True ending: the seven pillars, Stillpond Island and Aephorul

Checklist

Before you start

1. You can chip away at the seven goals whenever you like, but the ending itself only becomes available after you’ve beaten the final boss of the main story once. The ruin with the pillars is shown to you right after the credits.
2. Most of the work comes late: the light puzzles, the three remaining shrines, the Coliseum, the Duke and the Queen all open up after Chapter 24, once you can fly between the islands.

The seven pillars, one by one

1. Rainbow Conches. There are 60, spread through the whole game.
   1. Trade them in at Mirna’s Market of Marvels in Docarria Village. The last two rewards are Recipe: Pudding Chomeur and the Rainbow Star, which is tied to the true ending.
   2. A few conches only come from side quests; those are on the side quests page.
2. Mirth. The town needs four buildings and four residents.
   1. The buildings come from plans that Mirna hands out as conch rewards — Inn Plans, Shop Plans and Fishing Hut Plans among them. Give each plan to Jirard the Constructionist in Mirth. We couldn’t confirm the name of the fourth plan.
   2. The four residents are in the checklist above. Following the walkthrough, the innkeeper is the last to arrive; until then a notice outside the inn asks for one.
3. Docarria ruins. A button on an island in the north-west of your home world switches on four lights on the world map. Each one, angled with your day-night power, reveals a whirlpool down to a puzzle room; the fourth leads to the Sea Slug. Full solutions are on the side quests page.
4. Solstice Shrines. Five in total:
   1. Wraith Island, during Chapter 10.
   2. Evermist Island, near Mooncradle, during Chapter 12.
   3. Three that need flight: below Mirth, north of Mooncradle and in Serai’s world. They’re solved step by step on the side quests page, together with the Solstice Trial that opens afterwards (a rematch with the Elder Mist that pays out the Sun Blade and Moon Bo). We couldn’t confirm whether the trial itself is needed for the pillar.
5. The Coliseum. The arena in the north of Brisk has four ranks; the last one rewards B’st with the Vitric Simulacrum, the best armour for him.
6. Duke Aventry. Free the undead duke from the Flooded Graveyard. Late in the game Hortence marks the starting point on your map.
7. The Queen that Was. Serai starts it when you talk to her at a camp or inn after Chapter 24. It ends in a tough optional fight against the Gun Goddess.

Lighting the pillars

1. With all seven goals done, fly to the Moorlands (Chapter 3) and use the south-west entrance — the one that leads to the Windy Loch fishing spot.
2. Head north-east into the cave, go all the way through it, then keep going west until you reach the ruins. Interact with the purple orb in the middle.

3. A long set of scenes follows and you end up at camp. Before you rest at the fire, speak to Garl twice: the second time he gives you the Hook of Time.

Stillpond Island and the fishing cave

1. Fly to Stillpond Island, the fish-shaped island on the south side of the map, and go into its fishing area. Stillpond Island chest 1 is on the right-hand side of the pond.
2. Look north: something glints in the water. Cast for it with the Hook of Time and a hidden cave opens up.

3. Inside the cave:
   1. Go north to the first group of enemies. Past them is a locked door; leave it for now.
   2. Head south-west, jump into the water and ride the whirlpool down. Follow the path to a chest with the Fishing Dungeon Key — Stillpond Island chest 2.
   3. Go back to the door and open it. The room behind it holds several fish, one of them glowing gold. You need that one.
   4. Take it up the stairs and use it on the fish head there. Drop down, go north, beat the next group, then swim, climb the wall and continue north to the last room.

4. The last room holds an enormous fish. Landing it takes a lot of quick left-right flicks of the stick and may need more than one attempt. After the scene you receive the Gilded Invitation.
5. A whirlpool in the last pool carries you back out of the cave.

Dinner at the Golden Pelican

1. Fly to Brisk and go to the Golden Pelican, the upscale restaurant just west of the Coliseum. Hand over the Gilded Invitation to start another run of scenes.
2. You come away with Recipe: Legendary Feast and Question Pack #11 for the Quiz Master.

The real final battle

1. Go back into the Fleshmancer’s Lair and climb to the final fight again. The scenes play out differently this time, and the battle leads to a new boss.
2. Stock up before you climb: party-wide HP and MP items, plenty of MP restoratives and the Magical Bag accessory if you have it.

Boss: Aephorul

1. A hard fight, and a long one. Hold back on items for a while to see how far you get, but don’t be stingy later — there’s nothing left to save them for.
2. His charges often appear with only one turn left on the counter. Serai’s Disorient pushes his turn back so you can still break the locks; you’ll use it so often that it’s worth feeding Serai MP for it. Keep boost orbs ready too.
3. The Appendages change their weakness, and their colour shows which one: pink for arcane, blue for moon, bronze for blunt, silver for sword. Boost your hits to clear them quickly. While only one Appendage is left, take the chance to heal.
4. Garl’s ultimate is a strong answer when a charge needs moon and sun hits; the Sunorang combo also works there.
5. Halfway through, the battle turns into a shooting section against a version of Aephorul:
   1. Destroy the two parts on each side first, then the middle.
   2. Dive whenever you need to; fail here and you have to play the shooting section again.
6. The fight goes on after the shooting section, so keep healing and breaking charges until he falls. The true ending follows.