STAGE - VI.A is the twelfth stage of Sine Mora.
Introduction[]
Original[]
| One man's virtue is another man's sin. Enkies are monogamists, which is widely known as a primary cause of jealousy and sexual frustration. In the Empire, citizens of over 60 circles end their lives through ritual suicide. They do this with dignity in order to make space for the new generations, bursting with strength. This is an act for which they are greatly admired. Other nations live together with their foul-smelling elderly, who waddle about in need of constant care; who cling to their families like leeches until their natural end. The Empire seeks to free these people from themselves, abolish their pagan customs, and bring freedom of spirit and the power of democracy to these savage lands. But just as I say, feast for one means famine for another. People of the Empire uphold their freedom through a complex rule system. They embrace freedom as a concept, and in name, but true individual freedom would be considered a slap in the face of community. If I can keep two irons in one fire, I may be able to succeed. While Myryan and the Garai are trying to save my son in the past, I've been preparing for my revenge, in the future. The last living member of the Cobalt King crew. Zach Gully, the co-pilot... You were so keen to carry out your orders that you saw fit to put a bullet in my son's head... today you'll get what you deserve. |
Alternative[]
| Lynthe Ytoo was caught not long thereafter. He was held responsible for his crimes through a long, exhaustive public trial. His testimonies were voraciously consumed by the citizenry. This wasn't the first time someone has been tried for war crimes, or actions against peace, and against the planet. Still, even I was surprised by Lynthe's naivety. He refused to defend himself, choosing rather to make accusations. He spoke with rage on behalf of the Enkies that were dragged away and extinguished. The mass graves, the bombs, and the hand grenades thrown into citizens' dwellings. He cried out against the raiders - those raiders who were now his judges. It was a foolish thing to do. Those who commit the most horrific acts aren't the bloodhounds themselves. No, it's the masters that cut the chains of those hounds. Unspeakable, real terror is not born under the tilt of befouled military tents. It's born in the comfortable armchairs of those who give the orders, far away from the blood, agony, intestines, and pain. It has always been so, throughout the ages. "Judgment wins for civilization above savagery," said the headlines. He spent the rest of his life in Bokumono and has never since seen the sun. |
Synopsis[]
While Myryan Magusa and GARAI 74/22876 carry out Ronotra Koss' plan to prevent Argus Pytel's death at Mirage Mountain in the past, Koss himself goes after the last surviving member of the Cobalt King's crew - Zach Gully, the co-pilot and the individual reportedly responsible for killing Pytel. After a long pursuit across Tira, Koss corners Gully in the skies above the Imperial capital. Gully takes refuge in a large floating structure called Domus, which he uses in an attempt to destroy Koss. Koss manages to destroy Domus' power sources and seemingly kills Gully; however, Gully swoops down from above and fires a barrage of seeker missiles at his pursuer.
Unbeknownst to Koss, Gully is actually Argus Pytel himself - following the execution of the Cobalt King's original pilot above Mirage Mountain, the Layil Empire's Imperial Intelligence division had Pytel's name swapped with the pilot's in order to convince its enemies that Pytel, one of its top agents, was dead. Neither Imperial Intelligence nor Pytel anticipated Koss would embark on a quest for revenge, and Pytel was completely unaware of who was hunting down the Cobalt King crew. Pytel's plan was to pose as the long-dead Gully and thus lead Koss into a trap - but he realises the true identity of the murderer too late, and thus accidentally kills his father.
Meanwhile, Lynthe Ytoo is arrested soon after his diversionary attack on Tira (which is revealed in the epilogue to STAGE - VII to have occurred on the same day as Koss' death). At his trial he refuses to defend himself and angrily protests the Layil Empire's war crimes. He is found guilty and incarcerated in Bokumono, where he remains for the rest of his life.