AKIRA ANDY APOCALYPSE BILLY CHIKARA FUKO JUIZ MUI NICO SHEN TATIANA TOP AKIRA With UMA Burn in tow, Billy tries to make off with the Roundtable and Apocalypse. AKIRA The Union goes all out supporting Fuko and Andy to prevent him from doing so. AKIRA Thanks to the combined efforts of Nico and the lab with Fuko's Unluck, it appears as if they have stopped Burn in its tracks. AKIRA Billy, while wielding multiple Negator abilities, forces Andy away from the Roundtable. AKIRA With nothing barring his way, Billy succeeds to make it up to the surface. AKIRA Tatiana's arrival and release of her Untouchable Area opens a window of opportunity for Fuko and Andy to peel Apocalypse from the Roundtable. AKIRA Direct contact with Apocalypse floods Fuko's mind with information that psychologically unravels her, but the Union manages to regain control of the book. AKIRA The Roundtable is seized by Billy and his group before they depart, leaving a mysterious mention of the term Ark. AKIRA The battle ends, and Juiz is faced with a wounded Union headquarters. AKIRA With matters to address, she summons all Roundtable members to reconvene. JUIZ Are we assembled? APOCALYPSE Let me out of here! APOCALYPSE You should all know what'll happen if you do crap like this! APOCALYPSE See that damn conked-out rookie? I'll turn your brains into mush just like I did hers! APOCALYPSE Or better yet, I'll gnash up your ribs and make paste out of your internal-- APOCALYPSE You ain't getting away with this anymore! APOCALYPSE Mere Negators can't expect-- JUIZ Nico, damage summary. NICO Ah, well, it's not quite as bad as we expected. NICO Forcing a draw by stealing back Apocalypse was the right call. NICO If another fight had broken out, we'd be a lot worse for wear. JUIZ I see. JUIZ Will Fuko be all right? ANDY Well, Nico? Will she? NICO She'll bounce back soon enough. NICO The human brain's a remarkable thing. ANDY Well, there ya have it. JUIZ I see. JUIZ I'm sorry, nonetheless. ANDY So, can I ask ya somethin'? JUIZ Yes. That's why we're all gathered. ANDY The first time I felt something was off was when I heard your strategy toward the quests with Galaxy as penalty. APOCALYPSE You have until August 31st to complete all quests. APOCALYPSE If that is not fulfilled, the penalty will be... APOCALYPSE The addition of UMA Galaxy. JUIZ Very well. So first we'll mobilize all members towards clearing quests one, two, and three. JUIZ We'll accept the penalty. JUIZ The trade-off will be strengthening our forces. ANDY You outright said you weren't worried about clearing all the quests, just strengthening our forces. ANDY In retrospect, that's a pretty lax attitude, ain't it? ANDY You run the risk of losing members for the Roundtable. ANDY And with Ragnarok drawing near, that's way too passive. JUIZ Ninety-eight occasions. JUIZ That's the number of instances rules were added to Earth. JUIZ And once every three months, new penalties are added regardless. JUIZ So we intervene. JUIZ Galaxy marks the 99th penalty that's been added. We cannot afford another one, no matter what. JUIZ There's only one left until it reaches 100, and beyond that lies the final penalty... Ragnar k. SHEN And I've been curious about your familiarity with Victhor. SHEN Because, I mean, I thought you only knew of him as a hero that existed before any of us were born, but somehow he knew your name. How on earth would he know that? ANDY A flaming sword. ANDY Not doing half bad, Juiz. JUIZ Those who lack both justice and ambition cannot influence others, Victor. SHEN And soon after that I learned that it's been almost two centuries since the very last time Mr. Andy let him out. ANDY A novice, huh? Maybe now. But not in the past! ANDY Usually I don't have enough space for it all, so I put a cork in my brain to keep 100 years' worth of memories bottled up! SHEN Not only that, he seemed privy to Galaxy's existence, sometime before the rule was even added. ANDY Hey, what day is it? SHEN Today? It's August 24th, 2020. Why? ANDY Day of the week? SHEN Day of the week? What are you talking about? APOCALYPSE All quests have not been cleared. Therefore, you shall receive a penalty. Now adding UMA Galaxy! SHEN It was almost as if he had somehow lived in a world where Galaxy already existed. NICO This Ark thing Billy mentioned's got me curious, too. BILLY Listen, Undead. BILLY We'll be the first to secure Ark. BILLY You can tell Juiz that we will not hand it over to her. NICO I know the Union doesn't have any data logged for an Artifact named Ark. JUIZ Don't worry. JUIZ In this state, my ability won't be an issue unless you answer a question from me concerning Justice. ANDY Hmm. JUIZ First off, there's something about this world that you all need to know. JUIZ This world... is on a loop. JUIZ Thanks to God's handiwork, a cycle of destruction and renewal, over and over again. JUIZ The Union is what I created to put an end to that cycle. TATIANA A-- A loop? CHIKARA That's unbelievable. TOP What is a loop, exactly? CHIKARA It's like, well, I guess the world is repeating the same events again and again? FUKO I see. FUKO I couldn't tell 'cause they were all fragmented, but all those visions we see when we touch an Artifact, those come from before things were remade? JUIZ That's right. JUIZ It's the history of our-- No. The history of my inadequacy leading to defeat. FUKO That's not true! Without you we would-- JUIZ But that's why... JUIZ That's why I've assembled them. JUIZ I've encountered and amassed stronger weapons and warriors over the course of countless deaths. JUIZ Negators capable of killing God. ANDY Okay, let's say this loop is real. ANDY Why is it that you're the only one who knows? ANDY All of us here are Negators, too, yet we're all clueless to this whole thing. TATIANA Yeah, that's right. We should be aware of the world before it changed. APOCALYPSE Altering the memories and cultures of all non-Negators. All languages have now been unified to English. SHEN Mui, dear, are you there? SHEN I'm thinking I'd like some of your dim sum today. How 'bout it? MUI Um, what did you say? CHIKARA Shut up! What is with everyone speaking English all of the sudden? CHIKARA Huh? CHIKARA Uh, good point. TOP Maybe it's just because it's from before we were born. TATIANA No way to remember if we never knew about it to begin with. TOP Exactly. Know anything, old-timer? NICO I got nothin'. JUIZ There are a number of ways one can find out. JUIZ For example, in my situation, I've been using Ark to experience it firsthand. NICO Hmm. TOP Mmm? ANDY You got proof to back this up? FUKO Uh, Andy, you... JUIZ I'm not sure if it will serve as proof... But I will describe how this world will end and then begin again. JUIZ I'll begin with how this world will end. JUIZ By the very hand of God, this planet and all life here will be physically destroyed. JUIZ Blown to bits. JUIZ Even fleeing to space won't save you. FUKO Y-You're saying there's no hope for anyone to live? JUIZ That's right. JUIZ After that, a new planet will then be formed by God. JUIZ Meanwhile, fragments of the old destroyed Earth will remain in orbit around the new Earth. JUIZ Fuko, those are what you summon with your Unluck. FUKO You mean those are fragments from the old Earth? JUIZ From when there was only the Earth, Moon, and Sun. JUIZ You were summoning them before Galaxy was added, correct? FUKO But I was taught that meteorites formed when the moon and the Earth separated from one another. JUIZ If we examine one of the meteorites your unluck summoned, based on its absurd properties, the only possible conclusion is that it's from an Earth that is shattered. JUIZ I'm sorry, but that is all I have to offer as proof of the world looping. JUIZ And as proof of my own loop, Andy... ANDY Hmm? JUIZ You've a mole right back here, don't you? JUIZ Behind your right ear? FUKO Huh? ANDY What? ANDY See anything? FUKO Whoa! It's true! FUKO It's right here! Ms. Juiz, when did you see this? JUIZ I know this is a meager offering of proof, but there aren't many things that remain the same between cycles. JUIZ Will that serve to convince you? FUKO Wait, does that mean you-- ANDY Calm down. FUKO I am perfectly calm! ANDY I wasn't involved. FUKO What do you... ANDY Victor and you must have been mighty close, huh? JUIZ It's ancient history. FUKO Huh? FUKO Huh? FUKO S-So basically-- ANDY I said calm down. FUKO And I said I am calm! FUKO So the world's been repeatedly getting destroyed. FUKO Everyone's died, and by using this Ark thing, Ms. Juiz has been the only one who's been able to travel to the next new world? JUIZ Actually, I wasn't alone. FUKO So there was another person with you? ANDY Now I get it. ANDY It's me. I mean, it's Victor. FUKO Wh-What do you mean? ANDY If the loop really does destroy and reconstruct the planet, even if everyone else dies, I won't. ANDY Listen up! I am undead. ANDY In short, Juiz used this Ark... And Victor, well, he's been living in this world ever since the rule of Death was added. ANDY And that means even if the world comes to an end, I still won't be able to die. JUIZ Correct. ANDY That so? FUKO No way. JUIZ There are two ways to avoid the rules. JUIZ You must either die or kill God. JUIZ As things stand, I withheld secrets and manipulated comrades. JUIZ Comrades who risked their lives following my lead. JUIZ Billy's insurrection was likely because news of this loop leaked somehow. JUIZ This is my shame to carry. FUKO Ms. Juiz! JUIZ I would gladly atone with my death but there is still work to be done. JUIZ And so... Will you all follow me and see this to the end? TOP Wait a sec, boss! JUIZ Right now this is all I can off-- JUIZ Shen, did you... SHEN Please don't do that. SHEN I don't like seeing you in that state. ANDY Hard agree. ANDY We got the gist of the story. ANDY You basically came up with a plan and tried to put it into action alone, right? ANDY I'll believe in it-- your vision of justice. TOP Hey, this Roundtable's swanky! It's Japanese-style. FUKO Look at the stonework! TATIANA Stone, stone! FUKO Is it hand-etched? TATIANA Hand-what? ANDY Now, let's do this. Right, boss? SHEN Here, boss. Take this. JUIZ Right. Much obliged. JUIZ The Roundtable meeting shall now resume. JUIZ There are currently four quests in progress. APOCALYPSE For this round, all quests are open to everyone APOCALYPSE Quest one: neutralization of UMA Spring. APOCALYPSE Quest two: neutralization of UMA Summer. APOCALYPSE Quest three: capture of UMA Autumn. APOCALYPSE Quest four: neutralization of UMA Winter. JUIZ But before we get to that, there are a few things that we need to ascertain. JUIZ The first being the location of the Roundtable stolen by Billy's organization, Under. JUIZ Ideally, this would also lead us to their base of operations. BILLY And the one who will kill God is me. JUIZ At the root, our goals align. JUIZ We both aim to kill God. JUIZ But as seen from his comment about nukes, if we leave him unchecked, many lives may be sacrificed. BILLY As Apocalypse has just said, if we fail this, we'll get hit with a 100th penalty, and I don't see them being that easy to complete. BILLY Three out of four UMAs need to be neutralized. BILLY We kill them and we're good. BILLY So I say, how about we just drop a few nukes on 'em? TATIANA Wh-What are you saying, Mr. Billy? If we do that, innocent people will be killed, too. BILLY Yeah, so they would. BILLY But that's all we would lose. JUIZ We must apprehend Billy, destroy Under, relocate the stolen Roundtable and all of Under's Artifacts, and take them all. JUIZ I'm sure they've made progress as a separate organization towards slaying God. JUIZ We can use what they've obtained. TOP All right! TOP Let's get our payback on! JUIZ With all that in mind, Andy, Fuko, there's something I would like you to investigate. FUKO Aye! Leave it to us, yeah! JUIZ I want you to check the legitimacy of a certain book. FUKO A book? JUIZ There is a chance that the pages of the book in question hold the past and future events of this world as penned by a certain Artifact. JUIZ Since Billy has turned against us, not even I know the route from here on. JUIZ Now that we're facing the unknown, obtaining this book is paramount. JUIZ It will surely aid in clearing these four quests. FUKO The past and future recorded in a-- CHIKARA Book? FUKO But this seems important. You sure you want us to go? JUIZ I'm sure. JUIZ As a matter of fact, I prefer it. JUIZ Once you see it, you'll know why. JUIZ This is it. ANDY Hmm?