Unmei Force Shattered Heroes: Shadowed Tragedy
Final Chapter: Grief Turned To Hope
Three years later…
In a small field within the land… a bright white light suddenly appeared in the area, before it then faded away, revealing the rest of Richard's group, their leader missing.
"...What… just happened?" Link remarked. "Somehow… I feel like that time has shifted around us for some reason…"
"Why are we suddenly here…? Where's Richard…!?" Corrin exclaimed.
"...I don't know… But somehow… I can't sense him at all." Momiji answered back. "And if we were thrown off somewhere, and at some point in time… then what happened to Richard then?"
"...Hopefully it's not what I'm thinking it is." Sanae hoped with a worried expression. "Let's try to find our way out. We need to find a familiar place… or someone we recognise."
The group moved out, before they encountered Shades, as they easily deduced that they had already relapsed, cutting them down before they could hurt more people. Eventually, they continued through the valley, before they saw a fight ahead, seeing that it was Nier and Kaine fighting off a horde of Shades.
"Nier..!?" Elma exclaimed. "...It's them! We need to help!"
"You don't need to inform me that." Virion answered back, as he immediately nocked arrows, and took down several of the Shades, as it caught Nier's and Kaine's attention.
"Hey, isn't that…?" Nier questioned.
"...Well, I'll be… Looks like we got a few surprises coming our way." Kaine stated. "But first, we finish this! Come here, you annoying little bastards! I'll crush every last one of you!"
Eventually the group managed to cut down the Shades, as they reunited with each other.
"...What happened back there? When Richard plunged his blade into Kaine… you all disappeared, and Kaine was back…" Nier stated. "It's been three years since then… We looked for you all, but there was no trace of you guys anywhere."
"We didn't even notice that this much time has passed." Virion admitted back. "Our last memories point back to the very moment you described. We felt the light engulf, and next thing we knew… we were outside of the castle, in some sort of valley."
"...Did you find Richard?" Sanae asked, with a hopeful tone.
"Sorry, but that bastard has been gone for a long time." Kaine answered back. "And yet… those last words he parted with… Every time… I wake up from it filled with pain and sadness. I feel like something important is gone… As if he had that something… I remember nothing else between letting my Shade run amok, and waking up as myself, but those words… Every time I hear them, I feel my tears wet my cheeks. Nier wants to know as well… but for three years… we got no answers."
"...However, we did hear a rumour from the Forest of Myth recently... " Nier answered back, as the group perked up. "The village suddenly lost touch with anyone in the Forest of Myth. Someone got to go over there and make sure they're all right. Considering what happened there last time… perhaps there might be a clue there…"
"...It's the best we got." Momiji conceded. "Let us come with you."
The group entered the Forest of Myth, before they found mutilated bodies scattered across the forest.
"...What the…?" Nier exclaimed, as Kaine was left with a quiet gasp.
"...What could have done this…?" Elma asked.
"Don't think it was some ordinary Shades… this doesn't look like their work, and there has been only a few of them in these days." Kaine answered back.
"We can find the answers ahead…" Corrin stated.
They continued to the Divine Tree, as there was a large magical seal in front of the tree, as well as multiple mechanical worker robots with pronged claws.
"Wait, are those…?" Link remarked.
"What are those things doing here?" Kaine stated. "Wait, did they kill the villagers!?"
"...Damn it, we won't let these murderous robots get away with this!" Nier exclaimed.
They quickly dispatched the robots, as they were no match for the experienced warriors, before the seal before the Divine Tree faded away, revealing a passage into the great tree.
"...Strange, I don't recall that there was a way inside of that tree before…" Nier remarked. "Could it be that there was something involved in the process…?"
"...Richard…" Elma stated.
"Elma?" Kaine asked Elma.
"...I can… feel Richard inside there…" Elma answered back, as she slowly walked towards the opening of the tree. "...He's in there, I can sense him in there…"
"Why would robots be coming out of a place like that?" Kaine stated. "...You're right, Nier. It's strange… so we need to see what the hell is going on down there…"
"Let us come." Gus answered back.
"Go ahead, we'll need your help down there likely." Nier nodded back.
The group slowly entered through the tree, as they found themselves in a descending passage, as there were roots everywhere to be seen.
"...What the hell is this place…? We caught a glimpse to get its key fragment… And now we're seeing it for real, all of it…" Nier remarked, with his hand to his blade. "...I don't like the feeling of this."
"Nier… how have you been for the last three years?' Link asked back.
"Life has finally returned to normal, or at least as much it was before this all started…" Nier responded back. "The Shades are dwindling, and it's more peaceful than ever. Yonah actually wanted to know about you guys… so I told stories about the brief times we had. She really looked up to you as heroes."
"...I'm glad to hear that." Corrin smiled back.
"Welcome to the sea of humanity." A mechanical male voice echoed through the passage, alerting the entire group.
"Welcome to the cemetery of sin and punishment." Another mechanical voice, a female one, followed soon after the male announcement.
"...The hell?" Kaine remarked, as they came across the scrapped ruins of several robots.
"...Kaine and Nier… You… are both Replicants." The male voice sounded. "The rest of you… are entities from beyond this world, unknown of species to our knowledge."
"A manufactured existence for you both." The female voice stated. "...But the rest of you, the anomalies… you interest us."
"Who are you? Show yourselves!" Kaine demanded.
"Remain calm, Kaine." The male voice declared.
"Do not be hasty." The female voice added.
"Soon we shall meet." The two voices declared as one.
"...What the hell…? I barely recall what Richard said about us… What the twins said…" Nier remarked. "...Is this further proof that we aren't natural to this world…?"
"Don't listen to those creepy little freaks. We're here, and nothing changes that." Kaine scolded Nier.
"I'm not worried about their words… I'm more worried about what is going to happen." Gus added.
"Huh?" Nier muttered.
"...Nevermind." Gus answered back.
Eventually, as they walked deeper in the tree's depth, they began to find electrical cables that snaked across the passage walls, as they fought stray worker bots wandering the passage.
"This is an integrated information-management database, designed to resemble a perennial plant." The male voice stated to the group.
"It transmits phenomena recorded in its memory unit." The female voice continued the explanation.
"I don't understand a damn thing you're saying." Kaine growled.
"...Wait, is this why…?" Sanae stated, realising what the Deathdream is.
"...Correct, unknown specimen." The male voice answered back. "Observations of all of you have been recorded as well."
"You… brought an end to Project Gestalt." The female voice declared in an emotionless tone, despite the condemning statement.
Nier was shaken by the statement, as he let out a shuddering sigh, before the group were halted by another magic seal, as large amount of hostile worker robots came out from the various passages.
"You killed the Original Gestalt...And yet… the remaining Gestalts have not started their relapse." The male voice declared. "But whatever interference delayed the consequences… the result will be the same: they will have nowhere left to go."
"That's wrong…! Richard gave the Gestalts a future!" Gus shouted back. "The time he brought will give us time to construct new bodies for the remaining Gestalts, and ensure that they have a body to live in, and to continue the production of Replicants!"
"And yet his actions, and by proxy, all your actions have caused the death of countless Replicants." The female voice retorted back.
"Show your damn faces already!" Kaine growled, as she sliced a worker robot in two with a cleaving strike.
"Do not be hasty. Soon we shall meet." The male voice answered back, as the group finished the robots off, opening the path ahead.
"Soon we shall meet." The female voice echoed.
"...What is going on here?" Nier echoed everyone's thoughts on the current situation.
The group followed down the passage, as it shrunk down, before dropping them off right before a metal set of electronic doors, the nearby area being made of metal pipes and cables, with more of them strewn on the walls and ceiling.
They passed through the doors, before they found themselves in a circular area, before from the sea of cables below, a mess of cables suddenly slithered up from the ground, forming two makeshift cocoons, as they slithered back down, to reveal two figures, a boy and a girl. Both of them only had their upper bodies, as their lower halves were a cluster of cables connected to the ground, they had mechanically grey skin, and their eyes had a red glowing hue to them, and what shocked the group the most, is that the boy resembled Nier if he was far younger, and the girl looked like Yonah with shorter hair and a hair-band, both dressed in white dresses.
"..What… What the hell…!?" Nier exclaimed with surprise. "...These are…"
"That one… it looks like a younger you, Nier… And the other is like Yonah…" Momiji remarked.
"Ahh… How nice of you to join us." The boy spoke with the male voice from before.
'Yes. How nice of you to join us." The girl agreed with the female voice.
Kaine didn't even respond, as she raised her blade.
"...Wait, Kaine! We need to know-" Corrin tried to persuade Kaine, although the latter was already moving.
"We are the administr-" The mechanical children tried to say, before Kaine cut through their bodies, as they exploded into a mess of cables and bright explosives of energetic light.
Kaine then lowered her blade, before she heard the boy's voice return. "...How futile." He stated, as Kaine and the group turned around, as the two mechanical children were on a different spot, looking as if they were uninjured from the attack.
"...They can reconstruct so easily…?" Momiji exclaimed.
"It seems that we won't get anywhere like this." The mechanical girl declared.
"Now then. Let us fight." The both of them stated, before they then retreated into the ground, as a massive cocoon of cables rose, creating a massive robot made of pipes and cables, with a set of yellow eyes on it, as the group prepared to fight it.
The robot began to attack them, swinging its arms and stomping the group to create electric shockwaves.
"It doesn't matter what our names were." The mechanical boy stated. "After we have become HIS heralds, we have no need for a human concept like that."
"...What the hell are you saying!?" Kaine exclaimed.
"...Him?" Sanae repeated, as if the word held some importance to her.
"We were the administrators." The mechanical boy responded back.
"The administrators of the forest." The mechanical girl continued.
"...Who are they? What do they even want from us? At least the Shadowlord had clear intentions!" Nier growled.
"We have long been watching…" The mechanical boy declared, as the robot swung its arms down to try and smash the group into the ground, only for Link and Momiji to parry the attack with force, as the group took the opportunity to assault it.
"We have long been listening…." The mechanical girl continued, as the robot was showing visible damage from its damaged metal limbs and torso.
"The stories of recycled vessels." The mechanical boy stated.
"The voice of a recycled world." The mechanical girl answered back.
"And yet… This is all but a mere fraction of the data that HE possesses." The mechanical boy answered back. "HE knows the countless permutations of the worlds beyond, and the events to pass. We are here to observe how you will act in this present act."
"Will you show us the potential to overcome your destiny?" The mechanical girl asked.
"Entertain us. For it is HIS decree." The mechanical children declared as on.
The robot began to slump, as Momiji and Kaine rushed towards it, with their blades poised to strike. The robot tried to strike them with a pounding slam, only for them to duck underneath its arms.
"Fucking worthless heap of scrap!" Kaine swore, before she then cut through the robot with a rising slash, as Momiji cut through its torso with a wide cleave, as they kicked off the robot, leaving it with their deep cuts causing the robot to spark with critical damage, before exploding into debris.
The explosion blew the doors off the way forward, before the mechanical children appeared before them.
"How truly fascinating you are. But you are within our predictions." The mechanical boy stated.
"You are just as we expected… And that is disappointing." The mechanical girl mocked.
"Come this way… and see if you survive what comes next." The twins declared, before they then disappeared.
"...Fucking nerve to call me disappointing…" Kaine stated. "I don't get a single fucking thing they're saying!"
"...This bad feeling in me is growing…" Gus stated ominously.
They soon moved forward, before they found themselves in an artificial forest, the trees constructed from cables and fake leaves, as there was a massive blue magical seal before the group, as the mechanical children formed before it.
"You are all strong… However, what you possess is a false standard of strength." The mechanical boy stated.
The mechanical children raised their hands, as the ground began to rumble, as countless cocoons of cables formed, before they dispersed to reveal… multiple copies of the group before them, all made of black cables, as their eyes glowed ominously red, shocking the group.
"...Oh dear, it seems our presence here has allowed our foes to replicate us." Virion clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"...How could it be…?" Elma asked with shock, seeing the emotionless expressions from her clones.
"We have reproduced all of you… to the most accurate degree possible… at the points in which you are the strongest." The mechanical girl answered back. "To prove that your power is gained by escaping from the dark truth… you will fight them."
"Son of a… are those things me?" Kaine cursed.
"...I think they're all copies of us…" Nier growled. "...This isn't good. I don't think they're kidding when they made them at our best."
Suddenly, the clones began to attack, as they actually used most of the techniques of their originals, at a slightly less proficient and weaker degree, although this resulted in chaos, as magic and attacks flew towards the original group, as they were pressured from the sheer amount of attacks heading their way, forced to focus on fighting those closest to them.
"They are all copies of you, shaped by machinery." The mechanical boy declared, as Gus was forced to level his blade to block simultaneous slashes from a Kaine clone, a clone of himself, and a clone of Corrin at the same time, as he pushed them off, and cut through them with a wide swing, as their parts clattered to the ground.
"A collection of microscopic, plant-based propulsion units bound together with Maso Particles." The mechanical girl answered back, as Virion was forced into a archer-duel with his clones, bounding behind one tree to another, as he could only slowly whittle their numbers down with critical shots to defeat them one by one.
"The same as this very forest." The mechanical boy added, as Momiji guarded against a barrage of physical and magical attacks with her shield, as they forced her further back in the area.
"A massive forest of memories coalesced by the triumphs of quantum mechanics and Maso research." The mechanical girl answered back, as Elma holed herself in the shield, as clones of Sanae and herself barraged the shield mercilessly with magic.
"A forest that records anything and everything about this world… and HIS knowledge as well." The mechanical boy remarked, as Link cut down several of his clones with a spin-slash.
"I could care less about what your ideas are, I don't know what you're talking about, and I frankly could care less! I'm here to find out what the hell you're trying to do with this world!" Nier exclaimed back, as he cut down several clones with a downwards strike.
"If you wanted me to follow any of this, you're going to be real fucking disappointed!" Kaine snarled back, as she sliced through a mass of the group's clones with a single dash strike.
"How pitiful." The mechanical boy answered back. "Your comprehension is not necessary. Even if we were to try, your empathy and logic are both rated as unsatisfactory to our standards. The same to you and Nier."
"After all, the only thing you two know well is to kill without discrimination." The mechanical girl condemned. "You care not for anything but your families, coldly disregarding the feelings of others, and killing sentient Gestalts who had no justification for their death, because you do not wish to understand their plight. Kaine, you harboured the war-criminal known as Yura Masayoshi, or known as Tyrann to you from our observations, and willingly accepted to adopt a sociopathic lifestyle of hatred and murder. It seems that you will not change your ways, it seems. Like everyone here, you gained your powers through the grief of others, guilty actions, and sins. It is only fitting that our creations would be reflections of those very qualities."
"What the FUCK are you talking about!?" Kaine snapped back.
"...No…" Gus remarked, realising what the mechanical twins were doing.
"If you think that these copies are enough to defeat us, you're mistaken! They don't have the same durability as we do!" Nier taunted the mechanical children.
"Durability matters not for what we can easily reconstruct in mass production." The mechanical boy answered back.
"They will all simply disperse and immediately reconstruct themselves." The mechanical girl declared. "...You cannot cut away at your sins and destroy them as you would like your previous enemies. We have finally come to an end…"
"Goddamn you're annoying! I'm going to tear these freaks apart, eat the pieces and shit them into a trash can!" Kaine swore with anger.
"Sins…? What are you talking about? Our actions were altruistic to all-" Elma exclaimed.
"...I turned my back against everyone, because they branded me an outcast." One of the Kaine clones declared in a robotic voice. "I was too weak to protect my own grandmother Kali, so I decided to throw away my emotions and make a pact with a Shade to live for the sake of revenge. I let myself be enveloped in hatred, so that I would not lose that life the Shade gave me, so I will kill without sympathy, for it is my destiny. It's too late for me to change… far too late."
"...What the fuck did you say!? How did you know that name…!?" Kaine exclaimed, as she darted towards the clone, and skewered with her blade with blind fury. "TELL ME!"
"For Yonah, I would sacrifice the entire world for her. Nobody else matters as much as she does." A clone of Nier intoned. "...I would kill even those close to me, betray them, if there would be a chance that my sister could be saved. Their lives do not matter to me, as they have no value in my own. They will suffer because of me, but that's fine, because all I need in my life is Yonah only."
"...That's not… That's not it!" Nier argued.
"Because I was too weak to be outside my leader's and my mentor's embrace…" A clone of Corrin started. "...Many people have paid the price for my weakness. No matter how much we tried to save, innocents still perished from the war, and many hopes were dashed on the rocks. We are not a worthy ruler to begin with."
Corrin was silent, upon hearing those words, as there was a grim expression on her face.
"I claim to be a hero, yet I cannot uphold my ideals." A clone of Link stated. "...In worlds where the darkness lies in the hearts of the people themselves, I cannot do anything but to rely on people who know how to tame the darkness. My heart of pure justice has condemned me to be unable to understand the grief of those who are considered my enemies… But in truth, a hero must make sacrifices, in order to be what they are."
"I claimed to be his closest friend… his one solace other than his adopted sister." A clone of Gus said. "...However, what can I do? I cannot even have the courage to waddle through the guilt and misery that plagues his heart, and I cannot even be there when he was forced to confront it. I am simply placated by his words of 'I am fine' so many times, even though I always knew it was a lie. If I was truly a friend… then he would have hated me for my apathetic attitude."
"...Wait, those words…" Gus realised. "...Could it be…!? To know our inner plights so well… The one who took control of you… it has to be Richard, isn't it!?"
"WHAT!?" Sanae exclaimed.
"...You will find your answer yet deeper." The mechanical boy answered back.
"...It can't be anything else… But why… Why would Richard do such a thing… Even if he was acting pragmatic… There's no way he would go this far…!" Gus exclaimed.
"...We don't have the time to fret about that matter." Momiji warned the group, as they noticed the increasing number of clones was beginning to overwhelm them. "We are truly surrounded."
"Have you reached your limit?" The mechanical boy asked the group.
"Have your accumulated grief finally crushed you?" The mechanical girl added.
"How unfortunate." The mechanical children stated as one.
Kaine was forced to fight against several of the clones, before she was knocked down by a low sweep from a Gus clone, causing her to skid across the floor.
"Kaine!" Elma exclaimed, before she was hit by several magic spells.
"You little fuckers…!" Kaine cursed the clones, as a Kaine clone rushed to her.
Kaine immediately retreated her eyes away, as if accepting her fate, before there was a loud crash, as Emil descended from above.
"Hraahhh!" Emil declared, as he created massive barrier around the group, protecting them, as spells, blades and arrows plinked harmlessly off the shield.
"Kaine, Nier, everyone! Are you okay?" Emil asked them all.
"Emil! You're okay!" Elma exclaimed with great relief and joy in her expression and voice.
"Emil… You're really…" Nier answered back.
"You betcha!" Emil answered back enthusiastically. "Anyhoo… HIYAH!"
Emil then expelled the barrier, as the shockwave, knocked the clones away, giving the group some breathing room to ready themselves again.
"It's good to see you all safe!" Emil exclaimed, as he showed his four arms, compared to his previous two. "But where's Richard?"
"...We don't know, but we believe he's down there somewhere…" Sanae answered back.
"...I think I know what's creating those copies… It's that magic circle over there. It's acting as an energy source." Emil noted.
"Do you think you can stop it? We can't touch it with all the clones fighting us." Link asked Emil.
"You got it! I'll take care of the magic circle, you all focus on kicking some butt!" Emil answered back, as he floated over to the magic circle.
"...It's endearing that he still remembers us so dearly." Virion remarked. "Very well! Let us give these imposters a fight they'll never overcome!"
The group fought back fervently, as they managed to keep the clones at bay, as Emil slowly siphoned the energy off the magic seal.
"Number 7, also known as Emil. A magical weapon forged by humans." The mechanical boy announced.
"A being who absorbed the power of Number 6, also known as Halua, and transcended humanity." The mechanical girl stated.
"Ummm, who is that?" Emil remarked, hearing the voices. "What are those voices?"
"The administrators of this facility… although I doubt that's all there is to them." Link explained. "Continue your duty, we need to move forward!"
"...It doesn't matter how much of you we need to cut down… We will find Richard!" Momiji declared with resolve.
"Such emotion from a unknown specimen… Fascinating." The mechanical boy commented on Momiji's statement.
"Terribly fascinating." The mechanical girl afreed.
Eventually Emil destroyed the magic seal, as the glow in the clones' eyes faded, and they crumbled back into messes of cables.
"Everyone! I did it!" Emil exclaimed with pride.
"Good job, Emil! Come on, let's go!" Nier complimented Emil.
The group continued on, before they found themselves before a passage made of cubes.
"Is that… a doorway?" Emil questioned, seeing the path ahead, before the mechanical children formed before them.
"Beyond here lies that which was lost." The mechanical boy stated.
"The answer to what you seek… for you to reclaim." The mechanical girl said, before they disappeared.
They walked to the back wall, before it then shifted open, revealing a white cubic realm, with a bridge ahead leading to a white tower ahead, as well as several towers around them in the great abyss around them, and the tree behind them.
"Whoa… What is this place…?" Emil remarked.
"...A world of memories… I believe." Sanae tried to answer.
"Emil, I didn't get the chance to ask yet with all the fighting and shit… but…" Kaine asked Emil. "What happened to you back then? And where have you been? ...And why the hell do you have four arms?"
"K-Kaine… I…" Emil said. "Look, it's gonna take way too long to get into all that now."
"Fine…" Kaine answered back. "I was worried, you know?"
"We all were." Nier agreed. "Emil… no matter what happens, I still stand by my promise… We'll always be together, and this time, we won't let you go."
"But look at us now. The team, back together again!" Emil cheerfully stated. "But still… why do I feel that we're looking for something important right now…"
"Trust me, we all are." Gus agreed, before they managed to enter through the tower, finding themselves on a large staircase leading to a black doorway in a long hallway.
"I feel an enormous magical power ahead." Emil warned the group.
"...Elma?" Sanae asked Elma.
"...Now that I'm closer… I can feel Richard's power more clearly…" Elma responded back. "...Although… something's wrong… I can't tell what it is… but he's… missing something."
"Just don't do anything rash, all of you." Kaine warned the group.
"...The same to you, Kaine. We'll get Richard back." Nier answered back. "We owe him at least that much."
"Thank you, Nier. I'm sure that if Richard heard that… he would be glad to have such people to rely upon." Gus answered back.
Nier nodded back, before the group entered through the doors, before they found themselves in a room much like the Shadowlord's Chamber, as there was a white floating cube at the back of the room, as white electronic circuit marks glowed on the wall behind it.
"Is this… the Shadowlord's Castle?" Kaine remarked.
"Seems like it." Nier responded back.
"Everyone, I'm sensing some powerful magic up ahead…" Emil warned the group.
"...Do you think that cube has something to do with what is going on here?" Corrin asked the group.
"Only one way to tell." Link stated, as the group approached the cube.
"This is a very special place." The mechanical boy told the group.
As Gus touched the cube with a hand, it suddenly unleashed a burst of magic that knocked the group back, before it then created several magic circles that fired magical bullet barrages down the room.
"We need to break that thing!" Kaine exclaimed, drawing her weapon.
"That is the core frame of this forest, within which a great variety of information is stored." The mechanical boy stated, as the group advanced on the glowing cube.
"Inside it, exists all that this world is, from the start of the WCS, to this very moment." The mechanical girl added. "...And now, it is the cache from which HIS own memories are stored. In any case… it is surely the answer you all seek."
"Will you two shitsacks please shut up!?" Kaine swore at the mechanical children.
"How vulgar." The mechanical boy commented, before Link struck the cube, as it sent the group flying back again.
"I will do my best to fit into the role you have set for me. If I'm going to be a saviour, I might as well act as one." Richard's voice echoed through the room, shocking Richard's group.
"...What is that…? Is that Richard's…!?" Corrin exclaimed.
"Those words… what do they mean?" Sanae remarked as well.
"These are but a single part of HIS memories." The mechanical boy stated.
"A record that started at the first divergence of his fate." The mechanical girl said.
"...Started…? First divergence…?" Link remarked, before the group managed to hit the cube again, knocking them back again.
"Yukari, even if I have to go through a thousand hells… I will come back. And when I do, I will truly be the saviour that everyone sees me as." Richard's voice declared with determination and hope.
"...Wait, those words… Those are…!" Momiji exclaimed.
"...The same words that Yukari said that Richard told her when he went for the final trial of his training with her…!" Sanae exclaimed. "Then that means…!"
"What is all of this…!?" Nier exclaimed back.
"Do you all suffer?" The mechanical boy asked.
"Are you pained?" The mechanical girl also questioned.
"SHUT THE FUCK UUUUP!" Kaine screamed, before she then slammed the cube with a slash, as it began to crack, as she whaled on it with her blades. "You pathetic fucking shitpurse, just DIE ALREADY!"
The cube then exploded into a burst of white light, which engulfed the group. When it faded, the room turned into a realm of grayscale space, with scattered white cubes everywhere. The only people who were present, were Nier, Kaine and Gus, on top of one of the cubes.
"Where… are we?" Kaine remarked, before seeing Gus and Nier. "Gus, Nier… Where is everyone else?"
"...I don't know… But we have been thrown into a different realm entirely… Hopefully, the others are safe and sound." Gus stated with worry in his voice.
"Look over there… a path is being made before us." Nier pointed ahead of them, as cubes flickered into existence before them, forming a bridge towards another platform.
They travelled across it, as they heard the voices of the mechanical children.
"You are now within HIS realm of memories." The mechanical boy stated.
"The records of HIS existence… are shown to you now." The mechanical girl answered back.
"This is HIS reality… the reality HE guided you to see." The mechanical children said at the same time.
When they reached the platform, they saw a black floating cube appear before them.
"...Is this like before?" Nier asked.
"Within this… are the personas that HE has adopted, before he came to accept himself." The mechanical boy answered back, as he glitched into existence in the air.
"And from those personas… you will learn what HE intends for you to learn." The mechanical girl said, as she appeared, before both of them disappeared again.
Kaine walked over and struck the cube, as it broke into a mess of black cubes that faded away, before the realm glitched for a moment, causing the group to be on alert.
Suddenly, a group of black cubes appeared before them, as they turned into a copy of Richard, dressed in steel warrior armour, with the familiar Hylian crest engraved on the chestplate, with a dark-blue tunic and pants, leather boots, as well as a belt with pouches. In his hands was a round steel shield and a short-sword, as well as a bow on his back.
"...Richard?" Nier exclaimed. "Wait, no… That can't be right…!"
"Wait, that crest… is this Richard when he was fighting in Hyrule…!?" Gus exclaimed.
"I know not who you are… But so long as I have this blade… I will not fail my duty! I must protect everyone!" Richard declared, raising his blade with a look of conviction on his face.
Rising Hero
Richard Liu
Richard then let out a cry, before charging at the group, as he managed to land several blows on Nier, before Kaine knocked him back.
"Stop! It's us!" Nier exclaimed. "We're not your enemies!"
"It's no use… I doubt that's even the real fucking bastard there." Kaine swore. "We gotta cut him down."
Gus could only be grimly silent, as the trio flanked Richard, as they managed to weaken Richard with well-targeted blows, as his armour began to take damage, and he was starting to stagger.
"Damn you, don't you underestimate me!" Richard roared, before he then raised his sword, as a golden aura washed over him, as he attacked with new-found vigor and strength, as the trio's attacks did little to even faze him, although he was still taking damage. "I'm not going to die so easily! I have so many people that I have to assist, and more counting on me! You won't have your way!"
"Damn… He's no joke…!" Kaine cursed.
"Go down! Purgatory!" Richard roared, before he then charged forward, trapping the group inside a large sphere of golden energy, before they were hit by a flurry of slashes. "...What!? That didn't finish it… Urgh, I can't retreat now… There's nowhere to run to!"
Nier then rushed down Richard, managed to hit him several times, before he then finished with a powerful diagonal slash that cut through Richard's armour, leaving a massive gash on his chest, as he cried out in agony and collapsed.
"No… Not like this!" Richard cried with fear and disbelief, as he tried to get up. "I can't fall here… I still haven't gotten the chance to prove myself a hero…! The pain… the utter pain…! Argh… How can I die like this… Creator… Vai… Link… Somebody… help me…"
Richard then let his shield and blade clatter to the ground, before falling forward. "...It's not fair… how could the world… crush me like this… I thought… I was going… to be a saviour…" He weakly croaked. "...But… I can't even survive this fight… What a pathetic display… I should have… never accepted her offer… after… all…"
Richard then broke into a mess of black cubes that blew outwards, as another floating black cube appeared before them.
"...What was he talking about?" Nier stated. "The way he said that… was his past like that…?"
"...I think that we were both chosen by the Creator…" Gus stated. "He was the first one to be chosen. He fought down in the world of Hyrule, fighting an evil sorcerer named Cia… He managed to succeed with the help of Link, and the residents of the world... After that… I was whisked to this world… Perhaps the Creator believed that my companionship would become his solace…"
Gus then let his head fall. "...But as much as I tried to support him… Still, the burden is too great for him." He declared with regret in his voice.
Kaine didn't ask anything, although Gus's words left her with some sympathy for Richard, as she struck the floating cube, as it summoned another copy of Richard… one that of Richard during his fight in the Sengoku period of Japan.
"For the ambition and the ideals of Lord Ieyasu… You must fall here!" He declared. "Prepare, warriors, Musashi Miyamoto, the master of the Niten Ichi-ryū style, shall face you in combat!"
He then drew both of his blades, pointing them at the trio.
Great Swordsman of the Sengoku Era
Musashi Miyamoto
Musashi immediately charged at them, as he used his blades to deflect their attacks fairly with ease, as he countered with precise blows, knocking the trio back and landing some direct blows.
"This isn't good… we're not going to make it at this rate…!" Nier exclaimed.
"Damn it, I'm not fucking dying here!" Kaine swore, as she then clashed swords with Musashi, as both of them pushed against each other, before Nier managed to jump up and cut down on Musashi, causing him to stagger back, as Gus followed up with a few blows.
"Witness my valour!" Musashi declared, before he then assaulted the group with his special attack, as they were forced to block or evade the attack, as Musashi ground at their defences mercilessly, before he then broke through their guard with his final cross-slash, although he left himself vulnerable. "For the sake of honour, I shall emerge triumphant!"
Nier then leapt up and then cut down Musashi with a falling blow. Musashi then staggered back, as the blades clattered on the ground.
"To think that I would be defeated here… You are indeed worthy opponents." Musashi declared with respect to the trio, as he fell onto a knee. "...It seems that this is as far I will go… I have come to terms with my death… and yet I still leave with regrets… I felt honoured to have died fighting to my last breath in honourable battle… yet I also feel saddened that I cannot be there to watch Lord Ieyasu's land of peace and equality be created… Truly a shame… My only regrets are… why would… such a world… be one… where… such ideals… die… so… easily…"
Musashi then faded away, as the next black floating cube appeared.
"...Do you think that you guys can continue…?" Gus asked Nier and Kaine, who were exhausted.
"Shut up, we got no other way out." Kaine snapped back.
"Kaine!" Nier exclaimed with an appalled tone, before then turning to Gus. "...We'll be fine. It doesn't matter how many different iterations of your friend we have to face… We will save him. What about you?"
"...I won't fall easily." Gus declared. "Richard's right before us… I won't give up as long as he's out there."
Nier then struck the cube, as the next iteration of Richard, had a black light-weighted military camo suit coat, black army jeans, black leather lace boots, and tinted sunglasses, piloting an armoured battle-suit that eerily resembled that of a Gespent.
"For the lives of my men lost in this war, I will end this battle with my own two hands!" The clone stated. "Come, and face me! I won't show you any mercy!"
Ace Pilot of the United Front
Richter Chen
"Eat this!" Richter declared, before firing several large missiles that split into multiple smaller ones, as they bombarded the area around him, causing the group to evade.
Gus tried to weaken the battlesuit, with his fire magic, doing so fairly easily, as the heat warped the metal, weakening it to Nier's and Kaine's attacks. However, Richter put his ace pilot expertise to good use, dodging the attacks, and using the suit's knife to force the two sword users back.
Suddenly, Richter moved back, before pulling out a machine-gun and firing on the group, as they blocked some of the bullets and dodged the rest, as Kaine rushed up and cut the weapon in two with a double-bladed slash.
"Tch… Not bad for some foot-men… I guess there's some power balance between fantasy and science here, eh?" Richter remarked, before swapping for a shot-gun. "But don't think that you'll be able to take me down here! Here's a nasty surprise for you close-range suckers!"
He then fired down at the group, as the spread of the buck-shots managed to actually damage the trio, as their flesh was torn from the smaller projectiles, as Gus took most of the damage to protect Nier and Kaine.
"Urgh…!" Gus growled, before he then plunged his weapon into the ground, creating a massive pillar of fire that engulfed Richter's position,as he was forced to dodge back, dropping the weapon.
Nier and Kaine rushed toward Richard together, before they then managed to plunge their blades right into the core-units of the battlesuit, as electricity sparked from where their attacks.
"Oh, you're kidding me…!" Richter exclaimed with disbelief and anger. "...Done in like this…!? I can't believe it! Well, I guess the Hiryuu crew are going to have to fend for themselves… Guess this is where it ends for me… Damn this world… civil wars and alien invasions… Guess heroes die in tragedy in these kinds of wars."
The battle-suit then exploded, taking Richter with it, as the next black cube showed itself.
"Can't take much more of this…" Nier groaned, as the wounds from the previous battles were starting to affect the three of them.
"How long until all of this goddamn ends…!?" Kaine exclaimed.
"...Just a little more…" Gus silently prayed, as he struck the cube.
Soon, another version of Richard appeared before them, as he had a steel breast-plate, with a black cape behind his back, and black gauntlets, with both of his blades sheathed behind his back, as well as multiple small scars on his face and a scowl on it.
"Demons in human disguise, eh…? I had more controversial kills before." He declared neutrally, before drawing his weapons. "...Either way, you're all going down. All of you demons… are going to pay for the Eclipse…!"
The Black Reaper of Midland
Raze
Raze then attacked the group, as he was far more swifter compared to Musashi, easily cutting through them, and rivalling Kaine in speed, as both of them clashed blades against each other, and weaving through each other's attacks.
"Be careful, this one is aggressive!" Gus warned the group, as he managed to avoid being cut up by using his blade to block a cross-slash from Raze.
The group managed to capitalise on the weakness on defence that Raze had, as their attacks managed to deal him decent blows with each attack, as Kaine rushed him down, causing to be knocked back.
"Damn you all… You're not FUCKING getting away with this!" Raze swore, before he then surrounded himself with a aura of blood, as he began to charge at the group, his blows becoming more crushing and powerful, as they tried to dodge his attacks. "DIE!"
He then jumped back, before he then struck through the group with a blood-red cross-slash, as the mark exploded, knocking the group apart.
"We're not… falling here either…!" Nier exclaimed, before he then grabbed his blade, before he then thrust forward, and struck right through Raze, as the blade went out of him from the other side, leaving the caped warrior to croak a choked gasp.
"...Argh!" Raze stated, before he then collapsed on the ground by his side, clutching his wound. "...Damnit…! Damnit damnit damnit! I won't lay down and die so easily…! I still have people to protect! I still have a world to save…!"
He then slowly pushed himself up, as he staggered towards Gus. "...You demons… You think that you have the fucking right… to ruin our lives…? Fuck… off…" He cursed, with each shaking step. "...I reject this world… I am… the Rebel… I defy this… fate… For… my friends… for the trampled… for… her…"
He then collapsed on the ground, before unfolding into more black cubes.
"...This should be it… right?" Nier exclaimed, before the realm glitched again, as the cubes around them mostly faded away, as the mechanical children appeared before them again, in the air.
"This is the deepest recesses of HIS consciousness…" The mechanical boy answered back.
"HIS very abode. Come… for you have earned the right to see HIM." The mechanical girl stated.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before the two of them, as it was Richard himself… although from a closer look, he seems to have an empty look in his gray eyes, an emotionless expression, dressed in a black robe with a rope sash around his waist.
"...Is that you, Richard?" Gus asked him.
There was no reply from Richard, before he then placed his hands on the backs of the mechanical children, as they gasped as one, before the red glow from their eyes faded, and they suddenly deteriorated into scrap before the trio's very eyes, as if they were being corroded by Richard's will.
"What… What are you doing…!?" Nier exclaimed.
"...Disposing of these puppets." Richard spoke with a cold and emotionless voice. "They have served their use, as my heralds, to draw you all here. What is the reason you ask? Do you care for them? They are nothing but simple programs given physical bodies."
"What the absolute FUCK are you talking about!?" Kaine exclaimed. "You better stop talking about cryptic shit and come down here! We got business to settle, you bastard!"
"...It seems that you have not realised it, and you are too stubborn to perish. How disappointing. I believed that the previous sections would have broken you all, in mind and body." Richard continued, his voice not changing the slightest at all. "I suppose that it is my fault underestimating your own persistence, and your capabilities. No matter, I have prepared for such an outcome. And the results have not deviated much from the expected circumstances."
"...Wait, say that again..?" Nier asked, as he was in disbelief, on hearing what Richard said.
"Richard… what are you saying…!? This isn't like you…! What are you-" Gus tried to state.
"Silence." Richard interrupted. "It seems that you have no intention to accept the consequences that you have accumulated through your actions. Very well then, as it is said, the only way for a job to be done properly… is to do it by your own hands."
"Start making fucking sense, you damn bastard! What are you, possessed!?" Kaine snapped back.
Richard floated down before them, as he drew out Desidero, as it had a dark glow to it, rushing towards the group.
Enigmatic One
Richard?
Richard immediately swung his blade, firing off several blade waves, as they hurtled towards the group.
"Stop this, Richard! Whatever's going on, snap out of it!" Gus tried to persuade Richard.
"Meaningless. I am not under any possession or any mental corruption. I am in full control of my own mind and spirit." Richard intoned back, before he then fired off rows of earthen pillars at the group. "...If you wish to save me, then you will have to defeat me."
"I'll fucking gladly smack some sense into your damn head!" Kaine roared, as she hurtled towards Richard, before he effortlessly blocked her blade, holding it in place. "...Huh?"
"A pathetic effort, from a pathetic specimen." Richard coldly mocked, before he then used the other hand to punch Kaine in the face hard enough to send her flying, as blood flowed from her nose from where the punch connected. "You cannot hope to even harm me with what little power you have."
"Motherfucker…!" Kaine cursed, recovering to her feet, clutching her nose.
"What the hell has gotten into you!? Are you really doing this now, after everything!?" Nier shouted back.
"It's because of everything that I am doing this. I have finally understood the one truth…" Richard answered back, before he then warped behind Nier, with his blade poised. "...None of you deserve the lives I gave you."
Richard then slashed at Nier, sending him tumbling across the ground with a massive gash on his back. He then teleported forward, raising his blade to behead Nier on the ground, only missing because Nier rolled out of the way.
"Shit!" Nier shouted, as Richard floated back, while casually raising a shield to block a torrent of flames from Gus.
"What are you talking about, Richard…!?" Gus exclaimed. "You can't just save people, then decide to kill them! At least tell us why you're doing all of these terrible things!"
"If only for you, Gus, because I'll at least give you the mercy of dying with the truth." Richard answered back, turning his attention to him, and slowly walking forward. "...First of all, I am not the true Richard… but merely a fragment of him, a shattered piece of his own soul. So the Ricahrd you so cherish… is not the one who is doing all of this, so take slight solace in that fact."
"...What, no… It can't be…!" Gus exclaimed with horror, realising what Richard done back in the Shadowlord's Castle. "Then what is the purpose of all of this!?"
"...To give you a merciful death. A merciful death from all of the grief that you have turned away from, and have bottled inside of you. When you die, you will no longer have to feel the burden of regret and sorrow." Richard declared, as he raised his blade, as dark magic circles formed in front of him, firing magical bolts that pelted Gus, causing him to flinch. "You have heard your very sins and grief from your clones. How have you not realised the futility of it all?"
"Because that's a lesson that the real Richard left us: Never give up hope, and never let the past crush us." Gus declared, as he throttled forward, clashing blades with Richard. "...I don't know what twisted logic made you want to do this, but I won't allow it! You have no right to decide that for us!"
"Your opinion and consent matter not to me." Richard informed Gus, before then kicking Gus onto the ground, before then stabbing him in the shoulder with a thrust, causing Gus to cry in pain. "Of course you want to struggle, that is human nature. So I will make the right choice for you."
Before Richard could cut down Gus, Kaine rushed from behind with her blades raised, as she managed to land a blow on Richard, although it only made him rock slightly, as the robe was cut, yet his body was unscathed.
"That is some twisted shit you're spewing." Kaine scowled at Richard. "We won't lose to you. So what if you're a fragment of him? I bet you're the fucking fragment of him that he wants gone! And we will make sure you disappear off the fucking face of the world! I won't lose to you!"
Before Kaine could react, Richard grabbed Kaine by the neck, as both of them teleported above the platform, as Kaine tried to get Richard's hands off her neck.
"You won't lose? How naive, you truly think that you have even the astronomical smallest change of winning against me. Allow me to shatter those insignificant delusions." Richard declared, before he then plunged the other hand right through Kaine, as blood spurted from the hole he made with his hand. "Calling me an existence that should have been gone… you may be correct about that, even I wish for my own destruction… But until all is given their mercy… or their punishment, I will not be destroyed."
"Kaine!" Nier exclaimed.
"...Damn… you…" Kaine swore between bloody coughs.
"And what right do you have to compare yourself to be better than me, Kaine?" Richard continued. "You are an existence that serves only to spite others. Born as a mistake, and persecuted like one. You hated the world as it hated you. And because of that, you paid the price by losing the one thing you cherished. And instead of moving on, you made a pact with a sociopathic monster to become one of its kind. You vented your grief onto others through the art of cold-blooded murder, and you never cherished anyone. You kill for the sole reason of it being the only thing you can truly find solace in. You think that having those few friends you made in your last moments will absolve you even the slightest from those sins, but in truth, it only added to your grief. As you watched Emil die before, you decided to run away from your own grief and sins. And worst of all, you chose to be ignorant, forever a sociopath. It's only fitting. Nier is so much like you, that you are truly a perfect match for each other. A sociopathic couple, who would live to spread misery through their selfish deeds."
Richard then teleported back down, dropping the impaled Kaine on the ground, as she collapsed, before Richard then teleported into the air, raising his blade.
"Now, I tire of watching this laughably pathetic charade of a fight." Richard said, as a dark orb of energy appeared on the tip of his blade, as it was slowly growing in size. "It is time that you return to oblivion where you all belong. Pray as you may, struggle as you may, you have no power over your fate. In your last moments, make peace with your demise, and know in your final moments… this is your just reward."
"What can we do…!? Grimoire Weiss isn't here!" Nier exclaimed, before Gus was desperately firing fire spells at Richard. "...Gus?"
"I can't give up here! The others are counting on us, Nier!" Gus declared, as he was beginning to tire, even though his desperate barrage melted before Richard's barrier.
"Get the… fuck down here… you worthless… piss-guzzling… shit-rag…!" Kaine threw a weak insult to Richard.
"How trite, choosing to insult me in your last moments. Insolent to the end, Kaine. Let that be your legacy then: A true monster who died with a final act of spite." Richard declared, before he then threw the energy orb down, as it exploded into a massive burst of purple light and a powerful shockwave that scattered the group across the corners of the room, as their consciousness was quickly fading.
Kaine weakly raised his head towards Richard, who looked back down at her.
"...As you have been born with nothing… you will die with nothing of value." Richard intoned. "...But know that… as you cross the Sanzu River… you will be washed anew of your sins and grief… you will no longer have to suffer your own actions. Consider it… the final act of kindness that this world will give you."
"Fuck… off…" Kaine swore, before she then fainted, as the two others followed soon after.
When Gus awoke again… He found himself in a dark room, as there was only darkness around him, although he was on solid ground somehow.
"What… Where am I?" Gus remarked, as he walked around, as if looking for something.
As Gus walked, he then saw a spotlight shine down on the ground, as there was Richard, dressed in his casual clothes, looking at Gus with a bright smile.
"I'm glad that you would go with me on this journey, Gus... Thanks for staying by my side… Together, we'll be saviours!" Richard declared, before the light faded, as the figure of Richard disappeared.
"...Those words…" Gus stated to himself. "They're the same ones that he told me, before we went on our first journey together…"
Gus then continued to walk forward, before he saw another spotlight, with a different version of Richard, one that was dressed in magical robes and leather boots.
"Isn't Gensokyo truly a beautiful place? It's a paradise for all mythological beings… a paradise for fantasy itself." Richard declared with a smile. "Sure, it's not perfect, but hey, that means there's always room for all of us to make it a better place for everyone!"
The spotlight then faded, before Gus continued forward, finding another spotlight, with a version of Richard, that was covered in multiple severe wounds, blood everywhere on his body, as well a cut over his eye.
"...I'm glad… you're the ones who stopped me…" Richard declared with sad relief in his voice. "...Gus… you're a real hero now… to do such a selfless act for me… You beat the big bad monster, and saved so many people… I'm proud of you."
Gus let out a shuddering breath, as he was emotional on hearing those words from Richard, remembering the moment where Richard said those words.
"...Even so, I should have done more." Gus muttered to himself, as he continued through the area, finding another spotlight, with Richard in his current universal attire.
"This is the start of the Unmei Force, the great mission to save Gensokyo! Don't let the high-stakes scare you, we can do this!" Richard said with passion in his voice. "Because as long as you're all by my side… nothing will stop us!"
Gus faintly smiled at the words of encouragement, before the spotlight faded, as another appeared, with the current iteration of Richard, who was standing over Kaine's body.
"...Gus, take care of the others." Richard repeated his last words to Gus, before the spotlight faded away.
"...What do I do now?" Gus remarked. "...I don't know how that fragment of him was even conceived, and how it got this powerful… But I need to get back… I can't stop, the real Richard is counting for me to turn this situation around!"
"Truly spoken, Gus…" Yukari's voice echoed in the darkness, causing Gus to become startled. "...It seems that Richard chose the right person to take the leader's mantle in his stead.
"Yukari!?" Gus exclaimed.
"...Let me lend you the power to break through that fragment's strength. Nier and Kaine will be given a dear friend of theirs back, with some modifications from me. And I'll bring everyone here to help finish this fight." Yukari answered back. "For now, this is as much as I can interfere without breaching my agreement with the Color Gods. Surely, they'd understand his guardian is doing all she can to keep him safe, right?"
"...I'm ready." Gus stated, before the realm faded away.
As Gus opened his eyes, so did Nier and Kaine, rising back up onto their feet, as their wounds were healed by Yukari's interference, causing the fragment of Richard to cock his head back towards them.
"...It seems that I have not been able to properly finish the job. Someone interfered in the process, I see." Richard declared, before he then raised his hand, readying another devastating attack. "No matter, miracles do not happen twi-"
Before Richard could attack, he was skewered through the torso by a dark lance, cancelling his attack, and knocking him out of the air.
Nier then turned around, before he came face to face with Grimoire Weiss, who was slightly glitchy in appearance, although no less functional.
"Weiss!" Nier exclaimed.
"Heh, I suppose that I have one more final duty to perform, it seems." Grimoire Weiss answered back. "I recall being brought back to sentience by some other woman. She is bestowed with a lot of power... And the way to summon the rest of your friends."
Grimoire Weiss then flapped his pages, before the entire group appeared in the realm.
"Grimoire Weiss!" Corrin exclaimed with hope.
"We were stuck somewhere for so long that we couldn't tell what happened!" Link exclaimed.
"Don't worry, we're all here to finish this once and for all!" Sanae stated.
"...Is that Richard up there? So he was here…" Momiji stated.
"...That is Richard… but he feels so.. Wrong…" Elma stated.
"Come on, he's gotta come back after we fix him, right?" Emil joked.
"You've not time to become lost in your thoughts." Grimoire Weiss warned the group. "As the woman has said, when we defeat this mockery, the real Richard will be freed."
"Right. Okay, let's get this idiot back!" Kaine declared.
"...Richard, hang in there, we're going to save you!" Nier exclaimed.
"How did you get that accursed power… that same accursed power that robbed everything from ME!?" Richard swore, as for the first time, emotion showed on his face, with scathing anger, grabbing the dark lance, and pulling it out in a burst of magic, as his emotions regulated quickly. "...Ah, I see how it is. She intends to ruin everything I have intended. No matter, you only have a fraction of her strength… your lives are as good as forfeit. Perish, and become zero."
Memory Of Grief
R's Memory
Cue BGM ~ Kaine [Escape] (NiER Replicant)
"With the power of Grimoire Weiss back on our side, we can use our magic!" Nier exclaimed.
"It will not save you, nothing can escape my judgement." Richard declared, before he then summoned several floating pillars of earth, as they shot towards the group.
Momiji moved before the group, as she took to the air, as she sliced through the flying earth pillars into harmless pieces. Richard then raised a hand towards her, as he fired a spread of fire orbs at her, causing her to make evasive movements.
Virion aimed his bow at Richard, before sniping Richard's hand, putting an arrow through it, as he let out a cry, disabling the fire spell, as he moved to try and get the arrow out of his hand. However, as he did, Sanae fired off a massive pentagram star at Richard, knocking him down.
"Let's fuck him up good!" Kaine roared, as she attacked Richard with a series of powerful blows, as Link and Corrin supported, attacking Richard from all three angles, as their weapons pierced through his defences, leaving cuts on his robes and flesh.
Richard then fired off a pulse of magic, knocking the attackers away, before he then floated into the air.
"Give up, you cannot win." Richard stated, before he then created a massive magic circle over his hand, before pointing at the group.
"Everyone, behind me!" Elma exclaimed, as she erected a multi-layered barrier, just as Richard fired off a beam that engulfed the entire platform, as the barrier creaked under the pressure of the attack, although it held strong, as the attack faded away.
"Now's our chance!" Nier exclaimed, before he then fired a barrage of lances, as it knocked Richard down again, as the group attacked him from all angles.
"Enough!" Richard roared, before he then summoned multiple magic circles, as they fired patterns of elemental danmaku, including fire, water, earth, wind, ice, and light bullets. He then summoned copies of the versions that Gus, Nier and Richard fought before.
"We can handle this!" Momiji declared, as she, Link, Corrin, Virion, Sanae and Elma prepared to face both the clones and the danmaku patterns. "...Just focus on bringing that imitation down!"
"Got it!" Nier shouted back, as the rest of the group fought against the clones, as well as protecting each other from the danmaku patterns.
"...Hey, Weiss, Gus and Nier…" Kaine stated, as the group were firing bolts at Richard, trying to weaken him and force him to fall down again. "...Thanks."
"Yes?" Grimoire Weiss answered back.
"...Thanks." Kaine stated with genuine gratitude.
"Kaine… No, it's thanks to everyone." Nier answered back. "It's because we all did it together, that we can face these problems head-on."
"You're welcome, Kaine… This is merely the right thing to do." Gus smiled back.
Kaine hid her face from them, as there was a slight blush on her face.
The attacks managed to finally break Richard's barrier, as he fell down on the ground.
"Curse you… You cannot possibly defeat me… I am the culmination of all of his grief and sins… Millennia of such emotion!" Richard bellowed with a twisted expression of rage on his face. "You are nothing but a droplet in the ocean of despair that I consist of! You are nothing to me! You cannot be able to destroy me with such meager minds!"
"Guess what, we're going to fucking evisecrate you to prove otherwise!" Kaine roared, before Grimoire Weiss then created two pairs of massive dark arms, pixellated like the realm around them, as they were beside Nier and Kaine.
The two of them synchronised each other's attacks, as they landed blow after blow on Richard, battering him onto the platform, speeding up gradually, until the attack were a flurry of punches barely traceable by the naked eye.
When it was done, Richard was barely standing, as he was swaying on his feet. Gus, Nier and Kaine grabbed Grimoire Weiss, as the three of them channeled their power in the sentient Grimoire, firing off a massive beam of dark red energy, as flames enveloped it, as it engulfed Richard.
"Impossible! Impossible! How could I… been destroyed… by the likes of… you!" Richard strained to say, as his body was being melted away by the force of the attack. "GGGGRRAAAAAHHHHH!"
The entire platform was engulfed in white light after the fragment's defeat.
"...Who… Who is… What's…?" Richard's voice was heard.
"Shut up, you bastard!" Kaine screamed back. "You don't get to get away so easily after all of the shit you pulled on us! You got a lot to pay me back for! So I'm getting you back, no matter what it takes! Who the FUCK do you think you are to just up and disappear just like that, huh? Your friends are left in this mess because you fucking messed up! I'm the one who gets to decide what my life means to me! It's MY life, and I'll do whatever I want with it! So quit being a brainless fuckwit, and GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE NOW!"
Suddenly, Richard's body teleported into the realm, as Gus caught it in his arms.
"It's okay, Richard… we're here… Everything's all fine now." Gus told the comatose Richard.
The realm began to rumble, before they saw the top of the white space open, to reveal the clear skies, as they were standing on the anthers of a giant Lunar Tear, that bloomed in the middle of the Forest of Myth.
"It's… finally over…" Link declared.
"...Well, I guess our work is done here…" Nier stated, before noticing the absence of Grimoire Weiss. "Weiss…!"
"...I suppose that he has disappeared again, after finishing his true final duty." Momiji stated. "...It was because of his strength, as well the one who bestowed him extra power… that we managed to succeed."
"...Nier, Kaine… you have our gratitude for saving him." Sanae told Kaine and Nier.
"Hey, don't worry. I'm sure that everyone will be fine, right?" Emil answered back.
Suddenly, a sukima appeared before the group.
"...Yukari…" Gus muttered.
"I'm sorry?" Kaine stated.
"...Sorry, we need to leave… Our duty here is done… I wish the best for you all." Gus told the local trio, before he then entered through the sukima with Richard's body.
"...There were many terribles things in this world… but at least… there's a seed of hope now." Link smiled, as he was the next to enter through it.
"I concur with Link… Like my homeland… a new future has been written, one where war and hatred will never happen again." Corrin agreed, entering through the sukima.
"Well then, I suppose that this is the conclusion of this act… May you live in happy times, Lady Kaine, Sir Nier, and Sir Emil." Virion told the trio with courtesy, bowing as he entered through the sukima.
"I'm glad… you're all going to be happy… Nobody… deserved such a terrible life… I hope… this world will be truly beautiful soon…" Elma stated with hope in her voice.
"...Like Richard has said, a tragedy has been averted… but at what cost…?" Momiji stated with a firm tone, entering through the sukima.
"Be safe, all of you, and don't do anything rash again!" Sanae advised the trio, before she finally left, as the sukima closed behind them, leaving the trio to enjoy the view of the world around them.
The sukima finally closed, as they found Yukari standing before them, with a grim expression.
"...Yukari, what happened to Richard?" Gus asked. "I remember that fragment calling himself a part of Richard… What could have caused such a thing to happen?"
"...I think it's due to what he had done… as well as the interference of another entity…" Yukari declared, as a look of hate washed across her hate briefly.
"...Is he going to be fine?" Elma asked Yukari with worry.
Yukari looked at Elma, as her eyes reflected guilt and worry herself, before she then squeezed them shut.
"...Follow me… and take that body of his with you." Yukari ordered with a even tone.
Gus complied, as the group continued, before they entered one of the ICU wings in the medical section of the space fortress, as they entered the room where Richard was located… and were treated to a horrid sight.
Richard was inside a medical pod, as he had a massive gaping wound through his chest, as his entire skin was deathly pale, and there was multiple life-sign monitors attached, as they indicated that Richard had no heart-beat, as well as zero brain-activity, meaning that Richard's very body was effectively dead.
"...What is this…!?" Sanae exclaimed with horror. "...How could have Richard… No… It can't be… IT CAN'T!""
"...It is my fault for letting this happen…" Yukari responded back. "During the three years that time passed around you all… Richard was sent to a different world… no, a different universe entirely. He was alone… and when I finally found him… he was like that. But I am not without knowledge of what happened… I have his logs."
"What do you mean?" Link asked, before Yukari summoned a digital device, before it then activated, revealing a holographic image of the log's text, as it was the first entry.
Entry Number 0, Timeline Number 0
My name… is Richard… Richard Liu…
And I am lost… in a world where I have no memories of how I arrived here…
All I can remember… is the sensation of drifting away…
Who...or what summoned me here?
And why… Why do I feel like I lost something upon awakening…?
….
It doesn't matter. I need to find my friends… They must be worried.
"Richard…" Gus stated with a horrified tone, as his hands trembled with horror, not noticing that the body in his hand faded in a blue light, which flowed into the suspended body.
Unmei Force Shattered Heroes: Shadowed Tragedy
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