The Legend
Grady: Long time, no see, boys! Did you hear?
Virulyde: Yes! There's a team excavating the ruins and they detected some anomaly.
Grady: That's right, buddy! I want you two to go in there and have a look around.
Grady: It's dangerous in there but I'm confident you two can handle what might be creeping around.
Malachi: I heard a rumor that these ruins might be some kind of alien "ark". Is that possible?
Grady: We estimated its age, based on samples taken from the hull, to be almost seven thousand years old.
Malachi: You don't think it could possibly be the...
Grady: Yep. It very well could be. Come inside and stay awhile! I have a crew that will get to work on your shuttle.
Malachi: So it really could be the sacred ark? Won't Zetsfir come after it?
Grady: It's almost certain they'll try to destroy it. We have to go through it as fast as possible.
Virulyde: Dregweht is not a... uh, nevermind...
Grady: Oh, right, your critter there needs a check-up, huh?
Virulyde: Thank you very much!
Lucy: Grandpa? Tell us the story about the ark again, pleeeease....?
Grady: Sure. Hey, you two help yourselves to some of this fine cookin', ok?
Virulyde: Oh yeah! I'm starving!
Malachi: (Vie... you just ate!)
Virulyde: (Correction: I was about to eat. Then you made me give Saja and her aunt an orange juice shower.)
Malachi: (Oh, right. Ehhh..... Also, that sounds a lot worse than what actually happened.)
Greta: ...So we found an entire city within the ruins. It's exactly as the scrolls tell us.
Greta: They say humans arrived in this world about a thousand years ago and began their journey around four thousand years ago.
Greta: What isn't clear is the definition of a "year" within the context of the scrolls. Our modern calendar began 1278 years ago, after all.
Greta: Zetsfir destroyed nearly all historical records prior to 700 years ago and the length of a year must have been redefined.
Grady: The legend in the scrolls is consistent with what was discovered in the ruins.
Grady: "The world was without people, without cities, and without change..."
Lucy: Then "The Great Bird" flew down!
Grady: Yes. "The Great Ship", or the "Ark", descended on the planet.
Grady: "A great bird carried a city from the heavens, pouring out the many peoples to inhabit the world."
Grady: "For the people fled a place which was to befall a great unknown calamity. And their will was weak, yet their journey was undertaken."
Lucy: And then the angel...!
Grady: "And there was an angel made from a woman and the mind of a demon. This angel had the power to send people to other worlds and ages."
Greta: We're still not sure what "ages" means, here.
Grady: "One day, the angel met her child from her previous life, sending her far away so that she may live..."
Grady: "The angel wept as she sent away her child, wishing for her safety and to bring peace to the next world."
Grady: "Those who did not partake in the great journey did surely meet the great calamity and were destroyed."
Virulyde: There's something that bothers me about the "mind of a demon" part... I don't know why...
Virulyde: Why does this story seem so familiar...? Not just like I've heard it dozens of times... but... some old memory...?
Virulyde: Eh, just a weird nagging feeling. I think we should check out those ruins, though.
Grady: Head over to the Southwestern island of "Graves". The excavation site is on the Northwestern part of the island.
Grady: The ShockShadow should be ready now, so head on over when you're ready.
Malachi: Hey, Grady, what do you think the "calamity" from the legend was supposed to be?
Grady: Could be anything. Maybe it was a comet or an asteroid, maybe some big war. Who knows?
Grady: I've always wondered about the angel and her child. The legend put a lot of emphasis on them.
Virulyde: Yeah. Anyway, thanks for all the help and the great food, too!
Grady: Take care, you two.
Greta: Grady, do you think they'll be okay in there? What if Zetsfir attacks?
Grady: Fumacine and Kadmas are both monitoring the airspace. Besides... those two are elites. They'll be fine.
Grady: Something's bugging me, though. It feels like those ruins are calling out to all of us somehow.
Grady: Like it's... like things are finally about to change...