Part 60: Forbidden Power
Last time (ignoring all the sidequest bullshit), the party was off to Belkend in order to honor Ion's last act to give Luke a reading of the Score. So let's go.Scorer of Death
: “Are you all right?! Were we too late? Why has he...?”
: “What's going on?”
: “We've had several unexplained deaths these last few days. It seems like people are dying right after hearing the Order of Lorelei read the Score. It's not an injury. Even the healers can't cure it... maybe it's a disease...?”
: “That's strange. Ion commanded the Order to stop public readings.”: “Well, they started back up just before this miasma stuff started appearing again.”
: “Do you know where that Scorer is now?”: “Hmm... I think he headed off towards Baticul.”
: “The deaths may be the result of extracting their replica data through fomicry.”
: “What makes you say that?”: “During our experiments, we observed that within a week of having their data extracted, some originals died or exhibited physical distortions. The conditions of that man's death closely resembled those of the test subjects that didn't survive.”It's kind of glossed over, but man Jade was involved in some amoral mad scientist shit when he was younger.
: “If someone is extracting replica data from people, we have to stop them. This world doesn't need any more cases of Asch and me.”: “Let's talk to Spinoza and then find that traveling scorer.”Things are looking up already, eh?
Skit: Replicas and Their Originals
: “So do people die once they've had their replica data extracted?”
: “In some cases, yes. Some originals die, but others don't. Like Asch, for example. Of course...”: “Of course... what?”
: “...Never mind. In any case, we cannot allow them to continue creating replicas. For the sake of both original and replica.”: “Yeah, I agree.”: “For now, let's see what can be done about the miasma. Spinoza may be able to tell us something.”
: “Yeah... Asch and Lorelei are just a big question mark at the moment. Let's at least take care of the miasma.”: “Indeed. Let's start with what we can handle.”Forbidden Research
: “Well, we knew that Van's team had already left this facility.”: “Nevertheless, fomicry of living things has been revived.”: “Yeah, we've seen that replicas are being mass produced.”
: “People have a weakness for forbidden things.”
: “Curiosity proves too compelling a temptation... the researchers couldn't resist, even knowing that the technology would be misused.”
: “And Van took advantage of those feelings.”
: “Well, we can't do much about the past. The question is what to do from here on. We still have a mountain of problems ahead.”: “Yes. We'll have to resolve things, one at a time.”
: “...Luke, what did I just say? Regretting the past won't accomplish anything.”: “Yeah... I know, but...” But I...
: “Have the core's vibrations gotten too intense for the Tartarus to suppress?”
: “Yes. At this rate, there will be nothing to prevent the earth's liquefaction.”
: “The miasma, the liquefaction... the Qliphoth is going back to the way it was.”: “And the passage rings have stopped working, so we can't form the dividing line any more...”: “I guess we should start thinking of ways to actually destroy the miasma.”: “Precisely. How about using your hyperresonance, Luke?”Because that turned out so well the last time.
: “But I thought hyperresonance couldn't destroy the miasma...”: “Hyperresonance can break down matter to an atomic level. I'm no specialist, but it's possible in theory.”
: “By the way, from your greeting, I assume we're not your first visitors today?”: “Asch came by to research the flow of Seventh Fonons since the land was lowered.”
: “Asch?! Asch was here?”
: “Where did he go?!”: “He was staring intently at the Sephiroth measurements we'd taken here...”
: “That was the data from Mt. Roneal.”: “Shall we take a look?”: “Yeah. We'll hit Baticul after, for now let's follow Asch.”Skit: After Asch!
: “Here we were, planning to deal with Asch later, but he pops up anyway!”: “Yeah.”: “And it involves the Score, so out come the God-Generals and Mohs. And we're still clueless about the Key of Lorelei! And we still don't know how to take care of the miasma! What are we supposed to deal with first?!”: “...For once, I can't blame you for getting flustered.”: “It's probably because they're all closely interrelated.”
: “What do you mean, Colonel?”: “They're all strongly bound together. The miasma, the Seventh Fonon, the replicas, the Score, Lorelei... Asch is involved with every one of those. It's likely he holds the key to them all.”: “That is a guess, is it not?” 
: “Wow, the Colonel made a guess!”
: “I merely thought it would simplify deciding on our next destination.”: “So we should just go after Asch instead of trying to figure everything out?”: “We're running out of options, anyway.”: “Even if we went right to Baticul, there isn't much we could do that would help... we are hardly in a condition to hold any sort of conference on the Score.”: “All we can do is follow Asch for now, so let's be efficient with it. We can't afford to waste time.”: “Let's head for Mt. Roneal.”An Impossible Solution
: “It was a ludicrous idea. Forget about it.”: “But if it could really neutralize the miasma...”: “Have you forgotten? You're a replica, unable to fully control your hyperresonance. One wrong move, and you would die.”: “Well then maybe Asch could do it? If we see him on Mt. Roneal...”: “My apologies, I was unclear. It doesn't matter if it's the original or not. No one could cause a hyperresonance strong enough to destroy all of the miasma on the planet. If we had something to amplify his powers, it might be a different story.”: “Like what?”
: “...Something that would reduce the strain on the body when manipulating hyperresonance.”: “You're stalling! Like what!”: “The Sword of Lorelei, for one. One could gather a large amount of Seventh Fonons with that.”: “And another?”: “Any large quantity of Seventh Fonons. Let's see...”
: !: “Of course, the recoil from the hyperresonance would cause fonon separation, killing the user as well. The miasma would disappear at the cost of ten thousand lives. A small price to pay for some.”: “But that's...”
: “Impossible, obviously. Which is why I told you to forget it.”Obviously this isn't a solution we can use, but... the miasma still weighs heavily on Luke's mind.
Skit: The Cost of Eliminating the Miasma
: …..: “Are you still troubled?”: “Jade...”
: “Everyone's worried about you – wondering what could make you, of all people, think so hard.”
: “...Is that really the only way to get rid of the miasma? I mean, sacrificing 10,000 Seventh Fonists...?”: “Hmm... this must be quite serious for you to ignore my jab.”: “But Jade, that's the only--!”: “Ten thousand murders.”: …!: “You've destroyed Akzeriuth, hurt the people of Sheridan, and made yourself a lot of enemies. Are you willing to stain your hands with the blood of even more unknown masses?”: “....I....”: “You can't do it. Don't even consider it.”: “But this is the Score Ion left for me... he must have seen what would happen. Tell me Ion! What would you do...?”One uneventful trip to Mt. Roneal later...
Dark Wing Blues
: “Things would be easier if I could just call out to him like he does to me.”: “Nothing you can do about it. Let's start by checking the Sephiroth further on.”
: “How do you know about the Jewel of Lorelei?!”
: “Because Asch never shuts up.”
: “Apparently you all failed to get the jewel. Asch was awful mad.”: “So is Asch here, then?”
: “Heh heh. You now, he drones on and on about Natalia this, Natalia that. Now you're droning on about Asch this, Asch that. How touching.”
: “Add that all up, and you've got everything the boss ever talks about.”: “...I can totally imagine.”: “Indeed.”I can see it, too.
: “A-anyway, that means that Asch is here, right?”: “He's looking for the Jewel inside. We were told to wait out here.”: “Let's go after him! We'll get him on our side, this time.”: “I just know this is going to end in an argument.”I actually feel pretty bad for the Dark Wings. They know that we're just going to piss Asch off and that he's going to take it out on them.
Skit: The Sword of Lorelei
: “So, Asch did receive part of the Key of Lorelei after all.”: “So it would seem.”: “From what the Dark Wings said, Asch must have the Sword of Lorelei...”: “He's looking for the Jewel, so yeah he presumably has the Sword.”: “The Sword of Lorelei...”: *Sigh*
: “My, Colonel, that was quite a sigh.”: “My apologies. I'm not good at dealing with obtuse children.”
: “...Did you do something to make Jade angry? He never gets like that.”
: “There's no need to ask. Of course he did.”: “...I guess nobody trusts me...” Not that they're wrong, of course...Ignoring Luke's little tantrum there for the moment, I'll say it again: Jade is wearing thin, and even he can't hide his stress and irritation at this point. It's really beginning to worry me.
Remnents
: “Apparently so.”: “Why would the Major be cooperating with Mohs? Their goals were completely opposite...”: “They've already cooperated several times. Perhaps it suits their respective purposes. Or, they may both simply be using one another.”: “Mohs think the God-Generals follow him, but the God-Generals have other ideas.”
: “ND1999, in commemoration of the birth of my daughter, Meryl...?”
: “What is it, Luke? Find something?”: “N-no, just some trash.”
: Meryl... that was Natalia's real name, right? The birth year is the same, too...: “I'm sorry, we stopped because of all my chatter. Let's hurry onward.”
Mysterious locket we picked up in the remote wastes? I'm sure this will have no significance going forward.
Skit: Natalia's Birthday
: “Natalia, you were born in the month of Rem, 1999, weren't you?”
: “Yes. Oh, are you going to give me a present?”: “Huh?”: “Come to think of it, the last time she had a birthday, we were busy wandering around Malkuth.”: “Oh yeah... just after Tear and I were blown all the way over there...”
: “My. Well, I'll be looking forward to a lovely gift.”
: “I was just trying to check the date on the locket...”: “Did you say something?”: “N-nothing, never mind!”Luke you're a bad liar, just stop trying, eh?
Asch's Revelations
: “Is that sword the Key of Lorelei?”
: “Asch, please tell us. Where is Lorelei being kept? Is Van still alive?”: “You can contact Lorelei, right? You know where it is, don't you?”
: “...No, I haven't heard Lorelei since the land was lowered. It won't respond to me, either.”: “So it's no use, even to an original...”: “In that case, would you at least tell us what you know?': “Asch, please?”
: “From the start, Lorelei has wanted to be freed from the core. Lorelei contacted us because it thought staying in the core would harm the planet.”: “That's what Lorelei was saying when it inhabited Tear's body.”: “So Lorelei is being held within the planet's core?”
: “Then where...?”: “During our final contact, Lorelei said it had been trapped inside Van.”
: “So my brother is alive!”
: “But the Commandant was really hurt! How could he have possibly...?”: “I don't know, but Van's absorbed Lorelei into his body. The Seventh Fonon has the power to heal. I suppose Van was lucky.”: “So freeing Lorelei means freeing it from within Van?”: “That's right. Lorelei wants to leave Auldrant's gravity and become the seventh layer of the fon belt. I'm looking for the Jewel of Lorelei to help make that happen. This sword won't work as the Key without the Jewel inlaid into it.”: “Oh... yeah, Lorelei said to use the Key to free it.”: “Just like in Yulia's legends. You imbue the Key with the essence of Lorelei, and guide it to the fon belt.”: “But where is the Jewel...?”
: “If you had gotten the Key from Lorelei, none of this would have happened!”: “Me...?”: “It must have flown out through one of the Sephiroth. They God-Generals are looking for it, too. If those bastards get to the Key first, we won't be able to set Lorelei free.”: “If we can't free Lorelei, the Planet Storm will grow stronger to create more Seventh Fonons...”
: “...Destroying the world.”: “Exactly.”
: “The Jewel wasn't here, either. I'm looking somewhere else.”: “Then we'll look with you!”: “I have no intention of getting friendly with a replica!”
: “Do you really think you have any right to say that?”: “Stop it! This is no time for the two of you to be arguing.”: “...I'm going on to the next Sephiroth. That's the only way I'll find the Jewel you failed to receive. You all do whatever you want. I suppose I could let you know if I find something.”
: “...Fine. So once again Asch and I go our separate ways... why does it always end like this?”: “...Don't you realize?”: “Huh?”: “...Never mind.”Skit: Luke Overdoing Things
: “Hmm...”: “What's wrong, Guy?”: “Oh, I was just thinking about Luke.”
: “What about Master?”: “He still doesn't realize that he's part of the reason Asch gets so angry.”
: “Luke overdoes everything, doesn't he? Too arrogant, too excited, too depressed, too repentant...”: “Yeah. He treated Mieu pretty horribly, too.”: “No he didn't! Master was just playing with me! It was fun!”: “That's not playing, Mieu! You can't just-!”: “Master even gave me a name! It made me so happy!”: “...Yeah, I... I guess it's not a bad name, is it? ….Thing.”: “It's great!”: “Do you suppose Mieu's been infected by Luke? Now he's overdoing it, too...”: “Yes... poor thing, he's so easily fooled.”Heh.
Okay, Baticul.
Scrambling for Justice
: “What's with all the commotion?”: “Hey, what happened?”: “They arrested that criminal Mohs and brought him in from Daath.”: “What?!”: “But then he got away. They're closing off the perimeter and starting a city-wide search.”
: “Which means that Mohs is still somewhere within Baticul.”: “All right, let's search for Mohs, too!”Skit: Revenge for Ion
: “That bastard Mohs!”
: “We're going to get him!”: “Yeah!”: “Everyone, if you don't cool down-”: “That filthy coward doesn't deserve to be called a holy anything!”
: “It's time to avenge Ion.”: “...Even Tear's lost her composure.”: “Well I do understand their feelings...”: “But we need to remain calm, now more than ever... right?”: “Exactly.”Fuck calm! Get over here, Mohs!
Power of the Fon Master
At any rate, he's not that far. Just chilling at the port.
: “Turn yourself in to the Order of Lorelei and face the consequences of your crimes.”
: “Please! Those who must atone for their crimes are you fools who would ignore the Score! I am right! How can you not understand?!”
Yeeeeeessssssss.
: “Ah, Dist!”
: “...Dist. Perhaps I ought to have left you permanently frozen.”
: “S-silence, you! You always break your promises! You never play fair! Now, Mohs, let's leave this riffraff behind and proceed to Eldrant.”
Wait, what?
: “Perhaps the austere majesty of Eldrant would make a more fitting stage...”: “I'll reveal my new might to these fools who have lost sight of how the world should be.”: “In that case, by all means!”
: “Dist! What are you thinking?! That arte...”: “Silence! Mohs had decided this for himself. You have no right to interfere!”
: “Wh-what the hell?”: “...It's just like my eyes. He's strengthening his fonic artes by inscribing a fonic glyph on himself to gather fonons. But that... that's the fonic glyph to gather the Seventh Fonon.”: “But if that's inscribed on someone who can't use the Seventh Fonon, every fonon in their body would mutate!”
: “Your body has simply taken a more suitable form to prevent your Seventh Fonons from going out of control. Have no fear, your powers are now truly those of a Fon Master!”
: “....Ohhh! I can feel it surging within me! So this is the power of Yulia! I'm heading straight to Eldrant from here. See that you follow shortly.”
...I repeat,
: “To think a human could become something so hideous...”: “When the Seventh Fonon is implanted in one who cannot use it, his body rejects it, leading to madness.”: “Mohs desired the power of a Fon Master above all else. I'm sure he won't mind. Personally, I'm satisfied to perform experiments, regardless of the subject.”
: “Speaking of the Score. Where did that traveler giving illegal readings go?”: “Perhaps he's moved on to a new city. We should report to the Order about him... and Mohs.”: “That's fine, but who's in charge of the Order of Lorelei these days?”: “...I'm not sure. Perhaps it's Grandfather, now.”: “Nobody in Daath has any idea of what's going on. I say we talk to Teodoro.”: “You're right. Ugh, what's going to happen to the Order...?”Well... that was fucking creepy.
This update was pretty dialogue heavy, so I'll end it here for now.
Next Time: We chase a Scorer, then chase an island.
Synopsis:
We reached Belkend, and suddenly saw somebody fall over and die right
before our eyes. Apparently a lot of people have been dying or collapsing
shortly after having the Score read by a traveling Scorer. Jade said they
might have had their replica data extracted.
I'm worried about the rumor that the traveling Scorer has headed for
Baticul, but right now let's follow Ion's Score and see if we can do
something about the miasma. Spinoza might know something.
Spinoza said that with the Planet Storm's increased activity, the core is
vibrating so strongly that the Tartarus can't silence it completely. At this
rate, there's even the possibility that the land could become liquefied
again. For the miasma, he suggested I use my hyperresonance--if I could get
rid of the miasma that way, I'd do it in an instant.
He also said Asch had come by, and was looking at the data on the Mt.
Roneal Sephiroth. Asch should know more than we do about what's going on.
Let's go after him.
I was thinking about what Spinoza had said about the miasma and
hyperresonance, so I asked Jade about it before we left for Mt. Roneal. But
he said that it was impossible, so I should give up on that idea. If I wanted
to use my hyperresonance to neutralize the miasma, I'd need the Sword of
Lorelei, which is one of the Keys, and a large quantity of Seventh Fonons.
Leaving the Sword of Lorelei aside, the only way to get enough Seventh
Fonons would be to kill around ten thousand Seventh Fonists or potential
Seventh Fonists, Jade said. And I'd die the instant I destroyed the miasma.
So he told me to give up on the idea.
Yeah...I couldn't force ten thousand people to sacrifice themselves. But
what if that's the only way to do it...?
On Mt. Roneal, we encountered the Dark Wings. They told us that Asch was
looking for the Jewel of Lorelei, the second Key that forms a pair with the
Sword of Lorelei. That's the Key that I was supposed to have received from
Lorelei.
They said Asch had gone to the passage ring. Let's see if he's still there.
When we reached the place we got caught up in the avalanche last time, I
found a locket lying in the snow. I opened it up, and it had a picture of a
baby and a message that read, "ND1999, in commemoration of the birth of my
daughter, Meryl."
Could it be Natalia...?
But I don't have the courage to ask her, so I hid the locket away.
We found Asch by the Sephiroth, and he told us what he knew.
Asch said that he hadn't heard Lorelei's voice since the lowering of the
Outer Lands. He also said that Lorelei had wanted to be freed from the core
since the beginning. It seems that the longer Lorelei stays in the core, the
worse its effect on the planet gets. But before Lorelei was able to get free,
events took an unexpected turn--Master Van fell into the core, injured, and
somehow was able to seal Lorelei within his body.
Lorelei wants to be released and form a seventh layer of the fon belt, so
Asch is trying to find the Jewel of Lorelei to complete the Key and fulfill
that desire. And then he started yelling at me for failing to receive the
Jewel, just as I expected.
Since I don't have the Jewel, Asch says it must have been thrown out
through one of the Sephiroth, so he's looking for it--as are the God-Generals.
I suggested that we work together, but Asch refused. We ended up leaving
the Jewel search to Asch, while we went to look for the Scorer who was
reading the Score in violation of the Order's rule against it. I think
someone in Belkend said that the Scorer had gone to Baticul, so let's try
looking there.
When we reached Baticul, we heard that Mohs had been found and arrested,
but escaped inside Baticul, and soldiers were searching for him. We can't let
Mohs go free--let's take care of finding him first.
Mohs was hiding in the port. But before we were able to capture him, Dist
showed up to take him away. Then we saw something horrible...Mohs turned into
a monster right before our eyes. He wanted the power of the Fon Master, and
in order to get it, he had Dist infuse him with the Seventh Fonon, even
though he had no innate ability for it. The end result was that his body
transformed into something monstrous.
Mohs then left for a place called Eldrant. At this point, we'd better
report on what's happened. We decided to head for Yulia City and tell Teodoro
about Mohs.
But there's still the issue of that traveling Scorer, as well as the
locket I found on Mt. Roneal. I can't keep track of things with everything
happening at once like this...