Balthier ignored the shimmer. Venat wasn't important at the moment--it had never been, in his opinion--only the man it protected. Allies, puppeteer and puppet, either way, the old man had been led along by the Occurian. Following the bait of being free from the hands of the gods and all the while being told what to do by one. And of course Dr. Cid didn't even notice. He was too caught up in "his" dream to realize the truth.

Swords, stones, and gods. Bah, he'd had enough of them to last lifetimes upon lifetimes. There were none here. If anything, that was what he liked about this place. It was one bright spot, at the very least.

"I wouldn't bother asking him, Fran. Asking a madman who doesn't know he's mad if he's mad is a lost cause. As much of one to tell a sky pirate to abandon his sky once he's gotten a taste of it," he said, "Whatever happened happened. At least I wasn't the one left blind."