The world is going to end in less than a day. And given that the gods themselves were unable to do anything about it, all hope seems lost. Puss has one last idea though, and that is to find the Great Mage Sino. Remembering what Orange said, Dulcinea decides the group need to find a Tulpa and hope that they know where Sino is.
Fortunately for them they don't have to look far because the Duchess has already brought a Tulpa to San Lorenzo: Cleevil! Although she does not appear to know she is a Tulpa and initially has no idea on what to do to find him, the phrase "the world needs him" causes her to activate and she turns to Artephius:
Artephius: Time for what? (Artephius goes into a trance, too) It is time.
Cleevil: Then we must go to the Forbidden Citadel
Puss, Dulcinea, Artephius and Cleevil waste no time in journeying to the Forbidden Citadel, where they find it guarded by a Red Sheevrah. While she happily lets the group in, she admits she does not intend to let them out, and uses her powers to take on forms derived from the group's memories to attack them.
After passing the Sheevrah's trial though, what they find in the central chamber does not appear to be Sino, but an evil twin of Artephius locked up. The group wonders what to do next while Artephius begins freaking out.
No: No!
Artephius: Can't you see??
No: No!
Artephius: See?
No: No!
Puss: See... No... See. No! Can it be? They are like two halves of a single whole! I must free him!
Puss frees the twin and he wastes no time in attacking the group with his dark magic. Despite their best efforts to fight back, the evil twin easily overpowers them. Puss begs Artephius to help but he refuses. But as the evil twin is about to finish the group off, Artephius suddenly attacks the twin with his own magical powers. The twin becomes terrified of Artephius and attempts to destroy him, but his attacks have no effect. Artephius approaches the twin and gives him a hug. In a flash of light, the two figures disappear and only one figure remains...
Sino: Yes.
Tropes:
- Foreshadowing: When the Sheevrah fails to trick Dulcinea by pretending to be Puss, she admits it's because Dulcinea's mind is unusual, in that it is overflowing with memories, most of which are hidden to her.
- The Reveal: Cleevil is a Tulpa, Artephius is half of Sino.
- Took a Level in Badass: When Dulcinea confronts the Sheevrah, she demonstrates extremely powerful hand to hand combat. When the Sheevrah questions Dulcinea on where she learned to fight like that, Dulcinea admits she doesn't know.
