A (not) new journey!

It's the third, final, and canon character: Toal Fact!

His opening sequence is a lot different. It starts out with Feena and Reah overlooking the destruction on Terra Firma Ys. They consider what they need to do. Suddenly, one senses tempered cleria. They find a sword, and both girls know who it belongs to, but they only call him "him." One of them can speak with metal, and the blade tells her that its owner is still alive.

[The second animation plays, and it's exactly the same.]



Five people are atop a large tower. Their leader, Dalles, laughs at the damage he caused when he attacked the transport spell of the Ysians, his enemies. Zava asks one of them, Toal, how he feels about declaring war on his former friends and allies. He says that he's joined the demons now and doesn't care. Dalles informs the four of them; Toal, Zava, Kishgal, and Epona, that their goal is to find and subdue the goddesses Feena and Reah and steal the Black Pearl.

Zava teleports Toal to the base of Darm Tower. He is to start here and climb up to find the targets. Kishgal and Epona will do the same for the top and middle down. She tells him about the dark crystal and its effects on the corrupted Goddess Statues and the art of teleportation. Before leaving, a group of rogue demons enter the room. Zava can't control them, so Toal kills and absorbs their energy. Zava is upset he'd destroy her summons so quickly, but he reminds her what his role is and that Dalles has given him free will so long as he finds the divine ones. And with that, she leaves, and Toal starts his search.

[Toal explores the Wailing Blue, and it is much of the same as the others. He even gets caught in the trap. There is a difference in who he meets in the next room...]

Galleon is standing in the room, unsure of who the stranger before him is. Toal knows who he is. He gives Galleon a hint of his identity, and the commander of the holy knights realizes it! He's thrilled that his friend and comrade is still alive, but he's confused about a few things. Toal, though, doesn't mince words. He quickly tells his former second-in-command that he's joined the demons. Galleon doesn't believe it, but he eventually accepts that his enemy is in his sights. A battle between Ys and a traitor happens, and Galleon's slick sword magic can't handle Toal's berserker barrages. Galleon manages to escape, and he informs his former friend that he'll remind him who he truly is soon.

After killing a few bats, Toal finally awakens something in himself. He's slaughtered enough demons now that he's officially one. He transforms into his demon form, and he almost loses control. Almost... This new power will trick the trap into letting him pass.

Upon the defeat of the horcruxes, a young girl climbs after him. She demands to know who the stranger is, but Toal says it's rude to ask before introducing yourself first. She quickly apologizes and says her name is Yunica Tovah. Toal automatically asks if she's related to Saul Tovah. "He was my father." She wants to know if he knows her dad, and Toal says he does. He also knows Saul is dead. In fact, he takes credit for it. Yunica gets furious and tries to kill Toal, but he adeptly dodges the oversized axe. Despite being enemies, Toal only knocks her out and leaves.

...

After defeating the boss, Epona descends the stairs ahead of him. She warns him about killing Zava's pets, but he doesn't care. The rest of the conversation is quick, and she asks if Toal has a brother. She met someone who reminded her of Toal, but the Claw Man states he doesn't have one. As she leaves, he thinks to himself that "he" must be here.

This made Toal think of his life in Ys. He was great friends with Galleon and the mages. They even teased him about missing his brother. But Toal had a feeling seeing Hugo would just make things worse. He then thought about a time he met with the twins. They offered him tea, but he felt uncomfortable accepting. He should be serving them. Eventually, they convinced him to lighten up and become friends like Yunica had.

In the Sunken Prison, Toal learned he was being followed. Hugo finally reached him. His little brother has been furious at him for so long. Hugo even screams that he's going to follow his father's orders and kill him. Toal assumed Hugo was here to find the goddesses, but he was given a secret mission by Priest Fact to kill the traitor. But then he asks why Hugo is hesitating. Some theories are said, but the battle eventually begins. Hugo is only effective at range and can't handle Toal's speed.

As Hugo lies on the ground, two other mages enter the room. Miuscha and Cadena. Cadena had hoped Galleon was wrong, but this is clearly her old friend. Toal offers them a free escape, and Cadena warps the three Ysians to base. Kishgal was watching the entire thing and asked why the demon let the three go. Toal just didn't want to fight. Must have been feeling lazy. Kishgal thinks that's dumb, so he better find the twins to make up for it.

...

Climbing into the Guilty Fire made Toal think about his past again. He was close friends with Feena and Reah and finally stopped with the prim and properness of their meetings. Sadly, his family life was still nonexistent.

---

Toal plays similarly to Yunica but is much faster and seems to have AoE on his swings. His wind magic is terrible, so I'm gonna be relearning how to play Origins! His yellow magic seems powerful, so that's nice. I've forgotten all about Toal's story, so I'm hoping it'll compare with the other two!