The group is currently riding an elevator to the very top of the world tree and everyone has one thing on there mind: Elysium is around the corner. Everyone is a bit anxious and excited to whats about to come. The elevator went straight up and when they finally got to the top it took them five minutes. The first thing everyone notices about the top of the world tree is that it looks super futuristic at the top and they are currently in space.
"Is that Alrest?"
"I can't believe how high we are right now."
"Better watch out shellhead. A fall from this height might be the end of you."
"Oh ha ha very funny. But this view is quite breathtaking."
"Truly remarkable."
"As amazing as this view is we have to keep going. We are on the border of Elysium and we are almost to our goal."
Everyone quickly agrees and they continue on there way.
As they all look around they find themselves in the longest corridor they've been in so far. As the group walks through the seemingly endless corridor they see multiple picures of the same tree on a hillside. To everyone else it seems strange but to Rex, Pyra, and Mythra they know exactly what that tree is. When the group finally makes it to the end of the corridor they find a locked door with a panel on the side. Pyra quickly changes to Pnema and opens up the door. What they see inside is truely a shock to everyone.
"What..."
"Is..."
"This..."
What they see is a hollow shell of what Elysium was. No water, no grass, no animals, nothing. Just a completely barren wasteland. Pyra looks completely shocked and Rex collapses onto his knees.
"What... IS THIS PLACE?!"
No one was expecting Rex to break.
"WHERE'S ALL THE WATER?! WHERE'S THE GRASS?! THE SINGING BIRDS?! THERE'S NOTHING!! NOTHING AT ALL!! THIS CAN'T BE ELYSIUM IT JUST CAN'T BE!!"
Rex is now on his hands and knees trying his damndest not to cry. Everyone just stays silent and looks at Rex in his state of grief. Not really knowing what to do Nia is the first to try to get Rex up. Nia walks over to Rex and crouches down to talk to him.
"Rex. Get up."
"What?"
"I said get up."
Rex complies and gets up.
"Rex I want you to look at me."
"Alright..."
Rex turns his attention to Nia and looks straight into her eyes.
"We are going to get through this. We always have and we always will. Think of this as a... minor setback for now. What's important is that we finally made it here. Plus there might be SOMETHING still around here that works."
Suddenly a bell is heard from afar.
"See? Told ya. Come on let's keep moving ok?"
"ok."
As the group walks through what was Elysium all they see is death. The only thing that is different is the sound of the church bell that allures them. Once they make it to the church they see how the building is rundown and dust has collected everywhere. Suddenly the doors to the church open on there own and an ominous voice beckons them forward.
"Father?"
"You don't mean..."
"...the Architect?"
Suddenly the alter slides back revealing a staircase that leads down. The voice beckons again. Rex and co begin there descent down the stairs. As the group makes it to the bottom of the stairs the room suddenly feels more quiet to Rex. As he turns around he finds that his friends are missing. When he turns back around he finds that he is now in Gormott.
"Hello? Where is everybody? Nia? Pyra? Mythra? Tora? Anybody?"
Rex sees some Ardainian soliders walking by and as Rex is trying to get there attention the soldiers walk through Rex.
"Where is everybody?!"
Rex accidentally trips while in his panicked state and when he gets up he finds himself now in Torigoth. When he looks around he sees only Dromarch but not Nia.
"Dromarch! I'm glad I found one of you. Do you know where everyone else is?"
"How could you Rex?"
"What?"
"You dragged me and my lady on this little goose chase of yours and we end up in the middle of nowhere?! What do you say in defense?!"
"What? Whats going on?! I'm sorry I didn't know it would be like this!"
"You have put myself and my lady in trouble multiple times on this journey and I say it's time you felt what we've been feeling this whole time!"
Dromarch runs right towards Rex and pounces on him. Dromarch readys his teeth to bite down on Rex. Rex closes his eyes out of fear only to find when he reopens them is that he is now in Alba Cavanich of Mor Ardain or at least what's left of it. As Rex walks through the burnt remains of Alba Cavanich he sees two people waiting for him at the end of the street. As Rex gets closer he notices that it's Morag and Brighid waiting for him.
"Morag! Brighid! What happened?! I was just in Torigoth and Dromarch tried to-"
Morag shoots a burst of flames right at Rex and Rex barely dodges it.
"What was that for?!"
"I must take my revenge."
"For what?!"
"For all the Ardainians who died by your hands!"
"By my hands?!"
"After you took me away from my duties Mor Ardain fell and I could've stopped it if only I was there."
"Morag calm down! You're being irrational!"
"I'll calm down... ONCE YOU'RE DEAD!!"
Morag shoots another mass of flames and this one does hit Rex. As Rex slowly burns alive he closes his eyes again. When he reopens them he finds himself at the Cliffs of Morytha. As he turns around he sees Zeke, Pandoria, Tora, and Poppi waiting for him.
"Well well well if it isn't Rex my chum."
"Please don't tell me your like the others."
"Give me the Aegis Rex. I'm the only one deserving of it."
"What?! No I can't give you the Aegis!"
"It not fair. Tora want to be driver but Rex-Rex become driver without even trying. Life is so unfair!"
"It not fair. Poppi didn't ask to be cheap imitation of blade. Poppi want to be real blade. Why can't Poppi be real blade?!"
"Why are you blaming this on me?! There is no way I could've caused any of that!"
"It's too late for that now chum. Now feel the wrath of Tunderbolt Zeke!"
Right as Zeke and Tora charge right at Rex, Rex closes his eyes again only to find himself now riding Azurdas back.
"Ah good to see you awake my boy."
"Gramps?"
"Must be nice being a human. Having a short life with big dreams."
"What are you saying Gramps?"
"While us titans live too long for our own good and drift aimlessly with no goals, no dreams, no ambitions. Rex I have a question for you."
"What would that be?"
Azurda cranes his neck around and looks at Rex with one of his eyes.
"How would you feel about being nothing more than a transportation for humans to use and be subjected to an eternity of being a live vessel?"
A wave of guilt washes over Rex as he realizes that that is what his gramps had been feeling this entire time.
"I... I don't know. I don't know."
As Rex looks down at the ground and closes his eyes again he now finds himself in Fonsett Village. He sees the lights on in Corrines house and decides to enter. As he's about to enter he hears laughter coming from inside. What he sees inside shocks him. Pyra and Mythra are there at the same time. He wonders how this is even possible but then he realizes that the laughter has stopped. As he enters the house he feels unwelcomed. He notices the expression on both of there faces. Pyra looks like she's about to cry while Mythra looks upset at him.
"Please tell me you two are ok."
"Ok? OK?! HOW CAN YOU EVEN SAY THAT?!"
"Wh-What do you mean?"
"The way you rejected us. It hurts it hurts so much."
"What do you mean?"
"ARE YOU GONNA MAKE US SPELL IT OUT FOR YOU IDIOT! WE LOVED YOU! AND YOU GOT WITH HER!!!"
Rex feels like he's going to shut down. He has no idea how to respond to that. How does he respond to that?
"After we gave you so much power. You still never even gave us a chance."
"YOU'VE HURT BOTH OF US DEEPLY! AND FOR THAT YOU WILL PAY!!!"
Mythra shoots a beam of light straight at Rex and as Rex is fading away he finds himself now in the Rumbletum Canteen at the Argentum Trade Guild. He looks around for any familiar faces and he spots one. As Rex begins to walk up to her she turns around and looks straight into his eyes.
"Hey Rex, I've been waitin for ya."
"Nia?"
"The one and only."
"Nia is that really you?"
"Last I checked yeah, it's still me."
"NIA!"
Rex runs up and hugs Nia tightly while trying to talk to her through his sobs.
"NIa WhaTs HApPeniNg tO EveRYoNE! THeY aLL HaTe mE!"
"Shhh shhhh it's ok now Rex. You don't have to worry about any of that now. It's just you and me."
"what happened? was i really that bad of a person and i didn't even realize it?"
"Rex... you're one of the kindest and most caring individuals I've ever met. They're all just a bit upset right now. Don't worry they'll be back to there old selves in no time just you wait."
"Nia..."
"Rex... I know exactly what you need."
"What is that?"
"Look at me for a second."
"Ok but for wh-"
Nia gives Rex a soft kiss on the lips and Rex gives in.
"Better?"
"Mmhmm."
Suddenly the lights go out.
Rex now finds himself in a dark room with a spotlight shining down on him. He looks around and he sees his friends behind him with spotlights also on them. Rex at first feels fear but then they all hear a voice.
"Greetings."
Everyone turns there heads to see a shadowy figure of an old man.
"Are you... the Architect?"
"My name is Klaus. I am the creator of this world."
"Architect what were those visions you showed us?"
"They were your deepest thoughts."
"Deepest thoughts?"
"The worst of everybody."
"Why would you show us such dreadful imagery?"
"To see how much humanity has grown since the last time I checked on them."
Everyone feels a bit embarrassed at hearing this.
"I'm assuming we failed." Morag tips her hat lower.
"On the contrary, you have shown me that humanity is as it always has been."
"And what would that be?"
"Imperfect."
Everyone feels hurt by that statement.
"Imperfection is a good thing. It allows room to grow and learn. It's what makes you human."
"But Architect you're perfect."
"Far from it Rex. I have made many mistakes throughout my long long life."
Everyone falls silent. Rex thinks of a question to ask the Architect.
"Architect can I ask you a question?"
"Go for it."
"Can you tell us how we came to be?"
"That is a long and complex answer. Would you like me to tell you everything?"
"Yes please."
"In the beginning I was a normal human like all of you. I worked on this space station several millennia ago. Back then we had harnessed the power of an item called the Conduit. It had the power to rewrite time and space and I used it for my own nefarious purposes. I tried to rebirth the universe and ended up destroying most of my own. By the time I came to the only things left of my world was a decimated planet and only half of my body."
That's when the lights turned on revealing the void that was his left side.
"After that I thought of a way I could restore the world to what it once was. The first thing I did was create a vast blanket of fog that could consume the desolate land below to restore the future land above. You all refer to this as the cloud sea. After that I created millions of small cube crystals which held the data of all living creatures from before the world was decimated. You all refer to these as core crystals. Once the core crystals fell into the cloud sea they reacted and gave birth to the first organism of the new world: The Titans. Over the course of history the titans evolved and created more new organisms and eventually created the first humans. After the humans were reborn history took its course the way you all know it to this day."
Pyra thought of a question to ask her father.
"Father... there is something I've always wanted to know."
"What would that be my child?"
"Why do we exist? I'm referring to me and Malos as Aegises."
"So you wish to learn the story of the three Aegises I see."
"Three?!"
"Long ago I created three special core crystals that were directly made by my own hand. Logos, Ontos, and Pnema. They were all built by me for the purpose of maintaining order down in Alrest. Unfortunately Ontos was lost to time when it phased out of our existence leaving me only with Logos and Pnema. Knowing of the incredible power they possessed I kept them both up here with me. But one day I found that a human had stolen the two core crystals of incredible power for himself. I based the three of them off of myself. Ontos was shaped after my body that I used to create everything. Logos was shaped after my mind which molded the new world. And Pnema you were shaped after my soul for bearing life once more to this world and to atone for my sin."
Pyra feels a sense of wholeness now that she has finally find out why she exists.
"Why would you let Malos destroy the world again?"
"That is not for me to decide. I am merely a spectator in the grand scheme of life. If the world burns then it burns. If it doesn't it doesn't. On top of that I have the up most confidence in you all that you have the power to stop Logos and save Alrest."
"Thank you for having so much confidence in us."
"Rex, I believe you have what it takes to bring the people hope in their darkest hour."
"I really don't deserve this much praise. All I want to do is make the world a better place."
Everyone looks at Rex warmly for his pure ambitions.
"Now go, the conduit and I don't have much time left and you'll need the conduit to stop Logos."
"Alright."
Right as the group is about to leave Rex turns around and says one final thing.
"Architect... Thank you for giving us life. We are all in your eternal debt."
With that everyone runs ahead but Rex stops Pyra before they catch up to the rest of them.
"Pyra we need to talk."
"Yes Rex?"
"About earlier... is it true?"
Pyra knows exactly what Rex is talking about and nods her head slowly up and down.
"We've both felt that way for a while."
"Listen I want both of you to hear this. I may not love you but I will never stop caring for either of you. Do you understand? You two are the entire reason I'm even alive and the entire reason we've been on this journey is to help you. I don't know what the future has in tow for us but just remember that no matter what I will always have your back. Got it?"
Pyra and Mythra are both moved by this small speech and even though they still can't get over it just yet they are at least at an acceptance.
"Alright. Thank you Rex for everything."
"Now come on, we've got a planet to save."
to be continued...