Part 57: Thespeiros II

Update 57: Thespeiros II



Hello and welcome back! This time we’ll be starting up the sidequest roundup. This one opens up after beating Raife on Mount Nervanzer, but it’s a bit hidden. To start it, you need to head back to Illuster.



When you do so, a cutscene will start where Kyrie talks with Quintus.



Quintus. I’m glad to see you’re doing better.
Tertia has been doting over me like a Vangal pup. But with every other Immortal dead and Quarta vanished from the face of Teora, I’m already growing tired again…
In any event, you’re not here to listen to the complaints of an old man. What can I help you with, Kyrie?
We have recovered the Medallion.
That’s the first good news I’ve heard in days! Containing the chaos in the city has been- But never mind that. You must visit the Kawas and hope that enough of their ancient lore survives to tell us how to once again imprison The Maw.
We’ve met with them already. They told us how to handle the beast.
Ah, excellent! Was there something else you needed? Time is of the essence.
Yes, actually. I wanted to ask you about Sylvia.
Ah, your old mentor, Sylvia. I’m not surprised you have questions.
Raife said the Council sent her on a suicide mission, deliberately, in order to be rid of her. Is that true, Quintus?



You know the protocols of the Council. My vote weighed no more nor less than any other. At least it was not entirely in vain. The Council’s more troublesome elements were reigned in, for a time, in order to preclude any other such unfortunate compromises.
That’s all Sylvia’s life amounted to in the end? An unfortune compromise for the Council.
Now, that’s not what-
I need to think on this. Thank you for your time, Quintus.

And Kyrie then walks out.



(I think a short trip to where I grew up will help clear my head.)



Looking over at Thespeiros, nothing seems to be amiss.



But when we arrive, another cutscene starts.



And we work for the Council. Doesn’t that make us complicit?
Who goes there? Show yourself!



Reiner suddenly appears in front of Kyrie.

Just us, Kyrie, and our guilty conscience.
Reiner? You followed me-
As unquestioning servants of the Council, Sylvia’s death may as well have been our doing.
I don’t think I understand. What are you saying?



Anadine suddenly appears in front of Kyrie as well.

So you were responsible for my mother’s death, Kyrie?
Anadine! You too..?
Ever do you talk of “law” and “justice”, but it turns out you were just as bad as the worst of the Immortals. Worse, for being their lackey.
No, that’s not true! I didn’t-



And then another Kyrie appears in front of her!

Didn’t you? The burden of all these responsibilities is too heavy for us to bear. Maybe it’s time to rest, let someone else take care of it… Before we make it worse.
…




Another Reiner appears, but this time he just walks in from off-map.

Ah, there you are, Kyrie. Couldn’t you hear me calling? I can hardly see my own feet in all this fog.
Over here, Anadine! I found her.





Who in the hells is that?
Isn’t that something! I had heard odds are there’s someone that looks just like you out there, but this guy is *good*. I mean, he even has my one-of-a-kind, custom-made jacket.
And look, there’s another Anadine and a second Kyrie as well. Impressive. But what’s this? Do I smell the sickly stench of deception?



I… You’re right. I don’t know where my head was at.



And the doppelgangers’ hair all turns white.

Thanks, Reiner. And thank you, Anadine. You two are always there to remind me what’s important.



Show these specters no mercy!



The shadows teleport up above the building.

In that case, let’s test your mettle!




And it’s time to fight! This is a pretty simple one, but conceptually it’s one of my favorites.



Kyrie, Reiner and Anadine are locked in as the only options for this fight.



And we’re up against Kyrie, Reiner, and Anadine.



They have the exact same equipment, abilities, and would have the exact same stats if I didn’t have bonus stats on.



I start the fight off by buffing as usual.



Shadow Anadine teleports down to hit her counterpart.




Which is then followed up by Shadow Reiner and Kyrie hitting her as well, knocking Anadine down to about 1/3 HP.



Leaving Shadow Anadine free to roam is a terrible idea, so I have Kyrie hurt her.



And then Anadine is able to use her damage boost to destroy the copy. Then, I have her retreat since she can’t kill fake Kyrie.



Shadow Reiner gets lucky and charms regular Reiner with a random attack.



And Shadow Kyrie attacks regular Kyrie with a Holy Bolt.




But after Kyrie weakens Shadow Reiner, Anadine is able to just barely kill him with an Enraged Blow, and then teleports behind Shadow Kyrie to OHKO her with a Corrupted Blade.



The fight’s not too difficult overall. I just like the incredibly literal confrontation of Kyrie’s conscience.

There’s also a notable reward from the fight: the sword Exacalibur. It’s the 2nd (or 3rd if you fully charge up the Soul Eater) strongest sword in the game, is holy element, and gives 150 holy resistance and a permanent un-dispellable Regen buff. It’s definitely a worthy one to slot on to someone, especially since a lot of late game enemies are weak to holy damage.



Afterwards, Shadow Kyrie is down on her knees in front of the party.

Not bad.



She teleports back up on top of the stairs.



And turns into a much more shadowy version.



Before fading out entirely.



I don’t understand it either. But it helped me clear my head.
The Council’s past actions, right or wrong, are irrelevant right now. Our task is to protect the land and its people; that hasn’t changed. Our priority is to contain The Maw, and destroy it if possible. We’ll follow our own path and do what we think right.



And then we’re popped back out to the world map. Next time, we’ll be checking out the 2nd arena tournament that opened after we beat Primus.