Shulk and Co found themselves in a large expanse of space. There was ground beneath them, and an array of large objects floating about.
"I've seen this place… I've been here, in dreams about the Monado…" Shulk said.
"Where is it?" Reyn asked.
"I don't know. I recognise these stars, but I have no knowledge of the other bodies…" Shulk said. "All I know is: this is not Bionis."
The party travelled through the regions of this space, passing by the floating memories of the people that had passed. Faced Mechon. Lost Homs. The High Entia. Some tried to float over to the party, but they passed right through. Shulk and Co were stopped only by one last voice.
"So you finally made it, Shulk…" Alvis' voice echoed around the odd space. "I cannot wait to see which path you choose. Let us meet again after you have made your choice."
"I wonder if we're ever going to fight him…" Dunban said.
"Not likely…" Shulk added. In a beam of light, Shulk and Co found themselves moving on.
The party was now in a tunnel of red light. 'Tunnel' merely described the scenery: this was merely a flat piece of land on which to fight. Floating above them was Zanza, in a new set of armour. The sight of both the Monado and the Dyado was a painful one.
Welcome, Shulk, Zanza said. I had planned to use the body obtained from Shulk as a vessel in which to dwell for the next millennium. However… I came to possess a great and unexpected power…
"The Dyado…" Shulk murmured.
Correct. In addition to the Monado, which you kept safe for me, I was able to obtain a second weapon with the power of creation. Now I possess all that I desire. There is no longer any need for the life of Bionis. I must thank you indeed, Shulk. You were of more use to me than any of my disciples. Now that I have both Monado and Dyado, I can forgive you your betrayal, Zanza said.
"You gonna give him a reward?" Reyn asked.
Precisely, Zanza said.
"Not what I was expecting…" Reyn said sheepishly.
I will have him serve as my new disciple. You will be granted eternal life and unimaginable strength. Your High Entia friend will eternally serve you as your loving… bride. Death will be but a fleeting afterthought, Zanza said.
"Are you so arrogant to believe that the High Entia… no, all life on Bionis, are nothing but your playthings?" Melia asked, deliberately ignoring the hidden meaning in Zanza's words. "You don't know what it's like to kill your brethren after their mutation into Telethia!"
What are you talking about? A Telethia is a High Entia's true form. I did not transform them. I returned them. Telethia are mere cells from my body. I conferred intelligence upon them on a mistaken whim, creating the primitive High Entia. They enjoyed a brief existence as sentient beings. For that, they should be grateful! Zanza said.
"This is the arrogance of a creator…" Dunban said.
As I planned, the life of Bionis existed simply to serve as my vessels and my food. Bionis is nothing more than an accumulation of their corpses and life energy, Zanza said.
"You feign omnipotence, but the High Entia still confined you to Prison Island!" Dunban said.
How limited… Confined me? I was merely resting there. I was wounded in the battle with Meyneth's vessel. I simply awaited the day a new vessel would be born. Your new vessel will appear in Homs Colony 9 in a few thousand years… how boring, Zanza said.
"You were waiting until my birth?" Shulk asked.
Precisely. I intended to inhabit your body and once again do battle with Meyneth. I had no idea that I would defeat her so easily… Zanza said. He teleported, the Monado in Shulk's face.
You did a great deed in granting me a new Monado. I will gladly take you as my new disciple, Shulk, Zanza said.
"Never! I don't want to be your vessel or your disciple! I just want to live my life as a Homs!" Shulk said, thrusting the Monado Abyss into Zanza's face. "In a world without you!"
That is most regrettable. You could have entrusted all to me and attained peace. But perhaps the vision of mortals will ever remain limited. Using one's power to change the world… that is a right possessed only by gods! Zanza said.
"Is that why you lay waste to Mechonis?" Shulk asked.
Of course. Along with the beings called Machina, who followed Meyneth. They had evolved and become insolent under her protection, Zanza said.
"So you're saying us Homs are next in line, eh?" Reyn asked.
Correct. You yourselves have proven that Homs are a dangerous species. How unfortunate. I once desired friendship… But granting intelligence to the lives I created was a mistake. A god should not long for friendship, Zanza said. Shulk slashed with Monado Abyss and Rudra, sending Zanza back a little.
"You're wrong! Meyneth chose to exist alongside us! She grew to consider us her friends. You should have accepted that! But what you were hoping for was not friendship. You wanted worthless slaves! Our lives as food!" Shulk said.
Just as I suspected. It appears that I was mistaken to grant free will. However, all will soon be over! The Telethia will exterminate all life on Bionis. I will then create a new world! Just as I have done before! Zanza said.
"We will not allow it. We cannot. We will stop you!" Shulk called out. The entire party charged forward. Dunban and Riki went to attack Zanza's summoned guardians, while Reyn and Sharla focused on Zanza. Shulk was providing buffs, and Melia was shooting elementals wherever they were needed. Shulk's eyes narrowed.
Zanza will use Monado Right on Reyn and Sharla. This will Daze them, and a little more should they succeed. You have nine seconds.
Shulk fired a Monado Shield, but the Monado Abyss and Rudra were too weak. Zanza's Monado hit them, Dazing them, and shattered their shield.
You mere vessels dare to oppose the will of a god? Zanza asked. He touched the Monado to Reyn, and the Dyado to Sharla. A green light was pulled from them both, draining to enter Zanza. Reyn and Sharla's bodies fell atop one another, before tumbling through the place in which Shulk and co stood.
I shall obliterate everything with my unimaginable power! Zanza stated. The ether Zanza absorbed from Reyn and Sharla was drawn into him, turning him into a supermassive melding of Zanza, Bionis and Mechonis.
Now, behold the true form of a united world! Zanza said. Dunban and Riki leaped upon either shoulder of Zanza, and Shulk and Melia got in close. They attacked away at him, being blasted by Mechonis Buster and Bionis Buster alike. Black Holes and Titan Bazookas came from Zanza's core. Zanza finished with a Monado Shooter IX, blasting Shulk and Melia away, and inflicted a bind. Melia's wings were blasted off in the attack. Dunban and Riki landed in front of the pair, and held out the Machina sabre and Biter alike.
How… how do you resist me? Zanza asked. Dunban and Riki continued the fight, Shulk and Melia trying to follow up. You no longer possess the Monado!
"We do not need the Monado to desire to kill you for what you have done," Dunban said.
"Riki fight for Shulk! Riki fight for Melly! What does Zanza fight for?" Riki followed.
"The future you see is not set in stone. There are infinite possibilities based on the paths we choose. You should be well aware of this notion!" Melia said from her position. "For that is how you have always existed!"
That is a right for gods and gods only! Zanza said.
"Why should we care? What's important is whether you can see the future or not! It's the will to make a choice and the strength to seize your destiny! Our time has come! Our destiny is our own!" Shulk said, a shining light appearing above the couple. Zanza blasted Dunban and Riki into this light, and Shulk jumped up, free from Bind. Melia came up too, and the two Monados Shulk wielded were being picked up by a spirit, not unlike the ones they saw earlier. This one was Fiora's.
Can it be? Zanza asked. A Monado?
Shulk's weapon looked almost exactly like the Monado of old. However, while the Monado was a red sword with a laser blade inside, this Monado was all laser. This Monado… was The True Monado.
"It is not only you that has the right! Every living thing has the freedom to choose the path they walk!" Melia called out. "And that is the future!"
A third Xenoblade… How can this have happened? You are mere mortals! Zanza asked.
"That we may be… but we have the God Slaying Sword on our side!" Shulk roared. He levelled The True Monado at Zanza, and jumped into battle. His attacks came laser-fast, and super-powerful. Melia was in a state of permanent Burst Mode, and was launching Elementals and Mind Blasts at will. The spirit of Fiora was using the two Replica Monados as dual swords. Zanza was left awestruck at the sheer power exerted by those he considered worthless. Shulk's eyes narrowed, as he prepared his Chain Attack.
MELIA: Burst End!
FIORA: Screw Edge!
SHULK: Monado Cyclone!
MELIA: Ice Discharge!
FIORA: Hidden Thorn!
SHULK: True Monado Enchant!
MELIA: Flare Discharge!
FIORA: Power Smash!
SHULK: Monado Eater!
MELIA: Bolt Discharge!
FIORA: Lacerate!
SHULK: Turn Strike!
MELIA: Mind Blast!
FIORA: Butterfly Step!
SHULK: True Monado Buster!
Zanza was unable to withstand this beyond-godly Chain Attack. He sunk to wherever his knees were, defeated.
How… the power of a god cannot be overcome! Zanza cried out.
"Zanza…" Alvis' voice said. "This is the providence of the world. Even gods are merely beings restricted to the limited power determined by providence. That power, although great, is not unlimited…" A jet of light shot from the Monado, the Dyado, and The True Monado, joining them.
Alvis! How dare you disobey me? Zanza said.
"I am Monado. I was here at the beginning. And I will proclaim the end," Alvis said. "Shulk, it is time for you to choose. Does this world belong to Zanza? Or does it belong to you?"
"That is something I decided long ago!" Shulk roared. He held The True Monado high into the sky, and The True Monado became larger and larger. A new symbol appeared in the centre: a symbol Zanza feared.
"Today… we use our power to fell a god and then seize our destiny!" Shulk said, cleaving the Monado down. It chopped through Zanza clean, causing a burst of light.
Shulk found himself somewhere odd. It was not unlike the place the party visited between fighting Dickson and Zanza. However, he spotted something he had not earlier: a machine, not unlike the ones the High Entia constructed, beside the beautiful blue orb of water.
"Where am I?" Shulk asked.
"This is my home," a green light said in Alvis' voice. This was clearly Alvis.
"Your home?" Shulk asked. He turned to the machine.
"Let's begin the experiment!" a voice called from within it.
"Who was that?" Shulk asked.
"It is Zanza's. Before he became a god," Alvis told him. "When he was simply a man of flesh and blood."
"No! The results have not been confirmed! It's too dangerous!" another voice called, this one female.
"And that one… that one's Meyneth!" Shulk said.
"Ridiculous, Sarah! It's perfectly safe!" Zanza said. "We are about to bear witness to the birth of a universe! I'll show those naysayers! The name of Klaus Zanza will be in the history books! Once, only a god could perform such a miracle. But today, mankind moves one step closer to the divine!"
"Stop! Klaus!" Meyneth cried out. But too late. A blue light travelled around the orb the machine was near, enveloping the orb in another layer of blue. This layer exploded, enveloping the entire space in a blinding light.
"It was simple curiosity. The curiosity of a single man that destroyed the universe and created a new one. A new universe, your world, was born," Alvis said. Shulk and the spirit were now standing on the Endless Ocean. The two titans- Bionis and Mechonis- emerged from the ocean, carrying the Monado and Sword Valley.
"And so, two gods came into existence. Zanza and Meyneth were lonely. So they created beings in their own image," Alvis said.
"So that was how we were born…" Shulk said.
"As the world advanced to each further stage, it was inherited by generations of different life forms. But over time, awareness of Zanza faded. Zanza feared this. In order to escape his own annihilation, he wished for a world in a perpetual cycle of destruction and recreation," Alvis said.
"Bionis being filled with life… and the Telethia coming to wipe it out. It was all the will of Zanza…" Shulk came to realise.
"It was. But the truth of the matter is that he longed for friendship. He just had trouble expressing this with the lives he had made…" Alvis said. Shulk looked back to the Bionis and the Mechonis. Their duel had begun.
"His future and our future. It might have been possible for them to coexist," Shulk said.
"Correct. However, that time has passed. The old god was defeated by the new god that he himself created," Alvis said. To represent this, a scene where the Bionis started to collapse showed itself.
"New god?" Shulk asked in surprise.
"Yes. That is why I appeared before you, Shulk," Alvis said.
"Alvis, what are you?" Shulk asked.
"I am the main computer on board the Alvis, the experimental facility designed to bring Project Monado to fruition. But that will mean little to you. To you, I am a machine, and we'll leave it at that. That is my original form," Alvis said. "This world is stagnant. It has expired. Therefore I will ask you, its new god: what is your wish? Will you permit the world to continue to stagnate? Or will you allow it to evolve to the next level? The choice is yours to make."
"I don't know! All I wanted to do was stop Zanza having his way. That's all. I can't be a god!" Shulk said.
"Too right!" Reyn said, appearing from behind Shulk with the same powers Alvis frequently used. "You're great 'n' all, but there's no way you're a god!" Along with Reyn came everyone who had aided Shulk. Sharla took Reyn's arm, and came to rest on his shoulder. Dunban stood proudly to one side, his arm on Fiora's shoulder. Melia beamed brightly at Shulk, Riki in her arms.
"Everyone!" Shulk exclaimed.
"Don't worry, Shulk. None of us want to be gods anyway. And I don't really know what the future holds…" Fiora said. "We just want to live our life as it comes."
"Eating grub, sleeping, laughing, crying… sometimes arguing… sounds all right!" Reyn said.
"He's right… and being with the ones we love…" Sharla said, grabbing Reyn a little more tightly. "That's enough."
"Even so, we change little by little… Every day is a little different from the last. We do not know what the future will hold," Melia said, leaning in to kiss Shulk's cheek. Shulk blushed lightly at that.
"More fun not knowing!" Riki called out. "Riki want to have fun!"
"Life's little surprises are what make it great. We don't know what's going to happen. It's worrying, sometimes, but it's also exciting. Don't you think?" Fiora said.
"Yeah. Isn't that called progress? Aren't we all continuously evolving? I'm not sure we need a more dramatic change than that…" Dunban said. Shulk thought briefly to the other changes he might be able to make. Bringing back everyone in this party, bringing Meyneth back to live among her creations… the idea of becoming a god did have its temptations. And yet…
You're right. Little by little. Each day as it comes… that's how we should live. That's our world, Shulk said, the power of a god coming from him briefly.
Shulk found himself back in the Sentient Genesis, battlefield of Zanza.
"Forgive my presumptuousness. But I recreated their personalities from your consciousness," Alvis' voice said from above. The Monado and the Dyado formed two sides of a triangle where Alvis' voice was coming from.
"Alvis… it sounds like you don't think I can make my own decisions," Shulk said amusedly. "I'm supposed to be the god."
"Apologies. However, I have good reason. This world has little time remaining if left in this state. Have you made your decision?" Alvis asked. "The choice is yours, Creator. Tell me your decision for the future of this world."
"I won't decide. The future should be decided by each and every person in the world. And so, what I… no, what we wish for is… a world with no gods!" Shulk decided, throwing The True Monado into the triangle, completing it. "The future will use endless possibilities on our entire world. Each and every one decides what this means. We have our entire lives." Shulk prophesised. The world of the Bionis collapsed.
Six months have passed since we destroyed Zanza. Since then, we have been left a world that was not particularly small. We have a piece of land, with Colony 9 on one quarter, and resources on the other sides that don't seem to deplete. There was even some talk of other, beautiful locales from all over Bionis and Mechonis having been reconstructed somewhere out there. I had never seen those sights in the new world, personally. Colony 9 itself is inhabited by Homs, High Entia, Nopon and Machina alike. Coexisting in harmony. All friendly with one another. And that one colonel Reyn talked about that yelled at the defence force. Dunban was working with Vanea, Otharon and Miqol to bring restorations and expansions to Colony 9. It's still smaller than Alcamoth, but it comfortably holds all four races.
"The restoration's coming along nicely…" Otharon commented.
"Thanks to Melia and Vanea," Dunban said. Oh. I had forgotten I had offered my advice to them. "The High Entia and Machina have some amazing technology."
"We are happy to help," Vanea said. "To live alongside one another in harmony. After all, I have no doubt: this is what Lady Meyneth and Egil would have wanted."
"Hear hear," Dunban said. "And may it last forever…"
"Dunban?" I meekly asked. Dunban turned around.
"Melia! What is it?" he asked.
"Have you seen Shulk?" I asked him.
"He just left. I don't know where he went, but he was with Reyn and the others," Dunban told me.
"OK, thank you!" I said, turning to leave. When my back was to him, Dunban yelled out. I turned to him.
"What is it?" I asked him daintily.
"It's… it's nothing. Good luck!" Dunban said. I turned back around, and went in search of Shulk.
I went to Outlook Park. Shulk had shown me the area recently, and I knew it was a place he held dear. However, I saw only one figure. A creature called a human. We found her along with Fiora in Agora Shore a week after Zanza, and she called herself Sarah. Shulk recognised the name from somewhere, and assured everyone it was all right for her to stay in the colony.
"If you're looking for Shulk, he is not here," she said. I always believed her voice to be familiar, but I could never pin from where this was.
"Amazing… do you have eyes in the back of your head? Can humans really sense their surroundings?" I asked her. "What were you looking at?"
"I wasn't looking at anything in particular. I just sometimes sit down and think, my eyes staring intently at something, but I don't really register it," Sarah said, leaning with her right arm on the guide fence. Her left arm was missing at the elbow, and many people joked that she would be a great match for Dunban. I personally found that rude, but I did entertain the idea of them eventually becoming a pair for less superficial reasons.
"Wow… I remember back when I was that thoughtful. I haven't been able to become that thoughtful since I met Shulk, though… every time I try, my thoughts just drift to him," I admitted to her.
"Really? One day, when you've become close enough to Shulk to overcome this weakness, we really should get together and just think," Sarah said.
"We've been through a lot… we should probably arrange that get together sooner, anyway," I told her.
"Yes… we have," Sarah said. "I am grateful to all of you. It is because I met you that I have found true peace… It is the reason I am here now."
"We're all happy you're here, too," I said. The day I ask her where I recognise her from, or indeed, where Shulk recognises her from, was not to be today.
"I'm glad I met you," I told her.
"And I you," Sarah said.
I next looked for Shulk at the Frontier Shore. This was a shore that opened into the Endless Ocean, something that did not exist on Bionis. Reyn, Riki, Sharla and Juju were fishing on the dock. Sharla sat on a small chest to hold the fish, a large bump forming on her chest. According to Linada, Sharla was having a baby. Reyn was trying to hoist up a fish.
"Go Reyn! Riki really hungry!" Riki called out excitedly.
"Put your back into it, Reyn!" Sharla called out, less excitedly. She lacked that sort of energy. Reyn pulled, and stumbled. He dropped from the pier, and he took Riki and Juju into the Endless Ocean. Sharla looked up concernedly, and walked slowly to see them. Reyn, Riki and Juju surfaced, and slowly swam to shore. Sharla sighed, turned around, and went to them.
"It's salty! Why's the water so salty?" Reyn asked.
"Reyn, you're terrible at this!" Juju said. "When was the last time you fished?"
"Reyn bad fisherman!" Riki said. "Riki want eat big fish!"
Sharla lightly laughed.
"Juju, please. Cut your brother-in-law some slack. And Riki, for such a Heropon, I expected better of you," Sharla said. Juju and Riki apologised.
"Riki, do you want to try?" Reyn asked.
"No. Fishing Reyn's job. Riki's job is eating!" Riki said. Sharla sighed, and sunk her face into her hands. I got the mental picture of Sharla's baby doing the same thing. It was followed by a mental picture of the baby laughing at them. I liked Reyn and Sharla, and was curious as to which picture was the truth.
"Hang on a sec… isn't Oka gonna have a massive go at you if you don't go back to her with 14 fish to feed your littlepon?" Reyn asked.
"AH! Riki forgot! Wifeypon very angry if not catch more fish!" Riki cried out.
"It ain't me she's gonna be angry with," Reyn said.
"Reyn catch fish now! Fish! Fish!" Riki said, jumping on Reyn. Juju jumped too, reaching for Riki to help Reyn. Sharla looked like she was dying to help too. I had seen enough of them, and turned. There, a distance away, were Shulk and Fiora. I ran up to them.
"Shulk!" I called out. "Here you are!" Shulk looked up, and stood up. I ran into his arms, and we shared a great big hug. Shulk kissed me on the cheek. Oh, did I mention that Shulk now knows the truth about love? He was a little angry when he realised 'infatuation' was a lie, but he forgave me, realising he wasn't going to figure the real truth out fast enough on Bionis or Mechonis. We sat down on the shore, Shulk between me and Fiora. Fiora smiled at us. She definitely had a crush on Shulk before, but she appreciated the fact that Shulk had feelings for me first. Even still, it still brought a heavy feeling to my heart, knowing that, were it not for Dickson's silence, it would be Fiora in my position. Shulk and Fiora looked out over the Endless Ocean, before turning back to me.
"Melia…" they asked, looking at my hair. My wings had still not grown back from the battle with Zanza. If anything, my wings were disappearing into my head.
"What is it?" I asked them.
"Oh… that hairstyle! It looks good on you! That's all… yeah…" Shulk said awkwardly. I laughed.
"Really? My wings not disturbing it much?" I asked. Sharla did mention that the wings looked horribly burned. But Shulk had never voiced that thought.
"Your wings?" Shulk asked. I felt the back of my head. The nubs of my wings were still there, under my fingers. But I felt more hair than wing. I looked to the two of them uncomfortably. Perhaps my wings were disappearing.
"I wonder what the future has in store for us…" Fiora said suddenly, looking to Reyn, Sharla, Juju and Riki. Shulk and I did likewise, glad the conversation had changed. I was still nervously rubbing the back of my head, where my wings one sat.
"Who knows… I'm sure it will be full of ups and downs," Shulk said. "I don't know what the future holds… but that means I can imagine the possibilities! We can achieve anything we put our minds to!"
"Yeah… you're right!" I said.
"…So, do you think there's anything beyond the Endless Ocean now?" Fiora asked, pointing to some quite distinct land shapes in the distance. I looked closely at them.
"I'm sure of it. One day, I hope I can meet the peoples that live there. Perhaps we'll find more humans… perhaps we'll find beings who live a completely different style of life to us," Shulk said.
"I hope we can meet them too…" I said.
"And whatever we meet… I hope we can face our future together!" Shulk said.