Overview[]
Her prayers have guided him here. Now their prayers will guide the blade...
| Stage | Stamina | Battles |
|---|---|---|
| Intersecting the Spiral | 20 | 1 |
Intersecting the Spiral[]
Enemies:
| Waves | 1 |
|---|---|
| Enemies | |
| Boss | Lillium |
Drops:
| Slash | |
|---|---|
| Thrust | |
| Shot | |
| Bash | |
| Spell | |
| Armor | |
| Materials | |
| Units | |
| Other | Guardian Summon Ticket |
Transcripts[]
The Blade of Prayers Start[]
| Transcript | |
|---|---|
| The plan starts now! First, we attack head-on... | |
| Sara | I'll follow your lead, (user)! |
| (user) | Heeyaaaahhh!!! Haaaaaahhhh!!! |
| I unleash a barrage of light blasts as Sara moves in with a sword arte. Zephyr's right hand is the crux of all his maneuvers. This will force him to choose between shielding himself from the arte and deflecting the sword. | |
| Zephyr | Grraawwwrgh! |
| Opting for the shield, Zephyr steadies his hand in front of him. My blasts dissolve harmlessly on impact. | |
| Sara | My turn! |
| Sara leaps into position to unleash a flurry of strikes at Zephyr's flank. | |
| Sara | Starfall Strike! |
| Zephyr | Mmph! |
| Zephyr retracts the shield that had negated most of my blasts, spinning his right hand around to catch Sara's light blade. Sparks fly as hand meets blade. But Sara isn't rattled by the impact. She smoothly segues into her next attack. Meanwhile, I move into Zephyr's left flank to support Sara with carefully timed diversionary artes. I blast the arm that is parrying Sara's strikes, chipping away at its strength. | |
| Sara | Hyaaah! |
| A hit! A thick black miasma pours out of the wound Sara slices into Zephyr's right arm. But dark magical energy quickly coalesces around the wound, sealing it. | |
| (user) | (He can regenerate too...?!) |
| Clearly Fólkvangr's light is our only hope of overcoming that level of magical energy. But for now, I must keep fighting alongside Sara until the opportunity presents itself. | |
| (user) | (You were the one who taught me how to fight...) |
| Use healing artes to mend any wounds, and well-timed artes to keep your foe off-balance when it's readying a strike. Watch the fighting closely. Not just the target; try to figure out what your partner is trying to accomplish too. You have to find the right arte to support the melee fighter's plan. | |
| (user) | (We've been using the same "pincer" strategy for years...) |
| But that isn't going to cut it here. What am I supposed to do now? As I fight, my mind dredges up a memory from long ago. | |
| Zephyr | Now, if we're fighting far stronger foe, we're never be able to grind out a victory that way. So we need to come up with a plan for that sort of situation... |
| Sara | Sky-Splitter Comet! |
| Zephyr | Hmph! |
| I notice Zephyr exhale a deep breath, as if he'd been synching his breathing to Sara's torrent of artes. | |
| (user) | (That means... Oh no!) |
| Zephyr | Hwaaah! |
| Just as Sara moves into position to strike... Zephyr, his shoulder already leveled at her, surges forward. | |
| Sara | Aah! |
| Zephyr | Grrraaawww!!! |
| Sara | Bwaaahh?! |
| He'd been focusing his magical energy on his shoulder, and the shockwave of the impact sends Sara tumbling back. | |
| (user) | (That wasn't about dealing damage... That was about breaking her stance for what comes next...) (I can't let him follow through!) |
| I immediately begin to cast an arte. But Zephyr is already in motion... | |
| Zephyr | [Whoosh!] |
| Without even glancing at Sara as she flies through the air, Zephyr switches directions and launches into a charge at me. | |
| (user) | ...! |
| Zephyr knows that I'm nowhere near as proficient in melee combat. He sees a chance to pick off the party healer— the one he views as an easier target. | |
| (user) | (If he closes in on me...) |
| In a flash, he's within striking distance. My best hope of defeating Zephyr at this range... | |
| (user) | (...is completely nonexistent.) |
| I leap to the side, as if taking evasive action. But Zephyr is far faster than I, and reorients himself with ease. Even as his death strike is incoming... Or maybe, precisely because it is incoming... ...I remember. | |
| Zephyr | When you're clearly overmatched, Plan A is to get the hell outta there. As long as you're alive, you always have cards left to play. |
| (user) | (Escape is not an option here...) |
| Zephyr | But let's say you can't get away, and pulling off an impossible victory is your one and only option... Well, in that situation... |
| (user) | (In this situation...) |
| Zephyr | You gotta fight dirty, partner. |
| (user) | Lippy, Now! |
| Lippy | Heavenly Fetters! |
| Zephyr | Eh?! |
| As soon as Zephyr's foot lands on the point I'd lured him too, Lippy triggers his binding glyph. Vines of light entwine around his legs. | |
| Lippy | We have him immobilized! |
| Sara | Great job, Lippy! Thanks! |
| I hear Sara call out from behind Lippy's seal of light. | |
| Lippy | Just... as we rehearsed it... |
| But despite the triumphant words, Lippy's face looks deeply pained. | |
| Zephyr | Grrrraaaarggghhh!!! |
| The arte tugs at Zephyr's legs, slowing his movements. But he's not completely bound. Black magical energy coils around Zephyr like a constrictor, pushing against Lippy's vines of light. It's taking every ounce of Lippy's strength to keep Zephyr from breaking through the seal. | |
| Lippy | As we have planned, I will cast multiple seals to further allay his mobility... You must keep him within the area of effect until I can complete it! |
| Sara | We're on it, Lippy! |
| (user) | Come on, Sara! Let's take him on one more time! |
| Sara | Yeah! I have faith in you! |
| Zephyr | Grrrrrrrrrrr...!!! |
| We break into a run... ...surging towards the final stage of the battle! | |
The Blade of Prayers End[]
| Transcript | |
|---|---|
| [Shiiiiiiiing!] | |
| Zephyr | Hrraahhh! |
| Vines of light wrap around Zephyr's left arm. | |
| Lippy | That's... three! |
| We're using artes, swords— everything we have to hold Zephyr back, buying time until he gives us the opening. Right foot, left foot, left arm... The vines of light that have wrapped around each of them are sapping his mobility, slowing his movement... But the more the binds wrap around him, the more ferocious he becomes, lashing out like a cornered beast. | |
| Zephyr | Grraaaaah!!! |
| We leap away from the deadly arte he unleashes at us. [Crash!] | |
| Sara | Ooof! |
| Already off-balance, Sara still manages to block a slash from his right arm. Even at a distance, the attack packs a considerable punch. And so we dodge, parry, and block his desperate barrage of attacks, slowly exhausting ourselves... | |
| Lippy | Urrggghhh... |
| The fatigue is taking a particularly heavy toll on Lippy, who is struggling to maintain numerous binding artes at the same time. | |
| (user) | (Then let's make the next one the last!) |
| My eyes leap to Sara's, and then Lippy's. Both are clearly aware of the direness of the situation. Without any conscious attempt to do so, the three of us have begun breathing in unison. | |
| (user) | It's now or never! |
| Sara | Gotcha! Understood! |
| On my mark... Lippy pours his remaining magical energy into his fourth and final binding arte... Sara breaks into an all-out lunge at Zephyr... | |
| Sara | Heeeeeyaaaaaaahhh!!! |
| And I seize the opening Sara has given me to activate Fólkvangr, the goddess's light. Its hilt grasped tightly in my hand, I close my eyes and focus all of my consciousness upon it. I focus all of my heart and soul into the image of a perfectly straight blade rising up from the hilt. I can feel the power converge upon it. [Shiiiiiinnnngggg!] I slice through the air with the blade, aglow with the blue light of magical energy. | |
| (user) | Now! |
| I ready my blade and charge at him. | |
| (user) | (We have to hit the source of his power—that right arm!) |
| Sara accelerates her own charge to match mine, with the goal of keeping his right hand occupied. | |
| Sara | You haven't beaten me yet! |
| The sound of clanging steel echoes off the walls. Only 10 steps until I close the distance... With each step, my feelings swell. Full of only the desire to save my friend, I run. Is this the way he felt that day, when he tried to save her? This burning desire... Surging forward, praying your hand will reach theirs in time... Five steps to go. | |
| Sara | Damn it! I can't take much more...! |
| [Smash!] The rapid pace of the battle was too much for Sara, and with one heavy strike, Zephyr ends it. She only narrowly avoids the follow-up killing strike from his claws. But Zephyr abandons his pursuit of her and turns towards me instead, his right arm poised to strike. | |
| Lippy | I'm triggering the fourth seal! |
| A flurry of vines burst out of the glyph and wrap themselves around Zephyr's right arm. | |
| Zephyr | ...! |
| This is the moment I've been waiting for... Just two more steps! | |
| (user) | (With all four of his limbs bound, he'll have no way to evade...!) |
| With firm resolve, I make the final step. | |
| (user) | Haaaaaaaahhh!!! |
| I lift the sword above my head, take aim at Zephyr's shoulder, and swing! | |
| (user) | (A clean hit—!) |
| [Claaaang!] Ha ha ha... Did you believe you'd landed a hit...? You pathetic fool. As if your pitiful binds could stay my puppet's hand! The very conduit of my power! Ha ha ha! Zephyr stands before me. The vines of light that had been binding him had been shredded by his right hand. The same sweep of his hand has knocked Fólkvangr out of mine. The goddess's light is soaring through the air, towards the chamber ceiling. My hand is empty. I continue lurching forward, without the vessel into which I'd infused so much of my power... | |
| Lippy | Great Savior...! |
| I can hear the alarm in Lippy's voice. I know that Zephyr has synched his breathing to my movements. His right hand rests poised at his hip, as he pours his magical energy into it. A punch from that fist, here at point-blank range... "And so it ends." The mocking tone is as clear as the words themselves. Suddenly his right hand is a blur— thrusting forward that explosive torrent of magical energy... | |
| Zephyr | ...?! |
| The magical energy had surged out of his hand like a hurricane. And yet, my body shows no signs of the devastation Zephyr had anticipated. The shock at having somehow missed is clear upon his face. He gazes down at his hand... And there, around his hand, is mine. It had caught his hand and dispersed the magical energy away. | |
| (user) | (How many times have I seen you pull that trick when we fought together?) |
| That defensive arte that slightly diverts, then disperses the flow of magical energy. | |
| (user) | (Remember how it always went like this when we practiced?) |
| I'd close the distance, lurch forward to attack, and Zephyr would evade the strike and go in for the kill. Doing that is second nature to him. Over and over again, every single time, the timing was always the same. | |
| (user) | (Even with Nidhogg controlling you...) |
| I had to bet that on some level, you were still the Zephyr I remember. | |
| (user) | And by knowing you, I could counter it! |
| Lippy | This is our chance! His arm! |
| I grab his arms and clutch them tightly. My hand burns from the exposure to the dark energy, but I clutch harder, pinning him down. Just as I do, a tiny flicker of light lands upon his demonic right arm... Is it my imagination, or has the pain diminished considerably? I'm pretty sure that it has... | |
| (user) | (Now!) |
| Fólkvangr is no longer within my reach. Zephyr had sent it flying when he knocked it out of my hands. Well, that's not strictly accurate. I didn't let it get knocked away. I entrusted it to another. We would do this together... I made a promise... ...to you. Sara. | |
| Sara | (Thank you for all your faith in me.) |
| She grabs the hilt in mid-air, her eyes never leaving her target. | |
| Sara | Got it! |
| She channels her heart and soul into the blade as she falls through the air... | |
| Sara | With this divine light... Heavenly Severance! |
| [Fwoooooossshhh!] A blinding light slices through the sky and down to earth. The light emitted from the blade fills the chamber, purging away dark energy... Even the right arm that was the source of his deadly malice... Even the darkness that polluted his body with evil from within... All of it wrapped in blinding light, and made pure again. | |
The Blade of Prayers Epilogue[]
| Transcript | |
|---|---|
| The darkness comes at me from all directions. No matter how far I travel through it, it feels as though I'm being dragged back a step for each step I take. There is only one light in this world. And all a man like me can do is keep trying to move towards it. I chase the light. I get dragged back. I chase it again. That is all I— Hm? I can see... a different light...? What is this...? Wait a minute... I know this light. I remember this light. I used to feel this light... A long time ago... It's... a healing light... | |
| Sara | Zephyr! |
| Lippy | I do believe he's regained consciousness! |
| Zephyr | ...... |
| His eyes are open. But the red tinge that once clouded them is gone. | |
| (user) | Thank the Heavens! |
| Zephyr | ...... |
| He breaks my gaze, his eyes traveling down to his right arm. | |
| Zephyr | My hand...! How...?! |
| There, at the end of it, is the long-lost hand from his envoy days. | |
| (user) | I remembered it well enough to heal it back to the way it used to be. |
| I take the hand, still limp on the ground, to try to pull Zephyr up. But when I clutch Zephyr's hand... ...he doesn't clutch mine back. His hand slips through my fingers, and falls limp upon the ground once more. | |
| Sara | Zephyr... |
| Zephyr | Why... did you heal me...? I don't have any right... to be healed... by you... I... I killed you... All of you... Over and over again... |
| Sara | We know you only did that for Kana! |
| Lippy | And that you had been deceived by that vile dragon! |
| Zephyr | What are you... talking about... I can't blame... Nidhogg for that... That was my own weakness... This all happened... because I was weak... Ever since... I was swallowed up... No... since long before that... Weakness had taken root within me... My lack of strength... My lack of hope... The envy I'd held... towards you... My weakness did this... My weakness invited Nidhogg in... I wanted to... save her from that... That place, but... But my weakness... led me astray... even from that... And the things... I did to you... And for what...?! I was too weak... to ever complete... the ritual... fortunately for all... |
| The despondency in his voice is painful to hear. I can't bear it. | |
| (user) | ...... |
| It's going to hurt him to hear it... But he needs to know the truth. | |
| (user) | It wasn't you that was stopping the "ritual" from succeeding. It was Kana. |
| Zephyr | ...! |
| With that one sentence, everything seems to snap into place for him. | |
| Zephyr | That girl... she's strong... She's as strong as you are... I... I couldn't even hear her voice... I'm a sham... through and through. |
| (user) | That's not— |
| He shakes his head "no." He doesn't want to hear it. | |
| Zephyr | I yearned for true strength... even as I waved away my own weakness... And when I had a chance to get some sham power... I jumped at it. That's how all this happened... I couldn't accept my weakness... So I betrayed you all instead... Why would you... want to save me...? You are far too kind... And that's... what hurts... the most... |
| Zephyr turns away. Looking at him... I'm overcome by sadness. Even after all those battles... Even after we saved him... His pain still remains. And so long as it does, I doubt we'll ever be able to return to the way we used to be. | |
| (user) | (Nevertheless...) (No matter how much it hurts, I don't regret extending my hand to you.) |
| After all, there might still be some way back. And the only anger I bear in my heart... Is for the one that twisted my best friend's soul. That evil shadow that's always there, gnawing away at this world... I can't forgive it. I will never forgive it. | |
| (user) | It doesn't matter how many times you killed me. It doesn't matter how much you hate yourself... The true enemy here isn't you— it's Nidhogg. |
| I can still feel that slimy sensation creeping along my skin. I address the evil directly. | |
| (user) | I know that you're watching this. |
| The sensation grows stronger still. | |
| (user) | I know it will take more than that to defeat you. You're right there, aren't you? Don't run away from me, Nidhogg. |
| Right then... A low hum begins to reverberate throughout the chamber. The darkness gathers into a fluttering cloud, and a bottomless well of inky blackness appears. Red eyes flicker at the front of the dark pool. | |
| Demonic | Me? Run away... from you...? Ha ha ha ha ha! |
| (user) | I won't let you get away. No way am I letting you get away from me now! |
| Demonic | Oh, I won't be running away. Why would I need to flee from you? What is it that you think you're going to do to me...? |
| (user) | You can create a passage that a person can pass through, right? Then let's finish this. Open the path. I'll come to you. |
| The red eyes at the heart of the darkness twist and shiver. | |
| Demonic | Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! I would be utterly delighted! |
| As it cackles its high-pitched laugh, the mouth of darkness opens wide. | |
| Demonic | Consider this your invitation. Join me in the void! Step right into my belly! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! |
| The red eyes flicker out... Leaving behind only the strange "gate" between us and itself. A silence falls over the chamber. We have no choice but to go through that gate. You and me. Together. I may not know the right words with which to reach you. Nevertheless, there is something that I want you to understand. | |
| (user) | I know that there was no deep meaning to the names we gave ourselves... But I've grown to like them just as much as our real names. |
| I want him to know the way I feel. | |
| (user) | You can call me by whichever name you like. |
| you | But I'm going to call you "Zephyr." The lives you've lived as Lillium have brought you nothing but torment. I never want to say that name again. |
| Zephyr | A name... is just a name... It changes nothing. |
| (user) | I'm not saying you should forget about that time. I know you couldn't, even if you wanted to. But that's what I want to call you. |
| Sara | Me too! I mean, the name Zephyr... It conjures up a lot of happy memories. You were a great friend to us! |
| Lippy | My loyalty remains entirely unchanged. So long as I draw breath, know that I stand beside you, Master Zephyr! |
| We all feel the same way. We each look him in the eyes, delivering our message straight to the soul that lurks behind them. | |
| (user) | We're gonna go get Kana now, Zephyr. |
| Zephyr | ...?! You're going... into that...?! |
| His eyes fall upon Nidhogg's "gate." | |
| Zephyr | Huh... Well, knowing you... you might even pull it off. |
| I shake my head at Zephyr's quietly mumbled comment. | |
| (user) | No. Not by ourselves, we won't. |
| Everything that happened today... Every challenge that came before... I never would have been able to surmount them without the help of Lippy and Sara. There are things I can't accomplish alone. And there are things only you can achieve. | |
| (user) | We need your help, Zephyr. If you can't do it now, then fine. But I know you'll come to help when you can. After all, we're partners, right? |
| And that is all that I can do for you. I don't need to pull you up. I know you'll find your way back to your feet. I just need to make it clear that I believe in you. | |
| (user) | So I'm going on ahead. I'll meet you on the other side. See you then, Zephyr. |
| Zephyr doesn't respond. He doesn't lift his downcast eyes. But if I know him... | |
| Sara | (user)... |
| (user) | Thanks, Sara. I'm okay. I know how tough Zephyr is. |
| Lippy | I'll be looking forward to seeing you soon, Master Zephyr. |
| Sara | All right... let's go! |
| There are still two things we need to do... | |
| (user) | (But I know he'll come.) |
| We don't look back... ...as we step through the gate together. | |
| System | The new location: “To the Distant End” is now available. |