Jr. is forced to kill Albedo, dispersing the U-DO energy, but is comforted by Nephilim. Before the Zohar can be retrieved, a massive ship dubbed "Abel's Ark" appears and absorbs the Zohar. Wilhelm, who has been observing events, speaks telepathically with chaos while calling him "Yeshua", praising his decision to become an active player in events. In a post-credits scene, Wilhelm confers with the Testaments about recent events while welcoming a new white-cloaked member. Following the release of "Episode I" in 2002, the "Xenosaga" project was reevaluated and staff reshuffled to allow newer staff members a chance to handle the series. Series creator and Monolith Soft co-founder Tetsuya Takahashi stepped down as director, taking on other responsibilities within the company in addition to being given wider creative input on projects. Takahashi's explanation was that he did not want to limit the scope and direction of the "Xenosaga" series, and that his style of direction as seen for "Episode I" could result in the development period becoming extended exponentially. During this period the "Xenosaga" series, originally planned by Takahashi as a six-part series, was rearranged into a trilogy, with the possibility of further episodes should the series meet continued success. The new director was Koh Arai, while Tomohiro Hagiwara became lead producer, both of whom had worked on "Episode I" in minor roles; Takahashi on an executive role overseeing "Episode II", in addition to keeping the staff informed with the lore of "Xenosaga". Development on "Episode II" took approximately two years, worked on by a staff of 60 to 100 people. The staff was divided into three teams; "scene", "battle" and "quest". During production, Hagiwara and the other new staff aimed to turn "Xenosaga" into an evolving series rather than a static one. The gameplay was mainly carried over from "Episode I", but with adjustments and additions designed to streamline the system and increase playability. The battle system was adjusted based on feedback that the first game's battle system was too complicated. The art director for the game was Norihiro Takami. While the character designs of "Episode I" were stylized, the cast were redesigned for "Episode II" to appear much more realistic. This was done to increase the expressiveness of the characters during cutscenes.