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Why had Project Noah become Ark's original sin?
Why did its very existence spell annihilation for all?
The reason was finally revealed through Shin El's testimony.
A technology that turned ether into matter.
Regardless of whether it should have been possible, the fact was that White Line had achieved it in the past.
They had dared to step into the realm of creation—a domain arguably reserved for gods.
["Unbelievable…"]
Esther, who had been quietly listening from within me, gasped in horror.
As a ghost-class being closer to ether than anyone, Esther must have instinctively feared Project Noah.
No wonder she had been reluctant to approach Mount Noah in the first place.
[…So it wasn't just a vile fantasy I so desperately wished to forget, but a reality.]
Even Turncoat King, who claimed his memories had faded after living too long, opened his mouth for once and commented on the shocking truth.
Shin El continued speaking.
["At first, everything was wonderful."]
The hologram shifted.
No longer the suffering, groaning Ark we'd seen before—but a scene of laughter and abundance.
["Each individual ether contained a staggering amount of information. It was quite literally the essence of life and existence. Just as humanity once obtained vast energy from a mere gram of uranium or hydrogen, Project Noah opened a new era for Ark."]
"And in the process, White Line seized control of Ark's power."
["It might sound strange coming from me, but that wasn't a particularly important issue. A wandering ark always needs a new captain, after all."]
I half-listened to that.
It was the kind of justification and excuse you'd expect from those who seized power.
In the end, Shin El's testimony was still a statement made on White Line's behalf.
["In any case, Ark changed after the implementation of Project Noah. Hunger vanished, and thanks to the abundance of weapons and supplies, external threats became a thing of the past."]
"Are you claiming Project Noah was right?"
["No. Not at all. But I also don't think there was another choice. While I won't claim Ark's decision at the time was right, I do believe it was the best option available. Had Project Noah failed—whatever the cause—Ark would've collapsed."]
Was it right to sacrifice the future for the present?
This question didn't require abstract theorizing. I could simply point to the environmental issues in my homeland.
Those too were sacrifices made for the convenience and prosperity of the present.
And I already knew how humanity answers that question.
They say they're protecting the future, but they always sacrifice it for the present.
That's the nature of humans.
Different circumstances didn't change that truth.
Likewise, Ark was just trying to survive.
Simply to live another day.
What price that might bring in the future… they probably didn't care.
"I see."
Now, I no longer wished to morally condemn Ark's choice back then.
Even if I had been part of Project Noah, I doubt the result would've changed.
More than anything, those who once participated in Project Noah had likely already paid the price—as fuel for it.
Could there be a more fitting end for them?
["Back then, humanity didn't know… that all beings carry a desire to persist—and that ether shares that desire."]
The hologram changed again.
The peaceful image of Ark did not last long.
At some point, the number of monsters attacking Ark began to rise sharply.
["As ether—meant to circulate—was gradually consumed by Project Noah, it was as if its survival instinct awoke. The ether ecosystem began a kind of self-correction."]
A scene I had seen before.
I knew what it was.
"That's…"
The Wave.
At last, it had manifested in Ark.
"So, the Wave… was caused by Project Noah after all."
["Looking back, yes. At the time, we didn't understand why."]
"Now that you do, can't you just shut down Project Noah?"
["Now?"]
Shin El gave a bitter laugh.
Or something like it.
["You already know, don't you? It's far too late to stop."]
The hologram shifted again.
It now showed factories running at full capacity.
["To hold back the Wave, Ark needed even more resources and people. To grow the population, production of food and goods had to increase. To arm the people, raw materials were needed. So, Project Noah had to run harder—and the Wave only grew stronger."]
The hologram changed once more.
The Ark soldiers standing atop the walls looked heavily armed.
But what greeted them was an even larger, monstrous Wave unlike anything seen before.
["A vicious cycle, in the most literal sense."]
The hologram changed again.
This time it displayed the ruins beyond Ark's eastern border—old Kronos.
["And so, we've arrived at this point. Ark has nowhere left to retreat. If it does, everyone dies."]
"After all that time, there was no internal self-correction within Ark?"
["Self-correction… ah, now that you mention it, there were a few who pointed out the flaws in Project Noah. But it wasn't taken seriously. In times of prosperity, there are always dissenting voices."]
It wasn't a big deal, huh…
Was that because they held power? Or because their reason had been dulled by comfort?
"Did you kill them all?"
["Hmm? Of course not. They were valuable researchers of Ark. Enlightened minds. Why would we kill such people during a labor shortage just because they thought differently?"]
"What a load of crap."
["What else can I say? You probably see me as some kind of root of all evil, but Project Noah is ancient history even to me. Do you really think I feel morally responsible for something I didn't even create?"]
Shin El chuckled.
["Still, the reason I remain here is… because I'm afraid."]
"Of what?"
["Who knows… perhaps death. Or the fall of Ark. Either way, I am afraid."]
Lying in bed, hooked to countless life-support machines, Shin El was the very picture of that fear.
Now I understood.
Why Shin El feared death so deeply.
The place where Project Noah was implemented was in the crater of Mount Noah—beyond the White Road.
That meant, from the White Line—so close to Mount Noah—ether from the dead would be drawn in without resistance, consumed by the mountain.
Becoming part of the Great Will.
If it ended there, that would almost be a mercy.
But part of that Great Will would be slowly consumed again, as fuel for Project Noah.
Until all that information, that ether, was burned away.
Burned. And burned again.
"…Tch."
My mouth tasted bitter.
The conclusion awaiting me now would not be a simple tale of good and evil.
And the reason was simple.
Those who had committed the sin of Project Noah had already paid the price.
In a form that suited them perfectly.
"What now? Will you go to war with the Kronos Union?"
["If that's the only way to survive, then there is no other choice."]
"Even if you win, Ark will suffer irreversible damage."
The Kronos Union and the Church of Morte were not to be underestimated.
Even with Ark at its peak power, if they attacked in tandem with the multi-Wave, the destruction would be nearly total.
What point would survival have after that?
["I don't want war either. That's why, Carl Marcus, I offer you a proposal."]
"…A proposal?"
["The true end is approaching. The cycle of all existence on this planet is about to halt. When every last remnant of ether is gone."]
"Is there a way to stop that?"
["Stop it? Why?"]
Shin El spoke as if he truly didn't understand.
I hadn't expected that.
Honestly, I was a little shaken.
"…What do you mean?"
["Think about it. When the cycle ends, and ether is completely gone, life will cease to emerge. No more monsters. No more humans. Sure, some new ether will form as life dies off, but that's only a matter of time."]
What was he trying to say?
A thought tried to surface in my mind, but I forcibly suppressed it.
Because if it was right… then Shin El was even more insane than I'd thought.
"What are you trying to say?"
["What if—at the very moment the cycle ends—we exterminated all the monsters? Erased their ecosystem entirely?"]
"…Then gradually, no new monsters would be born."
Sure, after death, the leftover ether from monsters would float around the planet.
But monsters were living beings.
No matter their reproduction method, if they couldn't be birthed by parent organisms, then they couldn't come into being at all.
That was what Shin El was referring to.
["Exactly. That's why this is an opportunity. A once-in-an-eternity opportunity."]
I understood now.
What Shin El was proposing.
["Carl Marcus, I will grant you access to tactical and strategic nuclear weapons."]
The reason Shin El handed over such overwhelming authority to me—even resorting to this extreme—
["Because when the cycle ends, that will be the moment we can drive the monsters to extinction—and finally rebirth this planet for humanity alone."]
===BREAK===
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