Yuuji starts narrating his thoughts, and notably he refers to himself with boku as opposed to ore he's been using the rest of the time. But as for what he's thinking? He figures that if it were him, he could have done things better. It's a thought that he thinks of every time he plays a game or reads a light novel. "I could do that. I could do that even better." Those kinds of things. That way, he could skip some events and more efficiently get to the events he'd like to do.
Yuuji then admits that he never thought that an adventure could be so frightening and painful. It's so much different sitting back and watching someone else do it and doing it yourself. And here is where Yuuji will talk about the one adventure he went on and everything that happened. It started with him following in the footsteps of someone who looked like himself, and it went on to follow along someone else to 'one unique place.' This is that story to its conclusion.
Camera then tunes in at Asgard as Breke looks over in the distance and asks what that castle above the clouds is. He was supposed to be in Tokyo, but now he's here looking at the supernatural scenery. He talks about how this is supposed to be his first time in this world, but he has the feeling he knows what the castle is.
A bard in a chair starts talking to Breke and explains that this is Asgard, the land in the heavens high above Midgard and one of the realms of Yggdrasil. Breke is shocked by the guy's sudden appearance, and the bard goes on to describe the castle as what lies after the dreams of the strong. It was once known as Valhalla, the palace of the dead. Breke interrupts to demand where the bard came from, then orders him to identify himself.
The bard apologizes for surprising Breke, then introduces himself as Woden, a bard who passes down legends and history. Breke is in disbelief that he could be taken by surprise by a civilian, but he stops with his thoughts to apologize, then gives his name and calls himself a soldier from another world.
Woden nods at this, and Breke asks Woden to elaborate on what he said about the palace of the dead. Woden offers to play a song, then strums his instrument as he begins his narration. The palace is a place where the strong who've finished their roles on earth gather, and within the castle there was a king. He possessed great power, able to do almost anything. In this world there was war and battle aplenty, and many strong warriors fought and perished. The king regretted parting with these warriors, the ones who had fulfilled their roles.
The king decided to grant these dead warriors a second life. He created the valkyries, had them gather the remains of the warriors, took their memories, then put them into new bodies. The revived warriors became known as the Einherjar, swore allegiance to the king, and stood beside him. What was left of their remains was eaten by the loyal wolves that served the king, and Breke reacts to the word wolf.
Thus did Asgard became complete as a System of eternity, as a food chain that reuses heroes. Since the valkyries were loved by the Einjerjar, their appearances changed however many times until threw their lives away. As for the Einherjar, they gave their loyalty to the king who was the representative of the world, burning their lives away in battle. That was how eternity was achieved, a supposed repeating happiness. But eventually the king sadly came to realize something.
What Odin realized was the courage of those warriors who faced their deaths of which there was supposed to be only one of. If they are brought back to before their deaths, then where does the ones who aren't brought back go? How can you say that someone who believes they live only once is the same as someone who knows they've been brought back? It didn't take very long for the king to realize that the heroes who go through their lives once and the revived who live again in front of him were Different People.
Breke is quiet, and Woden says his story is done before asking Breke for his thoughts. Breke says it sounds like some kind of fantasy, but he's strangely drawn in by it. Woden smiles and says he's glad if Breke enjoyed it. After a moment Breke asks Woden about where the memories of the heroes' first lives went. Woden answers that maybe they went to rest somewhere in a place they can't see. Maybe they rest within those heroes' bodies. For the matter, maybe Breke has an irreplacable someone's memories within himself. Maybe someone else is watching over him as he lives his life. And if so, maybe it's possible to meet those heroes who lived again one day, and Woden suggests that the king wanted to believe so too as he looks at the bridge.
Woden explains that the bridge is named Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge. It is a collection of many roads of endless variations of colors, and it connects to other worlds. Those who've decided what path to take can cross the bridge and journey to elsewhere, choosing a color that resembles no one else's.
Title card pops up, and this chapter is called Gate of Hel.
Narration then takes over to talk about what's going on while you guys are having a rough battle over at the Gate of Hel. The undead are popping up and multiplying everywhere. All the civilians everywhere believed this to be the work of the legendary overlord revived. At the moment none of the undead are attacking, just gathering in the middle of nowhere and keeping watch of things. Everyone believed that the undead forces could all descend at any moment on the overlord's orders though. It was inevitable, they believed. So they looked up to the stars and prayed for the hero to save them.
Elsewhere Nekros can hear a voice calling to him. It tells him to drive monsters berserk and destroy life. He is the overlord, and that is what the overlord is supposed to do. And so the voice keeps repeating and echoing within his head. Nekros is in the further part within the Gate of Hel, and in the throne room with no one else around, the overlord laughs.
Back to your side of things, Yuuji's sword lets off beams of light at the undead. Yuuji has equipped the things the armor that the king of Midgard has sent over before the battle, now looking like the hero from legends. He shines brightly as if gathering the wishes of everyone all over. The undead hit by the light return to being remains. Multiple voices start reaching Yuuji and echo within him. As Sol said, White Stone has the power to connect and resonate with other people, so these voices must be the voices of the people's hearts.
Yuuji isn't holding up very well what with a bunch of voices assaulting his head. "Please win," they say. "Destroy the overlord and save the world." "A hero is someone who is supposed to defeat the overlord." Good will, hope, prayers, and wishes. All manner of beautiful shining things come together to become a pressuring white light that weighs heavily on Yuuji, which seems to interfere with his motor functions.
Orgus yells at Yuuji for spacing out and moves to blow some monsters away. Sol calls to the wind to cast some defensive spells, and Bacchus calls to Yuuji to ask what's wrong. Yuuji for reasons unknown to himself is shaking so hard that he can't stand up. He tries to rally himself since he's the hero after all, but a part of himself deep down believes that this is only natural. He was just an ordinary person, so he doesn't Have Enough.
He starts to yell, and narration talks about how he doesn't have enough experience with facing death. He doesn't have enough of a will to save the world. He had a smooth ride to get to this point, so there was no way he could be suddenly ready to carry the weight of everyone's hopes for him. What else can you expect but for him to stumble?
Yuuji says he can't get his legs to move, which means he can't go forward like this. He thought that he had to answer the prayers of the people, so why can't he move the way he wants to? Here of all times, at the very end? Narration talks about how heroes fight overlords and destroy them with courage. That might be how it was for earlier heroes, but Yuuji feels he is a coward, so he knows he can't do it like they did. He starts stammering an apology to the party about this.
Yuuji's heart gets filled with grief, and he remembers this feeling. Back when he was in Tokyo, there was a time when he closed himself like this too. He laments that he hadn't changed, and that he was different from the heroes said to have saved the world before. His tears start falling and dripping onto his sword when something starts to happen.
Yuuji asks what's happening as he says the light from the sword is starting to enter him. It shines as if resonating with someone Within Him, something within what should be his closed off heart. You react in surprise to this event. Flashback then kicks in of Yuuji's old memories, starting with some people at school heckling Yuuji for using boku as a pronoun and calling him a kid. Yuuji argues back that he uses ore, and whoever he's talking to asks if he happens to like that guy. Yuuji angrily denies this.
Yuuji lived his whole life living up to people's expectations and lived in fear of being talked to. He lived the way everyone else around wanted him to, and he Chose to Not Love Someone He Couldn't Be In Love With. So why did it hurt so much? Why does everything feel so empty? Within him someone is crying that it hurts, someone who is huddling up holding his knees within himself.
You snap to attention as you pull out of the flashback, and you wonder if it’s Yuuji's memories you just saw. You look around to see an unrealistic environment, a cold and lonely place. This would be Yuuji's mental landscape. And from further within you hear the sounds of someone crying. You wonder if someone is around and go to check it out. Yuuji is over there crying to himself and cursing his situation, and you are startled at recognizing him.
Yuuji laments how impossible it all is for him, saying he never once had the strength to do as other people say which he compares to spearing himself. He never did, he says mentally lashing at himself. He cuts at himself, and something hot drips off of him like tears. You yell and tell him to stop. Yuuji is initially surprised before asking where you came from. He says this is supposed to be where he belongs, and he demands that you leave. Light bursts out of his shadow to push you out like a flood, but someone else comes to your rescue as he says you were almost shoved out.
You are surprised by another Yuuji being around, and Yuuji the First greets you as he figures this is the first time you two have spoken to each other. He tells you that for the duration of this adventure he's been inside Him close by you, but he stops as he figures now isn't the best time for explaining that. The big thing to deal with now is Yuuji's desperation, and Yuuji 1 asks you to help him do that. You agree, shrug and go along with it, and or say you're expecting an explanation afterwards. Yuuji 1 agrees as the episode battle starts, with more story happening after that.
After the battle Yuuji yells for you to stay out of him and to not barge in. Yuuji 1 is annoyed that Yuuji isn't really open to communicating, and he tells you that nothing will change if Yuuji won't listen. He wishes there was something that you guys could say to catch his attention. While this is going on, Yuuji is flailing his sword around and keeping you two from getting closer. Yuuji notices that he isn't swinging the sword as well as he did earlier despite never having used a sword before and having it work out then. You snap at him and tell him you've been helping him out all this time.
Yuuji is shocked by your words and has a brief flashback to some of the battles during the event, then asks if him being able to use his sword effectively was due to you lending him your skills. He's about to ask about you when Yuuji 1 notes that he's opened up to talks now so something can work. Narration says that the light of the sword can change determination into power and allow for hearts to directly contact each other. Yuuji 1 says it should work now and asks you to make Yuuji let go of his sword. You agree to try and ready yourself as you ask him to explain it all afterwards, then invoke your NP.
After doing his thing, Yuuji 1 comments on being tired before noting that's weird, then focuses back to ask if Yuuji has calmed down. Yuuji doesn't answer but instead asks who you guys are to be inside his mind. You take that as confirmation as to where you are since you've suspected as much.
Yuuji then changes focus to freak out about there being a doppelganger of him right there. Yuuji 1 says he wants to know why that is too. He thought he was about to be swept up in some big wave or something, then before he knew it he was restarting his adventure. He says he's heard of something like this before, but he's too dumb to remember what that is. He eventually settles on calling himself the First and calls Yuuji the Second.
You express some confusion over this, and Yuuji 1 simplifies it by saying he's someone else who's already been through this adventure before. It's like that thing in games you might have played that he can't quite remember. Yuuji asks if he's trying to say that they're parallel world alternate selves, which Yuuji 1 says is right and calls him a genius. You think he's being weird to say that to himself and call him shallow, or you can comment on feeling some sort of affinity.
Yuuji accepts this after a moment saying this is the kind of thing that happens only in games and light novels, then asks about you. You either point at yourself, greet him, or wonder if this is your first time talking to him. Yuuji wonders why you're here if he's the Second and Yuuji 1 is the First, and you shrug since you don't know either. Yuuji 1 suggests that you guys might have some commonalities that caused things to get crossed, though he's not sure. You either sigh at how casual he's taking it, figure that might be it, or choose to not say anything since you don't know.
Yuuji sighs at how dumb this is all getting, then after a moment prods for anything further. Yuuji 1 doesn't get what Yuuji is talking about, so Yuuji says he figured you guys came to make a speech like they always do in times like this. Don't give up like this, or believe in your potential, stuff like that. Yuuji 1 admits that he wasn't thinking of anything like that when he came in, and if he had to explain why, he just wanted to make Yuuji stop with his self-flagellation.
Yuuji is shocked that Yuuji 1 doesn't have a speech or anything lined up and disappointed he doesn't have some third possibility open to him. Yuuji 1 vaguely feels like he's being made fun of, then tries to bring up something he already said. The point being that he's still someone else even if they look alike, so they can't do the exact same things the exact same way. He then quietly adds to himself that he did get depressed seeing Yuuji flirting with everyone. They aren't the same people he's met though, which complicates things.
Yuuji gets sad as he says he hears people telling him to do something.
When Yuuji 1 turns to look at him, Yuuji talks about how the world is
telling him/the hero to destroy the overlord. If he doesn't do it then
everyone is going to die. Yuuji then gets angry as he says he can't do
it since the overlord is someone he knows, someone he's talked with
about a lot of things. Yuuji 1 can't bring himself to say anything, and
Yuuji says he wants to run away but can't bring himself to abandon the
rest of the party. Torn between his desire to run and inability to do so
he's at a loss for what to do.
You ask Yuuji if running away really is off the table. Both Yuujis are shocked by what you say, and Yuuji asks if you were listening to him when he was talking. You say you weren't thinking on it that hard and consider things a bit more, then come up with an idea. Yuuji 1 picks up on your wavelengths and agrees, then starts detailing it to Yuuji himself. If the problem is that the overlord is in This World, then wouldn't it be fine to take him elsewhere? And can't he just take everyone else along with him? You either say you didn't think that far ahead or say that's what you were thinking of.
Yuuji is shocked before asking if that will work. Yuuji 1 says he doesn't know but figures it's worth a shot. If it doesn't work then they can just think of something else. You suggest that Yuuji take his whole party with him and maybe come to your Tokyo. There's a lot of Transients like them! Yuuji 1 initially agrees before he processes what it is you're saying. Yuuji doesn't see what the big deal is, and Yuuji 1 whines about hating the idea on an emotional level for some reason.
Yuuji laughs and asks if Yuuji 1 likes someone in the party, and Yuuji 1 attempts to avoid answering the question. Still, Yuuji regains enough courage to start using ore again and says he wants to do what he wants. He and Yuuji 1 are different people after all. Yuuji 1 attempts to call after him, but scene shifts back to the Gate of Hel as Yuuji tunes back in over there. He's apparently been out cold or something because Sol expresses concern and is glad that he's woken up again. Orgus is irritated that Yuuji can space out in battle and tells him he's not disciplined enough. Bacchus comments on him coming back and says he understands. He figures Yuuji was talking to another self inside him. Yuuji apologizes for making everyone wait.
Scene shifts around as the party fights their way through. Eventually they manage to reach the throne room, and Yuuji asks if they made it. Nekros calls out and says he's been waiting for him, and the area starts to warp. A floating sensation wraps around the party, and they react with surprise when the area turns into a place similar to the one in the Sage's Tower. Nekros calls it the dark star/planet phase, the seat of the overlord. It is the place where the overlord's true power and form can be displayed.
Nekros turns up and shows himself as the No Life King as he compliments Yuuji's courage in getting this far. Yuuji is about to comment on how Nekros looks now when Nekros cuts across to ask if it's terrifying and repulsive. He calls it his true form again, and he describes his earlier form as nothing more than a shadow from when this form fell to the present world.
Yuuji says he isn't afraid because he knows that there's another form of him within that looks completely different. Nekros compliments his resolve, saying that the final battle between hero and overlord must happen. Such is the will of the world. Yuuji asks him to wait and let him say one thing first, then calls out to Nekros. You join in with Yuuji in asking Nekros to leave with him, with everyone, or with the both of you. The episode part ends with Sol and Orgus reacting with surprise and Bacchus saying your name while Nekros doesn't say anything.
Things got confusing with 2 Yuujis =P
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