Grilled squirrel. Not the best food available, but it would do. We sat around campfire in snowy forest north of Temple Area, forming a circle and having our breakfast. I had a piece of Kongou tail while Sakuya and Alisa had grilled squirrel. They didn't like it, it obvious from their frown, their hesitation before they dug in. Sadly, there was no choice, forest in Temple Area was so cold that it drove away most common critter.

"I'm finished, thanks for the food." Alisa discarded the rest of her squirrel and took a metal case from her pocket. "Can you help me with this Sakuya?"

"Sure." Sakuya took a syringe from her metal case. "Give me your Armlet."

"Oh? It's a portable Bias Injection, isn't it?" I asked.

Sakuya pulled Alisa's hand and placed it on her lap. Carefully, she uncapped the syringe cover and inserted it to small gap in Alisa's Armlet. Clear liquid that filled the syringe drained, dripping into her Armlet.

"Huh? That's it?" That was... simple, to say the least. I'd read it somewhere, Portable Bias Injection used different kind of Bias Factor. Normally, when one had reached the time for injection, they went to infirmary and took a short test. A specific Bias Factor fabricated based on test result. That way the customized Bias Factor would last longer, up to a month if the said God Eater rarely deployed. In contrast with normal Bias Injection, Portable Bias like this created from generalized Bias Factor. Meaning that everyone could take it without test, but it less potent, up to few days at most.

"Hm... how many syringes you brought?" I asked at them.

"Two cases, five syringes each." Sakuya answered.

"Ten syringes for each of us, can last up to a month, I think." Alisa said.

"Wait... You brought whole month worth of Portable Bias yet you took only a day worth of food? Are you serious..." I stared incredulously at them.

"Field ration are heavy and big, even if we did try to take it we could only carry three days worth at most." Sakuya explained. "We was planning to forage our food in this forest."

"And it didn't turn out well." I sighed. Of course it didn't work, they were clumsy and loud, driving most animal away. Even if they got a clear shot they would obliterate the animal's body with their massive God Arc. "So, what's the plan? We can't return to Aegis island, not with that level of security, and I've broke our boat."

"You rammed that boat to a cliff!" Alisa exclaimed.

"That was my second time driving a boat, I didn't know a brake could be that loose." I slapped my forehead. Two days ago I crashed the boat to cliff below Forgotten Carrier after I returned from short recon. I pressed the brake when I reached Forgotten Carrier, but some physic called 'momentum' decided I hadn't done enough and introduce the boat to a rocky cliff. "Anyway, we must regroup with our team, let's return to the Den."

They gave me a strange expression that could roughly translated to 'Have you lost your mind?'

"What?"

"We are fugitives!" Alisa yelled. "They will capture and have us court-martialed!"

"Not if there's nobody around. We'll return on the day the Ark Project launched. I know it doesn't sound appealing, but what other choice we have? Make sure you got everything you need, we'll move out tomorrow. And remember, we only have one shot at this." I warned them.

"I got it."

Sun suspended above our heads, it went along with us in our march to Far East Branch. Based on map I usually read, there was fifteen kilometers from the Den to this place so we began our march at noon and hopefully we would arrive in the dusk.

For once our journey went unhindered. Dusk was breaking on our head just as we arrived at Far East Branch Anti-Aragami wall.

"Odd, I didn't see any guards or gatekeepers." I spoke to Alisa and Sakuya. We approached empty post outside of southern gate.

"Isn't that a good news? We can enter undetected now." Alisa said.

"Perhaps." I began tinkering with its cable, skipping card scanner and rewiring it directly to console. "But something is nagging at me. Feels like I missed a thing or two." I pressed a button on console. Part of the wall beside post folded, forming an opening large enough for us.

It was empty. The normally bursting with activity streets now deserted like abandoned village. We strolled past empty houses and market stalls. My eyes glanced at goods scattered on market stalls. They left in hurry, didn't even have time to close their stalls.

"The Ark Project has begun." Sakuya whispered.

"No... They got Shio." That damn Director... This is what he meant with 'the key well in hand'.

"Let's hurry, we might still have a chance." Said Alisa.

The Den was empty, too. Only Licca and Hibari left on Den lobby. We greeted them and took an elevator below, to Laboratory section.

"What should we do? Most of the Den staff had already left." Alisa asked.

"We do what we planned to do, regrouping with the rest of our team."

"Damn! The old man's not here either. Where the hell did he go?!" Soma's voice pierced through metal door.

The elevator door opened, revealing Rina and Soma on laboratory section hall.

"They took Shio, didn't they?" I spoke to them.

"I thought you guys were on the run. Looks like you ran back into the lion's den." Soma replied.

"Everyone!" Rina shouted.

"We figured you'd be lonely, so we thought, hey, might as well come and lend a hand." Alisa replied.

"We've been hunting for another path into Aegis, but no luck there." Sakuya said.

"Entire perimeters have been locked tight, tighter than a vault. Perhaps because the Ark Project have reached the final stage, or perhaps because they got Shio, either way, we couldn't find a way in." I explained.

Elevator rung behind us. Certain yellow capped boy came out and greeted us. "I think there might be. I'm not so sure, I think there's a tunnel leading there underneath the Den."

"So you didn't side with that sorry excuse for a director." My lips tugged up, forming a tiny smile.

"Kota! I thought you'd turn on us. You and your family were gonna join the Ark. I... Sorry, I should have known better. Thank you." Alisa said.

"Come on, I think it's down here."

Kota led us through series of hall and elevator, passing half built Den section, another elevator again, and again, until we arrived at unknown section deep beneath the Den. This section was empty and dusty. Cobweb hanged on each corner, vending machine filled with outdated drinks, even stale air that permeate air around us. We stopped at a large green elevator leading to nowhere.

"Grrrrgh! Damn! It won't bulge without the key." Kota futilely tried to force his way.

"Move aside, I bet I can make a hole on this door." I cracked my hands and raised my fist.

"You and your brute strength..." Alisa pressed her temple.

"I guess it doesn't surprise me to find you all here." Unknown woman wearing white Fenrir sniper uniform came out from elevator behind us. She had long black hair and pair of green eyes. Full of confidence and brimmed with authority, she strode to us, stopping mere few meters away.

"Tsubaki! We have to find a way-" Sakuya gasped.

Tsubaki? The very same person who made my sister flinched just by hearing her name? I scrutinized her entire body. The way she spoke, her tone, her stride, it screaming authority, as if she was the leader. No wonder Rina flinched hearing her name, even I would be intimidated if I was a God Eater.

"Just, don't. I'm here not to arrest you. Who do you think I am?" Tsubaki scanned each one of us.

Who? An ice queen perhaps? A fitting term considering her cold personality and hardness. She was tough enough to resist my Oracle field without so much as tensed muscles.

"You're that survivor Sakaki was talking about." Tsubaki looked at me with her stern gaze. "I'm afraid my introduction will have to wait. The whole region is in chaos now that the Ark is so close to completion. All those who had a seat... already left."

"Well... What will you do then?" Sakuya asked.

"What I always do, I suppose. I will fix my little brother's crazy messes. And speaking of crazy..." Tsubaki turned her gaze on Kota. "How did you know there was a path down here, Kota?"

"Well... heh. Back when I thought they were building an underground residental section, I tried to sneak a peak. I didn't know it was worth anything until now." Kota explained. "Besides, the doc told us in class that they were using this big ol' factory as staging area for the Aegis. So I figured, Hey, how else are they gonna get it there?"

"Hah! And to think Sakaki was always fuming about you falling asleep in class. I don't know who to believe. I have the release key here." Tsubaki lifted her hand. A key and a card dangled on her fingers. "But be warned, if you're going over to Aegis, you'd better be ready. I only have one more thing to say, I'm proud of each and every one of you... Fight well."

We rode elevator to the depth of earth. Metal gate opened, we were greeted with large dimly lit white tunnels. We must be pretty deep, because I felt heat radiated from concrete walls. Either that or were close to heat source like lava. The tunnel twisted and turned, and by the end of the tunnel we were taking another lift down.

"We are close. Prepare yourself, there's no telling what nasty surprise that director has prepared for us." I warned them.

The tunnel changed, becoming wider and colder. Flat ground to slope, then to staircases, and lastly to elevator. I dragged my fingers on glossy metal walls. Cold. It was cold like other section in Aegis island. We were here.

Elevator door opened. We stood in a dome, the same dome that held Nova's pupa. This time, there was no pupa in our sight, only a massive statue like Aragami stuck upside-down on dome's frame.

"Holy crap! It's huge!" Kota exclaimed. He aimed his God Arc at statue like Aragami. His finger rested on God Arc trigger, ready to unleash bullets at any moment.

No, I didn't care about Director, Nova, or large strange egg like object beside him. My sight fixed on small figure beside director. "Shio!"

A rough hand yanked my left arm just as I about to jumped. I faced with two blue marbles bore into my eyes. "Don't get reckless!"

Was Soma worried about me? Funny, because I worried about Shio more than myself. We ran to the middle of the dome, facing that insane director.

"Shio!" Soma shouted.

"I only crave what is inside of you. Give in, little thing, and surrender those precious tears... Time for fighting is long past..." Director Schicksal whispered.

Oh no, you wouldn't have it. I leaped at Shio with blade in my hand. Glassy surface that held her body cracked when I jammed my blade. I took her body and landed gently beside Soma.

"Shio! Shio!" I shook her shoulder to no avail. Her body was cold and lifeless. Back in my head my mind told me something I fervently denied, she lost her core.

"Shio! Open your eyes!" Soma kneeled beside me.

"You were so fond of this little monster, weren't you, Soma? Perhaps you saw something of yourself there. Foolish choice, my son. Very foolish indeed."

Soma left Shio's side. I heard his teeth grinding against teeth. His strained muscles... His fury. "Enough! You're no father to me. You can think yourself a saviour, but you're a traitor!"

Nova's body turned to life. Its head and whole body bathed in yellow light. Yellow spot appeared around us, pulsating and coming to life.

'No... That Nova got her core!'

'It's obvious! Can we take it back? Do something!'

'I have a plan that might save us or end us. Let me think.'

I held my blade tighter. The odds were stacked against us. He got Nova and Shio's Core while we had nothing. His only disadvantage was his vulnerability. Neither God Eater nor Aragami, only a mere human. Should I take this chance and eliminate him? No, the Devouring Apocalypse would start even without him.

"For years I have nurtured the Nova. Devouring only the trait it needed. For years I scoured the earth, seeking burned out husk of ship that could survive space. For years I built and waited and prepared this journey. Now at long last... Now it all ends!"

Various spacecraft launched behind him, carrying half of the Den to void above. I hated it. I hated their cowardice, yet I also felt relieved knowing that others would live on if we failed to stop Nova.

The strange egg beside director glowed and unfolded, exposing two massive Aragami beneath. A pair of Aragami, one bulky and tough, the other thin and nimble, almost... frail. In one glance I already knew it was a man made Aragami, just like God Arc.

"Impressive, is it not? Arda Nova, fruit of my project." Director Schicksal's platform moved, heading closer to unknown Aragami's back. "Time for talk has passed, now it's time to prove your worth!"

"I tried so hard to keep my human heart, and you discarded it, heart and body. Who is the Aragami among us, Schicksal?" I spoke in disgust.

Arda Nova rose to its feet and splitted up.

"Careful, it's two separate Aragami!" I warned my team.

The woman like Aragami was nimble, the larger male one was tough. I learned it from the hard way. My damaged left arm finished regenerating for I didn't know how many times, leaving patches of gray skin on my arm. That pair of Aragami was vicious, it attack in perfect sync, and relentless in the fight.

"Damn it!" Soma flew after block a jab from larger Aragami.

"Soma!" I called him.

"I'm fine!" He got back on his feet. A trail of blood dripped from his forehead.

"Here! Take this!" Rina Shouted from behind me.

Three green bullet hit Soma's chest. In that moment his bleeding stopped and he resumed his charge.

I followed Soma into the fray, dodging its blast and Oracle bullet around us. I slashed at the smaller Aragami's legs, shattering its armor. It replied my attack with its own version of energy blast from its halo, spraying it to all directions. Alisa and Rina formed a wall with their shield, protecting others, while I created my gauntlets and took the blast head on.

My fist slammed on smaller Aragami's head, destroying it along with my gauntlets. I drove my other fist to its chest. Its broken body fell, twitching once, than stopped.

"One down! Keep your pressure everyone!" I commanded them.

The second Aragami was tougher. We chipped its armor bit by bit and wore it down with our combined efforts. Its chest cracked under our assault and after prolonged attack, it shattered.

I drove my fingers deep into its chest and torn its source of life, the Core.

"It's done." I huffed. In my right hand laid a purple crystal ball, flickering under moonlight. I raised my hand, showing it to my team.

"We've won." Alisa and Sakuya slumped on the ground.

"We won the fight, but we lost the battle." I shook my head.

"What're you-" Alisa question cut off by massive earthquake struck this place.

"It's too late, the Nova has awoken. Look!" I pointed at Nova's head.

"There's got to be a way. I'm sure of it. We can't just surrender here." Sakuya said.

"Hehe... There is none. Nova will purge... it will consume... it will begin again..." Schicksal said. "You must hurry, Soma. You must go... Take your comrades to the Ark... There's one waiting for you behind this dome. Please... my child."

"You planned to die on this place, aren't you?" That idiot, he threw his everything away, including this life, thinking that his life would redeem his choice. Fool.

"There was never a place for me in that ship... There was never a new world waiting for me... I tore the sky and rent the seas. I have no right to another. I can merely see it and weep."

"You brought this upon yourself, fool. Who give you the right to judge mankind?"

The tremor grew more violent. Then it stopped. The yellow glow in its head flickered and changed to light blue.

"Thank you... All of you." Shio's voice emerged from Nova.

'She survived! Shio survived Nova! There's a way after all.'

'What? So this is not the end?'

'Far from it. Let's see how this will turn out.'

Nova floated, it slowly rose to the sky.

"Shio... What're you doing? Answer me!" Soma asked.

"Look beyond the sky, everyone! The moon... It's so big, so round. It's look like a giant rice cake! Look way tastier than this world, don't you think? Much, much tastier."

'What a naive newborn. She wants to take Nova to the moon. Commendable but reckless. She will not survive the stress living alone in exile.'

'Than do something!'

'I will. Just stay and watch, I'll do my part.'

"For the first time, I understand everything. All of what you taught me makes so much sense... it makes a person... To eat together with someone... To live for someone... To die for someone... and to forgive someone..."

'This has gone long enough.' Paralysis swept through me, Rei took control over my body.

'Finally decided to interfere?'

'If I do this right we might spare Shio from that horrible fate.' Rei used my body and began to run. In one massive leap he sent my body to Nova's forehead, near the glowing gem, and hanging using my left hand.

'Brace! This will hurt a lot!' Rei raised my right hand.

'Huh? Wha- AAAAAARGH'

Rei plunged my hand to my chest. Black spot began to invade my sight. My grip on Nova's head tightened as Rei dug deeper. He pulled a black marble from my chest and stabbed it to Nova's forehead. His control over me weakened after he pulled my core. Did he betray me too? It shouldn't be, Aragami didn't betray their kin, or did they? Why he plucked my Core knowing full well it would kill me?

My body crashed to metal floor, surrounded by my teammates. They flipped my body and gasped at large gap on my chest.

"Rena!" They shouted in unison.

"I'm okay..." I coughed and swallowed back my bloody spit.

"You're not!" Rina aimed her God Arc and fired. Green bullets struck my chest and staunched my wound.

'Sorry, there's no ...her way.' Rei's voice started to blur. 'It won't be long ...fore you stopped hear... my voice. Look... above.'

Crystal in Nova's forehead changed again. White color formed and pushed the blue light in the gem. It leaked and flowed into strand that connect Nova to Shio's body.

'I've placed my ...re into No... and restored Shio's Core. All that left... to take ...va to ... moon.'

The Core he plucked from my chest wasn't my Core, it was his! Rei was planned to take Shio's place and drove Nova with him to the moon.

'You said it was reckless, and yet you do it yourself? The hell?!'

'I walked alo... for countless years. Few hund... more is not a ... deal to me. Although, I ...ve favor to ...'

'Say it.' I held Shio's body to my chest. Life returned to her body. She became warmer and more human like, her skin was no longer white and her hair softened.

'Can y... take me ba... one day? I don't mi... waitin... Just don't forg... about me.'

That was the first time he asked something from me. The first and probably the last. 'Of course Rei, I'll bring entire moon down if I have to, just you wait!'

'Thank ... That's all ... ask. I'll leave Shio ... your care. Cut the cord ...ween us, it's ti... for me ... go.'

I severed the last strand that anchored Nova to Shio, with that, he took off. The nova became smaller and smaller, bringing Devouring Apocalypse with it to the moon.

"Rei..." Shio mumbled.

"Shio!" Everyone gathered around her. They hugged her, praised her, crying for her, but her eyes locked on Nova that steadily shrunk.

It exploded on moon's surface, sending waves and waves that moved almost imperceptibly, greenifying the moon.