THE MOON WAITS IN THE PROMISED LAND
Noo...
H-Hey!
Takematsu!
O Noo...
You're going in your condition?
Yeah...
All by yourself?
I have to go no matter what, Ms. Masu.
The chief engineer is a real man...
Mama!
You came to?
Where am I?
Looks like it was a brutal battle.
The battlefield was around Pluto, right?
Y-Yes...
It's the same all over the solar system.
We came to deliver cargo, but humans were killing each other...
...at the Saturn collection center.
Jeez, it really is troublesome.
Why did you save me?
Didn't you think that I would kill you two?
Ichiro found you.
If I had ignored you and passed you by...
...don't you think that'd permanently scar his heart?
The Earth... It's gone...
We knew this...
...but it's still shocking to actually see it in front of your eyes.
But the Moon is still there.
Come to think of it, that's strange.
With the Earth gone and gravity lines cut, it should've flown off.
But we can't locate any sign of the Earth's gravity.
What does that mean?
It's not physically here, but it's here.
The Earth is still right there.
Right, Captain?
It's as if the Moon alone knows that.
W-What's wrong?
It's resonating to that?
We are awaiting the Earth.
If you believe so...
...come here.
Daiba, let's go.
Right.
I'm going too!
To think there were ruins like this on the Moon...
It was a curious celestial body to begin with.
Too much mass to be a normal satellite.
Strange space underground.
And the back side.
Back side?
Only half of the Moon is always shown to the Earth.
Its back side was a land of mystery to men for a long time.
Wait, Captain!
W-What's this?
Who are you?
We are descendants of the Twisted Rope.
What?
Then the one in those palace ruins...
You met my elder sister?
Sister?
We have been keeping watch over the Earth...
...from the moment it came into being.
So that Noo doesn't take Earth back for itself.
However, we were unable to prevent it.
To think they would use one of our legacies...
Noo taking Earth back for itself?
Correct.
The Earth is a part of Noo's body.
When this universe was born, there was no order there...
...and it was a cruel world where infernos and pain spiraled about.
Noo are the rulers of that universe...
No, they were the actual condition of primal space itself.
Noo, who had been ruling space through terror...
...had created slaves for themselves.
That is the first sign of order, the Twisted Rope.
As time passed, the clan of the Twisted Rope...
...unable to bear the shadow's control, began a coup d'etat...
...using the chain of space and the arrow of time.
The chain of space and the arrow of time?
The spirit of Noo, bound by the chain...
...was sealed away in the far reaches of space...
...and the remaining body was shattered by the arrow of time...
...spreading all over the universe.
And so, the universe began to move along the flow of time.
All this occurred in one instant...
...in 1e-43 seconds since the creation of the universe.
You mean blank time.
When the universe was smaller than elementary particles,
it was a horribly dense place.
This was a time when the laws of physics couldn't be applied...
So that's it.
Afterwards, hundreds of millions of years had passed...
...and countless galaxies and stars were born.
However, within them lied the pieces of the shattered Noo.
One of them...
...is Earth, you're saying?
Noo, before being sealed, cursed its own body.
So that organisms born on those planets...
...would once again become its slaves.
Slaves?
The sign of the slave, the Twisted Rope.
Twisted Rope...
You mean...
...DNA!
Why did the birth of life coincidentally occur on Earth?
It was because that planet was Noo's body.
You're saying the creation of life was Noo's curse?
All life forms are slaves of Noo.
But at the same time...
...we are descendants of the clan of the Twisted Rope.
We are the ones responsible for protecting the seal.
However...
...those who could not oppose the curse betrayed the clan.
And our star fell to ruins.
We were the only ones left here.
So the Moon was one of your watch posts.
Then why did Noo make the Earth disappear?
To open a path to this side.
A path to this side?
Noo's spirit is the only thing sealed in another dimension...
...so in order to revive in this universe...
...it needed a piece of its body, even a fraction thereof.
Earth stands there now, but at the same time...
...it is moving through another dimension at terrifying speeds...
Towards the Gate of Yedar.
Yedar?
Not where my father's research team was headed...
The Hourglass Nebula, the Yedar area...
...is an unknown territory that's covered by dark matter.
That is where Noo is sealed away.
You cannot open it from one side.
But from both sides...
They plan to ram...
...that Gate of Yedar from the other side with the Earth?
That is correct.
At that moment, if the Gate of Yedar is destroyed from this side...
...Noo will start to overflow into this universe once again.
Then what are those 4 corpses for?
They probably touched the gate directly.
The gate?
Enough Noo for those 4 bodies then flowed into this universe.
Because the power of the seal is weakening.
What were those energy waves those guys used?
That ship's space-time cannon...
...uses theories behind the chain of space and the arrow of time.
It was something only passed on to the clan of the Twisted Rope.
The secret method sealing him...
...was being used to break the seal in reverse.
Earth will collide with the Gate of Yedar in only 500 hours.
Please.
Take the space-time cannon away before then...
...and seal them away again.
That is the only way to save this universe.
I decline.
Whether or not Noo revives has nothing to do with me.
I live as my will wishes.
Let's go.
H-Hey!
You are the only ones left now...
At this rate, the universe will be smothered by fear.
What a selfish person...
You know, lady, it takes a sort of determination to live selfishly.
Oh, that's right.
While I'm here, can I ask one thing?
What kind of place...
...is that dimension the Earth is now where Noo's sealed away?
To describe it in words, it is hell.
A horrendous place where the wills of all the deceased echo...
I see...
Thanks.
See ya!
Hey, was that the right thing to do?
Dunno...
But before that, you've got something interesting.
Yeah.
Can you show it to me for a bit?
It has a microchip that my dad left behind.
Professor Daiba's?
It contains data on a stone plate that he found somewhere.
Hey, would you mind lending this to me awhile?
Sure, since I wasn't able to do a good analysis...
Then see ya later, Captain.
We must change our opinion of that man.
To make sure that our ceremony goes perfectly...
...there is a need to stop that ship.
I will be in charge of that.
A blessing!
God is now dead!
It is once again time for our true lord to rule over the universe!
Look!
This is the Hourglass Nebula.
And the center, the "eye" of the nebula, is the Yedar area...
It'll take 480 hours at full speed... Just barely enough time.
But if we act that recklessly, the engine won't last!
We know that their ship is going to be there in 500 hours.
If we head over there at full speed, somehow...
The Arcadia has changed course.
I believe it's heading to a mining planet in open cluster NGC1647.
What?
The ship, on its own?
And in a totally different direction!
It's longing to be reunited with a nostalgic comrade.
What's the meaning of this?
We haven't taken any hostages yet...
Have they caught on to our plan?
No, that's impossible.
We have already located the two that you are seeking.
Oh, well.
If he is willing to come here...
...I guess I'll have a change of plans and play along.
Noo...
Takematsu, wait for me.
- I'm coming right now. - Noo...
I'll be back in about 2 hours.
This place seems peaceful.
You guys should take this chance to relax awhile.
All right!
- Let's go sightseeing in town! - Sounds good!
Daiba.
Would you like to go on a date with me?
You need to relax every so often.
We're not open today!
Hey, was he always like that?
Who?
The captain.
What of him?
I don't understand what he's saying sometimes.
Or what he's thinking.
A captain's, y'know, all sharp and, y'know...
...thinks about things in a logical, orderly way...
And tactics, y'know?
I don't know what to say...
But he seems so spur-of-the-moment...
Sorry, can you speak in a logical, orderly way?
I'm not understanding what you're saying, Daiba.
Fine, never mind!
W-What are these guys?
We're running.
Oh, no!
Missie!
Over here, over here!
It was the day that the voice started echoing.
Takematsu, a young lad the chief engineer was fond of...
...was buried alive.
All the other miners were scared, and nobody went to rescue him.
So the chief engineer went alone, though his wounds weren't healed.
He's always been that kind of man.
I wonder where they're headed...
It's him!
Missie, looks like we can get out this way.
Really?
Come on, Daiba.
Damn it...
Daiba? What's wrong?
This is to avenge my father!
Daiba!
Look out!
What are you guys?
Noo...
Next Time
It feels like my heart is being squeezed down by his hand.
Look out!
Somewhere Within the Decimated Planet Lies the Castle Ruins