After further months of traveling through space, Riku happens across a planet that seems strangely divided in two by a dimensional rift. Beside it is a smaller planet with a strange purple fog surrounding it.
Ever since getting Chaos Form Riku's been feeling like he is able to sense when planet's need his help, and chooses to help this one.
He lands on the smaller planet for now and finds a futuristic city inhabited by angel-like beings. These "angels" confront him only to withdraw the moment one of their captains appears...Kratos Aurion.
Kratos recognizes Riku by his title immediately and calmly asks him to come meet with Lord Yggdrasil, ruler of Derris-Kharlan.
Riku tries to gleam what era it is by questioning Kratos, only for Kratos to expertly evade the obvious answers. Riku resists capture with a brief scuffle, but when it becomes clear neither of them are using their full power Riku decides he'd be better off going down to the main planet to help the "Chosen One" and her companions.
Kratos warns that he'll be hunted by Yggdrasil and his men, including him, but Riku remarks that he's aware of that and leaves regardless.
Riku arrives in Tethe'alla close to the Fooji Mountains. After evading the local wildlife he catches wind of some events playing out atop the mountain.
At the current moment Lloyd Irving and his group of allies, currently consisting of Genis, Raine, Sheena, Zelos and Presea were all captured in a cage while Colette, the Chosen One, was about to be captured by Yuan and Pronyma.
Riku stays hidden but a soldier then breaks his cover. He knocks them off the mountain and then jumps out to confront Yuan.
While he has Yuan's attention, however, Pronyma goes after Colette. Colette winds up breaking out of then-current catatonic state and shoves her away.
Then, through her clumsiness, Colette breaks Lloyd and the others free.
Pronyma gets pissed and decides to take Colette by force, only for Lloyd to face her in battle alongside Genis and Raine, with Riku joining in a moment after.
Their brief scuffle is ended when Yuan decides to order a retreat, sensing that Riku's more than what he seems. Lloyd, however, wants to settle things with Yuan and attacks, only to be repelled by the sudden appearance of Kratos.
Kratos gives Yuan time to retreat, revealing that he too is an "angel" like Kratos. Kratos then chides Lloyd for his presence here and tells him the futility of trying to save both worlds, noting how the cycle has already been screwed up.
He then leaves, telling Lloyd that if he wants to change things, then he has to with his own hands.
The group then takes a moment to reassess who their enemies are, leading to some obvious suspicions drawn towards Riku...
Riku's able to earn their trust by showing that he doesn't have an Exsphere on his person, which is a common trait shared among the Desians, even the lower ranks.
But then he goes and fibs a bit about how he found them, though they seem to buy it for now. Then he explains his Elemental Overlord business and says he wants to tag along to help them save the world. There's a near unanimous agreement to let him come along, with only Zelos raising an objection.
The group then walk back down the mountain and return to Meltokio, Tethe'alla's capital city, to figure out a way to cross the bridge back over to Sybak.
Along the way Riku finds out that once again, he's lost his elemental powers...Or more specifically, they've been greatly weakened. He thus can no longer hear Takashi and Sodenko.
Upon reaching Meltokio the group's prevented from entering because right now they are wanted by the Pope. At the least, the guard's don't rat them out.
Zelos thus directs them to a shortcut through the sewers, though it requires a new shrinking power for the Sorcerer's Ring to get them through.
Upon nearing the end though they run into prisoners, including a blue-haired man who tries to take Zelos hostage, only to be forced into retreat upon recognizing Presea.
Then they enter the city proper and go to the lab to figure out their next move. During this time, Riku makes the connection that all his elements are connected to a Summon Spirit in this world.
After business is settled in the lab they go to Zelos' manor to bunk for the night. Riku enjoys some tea and relaxation for now, then gets a good night's rest.
The next day Riku catches Raine reading up on Tethe'alla. She offers to share some of her books but Riku throws out another lie by mentioning he read up plenty when he first arrived here.
After the rest of the group is up they pick up a device at the lab that'll allow them to get around the raised bridge between here and Sybak.
They meet up with one of Sheena's ninja friends Kuchinawa and use a neat little raft to cross over. Riku tries to talk with Presea to cheer her up, but doesn't manage to get her to do anything but demand to go home.
Once in Sybak they have a run in with Kratos, who once again warns Colette to take her Key Crest off. She refuses, wanting to treasure Lloyd's gift to her.
Kratos then knocks Lloyd down and walks off, commenting on Riku's presence. Distrust is sowed a bit, even when Riku explains how Kratos knew his title with another lie.
The group then meet up with a half-elf researcher named Kate, who delivers on a promise Lloyd made earlier by telling them how to help Presea. They need to find a dwarf named Altessa on the other side of the nearby forest.
Upon heading to the forest they run into the Pope's men and defeat them until running into that blue-haired prisoner again.
With no one else around the man tries to have a calm conversation with the group, specifically citing how he wishes to communicate with Presea.
But when he approaches her Presea violently lashes out, causing everyone to get suspicious. Zelos in particular steps up for once and fights the prisoner to avenge his nearly busted up face.
But the prisoner is a beast capable of splitting tress with his bare kicks. Zelos is barely able to fight him one on one. The fight does seem to give Zelos some clues though to the assailant's identity.
Eventually Zelos hits the prisoner's weak spot and knocks him out. Now though, the Pope's men are alerted to their presence and are closing in fast.
Sheena has no choice but to bring them to Mizuho, the hidden ninja village, until the Pope's search dies down.
Colette effortlessly picks the prisoner up and carries him with them, since he'll make for a good interrogation target once he wakes back up.
Zelos, meanwhile, feels emasculated.
Upon arriving in Mizuho, the group takes a moment to catch their breath. During which they discover that Sheena seems to be a bit of an unfavorite among the villagers.
Zelos knows the truth, but he's not going to do Sheena's job for her.
The village vice chief calls the group in to talk about recent events, leading to Lloyd being asked one major question..."What will you do about the state of both worlds?"
Lloyd refuses to let things stay the way they are. The idea behind both worlds fighting to survive is sickening to him and he wants to make a world where both worlds are once again equal.
The vice chief is pleased by this answer and decides to put his loyalty towards Lloyd's group, even at the cost of betraying the Church of Martel and Meltokio in general.
He mentions how, thanks to Sheena's seals, they'll be able to locate the flying Rheiards that Yuan snagged up earlier. But they need a little time.
Thus, for now, they decide to interrogate their prisoner a bit. He reveals his name to be Regal but doesn't elaborate on his connection to Presea, especially given her dull silence to any questions.
They decide to let Regal join up to help for now, but are keeping a close eye on him.
With nothing else to do for now the group heads to Ozette to bring Presea back home. There they find the citizens giving her creepy eyes, much to Riku's disgust.
Presea runs into a strange gangly half-elf man at her house who gives her important instructions to follow before leaving.
Riku glares at him but doesn't say a word for now. Presea then gets back to work chopping wood like a machine.
The group enter her house and are disgusted not only by the shape its in, but also the presence of a long-dead, decaying corpse in the bedroom.
But there's nothing they can do to get Presea to notice this. She's being controlled by prolonged exposure to the Exsphere. If they want to fix her horrible state of mind, they need to get Altessa to fix her Key Crest.
They arrive at his place and find his strange robotic worker Tabitha standing outside. She takes them inside to meet Altessa but the very moment Presea's name comes up, he demands they leave.
Tabitha takes them aside and tries to learn more about their problem, guiding them to go find some Inhibitor Ore to fix Presea's Key Crest.
Riku stays behind a bit to reprimand Altessa for his negligence as a dwarf, then leaves to join the others outside the workshop.
They decide to take their current ship to the Toize Valley Mine in order to mine Inhibitor Ore, at Regal's suggestion.
Along the way Riku has a talk with Sheena over his predicament with his elements. They both come to the conclusion that Riku's elements will return as Sheena makes more pacts with Summon Spirits, having already gotten Efreet, Undine and Sylph, corresponding to Riku still able to use Fire, Water and Wind.
Sheena's nervous about pacting with Volt but Riku calms her down, saying not to worry about it right now.
They then go into the mine and find some Inhibitor Ore. Lloyd's able to work with it, but says that Altessa will need to finish the job once Presea's back to normal.
On their way out they run into filler cha-I mean, Vharley, who has a relation to Regal, it seems. Regal kills him then and there...I wish. No, he escapes for now to do nothing again later.
Regal then states how he is a criminal because he murdered someone. Lloyd isn't fazed much, and decides not to push Regal on the matter.
Genis finds he can relate more to Regal now, as he feels he's done the same crime.
Riku mentions how everyone in this group has taken a life. But what separates them from the Desians is that they don't enjoy what they've had to do.
Riku and Regal even bond in private over their guilt.
They return to Ozette but immediately, Colette starts getting ill. Presea tries to help out, only to sudden knock her out and hand her off to that half-elf from earlier, Rodyle of the Desian Grand Cardinals.
Rodyle carries Colette off on his mutated dragons despite Riku trying to stop him.
Lloyd punches the ground in frustration but then fixes Presea's condition with his makeshift Key Crest.
She suddenly starts acting like a normal girl and the realization of what happened to her father in her lost years devastates her.
After a long period of recovery, Presea buries her father and thanks everyone for dealing with her problems.
She's questioned by Lloyd and Regal for a bit and then vows to help them stop Rodyle and save Colette. Regal continues to offer his aid, recognizing Rodyle as his own enemy.
Kratos then shows up, stating how Rodyle's actions are treasonous, but more importantly, how they shouldn't bother trying to save Colette.
Lloyd of course disagrees and attacks Kratos, faring a little bit better despite still eating the dirt.
Kratos then tells them to get the Rheiards if they want to pursue Rodyle, and leaves without another word.
They return to Mizuho just in time to find out where the Rheiards are from the vice chief. But before they can pursue them, they need more mana from Volt to power the machines...And to do that, Sheena must form a pact.
She's frightened at the idea, having failed once before and causing the death of hundreds in Volt's ensuing rampage.
It takes some pep talking from her friend Corrine, Lloyd, Zelos, and Riku to get her to try again. Thus, they held on over to the Temple of Lightning.
Sheena relives traumatic memories as they solve the puzzles in the temple to awaken Volt from his sleep. Even mustering up all her courage to confront the Summon Spirit, she can do nothing but quiver in his presence as the Summon Spirit remarks on his intent to not form a pact again.
Volt then chooses to attack the group, focusing on Sheena in particular.
Lloyd, Riku and Zelos stand at Sheena's aid while the others hold off Volt's lightning from exiting the temple.
Sheena's paralyzed from the legs down, unable to fight back even as Volt prepares to incinerate her down to the bone.
Then, at the last moment, her friend Corrine jumps in the way and takes this fatal attack for her.
Corrine falls to the ground, dying before Sheena's eyes. In the fox's last moments, Sheena recalls the time they shared together, and Corrine tells her to show Volt what it means to have faith in humans again.
Enraged beyond belief, Sheena confronts her traumas with determination and summons Efreet to slam Volt against the wall, demanding the Summon Spirit to give her his power.
She fights Volt alone, using Efreet and Undine to turn Volt's power against him. This leads to her victory, and Volt satisfied in her strength enough to allow her to form the pact.
With Volt now hers, Sheena clutches Corrine's bell tightly and vows never to let this happen again.
Undine then reappears, speaking to Volt about the severance of mana between here and Sylvarant, Lloyd's world.
This information gets the group interested in possibly having found a way to stop both worlds from competing for mana. But for now, its time to get the Rheiards.
They head back to Mizuho to get some rest. During which, Genis confides with Riku about some of his concerns...Mostly, how he thinks Riku has a crush on Raine because of some dumb things Zelos said.
Riku thoroughly denies it though. Genis then wants to get advice on how to be confident, since Riku's not clueless like Lloyd and not...Zelos.
Riku doesn't really know how to help Genis with Presea, much to his denial and disappointment.
The next day the group takes their sea ride to the Renegade Base and begin their infiltration. However, to make it easier to sneak around, they decide to split into two groups.
Lloyd, Sheena, Genis and Raine will head inside to get the Rheiards for everyone, while Riku, Zelos, Presea and Regal stay behind just in case Yuan is out at the moment.
But as it turns out, Lloyd's group ends up running into Yuan and Botta, his second-in-command, where the Rheiards are.
And to make matters worse, Kratos shows up in his "angel" garb to confront Riku and drag him back to Lord Yggdrasil finally.
Lloyd's group manages to defeat Yuan and Botta, with Yuan commenting on Lloyd's power growing through his Exsphere.
Things aren't going so hot for Riku's group though. As Kratos has chosen to wield the Eternal Sword, he's able to fend off four warrior with ease.
Riku then starts being questioned by Kratos regarding his ignorance. Riku starts recognizing how he shouldn't be having trouble with someone like Kratos. Or really...any of the people he's had trouble with before, besides Nazo.
Kratos reveals a truth he should've known from the start...There are precautions in place in the atmosphere of each world to weaken people who arrive from other worlds so they aren't ludicrously stronger than everyone else.
This was implemented by the "higher-ups" specifically in regards to matters involving the Elemental Overlord and Dark King of the past.
Riku's weakness is all the "higher-ups" fault.
Riku doesn't care about how weak he may be, or what the "balance" of each world should be. He stands by his beliefs that this world can't exist the way it is now. He chooses to believe in Lloyd's ideals, and will stand in Yggdrasil's way no matter what.
Kratos prepares to knock Riku out to deliver him to Lord Yggdrasil, only for a quake to distract his attention long enough for Lloyd and the others to come to the rescue.
With the Rheiards in hand they quickly escape to go rescue Colette.
They find her being held captive at a dragon's nest by Rodyle. However, Rodyle is not actually there. He merely converses with the two via a hologram.
Once he's gone he sics his dragons on them, surrounding them and preventing them from escaping.
Riku tackles a couple dragons on his own while the others divide their attention towards the rest. Riku feels weak by the time he's done, confirming what Kratos told him earlier.
They finish the dragons off, only for Rodyle to set off one last trap with Colette's cage, threatening to engulf them all in an ominous light.
Presea uses all her strength to break Colette's cage, then loses consciousness. The group then flees the collapsing nest and return to safe ground, where Lloyd and Colette reunite tearfully.
Presea smiles for the first time, reminding Regal of someone else.
Now that their whole group is back together its time to come up with a new plan of attack against Lord Yggdrasil and his Desians.
They will form pacts with the Summon Spirits of Tethe'alla for now until they can find a way back to Sylvarant and form a pact with the last one there.
The closest one to them is Gnome. And after some shenanigans with the actual race known as gnomes, they head up to the north end of Tethe'alla to pact with Celsius.
Once Earth and Ice are back under his control, Riku starts hearing some whispers from Takashi, warning him of what he's doing.
But before he can get any answers, the voice is cut off.
Riku is stricken by a terrible pain in his head as a giant lightning bolt cuts through the sky, smiting Ozette where it stands.
The group hurries back to the village, but its too late. The angels of Cruxis have made their judgment. Ozette has been wiped off the map, and its people, gone forever.
Gone, that is, save for one boy. A young half-elf by the name of Mithos, curiously sharing the same name as the legendary hero.
Riku knows the truth obviously, that this Mithos is Lord Yggdrasil of Cruxis. His presence here now is unsettling, but Riku chooses to play along until he can get a chance a single him out.
Altessa shows up, frightened by the judgment of Cruxis upon this land, and believes his actions led to its destruction.
He invites the others back, having a change of heart upon seeing Presea's state reversed from Lloyd's efforts.
At his home, Altessa explains his connection to the Desians and Cruxis as a former crafter for them. But he left upon being disgusted by their work. Nevertheless, Rodyle hunted him down and forced him to make a Core Crystal like Colette's.
That's why Presea's in the state she's in, and Altessa knows nothing but regret over it.
Presea is not quick to forgive him, leading to a talk between her, Regal and Riku regarding redemption and what it means to earn it.
The conversation following after about Mithos the hero and the Summon Spirits leads to the group coming to realize that there might be a way to head back to Sylvarant. Raine, specifically, seems to know more than the others.
They decide to get some rest for now though, having had a very long day behind them. Mithos stays with them for his "safety".
With everyone else asleep, Riku confronts Mithos outside of Altessa's home, both of them addressing each other by their real titles.
Riku learns why Mithos wants his aid. A deal was struck between him and the original Elemental Overlord long ago. In exchange for Mithos' sister Martel being revived, Mithos would reunite the two worlds.
But the curious thing about the deal was that the Elemental Overlord mentioned that his successor would do it.
Riku can't believe this duty would be put upon him, but tosses aside any connection to the past by stating he refuses to follow through on the deal in the here and now.
This leads to a debate between him and Mithos regarding the strained relations between humans and half-elves. Mithos calls out Riku's arrogance by showing him that he has no alternative to war should the worlds be reunited. Humans will tear each other apart again, Mithos is simply offering an end to death and suffering by creating an age of lifeless beings.
Though without an answer, Riku will continue to follow Lloyd's ideals, as Mithos' answer is cruel and terrible, and he's killed too many lives to ever be forgiven.
Mithos plans to fulfill his dream with or without Riku's aid, but makes a grim threat about how easily he could kill Lloyd and the others once they no longer prove useful to him.
Riku draws his sword and Mithos laughs, stating how Riku poses no threat to him on his own now. He's NOTHING like the original Elemental Overlord was.
Mithos retreats to "bed" for the night, and as Riku plans to do the same, he runs into Raine prepared to leave on a solo journey.
Riku knows what's up but gives her his word that he won't tell the others. She's thankful to him, and leaves in the shroud of night.
Of course this means come morning he has to explain how he didn't notice her leave, getting SOME sort of back-up from Tabitha that absolves him of guilt.
Raine has gone to the Otherworld Gate located north of Altamira, so they need to catch up with her before she gets into trouble.
But not before a brief detour to Altamira, believing she may have come here first. But in doing so they run into a butler named George who seems to recognize Presea as a girl named "Alicia".
Presea calls Alicia her sister and, much to George's dismay, its revealed that Alicia died while under the service of a Master Bryant.
The group takes a detour to Alicia's grave and her Exsphere activates. Presea briefly speaks with her sister's spirit and learns that "Master Bryant" may be the one who killed her.
Alicia's spirit then loses strength and returns to the Exsphere. Lloyd vows to help Presea find her sister's murderer.
Riku sticks behind a bit and laments that he can't use the powers of Chaos Form to save Alicia since she's without a body.
They spend some time learning more about the Otherworld Gate before going out there to find Raine, who reveals that she and Genis are originally from Tethe'alla, with her having recognized this gate from deeprooted memories.
As they prepare to activate the gate under the light of the full moon, Kuchinawa shows up to suddenly be a bad guy because he'd have no reason to be here otherwise.
He blames Sheena for failing to summon Volt as a child and is working with the Pope to get revenge on her. Riku rightfully wants to just kill him and be done with his dumb revenge plotline but doesn't get a chance before the gate opens and drags them all to Sylvarant.
Upon arriving there they assess the state of the world by going to the nearest town, Palmacosta. Lucky for them, Lloyd had remembered to pack the Rheiards in the wing pack they picked up earlier, so its a quick trip.
They speak to the then-current mayor Neil and learn that there's been activity spotted at one of the deactivated human ranches.
Leaving Mithos behind here for now, the group decide to head over just so Palmacosta doesn't end up like another town called Luin.
At the ranch they find Botta and Yuan, who demand a ceasefire, as now their interests align.
Yuan explains how they need something called the Great Seed to revive the Great Tree, which might be able to bring the two worlds back together.
The problem though is that in doing so, they'll be severing the one link keeping Martel alive. Weighing the costs though, Lloyd decides they might not have any other option. For now though, they need to worry about Rodyle and his Mana Cannon, which is nearing completion.
Yuan wants the cannon so they can feed the Great Seed in the future, once Sheena has made a pact with Shadow and Luna, the last two Summon Spirits.
They head to Rodyle's ranch off the coast and begin their infiltration. Botta and Yuan go their separate ways from the rest for now.
Lloyd's group help free the prisoners and make their way up to Rodyle, with Presea burning with desires of vengeance against him.
Rodyle floods the entrance with sea water to keep the prisoners from escaping and by this point everyone's grown tired of his callousness.
Presea tries to kill him but he narrowly avoids it and then uses a makeshift Cruxis Crystal to transform into what he believes is a high power, but in reality, he's now the monster he always was underneath.
Presea, Regal, Lloyd and Colette fight him to get payback while the rest work on trying to stop the flooding.
Presea eventually kills Rodyle with her Mystic Arte, choosing to press forward into the future, now that she can not reclaim her lost time.
In his dying moments Rodyle curses Pronyma for a fake Cruxis Crystal and blows up, leaving no way to stop the flooding water.
Botta shows up with some Renegades and says he does know of one way to stop the flood waters, and then tells Lloyd and the others to go up to safety.
But in truth he's planning to seal himself behind and make a sacrifice so Lloyd and the others can live. Lloyd refuses to accept his sacrifice, even if he was once their enemy.
Botta's touched, but says he's only doing this for Lord Yuan's sake, and that he wants Lloyd to pass on a message.
Lloyd starts attacking the glass to get him out but its too durable, and the water's rising up fast.
Riku suddenly starts to freeze up and think about how passive he's been up until now. People have died because he hesitated, he could do something to save Botta now. But is it worth it? He'll make irreparable changes to the timeline by saving Botta...
The trauma of how Link died resurfaces and tries to drag him down with doubt, but Riku clutches his chest and chooses this moment to finally move forward himself.
Howling with determination, Riku commands Sheena to lend him her aid with the Summons Spirits Gnome and Undine.
Alone, with how weak he is now, he cannot save Botta. But by having Gnome and Undine feeding them his power, he can stop the flood waters and pull the barricade down just long enough for Botta to escape.
He puts everything he's got into this, even as his mind starts to break. But he refuses to let go until he's certain that Botta will survive this day.
Much to the aghast of Botta, Riku succeeds, blacking out in the process as Lloyd's group comes under attack by Rodyle's remaining dragons...
Riku wakes up in Palmacosta with Lloyd and the others. He's stunned to see Botta alive, even though it confirms his success.
Riku doesn't know quite how to respond to this moment, but tries to remain humble.
A few things went down that Riku's caught up on, mainly how they were saved by Mithos and the Summon Spirit Asta, partner to Luna.
They go back to Yuan's base and meet up with him. Along the way, Botta inquires Riku as to why he saved an enemy. Riku doesn't consider Botta an enemy, and besides, it was the right thing to do regardless.
Botta doesn't believe it to be so, with the blood on his hand he must atone for. Nevertheless, Riku is in his debt.
They tell Yuan everything he needs to know about what happened, and he opens the way back to Tethe'alla for the group.
However, he pulls Riku aside to not only thank him for saving Botta, but also to inquire as to his reasons why.
Riku repeats what he told Botta, but Yuan believes in an ulterior motive. Riku accidentally lets slip that Yuan shouldn't have to lose anyone else important, and Yuan asks Botta to leave for now.
Yuan then pieces together something he and Kratos had suspected for a bit now...That Riku is aware of events before they'll occur.
Riku doesn't divulge why, which Yuan chooses to respect. Instead, Yuan wants to know what Yggdrasil, rather Mithos, wants from him.
Riku explains the situation with Martel and the moral conundrum of reviving him. Yuan bluntly tells him that Martel is better off dead, not just for her memory, but to save her the pain of seeing how broken her friends and him, her husband, are now.
Riku chooses not to tell anyone else about this conversation, and gives Yuan a brief warning not to let Botta do anything else for now for his safety.
But once Riku's gone, Yuan learns from Botta about Mithos infiltrating Lloyd's group. The timeline has already begun to diverge...
Once back with Lloyd's group they decide to return to Tethe'alla to drop Mithos off with Altessa and proceed with their quest to free the Summon Spirits.
But then Alicia is mentioned again, alerting Regal of the matter after previously not going into Altamira with the others.
Regal decides to tell the group the truth and guides them back to Altamira to confess.
After stopping Vharley's attempts at relevance to the plot they go to Alicia's grave, where Regal reveals that he is responsible for killing her.
Presea becomes enraged and attacks Regal. During their fight, Regal tries to reveal the truth through Alicia's pleas.
Alicia came to work for Regal to help make money for their family. But over time they grew to love each other, and even planned to marry at one point.
But then Vharley infected Alicia with an Exsphere, causing her to mutate into a mindless monster. Regal had no choice but to kill her and in doing so, vowed never to use his hands again.
Presea honors Alicia's last request to destroy her Exsphere for good, and then chooses to not hate Regal...for now.
With this matter settled, the group decides to go for the Temple of Darkness next.
They return to Meltokio to get information on how to light their way through the temple, and have another run in with Kratos, looking for sacred wood for some reason.
At the lab they learn of the "blue candle" that'll light the way forward. But if they want it, they need to free Kate from being executed.
Zelos comes up with a plan to disguise himself and enter the tournament at the Coliseum for the right to free Kate.
But despite all his worst efforts at not being himself, Zelos is not discovered by the general audience. Big deal though when the Pope himself is watching, and fixes the matches to set Zelos up against one of Rodyle's last dragon that is completely immune to magic.
But with Kuchinawa reporting Rodyle's death, the realization comes that there's no way to control the dragon, and sure enough it starts attacking the audience AND Zelos.
Lloyd's group evacuates the crowds and leave Zelos to deal with the dragon. Fortune favors them as the dragon's rampage caves in the ground and allows Zelos to free Kate from her holding cell.
He then uses the holy magic Judgment in secret to incinerate the dragon and give them an opening out of there.
The Pope's guards try to hunt the group down, but with some quick brute force from Riku they're able to escape without anyone getting harmed.
They then take Kate to Ozette at her request and learn that she's the daughter of the Pope, much to everyone's surprise and disgust towards the Pope in particular.
Kate doesn't want them to kill her father, even though everyone, especially Genis and Riku, think it'd be a good call at this point.
It hurts to let this cycle of hatred between both races go on, but right now they have their priorities to deal with regarding the Summon Spirits. They get the blue candle from the lab, and head on back to the Temple of Darkness to make a pact with Shadow.
After getting that pact done Riku finally is able to speak to Takashi again, who tries to warn him about what happens when the mana links are severed. Riku's not too concerned though, since he knows what happens ahead of time.
Sodenko is still sealed behind the Light Summon Spirit though.
Returning to Sylvarant, Riku speeds things up with a few half-lies so they find the wilted tree needed to help call forth Aska.
Using many of the experiences they learned along the way, Lloyd's group manages to revive the Linkite Tree, but they have to wait overnight for it to fully bloom.
Everyone from both worlds worry about where they'll go when the worlds are split apart, while Riku contemplates the events that'll shake the world tomorrow.
He is then greeted by the Chronicler for the first time, who gives a brief speech warning him about the moral conundrums he faces, and that he should be careful not to shake up the timeline any further than he already has.
The next morning, Lloyd crafts a new flute out of the Linkite bark and uses it to summon Aska, who chooses to await them at the Tower of Mana where Luna resides.
Kratos gets in their way at the tower and Riku and Yuan stay behind to fend him off while the rest face Aska and Luna together to form the final pact.
When the battle is through, the world begins to quake. The Great Seed grows out of control in Sylvarant, ensnaring the true Martel in its core, and destroying Palmacosta in the process.
Everyone evacuates to the base of the tower and are horrified at the events unfolding before them.
Yuan damns Kratos for this happening, but the blame lies squarely on him and everyone he led into this plan.
The Great Seed was the one thing holding the two worlds together, and by making the pacts the tree is going berserk and threatening to destroy both worlds.
The only way to stop it now is to reverse the mana flow in Sylvarant and then use the Summon Spirits of Tethe'alla to fuel the Mana Cannon and destroy the Great Tree.
But the plan's success hinges on taking care of the Iselia Human Ranch, which is still active after all this time.
Kratos volunteers to go but Lloyd refuses to leave him alone to handle this. Sheena splits off with Yuan to go handle the Mana Cannon while everyone else but Riku joins Kratos in going to the ranch.
With Riku and Yuan all alone, Yuan condemns Riku for having ever trusted him in the first place. Riku is nothing if not apologetic, stating how things had to happen this way for the world to be saved.
Yuan tells him how bullshit that is and how Riku's no better than an arrogant god playing with their lives. Riku does not retaliate, instead activating Chaos Form and aiming himself at the Great Tree.
He plans to put his life at risk to receive one answer from Martel and, if worse comes to worse, he will sacrifice his life to obliterate the Great Tree...
With Takashi cutting through the roots attacking him, Riku gets up close to Martel and uses the power of Chaos Form to form a union with her still breathing soul.
The two talk about the current affairs of the world and how it relates to Mithos, Yuan and Kratos. When that's done with, Riku explains how he's been tasked with reviving her, but wants to hear from her directly on what to do.
Martel refuses to be revived this way. Not only would it doom the world, but she cannot accept the ideals that Mithos clung to in his moment of weakness caused by her death.
But she has a request to Riku...Help guide the Chosen to Mithos, so that she can briefly inhabit their body, and hopefully, her words will dissuade Mithos for good.
Riku obliges and leaves Martel alone, choosing to head straight for the Iselia Human Ranch to keep history on track.
Lloyd, Kratos and Zelos are still inside going after Forcystus, the ranch owner, while everyone else helps evacuate the prisoners.
Riku runs inside, with Raine getting suspicious that Riku knows more than he's letting on now...
Riku joins up with the three near the bottom of the ranch, where Forcystus is guarding over the core.
Riku wastes no time flexing his strength to pull Forcystus over so Lloyd can finish him off quickly, otherwise, they might run out of time.
Kratos then uses some surprising knowledge of machines to deactive the ranch and finish the final preparations for the Mana Cannon.
The group heads back outside ready to give the signal when Forcystus suddenly crawls his way out and tries to kill Lloyd. But Colette tanks the blow, destroying a part of her shirt to reveal a disgusting skin infection covering most of her arm.
Kratos then stabs Forcystus for good.
Lloyd then gives the signal and Sheena activates the Mana Cannon to deal with the Great Tree, sealing it back into the seed, and saving Martel's corpse...for now.
Yuan delivers this good news but realizes that he's now in danger for doing this.
With things having calmed down for the moment, the group carries Colette back to Iselia to determine what to do next.
There's a brief confrontation with the Mayor regarding his prejudice and horrible behavior towards Lloyd and Genis when they were banished, and after basically telling the Mayor to go screw himself, the group are welcomed in Iselia once more.
They then take this opportunity to deliver Colette to Lloyd's adoptive dad Dirk.
Dirk doesn't know how to help Colette's condition but is just glad to see that Lloyd and his friends are safe.
Kratos then has to leave and return to Cruxis, being vague about what side he's truly on. Riku and Kratos talk in private briefly.
Kratos warns Riku not to rely on what he believes to be the future...Eventually, a divergence WILL happen that'll take him by surprise.
But Riku sounds confident that he can keep the timeline on the right track no matter what. Kratos smirks and leaves to return to Derris-Kharlan, but not before one last remark about how he no longer needs to capture Riku.
During the night Riku finally talks with Sodenko, who had been traumatized after being stuck in solitude without even being able to speak to her brother. She's starting to show some regret for her past behavior, which pleases Riku.
The next day the groups decides to go back to Tethe'alla and ask Altessa what to do. They find out that Mithos was hit hard by a boulder dropped by one of the quakes caused by the Great Tree. He's fine for now, but needs some rest.
Altessa determines Colette's condition but doesn't necessarily know how to complete a cure without further knowledge.
The group decides to head back to Sybak and do research there. But it turns out that all the knowledge has been passed down to royalty, meaning Meltokio, meaning the Pope...
As they leave Sybak, Raine has discovered that there is no mention of any of the things Riku talked about in the books they find...And begins suspecting him of being a traitor, or something else entirely.
After a quick fun-filled detour to kill Vharley for good they infiltrate Meltokio Castle and corner the Pope in his room.
They snag the information they need to cure the king's poison and pin it on the Pope. Riku suddenly breaks into a fit of rage over the Pope's hypocritical racism given his daughter Kate.
Zelos wants this to be left alone but the Pope suddenly brings Zelos' sister into this and even Zelos wants his head.
But Riku is then eerily calm about letting the Pope go. The Pope chuckles madly and tries to escape through a hidden passage, only to be stabbed through the back by Riku.
When this moment passes Riku isn't even certain what came over him that caused him to do this. Nobody bats much of an eye as the Pope was indeed a bastard and if nothing else, they have enough proof to incriminate him post-humously so they won't be executed for killing the Pope.
But just to be safe, Lloyd makes up a lie that the guards killed the Pope for uncovering the conspiracy against the King.
After saving the King's life they learn the ingredients necessary to save Colette from one of the books in the archives.
Their first stop is the Ymir Forest, where info on the Mana Leaf Herb awaits.
After bartering a fruit with a child to gain entry to Heimdall, village of the elves, they learn from the elder where to find the herb. Curiously, Kratos' name comes up, and Mithos' legend is forbidden here.
They head to a nearby mountain range and climb their way to the top, meeting with an elf called the Storyteller. After he guides them to the herb, he tells them a story about Mithos the Hero.
They learn that Kratos and Yuan are much older than they let on, but also traitors to Heimdall for betraying the trust of the Summon Spirit Origin to end the war four-thousand years ago.
Not only that, they finally learn that Yggdrasil is Mithos the Hero and Martel was his sister.
Though they have all this devastating news on hand, they have to keep moving onward. Next up they need to find Zircon, which requires a detour to Altamira to get the records from Regal's company.
But then they are interrupted by Kuchinawa, who has stolen Vharley's title of "most filler character in the plot" following his death.
Riku doesn't get to kill him though since Sheena has to have her one on one duel with him cause honor and junk.
Anyways they get the records regardless and now have to go back to Sybak to get the zircon. Now all that's left after is to enter Derris-Kharlan itself to get the Mana Fragment they need.
Fortunately for them Zelos has his Cruxis Crystal that they can use for entry. They just need to make a detour to where his sister's at.
Once they pick up the crystal and get a bit more info on Zelos' family life before heading into the Tower of Salvation.
There they run into Kratos, again, who seems to confirm his true allegiance to Cruxis before drawing the Eternal Sword to fight the others.
Lloyd puts up a better fight while everyone else gets knocked away, but it doesn't matter. Kratos is merely stalling for time until the "angels" arrive to capture everyone and take them to Walgaia.
Riku sneaks away and tries to speed up the plot a bit by grabbing the Mana Fragment before freeing the others.
Though everyone's time in the cell does cause them to further suspect Riku of being a traitor for a time. Curiously though, its Zelos who is pushing for this theory.
After they're freed they leave through some teleporters back to the Tower of Salvation. Lloyd tries to snag the Eternal Sword only to get repelled, with Yggdrasil appearing to call him a fool.
Yggdrasil then gets attacked by Genis as a call-out to his racism but it winds up dislodging a rather familiar looking flute in the process...
While Yggdrasil is wounded, the heroes retreat back to Altessa's place.
Altessa works on repairing Colette's Cruxis Crystal while everyone else prepares to relax after a stressful day.
Zelos is very insistent on having everyone eating his food but most of them are reluctant at first, though Riku passes him off entirely.
Sheena goes off to deal with Kuchinawa's duel for a bit, but comes back later with Corrine's bell in hand, confirming her victory.
Riku stands guard outside to watch the night's events unfold.
Lloyd, paralyzed from the legs up, is captured by Yuan and brought outside to meet his "father", who turns out to truly be Kratos.
Events escalate between Lloyd feverishly denying who his father is, Yuan attempting to force Kratos to abandon his pact with Origin by threatening Lloyd's life, and eventually...Mithos revealing himself at long last as Yggdrasil.
Mithos attacks Yuan and prepares to kill him...But Yuan was ready.
Thanks to Riku's earlier efforts, time now diverges at this point ever-slightly, with Botta coming in to restrain Mithos and give Yuan a chance to finally put an end to his and Martel's grief.
But at the last possible moment, Genis casts a fireball that knocks Botta out, and allows Mithos to go on a rampage on the others.
Riku prevents him from killing anyone here by stabbing him in the shoulder. Pronyma then shows up to rescue her lord and Kratos, with Mithos taunting Lloyd over the hypocrisy of his ideals.
Yuan and Botta make a hasty retreat before Mithos can destroy their bases, while the rest of the group head to the icy city of Flanoir to get Altessa a doctor.
Four people have to leave with the doctor as an escort. Colette, Lloyd, Raine, Zelos and Riku stay behind in Flanoir to rest for tomorrow.
Raine decides to confront Riku outside the hospital later on in the night. Riku takes a moment first to try and figure out who Lloyd ends up talking to, just to determine if this will be the Kratos or Zelos timeline.
But Raine interrupts, accusing him of the knowledge he's been lying about all this time. Riku tries to play the 土ou won't understand card but Raine is offended that he can't trust them as allies after this time together.
Raine demands to know something that would prove Riku's not a traitor from Cruxis. Riku, pressured beyond belief, tells her the truth about where her mother is.
Raine leaves without saying another world to confirm his information. Riku then runs into Colette, and finds out she plans on giving Lloyd a good luck charm but can't find him.
Riku and Colette take a walk to find Lloyd, and during which talk a bit about past regrets, and how the world will change once they stop Mithos.
The next day everyone is back together ready to infiltrate the Tower of Salvation again to stop Mithos, and then afterwards, free Origin from Kratos' pact.
Yuan and Botta help the group get past the guards. Once inside, Zelos claims to have a secret to infiltrate the lower levels of the tower and calls Colette over...Only to immediately trap her with plans to hand her off to Mithos via Pronyma.
Then its revealed that Zelos has been a traitor playing for all sides this entire time. But he tries to divert the initial confusion by accusing Riku of knowing all this from the start.
For a moment it seems like Riku's going to get the hate of his allies, as Riku can't even deny his knowledge at this point.
But then Lloyd gets loud towards Zelos, refusing to believe he's a traitor. Zelos calls out his idealism as ridiculous and remarking that he never really understood just how much Zelos hated his title as the Chosen.
Lloyd draws his swords and challenges Zelos to a duel to prove his loyalty. Zelos summons golden angel wings with his Cruxis Crystal and demands nobody interfere.
During an emotional duel Lloyd flashes back to the night before when he spoke to Zelos about his past, and Zelos had entrusted him with a final trinket of his.
Lloyd's emotions reach a peak and he manages to briefly push out a pair of angel wings of his own, due to the Angelus Project Exsphere he has.
He pushes through Zelos' Mystic Art with Over Limit and takes him down, but, when pressed with the chance to kill Zelos...Refuses. He gives Zelos one last pep talk telling him that he doesn't have to live a life of suffering anymore, that they WILL make a world where Chosens no longer need to exist.
Zelos chooses to believe him just for a little while longer and raises his hand.
Then, suddenly, Lloyd is shot through the heart by Mithos, who declares that the Elemental Overlord's game shall end here.
Lloyd's subconscious begins to fade into the Exsphere, where he gets to have a talk with his mother for the first time.
On the outside, Mithos makes his ultimatum. Either Riku proves he can revive someone and then surrenders himself to him, or Mithos will kill everyone in this room.
Riku relents to Mithos' request and uses Chaos Form to revive Lloyd, then surrenders himself to Mithos, leaving behind a message to Lloyd in the process, apologizing for his deception.
But Lloyd chooses to ignore it and set about rescuing everyone they've lost, even Riku.
Riku, meanwhile, is taken to Martel's resting place and given another bargain. In exchange for reviving Martel, Mithos will allow Lloyd and the others to live. After all, without his aid, they will perish to his traps.
Riku refuses him and starts tearing down the questions he proposes to him, eventually calling Mithos out on his hypocrisy for perpetuating the hatred between humans and half-elves.
The killing blow in this debate is when Riku bluntly tells Mithos exactly how the future will play out soon enough, and that his time is soon up.
Mithos grows frustrated with Riku and commands Pronyma to kill him. However, pushing his tired body to its absolute limit, Riku throws himself at Mithos and begins wailing on him and Pronyma as long as he can.
He strikes him down in the name of all Mithos has hurt, but ultimately cannot deal the finishing blow before Pronyma heals him back up.
Collapsing in exhaustion, Riku awaits his demise when Lloyd comes in at the last second to his rescue, stunning Mithos.
Mithos prepares to annihilate him and Riku when Genis arrives to the rescue along with the rest of the Lloyd's friends.
Further complicating things is that both Zelos and Kratos had worked together to free them from the traps. Mithos' thin patience is about to shatter, as one last push is all it'd take to have him kill everyone here.
But at that moment, Martel is revived through Colette's body. As Riku was forewarned of, Martel disapproves of Mithos' methods and wants him to return things back to normal.
Her spirit leaves Colette's body and Mithos screams at Kratos and Riku for tampering with Martel's memories. But as Riku points out, she was always going to despise him for killing out of revenge.
Mithos prepares to kill Riku when Colette defends him and tells the group that Mithos needs to be stopped, as Martel's last request.
Mithos wards off everyone but Riku, who stands back and rests for now, for quite a while. Even Regal's Mystic Arte, and the power of Shadow and Luna, barely manage to hold Mithos back.
It takes everyone's full power, combined with Riku making a last minute save, to hold him down long enough for Lloyd to deliver the final blow.
Mithos is pained by his loss, believing he still deserved to make his world...
In the aftermath of the battle there's still one thing to take care of...Lloyd has no choice but to face Kratos at Origin's seal in Heimdall to prove himself worthy of the Eternal Sword, and reunite the two worlds.
Lloyd refuses to kill his dad, but Kratos forces him to try and accept the reality of things, leaving in silence.
Genis sneaks Mithos' Cruxis Crystal into his pocket, and the group leaves to go rest in Heimdall...
Once in Heimdall Raine and Genis are briefly accepted inside at Lloyd's insistence. There, Riku finally decides to confess his guilt in what he knew all along about the world.
Though everyone has a lot of questions, the source of Riku's knowledge doesn't shake anyone quite like he expected. And in the end, he's forgiven, despite Riku feeling he doesn't deserve it.
At night, Riku and Raine talk about what happened and Raine confesses that she hesitated to go find her mother, deciding it'd be better to do so when the world is saved.
From there on its just a matter of Lloyd fighting Kratos, which he manages to do successfully. But Lloyd refuses to kill him, having beaten the 殿ngel while forgiving the 塗ero
Kratos gives his life energy to break Origin's seal, but Yuan saves him from dying at the last second. Kratos is...annoyed, to say the least, and Lloyd tells him off for trying to die like that.
Origin reveals himself to the group and at first refuses another pact, until Kratos' words convinces him otherwise. He draws his many swords, and begins battle with Lloyd, Sheena, Raine and Genis.
The four prevail and Origin is pleased, granting Sheena and Lloyd his pact.
But at that moment, Mithos' Exsphere erupts out of Genis' pocket and latches itself onto Riku, taking control of his body somewhat.
Riku had planned for this and plans to sacrifice himself to buy Lloyd time to get up to Derris-Kharlan with the Eternal Sword, then finish him and Mithos off for good.
Mithos drags his body up and the facade surrounding both worlds begins to come undone with the Tower of Salvation's collapse.
Derris-Kharlan comes into view fully and in the aftermath of Heimdall being destroyed, the group meets up with Tabitha, revealing that the world will soon die without mana.
The group quickly head to Dirk's to finish the Ring of the Pact with Kratos and Zelos' help with the materials. Then, Lloyd gets two new swords that'll help him with the Eternal Sword's power. Kratos and Yuan then decide to join the group for the final battle.
They then head back to the ruins of the Tower of Salvation so Lloyd can pull up the Eternal Sword and use it to reach Derris-Kharlan.
Soon into this new world, Lloyd is separated from all the rest and is forced to find the Derris Emblem to save them.
Along the way to Welgaia he runs into Riku, and manages to free him from Mithos' control after reliving the moment of Martel's death.
Lloyd berates Riku for his sacrificial attitude and finally manages to knock a bit of sense into him.
They then move on to Welgaia, being forced to split up and save the rest of the party from their inner demons, before reuniting at the entrance to Vinheim with the Derris Emblem in hand.
After Riku has Takashi silently deal with the last guardian, they enter the final area where the Great Seed now rests.
Mithos makes one last attempt to get in their way. Everyone puts in their best efforts but after Yuan and Kratos strike Mithos down with a team attack, Mithos breaks down completely.
Dark mana surrounds him and his inner demons grow out of control, attacking the heroes in one last battle.
But in the end, they survive his wrath and finish him off for good.
Lloyd uses the Eternal Sword to free the Great Seed but even still, it seems Derris-Kharlan is still planning to drift away.
After awakening angel wings and channeling Origin's power, Lloyd alongside Colette manages to germinate the Great Seed and create a new Great Tree in the reunited world.
Somehow Martel's soul fuses with Tabitha to create a new Summon Spirit/Goddess to guard the Giant Kharlan Tree. Lloyd is tasked with naming the tree, and he decides to call it Yggdrasil to honor Mithos' memory.
The world is saved, for now, but Riku has some last things to handle before he can go...
Four days later, Riku travels the reunited world to say his farewells to everyone.
He first finds Genis and Colette preparing to go to Heimdall to work with the repairs. Lloyd has left to find Kratos, and Raine is nowhere to be found, though Riku suspects where she might be.
Sheena then shows up, having been led to Iselia by whispers sounding like Corrine.
Riku follows Sheena to the nearby temple, where Corrine's bell responds to the mana link here, leading to the creation of Verius, the Summon Spirit of Heart.
Though still Corrine at heart, Verius cannot form a pact with Sheena, but assures her that their time together shall be remembered, and she will always be in her heart.
Riku then goes to find Regal and Presea mourning Presea's father at the grave in Ozette.
Regal and Presea plan to rebuild Palmacosta, Heimdall and Ozette, and will be meeting with the king of Tethe'alla to discuss the rebuilding process.
Riku then seeks out the floating city of Exire to meet with Raine, who has just finished confronting her mother, and looks tired as hell.
Riku explains that he plans to leave, as the mana of this world is poisonous to him, and the Yggdrasil Tree will only make matters worse.
Raine begs him to stay, as she thinks he deserves a place to call home after all that's happened. Riku appreciates her concern, but insists he has his duties to uphold.
He then finds Yuan and Botta fresh off of destroying the last Renegade Base in Tethe'alla. Yuan hides his intentions behind his smarmy attitude but its clear he is appreciative of what Riku helped him accomplish.
Yuan goes to the Yggdrasil Tree to confront 溺artel the Summon Spirit. Though she wears Martel's face, she is not her, and cannot be.
Even so, Yuan respects the vow he carried with his deceased wife and chooses to offer to dedicate his life to ensure the tree will grow stronger long past the end of Lloyd's life.
Martel cannot readily accept his request, and asks him to think about this a little longer. Yuan agrees, choosing to travel the world alongside Botta.
The two thank Riku in their own way and Riku makes his way to the Tower of Salvation. After a quick goodbye to Zelos, and reflecting on how this journey changed him with Kratos...The last person he has to talk to is Lloyd.
Lloyd's sad that Riku is leaving alongside Kratos, and makes him swear to return again someday. Riku promises to return, hopefully in a new world Lloyd has helped make.
Finally Riku heads off back into space, taking one last look at the planet of Aselia before vowing that he cannot let his emotions get the better of him again.
From now on, he will seal his emotions away, and act rationally to all situations. Its the only way he can fulfill his duty correctly...as an Elemental Overlord.
Part 4 Story 5 END.