Dyne and Althena (Spoilers)

[Alunissage]

Heh, yeah. The Prima SSSC guide is a joke. It was clearly done from the Japanese game, since not only does it never show any dialogue in the screenshots at all (just character portraits), it's quite inconsistent with the romanization of names (Lemilia and Remilia are both used, even though Lemia was also in TSS and so they should have known how her name would be rendered). Hand-drawn maps, too.

However...obviously they used story summaries because the English game wasn't out yet. And their summary of the scene in question begins: "As you walk in, Ghaleon is telling Althena to walk into the light. As she does, her human body will disintegrate and the power of the goddess will be interred forever. She nods and begins to climb the stairs into the sky." So a totally separate translator read that as her body dying as well. Maybe I didn't start early enough in the stuff I quoted above...let's try this:

ククク……
人である　おまえの肉体は
ほろび　魂は消滅するだろう?
だが　神の力は
永遠に受けつがれる
さぁ行くがいい　アルテナよ?

ハイ
魔法皇帝ガレオンさま……

Ghaleon addressing Althena and her responding affirmatively. I'd noted the word "flesh" when I put it through a translator before, but it was garbled and I forgot or lost it. >.< Unfortunately, the LN screeshot collection goes directly from just after defeating Xenobia to just after defeating Ghaleon, with nothing in between captured.

[Kizyr]

ククク……
人である　おまえの肉体は
ほろび　魂は消滅するだろう?
だが　神の力は
永遠に受けつがれる
さぁ行くがいい　アルテナよ?

ハイ
魔法皇帝ガレオンさま……

Ghaleon:
Hm hm hm...
Your human form shall likely be destroyed, and your soul fade away.
And then, I shall inherit the power of a god.
Shall we begin, Althena?

Althena:
Yes, Magic Emperor Ghaleon.

Just in case you were curious. KF

[Angelalex242]

That's about what I guessed.

ALTHENA isn't going anywhere, in Ghaleon's plan, but Luna's going byebye.

[ilovemyguitar]

Even if Ghaleon's plan involved the death of Althena herself, it doesn't necessarily preclude the idea that he had a demented sort of love for her. It shows that he's THAT evil, that he's willing to murder the woman he loves, in order to punish her for acting against his wishes.

That's what I meant when I said that this idea adds a whole new level of villainy to his deeds.

[Alunissage]

How does "your human form shall likely be destroyed and your soul fade away" confirm that Althena's not going anywhere?

In my copious free time I'll try to get together the entire script for that scene. I'm pretty sure I had the sense in translation that Althena herself would also be fading away. As I see it, Ghaleon hated what Dyne and Althena did because he didn't think the world should be left without divine guidance. Although he reawakened Althena (but not completely -- her form and personality were different!), he could not force her to take up her previous position as ruling deity; therefore, the only way to provide such a person would be for him to take the power she had and perform that action himself -- which would result in her ceasing to exist. This is *different* from the TSS motivation of revenge, where seeing her under his power (but still existing) undoubtedly was part of that revenge. He really isn't much of a villain in SSSC, since in his mind he's working for the greatest good for the greatest number. Ironically, before Alex and Luna find their deus ex machina solution that we never see, his original goal has essentially succeeded, with Luna stuck in her role as goddess -- and clearly with the memories of Althena, since she flashes back to Dyne while Alex is talking to her.

[Shiva Indis]

The way I saw it was that Luna, even with Althena's memories and powers awakened within her, is insufficient because she's mortal. Manipulating all that magic is more than a mortal body can take. And even if Luna could govern Lunar as Althena, she would eventually die.

To Ghaleon, Luna is at best a tool, and at worst a perversion of the perfection that, in his mind, Althena represented. Luna is the product of what Ghaleon sees as a catastrophic error in judgement - the symbol of a world set on the path of damnation. He was probably pleased to be able to bend (and eventually break) Luna to his plan for redeeming Lunar.

ククク……
人である　おまえの肉体は
ほろび　魂は消滅するだろう?
だが　神の力は
永遠に受けつがれる
さぁ行くがいい　アルテナよ?

One aspect of this dialogue that hasn't been mentioned is that Ghaleon says he will have Althena's power "eternally" (kami no chikara wa eien ni uketsugareru). I wonder how he planned to transition to godhood?

[Angelalex242]

Ya know...I wonder...

Suppose that Deus Ex Machina solution wasn't there, and Alex couldn't just toss his Dragonmaster power away to make it all better. Suppose he was stuck with his power, she was stuck with hers.

What DO people think they'd have done then? Does DM Alex just hang out with her in the tower, instead of going back to Burg? Does Luna, now with the full power of Althena, just deal with Lunar's magic unto enternity, watching Alex grow old and die...while existing immortal?

[Dragonmaster Dyne]

To Shiva Indis:

Maybe when she came up her powers he would use some of those extrordinary powers to consume them. My question is what would he do with a singing ability.