Chapter 30: Tower of Salvation I: The Eternal Sword
"We really have been riding the Rheairds a lot today…" Lloyd murmurs in a somewhat exhausted tone as he and his friends fly for the southeastern part of Tethe'alla. "It is to be expected…We cannot afford any breaks if we are to save Colette." Regal comments as he rides alongside Lloyd.
"I haven't forgotten that, but it's been more tiring to sit on the Rheiards than it has been to walk around because of that." Lloyd explains, and Raine says to him "I wish my healing arts worked on exhausted folks. Sorry Lloyd."
"Don't worry about it Professor, I'll be fine. All that matters is Colette's condition…" Lloyd then focuses on Colette for a moment before looking on ahead and continuing on towards the lone abbey on an island detached from the rest of the Altamira continent. Once the group lands, they enter the single-floor abbey without so much of a fuss.
Zelos folds his arms behind his head and lets in a deep breath before saying "Alright guys, you ready to meet my sister?" Lloyd comments in a joking tone of voice "Zelos' sister…I guess I should watch out for her hitting on me, right?"
"…You know, saying manizer just doesn't have the same ring as womanizer does." Sheena comments as she imagines an exact copy of Zelos with short feminine hair and boobs in her head and feels a momentary sensation of disgust in her mouth. "Hey! My sister is nothing like me, I'll have you know!" Zelos says in a rather defensive tone of voice.
"We'll be the judge of that." Genis comments, and after hanging his head and sighing Zelos says "Please don't things difficulty for me when we go in…" Turning back around, the Chosen leads the group to a door protected by two armored guards who bow theirs heads respectfully at Zelos as he heads into the room with his friends.
Inside, looking outside through the sun-drenched glass window, is a young girl with short-cut red-pink hair. She wore a rather puffy, rounded hat with an exquisite white sleeveless shirt and a brown skirt right below it that ended in front of her kneecaps. The girl turns around and looks at Zelos with her surprised blue eyes and began to say as she raised her hand towards her mouth "Big bro-"
However, she composed herself by firmly holding her hand in a fist for a moment and then staring at Zelos calmly and saying "I mean…I see that the Chosen is his usual self, wandering around aimlessly." Zelos aloofly stares at his sister and holds his hands behind his head as he says "Yo Seles! I need that Cruxis Crystal I left with you. Give it back to me." He was a little forceful in his words, but his sister only minded it somewhat.
"…As you wish! After all, it rightfully belongs to the Chosen." Seles lets out an angered 'humph' as she reaches into the collar of her shirt and pulls out the Cruxis Crystal that she had been wearing as a necklace. Pulling it off with a snap of the necklace chain, Seles hands it over to her brother. Once she's done, she firmly but politely says "Now, if your business here is done, I humbly request that you leave. Immediately."
Zelos pulls his arms away from his head and shrugs while saying in a blatantly unconcerned tone "All right, all right…Guess I'm as unpopular as ever. Poor me…" He then puts the Cruxis Crystal away in one of his pockets while turning around and preparing to head for the door, when Seles' expression changes for a moment and she murmurs out "W…wait…big bro…"
Zelos glances back and smiles while asking "What is it, my darling little sister?" His jolly tone of voice makes Seles shut her eyelids and proclaim "…Nothing!" To reject both her own feelings and leaving her brother without an answer to his question.
The Chosen turns back and murmurs in a disappointed tone of voice "Oh…all right then." As he begins to head off a guilty feeling Seles also murmurs out "Please be safe…" As the rest of the group was in proximity still, Lloyd is quick to point out to the girl "He couldn't hear that, you know."
Seles flinches as her face gains a slight translucent blush, leading to her angrily claiming "I didn't say anything! So it doesn't matter if my big brother couldn't hear it." Genis snaps his fingers and points out "Aha! You called him big brother!"
Seles face then turns as red as her hair, and she says in a flustered tone "N…no I didn't! There's no way I'd have a brother like that! Now, please leave!" Not wanting to cause anymore trouble, the rest of the group leaves Seles' room, where they find Zelos standing at the exit waiting for them. He comments in a barely bothered tone of voice "Well, what do you think? I'm well-loved, aren't I?"
Lloyd points out "She's certainly not very friendly…" But despite all that happened in there Zelos defends his sister by saying "Don't be too hard on her. She was sickly ever since she was a kid. But despite that, her mother…Ah…never mind."
Before anyone could bring attention to Zelos mentioning Seles' mother, Colette says "As she left, she said, please take care." The Chosen of Tethe'alla flinches as he finds his heart warmed by that statement, but he only brings attention to that remark for a moment as he says "Well, anyway…We're ready now, right? On to the Tower of Salvation!" He goes back to his peppy self at the end of his sentence, though the way he did felt rather jarring to Lloyd.
Nevertheless, the group heads out of the abbey and back onto their Rehairds, where they make a swift flight towards the center of Tethe'alla where the Tower of Salvation lies. The tower could be seen even from far away, and a quick glance up showed that it reached for the atmosphere. Riku thinks to himself as they approach the tower "The Tower of Salvation…The gateway to Derris-Kharlan, where my adventure on this world truly began…And of course, once more I will be facing Kratos."
The group lands their Rheairds a fair distance away from the tower, keeping it hidden enough that the enemy wouldn't notice them unless they searched really hard. Afterwards the group walks up the hill and find themselves standing close to the chasm surrounding the base of the tower. No one says a word, but the worried look on Lloyd, Genis, Raine and Sheena's faces says a lot about how they feel to be here.
Zelos takes the lead and stands between the two small pillars, holding up his Cruxis Crystal to activate some invisible scanner on the tower. After a flash of light briefly presents itself, a crystallized staircase forms between the platform Zelos stands on and the front entrance of the tower itself. Zelos then puts his crystal away and turns to face his friends.
After everyone gathers they scale the staircase and stand before the door, which was marked with a light-blue seal of sorts. Before they enter the tower, Colette folds her hands against her chest and comments "Coming here reminds me of my journey to regenerate the world." Lloyd nods his head and says in turn "But this time, we're here to cure your illness."
"I'm curious to see what the design of Tethe'alla's Tower of Salvation is like. Now Zelos, it's time to open the door!" Raine had a heavy amount of enthusiasm in her voice, which honestly unnerved Zelos as he said "You know, you can get really scary sometimes…" He then proceeds to take his Cruxis Crystal and place it on the Oracle Stone to the right of the door, which causes the seal to vanish and the door to creak before it sinks into the tower.
Once the door is down Zelos proudly proclaims "Oooh, yeah! Check me out! It's my time to shine! Do I look like a Chosen or what?!" He was being surprisingly eager about this little event, and Lloyd says in a droll tone of voice "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's get going…"
Zelos laughs in a rather energetic manner for a good few seconds before blurting out a simple "Roger!" Noticeably perturbed, Regal says "That's a very disturbing laugh…" As Presea then points out "Zelos…is something wrong? You're even more…um…"
Sheena shrugs his shoulders and says "Even more obnoxious than usual? Nah, he's always like this. Just ignore him." With the answer provided to his friend, Zelos calms down for now as the group heads into the Tower of Salvation. But as he lingers behind for a moment he whispers out "…She's pretty sharp." In regards to Presea. Ever attentive, Riku glances back at Zelos as he says this, and the Chosen merely flinches and does a nonchalant whistle as he catches up with everyone else.
Inside the tower, everyone is greeted by a pathway of crystallized energy leading to a central altar that had a glowing purple blade punctured into the floor. Along the edge of the tower were wooden tendrils covered in moss that kept the place from collapsing from within, and more eerily enough there also lied a rising spiral of several hundred glowing coffins in the air.
The group stood in utter shock at this ghastly sight, with Presea commenting in a melancholy tone of voice "Such a sad place…" Sheena, on the other hand, glanced around frantically as she inquired "Wait a minute…is this really Tethe'alla?"
IT was after this remark that Genis noted "Yeah! It looks identical to Sylvarant's Tower of Salvation!" Meanwhile, Colette trembled with a distraught look on her face as she proclaimed in pain "My body…I can't stop shaking! This is the same place!"
"It can't be!" Lloyd exclaims in disbelief as he runs forward to see if there was anything to prove that their assumption was wrong. But upon looking to the left of the altar he finds that one pillar is broken off, which makes Lloyd think back a bit in time as he murmurs out "That's…wait, I broke that!" He can remember clearly how he was thrown against the pillar by Yggdrasill when he first entered the tower, and this only furthers disturbs him when he finishes.
"The two worlds are connected here. Of course it's the same place." Kratos' voice reaches out the group, causing them to turn and face him as he is suddenly there before the strange sword in the ground. He was now back in his Cruxis attire, and had a more dutiful look in his eyes. Considering the man's usual demeanor, that said a lot about the situation. Lloyd glares at him in anger and says "Kratos…it's you again. Who are you, really? Are you really one of Mithos' companions from 4,000 years ago?"
Kratos took pause for a moment in surprise, but then gestured his right hand out while saying proudly "Good. Since you figured that out, it saves me the time to explain. We will take the Chosen as the new body for Martel." Lloyd shakes his head before replying "You're still trying to do that? Are you so intent on resurrecting Martel that you're willing to distort the entire world in the process?!"
"I have no need to explain." Kratos bluntly points out, and after drawing his swords from his hilts Lloyd looks at the man and says to him with all of his fury "So in the end, you really are you enemy! I kept thinking…hoping that you might be good…but you're not!" Lloyd's voice broke up slightly as he spoke.
Reaching into his own hilt, Kratos pulls the glowing red fragment of the Eternal Sword he used against Riku, Zelos, Presea and Regal at the Renegade Base and holds it in front of his body, stating to the embittered Lloyd "I should think that would be obvious at this point."
"Don't hold back this time!" Lloyd proclaims to the man before he runs straight at him, letting his fervent emotions get the better of him as the calmer and more focused Kratos is able to take his sword up and swing it up to block Lloyd's two swings. He then flips the blades around and punctures the ground in front of his feet, which creates a lightning field around his body that shocks Lloyd and makes him grunt in pain as he is launched backwards into the air.
The pain of the shock was dull enough to allow Lloyd a chance at flipping in mid-air and landing on his feet while Kratos holds his sword out and summons his angel wings, saying to the boy in turn "You better have improved…" Before Lloyd can charge in recklessly again, the rest of the group runs up beside him while drawing their weapons, with Genis exclaiming "Lloyd's not doing this alone! We're all going to fight to save Colette!"
"…Even with nine against me, I think you overestimate your chances." Kratos comments, and Zelos brandishes his sword at him and states "Again with the arrogance! Will you just give it a rest already?"
Kratos lowers his eyelids and says "I merely speak the truth, Chosen of Tethe'alla. If you are so earnest to defeat me, then know that you have five minutes to do so before reinforcements will arrive and capture you." The man then activates his Cruxis Crystal with a thought, causing a thin black aura to surround his body while he simultaneously moves his hands in front of his body to begin casting a spell. With angelic feathers rising from a circle of light, it was obvious what move he planned to use on the group.
"No!" Lloyd is desperate to not let Kratos finish his attack in spite of the fact that the man was in Over Limit. He throws out two Demon Fangs with his swords to try and attack at the man's feet while Genis and Raine split off and prepare to cast spells to back up the group. Regal and Presea go in for physical combat, while Zelos and Riku stand back to bid their time until they can get a chance to go in without harming their friends.
Colette is about to go into battle when Lloyd swings his sword out and says "No Colette, stay back! We can handle this!" Colette replies in turn "Lloyd, I can fight!" Lloyd shakes his head and notes "I won't let you! You don't want to-" "Sacred powers, cast your purifying light upon these corrupt souls. Rest in peace sinners!" Kratos' chant was going through in spite of the flurry of kicks from Regal and the savage swings of Presea's axe against his body.
Lloyd immediately looked away from Colette and exclaimed with a panicked look on his face "Everyone! Get back!" Kratos swings his left arm out and exclaims the word "Judgment!" Presea and Regal leap back a bit and look towards the sky before holes open up and send forth multiple beams of light across the battleground.
Riku says to Zelos before the beams fire off "Now it's our turn!" The teenage Overlord ignites his blade with fire and runs forward while using his Earth powers to wrap Presea, Regal, Colette and Lloyd in prismatic bubbles that absorb and reflect the light back towards the sky, causing some of the coffins to be destroyed. Riku and Zelos run past their friends and go straight for Kratos, attacking him from two fronts to make it more difficult for him to respond.
Kratos comments quietly "Four…" as his Over Limit drops, and he swings his sword down beside him as Riku goes for an upward slash to block the attack while using his crimson shield to stop Zelos' attempt at stabbing at his face. Zelos' attack manages to poke a hole in his shield, and the pressure causes it to slowly crack outward from the hole.
As more beams of Judgment continue to fall across the battlefield and force Genis and Raine to use their Guardian shields to protect themselves, Sheena falls out of range of the attacks and pulls out a black seal. She focuses it in front of her body while whispering "We're gonna need a little help here…"
Kratos happens to notice Sheena trying to summon Shadow, and after using a brief but strong shove of his sword and shield to move Zelos and Riku's weapons out of range long enough for him to sprint straight at Sheena. He moves past the others as they were immobilized thanks to Riku's crystal barriers, and the teenage Overlord snaps his fingers to drop them after getting himself back upright.
It was too late, however, as Kratos approaches in front of Sheena's body and flips his sword around, using the brunt of his handle to wind the woman with a heavy blow to her gut. She drops Shadow's summoning seal and crumbles onto her knees, and Kratos then turns around as he sees Presea leap into the air and bring herself down with axe gripped in her hands. Her weapon lands on the ground where Kratos once was as the man leaps into the air before his skull was crushed.
While Presea was stuck in the ground, Regal leaps into the air and manages to deliver the first clean hit to Kratos' body by kick him with a spinning kick to the side of his face that disorients him long enough to perform a couple more kicks while gravity hasn't grabbed a hold of him. Even with the endurance the Cruxis Crystal provided him, Kratos lost some blood from the side of his mouth because of these kicks.
Even so, it doesn't take him long to recover and watch as Regal falls to the ground while he floats in the air with the help of his wings. Wiping the blood from his mouth with his shield, Kratos murmurs out "Three…" After that he sees a crimson blaze from a distance and immediately summons forth his own Guardian barrier to prevent Riku's wave of fire from scorching his body. Afterwards Raine takes advantage of the teenage Overlord's distraction to finish casting a spell of her own.
"Light be thy sustenance and destroy the enemy! Sacred Shine!" Gathering light in from all around her in a form of nearly ethereal streams, Raine launches them out in all directions in more solidified waves, but the nature of the attack allows her to distinguish between friend and foe. Kratos is forced to dodge and weave through the waves of light, but they are so tightly knit together much to his surprise that he takes the final wave of energy against his chest without even realizing it.
The attack paralyzes him in place for a few seconds, but he is so far into the air that only Colette and Riku are able to do anything to follow up on Raine's attack. Despite Lloyd's objections, Colette flies up and throws one of her rings at Kratos' body. The man recovers and quickly swings his sword down at the ring to send it flying right back at it's owner, where it hits her in the gut and send her flying back to the ground.
But while his sword is swung down Riku increases his speed and uses his left hand to grab onto the handle of Kratos' sword, using all of his strength to keep Kratos from moving his arms while commenting "I may not be able to touch the Eternal Sword…But a fragment of it's power? That's a little easier to manage…" The teenage Overlord comments on this matter even though he was exuding a little sweat being in the presence of this fragment.
Kratos glances at him in an unamused manner and whispers "Two…" But before he can do something about Riku's efforts the teenage Overlord pulls the sword from Kratos' hands and throws it down against the ground, even though he tried to toss it into the abyss below the tower.
But while he swung his arm out the teenage Overlord is struck in the chin with Kratos' shield, which knocks his head up and cracks the bones in his neck slightly, stunning the boy long enough for Kratos to throw out a beast-headed projectile with his sword that sends Riku flying towards the ground. His body crashes and creates a large plume of dust that covers Lloyd and the others. However, before Kratos and swoop down and take advantage of this distraction Genis uses his magic to summon forth a tornado above the others, which catches the man off-guard and slashes him with a series of wind blades.
"Urgh!" Kratos lets out a grunt of pain as the blades assault him, but when the tornado is at an end the man looks down at his fragment of the Eternal Sword and flies straight towards it, landing on the ground and picking it up before anyone can stop him. But as he lands Lloyd runs straight at him and performs a diagonal slash across Kratos' armor, which cuts deep enough to reach his skin and draw a little bit of blood.
Kratos grits his teeth for a moment but braces himself and holds his sword out to block Lloyd's follow-up attack, commenting proudly "Impressive move, Lloyd…But you have one minute left…" The man then notices that Lloyd was using only one sword to pressure him, and with his teeth grit Lloyd takes his other sword and swings straight at Kratos' legs. The man flinches in surprise as he leaps back to try and dodge the attack.
But the tip of the blade nicks the part of his leg above his feet while simultaneously hitting a series of nerves that sends a sharp sensation of pain through his body. Kratos quickly collapses out of the sky and drops onto his knees beside the sword in the ground, while Lloyd points a sword at his face and says "It's over, Kratos. Now we're going to save Colette!"
Kratos lowers his head for a moment and says "…Sorry Lloyd, but you have ran out of time." He then reaches for the purple sword beside him and taps it before Lloyd can make another move, and with a single thought the sword reacts to Kratos' touch and shines for a moment. A powerful shockwave is then sent through the Tower of Salvation, hitting all but Kratos and sending them flying back against the ground unconscious in mere moments.
Kratos then rises to his feet, finding himself barely able to stand thanks to the cut on his legs. But nevertheless he steps forward and looks down at Lloyd while commenting to himself "…Hmm, you actually took my teachings to heart. Stay alive, Lloyd, it's almost over…" Once he's done saying this, a teleportation platform appear above the sword, summoning forth eight female angels with black feathered wings and rugged bladed swords held against their waists. They had blank white stares and an overall doll-like appearance to them.
One of them flies up to Kratos and asks of him "Shall we capture them for you, Lord Kratos?" Her voice was monotone, and Kratos replied "Yes, take them to the cells in Welgaia. I'll tell Lord Yggdrasill that it'll soon be time for the Chosen to receive the cure to her illness."
Kratos then looks around and notices that Riku had disappeared from the battlefield. With a concerned glare in his eyes due to how much of a wild card the boy was, Kratos calmly commented to the angel beside him "And tell the others to be weary of the Elemental Overlord's presence."
The angel nods her head and along with her allies she picks up the unconscious group, carrying them one after another to the teleporter while Kratos cautiously looks around under the suspicion that Riku would ambush him. But after a few seconds the man heads onto the teleporter and leaves the area for now. Meanwhile, in the dark dimension, Riku can be seen gripping his right arm while moving his head around to get the kinks out of his neck.
"…Ugh, that could've gone better…" He murmurs out, while in his head the black dragon Takashi notes "I can't believe you abandoned them like that…You better have a plan in mind." Riku nods his head and replies "They'll be fine on their own. Right now I'm just going to speed things up for us by going after the Mana Fragment. Try and get a gap prepared for me close to Welgaia in Derris-Kharlan, Takashi, it won't take me long to get there."
While Riku is left to his own devices, we move a few minutes ahead in time and find Lloyd, Genis, Zelos and Regal trapped in a confined jail cell in the middle of a technologically advanced room that had a mixture of archaic design in it's walls and floors. Lloyd groaned as he began to regain his full consciousness, commenting as he looked around "…Are we still alive?"
Zelos, who had a better bearing on his surroundings, says to Lloyd "Well, it looks like we'll have our lives at least until they finish preparing Colette's cure. Apparently, she's useless the way she is now." As Lloyd turns to look at Zelos, Genis sinks his head in a melancholy manner and comments "Maybe we were tricked. He had us gather the materials to treat Colette and then had us bring her here…That sure saved them a lot of time and effort."
"Kratos used us? Did he betray us again?" Lloyd says in a saddened tone, and Zelos empathetically says his friend's name while Regal rubs his chin and notes "…I feel guilty for letting this happen to Colette and the others."
Lloyd slams his fist against the cell bars and exclaims "I really want to know why I keep getting captured and thrown into jail!" Zelos smirks and jokes "You sure you haven't done anything to deserve it?" His attempt at lighting the mood does little to help Lloyd, who exclaims "Damn it!" before he turns around and takes his swords out, slashing at the bars for a good few seconds to no avail, and in anger he goes on to say "This thing's built solid as a rock! And I'm sure I can't open the lock from here!"
"Same here. It won't budge at all." Sheena's voice is heard coming from the left in another cell, where Presea, Raine and Colette can be seen with her. Lloyd goes to the very edge of the cell and asks "Can Colette or Presea break it?"
"No…" Colette replies in a distraught tone of voice, and as Presea lowers her axe she apologizes with "I'm sorry I couldn't be of use…" Lloyd hangs his head low and comments "So we're completely trapped…"
In the face of this hopeless situation, Regal is the one who firmly says to his fellow cellmates "…Move." Lloyd, Genis and Zelos walk off to the sides of the cell as Regal steps towards the front of it and begins folding his arms back. After a moment of concentration Regal suddenly thrusts his arms out and fires forth a heavily concentrated beam of mana into the bars, which rips them wide open and creates a hole large enough for his friends to escape through.
Lloyd, Genis and Zelos nearly have a heart attack upon seeing this attack, with a disbelieving Genis murmuring "Wh…whoa!" Lloyd is quick to ask "How did you do that?" Once Regal stands upright he shakes the steam off his hands with quick gestures and replies "I originally specialized in fighting with my hands, not my feet. And since Exspheres amplify their user's abilities far above their maximum limits, this result is to be expected."
"Then why don't you just fight with your hands? That beam could've wiped out Kratos in one shot!" Zelos asks in a very curious tone, and Regal glances at him while admitting "…I swore I would never fight with these hands again. This time, I used them to save you, Lloyd. You're going to unite the worlds and save Colette, right?"
Regal's determination to help him re-ignited Lloyd's resolve and led to him nodding his head and saying "Yeah, that's right. All right, let's go break the girls out and get out of here!" After taking a couple moving platforms to the other jail cell, Lloyd is able to use his sword to pick the lock from the outside and free the rest of his friends. After gathering on the other side of the cells, the group starts to head for the lone teleporter in this room when Lloyd comments "Hey, come to think about it…Where's Riku?"
"He probably got taken to Yggdrasill. I remember Kratos trying to capture him for some reason when he ambushed us at the Tethe'alla Renegade Base." Zelos nonchalantly explains, which causes Lloyd to shake his head a few times and say "Wait, what? …That's right, I remember you mentioning that before we saved Colette from Rodyle."
"What the heck? Why would Yggdrasill need Riku? That seems really bizarre…" Sheena points out, and Zelos in turn suggests "Well hey, all things considered, maybe Riku's been secretly tipping Cruxis off about everything we've been up to."
"…I have definitely suspected that someone has been leaking info on our whereabouts, but I doubt that Riku is the one responsible." Regal points out, glaring suspiciously at Zelos as he finishes his sentence. Zelos takes offense to this and widens his eyes while pointing out "Hey now wait a minute, why ya suspecting me Regal?"
"Last I recall, you never addressed the matter of what you were doing outside the Renegade Base away from the rest of us." Regal comments, and Zelos is quick to say "I already told ya, I was just examining the outside of the base. Riku's comment about the Rheaird chute was never proven, remember? Besides, think about it for a moment. Lloyd, Sheena, Genis and Raine are split off from us to deal with Yuan, and then when the rest of us are brought out to 'guard' Kratos just so happens to show up. What's the connection between the two events?"
"Riku suggested the split up? That is just coincidental conjecture, Zelos. Besides, we have seen that Riku is capable of flying without a Cruxis Crystal or angel wings. So how can he be a member of Cruxis?" Raine asks, to which Zelos comments "That doesn't mean anything. He's explained he's from another world, right? For all we know, Riku was recruited by Yggdrasill…After all, Kratos shows that he's capable of trusting humans that are willing to follow his cause."
"We don't have time to worry about that now. If we've been taken to Derris-Kharlan, then we have a chance to find a Mana Fragment for Colette!" Lloyd gets everyone back on track with this blunt reminder, and Zelos murmurs out "I hope you don't end up regretting this, Lloyd…"
After moving through the jail quarters, they take the teleporter to the main city of Welgaia…Where they're immediately greeted by Riku fending off a swarm of angels while grasping some fragmented stone in his left hand. "W-Whoa, what the hell?!" Lloyd exclaims in disbelief. The teenage Overlord notices that the group had escaped the jail cells and quickly uses a burst of wind around his body to blow away a group of angels against the nearby wall to throw them unconscious.
Riku then flies down to meet up with the others, panting heavily as he holds his sword down and says "T-Took you long enough…" He then throws Lloyd the stone in his other hand, saying to him with a proud smile on his face "I got you your Mana Fragment…Unfortunately, I kind of had to get the entire Cruxis defense force on my back to do that."
"W-Wow…Thanks for doing that Riku. But how did you avoid being captured by Kratos?" Lloyd asks, and Riku replies "I had Takashi open a rift into the realm of darkness, then I opened another rift into Welgaia and did my thing. I also learned something from the data archives that'll REALLY help us out, but right now we need to get back to the planet…"
"Huh, but how?" Genis asks, and Riku gestures behind him and comments "I opened up a teleporter that'll take us back to the Tower of Salvation. Follow me!" The teenage Overlord is about to turn around when Lloyd says to him in an appreciative tone "Heh, I knew Zelos was wrong. You aren't working with Cruxis after all!"
This causes Riku to pause for a moment and turn to glance at Zelos with a wide-eyed expression, saying to him with a brandished finger "You said WHAT now?" Before the Chosen can say anything Riku rightfully punches him on the right side of his face and exclaims "After I have spent the last seven minutes fending off false angels on an entire comet filled with mana, you damn well better stop thinking I'm secretly working with Cruxis, Zelos!"
"Fine, fine, geez! I had valid points though, sorry!" Zelos says, and Riku turns around and mentions "I'll be hearing those reasons later…Right now, let's get the hell out of here!" The group then sprints straight through Welgaia before the angels get back up from Riku's beatdown, and after a quick run the group ends up taking the teleporter back into the Tower of Salvation.
They ended up in bronze colored metal corridors far away from Derris-Kharlan, and upon entering this part Lloyd says "Alright, let's hurry back to the bottom of the Tower! Once we're there we'll be home free!" The group runs through the corridors with a great deal of urgency behind their actions, and Riku goes on to say "Anyways, now that we're in somewhat safer territory, I'll tell you what I learned."
"Turns out the sword the Storyteller told us about is called 'The Eternal Sword'. Origin gave it to Yggdrasill when he formed the pact, and it is capable of controlling time and space while giving Yggdrasill most of his power. If it wasn't for the sword, Derris-Kharlan wouldn't be able to float above the planet." Riku's words leads to Lloyd saying "So if we took the Eternal Sword from Yggdrasill, we'd be able to stop him and reunite the world?"
"I'd imagine there's some rules involving the sword we'd have to deal with first, but yeah, that's a good idea." Raine says, and Genis points out "So that sword we saw at the base of the Tower of Salvation had to have been the Eternal Sword!"
Everyone was in agreement on that, which made it all the more imperative for them that they hurry to the bottom of the tower before they are caught by the enemy. After dealing with some annoying anti-gravity tricks, the group ends up finding themselves at the only other teleporter in the tower, which warps them straight down to the base of the Tower of Salvation one after the other.
Now that they were there, the group immediately runs down the staircase towards the entrance when suddenly Lloyd turns to face the sword planted in the ground. "So this is the Eternal Sword…" He comments in the face of it's majesty, while Zelos laughs and notes "No way. Nobody'd leave a sword that important in a place like this."
Lloyd walks towards the Eternal Sword, ready to pull it out, when suddenly a heavenly voice calls to him "You have not the right." Lloyd is then knocked onto his rear by a light shockwave, which catches the entire group off-guard as Lloyd comments in a pained tone of voice "Oww…what happened?!"
"Hmph, a waste of effort." A stoic, masculine voice calls to the group from above, causing all but Riku to freeze in fear as they look up to face him. The man had long blonde hair with some of it brushed over the left side of his face. He wore an odd pearl white outfit with his green Cruxis Crystal prominent on his bare chest. With a multitude of crystallic angel wings behind him, the man glanced down at the group as Lloyd exclaimed in shock "Yggdrasill!"
"The Eternal Sword cannot be touched by those who lack the right." Yggdrasill comments with a gentle smirk on his face, and Lloyd inquires about this right, leading to Sheena saying "He must be talking about the pact with Origin! That's the sword Yggdrasill tricked Origin into giving him!"
This comment makes Yggdrasill burst into a chilling laugh, and he then comments to them "You really are a pathetic bunch…Sigh, it matters not. Origin is under Kratos' seal. Either way, it is impossible for you to wield that sword. And without the power of the Eternal Sword, you cannot reunite the worlds. Your efforts are futile."
Lloyd swings his arms out and says in a pissed off tone "Futile? You're the one who's making futile attempts to bring back the dead! Besides, what does splitting the world in two even have to do with that?!" Yggdrasill closes his eyelids and states "The worlds still exist only because they were separated into two…"
"No! It's because of being split in two that there's not enough mana and countless people are suffering!" Lloyd exclaims, and Yggdrasill replies "Think for a moment. Why is there a shortage of mana? Well? What do you think, my fellow kinsman?" His glare is directed at Genis with a brief smile appearing on his face, which surprises the half-elf as he points at himself and says "M-Me?"
"Um…because the development of magitechnology resulted in a large consumption of mana?" Genis says with a little uncertainty in his voice. Yggdrasill nods his head and comments "Yes…and that magitechnology led to a great war. War consumes an abhorrent amount of mana."
"Don't you dare change the subject! There's a mana shortage because you won't let the Great Tree germinate!" Lloyd's swift accusation causes Yggdrasill to sigh once more before saying "I am not changing the subject. Even if the Giant Tree were to be revived, another war would make it wither and die. Wars are caused by two opposing forces. That is why I split the world in two: To isolate the powers that caused that foolish Kharlan War into the worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla."
"By alternating between prosperity and death, the development of magitechnology is subdued…So that was your plan." Raine says, and Yggdrasill notes "Although, at the moment, Tethe'alla has prospered for a little too long."
"You're lying. You're sacrificing the Great Seed just to save Martel!" Lloyd states to call out Yggdrasill for all that he's been trying to justify, but this would prove to work against him as the leader of Cruxis comments "That's right. The same way you abandoned the declining world of Sylvarant in order to save Colette."
Colette lowers her head and notes in a pained manner "…That's…" And Yggdrasill rubs the matter in by saying "What you're doing is exactly the same." But then Lloyd exclaims "No, it's not!" He clenches his fists in anger and glares up ay Yggdrasill, who calmly replies "Yes it is."
"No it's not! Lloyd isn't like you!" Genis comes to his friend's defense, which throws Yggdrasill off his guard for a moment as he murmurs out a single "What?" And Genis points out "Lloyd is looking for a way to save both Colette and the world! You're a coward who gave up!"
"Hmph, it is the same thing. I am trying to create a world without discrimination. That is the way to save the world." Yggdrasill' response leads to Lloyd commenting "A world without discrimination? That's…" Before he finishes his sentence Yggdrasill extends his right hand out and explains "People fear and hate what is not normal. They are scared of those that are different. Then the solution is for everyone to become the same. By using the Exspheres to eliminate the different bloods that flow through elves and humans, everyone on this earth will become the same lifeless beings. Discrimination will vanish. That is the grand age I strive for."
Genis' eyes widen upon hearing this out, and with a contemplating stutter he says "Everyone…t-the same…" Yggdrasill nods his head and notes "Yes. Desians and Cruxis both exist for this purpose. The conflicts between the races born from discrimination will disappear, Genis."
"…People will stop treating us differently? Really?" Genis was almost considering Yggdrasill's way to be just from the way he was speaking, but this time Lloyd was able to help his friend snap out of things by saying "Genis! Don't fall for it! Think about how Exspheres are made! They're made at the cost of people's lives, like Marble! Don't you see what's wrong with that?!"
"…Without revolution comes sacrifice. If you cannot understand that, then you deserve to die with the others." Yggdrasill draws his arms back and warps time and space to appear directly before the group. Riku draws his sword and says "You want to talk about sacrifice? You're going to sacrifice the free will of thousands to fulfill your goals! And you think this puts you on the higher moral ground than those who instigated the Kharlan War?!"
"…I have no reason to acknowledge your words, Elemental Overlord. Now, you will hand over the Chosen." Lloyd draws out his swords in spite of how tired he still was from the battle with Kratos and exclaims defiantly "NO! I won't let you!" Yggdrasill cracks a smile and says arrogantly "You have no choice."
Yggdrasill raises his right hand into the air and begins to form energy within, which was amplified in the presence of the Eternal Sword. But before he could launch an attack off, suddenly Colette closes her eyelids and collapses painfully onto her knees. The sound of her fall directs everyone's attention towards her, with Lloyd letting out a panicked cry of her name as even Yggdrasill drops his attack and stares at her in disbelief.
While Yggdrasill was distracted, Genis quickly pulls out his kendama and waves it around, charging up enough energy to send forth a series of fireballs at the man. With his guard lowered by Colette's collapse, Yggdrasill takes a surprisingly harmful hit to his body and bends over slightly. He lets out a pained groan and looks at Genis in disbelief, but before he can respond to this matter Pronyma suddenly teleports into the area and notices her master in danger.
"Lord Yggdrasill! You little vermin! You may be one of us, but you shall pay for your treachery!" Pronyma shows absolute disgust towards Genis as he whips out her magic staff and points it at her fellow half-elf, charging forth dark energy at the tip of the staff as the matter of Colette's condition distracts all but Yggdrasill and Genis. As a dark sphere is thrown at Genis, Yggdrasill suddenly leaps in front of the half-elf with a brief look of concerned on his face, taking the full brunt of Pronyma's attack on his back.
As the attack breaks apart, an object falls out of Yggdrasill's clothes and lands on the floor in front of him. It was a wooden flute, to be precise. Genis did not notice it at first, and was more surprise by the fact that Yggdrasill took the attack for him "W…why?" He mutters out, while Pronyma lets out a startled "L…Lord Yggdrasill!"
Yggdrasill recovers from the attack rather quickly and turns to face Pronyma, saying to her angrily "Pronyma! Why are you here?" He completely brushed off the fact that he saved Genis' life, and Pronyma mutters out in turn "…Sir. Ah…new activity in regards to that certain matter has…"
The lady had to not say anymore as Yggdrasill nods his head and turns to face the group while saying "Not always is there a way to save everyone. Remember that. Lloyd, the path you seek is nothing but an illusion." He then glances down at Genis for a moment before both he and Pronyma are teleported out of the area, which greatly confused Lloyd as he sheathed his swords and asked "Why did he let us go?"
Meanwhile, Genis bends down upon noticing the flute, and for a few moments his face freezes up in a distraught expression as he recognizes it. Quietly he mutters "…It can't be…It can't be…" Presea walks up to him upon noticing his distress and asks "What's wrong, Genis?" The half-elf's heart skips a beat and he quickly puts the flute away while commenting "N…nothing!"
Raine was busy taking a look at Colette's body, noticing that the crystallization effect had spread even farther than before. She then looks up at Lloyd and says to him "Lloyd, we must treat Colette as quickly as possible." Lloyd turns around and looks down at Colette with a pitying expression on his face, and then with a nod of his head he says "Right. Let's head back to Altessa's for now…"
Lloyd picked Colette's body off the ground and followed his friends out of the Tower of Salvation, but before they departed all the way Riku turned back to face the top of the tower and commented "…We're so close to the fated battle…Mithos Yggdrasill, I think by then I shall finally have my answer to your question." The teenage Overlord then turns back and runs to catch up with the others, where they use the Rheairds to fly off towards Altessa's house ready to finally save Colette from certain death…
Next Time: Fated Sins