Ch.326Savior (1)

# Night’s Sun Over Beryan02

Isabelle returned to her quarters after a grueling day.

Sitting on her worn bed, she first unwrapped the bandages from her feet. As she removed the bandages she’d worn all day for work, her regenerating toes appeared beneath crusted blood.

Coldblood possess various internal organ characteristics. Thanks to this, they adapt well to harsh environments and can survive long periods of starvation. Even when losing body parts like now, they can recover if they consume sufficient nutrients.

“…”

Despite having physical abilities far superior to humans, she wasn’t happy. No matter what crisis struck, she survived because of this cursed body. It was always her role to witness the deaths of those dear to her.

‘But it won’t be much longer now.’

After changing her bandages, she sat at the table in the corner of the room. She took a Monolith from the drawer—shaped like a diamond from a deck of playing cards.

She pulled out the wires extending beneath the table and connected them to the Monolith. The Monolith emitted light and floated into the air.

“You’re late.”

A modulated voice flowed from the Monolith.

“I was delayed by work. I apologize.”

“How is the ‘tool’ doing?”

“Compatibility has increased to 65%.”

“65%? Why has it suddenly slowed down so much?”

“I don’t know either. But judging by the physical responses, it’s slowly increasing.”

Her job was to report matters related to the “plan” to the person beyond the Monolith every day. Today was no different than usual.

But the other party didn’t seem to think so.

“There must be no deviation in the plan. It’s already being shaken by unexpected variables. If another error occurs here, there will be defectors.”

“…”

“The reason we saved you was because of your ‘eyes.’ If you’ve gone blind, there’s no reason to keep you with us.”

Isabelle kept her mouth shut at the chilling warning.

She was able to hide in Beryan02 while being hunted by the ruling faction’s rankers thanks to the person she was now communicating with.

The reason they kept her alive was because of her ability.

“Name: Psychic Communication Stone

Status: Operating

…(Other information available)”

The world that Isabelle, the 22nd ranked Coldblood, saw was different from others.

The world she perceived was information itself. Objects that appeared to others as merely floating monoliths in the air looked different to her eyes.

What its name was, what its status was, what its purpose was, who it was contacting, and so on. Information related to the Monolith was transmitted from her eyes to her brain.

‘All-Seeing Eye.’

The Perk she received was the ability to read hidden information about objects and individuals. She could know whether someone was a ranker and what abilities they possessed.

However, it wasn’t completely omnipotent since she needed to see things directly to access their information.

In fact, she became a fugitive because she couldn’t overcome this weakness.

Having the power to see information meant nothing if the gap with an opponent was too great. The ruling faction’s rankers mobilized power that Isabelle and her comrades couldn’t handle.

The ruling faction’s attack was a nightmare. She could do nothing but watch as her comrades were slaughtered before her eyes. All she could do was flee desperately to honor her comrades’ last wishes.

But in the end, she was caught by a Cult ranker.

Just when she thought all was lost, someone who introduced herself as Cynthia made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.

Serve their plan, and they would give her what she wanted.

“We’re mobilizing all available resources to ensure the plan succeeds. If you drop out, we’ll have to reconsider retrieving your twin sister.”

When the other party brought up the terms of their contract, Isabelle rose from her chair. She prostrated herself before the floating Monolith.

“…I’ll make sure this never happens again.”

When she adopted this submissive posture, a small sigh was heard from beyond the Monolith.

“Fine. The ‘tool’ won’t deviate from the plan’s route anyway. No need to do anything unnecessary. Just report the status to me.”

“Understood.”

“Ah, and one last thing. Why are your toes injured?”

Isabelle hesitated at the question. Her fingertips trembled almost imperceptibly.

Finally, she spoke.

“I was preparing food at the hotel and got pricked by a cactus spine.”

“Cactus? Should I send you medicine?”

“I’ve already removed the necrotic tissue, so it’s fine. This body will heal quickly.”

“Tsk, you should be more careful.”

She lied with composure.

Wild cacti growing on Beryan02 contain severe paralytic poison. Despite this, they’re used as ingredients for premium liquor, so accidents like the one she described happen frequently. The other party didn’t seem particularly suspicious.

“That’s all for today then.”

“Thank you.”

“Ah, and what I said earlier—I was being harsh because things seem shaky. Don’t worry too much.”

“It’s fine.”

“Good. Just remember that we are the only true humans in this world. The plan is for all of us. Understand?”

“Yes.”

With those words, the Monolith’s light went out. She got up and put it away.

“Grr.”

Because of the surveillance devices in her quarters, she couldn’t even express her anger freely. All she could do was carefully grind her teeth as she was doing now.

‘Just endure a little longer.’

If her secret plan worked out, she would have one less thing to worry about. That would give her much more freedom to maneuver than she had now.

‘I didn’t expect Seo-ah unnie and the AMorph guy to come.’

She thought they might come someday if they were alive, since she still had the communicator she received from Choi Seo-ah.

But she didn’t expect them to arrive with such perfect timing. And the AMorph guy who was practically her enemy in the game came along too.

‘That orbital bombardment recently. It must be related to him.’

She had seen the modified Lightning Gods bombarding another city. It was not common for orbital weapons to bombard the most prosperous planet in the Empire. The Cult must have made their move to kill the AMorph.

‘They think the AMorph is dead.’

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be walking around the Water Fortress so casually.

But Isabelle chose silence instead of reporting this fact, because it benefited her.

‘It would be nice if I could ask for help, but that would be difficult.’

Seo-ah unnie might help, but the AMorph would never assist her. She should consider herself lucky he hadn’t demanded her genetic essence and Perk.

‘This time is the same. I have to finish this alone.’

After putting the Monolith back in the drawer, she lay down on the bed.

‘Wait. This time I will definitely…’

Isabelle fell asleep thinking of her twin sister, who had become both her life and her goal.

—

We left earlier than the time we had arranged with Isabelle.

We needed to get food for the Coldblood slaves she was hiding.

‘Whatever happens, we need to restore their health.’

Coldblood can survive without food and water for extended periods. However, this merely means survival. If they get injured or sick while starving, they can easily lose their lives.

Whether we go with my plan to hijack a ship or choose a completely different strategy doesn’t matter. If they die suddenly, it will disrupt our plans.

“This, this, and that. Let’s buy these and move to the next store.”

Befitting the wealthy Water Fortress, even the areas where slaves frequented had high-quality food. I gathered a variety of foods, from local planetary products like edible cacti and meat from desert creatures to imported fruits and vegetables from other planets.

‘Brings back memories.’

Before my accident, my father always took me along when he went shopping.

He enjoyed cooking, so before entering the grocery store, he always asked what I wanted to eat. Learning from watching him, I sometimes clumsily prepared meals for my mother who came home late.

‘Those were happy times.’

And after my accident, everything changed completely. My parents’ relationship deteriorated, and the only outings with my father were to the hospital.

Even after I recovered, my father occasionally cooked for me, but I couldn’t be purely happy like before.

“You know a lot about ingredients?”

As I was thinking about the past, Sky Mother spoke to me.

“Do I?”

“Yes. It’s surprising for an AMorph who doesn’t need to cook food.”

“Both are food, so it’s good to know.”

“…”

“I’m joking.”

I said it was a joke, but her amber eyes full of suspicion remained fixed on me. I casually averted my gaze as she put a piece of meat into the backpack she was carrying.

“Thank you.”

The backpack shook slightly as MPS-05 consumed the food.

By the time we finished gathering food for the slaves, it was time for our appointment. We headed to the alley where we met Isabelle yesterday.

When we arrived, a small Coldblood was waiting for us.

“I clearly told you to come at the same time as yesterday.”

“As you can see.”

I slightly waved my hand holding a basket bulging with food.

“We were late because we were buying food for the slaves.”

“I appreciate the thought, but…”

Isabelle suddenly stopped speaking. Her eyes fixed on Sky Mother’s backpack and widened dramatically.

“Isabelle?”

Instead of answering, she pointed at the backpack with a trembling finger. Bulging eyes, shaking finger—her reaction was like someone who had seen a ghost.

“Th-that, on y-your b-back…”

“This?”

Sky Mother asked me with her eyes if it was okay to show it now.

‘I was planning to show it later anyway, so it should be fine.’

When I nodded, she put the backpack down on the ground. Then a being with a woman’s face and metal skeletal legs similar to a spider’s crawled out.

“Liberation. Comfort.”

“We brought it intentionally because we need to modify our plan. This is a Mutant Screamer’s—”

“Unnie…!”

“Huh?”

As Sky Mother was explaining, Isabelle suddenly rushed forward. She hastily backed away.

But Isabelle wasn’t targeting her or me. She grabbed MPS-05 that had just emerged from the backpack.

“Aah—aaah—”

Isabelle was crying.

Coldblood cannot shed tears, but she was expressing grief and wailing with her entire body. The scales covering her body turned pale white, and strange crying sounds no human could make flowed from her mouth.

‘Why is she acting like this?’

Despite all my experiences, I couldn’t understand the current situation.

“She called MPS-05 ‘unnie’? Could it be…?”

Sky Mother, who was initially perplexed like me, seemed to have realized something from Isabelle’s reaction.

“Do you know why she’s acting like this?”

“…I heard from a clan member before. There were famous twin rankers.”

“Twins?”

Her words reminded me of something.

Jason had mentioned before that he had missed the 22nd ranked but caught her companion.

And PS-111’s species is not human but Coldblood.

To be precise, she’s a “clone” of some Coldblood.

The being Isabelle is embracing is a terminal device of the Mutant Screamer made using that clone as material.

What does this mean?

‘Isabelle has a close relationship with PS-111’s original.’

“Warning. Physical attack from other organism detected.”

While I was lost in thought, MPS-05 continued to struggle.

But Isabelle refused to let go.

The scales on her arms had turned white without her noticing as she held on.

She looked like a child who had found a precious treasure.