---
Day 13 - The Ultimate Lair (continued)
-I’m enjoying this place. Each Last One is a new puzzle.
-Ska’tane (the bird thing) was tougher in XIII but still a challenge. I stagger with counterattacks.
-This place is God’s laboratory, where he screws around with different projects. This dialogue emphasizes just how much Lightning feels like a tool for Bhunivelze.
-After floor 23’s Ska’tane, there’s nothing. Empty rooms. (I killed a lot of Last Ones in the world.)
-The next Last One is on floor 33, and it sounds like a doozy with Hope hyping it up.
I expected Omega or Shinryu, but nope! This is a winged plant-dragon thingy.
-Deep breath. This will destroy me, but I want to see it anyway. Play around with the puzzle.
-The beast is Ereshkigal. It has SIX MILLION HEALTH UHHH OK
-Two barriers protect it at the start. My attacks are strongest when it’s launching an attack in this phase.
-I’m surviving okay, even doing some damage, but it’s Meteor and Giga Meteor obliterate me.
*a few tries later*
-I give up. My super defensive schema did nothing against meteors, and while I can break its shields, I can’t do THAT much damage against it with the strats I tried.
Oh well. Glad I got as far as I did.
[Later edit: if this were the final boss, I’d look up a guide. As it’s just optional, I’ll leave it alone.]
-I head to an inn and sleep until 6:00am. Let the end come.
---
Transition to Day 14
-Hope asks something that again makes me think he’s more than just a spy for Bhunivelze. What’ll happen to him when the Soulsong hits? “What about my soul?”
LIGHTNING: “The Light of my life. Let it be redeemed at last.”
-Hope is glowing. “I had a job. I was God’s eyes and ears.” I FUCKING KNEW IT
Now the last day is here, and God no longer needs him. He’ll just disappear. Some reward.
-Vanille can choose to destroy the souls or redeem them. I have to tell her about the latter option.
-Lightning can’t see Serah, but Serah can hopefully see her.
HOPE: “It’ll be easy. You just have to imagine the kind of world Serah will want. The kind of person she wants you to be.”
-This is so sad. Hope was just a puppet this game. Only now does he start to sound like his old self.
“As long as you were with me, Light, I didn’t feel like I had to fear anything. I’m not scared. Even now.”
-He blinks out. See you on the other side, hopefully.
-Lighting’s alone in the Ark now. But she’s determined to save him, and Serah, and the rest.
-WTF IS MOG DOING HERE???? Seems like he’s the substitute Hope.
-Time for the end. God wants Vanille to complete the Soulsong. We don’t.
-A message pops up: “The world’s end is coming. Are you ready for the final day?” Yes.
---
The Final Day
-Luxerionites gather outside the cathedral as the end crashes around them.
-Anubyses emerge, slicing down any in their path.
-The sky is stormy. Lightning emerges in a bolt of lightning.
-Hi, Lumina. “These are the dying moments, and soon… life will just come to a stop.”
-These monsters kill the privileged so they can journey to the new world.
-The living keep the souls in the Chaos alive. Our memory does this. That’s kind of beautiful! It’s how they don’t just melt after death.
-It works in reverse, too. If the soul of a dead person is destroyed, our memory of them evaporates.
That’s almost more horrifying.
“Imagine forgetting everyone who once lived. It’s more final than any mass murder.” What an uplifting game lol.
-Serah’s voice hits Lightning hard and suddenly. Urging Lightning to remember her, no matter what.
-Lightning rushes into the cathedral to stop the ritual.
As she goes, Lumina shows real fear, panic. “Don’t take everyone with you! Don’t leave me all alone.”
She’s terrified of being left behind. Tears stream down her face.
PROTECT LUMINA. She’s shown this game that she’s an agent both of mischief and good, not evil. She reunites families, fulfills wishes… Even if she has zero ties to Serah (doubtful), I want her to be happy.
-LUMINA BLINKS OUT AS LIGHTNING RUNS AHEAD, NOOOO
-There are some great shops at the start of the Luxerion Cathedral area. I only have enough gil for one big purchase, and I go with a sword with +350 str/+1350 magic.
-I fight my way into the cathedral, where things are quiet.
-They sic a chimera on us… and Noel joins me! He fakes as if he’ll attack me, but he’s got my back.
-I head down beneath the cathedral.
NOEL: “Lightning… save Serah.” He knows why I’d betray God, and he’s on board.
---
Temple of Light
-holy HELL this place is hard! A step up from anything prior.
-There’s no clock anymore. It feels really strange. AND GOOD, SCREW THE CLOCK. In the best case scenario for this game, I just ignored the clock anyway with Chronostasis. Did not like the mechanic.
-WOOT FANG JOINS THE PARTY! I fight alongside her, just like in the Dead Dunes.
-I also share my new info with Fang, that the souls don’t have to be destroyed. They can be saved. Vanille doesn’t have to be sacrificed.
-OHHH. I only now just get it. I get why the Order wants to destroy the souls.
Because it’ll make life in the new world easier.
It’s all about what Lumina was saying before. If the souls die, our memories die. Bhunivelze’s chosen get a “fresh start” in the new world. They’ll never know what they lost.
FANG: “The bastards want to pretend their sins never happened, so they can breathe easier!”
-The ritual begins inside.
-We bust in with the ritual already underway.
-Vanille gathers the souls of the dead in a swirl of light. Fang calls to her to stop, and I drop the big bomb that can choose to save the souls.
-The High Priestess keeps yammering away to stop us, but then basically confirms what Lightning said: “Our hearts must be unclouded, free of regret!”
It’s a fake purity. And I’ve been there! Bhunivelze knows how many journals I’ve bought for “fresh starts.” Pretending the past never happened is a nice way to avoid guild, in the very short term.
-This is not just for the souls’ sakes though. Vanille is doing this to free herself from the pain.
-She listens closely to the souls of the dead… and hears the truth. They don’t want Vanille’s sacrifice.
VANILLE: “They spoke of sadness, and regret… but also hope. They’re begging for their suffering to end. But no matter how much pain they feel, none of them asked to be destroyed. Not a single one.”
…bullshit. I get the game’s message, but I’d definitely want to be wiped out as a wandering soul. I have a hard time believing ALL of them want to hang on. But so be it.
-She stops the ritual. Woot! (Not that I think Bhunivelze will stay silent on the matter.)
-Fang will help lend her strength to save these souls.
-The High Priestess does some shenanigans to force Vanille to finish the ritual.
HIGH PRIESTESS: “God shall punish you!”
LIGHTNING: “God doesn’t know how powerful we are.”
HOW DOES LITERALLY ANYONE DISLIKE THIS SUPREME BADASS???
-Then SNOW crashes through the ceiling, breaking the cache to stop the ritual! Classic heroic save.
The High Priestess dissolves in holy light. EAT IT LOL, YOU CHOSE POORLY
-The room fills with the souls’ light. They seem happy.
-The bell begins to ring. Things are really ending now.
---
Next time: Bhunivelze’s backlash.
