Author: Part one will cut off at Chapter 30.
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The world just isn't fair......
Ashes are really just another brand of META. Does it really matter the difference? At the end of the day, it's their failed attempt for a Cognitive Awakening. Their business doesn't really matter to me. I'm just a lost Leviathan exiled from the rest of my kind. [Ars Goetia] is a system created by a mere human. That said human is praised wise and intelligent among his people, but that system is without master and ruin timelines in a whim. It deserves to be called a demon by the Sirens.
"Why am I even here.....?"
The wind faintly blows, but I dislike the scent it brings. It only drags black smoke in a distant. I don't want the black dust staining this snow white hair I'm rather fond of, so I tie it up in a bun with short strands hanging down.
"It's strange how an enemy of humans is just brooding here" Ember speaks at me in a deep hostile tone
"Cut it out, Ember. That one was separated from her own kind and can never return" Ash taps Ember's shoulder
"I take the form of my brethren's namesake. It's a form something you're familiar with" I turn around and face them
"A sea dragon....." Ash takes a step forward
I don't know much about my fellow Leviathans as I simply fight because everyone else is doing the same. My evolution just strayed off from the norm and separating from their will got me banned for the rest of my life. I'm not really upset about it as I don't have any positive feelings for anyone. Not the Leviathans, not the Sirens, and certainly not the kansens.
"If you're looking for Goetia, that thing is not here. You'll only find me, a sorry excuse of a Leviathan" I chuckle at myself
As we talk in a charred dusty pier, I glance at the coast only to see debris aimlessly floating around. When I gaze up, the sky remains dark even when the flames have been extinguished a long time ago. Now that I think about it, which version of Ash and Amber are these two?
"What do you want with them anyway? Ars Goetia lacks humanity and would ruin timelines out of curiosity. If anything, it only cares about fueling its curiosity for knowledge. It doesn't have any so-called solid purpose like the Sirens, just to incite any reaction"
"We know Goetia is a mere creation close to a machine, but Solomon made it impossible to kill" Ash stares at me
"I have no way to kill it....them. Even if you two can, what's the point? Goetia is just one of the Five Lesser Keys"
Why are they even bothering with Goetia? In this timeline, the rest of my kind have been expelled from this world. There's nothing to do here but to watch the world burn. The land is too destroyed for it to return in a short amount of time.
"You're as hopeless as ever" Ember clicks her tongue
"There's nothing I can do, so why should I waste any effort?" I growl at her
If it's impossible to begin with, no one in the right mind would try only to end in futility. My efforts would be insignificant, so I don't have any reason to bother with anyone's affairs.
"I wasn't meant to live this long, yet I did. I mean, I wasn't any different from any cannon fodder" I raise my voice a bit
"You evolved and resisted, so you were disconnected from the rest of your kind" Ash gently pulls Ember back
"A war ended, but another took its place. That was why.....everutbing you do was just pointless" I lower my head
"That's what it means to face reality'
Ash is right about that. Reality is an unknown concept to me, but the perspective of humanity is horrifying. Far worse than a terrible monster like me. That's why I don't want to waste any effort in this world, knowing I would be dragged to solely clean up their own mass. Kansens are from humans.....and so are the Sirens.
"I want to know why I'm still here. If there's a significant reason in my fate while I remained of all people"
There has to be a reason and I want to reach any conclusion. No matter how menial that purpose is. I don't understand my newfound life as it's only the beginning where everything else around me is ending.
"So why are you here?" I stop my lamenting
"We need to talk to Goetia. The last time we tried talking to them, we got trapped in a Singularity" Ash briefly looks at Ember
"How are you planning on doing that?" I look back at the coast
"Lend us a hand.....Welt"
Ash suffers so much no matter which version of Ash there is, but this one still extends her left hand at me. There's only trust when she opens her palm in front of my eyes, and she stares me as if she's subtly pleading. Accepting her hand means suicide, but I don't have any motivation or reason to protect unlike these two. I'm just a lone Leviathan with no real ambition or dream of a future. I'm just.....living in the present as it is even if my end will be a horrible one.
"Well, whatever. In the beginning, I was never an individual.....unlike you kansens....."
There's no point in hesitating about it. I really have no ambition or regret I would leave behind. Right now, I just slowly grow bored watching the survivors struggle at the aftermath while I quietly wait for the end of my destiny. That's why I slowly stretch out my hand and gently place it on top of her palm. My wish is for them to at least make progress just to bring a little comfort.....and even it's impossible, I want to see things through.
It's just wishful thinking.....since I would just be lost again right before I know it.....
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It's safer and more convenient to just stay in the "digital afterlife", but Gangut insists on being out in the open. Since I can't have a deceased kansen to just be spotted by actually living ones, I only let Gangut out once we're at a cape far from any base. At least, we could sit in a patch of flowers while overlooking the broad horizon of the stretching sea. I just ignore the waves strongly smashing against the bottom of this land.
"The Northern Parliament, huh. It's true my comrades keep all sorts of strange stuff they see there in one vault, but I don't remember any ring prior to being eaten" Gangut just yawns
"How can they even find Solomon's Ring? It's not like they tripped on it or someone just happened to drop it"
Gangut lies flat on the healthy patch of grass with her legs stretched and her arms as a makeshift pillow. I, on the other hand, prefer to sit with my legs crossed and both arms stretched behind me. We just subtly admire the serenity while still on guard at the case some random kansen stumbles upon us.
"Even if you get in there, they won't let you get out easily. Unless you assume your true form and start wrecking the place" Gangut yawns again
"Brute force is easy but difficult to execute. I'm a system that analyzes, collects....and deconstructs. In other cases, I assimilate or digest any organism"
"Aaahh....." Gangut just blinks in confusion
"I'm meant to clean up threats of something like that. Solomon knew about the Leviathans back in my original timeline. Since true Cognitive Awakening wasn't possible without the commander leading the kansens or even existing, I was made.....to be on top of the food chain instead"
"So you eat them?"
"I'm not a picky eater"
"Hahahaha! Says the one who has to be dragged by Belfast for a Royal cuisine" Gangut bursts out in laughter
"I'm a multi-purpose system. One of my trivial....hobbies is to experiment like the Sirens. I can't confirm anything without practical testing, so I perform all sorts of field tests and experiments. Like what would happen if you two humanoid Sirens collide at mach one"
Gangut turns her head a bit and stares at me in complete disbelief. By human standards, it would be unethical to use two living beings in physical harsh experiments. To them, Sirens aren't on the same standard as them, so they would dismantle them without a second thought.
"Please tell me you didn't dump Sirens in a volcano once....."
"I did. Purifier's head just floated in the magma and kept swearing at me"
It's one of the previous timelines I visited. When I got bored, I just tossed the talkative Siren Purifier into an active volcano. Her head miraculously survived, but remained talkative. Surprisingly, she still screamed at me even when her severed head slowly burned.
"........"
Now that my boredom got brought up, I couldn't possibly confess how my once inhumane self dragged a submarine deep in a brine pool. Death by toxic shock wasn't a pleasant sight. At least by my current self. My old self only stared in dismay as a kansen died five minutes shorter than I calculated.
"I used to be incapable of empathy until I gained a human form"
"Kansens like me gained our human forms when our history and human emotions filled our wisdom cubes. How about you? Did you just shape it out of your own taste?"
"My memory is vague, but I think I fought a kansen that made me form this appearance. In her last stand, she had pure white hair and beastly golden eyes. Even as she lost an arm and near death, she charged at me. A suicidal one like Enterprise"
They're both the same. Even if it would amount to nothing, they wouldn't hesitate to die fighting. The only difference is that the nameless kansen committed suicide.....on purpose. In such a dead end world, it's understandable why she would choose to end in a blaze of glory like how Bismarck would die fighting.
"Anyway, we strayed off the topic. My biggest problem would be Rossiya's sharp intuition. I can't repeat the same trick I did with Iris Libre" I clear my throat
"Knowing her, she would keep an eye on you since you have no background other than how your records were mysteriously erased"
"I'll be a distraction then. Seeing their dead comrade come back from the dead would surely keep their eyes on me. You'd had enough time to do your thing" Gangut raises her upper body
"I see. You're going to draw the Northern Parliament from the base and stall them. How are you going to do that? Talk to them?"
"Hahahaha! I'll just blabber like an idiot and that would keep them from turning away" Gangut crosses her arms
As much as I find it ridiculous, I find it simple and somewhat effective. Sovetskaya Rossiya isn't pleased at the death of one of her comrades, and she's doing her own search. Seeing Gangut stand before them would surely make her and the others not notice how I'm sneaking from behind and prying open their vaults.
The next day......
The north where the cold is the harshest, the Northern Parliament thrives in it. Their riggings are all silver in colored with ice slightly freezing the surface. The most notable feature is the strong resemblance with Iron Blood rigging with only the color scheme as the difference. Whatever's the case, so long as they're not planning to backstab Azur Lane, I wouldn't lay a hand on them.
"Why is it this place is colder than before?" Prince of Wales embraces herself
"I shall prepare some tea inside, Ms. Wales" Belfast offers to escort her
"Please do....."
I'm surprised Prince of Wales has little tolerance in cold weather or perhaps she's just braving it throughout the journey. For a moment, I think Belfast winks at me as she slowly pushes Prince of Wales to the desired direction.
"We can just have a little tea party here out in the open!"
Arkhangelsk, both a Royal navy and Northern Parliament kansen, hastily jobs after them and waving both arms high up in the air. She's one of the odd case of it like how the Lutzow in Iron Blood is from an old era not the other name of Deutschland.
"Now then-" I turn around but immediately stop seeing the person in front of me
I know my initial plan is to just throw Gangut and hope it would draw Sovetskaya Rossiya away from me, but I never expect to face one of the few people I want to avoid right now. Akagi isn't here to keep anyone else away, so I have to rely on myself to throw suspicion off the trail.
"You look upset....." King George V smiles at me
"It's obvious I'm on guard. I don't know why exactly, but I can't just ignore this nagging instinct of mine" I try to remain calm when speaking
"Akagi, right? She's been keeping an eye on you recently"
"I want to be clear if Akagi is right about being suspicious"
"Hahahaha. I see. Akagi decided to get to you first. I admit I underestimated her"
"......."
I need to be as frank and straight as possible since her unnerving gaze heavily implies no half-assed excuse would work on her. Besides, this is the best choice rather than swiftly avoid her and repeat my mistake from Akagi's memories.
"The Goetia I know used to be callous towards humanity. That version of you would discard others all for your goal. Just like sacrificing chess pieces for a checkmate" King George V chuckles
"I admit I used to be heartless, but I'm not that sadistic"
"It can't be helped. Since countless timelines exist, ruining one is just like kicking one pebble among others. Then it didn't help the fact no matter what end you see......it was always the same. That's why you couldn't care less if they either destroy themselves or you destroy them yourself"
The way she stares right into my eyes - I don't like it the least. King George V says it with so much confidence that I couldn't brush it off as a lie. Even with this uneasiness, I don't sense any killing intent or malice from her.
"Goetia, I'm not your enemy. I volunteered back then in order to assure your safety" King George V's expression softens
"Then let me ask you if you truly know my true nature"
"I do. You're a sentient system but without a master. Since you have no directive to follow, you ended up ruining timelines"
"I never involve myself with humans"
"You wandered timelines not out of curiosity but to seek a purpose. It's not easy when you're so used to following orders"
Well, King George V is partly true about that. I always follow Solomon's orders out of my admiration for him. My purpose right now is to live a life of my own without clinging to my creator anymore. I want to put my past to rest and start my life now.
"I simply wish to repay my debt. That's all"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm a knight, so I must repay my debt.....whether you like it or not"
(She didn't hide the fact.....)
This isn't a surprise since Prince of Wales accurately described her insistence on fulfilling her knightly vow. Standing by on your own principles is admirable, but I'm uncomfortable with assertive people. An example is when Belfast has to drag me out of my room when I always skip breakfast.
"No matter how many times I must repeat, I will repay my debt"
"What is this debt exactly?! You won't shut up about it" I raise my voice
"For letting me protect the Royal navy until the very end. If you hadn't heard my voice, I would have died full of regrets"
".......?"
Just like her expression towards me, her voice also becomes warm and gentle. It's somewhat different from the confident and proud demeanor she always displays. This King George V is being sincere and doesn't have the slightest deception even in her wisdom cube. Still, I mustn't ignore how she killed me in a previous game over.
"Even if I must split you in half, I will save you!" She takes a step forward
"I don't need saving, okay!" I take a step back in return
"Even if you don't remember, you wanted to be saved. That's why I will fulfill your wish!"
What happened between us for her to be so insistent on "saving" me. There are memories deep inside me that I don't remember existing, but they're not false memories.
"....." I just swallow my breath
If I remember, there's one memory where King George V and I are at a tea party for two. That brief memory has King George V mentioning that she owed me, so she wanted to repay me. It must be a heavy wish full of burden for her to gaze right at me with pained expression. She's not in pain herself......but she stares at me in pity as if I'm the one who's in pain.
"Why are you two yelling at each other?"
(That voice......!)
My body jolts a bit when another voice interrupts us just as King George is about to make me move backwards again. I nervously turn my head around towards an obviously familiar voice. A proud and disciplined figure slowly approaches us with her head high up and mighty as usual. Despite that aura of sternness and intimidation, that person's simple wish is to be treated as an individual and be comfortable with someone.
"King George V, you shouldn't be scaring Welt like that" Bismarck heavily sighs
"My apologies if I seemed......loud. I shall leave you two" King George V hastily walks past Bismarck
"What was that all about?" Bismarck approaches me
She just stares at King George V hurriedly drags her feet away and doesn't even bother to look at us. It would be awkward and confusing if she explains how the conversation is about insisting on saving me from an unspecified debt.
"You're actually here......." I nervously laugh
"I have business with Sovetskaya Rossiya" Bismarck looks left and right first before speaking
"About what?"
"About the sea beast who devoured seven kansens which included Tirpitz"
"You actually wanted to avenge Tirpitz the same way Rossiya wanted to avenge Gangut"
I never thought Bismarck would feel responsible over the loss of her younger sister. They only talk when on duty. No one saw them spend time with each other like casual sisters. They both focused on their duty that others thought of them as colleagues rather than sisters.
"Tirpitz and I parted not in the best terms. I somewhat regretted not at least learning more about her......" Bismarck turns around and gazes up at the cloudy sky
"Huh. I actually saw you as the type to only keep moving forward and not feel regret in the past" I rub my chin in surprise
"When I saw a copy of Tirpitz, it made me realize how she died with regret too. That she wanted to at least apologize to me.....but she died too suddenly" Bismarck looks back at me
(I feel more guilty now......)
The others say they don't hold a grudge but regret their uncontrollable actions in their last moments. Rather than protect their allies, they turned against them and nearly killed them. It feels like there's a sharp blade in my chest when Bismarck admits her regret over not resolving her issues with her own sister.
"Anyhow, I wanted to learn Amagi's connection with the beast. She claimed to be the beast herself, but that creature existed for centuries" Bismarck frowns
"Aren't those just human accounts? Like the sea dragon is taking the form of the mythical Leviathan" I try to stray her off
"That's true, but I don't think all mythical sea dragons have a distinctive glowing symbol on their chest"
I feel nervous because at the second she realized I've been lying to her, she would mercilessly try to kill me. Well, just a try since my exterior armor is impenetrable. The Arbiters could at least scratch me, but they're not strong enough to pry off my armor. Even they got forced to travel into the past when the Leviathans proved to be too difficult for them.
"Will you try to kill it even if you stand no chance?" I reluctantly ask her
"I must because I'm the leader of Iron Blood and a kansen of Azur Lane" Bismarck firmly confirms with a nod
"What if you die too? Iron Blood needs you" I try to sway her resolve
"I do not fear strong opponents. My only fear is losing my nation without even fighting for it"
(She's stubborn to the core. Both her and Tirpitz!)
I grit my teeth since no persuasion would make her hesitate or doubt in confronting the beast, which is me. Bismarck only would get annoyed and suspicious if I try to talk her out of it. The only way to keep her from dying a pointless death is to incapacitate her, but I want to avoid violence as much as possible.
Two hours later......
I keep roaming around the base while sending out an invisible pulse hoping for feedback from my target object. The ring is imbued with a design similar to my body as it serves as a portable administration access. Solomon uses it to direct me even when I'm far from him. I must secure it before King George V can or before the Northern Parliament traces it back to me.
"......."
I wander the hallway in one of their large infrastructures, but there isn't much technology underground. I'm not getting a signal even when I narrow down my search and concentrate on the depth. There's a large space below indicating a secret underground level, but there isn't a single personnel down there or even a machine they collected.
"Hmm?"
As I'm about to reach an intersection, Sovetskaya Rossiya appears from the right side and is about to keep moving forward when she spots me. Her eyes narrow at the sight of me and I just there, somewhat nervous at her serious and distant presence. Bismarck has an intimidating figure but I could at least tell she's a gentle and caring person when not forced to act as a stern leader. This battleship, on the other hand, has no vulnerability for me to expose.
"You are?" Sovetskaya Rossiya tilts her head
"I am the ba - heavy cruiser Welt, a research ship of Iron Blood" I stand straight
"Welt? Yes, you're one of the listed kansens who came along with Bismarck" She stands a meter from me
"I'll just.....be on my way" I immediately turn around
I'm a mighty beast who lived for millennia, but as a false kansen, I feel intimidated by other kansens. This doesn't make any sense, but this must be because of the emotions overreacting in these situations. I don't remember setting a personality on myself.
"Wait" Sovetskaya Rossiya grabs my shoulder
"......!" I turn around
"I felt like we met before" She removes her hand
"I'm sorry, but I only came to the world shortly before Azur Lane found me. I spent my days cooped up in a now destroyed laboratory"
"It's vague, but you don't sound snarky and arrogant. Right now, you talk like a nervous rookie"
Snarky and arrogant? I wouldn't deny being arrogant since I'm always proud how I'm different from kansens and Sirens that neither of those two could actually harm me. However, I'm not the type to annoy people on purpose.
"Are you sure you're not mistaking me for someone else? This is the first time I've met the Northern Parliament" I shake my head
"My instincts are never wrong" Sovetskaya Rossiya takes a step forward
"Look, I seriously don't know who you are referring to" I take a step back
"Some time ago, I was separated from my fleet and trapped in a snow storm. A girl who resembled you came to my aid and attacked Tester Beta. That person left before I could tell her my gratitude"
What is she talking about? I don't remember travelling to the far north before and saving anyone. Is she confused like King George V earlier? I first gained my human form after I devoured Tirpitz, the eight kansen.
"Welt, tell me who you truly are. When I searched your records, nothing appeared as if you never existed before"
"My creator must have erased my records before he was killed in the explosion. Iron Blood can be secretive with their research"
I know using that excuse and even using Iron Blood would make Bismarck upset, but I have to wave off her suspicion. Violence isn't the answer right now even when my inhumane past self would choose to eliminate Sovetskaya Rossiya before she poses any future threats.
"That seems to be too convenient for an excuse, don't you think? Even Bismarck was surprised that Iron Blood created a research ship without her knowledge" Sovetskaya Rossiya places her hand in her blade's hilt
"The higher echelons aren't trustworthy considering they know Bismarck wouldn't do anything that would potentially harm Iron Blood ships" I stare at her right in the eyes
"That much is true, but I can't ignore how you don't have a single record of your existence"
"I don't have full memories of my past. All I remember is waking up in the laboratory and it exploded before I could even learn how to properly fight. The next thing I knew was I fled when a sea dragon emerged"
"The very same day an Iron Blood base got attacked and killed Tirpitz" Sovetskaya Rossiya leans her head forward
After I processed Tirpitz's wisdom cube, I felt a sharp pain course through my body. The right wisdom cubes inside me synchronized and either reconfigured me or added an extra feature I call human emotions. The will and emotions of humans were used to create wisdom cubes, so it affected me when I absorbed all eight of them. As a result, I became a pseudo-kansen.
"Am I the sea dragon or your mysterious savior? Make up your mind" I dryly laugh at her
"You had the same eyes as the wandering kansen. A weapon of war yet reluctant for violence. No, this could also be said for Enterprise" Sovetskaya Rossiya straightens herself and scoffs in response
"Enterprise just wishes to fight for her allies while I wish it to live free from my past"
I clench both of my fists as I firmly inform her why Enterprise and I aren't fond of conflict and violence. Enterprise is the strongest in the Eagle Union, so she believes she must fight for her allies. I have to live without my lost past. What I want is a future where I could continue being Welt without being afraid anymore.
"What do you fight for? You're not loyal to anyone, are you?" Sovetskaya Rossiya frowns at me
"I can't say I fight for peace the same way Azur Lane does, but I want the peace everyone is struggling to achieve. I'm rather fond of the people here"
"You don't fight for humanity or any nation, just for the people around you......just because you liked them" Sovetskaya Rossiya's expression softens
"I don't want to leave this life behind after I spared much effort. Besides, I want to at least confirm if there was really a purpose to why I'm still here after all this time....."
I faintly smile as I recall a moment of loneliness staring at the empty sea. My eyes blankly gaze at the still horizon while only deafening silence lies behind the rest of the pier. There's nothing there but the remnant of an era in its abrupt end.
"A long time ago, someone I could no longer recognize once had the same pitiful expression. They had this self loathing and hopeless expression while muttering why she remained no matter how much she waited for her fate's end" Sovetskaya Rossiya turns around
"Huh?"
"I couldn't remember exactly who it was, but that person lamented everything and was stuck in a dead end. As if they wanted to die but couldn't find the courage to end themselves"
As Sovetskaya Rossiya begins to walk away, she speaks as if I'm related to whoever she's talking about. Iron Blood, Eagle Union, Sakura Empire.....doesn't really matter. Even the representative of the Northern Parliament is an eccentric of her own who's in the thin line between suspicion and trust. I just blink several times while I silently watch her turn to the left and disappear from my view in a matter of seconds.
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Chapter 26:
As planned, Gangut manifests and draws the attention of the Northern Parliament. Only when Bismarck suddenly finds Welt with a deceased kansen that the latter faces her worst fear.