Quesada's Swan

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Okay, time to continue the trek up this cold mountain!

I climb back down an area, as a warmup, to take care of some enemies. I notice a set of vines in the western end of the mountain, at a cliff wall behind a group of tree stumps...

Ahead are scattered boulders and two charging Sabredogs!

The boulders can't be picked up, though.

We climb to higher ground, and I check the map, it seems we're west of the cave that we didn't enter yet...

Two more Rakshaki to take care of, and I notice another chest in a small, unreachable opening below...

This level has a lot of unreachable treasures...

In the next area is another entrance to a cave.

And we end up sliding down the waterfall!

Avalanche!!!

I reset the game back to where I left off since I didn't see what was inside the cave earlier...

---

Two more gems cross our path, and ahead of them, two Rakshaki, and a Magirock!

We take care of most of them, but the remaining Rakshaki confuses Ark again!

The Raskshaki after lunging their trident a bit too much, gets stuck on the wall temporarily!

We stumble around the cave wall, getting the last Magirock piece at the center of this small tunnel...

I have Ark run out of the cave before the confusion mixes up the movement controls again...

After another match with a Rakshaki at a lower part of the mountain, we go down to the foot of the peak to try to get the treasure...

Before I do, I go back to the mound of tree stumps and head to the southern edge. I notice more Magirock!

While climbing down to the foot of the peak, my controller loses power!

I wait awhile to charge the controller before continuing onwards...

After plugging the controller into the Pi, the controls are now mapped differently!

I take it out, and the controls are back to normal!

After taking care of the Sabredog, I notice a ramp half-hidden by the evergreens, which leads up to the chest on the plateau!

Now to climb back up...

On the valley below the chest in the western half of the peak, two gems appear!

Another duel with the nearby Rakshaki confuses Ark again!

How can we reach that chest?

There's no vine to climb up to that valley...

I go back to that area, gaining more XP and money along the way...

---

Reading a guide online, it seems that the chest in the valley is impossible to reach at the moment...

Also according to that guide, the crystalline enemies here are called Ice Crystals.

Down the cavernous water slide we go!!!

I try to outrun the avalanche the second time around by going into the cave, but nature beats us again!

"Awaken to find the concerned look of a mountain goat."

The mountain goat talks to us, stating the obvious: we're trapped in the cave because of the avalanche. The goat asks us if we can walk. I select the first choice: "No problem."

Oh, Ark. The mountain goat likes that answer.

The goat asks us to follow.

Oh god...

Ark: "[The second goat] doesn't appear to be breathing..."

The mountain goat says that the goat is her husband. She explains her short story: they were running up the slopes...

But she moves on pretty quickly, and looks for a way out of the cavern...

We sprint the perimeter of the cavern...

---

It turns dark pretty fast once we make it back to the goat....

The goat tells us that we're cold...

Goat: "Here comes the night..."

The cave's now dark, and the goat talks. She asks us if "the [darkness] frightens us." I put up a brave answer.

Ark: "I've been traveling alone. I may have gotten used to it..."
Goat: "All alone..."

We get some rest until daylight comes...

I don't know if Ark's feeling homesick for Crysta Village at this moment...maybe he does...

We hear some rock-crumbling going on...

It seems there might be a way out. The goat asks us if we got woken up by the noise...

Ark: "Noise that loud will wake anyone!"
Goat: "That's true."

She asks Ark if he wants breakfast.

---

The music from the towers plays again...the goat's going to have her late husband for breakfast!

Ark's not happy about the idea...the goat has no problem though...

Ark pauses. He really does not want to do this...

The goat understands, but gives him more advice.

The mountain goat notices that the wall is thinner on the north end of the cave. She decides to ram the wall!

After a few attempts, she makes it!

We're free!

Or not...

The goat gives up...then says that Ark can climb this crystal wall out.

I'm guessing she means not just the literal kind of wall either.

Goat: "I will get out of here myself one way or another. You have to persevere. Now go. You must continue your journey."

We scale the wall, and we're back at the foot of the mountain!

---

Luckily the way to the Stardew chest is still accessible. Missable items are never a good sign, imo.

Ice Crystals bar the way up...

Let's see if anything's changed since that avalanche...

It has! The valley is now filled with so much snow that we can reach the unopened chest!

We win a Life Potion from there (another max life boost), and check for any more changes...

I have Ark use it up quickly, along with the Luck Potion!

I have a feeling that the mountain goat from earlier was testing Ark, in a way.

Back down the mountain now, since there's no way back up...

Ark states the avalanche snow must have filled the water completely...

We circle around the vast snow-covered lake, taking care of more Sabredogs...

I have Ark sprint to the western end of the lake...nothing there.

Ark accidentally falls into the chasm nearby, losing a Zelda heart's worth of damage!

Now that's a long climb!

---

The map of Eklemata's changed once again, there's seven floors total!

We go inside the cave, which looks more darker than the previous caves.

We tail around and climb down to get the Stardew from the chest, and climb back up to cover the western end of the cave.

No path forward there, but we grab more money from another chest...

We climb back down again, climb up some more, and climb more stairs...so much climbing!

A duo of Slimes greet us at the top...

Outside the cave, Sabredogs!

The power from my controller is out again! I wait awhile to charge my controller before continuing...

This mountain is one long trek! At least, thank goodness, this dungeon is not the Ancient Shrine or the Lake Shrine! It's long but not difficult...

Climbing more vines, and tricky Rakshaki await us!

We claim a Magirock at the foot of the nearby field...

---

At the end of our trek is another hole to jump into...

Sensing that there's going to be a boss battle soon, I make the decision to go back down the mountain since I'm low on healing supplies.

We jump down the chasm!

And another!

We continue traversing the cave and take care of more Ice Crystals and Slimes along the way!

This tunnel, I'm guessing, is the way to the summit, and where the boss for this area, is going to be...

There's still a bit of more mountain to climb...

Here we go!

---

The slenderman, at the dais of the summit, transforms into a Yeti!

The boss's first salvo is a block of sharp ice, and a blizzard!!!

I try my best efforts to break the ice, but the blizzard ends up charting the course for us...

The shadowy slenderman changes back, and the scene fades to black...

What's a High Cadet Mage doing here?

We manage to get one hit in, before the High Cadet Mage floats across the summit super fast...

Airborne attacks are the only way the High Cadet Mage can be affected, I think?

I try using up some Rings, but this fight doesn't allow them!

I realize that the High Cadet Mage can only be hit by its own spells!

So this is going to be a tennis match...

And the Cadet Mage is down!

Now the slenderman faces us!

He transforms into a group of invulnerable bats!

After another hit, he changes back to a flurry of bats again!

Two more turns like this, and the small fireworks display begins!

I'll still call him slenderman, though.

The same omnipotent voice speaks to us again...

"Ark. The day has come for the resurrection of humans. Humans are wonderful animals with the ability to create technology. But they have no idea of the vast power they wield."

Now the final cutscene begins: The Resurrection of the Humans.

---

This music gives me the chills.

A fallen Ark fades to black...

A flower blooms...

Now a yak eats the flower.

And a Kingbird swoops down on the yak...

A baby Kingbird hatches from an egg...

A Huball gets the Kingbird and their offspring...

Ark back again...

He falls...

Fade to black. The birth music plays again.

Aside: I accidentally reset my session twice during the resurrection cutscene by accident!! It still doesn't change the fact that I get chills listening to that music...