Warning: Beware of unmarked spoilers while reading through these quotes.
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Common Route
"What do you want to protect? A person, a thing, or you yourself? Wanting to protect something is important, but it's pointless if you do it for your own satisfaction. You can't just force your feelings on others. That's only being stubborn. It's when you and your partner both desire it that a relationship of protector and protected is born for the first time. If it hasn't been established, you can't protect anything, no matter how you exert yourself."
— Motomi
Akira: I'm not ready to die.
Keisuke: '[smirks]'' Even you have things you'll miss, huh? But you always looked like you didn't give a crap about anything.
Akira: ...It's you.
Keisuke: [frowns] Huh? What about me?
Akira: I realized something when you went away. What you meant to me. My whole life — up until now — I didn't think I cared about anything. It didn't matter to me whether I myself or anyone else died. I was only living because I hadn't died yet, and I had no particular reason to be alive. Or so I thought. I always had trouble understanding people who cling to life. And I didn't get what it meant to die. Murder is outlawed in Bl@ster. It's the reason I decided to join Igra.
Keisuke: Not to shake off your false accusations?
Akira: That was part of it too. But I was interested in what someone thinks the moment they take another person's life, what the one being killed thinks— how it feels. I didn't feel anything no matter how much I fought in Bl@ster. So I thought... maybe Igra, where murder is permitted, might be different.
Keisuke: [scoffs] That's the worst reason possible. Pure ego. Yeah, sure, killing is fun. The feeling of life vanishing so easily in my hands... it's unbearably good. Just thinking about it drives me up the wall.
Akira: ...You're right. It was a selfish reason. But it wasn't because Bl@ster forbids murder that I didn't feel anything. The problem was something more essential. It occurred to me when we argued at the hotel, and you left.
Keisuke: (flatly) What?
Akira: That it wasn't what I wanted to say.
[Keisuke's smile drops and his aura becomes more murderous]
Akira: It was the first time I'd ever thought that. Before, I never paid any attention to what people thought of me. You thought I hated having you follow me all the time, didn't you.
Keisuke: [gives a scornful laugh] ...Of course you did. Why wouldn't you? I was weak, and all I ever did was dog at your heels. You let me be because you didn't care about me either way, right? You were revolted on the inside, but you looked down on me and laughed at my dithering, the way you would at a pet that comes snuggling up to you of its own accord, right?
Akira: Do you think I'm the kind of artful person who goes out of my way to do things alongside someone I can't stand? I never begrudged your presence, not once. Except, that servility of yours... It's the only thing that repelled me. You always said "the likes of me", as a means of self-denigration. I hated it. You don't have to compare yourself to anyone else... You're Keisuke.
Keisuke: [laughs in bitter anger] You... you can... You can only say that because you're standing on top. You can say it because you've never been trampled down, because you don't understand what it feels like to be at the bottom... Yeah, I was weak, but I tried pretty hard in my own way, you know? But you didn't give the likes of me a second glance. You didn't see anything beyond yourself. That's why I decided to become strong. Stronger than you. [holds out a hand to Akira] See me now? I could crush your head with one little squeeze. And just like I thought, you finally looked at me. Akira, do you get it? I hate you so much, I can't stand it. That's why you should hate me, too. Don't underestimate me, blabbering on about stuff like what you've realized and what you didn't....
Akira: I didn't look at you because you became stronger.
Keisuke: ...Huh?
Akira: It's just that up until now, I thought it was perfectly normal for you to be by my side. When you went running out of the hotel... at the time I was incredibly irritated, somehow, and I couldn't stop speaking. And I regretted it... for the first time in my life. Get separated from someone in Toshima, and the next time you meet, chances are they'll be a dead body. At the time, I thought— I don't know anything. Either what you thought of me... or if I understood a single thing about you. I don't like hanging around with others for no reason... But if it's a person I don't mind being near me, I want to stay with them. At some point, spending time with you became part of my everyday life. I didn't seek anything from you. What I really wanted to say was— all you have to do is remain there, remain as yourself, remain as Keisuke.
Keisuke: (quietly) ...That's a lie.
Akira: I'm not lying. It's why I couldn't understand your reasons for denigrating yourself. And when I realized that, I understood why people get so attached to life. They want to live, for the sake of something they can't give up. Something they want to protect, something they simply desire, anything. I finally... understood that.
Keisuke: (voice both weak and sharp with emotion) Give it a rest already. Saying stuff like that now... Didn't I tell you? I hate you, Akira.
Akira: I can't change you you feel about me. But I... Keisuke. [takes a deep breath] I want the two of us to leave this place together. So we can't afford to die. Neither you nor I.
Keisuke: (enraged) Stop it!!
Keisuke's Route
Keisuke: Look... I... What kind of things did I say?
Akira: You don't remember?
Keisuke: Vaguely... I get the sense that another me was screaming and stuff, but that's it... it must've been awful. [pulls at his hair and sighs] I'm such an idiot. First of all, I'm truly sorry... I'm sorry things ended up like this. You probably already know how it happened, but... Back then, you know, when you yelled at me in the hotel, I was really frustrated. I'd been told stuff like that before, but in terms of how I felt, there was no comparison. Everything I did because I wanted to help you, to protect you, backfired on me and only irritated you in the end... I wondered what the heck I was doing, and it started to seem completely hopeless... [sighs again and looks away] I thought you had finally begun to hate me. At this rate, I reckoned it was only natural for you to get fed up with me.. I kept wondering why I had to be the way I was. All I wracked my head about was how I could be more useful to you.. And then... Remember the place that looked like a coffee shop? Where I first caught up to you in Toshima. I found some... Rein on the ground there. Someone probably dropped it. Since I'd heard it makes you physically and mentally stronger, I figured... maybe then I could help you out. Maybe if I got stronger, I wouldn't annoy you.
Akira: [exhales] What a fool.
Keisuke: [smiles bitterly] I really am... But at the time I was desperate, and I didn't give a damn about anything else... [falls into tense silence]
Akira: You okay?
Keisuke: [takes a quivering breath] I had a dream...
Akira: A dream?
Keisuke: The blue-haired guy was in it. It was so convincing, I could've gotten it mixed up with reality... I remember it clearly. He was glaring at me, covered in blood. Afterwards, a bunch of arms snaked out and grabbed me. trying to rip me apart.. .Even if I screamed, my voice wouldn't come out. But I could hear them the whole time. So many voices. People crying, shrieking... A huge conglomeration of pain and resentment and grief came crashing onto me... [takes another deep and shaky breath]
Akira: Do you remember anything from when you were on Rein?
Keisuke: ...Sort of. It's blurry, and only comes in snatches, but... I know what I did. The pain in that dream has got to be the pain of the people I got my hands on... These hands on mean. [looks down and stares at his open palms] I've killed a lot of people with these hands. I stole a lot of lives... My body till remembers.. .the smell of blood, shouting, the sensation of it.... and what I did to you.
[Akira freezes in shock; Keisuke notices Akira's reaction and punches the floor in response]
Keisuke: Damn it... I know apologizing can't possibly make it better... But... I'm sorry, Akira. I'm so... so sorry. I'm sorry... I'll leave if you don't want me near you.
Akira: ...? Hey! [grabs Keisuke's wrist when he suddenly tries to move away] Don't start moving all of a sudden. It's still too soon.
Keisuke: (eyes averted) ...Sorry.
Akira: [sighs] You have a bad habit of making up your mind and rushing on ahead by yourself.
Keisuke: ... [lets out a few strained chokes]
Akira: It would be a lie if I said I didn't care about what happened. But lashing out at you won't change things.
Keisuke: (murmuring) How can I possibly make it up to you? How can I possibly make amends for you, for everyone I laid my hands on... It's enough to make me want to die...
Akira: You can't do anything. No matter how much you regret it, mothing will go back to the way it was before. If you die, you'll be just be getting off easy. So much for atoning— all it would amount to is running away.
[Keisuke's expression becomes more conflicted]
Akira: Keep living. Shoulder the burden of all the lives you took. You might have nightmares over and over. Your knowledge of your sins might torture you for the rest of your life. But even then, keep living. That's how to make amends. And... You should do that if you want to make it up to me as well.
Keisuke: Akira...
Akira: Die here and there'll be no longer be any meaning to how I saved you. I'll have no idea... why I became so panicked. (his voice becomes more resolute) I made my decision. I'm going to leave Toshima and take you with me.
Keisuke: You don't mind? I'm... a murderer, and I did horrible things to you...
Akira: If that bothered me, I'd have left you behind and gone on my way a long time ago.
Keisuke: (solemnly) Why? Why did things end up like this? Why... did it have to be us?
Akira: ...Maybe it just had to be us. I'm not trying to say it was our entire destiny or something. But I don't like to think we merely go swept into this. Regretting it because of that... would be awful. [looks at Keisuke in the eyes] For instance, even when you're being forced to walk down a predetermined path, you've still got a bunch of options, and you're choosing one of them with every step you take. No one knows where the path they've chosen will take them... But they choose it themselves all the same.
Keisuke: (astonished) Akira...
Akira: And there'll be times when you worry about whether or not you've chosen the right path. But no one knows the answer. Even when you hit a dead end, it could be a wall you've got to overcome to reach your destination. I want to believe... that's what happened to us.
[Keisuke takes Akira's words into consideration for a moment before smiling]
Keisuke: ...A little while ago, in a black-market shop for used books... I found... what do people call them again? A kind of adventure story, I guess. I didn't buy it, but I read a little on the spot. The main character, who had been charging along just fine, suffered a setback midway through. And when he started slacking off, the guy who was like his teacher had a habit of saying the same thing to him again and again. "Don't let failure turn you into a quitter. These are trials you're supposed to overcome, and once you get past them, you'll definitely gain something." Then the main character made it through his ordeal and brought the story to an end. [smiles even wider] All by himself. ...And I'm not alone. I have you. I have to atone for my sins. I have to live on for the sake of the people I hurt. I'd like to think... that's why this new strength has stayed with me.
Akira: ...Yeah.
Keisuke: [nods at Akira in reassurance] Let's go back to the CFC together. If you beat Il-Re, you can just turn your back on his throne and return home.
Motomi's Route
Motomi: Look, I won't force you to talk about it. I'm not a sadist. But no matter who he is, a human being can only tolerate so much before his heart exceeds its maximum dosage. The limit is invisible, and it varies from person to person, so a stranger can't figure what yours is. But you'd be surprised how often even the person in question doesn't know. [gestures at own chest] Keep struggling and enduring without knowing your limits and you'll end up passing your maximum dosage without realizing it. If you push yourself forward even then, your heart won't be able to make it, and it all goes boom. [makes another hand gesture resembling an explosion]
Akira: If you can't see your limit, you can't do anything about it.
Motomi: True, you could say that. But the older you get, the bigger your maximum dosage becomes. And you start to get a feel for what's the right amount for you. Eventually you learn to top-toe your way around those sort of land mines.
Akira: The wisdom of old age, you mean?
Motomi: Not sure I would phrase it quite like that. In any case, your limit itself may be invisible, but when you're about to cross it, danger signals start coming out... So I was thinking, you might be getting awfully close.
Akira: Can't say I've noticed myself giving off any danger signals.
Motomi: I'm talking about that face of yours.
Akira: I told you, I always look like this.
Motomi: Liar. Your face says you can't last much longer. Besides, it wouldn't be nearly as difficult if we could notice this sort of thing ourselves. When times are tough, you've got to let it all out, or you'll end up going boom too.
Akira: (insistently) I'm not that delicate.
Motomi: [frowns] Oh, come on. Could you get anymore pigheaded? You aren't very used to relying on people, are you.
Motomi: When I come to church, it makes me feel like humans are way more amazing than God. I don't know... I guess it shows our hidden potential.
Akira: Hidden potential?
Motomi: Yeah. People have always worshipped some kind of god, haven't they? They built places like this out of the strength of their religious belief. Do you know for sure whether or not God exists?
Akira: ...No.
Motomi: See? It's impossible to prove either way. That's the sort of shapeless, intangible existence people build churches to come in contact with. In one sense, it's scary, that kind of persistence. How people's faith crosses the boundary of time to become something shared by humans of different eras, including the present. A lot of people profess a fondness for churches, even non-believers.
Akira: [concedes] ...It's kind of nice.
Motomi: I see. God is omnipotent, but humans aren't. I'm not the type to believe in the supernatural or whatever, but there are definitely times when things move in ways we can't define with logic. Churches give me that sort of feeling— maybe it's why I like them. Truth is, all kinds of people come to church, even criminals.
Akira: Criminals?
Motomi: To pray and confess, because God's here. They face that over there and offer it their prayers. [points to the cross at the altar] Do you know why?
Akira: [shakes head]
Motomi: Well, because He's God. They confess their sins to the omnipotent, all-knowing God in hopes of being forgiven. Forgiveness eases their pain, and they're supposed to receive guidance to Heaven.
Akira: When you say forgiveness, do you mean someone offers it to them in God's place?
Motomi: Nah. After all, God might not even exist. But it becomes unbearably painful when your emotions go beyond a certain limit. And God will listen to anything you have to say to Him.
Akira: Sure sounds convenient.
Motomi: You bet. [looks at Akira and smiles] That's what God is... but now we've gotten way off-topic. I'm not telling you to start praying. Talking to others is unexpectedly important, even though anyone in the world can do it. Words are invisible, but they have heft, a real shape. They weigh down on your chest. They pile up in your stomach. They can turn into deadly weapons.
Akira: Deadly weapons?
Motomi: Yep. Sometimes words become a kind of weapon if you let them pile up in your stomach. It's a slightly different story when they weigh down on your chest.
Akira: In your stomach?
Motomi: In your stomach. [gestures at Akira's abdomen] Words are perishables, like raw food. As they accumulate, they get more and more rotten. You wouldn't want to leave food rotting inside you, would you? You've got to let them out, or your body will start getting aggravated. And once your body gets aggravated, your heart senses it and starts getting worked up as well. Words and your body; feelings and your heart. You can't untangle one from the other... Right, Akira? When you're using words, you don't have to worry about things like what to say or what to ask. Just voice exactly what comes to mind. Then your thoughts will naturally evolve into speech. Hold too much back and your burdens will start becoming a little too heavy for you. That's how humans are designed, how they've always been.
Akira: [remains in contemplative silence]
Motomi: [points to his own head] You say you aren't so delicate, but that's just what you're thinking up here. Your head's working to make you ignore your body's warning signs. You only think you're all right. [notices Akira's expression] There it is, written all over your face again. I'm not going to push you into anything. I'm not going to push you, but having seen you waring that look, I cant exactly hold my tongue and ignore it. [looks away with a rueful expression] So you've lived all your life without leaning on others? That's admirable. But trying to hang in there by yourself when you're suffering isn't motivated by anything but pure thoughtlessness.
Motomi: (in a grave tone) Akira. You're also a rare and valuable resource for the military. You might as well be a second Premier... That's why I... [struggles to say the next words] ...I have to kill you.
[Akira says nothing and just stares at Motomi]
Motomi: (alarmed at Akira's lack of reaction) ...You aren't going to run away? I might kill you.
[Akira remains calm and still doesn't say or do anything in response]
Motomi: [sighs in frustration] Damn it! What am I supposed to do... honestly... [looks away] I swore it. I swore to my wife and my boy that I'd stop that evil research. It'd be wrong to let it go on without end. The same thing will just happen all over again, creating more victims. It's got to end if we're to have any hope of building a new future. Sure, I didn't know what you were... but I became too familiar with you. At times, I even compared you to my son in my mind. If he'd lived, he'd be around the same age as you... It's too late.
Akira: If you weren't familiar with me, would you have killed me? (his voice becomes a bit harsher) You became attached to me. The way you'd become attached to a dog or a cat.
Motomi: Akira...
Akira: You think you can kill Premier because you don't know him? If you knew him, would you hesitate, the way you're hesitating now?
Motomi: That's...
Akira: Then you're no different from the military.
Motomi: (sharply) ...What?
Akira: Right now, you just view Premier as being no more than a mannequin. You can't see inside him. You don't know what he's thinking. But even Premier used to be just another victim... the same as me. Could you still kill him... if he wept and screamed and begged for mercy?
Motomi: But he's scattering Rein all over the place. He's got to have some kind of ulterior motive..
Akira: You don't know that for sure, do you? If you plan on making up your mind and killing him without checking the evidence, it's like me getting hit with false murder charges.
[Motomi remains silent as he looks at Akira with a conflicted expression]
Akira: We're all the same. Me and Premier... and Keisuke. None of us asked for this. You should know that better than anyone.
Motomi: [looks down on the floor] But he's a living weapon. Their research can't be allowed to proceed any further.
Akira: [glares at Motomi] Then... Kill me. Right here. Right now. I'll become the military's guinea pig if they capture me, right?
Motomi: Akira....
[Akira takes Motomi's hands and brings them to his own throat, and glowers at a bewildered Motomi once again]
Akira: All you have to do is squeeze.
[Motomi tries, and barely, to strangle Akira, but the attempt doesn't last any longer than a few seconds and he finally relents]
Motomi: (voice trembling) ...You win. Let me go.
Shiki's Route
[Nano and Shiki fight in the rain]
Shiki: What are you trying to accomplish? Answer me!
Nano: My answer is obvious. To return all ignorant souls to the void from which they came.
Shiki: You think too highly of yourself!
Nano: This world is overflowing with the foolish fruits born of every form of arrogance. Life, nature, civilization... the power to produce and reproduce is a wondrous thing. Yet once it crosses a certain line, it degenerates into an ugly mass of covetousness. Human beings are such weak creatures. They have no fangs, no claws, no special tricks to protect themselves. A single naked human is totally helpless. Their very weakness is what drives them to try to claw their way higher. And once they reach a height from which they can gaze down on others, they become transfixed by the delusion that they can have it all to themselves.
Shiki: That's why people need power. Absolute, individual power, to spare them from having to rely on anything for help.
Nano: That is a mistake. One person's rampage invites resistance from those around him. Many people end up as victims... Yet those blinded by their own greed are unaware of the dark consequences of their actions. This cycle of destruction and rebirth has occurred throughout human history. And it will continue far into the future... forever. The eager elation that comes with ascending in power is so sweet, so unlike any other sensation. But it is also temporary. A mere illusion.
Shiki: [smiles] ...Perhaps I've been caught up in that elation. Perhaps I still am.
Nano: Destruction and rebirth, endlessly repeating. I have no interest in watching humanity rise from its own ashes, increasingly degenerate, a pale shadow of what came before. But the ones who fight their fate — hideously, foolishly — to the very end: they are the ones who shine the brightest before they fall. That is what I want to witness. The moment they fall. Those foolish souls, knowing themselves to be on the brink of destruction yet unable to stop themselves from dirtying their hands with their own greed, squabbling amongst themselves like beasts, realizing their own doom far too late to prevent it. ...Everything is going as planned.
Shiki: In other words, you were using me for your own self-satisfaction. [points sword at Nano] That's why I said you think too highly of yourself. Do you think you're some kind of god?
Nano: My individual actions do not have the power to change a single thing. None of it adds up to more than a scant fistful of sand, no more than dust in the wind. I simply want to bear witness. To appreciate the aesthetics of self-destruction... And in the end, I want to see what will happen.
Shiki: What will you try to see?
[Nano does not respond to the question; instead, he slowly starts to break into uncharacteristic, maddened laughter]
Arbitro: (confused) Has he lost his mind?
Shiki: (unnerved) Stop it.
Nano: You're a fool to the bone. You can't beat me. You lose every time you fight me, and yet here you are again. Like a broken record. Why don't you learn your lesson? You'll never defeat me. Ever. And do you know why? Because I'm familiar with a feeling you've never once experienced— a feeling that downright terrifies you. You can't attain true strength without first knowing weakness. Maybe you've seen your own small share of suffering, but no matter what you've been through, I've been through — am still going through — torture a thousand times worse. You can't even imagine what it's like. That is what gives me strength. That's why my strength remains.
Shiki: (agitated) Hold your tongue!
Nano: I wonder what you would do... if you had a taste of how I suffered. Would you be able to stay strong even then?
Nano's Route
"One cannot perceive anything without attempting to see it. Human beings are such arrogant creatures. Two souls can never unite as one. The breach between them is insurmountable. But there are answers to be found, for those who seek them... And what will you find there?"
— Nano
"Ashes to ashes. All life returns to the earth in due time. Insects, plants, and human beings... they are all fundamentally the same."
— Nano
"People live by forgetting everything. And one day, time itself will devour them... I am no exception."
— Nano
"I reaped countless lives on the battlefield. I witnessed immeasurable lamentation. People die so very easily. Like insects being crushed underfoot. Their brains stop working, and their hearts come to a halt... Death is so simple. And humans are so fragile, so impermanent. Given all that, what on earth am I? I, who have crushed so many lives... who am I supposed to be? In theory, I am no greater nor lesser than all those whose lives I have destroyed. There is no difference between the killer and his victim. I could not comprehend what sets us apart... what distinguished me from those I murdered. In the end, there is no single, certain truth. Everything has been planned out, manipulated... It is all a delusion."
— Nano
"Human beings are fallen creatures. Greedy and shameless, they bare their teeth at everything outside their little bubble and strive to stand at the top of it all. And I, too, am among them. If those who I have killed were paying the price for that... then I wish I could have seen them marching down the path to self-destruction, blinded by their desires. I long to watch my fellow men implode of their own volition as they swarm around me, greedy for my flesh, for my blood. The instant when a human life dissipates is so evanescent, so ephemeral... and so very beautiful. They struggle to the very last instant, swamped by horrific terror and agony until signs of life gradually vanish from their eyes, and as I watch, I myself drown in the sight of it... There is no escaping fate."
— Nano
[Akira mourns Keisuke's untimely death]
Nano: (emotionlessly) Why do you mourn him? This was destined to happen all along. So why do you mourn?
[Akira regains his breathing, which is still shaky from his sobs]
Nano: All of this was meant to be. There is no need to grieve for him. Yet why?
Akira: [becomes flared up from Nano's remark] Who says it's meant to be? Predestined fate? Just as planned?! Whose great idea is that? You think I shouldn't care just because he was meant to die?! Keisuke took that bullet for me... and now you... [sheds tears and lets out a few choked sobs]
Nano: (calmly) ...Why do you weep? This was destined to happen from the start.
Akira: ...Have you never thought that there might be other possibilities?
Nano: Possibilities?
Akira: He didn't have to die. There might have been a way for him to make it out of here alive.
Nano: How?
Akira: If I weren't here, maybe Keisuke wouldn't have died.
Nano: [shakes head] I do not know what you mean when you speak of possibilities. The path I must take, everything I must do, has been laid out before me from the very start. Free will is useless.
Akira: No. You need it. If I were you... if I were you, I'd run as far as I could and do anything to stay alive. I'd never let the military get their hands on me. I wouldn't ever let them control me again. I'd live as I pleased. I'd live freely to make up for lost time, to start becoming my real self again.
Nano: Impossible.
Akira: (impassioned) It's not impossible. It's a valid possibility, if you've got the will for it. You have a will of your own, too. You must. It's just that your resignation and your despair have piled higher and higher and sealed it off completely. It's something that can't be expressed in data or plain numbers. (voice becomes more somber) If you... If you hadn't been an experimental subject, and if they hadn't carried you off in the name of their research... You might have been able to smile and laugh, just like anyone else.
Nano: (confused) ...Smile? Me? ...Impossible.
Akira: It's not impossible. Speculating that maybe things could have turned out differently. Hoping... Wishing. That's what it means to consider other possibilities.
Nano: ......
Akira: Destruction isn't the only thing that lies beyond falling into despair and giving up. It doesn't matter whether anything has been fated all along. At least not to me. [looks at Keisuke's corpse] I don't want Keisuke's death to be in vain. So that's another reason... to defy fate. No matter what lies in wait for us.
[Nano contemplates in silence for a long while. And then...]
Nano: I thought all I had was despair. I thought there was nothing else for me. But if there are other possibilities, if it is possible to create some kind of change... I want to go there. ...Will you leave here?
Akira: Yeah.
Nano: I... (with more resolve in his voice) I want to go with you.
[Akira gasps in surprise]
Nano: (speaking with newfound determination) Perhaps you find my very existence unforgivable. But you have shown me the existence of other possibilities... that there might be light at the end of my path. So, wherever you go, I want... to walk with you.
