An OG

Looking for tools for our glass smith Rojo, we attend college! I hope there's more because this is just a library. Lucio owes the headmaster, Oropen, a favor, but he hands us the Cinderain Tools. We can also begin a side quest here if we found his ruler in the museum. It reminds him of a promise he made to his mother, but we'll get to that later. Return to Rojo with the tools, and we'll head to the cathedral now. Rojo can fix it, but Mother Superior tells us we're missing something important. To get the colors on the mural correct, we need to collect magic water for the dye. Wilhelm suggests Rainbow Lake, but getting there might be hard. Hopefully, Paulina knows how.


She gives us a shoe... It floats like a boat upriver, but we're in a high heel. I hope this demigoddess has clean feet.


If I had to describe Rainbow Lake in one word, I'd call it Seussian. The colors and layout of this (technically) lake are right out of the Lorax or something. It's really impressive. After Wilhelm tells us this river delta actually forms a single lake in the rainy seasons, he guides us to four pools throughout the area. He warns us something strange is likely to appear because of the latent magical energy in the area and how it interacts with Crisbell's time powers. He'd be right. Before discussing it, there was also a strange statue in the middle of this dungeon. Wilhelm thinks it's another Witness like Paulina and Buki, but Buki doesn't recognize this one. Mobs here are azure slimes, who are immune to magic, and the other two slimes we've fought. There are also Clarity guards, for some reason.


But the four pools are easily spotted on the path. As Wilhelm thought, each gave us a glimpse of some point in time.
The first offers us another look at the ruined orphanage in Narim.
The second is of a great hero who defeated the Empress of Time at the cost of their own life.
The third was a random battle between monsters.
The fourth and final was sealed behind a flower. Wil called it the Millennium Flower, and it's been absorbing the magical energy for 1000 years. A door similar to the portal Wilhelm opened, allowing Crisbell to get her sword, appears before us. It takes us to the same strange dimension where everyone sees the Empress destroy the world. Speak her name, and the devil will appear. The Empress of Time warped in, looking for the flower as well. I wonder why? Seeing this as an opportunity, Crisbell and everyone prepare for battle against her.


Timey gives us each one turn to harm her. The Crises did zero damage, and Wilhelm failed to scan her. She then proceeded to do 2000 to each of the party members. We still want to fight, but we shouldn't. Timey then plays with her food and sends us back in time. We see her rewinding everything until we pass through the door. Wilhelm is the only one to realize we were wound. But it doesn't matter, and another battle starts. Almost. A strange figure comes to our aid and takes us away. The Empress takes the flower as the camera cuts to the start of Rainbow Lake.


This is JKR-721, the statue that was sitting in the middle of the lake. The interesting interaction between us and the Empress made him wake up. He seems to be an early robot prototype and doesn't fully understand human emotions. He wants to come along with us, and we let him. Before dying, we got the four water dyes, so it's time to return to the cathedral.


As we enter, we see wolves have taken over the entrance. This acts solely as a tutorial for how to use, as Cristopher calls him, K's abilities. He doesn't have mana, and his basic attacks can be used infinitely if you get the timing right. One of his skills allows him to Juggle a mob to the otherside of the map. The only downside is his actions cause heat to build up in him. If it gets too high, he'll explode, so use another skill to dissipate it. I couldn't get the hang of his attacks, and he didn't do a lot of damage. And I'm not really into high risk characters, anyway. Juggle may lead to fun tactics, but I won't be using him.


We give Rojo the dyes, and he gets to work repairing the stained glass mural. He finishes fast, and it looks good. Crisbell approaches it and says it's working. It didn't seem to do anything to me, but Ryza entered, looking for Wilhelm. Cristopher, still crushing on her, takes the lead. Gladys' memorial service is being held now, and Ryza thinks Wilhelm wants to be there. He does, so our next destination is the Oroitz Mansion.


Most of the town is here. Only the Cinderains and Joseph, another son of Gladys, aren't here. Alex, the priest, is heading the procession and asks everyone to say how Gladys changed their life. She was a kind and loving person, so there are plenty of stories. After we speak to everyone, Rhallus speaks up, and Buki thinks she might have been the one who broke the mural. K senses witness parts in the Salt Mines, located beneath the cathedral, so we head there.


At this point, all side quests are open.


The Salt Mines contain ghosts that inhabit salt and can transform into a character. There are also wolves and more Clarity guards. We'll have to use Crisbell's new localization time warp abilities to guide tubes of sand into a collector bin. Buki's hand is before the dungeon really begins, and her body is the reward. We'll warp back to the cathedral to put her back together, but there's a surprise when we do. Kari, the Empress' emissary in the museum, teleports in. We can't repair Buki under her watch, so she turns on a strange machine to make Buki go haywire!


Buki is a wall monster that isn't hard. She summons a sand sphere, for some reason, and Crisbell can one shot it. Buki often turns blue, which means she'll be weak to magic. She'll also be immune to physical attacks, so let Bell heal. Buki's damage isn't very high, so these heals should suffice.


The battle causes Buki to reboot. When she comes back, her memory is, mostly, fixed. It's enough to confirm her suspicions, though. She saw the twins open a portal with items belonging to Gladys. Out of that portal came the founder of the Oroitz Family, Rhallus. Rhallus then broke the mural before making sure Buki couldn't tattle. With all the side quests (about to be) done, we can return to the manor.


We speak to Lucio and Ryza before Rhallus takes the lead. She tells everyone that Gladys said she was the one selected to be the new matriarch of the Oroitz family. The twins are excited, but no one good is. Qe can't confront her without evidence, though. After Matias hops back in time to learn Gladys foresaw her death and made a will, Wilhelm thinks he knows where that will is.

We check out his house and find a secret wall. Gladys gave him a random box once that he never looked in. That box contains Gladys Will. For the final time, return to the manor and confront Rhallus. She'll get furious that we're affecting her ability to reclaim her wealth and bite her finger. This transforms her, and she kidnaps Ryza in preparation for the final battle.


It takes place on the highway where the parade is happening. The parade is supposed to celebrate the final fight against the Empress, and it's about to celebrate the saving of Tulira.


The battle against Rhallus can be done in two ways. You can send her to the future, but the wolf monster gains a lot of HP, stats, and terrifying attacks. Expect poison, AoE attacks, and a long battle if you go this route. Sticking in the present, though, means you have to deal with Rhallus draining Ryza's HP on Ryza's turn. But Rhallis is vulnerable to various status effects, weaker stats, and less powerful single target spells. Keep in mind that you lose if Ryza dies. This was a great use of the time mechanics! I hope there's more.


We'll take Ryza home and prepare for the fallout of our actions. The twins, who admitted they did this out of the want to keep their money, are thrown into jail. Did they mention the other daughter? Reading more of Gladys' Will reveals she wanted to donate money to everything in town. But we get to choose what gets it. Had we not done all the side quests, we'd only get to choose the museum or the college. Doing all gives Crisbell the option to drain all of the money, according to Ryza, and repair both. This decision drastically alters the future of Talira. The buildings look high class, the warming lanterns I skipped over work again, flowers begin to grow again, and everyone is happy! Before leaving, Ryza asks how she could ever repay us, and Topher asks for a date. Ryza usually doesn't date foreigners, but she thinks Cristopher has earned it. K realizes that love can bloom between two separate races, which makes him want to join us to our next destination. It's been centuries since he last roamed the planet, and he wants to see how everything has changed while learning about human emotions.


Our next destination is Cinder. We don't know how to get there, but maybe Paulina would! We'll find out...


...tomorrow!


I liked the mystery side quests of Clarity, but they didn't work in Tulira. One had nothing to do with the events at hand, and another had no bearing despite directly implicating the twins. I guess they built on the denizens, I guess. Also, the devs didn't update the insides of the museum or college. They're still decrepit...