Xenoblade Chronicles: Rise of the Skywalker

Chapter 3

A flashback from fourteen years ago is shown; as a child, Sora took part in an expedition with her parents and four other Homs. They were travelling through a snowy region and came to what appeared to be a tower. When they entered, the whole tower began to glow blue. Soon after, Dickson arrived to find all the Homs dead except for Sora, asleep under a stand that held the Monado. Dickson took both back to Colony 9.

In the present, Sora and Kotaro head into Tephra Cave, where they discover that one of the doors in the Mag Mell Ruins that was previously closed is now open. They venture into it and soon find some dead Colony 6 travellers who they deduce to have been traders. Sora and Kotaro return them to Bionis by putting their bodies into a pool of water nearby, while Kotaro comments about how strong the monsters must be to have killed them.

The two decide to rest, taking shifts to keep a lookout for enemies. While sleeping, Sora has a strange dream and another vision of the future. The dream shows Sora talking to a silhouetted figure that tells Sora that everyone wants to change the future; the Monado can help Sora do this, but if Sora finds the "True Monado", she can do anything with the future. The vision shows Kotaro running away from a group of , and then into an open, webbed area. A giant Arachno stabs him through the chest, killing him. Sora decides to not tell Kotaro about it, but continues on with more caution for fear of his friend. However, Kotaro is captured by a sticky white substance and pulled into the cave above. After a frantic sprint through the cave, Sora finds Kotaro shouting for help as the spiders surround him.

The Arachno queen climbs down from above, and Sora's vision is about to come true as Kotaro lifts his shield to defend himself. The Monado then glows, and Sora uses the first new Monado Art, to save Kotaro's life. After an intense battle, the Arachno Queen and her minions are defeated. The two leave the cave, arriving on , and take in the beautiful view that greets them; Mechonis towering in the distance, surrounded by miles of water. Unbeknownst to them a flying Mechon spies on them and reports to a silhouetted Face Mechon.