Masteria Through Time

Chapter 5: Fall of Crimsonwood

In the Grandmaster Hall, Crimsonheart confronted Naricain, who asked whether his father was in despair after sending off Subani, spitefully adding that Subani had always been his favorite. After a pause, Crimsonheart reminded Naricain that Subani had still been his brother, to which Naricain replied that Subani would have remained so if he hadn’t gotten in the way.

Crimsonheart revealed that Subani had always believed that Naricain would return home, both while in Versal and in Maple World. Naricain admitted that he had never wanted to hurt Subani, but Dr. Jang had told him that Subani would be his undoing by sealing him in a purgatory between life and death. Crimsonheart replied that he had heard how Naricain would have killed him originally, which had driven Subani to such lengths. An angry Naricain then spat out that he hated Crimsonheart, adding that his father was the one responsible for everything.

Meanwhile, Dr. Jang confronted the traveler with her ultimate weapon. She explained that she had designed it to use against Crimsonheart, but the traveler’s actions had made her realize that they were just as much of a threat. She then told the traveler that if her machine couldn’t stop them, then it certainly wouldn’t stop Crimsonheart.

After a fierce battle, the traveler managed to destroy the machine and told Dr. Jang to leave Naricain in the past and go back to her life in Maple World. They added that they held no grudge against her, as she had merely gotten caught up in the machinations of a powerful being. However, Dr. Jang merely laughed and explained that it wasn’t that simple.

She told them that at first, she had just been happy to be wanted, as she had no family or friends during her childhood, with only her books, and later, her research. Being alone and stubborn, she hated losing and couldn’t tolerate the shortcomings of others, furious that no one respected her for working her whole life in order to become as intelligent as she was.

She then admitted that after meeting Naricain, she was finally happy, as there was someone out there who looked out for her and even needed her. She then told the traveler that they could never understand, as they had the strength to look out for others, and because she didn’t, she needed that. The traveler sympathized with her loneliness, but explained that they were sure that there was someone out there who appreciated her that wasn’t trying to conquer the world. (A/N: Becky literally worships the ground that Dr. Jang walks on, maybe she ought to start there.)

However, Dr. Jang told them that she didn’t care, as all she wanted was to be right about Naricain’s existence, his words, and his heart. The traveler acknowledged that she was smart and powerful, but entreated her to start over, promising to tell everyone that she had disappeared. However, Dr. Jang explained that she couldn’t do that, revealing that she had rigged herself to explode in case she couldn’t stop them.

As the shocked traveler processed her words, Dr. Jang explained that even though she couldn’t stop Crimsonheart, she could at least destroy them, the one person who had foiled her otherwise perfect plan. The traveler attempted to stop Dr. Jang, fighting through the Krakian warriors who had arrived to prevent them from reaching her.

Just as she was about to press the self-destruct button, however, Lukan appeared and stabbed her, saving the traveler’s life. Though Lukan was glad to have stopped Dr. Jang’s evil scheme, the traveler noted that Dr. Jang herself wasn’t truly evil, but merely misguided as a result of her difficult circumstances.

(A/N: Here, we get a flashback to Dr. Jang and Naricain speaking in the dreamscape where he’s imprisoned. Naricain asks Dr. Jang what she’ll do once their plan is complete, dismissing her correction that it’s actually his plan by saying that they’re making the journey together. He adds that he has the power to grant her dreams and says that there’s one thing he wants to do, which is to find a land without people, war, anger, or sorrow, where there’s only simple grass and trees. He then asks if she knows what he’s saying, to which she says that she does. She then begins to say that even though she would love to go with him, which is where she trails off and the scene then cuts away to her dead body.)

As the traveler and Lukan headed towards Crimsonheart, Lukan noted that he hadn’t seen any of the Grandmasters except for Numenal, who was holding off the invasion army at the castle entrance. The traveler immediately suspected that Lireni had deserted, but held the thought for Lukan’s sake. As more enemies appeared, the traveler decided to hold them off and told Lukan to go ahead and help Crimsonheart fight Naricain.

In the Grandmaster Hall, Crimsonheart and Naricain were battling, with Naricain telling his father to stop resisting and to surrender the Antellion, which Crimsonheart had seized back from Naricain. When Crimsonheart told Naricain that Glona wouldn’t want the world that he was trying to build, a furious Naricain told Crimsonheart that he didn’t have the right to say her name, to which Crimsonheart asked whose name he could say, as he had no one left.

Though he had accepted that a guardian could not be there for every battle, he explained that he had missed a crucial fact, which was that there needed to be an end to the constant struggle. He then declared that for the sake of their family, he needed to put an end to the cycle. Naricain laughed and invited Crimsonheart to try and kill him, an offer that Lukan immediately took up on as he arrived.

As he and Crimsonheart began to gain the upper hand, Naricain summoned the corrupted warriors of the Keep to push them back. The traveler soon caught up and joined the battle, much to the delight of Crimsonheart, who realized that they had defeated Dr. Jang. A shocked Naricain immediately claimed that they must had fled, believing that there was no way that they could have defeated her.

As the traveler declared that Dr. Jang and her ultimate weapon had both been defeated, Lukan noticed the effect that their words had on Naricain and asked him whether the loss of his minion was too much for him to bear. Upon hearing Lukan calling the love of his life a mere minion, Naricain’s fury resulted in him channeling unprecedented levels of darkness as he processed her death.

Amidst the dark energy, the traveler managed to create a diversion, allowing Crimsonheart to shoot chains from his sword that bound Naricain. Amidst Naricain’s cries begging his father to stop, Crimsonheart used his magic to seal Naricain inside a statue once again and teleported him to another dimension.

Suddenly, the Keep began to rumble as the force of the battle unsettled it. The three fought past the enemies as they escaped the Keep and arrived in the Krakian Jungle. Crimsonheart reassured them that the Keep would stand, as the warriors of Versal had built it to last. However, he mourned the countless soldiers who had fallen in the battle. (A/N: One big difference from the old lore is that the battle lasted for ten years in the old canon, whereas it lasted for probably a few days here.)

Just then, Numenal arrived with the surviving soldiers and explained that they had retreated when the Keep had begun to shake. He then asked about the outcome of the battle, to which Crimsonheart explained that he had managed to save the Antellion and seal Naricain away, banishing him to a great void beyond time and space.

When Lukan asked what would happen if Naricain escaped, as he had done in the traveler’s time, Delgrund appeared with the surviving Krakians and explained that Crimsonheart hadn’t made the same mistake as Subani, as Naricain’s banishment would leave him frozen in a vast expanse of nothingness.

He then explained that Lireni had been right about Dr. Krakia infecting the river to transform the people of the Krakian Empire into an army, as he had confirmed her theory while gathering the survivors. Crimsonheart then thanked the traveler for all their efforts in thwarting Naricain. He also noticed that Lireni was absent and asked Numenal about it, who paused before claiming that Lireni had been killed in battle.

As the Grandmasters mourned her loss, the traveler asked Crimsonheart what he would do with the Antellion. Lukan and the others asked whether they would finally return home to Versal, to which Crimsonheart cryptically told them that some of them would. Adding that he couldn’t speak of his decision in their present location, he asked where the center of Krakia was, to which Delgrund explained that it was a village named Olde Sapp Village.

The group then traveled to Olde Sapp Village, where Crimsonheart revealed that he would remain behind with the Antellion, as he knew that Versal would be threatened by danger and despair if he were to take it back. When Lukan declared that he would remain as well, Crimsonheart explained that Lukan misunderstood, clarifying that Maple World was not safe for the Antellion either. The others immediately understood what Crimsonheart was saying as he confirmed their suspicious by declaring that he would destroy the Antellion at the cost of his own life.

The Grandmasters immediately protested, claiming that with Naricain’s defeat, they could work together and protect the Antellion as they always had. However, Crimsonheart pointed out that they had barely managed to defeat Naricain, with no way of knowing whether someone more dangerous than him would appear to claim the Antellion’s power. He added that Naricain had already mentioned that another force desired the Antellion, perhaps more than Naricain did himself. (A/N: This is a reference to the line that I mentioned was referenced in MONAD, which was basically Naricain saying that those who sought the Antellion’s power would never rest.)

When the traveler asked if Crimsonheart really had to sacrifice himself, he told them that it was the only way to preserve the future that they hailed from. He then turned to the Grandmasters and explained that he had tasks that he needed to entrust to them. He told Numenal that he would send him back to Versal, where he was to ensure that the people of Versal, both now and in the future, knew of the Antellion and the sacrifices made to protect it, as well as to take care of his remaining children as their new father, being there for them as he could never be.

Though he explained that Versal would never need a protector, nor would its people travel across space and time, he entrusted Numenal with leading the warriors of Versal. He then used the power of the Antellion to send Numenal and the remaining warriors back to Versal, after which he told Delgrund to watch over the surviving Krakians, whom he planned to send to a new, safe land in Maple World.

Though the Krakians asked Crimsonheart whether they could stay in Krakia, as the roots of their entire civilization lay there, Delgrund explained that Dr. Jang’s corruption of the continent would prevent them from living safely, as the corrupted Krakians and Versalians still roamed the fallen land. Crimsonheart then apologized to Delgrund for keeping him away from Versal, to which Delgrund declared that Maple World would be his new home.

After Crimsonheart used the Antellion to transport Delgrund and the Krakians away, he entrusted Lukan with the most important task of all, which was to return back to the future with the traveler, as the fragment of the Antellion that powered the Time Portal still remained there. He tasked Lukan with being the protector of the fragment, permitting him to hide it or destroy it as he saw fit, but mandating that no one except he may possess it. The traveler then asked whether the piece would even exist, as Naricain had never severed it from the main body in their current timeline.

(A/N: This doesn’t make any sense, as Naricain took a piece of the Antellion while they were on Versal, well before the time-travel shenanigans. Otherwise, how would he have even traveled to Maple World in the first place?)

However, Crimsonheart explained that since the Antellion transcended space and time, both it and its fragments remained anchored wherever they fell, and that even changing the past wouldn’t affecting the Antellion in the future. He then thanked the traveler for proving that great heroes could exist even without the Antellion, which left him confident in his decision to destroy it.

After saying their farewells, Crimsonheart used the Antellion one last time to send the traveler and Lukan a thousand years into the future before shattering it, ending his life and sinking the continent into the ocean. As he passed away, Crimsonheart thought back to his family one last time, hoping that he would be reunited with Glona once again.

Lukan and the traveler unexpectedly appeared in Crimsonwood Keep of the present, where Dr. Yoon and several researchers encountered them. The pair were shocked to learn that Masteria had resurfaced, as Crimsonheart’s sacrifice was meant to have sunk it forever. Dr. Yoon noted that it was an interesting theory, which fit with how Masteria had recently resurfaced. Lukan then remembered the Antellion fragment and rushed to the Time Portal against Dr. Yoon’s protests to keep away.

The traveler noted that the fragment was still there, just as Crimsonheart had said, but they were surprised that the Time Portal also remained when all traces of Dr. Jang should have been gone. The traveler then removed the fragment from the Time Portal, which broke the device, and gave it to Lukan, who decided that he would hide it somewhere far away, as he had doubts about his ability to break it and the consequences that would follow if he succeeded. However, he promised the traveler that he would not allow it to trouble them or Maple World.

(A/N: Here, Lukan notes that even though Crimsonheart had ordered that only he could possess the fragment, Crimsonheart had said nothing about sharing its power. He then uses the Antellion to leave a gift for us, which is basically the set of rewards we receive for completing the blockbuster. I have no idea whether this section is canon, and so I’ve just placed it in an author note.)

The traveler and Lukan then said their farewells as he prepared to embark on his journey to hide the Antellion fragment. After Lukan left, Dr. Yoon and the others rushed over to find that the traveler had destroyed the Time Portal, which they claimed had been their greatest discovery. Dr. Yoon then demanded to know the traveler’s name, but upon hearing it, he was surprised and explained that they had discovered an ancient book in the Keep, which held records of the final days of the continent before it had sunk into the ocean. Though the book had been written in the ancient language of Versal, they had been able to make out the traveler’s name in the writings, though the traveler denied having any relation to it.

(A/N: This is basically the end of the blockbuster, although we do get to see records of the book, which was Lireni’s log that Dr. Yoon talks about. It plays a role in future Masteria stories, as you’ll see later on. The first entry has the traveler’s name and says that they appeared with Lukan and summarizes the story that you tell them about being from the future. She notes that she doesn’t believe that she would betray her comrades and desert them. The next log has her talk about Dr. Krakia, whom the Krakians claimed was surveying the lay of the land, as well as the river and the water supplies.

She begins to have doubts about her ability to fight in the upcoming battle and explains that she wants to flee. The next log has her record Subani’s death and her fear of being next. The one after that talks about how she is gonna flee because she needs to ensure that she, the last of her family, doesn’t fall. The final entry has her state her betrayal and leaves the log behind as a testament of her cowardice for others to discover, so as not to make the same mistakes as her.)