Part 30: The Man Who Departs

Part XXX: The Man Who Departs



Oh boy... No more getting around it. As an aside, there are two chapters of Muzet's story you can do right now. The first starts in Drellin, the other in Leronde. I recorded Chapter 2 of Muzet's story, but decided not to go on to 3, because, well... This update's story content more than deserves its own update. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten the Best Great Spirit, not by a long shot.


To the place of the final confrontation

"A powerful member of our family must give his life to unfold the bridge to Canaan and pave the way for another. That I'm afraid is the final trial that we face in front of us: a sacrifice to build the soul bridge. I'm waiting at Rieze Harbor in Marksburg. Come find me when you've steeled yourself, when you know what you must do."

Ryyooow



Hey...

If you don't mind, can you tell us the contents of his letter?

*nod*

A harrowing fade to black later...





"There's a secret to entering Canaan and I possess it. The life of a Kresnik, correct?"

She must have concluded that you'd be the one sacrificed to build the bridge.

Before we proceed further, there is something I must know.



Gaius!



Here's Gaius testing us again... But no matter how you cut it, there is only one option here...

Which I said then, but actually, choosing R1 will completely change how the rest of this scene plays out, and interestingly, also how another scene coming up plays out. The things you'll discover recording alternate choices.

Very well. Then let us go too.

*knock knock*



Ouch... Bad timing.

We need to celebrate your newfound freedom from crushing debt! Uh-oh... You guys look even more depressed than usual.

Um, Nova...

Sorry, but I'm afraid we'll be gone for a while.

Oh, I see. Well, I guess we can put this party on hold, but not for too long! I mean, isn't Julius back, too? I bought tomatoes for him and everything! Ludger?







Ah damn... It's just, you have a bad sense of timing Nova. Still, though, at least it's been a truism lately, that you can't keep a good Nova down.















The final curtain

just need to hold out a little longer... Ludger, you came.





What's that?

What you see there is a soul bridge. Bisley just entered the Land of Canaan.

Don't tell me he used Elle?!

No. She's his weapon against Chronos. I'm guessing that Rideaux unfortunately got the honor.

Damn...

Bisley never saw Rideaux and I as anything more than tools for creating the bridge. That's just the sort of man he is.





Asking why is pointless, at this time. But maybe...



Unless one of us dies, the Land of Canaan will forever remain out of reach.







*gasp*

His transformation has progressed that far?!

I'm a dead man no matter what. At least this way my death will mean something to someone. Use my life. Let me be your path to the Land of Canaan.



This is the (potential) start to a very important series of choices. If you press L1 now, you'll proceed with the story. If you don't... Well, we'll press R1 a couple times, just for drama's sake. If you want to know what happens if you keep pressing R1... Well, you'll just have to wait until next mini-update.

Yeah, totally!

C'mon, we've made it through worse. We'll find a way!



I'm afraid there is no time.



You know everything, Rowen! There's gotta be a way!

I'm sorry, Miss Elize.

Don't just float there, Muzet! Use your powers to fix this!





Let me go... It's for the best. If you don't kill me now, they'll just have to sacrifice you to get there.

Hey, listen to your big brother, Ludger. It's what he wants.

It's not that simple!

I know that! But, what else can we possibly do?



It was always meant to be... From before any of this was set in motion, it was going to happen this way...



If that's the case, let me be your big brother one last time. I need to see for myself if you're strong enough to see this through.

W-Wait!

Stop.

We have no right to intervene in their fight.

Sorry about the entrance exam. This time the test is for real!



Ludger vs. Julius Kresnik, the final battle


















You like that? I thought it went pretty well, for being on Chaos and all. Anyhow, first screenshot links to the battle video.



I've always thought of you as a child.



Someone to be there for, someone to protect. However...



Aaaaaaarrrghh!



I accept you.



You now have the power to choose for yourself!



Alright, enough of that. Needed some cool action shots, ya know? Julius here is a decently typical 1-1 fight, albeit he is extremely fast, and very powerful. Ludger is not the greatest healer on his own (he only has Sanctuary, which is a Hammer skill. It's similar to Alvin's Guardian Field), and Julius can very quickly KO you. However, in this fight, you simply don't have the luxury of using a slow arte like Sanctuary. Your best bet for healing / TP restoration is items, but I elected not to use them, just to keep things interesting. Oh, and the good song playing over this fight is For the Sake of Mutual Proof

Julius does have a Mystic Arte, but it's basically just Ludger's Mystic Arte, Ritual of Destruction, minus the hammer and guns part. Once you've depleted all of his HP...



Not against our family's curse. Not against Bisley!





Do you have what it takes!






















Welcome back to...Trigleph... But it's not real, is it? No. Talking to Bisley (!) there will reveal his only concern is...what time it is. You can also find Rideaux, Ivar, Yurgen, and the entire playable cast (sans Muzet and Milla) just chilling around. Ivar and Rideaux are more concerned with signing autographs in front of the Spirius Corporation (you can't go inside) than causing trouble for us. It's Julius' ideal world...a world where he can live in peace with Ludger.

And we have to destroy it. I think you know where to go...


My Brother

Gotta move!

Not so fast!



Well, you need to learn to stand it.

Maybe someday.

*chuckle* You're impossible.

Whoa, now I'm really late! I'll make pasta margherita for dinner tonight, okay?

*sigh* Still trying to butter me up with tomatoes. It works, but still.







What's up? Forget something?





Oh. Heh. I sure wish I could've eaten one last pasta margherita.



There's worse things than being dragged around by your brother.
































Go on, Ludger. Now it's your turn to look after someone special.



























Goodbye, Julius...

Well, just to wrap this update up, we can have a chat with everyone else in the party. You'll notice here that there are only three stars, and there's 8 other characters in the party (it's Muzet and Leia who are outliers here, since I didn't do Muzet's latest chapter on this playthrough so far. Not a big deal, since there's always my other playthrough). We shall start with Alvin and Elize. And yes, to get all the conversations you have to have done all the character chapters up to this point in the story.

The next step

Ludger... Um...

Look at the bright side, kid. Now you can get out there and save Elle!

Alvin!



At times like this you gotta keep walking forward. Nothing good will come from looking back, even if it's for a moment, am I right?

I guess you have a point. Let's go and save Elle!

We'll help you!

Don't carry all the guilt on your shoulders. In the end, we were all accomplices in this.

Yes.

Next up, the Administrative Power House Duo.
The critical reflection

Ludger, you did very well.

I cannot agree more. After all, destroying a world is burden enough. But this time it's unimaginable.



Over the course of my career, I took the lives of thousands of soldiers. When you consider each soldier's potential, what I did was little different than destroying a world. I am well aware of my sins. But, at the same time, I also believe this: The destruction I wrought paved the way for new things to be born.

It's the same here. It arose when you and the others destroyed the closed-off world of Rieze Maxia.

Precisely why it is my responsibility to safeguard the future of this world.

Same here. Ludger, this world isn't out of danger yet, but you and Julius have given it the possibility of being saved. Now we must do everything in our power to turn that possibility into reality.

*nod*

*nod*

Now it's time for the Spirit and the Reporter to weigh in.
The important path

You can cry if you want to. No need to be ashamed.

*shakes head*

If you tell him it's okay to cry, he'll just choke back the tears even more.

How do you know?

Because Jude was the same way when he was a kid.

Now why are you crying?

Because Julius...

I'm sure he gave his brother a pat on the back before departing.



I know these things. I'm an elder sister, after all.

And now, for the Xillia Protagonist Duo to give their two cents...
The great resolve

We forced you to play a painful role.

I'm so sorry. I wish we could have done something.

*shakes head*

What did Julius say at the end?



Sorry, don't think we'll answer that. From beyond the grave, this raises Julius' affection.

I see.

I don't blame you at all. Those words were for you alone.

Nevertheless, his final wish is obvious even to me.

Me, too.

*nod*

To think human bonds remain strong even across the gulf of death. Chronos, Origin: Know this is why I fight. Why I put my faith in humanity.






The road to Canaan





Let's go. This bridge just might vanish like the old one did.

Not this time.

Julius is holding it up for us.

Hey. *nod*

You go first.

After all, this bridge was built for none other than you.









Update 30 alternate scene compilation