eiji and patema jump from the descending vehicle, falling into the shaft leading to patema's society. the inverts are glad to see the two alive. however, izamura and jaku pursue them in the craft, and eiji, patema, and porta are taken with them as the vehicle falls, eventually crashing to the floor of the shaft. izamura shoots and wounds eiji, and attempts to kill patema, but is thwarted by porta who knocks away the gun. after drawing a knife to finish patema, the damaged floor collapses, revealing earth's true surface: thousands of ruined buildings and open sky, including a ring of debris around the moon. it is revealed that aiga and its citizens are actually those who survived the catastrophic experiment, and were living in an artificial world underground that supported their inverted gravity.