

However, Mithra shakes her head.

“No way. There’s no way I’m letting you go.”

“Would you kill me to do that... I wonder?”

“No. Because my wish is going to come true first.”

“Hehe... I see. You're selfish, aren't you?”

As if singing, as if dancing.

After letting go of Mithra, Bathsheba turns her back to return to where she came from.

It was strangely similar to when they had parted ways.

And then, Bathsheba touches the structure that stood in the center of the room.

"Libertas."

A mechanical voice rang out, “Activation request approved–”

The cross shaped weapon emits a faint light as if in response to the will of the user.

“Nia’s always like this, getting mad when I’m selfish—Mitron.”

“Activation request approved–”

“The winner is right. That's how it is, isn’t it?”

"Yeah. Because that's the rule Mama decided for us!"

A long-running conflict between the surface world and the Metaverse.

What will decide the fate is a very ordinary fight with a friend.

For the future they each envisioned, they "all" pulled the trigger–

[1] The original line "廃人" (Haijin) as “invalid”.

The original text is considered a derogatory term and presumably comes from Ahav’s/the researcher’s perspective, as the experimentation on him was considered a failure. It then later comes from Thero’s perspective as a self descriptor, likely coming from a generally jaded view of life (he states that it’s a “fact” and not something he resents).

As such, it translates into another derogatory term.