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Our Final Memories Pronunciation Guide #1
Athalia = uh-TAWL-ee-uh
Enza = ENN-zuh
Sariel = SAIR-ee-uhl
Azarias = Azz-uh-RYE-iss
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Enza's furious expression instantly melted off.
What…
How?
It's met humans, but not Explorers?
That's not possible…
How could a human be on the Mountain without being an Explorer? Normal Alavieskan citizens have no way to get here. This gargoyle must have mistaken the Hymylän villagers for humans, right?
If that's not the case, does this mean there's another group of people on the Mountain we don't know about, or at least there was in the past?
"What humans did you meet?"
"Ah, well… that wasn't here. In this world, there is indeed one who visits me, but I'm not sure if it's human or not. I've never seen its face."
The gargoyle paused before continuing.
"Do you know of Earth? This building is from there, and that includes me. When I came to life and met humans for the first time, it was in that world."
Enza was electrocuted by her surprise. Earth? This thing is from Earth?
It was known to her and the rest of the Explorers that on the Mountain, there are many objects from Earth. Of course, all of this was according to Azarias, the only one with memories from there. The primary theory at the Institute was that these objects had been teleported to the Mountain, similarly to how the Alavieskans were teleported to Alavieska.
With this in mind, it's not too surprising to find out that something in this game came from Earth. What's more unbelievable is that Azarias got this building onto the playing field.If the building is from Earth, it means that Azarias didn't build it himself. Therefore, he somehow picked up this building from somewhere else on the Mountain and brought it here for the game.
Where the hell did he get it? There's no place I know of… And how could he possibly pick up and move an entire building?
Her racing thoughts were cut off by the gargoyle continuing to speak.
"The buzzing of saws and machinery, and the shouting of people. That was my first memory. The noise would go on all throughout the day, every day. I don't know anything about where I was, it could've been a giant city or a tiny town… Back then, I couldn't even move my head and could only see the construction site below me. I don't remember the faces of the construction crew very well, although I do remember them being a diverse group of people from all over the world; many of them would speak languages I couldn't understand. Since they didn't know I was watching, none of them talked to me… I was lonely despite the crowd.
"The noise would only stop at night. Nights were the most interesting time for me. A group of high-school-age kids would come to the construction site. There were four of them… Actually, they were only a group of three the first night I saw them. That night, I saw them outside the fence in my peripheral vision. The fourth member must have been added later, and they started hopping the fence after that.
"The fourth member seemed to have a special role; I think he was teaching them things. He would always have paint, colored chalk, something to write with… Unfortunately, they would always do everything out of my sight. I'm pretty sure they were aware of my existence. It would explain their code names…"
"Code names?" Enza asked.
"Yes, quite strange it was…
"They did it the same way each time.
"They ascended the main steps together.
"They called the roll, I think. That fourth member, he would say,
"Primary colors. Saturate yourselves."
"And there would be three replies—
"Red.
"Yellow.
"Blue.
"And then he would say,
"What are your true names?
"And the reply would come,
"We have not discovered them!
"And he would say,
"Colors, what is your reason to exist?"
"And they would say,
"To break the color wheel! To gaze upon the limit of beauty!
"And he would say,
"And what must you accomplish to do so?"
"And they would say,
"We must reclaim our memories!"
"After that, they would work in silence for some time. When they were done, they would all stand up and head behind the building.
"The last time I saw them, they were at the spot on the fence they usually enter from. I think they were arguing about something, and they didn't end up coming inside. The original three were pointing accusatory fingers at the fourth member. I couldn't see his face clearly, but I think he was smiling.
"He looked at the sky, then the ground. Afterwards, he used his fingernail to cut open his forehead, then he ran off into the night."
Enza's expression was empty.
Reclaim our memories?
Like the 'Memory Reclamation' mentioned on the hourglass? This phrase existed on Earth? Azarias never mentioned that. Is this a coincidence?
Wait, even if it somehow isn't a coincidence, it doesn't make sense. We've always interpreted the meaning of 'reclaiming our memories' to be remembering our lives on Earth. If people on Earth were using this phrase, what memories would they have to reclaim?
Enza found that her mind had hit a wall. A very high wall.
The gargoyle broke the awkward silence after Enza didn't reply to its story.
"Uh, just so you know, you shouldn't talk to me for much longer. As you seem to have figured out, I have a certain effect on those I speak to. Even I am not completely sure of its limitations. It's not working as strongly from this distance, but it'll probably still work eventually unless you go further away. I wanted to keep you here so I'd have someone to chat with, but my mouth is getting dry from all this talking."
In the midst of her daze, Enza finally remembered she was still participating in a race.
Everything I just heard… It's too crazy to think about, if it's true. It changes our understanding of Earth's relationship to the Mountain… I need to ignore this knowledge until the debriefing happens. It's going to take more brains than mine to pick it apart.
Enza decided to take action and circle the building to find an alternate entrance.
There weren't any windows to be found. That seemed a little bit odd to Enza.
It's not a prison, there's no need for such a brutal design…
She circled the whole building, but didn't find a back door or a side entrance.
Right as she was getting annoyed, something caught her eye—black metal bars on the ground. A sewer grate.
She looked at it with distaste for a moment, then sighed.
Still not as gross as someone else being in your head, right?
Peering through the gaps in the bars, she saw the walls of a gross and dark pipe.
Now, how to break in…
She decided to try brute force first. She grabbed two rungs of the grate and pulled hard. To her surprise, it was very light and came off easily.
Wait, it's fake?
Enza was baffled, as instead of a gross sewer pipe, a clean and brightly lit metal shaft extended 30 feet down.
This was Enza's first time seeing fluorescent lighting. She immediately thought it was terribly uncomfortable and had a sudden urge to destroy the lights with every weapon in her arsenal. However, she managed to resist.
She looked at the grate in her hand. The metal bars were real, but the dirty sewer pipe was a canvas painting placed behind them. It was shockingly realistic and had fooled Enza completely.
As Enza considered this secret entrance, she suddenly realized a problem with it.
Azarias designed this game, so it wasn't too surprising to Enza that there would be secret entrances involved. It seemed like something he would do.
But this building wasn't built by him. This building was from Earth.
In that case, wouldn't this secret entrance have been there originally?
What kind of courthouse would need something like this? What the hell was going on on Earth, seriously…
Of course, it's possible that Azarias added this entrance to the building. I can confirm that when I see the extent of the underground structure. If I get down there and it seems like it's an integral part of the building, it's more likely it was always there on Earth, for whatever reason.
Enza noticed a ladder attached to the wall of the shaft.
It's time to head down… However, I can't do so recklessly. I've already been attacked mentally in this place; there are probably physical risks as well. It's already clear that I won't simply be walking in with a briefcase to deliver some prepared lines… what I need to be prepared for is a battle!
Enza closed her eyes and made a clicking noise with her mouth, using her echolocation.
The shaft goes to the right at the bottom. The limit of my echolocation is the bottom of the shaft and just a tiny bit more, so I can't confirm that there's nothing waiting to kill me. I need to take additional precautions… Hmm, how about this? If there isn't too much airflow down there, it just might work…
Enza dug her hand into her suit and pulled out a black grenade. She pulled the pin and threw it down the metal shaft. There was a small pop when it hit the bottom, and a second later, a dense green gas began pooling. It was heavier than the air and stayed close to the ground.
Enza took a deep breath in and held it, and began to climb down the ladder. She kept her eyes tightly closed and repeatedly clicked her mouth.
When she was halfway down, she stopped.
Her hands had suddenly gotten sweaty; they had slipped on the rung she was holding.
Her boots were slipping a little too.
Ha, I'm sweating?
No, I have boots on, a little sweat shouldn't make them slip…
Enza opened her eyes.
She looked at the rung she was holding.
It was dripping blue. Bright blue gloopy paint with chunks. It smelled repulsive. Enza gagged.
She looked down at her feet, then up.
In both directions, everything was covered in neon blue guts. There were little bits of white on the wall, too. Enza reached out and grabbed one.
It was a tooth.
It was a human's canine tooth.
And then, she was holding nothing. The tooth vanished from her hand.
From the walls and ladder, all the blue disappeared. Everything was once again clean and crisp stainless steel.