6-2: Aesthetics of Hate
| 6-2: AESTHETICS OF HATE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| General | |||
| Layer & Part | HERESY /// ACT II CLIMAX | ||
| Challenge | Hit Gabriel into the ceiling. | ||
| Music | Fallen Angel (An Adaptation of Bach: BWV 639) The Death of God's Will (incl. "Horns of Insurrection") | ||
| Tip of the Day | |||
DON'T WASTE STAMINA!
Dashing needlessly while fighting very aggressive foes will quickly cause one to have none left when it is most needed. | |||
| Enemies | |||
 Gabriel, Apostate of Hate
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| Rank Requirements | |||
| Rank | Time | Kills | Style |
| S | 01:50 | 0 | 3,000 |
| A | 02:15 | 0 | 2,500 |
| B | 04:00 | 0 | 1,500 |
| C | 08:00 | 0 | 750 |
- This article covers a simplified account of the second boss fight for Gabriel. For more detail on the boss, see Gabriel, Apostate of Hate. For Gabriel's first fight in 3-2, see Gabriel, Judge of Hell. For more information on Gabriel's lore, see Gabriel.
6-2: AESTHETICS OF HATE is the final level of Heresy and Act II, starring the player's second encounter with Gabriel as Gabriel, Apostate of Hate. 6-2 also holds the entrance to Act II's Prime Sanctum: P-2: Wait of the World.
The music leading to the boss encounter is Fallen Angel, with The Death of God's Will used as Gabriel's boss music.
Level
Start
Taking place in an cathedral-esque building bathed in red light, the player first enters a large room with a high ceiling and six arching pillars on both sides. A staircase opposing the level's entrance leads to a skippable obstacle course which can be cleared to reach the boss arena.
Soon after, the voice of 
Gabriel echoes in to the player, his tone is much more resentful and hostile since his last encounter in 3-2:
If the player heads forward from the entrance, they will reach a large chamber with a pit and a line of platforms leading the way forward. Moving across the platforms will then lead to a small ledge with a spot to wall-jump up to continue.
The player is then led to a long stretch of tunnels, housing more obstacles that the player must traverse. First with a moving platform, then leading to a 
Blue Hookpoint and a set of bounce pads, before looping back around to the starting room. At the other side of the corridor lies a 
Green Hookpoint, which leads down to the boss gate.
Boss encounter
After walking down the steps after making it through the obstacle course, the large boss gate will open, with a checkpoint located before a Terminal at the hallway's end, leading to the boss arena.
The arena itself is a massive chamber, with a high ceiling and four large pillars to its walls, and a pool of water near the entrance to the arena. On top of a raised platform at the room's end lies a large church organ, with Gabriel playing at the keys.
Once approached, Gabriel will abruptly stop his performance, slamming against the keys with bitter resentment as he begins his monologue, the lights dimming as he grows in rage:
As Gabriel is about to finish the speech, he will pull out the swords from his sheath, before commencing the boss fight; Enraged in the process of releasing his anger.
Gabriel, Apostate of Hate will use his twin swords: Justice and Splendor, as his main method of attacking. His move-set features various sword combos with differing speeds, each with sets of unparriable and parriable cues for the player to react to. Gabriel can also throw the swords as a homing projectile, which the player can also parry with good timing.
Overcome with emotion, he occasionally pauses to use any of the following taunts during the fight, granting the player an opportunity to heal off him:
After his first health-bar has been depleted, Gabriel will start falling towards the ground, giving the player an opportunity for more damage. Once Gabriel either lands on the ground or reaches a threshold of damage, he will regain his posture and begin Phase 2, losing his enraged status in the process:
After Gabriel enacts Phase 2, the previously blood red lighting of the room will disappear as the lights turn back on, now with the arena in it's true colors.
During Phase 2, Gabriel’s Enraged state will be removed, causing him to fight more clearly without being blinded by anger. Due to this, his previous attack patterns will now have added teleports into his attacks, making the fight considerably harder for the player.
With Gabriel starting to enjoy the fight, his taunts will also change:
End
After the player defeats Gabriel for the second, all lights will turn off, leaving only a spotlight on him lying on the floor, next to the organ:
Gabriel rises back up, teleporting out of the arena in a bright beam of light. The organ then rises up, revealing the level exit hidden underneath. Before the end of the level, Gabriel speaks to V1 again, his tone being noticeably calmer;
Epilogue
After the level ends, the player's screen will fade to black, showcasing the events after Gabriel’s second defeat to the hands of the machine, causing him to contemplate about himself and what he had become:
Silence. Introspection. How many had he killed? Had he ever thought to count? How much cruelty did he embody… and to what end? How many did he condemn to hell and who did it benefit..?
Two defeats at the hands of the machine had changed Gabriel. The world of the once supposed Will of God was now shattered and only he was left to put the pieces back together. They collected before the light of a dying fire that fresh fuel couldn’t sustain, this new light showing the truth to Gabriel:
The pieces never fit together to begin with.
The supposed Council of "the people" who boasted a God that wasn't there.
Gone.
Vanished.
The Council still chased after the light of God's fire, their memory of its words and will grown twisted and warped, and the rest of the aimless masses of Heaven follow their footsteps. The angels still act in The Father's name but His kingdom has changed.
Now the fire was dying, sputtering out as the heat failed to gain purchase. Gabriel looked upon the embers with a perfect clarity. He drew his blade and held it in contrast to the dying light. In its reflection he saw a weapon reborn, no longer wielded by the will of another, but his own.
He knew words alone would never sway the masses.
He chose to do something drastic.
Death stains the auditorium. The littered corpses of the once mighty council now strewn against its surfaces, their last gasps of life dripping down the dissident blade of Gabriel's sword. The last councilor, now backed up to a wall, scrambles for words between panicked breaths as death approaches with measured steps.
“W-wait!"
"Y-you can't do this! Our status forbids it!"
"This is treason, heresy, murder!"
"We are the supreme authority, our law commands you!”
"You command nothing."
"Your words hold no power over me, or anyone else."
"Lest you truly believe you can talk my blade back into its sheath."
"B-but the people are on our side!"
"The citizens of Heaven know that we are just!"
"The masses only follow you out of fear and desperation."
"I will show them there is nothing to be afraid of, for there is no species nor origin, vested rank or holy status that will stop the sharp edge of a sword."
"We all bleed the same blood, and the cushions of your thrones have made you weak and impotent."
"P-please, Gabriel, see reason!"
"The council follows the will of The Father!"
"You seek to go against our creato-"
"Face it, brother."
"God is dead."
"The fire is gone."
"You're chasing phantoms."
Gabriel's silhouette now towers over the councilor, his shadow cast upon a soon lifeless corpse.
He raises his sword for the final cut as the crying mess on the floor stammers out its final feeble argument.
"B-b-but the Father's light!"
"Without me you cannot hope to reconnect with it! I-i-if you kill me, you'll be dead in a matter of hours!"
"I know."
A clean, silent cut glides through the councilor's neck, severing his spine with elegance and ease.
His head falls onto the marble floor, the rest of his body following soon after. Bereft of status but brimming with purpose, Gabriel gave a final message to the angels amassed at the gates of the auditorium before leaving Heaven for the very last time.
His arm outstretched, without a word, the people saw.
In the silence the message rang out to the far ends of the cosmos.
Challenge
For this level's challenge, the player must push Gabriel into the arena's ceiling. During the transition between Phase 1 and Phase 2, the player can damage Gabriel as he falls to the ground, knocking him upward with every hit.
The constant damage output of the 
Nailgun can quickly push Gabriel upwards, the player can then use the 
Whiplash to keep close to Gabriel to make sure all nails hit, pushing him far enough to complete the challenge.
Secrets
Prime Sanctum Entrance
To the right of the staircase down to the boss gate lies a small gap. Sliding through it will lead to a large dim room with a stone door. This door is the entrance to P-2: Wait of the World, accessed by having all the levels within Act 2 in the currently active save and difficulty to be fully Perfect Ranked, alongside the requirement of beating P-1: Soul Survivor and completing its requirements to unlock.
Trivia
- The title of the level is a reference to "Aesthetics of Hate" from the album The Blackening by Machine Head.
