LogFAQs > #962401852

Eizen says nobody knows why humans can be reborn as malakhim... or how, for that matter, just that it does happen and usually among people with greater resonance. The fact that the Scarlet Night is when it happened is probably why Celica became Seres and Celica's child became Phi, and that it was Innominat's doing. But that's not our concern right now - we'll worry about that later. Eleanor starts acting selfish and whines about Velvet eating Seres... not realizing that it was because her boyfriend injured Seres and Seres asked Velvet to do it as a mercy kill. Speaking of said boyfriend... there's probably a reason that they're making sure I know about this rebirth thing. And it may be that Thug Oscar or Villain Teresa is reborn as a malak. I'd think the latter is more likely given how she merged with the therion.

There's a wormhole, but before I can enter it, a memory pops up. Laphi asks Artorius to speak privately, and he recites something from the Book of Innominat that references the sacrifices on the Scarlet Night. And Artorius admits the sacrifices of Celica and Phi. Laphi knows a lot: He knows that The Opening improved resonance... and the need for another sacrifice. He volunteers to fulfill that role, to complete Innominat's resurrection and rid the world of daemonblight. Birds fly because they must... and Laphi likes this to being sacrificed. He knows he will die at 12 y/o because of his disease, so he can't wait another three years. He wants to use his life for something: To make a new world where Velvet can be happy. However, she can't know about this, and that part makes sense because of how she reacted when she DID find out. He knew this. I'm surprised he didn't write her a suicide note, however, because that's what a typical person would've done, explaining that he didn't want to be a burden for the last year of his life since he knew he was going to die anyway. This sets Velvet off.

She seems to think these are lies, but if the way Laphi behaved at the cape before the sacrifice is any indication, they're not. He was prepared for it. He was complicit in it. And I don't know if I said that I noticed that or not, but I certainly did. This means something unfathomable: The mastermind behind the entire ritual was none other than the very 11 y/o boy who Velvet has spent the entire game attempting to avenge. In other words... Laphi is the real villain. The one who enabled Artorius to get away with this all. The one who wanted to be Innominat's vessel. The one who failed to complete his goal only because Velvet dove into the void to save him, inhibiting the malevolence from her grief and vengeance from entering his new form.

To say this is insane is an understatement.

To say Velvet is insane is also an understatement.

She feels heavily betrayed by them both, and the lack of a suicide note explains why she'd feel that way. The ONLY reason they didn't want her to know is because she's like this. And now, Laphi is fucking with her emotions by showing memories of her. Things she'd said to him and/or Artorius. She wants it all to stop, because this feels like a real, genuine nightmare. The way instain Velvet starts knocking every memory that pops up to avoid the torment and the Chimera daemon (which it's actually called) that had been watching us attacks. Welp.

It goes down easily and Velvet devours its malevolence... only to see a part of herself be its human form. She whines that she's dead and Phi tells her it's an illusion. She is not thinking clearly to the point that she's incredibly easy to manipulate. This is what villains do. Think Russell Hantz: "If I can control how they feel, I can control how they think." Look at how well it worked out for that asshole. Speaking of assholes, Innominat shows up to personally attack every facet of Velvet's character, saying she lives and dies by her emotions. Phi denies it. Velvet admits it's true... but it's not. She's out for survival. She's trying to kill the people who were trying to kill her from the start. Innominat starts spreading lies, saying she showed no mercy to Seres. Uh, hello? She hesitated. She didn't want to do that, but was given no choice. Same goes for Hellawes. Villain Teresa set a trap for her. Velvet had to outsmart her. If Trixie didn't do that, Hellawes wouldn't burn. Innominat says he "still loves her" and he was "afraid of dying" because it was dark. Something here does not add up.

Velvet says it was all for nothing and for nobody... but that's not true. He's basically saying she should've given herself up at the same time he's saying he wanted to create a world for her. He says she needs to atone for her sins. She can do that by killing Artorius, of course, but Innominat wants to sacrifice her to cleanse the world of pain and sadness. It's hypocritical. The monster threatens to devour Phi as well because he was part of the first sacrifice. Phi isn't letting this happen. Eizen tells Phi off and Phi yells in Velvet's face to STOP WHINING. XD! She's not some heartless monster. She's fighting the heartless monsters who are now manipulating her. Phi reminds her of her kindness. She gave him a name when he'd just been a number, she gave him a compass to further his hobby, and taught him what it meant to be alive. And gee, who had taught him that he was nothing more than a tool? Villain Teresa. Velvet needed to hear this. This is why Phi wants to protect her. Not just because he's her nephew. But because his Auntie Velvet has meant the world to him, and he can't live without her. This is awesome. She almost eats his arm so she can hang on, and he needs the other to clobber the jerk who made her cry. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! Her despair suddenly dissipates because she was reminded of the love inside her. The people she cared about, and cares about now.

We get a quick aside with Seres, who is symbolically the fire inside Velvet. Velvet admits she can only fight for herself. And that's proof that she's alive. This entire thing is just awesome. It's raw. It's brilliant. and it's one hell of a climax. I am truly touched by this. There hasn't been a scene in a Tales game quite like this since Abyss, with so many emotions running haywire at once. Velvet sends the monster blasting off like Team Rocket and enters the portal.

Back with Magilou, Melchior has her restrained. She's shattered and regenerated her heart 107 or 108 times. How pricelessly precise! Melchior is torturing her and messing with her mind instead of simply killing her like a smarter villain would. Instead of fucking with Melchior, Magilou chooses to fuck with Malak Number One by his side. She tells him that his former companion has gotten to see the world and live undaunted by its ugliness. Melchior strikes her down again, and she keeps fighting him. She says it's not for them, but because she can't die before the story ends. Such a Magilou thing to say! As soon as Melchior calls Mags his greatest failure, the gang pops out of the portal and sends him soaring. Magilou tells Velvet about the boring conversation - something that never happens with the party. Velvet says that two certain assholes would have wanted her to get over it. But she's not gonna. She has to put a stop to their shit. No matter how sad it gets, she's taking her vengeance to the end. Melchior says its' Velvet's "destiny" to wallow in despair, and if it truly believes that, then it must die here. If that is your destiny, you give it the middle finger and say "Fuck you. You can't tell me what to do." and change your fate. We can start by killing this thing in front of us. Melchior projects its own monstrosity onto Velvet, failing to realize its failure of logic.

Continuing to play... more as I fill up posts!