Memento from Another Time

Ah?!

Blipple-blep!

What happened? You okay?

My ankle gave way. I'm fine, though.

Happens sometimes. On we go, then!

Bleeep!

Your shoe is coming apart.

It's the sewing at the heelpiece again...

Want to go buy some new ones?

I'd rather get them fixed.

Okay, there's probably a shoemaker in town. Let's have a look around.

Your shoes are kind of cute and dainty, huh? They don't quite match your cool and collected exterior.

They're important to me. I won't dispose of them unnecessarily.

Hm?

I'll make sure the heelpiece gets fixed properly this time.

Broken shoes? Let's see what I can do.

O-Ho, unusual pair you've got there. I once knew a wise wanderer from the West who had a similar sort.

Have you had these shoes since you traveled here from the West?

That's right. They were gifted to me by a...benefactor of mine. I'm always wearing them, so of course they get worn out. I've had them repaired more times than I can count.

Always, huh? They really must be quite sentimental to you, then.

Oh dear. Hm.

You can't fix them?

'Course I can! What kind of cobbler would I be if I couldn't? It's just that I don't have the right material for them right now.

Is it possible for us to get the material for you? What's needed?

Bleep!

I'd need you to go to the Man-eating Marsh, if you could. There's a certain fiber you can only get from its native brambles.

But, rumor has it there's a fearsome phantom stalking the place, as of late.

A phantom, you say? Could you tell us more about it?

Not really. The marsh doesn't see many visitors in the first place, so there isn't much more anyone knows about it.

This is bad. It's not uncommon that a remote phantom ends up haunting an entire town to the point of depopulation.

It's not?!

It's not. That's why we should head to the marsh and check on the situation as soon as possible.

If it comes down to it, we may have no choice but to eradicate the phantom. We should be prepared.

Here's that bramble the shoemaker described to us.

No sign of the phantom, though. Guess that really was just a rumor.

Wait...I'm getting chills, all of a sudden.

It can't be!

I can feel there's an intense aura of hatred coming from this thing! Melina, how do we take it down?

We can't, wait!

But you said... What do we do, then?

Change of plans.

Blep-blep?

We have to purify it first. That's the only way to defeat it for good. I don't have the right powder with me though. We have to fall back.

Really? Well, okay.

What do you know about the phantom?

It's no mere phantom, for starters. It's a human soul, snatched from its body and trapped in that lantern.

Really?!

It was trapped by a fiend known as the Nachtyl. It wanders the lands, tracks down someone on the brink of death.

It snatches their soul from their body, and locks it in its lantern. It then feeds on the trapped soul's dying regrets. Thus, they are doomed to eternally relive their final moments. As I said: this is no mere phantom.

If we defeated the Nachtyl, would the person's soul return to their body?

No. In all likelihood, the Nachtyl will have strayed too far from the soul's place of death for them to find their body again.

Oh.

Then there's the amount of time that's passed since they were separated. A soulless body just isn't able to hold onto life for that long.

......

Blepple.

That is why Nachtyls are so terrible. To prolong the pain of death in such an manner... It's downright cruel. Torture, even.

So, let's free the soul from its suffering; we can, at least, grant it that.

Bleeep!

Sounds good. How do we do it?

If we sprinkle the Phantic Powder onto the soul, it'll weaken the lantern's binding and allow them to escape.

Phantic Powder, huh?

So, we need to go the Keruri Highroad to get the wildflower to make it.

Then we won't waste any time. Let's go get it!

The wildflower for the powder is supposed to be around here, right?

Yes, the duperowties over there. We just need the roots.

Um... This enough?

Yes, thank you. Now, I just have to add this to these herbs...

And, done. With this, we can free that poor, unfortunate soul from its prison.

How'd you know so much about this kind of stuff, Melina?

I couldn't do my job if I didn't, could I?

Sure, but even among professionals, you're the cream of the crop, right? I guess it's because you work so hard.

I won't rest on my laurels. I have to be the best I can, or I risk making another mistake, like before....

Blep.

What was that?

It was some years ago now; when I was still but a child.

Uh, wouldn't you consider yourself to still be a child?

No, and I don't appreciate the suggestion that I should.

O-Oh, my mistake.

I had a position of huge responsibility in the church, I was the head of an expedition to eliminate a particularly large fiend. I was yet an inexperienced leader, but I had no choice. Given my reputation, people were counting on me to do it.

I had a position of huge responsibility, I was the head of an expedition to eliminate a particularly large fiend. I was yet an inexperienced leader, but I had no choice. Given my reputation, people were counting on me to do it.

My inexperience, and my determination not to betray the hopes of those who believed in me, proved fatal. I was captured by the enemy.

Bleeep-blip...

My comrades decided to rescue me, costing many of them their lives. I was in the infirmary when some of them died of their injuries. None of them expressed regrets about what they did. They said it was necessary because I'm a beacon of hope for everyone.

Melina...

Since then, I've refused to let my age be an excuse for failure. I can't, with so many people depending on me.

I haven't let them down so far, I'd say. Through intense study, I've bettered my knowledge of monsters considerably.

That really must've been hard. Don't you...

I hadn't intended to reveal this much of my past. It seems I got carried away.

We shouldn't dally any longer. That trapped soul is suffering as we speak.

There it is.

Listen, Aldo. Once I throw the powder into the air, expect a violent counter-reaction. Have your sword at the ready.

Right!

Your fate has been most unjust, wretched soul. But, lament no longer.

We shall hence deliver you from this nightmare, to a peaceful realm free of despair.

Did it work?

Is this what I think it is?

Melina!

It's worked! Now we have to fight it, and break the Nachtyl's curse completely!

You have suffered too much, for too long. Allow me to end it all.

Is the curse broken?

One more sprinkling of the powder ought to do it!

Concern yourself not for me, Sister Melina. I have had my time.

Not another word! You'll make things worse. Rest, be at ease.

There is no need... Sister Melina, fear not for me.

My healing didn't... Why isn't my magic working?!

Please, hang on! I will find a way to heal you, somehow!

There is no need. You need only to live, and give hope...to our people.

B-But then...

Shine for the hope of all, Sister Melina. Our beacon, our wings... Without you, all is darkness. Your wings must be protected at all costs... Without them, we're nothing... To be left so defenseless... How lamentable!

The lamentable one is I, who allowed another life to be sacrificed for mine.

......

Was that who I think it was?

Yes. What you just heard were the soul's memories of its final moments.

He was a priest. A priest who died in the operation to rescue me from the fiend.

Which means his soul travelled across the Vastsea, somehow.

Blepple...

So, it's the trapped souls that wander around too, not just the Nachtyls?

I've never heard of that happening. I don't think that's the case.

Then, maybe he came looking for you?

I think you're right.

Thank you... I wouldn't be here, or a better envoy of the congregation, without your sacrifice. I'd never made it this far without all of you.

Thank you... I wouldn't be here, or a better envoy of the congregation, without your sacrifice. I hope you'll continue to watch over me from the other side, as you once did so valiantly on the battlefield.

......

When you're ready, let's get going.

Without the fiber? You really are absent-minded sometimes, Aldo.

Ah... I think I got into my monster-hunting mindset and forgot about the ingredient-fetching part. My bad.

*sigh* Really, what am I to do with you?

You got the fiber? Then your shoes are as good as repaired already. Leave it to me.

Splendid! They look and fit better than ever!

They oughta see you through a few more adventures yet, too.

I can't thank you enough. These shoes are extremely important to me.

Bleep!

You're very welcome. Next time you need 'em repaired, you know where to find me.

You know, I'm not sure you ever said exactly why those shoes mean so much to you, Melina.

These shoes were given to me by my adopted father, a bishop of my congregation.

Wow, one of the bishops?

Yes. Do you remember the Core Creed I spoke of, back in Acteul?

"The master of man resides not beneath the vast seas, but in the Sea Within."

You said you think that could lead you to finding your missing savior?

That's the bishop's belief.

He was the one who urged me to embark on this journey to find it. These shoes are the only gift I still have from him. I'm sure you can understand why I would treasure them so highly.

(How couldn't I, knowing all that you've been through, now?) Of course I understand.

I think as you continue on your journey, those words, and those shoes, might end up taking on a new meaning for you, though.

Perhaps you're right. Not unlike those final words I'd thought to be a burden, until now.

You mean the priest's? From the expedition?

Yes. What that soul, the Father, said about the winged child...

He was actually referring to Melina, right?

Correct... It is determined by scripture.

The congregation teaches that when our savior, sword in hand, descends upon the land, he will be met by one with twelve wings. It was often said that I, a gifted user of magic from a young age, was the next coming of that Winged Being. That's why those words were a burden. I've always felt pressured to live up to those impossibly lofty expectations.

Yes. What that soul, the Father, said about the winged child. He was actually referring to me.

Wings of the faith huh... I hope the priests don't expect you to be able to actually fly.

The congregation teaches that when our savior, sword in hand, descends upon the land, he will be met by one with twelve wings. It was often said that I, a gifted user of magic from a young age, was the next coming of that twelve-winged figure. That's why those words were a burden. I've always felt pressured to live up to those impossibly lofty expectations.

I can't imagine how hard that must've been.

But...

Now, I think I feel differently. That moniker was bestowed unto me from a place of encouragement and care, not dependency or demand.

You know, I think that's true.

I hope it is.

It makes me think that I might've been searching in the wrong places for the savior or spirit, whatever it is I'd hoped to find, too. Because the world isn't made up of just what we can see in front of our eyes, but what dwells in people's hearts as well.

That's right.

Thank you. Yes, maybe...maybe what I've been looking for has actually been within me, within us, this whole time.

...Well, that's one theory I've come to consider now, at any rate.