Emil's Dream is a two-part series of novel segments exclusive to NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139.... Found during the second and third playthroughs of the game, they explore aspects of Emil's past such as his time with Halua and their teacher, as well as his point of view on the day he turned his sister to stone.
Viewing them is required the first time they are encountered; they can then be skipped on subsequent runs.
Characters[]
Uncontrollable Magic[]
"I have to protect the people I love!"
That was my only thought as I unleashed a magic powerful enough to destroy not only the Shade,
but everyone else as well. All of them. So many innocent lives...
Destroy. Eviscerate. Crush. Kill.
These are the dark impulses that overwrite all other thoughts. As a being that was created to be
a magical weapon, these are my instincts. Or maybe it's better to call them...
OUR instincts.
Rampage[]
A klaxon sounds from deep within the bowels of the laboratory. Thick metal shutters drop
down, sealing off the room with a series of dull metal thuds.
"Abort the experiment! Number 6 is out of control! Everyone get out of here NOW! Get out of he—"
The researcher's words are abruptly cut off as a massive hand materializes out of the gloom and
lifts him high into the air.
The researcher begins to scream. He screams and screams, the sound echoing off the walls of
the laboratory, until the hand squeezes down, coating the room in a deep crimson hue. The rest of
his colleagues stand in silence, mouths open, unable to process what they have just seen. Then
a female scientist takes a step back and lets fly with a heartbreaking wail. But this is a terrible
mistake, for the sound of her cry suddenly brings forth a monster in all of its terrible glory.
Its body is a bloated corpse; its head a grinning skull. And it is massive—many times the size of
a human. The head lolls from side to side as it tromps about the room on all fours, bringing to
mind the wild maneuverings of some wretched, starving beast. This creature—this
thing—is Experimental Weapon Number 6.
Also known as "Halua".
"No! Oh no! Please stop!"
"Oh god, save me! SAVE ME!"
"I don't want to diiie!"
One by one, the maddened cries of the researchers are silenced. If Number 6 understands
their petitions, it pays them no heed—instead continuing its rampage of destruction and slaughter
with a focus that borders on obsession.
After an eternity, the screaming stops. The alarms fall silent. And only then does the creature make
a sound, howling out with an unfathomable roar that echoes up and down the empty halls of
the blood-soaked laboratory. It's a sound that curses those who had dared bring such evil into
the world... and yet one that also seems to be pleading for help.
............
.........
......
Two sets of footsteps echo in an otherwise silent corridor in the first level of the laboratory. One
set belongs to a young boy, his eyes blindfolded and his hands restrained. The other belongs to a
severe man in a long white coat. The man drags the boy along by means of a long chain attached to
a set of shackles on his wrists. Rubble is scattered here and there across the floor of the
corridor, making the journey an exceedingly difficult one for a boy who cannot see.
"Um... excuse me? Could you please walk a bit slower, sir? I'm not used to being blindfolded, and..."
Rather than stopping, the man only increases his pace, causing the boy to stumble in an attempt
to keep up.
This last humiliation proves too much, and the boy finds himself unable to arrest his fall. Without
the ability to brace himself, he topples to the floor, smashing his head on a pile of debris and causing
a trickle of blood to worm its way down his pale, frightened face. Agonized by the pain, the
boy inadvertently opens his eyes, causing the falling drops of blood to emit a strange crackling
sound before transforming into tiny white rocks.
"CLOSE YOUR DAMN EYES!" roars the man.
"Y-yes, sir!" stammers the boy as he slams his lids shut. He hadn't realized the blindfold had slipped
off during the fall, but now he keeps his eyes squeezed shut so tightly that sparkles appear against
the black of his vision.
The boy is Emil. Also known as Number 7. He is a magical weapon whose eyes are capable of
turning to stone anything that falls under their gaze.
"Don't look at me!" barks the man. "NEVER look at me!"
"I'm sorry, sir! I'm looking at the ground now, so if you just hand me the bli—"
Instead of waiting for him to finish, the man extends one foot and presses Emil's face to the floor
with a heavy black boot.
"S-sir, stop! You're hurting me!"
"I told you to keep your eyes AND your mouth shut, so DO IT!" The man knows this boy—this
weapon—could wipe him out with a single glance, and yet subduing him in this way gives him a
sense of relief. After making certain the boy is sufficiently cowed, the man leands down, retrieves
the blindfold, and knots it tightly around the boy's quivering head.
"Right then. On your feet. Let's move."
Emil staggers to his feet, trying to ignore the red liquid oozing down his face. The blood doesn't
matter. The pain doesn't matter. All that matters is finishing the job they had set out for him to do.
The second level of the laboratory is in even worse shape than the first. The environs are littered
with rubble and rock, making the thought of a decent foothold laughable. When the man's eyes
linger on a section of rubble stained a deep red, he has a sudden image of warm, gooey
brownies slathered in a strawberry sauce. His stomach lurches at the thought, but when he attempts
to avert his eyes, they land on the remains of a human being rendered into what could only
be described as paste.
The man blinks. His mind goes strangely blank before attempting to determine exactly how
many humans had to be sacrificed to create the scattered piles of flesh around him. After a
moment, his thoughts simply cease altogether, as if his mind realizes that trying to put such a
thing into form is folly.
"Y-you can go the rest of the way on your own!" says the man in a voice much weaker than he wishes
it to be. "I mean, what does it matter? You're not even human. You're a monster!"
With this, the man spins around and dashes back down the hall. A helpless Emil simply listens as
the footsteps of his erstwhile captor fade into the distance.
Emil finds himself alone in a room with the stench of death and blood. For a moment, he
considers opening his eyes, but the thought of the horrors that await him quickly squash this
plan. Instead, he stands still and listens intently. Eventually, a far-off sound reaches his ears.
That's the howl I heard before.
Emil resumes walking, using the sound of the distant voice to guide him. Almost as if it was calling
him home...
By the time Emil reaches the third level, he is moving on memory as much as sound. His hands
and face are covered in fresh wounds from numerous falls, but every time he thinks about giving
up, his mind returns to... his sister.
We studied together.
We ate cookies together.
We cried together.
We laughed together.
...And sometimes I was the only one who got yelled at.
That's why I was never lonely. Our being together allowed me to stay strong.
For Emil, his sister was all he had to live for. So holding that feeling close to his chest, he presses
on, one slow step after the other.
Finally, Emil finds himself drawing close to a certain experimental chamber in the deepest part of
the laboratory. The howl is very close now, and as he touches the switch that controls the door,
he thinks about his mission. Number 6 is the ultimate weapon. She is his sister. And he must turn
her to stone.
The door slowly opens, revealing the massive interior of the experimentation chamber. After a few
steps, Emil removes his blindfold and slowly opens his eyes.
His sister lurks before him—but she looks nothing like the girl he once knew. Instead, he sees a
savage beast crawling on all fours through the shredded remains of researchers.
As the thing that had been his sister stops and tilts his head in Emil's direction, he focuses his gaze
on it.
A series of soft crunching sounds emerge from the creature as his magic does its terrible work.
First the fingers.
Then the hands.
Arms.
Legs.
Head.
What little color the beast once possessed fades to a dull, ashen grey. And yet, somehow, it
summons what strength remains and pulls itself toward Emil one slow, lumbering effort at a time.
Wailing, the massive monstrosity closes in.
Is she... worried about me? Or is she coming to kill me?
Emil feels prepared to accept either outcome. After all, this was his older sister—the person he
loved more than anyone else in the world.
"Halua, I..."
The moment Emil speaks, Number 6 comes to a sudden halt.
Silence descends on the chamber as the siblings stare at each other.
"I'm sorry, Halua. But everyone says you're too powerful. They say it's too dangerous unless I seal
you away. I'm so sorry."
As Emil watches her body begin to turn to stone once more, Number 6 simply waits in utter,
perfect silence.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'M SORRY.
The moment Number 6's petrification is complete, her memories flood into Emil's mind.
The two of them huddling together in the cold. All alone in the world, with no one to protect them.
All she wanted was to save her little brother.
And yet, it was that little brother who, in a sense, saved her.
The moment the petrification is complete, Emil sinks to his knees.
A frozen sister and a little brother wracked with sin.
Alone in this cold cage, the two of them weep in a single, silent voice.
...............
............
.........
......
It was our combined power that destroyed The Aerie. Whole existences. Entire lives. Even
their memories. We took it all. We took EVERYTHING.
My sweet, gentle sister turned into a monster. And the same thing will happen to me, now that I
have her power.
If my instincts as a weapon win out and destroy me in the process... If that power ends up
hurting someone I love... I...
Promise[]
......
.........
Darkness. Black without end. It goes on and on and on.
Eyes closed. Eyes open. It matters not. The dark is joined by a mysterious sensation, one created
by the mingling of blissful sleep with the unease of a terrible, neverending cold.
Is this a dream ?
Thinking to pinch his cheek, he reaches for his face. But his hand does not move. In fact, his hand
has disappeared altogether.
He looks at his arms and sees only bone. He looks at his feet and sees they have disappeared,
along with the rest of his legs up to the thigh. What body remains begins to leave him, then,
crumbling into fragments smaller than dust. His body is going. Soon it will be no more.
......
.........
Is this... death?
Suddenly, he recalls his past. He remembers the time he lived with his sister, and the very act
of recollection is like a shooting star. Despite lasting only a moment, it brings color to the
darkness. Soon more memories come, gathering atop each other, one after the next, until they
meld into a warm and glorious light.
"Wake up... Wake up!"
A set of covers are torn from the boy, leaving his eyelids exposed to the merciless sun. "Hey
there, lazybones!" says the voice again. The boy's vision, blurry at first, gradually grows more
clear. Before him, her face aglow with a radiant smile, is his older twin sister, Halua.
"Morning, Halua!"
"Don't look so cheery, you butt—the teacher's gonna be here any minute!" Halua grabs her brother
and pulls him beneath the bed with her, where they wait with a host of dust bunnies for
their instructor's arrival. The moment Emil starts to ask a question, Halua shushes him by placing
a finger over his mouth.
"Don't start! We agreed to this yesterday, remember? We're gonna jump out and give Teacher the
scare of her life!"
After a few ticks of the clock, the door opens and a slight woman enters the room.
"Good morning, Halua. Good morning, Emil. Are you ready for... Hmm?"
Emil glances at his sister and sees her trying to stifle a laugh, which has the unfortunate effect
of making a laugh rise in him. Then the dust bunnies decide to get in on the act, swirling up into
their noses and causing the tricksters to sneeze in unison.
Suddenly, the face of their teacher appears in the space between the bed and the floor. "THERE you
are, you scamps!"
"This is your fault!" says Halua. "You ruined it by sneezing!"
"Me!?" cries a clearly wounded Emil. "You sneezed just as loud!"
"That's enough, both of you," says the teacher as she attempts to hide her amusement. "Crawl out
from under there and let me take your temperatures already."
The pair happily shimmies out from their hiding place and stands before their teacher. She is a
fair wouman with a kind voice—one Emil would be happy to listen to for the rest of his life. In fact,
he often thought that her waking him in the morning was his favorite part of the day.
The teacher finds her seat, hunkers down, and lightly pats her leg, to which a happy Emil leaps
into her lap. She then slides a chilly thermometer under his armpit, causing a shudder to race
through his body.
"I'm sorry. Just be a brave boy for a little longer, all right?"
Emil used to hate having his temperature taken daily—the thermometer was just so darn
cold—but he's become used to it after being at the facility for the past two years.
His mother and father had perished in an accident many years before. He'd been told the facility
they sent him to was simply a home for orphans such as himself, but he'd always had his doubts.
After all, most orphanages weren't staffed by doctors in white coats who held "lessons" involving
the repeated asking of strange questions, nor did they attach wires to the bodies of their charges
and force them to enter enormous boxes.
The process is endless.
The tests unceasing.
And yet, Emil feels his teacher somehow floats above it all. She would talk to him about
everyday problems, read him books, and even share a meal when time permitted. She is the
closest thing he has to a mother.
With both of their temperatures taken, Emil and Halua wait for breakfast. But something is
different this day. Their teacher is... strange, somehow. off.
"Emil," she says quietly. "Do you remember what day this is?"
Emil looks over to his sister and sees her staring at him with an enormous grin. "Nuh-uh!" she says.
"You gotta figure it out yourself."
But despite his best efforts, Emil comes up empty.
"I'm sorry, ma'am," he says at last. "I just don't know."
With a smile, the teacher reaches into the pocket of her white coat and withdraws a small package. It
is a bag, neatly closed with string and tied at the top with a bright red ribbon. "Happy birthday,
Emil," she says. "In fact, happy birthday to the BOTH of you."
"Oh, thank you!" cries Emil. "Can I open it?"
"Of course," replies his teacher. "I'm afraid it's nothing so special, but I do hope you enjoy it
regardless."
Emil carefully unties the ribbon and opens the bag to reveal a small pile of cookies. They are the
same snacks they always received at the facility, but the fact they come from his teacher makes
them somehow special. As a gasp escapes his mouth, his sister can't help giggling beside him, her
eyes fixated on the bright red ribbon all the while.
"Happy birthday, Halua!" says Emil as he reaches into the bag, withdraws a cookie, and offers it to
his sister. Needing no further encouragement, the girl crams the cookie into her mouth and swallows
it in two bites. "Happy birthday to you too, Emil!" Then, as though remembering something, she
leaps up and runs to the small chest of drawers the two of them share. After forcing open a
stubborn drawer, she pulls out a single sheet of paper hidden under a white coat and runs it back
to her brother.
"Here's your present," she says, thrusting the paper at him with a slightly embarrassed look. When
he glances down, he sees the words "Happy Birthday Emil" scrawled in a shaky child's hand, along
with a picture of a generously-colored person who had clearly been created from every crayon in
the box.
That was... me.
Unable to stop himself, Emil wraps his sister in a massive hug. "Thank you," he whispers as she
returns the embrace just as tightly. "I'll make sure to draw you on our next birthday, okay?"
My sister was there.
My teacher was there.
It was my birthday.
I thought I could never be happier.
......
I'm glad Halua's drawing is the last thing I'll remember.
I sense a deep and perfect darkness descending over my eyes, and realize my time has come.
I'm so terribly cold.
As I try desperately to remember what it felt like to be embraced, I wonder if this horrible face is
all that's left of me.
Halua...
I'm sorry.
I couldn't keep my promise.
I'm sorry. I'm so, SO sorry.
But I'm coming to join you now. Just hold on.
"...ke up... ...Wake up..."
"Please wake up..."
"Come on, Emil. Wake up already!"
Halua? Is that... you?
"You haven't changed a bit, have you, lazybones?"
Halua... Have you... come for me?
Am I dead?
"No, Emil. You're not dead."
"I'm just here to keep my promise."
In that moment, the world of blackness surrounding me explodes with color. Red. Yellow. Blue. And
so many others. Colors I have no names for. Colors I've never even seen.
It's like someone is using every crayon in the box.
"I told you I'd always be watching over you, didn't I?"
Halua, I don't...
"Don't worry about it, you butt. Looking after little brothers is just what... big sisters... do..."
Her voice. It's fading.
"Sorry, Emil... Looks like I'm out of magic..."
Halua, wait! Let me come with you!
"But you are with me."
"I'll always watch over you."
"So we'll always be together."
Halua, no! Don't go!
"Don't cry, Emil."
"I want you to be happy."
Halua...
"Promise me..."
"that you'll live... for both of us."
The darkness enveloping me flows away, replaced by a brilliant blue sky.
I don't know where I am or what I'm supposed to do...
But it's okay that I'm here. I know that much now. She's given me the courage to accept that...
No more crying.
I'll live with a smile on my face.
Because that's the promise I made her.
Notes[]
- Reading both segments alongside Kainé's Dreams in ver.1.22... awards the player with the Educated Warrior achievement. The achievement was only limited to Kainé's Dreams prior to ver.1.22....