The green aurora surges across the horizon like a tidal wave, suppressing the dark crimson trails below. The movement mirrors the clash on the ground, where Rosetta's blade locks Zack's own advance in place.
It ends here, Zack!
As the Frostheart Emperor, I will not be defeated!
Sophiasburgh fell long ago. What meaning does your empty title hold now?!
Then what, pray tell, are you fighting to restore?!
Zack suddenly sweeps his ice-infused lance in a wide, forcing arc, driving Rosetta back half a step. He then plants his feet and unleashes a roar of pure rage.
Powerful memetics are inherited endlessly, shaping the will of every soul. Look upon this battlefield, Rosetta. It is precisely such memetics that drive your ferocity!
Deny it all you wish, but this is what the world requires!
Zack charges Rosetta again, lance raised. Its tip slithers like a venomous snake past her light sword, aiming straight for her chest. In the same instant, Rosetta spins her weapon, deflecting the thrust with a sharp, forceful parry.
We don't need some grand, unifying ideal! Fighting for humanity—that single belief is enough to unite us!
A naive ideal, just like your Amalgamation. These are merely flashes of conscience that emerge when death is imminent. Human nature is the most unreliable thing of all; that's exactly why we create rules and various forms of social order.
To restrain that nature!
That's not meant to be restraints! Why must you force everything into rigid frameworks?!
This is wisdom paid for in blood! "Amalgamation" is the answer this world needs!
What answer? What wisdom? Do you know how much suffering your kind has brought to this land?!
Propelled by her armored skirt, Rosetta rockets upward just as Zack's wings carry him aloft. They meet in a violent aerial duel. Every impact distorts the very air, their clashing energies compressing space and making the auroras ripple like banners in a storm.
I concede: some lessons are born of desire. But there were also those who gave their passion, their lives, sincerely.
For them, for all who acted in service of a prosperous people... their efforts shall not fade into nothingness! I will make the Arctic Route Union the most powerful memetic of all!
Everything you speak of is the past!
It is not over. We—and Sophiasburgh—still remain!
Answer my call, Malkuth!
Noticing Zack's unsteady movements, you bark an immediate command. Rosetta shifts into her centaur form mid-air, her twin cannons flaring into wings of light that drive Zack into the ground. His mask cracks with a sharp snap, scattering fragments across the snow.
Cough—
Zack staggers upright, leaning heavily on his blade. The last of his mask shatters away, and for the first time in this state, he faces Rosetta fully exposed. Without the mask, the exhaustion and fanaticism in his eyes are laid completely bare.
Meanwhile, the energy reserves in Rosetta's frame bleed toward empty. This centaur transformation will be her last.
Past glories, your sacred mission, the righteous cause behind your war... none of that matters to me. From the start, I never cared about the Arctic Route Union itself—only the people living within it.
Rosetta withdraws her weapon's energy beams, gathering herself for a final strike. In that moment, the distant bombardment intensifies; the deep rumble of artillery, soldiers' cries, screams of agony, and whale songs merge into a single, unbroken wail on the wind.
Zack jerks his head up, a flicker of hesitation crossing his eyes before he quashes it. Then, matching Rosetta's stance, he begins to muster his own remaining energy for a decisive blow.
If your memetic, if the "Arctic Route Union" only brings this kind of suffering... then it has lost all meaning to me.
I will show Commandant a new Sophiasburgh. One where people no longer live in fear of the past. That is why I will now do exactly what you are doing.
Their charge completes. The cores within Rosetta and Zack glow with an identical, blinding intensity. Weapons are gripped, bodies are lowered. In a mirrored stance, they brace for the end.
I will destroy the "Arctic Route Union" right here! Destroy all of you, memetics that bring nothing but pain!
Rosetta!
Zack!
Zack roars, charging forward just as flames erupt from Rosetta's metal hooves. Their collision echoes across the ice with a deafening metallic crash, fracturing the ground into a web of fissures. The resulting shockwave blasts nearby snowdrifts into the air, making even the distant auroras tremble.
...
This final, all-out strike crowns the victor.
...
...
Damn it.
Rosetta stands victorious. Zack is frozen in place, his armor smoldering, joints sparking from overload. His body is a landscape of scars and fresh damage.
Even if you reject me, the world will still fracture. Dissonant memetics will keep emerging... and humanity will fall to corruption.
Zack's arms fall limply to his sides, his voice drained of all strength, leaving nothing but desolation.
When that time comes, will you truly be able to suppress those memetics... as you have today?
...Hmph.
If I had to say why... it's all because of you, [player name]. "Not alone in this world"... Haha.
Zack appears unsatisfied, his brow furrowed in a silent protest. But the tension melts away as quickly as it came, and his voice softens to a whisper, quiet as falling snow.
...Rosetta, I have a request.
Speak.
I ask this only as a patriot, Rosetta. Please... let this snow-white land become Earth's brightest beacon, visible even from the depths of space.
Snow and wind scour the battlefield as Rosetta adjusts her stance. Fragments of ice cling to her hooves.
I refuse.
If we make it too conspicuous... I cannot guarantee others won't target it later.
Zack is left speechless. His mouth opens, closes, and settles into a weak, strained smile before he turns toward the palace. Under the shimmering aurora, his silhouette stands alone—a rigid, solitary figure clinging to his dignity.
To end this war. You... go and declare your victory.
...Let's go, Commandant.
He is the Frostheart Emperor, after all... I believe he can handle what comes next.
Emerald auroras ripple across the icy plains. Wind drives snow and fine ice crystals beneath collars and cuffs. Though unanswered questions linger, Zack's words hold true: the moment has come to declare victory.
Zack returns to the palace, intent on halting the production of Corrupted, ending his amalgamation, and drawing a final line under the war.
But as he enters the throne room, he notices Duryodhana waiting beside the throne, a faint aura of Punishing swirling around her form.
Your method of control was more entertaining.
Duryodhana's voice carries amusement, but her eyes are cold as ice.
She was the first to sense a Sefirah's existence, the one who shattered the glacier and found the awakened Zack. Though she intended to simply turn him into a Corrupted and take him away, Zack made her a counteroffer:
His help in waging war on humanity in exchange for her power and forces, with himself as payment once it was over.
While the terms were hardly favorable, waging war against humanity suited Duryodhana's purposes. Now that the fighting has ended, she has come to collect—a perfectly reasonable claim.
...I'm sorry.
I have nothing to offer the Punishing Virus.
Expected.
Duryodhana shrugs. Then, the Punishing energy surges around her as she gathers her strength.
I've been betrayed before, and I don't believe you'd admit defeat without a fight!
Stand down, Ascendant.
!
Just as she's about to move, Rumyantsev emerges from the shadows. His scale-covered hand seizes Duryodhana's wrist in an iron grip. From every corner of the hall, a red light begins to pulse, a dire warning of imminent overload.
Frostheart Emperor!
For humanity. For the homeland I love.
Go to hell with me, Ascendant.
BOOM—!
For an instant, a red inferno swallows the palace, flames and violent energy erupting through its shattered roof before the snowstorms and auroras cloak the devastation.
In that fleeting burst of light, Zack's mind flashes to his first glimpse of Earth: a perfect, serene blue orb, encircled by a tapestry of distant, glittering stars.
The war has finally come to an end.
