The Journey for the Dawn is the Extra Story that serves as the final chapter for Octopath Traveler II. To unlock it, all of the main characters stories and their Crossed Paths must be completed.
Changes[]
Before the player begins this quest, the game offers a warning to save the game on different file, as some aspects of the game will change permanently until the Journey for the Dawn is complete. During the Journey, the game changes in the following ways:
- The time will be changed to night, and cannot be changed. Thus, any daytime Path Actions will be impossible to perform.
- In the areas unaffected by the Shadow, no overworld, town, or battle music will play at all.
- All remaining side stories will be locked and cannot be completed.
- The key areas affected by the Shadow have a drastic jump in danger level (51). In addition, all enemies in those areas will be replaced by shadow enemies.
During the Journey for the Dawn, the eight travelers can also be swapped out anytime from the menu screen, rendering the tavern's party formation function obsolete (though the barkeeper is still needed to fix a bad reputation in town). After completing the Journey for the Dawn, this member-swapping ability will remain available for the rest of the game.
Story[]
To begin the Journey for the Dawn, all eight travelers come together around the campfire at the Southern Cropdale Trail. They share their aspirations for the future, gaze at the stars, then sleep under the night sky together.
During the night, all eight travelers share an ominous series of dreams in which Solistia's four Sacred Flames burn out, one by one. At the end of these dreams, each traveler receives a brief vision of a dark island in the center of the sea. Upon waking up, the travelers realize that they have had the same dreams, and find that the world has been plunged into Shadow - the night has continued without a dawn.
After defending themselves from a pair of shadowy monsters, the travelers decide to search for clues as to the source of this darkness. One at a time, they visit the locations of the Sacred Flames and find the torches snuffed out. Using Alpates's mirror, the travelers work in pairs to rekindle the torches with the light in their hearts. Once each Sacred Flame has been relit, it imparts a memory on the travelers, revealing the sacrifice that was performed to extinguish it.
In the Tombs of the Wardenbeasts, a Grostesque Monster guards the way to the Sacred Flame. After the party defeats it, Castti and Ochette rekindle the flame, after which they learn that the Dark Hunter Petrichor was responsible for extinguishing it. Petrichor sacrificed herself to the Darkling of the Sorrowful Moon, harnessing the creature's miserable rage to overwhelm the Flame's power.
In the Tranquil Grotto, the travelers are able to reach the Sacred Flame undeterred. Agnea and Hikari rekindle the Flame, then learn that Kazan sacrificed Ageha in order to snuff it out. Kazan's true name is in fact Oboro, and he orchestrated Mugen's rise and fall in order to steal Clan Ku's sacred treasure, the Darkblood Blade. With this blade, Kazan cut down Ageha and smothered the Flame.
In the Fellsun Ruins, the travelers discover journal fragments scattered across the pathway. These accounts, written by Ori, reveal that the young scrivener was secretly in league with the Moonshade Order. Her journal details the Order's members and machinations, noting which travelers might pose a threat to the Order's plans, but her records also reveal the inspiration impact that Partitio had on her. After Partitio and Osvald rekindle the ruins's Flame, they discover that Ori sacrificed herself using the Darkblood Grimoire and a dagger in order to snuff out the Flame. Nevertheless, her resolution wavered as she struck the blow, so she survived her suicide attempt.
When the travelers arrive at Flamechurch, they find all of the townspeople barricaded indoors. Mindt appears to greet them, only to dissolve into self-satisfied giggles that suggest something is amiss. Temenos and his companions chase her further into the city, where they corner her and attempt an interrogation. Mindt reveals that she is none other than Arcanette, leader of the Moonshade Order, before attacking the travelers. After her defeat and subsequent death, the party continues along the road to Flamechurch: Cathedral Entrance, where they find Tanzy's journal. The journal reveals that Tanzy grew infatuated with Mindt after the death of her husband, leading her search for the world's Sacred Flames on Mindt's behalf. After Temenos and Throné relight the Flame, they discover that Mindt sacrificed Tanzy, extinguishing the Sacred Flame as Tanzy perished in a cloud of dark smoke.
Once all four Sacred Flames have been rekindled, their blue beams arch into the sky and center upon the Sundering Sea. The travelers follow these rays of light to the location marked at their center, where they discover the legendary island of Vidania: Vide's ancient prison. The extinguishing of the Sacred Flames broke the seal on the island, causing it to rise from the ocean.
Disembarking from their ship, the eight travelers race to the summit of Castle Vidania. There they confront Kazan, who asks them why they continue to seek the dawn in a world that is cruel, bleak, and unsightly. Determined to resurrect Vide, Kazan then throws himself backward into Vide's flame, offering himself as the final sacrifice required for Vide's return.
The traveler find themselves locked in an epic battle with Vide, the Wicked God. After the legendary confrontation, Vide vanishes with one final warning that he is eternal, and the travelers watch the sun dawn over Solistia.
Thus ends the Journey of the Dawn, unlocking the Epilogue that concludes Octopath Traveler II.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Upon relighting the Sacred Flames and defeating Vide, the Shadow Phenomenon that occasionally appears outside of towns in random areas will be permanently gone, and shadow enemies can no longer be encountered.
- As revealed in the "Places of Truth" travel banter, each of the eight travelers dreams about the Sacred Flame related to their Crossed Path story. For example, Hikari and Agnea dream about the Flame in the Tranquil Grotto, Temenos dreams of the Flame at Flamechurch: Cathedral Entrance, and Ochette dreams of the Flame in the Tombs of the Wardenbeasts.
- Although they do not trigger naturally in-game, two extra travel banters can be accessed via the "Final Chapter" section in the Journal menu: "Places of Truth" and "The Shadow and the Endless Night." When selected, both banters take place over the background of a large room unused in the final game, where no background music plays.
- In "Places of Truth," the Tranquil Grotto is incorrectly spelled as "Tranqil Grotto," suggesting that this banter may have been cut before it was proofread.