TN: And we're back! sorry for the week long hiatus, it was not intentional since I had to get my right leg in a cast after tripping 3 floors down a stairwell (like an idiot ://) and be unable to use my PC setup upstairs BUT I should be OK now.
Anyways, Thanks for Arcanic Madness, WeissAkumu and WolfWTF for becoming as Supporters!,
===BREAK===
"…An experiment?"
The name Eve, used both for Project Eve and for Isabel in her childhood—I had my suspicions. But hearing it directly from her was something else entirely.
"Yeah. I was an experimental subject of Project Eve."
I asked again, just in case. Isabel nodded quietly, her expression calm.
["Commander…"]
The White Line's noble daughter. Though the Ark had no official class hierarchy, if it ever had a princess, anyone would have thought of Isabel. She was an untouchable figure within the Ark. On top of that, she led the Shadow Order, a clandestine group capable of seizing control of the Ark. And now this same woman was saying she had been nothing more than an experiment?
No matter how massive Project Eve might have been, it was hard to believe—even after hearing it straight from her.
"Was Barbara Claudia involved in that project?"
"How did you…?"
"It's obvious."
Objectively, Barbara Claudia might have been a high-level ether adept, but she was still nowhere near Isabel's level. And if Isabel feared her, then the trauma must have come from the shadows of her childhood.
"…That's right. Barbara Claudia was one of the researchers in Project Eve. She probably doesn't know that I'm aware of it, but I saw her. They were discussing Project Eve."
I had asked just to be sure—but as expected, the Lower House member from the White Line had such a past. It was useful information—well worth confirming.
"I see. Then let's get straight to the point. What was Project Eve?"
"…If you've spoken with that old fox Gulshan, then you've probably guessed it. Project Eve was a project to control the vast etheric waves emanating from Mount Noah. And I… I'm the only survivor."
The only survivor… There was something chilling in that phrase. As if all the others who had participated in the project were now dead.
"Is it even possible to artificially control the etheric wave from Mount Noah?"
"I don't know. But the White Line clearly believed it was possible… and they did see some results."
I didn't ask what those results were. Because Isabel's very existence was likely proof enough.
"Gulshan Tripathi said Project Eve was a follow-up to Project Noah. In that case, can we assume Mount Noah's etheric wave was a product of Project Noah?"
"…Probably. Yeah."
No certainty—but she didn't deny it. With that, what had only been speculative before was now edging closer to confirmed truth.
'In that case…'
Project Eve was indeed a continuation of Project Noah, and its goal—controlling Mount Noah's etheric wave—was tied to the aftermath of Project Noah. Then comes the real question:
Why did the White Line feel the need to control it?
If Mount Noah's unique etheric wave was a result of Project Noah, then logically, the White Line should have welcomed it. After all, they and the Red Line had already gained tremendous benefits from the current state. Yet they launched a follow-up project—at great cost—just to control it.
So… why?
"Why did the White Line want to control Mount Noah's etheric wave? Given the way it's currently distributed through the Ark, wasn't it already working to their advantage?"
"…That, I don't know. Even though I was involved in Project Eve… I was only the test subject."
"So… is that why you've been trying to uncover Project Noah?"
"That…"
Isabel's lips trembled slightly.
Now, I had to know. The secret behind Project Eve, and what happened long ago in the El family.
"What happened back then in the El family?"
["Master, that's…"]
Esther's eyes wavered—visibly shaken. But then Isabel stepped in between us.
"…No, Esther. I'll say it. It's time."
["Commander…"]
"I can't keep turning my head away from the past forever. Now's the time to face it."
Isabel took a deep breath, then looked directly at me, as if she'd made up her mind.
"To be honest… I don't remember much from my childhood. Even when I try to recall it, all I get are memories of being trapped somewhere."
The past Isabel slowly began to reveal felt dark—like the door to some damp, underground cell being forced open.
"I wasn't allowed to leave my room. All I remember is the large bed I could roll around in, the ornate frills, and a few pieces of furniture. And when I woke up… I'd find strange injection marks on my body."
"You don't remember the actual experiments?"
"Sadly, no. Looking back now, I think they put me under with sleep gas or something, then conducted the experiments. I have no idea what they did—but one day… something changed."
"Changed?"
Isabel nodded.
"I started hearing voices. At first, they were just static—barely audible. But they got louder over time."
"You were beginning to perceive ether."
"That's right. And from that day on, everything in my life changed."
Her tone turned bitter.
"Screams, despair, rage, sorrow—those emotions kept whispering in my ears. As the days went by, the voices grew louder… and I was dying. I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat—it was only natural."
As I had experienced many times myself, etheric adepts suffer insomnia, hallucinations, voices—an unbearable degree of interference. Even the strongest minds struggle. Let alone a child. Especially if the ether had been artificially induced.
"It must've been hard to endure."
"Hmm… At the time, I didn't even think about enduring. I was just… being swept away. It felt like I was becoming someone—or something—else."
"Something else?"
"Yeah. I can't describe it any other way. It didn't hurt. It wasn't painful. But everything felt… distant from me."
She went on.
"I think it was around then. When I was swimming in that empty sea of silence, completely cut off from the world—"
Her eyes slowly moved past me—toward someone beside me.
"When Esther appeared before me."
["…Commander."]
"My meeting with Esther… it was a coincidence. No, maybe it was fate. Either way, after I met Esther, I was finally able to return from that silent sea. After wandering for so long, I finally found myself again."
Her gaze turned to the distance.
"After meeting Esther, I was finally able to sleep again. I still heard the voices, but I could fall asleep. When I woke up, Esther would teach me so many things—what was out there, how fun the world could be. Listening to her was the only thing that kept me from letting go."
I had known Isabel and Esther shared a long bond—But I hadn't known this part of it.
Or maybe… I hadn't known Isabel at all.
'I thought I understood everything… But maybe I only knew a fraction.'
I had to admit it. Just how arrogantly I'd looked down on the world until now.
I now accept—that what I know is not all there is.
"Time passed. Esther became the only friend—and family—I had."
"Family, huh… It's a strange question to ask now, but… were you adopted into the El family?"
"There was a time when I thought so, yes. But when I learned the truth as I got older… I wanted to drain all the blood from my body."
"You mean… they did that to their own biological daughter?"
"Maybe… that's what eased their guilt. Funny, isn't it?"
She gave a bitter laugh. It was directed somewhere—someone.
"After that… nothing much changed. I survived. And maybe because of my status, or some other reason, I ended up living as the El family's 'noble daughter.' A face the White Line could use."
"The Shadow Order must've come after that."
Isabel formed the Shadow Order to fulfill her own dream. But I knew—that in the process, she would succeed in splitting the Ark and claiming half of it.
Perhaps… it wasn't just her dream she was chasing. Perhaps revenge against the White Line was part of it, too.
"Yeah. After I met Esther, I slowly got used to controlling ether. The voices got quieter—but they never disappeared. Maybe… they even got stronger."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't really know either."
She smiled faintly. A sad smile—perhaps shaped by everything she had just shared.
"Did Project Eve succeed?"
"I wonder. Was it a failure, or a success? Hard to say. It feels ridiculous to call myself a failure—or a success—just because I survived."
"I see."
I didn't say it aloud, but—It was probably closer to a failure. If Project Eve had succeeded, the Ark wouldn't be in its current state. And yet, because of Project Eve, Isabel had gained one of the most powerful etheric abilities in the world. So perhaps… it wasn't entirely a failure either.
"I don't know what exactly Project Eve was, or what they did to me. But there's one thing I do know."
She looked directly at me.
"I still hear countless voices whispering in my head. Telling me we must return. That we must leave this place. It feels like a great Will… One I can't resist."
"Return? Return where?"
"Where we came from. Humanity's origin."
"What?"
Was it coincidence that the voices in her head aligned with her so-called dream?
'…No. There's no way that's a coincidence.'
I finally understood. The ambition I could never comprehend—Isabel's dream—had never been hers to begin with.
"I… and we…"
["We… and I…"]
Her voice overlapped with countless etheric echoes.
"We have to return."
["We have to return."]
===BREAK===
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