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Can't wait any longer?

If what Kal'tsit said was true, then none of us can really afford to wait around.

Even while we walk this land, we are still a part of the sea. Those corrupted descendants are... in the process of changing the 'environment.'

In time, none of us will be spared. All we're doing now is sitting around waiting for the end to come.

We're not the only ones sitting around though, and everyone's reasons are different.

Think about it more broadly. Who knows, maybe these lands aren't suited for our survival?

(Riffs in agreement)

Not harmonious enough.

There's something I wanna try.

Time to mix it up, all for the tunes!

(Riffs in agreement)

So what exactly do you have in mind?

Uh... Well, we're not exactly accomplishing much over here.

Just treat it as a little pre-concert workout. Don't swim too far out, Frost.

A workout. Huh. What about the rest of you?

I think I'll pass.

Too lazy.

I can feel the inspiration on its way. It's so close. Just a liiittle bit more.

...Alright. (Riffs enthusiastically)

I'll be off then.

*pant*... *pant*...

No, what did that woman and the Inquisitor do? How could they so easily erase the gift of the sea?!

Ægir... It must've been the Ægir. What the Ægir left behind, those strange machines! They must be destroyed!

(Makes a slithering sound as it clings to the cultist's calves)

That's right, my brother, the Penal Battalion has this place surrounded, and we've failed to break through... We've nowhere to run.

But... our exalted prophet has returned to the sea.

All that's left... is to pave the way for Her.

(Impatient slithering sounds)

If they seek to hold back the tide, then let them dash against the rocks. My life is but one brick in a lengthy road.

Eek!

Don't panic, it's just me. Why haven't you taken refuge yet?

M-Mayor Thiago... I was drunk and out as cold as a gloompincer, so I didn't hear anything.

By the time I woke up, everything had gone to shit, and these disgusting things were all over the place.

What happened here? Has the Inquisition sent anyone yet? What's going to happen to us?

...The great ocean is not guilty of any crime, but the Inquisition does not agree. They control the so-called law, and have condemned us as sinners.

Soon enough, the Sea Terrors will return to the ocean. But I cannot allow the Inquisitors to condemn Gran Faro to death just like that.

What are you talking about? Have you gone mad?

Mad? I'm not the one who's mad! I simply need to know! What can we do before the Inquisition destroys this town and rounds us all up to stand trial?!

An Inquisitor has already arrived. I saw that clearly when hiding in a little alley. I've never seen one that old before, and they gave me the chills...

What are you gonna do then, Thiago? Go up to them and try to reason with them?

We'll have to choose sides again, right?

When the Ægir were taken away, most people looked on, just like that. They had a chance to stand up for them, but nobody stepped forward.

Thiago, you—

Now, we have another chance. Either watch the Inquisition put everyone in Gran Faro on trial, or—

Have you lost your marbles?! Inquisitor! Hey, Inquisitor! He can handle us all without raising a hand!

Take me to them.

...What are you talking about?

Drop the act. How long do you think I've lived in this town?

Alright, follow me. If your goal really is to take revenge on the Inquisitors...

Just what are you up to, Mayor Thiago?

Almost there.

This is already taking too long.

S-Sorry.

It's not your fault. It's mine, for not having enough patience.

Um... Doña Inquisitor, if you're worried about the others, you can go help them. I think I can handle things up here.

The High Inquisitor gave me a order to protect you. As you've seen, those monsters are everywhere. I can't just leave you alone.

But I don't want to be what's holding you back from joining the battle... I just—

As long as you can light up this tower, then the High Inquisitor will have made the correct decision. I simply defer to his judgment.

...I understand.

Did your knowledge of the Eye of Iberia come from your parents?

Yes. Or more precisely, it's the sum of all of Gran Faro's past. They gathered all the best lighthouse engineers in all of Iberia, or at least that's what my uncle told me.

The territory used to be demarcated by the Inquisition, until it was abandoned after a string of incidents involving the Ægir and the Church of the Deep.

I'm not trying to reopen old wounds, but I've been thinking. Before I left, I read the dossier about the sentence handed down at the time. ...No, never mind.

Do you hate the Inquisition?

Um... To be honest...

If there's anything that always hangs over the heads of the people back home, other than the ubiquitous dark clouds, it would be the word 'Inquisition.'

The town once glimmered, giving us the confidence to rebuild our homes. The workers and engineers gave everything they had to fight the disaster, but the Inquisition took everything before it even struck.

And do you still believe that today?

It's the place I grew up in. Everything I've ever seen or heard has only reinforced that lesson.

And, um, I'm sorry, ma'am.

You are simply stating your lived experiences, citizen. It is your actions that will prove your loyalty to Iberia.

...Still, I'm astonished you had the guts to say all that in front of an Inquisitor.

I never would've dared, not until I came here... But, then I saw the Eye. For the longest time, it's only appeared in my dreams, nothing more than a sculpture sitting in the plaza.

Everyone in Gran Faro who came before me has passed this all down. Our duty, what we must do...

It's all surging through me right now—

—Um, ma'am, do you see something glimmering at the base of the lighthouse? Something blue, and sparkling like stars...

That's—

—The nethersea brand!

Do you really think you can fight me, Mister Knight?

You only care about the lighthouse. Why? Why do you cling to it so?

Monstrous waves... Swallowing the sky...

...Even the stalk of wheat... consumed by silence. All things great and small... returned to nothing.

(Agitated slithering sounds)

He can speak, but not command his kin. The Sea Terrors are in disarray.

Let us put an end to this.

(Rasping roar) —!

—What a surprise, Mister Knight. You're not moving like you were before.

Those are human movements. A charging wind-up, unique to Kuranta knights. What exactly are you?

The knight continues to ignore his two opponents. His attention is solely on the third.

Even with his attack, the towering lighthouse does not even shake. If even the Profound Silence failed to destroy the Eye, what chance does a lone knight have?

It bewilders him. It pushes him to try even harder.

(Rasping murmur) Clouds, rolling hills, pillars of ash... arrayed across a hotbed of decay.

The tides... unending...

(Violent slithering)

You're injured, and the Sea Terrors are drawn to you.

So it appears. Got a little scratched up on accident—

Ngh...

Step aside. You're no longer fit to fight.

Dario's eyes quickly dart across the Abyssal Hunter in front of him. Her movements had paused unnaturally a few times during the previous clash.

He's heard reports about her. She was involved in the Sal Viento experiments, but the woman who stands before him is completely different from the one who emerged from that fierce battle.