Cruel Automata (Quest)

← The Bulla's Requiem

Chapter Navigation

Appendix →

This article is about the Main Scenario chapter. For the dungeon boss, see Cruel Automata.

**Cruel Automata** is a part of Chapter 3.

## Summary

The Protagonist and Aria come to Argene, controlled by the Seaslight Order, to examine the Winter Seaslight, but they are not allowed in the cave without a special flower called the Flos-Indulgetnia. They are interrupted by the presence of Brakka, who opposes the Order and has been sneaking in and out of the cave, with the Order having no success in capturing him. After a brief encounter with Brakka, they head to the temple to get a Flos-Indulgentia, but they too are denied entry. Shrika, the Order's "Seraph Child" and adoptive daughter of the Patriach, instructs them to see her adoptive brother Thersites (aka Sites), but he refuses to help them due to his issues towards outsiders. They decide to ask Brakka for help in getting to the Seaslight without the Order knowing and they find him in a secret room in the inn, having bribed the innkeeper into keeping quiet of his whereabouts. He agrees to help them in exchange for a fee, and takes them through a secret tunnel that the Order is unaware of. They are eventually caught trespassing in the Seaslight cave by two members and Shrika (who saves them from some monsters), but Brakka escapes. After the two are arrested, the Order explains the crimes that the duo did not commit, with Shirka unsuccessfully trying to defend them. The Patriach has them sentenced to death and locked in a cell. After an argument with the jailer, Brakka returns, knocks him out, and frees them. Returning to his hideout, an earthquake occurs and after seeing some people desperate to get a Flos-Indulgetnia, Brakka tells them to come back on a different day. When the duo later return, many of Argene's residents and members of the Order all have mysteriously vanish. Shrika and Sites find the duo and instead of arresting them a second time, they explain everything to them, also revealing that the Seaslight cave is now restricted to even Shirka, which Sites deems suspicious. When they recall the secret tunnel and ask for them to join forces, Shrika agrees, but Sites is unwilling to because he is a loner. Shirka is disappointed that her adoptive brother does not want to help, but she is forced to let it go as she does not want to waste time and they go to get help from Brakka. He at first thinks they're selling him out, but when they explain the situation, he believes this to be the work of the Patriarch. Shrika is skeptical as he was her and Sites's adoptive father as he had taken them in when they were orphans. However, she does not let her doubts stop her and still wishes to help. At one point, they come across a field of Flos-Indulgentia within the cave, to which Shrika explains their purpose in the Order, but Brakka explains that the flowers are not what they seem, but decides not to to tell them just yet. They also learn that those who do not have the flower are still in town. They also find the Oracle that the Order worships, which is revealed to be an automaton from Aria's time. After Aria explains its ability to predict the future, they see that the Oracle is nothing more than a hoax. After reaching the Seaslight, they discover the Patriarch along with the unconscious villagers and Order members. The Patriarch reveals himself to be Kierkegaard, a man-eating monster called a Hallowed, and that the Flos-Indulgentia are actually used for mind controlling the villagers and Order members. It is revealed that Kierkegaard attacked Brakka's home town years ago and later came across the Order, which he manipulated into becoming the Patriarch, and was just using Shrika and Sites as tools for his plans to devour the villagers, but spared them because of their unique powers in hopes that they will keep unknowingly helping him. Shirka's role as the "Seraph Child" was also just a ruse for his plans. At first finding it difficult to accept the truth, she ends her allegiance with her adoptive father and the group proceed to fight him. After defeating him, he tries to trick Shirka, but Brakka warns her at the last second, so she plays along and then strikes him down. Back outside, the Protagonist and Aria learn that the villagers and members of the Order are back to normal now that the Flos-Indulgentia has disappeared and the duo are allowed access to the temple and Seaslight without any restriction in graduate of saving the town, but Shrika requests that they don't cause too much trouble, as they do not want the townsfolk to know about the automaton and has limited access to the cave to Order members only. The aftermath of Kierkegaard's actions has caused the Order to fall into disarray and Shirka is struggling to fix things up. Shrika also decides to join the Protagonist on their mission, but they discover that Brakka is gone, with Aria wondering what he is up to now. Brakka confronts Kierkegaard in the cave, who survived, and after failing to get information out of him about Amadeus, another Hallowed, he kills him with a weapon that can harm the Hallowed. Geist later expresses his disappointment in Kierkegaard's failure and destroys the Oracle.