Behind me, a large bubble burst with a heavy gloop.
I could feel the presence of the highly viscous liquid swaying inside the cultivation pod through my back. Junkhead and Lucia had retreated to my side before I even realized it. Lucia was clutching the sleeve of my jacket with a white-knuckled grip.
As for Junkhead, he was softly tracing his chin with his metallic fingertips, his mono-eye darting minutely from side to side as if calculating a way to break the deadlock.
I shifted my focus to the inside of my jacket. The distance to the gun in my holster was a bit too far. If those Believers—about ten of them in robes—all lunged at me at once, I’d likely end up a lump of meat before I could even draw.
"As you can see, this is a clone factory," Kaya said in a light, conversational tone as she stepped forward. "One dedicated specifically to you, Rei."
The hem of her robe glowed faintly, catching the light from the cultivation pods. The Believers lined up behind her didn't move an inch. They simply stared at us from the depths of their hoods.
I did a quick count. Ten, no, eleven. I got the feeling they were a slightly different breed than the ones who had attacked us before. A quiet, suffocating pressure filled the room.
"...Why on earth are you making clones of me?" I asked, sliding my foot back half a step.
The sole of my shoe dragged against the floor. All I felt against my back was cold glass and metal. There was no way out.
"Oh, come on. You know why." Kaya shrugged theatrically and took another step closer. Every time the distance between us closed, the sweet scent unique to young women faintly tickled my nose. "The name 'Repairman' was famous back then, too. That’s why—I was killed."
She stopped abruptly. Beneath the shadow of her long eyelashes, her eyes wavered with sadness, and her gaze fell to the floor.
Ah, right. That was it. Originally, Kaya had been just an ordinary girl. She was a bit skilled, had a bit of a sharp tongue, and she had stayed by my side. That was why she was kidnapped. That was why she was killed.
"...Yeah. You died, and I was left in tatters."
For a fleeting moment, the scent of iron and the searing pain in my lungs from that day returned.
"Yep. And then, after that, it’s just like what you told me the other day. You went into cold sleep and were revived!" Kaya spread her arms wide as if performing on a stage. Her sleeves fluttered. "But hey, do you have any detailed memories of that time?"
Kaya raised her head and looked straight at me. I tried to remember. That moment when Kaya’s body grew cold in my arms. Afterward, I was rolling around in a puddle of my own blood, barely breathing. Then, "that person" came—
That person?
I chased the memory, reaching out toward a blurred outline. But before my fingertips could touch it, my vision clouded over in white, like a thick fog.
Someone who saved me. The Blank Area in my life before Junkhead found me. What exactly happened during that time?
"...Well? Can you remember?" Kaya’s voice reached my ears, sounding strangely damp.
I slowly shook my head. "...It doesn't matter. Not those minor details."
I knew that saying it aloud was a form of escape. Even so, my instinct not to delve any deeper gripped the root of my tongue and wouldn't let go.
"Even though you might be a clone yourself?" Kaya interjected.
Only the hum of machinery and the sound of the viscous liquid circulating echoed through the silence. The sense of time seemed to stretch.
"Hey, Rei. You might think I'm not Kaya. But from my perspective, you aren't Rei."
The moment those words left her lips, the cultivation pod behind me made a loud gloop.
Without taking my eyes off Kaya and the others, I shifted my awareness behind me. Junkhead’s metallic voice of astonishment rose from right at my shoulder.
"WHAT IS... THIS!?"
Kaya and the others shifted their gazes to the pod. Without breaking my focus, I twisted my body halfway and looked back as well. Beyond the transparent wall, a body with the same face as mine was dissolving into a gelatinous mess.
"...A failure?" the word escaped me.
But in the next instant, the collapsed meat twitched and began to writhe, as if it were trying to maintain its form out of sheer spite. The red, slime-like mass sought out what appeared to be a skeleton, clinging to it only to collapse again. The sight was enough to set anyone's nerves on edge.
Junkhead looked on with clinical interest, while Lucia trembled, desperately covering her mouth. I could tell at a glance she was fighting the urge to vomit.
"I had a feeling, but I guess it was no good after all."
I returned my gaze to the voice behind me.
"Right now it's trying to regenerate, but after a while, it’ll just self-destruct." Kaya held her right hand up. At her signal, the Believers surrounding us all stepped back in unison. They slowly widened the circle and vanished, melting into the dark corridor.
In their place, Kaya stepped forward alone, walking toward the pod with quiet footsteps.
"...Another failure. For years, for decades." She headed straight for the pod as if we weren't even there. With a touch like one would use on a lover, she softly placed her fingertips against the glass near the face of the collapsing "me." Through the cultivation fluid, the flesh undulated flabbily.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Junkhead asked in a low growl.
But as if to cut him off, Kaya spoke. "The Order isn't a monolith."
She threw out the topic as if it were a non-sequitur. While her gaze remained fixed on the inside of the pod, only her voice reached us. "There's the faction centered around the Cult Leader, and then there's us—the faction waiting for the Descent of God."
"The Descent of... God?" Junkhead’s voice was laced with blatant suspicion.
"Yes. God. We're waiting for 'Him,' the one who will appear one day."
Kaya’s eyes finally moved away from the pod. She slowly turned toward me. The light in those eyes was a hue entirely different from the Kaya I knew. It wasn't warmth, but a cold, religious brilliance.
"Hey, Rei. Are you God?"
Receiving that gaze head-on, I moistened my lips, wondering how I was supposed to answer.