"Devola, there seems to be an underground building over there. We can go there to take shelter from the rain."
"Mm, then let's walk a bit faster, Popola."
The twins, moving forward in the torrential rain, supported each other. The bandage on Devola's ankle was already soaked, but her body was waterproof, so she wasn't afraid of water entering her internal circuits.
But if there was a place to shelter from the rain, there was no harm in resting for a while.
"Wait, Devola, there's someone in that underground base."
Popola suddenly stopped. She spotted Xia Yu standing at the entrance. Because Androids look exactly like humans, Popola mistook Xia Yu at the entrance for a fellow Android.
Reminded by Popola, Devola also noticed Xia Yu at the entrance. The two hesitated about whether to continue into the underground base.
Even though they were fellow Androids, sometimes the persecution from one's own kind was even more chilling than a violent storm.
"He's waving at us; perhaps we can trust him."
Devola said suddenly. Hearing this, Popola squinted to look closely; the person in the curtain of rain was indeed waving.
Though she wanted to observe a bit longer, Popola glanced at Devola's bandaged ankle and hesitated no more, supporting Devola as they stepped forward.
"Oh? It's actually those two?"
As the twins approached, the sky-obscuring curtain of rain could not hide their figures. Their fiery red hair and identical faces instantly made Xia Yu recall the identities of these two Androids.
Devola and Popola, twin Androids, were one of the Android models that appeared during the era when humans still existed, and also one of the most tragic Android models.
Devola and Popola also appeared in the story of nier: automata. However, to atone for their sins, they used their lives to help one of the protagonists, 9S, finally finding liberation in death.
Thinking of this, Xia Yu gave a soft smile. Since he was here, he would change the tragic future of these two. The world was already miserable enough; it was better to have fewer tragic stories.
Before long, the twins passed through the curtain of rain and entered the steel corridor. Their unique red hair was now wet and clumped into strands, sticking tightly to their cheeks or clothes.
However, their clothes didn't cling to their skin or become translucent like in anime. Rather, anime often exaggerates; that kind of skin-clinging wet clothing can only be seen in anime.
"Thank you for letting us in to take shelter from the rain, thank you very much."
Xia Yu smiled silently without speaking. He didn't understand the language the twins had just used. It made sense; after all, in this future world, it was impossible for them to still be speaking Mandarin.
However, this didn't affect body language. Xia Yu casually waved for the twins to follow, while he took the lead and walked into the corridor.
As he walked, he was also thinking about how to casually reveal his identity as a human and then have the twins explain everything to him. Otherwise, it would be too strange for a human from the old era to know everything.
Moreover, the persona he set for himself was an ancient human who had accidentally awakened. The continuous operation of the hibernation pod had allowed him to survive until this future.
Well... it was quite ridiculous. After all, what kind of hibernation pod could run continuously for millions of years? But other than that, he really couldn't think of a better explanation.
Besides, he really did wake up from a hibernation pod, so it wasn't exactly a lie.
The twins following behind Xia Yu were exchanging looks. Having been together for so long, a mere change in expression was enough for them to know what the other was thinking.
But no matter how much they speculated, they could never have guessed that the person in front of them was a human, a species that had long since gone extinct.
A moment later, they reached the end of the corridor.
"Come, sit anywhere. My place is quite simple, but there are still places to sit."
"?"
Hearing this, Popola and Devola looked at each other, both seeing the confusion in the other's eyes.
What... is he saying?
"Popola, can you understand what he's saying?"
"I searched my memory bank. He seems to be speaking Ancient Mandarin from human civilization, but how does he know it?"
"Our language programs include this language; we just need to load it."
After hearing Popola's words, Devola also quickly searched her internal memory bank. Soon, she found the language program.
As Android models that appeared during the human era, they had recorded almost all the languages of human civilization. It was impossible for them not to have included Mandarin, one of the world's three major languages.
"Ahem, excuse me, why are you speaking Mandarin?"
After loading was complete, Popola tried to ask her question using this unfamiliar language.
Hearing this, Xia Yu smiled again. He knew they would definitely have a Mandarin program. Androids held humans in the highest esteem; there was no way they wouldn't preserve all human language programs.
Now, he could casually reveal his human identity.
"Because I am Huaxia, so naturally I speak Mandarin. By the way, where are you from? I've never heard your language before."
"Human?"
The moment they heard that word, both Popola and Devola appeared incredibly shocked.
"You... you are a human?"
"Is there a problem?" Xia Yu appropriately showed a hint of confusion. "Are you not humans?"
"No, that's not right. Human Lords have long since..." Popola shook her head in denial. No one knew the truth better than they did. She stared at Xia Yu with a stern face and said in an unfriendly tone.
"Why are you impersonating a Human Lord? This is a profanity against the Creator!"
"Wait, Popola!" At the moment Popola was questioning him, Devola suddenly pulled her and pointed toward the hibernation pod in the center of the room.
"Look at that!"
Although the model of the hibernation pod was not in their records, the internal structure was not much different. With just one look, they instantly understood the function and principle of this machine.
But precisely because they understood its function and principle, they were even more incredulous!
"Forgive our rudeness!"
The twins, extremely shocked, suddenly spoke. Then they both looked toward Xia Yu. In the next moment, two red scanning beams shot out from their pupils.
"Composition analysis in progress..."
"Oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen..."
"Phosphorus, sulfur, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chlorine..."
"..."
"Analysis complete!"
Before long, the twins retracted their scanning beams, but at the same time, their bodies began to tremble, and the look in their eyes began to change.
"Three parts excitement, three parts reverence, three parts guilt, and one part adoration. Good grief, it's another pie chart."
Xia Yu felt uncomfortable being stared at by the twins' "pie chart" gaze, so he waved his hand and said, "I told you I'm human. Well? You believe me now, don't you?"
"We are sorry, Great Human Lord! Our suspicion just now was our mistake!" Popola and Devola suddenly knelt on one knee and shouted simultaneously.
Xia Yu: "...You may rise, my subjects."
"By the way, my name is Xia Yu. There's no need to call me 'Great Human Lord.' After all, I'm just an insignificant, ordinary human among humanity, who luckily reached this era through a hibernation pod."
"What era is it now? Why do you call me 'Great Human Lord'? Where are the other humans?"
Hearing these three critical questions, Devola and Popola shuddered and looked at each other.
Devola: What should we do, Popola? The Human Lord has asked. How should we answer?
Popola: Let's answer with the truth. Mistakes cannot be changed, and we cannot hide anything from the Human Lord.
After a brief exchange of looks, the two stood up together and bowed slightly toward Xia Yu.
"Human Lord, this is a very long story. It all begins with the Gestalt Project."
The timeline of the Nier World is very long, stretching from 2003 all the way to 11945. This span of nearly ten thousand years includes the two Nier titles: "Nier Replicant" and "nier: automata." I am mainly writing the story of nier: automata, mostly because Replicant is hard to write and doesn't offer much in the way of benefits.
As for the Gestalt Project, it's not something that can be explained in just a few words. If you're interested, you can search for it or even play the game.