PART II: AFTER THE SEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 13: Guardians of the Nova

(A/N: Angelic Buster’s storyline was revamped significantly in the KMS Fall 2023 update, which also resulted in a few slight modifications to Kaiser’s storyline, as well as a revamp to the Heliseum storyline. The Angelic Buster revamp had a pretty notable controversy in regard to the feminist movement in Korea, in which certain people came to believe that some animators had included anti-men symbols in their content, which was further exacerbated by the Angelic Buster story revamp removing a lot of the alarmingly misogynistic and pedophilic overtones to the original writing. Personally, I think the whole thing is stupid and baseless, but even putting that aside, I think that as far as the story revamp goes, I think it’s one of the best changes ever made.

Eskalade, the dragon spirit who gives Angelic Buster her powers, is a much more caring, older brother-type mentor to her in the revamp, rather than the abomination that he was before. The original Angelic Buster storyline had vastly different characterization for nearly all the characters in the story. Eskalade – and many of the other male characters – were the stereotypical ‘pervy sages’ who made ridiculously out of pocket statements about Tear’s appearance and personality, which frequently crossed the border of sexual harassment.

If you want an example of just how terrible some of these things went, one of the first quests that Eskalade put Angelic Buster through in the original story was to collect a substance that would make her voice more melodic, which was described as ‘thick, sticky goop going down her throat’. The entire story was a disgusting display of misogyny and sexualizing minors, and I’m so thankful that the revamp removed all of this.

Even putting all that aside, Angelic Buster’s characterization has become much more of a focus in the revamp, which puts a bigger emphasis on her coming into her own and overcoming her limitations, rather than her backstory being a backdrop for her magical girl hijinks. This is one of the few class story revamps which I feel like Nexon did a great job on – but then again, the bar was so low that there was nowhere else to go but up.)

Many decades after the fall of Heliseum, the Nova continued living in Pantheon, whose borders were safeguarded by the Protective Shield generated by the four sacred stones. Two children named Kyle and Velderoth became friends with a girl named Tear, who had been shunned by the Nova for having been born without magic or a tail. Together, they became the Heliseum Force and trained every day in order to become strong enough to take back their capital.

Velderoth and Kyle soon became knights, bringing them one step closer to realizing their dream. One day, both Kyle and Tear sensed that something was wrong at the East Sanctum while training. There, the three encountered strange priests whom they had never seen before standing over the unconscious guardian of the East Sanctum. Velderoth decided get reinforcements and told Kyle and Tear to keep an eye on the priests, though he warned them not to play hero.

While overhearing the priests, Tear quickly realized that they were planning to steal the sacred stone of the East Sanctum and weaken the Protective Shield. Before the priests could take the stone, Tear charged ahead and grabbed it first. Upon touching it, the stone transformed into a glowing bracelet on her wrist, after which Tear immediately fell unconscious.

As the priests advanced on Tear, Kyle suddenly felt a fiery power within himself and awakened as Kaiser. Kyle launched a devastating attack upon the priests in his Kaiser form before falling unconscious himself. As the remaining priests retreated, Velderoth returned with reinforcements, all of whom witnessed Kyle’s awakening and took the two children back to Pantheon.

Tear woke up in the infirmary first and spoke with Cartalion the knight, Kylan the priest, and Fenelle the High Priestess. Tear learned that Kyle had awakened as the next Kaiser, as well as the fact that the sacred stone of the East Sanctum had attached itself onto her arm. Upon learning that it was stuck to her, Tear realized that the Protective Shield had been permanently weakened because of her actions.

Though the others attempted to reassure her that it wasn’t her fault, as the Nefarious Priests would have stolen the stone anyways if she hadn’t intervened, Tear was upset by the news and began crying before running off. Fenelle went after Tear and attempted to console her by pointing out that the fact that the sacred stone had reacted to her, when not even the priests had been able to awaken it, meant that she had to be special. Nevertheless, Tear noted that it still didn’t change the fact that she had weakened the Protective Shield, adding that she was useless as ever before running off to the Heliseum Force hideout.

Soon after, Kyle woke up in the infirmary and learned from Fenelle and Cartalion that he had awakened as the next Kaiser. As such, he had a grand destiny to live up to as the Guardian of the Nova. Kaiser then asked where Tear had gone, to which they explained that Tear had run off after learning that she had been cursed by the sacred stone. As Kylan had gone after her, Kaiser decided to let him handle it and instead began asking Fenelle about his new role.

Fenelle told him that the destiny of Kaiser depended on the time that he was born into. Given the dire situation that the Nova found themselves in, she warned Kaiser that his destiny was sure to be one of the most burdensome of all. As Gerand Darmoor had conquered nearly all of Grandis, the Nova were the only ones left who could hope to fight against him. Though Darmoor was the Transcendent of Life, Fenelle hoped that a strong alliance of warriors backed by the powers of other Transcendents could help win the war, adding that it was his duty as Kaiser to see it through.

She explained that the previous Kaiser had sacrificed himself to defeat Magnus and his army, and that Kaiserium, the legendary sword of Kaiser, had also disappeared with the previous Kaiser. Regarding the history of Grandis, Fenelle told him about the Flora Civil War and how Gerand Darmoor had awakened as the Transcendent of Life after seeing the Verdant Flora’s disregard for life, though she noted that it remained unclear how precisely his awakening had transpired.

(A/N: Illium’s storyline expands on this plot point and reveals that the Nova erroneously believed that the Verdant Flora had incited the Flora Civil War by killing Darmoor’s father, the former God-King, as revenge for the High Flora tearing out their wings and exiling them. In all honesty, the writers probably decided to create a new backstory for Darmoor and used the Nova being misinformed as an in-universe way to retcon the old story, although it’s likely that they’ll end up taking some aspects of this original backstory and incorporating it into Darmoor’s true goals.

Before the Angelic Buster revamp, Fenelle originally told Kaiser that Darmoor had once been a fierce opponent of the Flora Civil War, and that he had awakened as the Transcendent of Life after growing insane from the massive carnage of the war, because of which, he had vowed to destroy and remake life into perfect beings. To an extent, this remains true in the current version of the story, but the dialogue was most likely changed because Darmoor’s goal to create a perfect paradise for worthy life forms is supposed to be a secret, and so it wouldn’t make sense for Fenelle to know about this, or to tell Kaiser.)

After speaking with Fenelle, Kaiser decided to test his new powers and spent some time training. He then decided to check up on Tear and went to ask Velderoth if he knew where she was. After learning that she was likely at the hideout, he went to see her and asked how she was doing. Though Tear appeared happy, Kaiser could clearly tell that she had been crying. He learned that she was feeling guilty about having weakened the Protective Shield, though she told him not to worry about it, as she didn’t want to ruin anything else.

Though Tear felt reassured by Kaiser’s concern, she noted to herself that she couldn’t keep relying on him to fix her messes, for which she decided to return to the East Sanctum in order to see whether returning the sacred stone to its original location would release it from her arm. While searching the sanctum, Tear began to hear a voice speaking to her from within the bracelet. After following the voice’s directions and concentrating, Tear was able to see the spirit of a small dragon, who noted that her proximity to the sanctum meant that she could finally see him.

The dragon introduced himself as Eskalade to a surprised Tear, who asked him whether he was the god within the sacred stone. Eskalade replied that she could consider him to be something like that before asking whether she knew how the sacred stones had been created. Tear noted that according to her history classes, when Magnus had attacked Heliseum, the Nova had been unable to transport their holy relic, and so they had instead transferred its power into the four sacred stones, which had been taken out of Heliseum in its place.

Eskalade explained that when the relic’s power had been transferred into the stones, his spirit had been transferred into one of the stones as well. When Tear asked him whether that meant he really was a god, Eskalade explained that he was more like a spirit than anything else, as he had been trapped inside the stone for so long that he had forgotten many of his memories and had lost much of his power.

(A/N: Before the revamp, Eskalade - originally with the full name Eskalade Lorang - was said to be an ancient Nova, which were more dragon-like than the present-day Nova. Kain’s storyline created a continuity error with this, as the Black Nova cult from the time of the Ancient Gods appeared identical to the humanoid Nova of the present, which doesn’t line up what was established in Angelic Buster’s storyline. With that detail removed in the revamp, it’s easier to accept that the Nova are just distant descendants of dragons without a timeline for when they evolved into people.

The revamp also changed up the lore about the Nova relics, as there was originally no concept of the sacred stones. The blue cube things powering the Protective Shield were already the relics, rather than being stones that contain the power of one singular relic. It’s kept a bit ambiguous, but it’s pretty likely that Eskalade has been retconned into being an Ancient God, rather than an ancient Nova, and the Nova relic in Heliseum is likely actually his.)

Eskalade then told Tear that he was fortunate to have met someone who could actually talk to him, adding that the reason why the sacred stone had attached itself to her was because of his will. When Tear lamented that it was because of her that the sacred stone had been lost to the Nova, Eskalade reassured her that it wasn’t her fault. Upon seeing that Tear still felt guilty, he offered her the chance to make up for it by becoming just as helpful as the missing sacred stone.

He explained that while trapped in the stone, the only thing that he could do with his powers was to use them for the Protective Shield, though he would now be able to pass them onto her so that she could help the Nova retake Heliseum. However, he added that there was one condition to inheriting his powers, which was that only one with great standing and reputation could claim them. He told Tear that before he had become a spirit, he had wanted to become famed and known throughout the land by many people, which he speculated was the reason why one needed to have such a reputation in order to channel his powers.

(A/N: The Cernium storyline reveals that the holy relics of the Ancient Gods only awaken for someone who has the faith and support of that god’s followers, such as how Seren was the Chosen One of Mitra because Mitra’s followers believed Seren to be the worthiest of carrying out Mitra’s will. Given the implication that Eskalade is an Ancient God, it stands to reason that his powers can only be inherited by someone with the greatest reputation amongst the Nova. As Eskalade’s memories are fuzzy, it’s likely that he mistakenly believes that this activation condition stems from his desire to be well-known, rather than it being because of his status as a god.)

However, Tear replied that she couldn’t be a warrior of great power, as she had been born with no magic. This surprised Eskalade, who had been sure that Tear’s ability to communicate with him meant that she had been a warrior with great magical abilities. A crestfallen Tear realized that without the ability to inherit Eskalade’s powers, she would need to once again rely on Kyle and Velderoth to help her remove the bracelet. Though Eskalade was concerned about how Tear was feeling, Tear left the East Sanctum, causing Eskalade’s spirit to vanish before he could protest.

Elsewhere, Kaiser decided to cheer Tear up by collecting sparkling rocks, which she used to love when they were kids. After collecting a sparking rock from the Limestone Tokkas, he suddenly realized that he should instead give her flowers, as he believed that she would like them better. He collected some from the Alert Grobblers and returned to the Heliseum Hideout, where Tear soon arrived.

Kaiser presented a flower to Tear and apologized to her for earlier, explaining that he hadn’t meant to make her feel as though he had been taking responsibility for her mistakes. He added that since it had also been his idea to go to the East Sanctum, he felt as though it really had been his fault for what had happened to the sacred stone. Tear told Kaiser that it hadn’t been his fault, to which he smiled and told her that in that case, it wasn’t her fault, either. He then gave the flower to Tear and explained that he had been happy to find the flower, as he knew that she liked pretty things.

Just then, Velderoth angrily cut in and demanded to know whether Tear was truly comforted by Kyle’s words, pointing out that their situations were completely different, with Kyle awakening as the great guardian Kaiser, and Tear being cursed by the sacred stone. He noted that despite them both having made the same mistake, Kaiser had been rewarded, while she had been stuck with a big problem, adding that even everyone else had lost the sacred stone because of her.

Kaiser sharply scolded Velderoth, though Velderoth merely ignored him and told Tear not to be deceived by Kaiser’s empty words. Tear replied that though she felt guilty about causing the sacred stone to disappear, Kaiser hadn’t been deceiving her, as he was simply being a good friend. She then decided to head out, explaining that enough had already happened for one day.

After Tear left, Velderoth suggested that they have a hunting match. He and Kaiser competed to collect Laloong Tails, which Kaiser easily managed to win with his new powers. Having been beaten by Kyle for the first time, Velderoth’s pride was hurt and he sarcastically claimed that he should have known better than to challenge the great and powerful Kaiser before storming off.

Unsure of what Velderoth’s problem was, Kaiser decided that he ought to help the Nova and went to see Kylan at the Great Temple. Kylan asked him to collect Alert Grobbler Stalk in order to restock his medical supplies. After collecting them, Kaiser went to see Cartalion, who asked him to defeat Kaloong monsters in order to help control their numbers.

Meanwhile, Eskalade’s spirit appeared before Tear and noticed that she was crying. Though he attempted to reassure her that it wasn’t her fault that she couldn’t inherit his powers, Tear told him that she was planning to find a way to return the bracelet back into its original state so that he could find someone else to become his hero. However, Eskalade replied that such a thing wasn’t possible, as she had been chosen because she was special.

He then pointed out that she simply needed to become stronger in order to take responsibility for what she had done, to which Tear replied that she had no wish to become a Nova hero or obtain great power like Kaiser, as she simply wanted the strength to do her part. She explained that she didn’t want to rely on Kaiser or Velderoth anymore, and she wanted to become a helpful member of the Nova for Fenelle, who loved her like a granddaughter.

Suddenly, Eskalade had an idea and noted that being a warrior wasn’t the only way of becoming famous. Using his powers, he transformed Tear into a pretty pink superhero called Angelic Buster. He explained that becoming an idol would give her fame just as much as becoming a warrior would, and that she could use her singing voice to attract a following. When Angelic Buster asked him how he knew about idols, Eskalade explained that he had found out about them while his spirit had been wandering outside the sacred stone.

Though Angelic Buster was reluctant to dress up in such an outfit, she nevertheless agreed in order to become strong enough to protect the Nova. Dubbing her the idol of the battlefield, Eskalade had Angelic Buster go into town and begin singing to attract a crowd. As she began singing, Angelic Buster slowly started to grow more confident as she put herself out to the crowd, causing several passing Nova to start cheering for her.

After the crowd dispersed, Eskalade proudly noted that she had managed to gain ten followers with her spontaneous performance, which allowed him to pass on a portion of his power onto her. Having grown empowered by her experience, Angelic Buster resolved to grow her fame and increase her powers. She then decided to find Kaiser and Velderoth in order to tell them about her new powers.

However, Eskalade stopped her and asked whether she was really planning to tell them. Angelic Buster replied that it would be fine to tell just two people, to which Eskalade told her that though he wouldn’t stop her, he noted that if she were to become famous and fight on the battlefield, she might worry her friends. Angelic Buster realized that he was right, as the reason why she had wanted to become stronger was so that she wouldn’t be a burden on her friends, for which she resolved to keep her identity secret. Eskalade instead suggested that she tell Fenelle instead, recalling that the two were quite close.

In the Great Temple, Angelic Buster met with Fenelle, who immediately realized that she was Tear because of her energy. After Angelic Buster explained everything had happened, Fenelle noted that she was indeed special after all. However, Fenelle asked that Angelic Buster keep her identity secret, fearing that others may target the remaining sacred stones if word got out that they were capable of passing on power. She then asked Angelic Buster what she wanted to do with her powers, to which Angelic Buster replied that she wanted to help the people of Pantheon.

Fenelle told Angelic Buster to wait while she found something that she could help with. Just then, Eskalade spoke to her and pointed out that simply helping the townspeople wouldn’t increase her powers, as the Nova of Pantheon were too small of a population, meaning that she would need to eventually go abroad.

Just then, Fenelle returned and told Angelic Buster that she had nothing that she needed help with. Instead, she gave Angelic Buster a letter of introduction and asked her to speak with Cartalion. Though Cartalion trusted Fenelle’s word, he was hesitant about sending Angelic Buster outside the town, as it would be quite dangerous. Nevertheless, at her insistence, he reluctantly asked her to collect Sleepy Grobbler Stalks for Selene.

Angelic Buster brought the ingredients to Selene, who thanked her and explained that there was a food shortage in Pantheon, as someone was stealing from the food storage. At Selene’s request, Angelic Buster returned back to Cartalion and informed him about Selene’s suspicions. Cartalion noted that they didn’t have the forces to guard the food storage, which made Selene’s report more concerning.

In order to help Cartalion, Angelic Buster offered to keep watch at the food storage, where she discovered several priests. Eskalade immediately noted that their energy seemed to be similar to those who had attempted to steal the sacred stone. Believing that Angelic Buster posed no threat, the Nefarious Priests attempted to eliminate her, though she quickly defeated them before returning to Cartalion.

As Tear began to head back to town, Kaiser returned from his mission to defeat the Kaloong monsters and spoke with Cartalion, who asked him whether he had ever heard of Angelic Buster and explained that she was a new superheroine helping the Nova. He then apologized for going off-topic and told Kaiser that with his new position, he ought to set his sights higher than simply doing trivial chores and told him to ask Fenelle for more serious work. Fenelle immediately realized that Cartalion wanted her to ask Kaiser to lead the knights. However, she told Kyle that Kaiser was never an all-powerful being immediately after awakening.

She explained that she had known three Kaisers in her lifetime, and that all of them had started out as Kyle had, adding that both he and Tear were fast approaching their destinies. When Kaiser asked what she meant by Tear’s destiny, Fenelle explained that Tear had gone to seek her fortune, and that she had seemed inspired. She told him that whereas Kaiser sought to fulfill the people’s expectations, Tear sought to prove herself in her own way, though she added that neither was the true path for either of them.

After speaking with Fenelle, Kaiser sensed something strange and went to investigate. Meanwhile, Angelic Buster returned to Cartalion and informed him about the Nefarious Priests. Though Cartalion chided her for recklessly putting herself into danger, he asked her whether she was unharmed before explaining that he couldn’t leave the priests to her now that he knew that they weren’t simply petty thieves.

Believing that Cartalion didn’t trust her yet, Angelic Buster decided to take care of the remaining priests on her own. Though Eskalade protested and told her that Cartalion could handle it, he nevertheless gave into Angelic Buster’s insistence and used his powers to track down the Nefarious Priests’ energy signature, which led her to their hideout.

There, Angelic Buster overheard the Nefarious Priests and learned that they were stealing from the food storage so that the Nova knights would redirect their forces to reinforce security there, which would allow the priests to steal the less-guarded sacred stones. Realizing that an attack on one of the sanctums was imminent, Angelic Buster rushed back to warn Cartalion. Realizing that the sacred stones were in danger, Cartalion asked her to warn Anor in the North Sanctum about a possible attack.

Meanwhile, Kaiser encountered a group of Nefarious Priests who were planning to eliminate him. Kaiser began fighting them off and forced them to retreat. Though he chased after them, the priests managed to escape. He then told Cartalion about what had happened, to which Cartalion noted that Angelic Buster had reported seeing the Nefarious Priests as well. Believing that they were mobilizing to attack the other Sanctums, Cartalion asked Kaiser to check on Christina in the South Sanctum. Meanwhile, at the North Sanctum, Angelic Buster warned Anor, who excitedly told her that he was a fan of hers. Reassuring her that the sacred stone was safe with him, Anor asked her to reinforce Christina, whom he claimed was weaker than him.

Realizing that Kaiser was at the South Sanctum, Angelic Buster began rushing off to help him, though she gave Anor her autograph before she left. Meanwhile, at the South Sanctum, Kaiser warned Christina to be on guard for a possible attack. Christina explained that she was useless at fighting and asked him to defeat the Amethyst Tokkas, which were attacking passing travelers. After he returned, Christina told him that she would be alright and asked him to check on the West Sanctum, claiming that Ismail was in need of his strength.

Just as Kaiser was about to leave, he felt a dark energy near the outskirts of the South Sanctum and went to investigate. There, he encountered a horde of Nefarious Priests who had come to steal the South Sanctum’s sacred stone. After he defeated them all, Christina thanked him and sent him back to Pantheon in order to let Cartalion know. Just then, Angelic Buster arrived and learned from Christina that Kaiser had fought a wave of enemies, and that he had gone to warn Cartalion.

Angelic Buster realized that if Kaiser had already returned back to Pantheon, the West Sanctum might be in danger. As Angelic Buster headed off, Cartalion told Kaiser in Pantheon that he needed to reinforce the West Sanctum. At the West Sanctum, Angelic Buster arrived to find that the Nefarious Priests had defeated Ismail and taken the sacred stone.

(A/N: In the original Kaiser and Angelic Buster storyline, Ismail was said to have been extremely weak – comparable to Tear without her powers – and when the West Sanctum was attacked in the original story, Ismail was said to be missing entirely, with the implication being that he had been kidnapped. Because of how we’re only ever told about Ismail and we never see him, as well as the fact that his story intersects like Kaiser and Angelic Buster’s do, I had a crack theory for a long time that Ismail was gonna be the Nova magician class. Unfortunately, the fact that Ismail’s kidnapping was removed from the game makes it unlikely that he’ll get a spotlight as the next class, which makes me sad.)

Upon learning that Magnus would soon come to take the stone, Angelic Buster attempted to stop the priests, though she was quickly defeated. She was then rescued by Kaiser, who began wondering who the unconscious girl was, just as he began sensing a familiar magic emanating from her. Just then, Cartalion arrived to check on Kaiser and noted that the unconscious girl was Angelic Buster. Realizing that she was the same person whom Cartalion had been talking about earlier, Kaiser reported that she had been attacked by the Nefarious Priests, who had taken the sacred stone.

Realizing that they had a crisis on their hands, the pair brought Angelic Buster back to Pantheon before meeting to discuss the situation. With the shield weakened, Cartalion asked Kaiser to let Fenelle know that two of the four sacred stones were missing. Hoping to recover the missing stone himself first, Kaiser began following the dark aura of the Nefarious Priests and began attacking them, though he was unable to get the location of the sacred stone out of them. With no further leads, Kaiser returned to Cartalion, who was surprised to hear that he had gone off on his own and warned him to consider the situation before going rogue. He then asked Kaiser to inform Fenelle before returning to him, claiming that he had a lead on the Nefarious Priests.

After learning about the situation, Fenelle consulted with the other priests before telling Kaiser that they had determined that it would be impossible to maintain the Protective Shield with only half the sacred stones, and that once it failed, Darmoor’s army would be able to invade Pantheon. She explained that even if they were able to reclaim the sacred stone, it would take time for it to recharge the Protective Shield, and as such, she told him that reclaiming the stone as soon as possible was paramount.

Kaiser returned to Cartalion, who directed him to the Nefarious Priests’ base that Angelic Buster had found earlier. Kaiser rushed over and fought through their defenses, though he was unable to find any trace of the sacred stone. Nevertheless, he overheard a Nefarious Priest speaking with a hologram of Magnus, who was pleased with the loss of two sacred stones and prepared to invade Pantheon. After defeating the Nefarious Priests, Kaiser brought back a letter outlining Magnus’ invasion to Cartalion. In order to prepare for Magnus’ attack, Cartalion asked Kaiser to check the eastern border to scout for enemy activity, as it was the closest point to Heliseum.

As Kaiser fought the invading Specters at the border, Angelic Buster awoke in the infirmary and immediately rushed to Cartalion in order to warn him that Magnus was coming personally to claim the sacred stone. Realizing that the Protective Shield couldn’t hold with just two of the four sacred stones, Angelic Buster offered to find the stolen stone, though Cartalion informed her that they had no idea where it could be, as it wasn’t in the enemy base which she had discovered. Though Angelic Buster lamented that she had been too weak to protect the stone, Eskalade reminded her that she needed to focus and told her to use her connection to the sacred stones in order to locate the missing stone by traveling to the West Sanctum.

Angelic Buster told Eskalade that she didn’t have that kind of power, to which Eskalade told her that she did, as it had been through that same connection that she could speak with him. By concentrating, Angelic Buster was able to sense that several priests had taken the sacred stone away from the base, as they had been suspicious that Angelic Buster would lead the Nova there.

After overhearing them, she learned that the priests were mistakenly suspecting an information leak from their own ranks, as they believed that there was no other way that the Nova could have learned about their plans so soon. While one of the priests left to check on progress in the south, Angelic Buster took her chance and defeated the other priest, reclaiming the western sacred stone in the process.

As Angelic Buster headed back to Pantheon, Kaiser returned from the eastern border and reported his skirmish with the Specter army to Cartalion, who was shocked that Magnus had launched his attack so soon. He asked Kaiser to buy them some time to get their defenses ready, and so Kaiser returned to the battlefront and engaged the Specter army. Meanwhile, Angelic Buster returned with the sacred stone and gave it back to Cartalion, who was relieved and told Angelic Buster that she had saved them all. He explained that Kaiser had noted that only a small attack force had been sent to Pantheon, which meant that the Protective Shield would hold until it could be recharged.

However, Eskalade was dubious and suspected that the small number of enemies was a feign to draw their attention away from Magnus’ true plan. Recalling how one of the priests had left to check on the southern border, Eskalade asked Angelic Buster to check the area. While Angelic Buster headed there, Cartalion redirected Kaiser and the knights to confront Magnus’ main army at the east, which he asked Kaiser to hold off until the Protective Shield was fully recharged.

After a fierce struggle, Kaiser managed to repel the army, even before the Protective Shield came back up. Cartalion was surprised at how weak Magnus’ army was, but he was nevertheless pleased that the attack was finally over. Just then, Angelic Buster arrived at the southern border and discovered that the Nefarious Priests were preparing a summoning ritual on the western border. Angelic Buster immediately returned back to Pantheon and let Cartalion know what was happening. Cartalion sent Kaiser to stop the summoning ritual and asked Angelic Buster to remain on standby in case he needed to send her to reinforce Kaiser.

After Kaiser successfully stopped the ritual, Cartalion thanked him profusely and asked him to check with Fenelle on the status of the Protective Shield. Fenelle asked Kaiser to buy them time to power up the shield by reinforcing the other knights in the south. Though Kaiser fought to his limit, he was ultimately overwhelmed by the Specters. Just as he faltered, the Protective Shield was finally restored, immediately vaporizing all Specters inside Pantheon.

After the battle was over, Kaiser realized that the Protective Shield was a powerful weapon against the Specters and formulated a plan to lure the entire Specter army inside the borders, where they would then reactivate the Protective Shield and wipe out all of Magnus’ forces at once. He proposed his plan to Fenelle and Kylan, who supported his idea, despite knowing the risks that it posed. Kylan gave Kaiser the Magic Amplifier device used to activate the shield and asked him to bring it to Cartalion.

(A/N: The Magic Amplifier isn’t used exclusively for powering the shield. True to its name, it just amplifies sources of magic in order to enhance their power. Kylan also mentions that the device is powered by the magic from the pebbles in Pantheon.)

Nevertheless, Cartalion remained hesitant, as he didn’t trust the priests to handle the sacred stone, though he was placated when Angelic Buster volunteered to help. Cartalion then gave a document outlining Kaiser’s plan to her in order to pass on to Beldar, the leader of the Heliseum Council. Though Beldar was mistrustful of Angelic Buster and believed Kaiser’s plan to be foolhardy, he nevertheless gave his reluctant approval.

After the plan was approved, Cartalion told Kaiser that Captain Piston would take the Amplifier and drop it near the enemy’s summoning ritual square in order to bait them into using the Amplifier to power their summoning ritual, which would bring the entire army to Pantheon, at which point they would reactivate the Protective Shield and wipe them all out at once. He also revealed that Angelic Buster had volunteered to reactivate the shield, and that she was the one who had convinced Beldar to approve the plan.

With everyone in position, Angelic Buster removed the western sacred stone and weakened the Protective Shield, allowing the Specters to invade. With Kaiser - accompanied by Velderoth at Cartalion’s suggestion - holding the line, the Specters were lured into the border of Pantheon, after which Velderoth fired a flare, signaling to Angelic Buster to put back the sacred stone. With the Protective Shield restored, the Specter army was wiped out entirely.

However, Angelic Buster grew worried when Kaiser and Velderoth still didn’t return to the sanctum and decided to see what was delaying them. There, she discovered that Magnus himself had appeared at the border, though she noted that Magnus would be weakened with the Protective Shield enabled. Magnus laughed disdainfully and noted that Kaiser was quite weak compared to his predecessor, adding that even the Nova themselves had grown weak over the years.

Though the three of them attempted to attack Magnus in his weakened state, they were shocked to discover that Magnus was much stronger than them. With Kaiser knocked out and Velderoth and Angelic Buster both blown away by Magnus’ powerful attack and separated from each other, Cartalion arrived and immediately summoned reinforcements to capture Magnus. However, Magnus told Cartalion that he wasn’t in the mood for another fight and quickly retreated.

Back in Pantheon, Kaiser was shaken by Magnus’ immense power, as well as his possession of a corrupted Kaiserium, causing him to wonder how they could ever hope to take back Heliseum after witnessing Magnus’ power. Soon after, Angelic Buster awoke at the outskirts of Pantheon and rushed back to town, where she warned Cartalion that Magnus had arrived. Cartalion told her that they had managed to repel Magnus, and that the others were safe as well. He thanked Angelic Buster for her role in the operation, noting that the Nova were all grateful to her for her help in protecting them.

Angelic Buster then spoke with Eskalade and noted that Kaiser had managed to withstand Magnus’ attack, unlike herself, to which Eskalade pointed out that he was Kaiser, adding that she still had a lot more growing to do. He then laughed and admitted that she had already grown quite a bit. Angelic Buster then noted that she was worried about Velderoth and decided to meet with him at the Heliseum Hideout.

At the hideout, Angelic Buster shed her disguise and met with Velderoth as Tear. Though she attempted to console him, Velderoth’s hurt pride caused him to lash out at her, claiming that he had no desire to be comforted by someone without magic who had never even been in a battle before. He noted that even the new idol of the battlefield had fought in the battle, while Tear had been nowhere in sight. He then glumly noted that both he and Angelic Buster were nothing more than sidekicks compared to Kaiser.

Though Tear was dismayed to hear Velderoth’s angry words, she kept silent about her identity, hoping that she might be able to reveal the truth after he had calmed down. Just then, Kaiser arrived and found Tear attempting to comfort Velderoth. Upon seeing Kaiser, Velderoth began mocking him for losing to Magnus, claiming that Kyle wasn’t a hero like the Nova believed.

He also added that Kyle had only beaten him in their hunting match because of his new powers, and that Kyle had always been weaker than him before awakening. He bitterly wondered why Kyle had been chosen as the next Kaiser, believing that it should have been himself instead because of his superior strength, adding that Kyle had been handed out free power that he didn’t deserve.

As Kaiser began to retort, Tear told him to leave Velderoth alone. Believing that Kaiser was dismayed because of his failure, Tear attempted to console him as well, though she was surprised to find him in good spirits. Kaiser explained that though he had lost, he was considering it to be a stepping stone in order to become stronger and defeat Magnus eventually in the future. He then noticed a wound on Tear from Magnus, to which she attempted to explain it away by her tripping.

As the two began to joke around together, Velderoth became even more furious at their casual attitude and decided that he was leaving the Heliseum Protector Vanguard, claiming that it had been a worthless group in the end. Believing that he had no future in Pantheon, he stormed off and left the city in search of power, declaring that he would become stronger than Kaiser someday.

After Tear and Kaiser left to process what had happened, Tear spoke with Eskalade, who asked her whether she regretted accepting his power. However, Tear told him that she regretted nothing, as she had been happy to see everyone’s smiling faces after protecting them. However, she added that she wasn’t yet satisfied, as she wanted to become even stronger in order to protect more people after spending all her life being the one protected. Eskalade then bestowed more of his power upon Angelic Buster, whose reputation had grown considerably since the attack on Pantheon.

Some time later, Beldar summoned Kaiser and told him that the Heliseum Council had approved of the plan to advance on Tyrant’s Castle. He explained that it would be Kaiser’s responsibility to gather allies for the invasion because while Magnus might be a conquerable foe, Darmoor was certainly not. He then told Kaiser that the Council had ordered him and Angelic Buster to travel through the Interdimensional Portal in the Great Temple in order to find allies in the unknown world. Kaiser went to see Fenelle, who told him that she would answer any questions that he had about the Interdimensional Portal.

When Kaiser asked where the Interdimensional Portal had come from, Fenelle explained that it had been formed when Darmoor had stolen Chronica’s powers, which had caused a tear in the fabric of spacetime. Though the Nova had determined that it led to another world, Fenelle explained that they had treated the portal with extreme caution, as they had enough to manage with Darmoor and Magnus, and did not wish to make an enemy of those who lay beyond the portal.

Kaiser then asked her to tell him about Darmoor and Chronica, and so Fenelle explained that Darmoor was originally the prince of the High Flora, and that he had been enraged by the Verdant Flora’s disregard for life during the long war, causing him to eventually awaken as the Transcendent of Life and use his powers to wipe out the Verdant Flora, after which he had begun to wage war against all of Grandis and remake life as he saw fit.

Fenelle also explained that Chronica was the Transcendent of Time, though little was known about them. She told Kaiser that Darmoor had confronted Chronica at their sanctuary and had insisted that they help Darmoor. However, when Chronica had refused, Darmoor had sealed them away and stolen their powers. (A/N: In GMS, Chronica is referred to with both male and female pronouns in the very same conversation. I’m going to continue referring to Chronica with gender-neutral pronouns until we meet them.) Fenelle added that alongside Darmoor and Chronica, Aeona was the Transcendent of Light, although no one in Grandis knew about her other than the fact that she existed.

Kaiser asked her to explain who the Transcendents were, and so Fenelle told him that the Transcendents were representatives of the three Overseers, the beings who had created the world. She explained that not all Transcendents were the same, as some were created immortal, whereas others were mortal and reincarnated.

(A/N: The concept of mortal-born Transcendents reincarnating seems to have been retconned in the Sefirot’s Gardener storyline of the Grand Athenaeum, which reveals that Darmoor’s predecessor existed while Darmoor himself was alive. It seems like the writers are revamping the lore about mortal-born Transcendents, which means that these parts of the story may soon get revamped.)

After having answered Kaiser’s questions, Fenelle asked Kaiser to meet with Cartalion, who told Kaiser that the hopes of the Nova rested upon him to find a Transcendent in the unknown world, and to convince them to aid the Nova. He also asked Kaiser to bring back unique materials from the other world in order to aid Kylan with his research. Kaiser then entered the Interdimensional Portal and arrived in Maple World.

(A/N: Kaiser’s questline has Cartalion tell him that Angelic Buster has already crossed over at this point, but Angelic Buster’s revamped questline has Beldar tell her that Kaiser has already crossed over at that point. Since Angelic Buster’s revamped story is newer, I’m using the order presented in her questline and omitting the detail about her already being gone from Kaiser’s story.)

Meanwhile, Angelic Buster was called to Pantheon by Beldar, who admitted that her role in the crisis had earned his respect for her. After thanking her for her help, he explained that he was hoping to recruit her to travel through the Interdimensional Portal. He revealed that the portal had been created when Gerand Darmoor had stolen Chronica’s powers, which had warped spacetime.

He explained that the Nova had been unsure of where it led, and so they had sealed it as a precaution, though Magnus’ latest attack had led the Council to agree to open the portal in order to find allies in the new world that it led to. Angelic Buster asked why the Council had agreed to open it, to which Beldar explained that the Council had approved a plan to retake Tyrant’s Castle in Heliseum with Magnus’ army in shambles. Angelic Buster agreed to help the Nova and used the Interdimensional Portal to cross to Maple World.

(A/N: Angelic Buster’s original questline had a much more in-depth conversation with Beldar about the Transcendents, the Overseers, and the Primordial God. Her story was really the only place where the Primordial God was ever mentioned, which also makes a mention that the Primordial God created the Overseers to maintain balance. The Primordial God is still mentioned indirectly in the Cygnus Knight storyline, which has Shinsoo state that the Overseers are the “agents of God”, although that’s really the only place that still makes a mention of them.

The other parts of Beldar’s conversation just had mentions about how a Transcendent stealing another Transcendent’s powers would cause weakness as a safeguard installed by the Overseers, but that detail was mentioned in Ark’s story. The only other detail that kind of got omitted now is the fact that there are three Overseers – an Overseer of Light, Life, and Time – but you can infer that from the unofficial “rule of three”, where there are three worlds, three laws, and three Transcendents per world, which would logically mean that there are three Overseers as well.)

After crossing over into Maple World, Angelic Buster grew excited upon seeing her new surroundings. However, Eskalade reminded her that she was on a mission and noted that she still had a long way to go before finding allies, as she would need to grow strong enough to help them as payment for them helping the Nova.

He then explained that she had come to Maple World, much to her surprise. He revealed that he had wandered around Maple World while roaming outside the sacred stone, and that he had grown familiarized with it, as it was where he had first learned about idols in the first place. He then pointed that he had even told her before that she may one day need to travel to a brand-new world in order to gain more fame, adding that she would be able to gain more power and a name for herself, which would help her make allies. After speaking with Pilot Irvin at the Six Path Crossway, Angelic Buster met with Athena Pierce in Henesys, where Athena gave her suggestions to help others.

(A/N: This has become a pretty standard conversation for most Grandis classes, in which Athena tells you about the four theme dungeons that you complete between levels 30-60. Just like the other classes, I’ll be treating these as non-canon in regards to completing them and only detailing the parts that are relevant to the storyline.)

Around the same time that Kaiser and Angelic Buster began exploring Maple World, the Interdimensional Portal on Maple World reappeared, as the weakening seal on the Black Mage had allowed the power of time to seep through, once again creating the warp in spacetime. As they investigated the new world, Kaiser and Angelic Buster also sent regular reports to Pantheon, informing them about the different cultures, people, and politics of Maple World.

(A/N: The fact that both portals become active almost simultaneously is a coincidence that can’t really be explained other than plot reasons. We know that Kaiser and Angelic Buster sent regular reports to Pantheon because of Xenon’s storyline, but we don’t know what they specifically wrote about, and so I just filled in some conjecture about what I would assume that they would say.)

As Angelic Buster began growing more famous throughout Maple World, her reputation began increasing enough that Eskalade was able to transfer more of his power to her. However, he explained that he first needed to replenish his energy with Essence Stones. Though he had been able to find them on his own throughout Grandis, he noted that Maple World wasn’t familiar enough that he could search for them, and so he asked Angelic Buster to find one amongst the Wooden Mask monsters in the Excavation Site. After Angelic Buster obtained one, Eskalade consumed it and restored his strength, allowing him to awaken more of Angelic Buster’s powers.

(A/N: In Angelic Buster’s original storyline, Eskalade would periodically ask her to obtain Essence Stones from various monsters in Maple World throughout her storyline. By completing these quests, you would be able to receive your emblem. This requirement was removed in the revamp, and her 3rd job advancement is the only place where Essence Stones are mentioned now.)

As Kaiser trained in Maple World, he was approached by 10 Boogies, who introduced herself and noted that word about his activities had reached the Cygnus Knights, for which she invited him to the Henesys Game Park for a conversation. Kaiser wondered what such a powerful force in Maple World wanted with him, and so he agreed to meet them. There, he encountered several armed soldiers and began suspecting that he had been led into a trap.

Just then, Neinheart arrive with 10 Boogies and apologized for greeting him in such a manner before assuring Kaiser that they meant him no harm. He then told Kaiser that he had built quite a reputation in a short amount of time, and though the Cygnus Knights were grateful for all his help, they wanted to receive clarification about a certain matter, explaining that Kaiser resembled a dangerous enemy of theirs.

At Kaiser's confusion, Neinheart explained that the Cygnus Knights had been formed to fight the Black Mage, who had several Commanders that served him, including Magnus. A shocked Kaiser asked whether Magnus was also in Maple World, to which Neinheart noted that Kaiser's surprise led him to believe that he wasn't affiliated with Magnus. However, he asked Kaiser what he meant by 'too', as he made it seem like Magnus was not from their world.

In order to discuss the matter further, Neinheart asked Kaiser to come to Ereve and speak with the Empress. Believing that the Cygnus Knights could make powerful allies for the Nova, Kaiser agreed and traveled with them to Ereve, where he told Cygnus and the others about Grandis and the Nova. Cygnus noted that she had only ever heard rumors of another world, but never its name or any other details about it.

She explained that she had originally thought that Magnus was just another Commander, though she noted that him being from another world raised many questions, such as why he had come to Maple World centuries ago. Kaiser replied that though he didn't know Magnus' purpose, he could confirm that Gerand Darmoor had sent him there. Cygnus recognized Darmoor as the warmonger from the stories about Grandis and noted that he was said to have conquered much of Kaiser's world already.

Neinheart then added that what worried him even more was that they knew nothing about his world, though it seemed as though Magnus knew much about theirs. Realizing that they couldn't ignore the danger that he posed, Neinheart noted that the Cygnus Knights and the Nova had a common enemy in Magnus. He added that while it may be too early for an alliance, they could nevertheless establish a cordial relationship for the time being, such that each could help the other understand their world.

After Kaiser agreed, Neinheart wrote a letter and asked him to serve as liaison by delivering it to the Nova Council. Kaiser delivered the letter to Beldar, who believed that the Cygnus Knights' terms were reasonable. He noted that he hadn't expected Magnus to go to Maple World and wondered whether he may have treated the injuries that he had sustained at the hands of the former Kaiser there. After hearing Kaiser's opinion of the Knights, Beldar approved the union and appointed Kaiser as the Nova's official liaison with them.

Soon after, Angelic Buster encountered Kaiser at the Six Path Crossway. Kaiser was pleased to see her and noted that he had been hearing many stories about her in Maple World. Angelic Buster asked him how he was doing, to which he replied that he was doing the same as always. Angelic Buster noted that he seemed to gloss over himself as always, to which Kaiser laughed and noted that she seemed to know him well, as though they had known each other for a long time.

Angelic Buster laughed awkwardly before changing the subject and asking how his search for allies was going. She was surprised to learn that he had made contact with the Cygnus Knights, who were said to be the most powerful faction in Maple World. Kaiser revealed that the Knights had approached him first, and that they even had the same enemies as the Nova, with Magnus having once been a Commander of the Black Mage.

Angelic Buster noted that he had seemed to make allies quite easily, adding that she was slightly jealous of him, though Kaiser merely noted that he had simply gotten lucky. After a long pause, he apologized and explained that he had been thinking of a friend from Pantheon who would always call him special, even though he had never thought of himself in that way before.

In response, Angelic Buster pointed out that he was indeed special, as he always thought of others and sacrificed himself, which was something that many would never do. Kaiser smiled and thanked her, noting that she encouraged him just like Tear would. Upon hearing his words, Angelic Buster hesitantly began to tell him her identity, though she stopped herself and instead told him that it had been good to see him before the two parted ways.

As Kaiser continued traveling, he soon grew comfortable with Maple World, having realized that life there was similar to Grandis. Just then, he sensed an evil energy and followed it to Sleepywood. There, he met Ilji, the younger brother of Manji, and asked him if he knew where the evil energy was coming from. Ilji told him that it would likely be coming from the Cursed Temple, which Kaiser noted felt just like the Specters, though also different somehow. He asked Ilji if he needed help with anything, to which Ilji explained that he had come to train, though he added that he was afraid of the Drakes. He then asked Kaiser to hunt Copper Drakes and to tell him what their weakness was.

After hunting the Copper Drakes, Kaiser returned to Ilji and told him that they only attacked with a simple charge, and so watching them carefully and keeping them at bay was the best strategy. Next, Ilji asked him for help on finding the Drakes’ weakness. Kaiser fought the Drakes and told Ilji that they had the same attack pattern, and so they just needed to be taken out faster. Next, Ilji asked for help in fighting Red Drakes. Kaiser told him that they had a dangerous fire attack, and so Ilji would need to keep recovery items nearby.

Ilji then asked Kaiser to hunt Ice Drakes. Kaiser discovered that they had a long-range attack to watch out for. Finally, Ilji asked him to find the Dark Drakes’ weakness, and so Kaiser learned that Ilji would need to combine all the previous strategies into one in order to defeat them. Ilji thanked him for his help and promised to become a powerful warrior soon.

(A/N: This questline is an exact copy of the same set of quests which are part of the Sleepywood town storyline. I have no idea why these quests were copied over and incorporated into Kaiser’s storyline when there’s absolutely no narrative significance to them.)

After helping Ilji, Kaiser continued his journey into the Cursed Temple. At the entrance, he met a wounded man named Gwin, who told him that he had been injured by the monsters inside the temple. Kaiser then entered the temple and first defeated the Wild Kargos, then the Tauromacises, then the Taurospears, and finally a Jr. Balrog. From the Jr. Balrog, Kaiser found an Evil Essence that resembled Specter energy, and so he decided to ask Kylan to investigate it. Kylan noted that it was distinct from Specter energy and assured Kaiser that Darmoor had no hand in it.

(A/N: I’m almost certain that the writers had no idea where they were gonna go with Specter lore at the time that they were introduced in Kaiser’s storyline, but I found it interesting that Balrog and his minions have an energy signature similar to Specters. Balrog hasn’t been relevant for over a decade now, but if they really wanted to, they could totally integrate him back into the story by tying him into Specter lore somehow.)

Later during his travels, Kaiser learned that Pixies held mystical Cloud Pieces in Orbis and decided to bring one to Kylan, who merely deemed it mystical. Kaiser also heard rumors of lizards wearing scarves in the scorching heat of Ariant and decided to bring one of their scarves to Kylan, who was confused by why Kaiser had brought him a sweaty scarf with no apparent magical power.

(A/N: I thought that the Sleepywood quests were pointless, but these are even worse. Kaiser seriously needs a rework for his storyline because everything that takes place after he leaves Grandis has no lore significance, with the exception of one quest that takes place in the next section.

GMS also introduced a series of quests called the Nova Laboratory for Kaiser and Angelic Buster, which basically just has them collect samples from monsters around Maple World for Kylan and Fenelle. Since they don’t exist in KMS, they’re not technically canon, and so I won’t be covering them on this site. I was thinking about adding them to the new part of the lore site that I’m working on, which covers everything that hasn’t been covered here and in GMS-verse, but the Nova Laboratory quests are basically as pointless as these Kaiser quests, and so I really don’t see the benefit in breaking my back for them.)