Part 107: The Courage to Think and Act on Your Own

Entry 99: The Courage to Think and Act on Your Own

After countless times and countless worlds, Airy has been stopped.



So foreign, this feeling... Is this...defeat!? Am I to simply vanish now, after eleven hundred million years and myraid worlds?

Heh heh heh. Ha ha ha ha ha... What absurd creatures are the race of man. You have won nothing in my defeat. But the great warriors of light are blind even to that... Heh heh heh.

The day will come when all boundaries shatter and His advent comes to pass. Know that I am but an emissary--a humble servant of His.

Uh-oh. You can't mean...



Then after all that, Airy wasn't the mastermind.

I pray that in some distant age hence, Your Malevolence will yet...cross over from the Beyond...

She was just an agent of a higher power.



But before we can ask questions...



Airy implodes.



We won? Maybe?

The party, however, is unconcerned with Airy's death-ramblings.

Is it truly over?

I believe so.

I never expected our journey to end like this.

I wonder if we succeeded in giving hope to anyone.

Of that, I am certain.

But it cost the lives of far more than we have heartened. It is still hard to fathom that the Rite of Awakening was an act of worldly destruction.

The crystals are still raging out of hand. If we don't restore them to their natural state--

The area begins shaking violently.



Waugh, what now!?

It's going to collapse!

That's our cue. Hurry, everyone. Run!

At least in this example of the collapsing bad guy fortress trope, it makes sense that this pocket dimension was only stable thanks to Airy's powers.



The party escapes in the nick of time. Without Airy, the dimension vanishes as quickly as she'd summoned it.



No doubt Caldisla would be grateful if any of the residents had observation skills greater than a puppet made of rocks.



Their job done, the party returns to Grandship, only to find...



There's a very slight difference to this scene depending on whether you've met DeRosso formally or not. If you have, you start off with the above line. If not:

Ah, it's the sage. And isn't that--

Lester DeRosso. Though your kind seems eager to call me Lord.

What's brought you here?

Agnès, Tiz, Edea, Ringabel... You have done well.

But it isn't over! Guys?



Airy was working for someone -- something -- even more powerful. Something that makes her seem like a small fry. Are we just going to ignore that?

I marvel at the power of youth. I doubt yours is a feat we could have managed.

Now, leave the rest to these two old men.

Indeed, for you have obligations elsewhere.

We do?

The Great Chasm links all the worlds through which you have journeyed.

Now that the Evil One is defeated, it will begin to close. You must each return to the worlds you wish ere it shuts for good.

The worlds...we wish?

This world is a mirror of the one you were born in, but only that. A reflection. You are free to remain nonetheless, or to return to the worlds whence you came.

The choice is yours, but it would seem there's little time to deliberate.

My JRPG need to punch out all the villains is, however, not shared by the others.



They probably figure Airy was lying again. Even if she was telling the truth, what could the party do about it? Airy was difficult enough -- this Ouroboros fellow sounds completely out of their league.

Now, quickly, children! If you would return, make haste! There's no time!

For this party, the adventure is complete.



They may not have caught on to Airy's scheme right away, but better late than never. Right?

For now, the day has been saved. That's what matters.

Thank you. For all you've done.

...... *squeeeeeze*

Sage, is that not quite enough?

Just a little longer. This is the last we'll meet.

She may not welcome such affection. And Tiz is staring daggers at you.

The Sage backs off.



Nothing like an awkward moment to forget transdimensional evil gods.

Bah! You people are no fun. ...Well, farewell to you, my angel.

May we meet again, though it may be a different me that greets you.

I will be forever grateful!

DeRosso and Yulyana exit the ship while the party, Datz, Zatz, and the proprietress prepare for some quick ship maneuvers.



They're ready to leave with not a moment to spare.

Look! It stopped!

They've secured us a road home. I sense the tremendous force of their magic at work...

Well, Ringabel, let's go. Datz, Zatz, and the proprietress are waiting.

Alright, everyone. Hold on tight!

Back through the dimensions...



To the people they left behind.



Whichever worlds they choose to end up in to may not be perfect...



But to each member of the party, they've decided it's what they want to call home.



As for Airy and her mysterious overseer?



Ouroboros... The word describes an ancient concept of that which encloses all existence as one entity.



But that's a villain for another story.

It would seem so. And with nary a look back.

It was a long battle.

Indeed it was. After twenty-five hundred years, the battle is over at last.



For now, we're done.







While the credits play, we get a look into where each member of the party ended up.



It's hard to see, but Ringabel's carrying a flower through Grandship.



Agnès returns to her peaceful life at the Wind Temple. She never did seem completely comfortable with the hectic outside world.



Egil's presence implies the party has returned to the world of Chapters 1-4. Tiz's brother is dead here, but for Tiz, other factors must make up for that.



We also get views of all the major towns we visited. Although the crystals are out of control, everyday life remains peaceful for now.



Eternia's corruption has ended, giving each nation a chance to recover and find a new normalcy.



The sage, for his part... Who knows?



What will happen to the Crystal Orthodoxy? Will the party use their knowledge to change the way the public worships the crystals?



The proprietress finally has a chance to get old customers back in her pub, and Datz and Zatz can return to Eisenberg...



Which is doing well now that the civil war is over. The soldiers have returned home and Goodman is finally getting some time in with Eleanor.



In Eternia City, we see a certain young girl out walking with her nurse: Khint's daughter, who seems to be feeling better.



With the crystals awakened, the sage peaced out and the other vestals dead, Agnès is now the highest authority of the Crystal Orthodoxy, or whatever she chooses the religion of the crystals to be.



I hadn't dared to hope... But the Warrior of Light returns! A feast! A feast for our hero!

How marshmallow king knows the whole extent of the party's deeds is anybody's guess. Maybe the sage told him. Maybe he's referring to how Eternia's stopped threatening war.



In this world, we left Edea's father crippled. Now that the angel's prophecy is ended, maybe he'll chill out. Edea, meanwhile, can take this opportunity to have Eternia ally with the protectors of the crystals.



As for Ringabel...



The memories of his home dimension are now fresh in his mind.



Some time ago, on a Grandship much like this one, he saw the Edea he grew up with die.



The flower is a tribute to her. The past is no longer forgotten. Now he can move on.



Their journey is complete.





Ha ah hah ha ha haaa no









We're not done.



We may have stopped Airy, but her boss Ouroboros is still out there. And unlike the party, I'm not satisfied with calling it a day.



Luckily, I have the power to keep the journey going.



Agnès's vestal gear is now battle-proof! I'll show this off later.



Back to the title screen. Was that text there before?



Uh...



Although the game is just called Bravely Default in the Western release, it has a hidden subtitle: Where the Fairy Flies. The hidden message there is also in the original Japanese version, named Bravely Default: Flying Fairy. Much like our fairy friend, the answer was in front of us all along.



The game's subtitle/spoiler text only appears on the upper screen if you select a save file which has cleared an ending. Yes, an ending.



Loading up the save brings the party back to the edge of the Great Chasm, only this time the Dark Aurora isn't there.



AUGH

Oh hi Airy yeah sure



We're back in the world where we left off, but time's rewound. The fourth crystal is waiting for us.



This time, we're going to do what previously seemed unacceptable.



We're going to go along with Airy's plan.



And we're going to pretend everything is fine.



Is going along with the Evil One's plan crazy? Yes. Is it going to wreck more worlds? Yes. But if we alert Airy here, she faces us down and either kills us or we kill her.



If there's any chance, any at all, we can root out a greater evil...

......

I don't feel the warmth I did the first time.

I feel nothing at all. Nothing save a stabbing pain, all over...

Where are Datz and Zatz?

I had them take refuge in the hold.

......

Okay, everyone, don't forget to watch over me! This is going to work this time, you'll see!

There's a long, awkward pause.



Airy starts concentrating, ignoring the party.

Wait. Are we...are we really sure about this?

*shakes head*

......

O wondrous and beautiful First Light, my brooch awaits your divine radiance!

......

......

In this version of events, the party is continuing on despite Ringabel's warnings.



He remembers the past clearly now. He saw Airy murder the others in another world, yet they're insisting on treating Airy and her plan as though nothing's wrong.

Do they have any idea how much danger they're in? Did they not take his story seriously?

......

Ringabel!

......

Why...?

Let's keep watch.

What!?

Agnès, however, has taken Ringabel's words to heart.



When she says this, she doesn't sound like someone keeping an eye on a friend. She sounds like someone observing the enemy.

......

...Right.

......

Forgive me, Tiz! It's my fault...! Because of me and the Holy Pillar, your village... Time and time again...

......

Agnès is a stoic person, but at this point, even without breaking a crystal, she's reaching her limit. Player input aside, it's on her and her alone whether they continue this destructive charade. It's one thing to do so obliviously, but now she knows the consequences of her decisions.



But as always, Tiz has her back. They aren't going to rush. This is about more than Airy.

Our true enemy. The source of the great darkness.

How much longer must we suffer this sadness?

Just a little longer...until that pattern heralds the beginning!

For now, we'll grit our teeth and bear it. Together. Until it's done.

And beyond that, we'll make amends together still...



The ceremony is complete.



Once again, the ship is bathed in light...






Next: The plot veers off the rails.

--

Event Viewer
Main Scenario:
From the Beyond
The Dark Aurora Vanishes
The Lord and the Sage
The Long Battle Ends
The Final Chapter
The Third Holy Pillar
The Path We Believe In