Part 65: Playthrough 2.1 - Part 23

Then... I must.



No! Not my little girl! You want to fight the Lumen ruler of Nova?



Illuminate!

Your hair stands on end as a veil of blue sparkles settles over your father, crawling into his skin. When it's over, the jewel has been absorbed into his body without a trace.

Fight me. Leave her alone.

Well! This is not what I expected, but it will serve my purposes just as well.

Daddy?

Be quiet, Elodie. You are not a Queen yet.



You are forced to sit and watch as the two men work out the details of the duel and its stakes, then take their places in a carefully warded circle. Your father crosses his arms, summoning up a thick gray fog that swirls around him, hiding him from view. But the Shanjian king conjures a cloud of glowing butterflies which drive into the fog and blow it apart. Then the invader claps his hands together and chants. Fiery red lights cluster over his fingertips and merge together into a pulsing blob before erupting towards your father. And your father - closes his eyes and does nothing.



The energy impacts his body with a terrible sound, the shriek of rent metal magnified a hundred times. It shivers inside your skin, resonating with your bones, dropping you to your knees ... and then the energy rebounds from your father, slamming back into its caster, and this time the sound is indescribable. For a moment, it is hard to breathe. Then, slowly, the King of Shanjia falls, lifeless, to the ground. Followed by your father.



Daddy!

You rush to his side. Unlike the foreign king, your father is still breathing. It would seem that, in this duel, he was the victor.

We did it!





Daddy?

There is no answer. Despite the efforts of the palace healers and priestesses, your father has not awakened since the day of the duel. When he faced Togami, he was clutching a small black mirror rimmed with silver. Perhaps it was one of the dangerous magical artifacts he told you about. It might have saved his life. Unless he awakens to tell you more, you have no way to know.





I'm sorry.





We miraculously survived! Shame about Joslyn though. What classes should we take now? I don't even care if they have a penalty. Choose any classes you want!