Scenario:Eahta - In Pursuit of Answers
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In Pursuit of Answers
Eahta visits the leader of the Eternals, Seofon, who thinks he's finally about to be recognized as the leader of the Eternals. Eahta isn't interested in Seofon's delusions of grandeur, however, and requests Seofon unleash his true strength.
With the Eight-Life Katana in hand, Eahta pays a visit to the swordsman Seofon, leader of the Eternals.
Seofon: Heheh... What's up, Eahta? I can barely even remember the last time you paid me a visit!
Seofon: Lemme guess... You want me to give you some tips for macking on the ladies?
Eahta: ...
Seofon: S-sorry, sorry! That was a joke, I swear! And could you say something? You're seriously scary when you get silent!
Eahta: Hrm. I came here to make a request.
Seofon: Right, right, of course. You've got a request for me... Wait, time out!
Seofon: Why now? You've never asked me to do something before!
Eahta: Your reaction puzzles me.
Seofon: Is this a serious request? Are you finally starting to recognize my abilities as leader?
Eahta: I believe I told you this quite some time ago. If you wish to call yourself leader, by all means go ahead.
Eahta: My request is simple. Show me the full extent of your power.
Seofon: Huh?
Eahta: Let us begin!
Seofon: H-hold on! This makes no sense!
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 2
Eahta praises Seofon's sword skills and asks him about the nature of supreme power, which Seofon brushes aside as something he hasn't really given a lot of thought to. Eahta is unsurprised to hear this from him and leaves.
Seofon: Yeeouch...
Seofon: Sigh... First time I get to see you in forever, and this is what happens. You're a real troublemaker, Eahta!
Eahta: You fought well. The title of leader suits you.
Seofon: Awesome. Make me fight for my life, and then tell me I'm cool like nothing even happened.
Seofon: So what's the deal? Why'd you want a fight all of a sudden?
Eahta: Reason one: I wanted a warm-up. Reason two: I wanted to ask you what it means to have supreme power.
Seofon: Supreme power? I mean... I figure I'll get there if I keep collecting spirit swords.
Seofon: It'd be a real honor to be called the strongest for sure, but I'm not really looking for attention on that front.
Eahta: An unsurprising response from someone as flighty as yourself. Your attitude remains unchanged.
Eahta: That, too, is a kind of strength for surviving the turbulent waves of life. Forgive my intrusion.
Seofon: Right, right, thanks for the visit. Let's have a little more fun next time, okay?
Seofon: Oh! If you wanna invite me out for drinks sometime, I'm game!
Eahta leaves the ebullient Seofon and sets off for his next destination.
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 3
In pursuit of the true meaning of strength, Eahta visits Tien in Stardust Town and requests a duel. Tien accepts the challenge.
Eahta continues his fight against the Eternals to ascertain the nature of ultimate strength.
This time he pays a visit to Tien, who lives in Stardust Town.
Tien: Hm? I think this might be the first time you've ever visited me, Eahta. I think?
Eahta: You may be right. Are you free at the moment?
Tien: Yes.
Eahta: Allow me to test you in battle. I await your arrival outside of town.
Tien: He wants to fight? This is all rather sudden, but I suppose it fits, coming from Eahta...
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 4
Their duel complete, Eahta asks Tien what she believes supreme power to be, and she responds with a laundry list of her greatest weaknesses. Eahta remarks that he believes her strength comes from recognizing her own limitations.
Tien: Mm. You're so strong, Eahta. I still have a ways to go.
Eahta: You do a disservice to yourself with such modesty.
Tien: Mm... Sorry.
Eahta: You needn't apologize. Now then. I have one more reason for visiting you. What would you consider supreme power?
Tien: Mm? Supreme power, huh. That's a tough question.
Tien: Power itself takes many forms.
Tien: Maybe you're a good fighter, or have a lot of money, or clout, or status...
Tien: But to have supreme power... I guess that would mean you had all of the above?
Tien: Mm... But even if you did, that wouldn't really be supreme power. Nobody has everything after all.
Eahta: The world considers you to be a gunner without peer.
Tien: Mm... As a protector of the town, I'm grateful to those who think so.
Tien: That said... I don't think of myself as being without equal. I worry easily and have all sorts of fears.
Eahta: Your strength comes from recognizing your own limitations.
Tien: Mm... I hope you're right.
After seeing Tien back to Stardust Town, Eahta continues his journey.
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 5
Eahta pays a visit to Tien's brother, Feower, who explains that to be supreme is to have power enough to protect Stardust Town. He admits that he's still thinking the question over, and Eahta suggests facing him in a duel to possibly clarify the situation.
To reascertain the meaning of supreme power, Eahta pays a visit to each of the Eternals.
Tien's twin brother, Feower, appears before him this time.
Feower: I hear you asked my sister about the nature of supreme power.
Eahta: Hm, yes. And I pose the same question to you.
Feower: Those who lack strength die. Conversely one can say that those who live are strong.
Feower: And then there are those who are lucky. To live is to have luck on your side.
Eahta: It is as you say.
Feower: Meaningful strength—at least to me—is to be strong enough to defend Stardust Town.
Feower: If you asked me when I was younger, I would have told you that all one needs is power and force.
Eahta: What of the present moment? It sounds as if you've had a change of heart.
Feower: Yes. For better or worse. In fact... I'm mulling over the meaning of strength as we speak.
Eahta: And yet everyone seeks it, be they young or old... Most interesting.
Eahta: We cannot answer this through conversation. But there may be a clue or two in the heart of battle.
Feower: Geez... Well, we are Eternals, I suppose.
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 6
Feower loses to Eahta but believes he may have found a hint of what he's lacking along the way. Satisfied with the result, Eahta thanks Feower and leaves Stardust Town.
Feower: Tch... You're a monster, old man!
Eahta: Such words only make you appear weak.
Feower: Sigh... Now you're gonna give me a sermon?
Eahta: I'm in no position to preach. I've simply lived longer than most.
Feower: Humph... Plenty of people have lived as long as you. But they're not strong.
Feower: Still... That fight gave me an idea of what I'm lacking.
After saying his thanks and goodbyes to Eahta, Feower begins the journey back to Stardust Town.
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 7
Next on Eahta's list of Eternal challengers is Tweyen, who suggests that a heart strong enough to withstand isolation and loneliness is necessary to be called supreme. Eahta understands this sentiment all too well and readies himself for a duel against the Eternal archer.
Eahta continues his somewhat capricious battle against the Eternals, this time paying a visit to Tweyen.
Eahta: I ask you. What is the nature of supreme power?
Tweyen: Supreme power? I imagine it must be to become something like a monster beyond even the scope of the Eternals... It certainly doesn't sound very fun.
Tweyen: Like a tiger thrown into a pack of kitty cats, there's hardly any enjoyment to be had in reigning unopposed.
Eahta: To be strong is to fear isolation and loneliness. But only someone already standing at the peak such as yourself can understand that.
Tweyen: O-oh? Cats and tigers, monsters and people... They might as well exist in different worlds. Why even make comparisons between them?
Tweyen: If you're really looking to be the strongest, you'd have to be mentally strong enough to survive the isolation that follows.
Eahta: Perhaps true fear lurks within our distance from others...
Eahta: An understandable fear, considering that the self and the other are all that exist in this world.
Tweyen: An interesting thought, coming from you. You never seemed to pay others much attention.
Eahta: Being the strongest only has meaning when there are others to recognize you as such.
Tweyen: Heheh, I suppose you're right. By the way, I hear you've been going around challenging the other Eternals...
Eahta: Yes. And now it's your turn.
Tweyen: Of course. I've been waiting for this, you know. How often do we have a chance to square off against each other?
Tweyen: Here I come.
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 8
Eahta tells Tweyen that she cannot be called supreme without conquering the fear within, prompting Tweyen to wonder what Eahta fears. Eahta wonders to himself for a moment before departing.
Tweyen: Ngh... Impressive, Eahta. You closed the distance faster than I could fly around you.
Eahta: Tweyen.
Tweyen: You're using my name? That's unexpected.
Eahta: A fear of isolation consumes you.
Tweyen: That... may very well be.
Eahta: One cannot be called supreme without conquering the fear within. An inescapable fact.
Tweyen: Heheh... And what is it you fear, Eahta? I can barely even imagine.
Eahta: What indeed?
If there is something Eahta fears, he isn't revealing it. Not now. His journey continues.
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 9
Scared of a confrontation with Eahta, Niyon attempts to hide her presence but is quickly discovered and asked for her opinion on supreme strength. Niyon isn't entirely sure but believes someone with a steadfast heart would qualify for the title before being requested by Eahta for a duel.
Niyon flees from Eahta, but eventually stops. A look of resignation falls across her face.
Niyon: How did you know where I was? I hid as soon as I heard you were fighting the others.
Eahta: Hiding is a poor choice for someone with an aura as loud as yours.
Eahta: But this certainly saves us some time. Tell me... What is supreme power?
Niyon: I don't know. But someone who stands harmoniously steadfast and stays attuned... would be a sound example of true strength.
Niyon: I can achieve such a state when playing the harp, but to remain there forever and always is impossible for me. My heart breaks so quickly.
Eahta: Tweyen is no different. You seek the impossible within yourselves.
Niyon: Yes.
Niyon: To become stronger perhaps. To slowly but surely fill the gaps within.
Eahta: Ah, I see now. A process of refinement, of whittling away the unnecessary... Not unlike training.
Niyon: If you're convinced, I'll head home now.
Eahta: Do not rush things. You may leave after facing me in battle.
Niyon: If you insist... Though I could do with less hostility. You're scaring me, and I don't like it.
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 10
Niyon is surprised that Eahta's melody is unchanged following their fight. Eahta responds by saying that he's simply lost that which is unnecessary in his pursuit of true strength or perhaps simply never had it to begin with. Whatever the case may be, Niyon finds his strength of heart most impressive.
Niyon: I'm exhausted.
Niyon: The melody that flows around you remains unchanged from before we fought. What an oddity you are.
Eahta: I may have simply sheared away those other melodies in my pursuit of strength.
Eahta: Or perhaps I simply lacked them from birth. It matters little either way.
Niyon: I wonder... Those sound considerably different to me.
Niyon: But that strength of mind you have to ignore the small things... I suppose I'm a little jealous of it.
Niyon shrugs her shoulders, and Eahta leaves to confront the next Eternal.
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 11
Threo arrives to challenge Eahta herself. When Eahta asks her about the nature of supreme power, she responds that she and (Captain) are the toughest duo in the universe.
Threo hears about Eahta's quest to fight the Eternals and pays him a visit herself.
Threo: Hiya, Eahta! I hear you're rumbling with the other Eternals. You should've hit me up first!
Eahta: What is supreme power to you?
Threo: Me!
Threo: I mean... me and (Captain)! We're the strongest!
Threo: You wanna be the guy too, right, Eahta? I mean... the strongest guy. Heheh... So let's fight.
Threo: No way I'm gonna lose. Me and (Captain) are the toughest duo in the universe after all.
Eahta: Then let us begin. En garde!
Threo: Ooh! Sounds good! I'm gonna win though! Now bring it on!
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 12
Defeated and thoroughly upset, Threo begrudgingly listens to Eahta's lecture on life before requesting another fight.
Threo: Dammit, why can't I win?
Eahta: A tidal wave washes inevitably over all things. But it cannot relentlessly focus on a single point. And like you its movements are easily predicted, its openings numerous.
Eahta: Even with power supreme, one must live, overcome weaknesses, strain against limits, and occasionally experience fear.
Eahta: What you require is study in the ways of life, young one.
Threo: ...
Threo: S-so um... basically...
Threo: Wait, this is a lecture, isn't it? La la la, I can't hear you!
Eahta: Hrm... A not entirely incorrect choice. Ignorance, too, is bliss.
Threo: Gotcha! You sound a lot like Anre sometimes, you know that?
Threo: Anyway, let's go one more round! Sound good? That sounds good to you, right?
Threo's innocent request hits home, and Eahta draws his blades once more.
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 13
In pursuit of supreme power's true meaning, Eahta visits Anre, who suggests that supreme power is strength enough to deter unnecessary conflicts, strength to protect that which is precious. Eahta requests Anre to show him this power firsthand.
Eahta visits Anre, one of the Eternals, to ask about the nature of supreme power.
Anre: What is supreme power, you ask? To me it is the possibility of having strength enough to deter unnecessary conflicts.
Eahta: To prevent war with the very same means one uses to wage it.
Anre: Conflict must be quelled before it can grow into something larger. Only after a conflict occurs can the strong and the weak be determined.
Anre: But by then the distinction is meaningless. To escape from harm at the start of a conflict is impossible.
Anre: To have overwhelming power such that one could prevent said conflict from occurring in the first place? That is what it means to reign supreme.
Anre: Of course one must always be cognizant of the danger inherent in such power.
Eahta: All things fade in time. You've seen that firsthand countless times, I'm sure.
Anre: Indeed. I have seen much in my time here. The horrific and beautiful alike.
Eahta: The world is chaos. An infinite mingling of the horrific and beautiful, with no way to distinguish between the two.
Anre: Precisely. Be that as it may, there are still things worth protecting. The beautiful. The precious.
Eahta: Then you will have to protect them yourself... Show me the strength you will use to make it so.
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 14
After finishing his duel, Anre comments on what a strange and confident individual Eahta is. Eahta notes that to be confident is natural, and that to doubt oneself is itself a sign of weakness. Anre muses to himself that he may be just such a person.
Anre: I knew I placed my faith in you for a reason. You fought splendidly.
Anre: Your might does not make right... but it does not make wrong either. You are a most curious individual, Eahta.
Eahta: Curious, you say? I am filled with curiosity, in a sense.
Eahta: To believe onself to be correct is natural. One cannot live otherwise. Those who doubt themselves are weak.
Anre: Indeed... I may fit such a description myself.
Eahta turns and leaves, a fierce scowl lingering on his face.
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 15
In answer to Eahta's question on the nature of strength, Seox stresses the futility of such a pursuit and states that strength comes in many forms. Realizing he's spoken too much, Seox bares his claws and prepares to fight.
Seox mulls over Eahta's question about the nature of strength.
Seox: What is supreme power... What is strength in the first place?
Seox: You say you seek the zenith of strength itself, but I believe such a pursuit to be meaningless.
Seox: No matter how strong you become, you cannot erase suffering. You cannot ease the pain of solitude.
Eahta: Oh? You too believe strength and solitude to be inextricably linked?
Seox: No, not quite. Strength may come in many forms. To be swallowed by darkness bestows one kind of strength...
Seox: While another comes from seeking light and making its radiance your own. Like him... and like (Captain).
Seox: I've said too much. You wanted a fight, correct?
Eahta: Ah, yes. Let us begin.
Seox: Haaah!
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 16
Seox's mask is sent flying during the fight, causing him to lose his composure. Eahta reflects on the obsessive path he's followed thus far and suggests Seox take advantage of his youth to try many things.
In the middle of their fierce struggle, Eahta lands a blow that sends Seox's mask flying.
Seox: ...!
Seox desperately looks for the mask, which has landed at Eahta's feet. Eahta rests a sword arm to pick it up.
Eahta: This is important to you?
Seox: Guh... G-gimme that!
Eahta: Here. It's yours.
Eahta throws the mask back to Seox.
Seox: Ngh...
Eahta: Having an easily shaken heart calls defeat just as readily.
Seox: It's not like I want to have supreme power.
Eahta: I wonder what Anre and Seofon would say if asked the same question... Most interesting.
Seox: Are we done here? I'm leaving.
Eahta: Indeed. Seeing you like this almost reminds me of someone... but I've long since forgotten. Pay it no mind.
Seox: You're so obsessed with the idea of being supreme that you forgot your own name in the process...
Eahta: I wonder. That obsession is part of who I am now. I can no longer rid myself of it.
Eahta: After coming this far, to give up and change course would be unthinkable.
Eahta: But you are young. Change your path if it so pleases you. That is one of the great joys in life.
Seox: I won't change. I can't change. Not when I consider the sins I labor under, etched indelibly upon my being.
Eahta looks upon Seox with the faintest glimmer of kindness in his eyes before heading out to confront the last remaining Eternal.
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 17
Eahta visits the girl he practically raised himself, Fif, who is confident in her own incredible strength and finds Eahta's constant questioning annoying. To question oneself is good, Eahta explains, before beginning the duel.
Last on Eahta's Eternal world tour is Fif, the young mage, who Eahta practically raised himself.
Fif: What's it mean to be the strongest? Hmm... I think that's me.
Eahta: And why do you think that?
Fif: If any bad guys show up, I make 'em go all kablooie! And if anyone's hurt, I go shoom! And make 'em better!
Eahta: You strike down evil and save the weak. Why is that?
Fif: Bwuh? Um... Because it's the right thing to do!
Eahta: And why is that?
Fif: Huh? Well, um... It's good to do good, so... Um...
Eahta: That sense of confusion is valuable. Think my question over. To stop thinking is to stop growing.
Fif: Rggh... You're just trying to... to diffuse the issue!
Eahta: Very well. Let us add some black and white to a very grey question.
Fif: Okie-doke! Give me your best shot, Grampa Eahta!
In Pursuit of Answers: Scene 18
Frustrated by her loss, Fif nonetheless has to admit that she was forced to think during the fight and realizes she has to change things up, depending on the situation. Eahta agrees with her assessment and explains that the world is like an ever-changing kaleidoscope before heading off to face (Captain) once and for all.
Fif: Aw, phooey! I lost?
Fif: It's all because you asked me those confusing questions! I can't think straight!
Eahta: Asking you those questions in advance may have been a bad move.
Fif: It sure was! I'm gonna win next time!
Fif: But actually... I was thinking during that fight.
Fif: Like... I lost against you, right? Just now.
Eahta: Indeed you did.
Fif: But! But! If I teamed up with Seofon, I bet I could beat you!
Eahta: That may well be. Or it may not.
Fif: There's all sorts of stuff to think about when fighting someone... What's that word... S-sitchee-ayshun?
Eahta: Correct.
Fif: So depending on that, what it means to be super strong probably changes.
Eahta: Entirely probable. How very interesting.
Fif: Huh? What is?
Eahta: You'll likely realize it yourself when the time comes. This world is a kaleidoscope.
Fif: A collide-o-scope! Those are super pretty and I love them!
Eahta: The world must seem to you a most enjoyable place indeed. Lovely.
Eahta laughs, and Fif—though whether she understands why is anyone's guess—begins laughing along too.
All of the Eternals have been defeated. Eahta returns to cross swords with (Captain) once more.