---
Murals of the Gods (4-4)
-The next tablet is in a shrine beneath Atomos’ Sands.
-Atomos is right flipping here, btw. Just a big dead ball of boulder, home to cacti.
I love how the LR uses things like this to build its unique “end of days” atmosphere.
LIGHTNING: “Don’t you know I’m working for the one and only Bhunivelze?”
FANG: “Then you’re on the wrong team, sister. We do much better against gods, you and me.”
SHE’S NOT WRONG
-The final tablet is in the Dry Floodlands. Haven’t explored this area yet.
-…wtaf, why does this cactuar have sazh’s afro
-Defeated the rare “cactair” (cactuar + hair?) and received a Fragment of Kindness. “It seems familiar somehow.” I really hope this wasn’t the final remnant of Sazh.
-Last One monsters are so nasty because they receive their species’ collective strength.
-This researcher wants me to kill ALLLL the monsters. For research.
“You’d have to be able to live your life countless times to do such a thing.” A hint perhaps that this is one of those multiple playthrough tasks.
-The Last One skeleton is SO TOUGH. It cut through my guards like butter. Barely survived.
My bright pink sword ripped from the Last Skeleton’s bony fingers.
-Found a Satin Scrunchie in the ruins that increases all status ailment resistance by 50%. That’s incredible! It took patience with tricky timed door.
-Reached the second mural. It shows humanity being born from Etro’s blood.
“But… we weren’t made to live forever like this. We were put on this world to serve the gods, do their bidding, then die.” Then the Chaos hit.
-Fang had always felt dying for your beliefs was fine because she never believed death was the end. Thought you’d get reincarnated somehow.
That’s why this time scares her. Etro’s dead, and she thinks death is now final. Partly explains how protective she is of Vanille.
-Skeleton extinction makes this place tougher. I can’t rely on infinite EP for Chronostasis anymore.
-Final mural time. It shows Bhunivelze purifying the dead, granting the faithful a new world.
FANG: “So the dead are unclean are they? Is that what they think? And when Vanille performs the Soul Song, those bastards are going to make everything neat and tidy again.”
The Order says it wants the clavis to help Vanille call the dead so they can “purify” them. Vanille believes this. Fang does not.
VERY interesting. Vanille’s not brainwashed; she just wants to atone. I like that far better than the Order having some kind of mind control thing going.
I always liked XIII’s use of internal conflict, and I like it here too. Fang and Vanille have a legitimate disagreement. Hope is on Team Vanille, and Lightning… well, not sure.
-The Order wants to perform the Soulsong ritual to ease the dead.
-Time to open the door to the Clavis. We haven’t seen the Order’s Secutors yet, so I have to imagine they’ll make an appearance soon.
-The box with the Clavis sits in an elaborate dual angel set-up with a clock.
-It pulses out strong energy. Gotta be the Clavis inside.
-Hope warns us that the Secutors have just been lying in wait, and they’re coming. Of course.
-HOLY SHIT FANG TRIES TO DESTROY THE CLAVIS
She’s terrified that if Vanille gets, she’ll die in the ritual. She won’t let that happen.
FANG: “Yeah, purify the dead. Put them to their eternal bloody rest. All it’ll take is the life of a Saint.”
It’s not even that she doesn’t think the Soulsong will work. It’s that SHE LOVES VANILLE SO MUCH SHE’D RATHER THE DEAD STAY IN TORMENT THAN VANILLE COME TO HARM.
I feel conflicted. On one hand, I hate tropes where the dude (and it’s almost always the dude) does something horrible to save his significant other that clearly goes against her wishes.
On the other hand, I suspend all those concerns when I see Fang fighting to help Vanilla.
-The Secutors enter and Fang smashes the box. The artifact pops out.
-They throw some giant beast at us as a distraction while their own troops retrieve the artifact.
Btw, for a second there, I thought the end-of-chapter fight would be Lightning vs. Fang. Thank goodness that’s not the case!
-The boss monster is Grendel. I never quite get the timing down, and it makes the fight really tough.
Takes everything I have: potions, consumables, almost dead. Didn’t help that I started with 0 EP.
-They escaped with the Clavis. Dang.
-Fang says the Order plans to ease the souls’ suffering, all right. By DESTROYING THEM.
This sounds bad at first, but I don’t know. What’s the alternative? Sit in the Chaos? I guess it’d be nice if I could get to them, save the, and help them be reborn, but destroying the souls sounds WAY better than leaving them to suffer in eternal Chaos torment.
-Vanille agrees with the Order. Wants to sacrifice herself to end their torment.
-Bandit Leader Fang wasn’t really trying to get the Clavis. She was guarding it from the Order.
Then Lightning came along, all Savior’d up. Fang didn’t tell her the truth because she assumed Lightning – anointed captain of the God Squad – was with the Order. She didn’t trust Lightning.
-Lumina poofs into the room. She was spying on us and alerted the Secutors when we opened the Clavis door. What’s Lumina’s goal in all this?
“I can’t wait to see the ceremony, can you? All those useless souls purified forever in return for Vanille’s life.
”Even the soul that was once Serah. Wiped away like it never existed.”
If she’s part-Serah, maybe she wants to free herself from the other Serah part trapped in the Chaos.
-The ceremony will take place on the last day of the world. End game.
-Lightning can’t even save Vanille. Her role as savior is about granting wishes, and if Vanille wishes for death…
“I can’t [change her mind] for her. You [Fang] are the only one who knows how she feels, the only one who can save her from her darkness. You always have been.”
-Lightning leaves.
FANG: “I get it, Vanille. You hear me? We’re in this together. Until the very end.”
-Vanille’s past haunts her. It’s why she’s not just WILLING to sacrifice herself – she WANTS to do so. That’s her ideal outcome. “As though it’s a crime to be alive.”
-Dead Dunes main quest complete.
---
Next time: Knocking out some side quests before Day 4 ends. On Day 5, I’ll start the Wildlands.
