Maiden of Demise

I should have Facebook the Moon Dragon last night!

"We traveled into the inner realm of Ze-Kalios. We were in the middle of a grand Colosseum with a giant moon overhead. As we had hoped, the dragon of harmony was more talkative. Should we pass his test, of course.

ZK has two forms. In form one, he wasn't much of a god. Form two, though... We could only damage his tail. Everything else was well armored. From here, we had to deal with stuns and painful blasts of energy that erupted from him. He was always spinning, so getting that weak point was a doozy. But I had to attack giant things from behind before. I've been to Ys!

Ze-Kallios told us everything we needed to know. Tia was a victim of fate. The Winds of Destruction exist to reset the balance of Altago, and Tialuna is the decider of the reset. Ever since Edona raided Iska, the balance that Altago was built on started tipping. You can tell by the differences between the palace, the other tribes, and even the ruins on Ruins Island. Hell, look at Altago Town and Old Town. And the way Zanzibar and Ormus treated everyone... Altago needed to be reset and rebuilt. He didn't give details, but I assume the more lost hope, the faster or stronger the country looks on the otherside. And that's why I had to exist and to die. I'm sure Geis was suddenly happy I beat him out for the role now. Apparently, this has happened before. But with that, I received the final Dragon Stone.

We returned to Iska, but now we had to find Tia. Ciarus knew where she was, but I think she showed us first. Yet another earthquake rocked Altago, and even the hidden village felt it. The eight of us left the town to check on Altago and instantly saw our destination. Through the thick fog that now hung over the nation and where a lake once resided beneath the cliff was the Well of Souls. The souls of all those who've died in calamities were concentrated in the hole. Tia was down there, and we needed to stop her. Before heading there, we returned to Iska to notice that even this between dimensions was starting to warp. The sky was red, and the end was coming. The black mist was also affecting everywhere else. We upgraded our weapons and said some final things to our friends in Altago.
Singroon could walk and was staring at the light over the Well. She plead with Aisha to return.
Driesen was awake. He and Mustafa had a needed talk, and then Driesen and Cruxie said some loving words. We couldn't find Mustafa in town.
Elk promised Fatima he'd come back.
Maya was awake as well. Raud was still looking over her, but Maya was still lonely and scared. Dogi and I promised we'd bring her sister back.
And with that, we dove into the final battle.

To reach the bottom, we had to fight through primordial monsters. Eye monsters, blue wolves, rock golems, and three headed dogs were everywhere. As were tree creatures in a strange light puzzle location. There were pools down here that housed starfish and angler fish with massive mouths. Everything felt like a titano! There was also an annoying insect that reminded me of the ibex near Kylos.

The first location was a cave. Using the Moonlight Bell took us to a strange city. Aisha and Cruxie believed it was an Iskan city from a former cycle, but we'll never know. To get through this, we had to guide a beam of light into a gemstone near a same colored wall. The next section was another cave, but this one seemed to have concentrated Winds of Destruction blowing around it. We had to deal with some pain from it, but we'd eventually find a Moon Pendant near a shortcut back to the city. Later on, we'd have to navigate a narrow ledge or fall into a pool. And after that was the source of Altago, made out of soul crystals and home to the mother of monsters. And beyond that was a bird.

Scias stood before a large door. Tia was on the otherside. All we had to do was defeat the Knight of Despair. Before our battle, Scias told us he chose to defend Tia, seeing how vital she was to this cycle. He knew all of this had happened before and expected it to happen again. But our team was united this time. Representatives from all the tribes were trying to save this Altago. Sure, one of them was paying off a debt, but it works. Scias thought all other dragon warriors thought the same, but it didn't matter if he was right. They failed, but we couldn't!

Unlike before, Scias didn't feel like he was trying. Maybe it was Iskan's synthesized gear, but despair didn't come. I used the Moon Dragon's power to quickly dispatch him.

As the Altigian Falcon kneeled before us, his true intentions came out. He wasn't a bad man. He killed the King and framed me for the sake of balance in Altago. Had he not caused more unrest, the suffering in Altago would continue. I hate to say it, but I understand how he thought that. He deeply apologized to Aisha and me and asked us to stop Tia before joining the Well of Souls.

Tialuna was at the bottom of a long spiral. A machine was over her that controlled the Rite of Demise. As we approached, a halo formed around her. We discussed everything, and she seemed married to her job. Aisha managed to get to the bottom of why now, though. It was Maya's sickness. Spending time with her younger sister made her want to forget her role. These words, and the words from Scias earlier, made me realize she had nothing to do with the earthquakes, titanos, or even the fevers. They were just symptoms of imbalance. But Maya was suffering, as was all of Altago. The longer she waits to activate the rite, the longer they will hurt. It was time.

Tialuna wasn't much of a fighter. Ever with her two summons, we overpowered her. Her halo vanished, and the markings on her skin did, too. But she's not the one in charge of this. All she does is pull the lever. The Root of All Existence, Rul Ende, called to us. This timeless entity represented all that Altago is. It looked like an amalgamation of all the shrine guards and dragons we've fought. We had to tackle this creature all at once!

Mishere, Elk, and Dogi battled the bottom. They told me they had to knock out four dragon heads, each with their own elemental attacks, to reveal the squishy insides.
Aisha, Cruxie, and Geis took on the midsection, which was the opposite. They had all the time to attack the heart, but they had to avoid various fire blasts, arm smashes, and lasers.
And I had to solo the head. Four bulbs surrounded it, which I killed first. This freed it and allowed it to move around. Its tactics only slightly changed. Black orbs were still flung at me, as were red holes that sucked me. But lava could now erupt from beneath me. I've spoken to gods, been touched by goddesses, and killed immortal machines and demons. A being outside the flow of time was just another notch on my sword.

Tia was happy. Married to her job or not, she's a loving and caring young woman. But her actions brought her grief. She felt so sorry for killing Kirnarl and blamed herself for all of this. The Well of Souls, with its purpose now gone, began to destroy itself. Tia wanted to die with it. Aisha, though, was having none of it. She told Tia that she'd have to repent of her sins. Besides, it was her family's fault that all of this happened. Altago would be in good hands when she took the reigns. Aisha's words changed Tia's mind, and I led her out of there.

We saw the well close up for good from the hill near the Iskan gate. We freed Altago from its cycle, fate, and all that was tied to it. The Dragon Stones, which were housed in our weapons, began to glow and shoot out before us. The five dragons, seeing that they were no longer needed, thanked us. They left the nation in our hands, and we had to control the balance now with no take backsies. The fog was gone, and Cruxie's Iskan Fever subsided. But not all was good...

Tia started to disappear. She was more tied to the dragons and this stupid role than I thought. I don't remember what she told us, but Maya ran here with Raud. Maya's entire goal in life was to spend time with Tia, so I'm not surprised she'd run here the moment she got better. She ran up to her big sister and gave her a hug. A hug as though trying to keep her here. Maya knew that Tia was about to leave. Even Maya remembering how to talk, yelling her name and pleading, begging her to stay, couldn't keep Tia around. Tia's final words to her sister were that she would always be watching and to always smile. Maybe one day...

Dogi and I hung around to help with the clean up. We did kinda cause it, after all. Aisha wrote a book about the recovery, so I suggest you read it if you're curious. But Altago was rebuilt, Zanzibar was kicked out, and his goods went to the residents of old town. Dreisen restarted the dragon knights with Sigroon and Raud as his commanders. But Dogi and I had other adventures to go on. Aisha wrote me once, saying that she gets a white flower from a certain flower girl every day. It's not out of duty but out of love. She promised me that I'd see a field of white flowers the next time I visited. I can't wait.

- Adol"

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I was right; I cried. The final battle was one of my favorite final fights ever. Getting to use your entire group to fight one ginormous monster feels so climactic and fun. As for the ending, I'm torn. It's emotional and great, but I also hate it. Maya deserved better! All she wanted was to spend time with her sister, but the writers couldn't give it to her. They had to tie Tia too deeply to this Nietzschean idea. Just give us the happy ending, guys! Overlooking that, though, Ys Seven just became one of my new favorite games!