Destiny Odyssey III

Destiny Odyssey III, titled The Pride of Youth or Wisdom of Courage?, is a storyline in Dissidia Final Fantasy and its prequel. This storyline follows the Onion Knight's search for his crystal and has a difficulty rating of four stars. This is the first storyline to chronologically end and directly precedes Destiny Odyssey VI. This storyline is also notable for being the only storyline in the Destiny Odyssey series with Enigma tiles as well as having some deceptive Chaos Pieces, wherein the first, while it does actually present a Chaos character, does not entail a battle, and the second triggers a battle with a Cosmos character but is represented with a Chaos Piece (although it should be noted that Terra was being controlled by them).

Story
The Onion Knight is traveling with Terra in search of their crystals, providing her with advice on fighting Chaos' forces in spite of Terra's hesitations. When the two meet Exdeath, the Onion Knight talks him into letting them go, intimidated by Exdeath's power. Exdeath tells him cowards cannot find their Crystals and leaves. Terra questions the Onion Knight's choice to avoid fighting, but he tells her he doesn't fight opponents he can't defeat, and doing so would be reckless, not courageous. Newly inspired to find his Crystal and prove Exdeath wrong, he and Terra continue to follow a powerful presence she senses.

When they reach the source of the presence the two find nothing, and Terra suddenly loses control of her powers and attacks the Onion Knight. He fights her to try and calm her down, but when she is weakened she is spirited away by the Cloud of Darkness. The Cloud of Darkness berates the Onion Knight for his recklessness and ignoring Terra's hesitations about their journey, and now Terra shall be used as a tool of war by her.

Cosmos appears before the Onion Knight to tell him of Terra's fate, and he worries he cannot save her as he cannot defeat the Cloud of Darkness and refuses to fight enemies he cannot defeat. He asks Cosmos to tell him where to find his Crystal so he can become strong enough to save Terra. Cosmos replies that it is his choice to avoid fighting if he wishes, but asks if that is truly his desire, and leaves. Golbez approaches and tells the Onion Knight he is too weak to defeat the Cloud of Darkness, and his decision to avoid such a battle is wise. Noting his hesitation, Golbez asks if the Onion Knight doubts this and tells him to listen to his heart if not his head.

The Onion Knight comes up with a new plan and tracks down the Cloud of Darkness, Terra collapsed and weakened before her. The Onion Knight swears loyalty to the Cloud of Darkness if she lets Terra go, but it is only a distraction to get close to Terra and defend her. The Onion Knight repeats that he doesn't fight opponents he can't beat, but knows in his heart he is strong enough to win. The two battle and Onion Knight is victorious. The Cloud of Darkness fades, and Golbez reappears. The Onion Knight refuses to let him hurt Terra, and his determination to defend her causes his Crystal to appear. Golbez vanishes, and Onion Knight collapses next to Terra, exhausted by his battle.

Destiny Odyssey III-1

 * "The boy and girl are swept into battle, not knowing the true meaning of strength..."

This first stage introduces the Enigma tile: what these contain are a mystery until the player examines them or at least places their home area adjacent to them. These tiles are colored in mauve on the map to the right. Expect to see more of these tiles in the following stages. The player begins with four Destiny Points.

To earn the most DP when the stage ends, defeat the Counterfeit Youth at C4, then head to F4 and chain the Imaginary Soldier and the Ephemeral Vision to earn two more DP, ending the stage with three.

Destiny Odyssey III-2

 * "His greatest skills, intelligence and luck... For one clever enough to anticipate traps, even the toughest trials are treated as sport."

The second stage, unusually, features less enemies than in the first stage. Again, many pieces are hidden on Enigma tiles, including a Potion and a treasure chest. The player begins with five Destiny Points.

To earn the most DP possible, defeat the Ephemeral Vision at C2, then move to E2 and chain the Capricious Thief and Delusory Warlock. Defeat the Counterfeit Wraith at G3, then move to the Stigma of Chaos to end the stage with four DP.

Destiny Odyssey III-3

 * "Overconfidence and curiosity... The naïve youth has yet to learn what's caused the severe mistake he has made."

The third stage contains the Automatic version of the Phoenix summon. It also contains the Expert battle piece, which is concealed by an Enigma tile. It guards the Full Metal Staff. The player begins with five Destiny Points. While the target is a Chaos Piece, there is no boss on this stage, rather it triggers a cutscene which ends with level tally.

To end the stage with seven DP, move to B3 and chain the Imaginary Champion and Counterfeit Wraith, then defeat the Imitation Despot at E1 and move to H4 to chain the Counterfeit Wraith and the Delusory Warlock.

Destiny Odyssey III-4

 * "Ingenuity and intelligence are not infallible, but misfortune is never far away. Is the youth worthy of his title?"

In this stage, once again the goal is a Chaos Piece, which normally indicates a boss battle against a warrior of Chaos, but the warrior the Onion Knight fights is actually Terra. The player begins with five Destiny Points.

To finish the stage most efficiently, defeat the Ephemeral Phantom at B3, then move to D2 and chain the Phantasmal Harlequin and Capricious Thief. Finally, defeat the Counterfeit Wraith at G3 and move to the Chaos Piece to end the stage with five DP.

Destiny Odyssey III-5

 * "By understanding himself, and acknowledging others, the youth may recover a light brighter than any he's yet known..."

This is the final stage before the Onion Knight fights the Cloud of Darkness. There are a few locked areas that bar his way to her. The player begins with four Destiny Points.

To earn the most DP, the player should first move to F2 and defeat the Delusory Warlock at F3 and the Delusory Warlock at E2. Then the player can move to D4 and chain all theee enemies in the area. This gives the player eight DP and opens the path to the Chaos Piece, which may be reached with one more DP to end the stage with seven.

Odisea del destino III