Let's see how it goes in this edition of Cold Steel IV!
Well, we're definitely doing Emma this time around, so let's start with her. She's been looking at a spell book called "Tales of Isthmia," releasing on PS5 in Fall 2021. She says there may be a way to separate the curse from Rean's soul, but she'll have to go directly into his mind with her astral (read: naked) self. Emma says this may be dangerous for Rean, but she won't face any real danger. Naturally, it's the other way around because she knows Rean will gladly sacrifice himself but won't let anyone sacrifice themselves for him. But once he realizes this, Rean pulls Emma out of his mind through sheer force of will, which is a top tier Rean moment. Turns out this Tales of Isthmia is a forbidden black magic book, as Roselia and Celine explain when they show up shortly after Emma runs off.
Wandering around the ship, I learn I can challenge Ash at Pom Party. It takes an annoyingly long time to finally beat him, but it does max out my bond level with him, so I guess it balances out. There's a great scene between Crow and Machias, where Rean nails the dismount with, "I'm glad I got to see that." Agate, Duvalie, and Laura talk about Loewe for a bit, which is cool.
Next up is Juna. Rean takes her down to Milsante for some intel gathering to see what the effects of their Leeves incursion has been on the surrounding area. Then they decide to head out onto Lake Gala in an orbal boat. During this scene, we get a super slo-mo literally heart-pounding moment where Juna ponders the implications of her budding feelings for Rean. Juna's reaction when Rean snaps her out of it is great. "YES. HI. Present." Then Gallie randomly makes an appearance and Rean speeds away on the boat since it doesn't actually seem that interested in us. It kinda looked like a cryptid, so I'm sure that's not the last we've seen of it. Actually, it seems like I could probably fight it now based on how that played out. And with that, Juna gets her second heart and her bond level is maxed out.
Hmm...That's two bond scenes and no new profile updates. Hopefully I don't box myself out here! Anyway, I'm going to tackle the sidequests and new scenes on the surface first before I decide how to do the remaining bond scenes. First up, we head to Eryn Village. Wandering around first, Roselia believes that Osborne is trying to time up the Rivalries to coincide with the start of conflict with Calvard, which is interesting. The sidequest here is to fix the hot springs. Juna says she doesn't know how to describe it, but something feels off. Well, I think I can describe it. The water is purple. We have to drive stakes into singularities, just like in Act 1. One is in the Osgiliath Basin, one is near Milsante, and one is on Bryonia Island.
I decide to go to Bryonia Island first, and Beryl is also here. Finding the purple springs isn't too tough. I travel around to all the locales with new stuff on my way to Alster and the Osgiliath Basin. The one here is near the entrance, so it's easy to find. The last one is off the beaten path near Avon Hills. I did enjoy Rean offering his expert hot springs commentary at every spot we went. We don't get to see Rean being goofy like this very often, so it was a nice change of pace. Apparently, we can now use these other springs freely whenever we're in the area, although they're kinda out of the way!
