Part 4
Update 4: A Brilliant Plan (Polsy) Music
Ragnarok
quote:
Ragnarok.
De Die Irae, l'Cie Pultis.
Tuum fatum sequeris. Tuum sanctuarium affligeas.
Ragnarok.
Dominus Ultionis venit.
Ragnarok.
De Die Miseriae, l'Cie Pultis.
Tuum fatum sequeris. Tuum mundum dispertaris.
Ragnarok.
Rex Immiserabilis advenit.
Usque lux apparet, animae mortuae procusae sunt.
Per somnum aeternum, numen divinum dictus est.
Viator elamentabilis, Ragnarok.
Ragnarok.
Of the Days of Wrath, l'Cie of Pulse:
Follow your fate. Your homes will burn.
Ragnarok.
The Lord of Vengeance approaches.
Ragnarok.
Of the Days of Misery, l'Cie of Pulse:
Follow your fate. Your world will be broken.
Ragnarok.
The Merciless King comes.
Eternal light shines forth from the souls of the dead.
In eternal sleep, divine word is divine will.
Most lamentable wanderer, Ragnarok.
Thanks to idonotlikepeas for the translation!
In the Sky That Night
Promised Eternity
Serah's Theme
quote:
English Lyrics
Make my wish come true, let darkness fade to light
Show me there's still hope, show me it's not over
Battles we can win, our struggle lies within
Will we live to greet the dawn?
Love will not leave you, hate will not heal you
Promise me one day that peace shall reign.
Japanese Lyrics
Make my wish come true, let darkness slip aside
Hiding all our hope, mocking what we treasure
Battles we can win, if we believe our souls
Hang in for the light, till dawn.
Fate will not leave you, hate will not heal you
Pray and one day, peace shall flow everywhere.
Eternal Love
Eternal Love only plays in the JP version, where Serah's Theme plays in the US one. Sets the mood a hell of a lot better, if nothing else.
Bestiary
Datalogs
quote:
The Gift of Eternity
A legend on Cocoon states that if l'Cie complete the Focus given by a fal'Cie, they turn into crystal and gain eternal life.
And just as the legend describes, Serah, Lightning's younger sister and fiancée to Snow, glows with an incredible light and turns into crystal. But has she truly gained eternal life? And what Focus has she completed?
This timeless crystal sleep seems nothing more than another form of death to Lightning, and she turns her feelings of grief and anger upon Snow.
Snow, however, refuses to give up hope of a future where Serah will return to him.
Just then, the Sanctum army begins its assault on the Vestige. Though it may mean sharing the Vestige's imminent destruction, the group heads ever deeper into the complex.
Snow seeks to persuade the fal'Cie to release his fiancée, while Lightning and Sazh have other plans in mind...
quote:
Pulsian Menace
Snow pleads with the Pulse fal'Cie. He offers himself in Serah's place if it will release her from her fate.
The fal'Cie remains silent.
Seeing Snow's desperate pleas go unanswered, Lightning and Sazh draw weapons on the lowerworld being. Even if the fal'Cie will soon be destroyed along with the entire Vestige, they have reasons to defeat it with their own hands.
They work together to bring down the fal'Cie, and the Vestige now plummets towards the lake below. A final wave of power explodes from the dying fal'Cie, transforming the water and surrounding area into solid crystal.
Lightning and the others do not witness this breathtaking event—upon defeating the fal'Cie, they are drawn through a rift into a dimension where an immense, otherworldly presence awaits.
Onto their bodies, it sears cursed brands; onto their minds, the vision of a beast destroying Cocoon. Swept along by unimaginable energies, the helpless companions are swallowed in a lightless void.
As Snow drifts in the darkness, one memory fights to the surface of his consciousness...
quote:
Bound in Darkness
Lightning feels nothing but anger towards the Pulse fal'Cie. It had taken Serah and cursed her with a l'Cie's doomed existence. It is the underlying reason for the Purge. And it is an enemy to be cut down if she is to fulfill Serah's final request: to save Cocoon.
Lightning's aggression provokes the fal'Cie into action, and it attacks her. Sazh draws his guns with grim resolve, and Snow joins the battle without hesitation.
As they deal the killing blow to the master of the Vestige, a flash of light rends the air.
They are pulled into a swirling void of chaos, where they are bound by an ominous and inexorable entity. Branded with arcane markings, the companions are then assaulted with the vision of a terrible beast tearing Cocoon apart. Soon after, the Vestige finally succumbs to the combined attacks of the Sanctum forces.
In the midst of the chaos, a memory surfaces from the depths of Snow's fading awareness: a marriage proposal made to his beloved Serah under a night sky lit with the colors of exploding fireworks. Can his wish for a happy future ever be granted now?
quote:
People: "Lightning" Farron
This former soldier was a member of the Guardian Corps, Bodhum Security Regiment. Last name: 'Farron'. She is known as 'Lightning', but her true name is a mystery.
Serah, her only family left in the world, has become a l'Cie. Lightning boards the Purge train in an effort to rescue her sister from the fal'Cie, but Serah turns to crystal right before her eyes. However, it is not long until Lightning herself becomes a fal'Cie servant.
She has lost her sister, and become a Pulse l'Cie—an enemy of Cocoon. What hope does she have left?
quote:
People: Snow Villiers
Without a family to take care of him, Snow was raised in a Sanctum facility. Now he leads the rebellious group of youths known as NORA.
To prevent his beloved Serah from becoming a Cie'th, he swears to help her fulfill her Focus. However, before they discover what that Focus is, Serah falls into a crystal slumber.
Now a l'Cie himself, Snow interprets his fiancée's last words as the task he must complete—saving Cocoon.
quote:
People: Sazh Katzroy
Sazh is a trained civilian airship pilot.
Though all of Cocoon's people view Pulse beings as invaders to be repulsed, few outside of the military decide to take matters into their own hands. What drives Sazh—an ordinary citizen—to attack the Pulse fal'Cie in the Hanging Edge?
After joining Lightning in her battle against the lowerworld entity, Sazh shares her fate in becoming a l'Cie.
quote:
People: Hope Estheim
Hope is a boy who, along with his mother, becomes a victim of the Purge.
Answering Snow's call for volunteers, Hope's mother joins the rebellion, but is killed in the subsequent conflict. From that moment onwards, the grief-stricken teen harbors a consuming hatred for the NORA leader.
With Vanille's encouragement, Hope follows Snow into the Pulse Vestige. Within those ancient chambers, they encounter the fal'Cie and are cursed with the brands of the l'Cie.
quote:
People: Vanille
Vanille is a young woman who was also aboard the Purge train. Irrepressibly cheerful, she seems unaffected by the desperate situation around her.
After being rescued by Snow and his band of rebels, Vanille ends up sitting next to Hope and his mother.
Following his mother's death, she sees the way the boy glares at the NORA leader. Vanille encourages Hope to join her and enter the Pulse Vestige, where they encounter the lowerworld fal'Cie.
quote:
People: Serah Farron
Serah is Lightning's younger sister. Despite losing both of her parents, she lives happily enough with her older sibling. Serah's only real concern is Lightning's disapproval of her boyfriend, Snow.
However, that all changes when she encounters the fal'Cie Anima and is branded as a Pulse l'Cie.
Without ever uncovering her task, she urges the others to save Cocoon before suddenly turning to crystal. Though he cannot know for sure, Snow believes her final words to be the Focus they must complete.
quote:
The Thirteen Days: Day 10 - Gifts
It would be Lightning's birthday in two days.
While out shopping for her present with Serah, Snow slipped away to buy engagement necklaces. He intended to propose to Serah the very next day. He knew her fate as a l'Cie, but meant to stand by her, no matter what.
Meanwhile, Serah searched for a gift that would help keep Lightning safe during her dangerous work as a soldier. After giving her sister the present, Serah planned to confess about becoming a l'Cie.
quote:
The Thirteen Days: Day 11 - Discovery
The Bodhum Vestige was a minor local landmark paid little regard. That changed on this night, when PSICOM discovered that the relic's long sealed entrance had somehow been opened.
A reconnaissance team was sent inside, reporting the discovery of a Pulse fal'Cie before communication links suddenly went silent. Deeming it probable that the soldiers have been made l'Cie, the Sanctum then resealed the door of the Vestige, trapping the team inside. The following day brought public announcement of both the discovery and plans for the Purge.
quote:
The Thirteen Days: Day 11 - Proposal
Snow proposed to Serah under the brightly exploding fireworks, giving her renewed hope for the future.
Serah still didn't know what her Focus was, and had yet to tell Lightning about her l'Cie curse. But with Snow by her side, there was no obstacle they couldn't overcome. Hand in hand, they watched the spectacle of lights illuminating in the night sky.
In Bodhum, there is a legend; if you wish on the fireworks, your dreams will come true.
quote:
History and Myth: Cie'th
When a fal'Cie takes a human to be one of its l'Cie servants, that person is given a Focus to be completed. Should the l'Cie fail to fulfill this Focus before his or her brand advances to its final stage, that l'Cie becomes a Cie'th.
Mired in eternal sorrow and regret, and robbed of all free will, Cie'th are damned to wander the world, unliving and undying, until their corrupted flesh at last can move no more. For Cie'th, there is no salvation.
quote:
History and Myth: Crystal Stasis
For l'Cie, successful completion of a Focus holds the promise of eternal life in the peaceful slumber of crystal stasis - or so the legends say. Yet to spend an eternity as an immobile crystal is not so very different from death. The people of Cocoon consequently fear being marked as a l'Cie, equating the fal'Cie's brand with a death sentence.
Faced with only the choice between eternal damnation as a Cie'th and eternal imprisonment in crystal, it comes as little surprise that many l'Cie decry their fate.
quote:
Locales: Pulse Vestiges
The fal'Cie sculpted Cocoon in antiquity, using resources harvested from the world below. When Cocoon's shell was fractured in the war, they repaired it with raw materials again gathered from Pulse - buildings chief among them. Remnants of these structures, termed Vestiges, can still be found throughout Cocoon today. The centuries-old Vestige outside of Bodhum was believed to be nothing more than a harmless curiosity. The discovery of a Pulse fal'Cie inside its walls proved this false, however, leading to the detainment and subsequent Purging of countless citizens whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
quote:
Locales: Bodhum
The modest city by the sea is the hometown of Lightning and Serah, as well as that of Snow and the members of NORA. Known for its relaxing, resort-like atmosphere, the location is a popular destination for vacationers.
Bodhum's largest tourist draw is its annual beachfront fireworks display, but this year's event was ruined by the discovery of the Pulse fal'Cie within the nearby Vestige. The Sanctum quarantined the city on the day after the discovery, announcing its plan to Purge Bodhum's entire population, along with the hapless tourists, to Pulse.
quote:
The Fal'Cie: Anima
This fal'Cie had been hibernating deep within the Bodhum Vestige. It branded Serah, as well as Lightning, Snow Villiers, and the others, condemning them all to the grim fate of Pulse l'Cie.
Although it appears Anima was brought to Cocoon in the Vestige centuries ago, Sanctum authorities had no knowledge of the alien stowaway's presence. Its discovery, and the resultant fear that Bodhum's population may have been tainted by its magic, spawned the Purge.