As you near the Exile Fortress for the first time, you may spot a flag on your minimap- that’s right, it’s plot time! Yaaaaay!
The group stops near a strange structure- apparently this light-capped thing is an obelisk. Shulk looks up at the thing and comments on the oddity of its glow- indeed, the thing glows differently from any of the Ether Lamps that have lit your way so far, so his interest makes complete sense. Dickson explains that the obelisk as a whole is a remnant of the High Entia race. What’s more, the High Entia once controlled the entire area- meaning the Satorl Marsh. Apparently, they have over time retracted their influence, moving higher up on the Bionis for some reason. Reyn makes a sarcastic remark here, but Dickson simply ignores it and points out that the obelisk is an ideal camping spot. Apparently, the light will keep monsters away during night-time, keeping the area around the obelisk’s base safe.
We then skip forwards to that night.
At the base of the obelisk/lamp, Shulk is sitting, his back leaned against the broader base of the structure. As he sits there, he is apparently thinking about Fiora- the view shifts to a sepia-toned flashback of his conversation and lunch with her at Lookout Park. He continues on to think about the Monado Flash regarding the fight with Metal Face- and recalls the question that he was asked in his dream in Tephra Cave- ‘Do you want to change the future?’
Dickson walks up at this point, interrupting Shulk’s reverie with a friendly greeting, and asks if it’s ‘been that long’- though it’s not entirely clear what he’s referring to. Shulk greets him by name, which prompts the older blond to continue. Dickson says it’s been fourteen years since he found Shulk in the snowy wasteland, but it seems to him as though it only just happened.
The Monado-wielder responds by saying that he owes everything to Dickson- that if he hadn’t been found by the explorer that day, he wouldn’t be around to discover the world. Dickson clearly feels at least a bit uncomfortable for this, as he asks Shulk’s forgiveness for not being able to save the younger blond’s parents. Shulk tells him not to be sorry, clearly not holding that against the veteran.
Dickson mentions then that he found the Monado at the same time as he found Shulk. He makes a guess, though he admits that it’s a bit far fetched, that Shulk and the Monado may be part of some larger and possibly very important plan. Shulk doesn’t have much to say on the matter, claiming that he doesn’t remember much but thinks that his parents left him the sword, in a sense. He says he used to think of the Monado as their final gift to him- and this is why he wants to find its true power and use that to defeat the Mechon. Self-deprecatingly, he points out that really all he’s accomplished so far is to make a lot of Mechon scrap.
Dickson proclaims his surprise that Shulk doesn’t just want to sit down with the sword and analyze it. Shulk lets the conversation trail off with a muttering that ‘there must be some way...’- although some way to what, is unclear at best.
Come morning, most of the group is gathered before Shulk walks up. Dickson teases him a little about his lateness, but Shulk just apologizes, saying he wasn’t able to sleep.
Dunban proclaims it time to keep going and asks how much further- his old friend says they’ll be there ‘soon enough’ and are nearing the High Entia ruins.
