The seven Sages
Isaac wakes up dizzy, not knowing where they are. Trista apologizes: she had no choice. When Isaac wants to go back and help his Grandma, she stops him. His Master let them escape at a great price, Trista says: she placed all her hope in Isaac and his Wand, and gave her life for him. Isaac asks why everyone he loves always leaves him.
Trista then tells him what is happening in the world. For centuries seven Sages have protected it, each with a powerful Wand. One of them, Seneka Windell, known as the Diva of the Twilight, came to see people's deeds as foolish. She wants to gather the seven Wands the Creator left, make herself a new Creator and remake the world, and she already holds at least five.
The Wand Isaac carries is the Wand of Light, entrusted to him by his father. His father is its keeper, the Bishop of the White Night, and the head of the Sages, a title kept secret even from his family. It is too much at once: Isaac refuses to hear any more.
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qc02_t001
Nothing left of the house
After another battle, Isaac and Trista reach the place where his house stood. Nothing is left. Trista insists they cannot stay: they must find the other Sages, because fighting now would be like handing over the Wand of Light.
Isaac can answer that he is fine and ready to go: with or without their Wands, the other Sages will have good advice. Trista has heard that the keeper of the Wand of Water lives east of Wet-Wood Forest.
He can also say he cannot take any more: how could he beat someone who overcame both his father and his Grandma? Trista answers that his father must have had a reason to entrust him with the Wand. If Isaac asks what reason, she points out that his father did not take the Wand when he fought the Diva of the Twilight, and proposes going first to the keeper of the Wand of Water, the most knowledgeable of the Sages. If Isaac says there is no reason, that his father only thought of himself, Trista calls him an idiot.
Only the last answer, that there is no reason, separates Isaac and Trista in the next event. The replies also change a value the game keeps; this reading does not cover its later effect.
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qc02_m001 · qc02_t002
The Brigand Wizard
On the road, a mage who calls himself the invincible Brigand Wizard demands their money. Since the monsters appeared, he says, the Kingdom Knights have vanished, and raw power is now enough to get what you want. Isaac sees in people like him the reason the world has changed so much, and faces him with magic.
After the battle, Isaac understands what his Master taught him: a Mage's power is for helping those who cannot use magic, and must never be used to hurt others. Now he knows how to use his own.
If Trista is with him, she says she can see why his father entrusted him with the Wand, and they set out to find the Sages. If Isaac said there was no reason, the two had parted: he faces the bandit with only Parakeru and then goes looking for Trista. He finds her blaming herself for not thinking of his feelings, asking her sister, who is not there, whether things could have been different. They apologize to each other and head together for the keeper of the Wand of Water, east of Wet-Wood Forest.
Silverpeak Gorge
They reach Silverpeak Gorge, the sacred place of Water where the Master of the Curtain Mist lives. Trista has met him once and warns that he is said to be an eccentric old man. Water Magic does not work on most of the monsters here, and may even heal some of them.
Something is wrong: the Water Mana is very weak. Isaac remembers seeing many dead fish when he recently drew water here, and the water level is lower than it was then. They hurry towards the peak.
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qc02_t004
Leonard again
On the way up, during a battle, they meet Leonard again, the wandering Mage who taught Isaac to use monsters. He praises how far Isaac has come in so little time and introduces himself to Trista, who blushes when he calls her a beautiful lady.
He adds another lesson: some monsters start weak and grow strong, others start strong but barely develop; weigh each monster's abilities before choosing allies. And no matter how bad things get, never lose hope.
The battle in which this meeting happens has two versions; both lead to the same conversation.
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qc02_m003 · qc02_m103
The Master of the Curtain Mist
At the peak they find the Master of the Curtain Mist, huge and hostile. He accuses them of trying to thwart the Diva of the Twilight's plans and demands the Wand of Light. He is being controlled, and Isaac has no choice but to fight.
Once freed, the old Sage recognizes Trista as the Daughter of Wind and learns that the Diva defeated him and took control of him. The Wand of Balance brings peace to people's hearts, but used for evil it controls their minds. The other Sages are probably in the same state. When Isaac asks whether no one can defeat the Diva, the Master answers that facing a problem head-on is not the only way: sometimes it is better to take the long way round.
Whether or not Isaac understands, and whether or not he accepts becoming his student, the Master teaches him to draw combinations of Runes: the Duo Rune. One more battle closes the chapter.
The closing battle has two versions, chosen by a game condition that this reading does not identify. Neither has dialogue.