ITEMS TO GET: ? Flute, The Tower, Rune Claw

   Garland speaks when you appear in the Places of Memories. You're then able to make a party; note that you're not required to include Zidane. Proceed forward inside the temple. The glowing blue circle on the first landing will teleport you back outside (you'll end up on the Invincible); you'll have to re-add Zidane to your party if you didn't include him. The glowing sphere higher up the stairs functions as a save point; you can also use it to change characters (the third option).

   The enemies in the first section of the Temple of Fiends include Chimaeras, Ahrimans, and Ashus. None of them are very difficult; unlike the ones in Ipsen's Heritage, the Ahrimans here are easy to damage. Quina can learn Death Sentence from the Ahrimans and Freeze from the Chimaeras.

   Proceed up the stairs from the entrance. The path here is totally linear; just keep going up the stairs. Eventually, you'll reach a screen where the stairs double-back on themselves. Search the balcony on the top level of this screen; in one of the corners is an invisible treasure spot holding The Tower, a weapon for Zidane. Once you've got up, head up the stairs on the left.

   Kary, the first of many bosses in the dungeon, will attack the party as you try to cross the bridge. You can steal the Ultima Sword (not the same as Zidane's Ultima Weapon -- this one is for Steiner) and a Masamune from her, but neither are really worth getting -- the Ragnarok and Orichalcum / Ultima Weapon are both better. Just concentrate on attacking and healing after her attacks; she can do up to 3500 damage (to one character) with her special attacks. (Be warned, she does cast Reflect on herself.) After you do the required 60,000 HP damage to kill her, Kary will unleash an attack that does about 2000 damage to the whole party; be sure to keep at least one character healed up.

Don't move or the castle gets it.

   On the next screen after Kary, you'll see an image of Alexandria Castle in the background. As you approach it, however, the Invincible appears and destroys it. Search the ruins; the pillar on the left holds a flute for Eiko and the one on the right functions as a save point. Use a pair of Tents to restore your HP.

   Continue up the stairs on the right side of the Alexandria room. You'll eventually reach a rainy bridge; as you try to cross it, Garnet will enter (if she's not already in the party) and an image of her on the boat appears. Garland talks some more. Continue on to the next screen, where Garland talks again. Before you go up the stairs, search around on the left side of the screen for a hidden exclamation mark that yields a new claw for Salamander. Then heal up and head up the stairs to fight Tiamat.

   Tiamat casts Levitate on your party members; do not use physical attacks on her while levitating, or she'll counter with. You can use Eiko's Dispel spell to remove the levitation effects. Tiamat is carrying the Dragon Helm, but you'll have a very hard time stealing it. Fortunately, her attacks are fairly weak. She uses a MP-draining spell that invariably misses, as well as another one that reduces your magic power. This is cumulative, so your power will keep dropping throughout the entire battle. (It's restored after battle, of course.) Use up all your strong attacks (Shock, summons, Flare, etc.) right away, since they'll quickly become worthless. Tiamat has 60,000 HP.

   After defeating Tiamat, you may want to run back to the save point in the Alexandria room. Then step into the red portal that Tiamat was guarding. You'll end up in some ruins; proceed through the archway ahead of you, go up the stairs, and exit to the right. Loop around and exit to the west. Continue on through the twisting staircase (Garland will speak on this screen) until you reach the temple.

   You're now in the second half of the temple, and the random enemies become considerably tougher here. You'll fight Stilves, Iron Giants, and Behemoths; the lattermost are particularly deadly, as they can use Meteor. On the other hand, they also yield lots of experience.

   Use the save point to heal up, then proceed into the waterfall. You'll end up underwater; Quina will show up and start talking regardless of whether or not he's in the active party. Proceed forward. (Note that there's a little alcove on the right side of the room, about halfway "into" the screen -- it's Hades' hiding spot.) On the next screen, you'll be out of the water again; continue up the stairs until Kraken attacks you.

It's still ticking!

   Kraken is substantially easier than Kary or Tiamat; its strongest attack is a tentacle swipe that does about 2000 damage to one character. Take out its two arms (the second and third targets) first; they each only have 10,000 HP. Save your big attacks for Kraken itself. You can steal some assorted armor off it, though it's nothing you can't find elsewhere.

   The screen after Kraken features a broken clock floating in space. Cross on its hands, then search the lower-right corner of the platform to find a (very) hidden save point. Rejuvenate your characters and save, then climb up the steps. Ignore the little room on the right side of the ledge and go through the door in the upper-left. It doesn't appear to lead anywhere, but you'll end up on a platform facing a huge fireball. Walk out the ladder and Garland will talk again. Climb up the ladder until you reach the top of the temple. Proceed inside and try to exit through the center door. The walls will disappear, leaving you out in space, and the final Fiend attacks.

Chutes and ladders

   Lich has less HP than the other Fiends, but he's armed with some powerful attacks. Eternal Levitate will protect you from his earthquakes, but there's no easy way to evade his Death Sentence and instant death ttacks. Lich's most deadly attack hits the entire party with an instant death attack -- fortunately, it usually misses one or two characters. Eiko's Holy does big damage (8500+) to Lich, as does her Maduin summon.

   After defeating Lich, Garland will talk. Check the left-most pillar in the temple for another secret save point. Heal up; you'll definitely want to be at full strength for the area ahead. Then walk out through the window. Zidane won't be standing on anything, but keep walking forward. Eventually, Zidane will be floating in space; believe it or not, there's actually enemies out here. Just hold up to float into the distance. A green nebula will gradually appear, and eventually Zidane disappears into it. Garland speaks again, and then you're dropped into the final area: the Crystal World.