Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"Is it because this proposal is beneficial to Luna, or for some other reason? Although it seems reluctant, it finally approved the request of individual Ashetherin."

“Because there’s no reason to refuse.”

"So, what about Luna?"

"Hey, what?"

"Reasons for resistance."

The black iron fingertips gently stroked Lunicia's palm. Even through a layer of cloth, Lunicia could still feel the distinct presence of the mechanical girl. This embarrassing feeling sometimes made her miss the rough and heavy gauntlets in the past, and sometimes she felt that it seemed not bad now.

"Luna is resisting, right? Moving forward - moving forward like the ocean that erodes the earth pillars, moving forward like a dancing bonfire and rolling gravel. Luna is resisting and taking steps, so she looks leisurely and idle. After all, there are no people waiting to be rescued here, nor are there any disasters happening, no decaying roses, no rusted iron and blood."

“…Has he been discovered?”

"Even if I could see into someone's heart, I still wouldn't understand. Humans are just like that. Luna is also a human, just like Ella, a being that only appears in the dream of the machine."

"Why... Which one do you want to hear, Ashley? The reason why you don't want to go back to the Temple, or the reason why you don't want to continue moving forward along this corridor."

"I'm interested in both of them, but I can only choose one?"

"Is this an either/or choice in Ashetherin's opinion?"

"Negative, because Luna won't hide anything."

“Actually, the answers to both questions are the same.”

Lunicia had a faint bitter smile on her face.

"Because I'm scared."

Chapter 10: Girls and the Boat

"This is the Prince of West. We are lost in the sea of ​​clouds. Where is this place? We are sending distress messages to the outside world. No one responded, but someone will definitely receive this message. We are so sure and are waiting for the upcoming rescue. Repeat, this is the Prince of West. Where are we? Is this really a sea of ​​clouds?"

"I can't see, I can't see anything, there is no fog here, this ship - the Fire Djinn - has lost its way, can anyone hear me? I am in the broadcast room, broadcasting a distress message to the outside world, if anyone can hear me, hurry up, hurry up, save me, everyone -"

"who am I?"

--Shut up.

"We are lost. This is the Eldenst, and as captain, I will record what I see and hear before I take my own life. What I see, what I hear, what I feel. I will leave this record here in the hope that someone who comes later - and I hope no one comes later, no one should come near this place, no one should be lost here again - can find hope of escape. We don't have that anymore. We have nothing. We are lost."

“I saw fog.”

"What did I see? Who was that? That was—"

--Shut up.

"I am the chief engineer of the supply ship 'Essenshire'. I record my name and the name of this ship. I put everything I can carry here. Those are the proofs that I once existed. I feel my consciousness is becoming confused. Before I disappear like everyone else, I must record everything that happened during this period of time, those strange things, those incredible things that you may not believe. Leave here. The information I leave for you may not be useful, and it may even be harmful. You must remember that you must escape from here. No matter what happens, remember to move towards the exit."

"Did I hear something?"

"Is anyone talking?"

"On the third Friday of the Snow Moon, the 'Lady Ivita' ran aground. The discussion among the companions did not yield any conclusion as to why it ran aground on the sea of ​​clouds. The most urgent task is to get out of this situation. We must be prepared to leave the cabin and confirm what is blocking our ship and preventing us from moving forward. The engine has been shut down by the machinery department. Forcing it to run will only cause a malfunction, but who is willing to get off the ship to check under such circumstances? There is only a dark poisonous cloud outside the airship. Is it really daytime now? This airspace seems to be different from what I remember. I don't know, what is going on?"

"Can anyone answer this for me?"

—Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

"We are here."

"We're all here."

"Who is that? Sarah and Enkiel have been missing for three days, and we haven't found them yet, either alive or dead. The supplies are running out. If we can't get out before the last bag of rations is eaten, the consequences can be imagined. The light is still maintained, but I don't think the lamp is of any use now. The cabin has become unfamiliar. This is not the airship I am familiar with. I dare not tell anyone about this. When I went to patrol the corridor that day, I accidentally saw Enkiel's figure. He is still here. I remember that he disappeared when he went out of the cabin to check. But he is still here."

“We’re still here.”

"who are you?"

"We are here."

"here."

"here."

"who are you?"

"We are here."

"here."

"—I saw you."

--Shut up!

Boom!

The loud crash made Lunicia and Ashatherine drop the previous topic. Although one had a blank expression and the other looked surprised, they all looked in the direction where the sound came from, towards Ella Hepper. That was the sound she made by smashing her fist hard on the dull crystal, which echoed in this corridor that was not spacious but spacious enough, and seemed abrupt and weird.

"Ella? What's wrong?"

"Um...Nothing, Lady Luna. Nothing happened."

Ella covered her forehead and shook her head. Her steps seemed a little shaky, as if she was drunk. When Lunicia stood up to help her, Ella did not try to be strong, but just held Lunicia's hand with a bad look on her face. Anyone could see that her physical condition was not very bad - at least not as bad as before, she was not vomiting blood or fainting, she was just a little weak now, even if Lunicia used holy healing to help her adjust her condition, the effect was not obvious.

"I don't feel any physical discomfort."

"I can see that."

"That's a spiritual problem. Your soul is filled with sins, Ella. This machine doesn't have the ability to cleanse your sins. It's a pity."

"Don't act like you're innocent..."

The fact that she can still complain proves that Ella's condition is much better than she looks.

"She suffered a mental shock. In other words, did Ella feel something in that crystal-like thing just now?"

"Feelings?"

Although it was something she had experienced personally, when Ella was asked about it, there was obvious confusion on her face.

"No, it seems like there's nothing. I... Lady Luna... I seemed to hear something, but, I didn't hear anything...?"

Hazy and dreamy, like a lone boat floating in a sea of ​​illusion, she seemed to have just woken up from a dream, not knowing the direction, the time, or even her own name. She only knew that the person in front of her was called Lunicia.

Of course, Lunicia couldn't understand what she heard. She could only reach out to massage Ella Hepper's temple while tilting her head in confusion. Ashlee still didn't say much. She was like a foreign object that didn't belong on the stage, an audience member who had sneaked into the dressing room. She was a stranger to everything around her, but everything here didn't seem as friendly as an opera singer. Similarly, she wasn't as stage-frightened as a shy tourist. Even though she wasn't familiar with everything here, she just watched and waited for the opportunity to make a splash.

"So, that's what you mean?"

"what!"

It was only then that Ella opened her eyes wide as if she was suddenly awakened.

"Yes, that's right. That thing does have some information recorded in it."

"So, is that an intelligence terminal?" Ashlee floated over slowly. "Like the products of Ouroboros Machine Workshop, Chrysalis Company, or Famous Houses, convenient, fast, and corrupt?"

"Speaking in human terms. In general, this is not a mechanical intelligence terminal, although dragon crystal can indeed be used to record intelligence..."

"Hey, is this thing actually dragon crystal?"

Lunicia was impressed by this thing called "Dragon Crystal" - the magic props she received as gifts in the temple must have been powered by Dragon Crystal. But it was not until she boarded Muland's aerial rail train that she had her first intuitive understanding of this indispensable product of today's magic civilization, but she failed to immediately connect it with the gray crystal in front of her.

The condensation of magic power, the gift of the magic network, the star on the ground, now has no light.

Perhaps, no matter how dazzling the starlight is, it will turn into faded dust under the erosion of time, leaving only an empty shell for people to admire.

"Yes, this is indeed dragon crystal."

Ella gently stroked the gray crystal.

"I don't know much about the terminal of the agency, but from the cases I have seen, it tends to be real-time interaction. The dragon crystal here serves as both energy and recording function. The lighting in the corridor is maintained by this magic power. In addition, some information is recorded inside... including the map here. Most of it is in tatters, and only a few parts can be read, such as the name of this airship."

"Airship?" Lunicia was surprised. "Is this an airship?"

Ella nodded, "Yes."

"Captain Tiano is very experienced, and the navigation system of the Duke of Candiano is also operating normally, so smoothly that it seems that there will be no problems. It will rain in the rainy season. If there are exceptions, it should not be called the rainy season. It is too difficult to hit a fixed obstacle, unless this reef is cruising... Isn't this a reef, but a fish?"

"That does explain it."

Lunicia tilted her head with a troubled look on her face - although this helped explain the previous collision, it seemed to be of no help in solving the current dilemma. She could only cast an inquiring look at Ella again and wait for her to continue explaining.

"This airship is called 'Gleipnir'. Apart from that, no other relevant information was found, including the model and specifications. The number of crew members is mentioned, which is about 3,000... The map is incomplete. Strangely, this corridor does not seem to be on the map. I don't know if its location was not recorded or for some other reason."

“Could it be because the location here is missing?”

"No, Lady Luna." Ella's expression was quite strange. "In order to allow people who view the map to quickly find their own position, the maps displayed at different dragon crystal nodes are all centered on the current position, but the map I just viewed shows that this location is... outside the ship."

"strangeness……"

"Luzha Ephayeret might have written a modern play like this, and she might have been delighted by the grotesque stage machinery."

"Don't interrupt."

"Any other information, Ella?"

"The processing techniques and carving techniques used on this dragon crystal are not modern, at least not the ones I am familiar with."

Ella couldn't help but pause.

"...This method is very characteristic of the Kingdom of Gunasalan."

……

"Although it's been a while since I last took a break, is it really okay, Ella?"

"I'm fine now, Lady Luna."

"Although I really want to express my opinion, that is, 'Even if Ella is reluctant, she will say that she is not reluctant', but considering the current situation, I'd better explore it first. After all, Ella and Luna are not fish. If they stay in the water for too long, they will only drown."

"Ashe, well, you're not a fish either."

"Aishelin is waterweed and pebbles. Can pebbles drown?"

"At least pebbles don't talk nonsense. If you were a product of the machine workshop, you would definitely fail the quality inspection."

"Really? Individual Ashetherin is quite confident in the capabilities of this machine."

At least what Ashatherin said was indeed correct. Instead of continuing to stay there aimlessly, it would be better to act quickly. Otherwise, sooner or later, they would be overwhelmed by the weird atmosphere that was spreading like a tide.

That thing - that strange figure that fell into the sea of ​​clouds, no matter how you think about it, it is inseparable from this place. No matter how harmless and ordinary it looks, this is always a relic full of dangers. All the scenes of civilization here may be just illusions, disguises shrouding the abyss, distant mirages. Stepping on them will not lead to the golden city, but will only fall into the bottomless black abyss.

And when they actually stepped out of the corridor and into the area that should perhaps be called the open deck, they began to realize what kind of spectacle they were in.

"I can breathe... There's no burning sensation on my skin... It's just like on the ground."

It is not surprising to have such an effect in a closed area, but this is not inside the cabin, but on the open deck.

"Because it is also surrounded by a magic shield."

Ella raised her head and looked upwards - there was nothing there, not even the flowing gray poisonous cloud.

"But, this scale—"

It's really too huge.

If you are on a huge ship that is hundreds of meters long, the vastness of the deck is enough to give you an illusion that you are not on a ship but on land. It is more like the land floating in the sky, a steel floating island. Even though it is difficult to see its true end at a glance due to its structure, it is enough to make people marvel at its hugeness and breadth. It is said that the magic empire in the past could build castles in the sky, and this ship seems to be the embodiment of this legend.

A white base, black inlays, and golden edging, with a network of crystals flowing through it. Some are as dull as the dragon crystals seen before, while others still sparkle with a faint azure. The varied geometries are complex but not messy, unlike metal that would leave rust and mottle. Even though an unknown amount of time has passed, these man-made objects still maintain their former momentum, soaring in the chalk city above the sky.

“It’s very similar to that one.”

Squatting down and lightly touching the white ground with her fingers, Lunicia couldn't help but say this.

"And the 'Wall of Erumu'."

Even if this place is really a creation of the Gunasalan Kingdom, Lunisia would not find it strange at all - the never-fallen city wall and the huge airship in front of them are similar in nature. Even though the craftsmanship is completely different, they show a commonality in aesthetics, just like a certain theme that once circulated among magicians.

Because of this, anyone can see the difference between them at a glance.

The "Wall of Erumu" is known as an unbreakable chalk wall. No matter how it is bombed or attacked, or how horribly damaged it is, it can always repair itself and be as good as new. Even after experiencing the great disaster in the last years of the Kingdom of Nasaran, and even after the capital was eventually reduced to ashes and ruins, it still stands where it once was.

Everything in front of me is more or less flawed.

The long corridor that led to nowhere was broken in the middle.

The towering white walls became dilapidated, revealing the internal structures underneath that no longer functioned.

The crystal grid was dim and broken, and even the peeled fragments were blown away by the north wind, leaving only a few fragments.

Perhaps time has left no traces on the surface of all these things. There is no dust, no pollution, no dirty corrosive marks on the white surface, but their interiors cannot escape the erosion of time. No one can imagine how long this ship has been drifting above the sea of ​​clouds. Even if these structures appear dilapidated and broken, their existence itself is still a miracle.

It is lonely and empty here, just like every other ruins in this world, without any sign of living people.