Skits/Main

M: More like the other way around. We have her to thank for all the crash-boom-bang.
S: That lightning... That was Gramps, wasn’t it.
M: Yeah. It’s a warning to invaders: Not one more step.
S: ... Sorry, Gramps. I can’t just leave someone who needs help.
M: Heh... This is turning into an eventful day for once.

M: We’ve had quite a bounty of discoveries today.
S: If I’m not mistaken, that stone is a lot newer than the surrounding ruins.
M: Yeah, it’s from a completely different age.
S: It read like advice of some sort.
M: Most likely it’s a guidepost left by previous visitors to aid fellow travelers.
S: So we’re not the only ones who go around investigating ruins!
M: Humans have terms for them. Things like "adventurer" or "explorer."
S: Explorers...

M: I think this is beyond the capabilities of human technology.
S: So like, the bridge alone might date from the Era of the Gods?
M: Possibly, but either way... They definitely had assistance, whether from a seraphim like me or someone else.
S: They really didn’t want anyone to reach the other side.
M: The path ahead leads to Elysia. It stands to reason that they’d do what they can to protect the Pureland.
S: In the past, any pilgrims who showed up at the shrine probably thought the gap was simply uncrossable.
M: Same we did until just minutes ago.

M: I think this is beyond the capabilities of human technology.
S: So like, the bridge alone might date from the Era of the Gods?
M: Possibly. But either way... They definitely had assistance, whether from seraphim like me or someone else.
S: They really didn’t want anyone to reach the other side.
M: The path ahead leads to Elysia. It stands to reason that they’d do what they can to protect the Pureland.
S: In the past, any pilgrims who showed up at the shrine probably thought the gap was simply uncrossable.
M: Same as we did until just minutes ago. But good job picking up on that. Your intuition is always impressive.
S: Oh yeah?
M: For its rarity.
S: There we go. I knew it was too good to be true.

S: Hahaha! What, like in fairy tales? You’re something else.
A: Don’t go near it! There’s no telling how dangerous untamed beasts like those are.
S: Aw, don’t worry, we’re friends! Uh, well mostly. They did kick me four or five times when I was little.
A: You’re... "friends"?
S: Yup! Sometimes they give me milk, and I make cheese and yogurt with everyone.
A: The mark of true friendship.
S: Yeah, it’s the best!

Which school are you from?
S: Which school?
A: Yes. Isn’t there a name signifying the style? Your swordmaster’s name, perhaps.
S: Hmmmm...I guess mine would have to be the "prickleboar school"!
A: Prickleboar school?
S: For me, it was food. For prickleboars, it was survival. Everyday, me and them, a never ending life-or-death struggle.
A: You really are a child of nature, aren’t you.
S: But it was those days that taught me how to fight. There’s no better teacher—no more exacting taskmaster—than the humble prickleboar!
A: Thus, prickleboar school.
S: You got it!
But I guess I should say "tuskmaster".
A: Heh.

M: Definitely a change from Gramps’ blessed domain.
S: Alisha said the world below is full of malevolence. Can you feel it at all?
M: I don’t get that impression, personally.
S: Me neither! I mean, it’s so pastoral!
M: Well, don’t judge a book by its cover, as they say. But for now, at least we get a nice view.
S: It’s your first time here, too, isn’t it? Whaddaya say, are you pumped?
M: Pumped? Well, mildly inflated, at least.

M: That’s because we’ve left the forest. Our adventure officially starts here.
S: First off, we need to find Alisha and let her know she’s being targeted. And then we’ll take down that fox guy!
M: It’s best we avoid confrontation with hellions as much as possible.
S: But–
M: I want to avenge Mason just as much as you do. But we’re just a seraph and a human, neither of us with any power to purify malevolence. Never mind defeating him—whether we could even drive him off by ourselves is iffy.
S: And we can’t rely on Gramps’ assistance anymore. You’re right, Mikleo.

M: Hmm. I’m guessing a type of Parnassius, though I don’t know the exact species.
S: I’ve never seen one like this!
M: Of course. In the land below, there are tons of different types of plants and animals. Way more than Elysia.
S: A whole world filled with things I don’t know about?! That sounds intense...ly awesome!
M: Don’t forget, it also means more hellions.
S: Oh right, hellions... Gramps said that once malevolence takes hold, anything could turn into a hellion. So even this butterfly...?
M: If malevolence settles in, probably.
S: Brr... Gives me shivers just thinking about it.
M: Sounds about right. Let’s all be careful.

M: Grinding wheat, threshing grain, making yarn... A whole bunch of uses, really.
With so many humans living here, they probably rely heavily on larger-scale machines like this.
Huh?!
S: I wonder when this dates from. The foundation looks pretty old, but the wheel itself looks new enough...
M: Sorey.
S: Huh?
M: This water has been affected by malevolence.
S: What?!
M: It flows throughout the town before it gets here. So it seems what Gramps told us is true.
S: It’s humans who are creating the malevolence.

M: You can tell the Shepherd myth is a big part of the culture here. Strange, though... There’s no sense of blessing at all.
S: Now that you mention it, we could always feel Gramps’ blessing back in Elysia.
M: Granted. Gramps is a particularly powerful seraph, but even so... This town has a high concentration of malevolence. It’s honestly making me a little sick.
S: You gonna be okay?
M: For now, at least, I’m starting to think it’d be a bad idea to stay too long, though. This place has even more hellions than we imagined.
S: And such a pretty town...
M: Probably part and parcel of life in human cities.

M: You can tell the Shepherd myth is a big part of the culture here. Strange, though... There’s no sense of blessing at all.
S: Now that you mention it, we could always feel Gramps’ blessing back in Elysia.
M: Granted, Gramps is a particularly powerful seraph, but even so... This town has a high concentration of malevolence. It’s honestly making me a little sick.
S: You gonna be okay?
M: For now, at least, I’m starting to think it’d be a bead idea to stay too long, though. This place has even more hellions that we imagined.
S: They’re wandering around right there in front of us... And yet we can’t do a thing!
M: I’m as frustrated as you are, but our hands are tied. We don’t have the power of purification. Besides, there’s a reason for the hellion manifestations. They’re feeding on the evil in people’s hearts.
S: And in such a pretty town...
M: Probably part and parcel of life in human cities.

M: But going up against the source of all malevolence, this "Lord of Calamity"... That’s a huge responsibility to take on all at once.
S: You sound like you just heard about it. Didn’t you talk to Lailah at all while I was zonked out?
M: Nope.
L: I tried to bring it up, but he insisted on waiting until you woke up. He spent the whole time with his nose in his books instead.
S: What? Why?
M: It was more efficient for Lailah this way, that’s all.
S: But still, you sat around reading for three days straight? You could have gone out to explore the city some more.
M: What does it matter?! I was worn out from the battle anyway, and—and I just had stuff I wanted to read, okay?
S: Heh. It’s okay. You’ve always been this way. Like when I got hurt and couldn’t go exploring for two weeks, you waited the whole time rather than go without me.
L: You’re so conscientious, Mikleo.
S: Yeah. It’s really okay. I wouldn’t mind if you went and had a little fun of your own.
M: Seriously, I’m fine, they were good books and I wanted to read them. Sheesh...
S: I know, I know.
L: Hehehe.

M: Yeah. A quality inn and a quality restaurant, all in one. Smart combination there. I have a feeling we’re going to be regular customers.
L: Mikleo, do you eat?
S: Hah! Sometimes he even breathes!
M: What she means is, that seraphim don’t actually have to eat to survive.
S: What?! But you, Gramps, everyone back in Elysia ate food all the time...
M: Gramps said that it was because we wanted you to experience life like a human.
S: Oh. I...I didn’t know...
M: But even without that, I eat because food tastes good.
L: Seraphims still have all the same taste buds as humans. Many of us wind up enjoying food simply for the rich sensory experience. Especially those who are close to humans.
S: How about you, Lailah?
L: I...I used to, long ago...
S: And why don’t you eat with us?
M: Yeah, that sounds great. After all, we’ve got a long journey ahead of us.
L: Very well. If you don’t mind, I’d be happy to join you.

M: What? You want to go back already?
S: No way! Our journey’s just starting!
M: Hah! Pick one, will you?
L: Did... Did the two of you come from Elysia?
S: Yup. That’s our hometown.
M: Oh, you know it? It’s a village of seraphim at the top of a mountain.
L: I-I do...
S: It’s a swell place. I’ll show it to you sometime.
M: So you do want to go home.
S: I do not! Though I do think we have some things we might want to explain to Gramps...
M: Hope you’re ready for the thundering of your life.
S: O-Of my death, more likely…
L: The twists of fate are strange indeed…

L: Yes, though this occurred long, long ago.
S: Is the symbol of the Shepherd a sword?
L: No. Why do you think so?
S: I saw a mural once depicting the ancient hero raising up a sword in the ruins of Elysia. And, heck, you were lurking in the sword this whole time, waiting for the Shepherd.
L: Heh. Well, not all Shepherds wielded a sword in battle. The Shepherd’s sword is like a manifestation of the people’s hopes to cut through calamity and malevolence and open a path to a brighter future.
S: A symbol of hope...And this sword...
L: Your sword does look a bit strange.
S: It’s probably a ceremonial sword. I found it in the ruins.
L: So that’s why there isn’t a blade.
S: It’s just for self-defense. It’s useful for, like, training with Mikleo.
L: I see...A sword that does not cause unnecessary pain.
S: Though I dunno how easy it’ll be to cut a path to the future with this.
L: Sorey, this sword is merely a representation. What you do with it, what you slay with it. To understand the truth behind it all is the key.
S: Got it...I’ll search for the answer.

L: Yes. The havoc you see in the weather and people’s emotions alike all stem from the influence of the hellions.
S: The Lord of Calamity creates malevolence and hellions. And the Shepherd’s role is to stop him from doing that.
A: As is that of the Squire, correct?
L: I already told Sorey much the same, but this is something I want you to determine for yourself. What you want to do with the world, with the humans, with the malevolence. I’d like you to make your own decisions based on your honest and forthright heart, rather than having them imposed on you by "destiny."
A: But is it acceptable to express myself that openly? I’m merely a Squire…
L: A Squire is not a Shepherd’s subordinate, but one who provides help to him. There’ no need to hold back.
S: Yup. I’m gonna need all the help I can get.
A: Okay! Then, if something is on my mind– Count on me to say it!
L: How inspiring!
S: Inspiring, but… Alisha, you kinda, uh, grazed me.
A: I-I’m so sorry! I was in the moment.

A: Yes. But still…
L: Is something the matter?
A: Not really. I’m just amazed all over again that seraphim really, truly exist. Talking to you like this– it’s like a dream come true.
S: Alisha grew up reading the Celestial Record like me. She always wanted to meet a seraph.
L: I too am glad that we are able to talk like this.
A: And I suppose that means that Sorey’s family was actually there that whole time…
L: That whole time?
A: I was searching for the Origin Village in the past when I stumbled across Sorey’s hometown. He graciously introduced me to his family, but at the time, I thought the was just being peculiar. I fear I may have been rude.
L: I see. So you were looking for the Origin Village.
S: Don’t worry about it. Everyone there is super-nice.
A: That means a lot to me. Thank you. I hope I can meet Mikleo soon as well.
S: Yeah… Me too.

S: Ooohh! Show me! Umm… "Don’t walk off with relics and other junk you find in the ruins, okay? And no breaking stuff! On the other hand, treasure chests are fair game, so go nuts!"
L: Very lighthearted, these ancients.
A: I’m not so sure. The distinction between academic research and crass loot can be very fine indeed… Perhaps their buried message is, "Contemplate always the true intent of your actions"?
L: Now you’re taking it too far in the other direction!
S: Nothing is wrong with interpreting it that way, but I’m thinking this might just be a joke the ancients left for us.
A: Indeed. Ruins are made by people just like us, so it only makes sense for them to reflect human nature. Quite profound.
L: That’s what we like about you, Alisha, your… uh, sincerity.

M: Oh, right. You spent all those years living in the Sacred Blade. This must be your first time out and about in a long while.
L: Indeed. And is this your first long journey?
M: Yeah, for both me and Sorey. It’s a relief to have companions on the road. I’m looking forward to working with you as the Sub Lord.
L: My pleasure. Dependable comrades are to be cherished.
M: I’m glad that you two joined up with us, especially Alisha. Sorey’s always been a lone human among seraphim. It’s a blessing to have her around.
L: He seems like he was brought up with a lot of love, regardless of his surroundings.
M: I won’t deny that. But I also have no doubt there are things only humans can understand, that only humans can see, and he missed out on all of that…
L: Mikleo…
M: Uh, please don’t tell Sorey I said anything.
L: Of course. It will remain a secret between the Prime and the Sub Lord.

L: The "Lady of the Lake" is a traditional myth of the people of Ladylake—hence the name.
A: Yes. "Who cleanses our sins with the sacred blade? Who walks with the mist over the lake? Who vanquishes evil with flames of black? Who sings in the moonlight and comforts the lost souls in the dead of night? The Lady of the Lake." goes the story.
S: Whoa, Lailah, you can walk on water?
L: Hardly! I weigh at least more than that.
M: That thing Alisha recited sounded like it might be several myths combined into one.
L: I would imagine so. The legend was already present when I first arrived in this city.
S: So wait, does that mean the Lady of the Lake was a different Seraph?
L: Yes. But she was absent, so I accepted the Sacred Blade as my vessel.
M: So as to wait for the Shepherd, right?
L: As you saw at the ruins in the waterway, Ladylake has a long history of involvement with the Shepherd.
A: Weren’t you lonely all by yourself this whole time?
L: Not especially. When I got that way, I would distract myself by singing or listening to people’s problems.
A: That’s just like the legend!
M: Huh. I would bet that humans with high resonance were able to sense that.
S: And blended those tales with the earlier myths to form the current legend. We’re seeing history get passed down before our very eyes…

S: You’re really getting into it.
A: I ought to be! The blessing has returned to Ladylake. But now the problem lies in maintaining it. We will need to do all we can.
L: That’s very true. The blessing is preserved only through daily attention.
S: Okay. We’ll make sure we don’t neglect our offerings either.
M: Right. Reinforcing the blessing will probably make it easier for us in the long run.
A: I wonder if he would enjoy rice balls? Like in that book?
S: Your offering is rice balls?
M: I don’t recall that being part of the Celestial Record.
A: Oh, no! It was from a picture book. A little girl chased after her rolling rice ball and wound up meeting a seraph. That was one of my favorite stories, growing up, and just thought…
S: Hahaha, I should’ve known. Sounds like your kinda book.
L: I have no doubt he will appreciate it. It’s not often you get a rice ball packed with authentic emotion.
A: I hope so.

M: Just what you’d expect from a royal palace. Quite a collection of rare and valuable tomes.
S: Lots that deal with history and ancient relics, too. Rrrrggh, I just wanna sit and read 'em all.
L: Oh my, this book has an interesting title.
S: "Mad Screams of Love." A poetry book, maybe?
M: Let’s check it out.
S: Gahh, careful, it’s gonna look like the book’s floating in midair!
M: Don’t worry. Alisha’ll hand wave it away for us somehow.
S: Oh, for… Here, gimme. I’ll hold it.
M: Wow… mad is right.
L: An ode to young passions! A lonely voice, screaming love and anguish to the heavens!
M: You just know the author’s gonna look back at this ten years later and cringe. Angsty doesn’t even begin to cover it.
L: So that’s what’s so "mad" about it!
S: Really? It all sounds pretty good to me.
M: Sorey, I think that’s because you’re so…
L: So inherently enthusiastic.
S: You guys okay? You look kinda, uh, mad.

S: I sure feel a lot of malevolence.
M: I wonder who was kept down here?
A: Whoever they were, no doubt they left their hatred here. Hatred against the royal family…
S: You shouldn’t feel personally responsible.
A: I’m fine. Let’s just look for a way out.
L: Some of the cells are opened. Let’s be careful.

S: Hmm?
A: I don’t know how to say this, but… I’m truly sorry.
S: Don’t worry about it.
A: But I really had no idea they would go that far. I’m sure you would have been fine, but still…
S: No. If you hadn’t shown up, I’m pretty sure Bartlow and the others would be all dead now.
A: I imagine you think it foolish of me, to protect those who tried to have me killed. But this is how the game is played. If they were suddenly eliminated, the resulting chaos would spiral out of control. So…
S: So it came down to country first, Alisha second. Am I right?
A: Oh dear, I came to apologize, and here I am airing my grievances at you.
S: Worry not, fair Squire. This too is the Shepherd’s duty!
A: Then you have my thanks, noble Shepherd. If my humble self may be of service in any respect, do not hesitate to ask.
S: Then can you do me a favor?
A: Of course.
S: Could you apologize to the soldiers for me… Let 'em know I’m sorry for hitting them.
A: I’ll make sure to do so. I’m sure they already know quite well that you let them off easy.
M: Yeesh, I can hardly stand to listen to those two.
L: But we did, anyway.
M: Well, we didn’t overhear them on purpose!
L: You’re worried, aren’t you?
M: Sorey tends to… shoulder a heavier burden than he needs to. That’s all.

M: You mean those assassins?
S: Yeah. From what I could sense, they’re practically hellion-class.
M: They’re still just regular humans, aren’t they?
S: I think so.
L: Hmm…
S: But why aren’t they hellions?
L: Well… Maybe they’re good people?
A: Good people? They’re the most feared assassin’s guild on the continent!
M: You know about the Scattered Bones?
A: Scarcely a soul doesn’t. No one’s seen their faces and lived to tell the tale, so this is all just conjecture…But rumor holds that they’ve been involved in close to a hundred assassinations. Nobility, military officers, underworld bosses… I always thought them just a colorful urban myth, but…
S: Giving their fighting skills, I’d say they’re the real deal.
L: And yet it is in fact they were not hellions.
A: Do you think there’s a reason for this?
L: That I could not say.
S: A reason they don’t turn into hellions…
M: Please don’t tell me you want to hunt them down and ask.
S: Who knows? We might meet 'em again whether we like it or not.
M: Boy, lucky us.

M: Good. Better than them expecting too much of him. Besides, I’m sure Sorey has bigger things on his mind right now.
L: Like fixing the bridge, you mean?
S: Yeah. I can’t believe how little progress has been made.
M: I guess Marlind is going to be quarantined for a little while longer.
S: I want to do something to help them.
L: ...

M: Yeah, I can see why they call it "Spiritcrest." But still… Dragons?
S: Probably just a story some bard made up.
L: Certainly the last time I was here, there was never any sign of one.
S: You mean on your journey with the previous Shepherd?
L: Hey, uh, let’s play a game! Pick a number, one through ten. Got you! It was twelve!
M: She’s off the rails.
S: Heh heh… Must be that pesky oath of hers again.
L: Anyway! If there really were a dragon there, we wouldn’t stand a chance against it!
S: So, what, if we run into one, we better hightail it out of there?
M: Hopefully we don’t run into one at all.

S: I kinda want to ask her about that guy just now…
L: He’s always just so… blasé!
M: I also want to ask about that strange item he had…
L: And what nerve, being so scantily clad in front of a lady like that!
M: Maybe now’s not a good time to bother her.
S: Good call.

L: I imagine the dragon legend keeps people away, so there isn’t much a chance for malevolence to accumulate.
M: There’s some sort of shrine as well. Seraphim DO live here.
S: Maybe all that talk about a dragon on the mountain was started intentionally by humans who were trying to protect this shrine.
M: Hmm. Well, even if that’s true, it doesn’t look like it was very effective. Look at this. Someone left flowers. Proof that people ventured all the way up here.
S: A shrine, and yet no seraphim in sight.
M: It is a bit curious. A seraph doesn’t usually wander far from the shrine where he’s worshipped.
S: Could the dragon have gotten him?
L: Who can say? But if there really were a dragon here, I would expect far more malevolence in this area…
M: We have to move on and find out.
S: Yeah.

M: Mikleo! Not "waterboy."
E: Mikleo Notwaterboy? That’s a new one.
M: Call me what you like, see if I care.
E: OK, Meebo.
M: It’s Mikleo, all right?! Mikleo!
E: If you say so.
L: Well, I see who runs this household.
E: Yup.
M: Whoa, what? Since when was this a household?!
S: Can you guys not practice your comedy routines inside my head?

S: Sure, what’s up?
E: You’re being targeted by assassins, right?
S: Sure looks like it.
E: Did you cause someone to have a grudge with you? Like that un-malevolent assassin?
S: Hmm, not that I can recall.
E: So you have no recollection of it but somehow you are targeted by an un-malevolent assassin who has a seraph dwelling in them?
S: Well I mean, I think it’s just because I’m the Shepherd.
E: Because you’re the Shepherd, huh? So you were somehow targeted by an assassin who somehow isn’t affected by malevolence which somehow possessed a seraph which didn’t turn into a hellion. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
S: W-Well, I’m glad you understand.
E: So basically you’re totally clueless here.
S: Pretty much.

Incredible… I suppose even a raging river is no trouble for a Shepherd.
L: But you should still avoid using your powers in front of other people.
S: Yeah, you’re probably right.
E: She is. If earth-dwellers are there to freak out every time like this one does, I may slit my wrists.
A: Seraph Edna… I deeply regret my transgression.
E: Yeah, you ought to.
And we’re already on a first name basis even though we just met? You’re awfully rude, you know that?
A: Please forgive me…
E: If you’re sorry, then do the normincarena as penance.
A: The nor… What now?
E: You don’t know it?! How disrespectful.
A: Please forgive me…
E: If you’re sorry, then do the normincarena as penance.
M: Edna, don’t infinite-loop the Squire!
Lailah! You understand that Edna is toying with Alisha, don’t you? Do something!
L: Sorry, I just thought… Maybe if they had a chance to talk together, they might, you know, become friends!
M: Alisha, this is just how Edna is. You can’t take anything she says seriously.
E: Spoken like a true Meebo.
A: What’s a Meebo?
E: You don’t know? Then do the–
S: Okay, enough!

L: Yes. It used to be a vessel of some sort.
S: Used to be, huh.
M: Long ago, there were any minor shrines like these for spreading the blessings of the seraphim.
L: Indeed. It used to be there were throngs of people offering prayers.
S: The numbers might’ve dropped some, but there’s definitively still people who pray to the seraphim. Oh yeah, like, remember the shrine at Edna’s mountain? Someone left flowers there, right?
E: That was me.
S: Huh?
E: That shrine is a stand-in for a grave. A grave for all the humans my brother’s killed.
S: Oh… I didn’t know…
E: I don’t need any sympathy. It’s the humans’s own fault, anyway. You hear about a dragon, you wander over to check it out, you get gobbled up. Simple as that.
S: …

E: It’s just a squirrel.
A: Don’t you see? The fluffiness of the tail… It must be the Falkewin squirrel. A rare sight indeed!
E: Calm down.
A: But look! It’s so fluffy-poofy-adoraboofy! Don’t tell me you’re not moved by its precious little face!
E: I’m not. Unlike you, I don’t feel a need to oooh and coo over cute things to make others think I’m cute as well.
A: Wh-What?! No, th-that’s not at all–
E: SSSSSHHH. You’ll frighten poor poofy away.
A: You’re right. My apologies.
E: If you’re truly sorry, do the squirrelcarena for me. The fluffy version.
A: There’s a squirrelcarena?! There’s a fluffy version?!
L: Poor Alisha. She’s so easy to toy with.
M: Should we leave them like this?
A: Understood, Ms. Edna! Please teach me the squirrelcarena! I wish to master this "fluffy version!"
E: Are you sure? My training is very strict.
A: I’m up for the challenge!
L: I think it’s all right. They look like they’re having fun!
M: True enough.

L: It is a city rich in history, is it not? I believe even the Celestial Record mentioned it.
S: Yeah. I always wanted to visit. "Marlind, the city of knowledge nestled amongst the holy trees. Their shining branches are as a beacon unto the fruit of knowledge and the flower of aesthetics."
M: "There walks this continent no true scholar, no true artist who did not once frolic in its sylvan depths."
E: Well, the fruit looks pretty rotten right now, if you ask me.
M: Pretty sure no one did.
A: Even so, she’s right.
S: Maybe so… But flowers will always bloom again in springtime, and bear their fruit in autumn!
L: Indeed. The cycle will never end so long as there remains passion for knowledge and beauty.
S: Right?
M: Very true. History has proven as such.
E: I think you have flowers in your head or something.
A: Don’t you like flowers, Edna?
E: I mean, they’re fine. The pretty ones, at least.

E: Looks like it.
M: I don’t want to assume that the entire world is like this, but…
E: I think there a quite a lot of seraphim who are less than fond of humans.
S: Can it really be that hard for humans and seraphim to coexist peacefully again?
E: Do you really think that could happen? Must be nice living in a fantasy world.
M: It isn’t necessarily just a fantasy.
E: But look at the reality.
S: I understand that it may be difficult to achieve, sure. But in reality, there was a time like that in the past.
M: There are records in the ruins and in the Celestial Record.
E: When is this "past" you’re referring to?
S: Long, long ago. But even now, there are seraphim like you, Edna.
E: Huh?
M: And we’ve figured out that we could bring back the blessing as well.
S: Yup. I think this is a step towards coexistence with the seraphim and humans. I’ll be counting on you, Edna.
E: Selfish as ever. That’s why I can’t stand humans.
M: Get used to it.
E: Selfish types everywhere, jeez.

A: You can tell from his expression that he must have been a great warrior.
E: A fine man. I would like to see his entire body.
A: Oh! But… But wouldn’t he be…
L: More or less naked?
E: That’s what makes him attractive. In an aesthetic sense.
A: W-Well, it’s true that the perfectly toned body of a warrior may be aesthetically pleasing, but…
L: Alisha! Unladylike!
A: No! I only meant it as a generalization. I really have no personal interest in that sort of thing!
E: Not at all, huh?
A: I-I mean, not much– just enough– the, uh, normal amount…
M: Wow, settle down. It’s just a statue.
S: Seriously. Though it’s true that King Claudin epitomizes the warrior ideal.
M: Hold on, this is King Meliodas, right? Not King Claudin.
S: What? But then it wouldn’t match with the style at all.
M: Yes, because this bust was carved as a speculation on the style of future generations.
S: I think your interpretation is a bit far-fetched.
M: Well, I think you’re trapped in stereotypical views.
S: All right, look, let’s drop our preconceptions and start over, then. Can we identify the subject? What features stand out?
E: Wow, settle down. It’s just a statue.
La & A: Seriously.

S: There are flowers blooming in the great tree!
M: "Marlind, the Scholarly City of the Holy Great Tree."
S: "At the treetop bloom the fruits of knowledge and art."
M: As with these flowers, may the culture of education and art likewise blossom again.
S: Yeah!
E: How noble.
S: Achoo! Ugh… I hope I’m not allergic to knowledge!
E: It’s probably just pollen.

M: Uh, duh. I’ve been here a while now.
S: Why aren’t you saying anything? It’s not like you and I need to hold back on what we say.
M: Yeah. We aren’t like that, right?
S: Of course.
M: I’m gonna go to sleep.
S: Sorry about all this.
M: You mean, good night.

E: Not as much as their faces, though.
L: Yes. The normin’s ability to assist is quite helpful. And each one has different capabilities.
E: They all look the same though.
S: Its abilities change from combining them in different ways, right?
E: They have bad attitudes. Even though they’re normin.
L: Yes. There should be increasing numbers of normin which you could combine to make new effects.
E: Normin x Normin = Normin Hell
S: You sure have it in for the normin, Edna.
E: Not really. Just a bone or two to pick. By which I mean 77 confrontations, 108 complaints, and 32 appeals. That’s all.
S: Sounds… complicated.

A: It seems people form bonds in more ways than I realized.
E: Their logic makes sense, though. If you buy their premises in the first place.
L: Those who give themselves completely to what they believe in are all the more pure for doing so.
M: It’s true that I felt no malevolence from them.
A: You mean, malevolence doesn’t spring merely from the distinction between right and wrong?
M: Even a villain might not bear any malevolence… Specifically BECAUSE they believe so thoroughly in their villainy.
S: Man, this malevolence stuff is tricky business!
L: Well, be assured at least that it’s a very good thing you’re so concerned about it!
A: I think it’s good, too, Sorey.
E: Though it’s a fine line between "pure" and "naive."
M: Can’t argue with you there.
S: Ahh, this is making my brain hurt!

M: This forest was a ruin too.
S: We haven’t found a ruin yet that wasn’t crawling with hellions. The malevolence really is widespread.
L: I’m sorry.
M: … It tears me up inside, seeing all these ruins defiled. But if we purify the hellions while we explore the ruins, isn’t that like two birds with one stone? Think about how jealous of our adventures literally every other historian and archaeologist will be.
S: You’re such a sweet, simple soul, you know that?
M: Huh?!
S: You’re right. Fretting over this won’t get us any closer to our answers. We should all take a page out of Mikleo’s book and laugh at our worries.
L: And if SOREY thinks you’re happy-go-lucky…

L: Yes. The centuries may pass, but here at least the scenery is ever the same.
M: People lose their humanity here.
E: You’re more right than you think. The fools people call "heroes" or whatever are mostly just hellions.
L: There’s no place more ideal for breeding malevolence and passing it on to humans than a battlefield.
M: And yet, those who make a name for themselves there are "heroes", huh? "Hellions" would really fit them better.
E: There was, let’s see… Dindrance, the general of a hundred victories. King Meliodas, who united the continent long ago.
M: Yeah, those are definitely names that’ll come up in history books.
S: And King Claudin, who ended the Era of Darkness? What about him?
L: He’s… different. I’m told Claudin was in fact a Shepherd, actually.
S: Oh really? Shepherds and hellions… They’ve always been with us. I just didn’t know it.

L: They’re all such good people!
S: Yeah.
E: Though it looks like that Rose chick has a problem with acknowledging us.
L: And she has so much to offer, too.
S: It doesn’t seem like she’s able to sense the malevolence either.
M: Maybe Rose can’t see the seraphim because she herself denies their existence.

M: We were there, you just couldn’t sense us. But I saw everything. I was by your side the whole time.
E: It’s okay, Mikleo. Anyone would cry when their best friend ignores them.
M: I did not cry!

S: No, it can’t be. The numbers don’t match. But it does look like relics of Dragonism.
M: Taking the era into account, it might be logical to assume that the Dragonist religion originates from that legend.
R: I can understand the whole deity-worship thing, I guess, but why the dragons?
E: Beings of incomprehensible power. Symbols of awe-inspiring terror. Humans probably hoped that praise to such an entity would help them somehow.
S: Oh, shoot…
R: I’ve been all over, but I’ve never so much as seen a dragon’s footprints. Oh! Though I bet that thunder we heard at Rayfalke is enough to inspire dragon-legends.
E: That’s because that one was real.
R: Haha, sure!
E: You can go there and verify for yourself. You would probably die, though.
R: What?
S: We, uh… We met a dragon at Rayfalke…
M: It was, uh, Edna’s brother.
R: Wait. Isn’t Edna a seraph?
D: Yup. A dragon is what you get when a seraph accumulates too much malevolence.
R: …
E: It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize. I agree with you that praying to a dragon is a stupid idea.

R: Who knows? I remember the Rolance Army falling apart…
D: Immediately afterwards, Hyland also lost their general and retreated. I’d say it was a draw.
R: You were there, too?
D: I like to watch.
R: I see.
S: So my actions directly affected the course of battle.
M: It’s like what Lailah said before.
S: Would Alisha and Lucas be all right?
M: Lucas would probably be okay. But as for Alisha… We’ll just have to trust Hyland.
S: I guess so.
M: In any case, we did what we needed to do.
S: That’s right!
R: Come to think of it, you guys split up with Princess Alisha, right?
S: Yeah, in Marlind.
M: Alisha has her own dreams to pursue, too.
R: So what, does that make me a replacement?
S: What? N-No!
R: Ahaha! Sorry to ask that way. Don’t worry about it. I decided to join you you guys of my own volition. But don’t expect me to fit into that princess role.
S: We know that.
R: Glad you understand and all… but that’s a little rude of you, don’t you think?!

R: That’s probably true. If you can see them in the first place, at least you know they’re there with you! If you can’t see people, and then suddenly you can, it means that there were people there the whole time when you thought there wasn’t anyone at all. Doesn’t that give you the creeps?
S: I sort of get it, but not really… I think Mikleo and the others have their work cut out for them.

M: It certainly resembles the drawing in the Celestial Record.
S: You don’t suppose one could be a copy of the other?
M: Hmm… Either way, it suggests that this ruin might date from the height of the Era of Asgard. Since that’s when the Pendrago Shrine was built.
S: Yeah. I’d love to see the Pendrago Shrine too, someday.
R: Hah. Good luck with that one, Your Holiness.
S: Huh? What do you mean?
R: Pendrago is the capital of the Rolance Empire, and the shrine is the headquarters of their church. These days, only church personnel are allowed inside, and then only the highest of the high.
S: Interesting…
R: Looks like someone isn’t deterred.

R: Hm? What is it? You’re sounding all serious to me.
S: It’s about my duty as a Shepherd.
R: You’re supposed to defeat the Lord of Calamity written about in the Earthen History, right? What about it?
S: I met the Lord of Calamity on the battlefield.
R: You did, huh.
S: But I was no match for him.
D: Even your resonance was cut off.
R: Oh, so that’s when I came to the rescue. And?
S: What do you mean "and"? This journey is going to be dangerous. Honestly, I don’t even know if we have a chance to win.
R: I’ll help you find a way to win, and if we can’t, we can always run away. We’ll be all right. You know the reality of the situation and what your capabilities are, and that’s fine by me.
S: Thanks.
R: For what?
S: For everything.
R: Not sure I get what you mean, but… you’re welcome.
D: There isn’t a problem. If there is, we’ll just run away.

R: Aha, a rolance atlas beetle.
S: Oh yeah? I never saw one at Elysia. That’s the coolest thing ever!
R: And it’s thanks to folks like you that you can unload these for a hefty sum.
D: Nope, wrong.
S & R: Huh?
D: This is a volgran stag beetle.
S: Oh, a stag beetle!
R: Oh… Well, they’re pretty much the same thing, right? They both have horns.
D: Completely different. Atlas beetles have horns, but stag beetles have prominent mandibles instead.
R: Ugh…
S: Wow Dezel. You know so much!
D: Hmph… Just common sense.
S: So they’re different body parts, but are they used the same?
D: They’re both used for wrestling, but the stag beetle also uses its mandibles to hide under dead logs and in muck.
S: Got it… Related but separate tools.
R: Ahh, right, right! Like a butter knife and a shiv– they look familiar, but only one’ll go clean through the ribs!
S: Oh, uh, I don’t…
D: Not my area of expertise.
R: Ugh, you two, why do I even bother?!

M: Hmm… Judging from the growth rings, it looks like this one’s at least a thousand years old.
S: You counted them?! What, are we boring you?
M: You can eyeball this kind of thing, you know! Look, see? This width accounts for about 20 years. If the trunk is at least 50 of these wide, that’s 1000 years right there.
S: Hey, look. There’s a part where the growth rings are super concentrated.
M: You’re right. I wonder why?
D: There was probably an era with a chilly enough climate that the sun barely ever broke through the clouds.
S: Oh, I see! So that’s why these growth rings are so close together!
M: And that’s approximately… 1000 years ago.
S: Amazing. Trees are history books growing right in front of us.
M: Impressive that you even noticed that, though.
D: You just need to think more, is all.

E: Orpiment. Often found at the BOTTOM of vulcanic fumaroles.
M: Well, it sure is a brilliant yellow.
E: Once it was used as a colorant, but that is all BEHIND us now.
M: You know all about this.
E: Of course. I’m an earth seraph. I don’t BUM around.
M: Edna? Uh, you okay?
E: Orpiment is also known as arsenic sulfide. You would know that if you’d been REARED properly.
R: Oh, yeah, that stuff! It’s used to make poison, right?
M: P-Poison?!
R: Chill out, we don’t use it. But it’s supposed to be a type of arsenic.
M: That’s incredible lethal! You should have told us in the first place!
E: I’ve been telling you this entire time, you BUTT.
M: "Arse-nic"? Really?
R: Hahaha, nice!
M: Really? REALLY?

S: You okay?
L: Are you not feeling well?
R: Fethmus Mioma, Luzrov Rulay, Hephsin Yulind, Lukeim Yurlin… ethmus Mioma, Luzrov Rulay, Hephsin Yulind, Lukeim Yurlin!
S: W-Whoa, what are you doing?!
R: You tell me! When I formed the pact with Lailah, she told me I had to remember those, in, like, three seconds! And now I can’t get them out of my head!
L: It was an emergency. I couldn’t help it!
S: Lailah can be pretty forceful sometimes.
R: I wish she WERE a ghost… She’d be less scary!

E: Don’t even think about it. That oath is way more trouble than it’s worth. Work on honing the strength you already have instead of relying on that mumbo-jumbo, and you’ll develop special skills on your own.
M: You mean you’ve got your own skills?
E: You bet I do.
M: Yeah? Like what? Show me!
E: Heh-heh-heh. You sure you’re ready? I’m impressed… Didn’t think you had it in you to act like a grown-up for once.
M: Uh… You’re getting weird.
E: You sure want to see it? I don’t normally show it to just anyone, but for you, I just might make an exception.
M: Never mind. Forget I asked.
E: Heh. It must get lonely, being Mikleo. Mikle-onely.
M: Honing the strength I already have…

S: Hang in there, buddy.

R: Yup, it’s what Lastonbell is famous for! The gears get moving, the bells get swinging, and it sounds like the most entrancing music.
L: Now that's something I’d like to hear.
S: Wow, you’ll only get something like this in the city of artisans. Such craftsmanship!
R: Oh, an art appreciator now, are you?
S: I wonder how the motor works…
R: Don’t ask me.
D: I hear the sound of the draw-works. They’re probably utilizing the power of the aqueduct running underground.
R: Aqueduct?!
S: Really? Nothing I can see suggests that.
D: That’s because it’s a hidden refuge area. This place was built as a fort in the first place.
S: Oh, so that’s why this place is surrounded by castle walls!
D: Before it was a fancy belfry, this was a communication tower for sending smoke signals.
S: So much history everywhere… This is too cool!
R: Guys seriously geek out over the weirdest things.
L: Heheh. Well, let them have their fun.
R: Yeah, I suppose.

R: Oh yeah, radishbells. They’re on the smallish side, but they’re super-sweet and delicious.
L: They look like they’d go great with butter!
R: That or you can just bake 'em and sprinkle with salt!
L: Oh my gosh, that sounds delicious!
D: You know those’ve got poison in 'em… right?
L: Poison?!
R: Oh. Yeah, something like that.
D: Eat enough, and it’ll be your last meal.
R: Well, sheesh, you just gotta cook it thoroughly, right?
D: Nope. That actually strengthens the poison. You’re even deader now.
R: How about if you cut the eyes off? Does that fix it?
D: Woops, still dead. Radishbells contain poison in both the eyes and the skin. Now you remove all the skin and slice out the eyes, it’s perfectly safe.
R: Hey, Lailah! Were d'ya think you’re going?
L: I’m afraid this conversation is a bit…
D: I think she has some concerns about your food-safety standards.

R: Yeah. Lailah in particular was getting way into it.
L: To tell you the truth, I’ve always loved perfomance's like that. I’ve been wanting to try one out my whole life!
S: I gotta say, that was pretty sweet, coming up with those ridiculous lines on the fly!
E: We seraphim have way more experience than you folks.
R: Now that you mention it, that’s right. A seraph’s age basically has nothing to do with their appearance. How old are you actually, Lailah?
S: I’d like to know that too!
D: I feel like she must be older than me.
L: That’s classified!
E: I guess your ad-libbing prowess only applies in certain situations.

M: And here I thought they were both supposed to protect the people.
L: Herd mentality always prevails when people sort themselves into groups, no matter the situation. It can be helpful in lending authority to institutions that wouldn’t otherwise command it, but more often than not, it generates malevolence, leading to great conflict.
S: Like wars, you mean.
L: Yes, in the most extreme cases. Even the conflict between the knights and the church could be considered war, if on a much smaller scale.
M: "War is the people’s history." I read that in a book once, and I think I get it now.
S: Would it be better for me to not get involved?
L: What do you think?
S: I want to know. Even if the reality is bleak, it is still part of the world we live in.
L: Then let us go forth. This is your adventure!
S: No. It’s our adventure. Mine and those who believe in me!

S: Yeah, I feel like she mostly has. She may be a big ol’ scaredy-cat, but she’s pretty adaptable.
M: I’m not so sure. That fear of hers may run deeper than it looks. Remember, it was powerful enough to supress even her prodigious resonance.
E: With the help of someone we know.
D: I don’t have to apologize for anything.
S: But even so, Rose tagged along of her own volition. I’m sure she’ll be just fine.
M: I want to believe she will. Human compatriots like Rose are one in a million.
E: In more ways than one.
M: Yeah, in more ways than one.
L: Hehehehehe!
S: What’s so funny?
L: I was just thinking, maybe we’re the ones getting used to Rose, and not the other way around.
S: Very likely!
D: Hehe.
R: You’re talking to Lailah and the others while they’re invisible again, aren’t you?! Creepalicious!
S: Guess she’s still got a ways to go.
L: It just takes time and patience.

M: Hmm… The building materials don’t look like anything special, but then how would it maintain its current shape?
S: Maybe they used seraphic artes?
M: Probably. If so, that would imply that these ruins date all the way back to the Era of the Gods.
S: I knew it!
R: What’s got you two all hot and bothered?
S: I’ve wanted to see these towers since like forever!
M: Leaning towers. They’re mentioned in the Celestial Record.
S: Just look at 'em! They’re way bigger than I even imagined!
M: And to think, all these years they’ve remained standing…
R: Really? You’re freaking out over some badly-designed towers?
S: Yeah, that’s just what I was wondering! How did they get like this?
M: The obvious answer would be tectonic activity.
S: Yeah, but there aren’t any faults anywhere nearby.
M: Then could it be ground subsidence? I wouldn’t write off effects of flooding, either…
S: What if they were built like this in the first place?
M: That’s entirely possible… But why?
S: Yeah, it all comes down to that. A place of worship? A grave? A sundial?
M: Possibly even part of an elaborate seraphic arte?
S: Rose, what do you think?
R: Me? Umm… I think you both talk too much.
M: …
R: Oh, look. Ancient statues. I wonder what they’re made of?

E: A fluffagoat, you might say.
S: This is a goat? They don’t look anything like the ones in Elysia.
L: Don’t they eat paper?
D: Knock it off. You shouldn’t give them man-made items.
L: I’m sorry. You’re quite right.
E: You’re very kind when it comes to animals.
D: It’s more that you folks are too rough with 'em.
E: We’ll leave it at that.
S: So, Dezel, would these be cliff-dwelling goats?
D: Yeah. They usually live their lives on the cliffs and go down to the grasslands only to eat. They even sleep on the cliffs.
S: On the cliffs… That’s gotta be brutal.
L: Sounds quite uncomfortable indeed.
D: From your point of view, maybe. But to them, it might be the best thing in the world.
S: Hmm… It’s true that they probably have fewer predators to worry about that way.
L: What strangers feel as happiness is beyond our ken… Is that the sort of thing you’re getting at?
D: Pretty much.
E: Are you talking from experience?
D: Interpret as you may.

S: There’s a rabbit!
D: It’s a glenwood rabbit.
S & R: Looks yummy!
D: What?!
R: You got a problem?
D: You’re talking… Uh, "yummy-cute", right?
S: Yeah. Cute. And delicious!
R: You didn’t know? Rabbit flesh is a rare treat!
D: I’m aware that they’re consumed sometimes, but…
R: You’ll understand once you take a bite.
S: Here. I’ll catch this one for you and cook it up.
D: N-No thanks!
R: It’s okay. We’ll save the most scrumptious part for you.
D: I’m fine! Seraphim don’t need food.
R: Really? If you say so…
S: It’s cool. We’ll just dry it and take it along, I love bunny-jerky!
R: Oohh, I’m game!
D: What are you doing?! Run!
S: Erk… It ran away.
R: Dezel! You startled the poor thing, you meanie!
D: You’re concerned for its welfare NOW?!

M: Odd that someone would abandon a tool so central to their livelihood.
L: Still, it’s a terribly lovely field.
S: Yeah, Age of Chaos or not, it’s nice to see that some places are still thriving.
R: Or so it would seem.
L: What do you mean?
D: Take a closer look at the wheat.
S: Hmm?
L: Oh my!
S: Not a single berry!
M: Same thing over here. Nothing but mold inside the husks.
D: It’s the blissmold. The whole area’s probably wiped out.
S: The whole area?
R: It’s been goin’ around for a while now. This year’s harvest is pretty much screwed.
M: No wonder they threw away their hoe.
S: Lailah, this is…
L: Yes. This too must be the work of the Lord of Calamity.
S: So this is what "Age of Chaos" really means…

E: Notice the graceful line from the neck to the sirloin. An A5-rank specimen.
M: Uh, it looks nice and all, but… it’s a cow.
R: "It’s a cow.", said the poor country bumpkin who’d never tasted the majesty of a real Hyland steak. We’re talking melts in your mouth. It’s that good.
M: And how can it be a Hyland steer? This is Rolance.
R: is that really all you can think about?
E: Presumably they’re so called because they originally came from Hyland.
M: But we didn’t see any when we were there…
D: Raising large herds of them as actual livestock requires vast amounts of grazing land. Rolance’s geography is probably more suited to that kind of thing.
M: I see. I guess that makes sense.
D: Of course, if the world doesn’t get off its current path, all the cattle will die off and it’ll be a moot point.
M: That’s also true.
R: Ahem! Also! Drago stew is made with Hyland beef. It’s considered an auspicious dish due to the symbolism of eating Hyland itself!
M: Uh… Okay?
E: Mundane trivia. A C-Rank specimen.
R: Sheesh, forgive a girl for trying to lighten the mood.

M: The decorative work suggests a privileged background. Nobility, perhaps, or a clan chief.
R: Very much so! This is, um, quality rock.
S: So where would you date it? Pre-Rolance times?
M: Hard to say. It wouldn’t surprise me if it were actually related to the founding family of the Rolance Empire.
R: Hmm… From the texture, I’d say it was constructed in the storied "cold and smooth" style!
S: Sad that it’s been looted.
M: We should take care that our own studies are more respectful to the departed.
R: (coughs) Dust everywhere! This is further corroboration of the "poorly-cleaned" hypothesis!
M: Umm, Rose?
S: What are you doing?
R: Oh, I was just trying to contribute to your little academic geek-out, but… Sorry. I’m way out of my league.
M: Yeah.
S: Don’t, uh, try to hard. Heh.
R: Yeah. Think I won’t.

R: Yeah. It’s one of the famous sights of Pendrago. I don’t know a lot about it, but supposedly, the water’s piped in from afar through an underground channel.
L: Oh, I see.
E: So much work for something that doesn’t even serve any purpose. Stupid, simple humans.
L: Well, considering their lack of seraphic artes, I think their technological advancement is commendable.
E: Useless. Pointless. Waste of effort.
R: It’s also known as the Fountain of Wrath.
L: "Wrath"? Why do they call it that?
R: Something with the piping’ all messed up. Every now and then… Aaaughhh!
E: … (her feet got wet)
R: Like that.
L: Oh dear.
E: Stupid, stupid humans!

S: We did see a couple of seraphim, but it didn’t look like they were living together.
R: I can’t see them but they’ve been here the whole time. To think that it’s always been like that is just… So friggin’ scary!
D: Ugh…
S: But in the past, seraphim were revered.
M: And in return, seraphim gave the people their blessing.
R: That was how it was in the era of coexistence?
S: Yup.
D: But the humans came to only believe in things that they could see.
M: That can’t be helped. There’s barely anyone who could see seraphim like Sorey and Rose.
R: It’s scary that there are people around you that you can’t see, but… At the same time, it’s sad. It’s sad that they can’t be noticed even though they’re here.
S: I wish everyone thought the same way you did, Rose.
D: …

L: You’re working awfully hard.
M: No, well. This is…
L: Things were a lot more complicated than we thought, especially with the Rolance Empire.
M: As if the confrontation between the Knight Squad and the Church wasn’t enough, there’s the Scattered Bones assassins guild, and Dezel’s revenge. That’s quite a lot to handle.
L: And there are issues with the Cardinal and Dezel’s vengeance… We may run into strong hellions.
M: And we also need to take care of Rose. I trust her, but regardless, she’s still human. There’s always a risk of getting affected by malevolence.
L: True. Just like with the Shepherd, or something more.
M: Despite all that, they’re both pretty carefree about the whole thing. I’m getting fed up with them.
L: It’s because you’re with them, Mikleo.
M: I don’t know about that.
L: I’m the same way.
M: I’m just doing this for myself. I may not look like it, but I’m more ambitious than you might think.
L: Do you really mean that?
M: Of course.

D: Indeed. Though we have yet to discover its true form.
M: In other words, she claims to be serving the people, but in reality she’s just furthering her own ambitions.
E: Sounds about right. Stupid humans.
L: Perhaps she was burdened with a responsibility she could not bear. The pressure to do something, anything, most likely was channeled into her sense of self-justification.
R: So, basically, she couldn’t hack it. Do you think the pope jumping ship might’ve been what finally set her off?
L: That I couldn’t tell you.
S: Your, uh, "job" kinda depends on that… Right?
R: Yep. That’s why I gotta track down this pope and see for myself just what kind of person he is.
S: …
L: Sorey, you must gain the spiritual powers. Everything else comes second.
S: Right. Let’s try and find the pope.
R: Go go Gododdin!

M: The all-healing panacea made by Maotelus?
L: Oh my, what a delightful butterfly!
S: Whoops, I guess it’s Random O'Clock again.
M: Anyway, the Elixir. You think it’s the real thing?
S: According to the Celestial Record, the methods used to make Elixir were lost ages ago.
L: And look! An icky beetle going creep-a-crawl-a-creep-a-crawl!
S: Guess we won’t know for sure unless we try it.
M: You think that’s safe?!
S: It’ll just be a drop! Whoa! I feel rejuvenated!
M: It IS the real thing!
S: Nice! Wish we could just buy this at the store!
L: That’ll be difficult. The only remaining Elixir left in the world of humans is in custody of the church.
S: The church, huh?
M: Ran out of bugs, I take it.

D: Hmph. She’s just some idiot human who became a hellion.
S: Is she the one you need to get your vengeance on?
D: I wouldn’t know. She beat you so badly I couldn’t even tell.
S: Sorry…
D: Don’t screw up next time. I’ve gotta get my revenge, you know.
S: Yeah. I’ll try.
D: You sure about that? If she’s the one I need to get vengeance on, it means she’s dead meat.
S: Yeah, I guess I’ll have to think about it. Thanks.
D: Hmph? Thanks for what?
S: I just figured you were worried about me or something.
D: Hah. There’s no point in even thinking about it if that’s the only way you can interpret things.
S: …

E: That’s a big shrimp.
M: A fossil… One hopes.
S: Holy crap! This thing was alive once?!
E: I want to catch it. And fry it.
M: It looks terrifying… You don’t think this is a hellion?
S: There are fossilized hellions? No way!
M: It’s not outside the realm of possibility.
E: It’s not outside the realm of sashimi, either.
R: Hmm. So which side’s the head?
M: The right.
S: The left.
R: We can’t even tell where the head is? Yeesh, this thing’s freaktastic.
E: No matter. A shrimp’s head and tail are equally delicious.
S: I can’t even make sense of this thing.
E: Shrimp. Starts with S. Look it up.

L: Indeed. It’s mesmerizing how the lake’s surface sparkles.
E: Bioluminescence, do you think?
R: Dezel?
D: Don’t ask me. I can’t see it.
E: So even you have some gaps in your animal knowledge.
D: I’ve heard of organisms too small to be seen that give off light in the dark. Maybe this is their habitat.
R: Woah. Thousands of thousands of tiny creatures…
D: But each one lives only a few days before winking out.
R: Only a few days? But they shine so bright.
L: Bio-doom, in essence. O-Oh! That was inappropriate! I’m sorry!
E: Don’t be. Better than ending on a sour note.
R: Ooh, a left-field success from Lailah!
L: My first one, it feels like! I suppose it took going deep underground for Edna to finally… cave!
E: And I take it back.
D: The rare Sparkling Lailah. Not its brief lifespan.
L: Even you, Dezel?! Awww…

L: What kind of bird is this?
D: A grifkyte. It’s a bird in the kite family.
L: There’s another one over there too. Very high up.
D: Yeah. They’re excellent at reading the wind.
L: Look at it soar, swift and free.
D: Yeah… Through a sky clouded with malevolence wrought by earth-dwellers.
L: You don’t suppose the Griffin started out once as a grifkyte?
D: Perhaps.
L: Malevolence deforms everything, people and nature alike.
D: …
L: But malevolence can be cleansed.
D: Through Sorey, you mean?
L: Through all of us.
D: Hmph…
L: Dezel…

E: The fragrance of herbs paints the very air? How poetic.
D: Tch. And now the wind turns foul.
E: Now, what’s that for? I say something nice and you snap at me? If you see everything as sarcastic, maybe the foulness lies inside you.
D: Are you ever not sarcastic?
E: Now now. Why don’t you take a break? It’ll help calm you down.
D: What?! Is that…
E: A normin mug. You don’t like it?
D: I mean what’s inside! You see herbs, and your first thought is to yank them up and make tea with them?
E: Herbs are a gift from the land. It’s only proper for a seraph of the earth to accept them, no?
D: How convenient for you.
E: Mmmm… Fragrant. With quiet times like these, even the most arduous journey isn’t so bad.
D: Hmm. Maybe so.

R: A what?
M: A helictite. It’s like a stalactite that grows all bent.
R: Wow, yeah… It’s all warped and twisted.
M: Like a certain someone we know.
E: …
R: But don’t stalactites take a long time to form?
M: Yeah, it’s basically been growing along a deviant path since time immemorial. Like a certain someone we know.
E: ….
R: It’s weird, sure, but… It’s got a kind of ethereal beauty as well.
M. Yeah.
E: … GO ON.

S: A school huh. Always wished I could’ve gone to one.
R: Yeah. Me too.
S: You too, Rose?
R: I grew up on the road. The older folks of the Scattered Bones were like my teachers. He may not look like it, but Rosh is actually super good at calligraphy, and he knows a ton about literature.
S: Huh.
M: Eugille looks like he’s no slouch, either.
R: Yeah. He was the one who drilled me in martial arts and stealth skills. You might say he’s my gym teacher.
M: Well, that’s… one way to get kids their exercise.
S: Same with me and Mikleo. Pretty much everyone in Elysia wound up serving as our teachers.
M: Reminds me of Gramps’ etiquette class. He was really strict.
S: And that’s how Mikleo got the way he is today!
R: Heheh. Whereas you didn’t learn a thing, huh?
S: Hey, that’s not true…
M: Yeah, right. You were always reading the Celestial Record.
S: You did the same thing!
M: Yes, but I read it to enhance my history and classical language studies.
S: And you’re saying I didn’t?!
R: So, pretty much the same things you do now.
M: Fair enough. So yeah, we weren’t lonely, per se, but…
S: It would’ve been nice to study and play with other kids our age.
R: Yeah. I feel you.

M: Especially one underground.
S: Totally! A maze of twisty little passages, with exits galore to who knows where!
M: Like the back of a waterfall, or the bottom of an old abandoned well.
S: Yes! Mikleo gets it!
R: Glad someone gets it, because I don’t.
E: I don’t want to get it.
L: Boys just love things like this.
R: In this case, I dunno about "boys" so much as…
E: … "children", right?

M: Yeah. It’s a remote region like Elysia, but it looks hard to hunt or even farm here.
S: It amazes me that people can even live in a place like this.
E: Those humans sure are tougher than they look.
M: Maybe they have some sort of special local product?
S: Maybe.
R: …
S: Anyway, our next destination is Gododdin.
M: Are we going in the right direction, Rose?
R: Uh, yeah. It should be around the edge of this cliffside road. I think we’re almost there.
S: Okay. Let’s hurry before we get attacked again.

R: This red stone, maybe?
E: Vermillion ore, you mean.
R: Come again?
L: It’s a rare type of mineral. It’s a crystallization of nutrients in the earth, often used as medicine. But…
M: I’ve read about this stuff. Some of its elements are highly toxic, so it can be tricky to handle. …
S: Right! This is what they’re using to make the fake Elixir!

M: Yeah, it’s the story of humans. Weakness and all.
S: Weak though they may be… They can always make amends. Though even now I can’t say for sure if my decision was correct.
L: But that’s who you are, Sorey, doubts and all. If nothing else, that’s why we follow you.
E: Even if you suck sometimes.
M: But hey, it all ended well, right? Rose didn’t even have to chop anyone to bits.
S: I dunno about that. She looks like she’s still making Pro and Con lists.
L: Just like you, right?
S: I do hope Rose finds a path in life that doesn’t involve killing people anymore.
L: You and the rest of us.
D: A path without killing, huh.

E: I believe it. There’s vermillion ore all over the place, after all.
M: Good point. Vermillion ore is only formed in the aftermath of the use of powerful fire seraphic artes.
R: By "powerful", you mean like Lailah’s artes?
L: I’m afraid not. My flames are yet too weak to create vermillion ore.
S: Meaning there’s an arte user out there even stronger than Lailah…

E: That’s not good.
D: What do you mean?
E: Vermillion ore is a mineral that can only be generated through immensely powerful fire-based seraphic artes.
D: So there are tough enemies ahead. I say bring it on.
E: Let your guard down, and you may wind up with more than a little skin burn.
L: Certainly, this ore is far beyond my capability to produce even with my fire affinity.
D: Then what scale are we talking?
L: Think of an erupting volcano, and you’re closer.
D: … Hmph. Wouldn’t be a shrine of trials without a trial or two, I guess.
E: Someone’s unflappable.
L: But I think he has the right idea. We can’t back off now.

M: If we take too much time, Sergei and his brigade may be forced into a situation they need to take action.
D: It would also give Forton more time to devise a trap.
R: Don’t even say that!
D: Just stating a fact.
M: Though it is a shame.
R: Yeah.
M: If we don’t do anything, the situation won’t get any better.
D: That’s for sure.

S: "The Shepherd is granted four powers: earth, water, fire and wind. They are the blade that shall cleave the Lord of Calamity."
R: That’s just what the village chief was saying! You memorized it?!
S: More or less.
M: He’s actually pretty decent at that sort of thing.
R: I’m sorry, Sorey. You’re more capable than I thought.
S: What did you take me for?
M: But what exactly are the spiritual powers of the Shepherd?
L: All of Nature is composed of four elements: earth, water, fire and wind. Each one is governed by one of the four eldest seraphim.
M: Right. Eumacia, Amenoch, Musiphe, and Hyanoa.
L: Correct. They maintain the balance of the entire continent of Glenwood.
R: When you put it that way, they sound almost like gods. Though they lack a certain… divine presence.
M: We feel much the same, actually. They’re ostensibly the source of our seraphic artes, but we’re basically never aware of them.
L: That’s the nature of the Five Lords’ existence. The Shepherd’s spiritual powers are most likely the result of a fortification of elemental affinity through the blessings of the Five Lords.

```
S: And all to battle against the Lord of Calamity…

```

```
M: Kind of a shame that such a wondrous power has to be squandered on fighting.

```

M: If the Celestial Record is to be believed, yes.
S: But it’s empty.
M: Yeah. I don’t get any sense of presence or lordly domain. Though we still don’t know what to expect for signs of presence of the Five Lords.
S: Well, Maotelus is a mysterious kind of seraph to begin with. Like, for the Shepherd’s spiritual powers, there’s earth, water, fire and wind, but there isn’t one for Maotelus.
M: My first thought was that he served as a symbolic figure in Five Lords worship, but there may be more to it than that. Lailah seems to know something…
S: But it’s probably best not to bother her.
M: I feel sorry for her. In a lot of ways.
S: I do wonder… How does she even come up with those things she says?
M: Indeed. A mystery greater even than our friend Maotelus.

S: Hmm?
R: This is something I realized when we met the pope, but I believe it was Cardinal Forton who proceeded the motion of war. That chief we met? I can’t see him making the decision to declare war like that.
S: So… Does that mean you’re going to–
R: You want me to purify the cardinal, don’t you?
S: I do. She may have become a hellion, but I still believe that her sense of responsibility is sincere.
R: If you purify her, I’m sure she can be saved.
S: I think so too.
R: All right then, let’s give it a shot. I’ve got your back in this one.
S: Rose, I…
R: You don’t need to say anything! It’s just how thinks shook out!

L: Lailah, Lailah, classify-lah, all the species, all the phyla.
M: So what? It doesn’t matter now.
E: It does matter. It was a hellion not even as strong as the Five Lords, and still we couldn’t manage to purify it. Meaning we don’t stand a chance against ol’ kittybeard.
S: Heldalf, huh. We still have ways to go before we can face him.
E: Glad you understand. Now you need to get it together.
L: The real fight is about to begin.
M: There are still three trial shrines left to go.
S: Right. Can’t afford to mope around!
D: So it wasn’t Maotelus and it wasn’t her… But I feel a presence nearby. She’s still somewhere in Rolance.

E: But aren’t we just cleaning up the mess that Altul made?
M: You don’t have to say it like that.
E: Meebo, just tell us how you feel.
M: Well, I do feel a bit frustrated.
E: Right?
L: I think this is all just supposed to show us the worst case scenario what a Shepherd could potentially become.
S: I thought so too.
E: But then. What were you going to do if Asura really didn’t become a hellion?
L: In that case, we probably would have been challenged by another hellion.
S: Do you mean there are more Shepherds who became hellions?
L: In the long lines of history, many have.
S: I see. So that’s why the trial is a test of one’s spirit as well.
L: Yes.
M: If that’s the case, then I’m convinced. You okay with that, Edna?
E: I’m fine, as long as it’s a fair trial.
M: No fair!
S: Hahahaha! You’re definitely spirited, Edna.

D: The ones closest to you are okay, but stay away from the ones in the back.
R: You got it.
S: Wow, how do you know all that?
D: It’s just common knowledge.
R: This forest… It’s so rich and abundant with life.
M: Yeah. That’s the power of Gramps’ blessed domain.
R: Oh, so it’s Gramps’ domain that makes it feel this way?
D: It’s a sizable amount of power. Even among high ranking seraphim, there are very few on his level.
S: That’s Gramps’ for you! Anyone comes by who’s up to no good, they get zapped in the butt with lightning. POW!
R: He can wield lightning?
S: Yup! He lights up the sky like fireworks!
M: I sure remember fireworks when it came to him and you.
S: Well, figuratively…
D: Ohh, then that explains all the mushrooms.
S: Huh?
R: Oh, right! "Where Monday’s lightning strikes the ground, Tuesday’s mushrooms will be found."
M: Aha! So we have Sorey to thank for this harvest.
S: H-Hey! No, it wasn’t like that!

M: What’s wrong?
E: Ssshhh. It’s nothing. Keep still.
S: Whoa! Check out that beetle!
D: Be quiet! Don’t you know what that is?
S: Wh-What is it?
D: An Aroundight stag beetle.
S: Is that… good?
D: It’s incredibly rare. Atlas beetles die within a year, but stag beetles can survive the winter months, with a typical lifespan of three years. This one in particularly has remarkable tolerance to cold. It can be packed in snow on all sides and still not freeze to death. Some have been known to last for over a decade. They were thought to have gone extinct a hundred years ago or so. I’ve only heard them whispered in legend before today!
S: Whoa, neat! The phantom beetle!
D: Understand? So be quiet.
S: Right. Don’t want it to get away.
M: It already did, while Dezel was blabbing on and on about it.
D: It what?
E: Not that I can blame it.

E: Serves 'em right, the creepy eyeball things.
L: Whew. We can rest for a bit.
S: It’d be a miracle if they had been working. These date all the way back to the Temperance of Avarost.
R: Here we go again. In English, that means…
S: Umm. So, the era known as the Temperance of Avarost was when seraphic civilization reached its peak.
L: A great many buildings and artifacts from those times were crafted using the power of seraphic artes.
R: So, the Era of Wiggy Magic Everywhere, basically. We’re talking ages and ages ago?
S: Yeah. Older than even Edn–
E: Sorey. (pokes him with her parasol)
S: Yow!
L: It’s thought that the Temperance preceded the Era of the Gods, but not a great deal is known for certain. Many vital records were lost during the age known as the Dark Period.
S: But these shrines of trials have preserved relics of things that could only have been made by seraphim. They’re precious evidence that the Temperance of Avarost really and truly happened!
R: Even a bunch weird-ass eyeballs can be a treasure if you got the right mindset, huh?
S: Yeah. You can’t fathom the true meaning of legends until you’ve seen their history with your own eyes. So to speak.
R: Hah. You look just like Mayvin when you say that.
L: Indeed. The face of a hopeless romantic.
E: A charitable way to say "naive simpleton."

S: Hmm. I’ve never seen one like this.
R: This calls for… Hey, Dezel!
D: What?
R: Do you know what kind of butterfly this is?
D: I’m not your personal encyclopedia.
R: Aww, don’t be like that. Professor Dezel, pleeeeeeeease?
D: Do I look like a professor?
S: What’s got you so butterfly-crazy all of a sudden?
R: Don’t you know? Collectors pay primo cash for these suckers. They stick 'em up on their walls with pins or something.
S: With pins?!
R: Welp, we may never know what you are, little dude, but I oughtta bag ya jut in case…
D: Wait! I just realized. It’s a shae monyuroze. Looks like a butterfly, but it’s just a moth.
R: Aww, a moth? No one’s gonna pay for that.
D: Darn. Too bad.
S: Shae… Monyuroze? Oh!
D: Shush.
S: Got it. Moth.

M: Ah, so even you can get excited by this sort of thing.
R: I’m a girl, and I happen to think that red flowers are badass. Ain’t nothing’ wrong with that.
M: Hmm. An orchid, do you think?
E: Correct. This particular variant is called an "edna."
R: The same name as you!
E: It’s not just a name. Edna have low tolerance for heat and flourish best in breezy, shady areas. Those who raise them must take care not to give them too much water. Doesn’t the daintiness and loveliness remind you of me?
M: Hmm… So, in other words…
E: What are you doing, Meebo?
M: Well, that’s odd. It doesn’t LOOK all thorny and poisonous.
E: I’ll show you thorny. (pokes him with her parasol)
M: Yow. Cripes, Edna, you broke the skin!
E: Little Meebo needs to learn some manners.
R: I should’ve figured you’d be an expert on the edna flower.
E: It was something he told me once… My brother.
R: Oh. I-I see.
M: I’m sorry. I should’ve been more sensitive.
E: No. It’s fine.

R: Crazy how big rocks can get.
S: No, it’s not that.
R: Okay, sheesh, crazy how big BOULDERS get. That better?
S: Uhh…
D: I think Sorey’s more hung up on how the crazy big rock got into these ruins.
S: Yeah. It clearly dwarfs the entranceway. And that doesn’t even address the issue of WHY it was even placed here.
D: Heh. Maybe, even hundreds of years ago, there were still folks like you who got a kick out of weird objects.
R: Well, who says they hauled it in here? Maybe the ruins were built around the rock and not vice versa.
S: That’s it! This has to be a shrine to the rock itself!
D: It’s possible this rock was even a vessel.
S: You can’t fathom the true meaning of legends until you’ve seen their history with your own eyes…
R: Oh hey, like what you and Mayvin were talking about.
S: Yeah. But now I understand… It’s not enough just to use your eyes. Thanks, Rose!
R: Thanks? For…?
D: When conventional thinking is hitting a wall, sometimes it takes people whose brains are wild and untamed. People like you.
R: Uh… Pretty sure my brain’s standard-issue?
D: Heh. She has no idea…

S: It’s awful tiny. You think it’s for kids, maybe?
E: Toy horses are only rarely made for adults, so yes.
R: But what’s a toy doing here inside the shrine of trials?
E: How would I know? Seems unlikely it’s related to the trial.
R: It just bugs me.
S: Maybe it’s some kinda hint! Umm, toy horse… Horses… Horse 'n buggy… Carrots…. Horse-meat… Horseburgers… Horsewaffles… Horse cream cones… Crap. Now I’m hungry AND yucked out.
E: The dread overthinking-a-non-sequitur trap of the ancients. Tremble before their mastery of psychological torture.

M: It’d have to be a place suitable as a vessel for one of the Five Lords. A clean and pure shrine, or a vast natural landscape with no malevolence.
R: Then a shrine of trials certainly sounds plausible.
L: "The Shepherd disappeared for months. Turned out he was on the lamb."
S: Hahaha, poor Lailah, we probably drive her up the wall!
L: I’m sorry.
S: Seriously, it’s okay.
M: We basically figured out the terms of your oath, anyway.
L: Time to sing the rappig song! "Rappig rappig, with ears so sweet!"
R: Oh! You mean when we talk about Maotelus!
L: "Rappig rappig, such tasty meat!"
E: Ugh, leave her alone! This is wrong in so many ways.
M: We’re not accusing you of hiding anything, honest.
R: That’s right. And I can use the flames of purification thanks to you!
S: We’ll find out for ourselves anything we truly wish to know.
L: Thank you for understanding.
D: Pathetic. You’d let anyone pull the wool over your eyes, wouldn’t you, Shepherd?
L: You took the oath too, Dezel?!
D: Why would… Ugh, damn it!

L: Huh?
R: Just a vibe I got. Hey, Alisha used to be your Squire, right? Why did she leave?
S: Well, I couldn’t say she "left." She just… had her own goals, and…
E: I think she did want to go with us. But her resonance just wasn’t quite up to snuff.
M: The backlash was damaging Sorey.
L: He was losing his sight.
R: Oh dear. So that’s why… Wait, what about now? You’re not hiding anything from me, are you?
S: Not at all! I swear!
L: Your resonance is powerful enough to enact armatization! It’s right on par with the Shepherd’s!
R: Is it, really? I guess I’d better be grateful for my resonance.
D: Grateful, huh…

L: You mean the suspicion that she was communicating secretly with the Rolance Empire?
S: Yeah. I heard she got arrested for that.
E: It was probably jut a false accusation to lure you into war.
M: Yeah. And we kept our promise. They have no reason to keep her detained.
S: I hope you’re right.
E: But her situation is different than before.
S: Huh?
E: I’d imagine so. There was that clash with the Rolance Empire, you know.
S: So if she’s seek peace with them in this situation…
M: It would only make things worse for her.
E: Too bad she’s not the type to just sit patiently in times like this.
L: Alisha is part of the royal family. The chancellors shouldn’t be able to do anything so brazen.
S: I sure hope so.

L: Yes. I can feel its malevolence and domain.
M: Why? Do you think it’s a fake or something?
R: Well I mean, isn’t it kinda strange? Why would they let a dangerous hellion like that roam around freely?
M: Why would a protector seraph just leave it be?
R: Yeah. They’re supposed to be powerful, high ranked seraphim, right?
L: It probably has to do with the trial. Protector seraphim are given special tasks.
D: Sounds like a pretty convenient excuse.
E: Yeah.
L: I can’t say it isn’t…
M: You don’t have to put it that way.
D: You should know too. Seraphim aren’t exactly models of virtue.
E: They’re not exactly heroes of justice, either.
M: Well, that’s…
R: Sold! You two sure sound so convincing when you team up.
D: As long as you got the gist.
R: Yup. If that’s the trial, I’m up for it!

D: There are hellions in the Rolance imperial family. It isn’t all that strange to imagine hellions amongst the knights of Hyland as well.
M: "A hero in war is a hellion in life," goes the theory. I guess we have more evidence for that now.
S: But who would agree with the thoughts of the Lord of Calamity?
L: It isn’t really as strange as you make it sound. Asura himself was a Shepherd, you know.
S. And he thought the same way.
E: In order to save the people, and to begin anew, he would destroy everything. It’s a pitfall that can trap all humans who let malevolence get the best of them.
L: Yes…
S: How am I gonna break it to Alisha?
R: Does she really need to know?
L: It might be worse for her not to find out at this point.
R: But Maltran said she no longer had any use for Alisha.
L: I suppose we ought to believe her. It wouldn’t make sense for her to reveal her true self to us otherwise.
R: Seems to me the biggest issue is, she’d been Alisha’s rock through all this chaos, right?
M: Good point. If Alisha finds that out, not only has she lost her one pillar of support, but that pillar’s been using her the whole time… She could fall apart.
D: That might be exactly what Maltran wants.
E: She’d probably thinking she can get the war rolling for good by crushing Alisha’s spirit.
S: What should I do?

D: That’s to be expected.
L: The Minotaurus is a manifestation of the collective emotions of those who have been tortured and abused. This accounts for the anger it displays in all situations.
R: So, like, it rages at people to avoid the feeling of being raged at?
E: A case of misplaced anger, huh.
M: Wouldn’t kill it to do a little reflection.

L: Ever since the Age of Chaos began, more and more hellions have been pitiable types like that one.
R: You don’t say… They must have been children whose parents didn’t want them.
M: You mean they were abandoned children?
L: that’s probably what this place is for to most people in the area. A gruesome tradition indeed.
S: That parents would disavow their own flesh and blood like that… It’s unconscionable. Even though we weren’t his own flesh and blood, Gramps still took us in and raised us as his own.
M: Yeah. It’s hard to even think about.
R: Hey! C'mon! Buck up!
E: That’s right. You saved them in the end, didn’t you? You did something good in the world.
S: Yeah.
M: What’s gotten into you, Edna? You’re being… nice.
E: It’s not like I can’t admit when I’m wrong, you know. Unlike some people, I’m an adult.
M: Is that a fact.

M: Such a waste! Why would any seraph be pleased by the death of a human?!
E: I wouldn’t want the life of a foul human even if it were served up on a golden platter.
L: …
D: Hmph. They go on about offerings and salvation and such, but really all these weaklings want is an escape.
S: Dying as an escape?
D: When the future seems bleak, sometimes death starts to look mighty attractive. Especially in this Age of Chaos.
L: Yet, offering one’s own life up in hopes of helping others could be considered the polar opposite of malevolence.
D: Hah! You’re calling these sacrifices noble and pure?
L: Well, I don’t mean to say that what they do is right, but…
M: Neither attitude is one I want to endorse, frankly.
E: And at the same time, you can’t say either one is wrong, can you.
S: I guess that’s the nature of reality. Complicated.

D: You see something?
L: There’s a nest up the cliff. I think I even see baby birds.
D: Ah, probably a sylpheagle.
L: Even in the most inhospitable realm, life finds a way.
D: It’s a struggle for them, to be sure. But the cliff face also functions like a castle wall, keeping the eagles safe from predators. And the wind may beat at them constantly, but it also lifts their wings to reach splendid heights. If you’re a sylpheagle, it might be far from the worst place to live.
L: …
D: What?
L: Oh, I just thought it was nice. A friendly chat with you is so rare.
D: Tch. Just felt like it, is all. Probably the wind’s fault.
L: It’s a fine wind. Without it, no eagle could soar.

R: Okay, I am not cool with the size of a rat.
S: It’s a ruin. Rats happen.
M: They’re a sign that you’re doing real archaeology.
L: You’re okay with rats?
M: Rats don’t bark.
R: I don’t care if they howl at the moon, I just want them to stay, y'know, rat-sized. That one just now, I swear it could feed a family of four for a week.
S: Feed a family… Hmm…
M: Rats are often carriers of disease. You ought to reply on them as a source of nutrition.
R: It was a JOKE! Do I need to stick an asterisk on everything I say?
S: That’s brilliant! If the ruins collapse and we’re trapped inside, we can use rats as emergency rations!
R: I promise you it was a joke. I don’t want to die of the rat-shivers.
M: Let’s just focus on not getting trapped in the ruins in the first place, all right?

R: Yeah. He’s a real joker, for a seraph.
M: It’s nearly impossible to read his words or actions.
D: Lailah, tell us what you know about him.
L: I don’t know about that.
D: Zaveid the hellion-hunter. Quite the hot topic lately. His purpose seems to be fighting the hellions, but who really knows.
M: Edna, you knew him, didn’t you?
E: Kinda. He comes to Rayfalke every once in a while. Not sure why though.
R: So in the end, we only know that he’s still a mysterious seraph.
S: By the way, Dezel. You and Zaveid have a really similar fighting style. I wonder if that’s some sort of clue as to…
D: The hell should I know?! My skills are what I’ve honed for myself. That’s all.
S: Okay.
D: Damn! Why does he get to me like that?

M: What could it be? It sure doesn’t look like anything made by human hands.
S: Yeah. With that there, it starts to make sense how people came to worship this tower the way they do.
M: I doubt it. Ordinary humans could never make it up this high inside. It has to be the tower’s outward appearance that caused it.
R: Ugh! Who cares?! The point is, we’re nearly at the end, right?
S: I dunno about that.
M: I think we’re maybe about halfway up?
R: Seriously?
D: You out of steam?
R: No, I’ll be fine. Thanks!
D: I wasn’t worried or anything.
E: Bzzzt. Fail.
D: Fail what?
E: Hey Meebo. Show an example.
M: What? Why me? And wait, example of what?!
E: Bzzzt. Lailah!
L: Huh? Well, um… It’s okay if you get lost! Just sit back and leave everything to the official Dezel Wind Rush! That distant cliff can be underfoot in the blink of an eye, with the official Dezel Wind Rush! But wait, that’s not all. Buy now, and get this handy bonus Dezel absolutely FREE. A 500 gald value, free for this limited-time offer!
D: Hey! Only 500 gald?! I mean, wait, what the hell are you talking about?!
E: That: You should have done that. Save everyone all the trouble.
D: I… I don’t… What?
S: Dezel’s such a patient playmate! Look at him, putting up with all of Edna’s nonsense.
R: Hahahaha! Hey, as long as everyone’s having fun.
M: Trust me, Dezel, I know how you feel.

E: That’s reality. And there’s always luck involved in battle as well.
M: I know that, but still…
L: But "his" domain is less of an obstacle now, thanks to the spiritual powers.
E: It might be a trap set by kittybeard though.
M: How about saying something a little more positive for once?
L: You know, precautions like these may determine the outcome of the battle.
E: Oh, the power to perceive the truth!
M: Ever the skeptic, aren’t you.
E: We did gain some experience through the ordeal. Why don’t you try saying something positive?
M: …
L: We need to trust them, Mikleo. Believe in yourself and your fellow comrades.
D: Don’t get so worked up. I’ll help you out.
L: Dezel…
M: Thanks. We’re gonna be counting on you.
D: Don’t mention it. You are helping me get my revenge, after all.
L: …

L: What are you making?
M: A family tree of Rolance’s royal family. This is everything I know thus far.
S: You sure are dedicated.
M: Well, things like this are important.
L: Let’s take this as an opportunity to reassess our situation.
S: All right. Mikleo, take the lead.
M: Listen up. To start off with, the late Emperor Dorann had three sons: Leon, Konan and Lyte. Leon and Konan are both sons of the late empress, that is to say, they are Her Royal Highness’ sons. But they both passed away.
S: Both of them?
M: Apparently there was some sort of power struggle, but I don’t know the exact details.
S: Hmm…
L: But anyways, the one who took the throne was Emperor Lyte, at a very young age.
S: An emperor born from a concubine… The empress must have been unhappy.
M: Especially since she’s supposedly rater ambitious. That’s why she adopted her nephew, so she could involve him in the next struggle for succession of the throne.
L: And so now the secretary on the emperor’s side is standing off against her.
S: Boy, sounds like a lot of drama.
M: The secretary seems to be reputed as a person of great integrity, but…
L: Isn’t the secretary the one who hired the Scattered Bones to murder the empress?
M: That’s what gets me. Why did Rose accept that request? The royal family of Rolance is supposed to be her ultimate foe. It’s highly likely she’s just being used.
S: In the end, the only ones who will suffer in this power struggle are the citizens of Rolance. Doesn’t that mean anything to the empress? Could there be reason behind the request of the Secretary? I think Rose took the job to find that out for herself.
L: Like she always has?
S: Yeah.
M: Don’t forget that we’re already involved in this too.
S: I know. I’m glad you took the time to explain to us.
M: Then it was all worth it.

M: Is that the thing Zaveid gave you? He said that it’s a tool that shoots out power…
S: Yeah. And that’s how he gets power to oppose the malevolence.
M: So if you shoot yourself, you gain more power. If you shoot someone with it, you sever their ties with the malevolence. So it’s kind of like a bow that only fires arrows of pure energy, is that it?
S: These bullets have that kinda power?
M: Presumably.
S: And this is the last one, huh…
M: Looks like it. Assuming we can’t figure out how to make more.
S: How about we take it apart and see if we can…
M: No way.
S: I know, I know. We probably wouldn’t know how to but it back together if we did that.
M: We need to treat it with care. It’s obviously valuable.
D: An arrow of force…

Z: A man never goes back on his word. Well, unless it’s with the ladies.
S: But can you really do it?
Z: Oh ho ho, you doubt me, huh? C'mon, you’ve seen what I can do!
M: Yeah, but only because you practically forced it on us.
Z: I said I was sorry, jeez.
S: We get how strong you are. But what about the spiritual power of wind? You don’t have to go back and get it?
Z: Not to worry. The Shepherd takes those spiritual powers into his being. So there’s nothing to worry about! Especially not with an able and handsome wind seraph like me.
S: All right, then.
Z: I won’t let you down.
S: I’ll see to it you don’t.
M: I’m a little surprised. You’re quite knowledgeable about spiritual powers and Shepherds.
Z: Heh heh heh! Well I am a well-experienced, grown-ass man, after all. You know you can always count on me!
M: Somehow I’m not so sure that I can…
S: Ha ha ha…

L: Indeed. Were he near us, we’d surely have felt the strength of his domain.
M: I guess we’ll have to search somewhere else.
R: But we’ll need at least some clue as to where he is.
E: Agreed. I hate wasting my time.
S: Hiding such a large amount of malevolence shouldn’t exactly be an easy task.
Z: Malevolence, huh… I remember feeling an unusually strong level of malevolence before.
S: When was that?
Z: Right after we fought earlier. It was when we were heading back to Pendrago from the Guinevere shrine.
R: So maybe southwest of Pendrago?
S: All right. Let’s check it out.
Z: You guys really gonna go on such a shot in the dark?
S: Sounds like it’s worth a look.
R: We’ve got nothing to lose!
E: If this ends up being a waste of time, I swear I’ll stab you.
Z: Yeah, yeah. I’ll keep that in mind.

M: Why would we tell you something like that?!
Z: Hey now, that’s cold, Mikboy! I’ll tell you mine to make it fair: On days when the temperature is low, I get cold!
R: Yeah, because you don’t wear any clothes!
Z: Ah I see how it is. You want something juicier? Lemme tell ya something: if all girls starts crying, there’s nothing I won’t do for her!
E: Didn’t need to know that, thanks.
Z: You guys are tough customers! All right, try this one on for size: I’m strong against earth, but weak against fire!
S: We knew that.
Z: That’s not good either?! Then here’s a juicy tidbit that’ll rock your world! As far as I can tell, from the waist up, Lailah is–
L: This isn’t even about weaknesses anymore!
R: Looks like you’re fitting in just fine, I’d say.

L: Rose, is the injury you got from "him" starting to hurt?
R: Oh! No, I’m totally fine! It’s just embarrassing for me to get hurt like that when being kept ransom.
L: No, what’s really scary is that he would do such a thing without hesitation. And plus…
Z: Symonne’s reaction.
L: Yes.
R: Her illusions are really something.
L: Her skills are quite unusual, but there’s something even stranger about her.
R: You mean how she isn’t affected by malevolence?
L: Yes. Or rather, how deeply she believes in him, from the bottom of her heart.
R: But how could she?! When she was shot, she was smiling. How could she trust him so?
L: Only she knows the answer.
Z: But Symonne has remained a seraph while following the will of Heldalf. That much is true.
R: So then what’s really dangerous is how pure she actually is.
Z: Pretty ironic.
R: Yeah.

S: Get back, Rose!
M: It’s a hellion!
R: Uh… What’re you talking about?
S: THAT!
M: The read creature, get away from it!
R: Um, seriously? It’s just a crab.
S: "Just" nothing! Look, that monster has eight legs!
E: As crabs do.
M: And big, fearsome pincer-claw things!
L: Very crablike.
S: And it’s… It’s got a pointy shell, and…
M: And the little ones are running around blowing bubbles, and…
Z: Definitely a crab.
S: For real?
R: For real. They’re fairly common creatures of the sea.
L: And for the record, they’re delicious.
M: You mean to say that this… THING is all over the ocean?
S: Gahh… I had no idea. (shivers)
R: Seriously, your heads are full of the dumbest crap, and yet you’ve never heard of crabs?
L: Well, you might be the same if you’d lived your whole life in a mountain village.

R: It’s a plant, so yeah. What did you expect?
E: I didn’t know they bloomed. Their thorns are the more famous part.
R: Well, you know what they say. "Every rose has its thorn."
E: … That’s plantracist, you know.
R: Plantracist?
E: Many plants have pretty flowers. A certain subset have thorns. Why do the roses get a proverb out of it? Pure arrogance is what it is. A rosaceous conspiracy to oppress all other flora.
R: R-Right. Okay, then can you think of a good cactus proverb?
R & E: "Every cactus has its flower."
R: Jinx! Hahahah!
E: I should have tried harder.

M: Surprise poetry reading?
Z: Now now Mickey my boy, surely as a water seraph you understand how precious water is in a place like this!
M: Well, sure, I guess, but…
Z: Go on, Lailah! I know you’re just aching to plunge that smoldering fire-seraph skin into the cool crystal depths!
L: I’ll pass. Do enjoy your nice clean spring.
Z: Then, Edna! Come! It is only fitting that a seraph of the earth should join me as together we leap into this blessing from the land.
E: No wonder you’re a wind seraph. Your situational awareness blows.
Z: That… That one stung.
E: Then wash your tears in this very font of life.
Z: Yes. Yes, I think I will…

E: Moist and gross, but points for otherworldliness.
L: But how strange. What causes it to glow?
R: I bet he’d know… If he were still here.
L: ………………………..
Z: Hey hey! Why not ask your buddy Zaveid?
E: What, you know the answer?
Z: The famed glowing mushroom! And why, pray tell, does it glow so bright?
E: You don’t know. The answer is you don’t know, right?
Z: Because it craves attention!
E: Three points. Out of a thousand.
Z: … But look, I’m not wrong, am I? A shy mushroom would never willingly stick out like that!
E: Over explaining. 20-point penalty.
Z: There’s negative points?!
R: Hahahah! We’ve got a mushroom of our own to brighten our path, don’t we.
L: It seems we do.

Z: Oh? You see them a lot in the north. It’s folk art.
M: Hmm, you don’t think… Maybe it’s meant to symbolize the relationship between seraphim and humans?
Z: Whoa, uh, I wouldn’t go overthinking it.
M: But look, they specifically chose this odd configuration. There has to be some meaning behind it, don’t you think?
Z: Hmm, undoubtedly. So what would you say it means, then, having a human inside of a seraph?
M: Well, maybe… Maybe it represents the distinct personality inside each seraph? No hold on. Perhaps, depicting a fanciful inverse of the typical seraph-in-human vessel relationship, it’s meant to symbolize coexistence between the two! Zaveid, is there anything inside the innermost doll?
Z: Ah yes, typically in the very core is… A plum pit.
M: A plum pit?! Hmm. Yes. Yes. A symbol, of course, but of what? A pit is a seed… A sign of rebirth, perhaps? But then, why a plum? True, some bloom in the spring, but… Hmm…
Z: (to E) I’m starting to get why you like toying with our boy Mickey here.
E: I know, right? In some ways, he’s even more pure than Sorey.
M: Such rich philosophy… Very profound…

Z: Probably because this is an earthpulse nexus, don’t you think?
S: Earthpulse?
Z: Heh. I’ll let Terror Firma herself do the explaining.
E: The earthpulse is a manifestation of the power of mother nature that permeates the earth.
Z: Exactly! Lohgrin has been known for centuries as a spot where several branches of the earthpulse intersect.
E: If you’re already such an expert, why call on me?
Z: Because when you say it, it’s that much more adorable.
M: Huh. Interesting.
S: So the Earthen Historia is reacting to the earthpulse.
R: Um, could you repeat that in English for dumb-bums like me?
S: Well, um…
M: Okay. Let’s say instead that there’s all this water bubbling up here. Then the Earthen Historia would be like a waterwheel. When the wheel goes round, it grinds out the record of history just like it was milling grains.
R: Oh, okay! Makes sense to me! But then why are the Earthen Historia behaving like a waterwheel?
M: Uh, probably–
E: I told you. The earthpulse is the power of the earth.
M: Oh, I see. So if Maotelus made the Earthen Historia, and he’s using the earth itself as his vessel…
S: Then probably it’s the force of his will that’s making them do that.

Z: Classy. Though I’d probably switch colors, were it up to me.
M: I wonder what this one makes red.
R: Maybe it’s holding its breath?
M: That’s almost impressively wrong.
R: Fine, then, go take a look yourself.
M: Not a bad idea. I bet there’s something in the soil there affecting it.
Z: Let us know what you find! Oh, and careful, that one feeds on blood.
M: That’s something you say at the BEGINNING of a conversation!
Z: Mickey, my boy, it’s pain what makes a man out of you!
M: If growing up means turning into a creature like you, I’ll take a pass.
R: So the red comes from blood, huh? Just like me.
Z: Huh? Just like you?
R: My name. Besides the modern meaning, in the old tongue "rose" meant "one who makes the bloodflower bloom."
M: That’s… disturbing.
Z: Remember this, my boy. Knowing what it is to fear a woman will also make a man out of you.

E: Don’t say it. You know the cliché– that’s the setup for it to show itself.
R: It’s totally a footprint!
E: Augh! The-you-go-ahead-and-say-it-after-I-explicitly-told-you-not-to-say-it-cliché! Curses!
Z: Is calling out clichés a cliché?
E: Whatever.
R: So do you think this pond really…
Z: Was a footprint? Could be. Dragon, giant, big-footed hellion, who knows.
S: It looks awfully old, though. I doubt it’s still in this area.
E: I’d rather it not be in ANY area, myself.
R: Looking at it, I’m just amazed all over again.
S: I think I know what you mean. How could a seraph transform into something the size of a hellion?
Z: You know. I’ve a theory. We seraphim carry ambitious and desires the size of a dragon with us, and it’s all we can do to keep them in check. If that emotion erupts all at once and produces a hellion, it’s essentially our internal passions made manifest on this earth. Looking at it that way, the size of all the hellions we see starts to make sense, don’t you think? Hm? Did I say something funny?
R: No, actually, we were surprised at how NORMAL you sounded just now.
S: Sorry.
E: Ahh, the say-something-out-of-character-and-surprise-everyone-with-how-many-layers-you-have cliché.
Z: Enough of that!

E: Hah? Looks normal enough to me.
L: But the tree! Because of the ivy, it…
Z: It’s dead.
L: The ivy used the tree for its own growth. But in the process, it blocked the light, and the tree withered and died.
E: Yes, that’s kind of how nature works.
L: But it’s so sad…
Z: Oh. Wait, you’re not thinking about how it goes between seraphim and Shepherds, are you?
L: Yes…
E: Huh? How naive can you be?
L: I know it in my head, but…
E: Ugh, you’re the Prime Lord, you should be stronger than this.
L: Yes, I know…
E: If Sorey withered and died, it’d be your fault.
L: Very much so.
E: Then why don’t you switch up your metaphor? Be the tree instead, who selflessly supported her viney companion to the very end. The Shepherd’s a flower, and he needs you in order to bloom.
L: Yes… huh?
Z: She’s trying to cheer you up, Lailah.
E: Keep your footnotes out of my speech, thanks.

L: It’s beautiful. Opulent, but with an understated elegance.
R: Yeah. You can just imagine the kind of person who would own this.
S: Hmm, for a relic like this to remain here untouched… This place must be entirely unlooted!
R: Yes, Sorey, we know you only have one filter for everything.
S: I wonder if the person buried here is a woman.
L: Yes, she’s probably the one who owned that mirror.
R: Oh. Oh, so this WAS a grave… I’ll be putting this back.
L: That’s probably best.
S: Hey, do seraphim show up in mirrors?
L: No. Well, usually not, but if we concentrate, we can make ourselves appear.
S: Wait, so you mean even people with no resonance can see seraphim that way?
L: Somehow, yes.
S: But that’s great! You could use that to communicate with humans!
L: That might be difficult. It takes enormous amounts of concentration just to show up briefly; anything beyond that is impossible.
S: Oh… That’s a shame.
R: Huh, so that explains it! People always whisper about ghosts that only show up in mirrors. Those had to be seraphim!
L: Yes. Sometimes, when we’re putting makeup on, we accidentally focus way to hard, and…
S & R: Putting on makeup?!
L: Well… I mean, I am a girl.

R: But we’re still missing something crucial. How did Heldalf end up that way?
S: Well, we know all too well what hardship he’s been through.
Z: Whoa, there, Sheps. Don’t tell me you’re sympathizing with him!
S: Is it sympathy? I can’t even tell.
R: Sheesh, Lailah, this is cruel! I liked it better when he was a Faceless Bad Guy. You can chop those to bits guilt-free.
L: I’m sorry.
M: But really, though, it’s tough. How are we supposed to figure out the right thing to do?
Z: Well, is Lailah even telling Sorey to find the "right" answer? Or…
S & M & R: Oh!
L: Zaveid!
Z: Dang! Sorry.
E: So now what? Just standing around talking like this isn’t gonna solve anything.
S: Let’ go back to see Mayvin.
R: Right. He’s probably organized his thoughts by now, anyway.

Z: Hm?
S: You knew about Mayvin too?
Z: Well, you know. He just seemed like a storyteller to me. And when I confronted him about it, it turned out my hunch was correct. That’s all.
E: He’s pretty well know as a storyteller. Especially among seraphim who have been around for a while.
M: You could have told us about it, you know.
E: Well, it’s also a taboo.
Z: For both seraphim and humans.
M: But what does that entail?
S: Let’s focus on collecting the Earthen Historia, Mikleo. Just hearing those stories probably isn’t enough.
M: So when you see with your own eyes, you can figure out the truth behind the myth, huh.
S: That’s what it’s about. Isn’t that right?

L: …
M: I see. So Lailah avoided speaking about it directly by asking Mayvin the Storyteller to help her out.
(E pokes him with her parasol)
M: Ouch! Damn it! That’s not what you use an umbrella for!
Z: Heh heh. You have no idea how the mind of a lady works!
E: Hmph.
(E pokes him with her parasol)
Z: Ouch! That hurts! Dang! What an ice-queen!
L: Pfft!
(E pokes him with her parasol)
Z: Yeeouch! Dang! She’s not playing around!
R: Thank, Zaveid. We needed someone to break the tension.
Z: Oho, I think our Rose might be in love.
E: Don’t get your hopes up.
(E pokes him with her umbrella)
Z: Augh!

M: Yeah. There’s no shortage of things we need to do.
S: Now we have the Earthen Historia and the storyteller to deal with as well. The world we live in is full of secrets and mystery.
M: I hear you. It’s really frustrating being pushed around and intentionally kept in the dark like this.
R: Yeah, but isn’t that kinda natural?
S: What do you mean?
R: Ain’t nothing but secrets in the world of merchants! The market, guild rules, networks, conveyance routes, all kinds of things you can’t say in bid-riggings… Every is a battle against secrecy.
S: I see. Yeah, you’re right.
M: In our case, that secrecy is all over Maotelus and his past history.
S: Of course it is. I am Shepherd, after all.
R: And you like it, don’t you?
S: Of course!
M: He’s not kidding.
R: Well as long as you understand! Okay! Let’s keep up the never-ending battle against secrecy!

M: Quite rare that we’re ever in the same place that Mayvin is.
R: For sure. I mean, he’s an explorer and all.
M: Is there any real reason why, though?
R: You really need to ask?
M: Guess there’s no point in worrying about it.
R: Yup! Like they say, "fear is often greater than something something."
M: "Greater than danger," you mean.

R: You look pretty bummed out by this.
S: Well, yeah.
R: I’m sorry. Sorry I’m not more bummed out myself, I mean.
S: You don’t need to apologize for that.
R: Hmm… Whenever a friend of mine is down, if I’m not feeling the same way, I always feel like… Maybe something’s missing from me.
M: It’s just like he said, Rose. There’s nothing you need to apologize for. In fact, uh…
S: Yeah…
S & M: Sorry!
R: Huh?
S: If anything, we should be the ones sorry for making you worry so much.
M: We just need a little more time to get our feelings sorted out. We’ll be fine. You can count on it.
R: Gotcha!

R: What happened to that village was so ghastly you can sorta see how Michael finally came to do what he did. But still, no one except maybe his closest friends ought to buy "I was in the depths of my despair" as an excuse.
M: Right. The actions he took that day changed the fates of millions.
E: That’s true. It was his thoughtless curse of eternal solitude that paved the way for kittybeard to become the Lord of Calamity. Without the curse, ol’ sourpuss never would have hated the world so much… Never would have wanted it turn into a world of hellions.
R: You can’t blame the people of Hyland or Rolance for seeing him as a monster… But I get the sense that deep down, in his own misguided way, he just wants to bring peace to his country.
Z: Some of the blame, too, has to go to the former Shepherd for keeping secret the fact that he’d spirited Maotelus away. Because of that, folks who didn’t know the true situation wound up desecrating the shrine and causing Maotelus to transform into a hellion.
S: That’s right. If they’d only talked about it more openly, there might have been better understanding and cooperation.
Z: It also looks like the former Shepherd didn’t really trust anyone other than his own flesh and blood.
M: To those who believed in the Shepherd, I can think of no greater wound.
L: True enough. Hey may genuinely wanted every one of them to be happy, but if he never shared this desire with anyone, then…
R: Regardless of Michaels’s circumstances, it doesn’t change the fact that what Heldalf did was unspeakably cruel. That he would toss strangers to the wolves just to further his own interests…
M: None of this comes down to black and white, that’s for sure.
S: Well, Mayvin told us just to feel and experience what had happened. We’ll go tell him what we felt.

M: I’m not so sure about that. He’s strong enough to use the earth itself as a vessel. Will that really be all that it takes?
S: Right. We’ll probably have to purify all the malevolence attached to the land as well.
Z: Is that right, Lailah?
L: She sells seashells by the seashore! Yep!
Z: She sells seashells by the seashore! Yep!
M: He’s got to be doing that on purpose…
E: Originally, he was the one who would purify the land. His power was the blessing of the land itself.
S: Like a natural purification of sorts, huh.
Z: Don’t think that’s gonna be enough this time.
L: Certainly the activates of the Shepherds also contributed to the earth’s natural purification from the outside.
R: But now it’s just Sorey, and no one else.
S: We need to have a plan of action before moving on. But all the same, we can’t sit around brooding all day.
R: For sure.

R: One time, when we were being pursued, he lent us a hand. He even showed us to a hideout without asking any questions.
S: You must be talking about Tintagel Ruins.
R: Yep. But I never thought the inside would be like that.
Z: Hmm.
R: What? If you got something to say, spit it out!
Z: I just thought that maybe he approached you because he knew you had high resonance. As in like, he was out to gather information as a storyteller would.
R: Oh. That sorta stuff, huh.
Z: "That sort stuff, huh?"
R: Yeah. Doesn’t matter to me what he was after. He helped us out, and we had a lot of fun together. That’s all that matters.
Z: Do you think so, Sorey? He might have had the same intent with reaching out to you, too.
S: Hmm… Doesn’t matter to me, either. To me, Mayvin is just the man who taught me what it means to be an explorer.
R: Got a problem?
Z: Hey, ease up! You guys are making me look like the bad guy here!
R: I wouldn’t worry too much. You always were.
Z: Gimme a break!

Z: Well, whatever it’s for, with Maotelus and Heldalf all fused together, it stands a chance of working.
M: Zaveid, did you willingly give it to Sorey, knowing that information?
Z: Oh snap, you got figured out… Not! I just thought that’d be cool to say. It’s like I told you. Just a hunch. It’s not like I’m some kinda prophet or whatever.
S: I mean, what exactly is this thing? How did you get it?
Z: I just picked it up somewhere. Where, you ask? I forgot.
M: It’s a little hard to swallow that it’s just a coincidence, don’t you think?
Z: Well believe it, don’t believe it, whatever. That’s how the world works.
S: Alright. I won’t ask anymore.
Z: But sometimes, your will creators chances for certain things to happen. You wanna know what they call that? "Destiny."
S: Destiny, huh.
Z: Well in any case, it’s yours now. How you use it is all up to you.
M: Whether what happens after you pull that trigger is coincidence or destiny…
S: Is up to me, huh…

S: She’s with Eguille. I’m sure she’ll be just fine.
M: You’re right. But it’s unfortunate that their feelings didn’t reach Lunarre.
L: Or maybe they did.
S: What do you mean?
L: I think Lunarre wanted to deny the existence of things like families of comrades. And that was exactly why he was so attached to Rose and her compatriots.
E: He probably thought that if he acknowledged them, they would shun him. And so that’s why he lived a life solitude.
M: How ridiculous! What’s wrong about relying on other people in times of–
Z: That sort of concept isn’t something you can just throw away easily. Especially if you’ve got a troubled past.
L: …
S: Everyone in the Scattered Bones carries their past with them, like a sort of burden. Maybe he couldn’t accept that.
M: If that’s true, then I feel sorry for him.

M: Sorey, are you thinking about Alisha?
S: Yeah, I’m sure she’s fine, but I can’t stop thinking about Maltran’s last words.
M: "You’re soft to the core, aren’t you. Of all your flaws, that might be what I hate about you the most."
S: Yeah. It probably cut her to the core.
M: Especially coming from her master, whom she’s trusted for over ten years now.
Z: Let me tell you youngsters somethin’: don’t ever take a lady’s word at face value.
S: So you mean there’s some hidden meaning behind it?
Z: Who knows. I’ve been around for a thousand years and still can’t figure out women! But ten years is too long of a time to maintain a relationship with some crafty scheme.
M: Are you saying that Maltran actually did have some affection for Alisha?
Z: Hatred is one form of love, you know. But who knows how she really felt.
M: That may be true, but still…
S: It’s so complicated.
Z: Understanding the complexity is the first step. Anyways, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Women are strong. Stronger then most men even realize.

M: What do you think the other one was?
L: If I had to guess…
E: Judging from what we know of the aims of the Lord of Calamity…
M: She was to be a tool to stain Sorey with malevolence.
E: Most likely by killing her. Though we avoided it at the last minute.
M: How could anyone be so…
L: …
Z: Hey, maybe it was just that she got off on the academic thrills of teaching swordplay to an eager pupil!
M: You’re the worst, Zaveid.
E: Go die, like right now.
L: I’m going to glare dot-dot-dot at you right now SO HARD.
Z: Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me for trying to ease the tension!

L: Yes. They were likely seraphim of considerable power. Most likely, "he" captured them and shut them away in an area where malevolence is likely to gather, like a battlefield for example.
S: As a sacrifice. …
L: A battlefield is like a microcosm of our world. All kinds of emotions spiral and whirl about in a place like that.
S: You mean like fear and hatred. The kind of emotions that would beget dragons.
L: Those aren’t the only ones. There’s also bravery… The bravery needed to stand up against the dragons. And that’s something you invoked.
S: Then I can’t give up yet. Not as long as there’s still hope. I’ll just have to believe. Both in Sergei, and in the world that humans live in.
L: Indeed. And we still will believe in you.

M: Well, what can you do?
L: Yes. We’re talking about Sorey, after all.
E: Seriously.
Z: Haha! There ya have it.

L: Quite.
S: Did someone forget something here?
L: Ooh. Uh, how should I–
R: Sorey. Look around you. What do you see?
S: Um, well, it looks like a slime-hellion lair, so… Oh!
Z: Yup. The owner of this junk got gobbled up.
S: But why did they leave this stuff untouched?
R: Picky eaters, no doubt.
L: You joke, but there may be some truth to it. Slime hellions are a mass of ego and greed, after all.
S: …
Z: No time to mourn the departed. Don’t forget we’re also here in their lair. You don’t want to blink and find yourself starting at the inside of a slime-stomach.
S: You’re right. I’ll be careful.
R: I bet you’d make an attractive morsel, Zaveid. The slimes’d barely have anything to spit out.
Z: I get that a lot! "Zaveid you’re only an egg or two away from being a delicious omelette!"

L: It’s not?
R: Yeah. The Sparrowfeathers pass through here all the time, but I’ve never seen any before.
E: Couldn’t they be former war-horses?
R: Oh, there you go! That explains it. They must’ve gotten separated. Stupid armies! Clean up after yourselves, at least!
L: I wonder which country’s horses they are.
E: Who knows? Might be both.
R: Making their peace as fellow strays?
E: Would that surprise you? It’s not like the horses have any reason to fight.
L: Just like people, horses too run from the terrors of war…
E: Technically, they gallop.
R: Are they… Are they okay to live like that?
E: Why not? The malevolence of the battlefield is long gone. The main danger is past.
L: The "mane" danger, you mean?
E: … No. No, I do not.

S: That foxtail is huge!
L: Oh, we should harvest a couple pounds of it. It looks quite tasty!
R: Eww. Not sure about that.
L: No no, just brown it and add water, oil, maybe some red wine! Simmer over low heat…
S: Uh, Lailah?
L: Add in some, what is it, onions, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, cover it, let it sit for three hours–
E: Yes, we get it, foxtail soup! Like oxtail soup. Uuuuuuugh. Are you quite satisfied?
L: Yes! Thank you very much!
E: Honestly, how can someone like you even be Prime Lord?
L: I have to be cunning like a foxtail!
E: I’ll kick YOUR foxtail!
R: Seems like Lailah’s the fox, and we’re the henhouse.
S: Well, you can’t blame the fox, not when it’s handed such a tasty meal.

S: Not at all. Sergei and Lucas are with her.
M: Our next destination is Elysia.
S: Yeah. There should be a passage that leads to Camlann where Maotelus is waiting.
M: What are we gonna tell Gramps?
S: Let’s just not tell him.
M: Sorey!
S: There is no need! It’s not like we’ll never see him again.
M: You’re right. Let’s do this.

L: Sorey has most likely grown a lot stronger than she anticipated.
Z: Yeah. She knows no matter what she does, Sorey’ll brush it right off. It’s got her quivering in her dainty little shoes.
L: But a cornered dog is likely to bite. If it comes down to her last resort, do you think Sorey can really just brush it off? It worries me.
Z: Well, we just won’t let it get to that. Simple enough, right?
L: Yes!
E: He shouldn’t have to know how it feels. Not even if he thinks he’s ready for it.
L: Edna…
Z: Looks like our Edna’s in Serious Mode.
E: Looks like our Zaveid’s pretty Serious Mode himself. For once.
L: That’s a good thing, Zaveid! Please, make Serious Mode your default from now on!
Z: Oh! I can’t refuse the request of such a pretty lady! Just watch, I’ll be serious..ly in love! Hey, ya married? Would ya like to be?
E: Lailah, you idiot. He would’ve stayed that way if you’d just left him alone.
L: I’m sorry…

M: It’s probably the enshrined god of the Mt. Mabinogio ruins. I couldn’t tell you its name, but…
L: This is Zenrus.
M: What?!
S: You mean Gramps?!
L: Long ago, people worshipped Zenrus as the God of Thunder, the deity encompassing both severity and grace.
M: Huh. So that whole time, what we grew up playing and exploring in was…
S: Gramps’ shrine.

S: Michael’s house…
L: …
S: And Muse lived here too, right?
M: Yeah. I guess that means I was here myself, as a human baby.
S: So that makes Camlann your hometown, huh?
M: It’s yours as well, isn’t it?
S: I suppose. But I don’t feel anything toward it.
M: It’s just one of those historical technicalities.
S: I can’t think of my hometown as anywhere but Elysia.
M: Yeah. Same.
S: You and me, Elysians now and forever.
M: Now and forever.
L: …

R: It says something here… "Let this be the beginning."
L: Huh?!
M: A monument commemorating the establishment of Camlann?
S: The beginning of what, I wonder? Michael had just quit being a Shepherd.
R: The beginning of a normal life with his family, I suspect.
M: And also, maybe, the first step toward a world without malevolence.
S: So Camlann’s name, "The Origin Village"… It probably didn’t initially mean the origin of the Age of Chaos.
R: He meant it to instill hope.
L: Michael…
S: There’s still a chance, Lailah. We can make Camlann the origin of hope again.
R: By bringing a close to the Age of Chaos.
L: Indeed.

S: No, wait… Somethings’s off. It’s…
L: This is the crest of Innominat.
R: Innominat? Who’s that?
M: A rather enigmatic seraph who only comes up in the oldest texts.
Z: He was one of the Five Lords, before Maotelus.
S: A lord before Maotelus? Do the Five Lords switch in and out?
E: Everything comes and goes, without exception.Right now, those who worship Maotelus vastly outnumber adherents of the other four Lords. Tomorrow, it may be the opposite.
S: I see… I guess that makes sense.
M: So this is a shrine to Innominat.
S: It looks like it. Let’s go.
M: Yeah.
R: Wow, usually they can’t help but go on and on about this stuff.
E: Lailah, maybe we ought to–
L: …
Z: …
R: Huh?
E: No. Moving. on.
R: Uh… Right. Come on, guys.
Z: Yeah.
L: Yes.

S: Yeah. Looks like this place had something to do with Shepherds after all.
M: There used to be a great many Shepherds. If only some of them were still walking this earth…
S: Right. But history is history, and it’s put us here now. You, me, everyone.
M: True enough. And don’t forget, every moment we live is also part of history.
S: Heheh! Then we better do what we can not to disappoint our future selves.
M: Yup. After all, the future’s still filled with jerks like me who hold the past to an impossible standard.
S: Hah! Criticize THIS, you jerks!

Z: To the point that she couldn’t find meaning in her life until she started working for Heldalf.
S: And with such tremendous powers, too. It’s a real shame she couldn’t believe in herself.
R: She could’ve killed us with those powers of hers. I wonder if Heldalf ordered her not to.
M: But more than that, I’m wondering if she COULD have killed us. Her powers went beyond the typical domain of seraphic artes. They felt… more special.
S: Ohhh, you mean like from an oath.
E: An oath she took not to kill anybody.
Z: Humans, seraphim, hellions. Whatever she’s up against, she can do anything and everything but kill them. Feels like it means something, and at the same time, it doesn’t.
L: But in the end, it felt like she was genuinely going all-out on us.
E: That’s how much she wanted to kill us. Even if it meant breaking her oath, losing her powers, and defying her feline overseer.
L: Yes. If she hadn’t been hampered by the concentration of malevolence in this area… We were very lucky.
S: She hated me that much…

M: Is Maotelus emitting it, or is it flowing into Maotelus? In either case, the malevolence here is definitely what turned Maotelus into a hellion.
E: The heart of the malevolence seems to be in the back of the village. And there we should find…
S: Heldalf and Maotelus.
R. Let’s go!
L: The hellions in this region are incredibly strong. You must be careful.
S: I will! You guys do the same!
R: We got this! Never underestimate the Shepherd’s posse.

S: This is incredible…
M: It defies all reason!
L: The massive amount of malevolence must be behind this warped scenery.
Z: And so that’s why the landscape here is so out of this world?
R: If there is hell, I wonder if it’s like this?
E: Says the person who’s actually been to it.
Z: I told ya I’ll tell you all about it when I see it, ladies. And I’ve a feeling I won’t be waiting long.
L: Glad to see everyone’s still got the energy to joke around at least!
R: They’re the same as ever, that’s for sure.
E: I don’t think you guys can be the ones to say that.
Z: Oh yeah? Well then how about a guy like me?
M: Very reassuring.
S: Yeah. Really.

M: It sure looks curious. Have you ever seen anything like it?
R: Hmm… Not that I can think of. We see lots of exotic merchandise, but nothing like this.
S: Could it be that it washed up here from across the sea?
M: Across the sea?!
R: A far-off land with weird alien trees dropping weird alien seeds left and right? Must be cool to have an imagination like yours.
S: The world can be stranger and more wonderful than you think. Just look at this mystery-seed. Heck, just look where we’re standing. Isn’t it weird? Isn’t it awesome?
R: Heh. You’ve got a point. I happily yield.
M: A land beyond the sea, huh? I like the sound of that.
S: Yeah, I’d like to make it there. Someday.

M: The King was holding a sword over. Pretty clear that it was some formal military ceremony. And I imagine the person receiving the sword was a general.
L: The uniform would suggest a general of the Rolance Empire. It’s hard to say exactly when this took place, though.
S: Whoever he was, he sure looked like a hero!
M: But what does it mean? It’s not like that’s a particularly uncommon type of scene, historically speaking.
L: If we could see more, we might get a better idea as to why this scene showed up.
M: Do you think there are any more?
S: I dunno, but let’s try to find them. I mean, hidden glimpses of history? How cool is that?!

M: …
S: Mikleo?
M: Oh… Uh, sorry. What did you just say?
S: Whoa. I’ve never seen you space out like that! You feeling OK?
L: Oh no! Poor Sickly-o!
E: Nice.
M: Not nice.
S: No, but seriously, you all right? Should we sit down for a bit?
M: I’m fine. I just… got caught up in my thoughts. For some reason.

S: It’s the Earthen Historia. It records events from the past.
M: Is this a record of wars throughout the world?
S: So that guy… Heldalf. He’s using those wars as crucibles to breed more malevolence…
E: He pits hellions against each other in order to increase their strength and ferocity.
D: Disgusting.
L: His heart is surely sunk in the depths of darkness…
S: That’s the truth of the Lord of Calamity.

R: Maybe he lost war? Just a thought.
M: Once there had been huge crowds cheering for him, and now…
S: It makes me wonder… There was no one at all he could turn to?
E: That’s par for the course of humans.

M: They’ve started interfering, I suppose. Heldalf’s followers are causing mischief in human society.
S: To create malevolence?
R: Sounds connected to what we saw earlier.
M: Right, he was taking advantage of wars to produce hellions.
S: So he’s trying to start another war!
E: But this a record of the past. That war is probably well underway.
S: He’s deceiving everyone…
D: Not quite. I’m sure there are those who have joined hands with him of their own free will.
S: How could they?
L: Unfortunately, we can’t rule out the possibility.
S: …

M: They’ve started interfering, I suppose. Heldalf’s followers are causing mischief in human society.
S: To create malevolence?
R: Sounds connected to what we saw earlier.
M: Right, he was taking advantage of wars to produce hellions.
S: So he’s trying to start another war!
E: But this a record of the past. That war is probably well underway.
S: He’s deceiving everyone…
Z: That’s the charitable interpretation. But it could very well be that some folks are intentionally assisting him.
S: How could they?
L: Unfortunately, we can’t rule out the possibility.
S: …

E: And a fully-materialized one, at that.
S: What tremendous power…
L: …
D: You saw that mass of malevolence at his back. The hellion possessing him is far beyond anything we’ve ever fought.
S: Yeah. I’ll definitely need to get stronger.
R: Hah! That’s your reaction? I dunno whether to be worried or relieved.

E: And a fully-materialized one, at that.
S: What tremendous power…
L: …
Z: Dang… Just look at how much malevolence is swarming around him. Gets me itchin’ for action.
S: Yeah. I’ll definitely need to get stronger.
R: Hah! That’s your reaction? I dunno whether to be worried or relieved.

S: That man… He was a former Shepherd, wasn’t he.
L: Yes.
S: I see. He seemed like a pretty laid-back fellow.
M: Unlike certain other Shepherds.
S: Shut up.
M: Well, there’s one more thing we learned.
S: Yeah. Let’s go on to the next one.
L: Huh?
R: Wait, you’re not gonna ask her for more details? Wouldn’t it be crazy useful to get info on your predecessor?
S: There’s a reason Lailah never mentioned it. Don’t you think?
M: We know that much, at least.
L: Sorey, Mikleo…
D: But that reason just might be the key to all our problems. You better hope you don’t regret it later.
E: They may be kids, but they’re not as immature as you’d think.

M: It looked like it took place at the shrinechurch in Pendrago. And that was Maotelus’ crest…
S: Was his Prime Lord Maotelus?
L: Please excuse me for a moment.
R: Uh-oh. She took off. Almost like you were picking on her.
S: We didn’t mean for her to leave…
R: I know.
D: Well, judging from circumstantial evidence, I’d say there’s a major chance that Maotelus is mixed up in this somehow.
M: Yeah. For that many Shepherds to exist at once, you’d need a power on par with the Five Lords.
S: Yeah. But let’s leave the speculation at that for now.
E: So long as we’re gabbing about it, Lailah’s stuck in there.
M: Oops. Sorry, I forgot.

M: It looked like it took place at the shrinechurch in Pendrago. And that was Maotelus’ crest…
S: Was his Prime Lord Maotelus?
L: Please excuse me for a moment.
R: Uh-oh. She took off. Almost like you were picking on her.
S: We didn’t mean for her to leave…
R: I know.
Z: Well, either way, the bottom line is it looks like our boy Maotelus is wrapped up in this somehow.
M: Yeah. For that many Shepherds to exist at once, you’d need a power on par with the Five Lords.
S: Yeah. But let’s leave the speculation at that for now.
E: So long as we’re gabbing about it, Lailah’s stuck in there.
M: Oops. Sorry, I forgot.

M: So the question is, why and how did they disappear?
L: What do you think?
S: If the existence of so many Shepherds depended on Maotelus, then…
M: When Maotelus disappeared, so did all of them.
E: Isn’t it too early to jump to conclusions?
S: Well, what other possibilities are there?
E: Maybe humans abandoned their faith in seraphim to the extent that Shepherds just ceased to exist.
D: Perhaps the large crowd of Shepherds we saw was just a historical anomaly.
R: Maybe only people like Sorey can be Shepherds, and there’s just fewer Nice Guys in the world these days.
S: Huh… So there’s plenty of other possibilities.
M: I guess that means we have to keep collecting information.
L: Yes. If you do that, you will surely arrive at your answer.

M: So the question is, why and how did they disappear?
L: What do you think?
S: If the existence of so many Shepherds depended on Maotelus, then…
M: When Maotelus disappeared, so did all of them.
E: Isn’t it too early to jump to conclusions?
S: Well, what other possibilities are there?
E: Maybe humans abandoned their faith in seraphim to the extent that Shepherds just ceased to exist.
Z: Who knows… Maybe a monster crawled out of the ground and gobbled them all up.
R: Maybe only people like Sorey can be Shepherds, and there’s just fewer Nice Guys in the world these days.
S: Huh… So there’s plenty of other possibilities.
M: I guess that means we have to keep collecting information.
L: Yes. If you do that, you will surely arrive at your answer.

R: That was killer, Lailah. You were in perfect harmony.
D: He was quite skilled despite his youth.
S: Yeah. Compared to him…
M: You’ve still got a long way to go.
S: Lailah. I wish I could go on a journey like that with you.
L: Sorey…
E: Excuse you, Sorey.
S: Huh?
L: Yes. This journey now is every bit as enjoyable as it was back then. Thanks to everyone here.

R: That was killer, Lailah. You were in perfect harmony.
Z: Man… I’m actually a bit jealous.
S: Yeah. Compared to him…
M: You’ve still got a long way to go.
S: Lailah. I wish I could go on a journey like that with you.
L: Sorey…
E: Excuse you, Sorey.
S: Huh?
L: Yes. This journey now is every bit as enjoyable as it was back then. Thanks to everyone here.

R: It was like people in his family just… died.
E: Looks like it. Pretty much all of them, one after another.
L: …
M: It couldn’t have been coincidence.
S: Were they… murdered? …

M: The First Captain of the Platinum Knights, General Georg… Heldalf!
S: Heldalf!
M: And this was painted over 20 years ago.
E: He would definitely show up in the Earthen Historia.
S: So this is Heldalf…

S: I don’t know. He just looked like a big lion-headed hellion to us. But Lailah said that the Earthen Historia would be the guidepost to lead us to the Lord of Calamity.
M: And the human mentioned there was Heldalf. It would make sense that they’re one and the same.
R: Huh. Yeah, I can see that. Hm. Makes him look like a pretty distinguished gentleman, actually.
S: Yeah. He looks maybe the same age as our dads, don’t you think?
M: Or at least, that’s how old he was 20-ish years ago.
R: Looks like he was the first captain of the knights.
S: To hang his portrait like this… He must command a lot of respect from Sergei and the rest of the knights.
M: Sorey?
S: I’m okay. It just sank in for me. The Lord of Calamity isn’t some faceless monster. He’s a human being, just like me.
R: …
M: …

S: That can’t be real, can it, Lailah? How could anything like that happen?
L: The Earthen Historia record the events of the past.
S: So… That really happened?
M: And it wasn’t just some random tragedy. You couldn’t do something like that without using seraphic artes.
S: You mean a hellion or a seraph used an arte on humans?!
E: Most likely for revenge.
Z: Pretty disturbing arte. No, more like pretty disturbing arte-USER.
S: But his family had nothing to do with this!
E: Maybe the goal was to rob him of his purpose in life. Way more brutal than just walking up and killing him.
S: But… Surely NO ONE deserves that kind of treatment, no matter what they’ve done…

M: And yet, in the end, none of it worked.
R: But wait, that’s weird. You’d think at least one of them would’ve stuck.
E: He probably wasn’t serious about it.
R: He sure as heck LOOKED serious about it.
S: Yeah. It really felt like he wanted nothing more than to die.
M: I’m guessing this isn’t a coincidence either?
S: Hard to say.
E: The more we learn, the more mysteries we find.
Z: That’s pretty much how the world works.

R: He was a human being once, just like us. Unbelievable as it is.
L: Yes. He may have been a cold military leader, but he had genuine love for his family.
M: How could someone like him turn into the Lord of Calamity?
R: Well, he did lose his family.
Z: I dunno. It felt like, more than anything that happened TO him, the transformation was born of his own resolve.
E: Could be.
S: It’s probably not anything we can ever truly understand… But I can tell this much. Heldalf finally gave up. He couldn’t fight back any longer.