Xenoblade Chronicles

Chapter 25 - Ose Tower

The group stopped in Makna Forest, where they followed Alvis through an unfamiliar part of the forest. Even Riki said he didn't know this place, due to the strong monsters that were around there. As they went through a narrow canyon, the temperature dropped at least thirty degrees each step they took. Finally, the canyon opened up in a huge mountain, blankets of freshly fallen snow covering the ground. Glaciers were nearly everywhere, and monsters flew through the sky. Despite the cold, this place was familiar to Shulk. Incredibly familiar. "I could go for a hot cup of Dickson's home brew right about now," Reyn shivered, rubbing his arms. "We're not built for this cold." "It is to be expected," Alvis said. "This climate is as different to your home as it gets. It only snows this high up on the Bionis." "Brr..." Riki whimpered. "Riki hate cold!" "This can't be nice for Riki," Sharla knelt in the snow beside the Nopon, who was shivering violently. "He's from Makna, the hottest place on Bionis." "A little further down is Sword Valley, right?" Shulk asked, his teeth chattering. "Yes," Alvis agreed. "But before then I must show you something." "Me?" "You, Shulk," The seer nodded, and pointed towards a rock formation in the distance. It was taller than anything in the mountain by far, if they could see it from this level. "Do you not see? That tall formation that looks like a tower. Ruins, to be precise." "Riki see it!" Riki announced. "Bigger than big tree in village!" "We can rest there," Alvis said. "I'll explain everything there." They started off on their way, their shoes leaving footprints that were quickly covered by the snow. "This is incredible," Dunban commented as they headed down the snow. "I've never seen so much snow before." "Me neither," Reyn agreed. "It never snowed back in Colony 9. Did it snow at Colony 6, Sharla?" "No," The medic shook her head, bending down to scoop up a bit of the powdery white snow. "It's beautiful." "Yeah," Shulk agreed. He glanced towards a small arch nearby and stopped, noticing a huge form sticking out of the ground. He beckoned the others over, and they started towards it. When they got close enough to see it, Shulk gasped. It was a huge dagger, sticking right out of the Bionis' arm. "That must be something from Mechonis," Melia said. "It would explain why it is in the Bionis' arm." "Nice find, Shulk!" Reyn grinned. Shulk smiled, and marked something down on a map he was creating. "I'm going to call this Mechonis Wound," He said, jotting it down on the parchment. The others nodded at his choice of words, heading off back the way they came. After hours of walking the group reached a tunnel, Riki stumbled and fell right into it, and he slid out of sight on his stomach. "Riki's got the right idea," Reyn said, and lay down on his stomach before the tunnel. "Hey, Shulk, push me in will you?" It took the combined efforts of Sharla and Shulk to push Reyn onto the ice, since they had to push him through the snow. Soon, Reyn also slid out of sight. "I will go next," Melia said. She sat down on the ice, and Shulk gave her a shove. She yelped as slid down the tunnel. Shulk seated himself comfortably where she had sat down, and suddenly was pushed forwards by Dunban. He burst out laughing and slid down the icy chute. It curved downwards, and the blonde began to pick up pace. He could distantly hear Reyn's shouts of glee and then and "Oof!" As he reached the end of the tunnel. The tunnel evened out slightly, and then went into a steep dive, throwing Shulk out of it. He hit the ground and rolled several feet. Reyn came over to the blonde and helped him up. There was snow all over Reyn's hair and clothes, but that was nothing compared to how Riki looked. The Nopon was literally covered in head-to-toe in snow and he was in the process of wiping it all off. A few seconds later, Sharla shot out of the chute, followed by Dunban and Alvis. They decided to take a small break, and the Nopon research camp they had stumbled upon offered them great hospitality. Melia used a fire elemental on a pile of frozen wood Reyn had found near the camp, and they huddled around it, warming up their numb fingers. Riki just sat there with a disgruntled expression as his fur was soaked with icy water. Eventually the furball too thawed out, and the group was on their way. The huge tower was now closer then ever, and an ominous chill was coming from it. Alvis led them through the tower's doorway, but Riki stayed outside for a moment longer, making his 'Noponman' as he called it. He followed them inside a moment later. The narrow tunnel opened up into a huge clearing, with a door that was covered by a huge sheet of ice in front of them. "Ruins," Sharla said, glancing around. "I wonder who built them." "Alvis?" Reyn glanced at the seer. He hadn't said anything since they had arrived at Valak Mountain. "This the place you meant?" "Hmm..." Alvis frowned, putting a hand on the sheet of ice. "It appears to have frozen over while I have been away." "Been away?" "Pay me no mind," The seer said quickly. "We will need to do something about the ice before we can enter." "Throw hot water on ice!" Riki said, in a 'duh' sort of tone. "Yeah, nice one genius," Reyn said sarcastically. "It's freezing outside, how are we supposed to get hot water?" "Precisely," Alvis told Riki, ignoring Reyn. "There should be a geyser nearby. In the cave next to it, we will find a stone called Magma Rock." "And we can use this rock to melt the ice?" Dunban questioned. "I believe so," Said Alvis. "So, shall we head to the cave?" "Sounds good," Shulk nodded. "Start looking for a geyser everyone." They headed out as Riki paused by his Noponman and scowled at it. "Riki don't like his Noponman!" "But you made it!" Sharla pointed out. "Riki still no like," Riki frowned. "It have no face. It scary!" And with that, he took out his biter and proceeded to whack the pile of snow until it was flattened on the powdery ground. Reyn rolled his eyes and stepped back out onto the mountain, and gasped. While they were inside the ruins, night had fallen. The glaciers had began to glow yellow, shooting off beams into the sky. The other thousands of crystallized ice around the mountain had done similarly, making a beautiful ether flashlight. "So this is what you meant," Dunban told Shulk. The blonde looked confused, and the former user of the Monado chuckled. "Back in Satorl Marsh, you said that in the place where you and the Monado were found, a glowing ether fills the air at night. Is this place what you meant?" "I don't know," Shulk shook his head. "It all seems so familiar...but it doesn't." Dunban nodded. "I were very young at the time." Shulk smiled and he climbed a slope, stopping. "Found it!" He called over his shoulder. The other came up to him, and they noticed a huge lake before them. The water began bubbling and a jet of water shot upwards. "The cave should be that way," Alvis pointed, and they began to walk towards it. Riki began jumping in piles of snow that surrounded the glowing glaciers, and one time splattering Reyn, soaking him head-to-toe. "Oi!" He yelled, and Riki scrambled away from the angry man. They reached the cave, and a blast of heat hit them instantly. "What the..." Reyn said as they stepped into it. "How is this place so warm when it's freezing out there?" "It must have something to do with ether," Shulk frowned. "There are a lot of fire-type ether crystals here." He pointed to a stack of them, and Sharla went forwards, collecting a few for her rifle. They maneuvered through the cave, coming upon a few monsters here and there. They finally found the back of the cave, where the Magma Rock was sitting at the edge of a rock platform surrounded by lava. They crossed the narrow bridge towards it, but a monster exploded from the depths of the lava. Riki shrieked and darted around as the molten rock went everywhere. The monster shrieked, and Melia stepped forwards. "It is not strong," She said, raising her staff. "We can easily destroy it." Three elementals appeared in front of her head as Riki lulled the monster towards them and then to sleep. Everyone else took out their weapons and attacked it. Shulk jabbed the hilt of the Monado in between it's eyes, forcing it to wake up. Startled, the monster swiped it's tail, knocking him, Reyn, and Dunban over. Melia and Sharla helped them up while Riki took the monster's attention. Shulk went forwards while Dunban slammed his katana into it's back, sinking it through the monster's skin. Melia fired off a well placed elemental, and the monster fell over, dead. Alvis picked up the rock, despite the fact that it was nearly too hot for any Homs to touch. He slipped it into his pocket and they returned to the ruins. Alvis pressed the Magma Rock to the sheet of ice, and it melted instantly. It was then that Melia noticed small words engraved in the door, she frowned. "The letters are worn and difficult to make out," She mused. "But it's definitely the language of the High Entia." "They look just like the lettering on Prison Island," Sharla said, glancing at the words. "If only we could..." Dunban trailed off, walking towards the door. It opened upon his approach. "Just walk inside," He finished his sentence, looking slightly amused. Everyone followed him into the ruins. There was a long walkway, until it opened up into a large oval-shaped room with a pedestal in the middle. "This place..." Shulk frowned. "Something up, Shulk?" Reyn asked. "No..." Shulk shook his head. "It's just...I feel like I know this place." "Dèjà vu?" Asked Dunban. "I'm not sure, but..." Shulk shook his head. He remembered walking into this place, seeing the Monado and then blacking out completely. Next thing he knew, he was back in Colony 9 with Dickson and Fiora looking over at him, worried. "I thought I had it," He said exasperatedly. "I can't seem to recall." He sighed, unaware of the Monado's soft glow. "Are you alright?" Melia asked, concerned. "What?" Shulk glanced over at her. "I'm fine. I must be tired. Don't worry." "This is Ose Tower," Alvis explained. "Built by the High Entia to house and protect the Monado. The ceremony of seers was conducted here. It is also where the Homs found the Monado." "Wait, you mean...!" Shulk's eyes widened. Alvis nodded. "I will explain later," He said. "For now, we must all relax. Here, we can rest safely." The others nodded, and Reyn managed to find some more frozen wood. They put it in a pile, and Melia lit it on fire. Shulk ran his hand over the pedestal, a vacant expression on his face. "So this is where the Monado was kept," He breathed. "My dad took it from here." He shook his head, turning to face Alvis, who was sitting by the fire. Everyone else was spread out around the room, and Reyn was keeping watch. "Have you always been able to see the future? You told me you were from a long line of seers. Did you have the ability from birth?" Alvis was silent for a long time. He stood up and walked up to Shulk. putting a hand on the pedestal. "Once, I too came in contact with the Monado," He said quietly. Shulk gasped, and the seer nodded. "Those that are to be seers must touch the Monado, and a chosen few receive our power. That is the ceremony of my family." "And the ceremony was held right here," Shulk said. Alvis nodded and glanced at the blonde. "Shulk, why do you think we can see the future?" "I hadn't really thought about it," Shulk admitted. "After I grabbed the Monado, I just saw things." "You're visions are the flow of ether itself," Explained Alvis. "Ether is the very source of our world's existence. Where and how much ether there exists now, and in the future, can be predicted. Therefore, in principle, the future of living beings such as us can also be predicted. And there is one thing that makes possible the visualization of those predictions." "You mean the Monado," Shulk said. "Yes," Alvis said. "The Monado can disrupt the ether, allowing you to release certain powers. Which means?" "My visions, under the same principle, are there to disrupt the future," Shulk guessed. "With no one to control the outcome, the future will never change," The seer said wisely. "But what if someone were to disrupt the future? What then?" "The future would be changed," Shulk said. "Is that how Zanza planned to defeat the Mechonis?" Alvis nodded again. "But why go to such lengths?" The blonde demanded. "What happened all those years ago?" "Did you think it was just a myth?" "I used to only believe in the things I could see," Shulk said, slightly taken aback by Alvis's question. "My home, my friends, the Monado itself! I knew those things were real." "But when you took the Monado in your hand, you gained the ability to see that which was not meant to be seen," Alvis pointed out. "Are you saying I should stop using the Monado?" "You are a...fluctuation," Alvis decided. "As a fluctuation, you exist outside the results of your predictions. The more you accept this existence, the more malleable the world becomes. In fact, you have no choice but to accept it." Shulk frowned, unaware of Dunban watching them from his corner in the oval-shaped room. The blonde sighed, sitting down by the fire. Before he knew it, he was asleep.