As Lloyd, Randy and KeA soon made it back to the streets of Crossbell which were unnaturally silent, as the usual lively night market overshadowed by an eerie tension. After meeting back up with the rest of the SSS they soon moved swiftly through the empty roads, their mission clear—this was the night the Children of Shadows would make their final move.
Lloyd Bannings led the charge, his grip on his tonfa tightening. He could feel it in his gut—something about this whole situation felt too convenient, too easy. After all the time chasing leads, all signs had pointed to an abandoned cathedral on the city's outskirts.
"This is it," Elie murmured beside him, loading her orbal gun. "If they succeed in creating an artificial Sept-Terrion…"
Lloyd shook his head. "We won't let that happen."
Randy soon cracked his knuckles. "Damn right. Time to crash their creepy little ritual."
Tio adjusted her orbal staff, scanning the cathedral with her drones. "I'm detecting an immense energy signature inside. If they've already begun the process…"
Lloyd took a deep breath. "Then we shut them down before it's too late."
With a silent nod, the team moved in.
Inside the cathedral, flickering torches cast ominous shadows along the stone walls. Hooded cultists chanted in eerie unison, their voices blending into a haunting hum. At the center of the chamber, an altar crackled with unnatural energy. Suspended above it was a massive, glowing crystal—a fragment of something far older than anyone in Crossbell should have possessed.
Lloyd's blood ran cold. That's not just any artifact…
A cloaked figure stood before the crystal, the same one who had been confronted both Lloyd and Randy when they had rescued KeA soon had his arms outstretched. His voice rang through the chamber, commanding and feverish.
"Brothers and sisters! The time has come! With this fragment, we shall resurrect the power of the divine, a new Sept-Terrion forged from the wisdom of the ancients!"
The cultists raised their arms in unison, and the glow intensified. The air itself seemed to warp, a powerful force distorting reality.
Lloyd didn't wait. "Go!"
The SSS stormed the cathedral, weapons drawn. The cultists turned, but they were too late—Randy charged forward, his massive blade cleaving through their formation, while Elie and Tio provided suppressive fire.
Lloyd lunged for the altar, his blade slicing through the air—only for the cult leader to deflect his strike with an unseen force.
"You're too late, Bannings!" the man sneered.
The crystal pulsed, dark energy spilling into the room.
Then, the screaming started.
Suddenly, several cultists collapsed to the ground, writhing as their bodies twisted unnaturally. Their veins turned black, eyes glowing with a sickly blue light.
Tio gasped. "This is—"
"Gnosis," Lloyd finished grimly. The same drug that had twisted minds in the past was now warping them into something inhuman.
One of the afflicted cultists let out a guttural snarl before lunging at Elie with unnatural speed. She barely dodged, firing a shot that barely staggered him.
"They're not stopping!" she called out.
Randy swung his blade in a brutal arc, sending three of the creatures crashing into the stone pillars. "Then we put 'em down hard!"
The battle descended into chaos. The SSS fought desperately, cutting through the twisted cultists while dodging blasts of unstable energy from the altar. The leader laughed, raising his arms triumphantly.
"Witness the dawn of a new age! The divine shall be reborn through our sacrifice!"
Lloyd gritted his teeth. Not if he had anything to say about it.
Lloyd pushed forward, dodging wild attacks as he closed the distance to the altar. The air shimmered, distorting reality itself. He knew that if the ritual reached its climax, there would be no turning back.
"Elie, cover me!"
She nodded, unleashing a precise volley of shots, forcing the cult leader to deflect them. That split-second opening was all Lloyd needed.
He surged forward, gunblade flashing—
And struck the crystal.
A deafening crack echoed through the chamber as a web of fractures spread across the artifact's surface. The energy within it flared wildly, then exploded.
The cult leader's triumphant expression twisted into horror. "No! It's not complete—"
A shockwave blasted through the room, knocking everyone off their feet. The twisted cultists let out one final scream before collapsing into unconscious heaps.
Lloyd staggered to his feet, coughing through the dust. The crystal was gone, shattered into useless shards.
The cult's leader knelt before the ruins, hands trembling. "No… this wasn't how it was supposed to end…"
Lloyd leveled his weapon at him. "It's over."
The man exhaled slowly, then chuckled—a hollow, broken sound.
"You think you've won?" His voice was eerily calm. "You're just playing your role in a much larger script."
Lloyd narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
The man looked up, a knowing glint in his eyes. "Crossbell was just one piece of the puzzle."
Before Lloyd could demand answers, the cult leader tapped a device on his wrist. A high-pitched beep filled the air.
"Lloyd, get back!" Tio shouted.
An explosion rocked the cathedral. A hidden escape route opened beneath the altar, and before Lloyd could react, the cult leader was gone, seemingly vanishing into the darkness.
By the time the dust settled, the SSS stood among the ruins of the cathedral, the cultists either unconscious or restrained.
KeA ran into Lloyd's arms, her small hands gripping his coat. "You did it… you stopped them."
Lloyd held her close, relief flooding his system—but it was tainted by lingering unease.
Elie placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're thinking the same thing I am, aren't you?"
Lloyd exhaled. "Yeah. This wasn't just about Crossbell."
Randy crossed his arms. "You think these bastards were working with someone else?"
Tio's expression was grim. "Given what the leader said… I believe so."
Lloyd looked up at the shattered remnants of the altar. Something told him this was far from over.
Their enemy hadn't just been trying to create an artificial Sept-Terrion.
They were working together with someone else and following their plan.
And that meant Crossbell wouldn't be the last target.