Bevelle – Via Purifico
-There are teleport panels throughout the Via.
-Yuna is alone. So she’s at the Via Purifico, and Tidus and the others are just in some water channel.
-Not sure where to go. Let’s try right first.
-Random encounters, even as solo. Aeon time.
-Hi Kimahri! Auron shortly after. Party of three again.
-This place is kind of a ruin. Not something in regular use.
-The platforms are teleport spheres. Some of them, anyway. Some don’t seem to be active yet.
-AHA! I see. The platform has a blinking arrow, and I have to step on it at the right time. Like in the Bevelle trials.
-Expecting to get lost in here, or at least to not find most/any secrets. I’m bad with mazes.
-Issaaru is here. Was summoned by Kinoc to “deal with the traitors.” Fuck. We gotta fight him. I like him too.
-This is a 1v1 against his Ifrit.
-Tempted to try Bahamut, but gotta bring out Shiva. Fire v ice and all.
-SHE HAS THE COOLEST SHIVA INTRO EVER!! [Later edit: no pun initially intended, but I’m not removing it. ]
A crystalline ice structure forms, she comes down inside it, and we see her reflection as the cocoon shatters apart.
-Ruh oh. Ifrit started off with full overdrive. Hellfire immediately.
-AND NOT JUST THATHJKLF HDJKLSFH DSFJKDHSFLDS SHE JUST DID DIAMOND DUST
COATED THE OTHER IFRIT (by a different name, but basically ifrit) IN ICE, THEN SNAPPED HER FINGERS AND THE ICE ERUPTED
FHDSJKLDS I CAN’T HANDLE THE DEGREE OF BADASS ON THIS SHIVA DESIGN
(Plus, her hair is possibly the best thing ever.)
-Time to see what Bahamut can do against… not!Valefor. Ptera. Makes sense that each individual aeon has its own name.
-I like the feathered wings on Bahamut. The FFIX dragons had feathered wings too. I wonder if that’s a cultural thing. (Also thinking of archaeoaevis from FFV.)
-Ptera tried attacking regularly… and it did 84 damage. Bahamut shrugged that nonsense off.
-Sorry, not!Valefor. I really hate attacking other aeons. They’re just self-sacrificing Fayth.
-Now Issaaru’s summoning his own not!Bahamut.
-oh, dang. I can’t bring my Bahamut. Guess it’s one pokemon usage only.
-dammit bahamut is counting down. Because of course he is.
-Got a shield off before megaflare. Let’s see if it helps.
-LOL GET WRECKED NOT!BAHAMUT. It only did 500 damage. My Ifrit has about 2500 health. Shield worked beautifully. Hellfire finishes Issaaru’s aeon off.
-Issaaru is gracious in defeat. Telling us how to get to the surface. He looks exhausted.
AURON to Issaaru: “Your pilgrimage is over.” Why? I really don’t blame Issaaru for following the maesters. He was taught to see their word as law and truth. Yuna acted heroically going against them, but I don’t think that means someone like Issaaru acted badly.
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Via Purifico – Underwater
-Swapped to Tidus in the underwater section of the Via Purifico with Wakka and Rikku.
-Creepy octopus monster.
-I usually hate water levels, but this design is pretty cool.
-Stealing a bunch of dragon scales down here.
-Reached what seems like an elevator shaft. Pyreflies swarming.
-MOTHER OF GOD
-Ok. Look. I know that in the grand scheme of things this dragon shouldn’t be that scary, but I’ve written before about my deep fear of being underwater with giant monsters, and this is right up there.
[Non-rhetorical question for y’all: What was this creature’s name? I saw it has Evrae in it I think like the prior Bevelle guardian, but don’t remember the other part.]
-Trigger commands let me open gates.
-We’re fleeing. It pursues.
I really like the animation of the dragon in pursuit. Fast as hell turning the corner.
-We just passed a treasure chest. Hm. Maybe I want to kill it rather than unlocking more gates.
-IT JUST USED STONE GAZE AND SHATTERED POOR WAKKA
-It’s really obliterating me. I only later remember to use Slow and Hastega. It helps a lot.
-GOT IT – Whew. I really thought I was a goner.
-The lack of music having killed it now is kind of eerie.
-We swim to the exit.
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Reunion
-YAY!! Together again.
-Brief yay. Here comes Captain Bringdown and the Buzzkillers.
-OH AND KINOC IS FUCKING DEAD. (Can’t remember if he was dead before, but maybe he’s dead and sent or something. He’s definitely not a spry corpse the way Seymour and Mika are.)
-Seymour starts to give one of his bullshit speeches about how fearful and ambitious Kinoc was. Hey, dude, if death is sweet slumber, maybe we can do you a favor by killing you.
-His goal is to take Yuna to Zanarkand, “city of the dead,” and do a thing. His goals sound apocalyptic. Something about bringing the peace of death to Spira. “With death on our side, we will save Spira.”
Best guess is that he thinks that in Zanarkand, he and Yuna can take control of either the final aeon (still betting that it’s Omega) and/or Sin, and use them to his own ends.
-Oh. He wants to BECOME Sin. To destroy Spira and save it.
-Kimahri has heard enough. Jabs his lance through Seymour, but it doesn’t even faze him.
-He casts some kind of magic that kills his party, tursn them into pyreflies, and draws them to himself. Probably evolving in some way.
-BIG TEN FOUR
-Even if this is likely not his final form, it’s still pretty cool.
-Kimahri and Auron tell Tidus et al. to take yuna and gtfo.
-We all book it, leaving Kimahri behind.
-lol. Tidus is gaming the system. Tells Yuna that as guardians, anywhere she goes, guardians follow. Prodding her to go back to Kimahri since we’ll all have to follow her.
-I thought Auron would be angry at Tidus, but he just seems amused or pleased.
Makes sense. He wants to protect Yuna, but on seeing a chance to not leave Kimahri behind, he won’t turn his nose up.
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Next time: Returning to Kimahri to fight Seymour 2.0.
