What da dog do?

The rocky sand cliffs of plot!

The mobs down here are nothing special. Star can learn a move from the mind flayer looking fellas. Make sure the dogs don't heal and don't worry about the harpies. The second battle can be really annoying because there are four rounds of reinforcements. They're all mind flayers, which are pretty weak and disappointingly don't function like the name I gave them. At the bottom is where a big dump of lore happens.

Selphia is at an altar, trying to save Olga Town. Leon is annoyed that she'd do something for humans, but Selphe's rad. A voice then rings out. Dariem shows up for the first time since chapter one. He informs "Eternal Empress" (probably not her title) that he'll make her wish come true. Rather than explain, we prepare for battle. Leonard shoots Gulliver across the gap to protect Selphie, and we enter an easy fight. It's five-on-one, and Darien lacks power. He has a massive attack that hits anyone in three blocks around him, but the damage isn't high. His physical attacks can be rough, so don't let him counter. Approach the bug, and make sure Leonard can Elby Zone as many as possible. We can survive three or so rounds of this, so no pressure. Poison Drop him and wail away.

After this is when we learn about the gods. Darien is a Satakula, four monsters whom the gods didn't create. They're so strong, in fact, that the gods fear them. And Selphia is one of those creation gods, or at least had a strong connection to them. Her and the guy who gave Parasite his power, Oriales. Ori has control over the cycle of rebirth, and this world has been reborn several times. Selphie opposes another cycle and wants humans to be in control of their destiny, hence why she's on our side. Leon hates humans and is confused by this, but I think he's a simp for Selphie. Anyway, Selphie wanted to purify the air of Olga Town and has done so. But the trek down here exhausted her, so let's get back to town.

We let her rest in a room at the inn and head out to find whatever it is we're going next. An earthquake strikes the island, and Gulliver goes to see where it came from. Myra gets a headache, but this might be a good thing. Is her memory coming back? Dorothy and Leon bond over a shared prophecy that Doro's parents once told her. The epicenter was under Pioneer Town, so we're heading there. It's totally fine! Upgrade your gear while here, and talk to a few BPCs. They'll tell us a girl and her dog went into the secret area under the town. It's gotta be Emilina and Barkly.

In the room where the goomen were is Emily, kicking at a dragon statue. She and Dorothy are glad to see each other, but where is Charles? Emy tells us the dragon statue ate him, and she can't get in. We all try, but Myra's the one who opens it via magic. Welcome to the Golden Halls. After some arguments, Emily joins us for this dungeon. She's playable but has no moves. Fortunately, her survival is not mandatory. We should, probably, protect her anyway because she's a little girl looking for her dog. We've all been there. She's afraid Barkly doesn't like her anymore, so her life is bad enough.

Inside are mobs we've already seen but they feel weaker than before. Make sure Star kills a mummy to learn Poison Drop. He's only missing one move now, but I don't know if I can get it anymore. He'll learn his Energy Break move later on. This is a long dungeon, but the battles aren't too often. Sadly, treasures seemed scarce.

Eventually, though, we'll reach a room with a strange mutual in the back. From it comes Barkly. He can teleport now, and Gulliver warns us he's going to attack. Barkly fights similarly to Dariem. So much that I think he's a Satakula. After the battle, Dariem shows up to confirm it. The spirit of Kandel resides in Barkly. Apparently, even by other Satakulas, Kandel is OP. Emily takes this surprisingly well. Dariem suggests that the true form of Kandel is near. If we find it, then Barkly might return to normal. It's not in this room, so I'll look for it...

.. tomorrow!

Some of my questions are getting answered. And a few more are getting obvious. I'm out of stuff to learn, so I hope the game doesn't start to drag.