Ow... My M.I.N.D. hurts...
My frame's power supply...
What's with this red aurora?
Simon! The Corrupted and Hetero-Creatures... their attacks just became far more aggressive!
Lee! All Arctic machines supporting our defense have simultaneously lost combat function.
Rargh—!
Did something go wrong, Commandant...
Cough!
The promised activation fails to trigger. The red aurora washes over the battlefield, and Rosetta's frame convulses in response. A wave of corruption surges through her M.I.N.D., locking her in place.
With your M.I.N.D. connection severed, she is utterly vulnerable. Duryodhana's fist finds its mark.
The connection returns, and functionality floods back into her frame. Rosetta reacts instantly, plunging her light sword into the ground to catch her weight. She sways, but holds, preventing a collapse.
My thanks, Commandant...
What's going on here?
...Stay sharp, everyone!
Although further injury has been avoided, the battlefield has descended into chaos due to the red aurora's appearance. Both machines and Constructs are experiencing various degrees of malfunction, with the worst cases falling completely unconscious.
More durable than I credited. But now that "Ultimate Amalgamation" has commenced...
So many questions, Babylonian.
During a previous discussion, you remember Mina also referring to Rosetta's frame as the Ultimate Amalgamator.
—!
Rargh... Nngh!
From the moment she steps forward, Hetero-Creatures gather behind her like an obedient, swelling tide. They form a shifting, chaotic wall that advances with Duryodhana's every step. Then she raises her hand, a silent command poised to unleash them, to devour all that stands in her path.
This ends now...
Hm?
Before she can finish, a sharp whistle cuts through the sky. Several missiles streak down, trailing black smoke. Duryodhana tries to dodge as before, but tentacles lash out from behind her, ensnaring her body mid-motion.
Of course. I should have expected this.
Before the missiles can strike, more tentacles whip out to wrap around Duryodhana as Hetero-Creatures hurl themselves upon her. The solid wall of creatures that was her defense instantly collapses into a crushing wave, swallowing her whole.
Commandant! Everyone!
The surging wave doesn't stop after devouring Duryodhana. It continues rushing straight toward your position.
A crimson light floods the palace as Zack sits motionless upon his throne. The hall is empty, silent, yet the air itself feels heavy, as if every living soul in the Arctic were kneeling before him.
So this is the feeling of commanding such a vast flow of information... This is the power of the Ultimate Amalgamator.
Just as Zack had declared before the battle began, after processing the black box data, he would be able to awaken his full power and become the Ultimate Amalgamator.
That promise became his bargaining chip, and Duryodhana took his place on the battlefield.
But there was something that Duryodhana had never learned:
The processing had finished before her departure. Zack wasn't waiting idly; he was waiting tactically. He held his power in reserve, poised to deploy it with surgical timing for maximum effect.
I may not comprehend what "Phylotree's Sefirah" is, but true Amalgamation is the power to control all things, to implant "thought" itself into a being.
While the ideal of total memetic control remains out of reach, Zack's present capacity is entirely adequate for his objective.
His control of the Corrupted is a direct application of this property. Its mechanism is not authentic Ascension-Network dominance but rather—mirroring Amberia's function—a form of authority over machinery of Arctic origin.
Now I can activate more memetics, manipulate more foundational thoughts... No one can resist what is etched into their very soul!
To him now, the Corrupted, the Ascendants, even Babylonia itself are no longer obstacles.
As the aurora bleeds crimson light across the sky, Zack looks out into the void, toward his enemies, and delivers his final command.
Go. Amalgamate the world.
