Thou Must Live, Die, and Know

Thou Must Live, Die, and Know

Quest giver

Venat

Location

Elpis (X:30.9, Y:22.4)

Quest line

Endwalker Main Scenario Quests

Level

87

Experience

 495,000

Gil

 1,152

Previous quest

Caging the Messenger

Next quest

As the Heavens Burn

Patch

6.0

“

Venat is watching you in quiet contemplation.

— In-game description

Rewards

Unlocks

•   Carrying Our Song

Steps

• Speak with Venat.
• Report to Krile in the main hall of the Baldesion Annex.

Walkthrough

The cutscene sequence will take between 18-20 minutes, depending on text advance speeds.

Dialogue

Venat:

• Player, listen to me. Our duty now is not to denounce Hermes for his misguided determination, or to convince Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus that they have been deceived.
• No, we must instead ensure that the experiences Hermes sought to expunge are preserved.
• What remains in our memories alone will be our weapon against the Final Days.
• You must fight this battle in your age, and I in mine...
• Come, let us walk together once more. I will see you to the doors of Propylaion.
• So...it is within. The portal that brought you hither...and will take you home.

"Yes. This is where we part ways."

Venat:

• May you and yours emerge triumphant.
• Make use of the knowledge you have gained, that your days in Elpis and our friends' sacrifice be not in vain.
• With Meteion free to pursue her designs, 'tis only a matter of time until the Final Days are upon us.
• We must be ready. From fortifying our defenses to securing our escape, there is much to be done.
• In spite of this, we cannot allow the report that set this calamity in motion to become common knowledge. Were the masses to learn the fates of the other stars, I fear the situation would spiral out of our control.
• I must carefully consider who can be trusted, and bring them into the fold.
• Ordinarily, I wouldn't hesitate to call upon the Fourteen. However, it was the desire for a fair determination that drove Hermes to attempt to erase our memories; were he made aware of his actions, there is no telling whether he would remain a friend or become a foe.
• Alternately, we might try to alienate him from the Convocation. Yet in doing so, we would deprive ourselves of a brilliant mind who would be invaluable in the crises to come.
• Quite the dilemma... Which is why I must work independently of the Convocation.
• Regardless of how we proceed, if we are to permanently avert the Final Days, we must be equal to Hermes's challenge. We must prove that mankind is worthy to exist.
• And this hinges, I think, on how we confront the all-consuming despair that accompanies a senseless and seemingly inevitable end.
• Bewildered and divided, we would perish like the peoples of those celestial ruins.
• We could not hope to survive the Final Days, much less take the battle to Meteion at her nest.
• We must find a way to defeat despair. To unite and prepare as many as possible for the struggle ahead.
• Heavy will weigh the burden of guiding this legion of souls...
• Yet I have faith in mankind's potential. As long as he believes in himself, there is naught he cannot achieve. So I will not give up on him. On us.
• You may find your world to be very different. Or perhaps the erasure of our friends' memories has sown the seeds of a conjunction between us.
• We cannot know until the moment is at hand. So shall I strive to do my best, taking naught for granted as I walk my path.
• And I pray you walk with me to the end.
• As you move forward, so too will I. As will all resolved to fight for the morrow.
• And when mankind has found the strength to stand against despair...
• We shall silence the song of oblivion.
• She who sings it will learn our journey is far from over. This I promise.
• Fare you well, my light of the future. Till we meet again.

Bitter Ancient:

• This is all wrong... Why must we suffer so?

Fervent Ancient:

• It needn't be like this. No, there must be a way to restore things to the way they were. To reclaim the perfect paradise we once had.

Venat:

• No, my friends. Suffering exists, and we cannot pretend otherwise.
• No civilization, however great, could eliminate it. If we would live, we must accept it as our constant companion.
• Let us not seek to forget this tragedy. Let us carry it in our hearts, that we may grow stronger and know true happiness.

Bitter Ancient:

• We can't accept it! We won't accept it! It will be ours again─a world free of sorrow!

Venat:

• No, it will not, for there has ever been sorrow. Mankind was but spared its biting sting for a time.
• So please, open your eyes. To try and reclaim those lives we lost by sacrificing yet more isn't wisdom. It is weakness.
• No paradise is without its shadows. If we cannot accept this truth and learn from our pain, then our plight shall be repeated.

Fervent Ancient:

• O mighty Zodiark, god born of our boundless faith! We bid you hear our prayer!
• Accept this offering of lives, and deliver unto us the lives we once had. Deliver unto us the days of old...
• The days when the star was a font of love, and we knew naught but bliss!

Bitter Ancient:

• You would destroy it? Our beautiful world?

Venat:

• Lands that stretched on forever. Skies one could drown in. The heartbeat of nature, silent yet strong.
• And amidst it all a people. Beacons of light and life. Laughter that warmed my heart like naught else before.
• They are my meaning and my purpose. My love.
• In spite of...or perhaps because of this, I choose to believe.
• In mankind's potential. In his ability to find a way forward.
• So let there be no way back. From that temptation I sunder us.
• No more shall man have wings to bear him to paradise.
• Henceforth, he shall walk.

Krile:

• Player!? Impeccable timing, as always!
• I'd heard you were off in the First as part of our efforts to investigate the Final Days.
• Well, as so often seems to be the case, while you were away, we've had some few developments...
• ...Which we can discuss in just a moment. For now, however, I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to have you back!