> You’re in a windowless jail.
> You’re surrounded by stone walls and iron balls.
> Hallelujah: Looks like we got caught.
> Hallelujah: And they took all our gear. I’d say now’s the time to panic.
> Hallelujah: Morning, Asahi. Welcome to prison.
> Asahi: What happened? Where’s Miss Isabeau?
> Toki: She wasn’t here when I came to. They might have taken her somewhere else.
> Asahi: At least we’re safe.
> Gaston: “Safe”? Ever the optimist, I see.
> Gaston: Isabeau is being interrogated. The rest of you will be executed.

Navarre: Wait..you can see me?
Nozomi: And hear you. What’s the deal with the strange pompadour poltergeist, anyhow?
Navarre: A strange pompa… pompad… Strange and pompous, am I?! Allow me to show you strange and pompous!
Asahi: Who…are you talking to?
Nozomi: Uh...
Nanashi: Eh, Sure.
Nozomi: Your pal here’s being haunted by a little green ghosty.

Asahi: What?! Nanashi, are you –
Navarre: Little? I am incorporeal! Height is of no matter to the great Samurai Navarre!
Nozomi: …The great Samurai Navarre. Sorry.
Asahi: What’s he doing?! Is Nanashi okay?!

Nozomi shoots Navarre a sidelong glance.

A group of human hunters fight against an angel. They are several wounded soldiers lying on the ground. Nanashi and Asahi get involved with the conflict.

Flynn: Isabeau, let’s get them out of here.
Isebeau: I wouldn’t dream of leaving someone here to die.
Isebeau: Would you two mind lending us a hand?
Nanashi: Of course.

Nanashi is in combat with the god Maitreya. He punches them and helps his friends.

Maitreya: Why, then, do you persist? What are you fighting for?
Nanashi: For the people of Tokyo.
Maitreya: People speak ill of you, and yet you still fight in their name? Prove to me you aren’t lying to yourself.

Combat resumes like this until the battle's over leaving Nanashi victorious.

Dagda: So you won't be my Godslayer?
>Dagda extends his arm toward you.
Dagda: Very well then. The power I gave you, your very life – I’ll take it all back.
>Dagda clenches his fist. As he does, a strange sensation comes over you.
>The heat seems to drain from your body. You fall to your knees, unable to move.

Asahi: Wow, quite the crowd...Nikkari here yet, Dad?
Hunter boss: Come on now, if I've said it once I've said it a thousand times...
Asahi: “Don’t call you ‘Dad’ at work.” Right, right. Boss.
Hunter boss: Come on now… If my own daughter can’t get it together, I’m really in trouble. A little help, Nanashi?
Nanashi: Is it really that big of a deal?
Asahi: Hear that, BOSS?
Hunter boss: Don't be daft, girl. Nanashi just had your back is all. You could learn a thing or two from him.
Asahi: Geez, Dad. Wouldn't hurt if you had my back sometimes too.

Gatekeeper Angel: You are wearing makeup. Makeup is a corruption invented by Fallen angels. You also look…dreadful. Like a tarted-up clown. Ease back on it. Hurry along. You’re holding up the line.

Hallelujah: Pffftt...Hahaha
Asahi: Hey! What are you laughing at!
Hallelujah: Tarted-up clown? I can’t believe you got fashion advice from an angel!
Hallelujah: Ow!
Asahi: Stupid angel!
Nozomi: Forget about it. We made it through, didn’t we?
Asahi: Can we just go already?

Received mission info:

'Scout Tokyo and bring back any edible food you come across. The association will pay you extra if you bring more than the specified amount. Your efforts will benefit all the people of tokyo. '

Black Frost: Can't believe you chased me all this way! You hunters sure are presistent, ho! I'm free now, ho! I’m gonna use my power to live a life of decadence, just sleeping and eating! Don’t get in my way, ho! I won’t forgive you! Day after day, day in and day out, it’s just “freeze this, freeze that”…

I’m not a refridg-hee-rator, you know, ho! I’ll fight you!

[After defeating frost]

Always treating me like this...humans are he real demons, let me tell you...Though to be honest…I don’t actually mind this stuff that much.

I feel re-heely refreshed after that fight, ho! I did everything that I wanted. I got no regrets, so I’m gonna go. Thanks for playing with me, ho!

Dagda: "About time someone with some sense showed up. Welcome to the Yomotsu Hirasaka. Hate to break it to you, kid – you’re dead. And that friend of yours is next in line. You’ve accomplished nothing in the admittedly short span of your life. But together, we could change that. Work for me, and I’ll return you to life."

Nanashi accepts Dagda's offer.

"You're now my own personal Godslayer. From this moment forward, you’re nothing but a puppet. MY puppet.

Just know, obedience isn’t optional. Keep that in mind."

Mysterious man in a wheelchair shows up. His name is Stephen. (Definitely not Stephen Hawkings shhh)

I’ve been waiting for you. You shouldn’t have any more dreams about your past lives. How do I know? I told you before that I would help you, didn’t I?

The Dr.Matsuda disguise was part of that. What didn't you realize? Before I ask you about your intentions, there is something I must tell you.

It is about the mission that the Axiom has given you humans, and the reason why the gods fight over you…

The Axiom, also known as the Great Will, is an enigmatic greater cosmic mind that is mentioned sporadically across the history of the series. Usually, it’s YHVH commenting that he is a part of the greater whole, and if humans so wish he’ll reappear through the Great Will even if slain. In Nocturne, the Great Will is the named but never seen face of Law, possibly even another name for YHVH himself. Apocalypse’s Great Will seems to be in the vein of Gnosticism’s Monad, the primordial ur-god from which the cosmos springs. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Old Testament’s YHVH is considered to be one of the identities of the Demiurge, the lesser god that acts as a blockage between humanity and the Monad.

The Axiom tasked you humans with observing the universe. Humans have the power to assign an answer to phenomena without an answer. The power of observation has the ability to make certain and stable what is uncertain and without form. The Axiom did not give gods the power of observation… Only humans have that power. Humans have the ability to change the answer htey have found into faith, and eventually into truth. This can invigorate the gods, but it can also kill them.

This is why the gods goad humans to their side, and make them observe things which are beneficial to them. This is the direct cause behind why gods fight over humans. Lucifer, Merkabah, Krishna… You defeated them and brought peace to the human world. However, this is only the beginning. You should have already heard this – or observed it, I should say.

YHVH, the creator of everything…

As long as he exists, he will linger in the shadows of your observations. Now that you have made it to this point, you have two choices. Live in fear of God and accept a false freedom, or defeat the Creator and obtain true freedom.

Unfortunately, there is no third choice in this case.if you decide the defeat YHVH, I will aid you, though it is not much.

Don’t you wish to see beyond the answer you pursued in your previous life?

Edited 2018-04-14 04:38 pm (UTC)

Nanashi watches his allies converse and share smiles.

Dagda: Pathetic. This makes my skin crawl. All this lipservice and ego-stroking is the kind of dependency that stops you from acting on your own. You’ll see soon enough, kid. There’s no place for you among them.

Asahi comes to you and smiles, head tilted in curiosity.
Asahi: Hey, what’re you doing? We should head back to Kinshicho. Let’s go, Nanashi.
Asahi holds her hand out to you.


Edited 2018-07-05 08:09 pm (UTC)

Nikkari: There is still much for you to learn. Like history. In fact, I think a lesson is in order.

A refresher on how Tokyo came to be imprisoned under the shadow of the Firmament seems appropriate. It all happened 25 years ago…

The world was hardly perfect before it all went to hell. Global recession, civil wars, terrorism… But there was at least some semblance of peace---until the demons appeared. Chaos ensued, and in state of panic the nations took extreme measures.The world was engulfed in nuclear flames, but Tokyo miraculously survived…thanks to the sacrifice of one young man and the city’s guardian deity, Masakado.

Together, they transformed into the Firmament and shielded the city just before the missiles struck.Now, a certain rumor spread among the survivors, saying that angels were behind the catastrophe.:

And in time, this incident came to be known as “God’s Plan”.

Anyway, while the Firmament saved Tokyo from destruction, it also brought about a new threat: demons, trapped inside along with us.

You two know full well what a terrible threat demons pose to humans.Torn from the very pages of myths and legends, they wield unimaginable powers used to kill and devour humans.

So humanity’s struggle for survival continued from within Tokyo. We were not powerless, however. We had the means to use our enemy to our advantage. The Demon Summoning Program allowed us to command demons, fighting fire with fire.

The mysterious program appeared online just before “God’s Plan” came to pass.

Man's voice: Dozing off, huh? I have no idea how you manage to stay alive, Akira.

> Someone’s calling you Akira.
> When you respond, you hear Akira’s voice.
"Geez, Skins. Don’t scare me like that."
Skins: Sorry I ruined your nap, just making sure you don’t get yourself killed. You can’t be too careful up here. Never know when an angel will show up.
"Thanks for the reminder, Skins."
Skins: Will you stop calling me that? Thanks to you, everyone's calling me that now.
"Just look at all those scars, and each one’s a badge of glory."
Skins: And each one hurt like hell.
"So what’s going on?"
Skins: Not a whole lot to report. We haven’t made any progress in a while with those Angels of Death coming down…
"Sounds like we don’t have much chance at making it out of here."
Skins nods gravely.

Odin: There shall be no false gods.
Dagda: Are you seriously trying the sales pitch on me? If you want to end the Creator God’s rule, you should bark up Lucifer’s tree.
Odin: You know as well as I do, Lucifer will side with YHVH. He serves as a scapegoat for the suffering of man in YHVH’s universe. Nothing more.Lord Dagda… You belong with us.
Dagda: No. I'll carve out my own path. And no one--NO ONE --will stand in my way.
Krishna: Stand in the way of what, pray tell? Your little game of dolls? I have no time to waste standing against that.
Gaston: Dolls? What is the meaning of this?!
Krishna: Are you really so blind? Or is it simply beyond the human mind? Dagda’s Godslayer is a corpse. He’s no longer what you’d call human. He died a few days ago. Now he’s nothing more than Dagda’s puppet.

> Everyone is looking at you. Confusion and uncertainty is written across your friend's aces.

Krishna: He is but a husk, serving the will of that demon.