Babylonia
Eden Fallen
Using Huaxu’s key they acquired during the battle of Kowloong Metropolis and the World Government’s high-power antenna Luna seized from the ARU, the Ascendants exploit a vulnerability in Gestalt to launch a direct attack on Babylonia. Following Luna’s command, Huaxu overtakes the control of Babylonia’s gravity engines, causing it to descend rapidly towards Earth. To prevent Babylonia from falling, the Gray Ravens enter a simulation named the Spear of F.O.S., through which the Commandant’s consciousness and Constructs’ M.I.N.D. are uploaded to Gestalt, allowing them to address and resolve its vulnerability.
At the same time, yet another individual infiltrates Gestalt via the simulation: Murray has been tasked by Hassen and Nikola to retrieve a certain piece of data from its database. Hassen and Nikola are aware that Murray has been bargaining with unknown parties behind their backs but are nonetheless willing to turn a blind eye to his personal machinations as long as his actions ultimately benefit Babylonia. After acquiring the data and exiting the simulation, Murray is confronted by the Scarab squad, who forces him to hand over the memory drive he is carrying under Nikola’s orders.
The Gray Ravens chase one of Huaxu’s sub-terminals disguised as Bianca, which ultimately leads to the discovery of the main intrusion terminal. The Ascendants’ initial plan to crash Babylonia fails and Luna orders everyone to retreat. This failure leads Luna to suspect that Huaxu may not be completely loyal to her.
The data retrieved from the simulation by the Gray Ravens allows Babylonia to narrow down the Ascendants’ coordinates to the ruins of City 075. This finally provides an opportunity for Babylonia to approach their mysterious enemies for the first time. Even though they may not be able to destroy the Ascendants right away, they can still uncover invaluable information on them should they succeed in tracking them down.
With Gestalt’s systems now normalized, Hassen decides that the time has come for them to launch a counteroffensive against the Ascendants and assigns the Gray Ravens to investigate the city ruins. Before they depart, Hassen gives the Commandant the key that can unlock Lucia’s sealed memories contained within her Plume frame.Awakening of Heart
This section of the story can only be unlocked by playing Chapter 13: Fake Ascension in Explore Mode.
The task of retrieving a lost data file within Gestalt assigned to Murray is revealed to be a part of Hassen and Nikola’s secret plan to test him. Hassen and Nikola feign a rivalry between them by having Hassen secretly contact Murray after their initial meeting to emphasize the data’s importance to ending the war while hinting at the difference of opinion between the two leaders of Babylonia. Meanwhile, Nikola plays the role of the antagonist by ordering the Scarab squad to intercept Murray.
Inside the simulation, Murray’s first encounter with the Scarab squad ends with him successfully tricking them and slipping away. The Scarab squad then turns to Asimov to enlist his help in tracking down Murray’s coordinates. Although Asimov agrees to their request, he disparages them for being no better than weapons. However, Valeria and Yata—the commandant and a member of the Scarab squad, respectively—are content with acting like obedient dogs.
Murray hacks into Gestalt’s highest clearance database and retrieves the information Hassen and Nikola were looking for. He is in the process of extracting additional top-secret data when the Scarab squad reappears. Once again, he manages to outwit them and escapes. Murray then exits to the real world and returns to the Intelligence Agency Archives, from which he initially accessed the simulation. Upon leaving the room, he is confronted by the Scarab squad in person and hands them over the memory drive he is carrying. Unbeknownst to them, he has hidden another memory drive inside the room he just left.
After some time, Murray takes over as the liaison officer for the Gray Ravens’ mission by striking a deal with Nikola. For him, this is the only way to quickly get in touch with the Gray Ravens and protect his brother.Invisible Spikes
This section of the story can only be unlocked by playing Chapter 13: Fake Ascension in Explore Mode.
During their pursuit of Murray, Valeria and Yata of the Scarab squad discover his access logs to Gestalt’s database. They suspect something serious is going on when they see that the logs contain search records of Kurono, Construct technology, and digital signatures of Hassen and Nikola. At the same time, they are aware that delving deeper into these topics—especially the information regarding Kurono—could very well lead to their demise. They turn their attention back to their mission, but the chase ultimately ends with Murray getting away.
Upon exiting the simulation, the Scarab squad reports their failure to Nikola. To their surprise, Nikola tells them they have completed the mission. He reveals that he intended them to be a backup to retrieve the data in case Murray failed his task. When Valeria asks Nikola for more information regarding their target, he merely describes Murray as “an untested friend” and orders them to confront him again, this time in the real world. The whole chain of events leaves Valeria wondering whether it really is right to follow commands without asking any questions.World’s End
This section of the story can only be unlocked by playing Chapter 13: Fake Ascension in Explore Mode.
While Babylonia is falling, Nanami travels on Earth with her two robot friends, Martin and Rohacchi, in search of a means to get in touch with Gestalt. The three of them arrive at the ruins of a town consumed by the Punishing Virus. There, they find an antenna and terminal underground from which Nanami connects to Gestalt.
Gestalt proceeds to relay several pieces of information that guide Nanami’s future actions. First, Gestalt addresses itself as the other Will, distinct from Nanami but ultimately representing the same thing. Second, it asserts that Nanami can no longer be considered a human, a machine, a Constructed, a Corrupted, or even an in-between—she has already embarked on a path to become a being that transcends humanity’s existing categorization. Finally, according to both Gestalt and Huaxu’s calculations, humanity’s doom is all but certain.
Despite this, Nanami refuses to accept humanity’s fate. Gestalt is unable to comprehend Nanami’s love for humans, dismissing her attempts to help them as meaningless and suboptimal. According to Gestalt, the solution to evolution has been found, which does not involve the continuation of humanity. Nonetheless, Nanami is determined to give humans a chance at survival, no matter how slim it may be. She disconnects from Gestalt and resumes her journey. Her next objective is to find another companion.