Murals of the Gods

4-4 Murals of the Gods is the fourth leg of the main quest in the Dead Dunes in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, where the objective is to view the three murals extolling the mythos of the gods behind the creation of the world. Fang tags along as an uncontrollable and unkillable guest. To get to the mural rooms, the player needs tablets collected from shrines around the Dead Dunes desert areas. After viewing all murals, the player gets a key to open the door leading to the holy clavis.
==Quest log==
;Entry 1
:Three murals depicting events of the crystal legends are the key to unsealing the door to the clavis chamber. Only those who have seen the three murals and know the deeds of the gods may pass through the Sacred Gate and into the presence of the holy treasure.Each mural is displayed in its own gallery, located in different parts of the ruins. Lightning must visit each one in turn.
;Entry 2
:As Lightning and Fang explore the ruins, Fang speaks more about the past. She talks of the time that she and Vanille spent in the crystal pillar, holding Cocoon aloft in the sky. Five long centuries they kept mankind safe. Surely, that was atonement enough.
:But she still feels the remorse—and so does Vanille, even more keenly. Remorse for the countless lives that were lost on account of choices the made. Remorse that seemingly can never be assuaged...
;Entry 3
:The holy clavis is in a chamber beyond the sealed Sacred Gate. By inspecting the murals in the ruins, Lightning can collect fragments of a special crux that, when assembled, should break the seal.
:Certain tablets are needed to view the murals. There are three Shrines of the Tablet in the desert—Lightning's task is to explore each one, recover the tablets, view the murals, and obtain the three fragments of the crux.
;Entry 4
:Once Lightning has assembled all the pieces of the crux, she will be able to break the seal that holds the Sacred Gate shut tight. To do that, she must use a third tablet from the Shrines of the Tablet to view one more mural and recover the final crux fragment.
;Entry 5
:When Lightning sets eyes on the final mural, she understands what the Order is trying to do. They hope to use the clavis in a special ritual called the Soulsong.The Soulsong will summon the souls of the dead to the clavis, and Vanille herself will perform it. It is a role she has willingly embraced—but Fang does not appear to agree with her choice.
==Walkthrough==
Turning back from the sealed door, and running back through the Temple Ruins, there was a split earlier that Fang asked Lightning to ignore. Taking a right at the Chamber of Flame and following a winding path, the party will appear in the Sacred Grove. There is a Pilgrim's Crux nearby that can be used on the wall ahead to open a path to the south of Ruffian.
Returning to the Sacred Grove, in the room to the left as coming back down, there is a room with an archaeologist. North, there is another a Pilgrim's Crux and a quest with a robot, "The Life of a Machine". South is a long hallway. Heading to the hallway and walking partway down, there are two rooms, the other being behind a time door. The first one holds a Pilgrim's Crux. The party should register the time door and inside is a Study of the Savage, as well as yet another Pilgrim's Crux.
Turning north at the end of the hallway, there is a device that opens the door the party just passed. This northbound hallway leads to a Twilight Gallery that has a mural, but it requires a tablet to open. The party will need to track down three tablets to view the three murals. The player can continue further into the ruins, but there is not much point if the party lack the tablets.
The Shrines of the Tablet are scattered all over the Dead Dunes. In Grave of the Colossi, north of Ruffian, there is a set of ruins near the cactuar waystone. Inside, there is a Bandit's Bloodseal by the entrance, and once inside, using a Pilgrim's Crux opens the way. (If the party lacks Pilgrim's Cruxes, they can be bought from a man in Ruffian's main building.) There is a Tablet at the bottom, and the party will have to kill a number of Skeletons on the way back out.
Atomos's Sands is north of Ruffian. The shrine is built into the base of fal'Cie Atomos's resting place, and and there is a teleport stone outside. Down the entrance, and to the left, there is some Bhakti's Oil, and near the bottom there is a Pretty Orb in the antechamber before the Tablet's chamber.
The Dry Floodlands cover the west of the desert, and are connected to Atomos's Sands. The shrine is southwest of the Oasis Lighthouse built against the left of two clumps of rock. There is a teleport stone beside it. The shrine's larger chamber has a Bhakti's Oil and a sphere containing a Pain Dampener on the way back out.
With the three Tablets, it is time to return to the Temple Ruins. Heading to the room north of the red device the party used earlier, inserting a Tablet activates the mural and the party receives the Crux Body. Going through the door with the red markings to the west, and following the path there, leads to room to the right that is protected by a Gurangatch. Defeating it and going through the passage finds a Collector Catalog. Jumping down into an adjacent room finds a ladder, a monument for a time door, and a Pilgrim's Crux. There is a pit down right below this point, but Lightning can just take the ladder up if she fell too far down. Going up the ladder next to where the Pilgrim's Crux was leads to the Golden Chamber. The party can also go past the earlier Gurangatch and reach the same general area.
Golden Chamber is large and complex. The party enters a cross-shaped area and following the path along the upper wall past some bars in the west, the party should hop down a level. There is a treasure sphere containing a Demon Claw weapon for Lightning. Entering the adjacent room to the west, and hopping through the hole in the room north, the party comes to a room with a dead tree in the middle. The party must head south, then east through the first time door. There is an Earth Eater guarding a door ahead. Defeating it leads to the lower levels of the complex, but it does not lead to a mural. The party should head north and there is a cactuar waystone. Heading east one chamber, there is a Thorn of Speed accessory near the ladder leading back upstairs.
The party must reach a chamber two rooms south of the cactuar waystone. The player can either head east, go back upstairs and sweep around via the central corridor to reach it, or move through the southern time doors on the lower level. Once inside, Lightning can trigger the device to open the door in the eastern corridor. Running through the adjacent room east, and climbing up to the treasure sphere on the crates, finds a Satin Scrunchie accessory. Besides this is a Pilgrim's Crux, and beside that a route to the opened door. North of the door with red markings is a treasure sphere for Poison Lv. 2.
The party winds up in a larger room that has a Pilgrim's Crux. Ahead is a door opened by the Crux and beyond is a teleport stone. Past here is a path up to the desert. Heading east leads to Path of the Dead. Ahead, there is a split and taking a right locates the second mural chamber, Gallery of Creation, resulting in Crux Tip.
Heading back out and continuing north, at the end of the passage there is a Pilgrim's Crux, and a red gate that cannot be opened yet. Returning to the teleport stone located earlier, the party can teleport to the Sacred Gate. At the Sacred Gate the way ahead still is not open, but the door beside it is. Going through locates the final mural at the Gallery of Forgetfulness and the Crux Base; it will turn into a Saint's Crux.
Category:Quests in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII