At the gate to the Mt. Zaleho Sephiroth, they find Mohs, Ion, and Anise. Mohs threatens Anise's parents if she doesn't stop the group, and she reluctantly does. However she throws a note at Luke before shutting off the glyph, informing them they can enter the Sephiroth also from the mouth of the volcano.
At the gates of Daath, they're stopped by pre-programmed replicas, of people they all knew, in particular was Guy's long-dead sister, Mary. Thankfully Tear puts them all out, and they then have a second to remark about the miasma going out of control despite their efforts. Flying into the volcano, they are met with sweltering heat as it seems all the more active now the lands have descended. Inside they are forced to contend with a dragon set upon them by Mohs, to keep them busy.
Sadly, they are too late and find Ion well into reading the Score, giving Mohs the following lines to ponder; "...Which will ultimately lead to the downfall of Auldrant. ND2019, The forces of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear shall march northward, through the Rugnica Plains. After inflicting atrocities upon the villages in their wake, the army shall surround the fortress capital. Within a fortnight, the city shall fall. The Kimlascan army will stain the Malkuth throne with the blood of its last emperor. Their howls of victory shall resound throughout the land. ND2020, A mountain of corpses shall bury the fortress capital. Death and disease shall envelope the city. The plague born thence shall become a new poison unto humanity, killing all within its reach. Its spread shall mark the true end of Malkuth. Kimlasca shall enjoy decades of prosperity as the plague of Malkuth grows. Ultimately, the plague shall be brought into the Kimlascan kingdom by a single man."
He collapses into Luke's arms, and instead of stopping with everyone's protests, he reads Luke a fragment of a Score all for him, "...The light of the sacred flame shall approach a Kimlascan city of fon machines, seeking a way to purify the taint. There, salvation shall be found through the use of a forbidden power..." By this point, he's grown too weak to continue, but tells Luke it was the only way he could help him, as Luke didn't like to rely on others.
The Fon Master also says he can always be replaced, which Luke, forgetting about his own dilemma for the moment, protests, saying none would have the memories they shared. He beckons Tear closer, and draws the miasma from her body into his; the only way to save her life. Ion then says his goodbyes, but can't quite finish with Anise's as he calls her his most precious friend and dies, his fonons separating and his body disappears.
Mohs however laments Ion's inability to read the Score properly. This sets off a rage in almost everyone, but he escapes as Anise's parents beg for the group to. Back at the cathedral, Arietta flies into a rage herself and Anise in her own angered state doesn't try to talk things out with the other girl, accepted when challenged to a duel instead.
Anise is finally calmed enough to accept she had no choice, or so she'll have the more gullible members of the group believe, their next move is for Belkend, the city foretold in Ion's Score, though the group is torn on following the Score when they've all agreed to try to live without it, and Jade has a moment to lament again on how unethical Fomicry is as it's the cause for Anise and Arietta's future duel.
At Belkend, they learn the God-Generals are using traveling Scorers to extract replication data, and have killed many people as an indirect result as they travel the world, offering readings. Unfortunately, they have the perfect cover as well; while Ion had halted Score readings, the Order restarted them shortly before the miasma enveloped the world once more. Initially planning to go to Baticul to catch the Scorer, they instead listen to Spinoza, learning Asch has stopped by in his research on the flow of seventh fonons.
At the gates of Daath, they're stopped by pre-programmed replicas, of people they all knew, in particular was Guy's long-dead sister, Mary. Thankfully Tear puts them all out, and they then have a second to remark about the miasma going out of control despite their efforts. Flying into the volcano, they are met with sweltering heat as it seems all the more active now the lands have descended. Inside they are forced to contend with a dragon set upon them by Mohs, to keep them busy.
Sadly, they are too late and find Ion well into reading the Score, giving Mohs the following lines to ponder; "...Which will ultimately lead to the downfall of Auldrant. ND2019, The forces of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear shall march northward, through the Rugnica Plains. After inflicting atrocities upon the villages in their wake, the army shall surround the fortress capital. Within a fortnight, the city shall fall. The Kimlascan army will stain the Malkuth throne with the blood of its last emperor. Their howls of victory shall resound throughout the land. ND2020, A mountain of corpses shall bury the fortress capital. Death and disease shall envelope the city. The plague born thence shall become a new poison unto humanity, killing all within its reach. Its spread shall mark the true end of Malkuth. Kimlasca shall enjoy decades of prosperity as the plague of Malkuth grows. Ultimately, the plague shall be brought into the Kimlascan kingdom by a single man."
He collapses into Luke's arms, and instead of stopping with everyone's protests, he reads Luke a fragment of a Score all for him, "...The light of the sacred flame shall approach a Kimlascan city of fon machines, seeking a way to purify the taint. There, salvation shall be found through the use of a forbidden power..." By this point, he's grown too weak to continue, but tells Luke it was the only way he could help him, as Luke didn't like to rely on others.
The Fon Master also says he can always be replaced, which Luke, forgetting about his own dilemma for the moment, protests, saying none would have the memories they shared. He beckons Tear closer, and draws the miasma from her body into his; the only way to save her life. Ion then says his goodbyes, but can't quite finish with Anise's as he calls her his most precious friend and dies, his fonons separating and his body disappears.
Mohs however laments Ion's inability to read the Score properly. This sets off a rage in almost everyone, but he escapes as Anise's parents beg for the group to. Back at the cathedral, Arietta flies into a rage herself and Anise in her own angered state doesn't try to talk things out with the other girl, accepted when challenged to a duel instead.
Anise is finally calmed enough to accept she had no choice, or so she'll have the more gullible members of the group believe, their next move is for Belkend, the city foretold in Ion's Score, though the group is torn on following the Score when they've all agreed to try to live without it, and Jade has a moment to lament again on how unethical Fomicry is as it's the cause for Anise and Arietta's future duel.
At Belkend, they learn the God-Generals are using traveling Scorers to extract replication data, and have killed many people as an indirect result as they travel the world, offering readings. Unfortunately, they have the perfect cover as well; while Ion had halted Score readings, the Order restarted them shortly before the miasma enveloped the world once more. Initially planning to go to Baticul to catch the Scorer, they instead listen to Spinoza, learning Asch has stopped by in his research on the flow of seventh fonons.
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