The hydroponic farm was filled with warmth, not just from the soft, bioluminescent glow of controlled environnt and the Vitae Arboris plants, but from the quiet giggles of two girls stuffing their faces like starved chipmunks.
Seated on the soft grass-like growth beneath the towering, spiraling flora, Charis and Carlotta munched away at the leftover sweets from the banquet, their cheeks puffed out with every bite. Between them, a neatly arranged platter of delicate pastries, crystallized fruits, and golden wafers slowly but surely dwindled with each passing second.
Charis, her silver hair faintly glowing under the soft cyan light, chewed thoughtfully before looking up at her companion.
Carlotta was humming happily, her small hands busy breaking apart a honeyed confection into bite-sized pieces before devouring them one by one. Despite her composed, almost doll-like appearance, there was sothing undeniably childish about the way she ate, utterly delighted by the experience of taste.
Then, Carlotta suddenly perked up as if sothing had dawned on her.
"Charis," she began, licking a bit of honey from her fingertips, "I noticed sothing strange last night."
Charis tilted her head slightly, mid-bite.
"Hmm?"
Carlotta swallowed and continued. "There was a great amount of entropy… I could feel it stretching across the land outside the Landship. For half the night, actually! It was like a river of void flowing and shifting." She tilted her head, eyes brimming with curiosity. "Was that you and… Father?"
Charis blinked before casually nodding, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Yes. We vanquished the chaos of the night. Father and I fought off the calamity that threatened the Landship and crushed everything that opposed us."
The mont she finished speaking, a round of applause erupted—not just from Carlotta, but from the Vitae Arboris themselves. The enormous Theotech-infused plants shimred with energy, their vine-like branches clapping together in eerie unison, creating a faint, soft rustling applause throughout the farm.
Carlotta's eyes sparkled with amazent.
"That's incredible!" she exclaid, leaning forward. "I want to help too! Is there anything I can do to contribute?"
Charis, without hesitation, answered matter-of-factly:
"You've already contributed a lot."
Carlotta blinked, surprised. "I have?"
Charis gestured towards the surrounding Vitae Arboris, whose branches swayed in quiet acknowledgnt. "By speaking with the Vitae Arboris and helping them grow, you've ensured that we'll have even more food in the future. These plants are more than just crops. They're Cognitive Engines too. Their ability to yield fruit depends not just on nutrients, but on understanding and guidance."
Carlotta's expression brightened at that.
"So, I've already helped just managing them?"
"Yes."
A soft, proud smile stretched across Carlotta's lips.
"Then I'll keep doing my best!"
She then shifted slightly, brushing off stray crumbs from her lap before glancing at Charis with another curious expression.
"I also heard that we're heading to… Quruize Citadel?"
Charis nodded. "That's right."
Carlotta tilted her head, her golden curls bouncing slightly. "What exactly is a citadel?"
Charis, who had been nibbling on a candied fruit, paused mid-bite. She pursed her lips in thought, the sticky sweetness still lingering on her tongue.
"I… don't really know what a citadel looks like in this day and age of Carcosa," she admitted, tapping a finger lightly against her chin. "But it's supposed to be a stronghold of people—a massive city-like bastion where survivors gather."
Carlotta's golden eyes widened slightly. "A place where a lot of people live together?"
Charis nodded. "That's right. In a world like Carcosa, places like that aren't just cities. They're fortresses—safe havens built to withstand the Ordeals of the night."
Carlotta humd thoughtfully, rolling a stray piece of crystallized fruit between her fingers. "Then that must an… the people living there are strong, right?"
"Probably," Charis said, then hesitated. Her silver eyes darkened slightly. "But…"
Carlotta picked up on the shift in tone imdiately. "But?"
Charis exhaled slowly, looking down at her half-eaten snack as if searching for the right words.
"I feel like important events will happen there," she murmured. "Both good and bad."
Carlotta blinked at her, sensing the weight behind those words. The soft glow of the Vitae Arboris plants surrounded them, their delicate bioluminescence swaying gently in response to the quiet shift in atmosphere.
A small frown ford on Carlotta's lips. "Does it feel… dangerous?"
"Not exactly," Charis said, but even she wasn't entirely sure. "It's like… sothing is pulling us toward it. Not just fate, but sothing deeper. Like threads of unseen choices are already weaving together, waiting for us to step into them."
Carlotta stared at her for a long mont, the weight of her words settling in.
Then, as if deciding that heavy thoughts had no place in their snack-filled mont, Carlotta suddenly grinned.
"Then I'll find a way to go with you!"
Charis blinked in surprise. "Huh?"
Before she could even ask what Carlotta ant, the golden-haired girl raised her hand, and with a quiet pulse of energy, sothing began to take shape.
Before their eyes, a tiny, doll-like version of Carlotta ford in her palm.
The small Carlotta-doll, made of twisting, organic plant-like matter, blinked its gemstone-like eyes and waved energetically.
Charis stared, wide-eyed.
"…What is that?!"
Carlotta's face lit up with pride, her chest puffing slightly.
"My way of joining you all on the journey!" she declared. "This is a puppeteered vessel of myself! The Vitae Arboris helped find a way to do this!"
The little Carlotta-doll nodded enthusiastically, as if agreeing with her statent.
Charis gasped in delight, imdiately snatching the tiny doll up in her hands. She lifted it toward the glowing canopy of the hydroponic farm, her silver eyes practically sparkling as she examined it from every angle.
"This… this is amazing!" she exclaid. "It's like entropy but more organic and stable!"
Carlotta nodded excitedly, clearly pleased by Charis' reaction.
"It took a lot of trial and error," she admitted, "but the Vitae Arboris guided through the process. I wanted to make sothing strong enough to interact with the real world but still tied to . That way, even if I can't leave the Landship, I can still be with you all!"
Charis squeezed the tiny Carlotta-doll against her chest, rocking it slightly.
"It's perfect!" she cheered. "You made an adorable version of yourself! Look at its tiny little hands!"
The Carlotta-doll waved again, its leafy limbs moving in perfect sync with Carlotta's energy.
Then—Charis' silver eyes suddenly sharpened.
Her playful deanor shifted, her hands lowering as she stared directly at Carlotta.
"Listen, Carlotta," she whispered conspiratorially, leaning in close.
Carlotta blinked at her, tilting her head. "What?"
Charis glanced around instinctively, as if ensuring no prying eyes or listening ears were near. Then, she spoke with absolute seriousness:
"Never tell Aunt Kuzunoha about this."
Carlotta's brows knitted together. "Why?"
Charis' expression darkened as if she was revealing a forbidden truth.
"Because…" she paused for dramatic effect, her silver eyes gleaming. "She will experint on it."
A brief silence.
Then—Carlotta paled.
"…Oh."
A slow, horrified realization dawned upon her face.
Charis nodded gravely.
"She'll poke it. She'll scan it. She'll probably dissect it just to see what makes it work. Then she'll try to improve it, and before you know it, your adorable doll will turn into so arcane, multi-dinsional, hyper-engineered construct that she uses for 'research purposes.'"
Carlotta clutched her tiny doll closer to her chest protectively.
"…I don't want that," she whispered.
Charis nodded sagely. "No one does."
Carlotta quickly shook her head, as if solidifying her resolve.
"Then I won't tell Aunt Kuzunoha!" she whispered dramatically.
Charis grinned.
"Good choice."
And with that settled, the two girls burst into giggles, deciding to test the adorable, living Carlotta-doll by playing around with it in the hydroponic farm—dashing between the Vitae Arboris trees, letting the doll hop from vine to vine.
A simple joy. A fleeting mont of peace amidst the chaos of Carcosa.
anwhile. Elsewhere within the Landship, beneath the countless reinforced layers of Theotech-infused tal, a quiet summons had been made.
Viviane, ever the composed and mysterious figure, had requested an audience with Ishmael.
She stood within the dim glow of her personal chambers, surrounded by cascading streams of holographic data—projections of tangled, chaotic script that shimred with a quiet, incomprehensible resonance. The air was heavy, laced with the faint scent of herbs and water—a stark contrast to the chanical sterility of the Landship's other sections.
As the doors hissed open, Ishmael stepped inside.
Her sharp eyes, filled with calculated wariness, imdiately took in her surroundings, her chanical prosthetic hand resting lightly at her side.
"You called for ," Ishmael stated, voice even.
Viviane did not look up imdiately. Instead, she let the silence stretch—her gaze scanning the lines of floating script, as if reading sothing that was just slightly beyond mortal comprehension.
Then—she finally spoke.
Her voice, smooth and deliberate, carried a weight that imdiately put Ishmael on guard.
"Ishmael," Viviane said, her glowing orange eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "There's sothing you need to see."
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