With a world spiraling into pandemonium, our heroes must find the knowledge to mend the world. But will the madness of the former Priestess of Resurrection stop them dead in their tracks?
The Beginning of the End
The last we met, Nowe and Legan put a stop to the vengeful Red Dragon, Angelus and broke the final seal, sending a series of tragic events into motion. Not knowing what else to do, our heroes travel to the Ancient Tomb, a haven for the dragons and a font of knowledge that could contain the secret to mending this world of chaos.
Discovering that Nowe could in fact be the savior that ends the cycle, our heroes attempt to leave the tomb and head toward their final destination. Before they can do so however, Manah slips into madness and drags Nowe with her.
A Mind of Madness
As Nowe comes to, he is disoriented and unable to discern where he is. As he looks forward in the unfamiliar room, he sees a small girl. He can’t immediately recall who she is, yet something about her says that he should know her. The girl speaks, and a deep foreboding voice can be heard behind hers as if it came from deep within. Could this be Manah? Could Nowe have fallen into her madness alongside her as she was breaking down just moments ago? If that is the case, then he must try and free Manah from this. Break her from this chaos.
Before Nowe has time to come to terms with what he is seeing and experiencing, the little girl splits into a dozen or more copies of herself. Yet unlike the little girl that was before him, they are much more sinister. Little, red devils with daggers, intent on ending Nowe’s life and preventing him from freeing Manah’s mind. Only one is the true target however, the one controlling Manah. That is the one that Nowe must defeat!
Nowe panics, they are all identical, and singling out the correct target is difficult. On top of that, each and every time Nowe attempts to land a blow, the little fiends flip out of the way with little more than a scratch. The only thing that gives her away is a devastating blast of magic that she unleashes just as Nowe thinks he’s gaining ground. All the same, with perseverance, Nowe is able to whittle the foe down, and with one final blow the doppelgangers disappear.
The haze begins to clear and standing distraught is the little girl. No longer seething evil, but instead with a strange air of innocence. As Nowe approaches her to console her, she transforms into the Manah he recognizes. Was Nowe able to free Manah’s mind?
The Promised Land
Manah and Nowe find themselves once again on the surface of the Ancient Tomb. He was successful! Eris mentions that now that Manah has recovered, they must head toward the Promised Land. The place to restore the world. And so our heroes take flight.
The Promised Land is surrounded by hordes of grotesque monsters, as if they are drawn to its power. Nowe and his companions charge through, paying no heed to them and only lifting a finger to defend themselves when they have no other choice. Nowe is lost to himself as he ponders how he is to stop the destruction of the world. He knows he must find the next goddess and perform the sealing ceremony to restore seals of the world, but without a clue as to who that might be, he is lost. So lost in thought that in what seemed like minutes, our heroes made it to their final destination! The Bone Casket. The Book of Seeds.
As Legna lets our heroes down before a towering volcano at the center of the Promised Lands, he explains that Nowe has two choices. The first being that they can name a new goddess and perform the sealing ceremony. The second, being he can forsake his human friends and embrace the powers of the new breed. The only sacrifice he would need to make is to leave this world behind and create a new one in the vision of the dragons.
Hearing this from Legna shakes Nowe. He can’t sacrifice the world he has come to love and the friends that have been by his side since he was young. Without hesitating, Nowe states his choice, he will attempt to perform the sealing ceremony and save this world from chaos. He knows that it is only a temporary fix to a larger problem, but it buys them time to find a better solution. One that doesn’t require sacrifice.
The Betrayal of a Mentor
Legna is enraged with Nowe’s choice, and he roars in frustration. He screams that Nowe is a fool and to side with these inferior creations is senseless. Legna decides he has no other choice and calls upon his brothers, the holy dragons. Within minutes hordes of Legna’s brethren emerge from the mouth of the volcano just in the distance. They intend to stop our heroes from performing the ceremony! As they approach however, an army of golems appear at the volcano’s base! They expose their powerful cannons and begin to shoot the dragons down. Giving our heroes an opportunity to take cover!
Moments later Seere arrives on his pact partner, the golem. He must have been the one to summon this army of sentient rock that protects our heroes from the dragons. He explains that the dragons desire to become gods again, and in order to do that they must prevent the Sealing Ceremony and destroy whoever is chosen to be the goddess. Nowe barely hears the explanation however as he is distracted by the fact that Legna, his friend, his mentor, may have deceived him. Could it have been his plan all along to use Nowe as a means to this gruesome end?
Unable to wait any longer, Legna dives toward our heroes. Why will his protege not understand?! With a swift attack Legna lands a blow and knocks our heroes into the mouth of the volcano, to their certain doom. Fortunately, even though it is a long fall, they land safely on a ledge jutting out from the face of the inner walls of the volcano. As our heroes come to, they notice a large object before them, it is a Seed of Resurrection! The Bone Casket, the womb for which the Dragon’s secret weapon, the new breed would be born.
The New Breed
Nowe knows he must destroy the Seed of Resurrection, but Legna stands in his way. Charging forth Nowe hopes to put an end to this, but Legna will not have it! He fires blasts of energy to stop him, but Nowe is swift and is able to dodge the attacks. Nowe finally makes it to his old friend and lands a single blow, but Legna anticipates this and swipes Nowe away with his powerful tail.
Nowe lands next to Manah who, like him, has all but lost hope. But he must save her, he must become powerful in order to stop this chaos. As Nowe strengthens his resolve, a blue light surrounds him and with a burst of energy, ethereal wings begin to materialize behind him. He will save the human race, he will save Manah! As he comes to this understanding, he flys out of the mouth of the volcano. It is time to stop Legna.
As Nowe emerges from the volcano, he sees Legna waiting for him, but he has changed. He has transformed into his ultimate form, one that has transcended that of the holy dragons. A being as close to a god as a mortal could be. He attempts to convince Nowe one last time to join him, but Nowe will not hear it.
Our hero may not be human, but he wishes to protect humanity from the treachery of the dragons and those who would take advantage of them. With his mind made up, Nowe uses his new found power to fend off his dragon companion, his mentor, and all of his forefathers to finally step out from underneath their shadow. With regret Nowe defeats Legna.
A Bittersweet End
Now with his sire gone, Nowe approaches Eris and Manah. Peace has been restored, but there is one last task to be sure that it is maintained. A new Goddess must be named. As Manah and Nowe deliberate about where they could find a woman who is willing to make such a sacrifice, Eris steps forward and volunteers herself. At first both Manah and Nowe try to convince her otherwise, but knowing that she would be the only hope for the world to be brought out of the chaos, they hesitantly agree. Eris is determined and despite Nowe’s desire to be with her, he knows her sacrifice is for the greater good and helps her perform the ceremony.
Now with a new goddess, the world repairs itself and peace is brought to its people once again. But was it the right choice? Is being shackled by the gods truly peace and is it truly worth the sacrifice?
The End
Curious to see the full playthrough? Watch the finale right here!
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