Surprise! It's Shulk ti—
I'm not gong to say it, this is too serious for Reyn's antics.
I chose to focus this monologue on Shulk's cryptic dreams and the fact that he's dead.
This takes place from before the reveal and after it, when he's floating in Memory Space. To give the right feeling, I personally recommend having "A Spiritual Place" playing softly in the background as you read. I hope you enjoy it!
"It's been a long time since I last had this dream."
"I reached out for a piece of scrap metal,
And then I fell
Into the ground."
I remember standing in front of the Monado
In Ose Tower. My parents moved past me
To grab it.
They sounded happy.
"You can't do that because… —
— You aren't here."
"Not anymore."
But then
Everything changed.
I don't remember why or when. Only the burning pain
And the silent,
Sobbing screams.
The Monado explodes with a power
That I have never seen before
—
Blackness.
A tormented pain in my temple
As if I was brought back to life
After I was dead.
My mind melted,
My pulse false,
My body numb.
Maybe it's the c-cold of the tower —
— That unnatural sensation
Of invisible ice climbing up your thighs
And hands,
Freezing over your face
And entrapping you in an expression of complete and
Utter terror.
That's what I felt. Now I remember that.
A voice in my skull
Ricocheting in my ears
"I only want what's mine."
"Your body, your mind,
A little sliver of your tiny heart
And a chunk of your icy soul."
Ose tower.
A stab in the snow.
An icicle of death.
I can still feel how cold it is
When I try to sleep at night in the lab.
The Monado, sitting so placidly on its stand
Glowing slightly
Just as it was all those years ago.
Some days I can remember
Other times I cannot.
When I'm with friends
The feeling disappears —
— That crushing pain in my temple,
That lucid terror in my heart.
But I don't understand
Why he keeps insisting that
I'm not h-here…anymore.
But I never guessed that
I'd be dead.
Deep down, I've always felt this emptiness inside of me,
As if my life's work
Really was all for nothing.
Maybe,
If I hadn't looked at the Monado
— No, if Dickson hadn't brought it back —
None of this would be happening right now.
I wouldn't be away from Fiora
And Reyn
And all my friends —…
Dunban wouldn't have lost the use of his right arm.
The Emperor wouldn't have died.
Perhaps Egil's — no, Meyneth's — dream could have been fulfilled.
But it happened;
It all happened;
And I was powerless to stop it.
Even with my visions, even with the power to see into the future
And perhaps change it
Mold it
Shape it into whatever outcome I want
It all still happened. Our destiny still tumbled out of my control and into a deep, deep chasm
Into the ground.
I couldn't actually control any of it.
What was the point to anything?!
I remember, in my dreams,
When I fell —
I was watching me. I said nothing,
Only looked down and sighed.
As if he too could do nothing
But watch me fall over and over again
During every reiteration of the same dream
When I fell —
I reached out for a piece of scrap metal
Thought that perhaps Dickson might like it for a sword
But I never realized that perhaps he only wanted his sabre
To kill me.
Releasing my frozen heart
Trapped in Valak Mountain's snowy,
Suffocating depths.
Freeing my shattered soul
Locked away within the icy walls of Ose Tower;
Curled up in the center
Of an abandoned chapel.
I sleep
And I cry.
And suddenly everything feels lighter.
"Will you walk the path laid out by Zanza?"
"Or will you walk a new path?"
My spirit mends
As hands run over its glass fragments and parts
To fuse splinted seams shut
And seal bolts back in their empty holes.
"That was always how it was going to be."
If I never looked at the Monado
And stayed far away from it
None of this would be happening right now.
"If I wanted to walk the predetermined path,
I wouldn't have come this far."
I would be away from Fiora
And Reyn
And all my friends.
Dunban wouldn't have lived in the Battle of Sword Valley.
The Emperor wouldn't have died
And Melia wouldn't have ascended to the throne
Because she would have died trying.
Perhaps Egil's — no, Meyneth's — dream couldn't have been fulfilled.
But it happened;
It all happened;
I would have lost everyone I knew
And everyone I loved;
I would have never met new friends
And gotten to know new people
New places
New species and customs.
Egil wouldn't have been given new hope and new understanding.
My friends wouldn't all be together.
Sharla would have never met up with Gadolt once again.
Meyneth would be suppressed away.
Otharon would have burned in a river of ether, dying for a boy who had no hope of rescue from me and Reyn and Sharla.
"Even with the odds stacked against us…"
Even with my visions, even with the power to see into the future
"…Even though I can't see the future…"
And perhaps change it
Mold it
Shape it into whatever outcome I want
It all still happened. Our destiny still tumbled out of my control and out of a deep, deep chasm
"…I'll keep walking."
Coming out from the ground.
I couldn't actually control any of it.
If I hadn't researched the Monado
Zanza would have cast me aside
Anyways
And if I hadn't researched the Monado —
"Fiora. Reyn. Dunban. Sharla. Melia, Riki."
— I wouldn't be around to save my friends.
"Well then…
Succeed and follow a new path."