Part 50: Chapter Forty-Nine: The Fall

They returned to the Altena Church with the Destone Orb in hand. With its power, Felt’s fossilization was cured!

Video- “The Fall of Eden”

Watch the Horror Unfold

What?
What’s everyone… Viese?!
Felt!
I finally get to see you again…
Finally…!
Viese…
I can’t even begin to imagine what those two have gone through since they were separated.
I think we should let them catch up, alone.
You’re right…

That was the last good news that would be had for quite some time.



Eizlen!
Gardo! The Gardo Continental Drive! It’s…
Huh?!
This is gonna be bad!!
Did it stop?
It’s coming from outside!
Viese, please stay here!

Felt rushed outside to see what was going on.



What?!

And, as the swirling energy built in Lake Midgard…



Two worlds became one once more.



That’s Eden! What’s happening?

And the wielder of the Crimson Azoth looked on, his plans coming to fruition.



Finally, Eden’s seal has been broken…
Crimson Azoth: Master, I know what you desire. You must hurry.
Yes, I know.
Let’s see Eden for ourselves… The land of forbidden alchemy.



Felt and his friends were far behind, perhaps too far to have had any chance of stopping what was coming next.



The seal was broken.
Because the Gardo Continental Drive failed, Eden and Belkhyde are no longer separated.
The drive failed…
Was that Chaos’ plan all along?
Chaos?!
His true target lies in Eden…
If we don’t hurry, we may not be able to ever set things right.
Let’s get to Eden!
How do we get there?
It’s too far to swim.
South Lake Midgard is the closest point to it now.
Then let’s go to South Lake Midgard!

As they rushed towards Eden, Chaos and his grim sword were already there.



Crimson Azoth: I believe Lilith has already been reincarnated.
Reincarnated?
Crimson Azoth: Yes. I can sense it.
Let us open the door to the Temple of Creation first.
Alright, here we go.

It did prove quite helpful, as it turned out, to have the Queen along.



Will you please lend us a boat?
Traveler: What? Who do you think you are?
I am Audrey Zeckzen Slaith, the queen of this nation.
I promise to provide you with a brand new boat for your trouble. Will you kindly let us borrow this boat now?
Traveler: Wow! You’re really the queen!
This is a national emergency. Please let us borrow your boat.
Traveler: Sure… Absolutely!
By all means, please take my boat!
Thank you. We must hurry!

Chaos had already reached the Eden Temple, though.

Video- “Palaxius”

Watch the Darkness Unfurl

Crimson Azoth: Yes, that’s it alright.
What do you think you’re doing?!
An Azoth?!
Who…?
I hadn’t expected to see anyone over here…
What does this mean? Could this child be…?
Crimson Azoth: She may look different, but I have no doubt.
That child is Lilith.
You mean, this child governs every Mana?
Crimson Azoth: Appearances don’t matter.
Who are you?
Crimson Azoth: Let us silence the annoying ones first.

They arrived near the Belkhyde Gate, not far behind Chaos.



I can feel a magical tingle in this land. Kinda tickles.
That is all the Mana power you’re feeling.
Let’s find Chaos…

They pushed on to Noir, where Yach had seen a stranger pass.



Yach!
Are you alright?
Yeah, I’m fine… But, I have no idea what just happened here.
I heard an explosion, and the sky changed color…
……
Look, Yach, we’re chasing someone.
He’s wearing black clothes. Have you seen him?
Did this guy have an Azoth?
Yes! Do you know where he went?
I barely caught sight of him at all. I don’t know where he went…
But he’s probably headed for the Temple of Creation.
The Temple of Creation.
Alright. Thanks, Yach.
Please stay here. We don’t know what’s going to happen next.
Sure, okay.
It looks like Chaos is headed for the Temple of Creation.
Let’s hurry!

They were too late.



Vi…Viese!

It seemed as though Chaos’ plans were coming to fruition.



Why do you always show up at the wrong time…?
Chaos!
Don’t tell me you forgot. I did tell you I would do anything for Rie!
And now, I’ve stolen the power of this girl, Lilith!
The power of Lilith?!

But he was deceived.



Crimson Azoth: Mwahahahahaha…!
Finally, finally I have it! The power of Lilith!
I’ve waited 400 years for this! 400 years! And it was all worth it now!
What’s the deal? You told me we would save Rie!
Crimson Azoth: Rie? I don’t know any Rie.
What…?
Crimson Azoth: Thank you, Chaos, for leading me all this way.
I’ll use your body, to show you how grateful I am.
Huuuwaaaaaaah!!
Crimson Azoth: Don’t strain yourself.
After all, I’m going to show you the true potential of the human body.
N-Nooooo…!

And once more the dread alchemist Palaxius walked the land of Belkhyde.



Chaos?!
I’m sorry, there’s no Chaos here.
Only Palaxius, the greatest alchemist who ever lived remains!

Palaxius withdrew to the Temple of Creation, high above Eden, and prepared to unleash his most devastating power upon the land.



Exzanosis-Aquisoma-Deyte-Rune!

And Eden was covered in a terrible fog…



Against this power Felt and his friends could do naught but flee.



Everyone’s turning to stone!
This is not good. We must escape before it’s too late!
Wait! Iris!
We have to leave her, for now!
But…!
We will save Iris later. We have to save ourselves now.

They returned to Riese Palace, where a coalition of forces was assembled to find a solution to the greatest threat the world had ever seen.

Video- “The Last Alliance”

Watch the Story Unfold

Alchemist Palaxius… What’s he all about?
He is the creator of the Crimson Azoth, and said he was the greatest alchemist who ever lived.
He was known for his violent behavior and unusual experiments.
I’d say he was the greatest alchemist ever, but not in a good way.
But, he’s taken Iris. I’d have to save her.
That fog has Eden completely covered.
The moment we enter, we’ll be turned to stone.
Can’t we do something?
I don’t know…
There is something we can do.
Eizlen!
Felt, may I see your Azoth?
Sure.
But, after my fight with Chaos, well…
I know…

Why Elusmus had been silent since Felt’s return became obvious. The Azure Azoth was damaged.



Ruby Prism?
It is the ultimate alchemy energy source.
And, it is the source of the Azoth’s power.
If you can create a new Ruby Prism, then you can repair the Azoth.
Really?!
Yes.
And, the only thing that can rival Palaxius and the Crimson Azoth…
Is another Azoth. Nothing else even stands a chance.
Okay! Let’s create a Ruby Prism and repair the Azoth.
Viese, do we have the recipe?
Yes, we do.
But, the materials are all rare items…
Then, let’s go find them.
Okay!
Let’s use Riese Palace as our headquarters for this mission.
We’ll collect as much information as we can.
You there.
Simsiltian: Yes?
The Crimson Azoth and the Ruby Prism…

A call went out for any with knowledge of either to gather at the palace.



Simsiltian: Yes, your majesty!
See, you do look like royalty.
My duty is to lead my nation during times of crisis.
Now, let’s start looking for the materials we need.
We have to work together and share our info at Riese Palace!

Max had been looking into Chaos, and had some interesting results of that search.



I found this.
System Message: Received [Book Alha]!
You now have the recipe for [Megido’s Key].
This contains the recipe for Megido’s Key…
I found that book in his house in this small village called Alha.
Alha?!
In that village…?!
He’s the one who revived Palaxius.
I think the key to stopping him may lie in there, as well.
You should visit Alha Village for yourself.

Hagel had some more bad news.



Rumor has it, that over in Lalizatt Cave, east of Grand…
People have reported seeing the Dragon King again.
You mean, Dragon King Ardgevald?!
Yeah, that’s the one.
It hasn’t destroyed any villages yet, but I’d say it’s only a matter of time.
Well then, this looks like a job for…
It’s my job, little guy.

Before seeing who else had arrived to help, they headed to camp. First they produced the Megido’s Key.



Now we can unlock everything else.
So we can open all the treasure chests!
And locked doors won’t stop us anymore.
Well, actually, it’ll only open locks sealed by alchemy.
But, it will open the door in the Altena Church…
That is correct.
Then let’s go.

Then they checked the recipe for the Ruby Prism.



Feinne’s Fourth Wall Lectures: The Ruby Prism
So here’s our next big quest. We have to create a new Ruby Prism for the Azure Azoth. The ‘easiest’ material component is the Aroma Material, which we’ve already got one of. We’ll get another, fortunately, while we search for the other stuff. The other three materials we don’t even have recipes for yet. Because it’s the easiest thing to create, we’ll start with the Reptile Egg. Getting started on that is going to take us to Altena Church, though that’ll have to wait for next time.

One thing was certain, they had a lot of work ahead of them.