Somebody called to him, and that is where it all started. A long time ago, chaos ruled the universe. Among that was the ex-ruler of fire, Cthugha. He lived twenty five light years away on the star called Fomalhaut, where he was always alone. He was fire itself and burned everything around him. That was why he was born, and that was how he continued to be. He never knew other people, and consequently was never aware of the boundaries that delineated his own self. All there was was himself and the flames he bore, so he was never cognizant of the emotion known as loneliness. So when a voice that wasn't his called out to him, it resonated with him. Who was calling him? And why did something that wasn't himself exist?
Cthugha tried copying the form of something from the direction of whatever called to him, and so for the first time Cthugha was born within the bounds of the world for the first time. He wanted to know more about the one who called him. Why did they call him? He wanted to know, and yet he couldn't because a thick dark wall kept him and his caller apart. He shouted madly towards the unknown person, and that must be where his loneliness first began. He was terrified about changing into someone different than who he was up to this point. He regretted learning about the pain he lived with and never realized he had. Chaos arose from clashing with his selves, and his emotions clouded his vision.
Over in the Agate Castle, Nuada is talking about how a chick is breaking through a shell and that is a ceremony for the birth of a new bird, but that is accompanied with the pain of being born into a new world. Wherever your dreams are tied with another's, nigh unbearable pain always follows suit. As he speaks, he traces the point where his arm is connected with the arm that wasn't his, as if recalling the pain of being connected when he missed what he had lost.
Nuadens continues talking about how when the old is exchanged with the new, there are those who become imprisoned by that crushing pain. Nuada decides he'll make his gamble anyway that the birth of the new king in their (plural) domain will have them continue on and go to somewhere different than the rest of them did. He resolves to pass on everything included in his dream (re: throne), hoping that the one who succeeds him will one day reach somewhere even he with all his wisdom could not. Nuada then seems confused as he asks himself if he actually hates the one who will inherit his throne, which is why he ordered them to be driven back. He argues back that he loves them as splitting pain fills his head, then yells that something is taking him over again from his stomach.
The king's sanity quickly snaps, and his thoughts become a muddled mess of love, hate, sadness, and anger. Fear fills him as the lines that divide himself from another blurs. How important is it to the king who values wisdom more than anyone else? He begins cackling as he casts his dignity aside, arms spread out as the mad laughs of a lunatic fills the area. Shadows then cover him like insect as if waiting on cue. His clothes fall to the ground, and dark madness encroaches upon the rest of his mind and body. Nodens continues laughing for a bit, then asks what he was talking about before saying he forgot. He then remembers he was talking about how Cthugha got his ass kicked. Nodens talks about how his one move here made his trap that much more effective, then says he'll continue watching from up high for a while longer, confident that he has control over everything before cackling some more.
Back at the ship, R-19 says he's taking Breke into the medbay for emergency treatment, and he promises to let you know if anything changes. Breke was quickly retrieved when his ship docked in first, though your ship's HUD told you just before he was taken out that his vital signs were locked down. Nomad comments that Breke stopped his heart to cheat death, so despite it all he still made it back sort of okay. He then asks Duo why he wasn't called over earlier for this mission. Nomad's ability should have been enough to evade that sneak attack earlier as far as he can tell.
Duo tells Nomad that he's working on the assumption that Nomad's ability is being used in the main base ship. Breke's own power by contrast can be switched out if need be. Nomad accuses him of calling Breke disposable, and Duo doesn't attempt to deny this. Bertro steps in and tries to keep Nomad calm, saying that everyone has their own opinions on being treated as a backup. If you ask someone who's been on both sides of that situation, they wouldn't be able to say which would be better, he says before laughing.
Nomad reluctantly drops the point, then asks what you guys will be doing now. You guys just had to eat a sucker punch, and now the other two lead figures should be coming over soon. Bertro seems unconcerned as he notes that tons of enemies will be approaching, leaving you guys as a minority in this situation. You either ask Bertro to take this a little more seriously or thank Nomad. In A, Bertro is surprised as he tells you that mankind should never forget about humor. You guys are already in the worst possible case you could be in, so what else is new? Is there anything else to be done besides roll with it? In B, Nomad realizes this must be a lot harder on you since you had to see Breke get shot down. He assures you that Breke will be fine, and that he'll be up and at them the next time you get back.
R-19 informs you guys that the wide range enemy radar has picked up on Shadow Bugger readings, which he presumes are enemy reinforcements. Duo asks how many are there and how long he expects for them to arrive, so R-19 estimates they'll arrive in 3 hours, 56 minutes, and 32 seconds. In terms of numbers, it seems like there will be around a million of them. Nomad is grim as he says that means you guys need to get out of here in less than four hours, and a solemn silence hangs in the air for a moment for everyone to process this before Kurogane's cheery voice adds that you still need to take down the enemy leader here. Since Breke is out of commission for the moment, Kurogane says it's up to him as the big brother to keep everyone going for now. You either ask Kurogane if he has some sort of plan, say you're counting on him, or call him big brother and ask for help. C gets an extra line where he does his best to keep a bright face on and says he'll get it done.
Duo thinks a bit on Kurogane calling himself big bro, then asks if Kurogane has a plan that can be used. Kurogane confirms as such, saying he had it made just in case. His plan does require Duo, Bertro, R-19, Nomad, and you for it to work though. Nomad is less than thrilled at the prospects but resigns himself to helping out. R-19 figures there must be some sort of risk involved with his taking more of a part of the plan and worries about his control over the ship's armaments. Kurogane laughs triumphantly as he says it won't be a problem because his plan won't be involving them to begin with.
You, Nomad, R-19, and Bertro are shocked by this statement, but Duo decides to agree to the plan after Kurogane tells him and has a moment of thought. He then orders everyone to help with Kurogane's plan, so everyone acknowledges the command. R-19 then says the operation needs a name, so Kurogane says he has an idea for that too. He whispers it to Duo, who thinks it's funny and accepts the suggestion. Bertro comments on Duo smiling kindly and wonders if it's that funny, so Duo says he's always nice to his big brother. He then declares it's time to get going.
Some time later, you are on board your ship as Kurogane calls in asking how things are. Solomon answers that no enemies are currently in skirmish range, though there are lots of readings of them up ahead. Kurogane says that this current plan has you acting as a decoy, so once the enemies show up you need to put everything you have into disrupting things. The team at base will be handling the timing, so he reminds you to not think about shooting down the enemy leader and to remember what he's told you. You either swear to make the operation a success, say you want a good luck kiss when you get back, or protest that they took out Breke.
In A, Kurogane laughs that it feels like he's finally able to help you guys out. He knows that his usual post is handling the engine and the manufacturing equipment, but it feels different to have a more direct hand in things. He's happy that his tech work will be a huge assistance for you guys. In B, Kurogane is shocked as he reminds you that you are on a military comm channel and what you guys are saying will be recorded and archived. Bertro adds himself into the conversation and comments how clever it is to make this into some concrete proof if you guys make that promise. He laughs and apologizes for barging in, saying he's got an interest in recording wartime soldiers' discussions. He thought it'd make for an interesting anecdote, then suggests you two keep going, but Kurogane flatly refuses your request and drops the topic. In C, Kurogane says he knows how you feel but tells you you can't shoot at them. When you beat them you can do whatever you want, but not now. He pleads for you to not get yourself killed here.
R-19 reports that he detects Shadow Buggers up ahead and are now in range for engagement. Kurogane declares the start of the mission and tells you to draw out the enemy boss, and you answer affirmatively as you fly out. When a bunch of night gaunts appear, they chatter in a voice that normally wouldn't echo in space, which is noted to be one of their special traits. It drives in a cosmic terror into minds while ignoring spacetime, but you quickly shoot them down.
Soon after, you are confused as you notice that your ship feels like it's being drawn in to the mass of night gaunts like a planet's gravitational pull is tugging on you. Cthugha is there, and Solomon informs you that he's detected him on your port side at 8 o'clock. You narrowly evade his attack, then put some distance between him and yourself. Solomon contacts the ship that you are now engaged with the leader, so phase one of the plan is complete. Duo confirms as such over the radio and orders phase two to proceed. R-19 echoes him, then asks Nomad to get ready. Nomad acknowledges this, then asks you to not screw this up because he won't be able to do this again if it comes to it.
Tension fills the nerves of those on the bridge, and Kurogane's expression looks stiff. Bertro asks him about his nerves and reminds him that one of his orders could result in deaths. Kurogane tries to laugh as he notes that he and Duo must deal with this sensation all the time. Bertro has one possible suggestion for dealing with it all, which is to think of everything as a game. He also suggests that Kurogane could just put duty above all else and sacrifice his humanity to deal with it, and Kurogane is surprised at that before thanking him and turning those ideas down since he's still fine. He'd prefer to see what comes next as he is now, together with everyone on the ship. Meanwhile, R-19 reports that he's setting a location marker for you, and Duo says the next part will be down to Kurogane's judgement. Kurogane says he understands, tells everyone he's counting on them, then tells you to lead Cthugha over to the designated spot.
Back at your end, you acknowledge the order and call Cthugha Red as you tell him to follow you or glare at him for what he did to Breke. You spin your ship around, and Cthugha follows suit. Things are going well for a moment before Kurogane notices some gravity readings acting up, and you realize your ship is slowing down. Night gaunts converge on Cthugha's location, which causes local space to warp as though he were a black hole leading to an abyss. Kurogane is alarmed as he reads that your speed is dropping, and you are worried about what's happening, wishing you could at least drag Cthugha down with you if you're going down here.
You have a flashback to Kurogane telling you that he feels that someone like you can go anywhere in the world and how he hopes that you remember how you are now at that point. You resolve to not let things end here and move past this point, and Cthugha is confused by what's happening while Kurogane is surprised to see you managing to escape the gravity field. He recovers quickly from that to tell everyone that the plan is still on track, and R-19 says the sight alignment on the target is done. R-19 asks Duo to link him to Nomad, so Duo starts doing so by using his NP to do it. He holds his hand above his head, and lines of light run through his palm. Said lines then extend into the Wall of Time and thread through like blood vessels. Nomad is surprised at how the link is achieved, then says he's hooked up. Bertro laughs and says he'll handle the trajectory calculations because that's his thing. R-19 confirms that everyone's power is connected and that everything is working right, then transfers the activation trigger to Duo as everyone looks out to the bow of the ship.
Kurogane signals to Duo once Cthugha shows up on screen hot on your heels, so Duo activates the AR System (re: heavy arms power system) to fire a combined NP Trinity Flamebite: Brave as the Burning Stony Tiger. A beam flashes through space, and the ship disappears from view. The next second, Cthugha has essentially teleported inside the ship along with you. He's shocked by this, and Kurogane declares the deployment of the Denial Field inside the ship and the successful capture of the enemy boss.
You express amazement at this turn of events and ask Kurogane to explain what just happened. Kurogane talks about how they started by 'calculating' the enemy's movements, then 'aligning' with them. Then once the opponent is unable to move, they 'shift' the ship to surround them. That is the secret weapon that is the AR System, and Kurogane says the name of the operation is Operation Chompy Anglerfish. You either comment on how dumb the name is, comment on how the crazy idea actually worked, or just roll with it and declare the move to phase 3. Kurogane says that in this situation the enemy can't run or regenerate, so he asks you to take him down as the episode battle begins. More happens afterwards.
The story resumes partway through the battle, with Cthugha concentrating his power into his heat output given his inability to regenerate here. His powerful strikes keep you out of reach from striking back at him, and you radio the bridge for help since you can't hold out like this forever. Kurogane admits he didn't expect Cthugha to fight back so hard. R-19 says that the ship won't hold up much longer since the internal denial field is weakening, and Kurogane desperately tries to think of some way to deal with the situation.
A voice hears this and intervenes, attacking Cthugha from the corner of the hangar. Breke's ship turns out to be over there, having just fired his guns, and you take the opportunity to attack Cthugha yourself. Your full force strike takes out the night gaunt possessing Cthugha, and a heavy silence fills the room. R-19 confirms that the Shadow Bugger reaction is now negative, then says all phases have been finished.
Kurogane cheers about you guys winning, and Bertro asks him to make him a new heart since his stopped about ten times over the mission. Kurogane laughs and says he'll make him a tougher. Nomad pants hard as he complains about how rough things were on him, demanding that everyone remember that he's the MVP this time. Nomad then addresses Breke and teases him for how he's supposed to be in critical condition, so Bertro explains that his Breke has several different modes for handling outer space. For example he can get some radiation resistant form. Back when he was attacked, he must have switched modes to preserve his life. Since that would block external signal communications it hid his own signals in turn. Breke tells you he kept his promise and that he's redeemed himself. You either call him cool, ask him not to do anything crazy, or thank him for helping you.
The celebratory mood doesn't last long as Duo realizes something is happening and orders everyone to be on guard. Duo also orders guards to assemble in the hangar and for the Nightglow pilots to stand back. Kurogane is confused by this and asks Duo to explain, but Cthugha starts getting up and talking normally to his surprise. When Cthugha stands up, he asks where he is and says he'd normally be alone somewhere when Troopers that were apparently on board the whole time order Cthugha to freeze. Cthugha is surprised to see a lot of people around, then attempts to communicate in Japanese and English. The guard bots are baffled by him, but repeat their demand that he not move.
Cthugha freaks out at the bots pointing their guns at him and asks why they're mad at him. The troopers think he's trying to play some sort of trick and threaten to fill him with holes if he does anything suspicious. Cthugha starts crying at this, and you comment how at odds this is with his earlier behavior and question if he really is the same person. Nomad is taken aback at your questions and says Cthugha is a Shadow Bugger, but you decide to approach Cthugha as you feel something from looking at his scared, tearful face.
Cthugha sobs some more and asks if you're going to say some scary things to him too, but you tell him you aren't and ask him to stop crying. He's surprised by that, and you move on to ask Cthugha who he is. Cthugha gives his name, then says he doesn't know what's going on. He asks you why everyone is looking angrily at him and why he was on the floor earlier, so Solomon informs you a picture has been sent to you and asks you to show it to Cthugha before asking more questions. Cthugha is surprised at the picture of himself and thinks it's so cool, then mimics the expression he had then for laughs.
After an offscreened explanation, Cthugha is taken aback at being told he's a threat to humanity and an invader from the stars, begging for you to believe that he doesn't remember anything about what he's done. Duo is quiet for a moment before telling you to step away and telling the guards to shoot if Cthugha moves again. Cthugha reacts by freaking out, unwilling to believe that the first time he meets people after while is going to end up like this and that he's going to stay all alone. You either ask Duo to wait and let you handle this or you ask Kurogane if you can handle this. In A, Duo is quiet for a second before agreeing, saying he's counting on you to follow up on the carrot and stick routine. In B, Kurogane is surprised but looks pleased.
Cthugha is confused, and you greet him again and say you want to know him better or ask to be friends with him. Cthugha tries to remember what your name is, then asks if you're actually a good guy and thanks you. He then tries acting like a tough guy as he joins the party. Breke asks Duo how he plans on handling Cthugha now, and Duo looks discomfited for once as he tries to think of an answer, leading the crew to give a dubious silence as Cthugha smiles obliviously.
On the next episode! The Shadow Bugger commander Cthugha has become friends with you in an unexpected manner. The information he brings sends a thunderbolt through everyone in the space warship the Wall of Time. The name of the mastermind behind everything that happened is the holder of the silver arm, Nodens. Cthugha's information leads you all to break through the enemy line, and your destination is now the enemy home base. A moment's respite comes before the final battle, and the party's hearts reach out to one another as their bonds deepen. Find out what happens next time on Nightglows of the Starlit Sky Episode 4: That is My Role
I only know Cthugha from what you have translated and from his bio on the wiki, but man, I love that man.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for translating the event.