Ar Tonelico Qoga Part #74

Part 74: Qoga

It’s funny how time sneaks up on you. Today, I’ll tell you how the story ended.

Video Record- “Harvestashas”

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I'll escort you all. I hope you don't mind my company.

Thank you.

...I suppose I should bid you farewell.

Please, take care of the rest.

Yes. I will make certain to lead the XP Shell, since that is what I was born to do.
I was born for this day, for this time. Let's use our full power.

Yes. Beginning preparations. I will reformat to my initial settings.
Shall we officially begin the process? I am the Master Frame.
I will keep you company as the Project Program that will lead you towards the planet's core.

Okay. I'm counting on you.

My role is to connect the Planet's Will and Tyria. That is, I am the Dive Machine for Diving into Ar Ciel.
If you succeed in linking Tyria and the Planet's Will at the core, its feelings will become tangible in the real world.
The rest is up to you. Please converse with the Will of Ar Ciel and acquire the Core Square Ring from her.

...Okay.

In order to proceed, they needed the Heart of Gaea.

cEzYA hymmnos.
#9990 -r- mAtyy trix
tn=b'0x11000101101'
es tn<=sol.infel-pira.mea

Here in the XP Shell, the Heart took on a new form.

What is this...?

The XP Shell has finished preparing to contain the soul of the planet.
It has grown larger for this purpose. It is full of feelings that Tyria has woven with Cosmoflips.
Now we're fully prepared for action. Once we're ready, I shall guide you to the Control Room.

Harvestasha gave them one last chance to get whatever they needed to do done, but they were ready.

Alright, we're going to the operation room. But once you enter the room and close the door, you can't leave.
Is that okay?

...We brought all the strong feelings that everyone gave us. We left no regrets behind.

Yeah. I've made up my mind.

Do your best, and let the Goddess do the rest. We know what we have to do.

...Let's do our best!

...For the sake of the entire world!

It's time to go ignite the flame of life in this planet...within Her heart.
Harvestasha is linked. Setting course for the core of Ar Ciel.

And so they began…

Video Record- “The Girl Who Shot The World”

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Tyria prepared for the final effort…

And fired the gun pointed at the heart of the world.

Down through the Sea of Death the XP Shell tumbled.

Through the choking gas it passed, towards the scarred land of the planet.

And finally, it slammed down into a river of molten rock.

Fortunately, First Age technology is sturdy stuff.

Video Record- “Living Inside the Shell”

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Yeah, we're all okay.

Alright, I'll brief you with the synopsis of this mission.
The XP Shell is currently going about 3,200 stons to the planet core. We'll arrive in 10 minutes or so.
Before we get there, I must transfer from the Wing to the Dome.

Dome? What is that?

The Dome is where we will contact the Wills of the Planet.
It's Harvestasha's chamber, where we were a while ago.

Oh, I see... Alright, let's get going then!

Nothing in this world is simple, though.

What is it!?

Warning. Intruders detected in the XP Shell. Structural integrity has been weakened.

What!? Isn't that a really big problem...?

It was a really big problem.

Whoa!

Antibodies...!

Damn! We're busy right now! Let's go, guys!

They smashed through the attacking Antibodies.

The closer we get to the core, the more aggressive they're becoming.

Exactly. Now that they're no longer under Ar Ru's command, the Consensus must be the new master of these mutants.
We better hurry. If the Dome is destroyed, the plan is gonna go with it.

Please let me know when you are ready, everyone.

They tried to return to the Dome, but found the door locked down.

The gate between the Wing and Dome. It should be open. Maybe the Antibodies activated an emergency lock-down...

Aw, boo! Isn't there any way to open it?

There is the Operations Room. We can unlock the gate from there.

There was of course a group of Antibodies there that they were going to have to fight.

More Antibodies!

Damn...of course!

The door was easily opened again with them defeated, though.

(Ma num ra yehar her SYSTEM.)

Good, it switched!

The gate should open now.

Everyone, we'll reach the layer where you can Dive into Ar Ciel in three minutes.

We better hurry...

The path clear, they rushed to the Dome.

Video Record- “Last Words”

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Barely.

Whew. If we were gonna waste so much energy over there, shouldn't we have just stayed here?

That may be true, but you would probably have died if you did that.

Huh?

There's no gravity control here. Unless your body is able to withstand 200 Gs...

That's impossible...

Hmhmhm. Then, let's start preparing to Dive into Ar Ciel.

Diving into Ar Ciel, huh? Are you gonna do it, Harvestasha?

Yes. Tyria will contact the Will of Ar Ciel in the meantime.
Once a mutual connection has been established, I'll take care of the rest.
After that, you will be able to speak with Ar Ciel.

We can speak...with the planet...?

It's not a regular conversation. You will have to feel her voice.
Ar Ciel will talk to you through this huge dome. Please utilize all your senses to send your words to her.

Um, I don't quite get it...

Once we've started the process, you'll see. When you're ready, let me know.

They’d gone around the world to talk to everyone they knew, but not each other. Aoto started with his dear friend Finnel.

I though you might be crying again.

I-I'm not crying!

If I didn't come to see you, you would be crying right now.

No, I wouldn't!
Aoto, you're such a jerk! You've always been mean and nasty to me...!

Hey, are you sure it's okay to insult your master, my dear servant?

...You're trying to play that game again!?

Of course. I never released you.

Stupid Aoto!

...Pff! Hahahahaha!

...! Pff-hahaha!
...We've had so much fun.

Yeah, we have.

Because I met you and everyone else, I was always able to try my best.
Sometimes I wanted to die...but you all saved me from my hopelessness. So, I have to keep going...!
For the sake of everyone on this beautiful planet, I'll talk to Her...!

He then moved on to the Doctor.

...Sorta. I mean, I've never done anything like this before.

I've changed since meeting you and Saki, too. It has been a really thrilling time.

Sorry...

No need to apologize. You're such a charismatic young man. That's why I came all this way with you.
The way you dive headlong into danger has helped me achieve my life-long goal. For that, I'm ever grateful, Aoto.

...Aww, it's nothing.

I can't believe our long journey is finally coming to an end. ...Let's wrap this up.

Cocona’s almost been in as bad a place as this, though I guess you never get used to it.

Well, you are, too. I can tell you're acting awkward. It's so not like you...

What...!? Of course I'm nervous. We're about to do something big!

Hmhmhm, you never change.
When I first came to Blue Canyon Hamlet, I was all alone. You were the only person who would talk to me back then.

That's because you were acting like a loner.

Yeah, that's because I was hiding a secret, and felt insecure. It kept people away, but not you.

Well, that's cuz I was so happy!
There weren't any dudes around my age, and since you were a guy at the time, I thought we could be good buddies.

Sorry I wasn't really a guy.

What are you talking about? Even though you're not a guy, we're still good buds.

...Huh?

Gender doesn't matter. I like you as a girl, too. We're still friends, right?

...You are so...straightforward. Well, not that I mind.

You always picked me up when I wasn't having a good day.
You're my best friend in this world. Meeting you has made my whole journey worth it. Thank you, Aoto.

That took him to the start of this whole journey.

...That's it. Our long journey is finally coming to an end.

We've been through quite a lot... Ever since I met you, I've always been happy.

But, I couldn't always protect you when you were in danger. You even had to save me sometimes.
I wasn't always cool in front of you.

That's not true. Even when you were hurt or sad, you never stopped trying to protect me.
So...you're my savior, my one true hero!

...Saki.

For just a second Aoto wasn’t quite sure he was ready.

Pfft...hahaha! You're so scared.

No, I'm not! But, what's with the sudden character change?

I don't know. This is our last opportunity to do this sort of thing.

But it’s not like they could turn back now.

Yes! Beginning the Dive sequence now! Um, you may experience quite a shock at the point of impact.
Also, when the feelings of Ar Ciel are projected into the Dome, something unexpected may also be projected.
What will be embodied into the physical being is completely at the mercy of Ar Ciel.
All I can do is to warn you now that this may be dangerous, so please expect the worst case scenario.
Booting the Dive program now...

...Everyone, thank you for keeping me company all this time.

...Tyria.

700 years ago, this Tower failed to be completed. I thought this world was doomed to be extinct.
But, I waited...alone in the darkness that was hopelessness...maintaining the balance of the Tower...for this moment.
I believe this project will be successful.
After transcending 700 years, and a myriad of feelings...our hopes have gathered together here.

Tyria...

...Aoto, Thank you for thinking about me. You're the only one who really cared about me like that.
I was born for this moment. So...I'm not scared. Actually, I feel rather delighted.
Because, I can spend the moment of Ar Ciel's revival with someone I love. I never even expected that to happen.

...I'll always stand by your side, Tyria.

Thank you. That makes me so happy.
Harvestasha: The Ar Ciel Dive program has been booted. Antenna fully extended. DH-Wave band tuning completed.
Heading into the core. The final countdown will begin shortly.

And so it was time for the final ordeal.

Video Record- “Zzx_Ru”

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At last, we’re at the core of Ar Ciel.

Now we shall start our final Dive into Ar Ciel.

Antenna extended!

Wills of the Planet, please gather in the Heart of Gaea!

And melt into one.

To ignite the candle of your life again.
And recollect the memories of long ago.

The program began, and the world around them began to change.

And just like the real world, this beauty could not last.

A truly massive Antibody came into being.

What a gargantuan Antibody...!

Such immense, murderous lust! It's obviously intending to kill us off. That's perhaps the final defense?

Whoa!

The Heart of Gaea...!

Damn it! It's trying to split it apart! We have to handle that monstrosity!

Alright, let's go!

And so they had to defend the Heart against it.

Final Boss Phase 1: Zzx_Ru
Here’s the first phase of the final encounter, the fight with Zzx Ru (whose name is suggestive that it is Ar Ciel’s personal guardian in Carmena Foreluna). So, it’s a big immobile thing on one end of the battlefield. It rains down balls of song magic that reduce your defense when they hit you, and it also creates little balls that are attackable but aren’t obvious. The balls slowly move towards your Revyateil, and if they reach her and aren’t blown out quickly they explode, almost certainly dropping her. Staying back to deal with those isn’t a terrible plan honestly, two Ultra Supermoves are plenty enough to put the big thing down. You might as well, because this is the last time you can use Ultra Supers.

The massive antibody shattered into a swarm of darkness.

Video Record- “The Knell of Ar Ciel”

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And from the darkness came the embodiment of Ar Ciel.

The rage and sorrow of the Goddess shrouded her world.

This is...!

She is...the product of the Consensus...

...That's the embodiment of Ar Ciel's will.

The manifestation of Ar Ciel's Consensus. 700 years ago, our consortium called it, Ciela.

...Ciela.

...I will tell Ciela about our memories, our journey together, and the promise Aoto made. I'll tell her everything.

Me, too! I'll tell her all of my feelings...everyone who was nice to me, how Aoto protected me...everything!

Just like when we interacted with Ar Ru, I'll use Song Magic.

We'll communicate our feelings, but it won't reach her if anything interrupts us.

Alright, I'll ward off the Antibodies from you!

Saki, Finnel, you have to focus on the Song.

Let us handle these things!

Okay...let's do it!

And so the final battle began.

Final Boss Phase 2: Ciela
This is a really strange boss fight. The vanguards need to deal with constant waves of respawning antibodies that come until we finish the fight. If you approach Ciela she does a massive AoE that knocks everyone back, and you can’t even use Ultra Supermoves. Your goal is to do enough damage to ‘defeat’ Ciela four times. The music changes each time as does the background. Just watch the fight, it’s got the best music. As long as you have enough healing items this isn’t hard at all.

Eventually, somehow, they got through to Ciela.

Video Record- “A Wing and a Prayer”

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Ar Ciel has started to fuse with the Core Square Ring.

What does that mean!?

Aoto, we...

We communicated our feelings!

Really...?

...Does that mean...we were successful!?

That's right! The world has been saved...!

Yes!!!

Unfortunately, we don't have time to rejoice now.

...Huh?

The Dome will remain in the planet's core. We need to detach the Wing module in 180 seconds.

Detach!? What does that even mean!?

We're leaving the Heart of Gaea within the depths of Ar Ciel. It'll nurture the renewed life of the planet.
The Dome will be its outer shell. So, the modules will detach, and only the Wing will return to the surface.
If we don't get back to the Wing, we'll become a part of the core of Ar Ciel, too.

What...!?

Please move quickly.

The Ultra Special Super Idiot was worried about Harvestasha.

I will stay here.
I must operate the Dome up until the last moment to ensure the planet successfully links with the Heart of Gaea.

What...!?
XP Shell: teyys 160 bexm.

Let's go, Aoto!

Hurry!

...Thank you, Harvestasha!

…

They fled the Dome.

(teyys 150 bexm.)

They had little time.

(teyys 90 bexm.)

Ungh…we gotta make it!

But Tyria stopped suddenly.

...I'm being called. I have to go...

What?

...Sorry, Aoto. I need to stay.

Tyria...? What are you talking about now!?

I'm going back to Ar Ciel. They need me. Ciela...and everyone...are telling me, to come back. I did all I need to do.

Don't go back! You can't!

No worries. I'm just going back to my first home to tell Ar Ciel how awesome you and all my friends are.

Tyria!

Aoto, thanks. You are the only human to make me happy... To defend that human, I shall become one with the planet.
...Goodbye, Aoto...

He wasn’t going to let her go so easily, though.

Don't go, Tyria! I need you here by my side!

Aoto...

I won't let you go! I'm taking you home!

...I'm not human. I don't know how much longer I can keep living. I could go at any minute. I'm whimsical like that.

That doesn't matter! I don't care if you're human or not! Or how much longer you'll live! I just want to be with you!

Aoto...I must be a defective Reyvateil...
...I...want to be with you...!

Indeed, he wasn’t going to let her go at all.

...I love you, Aoto.
XP Shell: teyys 30 bexm.

...Let's hurry!

Alright!

They rushed for the Wing.

And arrived just in time.

Ma num ra parge WING elle DOME, en yehar WING, repoear yor.

The world was already changing even as the Wing reached its surface.

Video Record- “Ec Tisia”