Duma Temple
Berkut: It’s not possible… Alm is the emperor’s true son? Which makes him the rightful successor to the imperial throne. All this time… All the effort! What has it all been for?! …No. It isn’t true. It can’t be. I refuse to believe it. Nothing but lies… Lies, lies, lies, lies, LIES!
Berkut: Is that…an altar? How did I get here? What’s happening?
Duma: Heed me…
Berkut: Who are y—
Duma: Heed me, you who thirst for power… Call to me. Accept me unto your soul.
Berkut: That voice… Duma? Is it really you?
Duma: ……
Berkut: What…?
Rinea: Lord Berkut!
Berkut: Rinea…
Rinea: I’ve been looking all over for you. This is the last place I would have expected to find you. You always hated the Faithful, after all.
Berkut: This is true… But then I had the throne snatched from under me by some magical heir. Plying the gods’ mercies is what men do in hopeless situations, is it not?
Rinea: I didn’t mean… Forgive me. I shouldn’t have said anything.
Berkut: ……
Rinea: Please don’t despair so. Alm seems a kind and generous man. I’m certain he’ll treat you fair.
Berkut: And I’m to be content with that?!
Rinea: Ah!
Berkut: I wanted to BEAT him, Rinea! To dispatch him and claim the throne! I wanted to make you my empress and hold all Valentia in our palms together! But what of those dreams now…? Even Rigel alone is now forever beyond my grasp. So I’m to live in this Alm’s shadow? Throw myself upon his mercy? I would sooner an honorable death at the executioner’s blade!
Rinea: Berkut! You mustn’t say such things. I never… The truth is, I never wanted to be empress.
Berkut: …What?
Rinea: To stand at your side is all I’ve ever desired. I don’t care if you’re the emperor or a swineherd so long as we… Berkut?
Berkut: …You too, Rinea?
Rinea: What?
Berkut: Were you laughing along with them? Rudolf, Massena, and all the rest? Watching me toil away while you knew I would never become emperor! Was every kind word part of the act? Every smile an act of PITY?!
Rinea: Berkut, you’re frightening me!
Berkut: Duma! O ancient god! I call out to you now! Grant me the power to set this land to ruin for good and all! Take of me what price you will! I care not anymore!
Rinea: Eeek!
(Movie “The Price of Power” plays)
Fernand: Lord Berkut! Lord Berkut…?
Fernand: Wh-who are you? What have you done to Lady Rinea?
Grand Portal
Alm: Grandfather, what’s this door?
Mycen: It leads to the altar beneath Duma Tower. But know that it is a path not easily returned from. Prepare well before you enter.
(If you speak to Massena)
Massena: A moment, Prince Albein? I ask that you show Lord Berkut compassion. He weighed heavy on Emperor Rudolf’s mind for many years. The emperor knew that keeping the boy in ignorance could only bring him pain. And yet, the prospect of your being discovered was too great a risk. Still, Berkut was his nephew, and the same age as the son he parted with. So I beg leniency of you, if only to respect Emperor Rudolf’s wishes.
(If you try to enter Duma Temple)
Mycen: It leads to the altar beneath Duma Tower. But know that it is a path not easily returned from.
The Altar of Duma
Saber: Blast it all! This place is crawling with Terrors. So much for “begone to wherever you will,” you damn useless priest!
Boey: And what is that supposed to mean? You’re not actually thinking of leaving Celica in there and running away?!
Saber: Did you hear me say anything about running away? Gimme some credit here, you little snot!
Masked Knight: Stop flapping your jaws and focus on the fight! I’d prefer not to die here, if it’s all the same to you two fools!
Duma Temple
Alm: Whatever lies at the end of these corridors possesses a frightful aura—it sets the hairs on the back of my neck on end. The lord of this temple awaits… and here I am, terrified of him. But we must press on, if we are to put an end to this long war.
Entrance
Alm: Hold up, everyone.
Clive: What is it, Alm?
Alm: Someone’s coming. It’s…Fernand?!
Clive: What?
Fernand: That voice… Clive?
Clive: Fernand!
(Clive clutches Fernand’s dying body)
Clive: Gods, what’s happened to you?
Fernand: Spare me your pity. I’ve none to blame for this but myself… Such trivialities matter not at this point. But you… You made it here. Then you truly intend to slay Duma?
Clive: We do, for it was Emperor Rudolf’s dying request.
Fernand: I see… Then he must have known of Duma’s madness.
Clive: Duma is mad?
Fernand: Oh yes… Duma is a god no longer. Merely an incarnation of the lust for power… …You there. Alm.
Alm: Yeah, that’s me.
Fernand: Listen well… You must beware of Berkut. He… He’s no longer… …Hngh!
Alm: Fernand!
Fernand: Please, Alm… Stop Duma. I know I’ve no right to…ask anything of you… But I beg it of you regardless… You’re the only one who can end this. Let no one else be tainted by his madness. Let this tragedy end.
Alm: I will. I swear I will lay Duma to rest.
Fernand: Then I leave it…to you… Ngh!
Clive: Fernand! Are you all right?
Fernand: Haah…ha ha… Strange, isn’t it…? Me, begging boons of you…
Clive: Not in the least. I still count myself among your friends.
Fernand: You always were…too nice for your own good. Always so…quick to pardon me… Along the way, I…I forgot how to ask for forgiveness…
Clive: Fernand, please—
Fernand: I knew. I always knew. None of my misfortunes were anyone else’s fault… Yet if the world is rotten, then who permitted it to be so? It’s me…and no one else. I took anger better aimed at myself and turned it on…the defenseless masses. I’ve failed my duty as a nobleman…
Clive: Enough, Fernand. You’ve suffered enough. You needn’t flog yourself any further.
Fernand: Good… I am…rather tired. Tired of despair… Tired of rage… But Clive…I’m glad I got to see you one last time. You were right… You chose the right king. You always were the…friend I was… proudest to… ……
Clive: …Fernand? Fernand, no. Don’t do this. Look at me, Fernand! …Fernand!
Clair: I simply won’t accept this, Fernand! I insist you wake up this instant! We’re all returning to Zofia together! …Fernand? Fernand, say something!
Clive: He’s gone, Clair. …He’s gone.
Clair: No… Oh, Fernand… *sob*
Alm: Are you two going to be all right?
Clive: …Yes. Grief will have its day, but it will not be this one. Right now, let us do what we must. Lead the way, Alm.
Alm: All right. Fernand… I wish I could have fought beside you in the army you created. At least now your fight is over. …Farewell.
Mila’s Statue
Alm: That statue… Mila? Is that really the Earth Mother?
Lukas: But how could the goddess have been turned to stone? Only the sacred blade can seal a divine dragon’s power. …Look there. The blade protruding from her forehead must be Falchion. But given that…
(Celica appears from the other side)
Celica: …Alm?! Alm, is that you?
Alm: Celica! You’re safe. Oh. I’m so glad. …Wait, are you alone? Where are the others?
Celica: ……
(Jedah appears)
Jedah: Ahh… So this is Alm.
Alm: Who are you?
Jedah: My name is Jedah. I must thank you for disposing of Emperor Rudolf.
Alm: Well then, Jedah. Enjoy your last moments—I’m here to put an end to you AND Duma. I’ll see Zofia restored to Celica!
Celica: Alm, you can’t. You mustn’t!
Alm: What? Why not?
Celica: If Duma is gone, Rigel’s lands will turn as barren as Zofia’s have. Even more people will starve.
Alm: But Celica, we can’t let—
Celica: And even if you wanted to stop Duma, you can’t. Nothing can stop him now. Mila has chosen to seal Falchion away with her.
Alm: What?! But then…all this fighting. What was it even for? F-Father!
Celica: Alm…
Jedah: Aaah hah hah ha ha ha! Alm and Anthiese… You stand at the pinnacle of your respective kingdoms. The hour is come for the world of man to return to the gods’ control! It is the dawn of an age of fear and chaos, cradled in Duma’s shadow!
Alm: We’ll never let that happen.
Jedah: Rejoice, Anthiese, for you have the honor of serving as its cornerstone!
Alm: Celica? What is he talking about?
Celica: I’m sorry, Alm… This is the only way. There’s no other choice…
Jedah: The girl will offer up her soul to quell the madness in Duma’s heart. She does so for the sake of Rigel and Zofia’s people both.
Alm: What? No! Celica, you can’t! Tell me he’s lying!
Celica: I’m sorry, Alm…
Jedah: Do not think me a monster. I shall grant you the time for a farewell. But be quick about it!
(Alm and Celica hold hands between the grating)
Alm: Celica!
Celica: I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.
Alm: This is crazy! You can’t do this! I’m going to get you out of here. Just hold on!
Celica: You don’t understand, Alm. I came here knowing what awaited me.
Alm: What?
Celica: Back on the island, I had a dream. A dream where something terrible happened to you. So I decided to petition Mila for the strength to protect you. Yet for all my travels, you’ve still faced terrible danger. And you were even forced to end your own father’s life. …I’d seen it all. I knew it was coming, but I couldn’t change a thing. I failed to keep you safe, Alm!
Alm: That’s not… Celica, none of what’s happened is your fault. You’re not to blame for any of it!
Celica: But I won’t lose you… I won’t let any of you die! I don’t want you to fight Duma. I don’t want anyone to be hurt or killed. That’s my only desire in this life.
Alm: Celica!
Celica: And this is the only means I have of ensuring that comes to pass. So again, Alm—I’m sorry. I wish it could have been different. I always have. I wish I could have gone home to the village and lived there with you.
Alm: Celica, please wait! CELICA!
(Celica leaves with Jedah)
Alm: ……
Clair: Alm? I don’t wish to be vulgar, but… Well, what is the proper course of action for us now? Emperor Rudolf bade us defeat Duma, but Princess Anthiese asked us not to. Have we come this far simply to reach an impasse and accept it?
Lukas: One thing seems abundantly clear as things now stand: The chances of Zofia’s recovery are nearly extinguished. With Mila in her current state, there is little hope of change.
Tobin: No… But Celica is going to take care of Mila AND Duma for us, right?
Gray: Are you serious, Tobin?! You’re going to just sit around on your butt and let Celica die for us?!
Tobin: What? N-no! I don’t want that any more than you do! But what other choice do we have? There’s nothing left we CAN do!
Gray: ……
Alm: I’m not giving up.
Tobin: Huh?
Alm: I’m not giving up on her. Every part of me—every fiber of my being—says this is wrong. So we’re going to take down Duma and bring Celica home safe!
Tobin: Sure, that all sounds fine and well. But how do we do that, exactly?
Clive: Consider your position, Alm. You’re no longer just the leader of the Deliverance. You are to be Rigel’s next emperor. You must set your personal feelings aside, no matter how difficult it may be. All of Valentia depends on you now. That must be what steers your decision.
Alm: Fine. Then I decide to follow the will of the previous emperor, Rudolf.
Clive: Alm!
Alm: Oh, come on! What’s wrong with personal feelings?! All of you fought this far because you hold some kind of hope for the world. It’s man’s individual hopes and fears that shape the world. That drive it. And that’s how it SHOULD be. I truly believe that. Should we let the world crumble on a god’s whim? Or his absence?
Clive: You’re right, of course, but…
Alm: I don’t want to lose anyone else I care about. I don’t want to see anyone else lost because of Duma. Don’t you feel the same, Clive?
Clive: …… Even if we escape from Duma’s control, a starving people can know no peace. Villains and thieves will arise to feed on the weakest and most vulnerable. Are you prepared to inflict that upon the world?
Alm: I will dedicate my life as emperor to ensuring such a thing doesn’t happen. And yes, I know as well as anyone that there will be losses along the way. I think I’ve learned that much by now… But when I think of the next thousand years, I don’t want this. I want to leave behind a world where we shape our lives by our own hands. Where we make our own mistakes and fix them—as many times as necessary. That’s a world worthy of a future.
Clive: …So be it. If you have the determination to see it through, I’ll not object. I am yours to command, Your Excellency.
Gray: Count me in! I’m not living my life bowing to Duma and his little idiots. I’ll take going hungry over that any day of the week.
Tobin: I… I’m just not sure.
Gray: Oh, quit your whining and hop on board already!
Tobin: If it were just me I would, but I have little brothers and sisters to think of.
Lukas: I will gladly take up a trowel and work the land with them.
Tobin: Wai—but you’re a noble, Lukas!
Lukas: Such things will mean precious little in the world ahead of us. Myself, I refuse to be controlled by Duma or go hungry. If it means working the barren earth, then I shall do just that.
Clair: And you won’t do it alone! In truth, I’ve always been curious about farming. I’m sure we can reap or sow or… whatever it is enough to stay alive. Though I admit, I think all this talk of doom and gloom is entirely premature.
Alm: This is great, guys. Count me in, too. I’m pretty handy with a plow, actually. I’ll show you guys how it’s done!
Clive: An emperor plowing the fields? I never thought I’d see the day.
Alm: Huh?!
Alm: Mila’s statue is glowing…
Clive: What’s going on here? Wasn’t she sealed away?
Alm: She… She’s calling me…
Clive: Alm?
Alm: Let’s go. Mila is calling to me—we might still be able to pull this off. We have to find a way to the altar!
Elsewhere
Celica: ……
Jedah: It is time, Anthiese. Lord Duma is waiting.
Celica: Not yet. Not before you’ve released Mila. That was the arrangement.
Jedah: I’m afraid that what you ask is beyond my ability. Mila has sealed Falchion herself. We mortals have no say in the matter.
Celica: You… You lied to me!
Jedah: If you are displeased, princess, I suggest you point your ire at Mila. Lay blame upon the merciless goddess who forsook her Zofian children!
Celica: Mila! No… How could you?!
Jedah: Cease your lamentations and come along, girl. I’ll send the boy to you shortly. That I can promise.
Celica: No! Not Alm! You swore to leave him alone!
Jedah: Keh heh heh… How hopeless a fool can you be? Rejoice, Lord Duma! I have brought the Brand-bearer who threatens your order. Take her soul unto you and feast!
Celica: No! Stop! Let me go! AAAAALM!
Jedah: Ohh… Such potent energy! Bwaaaa ha ha ha! My Lord Duma is pleased! You needn’t wait much longer. I shall offer up the other Brand-bearer’s soul to you presently!
Celica: ……
Jedah: Anthiese. I declare you reborn as Duma’s faithful pawn. Now go. Fall into the darkest depths and rot with Mila below!
By the Scorching Flame
Alm: There… It’s him!
Berkut: Heh… Heh heh ha ha ha… You kept me waiting, Alm! Or should I say…Your Excellency? Perhaps Emperor Rudolf II of Rigel?
Alm: Berkut, listen to—
Berkut: Tell me, how does it feel to possess both Zofia and Rigel? I imagine it’s wonderful, though it’s a sensation I’ll never know.
Alm: This isn’t a conquest for me. I have no illusions the people of Rigel will suddenly welcome me as their ruler. But my father placed this land in my care, and I’ll do anything for it. Whatever it takes to keep Valentia’s people safe.
Berkut: ……
Alm: The path ahead is a difficult one for us all. So help us, Berkut. Lend us your strength! Rigel’s people trust and love you far more than me. You and I are cousins, after all. Family. I didn’t think I had any family in this world, and yet, here you are. I know we can be close friends as well. Let’s work together, Berkut. Put all we have toward ensuring all Valentia is—
Berkut: Silence.
Alm: Um…what?
Berkut: Listen to you, offering mercy and trite platitudes from on high. Work together? Us? Don’t make me laugh. Strength isn’t lent, it’s taken! Pried from the grip of your dead foes!
Berkut: ……
Alm: What the…
Clive: So this is what Fernand warned us about. Alm, Berkut has taken in Duma’s power. He’s no longer the man we knew!
Alm: No!
(As the battle begins)
Berkut: Ah, my beloved Rinea… Beautiful, isn’t she?
Alm: Oh gods… You offered the woman you love up to Duma?!
Berkut: ……
Alm: How could you?! What’s the point of power if you have nothing left to protect?!
Berkut: Power won’t betray me. Power won’t deceive me. Blood ties? Years of life lived together? All meaningless. The only thing in the world a man can rely on is his own strength!
Alm: Years of… Are you accusing my father of betraying you? You’re wrong! He loved you! He worried about you to the last! You knew him so much better than I did. How can you not see that?
Berkut: SILENCE! I’m tired of listening to your pretty little lies. It’s time, Rinea. Come with me. We’ll hold our wedding atop his funeral!
Alm: Berkut!
(Versus Berkut)
Berkut: You… You took…everything from me. You will SUFFER for what you’ve done!
(Berkut defeated)
Berkut: Graugh!
(After the battle)
Berkut: Nnngh…
Alm: Why, Berkut? To have finally found family after all this time… Why did it come to this?!
Berkut: Heh… I have no family…nor do I want for one. Now stop talking and finish this. End me, and you can stand alone as inheritor of Rigel’s royal blood.
Alm: I never wanted that! Don’t you get it? I’ve spent enough of my life alone!
Rinea: My Lord Berkut…
(Rinea’s spirit appears)
Berkut: …Rinea? Rinea, is that really you?
Rinea: Dear, proud Berkut… Even without crown or throne or castle… You were ever my emperor. A just, right, and noble man…
Berkut: Rinea…
Rinea: You were born to lead… This just wasn’t your empire. So come with me now. Let us find our empire together. If you’ll still take me for your empress?
Berkut: You’re right… You were always right. The moment I turned to a power beyond myself, the man you loved was dead. Rinea, forgive me… If you’ll have me, I’d be honored to…set out with you…
Alm: Berkut!
Berkut: Is that you, Alm…? Here…take this.
Alm: A ring?
Berkut: A memento…of my mother… Let it be of some use… …Ngh!
Alm: Berkut, no! Please… I don’t want to be alone again! Help me rebuild Rigel! Tell me about my father!
Berkut: You’re not…a child anymore… Alm… You must…make Valentia a land not… of gods…but of men… A world where people…never again… are corrupted by divine power… You can do it… I know…you…
Alm: Berkut! Berkut… Why? Someone please tell me… I never got to know you… or my father… *sob*
Before the Vault
Alm: What is this place?
Clair: Why, it’s a treasure vault, of course! …Isn’t that obvious? Mmm? What’s this say? “These doors bar all save those of royal blood.”
Alm: The royal treasury… This is where Falchion was supposed to be stored.
Clair: So we’ve been told, yes. Though I believe it found a new home in Mila’s skull. One shudders to think of it. Regardless, we’ve no business here.
Gray: You sure about that? I doubt Falchion’s the only trinket tucked away in there. Who knows what might be left? Gold? Jewels? Magical doodads? Whatcha think, Alm?
Alm: Maybe so…
Alm: …Huh?! The Brand… It’s glowing?
Gray: Alm? You okay there, buddy?
Alm: I’m feeling something…strange. I need to take a look.
Gray: Take a look at what? …Alm? Uh, Alm? Hey, where you going?!
Gray: Waugh! What in the…? Oh, come on! I can’t get past!
Clair: It appears the vault really does bar all but the royal family. How cheeky! But oh dear, I do hope Alm will be all right on his own.
Royal Vault
Alm: That’s…
Alm: What are Mila and Falchion doing here? And what the heck happened?!
(Celica appears and attacks Alm)
Alm: Nraugh!
Alm: Celica?! Celica, what are you doing?! It’s me!
Celica: ……
Alm: Celica…?
Jedah: Keh heh heh… Your words can’t reach her, boy.
Alm: Jedah!
Jedah: The girl has already offered up her soul to Lord Duma. What you see now is a husk. A witch. A puppet loyal to the dark god’s will!
Alm: No… NO! Celica, please! You have to wake up!
Jedah: Go, witch. Offer up your fellow Brand-bearer’s soul to your new master! Ah, the sight of fate’s twin children fighting to the death… How marvelous! A reenactment of Duma and Mila’s struggles from legend!
(Movie “Mortal Struggle” plays)
Alm: Celica, don’t do this!
Celica: Alm…please… Listen, Alm… You have to…stop me before I kill you. You know what you have to do… Alm! Do it now…Kill me!
Alm: Are you crazy… You know I can’t do that!
???: Hear me, bearer of Duma’s Brand. Grasp Falchion now in your hand.
Jedah: What’s this? What is the boy doing? Impossible! No one should be able to unbind that blade!
???: Trust in Falchion.
Alm: Gods, no… Don’t leave me, Celica… You can’t! Celica? Celica! Say something, please! CELICAAA!
Alm: Huh?
Celica: …Alm?
Alm: Celica…
(Movie ends)
Alm: Celica! Oh, Celica, thank goodness you’re okay… But how…?
Celica: Ha… I don’t know either. But I heard a voice. A very…kind voice. It said everything would be all right, and to have faith in Falchion. Alm, look—what is that?
Mila: Alm… Anthiese. Children of fate, bearers of the Brand…
Alm: That voice!
(Mila appears)
Mila: I am Mila. Your kind call me “goddess”. Together with my brother Duma, I shaped this land.
Alm: Earth Mother!
Mila: Some have called me by that name… But no such power remains within me.
Alm: What?
Mila: See well Falchion, which you now hold. It was carved from the fang of Naga, ruler of dragons, to sever the gods. For Naga knew there was but a creeping madness waiting at eternity’s end. It is a ruin all dragons share. And the only end is one of total destruction. Thus it was that Naga bestowed Falchion upon Duma. She did so to prepare for the day our madness would drive the land to ruin, that the people might have a means to destroy us. That Falchion might become the fangs they lack…and the hope they deserve. And yet, in my foolishness, I sealed the blade away. I did it to protect my brother… I loved my brother, even as we loved mankind. Where we strayed, I cannot remember.
Alm: Mila…
Mila: Alm. Anthiese. Children of fate… You have overcome much to reach me here, and I thank you both. You have shown me the strength possessed by mankind. Perhaps men have long been walking on their own without our aid. Perhaps I simply refused to see it. And alas, Duma was no different. I entrust Falchion to your care. I pray you will use it to free my brother from the depths of his pain.
(Mila disappears)
Celica: Mila!
Alm: …Let’s go, Celica. We have to save Duma, for her sake and ours.
Celica: Alm, I…
Alm: Listen, Celica. I know you sacrificed your own life to protect me and the others. But I never wanted that. I couldn’t ever be happy in a world you died to create!
Celica: Oh, Alm… I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.
Alm: Don’t apologize. Just know that I need you, all right? Without your wisdom, all I know how to do is fight whatever’s in front of me. So please… Will you fight with me? Believe in me. Believe in US. Believe in our combined strength!
Celica: I do. It’s as Mila said… We’ve had the strength to live and fight for our world this whole time. I lost faith in that somewhere along the way… But right now, it seems the most obvious thing in the world. I trust in mankind like I trust in you, Alm. Absolutely, and without hesitation.
Alm: I feel the same, Celica. This isn’t where things end for us. Even without gods, this world has a long and prosperous future ahead of it. Now let’s go claim that future together!
The Final Portal
(If you talk to Celica)
Celica: Let’s be ready for anything.
The Altar of Duma
Mae: Celica! That’s really you, right?
Celica: Mae! Everyone! You’re safe! You have no idea how happy this makes me.
Mae: Right back at ya, sister! That chump Jedah’s magic sent us off to who-knows-where. We were surrounded by Terrors and junk—I thought we were dead meat! But then we heard this weird voice kinda…talking, I guess? So we followed it because hey, why not? And that’s how we ended up here!
Celica: A voice? It must have been Mila.
(As the battle begins)
Jedah: No… No, this cannot happen! Falchion’s seal, broken? Foul Mila! Duma is your brother! Would you truly betray your own kin?!
Alm: Stand down, Jedah! Your schemes end here and now. Prepare to pay for your atrocities!
Jedah: Rudolf’s worthless spawn… You’re both disgusting heretics. How dare you wish harm on Duma!
Celica: Open your eyes, Jedah. No matter how it pains you, you must see the truth. Duma’s gone mad—he brings only suffering to his people now. This is the divine dragons’ fate.
Jedah: Silence, girl! You know nothing of what you speak. And if suffering is the gods’ will, what of it? Without their strength at its foundation, Valentia cannot sustain life.
Alm: No. You’re wrong. It’s time for us all to stand on our own feet. To live as free men and women.
Jedah: Foolish boy. You truly believe such heresy to be possible?
Celica: It IS possible! We’ve come all this way to prove it.
Jedah: Presumptuous human child… Go on, then! Prove me wrong! Show me this strength to “stand alone.” Show me the true limits of man!
Selecting a character for the first time
Gray: All we’re asking is the ability to live as we think best. Is that really so bad?
Tobin: Even without gods, I have my friends. With them, I can survive anything.
Kliff: It’s all strength and power with you. If you’re that desperate for a show of force, I’ll be happy to oblige.
Faye: This world belongs to Alm. To all of us. There’s plenty of room for hope in it… but there’s no room in it for you!
Lukas: A battle between god and mortal? Sounds exhilarating to me.
Silque: Merciful Mila… I carry your will within me. I will see Duma freed from his suffering!
Clair: This business of relying on gods and… so forth all seems quite absurd to me. The creepy man will excuse himself now!
Clive: I’ll take a proud death as my own man over a life of kneeling to a mad god!
Forsyth: I have no deference for one who would wield unjust power over his people. Such a despot is no god of mine!
Python: Ugh, people who go on and on about power are just the WORST.
Luthier: Your spirit’s voice is ghastly dark. I have no use for magic so foul.
Mathilda: I alone will decide who I choose to worship. But I can promise you one thing: it certainly won’t be you!
Delthea: Come on, who needs gods when you’re as strong as me?
Tatiana: This is my world, and Zeke’s as well. I won’t allow you to endanger it!
Zeke: Emperor Rudolf… Your loyal servant will see your dreams realized!
Mycen: This is a battle I cannot lose. For my own sake or yours, Rudolf!
Mae: You’re gonna pay for what you did to Celica, buddy. You’re gonna pay HARD!
Boey: Sorry, but I’ve got no interest in the way people like you operate. That’s reason enough for me to want to put you down!
Genny: I’ll never accept a god so horrible…
Saber: Well, hell. I’ve come this far. Might as well see the damn thing through to the end, lass.
Valbar: Foisting your way on the world by force? You’re no better than pirates. And it just so happens I don’t take kindly to pirates!
Kamui: I get the feeling my luck ran out the day I got mixed up in all this… But meh, why not? May as well see things through to the end!
Leon: Your fetish for power is simply barbaric. Where’s the joy? The love? Your perfect world is as dull as dirt.
Palla: The greatest of powers is but one mistake away from utter tragedy. We know that all too well, and I refuse to stand aside and watch it happen!
Catria: This world doesn’t exist as a plaything for dragons!
Est: It’s our world, and we’ll be the ones to shape it—Archanea and Valentia both!
Jesse: Ruling the world with might and terror? Talk about your stale clichés. What’s the point in living if you’re not having fun? I’m not about to find out!
Atlas: Yours isn’t the world I fought to protect. I’m taking every one of you down!
Sonya: Ugh. It’s almost painful to watch… Just how hopelessly ignorant can someone be?
Deen: I won’t say a world ruled by might is unappealing, per se… But a world where I bow to YOU is out of the question.
Nomah: Divine Duma, you have lived long enough… It is time to leave a world of hope and possibility to the next generation.
Masked Knight: Duma… O ancient benefactor. Consider this is an act of mercy. A great god is deserving of a proud and glorious end!
(Versus Jedah)
Jedah: Bow before Duma’s eminence! Kneel before his awesome power!
(Jedah defeated)
Jedah: Aah… This cannot be… It mustn’t… Lord Duma… My Lord…Duma…
(Versus Marla)
Marla: Such naughty, willful children… Why won’t you be good and listen to Father?
(Marla defeated)
Marla: Do you really…hate Father so…? Such lost…misguided children…
(Versus Hestia)
Hestia: That’s no fair, Sonya… Why should you be the only one allowed to live as she chooses?
(Hestia defeated)
Hestia: Oh… It seems so…obvious now. I should have just lived…as I pleased… like you…
(Versus Duma)
Duma: Only power holds meaning. Only strength holds sway. Call to me. Thirst for me. Thirst for power!
(Alm–or another character–is ready to land the finishing blow)
Alm: It’s over, Duma! Berkut, Fernand, Mila… Even my father. They and countless others, lost to us— tainted by your precious power. But that chain of tragedies ends here.
Celica: My heart is full of thanks for all you’ve given man, O divine Duma. Without yours and Mila’s bounty, Valentia could never have existed. We would never have been born into this world. Never tasted joy and sorrow. So please, do not suffer any longer. Let all of our pain end here. Allow your great and weary soul the rest it deserves!
(Duma defeated)
Duma: So be it, Alm. I leave Valentia’s future to you, her hero. Take from us what lessons you will and shape her into a land to remember. Make her strong like Duma, and fill her with Mila’s love. Let our grave mistakes be warnings of where not to tread as you lead her forth. Now, we shall sleep. And never shall you disturb our slumber.