Part 26: The Girl Who Reveals

Part XXVI: The Girl Who Reveals

Even though we've taken care of Alvin's business for now, we still have Milla's fourth chapter. The chapter is located just outside of the Laforte Research Center, so let's jump on over.


Back to the past

Kinda giving away the plot here, huh?

Look, I can appreciate the predicament you were i, but don't you think you went a little overboard?

I didn't have much time. Besides, it worked. You can't argue with results.

Results? I thought I was a goner!



Well, Ludger should get caught up on this duel of the minds. Sounds like they're talking about something in the past, though.

Oh, hi, Ludger. We were just talking about old times. This city is where Milla and I first met. That was one meeting I'll never forget.

Jude has decided to nitpick my behavior on that night.

Nitpick?!

To be fair, that was a year ago, before I understood the limitations of fragile human bodies. Now that I know better, I can appreciate Jude's nitpicking. I'll be more careful in the future.

How about we just don't let anything like that happen again?

Just in time...you guessed it.

DODA here. We've detected a new fractured dimension. The rift is in Fennmont. We've sent the coordinates. Please take appropriate action.

Work call?

We'll accompany you. You scratch our back and we'll scratch yours, correct? Something wrong?

Oh, uh, it's nothing. It's just, I couldn't imagine you tossing around an expression like that back in the day.

Personally, I'd have pointed out that expression doesn't really fit this situation. No one's really doing anyone any favors here. Jude's been tagging along more or less out of the goodness of his heart since the train incident, and everyone else is following along because, you know, the fate of the Prime Dimension hangs in the balance.

But, Milla's nerdiness and her desire to try and show off what she's learned in books and from being around other humans. It's positively adorable.

I still learn new words, you know. Even now, I continue reading human books.

Case in point.

That wasn't really what I meant...but don't worry about it.

...

What about you, Elle? Want to come along?

*slow nod* Okay.

I still can't believe how quickly these gadgets spread from the military to civilians.

Technology moves pretty fast, doesn't it? It'd be nice if the usage fees dropped as fast, too...

Hmm. So they require a considerable expense to operate? You use precious resources just to connect with each other. How quintessentially human.

Aye. It's pretty crazy in this day and age you can send a message instantly to or interact with, basically any corner of the globe. Sitting in the outskirts of a small town in southern Iowa, I can talk with someone in Japan as easily as someone in the UK. When I play online multiplayer, I can get into a gunfight with a guy in Mexico while a guy from France or something has a rifle aimed right at the back of my head. And the medium you're using to read this right now, is what ~6000 years of human knowledge has added up to. It's staggering, frankly.

Well, once you're ready, once again we gotta take care of an alternate history. Like with most of the other fractured dimensions we've dealt with so far, the difficulty is...not great, so don't sweat who your 4th party member is.



Sounds interesting. This dude went on to speculate said Great Spirit would be turned into a weapon. Sounds like the Nachtigal we knew and loved, so he can't be the catalyst (not that he was in the previous Fennmont fractured dimension).



Ah, so it's Aska...again. Well, apparently he's being held at the Laforte Research Center, and I can't imagine he's too happy about it.



Well, there's really nothing of interest at all in Laforte, other than our destination, so we should just skip on over to the lab where the Lance of Kresnik was being constructed in the Prime Dimension. I have a feeling that's where we'll find our foul feathered fiend.


The friendly bird

Jude!

Huh?

Well, well, Jude Mathis. Long time no see! How come you've been such a stranger?



Well...this Aska sure seems a lot...friendlier, than the previous Aska we met. Status of the Prime Dimension Aska? I have no idea. He wasn't mentioned at all in Xillia 1, from what I remember.

It seems he thinks you're the Jude of this world. Just try to play along.

Um, well... I've just been so busy with my research and everything...

Aw, you poor thing. Is tha slave-driver Professor Haus still running you ragged? Perhaps I should give him a piece of my mind?

Jude's shocked expression after Aska mentions Haus should clue you in that Jude knows this person. This is correct: Haus was a professor Jude was working for before the events of Xillia 1, when his disappearance caused Jude to head to Laforte, where by chance he encountered Milla, who had come to destroy the Lance. That's how Xillia 1 started.

No, no, that'd only make it worse.



Well, let's see if Milla agrees re: samaritans.

No need to worry, Jude can handle this. Though I have to say, the nerve of this spirit ignoring the rest of us like this is a bit off putting.

Hey, I know. How about it, Jude? Would you care to tether with me again? Come on.

What? Oh! I... I'm sorry, but we can't do that anymore.

Oh really?



Milla!



It's her, isn't it?!



Well, it's been established Milla's no fan of this Aska, and I doubt Ludger has the patience of these schenanigans, so let's raise her affection with 1 preceded by L.

Easy, Ludger. No need to get him angry at you, too. Although I appreciate your support.

Oh! Look at that. She's flirting with that fellow! That foul temptress!



So this ornery avian is decidedly NOT a hard foe, just because he doesn't hit hard at all, but is very annoying, because, like the previous Aska fight, he has a wonky hitbox and flies around a lot, making it hard for the AI (or you, in many cases) to hit him.

Still, there's really nothing to this guy. It's basically the same fight we had way back in the Oscore Plant, just with stat increases on his side, but we've become vastly more powerful since then. One tip I can give you is that you only really need Power Charge 2 for this guy (he's weak to Darkness and Guns). That's because when he does his rush attack (his most common attack in the first half of the fight), after he hits the side of the field, he'll bounce back a bit to catch his breath. That counts as him "staggering", so Power Charge 2 will open up a Power Combo.



Though she's adorably nerdy, Milla takes personal slights seriously.



His most "dangerous" attack is Shining Veil, which you can easily dodge by being far away from him or...right underneath him. All in all, it's pretty rare when this thing actually hits, come to think of it.



Again, it's a fight that's dragged out just on sheer virtue of him being annoying, but if you can beat Victor and not this guy...

Mystery of Maxwell

Just who exactly are you anyway?

I am Milla Maxwell, the Lord of Spirits.

Huh? Oh, then... What happened to Maxwell, the old fart?

He's gone. I am the successor to the previous Maxwell's throne.

Heh. Well, it all makes sense now. And apparently Jude is Maxwell's new human companion.

"Human companion"? You say that like the old Maxwell had one, too.

Yes, indeed. Although their relationship went down in flames. And now both you and Jude are headed for that same ruin.

What?

I don't know my predecessor's story, but I'm certain Jude and I have a different sort of relationship.



It's all the same tale, different time! You don't need her, Jude. Believe me. You just stick with me and you will be treasured forever. I promise.

*shakes head* Aska, please, just answer this: What happened to Maxwell in the past?

.... All right, I'll tell you, only because you're so damn cute. In the past, old man Maxwell was betrayed by a human woman who's name was Milla Kresnik.



Well, that's...not something we've heard before. The name Kresnik did come up in the first game, where that name only came with the title "The Genesis Sage". Using a Lance, said Kresnik was apparently responsible for the birth of Rieze Maxia, at least according to the stories. It was all vague enough that hey, look what we have here, a little game by the title Tales of Xillia 2.

Still, though, I'm sure Milla is more interested in the fact she shares the Genesis Sage's name, and it's her chapter, so...let's raise her affection.

A human with my name betrayed the previous Maxwell?

Was this the same Kresnik as "the Genesis Sage" who first summoned Maxwell? He's actually a she?

Indeed, adn let me tell you something. There has never been another human like her. No sir. Ever since she summoned him, Maxwell became more and more fond of human beings. It even ended up putting him at odds with Chronos.



Well, let's get some information on our very old friend. Clearly, someone who has won the affection of a Great Spirit must be a unique individual.

Hmm, how should I put it? Let's just say that Milla was a woman of very little restraint. She treated the Lord of Spirits with utter lack of reverence. They were far too chummy in my opinion.

Hmmm. I suppose it rings a little similar to my relationship with Jude.

I... I sure hope you mean that in a good way.

Oh, you should've seen her! She was the complete opposite of old Maxwell in every way!

So... This Milla Kresnik from ages past and the former Maxwell had a close relationship...

...but something happened that ended up making things go sour. Something significant enough to destroy it forever.

Well, all I know is this. Things weren't pretty. Oh no, they weren't. Old man Maxwell became furious when he realized that Milla had betrayed him. But like true love, like yours truly, he couldn't forget her.



What's going on in here! Jude? What are you doing here?

Professor! Please. Allow me to explain...

It's still here!



Ludger!

What ever possessed you to bring outsiders here? I know... You're after my research data, aren't you? You're planning to steal my Howe Prize!

No comment on the last claim, but the former, well..in a manner of speaking...

That's not true! I would never do that!

Quiet! Aska, kill them! Kill all the traitors!



I don't think so. No one threatens my Jude, you hear me!

My... M-My research!



I don't think you're going to be needing it where you're going. Which is...an absolute void? Sounds about right.

Jude. It's all truly a pity. I wish we had more time together...

Aska...

Promise me that you'll take care of yourself, okay? Come tether with me again any time.










Well, he was endearing in a strange way, and Milla does agree.

Heh heh. I felt the same way. I just wish we'd had time to speak with him longer. Clearly Aska's story made an impression on you. It's written all over your face.

It is possible, right? Humans and spirits really can co-exist?

Since when did you start questioning that? You need to have more faith in yourself.

Whatever...

Hm?

What good is faith, anyway? It won't bring back Milla. Or my daddy.

....

Elle...

We all need to keep moving forward. If we stop, we'll just end up repeating the tragedies of the past.

She's right. I wonder what tragedy kept the previous Maxwell from moving forward?

We need to get to the bottom of that. Ludger, please let us know if you get any jobs that might shed some light on this. I'm sure we'd both want to join you.

That all is small comfort to Elle, I'm sure... Well, there are no other character chapters before the next chapter, so we'll just wrap up some loose ends in the meantime. Oh, and I got another Milla affection skit shortly thereafter.



Oh hey, lookey there. It's our old pal Zelos, and his philandering ways again. The true form of Sealed Symphonia is called Light of Symphonia, and is Rowen's best (non-Devil's Arms) weapon by far, and not just in terms of appearance.



The next stop on this not-so-exclusive tour is the Kukhar Ice Caverns, located on a branch of the Xialen Woods. The other exit is the Nala Lava Tubes, which we've already been through many moons ago.



I'm told the temperature here is below average, but damned if I can tell the difference. In any case, there's really nothing of particular interest here in the Ice Caves, but we will be coming here later. As for now, we have a Hydro Blade to vanquish.



So, for the first minute or so of this fight, I was just kicking his ass. He could barely even move, and when he was able to begin starting to fight back, he'd block, and Alvin would Breaker him. He was shits for the birds for a while, but man did he counterattack HARD after my Chromatus usage.

While he's entirely devoid of gimmicks, his "gimmick" is having a ton of health (more than 430k on Hard), and hitting like a truck. This guy really packs a punch, and can usually drop a single character from full to KO with 2-3 attacks. Thankfully, he's really slow, so coming at him from a different direction than the AI is your best bet. He doesn't have anything like Chronos Collider from way back when that can push away everyone close to him. Oh, and he gets heavy stunned a lot.



But once you're done with Hydro, don't forget this lil' guy. Emil, huh? For the uninitiated, Emil was the protagonist of Dawn of the New World, which was the second sequel in the Tales series (Tales of Destiny 2 being the first). Now, Tales of Symphonia was a prequel to Phantasia (4000 years apart, though), so that would make DotNW perform the rare double act of being both a prequel and a sequel. Berseria, recently released in Japan, is only the second prequel in the series so far (or third, whichever).

Incidentally, going to the Wikipedia page, I find the ship in Berseria goes by the name of Van Eltia, which was also the name of the ship the Tales of Eternia party traveled on. Connections everywhere, man. One more connection? A pre-order bonus for this game gave Ludger Emil's outfit.



The rest of the Ice Caves passed entirely without anything of interest happening, so welcome to the Tulea Tundra. Totally different from the Sillea Tundra that we went to from the Lava Tubes. If you're wondering what's the deal with these places, well, after Gaius (probably) kicked the crap out of the party just before the Elympion invasion in the first game, a carpet bombing from Elympion airships separated the main cast, and they wound up in different places.

Jude, Alvin, and I want to say Elize ended up following this path, with Muzet in tow. However, she was a guest of Jude's, and was not playable at any point in the game. Milla's half of the group instead went through the Lava Tubes. Both halves the team linked up before reaching Kanbalar, I seem to recall.



And in the last area of the Tundra, a cat hidden behind a rock. That'll do it for here, though you can head on to Fezebel Marsh. There's absolutely nothing interesting on that branch of the Marsh, though.

Upon returning to Drellin, I turned in the Hydro Blade job for a whopper of a reward: 105,000 gald and 31,500 merit points. That'll do, that'll do, as far as Nova is concerned. The bonus payment threshold is 150,000, and I had more than 200k after turning in that job. Picking up that bonus gave me a Friendship Potion, two Gummy Fishies, and Alvin's Gentleman's Creed skill, which increases his stats by 5% depending on how many women are in the active party. Unless you're in the post-game, or a New Game+, that number is necessarily capped at 10%, since Ludger can never be removed from the active party unless one of those conditions are met.

I also got a silly skit shortly after where we learn there is more to Gaius than meets the eye. Next item on the agenda is a request from The Four for some Gaius Dumplings. These delightful snacks are worthy of the attention of the mighty spirits Efreet, Undine, Gnome, and Slyph. Let's see what they think of it...



Sorry to have troubled you to bring me the Gaius dumpling. Only the spirit clime of this region is stable enough for us to be able to take form.

Very well. But why did you want a Gaius dumpling in the first place?

Through Milla, we learned the joy of eating, and we were interested in trying one. We've heard too many rumors about these dumplings.

Oh? What kind of rumors?

"A delightful something, it's the Gaius dumpling! Touch it! Pet it! Eat it! Share it! Two layers of sweet, and one sour too... Just one bite and it takes hold of you! Hail the king of Sweets! All hail the King! All praises be to the Gaius dumpling!"

I hate that it's stuck in my head...

That's the song Wingul made up! I tried to make revisions to it, but he ignored my input.

"No time for rhymes, no time for puns! Get your hands on those sweet buns!"

Ludger, I think that's our cue. Give them the dumpling.

I concur. Anything to get them to stop singing that ridiculous jingle...

Fade to black for eating...



This is the richest, most decadent morsel I've ever eaten! What a perfect way to finish any meal.

Such depth of flavor! Sweet, then tart, then sweet again! And did I detect a faint hint of orange zest? Yes! YES! Is IS orange zest!

Such a substantial dessert, as well! It's rather filling for its petite size! A home without one of these is hardly a home!

This product receives my full endorsement! It's a smash!

Aw, isn't that nice to hear, Gaius?

Yes. Wonderful. But I have to ask... Is this really the reason you summoned us here?

Not entirely, no. Our true purpose lies with you, young Ludger.

There's something we must tell you, scion of Kresnik.

Along with Milla, we too have been watching you up until now. You've endured so much from Origin's Trial and now Chronos as well...

As spirits ourselves, we want to apologize. We're sorry!

*shakes head*

Please accept our apology and our regret. You've managed to display some commendable strength though, despite your small stature!

Strong-willed, yet not stubborn.

Kind-hearted, yet not so easily manipulated.

And you've got backbone! A human-sized backbone, anyway...



Milla, we trust that you will use our strength to guide Ludger and overcome Origin's Trial.

Although, I think Milla and us alone would've been enough.

Heck no! We need Ludger too!

Looks like The Four have taken a liking to you, Ludger.

Perhaps, but let's give credit where credit's due, shall we? They only like you for one reason, my boy... My dumplings, of course!

What?!

Hitting a little close to home, eh Ludger? After that scene, you also get upgraded versions of the four as separate artes for Milla. Not half bad. Gaius Dumplings are also kinda special because they're found at very hidden spots throughout Elympios and Rieze Maxia. For example, you can find a Gaius Dumpling on Bisley's desk, but that little treasure hunt (you need 4 for the above scene), is made moot by the fact you can also get them via Kanbalar Kitty Dispatch.

Well then, it's almost time for the Main Event. I got another skit in Marksburg after I had arrived (L1 for Milla and Muzet+, R1 for Elize and Leia+), but the Rieze side of Marksburg is where we begin this next chapter. One of the shortest chapters in the game, actually, but that's, uh...that's not to say nothing happens in it.


Gathering of the Waymarkers



Leia and Elize go over to be with Elle...

Rowen brought me up to speed.

I'd tell you to cheer up, but I'm guessing that dog won't hunt right now, will it?

*shakes head*

A phone call... Though, apparently it's a text message, as Muzet leans over Ludger's shoulder to read it.

"We have confirmed your arrival. Arrange the Waymarkers of Canaan into a five-pointed star." It creeps me out how they always know where we are.

What do we do?

So what happens if we arrange the Waymarkers?

Perhaps when brought together, they form a map to the Land of Canaan?

One way to find out. After all, you and Ludger were the ones who gathered them.

Uh...sure.



Surprisingly, neither choice matters, but hey. Elle needs all the pep she can get these days.

I can put 'em down, but how am I supposed to arrange 'em?



*nod*



Hey look, check it out. I did it!

*nod*



For some reason, Elle's last line stays for a long time on-screen.

Hey, Ludger... You and Daddy are, like, the same person, right? Do you not want me because I'm the fake Elle? Like Daddy didn't want me?



Ludger! Up there!





The Promised Land

Oooh, an anime movie. Last one we saw was...Bisley getting on the train, close to the very start of the game.





Milla!

Damn you, Origin... I cannot believe that you hid it there!





It's a...fetus inside a moon?

Yep...we've found a place crazy enough to Canaan. Though, we damn well better have found Canaan, given how long we've been working to this very goal. This video is a long one, but a very good one. Chrono Storm

Is that...the Land of Canaan?!

You have gotta be kidding me.

No. This is no joke.

Who would have thought that the Waymarkers were the means to summon Canaan?

Now that we know where to find it, how do we get ourselves there?

Have Muzet blast it out of the sky!

Well, aren't you a violent little thing.

How 'bout an airship?



Chronos!

So that is Chronos.

Yep. No way was he gonna leave us alone and let us get to Canaan without doing something about it. Remember, he really, really wants humanity to fail the Trial. If they can't get to Canaan, well, party's over.

*gasp*



I never dreamt you'd get all the Waymarkers. I wasted too much time dealing with the seeker.

He tosses Julius to the ground...

Just give up, Ludger. You can't beat him.



You should heed your own advice, human, lest you wish to become a divergence catalyst.

All those catalysts we've encountered... It wasn't you creating them?

All I did was grant the power of the chromatus to the scions of Kresnik. Catalysts are the result of those Kresniks surrendering to their desires and abusing their power. Strange how you never realized that, even as you condemned dimensions as false and destroyed them. Tell me, how exactly did you determine the real from the false? Humans are naught but simpering fools. No need to wait for Origin's Trial to tell me that.

Aaaaaagh! Ludger! Run!

You can't! Glasses guy is in trouble!

There's a series of flashbacks to when Ludger used the Chromatus, and its effect on Elle, while Ludger replays the "abusing their power" line...



He's got a point, but we have to do something. We can't use the Chromatus without hurting Elle, but we can fight back. So long as Ludger's group can draw breath, they'll fight back.



But Chronos made short work of him...

Why doesn't he transform already?!

You have to stop using the chromatus!

Stubborn creatures, to the end.



But Julius, too, was no match.



And foul beyond reckoning!

Everybody! Run!



What are those?!



Elle!

No, Ludger! Stay back!



Aaaaahhh!



Shield artes?!

Couldn't handle all of us?

Were you the only ones who dodged them? How pathetic.



We've gathered the Waymarkers! Tell us how to enter Canaan!

For the sake of mankind?

No, for man and spirit alike!

That's what you said when you made the schism. How many times must you repeat the same mistakes?

I intend to atone for them, even if it takes me the rest of time!

A clash, and they bounce away from each other...

You leave me no choice, but to hurl you headlong into the abyss!

You tried that once, and it didn't work out. Gonna need some new material, I think.



(This might graze the slowpokes. I'll just make sure to apologize later!)

Thankfully Ludger heard that...



Surprise!



An explosion, but Chronos was clearly not amused...

Maxwell's shoddy creation is trying to be clever!

Well, well... Aren't you a durable one. (How could he have survived that?!)

It's time you learned some things in this world are truly indestructible!





Gaius starts us off by declaring "No, there is one thing you will never break... My will!", which is quite true. Once Gaius' fighting spirit is awakened, neither man nor god can stop him lightly, and it's been a long time since Chronos met us on the field of battle. We will teach him to feel pain again.

Well, Chronos has all the same tricks he had when we last met him. All the classic Dhaos moves, Tetra Assault / Spell, Chronos Collider, a simple swiping attack, and he's got some new gags for us. Meet the Chronos Bits, those weird circle things he had at the end of the cutscene. These cute little guys will float around and shoot lasers at you. However, they do not have much health. This is good for you.

The bad news? They are invincible. You can drop them down to 1 HP, but they'll never cross that line into the land of the dead. You'll just have to deal with them, and Chronos, for the duration of this fight. Unfortunately, he'll frequently link up with one of the Bits, and that'll prevent you from getting good Combos in. There's really not much to say about Chronos that I didn't cover last time. You really need to avoid Tetra Spell with fast sidestepping, and chipping away at him with Power Combos, as good as you can make them. It's all a matter of outlasting him.



Once he drops low enough, the battle will fade to black...

You are about to learn a fatal lesson about what kind of spirit I am.

You'll find we know...

More than you think!





Man! This guy doesn't go down easy, huh?



Where'd his wounds go?!

He can heal so quickly!

Why bother with healing when you can reverse time itself?

Reverse time?! But that only mean--

Indeed... I am Chronos. Master and Great Spirit of Time.



Sounds like someone's looking forward to getting his ass kicked again. You may be able to make the previous round a wash, but we're not done yet, either. Chronos gets on his fancy portable throne to continue this fight, and he adds Chronos Laser (rounding out the Dhaos classics). He also has some close-range defenses on the back, where the Bits that are stuck on the throne will fight back if anyone gets close (with only short-range lasers, though). He also has...





His...Mystic Arte. It *really* hurts, and hits the entire field, or thereabout. Very deadly, especially since his Arcane Arte, Chronos Laser, will hit a wide area, just because it sweeps around.



When he drops to half health or thereabouts, he'll try to reverse time again. It's...not exactly subtle when he attempts this. Trouble is, how do we stop him?



By throwing his "gift" right back in his face. The Chromatus will interrupt his healing schenanigans and force him to fight legit. From here on in, it's mostly the same story about what to do. Watch the hell out when he goes into Over Limit and Chronos Laser, wait until he starts attacking to begin your own Power Combo, outlast the sucker.



The last real gag in his bag of tricks is Cage of Torment, which has a high chance of inflicting Confusion on any number of your dudes caught in said cage. Sometimes it won't do a damn thing, sometimes you'll really take it on the chin. Aside from that, he'll also detach one of the Bits, and attempt to use Chain Strike (his incantation starts with "Arms of Ouroborus", like before), but it's still as pathetic a spell as before.





That was a rough one, that's for damn sure... But we're still standing.

One final note for this update is that this fight has the honor of being the only storyline boss battle you can lose and still continue the game. As long as you get to the second part, after Chronos heals himself, you can continue like normal even if you get wiped out. To hell with that, though.




Update 26 alternate choice compilation