I will definitely be impressed if you recognize the names of the monsters that have been listed here. Monster Hunter fans, I salute you! And I also congratulate those who recognized the Regenerador from Resident Evil 4!
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When the last hours of dawn waned and the morning finally made its appearance, I made my decision. I told Fang and Vanille of my long and storied past, from my defeat at Zertinan Caverns, the rise of the Circle of Umbra, Coela's betrayal, the murder of my sons, my promise to Montblanc, encountering the Ascended Blades, defeating Blackheart, watching over Fiera, and all the way to the very moment in which I arrived at Ivalice B. They were shocked to hear such a sordid past.
I was very surprised when Fang, after a long period of silence, requested to know if I retained the Zodiac Spear. It was no small shock to me when the appearance of the Spear was much different. It was now a double-bladed sword that could easily become undone with the flick of the wrist and be wielded as dual blades. Each one was a bright white-silver color emblazoned with the symbols of Ra.
But what most shocked me was how easy it was to wield them. The swords were light as a feather, but Fang claimed it was heavier than the giant turtle-like beasts that roamed the wilder planes of Ivalice.
In short, I somehow knew that these blades were made for me.
It still felt like wielding the Zodiac Spear, but it was so much more part of me.
I was still able to summon them and dismiss them from nothingness as usual, but I also noted my sudden possession of a necklace that held a silver charm on it. It was made in the likeness of a sun, but with the same black star on the Circle's crest emblazoned upon the center.
Finally, both Fang and Vanille invited me to go on an excursion to the Seasalt Tavern for a look-see on the board.
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"Sure, why not." I accepted slowly, and slipped on my trench coat.
I suddenly felt a hard object in one of the inside pockets. I was confused to find a hunter's license in it.
But it wasn't my original license. It was marked slightly differently, and I realized it had somehow transferred over from my Ivalice.
I was still marked as a Rank SSS.
Even in a different dimension, I was still me.
"Let's go." I allowed myself to smile as we left the manor and entered the city streets once more. The irony of that wasn't lost upon me.
The city didn't seem to be all that different, really. Archadian soldiers were still strolling about, which led me to the conclusion that the events of the battle between Vayne Solidor and the rebel army led by Marquis Ondore hadn't occurred yet in this dimension.
"…So strange. It feels like I'm walking down Muthru Bazaar, yet I feel it is not the same Bazaar I know." I thought out loud, and Fang let out a laugh.
"Yeah, I know. Felt the same way walking the Giza plane, to be honest. Almost felt like I was back on Pulse, really." She explained with a smile as we approached the Tavern. I took a moment of examine the outer details of the curious building.
It was much like the Sandsea, although it was slightly older and more weathered. I had never really gone into this particular tavern back in my Ivalice, due to my preference for the Sandsea and the quieter side of town.
Vanille skipped whimsically into the bar, and Fang held the door open for me.
"Hard to believe she's a fighter." I commented to her.
"Yeah, she's sort of what you might call a ditz." Fang smiled, and gestured to the ever so familiar board. It was covered with announcements, job requests, and most importantly the mark posters.
"…Mmmm…I dunno. Which one do you think is best?" She studied the available jobs for a few minutes, and finally turned to me.
I was shocked to find that most of the jobs on the board were completely new to me. I found an especially odd one involving something called a "Regenerador".
The drawing was a simple one, a clear depiction of a dark-grey skinned humanoid creature with an exaggerated mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth and glowing red eyes. What shocked me even more was that it was listed as one of the more advanced and dangerous marks.
"...Maybe that one—" I began speaking, but Vanille cut in.
"The Khezu one! Right there!" She decided for us. Both of us facepalmed at her declaration. Finally, Fang shrugged at me.
I resolved to take a look at it. It was a good-paying job, and at a moderate difficulty. It appeared to be a grey wyvern-like creature with no eyes.
With no surprise on my part, I had no idea what a Khezu was.
"I'll take care of the details. It looks like our contractor is actually right here." Fang mused, taking the poster.
"Right. Then Vanille and I will meet you at the Westersands entrance." I nodded affirmatively, and led my energetic companion away from the tavern.
As I made my way through the crowd that was infesting the main square, I suddenly heard a great commotion.
I looked over to the east, and I saw a peculiar scene.
A Viera, likely a thief from the looks of the situation, was in the process of outrunning one of her victims. He was a young man, someone I didn't recognize.
"Give it back!" I heard him screech angrily as the Hume exerted himself further.
"Hmmm…" I debated whether to help him, but then I saw the someone following them. He was tall for his estimated age, and was definitely not weak. He had a very large sword, in the Buster style of the Midgard area from the Earth dimension (what an adventure that was. Some evil mastermind with an extremely long sword, and a guy wielding a huge blade similar to this person's).
I decided the unfortunate victim of this pickpocket didn't need help, and simply continued on. Something was bothering me, though; that boy seemed so familiar.
I cast such trivial concerns from my mind, and exited the city of Rabanastre to the entrance of the Westersands.
If you noticed my ever-so-subtle reference, congratulations. The unfortunate pickpocketing victim is none other than Birdie and the guy with the Buster Sword is…Primo (2).