Granblue Story Archives

Gran and company arrive at Central Theater to find Amar and Repti already waiting for them. Amar professes that she spent her life running from reality, which is why she feels responsible for Selka becoming warped by her own delusions. To nearly everyone's confusion, she begins to explain that Lejos was never born into the world—he was gone before he even took his first breath.

Gran accepts Selka's request to speak with her mother one more time. The party heads for Central Theater.

Along the way, Selka does her best to strike up a conversation with Alba.

Selka

Um... I want to thank you, Alba.

Alba

Hm? Oh, don't mention it.

Alba

I never forgot about Lejos.

Alba

He told me everything about you when we were in school.

Alba

Maybe that's why I don't feel like you're a total stranger.

Selka

Well, I still want to say thanks.

Selka

Not just for me. Lejos once told me he met someone he could tell all his secrets to.

Selka

And he said he had a blast at school. It was probably because of you.

Alba

H-huh? Did he really... say that?

Alba

I didn't do anything special... It was my job to mentor him, and... Besides, looking at the gap in our ages...

Alba

I only thought of him as a cute little brother! That's the truth!

Selka

Oh... Really?

Alba

I'll admit his surprising maturity did give me chills sometimes...

Alba

But, yeah, he was like a kid brother to me. That's why I think of you as my kid sister, Selka.

Selka

...! Th-thank you...

Alba

Ehehe...

Alba

(That's weird... He told Selka he had a blast at school?)

Alba

(Sounds like something Lejos would say before passing away...)

Alba

(But if that's true, when could he have been able to say goodbye to Selka?)

A seed of doubt is planted in the back of Alba's mind. Before it can sprout any further, Vyrn suddenly chimes in.

Vyrn

Hey, am I goin' crazy, or is Central Theater practically a ghost town?

Lyria

It's not just theater fans either; I don't see any security people around.

Dialogue Option

This is our lucky day.

Alba

Wow, how can you be so unflappable?

Alba

Something tells me the lack of crowds didn't happen by accident.

Dialogue Option

I smell a trap.

Selka

What is Mother up to this time?

Vyrn

Trap or not, we can't do nothin' while Katalina and the others are hard at work.

The party members keep their heads on a swivel as they approach Central Theater. They cautiously step inside.

Passing through the deserted interior, they're greeted by a small welcome party consisting of Viceroy Amar and the playwright Repti.

Amar

Selka...

Amar

I'm sorry, Selka. I should have done this sooner.

Selka

Do what?

Amar

All I could think about was myself. I didn't make you my highest priority.

Amar

When you became Lejos, it was as if my sin had materialized to physically persecute me... I couldn't help but retreat into fear.

Amar

And instead of facing reality head-on, all I did was run away.

Amar

Because of my indecision, you became shackled to an illusion for ages.

Selka

Wait! It's not like that!

Amar

It's time for both of us to move on and be free of Lejos's specter.

Amar

You are my child, Selka. You've always been my one and only child.

Alba can't stop herself from interrupting.

Alba

Wait, I don't understand. I know Lejos is gone now, but how can you treat your dead son like that?

Amar

That child... didn't "die."

Alba

What are you talking about?

Selka

That's wrong! Brother—

Amar

I couldn't give birth to Lejos.

Amar

I was supposed to be blessed with twins, but Lejos disappeared before he had a chance to be born.

Alba

How does that work?

The stifling atmosphere in the near-empty theater is soul-crushing.

As Amar opens up about a past personal tragedy, the mood becomes even more unbearable.

Though Amar conceived twins with her beloved, only one of her children was born. Ever since the day that Selka learned she once had a brother, the girl began to insist Lejos was truly there next to her, eventually pretending to be him and taking on his identity. Amar took this as her punishment for failing to deliver Lejos into the world, and she dealt with it by running away from Selka.

I grew up in Istavion, where I'd go on to meet the man of my life. In time we were blessed by the news that our family was going to get bigger.

He couldn't contain his delight. "That's twice the joy," he told me.

But a soldier's life is precarious. He was shipped off to another skydom to fight in a fated battle that would claim him forever.

He was never coming back. His remaining testaments were the unborn babies inside me and the names he'd chosen for them.

My doctor advised me to undergo surgery to birth the twins.

With the anesthesia fading, the first words out of his mouth hit me along with a wave of dull pain.

Doctor

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the boy...

My mind refused to accept reality at the time. An unfathomable hole was ripped in my heart.

The lives my husband left with me. The chosen names he left with me. The joy he left with me.

I only managed to bring half of that into the world.

Later when I regained some composure, I asked the doctor how this could have happened. He didn't know but said it wasn't unprecedented.

Sometimes the conception of twins only results in one child being born.

It didn't matter. By then I'd already decided to love my only daughter Selka for me, my husband, and Lejos.

Years passed, and Selka was going to enroll in school for the first time the following year.

Amar

Selka, it's dangerous to look up at the sky while walking. Keep your eyes forward.

Selka

Nah. I'm okay.

Amar

Sigh... Are the clouds really that interesting—

Selka

Eep!

Amar

Selka! Are you okay? That was a really big fall...

Selka

I'm fine. See? Not a scratch on me.

Amar

Wow, you're right. Maybe it wasn't that bad because you broke your fall somehow.

Amar

I suppose it could be your older brother watching out for his clumsy sister.

Selka

My older brother?

Amar

(It's about time I told her the truth.)

Amar

That's right. You once had an older brother, Selka.

That's when it all devolved into madness.

After I told Selka about Lejos, she would insist he was there at every turn.

But it wasn't just the claims she made. There were occasions when she would pretend to be him.

To this day I remember the dread I felt every time I saw her put on the act.

It were as if Lejos, the real Lejos, had returned to condemn me for failing to deliver him.

Things came to a head when Selka was getting ready to enter the Royal Philos Institute.

Selka

Look at me, Mother!

Amar

Aw, did you put your uniform on all by yourself? I think you tied the ribbon wrong.

Selka

I hope this is okay.

Selka

I wasn't sure at first, but I think this works for Brother too.

Amar

...

Students at Philos are free to choose which of two types of uniforms they wish to wear.

I knew it was her choice, but I couldn't accept it.

Selka was a living, breathing person, and Lejos was not. Nothing was going to change that.

But the harder I tried to quash her behavior, the deeper she withdrew, allowing Lejos to take over.

I don't know exactly when it happened, but whenever I looked at the treasure my husband left in my care...

Whenever I looked at my own child, I felt myself wanting to get away...

...

Alba

Un. Believable.

Alba

Then the whole time Lejos was at school, that was actually Selka?

Selka

That's... wrong... Brother was—

Amar

She's not wrong, Selka. This has gone on far enough.

Amar

I have something that can help you.

Amar holds up a mask.

Repti

Heh heh...

A small snicker escapes Repti's mouth while he watches the whole scene unfold.

In order to recreate God, Repti combines all the minds of the people wearing masks created from composite primal Zoetrope's power and forms Hive Mind Anima Animus. By fitting Selka with one of the masks, he hopes to bring Lejos into the world and make him his god's vessel. Selka agrees, wanting to give the god a physical form so that Gran and friends are able to fight it.

Katalina, Eugen, Io, and Rosetta are on their way to the tournament district.

Their mission is to rescue captured BLF members from a detention center.

Rosetta

Something's not right.

Katalina

In what way?

Rosetta

It's the masks. Look, those people wearing them are walking our way.

Rosetta is right. City folk and tourists alike shamble slowly toward them, their faces obscured by coverings.

Masked Tourists

...

Eugen

Huh... Are they part of a parade or somethin'?

Rosetta

Sure, if they were wearing normal masks and weren't radiating primal energy...

Rosetta

The masks they're wearing right now are thanks to the island's primal beast.

Yeah, I remember. They let you relive memories when you put one on.

What I don't remember is seeing people wearing them while walking though. Seems kinda dangerous to me...

Katalina

Now that you mention it, every wearer we've seen had been sitting down at the time.

Katalina

It's almost as if these people are being manipulated like puppets...

They keep watching as someone in the masked horde bumps into a man trying to cross the street.

Island Worker

Hey! Watch where you're walking, people!

Masked Tourists

...

Island Worker

And take those off right now. It's dangerous to walk with masks on, which is why it's not allowed—

...!

Island Worker

Wha! What the—

A mask instantly stretches over the man's face, claiming him as another victim of the masked shamblers.

Island Worker

...

Did you see that? That one guy started acting like everyone else as soon as the mask went on.

Rosetta

I don't think the masks were originally intended to be used that way...

Eugen

Tch! Enough rubberneckin'!

Eugen

They're multiplyin' like crazy and streamin' in from all sides!

The crew members just now notice that more of the masked shamblers are filing down every road, getting closer and closer to them.

Katalina

What is the meaning of this!

Lyria

...!
Something's wrong!

Lyria

I sense a presence out in the city... It's a primal beast, but at the same time, it isn't one either!

Vyrn

Wait, wait! Are you after us for some reason?

Repti

How impertinent. I give all my targets equal attention.

Repti

Now, Girl in Blue. The manifesting entity in the streets is not some lowly primal...

Repti

But a god. Not the equivalent of a god, mind you—the genuine article.

Repti

I've done it. I have created a partial image of what I envision God to be.

Repti proudly explains his triumphant results.

Repti

Once upon a time, the almighty one created the world, and then it was absorbed by the world in different ways.

Repti

Such is the typical creation myth one can hear anywhere.

Repti

You see, I have this need to recreate God.

Repti

Despite the centuries of no progress, despite a mistake that caused my eyes to burn away, my relentless pursuit cannot be stopped.

Repti

Here is my train of thought: if the entire world permeates with God, then consolidating the entirety of the world should therefore reconstitute God.

Repti

Paradoxically, it would take power on the level of a god to physically mold the world into a single entity.

Repti

Well, what if instead I had God's grace? Would that be enough to revive God?

Repti

Through painstaking effort I have finally reached a possible solution.

Repti takes the mask Amar had been holding and thrusts it high above his head.

Repti

At the basic level, Zoetrope's power accesses memories and emotions of the mask's owner.

Repti

Therefore all masks fall under Zoetrope's control.

Repti

I can thus force all wearers to merge into a singular mind and reshape them however I want.

Repti

Imagine multitudes of individual bodies acting as a single collective...

Repti

I'm thinking of calling it Hive God Anima Animus.

Repti

Isn't it a delightful name? At the moment it is only a miniscule colony for the initial round of experiments.

Repti's wild cackling pulls Gran and the others out of their shock.

Dialogue Option

Stop this right now.

Repti

I don't want to. I've only just begun to get a taste of success.

Repti

Besides, did you know that someone else wished for this?

Dialogue Option

I can't let you do that.

Repti

The wheels are already in motion. To stop it, you will need to destroy Anima Animus.

Repti

But I'm not the only one who wished for this...

Vyrn

Whatever! You can take your god talk and cram it! We'll just take it down...

Vyrn speaks with fire, but Lyria isn't as enthusiastic.

Lyria

B-but... It's everywhere... and also nowhere at the same time...

Lyria

Its aura is scattered all over the place, kind of like when Leviathan dissolves into the sea.

Vyrn

Then we don't even know what we're supposed to be swingin' at...

Repti

Heh heh... Everyone relax. The meat of the play starts here.

Toying with the mask in his hand, Repti moves on to the next phase.

Repti

The Girl in Blue has the right idea—Hive God Anima Animus is not yet stable.

Repti

Various parts are coagulating from different directions—a singular physical body one could call God does not exist yet.

Repti

Selka... That's where your brother comes in. I need his soul.

Selka

Wh-why!

Repti

God's vessel can't be just anyone.

Repti

God's existence throughout the world is universal, yet the world itself is not God.

Repti

Existing while not existing. That is the condition an appropriate vessel must fulfill.

Repti

And once Lejos becomes that vessel, he can be truly born into this world.

Repti

Just as the honorable viceroy so desires.

Amar

...

Repti

Of course everything about the vessel will be Anima Animus through and through.

Alba

You'd go that far?

Amar

Yes, I would. Selka and Lejos are my... Our precious children.

Selka

...

Selka whispers to Gran and the others, who look prepared for a fight.

Selka

If that god enters the vessel, can you guys stop this mess?

Vyrn

Are you crazy! You're not really gonna believe a word that wacko says, are you?

Lyria

Vyrn's right! Something awful could end up happening to you.

Selka

I have to tell my mother that she's made a mistake.

Selka

It's my duty as her daughter, and as Lejos's sister.

Without waiting for a response, Selka steps toward Repti.

Selka

What do I have to do?

Amar

Selka...

Amar

I'm sorry, Selka... This is the only way.

Amar

But everything will work out for the best.

Repti

If you're ready, then put on this mask.

The young girl stares at it intently.

Selka

...

Alba

Selka...

Selka

(Gran... The rest is up to you.)

With her mind made up, Selka adorns the mask.

A dazzling light bursts forth, and the girl collapses to the floor.

Amar

Selka!

Amar is about to run to her daughter.

???

...

Amar

Lejos?

The figure of a young boy flickers into existence.

???

...

Repti

Magnificent! My first successful experiment in centuries...

Repti

Although it appears I have some tweaking to do. No one will take a god that small seriously.

???

...

Anima Animus responds to Repti's criticism, and it begins to take a new form.

Anima-Animus Core

...

Vyrn

Before Selka put on the mask, she asked us to beat that thing up.

Vyrn

Thanks to her, now we actually have a punching bag.

Vyrn

C'mon! Let's kick its ugly butt before it gets even uglier!

While Gran and company defeat Hive Mind Anima Animus, Selka says goodbye to her brother's mask. Anima Animus is returned to its normal form as composite primal Zoetrope, but Repti is nowhere to be seen once the battle ends. As the group debates whether or not to seize this chance to take care of the primal beast, the White Knight makes his appearance.

Round and round they go—Gran and Lyria versus Hive God Anima Animus.

Still unconscious in the real world, Selka is trapped in a separate dimension akin to a state of limbo, but she's not alone.

Selka

...

???

...

Selka

I know you're not my brother.

???

...

Selka

When I lost my brother, I felt so much fear and sadness...

Selka

I didn't have the courage to step outside of my shell...

Selka

In order to act like him, I ended up putting on a mask... That's you.

???

...

Selka

I want to thank you. I got to meet and talk to many different people because of you.

Selka's voice is quiet but firm.

Selka

But my brother is gone for good. He's moved on now.

Selka

Nothing can change the obvious, so it's time for me to also say farewell.

???

...

Selka

Pretending to be my brother was clearly my way of not wanting to accept that he was gone.

Selka

But I can't keep flip-flopping anymore.

Selka

I have to let Mother know that I'm okay with Brother leaving.

The girl sniffles, then turns her back to the boyish apparition.

Selka

Thank you so much, Lejos.

Selka

From now on I'm going to stand tall and face Mother on my own.

Selka

This is goodbye... Brother.

Selka

...

Dialogue Option

Selka!

Selka

Gasp!
H-hello... It's me, Selka...

Alba

What a relief. I was afraid you'd never wake up again.

Vyrn

Thanks to you, we beat up that Hive God or whatever.

Vyrn

I tell ya, that pipsqueak was a real pain!

Selka

That's good... What happened after that?

Lyria

After we destroyed Anima Animus's core, it returned to being a composite primal beast.

Vyrn

Too bad the real crook, Repti, ran off while we were busy with Anima Animus.

Lyria

Um... And as for your mom...

They look over at Viceroy Amar, who has a hard time making eye contact with them.

Amar

...

Selka

...

Selka

S-so, Gran...

Selka

What are you going to do with Zoetrope?

Vyrn

Well, the BLF did ask us to take care of each island's primal beast...

Vyrn

It's up to you, Gran. We could do the same thing we did on Magmell—

White Knight

I'm afraid I must vehemently object to that course of action.

The others whirl around. Standing before them is a man dressed in resplendent white armor.

Libertaria Island