"From the moment you stepped into this room, I could tell that you were longing for something."
The dejected man stared at A, who was directing the work, as if he were pitying an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
"This is a story about two doors..."
He didn't care whether A responded to him or not; he just kept telling his story.
That experiment shattered Carmen's confidence; it was a radical experiment in which she was supposed to be the test subject herself. Everyone on the team believed that Carmen shouldn't have done it herself.
Ultimately, Enoch, the child they brought back from the suburbs who often pondered the meaning of his existence and possessed a mental level far beyond his peers, volunteered to become the experimental subject to replace Carmen.
Carmen spent a considerable amount of time considering Enoch's request, but ultimately, under pressure from various parties, they approved it.
This hasty experiment ultimately resulted in nothing more than Enoch's lifeless body lying on the experimental table.
The child's death severely damaged Carmen's confidence, and everyone's expectations gradually pushed her to the brink of collapse.
Lisa, now known as the Central Headquarters' Sephirah—Tiphereth, is a sister to Enoch who is not related to him by blood but is as close as a real sibling, relying on each other for survival. Because of her brother's death, she believes Carmen is the murderer who killed Enoch.
Heartbroken, she hurled insults at Carmen, wishing her to "go die." Although it was just a little girl's impulsive outburst, her tears and accusations broke the last vestige of something fragile within Carmen…
"No matter how loudly I called out, there was no response... only the sound of flowing water could be heard in the air."
The dejected man continued speaking, and the memories of that day that A had forgotten surged forth, making it impossible for him to focus his attention on the screen that had been with him for 48 days.
"I flung open the tightly shut door like a madman, but I wished that door would never be opened..."
"Behind the door were her tightly closed eyes."
"But painful feelings like guilt are meaningless, so I forced myself toward the blood-red bathtub..."
Before anyone knew it, tears welled up in the eyes of both A and the man. The dejected man choked back sobs as he continued:
"Even though she was unconscious and covered in blood... she was still alive, she was still alive! But in the end, we chose to violate her body with our bare hands and bury her deep underground..."
The collapse was swift and devastating, knocking down the two face-to-face. A and Abram could no longer distinguish who was speaking; their eyes were only for each other, and they recounted their despair and sins together, leaving all their work for the day to the employees in the facility.
"Warning to all personnel: Reverse Kabbalah energy meltdown, Level 4."
Angela's report was as devoid of emotion as ever, as cold as her identity as a machine.
The damage response system briefly returned to normal, and both the staff and the Sephirahs breathed a sigh of relief, except for Ye Lan. A fake Geburah appeared in the upper corridor of the Disciplinary Department, instantly obliterating the two derivative finishers of the Pale Noon Trial.
Just as the fake Geburah displayed his Ego armor and prepared to kill the surrounding employees, Ye Lan, who had been prepared, appeared between them and used the scepter-like weapon from Paradise Lost to block the fake's attack.
"Employees whose equipment is below Grade A should leave immediately. Even if it's a fake Geburah, it's still the infamous 'Crimson Mist'."
Ye Lan's appearance saved the underpowered employee. Before he could even thank her, he had to find a way out of the chaos caused by Ye Lan and Sister Hong's battle and escape to the nearest elevator.
"Go, best employee! Give that fake me a good beating. Damn it, why can't I lend a hand and join you in this!"
Hong Jie's voice came from the surrounding speakers, clearly expressing her disgust for the phantom that mimicked her collapse during core suppression.
The apple atop Ye Lan's scepter glowed red, and Paradise Lost was ready to unleash its special attack on the enemy. Seizing the opening exposed by the fake's transformation, Ye Lan unleashed the dark wave. A golden shield erupted from his body the moment the attack struck, and together with the anti-erosion field shield that A, struggling to his feet, struck Ye Lan, they blocked the attack from the fake's Smiling Face.
"All that's left for you and me... is atonement..."
Abram grabbed A's trouser leg, trying to drag him back to the ground and sink into self-denial and self-loathing with him.
"The efforts and sacrifices we make, and the results we achieve, all of these have their value and meaning. I will not deny any of this, and I will always cherish the meaning of existence."
Drawing power from his memories of Tiphereth, A kicked away Abram, who was trying to wear him down.
"No matter what aspirations you harbor, you will eventually return to where you started. No matter how beautifully you speak, photosynthesis is a capability unique to plants, not to people like you and me! Shouldn't you have known this long ago?! We are the ones who have pushed Carmen step by step toward death!"
Abram, lying on his back, berates A, attacking A with the image of Carmen's death.
"She entrusted everything to me because she believed in my determination to protect everything!"
As more memories awaken, A gains even greater power, and Geburah's confession makes A understand the weight of determination.
The pistol in his hand, capable of firing bullets that could traverse space, fired in succession. Anti-physical field shield, anti-psychic field shield, anti-erosion field shield, anti-psychic field shield... He fired all the shield bullets he could use to support Ye Lan, rendering the fake Geburah's attacks on Ye Lan useless time and time again.
"We're not like Carmen thinks. The only person who trusted us is gone, and we're all alone here! Why are you so adamant?!"
"Because everyone came here for me, they are all waiting for me, and I will never let them down!"
Ye Lan's last layer of shield shattered under the attack of the illusory object, but at the same time, Ye Lan, who had taken the hit that pierced through the shield, also delivered a final blow to it.
Day 48's challenge was successfully completed with this powerful blow.