"I can contact you tomorrow around noon to let you know how it's going. Would that be okay?" Joachim told Lloyd and the rest of the SSS inside the Neurology/Pharmacology research lab.

"Perfect. Thanks for your assistance in all this, Doctor Guenter."

They were there because they consulted about the blue pills they found to the nearest expert they know, Joachim. However, Joachim himself had never encountered the drug himself. So Lloyd gave him the samples to be analyzed, and hopefully, they would get the result tomorrow.

"We'll be relying on your expertise, then," Elie nodded and gave her thanks. "That reminds me. Do you think there are any possible side effects or toxicity?"

That was right. Lloyd cursed himself for forgetting that one crucial point.

"Hmm... Without further analysis, I can't say for sure, but if anything happens to that miner, call me as soon as possible. I'd like to take appropriate measures in the case you find any others who have consumed these pills," Joachim answered, fingers rubbing his chin.

"We can do that."

"Who knows how many people are in the market for this stuff? We're constantly hearin' rumors about it in the city, y'know," Randy remarked.

"Of course, it is impossible for us to question Revache about this, but if their members really are taking it, I am concerned about the side effects."

Tio was correct. There were a lot of people who had been exposed to the drugs without fully knowing their side effects. If further research said that the side effects were dangerous, pulling out the drugs from the streets would be hard.

"Doctor?" Lloyd called out to Joachim.

"Are you worried about the side effects, too?" Elie continued.

"Oh, no. That's not it. With all this talk of rumors, I was reminded of one I've heard recently..." Joachim shook his head.

"What kind of rumor?"

"Haha, okay, okay. Remember, none of this was ever officially confirmed or explained, but several years back, there was an odd rumor that floated around the pharmaceutical industry. It talked about a certain religious cult that had created a new kind of drug," Joachim said seriously.

"A cult? Did you mean the D∴G Cult?"

"Indeed. So you know about them. Apparently, they rejected the very existence of Aidios and worshiped devils instead. At least, that's what I heard."

"Worshipping devils, huh? I didn't know that. I only know of them because of the police report," Lloyd revealed.

"I've heard that, by borrowing the power of devils, it can unlock the hidden potential within humans, even bringing the user good luck. Sounds familiar?"

Lloyd nodded at Joachim's explanation. "The D∴G Cult was our suspect for the creation and distribution of the drugs. But Chief Sergei mentioned that they've been wiped out, and since there was no evidence, we couldn't really put everything behind that suspicion. So we turned to an expert like you, Dr. Guenter."

"Excuse me, Doctor Guenter... If you've heard of these drugs before, do you know their name?" Tio asked. That was a good question. She almost didn't join them in the investigation, but she forced herself to even though it brought back bad memories for her. Maybe Lloyd needed to show his appreciation for her efforts.

"Yeah, it was tiring to always mention 'blue pills, blue pills' whenever we refer to the drugs," Randy chimed in.

"Let's see, what was it again...? Oh, right. I remember now. They called it true wisdom-Gnosis. Or so the rumor goes."

"Gnosis..."

"That's quite the suggestive name, isn't it?" Elie, the most knowledgeable of them, offered her opinion.

Hmm... Gnosis meant knowledge if he remembered. Elie was indeed correct about the name being suggestive.

"Well, because of its absurdity, the story became somewhat of an urban myth. But you've heard the rumors of the secret society that was connected to that big incident in Liberl last year, right? Maybe the two could be connected somehow," the doctor gave his opinion.

The SSS looked at each other. Joachim was most likely referring to Ouroboros, the organization that Joshua and Estelle faced two years ago. Could there be a connection? Joshua, a former Enforcer of Ouroboros himself, said they held several D∴G Cult lodges raids. So Lloyd really doubted the connection between Ouroboros and D∴G Cult.

"Anyway, in order to uncover the truth behind these pills, I plan to contact some colleagues of mine to help with the analysis. While I do that, I'll also try looking into that rumor to see if it still has any merit," Joachim finished with a smile.

"We'd appreciate that," Lloyd gave a smile.

After that, they left the hospital. Unfortunately, Tio was feeling unwell and fainted before they even reached the bus. Randy had to run to the hospital to get help for Tio.

The good thing was Cecile said that it was only anemia from Tio. The bad thing was that there was no more bed for Tio in the hospital, so they had to bring her home later.

"Tio, you're awake?" Lloyd said when he saw her open her eyes.

"Yes. Sorry for worrying you guys."

Lloyd shook his head. "The fault lies on me for not forcing you to stay home. I should've known better that you're still troubled by your childhood trauma, but I know you don't want to be treated like a child, so I gave in to your demands."

"Lloyd..."

"I'm sorry in advance, everyone. From now on, I'll try to be a better leader, even if it means going against everyone's wishes, including mine," Lloyd declared with a fire in his eyes.

"That's fine by me," Randy said with a grin.

"Yes. We all believe in you, Lloyd," Elie declared with a smile.

Tio smiled. "Sorry for being selfish, Lloyd."

Tio then decided to tell the rest of her story. She was kidnapped when she was five by the D∴G Cult, though Tio didn't know anything back then. The objective of the cult was still unknown, but one thing was clear. They were attempting to obtain something by rejecting the Goddess and worshipping Devils.

"I think they saw me and the other children as offerings. Nothing more, nothing less. Simply a means to obtain whatever they wanted," Tio remarked, which got various expressions from the others.

Tio then continued telling her story. The cult had several lodges around Zemuria, each experimenting with its own ritual. The one Tio got taken to was primarily involved in human experimentation, so Lloyd's previous guess was correct. For three years, Tio was subjected to various kinds of drugs to enhance her senses. The cult even tried enhancing their sensitivity to supernatural phenomena by applying psychological stress and hypnosis.

Everyone was left silent at Tio's admission.

Tio took a breath before she continued.

"Despite all that... I might have been the luckiest person at my lodge. None of the children could withstand the ceremonies except for me. One by one, they began to disappear... And it was only when I was the last child left that I gained this power. My sensory receptivity became strong enough to hear the final cries of the others on the opposite side of that massive rock wall," the blue-haired girl admitted to her closest friends casually.

"Tio..." Elie called her name softly.

"Then, something happened. Lloyd's brother, Guy, was able to break into the lodge."

So this was the moment that Sergei mentioned, when the coalition began their attack on the D∴G Cult.

"The team accompanying Guy was able to neutralize the cult followers and dismantle the lodge's operation. The resistance was strong, but the moment the lodge fell, most of the cultists committed suicide. While stepping over so many of their corpses, Guy finally reached what was known as the ceremonial chamber, and that was when he found the only child left alive in that nightmare."

Lloyd's mind conjured the situation described by Tio vividly. His brother's form, back straight, busted a door and found countless corpses covering every inch of the ground. There was nothing else to do but step on them, even though he clearly didn't want to.

"By the time Guy took me into his custody, I was debilitated beyond recognition. Because of that, I was hospitalized for several months in order to recover. What happened after that, I've already told Lloyd about," Tio finished.

Oh, that time in the Geofront during the Festival. Tio revealed that he knew Guy and Guy was the one who gave her Mishy keychain. If he remembered correctly, what happened after the hospitalization was that Tio went back to her home in Remiferia, but felt uncomfortable by her normal life. She booked a ticket to Crossbell to see Guy again, but he had passed away. Tio was then found by an Epstein Foundation researcher and went to Leman before she was offered to join the SSS three months ago.

"It's almost ironic," Tio started again, eyes closed. "Despite being so grateful to Guy for saving me from that place, when I heard that he passed away three years ago, I wasn't even that sad. It's as if, in exchange for this power, I had my emotions stripped away. At least, that's what I thought."

"Tio..." This time, it was Lloyd whose heart was tugged by Tio's admission.

"I wanted to ask him something. I wanted to ask Guy, a strong, impossibly optimistic person how exactly should a broken person like me live? But, in the end, I wasn't able to ask him, and I was recruited by the Epstein Foundation. After that, I joined the Special Support Section and began to live with all of you..."

Tio then sighed.

"I... I still don't know the answer. How do I go about living? Just... why? Why am I alive?"

"Tio!"

Ellie launched herself at the younger girl and put her into an embrace.

"Ah..."

"You don't have to worry about that! It's okay to not know the answers! We're all the same!" Elie comforted the emotionally confused girl.

"What...?"

This was his time to say something.

"Why do we live? How should we live? There aren't many people who know the answers to those questions, Tio. Me, Elie, Randy... We're all lost, the same as you."

Randy followed with a wistful smile. "I had definitely lost my way, that's for sure. Still, Tio Tot. You're bein' way too serious 'bout all this. What's the point in rushin' to answer questions like those?"

"B-But..."

"If you still can't help but wonder what the answers are...keep searching for them. Just remember, there's no need to rush, and you don't have to do it alone."

Lloyd then gave Tio a smile.

"Let's find these answers together."

"..." Tio avoided looking at Lloyd.

"I'll always be here for you, too. So will Randy, the chief, KeA, and even Zeit... We're all here for you. We'll help you find the answers to these questions," Elie rubbed Tio's back gently, just like how an older sibling would comfort the younger.

"Ngh. Yes, I think Lloyd has definitely rubbed off on you, Elie, and Randy, too. Hearing you all say this stuff... It's too embarrassing... Why would you...?" Tio exhaled.

"It's fate, ain't it?" Randy grinned, clapping his hands. "When we joined the SSS, we all fell prey to this guy's cheesiness."

"Randy's right," Elie said with a giggle. " We're a team. We share what we feel, be it embarrassing or not."

"I don't get why I'm the one being blamed for that, but I definitely agree with Elie's last point," Lloyd felt like he had to interject now. "We share everything. Embarrassment, our past pains and, of course, our happiness and daily jokes, too," Lloyd smiled at the younger girl. "That's what it means to be a team, right?

"Please stop... It's too embarrassing... and it's burning up in here. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take..." Tio's face reddened, before she sighed in relief. "But... for some reason, I don't think this is such a bad feeling."

After their heartfelt talk, the SSS took the bus back to Crossbell City.

Later that night, Lloyd was compiling the information from the day in his room when he noticed something glaring.

"This is..."

It was very suspicious. But if he went to Juna... Lloyd sighed. He didn't want her to charge blindly, but he knew she was that kind of person. It was better to keep this from her. Because if his conclusion was correct...

...then the danger might come from an unexpected place.

Putting his pen down, Lloyd stopped writing and went to his bed. He'd properly discuss things with the others tomorrow.

A/N: As I said before, this is mostly rehash from the canon scene, but I couldn't just skip Tio's backstory! It's amazing! I hope the people who haven't played Zero and took chances to read my omake can see why Tio is my favorite girl in Zero (before Rixia stole that place in Azure). But of course, it's not just canon rehash because we have an altered dialogue with Joachim, and the addition of Lloyd's findings. What did Lloyd realize, and how did he get there? This is the one I mentioned in the previous chapter, the 'thing I missed the first time I played that I only realized when I'm writing this chapter.' If you compare canon dialogue with this chapter's dialogue, you'll see the differences. Seriously, this is an unplanned surprise that I happily incorporate to the fic. That's how elaborate the underlying plot behind Zero is. The people in the main thread might already know but I still won't spoil the answer here. Wait for tomorrow!