Part 9: Things That Never Happened

After defeating Eluca and Zhamo, Escher and Musiea won the arena 'tournament.' It also turned out that Musiea is actually Escher's long lost childhood friend, Aida. But the question is, now that there no one else remains, what happens next?



Escher looks kinda indecisive there...

Why not go and talk to...



...Piu-Piu?





No creepiness this time, even he is being pretty serious.



Going back to the main door, we get this option. Eh, why not.



Are we immortal now?
All in good time.
I thought the last couple remaining was supposed to be made immortal?!
When humans strive to protect those they love, that is when they generate the most power. In that moment, they become truly formidable beings.
That is why the warriors here were summoned together with the member of the opposite sex that they cared most deeply for.
Now it's time for you to demonstrate that power for the last time.
What?
If you desire immortality...
...you will have to defeat me.
So... you're the last opponent.
Indeed. But before we begin, there is something I must take care of.







W-why? Why would you do that now?
I told you. I want you to show me your true power.
In order to that your body must be in perfect condition.
Heh heh...
Ah ha ha ha ha!
This is the best unexpected present I ever received!
You want to see our true power? Fine.
I'll show you more than you bargained for!!



So. We need to fight the agent. He has around 15,000 HP or something like that and this fight can be a bit difficult, but again thanks to those extra 6 levels from Billikens, this will actually be pretty easy for us. But the first time I played this game it was definitely a problem.



As you can see, our first attack takes of almost half of his HP!



He does have a magical attack that does decent damage to us for sure.



But still... we just need to hit him a couple more times and we're done.



Although he could still theoretically kill us I guess.



One more hit and he's almost dead.

But as always, the game assumes we are having trouble here and we get the following cutscene.





How boring, I don't know why I even bothered to cure you!
It's no good... I can't fight any more.
What are you saying? Don't give up now!
I was so happy to hear that you had remembered your promise. I truly was.
...But even so, I still can't forgive you completely.
Just as you have been searching for me all this time...
I had dedicated my life to exacting my revenge on you.
And now, to suddenly change all that...
Of course. No one can change their way of life that simply.
I'm just happy to have found you again. But think about it: if you die, you'll never be able to get your revenge.
So I'm not going to die.
I'm going to stay alive, for you. And I will fight as long as I still have breath to do so.
I will not die unless it is by your sword!



And with this we deal the final hit.









"My lord"? Who is he talking to anyway?























Um, what just happened?



Was that... just an illusion, then?
He said something about a land we are destined to reach.
Well, there is no sense worrying about that now.
Yeah. After all, we finally managed to defeat him.
Sure looks like it. You really saved me back there, Musiea.
Wh-what are you saying? It's not like you to be grateful.
You don't like it?
...I didn't say that.







Not so fast. There is somebody we need to talk to first.







All right, go on through the Original Door. The "first truth" you've been waiting to find out is on the other side.
Escher, Musiea, whatever you do, don't give up.
"The spirts never give you a trial you can't overcome." That's one of my favourite sayings.
...See you again, my friend.

I am actually not sure what to think here.



I guess going through the door it is.

And on the other side...







Suddenly a woman's voice comes from above...



Oh, look, it's that staple character of JRPGs, ????.



Look up.





You two are about to become this world's First Couple.
First Couple? What are you talking about?
10,000 years from now... Right around the time that you come from...
A being known only as Qualia will appear and destroy everything.
Your job is to spend the next 10,000 years creating a human race that can defeat it.
Are you out of your mind? There's no way we could do something like that!
Oh, but you can.
You two are the ones who triumphed in the Ark Arena.









And the Ark Arena is gone.





We're the only people on the planet now, aren't we?
You know, I think we really are.
...I still can't forgive you, you know.
I know. You don't have to if you're not ready.























And with that, the ending credits start...



You can see some of the Japanese voice actors on the image above. Like I mentioned before, Square definitely didn't skimp here, these are some fairly prominent names that had quite a few high profile roles. As an example, I'll mention Marina Inoue, Musiea's VA who is at the moment probably best known for being the voice of Alicia in the Valkyria Chronicles games and anime series. You don't see this on the screenshot, but the most awesome one for me is the fact that Olgar is actually voiced by the guy who also did Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop some years ago!

At any rate, we have won and it looks like we are done here.




Or...?