The Final Problem/Floor 1

The Final Problem

Story Episodes

"Wait!"

Managers should be reminded that this article contains major plot synopses, artwork, and/or game data that might spoil the story of Limbus Company.

For the first part of the story, see Intervallo IV: Timekilling Time/Story Episodes.

6.5-15: The Final Problem - Part 1

Played before entering Story Dungeon 6.5-15.

Speaker		Dialogue
Location: Mirror Dungeon of the Fathoms
	Manager DANTE	<So this is the culprit's Fathoms…>
[Car honking, sound of tires screeching. The screen turns white.]
Distortion The Time Ripper		Twenty-one minutes.
[Sound of rocks breaking, and glass shattering.]
Distortion The Time Ripper		The time it took from the impact for you to hit the cobblestones.
	T Corp. Younger Brother	[Slowly.] Isn't it about time you quit that Yurodiviye thing, brother?
	T Corp. Younger Brother	We barely have enough time to scrape by. Wasting our time building unregistered inventions just to annoy some Time Collectors doesn't do anything! C'mon, brother! Dream like you used to, please? You always wanted to work for the T Corp. Patents Agency, didn't you?
Distortion The Time Ripper		We're just biding our time, waiting for the right moment, okay? And when that moment comes…
	T Corp. Younger Brother	But you don't even know when that 'moment' is. What if that moment comes after we're dead? Why would any of that matter if we're not here to see it?
	T Corp. Younger Brother	Take the Grade 1 Inventor certificate exam or something. Make a submission to the Inventions Expo. There's a pretty hefty prize money for receiving the Inventor of the Year award, y'know.
Distortion The Time Ripper		…….
	T Corp. Younger Brother	Did you know that… in other Nests, everyone enjoys equal twenty-four hours?
	T Corp. Younger Brother	Just imagine for a second. What if we saved up a ton of money and moved to a different Nest? Then maybe… maybe we'll get to live twenty-four hours a day, too.
	T Corp. Younger Brother	I could get a full night's rest and I'd still have half the day to spend. Wouldn't that be so wonderful?
Distortion The Time Ripper		I was always full of excuses.
Distortion The Time Ripper		For all my hatred of the system, I remained inert with my ignorance as a convenient shield and excuse for inaction.
Distortion The Time Ripper		I knew that our lives would get better if I did get certified, but I always gave the same excuse: "I don't have the time to take a test".
Distortion The Time Ripper		One early morning, my brother came to speak to me.
	T Corp. Younger Brother	I'll lend you all but two hours of my time. That'll give you more than enough time to complete the exam.
	T Corp. Younger Brother	It ends around 2PM, right? I'll meet you in front of the Clock Tower then. You can give me back the time you borrowed there.
Distortion The Time Ripper		Thus I was given a single day of abundance.
Distortion The Time Ripper		The sun still hadn't set when I finished the exam.
Distortion The Time Ripper		I had a good feeling about all this, too.
Distortion The Time Ripper		Maybe I could start dreaming again, just like in that old comic book I used to read—to dream of becoming a professional inventor of all kinds of things.
Distortion The Time Ripper		The car rolls in slowly. It's so, so slow that anyone could simply step out of its way.
Distortion The Time Ripper		The driver is like us. Someone who lives ten-hour-days.
Distortion The Time Ripper		But my brother can't get out of its way.
Distortion The Time Ripper		Because he doesn't have enough time.
Distortion The Time Ripper		Hours already precariously stretched over a day… stretched even further.
Distortion The Time Ripper		So, you are slowly, so slowly thrown into the air.
Distortion The Time Ripper		I run as fast as I can within the time that is given to me, but I fail to reach him.
Distortion The Time Ripper		I never could.
Distortion The Time Ripper		Nothing changed. No matter how much time I was shared.
Distortion The Time Ripper		Because my life was spent in a rush. Because its entirety slipped through my fingers in the blink of an eye.
Distortion The Time Ripper		… I wandered aimlessly near the street my brother drew his last breath.
	T Corp. Candy-suckling T Corp. Citizen	Mm… if only I could taste every flavor of this lollipop sooner.
	T Corp. Listless T Corp. Citizen	Man, I can't wait to read what happens next. Won't somebody knock me out and wake me up when the next volume's out?
Distortion The Time Ripper		The City…
	T Corp. T Corp. Watch Factory Owner	I can't wait for them to finally complete my portrait-uh~ I hope they captured the little upward flick at the tip of my moustache-ah… It's supposed to look like a bird's wings, yes-uh…? Ugh, it's so tedious, waiting for it to be finished-ah!
	T Corp. Class 2 Collection Staff	Yaaaawn… Still 3 in the afternoon? This is one long shift… When'll this tedious busywork end…?
Distortion The Time Ripper		… has too many people who so indifferently kill time.
	District 20 Yurodivy Yurodiviye Captain	Our time will come, just like the Saint said. I know it's tedious, but everyone feels the same way. Stop pestering me about it, yeah? You think I'm happy with this small-time stuff? I'm just as tired as you are of punching those bloody Collectors and running away!
Distortion The Time Ripper		I was ignorant. I lacked the time.
Distortion The Time Ripper		If only I had the time they killed. If only… my brother had the time they killed.
Distortion The Time Ripper		He would still be alive.
Distortion The Time Ripper		Yes, my brother was right.
Distortion The Time Ripper		Can't wait for the moment that won't come.
Distortion The Time Ripper		Now is the time for action.
Distortion The Time Ripper		I'll find everyone so content with killing their time.
Distortion The Time Ripper		And I'll…
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Though a clock may look as though it turns evenly on the outside… the cogs that make up the clockwork within each turn at disparate rates.
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Some living forty-four hour days. Some living four hour days.
	Distortion The Time Ripper	I—we—are not like the Yurodiviye. We know that we must take action.
	Sinner #9 RODION	…….
	Sinner #7 HEATHCLIFF	So that's… what you've turned yourself into?
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Within me is a place where all may live in equal hours. Our nest.
	Distortion The Time Ripper	A place for all who have felt the very same pain.
	Sinner #5 MEURSAULT	Your explanations fail to justify your 'timekilling'.
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Yet I am not the Timekiller.
	Distortion The Time Ripper	It is the people of the City who have been slaughtering time!
	Distortion The Time Ripper	No one even took a moment to doubt that the Clock Tower may have been broken. Instead, they stopped at merely complaining that it was a 'slow day' and that they should just 'pass the time'!
	Distortion The Time Ripper	… Killing… time…
	Distortion The Time Ripper	I saved the dying times from their wasteful clutches. Will you still claim that I am… in the wrong?

6.5-15: The Final Problem - Part 2

Played during the Boss Battle of Story Dungeon 6.5-15.

Speaker		Dialogue
[After The Time Ripper reaches 75% Max HP:]
Location: Mirror Dungeon of the Fathoms
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Bloody hell, this is really gettin' on my nerves. Oi!
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Quit hidin' us, yeah? Give us a proper view!
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Dammit… I hoped that I wouldn't have to show them my true form…
Though we couldn't be sure if there were multiple personalities in the Ripper's head, or if it was truly the voice of the 'many', we did hear several voices of varying pitches echoing from all corners of the room.
The Time Ripper, cornered, grabs the lapels of his long coat, and…
	Sinner #4 RYŌSHŪ	…!
[After The Time Ripper reaches 60% Max HP:]
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Tsk, irritating little tricks…
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Oi, remember what you said earlier? Might be the time to put that to use.
	Distortion The Time Ripper	But… I'm sorry, doesn't that use too much time?
	Distortion The Time Ripper	It drains too much time from all of us!
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Shush, my friends…
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Letting this drag on for any longer will cost us more in the long term.
	Distortion The Time Ripper	This attack will surely eliminate them.
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Think of how much time we will save by taking care of them here and now. We shall share this burden of time together.
[The Time Ripper then proceeds to use 'Timekilling Time'. When that fails...]
	Distortion The Time Ripper	N-no, this doesn't make sense! That had to work…! More tricks, is it…?!
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Oi, wait up. You took five hours from me earlier. What's up with you taking another three hours from me? You only took two from that sod.
	Distortion The Time Ripper	We will settle that as soon as we deal with this present threat. Focus on the battle for now.
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Deal with this present threat when?! In three hours? Four? This fight's been goin' on for too bloody long!
	Distortion The Time Ripper	I understand. That is why we must all sacrifice our collective time to—
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Nope. I ain't givin' you more than an hour of my time. Take more from the rest. I got the short end of the stick last time when the numbers didn't evenly divide by twel—
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Shut up about the 'last time'! You're just an uneducated fool who doesn't even understand basic additions and subtractions…
	Distortion The Time Ripper	Oi, what the hell was that? Who said that?! It's the new one, innit?
	Manager DANTE	<They're starting to fight each other.>
	Sinner #6 HONG LU	Ah, I get it. You're saying that now is our chance, right?

6.5-15: The Final Problem - Part 3

Played after clearing Story Dungeon 6.5-15.

Speaker		Dialogue
Location: Clock Tower
	Distortion The Time Ripper	…….
	T Corp. Assistant	"If only I had 10 more minutes…! No, a minute, a few more seconds, even…!"
	T Corp. Assistant	"I could've changed so much more if only I had the time…!"
	T Corp. Assistant	… Or so I thought, once upon a time.
	Distortion The Time Ripper	S…o…
	Distortion The Time Ripper	What… did you do…? Did you… even try to change… anything…?
	T Corp. Assistant	Believe it or not…
	T Corp. Assistant	I am the creator of every change you see around you.
	Distortion The Time Ripper	…….
	T Corp. Assistant	I know, I know. I know what the burning question is. "What changes?!", right? Because, at the end of the day, this place became no different from the other horrible, horrible Nests. There's so much pain here… just like any other place in the City.
	T Corp. Assistant	So… listen up, and listen close. Because there's only one way to truly be free from suffering.
	T Corp. Assistant	Stopping time.
	Manager DANTE	<Stop time…?>
Our Assistant's expression turned bitter. He did not elaborate.
Well, it's not like he could understand me. And the Sinners were too busy keeping their eyes on the Time Ripper to relay my question.
Like always, the LCA's special operations unit arrived and discussed a few things with the employee…
Labeled the Time Ripper, a Distortion, with a complicated classification code…
… and that's how the Case of Timekilling Time closed.
But…
Location: T Corp. Watch Factory
	T Corp. Bumble	My, I am so happy that you finally caught the perpetrator-uh~
	T Corp. Bumble	Aha, behold-ah! My portrait is finally complete-uh~ Isn't it so wonderful-ah?
	T Corp. Bumble	So slow, everyone-uh! Let's stop being lazy and get to work, yes-ah? Chop chop-uh~
What our Assistant said much earlier… was right. T Corp. did not change, not even a little.
Location: Local Time Collections Office
	Sinner #9 RODION	Why did you… volunteer to be the bait for the Ripper, Hong Lu?
	Sinner #9 RODION	I-I'll be honest. I was scared as hell. The moment I began thinking about how my own time could just… get ripped away from me, I…
	Sinner #6 HONG LU	I… just wanted to understand.
	Sinner #6 HONG LU	Because, to me, the world was full of things I couldn't understand.
	Sinner #6 HONG LU	In truth, I still understand so little of it. Why do people hang on so desperately to something like time? Something so… ephemeral?
	Sinner #9 RODION	… Yeah?
	Sinner #6 HONG LU	But… I know one thing.
	Sinner #6 HONG LU	You understood the culprit, Rodya. It wasn't just fear that held you back.
	Sinner #6 HONG LU	While there was fear, a different side of you felt like you could understand him. That's what stayed your hand.
	Sinner #9 RODION	How… how do you know that?
	Sinner #6 HONG LU	Watching you, Rodya, reminded me why I did not resist when my siblings tried to kill me for the first time.
	Sinner #6 HONG LU	I wasn't just scared.
	Sinner #6 HONG LU	I felt as though I could… understand them.
	Sinner #4 RYŌSHŪ	When fear grows so extreme that it circles back to its origin…
	Sinner #4 RYŌSHŪ	That moment is so precious and so… beautiful.
	T Corp. T Corp. Reporter	All right, lads and lasses. Gather 'roud!
	Sinner #3 DON QUIXOTE	Hooh… Oooohhhh….!
	T Corp. T Corp. Reporter	We'll be runnin' a special feature on the people who played the biggest role in solvin' the 'Case of Timekilling Time'. And for that, we'd like to get a little group photo. Would that be alright with you ace detectives?
	Sinner #3 DON QUIXOTE	Wh-what an auspicious day this is!
	Sinner #9 RODION	…….
	Manager DANTE	<What's up with the long face, Rodya? Everything okay?>
	Sinner #9 RODION	Ha ha… I don't know if I even deserve to be in the picture.
	Sinner #9 RODION	I didn't really get anything done out there, did I?
	Sinner #6 HONG LU	But Rodya, we eventually captured the culprit, didn't we~? It was possible only because we all worked together!
	Manager DANTE	<I'd say everyone did a great job out there. Rodya, Hong Lu, Ryōshū, all three of you… good work.>
	Sinner #9 RODION	You mean Hong Lu and Ryōshū. I just cowered as soon as I came face-to-face with the culprit… I was ridiculous.
	Sinner #6 HONG LU	Well, it is said that all great detectives are flanked by great assistants.
	Sinner #9 RODION	Hah, that's funny. Is that what this 'Lady Agatha' said?
	Sinner #6 HONG LU	No, I said it. Just now.
	Sinner #9 RODION	…….
	Sinner #4 RYŌSHŪ	I'm the only one who's allowed to make that L.F.
	Sinner #4 RYŌSHŪ	Smile, detective.
	Sinner #9 RODION	Ha… Ha ha…
	T Corp. T Corp. Reporter	Right, can we huddle a little close together?
	Sinner #9 RODION	… What right did I have to stop those struggling to change things, no matter how small…
	Sinner #9 RODION	… when I haven't done anything?
It seemed that I was the only one who heard her whispering.
	T Corp. T Corp. Reporter	Right, then! One… two…
	Sinner #3 DON QUIXOTE	Hold, Hoooold!
Click!
Location: Alleyways of T Corp.
	T Corp. Mai	Chief Executive Director, it's time.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	Ah, Mai. Thank you for letting me borrow your clothes. I made sure to not get even a speck of dust on it, so don't you worry about having to run it through a washer.
	Manager DANTE	<Chief Executive Director...? When did he...>
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	It's been so long since I had a day this exciting. Thanks, participation trophy.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	I just like to experience how it's like outside the company building from time to time, you know?
	Manager DANTE	<Shouldn't he be thanking us for solving the case, not… you know…?>
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	Mm~ Let's see. Considering your rather competent command of the battlefield, and that special ability of yours, maybe you could even snag the 'exceptional' awar— Hm… actually, no. Perhaps you'd receive the 'distinctive' award instead since you can't explain the mechanism of your own powers. Your clock does seem quite special, but the time that flows through you don't seem very different from the concept of time I'm used to.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	Well, I don't have any prize money to hand out, but… allow me to impart a little tip instead. Remember. Using the power of time comes with a cost. Always. It's something that's been a thorn in my side as well.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	Oh, and another thing I should thank you for.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	My dream began to flow once again.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	On the day I ventured out to the edge and wished upon a star, I thought my dream to have ceased there, never to flow again.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	I would have wished for something completely different had I had the chance to wish again, but… I believed my only chance spent.
A star… I don't understand why, but a mere mention of it suddenly brought back the memories of that star I saw when I made the pact with the Sinners.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	I used to think that the star could never be linked again, that I could never turn back time. Vile men like myself know when their dreams come to an end. When there is no path left for the dream to go.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	But I was wrong. There it was, something rewinding time right before my eyes in a way that I could not fathom. Well, it is my current hypothesis that you're not actually *rewinding* time, but a potential is a potential still.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	And that Distortion that rips time… is another proof that I do not know all there is to know about time, not yet.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	So my dream, once still as a lake, has become wild as a rushing river once again.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	Your indifferent, unafraid attitude toward time? It also left me an impression.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	I think day after day about how uncaring the nature of time is; that it will continue to drift on and on and on even after my death. And I think about how that's so, so…
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	… terrifying.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	I'm afraid of death, yes. But I'm not interested in researching immortality. The flow of time is equivalent to constant change; those who dare tread upon the road of elusion from death and annihilation shall soon find themselves before another wall of what they had sought to flee from in the first place.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	What must one do to stem the change when the nature of perpetual change itself is tied to an immutable thing like the flow of time? One must stop time itself, of course.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	Yes, indeed. Therein lies the conundrum. Until time itself ceases to move, all change eventually becomes a great flow.
	Manager DANTE	<I'm having trouble following your train of thought…>
	Sinner #2 FAUST	Dante says that they are having trouble following your train of thought.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	Hm? Oh, ahh, apologies! I must've been thinking out loud. You must understand how someone might forget who they're talking to when the listener has nothing to say in response but intermittent ticks and tocks. I suppose all that was probably too much for a manager of an upstart business to understand, yes?
	Sinner #2 FAUST	Does this conclude the business of the ten billion Ahn Time Tax?
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	Mhm, you're all exempt. Can you imagine what would've happened if a case like this for you to solve didn't exist? Can you believe that you almost had to live the rest of your lives stretching a measly four hours over an entire day? Unbelievable. A little nap and you'd wake up two whole days later. Well, that is, if the four-hour daily minimum time policy even applied to you.
	Sinner #2 FAUST	Yes, that is difficult to believe, but I understand. Then…
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	Oh, almost slipped my mind. Remember that purchase catalogue Limbus Company handed me? That 'Monolith' in there… really caught my eye. I'd like to purchase them. As many as you have in stock.
	Guide Vergilius	…….
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	Cheers, that's a sale made. It was really pricey, too. Who knows, maybe this will get you that commendation or whatever it is.
	Sinner #2 FAUST	… Understood. Your intent to purchase will be relayed.
	Guide Vergilius	The Monolith…? What are you planning to do with—
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	It's a secret. Things yet to be realised must remain shrouded in hearts under this starless sky.
	T Corp. Chief Executive?	Let's go, Mai.
	T Corp. Mai	Yes, Director Hubert.
	Guide Vergilius	This company is growing increasingly bizarre, Miss Faust.
	Guide Vergilius	Not only are we providing Distortion management service, but also dipping our feet into the sales of artifacts like the Monolith?
	Sinner #2 FAUST	…….
	Guide Vergilius	I don't believe that the Monoliths should be so easily bought or sold. I see them as something we must retrieve, not put up for sale.
	Guide Vergilius	You do understand the… ramifications of selling artifacts that could force a Distortion, I trust?
	Sinner #2 FAUST	The world is aplenty with technology capable of maiming or slaughtering a fellow human.
	Sinner #2 FAUST	Not all of those have started with intent to do harm. In fact, most of them have begun as an altruistic project for the betterment of mankind.
	Sinner #2 FAUST	In other words… it depends.
	Guide Vergilius	Do you really believe this to be a matter that you can just brush aside with—
	Sinner #2 FAUST	Vergilius.
	Guide Vergilius	…….
	Sinner #2 FAUST	You know my place. Yours, as well.
	Sinner #2 FAUST	You are aware that we are not provided the luxury of choice.
	Guide Vergilius	Haah.
	Sinner #2 FAUST	We will both reach what each of us desire. That is a guarantee.
	Guide Vergilius	… Fine.
With that peculiar exchange between Faust and Vergilius, the bus sets off on another journey.
Location: Aboard Mephistopheles
	Sinner #9 RODION	… Oooh~ You're framing it already?!
Ever since we returned to the bus, Rodya was busily moving between the Sinners, excitedly talking to them about whatever subject they were interested in.
	Sinner #3 DON QUIXOTE	Quite… quite…! Aha! Thus this achievement has been memorialized for all eternity to come!
	Sinner #1 YI SANG	Aha, do you intend to put it up for display?
In her hands was the article we were featured in. Don Quixote dedicated considerable time and effort to meticulously ironing out the creases, coating it with a thin film, and displaying it carefully in a frame.
We could barely tell it was her due to the blurring, but… she appeared so happy to be a part of the photograph.
	Sinner #3 DON QUIXOTE	Hm hm~ Much do I desire to hang it here for all to see, but this doth carry great meaning, indeed, as my very first accomplishment! Thus shall I place it in my chamber for safekeeping!
	Sinner #13 GREGOR	Boy, you're really stoked about a shaky picture of yourself, huh?
	Sinner #9 RODION	Aw, don't be a buzzkill, darling~ Chiquita's happy about it and that's what matters, right~?
	Sinner #3 DON QUIXOTE	It matters not, for this is a signifier of our achievements!
	Sinner #9 RODION	Yeah~ O-our… achievement! Ha ha…
Rodya was laughing and cheering along with her, as though nothing had happened…
	Manager DANTE	<…….>
… but it's never been so clear that this cheeriness was all an act. And… I think that pained my heart.
Yet, I was powerless to do anything about it. The most I could do was to clear the air and hopefully divert their attention to something else.
	Manager DANTE	<… Faust, can you ask Vergilius where we're headed next?>
	Sinner #2 FAUST	Vergilius, Dante asks—
At least when we're talking about our next destination, the past seems to become a blur, even for a moment.
That was the intent behind my question.
	Guide Vergilius	Yes, yes. I've come to realize that it is about time the manager asked me for some information regarding our next destination.
Lucky. I was right—the subject of our next destination was enough to divert the Sinners' attention. They all fell silent in anticipation.
	Guide Vergilius	Our next destination…
Too bad I got more than I bargained for.
	Guide Vergilius	… is to a WARP train, Dante.
I didn't just clear the air… that statement alone caused a whole storm among the Sinners.