*Trying something different plus I am rereading this story so I need to publish some chapters to download later lel :)
The story had wrung tears from players and livestream audiences alike.
Viewers clutched tissues as they watched, while those playing the game wiped their eyes between combos. Even the usually energetic female streamer—now red-eyed and sniffling—had abandoned her cheerful persona, completely overtaken by the narrative's relentless emotional tide.
On screen, 2B staggered forward, her systems failing. The logic virus pulsed through her circuits like black veins, corroding motor functions with every step. She needed to find 9S—needed to say the words she'd locked away before time ran out.
But the machines still attacked. But the infection kept spreading.
By the end, she couldn't speak. Could barely move.
Then—
A shadow fell across her.
A2.
The "traitor." The exile who'd severed ties with YoRHa before the virus outbreak—and thus, the only one untouched by it. She looked down at 2B, her expression unreadable.
"Kill me."
2B's voice module crackled, barely audible. Better to die than become another mindless enemy for 9S to cut down.
A silent beat. Then A2 raised her sword—
—And 9S screamed as he burst through the rubble just in time to see the blade pierce 2B's chest.
His world shattered.
Logic evaporated. He launched himself at A2 with raw, screaming fury—until the ground quaked, sending them both tumbling into separate chasms. When the dust settled, only A2 remained standing.
New Playable Character Unlocked: A2
As players took control of the battle-worn prototype, the game peeled back another layer of its lore:
A2 was the original model, the blueprint for 2B's entire line.
Her emotional detachment wasn't innate, but armor forged through years of solitary survival.
This marked the story's breather chapter—a deliberate reprieve orchestrated by director Yoko Taro and producer Takayuki. After the emotional carnage of 2B's death and 9S's breakdown, players needed space to process.
The human brain rebels against sustained trauma. Unlike Titanfall's tight five-hour campaign (designed to deliver cinematic punches within digestible limits), NieR:Automata was a sprawling fifty-hour odyssey. Here, emotional valleys were as vital as the peaks.
Meanwhile, Across Forums and Livestreams:
"These machine lifeforms… the virus… None of this feels random. It's like some higher power is pulling strings."
"Exactly! Like we're watching a sick puppet show—wait, are you talking about Takayuki? The man literally coded this tragedy into existence!"
"???"
"…Okay, when you put it that way, he's absolutely the final boss of our suffering."
The Mystery of the Red Twins
9S awoke in a dim cavern—alive, but fractured. His saviors? A pair of crimson-haired twins with no introduction, no databank entries, only an aura of deliberate significance.
Chat logs exploded:
"Hold up—weren't there ghostly kids during 2B's memory wipes?"
"Different entities! Those were childlike holograms. These twins are older, and their designs scream 'DLC boss fight'!"
The confusion stemmed from Takayuki's adaptation choice: Automata was technically the second game in the NieR timeline, but he'd prioritized it over its predecessor (which followed a male protagonist). The twins were a calculated tease—their backstory reserved for future novels or anime.
White Tower. Black Heart.
9S stood before the monolithic structure piercing the sky. To enter, he needed three keys hidden in derelict facilities. Each expedition worsened his instability:
Hallucinations blurred with reality.
Memories of 2B rewrote themselves mid-playthrough.
By the third key, he'd begun laughing at nothing.
Audience reactions split:
"God, watching 9S unravel hurts more than 2B's death."
"Hard disagree! 2B's sacrifice was art. This is just pain for pain's sake!"
"Can we agree they're both masterfully tragic? …And that we'd die for them?"
"Accurate."
(Chapter End)