The story picks up with Shiva panting after he's done with his crazed venting for now as he comments it's finally quiet. It's gotten dark, and no one around is moving on the battlefield anymore. He's relieved that there's no one else around anymore to find fault with the twinge in his stomach and his inexperience. He stands there quietly, and finally he can go chase after the reincarnation of Varuna-Kamadeva. Shiva tells himself that as an ascetic, he must be pure and alone. He cannot afford to be seen in this wretched state. He yells, telling you to wait. And then he runs south, towards Kabukicho, Shinjuku where you headed off to.
Speaking of you, scene shifts to your end as what's left of Mononobe is standing there in silence. Solomon talks to him attempting to get a response about what happened to him. You also attempt to plead for Mononobe to respond to you guys. However, he...or perhaps 'it' stays unresponsive. Mahakala seems sympathetic as he asks if you realize how pointless it is, using Mononobe's mouth to speak but not his voice.
Mahakala says that as of now, Mononobe is nothing more than a ghost or a fragment of his life draped in his shadows. He said as much back when he talked to you in the prison school, and he talks in an indifferent tone as he looks through Mononobe's memories. He starts telling you about how Mononobe has crossed through countless loops in Tokyo as the observer who watched you through these loops that toyed with you. His mind has been worn down, and Mahakala decides to show you one of Mononobe's memories of the past. You react in shock as the memory fragment starts displaying on the shadows wrapping around Mahakala.
Mononobe starts narrating his flashback thoughts. How many times has he met you now? How many times has he had to say "nice to meet you" after all your memories and records were erased? Ever since that divided spirit he named Solomon and sent to accompany you, the deaths that happened in struggling to this point have mostly went away.
The lessons he's done before are being repeated once again. He's gotten better at writing on the chalkboard and on advising the students by now. Back in the beginning his emotions got the better of him and he shouted, "I already taught you this!" He thinks he's also cried in front of the students saying, "why did you end up forgetting?" But now, he feels he's gotten better at keeping down his upset emotions.
Mononobe starts talking about Karen Curren and Bobby Boy Bertro have been calling these repeating events a game and are the observers and recorders of it. If you follow up on that pattern, that would make Mononobe your observer. It was his role to observe you from inside and out alongside that demon named Solomon.
Once again Mononobe walks over to the library in the old schoolhouse.
This is where all the records with you and all the disappeared students
are stored. They say that the memories of everyone that lives in Tokyo
are continually stored in the underground side of Tokyo. When Mononobe
rereads these memories, he thinks about how no one else will remember
these events. Mononobe took out a ring from his shirt pocket and put it
inside one of those books so that the next person who comes here can
take it. This is the ring of the All-Knowing, the one who can surpass
all worlds and exchange words of contracts. It is this ring's power that
allows Solomon to cross the dimensions to speak with you. If you have
this ring you might be able to run from this world, if you're alone.
Mononobe says he's realized he was approaching the limits of his mind a long time ago. In the end, he couldn't withstand forgetting the memories he's exchanged with you. He was forgetting about those lessons in detention after school one time, the days at the coastal park, the festival from some time he can't place anymore. He couldn't stand having to watch you die over and over again.
After innumerable countless cycles, you'd finally fought against those World Representatives (Surtr and Azatoth) and survived. Surely no one was more surprised and happy about this than himself. But as Mononbe was, the only thing left he could give you was that ring. He won't ask you to forgive him, but he hopes you'll outlive him. There was a time where you lived here in Tokyo, shared your heart with someone, and made some memories. Please...remember that. And also...forget about him.
Mahakala tells you that was the bit of Mononbe's last memories as the flashback ends. Solomon cries for Mononobe, and you ask about him watching you for forever with Solomon before going quiet. Mahakala doesn't respond, and you talk about how surprising and galling that is, but there's something more important. You refuse to accept how one-sided this is with him pushing something on you and disappearing, so you could never forget him.
Mahakala points out that you did forget. He elaborates that he isn't blaming you since this would only be natural. Anyone would be cast to the ends of oblivion within the fading of time and the cycling of reincarnation. Not even the people calling themselves the World Representatives can continue to hold memories for forever. And there is someone who struggles within a pitiful fate like you guys, or rather even more than that. Mahakala then asks if you haven't noticed that a cruel fate is sneaking up behind you yet.
You turn around in confusion to see Marduk standing behind you. It takes a moment to process this, but you're glad to see him okay until Marduk takes a battle stance against you, addressing you as if meeting you for the first time and calling you the vessel of world destroying dragons. Marduk declares his name and calls himself the hero of Babel who will eliminate the congregation of dragons Tiamat.
Narration notes that the stab wound on Marduk from before is nowhere to be seen. He is filled with a kind of courage as if he were reborn as he glares at you. Marduk talks about how the world is darker than night when he was reborn. He's not sure why that is, but since he's found you he has only one thing to do. You attempt to get Marduk to stop and explain why he greeted you like this is a first time meeting since you met earlier, but Marduk refuses to listen as he forces the episode battle to start. The story continues after that.
After the battle, the story picks up with narration to talk about Marduk. His name means Calf of the Sun, and he is the hero and World Representative of Babel. He has come to Tokyo carrying the role of the hero meant to subjugate a certain Phenomenon. He is not here to chase after a certain person, but rather a Phenomenon that happens when several dragons come together. Dragons are beings that possess great power, so if several are together in one location, endless damage could result. It was his job to cut those dragons to pieces and thereby bring order to the world. To accomplish this he was given the power of the avatar of the sun and the hero who ruled over healing and regeneration. The latter of those comes from the belief of the world of Babel, where new life can be reborn from bones.
One time in the past, Marduk fought against the collection dragons known as Tiamat, who was also his ancestor. He had defeated her, and from her split body he made the heavens, the earth, and all manner of things. And it is said that he took the flesh and blood of her child Kingu to make the prototype of humanity. Since he carried her blood, he took on her same powers. By using the dragon Mushussu taken from Tiamat and being swallowed by him, he can be reborn into a new body. But every time he does so, he'd lose his memories and be reborn as an all new life. Even after he is reborn though, he still remembers the mission carved into him, his role. It is the mission of the hero to chase after the vessel of dragons and tear them apart...
Back to the present, Marduk challenges you to a head on battle as he calls you the vessel of dragons, then charges at you. You note that he is strong, but that's not all that's going on. Since he's a World Representative, you are unable to use your powers against him. There's also something else going on, but before you say that out loud Marduk demands to know why you aren't using your full power against him. Narration notes that it's like he forgot he ever spoke to you.
You try to remind Marduk about how you helped him earlier and plead for him to stop, but Marduk remembers nothing. It was all forgotten, like it had never happened. You talk to yourself about how this must be the pain that Mononobe had felt. Marduk decides that if you won't fight back, then he'll just go ahead and destroy you. When he tries though, Kengo intervenes and stops him, then demands to know what's up with you since you aren't being yourself.
You thank Kengo for saving you but still have some reluctance to fight back, so Kengo calls you a dumbass and demands to know where the person who stubbornly marched to Ikebukuro and bugged him to go back to Shinjuku went. This breaks through to you, and Kengo starts making a point about how Mononobe observing you means nothing. He had to deal with that from Shirou for ten years now. It's not about what they think, it's about what you want to do. So what is it that you want to do already?
As you think about Jinn and Triton and the gang for a moment, you say that you want to bring Mononobe back. You declare that you want to go back to school with everyone, and to make him remember the things that he's forgotten. Kengo laughs as he approves and says he'll stick with you to the end. He admits he's dumb so he got like nothing of what you guys were talking about earlier, but he suggests that things that are lost aren't actually gone; they've just slipped away to somewhere. If you've forgotten your memories, then you can just go looking for them. Where exactly, he doesn't know, but you can just try poking around again or something.
You are touched as you agree with Kengo. Kengo points out that you're the persistent type. Fail once, try ten times. Fail ten times, try a hundred times. Don't you remember the stubbornness you had back when you hounded him in Ikebukuro? He notes with some embarrassment that it's like you guys have switched places now. You can either smile at Kengo, thank him, or hug him. A and B has Kengo laugh and says it's cool as long as you understand, then comment on how much of a handful you are. C has Kengo shocked at you doing this as he tries to remind you there's an enemy in front of you, though he still likes it to some degree.
Anyways Kengo turns to Marduk and asks if he heard what he was saying earlier. Marduk pays him some attention wondering what he means, and Kengo starts talking about how he'll remind him of things if he's forgotten and show how stubborn you guys really are. He tells him to get ready to have that stomped into him so that he'll never forget it again. Mahakala floats off to the side commenting on what Kengo said about switching places, then says it's strange how he'd talk about the same goal They have as the episode battle begins.
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