PART IV: AFTER THE DEFEAT OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 5: A World in Motion

(A/N: This section is the last in the series of conclusion quests that wrap up the Black Mage arc. This is a questline that got added in the NEXT update, which features the Adversary meeting up with the Erdas of the Arcane River and catching them up on everything that happened after the final battle. It provides a sense of closure to the Adversary’s journey through the Arcane River and thematically sets the stage for the 6th job advancement.)

Following the battle against the Black Mage, the Adversary met with Jean in the Morass. Jean noted that a strange wave of Erdas had been released and asked the Adversary whether they had defeated the Black Mage. He congratulated them for their victory and told them that he knew that they could do it, and that there was no one else he could have trusted but them to succeed. He then explained that with the Black Mage’s death, Erdas would no longer be pulled from Maple World, after which he asked them what they planned to do now.

The Adversary told him that they would return to Maple World, to which Jean asked whether they were sure that there was no other work left for them to do in the Arcane River. At their confusion, Jean told them that they should meet with all the Erdas of the Arcane River, as they must all be worried. At Jean’s suggestion, the Adversary first traveled to Arcana and met with the Small Spirit, who was pleased to see them return. He noted that they had gone off to do something important after the Vortex of Light had dissipated and asked whether they had finished their mission.

As the other spirits of Arcana gathered around, the Adversary told them that they had succeeded in defeating the Black Mage. Though the spirits had no idea who he was, they believed that he must have been an evil person if the Adversary had killed him. The Adversary then asked how the spirits were, to which they explained that the Spirit of Harmony was no longer in hiding, and that everyone was happy together in the forest. However, the Small Spirit revealed that evil spirits still dwelled within the forest, though they were slowly returning to normal.

After the Adversary finished catching up with the spirits, they traveled to Lachelein and met with Gray Mask, who was surprised to see them and asked whether they had completed their mission after they had set out with the red fog around Lachelein slowly rolling away. He then called over Protective Mask, who listened to the Adversary’s story about the Black Mage. Gray Mask was surprised to learn that even Lucid herself had been someone else’s subordinate, with Protective Mask noting his amazement that there existed someone stronger than the one who had dreamed up an entire city.

He was pleased to hear that the Adversary had defeated the Black Mage and hoped that Lucid could find some peace, admitting that he didn’t hate her, despite everything she had done. Though he wondered whether it was because he had been born from her mind, he noted that he only felt pity for her now. He explained that Lucid must have felt that she had needed to create a world of dreams, even though she had known that it was all fake, and that he hoped that she would find her freedom, just as the people of Lachelein had.

Gray Mask then noted that the Adversary’s purpose in traveling the Arcane River had been to fight the Black Mage from the beginning. He explained that though Lucid had vanished, the nightmare itself still remained, and that he had been worried that he might slip back into it again. However, he added that he was no longer afraid, as the Adversary had just defeated the real culprit behind the nightmare, for which they could all finally relax.

The Adversary then traveled to Chu Chu Island, where Chief Lyon gathered together the entire village. The villagers learned about how the Adversary had defeated the Black Mage and recalled the Adversary’s explanation about how the Black Mage was an evil Transcendent who was trying to destroy the world. Though they had little idea what that meant, Lyon congratulated the Adversary for saving the world regardless. Master Lyck expressed his surprise that they had been trying to get past Muto to defeat the Black Mage, as he had simply thought that they were searching for new ingredients.

Pimi realized that the battle must have been why the Alliance had been rushing back and forth along the Arcane River lately, with Pidol congratulating them on their victory. The Adversary told Pidol that the Arcane Symbol, which he had given them as a gift, had helped them in the battle, though Pidol quickly reverted to his usual scatterbrained self again. Lyon then called for a festival in the Adversary’s honor and invited the people of Yum Yum Island to attend as well. Simia and Lyck then prepared meals for everyone’s different tastes, including Muto as well.

At the village outskirts, Caster, Muppy, Bappy, and Puptail arrived to greet the Adversary, with Muppy and Bappy immediately beginning to dance loudly. Pibik then tasted a dish that Lyck had made especially for those with peculiar tastes, causing him to immediately collapse in disgust, which Lyck mistook for Pibik being overwhelmed by its excellent flavor. Simia then asked Caster whether the people of Yum Yum Island had peculiar flavor palettes and invited them to try all the food in order to find out for themselves.

(A/N For some reason, this next section that takes place in Reverse City will happen regardless of whether or not the player completed the area.)

After the festival ended, the Adversary met with the people of Reverse City, who were pleased to see them again. The Adversary then began recounting the full story about their journey in the Arcane River. Alamo was surprised to learn that the Black Mage had been pulling in Erdas from Friends World and wondered whether it was something that a normal human could do. He noted that it was a good thing that the Black Mage had been defeated so that there wouldn’t be more victims of his machinations, such as Barr.

Rasol then revealed to the Adversary that after they had left, people from Friends World had continued visiting Reverse City after being pulled into the Arcane River. She explained that the townspeople had done their best to send them back through the portal between Reverse City and Friends World, and that the displaced people had been quite cooperative, and even somewhat excited to be visiting after having read Barr’s survival book. Rasol added that it was quite fun interacting with them, and that she wondered whether they could even go to Friends World themselves, noting how they had gone from hiding in the sewers to helping lost people.

Finally, the Adversary traveled to the Nameless Town, where a surprised Chief Legato asked them why they had returned when Kao was gone and there was nothing else for them to do in the village. After the Adversary explained what had happened, Legato noted that even someone as powerful as the creator of the Vanishing Journey had met his end. He added that he shouldn’t be surprised, as everything on the Vanishing Journey had an end.

He explained that it was hard to feel emotion when someone passed away, as he and the other Erdas of the Vanishing Journey were barely holding on to fading memories. Nevertheless, he added that he felt a faint sense of happiness because of the Adversary, as it had been quite a long time since someone had come to him and told him their story. He then thanked them for visiting him and promised that their conversation would hang upon the tree as a precious memory. With that, he bade the Adversary farewell and gave them his blessings for the journey ahead.

Having said goodbye to all the Erdas of the Arcane River, the Adversary returned to Jean, who asked them whether they had met everyone with whom they had formed close bonds. He noted that it would be impossible to meet everyone, as they must have undoubtedly met quite a number of people on their long journey. He asked whether they had felt happy or sad while meeting them, noting that though it may have seemed like a hassle, it was something that they ought to have done at least once before the Arcane River disappeared.

At the Adversary’s shocked expression, Jean told them that with the Arcane River having been artificially created by pulling in Erdas from Maple World, the Black Mage’s death had made it so that those Erda would naturally scatter and return to where they had originally come from. He apologized to the Adversary for overwhelming them, explaining that he had thought that they had already figured it out on their own. However, he reassured them that it would still take several hundred years for the Arcane River to fully disappear, as it was filled with an enormous volume of Erda.

(A/N: This is likely to justify why we can still do dailies and fight monsters in the Arcane River.)

He told the Adversary that their conversation wasn’t a goodbye unless they somehow never found themselves back in the Arcane River again, though he added that he was sure that wouldn’t be the case. He then noted his surprise that the Adversary appeared so sad about the Arcane River vanishing, as he had believed that they would be glad that the place which had given them so much hardship was disappearing. Nevertheless, he affirmed that it needed to disappear, as such an unnatural concentration of Erda drawn out from its original source would only cause great imbalance to the world.

The Adversary asked Jean what he meant by the Erdas returning to where they belonged, to which he explained that the Erdas had come from Maple World, and that they would slowly return to Maple World over time. He admitted that he, too, was disappointed that the Arcane River was disappearing, explaining that his journey with the Adversary had been incredible, and that he likely wouldn’t ever have that again. However, he noted that his home was Maple World and that he would need to go back to his home someday as well.

He explained that until then, he would remain in the Morass as Jean, as the townspeople would notice his absence otherwise. He then laughed that his current form was much more fun than swimming along the Arcane River as a Flying Fish, for which he invited them to visit him whenever they wished. After a pause, he thanked the Adversary for traveling across the Arcane River to hear the Erdas’ voices, for defeating the Black Mage, and for saving the whole world, adding that he would never forget them.