The Fire Path (炎熱海道, Ennetsu Kaidou, alt. "The Shaft Over the Burning Water") is a location in Legend of Legaia. It leads the way to the volcanic underground of the Sebucus Islands and is the lair of a henchman of the Mist, Xain. The entrance to the Fire Path is found in the northwest corner of Octam and easily reached by citizens of the underground city.
Many Seru and monsters within the Fire Path discourage anybody from going near it, except for a single guard who blocks the entrance to anyone without explicit permission from the mayor to enter.
Storyline[]
The Fire Path is entered by Vahn, Noa and Gala as they attempt to save Octam (Underground) from being completely annihilated by earthquakes that cause the pillars holding up the buildings in town to sink into the darkness below. Hari of the Present warns them that the earthquakes are caused by a henchman of the Mist and orders them to defeat it before dying in an earthquake caused by it moments later, which the Ra-Seru heroes narrowly escaped.
As the Ra-Seru heroes venture farther into the Fire Path the main pillar holding up the Mayor's building in Octam started to tremble and shake, indicating that they had very little time left. Heading deeper into the Fire Path they find remnants of ancient ruins and wooden bridges connecting various islands underground. Eventually they reach the molten lava underground and it appears to be a dead end.
Gala suggests turning back and finding a different route, but Noa discovers a floating rock in front of them and hops on it, traveling across the lava. At Gala's call for her to turn back she joins Vahn and Gala and they all hop on the floating platform that takes them across the lava.
Eventually they meet the monster who had been causing the earthquakes up above - the stalwart Xain. Xain, appearing to be a mix of a minotaur and a centaur, had been causing the earthquakes by charging at pillars and punching them. Xain's fists alone were enough to destroy Octam and that meant a dangerous battle for the Ra-Seru heroes. At first Xain simply ignores them and says they will talk after he kills everyone up above, but after being bothered repeatedly he recognizes the Ra-Seru on their arms and asks if they are his enemy.
After confirming that they are there to defeat him, they start battle with Xain, who decides he must kill them in order to avoid punishment from his apparent master, Dohati. Vahn, Noa and Gala defeat Xain and cause the Sim-Seru to separate from the host body it was using. As a last gesture of evil, Xain plunges into the lava below and causes the volcanic underground to freeze completely solid.
{C}At first the Ra-Seru heroes do not know what sort of plan Xain had, but they discover later that the molten lava was powering the giant fans protecting Vidna from the Mist, and when they return there they find a desolate town overrun by Seru and Seru monsters. The frozen lava meant no more hot springs, but it also removed the super-heated steam blocking the entrance into Ratayu.
It is never indicated whether the lava will unfreeze after many years or if Xain's magic made the volcanic underground permanently frozen.
First levels of the Fire Path[]
In the first levels of the Fire Path it is rocky, barren, and filled with many monsters as well as the Seru Nova. Collapsed and sunken houses can be seen from previous earthquakes and farther into the Fire Path wooden bridges can be crossed to reach other areas, indicating that the people of ancient times who lived in the underground ruins lived as far down as that. Eventually Mist can be found in the first levels of the Fire Path, most likely coming from openings above ground that allow the Mist from the surface to spill into the area.
Volcanic Underground[]
The volcanic underground in the deepest part of the Fire Path is very hot, as expected. It is here that the final Fire Seru, Gola Gola, is encountered. Due to the lava on the ground, many areas cannot be traveled to until later.
Frozen Underground[]
After Xain freezes the lava and turns everything into ice, new paths can be discovered as Vahn, Noa and Gala are able to walk across the solid ground. A water Seru called Freed is now able to be encountered, and the Gola Gola have completely disappeared. The new pathways leads to some previously unobtainable treasure chests, and if the Ra-Seru heroes haven't opened treasure chests that were accessible before fighting Xain, they will have different and better items in them once opened while the underground is frozen.