Stagnant Dawn on Wastelands

You jolt awake at a bus station within a devastated city, the tower you just saw still looming in the distance. People linger around you, sitting or standing as they wait, some even clutching at seemingly invisible objects. They act as if the catastrophe they just experienced never even happened. You try your Terminal to call for help, but the connection is dead. You call out to Abby, but your Tacet Mark remains unresponsive.

With the Tacet Discords cleared, Namipon excitedly checks the progress of your collected Longings. Chisa, folding away her scissor blades, shares a grim suspicion: a powerful, hidden force is commanding the Tacet Discords, driving them to expel any "existence" that does not belong to Honami City. As you consider this, a faint cry for help suddenly echoes nearby.

You uncover a Fractsidus research report shedding light on their actions in Honami City. It all points to the chilling goal of expanding this Sonoro Sphere and ultimately establishing control over it.

Another report you find bears the exact same sequence number as the previous one, but its recorded data is different. This means the Fractsidus has been conducting the same experiment repeatedly, yet labeling every iteration as "No. 20."

Chisa recalls that she and her friend Sumika once made a building here their old base. Believing the old hideout might still hold overlooked clues, you decide to investigate and part ways with Polmes for the time being.

The next day, you go to where Chisa first landed in Honami City two months ago. There, you have an unexpected encounter with the detective capybara, Polmes. It claims to have spotted suspicious activity and asks you to investigate.

The Tethys System recently expanded its frequency feature library and detected a previously unknown, special frequency. In response, the Black Shores dispatched Bloom Bearers to investigate. Valentina informs you that Shorekeeper is now analyzing the abnormal frequency and suggests you meet her for more information.

A mysterious spatial rift appears, leading to an unknown Sonoro Sphere. Researchers from the Black Shores quickly assemble a makeshift observation platform nearby. You want to enter the rift, but Buling can't shake a sense of dread.

You enter a coffeehouse, finally meeting the "mysterious capybara"—Namipon. It proudly declares itself the city's guardian and, with great enthusiasm, introduces the girl as Chisa, "A strong, mysterious… ordinary student."

Back at the cafe, Namipon senses a frequency calling out for you. It's not of this space, but emanating from within you. You realize it must be Abby. Could this mean the restraints around this Sonoro Sphere are beginning to weaken? Determined, Namipon begins sifting through the collected Longings to chart a route toward Neon Tower. While you wait for the results, Chisa invites you to join her for a breather on the cafe's terrace.

Thanks to your efforts, the Left Behind have finally found their way "home." But with the mission ended and Namipon vanishing, a piercing loneliness overwhelms Chisa. You find her sitting alone on a bench in the park outside the cafe.

Inside the Error Cell, Shorekeeper isolates a hidden message embedded in the abnormal frequency from the chaotic data streams—a set of shifting spatial coordinates.

After Buling pinpoints the location, a strange mirage of a city suddenly materializes over the waters near the Black Shores Archipelago.

As minutes pass, the Lament continues to devastate the city. Tacet Discords run rampant, and the city crumbles around you. With no time to spare, you and the mysterious scissor-wielding girl retreat toward a safe zone.

Inside the coffeehouse, you notice an old clock. Chisa explains that it once belonged to "someone she knew" who was obsessed with studying the Sonoro's time patterns. As the conversation unfolds, you learn that this person used to wear a moss-covered watch, the very one on the wrist of the hand that pulled you into this place. But you learn she was last heard heading to Honami City's Neon Tower, in search of an escape. She still hasn't returned. Within Honami City, space is repeatedly sliced apart by the Lament. According to Chisa and Namipon, the only way to navigate this fragmented maze and reach Neon Tower is to rely on the "Longings" of Honami's Left Behind. Namipon produces a bottle filled with these lingering obsessions, explaining they can resonate with the Tower and guide you closer to the truth.

Inside the old base, you discover ambers formed from Sumika's Forte. As you and Chisa connect with them, you see moments Sumika chose to record.

You follow Chisa up to the cafe's terrace. The setting sun bathes the ruined city in a warm glow. You both lean against the railing, watching the Irideglow slice and stitch the cityscape in an endless cycle. In this quiet moment, Chisa opens up about her past for the first time.

Channeling her Forte, Chisa clips space to pull all of you safely back to Shashou Cafe. Just as it seems the immediate crisis has passed, the young Left Behind man you rescued vanishes before your eyes the moment he remembers the reason why he can never "go home."

From Sumika's amber, you witness her final moments. Barely clinging to life, Sumika reaches a trembling hand toward a rift torn open by the Lament. Her last hope is that someone will find this city, break the tragic loop, and free her friend.

Chisa gazes into the distance, memories of her time in Lahai-Roi surfacing before her eyes—the kind professors, the idealistic students, and the future they all vowed to fight for: a world free of the Lament. The light of Startorch has always burned eternally in her heart.

You return to the cafe to find Namipon in a lively tussle with its companions over a plate of snacks—it hadn't disappeared after all! With one story concluded, a new journey awaits. At your invitation, Chisa agrees to travel with you back to the Black Shores, to see the place where Sumika once lived and worked… and to step into a new beginning.

You and Chisa return to the city center, the very place where you first arrived in Honami City. The clouds above Neon Tower have parted, and sunlight bathes the city in a newborn radiance. Abby descends from the sky, landing safely in your arms. In that moment, you both realize the Sonoro's restraining seal has been broken. Together, you have opened a way for Honami City to connect with the world outside.

You help a wounded man to his feet, only to realize his condition is critical. As you guide him out, the Lament descends once more. Bizarre Irideglow "slices" through the visible space, creeping steadily closer. With seconds to spare, Chisa raises her scissor blades at the wall before you.

After leaving the Error Cell, you encounter Buling, who has also sensed the abnormal frequency. Using her Forte, she helps pinpoint the exact location of the shifting coordinates.

You consider trying to split the mirage from the rift, but before you can act, a hand bursts from the rift and pulls you in. With Buling and Abby's cries fading behind you, you're dragged into the unknown Sonoro Sphere's turbulent depths.

In the safe zone, you and the girl catch your breath. You lean against a wall to steady yourself while she watches you in silence. You meet her gaze, yet her eyes seem to focus just off to the side, leaving you uncertain what she's looking at.

Chisa and Namipon share with you the history of Honami City. Though the Lament reduced it to ruins decades ago, its lingering aftereffects also sealed the city within a Sonoro Sphere. Time here remains frozen around when the Lament struck, trapping the city in a repeating loop of its final moments. The coffeehouse where you now stand is a safe zone Chisa created using her "clipping" Forte.

That night, you and Chisa rest on a bench outside the cafe. She confides in you her refusal to grow numb and indifferent to the loop of life and death in the city. Together, you will find a way to tear this cage apart.