Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (simply Xenoblade 2 in Japanese and colloquially) is a 2017 video game for the Nintendo Switch, developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo. The game follows the protagonist Rex, who ends up partnered with the legendary living weapon Pyra, as he and his friends work together to ultimately save the world. The game was later updated with a DLC expansion prequel story, Torna ~ The Golden Country, which was also sold separately. Gameplay Rex Let's show 'em a thing or three! I like your attitude! Oh man! Did I come up with a load o' guff again? Pyra Rex, maybe you should slow down! Now you'll see what fire can do! I just thought of a great menu idea! Look forward to that later. Mythra You won the moment you called on me. I can't watch this any more. Just let me take care of it! Try to do it properly this time. Nia Remind me to hold back next time. Am I bad? I'm bad. I'll bash you up proper next time, I swear! Dromarch You must be more careful! Rest a while! I shall defend you to the last, my lady. Flora heals an aching soul! Tora Go away! Tora not tasty! First blow is tastiest blow! Meeeh! Meh-meeeh! Mehmehmehmehmeeeh-meh-meeeh-meh-meeeh-meh-meeeh! Poppi α Poppi will protect Masterpon! Alpha by name, alpha by nature! Poppi Alpha operating at full power! Poppi QT Denial protocol! Masterpon! Enemy is getting distracted! Maybe agriculture is Poppi's specialist field! Poppi QTπ Situation analysis: QTπ mode appropriate. This is power of science! Poppi QTπ final adjustment complete. Vandham Come at me! Only one Vandham, you're looking at him! Ooh, me quads! Knock us down, and you better finish the job! Roc Enough chirping! You're not some hatchling! I am Roc! Always have been, always will be! I c-can't con...trol myself! Raaww! RAAWWRR! SCRRAAAWWWWWWR! Mòrag Let them come. They know not who we are. Very well. Shall we dance? This is the culmination of years of training! Brighid Fighting that way is unwise. To arms, Lady Mòrag! This view is worthy of its own page in my journal. Zeke Looks like it's time to unleash my Ultimate Lightning Fury Slash Redux on these blighters! I'll show 'em a smidgen of the Eye of Shining Justice's power! Welcome to Axe Town, population: your face! Pandoria My Prince! Don't get in over your head! Pick me, pick me! Maybe if we do some prep? Enemies Jin: This world has no sense, no meaning! Jin: How could you ally with the mortals? With your power, this could've been over long ago! Malos: This...is the REAL ME! Get a load of this! Malos: I am also a despicable and cursed being! That's karma! You should quit! Post-battle banter Nia: So tell me, what's your body made from? Poppi α: Poppi could tell you, but then Poppi would have to kill you. Zeke: The way you Nopon speak is so funny. "Tora do this! Tora do that!" Tora: Tora actually beautiful poet in Nopon language. Not Tora's fault Zeke not understand it! Zeke: Poppi, your name is way too boring. What about... "Poppi von Tora, Harbinger of Destruction"? Poppi QT: "Poppi" sufficient. Story Chapter 1 [Rex cooks a crab and does other busywork as he narrates over.] Rex: An entire horizon of white. A sea of clouds, and at its heart, the World Tree, piercing the heavens... This... This is the world we call home... Alrest. Story goes that when the world was young... Everyone in Alrest lived on the Tree, together with our divine father, the Architect. According to the tales, it was a bountiful land. And the people there held the power to command even the heavens themselves. They called that paradise... "Elysium". But then, one day... we were cast out. Nobody knows why. Perhaps we angered our creator, or perhaps it was something else entirely... All we know is, we were forced to leave Elysium to live here in Alrest. Where, it turns out, life was pretty hard. But, when it seemed like we would surely die out, the Architect...took pity on us... sending his servants, the Titans, to save us. The few of us who survived settled on the Titans... and we've lived in harmony with them ever since. But now, those Titans... *sigh* are beginning to die out. Nia: A child salvager? Jin, don't tell me we're gonna have to hire some babysitters for this outing too. Rex: What the hell? You look as much like a kid as I do, lady! Nia: At least I wouldn't wet myself at the promise of a measly hundred grand! Rex: You know, you find all sorts of things digging through salvage. Some of it trash, some of it treasure... but all of it from people long gone. Have you noticed how there's fewer Titans each day? I saw one go under just the other day. It was a pretty big one. There must have been loads of animals still living on it... Living space is running out day by day. Sooner or later, we'll be the ones sinking down into the Cloud Sea. But up there... Elysium is waiting for us. Pyra: Rex, I have a request. Can you...take me to Elysium? Rex: Elysium...? But...isn't that here? Pyra: This world is merely a memory. An ancient, half-forgotten memory of what once was. The real Elysium lies in your world... atop the World Tree that rises from the heart of Alrest. Rex: Memory...? So it's like an illusion? But there's no way. I'm dead, remember? How can I help if I'm not breathing? Pyra: I will give you half of my life force. That way...you can be revived... As my Driver. As the Driver of the Aegis. Chapter 2 [Nia has found a wanted poster for her that makes her look more like an actual cat than just a catgirl.] Nia: What the bloody hell is this? Don't tell me this is meant to be ME?! Dromarch: [finding it funny] A remarkable likeness to say the least... Nia: Oi, did you say something? Dromarch: [backtracking] Ah, er, no. I fear they may have conflated our countenances, my lady. How very awful. Nia: Grrrr! Hisss! [She tears the poster to shreds in a manner that suggests she's even more catlike than the drawing.] Pyra: We Blades start out formless, anchored to the world only by our Core Crystal. Only the touch of a potential can imbue us with form and being. And it is by those forms we come to be known. Dughall: I'll say it slowly for you, just so we're clear. Get. The Blade. With. The emerald- Padraig: Um, Consul Dughall, sir? Dughall: What? Padraig: I-I'm not exactly sure what color "emerald" is supposed to be... Dughall: Agh! Give me strength! It's green, you idiot! Emerald is green! [He picks up an emerald-colored vase and waves it in his face.] Like this! Green! Get it, you clod? Padraig: Ohhh, GREEN! I get it now. So emeralds are green, huh... Tora: ANYWAY! Back to Tora's Blade. When complete, even no-potential Tora can be a Driver! Gramps: This is simply incredible. You built this Blade from scratch, Tora? Tora: Hm, it was started by Grampypon and Dadapon. But Grampypon die, and Tora still not know where Dadapon go to... Rex: Oh... Tora: So Tora will finish Blade myself and become a Driver like always wanted! Then Dadapon hear about Tora's success and come back home, yes? Rex: You know who Pyra is? Are you trying to capture her too, you ratbag? Dughall: Now now, language. But of course. The most powerful Blade in all of history, with the power to rend Alrest asunder? Only a fool would know of that power and not seek to claim it! And I am no fool! Therefore, I will claim her as my own! You cannot argue with such logic! Poppi α: Flaw detected in final step of logic. Nia: Elysium? Do you really believe in that myth, kid? Rex: Well, Pyra told me that she was born there. Yet here she is. So it must exist, right? Nia: Your logic is almost as good as Dughall's. Listen, Rex, I don't know if you're stupid or just too nice for your own good. But what if Pyra's just lying? What if this is all an act, and one day she turns round and stabs you in the back? Rex: Pyra wouldn't do that! Pyra: Of course I wouldn't! I don't have a knife. Chapter 3 Vandham: Rex, you're a salvager, ain't ya? Rex: Yeah. Vandham: You musta fished out your share of military supplies, right? You fine with that? Rex: Nah. I don't wanna get involved with it. Vandham: It's all the same. Compasses, valves for ether stoves... Armies need all these things. That bread you're eating? It's made from ruska flour. Supplied by the Ardainian government. This world's full of war. Don't matter if you're a soldier or not. As long as you're alive... ...you're in the war, some way or another. Don't you think? Rex: Um, I... Vandham: Life can be cruel. Crueler than you know. That's why I set up this little band, so I could protect the people I care about. Tora: A Core Crystal! Rex: What?! Vandham: Well, that where they come from. Out of Titans. This one's brand new and ready to resonate. Like a big steak, right before you take that first bite. It'll probably end up buddying up with a bunch of Drivers... Every time the Driver dies, it'll forget everything and return to its core. Eventually it'll resonate with a new Driver. Drivers dyin', Titans dyin'... The Blade just keeps on livin' through it all... It's a never-ending cycle. An eternal history. As mortals, we'll never be able to understand. Vandham: Hey, Rex... Know what the difference is between me and that Akhos fella? Rex: Well, he's a bad guy, trying to get Pyra...and you're...not? Vandham: Hehe! Thanks for the vote of confidence, kid. What if I told you that we weren't that different? Rex: Huh? Vandham: My crew at the village, we think we're fighting for justice. But, a just fight? I'm tellin' you now, there's no such thing. What people call justice? It's just an excuse to fight. War is war. The more you stand up for yourself, the more people wanna fight you. Before you know it, you're in a war. Listen. All I'm saying is, we got our fight, and he's got his. Rex: But what he's doing is- Vandham: Yeah, it's bad. But war ain't about right and wrong. Power. That's all it is. And power can take many different forms. It depends on the heart of its wielder. If we don't use our power, just 'cos we're scared of it, we're done for. As for who's right and who's wrong... No one knows for sure. So, all we can do, is protect what's important. Rex: I think I understand. Vandham: We all got our own war, kid. Rex: My...war? [Zeke has ambushed the party, and is currently doing his introduction routine that involves many cool, dramatic, and extremely necessary poses.] Zeke: You really are a bunch of rinky-dink, bogus, two-bit, no-mark Drivers, aren't you? Behold the mighty... Zeke! Von! Genbu! Bringer of Chaos! Mostly known as Zeke. And often addressed as...THE ZEKENATOR! Behold my Blade! Pandoria! And this is my sword, the Purple Lightning Dreamsmasher! If you want a taste, come and get it! [The music pauses while Rex contemplates this information.] Rex: We're good. [Everyone ignores him and walks right on by.] Rex: Why won't you guys leave Pyra alone? Akhos: Isn't it obvious? We want the power of the Aegis for ourselves! It's Jin's desire... ...to erase all of humankind from the world! Nia: What?! Did Jin seriously say that? "Erase all of humankind?" Akhos: My, my. Surely you knew. Better than anyone. You know what humans are really like. [Vandham is holding off Malos, but it's not going well.] Vandham: Move it! Take Pyra and scram, kid! Rex: I can't... I can't just leave you here! Vandham: Rex! Don't go dyin' on me here! You gotta make it! You gotta get away from here now! Live! Live for her! You gotta make it to Elysium! Malos: I won't allow it... [He kicks Vandham in the gut.] Vandham: Gyaaaaaah! Malos: Give it up! Vandham: Just go, Rex! Remember to fight your war! Chapter 4 Mythra: Why...? Rex: Huh? Mythra: Why did you wake me up?! Rex: Huh? What? Mythra: I didn't want to wake up... I didn't want to come back! I left everything to her so I'd never have to use that power again! But then you woke me up! Rex: W-woke you up...? Mythra: If you hadn't been so useless, none of this would have happened! I wouldn't have had to use this power! Didn't you listen to that Vandham guy? He told you to hold back! He told you to run! But you just had to push yourself. Idiot. Look where it's got us now! Rex: You- Mythra: You really messed up. Rex: You don't have to tell me that! I know, all right?! I knew I was being an idiot. Mythra: Rex... Rex: But I just... I couldn't hand you over to them. I wanted to keep you safe. Mythra: Wh-wha...?! A-at any rate! If you've got questions, you can ask her! I'm out of here! Bye! Pyra: Long ago... There was a man who climbed the World Tree, hoping to make it to Elysium and meet his creator. But...when he arrived at Elysium, he found it empty. So instead, as proof that he had reached that divine realm... He brought back two Core Crystals, Malos and me. And once he made it back to Alrest... he awakened Malos. Why he did it, I can't say. For greed...for power... or perhaps... When Malos awakened, he wielded his world-shaking power without restraint. To him, it was natural. He had never known anything else. I was awakened by a Driver who was determined to stop Malos's rampage. So Malos and I fought. I fought with all my might, and succeeded in defeating Malos. But not without a price. Three great Titans fell in the struggle. After the battle... I sealed myself away to ensure that power would never be unleashed again. I took the form you see now, and fell into a long slumber. That was five hundred years ago... Rex: A...Flesh Eater? Cole: A Blade who has been fused with human cells. A long time ago, before the war, some sought to test the limits of Blades' potential. I am a product of their experiments. One of the unlucky ones who was tainted by their folly. Tora: Why would ancient people do that? Cole: It seems that by combining Blade and human... It is sometimes possible to create Blades with extremely unique powers. But only very rarely. Most experiments were failures, and I was no different. I gained nothing at all, and lost my immortality to boot. I likely won't last much longer. Muimui: Have not seen Tora in long time! Remember me - Muimui? Tora: Hm? Why random old guy know Tora's name? Muimui: Oh... Tora not remember me at all! It Muimui! I was assistant of Professor Soosoo, your Grampypon! [There's a short flashback of Tora knowing the guy when he was young.] Tora: Ohhhh! You that old Muimui guy? Of course Tora remember! Muimui should have said to start with. Muimui: ...Muimui did say. Tora: Oh, right! Muimui not very interesting, so Tora forgot he exist. Zeke: If you think you can run from me a second time, you are quite mistaken! Nia: Nobody did any running... And anyway, Shellhead? Zeke: What? Pandoria: You answer to that now? Nia: I've been wondering for a while now... but what's with the cutesy eyepatch? Zeke: Heh... I'm quite glad you asked. This eyepatch conceals a power too great for mere mortals to comprehend... The Eye of Shining Justice! I am sworn to keep it sealed until its power is needed to save mankind. You should count yourselves lucky. It would turn you to ash in seconds! Nia: Whatever you say, pal. Pandoria: [cheeky] He definitely isn't wearing it because he didn't have the gold for a second contact lens. Chapter 5 Pyra: Where are we? Rex: These are my parents' graves. Pyra: What?! Rex: Sorry. I guess I never properly told you about myself. I... Pyra: No, it's fine. I'm sorry I never thought to ask... Rex: I wanted you to meet them, though. Pyra: To meet them? How do you mean? [Rex kneels at the graves.] Rex: Hey, Mum... Dad... It's been a while. A ton happened, you know - I became a Driver! And this girl...is Pyra. My new partner. I know you'd love her. We- we're going to Elysium. Pyra and me. I don't know what's coming next, but... You'll be watching over us, right guys? Fan la Norne: How did we do, Your Highness? Zeke: Sure, you pass. I think we can just about let you into the Praetorium. Nia: What the hell?! Zeke: I've been working for Indol for a while now. A kind of...special envoy. They asked me to keep an eye out for the Aegis. Actually, I volunteered to. You know how it is. I'm jolly sorry for testing you like that. Pandoria: We were planning on getting this over with in ONE encounter. But His Highness has the most awful luck, so... Rex: Yeah, I think I got that. Zeke: What are you talking about? Everyone has bad days, right? [Zeke casually leans back on the nearby fence. It immediately snaps off.] Pyra: Ah! [Zeke loses his balance and follows the fence off the edge into the Cloud Sea.] Zeke: Whyyy meeeee?! Nia: There he goes. Dromarch: Hmmm...bad luck indeed. Pyra: Uhh... Should we go rescue him? Pandoria: Naaah, he'll find his own way back up somehow. Pyra: What's this? Brighid: You could call it a diary, I suppose. It contains details about my past lives. It's the only way I have to remember. When we return to the Core Crystal, our minds are wiped clean of all memories. Though a Blade's life is eternal... Our effective lifespans as individuals are far shorter than a human's. You know, it's not just me. A lot of Blades try to preserve their memories in journals like this one. ...Even though it's often futile. After all, a Core Crystal cannot protect a diary. Usually, the volume is lost to us, along with our memories. I'm fortunate amongst Blades. I'm passed down as an imperial treasure, and recorded in official chronicles. Pyra: Er, Brighid...? Brighid: I don't know where your true intentions lie. I can only make an educated guess. But Rex... He is your Driver. If you truly trust him, I would advise you tell him everything. If you can't do that even for him... You shouldn't be his Blade at all. Pyra: I just... Brighid: If you care about him, it's even more important. I know what it's like to be afraid of rejection. I really do. But...if you don't tell him now... ...you're just storing up pain for later, not making it easier. Pyra: The way you say that... You really do see right through me. Amalthus: Long ago... Too long ago, I used to think like you. Indeed, it led me to climb the World Tree. However... I did not find Elysium. Or the Architect. I believe...it was because I was unworthy. Amalthus: I often wonder if we are growing as a people... or in fact, regressing. Jin: Blades are granted phenomenal power from our creator on high... ...yet we are doomed to never remember. Why?! Rex: [confused] What... Jin: The accumulation of memories is what allows mankind, no, all life to grow. Change, evolve. But...Blades are fleeting. When we return to our cores, our memories are lost. Our growth snatched away forever. Mòrag: People aren't so different. Jin: Man's life too has an end, yes. However, though each individual life is fleeting... You pass on your memories, allowing you to grow. As a species, as a culture. Why does Indol control all the Core Crystals? By controlling the moment of every Blade's birth, they enslave our entire kind. How is that fair? We have no culture because Indol decrees it. Because that's what your kind do! Mythra: Jin... Jin: Why are you the masters, and we the slaves? It is we... who embody the very nature of this world! Rex: Blades...embody the world? I don't...get what you're... Jin: If you saw the last state of humanity, you'd understand! Chapter 6 Malos: What are we, in the end? This hunger I feel, this thirst... Is it really my own? Or is it someone else's? Sometimes I can't tell... Tell me, Jin... Are you really "here"? I don't know... where I really am. Jin: You're starting to sound like a human. Malos: Oh yeah? Jin: Perhaps we're not so different after all... Humans and Blades... Niall: In truth, it should have been you sitting in this chair right now... Mòrag: The imperial line has always passed from father to son. On the day Your Majesty was born, that's exactly what happened. I knew that day would come. It came as no surprise. Niall: You were raised by my father to take the throne of the Empire. As befits the daughter of my Lord Uncle Eandraig. Mòrag: And I am grateful for it. If not for him, I would never have met Brighid. Never have met...them. I'd have missed out on so much. Niall: There. Those are your true feelings. A magnificent power resides in you. Mòrag, power like yours exists to be used. Mòrag: Niall... Niall: You've been tied down long enough. Follow your heart, Mòrag Ladair. Zeke: Say, chum. Which one d'you fancy, Pyra or Mythra? Rex: Uh, Zeke... You can't just ask someone... Anyway, they're the same person! I've never really thought of them separately... Zeke: Are you serious? But they're like, totally different characters. Like, Mythra is jolly intense. And Pyra is just totally mellow, or, I dunno... What's the opposite of "pushy"? Rex: On the outside, maybe. But Pyra's got a lot of backbone too. She can be pretty stubborn! Zeke: You seem to understand them pretty deeply. Well, I suppose you ARE their Driver. Rex: Hey... Zeke: Yeah? Rex: You're a prince from Tantal, aren't you, Zeke? Why were you in the Praetorium? Zeke: I mean, you can't just ask someone... Pandoria: Oh, his old man kicked him out! Zeke: Oi, no! Bad Blade, bad! ...How long have you been standing there? Pandoria: From about..."which one d'you fancy". Zeke: "Which one d'you fa..." That's the whole conversation! Addam: ...Hear me, my scions. I am Addam Origo. This day I seal the Aegis away from the world. But this seal is not for eternity. In anticipation of the day that humanity becomes worthy of the Aegis's power... I entrust her to posterity. She is our hope... When mankind has matured, and learned to live better lives... she will answer your call, and return to you. Trusting that day will come, I leave my final wish to you... Jin: Look at the state of you... Rex: ...! Jin: You hadn't even noticed? Your own Blade has been wounded so deeply... and all you can think of is yourself. Rex: Agh... Jin: You awakened the Aegis... I thought you might have been different. But you're just... a fool. A pitiful, childish... fool. Chapter 7 Rex: The more I fight, the more Pyra gets hurt. She'll be... better off without me by her side. [Brighid walks up and slaps him in the face.] Brighid: Do you actually mean that? Do you not have the slightest idea how it felt for her to leave you? Pyra: [in Brighid's memory] With me here...he'll suffer even more, lose even more. So maybe... Maybe Rex is better off without me. Rex...and the whole world. They don't need me. That's just how it feels. Brighid: [becoming violently angry] Pyra thought you'd be better off if she was dead, did you know that? She... is planning to sacrifice herself to defeat them! You drove her to this, but here you are, giving up. You said you'd get Pyra to Elysium, didn't you? You'll eat your words, just like that? Eulogimenos: This tome records the deeds of the hero Addam. According to this, he saved the world from destruction using a white sword. And then disappeared, along with a red sword. Rex: White and red... It must mean Mythra and Pyra's swords. Eulogimenos: Whoever wrote this must have had a personal connection to Addam. And most curiously... After Addam disappeared, the author of this book went looking for something. Dromarch: Something? Eulogimenos: The third Aegis sword. Rex: There's a third? Eulogimenos: Apparently this sword was as transparent as diamond, and gave off a clear, brilliant light. But Addam went his whole life without using the sword. In fact, he could not use it. Nia: What do you mean, 'couldn't'? Eulogimenos: The sword was simply too powerful. Even he, the legendary hero, could not contain the power it commanded. And thus, fearing its power, he sealed it away somewhere. The author therefore surmised... ...that this sword alone was the one true sword of the Aegis. Now, Rex. You were defeated by Jin. Doubtless that man is a powerful warrior... But even so, can this be right? Can the Aegis herself truly be outmatched by a single opposing Blade? Would it not make more sense to presume... ...that you lost because you have yet to unlock the true power of the Aegis? Rex: Are you in pain? Nia: I'm strugglin' to breathe like everyone else. And I'm a little dizzy, that's all. Rex: Oh right... When that happens, it's best to just try and empty your head of all thoughts. Nia: What? Rex: It's an old salvager trick. When you swim down deep, it feels like your head's gonna implode. You just go with it, don't fight it. Then you stop noticing the pressure. Why not give it a go? Nia: Empty my head, eh? You mean I have to start acting as daft as you? Tall order. Addam: Rex, what is it that you seek? Wealth? Power? Dominion? Rex: Errr... None of those, really. Though...power might be useful. Addam: Power, then? Rex: Power to protect... Addam: Protect what? Rex: That's a long list. Gramps, Nia, Tora, everyone in Fonsett... And Pyra and Mythra. Addam: You are greedy, boy. Rex: Everyone in Argentum used to tell me that. Addam: It is not necessary to protect everything. There is a limit to what one man can do. Rex: That's true... Addam: But, there is something granted to you especially. Rex: Please, tell me what it is. Addam: The power to accept her. She is afraid. Of her own power and her terrible destiny. And I, too, was afraid. I feared the true power of the Aegis. Heh. Your will to fight comes from your will to protect. Blades and mortals are linked. When you take on the weight of all the fear she carries, then you will be her true Driver. Rex: I was stupid. I didn't understand Pyra and Mythra's feelings. Though we were destined to follow different paths, I tried to walk together. I walked in the shadow of the Aegis's light. Blindly walking my own path. While she walked alone. Malos: I am an Aegis. Created by the Architect to erase existence... The ultimate weapon. The Endbringer! Rex: Endbringer? Malos: Yes. My only purpose is to destroy. I am the Endbringer. That is why I must go to Elysium... And awaken the ultimate Artifice, Aion! Rex: You can't be serious. Malos: I'm nothing but serious, boy. This is the sacred duty entrusted to the Aegises by the Architect! Pneuma: You're wrong. Father doesn't want that! You're deeply mistaken. Malos: Enough! I know I'm right! Chapter 8 Poppi α: Poppi think...this world achieved very big technological advancement. Many buildings. Many people. Everybody...probably very happy here. But... Mythra: It doesn't matter how many fancy tricks they learn. Deep down, they're all the same. They thought they were making their lives better with all this stuff. But in the end, it destroyed them. Now it's just a ruin. Poppi α: Poppi was made by technological advancement too! Will Poppi... ...destroy the world as well? Mythra: That's my problem, too. If this world is Father's world... ...then Father made me to be as dangerous as any technology. Poppi α: Poppi and Mythra are the same? Mythra: Yes. Kinda. Poppi α: But if... If Poppi destroys the world... ...Masterpon might get destroyed too... Maybe Mythra should destroy Poppi? Mythra: Poppi... Tora created you. You could never do something like that. I know it! Poppi α: But...! Mythra: Hey. Let's make a promise. Poppi α: A promise...? Mythra: Yes. That's right, Poppi. I promise that, if you ever look like you're about to destroy the world... I will do what you asked of me. But...in return... Can you promise me something? Poppi α: What would you like from Poppi? Mythra is scared of destroying the world too? Mythra: Well, I'm doing my best to stop it coming to that. It's something else... It's... Poppi α: Hmmm? Mythra: No, actually, nothing. I don't have a request right now. Can I think it over? Poppi α: Of course! Then let's promise! Jin: Amalthus was afraid of the Aegises' power. After Malos was defeated, he tried to wipe them out... The remnants of Torna were annihilated in the attempt. But...you'd already vanished by then. So we were slaughtered...for nothing. Pyra: ... Jin: No...even if he wasn't trying to get you, Amalthus, the humans... ...would've done what they always do. We're the Architect's children... We turn into Titans. The ground beneath their feet! But they feared us. Pyra: So that's the reason he attacked you. Jin: To save the world? No. His real desire for Elysium... ...is his desire for the Architect's power. Amalthus wants to use it to wipe out Blades and Titans. Rex: In old Torna, humans lived together with Blades that eventually became Titans. So destroying Torna was the same as destroying the Titans. Amalthus must have known that the Titans have been dying off over the last few centuries. Tora: Cannot live without Titans! Everybody go bye-bye! Mòrag: Maybe the Praetorium saw it as an obstacle to their power. If the Blades were becoming Titans and creating new land, people might have more faith in the Blades. If a new faith emerged, it would threaten the Praetorium and its dogma. Rex: I understand that much. That's just war and politics. But... Pyra: Rex... Rex: Hating people, hating yourself... where does it end? What do you do when you hate the whole world? Nia: You mean... Rex: Destroy it. That's all that's left. Tell me I'm wrong. Rex: Amalthus! We're going to stop Jin! But you've got to stop this! Amalthus: You're speaking nonsense, boy. Now is the hour of their doom. You leave me no choice but to perform your duty for you. Rex: Destroying Jin and Torna? We're only trying to stop them! Not kill them! Amalthus: You believe you can sway them with words of reason? Rex: Well, yes! Jin told me what happened. What happened 500 years ago. And you were the cause of it, weren't you, Praetor? Amalthus: I was nothing but the mouthpiece of the Architect. Rex: When I meet him, I'll ask him myself! About me, about Pyra and Mythra! Amalthus: That is not your right! It is mine! Chapter 9 [Amalthus finds that a man he helped heal has immediately turned to burgalry and murder. He has dispatched the man and holds a newly-orphaned baby.] Amalthus: O Architect! Is this the world that you intended? Mikhail: I really hate this world. Like, really. And humans most of all. Nia: You used to BE human! Mikhail: But, you know what? There were people I loved, once. When I look at you guys, it reminds me of them. I wonder... If the people I loved were still around, would things be...different? I wonder that, and I start doubting myself. Amalthus: Zeke. Have you ever taken a person's life? Zeke: Can't say I have. Never seen the need for it, myself. Amalthus: Oh...? Zeke: Why does anyone kill others? Because they're in your way, or because you can't bear the sight of 'em. You kill because you're weak. But I'm not weak. So I don't need to kill anyone. And I don't mean physically, yeah? I mean in here. [He points a thumb to his heart.] Amalthus: I suppose...that makes me weak, then. But that weakness is why I'm standing here today... Zeke: So you hate them? Humans. Amalthus: No... I hate this world. [In a pair of simultaneous flashbacks, Jin writes in a journal, and reads said journal in his next life.] Jin: This long war for independence will soon come to an end. It is not only the war that will soon be over. ...Her life, too, is about to end. And when she meets her end, so too will I. Unsullied by her death, I will merely return to my core... to await my eventual reawakening. I will sleep, as at the end of any other day. When I awake, will I be the same person as before? If the Architect does indeed exist, I wish I could ask him... Who am I, truly? Whence did I come, whither am I headed? If I were a praying man, I'd pray this journal finds its way to you. Trusting that it will, I will use these last words to pass down... a means of carving the bond between myself and my partner into this flesh. This is how it is done... Jin: The power to manifest what you imagine... Truly awesome... That power comes from the Architect. Why do you wield it for mortals' sake? Rex: To get to Elysium! Jin: And then what? Open it up to humans? Share it out between them? Rex: Do you even need to ask?! Obviously! Jin: And then what? Can't you see where that leads? Rex: What are you saying?! Jin: Humans will make Elysium into another Morytha... Just as they did with Torna, 500 years ago. Rex: I won't let that happen! Jin: And after you die? What then? Who will stop the inevitable?! Rex: Isn't that... Isn't that the reason that you Blades exist?! And when I'm not around to stand by you in that effort... Someone else will! [He defeats Jin in the swordfight they were having.] Rex: That's right. When a person dies, that's it for them. But their thoughts and memories will always be passed on to someone else. Isn't that the same with you Blades? Your past selves get passed down to someone else to become your new selves... Isn't that how you've always lived? We're no different! Amalthus: And why should I have to change? If I change, I lose everything. I lose my very self! Who in their right mind would accept such a fate?! Amalthus: As soon as people are denied something they desire, they try to take it by force. Zeke: ...Not everyone's like that. Amalthus: Oh, some give up prematurely, but the feeling is there, I assure you. Zeke: Well in that case, why bother protecting them? Why not let people do whatever? Amalthus: To remind myself. I must never forget what kind of beings humans are. Chapter 10 Klaus: This world was once the stage... of a struggle for survival that dwarfed this current predicament. The world was an unseemly place, though glimpses of beauty persisted. What should people live for? Who should they live for...? They live for themselves. To harbor desires and struggle to realize them - that is the natural state of man. But I did not think that was good enough. I lost hope for mankind. I searched tirelessly for an outside solution. And one day, I found it. The Conduit. Why it chose to appear before us, I do not know. However, its existence presented a new possibility... Rex: Possibility? Klaus: Our world was not the only one. Endless universes coexist, side by side, yet all completely unaware of one another. The Conduit was our link to these foreign worlds... And I opened that forbidden gateway... praying that it would change the world... You have seen the plain called Morytha, have you not? That is what remains of my world. When I opened the Conduit, many people and many things... disappeared, into distant dimensions. All that remained here were the ruins of Morytha... and half of my body. Klaus: When a person loses something, they cannot help but seek a reason why. Within themselves, or in others... They seek a concrete answer to the question of who they really are, deep inside. Such a very lonely existence... But perhaps that is what it is to be human... Klaus: Rex... What is it you desire? Rex: What else? To stop Malos. Klaus: And if you succeed? Rex: I'll punch him in his stupid face. And then... Probably get a drink with him or something. That's the sixth rule of the Salvager's Code. First have a punch-out, then drink to forget. Once you've forgotten, the friendship's all set! I'm not old enough to drink yet though... Klaus: I see... Malos: Words can be a curse. That curse was what kept him tied down here. A wretched tale, isn't it? This whole world is a wretched place! Gramps: Do not forget that you too are a part of that world. If it were not for you, for Amalthus... Both Jin and Lora's lives may have taken quite different paths. Malos: [back and forth between quiet and loud] Exactly! That's exactly it! You've gotten smarter with age, huh? I'm a wretched being too! A hideous monster, far beyond saving! ...So let's end this now. Pneuma: Don't you feel anything? Father's sadness? The world he longed for?! Malos: How could I? That isn't... my role in this world. Mòrag: This man... Does he mean to...?! Malos: [yelling progressively harder] Come at me, kid! Come, my partner! Give me all you've got... You better show me all of it! The extent of your will! Show me why you're here in this world! Pneuma: Rex... I'm so glad to have met you. Our time together was short... A fraction of my long, long years. But it's been warmer and brighter... than any time I can remember before. You shone a light on my melancholy path. You showed me the way. Thank you for that, Rex. Thank you for that gift of light. [She closes her eyes, ready for the space station's self-destruct.] Malos's voice: So tell me... How was it, being alive...? Pneuma: Do you really wanna know? Well... [What she says goes unheard.] Torna ~ The Golden Country Addam: That last attack? The force behind it was absurd! I'm amazed. Lora: Oh, ah, really...? Well, that's just... Ahaha... Addam: Oh, and... Passing the weapon...? What a concept! How did you ever come up with THAT idea? Lora: Oh, well... We were broke. Addam: Huh? Lora: We couldn't afford meals, let alone another sword. And so we made do. [A beat of shock. Addam then has a good laugh.] Addam: You're kidding?! Lora: Hmph. Addam: Oh, man. You guys are the best. I haven't laughed this hard in ages. Lora: Huh? Addam: I really, REALLY like you two. Lora: Uhh... Addam: To tell the truth, I'm always worrying. Ever since I became Mythra's Driver, anyway. Lora: It didn't seem that way at all. Addam: Power lends one an air of capability. Even moreso when it comes to the Aegis. When we first met... We could have burned you to pieces. Though fortunately we avoided that thanks to Jin. Lora: Is that why...you were away from the militia? Addam: As I am, I am not in full control of Mythra's power. Scores of soldiers could die by my hand... I was frightened. This cataclysm Malos caused... It's likely all because Quaestor Amalthus was unable to control him. And if that's true, then perhaps I too... Lora: I think she's well aware. Just not so comfortable saying it. Addam: That's your analysis? Lora: Well, I have been with Jin, the "Paragon of Torna", for 17 years. I can roughly tell how much of their strength a Blade is using just by watching them. She's making sure you- No, she's holding herself back to make sure she doesn't go that way. Deep down she's very kind. Addam: You think? That still means...I'm just not man enough. Lora: Don't think that way. You'll get used to it, little by little. I was the same. Addam: If only time would slow down and afford me the chance. Milton: ...Oi, Mythra! Mythra: Huh? Milton: What are you doing? Mythra: Preparing the meat, of course. Are your eyes not working or something? Milton: Well cut it out, back away, and don't touch anything. Mythra: What? But why? Lora: Seems like fun! Why don't I help, too? Milton: Don't encourage her. You wouldn't talk that way if you knew the atrocities of Mythra's cooking. Lora: ...Atrocities? [In a flashback, one spoonfull of Mythra's cooking puts both Addam and Milton flat on their backs.] Milton: It does more damage to you than any Artifice ever could... Malos: Watch humans closely, and you'll learn one thing. Deep down, they wish they were dead. They kill each other like they swat flies. Running towards oblivion like blind rats. They see the divine flame of life and piss over it. They're genius at that. In a class all of their own, really. Mythra: Malos. Malos: Oh... That flame is wasted on them. So I... I want to give them a little push in the right direction. As the benevolent servant of our "wise dad" should... [Jin looks over the eggs where Blades are becoming Titans.] Jin: It may be this is exactly what they wanted. Become Titans, have a longer life with humans... Azurda: [chuckle] Oh, nothing. I was just remembering the previous time you said that. Jin: I did? Azurda: My reply was, 'how about you?'... And what do you think you said? Jin: I don't wish for "forever". All I want is my life with her. That's plenty. [In finally fighting back at full power, Mythra is causing just as much destruction as Malos. He laughs.] Malos: That's it. Perfect. That's the power that our father gave us! It's what the world has cried for since its birth... Me... You... We're here to give them what they want. Mythra: N-no... You're wrong... I...don't... Malos: Really? Then I'll just have to claim...all the destruction for myself! Jin: In the course of a lifetime... a man will see uncountable meetings and partings. Yet, as your life's candle sputters and dies... whose face is it that rises to greet you? Happy is the man who can sleep... ...in the comfort of the smile he sees then. [In the ruined house of his previous life, Jin sets the photo of his previous Driver, the photo of the rest of the party, and his journal.] Jin: No... I don't wish for "forever". Even just for one moment... It's enough...if it's with her. And yet... [Jin has set the house on fire.] Jin: What is the man to do...who has not been afforded that chance...? The road stretches on without end. I cannot but walk down it. As long as I keep walking, I can hold out hope that one day, the time may come... when I see her smile again. That hope keeps me afloat... See also Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Xenosaga Xenogears Xenoblade Chronicles Xenoblade Chronicles X Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Category:2017 video games Category:Xeno (series)