Phantasy Star: Fringes of Algo

I don’t know how long I stayed in that town. It must’ve been a least one more resetting of the game. I spent most of my days sitting at the edge of water, praying to who knows what gods, asking for forgiveness for having served Terarin for as long as I did.

I know that the hero was successfully able to revive Treo and ultimately complete his mission because not too long after I arrived at the city, the quartet showed up in the town. They saw me, but didn’t recognize me. At least the men didn’t. Medi stopped by the lake one day to fill her canteen with fresh water and saw me sitting on the sandy banks of the lake with my chin perched on my knees. She stared at me for a few moments and then sat down beside me.

“I saw thy staff and robes being blown about in the sand outside town,” she said kindly. “Would you like me to retrieve for thee?”

I shook my head. I was too ashamed to talk to her. “Please, fair Medi, let me forget about that part of my life.”

“Thou hast made a courageous decision, good man,” she said with a smile. “My friends and I now have the three keys and we’ll soon confront the demon Terarin. It is better for thee to be on the winning side now.”

I shook my head weakly in agreement. “Why don’t you kill me with your Crushing Attack now? Don’t you want to get revenge for what I did to Treo?”

Medi reached out and placed her hand on my face, turning it so that I was looking deep into her bright blue eyes. “We are fighting for justice, not revenge. Terarin would only become strengthened if we acted out of a thirst for blood.”

Medi looked up, as did I, and saw her companions beckoning for her. “I must get going,” she said. “Peace be with you.”

She got up and followed her companions.


They were, as usual, victorious.

That was a couple of years ago.

It was as I sat at the edge of the lake, pondering my existence and purpose in life, that I saw a reflection upon the surface of the water. It was Lacey. She looked to be about twenty or so. I spun around to see my dear friend, but I saw nobody. I sat down again and gazed into her face, which smiled serenely at me, showing off her prominent front teeth that I had found so beautiful as a young boy.

To my surprise, the reflection spoke to me. “Hello Jackson,” Lacey said to me.

Her voice was lot more mature, but still comforting nevertheless.

“Lacey?” I said, trying to hold back the tears.

“You know I’ve never forgotten you,” she said, caressing the face of my reflection on the water with her delicate hands. “I’ll never forget you, nor do I ever want to forget you.”

“I miss you so much,” I sobbed. “I’m so lonely here.”

“I know how you feel. You feel like the only person in the world, even surrounded by others, don’t you?”

I nodded, wiping the tears from my eyes. “When can you come see me?”

Lacey’s reflection sighed. “Forgive me, dear Jackson. But I cannot. I have other things to do. I still have a life to live. I have a husband to love and children to raise. I’m afraid I won’t be able to join you there.”

I wept in despair at those words. I wanted to throw myself into the lake and drown myself at that moment, hoping that’d I die and come back with no memory whatsoever of my previous life. But I just kept staring at my dear friend.

“Will I ever have any company here?” I asked, my voice cracking with emotion.

“Maybe. I can’t guarantee you anything. You’re favorite game was almost forgotten when you died. It’s been a long time. Not many people remember it very much anymore, let alone anyone who considers it their favorite game.”
Lacey was right. I had been here too long. I had been here long past the point in which he possibility of somebody else spending their afterlife with me was feasible.

“So what do I do?”

My dear friend smiled. “Lead a good life. Help the hero and his friends defeat the bad guys. Take care of the weak and downtrodden. If you want to have your own family, don’t feel like you need to wait for me. Just do it. Enjoy life now and stop waiting for the future.” There was a conviction in her voice that told me that she meant everything she said.

“Thank you, Lacey. Thank you for always having been my friend.”

She smiled and waved at me. And then, before I could say anything else, her image disappeared from the surface of the water. Once again, I was alone.