Chapter 15: Echoes in Eternity

Project X Zone 2
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Area:	Δ Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground, Hulle Granz Cathedral, Cyberspace, The World (R:1)
Origin:	.hack//INFECTION (2002)
Previous Chapter:	Chapter 14: Renaissance of Fate
Next Chapter:	Chapter 16: Thicker Than Water

Overview

"Echoes in Eternity" is the fifteenth chapter and twentieth overall chapter in Project X Zone 2. June joins the party and this marks the first encounter with Black Hayato.

Synopsis

They arrive in The World, right in front of the cathedral. Suddenly black bubbles appear in front of them, and KOS-MOS detects a familiar energy from them. Haseo thinks it's AIDA, and they can't be ignored.

As the group, minus Urashima, heads inside, they notice that the cathedral's a bit different from the one they were at before, since there is now a statue covered with chains, as well as Tri-Edge. They realize that they are in Kite's era, their own timeline. Just then, Tri-Edge summons more monsters to his side. After updating the rest of the party on AIDA and Tri-Edge, they decide to question him for why he's here.

Just then, Skeith appears. He explains that Skeith is actually his avatar (at least seven years from now), and he somehow got split apart from him. They agree to help take him down and get it back. But Tri-Edge makes a quick exit, missing their chance for an interrogation. As they continue fighting, someone else warps in, someone they don't recognize.

It seems he may be a remnant of the Fourth Empire as he had Vectors with him. Captain Commando recognizes him however, but something seemed off. Hiryu sees him as Hayato Kanzaki, a member of a group of warriors who defeated the Fourth Empire called the Star Gladiators. However, one more person arrives and it seems she's chasing Hayato.

After cross-referencing, KOS-MOS finds that she is June Lin Milliam of the Star Gladiators. She's surprised to see other special forces from her time, but calms down and gives everyone an update on what happened. The two were chasing arch criminals in cyberspace, but when they found black bubbles Hayato went in and got himself infected with AIDA, hence his current situation. Just then, AIDA appears as well as monsters from Basel. The only way to get him back right now is to beat him up, so they prepare to face the new threat.

As the battle wore on, Hayato suddenly gets a splitting migraine and dashes off. They promise to help him, but for now there are still enemies to fight. As Skeith goes down, Haseo suddenly realizes that the Skeith before them is actually his Avatar! He teleports away, but he swears he'll get him back.

After a quick scan, they find no more AIDA. June mentioned that Hayato was getting headaches recently, and that Vectors of the Fourth Empire was being used by arch-criminals. They split up while tracking them, but he was already corrupted by the time they regrouped. Kite suggests looking for Aura, the main AI of The World and just then, she appears. She couldn't appear before because of some illegal function, but then she explains that Kite removed a bug from within the system...or rather, Tri-Edge. They ask for her help in transporting them out of The World, and she agrees. They head outside where the Dragonturtle was parked.

Party Members

Note:10 units for this stage

Pair Units

• Reiji & Xiaomu
• Chris & Jill
• Kiryu & Majima
• Jin & Kazuya
• Demitri & Morrigan
• Hiryu & Hotsuma
• Chun-Li & Xiaoyu
• KOS-MOS & Fiora
• X & Zero
• Kite & Haseo
• Akira & Kage Maru
• Dante & Vergil
• Zephyr & Vashyron

Solo Units

• Heihachi
• Phoenix & Maya
• Natsu
• Aty
• Ryo
• Captain Commando
• Ulala
• Leon
• Ingrid
• Axel
• Valkyrie
• Leanne

Some time during Player Round 3

• June

Enemies

Stats are listed for Tri-Edge but he cannot be attacked

Image	Name	Lv.	Amount	HP	ATK	DEF	TEC	DEX	RNG	M-RNG	SP-RNG	SP-M-RNG	MOVE	Block	Gear
	Tri-Edge	13	1	36806	352	94	62	93	2	2	2	3	4	15	Lit Honeysuckle
	Headless King	13	2	3971	409	121	74	74	3	3	0	0	4	25	-
	Headhunter	12	2	5574	357	96	70	62	2	0	0	0	4	25	-
	Gigamouth	14	1	5280	368	100	69	69	2	0	0	0	5	10	-
	Strange Head	12	2	3344	286	75	77	66	2	0	0	0	5	0	-
	Goblin Mage	12	2	3344	243	75	77	66	2	0	0	0	4	0	-

Sometime during Enemy Round 2

Image	Name	Lv.	Amount	HP	ATK	DEF	TEC	DEX	RNG	M-RNG	SP-RNG	SP-M-RNG	MOVE	Block	Gear
	Skeith	13	1	44985	445	126	93	81	3	0	4	3	6	35	Sora's Blades

Some time during Player Round 3

Image	Name	Lv.	Amount	HP	ATK	DEF	TEC	DEX	RNG	M-RNG	SP-RNG	SP-M-RNG	MOVE	Block	Gear
	Vector	12	2	14900	407	104	85	74	3	0	0	0	6	30	-
	B. Hayato	13	1	34761	463	89	85	109	2	0	2	2	6	15	Plasma Gun
	AIDA Anna	11	2	24137	428	97	73	77	3	0	0	0	5	15	-
	Treasure Mimic	14	1	211	288	192	73	94	1	0	0	0	3	100	-
	Yeti	12	2	8175	486	63	55	55	3	0	0	0	4	10	-
	Blood Doll Chainsaw	12	2	4273	343	96	85	88	1	0	0	0	5	0	-
	Bazooka Dwellest	12	2	5574	257	100	66	62	3	3	0	0	4	0	-

Items

Revival Potion, Elixir Pill X, Strawberry Candy, Omnipotent Soda, Revival Serum

Transcript

Chapter 15: Echoes in Eternity (Transcript)

Trivia

• Bilstein, the main antagonist of Star Gladiator, transferred his spirit into another cybernetic body after his defeat in Star Gladiator. Hence the many references of his "Ghost" in the chapter float about.
• B. Hayato had a "genotype" microchip implanted in him, turning Hayato Kanzaki into his current state. However, the control of Hayato's body is constantly fought by Bilstein and Hayato himself.