Guided by Kaya, we pushed deeper into the clone facility.
I’d had the factory powered down just in case. Junkhead had locked it using his own unique programs and security codes, effectively turning himself into the key. It wasn't foolproof, but it wasn't something anyone could just flip a switch to restart.
I’d briefly considered destroying the place entirely. However, Junkhead and Kaya had both talked me out of it, arguing that we might find something useful if we returned to investigate later.
Personally, I preferred leaving mysterious facilities like that in a state where they’d never wake up again, but for now, it didn't matter. Fulfilling our immediate objective came first.
As for Kaya’s guidance—naturally, I remained on guard.
There was the question of how much Kaya herself could be trusted, but more troublesome was the possibility that she was dancing in the palm of the Cult Leader's hand without even realizing it. Either way, it was best to assume the worst. Things would turn out however they would, but that was no excuse to get careless.
Once we left the factory, the entrance to an old underground passage came into view.
The surrounding scenery was much the same as the rest of the facility. Construction materials were piled everywhere, all of them thick with dust. However, in one particular corner, the concrete floor was exposed, suggesting someone had passed through recently.
"Hmm. According to my records, there shouldn't have been an underground passage here..." Junkhead muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Kaya didn't even look back. Her slender fingers danced across a security panel in front of the stairs leading down. "Apparently, it was built a long time ago. They built sections even further down, camouflaging them within the environment to hide them just in case Eradicata ever resumed development here."
"They scavenged whatever discarded materials they could find, too," she added lightly.
A moment later, the dry hiss of an airlock releasing echoed through the hall. The thick door shifted slightly, then slid to the side.
"Alright. This way," Kaya said, beckoning us forward as she stepped inside.
Beyond the door lay pitch-black darkness. Junkhead could manage well enough with his night vision, but it was a different story for Lucia and me.
Having descended first, Kaya picked up a hand lamp resting at the bottom of the stairs and twisted the top. A faint, flickering orange light spread out—an old-fashioned glow that only dimly illuminated our surroundings.
"It’ll be a problem if we turn on the main corridor lights. Sorry, but we’ll have to make do with this."
"I shall inform you if any unforeseen circumstances arise. I will take the rear," Junkhead said.
Our formation was decided naturally: Kaya in the lead, Junkhead at the back, and Lucia and I between them.
As far as the meager lamplight revealed, the style of this area was even older than the clone facility. The Video Terminals along the walls had thick frames and tiny screens. The control panels weren't the modern Flat-touch Type, but featured rows of Physical Keys with a tactile, mechanical click. Based on the atmosphere alone, I would have believed it if someone told me this equipment was half a century old.
"This part was built first," Kaya said, her footsteps echoing as she kept her eyes fixed ahead. "It seems they only built the clone facility after they were certain the upper levels had been completely abandoned."
I see. They must have been operating in secret down here for a very long time.
"Um, excuse me... what exactly is the Cult Leader's goal?" Lucia finally spoke up, having followed us in silence until now. "Making clones of Rei, creating the Order... what is he after?"
It was a reasonable question. He’d built a massive facility, gathered Believers, and was now on the verge of inciting a terrorist attack. What could he possibly want by going to such extremes?
"Like I said before, I don't know the purpose of the terror attack." Kaya glanced back over her shoulder. "But there’s a very specific reason why the Cult Leader was making clones."
I was about to ask for clarification when Kaya stopped in front of a single door. I thought we had reached our destination, but I sensed no presence of people inside. No—not people, but there was something there.
"Part of the answer is in here," Kaya said, pushing the door open.
It wasn't locked; the door swung open smoothly. The interior looked like a dormant facility, though it was too dark to see the details. If I listened closely, however, I could hear the faint hum of machinery. There was also a sound like bubbles popping rhythmically.
"It should be fine to turn on the lights if it's just in this room."
Kaya pressed a switch on the wall. A moment later, the ceiling lights flickered to life, bathing the room in white light and revealing everything.
Rows of Cultivation Pods stood in an orderly fashion. The equipment looked very similar to what we’d seen in the previous facility, but there was one decisive difference. These weren't empty.
There were many faces I didn't recognize. But among them were faces identical to Kaya's—and faces identical to my own. They were all lined up in a row.
"...Hey now. They were failing in the previous facility, were they not? How is this possible? There are Successful Clones right here," Junkhead said, his voice laced with suspicion.
No. That wasn't it. At first glance, the things inside the Pods looked human, but something was fundamentally wrong. The "pressure" unique to living creatures was absent. Although they were breathing, the outlines of their lives were blurred and indistinct.
"Too bad. These are just Vessels," Kaya said with a self-mocking smile. "They're nothing more than meat blocks, really."
"What do you mean?" Junkhead asked.
"Normally, even a clone develops a personality, right? Though whether that personality is the same as the original's is debatable."
She was right. On the surface, clones of organs or limbs were permitted for medical use under strict conditions. But in the Underworld, complete clones were manufactured for pets, experiments, and other sordid reasons.
"The Cult Leader's goal was to recreate himself." Kaya walked slowly into the center of the room. She stopped in front of a Pod containing a face identical to her own and looked up. "He wants to make a clone of himself and transfer his own soul into it."
I heard Lucia catch her breath.
"What? If he simply wanted to prolong his life or stop aging, he could just mechanize himself. I am a prime example," Junkhead said, tapping his metal arm.
It was a logical point. If he just wanted to avoid death, there were countless ways—mechanization, or the kind of body modification the Doctor used. While you couldn't completely stop the brain from deteriorating, it was more than enough to extend one's lifespan indefinitely.
But what if those weren't options?
Kaya let out a dry laugh. "Exactly. But for the Cult Leader, that wasn't enough."
"Why not?" I asked.
Kaya turned to face me. "Hehe. You want to know why?" Her eyes locked onto mine. "The answer to that is you, Rei."
"...No way."
"Yes." Kaya placed her hand on the surface of the Pod. Through the glass, the sleeping body inside swayed slightly. "The Cult Leader is a Successful Clone of Rei."
Lucia gasped, and Junkhead’s Mono-eye narrowed sharply.
"He—the Cult Leader—had power. Enough to build an entire Order from nothing. But he grew old. And as death drew nearer, he began to fear it."
The word "power" struck a chord with me. It was almost like—
"He tried everything to extend his life while maintaining that power. Everything from mechanization to Flesh Modification." Kaya looked down. "But... every single attempt failed."
She gestured to the rows of Cultivation Pods. "Even if he mechanized a limb, it would return to its withered, organic state by the next day. Even with body modification, the result was the same. It was as if his body was constantly undergoing Regeneration, reverting everything back to its original template."
I see. If his body rejected all modifications, then simply surviving wasn't enough. He had to become younger or find a new body while "keeping that power."
"That’s why he searched for a way to perform a Soul Transfer," Kaya said, her voice quiet.
The bodies in these Pods were preserved as simple Vessels. They had human forms, but they weren't people.
"Clones other than Rei—like me and the others—were used as test subjects for the Soul Transfer experiments." Kaya turned back to me. "Since a rapidly grown clone wouldn't have knowledge or memories, they tried removing the clone's brain and replacing it with the original's."
She looked down sadly. "But it didn't work. There were surgical failures, of course, but even in the cases that should have been successful, the subjects never woke up."
"I see. He attempted to transplant the brain, defining it as the soul..." Junkhead mused, crossing his arms.
"Wait, but... what about you, Kaya?" Lucia asked, the realization hitting her.
She was right. Based on everything Kaya had just said, the fact that she was standing here talking to us was an anomaly.
"Oh, sharp." Kaya laughed in her usual breezy manner. "I'm a half-success and a half-failure."
"What does that mean?" Lucia asked, knitting her brows.
Kaya shrugged. "I guess he realized a biological approach alone was impossible. So, he decided to try a scientific approach instead."
Scientific, huh.
"You have a pretty good idea, don't you, Rei? About those chips Olaf Karvel designed."
...I see. It was all starting to connect.