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After the end of YoRHa, the Nier Automata universe was one that Spierce would pay no mind to in any other situation. Desolate, empty, no clear signs of life...

Even so, she felt a pull towards this place.

It was hard to tell what kept her here, despite her inclination to leave these sorts of universes as soon as she could. They weren't necessarily doomed, but they were too empty for her to stay in for very long. She'd rather be surrounded by bustling crowds than an endless landscape.

And an endless landscape this was, yet she found herself wandering, trying to pull information out of anything she came across. Ruins, deserts... mechanical corpses, both primitive and refined intermingled among the mess. Allies? A war? The gears in her mind turned restlessly as she tried to piece together what could have happened.

Unannounced and uninvited, Deity claimed that there were no living souls left on this planet. Nothing for her to copy, they seemed to imply. Worry stained her mind. She asked if they knew how far back she had to travel to find life in this universe.

They asked what her definition of life was. Something she could copy? Or something that could feel?

Well... she wasn't quite sure how to answer that. How far did Deity think she should go?

They suggested a year that meant nothing to her. Fine, she agreed, but would she have to blend in without a soul to copy?

Not necessarily. They knew this universe well enough, and if she was willing to listen, they had a plan.

She agreed again.

Deity explained that her artificial soul had the ability to destroy its physical form. This was done by smoothing out its surface, removing any signs of a species or appearance for it to go off of. This would allow her to "possess" a being without a soul, her own soul replacing any programming it may have.

Knowing what Spierce's first question would be, they added that it was possible to reverse this process by replacing the grooves that had been smoothed out, promptly expelling her from the husk she had chosen. It was possible to accomplish this after, or even while she was universe hopping, which removed any risk of her being discovered.

This felt incredibly risky, but her desire to explore and experience new things quickly overrode any apprehension she felt. 

Accepting Deity's plan, she would travel to the year they specified.

And so, it began.