PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 43: Labyrinth of Suffering

(A/N: The Labyrinth of Suffering storyline was heavily revamped in the NEXT update, which removed an entire half of it and condensed it all into the midway point of the story. The length of the original storyline made it extremely hated by many players, although I personally enjoyed it immensely, specifically because its length added to the sense of dread and entrapment that it was trying to convey. I’m not really a huge fan of how they condensed the story because it feels like the original had perfect pacing, although it’s nice that people don’t have to suffer through nearly two hours of depression just to progress.

One of the major changes in the revamp is something I mentioned in the Esfera section, which is that Ollie was originally rescued by the Flying Fish, who finally regained his original form and later returned in Limina to bring the Adversary to the Black Mage. Because of the changes to Limina, the Flying Fish’s role in the story was no longer necessary, and so he was written out of Tenebris entirely, with Ollie just being rescued by the Alliance. If you want to see the original version of the story, see the pre-Destiny page here.)

Soon after Gloom’s defeat, the Adversary was summoned to the deck of the White Spear, where a Cygnus Knight reported that the operation to advance on Tenebris was about to take place, adding that Ollie had also been rescued. The Adversary rushed to meet Ollie and the other Alliance leaders gathered on the deck, where Neinheart explained that a small scout ship near the explosion had managed to find her. Claudine asked Ollie if she was alright, noting that she must have been exposed to the Black Mage’s thoughts inside the core during the explosion. Neinheart told Claudine that their examinations had found no lingering effects, though he added that Ollie had something important to say.

Ollie told them that exposure to the core, which had been formed from the Black Mage’s thoughts, had allowed her to see the Black Mage’s past, from when he had still been the White Mage. She described how the White Mage had stepped into the divine realm, beyond the horizon of awareness, as he had reached for the ultimate light. She explained that his heart had been filled with indescribable joy at the prospect of moving forward, at last, to a new world free of irrationalities and evil.

(A/N: In the original version of the story, the White Mage originally talked about reaching the Divine City, rather than a new world. The Divine City, which is known as the City of God outside GMS, was based on the book “City of God”, written by the philosopher Augustine of Hippo in the fifth century. It’s one of the most influential works of Christian philosophy and explores pivotal themes like human suffering, free will, good and evil, and the original sin.

The Divine City is something that was introduced way back in the White Mage chapter of the Grand Athenaeum, in which the White Mage explained that his goal was to replicate the Divine City on Maple World. Although that line still exists in the Grand Athenaeum, the writers decided to move away from the whole ‘City of God’ premise in the revamp, likely because of the confusion that it may have caused with the Ancient God stuff in the Grandis storyline.

Although there’s a lot of great analysis which can be done regarding Augustine’s City of God and its relationship to the White Mage’s ideals, the crux of it is something that can pretty much just be reframed in the context of reaching a new world, as the White Mage wanted to create a perfect world without suffering or evil, similar to what the Divine City represents in Augustine’s writings as a conceptual state of perfection for humanity, rather than it being any sort of physical city.)

Just then, however, he had found himself being held back by an unknown force that Ollie described as the world itself, or something beyond that. When Edea asked her what she meant, Ollie replied that she found it difficult to describe, though she attempted to explain it as the force of order, an essence of balance, principles, and rules. She explained that it was shapeless as fog, conceptual and abstract in nature, though she knew that it was real because of the way it had wrapped around the White Mage like an unbreakable chain, colder and heavier than any metal in existence.

(A/N: Something interesting is that Tana described the voice of the Overseers as beautiful and cold, similar to how Ollie describes their influence as cold and metallic. In the Black Mage: Origin webcomic, we get to see another rendition of the White Mage entering the divine realm, which shows him standing on a large chessboard in the middle of space, with a large, eye-like nebula staring back at him, suggested to be the Overseer of Light.

The aesthetic of the Overseers being beautiful, cold, abstract, and synthetic is probably the closest thing that we have in the game to a true, omnipotent god, compared to both the Transcendents and the Ancient Gods. Their existence is something that goes beyond the physical plane, melded as one with the universe itself. They’re imperceptible and unknowable, which adds a layer of intrigue and uncertainty to them because they’re forces of nature that behave mechanically and methodically, making them quite different from the villains that we normally face, who have bodies, emotions, and desires of their own.)

The White Mage had demanded to know why the Overseers refused change, and why they allowed the world to remain stagnant and incomplete forever. Furious at the Overseers for deliberately leaving humanity to suffer without end, he had chosen to reject them, vowing that he would break free from the chains that kept the world anchored to darkness, even if he had to destroy the world itself in order to change it. In that moment, he had embraced the ultimate darkness and had awakened as the Transcendent of Light.

(A/N: I was talking to someone who plays in KMS, and they were telling me about one interesting nuance in the Korean dialogue that couldn’t get carried over in the English text. In the KMS dialogue, the White Mage has consistently used the highest form of honorifics to refer to every single person that he’s ever spoken with, but the one time that he ever drops his respectful way of speaking is to yell at the Overseers after learning what they’ve done to the world. I really like the added nuance in the Korean dialogue because it does an even better job of showing just how angry he was at the Overseers for indolently abandoning the world and its people.

There are a few other cases with honorifics that they were telling me about as well, but my favorite thing ever is that in Kinesis’ storyline, the White Mage talks to Kinesis very politely, and meanwhile, Kinesis talks to the White Mage with the same honorifics that he’d use to talk to an underclassman, which goes beyond disrespectful, as it’s basically him, a teenager, talking to an adult as though they were a little kid. It really adds a lot to Kinesis’ personality and goes to show just how much he hates the White Mage for what he did to Friends World and Yuna.)

Though Claudine and Edea were disturbed to know that the Black Mage wasn’t merely a madman out to destroy the world, Cygnus asked them to focus, as they were fighting to ensure their survival. Neinheart agreed, reminding them that the Black Mage’s means were ruinous, regardless of how noble his ideals were. Ollie then told them that the final thought she had felt from the Black Mage had been his goal to build the Path to Genesis.

Just then, an Alliance soldier reported that they were about to reach Tenebris. Cygnus then ordered the Alliance leaders to prepare for battle, as well as telling Ollie to get some rest. She then asked Neinheart to give his strategy recommendation to minimize casualties, to which Neinheart told her that the Adversary would serve as the vanguard of the Alliance and forge their path through the darkness as they reached the heart of Tenebris.

However, Cygnus told Neinheart that the White Spear would be the vanguard and instead asked the Adversary to provide cover from the rear until the entire Alliance fleet reached Tenebris. Neinheart protested, telling Cygnus that it was too dangerous for her to lead the charge from the front lines. However, Cygnus retorted that she couldn’t afford to hide behind others, as no one would trust her to lead them otherwise. She explained that everyone in the Alliance had placed their trust in her to be their leader, and that it was her responsibility to do so, for which she asked Neinheart and the Adversary to trust in her.

(A/N: Several classes get exclusive dialogue here, although sadly, Explorers, Adele, Khali, Hoyoung, and Lara got nothing. Those Grandis classes were released after Tenebris, which might be why they don’t get their own script. Kain was technically released after Tenebris as well, although he probably got dialogue because his is shared with the rest of the Nova, while the Flora classes at the time - Illium and Ark - had unique scripts, and the Anima classes didn’t exist at all. Nexon was probably just too lazy to come up with unique scripts for Adele, Khali, and the Anima classes.

Cygnus Knights and Mihile note to themselves that the Empress has grown much stronger, and that they’ll support her as best as they can.

Resistance classes and Xenon sense the Empress’ determination and recall how Edelstein had escaped the Black Wings by stopping Black Heaven. However, they realize that this fight is bigger, as everyone is at risk. They think to themselves that they should renew the resolutions that they’ve made with their allies, noting that Claudine has joined everyone to help fight in the monstrous battle that they’re now facing.

The Demon notes that the Empress is more resolved than ever. Thinking about her determination, he looks back on when he had watched his family home burn with his own eyes, and when he had killed Damien with his own hands. He recalls that the determination and rage that he had felt back then was just as intense as it feels today. He then steels his resolve, reminding himself that it’s nearly time to face the Black Mage.

Aran, Mercedes, Luminous, and Shade sense the Empress’ strong resolve and note to themselves that though it’s been a long journey, they’ll finally meet the Black Mage soon. Shade gets some additional dialogue, in which he thinks to himself that he still remembers the decision that he made on that day. He recalls the determination that he’d had when he had left everything behind and had risked his life to stop the Black Mage, vowing that he’ll remember that determination when he faces the Black Mage again. The decision that he’s talking about is his vow that he’ll do anything to stop the Black Mage, even if it means that he’ll fade out of existence completely as a result.

Evan senses the Empress’ determination and notes to himself that it’s almost time to face the Black Mage. Though the thought makes him nervous, he vows to gather his strength, after which he and Mir reaffirm that they’re in it together.

Phantom senses the Empress’ strong resolve and wonders to himself whether it was how Aria had felt back then.

For Zero, Alpha and Beta both sense the Empress’ resolve and note that it’s nearly time to face the Black Mage. Beta asks Alpha if he’s shaking, which he vehemently denies. He tells her that he can’t leave Maple World, a place that Rhinne loved so much, in such a state, adding that as Transcendents of Maple World, they’re responsible for defending it. Beta agrees and vows that they’ll protect their world.

Nova classes note to themselves that the Empress is more resolved than ever. Thinking about the upcoming battle, they realize that if they don’t win the war, then Grandis won’t be safe either. They then resolve themselves to defend Maple World and Grandis.

Illium notes to himself that the Empress is more resolved than ever. Thinking about the upcoming battle, he realizes that if they don’t win the war, then Maple World will end up just like the Verdant Flora, which would also mean the end of Grandis. He then resolves to defend Maple World so that others won’t have to go through what the Verdant Flora had.

Ark notes to himself that the Empress is more resolved than ever. Thinking about the upcoming battle, he realizes that it’s a battle to survive, which is quite unlike the wars of the High Flora. He thinks to himself that he can’t stand seeing others disappear like they had in the High Flora purges, and he resolves to help defend Maple World so that what had happened on Verdel won’t happen again.

Kinesis notes to himself that the Empress is more resolved than ever. He reminds himself that this is just the beginning, and that if they don’t win the war, then he won’t be able to go back to Seoul. He then resolves to defend Maple World the same way that he had defended Seoul so that he can get back to his friends.

Additionally, while these classes aren’t canon to the main story, I’ll still list them here in case anyone is interested. I’ve added these lines to the GMS-verse section as well. I currently don’t have anything story-related on Mo Xuan as of now, since he’s neither part of the main story nor GMS-verse, although I’m planning to add him to the Maple Anthologies section one of these days. Zen is technically part of GMS-verse, but his storyline had such little coverage online that any chance of grabbing his exclusive dialogue has now been lost, as he’s unfortunately been removed from the game.

All the GMS-verse classes note to themselves that the Empress is more resolved than ever. Thinking about her determination, Beast Tamer and the Sengoku classes remind themselves that they need to defend Maple World, while Jett reminds herself that she’d better get back to them all.)

Neinheart reluctantly agreed to Cygnus’ plan and told the Adversary to watch their flank. After the Adversary left, Cygnus confided to Neinheart that she had sensed a darkness hanging over the Adversary, which was the real reason why she had wanted them to stay back. Recalling the Black Mage’s prophecy, “A light whose brilliant glory is lost will face the soul of the world whilst steeped in mire and rot,” Cygnus felt a terrible sense of dread over what would happen to the Adversary.

As the Adversary headed to the rear, they encountered Melange, who had been assigned to the same battleship. They thanked him for his help in dealing with Will, though Melange told them that he was unsure whether he could help them in the same way again, noting that there had at least been reflections in Mirror World. At the Adversary’s confusion, Melange told them to disregard him as the fleet prepared to embark.

As they approached Tenebris, the darkness quickly began consuming their vision. Neinheart attempted to contact them about the lack of enemy movements, but the communication device soon stopped working. As the darkness grew even more intense, the Adversary was filled with an unusual sense of hopelessness and wondered why their thoughts had changed so suddenly.

(A/N: The Heroes get some exclusive dialogue here. As the darkness begins consuming everything, all the Heroes except Luminous wish that Luminous were there with them. As someone who hates the Adversary storyline, I also wish that the conclusion of this almost two-decades-long story weren’t reduced to a one-man show. Phantom gets some additional dialogue when he says this, in which he says, “Never here when I need him… I’m telling you, he’s useless!” The Heroes then realize that if Luminous had cast a light, then it would be visible ahead, making them realize that something might have happened on his end.

Luminous gets some alternative dialogue, in which he starts feeling like his own light is fading. He wonders whether it’s because of the Black Mage’s power, but he then realizes that no matter how strong the Black Mage is, even he can’t expel light itself. He then wonders what it is that the Black Mage is planning.

Illium also gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he notes that even the light of the Elder Crystal is fading.)

With no communications and no clear line of vision, a Resistance soldier reported that there was no way to signal the rest of the fleet. As the airship was pulled down, Melange ominously told them that they were already in ‘her’ clutches. He then told the Adversary, “Her sword is trapped in the haze of the Black Sun until the lying hand that blinds the eyes vanishes and the red thread that binds is cut. We have no choice but to dance with her.” Outside, a flash of lightning revealed a massive labyrinth until the darkness returned to cloud their vision. As everything disappeared, Melange cryptically told the Adversary to remember that "all roads exist inside your heart.”

(A/N: GMS is very inconsistent with the exclusive dialogue that references what Melange says here later on. Some characters will hear “mind” instead of “heart”, or even “paths” instead of “roads”. Based on the original KMS dialogue, I think that “all roads exist inside your heart” is the intended phrase, and so I’ve standardized it as such throughout this section.)

As the ship began crash-landing on Tenebris, the masked figure from Esfera watched the Alliance fleet from afar as they charged in themselves. Meanwhile, the Adversary awoke within a liminal space filled with labyrinth walls. Finding themselves trapped inside, the Adversary began banging on the walls as they attempted to escape. Suddenly, they began hearing a voice as they awoke to find themselves in the Labyrinth of Suffering, where several crewmembers were standing huddled around their crashed ship.

The crewmembers told the disoriented Adversary that the ship had crashed, to which the Adversary noted that they couldn’t remember the ship crashing at all. The crewmembers noted that the Adversary must have lost part of their memory from the fall before asking them for their orders, adding that everyone was getting anxious without a leader to direct them. They reported that though none of the crew was severely injured, there were five people missing, including Melange, and that communications were still down.

The Adversary decided to organize a search party to find the missing crew, tasking several soldiers to search and others to salvage the wreckage for anything that could be recovered. They then placed several barrier stones at natural choke points around the area to warn them of any impending enemy attack. The crew then reported that they had recovered plenty of food and that repairs on the airship were underway, though they admitted that it was possible that the ship had been damaged beyond repair.

With the search party still not back, the Adversary decided to launch a signal flare. To their surprise, however, the flare disappeared as soon as it reached above the walls of the labyrinth, with a second signal flare meeting the same fate. Just then, a lone Nova soldier from the search party rushed back to the base camp, claiming that the walls had eaten his squad. The Adversary had three of the group members tend to the Nova soldier’s wounds and rounded up everyone who wasn’t fixing the ship to head into the labyrinth with them.

Inside the labyrinth, the search party found the clothes and weapons of the missing crew. As they began approaching closer, the clothes and weapons all vanished. Overwhelmed by what was happening, the Adversary suggested returning to the ship. Back at the ship, the Alliance soldiers welcomed them back, just as they noticed that only two out of the six had returned. The Adversary was surprised, as the missing people had just been following along moments ago. They then asked where the people fixing the ship were, to which a Cygnus Knight told them that they had gone to grab some tools just before the Adversary had returned, though there was no trace of them left.

The wounded Nova soldier was convinced that the labyrinth was eating them and that there were monsters coming soon. Suddenly, one of the barrier stones activated, signaling an enemy attack. The Adversary and the other soldiers defended the camp from the Dark Miscreations, though two soldiers were lost. Frustrated at how fast their ranks were disappearing, the Adversary decided to search the area with two of the remaining soldiers and ordered a Temple Keeper to guard the wounded Nova soldier. (A/N: The Temple Keeper tells us that she’s scared to be alone, and so we get the choice to have someone stay with her or make her stay by herself.)

The Temple Keeper also asked to have the Nova soldier tied to a barrel for her own safety, as he appeared delirious from fear. The Adversary then entered the labyrinth once again, though the two soldiers accompanying them were quickly lost while inside. Wandering alone, the Adversary found a door that unexpectedly led back to the crash site. Back at the crash site, they found only the wounded Nova soldier tied up, with the Temple Keeper assigned to watch over him gone. (A/N: If we had chosen to have someone stay with her, they’re also gone.)

The soldier chuckled, telling the Adversary that everyone had trusted them and asking how they expected to save the world when they couldn’t even save their friends. The Adversary accused him of being the reason why everyone kept disappearing, but the soldier told them that it was their own fault for bringing them there, splitting them up, and putting them in danger. He asked if they had started believing that they were special simply because others had said so, declaring that they couldn’t even protect the people next to them. As his voice kept growing louder with accusations and insults, the Adversary instinctively lashed out at the soldier, who vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving them with a foreboding sense of total solitude.

(A/N: Several classes get exclusive dialogue here, although I’m still in the process of finding them all.

So far, I’ve found that Aran and Angelic Buster call out to Maha and Eskalade, respectively, after wondering whether they’re all alone. Upon getting no answer, however, they wonder what exactly is going on.

Evan gets some similar exclusive dialogue here, in which he calls out to Mir and wonders why he’s getting no answer. He notes that something isn’t right with Mir, as it feels as though he’s not actually present, even though he’s right next to him.

Zero also gets some exclusive dialogue here, which is slightly different depending on whether you were Alpha or Beta at the time of this cutscene triggering. Regardless of who you were, you call out to your twin and wonder why you’re getting no answer. You note that your twin feels strange, as it feels like they’re not there, despite you being able to see them next to you. If you’re currently playing as Alpha, you’ll say that it feels like the time that you saw Beta bound in the Umbra Temple. Meanwhile, if you’re playing as Beta, you’ll say that it feels like the time that you saw a vision of Alpha when you were bound in the Umbra Temple.)

Suddenly, they heard a mysterious voice asking the Adversary to save them. They then entered the labyrinth and found a new region, which had previously been blocked by a wall. There, they found light emanating from a cave blocked by tree roots. After destroying the roots, they headed toward the light, just as tree roots magically grew to block the entrance behind them. They arrived in a deeper section of the labyrinth and proceeded deeper inside, where they found an unconscious Alliance soldier ensnared in roots.

(A/N: Before finding the Alliance soldier, we originally had to fight through Despairing Wing and Despairing Blade monsters. These monsters are meant to be fallen Nova and Cygnus Knight soldiers, who have been revived by Hilla. Throughout the deeper parts of the labyrinth, we encounter a lot more monsters meant to be dead Nova, Resistance, and Cygnus Knight soldiers, and while it may seem like all these Alliance soldiers are dead, all the fallen soldiers that we fight in the labyrinth are just illusions that Hilla created to break our spirit.

From the very beginning, we’ve been the only member of the Alliance actually inside the labyrinth, with even the crewmembers that we crash-landed with being illusions. One thing that clues us in on this is that Melange is nowhere to be found, despite having been on the ship with us. We, most likely, got tossed overboard from our ship because of the turbulence, causing us to fall into the labyrinth alone. The rest of the Alliance is still outside attempting to land the fleet past the monsters flying around the skies of Tenebris.)

After cutting the Alliance soldier free, the Adversary found more Despairing monsters chasing after them. The Adversary picked up the Alliance soldier and managed to outrun the monsters. After losing them, the Alliance soldier introduced herself as a Night Walker named Azalin. She immediately recognized the Adversary and noted that they had done many great things throughout their journey.

(A/N: You can easily tell that Azalin is Hilla with brown hair. One plot hole that opens up because of this is that every class who witnessed Hilla’s scheme to dethrone Cygnus with the fake Skaia should’ve immediately recognized that Azalin’s appearance matched Hilla’s noblewoman disguise from that conference. In particular, this should include Aran, Mercedes, and Phantom, who were all present when it happened.

A lot of classes also get some exclusive dialogue when they speak with Azalin. Unfortunately, Explorers (including Jett) and the Anima classes don’t get anything. I was a bit surprised that the Anima don’t get any exclusive dialogue, since all the other Grandis classes get the same exclusive script. I’m guessing that the developers probably don’t have an internal grouping for Grandis classes in their codebase, but instead, they have groupings based on class groupings, like the Nova, the Flora, the Heroes, etc.

Since there were no Anima classes at the time of Tenebris, they likely had flags included for the Nova and Flora class groups, which would trigger the exclusive dialogue when the code checks to see if the player falls under the category of the Nova or the Flora, since they don’t internally group by Grandis classes or Maple World classes. That would explain why Kain got dialogue with Cygnus earlier, since he’d be grouped together under the Nova, and why Adele and Khali got dialogue here, but not with Cygnus, since the Cygnus dialogue was individual for each Flora class, but the Azalin dialogue is the same for all the Flora.

For Cygnus Knights and Mihile, she tells them that as a Knight, she’s always looked up to their example, and that she’d always wonder if it was even possible to be like them. Upon finally meeting them, however, she laughs that they’re more ordinary than she’d expected. The Knight gets offended and wonders to themselves what she’s implying, to which she asks if she’s hit a nerve before adding that she didn’t mean it, and that she’d just been thinking out loud.

For the main Resistance and Xenon, she tells them that despite the Cygnus Knights and the Resistance being at odds for years, it looks like they’re in it together now. However, she coyly adds that she’s sure that they don’t completely trust her yet.

For the Demon, Azalin tells him that it’s funny how he seeks to destroy the Black Mage after having once been his right-hand. She then wonders who could have predicted something like that. She notes that the Alliance still accepts him, despite knowing what he’s done for the Black Mage, adding that she was surprised, asking who would’ve thought that someone could defect a second time and side with the Black Mage again. The Demon asks her what it is that she wants to say, to which Azalin merely says that she hopes that he’s made the right choice. The Demon notes to himself that something is off, after which Azalin says that what’s important is right now.

For Aran, Mercedes, and Luminous, Azalin notes how incredible it is that all the legendary Heroes who had once sealed the Black Mage away have returned, adding that she’s honored to be with them as they make history. She tells them that they seem as energetic as ever, despite how much time has passed, which surprises her, as she would’ve imagined that the long fight would be exhausting for them. She then jokingly asks if they’re feeling rested because they’ve been sealed away for so long. They demand to know what she means by that, to which she interrupts and asks if she’s touched a nerve before saying that she had merely been thinking out loud. They then angrily wonder to themselves whether she’d really had the audacity to cut them off.

For Evan, Azalin notes how impressive it is that he’s the descendant of a great mage like Freud, despite being so young. She adds that Freud was truly incredible, and that she doesn’t know how anyone could match such a master of magic. She then apologizes and claims that she’s not saying anything about Evan specifically, as she’s simply making observations.

For Phantom, Azalin notes that he had even managed to stop Hilla from claiming the throne, adding that he must be pretty sharp to see through her tricks. She then adds that though everyone else was fooled, nothing got by him, although I guess that doesn’t include him getting fooled by the exact same disguise that he saw through the first time.

For Shade, Azalin notes that it’s strange that despite him not having any large, stand-out achievements, he had just happened to have one day fallen in with the legendary Heroes. She adds that while she doesn’t know whether he’s just well-connected, there has to be some reason why the Heroes let him hang out with them. She then asks if she’s touched a nerve before saying that she had merely been thinking out loud.

For Zero, she tells Alpha and Beta that she’s heard that they’re the new Transcendents who would succeed Rhinne as the Transcendent of Time. She adds that she can believe it, as she can feel the power shared between the two of them, and notes that it’s no wonder that the Black Mage’s Commanders have been after them. Alpha and Beta then wonder to themselves how Azalin knows that they’re Transcendents, and how she knows that they’ve faced the Commanders. Just as they begin to ask her, Azalin interrupts them and says that since they’re a Transcendent split in two, she wouldn’t think that their powers actually match those of a real Transcendent. Just as they start getting offended that she cut them off, Azalin adds that the person next to them seems odd, referring to their twin, which is a reference to the earlier dialogue about our twin disappearing.

For the Nova, the Flora, Kinesis, Hayato, and Kanna, she tells them that she had always been surprised to hear that they had helped Maple World so much, since they’re not from around there. The Nova and Flora classes get some additional dialogue here, in which Azalin, under her breath, snidely wonders how they could ever save Maple World when they can’t even protect their own. When the player asks her what she had just said, Azalin tells them that she had merely wanted to thank them for working so hard.

The Sengoku classes also get some additional dialogue, in which Azalin tells them that in any event, she knows that there are two sides, and so she asks them which one they’re on, laughing that they’ll need allies who can help them out in a pinch. She then asks if she’s hit a nerve before adding that she didn’t mean it, and that she’d just been thinking out loud.

For Beast Tamer, Azalin notes that Chase is from Arboren, and that she’s heard that Chase is also a big fan of the Heroes who had sealed the Black Mage. She adds that heroes who can save the world are amazing people, though she then points out that Chase hasn’t actually met the Heroes, adding that she had expected more from her. She then asks if she’s hit a nerve before adding that she didn’t mean it, and that she’d just been thinking out loud.

For context, when Beast Tamer was first released, she had an extremely long, tedious, and borderline torturous storyline to complete. However, the storyline itself was perfectly fine; it was just the arduous fetch quests and kill quests that were the problem. But since Nexon hates putting in effort to fix anything, they just decided to scrap her entire storyline after level 30, which now ends in the most random and abrupt way.

Her original storyline focused on her meeting the Heroes and proving herself to Neinheart and Cygnus in order to join the Alliance, while a Team Rocket knockoff called Triple Volt attempted to capture her animal companions. With over 80% of her storyline removed, the only remaining parts are her beginning quests in Arboren, her ten-second meeting with Evan in Henesys, and then a final quest at level 140 that has her officially join the Alliance while all the Heroes look on proudly at her.

The questline about her joining the Alliance in the first place has been completely scrapped, which makes it feel extremely jarring to see the Heroes in her level 140 quest talk about all her adventures that don’t happen in the game anymore. But that aside, the problem with this exclusive dialogue is that even though most of her storyline has been removed, she still technically does meet the Heroes at the end of her storyline, which makes Azalin’s claim incorrect.)

Azalin told the Adversary that though they had worked hard, not everything had turned out alright, adding that they weren’t actually fighting the real problem, which was that there were always problems when people came together. She told the Adversary that everyone really just wanted their own happiness, and that fighting the Black Mage didn’t change that basic fact. However, she told them not to worry, as people’s wishes still came true, even in the darkest times.

As the Adversary began questioning her words, Azalin changed the subject and asked where the rest of their team had gone. The Adversary told her that they had gotten separated in the labyrinth, after which the rest of the soldiers had mysteriously vanished one by one. They explained that they had discovered her after hearing someone screaming, but Azalin replied that she hadn’t been screaming, pointing out that she had been knocked out when they had found her.

Though Azalin’s words made sense, the Adversary couldn’t help but feel confused, as they were sure that they had heard someone scream right where Azalin was, and that it had stopped the moment that they had found her. Azalin then offered to help them find the rest of their team, but the Adversary told her that it would be safer to regroup at her ship in order to gather supplies and plan their next move. However, Azalin replied that she couldn’t remember where her ship had crashed, as she could only recall seeing the Adversary upon waking up.

The Adversary then decided that it would be better for them to regroup back at their own ship and began leading the way. To their surprise, however, many of the landmarks that they had mentally noted had vanished, causing them to get lost. Azalin testily asked them whether they were sure that they knew where they were going, causing the already-stressed Adversary to grow even more anxious.

As they continued wandering through the labyrinth, the Adversary found something glittering on the wall. Believing it to be a blocked tunnel, the Adversary attempted to break through, causing the ground to shake as a horde of monsters appeared and began attacking them. Frustrated at the Adversary's ineptitude, Azalin decided to lead the way instead.

After outrunning the monsters, Azalin told the Adversary that she couldn’t trust them anymore and told them to listen to her before leading them ahead. As they wandered through the labyrinth, Azalin led the Adversary into a juncture filled with dead soldiers, though the Adversary was sure that the bodies hadn’t been there moments ago. Losing confidence, they decided to press onward in order to find any survivors. As they walked away, the dead soldiers were reanimated into undead monsters.

The Adversary and Azalin then proceeded ahead and encountered another throng of dead Alliance soldiers. Filled with despair at being too late to save them, the Adversary continued searching and encountered yet another group of dead Alliance soldiers. To their shock, the dead soldiers reanimated into monsters. Azalin amusedly noted that it seemed as though the monsters that they had been fighting had been trapped in the labyrinth, growing so desperate that they had lost their original forms upon experiencing the pain of death. She then added that the monsters with black wings they had fought earlier had also looked similar to the monsters that stood before them.

The Adversary was horrified to know that the monsters they had been fighting were fellow Alliance soldiers. Azalin then asked the Adversary whether they planned to sit and do nothing as they died alongside the others, adding that they would also be responsible for her death as well by choosing not to fight the undead Alliance soldiers. She urged the Adversary to slay the monsters, claiming that it was the only way to fulfill their responsibility and protect her. As one of Azalin’s eyes began glowing with green flames, the Adversary reluctantly attacked the soldiers and finished them off, leaving their heart filled with regret and disgust at killing the very people whom they were sworn to protect.

As they continued along, the Adversary wondered in anguish what they were supposed to do now, believing that if they could protect even just a single person, they could still salvage the situation. Azalin then told the Adversary that since it was clear that the soldiers in the labyrinth had all become monsters, it would be better for them to give up on rescuing them and simply escape. When the Adversary pointed out that their ship was broken, Azalin revealed that she had discovered a way out while wandering alone.

However, the Adversary believed that they couldn’t escape when there was a chance that even a single Alliance soldier could still be saved, though Azalin retorted that it was too late. She asked the Adversary what point there was in saving people whom they didn’t even know, and whether they could even remember a single person’s face. Upon thinking, the Adversary found that they couldn’t recall anyone’s face in their memory, filling their mind with doubt about whether their actions had even had any meaning.

Noting that they seemed lost and confused, Azalin offered to lead them onward, claiming that it was time for them to rest. She then brought them to the deepest part of the labyrinth towards an altar, where her eyes once again blazed with green fire as the Adversary was lured closer under her spell. As the Adversary reached the altar, a curse sigil activated and engulfed the area with a blinding flash of light as Azalin revealed her true form as Hilla, augmented with even greater power from the Black Mage.

(A/N: I am this close to committing a murder on whoever it was that killed the spirit of Hilla’s original design and her beautiful color palette. Like, I don’t hate the black and red scheme, but her original look had a lot of small decorations and colors that complemented the base black and red. When you looked at her, you could easily tell what her gimmick was.

With Verus Hilla, I’m convinced that whoever was in charge of her redesign read that her gimmick was “eternal beauty” and focused too hard on the word “eternal” because somehow their next leap of logic was, “I wonder if I can make a dead body look attractive by slapping on some lingerie.” I absolutely love some details of her redesign, like the green magic and the scythe, but the rest of it just looks like a horribly simplified aesthetic that takes away from the elegance of her original look. I can’t tell if the design is supposed to be intended to seduce or horrify, but at the moment, it’s doing neither for me.)

Hilla laughed as the Adversary collapsed, noting that their soul would ripen sweetly now that they had reached the Labyrinth Core. The Adversary was then filled with visions of a destroyed Maple World as they began watching scenes of Athena Pierce dying in a ruined Henesys, a wounded Claudine being surrounded by the undead spirits of her fallen Resistance comrades, as well as a horrified Cygnus watching Neinheart succumb to his injuries, while the Cygnus Knight soldiers around them revived into monsters and swarmed around the wounded Empress.

The Adversary then found themselves back in the same liminal space which they had first awoken to after crashing in the labyrinth, where they were filled with distraught at the fact that both the people who had left to fight the Black Mage and those who had remained behind to protect Maple World were all dead. In the depths of their mind, however, they began hearing a mysterious voice, filling them with a sense of ease and clarity.

As they began thinking back, the Adversary began wondering whether the sounds of people calling for help had really been from the Alliance soldiers in the first place. Though they realized that it had all been an illusion, and that they hadn’t killed anyone with their own hands, the Adversary began feeling fatigue creep over them.

Suddenly, the voice in their head spoke clearly and asked them whether everything they had done had all been meaningless. The voice asked the Adversary why they chose to fight and helped them see that there had been a point to their journey and all the sacrifices along the way, after which it told them to open their eyes and see the truth for themselves. Confused, the Adversary wondered aloud who the voice belonged to, to which they quickly realized that the voice had been their own all along.

(A/N: In the original Labyrinth of Suffering storyline, this mysterious voice would originally take on the identity of someone close to the Adversary, encouraging them to keep fighting in the depths of their despair. In the current storyline, Adversary will actually mistakenly believe that the voice belongs to that person before it’s revealed that the voice belongs to them. However, the idea of someone close to them encouraging them is still part of the game, except it’s been moved from the Labyrinth of Suffering storyline to the Limina storyline at the critical moment when the Adversary needs to awaken the Seal Stone.

Before the revamp, me and the people on the lore server had catalogued the full dialogue of every single class in the game, although the fact that story replay has temporarily been disabled in the NEXT update means that I don’t have the new scripts for each class. Because of this, I’ll keep the specific context of the voice’s dialogue with the Adversary generic enough until I can grab all of the exclusive dialogue for all classes again.)

As the Adversary regained their determination, they felt a warm light inside of them created from the wishes of all the people whom they protected. As they basked in the warmth, they recalled that it was the same feeling from Black Heaven. Feeling the presence of all their loved ones with them, the Adversary broke through Hilla’s spell as the Seal Stone activated from their powerful determination.

Awakening back in the labyrinth, the Adversary told Hilla that they had been broken because they had tried to shoulder the burden of everyone upon themselves, losing themselves to ghosts. They declared that their eyes had been covered, while their hands and feet had been bound, becoming a puppet as they had believed all the illusions that she had shown them. However, they then told Hilla that it was only then that they had realized that they had never been alone, as everyone had been fighting all along to protect what they cherished most.

(A/N: As the Adversary speaks, we see cutscenes of Chief Stan and the people of Henesys fighting monsters, the Priests of Leafre fighting corrupted dragons, and Alcaster and Spiruna fighting zombies in El Nath.)

The Adversary told Hilla that they could feel the collective determination of everyone inside of them, and that they would no longer be tricked by her evil schemes any longer. However, Hilla was merely amused that they had managed to break free of her spell at the critical moment, adding that they never failed to entertain. She noted that they truly were an Adversary if they had been able to use their fierce determination to see through her illusion magic on their own. However, she added that it didn’t matter, as their soul had already reached the deepest part of the labyrinth.

Hilla and the Adversary then began to fight a fierce battle, with Hilla admitting that the Adversary was indeed different from ordinary people. Hoping to make matters more interesting, she used her powers to drag Lotus’ soul from the depths of death. As Lotus began attacking the Adversary, the masked figure appeared once again to block his attack, chipping their mask and revealing Orchid underneath. The Adversary was shocked to see Orchid and realized that she was the one who had been helping them all along.

As they began wondering why, Orchid furiously demanded to know what Hilla had done to her brother. Hilla was amused to see Orchid, noting that she had betrayed the Black Mage, and realized that Guwaru’s influence had been masking her energy. Hilla told Orchid that she had initially decided to leave her alone, since Orchid had seemed to keep to herself, but her continued interference had left Hilla irritated. Though she told Orchid to leave, Orchid continued to demand an explanation from Hilla about what she had done to Lotus.

Realizing that Orchid wouldn’t let it go, Hilla mocked her and explained that Lotus was now her slave, adding that Orchid should have taken better care of him if he had been so precious to her. As Orchid vowed never to forgive Hilla, the Adversary realized that though they had no idea why Orchid was helping them, the rift between the Commanders might work out in their favor. They then told Orchid to move out of the way if she wasn’t going to help, declaring that they would defeat Hilla themselves. However, Orchid stood with the Adversary and worked alongside them to defeat Hilla, who had also summoned Damien’s soul alongside Lotus to aid her.

(A/N: Although Hilla still summons Damien in the story mode boss fight, she no longer summons him in the story cutscene like she did pre-revamp.)

After a fierce battle, Hilla was defeated once and for all, and was shocked to find her power and youth disappearing, leaving her as an old, withered hag. She then wailed and perished in black flames, causing the altar to break and flood the Adversary with a vision of Hilla and the fall of Azwan. They learned how Hilla, with her flaming red hair, had once been worshiped as the most talented and beautiful Shamaness of Azwan. Though she had basked in the praise of her people, she had realized that her beauty would eventually fade, causing her to be forgotten.

As the cracks in her heart had appeared, the Black Mage had approached her and had offered her eternal beauty and immortality in exchange for her proving her loyalty to him. She had eagerly laid the kingdom of Azwan at his feet, as it had all become meaningless to her in the face of her new power. Though she had been reviled as the Red Witch, Hilla no longer cared, as she had given her eternal loyalty to the one who had given her everything, for which she would never betray him under any circumstances, as she knew that he could take away everything that he had given to her. The Adversary then turned to Orchid and asked her how she had managed to appear in the first place.

(A/N: For a long time, it was left somewhat ambiguous as to whether Hilla had truly died, as some people had believed that her death animation looked more like a teleport animation. However, the revamp explicitly revealed that she had truly died in the flashback at the end, giving proper closure to her storyline.

Hilla’s death tragically marks the end of the iconic “hot but toxic” duo with Magnus. I wonder how he’s taking the news. Probably better than me. I’ve also just realized that at this point, I simp for more dead characters than living ones. I could probably reliably predict which characters are gonna die in this story based on whether I like them or not. Destonen was dead on arrival, Hilla just bit the dust, and the White Mage is right up next. I’m scared for whoever I simp for in the Grandis story, especially because my impeccable taste in people means that they’re inevitably gonna be well-written.)

Meanwhile, Neinheart contacted Grendel at the Outpost and reported that the White Spear had successfully taken out the monsters, and that a search party would be sent to the labyrinth soon. However, he explained that he wanted to confirm a theory with Grendel and hoped that he was incorrect. Neinheart explained that according to his research, three elements were needed for the Genesis Ritual: first, the ultimate light held by Tana, which granted the power of creation; second, the ultimate darkness held by the Black Mage, which granted the power of destruction; finally, enough high-purity Erda to fill an ocean, satisfied by the Arcane River.

He told Grendel that the Arcane River was a flow of Erda generated by the convergence of three worlds, with the overwhelming excess caused by the absence of Transcendents from the sealing of Rhinne and the Black Mage. (A/N: Technically, Alicia was also sealed away in Root Abyss, but they don’t mention it in the dialogue.) Neinheart was troubled that the implication of this meant that the Black Mage had deliberately chosen to be sealed by the Heroes in order to achieve his goal.

Grendel then finished what Neinheart was thinking and explained that the Black Mage’s goal hundreds of years ago hadn’t been to destroy the world, but rather, to gather Commanders and minions in order to draw out the Heroes, who would ultimately seal him away. However, Neinheart was still frustrated that there were a few key pieces missing from the whole puzzle. He pointed out the incident with the Demon and Arkarium, just before the Black Mage had been sealed, and how there had been a possibility that Arkarium might not have been jealous of the Demon enough to have destroyed Leafre, meaning that the Demon wouldn’t have sent the letter to the Heroes.

He added that when Ollie had witnessed the Black Mage’s memories, she had said that the incident had been set off by the trivial matter of the Black Mage praising the Demon while ignoring Arkarium, triggering the whole chain of events that had led to his sealing with only a few words. Grendel was disturbed by Neinheart’s implications and told him that they were in the final stages of analyzing the core fragment, which would soon reveal more of the Black Mage’s secrets.

(A/N: With the end of the storyline, I wanted to give a brief overview of some of the things that got removed from the story in the revamp. Originally, the scene at the altar was meant to be the halfway point in the story. Before the Adversary could reach the altar, Orchid would appear and break the curse sigil, although she wouldn’t reveal her identity just yet. Following that point, the Adversary continues wandering through the labyrinth through the latter half of the story, with Hilla tormenting them with visions of Maple World burning down around them.

Amongst the illusions of Maple World being destroyed was another scene that showed the people of Ariant being subjugated by Queen Areda, who had been given the Elixir of Everlasting Youth by Hilla at the end of the Azwan storyline. As revealed in that storyline, that elixir instead draws out obsession and insanity from the drinker, for which Areda had been kidnapping her citizens and draining their Erda in order to maintain her youth. Unlike the other visions in the story, this one was implied to be real, as we even recall how we had given the elixir to Medina if we completed the Azwan story.

Although the Moonbridge revamp did allude to the political situation in Ariant, the scene with the elixir was removed from the Labyrinth of Suffering storyline, and the whole situation with Areda receiving the elixir currently remains unresolved. I’m not quite sure why exactly they deleted the Ariant stuff, but the fact that they did mention it in Moonbridge makes me hopeful that they’ll address the situation someday.

Outside of that, the flashback that we got about Hilla and her past is something that happens in the midst of us wandering the labyrinth, although that line about Hilla dying wasn’t included. Eventually, once our spirit is completely broken, Hilla would appear and attempt to devour our soul. She would summon Lotus’ soul in order to finish us off, which is when Orchid would appear to intercept the attack, breaking her mask. Following this, we would collapse in despair until the divine light from the pre-revamp Tenebris storyline would appear in order to help motivate us, manifesting as the voice of someone close to us. This ultimately lets us use the Seal Stone to break Hilla’s illusion, at which point we defeat her once and for all.

I’m personally not a fan of how they erased all of that story because it really doesn’t feel like the new version properly explores the depth of how much we’ve been psychologically broken when all of it is thrown in our faces halfway through and ends right there. The divine light manifesting as someone close to us in order to pull us out of our despair when we’ve lost the will to live was one of my top favorite moments in the game, and although it makes more sense in the context of Limina like the revamp does, I still think that the Labyrinth of Suffering storyline got heavily nerfed in the process.)