Words can ill express how glad I am to see you all unharmed. When Omega came hurtling towards the cocoon, everything dissolved into chaos...

I have to see it... I have to see it with my own eyes!

Yda, wait! We must first─

<sigh> The Elder Seedseer is expecting us...

Worry not, Alphinaud─Gosetsu and I will watch over her. You may safely attend your meeting.

My thanks, Yugiri.

---

The council reconvened a short while ago. Let us make haste for the Lotus Stand. All there are eager to hear your testimony.

The Elder Seedseer awaits you within.

My friends, full eagerly have we awaited your return. Few indeed could have discharged the duty entrusted to you, and most humbly do we thank you for seeing it done.

You are too kind, Elder Seedseer. As I recall, we as good as demanded the right to try. But tell me: how did the battle unfold?

---

We succeeded in waking Omega, aye, but we lost contact with the weapon shortly after it launched. From our position in the control room, we were blind to all that followed...

...What words could do justice to such a scene? None of my choosing, that much is certain. But I can give you the facts: the cocoon hatched even as Omega arrived, and from its midst rose a great dragon. The pair duly set about each other in the skies over Gyr Abania.

The primal's might defied belief─it seemed the very heavens would be rent asunder by the force of its blows. And it wielded such magicks as I have never seen...and hope never to see again.

---

The battle raged on with no end in sight, until both combatants were engulfed in a blinding flash of light. When the radiance faded, I saw the pair fall motionless from the sky, coming to rest somewhere on Ala Mhigan soil. I will not speak for the rest, but to my eye it seemed that each had landed a fatal blow upon the other...

While most among us could think only of Bahamut when looking upon the primal's form, the Domans were heard to whisper the name “Shinryu.” It would appear that the being resembles a creature of Far Eastern legend, and we have found it convenient to refer to it as such.

---

This Shinryu's fate─and indeed, that of Omega─is yet unknown. We have, alas, no eyes on the Gyr Abanian side of the border.

Aye. Which is why we have sent our main force, under the command of Marshal Tarupin, to capture the Wall.

---

With the imperials in disarray, we have the perfect opportunity to secure Gridania's border, and assess the aftermath of the impact. I myself will join the marshal and his men when the council is adjourned.

Well, that explains a few things. I'll wager that “flash of light” coincided with our loss of contact...

---

Lest you wonder, we quickly reengaged Omega's stasis systems, so even if it has fallen into the Empire's lap, it will be of no use to them─save perhaps as a statue.

Correct. Without me to guide their efforts, it would take them decades to decipher Omega's core functions, if they managed it at all.

Such reassurances do much to calm our fears─yet the relic's fate is but one of several concerns.

Indeed. I humbly submit that the time has come for us to make contact with the Resistance representatives in Gyr Abania. Though Ilberd has forced our hand, it would seem only logical to seek an alliance, given the inevitability of imperial retaliation. And by working in concert, it is not impossible that Ala Mhigo might finally be wrested from Garlemald's grasp.

You must be exhausted. I would ordinarily suggest that we retire directly to the Rising Stones...but I wonder if we might first make a small detour?

---

Y'shtola and the others have gathered at Amarissaix's Spire, and I imagine that you, too, would be interested to see what has become of the Wall now the cocoon is gone.

---

It is decided then. Lead on.

My friends... I cannot well express how glad I am to see you both unharmed. They say that Omega's clash with the primal shook the very firmament...

You need not have worried─the battle took place far above the ground. We were able to observe in relative safety, though I am given to understand that there were casualties on the far side of the Wall.

It was like watching a nightmare unfold before our very eyes. Ilberd's primal manifested in the form of a colossal dragon─a being of pure violence. It burst forth from the cocoon with such terrible force...

That such a horror should spring from the eyes of Nidhogg comes as no surprise. Nor do I wonder at its form. Ilberd all but announced it in the moments prior to his death. Plainly, it was his dying wish to visit a second Calamity upon the Empire.

And I am quite certain the abomination would have obliged, had it not found itself outmatched by Omega. Gods... I am no stranger to the works of Allag, but even I was unprepared for the machine's furiosity. It beggared belief.

And how fares poor Yda in the midst of all of this? Have you spoken with her?

She is up on the platform, lost in thought. We deemed it best not to disturb her, but mayhap she would welcome some company after all. Shall we?

The light's gone. It was all we had left of him...

Yda...

I don't blame anyone. I knew what was going to happen.

---

I knew the spell Papalymo meant to cast would drain away his life force─I...knew that it would only buy us a little time...

Yda, there is no need to explain.

But there is. I can't hide in Papalymo's little shadow anymore and I shouldn't hide behind my sister's mask.

---

Twenty years ago, on the day the Empire marched into Ala Mhigo, I was still just a child─not even five summers old.

---

My father had been one of the leaders of the revolution. He had fought to overthrow the mad king, Theodoric.

---

And my sister had fought alongside him. She was strong and kind, and always knew what to do.

---

But when the Garleans came, everything changed. My father went to war against them too, and I never saw him again. After that, I remember a lot of running. My sister dragged me for malms and malms until we came to the city of Sharlayan.

---

That was where she met Master Louisoix. He introduced her to the Circle of Knowing, and she eventually became an Archon.

She was your inspiration. Is that not why you took up her mask and her name? ...Or did you simply mean to continue what she had started?

...You've known all along, haven't you? That I wasn't Yda.

Of course. We all recognized you at once. 'Twas Papalymo who persuaded us to maintain the charade.

It was silly to think I could fool you. I knew that even then. But I...I sort of...decided not to know.

---

Yda died six years ago, on a mission to smuggle refugees out of Ala Mhigo. They say she was overwhelmed by imperial soldiers when she stayed behind to save a little girl. She was so strong... There must have been a lot of them.

I'm sorry for lying to you. My real name is Lyse.

---

When Papalymo brought me Yda's mask, it was meant as a keepsake. But I decided I wanted to be his new partner; to keep alive all the good that she had done.

---

I didn't want to become Yda, exactly... At the time, though, I still didn't know who I was myself, and it almost seemed easier to play the role.

---

Papalymo agreed to help, of course...but it was never what he wanted for me. He wanted me to walk my own path. And those were his final words to me.

---

The Archon's mark he gave me is faded, and my last excuse along with it.

---

So, this is it. Whatever I choose to do from now on, I do as Lyse.

...And I choose to continue my family's fight. I want Ala Mhigo to be the country that Yda and my father always wanted it to be!

War is upon us once more.

Do you regret standing against the Empire? Would you have chosen a different road, knowing what you know now?

To claim that I never doubted the decision would be a lie. But I made my choice, and I have defended it with blade in hand ever since.

The battle continues, and our steel is needed. Come, shadow walker! We leave for the East─for Doma!

It was brave of Lyse to remove her mask after so long...

---

Though she has scarce begun to come to terms with Papalymo's loss, that one act made plain her determination to move forward.

---

And should she ever falter, we shall be there to support her on this road she has resolved to walk.

---

Let us return to the Rising Stones. We have quite a story to tell Tataru and my sister...

He may have mentioned, but Alphinaud has apprised me of all that came to pass in Gridania. Your only task now is to rest. This is the calm before the storm.

---

Lyse has chosen her path, and as her friends, we must do what we can to support that choice. We are fated to join the conflict in any case. Once the Alliance has taken the Wall and opened the way to Gyr Abania, we will have little choice but to fight.

---

Which is not to say the cause is unworthy. After all, ignoring the plight of those whom one might conceivably save is not wisdom but indolence, correct? I for one look forward to joining hands with the Ala Mhigans, and striking a blow against the tyranny of the Empire─as, I rather suspect, do you!

Quick march! The imperials will soon come to their senses, and we must be ready to face their retribution!

---

It is almost time, Father.

Aye, almost. Stand firm, Pipin.

I learned to brace myself against the charge of the Bull of Ala Mhigo. No foe will dislodge me!

Very well, Ilberd...
I will take our homeland back...

---

...for the both of us.

My lord Viceroy─our scouts have confirmed the preliminary reports. Baelsar's Wall has fallen to the Eorzean Alliance.

---

The hunt for Omega and the unknown eikon continues, though both yet elude us. My lord...their battle caused considerable damage across the region... Should we perchance divert some of our forces from the search to undertake necessary reconstruction work?

---

I─ Forgive me, my lord! I did not intend─ Your will be done!

“Unknown”? My spies tell me the Domans call it “Shinryu,” and that it proved a match for Omega.
Yes...the coming days promise to be most interesting.

Most interesting.