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The Bygone Shall Always Return is the Tenth Act in Chapter II of the Main Quest.
Summary[]
Steps[]
Gameplay Notes[]
Dialogue[]
- (Return to Ragunna City)
- Abby: Long time no see, Ragunna!
- Abby: Mmm—mmm—! Can you smell that? Sweet o' Margherita's Restaurant. C'mon, c'mon, let's go stuff our faces already!
- Rover: Let's take care of important matters first. You'll eat well soon, I promise.
- Abby: Yeah, yeah, I know. We're here to find Cartethyia!
- Abby: I still can't believe Tethys couldn't unlock the Sentinel's Relic we found in Septimont...
- Rover: At least now we know it's called the "Civilization Capsule." It probably holds key legacy data left behind by the Sentinel.
- Abby: Like some ancient data recorder, right? But Tethys said to unlock it we'll need... the Leviathan's power.
- Abby: If it's really from the Sentinel, why do we need the Threnodian's power for that?
- Rover: Maybe because they fused together at some point...
- Abby: Oh well, guess that's why we need to find Cartethyia. Maybe she'll know a workaround...
- Abby: The Black Shores warned that the waters in Ragunna are acting weird again. Gotta be extra careful.
- Abby: And you know... something feels off in the city too. It's not as cheerful as when we left it.
I think things do feel more tense.
- Abby: Yeah, and they just threw a huge Carnevale not long ago too...
- Might just be the weather.
- Abby: Hmm... you might be onto something.
There is a sorrow in the air...
- Abby: Uh... since when did you get all poetic?
- Roccia: Amid howling winds, rising storms, and ghosts adrift, I heard the captain's call—
- Abby: Look! Over there! Isn't that Brant and Roccia? Wow, the Troupe of Fools is putting on a show!
- Brant: Hoist the sails, O humanity! The abyss and the summit have entwined. Your only path now is forward, bold and uncharted!
- Brant: You stand on the precipice. Now is the hour to decide your fate—to plant the seed of your highest hope and watch it bloom into tomorrow.
- Roccia: Captain, why do you burn alone in your own flames?
- Brant: If you do not first become ashes, how will you rebuild?
- Brant: Embrace your fire. Embrace your grief. Go into your solitude! I love those who dare to create, who strive to transcend, for in doing so, their old selves are destroyed. Yes, so they might reach the shores of a new life!
- Roccia: To journey onward is perilous. To stand still is perilous. To look back is also perilous. To tremble and falter... is perilous.
- Roccia: Now, I begin to understand what truly makes a hero great. It is to stand before humanity's deepest sorrow and its highest hope.
- Brant: Oh, how I love those whose souls remain rich and vast, even when wounded. Even when the smallest risk could spell doom, they leap without hesitation into the unknown.
- Brant: Should you stand alone, suffering in the endless dark... Today, may you hold fast to every last ember of courage and hope!
- Onlookers: Bravo! Bravo!
- ???: Life... is but a walking shadow.
- ???: A poor player, who struts and frets his hour upon the stage... and then is heard no more.
- ???: It is a tale told by fools, full of sound and fury... Signifying nothing.
- (Explore ahead)
- Rover: Where... am I?
- Rover: That was Cristoforo's voice just now... Is this another one of his illusions?
- Rover: Buling's bronze mirror isn't responding... Abby?
- Rover: ...No answer. This isn't like what happened in Septimont. Guess I can only keep moving and find out why.
- (Optional)
- Carlotta?
- Cristoforo?: Mistaking rebellion and recklessness for glory, like an inferior gem made precious only by how it glitters. Yes, even the castoffs of lesser branches can earn admiration if they shine bright enough.
- Cristoforo?: She couldn't control the monstrous family legacy, so she turned to bravado. An armor crafted to hide her naivety and fear.
- Cristoforo?: Fragile. False. But oh, how brilliantly a gem shines... in the instant it shatters.
- Phoebe?
- Cristoforo?: A pure heart blindly devoted to a deity on the verge of extinction...
- Cristoforo?: Yet the true eternal Divinity embraces all. It washes away everything, be it joy or sorrow or hope or obsession.
- Cristoforo?: She realigned her faltering faith, and in doing so, claimed her "redemption."
- Iuno?
- Cristoforo?: The phases of the moon wove her luminous gaze, yet she insists on using that light to peer into fate's menacing fate.
- Cristoforo?: Her eyes were destined to be burned. All who overstep cannot escape its wrath.
- Cristoforo?: Now, neither she nor her moon will ever be whole again.
- Cantarella?
- Cristoforo?: Gentleness born of delusion. A beautiful, sorrowful fantasy. She tried to confront an ancient curse with blind devotion and silence...
- Cristoforo?: But fear has eaten away at her soul. Illusion stripped her of freedom. And her tears have long since left her nowhere to hide.
- Cristoforo?: What she needs is not light, but a long, dreamless sleep.
- Augusta?
- Cristoforo?: A valiant and determiend ruler... On the battlefield where life and death collide, a faint ember lingers. Flickering, barely alive.
- Cristoforo?: Conquest and slaughter walk hand in hand. Sooner or later, she will be consumed by the very sun that nurtured her.
- Cristoforo?: Beyond her throne lies nothing but withered bones. If she cannot endure such loneliness, then she must learn to descend her own steps and enter "their world."
- Brant?
- Cristoforo?: Ah... He plays the role of captain. I have a theory. Tell me, do you think a performer will ever realize that he is part of a grander play?
- Cristoforo?: He mistook his role for his true self, blind to danger and death alike. In the end, he led his crew... straight into the abyss.
- Cristoforo?: Burning passion is but a beautiful kind of madness. When the curtain falls, he'll stand trial before the flames of his own arrogance.
- Cristoforo?: Amid the endless cycle of surging tides, she plunges into fate's swirling maelstrom once more.
- Cristoforo?: Soon, she will wear a new crown—one ordained by fate, never to be defied.
- Cristoforo?: Her fate was written long ago. What remains is but a fleeting moment of stolen peace.
- Cristoforo?: What you see before you... is fate itself.
- Cristoforo?: And now, with every step you take, you stir the tides into motion.
- Cristoforo?: Is it fate that rules over man, or man who commands fate?
- Cristoforo?: I await your answer to this question...
- Rover: What is this place?
- Inscribed Words: Through me, walk the Path of Glorious Ascension... Through me, enter the City of Eternal Bliss... All who enter... must first forsake all Hope.
- Rover: (These Tacet Discords... why aren't they attacking?)
- Devotees: Harbinger... Open... The gates of Paradise for us...
- ???: You'd better leave. This place... isn't leading to any "salvation."
- ???: Leviathan, I will deliver you... "her death."
- Brant: Rover... Rover!
- Roccia: We could try this... "Nightmare Awakener"—
- I'm up, I'm up!
- Good, you're all okay...
- I think I saw Paradise...
- Abby: You're finally awake, Rover! One second I'm fine, the next my head's spinning and you're face-down on the ground...
- Rover: I'm fine. What I saw, though…
- (Recount what you saw)
- Brant: Hmm... Sounds like the same thing happening to the people here.
- Brant: From what I've heard, many Ragunnesi have been having peculiar dreams lately. Even some of our Troupe members too.
- Brant: The details vary, but they all end the same way... the fall of Rinascita.
- Brant: And it's not just in dreamland either... Rover, I'm not sure if you've heard, but there have been strange rumors appearing across Rinascita lately.
- Brant: Even in Septimont, folks claim they've seen Tacet Discords not of this land in the wilds, or the ghosts of their ancestors.
- Roccia: Thanks to all these oddities, the mood in Ragunna has gone sour.
- Roccia: The Troupe performed today because Brant thought a new play to lighten the mood might give the people some hope.
- Brant: But here's the odd part. Only Rinascitans seem to be having these dreams. Visitors are spared... the same should be true of you.
- ...
- Have any of you had similar dreams?
- Roccia: Well... Not Brant or me. But someone in the Troupe has. They said they dreamed of sinking into an enormous, black ocean...
- Have you seen other anomalies like this?
- Brant: The Tacet Discords in the Stormy Sea have been more restless lately. And the "siren's" songs? Well, they've started sounding an awful lot like the Order's hymns...
- I'll get to the bottom of what's happening.
- Brant: We'll keep gathering intel on our end. Might be worth asking around the city to see who else has been experiencing this.
- Brant: Rinascita's tides don't lie. Watch your back, Rover.
- Rover: (What were those Tacet Discords whispering about? Gates of Paradise... and the word "Harbinger." Could they mean the "Harbinger of the Dark Tide"?)
- Rover: (The only "Harbinger of the Dark Tide" is Fenrico. But he should still be sealing the Dark Tide at the Order's Fabricatorium...)
- Rover: (That figure I saw... and Cartethyia's murder...)
- Rover: (I came back to find her, so I should look for her first. She might know what's at the root of all this.)
- (Optional - Talk to Ciaccona and Amedeo)
- Amedeo: "Slowly they join the crowd pilgriming toward the kingdom rising in the dark waves… Those blessed by the sea are ever doomed to bear its curse."
- Amedeo: He cursed the Ragunnesi with a broken sonnet. No, more than that... He cursed all of Rinascita! Now, his curse is coming true...
- Is he alright...?
- Ciaccona: Hello, Rover! Haven't you heard? Lately, the Ragunnesi have started having "nightmares." That's probably what he's referring to...
- Amedeo: In my dreams I saw things... monsters I've never seen before...
- Amedeo: Maybe it's because I've had my nose buried in that "mysterious playwright's unfinished draft"... those hobgoblins, banshees, and beasties are all carved into my mind now...
- Amedeo: I thought it was just a dream. Just… imagination. But then… one day, in the wilds… By the Sentinel, I saw one. Every infernal detail exactly as I dreamt it!
- Amedeo: The playwright conjured illusions with words. Summoned ghosts, stitched nightmares into verses, turned phantasm into flesh! These are HIS verses... HIS CURSES!
- Amedeo: Think about it! Monstrous fiends once trapped in myth and sonnet are now strutting on stage! He planted the seeds... centuries ago...
- That mysterious playwright...
- Ciaccona: Mmm… sounds like a perfect premise for a ballad. I wouldn't mind meeting some of these storybook monsters myself.
- Amedeo: Miss Ciaccona… you… you're not afraid of them?
- Ciaccona: Our souls are as eternal as theirs. How could they possibly harm us?
- Ciaccona: Besides, if the play is still unfinished, then the ending is ours to write, isn't it?
- (Optional - Talk to Zani and Nevana)
- Nevana: Miss Zani… I'm so sorry. I'll head back right away…
- Zani: No worries. If you're feeling low, it's good to step out and get some air.
- Zani: Ah, buongiorno, Rover. If you're here for banking... you'll have to wait.
- Did something happen to her?
- Nevana: Thank you for your concern... I just had a vivid dream... about my grandmother who passed away some time ago.
- Nevana: When I woke up, I could still SEE her, sitting right beside me. Her smile was gentle... just like when I was little. She used to sing me to sleep with lullabies…
- Nevana: I told her how much I missed her, and she listened quietly, just like always. Then she stood up and said goodbye.
- Nevana: I saw her walk through a door. I tried to follow, but she stopped me. She said, "Don't follow me. And don't go gently through those gates." Then I woke up... again.
- Nevana: Was it a dream within a dream? Or was it a vision pulled from a memory? But her face, her voice... it all felt so real...
- Zani: ...Capisco. I get it. I'll handle your desk. Go home. Take the day to rest.
- Nevana: Thank you, Miss Zani. But I think... my grandmother was trying to tell me something. That I can't stay trapped in grief and the past.
- Nevana: So I'll keep going with today's work. Sorry to worry you all.
- (Optional - Talk t Phoebe and Vivian)
- Vivian: Acolyte Phoebe, "Paradise"... It really exists...
- Phoebe: But...
- Vivian: I saw it in my dreams. It was a revelation from the Sentinel...
- A revelation from the Sentinel...?
- Phoebe: Oh, hello there Rover. May the Sentinel's grace be upon you.
- Vivian: Rover... you're the Laureate of the Carnevale! That means you've heard the Sentinel's voice too! You can help me prove it, can't you?
- Vivian: My dreams must be divine revelations! I saw it all, the "City of Eternal Bliss" and "Path of Glorious Ascension." It was so clear...
- Vivian: That kingdom is the afterlife. They told me that to gain entry, one needs only forsake all hope and call Their name...
- But surely not everyone can enter the "true Paradise"...?
- Vivian: …You're right to remind me. We mustn't forget the Sentinel's teachings to live righteously here in the mortal world.
- Vivian: Acolyte Phoebe, let's hold fast to that. We will reach that "Kingdom of Eternal Bliss."
- Phoebe: I've always believed "Paradise" was real, but...
- Phoebe: If it is truly sacred and beautiful... why ask us to "forsake all hope" to enter?
- (Ride the Wingray to the Inverted Tower)
- Rover: Is that... Cantarella up ahead?
- (Talk to Cantarella)
- Cantarella: Rover? What brings you back to the Inverted Tower so suddenly?
- Rover: Something's come up. I need Cartethyia's help to deal with it.
- Rover: Did something unusual happen here?
- Cantarella: I've only just arrived. For now, everything appears to be in order. I didn't come because of any disturbance.
- Cantarella: There are matters I, too, need to discuss with Cartethyia...
- BANG—!
- Rover: Cantarella...?
- Abby: How could this happen...
- ...It all happened so fast.
- ...I'll make her pay. Blood for blood!
- Rover: That woman...
- ???: Leviathan, I will deliver you... "her death."
- Rover: (Why… Why does this scene match what I saw in that dreamland?)
- Rover: Her Tacet Mark... Look, it's flickering! Cantarella, she's...
- Cantarella: ...No. Something's wrong. It's strange... I can't sense any frequency from her, and yet...
- Cantarella: She is still resonating with... something.
- Abby: A Resonator's frequency is usually gone when they die, right? This doesn't make any sense.
- Rover: There's something even stranger...
- Cartethyia's sword.
- Rover: Cartethyia had her sword in hand... With her strength, how could she fall to an intruder like that? And... it doesn't look like she even tried to resist.
- Cantarella: The Sword of Divinity, sealed with a portion of the Sentinel's power... Could what we're seeing be a result of that power of separation being awakened?
- The shattered stained glass.
- Rover: …The Inverted Tower itself is a sealed Sonoro. Only the Fisalias know it exists. So how did she find it?
- Rover: And she broke through the stained glass from the outside. Physically, not by tearing through the Sonoro Sphere. But Cartethyia has complete control over the Tower. If someone had intruded, would she really not have noticed?
- The shell casings on the floor.
- Rover: Spent casings... These traces, could they be from the Dark Tide?
- Abby: You bet they are! I'd know that stench anywhere. And I caught the same frequency on that freak who jumped out earlier.
- None of this is adding up.
- Rover: ...Cantarella, you never did get to say what brought you here.
- Cantarella: Cartethyia reached out to me with an urgent matter to discuss. She gave no details, only insisting that I come at once.
- Cantarella: With the strange phenomena stirring across Ragunna, I feared it might be linked to the Dark Tide. Or Leviathan.
- Rover: (Was what I saw... really just an illusion? I saw this... her death, exactly as it's happening now.)
- Rover: (That woman... she was using Dark Tide energy. Could she be another Harbinger?)
- Rover: ...Whatever the case, we need to find the one who did this. I want answers.
- Cantarella: Leave Cartethyia to me. I'll bring her back to the Fisalia estate and keep her safe. The rest… I entrust to you.
- Abby, can you track the killer's frequency?
- Abby, can you track the Dark Tide's frequency?
- Abby: Heh, this nose? I could track the Dark Tide blindfolded! Let's follow the stench and hunt down this killer!
- Abby: That's weird. The trail ends here, but... Ugh... My head's starting to spin again...
- Rover: It's the Dark Tide's energy messing with you again. You can rest, I'll search the area.
- Rover: Abby? Asleep already... That drowsiness should've worn off by now. Another side effect of the Dark Tide?
- Rover: Since leaving the Inverted Tower, Ragunna's sky... what happened to it?
- ???: Spear of Glory... pierce through!
- ???: Slipped away again.
- Avidius: By this spear, I vow to protect my allies and crush the hearts of the evil.
- Rover: Avidius? What are you doing out here?
- Avidius: What any Gladiator of Septimont is born to do—hunting.
- Avidius: But you, Your Grace… You vanished without a word. What brings you back in such a hurry?
- After what happened before...
- Tell me what you're doing here first.
- Avidius: That's a long story. Let's speak of more pressing matters. Are you after the Thundering Mephis as well?
- Rover: No. I'm tracking someone else.
- (Describe Cartethyia's killer.)
- Avidius: Silver hair and violet eyes... cloaked in cursed, shadowlit flame. So you seek the one they call "Discord Slayer."
- Rover: Discord Slayer? Sounds like you know something about her.
- Avidius: Yes, she's on my radar. I suspect the recent Tacet Discord outbreak in Ragunna City is tied to her presence.
- Wait, Ragunna was attacked by a TD Outbreak?
- Avidius: Your Grace hasn't heard? It struck not long ago.
- Avidius: I had gone there in search of the "Quillbearer." While gathering information, the city was suddenly overrun... To be precise, they looked more like "spawn of the Dark Tide."
- Avidius: The outbreak has since been contained, but the Genesis Nexus was damaged. Without it, Common Echoes can't be used, and Ragunna is no longer secure.
- Avidius: The Montellis and the Order agreed to evacuate all civilians to Averardo Vault, where Private Echoes can still be deployed. It's the only way to protect them.
- Rover: (A TD Outbreak, right after I left... But while I was there, I didn't even sense a ripple.)
- Avidius: The Thundering Mephis has fled! The path ahead is safe!
- Resident of Egla Town: Thank you for your help, Gladiator! Averardo Vault isn't far from here. We can handle the rest of the journey!
- Avidius: Now, about the Discord Slayer you seek. The townsfolk shared some troubling whispers.
- Avidius: She may call herself that, but witnesses have seen her alongside swarms of Tacet Discords, leading them like troops into battle.
- Avidius: What's more, many have confirmed that the unrest across Ragunna coincides exactly with her appearances. The time and place match perfectly.
- Avidius: I even crossed paths with her on the road to Ragunna. I sensed a malicious frequency we both know well—the Dark Tide.
- That very frequency is what lead me here.
- Avidius: Of course. Even if she didn't cause the outbreak in Ragunna City, the connection is undeniable.
- Avidius: The Dark Tide is Rinascita's ancient enemy. If you're hunting her, allow me to join you and lend my aid.
- Rover: Do you have any leads on her whereabouts now?
- Avidius: If I'm correct, the Thundering Mephis we encountered is also a Dark Tide creation. This frequency it left behind…
- Avidius: We can track it, and from there, draw out the Discord Slayer herself. To that end, we'll need this.
- Rover: An Anchor Stone? You brought that all the way from Septimont?
- Avidius: Ha... A habit picked up on the hunt. You're no stranger to its use either, Your Grace.
- Avidius: Looks like I'm fortunate to be hunting alongside you again, Rover.
- (Track the Dark Tide's frequency)
- (Defeat the Tidespawn)
- Avidius: Take note. Enemies ahead.
- Avidius: ...Dark Tide creations. Grant them the oblivion they deserve.
- (Investigate the Dark Tide's traces)
- Avidius: What a hollow existence. Who "scripted" your delusions?
- Rover: You mentioned you left Tetragon Temple to search for the "Quillbearer" here in Ragunna, right?
- Avidius: I grew weary of waiting. When I heard rumors of his presence in Ragunna, I came to find him myself.
- Avidius: No trace of him yet, but I've learned this much—Here, no verses were ever penned about me.
- Avidius: The Ragunnesi know not my name, past, nor the prophecy I once carried. Here... I am a completely blank page.
- Avidius: If my former "existence" was just a fabrication, an idea of some Hero of Heroes crafted to "Septimont's expectations"...
- Avidius: Then perhaps here in Ragunna, I am free to write my own story. Free to define my own "existence." Free to create a reality of my own.
- Avidius: This... this matters more than finding him. I will break free from his narrative and become the master of my own destiny.
- Well said.
- Now you're starting to sound like a true ruler.
- I prefer you like this, honestly.
- Rover: Your fate is what you want it to be. No one else gets to decide who you are.
- Rover: No one has the right to dismiss your efforts and dreams with some absurd idea of destiny. You'll find your own Truth. I know it.
- Avidius: You honor me. I hope to prove worthy of that belief.
- (Track the Dark Tide's frequency)
- Avidius: The Anchor Stone is holding strong. Let's push forward.
- Avidius: Our destination is up ahead...
- Avidius: Is that an entrance to a Paradimensional Tacet Field?
- Avidius: Ragunna's geographical records haven't documented this...
- Avidius: Do you feel that? That ominous energy... the Anchor Stone confirms the Thundering Mephis is hiding here.
- Let's prepare to enter it.
- That's our best lead right now.
- Avidius: Very well. I stand with you. Whatever comes, you have my sword.
- (Enter the Paradimensional Tacet Field)
- (Defeat the Tidespawn)
- Rover: What happened? Where's Avidius? We crossed inside at the same time.
- Rover: It's the Thundering Mephis.
- Tidespawn: Thundering Mephis: ...Open... the gates...
- ???: So you just barrel in without thinking...
- Rover: That voice... the Discord Slayer? Is this her trap?
- Rover: Another illusion...
- ???: Focus. You are in an illusion. It's weaponizing your combat instincts.
- ???: Steady your resolve. Do not let its whispers sway you.
- Rover: The pain and hallucinations are fading... Is she helping me?
- ???: Good. See that Cocoon in the center? The Thundering Mephis is just bait. That right there is the core of this domain.
- ???: Destroy it. Then the monster and this illusion will unravel together.
- Rover: It worked... But—
- Rover: Who are you?! And what did you do to Cartethyia?
- ???: ...Now is not the time for stories.
- ???: But I'll tell you this. I'm here to kill the Harbinger of the Dark Tide. To stop a greater calamity.
- Rover: I can't hear her voice anymore... Time to leave this place.
- (Leave the Paradimensional Tacet Field)
- (Talk to Avidius)
- Avidius: Rover! Are you unharmed? You vanished the moment we entered the Tacet Field.
- Rover: I'm fine... So, it's gone? Avidius, did you see anything after we got separated?
- Avidius: The Thundering Mephis was nowhere in sight. But I did observe a peculiar figure.
- Avidius: I couldn't see his face clearly, but I heard him call himself... Caligula.
- Caligula...?
- Avidius: Caligula was a tyrant feared throughout Septimont's history. Notorious for his cruelty that defied reason, the world remembers him as the "Mad King."
- Avidius: Legends say he wielded a vile black Resonance energy, and the worst calamities ever stirred by the Dark Tide all began with him.
- Avidius: He didn't fight it. He embraced it. Commanded its abominations. Bent them to his will. In the end, the people rose against him... and struck him down.
- Avidius: But not before he left a curse: "I shall become the very history and memory of Septimont. So long as fear lingers in your hearts, I shall return."
- Rover: (The power to command the Dark Tide's creations... Only a Harbinger could do that.)
- Rover: (That Discord Slayer said she's hunting a Harbinger to stop a greater calamity. If that's true, then everything happening across Ragunna might be tied to the Harbinger.)
- Rover: (She pulled me from the illusion. If she's the cause of this chaos, why help me?)
- Rover: (This isn't making sense. Harbinger... who are you, really?)
- Avidius: Rover, traces of the Dark Tide's frequency still linger where the Paradimensional Tacet Field collapsed.
- Avidius: The Anchor Stone is useless now. The signal is blocked by some sort of spatial layer.
- Rover: Augusta said the Dark Tide spoke to her when it swallowed her whole. Maybe... I can learn something that way.
- Rover: My telepathic ability should give me a way in.
- Avidius: Telepathy? Your Grace is versed in many arts. I don't doubt your abilities, but this is the Dark Tide. Reckless contact could—
- Avidius: I don't want to see... another tragedy like what befell Septimont.
- Let me at least try.
- It's just a meeting of minds.
- I won't make direct contact.
- Rover: We're falling behind. The Discord Slayer knows far more than we do. We need to find her, and fast.
- Rover: I'm not letting any leads slip past us.
- (Use telepathy on the Dark Tide)
- Distorted Whispers: ......
- Rover: I can't see anything... I'm only getting jumbled voices.
- Rover: Focus. I should be able to hear something.
- ???: Okay, everybody listen. Don't panic. Take the lift. It will bring you to safety...
- ???: The prototype Echoes in the depositories... Activate them all...
- Rover: Those voices... Zani and Carlotta?
- Rover: They're in Averardo Vault. The Dark Tide creations could be appearing there.
- Avidius: It's currently sheltering a large number of civilians...
- Rover: Let's not waste time. We leave now.
- (Head to Averardo Vault)
- (Talk to Carlotta)
- Carlotta: Zani, status of the evacuation?
- Zani: Eighty percent of Ragunna's residents have been relocated.
- Zani: But... the Troupe of Fools hit a storm while ferrying people from the Riccioli Islands. Rough seas out there.
- Carlotta: Trust them to see it through.
- Montelli Member: Miss Carlotta! We've cleared the depositories as ordered. Ready to receive incoming supplies.
- Carlotta: Good. Rinascita's greatest treasure has always been the people who built it. The next Cloudpuffer Express is due at any moment. Be ready to offload.
- Montelli Member: Understood, ma'am!
- Carlotta: Rover.
- Anything unusual happening here?
- Carlotta: If you mean the incident in Ragunna... You've likely already heard. A hoard of Tacet Discords has overrun the city, and Common Echoes are out of control...
- Zani: Evacuation here is still on track. No anomalies detected in Averardo Vault… yet.
- Zani: Your assistance is appreciated, Sir Avidius. The residents from Egla Town have all been accounted for.
- Avidius: I am simply fulfilling my duty.
- Rover: (Strange... I clearly sensed the Dark Tide's presence around here. So why does everything seem normal?)
- BANG—!
- Zani: Gunfire. We've got intruders.
- ???: These Tidespawn... They've evolved fast. Mutation? Or...
- ???: And sure enough...
- Zani: Entering a restricted zone armed, without triggering a single alarm...
- Carlotta: Be careful. Her abilities... are not normal.
- Avidius: ...All this? By her hand?
- All this in broad daylight? Brazen.
- Let's not jump to conclusions just yet.
- ???: Fiction and reality are starting to blur. Don't put your faith in appearances.
- ???: That... is what they really are.
- Avidius: The Dark Tide can corrupt, and you carry its power. What proof do we have this isn't your doing?
- ???: You don't. Believe whatever you want.
- ???: By the sacred statues of the Divinity, evil shall know no peace. Only the righteous may taste eternity. Wickedness shall be purged by the blade, and those who consort with calamity shall fall...
- Fenrico: Galbrena, demon wrought from ruin! You are not welcome here.
- Rover: (Fenrico...? Why would he be here?)
- Fenrico: You have slaughtered my flock and ushered in ruin. The Sentinel's wrath is already upon you. I will cast you back into damnation myself before your carnage spreads any further.
- Fenrico: You should be howling in the Styx's depths, your soul aflame in the pit's cruelest fire... forever.
- Galbrena: If you're offering me a shortcut back to hell, I'd honestly appreciate the favor.
- Fenrico: Your heart holds no reverence for the Divine. Only... desecration and scorn.
- Fenrico: Demon, your sins are ripe for judgment. By the Highest Will's command, I shall strike down all that you have wrought. Justice shall be done!
- Rover: (She could've dodged that... but she took the hit to shield a civilian?)
- Rover: (And Fenrico... he knew innocents were here, but didn't hold back at all...)
- Fenrico: Righteous One, I come to cleanse Rinascita of a traitorous demon and avenge the blood debts of my people. Why raise your blade against me?
- Fenrico: Rinascita teeters on the edge of collapse. Now, more than ever, we must uphold the tenets of Unity and Salvation.
- Fenrico: The path to deliverance lies within the Civilization Capsule. Entrust it to me. By the authority bestowed upon me, I will open... the gates to the divine Paradise.
- You shouldn't be here, Fenrico.
- I never told you about the Civilization Capsule.
- They might not know, but I do. You're the Harbinger.
- Rover: Unless... You're not Fenrico at all. You... Who are you? What do you want?
- Fenrico: ...Bloodshed cannot be avoided. Blood must pay for blood. The path born of injustice must be fortified with further transgressions.
- Fenrico: My goal is pure. Singular. All I've done, I've done so Rinascita survives the Divine reckoning and rises as a land free from sorrow.
- Fenrico: No understanding is needed. Only faith. When all hope seems lost, I... no, we are the beginning and the end. The absolution. And the grace.
- Fenrico: Hand over the Civilization Capsule.
- Galbrena: ...So the Civilization Capsule is your goal after all. Lost your patience, have you?
- Fenrico: Death is the fruit of transgression. To resist it is to defy the will of the Divinity.
- Galbrena: You? You and your Divinity cannot end me...
- Galbrena: And these Dark Tide shams... Today, you face your reckoning.
- Fenrico: I am the Enlightened One, anointed by the Divinity and crowned by Fate itself.
- Galbrena: Huh, so you're the "core" of these abominations. Took long enough to hunt you down. Still pretending that mask isn't cracked?
- Fenrico: Mocked by fate, whispering poison, a demon reviled by all! You wield the Dark Tide's power, yet you dare judge me?
- Galbrena: It's too bad I'm not the one judging. If the Dark Tide's power isn't enough to convince... How about we try this?
- Galbrena: "The Envoys declare the guilt, but Imperator is the only true judge…"
- Galbrena: By the Light of Imperator... REPENT!
- Avidius: It's... the Light of Genesis?
- Galbrena: Looks like the judgment is clear.
- Galbrena: These hollow existences don't need your mercy.
- Galbrena: Protect the Civilization Capsule. That's what they're really after.
- (Defeat the Tidespawn)
- Zani: How were they able to disguise themselves as humans?
- Avidius: I've never heard of any possessing such abilities...
- Carlotta: Their fangs are bared now. Don't hesitate. Let's end them all.
- Galbrena: The one mimicking the Primus is the heart. Take it down, and the rest will collapse with it.
- Zani: It's calling in more of them... We'll need to clear the rabble while waiting for our shot.
- Alpha Tidespawn: That which cometh from the sea... Shall walk upon the land...
- Alpha Tidespawn: It shall work great wonders and mark the flesh of Its faithful...
- Alpha Tidespawn: All who have ears to hear... Let them hear...
- (cutscene plays)
- ??? (False Sovereign): Avidius, you have received the blessing of my Master. Serve... your true Divinity.
- Avidius: I shall never...
- Avidius: Back down!
- Avidius: Rover, now!
- (Explore the Civilization Capsule)
- Rover: Another dimension... within the Civilization Capsule.
- Rover: But why does it open up now? Was it when Avidius and I made contact?
- ???: Arbiter...
- Rover: Is that Imperator's voice? Imperator... do you have more to tell me?
- Imperator: Permissions detected—Arbiter.
- Imperator: Lifting imposed restrictions...
- Imperator: First Instance initiated. All probabilistic futures now revealed...
- Imperator: Outcome verified. Blueprint compiled. Advancing to Phase Two.
- Imperator: Commencing simulation. Attempting civilization fit: Rinascita...
- Imperator: Arbiter. This moment was always foreseen. Now, it comes to pass...
- Imperator... is that really you?
- Imperator: Arbiter, I grieve to say... I am but a message, set to activate in response to the presence of an Initiator.
- Imperator: Time, in this place, flows near still. A moment remains for us to speak.
- Imperator: When I merged with Leviathan, It seized a fragment of my mind... and with it, a trace of my power to separate.
- Imperator: I knew not the fullness of Its design. As a safeguard, I split elements of my core data into this space... the Civilization Capsule.
- Imperator: It records the origin and birth of the Rinascitan civilization, preserving their most ancient memories.
- Imperator: Once, we drafted the first Blueprint for these seaborne kin. Now, I have entombed it here.
- Imperator: Arbiter, heed me now... let me unveil... Rinascita's beginnings...
- (cutscene plays)
- Imperator: In the beginning...
- Imperator: Life rose and fell with the tide
- Imperator: The displaced and wandering
- Imperator: did follow My guidance
- Imperator: They journeyed unto the archipelago
- Imperator: There, I did leave Knowledge and Technology
- Imperator: that they might walk the path to freedom
- Devout Citizen: Your light blesses us...
- Praying Villager: We follow Your will...
- Admiring Villager: To build our republic...
- Imperator: "Unity"
- Imperator: became the bedrock of civilization
- Imperator: But Leviathan seized upon mankind's "longing for Unity"
- Imperator: to manifest the civilization's shadow
- Imperator: It spoke in My name
- Imperator: Wrought false miracles
- Imperator: Forged hollow grace
- Imperator: Feeding on stagnant, obedient minds
- Confused Villager: We are blessed by the sea...
- Deranged Villager: By You, we are "unified"
- Deranged Villager: By You, we are "born"
- Delirious Villager: From the sea we came
- Delirious Villager: and to the sea we shall return
- Imperator: From the founding of civilization
- Imperator: It had invaded their spirit and beliefs
- Imperator: I rose against it
- Imperator: Only to unleash the Dark Tide
- Imperator: It scarred Rinascita beyond measure
- Imperator: I... began to question
- Imperator: all I had done
- Imperator: The Threnodian doth steer Rinascita's fate
- Imperator: and I too, once guided Rinascita's course
- Imperator: In truth... We were no different
- Imperator: We both sought to mold civilization after Our own will
- Imperator: Those who truly walked the land
- Imperator: were never granted the right to choose
- Imperator: Civilizations are bound with Threnodians
- Imperator: No eternal solution doth exist
- Imperator: Have I the right...
- Imperator: to choose their fate?
- Imperator: The shaping of a civilization
- Imperator: must belong to its people
- (cutscene ends)
- Imperator: Only the people can decide where their future must lead.
- Imperator: What followed, thou already knowest. I allowed the Threnodian to exist. I chose coexistence, using Myself to shackle It. I partook of Its blight, that I might comprehend It.
- Imperator: Once, I did seek thy counsel. Thou granted me... the freedom to choose.
- I would do the same thing again.
- You've done more than enough. Let me handle the rest.
- Rover: I just have one question... Why did the Civilization Capsule need the Threnodian's power to open?
- Imperator: When Leviathan and I were one, I split a sliver of Its frequency... a "memory." That memory I sealed here.
- Imperator: The Capsule was ever meant for thy hands. My design was that it should open only in the presence of thou and the Resonator bearing both My power and that of Leviathan.
- Rover: What if... that Resonator became the Threnodian's puppet?
- Imperator: If that came to pass, then Rinascita hath already fallen. And the truth within this Capsule would cease to matter.
- Imperator: But if she standeth with humanity, then this truth is hers to know. And thine.
- Imperator: Leviathan was born from the dark side of mankind's "longing for Unity." Their fear of the sea shaped Its likeness as a great sea creature.
- Imperator: Even at civilization's dawn, It had already tainted mankind's hearts. A primeval shadow lurking within the soul.
- Imperator: The opening of the Capsule shall stir the Rinascitans' oldest memories. Leviathan shall seek, through the Blueprint we created, to lay claim to Rinascita's fate anew.
- Imperator: If the Rinascitans... wouldst walk a path "free of Divinity," they must face their past and "the most primeval fear." They must overcome the "shadow born of civilization."
- Imperator: Arbiter... the hour of farewell hath come. Go now. Gather every last hope... If all unfoldeth as it should, Rinascita shall be free of Divinity henceforth.
- Imperator: When the shadows of the soul are at last dispelled, Rinascita shall welcome a true dawn. And humanity... shall have a future beyond any I could foresee.
- ???: The true faithful believed in Imperator. So too did Imperator believe in humanity.
- (Draw your sword.)
- (Keep your sword sheathed.)
- Rover: You killed the Blessed Maiden before my eyes. Ragunna's disasters are tied to your actions... Now, tell me what I need to know.
- Galbrena: ...If I told you I acted to save Cartethyia, would you believe me?
- Galbrena: This place is protected by Imperator. For now, Leviathan can't hear us. This... is for you.
- Cartethyia's Frequency: Rover, trust her. And trust me... Everything we've done... is to... defeat... Leviathan...
- Rover: That is her frequency...
- Galbrena: I need you to accept this. Cartethyia is "dead," but she may still "return." For that to happen... we need to kill Leviathan.
- Rover: Kill Leviathan? Didn't she absorb It when they merged?
- Galbrena: Now... Leviathan is on the verge of "rebirth."
- Galbrena: It stole some of the Sentinel's power. During your battle with the Blessed Maiden, It split off a trace of Its frequency and hid it in a Gem. I'm sure you've seen it.
- Galbrena: That Gem ended up in the Fractsidus's hands. Their whole play in Rinascita? Use it to bring back Leviathan.
- It's always that group of lunatics.
- I didn't think Leviathan would be that insidious...
- Rover: So the Fractsidus has been incubating the Threnodian... How long has this been going on?
- Galbrena: Perhaps longer than we can imagine. Even your clash with Cartethyia may have been scripted. A setup to give Leviathan a shot at slipping the Sentinel.
- Rover: You know about that? Just who are you, Discord Slayer? I can't imagine Cartethyia keeping something that important from me.
- Galbrena: Think of me as what I am... an avenger hunting Leviathan. As for the rest...
- Galbrena: The next Harbinger of the Dark Tide has surfaced. Until we find him or her... we keep this quiet to avoid the worst-case scenario.
- Galbrena: Our first priority is to find them. If we don't, the Dark Tide can overwhelm Ragunna again at any moment.
- Rover: You're saying this Harbinger is behind all the Dark Tide creations we're seeing?
- Galbrena: Not all. The Harbinger resonates with Rinasicta's darkest emotions. Those emotions act as Anchors, pulling horror into form and speeding the tidespawn.
- Galbrena: If the emotion is strong enough, and the Harbinger is near... Those things "evolve." They feed off the Harbinger's thoughts and memories to become more real. Some even start to look... human.
- Galbrena: You've noticed it. The Tidespawn in Ragunna are starting to mimic us. Which means...
- The Harbinger is in Ragunna.
- We may be close to the Harbinger.
- Galbrena: Exactly. I've always hunted the Dark Tide's creations—each one shares slivers of thought and memory. I kill them, and I take what they know.
- Galbrena: They've been watching you. They want the Civilization Capsule. So... I followed you. Tracked your movements, figured if I stayed close, sooner or later I'd find the Tidespawn's "core." Maybe even the Harbinger.
- Galbrena: The Capsule only unlocks with both the Sentinel and Threnodian's power, and it opened the moment you and that Gladiator touched it, so...
- Rover: You think it's Avidius? But you carry the Dark Tide's power too...
- Galbrena: Caution is a virtue in a hunter. You're right. The Dark Tide is in me... But Leviathan stopped counting me among the living a long time ago.
- Galbrena: And this power... It's mine now. Who I turn it against is my choice.
- Galbrena: You're welcome to try and stop me. But me? I'm not stopping this hunt any time soon.
- Galbrena: When calamity strikes, I trust... you'll know exactly where to point your blade.
- I'll trust you for now.
- I trust Cartethyia's judgement.
- Galbrena: Heh... good. Then hunt with me. Until we give Leviathan a death worth talking about. Loud, messy, unforgettable.
- Galbrena: The Sentinel's frequency is gone. I guess the time for talking is over. Leviathan's power is spreading, and this space is about to collapse. We need to find a way out.
- (Defeat the Tidespawn)
- Rover: These things... They're all Tidespawn.
- Galbrena: The Civilization Capsule was tainted by the Dark Tide. That's how I got in... followed the corruption straight through.
- Rover: So you can enter the Dark Tide. No wonder we couldn't find you.
- Galbrena: Yes, but the frequencies there are chaotic. I locked onto yours and followed it through the storm.
- Galbrena: You have access to core data. But Avidius, he might've been swept into the frequency vortex. Hard to say where he's landed.
- Galbrena: We need to move fast to find him. Figure out who he really is before the next wave of Tidespawn hits.
- (Escape the Civilization Capsule)
- Galbrena: The exit is at the end of this wind trail. Stay on it.
- Galbrena: The collapse is accelerating. Our way out is closing fast...
- Galbrena: Faster. We're almost there...
- Carlotta: Rover! Good... looks like you haven't run into too much trouble.
- How long was I gone?
- What happened when I was gone?
- Carlotta: It hasn't been long since you disappeared into the rift. Once that thing masquerading as Fenrico was slain, the other Tidespawn didn't last.
- Zani: That was the last one. With the family's Private Echo arsenal backing us up, we held the line just fine.
- Carlotta: Surely you didn't think we'd fall apart without you? We Ragunnesi are made of sterner stuff than that. We handled those creatures just fine.
- Galbrena: This Feilian Beringal... When the "core" was destroyed, the other Tidespawn lost their form. For now, the Vault is secure. At least until the next wave spawns.
- Galbrena: I'd set up Order Terminals around the perimeter though. They'll detect humanoid mimics and prevent new Tidespawn from forming here.
- Carlotta: Might I ask...
- She's an ally for now.
- You can trust her.
- Galbrena: Where's that Gladiator from Septimont?
- Zani: Sir Avidius made it out of the rift before you.
- Zani: But... he didn't look great. Kept muttering about needing to "stop the crisis," then off he went, like a man on fire.
- We need to track him down.
- That one really knows how to pick his moments...
- Galbrena: ...Give me your hand.
- Galbrena: I left a mark on Avidius during our fight earlier. With Balor's power, I can tap into his sight. We'll find his trail.
- Avidius: I must... move quickly...
- Avidius: Silence, you maddening whispers!
- Avidius: No... I'll be damned before I accept a fate like that...
- Avidius: There must be something left I can still do...
- Avidius: I won't let the same tragedy... happen twice...
- Rover: ...He's headed for Thessaleo Fells.
- Carlotta: We've lost contact with Cantarella. The Beacon on her end appears to have been destroyed.
- Zani: Dark clouds are gathering over Thessaleo Fells... Something is definitely wrong.
- The two of us will go reinforce her.
- You stay and protect the civilians here.
- Carlotta: ...Very well. We'll hold the line. Zani, call in the family's transport Echoes. We'll assist Rover where we can.
- Galbrena: Don't complicate things. Put those Echoes toward supply runs instead.
- Galbrena: Stay close. We're taking the sky route.
- (Head to Thessaleo Fells)
- Rover: Manipulating the air to form a wind trail... Is that your Resonance Ability?
- Galbrena: One of them. I have the Tacet Discord Harpyia within me.
- Rover: Not an Echo, but a Tacet Discord itself... So you can absorb them directly?
- Galbrena: You can say that. Balor is one of many.
- Rover: One of many... Now I'm really curious about you and your abilities.
- Galbrena: If we live through this, maybe I'll tell you. But right now...
- Rover: We need to find the Harbinger. Do you know how we can identify them?
- Galbrena: First things first, they'll be corrupted by the Dark Tide. But the signs aren't always so visible.
- Galbrena: We'll have to look for associated side effects, and prepare for what they might bring.
- Galbrena: We've entered Thessaleo Fells. I can already sense the Tidespawn up ahead...
- Rover: That's... a Fisalia member! We need to help him!
- (Defeat the Tidespawn)
- Fisalia Member: Ah, it's Rover! Thank the Sentinel!
- Rover: What happened here?
- Fisalia Member: Dark Tide creations swarmed without warning. We were overrun before we could—
- Galbrena: Move aside. We'll clean up.
- Fisalia Member: Thank you! Lady Cantarella is still on the frontlines fighting. Would you please help to reinforce her position?
- (Find Cantarella)
- Gilberto: It's too late, my Lady... My mind... can't be fixed. Save your potions for those who still have hope...
- Gilberto: I only beg... don't let me die a monster. Don't let me become Leviathan's puppet...
- Gilberto: GhhhaaAAAAGH—! I see it... The End Times... Paradise... descending at last! AHAHAHAHA!
- Cantarella: Rover... She is... Why are you with her?
- Trust me. I'll explain later.
- Let's handle the crisis first, and I'll explain later.
- Galbrena: ...The Fisalia bloodline's ties with Leviathan run too deep. Their ancient fears were the first to be awakened.
- Galbrena: This is the true horror of the evolved Dark Tide. It feeds on human despair, warping that frequency to form Tidespawn.
- Galbrena: Your family's "antidote" can still cure those lightly infected. But for those whose corruption runs deep, like him... Their frequencies cannot be reversed.
- Galbrena: All we can offer is the dignity of dying as a human.
- Gilberto: My Lady... don't let me burden... those who still have hope...
- Galbrena: Matriarch of Fisalia, I understand the cruelty of such a choice. If you cannot strike the final blow... allow me.
- Cantarella: ...Fisalia blood must be ended by Fisalia hands.
- Gilberto: Thank you... May glory return to the Fisalias...
- Gilberto...
- Cantarella...
- Cantarella: The dead rest. The living march forward... The Fisalia will never forget its fallen sons and daughters.
- Cantarella: Cartethyia remains secure in the Fisalia estate. But the Divinity's statue began whispering in our minds... Then came the Tidespawn soon after.
- Cantarella: It was Leviathan's voice. Something has... awakened It.
- Galbrena: It's very likely Avidius. Right now, everything is riding on us finding him.
- Cantarella: That Septimontian Gladiator... Our scouts saw him advancing into the depths of Thessaleo Fells.
- Phoebe: Lady Cantarella! Rover! Reinforcements have arrived!
- Phoebe: Thessaleo Fells... It's already... Attention! Deploy all Acolytes to set up temporary Resonance Beacons. Scattering the Light of Genesis will hold back the Tidespawn!
- Resolute Acolyte: Acolyte Phoebe! A cluster of Tidespawn is marching toward the depths of Thessaleo Fells！
- Galbrena: Rover, Avidius is our mission.
- Cantarella: I'll use my Forte to diffuse the family's antidote. It should help to mitigate the Dark Tide's influence.
- Phoebe: We'll triage the wounded and fortify this position. The Order's Acolytes will clear a path for you. Please, you have to stop this!
- Resolute Acolyte: Whether the Sentinel comes or not, we are Their will made flesh! We protect Rinascita!
- Fearless Acolyte: O Light of Genesis, shield us! As we were at the dawn, so we stand today as the Sentinel's soldiers!
- (Find Avidius)
- Galbrena: The Order's Acolytes are holding off the other Tidespawn. This is our chance to go straight for the source.
- (Optional - Talk to Despairing Fisalia Member)
- Despairing Fisalia Member: It has returned... Just as before...
- Despairing Fisalia Member: We can't... we can't defeat it...
- Believe in the strength of humanity.
- There's nothing we can't overcome in this world.
- That's what Levianthan wants you to think.
- Despairing Fisalia Member: You are... I know you... Yes, you've defeated It before!
- Despairing Fisalia Member: The whispers... the whispers disappeared once. I heard what you did in Jinzhou. You helped them drive away the Threnodian there...
- Despairing Fisalia Member: Yes, Threnodians are powerful, terrifying even... B-but not invincible.
- Despairing Fisalia Member: You're right. Now is not the time to give up...
- (Optional - Talk to Despondant Fisalia Member)
- Despondant Fisalia Member: Damn it... Is this all I can do? Just stand here... and watch my friends die in front of me?
- Despondant Fisalia Member: ...(Rover), thank you. Truly. But... if I may, can I ask you something?
- Despondant Fisalia Member: I understand why they chose to resist the Threnodian, even if it meant death. But after everything I've seen... Tell me, how do you carry on in the face of so much loss?
- Despondant Fisalia Member: What keeps you going? What is it that... What is it that you hold onto?
- I mourn their sacrifice too, but...
- To honor their sacrifice, we have to keep fighting.
- To build a world without sacrifice, we have to keep fighting.
- Despondant Fisalia Member: So that's what you believe... Thank you for sharing that.
- Despondant Fisalia Member: You're right... My friends wouldn't want to see me like this, so hopeless and defeated...
- Despondant Fisalia Member: Even if I'm dragged into the Dark Tide itself... I'll make damn sure I tear a piece out of the Threnodian first!
- Avidius: Ah... it's you...
- Avidius: Forgive me... that you have to see me like this...
- What happened to you, Avidius?
- Why has Thessaleo Fells become like this?
- Avidius: When the Civilization Capsule opened, I was dragged inside. A black frequency took hold of me. Swallowed me whole.
- Avidius: I saw Rinascita's beginnings, and the memories of... so many of its people.
- Avidius: I saw him too—Caligula. His face was like mine... He was my past, and the future I am meant to inherit...
- Galbrena: ...Leviathan used the Dark Tide's frequency to force those memories into him.
- You said you'd become the master of your destiny!
- No one gets to decide who you are!
- Avidius: Yes, I once said... that I would write my own story... define my own "existence"...
- Avidius: But after I left that space, I suddenly felt the Tidespawn's movements. They were converging on Thessaleo Fells. I still wanted... to do something, anything, to stop the devastation.
- Avidius: But once again, I stepped blindly into the churning river of Chaos. The Fisalia's oldest memories awoke ahead of time. Because of me...
- Avidius: Countless Tidespawn emerged in my wake. I tried to drive them back, but I... overestimated myself... and was corrupted by them.
- Avidius: My hopes and dreams... all of it was real. So why? Why did it all come to this?
- Avidius: From Septimont to Ragunna, the blame lies with me. Perhaps this is the fate I could never outrun. Caligula's fate... It's calling to me!
- Galbrena: Damn it. His mind is being consumed by Caligula's memories.
- Avidius: This is the role Fate wrote for me. Fate decrees I become the Mad King. So why... why should I reject its crown?
- Avidius: I am the one who glimpsed "Fate" itself... And now, I will reveal it to the world...
- Avidius: But who can truly know the mind of Fate... That is why I will become it. I will wear its face... that foolish, divine mask no mortal can comprehend.
- The Mad King: Caligula (Avidius): I am the King... bearer of extraordinary power, risen from the dark tides. I shall quiet the waters and still the tempest...
- The Mad King: Caligula (Avidius): I shall be crowned in glory... with the blood of the old king.
- (Defeat the Mad King: Caligula)
- Rover: Avidius...
- The Mad King: Caligula (Avidius): Unwritten One, I have no need for your pity.
- The Mad King: Caligula (Avidius): From the deepest dark, I rise against your purest light. Let us see which is worthy of a true ruler.
- Galbrena: If you believe he was once an honorable Gladiator...
- Galbrena: Then fight him. Make him remember who he truly is.
- The Mad King: Caligula (Avidius): I can write my own fate. And rewrite theirs.
- The Mad King: Caligula (Avidius): I can quench their hunger... Or ignite their fury.
- The Mad King: Caligula (Avidius): I will tear down this wretched, false world... and ride the only Truth that endures for eternity... Death.
- (Caligula's HP reaches 50%)
- The Mad King: Caligula (Avidius): I once scorned the weakness of others. Now I see... My own heart trembles just the same. How pitiful...
- Rover: …His attacks are slowing!
- Galbrena: His will is stirring within the Dark Tide. Don't let up!
- Galbrena: Your memories. Your emotions... They weren't all lies. Reach for them. Find what was your Truth.
- (Defeat the Mad King: Caligula)
- Rover: Avidius! Remember who you are. Remember the man you wanted to become!
- The Mad King: Caligula (Avidius): I am... human. Not one of these monsters...
- The Mad King: Caligula (Avidius): This will be... my final glory...
- Rover: Avidius! Remember who you are. Remember the man you wanted to become...
- The Dark Tide's "Whispers": Fate lies within the Dark Tide. No one escapes the net it casts.
- The Dark Tide's "Whispers": Wield the Dark Tide's power... And it will consume you in turn.
- The Dark Tide's "Whispers": Come back... Come back to us.
- Avidius: I am... nothing like you...
- The Dark Tide's "Whispers": Heh. You... How do you plan to resist us?
- Avidius: There must be a way...
- Avidius: That girl... Was she devoured by the Tide too?
- Avidius: Wait! If you keep going, the Dark Tide will swallow you completely!
- Girl Who Fell Into The Dark Tide: I know... the Dark Tide devours everything. Assimilates everything. If I can't escape it... then I'll use it...
- Girl Who Fell Into The Dark Tide: It's already flowing inside of me... So why can't I turn it against them? Why can't I... be the one who devours them?
- Girl Who Fell Into The Dark Tide: These "false frequencies" need me to "survive." If this power... doesn't want to listen to me...
- Girl Who Fell Into The Dark Tide: Then I'll show it who's the real boss.
- Girl Who Fell Into The Dark Tide: Fate... It may be loud, but I don't think it's that strong. I... don't believe in it.
- Avidius: A memory left behind in the Dark Tide...?
- Avidius: She's right... In this war against Fate...
- Avidius: I still have a move to make.
- (cutscene plays)
- Avidius: I want it to be a story that gives people hope.
- Avidius: By my spear, I vow to protect my allies...
- Avidius: And crush... the hearts of the evil.
- Avidius: I will absorb all of the Tidespawn...
- Avidius: Kill me, and the calamity ends here.
- Rover: Avidius!
- Avidius: There's no time, Rover.
- Avidius: Discord Slayer, I saw your past in the Tide. I know what you seek to do...
- Avidius: Take my power... And finish it.
- Avidius: That too is my wish.
- Galbrena: I promise I will.
- Galbrena: Give me all your bitterness.
- Galbrena: We will... make them pay.
- ??? (Cristoforo): Pathetic as he was, in his final moments...
- ??? (Cristoforo): He outran his fate.
- ??? (Cristoforo): Now, why greet our reunion with animosity?
- ??? (Cristoforo): Before the tides of fate, we are all but… players on a stage.
- (Talk to Cristoforo)
- Cristoforo: A truly moving scene. A pitiful, doomed soul struggling to reclaim his fate in the final hour.
- Cristoforo: ...Alas, his script was written long ago. In this scene, he was always fated to exit.
- The Quillbearer finally takes the stage.
- Avidius was your creation.
- Cristoforo: A lie told often enough becomes the truth. Weave memory, history, experience, and you can craft a man who "exists in the minds of others."
- Cristoforo: But to become truly "real"... that path was still far off. I merely gave him form, a mask of flesh and blood, fit to walk the world.
- Cristoforo: In the end, the breath that could give him life... was his alone.
- Cristoforo: Oh, a being born of lies, grasping for meaning in a world that offers none! Such a pursuit demands the courage to question the meaning of one's existence. Yes, it demands pain...
- As creators go, you're rather heartless.
- Have you no compassion for your creation?
- Cristoforo: Did you not see? I did. His intentions, his ambitions, his darkness, his weakness... To lay a soul bare is not always an act of cruelty.
- Cristoforo: Humanity is Fate's plaything. I simply showed them the strings. I lit the fire, the hunger that might ignite their free will.
- Cristoforo: Through contradictions and conflicts, pain brings metamorphosis. Tragedy breeds transcendence. Only then may a soul rise beyond itself... and touch the gates of "immortality."
- Cristoforo: Should you still insist on my cruelty... well, high praise indeed. At the very least, it proves this story has stirred your pity and fervor. That alone earns you the right to read through to the final act.
- Cristoforo: Go then. To Septimont. The curtain is drawing. There, I shall rewrite Rinascita's fate... with the Dark Tide as my ink.
- Cristoforo: Will you suffer in silence beneath Fate's poisoned arrows, or rise to defy this world's endless trials? I, too, await your final answer.
- Galbrena: You brought ruin to Rinascita. You think you're just walking away?
- Cristoforo: My stage lies elsewhere. In this scene, I am but a herald.
- Cristoforo: But since you're so eager, I'll leave you with one final clue. I've never had much fondness for overwrought dramatic irony.
- Cristoforo: The Dark Tide has already tainted the Civilization Capsule. It no longer requires the Threnodian's authority to be opened… Just a single drop of the Tide's nectar will suffice.
- Cristoforo: So tell me, how could an existence born of the Dark Tide ever serve as its "Anchor of Reality"?
- Cristoforo: Be forewarned. When dark waters recede, the truth beneath the surface... shall come to light.
- I hope you understood what he meant.
- Wait, so Avidius wasn't the Harbinger?
- Galbrena: The Harbinger of the Dark Tide is the Anchor of Reality of all Tidespawn. That means it must be a real, existing person.
- Galbrena: When I was absorbing the Tidespawn, I felt it. Avidius was also born of the Dark Tide.
- Rover: Then why didn't the "Light of Imperator" reveal his true form?
- Galbrena: Because his intentions and words were real. He may not have shone as brightly as the sun, but in walking beneath its light, he still caught its glow.
- Galbrena: And that unshakable resolve not to become a pawn of the darkness, even unto death... That created his own Truth.
- Galbrena: That's why he played right into the Quillbearer's hands. A scapegoat, the perfect "sacrifice" to bury the truth. All his noble wishes were twisted. Such cruel irony can rot for all I care...
- He still stopped Ragunna from falling to the Dark Tide.
- He still succeeded in changing his fate.
- That playwright is the true culprit.
- Rover: Avidius shouldn't have had to bear such a fate... I will carry on his fight. I'll keep writing the story he believed in, the story that gives people hope.
- Galbrena: Yes. As he wished... we must stop the greater tragedy that's coming.
- Galbrena: Let's return to Cantarella and check on the wounded. If Avidius wasn't the Harbinger, that means we missed something...
- (Return to Cantarella)
- Galbrena: The Tidespawn have fully retreated. The situation around Thessaleo Fells is improving.
- Galbrena: Seems like the Order has already transported most of the wounded to Averardo Vault.
- Galbrena: But... as for the rest... the scars Leviathan left on their minds still need time to heal.
- (Talk to the scared little girl)
- Scared Girl: I... I'm so scared...
- Everything's okay, don't worry.
- Scared Girl: Ah, it's you, the great hero Rover!
- Scared Girl: Cantarella told me stories about you. She said you're just like the heroes in the adventure tales. Brave and determined...
- Scared Girl: ...But... You can't save everyone...
- Cartethyia?: Don't go... Don't leave... Don't abandon us...
- Rover: ...Cartethyia?
- Cartethyia?: Mortals need salvation... Mortals need unity...
- Cartethyia?: Righteous One... open the ascendant gates for me...
- Galbrena: This world doesn't belong to you, Leviathan.
- Galbrena: Chimera!
- Galbrena: How are you feeling, Rover?
- Cantarella: Stand down.
- Cantarella: I said, stand down. Fall back.
- Panicked Fisalia Member: But, Lady Cantarella, we all saw it… just now—
- Cantarella: Enough. I told you to stand down. You've withstood the "whispers" before. Will you forget your loyalty to your comrades in the face of fear?
- Panicked Fisalia Member: I'm sorry, Lady Cantarella... and Rover. We... We lost our composure...
- Cantarella: Leviathan is a master at finding the cracks in one's spirit to tear it asunder. Go do what you must. I'll handle this.
- What just happened...?
- Galbrena: Certain emotions between you and the others resonated. Your Tacet Mark opened a "portal," pulling you into another illusion.
- Galbrena: That "portal" fed on your presence to spread malice and fear... But before it could fully take shape, I broke into your illusion and shut it down.
- Rover: I saw Fenrico, Mya, and Cartethyia... They all passed through that gate. What exactly lies beyond it?
- Galbrena: That's the realm Leviathan created. The Journeying Paradise.
- If those gates opened because of me...
- Then does that mean-
- Galbrena: Avidius was Cristoforo's decoy. He planted that decoy in Septimont for years... When the waters recede, the truth shall come to light...
- Galbrena: Rover... you are the new Harbinger of the Dark Tide.
Gallery[]
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name |
|---|---|
 English | The Bygone Shall Always Return |
 Chinese (S) | 已逝的必将归来 |
 Chinese (T) | 已逝的必將歸來 |
 Japanese | 去りしものの帰還 |
 Korean | 지나간 것은 언젠가 돌아올테니 |
 French | Le passé revient toujours |
 German | Das Vergangene wird zurückkehren |
 Spanish | Lo pasado siempre regresará |
Change History[]
Released in Version 2.7
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