#arknights commentary

SHE IS ONE OF THE SIX HEROES????

That makes... Her, Theresis, Theresa, Kal'tsit....? Two more are missing. It might be obvious but I genuinely forgot right now. I'm sure when Dr. Pinkie sees this she's going to beat me over the head since we spoke about this.

Anyways,

Ascalon is fighting with Theresis this time. It's a bittersweet goodbye too.

Theresis is still respected by Ascalon, so it's a struggle for her to face him truly. He's also giving her some fair pointers as a last goodbye.

[You still don't know what you seek, do you? To protect? That's just empty self-deceptive sentimentality. When you're unsure of your path, you merely project your motivations onto vague ideals.] <I really like this quote. Can you tell?

[I-I've thought about it carefully.]

[Perhaps. Then follow Theresa and protect her, but don't blindly adopt her ways. Think for yourself. Manfred found his answer long before you did.]

Then, Ascalon falls to one knee and turns to a mist that closes around Theresis. When it disperses, he's left with a stone knife in his hand.

As terrifying as that conversation was, nothing could prepare me for the one Theresa and Theresis had - basically agreeing that if any of them comes in the way of the other, they will have to be killed.

The Babel procession stretches far as the eye could see, past the disdainful crowd. Theresis walks towards the crowd and stand with them. He has left Theresa's side for the first time in two centuries.

They say their goodbyes.

Then something occurs, enough the silence the restless onlookers and momentarily halt the procession.

[A mercenary steps out of the line to embrace his best friend in the procession. No one can hear the whispers exchanged between the two friends by the ruins of Babel, but all are willing to wait and give them their moment of farewell.]

[A farewell between the people and their city, and between two peoples of the same blood.]

With them, Odda also part ways. With his family. His home.

For Theresa's eyes only, there's a letter. A functional ship has been excavated from Rim Billington. On it, she found something that could change the tide of history.

Given its importance, Kal'tsit has a lot of faith in its utility for their plan.

---

BB-ST-2

Awakening in Exhaustion

[Things have not gone according to plan.]

PRIESTESS???

Can I be honest? I'm going to be honest.

I don't really like Priestess. I think yesterday Dr. Kryo asked what we all think about her and my immediate response is 'I hope she died'. Which, I think if somebody (not me) has read Vigilo they might confirm what happened with her.

If anything, I think I'm going to go and have a little dip in Vigilo since it's one of those episodic stories and I checked out the Wiki long enough to figure out which episodes will be important to understand.

But overall, yeah, I don't like her and I've been struggling to understand the Doctor for long enough to know that I probably never will agree with their ideas. As Priestess says, us lower-intelligence lifeforms can't even hope to understand their greater plans.

And speaking of plans, we should move on with the Babel story.

Four Years Ago...

Summer, 1090

We're opening with Closure and Scout, how wonderful. Hm... Interesting, why do I have this nagging feeling that there's something inherently sad about the situation?

Ah.

Well, they are on a mission. Closure imparts with us the detail that she and Kal'tsit have secured the ship and have been working on dealing with the defence system for a specific package that is on board.

Snapping to Kal and Theresa, they're talking about a specialist in Originium, the only person who can help with their task. They stand before a set of doors that have not been opened for a long time, reminiscing in the fact that Kal'tsit, no matter how careful she is, still cannot predict all the contingencies.

But they open it anyway.

And this light, we're familiar with. There was once an event, where we witnessed this same feeling, the same occurrence and that same red light shining down on Kal'tsit. Though, this is a couple of years prior.

In Lone Trail.

[Search: Preserver... No signal.] [Search: Caerula Arbor... No signal.] [Search: Celestial Fulcrum... No signal.] [Search: (Unknown static noise)... No signal.] [.......] [Search complete. No signal detected on any channel.] All these spots we are familiar with and for me it was bone-chilling to see them. Preserver is a reference to the Preserver Project, which was created by the "First Civilization" at some point after the "disaster from above" that resulted in the Civilization's near-total annihilation. They are meant to act as overseers of the Sarcophagi where the Civilization's survivors are kept in stasis until they can be awakened when the situation stabilizes in the distant future so they can restore their civilization. [Image above]

Caerula Arbor is our current IS4. Known also as the "Creeping Branch" is a dying tree-like Leviathan representing the power of "Growth" who had lost His struggle in controlling the kin, causing Him to fall from grace from the Many. His roots grow towards the core of Terra and feed on the energy of the magma beneath the surface, and is said to have the potential to consume the entire planet if allowed to grow unchecked, but currently, the Arbor is acting as a mere food source that nourishes microscopic Seaborn cells in the ocean.

Celestial Fulcrum is uh...

:)

And actually, we know a little bit more about the unrecognisable static, because we have already seen it part of a concept trailer. We were actually JUST shown this, so I did such a good job strategically stalling just so I can put this in the script.

Voila, if you have not seen it yet.

This is very kindly provided by the Wiki.

[Last update: Four million, seven hundred fifty-five thousand, nine hundred and fifty-four days ago.]

Me thinks it's around 13K years and that's quite a bit since the last update.

So the Doctor was woken up rather early, with Originium still abound. Interesting part is, they're surprised about the way it has managed to survive/has evolved - through the Sarkaz and Oripathy.

Oh no this is so endearing....

It's so endearing and sad at the same time. Doctor learning about Theresa, holding her warm hands. She was so excited to learn the language of the past from Kal'tsit, but instead Doctor hits her with 'my world is lost'.

For those like me who missed it entirely SOMEHOW, Civilight Eterna is the Crown of the Sarkaz, although I'm not sure how Doctor recognises it when he was not present during it's... release(?) and whether he understands the significance of it differently to what I know.

She's showing the Doctor different parts of their... life, I suppose.

This quote stuck out to me a lot:

Before I'm immediately on my knees because of the mentioning of a pioneer chasing the stars is pushing forward with his fallen ally on his back.

This is UNFAIR,

THEY'RE BEING MENTIONED AGAIN.

After witnessing the way Terra is right now, the Doctor seems to take it in rather well. In their view, it's all moving in the right direction, a mix of ignorance and progress that feels nostalgic and beautiful. Within Theresa, the Doctor spots somebody who loves Terra, not just a single nation. Her ideals are pure, but ultimately, way too different. She might be loathed for that, because her people aren't ready for this kind of step.

Thus the Doctor is willing to cooperate and help by first exploring the land itself to learn about the way Originium has influenced life, culture and the environment.

So, you're here to see another Sui sibling? My pleasure to introduce you to this little sweetheart! A lot has been said about Yu throughout the last six months and it's been all positive.

He's the youngest Sui sibling to reach us - the twelfth fragment, confirmed by the pattern Hypogriph has left us with in regards to their birthdays.

Yu's main role is Defender, but his branch is a Primal Protector, the second of this kind. Only other known is Philae (who I even forgot about, since she was introduced in I Portatori dei Velluti).

Primal Protectors are similar to Arts Protectors, but have the ability to inflict Arts and Elemental Injury using their skills like Ritualists; They lack DEF, but have additional ATK and RES + they're stronger when faced with Elemental Injury.

[Marketplace cook Yu, in front of his stove 24/7. Whether chopping, roasting, or washing greens, he can do it all.]

That being said, there's not really much to compare between them in terms of basic stats, so I'm just going to talk about his abilities. Firstmost, Yu's two talents:

You Feed Me, I Feed You When blocking enemies, gains 25% Sanctuary; blocked enemies receive 40% of ATK as Arts damage and 12% of ATK as Burn damage per second

For those who have forgotten what Santuary is: Sanctuary reduces the Physical and Arts damage taken. Multiple instances of Sanctuary do not stack; the most effective source takes precedence over the others. (Examples for characters with Sanctuary are Hoederer, Shu, Tsukinogi, Penance, Windchimes, etc.)

Midst Markets, Dragons Dwell When there are at least 4 Operators on the field, recovers 1.5% Max HP as both HP and Elemental Injury per second

I actually don't have any characters with Defensive Recovery OR with taunt in their kits, so having Yu is actually very nice. In comparison to the other 2 Sui Defenders, Yu has more HP than SHU at MaxLvlE2, he is more expensive to deploy with a whooping 26 DP cost, but he attacks faster and has more ATK than both of his sisters. Considering his 'Sanctuary' passive and especially since I can see a Module coming flying his way already, I can almost say for sure he'd fare just fine enough.

Passive Effect: becomes more likely to be attacked Max HP +40%, DEF +40%; every time Yu is attacked, deals 40% of Yu's ATK as Burn damage to the attacker

Charges for 19 seconds while blocking at lvl. 7, lasts for 30; Charges for 16 seconds at M3.

IMPORTANT to note, a lot of talk has been happening with Blaze being dependent on Yu, yes. I knew that it was because of his Skill 3. I can confirm that this skill does trigger the Elemental Burst and is just as effective.

---

Immediately deals 100% of ATK as Arts damage to all surrounding enemies and teleports those ground targets that can reach Yu to his position; Block +2, Max HP +130%, ATK +200%, and normal attacks deal Arts damage

BLOCK +2 ARE YOU ALSO SEEING THIS, IT MEANS THIS LITTLE MAN IS GAINING A BLOCK OF +5 for about 20 seconds, while also turning himself into a nuclear powerplant. What a champ.

Also, Arts Damage dealer for those pesky enemies that are immune to Physical.

It's important to note:

Yu will increase his stats first,

Then deal the damage instance,

Then teleport enemies 0.13 seconds afterwards

---

Max HP +80%, ATK +80%, DEF +80%, and grants effects of Talent 2 to all Operators on the field; creates a wall of fire spanning the entire field; Arts damage dealt by other allies that crosses the wall will deal an additional 7% of Yu's ATK as Burn damage; enemy projectiles passing through the wall have a 15% chance of being removed

This is the Magnum Opus of Arkinights right about now - the great wall of fire that stretches across the field, and any damage that goes over the wall becomes Burn Damage.

Every Blaze, W-Alter, Logos, Goldenglow and Passenger in proximity to The WallTM will have, as the kids say, a blast.

I also like that there is a % chance for the enemy attacks moving from their side of the wall to 'yours' could disappear. Thank you Logos, for introducing that magic trick to us.

That being said...

I GOT YU TWO TIMES!!! He came home together with the Blazter twice for all 120 pulls I had saved for him, post-Mitm devastation. I'm currently saving for the other banner I'm extremely excited to see, and I pray that my patience will be repaid again.

Whoever thinks I wasn't patient while saving for Yu is a hater, by the way.

Anyways, Yu out of the way,

BLAZE ALTER!!!

[Rhodes Island Elite Operator, willing to burn herself away to see your shared dream realized. Her flames may not miss a single enemy—but if you need to light some birthday candles, just use a match!]

Primal Caster, huh? They've really been getting incorporated recently - much more than the Primal Defenders at least.

Blazter is of the same type as Diamante, Warmy and Nymph with their usual problem being that they cannot inflict Elemental Injury on their own. 'How to know if your operator is dealing Elemental Injury?' some would ask. I've asked myself this every time a Primal Caster falls into my hands.

Does that funky little circle show up anywhere around the enemy? We got 4 whole variants!

If it doesn't show up, then they don't deal Elemental Injury. Thus, most of the characters I already mentioned are USELESS if they don't have a Ritualist Supporter or any other characters that possess Δ modules. (I'll help you - as of 20.07.2025, those characters are Logos, Ifrit, Ebenholz; Viviana is on the list of 'does burn damage' but I am unsure if she does Elemental Injury.)

Blaze is no exception to this problem.

But that doesn't make her utter trash in my opinion. If one is to close their eyes and act like she's a Core Caster that does big explody damage, then it's nothing new under the Originium sky.

After all that unfortunate information, we can move on to her Talents

Meltdown Whenever an enemy triggers a Burn damage burst, immediately deals 350% of ATK as Elemental Damage to that enemy and recovers 12% Max HP

'Inflicted by enemy' suggests that the enemies are the ones who are meant to do the burning, not vice versa. In that case, I can only assume that this talent is not usable in the case of facing the Flamethrowers, any of the Dublinn Flamechasers, etc. etc.

From The Ashes When defeated, becomes downed instead and gains 6000 Barrier; cannot attack or be healed while downed, but recovers 3% HP per second; once HP is full, revives and stuns nearby enemies for 5s

There is no limit on how many times From the Ashes can be triggered, but it will not activate if Blazter takes lethal damage.

While Downed, Blazter is immune to Stun and Freeze, and can still restore SP even if she is not using her skills. During this time, Blazter can also be healed by Meltdown.

Selects the Operator with the highest Max HP within range, dealing 55% of ATK as Arts damage and 30% of that Arts damage as Burn damage to all enemies surrounding that Operator every second for 20s

Can't go wrong with an Auto skill and she is much like a Besieger or a Deadeye, but she just targets the enemy with the highest MAX HP.

---

Attack Range changes, Attack Interval increases, ATK +120%, attacks 3 enemies at once; when attacking, loses 5% HP and sets a burning field at the location of the target; passing enemies have -50% Movement Speed and takes 35% of Blaze the Igniting Spark's ATK as Arts damage and 30% of that Arts damage as Burn damage every second.

Pretty straightforward, there's not much to say. She technically turns into a Hexter for 35 seconds.

---

Attack Range changes, ATK +85%, Attack Interval greatly reduces, and normal attacks now deal AoE damage; If the target is under the burst effect of Burn damage, deals an additional 70% of ATK as Elemental Damage

Loses 3% of Max HP per second; skill activation grants 21 ammo, and whenever an enemy enters the burst effect of Burn damage gains 2 ammo; skill ends when all ammo is used (Can manually deactivate skill)

Now THIS is the skill we all care for.

Again, while she does apply burn damage with these two abilities, she doesn't trigger the Burst herself, which is why it's implied that IF the enemy is under the burst effect of Burn damage, she deals more Elemental Damage.

To get this fun effect, you'd need someone like Bobbing or Warmy, Yu or anybody else you can think of. Don't let the pyro cat walk this world alone, you need to hold this 30-year-old's hand all the time.

[Baizao food critic Xingzhu, inviting you to partake in the refreshments she most cherishes. A poem for all sour and sweet, a sigh for all bitter and burning.]

Free operator from the event, just another Abjuer with a simple talent called Friendship Fair, Together Tied which at E2 grants 10% Sanctuary to 2 other allies within range.

Her skills aren't that impressive, but the whole shtick is that she deals Arts damage all the time and using the skill makes her heal nearby allies. Can't be more of a support than this.

Immediately performs a heal to all targets within range equal to 290% of Xingzhu's ATK.

At level 7 it had a charge time of 11 seconds and I would've killed to have this skill be on Auto, alas.

---

ASPD +43, heals 1 additional target, and the targets of Xingzhu's talent recover HP equal to 18% of Xingzhu's ATK every second

It's... weird to see flat ASPD buffs because I don't usually touch Abjurers, but I guess we all have tricks up our sleeves.

On top of that, the 'every second' part is apparently not stated in-game, but an approx measurement because every +HP is delayed by 0.01 seconds.

That being said, I can't wait to see her in the story and bond with her, because she is ao adorable and I don't get to like her type of character that much. Will I level her up? Probably. Will I ever use her? She doesn't have anything useful in comparison, I mean... It's sad.

Tsukinogi reveals enemies. Silence Alter makes enemies unable to receive lethal damage. Quercus helps with SP gain. Nine-coloured Deer gains ranged physical resistance.

And Xingzhu heals.

The choice is yours, Doctor...

But after all that, we can't possibly have an event without a completely unrelated character who will most likely never be seen inside the event itself and is here just to skew my chances of getting the 5 stars I truly need.

No, this commentary is not biased because she showed up 9 times within 120 pulls.

[Blacksteel advance recon team member Surfer, always looking forward to her next camping trip. The endless sights of the wilderness unfold before her. It was there that she found herself, and there that she caught a glimpse of her parents, long-departed.]

Like, we finally get another Blacksteel character who is playable and she is not only pointless to the story, but useless in technicality. Anybody who wants her as a waifu, you GO and never listen to me, but it's unfortunate to show up with this type of kit when we have Puzzle and Cantabile. I'm not even going to look in Ines' direction.

Surfer's Talent is Solo Traveler, where if there are no other operators in the surrounding 4 tiles when she is deployed, you gain 2DP.

The only operator I can compare this to is Puzzle, and his Talent gives him free rein on 120% of delicious ATK, and he recovers 2SP when hitting an enemy with full HP. That helps later with his skills.

After deployment, ATK +70%. Generates 1 DP after each attack

Absolute same as Cantabile.

---

ASPD +40, each attack grants 1 DP, and Steals 40 DEF from the target (max 200, lasts until skill ends or Surfer is retreated)

This is definitely unique, although I'm not sure how useful it is to tank up a character who is otherwise going to die from 3 hits the moment those 10 seconds are over.

Hey, but at least when you assign her to the Base, she gives you clues that are not on the Clue Board!

Go listen to Yu's EP while I'm reading the story.

Oh, right, Blaze's is out too.

GOOD GOD ALRIGHT

Damn it... Ugh.

He is sent to Theresa, but he's so out of it that he doesn't even realize what is going on. He very happily tells her that he killed the traitorous Leithanien and has avenged his son, along with all the others who died in battle.

He's taken away since Theresis doesn't want Theresa to be the one meting out punishment like that.

It's strange though, because he doesn't use Arts, but the guards were hypnotised. Somebody on the outside is at fault for this. Yet, the Military Commission refuse to investigate, because the victim is just an outsider to the Sarkaz.

Babel is to remove itself from all political activity too and finally make some clear boundaries between what it can and cannot do on Kazdel.

In a different light, we get to see Theresa and Theresis as caretakers for Ascalon.

Theresis gives her knife back and teaches her, briefly, about how she should sharpen it since warriors should treasure their weapons, while also being considering on who it gets to cut.

Theresa is much softer on the approach. Asks her about what she likes in the city.

Despite that, Ascalon feels like she can't really hate the gentle Sarkaz. I SCREAMED when Theresa offered Ascalon to touch her horn. Is it a way to show affection? Vulnerability? Whatever it is, WHY did I not think of this sooner. That's so heckin adorable.

Theresa cleans Ascalon's wound and teaches her that weapons can't heal these - only time and medicine. So one day she can wake up and learn that it doesn't hurt anymore.

That much, Ascalon agrees with.

Babel Classroom, Kazdel

…

Well, nobody showed up to class.

Except Theresis, who is there to confirm that the casualty report from the Military Commission states a lot of children have gone. Those who survived - their parents refuse to let the outsiders of Babel teach them. Plus, many of the Babel teachers left - out of fear.

Even if Theresis thinks Theresa is wasting her time, he waits with her upon her request.

IT WASN'T FOR NOTHING!!

Down, Dog.

ARRRGHBFEUSUGIH MY HEART.

I hated him, okay? I hated Manfred in the way you'd hate a handsome scrimblo, in the way where I'd be ashamed to say that I like him; like how people who love stinky cheese don't want others to know, they just sit in the corner eating it and hope that nobody is going to notice the smell.

I liked him for his perseverance before and because he was so very 'aware' unlike other leaders we've seen in the past. Meanwhile, I'm being set up with this charming little creature that just wants change for the better, wants peace, and wants to help.

HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME ADMIT I LIKE HIM?!

Now I suddenly wish he does not die. Now I get upset when I remember I derogatively called him Milfred out of rage. I never managed to pass CC 9 or 10, I forgot which one was Ashring, but now??? I'm mean to NOT be upset???

I hate it here.

Within Kazdel, Goodluck and his son are… either waiting for the worst to happen or they're morning the loss of their third family member. Goodluck can't really stand sitting around, doing nothing, so he is planning to become a mercenary and make the people who hurt his wife pay.

Before departing he gives her name to his son - Odda. And promises to teach him how to fight with her weapon once he returns.

---

BB-3 Before

Silent Crack

[Today, though, we face the tragic reality of disunity and betrayal.]

Eight Years Ago...

Summer, 1086

Classes are being held in Kazdel, secretly. Kids have to keep their voices down and they're not allowed to tell anybody about what is happening inside their secret little base of operation.

The war between Kazdel and Leithanien never stopped, so for 18 years they've been pursued. A lof of people feel into despair, either from the ghost of war or the infection.

Within the Scar Market, Goodluck picks up a commission - some teacher in Kazdel has been saying too good a thing about Babel. Somebody is willing to pay to shut them up.

We learn that it's been a while since Goodluck was in this part of Kazdel. Although Goodluck doesn't remember a lot of things, he remembers the look of his front door - the address where that supposed 'teacher' might be hiding.

Inside, said Teacher is really doing good. He's teaching the children that the Sarkaz blame Babel for their misfortune since they have nobody else. Babel brought the enemies, Babel's medicine makes Oripathy worse, Babel this and that-- and children nod along, because they probably hear that from their parents a lot.

It's not quite so, though; they can't take things at face value. That's why they have to see, learn and think for themselves.

Odda notices somebody at the door. Everybody scrambles to hide before he opens it and sees...

Surprisingly, it's Ascalon.

She scans the sparsely furnished room and understands.

...

She says 'Thank you for sheltering him. But you must leave'.

It's clearly a warning for oncoming danger. The teacher has to go. Odda stays by the door - a habit of his since he was little. As if he was waiting for someone familiar to come back home.

From the shadows, Goodluck recognises him immediately. He's unfortunately already bound with his own mission and knows there's only one way to ensure his child gets a better life.

Ascalon makes the decision for him. Her mist shrouds the corpse, erasing all traces of its existence.

[The passing of a life in Kazdel is akin to a speck of dust falling to the ground, unheard, unceremonious, and unnoticed.]

[His luck ran out.]

Manfred seems to also have been in the area at the time of this occurrence. They fight a little, both at friendly terms, though they serve different sides of Kazdel.

It drives up a memory of another time they were sparring.

THEY EVEN LAUGH TOGEHTER, because Theresa helps Manfred down by levitating him to safety.

Though adorable, we're back in the present with Ascalon and Manfred fighting. There's a misunderstanding between their approaches I think. Manfred has remained by Theresis' side because he thinks there can be a different approach to the future they're looking for. Since the start Theresis has been hesitant with Theresa's plan, so now they have parted ways.

On the other side, Ascalon has turned her back on Theresis out of anger that he'd allow the others in Kazdel to badmouth Her Highness and her choice to stick with Babel.

Manfred is more understanding than ever though. It's not really the twin sovereigns who had to make the decision of parting. It's just circumstance. Perhaps the prophecy.

They're so caring for each other though... These four care about each other so much I want to put them in a box and keep them together forever.

Sadness isn't over by the way~

Because Manfred appears on Odda's door with his dad's... remnants. Odda doesn't really remember him, but Manfred doesn't make much of it as he presents the items and explains:

[There have been some disturbances in the city, and I'm afraid your father... I'm so sorry.]

[Wh-Where did you find them? Was there...?]

[There was nothing else left at the scene. I'm sorry.]

[...]

[What's your name?]

[...Odda.]

[If you need any help...]

[No... no, I'm very grateful that you brought these back. It's been a long time since I last saw him... this is enough. I don't have to wait anymore... He's not coming back...]

[Do you have family? Or friends you can count on?]

[I can take care of myself. Besides, we see things like this every day in this city, no?]

[...]

[I-I'm sorry I gushed, sir. I just feel like I know you, somehow... I'm sure you're busy. I won't keep you any longer.]

[My condolences.]

THIS IS NOT FUNNY

WHAT THE HECK ITS NOT FUNNY, YOU'RE NOT ORIGINAL?!?!?!?!?

I've never cried so hard in my life, oh no I'm broken.

---

BB-3 After

There's been an accident - feelings are mixed.

A father beat his child for trying to defend the Teacher, and the Teacher fought back with the father to defend the kid. In the end, both of them were going to die from their injuries. He was set upon by the angry crowd and it escalated from there. The turmoil dragged in everybody - Civilians, Babel, mercenaries, even the Military Commission.

Somebody blew up the Babel office building, so then Royal Court troops were involved.

Theresa has made the decision to remove Babel from Kazdel. It's become way too dangerous for any of the personnel to stay any longer, since they're now completely unwanted. Odda immediately signs up to leave with them.

Out on the streets, the dying teacher is mocked by the Sarkaz soldiers, but he's actually seeing an invisible to others little banshee - Logos. He was there in the classroom and learned a lot from the Teacher.

Even if others did not believe it so, the Sarkaz Teacher is welcomed by the myriad of souls and he's guided to them with the little banshee's song.

[It is an elegy that commemorates the passing of an ordinary Sakraz.]

['You were talking about the future of Babel in the lesson, but you didn't get to the end. What were you going to say?']

['I believe... that Babel will die someday. I hope I'm wrong.']

In the court, Laqeramaline is saying goodbye to Theresa. It's a sweet conversation they have, with the Banshee Queen being as truthful to her beliefs as she is supportive to Theresa. She also knows there is no other way, so all she can do from the position of a mother is hope for the best.

With all that said, I think I'm going to go through the characters first. We're happy to welcome four new Operators who would happily join Rhodes Island: Lutonada, Odda, Aroma and Ascalon.

Only one of them we already know about from the Main Theme Chapter 13; Only two of them will be relevant to the story.

So let's start with the one we won't be mentioning ever again - Lutonada.

A new 4-star juggernaut defender from Bolivar. You can see her unique in that she is the first 4-star character of this class. Alongside her are Mudrock, Penance and Vulcan. To be fair, it's a spicy- I meant, it's a pricy class, with most of the characters costing over 30DP to deploy; making it tricky to use early if you don't have at least two flag Vanguards and difficult to leave alone if they're not Mudrock.

Juggernauts are special also with their inability to be healed, making it detrimental for them to have their own type of healing in their kit. Lutonada heals when an enemy she is blocking dies. That makes her S2 the most important skill, because according to the numbers - it charges pretty fast and its mechanic is basically: >Pull enemy towards self via magnets >Block >???? >Heal Pretty easy to use and I, as a fan of Empowered Attacks, love her S1 because those sweet, sweet 230% damage on an attack for every 3 seconds on her M3 sound very nice.

Should you build her? Personally, the downside to her is that as a 4-star she has significantly less HP than Penance and Mudrock, but you can practically ignore the 200HP difference between her and Vulcan. The same can be said about their attack and defence (ALL of this at E2).

Dr. Eve will always support your simple, carnal desires above all else. You want her? Did you pull her? Then build her. To bypass the Juggernaut's inability to be healed, you can always snatch either a Perfumer, Angelina (E2 perk), Suzuran (S3), or Blemishine (S2) who all have passive healing on all allies under some conditions, or you can use a Bard supporter like Heidi, Skalter and Sora.

Her Module is kind of... Eh? For all the cost you throw, she recovers 20% HP when an enemy blocked by her dies. It does sound like a lot, but I'm not sure if it means exactly what I think it does. I wanted her but didn't get her. Hope the little ratscal joins my ship eventually.

NB: Forgot to mention - her push force is 0 for her S2 and so far it doesn't seem to change with Masteries. Keep that in mind.

---

Next up we have Aroma, this is our new 5-star Blast Caster - on the same road as Corroserum and Ifrit.

The difference between her utility and Corroserum's (I won't talk about Ifrit, because she is practically the best, most aggressive Blast Caster you can find) is within the effects of their abilities. Numbers aren't really that important here, because they're both 5-stars.

What is important to note is that while Corroserum's S1 is practically unwanted because of his 10s stun duration, his S2 is helpful because it silences the enemies for 5 seconds max at M3.

Meanwhile, Aroma deals extra ARTS damage on her S1 + she deals additional damage to AERIAL targets. It's pretty helpful but practically feels useless, because rare are the times we have aerial targets line up perfectly and for long enough to fit inside her range. Unless she is used to taking down aerial targets when they float.

Her S2 just does additional damage to enemies who have been Levitated - props to her talent. The other people who levitate so far are Chongyue, Irene, Ho'olheyak, Quanipalaat and Odda.

I... am... Not sure if her Module expands her range like the other Blast Casters'? But it sounds like it should, it would be unfair otherwise. I'm leaving it for you to decide if you want this, but it's surprisingly easy to build material-wise.

---

Which brings us to our second before last Operator, the free character in the Event whom you can get with just 40% of all the currency you'll be getting. It's a long story.

First in many things, Odda is an unseen before Earthshaker Guard. That role is kind of like Dreadnought guards, but they can block two enemies from the get-go and they do an AOE attack each basic attack.

Him, I actually got all the tickets to and dropped Ash to build. He has an empowered attack for his S1 which ends up at a chargetime of whooping 2 seconds!!! It extends the splash area as well with .5 tiles, so... He does damage of 1.5 tiles additionally.

Unlike Lutonada, Odda's S2 has Levitate with a weight of 3 or less for 0.5 seconds on each splash attack.

He doesn't have any Modules so far, but I personally have gotten attached to him through the story. I want to mention that unlike what I've noticed, his story says he is a Messenger from Kazdel. I thought it was interesting this bean with a gargantuan hammer is intended to... run around as fast as he can.

---

And finally, I almost forgot, we have Ascalon - our very dedicated Ambusher Specialist. At least that's what is said about her, but I heard that practically even Ethan is better in certain aspects.

I didn't like Ascalon when we first met her, even though her design was amazing.

Passively, her talent slows the Movement Speed of enemies and they take Ascalon's ATK as ARTS damage per second for 18/25 seconds (E1/E2). In her E2 she gets more ASPD and gains even more (wow, 8+6) if there is high ground in the 4 adjacent tiles.

Looks like this is the patch for enhanced attacks because Ascalon does 210% additional damage to an enemy, attacking twice and stores up to 3 charges in her M3 for S1.

Her S2 gives her +130% ATK, slows enemies by 60% if they are on the ground and in attack range and inflicts her T1 (the poison-esque damage) on nearby enemies when defeated. The radius of this 'nearby' means 1.3 tiles away. And it's specified that the MS reduction works on Aerial targets too, but the Talent effect is applied only to ground units.

Finally, to top it off, her range expands and she attacks faster and reduces the Physical and Arts hit rate of ground enemy units by 50%. She's more likely to be targeted by enemies, but recovers 8% MAX HP when she manages to dodge.

Her S1 gets increased, that's all.

---

Right. Everybody should be on the list. Now, to my favourite part of events - watching the YT videos that are meant to introduce the event for us.

First came the Official Babel Trailer.

Here is a script I very painstakingly made of everything written on the screen, because I'm unfortunately not that fast of a reader. During my scripting, I also noticed that the last line... is almost impossible to notice because the screen cracks and glitches when it shows up. I didn't notice it the first two times I watched it for my own pleasure.

[Theresa, you've forged an irreversible "fate".] [Swords and spears sharpen in fear of your bloodkin.] [You believe our differences will eventually be put aside,] [That the tribes will ultimately unite.] [Theresa, I've seen it... your wish.] [A sea of stars shining at the end of savagery,] [A new path emerging from the storm.] [But every path has an end, Theresa.] [When you surpass the limits of civilization,] [No one will be able to comprehend your love...] [They will loathe you...] [They will fear you...] [Until hate transforms the land into ruin.] [Until blood washes the memories away.] [But we do not struggle on our own, do we?] [Words of hope are engraved on wreckage.] [...You have brought us ample delights.] [So, don't let go of my hands.] [Let's see for ourselves, together.] [Watch life awaken from despair...] [I want you to believe,] [We can still stand together,] [in the sea of flowers, listening...] [To the voices of the universe...]

---

As a side note, Twitter provides another just slightly edited video of the new characters which I like to include for the fullness of the list. You can watch it Here, since I can't find it on YT.

---

Finally, here is the Arknights Animation PV for Babel.

Dying. And crying. Screaming. You can see baby Amiya. You see baby Ascalon, Manfred, Theresa... Little Logos, ilovehim. His terrible haircut, his pointy ears, the cutiest that has ever patootied, I was screeching worse than any Banshee you could ever hear when I saw him.

The speaker I'm pretty sure is Kal'tsit and the important information is provided in the video description itself:

[To advance from present to future, You first settle the past.] [Arknights: Babel] [Your Highness... I swear to you]

I remember when I saw it my first thought was: Oh my god are we seeing somebody having a father??? But then I think I got swept away seeing Manfred being tied to a pole with Theresis and Theresa being the best adoptive parents that could exist.

Also, Savage jumpscare.

Also also,

Genuinely me.

---

Last on the list for today is the furniture set: 'Scar Market Memories' A room modeled after the Scar Market based on the Sarkaz mercenaries' descriptions. The market was known for its disorder and disarray. Its visual appearance was established by a Cyclops who had been in charge for several decades.

I really like this one, it fits so well with Hoederer's furniture pack because they're both very... Sarkaz. By Sarkaz, I mean that they look like a hole you could've dug up to live in. Kind of cosy, kind of sad. Like anything Sarkaz we're about to learn.

---

This is what it looks like on the ship without the Minecraft shaders. Now let's just go through some of them and see the more interesting tidbits of information we have about the Sarkaz lifestyle.

Surely, a piece of furniture can't have any sort of angst about it. I mean, come on, it's just a room.

Downward Facing Branches

A withered thick tree branch, severed to a third of its original length. "We hang a dead tree branch above our heads to remind every Sarkaz: Death is gazing upon you."

...

...

...

What the absolute hell.

---

Long Twig

It's.... It's just a long twig.

Please.

A withered, thick tree branch, severed to a third of its original length. It is a symbol that stands in for the dead. The corpse of the tree is twisted and haggard, just like our fallen comrades in their final moments.

---

Witchcraft Workbench

A metal table full of scratches and marks, with a basket holding strange tools hanging underneath. All astute mercenaries know that they should never ask about the tools' real purpose.

God damn it.

---

Oddities Showcase

Oh, yeah, I love oddities showcases, I've seen people make miniature showcases of like... things they... like...

A collection of cheap objects brought back from all across Terra is put on display here. The "oddities" in the name refers not to the trinkets, but to the mercenaries who managed to bring them here without dying.

---

"Work and Life"

A storage rack with some daily necessities, a few wanted posters, and quite a few ID tags. Note: The ID tags are just decorations. No Sarkaz mercenaries were harmed in the making of this collection.

You're funny, you're so very funny I am clapping my thighs with amusement you freak--- *Gets dragged away by Hoederer for a 10-minute break*

---

Hoederer: "Doctor..." Me: "I don't want to read anymore..." Hoederer: "Doctor, please, you've been stalling for so long. You have to at least finish this part." Me: "Can we just please do anything else, I am going to die if I have to read another furniture set that talks about how each and every Sarkaz dies like a mayfly unnoticed and illiterate until somebody who probably minutely knew about them notices they've been gone four months past when they were meant to return-" Hoederer: "They do." Me: "... I'm sorry. I'm going back to work."

---

Steel Rail Lights

Hanging from the dark ceiling light are a cloth, a teapot, and some wine glasses; also some books. "I just put whatever on top since it's convenient. Just like how I put my life on the line for coin. Because money is convenient."

---

Messy Wine Cabinet

A messy storage shelf with wineglasses and a bottle of wine of unknown origin. Strong liquor distilled from grains is the mercs' favorite. It's cheap, strong, and "kills instantly."

---

Charcoal Oven

The charcoal fire burns slowly and projects a dark red color on the oven. To prevent indoor carbon monoxide poisoning, the "fire" here is actually a number of lights with different colors.

Are you saying.... Are you saying that they...

Okay, I think we're done here, nothing more interesting to see from the furniture set. Everything is terrible and all died, some mercenaries have artistic vision while others sleep on metal mats and other trash they put together.

I can't believe I called any of this cosy before reading their descriptions.

---

I also want to give props to all of you, each comment is such a banger I've been laughing at them separately and together for ten minutes now.

BB-ST-1

Unfinished Goodbye

[A speck of blood red upon speckless white.]

Ugh... We already know that this is not going to be a happy chappy story just from the name. Alright. Here.

We're introduced to the scene of a boy and a girl struggling against the cold, while they listen to a Cyclops woman tell a story, or more so, a legend. Or a prophecy.

About how the previous Sarkaz King would lead his armies to endless war and then fall, giving way to six heroes but losing the previous wandering kingdom - the previous Kazdel. From those ruins, a black crown will appear for the Sarkaz twins. Leading them to an end, despite their righteous ideals.

Within an approaching Storm, Ascalon is facing off against a different Cyclops - the one who is now recalling this same story to her instead. They speak shortly about the futility of escaping prophecies and how neither Ascalon nor the Cyclops have cared for their involvement, even if it is undeniable.

When Ascalon assassinates the man she hears an elegy. We already know from Chapter 13 that elegies are the songs of dying Banshees, ones which Sarkaz are sensitive to.

Within Lundinium, Victoria Theresis is offering vengeance to the Sarkaz who have arrived with him. What for? For whom? It's clear from the 'Assassin's words that it's about Theresa and that now the Regent - Theresis - is the only one they can pledge themselves to.

Julie and the other deathmongers have their final mission - enter the Mausoleum of Kings and destroy all the Steam Knights. Julie immediately knows this is a mission where most of the executioners will die, but she takes up that task anyway.

In Rhodes Island of Babel, Kazdel, Kal'tsit is pursuing an assassin through the corridors. Vaguely, she either hears or senses the words of somebody precious to her fading away.

[Keep going, Kal'tsit.]

[I know that, even left on your own, your step will never falter.]

Mon3tr melts down to open the locked door.

[You believe loneliness is your alone, that you have none of the same kind. Yet, from the day you woke again, we've walked shoulder to shoulder, haven't we?]

[...Yet still, one day I'll choose to slow down, to stop in place where I am.]

We're familiar with these sad words, intent on saying a final goodbye. We know from the start that the story of Theresa begins and ends poorly. With betrayal from the person she trusted most. The one Kal'tsit had trusted with Theresa.

The Doctor. Us.

[When I do, Kal'tsit, don't grieve. Keep going.]

For the first time, Kal'tsit must bid, to the first who could ever converse with her as an equal, to her dearest friend, farewell.

[Because I believe in Rhodes Island, I believe in Babel... I believe in you.]

[Kal'tsit... I hope the Rhodes can be a place you name home, and Island you may always return to.]

---

I'm CRYING. I hate this so much, I don't understand. Why would the Doctor do this? Did they even do it in the first place? It looks so... mismatched. So many dead around them, so much blood on Theresa. How did Amiya end up there? How did the Doctor collapse? Was he set up?

I need a breather.

---

BB-1 Before

Great Aspirations

[I knew this day would come.]

Sixty-four years ago...

Autumn, 1030

Scar Market, Kazdel

---

Hey! It's the place we have in our base now! What a coincidence, I wonder what sort of place this is.

---

It's a slave market. And the first person we see is apparently the man we noticed in the trailer as well. Apparently, he was found in the desert, dying of thirst.

Slave Trader is looking for a tail on the Sarkaz and the Mercenary promises that he's 'clean'.

Whatever that means. It threw me in a wild debate and theory-craft about the meaning of tails for Sarkaz. The ones we know about who are confirmed Sarkaz and have tails are Flamebringer, If....rit?, Paprika, W, Typhon, Vigna, Ascalon, Closure, Scout... I don't know if I'm missing someone.

But Theresa and Theresis do not seem to have tails. They're called mixed-blood Sarkaz too, which could hint that only a specific type of pureblood Sarkaz has tails.

Anyways, they settle with the bartering - the slave for weapons. Just then, a pale white figure appears. The silhouette immediately tells us it's General Theresis.

He personally frees the slave that was just sold off. He only hints at changes that will be occurring in Kazdel, so he's in the Scar Market to wait for Theresa and accept challenges from Mercenaries.

On the other end of the Market, Theresa is talking to the Cyclops we saw die by Ascalon's hand. Now we know his name though - Scareye. They chat a little and argue a little. They mention the Leithanien-Gaul war that's happening right now. Including Victoria and Ursus who have declared war on Gaul.

Corsica I, who requested help from Kazdel and received Casters, by the way, was officially declared as K.I.A.. However, his body is still missing.

I'm curious to see how that is going to go...

Theresa and Scareye banter for a moment about Theresa's desire to create a Military Commission of Kazdel instead of a Royal Court to rule, so she's in the Scar Market to rally people to join the upperside of Kazdel.

My favourite part here is that Theresa asks the Cyclops

[Have you seen my death, Theresis' death, and the destruction of all that you stand against? And what about yourself? How do you behold your death? A slow and agonizing death by Oripathy? Slain in battle on foreign soil? Or drowned in a sea of plots and conspiracies?]

Leaves him fuming.

[Foresight? Prophecies? His own death?]

After the siblings leave, Scareye checks in with the Slave Trader from earlier about letting all the slaves go and questions about people who fought Theresis and survived.

Those who were noted down can go to the supplies for a little reward.

Outside, the siblings do confirm that in comparison to any other country, Kazdel is very behind both in power and technological advancement. The political tension on Terra, between all these large and prominent countries is worrisome.

Which is why Theresa needs to complete her plan of establishing Babel. It would be a place of utter equality, established by a Sarkaz, in hopes of making more people accept them.

It's a sweet scene because it shows how much they support each other. From previous chapters and stories you have the vague idea that something happened between them, they're on two different sides of history seemingly from start to end, but it's not quite so true.

Theresis loves her, it's so endearing. It's utterly sad to know how it ends. You sit through the whole story almost hoping it will be different, but...

The Slave from earlier manages to crawl out of the Scar Market and reveals to us the picture of Kazdel.

He's been gone for four months from the city and it seems there's been a huge change. Nobles are being pulled out of their homes by mercenaries and the royal guard is doing nothing about it. The remaining Sarkaz populace sneaks into the abandoned houses and does what they please with the remnants of life inside.

Pull-Top, the not-slave-anymore's name, retells to a friend of his the unbelievable story of how he was saved by the General, then was found by a Sankta and brought back to the wall. Proud of his luck, he just decides on the spot to change his name to Goodluck.

---

BB-1 After

Great Aspirations

Autumn, 1031

Off to a great start, there's trouble in Lingones, Gaul.

Within the Courtroom, Theresis, Theresa and the rest of the previous political figures in Kazdel have officially created the Military Commission which will replace their War Council in decision-making for political and military affairs.

... Logos' mother's name everybody. Read it if you can.

They're all giving their opinion on their involvement with the council so the tally is:

Cyclopes from Sami - N/A, they didn't respond.

Liches of Leithanien - Fremont doesn't show up, but he offers his services to Theresa would she finds a need.

Banshee Court - Will not participate due to the loss they suffered during the previous war. They will assist, same as Fremont.

Nachzehrer King, Nezzsalem - No objections, because Damazti Cluster.

Damazti Cluster - No objections.

Sanguinarch of Vampires - Reluctantly accepted.

Their whole plan for the new war is to plunder all the other nations and take revenge, taking back what was taken from them when they were forced to become Sarkaz and driven away as devils.

See, for those who are yet unfamiliar with the lore of Sarkaz and Sankta, they're both coming from the same race - Teekaz. During the 'Walk In The Dust' event we learned that Kal'tsit was doing her best to exterminate the Teekaz, when she ended up learning they should perhaps keep living. Unfortunately during those events, they were split into Sarkaz and Sankta, each group taking a different approach. One is in Shadow, the others are with a Worthier Than Thou attitude.

In the outskirts of Kazdel there are problems between the inhabitants and Babel occupants who are trying to help the netizens. Thankfully, Mon3tr was there to help.

Inside Babel, Theresa and Kal'tsit are talking about the construction of Babel, the new school, whether or not people even consider Babel something good and the fact that the Military Commission being established means another fight with Kazdel...

This means that the different-raced occupants of Babel will have problems with Sarkaz because every single nation is out for them and they (the Sarkaz) are struggling to understand the difference. They just see someone different and bare their teeth in rage.

A curious situation that occurred was - Theresa met a Sankta outside Kazdel. It seems Sarkaz and Sankta can connect through the power of the King of Sarkaz and Theresa could feel the Sankta's emotions.

Back outside, Goodluck is in a fight. The Sarkqz are trying to attack Babel Operators and he's doing his best to protect them. Unfortunately, he gets struck again when he claims to have been saving a female doctor.

Embarrassing, since his name was the last thing he could tell her... Goodluck.

Guess... Not so much.

---

Just noticed that this is raw sugar, which we already have refined back in RI of today and my heart broke a little. In so little time so much has changed.

---

Nothing to think about with the training stage, Doberman does her job well enough to teach us that whenever there are grills anywhere on the map, maybe it's okay to tether to a buddy that's 2-ish tiles away from you.

Frankly, I love the little detail... She's afraid of heights. The lady who's been tormenting me all day military style, because I just can't find the will to lift my pen up and sign these super important documents, is afraid of a little height.

... Okay but look at the map, it really is high. I can't see the bottom. Thank you Arknights for always finding a way to play with the aesthetic of my 3x3 screen's pixels.

---

BB-2 Before

Where Fate Guides

[Sarkaz has never been destroyed by war. We are strong.]

We're going to speedrun some of this, so hold onto your socks.

Twenty-Six years ago

Autumns, 1068

In Leithanien people are starting to talk against the Sakraz, very much aware that they're restarting their career as an existing species and are not happy about it. Pretty much gloated with the victory that the Witch King has had on Gaul, they're not planning to put any more effort into sabotaging Kazdel than to send an envoy and get someone on the inside to do the dirty work.

Although the negotiation between the Envoy and Scareye looks like it went well, he's a little bit more loyal to his home place, so he shows up personally to discard the trash littered by the Leithaniens in the Scar Market.

Even more interesting, Kazdel is about to go through a Catastrophe - proof of its many survivals past those being the many crystals that cover the entire city. Last time Kazdel was immobilized actually as it was braving a Catastrophe, so it took them almost a decade to fix it.

Is it healthy, from the standpoint of a Doctor, to not have cleaned all the originium shards? No. Are they doing anything about it? Also no. Do they have bigger fowlbeasts to roast? Yes. Why are there so many infected Sarkaz? TAKE A WILD GUESS.

Gee, they're sure proving the point.

Meanwhile we're informed that Goodluck not only married a Babel woman, but he also fathered a child with her. This Angry Sarkaz in particular was pretty much bullying the woman while she was trying to distribute some painkillers for their oripathy. Things are getting toasty between Sakraz and Leithanien and whether or not there is a fragment of Sarkaz that actually see how separate these other races are from their home country, it's difficult to keep under control.

Regardless, everybody is preparing to get off the ship as they pass through the Catastrophe, knowing that they might never return. Many are on the field to fight off enemies who might try to stop them as well.

And we spot a little cutiepatootie completely lost in the chaos. He gets knocked down by some Sarkaz lady and is picked up by no freaking other than--

Littol Manfred. They're both going to the battlefield - one wants to find their parents and the other wants to fight the people who are doing bad things to the Sakraz as his dying parents' wish was.

CUTEST scene in all the story is when these two go off looking for the dad first and since his name is Goodluck... they go through the crowd of Sarkaz calling out 'GOODLUCK' and they just accept it. Because everybody who sees them sigh when they see the young and naive faces.

[Good luck.] [It is what they all need.]

On that evening, the fleet that was pursuing Kazdel had broken off its pursuit. Nobody expected that they'd charge straight for the Catastrophe and would pass through it successfully.

---

BB-2 After

Although the pursuers have slowed down, they haven't yet given up the chase. Due to the rough terrain and the approaching Catastrophe, they're afraid to engage immediately and that probably leaves enough time for Kazdel to escape.

Unfortunately, there are TWO Catastrophies on the horizon now, clashing with each other and leaving a path between them that is possible to go through. Since the warriors see their leaders walk into the storm side by side, they follow with little hesitation.

Within the storm, Theresis sees a child. He takes off his gauntlet and reaches into the mists that are shrouding this strange, little figure. As the mist dissipates, he finds within his bloodied hand the stone blade that the child was holding.

It's slurring and it's difficult to understand what the child is saying, but it wrestles the blade out of Theresis' hand again and points it at him and the procession.

Theresa observes that the kid only emulates speech she's heard from people who pass by, having lived in the wastes for so long she barely recognises the difference between a person and a beast.

Theresis teaches her how to hold the knife properly and in return the child immediately recognises salvation, demanding they take her along.

Theresa and Theresis share an understanding look.

This was a part of the prophecy-

'A sword to slay the regent king, a spear to pierce the royal ring.'

They don't really care for the danger of a prophecy, so they take her in.

Without a name, Theresis is the one to name her: Ascalon.

Ten days later...

A Sarkaz woman and a Babel Doctor are chatting it up while the Sarkaz is sewing the other up. Although she was invited multiple times to go celebrate with the Soul Furnace, she refuses under a myriad of pretexts.

A Sarkaz stranger approaches her.

So being said, I started admiring... everything that is happening in his E2. Prior to actually reading anything I knew that Shalem has something to do with Phantom, at least something enough that he has to go and save him from IS2. I've dabbled with it before just a tiny little, never reached an ending and I still haven't as I write this.

Items of background as of yet unverified, which is really funny because I think the same goes for Phantom. Maybe I should look him up while I'm here to read side-by-side comparison.

Take note, it says Shalem works in logistics.

Both Victorian, born within a month and a bit of each other, so that's interesting. What's that? Phantom is taller?? Than shalem?? The twink black cat is taller than the black snake?

Insanity.

Oh, he's doomed. Who do I like that ISN'T infected with Oripathy??? It feels like they're all sick... But now that I look at my list, Chongyue, Ebenhol-

Okay... that leaves SilverAsh, Vigil, Lee, Tequila, Lessing they're all fine.

My head is too full of Czerny and Hoederer being Infected on a very advanced level, so it feels like my world is ending every time I start reading the Medical Analysis.

-Shalem Trust 50-

Considering Rhodes Island's operators come from all corners, races, temperaments, histories and myriad diversities of the land, there are indeed plenty who are weak with communication yet possess a kind heart, and thus HR's operators haven't had serious concern, vis-a-vis the state of Shalem's life. 

Me *handshake* Shalem Disliking mixing friend groups so we just avoid it at all cost

He's been waiting forever, waiting for his chapter's end, but he doesn't anticipate that in ten or so months, when Rhodes Island life has long since become routine, that a shadow of the past will sorrowfully arrive.

Congratulations, everybody, another sad boy has reconsidered subearthing themselves because he found a place to call home and a bed he can sleep in with both eyes closed.

-Phantom Trust 50-

When Phantom first set foot on Rhodes Island, he terrified the logistics personnel who were on duty at the time. He suddenly appeared behind one individual, standing there without a word until the person turned around to discover his presence.

IF SHALEM WORKS IN LOGISTICS WAS THIS ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT HIM???? I can't believe Shalem was stalked by Phantom for absolutely no reason and then Closure got pissed that this arrogant feline just boarded the ship without telling anybody, or anybody noticing even, until it was too late.

Talk about being a professional assassin.

Accompanying Phantom on his arrival to Rhodes Island was a person as mysterious and alluring as the night itself, someone known as 'Ms. Christine.' Through her demeanor, it was clear that she was a refined and haughty woman. No one knows whether she will remain or leave, and she is not always seen with Phantom, instead happy enough to wander around as if quietly patrolling her turf.

To this, I have only one responce

*Throws 15, 000 of those at Phantom* I HAVE THE LADY'S PERMISSION!!

-Shalem Trust 100-

After a field mission ended, Shalem noticed a phantasm behind him. He was the most brilliant of those young stars in the troupe, its leader's favorite, a crimson blood diamond, and he stared at him, naturally not seeking to reminisce. 

Oh my god I was right.

An acquainted operator informed him someone called Phantom had joined as an Operator in the past few days. Who was Phantom? Shalem knew in his heart as clear as night.

Joined like it's nobody's business.

After which Shalem just decided his anxiety is too much to handle and didn't go out of his room for a small eternity.

When he received a mission on his terminal to seek the missing Operator Phantom, Shalem believed someone to be pranking him, but after verifying high and low, he realized Phantom truly had departed Rhodes Island, and no one was more familiar with the mission objective's search area than Shalem. It was his and Phantom's home, and the beginning of their nightmares. The past had already found Shalem, and he could not choose to stay uninvolved again. He accepted the mission to search for Phantom.

Oh no, he's being sent to whatever hellhole the Troupe is situated at. That must actually be one hell of a notice to get on his terminal. Go look for the person you have been trying to avoid, with whom you were potentially raised to play an endless play because he disappeared.

How did Phantom even end up there??? I have more questions than I have answers now.

-Phantom Trust 100-

After receiving his permission, Rhodes Island conducted a series of tests aimed at targeting this ability, basically confirming that Phantom's ability to alter the shadows is related to sound. By using his throat to vocalize certain sounds, he is able to interfere with and severely damage the psyche of a living being. The more intense the emotion in the tone, the deeper the effect is, producing psychological damage that is difficult to repair or reverse.

Sweet Mouthpiece... What the actual hell?

-Shalem Trust 150-

After the flood receded, some sumptuously graceful guests entered the village. Yes, they handed people money to seek local aid; yes, they carefully selected, adopted many children who were without claim, now their parents had vanished or been lost.

I have a bad feeling about thi-

Numbering one of them was the young Shalem.

I hate this with all my life, actually.

'You are children of the arts. Now, you may rest well.' So the old butler promised, and so Shalem believed. Soon after, his life became a play. Modest and gentle was the label the troupe gave to Shalem, and ever since then, it has become his 'true personality.'

'Modest' and 'Gentle'? Explain this, then

We shan't dwell on the daily physical training and rehearsal of lines. Understudies as excellent as Phantom would be led upon stage, given verbal motivation and material reward in front of them all.

Yeah, so they did know each other and everybody hated Phantom because he was good at what he was doing. Actually terrible by definition.

The children who entered the troupe together one by one disappeared, and those left were completely changed in temperament, not a speck of the innocence of their years left visible. As they grew in years, Shalem had convinced himself to accept one fact: We were only brought into this troupe to offer our lives to the arts. If we are unable to perform... Then we have no right to live within the troupe. Whether voluntary or not, so long as you joined the troupe, the script you were given would be written long in advance. To run until your life's end.

God, Shalem... My darling...

Survival drives all to the brink, and they who ought to have worked together past these difficulties began to slaughter each other. In the end, no one escapes. Only a few uneaten slices of meat remain, scooped away by fowlbeasts, flapping their wings across the endless waters.

Is this... hinting at... cannibalism...? Again?

-Phantom Trust 150-

We can infer from our investigations that a wave of Oripathy that ripped through parts of Victoria a few years ago destroyed this troupe, and changed the trajectory of Phantom's life. He may have had a wonderful voice in the past, but as he is now, he could not be further from the stage.

I feel like I need a little more context about this. Shalem's town was flooded, but the Troupe exploded because of a wave of Oripathy? Where did it come from? Did I miss it somewhere? Obviously, this information is outdated because we know the Troupe exists in a much more bloody cult-like fashion now, but WHY? What is their point?

I can also tell you about the impressions I now have about him, but it may not be of any use to you, because there's a good chance you won't listen. But if you insist? Very well. I don't have much to say, but there is one suggestion. —Stay away from him. He's still caught in a nightmare, not fully awake yet.'

—A conversation with Schwarz

Schwarz?

This Schwarz?

Ma'amn you need to explain why you think all of that, I'm getting a little sweaty about how much people know and what they think about Phantom, because I kinda still do like him.

-Shalem trust 200-

He should have delivered that dagger to their heart, felt the spasm of their limbs, watched the light in their eyes little by little melt away. But the boy of the abyss did not do so. The weapon meant to murder instead cut the rope, and was handed to another to become a tool protective of life. And so did a meticulous production end. A play rendered a complete shambles by this boy of the abyss. A stage offered to him to prove his talent, so wasted and defiled by a conscience. Sinner, sinner! This coward, this lamentable coward. A hunter letting go its prey, presuming to still return to the castle, to report to its king. And yet he! He follows the prey's steps, disappears with it into the barrens' ends?! Let him be far from civilization, far from art, to go to that wild brink. He is fit only to be exiled.

HE ESCAPED BY TURNING ON THE TROUPE IN A MOMENT OF CONSCIOUS GUILT AND REBUTTAL!! My sweetest, tormented darling yeah, you get to stay in my husband team forever.

-Phantom Trust 200-

[Classified Log] We found the site of the incident that befell the troupe at the time.

Alright...

All the residences, facilities, and public spaces have been preserved as is, including the troupe's tents stationed in the park, just like in the records - the only thing that's missing are the residents.

Gosh, the description is like they got wiped away by Nuclear power. What in the world kind of Oripathy wave was that???

The best way to describe it is as if a piece of cake was sealed within a plastic bag, then thrown into a fervent crowd at an Iberian festival.

Someone gave their all fishussy to write this line.

What we managed to recover is pretty similar to whatever would be left in that bag afterwards. As for the portion of the data that was sent out, the path was too vague and could not be tracked.

Data sent out? Am I understanding this correct, the show was being streamed?

In order to verify the content, we played a portion of the video footage that could be considered somewhat intact. While doing so, three of the investigators present experienced degrees of psychological disturbance, so we were forced to temporarily seal off the remaining files.

What the absolute hell, so we never got to really see/hear what was happening? Was Phantom... the one to do this? Was he singing and it destroyed everything?

[Video File - Encrypted] [Encrypter - Kal'tsit] [Danger Level - 3] '■■■stage, death■■■■behind■■■loop, song■■, ■■■■end, all■begin.'

I need to ask Dr. Pinkie as soon as they wake up about this. I didn't read a lot of stuff about the game while I was playing it, only laughing at items I got.

-Shalem E2 Promotion-

When a person begins learning to perform, or takes up the profession of an actor, they bear for the rest of their life a curse: Are you doing what you would, or carrying out an endless performance?

This is not going anywhere nice.

Do you enact your true personality? Or is your false personality itself the true you? Oh, I imagine you likely can't make heads or tails anymore. Let me show you a way forth. Whether you're the bottomless boy of the abyss taking the stage, or the nobody Shalem aboard Rhodes Island. Listen to this suggestion from your old butler. Everything is a sham. You are not your own self. You were born a performance. Don't be led astray by your self. You are a role, and the role is all that you are. The role's choices are your choices. Now take the stage, performer. The time to offer yourself to art has come.

-Phantom E2 Promotion-

...

...

Hortus de Escapismo is on the horizon and Dr. Lundi is a radiant and unavoidable ball of excitement during the pulls. How could she NOT be??? Six months of saving, an ungodly ammount of pulls and a surprising eagerness of Executor to arrive home later (i.e. the fact out of eight 6*, only two were strangers).

Speaking of strangers, an obscure horse wandered into the pulls to remind her that he's still her number one husband and Executor comes second. Most likely because to summon Federico she changed Mlynar on her homescreen to Executor normal version and he got a little worried, the old man.

Among the 4 Doctors there's always 7 pots of each Elite, so it's no wonder the other one went to Dr. Pinkie before pity, which pretty much concluded our pulls. I don't know what happened to Dr. Kryo, but I personally didn't pull because Hoederererer is on the horizon four months from now and I am BEHIND because of Silverash Kernels.

Fastest character build ever in the world. I think maxing out characters ASMRs have to exist. It's so nice to see it happen so fast. Aesthetically pleasing, complete and right.

But since I'm giving statements that are already unrequested, I just want to say that Executor is not my type. I don't like stiffly blunt and I am also on the side of Sarkaz, so just Sanktas in general are a little... off for me. Except Enforcer, Enforcer is my baby and I would kill for him.

Go on, TRY and convince me this isn't one of the coolest arts ever. I need old 6* characters to get a revamp on their E2 art, because compared to this few can truly compare. God is behind him, holding the scythe, the statue is half a robot for whatever reason???? And it's so cool???

Not to mention that he looks exactly the same face-wise versus his E0 art, which cannot be said about, I don't know, SilverAsh, who looks like he was born in a wet cardboard box all alone in an alley.

His token is also so so so so cute, I don't know what the overall experience with listening to him talking into your ear feels like, but just-- just read this:

'A wireless earpiece. The latest of the Lateran Curia's tech products, and the same model that Executor himself currently uses. Is he giving this to you so you can stay in contact with him at any time, perhaps?'

??????????????????????????????

Cutie patootie.

Base skill not all that impressive. For some reason while looking into it Dr. Pinkie expressed surprise, because she couldn't find any other operator who gives productivity for EXP cards, but by complete accident I saw FEater is another one.

Insider's splash looks great, he's the embodyment of that one weirdo who always gets in trouble for some reason. Might be the spiky hair. Might be the army of pigeons following him.

Their voice actors are amazing so far as I heard, so we wait and see what he's like personality wise.

HIS POTENTIAL IS ABUBUBUBU

'A handwritten dessert recipe. With proportions finetuned to Insider's own personal tastes, the sugar content ABSOLUTELY exceeds recommended guidelines! This one's a pick-me-up!'

Ma'amn...

Not me. Not with that look.

Jail.

'A user manual for precision machinery. Though the only thing inside is a special phone number, since she thinks telling you what to do directly is easier. (But sometimes she'll teach you wrong on purpose–depends on her mood.)'

I keep forgetting that the title Duke is absolutely available for men and women, so when she comes up every time I'm like... I kind of want to be her when I get older but Ma'amn I do not appreciate the way you're talking about Allerdale. At least she has a good and honest (?) opinion on what she's fighting for, because she's at least being real about how this is progressing and what Victorians think about the 'homeland'.

And are you telling me the Duke of Windermere is dead or... Am I supposed to give up on this model now? They talk about her like she's still alive, so I suppose she was not on that ship.

Sir... Your model is so good. GOSH I LOVE Victoria's clothes so much. Look at the back of his tailcoat, look at the gorgeous cane he'd holding. What a distinguished man whose real agenda and opinions I do not remember thus I can't say if swooning over the model is tipping my good girl scales.

[Text: How about a Sankta patron firearm? I just happen to have one stached away back home...]

I know the Sarkaz are famous for their battle with the Sankta, having past history and whatnot, but are you sure you can just brink a dead Sankta's weapon into the conversation and think that's going to be enough of a temptation?

[Text: Sarkaz Soldier: Interesting... You got your hands on an angel's guardian gun huh? Timid Citizen: Oh, um, it's not mine though. It's just for safekeeping... Heavens, those angels from the Notarial Hall are going to flay me alive if they find out, but if you're interested-]

Dude, you are NOT asking if he is interested because they collect them....

[Text: I just happened to hear, you- Err, the Sarkaz enjoy collecting them, so...]

Oh, he asked, alright...

[Text: Listen up. I prefer my angelic toys freshly looted from a pile of corpses. Now, piss off.]

O-kay. Alright, you know what? You can... Do that. I- And that angry guy is dead now, alright. Oh, those two are down the drain as well...

To be fair, he's not wrong. Sarkaz have been living in dar for so long just because other countries are 110% sure that they will be back asking for vengeance and they are such a great of a number that it's going to be catastrophic. This is what I'm talking about when we talk about Arknights' whole 'Who is the good guy?' meter because it is BROKEN. Those who live well do it at the cost of someone else but they didn't really... do anything to get that going, it's all politics. In the meantime those who are mad are mad for a reason you can kinda nod to because it's relatable.

Terrible, really.

---

CADOR? HELLO? HE'S BABY???

YO THE GLASGOW GANG?

I can't even begin to imagine the damage Kal'tsit would have taken. They say she was already frail, but I wince every time she raises her hand to call on Mon3tr. Don't worry Amiya we can do this. She's gonna be fine, you are gonna be fine, it was all a bad dream. The weight of the Crown of the Sarkaz is heavy but I will hold it up for you babo, I promise.

12-2 Adverse

Poor Golding being told she's probably the reason why all 3 houses got ambushed is really heartrending. She is literally me, for real, actually, and just like how I refuse to give up so did she...

[Text: You little twat, you think being a knight gives you the right to teach me to look at the big picture? I don't give a shite about wiping out some old Sarkaz monsters. My friends are in danger. My home is in danger!]

Okay, indra coming in Indra-ing all over the place until Siege just says 'Indra, enough.' and we instantly stop Indra-ing.

So who the hell are you, Mr. 'I'm the reason Allerdale died but also all your comrades are safely evacuated as much as we could do' and what the heck is your deal??

Trillby Asher? What do you want?

[Text: My sincerest pleasure to meet all of you, ladies and gentlemen. I hope there yet remains room for our objectives to coexist.]

You, Sir, are a clown-

[Text: 'Doctor', the commander of Rhodes Island... There exists very little information on you. We were under the impression that this was due to a lack of importance. We will reevaluate our internal appraisal.]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

"We thought you are useless, but it seems that was wrong."

[Text: Your subordinates are very strong, even after they heard the word Vampire.]

Which is weird because... what even are you? Your race is undisclosed, W refuses to call you a Sarkaz and bites your backside for having horns, but you also have Baphomet in your E2 art.

What are you????

But also...

INES INES INES INES SHE COMES IN TO SAVE THE DAY BEING A BADASS ONCE AGAIN. And apparently she's been in cahoots with Ascalon because how was she meant to know that Ines is going to come around after annihilating all the communications- no, all the people waiting on the other side of the radios to hear whether or not they get to attack

Better question

HOW DID YOU SURVIVE THAT FALL???

---

Skin intermission, because I caved. Czerny skin is what I'm saving for next, but it's okay because the new CC and the ExeAlter comes first and I can work on that.

12-4 Adverse

And after all of that horror I just get to listen about how Logos is just great at darts and apparently unbeatable at... *checks scribble on hand* chair sliding.

[Text: Cador presses against the door with his body and grabs the axe peeking through the hole back with his two hands. The Man outside makes several attempts to pull the axe back in vain.

Cador: I don't care who the hell you are, but get out of my sight, or I'll have this axe in your brain!]

GET EM CADOR! What a mess, the hecking audacity to be breaking in like that.

This level... Took me like 5 tries and in the end I had to learn the hard way that maybe bringing more robots is a good idea only if I have Chiave and only if I am braced to wait like... what... 200 seconds??? It was insane. I managed though. 12-5 Adverse

[Text: War is cruel. Suffering and death follow in its wake. It exposes out barest, truest forms to one another. It tears off all disguises.]

Oh yeah, I can absolutely see people going insane with all that is happening already, you don't need to remind us... We didn't learn our lesson with the gold tooth that Per left behind after his body got mauled...

Grannynapping happens, Clovisia used her arts and I'm so sad I didn't get to see what they were. Here and then she's not. I don't really get why the workers would try to save Catherine. I mean, yeah, the attempt is fine, since they do care about her, they want to be safe and giving up at this point is a little useless as she said... The Sarkaz will not be showing mercy anymore and I don't think there is any place safe they can go.

In any case, I appreciate the worry. even if Catherine is gonna be like 'You absolute twats.'

Ayo Originium Dust spoiler, dead Infected explode.

---

[Text: Of course, Victoria has never been truly at peace. The things we make are sent to the border region to fight the Sargonians ot the Leithanians and blast holes in their bodies - Not that it has anything to do with us. All we had to do was stay in the factory and turn screws on the iron blocks.] Me: "Why is Victoria fighting Laterano again?" Pinkie: "Because they have all the GUNZ." Me: "I meant Leithania actually." Pinkie: "Because they are right next to each other." Me: "THE SIMPLER EXPLANATION HAHA!" Pinkie: "Well, yeah! You're Balkan, I'd think you'd know that the best." Me: "Oh my god, I would." --- Pinkie: "I'm saying globalization isn't a thing the way I can voice chat with you all. A Leithanian can't voice chat with a Victorian. For me to contact you, Lundi, I have to send a letter to Kazimierz, wait a week, wait another week for a responce and then read your letter." Me: "If he survives." Pinkie: "And that is if the Messenger survives multiple cancer-inducing snowstorms, yes."

---

Pinkie: "Cador is definitely one of the based ones in the Glasgow gang. When Siege shows up he's like 'Oh would you like us to fight for you M'lady' and Siege is just 'Can you... not?' because she doesn't want to deal with the weight of her title like that."

Me: "That is absolutely hilarious. I like him."

...