"...Let’s see this already..." Tanya takes advantage of her position to access data she shouldn’t have, but that Neo does. She pulls up the videos on a large monitor in her room while adjusting everything.
"Looks like it’s a camera on her chest..." She watches the beginning, which shows the perspective from a lower angle. She activates the AI analysis system that displays real-time data.
’So it’s a temporary camera... why would my family try to collect this kind of information...?’ She’s left with doubts as she lets the video play.
...
...
...
"Zenith, what the hell are you doing here?!" Nadir shouts at Zenith, who hasn’t retreated as countless pitch-black monsters drag themselves toward the two of them. Zenith tears through space, creating a temporary barrier.
"I’m the one asking!! What the hell are you still doing here? Fall back! You’re going to die—you’re basically support with your power, you shouldn’t be on the front lines... things are seriously fucked here!!" Zenith screams at him as they both run, putting some distance between themselves and the monsters.
"There’s no falling back! Can’t you see how much trouble is going on? Since this whole piece fell, there’s too much open space, and this damn monster won’t stop multiplying for even a second. It’s just a terrible scenario for us, and on top of that, other monsters are being drawn in by the commotion."
"Nadir, we’ve been at this for almost two hours!! It’s clearly not going to be possible to recover this piece. Aurora Island can’t stay still for this long, and most of the floaters on this section of the island broke on impact because they couldn’t support the island’s weight." Astrid flies past overhead, destroying a considerable portion of the monsters—which doesn’t last long since they start multiplying again.
"You see that!! Even she can’t keep up with this thing. This absurd multiplication is frustrating, and you’re already getting worn out. Unlike me, you get tired as you use your powers."
"But you’re the one who should retreat, Zenith. Your powers carry too many risks and—"
"Watch out!" Zenith quickly grabs Nadir and leaps, using space like a veil to form a platform while dodging the swarm of monsters that broke through the fissure in space.
"..." Nadir gasps in pain, showing he’s worse off than he lets on.
"You’re in really bad shape."
"I can... still fight."
"...You idiot. Forget it. I’ll handle everything on my own. I don’t need help—just make sure no more monsters get up onto this part of the island."
"W-What are you saying, Zenith?"
"Obviously, if this doesn’t end, you’re going to die because you’re an idiot and keep throwing yourself into danger. HEY, ASTRID!" Zenith shouts for Astrid, who flies extremely fast over to her.
"Make it quick," Astrid says in an impatient tone, though she’s sweating and her expression is exhausted. Two hours of using powers nonstop is taking its toll on everyone.
"Take care of the idiot Nadir. I’m going to handle this. Just don’t let the monsters bunch up so they can’t reach Aurora Island." Astrid looks confused as Zenith tosses Nadir into her arms.
Zenith sprints toward the broken edge of the island piece that’s on the ground while Nadir screams after her.
"The island needs to get off the ground... if I use space, I think I can drag the island even with the vector resistance the floaters give to everything..." She quickly reaches the edge. The edge is several kilometers off the ground, showing just how massive the fallen piece of the island is.
"H-Hahaha... can I really drag something this big? How many tons does this thing even weigh?" She can’t even begin to guess as she slides along the edge, trying to reach the middle. Meanwhile, she uses her spatial power to crush all the monsters on top of and climbing onto the island, leaving only the ones below. This makes her cough and groan in pain, showing it was excessive use.
"No monsters on top of this piece of the island. I just need to move it without worrying about them reaching the full Aurora Island." She stops at a point on the island and drives her arm and leg completely into the rock. She grabs one of the cables running through the inside, then looks up at the island kilometers in the sky.
"If I use my powers, I can cut the distance—it’ll look like the island is just a few centimeters away from me. If I grab hold of it and start unfolding space slowly, it should work to drag everything using all the space around the island like a capsule..." With her free hand, she makes a pulling motion, and from a visual perspective, it’s as if the island descended to the ground, coming extremely close to her. She grabs the island, driving her hand and leg into it, searching for another cable to anchor herself.
"Haaa... I-I hope I don’t get torn in two." The air around her distorts as all the space surrounding the broken piece of the island deforms violently.
"URGHHH!!" She begins restoring the space she dragged back to its original form, which pulls her upward as the fallen piece trembles, starting to be lifted violently.
Earthquakes occur due to the enormous mass being moved all at once while the monsters are held back by everyone who, despite the shock, don’t have time to observe this.
"[Zenith, what are you doing?! You’re going to kill yourself!!]" Nadir’s voice comes through the communicator as the island begins to rise from the ground. Since it’s the deformed space that’s actually dragging the island, it doesn’t break further, so Zenith keeps going.
"I-I’m fine..." She speaks as blood drips from her eyes, falling onto her clothes. The dragging of something so massive leaves marks and fissures in space as the piece of the island fully lifts off the ground—kilometers of earth, rock, metal, and other materials being raised, forming a gigantic shadow over the ground.
Zenith’s muscles tear audibly as space also begins to deform her limbs. She screams in pain but continues dragging the island upward because there’s no other solution.
Everyone is growing exhausted, and no one can truly finish off the monster once and for all. Without that, they would probably lose in another hour or two due to everyone’s exhaustion.
"Haa... Haaa..." She pants, crying—a mixture of tears and blood—as the island begins to be repositioned in its original space. The progress is relatively slow since Zenith is trying to restore the exact original position. Any misalignment would be a serious problem for everyone, as it could mess up the island’s balance and cause it to fall in the future.
"..." Zenith looks up as both sides of the island begin to close in on her. She still manages to maintain a small spatial distortion around herself, keeping a hole just her size as she’s buried by both sides.
Her arms and legs, which served as both bridge and conductor, are terribly deformed as the island connects, both cracked sides being forced against each other to hold in place.
"..." Zenith is barely conscious, but she continues using her powers—because if she stops now, everything will fall to the ground.
"[Zenith, hold on like that. We’ll repair the floaters and add more support floaters, and we’ll also call in everyone who can seal the fissure.]" Astrid speaks through the communicator while Zenith doesn’t even have the strength to speak, just holding this position as her blood begins to completely stain the suffocating, dark, and claustrophobic little space.
...
...
...
"...This..." The rest of the recording is hours of Zenith panting in pain while the island is fully secured in place, and only after a full day do they pull her out with help.
"..." Tanya doesn’t know how to feel about this. Not just the absurd display of power Zenith demonstrated, but also her attitude—she really was willing to die for someone.
The recording makes it clear: Zenith didn’t necessarily want to save people or the island. She wanted to save one specific person. It makes Tanya remember what Zenith said about friends who would fight for you.
"W-Why did she do it like that... this... is so... strange coming from her..." Tanya feels sick. She can’t forget the nauseating sound of bones snapping and flesh being deformed by space.
On top of that, Zenith’s screams and groans of pain are not just strange but also uncomfortable. Zenith has always projected an image that she would never cry or scream in pain—that she was far above that.
"T-This doesn’t make sense! If she did something so incredible, why doesn’t anyone talk about it? Why did they hide this?! Hey, Neo, answer me!" She asks Neo, who is beside her.
"[Because the island fell.]"
"...?"
"[My child, if the island can fall, people get scared. So they hid it because the island fell. No one was supposed to know, talk about, or mention this fact. If people started fearing that the island could fall, it would be problematic—especially since it was a monster that caused the damage.]"
"[That day, they even had to spend the equivalent of six months’ worth of energy in two hours just to make the island move faster to escape that multiplying monster.]"
"[Zenith did exemplary work, but it’s not the kind of work that should receive attention. It’s the kind of work that’s hidden and ignored because it’s too problematic. In the end, many don’t even know she did it.]"
"[Even among those who were there that day, only a relatively limited group knows that Commander Zenith was the one who literally dragged an entire piece of an island. This island is a mega-island, one of the largest islands in the world. That single piece Zenith dragged would already be heavier than you can imagine—it was the equivalent of 54 billion tons.]"
"S-Seriously?!"
"[Yes. Imagining that someone can drag something like that is frightening. People wouldn’t be grateful—they’d be scared. Even to protect Zenith herself, this was for the best. That kind of fame is bad, even if it’s heroic.]"
"...That’s not fair to her." Neo returns to her normal mode to comfort her "daughter."
"Yes, my child, it’s not fair to her at all. But that’s how life is..."
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