John Doe's hand punches clean through Teddy's frame. As vital fluid streams from the wound, Moineau lunges forward, driving their enemy back with a furious assault while Moore hauls Teddy to safety.
How bad is it?
Just frame damage. A quick patch would normally fix it.
...Hnngh?!
Teddy quickly understands the wound is anything but normal. A strange, invasive matter festers at the point of impact, seeping into her systems and spreading like a virus. The corruption proliferates exponentially, consuming her frame moment by moment.
It's a complex virus program. In our current state, I can't heal it or stop it from spreading.
As Teddy watches Moineau battle John Doe, a cold realization sets in: their current strategy is a path to defeat.
To survive, they must quickly find a countermeasure—an asset or an ally capable of confronting John Doe.
The core of Elysium...
Moore, you and Moineau need to keep him busy.
Leave it to us.
Without another word, Moore charges into the fray, joining Moineau against John Doe.
Fighting through the pain, Teddy slips into the building. She must find the core before the virus completely devours her frame.
The interior is a tomb, shrouded in an absolute darkness that the chaos outside has created.
With every step, her frame grows heavier, the crisp sound of vital fluid dripping a stark counterpoint to the deathly silence. She staggers forward, driven by the only hope.
...Found it.
Before her floats the core—deceptively small and simple, yet powerful enough to sustain an entire virtual metropolis. With computing power this immense, she can rewrite the virus. It must be enough to turn the tide.
Without hesitation, Teddy connects to the core. A flood of raw computing power surges into her frame, and she feels the corrupted areas begin to repair themselves. Yet, a cold doubt seeps into her mind.
Does she return with a repaired frame only to rejoin a hopeless war of attrition against John Doe? Will they achieve an uncertain victory, or will Babylonia crash down first?
Even now, the problem remains: she is still missing the true key to this crisis.
Is there something else...?!
Something is wrong. The core contains immense computing power, yes, but it holds something more.
Before she can process this, that presence floods into her M.I.N.D. alongside the raw data, unleashing a torrent of new information.
She cannot identify what it is, only that it shares her M.I.N.D.'s origin—and that it is now remaking her.
Her consciousness drifts between contradictory extremes: one moment light as a feather, the next bearing the weight of mountains. She is adrift in a sea of paradox.
Teddy can no longer tell where—or when—she is. Her awareness retreats into the purest concept of space, and she calmly accepts the transformation.
All of this is what [it] wants her to see.
She witnesses every foundational line of code beneath Elysium, then watches as her own frame splays open like a biological dissection, every component laid bare.
But this is not the "whole" of what constitutes her. So it shows her more.
She lands like a bird taking roost, her feet touching ground as she walks forward. This is an ordinary street in Elysium, yet not quite the purely virtual metropolis she knows.
The silhouettes of people line the street, each figure familiar enough that she could call out every single name.
She will approach each one of them, and once again examine the connection between herself and them.
Victoria, Leonardo.
Just leave it to me... I won't let you get your hands dirty.
Children should trust their elders. It's my failure as an adult to have you face such a dark and terrifying world so early...
Don't cry. Just go back... Victoria.
Go back. Children should trust their elders.
Go. I want cherry-flavored electrolyte in the celebration.
No matter what, I won't restart Project Herald. I've already handed over all the information on Project Herald to the military at Babylonia.
Norman doesn't need glory that comes at the expense of human lives.
Dominik.
When I come back, you'll be free. You can be anyone you want to be.
But... none of the previous Heralds ever came back...
I will come back. I promise you, my little Teddy.
Moineau.
But I suppose that doesn't really matter. It's just trading a small cage for a bigger one.
There's nowhere to truly escape to.
...
It's still better than only knowing one cage.
At least... you'd be able to spread your wings.
Not one of them tries to hold her back. They know she needs to move forward; she must continue onward.
They remain as guardians for the many past selves of Christina, a silent honor guard for Teddy as she walks into the future.
In the end, Teddy reaches the end of the road alone.
Before her stands a mirror of her own face—still an "it," but trembling on the precipice of becoming "her."
So this is what you wanted me to see.
This is your power.
This power was never mine.
I am only a "vacancy," an "identity" waiting to be filled. And you are the one who stands at the threshold.
What is the purpose of this vacancy?
What I've shown you is both [foundation] and [falsehood].
You must become [truth]. I too wish you can become [truth], to become a [Sefirah].
You have seen the path that led you here.
Now, the possibilities are in your hands. You can build your own tower.
A tower that leads to hope?
[Foundation].
These memories... they are my foundation.
They will be my strength. And they are also you.
Not yet. The structure is still incomplete.
You, as you are in this moment, are also part of the [foundation].
Only by laying your present self as the final cornerstone can the future "Teddy" be built.
Teddy reaches out her hand toward "Teddy".
Each present moment is a wave on a river, becoming the past as it passes. And like sediment settling, this "now" becomes part of the foundation of what is to come.
This path is fraught with thorns. And I sincerely hope...
...That sunlight will still find you.
With words Teddy cannot yet grasp, within "its" sorrowful embrace—
They merge. Consciousness flows toward the future, pouring into its newest vessel. She is now the brand-new "Teddy".
The story ended before it began. What happened here was never a detective's tale.
This is something far greater, more raw—a saga of conspiracy and revenge.
Elysium is but an absurd dream, and one does not wake from it by completing an event. One awakens in any unexpected moment.
The world is a half-finished film, recklessly edited; its people and events are now wild horses, broken free. Out on the grasslands, falling and dying are just part of life.
Teddy, you are the uninvited guest in this dream.
Now, you must charge forth.
Teddy races back to the battlefield, finally armed with the computing power to prevail.
With every step, she feels the unyielding ground beneath her feet—the same foundation that supports the city, that supports her.
Now, she will wield these cornerstones to secure a future for all of humanity.
