Another town with "The Day After" playing. First, let's see what the locals are talking about. Some of them just say more of the same, while others have potentially useful information.

That would be the oddball younger brother obsessed with building a coliseum. Apparently, people don't think that's quite so crazy anymore. You can travel there any time now, but you're not likely to win much of anything at this point, so let's save that for later.

There's even a guard from Narshe wandering around town.

The bar is the main reason to come here, though. Specifically, the person drinking at a table.

He walks over to the bar, but Celes won't leave him alone.

The music fades out, and Setzer perks up.

Celes nods. "Setzer" starts playing.

He starts off, dramatically striking a pose in the entryway.

The camera shifts to the world map and pans southwest to Daryl's Tomb. Back in town, the party stands outside with Setzer joining their ranks.

Pick up some equipment for him, and don't miss the Dice and One-Shot Darts in the weapon shop. Unfortunately, neither do much good in the upcoming dungeon, but they have their uses. For one thing, the Dice, though unpredictable, ignore defense and never miss (unless used with Mug, but why do that?).

Meanwhile, Celes's pep talk has inspired several others, including the Narshe guard.

Not that there's any way to actually get there at the moment, but it's something to keep in mind.

There's nothing of note here but a large mound.

Setzer fiddles with something, revealing an entrance.

Most of the monsters here are undead and have the ability to inflict 'zombie' status. Make sure to equip protection, and don't try using Setzer's One-Shot Darts unless healing the enemies sounds like fun. Flame and Holy work well on offense, unsurprisingly.

Look aorund for some minor puzzles involving water levels and a turtle, and also for treasures. A Genji's Helmet and and Crystal Mail are in chests just off the main room, with a Princess Dress (currently unusable) further in.

One room has a blank tombstone. There's an option to add a message, but...

Another room has four tombstones, each with a fragment of an inscription ("translated" versions built from the final phrase):

Return to the blank tombstone and select the fragments in the correct order to form a coherent phrase...

...to play 3-04 "Rest in Peace" (normally the Game Over music) and find a secret message:

Rumors that the Japanese version can be arranged another way to mean "rot and wither" appear to be nothing but rumors. I can't come up with any arrangement that comes close to that meaning, nor have I found a single Japanese site that mentions anything of the sort. It appears to be completely made up. If anyone can find specific information that suggests otherwise, please let me know.

There's a secret passage in the room with the Princess Dress that hides a Grow Egg. With that done, ride another turtle to a save point, then open the nearby chests for a Maneater on the right, and to the left... oops, that's a monster.

Presenter and the (name not displayed) Ymir Head bear some resemblance to the game's very first boss battle. Of course, things are more complicated this time. Instead of countering everything and being nigh-unkillable, the shell this time only has a 1 in 3 chance to counterattack (though with 1000 Kilovolts instead of 10 Kilovolts), and actually has slightly less health, at 9230, than the head's 9845. Both parts are weak against Flame, but absorb Ice, Thunder, and Water. Killing either part wins the battle, earning a Dragon Claw for Mash. Neither has anything to steal.

In addition to normal attacks and 10 Kilovolts, the head may use the more problematic Petrifying Strike and El Niño. Hit it twice to make it retract temporarily. The shell in this battle is not passive. It may use normal attacks, 10 Kilovolts, or 1000 Needles when the head is out, or the easily-avoided Magnitude 8 when retracted.

For best results, just summon Catoblepas. Neither part is immune to instant death or petrification, so there's a good chance of winning the battle right away. With a little luck, both parts will die at once, and you'll get two Dragon Claws instead of the usual one. Hey, why not? Factoring in the hit rate and stamina blocking rate, that's better than a 90% chance to win the battle right away, with a nearly 50% chance to zap both for double the drops. Dejon works too, but the lower hit rate means worse odds (roughly 86% for at least one or 38% for both). Setting 'transparent' on the shell (the head is immune) will also help, since that ensures that the magic won't miss it, raising the odds of killing both to around 70% with Demon's Eye or 62% with Dejon. Alternately, if you come back later, Odin and Raideen give slightly better rates than Catoblepas, while Cayenne's exceptionally-accurate OHKO final skill, Sever, bypasses stamina blocking and will work every time.

Continue to find a fancy coffin.

The leader whirls around, looking confused, and glances side to side. Then a monster attacks, because it just seemed like time for a boss fight.

Dullahan breaks with the undead theme and uses a number of Holy attacks, in addition to plenty of Ice spells, many of them susceptible to Celes's Magicseal Sword. It absorbs Ice, is weak against Flame, and has no other resistances or weaknesses. It also has permanent 'haste' and no status vulnerabilities.

Try to avoid coming into the battle with any levels that are multiples of the ones digit in your gil, since Dullahan kicks off the battle with Level ? Holy and may use it again randomly as the battle continues. Also avoid 'reflect' status unless you're prepared to deal with the effects of Reflect???? up to once every four turns, as well as many of the reflected spells being absorbed. Other than that, Dullahan normally uses a mix of Blizzara, Blizzaga, and Holy. However, it will also heal itself with Cura up to once every four turns when at or under 10,240 (of 23,450) health. Furthermore, being attacked eight times changes up Dullahan's offense for four turns. During this period, only Blizzara remains of the usual attacks, and you may see Morning Star (the only physical attack it ever uses other than a random counterattack), Absolute Zero, Level ? Holy, and the dreaded Northern Cross. Celes can't seal the extended attacks, so don't bother trying.

Exhausting its 1,721 MP kills Dullahan, so you can spam Raspir and heal as needed, but I find it's quicker and easier to have Celes absorb magic while Setzer passes out items, Edgar Drills, and Mash attacks with double Burning (Fire) Knuckles. Magicseal Sword absorbs its Cura, too.

In theory, you can steal an X-Potion (common) or Genji's Bracer (rare), but none of the characters available have any way to steal (except by wielding a Thief's Knife via a Medal, which I think is impossible to have legitimately at this point even with overleveling and coliseum abuse), so it doesn't really matter.

After the battle, a hidden switch opens a door in the back. Head inside to find a long stairway going down. 3-09 "Epitaph" plays, a more subdued tune with shades of Setzer's theme.

Setzer has flashbacks along the way. First, we see him in a room with a colorfully dressed woman.

The flashback fades.

Next, Setzer and Daryl appear in a different, more officelike, room.

As the party continues down the stairs, the scene switches to another flashback, starting with the camera flying around the World of Balance. We then see Setzer laughing at the helm of the Blackjack as another airship flies alongside it in the background.

Switching to Daryl at the helm of the other ship.

Switching back to Setzer.

Setzer blinks, then walks over to the railing as though to get a better look, but quickly returns to the helm as Daryl's ship zooms ahead. We see the Falcon flying around, presumably as Setzer pursues, before the scene returns to the deck of the Blackjack.

Daryl races off again. Change scene to Setzer standing on a twilit hillside. He waits, but Daryl never comes. The screen dims.

It's not explicitly stated who found the wreckage. However, my impression of the grammar is that if someone else had found it, especially if by chance, Setzer would have phrased it as ファルコンが見つかった ("the Falcon turned up") instead. Saying ファルコンを見つけた ("found the Falcon"), as he does, also gives the impression that he was actively searching for it, which the other phrasing wouldn't necessarily.

Fade out. The party arrives on the deck of Daryl's airship.

Setzer nods, and "Searching for Friends" starts playing. From this point on, it becomes both the overworld theme (finally replacing the gloom and doom track) and the theme when flying the airship (now that we have one again).

Setzer takes the helm, and the ship rises from the ocean and into the skies.

A bird flies past, grabbing Celes's attention.

The bird flies southeast to a town by a desert.

"The Day After" plays here, too. While the surrounding terrain is unrecognizable, the town itself remains intact. Let's ask around.

Another former thief in town mentions treasure in the tower of the Cefca Fanatics, so consider this related and keep it in mind for later.

The above person will show you where to find Narshe, the Beast Plains, and Doma Castle in the new layout of the world.

Remember her? But the kids in Mobliz mentioned that the soldier died... so who's sending her these letters, and so many flowers?

So let's take a look at that letter.

The bird flies off when given the letter, heading northwest to a town in the mountains. That gives an idea of where to look, at least...