Story Reader / Main Story / 18 Her Last Bow / Story
Video: Mecha Nanami Update Animated Cutscene
Nanami's thoughts start to drift away after wandering and fighting through countless worlds.
She is facing a dark, void space. No planets or stars can be detected nearby, nor is she able to receive signals of any frequency. Even the temperature in this area is closer to the absolute zero.
She just curls up in the vacuum, letting the abyss consume her.
The light of futures die in the darkness, but more stars appear from this "infinite" space.
When the light shines upon Nanami, everything seems to move in slow motion.
She remembers a human who once told her that humans could enter the "mind palace" during deep thinking, in which they could think at an incredibly fast speed that also made time flow slower to them.
Nanami, however, never thought about lives in the universe or complicated scientific theories. Her mechanically-made chip and cords repeat one and only one question—"Why?"
—It overwhelms the high-speed data flow in her mind like a storm, capturing every piece of memory whether they are real or only exist in the program's simulation.
Nanami looks at the scenes in her memory and feels deeply confused but curious.
Nanami's curiosity, however, is nothing like what humankind feels when seeing something they've never seen—rather, she is feeling curious about how she came into being.
Why?
How did the machines manage to awaken when they were man-made?
And for what?
In different futures, Nanami comes across mechanoids like herself—who are fond of humans and pursue human consciousness. And there are those like Gabriel—who believe power is everything—and those from "Gear" who are set on fighting humans. They don't fight to live, but to find the meaning of war.
What's the point of war anyway?
Why did Punishing appear? Why would it fall upon the earth? What was controlling and manipulating Punishing? What did they want?
Why is humankind so stubborn about Earth, anyway? Is it because they love it? But why? What is love, anyway?
And what is Nanami seeking after all? To protect the things she loves, so they don't disappear?
Was it designed by Nanami's creator, who added "love" to her program logic... Or something else?
Nanami had a long dream during endless, prolonged thinking.
In the dream, she seems to have turned into a giant, pale-gray wolf running on the ancient wilderness, chased by a gray forest that strangled her claws with thorns.
She struggles, growls, but could not do anything.
The forest then transforms into a cold, deep sea. Nanami changes into a fish to escape the thorns, but drifts away in the waves.
The tide of the sea lurked and moved like a silent beast with sharp spikes on its back, awaiting its prey but also breeding primitive lives.
The tide recedes. Nanami pushes herself up on the sand and finds herself with human-like limbs.
As she stumbles forward, buildings rise under her feet. Giant ships sail from the ocean in the distance. She sees everything underneath in a miniature scale. Humans gather in cities, civilizations begin to grow. Skyscrapers pierce through the ground. The honking of cars and howling wind make her drowsy.
The steel buildings continue to rise and wrap her inside. She sees a large, complicated computer standing in front. She looks around, this place feels so familiar but strange.
A person in white walks around Nanami, their eyes shining and their hands moving as they speak like a commandant. Nanami could almost see a promising future in those eyes.
She grabs the finger of that human.
The human pats her forehead. It is the first time she feels the warmth of a human since she was born as a mechanoid.
...Nanami, experience everything of mankind, then make your own choice.
Nanami does not understand. What does that mean?
She hears her answer that overlaps with her own, naive voice long ago.
Are you the human who created Nanami? Can you tell me why you made me...?
Before she hears an answer, she is thrown into another scene.
Meal's ready—
Woof! Woof!
Come here, give daddy a hug.
This is the peaceful and happy family that Nanami grew up in.
Dad, Mom, Mimi, I need to go now... I'm starting my own journey.
Like a child that falls from space into soft cotton, Nanami finds herself lying on a boat. The boat is sailing smoothly on a peaceful sea. She turns around and sees her most familiar human next to her side.
Commandant! You're here! I've been looking for you...
We won the hide-and-seek game this time, Nanami.
You?
When Nanami looks over at the ship, she sees them—Amy, Rohacchi, Martin, Haicma, Spooner...
Awesome, you're all here! I'll take you to the best adventure!
All her friends are sailing on a large ark with her, steering forward into the infinite space.
