Part 28: Chapter Twenty-Eight: Back to the Future

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Back to the Future

After the blinding light faded, I realized we weren't outside anymore. Last I checked, it was the Soul Eater rune, not the Teleportation rune.



: No Kidding.

: Ted. Come here.

: Yes, Grandpa.

: Give me your right hand. That's right. Stay still, Ted. Oh Soul Eater, rune of life and death, depart my body and give this boy your power.



: G-Grandpa, what's this?

: Forgive me, Ted. I'm afraid I've passed on a sorrowful fate unto you. Remember that the power of this rune must never be unleashed. Travelers, up ahead is a secret path which leads to the village's outskirts. Take Ted - this child - and run. I will get Windy's attention and act as a decoy.

: Let's go Ted.

: O-OK. Grandpa, you'll come later?

: That's right. You must hurry now.

There was one thing I had to take care of before escaping, however.

You can't protect your treasure if you're dead!

We made our way through the secret path, but...



: I just follow my orders and stand on guard, and look who's coming. Just a child and some cowards.

: What did you say!

: Keep your distance from him, Viktor! This one's tough!

: Yes, I know. He's not human. Even at this distance, I can feel his terrible power.

: So you understand my power, do you? Well then, don't bother to struggle against my sword. I'll chop you all into little pieces, making sure you feel no pain.

: D-damn...

Looks like there's no way out...



: Neclord!

: You again? I'm very busy right now. I'll take you on some other time.

Both Neclord and Yuber vanished, we had been spared for now.

: It looks like... we're safe.

: Yes, and the fire in the village is dying down too. But I don't know what happened to the villagers.

Yes you do. happened to the villagers.

: What happened to Grandpa?

: Ted, I'm afraid you're going to have to depend on yourself from now on. Do you understand? Master Tir, this boy is definitely the Ted we knew. We must be in the past.

... Thank you, Cleo. I hadn't yet figured this out by any of the context clues.

: The past? The Star Dragon Sword's curse threw us back into the past?

Cave of THE PAST. You guys are so dumb.

: Probably. What just happened was the incident from 300 years ago that Ted mentioned. And from this momen on, Ted must journey alone for 300 years. In any case, w must find a way to return to the present.

: You're right. Hey Tir, what's that light? Isn't that where we first came out?

: I agree. Let's go back to that place.

First things first.





: Could be. That's a pretty good idea, coming from you.

: Oh, leave me alone. Tir, what shall we do with the kid?



(Second Choice)

: Ted, you're going to have to live on your own for a very long time. And at the end of your voyage... I suppose it would be wrong to change his fate.

: You're leaving me? What should I do? Please take me with you.

: Ted, you must be strong. Never give up. And don't tell anybody about the rune on your right hand.

: OK.

: We'd better get going. We don't know when this light will fade.

: Goodbye.

(First Choice)

: But we don't know if that's the right thing to do.

: Let's get going, Tir. While this light is still shining.

(End Result)

We entered the light, and once we ould see again, we realized we were back in the Cave of the Past.



: Ted's gone.

: You're right.

: He probably belongs on the other side, and was unable to cross over. From now on he's on his own. And his destiny cannot be altered.

(The only real difference is that the cave speech doesn't happen if you don't try to bring Ted.)



: Listen to Mr. Expert. You got us into that mess in the first place.

: Viktor...

: I-I d-didn't do anything.

: Viktor... Don't you have an important mission?

: That's right. I'm going to kill that Neclord.

: I was just getting tired of sleeping. I'll join you on your mission. Pull me out.

: What's with this thing? Pretty arrogant for a sword.

: If you don't want to, fine. But you'll never defeat the vampire.

: OK, OK.

OK?

: I mean, yes sir.

: Let's go, partner.

: Tsk. Why should a sword call me "partner"

We made our way back outside. Once we were back in the temple, I had some business to take care of.



: That's it. That's the War Scroll I was looking for. Thank God it's been found. I must repay you with something. Let me see, are you the Liberation Army? I see. OK I've decided. I'll join up. I'm Hugo the Librarian.





: I can tell, you know. You have something that's very precious to me. The Window Rune. Please, can I have it? In return, I'll join the Liberation Army. (Give Window Rune) Thank you. With this, I can become a good stained glass window maker.



Back at Odessa Castle, I gathered up all my Old Books, Window Settings, and Sound Settings, to give them to their respective owners.



I was missing a few of the Old Books, but I'm sure Hugo will help me find them. (I'll go through later, maybe as a bonus chapter, and screencap all the Old Books.)



Window and Melodye didn't offer much, but it was the thought that counts, I suppose.

( You'll notice I changed my party out in the next screenshots. I mistakenly stated earlier that I had the recruitment issue involving Kirkis taken care of. I was off by a few levels, and had to take care of that.)



: How did it go? Have you found a way to defeat Neclord?

: You betcha. Take a look at this. Here, say hello.

: Watch your tongue. Say hello to a human? YOU say hello.

: A talking sword? Will this thing defeat the vampire?

: Of curse. Vampires are nothing to me.

: So he says.

: They ar very much alike, those two. Overconfident.

: That's wonderful. We were just about to depart for Neclord's Castle. Look what that demon sent us.

: Wedding... Invitation?? Whose?

: He and Tengaar's! If we don't hurry, Tengaar will be drained of blood.

: Chief, we're ready to go.

: Fine, let's go. Commander Tir, we'll be going ahead of you.

It seemed to me, that even with a magical talking sword, we needed more experience.



It had been a while since I'd seen what new spells we had available as well.



My Soul Eater...





Cleo's Fire Rune...





: Kirkis. Why is an elf helping humans?

: Elves, humans, it doesn't really matter. We were all born in this land. At least I feel that way. I'm doing this for everybody, for friends, and not for vengeance!

: ........... Kirkis, when I left the village, you were so little. And now you're greater than I am. I'll give you a hand. For the Liberation Army!