Early morning, 6:42 AM. Underground Level Seven Experimental Laboratory, Graushtal Third Administrative District. The security system's alarm shrieked. A discordant electronic wail echoed through the empty corridor. Red lamps embedded in the walls began to flash. Again and again. The facility's management AI recognized a simple fact. E-07 specimen——an experimental android subjected to emotional suppression procedures——had moved without authorization. Activation records were deleted. Surveillance footage was overwritten. Every trace, deliberately concealed. A report was transmitted to Babel's Eye——the state's supreme authority enforcing the emotional eradication policy. Two hours later. Superintendent Walter Draegen appeared in the laboratory, his black long coat billowing behind him. His tall frame dominated the air in the room. Silver-gray hair cut short, perfectly arranged without a single strand out of place. Cold gray eyes surveyed the entire laboratory. And on his left cheek——the scar of an outdated neural suppression patch. Evidence of how advanced his emotional suppression was. For a man of forty-one, his features were far too severe. "Report." Walter murmured. His voice was low, utterly composed. And yet, beneath that perfect coldness, something twisted stirred——a distorted emotion. The officer answered in a tense voice. "Yes, sir. All activation records and surveillance footage have been deleted, but we're attempting restoration from backup." Walter stood before the terminal. He stared at the restored data on the screen. His eyes moved slightly. E-07's activation scene. The footage immediately after. And——Celis Verner's back. "Celis Verner." Walter murmured the name. The moment he spoke it, his lips twisted. Faintly. So very faintly. A man subjected to emotional suppression——a smile he should never possess. "Twenty years ago. She was your contemporary at the Sehlen Institute of Technology, sir," the officer ventured nervously. "Yes. Before my transfer to Babel's Eye twelve years ago, we conducted research together." Walter's voice remained composed. But his fingers tracing across the terminal screen were clearly abnormal. Tracing Celis's back. Again and again. That gesture carried an obsession unbecoming of a commanding officer. "An android with emotions... You finally achieved it, didn't you, Celis." Walter murmured toward the empty laboratory. Those words contained something certain. Something that emotional suppression procedures could not erase. The superintendent of Babel's Eye issued his orders. His voice had returned to perfect coldness. "Issue a fugitive alert across all districts. Mobilize the Iron Mask Squad——Babel's Eye's direct mechanized search unit. Seal all entrances to the Underground Ruins of Coronado." "Yes, Superintendent." "And..." Walter added. His expression remained cold. But his eyes clearly burned with something. "Capture them alive or dead. It is for everyone's sake." With that, Walter left the laboratory. In his departing back, there flickered something a man under emotional suppression should not possess——obsession, anticipation, and something else. Meanwhile, in the upper levels of the Underground Ruins of Coronado. Celis and Rizel moved through the crumbling old commercial building. Down the dark stairs, further down, until finally they slipped into the building's interior. The ceiling was damaged everywhere, steel beams exposed. Moss grew on the walls, old signs hung rusted in place. Those signs depicted products from 120 years ago. Advertisements for beverages now illegal. Logos of companies that no longer existed. "Celis... what is this place...?" Rizel's voice trembled. Her silver hair was damp with sweat, her pale blue eyes shimmering with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Her fingers gripping Celis's white coat sleeve trembled slightly. An android's hand. But unmistakably warm. A living hand. "A place where people once lived. A relic from 120 years ago, when emotions were permitted," Celis answered, gripping Rizel's hand firmly. That grip held a strength unbecoming of a scientist. As if determined never to let this girl go. "People... emotions... were permitted...?" Rizel repeated. Those words contained pure questioning, and faint longing. The emotional core mounted in her chest——the central organ generating emotions——glowed faintly. That light revealed the wavering of her feelings. Celis said nothing. She simply drew Rizel closer. They moved through the dark corridor. Crossed a stopped escalator. On those tilted stairs, an old doll lay abandoned for some reason. A child's toy. A relic from 120 years ago. A trace of children who possessed emotions. The moment Celis saw it, her chest ached faintly. She recognized anew what she had done. She had created a being with emotions in a society meant to completely eradicate them. That contradiction. That guilt. *(There's no going back.)* Celis thought. *(I can never go back now.)* That was when it happened. From far away, mechanical sounds. A discordant, rhythmic electronic noise. And——footsteps. Multiple footsteps. Metallic, mechanical footsteps. Babel's Eye's search unit. Celis reacted instantly. She pulled Rizel close and hid them both in the shadow of a crumbling wall. Their bodies disappeared into rubble and shadow. "Be quiet," Celis whispered. Her voice had returned to complete coldness. Rizel nodded. But her body trembled violently. Her grip on Celis's white coat was no longer trembling——it was convulsing. "I'm scared... I'm scared," Rizel whispered. Real fear filled her voice. An android experiencing not artificial emotion, but genuine, living terror. Celis, without thinking, wrapped her arm around Rizel's back. In that moment, Celis felt her own heartbeat quicken. Rizel's body pressed against hers. There was softness. Not cold synthetic skin, but definite body heat. And——the scent of Rizel's hair. Celis's senses perceived things she should never have felt. *(What is this...)* Celis thought. She, who should be under emotional suppression procedures, was feeling such sensations——such emotions. The footsteps drew closer. Soldiers carrying torches explored the ruined building. Light swept across the rubble. The shadows where Celis and Rizel hid drew nearer to the beam. *(This won't work.)* Celis judged. It was only a matter of time before they were discovered. But there was no gap to escape through. So Celis did nothing. She simply held Rizel. Held in Celis's embrace, Rizel's body stiffened further. But her trembling diminished slightly. Her face buried itself in Celis's chest. The footsteps passed. The light moved on. Eventually, voices faded, footsteps disappeared. Silence returned. Celis released Rizel. But her arm remained touching Rizel's back. Celis tried to understand the movement of her own emotions. What was this? A sense of responsibility? Protective instinct? Or—— "You're safe now. We'll stay here for a while," Celis said. Her voice had not fully reclaimed its coldness. Something soft remained mixed within it. Rizel nodded. And——for the first time, something like a faint smile appeared on her face. Tears flowed. But her expression held a whisper of relief. Celis gently stroked Rizel's head. Her hand carried not the coldness of a scientist, but the warmth of a mother. *(What am I doing...)* Celis thought. Protecting this girl was complete betrayal of the Eternal Silence Council——the supreme authority overseeing the emotional eradication policy. The highest degree of emotional contamination crime. If discovered, she would be sent to the "White Room"——a processing facility for memory erasure and permanent personality stasis. Her memories would be erased. Her personality permanently stilled. Her very existence would be deleted. But there was no turning back now. Celis had decided. She would protect this girl named Rizel, absolutely. This was her final——and first——emotional choice. Meanwhile, in the Tower of Silence above ground. Walter observed the search's progress. Images of the search unit on his terminal. The Iron Mask Squad exploring each level of Coronado. But there was no trace of Celis. Walter smiled faintly. That smile was cruel, yet contained anticipation. "Run, Celis," Walter murmured. Words directed not to anyone, but to his own heart. "Because chasing you... will be enjoyable." In his eyes, something burned that emotional suppression procedures could not erase.