Ai is a minor character from Valkyrie Profile. She is Jun's blind twin sister and is cured of her affliction by his death.
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| Ai | |
| Japanese: | 阿衣 |
| Romaji: | AI |
| Race: | Human |
| Gender: | Female |
| Homeland: | Hai-Lan |
| Appears In: | Valkyrie Profile Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth |
| Voice Actors: |   Tara Jayne
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Storyline
The cause of Ai's blindness is initially unknown, but Jun is dedicated to finding a cure for her. Eventually, he discovers that an ogre living in the Hai-Lan region possesses a Soul Stone which could function as a cure. To obtain the stone, he must strike a deal with the ogre: a life for a life; either Jun dies so that his sister may live, or he lives to be present when his sister dies. However, Jun has no intention of honoring his end of the bargain and kills the ogre, mocking its gullibility. But the ogre laughs and tells him that his treachery and his thirst for blood have tainted him. He then possesses Jun, claiming that its own body was a mere vessel. Lenneth eventually finds the cave and slays the ogre. As the dying Jun turns back to his human self, she tells him that there never was an ogre, but that the cave simply has the ability to show a person their soul. Jun's soul had become tainted, although it is never explained why or how, and not only did this turn him into an ogre, but it was also the cause for his sister's blindness, because the souls of twins are interconnected.
While Jun is away, Ai prays every day at the Shinto shrine in Hai-Lan. One day, the priest tells her that he saw a man who looked remarkably like her earlier on, and she explains that it must have been her twin brother. The priest says that he gave him an amulet for her. Ai wonders why he left it at the shrine, rather than bringing it to her himself, but the priest says that he must have known that she came there to pray. When she receives the amulet, Ai finds her blindness cured. She is thankful, but senses that her brother is dead and laments that all she really wanted was to be with him.
Etymology
Ai is a Japanese name which usually means "love" [1] (combined with Jun's name, this equates to "true love"). However, the game uses an uncommon spelling. 阿 (a) is usually used as a prefix for names [2], and 衣 (i) means "clothing" or "cover" [3], which could be a reference to Ai's blindness (as if her eyes are covered).
Trivia
It is unclear when Jun delivered the amulet to his sister (before slaying the ogre or after being slain by Lenneth) nor why he did it (to leave her with a keepsake or so that she would believe it was the amulet that cured her). However, it is possible that Lenneth allowed him to leave the amulet with the priest after his death, just as she let Llewelyn see Millia after his death.