Ahead of them stood a metallic control panel, silent and seemingly inactive at first gnce. It gave off no immediate signs of life, but something about it felt important. Upon closer inspection, Tallinn pointed out a small, precise groove carved into its surface.

  "Looks like this might need something to power it back up," she remarked, tapping the groove with her finger. "Probably a Wisdom Cube. It’s shaped just right for one."

  "That's why we brought this," the battleship said, retrieving something from her rigging and presenting it to Tallinn. In her hand was a gleaming Wisdom Cube, its soft blue glow casting faint reflections on the cold, metallic walls. "This should help power up the pce," she added as she handed the Wisdom Cube to the Commander.

  "So that’s why you needed me, right?" he asked, carefully receiving the cube, feeling its energy pulsing faintly in his grip.

  The Commander pced the Wisdom Cube into the groove, watching as it settled into pce with an eerie sense of perfection. It felt as if the cube had always belonged there. As the faint hum of power began to course through the room, he couldn't shake the feeling that this was beyond his control. It wasn’t his own affinity with the Wisdom Cube making this possible—no, it felt like S.A.V.I.O.R was pulling the strings, guiding the cube’s power.

  But even as he acknowledged this external force, a lingering suspicion gnawed at him. There was something else—something within himself. Through fragmented memories, he was aware of things he shouldn’t be, as though his past held secrets even he wasn’t fully conscious of. Something buried deep inside, just waiting to resurface.

  As he turned to the girls, he asked. "Alright, now what? Where's the Gate that you spoke of?"

  Belorussiya snapped out of her moment of reverie, breaking the silence and quickly apologizing. "Ah... Sorry, sorry. I forgot to mention one little detail about the Gate~" She gestured toward the wall behind him. "You see that wall of ice behind you, at the end of the hallway? That’s what we call the 'Gate.' We’re confident that once you activate this console, it will open up and reveal another passage."

  He gnced back at the ice wall, eyes narrowing as he examined it. "This thing? Really? From its sheer size and texture alone, there's no way something like this could have formed naturally. But..." he trailed off, stepping closer. "I can't see any sort of mechanisms or technology behind it. It just looks like a solid sheet of ice."

  "And that’s where you’d be wrong, Comrade. There’s much, much more to it than meets the eye," Tallinn said, correcting him with a smirk before nudging Gromky. "Gromky, let’s give the Commander a little demonstration. Aim for that corner over there," she instructed, pointing at a specific spot on the icy wall.

  "Aye aye! Everyone, keep your distance!" Gromky called out, aiming at the corner with precision. "Commencing fire!"

  With a loud boom, the shell unched from her gun, hurtling toward the ice wall. A cloud of smoke and steam erupted as the shell made contact, briefly obscuring everyone’s view. But when the smoke cleared, the wall of ice stood unscathed, not a single crack visible on its pristine surface.

  "Not even a scratch..." the Commander muttered in disbelief.

  "As you can see," Tallinn remarked smugly, "this isn’t ordinary ice. It’s far more durable than anything we’ve encountered before. Of course, we’ve tried many other methods. Using rger-caliber guns, having the entire fleet fire salvos, using explosives, using heavier explosives..."

  Greynar's eyes narrowed as he studied the control panel more closely. His gaze drifted to a strange symbol etched into the side of the console, faintly glowing with an otherworldly light. It wasn’t a symbol from this world, at least not one he could recall seeing here. But there was something disturbingly familiar about it, something tied to the memory.

  'Ah, this symbol, could it be...' he muttered to himself silently, then he noticed something. 'The Wisdom Cube...!'

  The Commander's eyes went wide as he realized the Wisdom Cube was gone. As his hand accidentally brushed against the console, it triggered a response—the device began to vibrate and hum. To his surprise, the Wisdom Cube seemed to dissolve into nothingness, repced by a swirling ball of light that expanded above the console.

  "The structure of the Wisdom Cube... it's reflected in these motes of light... as if they're trying to deconstruct the cube..." Tallinn muttered, observing the phenomenon with a mix of awe and confusion.

  "...Belorussiya, looks like our hypothesis might be correct," Kirov said, stepping forward as the ice began crackling, the pale light shining from within.

  "Hmph! The Gate is starting to change. I'm really curious to see how this solid ice wall will lead us to..." she trailed off, her voice filled with anticipation.

  The Gate gave way to a new path, but in a way no one had expected. The wall of ice became thin and translucent, transforming into a delicate gossamer membrane, as if it could vanish at any moment. Beyond the shimmering veil, a radiant city—entirely composed of light—rose from the once-empty Mirror Sea. The moment the scenery was revealed, everyone’s jaw dropped, saves for those who could keep their composure intact.

  "This is really an unexpected situation..." Kirov murmured, her eyes scanning the luminous structures with awe.

  "It's so beautiful...~" Gromky added, her eyes practically sparkling as she gazed at the radiant city before them.

  "Holy... this makes the towering icebergs we saw before seem insignificant in comparison..." Murmansk marveled, her voice filled with awe as she took in the mesmerizing sight. "It's like a dream castle straight out of a fairy tale..." She gazed intently, as if trying to memorize every detail of the glowing city.

  "It turns out those two suspended tracks in the center were always the roads leading to the city..." Tallinn mused, her eyes tracing the glowing pathways. "The Sirens have really hidden an extravagant wonder here. It's hard to imagine that something this beautiful could be born from their aesthetics."

  "No," Greynar interrupted, he looked around and pointed at a building. "The city before us doesn’t resemble anything created by the Sirens. Instead, it looks more like... human architecture."

  "Not even the most advanced countries could pull off an engineering marvel like this... especially since the entire city seems to be made of light," Belorussiya commented, her eyes scanning the glowing architecture. "But you’re right... this doesn’t feel like something the Sirens would create..."

  Once the Gate was opened, it didn’t reveal a hidden room or secret chamber as they had anticipated. Instead, an entire dazzling city, forged by an unknown creator, unfolded before their eyes. The sight was mesmerizing, and for Greynar, this development stirred something deeper—the answer he had been seeking y beyond this glowing metropolis.

  As Belorussiya gestured for the fleet to move forward, Greynar stood at the very threshold of the Gate, ready to step into the unknown. But before he could take that step, a sudden realization hit him. He gnced back, where was their carrier? She had vanished from her position without a trace.

  Before he could say anything, everyone was suddenly enveloped in a pale blue light, and a voice echoed in his mind.

  ~Command accepted. Proceeding with memory alteration~

  ※ ※ ※

  Opening his eyes again, Greynar found himself standing in the middle of a street. As he looked around, his eyes widened in disbelief. He was back… in his world. Not the original timeline, not the test site-β, but his own, normal world. The world where KAN-SEN were just characters from a game he used to py.

  He wandered through the familiar neighborhood, looking around with the curiosity of someone rediscovering a pce long forgotten. It wasn’t an illusion or a trick—everything felt real. The sights, the sounds, the sensations—there was no doubt. He was truly back in his own world.

  'I'm back...'

  It felt as though a wave of emotion was building up inside him, like a stranded child finally reunited with familiar ground. The man was truly back in his own world. It seemed that the Gate he had passed through was no ordinary doorway, but more like a magical portal that could transport someone to another pce. Yet, the question lingered in his mind, how did it bring him here?

  As he spotted a familiar building, Greynar felt a flicker of recognition—it was his house. But something was off. The inside was dark, as though no lights had been turned on in ages. His curiosity piqued, he approached the window and peered inside. The emptiness within struck him. No sign of life, no movement. Deciding to take a step further, he reached for the door. To his surprise, it creaked open effortlessly, and a gust of wind carried dust from within, sending it drifting outside.

  "Hello...?" he gnced around, no one seems to be responding. Yet, the nearby neighbourhood's light was on.

  Where were his parents? The Commander asked himself, a feeling of unease creeping in. Something didn’t sit right, there was a sinister undertone to the silence that hung in the air. It was as if something was wrong, but he couldn’t pce his finger on it.

  Slowly, he walked through the house, his steps echoing in the quiet. He made his way upstairs, his heart pounding as he approached his room. The yout seemed the same, but something was off. The first floor was eerily empty—cabinets were missing, and the family table had been moved.

  He reached his bedroom door and hesitated for a moment. With a slow, deliberate motion, he turned the handle. The door creaked open, the sound sharp in the stillness. As the room was revealed, he saw his chair facing the bed, opposite of the door. His eyes then locked onto the two pairs of legs resting on the chair.

  A chill ran down his spine as he forced himself to speak. "Who are you, and what happened to my house?" he asked, his voice low but filled with a mix of confusion and unease.

  A soft giggle echoed from the chair. The voice that followed was unmistakable, one he had heard countless times. "Well, well... Silly Grey is really here, I thought you won't be here for some times" came the teasing tone with a wide smile and grin of a devil.

  The chair creaked as it slowly turned toward him, revealing Bon Homme Richard sitting there with a mischievous smile on her face. Her red pair of eyes gleamed, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

  The Commander widened his eye. He inhaled to shout a soon he sees her. "YOU ARE—!" Before he could finish his word, a soft, eerie wind chime rang through the air, its sound sharp and disorienting. It blurred his vision, the world around him twisting as if pulled by an unseen force. The warmth in his body drained away, and before he could comprehend what was happening, darkness consumed him, sending him into unconsciousness.

  A soft voice echoed through the darkness, barely a whisper. "You can't stay there... Commander. It's not safe." The words lingered for a moment before they faded away, leaving only silence in their wake.

  As he slowly regained consciousness, he found himself once again in the City made of light. The soft sensation beneath his head made him realize he was lying on something cushioned. As he blinked, he saw Belorussiya’s face above him, her long blue hair cascading gently over his face.

  "Are you finally awake, Comrade?" she asked, her voice tinged with slight concern.

  "...I feel a little fuzzy. Did I just faint?" he murmured, pushing himself up as Belorussiya helped him to sit.

  "Only briefly," she replied with a soft smile. "The fleet has managed to cross the Gate."

  "That's good. So, where are we? The command ship?" he asked, scanning the unfamiliar surroundings.

  "Unfortunately, no..." Belorussiya shook her head. "We were scattered across the sector right after passing through the Gate. The control room, along with the Gate that served as the entrance, are both gone."

  "How about Volga, where is she?" He scratched his head, noticing it was just the two of them inside the ship.

  "Volga—who?" Belorussiya tilted her head in confusion.

  Realizing something wasn't quite right, he quickly changed the topic. "Vol- ahem, I mean, how are the other girls?"

  "They're fine. While we were regrouping, we found you here in the submarine," Belorussiya said.

  "Sorry to make you worry," Greynar apologized. "Let's go outside first."

  As he followed Belorussiya, a sense of suspicion and panic began to creep in. The shipgirl, Volga—her trace was gone and wasn't remembered by Belorussiya. It didn’t sit right with him. On the outside, he remained calm, but inside, it felt like a storm was fring up, his mind racing as bring sirens of distress echoed in his thoughts.

  'What the fuck just happened? We were just on the Gate, passing through! Then suddenly a light envelope us then—' he then realized what the voice meant to be before they blinked away at the Gate. S.A.V.I.O.R command was triggered and made the whole timeline forgotten her.

  Throughout his whole expedition with the Northern Parliament, strange things had started happening. The uncomfortable sensation Volga had felt, the memory-like experiences he'd gone through, the sudden shift in the questions Volga had asked—then, finally, the bizarre encounter with Bon Homme Richard and S.A.V.I.O.R automatic activation. It all felt like pieces of a puzzle that didn’t quite fit, each more unsettling than the st. Everything started going wrong the moment he encountered the Observer, the Singurity, and the METAs.

  The Commander could only curse to himself. He felt like shit for not noticing it sooner. The problem y with S.A.V.I.O.R, or rather, with himself. He had been brought to this world by a device, but it wasn’t a normal one. That device was simir to how a shipgirl is born. After racking his brain, he was sure of it: he had been impnted with false memories by the people from the original timeline. He’d gone through all that shit for many years—maybe even millions—and somehow ended up in this world by miracle or by someone's hand, in the form of the device. Which was, of course, S.A.V.I.O.R. Then he had taken form as his old self and looked like was summoned.

  But one thing was certain, Bon Homme Richard was already aware of him, and the power he held—power he had no prior idea how it worked properly. She was reaching for him, through dreams and other means. Fortunately, she wasn’t inside test site-β, and she didn’t know its coordinates. He would take advantage of that, keeping her at bay for as long as he could. The reason he knew about the KAN-SEN from the game was tied to the st event he had pyed—the one where HMS Vanguard and the fleets encountered Richard. In the real story, they had failed to defend, and Richard had been sent to the test site, where she unleashed chaos.

  He remembered that he had been there too, still deactivated, but he forgets the rest of the history that happened afterwards. All the experiences he had seen were injected into his false memories, making him believe they were merely part of a game’s story. Fake and real had accumuted into one, and his entire world felt false. Yet, there was one truth that remained: his own existence. It predated reality itself and was far more important than he had ever realized. During his awakening, the entire story had been rewritten, the past timeline of test site-β was erased. Except for those who still remembers him.

  'S.A.V.I.O.R is the closest tech to access the high-dimensional system of X.' he thought silently.

  Greynar also became aware that he wasn’t human, not entirely. Though he had biological organs and functions, he wasn’t quite the same as those he once considered human. He wondered, briefly, if he could reproduce—then quickly pushed that thought aside for ter.

  'Then, this test site-β is the real thing, unlike the one in my memory, that one has been rewritten as the current test site-β. Observer tried to convince me, making me believe this test site was something familiar, yet so different from what I knew. Oddly enough, that kept me sane. For that, I’m thankful.'

  Though, there's some unanswered truth, the truth behind White Tower existence and the connection with X, the existence of the auburn carrier, along with how did Observer knew all of this. Should he reach for more answer, he knew it would take some time to reach the proper truth behind all his action.

  He pushed that matter aside for ter, after the fleet had been reunited. They arrived back at their destination, and during his long period of mind-searching, only a few minutes had passed. It felt strange, yet oddly convenient. Whether it was due to himself, or S.A.V.I.O.R, it was undeniably useful.

  They stopped and gazed at the glowing city ahead. "The city of light is still shining brightly in front of us, so at least we can be sure we’ve passed through to the other side of the gate," Kirov remarked.

  "Do you think all these strange phenomena were set up by the Sirens?" Belorussiya asked quietly, then shook her head. "...Well, it’s best not to dwell on it. We’ve seen enough of the Mirror Seas to know that anything is possible."

  "The huge floating icebergs are totally different now! Look!" Murmansk pointed. "Strange glowing lines are running through them, just like the console when it was activated!"

  "As expected, the previous restoration of the icebergs in the Mirror Sea wasn’t just meaningless ndscape work. Everything, including the icebergs, is an indispensable part of this giant city," Tallinn murmured.

  "You’re right... Everything the light touches is being repaired, even the track in front of us," Gremyashchy leaned forward to take a look.

  "It’s shining so brightly, and it would be fun to slide down the track!" Gromky said with a bright smile.

  "Looks dangerous, though. If I were you, I wouldn't dare until I know it’s safe," Tallinn replied with an impish grin.

  "Those tracks seem to provide access throughout the whole city. We’ll have the best shot at finding our bearings if we take control of them," Kirov mentioned. "Of course, before any further exploration, we need to reconfirm the location of the control room and the Gate to ensure a way back."

  Belorussiya nodded. "Agreed. Unfortunately, we don’t have aircraft support this time. Let’s gather intelligence along the way while searching for the control room somewhere beneath the track."

  They decided to move forward, splitting into two groups to widen the search and look for anything noteworthy.