Kao's Memory

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Story

Dimensional Cracks

After the mission to Esfera, the Adversary encountered a Dimensional Crack. Upon hearing voices from the other side, they proceeded inside and encountered the memory of their past self and Ollie using the staff to learn how the masked figure had interrupted Will's ritual, causing Tana to fall into the Origin Sea. They then watched as Will himself appeared before the pair and told them about how the ultimate light could only be found in the ultimate darkness. The Adversary noted that though the memory seemed familiar, there were certain differences, such as their past self putting themselves between Ollie and Will, rather than the other way around, as well as the way that Will had greeted them. Suddenly, they realized that the memory must belong to Kao. As much of their memories had been the same, they began wondering where it was that Kao had gone wrong.

Proceeding further into Esfera, they found another Dimensional Crack and entered inside, wondering whether this memory would be as similar to theirs as the first. They then watched as Kao and Ollie recovered Tana from beneath the Origin Sea, after which the Executors had noticed the spider mark on Ollie, causing them to see her as an enemy. To the Adversary's surprise, however, Kao was unable to protect Ollie from the Executors, who fatally wounded her, after which Shubert teleported them back when Will arrived. Upon seeing what had happened, the Adversary realized that Kao had been weakened by Arma, and that the effect of this had first begun to show for Kao in Esfera. They then sought out the next Dimensional Crack and entered inside, where they watched as Kao was teleported back to the base camp, where they found Ollie slowly succumbing to the poison. Kao rushed to her side and apologized to her for their weakness, to which Ollie told them not to, as her mission had been to protect them all along, and that she had been prepared to die from the moment that she had received her orders. She asked Kao not to cry, telling them that if her sacrifice would let them save the world, then it was good enough for her. She then asked them whether she had been helpful, to which Kao immediately told her that she had, thanking her for protecting them. Satisfied, Ollie asked Shubert and Melange to carry on in her place, after which she passed away.

Kao immediately began blaming themselves for her death, lamenting that if they hadn't been so weak, they would've been able to protect her. Both Shubert and Melange reassured Kao that they were powerful, but they reminded Kao that they couldn't protect everyone. Kao replied that they knew that, but they explained that people like Ollie were completely willing to die for them, simply because of who they were, which they could not allow anymore. Upon finishing watching the memory, the Adversary began understanding that the difference between themselves and Kao had been Ollie's death, which had severely affected Kao's mental state. They then entered the next Dimensional Crack hesitantly, knowing already that they wouldn't like what they were about to see. Inside the memory, they watched as Neinheart contacted Kao right before they were about to enter Mirror World. However, Kao told Shubert to cut the signal, completely disinterested in what Neinheart had to say.

As Neinheart protested amidst the static and asked them to listen, Kao curtly told Neinheart that Ollie was dead, and that they already knew that Neinheart must've been the one who had given her the order to die for them. Neinheart began telling them that he understood their anger, though he asked them to promise not to hesitate when the time came to make a choice. After the signal faded, Kao vowed to never fail again and proceeded to enter Mirror World. After the Adversary entered the next memory, they witnessed Kao confronting Will, who told them that they would need to kill Tana in order to stop the ritual. The Adversary felt Kao's thoughts dwelling on Ollie's death, as well as how they had already jeopardized the fate of the world because of all their mistakes. Vowing not to make the same mistake again, Kao challenged Will, who merely laughed and told them that it was when faced with a difficult decision that a person's true self was revealed, adding that he was eager to see what kind of ‘hero' they truly were.

The Final Variable

The Adversary then entered the next memory, noting that everything was weighing down on Kao at that point - their lack of power, Ollie's death, and all their mistakes. They thought to themselves that they were afraid for Kao, as they knew all too well that hesitation only led to more pain. They then witnessed Kao defeating Will, who amusedly told them that there was only one thing left to do. Kao then turned to face Tana, preparing themselves to end her life, though they felt sorry for her upon realizing just how much she had suffered. As they raised their weapon, hoping to free Tana from her pain, they heard her call out to Jean for help. Kao began struggling in their convictions, while Will asked whether they were thinking about sparing her life. He pointed out the consequences of making such a rash decision, explaining that he didn't care whether they were an enemy or an ally, as he simply wanted to see them think things through and make their choice.

He told them to think about Ollie, how she had risked her life to cross the Arcane River in order to protect them, and how, when the moment had come, she had sacrificed herself without hesitation, all just for their sake. He asked Kao whether, after having allowed her to die, they were truly prepared to throw her sacrifice away, pointing out that Ollie wouldn't be the only sacrifice, as the Black Mage would hold the power of two worlds' Transcendents, for which the Alliance would need to bear countless sacrifices in order to send them anywhere near him. The Adversary began hearing Kao's thoughts, how they had regretted allowing Rino to trick them, and how their weakness had prevented them from stopping Ollie's death. Realizing that they couldn't give in to hesitation, Kao attacked Tana and attempted to kill her. Will immediately began laughing at how they had chosen to stab Tana simply from a small nudge on his part. Kao angrily asked Will why he was laughing when they had just ruined everything for him by stopping the ritual. However, Will explained that far from thwarting him, they had been dancing to his tune the entire time, explaining that they were in his web, no matter what they did.

Suddenly, Kao turned to find that Tana was reforming herself. Will asked whether they were seeing the power of the Transcendents for the first time, adding that the grimace on their face told him that it was. He explained that they didn't have the power of the Adversary at the moment, laughing at whether they had thought that simply having a Seal Stone would be enough to kill a Transcendent. As Tana channeled her powers, she painfully asked to be saved, to which Will told her that he would, using the Black Mage's power. He then turned to Kao and thanked them, explaining that their actions had removed the final variable, thereby clearing the way for the ritual to begin. As the memory began fading, the Adversary realized that everything finally made sense, as Arma stealing Kao's power and Ollie dying had started a domino effect, resulting in Kao turning angry both inwardly and outwardly, which had resulted in them making the decision to stab Tana. They noted to themselves that it explained why Kao's memories had appeared so fuzzy, as Kao must have been attempting to subconsciously hide and erase those moments of guilt and shame. Suddenly, they realized that Tana hadn't died, which meant that the ritual had taken place, just as it had in their own timeline. They wondered whether it had anything to do with the variable that Will had mentioned, as well as what the power of the Adversary was. They noted to themselves that even after learning so much, there were still more questions left unanswered.