As all of you can guess, from my last words after sharing Ophilia's tale, we have reached the penultimate stage of this vast story.
We have learned much from our precarious Travelers who have made their way all through Orsterra and back to Flamesgrace:
Where their tale began.
Where Ophilia's tale began.
I could recount how much each stage of the Octopath Travelers' adventures impacted their lives, but I'd be remiss if I did not touch on the undeniable truth present throughout this tale:
The Octopath Travelers are family.
H'aanit deciding to stay with her fellow Travelers rather than return to the Whisperwood;
Therion opening up to someone he cared for;
Alfyn promising his life to someone he so clearly loved;
Primrose learning to accept her past and rely on others to help her on whatever path she chose;
Olberic realizing more than the village of Cobbleston have need of his protection;
Tressa proclaiming how important her newfound family has become;
Cyrus learning he does not have all the answers and listening to others;
And Ophilia finding that her journey had brought her so much more than she ever thought possible, despite all the trials she had faced.
Through it all, the Octopath Travelers have come to learn the true meaning of what a family is - even if they had known such relationships beforehand.
And it had done more than either of them could ever guess.
Family does not necessarily fix problems - in fact, it can cause more.
However, the bond of family can create bridges between two individuals who may not be able to create bridges with anyone else.
Within the Octopath Travelers, such people existed.
Now, while they are still unable to fix everything in their lives, they all have bridges connecting each other under a single epitaph of…
Family.
As we shall see, over time, after the Octopath Travelers completed their journeys and beat back the evil plaguing Orsterra, they still kept these bonds close to their hearts.
Both in spirit and in person…