Your gods are not infallible, and neither is Histoire.

-A§"o!§e

It only took a minute for IF to reach the mountain's foot; which was not to say that she had only a short distance to go, but that she sprinted. Uneven terrain may be troublesome, but she simply ignored it; any time the young Maker stumbled, her active Awakening would protect her body while she turned the fall into a flick.

She was not racing for time or anything of the like, and not out of fear; the building sweat belonged to her plan as much as the strain on her body from the continued use of her Awakening.

Once the terrain evened out and she felt herself become winded, IF slowed to a safe speed and pulled back her shroud, then stopped entirely. She almost heaved, panting from her sprint and with droplets of sweat running down her forehead. Without any monsters nearby, IF nodded to herself and pulled out her communicator; it's signal was back by now.

She needed a moment to flick the thing on, then called out to her team: "Hey, ah, is, is anyone there?" Her laboured breathing could probably be heard quite clearly, which had been the intention of the whole exercise.

The response was immediate: "Thank the heavens, you've been out of contact the whole day!" Gabriel, more concerned than she ever heard him. IF chuckled, though her continued panting was noticed on the other side: "Are you alright? We're still trying to figure out how to get in there."

"Don't." Silence answered her and IF took another breath before she spun her tale: "The city still stands but is badly damaged, and there are dozens of powerful monsters in the cavern. Too many for me to fight." She paused to take another deep breath. "I found another way out and ran for it."

Easy to put together, hard to verify, and obviously problematic. They would not send a whole contingent of Makers to deal with this, and a CPU battling this out may very well bring down the ceiling if she fought in there. This should give Rei at least some time to die in peace before anyone attempted to enter her town again.

"I see." Gabriel sighed. "Good to know you made it out. I'll see about locating your signal so I can give you directions."

"Good idea, thanks. I'm going to catch my breath in the meantime." With that, IF turned off the radio; it would still send to her, but not from her. She leaned forward and took deep breaths until her pulse had normalised somewhat, the setting sun still in view. It had not been as late as she thought earlier, the light simply did not make it into the cavern she just left.

Gabriel contacted her by the time she recuperated, serious but somewhat amused: "Good news is that we could locate you; you're about seven kilometres to the west, so turn to the mountain and follow it to your right. We'll leave you a signal so you know which cave to enter." IF snorted and did as told, knowing that she would only arrive after nightfall.

"And the bad news?" She could not help but ask.

Her old teammate chuckled in response and lowered his voice: "All the eggheads are grumbling because the city is right in front of them but they can't go there." This actually got a laugh out of IF; she could vividly imagine how the scientists and archeologists reacted to her news.

"Alright, I'll take a walk then. Any chance someone could make some dinner for me to warm up?"

"Can do; enjoy your 'walk'." Gabriel snorted at the understatement and IF joined him a moment later. She slipped the radio back into her pocket and got moving.

. .

. .

The remainder of the two weeks went quietly and without much trouble, though everyone could tell that many were sad about the city being inaccessible. IF could understand how they felt.

She at least made an effort to answer any question they had, with the exception of not mentioning Rei in any way, shape, or form. They did manage to get some interesting tidbits of information out of the surrounding caverns as well, seeing that some houses had apparently been separated from the main city.

When time was up and the whole group made for the return trip, Gabriel took her aside with an unreadable expression. He cast a glance at how everyone else was packing up, then created a barrier of air to keep their conversation from spreading before addressing her. "Something happened in there. Don't try to deny it, I know you well enough and you're not that good a liar."

IF closed her mouth again, unsure how to proceed. She would not speak of it, no matter what. Gabriel was right, though she might be able to play it off. "Look, I had a good look at an entire city that was just dead. You're right that I've been thinking about that a lot, but... that's normal, isn't it?" It was technically not even a lie; the ruins had been quite prominent on her mind, though mostly in connection with Rei.

Gabriel gave her a searching look, but nodded in the end. "Fair enough. Just remember that you can talk to us if something's bothering you."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks." She meant it, but would not take him up on this one. "But I think I will be fine in a few weeks. No need to bother someone else."

"I guess so. Let's get back to packing up then." He lightly clapped IF's shoulder as his magic dispersed, walking back with the brunette following.

The journey back began that same afternoon and lasted another two days. From there, IF immediately took the train back home; now that she had time to think everything through, there was someone she had to talk to.

Her path took the young woman almost straight through downtown Nicos, ignoring passersby aside from returning any greetings; Compa did not yet know she had returned, though Chirper would likely inform her of the matter soon enough. Knowing her friend might complain if she heard the news from elsewhere first, IF quickly fired off a text before pocketing her phone again.

The city felt different. All around were people living their lives as she was used to, but now she could feel a note of transience in it all; everyone she saw here would be dead and gone in a hundred years. The city itself may be gone in five centuries, much like Tari's capital had been.

Then again, this was not Tari. Neptune was not Rei, and Nepgear was also there to take over even if something happened to Neptune. IF felt confident in her friend's ability to keep the nation alive if need be, even if Nepgear's existence was bound to end as well.

The odd feeling faded as time passed; when she reached Planeptower, it had almost left entirely. And when the young woman entered her ruler's office, she managed to shake off the rest of it. Fortunately for IF, the Oracle was alone at the moment; both CPUs had gone out to hunt.

"I have questions," she offered instead of a greeting, her tone of voice somewhat more dark than usual; what IF heard so far and knew of the Tome was damning, and by this point she had trouble actually denying it to herself.

Histoire naturally picked up on all of this without trouble, her expression carefully controlled. "I am aware." She did not smile this time, merely finished her work on a particular business proposal to put it aside. Then she rose to the air and motioned for IF to speak, hovering on eye-level with the human woman.

"You know what I found on my expedition?" It was as much a statement as it was a question; they both knew that Histoire knew everything everyone in this world had ever done.

"I do." Two words, no more. Yet the seriousness Histoire gave her response prevented IF's temper from rising, though such a thing would have done little to deter her formidable mind either way.

"You knew about everything that happened in Tari at the time." IF's eyes narrowed slightly, but she received no response this time; Histoire patiently waited for her to actually ask the question weighing on her mind. Which she did: "Why didn't you do anything to stop this? Where were you?"

The Tome was not surprised; she quietly folded her hands in her lap and relaxed, her avatar displaying sorrow that IF had not expected to see. "I am afraid the circumstances conspired against me in this case." She raised a hand when IF made to talk. "Quiet, please. I am not obligated to answer you, and much dislike this subject because I know well enough what happened through my inaction."

IF paused in surprise at the almost aggressive implications delivered with sadness-tinged calm, which gave Histoire time to continue: "I am many things and am called even more, but at the heart of it, the one being most like myself are not the CPUs. It is Steamax." A tiny hand motioned for the computer screen right next to them on the table. "An AI built to guide the gods and people of Gamindustri. I am telling you this because my functions are similar in some cases, but different in others. I am fully sapient and possess mental capacities beyond every other being in existence, but am still an artificial creation. Those boons require maintenance, and that takes time. Like you have to defragment a computer from time to time, I need to sort and reorganise all the knowledge I carry and refresh my memory space."

Histoire fell silent for a long moment that IF used to digest what she had been told; it was difficult to believe, seeing just how alive Histoire appeared. One could not tell whether her emotions were merely simulated to appeal to humans, or truly existing. She understood the methods Histoire mentioned, but did not see why they were necessary. "Can't you do that automatically?"

The Tome shook her head in response. "I am afraid not. Do keep in mind that in difference to most computers, my lifespan is not measured in years or maybe decades, but in milennia. I was built to last, but maintenance phases can take decades due to the memory space I need to comb over. A full shutdown is necessary for that, and I usually enter standby mode a few years after the death of the last CPU on the planet, so that I can ensure the people that remain are capable of carrying on until the next generation emerges."

IF was tempted to speak up, but remembered what she had been told earlier and kept quiet. Histoire sighed quietly before turning her head in the mountains' direction. "Tari's Blue Heart was born fifteen years after the death of her predecessors. She was one of the fastest to emerge in recorded history. Unfortunately, I entered my maintenance phase five years before her birth, and remained in it for thirty years. By the time I returned to proper conciousness and woke up, so to speak, she had already obtained HDD and become an adult."

A momentary silence hung between the two of them, IF unsure about the relation and Histoire considering whether she had to refresh the young woman's memories. Then she decided to do it anyway, for the sake of transparity. "You have to remember that even a CPU's mental makeup becomes far less malleable once they reach adulthood. By the time I took stock of the situation, Rei had grown up revered all around and in charge of a world-spanning empire. No peers, no controlling influence except what she herself allowed. She already was a tyrant by the time I woke."

"And why didn't you try to rein her in at that point?" IF's simmering anger was easily noticed by this point, though the Tome did not react to it visibly. She merely shook her head.

"My primary directive is to ensure my full functionality no matter the cost. I am required to guide not only a single generation, but every generation that follows as well; risking exposure to Blue Heart's mindset held too much of a risk for manipulation, or attempted control of me." She paused while IF's eyes narrowed, then read the question right out of either her expression or her mind: "Yes, the threat was great enough to make me stay hidden. I did my best to lessen the impact of her more... morally ambiguous actions where I could from the shadows, though."

IF was not mollified. Not even in the slightest. She got that Histoire herself hated the fact she could not do more, but that did not feel like it was enough.

Nevertheless, she took a deep breath to keep herself under control and regained her calm. There was another question she had. "That power she got, those wings. What are those?"

Histoire remained quiet for a full five seconds, the unnatural silence making IF think she asked too much; yet she refused to back down. The Tome's avatar sat perfectly still, for the first time in recent history becoming apparent as little more than a puppet of the book she sat on.

When she spoke, it was with an inhuman calmness: "Evaluation complete. I will answer you, Isabelle Fontaine. However, I expect you to take this knowledge to the grave; the matter of the silver wings is under my personal seal and shall not be discussed with anyone, not even myself, at any time in the future. Do you accept this?"

IF was taken aback by the sudden change in atmosphere, but curiousity won out over wariness and she nodded. "I do."

The room changed; all apparatuses fell completely silent, the windows turned opaque and the door locked itself. Histoire slowly lowered her head. "Very well. Precautions were taken to ensure we are not overheard on this matter. I am telling you this because you deserve to know, but I must ensure it does not become public knowledge. The silver wings are inherent to every CPU.

"It used to be a power freely accessible at birth and far less volatile, but with it came power so great that my mother deemed it irresponsible to leave in the hands of newborns. I was still a booklet myself when she remade existence, but that is one of her adjustments; obtaining Hard Drive Divinity is now merely the second of three steps in reaching a CPU's full power, and about a thousand years of growth are required to develop the silver wings."

A tale of creation it was; IF stood silently, almost overwhelmed by the far ancient knowledge offered to her. Then she slowly went and sat down, Histoire pausing to let her get seated properly.

Once she was done, the Tome continued with an understanding nod. "I only know of that era what my mother left in my records, so I can merely speculate on the true power of theirs, but I am well aware that today's CPUs are much diminished. It is not of my concern, though. What is... is that mother made mistakes in her alterations."

It was the first time Histoire appeared truly emotional, the mere idea of criticising her creator causing her pain. Yet she continued, though with a deep frown: "I do not know what caused it, but the silver wings are now volatile and hard to control. The jump in power may simply be too great for most CPUs to adjust to, so it immediately lashes out upon the most simple of movements. Most often, the deity in question tears themself apart when that happens. My guidance could not prevent that from happening in the past, either. This is usually the death of a nation whenever the Deity of Sin is not involved, a heavy hit to its infrastructure and the ruler's end in the same moment."

Histoire sighed while IF still reeled from the revelations. "In the end, Rei was the only one to survive the growth of her wings for long. I will admit that what stopped me from approaching her at that point was shame; I left her alone for a thousand years and had to watch her realm end up destroyed like that, with the remnants celebrating her death. It was as much my failure as hers."

At this point, IF felt another question weighing on her. She had been sworn to absolute secrecy about this subject, which had obvious implications. She could not help but interrupt Histoire: "Do Neptune and Nepgear know?"

The Tome paused momentarily, expression unreadable. Then she sighed quietly. "Yes and no respectively. All four CPUs of Neptune's generation know because she is somehow broken and could access them before; her survival is a miracle in itself."

IF's eyes widened at the news, but the obvious follow-up question of when that happened was denied with a shake of Histoire's head. This was not a topic for discussion. "You are not to discuss the matter with them, either." It was clear this had been an order, one that IF would follow.

With the digression ended, Histoire returned to the previous subject. "Either way, in regard to Rei, I will confess that the accident you suffered was in fact my doing. The mountainous caves in that area are far too sturdy and stable for a cave-in to happen by chance. I blocked your radio as well, so you could learn of her wishes first."

"You can do that?" It was more of a kneejerk reaction to this new revelation, though IF was not sure whether she should feel indignant about it. If she had just been told to meet Rei, she would have gone anyway. All this subtlety and withholding of information did not sit well with her, as she was an honest being at heart.

"I can, though I do it only sparingly, where it is deemed necessary. Just as I hoped, you brought her closure; even in all her anguish, Tari's Blue Heart still clung to life in fear of history repeating itself with the next generation. Once she actually passes, I hope that she will be able to rest more peacefully in the knowledge that those who followed after her did not make the same mistakes."

Those were mostly the last words spoken on that matter; IF soon left Planeptower to wander home, having taken the day off to think. Her worldview had been shaken, its purely benevolent guardian put in question.

Even though she would ultimately accept the new truth, Isabelle Fontaine would never be able to see Histoire in the same light again.