Part 61: Chapter 34- Finale Part 1: The Mother of Viruses

Chapter 34- Finale Part 1: The Mother of Viruses

Computer, resume recording.

Recording resumed.

I never would have dreamed a month ago that this could happen. If you'd told me, I would have said you were crazy, a dreamer. I've never been happier to be proven wrong in all my long years of existence. We headed for the Crescent Chronicle to speak to Tastiella. Our final ordeal was about to begin.

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The reason is that people don't try to understand each other.
......
People don't even try to see things from other peoples' perspectives... to see why they do certain things.
They don't want to know what other people want or need... what they strive to achieve. When people refuse to understand each other, conflicts arise.
People only see the harms others are causing them. They don't understand why something bad is happening.
And when you don't know why you're being hurt, your only course is to strike back.
But if you know why you may have to suffer, there may be a better solution to your problem.
Usually, people won't fight unless they have a reason...
......
Interesting. I will accept your answer.
Tastiella... there's something that I must do.
...I'm going to save Mir.
......
I've traveled all over the world, and I've seen the real Mir.
With Ayatane's help... we found the Hymn Crystal that contains Mir's original feelings.



...Very well. Lyner Barsett...
I, the Crescent Chronicle, have reached a decision.
You won't repeat the mistakes of the past. I have complete faith in you.
I shall open the door to the Crescent Chronicle.
And, I shall place the future of this world in your hands...
I don't have much time left in this world, but I will watch you try to save it.
Are you sure that's what you want?
Yes... completely...
I have been waiting forever for this moment. I have been waiting for someone like you to come.
400 years is too long to live constantly on guard.
I am happy that I will finally be relieved of this world, so that I can rest in peace...
Thank you... for everything you've done.

We entered the Chronicle. It was time to face the most powerful Reyvateil... the most powerful being ever to live. There was no turning back.

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No matter what happens, it all ends here. So, let's do our best...
We've saved each other's lives.
I hope we'll always be friends. I just like being around you.
So... give it everything you've got!
We've been through a lot together, and it ain't getting any easier.
We've had good times and bad... but just being there made it all worth it.
Looks like we've got one more bad time to get through. C'mon, let's go have some fun.
I am a virus, but you never held that against me, Lyner.
The stuff we're made of is different, but you made me realize that our lives are just as precious. And, my mother's, too...
Please, take good care of my mother... Mir...
I've been stomping on Mir, keeping her sealed away with my Song...
But, today... I'll put my whole heart and soul into her song.
When that happens... I want you to face Mir with your heart and soul, too.
She'll feel the real you... I just know it...





The only reason I'm here right now is because of you... and the life you gave me...
Please do the same for Mir. Give her a life, too...
Lyner...
I've lived about 1500 years, but I've never felt like this before.
I'm not along anymore... I don't have to carry the burden all by myself...
It all started when I went with you on that journey.
Lyner... thank you for being born in this world.
And... thank you for finding me...
Mir! Show all your feelings to me... your true feelings!

Mir's rage was beyond all description. She'd surrounded herself with a shell of pure horror, and set out to wipe us from Ar Tonelico.




So much hatred... You've lived with this much hatred all those years...?
Mir... can you hear the Song?
We... want to live peacefully with you.
I need you to break your shell... to show me your true self!

Boss Battle- Shadow Mir Part 1-

Phase 1 of Shadow Mir can be a long and painful fight if you're unprepared. Mir has three parts, her head, her arms, and her core. After any part attacks, it will switch to another part that's still alive and then heal a bit. Mir's attacks are powerful and often cause status effects. She can also drain MP from your Reyvateil. So how do we go about fighting her? You have a few options (and in the video I use a mixture of these strategies for the sake of showing off):

Red Magic- Hit her with high burst (15000%+) powerful songs like Ar Tonelico/ Tower Connection/ Child of Light. I use this to smack down one of her parts in a single hit, as with level 3 harmonics a 15000% Child of Light hits for 99999. You need at least three casts of the Song you want to use, and probably four because the core has more than 99999 health.

Buffing- This strategy uses a few quick Red Magic attacks to build your burst gauge up to level 3 then uses a buffing Blue Magic like Slasher or Blast Fill to make your high level attacks hit for huge damage. This strategy is very party and equipment dependent. If you don't have top tier weaponry it's probably going to take a long time.

Prophecy- This is a strategy I've always liked on Mir. Once you get up to burst level 3, keep Prophecy always up. There's nothing that Prophecy can do that is bad on this fight. It minimizes the healing you'll need to do with your front line, absorbs damage they take, and buffs them. It has some of the same limitations as the strategy above, though.

Your party selection should also be taken into account in your strategy. Let's talk up the pros and cons of each:

Jack is one of your party's heaviest hitters and is immune to blind (which Mir can inflict sometimes). His skills aren't great for this fight since there's only one target at any given time, but his regular attack is plenty damaging enough.

Radolf is the toughest character you have, and is most likely to still be alive even after some crazy super attack from Mir. With proper equipment he can do some decent damage, but he's usually the best character when you need someone to use a healing item. A good candidate for a crystal like Unseen Hand, that makes him pretty powerful.

Krusche has Cure Tablet, which is still even this late in the game awesome. Her offensive power is limited and her other skills aren't great, so she's also a good choice for an Unseen Hand crystal.

Simply the hardest hitting party member. With a buff song active he can do upwards of 15k with his ultimate attack. He can also block incoming attacks. Never a bad choice for this fight.

Reyvateils: Use whichever one you want, honestly. Shurelia is clearly best for a Red Magic strategy because she comes with three casts of Ar Tonelico and if you've gotten it has three Child of Lights which are plenty powerful enough as well. Blue Magic strategies can be just as if not more effective with the others, because they have far more casts.

The fight can be long, especially if you're not fully prepared, so bring a lot of healing items like Supernatural Ice and Food Juice if you've got them. The fight's very fair, just keep in mind that the health line you see is going to vary by her part. Also, Mir's one-liners are she attacks you are great, and Harmonious is amazing.

We cracked Mir's shell, and for the first time in ages Mir's true form was exposed to the world. I'd forgotten how fragile she looked, belying her unstoppable power. Mir wasn't finished yet, though. Not by a long margin.

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Humans... go away...
No! Mir is still...
Wait! Please, wait!
Don't attack Mir... no matter what.
Then, what are we supposed to do!?
Just... trust me. And, don't do anything.
I won't hurt you. Please live with us in this world.
...After all this time, do you expect me to believe you?
Everything is okay...
Don't come near me!



Don't attack Mir. But, I need you to attack the barrier around her!
We can't stop Mir's Song Magic, so it'll be coming at you really fast.
I know it's gonna be tough, but you gotta hand in there, Aurica, Misha, Lady Shurelia!
The worst that can happen is that we'll all be destroyed, but I believe in you and Mir.
So... please!
Please take good care of my mother... Mir...
It's the only way to save the world for all of us. No matter how hard it gets, I'm here.
Lyner, we must believe in ourselves and each other...

Final Boss Battle: Shadow Mir, Part 2-

Here comes the final fight. Mir's just got two attacks. The first is Ruined World.



This hits one member of your party for about 3-4k damage. She'll use a couple of these, then use her ultimate attack, the most powerful attack you'll see in the entire game, Falling Sky.



See, what Lyner meant earlier is that her attacks can just target your Reyvateil without you having the ability to guard. Ideally you want your Revyateil to have about 3.5-4k health to be certain of surviving whatever she's going to throw at you. Make sure you're not using MP convert crystals coming in, because if you've got low health you'll never build up a good burst level to hit her with powerful attacks. It's all about hitting her as hard and fast as possible, because you can't sustain her hitting everyone as hard as she does forever. If you got through the first part without too much trouble this should be survivable. She's got very little health, so one big Ar Tonelico is all it will really take.

After a short battle that felt like an eternity, Mir faltered and fell to the ground. We could all sense a change in the air. Something was different about Mir... about the world.

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Then, she shed a single tear, and began to sing...



As a matter of trivia, Mir's Hymnos is voiced by the same singer as Shurelia's.



I don't know why, but...
It's so... comforting...

Mir was no longer a threat. We had to tell everyone that the conflict that had plagued our world was finally over. There was still more sadness for me this day, though...



Tastiella...
Don't be sad. I'm so happy.
It was worth... living... four... -dred years... to finally... meet you...
Misha... you're the last... Star Singer...
Tastiella! I don't want you to die...
You still act like a child... after all this time...
Fla-...-ck, please ta-... the pe-ple of Teru...



Tastiella...
Hey, guys! Cheer up, will ya?
Granny said she was happy. So... we should be happy for her.
Now that she's gone...
We gotta look out for each other, Flute.
Harmonica, you...
Hey, I can't do everything myself. You can't slack off.
We all have to get along, right Lyner? So, I'm trying to figure out what Flute is thinking...
Jack...

We went back to Platina to tell Leard what had happened.



Maybe she wasn't worried about the future of this world, but...
Lyner...
......
You did a great job.
And, that's the biggest compliment you'll get from me.
Geez, thanks.
But, you know...
You're more qualified to be a commander.
C'mon, can't you give that a rest?
Hahaha, looks like something about you hasn't changed!
Cut it out!
Don't tease him. He doesn't want authority, and I think that's great.

It was time for it all to end. There was just one more thing to do...



Now it is my turn not to be teased!
Well, it's not like we'll never see each other again. It's easy to go up and down now.
But, it's still gonna be lonely.
...I'll miss you guys.
......
...Everyone, I have a suggestion...
Why don't we craft a Song and turn it into a Hymn Crystal.
All of us!?
Craft a Song!?
Yes. We can send a message to the Tower that says we'll all live in harmony and help each other out.
Is making a Hymn Crystal really that easy?
Well, it isn't difficult...
As long as you have solid feelings and wishes to put inside it.
Then, why don't we ask everyone to craft it with us?
I... I want Claire to craft it with me.
Yeah... I want the President to craft with me.
*sigh * I guess I have to ask Flute now...



Okay, okay! I'll ask my dad to craft with me. Happy now?
Hahaha! He's kinda cute when he gets like that.
Stop teasing me!

We're getting ready to get everyone together now. This Song will be the hope for a new world...

To be continued...