The Final Chapter is a storyline saga that was created by RoachTheIntelCollector and Anakin Nakamura on March 13th, 2020. It is the twenty-third storyline saga of the Roach Chronicles. It is preceded by the Futuristic Paradox saga, and is succeeded by Reformed History: Remembrance. The saga uniquely features three playable maps and two cinematic cutscenes, as well as an additional playable epilogue map. There are also no main easter egg quests in the main story; instead they are replaced with objectives, which will unlock a battlegate in the map containing a boss fight upon completing a list of objectives found in each map. The saga also features a total of thirteen different playable characters.
The story follows the consequences of the destruction of the Arc 3 universe, resulting in the creation of a rip timeline branching off of past events from the original timeline, enabling an old villain to gain a new purpose.
Story[]
A Looming Revisionist[]
In ancient Delphi, Greece in 490 BC, a young man is sparring against several training dummies with a sword while his father watches his progress. After slicing apart some of the dummies and displaying masterful swordsmanship, the man turns to face his father, who nods. The man pierces the sword into the ground and approaches his father, who tells him he will one day make a fine warrior and leader. The man is skeptical, saying he doesn't feel like he deserves to be one, asking how could he be a leader if he could not foresee his own future later in life. The father chuckles, saying that he will know soon enough before holding out his hand and materializing an ancient sword, gifting it to his son. The father explains that the weapon was known as No Name, and it had been passed down from owner to owner for thousands upon thousands of years, telling his son that he was now the new owner of No Name. Curious, yet amazed by the weapon, the man asks how this weapon would allow him to stride towards the future. The father smiles, and tells the man to gaze into the eye of the weapon. The man soon glares into the blue cat-like eye embedded in No Name's head, and soon began to see brief visions of events to come, such as the man's rise to power in Delphi and the beginning of his research of Prima Materia. After the man returns to his senses and gasping after witnessing what he has seen, the father asks the bewildered man if he knows what he must do. Looking back at the weapon before back to his father, the man responds that he does, saying that he now knows how important he is. The scenes cuts dramatically black before revealing the title of the saga: "The Final Chapter".
In the aftermath of the Arc 3 universe's destruction, a temporal anomaly was created throughout time and space in the multiverse. This anomaly caused the boundaries of the multiverse to fracture, thus making it more exposed to the Nexus, allowing the creation of a rip timeline set in the past during the Soulless's attempt to return back to Limbo. After the destruction of Xarcoh, his soul soon escaped deeper into the fading rift. Asking himself where he could possibly go, he soon begins to be pulled towards a bright light. As the light faded into darkness, Xarcoh found himself as an apparition, standing on a watery floor in a seemingly endless black void. Looking above him, he sees countless blue clocks floating above him; turning behind him, he sees he has emerged from a red portal, whereas the few portals next to it were all blue. As Xarcoh questions where he has emerged, a blue light catches his eye as it drifts towards him from the sky above. Reaching out towards it, the light manifests into No Name as Xarcoh grabs ahold of it. Inspecting the weapon and questioning what it was, Xarcoh soon glares into the eye embedded in the weapon's head, causing him to begin to see visions in rapid succession until they piece together to form complete memories. In these memories, Xarcoh learns of all of the events that have transpired in the original timeline, including what would be his future. Regaining his senses, Xarcoh realizes what was going on: he was in the Nexus, an interdimensional plane that allowed travel to the various multiverses in existence. Knowing what he had seen was destined to be his ultimate fate in the original timeline, Xarcoh begins to laugh with real emotion, something he was unable to do for so long in the original timeline. Xarcoh soon exclaims to the endless void that he knows what fate intended for him, announcing that from now on, he will walk his own path, one that destiny cannot foresee. Xarcoh declares if he was to walk this new path, he was to abandon his old identity, and ultimately leave behind what he once stood for. Raising No Name into the air, he declares his new name, Ignotus, and announces he will find a way to conquer the Nexus and turn it into his own image.
De-summoning No Name, Ignotus turns to return back through the portal he came through when he discovers one of the adjacent portals was grayed out and cracked. Stepping through it, he finds himself in a white void of nothingness, filled with the ruins of what was once the Arc 3 universe. Among the remains that caught Ignotus's eye was a single unused synthetic body. Grabbing ahold of it and returning back into the Nexus, Ignotus's apparitional form soon expires as his soul enters the body, giving himself a new vessel, which donned his signature black coat. Satisfied, Ignotus soon returned back to his rip timeline, emerging back in underground chamber in Tunisia. Ignotus, using some of the knowledge he was given by No Name apart from the memories of his future, soon began planning how he would assume control over the Nexus when he immediately discovers a problem; when the Nexus was created, The Father created a special seal that prohibited anyone from altering it, including The Son and the Nexus Apparitions. To accommodate for this, Ignotus sought to find a way to bypass this setback, and used No Name to observe past events that led up to the Nexus's creation. He soon discovers a loophole: when The Father created the Nexus, he used No Name one last time to see the events to come to ensure his seal was never broken. However, he could only see the span of history No Name was wielded in a consecutive amount of time following the Nexus's creation. This meant The Father could only see up until the events of Boss Rush, as that was when No Name returned to the Nexus without an owner for the first time since its creation. Because of this, The Father believed that the last of Dark Creation, the only powerful enough substance to break the seal, was gone, and the last of it was safeguarded by a well known hero of light.
With this loophole now dawned, Ignotus set his eyes on the Harbinger, more specifically the one wielded by his complete self in the original timeline, as this version contained the remaining essence of Dark Creation within it following its reforge. Ignotus soon planned to have his complete self from the original timeline venture into the rip timeline, where he would steal his Harbinger and use it to fulfill his plan. Wishing to find a way to coax this into happening, Ignotus used No Name to learn of creatures known as the Unversed, which were physical manifestations of powerful negative thoughts and emotions from strong-willed souls with great ties to darkness. Knowing he has a powerful enough soul to conjure the Unversed, Ignotus tapped into his soul to form negative powers to generate an army of Unversed. Ignotus then sends the Unversed into the Nexus, where they would begin leaking into other universes. Knowing it would only be a matter of time before the heroes found out what was going on, Ignotus opens a dark corridor and steps through it, warping away in order to prepare himself for his master plan.
Into the Void[]
As the Unversed begin to spread rapidly across the various timelines and universes intertwined by the Nexus, Mr. Tachibana sits alone aboard The Forsaken as it roams the empty voids of space, still grieving about the loss of The Drifter during their conflict with old friends. His grieving of his friend and his remembrance of those he once knew before his exile soon come to an abrupt end when he is suddenly ambushed by a few Floods. Using his quick wits, he is able to destroy them with his Lightning of the God he had stashed nearby. Recognizing the Unversed as creatures of negative power, Mr. Tachibana realizes that something awry must have transpired in his absence. Suspecting something, he soon opens a portal to the Nexus, where he is horrified to see thousands of Unversed as they wisp their way through the realm and into the portals leading into other universes and timelines. Mr. Tachibana soon navigates his way past the Unversed and discovers that they were emerging from the Roach Chronicles multiverse portal. Timing the surges of Unversed that were exiting from the portal into the Nexus, he soon enters the main portal, where he discovers that the Unversed were emerging from a newly-created rip timeline. As another swarm exits the rip timeline, Mr. Tachibana is forced to enter the portal to the Arc 1 universe before the Unversed could attack him.
Simultaneously, both SEAL Team Five and Amici are fighting the Unversed, which were in larger quantities due to the Arc 1 universe's close proximity to the rip timeline. As a large wave of Unversed corner them, the wave is suddenly obliterated by Mr. Tachibana's Lightning of the God. Recognizing the weapon, Roach realizes it was Mr. Tachibana, one of their allies they met during the Boss Rush tournament that was held by the Grandmaster nearly a month prior. Mac questions Tachibana what was going on, though the latter states that while he doesn't know what exactly was going on, he discovered that the creatures they were fighting, the Unversed, were emerging from a rip timeline of the Zero Arc universe within the Nexus. Chris asks what the Nexus was, to which Tachibana explains that it was an interdimensional realm that connected all universes and timelines that ever came into existence, allowing anyone within the Nexus to travel to those universes and timelines at will, and even create rip timelines, which were alternate histories created from a chosen universe. Tachibana explains to the group that something within the Zero Arc universe rip timeline was creating the Unversed, but he cannot be certain as to what it was. He goes on to explain that the Unversed were creatures that could be manifested by strong negative emotions and powers, and that the number of them depended on how strong the source of these powers were. As Rook quickly dispatches a Flood that was attempting to ambush them, he questions what they could do to stop the Unversed and contain the situation. Mr. Tachibana suggests they travel to the rip timeline, although the Nexus would be unusable due to the devastating swarms of Unversed there. When asked by O'Ryan if he had another way to reach the rip timeline, Tachibana explains that in dire situations, he can create a special pathway known as the Realm Between to create a temporary passage between two desired places directly, although the realm was heavily corroded by darkness. Knowing it was their best shot, the group decide they would use the Realm Between to reach the rip timeline.
As the group enters the Realm Between, the entrance portal closes behind them; Mr. Tachibana explains that he cannot allow the darkness of the realm to emerge into another reality. Looking down the path that laid ahead of them, the Unversed soon begin to form before them. Knowing the Unversed wouldn't let them reach the rip timeline easily, the collective group soon fight their way through the Realm Between. Still haunted by The Drifter's death, the darkness of the realm occasionally would cause Tachibana to break down, as the effects of the realm's darkness would amplify his negative emotions. TJ tells Tachibana that in order to counter this, he must think positive, or else the darkness would consume him. Once the group reached the Upper Zone, they soon fight small surging waves of the Unversed, which would cause the forcefield blocking the final area of the realm to break, creating a small surging orb with the Unversed symbol embedded on it. Gary asks what the orb was, although Tachibana cannot give an explanation. Touching the orb, the path behind them is blocked off by another forcefield while the path ahead of them opens. Following the path, they soon enter a nightmarish forest as a dark vortex awaited them beyond it. Tachibana explains that beyond it lied the place where he can create the exit portal to the rip timeline. Before the group can leave, two glowing red eyes pierce through the darkness within the forest around them. As the ground shook, a monstrous Unversed known as Dark Hide emerged from the darkness and immediately attacks the group. Knowing they couldn't allow this Unversed to follow them, the group stand their ground and fight the beast in a vicious battle.
After some time, Dark Hide soon lets out a final roar before collapsing onto the ground, fading away in a cloud of darkness. Continuing on, the group reach the dark vortex, and upon entering, they find themselves in an area completely enveloped in darkness. Tachibana explains that they made it, and uses his powers to open a white portal. He advises to the group that beyond the portal was unknown to him, telling them to remain vigilant and expect anything. Agreeing among themselves, the group enter the portal in a blinding light.
Ancient Horizon[]
A dark corridor manifests at the badlands of the Graveyard of the Ancients, a site at the base of Mount Saint Helens where a great war between those who sought to acquire a mysterious power occurred. Ignotus emerges from the corridor as it closes behind him, taking in the sights around him. He then proceeds to walk through a small canyon path ahead of him before reaching a vast opening of the badlands. Seeing the clearing ahead of him, he summons No Name and points it in front of him, telling himself that it was nearly time. No Name then begins to charge up with a surge of energy in his hand as he then plunges the blade into the ground, sending out a shockwave that spreads across the clearing. As the skies darken, multiple stone structures begin to shoot out from the ground, forming a massive stone labyrinthine below a forming portal in the sky. Ignotus then levitates to the top of the canyon he passed through, where he oversees the span of the labyrinthine in the horizon. With No Name in hand, he watches as a large stone pillar forms at the base of the maze's center and below the portal. Ignotus then chuckles to himself as lightning strikes in the distance.
Sometime later, another portal opens in the first opening of the badlands as the heroes emerge from the Realm Between. As Tachibana seals off the portal behind them, Peterson is quick to question where they have appeared. Tachibana explains that they are now within the rip timeline of the Zero Arc universe, although Peterson repeats his question, asking for him to specify where they have arrived. As the group looks around, TJ notices Mount Saint Helens a distance to their right, asking how they could be in a desert badlands in an area like this. Tachibana realizes that they are at the Graveyard of the Ancients, the site of a legendary war where those who participated sought to acquire a special power hidden in the badlands. He goes on to explain that this power was the source of the badlands and its odd geographical location. Rook suggests that this mysterious power could be the source of the Unversed, although Tachibana shoots this idea down, saying that this power couldn't possibly be generating negative emotions, although he does believe that the source of the Unversed was nearby. Suddenly, the Unversed soon begin to spawn in around them in large numbers, forcing the group to fight them off as they press through the canyon path ahead.
As the group exits the canyon, they spot a hooded figure standing in the second opening alone. Approaching the figure, the figure congratulates the heroes on their journey thus far, saying that he knew it was one they would be willing to partake in. Roach cautiously readies his sidearm, asking the figure how they know who they are and what they've been doing. The figure chuckles, asking Roach if he would really be willing to shoot himself. Roach gasps as the figure turns to face them, pulling down their hood to reveal their synthetic body. Though different, Roach immediately identifies the figure as Xarcoh and calls out his name. Ignotus chuckles, saying that he has since abandoned that name in exchange for a new one, reintroducing himself as Ignotus. As a brief aura of dark energy fumes off of him, Mac realizes that he was the source of the Unversed. Ignotus confirms this suspicion, saying he learned of the Unversed while he learned of what would be his future in the original timeline. Tachibana asks how he figured this out before Ignotus chuckles, extending his right hand out beside him and summoning No Name. Everyone gasps, recognizing the weapon from the Boss Rush tournament. Tachibana is the most shocked, frantically questioning how he acquired it. Ignotus explains that he found it when he first entered the Nexus, as the weapon returned there once the Grandmaster was slain. Tachibana calls him out, asking how he even got into the Nexus, as he most certainly did not give him the power to access it. Ignotus reveals that following his physical destruction at the hands of Amici in Tunisia, his soul traveled through the rift he created in search of a place for it to rest. While traveling, he was instead brought into the Nexus, where he discovered No Name and used its powers to learn of the events of the original timeline, including what would be his ultimate fate and future. Gary asks how he has a body now before Ignotus reveals he acquired a synthetic body from a destroyed universe connected to the rest of their multiverse. Tachibana realizes that he was referring to the Arc 3 universe, theorizing that its destruction caused a temporal paradox throughout the multiverse that allowed the creation of this rip timeline.
As the Unversed started to converge around them, the heroes question what Ignotus was planning on doing. Ignotus explains that if they really want to find out more, then they must proceed through the labyrinthine behind him to seek out their answers before warping away. As the numbers of the Unversed continued to grow, the heroes are forced to head into the maze in order to escape the growing horde. As they navigated the maze, the group question Tachibana on the special power found at the site. Tachibana explains that it was the power to access that which cannot be normally reached, although he doesn't know what Ignotus could possibly use this power for if he already has a method of accessing the Nexus. Continuing their way through the maze, they encounter a total of four large Unversed battles in four different areas found in the maze, fighting all of them in order to advance forward before reaching the base of a towering pillar at the center of the maze. Concluding it was a dead end as there was no way around it, they soon spot another surging Unversed orb like the one they found in the Realm Between. Knowing that by interacting with it would open the path ahead while unleashing a powerful Unversed, the group prepare themselves before touching the orb, causing the group to teleport to the top of the pillar. Looking around, Ignotus appears before them, mockingly asking if all the fighting was wearing them down. Angered, Roach summons the Harbinger, telling Ignotus to drop the act and tell them what was going on. Instead of summoning No Name, Ignotus instead summons his Harbinger and points it exactly how Roach was towards him, cryptically remarking that "it" was incomplete. While the heroes are confused by this, Ignotus chuckles before offering the group a final clue in the form of the Iron Imprisoner before warping away laughing.
After the group fights and defeats the Iron Imprisoner after a frantic and tiring battle, it fades away like Dark Hide did. Asking if it was over, the ground suddenly shakes as lightning begins to strike around the maze before the bolts strike upwards into the portal above, revealing a spatial-like padlock in the form of a constellation. As the group questions what it was, Ignotus warps behind Roach, sideswiping him and causing him to drop his Harbinger while his guard is down. Ignotus quickly grabs it while dropping his own Harbinger onto the ground, and before the other heroes can react, Ignotus uses Roach's Harbinger to knock them down with a powerful shockwave, causing their weapons to blow off the side of the pillar and into the maze below. Ignotus levitates towards the lock, explaining that it was the seal of the Nexus, saying that The Father created it in order to prevent the Nexus from ever being changed; not even The Son or Nexus Apparitions could do such a feat as the seal prevented them from doing so. Roach asks what he was doing with his Harbinger before Ignotus reminds him of what was imbued within it; Dark Creation, a substance that could manipulate destiny. He explains that The Father could only use No Name to see into the future it was being consecutively passed through, saying The Father only saw up until the events of the Boss Rush tournament and nothing after it, as No Name returned to the Nexus without an owner that was gifted the weapon. Because of this, he thought that Dark Creation, the only substance powerful enough to break the seal, was forever gone and entrusted in the right hands in the form of Roach and his Harbinger. Ignotus reveals that everything that has happened with the Unversed was all part of his plan in order to lure Roach into the rip timeline so he could steal his Harbinger and open the seal, allowing him to assume control of the Nexus and reshape it into his own image. Ignotus then mocks Tachibana, thanking him for everything he has done in making this possible before sending a beam of energy from the Harbinger into the lock, causing it to shatter and for Ignotus to be consumed by a beam of cosmic energy. As Ignotus laughs in victory as his physical appearance changes, he enters the portal above as it closes behind him in a thunderous explosion.
As the heroes got up from the ground, they question Tachibana what they could do, but he does not give an answer. Instead, he silently stares towards where the portal once was as he sighs in disbelief before closing his eyes.
Pursuit of Truth[]
Tachibana opens his eyes to find himself in an endless black void. As he looks at his hands, he notices that he has returned to his original form as The Son, thinking aloud what this could mean. At that moment, an echoing voice asks if the seal has been broken. The Son looks around before he sees a light piercing through the darkness as it approaches him, which manifests into an apparition of The Father. The Son is shocked, as he has not seen The Father since the Nexus's creation so long ago. The Son answers his question, saying that Ignotus has broken the seal and assumed control of the Nexus. The Father tells The Son that he feared this day would come, and even though he saw what he could in the future, it did not provide him with the answers he was looking for to prevent this from happening. The Son asks what could be done, and The Father smiles, telling The Son that for them to fix the future, they must relive the past before the darkness around them explodes into a blinding light.
Before continuing, The Father asks The Son if he needed to prepare for what awaited them. The Son denies, saying that he would feel the pain regardless. As the light fades, The Son and The Father discover their past selves walking away from a temple as the sounds of an ongoing war engulfs the atmosphere around them. While The Son initial takes cover, The Father reminds him that they are in a memory-based projection of the past, explaining that they could not be seen nor harmed, nor could they interact with anything. As they observed the memory, they witness the past versions of themselves talking about Potens Virgam and Kar'auk before time stops. The Father tells The Son that this was a vague memory of his, causing The Son to question who Kar'auk was. The Father explains that Kar'auk was the Hive Emperor who manipulated the Hive's hatred towards the Nexu by creating false claims of deception against the Hive. The Son asks if these accusations were indeed true, although The Father denies, saying that Kar'auk was influenced by Mora the Forgotten, an ancient Nexu enemy who attempted to become the new ruler of the Nexu people and overthrow The Father. Upon finishing his sentence, time resumes, and the two witness the Hive successfully wounding The Father. The Past Son witnesses this and runs over to him, calling out if he was alright, though The Father remains silent and gives The Son Potens Virgam. Through his body, The Son could see that when his past self took hold of the weapon, he could feel the power channeling throughout his body at the exact same moment as his past self. However, time had froze once again. The Father tells The Son that this moment was the one time he truly experienced pain and loss, though The Son claims that he has experienced many more. The Father explains that those are Mr. Tachibana's memories, and that as The Son's host, he possessed the power to nearly subdue The Son internally. Time resumes, and the two witness The Past Son using Potens Virgam to slaughter the attacking Hive in fury. The Past Son attempts to help The Past Father, though the latter states that his time was up, gifting The Past Son his power of reincarnation before requesting Potens Virgam. Once The Past Son gives him it, he tells The Past Son to seek out a future where the Hive lose before a blinding light consumes The Past Son, sending him into an endless void with Potens Virgam in hand. In despair, he came to the conclusion that The Father had sacrificed himself to create the Nexus, and that it was his job to keep moving forward in time. Both versions of The Son felt pain, not wanting to let go of their Father.
As the memory begins to become distorted, The Father confirms that he had indeed sacrificed himself to create the Nexus, and in the process he saw everything in the span of five seconds up until Potens Virgam lost its owner and returned to the Nexus, where he believed that everything that would be a threat to the Nexus was gone, adding that he couldn't have been anymore wrong. The Son states that he cannot continue, for the pain was too much for him to bear. The Father tells The Son that Ignotus has won then before revealing that everything that has transpired since the creation of the Nexus is in Ignotus's hands, adding that if there was no way to reverse what Ignotus has done, then The Father wouldn't be standing before him once again as an apparition. The Son questions if defeating Ignotus and reclaiming the Nexus was even possible, stating that he no longer has the power to control the Nexus. The Father questions if The Son will let everyone down because he feels that he does not have power and allow Ignotus to erase all of which they built. The Son realizes he was right; if The Son did not have power then the apparition of The Father wouldn't be there with him; if there was no way to challenge Ignotus, The Father would not have left an apparition of himself. The Son comments that a lot of pain will come back to him as they keep moving forward. The Father tells him to absorb that pain, adding that from pain comes strength. In another blinding light, the two are teleported again to another memory, this one within Esmeralda's room. The Son is immediately struck with distress, knowing all too well what this memory entailed upon seeing Esmeralda gravely ill in bed. Ozma soon walks into the room and stops upon seeing her condition. Simultaneously, The Father tells The Son that this is one of those painful memories, though The Son doesn't reply, and instead gazes at Esmeralda as she begins to grow even more pale, an effect of the mysterious disease she had acquired. The Father explains that Ozma was the host that provided The Son humanity, with The Son adding that it was the host where he had found love. Not long after, Doctor Schulte enters the room and calls for Ozma to speak with him in private in the hall. The Son and The Father follow them out, and Schulte explains to Ozma that the sickness Esmeralda had was unlike any before, something that was rejecting all forms of medicine, and was seemingly "alive" in its own right. Ozma asks if there was anything he could do, though Schulte apologizes and denies.
Sighing, Ozma thanks the Doctor before returning to Esmeralda's side as time freezes again. The Father questions the purpose of lying to someone on the brink of death, to which The Son explains that it makes it easier on humans, and that if they know without being told, then they will come to peace with themselves, letting their thoughts focus on their loved ones. The Father agrees, and The Son wishes things would have happened differently. The Father explains that if he wanted to do that, it would cause the Nexus to be destabilized, and though The Son asks if the creation of an alternate universe would work, The Father explains that since he was present in that time, it cannot be done. The Son questions that he thought that that was the purpose of the Nexus to do such feats such as changing history, to which the Father agrees with, though as a limitation, The Son himself cannot do such an undergoing, as the price he would pay would be the complete erasure of time and space. Time once again unfroze as Ozma went down to kiss Esmeralda's forehead, still holding onto her hand. The Son felt the emotions Ozma was feeling at the time, sensing that Ozma didn't want her to leave him. Being a former host, The Son felt sorrow for himself, Mr. Tachibana and Ozma; to all three of them, the love that Esmeralda gave was their ichiban no takaramono. The Son leaned down as well, kissing her forehead, despite not being able to physically make contact. The Father tells The Son to keep moving forward as time advances a few days into the future. The two find themselves in the living room, where Ozma is with his four daughters. The Father is initially confused, though The Son explains that Ozma, and by extension himself, had offspring. When one of the daughters asked how their mother Esmeralda was doing, The Son and The Apparition could both clearly see that Ozma wanted to lie again. The Son knew that's what he wanted to do, but couldn't bring himself forward in doing so because the children's happiness was something they deeply cared about. Ozma explains that Esmeralda was going somewhere far away in order to get better, and continues that they would be staying with their aunt for a bit.
Time froze again, and The Father comments that they were all so young. Not hearing a response from The Son, The Father turns to him, only to find him down on his knees looking at Ozma's daughter Sophia directly in the face as a tear ran down his right eye; he missed her deeply. Sophia was the last to be born, and thus granting her the same abilities and traits as The Son, making her a Nexu as well, but The Son was unaware of it. The Father however knew, as required, and did not tell The Son as he figured he knew already. Advancing time a few hours shortly after the children had left with their aunt, Ozma was back at Esmeralda's side, the latter asks if everything was going to be alright. The Son began to feel his distress coming up once again, feeling as if he was dying and that he wanted to do something, but could not. Ozma tells her yes, and that he would love her forever; through death and resurrection, in another life if they are to become enemies or are separated, Ozma promises that he would never love another ever again, and that Esmeralda would always remain in his thoughts. With her final breath, Esmeralda tells Ozma she would meet him again in another life before dying. The Son places his hand on her forehead as The Father did nothing but watch as the memory went on. However, Ozma, Mr. Tachibana and The Son all at the same time manifested feelings of sorrow, sadness and depression. Ozma cried, as he hugged his wife's now lifeless body. The Son stood up beside him, now crying as well. He felt what Ozma felt. The feeling of losing someone they truly loved was something that The Son disliked to feel. But it was the way of life. He couldn't change that, it was out of his reach. He had to live with the path life had given him, whether he approved or not; Ozma then softly told Esmeralda that he would she her on the other side. As time again freezes, The Father himself is saddened by this, and solemnly concludes it as a tragic ending. The Father praises Ozma as a man of truth and peace, and before he can say more, The Son interrupts and continues that he was a librarian, with every story ready to be told for the occasion, and that Ozma once told The Son a story of hope, saying that he should never let go if he believed things would come his way in the future to come. The Father tells The Son that he has indeed held onto that hope and believed right, causing The Son to ask how so. The Father explains that though Ozma had taken his own life and separated himself from his daughters, he was ultimately reunited with Esmeralda, and The Son hoped he would be on the same path, which he was indeed correct with. The Father notes that Doctor Schulte had mentioned something that was rejecting his medicine, and that they both know what it really was: The Angel. The Father explains that Esmeralda was reborn as The Angel, a now evil spirit bent on revenge towards The Son and ruling the Nexus. The Father wishes to continue with their journey, though The Son wishes for a few more minutes. Sitting by his former host, The Son tells Ozma that he cannot hear him and that he was sorry. He goes on to say that "the man in your head" is sorry too, and though he is different than The Son is, the three of them are the same. He continues that Sophia will one day understand as she is as strong as Esmeralda was before saying one last goodbye. As time resumes, The Son and Father depart the memory as Ozma continues to cry over Esmeralda.
As The Son and The Father arrive at yet another memory, The Father reveals he was surprised that The Son held feelings of sorrow for her. When The Son explains he loved Esmeralda, The Father corrects himself and The Son by revealing he was referring to Mrs. Nakamura as the next memory plays out. In this memory, the two find themselves at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Nakamura, leaders of the Nakamura Crime Family. Upon entering the house, they discover the two were housing a meeting with other members, discussing the problems of the Italian and Irish mobs trespassing in their territory. Internally, The Son could see his past self interacting with Mr. Nakamura, and after his past self makes a snide remark on a mobster's suggestion, Mr. Namamura excuses himself from the room before confronting The Son's past self mentally. The Father instructs The Son to touch Mr. Nakamura's forehead, though The Son reminds him that he cannot make physical contact with him. However, The Father reveals that he has the power to allow The Son to carry out this task, something The Son becomes furious over after realizing that he could've shared another moment with Esmeralda, though The Father justifies his actions by revealing there was something in that particular memory that would've compromised their mission. Sighing, The Son begrudgingly complies and begins eavesdropping on his past self and Mr. Nakamura's conversation. Through it, he learns that Mr. Tachibana wasn't keen on remembering Mr. Nakamura as a previous host, as the latter despised having "a voice in his head". After The Son steps back from touching Mr. Tachibana's forehead, he glares off to notice a family portrait of the Nakamuras, something The Fathers follows suit in. He comments that they looked strikingly like the children of Ozma and Esmeralda, something The Son was shocked at learning, but was nonetheless relived that there was a possibility to reunite with them. The Father reveals that Sophia had inherited the power to reincarnate through other hosts, though he was confused as to how she got Ozma's powers since she was the last-born of the family, which causes The Son to become angered again after learning he withheld information from him twice now, though The Father explains that he thought The Son was already aware of this. Already annoyed, The Son asks The Father to take them to the pain of the memory, to which he complies with.
The two are transported to the interior of a limousine owned by the Nakamura Crime Family, where Mr. and Mrs. Nakamura were being driven. Mentally, Mr. Nakamura was engaging in a conversation with The Son's past self, and once The Son placed his hand on Mr. Nakamura's forehead, he learns that his past self had used Mr. Nakamura's body to save Mrs. Nakamura, something Mr. Tachibana was surprised at, as he did not realize The Past Son cared for her. The Past Son explains that he develops the memories, emotions and personality of his hosts before going on to reveal his powers and what will inevitably happen once Mr. Nakamura dies as the vehicle stops at a red light. Once the light goes green, the vehicle begins to move, though tragedy soon struck; a speeding vehicle blew through their red light and collides with the limousine, causing it to flip onto its roof. The Son soon realizes that the crash had taken Mrs. Nakamura's life, and soon witnesses Mr. Nakamura desperately begging for The Past Son to save her, no matter the cost. The Past Son solemnly explains that the only way for her to be saved was if Mr. Nakamura allowed The Past Son to extract his soul's essence, which he would use to save Mrs. Nakamura, but at the cost of his own life; a soul for a soul. With a tough decision before him, Mr. Nakamura ultimately allows The Past Son to carry this motion out, thus resurrecting Mrs. Nakamura while surrendering his own life for her's. As the time froze, The Apparition asks if The Son was starting to feel any different now, though The Son remarks that he still feels pain, even if he wasn't present during most of these memories. The Father explains that they are coming back to him, though The Son sighed and wished to move forward, not wanting to discuss what just happened; mainly to avoid asking questions that would have no answers. The Father accepted that whatever pain was here had been absorbed, drawing them closer to their goal as they depart the memory after attending Mr. Nakamura's funeral.
Upon returning to the void, The Son questions why they weren't continuing on with their mission. The Father explains that he needs to check up on something before summoning Odin, one of the few Nexus Apparitions standing against Ignotus. The Son is surprised to learn from Odin that the Norse Gods are in actuality Nexus Apparitions, though The Father reminds Odin to stay on track after he goes on a small history lesson. Odin reveals that he was spying on Ignotus in secret, learning that he had constructed a realm at the heart of the Nexus, claiming that it was a supposed paradise, though Odin is unsure as to what Ignotus's overarching goal is and how the realm correlates to it. After The Father thanks Odin, he leaves, leaving the two Nexu to ponder on Ignotus. The Son asks if they should be concerned with Ignotus's current actions, though The Father explains that while Ignotus is busy with the creation of his new realm, he wouldn't be busy searching for the two Nexu. The Son asks about the Heretic Apparitions now serving Ignotus and if they would come after them, though The Father remains confident that the Unique Apparitions are doing their job to mask the Nexu's presence from the rest of the Nexus, leaving them dark to Ignotus. Concluding their theorizing, The Father soon shuffles through Mr. Tachibana's memories before coming across one that the latter had intentionally tried to forget. Materializing themselves in the memory, they find themselves at an abandoned factory, where they witness a hostage situation; a teenage girl named Lucy was being held hostage by an unknown woman, with an equally unknown man attempting to control the situation. Observing them, The Son soon detects the presence of three other Nexu as the memory freezes, causing him to question the man's identity. The Father reveals that he was another host named Marshall, the host of the one trying to repress these forgotten memories, causing The Son to question if the three Nexu he was detecting was The Father, Marshall and Lucy. However, The Father remarks that he wasn't the third Nexu he was detecting, as he was merely an apparition of The Father and thus wasn't the real deal, causing The Son to realize that the woman was also a Nexu as well.
As the memory continued, Marshall tosses a bag containing one million dollars onto the ground, demanding for Lucy to be released. The woman laughs however, explaining that this was more than just money, which causes The Son to be alarmed upon recognizing her choice of words. Upon using the word "humanly", Marshall questions what she was going on about, causing the woman to notice his lack of memory and resolves to remind him; she was a survivor of the war against the Hive, furious over both his and The Father's abandonment of their troops. This revelation further alarms both The Son and The Father, as neither of them did not think any Nexu survived the war with the Hive, not alone escape it. Mr. Tachibana, currently within Marshall, began to remember about his past journeys. He remembered leaving a temple and traveling with someone, it horrified him. He could not handle the guilt he suddenly felt, as did The Son as the memory froze once more. The Son questions who she before Sif, another Neuxs Apparition, appears and telepathically gives The Father the information from her search. Once she leaves, The Father becomes visibly worried, causing The Son to question what he had just learned. The Father soon reveals a dark revelation; the woman before them was in fact a host of The Angel. The Son is soon drenched in fear; out of all the enemies that Mr. Tachibana had made throughout time, he didn't think that The Angel would be a Nexu. His thoughts immediately centered on Esmeralda. When The Son questions if it was true, The Father tells that it was, and goes on to reveal that Lucy is actually Sophia as he continues the memory. The Angel's host continues, saying that she has longed for revenge on The Son before drawing a firearm and pointing it behind Lucy. As Marshall takes a step, The Angel's host reveals that all of them present were Nexu, and they possessed the power to reincarnate through other hosts. Revealing that Sophia as Lucy has that power too, The Angel's host sadistically remarks that she had stripped Sophia of that power, saying that she would die along with her host. Simultaneously however, The Father knew that this was an impossible feat, but leaves The Son in the dark of this information, only to allow the following events to play out while he stood witness. As The Angel's host berates Marshall, The Son desperately attempts to get The Father to allow him to interact with The Angel inside her host, but to no avail as The Father silently refused. As Sophia finally spoke through Lucy, and Marshall soon remembered who he once was as Ozma and The Son and begins to speak with his daughter for the first time in millennia, The Angel's host violently executes Lucy with a shot to the head as the memory ceases. The Son, emotionally shattered, collapses to the ground as The Father mournfully apologies. The Son, his face flooding with tears, yells Sophia's name is anguish to the void above.
As The Son continued to lament over Sophia, he furiously questions why he had to deal with so many emotional losses, blaming Ignotus for manifesting at the worst possible time for him while arrogantly protesting he would have rather died and let the Hive win than live in a future with so much personal tragedy, all while rejecting The Father's advice to absorb the pain for their mission. Knowing deep down he truly did not believe this, The Father responds that The Son knows the true cost of letting the Hive win and continues to lie to him on Sophia's true fate, telling him to continue the mission for her, or else her death would be in vain. Pulling himself back together after being reminded that Ignotus still possessed No Name and could potential end their existences at any moment should he learn the Eye's true powers, The Son tells The Father he would not forgive him for denying him one last chance to see Sophia personally, but begrudgingly readies himself nonetheless for the final memory. The Father soon selects the final memory, one that had transpired five years prior, and is intrigued to discover Mr. Tachibana had split himself for this specific host: The Drifter. The two soon venture into the memory, appearing in The Drifter's quarters aboard The Derelict, which could be identified by a song playing on a nearby radio, one The Son explained fit The Drifter well. Navigating through the ship, the two discover Mr. Tachibana and The Drifter, both of whom looked indistinguishable from one another, in a meeting with several other associates celebrating something. Internally, The Son could sense his past self within Mr. Tachibana, but could not sense anything within The Drifter. Pausing the memory, The Father soon discovers that Mr. Tachibana was utilizing a special drink known as Who's Who II to clone himself, sending these various incarnations across the many universes and timelines in the Nexus, all while assembling a small army of them in their current timeline.
Resuming the memory, the celebrating associates discuss their payments for assisting the two lookalikes in taking down their various rivals, to which Mr. Tachibana promises they will all be paid handsomely and that the money awaits them in the hold. Out of the associates, The Son identifies one of them, Breach, wasn't as joyful as the others, and ponders what was wrong with him as he could faintly sense The Angel's presence. The Father immediately calls for Baldr, another Nexus Apparition who was currently deep undercover in Ignotus' paradise and bearing the new robes the Nexus Apparitions received. Like Sif, Baldr telepathically tells The Father the information he needed before parting away, leaving The Father to explain that The Angel was within Breach's head, attempting to make a pawn out of him. To himself, The Father finally learned that Mr. Tachibana realized his connection to The Angel via The Son, causing The Father to realize that Mr. Tachibana had been cloning himself and placing his various selves in universes and timelines that he found of high interest in order to prepare an army of his own for an incoming conflict, one that even The Father could not foresee. The Father instructs The Son to place his hand on Breach's forehead, who soon discovers that The Angel was influencing Breach into killing Mr. Tachibana. As Breach stood up from his chair, the memory froze, causing The Father to comment that time and again The Angel would be the cause of some of Mr. Tachibana's torment, and his hosts ultimately meet their ends one way or another. As the memory resumed, Breach drew his sidearm and shot The Drifter, mistaking him as Mr. Tachibana due to their identical appearance, which results in the Rogue Ghosts pinning down Breach while Mr. Tachibana held his dying friend in his arms. Reminiscing over the time they shared together, The Drifter ultimately passes away in his friend's arms, leaving Mr. Tachibana to furiously execute Breach in spite upon hearing The Angel's voice coming from him. As the memory concluded, The Father reacts to the memory by saying he had nothing to say about it for the first time. The Son meanwhile was quiet; he was glad that everything was over, but knew deep down it wasn't. Suddenly, something triggers in his head, and he asks for a brief moment to himself as the two return to the Nexus. Complying, The Father disappears, leaving The Son to think to himself.
As The Son began to ponder over everything he had just witnessed, he soon notices a glaring light approaching him in the distance. Standing up, The Son is soon greeted by manifestations of all of his previous hosts, including ones The Son did not encounter in his memory recaps. Confused as to why all of them have gathered, the final manifestation appears: Mr. Tachibana himself in his original form. Tachibana questions The Son what he thinks on everything happening the way they did, asking why his essence chose to merge with theirs. The Son responds that it was because his essence resonated with like-minded individuals, though Ozma stops him, saying that it was because he had lost sight of his mission. Tachibana, along with the rest of the hosts, explain that every time The Son joined them, he would lose more and more of himself, and would ultimately become nothing more than a nameless muse for his hosts. As The Son realizes that everything they've said was true, Tachibana tells him that everything his mission thus far was all for him to fulfill his mission: to finally remember who he was and what he is truly capable of. For the first time in eons, The Son finally comes to peace; he finally reclaims himself as The Son as a surge of energy begins to flow through his hands. As this happened, every host he had throughout time began to merge with him, granting him what pain they had left, turning it into strength. Each prominent host had given him a piece of their personality and their trait; Mr. Tachibana gave his life-force and essence, Ozma gave his generosity, Mr. Nakamura gave his integrity, The Man in the Trench Coat gave his determination, Ilse Kissling gave her self-control, Marshall gave his persistence, The Mysterious Man gave his patience, and The Drifter gave his optimism. With each merging into him, they had all become one. A single essence formed from many. They had become The Son.
Suddenly, The Son opened his eyes again, finding himself back in the Graveyard of the Ancients with the others. He questions what was going on, and comes to learn from Doc that he had collapsed onto his knees, having blacked out for about ten seconds before jolting back up. Getting off of the ground, Roach questions what he was thinking, to which The Son explains that in those ten seconds, Ignotus had built himself an entire realm in the heart of the Nexus, something that the others became extremely confused at. The Son dismisses their confusion, saying that it would take longer than they have to explain everything they had just seen before asking for the group to now call him The Son. Agreeing, Roach asks what should be done as The Son takes notice of Ignotus's discarded Harbinger. Walking over to it, The Son asks if he could use it, though Roach says that it technically isn't his and that he didn't care if they used Ignotus's own stuff. Looking back towards where the portal once was, The Son manifests a shotgun in his left hand, placing it on his back while suddenly de-materializing Ignotus's Harbinger. As a surge of energy envelopes his left hand, a white portal forms in front of the group. Roach asks The Son what the plan was, to which he merely responds with a grin on his face as he leads them through the portal.
Ascendance[]
As the light glistens away, the heroes find themselves on a dock in front of a large mountain containing numerous white and golden buildings in a sunny and clear world surrounded by water. Taking in the sights as they spot more mountain towns across the water, O’Ryan admires the place’s beauty, though The Son says that “looks can be deceiving”. Roach questions where they ended up, to which The Son explains that they have arrived at the heart of the Nexus, where Ignotus reigns complete control over the Nexus, explaining that their current location was created as a realm contained within the Nexus itself. The group soon converges onto the town’s main gate until they are suddenly ambushed by multiple Unversed. As they ready their spare sidearms, with the exception of The Son materializing The Return, Mac theorizes that the Unversed would be in greater numbers here than any other place as they make their stand to protect their master from the intruders.
After clearing the wave of Unversed, the group enters the town. Upon reaching a blue and golden compass created out of tiles on the ground, Gary notices a surging dark particle effect emerging from the adjacent staircase to the north. Suddenly, the surging materializes into a robed figure, to which The Son immediately recognizes as a Heretic Apparition. When asked what that was by Doc, The Son explains that the Nexus Apparitions overall were created by The Father to safeguard the Nexus in The Son’s absence, remarking that Ignotus must have manipulated a majority of them to serve him. Suddenly, more Heretic Apparitions materialize around the group, making a total of twelve as they levitate above the group in a circle formation. Before the heroes can ask the apparitions on Ignotus’s whereabouts, they individually warp away, though one remains to engage the group in a small battle. After the heroes emerge triumphant in the battle, the apparition collapses to the ground as darkness begins to emerge from its body, though nothing else happens. Chris asks what their next course of action should be, to which The Son responds that they should look for the other eleven apparitions, suggesting that by defeating them all will the path to Ignotus be revealed. Agreeing, the group begin traversing around the entire mountain, fighting off the Unversed and the apparitions once they revealed themselves. Meanwhile on the citadel on the top of the mountain, Ignotus materializes, pondering on what the sudden commotion was. Looking down towards the town below, he realizes that the heroes have found their way into the Nexus as they defeat his minions. Horrified that his position as ruler of the Nexus might not last, Ignotus begins to scheme a way to defeat the heroes before having to fight them himself as a last resort. Noticing the apparitions were not fading away after being defeated, Ignotus hatches an idea.
After defeating the last of the apparitions, the heroes regroup back at the compass at the front side of the mountain, where they spot that the darkness leaking from the defeated apparitions were materializing into an Unversed orb at the center of the compass. Knowing that by doing this they would summon a powerful Unversed to combat, the heroes prepare themselves before touching the orb together. Interestingly, the orb disappears without teleporting the group anywhere, though the gates leading to the other parts of the town suddenly close. Wondering what was happening, Ignotus materializes before the heroes, encased in a protective barrier. Ignotus mocks the heroes for entering the Nexus with the knowledge of the limitless power he possesses, though the heroes call him out as a coward for not fighting against them directly. Ignotus simply scoffs, saying that there can’t be a game without pawns before snapping his fingers. Suddenly, the apparitions around the town are lifted into the air as they dissolve into white and black orbs of darkness, which shoot up to the top of the citadel. As the orbs combine, the skies above darken as a red ring of energy materializes above the main mountain town. The heroes question what was going on, though Ignotus merely chuckles before warping away. As the orb enlarges, it suddenly explodes, revealing a massive Unversed known as the Trinity Armor, which soon warps in front of the heroes. The heroes soon engage the Trinity Armor in a vicious battle around the main part of the town, which results in major damage to the town from the fighting. Despite the Trinity Armor’s best attempts to destroy the heroes, it is ultimately defeated as it rises into the air and explodes in a surge of dark energy as the red ring vanishes. Ignotus soon angrily yells from the top of the citadel, furious over the constant interference from the heroes. Ignotus swears retaliation, explaining that he will use his powers to purge the entire Arc 1 universe from existence, and all other universes they hold dear to them as punishment for their attempts to stop him as he uses Roach’s stolen Harbinger to form a yellow portal leading to the Arc 1 universe above the citadel.
Knowing they have to stop Ignotus before he could enact his plan, the heroes soon spot an opening leading up to the previously inaccessible gondola station as a result of the carnage from their battle with the Trinity Armor. Fighting through the last remnants of the Unversed in the town, the heroes enter the station and activate a gondola, using it to ride it to the base of the citadel. As the gondola ascended to the citadel station, Roach remarks that if they were to fall, he was honored to have been fighting with his friends and allies that helped start this entire journey. Once the gondola reaches its stop, the heroes exit it and enter the citadel, where they spot an Unversed orb bearing the Harbinger’s symbol on it instead. Knowing the final battle awaited them, the group nod to one another before touching the orb, resulting in them being warped to the roof of the citadel, where Ignotus stood before them. Ignotus remarks that in another place, another time, he beared no soul, and when he finally got one, he never did anything with its power as he underestimated it as nothing more than a distraction. As he holds one hand out while placing the other on his chest, he remarks that things are different now, telling the heroes to see his soul’s power for themselves. In his other hand, he summons an orb of darkness, continuing that they will feel, know and accept his soul as he proceeds to slam his hand with the orb into the ground, causing a surge of darkness to surround him that summons an army of Unversed. As the heroes prepare to fight them, Ignotus merely chuckles as he begins to emit a dark aura, proceeding to create a large gravitational pull that begins to suck everything towards him. While the heroes struggle to maintain a foothold, all of the Unversed are absorbed into Ignotus, who proceeds to rise into the air as he begins to pulse with dark energy. As Ignotus clenches his fists and curls up, he releases a massive dark shockwave, sending the heroes backwards as he is encased by a large orb of darkness. As the heroes get up, a large Unversed symbol appears near the top of the orb as a pillar of darkness connects the orb to the ground and two dark wings sprout out from the sides of the orb. As Peterson nervously asks what was happening, two Unversed eyes appear on the front of the orb, followed by a mouth as it lets out a terrifying shriek. Knowing what must be done, the heroes engage the Unversed in a massive fight as it encases the area in a sphere of darkness.
After defeating the Unversed, it begins to form purple cracks around it. As the glow in the cracks brighten, the Unversed explodes, causing the dark sphere encasing the arena to explode and cleanse it of darkness, turning the dark sky into that of a beautiful night sky. As the light of the portal overhead shines down onto the citadel roof, Ignotus, having survived, gets up from the ground and angrily remarks that it was far from over. As he attempts to open a dark corridor to escape, he discovers that nothing has happened. Realizing that there was no escape and that he had lost the power to conjure the Unversed as a result of all of his darkness being purged, Ignotus screams in anger as the heroes bask in their victory. The Son orders Ignotus to stand down and accept defeat, though the latter refuses, stating that he doesn’t need darkness in order to destroy them before summoning the stolen Harbinger. Ignotus explains that once he destroys them once and for all, he will erase every universe connected to the Nexus that he could, and create perfect new ones in his image in their place as everyone prepares for the final battle. As the battle raged, the heroes give their best to defeat Ignotus, though despite weakening him greatly, Ignotus is able to overwhelm the heroes by unleashing a powerful blast of energy from within him, scattering everyone around the arena. As Rook weakly gets up, Ignotus loomed overhead, kicking him back down as he prepared to kill him. Simultaneously, The Son leans up from the ground, where he sees Roach nodding to him, mouthing that it was time he stepped up. Nodding back, The Son yells for Ignotus to stop. Complying, Ignotus questions if they were going to surrender, though The Son remarks that it was him he wanted to destroy, asking for Ignotus to spare the others in exchange for killing him. Horrified, the others beg for The Son to turn down the deal, though Ignotus eagerly accepts, saying that they will have his word. As The Son stands up, ready to take the fatal blow, Ignotus readies the stolen Harbinger and charges at him. However, The Son grins, and summons Ignotus’s former Harbinger, resulting in a massive clash between the two swords. A shocked Ignotus tries to break through, though The Son stood his ground. As the words of his former hosts echoed back to him, The Son begins to overpower Ignotus. However, the clash had weakened both of the Harbingers immensely, and as the struggle continued, both of the swords ultimately gave in and crumbled to pieces, resulting in an explosion that sends the two backwards. As a battered Ignotus attempts to cope with what just happened, The Son begins to charge at him as his arms start to surge with white energy. Desperate to stop the incoming assault, Ignotus summons No Name and attempts to slash at him, though The Son ducks under his attack and proceeds to punch Ignotus, the force and power within his hands are enough to completely shatter Ignotus’s synthetic body into pieces.
As No Name fell to the ground, The Son stood over the remains of Ignotus’s body, which began to glow white and fade away into the light emitting from the portal overhead; with Ignotus’s defeat, The Son reclaimed the discarded No Name, and in the process regained his rightful place as the Nexus’s ruler. The Son looks up towards the portal as he puts both his hands together on No Name before sending out a beam of cosmic energy from its head into the portal, which causes it to dissipate; the resulting closure causes Ignotus’s former realm to fade away, returning everyone to the Nexus. As the others celebrated their victory, the apparition of The Father appears before The Son, congratulating him for triumphing over Ignotus and restoring the Nexus back to its former glory. The Son asks the apparition what he intended to do next, though the apparition explains that now that his duties have been fulfilled, he would ultimately fade away. Knowing time with him was short, The Son thanks the apparition for everything he’s done, and the two share an awkward air hug. As he begins to fade away, the apparition smiles and cryptically remarks that “she’s still around” before winking and fading away completely, leaving The Son to be baffled by his remark. Thinking to himself for a moment, The Son realizes that he could have fully meant Sophia, and instead of cursing the apparition for lying to him, he thanks him, saying that with the Nexus back in his control, he would now begin a new mission; a search for his long-lost daughter. The others, having seen everything, ask if this meant he would be doing this alone, to which The Son explains that he would prefer that very much, saying that his search would be too confusing for them to comprehend before sharing a hearty laugh with his allies. Manifesting an exit portal for them, he tells the heroes that they are more than welcome to use the Nexus, though jokingly tells them to avoid some “certain places” before thanking them all for everything they’ve done. As the heroes of the Arc 1 universe say their goodbyes and depart for their own universe, The Son closes the portal, but soon takes note of the barren remains of the Arc 3 universe’s portal nearby. Sensing a faint Nexu presence within the portal, The Son tells himself that his search begins there before using No Name to send a beam of energy into the portal.
Chain of Memories[]
A couple weeks have past following Ignotus’s defeat as a college bus drives down a small highway through the Louisiana marshes. Aboard are a group of college students selected to participate in a field trip to the grand opening of the Museum of Unnatural History, which contains a vast collection of many artifacts that found their way through time and space and into the Arc 1 universe. One of the students is Abigail Payne, a young albeit skilled hacker and technological expert who is on her iPad playing games while listening to rock music through her earphones. A few seats in front of her is Jane Samson, a popular and well-known student of the college who thrives to earn her nursing degree, who is talking with a few of her close friends about what to expect at the museum. Shortly afterwards, the bus pulls up to the entrance of the museum and lets the students off before driving away. A chaperone begins organizing the students into small groups, and Abigail and Jane are soon paired together for the trip with two other girls. As they proceed towards the entrance, the group introduce themselves, though Abigail is somewhat reluctant to introduce herself. Once the students and chaperones are into the lobby and past security, they go off into their groups and begin exploring the museum. As the group of girls talk about their majors and plans after college while taking in the sights of the new exhibits, they pass by Marcus and Theodore Hudson, a father-son fisherman duo who were visiting the museum, as it was not far from their home in Baton Rouge. The two are looking at an overhead map of Station 11, as well as pictures of the island during a stormy night, reading over the history that was written out by the museum’s enigmatic curator. Marcus questions if the curator was making this stuff up, though Theodore explains that if it was, then it would most certainly fall under the “unnatural” part.
Meanwhile, a group of students and a chaperone enter an exhibit known as the Crater of Hell, which is set within a piece of the Group 935 facility found on the Moon, as well as the once damaged now repaired MPD that was recovered from the Arc 2 universe. Overlooking the device from the adjacent balcony, one of the students notice a blue light starting to shine at the top of the MPD, though the chaperone dismisses it as part of the exhibit. The light begins to get brighter and brighter before lightning begins to form around it. Simultaneously, Jane and Abigail reach the food court while the other two girls go to use the restroom. Marcus and Theodore soon arrive and sit at a table nearby discussing their fishing trip next weekend when the power begins to flicker. Back at the Crater of Hell exhibit, the surging of the light goes critical as it sends a beam of blue energy through the roof above the MPD, creating a small portal in the sky as a white light is sucked down through the spire of energy, crashing into the MPD and sending out a blue shockwave of energy. Though the MPD is unaffected and unscathed, the shockwave sends everyone caught in it flying backwards. As one of the students get up, they notice their arm beginning to decay as if their flesh were rotting away. Screaming in horror, the student is soon transformed into a zombie as its eyes begin to glow deep blue. Following suit, everyone else caught in the shockwave transforms into a zombie as they begin to infect the rest of the museum. As the power finally turns off completely, the shrieks of zombies and panicked civilians fill the air. A zombie soon approaches the food court and attempts to charge towards Jane and Abigail, but Theodore notices this and takes out a holstered pistol and blows off its head, its body collapsing just in front of the two girls. Looking up towards him, Theodore introduces himself before saying that he’s permitted to carry weapons. Suddenly, more zombies begin to rush the group; Theodore tells Marcus and the girls to follow him as they fight their way back towards the lobby. Reaching the lobby, the group attempts to exit the lobby, but they discover that the doors are mysteriously sealed off, forcing the four to stay within the museum. Finding discarded pistols off of the dead corpses of security guards, the group turn to face the large horde of zombies, ready to fight for their lives.
As the four fight in the lobby, Marcus and Theodore each take a side while Jane and Abigail fight down the center corridor. Before Jane is overrun, Abigail saves her by headshotting a zombie that was about to tackle her, telling her to be sharp or else she won’t bail her out again, much to Jane’s annoyance as she shoots a look back towards Abigail, who merely smirks back. Theodore laughs as he kills some of the zombies, saying that he hasn’t had this much excitement since the Invasion of Panama, though Marcus reminds his father that the zombies they’re killing were once people. As Theodore headshots a zombie, he tells Marcus that they aren’t anymore. After clearing the horde, a demonic voice soon echoes throughout the museum, telling the group that they are well diverse and skilled in their own right, but in the end only one will reign supreme. Abigail asks what the voice was referring to, although the voice explains that they will find out should they find the means to open the MPD in the Crater of Hell exhibit. The voice goes on to explain that in order to accomplish such a task, they must first activate the backup generators to the museum in order to get power back online, telling the group that they can find the entrance to the generator room in the security station. The four depart from the lobby and work their way to the security station, where they locate the generator room and turn on a couple of the generators, which restores power to the museum. The voice returns, cryptically remarking to the group that for them to see the outside world once more, they must acquire the fabled Omega Key, which was stashed somewhere in the museum, presumably in the storage room. Marcus asks what was next after that, although the voice tells him that he will go further in depth once they find the key before going silent.
Knowing they have no other choice, the four comply and begin their search for the Omega Key. While they do this, the voice remotely talks to Abigail in private, saying that he knows of her ambitions to be superior, convincing her that this would be her chance to fulfill her dreams and gain the knowledge she desired to become the best; Abigail grins at the thought of this. Not long after, the group discovers the Omega Key inside a crate in the storage room. After Jane grabs it, the voice resumes contact with them, saying that they must power it up with the souls of the undead, advising them to go to the food court and insert the key in the teleporter on display. As they head towards the food court, Abigail gets out her iPad and boots up a hacking program she created in secret. She hacks into the museum’s systems, where she gains access to the various doors that close off the exhibits before putting her iPad back in her pouch. Once the group reaches the food court, Jane inserts the Omega Key into the teleporter, causing it to activate. After Theodore kills a zombie, its soul shoots out of its body and into the teleporter, causing the key within it to partially glow. The voice tells them that they must do this until the key has enough power, which could be identified by the key surging with blue energy. Once the voice goes quiet again, the group fights off the zombies near the teleporter, with each of their souls being absorbed by the key. Once the charging sequence was completed, Abigail grabs the key and stashes it in her lower pouch for safekeeping. The voice congratulates the group, saying that they were ready to open the MPD, telling them to head towards the Crater of Hell exhibit and enter through the lower level entrance by the food court. As Abigail crosses past the open metal door, she pulls out her pistol and aims at the others, telling them to step back into the hallway. Theodore asks what the meaning of this was, though she refuses to tell in full detail, instead claiming that the voice they’ve been hearing wants her specifically to open the MPD. As the others hesitantly back off, Abigail takes out her iPad and activates the metal doors and other passages, sealing herself in the exhibit from the others and the zombies, but not before winking back towards her companions. Marcus bangs on the doors, telling Abigail to open up, although Jane stops him from continuing, saying that whatever she’s doing in there, it could be the only way for them to escape. Though skeptical, the others reluctantly agree before deciding to hold their ground against a final wave of the undead in the small hallway they were in while they waited for Abigail to do what she needed to do. As Abigail takes out the charged Omega Key, the voice tells her that he admires her abilities to deceive others, telling her that she now must insert the key into the interface on the front of the MPD for her to gain the knowledge she lusts. Grinning, Abigail places the Omega Key into the interface, although she cannot let go of the key. The glow of the key turns purple, which soon begins to surround Abigail. Questioning what was going on, she soon blacks out.
Abigail awakens in a small pocket dimension within the MPD, which was adorned in a purple night sky with large purple crystals around the area. Wondering where she was, she notices a blue mist forming in front of her. As the mist builds up into a small cyclone, it soon disperses, revealing an apparition of Ignotus, whose synthetic body looked extremely damaged. Abigail asks who he was, to which Ignotus introduces himself as the voice guiding her and her companions. He explains that he once tried to gain control over a place known as the Nexus, although he evidently failed and was defeated. He explains that following his defeat, he allowed his physical form to fade away while allowing his soul to enter a rift in the sky above him, which brought him to this pocket dimension within the MPD. Abigail realizes that he was the cause of the undead scourge, asking what he has done before pulling out her pistol and aiming it at him. Ignotus chuckles before gesturing his arm, causing two chains to break through the ground beside Abigail, restraining both of her arms and causing her to drop her pistol. As she falls to her knees, the chains tighten, causing her to remain on her knees as she faced Ignotus, who began to approach her. Abigail asks what he wanted, to which Ignotus responds with a laugh before saying it was her before his apparition dissolves back into the blue mist. The mist soon approaches Abigail, spiraling around her before it enters her mouth and nose. Abigail gasps as the chains break, allowing her to stand back up. Questioning what Ignotus has done, she suddenly begins to get a massive headache as she clutches her head. Her body soon begins to irradiate blue energy as the realm around her begins to fracture, before leaving Abigail to begin freefalling backwards. Before permanently blacking out, Ignotus subconsciously tells Abigail that her body, her soul, and her memories will forever belong to him as his own, mockingly telling Abigail goodbye as she closes her eyes.
Back in the real world, Abigail looks down towards the ground with her eyes still closed, the MPD in front of her opened with nothing inside of it. As she looks forward, she opens her eyes, revealing her pupils to suddenly change from blue to emerald green in color as she laughs; Ignotus had possessed her body. As Ignotus admires his new vessel, Theodore knocks on the metal door, saying that the undead all just collapsed onto the ground in front of them, questioning what was going on in there. Using Abigail’s memories, Ignotus takes out her iPad and uses it to open the doors, including the metal door separating the survivors from him. As Ignotus approaches the others, Jane questions what Abigail did in order to stop the undead. Ignotus smiles before drawing a knife in his left hand, violently stabbing Theodore in the chest in front of him. Before the others can react, Ignotus pulls out his holstered pistol with his right hand, headshotting Marcus while shooting Jane in the chest, causing her to fall to the ground wounded while Marcus lifelessly falls backwards dead. As Theodore struggles and screams Marcus’s name, Ignotus satirically hushes him before twisting and ripping the knife out of his chest, causing Theodore to collapse onto the ground. As Theodore dies from his profound stab wounds, Jane leans up, asking Abigail what she has done. Ignotus laughs, saying that he wasn’t the Abigail they remember; Jane then asks if not Abigail, then who was truly standing before her. Ignotus smiles, revealing himself as Ignotus, the new Abigail Payne. Confused, Jane questions what was going on before Ignotus scoffs. Ignotus explains that no matter how hard he tried, whether he be himself as Ignotus or merely another splinter of Roach or Xarcoh, he would always lose, even when everything else leading up to his defeat was in his favor. Recalling his defeat at the Nexus, Ignotus came to realize that in order to win, he must lose, deciding that he must acquire a new vessel, one that was completely different from his past iterations and one that would allow him to be free of the madness and live a normal life, one that turned away from his past entirely. Ignotus reveals to Jane that he willingly allowed his physical form to fade out in the Nexus following its destruction, enabling his released soul to be engulfed by the gleaming light of the rift above him, which transported him through time and space back to the Arc 1 universe, where he came to find residence inside the MPD, noting that it was in fact the one from the Arc 2 universe as described by the curator’s seemingly delusional notes. Through the MPD and the reserve Aetherian energy Gruntijackal had stored within its pocket dimension following the reconstruction of the Aether, Ignotus created a small army of the undead out of the patrons at the museum, all the while establishing contact with the survivors as a disembodied voice. Through his observations of the group as they carried out his tasks with the promise of freedom, he concluded that Abigail would be the best candidate as his next vessel for his soul, as he could manipulate her selfish ambitions for his own agenda in opening the MPD to release him, with the added bonus of being able to act just like her due to their similar personalities. Ending his explanation, he tells Jane that in order to finish his role as Ignotus and complete the act in passing as Abigail, he must dispose of all of the loose ends he made today, starting with Jane. As Ignotus readies his pistol, Jane pleads with Ignotus to stop, though Ignotus smirks, saying that his name was Abigail Payne before executing Jane with a shot to the head. As Jane slumps over dead, Ignotus remarks that he has given the group the freedom he promised them.
With Abigail’s companions all dead and the museum completely emptied, Ignotus drops his weapons onto the ground. As they hit the ground, they begin to fade away in a bright light, which consumes the museum, reverting all of the undead corpses into human corpses while destroying any and all weapons and ammo used by the survivors. As the light ceased, Ignotus travels over to the security station and uses Abigail’s iPad to delete all of the security footage, thus erasing any digital evidence of Abigail’s presence at the museum. He then hacks into the college’s attendance records to alter it so Abigail wasn’t one of the students picked to go to the museum, all while creating an alibi of her being in her dorm sick during the trip. Returning to the lobby, he opens the locked doors the survivors were unable to open and begins to walk away from the museum. As he walks away from the museum and down the road back towards civilization, Ignotus abandons his identity as Ignotus and assumes a new one: Abigail Payne.
Characters[]
- Roach (playable)
- Chris (playable)
- O'Ryan (playable)
- TJ (playable)
- Alex Miller (playable)
- Mackenzie Davis (playable)
- John Doc (playable)
- Gary Arlington (playable)
- Rick Peterson (playable)
- The Son
- Ignotus
- Grandmaster
- The Father
- Nexus Apparitions
- Abigail Payne (playable)
- Jane Samson (playable)
- Marcus Hudson (playable)
- Theodore Hudson (playable)
- Abigail-Ignotus
Maps[]
Weapons[]
Assault Rifles[]
- ICR-7
- Rampart 17
- KN-57
- Vapr-XKG
- Maddox RFB
- Swat RFT
- Grav
- Peacekeeper
- Hitchcock M9
Submachine Guns[]
- MX9
- GKS
- Spitfire
- Cordite
- Saug 9mm
- Daemon 3XB
- Switchblade X9
- Escargot
- M1927
Light Machine Guns[]
- Titan
- Hades
- VKM 750
- Tigershark
- Zweihänder
Shotguns[]
- MOG 12
- SG12
- Rampage
Tactical Rifles[]
- 10/22
- Auger DMR
- ABR 223
- Swordfish
- S6 Stingray
- Essex Model 07
Sniper Rifles[]
- Paladin HB50
- Outlaw
- SDM
- Koshka
- Vendetta
- Locus
Pistols[]
- Strife
- RK 7 Garrison
- Mozu
- KAP 45
- Welling
Wonder Weapons[]
- Ray Gun
- Ray Gun Mark II
- Cymbal Monkey
Other[]
- Ballistic Knife
- Galvaknuckles
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- This is the second saga not to feature zombies as the main enemies, the first being The War Machine saga.
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