Aetheral Space

Chapter 449:15.3: Only I

"So this is the Sed, huh?" Ruth said, looking down at the dark world.

"Home sweet home," Bruno muttered.

There wasn’t much to see, Ruth noted. With the sun down, there was no light in the complex at all, concealing nearly everything from view. With the

Even with his greatest level of visual acuity, he couldn’t see any fluctuations in the Aether that would suggest his collaborators were lying to him. Was this truly a coincidence, then? No. He couldn’t believe that.

"Very well," he grunted, turning back to the monitors. "Leave us. I’ll reach out when I need you."

Erica, her arms crossed, walked calmly out of the room. Tybalt took only two steps before his Superego dove into his body -- ejecting his Ego as the silent shadow of a man in a trenchcoat and hat. His hair bun popped out into a long and loose braid, and he skipped playfully after his superior, chuckling all the while.

Back when the Sed had operated, it had hosted three branches of experimental subjects beneath its dome: Splitters, Maskers, and Controllers. It didn’t take a genius to work out which one Tybalt del Sed was.

On the monitor, the weapon waited.

It had paused in the air high above the building. It did not float -- it just stood on thin air itself, as if the electricity buzzing beneath its feet was generating a temporary surface. It’s white-and-black mask stared off into space, and its black combat suit nearly blended in with the night sky behind it. White hair billowed in the wind, the only sign of motion in that lethal existence.

Now that its targets had left the designated area, it was no longer permitted to pursue them. The weapon remained in position for a few moments more before vanishing in another shower of sparks. It was waiting for its next target to appear -- for it to hear another noise, and to begin another ten seconds. Such was its purpose.

Blackmane did pity it… but it had been the work of his predecessor. There was nothing to be done now but make use of the suffering. That was the only way anyone could accomplish anything in this excruciating world.

Still, he felt sorry for the subjects, too. Those who had haplessly arrived here and put their necks in the guillotine. But the time for such fripperies had long since passed.

Forgive me, little ones, he sighed, as he turned away from the screens and trotted off into the depths of the Thinker’s Comet. But this is all for the survival of humanity.