When you're ready to proceed, head south along the Southern Path to reach the Lete River. This is a different type of area than those you've been to previously, without truly random battles. Make sure you're rested up and ready to go. You can't enter the menu while on the raft, so make sure you've assigned any new gear and relics before you start.
The Lete River
Once you hop on the raft, there's no going back. There are only three types of enemies here, all of which are vulnerable to Fire. (With two save points, Terra can afford to go to town with magic.) Banon can help the party greatly with his Health command, but be careful: if he dies, it's an immediate game over. To make things worse, all the enemies here like to pick on him specifically from time to time.
Pterodons are the most dangerous creature present, sporting a Seizure-inducing Wing attack and a full-party Fire Ball ability. Fortunately they won't use it until at least the third round of the fight. Nautiloids are a bit easier to kill and sometimes waste turns with the useless Ink attack, but they have strong defense that can be annoying. Finally, Exocites are the weakest creatures here, featuring no particularly threatening abilities and a low HP total. Hit them with all-target abilities or save them for last for best results.
| Monster Set | Common (3/4) | Rare (1/4) |
|---|---|---|
| Set 1 | Nautiloid, Exocite | Pterodon, 2 Exocites |
| Set 2 | 2 Pterodons | Nautiloid, Exocite, Pterodon |
The encounters on the Lete River don't work like they do elsewhere. There is a chance at various points of your journey where a battle may be triggered. Two sets of encounters exist, each with a common encounter you'll see 75% of the time and a rarer encounter you'll see the remaining 25%. You can influence which encounters you fight with your choices at the various intersections.
| Straight | Left | Right |
|---|---|---|
| Set 1 (sometimes) | Set 1 (sometimes) | Set 1 (always) |
| Set 2 (always) | Set 1 (sometimes) | Set 1 (sometimes) |
| Set 1 (sometimes) | Set 2 (sometimes) | Set 1 (sometimes) |
| Set 1 (sometimes) | - | - |
| Set 2 (always) | - | - |
The path will start with a battle with Monster Set 1. You'll soon reach a choice of Stright, Left, or Right. Of the three, Straight is the toughest path, with up to five encounters and always at least two. There is a chance of avoiding any encounters with the Left path, while the Right path avoids any chance of encountering the tougher groups from Set 2. Consult the chart to the right. Note that encounters marked as happening "sometimes" have a 50/50 shot of occurring or not.
In the end, all three choices lead to the same place: the First Save Point. Rest up if you need to (Terra may need a Sleeping Bag to restore her MP if you've been making judicious use of Fire), then continue on.
When you return to the river, you are once again faced with an encounter from Set 1, followed by an intersection. This time there are only two choices, Up and Left, but these lead to very different places. Choosing Up leads you in a circle. You can potentially fight one Set 2 encounter and two Set 1 encounters (all with a 50% chance) before you will arrive back at the original intersection. Choosing left leads to a possible Set 2 encounter before you're dumped at the Second Save Point. (Fun fact: if you've avoided every save point in the game up until this point, this is the first one you're forced into and you will be given the choice of tutorial text.)
Ultros
Be ready for a boss fight when you leave the Second Save Point. You may be forced into encounters with Set 2 and Set 1 enemies beforehand, but then you will be accosted by Ultros.
Ultros is a nasty foe with a powerful Tentacle attack. This attack can potentially take a character down in one hit, including Banon, so keep your health up. Have Terra help with Cure if you have to. He will target Banon with Tentacle every few rounds, and also hit Terra and Sabin with it as the battle progresses. Mercifully he includes a normal attack and Ink with his regular attack routine, though he can use Tentacle against the entire party as well. While Ink's Dark effect isn't a concern, it deals damage like a normal attack. He'll counterattack Fire (and Fire Dance, if you have it) with Ink as well, so be careful. The most important thing to remember is keep your HP up! It's possible to have Banon die to consecutive attacks if you're unlucky, but just keep at it.
Ultros has a massive 3,000 HP, so this will be a long fight. He's immune to Muddled and Poison, so Edgar should stick to the AutoCrossbow. Terra can exploit his weakness to Fire if she's willing to suffer his counterattacks. AuraBolt is likely Sabin's most powerful move. Banon should always use Health. If everyone is at full HP, just skip his turn and come back to him as soon as Ultros attacks again.
When this fight ends, the game flow takes a pretty dramatic turn. The next phase of the game consists of three scenarios that can be completed in any order.