The Lore (Pre-Destiny Update) — The Story of Maple

Table of Contents (Pre-Destiny Lore)

The Explorer storyline revamp from the Destiny update created major inconsistences across the entire chronology of the story by retconning the unsealing of the Black Mage to take place before the formation of the Maple Alliance. As a result, many sections have had to be reorganized in order to fit the new chronology as best as possible. This page exists as a record of the original timeline for the story. While it will not be actively updated with new story, it does document many old storylines before they were revamped by patches from Destiny onwards, and thus has historical value.

PART I: BEFORE THE SEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

PART II: AFTER THE SEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

PART IV: AFTER THE DEFEAT OF THE BLACK MAGE

PART I: BEFORE THE SEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

The Ancient War:

In the beginning, the Primordial God made 365 creations, with 365 gods, each following one of 365 laws that governed the universe. These Ancient Gods ruled selfishly, without regard for their worlds or the people inhabiting them. In an attempt to end the chaos wrought by the gods’ disregard for the natural order, several mortals began researching to find a way to fight back against the Ancient Gods.

As the gods existed outside the physical limitations of the universe, mortals were unable to directly harm them, as only gods had the power to challenge other gods. Because of this, some mortals hoped to find a way to utilize the relics of the Ancient Gods, which were imbued with their divine power, in order to use them as weapons against their creators. As the relics of the gods only recognized those whom the people deemed worthy to wield them, researchers attempted to fabricate a means to have mortals be recognized by the relics.

Their research led them to investigate previously forbidden studies about the Abyss, the source of all knowledge in the universe, in which creatures known as Specters dwelled. The researchers hoped to fuse a host body with countless Specter souls, which would trick the holy relics into believing that the host was actually filled with the support of many mortal souls. However, the ritual that transported a subject into the Abyss resulted in a Specter immediately taking control of their body, erasing their memories, consciousness, identity, personality, and soul as the cost of having seen the infinite knowledge in the Abyss. As a result, the Specters born from these experiments were horrifying beasts that despised humanity.

After years of failure, the inhumane experiments finally succeeded by utilizing hosts who had the ability to resist being possessed and taken over by Specters, allowing them to retain their bodies and minds while also being filled with countless Specter souls from the Abyss. The culmination of this research resulted in the creation of a special type of Specter, which could successfully trick the holy relics into recognizing them as worthy wielders, as the relics would sense the countless souls inside the host and mistakenly interpret it as the host being filled with the faith of many mortal souls who viewed them as the champion of their god. As a result, mortals gained the power to defy the Ancient Gods and face them in combat.

Even in spite of these creations, however, the Ancient Gods continued to rule ignobly until the Primordial God, unable to abide such chaos, created three beings known as the Overseers in order to restore balance to the universe. To defeat the Ancient Gods, the Overseers created objects known as Seal Stones, powerful relics that drew strength from the collective determination of the masses. These Seal Stones chose to bond with certain mortals, which gave them the power to match the Ancient Gods. These mortals became the first Adversaries of Destiny and fought against the gods in the Ancient War. After a long and difficult struggle, the Adversaries defeated the Ancient Gods at the holy city of Cernium. After the war, the divine power of the Seal Stones scattered throughout the different worlds, permeating deep into the land.

To bring order back to the universe, the Overseers ordained that only three worlds - Maple World, Grandis, and an unknown third world - should exist, separated into different dimensions and governed by the three laws of light, life, and time. (A/N: It’s extremely likely that the third world is Earth, where FriendStory and Kinesis’ storyline take place. However, there’s some conflicting evidence that the third world is actually Tynerum, which I’ll explain in that section.) To enforce these laws and to ensure that the Ancient Gods never rose again, they created three Transcendents for each world.

The power of the Transcendents suppressed the Ancient Gods, who gradually fell into an unnatural slumber, with the exception of Abraxas the Watchful God, who was tasked with watching the graves of the primal forces who had come before. The Goddesses of each world remained, however, quietly watching their realms over the eons. Throughout the ages, the Goddesses occasionally bestowed the power to manipulate the Erdas, the building blocks of reality, upon those they deemed worthy so that these champions could protect their worlds. Without the chaos wrought by the Ancient Gods, the shape of destiny became fixed and wholly predictable, thus restoring order to the universe.

(A/N: The 5th job advancement storyline states that the Goddesses created the three worlds after the fall of the Ancient Gods, but this contradicts basically all the other storylines in the game, which state that the Overseers merely separated the three preexisting worlds into their own dimensions. There’s a bunch of references that suggest that worlds like Grandis existed during the time of the Ancient Gods, meaning that it’s impossible for them to have been created by the Goddesses after the fall of the Ancient Gods. Since the 5th job advancement storyline is the only source that states the Goddesses sculpted the three worlds, I’m gonna tentatively ignore that until we learn more in future updates.

Regarding the Goddesses, it’s highly unlikely that they’re Ancient Gods since they’re not supposed to be active while the Transcendents are around. The introduction of the Ancient Gods created some contradictions with established beings like the Goddesses of the three worlds, the Goddess Rhinne, and the race of beings known as Goddesses, such as Minerva and Lakelis, whom you encounter in the Orbis and Kerning City PQs. Rhinne is the Transcendent of Time, but her influence and power in Maple World likely caused the people to worship her as a Goddess.

The Goddess race, while relevant to some party quests, honestly never comes up in the actual plot, and so we can just ignore them. There’s also another deity in Maple World whom the people worship as just ‘The Goddess’, although there’s some evidence to suggest that she’s Minerva of the Goddess race. Her statue in Orbis grants the Hero’s Echo skill for Explorers and the monster Eliza in Orbis Park is known as the Goddess’ pet.

Another deity is Sino, the Fox God of Grandis, who likely isn’t an Ancient God either and may just be a powerful spirit who protects the Pointy-Ear Fox Anima and, similar to Rhinne, is likely what caused the Anima to worship her as the Fox God. Similarly, the Slime God from Ramuramu mandated that all Slimes be as cute as possible, for which the Slime God created the Guardian Angel Slimes in order to judge the cutest Slime.

Just from the sound of it, the Slime God and its Guardian Angel Slimes feel similar to the Fox God and her Sky and Cloud Guardians, which makes me believe that the Slime God is a powerful spirit as well. The only known Ancient Gods that we know of at this time are: Abraxas the Watchful God, Satiras the Devil Dragon, Mitra the Sun God, Archelon from Hotel Arcus, the unnamed god whose tree was used to carve Pathfinder’s relic, and the unnamed dormant god in Ristonia.)

Fall of Sharenian:

(A/N: I spent a lot time debating about where to place this section. Based on what we know from the old lore of Sharenian, the kingdom had been around for centuries in Ossyria, and their territory encompassed not just Ellin Forest, but much of the area around it. Nearly all of this territory eventually splits from Ossyria and becomes Victoria Island. The Golem Temple in Henesys was built by the Sharenian and the Stone Golems were created to guard the area. The Ant Tunnels deep underground were also carved out by their people as proving grounds. The original lore states that King Sharen III was obsessed with the Rubian, a gem said to grant eternal life, and summoned the devil Ergoth Dunamis to safeguard it. However, Ergoth coveted the power of the Rubian for himself and betrayed Sharen III, causing the kingdom to fall to ruin and turning the area into the dry wasteland that we know today as Perion.

Most of this stays consistent with the new changes added from the Sharenian Knights chapter in the Grand Athenaeum, with the exception of the Rubian instead having the power to heal any sickness and revive the dead (though the Rubian doesn’t actually have any real powers), as well as the Black Mage somehow being involved with the fall of Sharenian. Essentially, what happens is that the knights are stuck in a time-loop for centuries after Sharenian falls and the Black Mage takes advantage of this. However, we don’t know at what point the Black Mage got involved, and so I’m placing this section at the earliest point in Maple World’s history, as we can assume that the time-loop begins much earlier than the birth of the White Mage.)

Maple World was one of the three worlds created by the Overseers. It was a large realm with many different species and civilizations. On the largest continent of Ossyria was the kingdom of Sharenian, one of the oldest civilizations in Maple World. Sharenian was built amidst lush vegetation and its knights were famous throughout Maple World for hunting devils.

(A/N: The Sharenian Knights storyline states that they hunted demons, but as this would lead to confusion with the demon race from Tynerum, I’ll be referring to them as devils, which seems to be another established way to refer to them from older storylines that covered the events of Sharenian.)

Sharenian was ruled by King Sharen III, with his bastard son, Prince Sharen IV, next in line to succeed him. King Sharen suffered from madness and soon came to suspect that his son was trying to overthrow him. He summoned Guard Captain Kellad, the prince’s teacher in combat, and ordered him to kill Prince Sharen, but Kellad refused and attempted to convince the king to see reason. Furious, King Sharen branded Kellad a traitor and attempted to have him executed. However, Prince Sharen was able to convince his father to merely have Kellad dismissed from the court.

Though Kellad’s life was saved, he was demoted to Commander and was ordered to lead the Sharenian Defense Unit, a squad of knights who had been rejected from becoming official Sharenian Knights. The Sharenian Defense Unit was then forced to go on menial missions, rather than hunting devils. They were frequently sent on missions to hunt small moles that were pestering the local farmers, causing them to be known as the Mole Slayers. (A/N: It’s said that devils are apparently distant ancestors of moles. I guess that it puts a new perspective on the Mole King from Ellinel Fairy Academy.)

One day, Commander Kellad was leading his unit, composed of Hardin, Ain, Ryan, Quieg, and Ed, on a mission to hunt moles when a Sharenian Knight arrived and cryptically told Kellad that someone from the palace was waiting for him. As he returned to the palace, Kellad recalled how he used to instruct the prince in the art of battle, and how they would often gaze out upon the kingdom at sunset to take in its beauty, though it had often scared Kellad, since he knew that all things of beauty would one day fade, including Sharenian itself.

Just then, he reached the kingdom outskirts and encountered the prince, who greeted his old teacher and told him that he still recalled Kellad’s words about fading beauty. Kellad told him that he was surprised that Sharen had come to see him against the wishes of his father, to which the prince told him that he was only an apprentice coming to see his master. When Kellad asked if there was trouble at the palace, Prince Sharen told him that his father had lost his mind, as he had grown obsessed with the Rubian, a gem said to cure any ailment and even revive the dead.

The prince told Kellad that the king had spent years scouring the country for it while researching dark sorceries to help him in his quest. Recently, the king had even gone so far as to summon a devil to the castle. Kellad told Sharen that the king wouldn’t succeed, to which the prince agreed, though he added that he couldn’t stand by and watch his father’s descent into madness.

He then revealed that he was planning to usurp his father’s throne in order to stop Sharenian from falling to ruin. He promised to come see Kellad again after he succeeded and hoped that Kellad would agree to serve as his knight when the time came. After Kellad returned back, his squad told him that they had seen him speaking with the prince and agreed to help them avert the great peril that Sharenian faced, though Kellad reassured them that nothing would happen.

A few days later, Prince Sharen successfully executed his coup against his father, who shouted that he knew that the prince had been plotting against him. In his madness, he ordered Guard Captain Kellad to appear at his side, forgetting that he had dismissed Kellad from his court. The prince ordered his knights to arrest his father and find the Rubian. The king declared that he wouldn’t allow Prince Sharen to steal the throne or the Rubian and summoned the devil Ergoth Dunamis to protect him. However, Ergoth coveted the power of the Rubian for himself and turned on the king.

Meanwhile, the Sharenian Defense Unit watched the battle in the palace from a distance, frustrated that they were forced to remain on standby. Just then, their squadmate, Quieg, arrived from the palace and reported that all members of the armed forces had been ordered to assemble at the palace, as the king had been killed.

Upon arriving at the palace, they were shocked to find the guards dead, with one fleeing knight warning them to get far away. He told them that King Sharen had summoned a devil, which had resulted resulting in the death of the king, and possibly the prince as well, who had gone missing. Kellad’s knights agreed that they needed to find Prince Sharen, though Kellad feared that he would be leading his knights to their deaths for nothing if the prince had already been killed.

As Kellad’s mind began spinning, his knights reassured him that they were up to the task. His resolve bolstered, Kellad ordered his knights to split up in order to search for the prince. The knights fought through the devils that had invaded the palace and attempted to rescue any survivors. As Quieg fought methodically, Ed jokingly asked if he was an Arcane Construct, an automaton that the palace sorcerers had been rumored to have built. (A/N: This is basically confirmed later on, which explains why Quieg eventually becomes Rampant Cyborg CQ57, one of the Elite Bosses.)

Quieg ignored the question and asked Kellad whether their priority was to kill the devil or save the prince. Kellad told him that it was neither and reminded his knights that their mission as Sharenian Knights was to protect the people of the kingdom. They then entered the throne room, where they found Ergoth sitting on the throne, with a mortally wounded Prince Sharen collapsed on the ground. Kellad and the knights engaged Ergoth in battle, but nearly all of them were killed. Kellad held a dying Sharen in his arms, who begged Kellad to uphold his promise to protect Sharenian before giving him the Rubian. Ergoth then cursed the knights into reliving the fall of Sharenian for all eternity, forcing them to uphold their pledge to guard the kingdom forever.

To everyone’s surprise, the entire squad was revived and sent back in time to when they had first entered the palace. Kellad reminded them that their mission was still to protect the people of Sharenian by killing Ergoth before he cursed them again. They once again split up and fought past the devil invaders. Kellad, recalling Ergoth’s curse and Sharen’s dying wish, began to believe that defending the kingdom forever was all that he wanted. They entered the throne room once again and managed to defeat Ergoth, though they were unable to save Prince Sharen, who once again begged Kellad to uphold his promise before giving him the Rubian and dying.

Ergoth then cursed the knights once again, forcing them back in time. Kellad and his knights made a slew of attempts and tried many strategies to defeat Ergoth. However, they soon came to realize several things. First, they had to accept that Prince Sharen was beyond saving, no matter how quickly they arrived. Second, defeating Ergoth even before he cursed them wouldn’t break the time loop. Finally, the longer it took them to reach Ergoth, the stronger he became.

They eventually found the body of King Sharen and learned Ergoth’s name from the book that he had been clutching. Ain also learned that Ergoth’s true body was in the Otherworld, and that the Ergoth whom they were facing was a duplicate formed in their world, with the original body in the Otherworld transferring its strength to the duplicate in somewhere between twelve and twenty-four hours, which was how he grew stronger the longer it took the knights to reach him. (A/N: They never go into detail about the Otherworld, but we can likely assume that it’s some sort of pocket dimension, rather than it being one of the three worlds created by the Overseers.)

Hardin asked why their fatigue hadn’t been reset at the beginning of the time loop, to which Ain explained that their physical fatigue was reset, but their mental fatigue still remained. The knights then continued through the time loop, each time defeating Ergoth and watching the prince die before going back to the beginning.

On the twenty-second day, Kellad asked Ain how far such a curse would extend, given that a devil of such power as Ergoth had cast it. He clarified his meaning and asked if the devil was turning back time for the whole world or only for them. Ain told him that it was impossible to turn back time for the whole world, no matter how powerful Ergoth was, as it would violate all the known laws of metaphysics. She suspected that Ergoth had created a bubble just for Sharenian and noted that the halo which had appeared around the sun indicated that two adjacent regions of spacetime had fallen out of sync.

Ryan suggested that they simply leave, but Ain told them that Ergoth’s curse kept them trapped in Sharenian, and that Ergoth would continue growing stronger if they left him alone. Ed and Hardin then suggested that someone from the outside world could enter, or that Ergoth’s strength might eventually fail. Ain then wondered whether they were instead merely trapped in an illusion that made it appear as though they were in a time loop. Hardin told them that they shouldn’t doubt their own eyes, as otherwise, they wouldn’t trust anything, including each other.

The knights continued fighting Ergoth over and over again, and though Kellad reassured them that nothing lasted forever, including the time loop, he and his knights felt more uncertain than reassured. As they continued fighting, some of the knights began feeling uneasy about how many times they had to watch the people of the palace die, all the while being unable to save them even once. The countless waves of devils kept them from resting, adding to their mental fatigue, with the exception of Quieg.

As they grew more frustrated, the knights began fighting amongst themselves. Soon after, Hardin heard someone screaming, though no one else heard anything. Quieg suspected that they were suffering from sleep deprivation, which was causing hallucinations. One by one, all the knights, including Kellad, fell prey to those hallucinations. Kellad then recalled the memory of when he had stopped King Sharen from killing the prince. His memories of the incident were then warped into the prince asking Kellad why he had abandoned him.

Over a thousand days later, the knights had grown sick of fighting and asked if they could try leaving the kingdom. Kellad refused, claiming that they needed to uphold their oath, though Ryan asked if Kellad expected them to just keep fighting forever. As the knights argued amongst themselves, Kellad noticed that they had grown more aggressive in their fighting styles. Kellad himself was being plagued by nightmares of the prince accusing him of valuing his pride and honor over saving him.

Eventually, Hardin accidentally wounded Ed, causing Ain to yell at him that the wounds that they inflicted upon each other wouldn’t get healed by the time loop. However, Kellad then reminded her that Ed had been wounded several cycles ago. He explained that they had tried to let Ed leave Sharenian on his own, but an invisible barrier had kept him stuck in the palace, after which he had been slowly losing his health over the next several cycles. The knights then continued through the time-loop, but after several cycles, Ed stopped moving and finally passed away after a dozen more cycles.

With his death, the other knights began to falter and slowly began losing their sanity. Nevertheless, Kellad persisted, desperately clinging onto the promise that he had made to Prince Sharen. After defeating Ergoth once again, Kellad admonished Hardin for his sloppy swordskills. Hardin then began to hear Ed’s voice screaming, though Ryan kept insisting that Ed was fine. Upon remembering that Ed had died, Ain wondered if it had been her fault, though Hardin realized that the blame fell on him.

Suddenly, Ed appeared out of nowhere and told them that Ryan’s loose arrow had killed him. Kellad was shocked that everyone was experiencing a shared hallucination, just as Ed told them that they could still save him, pointing out the Rubian in Kellad’s hand, which Prince Sharen had given to him once again before dying.

Ain begged Kellad to use the Rubian to save Ed, but Hardin argued that they should use it to save a little girl whom he had watched die from the devil attack. Ryan then suggested that they revive King Sharen, as he was the one who had summoned Ergoth, meaning that he might know how to banish him. Kellad told them that they couldn’t use the Rubian on anyone, causing Ain to accuse him of wanting to save the prince, whom she claimed he loved more than his own friends.

The knights then began to turn on their Commander, believing that Kellad had forced them to stay in the time loop, not to protect the kingdom, but to save the prince. Soon, even Quieg began to waver, unable to recall what his mission was. With no other choice, Kellad told Quieg that his mission was to eliminate his former comrades. Quieg then began to fight the other knights, resulting in everyone being fatally injured and the Rubian shattering before their eyes. Kellad revealed that the Rubian was a fake, merely an ordinary gemstone.

With his dying breath, Ryan asked about Kellad’s mission, as he still believed that Kellad had promised Prince Sharen to return him back to life. Kellad then revealed that his promise had always been to protect Sharenian, and as part of his pledge, Kellad had been asked to destroy the Rubian somewhere all could see in order to prevent another mad king from rising to covet its power. Upon the death of Kellad’s knights, Ergoth’s curse was broken. (A/N: Click the link if you want to jump to the section where Kellad’s story chronologically picks up again.)

The White Mage:

Over 800 years ago, a child was born on the continent that would one day be known as Edelstein. (A/N: This information came straight from the Big Bang patch notes. While a lot of the information from the Big Bang has been retconned, such as the Black Wings successfully reviving the Black Mage, this piece of information isn’t directly contradicted by anything, and so I’ve decided to treat it as canon.) This boy was eventually found in a snowstorm in El Nath by a group of mages, who brought him to the Mage Tower. Although the boy could not remember anything from before he had been rescued, including his name or his home, the mages sensed a powerful aura emanating from him, and so they took the boy in and decided to teach him magic.

Over the years, it soon became clear that his magical power was so unparalleled that his talent quickly exceeded that of even the wisest among them. On the day that he came of age, the mage council summoned him in order to bestow his official title upon him. To their shock, however, the boy performed the forbidden art of light magic before them. His masters strongly admonished him for his actions, reminding him that light and dark magic stemmed from the same root, which was the reason why both were forbidden. However, the boy responded by simply asking them if they would let their fear prevent understanding.

That night, the shaken elders met in secret and peered into the future, in which they discovered that if the boy were to continue his pursuit of ultimate light, he would bring about the end of Maple World. Horrified, they resolved to kill him before their prophecy came to pass. (A/N: This loosely sounds like it came from The Last Jedi.) Upon storming his quarters, however, they found the room empty.

The boy then revealed himself on the roof and asked if they had come to teach him one final lesson. The mages used their most powerful spells, but none of them did even the slightest damage to him besides a small cut on his cheek. Realizing that his masters really had come to kill him, he decided that he wouldn’t hold back either. He showed them his mastery of light magic, which he used to slay them all. As he disappeared into the snowstorm, the boy told them that he had hoped to study light magic in the Mage Tower, lamenting that their actions had made it impossible.

Years later, he became a wandering mage who traveled the world for over a decade, saving people from the powerful monsters around them. Because of his platinum hair, he became known as the White Mage. During his travels, he observed that there existed great corruption and instability in Maple World, with countless civil wars, monster attacks, and criminals who took advantage of the helpless amidst the chaos, all of which broke the balance of light. He took it upon himself to find a solution, believing that light magic held the answer to saving the world. At one point, he built an underground laboratory in the Nihal Desert, where he conducted experiments on the nature of light and dark magic. His research built the foundation for alchemy, and his contemporaries founded a town called Magatia, built atop the White Mage’s laboratory.

One day, he had a moment of epiphany, declaring that “the ultimate light can only be found in the ultimate darkness”. With those words, he vanished into the Forest of Peace, a land where no daylight could pierce through. Along with a handful of followers, he founded the society of Aurora to study the nature of light magic. At one point in his research, the White Mage encountered twin Spirits of Darkness. In exchange for helping him understand the darkness, he granted them human bodies and gave them the names Orchid and Lotus. Taking on a physical form was a taboo for spirits, as doing so would result in them losing their natural immortality and invulnerability. Because of this, Lotus had a bad feeling about the arrangement, though he agreed to accept it after seeing how happy it made his sister.

The World of Grandis:

Grandis was the second world created by the Overseers, separated from Maple World by a dimensional barrier. Grandis was a much different place from Maple World, with one year on Grandis being equal to ten years on Maple World. Because of the countless wars over the eons, Grandis was also known as the Graveyard of Warriors. Unlike the sole planet of Maple World, Grandis was a planetary system composed of the planet Grandis and thirteen moons, of which seven are currently known: Cheong-woon, Narin, Ristonia, Savage Terminal, Verdel, Vulpes, and an unnamed moon that hosts the cities of Heliseum and Pantheon.

(A/N: Heliseum and Pantheon were originally two different moons in earlier maps, but Nexon changed this with the NEO update. I’m a fan of this change, as it doesn’t make sense for them to be separate. There was also once an event called the Eluna Express, where it was said that Eluna was also in the Grandis system. As this was a non-KMS event area, it’s unlikely that Eluna is canonically a moon of Grandis.)

Grandis was home to many species, but the three largest were the Flora, the Nova, and the Anima. In the time of the Ancient Gods, a cult called the Black Nova worshiped the dragon god, Satiras the Devil Dragon. Through Satiras, they gained the power of Malice, allowing them to rule all of Grandis through fear. After the Transcendents were created, the Ancient Gods were cast down, including Satiras. With only a fraction of their original Malice left, the Black Nova were hunted down to near extinction. What remained of the surviving cultists began the practice of cutting their horns, wings, and tails off to prevent themselves from being identified as Black Nova.

The Celestials were a race of demigods who followed the Sun God, Mitra. After the fall of the Ancient Gods, the Celestials lost their powers and remained trapped on Grandis. They eventually settled in an area called High Mountain and founded the Order of Mitra. After the creation of the Transcendents, a minor race known as the Executors went in search of the domain of the gods, though many on Grandis mocked them for their ambitions. Eventually, the Executors arrived at the Radiant Temple, where the Overseers took away their names and forms in exchange for new bodies of light and darkness, after which they were tasked with serving the Transcendent of Light.

(A/N: It’s unknown whether the Radiant Temple was once the domain of an Ancient God. The Temple of Time was said to have once been a domain of the old gods who existed before Rhinne. Unfortunately, there seems to be some overlap with the term ‘God’ in the game, like I mentioned earlier. Rhinne is called a Goddess, but she clearly can’t be an Ancient God, since she’s also a Transcendent.

The lore about the old gods in the Temple of Time, which was revealed in Zero’s storyline, actually predates the introduction of the Ancient Gods in the Heroes of Maple blockbuster. It’s possible that the old gods in Zero’s storyline were always meant to be Ancient Gods, but it’s also just as likely that it was a coincidence. You can even visit the sanctum of those gods, known as the Dusk Temple, through the Gate of the Past, where you can find their statues in the area where you fight Pink Bean.)

After the fall of the Black Nova, the most powerful race became the Flora - magic users with brilliant red wings and mastery over the mytocrystals that they used to cast their magic. Through their wings, they channeled the flow of mana into the mytocrystals embedded on the back of their hands, allowing them to cast powerful spells. The Flora were a caste-based society, with the God-King on top, followed by the Gods, the Priests, and the powerless commoners on the bottom.

The last God-King of the Flora had once been a kind man, protected by the Knights of the Einherjar. Several years into his reign, however, he inexplicably underwent a dramatic change of personality. In his belligerence, he attempted to incite a war against the other races of Grandis. A faction of Flora opposed the God-King’s mandate and asked that he strive for peace with the other races. However, when it was revealed that the faction had plans to share their power with the commoners, they were accused of treason. They had their wings and magic stripped, and they were then exiled. They became known as the Verdant Flora, while the ruling faction became known as the High Flora. (A/N: In non-GMS translations, they’re called the High Lef and the Wooden Lef.)

Within the Knights of the Einherjar, there was similar growing dissent. One of the God-King’s most loyal knights, Adelaide, struggled with her loyalty to the God-King and her own morality in waging an unjust war against the other races of Grandis. When she declared that she could not follow him into battle, the God-King ordered her arrest and threw her into prison. (A/N: Adelaide is Adele’s full name. Her liege, Jerome, calls her Adele for short after they start working together in Ristonia in the present day.)

In exile, the Verdant Flora struggled to create their own society without their powers. Eventually, the God of the Verdant Flora discovered a way to combine technology with their residual crystal magic, allowing them to regain much of their old power through mechanical blue wings. (A/N: The word God here refers to his caste rank, not him being an actual god.) Their God, who would later be known as the Ancient Master, also created a powerful artifact called the Elder Crystal, upon which he imprinted his consciousness and his power. Through unknown means, he was also able to create a pocket dimension in Maple World, which would later be known as the Sanctuary of the Ancient God, through which he could speak with one who had fused with him through the Elder Crystal.

(A/N: Nexon has an obsession with using the same word to describe different things. Despite the pocket dimension being called the Sanctuary of the Ancient God, the God of the Verdant Flora isn’t actually an Ancient God. His caste rank is ‘God’, and he later became known as an ‘ancient God’ because he existed centuries before the present day. The lack of capitalization in ‘ancient’ is important for the distinction, but since the entirety of the phrase ‘Sanctuary of the Ancient God’ is a proper noun, everything got capitalized when most of it wouldn’t have otherwise.)

Eventually, the Verdant Flora learned of the dark ambitions of Prince Gerand Darmoor to seize control of the capital with the help of some of the Knights of the Einherjar. Within the palace, there was a schism that had occurred between the Knights. Many pledged their loyalty to Darmoor, hoping that together, they could stop the God-King before he began his senseless genocide. Those who sought to defeat him freed Adelaide from prison, hoping that she would aid them in their revolt. However, Adelaide cut them down and rushed to defend her liege.

Adelaide’s former sister-in-arms, Veronica, led the revolt against the God-King and broke down the Einherjar, the palace gate. (A/N: In Norse mythology, the einherjar are the warriors who died and went to Valhalla, where they prepare for the final battle during Ragnarok.) Adelaide's knights were defeated, and for her alleged treason against Darmoor, Veronica banished Adelaide into a pocket dimension called the Void.

Meanwhile, the Verdant Flora rushed to the High Flora capital, only to find that the prince had murdered his father and framed the Verdant Flora, thus sparking the Flora Civil War. The bloody conflict lasted for hundreds of years, with great casualties on both sides. In addition to fighting the Verdant Flora, Darmoor inexplicably proceeded to carry out his father’s ambitions to destroy the other races of Grandis. (A/N: I have no idea why Veronica and the others still chose to fight for him when he did the exact thing that they were trying to avert, but we’ll likely learn more in future updates.)

Throughout the war, Darmoor made grand speeches to young High Flora in order to draft them into battle, calling their fight a ‘War for Peace’. One of them was a young man named Ark, who was inspired by Darmoor’s speech and enlisted in military school. There, he met another boy named Albaire, and the two became inseparable. They made a promise to always protect each other, and after graduation, they were both promoted to Second Lieutenants and sent to Verdel as part of the High Flora’s campaign in the Western Front, where only elite troops went. (A/N: It’s well documented how Ark exhibits Gay Panic™ whenever Albaire is so much as mentioned. Symptoms include excessive joy, nervous laughter, dreaming about Albaire every chance he gets, and blushing as they gaze deeply into each other’s eyes:)

Under the leadership of Brigadier General Limbo, Ark and Albaire fought against the native species on Verdel. However, Ark soon grew disillusioned with the war, realizing that the so-called War for Peace was nothing more than a massacre. While eavesdropping on a private meeting, he was horrified to see that Limbo had the power to transform into a Specter.

(A/N: Given how many Specters we see in the game, you can imagine how many countless people Darmoor has sacrificed to build his army. It remains unknown how some Specters like Limbo have kept their original form and memories while retaining the ability to change into a Specter at will. It’s possible that they possess a special soul just like Ark, which prevents the Specter from taking over the host fully.)

Ark discovered that Limbo had learned of the enemy’s plan to launch a surprise attack on the High Flora base. Before he could warn the enemy that the Flora were ready for them, Ark was caught by Limbo. As Ark had revealed himself to be a traitor, Limbo decided to conduct a ritual that would transform him into a Specter. However, Albaire found out about the ritual, and though he disagreed with Ark’s betrayal, he did everything that he could to stop the ritual because of the promise that they had both made to protect each other. With the ritual interrupted, Ark’s transformation into a Specter was disrupted, resulting in a large vortex forming that nearly obliterated the moon’s entire surface. As a result, the High Flora evacuated and abandoned their plans for the Western Front, leaving Ark to remain unconscious for many years.

(A/N: There’s an implication that Ark was unconscious for centuries because of a quest that he has in Savage Terminal, which states that hundreds of years have passed since the Flora Civil War. However, this is contradicted by the Nova storyline, in which Kaiser mentions that the High Flora had won the war just a few decades before the present day. Most likely, Nexon forgot the plot point that they had introduced with time passing slower on Grandis. Even so, it’s strange to think Ark was just lying unconscious in the desert for decades, if not centuries. It’s possible that the Specter inside him kept him alive, though we can’t say for sure.)

Meanwhile, the conflict between the High Flora and Verdant Flora reached its peak in a final battle, causing massive death on such a scale that it finally broke the balance of life on Grandis, resulting in Darmoor’s awakening as the Transcendent of Life.

(A/N: A Transcendent can only awaken in response to the balance of their domain being destroyed. Much like how Darmoor awakened as the Transcendent of Life due to the blatant disrespect for life from the carnage of war, the White Mage awakened as the Transcendent of Light as the light of the world faded away due to the selfishness and greed that plagued Maple World.

Alpha and Beta are a weird case because they were trapped in Mirror World and Rhinne later just gives them her powers, and so they don’t really awaken in the same way that the White Mage and Darmoor do. However, given how unstable the balance of time is in Maple World between the crack in time in Ludibrium, the Dimensional Schism created by Arkarium, and the Interdimensional Portal, a Transcendent of Time’s awakening was long overdue.)

With his new powers, Darmoor obliterated nearly every living being on the battlefield. He then approached the wounded God of the Verdant Flora, who had managed to survive Darmoor’s attack, and sealed him inside the mytocrystal on the back of his hand. He then sacked the Verdant Flora capital of Aboris, effectively ending the war. (A/N: I’ve also seen it spelled as Arboris, which ties into the name ‘Verdant Flora’ by connecting the lush imagery of the word ‘Verdant’ with the imagery of trees from the word Arboris.)

Darmoor then invaded the Chronica Sanctuary and attempted to convince Chronica, the Transcendent of Time, to join him. When they were unable to come to a resolution, Darmoor stole Chronica’s powers. However, the use of the stolen powers of a Transcendent came with consequences. Not only was Darmoor severely weakened, but several Interdimensional Portals that led to other worlds appeared throughout Grandis, and it was said that Darmoor himself used a portal to travel to Maple World.

(A/N: There’s a continuity error introduced in Esfera when the Black Mage’ stole Tana’s Transcendent powers. Rather than him being weakened, he grew strong enough to be considered a god. While this is most likely an oversight on Nexon’s part, I wonder it can be explained by saying that a Transcendent only gets weakened if they steal the powers of a Transcendent of another domain. Stealing Tana’s powers also didn’t result in any additional Interdimensional Portals being formed, but this could be because several already existed, or because the three worlds were already converging into the Arcane River, meaning that all the worlds shared a single dimension, and so there was no way that a warp in spacetime could bridge two worlds.

For a time, it was also a possibility that dimensional instability is only caused by stealing the powers of a Transcendent of Time specifically, which was what Kaiser’s storyline suggests. However, this has been retconned because all future mentions of the topic in other storylines suggest that it can happen upon taking any Transcendent’s power.)

Even though the High Flora forces had been crippled at the end of the Flora Civil War, Darmoor continued his plans to conquer the rest of Grandis with his exhausted army and moved the High Flora capital to the former Verdant Flora capital of Aboris, where he ruled from the new God-King Temple at the Aboris Royal Palace alongside his twelve Apostles, of whom two are known:

Havoc, a pure-blood demon from Tynerum who arrived in Grandis through unknown means and came into Darmoor’s service as his First Apostle of Lightning.
Brigadier General Limbo, the partial Specter who had managed the High Flora campaign on the Western Front.

To increase his numbers, Darmoor hired tens of thousands of mercenaries as common low-ranking soldiers, while the High Flora served as their officers. (A/N: I want to emphasize that Aboris was originally the Verdant Flora capital before it was taken over, as it’s a common misconception that Aboris had always belonged to the High Flora.)

Soon after, Darmoor encountered Magnus, an exiled Nova and the former comrade of Kaiser, the legendary hero of the Nova who reincarnated throughout the ages. Conceited as he was, even Magnus felt the immense aura of death radiating from the Transcendent of Life and experienced true fear for the first time. He swore allegiance to Darmoor in exchange for gaining the power to become the strongest warrior in Grandis. Under Darmoor's orders, Magnus took the Specter army and sacked the Nova capital of Heliseum.

During the battle, every member of the Nova royal family was killed except for the princess, who was rescued by the general of the Nova army. As she had been wounded from Magnus’ attack, the general brought her to Gen, the Savage Terminal branch leader of the Shadowdealers, a trade organization that specialized in black market merchandise. Gen treated her injuries with a special medicine, but the side effects of such a strong medicine put her into a coma for many decades.

Kaiser soon arrived to defend the capital and encountered Magnus at the city outskirts. Believing that his old friend had returned from exile to aid Heliseum, Kaiser let his guard down, allowing Magnus to cut him with his poisoned blade. Though he was dying by the moment, Kaiser attempted to buy time for the survivors of Heliseum to escape to the sanctuary city of Pantheon.

He engaged Magnus and the Specter army alone in a fierce battle, and though Kaiser managed to cut off one of Magnus’ horns and left a scar on his eye, he knew that he would soon succumb to the poison. Realizing that there was only one way to stop Magnus, Kaiser sacrificed his life in a fiery explosion that wiped out the Specter army and severely injured Magnus, who was only able to survive through the power that he had received from Darmoor. Magnus fled the scene, but not before he stole Kaiser’s legendary sword, Kaiserium.

Through Kaiser’s sacrifice, Beldar of the Heliseum Council was able to lead the survivors of Heliseum to Pantheon and brought with him four relics that the priests of Pantheon used to create a Protective Shield around the city, making it impossible for Magnus and the Specter army to enter. After conquering Heliseum, Magnus returned to Darmoor to receive treatment for his injuries, though his lifespan was nevertheless shortened by Kaiser’s attack. Darmoor then ordered Magnus to travel to Maple World in order to find a way to extend his lifespan back to normal, as well as to learn more about the other world.

Meanwhile, the surviving Verdant Flora retreated from Aboris. Agate, the disciple of the God of the Verdant Flora, took the Elder Crystal and led the survivors into a pocket dimension called Sanctuary. There, the Verdant Flora lived in secrecy for many decades. Agate became the Headmistress of the Crystal Academy, where she would oversee the training of future generations of Verdant Flora, hoping that one of them would grow up the become the hero that would save their people.

Aeona and Tana:

(A/N: These events chronologically begin after the fall of the Ancient Gods and likely finish sometime after Darmoor awakens as a Transcendent.)

In the Radiant Temple on Grandis, two girls came into existence and stood before the Executors of Light and Darkness to be judged. (A/N: The Radiant Temple has also been called the Temple of Light.) One girl was able to hear a beautiful yet cold voice, that of the Overseers. This girl became known as Aeona, the Transcendent of Light. The other became known as Tana, a reserve for the Transcendent. Over time, Tana grew curious about her powers of light and her sister’s powers of darkness. In her research, she discovered that light and darkness were merely analogies for the true power of the Transcendent of Light, that of creation and destruction, and learned that an awakened Transcendent could only wield one, while the other power was held by the reserve.

(A/N: It’s unknown who the reserve for the Black Mage is. The most likely candidate is Luminous, who was created from the discarded light of the White Mage, which fits the mandate that the reserve holds the other power that the awakened Transcendent doesn’t, i.e. Luminous wields light magic because the Black Mage awakened with the power of dark magic.)

Over time, Aeona slowly appeared to lose her sanity and used her powers to destroy seven races in Grandis, though it was believed that she may have destroyed even more, as she had left no traces of her actions for a precise count to be established. When Tana learned about what Aeona had done, she confronted her sister, who told Tana that she hadn’t been able to help herself, and that she had only been doing her job. Believing Aeona to be unworthy of her power, Tana fought her sister and managed to kill her, upon which she felt the power of the Transcendent of Light flooding into her. The Executors realized that they had been wrong in their proclamation that Aeona held darkness, while Tana held light. They then proclaimed that Tana was darkness and Aeona was light, heralding Tana as Aeona, the Transcendent of Light.

Tana heard the voice and realized that she was now shackled to the will of the Overseers. However, she refused to be enslaved and vowed to live freely, even if it would destroy her. After leaving the Radiant Temple, Tana eventually left Grandis itself and soon found a way to cross dimensions into Maple World. Her travels brought her to the kingdom of Kritias, where she arrived at the capital of Trueffet. While walking in the town square, a young orphan named Jean snuck up in order to pickpocket her. Just then, a large anti-magic stone being hoisted by a rope fell down and exploded. Tana pushed Jean out of the way, but she and everyone else in range were vaporized. To everyone’s shock, however, Tana rematerialized out of thin air. She was then arrested and thrown into prison, where the mages of Trueffet experimented on her in order to find the source of her immortality so that they could bestow it upon their ruler, King Hekaton.

(A/N: The Executors’ naming system confused everyone who played through Esfera. To clarify, Aeona and Tana aren’t names so much as titles. Aeona is the title for the Transcendent of Light, while Tana is the title for the reserve. Originally, the claimed that Aeona was darkness and Tana was light because the one who held darkness had heard the voice of the Overseers. After Aeona’s death, the Executors proclaimed that the one who held light was the new Transcendent, and so they swapped the names for the two girls. While Tana continued using her original name, her official name is still Aeona, which many characters like Neinheart use after the events of Esfera, despite the Adversary continuing to call her Tana.

Regarding the old Aeona, I feel pretty bad for her. She seemed fairly cold and distant, but she was never particularly hurtful towards Tana. She came across more as bitter and jaded because her entire existence was just her being forced to wipe out entire races by the Overseers against her will. It seemed like she was actually trying to protect Tana from the truth when she destroyed the book about Transcendents and kept her at a distance with backhanded comments. Even at the end, I don’t think that she was able to properly explain that her actions were being done against her will, making Tana believe that she had simply gone insane.

The concept of the Transcendent and their reserve was added in the Esfera storyline, but a lot of the details are still pretty nebulous. We don’t know what happens when the reserve dies or awakens as the new Transcendent of Light, such as in the case when Tana awakened after her sister’s death. Since it was emphasized how the two powers need to be shared, I wonder whether a new reserve would be chosen to wield the other power.

Additionally, I find it interesting that Tana was able to kill a Transcendent. The Ancient Gods and the Transcendents are said to be a class of supernatural beings, and that mortals are unable to harm them. The Overseers had also created laws that governed Transcendent powers, which made it so that a Transcendent is unable to kill another Transcendent, including themselves. However, the fact that Tana is neither mortal nor a Transcendent means that she’s in a unique position to be able to kill other Transcendents. If it’s true that Luminous is the reserve for the Black Mage, it might imply that Transcendents who were mortal before awakening have reserves who are also mortal, which would explain why Luminous wouldn’t be able to directly kill the Black Mage.

Regarding Tana’s awakening as Aeona’s replacement, it’s unknown whether the reserve for the Black Mage would awaken as the new Transcendent of Light after his death, but given that there’s no mention that Luminous or anyone else suddenly becomes a Transcendent, it either means that we don’t know the identity of the reserve, Maple World is completely bereft of a Transcendent of Light, or the fusing of Maple World and Grandis means that Tana’s existence satisfies the requirement of a Transcendent of Light, and so there’s no need for the reserve to awaken. It does pose an interesting question about what the fates of the other Transcendents are since Alpha/Beta and Chronica share the title of the Transcendent of Time, as well as Alicia and Darmoor sharing the title of the Transcendent of Life, but that’s beyond the scope of this note.)

Fall of Kritias:

After her capture, the mages of Kritias began experimenting on Tana, now known only as Subject No. 618, in an effort to learn the secret of her immortality. During their research, the mages discovered that memories were tied to the body, rather than the soul, as Tana kept losing more and more of her memories each time that she regenerated the injuries that the researchers inflicted upon her, leaving her with only the faint memory of wanting something.

After a year, the mages grew frustrated that their experiments had yielded no results. They began wondering whether there were any clues in Tana’s memories, though they regretted that any chance of learning them was now lost, as Tana couldn’t even remember her own name anymore. Believing that they had no other choice, the researchers decided that they would attempt to force Tana beyond her regenerative capacity.

The mages inflicted a fatal wound upon Tana, who unexpectedly went berserk and unleashed a massive flash of light, just as she had when the anti-magic stone had fallen on her, causing six of their best researchers to vanish into thin air. In the aftermath, she calmly spoke aloud that she remembered her name, Tana. Because of the inhumanity and incomprehensibility of their experiments, the High Priest, who had been summoned from the Temple of Time, resigned, saying, “This is neither magic nor science. It is beyond human; it is of the gods. We have overstepped our bounds.”

In his place, the new High Priest, Arkarium, was ordered to continue conducting the experiments. As a boy, Arkarium had demonstrated great devotion to the Goddess of Time, Rhinne, allowing him to rise through the ranks to become her most trusted priest. Along with Arkarium, a young man named Shey, who had left Kritias after Tana’s capture in order to become a Priest of Time, returned back to his home in order to assist Arkarium.

After arriving in the dungeons, Shey was shocked at how inhumanely the mages of Kritias treated Tana, viewing her as nothing more than an inanimate object with no emotions, desires, or memories of her own, despite the fact that she was in immense pain. Upon speaking with Tana, Shey learned that the only thing that she could remember was her name and the faint memory of there being something that she had wanted.

Over time, Shey helped Arkarium and the other researchers attempt to transfer Tana’s regenerative capacity to others. Though Arkarium made great strides in the experiment, Tana continued rejecting the transfer of her power to the test subjects, causing their bodies to disintegrate while their souls were left behind. Their souls would desperately attempt to create new bodies for themselves, which resulted in them transforming into monsters.

Meanwhile, Jean - Shey’s childhood friend and the pickpocket whom Tana had saved - discovered where Tana had been imprisoned and broke into the dungeons in order to see her. Though Tana’s memories and emotions had been erased, Jean would nevertheless bring food and read stories to her every night in order to keep her company.

From afar, Shey secretly watched his friend fall in love with Tana, noting that Jean - an orphan whose greatest fear was to be forgotten - had likely felt great compassion for Tana, who had been imprisoned and forgotten in the dungeons. Though it remained unclear whether Tana was being positively affected by Jean’s visits, Shey did notice that during the experiments, Tana would occasionally look up at the ceiling, as if waiting for Jean to climb down and visit her.

As the experiments continued, King Hekaton began to grow impatient and ordered Arkarium to succeed in his experiments by the next day, which would be the day of his Ascendancy ritual. As the experiment for that day concluded, Tana overheard the researchers claiming that regardless of the outcome of the Ascendency ritual, Tana would die one way or another.

That night, Jean came to see Tana, who attempted to push him away so that he wouldn’t miss her when she disappeared. Though she claimed that she had grown tired of his visits and the book that he would read to her, Jean quickly saw through the lie. As the realization that she was about to die set in, Tana’s mental state began deteriorating, causing her powers to spiral out of control. Repeating the mages’ words that she wasn’t human, Tana began screaming in excruciating pain and begged for it to stop.

As Jean attempted to calm her down, Tana recalled that alongside her name, she also had a faint memory of wanting something. As the memory came back to her, Tana realized that what she had wanted more than anything else before she had lost her memories was to die. Upon realizing this, however, Tana immediately grew terrified at the thought, as she realized that she didn’t want to die anymore.

As her mental state continued deteriorating from fear and pain, Jean hugged Tana tightly, promising that he would always keep her safe. Though Tana was afraid of hurting him, Jean’s refusal to leave her side helped her regain control of her powers. Unbeknownst to them, however, Arkarium had secretly watched the entire exchange, causing him to realize that Jean was the key to ensuring the success of the transfer ritual.

The next night, Jean obtained an anti-magic necklace as a present for Tana, which was part of his plan to break her out. With Shey’s help, Jean broke into the dungeon where Tana was being held. Before he could free her, however, Arkarium used his magic to possess Shey, forcing him to call the guards. King Hekaton, whom Arkarium had asked to wait outside, then arrived and ordered his guards to kill Jean in front of Tana.

Just as Arkarium had anticipated, the shock of Jean’s death eradicated Tana’s willpower in rejecting the power transfer, allowing Hekaton’s Ascendency ritual to begin successfully. However, Tana crushed the anti-magic stone in the necklace that Jean had given her, causing the unstable magic to disrupt the Ascendency. Though Hekaton successfully gained the immortality that he sought, the disruption to the ritual caused him to be transfigured into a monster. (A/N: What’s funny is that if Hekaton had successfully taken Tana’s powers, he likely would’ve become Grandis’ new Transcendent of Light. As it is, Hekaton and the other failed experiments contain a trace of the Transcendents’ power.)

In his final moments, Hekaton experienced a brief glimmer of humanity and ordered the evacuation of his people from the castle into town. Hekaton then fused with the castle of Trueffet and transformed into a large golem, while the soldiers who were caught in the blast lost their bodies, causing their souls to create grotesques forms to inhabit. The castle of Trueffet then rose up into the sky, where it hung upside down.

Meanwhile, the disrupted ritual forced Tana into a state of endless pain as her sanity began to erode, trapped in an endless cycle of decomposition and rematerialization. From the future, the Black Mage used the powers of time he had stolen from Rhinne in order to pull Kritias forward into his present.

(A/N: That last sentence doesn’t make sense without the context from the link, feel free to click it if you want to jump to the section where Kritias’ story chronologically picks up again, or just keep reading, since that section is gonna come up very soon. After the fall of Kritias, Shey goes into a self-imposed exile in order to atone for having helped with the experiments.)

The Land of Tynerum:

Tynerum was the home of the demon race. It was a harsh and unforgiving world, where the strong ruled on top and the weak were broken. The pure-blood demons of Tynerum once attempted to take the powers of a Transcendent, but their failure transformed their world into a barren wasteland. One pure-blood demon spoke out against the twisted experiments and was banished as a result, leaving behind his human wife and their two half-blood children. His older son, known simply as the Demon, protected his mother and his younger brother, Damien, after their father was banished.

While the Demon had taken after his father, Damien had taken heavily after his mother, meaning that he had been born with a human body. As such, he had no demon powers or wings, despite his father’s demon blood running through his veins. He was blind in his left eye and he had a sickly disposition, resulting in the pure-blood demons of Tynerum tormenting him frequently. On one such occasion, the Demon witnessed the pure-bloods attacking Damien and threatening to attack his mother next, claiming that they would put her in her place for daring to live in Tynerum as a human. The Demon’s fury caused his powers to awaken, which he used to destroy the pure-bloods attacking his brother.

Realizing that Tynerum was no longer safe, the Demon took his mother and Damien to Maple World, where they settled in southern Leafre. Over the years, Damien grew to idolize his brother and wished to become as strong as him. Some time after moving to Leafre, the Demon learned that Damien wanted to see the snow, and so he took his family to El Nath, where he bought Damien a red scarf, which the young boy excitedly decided to wear for the rest of his life.

(A/N: There’s a lot of confusion about the difference between Tynerum and Masteria because of the changes between KMS and GMS. In KMS, Masteria is the name for what Tynerum is in GMS. However, Masteria is a totally different area in GMS, which actually refers to an island that sank centuries ago and recently resurfaced. GMS Masteria actually predates the existence of Tynerum and KMS took the name ‘Masteria’, which they used to refer to the demon homeland. Tynerum was the name that GMS gave to the demon homeland because the name ‘Masteria’ was already in use.

While KMS has never specified where exactly Tynerum is located, they’ve strongly implied that it exists as its own separate world. However, GMS and several other overseas regions created the continent of Dawnveil, which contained Tynerum, the Commerci Republic, and Arboren (the home of Beast Tamer). Dawnveil was a continent connected to Ossyria, similar to how Europe and Asia are different continents, despite being the same landmass. However, Dawnveil as a concept was removed from the game, meaning that the state of Tynerum in GMS is as nebulous as it is in KMS.

Tynerum existing as its own world has always been frustrating to me because of the confusion it adds to the lore about the Overseers creating three worlds. Given that Tynerum had at least one known Transcendent, whose powers the pure-blood demons had tried to steal, as well as the fact that we need to see the three Goddesses of Maple World, Grandis, and Tynerum for our 5th job advancement, it stands to reason that Tynerum is the third world.

However, there are two things that contradict this. First, Kinesis and FriendStory’s lore introduces Earth as a separate dimension that potentially contains a Transcendent of its own, the White Mage of Earth. Additionally, when we explore Vanishing Journey, we see that elements from Grandis and Maple World are scattered throughout the area because the Arcane River is a phenomenon representing the convergence of the three worlds. We don’t see any elements from Tynerum, but we do see that Reverse City, which directly came from Earth, is present in Vanishing Journey.

If it’s true that Tynerum is a separate world from Maple World, it’s possible that Tynerum and Maple World might have merged into one world, similar to how Grandis has fused with Maple World. Some evidence that points to this is that the Horizon Portal that leads to the Goddess of Tynerum is located in the Dark World Tree in Maple World.

Even though it’s still possible to travel to Tynerum, the Horizon Portal being located in Maple World may mean that Tynerum and Maple World are completely one, and so it wouldn’t matter whether the portal appeared in Tynerum or Maple World. This could be similar to how Alpha and Beta emerged in Grandis instead of Maple World immediately after breaking free from Mirror World, which is explained as a phenomenon resulting from Maple World slowly fusing with Grandis.

I wish that KMS added a concept similar to Dawnveil and placed Tynerum there, which would explicitly make it part of Maple World. Its proximity to the Minar Forest would explain why the Demon and his family moved to Leafre, as well as making it so that Earth can explicitly be the third world without issue. That still leaves the problem of the Goddess of Tynerum existing, but I hope that they eventually remove her and replace her with the Goddess of Earth instead, which would fix all the problems at once.)

Birth of the Black Mage:

Some years after the founding of Aurora, powerful creatures of darkness known as Omens began to appear around the world, resulting in the monsters of Maple World transforming into undead creatures upon death. During this time, a wandering mercenary was hired by the infamous mogul of Ariant, Hatsar, to protect the transportation of his cargo. (A/N: The mercenary’s gender depends on the player character, as we’re playing as them in the White Mage chapter of the Grand Athenaeum.)

The mercenary was a lone wanderer who trusted no one except their weapons. Due to the nature of their profession, they frequently placed their life on the line simply to eat and survive, having outlived many of their friends during their career. Over the years, they had learned to not fear death, as war, famine, plagues, and disasters made it certain that the world was falling apart around them, while the rich lined their pockets with comfort as they watched it happen, with Hatsar being the worst of them.

After the mercenary helped escort the transportation of the cargo, Hatsar’s servant informed them that Hatsar had another request of them. The mercenary went to speak with Hatsar, who told them that there were two things that he could smell: danger and money. He noted that the mercenary reeked of danger, but not of money. However, the mercenary interrupted and asked him to get straight to the point, which amused Hatsar.

Hatsar told the mercenary that he wanted them to find someone, and that it was a personal request, not one that he was making to the mercenary office. He asked the mercenary whether they had ever heard of the White Mage, to which they replied that they hadn’t. Hatsar explained that the White Mage was a magician who had been praised as the greatest of his generation.

He told the mercenary that despite the White Mage’s youth, his magical talents were so great that no teacher could help him. The sadness and loneliness that had overcome him when he had found himself alone at the top had been too immense. His strong desire to know more and to reach higher had led him to realize that the magic known to the world had been far too small for his ambitions.

For more than a decade, the White Mage had wandered the world alone, writing books, helping others, and leaving behind many stories. Because of his platinum white hair, people had begun to call him the White Mage. One day, he had said, as though he had reached enlightenment: “The ultimate light can only be found in the ultimate darkness.” Having left the world with those words, the White Mage had disappeared without a trace.

Hatsar explained that in-between the stories and suppositions of busybodies, the White Mage’s existence was slowly being forgotten. However, as he was Maple World’s greatest magician of light, Hatsar believed that only the White Mage could eliminate the undead monsters disrupting his business. The mercenary asked Hatsar whether he believed that the White Mage would agree to work for him, to which Hatsar replied that the White Mage would inevitably demand a hefty fee, as there was no one in the world who wasn’t tempted by wealth.

He then offered the mercenary a lifetime’s worth of money for finding the White Mage. The mercenary agreed, though they added that they would only accept what they had earned. They thought to themselves that money didn’t matter to them, as they were genuinely intrigued by the White Mage. They began wondering whether the White Mage was as sick and tired of life as they were, whether he had felt the same emptiness inside themselves, and whether he had found an answer to it all.

Three months later, the mercenary followed leads on the White Mage’s location to Ellin Forest, where he had last been seen. Hoping that there was some evidence of where he had gone since, they decided to seek out the Fairy Queen Ephenia in order to see whether she knew anything. Ephenia was immediately hostile towards the mercenary upon seeing that they were a human. Believing that they were a common peddler, she told them that she had no interest in their inferior human wares, adding that they had nothing that she wanted.

The mercenary told her about the dark monsters, to which she replied that they were hardly as vile as humans, who stole and kidnapped relentlessly. When the mercenary told her about their mission to find the White Mage, however, Ephenia’s face immediately softened upon hearing his name. She explained that the White Mage was the only good human whom she had ever met, adding that she used to like watching him study magic. She told the mercenary that the White Mage was an idealist, and that his passion was incomparable, for which she was certain that he would make the world a better place.

However, she told them that she couldn’t simply tell them where he was, as she didn’t even know who they were and whether they were trustworthy. She demanded them to prove that they were a good person by eliminating the legion of grave robbers who were defiling the resting places of the fairies. After the mercenary eliminated the Hidden Grave Robbers and Grave Robber’s Dogs, they returned back to Ephenia, who was mildly surprised that they had indeed kept their word, noting that the mercenary seemed to have similar eyes to the White Mage.

She then told the mercenary that there were humans who hunted fairies like merchandise and ordered them to drive the poachers out of Ellin Forest. She noted that it was human nature to steal and exploit, and while they had steered clear of her, they had nevertheless taken many of her people, with their goal being to kidnap and sell her, sardonically asking the mercenary how much money they thought she was worth.

On their way to find the poachers, the mercenary encountered a little girl holding a hunting rifle. Unsure of whether the girl was a poacher or not, they told her to return home, adding that it wasn’t safe in the forest. Upon seeing her expression, however, the mercenary immediately realized that she had no home. They noted to themselves that it wasn’t surprising, as it was just how the world was. Feeling pity for her, the mercenary told her to stop harassing fairies, adding that they would let it slide just once. The girl protested that she wasn’t trying to catch fairies, but before she could explain herself, the mercenary walked away.

After eliminating the Evil Poachers and Poacher’s Hawks, the mercenary returned back to Ephenia, who noted that their efforts ought to stop the poachers for a time, adding that pacifism was quite overrated. In exchange for their help, she agreed to tell them where the White Mage had gone. She reminded them of the White Mage’s last words before he had exiled himself - that the ultimate light could only be found in the ultimate darkness - for which he had gone to the Forest of Peace, the darkest depths of Ellin Forest where no daylight reached, leaving it in near-eternal night, where he studied magic.

She then asked the mercenary to give him her greetings if they found him, as well as to remind him to return when his study of light magic ended, for which she would wait for as long as she could. As the mercenary left Ellin Forest, they grew more and more curious, as Ephenia was clearly infatuated with the White Mage. They began wondering what quality the White Mage possessed that could captivate even a queen. They noted that Ephenia had believed that the White Mage would make the world a better place, for which they were determined to learn the truth for themselves.

On their way to the Forest of Peace, the mercenary encountered the girl again, who was confronting a horde of Omens. They immediately yelled at her to run away, but upon seeing that she hadn’t moved, they realized that she must be scared stiff and decided to help. They defeated the Omens and checked on the terrified girl, who stammered that she hadn’t been able to pull the trigger. She explained that she had been trying to avenge the deaths of her parents, though she had been too scared to act when the moment had come.

The mercenary took the girl back to their camp and learned that her name was Arin, and that the Omens had killed her family. They noted to themselves that in areas where Omens had attacked, undead monsters, similar to the ones that plagued Hatsar’s business, would tend to appear soon after. After learning about the mercenary’s mission, Arin wondered whether the White Mage had an answer to how the monsters could be stopped. The mercenary replied that they weren’t sure, though they supposed that it was all the more reason to find him.

Arin noted that the mercenary didn’t seem to know much, despite being an adult, though she decided that they were still strong, if nothing else. She asked the mercenary to teach her how to fight, as she wanted to be strong like them, though the mercenary simply told her to go to sleep. The next morning, the mercenary set off on their own, though Arin quickly caught up and told them that she wanted to come with them. The mercenary told her that it was too dangerous for someone like her and warned her not to follow them.

However, Arin refused and pointed out that it would be more dangerous for them to leave her by herself. She then began hurrying off and called after them to hurry up. As they set off together, the mercenary began wondering whether the White Mage would really have the answers that they sought. Though they knew that nothing was certain, they supposed that they would only get their answers in the Forest of Peace.

Three months later, the mercenary and Arin arrived in the Forest of Peace, where they soon got lost in the near-eternal darkness. The mercenary instructed Arin to stay where she was while they began exploring the depths of the forest to find their bearings. After searching for a while, however, the mercenary realized that they had no idea where they were, meaning that they would need to go back to the beginning of the forest and start again.

Just then, they heard a gunshot and realized that Arin was in danger. After fighting through the dark monsters, they reached Arin, who was being surrounded by several Omens. Though the mercenary told her to get back, Arin was determined this time to get her revenge. Just as the mercenary realized that they wouldn’t get to her in time, the White Mage appeared and used his light magic to vaporize the Omens. (A/N: The spell that the White Mage uses is Luminous’ Ray of Redemption skill, except he casts it a dozen times at once.)

The mercenary immediately recognized the White Mage by his long, white hair, his deep eyes, and his trustworthy voice. They told the White Mage about everything that had happened, as well as everything that they had seen. The White Mage nodded quietly, seemingly engrossed in the mercenary’s words, though the mercenary supposed that it was likely a habit of his.

He noted that between the poachers and grave robbers in Ellin Forest, it seemed that human greed had reached a new level. The mercenary explained that Ephenia was completely disgusted by humans, though she had seemed quite fond of him. The White Mage told the mercenary that he had made a promise to Ephenia, and that he was still working to keep that promise.

He then turned to Arin and asked the mercenary who she was. The mercenary explained that she had lost her family to the Omens, to which the White Mage noted that it was his first time learning the name of those dark creatures, adding that he heard little of the wider world in his isolation. The mercenary then asked the White Mage what such a renowned magician was doing alone in the forest.

The White Mage explained that he studied light, to which the mercenary grew uncharacteristically angry and replied that it wasn’t what they had meant. They were surprised to find that they were losing their temper, as the White Mage hadn’t done anything wrong. Nevertheless, they heatedly retorted that they themselves were a simple mercenary who fought people for money. However, they pointed out that the White Mage had the kind of power that could change the world to make it a better place, and yet he remained in isolation and did nothing but study.

In response to his words, the White Mage smiled faintly, as though he had read the mercenary’s mind and had understood all their frustrations. He replied that though there were many things that he wanted to say, he wanted to first explain that he wasn’t working alone. He then led the mercenary and Arin to the Aurora Great Temple, where he introduced them to Mars, Aurora’s lead researcher, whom he asked to prepare a place for their guests to stay. Though Mars protested that the pair were outsiders, the White Mage insisted that they were harmless, and that they should be permitted to stay.

After the White Mage left, Mars introduced himself to the mercenary as the top magician of Aurora. He then warned them not to touch anything, as their research on light magic was too important to be disturbed. He also prohibited them from going into the White Mage’s laboratory, after which he instructed them to go to the guest room, where Arin was already resting.

In the guest room, Arin excitedly noted that she had never thought that such a large building could exist in the middle of a forest. The mercenary then admonished her for her reckless behavior with the Omens earlier, to which Arin noted their concern, though she added that she would do whatever it took to rid the world of Omens. However, the mercenary replied that there was no point in her risking her life for monsters that were too strong for her, though Arin retorted that they couldn’t lecture her when they threw themselves into danger all the time.

She then wondered why there were so many Omens in the Forest of Peace to begin with, speculating that it might be because of the near-eternal darkness. She then took out several Omen Pieces from her pocket, explaining that she had been collecting them over their journey. She asked the mercenary to give the pieces to the White Mage, as he might be able to use the fragments to figure out the identity of the Omens and how to destroy them.

The mercenary headed to the White Mage’s laboratory, which they found to be empty. They decided to ask Mars where the White Mage was, but Mars merely scolded them for trying to disturb the White Mage. However, he then apologized for his rudeness and told them that the White Mage was on the temple roof. On the roof, the mercenary found the White Mage gazing up at the auroras in the night sky. After the mercenary handed the Omen Pieces to him, the White Mage noted that Arin had been quite clever to collect them and promised to put them to good use.

He explained that they didn’t know why the Omens were appearing, though he reassured the mercenary that the Omens would disappear once he finished his studies on the ultimate light. As he spoke, the mercenary noted that the White Mage’s eyes seemed to wander elsewhere. They began to wonder what it was that the White Mage sought, with his back turned against the world’s wealth and honor.

The White Mage then asked the mercenary what it was that they placed their faith in. He elaborated by asking to what power the mercenary would reach towards in the final moments when everything else fell away - whether it was the gods, wealth, or something else. He then explained that what he was studying was something beyond simply power - he revealed that he sought to find an infinite knowledge that existed just beyond their comprehension: a knowledge that could complete and evolve humanity into perfect beings by replicating the Divine City into their world.

(A/N: The Divine City is a reference to the City of God, a pivotal book on Christian philosophy. I went into a very in-depth explanation about the City of God and how it relates to the White Mage’s goals in the Labyrinth of Suffering section, which you can check out here, but the main idea is that the City of God is a conceptual city, not a literal one. You can view it as a state of mind that eschews superficial, earthly pleasures in favor of the wisdom and knowledge of God. The White Mage wants to bring the City of God to humanity in order to complete them with that wisdom, which will rid the world of corruption and evil when people choose to give up their selfishness in favor of a complete existence that embraces peace and kindness.)

The mercenary began pondering the White Mage’s words and tried imagining what it would feel like to be complete, though they found that it was quite difficult to imagine. Nevertheless, they noted that if humans could reach such a stage, they would be able to create a world without sorrow or pain. The White Mage explained that he was a man of towering ambitions, and that he would never stop or tire until he learned what existed beyond that light.

Over the next three months, the mercenary often had short conversations with the White Mage, though they always felt that talking to him, even for a short time, felt like a long journey. During that time, the mercenary decided to stay at the Aurora Great Temple and help the White Mage and the mages of Aurora with their research on light magic.

Soon after, Arin told the mercenary that Vieren was looking for them. She jokingly asked whether they were now one of the White Mage’s minions, adding that there was something about the White Mage, who always used large, complex words and remained sequestered inside his laboratory, that she couldn’t trust, noting that he seemed creepy to her.

The mercenary sought out Vieren, who introduced himself as the lowest-ranking magician of Aurora, though he joked that there was nowhere to go but up. As the researchers needed substances related to light, he asked the mercenary to collect Faint Glowing Substances from the Neon Bats in the forest. After the mercenary brought back the materials, they noted that they hadn’t seen the White Mage in a while. Vieren explained that the White Mage was quite busy with his work, and that only Mars was permitted to enter his laboratory.

Vieren then sent them to help Mars, who asked them to collect Glassium from the monsters inside several crystals in the back of the temple. After the mercenary collected the Glassium, they brought it back to Mars, who told them Arin had come by earlier. He explained that she seemed to hate Omens more than anything, and that she would constantly ask him when they were planning to destroy them. He admitted that he had lost his temper with her earlier, and as he felt guilty about it, he handed them some candy and asked them to give it to her as an apology.

Back in their room, however, the mercenary found a letter from Arin on the bed. In the letter, Arin explained that she had spoken to Mars, who had told her that the Omens weren’t important to Aurora, which was focused on a ‘grander, more important truth’. However, she explained that the only ‘truth’ that she knew was that the Omens needed to be destroyed, as she could still see her parents each time that she closed her eyes. As Aurora wasn’t planning to handle the Omens, Arin had decided to destroy the Omens herself, for which she had decided to stop them on her own, adding that she was grateful to the mercenary for everything that they had done for her.

The mercenary immediately rushed off to the forest in order to find Arin. After fighting through the dark monsters and the Omens, they encountered a wounded Arin, who weakly told them to flee, as it was too dangerous. The mercenary reassured her that they had taken care of all the Omens, but Arin replied that she had seen another Omen, much larger than any other Omen that they had ever encountered. She then warned them to stay away from ‘there’, though she soon fell unconscious before she could explain any further.

The mercenary brought Arin back to their room, where they discovered that she had a high fever. They continued watching her sleep, waiting for her to wake up. As they watched over her, they began pondering on what she had told them in the forest. Suddenly, they reached an epiphany after putting the pieces together.

They realized that the White Mage had begun his research with Aurora several years ago, right when the Omens had first begun appearing. The White Mage had also locked himself away in his laboratory one month ago, during which time the Omens had begun to multiply. They then recalled that the White Mage had described himself as a man of towering ambitions, causing them to wonder if the Omens were what he had meant by finding the ultimate light in the ultimate darkness.

As the mercenary’s blood chilled at the thought, they reminded themselves that they shouldn’t jump to conclusions. They noted that if their suspicions were correct, it meant that they needed to stop the White Mage’s research immediately. However, they first needed to ensure that they were absolutely correct, and so they decided to speak with Mars, as he was the only one who had access to the White Mage’s laboratory.

In the lobby, Mars apologized to the mercenary for what had happened to Arin, as he hadn’t intended for her to run away on her own. However, when the mercenary asked him about entering the White Mage’s laboratory, Mars refused and explained that the White Mage was in the final stages of his research, and that he couldn’t allow the mercenary to interrupt at such a critical point.

The mercenary then shared their suspicions and explained that the White Mage needed to be stopped. As Omens were the shadows of the White Mage’s research, it meant that his research being stopped would prevent the situation from getting any worse. However, Vieren protested that the mercenary’s words were impossible. The mercenary asked Mars to deny it, to which Mars grudgingly admitted that he had already known the truth for some time.

He explained that they had always known that the Omens were some kind of side-effect of the White Mage’s work, and that his suspicions had been confirmed when Arin had given them the Omen Pieces. A shocked Vieren stared at Mars in disbelief, while the mercenary asked Mars whether the White Mage had also known the truth about the Omens, and whether he had continued his research, even while knowing that the side-effects of that research were causing many people to suffer.

Mars explained that it was an inevitable sacrifice, claiming that the stronger the light, the darker the shadows. He told the mercenary that the White Mage’s plan had been to offer their corrupt world to build a better one, which was why he had thrown himself into his research, as it was nearly complete. He then added that in spite of everything, he still wanted to keep believing in the White Mage and his ideals.

The furious mercenary demanded to know whether Mars could tell Arin that the deaths of her parents were an ‘inevitable sacrifice’ and ordered him to open the door to the White Mage’s laboratory, adding that they would force it open themselves if he refused. Mars then prepared himself to stop the mercenary, while Vieren desperately attempted to stop them. Suddenly, however, they all heard the White Mage’s warped voice speak aloud in shock at what he had discovered.

The White Mage, having completed his research, had stepped into the divine realm, beyond the horizon of awareness, where he reached for the ultimate light. His heart grew filled with indescribable joy at the prospect of moving forward, at last, to a completed world free of irrationalities and evil. Just then, however, the will of the world - the Overseers themselves - held the White Mage back, constricting him with the shapeless, abstract force of order. This conceptual essence of balance, rules, and principles wrapped themselves around him like an unbreakable chain, colder and heavier than any metal in existence.

Through his forbidden research, the White Mage learned the secret of the world - a truth that was never meant to be known by mortals - that the Overseers controlled the world through the Transcendents, and that their sole function was to enforce order, not to help humanity. Upon realizing this truth, the White Mage grew furious at the Overseers and demanded to know why, in spite of their omnipotence, they allowed such stagnation and refused to change. He angrily asked them whether they intended to leave the world incomplete for all eternity, leaving humanity to suffer with no end.

Refusing to accept the destiny of the world, the White Mage chose to reject the Overseers and claimed that even by binding him, they would not stop him from moving forward, no matter the cost. He vowed to break free from their chains that kept the world from changing and moving on to a better existence. He declared that he would do anything it took to liberate the world from their indolence, even if he had to seal himself away, erase the world, or become darkness itself. (A/N: The Black Mage’s signature weapon of chains is meant to symbolize how he weaponizes the Overseers’ own chains of law in order to break free of them in the process.)

Believing that there was no way to change humanity’s destiny as a mortal when the Overseers had stripped them of their ability to change themselves, the White Mage chose to accept the power of the divine by seizing the ultimate darkness. In the Aurora Great Temple, the mercenary and the mages of Aurora heard the White Mage speak aloud, wondering whether he had succeeded or failed. He declared that he had journey into the forbidden, and that he alone had reached the ultimate light.

However, he claimed that at the end of his research, he had seen that there was no ultimate light - not because he had been unable to attain it, but because it had never existed to begin with, for as long as there was light, there would always be darkness. However, he then declared that an ultimate darkness existed, and that it was the sole conclusion of his research.

As a shocked Mars asked the White Mage what he meant, the mercenary ordered Mars to force open the door. Inside the laboratory, the mercenary and the mages of Aurora were shocked to discover the White Mage immersed in dark magic, his eyes glowing crimson red. Immediately, they all realized the truth - that the White Mage was no longer human.

As Vieren attempted to check on the White Mage’s condition, Mars immediately yelled at everyone to get out. The mercenary called out to the White Mage to stop, telling him that there was still time. However, the White Mage ominously declared that it was too late, just as he accepted the power of the gods. Embracing the ultimate darkness - the power to destroy - the White Mage awakened as the Transcendent of Light.

The resulting explosion from his awakening destroyed the Aurora Great Temple, killing many of the researchers and critically wounding many others. The mercenary, having lost consciousness, soon awakened to the sound of falling rain, which made them realize that they were still alive. As they walked through the ruins of the temple, they encountered several of the mages who had attempted to evacuate from the White Mage’s laboratory.

They first spoke with a wounded Mars and asked him what had happened to the White Mage. Mars weakly explained that the White Mage had been consumed by power during his research on the ultimate light. He noted that the power of light was far too grand, and that they were fools for thinking that they could even comprehend it, much less control it.

He explained that he had known that the White Mage had been dabbling in the forbidden for some time, and that he had nevertheless wanted to believe in him. He told the mercenary that he had wondered about the future that the White Mage had been creating for them, and the truth that he could show them beyond the light. Though he wished that he had time for regrets, he asked the mercenary to stop the White Mage, adding that it might not be too late.

As the mercenary headed towards the exit, they encountered Vieren, who weakly noted that he couldn’t see anything anymore. Recognizing the mercenary’s voice, he noted that he had once told them how no one knew what lay ahead of them, adding that he had never thought that the White Mage would be the one to snuff out his light. As Vieren passed away, his last words were an apology to his wife, Kate, and their child for leaving them behind.

(A/N: While it wasn’t too clear in the GMS localization, the KMS text makes it clear that the Vieren in the White Mage chapter of the Grand Athenaeum is actually the father of Vieren, the person who trained alongside Luminous, whose ghost we encounter during Luminous’ class storyline. The reference to Vieren talking about his child is supposed to tie into this.)

The mercenary then exited the ruined temple and walked past the bodies of the Aurora mages in the forest, furious at the White Mage for having tricked so many people who had followed him and trusted him. As they wondered whether his words had all been lies, they fought through Traces of Darkness that had been created in the wake of the White Mage’s awakening. Proceeding deeper into the forest, they also fought past a horde of Omens and a Master Omen - the large Omen that Arin had warned them about earlier.

In the heart of the forest, the mercenary encountered a crystal of pure light, which glowed with an unprecedented level of purity that washed away all pain and fear just by looking at it. The mercenary wondered whether the light was a trace of the White Mage and realized that he had even cut out all the light that had resided within him. They also noticed that the crystal’s light was fading away, as though they were witnessing the death of the White Mage and all his goodness.

(A/N: This light will eventually become Luminous. The reason why the White Mage cast out his light is because an awakened Transcendent of Light can’t hold both light and darkness. As the White Mage chose to awaken with the power of darkness, he had to expel the power of light within himself. Although it’s not explicitly confirmed, it’s strongly suggested that Luminous is the reserve to the Black Mage, similar to how Tana held the power of light as a reserve to Aeona.)

As the mercenary proceeded further, they began feeling terror at the thought of what they were about to encounter. They noted to themselves that they wanted to run away from it all, though they knew that they couldn’t afford to leave, as it was their only chance to stop the White Mage before he could do any more damage.

The mercenary then yelled out for the White Mage to show himself. The White Mage appeared before them in a dark cloak that hid everything except the flames from his crimson eyes. The mercenary stood frozen, realizing that they had known from the beginning that his power was impossible to stand against. They began wondering why they, in spite of knowing what it would cost them, had chosen to follow him, though they then realized that it was because they had wanted to see it on their own.

They addressed the monster standing before them as the White Mage, though they realized that after seeing what he now was, they couldn’t call him that anymore. They then rechristened him as the Black Mage, who told the mercenary that they had been raised in shackles, and that their world could not free itself from the fate that the gods had given it.

He then offered to give the mercenary strength if they wished it, calling it the power to free themselves from their chains to create a new world. However, the mercenary laughed darkly and told the Black Mage that he had lost his mind, explaining that the one whom they had followed was a magician who could save the world, not a monster like him who sought to destroy it.

They then raised their sword and declared that it seemed that they were the only one who could stop him, vowing that they would carve a wound onto him that he would never be able to forget. After remaining silent for a moment, the Black Mage called the mercenary foolish and declared that if they wished to perish with the world, then so be it. He then unleashed his powers of darkness and fatally wounded the mercenary before retreating.

(A/N: This scene between the mercenary and the Black Mage was an expansion created in the Black Mage: Origin webcomic. The original scene in the White Mage chapter of the Grand Athenaeum just had the mercenary declare that they’d leave their mark on the Black Mage, who just silently attacks the mercenary without saying anything.

Personally, I really like the expanded scene in the webcomic because you can see that the Black Mage really did regret that the mercenary chose not to join him, as the two of them had grown pretty close and he’d hoped that the mercenary, of all people, might understand the situation that he was in. The scene does a great job of showing the crushing isolation of the Black Mage being the only person who understands just how broken their world is because of the Overseers, while all the people around him, even his close relations, just see him as someone who’s gone insane.)

As the mercenary lay dying, they recalled a conversation with Arin from many months ago, from when the two of them had been wandering in the forest. The mercenary had asked Arin how long she planned to follow them. Arin had ignored their question and had noted that, in a sense, they were like her family. She had noted that a family was always there for oneself, and that they kept one’s memory alive. She had added that it was sad to not have someone like that, and so she had proposed that they could be a family for each other, but upon seeing the mercenary’s silence, she had claimed that she had merely been joking, adding that she hadn’t expected much from them anyways.

Feeling their vision growing darker, the mercenary realized that it was truly the end for them. Looking back on their life, they noted that they could have died anywhere, at anytime, to be lost to history. Though they chose to meet their end with a smile, they knew that there was one task still unfinished - for the Black Mage to be stopped.

Just then, Arin rushed to the dying mercenary, who faintly heard her voice, even as their vision dimmed, and was pleased that she was still alive. Arin sobbed as she reminded the mercenary how they had told her to treasure her life, not to throw it away by fighting someone too powerful, and tearfully demanded to know why they hadn’t taken their own advice. Though the mercenary tried to speak, they found that their voice would no longer come, and that they could hardly hear Arin anymore, either. As they passed away, the last thing that they noted was that the rain had stopped falling.

The Seven Commanders:

Knowing that the Overseers manipulated the universe by using the Transcendents as their proxies, the Black Mage sought to remove their influence by creating a world without Transcendents. Though he was standing against a primal power, his sole advantage was that the Overseers, in creating a fixed universe, made it so that all possible futures could be calculated based on known variables.

Though some mortals possessed the ability to see fragments of the future, the Black Mage was able to take advantage of the fixed variables in the universe in order to divine all the countless futures based on those fundamental laws. In this way, he could manipulate events to ensure that his plans succeeded. Because of the laws governing the universe, Transcendents were incapable of destroying each other or themselves. To circumvent this, the Black Mage amassed an army of monsters and gathered seven Commanders to lead them:

The Spirits of Darkness, Orchid and Lotus, became his twin Wing Masters, to whom he also granted the power to manipulate gravity.
The King of Spirits, Guwaru, was corrupted and turned to evil after the Black Mage took advantage of his anger at the humans who disrespected the spirits and nature itself.
The Red Witch of Azwan, Hilla, was the most beautiful and powerful Shamaness of Azwan. As she continued aging, she feared losing her beauty and power. When the Black Mage came to recruit her, she betrayed her kingdom in exchange for eternal beauty and the power to resurrect the dead.
The Nova warrior from the world of Grandis, Magnus, arrived in Maple World from the Interdimensional Portal on Grandis. In exchange for becoming a Commander, the Black Mage gave him greater power.
The High Priest of the Goddess Rhinne, Arkarium, was once the most devout of the Goddess’ priests until he had a vision of the future in which the Black Mage would reign victorious. Choosing to serve the winning side, he swore his loyalty to the Black Mage.
The Lion King of El Nath, Von Leon, was a wise man who ruled El Nath benevolently alongside his beloved wife, Ifia. As El Nath was perpetually covered in snow, the kingdom was comparatively poor, though its people were happy. When stories of the Black Mage’s destruction began to spread, the Anti-Black Mage Coalition was formed. The coalition approached Von Leon and requested that he join, but Von Leon refused to involve himself, as he didn’t want to create a target on his kingdom, believing that the Black Mage would leave them alone since the kingdom had little to offer. Taking his refusal as a sign that he had sided with the Black Mage, the coalition stormed his castle, resulting in Ifia’s death. In despair, Von Leon sold his soul to the Black Mage in exchange for the power to exact revenge on those who destroyed his kingdom and his true love.
The Demon, having realized that the Black Mage was planning to destroy Maple World, swore his loyalty in exchange for having the Black Mage promise to ensure the safety of his family. He soon ascended in power and became the Black Mage’s most loyal and powerful Commander.

With his Commanders gathered, the Black Mage gained the forces needed to battle the other Transcendents. However, the biggest problem that remained was how he would be able to destroy himself. In all possible futures, there was no situation in which he, as a Transcendent, could be killed. He knew that he needed to create a being who could change fate, and so he decided to create an Adversary of Destiny.

Just as in eons past during the Ancient War, a mortal who bonded with a Seal Stone would gain a power greater than that of the Ancient Gods and the Transcendents alike. Though he knew that he could create an Adversary, he also knew that they would be the most unpredictable variable in his plan, as the Adversary needed to be pushed to their very limits in order to gain the determination needed to activate the power of the Seal Stone. In order to force the Adversary into awakening that power at the critical moment, the Black Mage planned to subliminally influence their decisions.

(A/N: This was done through things like having Lucid manipulate the Gate to the Future in order to show the Alliance that they would ultimately lose. Because of this, the Alliance became all the more determined to find a way to change the future.)

As the Seal Stones operated on the collective determination of the masses, he made it a priority to push the world into resisting the idea of a fixed future, as their strong desire would be channeled through the Seal Stone as the Adversary championed their strongest wish. To do so, he planned to make it appear as though his ultimate goal was to create a new world in place of their old one. In this way, he would force the people into rallying against him while also keeping his Commanders in line by promising them a place in his new world order.

(A/N: For those wondering why this wasn’t his goal to begin with, he was fundamentally acting to free the people and wanted as many to survive as possible, which couldn’t happen if the world was destroyed. From his perspective, all the lives lost in the process were a means to an end, as he believed that they were necessary sacrifices so that the world could experience true freedom after the Transcendents were gone. He even references this tunnel-vision when he speaks with the Adversary after his death, in which he admits that he had lost sight of the value of life in his time as the Black Mage.)

To carry out the Genesis Ritual, the Black Mage needed the powers of creation and destruction, along with a high volume of pure Erdas. To obtain creation and to aggregate a high concentration of Erdas, he needed to create a convergence of the three worlds, which would allow him to not only siphon the Erdas generated from the collision, but also steal the powers of creation from another Transcendent of Light. As a world without active Transcendents automatically sought out another world to merge with in order to maintain its balance of Transcendents, the Black Mage planned to seal the other Transcendents of Maple World, as well as himself. He began a war of conquest with his Commanders and planned to use them to fight against the other Transcendents, while simultaneously drawing out the very heroes who would seal him.

He then found Alicia attempting to herd a Curly Cow and Ryude found sap from Insectivore Slimes to help lead it. He then gave Alicia a list of all nearby animals and their habits in order to aid her in her quest. Alicia was impressed that there were humans who actually kept their promises. Ryude reminded her that it was the very reason why she had saved him, to which Alicia agreed, adding that that she couldn’t just ignore him and let him die. She began explaining that she was the mother of all life, not the creator of all life, though she quickly trailed off before she could say anything more.

(A/N: This last line was omitted in the GMS localization, but it was meant to be a hint towards the Primordial God and the Overseers, who made and remade the universe and everything in it. The Winter Bard storyline was released in the Nova update, which also released Morass. This line was likely intended to allude towards the existence of beings even higher than Transcendents, which ultimately culminated in Esfera and Tenebris.)

Ryude asked Alicia why she didn’t take care of humans when she had such a warm heart, but Alicia retorted that she would never help humans, as they only harmed other living things, to which Ryude noted that she was a cold-hearted mother. As he turned to leave, Alicia asked if he was really going to fight the Black Mage’s army. Ryude told her that he had to try, to which Alicia replied that even if humans were to avoid the end of the world, they would still continue waging their terrible wars forever. She then told Ryude that humans would one day end their own world by killing each other repeatedly.

She explained that though humans were also precious and poor little children to her, she could never unconditionally love children who abandoned their own home. Ryude replied that she was right, but he then pointed out that it was in the nature of children to wander and go astray. He told Alicia that though it may take some time, humans would one day find a new home and settle down, and so he asked Alicia not to hate them too much.

When Alicia went quiet at his words, Ryude thought to himself that though he had no way to know what she was thinking, he hoped that she was feeling a bit of relief and some small level of sympathy towards humanity, as they were ultimately just lost children trying to find their way, in need of a mother who could guide them.

(A/N: GMS actually made Alicia a lot more sympathetic in their localization. When Ryude asks Alicia why she doesn’t help humans, she tells him that it’s because if she were to spend all her time helping humans, she wouldn’t have time to help any other living things. Personally, I much prefer the original KMS dialogue because it’s meant to parallel the Black Mage and how he caused great harm to humans as a result of distancing himself from humanity and believing that they were beyond salvation.

The Black Mage was the same way, believing that the world was beyond salvation and deciding that the only possible solution was to destroy everything and start over from scratch. And just like the Black Mage wanting to create a perfect world with completed beings, Alicia also decided to create the Tower of Oz and save only the few chosen lives who she believed deserved to survive the end of the world.

But by the end of the story, Alicia changes her mind and realizes that Ryude was right about humans not being beyond salvation, which she comes to believe when Ryude selflessly sacrifices his life to light the beacon. This idea is also echoed with the Black Mage, who ultimately realizes that humanity isn’t beyond repair when the Adversary makes the selfless choice to save Tana, which results in him choosing not to remake the world.) The Winter Bard:

In El Nath, a mercenary named Ryude was telling his second-in-command, Hazelle, that he would often ask the people of his village if they liked the snow. Many dismissed him and some even grew angry, as the snows of El Nath were responsible for the cold and hunger. Though many believed that the snow was punishment, Ryude believed snow to be love, beautiful and pure.

Just as he asked Hazelle whether he liked the snow, a soldier arrived and reported that their forces were in position. Ryude then ordered them to signal for attack. In the distance, Ryude saw a tower standing and asked Hazelle what it was. Hazelle told him that it was a warning beacon created by the Dragon Master Freud in order to warn the people if the end of the world was upon them. Ryude scoffed that the end of the world was always imminent and asked what the Dragon Master was doing while everything was falling apart.

After the battle, Hazelle reported that the shelter had been destroyed and asked, with the harshest winter in ages approaching, where the refugees should be sent. Ryude recalled how, as a child, he had believed that the never-ending war would one day end. As a mercenary, he fought for a king whom he had never seen, and it had been years until he had seen the truth.

Just then, a small child approached them and offered to sell a harp for small change. Ryude bought the harp and told Hazelle that he had always wanted to be a bard. Hazelle asked if they should go to the neighboring country, where a civil war was brewing. Ryude then made the spontaneous decision to stop being a mercenary and told Hazelle to lead the others in his place.

Five years later, Ryude had become a traveling bard. One day, he encountered a girl being attacked by a Thorny Bear and began playing his harp to calm it down. He told her that it had a cub nearby, and that they grew aggressive when protecting their young. Ryude was surprised to see that the girl had made it so far into the snowfield without proper winter gear, clad only in a dress.

The girl suddenly sneezed, startling Ryude and causing one of the strings on his harp to break. The lulled Thorny Bear suddenly grew aggressive again and began to attack the girl. Ryude jumped down from his perch and hit the bear with his harp, causing it to run off. The girl then snapped that it had taken her three days to find the bear and asked why he would make it run away. Ryude told her that he had saved her life and, noticing that her lips were blue, took her back to his camp, promising to help her capture another one later.

At the camp, Hazelle told Ryude that they had run out of firewood, and so Ryude decided to visit a nearby Volcano Bug nest to find more. After returning, Hazelle told him that Mylar had returned while he had been out. Mylar amusedly told Ryude that he had heard that Ryude had broken his harp yet again, asking what the point of his sword was. He then had Ryude collect Pine Resin from Large Beetles in order to get the materials needed to fix the harp.

While Mylar got to work, the camp enjoyed a meal of snow rabbits with the girl, who thanked them. After hearing them call Ryude ‘boss’, she asked if they were soldiers. Mylar clarified that they were retired mercenaries. Though there used to be more of them, the rest of their company had gone home, leaving only the three of them to travel around. Mylar asked the girl what she was doing all the way out in the snowfield, to which she explained that she was collecting unique animals for the Ark in anticipation of the end of the world.

Though Hazelle thought that the girl was out of her mind, Mylar explained how there were rumors that someone called the Black Mage had joined the fight. The girl silently noted to herself that the Black Mage had finally revealed himself. Ryude sat up at the mention of the Black Mage and asked who he was. Hazelle explained that amidst all the chaos, many people were turning to dark magic, to which Ryude simply told him not to pay mind to rumors. Mylar then told him that they needed to stock up on food before war broke out. Ryude noted that they were near the Lion King’s Castle when the girl reminded him about his promise.

The next day, Ryude went with the girl to capture a Thorny Bear cub. Mylar told him that the Lion King’s Castle was near the Thorny Bear den and asked him to check it out while they were in the area. After finding a cub for the girl, Ryude felt that something was wrong and headed closer to the Lion King’s Castle, just as the girl called after him that the Thorny Bear cub was too small to adjust well to captivity.

In the distance, Ryude was surprised to see that the castle was in flames, and as the Lion King was a beacon of courage to the men of El Nath, to see such a man’s castle aflame had shaken him. The mercenaries and the girl rushed to the castle and found that all the soldiers were missing. Ryude suspected that the castle had been attacked, but saw that there were no intruders in sight. The girl warned them not to go inside, as they might not come out alive. However, Ryude told her that his music was inspired by life and asked what kind of bard he would be if he never tested his bravery.

As the mercenaries debated amongst themselves, the girl decided to leave by herself in order to continue finding animals for her Ark. Hazelle decided to follow her and Ryude told him to send up a signal if anything went wrong. Ryude and Mylar then went inside the castle and found strange monsters around. Mylar suspected that dark magic was at work and suggested that they leave. Just then, Ryude heard someone scream and asked Mylar to use his magic to find them.

While Mylar prepared to cast his locator spell, Ryude thinned out the Crockies to help him concentrate. After Mylar cast the spell, Ryude followed it to find a dazed soldier telling Ryude to keep away in fright. Ryude cleared out the Bearwolves to help calm the soldier’s nerves, after which the soldier began muttering about the Lion King and the evil Shamaness before passing away. Ryude returned to Mylar and suggested that they leave, but Mylar then told him that he had detected two more survivors in the inner castle.

Ryude fought past the monsters alone and entered the castle, where he found Hilla speaking with Von Leon. Hilla asked Von Leon how his revenge had been, to which Von Leon replied that it had been too easy and wondered whether the Black Mage was really that strong. Hilla replied that the Black Mage was more powerful than he could imagine. At the mention of the Black Mage, Ryude immediately recognized that the pair were the perpetrators of all the destruction.

Though his instincts told him to run, he continued deeper into the castle. Hilla told Von Leon that with his revenge mission completed, all Commanders were to commence with a coordinated attack on Ereve, which would easily fall before a surprise attack of such a magnitude. (A/N: I believe that this is the same event that leads to the death of Empress Aria.) Von Leon then told Ryude to show himself, upon which he said that he remembered Ryude’s face while drawing his blade. As Ryude attempted to retreat, Hilla blocked his escape. With no choice, Ryude engaged Von Leon in a duel.

As they fought, Ryude wondered what had happened to the once great Lion King and weighted his options between fighting Von Leon and breaking past Hilla. As he continued thinking, Von Leon revealed that he was the one who had destroyed the cities of El Nath in retribution for the people of El Nath killing his beloved wife.

(A/N: Originally, GMS erroneously had Von Leon claim that the Cygnus Knights had killed Ifia, which doesn’t make sense, as the Cygnus Knights were created centuries later. Later on, GMS corrected this to say that the Alliance killed Ifia, which is technically correct, as the Anti-Black Mage Alliance was responsible for the attack. However, this alliance is separate from the present-day Maple Alliance. I called them a coalition in this guide, rather than an alliance, in order to distinguish the two.)

Ryude told Von Leon that he would never be forgiven after all his heinous acts, but Von Leon replied that he didn’t seek forgiveness, claiming that it would be hypocritical of him to do so. He then pointed out that Ryude wasn’t blameless either, as he had killed countless men during his mercenary days. He asked Ryude whether he thought that he would reach salvation for his sins. Hilla then told Von Leon to hurry up, to which Von Leon asked Ryude what his name was, as he wished to remember him. However, Ryude replied that he didn’t like his name and asked Von Leon to finish him.

(A/N: The GMS localization for this storyline had Ryude say that he won’t give Von Leon the satisfaction of knowing. One of the major themes of this storyline is forgiveness. Throughout this story, we’re never told Ryude’s name, as most people simply refer to him as ‘mercenary’. The KMS and MSEA scripts leaned into this idea with Ryude disassociating himself from his name and identity because he feels guilt for what he’s done.)

As Von Leon moved for the final blow, the girl suddenly appeared and told Ryude that she had warned him not to go inside. Hilla was shocked to see the girl, whom she recognized as Alicia, the World Tree and the Transcendent of Life, as she believed that Alicia didn’t interfere with mortal affairs. (A/N: The Transcendents of Maple World typically removed themselves from the affairs of the world, unlike the Transcendents of Grandis, who actively shaped their realm, such as how Aeona destroyed over seven races of Grandis.) Alicia told her that unlike most times, she had need of Ryude and teleported them both away.

Safely away from the Lion King’s Castle, Ryude stood dazed in shock at the thought of the world actually ending. Alicia told him that the Black Mage was a Transcendent, just as she was, and that his quest for ultimate darkness would mean the end of all life in Maple World. Ryude then passed out and had a dream that he was walking in an endless snowfield, where those who had fallen in battle rose one by one in penance for his crimes, telling him to look upon the horrors that he had wrought.

Ryude awoke to find that Mylar had carried him back to Hazelle, who had gathered the survivors of the Lion King’s assault. Alicia then told Ryude that she had saved him because he still needed to keep his promise to help her find full-grown animals, not cubs like the Thorny Bear. At the thought of cubs, Ryude felt sick to his stomach as he recalled the child who had sold him his harp, wondering what fate had befallen upon the boy. Suddenly, monsters found their encampment and Ryude took up his sword to fight them off while the refugees escaped.

The other mercenaries caught up with him, where they found him staring at the corpse of that same child who had sold him his harp. Ryude decided that he had to warn the world that the end was approaching, hoping that some hero would answer the call. He ordered Hazelle and Mylar to rally anyone who could fight, intent on going to the Dragon Master’s Tower. Alicia had explained that the Black Mage was the Transcendent of Light, and that she was the Transcendent of Life. (A/N: The GMS localization messed up on this translation and instead said that the Black Mage yearned to become the Transcendent of Life.) Though titles like Transcendent and Dragon Master were foreign to him, Ryude decided to ignore all those distractions and focus on his journey ahead.

Several days later, Ryude and the mercenaries arrived at the tower and asked Mylar how long it would take to send the beacon up. Mylar explained that five magicians were required to light it, and so it would take fifteen days for him to do it alone. However, he believed that the enemy would immediately take notice and arrive in far greater numbers than before. Ryude asked the soldiers, whom they had recruited from the refugees, if they would take orders from a mercenary, but the soldiers reassured him that they were beyond rank and would eagerly follow Ryude, whom they considered both a legend and hero.

Hazelle then told Ryude that Alicia had gone to search for animals. Ryude hoped that she would take care, as she had spent all her power in creating the Ark. He decided to go supervise her and collect rations for the soldiers while he was out. He helped one of the soldiers collect Mountain Turtle Eggs, after which the soldier thanked Ryude for saving his life many years ago. He asked why Ryude had disappeared after that final battle, to which Ryude explained that he couldn’t bear the war and death any longer.

He then found Alicia attempting to herd a Curly Cow and Ryude found sap from Insectivore Slimes to help lead it. He then gave Alicia a list of all nearby animals and their habits in order to aid her in her quest. Alicia was impressed that there were humans who actually kept their promises. Ryude reminded her that it was the very reason why she had saved him, to which Alicia agreed, adding that that she couldn’t just ignore him and let him die. She began explaining that she was the mother of all life, not the creator of all life, though she quickly trailed off before she could say anything more.

For Alicia, she saw the constant war and violence that plagued humanity, but instead of doing something about it, she chose to make an idiotic blanket statement that every single human being is the same, and that they don’t deserve to be saved. As a result, she willingly turned her gaze away from all the children and other innocent lives who were dying by the thousands, intervening to save Ryude only because she wanted to selfishly cash in on the favor that he owed her before he died. But by the end of the story, Alicia changes her mind and realizes that Ryude was right about humans not being beyond salvation, which she comes to believe when Ryude selflessly sacrifices his life to light the beacon.)

Back at the tower, Hazelle reported that they were short on rations, weapons, arrows, and people. Ryude suggested destroying the bridge in order to buy time, but Hazelle told him that in any case, they couldn’t last a week and recommended that they retreat and plan for the future. Just then, snow began to fall, and Ryude took it as a good sign.

Several days later, the snowfall had turned into a storm. Some distance away from the tower, Hilla believed that the storm was the wrath of the gods, but Von Leon told her that the gods hadn’t realized that snow wouldn’t stop them. Hilla asked why they hadn’t taken the gate, to which Von Leon replied that the mercenaries were adept at fighting in the snow and had managed to use the ice against them. He then ordered his forces to wear them down as Hilla decided to leave, unwilling to weather the cold.

Over the next several days, the mercenary and the other soldiers fought bravely as Mylar began to light the beacon. Mylar reported that it would activate around midnight the next day, though the Lion King’s main force was expected to arrive that same day. Alicia later found Ryude quietly crying at the top of the tower, where he told her that he feared that the next day’s battle would require great sacrifice. He asked Alicia if the Ark was ready, to which she replied that she only had one monster left, adding that she had also saved a spot for him on the Ark. She told him that all humans knew was war, but Ryude countered that they knew hope as well. Alicia told him not to die and promised to come back to see him one day.

As she headed off, Ryude asked her to pass his harp along to someone who would appreciate it. She asked him why, as she thought that he had wanted to be a bard. Ryude told her that he had finished his song, and that was enough for him. At her insistence, he played his song for her and the Thorny Bear cub. Meanwhile, Hilla used her powers to revive the fallen soldiers in order to learn the weak point in Ryude’s defense. After several soldiers refused to reveal anything, she finally encountered one soldier who told her that Ryude planned to destroy the bridge.

As nightfall approached, Hazelle asked Ryude what he had meant about snow being love many years ago. He told Hazelle that he had once realized that they had covered the world in ash and destruction, but the snow covered all the ugliness and sadness in the world to make it anew, as though the gods had forgiven for them for what they had done to their creation.

Soon after, the enemy’s main force arrived in large numbers and began to overwhelm Ryude’s soldiers, who had all been spread thin. Ryude checked on Mylar, who told him that Alicia had passed on a message to him. She said that as a Transcendent and the mother of all life, she forgave Ryude for all his sins and asked him to stop blaming himself. Mylar then told him that she had shared with him what little power remained to her, allowing him to complete the spell faster. Ryude rushed to the bridge in order to hold their position, giving Hazelle enough time to set off explosives on the mountainside.

Hilla was impressed by Ryude’s bravery, wondering if he was even human, but was surprised at the abrupt change of plans, as she had learned from the dead soldiers that they were planning to blow up the bridge. As Von Leon sent out his forces, Hazelle’s explosion created an avalanche to block the enemy. Over the next hour, all the soldiers fought to their last breath as Mylar succeeded in lightning the beacon. As Ryude lay dying, Von Leon approached him and congratulated Ryude for his victory, asking for his name and telling him that he had fought well.

(A/N: Ryude finally giving his name to Von Leon at the end of the storyline comes after Alicia forgives him and asks him to forgive himself. His last stand at the tower is meant to be his redemption for all his sins, with him reclaiming his identity as Ryude being meant to show that he’s finally forgiven himself.)

Meanwhile, Alicia succeeded in gathering up all the creatures she wanted on the Ark, which she then steered to the Tower of Oz, a place where all the surviving creatures could live in captivity safe from the Black Mage.

The Six Heroes:

Thanks to Ryude’s heroic sacrifice, the Dragon Master’s beacon was lit for all of Maple World to see. Many people gathered at the site of the battle in response, and among them were six heroes who would unite against the Black Mage.

Freud the Dragon Master was a prodigy, having exceptional mastery over magic despite his young age. Those who knew him best were well acquainted with his radical beliefs, as Freud felt that those who monopolized power, whether they be kings or Transcendents, ultimately did more harm than good. He held a deep love for living creatures, especially dragons, and believed that in a perfect world, humans would be able to govern themselves and live peacefully with the other creatures of Maple World.

His research into dragons would lead him to meet Afrien, the King of the Onyx Dragons. The Onyx Dragons were the most powerful species of dragons, but their souls remained incomplete until they bonded with another whose soul resonated on the same frequency. Realizing that they both shared a kindred spirit, Freud and Afrien created the first Spirit Pact, a contract that allowed them to gain immense power such that they could perform great feats of magic that they would not have been able to do alone. (A/N: Evan’s storyline implies that many people went on to make Spirit Pacts with Onyx Dragons, although there’s no other mention of this outside of his conversation with Afrien.)

After their contract was complete, Afrien gifted Freud a dazzling pendant called the Sylph Pendant. Although it was purely decorative, it was a symbol of their sacred bond. When the Black Mage heard of the might of the Onyx Dragons, he approached Afrien and offered to form a Spirit Pact with him instead, hoping to take the power of the Onyx Dragons for himself. Sensing the Black Mage’s evil soul, Afrien refused and turned him away. In retaliation, the Black Mage wiped out the Onyx Dragons, leaving Afrien and his egg as the sole survivors.

(A/N: Evan’s lore comes from an earlier time in the game when the Black Mage was a generic evil villain rather than a fallen savior. As such, it seems fairly out-of-character for him to have coveted the Spirit Pact’s power when we know in retrospect that he was aiming to steal Tana and Rhinne’s Transcendent powers. You could argue that he did this in order to force Freud to join the fight, but I feel like Freud would’ve fought the Black Mage even if the Onyx Dragons hadn’t been wiped out.)

Aran was a powerful warrior who possessed a polearm with a spirit, Maha, which she obtained from a legendary blacksmith in Mu Lung. As weapons with spirits were extremely rare, and even rarer still was it to be deemed worthy to wield one, it spoke immensely of Aran’s strength as a legendary warrior. Having grown up with a stoic grandfather, Aran developed a quiet, serious personality. She also rode a powerful Silver Wolf named Ryko into battle.

(A/N: For context, the only other people to wield weapons with spirits are Alpha and Beta wielding Lazuli and Lapis, and Damien commanding the Spirit of Vengeance. Given that both of these beings were Transcendents, at least at some point, it stands to show what kind of league she was in.

Her growing up with her grandfather and her stoic personality is mentioned in a book called Secret Story, which Nexon published with all kinds of little details. Her serious personality from centuries ago is very different from the joking personality she develops after her memories are wiped away.

The information about Ryko comes from her mount quest, during which Aran raises a Silver Wolf and names it Ryko. At level 200, Maha reveals that she had another Silver Wolf in the past, which she had also named Ryko. I wish that we got to see Ryko in past flashbacks, but they apparently forgot that they wrote him into the story.)

Luminous, the Magician of Light, was the last remnant of light cast out by the Black Mage upon his awakening as a Transcendent. Instead of fading away, that ball of light shot up into the starlit sky and fell back down upon the ruins of the Aurora Great Temple, manifesting as a small boy. Because of this, the mages of Aurora called him the Starchild. Luminous was raised by the surviving members of Aurora, some of whom persisted as spirits through the power of light even after their deaths.

To prevent the Black Mage from finding them, the mages of Aurora moved their headquarters to a pocket dimension called Harmony. Even in spite of their countermeasures, however, the mages knew that the Black Mage would one day come for Luminous. In order to protect him, they raised a girl named Lucia, who was also strong in light magic, as the false Starchild. Luminous grew up as best friends with Lucia, unaware that she had been raised as a lamb for slaughter. When the Black Mage came to destroy the last of his light, Luminous managed to escape and Lucia remained behind to be killed in his place in order to make the Black Mage believe that the threat of the Starchild had been dealt with.

(A/N: Luminous’ storyline has many references to Star Wars. His master, Vieren, is known as Beer-Wan in other translations, an obvious reference to Obi-Wan, and even manifests as a guiding spirit like how Obi-Wan aids Luke as a Force spirit. Luminous’ struggle against the darkness is similar to the temptation of the dark side of the Force. He also creates a Sentrobo guard called R2-B2, which is obviously a reference to R2-D2. It’s possible that Luminous and Lucia might also be a loose tie-in to Luke and Leia as well.

Regarding the storyline with Lucia, the White Mage tells Luminous at the end of Tenebris that he deliberately didn’t destroy the last of his light when he awakened as a Transcendent because he knew that Luminous would become the Adversary. Given that the Adversary can be any class, we can technically disregard that last part, but it does confirm that the Black Mage had no intention of destroying Luminous, which contradicts the storyline with Lucia in which he attacks Harmony, although you can argue that he did this in order to give Luminous a reason to fight the Black Mage, similar to the reason why he destroyed the Onyx Dragons. However, much like with Freud, I feel like Luminous would’ve considered it his duty to fight the darkness as a mage of Aurora anyways.)

Mercedes was the Ruler of the Elves and considered it her solemn duty to fight the Black Mage in order to protect her people. In the kingdom of Elluel, two young elves named Lucid and Athena Pierce both idolized Mercedes and spent much of their time trying to impress her with their skills. Lucid was often jealous of Athena, as her prowess in archery exceeded that of Lucid’s. Lucid soon realized that she had the ability to manipulate dreams and created a music box as a gift for Mercedes, which was capable of producing sweet dreams for its listener. However, she became upset when Mercedes decided to share the music box with the kingdom, as she wanted it to be something she could share with Mercedes alone.

When Mercedes learned of the Black Mage’s threat to Maple World, she decided to join the other Heroes in order to protect her people. Both Lucid and Athena insisted on coming with her, but Mercedes refused to take two young girls into battle. The night that Mercedes was set to leave Elluel, Lucid decided to follow her and convince Mercedes to bring her along, but soon realized that not only did Athena have the same idea, but she had reached Mercedes first. To her horror, Mercedes agreed to take Athena with her and entrusted her with the Mistelteinn, the sacred bow of the elves, whose power would protect Athena from harm. Burning with jealousy that Athena had formed the close relationship with Mercedes that she yearned for, Lucid ran away from Elluel and used her powers of dream manipulation to make all the elves forget that she ever existed.

(A/N: There’s some pretty heavy subtext that Lucid had romantic feelings for Mercedes, although you could technically argue that Lucid merely idolized her. My take is that Lucid definitely has a deep desire to be needed by powerful beings, such as Mercedes, the Ruler of the Elves, or the Black Mage, the Transcendent of Light. Given how easily attachment can lead to attraction, I can definitely see how she could have developed feelings for both Mercedes and the Black Mage.)

Phantom was a master thief, infamous for stealing the treasures of the aristocracy. Born a street urchin in Ariant, he was taken under the wing of Raven, a famous thief who taught the boy everything he knew. After Raven was killed while defusing a bomb, Phantom carried on his legacy by stealing from the nobility he resented as a child.

As stories of his exploits grew, Empress Aria, the ruler of Maple World, became intrigued by Phantom and wished to meet him, though she knew that he would never come to Ereve, as the kingdom had nothing worth stealing. In order to lure him out, she spread rumors of a gem called Skaia, which was said to glow in the hands of someone of the Empress’ bloodline. Just as she had planned, Phantom arrived to steal the gem, though he was accidentally caught in a magic trap. Hoping that he would listen to the problems she faced as the Empress, Aria freed him from the trap and helped him escape from the guards.

Phantom soon visited her again, but instead of stealing Skaia, he tried to convince her to give it to him, though Aria refused. This quickly became a game for them every night, where he would come to visit her under the pretense of stealing her treasure. Over time, they slowly fell in love and spent long nights speaking and enjoying each other’s company. Phantom was intrigued by Aria’s idealism and her pursuit of equality, which was so different from that of the other nobles he had encountered.

One night, Aria told Phantom that the Black Mage had requested to send an envoy to Ereve in order to negotiate an end to the war. However, the conference was a trap, and Aria was killed by Lotus. Phantom rushed to Ereve upon hearing the news, but he found that he was too late to prevent her death. A wounded Shinsoo entrusted Skaia to Phantom and asked him to safeguard it, unaware that it was merely a common gem with no magical properties. Hellbent on revenge, Phantom approached Freud and requested to join the other Heroes.

A sixth hero, whose name was lost to time, was Freud’s best friend. When he first met Freud, he told him that he had nothing to live for, to which Freud said that he had nothing to die for either. This motivated the hero to keep living, and so he dedicated his life to the one who had saved him. Freud even gave the hero a name, which he cherished deeply. (A/N: This isn’t his current name, Shade. He apparently has another name, which Freud gives him, likely a nickname, but we neither know that nor his birth name, if he even had one.) He developed a fighting style that was extremely uncommon; centuries in the future, it would be considered that of a pirate. He had no family, no clan, and no attachments but to the comrades who stood alongside him.

War Against the Black Mage:

With the destruction of the Anti-Black Mage Coalition at the hands of Von Leon, the people of Maple World were quick to place their hopes in the Heroes as stories spread of their successful exploits. Though they were the most well-known group of freedom fighters, there were still other factions who participated in the war against the Black Mage.

Destonen was a legendary fighter, said to be the first pirate in Maple World, and rumored to have fought with only his bare hands. He married a half-elf named Yuris and had a son named Tess. After a chunk of Ossyria broke off from the mainland, it floated away and became known as Victoria Island. It was there that Destonen had a legendary battle against the Black Mage as he single-handedly defended it from his forces.

(A/N: I swear that I remember reading that Destonen’s battle with the Black Mage was the very reason why Victoria Island broke off from Ossyria, but for the life of me I can’t find a single source to corroborate it. I’ll put down the official story, but if y’all wanna headcanon my version then feel free, especially since it seems much more exciting that way.)

In Ereve, Empress Aria had created a secret organization called the Silent Crusade, which was responsible for gathering information on the Black Mage and stopping disasters before they happened. Though the exact details of their operations remained unknown, the organization persisted centuries after the Empress’ death.

(A/N: This is learned in the final quest of the Silent Crusade storyline. Originally, the dialogue said that the organization had been created by the Cygnus Knights generations ago, but as the Cygnus Knights themselves didn’t exist back then, the wording was changed to say that the former Empress had created them.)

On the Heroes’ front, Freud served as their strategist and attempted to find the best way to defeat the Black Mage. Though he hoped that the Heroes would be able to defeat the Black Mage, he created two contingency plans in case the worst happened. For both cases, Freud drew upon the power of the Seal Stones, knowing that their power exceeded that of both the Ancient Gods and the Transcendents.

During his research into how to create and use a Seal Stone, he discovered three main features needed: firstly, a focal point for where the power of the Seal Stone must be channeled, ranging anywhere from a person to a continent; secondly, the combined will of five individuals to give the intent for the Seal Stone's power; finally, a strong desire to abandon destruction and seek peace.

The Seal Stones required the desperate wish of many in order to use - in other words, they would not grant the wish of an individual. Once it demonstrated a power greater than cause and effect, the Seal Stone would be destroyed. After the Ancient War, the divine power of the Seal Stones had permeated deep into the lands of the three worlds, which Freud extracted and reshaped back into their original forms, hoping to use them as a failsafe in case the Heroes were unable to stop the Black Mage.

By distributing them to the people of Maple World, they would be able to undo the damage done to their lands. To this end, Freud and the other Heroes distributed at least eight Seal Stones to Orbis, El Nath, Mu Lung, Ludibrium, the Nihal Desert, Ereve, Ellin Forest, and Victoria Island.

(A/N: The last one is probably a canon inconsistency, as Ellin Forest is literally part of Victoria Island, and so it doesn’t make sense for Freud to have created two stones for the same region. The other possibility is that it refers to the same stone, which might be possible depending on the laws of time travel.

In Aran’s storyline, the Black Wings travel into the past to steal the Seal Stone of Ellin Forest, but the Seal Stone of Victoria Island still remains safe. This could only happen if Maple World doesn’t operate on the basis of a causal loop, where going back in time and changing the past is what shapes the events of the present that were always meant to be, just like how Harry goes back in time with the Time-Turner and saves himself from the Dementors.

Assuming that we’re not operating on a causal loop, the Black Wings go back in time in Timeline A and steal the Seal Stone of Ellin Forest. This creates a divergent Timeline B where the Seal Stone of Ellin Forest is lost, but they instead return back to Timeline A, where Aran is in possession of Timeline A’s Seal Stone of Ellin Forest, which we rename the Seal Stone of Victoria Island. The Black Wings bringing back Timeline B’s Seal Stone of Ellin Forest allows for two of the same Seal Stones to exist in Timeline A, while Timeline B is bereft of its Seal Stone of Ellin Forest.

Honestly though, Nexon could just fix this plot hole and save us the trouble of wrapping out heads around the metaphysics of time travel.)

During the war, Alicia decided to back the Heroes with her powers as a Transcendent. Though she originally did not interfere in human affairs, Ryude’s bravery moved Alicia into actively take a stand against the Black Mage. (A/N: We don’t know what Alicia did specifically to help the Heroes, only that she did something.)

The Seal of Time:

In the last days of the war, the Black Mage and his Commanders prepared to siege the Temple of Time. As the sole restriction on the Transcendent of Time was that they could alter the fate of anyone but themselves, Rhinne knew that she couldn’t stop the Black Mage from taking her power. However, she attempted to create a new future by creating the Child of the Goddess through her teardrops, who she hoped would succeed her as the Transcendent of Time, which would prevent the Black Mage from taking the power of time. Knowing that the Temple of Time wasn’t safe, Rhinne handpicked loyal priests to take the child to safety and watch over it.

Before they could escape, however, the Black Mage arrived with his Commanders. During the battle, the Demon confronted a wounded Temple Keeper and told her that she was the last one left. Claiming that the Black Mage would seal her Goddess away, he asked her to surrender rather than throw her life away in vain. The Temple Keeper refused and foretold that the Demon would soon find himself in the same situation as her, to have his loved ones killed just as a means for someone else to fulfill their goals. Undeterred by her words, the Demon struck her down before proceeding to confront Rhinne. Arkarium then blinded Rhinne, while the Demon stunned her in place, allowing the Black Mage to steal her Transcendent powers. He then used the power of time to seal both Rhinne and her child into a different dimension.

(A/N: There are two conflicting versions of the sealing of Rhinne. The Silent Crusade storyline shows that Rhinne has been frozen in ice within the Temple of Time, much like the Heroes. However, Zero’s storyline shows that Rhinne was trapped in Mirror World. It may be possible that her physical form and her spirit were separated into these two locations, or that she was recaptured after being freed by the Silent Crusade, but more likely Nexon decided to retcon it since Rhinne being sealed in Mirror World served to enhance Zero’s story. Since the Silent Crusade was adapted from JMS content, whereas Zero’s storyline is sourced from KMS, I’m going with the latter storyline to say that Rhinne is in Mirror World.)

Having sensed Tana’s existence in Kritias, the Black Mage also recognized that she was a Transcendent of Light with the power of creation. In order to prevent her from escaping, he used the power of time to drag the kingdom from the past, moments after Hekaton’s Ascendency failed, and brought it into the present day. (A/N: I have no idea how the mechanics of this would work. Are those days in between that moment and the present just erased or something?) He then ordered his forces to invade Kritias, ensuring that any trace of Tana’s existence would be erased in the siege, and finally sealed Kritias away into a pocket dimension, where time would stand still for its citizens until the time came for the Genesis Ritual.

However, using the stolen powers of another Transcendent caused the Black Mage to weaken. Furthermore, it caused an Interdimensional Portal to appear in Maple World. After conquering the Temple of Time, the Black Mage decided to set into motion the fateful events that would cause him to be sealed. He praised the Demon’s contributions in the battle while deliberately ignoring Arkarium’s efforts, knowing that it would make Arkarium jealous of his rival. While the Demon rested after the battle, the Black Mage ordered the other Commanders to destroy the rest of Ossyria.

Arkarium went to the southern region of Leafre, where he attacked the Demon’s family and killed his mother. This caused Damien’s latent demon powers to awaken, resulting in the destruction of their home. Impressed by his power, Arkarium convinced Damien to join him by claiming that it was Damien’s awakening that had resulted in his mother’s fatal wounds. He presented an illusion of Damien’s mother preserved in time and explained that only a Transcendent had the power to revive the dead. However, he also said that the Black Mage would have full control over the new Transcendent of Time after Rhinne and suggested that they could turn back time to revive his mother, but only if Damien swore his loyalty to the Black Mage.

With Damien as his underling, Arkarium hoped to use him as insurance against the Demon. When the Demon awoke after the battle, he heard the news of the attack on Leafre during a meeting and rushed to his home, only to discover that it was in flames. Furious that the Black Mage had broken his promise to leave his family alone, the Demon stormed into the Temple of Time. After running into his servant, a pure-blood demon named Mastema, he ordered her to deliver a letter to the Heroes that outlined his betrayal, as well as logistics of the troop deployment in the Temple of Time.

The Demon then headed to the Black Mage’s throne room, but was stopped by Arkarium outside the door. When Arkarium refused to step aside, the Demon began fighting against him. Before they could unleash their full power, the Black Mage opened the doors to allow the Demon entry, after which Arkarium left to go hunt down the Heroes. The Demon engaged in a fierce battle with the Black Mage and managed to destroy his protective barrier, but he was ultimately no match for his former master. Meanwhile, Arkarium arrived to see Mastema delivering the letter to the Heroes. The Heroes managed to chase Arkarium away, but Mastema and Aran were both injured. Mastema took the form of a cat in order to survive, while Aran was left behind due to her injuries. The remaining Heroes pressed forward to siege the Temple of Time, leaving Athena Pierce to oversee the evacuation of the survivors in Leafre.

(A/N: It’s not explicitly said that Aran was injured due to Arkarium’s attack, but since we know that the only logical event that could take place after getting the Demon’s letter was the Heroes’ assault on the Temple of Time, and that Aran was left behind after she gets injured, it seems a likely conclusion that Arkarium’s attack and Aran getting injured are related.)

Aran soon regained consciousness and helped Athena with the rest of the evacuation by rescuing a lost child in the burning forest, after which she rushed to meet up with the other Heroes at the Temple of Time. She single-handedly held off the Black Mage’s ground forces while Freud, Afrien, and Mercedes went ahead to fight the Black Mage. Meanwhile, Phantom, Luminous, and the pirate hero took out the aerial forces with the Lumiere, after which they landed near the Black Mage’s throne room. With Aran and Phantom covering them, Luminous and the pirate hero entered the Temple of Time. As they approached the throne room, they were stopped by Guwaru.

Just as they were about to fight, Magnus appeared from behind and stabbed Guwaru, absorbing the spirit magic inside of him in order to permanently lengthen his lifespan, which had been cut short by Kaiser’s attack. Declaring that he was done with Maple World, Magnus left and used the newly created Interdimensional Portal in order to return to Grandis.

Meanwhile, Phantom hunted down his true enemies: Orchid and Lotus. He engaged in a fierce battle against the twin Wing Masters and savagely attacked Lotus, putting him into a coma. As Phantom disappeared, Orchid vowed to revive Lotus and took his body away from the Temple of Time.

Elsewhere, Luminous and the pirate hero entered the throne room, where they saw Afrien and Mercedes unconscious, and Freud heavily injured. Freud told them that the Black Mage’s power far exceeded their own, and that they could not hope to defeat him. Instead, he hoped to use the remaining Seal Stones in order to seal the Black Mage away by having them absorb the stolen Transcendent powers, thus creating a powerful Seal of Time, though he added that it was merely a theory, as the Seal Stones had never been used in such a way before.

He used a spell to freeze time, allowing Luminous to place the seals around the Black Mage. However, Freud then informed them that there was one more component needed to activate the seal: the time of one living person. After a heated argument, the pirate hero chose to become the sacrifice. His time was absorbed into the Seal Stones, causing all traces of him to vanish from memories, photographs, and any other object that proved that he once existed. However, as Freud had created the spell, he remained aware that some person must have been sacrificed in order to activate the seal, though all knowledge about the pirate hero, such as his name and appearance, had been erased from his mind.

Freud then told Luminous that in order to create the seal, they needed to force the Black Mage into drawing out his full power so that he would have no choice but to resort to using the Transcendent of Time’s power. After placing the spell on the Seal Stones, Freud undid the time freeze, and Luminous engaged in a fierce duel with the Black Mage. Luminous used the full extent of his light magic to counter the Black Mage’s dark magic, forcing the Black Mage to use the power of time. Immediately, the Seal Stones absorbed the stolen power and activated the Seal of Time.

(A/N: This is likely why the Black Mage chose to absorb Rhinne’s power in the first place, as he knew that doing so would result in him being sealed away, as well as ensuring that Freud would recreate the Seal Stones, which would one day give rise to an Adversary.)

As the Seal of Time began activating, the Black Mage attempted to shatter the seal. To prevent this from happening, Luminous charged forward to stop him. However, the physical contact between the Black Mage and the last remnant of his light resulted in a power transfer, and Luminous inadvertently absorbed a trace of the Transcendent’s dark power, turning one of his eyes crimson red. With the Black Mage sealed behind the Gate of the Present, the Heroes were summarily expelled from the Temple of Time and cast down from the sky into the burning land of Leafre. With the power of time sealed away with the Black Mage, the Interdimensional Portal in Maple World also disappeared.

PART II: AFTER THE SEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

The Long Peace:

Before he was sealed, the Black Mage cast a final curse upon the Heroes, which slowly began freezing them in ice. Centuries in the future, Arkarium used the power of the Mystic Gates to open a crack in time, allowing him to travel back to the moment after the Black Mage’s seal was created, intending to break the seal while it was unguarded. Soon after, several agents of the Silent Crusade traveled back in time in order to stop him.

Amidst the ruins of Leafre, one Crusader began heading towards the Temple of Time when they ran into an unconscious Aran. The spirit of the polearm, Maha, explained that he was planning to transport Aran to the frozen island of Rien in order to slow down the Black Mage’s curse. However, he had been damaged during the fight and had lost much of his strength. After the Crusader helped repair Maha, the spirit used the last of his power to take his master to Rien, where she eventually succumbed to the Black Mage’s curse and froze in ice.

The Crusader then encountered Afrien, along with an unconscious Freud and Mercedes. Afrien was able to recognize that the Crusader had come from the future and explained that he had taken the Black Mage’s curse in Freud’s place through the power of their Spirit Pact. He asked that they find his egg, which had been lost deep in the forest.

The Crusader successfully returned the egg back to Afrien, who then asked for a final favor. He explained that Mercedes had been gravely injured, though she could survive with the Crusader’s help. With the Crusader’s consent, Afrien extracted a portion of their life force and created a crystal, which the Crusader then used to bring Mercedes back from the brink of death.

(A/N: This all happens during the Silent Crusade storyline when you travel back in time to stop Arkarium from breaking the seal on the Black Mage.)

After helping Mercedes, the Crusader traveled to the Temple of Time, where the spirit of Rhinne asked them to stop Arkarium from breaking the Seal of Time. The Crusader proceeded through the Gate of the Present and found a clone of Arkarium conducting a magical ritual in order to destroy the seal. They successfully defeated Arkarium and forced to retreat before he could finish his task. However, Arkarium’s ritual nevertheless managed to weakened the seal, which would slowly degrade over the centuries.

After the Crusader returned back to their own time, Mercedes awoke and spoke with Afrien, who warned that the Black Mage’s curse would affect her kingdom, as the destiny of the elves was tied to that of their ruler. Mercedes rushed back to Elluel, where she found that her subjects were freezing in ice one by one. Before she succumbed to the Black Mage’s curse herself, Mercedes closed the borders of the kingdom to prevent the curse from spreading outside Elluel.

Meanwhile, Phantom attempted to flee the Temple of Time, though he, his staff, and the Lumiere itself were all frozen and crashed somewhere near the Rien Archipelago. Luminous managed to find a way back to Victoria Island and began to head towards Elluel, but only made it as far as Ellin Forest before he was frozen. Throughout Maple World, all traces of the pirate hero were removed, as though he had never existed. The Demon was severely injured from his battle with the Black Mage, and so he sealed himself away inside a protective egg in order to recover.

Soon after, Freud awoke and created a powerful Barrier of Time that would make it impossible to travel back in time any further than the moment the Black Mage’s seal was made, thus preventing any of the Commanders from stopping the Black Mage from being sealed. He then took Afrien to an isolated island near Rien. Having taken the curse in Freud’s place, Afrien slowly began to freeze over the years until the ice around him formed an enormous cave.

Over time, animals began to settle on the island and Afrien was forced to remain still so that he wouldn’t disturb the ecosystem developing around him. The island, far out of the way of normal sailors, would only be encountered by voyagers who had been thrown off course from storms. The few people who would encounter the island named it Turtle Island. When he was unable to move any longer, Afrien entrusted his egg to Freud, who hid it somewhere safe for the next Dragon Master to find.

The divine beast of Ereve, Shinsoo, guided the way for Athena Pierce and the survivors of Leafre toward the southern plains of Victoria Island. (A/N: The southern plains of Victoria Island are roughly where Henesys is. I wonder if Athena was hoping to take them to Elluel but just didn’t know where exactly it was since the whole area split from Ossyria.)

However, dragons attacked the airship and the refugees crashed in the middle of Ellin Forest instead. Cut off from the outside world, the refugees set up Altaire Camp and began the task of colonizing the dangerous forest. In spite of the many challenges that they faced, the refugees were able to push back the various monsters that attacked their camp and established a community. Among the refugees were Yuris and Tess, the wife and son of the great pirate Destonen. Yuris was pregnant with their second child, whom she decided to name Kyrin.

The people of Altaire Camp were also aided by a refugee named Kao, who had lost their memories and arrived at Altaire Camp with the others. Kao later disappeared, but reappeared some time later with no memory of their time in Altaire Camp.

(A/N: Kao is the player character who went back in time to warn their past self about Arcane Power after losing to the Black Mage. They likely overshot to the time of Altaire Camp and wound up with the refugees, aiding them until possibly recovering enough of their memories to the point that they used the Three Doors in the Temple of Time to return to the present day, where they lost their memories again. As I mentioned before, MapleStory probably doesn’t operate with causal loop time-travel mechanics, which would explain many things like why your name isn’t Kao when you start out.)

Athena Pierce recognized that this Kao was from the future. The future Kao helped the refugees defeat the corrupted Fairy Queen Ephenia, whose hatred for humans had been cemented when the White Mage broke his promise to her that he would create peace on Maple World. A black-robed man named Kirston capitalized on her broken heart and convinced her to join him in carrying out the Black Mage’s will to destroy all humans. Together, they conspired to poison Ellin Forest and kill the people of Altaire Camp before they were defeated by the future Kao. (A/N: Ephenia doesn’t seem to realize that the Black Mage is the same man whom she was once in love with.)

During the war, Alicia had been severely damaged by the Black Mage after he had attempted to take her Transcendent powers, which had caused the World Tree to wither away. During the evacuation of Leafre, Athena Pierce secretly brought her along with the refugees. After they crashed on Victoria Island, Alicia helped the refugees set up Altaire Camp.

Soon after, she decided to keep her promise to see Ryude one last time and visited the Dragon Master’s Tower along with the Thorny Bear cub that Ryude had given her, which had grown up since then. She found Ryude’s frozen corpse still kneeling in place and told him that because of his sacrifice, brave heroes had gathered at the sight of the beacon and united together, eventually managing to seal the Black Mage.

She also told him that she herself had helped the Heroes after being moved by his bravery, though she dismissed it as merely an act of a mother protecting her children. Finally, she explained that his friend, Hazelle, had manually activated the explosives to trigger the avalanche that had held back Von Leon’s forces, which had resulted in his fiery death, and that Mylar had spent his life force in order to accelerate the beacon spell.

She gave a final farewell to Ryude and used her powers to scatter his body before setting the Thorny Bear free, telling it to live freely in the world that Ryude had given his life to save. She then brought his sword to the Tower of Oz in his memory, after which she returned to Victoria Island. There, she created Root Abyss deep beneath the World Tree, sealing herself away amidst the strong life energy in Sleepywood in order to recover from the Black Mage’s attack.

Over time, the people of Maple World began to rebuild their homes. Though the threat of the Black Mage had passed, monsters still hounded the survivors. Because the Demon had served as a Commander, the people of Leafre developed a hatred for the demon race. They drove out the weak, peaceful demons who had left Tynerum in search of a better life, including Damien, and forced them to return to their homeland, where the pure-bloods subjected them to a brutal life of slavery.

(A/N: The Heroes of Maple blockbuster reveals that Damien was also forced to return to Tynerum. However, this might contradict the Damien webcomic commissioned by Nexon, which confirms that Arkarium recruited Damien immediately after Damien’s family home was destroyed. It’s possible that Arkarium sent Damien to Tynerum in order to grow stronger and to raise his demon army.)

With his old friends cursed in frozen slumber, Freud struggled to find his place in a world that was slowly evolving without him. Determined not to let his friends’ sacrifices be forgotten, he spent his time traveling the world, saving people from monsters and spreading the word of the Heroes who had stopped the Black Mage. One day, however, Freud witnessed a man rushing forward to defend his village alone, rather than running away. This made him realize that what the people needed were heroes of today, not memories of heroes past.

He decided to create a ring called the Sylph Ring, imbibing it with some of his powers and the memories of his friends. He passed it on to the hero whom he had seen defending his home in the hope that its power would serve as a faithful companion to him as Afrien did to Freud, and to ensure that the legacy of the Heroes would remain in Maple World.

However, Freud soon faced another problem. With the extinction of the Onyx Dragons, humans began hunting lesser dragon species in the hopes of claiming their powers, no matter how fractional compared to that of the Onyx Dragons. In an effort to help the persecuted dragons, Freud imbibed some of his power into the Sylph Pendant, which Afrien had given to him after forming their Spirit Pact. He gave the pendant to the dragons, hoping that it would protect them. However, when the dragons began to use the power of the Sylph Pendant to attack the humans, Freud sealed its power away until a worthy person could claim it.

Some time later, Freud met with the remaining Shamanesses of Azwan. Together, they looked into the future and divined a prophecy: “As the final battle approaches, the unshackled wolf will devour the World Tree.” Though he knew that Maple World would one day be in grave danger again, Freud had faith that his friends would unite once more to face that threat. Because of this, he chose to leave the future in their hands.

In order to make preparations, Freud sought a powerful relic known as the Transcendence Stone, which had the power to control or even destroy a Transcendent. He traveled deep in the Nihal Desert and found the Sanctum of Abraxas, where he discovered the relic of Abraxas, a massive airship. However, though he was able to locate the Transcendence Stone with the relic, he could not pass through the dimensional barrier between Maple World and Earth, where the Transcendence Stone lay hidden. He returned the relic of Abraxas back to the Sanctum, where he enchanted it so that only his successor could awaken the relic.

Over the next few decades, the refugees who once struggled to maintain Altaire Camp began to expand their territory by driving away the surrounding monsters. A time of growth began, with all of Victoria Island slowly becoming settled. A powerful thief named Lohd, who had been one of the pioneers of Altaire Camp, helped found Kerning City after disagreeing with the way that Athena Pierce ran Altaire Camp and became the first Dark Lord.

Athena, having been entrusted with the Mistelteinn, was immune to the curse that had frozen the elves. (A/N: I wonder if the Mistelteinn is a relic of an Ancient God since it has the power to withstand a Transcendent’s curse.) However, with Elluel’s borders closed, she could not return to her kingdom. Eventually, she helped found the city of Henesys and became a prominent figure in the community. Crawls with Balrog, an infant refugee from a warrior tribe, would grow up to help found Perion, a barren land at the ruins of Sharenian, becoming its first chief and gaining the name Dances with Balrog. (A/N: It’s not explicitly confirmed that Crawls with Balrog is Dances with Balrog, but it’s heavily implied enough that I consider it to be canon.)

Over time, Ellin Forest gradually developed into Ellinia, a town populated by the Sylphs - one of the three species of fairies. (A/N: I’ve mentioned it before, but the other two races of fairies are the Nymphs of Orbis and the Elves of Elluel.) The Sylphs were distrustful of human beings, although the efforts of a magician called Grendel helped improve fairy-human relations.

In his youth, Grendel had experimented with dark magic while attempting to bring a straw doll to life. When he had accidentally cursed the doll instead, he dumped it in the forest. However, the Lupins who lived in the forest had come in contact with the doll, transforming them into Zombie Lupins. Grendel deeply regretted dabbling in dark magic and swore never to use it again. Over the years, he became extremely powerful and wise. As a wizard, he was capable of extending his lifespan far beyond the capacity of normal humans, although he could not prevent the effects of aging. This earned him the moniker Grendel the Really Old.

Elsewhere, Yuris had given birth to Kyrin, but even in spite of the newfound peace, her husband Destonen remained convinced that the Black Mage would return. When Kyrin was a child, Destonen asked Athena Pierce to watch over her. Destonen then set off in search of traces of the Black Mage, though he would never return from his journey. Meanwhile, a new island called Maple Island was discovered and settled, where the brave and adventurous would begin their journey to become Explorers of Maple World.

With Empress Aria having passed away with no children, the bloodline of the Empress had been severed. Though her niece was next in the line of succession, she had fled Ereve after the Black Mage’s attack and faded into obscurity. Without an Empress to claim the power of Shinsoo, Ereve grew weaker in both power and influence. (A/N: We see in Phantom’s storyline and Cygnus’ origin story that there was a Senate of Ereve. Most likely, they continued to pass laws in the Empress’ absence while keeping it hidden from the rest of Maple World that there was no ruling Empress.)

Nevertheless, an unprecedented peace began in Maple World, lasting for several centuries as civilizations began to rebuild and evolve. The powerful monsters throughout the world were hunted down, and as a result, the monster population grew significantly weaker.

The Shadow War:

Around 300 years ago, a mysterious war broke out in Maple World. Though nearly all details about its origins and history remained shrouded in mystery, it was rumored that Lotus, whose spirit was capable of leaving his comatose body and possessing others, may have been the cause. A tome called the Book of Ancient, filled with powerful forbidden spells, was used as a weapon during the course of the war.

The actions of Athena Pierce and several others would eventually bring about an end to the conflict. Over the next few centuries, few people would remember that such a war had even occurred. A powerful wizard in El Nath, Alcaster, still remembered, as he had been born shortly before the start of the war.

(A/N: The amount of lore that exists on this topic is microscopic. In fact, really the only information about this war 300 years ago is that it exists. The information about the Book of Ancient comes from the El Nath town quests, which have us go on a mission to help Alcaster seal the Book of Ancient. The original version of this quest should be familiar to people who played pre-Big Bang, as it involved a lot of back-and-forth travel across Maple World in order to gain access to Alcaster’s special shop that had objects like Magic Rocks and Holy Water.

That questline revealed that the Book of Ancient contained forbidden spells created by a person named Elmina, and that the war was when the four Wisemen of Victoria Island met - Athena Pierce, Dances with Balrog, Grendel the Really Old, and the Dark Lord. The lore about Elmina and the Wisemen was removed in the current iteration of the quest, which was shortened considerably, leaving only the lore about the Book of Ancient being used in the war.

From what I gather, mentions of this war have been around since the game was created. It’s possible that it was originally meant to be the war against the Black Mage, but Phantom’s storyline makes it clear that the battle against the Black Mage took place centuries before this one. He speculates that maybe Lotus had a hand in causing it, but then tells himself that he shouldn’t jump to conclusions.

Additionally, although it’s not strictly canon, the MSEA localization for MONAD mentions that Skuas Fortress, which is the setting for Act 3, was an impregnable fortress instrumental in stopping the war 300 years ago. Since Monad was released in 2018, we can guess that at least Nexon hasn’t forgotten about the existence of this mystery war.)

The Age of Monsters:

Though the mysterious war had ended, true peace never returned. Across Maple World, great monsters began to appear across the lands.

A war between the dragons of Leafre took place between the last two of the three Great Kings, Nine-Spirit and Horntail. (A/N: The third was Afrien.) To undermine Nine-Spirit’s rule, Horntail stole his egg and sealed the good king away. However, Horntail was gravely injured in the battle and retreated to the Cave of Life in order to recover, planning to one day use the egg to expand his rule beyond Leafre. Under his influence, all the lesser dragons were corrupted and became evil, while the Halflingers who served the dragons cowered in fear.

Deep in the mines of El Nath, there was a spirit named Zakum who was sealed in a tree. A mining town that once existed nearby eventually discovered this tree. At the time, Zakum was a peaceful spirit who had no enemies, but the greed of the miners corrupted it. As the corruption ran deeper, Zakum grew smarter and soon gained the power to control the town's populace. It forced them to build an enormous statue in tribute, after which it possessed the statue and eventually killed everyone in the town. Around the mine, all the trees in the forest began to wither under Zakum’s dark influence, which also caused the zombies of the dead townspeople to appear, who began to roam the Forest of Dead Trees.

Long ago, the King of Ludibrium had made a deal with the Goddess Rhinne to stop time in his kingdom, allowing his people to remain youthful forever. However, the consequences of stopping time resulted in cracks appearing across spacetime, from which strange monsters appeared from another dimension. Among them was the evil Papulatus, whose influence turned the toys of Ludibrium into monsters. With the Dimensional Schism widening, more and more monsters began wreaking havoc across the kingdom.

A powerful being named Lord Balrog was an evil creature who threatened to destroy Maple World. According to legend, Balrog had been sealed away by the heroic warrior Tristan, though Balrog had sworn to one day return and rule Maple World. Tristan, Mu Young, the 7th Dark Lord Sung, and his apprentice Jin, had discovered that a mysterious threat had been destroying records of key events in Maple World, and so they had taken it upon themselves to stop it. Under the guise of hunting Balrog, the four tracked down the threat below the Cursed Temple.

Knowing that it had the power of possession, they shielded their minds to keep the enemy from possessing them. What they hadn’t anticipated was that Sung’s adopted daughter and Jin’s lover, Syl, had secretly followed them. Their target, who was the spirit of Lotus, took over Syl’s body and attacked them. Unwilling to strike her down, both Sung and Tristan allowed themselves to be killed by Syl before Jin wrested her sword out of her hands. After Lotus released her, she was horrified to see the bodies of her father and Tristan, as well as a bloody sword in Jin’s hands.

With no memory of her time being possessed, she concluded that Jin had killed Tristan and her father, and so she swore revenge against him. Jin became the 8th Dark Lord and Syl took to the shadows, adopting the title of Lady Syl and founding a rogue group of thieves called the Dual Blades, whose purpose was to overthrow the Dark Lord and seize control of Kerning City.

(A/N: A lot of the Balrog lore involving Tristan, Manji, and Mu Young is intertwined with the Dual Blade storyline. The original Dual Blade storyline has Sung going alone to fight Balrog while Tristan and Manji, not Mu Young, are occupied. Balrog transforms Sung into a monster and Jin has no choice but to kill his master. Syl believes that Jin had killed her father in order to take his place and forms the Dual Blades in revenge. Tristan and Manji then go on to seal Balrog, but Tristan dies and passes his sword on to Manji. The revamp for the Dual Blades came out in the same patch that Phantom was introduced, whose storyline involves Lotus possessing people and destroying historical records.

Likely, the overhaul on the Dual Blade storyline was meant to tie into the stuff with Lotus, but it also introduces a multitude of plot holes. If hunting Balrog was just a pretense for Tristan and the others, then there’s no explanation about how he gets sealed. Mu Young claims to be Tristan’s apprentice, even though Manji is Tristan’s apprentice and Mu Young is Manji’s. Mu Young claims that he wants to reseal Balrog to follow in his master Tristan’s footsteps, but as Mu Young was part of the expedition instead of Manji in the new storyline, he should have known that fighting Balrog was just a cover story. Since Manji was not part of the expedition, Tristan couldn’t have passed his sword onto Manji either. Ultimately, the changes to the Dual Blade storyline do more harm than good, as I feel that the Lotus tie-in really isn’t worth all these continuity issues.)

Kirston, the dark magician who helped Ephenia poison Altaire Camp, began researching relics of the Ancient Gods. In the ruins of Partem, he discovered a relic of an Ancient God and attempted to reproduce its power. As the relic had been created in the time before the Transcendents, he attempted to turn back time on the relic in order to reveal its full potential. However, the Barrier of Time created by Freud prevented time from going back any further than the moment the Black Mage’s seal was created, and the resulting failure placed a curse on the relic.

Rise of the Black Wings:

Over the centuries, Orchid spent all her time trying to find a way to revive her comatose brother. Eventually, she came across Gelimer, a scientist who specialized in medicine and biotechnology. Many years before he met Orchid, Gelimer had planned to conduct experiments in order to create the ultimate being, for which he had kidnapped several children in Edelstein in order to use them as test subjects. Of these children, one had been stolen while coming home from playing with his friends, Claudine, Elex, Belle, and Brighton. This child was turned into an android named Xenon, after which he was conditioned and trained alongside another girl who had been turned into an android named Beryl.

When Orchid approached Gelimer, he was amazed at the perfect body that Lotus had been given by the White Mage. Though he promised that he would revive her brother, Gelimer secretly plotted to keep Lotus for himself and turn him into the ultimate android. Orchid then founded the Black Wings to carry out her plans and recruited members by claiming that she was planning to resurrect the Black Mage, who would grant them all their wishes.

In order to obtain a rich source of energy for Gelimer’s experiments, the Black Wings planned to take over the energy-rich city of Edelstein. Baroq the Master of Disguise transformed himself into the Council President in order to cripple the city’s government. The Black Wings then sent their forces in to swiftly conquer the city and take control of the rue mines. They held the city hostage by threatening to destroy their Power Plant, which would wipe out the entire town. Next, they forced the citizens into hard labor and installed patrol robots and watchmen to monitor for any dissent. They kidnapped the old Council President’s daughter, Gabrielle, and kept her as a hostage in the Verne Mine. Finally, they installed a puppet ruler named Anthony as the Council President, who cracked down on police activity and airport functions in the city.

With complete access to an enormous source of energy, Gelimer moved on to the next phase in his plan. He began experiments to create an augmented clone of Lotus’ body by making copies of his genetic code and splicing it with that of other creatures, magically enhancing the bodies with alchemy. However, while he conducted his genetic experiments publicly in the Verne Mine, they were merely for show, as he secretly funneled Black Wings resources into his own private research, creating a secret facility from which he conducted his android experiments away from Orchid’s prying eyes.

Over the centuries, the Black Mage’s seal began to weaken as a result of Arkarium’s partial success in breaking it. Though this meant that the Black Mage would soon return, it also meant that the curse on the Heroes would weaken. The first hero to awaken from the ice was Luminous, who found himself in the forests of Ellinia. He was greeted by a young girl named Lania and her talking cat Penny.

When he asked her to take him to Elluel, Lania was confused, as she believed that Elluel was a fairy tale, along with the Black Mage. After learning that centuries had passed since the sealing of the Black Mage, Luminous realized that the world was at peace and decided to settle down. He accepted Lania’s offer to come live with her, and the two spent many happy years together.

(A/N: I really love Luminous and Lania’s father-daughter relationship, we don’t get to see too many of those in the game.)

On Rien, a small clan who still remembered the legend of the Heroes held faith that the lost hero, Aran, who remained frozen on the island, would one day awaken. Over the centuries, the Rien Clan continued passing down the prophecy of the Heroes’ return, though many slowly began to lose faith. One by one, the clan began to leave Rien until only two siblings, Lilin and Neinheart von Rubistein, remained.

Eventually, even Neinheart lost faith in the prophecy and decided that he would rather take fate into his own hands by finding the lost descendent of Empress Aria, who could then become the next ruler of Maple World. However, Lilin and Neinheart got into an argument over his decision, and when Lilin refused to abandon Rien and her faith in Aran’s return, Neinheart left her behind.

After a long and difficult search, Neinheart succeeded in finding the descendent of Aria’s niece, a young girl named Cygnus. He brought her before the Senate of Ereve, hoping that they would recognize her as the heir to Ereve. Cygnus explained that though she was unsure whether she was part of the Empress’ bloodline, her departed mother had told her that their ancestors had come from Ereve.

Despite Cygnus’ uncertain tone and bearing, the Senators immediately knew the truth about her ancestry, as the natural elegance of an Empress could not be hidden. The elders then gave Neinheart one year to prepare her for her responsibilities as Empress, after which they would give their decision. In order to help prepare Cygnus for her evaluation, Neinheart summoned a wandering warrior who owed Neinheart a life debt. (A/N: This is the protagonist of the Empress in Training chapter of the Grand Athenaeum that you play as.)

Though the warrior was reluctant to help, upon seeing how young and innocent Cygnus was, they believed that they had no choice but to stay. During the spring, Neinheart focused on teaching Cygnus about the common sense and knowledge needed to become Empress, for which he sent the warrior to meet a dragon named Nix in Minar Forest. In exchange for eliminating some of the monsters in the forest, Nix gave the warrior a book that had been handed down since Empress Aria’s time, as well as a monocle for Neinheart, jokingly claiming that as a fellow bookworm, Neinheart would need it.

With the book, Neinheart began teaching Cygnus about the principle of ruling, not dominating, which came from exerting a ruler’s absolute authority only when all their subjects consented. Over the months, the warrior watched Cygnus grow in insight, occasionally even surpassing the elders with her wisdom. Nevertheless, the warrior couldn’t help but note that Cygnus was still quite young.

In the summer, Neinheart decided to focus in improving Cygnus’ charm and elegance. He sent the warrior to Kimu, who decided to make her a new dress. He explained that Ereve had always used special materials for the Empress’ dress, as simple fabric and dye couldn’t express her mystical and graceful nature. In order to collect the materials, the warrior traveled to Aqua Road and collected white, green, and black pearls, which Kimu used to make a magnificent new dress for Cygnus.

Though Cygnus continued learning and growing, she unexpectedly fell ill in the autumn. Neinheart sent the warrior to meet with Kiridu, who instructed them to obtain medicine from Mr. Do in Mu Lung. Mr. Do was surprised that an envoy of Ereve was searching for children’s medicine, as there were no children in Ereve. The warrior managed to change the subject and convinced Mr. Do to help. After the warrior obtained Glowing Antlers and Bellflower Roots, Mr. Do made the medicine, which the warrior brought back to Ereve.

Upon taking the medicine, Cygnus immediately felt better, to which Neinheart told her that they would spend the rest of the season on her recovery, as taking care of herself was also a crucial skill as an Empress. Cygnus then confessed that she was having doubts on her ability to become Empress, noting that if the Empress’ bloodline hadn’t been cut short, she would be living a normal life, though everything had changed when Neinheart had found her.

Though she knew that it was something that she had to face, she wondered whether someone as weak as her could take on Maple World’s destiny, as even thinking about it made her feel helpless. She then apologized for pulling the warrior and Neinheart down when everyone was working so hard for her, as she knew that she didn’t have a choice on the matter when she was the last of her bloodline.

However, Neinheart replied that she didn’t have to become Empress if she didn’t want to. He explained that he was speaking from his heart when he said that he believed that everyone had the right to choose their own destiny. He told Cygnus that in his hometown of Rien, a prophecy had been handed down to their clan about a hero returning to fight against the Black Mage. However, the prophecy had never come true, and many of the Rien Clan had left one by one, leaving only himself and his sister.

He recalled how Lilin had believed that he was simply running away like everyone else, though Neinheart had insisted that he was merely finding another way, as he had strongly believed that he could trace the Empress’ descendants through research. Though he had asked her to come with him, Lilin had refused, claiming that she didn’t need him, as she would wait for the true hero, Aran. After Neinheart had left, she had shouted that she would never call him brother again.

Neinheart told Cygnus that though he had left Rien and Lilin behind, he didn’t regret it at all, as he had chosen her, not the hero. He explained that everyone needed to make their own destiny, as no one could force the other, even by putting a grand reason like ‘saving the world’ on it. He claimed that he had rejected the prophecy and had chosen another path, and that if Cygnus chose not to be Empress, he would simply find another path, as he sought the end of the Black Mage, which was his choice, and no one else’s. He then left Cygnus to ponder his words.

Over the next few months, the warrior noted that Cygnus was often sick, and that it always took her a long time to recover. Meanwhile, in Edelstein, Black Wings henchmen reported to Orchid that an envoy of Ereve had sought out children’s medicine. In the winter, Neinheart noted that the final season was upon them before Cygnus’ evaluation.

He told the warrior that he wished them to find the Flower of Fate, which was often a knight’s token of loyalty to his lady in romantic stories, as he believed that it would empower Cygnus with strong will. The warrior obtained the flower in the mountains of El Nath and presented it to Cygnus, who was touched by the gesture.

At the end of the year, Cygnus was brought before the elders, who questioned her about her lessons. They asked Cygnus whether she was ready to shoulder the burdens of being the Empress, warning her that not only would her health deteriorate while absorbing the power of Shinsoo, but that there would also be many assassination attempts on her life, not to mention the constant struggle of having the entire world depend on her leadership.

Before Cygnus could respond, word arrived that the Black Wings had invaded Ereve, as the kingdom's borders were weak without an Empress to use Shinsoo's power. Cygnus resolved to take on the responsibility of being the Empress and accepted Shinsoo's power, declaring that it was a choice that only she could make. With her leadership, the wandering warrior and the army of Ereve successfully repelled the Black Wings' invasion and Cygnus was crowned the next Empress of Maple World.

With word of her victory spreading, Maple World grew aware that a new Empress had been crowned, and that she had successfully demonstrated her strength by defending Ereve in crisis. With their debt repaid, the warrior took their leave and returned back to a life of adventure. Meanwhile, Cygnus hoped to grow their forces in order to defend Maple World against the Black Wings and the Black Mage’s return.

The Knights of Cygnus:

After having struggled to repel the Black Wings’ invasion, Cygnus realized that Ereve lacked the military strength to protect Maple World. To remedy this, Cygnus’ first act as Empress was to create the Cygnus Knights, an order of knights who would defend the people of Maple World from the Black Wings and other threats. Having heard the stories of the legendary Knight of Light, Chromile, she and Neinheart attempted to track him down, but were only able to find his son.

As a baby, Chromile’s son had been brought by his father to a shopkeeper named Mr. Limbert, who had begrudgingly raised the boy, though not without inflicting much abuse upon him. After testing the boy to see if he was truly Chromile’s son, Cygnus and Neinheart brought him to Ereve. As the boy had no name, having only been called ‘Kiddo’ by Limbert, Cygnus gave him the name Mihile, meaning ‘Born of Light’.

Neinheart began overseeing Mihile’s training, but when Mihile discovered a document detailing Neinheart’s order to investigate Chromile, he grew unfocused from his training, as he incorrectly concluded that Neinheart didn’t believe that he was Chromile’s son. Upon being confronted about the matter, Neinheart told Mihile that the one thing he was certain about was that Mihile was indeed Chromile’s son.

Knowing that Mihile’s doubt would get in the way of his training, Neinheart sent him to investigate his own father in Perion. There, Mihile helped 10 Boogies, an informant of Ereve, with her assignments in exchange for information on Chromile. She directed him to an archeologist named Winston, who told him that Chromile, who had once been a great warrior, had gone penniless after his wife’s death and had retreated to Sleepywood. Informing Mihile that Sleepywood was out of his league at his current strength, Winston suggested visiting Chromile’s tent in southern Perion.

After seeing how pathetically his father had lived, Mihile wondered how his mother’s death had such an impact on Chromile that he would abandon everything, including his own son. Just then, a group of assailants arrived and began attacking Mihile. After defeating them, Mihile spoke with their leader, who revealed that, long ago, they had kidnapped a baby Mihile and his mother. According to the head assailant, all Chromile had needed to do to save his wife was to confront them, but Chromile had been too scared to face them and had allowed his wife die.

Now full of doubt about whether his father was truly a good man, Mihile returned to Ereve and voiced his concerns to Neinheart, who advised him that in such situations, he should look for the whole truth instead of assuming that he had all the facts. Mihile then spoke with Cygnus about his doubts on whether his father was a good man, whether he was truly his father’s son, and his fear of being swallowed up by the same darkness that had consumed his father. Cygnus reassured him that she could feel that he had a good heart, and that she had complete faith in him.

Reassured, Mihile decided to heed Neinheart’s words and returned to Perion in order to investigate the full truth. Upon returning back, 10 Boogies told him that she had seen Winston leaving Chromile’s tent with some of his things. Furious, Mihile confronted Winston and demanded that he return everything he had taken, revealing himself as Chromile’s son. However, Winston rebuffed him, claiming that Mihile had no proof to substantiate his claim. Nevertheless, he allowed Mihile to look at the diary he had found, provided that he could obtain it from the monsters who had stolen it.

After a long hunt, Mihile found the diary and the torn pages that the monsters had stolen. He then read Chromile’s last entries, which detailed the circumstances of the kidnapping. He learned that the mysterious assailants had kidnapped both Mihile and his mother and had told Chromile to choose one person to rescue. At his wife’s insistence, Chromile had chosen to rescue his son, resulting in his wife’s death.

Spiraling deep into depression, Chromile had decided that he couldn’t raise his son, as he knew that he was heading down a dark path. He had left Mihile with Limbert and had retreated to Sleepywood, never to be heard from again. Realizing that Chromile had left for his sake, Mihile found the closure he needed and swore to make his father proud. (A/N: He may have gotten closure but I’m just left with questions that Nexon is never gonna answer.)

Soon after, Neinheart contacted Mihile and told him that a new knight, Irena, had been accepted by Cygnus into their ranks. When Mihile met her, he was amazed when she told him that she had skipped training in Ereve in favor of coming straight to Victoria Island. Mihile was then contacted by Cygnus, who mentioned that Perion had rare Fire Flowers that she loved. Mihile decided to pick one for Cygnus, but when he presented it to the Empress, she told him that Irena had already gotten one for her.

Neinheart then told Mihile that Hersha, an informant in Ellinia, had reported an alarmingly increasing number of Evil Eyes. Mihile rushed to defeat them, but once again, he discovered that Irena had beaten him. Next, Mihile was contacted by Roca, an informant in Henesys, who told him that mutant Mixed Golems had appeared in the Golem Temple. Mihile rushed to the Golem Temple and began attacking the Golems, though he was unable to find the mutant breed. Roca then told him that Irena had already taken care of it, and that he had forgotten to let Mihile know.

Frustrated, Mihile chastised himself for being so preoccupied with finding his father instead of training. He sought out Irena and asked her what made her so different. (A/N: She’s just built different.) Irena told him that she wasn’t strong, but rather, she practiced diligently every day to get to the level that she was at. Resolving to redeem himself, Mihile was then contacted by Neinheart, who told him that a keepsake of Empress Aria had been discovered in northern Perion. (A/N: There’s a good chance that this keepsake is Aria’s diary, which Cygnus eventually gives to Phantom.)

As the northern region was much more dangerous, he told Mihile to take Irena with him. However, Mihile felt that handling the mission alone would demonstrate his strength, and so he neglected to tell Irena and found the keepsake on his own. To his shock, Neinheart was furious and told him that he needed knights whom he could trust to follow his orders, and that he needed Mihile to be a leader, not a show-off.

After reflecting on his actions, Mihile realized that there was no shame in relying on others, and that trying to do everything alone was where his father had gone wrong. He went to apologize to Irena for being jealous of her, but she laughed and explained that she had been working hard because she had thought that she couldn’t compete with him. With their misunderstanding resolved, the two became good friends.

Soon after, Neinheart contacted Mihile and told him about the legend of the Black Mage and the Heroes who had sealed him away, as well as the Black Wings and their mission to revive the Black Mage. Knowing that the Black Wings would inevitably target Cygnus, he asked Mihile to bring back ingredients to reinforce the protective barrier around Cygnus, though he asked that he keep it from her so as not to worry her about the possibility of assailants coming after her.

Cygnus, however, found out that Mihile and Neinheart were doing something behind her back, and though she didn’t ask him to explain, she expressed her commitment to keeping Maple World safe, as well as her doubts about being able to fill the large shoes of Aria. Neinheart then asked Mihile to investigate Cold Eyes, whose movements had made it clear that the monsters around Victoria Island were getting larger and more organized. (A/N: I don’t really like the addition of this. It’s clearly a reference to Francis the Puppeteer controlling the monsters of Victoria Island, but this shouldn’t happen for a few more years.)

Neinheart then summoned Mihile to take the exam to become an Apprentice Knight. After passing with flying colors, Mihile went on a journey to become stronger. Soon after, he was called back to take another exam, after which he became an Official Knight.

As Mihile continued getting stronger, Neinheart told him that the number of Knights had become too large to manage, and that he was planning to divide them into five different categories, with a Chief Knight leading each one. He added that many of the knights looked up to Mihile as an example and asked if he would be willing to lead one branch, but Mihile asked for time to consider it, as he was unsure about becoming such a prominent leader.

While he was thinking it over, Neinheart contacted him again and told him that the Black Wings had invaded and had enchanted some of the knights into attacking Cygnus. Rushing back to Ereve, Mihile made short work of the ensorcelled knights. Now hailed as the hero of Ereve, many began to already refer to Mihile as a Chief Knight. With no choice, Mihile accepted and became the Chief Knight of Light.

Soon after his appointment as Chief Knight, Mihile spoke to Cygnus and asked her for more power. However, Cygnus explained that she was currently too weak, and so she asked him to collect rare Peridot gems that the Rashes of Minar Forest held, which contained the power of the sun. He brought them to Cygnus, who accepted them and used their power to boost his strength.

Later on, Irena was made the Chief Knight of Wind. Over time, three more Chief Knights were added: Oz, the Chief Knight of Flame, Hawkeye, the Chief Knight of Lightning, and Eckhart, the Chief Knight of Darkness. With all five Chief Knights, as well as Neinheart and Shinsoo, Cygnus’ court was finally complete.

(A/N: This last part is Mihile’s level 200 quest.)

Some time later, Cygnus reached out to Mihile and told him that as the Knight of Light and the protector of virtue, his presence was an inspiration to their people. Though she apologized for adding more weight on his shoulders, she asked Mihile whether he would agree to take on the training of the Noblesse that wished to follow him as Dawn Warriors, which he readily agreed to.

The Resistance:

In Edelstein, a Resistance was forming against the Black Wings. Many townspeople mobilized to fight the Black Wings in secrecy while masquerading as ordinary citizens with ordinary jobs. The leader of the Resistance was Headmaster Ferdi, whose public guise was the headmaster of the local school. After losing their childhood friend, Claudine, Elex, Belle, and Brighton became key figures in the Resistance and were later joined by another man named Checky. Masquerading as a doctor, a kindergarten teacher, a police officer, a street sweeper, and the town mascot respectively, they secretly recruited and trained citizens to become soldiers who could serve as support, spies, and assassins in the fight against the Black Wings.

Elex trained Blasters, powerful warriors who used Arm Cannons; Belle trained Wild Hunters, bowmen who rode on wild Jaguars; Brighton trained Battle Mages, unconventional magicians who used their staffs to attack enemies at close range; and Checky trained Mechanics who attacked from powerful mecha-suits. Claudine did not lead any branch of the Resistance, as it was the Resistance’s policy not to train thieves, and instead served as the head of operations while Headmaster Ferdi managed the Resistance’s special training program. (A/N: Even after all these years, I’m still hoping for a thief Resistance class. Xenon is great but he still doesn’t count in that way.)

With the formation of the Resistance, yet another major power had appeared at the precipice of the looming conflict ahead. Over time, the Resistance grew in numbers and soon decided that it was time to take back their city. They reached out to the Cygnus Knights, proposing a joint operation to remove the Black Wings from power. However, the Cygnus Knights soon learned that the Black Wings were once again plotting to assassinate the Empress. A veteran knight named Dunamis was sent to infiltrate the Black Wings’ base in Edelstein, where he discovered the mastermind of the plot: a high-ranking officer of the Black Wings named Eleanor the Black Witch. Although he couldn’t finish her off, Dunamis took a black scale from her that she was carrying and returned to Ereve.

Unsatisfied with his failure to capture her, Dunamis went back to Edelstein against Neinheart’s counsel in order to defeat the Black Witch. However, Eleanor lured him into a trap and captured him. To rescue Dunamis, Neinheart dispatched a second Knight. (A/N: This Knight is just a random one that you happen to play as in the Grand Athenaeum, not the Cygnus Knight of the class storyline.)

Sneaking past the defenses, the Knight made their way into the mine. There, they met a ghost named Big Daddy, who offered to help locate Dunamis in exchange for recovering a photo of his daughter from the Ore Munchers. After finding the photo, Big Daddy led the Knight to Gelimer’s secret prison. There, the Knight met a researcher named Allen, who agreed to help free Dunamis, as he himself had been kidnapped and forced to work for Gelimer. After taking androids apart for their parts, the Knight brought the necessary components for Allen to unlock the prison cell.

Dunamis thanked the Knight for rescuing him, explaining that he had almost captured Eleanor when she had trapped him. He was confused about why she had gone easy on him the first time, even allowing him to bring back the black scale to Ereve. They decided to investigate and went deeper into the mine before entering Eleanor’s room. Inside, they found her secret plans and were horrified to learn that the black scale was part of a spell that she was planning to cast. They fought their way out of the mine and returned to Ereve.

Upon arriving, they were shocked to find that the entirety of Ereve had lost its color. At the Empress’ Resting Spot, they found Cygnus, Neinheart, Shinsoo, and all the Chief Knights turned to stone. Eleanor then appeared and explained that Shinsoo’s power prevented any curse from befalling Ereve, but a resident of Ereve could inadvertently bring it inside the borders, which was why she had allowed Dunamis to take the black scale with him. The Knight then defeated Eleanor, causing her to retreat and break the spell.

Though the Black Witch had been defeated, they realized that Eleanor’s true plan had been to prevent the Cygnus Knights from aiding the Resistance. As a result, the Resistance had gone into battle expecting reinforcements that never arrived. The failed attack resulted in heavy casualties, and the Resistance was forced underground once again. Believing that the Cygnus Knights had betrayed them by going back on their word, the Resistance vowed that they would take back their city alone, and this event sparked heavy animosity between the two.

Special Explorers:

(A/N: While regular Explorers have had their class illustrations inconsistently portray their genders over the years, Cannoneer, Dual Blade, and Pathfinder have consistently been portrayed the same way, just like named classes. Because of this, I’m working with the assumption that Cannoneer and Dual Blade are male, while Pathfinder is female.)

On Maple Island, new Explorers trained to become strong enough to travel to Victoria Island. There, they would choose a branch of combat. Dances with Balrog taught warriors in Perion, Grendel the Really Old taught magicians in Ellinia, Athena Pierce taught bowmen in Henesys, and the Dark Lord taught thieves in Kerning City.

One day, the people of Victoria Island saw a giant submarine appear, from which an adult Kyrin emerged. During her voyages, she had amassed her own crew and a ship called the Nautilus. Having learned about the Black Wings and their goal to resurrect the Black Mage, Kyrin realized that she needed to warn the world and sailed back home to Victoria Island. Resolving to help the Explorers’ Guild prepare for the threat of the Black Mage, Kyrin decided to teach Explorers the way of the pirate.

(A/N: In the original lore for Destonen, a young Kyrin overhears Athena and the other leaders talking about how Destonen never returned from his journey to find traces of the Black Mage. Believing that it was her destiny to follow in his footsteps, Kyrin runs away from home and spends many years at sea until she becomes a captain, obtaining her own crew and the Nautilus, after which she hears the rumors about the Black Wings and reunites with her foster mother, Athena Pierce, and then resolves to become a pirate instructor.)

One Explorer-hopeful was on his way from Maple Island to Victoria Island when his ship was attacked by a Crimson Balrog. The Explorer crashed on Coco Island, where he was saved by a monkey.

(A/N: In the original Cannoneer storyline, you’re actually on your way to Maple Island in order to get started on your journey, but this created a continuity error because Cannoneers share the main Explorer storyline and one of the quests has us recall our time on Maple Island, which obviously never happened because we never reach our destination.

This has been corrected as of the Destiny update, which actually has us follow the same Explorer tutorial as regular Explorers. We start out on Maple Island with the same intro as main Explorers, but the main difference is that the Sangri-La gets filled up, and so instead of boarding with Sugar, Tess, Olive, and Rondo, we have to board a second ship that then crashes on Coco Island. Interestingly, the name of the map while you’re on the ship is incorrectly labeled with its old name of “Towards Maple Island”.)

The Explorer then met a man named Cutter, who introduced himself as the master engineer who had designed the Nautilus. He explained that Kyrin had given him a secret project to create a powerful weapon that would make the pirates stronger. He had built a large cannon weapon out at sea, but his ship had crashed against the rocks and he had been swept away to Coco Island.

With the Explorer’s help, they were able to use the large cannon to blast themselves off the island. They made it aboard the Nautilus, where Kyrin allowed the Explorer to use the superweapon in order to become the Cannoneer. The monkey who had saved the Cannoneer also followed him back to Victoria Island, where it became his companion.

(A/N: From here on out, the Cannoneer’s storyline continues playing out the same way as the Explorer storyline, which I’ll cover in a later section.

The next portion here is for Dual Blades. As of the Destiny update, Dual Blades start out on Maple Island and follow the tutorial all the way up to the point that they land on Victoria Island, whereas their old tutorial began in the Secret Garden, the headquarters of the Dual Blades. After the events on Maple Island, Dual Blades go through their initiation quests.

Following initiation, they complete all of the main Explorer storyline until second job, after which they then do the main Dual Blade storyline, which is covered in the next paragraph. There are several continuity errors that show up in the Dual Blade storyline, which I’ve covered in an earlier section. I hoped that these would have been addressed in Destiny since Cannoneer’s issue was fixed, but it seems like Nexon is never gonna touch this again.)

Another Explorer hoping to become a thief was recruited by a man named Ryden, who instead convinced the Explorer to follow Lady Syl, rather than the Dark Lord. Ryden brought the Explorer before Lady Syl, who told them about her feud with the Dark Lord. She explained that the title of ‘Dark Lord’ was handed down from generation to generation, each serving to guide the thieves through the darkness. As the daughter of the former Dark Lord, she had watched her father lead both the Dual Blades and the other thieves.

She explained that her father, Sung, was a Dual Blade, and that he would have likely picked another Dual Blade as his successor. Because of this, his apprentice, Jin, had murdered him and had stolen his position as Dark Lord, with the rest of the Dual Blades going into hiding after the incident. She told the Explorer that she hoped to get her vengeance by building up the Dual Blades’ strength and driving Jin out of Kerning City.

However, as Jin was quite popular with the citizens of Kerning City, she feared that the people would defend him if the Dual Blades were to attack. As harming innocents was something that she wanted to avoid, Lady Syl told the Explorer that she needed a spy to infiltrate Kerning City and serve under the Dark Lord in order to undermine him. After the Explorer accepted her mission, Syl sent them to train under Ryden.

Ryden first ordered them to hone their observational skills by having them distinguish a toy playhouse that was slightly different from the others. Next, he had them practice their stealth by making it through an obstacle course. Then, he had them defeat a Training Mano in order to sharpen their combat skills. Finally, he had them take a test of loyalty by drinking a poison and seeing Lady Syl for the antidote. However, upon visiting Lady Syl, they were informed that Ryden had merely given them apple juice, though she emphasized that the point was that they should never think of betraying her.

After passing the initiation trials, the Explorer became a Dual Blade under Lady Syl’s tutelage. As they had not yet learned any Dual Blade techniques, Syl believed that they were in the perfect position to serve under the Dark Lord as a new thief. Ryden then tasked the Dual Blade with learning more about the Dark Lord by interrogating his closest associates of Kerning City: Nella, JM from tha Streetz, and Don Giovanni.

The Dual Blade first spoke with Nella, who asked them to defeat the Stirges attacking the Pharmacy. After helping her, they learned that she viewed the Dark Lord as kind and trustworthy. Next, they spoke with JM, who asked them to obtain a Thin Jr. Necki Skin. The Dual Blade obtained one from Taeha, the Dual Blade merchant, and brought it back to JM. They then questioned him and learned that the Dark Lord obtained a delivery package once a week from out of town.

Finally, the Dual Blade visited Don Giovanni at the hair salon Giovanni asked the Dual Blade to obtain a Toy Plane for his son, Icarus, who dreamed of flying. The Dual Blade obtained the toy from Taeha and brought it to Giovanni, who thanked them for their help. Upon being questioned about the Dark Lord, Giovanni explained that he occasionally ran into the Dark Lord walking by himself in the Swamp Region.

After reporting back to Ryden, the Dual Blade was instructed to wait until he finished investigating the leads. Meanwhile, Lady Syl noted their talent and called them to learn the art of dual-wielding. She first tasked them with obtaining a Mirror of Insight from within one marble amongst many, which indicated that they were worthy of learning the way of the Dual Blade. After they were initiated into the ranks of the Dual Blades, Ryden contacted them and suggested that they train around Victoria Island and grow stronger.

(A/N: This is where the main Explorer questline takes place. After reaching level 30 and undergoing your 2nd job advancement, the rest of the Dual Blade storyline continues.)

Soon after, the Dual Blade was contacted by Yun, Lady Syl’s sister, who asked them to speak to Lady Syl on her behalf. She explained that Syl lately seemed to be in a bad mood quite often, and as Syl seemed to trust them, she hoped that speaking to her would cheer her up, as Yun believed that Syl would feel worse if she knew that her sister was worried for her.

Just as Yun had hoped, Syl was pleased to see the Dual Blade and explained that her father used to tell her stories from the past whenever she felt depressed. She told them that thinking about her father made her feel better, though her memories of him had lately been slipping away. She confessed that she had even lost the memory of the day that he had passed, noting that it was strange, as she couldn’t remember the details, even though she remembered the events. She wondered whether it was because of the trauma of losing him, or of Jin’s betrayal.

She explained that she did remember that the morning of that day, her father, his best friend - Tristan - and Jin had gone to Sleepywood in order to face Balrog. Though she had wanted to accompany them, her father had forbidden it, though she had secretly followed them anyways. As she hadn’t been able to enter the cave, she had chosen to eavesdrop outside, though the very next thing that she remembered was coming out of a haze and seeing Jin holding a blood-stained sword, with her father and Tristan dead.

She told the Dual Blade that she would never forget Jin’s look of shock, adding that he likely must have killed Sung and Tristan while they had been weakened from facing Balrog. She noted that she thought of that moment every single day, and that she even dreamed about it, though she hoped that her flowers would help calm her dreams.

(A/N: She actually says “these flowers”, as though you had given them to her. This dialogue was actually copied from the original Dual Blade storyline from before the Justice/Renegades update, which did have us bring her flowers, although in the new dialogue, Yun never gives us any to bring to Syl.)

She then asked them to leave her in peace, adding that Ryden had a new mission for them. Ryden told the Dual Blade that the Dark Lord had been stealing their information, for which Ryden planned to strike back. He told them that he would lure the Dark Lord out of his headquarters, the Jazz Bar, while they searched the premises for clues. In the Jazz Bar, the Dual Blade found a hidden room and obtained the Dark Lord’s diary, which they brought back to Ryden.

After reading the diary, Ryden told them that the Dark Lord had mentioned the owner of the bookstore, Jeppi, whom the Dark Lord had banished some time ago. Believing that Jeppi had learned the truth about the Dark Lord’s treachery, Ryden hoped to find him. As they had no leads on his location, Ryden asked them to speak with Mr. Pickall, whose store had been next to Jeppi’s.

Mr. Pickall told the Dual Blade that Jeppi had moved to Ellinia, where he lived inside the Giant Tree. The Dual Blade traveled to Ellinia and met with Jeppi, whom they intended to rescue. However, Jeppi explained that it was all a misunderstanding, as the Dark Lord hadn’t banished him, but rather, he had sent him away for protection from an unknown threat.

He revealed that from the shadows, someone had been twisting the history of Maple World, and that Sung had been hunting them down alongside Jin. He explained that he had helped them with his knowledge of history books by telling them about any inconsistencies, adding that Maple World’s history had been deeply distorted.

He told the Dual Blade that with the help of several citizens of Sleepywood, including Tristan, Sung had intended to lure out the threat and destroy it. However, the enemy had been aware of their plan and had tricked them, resulting in the deaths of both Sung and Tristan. Upon seeing how dangerous the situation was, Jin had helped hide Jeppi somewhere safe while he continued the fight alone.

The Dual Blade then reported back what they had learned to Ryden, who was immediately dubious. In order to validate the story, he sent the Dual Blade to meet Tristan’s apprentice in Sleepywood. At the bottom of the Cursed Temple, the Dual Blade encountered the spirit of Tristan, who explained that it hadn’t been Jin’s fault, as all of them had underestimated their enemy, who had the ability to possess others.

He revealed that the enemy had possessed Syl, who had been eavesdropping on them from outside. As they hadn’t warned her about the enemy’s powers, she hadn’t been able to shield her mind, causing her to grow possessed. With a cold smile on her face, she had slaughtered him and Sung, as neither of them had been willing to hurt Syl.

Tristan believed that the enemy had left Jin alive to teach the world a lesson, and that it had left Syl alive as a reminder of their weakness. Following the tragedy, Jin had been forced to continue his pursuit of the enemy in secret, while Syl had been left to believe in a lie. As proof of his claim, he asked them to obtain his keepsake from Mu Young.

Mu Young instructed the Dual Blade to obtain the keepsake in storage, where the Dual Blade encountered several Black Wings henchmen. After defeating them, they returned back to Mu Young, who noted that the storage room had already been looted of its valuables years ago. He then asked them to keep the keepsake – his master’s diary.

The Dual Blade returned back to Ryden and told him what Tristan had explained. They also gave him Tristan’s diary, which confirmed Jeppi’s story. He noted that the truth would devastate Lady Syl, as the thought of vengeance was the only thing that kept her going. He instructed them to say nothing for the moment until he found the best way to share the truth with her. He then asked them to accompany him to visit Jin and speak to him personally.

In the Jazz Bar, Ryden confronted Jin and demanded to know why he had kept the truth from Syl, even while knowing that she was planning to kill him. He asked Jin whether he had intended to tell her the truth at the last possible moment when she would come to fight him, adding that he would make her look like a fool by doing so.

The Dark Lord was hesitant upon hearing Ryden’s words, though he asked whether Syl would have benefited by knowing the truth that her father had only died because she had been taken hostage. He explained that though Syl was now strong, she had once been overwhelmed by the pain of losing her father, adding that he had hoped to avoid making her feel worse by telling her the truth. Ryden retorted that nevertheless, the Dark Lord had no right to keep the truth from her.

The Dark Lord apologized, noting that he should have told her sooner. However, he added that he had only wanted to keep her from feeling any more pain than she already had. Ryden noted that though Syl needed to be told the truth, he feared that it would make her nightmares even worse. He then asked the Dual Blade to deliver his report to her, believing that it would be better coming from them. Just as Ryden had suspected, Lady Syl’s face grew pale as she read the report. Nevertheless, she thanked the Dual Blade for their work and asked them to leave her to collect her thoughts.

(A/N: The next part here is the Dual Blade’s intermediate 2nd job advancement at level 45.)

Some time later, Lady Syl contacted the Dual Blade and asked them to return to the Secret Garden, where she promoted them to Blade Specialist. She noted that it seemed ironic that they had grown stronger, even when she had initially doubted them, while she had grown strangely smaller. She explained that her father used to tell her that Dual Blades used two weapons so that they were better equipped to protect others, though she quickly realized that she was rambling.

(A/N: This last part is the final portion of the Dual Blade storyline, which takes place at level 60, right before your job advancement.)

Soon after, Lady Syl told the Dual Blade that she had decide to unite the thieves and the Dual Blades, believing that they would be stronger as one group. However, she admitted to them in private that the decision had been quite difficult, as she had grappled with the revelation that her worst enemy was actually the one who had saved her, which had wounded her pride greatly.

She explained that all her plans, schemes, and emotions had been based on a lie, for which she couldn’t forgive Jin, who had made a fool of her. However, she added that she knew that she couldn’t let her feelings sway her, as she needed to do what was best for her people. Before they could move forward, however, she told them that she couldn’t abide knowing that Jin had kept the truth from her because he had believed her to be weak. She then asked them to defeat the Dark Lord in order to prove the Dual Blades’ strength, which would satisfy her need for revenge.

The Dual Blade confronted the Dark Lord and told them about Lady Syl’s decision. Jin noted in satisfaction that Syl had matured for her to look past her anger and unite together. He then invited them to face him and summoned a weaker clone of himself. After the Dual Blade defeated the clone, the Dark Lord admitted that the Dual Blades and Syl were stronger, after which officially welcomed the Dual Blades back into the fold of thieves.

(A/N: Following this quest, Dual Blades complete their 3rd job advancement, which is the same as the regular Explorer one. There are a couple small things that I didn’t mention about the Dual Blade story which I’ll just dump here. Lady Syl’s father, Sung, was a Dual Blade, and it seems that Dual Blades have always existed alongside thieves in the new storyline, rather than Lady Syl inventing the branch like in the original story.

While the Dual Blades and the thieves merge together in the new storyline, the old storyline actually shows that the Dual Blades remained a separate faction and their organization joined the Alliance separately from the Explorers. In fact, the number of Dual Blades in the old storyline far surpassed the combined number of Explorers on Victoria Island, which gave them greater bargaining power than other factions.

Rather than wanting to merge with the thieves like in the new storyline, the original Dual Blade lore has Lady Syl request that the Dual Blades be given their own town at the end of the war with the Black Mage, which was a demand that she could make because of the sheer number of Dual Blades in her faction. I think that this would’ve been really cool to implement post-Tenebris, with a separate hometown for Dual Blades being made near Kerning City, similar to how Toolen City and Savage Terminal exist close to each other.

This last part is Pathfinder’s storyline. Although Pathfinder doesn’t get her name until level 30, I’ll be referring to her as Pathfinder throughout her 1st job storyline for the sake of consistency, as calling her an Explorer or a bowman seems too generic.)

Yet another Explorer, a bowman, was one of Athena Pierce’s greatest students. With an unquenchable thirst for adventure, she spent her time exploring ancient ruins and finding rare artifacts, likening herself to be a Pathfinder who paved her own way through the unknown. During one such adventure, she found a hidden passageway in the Perion mountains that led to a secret research lab. Upon searching the laboratory, she discovered ancient manuscripts and artifacts that dated back to an era that preceded even what most people would consider antiquity.

The Pathfinder also found a drawing of an ancient ruin, which gave her a thrilling sense of danger that made her want to learn more. Several days later, the Pathfinder traveled to the ruins of Partem, where she searched the last of the three keys that she needed to offer to the Altar of Trial, having found one in the research lab and another during her explorations of the ruins. After exploring the ruins, she found the last key inside a chest, which also contained arrows and potions, which she believed to be useless.

However, she discovered an inscription in ancient writing, which she deciphered as: “A temperamental dancer/best viewed with distant gaze/in crimson does it pirouette/in black its footfall stays.” After translating the rest, she deduced that she needed to obtain an offering from whatever was guarding the ruins and place it in front of the pillar that correctly answered the riddle.

She then defeated the Ruins Guardians and obtained the offerings. Upon finding three pillars inscribed with a cloud, fire, and the moon, respectively, she deduced that the riddle was referring to fire and placed the offerings on the correct pillar, allowing her to obtain the final key. She then proceeded deeper towards the altar, where she used the keys to uncover a compass-like relic. Immediately, however, the relic unleashed dark energies that placed a curse on the Pathfinder.

Severely hurt, the Pathfinder barely made it back to her base camp, where she winced in pain, feeling as though her innards were on fire. She then recalled how Athena Pierce had warned her about rushing into danger merely to satisfy curiosity. After teetering between life and death, the Pathfinder barely managed to pull through, after which she began traveling in order to learn more about the relic and its ancient curse.

She also discovered that a weapon that she had found in the ruins, which was in the shape of a double-bladed dagger, was actually a mystical ancient bow, whose power she was able to draw out from the relic’s influence. On her hand was also a curse mark, and while it had grown smaller, it would not disappear. Instead, it seemed to be slowly eating away at her life force, which further motivated her to find a way to remove it.

Several days after the incident, the Pathfinder returned back to Partem in order to find clues about the relic and its curse. Using the ancient bow, the Pathfinder began investigating the ruins and soon encountered a creature stuck in the ground. Using seed oil obtained from the Pudgy Flowers, the Pathfinder freed the creature, who introduced himself as Mascarpo.

The Pathfinder asked Mascarpo about the ruins, to which he explained that the ruins had once been held in high regard in ages past, and that it had even been treated as a place of worship because of a power inside that could heal the injured. As time passed, however, people had stopped entering the ruins, after which, an ominous energy had begun seeping from it, causing them to stay away.

Regarding the relic, Mascarpo explained that the people of his village occasionally found long-buried parts of the ruins, though most of the Karuppa kept their distance from it, with the exception of one villager who liked to collect things from the ruins. He told the Pathfinder that the Karuppa were faint-hearted, and so they kept to themselves and seldom had contact with the outside world, with the exception of Explorers who passed through from time to time.

Though the Pathfinder believed that it would be a waste to investigate the village when the Karuppa stayed away from the ruins, Mascarpo invited her to visit them, adding that they were in the midst of a festival in honor of the legendary Karuppa Wunderlixir, which was said to purify the body and bless the drinker with abundant health and longevity.

Upon hearing about the tonic, the Pathfinder agreed to accompany him back to his village, as she hoped that it could erase her curse and help her learn more about its origins. In the village, the Karuppa were intimated by the Pathfinder’s arrival until Mascarpo vouched for her. He told the Pathfinder that the Karuppa were particularly timid because of the loud noise that had come from the ruins several days ago, adding that the noises were the main reason why the Karuppa stayed away.

After introducing herself to the chief, Gooda, the Pathfinder was asked to help the Karuppa with preparing the festivities. She met with a girl named Brie, who had been tasked with obtaining the ingredients for the Wunderlixir. Brie was amazed by the Pathfinder’s courage, wishing that she had that same courage herself. Nevertheless, she cheerfully asked the Pathfinder to obtain Pudgy Flower Stems and Toxiblossom Leaves.

The Pathfinder noted to herself that the ingredients didn’t seem miraculous and wondered whether it was really possible to make a legendary medical tonic from them, though she conceded that the power might be in the steps of the recipe itself. She asked Brie how the ingredients were used, to which Brie explained that they used the stone mortar and pestle in the forest outside town, which had been handed to each chief across generations to grind up the ingredients for the tonic.

Hoping that the mortar and pestle were secretly artifacts, the Pathfinder hurried to inspect them. After the Karuppa prepared the Wunderlixir, Chief Gooda offered the first sip to the Pathfinder, whom he regarded as a special guest. As the Pathfinder prepared to drink the Wunderlixir, she felt the ominous energy within her begin to surge, which she realized felt quite similar to the first time that she had come in contact with the relic.

Just then, the terrible rumbling noise from the ruins began coming out of the Pathfinder, which immediately scared the Karuppa. The Pathfinder noted that she still felt the curse’s presence, which seemed to be causing the strange reaction. She realized that the relic likely had a connection to the Karuppa village.

Meanwhile, Gooda ordered the Karuppa to retreat back to the village and take shelter, leaving only himself and Mascarpo. A furious Gooda confronted the Pathfinder and demanded to know why her body was making the same haunting noise that they heard from the ruins. Realizing that the Wunderlixir had triggered the reaction, the Pathfinder noted that she had lost her goodwill with the Karuppa as a result.

Nevertheless, she decided to question them while she could and showed them the relic before asking what it was. Immediately, the Karuppas’ faces turned pale upon seeing it. Mascarpo asked the Pathfinder how she had come to possess such a terrible thing and ordered her to leave immediately, regretting that he had believed her to be a good person.

Gooda added that not only had she defiled their sacred festival with the cursed relic, but she had also brought the foul noise that had long struck fear into the hearts of the Karuppa. Having brought such an evil object into their midst, Gooda withdrew his hospitality and ordered her to leave at once and never return.

After Gooda and Mascarpo left, the Pathfinder found Brie watching her from a tree. She explained that the Karuppa were terrified of the ominous noise coming from the ruins, for which they held their holy festivals, but even as the noises continued growing louder, no one had ever ventured inside the ruins to find its source. She confessed that though she was afraid too, she couldn’t let things go on as they had, as she believed that their situation would soon turn from frightening to dangerous.

As the Pathfinder seemed brave and strong, Brie asked whether she could accompany the Pathfinder during her investigation about the relic. She admitted that she wasn’t much help in combat, though she could bring the Pathfinder anything from in or around the village, as well as introduce her to Gorgonz, a strange Karuppa who observed the ruins and collected strange items.

(A/N: In case you couldn’t tell by now, all the Karuppa NPCs are named after cheese. For instance, Brie is named after brie cheese, while Gorgonz is named after gorgonzola. Mascarpo is named after mascarpone and Gooda is named after gouda.)

The Pathfinder reluctantly agreed to take Brie along, but only until the investigation was over, claiming that she normally worked alone. Happy to hear the Pathfinder’s response, Brie took the Pathfinder to Gorgonz. The Pathfinder showed the relic to Gorgonz, whose face also grew pale upon seeing it. He explained that he himself knew little about the ruins, as he merely observed them from the outside. However, he told her that he had something that could help if the Pathfinder was searching for something inside them.

He explained that he had a compass that could point one in the direction of something that they wished to find, provided that they place an object connected to what they were searching for near it. He led them to the compass, which had been broken into pieces because of the vibrations from the loud noises inside the ruins. Before repairing the compass, he asked the Pathfinder to collect Pottery Shard antiques from the Hoppin’ Sprouts, as he hadn’t been able to find any antiques since the compass had broken.

After the Pathfinder collected the pieces, Gorgonz asked her to obtain Censer Ashes from the Chargin’ Sprouts in order to help him calm his mind with the aroma. The Pathfinder and Brie then went in search of the three missing compass pieces. After the Pathfinder cleared out the Log-a-Rhythmic Bugs and Sparkinstone Bugs, Brie was able to find the first two pieces. The pair then continued searching the forest until reaching Wawa Falls, where the Pathfinder found the last piece at the bottom of the falls.

Brie wondered aloud whether it would be possible to stop the waterfall, inspiring the Pathfinder to trigger an explosion to break the rocks. After collecting Extra Dry Firewood and Smoky Flint from the Log-a-Rhythmic Bugs and Sparkinstone Bugs, Brie created a large explosion that broke the flow of water, allowing them to obtain the final compass piece. The Pathfinder admitted to herself that she wouldn’t have been able to get the last piece alone, and so she begrudgingly told Brie that she had done a good job, which made Brie feel proud of herself.

The Pathfinder and Brie brought the pieces back to Gorgonz, who began working on repairs. He explained that the compass only worked in sunlight, and that he would have it fixed by noon. As the Pathfinder waited, she realized that it had been some time since she had last rested, as it had been difficult for her to rest since getting cursed. She felt the curse sigil slowly draining her life force, causing the curse to grow stronger each day.

She wondered what Athena Pierce would have said to her now, noting that for all her confidence in embarking on adventure, she now felt more lost than ever. Just then, Brie noticed the Pathfinder’s sad expression and came over to check on her. She explained that the Pathfinder’s face had made her remember her own depressing day not too long ago, adding that it had felt as though there was a mountain of weight pressing down on her.

Just then, however, she caught herself and told the Pathfinder that she wasn’t trying to say that the both of them were the same, as the Pathfinder was brave and smart, while she was timid and weak. She explained that she had been trying to say that everyone had times when they felt down, and that she liked to picture pretty flowers, which could withstand all sorts of hardships, in order to motivate herself to make it through as well. She then gave a blue flower to the Pathfinder in order to cheer her up. (A/N: Brie is literally the most wholesome person in this game and she deserves the world.)

Just then, Gorgonz interrupted and told them that he had finished fixing the compass. With the light of noon about to hit the compass, the Pathfinder took out the relic and placed it on the pedestal. The compass then emitted a blue light that pointed towards a forest near the ruins, which the Pathfinder realized she had visited before. Brie realized that investigating the forest might also help them find out the cause of the noises. The Pathfinder warned that she wouldn’t let Brie come if she would slow them down, to which Brie promised that she wouldn’t, as she wanted to save her village.

The pair then proceeded deeper into the forest, where the noises began to grow louder. There, they discovered a passageway into the main complex of the ruins, which was filled with countless paths. The Pathfinder realized that she hadn’t noticed the labyrinthine structure during her first visit because the altar key had directly shown her the way the relic.

As she began wondering whether she should return to the relic chamber or check somewhere else, Brie began hearing a faint vibration noise, which the Pathfinder also heard upon focusing. She realized that finding its source might help them, but as it was too faint for her, the Pathfinder realized that Brie might be able to help with her keen hearing. Though Brie was afraid, she agreed to lead the Pathfinder through the ruins.

Along the way, they encountered stone sentries guarding the ruins. In order to clear out a path, the Pathfinder defeated the Ruins Guardians and Ruins Sentinels, allowing them to reach a mysterious black pool of water. Brie explained that the source of the noise was below the water, though it was too murky to see beneath.

The Pathfinder then noticed an ancient inscription on a pillar: “Whosoever seeks to find the way must first pass through the Deathly Abyss. Only a light bright enough to ward off death shall illuminate the path.” The Pathfinder realized that many ancient cultures believed that light had a symbolic power to subdue or overcome death, though she wondered whether the riddle meant that she literally needed to light up the water.

She then realized that the Ruins Sentinels had luminous plants growing on their heads, which she believed would help them light the way down. After collecting Glowpods and dropping them into the pool, the Pathfinder and Brie dove into the waters and began swimming down. As they made their way deeper however, strange creatures of encroaching darkness began attacking them, which the Pathfinder defeated as they reached the bottom.

Brie then spotted a passageway at the bottom, just as the Glowpods began dimming. Realizing that the light would fade away soon, the Pathfinder shot an arrow through the Glowpods, leaving motes of light in its wake. The pair then quickly followed the dim path of light to the doorway at the bottom of the pool.

Arriving in the Soul Chamber, Brie confirmed that they had reached the source of the noise. The Pathfinder then noticed something shining brightly upon a raised dais in the middle of the chamber. The strange glowing Soul spoke to the Pathfinder, recognizing her as the one who had walked the hidden path and had shown herself to be qualified to be the bearer of the power.

The Soul felt the Pathfinder’s heart drawn by confusion and driven by quiet desperation, explaining that it had the answers that she sought. The Pathfinder asked about the relic, to which the Soul explained that long ago, the ancient Karuppa who had resided in Partem had fashioned a sacred icon from the wood of a divine tree, which they had once worshiped. The Pathfinder recognized the item from the carvings on the wall as her relic.

The Soul explained that the relic had once been an object of benevolence, capable of healing the injured and guiding the lost. However, as time had passed, the order of the world had been established and the power of the relic had gradually begun to wane. Gradually, those who knew of the relic’s existence had passed on, and with fewer and fewer people remembering the ancient ways, the relic had come to be regarded as merely a legend.

(A/N: The order of the world is a reference to the Overseers reorganizing the universe through sealing away the Ancient Gods and creating the Transcendents to maintain the three laws of life, light, and time. The power of the relic belongs to that of an Ancient God, which faded away after the gods were sealed away at the end of the Ancient War.)

Centuries ago, however, a man clad in black robes had come to the ruins and had used cursed magic upon the relic. After his ritual, he had returned the relic back to its resting place and departed. Since then, the relic had been corrupted by impure energies. The Soul explained that the relic retained both its original nature and its corrupted state, and that the Pathfinder had likely felt both powers inside her.

It explained that the corrupted power had already become one with relic, meaning that it could no longer be erased. However, it told the Pathfinder that the curse could be suppressed if she could become the true inheritor of the relic. As some tools recognized worthy owners, the relic would respond to her mastery and allow her to draw out its hidden powers. It instructed her to explore and grow stronger, promising that the relic would guide her when the time was right.

The Soul then sent them back outside the ruins, where Brie noted that it seemed that she and the Pathfinder had heard different things simultaneously from the Soul. She told the Pathfinder that she was glad that they had gotten their answers, as going through the perilous journey once was more than enough for her.

She explained that the Soul had told her that the loud noises scaring the villagers would soon cease, as they had been meant to scare away the Karuppa and protect them from being exposed to the evil energies inside the ruins. As the Pathfinder had removed the corruptive power inside the ruins by taking the relic, there was no longer any need to scare the Karuppa away.

Just then, the relic began glowing brightly and surged with energy, allowing it to regain some of the strength that it had once possessed in ages past. Brie then noted that as they had gotten their answers, it was time for them to part ways, as she had promised not to be clingy. She told the Pathfinder that she prayed for her safety wherever her travels took her. Though she admitted that she wasn’t the bravest, she thanked the Pathfinder for allowing her to come on their adventure, adding that the Pathfinder was more than welcome to return back and visit.

After they said their goodbyes, the Pathfinder decided to set off on a new journey to dampen the curse on her. She also noted to herself that the story about the black-robed man concerned her, with the Soul remaining quiet ever since it had imbued the relic with power. She wondered whether mastering the relic’s power would allow its voice to talk to her again.

Brie then returned back to the village and told the other Karuppa about her journey, though none of them believed her. Just then, the Pathfinder, having had a gut feeling, unexpectedly decided to return back to the village, where she arrived in time to overhear the villagers’ skepticism about Brie’s story. Though she noted that it wasn’t like her to get involved in other people’s business, the Pathfinder told herself that she would feel guilty if she were to simply leave Brie high and dry.

She then gave Brie a small blue flower, just like the one that Brie had given her. As Brie clutched the flower tightly in her hands and dabbed the tears from her eyes, the Pathfinder saw Brie glimmering with renewed determination. The Pathfinder then decided to stop by the Bowman Instructional School and visit Athena Pierce.

Athena was impressed to hear about the Pathfinder’s quick thinking, which had helped her survive her trials. She noted that the Pathfinder’s instincts had been sharp when she had been a student, and that she had matured considerably since then as well. Wishing her well on the path that she was meant to walk, Athena promised to offer guidance whenever she could.

(A/N: This next part is Pathfinder’s 3rd job advancement.)

After honing her skills through training, the Pathfinder’s relic began glowing, as though it were trying to lead her somewhere. She followed the relic’s light to the southern ridge of Perion, where she discovered a strange glowing fragment of rock that looked just like the one from which the Soul had spoken to her in the ruins.

From the rock fragment, an incredible surge of energy was absorbed into the relic, which surpassed even what she had felt when she had first come in contact with it in the ruins. As the relic filled with power, the Pathfinder experienced a vision of the dark-robed man in the research lab rejoicing upon finding the three keys to the ancient altar, believing that he would be able to reproduce the ancient power. He also added that he now also had proof that the power had existed “here” as well.

The Pathfinder wondered whether the man was the one who had set up the research lab that she had stumbled upon, which had led her to the ruins in the first place. Believing that it might hold other clues, the Pathfinder returned to the lab, though she was unable to find any further clues. However, she was nevertheless satisfied to know that the man had been searching for the “ancient power”, and that his words about it existing “here as well” suggested that he might have even come from another dimension entirely. She then discovered a compiled copy of his research study entitled, “Maple World and the Ancient Power”, with the author’s name listed as Kirston.

(A/N: Kirston has surprisingly been coming back into story focus after over a decade of being ignored. Pathfinder’s storyline was released in the update following Tenebris, which began shifting the story focus to Grandis and the Ancient Gods. Given Kirston’s interest in the power of the gods and the hint about him being from another dimension, it’s possible that the writers are intending to retcon him as a native of Grandis.

Since Grandis has a long history at the forefront of the conflict with the Ancient Gods, it’s possible that Kirston’s surprise that the gods existed “here”, referring to Maple World, might be because the gods had considerably little presence here compared to Grandis. I’m interested in seeing where they go with Kirston in the future, since his last chronological appearance was during the Gate to the Past storyline with Pink Bean.

This next part is Pathfinder’s 4th job advancement.)

Having unlocked more of the relic’s power, the Pathfinder felt the curse on herself weakening. She then continued training until she began feeling the relic glowing and leading her somewhere. She followed its light to the Deep Sea of Aqua Road, where she encountered yet another rock fragment that looked like the ones in Partem and Perion. Immediately, the relic began draining ancient power from the fragment, causing the corrupted power to react strongly to the infusion.

She then had another vision of Kirston, who noted that the power of the relic was blocked, just as he had anticipated. He concluded that the amount of power that he had reproduced was the full extent possible for the time being. Following the vision, the Pathfinder noticed that the curse sigil on her hand had completely disappeared, making her wonder whether it had been the relic’s final trial. However, she was left with more questions, such as what the “ancient power” was, and what he had meant by something being “blocked”.

Believing that the ruins might hold a clue to some answers, the Pathfinder returned back to the Soul Chamber, where the Soul recognized that the relic’s power was now fully unfettered, for which it welcomed her as its rightful owner. To answer her questions, the Soul explained that Kirston had intended to reproduce the relic’s innate power through a dark rite. As the relic had been made before order had laid its foundations in the world, time itself needed to be turned back to return it to its full power.

The Pathfinder pointed out that Kirston had mentioned that something was blocked, to which the Soul explained that Kirston had been unable to fully restore the relic’s power, as the Seal of Time had impeded him. However, it warned the Pathfinder that nothing was impossible forever, for while Kirston may have failed, another could appear and attempt to reproduce the relic’s ancient power, and that it was equally likely that their intentions may be good or evil.

(A/N: The Seal of Time refers to the barrier that Freud created in order to make it impossible for anyone to travel back in time any further than the moment that the Black Mage’s seal was created.)

It added that it hoped that if one did succeed in restoring that power, they would use it to protect the world. Until then, it entrusted the Pathfinder with the relic and its safekeeping before teleporting her back outside the ruins. The Pathfinder noted to herself that Kirston seemed tenacious, and that he likely hadn’t given up on reproducing the ancient power.

She realized that she had always been driven merely by satisfying her curiosity, roaming from place to place, just to see what she could find. She laughed that she had never expected to find herself getting attached, realizing that her world had become bigger than just herself. She then vowed to use the relic’s power to defend everything that she cared about, and to shine a light on the right path in a world filled with darkness.

Puppeteer Francis:

In Edelstein, Gelimer required additional sources of power for his experiments. To supply him with what he needed, Orchid ordered Francis the Puppeteer, the Black Wings’ lowest-ranking officer, to use his puppets to seize control of Victoria Island in order to find the Seal Stones, which she believed had enough power to revive Lotus. Orchid then told her followers that finding and destroying all the Seal Stones would allow the Black Mage to return. Francis used his puppets to manipulate the behavior of monsters, such as Horny Mushrooms, Orange Mushrooms, Ghost Stumps, and many others.

On Rien, Aran finally awoke from the ice, where she found Lilin waiting for her. Aran discovered that she had no memories, which Lilin explained was the result of the Black Mage’s curse. (A/N: This was retconned, as none of the other Heroes experience any amnesia. I personally think that Aran just hit her head too hard during the final battle.) Lilin explained that the curse on Aran had caused the island of Rien to become permanently frozen, even though it hardly ever snowed naturally. (A/N: This was also retconned by the Silent Crusade storyline. When you go back in time and speak with Maha, he tells you that he plans to bring Aran to Rien because he hopes that the cold island will slow down the curse.)

She took Aran into town, where the penguins who lived there were amazed at the prophesized return of the hero. Lilin explained that her clan possessed a Book of Prophecy that foretold the Heroes’ return, and that she was the last member of her clan still living on Rien. As Aran had lost her abilities from the curse, Lilin decided to help train Aran and return her to full strength, as the Black Mage was fated to return as well. After some basic training, Lilin showed Aran the giant polearm that they had excavated. Upon touching the polearm, some of Aran’s old strength flowed into her.

As she had grown stronger than the monsters of Rien, Aran was advised by Lilin to go train in Victoria Island. She told Aran that an information broker named Mr. Truth, better known as Tru, could help her get stronger. Aran arrived at Lith Harbor and went to Tru’s shop. After reading a letter of introduction from Lilin, Tru was amazed by Aran’s return and explained that he was also part of the Rien Clan, although he had left long ago after losing faith in the Heroes’ return. In order to validate Lilin’s faith, he promised to help Aran in any way that he could.

To help her get stronger, Tru suggested that she work as an informant for him, as it would help her get stronger and learn more about Maple World. He sent Aran on a test mission to get the latest news from the crewmen who worked in Lith Harbor. Aran questioned Teo, who offered to exchange the information for Snail Shells, which he believed could help ease his arthritis. After bringing him the shells, Teo told her that the crewmen were mainly talking about the formation of the Cygnus Knights, as well as some concerns that the Black Mage may soon be coming back.

Tru then sent Aran on her first real mission, which was to investigate the recent behavior of Orange Mushrooms in Henesys. There, Aran spoke to a mushroom researcher named Scarrs, who asked her to defeat Cynical Orange Mushrooms for him. After defeating them, Aran returned and brought him an Orange Mushroom puppet, which she had found inside one of the monsters.

Scarrs then asked her to defeat Berserk Horny Mushrooms in order to check if they had puppets inside them as well. Aran confirmed this by bringing him back a puppet from inside the monsters. Scarrs hypothesized that the puppets were responsible for the strange behavior of the monsters. To confirm his theory, he asked Aran to investigate Crying Blue Mushrooms, where Aran found yet another puppet. Scarrs told her that the puppets produced a noise on a frequency that only monsters could hear, and promised that he would research more on the nature of the puppets.

Meanwhile, on a farm in Henesys, a young boy named Evan had a dream in which he met a large Onyx Dragon, who told him that he had been destined to become a Dragon Master. Upon awakening, Evan saw that the symbol on the dragon’s forehead had been imprinted on the back of his hand. After completing some chores around the farm, Evan was sent by his father to find a lost piglet.

As he approached it, he accidentally fell down a large covered hole in the ground and found himself in a forest exactly like the one from his dream. Instead of finding a dragon, however, he found an egg. Taking the egg, Evan climbed out of the hole and took the piglet back to his father. He then obtained an incubator from his brother Utah and placed the egg inside it. Soon after, the egg hatched and a baby dragon emerged from it. The dragon introduced himself as Mir and explained that their souls were now bound together by the Spirit Pact.

With Mir’s help, Evan learned that he was able to use magic, allowing him to quickly complete his other chores. After feeding Mir, Evan was sent by his father into town to deliver a letter to Chief Stan. Stan read the letter, which explained that there was a shortage of pig meat. Offering to help, Evan was sent by Stan to hunt Orange Mushroom caps. Mir believed that helping people had to be the Dragon Master’s calling and urged Evan to find other people in trouble. Evan went to Rina’s house and met with Rina, who needed Blue Mushroom caps for a Blue Mushroom Porridge that she wanted to make for her sick friend, Maya. However, she warned Evan not to go near the monsters, as they were much more dangerous than Orange Mushrooms. At Mir’s insistence, however, Evan went anyways and brought the caps for Rina to make the porridge.

Soon after, Chief Stan contacted Evan and explained that he needed help with something, but he first wanted to test Evan’s strength before he entrusted him with the mission. He then asked Evan to bring back a puppet from the Crying Blue Mushrooms. After proving himself, Stan asked Evan to investigate the Golem Temple, as the Golems had become increasingly restless. At the Golem Temple, Evan found a mysterious building with a puppet hanging from it. He reported his discovery to Stan, who noted that the town could handle weaker monsters such as Pigs or Mushrooms, but Golems would be extremely dangerous.

Soon after, Stan contacted Evan and told him that Camila, Utah’s girlfriend, had been kidnapped by the Golems while she had been out picking strawberries. Evan rushed to the temple and quickly defeated the Enraged Golem who had taken her. After bringing Camila back to town, Stan expressed his gratitude. Wondering about the cause of the Golems’ behavior, Stan asked Evan to speak with Camila about anything strange that she might have noticed. Camila told him that she had seen Enraged Golems coming out of the same mysterious building that Evan had discovered. Stan then asked Evan to go into the building and eliminate the Enraged Golems to see if they had any clues. After doing so, Evan brought back a Golem puppet, confirming Stan’s suspicions.

As a final favor, Stan asked Evan to warn the other towns of Victoria Island. He asked Evan to go see Bruce, an archeologist who had been sent to study the Golems’ behavior, in order to have him explain the details to the other towns. Bruce told Evan that he couldn’t possibly go to every town on Victoria Island, and instead suggested that Evan ask Luke, a member of the Victoria Guard, as he could spread the word more easily. Bruce also suggested that it would be helpful if Evan brought evidence, and so Evan found a Golem puppet and took it to Luke. Though Luke was doubtful that a puppet could cause something so major, he nevertheless accepted Bruce’s word as a professional and agreed to warn the other towns.

At Luke’s request, Evan traveled to Perion to warn Ayan, a resident of the town, about the monsters. Ayan then asked Evan to accept a position with the Victoria Guard and help around the town. After consulting with Mir, he accepted the position and was made into an honorary guard, as he was too young to be an official one. For his first mission, Evan was asked to find an Explorer who had gone missing in northern Perion. He found the missing Explorer, Christopher, who was severely dehydrated. Evan brought him Cold Stump Sap in order to help quench his thirst.

He then reported back to Ayan, who asked him to update the warning signs around Perion to ensure they were up to date with correct information. After fixing the signs, Evan learned from Ayan that Smirking Ghost Stumps had been discovered, just as Evan had warned, and asked him to see if they had a puppet in them as well. Evan successfully returned with a puppet and, realizing the magnitude of the situation, Ayan decided to call in official Victoria Guard members to defend the town. Though Evan was no longer needed, she told him that because of his actions, he had grown more famous. She also told him that others around Victoria Island would benefit from his help as well.

Meanwhile, Tru asked Aran to visit him at his store, where he told her the news about the kidnapping incident in Henesys and asked her to learn more from Chief Stan. Stan told her about how an Enraged Golem had kidnapped Camila several days ago, and that it was likely due to a puppet. Aran went to the Golem Temple and found a Golem puppet in the monsters. Stan then asked her to question Camila about what she had seen.

When Aran asked Camila if she had seen anyone suspicious near the Golem Temple, Camila replied that there were always Explorers around the temple, though there hadn’t been anyone suspicious at the time. Aran then asked if she had seen anyone who could have been putting the puppets inside the monsters around town. Camila suddenly remembered that a strange boy had arrived holding a puppet a few days ago, which had also been around the time that strange activities had begun occurring in Henesys.

Realizing that this boy was the cause of the puppet activity, Aran warned Chief Stan about him before returning to Tru. Tru thanked Aran for the information, but added that he was worried for the people of Henesys. He suggested that she return to help the townspeople in the meantime. Upon arriving, Chief Stan informed her that the strange boy had been sighted near the Golem Temple and asked her to check if the Golems had any strange puppets inside them. Aran investigated the temple and told Stan that she hadn’t seen anything suspicious. Stan told her to stay on standby, and that he would contact her again if anything suspicious came up.

Around the same time, Mir went through a metamorphosis and grew larger as Evan became stronger. Realizing that he knew very little about dragons, Evan decided to research more about Mir’s species. They went to Henesys to find Jay, Chief Stan’s son, and asked him if he had any books on dragons. Jay told him that he did, though he only allowed Evan read it at the house, as he had been meaning to read it himself. Evan read that Mir’s species was part of a category called Special Dragons, but details about Special Dragons were in the next volume of the book. Jay suggested that they visit the Magic Library in Ellinia in order to find the next volume. There, Grendel told them that the book had already been checked out.

After a long search, Evan finally tracked down the owner and obtained the book. He then discovered that Mir was a type of Special Dragon called an Onyx Dragon, whose souls were completed after forming Spirit Pacts with humans who possessed a soul of the same frequency. However, he also discovered that Onyx Dragons were said to be extinct. Refusing to believe that he was the last of his kind, Mir insisted that they do more research. Evan asked Grendel about Onyx Dragons, who told them that his friend, Chief Tatamo of Leafre, was a Halflinger, a race of dragon experts, and promised to ask him more about Onyx Dragons.

Back in Henesys, Chief Stan called Aran and told her that the strange boy had once again been sighted near the Golem Temple. Though Aran took down many more Golems, she was unable to find any traces of the strange boy. After reporting back to Stan, Aran heard a mysterious voice inviting her to his cave. Aran was teleported to the cave, where the strange boy introduced himself as Francis the Puppeteer from the Black Wings. He told Aran that she had annoyed him by getting rid of his puppets and threatened her with the wrath of the Black Mage if she didn’t stay out of his way.

Aran returned to Tru’s shop and explained what had happened. Tru explained that he had heard of the Black Wings and told her that he had thought that they were merely a hoax. He began to grow concerned that the old prophecies were coming true, which would mean that the Black Mage was fated to return soon. He resolved to look into the Black Wings and told Aran to inform Lilin about this latest development, adding that the return of the Heroes, the followers of the Black Mage, and the prophecy were all connected. Given how much Lilin had researched and believed in the Heroes, Tru told Aran that Lilin had a right to know as much as anyone.

Aran returned to Rien and explained the situation to Lilin. She replied that the Book of Prophecy stated that the Heroes would return and destroy the Black Mage for good, and that the rise of the Black Wings seemed to confirm that the Black Mage was still alive. When Aran asked if Lilin was afraid, she responded that she had no fears, as she was certain that Aran would defeat the Black Mage. She reassured Aran that it was clear that her strength was returning since coming out of the ice, and that there was no way that Aran had endured so much suffering only to lose to the Black Mage.

Just then, Tru got back to Aran and asked her to investigate the Smirking Ghost Stumps in Perion, citing the similarities between their appearance and the events in Henesys, and suggested finding 10 Boogies for more details. Upon arriving, 10 Boogies told Aran that a puppet was the likely cause for the strange behavior, but after defeating the Smirking Ghost Stumps, Aran was unable to find any puppets inside them.

10 Boogies then showed her a monitor that could detect puppet activity, which confirmed that there was a puppet in the area. She explained that if a puppet were inside a monster, the puppet energy on the monitor would have been moving, but the monitor indicated that the puppet energy was still. 10 Boogies suspected that the puppet was hidden in the area and asked Aran to investigate. Aran then discovered several puppets hidden beneath piles of old relics.

With this information, 10 Boogies concluded that firstly, aberrant monster behavior always stemmed from a puppet; secondly, the puppets didn’t have to be inside the monsters, merely in the area; finally, the Puppeteer had the power to control all of Victoria Island, not just a specific town. With her investigation complete, Aran reported back to Tru, who told her that he would look into the Puppeteer’s activity in order to pinpoint his location. He also warned Aran that since she had disrupted the Puppeteer’s plans several times, he might try to get revenge. 10 Boogies then contacted Aran and asked her to deliver her research report to Neinheart, as she was unable to leave her post. In Ereve, Neinheart thanked Aran for delivering the report, but curtly asked her to leave as soon as possible, as Ereve was closed to strangers.

Some time later, Tru told Aran that Francis had been sighted in Ellinia and asked her to speak with Rowen the Fairy, who was the one who had seen him. Rowen told Aran that she had seen a robed boy earlier, and that she believed him to be the Puppeteer because the Evil Eyes had become much more violent shortly after his appearance. She asked Aran to defeat Evil Eyes to stop their noise pollution of the forest, after which she told Aran to go to the northern forests, where she would find a cave decorated with puppets.

Aran went to the cave and heard a voice that demanded a password to enter. She returned to Rowan, who suggested that Fanzy, a magical cat who lived near the Great Tree, might have overheard the password. Fanzy offered to give Aran the password in exchange for Evil Eye tails. He then told her that the password was “******* is a genius Puppeteer!”, explaining that he hadn’t caught the first word, though he added that it sounded like a name. Aran returned to see Tru, where they deduced that the missing word was ‘Francis’.

With the password, Aran entered the cave and confronted Francis, who was shocked that Aran had managed to infiltrate his cave. Aran then proceeded to soundly defeat Francis, although he managed to escape. Aran then took a document from his cave and brought it to Tru. He realized that the document was written in code and told Aran to bring it to Lilin, who was a master codebreaker.

Lilin solved the code and learned that Francis’ mission was to recover the Seal Stone of Victoria Island, and that he had been using his puppets to control the monsters of Victoria Island in order to find it. The report also showed that due to unforeseen complications from external forces, the mission had been delayed and Francis had requested reinforcements. Lilin was unsure what the Seal Stone was, but as it seemed to be something that the Black Wings were searching desperately for, she believed that it had to be closely related to the Black Mage. Knowing that Aran was likely the external complication that Francis was referring to, Lilin advised Aran to exercise caution and to continue training.

Soon after, Lilin called Aran back to Rien because of the strange behavior of her polearm. Aran returned to Rien and found the polearm vibrating, as well as a spirit floating next to it. The spirit told Aran that he had been trying to call her for some time and introduced himself as Maha, the spirit of her polearm. Having lost her memories, Aran was unable to recognize him and instead asked Lilin, who told her that the Heroes’ weapons were said to have personalities of their own.

(A/N: This has been retconned, as none of the other Heroes have spirits in their weapons. The only other instances of a weapon with a spirit are Damien’s sword being possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance and Alpha and Beta’s swords possessed by Lapis and Lazuli.)

In order to help Aran remember Maha, Lilin told her to visit the Mirror Cave and look into the Mirror of Desire, which had the power to show whatever the user desired. Through the mirror, Aran witnessed her past self going to Mu Lung in order to obtain the greatest weapon ever made by the Master Blacksmith. After completing a trial to prove her strength, the Blacksmith had presented her with his finest creation, Maha. Aran then returned to Maha and told him that she remembered him. Maha was overjoyed and explained that since her body had gone through intense training in the past, her powers could be jogged through muscle memory. He then used his powers to restore part of Aran’s old strength.

Hunt for the Seal Stones:

In Ellinia, Grendel summoned Evan and Mir to the Magic Library. He told them that Chief Tatamo had gotten back to him and confirmed that he had information on the Onyx Dragons. However, he explained that Tatamo hardly talked about the Onyx Dragons, even to him, as though there was something about the topic that Tatamo felt guilty about.

When Evan asked if there was any way to convince Tatamo to share what he knew, Grendel told him that Tatamo might help if Evan were to give him an Onyx Dragon scale. Evan asked Mir for a scale, but Mir refused and told him that it would create a bald spot on his hide. After Evan persuaded him with shrimp and fish from Gold Beach, Mir reluctantly allowed Evan to pluck a scale. Evan brought the scale to Grendel, who told them that he would let them know what Tatamo said.

Meanwhile, Aran was contacted by Tru, who asked her to come see him at his shop, though Aran noted that Tru’s mannerisms were uncharacteristic of him. She arrived at his shop and found him tied unconscious to a chair, with Francis and a second Tru awaiting her. Francis thanked the second Tru, who revealed himself to be a shapeshifted Baroq. After Baroq left, Francis told Aran that the reason she had beaten him last time was because he had just come back from a battle with the Cygnus Knights, promising that he would be a much stronger foe this time around.

(A/N: This is likely a reference to the Cygnus Knights storyline from before the Cygnus Awakens revamp, which took place around the same time as Aran and Evan’s storylines. The current Cygnus Knights storyline makes allusions to the original version, namely that Francis had once tried to use his puppets to take over Victoria Island and was stopped by the Cygnus Knights. We can assume that Francis is referring to one of the battles that the old Cygnus Knight storyline has you do.)

Despite his boasting, Aran was once again able to defeat him with ease, forcing Francis to retreat. She then freed Tru, who thanked her for saving him. He was surprised that Francis would have gone so far, but he was content with having learned the Puppetmaster’s weaknesses. Aran was confused by what he meant, and so Tru explained that Francis’ drastic measures meant that the document which she had obtained from his cave was real, which confirmed that the Black Wings’ goal was to recover the Seal Stone of Victoria Island. He then urged Aran to keep training while he investigated further.

Soon after, Evan and Mir were contacted by Grendel, who told them that Tatamo was very curious about how Evan had managed to obtain an Onyx Dragon’s scale and wanted to meet him. Grendel offered to teleport them to Leafre, though he warned them not to roam outside the town, as the monsters in Leafre were far stronger than they could handle.

At the Halflinger village, Tatamo was both amazed and relieved that an Onyx Dragon still lived, and a young one at that. When Evan asked how the Onyx Dragons had gone extinct, Tatamo merely told him that a dark force had wiped them out centuries ago, though he claimed that he had no idea why. He offered to let Mir stay in Leafre, where he would be cared for by the Halflingers, but Evan and Mir both refused and told him that they belonged at each other’s side. Tatamo laughed and said that he understood, adding that Mir’s existence made him all the more determined to find another Onyx Dragon. After leaving Leafre, Mir told Evan that he felt sad thinking that he was the last of his species. However, he reassured Evan that he still had hope that other Onyx Dragons still existed.

Soon after returning to Victoria Island, Evan and Mir were contacted by Sabitrama, a shaman from Sleepywood. Sabitrama had heard stories about Evan’s heroic actions around Victoria Island and wanted to request the young Dragon Master’s help. He explained that someone had stolen his bag of herbs, which he used to make medicine, and suspected that the culprit was a thief from Kerning City. Evan went to Kerning City to investigate, where he ran into Alex, Chief Stan’s runaway son. Alex asked Evan about the latest news from Henesys ever since he had run away in exchange for a tip to seek out JM From tha Streetz, who knew everything in Kerning City.

JM demanded a fee of Stirge Wings for information, after which he told Evan that it was unlikely that anyone from the city had taken the herbs, as potions were much more convenient in modern day. Because of this, JM suspected that the thief had taken the herbs in order to use them rather than to sell them. He told them to speak with Nella, whose keen sense of smell might help them find the herbs. Evan explained the situation to Nella, who was offended by Sabitrama’s belief that the thieves of Kerning City were criminals, explaining that the thieves of Kerning City merely adopted a particular aesthetic, and that they had no interest in taking other people’s livelihoods. She swore to Evan that the thief wasn’t from Kerning City and resolved to find them herself in order to restore Kerning City’s honor.

Around this time, Phantom awoke from the ice and began to reacquaint himself with the centuries of history that he had missed by helping his intelligence network aboard the Lumiere collect information. He was then hired by Tru, who asked him to help recover the Seal Stone of Victoria Island. Although Phantom told Tru that the Seal Stone was useless while the Black Mage was sealed, he nevertheless helped Tru obtain the Seal Stone. (A/N: These events are referenced in Phantom’ s storyline, but never directly shown. Phantom remains largely underground after helping Tru, only revealing himself publicly when Hilla attempts to overthrow Cygnus after the Alliance is formed.)

Soon after, Tru learned that the cave in Ellinia was empty, meaning that Francis had changed his headquarters. After investigating, he found that Francis was hiding in the Golem Temple and sent Aran to deal with him. After defeating Francis, Aran returned to Tru, who asked her why she seemed downcast. Aran told him that her mission had been a failure, as she had failed to learn anything about the Seal Stone of Victoria Island in Francis’ hideout.

To her surprise, Tru revealed that he had already found it. As the Black Wings knew where his shop was, Tru felt that it would be unwise to keep the Seal Stone, and so he asked Aran to give it to Lilin for safekeeping, explaining that Rien was normally only populated by the native races of the island, and so many spells had been placed on it to keep it inaccessible to foreigners. He then told Aran that he would no longer assign her missions, as she had gained enough experience about Maple World to gather information for herself. He told her to keep investigating the Black Wings and asked her to let him know immediately if she learned more about the Seal Stone.

Meanwhile, Nella contacted Evan and told him that she had sent her men to gather information on the thief, and that one of them had found a clue in Sleepywood. However, he had been attacked by Wraiths on the way back to Kerning City and had lost his report. Evan and Mir recovered the report in the Kerning City subway and brought it to Nella. She explained that the report was written in a secret code that only thieves used. After translating it, she learned that the thief had gone to a cave at the end of the forest in Ellinia.

Inside the cave, they found a lone puppet, who explained that his master had been injured while fighting his enemies. Since the puppet had no money to buy potions, he had stolen the bag of herbs in order to heal his master. As his master’s wounds still hadn’t fully healed, he begged them to bring him some potions in order to help his master. After bringing him the potions, the puppet thanked them and returned the bag of herbs. Evan returned them to Sabitrama and told him how Nella had aided him in recovering the herbs. Sabitrama felt ashamed for his prejudice against Kerning City and asked Evan to apologize to Nella on his behalf. After Evan passed on Sabitrama’s message, Nella was pleased that Kerning City’s honor had been restored.

Soon after, the puppet contacted Evan and told him that he needed bandages to treat his master’s wounds. Evan and Mir hunted Jr. Wraiths in the Kerning City subway and brought them to the puppet to use as bandages. The puppet was overjoyed and asked if they would be willing to join his master's secret organization. Though the puppet didn’t know what the name of the organization was, he assured Evan that its members performed good deeds throughout Maple World. Evan believed that as a Dragon Master, he should join such an organization and accepted the puppet’s offer. The puppet told Evan that he would speak to his master and try to pull some strings in order to recommend him.

Soon after, the puppet contacted Evan and told him that his master had agreed to let Evan join, provided that he pass the entry test, which was to eliminate Ligators in the Swamp Region, as they were disrupting his master’s construction of a new base. (A/N: I don’t think that Francis ever has a base in the Swamp Region, this might be a dropped plot point.) After passing the entry test, Evan was told that there was yet another condition to join, which was to collect Croco skins. After Evan brought him the skins, the puppet told Evan to expect to hear from him soon.

Sure enough, the puppet soon told Evan that he had been accepted as a temporary member of the organization, though he added that Evan might soon be promoted to an official member after some time. He told Evan and Mir to go to the sixteenth floor of Orbis Tower, where they would find the details of their first mission behind a secret brick. He told Evan that upon becoming an official member, he would be able to meet directly with other members and choose which missions he wanted to accept.

The puppet then transported them to Orbis Tower, where Evan found a badge for the secret organization, as well as instructions to collect Rapid Growth Accelerants from the Muddy Swamp Monsters in Kerning City. Evan was also told to keep the instructions and the Accelerants behind the secret brick. After completing the mission, Mir wondered what the Accelerants would be used for, to which Evan suggested that they might be used to make crops grow faster.

Soon after, Tru contacted Aran and told her that he had expanded his intelligence network outside Victoria Island, allowing him to learn that something had happened in Orbis, which possibly involved the Black Wings. In Orbis, Aran spoke with a half-Nymph named Lisa, who told her that she had been unable to sleep last night because of a thumping noise that kept all the fairies in Orbis awake. After investigating the source, Lisa had learned that there were Giant Nependeaths growing in the Neglected Strolling Path. As Nependeaths didn’t grow so abnormally large, she asked Aran to investigate the source of what was causing such a drastic growth.

After defeating the Giant Nependeaths, Aran found bottles of Rapid Growth Accelerants. (A/N: Aran and Evan’s storylines intersect periodically, mostly with Evan being tricked into helping the Black Wings and Aran cleaning up the mess.) She brought them to Lisa, who told her that Orbis had been slowly sinking from the sky year by year, explaining that the heavier the mass on Orbis, the faster they would sink. She asked Aran to consult with a seer named Spiruna about whether Orbis was going to sink because of the Giant Nependeaths. Though she normally hated strangers, Spiruna sensed that Aran had a strange aura and allowed her to speak. Aran explained the situation with the Giant Nependeaths and asked whether they would cause Orbis to sink.

Peering into the future, Spiruna foresaw that Orbis would be safe, though she asked Aran where the Giant Nependeaths had been growing. After learning that they had been growing in the Neglected Strolling Path, Spiruna wondered whether someone had been trying to get into the Sealed Garden. Aran began asking what the Sealed Garden was, but Spiruna snapped at her and asked who she was and why she was asking such questions. Before Aran could respond, Spiruna looked into her crystal ball and was shocked by what she saw. She told Aran that a great fate hung over her, which was to overcome a terrible curse that had persisted for countless centuries.

Though she didn’t know much about the Sealed Garden, Spiruna told Aran that the Empress had ordered it off-limits, as it was where the Seal Stone of Orbis was hidden. (A/N: Originally, the dialogue said that the Goddess had ordered it off-limits. They likely changed this because of the confusion with the ambiguity of the term ‘Goddess’.) Spiruna explained that the only way to get to the Sealed Garden was to make the Nependeaths in the Neglected Strolling Path grow large enough to reach the vines growing down from the Sealed Garden and asked Aran to stop the people trying to steal the Seal Stone.

In the Sealed Garden, Aran encountered Dargoth the Giant of the Black Wings. Dargoth realized that Aran was the one who had defeated Francis and laughed that he would take the Seal Stone and defeat Aran all at once. Aran was able to defeat Dargoth, but a Gentleman took the Seal Stone and disappeared before Aran could stop him. Frustrated, Aran returned to Tru and told him what had happened in Orbis. Though Tru was disappointed that the Black Wings had stolen the Seal Stone of Orbis, he was intrigued to know that there were multiple Seal Stones.

He told Aran to cheer up and let Lilin know about what had happened, reminding her about the importance of keeping Lilin in the loop. Lilin agreed with Tru that the confirmation of the existence of multiple Seal Stones was a major discovery and reminded Aran that their acquisition of the Seal Stone of Victoria Island was an even bigger success. She told Aran to keep focusing on her training while she and Tru kept looking into the locations of the Seal Stones.

Meanwhile, Evan and Mir were contacted by the Gentleman, who told them that he was the one who had given them their first mission. Evan asked if he was the owner of the puppet, but the Gentleman told them that its owner was Francis, whom he outranked. He also congratulated Evan and told him that the Rapid Growth Accelerant had been a big help to their organization, adding that even though Evan was not yet an official member, he had gone up in the ranks enough to be ready for his next mission.

He told Evan to go to the Forest of the Dead in El Nath, where he was to defeat the Decaying Coolie Zombies and take their Decaying Zombie Molars, after which he was to take the molars and go to the Chief’s Residence basement and exchange them with a goblin named Shammos. Though Evan and Mir had a bad feeling, they nevertheless completed their mission and gave the teeth to Shammos, who gave them a black key in return.

The Gentleman then told Evan to put the key inside a small stump on the outskirts of town, explaining that another member of the organization would come pick it up. Mir was excited about having completed yet another mission and asked Evan if he felt as though they had done something good for the people of Maple World.

Though he was confused about the purpose of the mission, Evan agreed that defeating the zombies must mean that they had done some good. Mir then wondered why the organization was so clandestine, as no one would know about their good deeds if the organization was secret. Evan supposed that it wouldn’t be humble of them to brag about their good deeds. Soon after, Mir experienced another metamorphosis and grew even larger as Evan’s magical mastery increased.

Some time later, Aran was summoned to Rien by a penguin named Pucci, who explained that while taking care of his huskies, he had realized that one of them was actually a wolf. As wolves weren’t native to Rien, he wondered where it might have come from. Though he didn’t know much about wolves, he felt that it would be cruel to abandon it, and so he had resolved to raise the wolf until it could take care of itself. In order to find out more about raising wolves, he asked Aran to go to Snowy Whale Island in Aqua Road in order to visit Nanuke, who was experienced in raising wolves.

Nanuke told Aran that she had raised wolves before and offered to make a Wolf Pup Formula in order to help it grow stronger. For the formula, she asked Aran to bring Seahorse Tails and Wolf Cub Vitamins from Kenta in the Aquarium. Aran brought the ingredients to Nanuke, who made the formula for her. She took it to Rien and fed the wolf, who instantly grew attached to her. Pucci told her that he had named the wolf Werewolf, and that Aran would soon be able to ride it.

Some time later, Aran encountered Scadur in El Nath, who was impressed to see Werewolf, as he hadn’t seen anyone with a wolf in ages. He told her that he could teach her to ride the wolf and explained that she would need a Wolf Saddle. He offered to make her one in exchange for bringing Jr. Yeti Skins for the raw materials. With the skins, Scadur made her the saddle and taught her how to ride Werewolf.

Meanwhile, Grendel contacted Evan and asked how his research on Onyx Dragons was going. He had heard a rumor about someone on Victoria Island riding a dragon and wondered if Evan might be able to ride Mir. Mir told him that it was possible, but that Evan would need a saddle, as well as lessons on how to ride a dragon. Evan asked Grendel where the dragon rider could be found and learned that they were in Perion. There, they met the dragon rider FangBlade, who told them that he could teach Evan how to ride a dragon if he were to find a mount. (A/N: This quest is really cool, as you can talk to the FangBlade NPC to get the mount skill. Outside GMS, I believe the NPC you speak to is called the Dragon Warrior.) FangBlade suggested that they try checking Ereve, as many of the people there rode birds.

In Ereve, Neinheart demanded that Evan state his name, job, and purpose, as Ereve was a restricted area. Evan was confused, as he had seen many people entering and leaving Ereve. Neinheart explained that they were Cygnus Knights and ordered Evan to leave immediately. Evan persistently asked how Ereve made their mounts, but Neinheart once again asked Evan for his name, job, and purpose.

Evan introduced himself as a Dragon Master, which intrigued Neinheart enough that he resolved to look into what a Dragon Master was. He then told Evan that they outsourced production of saddles to Kenta in the Aquarium. With that, Neinheart insisted that they leave at once. They then went to speak with Kenta, who was intrigued by Mir. After taking his measurements, Kenta asked for Freezer Leather, a Seruf Pearl, and a service fee. After providing the items, Kenta made a saddle for Mir. They returned to Perion, where FangBlade taught Evan how to ride Mir.

Back in Lith Harbor, Tru reached out to Aran and told her that he had learned of Black Wings activity in Mu Lung. He told her to investigate Mr. Do, who had been in contact with one of the Black Wings. Mr. Do told Aran that the Black Wings member was known as the Shadow Knight, and that the Shadow Knight had given him a Hanging Scroll to pass on to Mu Gong, the master of Mu Lung Dojo. However, Mr. Do had accidentally boiled the scroll while making medicine and the contents of the scroll had been lost. He asked Aran to visit Jin Jin, the best painter in Mu Lung, in order to see if he could restore it. Jin Jin had Aran gather ingredients to create a Special Ink, which he then used to restore the Hanging Scroll.

Aran read the scroll and found out that it was a warning from the Shadow Knight that he was going to steal the Seal Stone of Mu Lung. She showed the scroll to Mr. Do, who realized that the Shadow Knight had written it as a challenge to Mu Gong and asked Aran to warn him. Though one would have to normally fight to the top floor of the dojo in order to reach Mu Gong, Mr. Do told her that Mu Gong’s apprentice, So Gong, could be bribed into showing her the back route to Mu Gong. As So Gong was obsessed with becoming the strongest warrior, Mr. Do told Aran that if she brought him Bellflowers, which were said to be good for one’s health, he might let her pass. Sure enough, when Aran brought the Bellflowers, So Gong showed her the secret path to reach his master.

At the top of the dojo, Aran gave the Hanging Scroll to Mu Gong, who grew worried that the Shadow Knight would steal the Seal Stone. He told Aran that the Seal Stone was a valuable item guarded by the warriors of Mu Lung for centuries. When Aran asked for more details on the Seal Stone, Mu Gong tested her to see if she was worthy of receiving the knowledge. Aran successfully fought Mu Gong’s shadow and Mu Gong immediately recognized her fighting style, which he said had been used centuries ago and was rumored to have even been used by one of the Heroes. Because of this, he mistook Aran to be a disciple of the Heroes, but nevertheless told her the location of the Seal Stone, as well as the password to enter.

Though he knew that the Shadow Knight’s challenge had been meant for him, he felt that it would be better for the hero’s successor to face him. Aran then entered the Sealed Temple, where the Shadow Knight was waiting. Just like Mu Gong, he mistook her for the hero’s successor rather than one of the Heroes herself. Aran was able to defeat the Shadow Knight, but just like in Orbis, the Gentleman appeared from the shadows and took the Seal Stone of Mu Lung.

Frustrated, Aran returned to Mu Gong to report her failure. To Aran’s surprise, Mu Gong revealed that the Heroes had entrusted the Seal Stone with the chief of Mu Lung, who had constructed the Sealed Temple in order to safeguard it. He then told Aran that the loss of the Seal Stone may not have been significant, as he had believed that the reason the Sealed Temple was so heavily protected was because it was the legacy of the Heroes, adding that he didn’t know the purpose of the Seal Stone.

(A/N: I love how despite the whole purpose of the Seal Stones was to be used for the people to protect their lands, not a single one of them knows what they are or how to use them. I suppose they don’t need to since the Black Mage is sealed away, but what if he returned or a similar threat arose and the other Heroes weren’t around to explain how they worked? I would’ve thought that at least someone would’ve written down instructions on how they work for future generations.)

Dejected, Aran returned to Tru and told him about the events in Mu Lung. Tru reassured Aran that she was growing stronger, and that she would stop the Black Wings next time. He told her to speak with Lilin about what she had learned in Mu Lung. Lilin was excited to learn that the Heroes had left behind the Seal Stones and said that the information made up for losing the Seal Stone. Aran was confused by how she had reached that conclusion, to which Lilin explained that by piecing together information on the Heroes, she could predict which places were likely to have the Seal Stones before the Black Wings found out. As always, she told Aran to focus on training while she researched the Heroes and Tru looked into the Black Wings.

Meanwhile, Grendel contacted Evan and told him that a new book had arrived in the Magic Library, which held a clue on the Onyx Dragons. When Evan arrived, Grendel showed him the book and explained that it was a voyage log written by John from Lith Harbor, which detailed his encounter with a dragon that had black scales and four golden horns while he had been marooned on an island covered in ice. Evan and Mir went to Lith Harbor in order to speak with John, who gave them a map to the island and told them to ask Teo to ferry them.

Teo told them that the route to the island was especially perilous, and that he didn’t have the skills to take them. However, he mentioned that Olaf, an experienced sailor, would be able to help them and suggested that they buy him a drink in order to persuade him. Evan bought Olaf his favorite drink, a Tropical Fruit Punch, and Olaf agreed to take them, although he said that due to the harsh conditions on the voyage, he would need a stronger ship. He asked Evan to bring Wooden Boards and Slates from the monsters at the Excavation Site in Perion in order to fortify the ship, after which he told Evan that he would reach out once it was ready.

As Olaf continued working on the ship, Lilin called Aran to Rien once again. She explained that Maha had been acting strangely and suspected that he wanted to speak with her. In Rien, Maha told Aran that a thief had stolen a Red Jade that decorated the polearm. He believed that the thief had disguised themselves as a penguin in order to avoid detection, and that they were likely fleeing Rien as he spoke. Aran chased after the thief, which she discovered was a Thief Crow, and managed to defeat it. However, she forgot to recover the Red Jade and returned back to town. (A/N: Freud and Afrien left behind only two brain cells and they exist on a rotating basis between Luminous, Mercedes, and Shade. Phantom, Aran, Evan, and Mir proudly remain the token bimbos and himbos of their group.)

As Maha succumbed to hysterics, Aran asked Lilin what to do, as the Thief Crow had likely recovered from the battle and escaped with the jewel. Lilin believed that the Red Jade likely amplified Maha’s powers, and so they needed to quickly make a replacement. She suggested that Aran visit the Mirror of Desire once again in order to find out how to craft the jewel. Through the mirror, Aran saw one of her memories, in which she encountered a Yeti named Tititi in El Nath. Tititi was crying, as a Thief Crow had stolen his Red Jade. After Aran recovered the jewel, Tititi gave it to her as a reward. Through the mirror, the present-day Aran was able to extract the Red Jade from her memories and affixed it back on the polearm. Maha was overjoyed by the return of his jewel and, with his powers amplified once again, he was able to bestow more of Aran’s old power upon her.

(A/N: The Mirror of Desire is so broken if it lets you get real life replicas of objects from your memories. Her taking the Red Jade by looking in the mirror is just like how Harry got the Philosopher’s Stone from the Mirror of Erised, which is probably where the Mirror of Desire gets its inspiration from, given that Desire is just Erised spelled backwards.) .

Back in Lith Harbor, Olaf let Evan know that he had finished fortifying the ship. Evan and Mir climbed aboard and, after a long voyage, they finally arrived on the island. (A/N: I’m not joking when I say that it was a long voyage. I think that it’s the only voyage left in the game that hasn’t been reduced by revamps to less than a minute. Each trip one-way takes 15 minutes, meaning that the round trip is half an hour, making Evan’s storyline one of the most tedious to finish.)

Mir was amazed at how quiet the island was, as the only noise came from the gently crashing waves. Directly in front of them was a large cave, inside which they found a large magical ice wall that separated them from what appeared to be a large Onyx Dragon. As they didn’t want to accidentally hurt the dragon, Evan decided to leave the ice wall alone and resolved to return after thinking of another way to get inside.

Meanwhile, Tru contacted Aran and told her that a crack in time had appeared in the Time Control Room of Ludibrium, which was rumored to lead centuries into the past when the Heroes were still active. Aran entered through the crack in time and arrived in Ellin Forest. Proceeding deeper into the forest, she arrived at Altaire Camp and met Yuris, who was amazed that Aran had managed to return from her fight with the Black Mage. She explained that Athena Pierce would love to see Aran again, as she deeply regretted that she couldn’t convince Aran to escape with them.

Sure enough, Athena was overjoyed to see Aran, but was shocked when Aran told her that she had no idea who Athena was. After learning that Aran had come from the future, and that she had lost her memories, Athena reintroduced herself and explained the events that had led to the formation of Altaire Camp. When Aran asked about the Seal Stones, Athena told her that she had been given a Seal Stone by the Heroes, which she kept locked in the library. After obtaining the storage key from Loha, Aran entered the library and encountered the Gentleman, who had also entered the crack of time. Before she could stop him, the Gentleman disappeared with the Seal Stone of Ellin Forest.

Athena apologized to Aran for not having better secured the Seal Stone, but Aran reassured her that it wasn’t her fault. Athena then told her that she had also been given a letter by Aran of the past, which she recalled had mentioned something about the Seal Stones. However, when Aran tried to take the letter, it merely fell through her hands. Athena believed that it was because Aran was from a different time period. (A/N: If you can’t interact with things from the past, then how did Hiver take the Seal Stone of Ellin Forest in the first place?)

Since she was an elf, and thus had a long lifespan, Athena suggested that she could keep the letter and instructed Aran to find her in the present day. After returning to her own time, Aran told Tru what had happened in Ellin Forest and asked him who Athena Pierce was. She was surprised to learn that Athena was one of the most famous people in Maple World, both as the instructor for bowmen and as an influential leader of Victoria Island. Aran went to the Bowman Instructional School, where she found that Baroq the Master of Disguise had knocked out Athena and was reading the letter.

After Aran defeated him and saved Athena, she took the letter to Tru, who found that it was completely unreadable. They realized that it was written in code, and that since Baroq had already read it, the Black Wings likely already knew the contents of the letter. Tru told Aran that Lilin would be able to decipher it, and so Aran went to Rien and showed the letter to her. Lilin realized that the code was extremely complicated, with several layers of encryption. She asked Aran for some time to decipher it and told her to focus on training in the meantime.

Meanwhile, Evan was contacted by the Gentleman, who began explaining his third mission. Evan interrupted him and asked to learn more about the organization, as he knew nothing about it, despite being a member. The Gentleman told Evan to come to the Frog House in Ludibrium, where he introduced himself as Hiver, a top leader of the Black Wings. He explained that the Black Wings did many things to help Maple World, but their primary goal was to bring back the ‘great' Black Mage.

Though he couldn’t elaborate too much, he told Evan that the Black Wings had been created to revive the Black Mage, and that his return would be the greatest thing that could happen to Maple World. With that, he gave Evan his third mission, which was to capture the ghosts of Secret Master Soul Teddies. While collecting them, Mir asked Evan if he had felt that something was off, as rumors stated that the Black Wings were the same organization hated by the people of Edelstein. Mir felt that he wasn’t sure whether they were on the right side or not. After returning to Hiver, Evan began to voice his concerns, but Hiver quickly dismissed him and said that he needed to focus on preparing the ghosts that Evan had collected.

Soon after, Lilin told Aran that she had successfully deciphered the letter, which she learned had been written by the Heroes and given to Athena Pierce in order to pass on to the new Empress of Maple World.

(A/N: This quest originally referred to the Empress as the Queen, which actually makes more sense, as Queens rule kingdoms while an Empress rules an empire. The Empress has also been referred to as the Priestess of Ereve in the Kritias storyline and the Castellan in the Demon’s storyline. This quest raises the question of why Athena Pierce didn’t tell Aran that the letter was for the Empress in the first place. Since Athena mentions that Aran of the past was the one who had given her the letter, there’s no way that she didn’t know who it was meant for.)

She told Aran that the letter simply said to take care of the Seal Stone of Ereve. As the Black Wings had read the letter, they likely knew of the Seal Stone’s existence, and so Lilin asked Aran to warn the people of Ereve and told her to bring the letter as proof. Aran went to Ereve and met with Neinheart, who was surprised that Aran knew about the Seal Stone of Ereve, also known as Shinsoo’s Teardrop. Nevertheless, he told Aran to leave, as not only was Ereve closed to foreigners, but he also didn’t trust that Aran wasn’t one of the Black Wings herself.

(A/N: There’s no way that Neinheart didn’t recognize Aran. He’s probably seen her frozen in ice multiple times while living in Rien. My headcanon, while it doesn’t fit with the lore, is that he behaved so coldly with Aran because he feels guilty for having lost faith in the prophecy, and so he refuses to acknowledge her as one of the Heroes out of stubbornness since he doesn’t want to admit to himself that he was wrong.)

Meanwhile, Hiver contacted Evan and told him that his preparations were complete. He gave Evan and Mir a pouch containing the spirits that they had captured and told them to use a special portal that he had created, which would take them to the Sky Terrace. There, Evan was to climb up a ladder and release the Master Soul Teddy spirits in order to chase everyone away. Evan and Mir followed his instructions and released the spirits, causing the guard who was patrolling the area to run away in fear.

Evan was confused about why he had been told to do this, and after returning back to Frog House, he attempted to question Hiver. However, Hiver interrupted him once again and promised to answer his questions after the mission was complete. He told Evan that thanks to his actions, a member of the Black Wings had been able to break through the first layer of security at the Sky Terrace. He then asked Evan to go further inside and defeat a monster called the Door Block. Evan and Mir returned to the Sky Terrace and encountered the Door Block, who called them thieves and denounced their audacity in trying to steal the Seal Stone of Ludibrium.

After defeating the Door Block, they returned to Hiver, who thanked them for their work and told them to get some rest, promising to contact them with their next mission soon. He then disappeared without having answered any of Evan’s questions. Evan and Mir agreed that there was something strange about the Black Wings, as things weren’t adding up about the missions that they had been completing.

Soon after, Hiver contacted them with their fourth mission, which was to obtain a map from Captain Hwang in Herb Town. He told them to ask the captain for a map of Turtle Island, as he would know what they meant. In Herb Town, Captain Hwang agreed to give them the map in exchange for defeating the pirates who had been harassing the people of Herb Town. After Evan and Mir eliminated the pirates, the captain gave them the map, but warned them that the journey to the island was perilous and recommended that they don’t go. Evan then contacted Hiver to report their success. Hiver was impressed and teleported them to Frog House, where he told them that he had a fifth mission ready.

With the map, Hiver modified the special portal that had taken them to the Sky Terrace and explained that they could use the portal to get to Turtle Island. He then gave Evan a Gruesome Bone that reeked of dark energy and told him to place it on an altar inside the cave that they would find, after which they were to leave immediately, no matter what else they found. He explained that an evil being had placed a spell on the island that prevented the Black Wings from entering, which was why he needed Evan’s help. Evan reluctantly agreed and took the portal to Turtle Island.

Upon arriving, he and Mir immediately realized that Turtle Island was the same island that they had sailed to with Olaf. They entered the cave and placed the bone upon the altar, causing its dark energies to melt the ice wall between them and the Onyx Dragon. Hiver was pleased and told them to head outside, where a boat was waiting for them. Evan attempted to tell Hiver about the Onyx Dragon, but Hiver told him to ignore it and escape before the dragon awoke.

As they left the cave, Mir became increasingly frantic and told Evan that something was terribly wrong about the whole situation. Evan agreed with Mir and they decided to return to the cave, where they found Hiver and several Black Wings henchmen attempting to kill the dragon. Evan and Mir quickly defeated the henchmen and knocked back Hiver, who was impressed by their strength. He decided to retreat, but warned that they would be enemies once their paths crossed again.

The sleeping dragon then awoke and telepathically spoke to Evan, introducing himself as Afrien, the King of Onyx Dragons. Evan asked him why the Onyx Dragons had gone extinct and why Afrien was trapped inside the ice cave. Afrien told Evan the story of how he and Freud had formed the Spirit Pact, and how the Black Mage had destroyed the Onyx Dragons. To elaborate, he showed Evan a memory of himself speaking with Freud shortly before they had stormed the Temple of Time. Evan witnessed how Afrien had asked Freud to take care of his egg if he were to fall in battle, and how, in turn, Freud had Afrien promise that he would do everything in his power to survive, as well as promising not to sacrifice himself on Freud’s behalf.

Evan then realized that Mir was Afrien’s child, though Afrien asked Evan not to tell Mir, explaining that he was as good as dead, and that the knowledge would only bring Mir pain. He told Evan that when the Black Mage had cast his curse on the Heroes, he had taken the curse in Freud’s place. He explained that the ice around his body had nearly melted, but that his body had become one with the island. Because of this, the animals who lived there would die if he were to move. Freud had cast a spell on the island to prevent anyone affiliated with the Black Mage from entering, and made it so that only a Dragon Master could awaken Afrien.

Evan asked how Hiver knew all this, to which Afrien said that it wasn’t important. (A/N: I mean, I think it’s kinda important…) He then added that the important thing was that Hiver had used Evan. He explained that since Hiver couldn’t enter the island himself, he had manipulated Evan into breaking the spell and awakening Afrien. He then told Evan that his only wish was that Evan and Mir stop the Black Wings. As Mir hadn’t seen Afrien’s memories, he asked Evan to tell him what he had learned. Evan kept his promise not to tell Mir about his ancestry and instead explained that the Black Mage, far from being the force of good that Hiver had promised, was the one responsible for wiping out the Onyx Dragons.

Realizing that they had been manipulated, Evan and Mir decided to visit each of the places they had completed missions in in order to see what consequences their actions had wrought. In Orbis, they learned from Lisa that the Rapid Growth Accelerant had caused much harm due to the Giant Nependeaths it created, and that only the actions of a passing traveler had resolved the situation.

Next, they went to the Chief’s Residence in El Nath, where they spoke with the Magician Instructor Robeira. Evan asked if they had done good work by hunting the zombies, to which she responded that they had indeed. She told them that if it hadn’t been for the zombies, El Nath could have developed further such that they would have the resources to find a way to get rid of them. However, she warned them to take care of any zombie teeth that they recovered, as the teeth contained a dark corruptive energy. She told them that the corruption had taken hold of Shammos, who continued to perform misdeeds in spite of wanting to atone for his wrongdoings.

When Evan asked what Shammos had done wrong, Robeira explained that Shammos had been caught with a copy of the key to the basement of the Chief’s Residence. Although she had taken it away, she believed that he had likely made more copies and explained that there was an old treasure stored in the basement, which needed to be protected at all costs. (A/N: This is likely an allusion to the Seal Stone of El Nath, although this contradicts Phantom’s storyline, which reveals that the Seal Stone is located in the research lab of Alcaster’s master in Orbis Tower.)

In Ludibrium, they spoke with a guard named Marcel, who told them that the Door Block had guarded an important treasure. Although no one knew what the treasure was, its theft had been a major incident in Ludibrium. After realizing just how badly their actions had inflicted misfortune on the people of Maple World, Evan and Mir were furious and decided to confront Hiver at Frog House in order to get revenge. There, Hiver told them that while they had been useful for a time, they had become nothing more than hindrances. Evan and Mir unleashed their full power, which overwhelmed Hiver enough that he retreated. Knowing that he had probably returned to the Black Wings base in Edelstein, Evan and Mir decided to follow him there.

Meanwhile, the Black Wings conducted an operation to try to steal the Seal Stone of Ereve. Baroq used his powers to disguise himself and infiltrate the island, but thanks to Aran’s timely warning, Neinheart was prepared and mobilized the Cygnus Knights, who forced Baroq to retreat. Soon after, Neinheart asked Aran to come to Ereve. There, he personally thanked her for her actions and explained that he had initially mistrusted Aran because of her strange aura, but after thoroughly investigating her, he now understood her dynamic past.

The Magician of Light:

(A/N: The first part of Luminous’ storyline depends on the choice you make at the beginning of the story to choose either the light or dark path. Originally, GMS only gave the option to take the dark path, and so personally I consider the dark path to be the canon option, especially since it adds more levity to Luminous’ struggle to resist the darkness. However, I’ll cover both the light and dark storylines in this guide. The events of both paths are loosely the same, barring Luminous’ personality. Given that both paths converge at his 2nd job advancement anyways, each path’s canonicity is largely based on which one you choose to believe.)

In Ellinia, Luminous had spent many happy years with Lania and Penny. One day, Lania sent Luminous to the market in order to get fresh supplies. Luminous had lately been suffering from headaches, and while Lania walked him outside, he felt his chest tightening as dark power built up inside him. Just as he yelled for Lania to stay back, black chains shot up from the ground around him. Luminous then passed out for a while, and after he awoke, he found Lania’s house in ruins and Lania lying motionless on the ground as the forest burned around them. Luminous was anguished to feel the Black Mage’s power inside him and wondered what could be done.

Light Path:
Luminous decided to resist the power of the darkness and saved Lania. Over the next several months, Luminous rebuilt Lania’s home and returned everything back to normal. After finishing repairs, he told Lania that he was going on a journey to find a way to remove the darkness inside of him before he hurt her again. He then decided to recall the power of light, which he hadn’t used since the Black Mage’s curse had weakened him. He tested his rudimentary light magic on the Bubblings, after which he headed into town in order to learn more about the changed world, as well as to find a way to contact Aurora.

He then spoke with Arwen the Fairy and asked if she knew where Mercedes or Elluel was. Arwen had never heard of Elluel, but recognized Mercedes’ name as that of one the five Heroes who had been cursed into eternal slumber. Luminous asked whether she had seen any elves, as Elluel was close to Ellinia. Arwen told him that she had never heard of elves either and insisted that there were no other towns in the forest besides Ellinia. Finally, Luminous asked her whether she had ever heard of Aurora, which Arwen denied, though she told him that Grendel the Really Old likely knew about Aurora, as he was extremely knowledgeable.

(A/N: Originally, I expected Mercedes’ story to take place before Luminous’, but in Mercedes’ storyline, Arwen tells her that she had read that the elves had disappeared hundreds of years ago. Given that this contradicts what she tells Luminous, I’m assuming that she was ignorant of elves when Luminous asked her, and so she read up on them by the time Mercedes showed up. It does seem weird that she knows that Mercedes is one of the Heroes at this point, but doesn’t recognize her later on. Mercedes never does introduce herself by name to Arwen, however, and so she likely just doesn’t recognize Mercedes by appearance.)

Luminous went to the Magic Library, where he met Grendel’s student, Lolo. (A/N: I thought it would’ve been pretty neat to see Lolo be part of the Magician’s Association in FriendStory or Kinesis’ storyline, but tragically Nexon forgot about him.) Lolo told Luminous that Grendel had stepped out, and that he didn’t know when he would be back. However, he told Luminous that he could take a message. Luminous asked whether he had ever heard of Aurora, to which Lolo said that the name sounded familiar. Lolo explained that Grendel had made him read every book in the Magic Library when he had first started, and that he had seen the word ‘Aurora’ next to a strange emblem, which Luminous realized was likely Aurora’s symbol. Lolo told him that he had seen it on an ancient scroll, but that he would need time to find it.

While he searched, Lolo asked Luminous to help him with his chores. He first asked Luminous to find his cleaning supplies, which had been stolen by the Royal Fairies. After Luminous recovered them, Lolo told him that he had found the scroll. Upon reading it, Luminous realized that he had never seen such a scroll before, speculating that it had likely been used to select members of Aurora. However, the scroll mentioned that it was possible for one to reach Aurora’s sanctum of Harmony, even without mastery over light magic. Luminous told Lolo that he was indebted to him for finding the scroll, and so Lolo shamelessly asked him for another favor, which was to extract Polishing Sap from the eyeballs of Evil Eyes. (A/N: Another reason why the dark path is superior - no one can make you do gross things like this when you’re unhinged and homicidal.)

After Luminous returned, he found that Grendel had also arrived. Luminous asked Grendel whether he had any knowledge of Aurora, but Grendel informed him that the organization had died out centuries ago. However, he promised to help Luminous find a way to reach Harmony in exchange for helping the people of Ellinia. Lolo first told Luminous to help Anne, Dr. Betty’s daughter, as she was often lonely due to her mother’s focus on her research. Anne told Luminous that Curse Eyes had taken her stuffed bears and asked Luminous to get them back.

After finding them, Anne told him that Shane seemed unwell and suggested that Luminous check up on him. Shane told Luminous that Cold Eyes had ruined his garden and stolen the seeds of his rare herbs. After Luminous recovered the seeds, Shane told Luminous to check up on Betty to see if she needed any help with her research. Betty asked him to bring Surgeon Eye tails for her research. After he brought them back, she thanked him for his help, as she now had time to spend with her daughter and mentioned that Grendel had been looking for him.

In the Magic Library, Grendel gave him a moth-eaten scroll and explained that it was related to Aurora. Upon reading the scroll, Luminous heard the voice of the Second Master of Aurora, who told him that the path to Harmony was open to those who could solve the Four Paradoxes: Cold Flame, Hot Chill, Destructive Creation, and Eyes that See Darkness. Grendel agreed to help Luminous solve the paradoxes and gave him a Vampiric Lantern, which could collect light from monsters.

He first sent Luminous to hunt Flaming Mixed Golems for the first paradox, as their cores were cool to the touch but capable of starting fires. Next, he hunted Icy Mixed Golems for the second paradox, whose cores did the exact opposite. After that, he hunted Axe Stumps, who had axes integrated into their bodies. The axes were created as part of the Axe Stumps, even as the axes destroyed trees. Finally, Luminous hunted Evil Eyes, whose eyes were accustomed to dark caves.

After solving the paradoxes, Luminous thanked Grendel and asked if there was a secluded place where he could conduct the ritual. Grendel suggested that he go to the Golem Temple, where Luminous was able to successfully open the path to Harmony. There, he met the spirit of his old friend, Vieren, who was glad to see Luminous after centuries.

Vieren explained that after Luminous had left to fight the Black Mage, he had learned as much as he could from their master, though he hadn’t been able learn everything. Luminous reassured Vieren that he had done as much as he could and asked whether their master had died peacefully. Vieren told him that the master had died peacefully in the same valley where they had buried Luminous’ old friend, Lucia.

(A/N: Their master is separate from the Second Master of Aurora, as Luminous doesn’t recognize the Second Master in a future quest. The Second Master of Aurora is implied to be Mars, who was first identified by his name in the White Mage chapter of the Grand Athenaeum. Although it’s not at all clear in the GMS dialogue, the KMS text makes it clear that the Vieren in the White Mage chapter is the father of the Vieren in Luminous’ storyline. Luminous is slightly older than the younger Vieren, which can be seen through the honorifics that they use in Korean. After the Black Mage killed Lucia, Luminous left to go fight him, while Vieren remained alone and continued studying until he passed away from old age, which is why he looks older and bearded as a ghost.)

Dark Path:
Luminous decided to embrace the Black Mage’s power and left Lania to die, claiming that he was now a creature of the darkness. (A/N: This line alone makes Luminous the edgiest amongst every other class in the game.) He wondered whether this was how the Black Mage saw the world, with everything else beneath him. After testing his new powers on the Bubblings, he realized that dark magic was much easier than light magic. He then decided to visit town in order to learn about how the world had changed.

There, he met Arwen the Fairy and demanded that she tell him about the Black Mage. A frightened Arwen stammered that she only knew that the Black Mage had been sealed away centuries ago by the Heroes. Luminous expressed disbelief at the possibility that centuries had passed and told her to reveal what she knew of Aurora, to which she told him that she didn’t know anything and asked him to leave.

(A/N: It makes no sense that Luminous would be surprised that centuries had passed when that’s literally the first thing that Lania told him when they met. He even seems aware of this in his light path. Since we know that he’s been going in and out of town to buy groceries, there’s no way that he wouldn’t have realized that a giant town now exists in a forest which, as far as he was aware, should have been completely unpopulated.)

When Luminous refused to leave, Arwen threatened to scream, but Luminous used his magic to freeze her in place. Terrified, Arwen agreed to answer any questions he had. Luminous asked if she knew anyone who was well-versed in magic, and so she told him to seek out Grendel in the Magic Library. There, he encountered Lolo, who told him that Grendel had stepped out, and that he didn’t know when he would return. Lolo offered to take a message, but Luminous decided to ransack the library himself for answers.

When Lolo tried to stop him, Luminous threatened him by asking what he intended to do, making Lolo freeze in terror. After searching the library, Luminous expressed his annoyance that he couldn’t find anything about Aurora. Lolo offered to find it for him, which Luminous accepted, telling Lolo that he would vent his anger out on the nearby monsters while Lolo searched.

(A/N: Luminous isn’t fully evil in the early parts of his dark path. He exhibits some split personality behavior in which he feels remorseful and apologizes for his actions, but as the story goes on, his darkness takes over and he becomes fully immersed in it.)

Soon after, Luminous returned and Lolo gave him a moth-eaten scroll with Aurora’s symbol. After reading the scroll, he realized that it was a test used for new members of Aurora. To his annoyance, he realized that the scroll was incomplete and ordered Lolo to find the rest. However, Lolo stammered that he had already found everything that he could and asked Luminous to leave. Furious, Luminous used his powers on Lolo and banished him to a netherworld. (A/N: Take that Lolo, that’s what you get for making us go on dumb fetch quests in the light path.)

Furious that he couldn’t find the other half of the scroll, Luminous decided to vent more of his anger out on the local monsters before returning to the library, where he found that Grendel had returned. Grendel was able to sense a dark aura emanating from Luminous, who realized that Grendel had knowledge of dark magic and demanded that Grendel teach everything he knew about the darkness.

(A/N: Grendel’s knowledge of dark magic is a reference to his accidental creation of Zombie Lupins. Grendel even wonders in this storyline whether having to deal with Luminous is punishment for his own dabbling in dark magic during his youth.)

Grendel refused and instead offered to help Luminous find information on Aurora in exchange for Luminous killing the monsters terrorizing Ellinia. After destroying the Curse Eyes, Cold Eyes, and Surgeon Eyes in the forest, Luminous returned to the library, where Grendel gave Luminous the rest of the scroll. Upon reading it, he heard the voice of the Second Master of Aurora, who told him that the path to Harmony was open to those who could solve the Four Paradoxes: Cold Flame, Hot Chill, Destructive Creation, and Eyes that See Darkness.

Grendel agreed to help Luminous solve the paradoxes and gave him a Vampiric Lantern, which could collect light from monsters. He first sent Luminous to hunt Flaming Mixed Golems for the first paradox, as their cores were cool to the touch but capable of starting fires. Next, he hunted Icy Mixed Golems for the second paradox, whose cores did the exact opposite. After that, he hunted Axe Stumps, who had axes integrated into their bodies. The axes were created as part of the Axe Stumps, even as the axes destroyed trees. Finally, Luminous hunted Evil Eyes, whose eyes were accustomed to dark caves.

After returning, Luminous demanded that Grendel tell him of a place where he could conduct the ritual in peace. Grendel suggested that he go to the Golem Temple, but demanded that Luminous return Lolo. After bringing Lolo back, Luminous went to the Golem Temple and successfully opened the path to Harmony. There, he met the spirit of his old mentor, Vieren, and told him that he had embraced the darkness. Vieren was bemused at the thought of Luminous, the Magician of Light and the hero who sealed the Black Mage, becoming a dark magician himself. He asked if Luminous had come to Harmony in order to learn dark magic, claiming that they had many books on the matter.

Luminous told Vieren to disappear, but Vieren warned him that he was much stronger than the last time they had seen each other. As the two prepared to duel, Luminous heard the distant voice of Lania telling Luminous to stop, claiming that she had been waiting for him since even before she had forgotten. (A/N: Even though the dialogue box says that Lania is speaking to him, it’s actually the voice of Lucia, Luminous’ childhood friend who reincarnated into Lania.) Though confused by both the voice and its words, Luminous felt the darkness welling up inside him again. Just like before, he yelled for Lania to stay back, right before passing out. When he awoke, Luminous felt that he had a bit more control over himself and told Vieren what had happened.

Paths Converge Here:
Luminous told Vieren about the darkness inside of him, to which Vieren replied that his research indicated that light and darkness were both two sides of the same coin. Luminous was adamant that the two powers were opposite, but Vieren suggested that since Luminous had both powers, he could learn to control the darkness, rather than remove it.

(A/N: It’s funny to think that Luminous is so opposed to the idea of light and darkness working together if you consider what the Black Mage’s end goal is. It’s also interesting that he has both the powers of light and darkness, which is precisely what the Black Mage wanted, and yet it’s never brought up during Esfera or Tenebris besides a throwaway line or two.)

Vieren then used his powers to resonate with the light in order to temper the darkness inside Luminous, allowing him to gain control over both the light and the darkness. He then gave Luminous an Aurora Prism, which would allow him to return to Harmony whenever he wished. He also warned Luminous that the darkness could still overtake him at any point and suggested that Luminous try making the darkness his own, reminding him once again that light and darkness were merely two sides of the same coin. He wondered whether they might even be able to fulfill their master’s dying wish of collecting the Auguries, whose combined strength would allow one the master the darkness. Vieren explained that there were five Auguries, and that he knew where they all were.

(A/N: Luminous, like many other classes, has his storyline intersect with the theme dungeons from levels 30-60. Given that it’s not canonically possible for every character to complete them, I’m working on the assumption that each character only does what they came to do, rather than complete the theme dungeon fully.)

Luminous then began collecting the Auguries, finding the first one in the hands of the Mole King at the Ellinel Fairy Academy. Next, he found the second Augury at Gold Beach in the hands of Captain Darkgoo. To find the whereabouts of the third Augury, Vieren sent Luminous to Kerning City. There, he met with JM From tha Streetz, who offered to reveal its location in exchange for eliminating Stirges in the Kerning City subway. After Luminous completed the task, JM told him to speak with the Dark Lord, who had been entrusted with the Augury by Aurora long ago.

The Dark Lord gave Luminous the Augury and revealed that it was not he himself who had been entrusted with it, but a previous Dark Lord, who had prophesied that it would one day be reclaimed. Luminous then returned to Harmony and told Vieren that it seemed as though their quest for the Auguries had been planned long ago. Vieren replied that when the Auguries had first been made, it was entirely possible that their quest in the present day had been foreseen.

Luminous then traveled to Riena Strait, where he obtained the fourth Augury. Vieren then told him that the final Augury had been entrusted to a brave warrior, who had passed it down as a family heirloom. To find the descendent of that warrior, Luminous went to Sleepywood, where he met a warrior-in-training named Ilji. After learning that Luminous had come for the Augury, Ilji sent him to his brother, Manji, in Perion. There, Manji told Luminous that their family not only had the Augury, but a prophecy alongside it that foretold that one would eventually arrive to claim it. To see if Luminous was truly the one prophesied, Manji asked him to defeat the Fire Boars and Iron Boars as a test. After having proven himself, Luminous took the Augury and returned to Vieren.

With the five Auguries, Vieren prepared to inject their power into Luminous in order to melt away the hold of the darkness, though he warned Luminous that it was ultimately up to him to conquer his own darkness, as the Auguries would only do so much. He told Luminous to focus on the saying “The light shines brightest in the deepest dark”, and after a painful ordeal, Luminous felt a new sensation within himself, as though the light and darkness had merged into one. (A/N: Luminous doesn’t have a prequest for his 3rd job advancement, but collecting the Auguries is canonically how he gets to 3rd job.) Having conquered the darkness, Luminous felt that he was ready to face Lania once again. Though he believed that he had no right to see her after having caused her so much pain, Luminous still wished to protect her from harm.

Upon arriving near their home, Luminous was shocked to find the Black Mage’s servants in the area. (A/N: These are actually Arkarium’s snake minions.) He rushed home to reunite with Lania, who was overjoyed to see him, though she was upset that he had been gone for so long. Luminous then promised never to leave her side again. However, he did ask whether she felt as though she was being watched, but Lania told him that she hadn’t felt anything out of the ordinary. Luminous was relieved, as it meant that the Black Mage’s servants hadn’t found her yet, but he also realized that it wasn’t safe and told Lania that he needed to find a way to protect her.

He returned to Harmony and told Vieren about his encounter with the Black Mage’s servants. Vieren suspected that if the Black Mage’s minions were resurfacing, the Black Mage himself may not be too far behind. Luminous decided that he would hunt down the Black Mage, but he first needed to ensure Lania’s safety. Vieren suggested setting up a Sentrobo, one of Aurora’s old sentry robots, at Lania’s house. (A/N: The White Mage chapter in the Grand Athenaeum would’ve been the perfect place to see them. Sadly, they’ve only ever been seen in Luminous’ storyline, the Explorer storyline, the Heroes of Maple blockbuster, as well as being mentioned in Shade’s storyline.)

Though there were no Sentrobos left in Harmony, Vieren was confident that he could build one, provided that Luminous obtained the necessary parts. While he prepared the energy crystal, Vieren told Luminous to collect Wooden Boards, Slates, and Skeledog bones from the Excavation Site. With the materials Luminous brought, Vieren was able to create a Sentrobo, R2-B2.

Vieren then told Luminous that their next mission was to gather information in order to find out what the Black Mage was planning. He recommended that Luminous seek out the agents of Omega Sector, a secret organization that researched extraterrestrial threats to Maple World. Luminous traveled to the Excavation Site, where he met with Agent M.

Though Agent M was initially cautious of Luminous, he nevertheless agreed to consider Luminous’ proposal if he were to help him. First, he asked Luminous to defeat Skeleton Soldiers and bring their ribs as proof. Next, he asked Luminous to defeat Skeleton Officers and bring back their pelvic bones. Finally, he had Luminous defeat Skeleton Commanders and bring back the skulls of the horses they rode. After completing these tasks, Agent M told him that his boss had approved giving Luminous access to their information network. They also agreed to dispatch an agent named Agent O near Lania’s home for easy access, who would remain disguised as a merchant in order to remain inconspicuous.

Even with Agent O keeping watch on the house, however, Luminous still felt uneasy about Lania’s safety. Vieren suggested making a Light Barrier, much like the one that protected Harmony. He told Luminous that the crystal they needed for the barrier was in Sleepywood, though it would be a problem down the line as to how they would refine it. Still, he asked Luminous to go speak with The Rememberer, who told Luminous to go to the Cursed Temple and speak with the Insignificant Being.

The Insignificant Being told Luminous that the necessary materials could be found inside the temple, but he was afraid that they may have been corrupted by the evil presence of the monsters inside, and so he asked Luminous to bring Tauromacis Blood for a purification spell. Next, he asked Luminous to bring crystal fragments from the Taurospears, as finding a perfect crystal would be too difficult. After Luminous brought the materials, the Insignificant Being purified the crystals for him.

Luminous returned with the crystals to Vieren, who told him that he would need to craft the fragments into a Lambent Crystal. He suggested that Luminous go to the town of Ardentmill, where he could find someone to craft them. In Ardentmill, Luminous spoke to Elder Grant, who directed him to the master craftsman, Intaglio. Intaglio was able to craft the Lambent Crystal, which Luminous brought to Vieren.

Vieren then used the crystal to create a Barrier Stone and told Luminous to set it up around Lania’s home, even offering to come with him, as the power of the Barrier Stone would allow him to leave the confines of Harmony. Luminous set up the barrier and returned to Lania’s home, where Lania asked Luminous about Agent O and the Sentrobo. Luminous promised her that they were there for her safety, as well as Vieren, who had decided to move in and look after her.

Ruler of the Elves:

In Elluel, Mercedes awoke from the ice and excitedly left her quarters, hoping to see her subjects alive and well. To her shock, however, all the elves were still frozen in slumber. Furthermore, Mercedes realized that nearly all of her old strength had faded away because of the curse. She suspected that her awakening was due to the Seal of Time degrading, meaning that she needed to regain her strength as soon as possible before the Black Mage broke free from the seal. She returned to Elf School in order to master the basics, humiliated that she could barely handle the Puppetrees when she used to train against Yetis and Wyverns with ease.

After becoming stronger, she decided to venture outside the kingdom borders. Though she dreaded facing the powerful Slimes outside, she quickly discovered that they were much weaker than they had been since before the curse, making her wonder exactly how much time had passed. Upon arriving in Ellinia, she was perplexed to see the town, as her understanding was that there were no settlements in the Ellin Forest that she remembered. Furthermore, there was no way that such a large town could have been built in just a few years. She decided to speak with the town residents and recognized that many of them were Sylphs, a younger race of fairies.

She first spoke with Wing the Fairy, who dismissed her as a human. Offended, she told him that she was an elf, but Wing was confused and told her that the elves were a race of fairies that had disappeared centuries ago. When Mercedes was taken aback by the revelation, he told her to confirm it by asking Arwen the Fairy. Arwen agreed with Wing and told Mercedes that all the records stated that the elves had vanished hundreds of years ago, though no one knew why or how. As the color drained from Mercedes’ face, Arwen grew worried and suggested that she visit Rowen the Fairy, who was adept at healing magic. Mercedes went to see Rowen and asked her about the elves once more to be sure, finally accepting the truth after Rowen confirmed what Wing and Arwen had said.

To help calm Mercedes’ nerves, Rowen told her to drink a cup of Clear Tree Sap from the Talking Tree. While Mercedes drank the sap, the Talking Tree asked what was wrong with her. Mercedes told him that just yesterday, everyone knew her name, but nobody knew who she was anymore. The tree unhelpfully told Mercedes that her own pride in her accomplishments didn’t automatically make her important, and that there was nothing wrong with being a nobody.

As her existential dread set in, Mercedes weakly told him that she had lost her powers and couldn’t fight anymore, but the tree told her that there was nothing wrong with not fighting either. When she replied that she had no friends left, the tree grew impatient and snapped at her to make new ones, telling her that she should forget about her problems and live as a normal person. (A/N: The tree really said “Stop trauma dumping on me.”)

Crass as he was, Mercedes knew that he had a point and wondered whether she ought to heed his advice and settle down. However, she recalled her people still cursed in eternal slumber and vowed that even though she had lost her powers and friends, she would never give up. In order to regain her strength and find new allies, she asked the tree whether he knew of any jobs that she could undertake. The tree told her that Bruce at the Golem Temple was looking for someone to do errands for him. Though she was miffed at the thought of being a sovereign-turned-errand girl, she nevertheless decided to seek him out.

At the Golem Temple, Bruce hired Mercedes and asked her to first find a package that the Golems had stolen from him. After Mercedes returned it to him, Bruce realized that the package had been torn open, and that one of the items, a Dejected Green Mushroom puppet, had gone missing. He explained that many monsters around Victoria Island had grown more violent due to such puppets, which exuded noises on a frequency that only monsters could hear, and asked her to recover it from the Golems. After Mercedes returned the puppet to Bruce, he realized that the Golems hadn’t exhibited any strange behavior while the puppet was in their possession, which helped him conclude that the frequency of the puppet seemed to only affect Green Mushrooms. He thanked Mercedes for her help in his research and told her that he would continue investigating the puppets.

Some time later, Bruce reached out and explained that he had told his mentor about her, and that his mentor wanted to meet her. Mercedes went to Perion and met with Bruce’s mentor, Winston, who immediately noticed that she had a peculiar accent and strange ears. He then asked her to collect leaves from Dark Stumps, as he wanted to compare the leaves to a fossil which he had found.

After Mercedes brought him the leaves, Winston compared them against the fossil, but realized that it would be difficult to prove that the species of the fossilized monster was mobile like the Dark Stumps. He wished that there was a record of monsters to compare against, but explained that the warriors of Perion cared little about keeping such records. He told her that there was a place in Ossyria rumored to have a warp in spacetime, which allowed one to travel into the past, though he dismissed it as a myth.

Mercedes remembered that she had ordered the creation of a Monster Picture Book during her reign and believed that it was still in Elluel. As all the monsters had evolved since the book had been made, she decided that it was useless to her and instead gave it to Winston, who was thrilled to see how detailed it was. He thanked her profusely, explaining that it would change the very course of his research. Before she left, he asked her for a final favor, which was to deliver a vial of Arcon’s Blood to Manji.

After delivering the blood, Mercedes was contacted by Bruce, who told her that his colleague, Dr. Betty, had heard good things about her from himself and Winston, and that she wanted to meet Mercedes as well. In Ellinia, Betty asked her to collect Evil Eye cell samples for her research. Mercedes recalled how the Evil Eyes had been disgusting cave-dwellers in her time. Betty was confused by her words, but then recalled how Evil Eyes used to live in caves centuries ago, though they had migrated to the forest over time. After collecting the Evil Eye samples, Betty asked her to collect Curse Eye samples. Though Mercedes had never heard of Curse Eyes before, she nevertheless collected the samples for Betty.

Betty thanked her and began musing aloud whether Evil Eyes or Curse Eyes were older. Mercedes explained that Evil Eyes had to be older, as Curse Eyes hadn’t existed centuries ago. She told Betty that Evil Eyes would only leave their caves when food was scarce, and that it had been her responsibility as sovereign to drive them away from Elluel, adding that the Evil Eyes back then were much stronger than they were in the present day.

Betty then had an epiphany that the Evil Eyes who had first ventured outside their caves likely fed on the forest plants, causing their skin to turn green until they eventually evolved into Curse Eyes. To confirm her hypothesis, Betty asked Mercedes to bring plant cell samples, after which she told Mercedes that she would contact her if she ever needed more help. (A/N: Thankfully she never does. Mercedes was probably glad to know that she didn’t have to spend the rest of her life being a royal intern.)

Mercedes then heard the voice of Philius, the Elder of Magic, in her mind. She rushed back to Elluel and found that Philius had been freed from the ice. After reuniting, Mercedes told him about her adventures in Maple World, as well as the fact that centuries had passed. Philius was puzzled about why the Black Mage’s curse hadn’t lifted on all the elves once Mercedes had awoken. Just then, Danika and Astilda, the Elders of War and Life, awoke and greeted Mercedes.

Philius suggested that with all the elders awake, they could perform the Rite of Snow, a powerful cleansing ritual, which he hoped would be enough to break the Black Mage’s curse. When the ritual failed, Philius concluded that it was because the curse was tied to Mercedes, whose growing strength had allowed the most powerful elves to awaken. He believed that her return to full power would lift the curse on the rest of the elves. However, he also realized that Mercedes’ awakening meant that the seal on the Black Mage was weakening, if not already broken.

As Philius began to lose hope, Mercedes insisted that they had not yet lost and told him that they just needed to make new allies in order to gain strength. Philius then remembered that Mercedes had entrusted the Mistelteinn to Athena Pierce, who had evacuated from Leafre before the battle against the Black Mage. He believed that the Mistelteinn’s power may have shielded Athena from the curse, and that she may have survived the war if she had managed to escape Leafre. Mercedes agreed, but with no leads on where Athena could be, she decided to visit Betty and ask if she knew of Athena. To her surprise, Betty explained that Athena was extremely famous in Maple World, and that she could be found at the Bowman Instructional School in Henesys.

Mercedes went to see Athena, who couldn’t believe her eyes upon seeing her queen. After a heartfelt reunion, Athena told Mercedes how she had crashed in Victoria Island with the other refugees and built Altaire Camp. She explained that after the situation had stabilized, she had tried entering Elluel many times, but always found the path blocked at the border. Mercedes told her that she had closed the border in order to prevent the curse from spreading and had never gotten the chance to warn her.

Athena then asked about everything that had happened during the final battle, and so Mercedes explained how the Heroes had sealed the Black Mage, how his curse on Mercedes had extended to the other elves, and how she was currently trying to awaken them. In turn, she asked Athena about everything that had happened over the past centuries. Athena told Mercedes about how Victoria Island had been completely settled, that Cygnus had become the new Empress, that the Black Wings were trying to revive the Black Mage, and that Von Leon had returned.

(A/N: The exact timeframe of when Von Leon returns isn’t specified, but in terms of game updates, the Lion King’s Castle was introduced before Mercedes was released, and so I’m assuming that Von Leon likely became active around the same time that Aran and Evan’s storylines take place.)

She also told Mercedes that she had been in contact with Aran, which surprised Mercedes, as humans didn’t have long lifespans. Athena explained that Aran had also been frozen for centuries, and that she was traveling around Maple World trying to recover her lost memories. She then asked if they could return to Elluel, as she longed to return to her homeland. (A/N: Athena lets it slip that Danika is her sister in this conversation.)

As they began heading outside, Athena remembered that she had forgotten something and asked Mercedes to wait outside for her. While Mercedes was waiting, Francis approached her and, after confirming that she was indeed Mercedes, began to attack her. Mercedes forced him to retreat, just as Athena came out. She brought Mercedes back inside and explained that based on the symbol that Francis was wearing, he was likely a member of the Black Wings. She told Mercedes that she had always suspected that the Black Wings were watching her, but Francis’ attack had confirmed her suspicions. She wondered if the Black Wings had made their move because she had been trying to take out the Mistelteinn.

The fact that she still had the Mistelteinn after so long surprised Mercedes, but Athena explained that even though she knew that Mercedes had ordered her to safeguard it in order to keep her off the battlefield, she had nevertheless taken the order from her sovereign seriously. Mercedes then wondered why the Black Wings had attacked her and not Athena, to which Athena explained that the Black Wings had a Master of Disguise, whom she believed had been planning to impersonate Mercedes in order to take the Mistelteinn from her.

(A/N: Given how important the Mistelteinn seems to be in Mercedes’ story, it’s strange that it never really plays a major role in the overall lore. The game never specifies what kind of treasure it is, but a book called Secret Story, which has lots of cool extra details about the Heroes and Commanders, explains that it’s a sacred bow imbibed with the power of the elves. We don’t really know why the Black Wings were trying to steal it, but I’d wager that they thought that it could be used as a power source.)

Athena then realized that the Black Wings may have been listening in on their conversation, meaning that they knew about the existence of Elluel. They immediately rushed over, where they found Black Wings henchmen invading the kingdom. While Athena and Philius drove them out of the town, Mercedes eliminated all the enemies at the border. After forcing them to retreat, Philius told Mercedes that they still didn’t know enough about the outside world to form conclusions about the reason behind the attack. He added that since Athena had other responsibilities outside of Elluel, they couldn’t rely on her to guide them forever.

Athena then returned from eliminating the stragglers and reported that the Black Wings had successfully been driven off, with no injuries on their side. However, she told Mercedes that the elders were too weak from the ice to hold back a larger invasion in their current state. Mercedes told Athena to keep holding onto the Mistelteinn, as Elluel was no longer a safe place to keep it. She briefly considered standing guard at the border, but Athena insisted that Mercedes needed to train in order to regain her full strength and free the elves. She suggested that the Cygnus Knights could offer their aid to Elluel if Mercedes approached them. Mercedes agreed to visit Cygnus in Ereve and Athena told her that she would write a letter to Cygnus so that she knew to expect Mercedes.

Sure enough, Neinheart greeted Mercedes as royalty and led her to the Empress. Cygnus told Mercedes that it was an honor to meet one of the legendary Heroes. She explained that she had been trying her best to help Maple World, but her inexperience and the fact that the Cygnus Knights were still new made her unsure about how well she was doing. However, she readily agreed to send a detachment of knights to guard Elluel and hoped that Mercedes would share her wisdom and guidance as an experienced ruler in exchange. When Mercedes agreed, Cygnus told her that she was glad to have Mercedes’ support, as there were few royals with whom she could speak.

(A/N: Taking into consideration that the other two known monarchs in Maple World are the self-obsessed Queen Areda of Ariant and the childish King of Ludibrium, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Cygnus has no one around her that she can talk to about how to rule.)

After their meeting, Neinheart told Mercedes that he could only spare a few knights, but assured her that they would be sufficient. Mercedes asked Neinheart whether Cygnus would be alright, as the young girl was shouldering a huge burden. Neinheart promised that Cygnus was wise beyond her years, despite her youth, and that he, Shinsoo, and the Cygnus Knights were doing everything in their power to support her. Still, Mercedes felt uneasy in her mind about the Black Wings and the return of the Black Mage, wondering whether Cygnus, a frail little girl, would have the strength to lead the people in the event of a full-scale war. Nevertheless, she returned to Henesys and told Athena Pierce about the successful negotiations.

Athena noticed that Mercedes looked unwell and asked whether she was alright. Mercedes confided her doubts about Cygnus, to which Athena told her that Mercedes herself had taught her that a good ruler would go to any lengths to save their people, which was precisely the kind of ruler that Cygnus was, adding that Cygnus reminded her of Mercedes in a way. Mercedes then returned to Elluel, where she met the three knights whom Neinheart had dispatched.

One of the knights, Vel, reported that all was well in the kingdom. He added that though there wasn’t much to do, he had seen Danika training and was amazed at her fighting prowess, as though she had lifetimes of experience, and asked Mercedes how old Danika was. Mercedes herself had forgotten how old Danika was, but knew that she was older than Athena Pierce at the time that the elves had been frozen. Mercedes went to ask Danika her age, to which Danika answered that she was 240 years old, not counting the time she had spent in the ice. Mercedes reported Danika’s age to Vel, who was taken aback, especially when Mercedes joked that Danika was practically a baby.

(A/N: I’ve always wondered whether elves and Flora have a similar aging process, especially since they look almost identical. Illium is 153 at the start of his storyline and he’s probably a high-schooler in human terms. Danika is 240 years old and serves as the Elder of War, despite her young age. I wonder whether elves and Flora age at around a tenth of a human’s aging process, making Illium around 15 and Danika around 24.)

After spending more time training, Mercedes felt that she was strong enough to start using some of her more advanced skills, though she was unable to recall them. She remembered that when she had first become the Ruler of the Elves, she had undertaken three trials from the Great Spirit of the elves. For her third trial, she recalled how she had to beat the Rage Dragon, and how the dragon had almost eliminated her instead. She wondered whether she would have to pass the trials again in order to prove herself worthy to the Great Spirit.

At the King’s Seat, Mercedes played a song called ‘The Sovereign's Appeal’ on the large harp upon the throne, allowing her to summon the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit greeted Mercedes, who began voicing her doubts about her ability to lead and suggested that a new ruler should lead the elves. The Great Spirit reassured Mercedes that she had done what was best for the elves, as refraining from battling the Black Mage wouldn’t have guaranteed their safety either way. Her spirits lifted, Mercedes then asked whether she would need to pass the trials in order to regain her power, but the Great Spirit told Mercedes that she had already proven herself worthy of Elven Grace when she had first become queen, and so she restored more of Mercedes’ power at no cost.

With her new skills, Mercedes continued training earnestly until she was called back to Elluel by Astilda, who told Mercedes that Elluel’s water supply had been poisoned. Though she and the other elders had been trying to purify as much water as they could, they simply couldn’t work fast enough, and so Astilda asked Mercedes to check the fountainhead. She apologized for having summoned Mercedes from her training in order to do so, but explained that Philius was researching the curse, Danika was training for battle, and she herself was simply too old.

At the fountainhead, Mercedes found Black Wings henchmen poisoning the water and immediately eliminated them before returning to Astilda. Astilda told her that the Cygnus Knights were doing a good job of protecting the town, but even they couldn’t watch everything that happened around them. She doubted that the Black Wings would try poisoning the water again, but asked Mercedes to tell the Cygnus Knights to watch the fountainhead as well. She also added that it would take time for clean water to flow through Elluel, and so she asked if Mercedes could bring clean water if she were to encounter any during her travels, mentioning that the Cygnus Knights had said that there was a spring at the highest reaches of Ellinia from which clean water flowed. There, Mercedes found a small stump overflowing with water, which she brought back to Elluel.

Mercedes then continued her training until Philius called her back to Elluel once again, explaining that an old friend had returned. Upon arriving, Mercedes was pleasantly surprised to see her old friend Sylvidia, a snow-white unicorn. However, she noticed that Sylvidia was exhausted and asked if she was hurt. Sylvidia replied that she wasn’t hurt, but that it had been difficult to find food in Maple World over the past centuries without the help of the elves. Mercedes prepared a special unicorn meal for Sylvidia, who was grateful for Mercedes’ kindness. However, she explained that she still felt hurt that Mercedes had gone without her to fight the Black Mage and hoped that they could finally be together again. Mercedes tried to convince Sylvidia to wait a bit longer until the Black Mage was defeated for good, but Sylvidia protested that she would stay at Mercedes’ side no matter what.

Some time later, Mercedes received a letter from the Shadow Knight, who had challenged her to a duel in Sleepywood. Furious at the Shadow Knight’s audacity in challenging the Ruler of the Elves, Mercedes went to Sleepywood, intent on putting him in his place. There, the Shadow Knight greeted her and explained that he wanted to test his strength against her, as the legends stated that Mercedes was a master of the Dual Bowguns. Mercedes wondered whether the Shadow Knight was affiliated with the Black Wings, but regardless, she swore to win for the honor of the elves and proceeded to defeat him.

(A/N: There’s a mistake with this quest, as it states that you have to defeat Mu Young instead of Nameless, which is what the Shadow Knight is referred to in other quests. This has led some people to speculate that the Shadow Knight is Mu Young, which is an understandable conclusion, as Lotus possessed Mu Young to fight Phantom in his storyline, giving Mu Young a tie to the Black Wings. However, the death animation for the Shadow Knight shows that he’s really just two pandas stacked on top of each other wearing a robe and a wig.)

After the Shadow Knight retreated, Mercedes went to ask Athena Pierce who he was. Athena was unfamiliar with such a person and asked what he had been wearing. Mercedes described how he had worn a bamboo hat and a cloth that covered his face, explaining that his clothes looked like they were from Mu Lung. She added that his speech was old, but not from centuries ago, and that he also wore a black robe with a wing symbol on his clothes.

Based on her description, Athena concluded that he was likely part of the Black Wings and told Mercedes that she must have scared them. She explained that the Black Wings had agents all over Maple World and asked Mercedes to stay safe in Elluel while she herself hunted them down. Mercedes warned Athena that she was overstepping her bounds to suggest that the Ruler of the Elves hide while her people were in danger. Realizing that she couldn’t persuade Mercedes, Athena told her to visit Manji in Perion, as he might know something about the Shadow Knight. When Mercedes described the Shadow Knight to Manji, he told her that he had seen such a man training by fighting Wild Boars some time ago.

In the Wild Boar lands, Mercedes discovered a Tongue Twister Scroll and brought it back to Athena Pierce. After reading the scroll, Athena learned that the Shadow Knight did indeed belong to the Black Wings, but that he had disobeyed their orders and fought Mercedes alone, rather than lead her into an ambush. However, Athena was more worried about the one who had written the letter, as the wording of the letter made it seem as though the person not only knew Mercedes personally, but held a grudge against her. Undeterred, Mercedes continued training and soon regained even more of her old power from the Great Spirit.

Soon after, she received a letter from Athena Pierce, who wrote that she had heard of someone who had the power to break the curse on the elves, and that he would be waiting for her in Sleepywood. Mercedes thought it was strange that Athena had written a letter instead of contacting her directly and noted that the wording of the letter was overly obsequious. Nevertheless, she went to Sleepywood and met a hooded man named Audish, who told her about the Flame of Revival, which was said to able to break any curse. (A/N: It’s not explicitly mentioned in this quest, but Audish is actually Hiver in disguise.) However, he told Mercedes that he needed to test her strength and asked her to defeat Copper Drakes. After proving herself, Audish told her to go into the Humid Swamp in Sleepywood, where she would find the flame. Mercedes went into the swamp and instead encountered Dargoth the Giant, who told her that there was no Flame of Revival.

Realizing that she had been tricked, Mercedes defeated Dargoth and rushed back to Athena Pierce to warn her that the Black Wings were sending fake letters in her name. After Mercedes explained how she had been ambushed, Athena wondered whether there was an information leak, as the only people who knew about Mercedes’ goal to revive the elves were Athena, the elders, and the Cygnus Knights. Athena told Mercedes that she would personally speak with the Cygnus Knights and ensure that they were careful with what information they divulged to others. She also suggested that they agree to only speak directly instead of sending letters so that they wouldn’t fall for any other Black Wings schemes.

Some time later, Mercedes was contacted by Lalich, one of the Cygnus Knights dispatched to Elluel. He asked Mercedes whether the child she had taken from Elluel a few days ago had woken up from the curse. In confusion, Mercedes told him that she had never taken anyone from the town, which in turn confused Lalich, who told her that he had seen her take the child, and that she had told him that she had wanted to see if she could break the curse on him. Though he trusted that Mercedes knew what she was doing, he explained that he just wanted to know if the child was alright.

Suddenly, he realized that the Black Wings had a Master of Disguise and feared that he may have been tricked. He asked Mercedes to return to Elluel right away, where he apologized to her for failing in his duties. However, Mercedes told him to save his apologies for the child and vowed to get him back. Soon after, she received a letter that instructed her to go the Verne Mine in Edelstein and speak with Le Tierre the Secretary if she ever wanted to see the child again. Mercedes noted that the letter was signed by “someone who remembered Mercedes”.

When she got to the mine, she immediately threatened Le Tierre to return the child. Le Tierre was unfazed and simply told Mercedes to check the room to the left. Upon entering, she found that the Black Wings had set up an ambush for her, but she easily defeated them all and rescued the child. However, she realized that it was a human child, not an elf, and confronted Le Tierre once again. Le Tierre laughed and said that it was hard to keep track of every child they had kidnapped, but when Mercedes threatened her, Le Tierre said that ‘she’ would get mad if Mercedes kept her waiting, and so she instructed Mercedes go into the Power Plant room on the right and enter the door at the end.

Following her directions, Mercedes found herself in Orchid’s room, where the Wing Master was waiting for her. Orchid mocked Mercedes for her one-track mind, claiming that once Mercedes focused on something, she was unable to notice anything else. At first, Mercedes couldn’t believe her eyes, but after realizing that it was indeed Orchid, she asked how the Wing Master could still be alive, to which Orchid merely said that she could ask the same of Mercedes. (A/N: I guess that she didn’t expect that Orchid and Lotus had survived Phantom’s beatdown.)

Orchid explained that ever since she had heard that Mercedes had been freed from the Black Mage’s curse, she had wanted to meet her. Mercedes then realized that Orchid was the leader of the Black Wings, which explained why the Black Wings seemed to know so much about her. She asked Orchid what the point of reviving the Black Mage was, to which Orchid began to hint at something that the Black Mage was planning, even in spite of being sealed away, but stopped herself mid-sentence and joked that she had almost given away a secret. The two then engaged in a battle, which Mercedes was barely able to win, causing Orchid to retreat.

(A/N: These theatrics are likely just Orchid toying with Mercedes, as she had no intention of reviving the Black Mage. It’s also possible that the writers hadn’t settled on Orchid’s true purpose of founding the Black Wings at this point, which makes her come across as a loyal Commander in this exchange.)

Though Mercedes was exhausted from the fight, she was aware that Orchid hadn’t even been at full strength without Lotus by her side, fearing what could have happened if Orchid hadn’t been weakened. She then found the elf child in Orchid’s room and escaped with him and the human child. She returned the human child to Claudine in Edelstein, believing that Claudine was merely a doctor, and returned back to Elluel with the elf child. Mercedes and the elders were amazed that the child, Moonie, had been freed from the curse by Orchid. As yet another Commander had resurfaced, the elders decided to tighten security and asked Mercedes to let Athena Pierce know what had happened, hoping that she could advise them about what to do next.

Before she headed out, Mercedes spoke with Moonie to see whether he had recovered from his ordeal. Moonie told her that he couldn’t help but feel sad that he was the only child in Elluel. With his family and friends still frozen, and with the elders too busy to play with him, he felt especially lonely. Mercedes offered to play with him, but Moonie told her that he couldn’t ask her to do that, as she needed to get stronger in order to free the others. Though she could do little else to help him, Mercedes played the music box in the middle of town for him, which helped lift his spirits. (A/N: Though she doesn’t remember, that music box is the same one that Lucid had made for her, which has the power to give sweet dreams to anyone who listens to its music.)

She then met with Athena Pierce and told her about her encounter with Orchid and explained that she was worried about the possibility of the Black Mage returning. Having faced him once, she knew all too well about the terrible power he possessed and told Athena that the Heroes had been lucky not only to have sealed him, but to have escaped with their lives. She feared that there was no guarantee that she could defeat him a second time, especially when she had grown weaker while he was managing to break through the Seal of Time. She confided to Athena that she was terrified of the Black Mage, but Athena told Mercedes that she wasn’t alone, as the Explorers, the Cygnus Knights, the Resistance, and the returned Heroes all stood with her.

Soon after, Neinheart reached out the Mercedes and apologized on behalf of the Cygnus Knights for having allowed Moonie to be kidnapped. Some time later, Mercedes went to Edelstein to check on the human child, Cutie, and asked Claudine if there was any way that she could help. Claudine told her that she had already done enough to help them, but at Mercedes’ insistence, she asked Mercedes to collect Nependeath Seeds in order to create a nutrition pill for Cutie. After Mercedes brought her the seeds, Claudine thanked her and noted that both Mercedes’ strength and her hatred of the Black Wings made her wonder whether their paths would cross again.

The Noblesse:

A Noblesse arrived in Ereve, hoping to become a Cygnus Knight. They were first led to the Knight’s Orientation, where a ceremony was being held to welcome those who wished to join the ranks of the Cygnus Knights. After the welcoming ceremony, they were put through basic training in order to become stronger, after which they picked a branch of the Cygnus Knights to join, thus becoming a Knight-in-Training.

For their first assignment, Neinheart told them to assist 10 Boogies with whatever tasks that she required them to complete. 10 Boogies told them that she had lost the investigation permits that she needed to distribute to the new Knights and asked them to help her find them. After retracing her steps, she led them to the Tiguru monsters, from which the Knight obtained the lost permits. After reporting back, Neinheart told them that Baroq the Master of Disguise had stolen an important treasure of Ereve and tasked them with identifying and defeating him.

The Knight successfully found Baroq disguised as one of their basic training instructors and recovered the treasure. Neinheart was impressed by their skill and told them that the entire situation had merely been a test based on an actual incident from when Baroq had tried to steal the treasure of Ereve, which had been averted due to the intervention of the Chief Knights. The incident had inspired Neinheart to mock the situation as a training device in order to teach young Knights to never to let their guard down and to develop lateral thinking skills.

He then assigned them their first real mission, which was to go to Victoria Island and investigate rumors of Francis the Puppeteer’s return. In Henesys, they met with their contact, Roca, who told them about Francis and his power to control monsters with puppets. He explained that Neinheart wanted them to hunt for traces of the Puppeteer’s past before trying to find him and suggested that they investigate the Orange Mushrooms.

There, the Knight encountered Cynical Orange Mushrooms and discovered puppets planted inside them. Roca told them that the Cygnus Knights had fought Francis once before, but it was clear that he still hadn’t given up. (A/N: This is a reference to the Cygnus Knight storyline from before the revamp, which had you fight Francis during the same timeframe as Aran and Evan’s storylines.)

Roca told them that the Horny Mushrooms had recently started behaving strangely and asked them to bring back any puppets controlling them. After recovering the puppets, Roca told them that Pia had been talking about the Horny Mushrooms and suggested that they go talk to her. Pia told them that she had seen Horny Mushrooms in the town itself, somewhere near Henesys Park.

After investigating the area, the Knight found Angry Horny Mushrooms and discovered puppets controlling them. They reported back to Roca, who was thankful that the Angry Horny Mushrooms weren’t too strong, though he wondered whether their invasion of Henesys was part of Francis’ plan and told them to meet up with 10 Boogies in Perion in order ask her for backup.

10 Boogies told them that her Puppeteer Detector had been going haywire and asked the Knight to investigate where the signal was coming from. The Knight investigated the Southern Ridge of Perion, where they encountered Berserk Ghost Stumps. After defeating them, the Knight returning to 10 Boogies, who speculated that Francis may have wanted to launch an attack.

Just then, she detected another surge of activity from the Rocky Wasteland, which was even closer to Perion. She wondered whether it was a trap set by Francis, but nevertheless, she asked the Knight to investigate the surge in order to defend Perion. There, the Knight discovered a cave guarded by hostile puppets.

After defeating the puppets, Francis himself emerged, who began complaining that taking both Perion and Henesys was too difficult, and that he needed to collect energy to send back to Edelstein, though he was always being told that what he was sending back wasn’t enough. The Knight then managed to defeat him and returned to inform 10 Boogies of their victory. 10 Boogies was curious about Francis’ words and realized that the fact that he seemed to be continuing such a futile endeavor meant that the Black Wings were desperate for energy.

She then had them return to Ereve and report to Neinheart, who was pleased that they had been able to defeat Francis with ease, informing them that Francis was the lowest-ranking Black Wings officer, and that the others would be much more difficult to defeat. He then told them that he was dispatching them to Edelstein in order to infiltrate the Black Wings and gather information. However, he warned them that even though they may encounter members of the Resistance, they shouldn’t expect any help from them.

The Knight traveled to Edelstein and rendezvoused with 10 Boogies, who was undercover there as well. She told them that some of the local children had covered her in bugs while she had been asleep and had stolen her belongings. She asked the Knight to get them back, who managed to obtain the items from the children, all of whom expressed animosity towards the Cygnus Knights.

10 Boogies was relieved to get her belongings back and warned them not to underestimate the hatred for the Cygnus Knights in Edelstein. She explained the story behind why the Resistance hated the Cygnus Knights, and why even the citizens of Edelstein viewed them as traitors. She then told the Knight that she had been sent to work with the citizens of Edelstein in order to uncover the Black Wings’ plan, but since they already knew that she was a Cygnus Knight, there was nothing more that she could do, meaning that the Knight would need to take her place.

In order to test their strength, she asked them to eliminate Water Thief Monsters, after which she told them that their mission was to gather information by speaking with the townspeople, warning them to be careful not to let them know that they were a Cygnus Knight. In town, the Knight spoke with Checky, Brighton, Elex, and Belle, all of whom rebuffed them.

They then spoke with Claudine, who told them that one of the children who had stolen 10 Boogies’ belongings back was her sister Ulrika, and that she had told Claudine that the Knight had claimed not to be a Cygnus Knight while recovering 10 Boogies’ belongings. When she asked whether that was true, the Knight decided to be honest and revealed themselves as a Cygnus Knight.

Claudine told them that the Knights didn’t understand Edelstein’s circumstances, and that lies and secrets only led to unnecessary complications while staying vigilant around the Black Wings. The Knight told Claudine that they had come to gather information. Claudine told them that they were free to do so, but warned them to give up on befriending the people of Edelstein.

As the Knight walked away, Ulrika called them over and explained that she had learned about their investigation, and that she was prepared to make a deal with them. Claiming to be a member of the Resistance, she offered to reveal their hideout in exchange for Black Plastic Bags from Dust Boxes. The Knight brought the bags to Ulrika, who was pleased that she could turn in her homework.

She then told them that they needed to do one more task, which was to collect Streetlight Bulbs. They brought the bulbs back to Ulrika, who was glad that she would be able to finish her science project. However, she realized that the bulbs that they had brought back didn’t work, and so she forced them collect more. After the Knight gave her working bulbs, Ulrika gave them fake directions to the Resistance hideout.

As the Knight followed Ulrika’s directions, she and her friends prepared to ambush the Knight by setting bugs on them, just as they had done with 10 Boogies. Upon hearing footsteps, they jumped out to launch their surprise attack, but they quickly realized that Black Wings henchmen had appeared instead. The henchmen told them that pretending to be Resistance members was just as bad as being actual members, and so they decided to rough the kids up.

Just then, the Knight arrived and found the henchmen advancing on the kids. They quickly defeated the henchmen and escorted the kids to Checky in order to ensure their safety. The kids apologized for tricking them and thanked the Knight for saving them. Checky also genuinely thanked them for saving the kids, even after the way the townspeople had treated them. Checky then told them to go to Edelstein Park and find a phone booth, where they were to dial the number 583-11297.

After calling the number, the modulated voice of Claudine asked them what they wanted, to which the Knight explained that the Black Wings were active on Victoria Island, and that they wanted to know why. When Claudine asked if they expected the Resistance to share that information with the Cygnus Knights, the Knight pointed out that they had a common enemy. Claudine replied that she had no intention of allying with them, but as they had saved the children, she explained that she would share the information in order to make them even.

She told the Knight that the Black Wings were directing all of Edelstein’s energy towards a single spot, which had been causing rolling blackouts in the city. The blackouts were affecting the city’s power plants, fish factory, lighting system, and even their water supply, all of which was to fuel the Black Wings’ top secret experiment. She explained that the Resistance didn’t know what the experiment was, but they did know that the Black Wings were stealing Seal Stones from Maple World, and she believed that the two were likely related. With this, she told the Knight that the Resistance’s debt had been paid and suggested that they go home.

The Knight returned to 10 Boogies and told her everything they had learned from the Resistance. 10 Boogies wondered whether Francis was involved with the top-secret experiment and supposed that it was a good thing that they had stopped him. To further investigate the experiments, she asked the Knight to collect Memory Chips from the Patrol Bot S monsters in order to analyze their data, as well as Rue Batteries from Safety First monsters as power while their machine analyzed the data.

With the materials, they began processing the chips and found that most of the data had been corrupted, though they were able to isolate an image of Francis in Edelstein. 10 Boogies noted that he seemed to be using a side path to enter the mine, rather than the main entrance. She asked the Knight to investigate the side entrance, warning that it would be dangerous.

The Knight infiltrated the mine and found themselves in Francis’ room, where they hid behind a large crystal in order to eavesdrop on Francis and Baroq, who were having a conversation. Francis was complaining to Baroq that the Cygnus Knights had foiled his plans once again and wondered why they always seemed out to get him.

Baroq pointed out that the Cygnus Knights weren’t the only ones who targeted Francis, which he earnestly agreed to. He expressed his annoyance at everyone focusing on him, and how a new ‘hero’ seemed to appear all the time in order to mess up his plans, adding that all he wanted was to be recognized by ‘him’. (A/N: Most likely, this is meant to be ‘her’ instead, referring to Orchid, whom Francis was infatuated with. It can’t be Gelimer because they clearly differentiate Gelimer as being separate from ‘the master’.)

Baroq reminded him that ‘the master’ only recognized the worthy, and that Francis seemed to have failed them, asking whether that was the reason why he sat cowering in the Secret Passageway. Francis told him that it wasn’t that he was afraid of the master, but that he hated dealing with Gelimer.

As the Knight overheard their conversation, they realized that they had never heard of Gelimer before. Baroq told Francis that he didn’t care for Gelimer either and added that he had heard a rumor that Gelimer had angered the master. Francis asked what had happened, to which Baroq explained that Gelimer had fallen behind his timetable once again, thus delaying the ‘resurrection’. Though it was Gelimer’s fault, Baroq added that he had been blamed as well, as the master had said that they wouldn’t have gotten off-track if Baroq had managed to obtain the Seal Stone of Ereve.

After hearing their conversation, the Knight realized that Gelimer’s experiments had something to do with resurrection, leading them to conclude that the Black Wings had to be attempting to bring back the Black Mage, as there was no one else they could think of whom the Black Wings would want to resurrect. Just then, the Knight accidentally caused a disturbance, alerting Francis and Baroq to their presence.

With no choice, the Knight stepped out and faced the two Black Wings officers. Though they managed to defeat the pair, the Knight realized that they were both extremely powerful. The Knight asked them who Gelimer was and what the Black Wings were plotting, but Baroq merely laughed and asked if the Knight had really thought that he had used the full extent of his powers. Just then, a garrison of Black Wings henchmen appeared and surrounded the Knight, with Baroq revealing that he had gone easy on them in order to buy time. As the Black Wings advanced on the Knight, the leaders of the Resistance arrived and quickly extracted the Knight before disappearing.

After reaching safety, the Knight told the Resistance what they had overheard from the Black Wings. The Resistance was pleased with the information, as it not only confirmed that Gelimer’s experiments were related to resurrection, but that there was a schism within the Black Wings. However, they were less pleased by how the Knight had obtained that information, admonishing them for their reckless behavior.

Claudine then told the other Resistance leaders to return back to base, reminding them that they had a job to do. Before she left, Claudine told the Knight that the Resistance had only bailed them out in order to even things between them and told them to report back to Ereve that the Cygnus Knights would never earn their trust.

Dejected, the Knight returned to 10 Boogies and told her what had happened in the mine. 10 Boogies was amazed by the Knight’s bravery and believed that they were destined for greatness. She then sent them back to Ereve to give Neinheart their full report. When the Knight told Neinheart of the Resistance’s treatment, he explained that part of a Cygnus Knight’s job was to learn how to deal with animosity, especially when it was justified. However, he told them that they should be pleased that they successfully completed their mission.

On a more serious note, however, he told them that the Empress could not yet fully control the power of Shinsoo, meaning that the Cygnus Knights’ strength was just as unstable, as their power ultimately stemmed from the Empress. Neinheart was troubled that the Black Wings were growing stronger and reminded the Knight to be prepared, adding that it would be all the better if they could make amends with the Resistance.

He then told them that they had done surprisingly well on their mission and recommended that they take the Knighthood Exam in order to graduate from a Knight-in-Training to a full-fledged Knight. They reported to their Chief Knight, who told them that their examination would be to defeat the Tigurus of Exam in the Second Drill Hall. After passing, the Knight was promoted to become an Official Knight.

The Knight then set out to train in Victoria Island in order to hone their skills. Some time later, Neinheart contacted them and explained that it was unusual that someone who had been an Official Knight for so long would still be walking on their own feet. He wrote them a letter of introduction and told them to show it to Kiridu in the Hatchery, who would teach them to ride monsters.

At the Hatchery, Kiridu scoffed that Neinheart didn’t need to write a letter, as it was obvious that anyone who was coming to see him had to be from Ereve. He explained that the Knights rode Mimianas of the Mimi race, all of whom were native to the island. He urged them to consider their Mimiana as both a friend and a comrade, rather than just a mode of transportation, explaining that creating such a bond was the very reason why the Cygnus Knights grew their Mimianas themselves.

He gave them a Mimiana egg and told them that it would develop by sharing their experiences with it. Soon after, Mimiana hatched and the Knight brought it to Kiridu. He told them that Mimiana’s bones were too weak to handle a saddle, and so he told them to seek out Kenta in the Aquarium in order to obtain his Special Supplements. After paying a hefty fee, the Knight brought the supplements to Kiridu, who fed them to Mimiana and taught the Knight how to ride it, giving them a Saddle as well. (A/N: Kenta is the king of capitalism. I’m convinced that his research is just a front to avoid paying taxes.)

The Knight then continued training diligently, and was soon contacted by Neinheart, who gave them a mission, which he mentioned needed to be completed both quickly and discreetly, He then asked them to retrieve a book from Wiz the Librarian at Helios Tower. At the Helios Library, Wiz told them that he had encountered a special tome called the Book of Ancient, which he quickly realized had been instrumental in the war from 300 years ago. Because of this, he had immediately contacted the Cygnus Knights and asked them to retrieve the book.

Wil told the Knight to go to his secret library, where he was keeping the book safe. The Knight found the Book of Ancient, but upon opening it, they found it completely undecipherable, as it had been written in a strange language. Just then, Black Wings henchmen appeared and attempted to steal the book from them. After the Knight fought them off, Hawkeye appeared and explained that he had rushed over after learning of the Black Wings’ plot to steal the Book of Ancient, adding that he was impressed with the way the Knight had handled the matter.

After returning to Ereve, the Knight delivered the book to Neinheart, who told them that the Book of Ancient was supremely important and applauded them for fending off the Black Wings, claiming that things would have been dire had it fallen into their hands. Having proven themselves, and with the Empress’ blessing, Neinheart promoted them to Advanced Knight.

The Silent Crusade:

(A/N: The Silent Crusade that we have in the game was adapted by KMS, but the content originally came from JMS. The original JMS story is significantly different and even has its own blockbuster that expanded the story. While I don’t know too much about the details, the story focuses on the player working together with either Crow or Starling, depending on your gender. Male characters get Starling while female characters get Crow, as your partner serves as both your rival and love interest. Personally, I wish that we got the option to choose our partner, but I think that Nexon would sooner give out free Frenzy Totems than let us have a romance with a character of the same gender.

I believe that Crow and Starling were also revealed to be siblings in the JMS lore, although they’re only teammates in KMS. The other notable difference is that the main villain of the JMS Silent Crusade is the Black-Blooded Demon Brigade, which actually has no relation to the demons of Tynerum. This game is ironically very unimaginative with its names, in spite of the creative stories that they tell. There’s also some tie-in with Hilla, although I don’t know much about the details. In contrast, the main villain of the KMS Silent Crusade is Arkarium, who’s creating Mystic Gates across Maple World in order to go back in time and free the Black Mage.

The placing of this storyline is a bit weird. During the Alliance prequest of the Resistance storyline, Orchid tells Gelimer that Arkarium has already made his move, which can only really refer to the Mystic Gates. The Silent Crusade is also said to be part of the Maple Alliance at the end of its storyline, but as the conversation between Orchid and Gelimer takes place before the Alliance is formed, this must mean that the Mystic Gates must have appeared before the Alliance existed. This implies that at least the first chapter has to take place before the Alliance is formed, while at least the last chapter has to take place after the formation of the Alliance.

Additionally, the events of Chapter 3 of the Silent Crusade are said to take place before the Lion King’s Castle storyline, while Chapter 4 takes place soon after. Because the formation of the Alliance now occurs much later in the chronology, it wouldn’t make sense to place Chapter 4 so far into the future when those events are meant to be a loose sequel to the Lion King’s Castle. Because of this, I’ve placed the first three chapters together and moved the last chapter and the Arkarium prequest to another section that’s set closer to this one, but keep in mind that the Alliance reference is just an irreconcilable plot hole, although the Silent Crusade being part of the Alliance and the Cygnus Knights is still canon.

Also, you’ll see that I refer to the protagonist of the storyline as a ‘traveler’ for the first part of the section before they join the Silent Crusade. I originally called them an adventurer, but since that’s too similar to Explorers, this was the best way that I could refer to a class-agnostic protagonist, and you’ll find that I use the same term frequently throughout this guide for non-class specific storylines.)

A traveler was contacted by Jake, a subway worker in Kerning City, who explained that a girl had followed several shady figures onto the subway. Worried about her safety, he asked them to check if she was okay and sent them a ticket that would immediately teleport them to the subway. (A/N: This is one of the worst setups for a storyline. Why would he contact us instead of asking literally anyone else in the area? Better yet, why can’t he just go himself? Since this quest starts at level 90, we’d be grinding in Nihal Desert right about now.)

Upon arriving, the traveler found the girl, who explained that her leg had been injured. Just then, Black Wings henchmen appeared and began attacking the traveler, who dispatched them easily.

(A/N: I think that at this point, Orchid is lending her support to Arkarium in order to revive the Black Mage while keeping her true goal with Lotus secret. The out-of-universe explanation is that the writers hadn’t settled on Orchid and her motivations at this point, and so her working together with the Commanders doesn’t really mesh well since future storylines imply that she basically quit.)

The girl then got up and thanked the traveler, who was confused about how she could stand in spite of her injury. She casually dismissed it and asked them to find her bag, which had been taken by a monster. At the empty platform outside, the traveler fought a Crimson Rock, but found no bag upon defeating it. They told the girl that they couldn’t find the bag, but she dismissed that too and told them that she was impressed that they had been able to defeat the Crimson Rock. She then gave them a ticket and explained that it would allow them to meet her at the Relic Excavation Site in Perion before disappearing.

The traveler used the ticket and met the girl at the Relic Excavation Site. She asked whether they had seen a strange gate in the area, to which the traveler replied that they had seen one in the Prohibited Area during their adventures. The girl told them that it was likely the reason why the monsters around the gate were behaving strangely and led them inside, where they encountered Lord Skeleton. After the traveler defeated it, the girl asked if they were interested in protecting the peace in Maple World and instructed them to find Bastille in Edelstein.

There, Bastille welcomed the traveler and took them to a hidden room. He explained that he needed to test their strength, and so he had them fight his puppy, Coco, who had the power to project a monstrous shadow of itself to fight. (A/N: Bastille’s idle dialogue in Edelstein actually says that his dog’s name is Muffins. I assume that either this is a continuity error or Muffins is the name of the dog, while Coco is the abomination that lives inside it.)

After passing the test, Bastille explained that their organization was called the Silent Crusade, a special group whose purpose was to collect information from the shadows regarding the Black Mage’s return. He gave the traveler a special ring that identified them as a Silent Crusader and introduced the girl from the subway as Starling, explaining that she would help them get started on their missions until they became skilled enough to operate alone like the other members. Starling told the Crusader that their current operations revolved around investigating the Mystic Gates that had been popping up throughout Maple World.

For their first mission, the Crusader traveled to Ariant and met with Lora, who explained that a Mystic Gate had popped up in the Royal Cactus Desert.

(A/N: Lora is an interesting agent because she’s a Wild Hunter. Given that the Silent Crusade is affiliated with the Cygnus Knights, I wonder why someone from the Resistance would involve themselves with it. It’s also worth noting that the headquarters of the Silent Crusade are in Edelstein too.)

Lora explained that she had been keeping an eye on the Nihal Desert with her jaguar, Sun, when she had come across the Mystic Gate. As the Crusader had prior experience with the Mystic Gates, she asked them to go inside and deal with whatever they found. Inside, they defeated Deo Ghameq and witnessed a strange shadow when he was defeated. They returned to Lora and reported what they had found. Lora made a note of it and told them that Starling had called to give them their next mission.

The traveler went to Lab Unit 102 inside the Zenumist headquarters in Magatia, where they discovered the new Mystic Gate that had popped up. Upon entering it, they defeated Rurumo and returned to report back to Starling. Starling was interested in learning that the Rurumo inside the gate was much more aggressive than a regular Rurumo. She explained that there were many gates popping up around Magatia and the Silent Crusade was scrambling to get them under control. She mentioned that one of their agents was on the scene, and that he likely needed backup. She then asked them to rendezvous with him in Lab Unit 203 and finish clearing the rest of the Mystic Gates in Magatia.

The Crusader traveled there and encountered Crow, who dismissed them as weak and told them not to get in his way. He then told them to go into the Mystic Gate to deal with the monster on their own, claiming that he wasn’t a babysitter. He explained that the monsters in the Mystic Gates were similar to the ones in the Nihal Desert, citing Deo and Rurumo being stronger versions of their usual selves. The Crusader went into the gate and defeated Homunspeculler. After returning, Crow refused to praise them, claiming that it was something that any Crusader could do. He then told them to meet him in Lab Area C-3 in the Alcadno headquarters.

There, Crow told them to deal with the monster inside the gate, just like before. The Crusader successfully defeated Deet and Roi, and after returning, Crow told them to meet him in Lab Area B-1 after investigating the Iron Mutae and Mithril Mutae first. After hunting them down, the Crusader met up with Crow, who told them that he had found traces of the Black Wings on his way there, which led inside the Mystic Gate. (A/N: As I’d mentioned, this is a remnant from the original story point that the Black Wings and the Commanders were united in reviving the Black Mage.)

After they entered the gate and defeated Chimera, Crow noticed that the energy inside the gate was chilling and wondered whether the Mystic Gates were empowering the monsters inside. They explored the area inside to uncover clues and discovered research notes. The Crusader reached out to grab them, but Crow immediately pulled them back, just as the notes exploded. Crow realized that there was something lurking within the Mystic Gates and told them to first get stronger while he went over his findings, as the Crusader couldn’t be of any more help at their current strength.

(A/N: This is the start of Chapter 2.)

Some time later, Starling reached out to them and explained that Crow had been impressed with their work in Magatia, which in turn had impressed Starling, as Crow was difficult to please. She told them that just like in Magatia, Mystic Gates were popping up in Leafre and dark energy was seeping out of them. She instructed them to go to the Cranky Forest in Leafre and deal with the Mystic Gate there.

Inside, they defeated Master Hoblin and returned to Starling, who told them that some monsters could even escape from the Mystic Gates given enough time, and so she thanked them for preemptively stopping Master Hoblin. She told them that she had sent her report back to headquarters, and that they would contact her with their next mission. Sure enough, Bastille reached out and told the Crusader that he had an urgent matter to discuss with them. He recapped how the Mystic Gates were appearing across Leafre and asked them to join Starling in her investigation.

In Leafre, Starling told them to go to the Sky Nest and deal with a new kind of Harp monster inside the Mystic Gate. There, the Crusader fought Master Harp and returned back to Starling, who explained that the monsters around the area were becoming more violent because of the Mystic Gates. Starling then received news that the Manon and Griffey copies inside the Mystic Gates had gone berserk, and that they would soon break out if they weren’t stopped. The Crusader rushed to the Mystic Gates and defeated them both before reporting that the situation was under control.

Soon after, Crow reached out and told them that the Kentauruses, who held a grudge against the Halflingers, were staging an uprising. He told them that since he had saved them back in Magatia, he expected them to repay the favor by stopping the Kentauruses. After putting down the uprising, the Crusader returned to Crow, who told them that another Mystic Gate had appeared. He also told them that the Halflingers in the village were strangely dazed and sleepy, with some even falling asleep on the road. He asked them to check on a Halflinger named Ito in order to determine what was happening.

Ito explained that ever since he had licked a Mystic Gate, he had begun to feel exhausted, as though something had sucked the energy right out of him. (A/N: For my own sanity, I’m not going to question why he decided to lick a strange gateway.) He told them that he would be fine and asked them to tell Crow that he needn’t bring hot soup for him. Crow was unusually impressed by the Crusader’s kindness and told them that they had done a good thing, adding that he would call them again if needed.

Meanwhile, Starling told them that the Mystic Gates’ appearance in Leafre had coincided with the new Kentaurus King, and that she was afraid that it was leading up to something major. She then asked them to enter the gate and defeat the Kentaurus King. Just as the Crusader defeated him, a Wightmare appeared from within the Kentaurus King and immediately vanished. The Crusader returned to Starling, who realized that the Wightmare was a servant of the Black Mage, which confirmed that the Mystic Gates had something to do with him.

(A/N: The Wightmares were originally portrayed as servants of the Black Mage, as you can encounter two of them talking about his imminent return after you defeat Chaos Horntail. Though they’ve now been retconned as servants of Lucid, we do see that they betray her shortly before the events of Lachelein when she goes against the Black Mage’s orders, which confirms that they answer to the Black Mage over her.)

From what had happened to the Halflingers, Starling concluded that the Mystic Gates controlled nearby monsters and drained the life out of anyone who got near them. She asked them to report to Bastille while she wrapped up her investigation. At the Silent Crusade headquarters, the Crusader gave their report to Bastille, who was troubled to learn that the Black Mage’s servants were controlling the Mystic Gates and wondered what the Black Mage’s goal could be, believing that it had to be more than simply causing chaos.

Just then, Crow arrived at headquarters and frantically reported that Arkarium had been sighted in the Temple of Time. The Crusader asked who Arkarium was, to which Bastille explained that Arkarium was one of the Commanders of the Black Mage who had disappeared after his master had been sealed. The Crusader asked whether Arkarium’s return meant that the Black Mage had returned as well, but Bastille merely told them that he couldn’t be sure, as the only thing that he could be sure of was that Arkarium’s return and the appearance of the Mystic Gates signified that evil forces were in motion. However, he rewarded the Crusader by promoting them to a Silent Crusader Officer.

(A/N: This is the start of Chapter 3.)

Soon after, the Crusader received a strange letter decorated with the symbol of the Silent Crusade. Upon opening it, they read that it was a message from Starling, who ordered them to return to headquarters immediately. There, Starling explained that more Mystic Gates had been discovered and asked them to go speak with Sodane at the Crossroad of Time in Ludibrium. Sodane explained that the Mystic Gate had been releasing strange energy and asked them to check it out. Inside, they defeated Over Time and returned to Sodane, who was impressed by their skills.

Just then, he received an encoded message from Krag, a legendary Crusader in El Nath. Sodane explained that Krag never called for backup, meaning that it had to be something significant. Though he wished that he could accompany the Crusader, he still had work to finish in Ludibrium, and so he told the Crusader that they would need to go alone. The Crusader traveled to the Forest of Dead Trees, where Krag was waiting for them. He explained that he had heard a lot about them from Crow and asked them to check out a nearby Mystic Gate, from which he had felt bad energy. (A/N: In Chapter 4, we learn that Krag had asked us to deal with the Mystic Gate because he was busy investigating the Lion King’s Castle.)

Inside, the Crusader defeated the Lich and returned to Krag. He was impressed by their strength and asked them to go see Lora in the Virtuous Forest near Mu Lung. There, the Crusader helped Lora investigate the nearby Mystic Gate, where they defeated King Sage Cat. Lora then explained that the next Mystic Gate was in the Isolated Swamp, which was on the way to Herb Town. The Crusader defeated King Centipede inside the Mystic Gate and returned to Lora, who thanked them for their help and sent them to reinforce Sodane, who seemed to be having trouble in Ludibrium.

Sodane told them that a new Mystic Gate containing a version of the powerful monster Papulatus had appeared deep inside the Clocktower. After defeating Papulatus, the Crusader returned to Sodane, who thanked them for helping him with his work and explained that Bastille was looking for them at headquarters. Upon arriving, Bastille told the Crusader that he had been pleased by their work and promoted them to a Silent Crusader Commander. (A/N: The rest of the storyline takes place in the future, and so it’ll be wrapped up in a later section.)

The Lion King’s Castle:

(A/N: This storyline is a bit weird in terms of protagonist. In Chapter 3 of the Silent Crusade storyline, Krag called us to investigate a Mystic Gate at the outskirts of the Lion King’s Castle. In Chapter 4, it’s revealed that the reason why he had asked us to investigate in his place was because he was busy looking into anomalies in the Lion King’s Castle. It’s also revealed that during the events of Chapter 4, Krag has called several Crusaders as backup in order to investigate the castle. This leads me to believe that the events of the theme dungeon take place between Chapters 3 and 4.

Krag calls us the “pride of the Silent Crusade” at the end of this storyline and another Crusader named Wence later tells us in Chapter 4 that Krag had mentioned that we’re the best Crusader of our generation. This implies that at the very least, a Crusader is the protagonist of this storyline, with it being hinted that it’s the same Crusader as the protagonist of the Silent Crusade storyline because of the way that Krag lauds us in both questlines. Since he’s seen our skills first-hand in Chapter 3, it would also make sense for him to reach out to us specifically in order to help him investigate the castle. For the purposes of this section, I’m operating on the assumption that you’re the same Crusader from the Silent Crusader storyline.)

While exploring Maple World, the Crusader received a letter from Krag, who explained that he was investigating dark energies coming from the Lion King’s Castle in El Nath. As Krag had enchanted the letter to teleport the Crusader to his location, they soon found themselves at the outskirts of the castle. There, Krag explained that he needed their help to break down the wards in the castle, as he had little experience with it. (A/N: Why does he think that we know how to do this? Did we spring a leak and suddenly start radiating more protagonist energy than usual?)

While he secured the perimeter, Krag told the Crusader to reach the Fourth Tower in order to learn the layout of the castle. Soon after entering the castle, the Crusader heard a man calling for help and rushed to the First Tower, where the man introduced himself as Jenn the Locksmith. He explained that he had been born in El Nath, but that he had moved to Ludibrium in order to save up money. However, when he had returned home, he had found that his younger brother had gone missing.

After searching all over El Nath, he had made his way to the Lion King’s Castle. He had thought that it was strange that the path to the castle was open, as it had normally been closed for many years. Inside the castle, he had discovered that his brother was a prisoner. Though he had tried to save his brother from the jailors, he had realized that he was too weak to free him or to escape, as the monsters in the castle grounds kept him trapped in the First Tower, where he had been calling for help.

The Crusader agreed to help rescue his brother, and so Jenn crafted a key to unlock the First Tower, allowing the Crusader to reach the roof and defeat the monsters guarding his brother. Jenn was overjoyed to see his brother and sent him back home to safety with a town return scroll. (A/N: After finishing this quest, you can actually find Jenn’s brother chilling in El Nath.)

As thanks, Jenn promised to help the Crusader by making keys to unlock the other towers. Soon after, the Crusader heard the voice of Luden, the guardian of the castle, who told them that he would be waiting for them at the Fourth Tower. In order to reach him, he told the Crusader that they would need to break the wards on the first three towers. He instructed them to first defeat the Red Crockies on the roof of the First Tower in order to break the first ward.

The Crusader then gathered the necessary materials from the monsters in the castle grounds and gave them to Jenn, who crafted a key to the First Tower, allowing the Crusader to enter and break the ward. (A/N: I have no idea why you have to create another key to the First Tower after you literally unlocked it in the last quest. I’m guessing that the door magically changes the locks each time it gets opened or something.)

Next, the traveler helped Jenn craft the key to the Second Tower, where they defeated the Prison Guard Boars and broke the second ward. Finally, Jenn created the key to the Third Tower and the Crusader broke the final ward by defeating the Prison Guard Rhinos. The Crusader then entered the Fourth Tower, where they met the ghost of Luden. Luden explained that he was a knight who had served his king, Von Leon, many centuries ago. Though their kingdom had been poor, Von Leon had been a benevolent king who had ruled with his beloved wife, Ifia. However, everything had changed when Von Leon had pledged his loyalty to the Black Mage and driven the kingdom to ruin.

After hearing Luden’s story, the Crusader returned to Krag and told him that they had broken the wards. Pleased with their work, Krag then asked them to find the source of the dark energy emanating from the castle. While investigating the castle, the Crusader discovered a ghost named Murt, who explained that he had traveled from El Nath several days ago in search of the Lion King’s Medal. However, he had been killed by Von Leon near the castle grounds and his soul had been cursed to suffer in eternal agony. He gave the Crusader a letter that he had written to his family and asked them to deliver it to Alcaster to pass on to his family.

The Crusader returned to El Nath and gave the letter to Alcaster, who was annoyed because he had warned Murt not to go to the castle. Nevertheless, he gave them a crystal that could lift Von Leon’s curse. The Crusader used the crystal on Murt, who was overjoyed that he was no longer cold or in pain. (A/N: As a token of his appreciation, he offers to sell us Royal Von Leon gear in exchange for Royal Von Leon Tokens. I don’t see why he can’t just give it to us for free. He’s a ghost, what does he need to make a living for anyways?)

The Crusader then continued to the Fifth Tower, where they heard the cries of another ghost asking them to come to the roof. There, the Crusader encountered the ghost of Queen Ifia, who told them that she had been calling to her husband for centuries, though he had never once acknowledged her. She asked them to speak with Von Leon to see if he still remembered her, as she feared that he no longer cared for her. In the Audience Room, the Crusader met Von Leon and told him that Ifia’s ghost had been calling to him, but Von Leon called them a liar, claiming that he would have known if his beloved wife were a ghost, and threatened them to never speak her name again.

The Crusader returned to Ifia and told her that Von Leon still remembered her, but that he couldn’t see or hear her. Elated that Von Leon hadn’t forgotten her, Ifia asked the Crusader to help her make herself known to Von Leon. She told them that he had once built a Rose Garden for her, and that there was a reminder of their shared memories still inside. She first asked them to find the key to the garden from the Grey Vultures, after which she told them the story of how she had first met him.

At the time, she had been a commoner who sold flowers in the kingdom. One day, Von Leon had disguised himself as a commoner during a festival and had been roaming the grounds alone. When she had run into him, she had thought that it was strange that he didn’t have a single flower on him throughout the festival. Eventually, the two had fallen in love and wed after Von Leon had proposed to her with a snow rose. Soon after, he had built the Rose Garden inside the castle in her honor.

She asked them to find a Flower Book inside the garden and present it to Von Leon, hoping that it would help him believe that she still waited for him after centuries. The Crusader brought the book to a surprised Von Leon and explained that Ifia had told them where to find it. Though Von Leon knew that only he and Ifia knew of the book, he still couldn’t believe the Crusaders’ story, as he refused to accept that he couldn’t hear Ifia’s voice when they could. The Crusader returned to Ifia and told her about what Von Leon had said. They then asked her what had caused his abrupt change, but Ifia told them that she couldn’t remember much and said that one of the knights may still remember.

The Crusader returned to Luden, who explained that because their kingdom had been poor, the people hadn’t feared the Black Mage’s rise, as they had believed that the kingdom had nothing to offer him, because of which they had thought that he would spare them. Soon after, a coalition had formed against the Black Mage and had asked Von Leon to join them. (A/N: They refer to this coalition as an alliance, but I’m refraining from using the word to avoid confusing it with the Maple Alliance. This is the same group as the Anti-Black Mage Coalition that I’ve mentioned in previous sections.)

However, the people had refused to fight against the Black Mage, as they didn’t want to sacrifice their lives needlessly when they were sure that the Black Mage wouldn't attack them. Von Leon had gone to negotiate with the coalition, but while he had been gone, the coalition had branded the citizens as minions of the Black Mage and had attacked the kingdom. Von Leon had returned to find his kingdom in flames and his beloved wife killed. Driven to despair and fury, he had sold his soul to the Black Mage in order to exact revenge on the ones who had destroyed his kingdom.

(A/N: I like the added dimension of grey morality here with the way that the people of El Nath had turned on their neighbors. It really serves to show how terrifying that time during the rise of the Black Mage was, and how scared the people of Maple World must have been to be so suspicious of everyone around them.

There’s a common misconception that the Black Mage was the one who had attacked the kingdom and framed the coalition, which I had also believed until recently. That belief likely comes from a GMS-exclusive short story that Nexon released, which reveals that the Cygnus Knights had planned to attack Von Leon’s kingdom out of fear that he would join the Black Mage, only to find that some unknown group had already attacked the castle. The Knights had accidentally left a token behind when they had discovered Ifia’s body, which had led Von Leon to believe that the Cygnus Knights had been the ones responsible.

While it’s implied that the unknown assailants were minions of the Black Mage, this story isn’t canon for two reasons: first, it’s GMS-exclusive, meaning that KMS hadn’t commissioned it, and second, it implies that the Cygnus Knights had been around at the time, which isn’t possible. Early writers seemed to think that the term “Cygnus Knight” was interchangeable with the royal army of Ereve, resulting in issues like this. They even did it in the Winter Bard storyline, in which Von Leon explicitly blames the Cygnus Knights for Ifia’s death. Fortunately, they’ve started distancing themselves from using the term in storylines set centuries ago.)

Luden believed that though fear and pain could warp one’s judgement, the actions of the coalition didn’t seem to make sense to him. However, to prove the coalition’s betrayal, he asked them to hunt Castle Golems, which he explained had been knights of the kingdom before they had been warped into monsters.

The Crusader found several medals on the golems, which Luden explained were symbols of the coalition, who had sent spies amidst their ranks. Luden could see that the Crusader felt sorry for Von Leon, but he urged them not to feel pity. He explained that though the king’s rage and sadness were understandable, it was unjustifiable for him to have sold his soul to the Black Mage. He added that Von Leon had already had his revenge, and that it was time to break the cycle, even if it meant putting the king down.

The traveler returned to Ifia and explained what they had learned from Luden. Ifia told them that she had originally resented Von Leon for the change in his behavior, but having learned the truth, she was determined to turn him back. She told them about a secret passageway that only she and Von Leon knew about and resolved to meet her husband. She asked them to accompany her to the Audience Room, as she needed someone to defend her from the monsters along the way. (A/N: I thought that the one bonus of being a ghost is that you don’t take damage. Also, can I just say that she moved so slowly in this quest that I think that I might’ve died myself while waiting for her.)

In the Audience Room, Von Leon was shocked that the Crusader had discovered the secret passageway. The Crusader revealed that Ifia had told them about it, and that Ifia herself was standing with them. When Von Leon still couldn’t sense her, he wondered whether it was punishment for having sold his soul to the Black Mage.

Defeated, he gave the Crusader a pendant containing Ifia’s picture and told them that he didn’t deserve her memory. The Crusader and Ifia returned to the Fifth Tower, where Ifia told them that she was touched that Von Leon still had the pendant after centuries, wondering whether it was proof that he was still a good man deep down. She thanked the Crusader for their help and explained that she would continue clinging onto the hope that Von Leon would one day return to his old self.

Soon after, Luden told the Crusader that that they would need to face Von Leon in order to put him down, but they would first need to defeat Prison Guard Ani, a monstrous creature who had one day appeared out of nowhere and consumed all the benevolent souls in the castle before blocking the way to the King. Before fighting Ani, the Crusader first collected traces of dark energy from the monsters in the castle grounds and brought them to Krag. After analyzing them, Krag realized that they were the same type of dark energy that the Silent Crusade had found in the Mystic Gates, though a Purification Totem had subtly changed its signature.

The Crusader then hunted for Purification Totems in order to confirm Krag’s theory, after which Krag speculated that there had to be a source of all the evil and asked them to investigate the deepest part of the castle. There, the Crusader fought Prison Guard Ani and brought the congealed darkness that he had left behind to Krag. Krag thanked them for stopping the spread of darkness and lauded them as the pride of the Silent Crusade. (A/N: They never go into any further detail about who Prison Guard Ani is and why his energy matches that of the Mystic Gates.)

With Prison Guard Ani defeated, the path to the Audience Room was laid bare, although Luden told them that they would need a Knight’s Magic Scroll to reach Von Leon. (A/N: I don’t know why we can’t just take the secret passageway again.) Following Luden’s instructions, the Crusader obtained an old scroll from the Castle Golems, which Luden restored with his ghostly powers. The Crusader then defeated the Grey Vultures, whose influence was diminishing the scroll’s magic. The Crusader then entered the Audience Room and faced Von Leon. After a fierce battle, the Crusader emerged victorious and returned to Luden. Luden thanked them for their actions, but explained that Von Leon had only been weakened. Since his powers were tied to the Black Mage, Von Leon could never truly fall until the Black Mage’s power had been driven from his body.

(A/N: Since the Black Mage is now dead, I wonder whether Von Leon has regained his humanity. Nexon seems to have forgotten that Von Leon exists, as his last chronological appearance was in Zero’s storyline, ten years ago. Technically, he appeared in one of the flashbacks for the Genesis Weapon liberation questline, but that flashback was chronologically set even before Zero’s class story. If I had the power to shape the lore, I’d have Von Leon, Lucid, and Orchid appear as an ex-Commander trio in the Grandis story.)

Rise of the Resistance:

In Edelstein, a group of kids were playing hide-and-seek close to the Verne Mine, despite being warned that they should never venture there. While trying to look for their friends, one of the kids crawled through a hole in a large rock formation and accidentally stumbled upon a strange laboratory. Inside, they were shocked to find dozens of children inside strange pods. One of the children introduced herself as Vita and urged them to leave before Gelimer or the other Black Wings found them.

(A/N: Vita is canonically female, but her NPC’s gender is the opposite of that of the player. The game went through this weird phase for a while where they tried to have your class companion be the opposite gender in order to push a romance angle, which is weird because we don’t have anything remotely close to a romance with Vita in this story.

I also think it’s funny that they consider it inconceivable that characters of the same gender could have a romance as well. Nowadays, it seems like the writers have gone from flat-out denying the existence of gay people to having characters like Ark, Lucid, and Veronica exist in a state that I like to call Schrödinger's gay, in which they’re both gay and not gay until the writers inevitably get bored of queerbaiting and decide to kill them off.)

The kid had never heard of Gelimer before, and so Vita explained that he was the mad scientist of the Black Wings who performed experiments on living subjects. Just then, they heard footsteps approaching and the kid hid behind a large piece of apparatus. Gelimer and a Black Wings officer named Schiller arrived at the lab, where Gelimer told Schiller that his experiment was going well, thanks to the huge supply of rue. He told Schiller that the android that the Black Wings wanted would be completed soon, and that he was about to enter the next stage in his experiment. Schiller asked what he meant by that, but Gelimer merely teased that what he was planning was much more interesting than a simple android.

(A/N: This might be a plot hole, as Orchid never wanted Lotus to be turned into an android. The Xenoroid project was conducted secretly by Gelimer, who developed Xenon as a perfected prototype for Lotus. It’s possible that Schiller might have been one of his trusted allies in the schism between himself and Orchid. The next stage in his experiment is likely a reference to either Black Heaven or his Retoxin gas, although I highly doubt that the writers had either in mind at the time, since the Resistance storyline was released way back in the Big Bang patch.)

Just then, a power surge caused the lights to flicker in the lab. When Schiller and Gelimer left to investigate, Vita told the kid that they had a chance to escape, but the kid refused to leave Vita behind and smashed the container that she was trapped in, allowing her to break free. The kid then grabbed her hand and led her outside the lab. Just as they reached the outskirts of Edelstein, Schiller appeared to capture Vita. He realized that the kid was a citizen of Edelstein, and since they had seen too much, Schiller decided that he would take them back to the lab in order to make them a new test subject.

Just then, an airship appeared, from which a Resistance agent with the codename J dropped down from a ladder and grabbed them both before escaping to a safe spot. J assured the pair that while he could have easily handled Schiller, he wouldn’t have been able to guarantee their safety during the fight. Upon realizing that Vita had been a prisoner of the Black Wings, he decided to bring her to the Resistance in order to protect her, though he told the kid to return back home. Before J left, the kid eagerly asked him how they could join the Resistance, to which J smiled and told them to get stronger.

The kid then returned home to Edelstein and immediately sought out Headmaster Ferdi in order to ask him how they could get stronger. Realizing that they were the one whom J had mentioned, Ferdi suggested that they help other people around town. The kid first approached Elex, who asked them to defeat Sprout monsters and bring them back to plant in the school garden. Afterwards, Elex asked them what the children of Edelstein needed most. The kid replied that they needed peace, which Elex agreed with, adding that Edelstein was very unstable.

Next, the kid helped Belle eliminate Potted Morning Glories. After returning, Belle told them that the roads would be safe to walk again and asked what the most important part of the roads were, to which the kid told her that the most important part was how safe they were. Belle agreed, adding that she considered unsafe roads to be the same as being threatened under strict surveillance.

Next, the kid spoke to Claudine, who asked them to bring her some acorns, which she wanted to use in order to make medicine. After collecting them, Claudine asked them what the most important thing that the citizens of Edelstein ought to do in order to stay safe. The kid replied that they should try to stay out of places that could lead to injury or illness. Claudine agreed, though she told them that Edelstein was far from such an ideal.

Next, the kid spoke to Brighton, who asked them to eliminate Grape Juice Bottles and bring back their Cork Stoppers. Brighton then asked what ought to be the first thing that they eliminate from Edelstein, to which the kid replied by saying that they should remove restrictions on their freedom. Finally, the kid met with Checky, who asked them put up a flyer at the town billboard, as it would be too suspicious for him to do so himself. Checky then asked them what would happen if people couldn’t exchange information, to which the kid replied that they would live as puppets without ever realizing it.

(A/N: I don’t know a single middle-schooler who would say things like, “We’re living our lives as puppets,” except for the edgy quiet kid in the corner who has an unhealthy obsession with guns and anarchy. Also, it’s great to know that the Resistance is so willing to recruit child soldiers. Incidentally, we actually have quite a number of child soldiers in the game: Explorers, Cygnus Knights, Resistance, Evan, Kaiser, Angelic Buster, Cadena, Illium, Hoyoung, Lara, Alpha, Beta, and Kinesis. And those are just the playable classes. If the Alliance was this willing to put weapons in the hands of kids and then send them off to fight gods, I hope that they at least factored in a large therapy bill for all the trauma that they now have to live with.)

After helping the townspeople, the kid returned to Ferdi, who gave them a special invitation. Upon opening it, the kid was transported to the Secret Plaza of the Resistance. There, they were surprised to see the familiar faces of Claudine and all the other townspeople whom they had helped. Claudine explained that while they pretended to be ordinary and meek in public, all of them fought secretly in the Resistance. After speaking with each of the different leaders and learning about their specializations, the kid chose their path and became an official member of the Resistance.

After completing Headmaster Ferdi’s training program, the Resistance member was assigned their first mission by Claudine, which was to eliminate Patrol Bots and bring back their memory chips so that she could analyze the surveillance footage. After bringing the chips back, Claudine analyzed them and learned that the Black Wings were closely watching one of their allies, an old man named Surl. Claudine believed that the Black Wings were suspicious of the items that Surl was purchasing on the Resistance’s behalf and asked the Resistance member to warn him. She taught them one of the secret codes of the Resistance, which was to substitute ‘Black Wings’ with ‘Roaches’, ‘surveillance tapes’ with ‘Dances’, and ‘supplies’ with ‘naps’.

After they gave Surl the coded warning, the old man responded with his own code and instructed them to deliver it to Claudine. The Resistance member unscrambled the code and told Claudine that Surl needed to purchase supplies for the Resistance, but he wanted to ask for her advice, since the Black Wings were watching him closely. Claudine told them that the Resistance used special potions that allowed them to transform into each other, allowing them provide alibis for members out on missions. Using one of Surl’s hairs, Claudine created a potion that would allow the Resistance member to transform into Surl. While they distracted Watchman Bavan using the potion, the real Surl was able to purchase supplies without Bavan keeping an eye on him.

After the Resistance member returned from their mission, Claudine told them that Vita had awoken and gave them permission to see her. Vita thanked them profusely for rescuing her, but quickly felt a wave of exhaustion. She told them that she would speak more after she rested and went back to bed. The Resistance member then asked Wendelline, the Resistance’s treatment specialist, when Vita would make a full recovery. Wendelline explained that while Vita didn’t have many physical injuries, she was extremely weak because of the experiments that the Black Wings had performed on her.

When the Resistance member asked if there was anything that they could do to help Vita, Wendelline suggested that they could make her a more comfortable bed by collecting Wooden Boards from the Strange Signs around town. After they brought the boards back, Wendelline thanked them and told them to train hard for Vita’s sake. They then reported back to Claudine, who told them that the Resistance had decided to look after Vita, as she had no recollection of her life before the lab. Thrilled that Vita would be staying with them, the Resistance member rushed back to see her.

Vita was excited to become a member of the Resistance and explained that though she couldn’t fight, she used to watch the Black Wings closely while she had been imprisoned and had learned how to make medicine. In order to make a special medicine for the Resistance member, she asked them to bring her Serpent Tails. She then created a medicine that could boost one’s strength, although she admitted that she didn’t know what the side effects would be.

The Resistance member offered to test the medicine for her, causing Vita to tear up upon realizing how much faith they had in her. She injected the serum into them and suggested that they fight a strong robot in the training center in order to test its effects. After defeating one of the special training robots with ease, the Resistance member reported back to Claudine and told her about the effects of the medicine. Claudine told them that she would consider using the serum on the other Resistance members, but only after thoroughly testing it.

Soon after, Claudine gave the Resistance member their second mission, which was to help Surl. In code, Surl explained that the Water Thief Monsters were stealing his supplies and asked them to recover the water that they had taken. After returning with the water, Surl thanked them and explained that he now had a surplus of water.

Though he wanted to sell the excess, he knew that there were too many Black Wings around, and so he asked the Resistance member for their help. He told them that he normally sold water to distant regions in Maple World and asked them to deliver his shipment to Ace at the Edelstein Airport. There, however, the Resistance member encountered a Black Wings ambush. After defeating the Black Wings henchmen, they successfully delivered the water to Ace and took back one of the Black Wings henchmen’s pins to Surl.

Surl was furious at the Black Wings and told them to show the pin to Claudine, who was equally furious that the Black Wings had stooped so low as to steal the citizens’ supplies in spite of the heavy taxes that they levied. She thanked them for their work and resolved to formulate a plan to deal with the Black Wings.

The Resistance member then went to visit Wendelline, who told them that she wanted to thank Vita for her work on the serum by giving her a present. She explained that she needed Streetlight Tendrils, but as she was afraid of fighting, she asked the Resistance member to collect them from the Streetlight monsters. They brought the materials to Wendelline, who created a Resistance badge for Vita. Vita was overjoyed to have a symbol of her new home and resolved to be even more useful.

Soon after, Claudine told the Resistance member that she had decided to distribute Vita’s medicine and asked them to deliver the supplies to an undercover Resistance agent at the drop-off point. She explained that the agent was typically away from Edelstein doing other missions, and since that was part of his alibi, he couldn’t publicly enter Edelstein, even if he wanted to.

At the drop-off point, the Resistance member was surprised to see J, who told them that the medicine would be popular with the Resistance’s secret agents because of its effectiveness, though he added that the medicine seemed a bit strange. After taking the shipment, J told them that he had a feeling that their paths would cross again. Just then, Claudine contacted the Resistance member and told them that the Black Wings were planning to rob Surl and asked them to protect him. Arriving just in time, the Resistance member drove off hordes of Black Wings henchmen before returning to the Secret Plaza.

There, their job instructor assigned them a special mission to steal a report from a Black Wings agent, which contained information gathered from the outside world. The Resistance member went to the Edelstein Airport, where they were surprised to find Schiller. Though he initially didn’t recognize them, Schiller was reminded about who they were when the Resistance member told him that though they hadn’t originally been strong enough to face him, they would finally get their revenge.

After defeating Schiller, they brought the report to their instructor, who was impressed by their skills. They explained that they felt that it was important that the Resistance member face Schiller again, not only to get revenge, but also to see how much they had improved. Having proven their talent, their instructor decided to teach them more advanced skills.

Some time later, J asked the Resistance member to meet him at the drop-off point and told them to keep their meeting confidential. There, J asked them to help him with an investigation and gave them a small package, which he instructed them to bring to Lisa in Orbis. Lisa told them that she would start the analysis immediately, but explained that she needed Stirge Wings in order to complete it.

The Resistance member obtained the wings and brought them to Lisa, who was able to finish her analysis. She told them that that, at first, she had thought that the contents of the package were medicine, but after her analysis, she was sure that it was poison. She explained that the poison would initially cause positive effects, but after the user developed a dependency on it, the poison would drain their life force cleanly away. She gave them her report to give to J and warned them that though she had no idea what he intended to do with the medicine, she recommended that he get rid of it as soon as possible.

After reading the report, J’s suspicions were confirmed and he told them that Vita might be a spy. He explained that he had first grown suspicious after seeing the effects of Vita’s medicine, but as he doubted that a kid could make something that potent, he had kept quiet because he hadn’t wanted to cause trouble for her in case he was wrong. He had then begun watching the Black Wings closely to see what their next move was, but he had been surprised when it had seemed as though they weren’t even trying to get Vita back.

The Resistance member attempted to defend their friend and told him that it was likely because Vita was hidden in the Secret Plaza, but J countered that even if that were true, it didn’t change the fact that the medicine was poison. He told them to inform Claudine that they needed to keep a closer watch on Vita, and that they needed to plan their next moves very carefully. As the Resistance member had helped uncover the truth, J knew that he could trust them, but he added that if the Resistance were to show its hand too early, the Black Wings would simply pull Vita out and the Resistance would learn nothing.

The Resistance member returned to the Secret Plaza and told Claudine what J had said. Claudine was surprised by the news and told them that she hated to think that their comrades were spying against each other. However, she knew that if J was right, they couldn’t afford to disregard it as a coincidence. She told them that she would keep a close eye on Vita, and that she would analyze the medicine a second time, just to be sure.

Some time later, Claudine contacted the Resistance member and told them that she had confirmed that the medicine was poison. After having met with the other Resistance leaders, they had decided to lock Vita up and recall all her medicine. The Resistance member protested that there must have been some kind of misunderstanding, to which Claudine replied that she hoped that that was the case. She told them that they were more than free to visit Vita.

Since they were her closest friend, Claudine hoped that Vita would tell them truth, as she was currently claiming that she hadn’t meant to make the medicine poisonous. The Resistance member went to visit Vita, who sobbed and told them the same story that she had told Claudine. They reassured her that they knew that she hadn’t meant to hurt anyone and told her that they would make sure that she would be set free.

Vita thanked them and explained that even after what had happened, she still believed that her life with the Resistance was wonderful, and that she had no regrets. She told them that Claudine was trying to make an antidote and asked them to help her with it. The Resistance member returned to Claudine and told her that Vita was sticking to her story, adding that there was no way that she could be a spy.

Claudine replied that she was inclined to agree, but told them that the evidence was stacked against her. She then explained that for the antidote that she was working on, she would need Feather Plants, but as they didn’t grow in Edelstein, they would need to find some on Victoria Island. She asked them to speak with the Dark Lord in Kerning City, as she had been told that he had a stash of Feather Plants.

They went to speak with the Dark Lord, who told them that Feather Plants were extremely rare and were often saved for antidotes. He explained that many were needed to make even a single antidote and offered to give all the Feather Plants that he had, as he would rather that someone in need of them take them before they went to waste. In exchange, he asked them to eliminate the Jr. Necki monsters in the Swamp Region. After the Resistance member finished, the Dark Lord gave them a pouch containing about half the Feather Plants that the Resistance needed. He mentioned that Ereve had stashes of Feather Plants, and that they might be able to get the rest from there.

The Resistance member brought the plants to Claudine, who thanked them, but since they were still missing half, she wasn’t sure about what to do. When the Resistance member suggested that they ask Ereve, Claudine grew angry and told them that any self-respecting member of the Resistance would rather stay poisoned than beg the Cygnus Knights for help, explaining the story of how the Cygnus Knights had betrayed them. With no other option, she decided that she would try to pad the Feather Plants with some other herbs and thanked the Resistance member for their help.

A few days later, the Resistance member was contacted by Eckhart, who told them to come alone to the Edelstein Airport. There, he told them that Ereve’s information network was the most powerful in the world, and that he knew that the Resistance had asked the Dark Lord for Feather Plants. He explained that Feather Plants only grew in Ereve, and that he would give them to the Resistance as a gift in order to demonstrate the Cygnus Knights’ commitment towards working together.

The Resistance member brought the Feather Plants to Claudine, but after learning how they had obtained them, she told them that she refused to be bought off by traitors. Though she appreciated the Resistance member’s intentions in accepting the gift, she explained that she still couldn’t take them. As it wouldn’t be fair to ask them to return the same gift that they accepted, she promised them that she would ask someone else.

Some time later, Ferdi contacted the Resistance member and explained that their instructor had a special mission for them. Back at the Secret Plaza, their instructor explained that the mission would require them to leave town and head to the Power Plant inside the Verne Mine. They explained that both the Power Plant and the Verne Mine rightfully belonged to the citizens of Edelstein, but the Black Wings had taken them both over and built an Energy Conducting Device to divert power away from the city for their own purposes.

For their mission, the Resistance member was to infiltrate the Verne Mine alone and destroy the Energy Conducting Device without affecting the Power Plant. Their instructor explained that the Power Plant was essential for the livelihood of the citizens, and that its destruction would wipe out all of Edelstein. They added that the Black Wings had successfully taken over the town by holding the people hostage with their own Power Plant, threatening to blow up the city if they didn’t comply with the Black Wings’ orders. Because of this, the Council President had no choice but to give the Black Wings full control of Edelstein.

After accepting the mission, the Resistance member was told to find a Black Wings member named Stephan, who sold Black Wings hats as an illicit side trade. With the hat that they purchased from him, the Resistance member infiltrated the mine and successfully destroyed the Energy Conducting Device. Pleased by their accomplishment, their instructor rewarded them by teaching them more advanced techniques.

Demon Awakening:

(A/N: First off, I hate the fact that the Demon doesn’t have a canon name. Calling him the Demon may as well just be the same thing as calling Mercedes “the Elf”. I remember that long ago, it used to be a thing for fanfiction writers to call him Valfor, similar to how they used Aidan and Luka as the names for the Mechanic and Battle Mage characters. At the very least, I’m a little glad that they decided to start calling him the Demon instead of the Demon Slayer because I always thought that “Demon Slayer” made it seem as though he was a person who was known for killing demons.

The Demon Slayer is the canonical version of the Demon, but both the Demon Slayer and Demon Avenger storylines are identical, with the exception of their 4th job advancement. If there’s any information specific to the Demon Avenger, I’ll include it in the author notes, rather than in the text. To this day, I have no idea why they created the Demon Avenger as an alternative path if they were just gonna make him non-canon. They may as well have just created a new demon branch of warriors, magicians, etc. and made the Demon Avenger a separate character, especially since the Demon only has superficial ties to the Resistance lore.

On a related note, the Demon is technically a Resistance member, which means that he can complete some of the main Resistance storyline. However, since it wouldn’t make sense for these quests to be repeated after the Resistance member does it first, I’ll only be including the Demon-specific quests in this section. The Demon’s storyline begins some time after Vita is rescued, but it has to be before Vita is accused of poisoning the Resistance because Elex makes a comment about how Vita is a victim of the Black Wings, which he wouldn’t have said if he believed that Vita could be a Black Wings spy.)

Over the centuries, the Demon had fallen into a deep hibernation inside the protective egg that he had constructed in order to recover from his fight with the Black Mage. Eventually, this egg was discovered by the Black Wings, who brought it back to Edelstein. Realizing that the egg contained an enormous amount of power, they took it back to the Verne Mine and hooked it up to a special Energy Conducting Device in order to power Gelimer’s experiments. (A/N: This one is different from the one in the Power Plant.)

As the device began to drain his energy, the Demon awoke from his hibernation and quickly broke out of the egg, using the last of his strength to defeat the Black Wings henchmen operating the device. In the shadows, J watched in amazement at the Demon’s tremendous powers. As the Demon fell unconscious, J took him back to the Secret Plaza.

The Demon soon awoke in the infirmary room and realized that all of his power had been drained away. He then overheard J telling the Resistance leaders about his discovery of the Energy Conducting Device, which he described as being similar to the one in the Power Plant, except that it had been connected to the egg. He explained that the Demon was extremely powerful, and that he wouldn’t have brought him back to the Secret Plaza if the Demon hadn’t already expended the last of his strength.

Elex wondered whether the Demon was one of Gelimer’s test subjects, which would make him a victim of the Black Wings, just like Vita. J went to check on the Demon in the infirmary and found him awake. He then escorted the Demon to meet with the Resistance leaders, who began questioning him about his organization, his background, and the wings on his back. The Demon explained that he was a former Commander of the Black Mage, and that he had been born with his wings, as his father was a pure-blood demon.

Claudine was shocked and asked the Demon how he could be a former Commander when the Black Mage had been sealed for centuries. This, in turn, shocked the Demon, who realized that not only had the Heroes succeeded in defeating his former master, but quite a large amount of time had passed since then. Claudine asked the Demon why he had betrayed the Black Mage, but the Demon merely told her that it was a personal matter.

He then asked Claudine who the Resistance and the Black Wings were, to which she explained that the Resistance was an organization formed to drive the Black Wings, a group trying to revive the Black Mage, out of Edelstein. The Demon was pleased to know that the Black Mage may yet return, as it meant that he could finally get his revenge. Just then, Headmaster Ferdi appeared and asked him to join the Resistance, as they both had a common enemy. After considering it, the Demon decided to accept their offer and thanked them for rescuing him.

Back in the infirmary, the Demon began wondering about whether he felt comfortable using the same power that he had once used to serve the Black Mage, or whether he should view his power drainage as an opportunity to cultivate a new power. He ultimately decided to continue using his Demon Fury, telling himself that he would use any means to defeat the Black Mage, even if it meant that he had to use the power that he had once used to serve a betrayer.

(A/N: The other option he chooses is to give into his rage, which turns his hair silver and transforms his mace into a Desperado. I noticed some similarities between his awakening as the Demon Avenger and Damien being possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance. Damien’s sword becomes cursed by the Spirit of Vengeance, similar to how the Demon Avenger wields a demon-powered Desperado. The word ‘avenger’ is also rooted in the word ‘vengeance’. I wonder if there was some other demonic spirit that possessed him, which resulted in his metamorphosis.)

Having awakened his old power, he returned to Claudine, who recommended that he enroll in Headmaster Ferdi’s training program in order to get stronger. After passing the training courses, Claudine told him that a Black Wings spy had infiltrated the Secret Plaza. With everyone on high-alert, the Demon decided to find the spy himself. The spy was surprised that the Demon had found him, as he had been using the power of darkness to cloak himself. The Demon explained that his demon bloodline allowed him to see through such tricks and proceeded to easily dispatch him, much to Claudine’s impressment. (A/N: The ability that the Black Wings spy was using sounds a lot like Dark Sight. I guess that Dark Sight doesn’t work on demons.)

The Demon then continued training in Edelstein until he was contacted by Checky, who told him that two children had gone missing from the town. He was worried that the children had ended up in the Serpent Path and asked the Demon to find them. Sure enough, the Demon found the two children cowering in fear of the serpents in the area. He then defeated the serpents in order to clear a path, allowing the children to run home safely.

(A/N: The game really missed the opportunity to develop the Demon’s relationship with the people of Edelstein. I have this entire story in my head about his relationship with the kids of the town that I would’ve loved to see in the game. For context, my estimate for how much time passes between the formation of the Cygnus Knights to the defeat of the Black Mage is somewhere between 10-15 years. I would say that the events of this section occur around 3-5 years into the timeline. I like to imagine that after the Demon saves these kids from the serpents, he checks in on them from time to time, which eventually leads to the kids viewing him as a cool big brother and the Demon taking care of them because they remind him of when Damien was a kid and how he’d follow the Demon around everywhere he went.

After the formation of the Alliance, I imagine that the Demon would be away from Edelstein a lot of the time, but he would still visit occasionally and give the Edelstein kids souvenirs and stories about his adventures. After Damien dies and the Black Mage is defeated, he would end up visiting the Edelstein kids, who are significantly older by now, probably around 15-16 years old, which would be around when Damien had been recruited as a Commander and forced into slavery in Tynerum. He’d tell them about Damien for the first time and how he hadn’t been able to save him.

Talking to the kids would then help him realize just how much of an impact he’d had on their lives, not only as an older brother figure, but also because him defeating the Black Wings and the Black Mage meant that he had helped create a better future where those kids didn’t have to throw their innocence and their lives away in battle, and so, even though he hadn’t been able to help his brother, he had still been able to help his chosen family, and that understanding would’ve helped him in the healing process in order to come to terms with Damien’s death and eventually move forward.)

Some time later, the Demon realized that he needed new armor and went to ask Surl about obtaining some. Surl began complaining that people nowadays didn’t understand the value of saving, explaining that many people threw away Black Plastic Bags from the Dust Box monsters without even realizing how many useful things were inside. In exchange for bringing him some of those plastic bags, he agreed to give the Demon a fair price on some armor. After the Demon collected the bags, Surl used the materials inside them to craft new gloves for him.

Soon after, Claudine told him that there were too many Streetlight monsters around Edelstein, which made it difficult for the Resistance to conduct their operations at night. As the Demon began heading to Streetlight Row, he encountered Council President Anthony, who also told him that there were too many Streetlights, and that the city needed to cut down on power consumption. Anthony ordered him to eliminate the Streetlights and bring back their light bulbs directly to him. The Demon realized that Anthony was planning to turn a profit with them, but nevertheless, he eliminated the Streetlights and gave the bulbs to Anthony, who bought his silence by giving him a single bulb. (A/N: Woah. This is worthless!)

As the Demon continued his training, Elex reached out to him and asked if he would investigate a strange monster that was scaring the townspeople. In Edelstein Park, the Demon encountered a purple cat, which immediately began attacking him. While fighting, the cat sensed something familiar and unexpectedly began speaking, calling the Demon “Commander”. She introduced herself as his servant, Mastema, which made him immediately stop fighting. (A/N: Just like Vita, Mastema is canonically female, although her gender in the game is the opposite of the player’s gender, as she has romantic feelings for the Demon.) Mastema explained that she had managed to deliver his letter to the Heroes all those centuries ago, but Arkarium had arrived shortly after and attacked her. In order to survive, she had transformed herself into a cat and had spent centuries searching for the Demon.

Overjoyed to be reunited with her master, Mastema asked if he remembered the day that they had first met, when he had saved her in the Valley of the Dragons. The Demon told her that he remembered and realized that since no one except the two of them had been in the valley that day, it meant that the cat really was Mastema. He then told her what had happened during his battle with the Black Mage, and how he had encased himself into an egg in order to recover.

Mastema filled him in on how after his fight with the Black Mage, the Heroes had managed to defeat the Commanders at the Temple of Time and seal the Black Mage away. Though she didn’t know the fate of the other Commanders, she believed that they were likely plotting to revive the Black Mage. She also added that the Heroes had disappeared after sealing the Black Mage, but that there were rumors of their return spreading throughout Maple World. The Demon then decided to take her back with him to the Secret Plaza under the cover story that she was his pet.

At the Secret Plaza, Mastema told him that since he needed more power, she could form a contract with him in order to bestow her demon powers onto him. Though the Demon was hesitant, Mastema assured him that the power transfer wouldn’t turn him into a cat, adding that it would also allow them to speak telepathically. Once the Demon accepted the contract, Mastema’s power flooded into him, awakening more of his lost power.

The Demon then left the Secret Plaza and began walking around Edelstein. After sensing that he was being watched, he made his way to the outskirts of the town, where two robed men appeared. The older man told the younger one that it was a bad idea to reveal themselves, but the younger man ordered him to be silent. He then told the Demon that it had been a long time since they had last seen each other, and that he had only wanted to stop by in order to say that it was good to see him again.

(A/N: The younger man is obviously Damien. This quest, and several others like it, were either added or they replaced some of the Demon’s original quests and created a sub-plot of the Demon attempting to find the identity of the new demon Commander, which culminated in Damien revealing himself to the Demon during Heroes of Maple.)

After the pair left, the Demon felt that the younger man’s voice seemed familiar, but he was puzzled by the dark energy that he exuded. Mastema telepathically spoke to him through their bond and asked whether she ought to follow them. The Demon told her not to, as it was too dangerous, and so she decided to instead investigate their identities.

Soon after, the Demon ventured aboard to continue his training. Some time later, Mastema telepathically reached out to him and explained that she had heard rumors of an old man named Alcaster in El Nath, and that he had been alive for centuries. She suggested that he visit Alcaster, as anyone who had lived for so long would likely have valuable information.

The Demon arrived in El Nath and approached Alcaster, who immediately sensed the great darkness within him. Believing him to be a servant of the Black Mage, Alcaster refused to speak with him. Mastema then contacted him and asked what he had learned from Alcaster, but the Demon told her how Alcaster had refused to speak with him after sensing his Demon Fury.

Mastema suggested that he help Alcaster in order to prove that he wasn’t evil and told him to listen for an opportunity. The Demon then overheard Alcaster speaking to himself, saying that he needed Stirge Wings for his research, though he couldn’t make the trip all the way to Kerning City himself. Seizing the opportunity, the Demon collected the Stirge Wings and brought them to Alcaster, promising him that he was no longer in league with the Black Mage.

Though Alcaster was dubious, he nevertheless accepted the Demon’s gift and agreed to hear him out. The Demon asked him about the other Commanders and the Black Wings, to which Alcaster explained that he only had secondhand information about the old war from his master, who had personally lived through it. His master had told him that only Von Leon knew the full story of what had happened at the Temple of Time, as well as the fate of the Black Mage, but added that the Lion King had been hidden for some time.

Though he didn’t know what had happened to the other Commanders, he believed that they remained hidden while building their forces. He also believed that the Black Wings had been founded by one of the Commanders themselves, explaining that they were too focused and organized to be a random cult that worshipped the Black Mage. He then asked the Demon why he had asked such questions, as he would have thought that a former Commander would know more about the Black Mage’s followers than him. Regardless, he told the Demon to take care if he intended to battle those dark forces.

After getting his answers, the Demon continued his training and soon made his way to the Six Path Crossway, where he ran into Mercedes. She immediately recognized him as a Commander, but she also sensed that he seemed different, as though he were aware of his past misdeeds. She told him that thanks to the letter that he had sent all those centuries ago, the Heroes had been able to formulate their strategy based on the troop deployment information that he had given them, which had been the key to their victory.

She also mentioned that Arkarium had appeared and attacked Mastema and the other Heroes soon after she had delivered the letter before fleeing. With the information from his letter, the Heroes had been able to take the most direct route to the Black Mage’s throne room, where they had found the Demon lying unconscious. However, because of his attack, the Black Mage’s protective magic had been damaged, which had been instrumental in allowing them to seal him away.

The Demon was thankful that his actions had been meaningful, but Mercedes pointed out that there was much evil that he had yet to atone for, adding that she doubted that his crimes could ever be forgiven. The Demon replied that he had no intention of seeking forgiveness. Because he had already lost everything that mattered to him, vengeance was the only thing left to him.

Mercedes asked what his intentions were, to which the Demon told her that he would end the Black Mage himself and right all of his wrongs. Mercedes told him that his strength would be needed once the Black Mage returned, and that she was glad that they were on the same side. She also pointed out how strange it was that despite having once been sworn enemies, they were now able to have a simple conversation. Though she couldn’t forgive him, she explained that she no longer hated him, and hoped that the Great Spirit would watch over him until they met again to face the Black Mage.

Some time later, Mastema told him that she had found a way to help him regain more of his old power and asked him to come to Edelstein Park, as they needed a secluded area for the training that she had in mind. When the Demon arrived, Mastema explained that she had created a temporary copy of her past self, and though it wasn’t as strong, she believed that sparring with it would help the Demon in his training.

She then sent him into an alternate dimension, where he fought and defeated the copy of Mastema. Upon returning back to the real world, Mastema asked whether her copy had told him anything strange, which the Demon denied. (A/N: Mastema was hoping that her copy didn’t accidentally reveal her feelings for him.) However, he told her that he had been able to regain more of his old power, which Mastema was glad to hear.

Some time later, Mastema reached out to the Demon again and excitedly told him that she had found a way to change herself back to her demon form. She then asked him to collect Cellion, Lioner, and Grupin tails, which could restore one’s true form if braided together. Though the Demon believed that it was merely a tall tale, he nevertheless brought them back for her. Mastema then braided the tails together and placed the braid under her pillow, claiming that she would return back to normal the next day. However, just as the Demon suspected, the rumor was merely a superstition and Mastema remained a cat.

The Demon then continued his training, but soon after, Mercedes reached out to him again and demanded to know what he was planning. The Demon told her that he had no idea what she was talking about, and so Mercedes explained that a suspicious group of men had been signed in Orbis, and that one of them looked exactly like him. The Demon wondered whether they were the same men who had been tailing him in Edelstein and told Mercedes that he would look into it. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and told him to speak with Lisa, who was the one who had seen the group. She also warned the Demon that she would make him pay if he were truly planning something sinister.

In Orbis, the Demon met Lisa, who told him that she hadn’t personally witnessed the men, but rather, she had heard the rumor from Spiruna. (A/N: Great going, Mercedes. Maybe try fact-checking next time before you start threatening someone.) Lisa warned the Demon that Spiruna hated strangers and suggested that he do something for her so that she would be more inclined to humor him. She suggested that he bring Starpieces from the Star Pixies, whose growing population had been irritating Spiruna. Sure enough, Spiruna was annoyed to see the Demon, though she was placated when he gave her the Starpieces. He asked her where the men were headed, but Spiruna told him that he needed to do more in exchange for that information.

After he hunted Lunar Pixies and Luster Pixies, Spiruna was satisfied and used her magic to teleport him to their location. There, he witnessed the same robed men putting Eliza, the Goddess’ pet, under a curse. The Demon quickly realized that the men were also demons. As soon as they spotted him, one of the demons decided that they needed to eliminate him, as he had seen too much.

However, the younger demon from before, who seemed to be in charge, told him that he would handle the situation. He ordered them to disperse and finish their missions, but the Demon moved to attack, vowing that he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. However, the young demon simply told him that they would meet again someday before disappearing, leaving the Charmed Eliza to fight him.

After he defeated the Goddess’ pet, Eliza thanked the Demon for lifting the curse on him before disappearing. (A/N: I thought that Eliza was female all this time, but the Orbis town quests actually reveal that Eliza is male.) The Demon was surprised that there were still other demons in Maple World, as he believed that they had all vanished after the Black Mage had been sealed away. He then resolved to investigate their return.

Stone Colossus:

While passing through Leafre, a traveler encountered Chief Tatamo, who asked them whether they had heard the rumors of the Stone Colossus. He explained that the Stone Colossus was a moving mountain which had recently appeared in Leafre. He then offered to arrange a meeting between them and Guwaru, whom Tatamo explained had been freed from the Black Mage’s influence. After their minds were bridged, the traveler heard the voice of Guwaru, who told them that the Stone Colossus had been created as a result of him being corrupted by the Black Mage.

After Magnus had stolen his powers, Guwaru had been forced to spend centuries recovering from his wounds, which had caused him to neglect his duties as the King of Spirits, thus preventing him from stopping the Stone Colossus’ formation. As he still had not yet regained his full powers, Guwaru asked the traveler to help the Stone Colossus in his place. He then bestowed some of his power onto the traveler, explaining that it would allow them to communicate with the Colossus. After Guwaru’s voice faded away, Tatamo told them to meet up with the Halflinger expedition, which had already embarked to explore the Stone Colossus.

The traveler went to the base camp and helped the expedition by defeating the Mantis monsters around them. Lavi, the expedition lead, told the traveler that he had been studying the mountain for decades, but once the Stone Colossus had been formed from the mountain, monsters had begun appearing and halting their exploration. The traveler offered to speak to the Colossus, explaining that they had been blessed by Guwaru, but Lavi first wanted them to prove their strength and asked them to hunt more Mantises.

After the traveler proved themselves, Lavi gave them permission to visit the Stone Colossus and directed them to Kupo, who showed them the vehicle that he had custom-built for reaching the Colossus. He explained that the vehicle ran on plant oil and asked them collect oil from the nearby Flora monsters. (A/N: Not to be confused with the Flora race from Grandis.) The traveler collected seeds from the Flora monsters near the base camp and brought them to Kupo, who extracted the oil from within the seeds.

With ample fuel, Kupo and the traveler made their way to the base of the mountain. Just then, a massive earthquake occurred and Kupo wondered whether something major was happening. He told them to head east and talk to his friend, Chino, who could help them get up to the Stone Colossus. He also recommended that they bring her a gift and suggested Hornet Honey and Large Poison Glands, as Chino hated hornets.

Sure enough, Chino was pleased by their gift and welcomed them as a fellow hornet-hater. She explained that she had been watching the traveler defeat the hornets from her sniper perch. She also explained that she was the advance party for the expedition, and that she had been working to make the area safe for the rest of the expedition, as the hornets were making it too dangerous for them to use the elevator that led to the top of the mountain. After the traveler helped clear out the hornet population, they traveled up the elevator with Chino, who wondered whether the earthquake had stirred up the hornets. Upon reaching the summit, Chino told them to go ahead and speak with the Colossus.

The traveler approached the Stone Colossus and began talking to him. (A/N: Damien’s mark can be seen on his forehead. The Colossus’ appearance and personality actually reminds me a lot of Muto from Chu Chu Island.) The Colossus explained that he didn’t know how he had come to exist, but he had been trying to stay still so that he wouldn’t hurt the wildlife around him. However, he explained that dark insects had been appearing more and more frequently and he suspected that it had something to do with the darkness inside him. He warned the traveler that the darkness was trying to make him violent and told them to stay away for their own safety.

Just then, Guwaru began speaking telepathically to the traveler and asked what they had learned. The traveler explained what the Colossus had said, and Guwaru realized that the Stone Colossus was the fusion of thousands of lesser spirits combined into one large entity. He explained that when his powers had been abused by Magnus, the lesser spirits had huddled together in fear of Guwaru’s corruption. Over time, more and more had grouped together until they had formed the mass that had become the Stone Colossus.

Guwaru lamented that it was his own lack of guidance which had caused the lesser spirits to band together in safety. He told the traveler that he was concerned about the corruption inside the Stone Colossus, explaining that the dispersal of the spirits inside him wouldn’t matter if the corruption had only affected a few of them, but if all the spirits had been tainted by darkness, it would devastate Maple World. In order to prevent the corruption from growing too strong, Guwaru asked them to purify the Stone Colossus’ heart.

In order to help lessen the corruption, the traveler defeated the corrupted Tree Spirits on the Colossus’ shoulder, but the Colossus still felt dark whispers inside him and told the traveler to leave before he lost control and accidentally hurt them. Unable to help him any further, the traveler returned to Chino and told her the situation. Chino explained that she had seen a group of suspicious people on the Colossus’ head several days ago and added that she believed that they were responsible for his corruption.

When the traveler climbed to the Colossus’ head, they encountered a horde of Dark Elizas, which the traveler recognized as the Goddess’ pet. As they wondered how the Goddess could have created such vile and vicious monsters, they heard a voice that told them that what they had encountered was just the beginning, and that there was much more in store. (A/N: The voice belongs to an unnamed officer in Damien’s army. The creation of the Dark Elizas was seen in the Demon’s storyline, in which Damien’s army corrupted and cloned Eliza in Orbis.)

After defeating the Elizas, the traveler went to check on the Stone Colossus. They were shocked to see that the corruption had spread even further, taking nearly complete control of him. The Colossus warned them to stay away, but the traveler refused to leave his side. Touched by their kindness, the Colossus permitted them to go inside him in order to lift the corruption that had taken hold of his heart. The traveler fought through the corrupted Rock Spirits and reached his heart, where they defeated a powerful Tarantulus, thus destroying the source of corruption. After returning back outside, the Colossus thanked the traveler profusely and called them a true friend. (A/N: The Colossus is so nice and wholesome that him calling us a true friend was better than all the EXP and rewards that we got in this theme dungeon.)

Crimsonheart Castle:

(A/N: I didn’t really plan on including this storyline, not only because it’s pretty short and pointless, but also because it’s clear that KMS basically plagiarized nearly all of this from GMS. I’ve mentioned this before, but Tynerum is called Masteria in KMS. KMS took the name from GMS’ Masteria, which is the continent that hosts New Leaf City. Not only was KMS too lazy to come up with an original name for Tynerum, but they also lifted the assets for Crimsonwood Keep and the pre-revamp versions of the twisted Versalian soldiers, after which they just slapped on the new name of Crimsonheart Castle and called it a day.

I think that it’s really dumb how our only glimpse of Tynerum is just a cheap, recycled version of GMS Masteria, as it now makes it so that the Versalian soldiers are canonical depictions of demons, which makes no sense when the Demon, Mastema, Havoc, Damien, and the demon soldiers in the Dark World Tree all have a completely different aesthetic.

Not only that, but GMS decided to change some of Grendel’s dialogue to say that Tynerum is facing a war led by the demon Naricain, the antagonist of the Masteria storyline. This replaced the original KMS dialogue that basically had Grendel note that even the demons had no idea what the cause of the great war that devastated Tynerum was. GMS’ unnecessary change now just exists to cause confusion between Tynerum and Masteria. The only reason why I’m including this section is because it’s technically canon, but I’m really hoping that they give this storyline a revamp one day.)

A traveler was contacted by Grendel the Really Old, who asked if they were interested in learning more about the land of Tynerum. They decided to meet him in Ellinia, where he told them about the Grand Athenaeum, a library which contained all the knowledge in the universe. Much like the Akashic Records of old, the Grand Athenaeum was a place where magicians who surpassed time and space could gather in order to share their knowledge. (A/N: The Akashic Records is a concept in theosophy and anthroposophy about a compendium of all universal knowledge. I guess that it’s an actual thing in Maple World.)

He told them that some of the library’s books even had personalities of their own, and that one particular book had kept following him around until he had opened it. Inside, he had found that it was written in a strange language, which he had translated and discovered to be a distress call from a magician named Ridley, who had written, “Tynerum is on the verge of collapse. Chaos rules, law is gone. The demons of Shadow Veil Forest have fallen to ruin. Send help.” (A/N: Ridley is an important character in the original Masteria lore. Aside from his contributions to Crimsonwood Keep, he had embedded his consciousness into a statue, allowing him to speak with others.)

Grendel told the traveler that Tynerum had once been the home of the demon race and believed that with the string of demons arriving in Maple World lately, the distress call warranted investigation. The traveler arrived at Crimsonheart Castle, where they met several demon children imprisoned within. The traveler spoke with their leader, a girl named Pepper, who explained that she and the others were being held in order to be sacrificed. Pepper then asked how the traveler knew about their plight, as they had never sent a distress call.

Just then, a statue called the traveler over and explained that he was Ridley, the one who had sent the distress call. He told them that he had been trying to reach out to the demon children about the secret passageways, but the demons had been unable to hear him. The traveler told Pepper about the secret passageways, but she explained that the paths were blocked by soldiers and monsters. Just then, Grendel telepathically contacted the traveler and asked what they had found out.

After hearing about the situation, Grendel asked them to help the demons and learn as much as they could about who had imprisoned them. The traveler then cleared out all the passageways, allowing the demon children to escape. The traveler then attempted to leave Crimsonheart Castle, but found the exit blocked by Master Red Nirg. Though the traveler defeated him, they found that the barrier around the exit would not lift. After they let Grendel know what had happened, Grendel told them that they would be unable to investigate any further for the time being, though he believed that the barrier could not hold for long.

(A/N: Master Red Nirg is based on Red Nirg, one of the four Twisted Masters in the original Masteria storyline. The Twisted Masters were powerful Versalian commanders who served Naricain, and you also got to fight them in the now-removed Crimsonwood Keep PQ. The original Masteria lore is one of the best stories in the game, which I have up on the GMS-verse section of this website. GMS-verse is a name that I made up in order to refer to the shared universe for all the overseas content in GMS (which is non-canon to the main story): Masteria, Sengoku, Jett, Beast Tamer, MONAD, Stellar Detectives, and Mushroom Shrine Tales.

I have the old Masteria lore written up as a prologue to the rest of GMS-verse in case anyone is interested in reading about it. In my opinion, the old Masteria lore is infinitely better than the new one in every single way and Masteria Through Time is the single greatest mistake ever made in the history of storytelling.

Going back to the main topic, the Demon gets some exclusive dialogue at the end of the Crimsonheart Castle storyline. He tells Mastema that this was his first visit to Tynerum, and that he had been told that it was a majesty to behold. Mastema replies that she had heard the same, though she adds that it looks like a dump.

The Demon explains that his family had migrated to Maple World before he could remember, and that it hadn’t been easy growing up as a demon amongst “human weaklings”. He tells Mastema that his family hadn’t fared as well as him, but his Demon Fury had protected them for a time. He explains that he had been taught that Tynerum had been allowed to fail because no one ruler had been able to lead their people against the evil that threatened it.

He adds that it was the very reason why he had joined the Black Mage in the first place, so that he would never see that happen to his home. He then vows that he won’t allow others to suffer his loss, and that he will never follow another monster into battle. He tells Mastema that it’s better that he pick up the sword beside him to protect what he has than fight for a grand ideal that he could never see. In his mind, he notes that Damien would agree.

The Damien webcomic created a continuity error with this dialogue, as it retconned the Demon and Damien’s birthplace as Tynerum. It explained that the Demon took his mother and Damien to Leafre shortly after his demon powers awakened, as his mother was human and Damien had been born without demon powers, making them easy targets for the powerful pure-blood demons.

The Crimsonheart Castle storyline was continued overseas as the original Gollux prequest, in which Pepper and the other demon children contact you from Shadow Veil Forest and ask you to help them defeat Gollux, who was corrupted by Hilla. This backstory has been removed everywhere except JMS, which still has the weaker version of Gollux and the old prequests. The huge number of prequests were cut down everywhere else, with GMS even getting a small new backstory to Gollux that ties directly with the Masteria lore and Afinas, the mysterious society of knights and scholars who were dispatched to the Abrup Basin during the events of MONAD.)

Guardians of the Nova:

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 Nova relics. 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, Kyle sensed that something was wrong at the East Sanctum while training. There, the three encountered strange priests whom they had never seen before approaching the relic. 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 relic and weaken the Protective Shield. Before the priests could take the relic, Tear charged ahead and grabbed it first, immediately falling unconscious upon touching it. As the priests advanced on Tear, Kyle suddenly felt a fiery power within himself and awakened as Kaiser. He launched a devastating attack upon the priests in his Kaiser form before falling unconscious himself. As the remaining priests approached Kyle in order to finish him off, an unconscious Tear tapped into the power of the relic, inadvertently allowing her to defeat them. By then, Velderoth had brought 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 the knight, Cartalion, and the High Priestess, Fenelle, who told her that she had been cursed by the relic. Upon learning that it was stuck to her arm, Tear realized that the Protective Shield had been permanently weakened because of her actions. Upset by the news, she ran off as a priest named Kylan went after her. He attempted to console her by noting how auspicious it was that the relic, which had never reacted to any other priest, clung so tightly to her. (A/N: It’s because none of the priests were below the age of fourteen. You’ll see later why I say this.) However, Tear merely cried that she had never asked for it to happen and ran 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 relic. 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, of which Gerand Darmoor had been one of its strongest opponents, firmly believing in peace. Fenelle believed that Darmoor’s powerful will had helped him awaken as the Transcendent of Life, but his awakening had left him mentally troubled, as he believed that peace was impossible in life as it was, and so he had vowed to wipe out all life and recreate it as he saw fit.

(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.)

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.

After telling Kaiser that she wanted some time alone, Tear decided to return to the East Sanctum in order to see whether returning the relic to its original location would release it from her arm. On her way there, a voice called from inside the relic and introduced itself as Eskalade, who offered to grant his powers to Tear through a contract. At the East Sanctum, he told her to look for a ring near the pedestal where the relic used to be.

After she put it on, she underwent a transformation that turned her into a pretty pink superhero with an unnecessarily short skirt, and Eskalade explained that her magical transformation was necessary for her powers to reach maximum effect. Though she was upset at Eskalade’s perverted behavior, she begrudgingly accepted the arrangement, as it would grant her the power that she had always desired. Just then, Nefarious Priests arrived and saw that the relic was attached to Tear’s arm. Though they attempted to take it, Tear was easily able to defeat them with her new powers. Eskalade then introduced himself as Eskalade Lorang, a great Nova warrior. Eskalade also told her that he would soon need Essence Stones to keep fueling his power. Reminding her to keep her identity secret, he told Tear that her hero name would be Angelic Buster.

(A/N: Ancient Nova like Eskalade were pure dragons and eventually evolved into human-dragon hybrids. However, given the fact that the Black Nova from the era of the Ancient Gods were also hybrids, I have to wonder when exactly that evolution took place, as the window of time during which it could have occurred is significantly smaller, since the Ancient Gods existed close to the beginning of the universe itself.)

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 girls liked flowers. He collected some from the Alert Grobblers and returned to the Heliseum Hideout, where he gave them to Tear. Tear thanked him, but mentioned that she would have liked sparkling rocks instead.

After Tear left, Velderoth arrived and suggested that they have a hunting match. They 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, Tear decided to see Cartalion in order to find something heroic to do. Cartalion was enamored by Angelic Buster’s lovely appearance and asked her to defeat the weak Sleepy Grobblers around Pantheon, telling her that he didn’t want her to get hurt. (A/N: I really hate how all the adults in Angelic Buster’s storyline keep sexualizing her when they can clearly see that she’s a child.) Tear easily defeated the Grobblers and told Cartalion that she wanted a challenge. Cartalion was impressed by her skills and promised to let her know once he had more work for her.

After she left, Tear realized that with her new powers, she could now gather sparkling rocks by herself. On her way into the forest, she ran into Velderoth, who was stunned by her beauty. She asked if there was anything that she could help him with, to which he stammered that she could take care of the Limestone Tokkas. While hunting them, Tear was pleased to find a sparkling rock, which she kept for herself.

After completing Velderoth’s mission, she ran into Selene, who asked her to bring food to Kylan, who had been skipping meals because of his work. Selene then told Tear that her cooking supplies had been disappearing and asked her to collect some Alert Grobbler Stalks in order to restock the missing ingredients. While hunting them, Eskalade told her to find Alert Grobbler Dewdrop Goo, which would make her voice more angelic. Though Tear hated how sticky it felt down her throat, the goo successfully made her voice more melodic. (A/N: The fact that not only did someone make this innuendo and think that it was a good idea, but also that someone else approved this out of their own free will, makes me want to set Nexon Korea headquarters on fire.)

After bringing the stalks to Selene, she asked Tear to tell Cartalion that her ingredients were disappearing. Cartalion promised that he would look into it and told her that Kylan needed help in the Great Temple. Kylan asked her to collect Laloong Horns for his research, after which she helped Fenelle gather Glow Glow Stones as catalysts for her spells.

After bringing her the stones, Fenelle asked whether she was under the protection of an ancient Nova, as she had felt an ancient presence ever since meeting her. As Tear stammered nervously, Fenelle smiled and apologized if it was meant to be a secret. She told Tear that she believed that an ancient Nova spirit dwelled within the relic that she carried, but only the chosen could access its power. She speculated that Tear was favored by the Nova spirit and added that she had always known that Tear was special.

(A/N: This basically confirms that Fenelle knows about Angelic Buster’s true identity. It’s weird that Cartalion and Kylan don’t suspect anything when they can clearly see the relic on her arm, but they’re probably too busy fawning over her underage appearance to notice.)

After she sent Tear to see Cartalion, Eskalade told her that he was upset that Fenelle had learned about her identity, but Tear assured him that Fenelle was like a grandmother to her, and so she wouldn’t misuse the knowledge. She then met with Cartalion, who explained that the Grumpy Grobbler population had exploded, causing large amounts of pollen to cluster in their storehouses.

As Tear left to take care of them, 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 cute 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. He soon encountered Nefarious Priests who were planning on eliminating 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, but Cartalion told him that he needed proof of the priests’ treachery before he could safely turn on them and asked Kaiser to check on the other sanctums.

As Kaiser headed to warn Anor in the North Sanctum, Tear began returning from her mission when Eskalade sensed Nefarious Priests nearby. After Tear defeated them, she discovered that the priests had stolen Selene’s missing ingredients. She immediately reported the incident to Cartalion, who told her that Kaiser had also reported strange behavior from the priests and explained that he didn’t have enough evidence to turn against them yet. However, he reassured her that he would have his scouts investigate and added that as the East Sanctum had recently been attacked, she ought to investigate the North Sanctum, where he had recently dispatched Kaiser.

At the North Sanctum, Kaiser warned Anor that the priests might attack the sanctum. Anor thanked him for the information and asked him to bring back Grumpy Grobbler Stalks, since he had already come all the way. After Kaiser left to gather them, Tear arrived at the North Sanctum and spoke to Anor, who began to shamelessly flirt with her and asked her to collect Kaloong Wings for him as a favor.

Soon after she left, Kaiser brought back the Grumpy Grobbler Stalks. Anor thanked him and explained that Angelic Buster had dropped by, and that she had also warned him of a possible attack. Kaiser began to grow frustrated that Angelic Buster kept interfering with his duties, but Anor told him to relax and explained that he had asked for her help, adding that he hoped that she would stick around. With that, Anor told him to check on the South Sanctum.

After Kaiser left, Tear returned with the Kaloong Wings. Anor thanked her and explained that between her and Kaiser, all of his errands had been completed. He then told her that Kaiser had gone to the South Sanctum and suggested that she follow him. At the South Sanctum, Kaiser warned Christina to be on guard for a possible attack. Christina immediately began to flirt with Kaiser and told him that she needed a brave hero to defend her. (A/N: Between Anor thirsting for Tear and Christina thirsting for Kyle, it’s a miracle that Chris Hansen hasn’t set up base here.) She then asked him to defeat 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.

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 relic. After he defeated them all, Christina thanked him and sent him back to Pantheon in order to let Cartalion know. Just then, Tear arrived and found another wave of priests arriving at the South Sanctum. After defeating them, she learned from Christina that Kaiser had fought the first wave, and that he had gone to warn Cartalion.

Tear immediately headed to the West Sanctum, as she knew that Ismail, who was guarding the relic, was as helpless as she was without Eskalade’s powers. (A/N: Interestingly, we’re never introduced to Ismail in the game. I have a crack theory that he’s gonna be the Nova magician class and I’m putting it down on paper here so that I can feel superior to everyone if it turns out that I’m somehow right.) In Pantheon, Cartalion told Kaiser that he needed to reinforce Ismail because of how weak he was, just as Tear had realized.

At the West Sanctum, both Kaiser and Tear arrived to find that not only was it completely deserted, but the relic was also missing. Kaiser used his ability to sense auras in order to track down the Nefarious Priests, but after defeating them, the priests told him that they didn’t know anything about the relic. As Kaiser headed back to Pantheon, Eskalade sensed that the Nefarious Priests’ base was in the East Pantheon Forest and told Tear to head over there. Meanwhile, Kaiser returned to Cartalion, who sent a medical team to the West Sanctum. He told Kaiser that they had a crisis on their hands and asked him to let Fenelle know that two of the four relics were missing.

Fenelle told Kaiser that she would discuss the matter with the priests. After speaking with them, she told Kaiser that they had determined that it would be impossible to maintain the Protective Shield with only half the relics, 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 relic, it would take time for it to recharge the Protective Shield, and as such, she told him that reclaiming the relic as soon as possible was paramount.

Kaiser returned to Cartalion, who told him that his scouts had found the location of the Nefarious Priests’ base. Kaiser rushed over and arrived at the same time as Tear. Together, they fought through the defenses and encountered the priests’ leader speaking to a hologram of Magnus. Their leader reported that two of the relics had been lost, with one of them being in their possession. Magnus was pleased and told him that he would prepare for his assault on Pantheon. After the call ended, Kaiser and Tear attacked the priests’ leader and defeated him before reclaiming the relic. On their way back, Tear also recovered the stores of Selene’s missing ingredients, which had been stolen by the priests. They successfully returned to Cartalion and gave him the relic, as well as the news of Magnus’ imminent assault.

(A/N: That portion of the storyline in the last paragraph is identical in both Kaiser and Angelic Buster’s storylines, but for some reason, it’s never mentioned that they encounter each other while completing the quests, making it seem as though only one person arrived at the base and did all the work. Since I can’t really pick one person and say that they canonically did it, I’m gonna assume that they both worked together to finish these quests, even though there’s no interaction between them.)

As Cartalion mobilized the knights to prepare for Magnus’ attack, he asked Kaiser to check the eastern border to scout for enemy activity, as it was the closest point to Heliseum. There, Kaiser encountered and defeated a wave of invading Specters. He reported the news 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. Cartalion soon learned that the Specters were attacking the northern border.

He contacted Tear and asked her to hold the northern border until Kaiser and the knights arrived. While Tear fought the Specters, Kaiser and the other knights returned from the eastern border and were quickly redirected to reinforce Tear in the north by Cartalion, who asked them to hold the line until the Protective Shield was fully recharged. With the enemy numbers on the eastern border thinning, Cartalion asked Tear to sweep up all the remaining Specters there. After a fierce struggle, Kaiser and Tear 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. However, Eskalade was dubious and suspected that the enemy assault was a feint to draw their attention away from Magnus’ true plan. He told Tear to check the western border, where she found that the Specters were preparing a summoning ritual.

Tear immediately let Cartalion know what was happening, but just as Cartalion told her that he would come up with a plan, news reached him that a massive invasion army had appeared at both the northern and southern borders. Cartalion summoned Kaiser and told him that if the summoning ritual were to continue, Magnus’ entire army would be teleported straight into Pantheon. While he sent Kaiser to stop the ritual, he asked Tear to fight off the Specters at the northern border.

After Kaiser successfully stopped the ritual, Cartalion thanked him profusely and asked him to check with Fenelle on the status of the Protective Shield. With the northern forces thinning, he also redirected Tear to defend the south until the Protective Shield came back up. As she rushed to the southern border, Fenelle asked Kaiser to buy them time to power up the shield by reinforcing Tear and the other knights in the south. Kaiser and Tear both fought to their limit, but even they were ultimately overwhelmed by the Specters. Just as they 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, who supported his idea, despite knowing the risks that it posed. After the plan was approved, 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.)

Cartalion told Kaiser that Captain Piston would take the Amplifier and drop it near the Specters’ 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 then summoned Tear and asked her to help them lay the trap at the southern border. As Magnus’ entire army was summoned to Pantheon, Tear lured them in through the southern border, where nearly all the Specters were vaporized upon the Protective Shield’s reactivation.

Having decimated Magnus’ forces, Cartalion excitedly told Kaiser and Tear that they finally had an opportunity to retake Heliseum. He then asked the pair to defeat the stronger Specters still inside the city, whose strength allowed them to resist the Protective Shield’s magic. After Kaiser and Tear cleaned up the remaining Specters, they were shocked to find Magnus inside the Protective Shield’s radius. Magnus praised Kaiser for his cunning plan, just as Velderoth arrived. Kaiser told Magnus that he had no power inside the Protective Shield and claimed that it was over. However, Magnus simply laughed and told Kaiser that he was nothing compared to his predecessor.

As the three moved to attack, Magnus easily managed to defeat them, even while weakened by the Protective Shield’s magic. Just then, 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. After Cartalion took the three back to Pantheon, he told them how terrifying it was to witness Magnus’ immense power and noted that Magnus was in possession of a corrupted Kaiserium.

Kaiser was just as shaken and wondered how they could ever hope to take back Heliseum after witnessing Magnus’ power. He then returned to the Heliseum Hideout in order to check on Velderoth, who had been wounded by Magnus. There, he encountered Tear consoling Velderoth, who was shaking with fear. 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. Kaiser then asked if she was alright, as she had several bruises on her, but Tear lied and explained that she had merely tripped. 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.

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. The Council had ordered Kaiser and Angelic Buster to travel through the Interdimensional Portal in the Great Temple in order to find allies in the unknown world, though he added that they would first need to break the seal on the portal. Kaiser went to see Fenelle, who told him that though he had been ordered to break the seal, he shouldn’t let the war-hungry Council push him into hasty action.

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. Fearing that Darmoor or some other threat could use the portals to invade, the Nova had chosen to seal the portal for their own safety.

Kaiser then asked her to tell him about Darmoor and Chronica, and so Fenelle explained that Darmoor was the prince of the High Flora, and that he had been a strong opponent of the Flora Civil War, believing that the carnage had cheapened life. When the High Flora had destroyed themselves, he had survived the disaster and had awakened as the Transcendent of Life. Having gone mad with grief, he sought to destroy all living things and remake life as he saw fit.

(A/N: As I mentioned before, either this may have been retconned or the Nova have bad intel, since Darmoor was the one who had started the war in the first place. Additionally, it was the Verdant Flora who had been wiped out, not the High Flora, although the High Flora certainly sustained heavy casualties.)

Fenelle also explained that Chronica was the Transcendent of Time, though little was known about them. Darmoor had confronted Chronica at their sanctuary and had insisted that they help Darmoor wipe out all life. However, when Chronica had refused, Darmoor had sealed them away and stolen their powers. (A/N: 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 worlds. (A/N: The Overseers are called the Paragons in this conversation, which might be a translation error.) She explained that not all Transcendents were the same, as some were created immortal, whereas others were mortal and reincarnated. After having answered Kaiser’s questions, Fenelle sent him to Kylan in order to help him open the Interdimensional Portal.

Kylan told Kaiser that he had heard rumors that Angelic Buster was joining them, and that he was worried for her safety. Kaiser then collected Onyx Stonegar Magic Pebbles in order to break the seal, as well as Gravi Stonegar Magic Pebbles to reactivate the Interdimensional Portal. While he worked on collecting the necessary materials, Beldar contacted Angelic Buster and told her that she had been tasked with accompanying Kaiser to the new world. When Tear asked him about the Interdimensional Portal, Beldar explained how the portal had been created when Darmoor had stolen Chronica’s power.

(A/N: Chronica is referred to with only female pronouns here. It’s highly likely at this point that Chronica is female, but I’d like it if they were male, just because we only have two male Transcendents so far and both of them are the villains.)

As Tear was confused about the concept of the Transcendents, Beldar told her about the three Transcendents of Grandis, and that Chronica and Aeona were all but gone from their world. Tear then asked how Grandis hadn’t yet been destroyed if Darmoor held such formidable power. Beldar agreed and explained that it also puzzled the Nova scholars, though he suspected that a Transcendent stealing another’s powers would inflict weakness upon them, conjecturing that it was a safeguard created by the Overseers. Tear was once again confused by the strange terms, and so an annoyed Beldar explained how the Primordial God had created the three Overseers of Light, Life, and Time in order to watch over the Transcendents of the three worlds.

Having answered all of Tear’s questions, he told her to remain on standby while Kaiser reactivated the Interdimensional Portal. While waiting, Eskalade told her that he had found the last remnants of the Nefarious Priests in the Orange Forest. Tear then infiltrated their base and learned that not only had Magnus abandoned the priests, but he was also refusing to ask Darmoor for reinforcements. Tear then recovered more of Selene’s ingredients and returned them to her before reporting what she had learned to Cartalion.

Meanwhile, Kaiser finished gathering the materials, which Kylan then used to reactivate the Interdimensional Portal. While Kaiser was being summoned by Cartalion, Tear decided to go on ahead and entered the portal on her own. Cartalion then 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.

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.)

Hero of Justice:

At the Shadowdealer headquarters in Savage Terminal, Cadena woke up screaming from a nightmare about Magnus’ attack on Heliseum and decided to go outside for some air. There, she found a group of Hoodlums loitering around and decided to entertain herself by stealing their money. The angry Hoodlums immediately picked a fight with Cadena, who easily defeated them and returned back to the hideout for an important meeting. Gen, the branch leader of Savage Terminal, reprimanded her for fighting without profit, which was one of the Shadowdealer rules. He made her review the rulebook, after which he quizzed her on the rules and maxims. Satisfied with her performance, he gave her medicine in order to treat her wounds from the fight.

As Cadena drank the medicine, the bitter taste reminded her of the day that she had awoken from her coma, many decades after Magnus had attacked Heliseum. That day, Gen had told her that the royal family had been killed, leaving her as the sole survivor. He had also told her that he had only saved her because he had owed a debt to the Nova General. With her awakening, his obligation had been fulfilled, and so he had told her that she would need to learn to fend for herself. Vowing never to be weak again, the princess had chosen to reinvent herself by taking on the new name of Cadena and wielding chains as her new weapon. (A/N: Fun fact: Cadena is the Spanish word for chain.)

Because her horns, wings, and tail had gotten in the way of her chains, she had decided to cut them off, letting the pain serve as a reminder that she would never be helpless again, after which she had decided to climb to the top of the Shadowdealers’ chain of command. (A/N: Cadena’s awakening from her coma is implied to have been fairly recent, possibly even a couple of months ago, as she’s not even 1st job yet and only just starts undertaking missions in the present day.)

After taking her medicine, she reported back to Gen, who taught her several new moves that would aid her on her first few missions. He then told her to go see the Papyrus Brothers, who would assign her first mission. The Papyrus Brothers acknowledged that Cadena was already one of the strongest people in the branch, but pointed out that she lacked real-world experience. Because of this, they told her that her first mission was to repair the hideout and ordered her to bring Cast Iron Plates from the nearby Hedgehogs.

After replacing the old plates, the Papyrus Brothers told her that the toxic air in Savage Terminal had likely caused the original iron to corrode. Believing that the Mutant Hedgehogs were releasing the toxic gas, they asked Cadena to defeat the monsters and bring back their nails. With the nails, the Papyrus Brothers were able to finish repairing the base, but as they were still concerned about the rising number of Mutant Hedgehogs, they asked her to thin their numbers, as well as to bring back their fur for analysis. Cadena brought the fur to Coney, a new member who was intellectual enough to serve as the Shadowdealers’ subject matter expert.

For her next mission, Cadena was tasked with collecting ingredients for dinner. Cadena first collected Nutria hind legs and then decided to take a break. While buying a snack at the Black Market, she was pickpocketed by an orphan named Anzu. Cadena chased him down and took back her money. As reparation, she decided that he would be her servant and forced him to collect the rest of the ingredients that she needed for dinner. The Papyrus Brothers congratulated her for completing all her missions and began preparing dinner. As they needed to finish their own missions, the brothers told her that Gen would soon contact her with her next orders.

Soon after, Gen radioed her and explained that he had gone off-world for a meeting at the Shadowdealer Headquarters. In the meantime, he asked her to collect overdue debts from some of their patrons. In his ledger, Cadena found that Gusto from the Black Market, Corbo at the Mountain of Trash, and Antuin from the Pawn Shop at Brigand’s Row still had unpaid debts. She also noticed that Antuin’s name had been emphasized in the ledger.

She first went to meet Gusto, who told her that someone from the Shadowdealers had already come to see him, though he paid her nevertheless, as he knew that Gen’s records were always reliable. Next, she met with Corbo, who told her that there were rumors circulating of people impersonating Shadowdealers in order to steal payments and asked her to warn Gen. Finally, she went to see Antuin, who told her that he had no money to pay her. Frustrated, Cadena told him to give whatever money he had stored in his vault. Antuin explained that there was something valuable in the vault which he could use to pay off his debt, but added that he didn’t know the passcode to open it.

Cadena wondered whether Antuin’s excuses were the reason why Gen had emphasized his name in the ledger and radioed Coney to come over and open the vault. Though he was nervous to be in Cadena’s formidable presence, Coney stammered that the Shadowdealer Code prevented him from helping Cadena for free and offered to help her in exchange for her helping him with his own mission. Cadena agreed and brought back Still Fluid from the Ooze Wastes, which Coney needed for an experiment that he was conducting on the Papyrus Brothers’ orders. After Cadena brought back the fluid, Coney told her that he had figured out the passcode, but that there was a strong adhesive keeping the safe shut. While he worked on melting the adhesive, he asked her to collect Unburning Flames from Flame Wastes for his experiment.

After Cadena returned, Coney told her that he had successfully removed the adhesive and asked her to pound open the door, as he was too weak to open it. Cadena broke open the vault door with ease and Coney told her that their deal had been concluded before leaving. Antuin then scraped together the money from inside the vault, which was coincidentally the exact amount as his debt to Gen. Just as she was about to leave, Anzu, the orphan who had pickpocketed her, arrived and demanded to know why the safe was open, reminding Antuin, his grandfather, of his promise not to touch the safe, which had belonged to his late father. Swearing to never forgive his grandfather, Anzu ran off, leaving Antuin to apologize for Anzu’s behavior, explaining that it was likely due to losing his parents in an accident. Unable to shake her feeling of guilt, Cadena decided to repair the safe with Soft Scrap Iron from the Scrap Iron Wastes.

Just then, the Papyrus Brothers radioed her and explained that their trading partner, Corbo, had sent a distress signal, and with Gen off-world for an important meeting, they needed to deal with it immediately. After tracing Corbo’s signal, they determined that she was at the Brawl ‘n’ Bash Club and asked Cadena to extract her. At the club, Cadena rescued Corbo, who explained that she had been kidnapped by the same people whom she had told Cadena were pretending to be Shadowdealers, and that they were demanding her to pay them taxes. Cadena confronted one of the kidnappers, who merely laughed and told her that their boss, Mr. Hazard, was the owner of the club, and that he had also replaced Gen as the Savage Terminal branch leader, meaning that all Shadowdealers, including Cadena, now worked for him. Because of this, they explained that they also outranked Cadena, and so she was to follow their orders.

Cadena scoffed that there was no way that she would listen to them if she never listened to Gen to begin with. She then began fighting off hordes of Hazard’s lackeys herself until the Papyrus Brothers arrived to back her up. After seeing the enemy’s numbers, however, the brothers determined that it would be best to retreat. Before they could escape, Mr. Hazard himself arrived and released a toxic gas which immobilized the group. He reminded them that infighting between Shadowdealers was against the rules and explained that he and Gen had come to an understanding. He decided to overlook their infraction and told them that he would see them again, disappearing soon after.

The Papyrus Brothers recognized Hazard as the second-in-command to the leader of all the Shadowdealers, explaining that it was said that Hazard sowed chaos in his wake, and that the planets he visited all fell to ruin. (A/N: A lot of the older Grandis storylines refer to the other bodies in the solar system as planets, but the Cernium storyline has retconned them all to be moons.) The Papyrus Brothers arranged for Corbo to be escorted to safety and soon received a message from Gen, who had returned from the meeting.

Back at the hideout, Gen explained that Mr. Hazard had told them that Savage Terminal was under a threat of attack, and so he had successfully petitioned the Shadowdealer High Council that he be allowed to take over the branch in order to protect its members. Though he didn’t like the arrangement any more than they did, Gen emphasized that they all needed to cooperate with Hazard and his cronies until the situation deescalated. He also told Cadena that based on how things were going, there wasn’t much for her to gain by staying, and so he gave her permission to leave if she so desired.

However, Cadena refused and reminded Gen that she still had things to learn from him first. Gen was pleased by her loyalty and gave her a special mission to investigate Mr. Hazard, suspecting that there was a spy within their branch, as there was no other way that Hazard could have taken over so easily. He told her to come to the Back Alley late that night, where a fellow Shadowdealer would fill her in on the details. With that, he taught her the new skills that she had wanted to learn from him.

That night, Cadena went to the Back Alley, where she found a disguised Coney. Coney gave her a robe to conceal her appearance and told her that their objective was to infiltrate the Brawl ‘n’ Bash Club. He explained that all the strange events were connected to the club, as Hazard had built his hideout there and had installed the emitters for the toxic gas which had immobilized them, adding that even the monsters in the area had been mutated to varying degrees based on their proximity to the club. The pair arrived at the club entrance, where they pretended that they had come for advance registration for the Coliseum Arena, for which they had brought Wriggling Tails from the Specter Stray Dogs as payment. While the pair were investigating, the security guards noticed that they were poking around and decided to pick a fight with them.

After Cadena defeated the guards, Coney realized that there was something at the other side of the club and told Cadena to covertly infiltrate the area. She managed to sneak over to the other side, where she defeated the guards patrolling the interior. Coney discovered reagents, which he believed were connected to the Mutant Hedgehogs, whose toxic gas had been corroding the metal in their hideout. While gathering the reagents, they came across a Popoh bird, which had been captured in order to be experimented on. Feeling bad for it, Cadena released it and allowed it to escape. She and Coney then grabbed as many reagents as they could before returning to the Back Alley, where Gen was waiting for them. When they explained that Mr. Hazard had been injecting the reagents into the local creatures, Gen told Coney to return to the hideout and analyze the reagents.

After Coney left, Gen told Cadena that he had looked through Hazard’s trade log and had determined that a suspicious trade would be taking place later that night. He asked her to spy on the trade in order to determine who the vendors were. Using a reagent that Gen had given her, Cadena transformed into one of Hazard’s cronies and told Hazard’s group that the order had been cancelled. Just as they were about to leave, a Lab Tech bot arrived to deliver the shipment. (A/N: This robot belongs to the Angler Company, an arms dealer group with a fearsome reputation on Grandis.)

The cronies quickly realized that Cadena was lying and moved to attack. She transformed back into herself and defeated the cronies, forcing them to retreat and allowing her to take the shipment from the bot, which had been broken in the fight. She discovered that the shipment was a document called Report X-9, but as the rest of it was written in strange letters, she decided to bring it to Gen.

At the Back Alley, Gen was unhappy that she had resorted to force, as it would mean that Mr. Hazard would soon learn about the altercation. Nevertheless, he took the report from her and called Coney to decipher the code that it was written in. Coney realized that it was double-coded and managed to break through the first layer of encryption. However, he was concerned about the second layer, which had a particular phrase constantly repeating.

After some time, he decrypted the phrase and learned that it referred to the reagent which he and Cadena had found at the club. He told Cadena that they needed to both decipher the code and figure out the mystery of the reagent at once, and so he asked her to help with the reagent while he continued decrypting. He then instructed her to bring Mutant Nutria blood samples, believing that it was the key to figuring out the reagent.

Using the samples that Cadena brought him, Coney was able to complete his investigation. He explained that Report X-9 was a blueprint for a bioweapon called the Heliogene Device. Based on the schematics, it appeared to be a bomb made from a type of bioenergy, and Coney realized that it was likely what the animal experiments had been for. Gen concluded that Hazard’s scheme was to sell dangerous weapons to the warmongers of the galaxy.

(A/N: This weapon was created to sell to the High Flora. One of the main plot points in the Grandis story is that the High Flora seem to be collecting large quantities of bioenergy from the moons of Grandis, such as how they drained the bioenergy out of Verdel in Ark’s storyline, or how Senya Angler attempted to destroy Savage Terminal in order to obtain the pure concentration of bioenergy that its destruction would leave behind.)

Coney told them that the good news was that they knew why Hazard had picked Savage Terminal, as according to Report X-9, the weapon parts needed were scattered all over Savage Terminal, with the report showing exactly where they could find each part, meaning that they had a chance to prevent the Heliogene Device from being built if they could get the parts first.

Cadena asked why they had to stop it in the first place, as she assumed that Hazard would leave after he finished building it, and so Coney explained that creating the Heliogene Device would destroy Savage Terminal., as when the device was detonated, it would release a powerful, poisonous gas, similar to the poison gas released by the reagent lifeforms, but on a much stronger level. Gen realized that Mr. Hazard had been planning to destroy them all along, and that the competing Shadowdealer crew was just a ruse to cover the bigger operation. They decided to gather their team and invade Mr. Hazard’s hideout with full force while Cadena gathered the remaining weapon parts to use as proof of Hazard’s atrocities.

Coney told her that the weapon parts were located at the Shaded Dump Site, Stray Dog Alley, and the Pawnshop. Cadena obtained the first two easily and headed towards Brigand’s Row. At the Pawnshop, neither Antuin nor Anzu were there, and unlike the first two sites, she was unable to find the part easily. She began searching around the safe, where she found some sort of blueprint and a family photo.

(A/N: We never learn what’s so important in the safe, but I’m guessing that it’s probably the blueprint, which is never mentioned again. I have this theory that Anzu’s parents used to work for the Angler Company, as the blueprint might’ve been for a weapon that they were developing for the Company. Anzu’s parents were said to have died in an accident and the Angler Company’s headquarters were also said to have been destroyed in a large explosion, which forced the Company to operate in the shadows. In just a moment, it’ll be revealed that the last part of the weapon is a living person, for which Antuin and Anzu were kidnapped. Since Hazard is a major client of the Company, it might be that he knew about Anzu’s parents, which is why he kidnapped Antuin and Anzu specifically.)

In the garbage bin, she found a pile of half-written notes from Anzu, thanking Cadena for fixing the safe. On the floor, she found crack marks, indicating that there had been a fight. Still unable to find the part after searching, she decided to radio Coney. Before she could, however, Coney radioed her first and explained that he had discovered that the last piece of the weapon was actually a living person. He told her that the crew was preparing to invade Mr. Hazard’s hideout and asked if Antuin and Anzu were at the Pawnshop, as he was worried about the report mentioning their shop specifically. Cadena had a bad feeling and decided to return to the hideout, which she found empty.

Just then, the radio buzzed and she picked it up, expecting it to be Coney, but she was surprised to find that it was one of Hazard’s lackeys, who explained that they had captured Coney and the rest of the crew. He told her that the rest of her branch was going to be killed for betraying Hazard, but added that she could still survive if she brought them the weapon parts. Cadena immediately rushed to the Brawl ‘n’ Bash Club. As she prepared to fight her way through, Gen and the Papyrus Brothers arrived to back her up, having defeated their captors. Gen told her to sneak through the back in order to stop Hazard while they covered her. Just then, the Popoh bird which she had freed appeared and led her through a secret entrance to Hazard’s lair. (A/N: This bird is so adorable and yet so random. I wonder if it has some sort of backstory that’ll be revealed later.)

Cadena fought her way through the guards and rescued Coney, who was tied up at the entrance of Mr. Hazard’s lair. Coney thanked her for rescuing him and ran back to support the rest of the crew fighting Hazard’s cronies. Cadena thanked the Popoh bird and warned it to escape before the situation grew dangerous. She then entered Hazard’s lair, where she found Antuin and Anzu hooked up to the Heliogene Device. Antuin asked whether she had come to rescue them, but Cadena replied that her only objective was to take down Mr. Hazard.

Antuin begged her to at least save his grandson before Hazard’s cronies returned. He told Cadena that the machine drained one’s life force, but Anzu was just a boy who had many more years of living yet to do. Just then, Mr. Hazard arrived and demanded that Cadena hand over the rest of the parts. When Cadena refused, Hazard put on a gas mask and told her that he would simply take them by force. He then turned up the Life Force Conductor to drain Antuin and Anzu’s lifeforce faster and laughed that once the battery was fully charged, the weapon would be ready and he would be rich. He then suddenly grew much larger and began to fight Cadena.

(A/N: If you look closely during this fight, you’ll notice that he has Specter markings on his arms. Though it’s not explicitly confirmed, it’s highly likely that Mr. Hazard is a partial Specter, similar to Ark and Limbo, which explains why he was able to grow larger.)

After a vicious battle, Cadena was able to defeat him. She demanded that he leave Savage Terminal immediately, but Hazard merely scoffed at her thinking that he had been defeated. He then activated the toxic gas emitters to paralyze her, and as she fell, her emblem of the Nova royal family fell out of her pocket. Mr. Hazard was amused to learn that Cadena was a member of the Nova royal family and told her that the High Flora would love to hear the news that there was still a survivor.

He attempted to blackmail her by promising to keep the news to himself if she were to give him the weapon parts, but to his surprise, Cadena merely laughed and got up, explaining that he didn’t understand what he had just done. Rather than finding something to hold over her, he had ensured that she would go to any lengths to stop him from telling anyone her secret. She then damaged the Heliogene Device, causing a large explosion that freed Antuin and Anzu. Together, they escaped, with Cadena leaving Mr. Hazard for the Shadowdealer High Council to deal with.

In the aftermath of the battle, Hazard’s treachery was laid bare to the Council. Though no one knew what happened to him afterwards, his reign of terror over Savage Terminal was finally over. After the incident, some fled the moon in fear. However, Cadena knew that others would replace them in time. In Hazard’s absence, Gen had found himself at the top of a large and lucrative trade empire, although most of the money had gone into repairing the hideout and paying for his crew’s medical bills.

Meanwhile, the people of Savage Terminal had given Cadena the title “Hero of Justice“, much to her annoyance. Some time later, Cadena went to the Pawnshop on a mission to deliver a package to Antuin and Anzu. Anzu thanked her for rescuing him and asked her to teach him how to use chains once he had recovered, to which Cadena reminded him that he owed her for saving him, plus interest. Cadena then gave Antuin the package that she had been sent to deliver and returned back to the hideout.

There, Gen gave her the details of her next mission. He explained that Mr. Hazard had been dealing with many partners that the Shadowdealers didn’t approve of. The High Flora, in particular, were rumored to be some of his best customers, to whom he had given Vision Bomb tech. (A/N: I’m not sure what exactly Vision Bomb technology is. It’s also referenced in the Heliseum Reclamation storyline. I’m hoping that we might learn about it in the future.) He told Cadena that she was to break into Hazard’s old office and get his papers to confirm the rumors of his clients. He then introduced a special new recruit with whom Cadena would be completing the mission, which turned out to be the Popoh bird.

After clearing out the remaining guards, she entered Hazard’s office and found a blank piece of purple paper hidden away. Upon examining it, she realized that the purple color was saturated over the words, making it difficult to remove. She radioed Coney, who suspected that the color had come from the poison gas and suggested using the Poison Remover that Hazard’s cronies were carrying. Using the remover, Cadena discovered that the page revealed the identities of Hazard’s secret trading partners, along with a log of when and where he had met them.

She returned to Gen, who was pleased by her success and told her that the Shadowdealer High Council was impressed by her actions, meaning that she ought to expect bigger and more dangerous missions in the future. He also told her that she would be taking over managing one of Mr. Hazard’s contacts and referred her to the Papyrus Brothers for more information. The Papyrus Brothers assigned her a trade in East Pantheon and gave her the shipment to deliver, instructing her to pick up the payment that she would find there.

On the day of the trade, she made her way to the trade site and found a large pouch of payment. Just as she placed the shipment on the ground, she began feeling as though she was being watched. Suddenly, the ground began to quake and dozens of Specters appeared. Cadena fought off droves of them, but there seemed to be no end. Just then, Magnus appeared and asked her why she was attacking his minions when he had come to trade. Cadena immediately recognized him as the man from her nightmares, the same one who had destroyed her life decades ago. She immediately charged at him, but Magnus easily defeated her, knocking her unconscious.

Cadena woke up at the hideout, where she found Gen tending to her wounds. He explained that he had followed her after hearing about her trade at Pantheon. He berated her for acting foolishly and told her that it was only through luck that he had been able to get her out safely. However, he suspected that Magnus may have figured out her true identity and advised her to leave Grandis for some time, as it would be safer for her not to be around any potential spies in the hideout.

(A/N: They never resolved this plot point after making such a big deal about there being a spy in their ranks. It might be the topic of a future story point. I can’t tell if Cadena’s story was meant to have so many open plot threads or if her story was just poorly developed and the writers forgot to wrap it up.)

He also added that she had outgrown the Shadowdealers, and that training on her own was the best way for her to grow stronger, especially in a new world where she had no reason to hold back or fear getting noticed. Cadena was surprised by Gen’s words and told him that she needed time to think about it. After some reflection, she realized that Gen was right, as being defeated by Magnus so easily, even after she had made so much progress, had made her realize that she still had a long way to go.

She then felt a throbbing ache on her shoulder and wondered briefly whether Magnus had done it, though she quickly remembered that it was an old pain from her cutting her wings, horns, and tail off. The pain helped her remember the oath that she had made to herself to get stronger, with her self-inflicted injuries serving as a permanent reminder of her commitment.

After telling Gen that she would follow his advice, he directed her to the Great Temple at Pantheon, where she was to go through the Interdimensional Portal. He told her that the Heliseum branch of the Shadowdealers would be in touch soon in order to help her out. Soon after, a Shadowdealer named Romero radioed her and explained that he had made all the necessary arrangements for her passage to the Great Temple.

She traveled to Pantheon and entered the Great Temple, where she met Fenelle. Fenelle felt as though Cadena seemed familiar and asked if they had met before. Cadena remembered that the priests would sometimes visit the castle and wondered if Fenelle recognized her from then. However, Fenelle then said that she must have confused Cadena for someone else. She told Cadena that the Shadowdealers had vouched for her strength, but that she wished to test Cadena’s strength, since they didn’t know what dangers awaited them in the new world.

She then asked Cadena to see Beldar and Cartalion, who would each conduct a test of strength. (A/N: Every other Grandis class who wants to use the Interdimensional Portal is only required to have Fenelle gaze into their soul in order to determine their moral alignment and intentions.) After passing Beldar’s test to collect Onyx Stonegar Magic Stones and Cartalion’s test to defeat Gravi Stonegars, Cadena received permission to use the Interdimensional Portal.

Before Fenelle could show her how to use the portal, Cadena felt a sudden rush of homesickness and ran back to Savage Terminal to say goodbye to Gen. Though he made fun of Cadena for her sentimentality, Gen told her to take care while in the new world and explained that he would tell the other Shadowdealers that he had sent her on a special mission in order to cover up her absence. (A/N: It’s a bit sad that she didn’t say goodbye to Coney or Anzu, but I guess Gen is more like a father to her than anyone else.)

With that, she returned to the Great Temple, where Fenelle instructed her on how to use the portal. She also mentioned that Cadena could use the Interdimensional Portal in the Six Path Crossway to return. With that, Cadena began her journey in Maple World. During her travels, she honed much more of her power and eventually returned to Gen, who taught her the last of everything that he knew, after which he warned her that she would soon need to create new skills for herself if she wanted to become truly strong.

The Xenoroid:

Decades ago, a young boy from Edelstein had been kidnapped by Gelimer on his way home from playing with his friends, Claudine, Elex, Brighton, and Belle. Gelimer soon transformed him into a Xenoroid, an augmented type of android, and gave him the name Xenon. (A/N: Small grievance, Xenon is technically a cyborg, not an android. Androids are robots that look and behave like humans, whereas cyborgs are living organisms with mechanical enhancements.) Over the decades, he and another girl named Beryl were put through extreme training and examinations in order to become Gelimer’s most powerful weapons. After years of conditioning, Gelimer administered his final test for Xenon, which was to defeat a holographic replica of Von Leon.

(A/N: Gelimer later allies himself with the Commanders and eventually becomes one himself, but he always planned to betray them and rule the world by himself. Because of this, I believe that part of Xenon’s training was specifically to learn and exploit the weaknesses of the other Commanders in order to become a powerful weapon against them, especially when you consider that his template would be copied and imprinted onto Lotus and possibly many other Xenoroids later on.)

Gelimer was pleased to see that Xenon had easily been able to defeat Von Leon, but before he could celebrate his victory in creating the perfect android, an intruder was detected in the facility. Fearing that Orchid had discovered his secret base, Gelimer checked the monitor and saw that Claudine, Belle, and Brighton had infiltrated the facility.

(A/N: The Xenoroid project was the heart of Gelimer’s dream to create the ultimate being. The plan that he had proposed to Orchid was for Lotus’ spirit to be transferred into an augmented clone body, which resulted in the creation of Vita and several other experiments. While those were mainly for show, he did seem to have some genuine interest in Vita, which makes me believe that he may have at least had some vested interest in those cloning experiments. Gelimer believed Lotus’ body to be perfect, as it had been created by the powerful magic of the White Mage, and so I wonder whether his experiments in the Verne Mine doubled as both a front to appease Orchid and to determine whether he might be able to replicate Lotus’ perfect body as a clone.

In the Alliance prequest for the Resistance, we learn that Vita was a perfect replica of Lotus, but she was deemed a failure because she had no magic. Quests in the game’s early history involving Lotus strongly suggest that he was originally conceived as female, which explains why Vita was described as a perfect replica and why there were so many apparent mistranslations that used female pronouns to allude to Lotus. It’s a bit harder to account for Vita being a perfect replica now that Lotus has been canonized as male, but taking a jump into a different series, Omega from Star Wars: The Bad Batch is an unaltered template for Jango Fett, with the only difference being that a genetic mistranslation during the cloning process resulted in her being female, which might be similar to what happened with Lotus and Vita.

Either way, we can disregard Gelimer’s cloning experiments as being nothing more than personal curiosity, as his ultimate dream had always been to turn Lotus into a Xenoroid and use him as the central core for Black Heaven. Because of this, he wanted to keep the existence of his Xenoroid project secret from Orchid, which was why he worked on Xenon in a secret facility outside the Verne Mine.)

Though Gelimer was relieved that Orchid hadn’t discovered the facility, he was still irritated that the Resistance had found it. However, he decided to use the situation as an opportunity to conduct a field test for Xenon. He dropped down a cage to capture the Resistance and sent Xenon to eliminate them. However, Claudine managed to push Brighton and Belle away before the cage dropped down on her. Xenon then arrived to eliminate the Resistance, but the sight of his old friends began triggering his latent memories, causing his head to throb in pain. Just as Gelimer and Beryl arrived, Brighton and Belle retreated in order to formulate a rescue plan. Gelimer then ordered Xenon to guard Claudine while he and Beryl chased down the others.

Perplexed by the strange memories in his head, Xenon decided to visit Claudine in her prison. There, he encountered his friend, Roo-D, a rabbit-fox hybrid Xenoroid, who asked him whether he had remembered anything from his past. In order to jog his memories, she gave him Claudine’s dagger, believing that it held the key to his memories. While she kept a watch for Gelimer’s return, Xenon asked Claudine about the dagger, explaining that it almost felt familiar to him.

As Claudine wondered whether Xenon could be her old childhood friend, Roo-D returned and warned them that Gelimer was coming back. She told Xenon that the only way for him to regain his memories was to escape with Claudine before Gelimer erased the last vestiges of his memories. She explained that long ago, she had made a promise to keep him safe during a time before Gelimer had taken away his memories. In order to protect him, Roo-D had hidden her true nature from Gelimer by acting like one of his loyal underlings.

Choosing to betray Gelimer, Xenon broke Claudine out of her cell and began to escape. Just then, Beryl appeared and turned on Xenon after witnessing his betrayal. Though Xenon managed to defeat her, Gelimer arrived and activated his control circuit in order to freeze him in place. However, Xenon’s strong will to recover his memories helped him override the circuit, allowing him to resist his programming and slowly walk away.

Just as Gelimer ordered Beryl to destroy Xenon, the Resistance rescue party arrived and helped them escape. Back at the Resistance base, the leaders were in disagreement about what to do with Xenon and Roo-D. As Checky and Brighton believed them to be Black Wings agents sent to infiltrate the Resistance, Roo-D offered to remove Xenon’s control circuit as a show of good faith, although she warned them that it would weaken him to the point of near-death. Nevertheless, Xenon told Roo-D to proceed, as he didn’t want to be a danger to those around him.

Roo-D removed the control circuit, which severely weakened Xenon, but left him immune to Gelimer’s control. Claudine then welcomed him into the Resistance and suggested that he speak with the other Resistance leaders in order to gain their trust. She asked him whether he had any memories, but Xenon told her that he couldn’t remember anything about his old life. When Claudine asked if he knew anything about the Black Wings, Xenon explained that he had never heard of them. This surprised Claudine, as Gelimer’s research was funded by the organization, and Gelimer himself reported to Orchid, the leader of the Black Wings.

(A/N: This is a continuity error, as the Resistance shouldn’t have any knowledge about Orchid until right before the Alliance is formed. I’ll go into more detail later on, but it seems as though Xenon’s storyline was written to be set after the Alliance is formed. However, this can’t be possible because of Xenon’s role in the Explorer storyline set before the Alliance’s formation. The Resistance apparently discussed the idea of there being a specific founder of the Black Wings, but they ultimately decided that there was no single founder until the main character of the Resistance storyline finds proof that Orchid is both the founder of the Black Wings and a Commander.)

(A/N: This is a continuity error, as the Resistance shouldn’t have any knowledge about Orchid until right before the Alliance is formed. I’ll go into more detail later in the section, but it seems as though Xenon’s storyline was written to be set after the Alliance is formed. However, this can’t be possible because of Xenon’s role in the Explorer storyline, which is set before the Alliance’s formation. The Resistance apparently discussed the idea of there being a specific founder of the Black Wings, but they ultimately decided that there was no single founder until the main character of the Resistance storyline finds proof that Orchid is both the founder of the Black Wings and a Commander.)

Xenon apologized and told her that he had only ever seen Gelimer and the other Xenoroids as far as he could remember. Claudine told him not to be sorry, as she realized that she had likely placed too much importance on the secret facility that they had found him in, though she was certain that Orchid or the other Black Wings must have paid him a visit.

Xenon told her Roo-D would likely know more about the topic, explaining that she was Gelimer’s assistant who had helped oversee the Xenoroid combat training program. Claudine thanked him for sharing what he knew and told him to rest for a while. Xenon then spoke with Checky, who asked him to complete Headmaster Ferdi’s basic training program in order to see if it would jog his memories. Although he was still unable to remember anything, Checky nevertheless welcomed him into the Resistance.

Next, Elex asked Xenon whether he had ever been to Edelstein as a child, as he had recognized Xenon as his long-lost friend. Xenon apologized and explained that he couldn’t remember. Though Elex told him that it was hard to trust someone with no memories, he refused to accept Xenon’s apology, explaining that the Resistance needed dedicated fighters, not apologies.

In order to help jog Xenon’s memory, Elex asked him to collect Memory Chips from the Patrol Robots, hoping that being exposed to the town would trigger Xenon’s childhood memories. When he was still unable to recall anything, Elex realized that Edelstein must have changed too much for him to recognize after so long. He then told Xenon to speak with Brighton, who asked him to gain Headmaster Ferdi’s approval, explaining that he would trust Xenon if Ferdi approved of his character. After Ferdi placed his trust in Xenon, Brighton did as well.

Xenon then returned to Claudine, who officially introduced herself and explained that she was in charge of assigning missions to Resistance members. For his first mission, she told him to get to know Edelstein and its people. Belle then called him over and explained that she had never seen Claudine act so emotional, as she had been staring wistfully at her dagger all day long. She then asked him to go the empty house near the giant mansion at the center of town, explaining that the house used to belong to her friend, who had left behind a photograph that Belle wanted him to retrieve.

Xenon found the photo, which showed a young Claudine eating lunch with a child who looked just like him. He returned the photo to Belle and told her that he was feeling an unfamiliar sensation of nostalgia and longing, which confirmed Belle’s suspicions that Xenon was indeed their childhood friend. However, she was surprised at the fact that Xenon had been kidnapped by Gelimer, as the Black Wings hadn’t even been formed at the time. (A/N: Gelimer actually began the Xenoroid project by himself many years before meeting Orchid.)

Belle asked him to show the photo to Claudine, explaining that the boy in the photograph was her close friend. Claudine was filled with wistfulness and told Xenon that the dagger he had asked her about in Gelimer’s lab had belonged to her friend. She explained that she had borrowed the dagger in order to make a sheath for it, but her friend had disappeared before she had ever gotten the chance to return it. Since that day, Claudine had continued holding onto the dagger in the hope that she could one day return it back to him.

Xenon asked what she would feel if her friend came back, to which Claudine told him that she would like that very much. He asked if she would still feel the same way if her friend had become a different person, but Claudine explained that it didn’t matter to her, since everyone changed, adding that people made the best of their situation. She believed that her friend was a good person, which was all that mattered to her. Claudine then told Xenon that she knew of a place that could help him regain his memories and told him to take the path to the outskirts of town from Edelstein Park, explaining that it had once been a popular place for children to play when she was younger.

There, however, Xenon encountered Beryl, who had come to capture him. As Beryl’s inner circuitry had been damaged during their earlier fight in the lab, Xenon was able to easily defeat her, even in his own weakened state. He asked Beryl how she had been able to follow him, to which she responded that she had followed his Pulse. Though she was forced to retreat, Beryl warned him that there was nowhere he could hide from her. After she left, Roo-D rushed over to Xenon, having detected Beryl’s Pulse in the area. She explained that a Pulse was like a heartbeat that Xenoroids gave out when they were active. Xenon asked if there was a way to turn off his Pulse, but Roo-D told him that it was impossible, as his Pulse was an indicator that he was alive. However, she explained that Beryl wouldn’t be able to feel his Pulse unless they were in the same town, and so she suggested that they leave Edelstein.

Xenon told her that he needed to let the Resistance know that he was leaving, but as he couldn’t risk entering the Secret Plaza and revealing their base to Beryl, Roo-D suggested that he ask Claudine’s younger sister, Ulrika, to pass on the message. Ulrika agreed to let Claudine know, but she made Xenon promise to bring her back a souvenir when he returned. With that, Xenon and Roo-D decided to go to Henesys, as its large population would allow them to blend in.

Just as they reached the outskirts, Claudine caught up with them and explained that Ulrika had told her that he was planning to leave Edelstein. She asked if things were moving too fast for him, but Xenon only told her that it was a personal problem that necessitated him to leave. Claudine offered to help, but Xenon told her that she and the Resistance would be in danger if they stayed too close to him. Realizing that his mind was made up, Claudine decided to give Xenon her dagger as a reminder of his time with the Resistance, explaining that she was returning it to its original owner. Though he was touched by the gesture, Xenon told her to keep it, as she needed it more, promising that he would take it back once she no longer needed it after Edelstein was safe again.

Xenon and Roo-D then traveled to Henesys, and with neither of them knowing how to blend in, they decided to find an elder of the town who could share their wisdom. They met with Chief Stan, who told them to find a job in order to fit in and sent them to see his wife, Mrs. Ming Ming. Mrs. Ming Ming asked Xenon to find her missing packages of ingredients, which had accidentally been delivered to the Golem Temple. After Xenon recovered the packages, Mrs. Ming Ming used the ingredients to prepare boxed lunches and asked him to deliver them to Camila and Bruce.

After delivering the lunches, Xenon helped Bruce find his missing water bottle, which had been taken by one of the Golems. He also helped Bruce create a freezer pack and a thermal container for Mrs. Ming Ming by collecting Frozen Stones and Burning Stones. As Xenon headed back to town, Roo-D alerted him that she could feel Beryl’s Pulse nearby. Xenon quickly went to deliver Bruce’s gifts to Mrs. Ming Ming, who could see that he seemed to be sad. Xenon explained that he needed to leave town, which was causing him to feel a strange sensation. Mrs. Ming Ming told him that she hoped to see him again and gave him a boxed lunch as a parting gift.

Xenon then asked Roo-D where they ought to go in order to avoid Beryl. Roo-D suggested that they try heading to a different dimension by using the Interdimensional Portal, which had recently appeared in Maple World with the seal on the Black Mage weakening. They traveled through the portal and entered Pantheon, where Cartalion immediately halted them. After realizing that they were from Maple World, he apologized and explained that Xenon’s markings were similar to those of their enemies. (A/N: He’s most likely referring to Xenon’s facial markings being similar to Specter markings.)

He was impressed by Maple World’s technology after learning that Xenon was an android and told him to speak with Fenelle, who could help him learn more about Grandis. He also asked Xenon to give her a letter that he had received from Angelic Buster, which contained information that Fenelle would find noteworthy. After he delivered the letter, Fenelle explained that Pantheon was usually peaceful, but that it had lately become much more chaotic.

Just then, Kylan welcomed Xenon and asked if he had any objects from Maple World, as he was fascinated by all things from the other dimension. Xenon showed him Roo-D, who reminded Kylan of similar-looking creatures on Grandis. He asked Xenon to capture Kaloong and Laloong monsters, after which he made several notes comparing Roo-D with them.

Xenon then returned to Fenelle and asked her to tell him about the chaos in Pantheon. Fenelle told him about their struggle against Gerand Darmoor, as well as the recent loss of one of their relics. (A/N: Fenelle actually says that two of their relics are now gone, but this is a continuity error, as the relic from the West Sanctum was recovered by Kaiser and Angelic Buster.) She then asked Xenon if he could patrol the Eastern and Western borders, which had been weakened due to the loss of the relic.

At the outskirts, Xenon fought and defeated several Specters and returned to Fenelle, who thanked him for his help. Just then, Xenon felt Beryl’s Pulse and, fearing that their conflict would destroy the town, he drew her to the outskirts of Pantheon. After forcing Beryl to retreat, Xenon told Roo-D that he felt as though Beryl showed unusual hostility towards him, going beyond just impassively following Gelimer’s orders.

However, Roo-D told him that it was unlikely, as Xenoroids were programmed not to feel emotions. With Grandis no longer being safe, Xenon returned to Pantheon in order to plan his next move. Just then, a Shadowdealer name Tonero approached him and explained that he had been ordered to give him a Traditional Winner’s Earrings Box. Upon opening it, Xenon found that it contained a message from Claudine, who had asked him to help a secret research organization created by the Resistance.

(A/N: There seems to be a timeline error with Xenon’s storyline. His story seems to have been written with the assumption that the Alliance has been formed, but this creates a contradiction with the Explorer storyline, in which you encounter Xenon, who’s already joined Veritas, the organization that Claudine mentioned. Because the meeting with Xenon happens before the Alliance formation quest, there’s no way that Xenon’s storyline up to this point could take place after the formation of the Alliance. Because of this, several things about this storyline fall apart. Claudine mentions that Veritas recently received funding from the Alliance, which logically can’t happen.

Additionally, it’s almost impossible for the Resistance to have come in contact with the Shadowdealers. It works if you assume that the Alliance has been formed at this point, as you could say that the Nova had introduced them to the Shadowdealers. However, since this storyline has to predate the formation of the Alliance, we’re left with Cartalion mentioning that he’s never seen someone from Maple World before, and given that he’s such a high-ranking knight, there’s almost no way that the Resistance could’ve traveled through the Interdimensional Portal and met with the Shadowdealers without him knowing.

The only other explanation is that the Shadowdealers themselves have visited Maple World, but then there’s no way to explain why the Nova would’ve allowed a black market organization to use the Interdimensional Portal. It’s true that there are multiple Interdimensional Portals throughout Grandis, but the fact that Cadena was told that she would have to use the one in Pantheon means that there aren’t any other ones that are accessible to the Shadowdealers.)

Xenon then traveled to the research facility in Aquarium, where he met Professor Moon, nicknamed Professor Dreamboat, who welcomed him to the Resistance Research Command of Veritas. He explained that they were a research group dedicated to tracking and addressing phenomena related to the Black Mage. Since they were understaffed, Professor Dreamboat was pleased to have Xenon as a field agent.

Xenon explained that he was being tracked, but Professor Dreamboat told him that they would figure out how to circumvent that problem. Xenon asked if he could be outfitted with the same technology that made the base impervious to scanners, but Professor Dreamboat explained that it wouldn’t be viable, as it would essentially make Xenon the size of a two-story building. He instead proposed creating Pulse Disruptors, devices that could drown out Xenon’s Pulse, and resolved to begin researching them.

Some time later, Professor Dreamboat asked Xenon to help him with his research so that he could develop the Pulse Disruptors more quickly. He gave Xenon a device that could record his Pulse and asked him to hunt monsters so that he could gather information on when Xenon’s Pulse would spike up.

Before Xenon headed out, Edwin the engineer also asked for his help. He showed him the Promessa, a top-of-the-line vehicle that could transport the user anywhere. However, he explained that it had cost him everything he had in order to build it, and that Professor Dreamboat was unhappy with the exorbitant costs. In order to avoid spending more on materials, he asked Xenon to gather Gravi Stonegar and Onyx Stonegar Pieces to help restock their supplies. Xenon hunted the monsters in Pantheon, which also calibrated the Pulse recorder, and brought both the recorder and the materials to Professor Dreamboat and Edwin.

Xenon then went to see if Promathus the biologist needed any help. Promathus recognized Xenon as Gelimer’s creation, prompting Xenon to ask if he knew Gelimer. Promathus explained that he and Gelimer had once studied together at a biotechnology lab. He explained that Gelimer had endless talent, not only in biotechnology, but also in mechanical engineering, chemistry, and many other fields. Because of his dangerous research, he had been forced to leave the lab, nearly getting kicked out altogether.

Though he hadn’t heard from Gelimer since then, Promathus told Xenon that he never would have suspected that Gelimer would join the Black Wings. He added that it was rumored that Xenon was Gelimer’s most powerful weapon and explained that Gelimer had been researching androids before he had left the lab. Xenon’s escape meant that Gelimer had failed, which pleased Promathus immensely. He explained that a scientist should use their knowledge for humanity, not personal greed, as it otherwise didn’t matter whether one was a genius or not. Because of this, he believed that it was too late for Gelimer.

He then told Xenon that he had no work for him and told him to leave. Xenon asked Promathus why he seemed to dislike him, but Promathus merely scoffed and asked if Xenon was trying to emulate human emotions by asking such a question. Xenon remained silent, which made Promathus feel uncomfortable. He then apologized for what he said to Xenon, as his dislike for Gelimer didn’t justify his prejudice against Xenon.

After speaking with Promathus, Xenon was contacted by Nathania the alchemist, who explained that she had recently been transferred from Magatia to Veritas, and so she had ordered urgent materials. However, she had instead received a letter from the supplier, which had gotten lost in the lab, and so she asked him to help her find it. Xenon found the letter in a dirt pile and gave it to Nathania. She told him that her supplier had written that he had run out of some of the materials that she had ordered. Though she had told her supplier to send whatever he had, the supplier had insisted on sending everything at once when it was available, leaving her without any materials. Because of this, she asked Xenon to bring her Tablecloths and Medicines with Weird Vibes from Kerning City.

Soon after, Professor Dreamboat contacted Xenon and explained that the Pulse Disruptors were ready. By burying them around Maple World, he believed that Xenon’s Pulse would remain hidden from detection unless Beryl was within extremely close range. Most of the disruptors had already been installed by the Resistance, and so the only places where they needed to bury the rest were in Ereve, Ludibrium, Pantheon, Henesys, and Edelstein. Xenon buried the Pulse Disruptors in the first four regions and then traveled to Edelstein.

He asked Professor Dreamboat why he had been asked to bury the disruptor in Edelstein if the Resistance could have taken care of it when they had handled the others. Professor Dreamboat explained that he had wanted to give Xenon the chance to visit Edelstein, since he had left in a hurry last time. He also explained that by burying the final disruptor, Xenon would be free to return to Edelstein as he pleased.

After installing the disruptor, he reunited with Claudine, who was overjoyed to see him again. She then told him that Ulrika was asking for him, though she didn’t know why. Ulrika reminded him that he still owed her a souvenir for delivering his message to Claudine and told him that as compensation, she wanted Jr. Necki Skins. Xenon went to Kerning City and collected the skins for Ulrika, who planned to use them to force Checky to take his costume off. (A/N: Poor Checky. We should just accept that his costume is filled with hopes and dreams, just like he keeps telling us.)

Just then, Professor Dreamboat contacted Xenon and explained that they had received intel that there were active Black Wings agents and asked him to investigate. He sent Xenon to the Golem Temple in Henesys, where he encountered Dargoth and Francis speaking. Francis was wondering what Gelimer was thinking by keeping their mission a secret from Orchid. Dargoth pointed out that they would likely never know what Gelimer had in mind and thought that it was best to just do as they had been told. Hearing Gelimer’s name, Xenon revealed himself and asked them to explain what they were talking about. Dargoth and Francis began to fight Xenon, who easily defeated them both, causing Dargoth to retreat and leaving Francis alone.

After questioning Francis, Xenon learned that Gelimer had ordered them to capture someone, and Francis quickly realized while describing their target that they were meant to be looking for Xenon. He also told Xenon that Gelimer’s orders were meant to be kept secret, even from Orchid. After he proudly declared that his loyalty only belonged to Orchid, Xenon pointed out that it meant that Francis had no reason to obey Gelimer’s orders to capture him. He told Francis to report back to Gelimer that he had nearly caught him, adding that there would be no point in lying that they had never met after Dargoth had likely reported what had happened. Having learned all that he could, Xenon returned to Veritas and reported what had happened to Professor Dreamboat, who told Xenon that he would discuss it with the other scientists.

Some time later, Promathus contacted Xenon and told him that until recently, Beryl had been the only one chasing after him. However, the Resistance had recently learned that some of the other Black Wings had also been given orders to capture him. Though Xenon’s existence was meant to be a secret from the Black Wings, Gelimer had gotten desperate and had involved some of the other Black Wings to recapture him. In response to this, the researchers at Veritas had begun to make new weapons for Xenon, though Promathus added that he was against the decision, fearing that it would lead not just himself, but all the scientists of Veritas into following Gelimer’s path. Because of this, he wanted to test Xenon in order to have him prove that he was worthy of the new weapon by bringing back a Black Wings hat. (A/N: I have no idea what exactly this is supposed to prove.)

Xenon went to the entrance of the Verne Mine and bought a hat from a Black Wings member named Stephan, putting it on just as a Black Wings henchman arrived. Though Xenon tried to pretend that he was a Black Wings member, the henchman vaguely recognized his face from the photo that Gelimer had showed him and decided to bring Xenon to Gelimer in order to clear up the matter.

With no choice, Xenon defeated the henchman and brought the hat to Promathus, who then augmented Xenon’s system with the new weapons developed by Veritas. He also told Xenon that he had registered information gathered by the Resistance on all known Black Wings agents onto Xenon’s controller, which meant that Gelimer and the other Black Wings would see him as a total stranger, even if he were standing right in front of them.

(A/N: I don’t see how having Black Wings data would allow him to present himself as a stranger unless it just creates a holographic disguise whenever his controller detects that one of the Black Wings uploaded in the registry is nearby.)

Roo-D then told Xenon that he ought to visit his friends in Edelstein and suggested that he bring them gifts, as he hadn’t seen them in a long time. When neither of them could come up with any gift ideas, Roo-D told him to ask people similar to the gift recipients for ideas. Xenon asked why they couldn’t just ask the recipient themselves, but Roo-D told him that humans liked to make their gifts a surprise. (A/N: Honestly, just give everyone an Amazon gift card like I do.) First, Xenon asked Professor Dreamboat for gift ideas for Elex, who recommended giving a book and offered one from his collection. He then gave it to Elex, who was less than ecstatic, though he still thanked Xenon nevertheless. He also gave Xenon some advice that books were better with pictures, as they would be easier to read to his kindergarteners.

Next, he asked Promathus for a gift idea for Brighton. Promathus told him that he felt sorry for Brighton, claiming that he must not have many friends if they really were similar. He then gave Xenon a ticket to Gold Beach to give to Brighton, telling him to warn Brighton that overwork could cause premature wrinkles. Xenon gave the ticket to Brighton, who thanked him, but explained that he wasn’t the type to go to resorts. However, Xenon scared him enough with Promathus’ advice on premature wrinkles to the point that he accepted it.

Next, he asked Nathania for ideas on a gift for Belle. After explaining that Belle was straightforward and fierce, Nathania suggested giving an unexpected gift like flowers and recommended getting Dahlias from Edelstein. Xenon gave the flowers to Belle, who was happy to receive them until caterpillars began crawling out of them. Xenon noted that it seemed odd that someone who rode a fierce jaguar into battle would be afraid of tiny bugs.

Next, he asked Edwin what to get for Checky. Since Checky wore a bear costume, Edwin suggested bringing him a teddy bear. He told Xenon to use Dirty Bandages, Ribs, and Horse Skulls from the Excavation Site in order to construct it. (A/N: This is very different from your usual Build-A-Bear Workshop experience.) Even though he was hesitant about the materials, the bear came out quite nicely. He brought it to Checky, who told him that it would make a much better present for Elex. Checky then swapped the book that Xenon had gotten for Elex in exchange for the teddy bear, making them both much happier with their gifts.

Finally, Xenon thought of what to get for Claudine. He remembered that Claudine still had his dagger and decided to get her a new one, believing that she really liked that type of weapon. He realized that his Whip Blade changed shape in battle, and so he got her a training blade from Edwin. Claudine was surprised to get his gift and told him that she liked her dagger better, but promised to keep his gift safe. He returned to Roo-D and told her about his less-than-stellar experience finding gifts for his friends. Roo-D reassured him that he would get better with time, adding that his experiences would help him regain his memories.

Some time later, Promathus called Xenon and asked him about Roo-D. As a biologist, he was deeply intrigued by her unique rabbit-fox hybrid appearance and asked him to bring some samples from similar creatures in Orbis. Xenon went to Orbis and brought Solid Horns and Stiff Feathers from the Jr. Cellions, Jr. Lioners, and Jr. Grupins. After bringing back those samples, Promathus concluded that they bore no similarity to Roo-D and asked him to bring different samples. He sent Xenon back to Orbis to collect Cellion Tails, Lioner Tails, and Grupin Tails, and though he was unable to form any conclusions regarding Roo-D with them, he explained that she had inspired him on one of his personal projects and asked Xenon to bring him Lucida Tails to finish his research.

Later on, Xenon spoke with Roo-D about her design. She told him that it made sense for Promathus to be researching creatures that resembled her, especially since Gelimer had created her design based on creatures that appealed to humans. She explained that Gelimer had designed both herself and Xenon to be naturally attractive in order to have an advantage in manipulating humans. (A/N: Gelimer believes in the power of pretty privilege.)

The Explorer:

(A/N: I want to emphasize that this is the Explorer storyline from the RED patch, not the revamped one from the Destiny update. There are five different storylines that can happen for the Explorer depending on which job you choose. Much like Luminous’ storyline, the large strokes are the same, but the way that the events transpire depends on your class.

For example, an object is stolen during the storyline by the Black Wings. If you’re a thief, you learn that the culprit was Baroq disguised as another Explorer named Olive. However, if you’re any other class, you continue believing that Olive is the culprit until a future quest. The jobs of all the other Explorers whom you meet in your storyline also change depending on which one you choose. I’ll include all five job paths and indicate at which points they converge and diverge.

On a semi-related note, I personally consider the Adversary to be an Explorer because of Tess recognizing us as Kao from this storyline. Additionally, I believe that the Adversary is a warrior because all the in-game Explorer artwork in Black Heaven and beyond reveals the jobs of the other four Explorers in your group, which lines up with your class being a warrior.

Because of the iconography of the Adversary wielding a one-handed sword, I also believe that the Adversary’s specific class is Hero. Although a Paladin technically fits as well, I believe that they’re shifting the Paladin aesthetic to use maces instead. Additionally, the title ‘Hero’ is much more reminiscent of the Heroes of Maple, and it seems thematically appropriate for the Hero of the present to finish what the Heroes of the past started.)

On Maple Island, a new Explorer appeared from a Maple Tree and saw a mysterious girl dressed in green leaves running away from them. While chasing after her, they ran into a girl named Mai, who introduced herself and explained that she was a student at hero school who longed to become an Explorer: brave adventurers who came to Maple Island from other worlds.

(A/N: This idea is never explored again aside from one quest that you have towards the end of your storyline. There was an older iteration of the revamped Explorer storyline which had you awaken in a dark space filled with chains, in which you needed to destroy the chains in order to come out through a door, which led you to popping out of the Maple Tree. That door is strongly implied to be one of the three doors in the Temple of Time.)

Mai took the Explorer through some basic training, after which she had them meet Lucas, the chief of Amherst. Lucas welcomed the Explorer to Amherst, though he told them that they couldn’t stay, explaining that they needed to go out into the world and get stronger instead. He then gave them a ticket for a ship to Victoria Island and told them to go to the port at Southperry.

On their way there, the Explorer ran into Mai again, who asked them what they wanted to specialize in. After telling her their choice, Mai told them that she would write a letter of recommendation to their job instructor at Victoria Island. Soon after, the Explorer arrived at the dock and gave Captain Vasily their ticket. Vasily told them that their ship, the Sangri-La, was still undergoing maintenance and asked them to wait for a moment.

While they were waiting, a shy girl named Sugar approached them and explained that she had lost her ticket. The Explorer reassured her that they would find her ticket and began searching Southperry, where they found her ticket inside a box. (A/N: Seriously? Who leaves their ticket in a box?). After returning the ticket to Sugar, Vasily told the Explorer that a monster had boarded their ship and asked them to defeat it. In the cargo hold, the Explorer fought and defeated Mano, allowing the passengers to begin boarding. On the deck, the Explorer and Sugar met three other adventurers: Rondo, Tess, and Olive.

(A/N: Much like how the five Heroes spell out MAPLE with Mercedes, Aran, Phantom, Luminous, and Evan (sorry Shade), the adventurers spell out STORY with Sugar, Tess, Olive, Rondo, and You. Tess is the same person whom you meet in Ellin Forest. He’s the son of Destonen and Yuris, and the older brother of Kyrin.)

Tess immediately recognized the Explorer from Ellin Forest and called them Kao, claiming that they looked identical.

(A/N: Something that seems odd is that Tess never wonders how you’re still alive after centuries. Since Tess is quarter-elf on his mother’s side, it makes sense for him, but as far as we know, there’s no reason why Tess should believe that Kao is anything but human. I also doubt that he knew anything about Kao’s time-travel mishap either.)

After realizing that the Explorer really had no idea who Kao was, Tess concluded that he must have mistaken them for someone else. Sugar then asked the Explorer which job they wanted to be.

Warrior:
The Explorer told Sugar that they wanted to be a warrior. Sugar told them that they would make a great one and explained that she was thinking of becoming a magician.

Non-Warrior:
After telling Sugar their choice, she told them that they would make a great one and explained that she was thinking of becoming a warrior.

Paths Converge Here:
After arriving at Victoria Island, the five Explorers went their separate ways. The Explorer then traveled to see their job instructor, who taught them the basic skills needed for them to train.

Non-Bowmen:
Their job instructor then sent them to Henesys, explaining that Athena Pierce would help them settle into their new life on Victoria Island.

Paths Converge Here:
In Henesys, Athena Pierce told the Explorer that they were in one of the safest towns in Maple World and suggested that they stay in Henesys until they get a better grasp of their new skills. The Explorer also received an Explorer Book to log their adventures. Just then, they noticed a Maple Leaf sticking to their clothes. They realized that it must have landed on them while they were on Maple Island and decided to press it into their Explorer Book.

Warrior:
While training around Victoria Island, the Explorer ran into a distressed Sugar at the Six Path Crossway. After asking her what was wrong, Sugar explained that she wanted to take the job advancement test in order to become a Cleric, but she was too scared of the bugs near the path to get to Ellinia. The Explorer defeated all of the bugs and cleared the path for Sugar, who thanked them for their help.

As she began walking into the forest, however, she noticed that a tree had been damaged by the bugs and asked the Explorer to go see Sabitrama in Sleepywood. In order to heal the tree, Sabitrama told the Explorer to find an Ellivera Fruit in Ellinia. After healing the tree, Sugar confessed that she believed that she wasn’t cut out to be an Explorer. However, she added that something terrible would be happening in Maple World soon, and that she needed to prepare for that day.

Magician:
While training around Victoria Island, the Explorer ran into Rondo at the Six Path Crossway and noticed that he was trying to convince himself to enter the Interdimensional Portal. The Explorer tapped on Rondo’s shoulder in order to get his attention, but when he didn’t notice, they tapped him a bit harder, accidentally knocking his hat off. Rondo yelled at the Explorer, fervently trying to cover up his furry ears. He then made the Explorer go look for his hat so that he could blend in with humans.

The Explorer went to speak with Luke, a Victoria Guard, and asked if he had seen any hats. Luke showed them three hats and asked them to pick the one they were looking for. (A/N: You can pick any of the hats and Rondo will accept it.) Rondo revealed that he had been born with his furry ears, but as he was an orphan, he couldn’t ask his parents about his origins. He explained that he had hoped to find others like himself by becoming an Explorer, but as he hadn’t had any luck in Maple World, he was planning to use the Interdimensional Portal in order to search for his people in Grandis. As the Explorer had gotten dust on his hat, Rondo explained that they were indebted to help him and took them with him into the Interdimensional Portal.

In Pantheon, they asked Cartalion whether there were any people with animal ears in Grandis. Cartalion explained that the Anima possessed animal characteristics, but added that the war had displaced many of them from their homes. Rondo asked where he could find the Anima, to which Cartalion replied that he didn’t know, as the Nova had never been too close with the Anima.

Rondo then asked where the Anima used to live, hoping to find clues of their whereabouts, but Cartalion explained that the trip would be too dangerous, as the land outside Pantheon was filled with enemies. When Rondo and the Explorer insisted, Cartalion agreed to escort them to the border in order to show them how dangerous it was.

Outside Pantheon, Rondo and the Explorer were faced with waves of Specters, forcing them to retreat. Rondo accepted that he was currently too weak, but he swore to become stronger and find his people. He told the Explorer that he would stay in Grandis for a while, but added that they were free to return to Maple World, adding that he was grateful for their help.

(A/N: Though she’s not canon, Beast Tamer used to be classified as an Anima, as Nexon seemed to have used it as a catch-all term for people with animal characteristics. However, her classification was changed to simply ‘Beast Tamer’ upon Hoyoung’s release.

There appear to be humans on Grandis from what we see in Ristonia, and so it stands to reason that there might be a handful of Anima on Maple World. With the knowledge that the two worlds were originally one, it’s possible that several Anima were stranded on Maple World, and vice versa for humans, after they were cut off from their homes when the two worlds were separated.)

Bowman:
Athena Pierce contacted the Explorer and asked them to help her old friend, Kyrin, aboard the Nautilus. There, Kyrin asked the Explorer whether they had seen a suspicious person on the ship that they had taken to Victoria Island. When the Explorer told her that they couldn’t recall anyone suspicious, Kyrin explained that an Explorer named Tess had come to the Nautilus in order to become a pirate. However, two things had made her suspicious of him. First, Tess had seemed much more experienced than he was letting on. Second, he had been wearing a mask to hide his face.

Though the Explorer didn’t remember Tess, they promised to keep an eye out for him. (A/N: How do you not remember him when he literally accosted you and kept calling you Kao?) They decided to go to the Six Path Crossway to begin their search, and sure enough, they saw Tess walking nearby. They followed him towards the path to the Nautilus, where they found him facing a masked rabbit. When the Explorer began questioning him, Tess asked them to help him capture the rabbit, promising to answer their questions if they did.

Though the Explorer defeated the rabbit, it managed to escape before they could capture it. Tess also tried to leave covertly, but the Explorer caught him before he could escape. Tess relented and agreed that since he had promised, he would tell them everything. He explained that he was Kyrin’s older brother, and that their mother was a half-elf, which was why he and Kyrin aged so slowly. He told them that he had been trying to capture the rabbit because it was part of a shady organization, though he refused to say anything more.

However, he warned them that something major would be happening in Maple World soon, and that it was the reason he had come out of hiding. He added that he had worn a mask because he didn’t want Kyrin to recognize how similar they looked, even though the last time he had seen her was when she was an infant. He explained that he wanted to be as careful as possible, but that he would one day tell her about their relationship. He then noted that the Explorer even behaved just like Kao before he took his leave.

Thief:
In Kerning City, a bowman named Olive introduced herself to the Explorer and asked for a favor. She explained that she was interested in jewels, and that she had heard a rumor about a special type of jewel. These jewels were scattered all across Maple World, and one of them was rumored to have been discovered in the Nihal Desert. The jewel was said to be in possession of the Thieves’ Guild, but as Olive wasn’t a thief, the Guild wouldn’t give her any information about it.

Since the Explorer was a thief, Olive asked them to learn more about the jewel from the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord confirmed the existence of the jewel and asked how the Explorer had found out about it. When they claimed that they had learned about it by accident, the Dark Lord grew suspicious, as information on the jewel was top secret, even within the Guild, and so he refused to say anything more. The Explorer returned to Olive and told her that the Dark Lord had refused to tell them any details as well.

Undeterred, Olive told the Explorer that it didn’t matter, as she had learned that the jewel was being kept in a hidden room inside the Thieves’ Hideout. Once again, as she wasn’t a thief, she asked the Explorer if they would find it, explaining that she didn’t want to steal it, but rather, she merely wanted to know what it looked like. The Explorer entered the Thieves’ Hideout and found the hidden room where the jewel was being kept. There, they encountered a suspicious rabbit looking for the jewel.

Just as the Explorer defeated the rabbit, the Dark Lord arrived and the rabbit managed to escape. The Dark Lord explained that he had just been about to ask Athena Pierce about the jewel’s properties when he arrived, adding that he never would have expected someone to break into the Thieves’ Hideout. He realized that there must have been a breach in their intelligence network and apologized to the Explorer for doubting them. The Explorer then returned to Olive and explained what had happened. Olive told the Explorer that the jewels she was interested in were said to have special powers.

She explained that each time she had heard news of a jewel’s location, it had already been stolen by the time she had gotten there. She suspected that the rabbit they had encountered was the one who had been stealing the other jewels, adding that it was most likely part of a larger organization. She was glad that the jewel in the Thieves’ Hideout had not been stolen and thanked the Explorer for the information.

(A/N: The jewels, of course, are the Seal Stones. It’s interesting that she mentions how she was chasing information on the locations of the other Seal Stones. It gives a clue as to the span of how long the Explorer’s storyline takes place. Assuming Olive has been chasing the Seal Stones since she became an Explorer, this would mean that your 1st job training happens concurrently to Aran and Evan’s storyline.)

Pirate:
Kyrin contacted the Explorer and asked them to help her old friend, Athena Pierce, at the Bowman Instructional School. There, Athena asked the Explorer whether they had seen a suspicious person on the ship that they had taken to Victoria Island. When the Explorer told her that they couldn’t recall anyone suspicious, Athena explained that an Explorer named Tess had come to the Bowman Instructional School in order to become a bowman. However, two things had made her suspicious of him. First, Tess had seemed much more experienced than he was letting on. Second, he had been wearing a mask to hide his face.

Though the Explorer didn’t remember Tess, they promised to keep an eye out for him. They decided to go to the Six Path Crossway to begin their search, and sure enough, they saw Tess walking nearby. They followed him towards the path to the Nautilus, where they found him facing a masked rabbit. When the Explorer began questioning him, Tess asked them to help him capture the rabbit, promising to answer their questions if they did.

Though the Explorer defeated the rabbit, it managed to escape before they could capture it. Tess also tried to leave covertly, but the Explorer caught him before he could escape. Tess relented and agreed that since he had promised, he would tell them everything. He explained that Athena Pierce was an old friend of his parents, Destonen and Yuris, and that the reason he kept calling them Kao was because they looked practically identical. He told them that he had been trying to capture the rabbit because it was part of a shady organization, though he refused to say anything more.

However, he warned them that something major would be happening in Maple World soon, and that it was the reason he had come out of hiding. The Explorer told him that Athena Pierce wanted to see him, to which Tess replied that he wanted to see her too, but he added that he had urgent business to first take care of. He then noted that the Explorer even behaved just like Kao before he took his leave. (A/N: It’s interesting that Tess only reveals his parents’ identity in the pirate storyline but reveals his relationship to Kyrin in the bowman storyline. Given that the two stories are nearly identical, I’d guess this is to give them some sort of differentiation.)

Paths Converge Here:
Soon after, the Explorer returned to their job instructor, who conducted a test to see if they were worthy of reaching the next stage in their job. The Explorer was sent to collect Dark Marbles from monsters in a special area, after which their instructor taught them more powerful skills.

Non-Thieves:
While training around Maple World, the Explorer was contacted by Athena Pierce, who told them that an emergency had come up and asked them to come to Henesys right away. At the Bowman Instructional School, she explained that a jewel had been found in the Nihal Desert, and that it had been stolen by a masked thief while it was being transported to Henesys. As the jewel was both powerful and important, all the Explorers were being mobilized to find it.

Just then, Pia came in and told Athena that someone had been sighted running up the Hill North of Henesys. Athena realized that it had to be the thief and asked the Explorer to chase after them. The Explorer defeated the thief, a masked rabbit, and successfully took back the jewel. Just then, Olive appeared and told them that she was the one who had been delivering the jewel to Athena Pierce when the thief had stolen it from her. She then asked the Explorer to return the jewel to her. Believing that she was telling the truth, the Explorer gave the jewel to Olive, who thanked them and left.

The Explorer then felt that something was off and decided to check with Athena Pierce in order to see whether Olive really had delivered it to her. When they asked Athena whether she had received the jewel, Athena was confused and told them that no one had stopped by. She realized that Olive must have stolen the jewel for herself and told them that they needed to find her at once, explaining that the jewel was actually a Seal Stone created centuries ago by the Heroes as a safety device designed to protect the people of Maple World in case the Black Mage destroyed their homes.

Over time, people had forgotten that the Seal Stones existed, but with the return of the Heroes, more and more people were seeking them out. (A/N: Given that Athena had no idea what the Seal Stones’ purpose was in Aran’s storyline, it’s likely that Mercedes filled her in offscreen.) Athena feared that there were some who wanted to exploit their power for a darker purpose than what they had originally been made to do, and so she asked the Explorer to help investigate Olive and the people she was working with.

Thief:
While training around Maple World, the Explorer was contacted by Athena Pierce, who told them that an emergency had come up and asked them to come to Henesys right away. At the Bowman Instructional School, she explained that a jewel had been found in the Nihal Desert, and that it had been stolen by a masked thief while it was being transported to Henesys. As the jewel was both powerful and important, all the Explorers were being mobilized to find it.

Just then, Pia came in and told Athena that someone had been sighted running up the Hill North of Henesys. Athena realized that it had to be the thief and asked the Explorer to chase after them. The Explorer defeated the thief, a masked rabbit, and successfully took back the jewel. Just then, Olive appeared and told them that she was the one who had been delivering the jewel to Athena Pierce when the thief had stolen it from her. She then asked the Explorer to return the jewel to her. The Explorer noticed that Olive was strangely nervous and asked if she was alright. Olive laughed and told them that she was fine, adding that it was sweet of them to ask. The Explorer immediately raised their guard and told her that she hadn’t been this nice when they had last met in Kerning City.

Annoyed that the Explorer had seen through her disguise, Olive revealed that she was actually Baroq. The Explorer voiced aloud their shock that Olive had turned into a middle-aged man, which irritated him greatly. He then teleported away with the Seal Stone, just as the real Olive rushed to the scene. After learning what had happened, Olive berated the Explorer for having confused her with a middle-aged man.

The Explorer then returned to Athena Pierce and told her about how Baroq had stolen the Seal Stone. Athena thanked them for uncovering Baroq’s plot, as the Explorers’ Guild would have otherwise suspected Olive. She then explained that the jewel was actually a Seal Stone created centuries ago by the Heroes as a safety device designed to protect the people of Maple World in case the Black Mage destroyed their homes.

Over time, people had forgotten that the Seal Stones existed, but with the return of the Heroes, more and more people were seeking them out. Athena feared that there were some who wanted to exploit their power for a darker purpose than what they had originally been made to do, and so she asked the Explorer to help investigate Baroq and the people he was working with.

Paths Converge Here:
The Explorer’s job instructor soon contacted them and recommended that they take another job advancement test. They told the Explorer to go to the Chief’s Residence in El Nath in order to speak with the job advancement instructor there. At the Chief’s Residence, the job instructor told them that in order to survive in Ossyria, they would need to get stronger.

To test the Explorer’s skills, their instructor told them to go to the Holy Ground at the Snowfield and touch a special stone there, which would warp them to another dimension, in which they were to defeat the enemy waiting for them and take the object they were carrying. The Explorer followed the instructor’s directions and were warped to a different dimension, where they found a dark clone of their 1st job instructor. After defeating the clone, the Explorer took their Black Charm and returned to the Chief’s Residence. Satisfied with their performance, the instructor taught them even more powerful skills.

During their adventures, the Explorer ran into Kenta at the Aquarium, who explained that he was a monster tamer working to show that monsters and humans could coexist peacefully. In order to do so, he had been developing a way to ride monsters with a special Pheremone. However, strange monsters had recently stolen his research notes and, fearing that it would fall into the wrong hands, Kenta asked the Explorer to protect his Oinker from the monsters and gather their Pheremone samples, while also recovering his research notes.

After helping protect the Oinker from the Barnard Gray monsters, Kenta thanked them and promised to teach them monster riding as soon as he finished his research. Soon after, Kenta reached out and explained that he had learned that Pheremones could cause monsters to grow violent, and so he asked them to go to Leafre and purchase a special bottle of perfume from Chief Tatamo, which could help calm the monsters down.

After purchasing it, the Explorer used the compound to tame a wild Hog, allowing them to ride it. Some time later, the Explorer went to visit Kenta again, where he told them that he had learned a way to strengthen the monsters that one could ride. After obtaining Pin Hov’s Charms and Cracked Shells, the Explorer paid a hefty donation fee to Kenta, who then upgraded their Hog into a Silver Mane.

Warrior:
While practicing with their new skills, the Explorer was contacted by Athena Pierce, who explained that she had uncovered new information on the jewel thief. She told them that the thief was a bowman named Olive and explained that she wanted to question Olive in person. (A/N: Olive never introduced herself in the previous quest unless you’re a thief, and so you’re learning her name for the first time here.) Having received information that Olive was in Ereve, Athena asked the Explorer to bring her to Henesys.

Neinheart told them that the Master of Disguise had once infiltrated the city, though a certain Knight had managed to stop him. (A/N: This is meant to tie into the original Cygnus Knight storyline before the revamp. It refers to Baroq’s mission to take the Seal Stone of Ereve.) He then wrote a lengthy letter to explain all he knew about the Master of Disguise and gave it to the Explorer to deliver to Athena Pierce. After reading the letter, Athena realized that Baroq had likely disguised himself as Olive and thanked the Explorer for uncovering the truth.

Magician:
While practicing with their new skills, the Explorer was contacted by Athena Pierce, who explained that she had uncovered new information on the jewel thief. She told them that the thief was a bowman named Olive and explained that she wanted to question Olive in person. Having received information that Olive was in Ereve, Athena asked the Explorer to bring her to Henesys.

In Ereve, the Explorer found Olive, who told them that she was on a mission to prove her innocence, as she believed that someone had impersonated her and stolen the jewel. Just then, Rondo arrived and attacked Olive, claiming that the Dark Lord had sent him on a quest to capture her. Olive begged the Explorer to help her, and so the Explorer told her to remove Rondo’s hat, knowing that he would focus on trying to cover his ears. Sure enough, Rondo hid himself in the bushes while Olive and the Explorer went to speak with Neinheart. He told them that the Master of Disguise had once infiltrated the city, though a certain Knight had managed to stop him. He then wrote a lengthy letter to explain all he knew about the Master of Disguise and gave it to the Explorer to deliver to Athena Pierce.

The Explorer first went to see Rondo and showed him the letter in order to convince him that Olive was innocent. However, Rondo refused to believe the Explorer, as they had betrayed his trust by revealing his secret, and so he took Olive to see the Dark Lord. The Explorer then gave the letter to Athena Pierce, who realized that Baroq had likely disguised himself as Olive and thanked the Explorer for uncovering the truth.

Bowman and Pirate:
While practicing with their new skills, the Explorer was contacted by Athena Pierce, who explained that she had uncovered new information on the jewel thief. The Explorer went to the Bowman Instructional School, where they were surprised to see that Tess was also there. He explained that he had been telling Athena that he believed the thief to be a member of the Black Wings, rather than an Explorer.

He explained that the Black Wings were the organization he had been researching and told them that the jewel thief was most likely their Master of Disguise, who had likely impersonated an Explorer in order to throw the Explorers’ Guild into chaos. Tess asked the Explorer to accompany him while he continued investigating, and so the two of them decided to head to the Verne Mine in Edelstein, which Tess explained was the headquarters of the Black Wings. However, he told them that they would need to convince the Black Wings that they were members if they wanted to go inside, which meant that they would need to obtain Black Wings hats.

Just then, they saw a boy wearing a Black Wings hat nearby and convinced him to give them his hat. (A/N: This boy is actually Xenon. Like I mentioned in the section above, there’s a continuity problem created by this encounter, as it forces Xenon’s storyline to precede both the Explorer storyline and the formation of the Alliance.) Though he gave them his hat, the boy warned them that it wouldn’t help them find what they were searching for. He explained that the leaders of the Black Wings were on missions throughout Maple World, leaving only Le Tierre the secretary to manage things at headquarters.

As Le Tierre had no useful information on the Black Wings’ operations, the boy told them to wait there and promised to return. Tess was sure that he was bringing back Black Wings reinforcements, but to his surprise, the boy returned with several classified Resistance documents containing information on all the high-ranking members of the Black Wings. The boy smiled and told them to never say that the Resistance hadn’t done anything for the Explorers before leaving.

Tess then told the Explorer to deliver the documents to Athena Pierce, as he planned to stay behind and investigate the Verne Mine. After delivering the documents, Athena thanked them for the information, which proved that the Black Wings had a Master of Disguise. She also added that she would let the Dark Lord know about it.

(A/N: The fact that she needs the document to prove that the Black Wings have a Master of Disguise is a continuity error since she’s well aware about him from Aran and Mercedes’ storylines. I guess you could argue that this is definitive proof from the Black Wings’ own sources, but it still seems a bit contrived.)

Thief:
The Dark Lord contacted the Explorer and asked them to confirm their story that the jewel thief was a man disguised as Olive. He explained that the disappearance of the Seal Stone had caused a lot of problems, adding that it would’ve been even worse if they had erroneously concluded that the culprit was an Explorer. He then asked them to locate the real culprit and recover the Seal Stone, suggesting that they speak with Neinheart and Claudine, as the Cygnus Knights and the Resistance were the two other major powers in Maple World aside from the Explorers’ Guild.

In Ereve, Neinheart told them that the Master of Disguise had once infiltrated the city, though a certain Knight had managed to stop him. He then wrote a lengthy letter to explain all he knew about the Master of Disguise and gave it to the Explorer to deliver to the Dark Lord. Next, the Explorer went to Edelstein and met Claudine in town, who told them to meet her at the Secret Plaza in order to talk freely.

At the Secret Plaza, Claudine explained that the Resistance’s intelligence network had already informed her why the Explorer had come, and so she had prepared a file in advance for the Explorer to take back to the Dark Lord, which contained information on all the high-ranking members of the Black Wings. She explained that the Resistance owed much to the Dark Lord and Athena Pierce and added that they always paid their debts.

(A/N: This is a reference to the Resistance’s storyline, in which the Dark Lord provided them with Feather Plants to create antidotes for their poisoned members. It’s unknown why she also mentions Athena Pierce, but I’m guessing that she probably told them about the Dark Lord’s stash.)

The Explorer returned to the Dark Lord and gave him the documents they had obtained. After reading through them, he was convinced that the Black Wings had been behind the theft of the Seal Stone and resolved to tell the other job instructors. He suspected that the Black Wings had disguised themselves as an Explorer in order to cause tension within their ranks, but promised that they would be ready next time.

Paths Converge Here:
Some time later, Athena Pierce summoned the Explorer to Henesys and informed them that the Master of Disguise had been tracked down to the Holy Ground at the Snowfield in El Nath. Given that it was the site where Explorers completed their job advancements, Athena wanted to stop him before he could complete his plans.

The Explorer went to the Holy Ground at the Snowfield, where Tess, Olive, Rondo, and Sugar were waiting for them. They all touched the stone and were transported to the other dimension, where they heard two voices speaking. As none of them could properly hear what they were saying, Rondo had no choice but to remove his hat and use his animal ears to hone in on the conversation.

He overheard Baroq telling Hiver that he had been told that there was a Seal Stone hidden in the pocket dimension, though he couldn’t find any traces of it. He began complaining that the executives needed to get their facts straight and wondered why they even needed the Seal Stones in the first place. Hiver replied that it was above their pay grade to know and asked if Baroq still had the Seal Stone from their last mission, reminding him that Orchid would dock his pay if he didn’t bring it to her soon.

After Hiver left, the Explorers realized that now was their chance to capture Baroq, but found that there was a large stone blocking their way. Sugar told them to stand back and used a powerful attack to break it. They then cornered Baroq and told him to surrender the Seal Stone. Seeing him for the first time, Olive voiced her disgust that the Explorer could have confused her with someone as ugly as him.

Irritated, Baroq used his powers to attack the group, but Sugar pushed the Explorer out of the way just in time. The other four completely vanished, leaving the Explorer to face him alone. After defeated Baroq and successfully taking back the Seal Stone of Nihal Desert, they returned to Athena Pierce, where the others were waiting for him. (A/N: I like how you don’t even wonder what happened to the others until you’re surprised to see them there. What a great friend we are.)

Though Athena was happy that the Seal Stone had been recovered, she wondered why the Black Wings wanted them so badly. Rondo told her what he had overheard, and Athena was interested to know that even the middle management of the Black Wings had no idea what the Seal Stones were for. However, she told them that she had heard that the founder of the Black Wings had once been a Commander, and so she couldn’t shake the feeling that the Black Mage was somehow involved in all of it.

Though she couldn’t say for sure, she thanked the Explorers for their help and told them that she would let them know of any other leads. Sugar then apologized to the Explorer for pushing them and hoped that they weren’t hurt. Remembering that Sugar was strong enough to destroy the giant rock earlier, the Explorer told her that they were alright and thanked her for her concern.

Gate of the Past:

(A/N: I won’t be covering the Kao quests here, as those quests need to be completed by the Adversary and not every class has had their class stories take place yet. Instead, I’ll be grouping the Kao quests with the 5th job advancement storyline later on.)

A traveler made their way into the Temple of Time and met the Temple Keeper, who explained that the temple was currently closed to the public, as an intruder had recently broken through the Gate of the Past. He told them that he wouldn’t stop them if they chose to go anyways, though he added that time flowed backwards through the door, meaning that they would be sent backwards to their starting point without the blessing of Goddess Rhinne. Though getting permission from the Goddess was impossible, as she was still asleep, the Temple Keeper told them that he could give them permission as the representative of the Goddess. As the traveler seemed powerful, he struck a deal and offered to grant them permission in exchange for investigating the intruder.

After the traveler accepted the offer, the Temple Keeper told them that he first needed to test their strength and asked them to defeat the monsters throughout Memory Lane. Along the path, they encountered Dodo, the Whale of Time, who consumed some of the traveler’s memories. As this prevented them from proceeding any further into the temple, the Temple Keeper told them to see the Memory Keeper, who realized that Dodo had consumed their innocent, carefree memories of when they had just begun their journey. In order to recover them, he suggested that they speak with the one who had helped them at the start of their adventure.

(A/N: For most classes, you’ll need to see your 1st job instructor, although some classes just talk to themselves if they’re boring and have no friends. While all classes get unique dialogue, some classes canonically can’t have done these quests, such as Shade or Zero. Their storylines are set after the Black Mage is unsealed, and since this questline takes place while Kirston is attempting to free him, these events have to take place before the Black Mage’s unsealing, and so that’s something to keep in mind while reading through these.

Explorers will need to visit their first job instructor on Victoria Island. The dialogue is a little different depending on the instructor, but the gist of all of them is that their instructor reminisces about how strong they’ve become since first becoming an Explorer. Even though he’s technically a Special Explorer, Cannoneer will talk to Kyrin and get the regular pirate dialogue instead of talking to Cutter or Monkey. Unlike him, the other Special Explorers get their own unique dialogue, except for Jett, who just talks to Kyrin like a regular Explorer.

Dual Blade will need to meet with Ryden outside the Secret Garden. Ryden will recall how excited he was to see such a skilled warrior enter the Secret Garden when we first met, and how he had high hopes for us. He adds that we didn’t let him down, and that we made him proud of being our teacher.

Pathfinder will need to meet with Athena Pierce in Henesys. Pathfinder will tell Athena that she recalls the day that she first ventured out into the world and how Athena had pulled her aside to have a chat. Athena remembers that she had lectured Pathfinder on the prudence of tempering her insatiable curiosity with a healthy measure of caution and restraint. She then adds that despite this, she can’t help but acknowledge how much Pathfinder has grown and wonders whether she was only half-right about the advice that she had given back then.

Athena explains that the world will always need people like herself who protect and maintain the path walked by many, though they’ll also need people like Pathfinder who venture into the unknown and discover new paths. She adds that she’ll keep doing her part and wishes Pathfinder good luck as she blazes new trails, though she reminds her not to hesitate, and to let her courage guide her.

Cygnus Knights will need to return to Ereve and talk to Neinheart, who’s surprised that they want to reminisce about good memories. Neinheart explains that he doesn’t know if there even are any good memories between them, though he recalls the first time that they came to Ereve. He tells us that we were merely an aspirant knight who was so sure that we’d defeat the Black Mage, which he found awkward to hear at the time. He then supposes that it counts as a memory of sort.

Mihile will need to seek out Neinheart, who tells him that he remembers when they first met at Mr. Limbert’s shop. He adds that Mihile seemed rather pathetic and supposes that it could be considered a fond memory of sorts.

The main Resistance classes will need to return to the Secret Plaza and speak with Claudine. Claudine recalls when we first came to the Resistance base and told her that we wanted to be part of the Resistance. She recalls how we were just a novice, and how strong we’ve now become. She then tells us that it’s not quite time to sit back and reminisce, as we still have a battle to fight. She suggests that we talk about our memories after the Black Wings are defeated and Edelstein is freed, when we can talk and laugh all night long.

Xenon will contact Roo-D and tells her that he wants to talk about the day that they escaped the lab, as he keeps tracing the events of his adventures back to that day. He explains that though he doesn’t remember anything that happened before that day, he still feels that it was the best course of action, as even if they never recover their memories, they’re still free. Because of this, he tells Roo-D that he hasn’t given up, even if he might never get the memories of his old life back. Roo-D agrees and tells Xenon that they can make new memories together. Xenon then feels warmth and wonders whether it’s a feeling of happiness.

The Demon will wonder which memories the Memory Keeper had been referring to, and whether it was when he served the Black Mage, when he battled with him, or when he awoke from his egg in the Verne Mine. He wonders whether he even has any happy memories before he recalls memories of his mother and Damien. He also notes to himself that he enjoyed sparring with Mastema and realizes that things don’t all need to be gloom and fury. After recalling his past memories, the Demon also gains a healthier outlook on life.

Aran will need to seek out Lilin in Rien, where Lilin will explain that the whole process of seeing Aran having lost her memories but still keeping her spirit as a hero, as well as her gradually regaining her abilities is a memory for her.

Evan will need to seek out Chief Stan in Henesys, where Stan will recall the day that Evan had come to town on an errand, and how he had never thought that Evan, who he affectionally calls Gustav’s shy little kid, would rescue Camila and go on to become a hero of Maple World.

Mercedes will wonder which memories the Memory Keeper had been referring to, and whether it was when she had battled the Black Mage with the Heroes, or when they had managed to seal him, or when she had become the Ruler of the Elves. She then wonders whether it could be when she first awoke from the ice to find all her powers gone. Unsure of which memories she should be focusing on, she’ll recall her entire past, which will fill her with warmth and renew her spirit.

Phantom will need to seek out Gaston aboard the Lumiere. Gaston will greet Phantom and ask if he should prepare a hot bath or some tea. Phantom replies that it’s strange to see him acting like a butler and recalls when they had first met in the old days. Gaston tells him that it was a long time ago, and that his memories aren’t as clear as Phantom’s. Phantom notes that when they had first met, he wouldn’t have trusted Gaston to put him out if he had been on fire, though now, he can’t imagine trying to get his shoes on in the morning without Gaston’s help.

Gaston recalls how Phantom used to be a young, rich braggart who believed that he had been setting off on a noble adventure. He adds that he might still have the wallet that he had lifted off Phantom while the thief had been berating him for his shabby clothing. Phantom retorts that he was never that naive, and that Gaston had certainly never gotten his wallet off of him. Gaston jokingly replies that Phantom has been a brat since they had first met, and that he can produce the wallet as proof if needed.

Phantom gets offended and notes that Gaston has turned a friendly reminiscing with an old friend nasty before calling him a hateful old man. Gaston jokes that Phantom has ever remained open to objective critique and sarcastically calls him a paragon of self-improvement before chuckling. Phantom realizes that Gaston is using his mocking laughter, and though he thinks to himself that Gaston will be the death of him, he hopes that he’ll never leave. I desperately need Phantom’s origin story with his old master Raven and how he met Gaston, but Nexon will sadly never make it.

Luminous will need to return to Lania back at her house. Lania will be pleasantly surprised to see him and notes that she would’ve made something for him to eat if she had known that he would be coming. Luminous replies that he doesn’t need anything except to know that she’s safe. Lania will thank him for his kind words and tells him to let her know when he’s coming next time, as it’s been too long since they’ve sat down for a meal.

Shade will think to himself that the beginning of his adventure was when Tumbleweed told him about Maple World, and though he notes that Tumbleweed won’t remember him, he believes that it’s a good excuse to visit Fox Point Village. He then travels to Vulpes, where he meets with Tumbleweed, who doesn’t recognize him but realizes that he’s human.

He explains that he was thinking of going to Maple World next, though everyone in the village wants him to stay for a while, as he’s just returned from his last trip. He tells Shade that he loves traveling, as staying in one place gets boring. He explains that one should always be moving forward, looking for where the road takes them. As Shade begins to head out, Tumbleweed wishes him good luck and hopes that he finds what he’s looking for.

Kaiser will wonder whether the Memory Keeper meant for him to remember when he became Kaiser, but he decides that those memories aren’t good enough. He then thinks back to his time with Tear and Velderoth and realizes that their time together was his beginning, as that was when he had learned to fight for what he loves. He then notes that no matter whether or not he and Velderoth can become friends again, he’ll never forget the time that they spent training together. After recalling his past memories, Kaiser also gains a healthier perspective on life.

Angelic Buster realizes that her adventure technically began when she met Eskalade, but her true beginning was with the Heliseum Force. She recalls that Kyle and Velderoth were the only ones who treated her like a friend, as everyone else had made fun of her for not having magic. She notes that everything used to be so worry-free back then, whereas the present is just a lot of fighting and anger.

She remembers how much fun they used to have chasing Limestone Tokkas and running away from Kaloongs and wishes that she could return back to that life. She reminds herself that her home will always be the Heliseum Hideout, and that no matter what paths she, Velderoth, and Kyle take, the memories of their youth will always remain.

Cadena will use her radio to contact Gen, who asks her why she’s reached out to him, as she’s supposed to be busy training in Maple World. Cadena notes that after meeting him, her whole life had become drastically different, as though she had been reborn. She tells Gen that he had saved her and helped her with her training, and even accepting her as a member of the Shadowdealers.

Gen jokes that her time away has made her sentimental and explains that when the Nova General had brought her to their hideout, they hadn’t even been sure that she would survive her injuries. He adds that the powerful medicine that they had given to her had been meant to help her sleep and eat, though it had also caused her to sleep for a long time.

When she had awoken, they had discovered that she had sustained more than just her physical injuries, as she would fly into a rage at the slightest provocation. Gen adds that it was all that they could do to keep her calm, to which Cadena points out that she had come a long way since then. Gen agrees and tells her that he hoped that it meant that she would be willing to help them in the future, though he’ll say goodbye for now. Before ending the call, he tells her that he’ll be waiting if she ever wants to come back.

Kain thinks about his lost memories and wonders whether he even has anywhere to return to. Thinking back, he recalls the memory of Luska begging Dr. Y to spare them. He then feels immense emotional pain as the memory continues to play, with Dr. Y claiming that their memories now belong to the Drakas.

However, he then recalls his memories of the Chameleon Siblings and Amos, as well as many other people whom he’s met on his travels, including Cadena, Gen, Fenelle, and Athena Pierce. As those memories start coming back to him, he realizes that they’re from after he left Toolen City, and that those memories don’t hurt his heart.

Illium realizes that the beginning of his adventures had been when he had left Sanctuary. He recalls exploring Savage Terminal with his friends, after which the Nova had helped them use the Interdimensional Portal to arrive in Maple World. He then returns back to their hideout in Sanctuary, where he asks his friends if they remember when they had first arrived in Maple World.

Morian explains he had been thrilled to have finally found it after all their hard work. Dean adds that it was when they had met the Nova, to which Illium nods and agrees that he was glad that the Nova had been willing to help. Carnelian then asks him why he’s asking all of a sudden, to which Illium replies that he had been thinking of when they had first begun their adventure. He notes that they’ve done very well for themselves since then, and that he believes that they’re on the right track.

Ark recalls his time with Albaire and how they even had a motto: “Best failures forever!!” He recalls how he never succeeded at anything, though he still never gave up, as they had promised him success at the military academy. He notes that despite him being so different from Albaire, they had always had a common goal, though they now walk different paths. He then opens a locket containing a small paper with some writing, after which he notes that while he’s just as determined as ever to achieve that goal, he hopes that Albaire still is too. I’m guessing that the paper contains their promise.

Adele recalls that her adventures began when she heard Jerome’s voice calling out to her from the Void. She wonders whether he’s returned to the hideout and decides to call Brook. Brook picks up and puts Jerome on the phone, who asks her why she’s reached out. Adele tells him that she’s been thinking about the day that they met, to which Jerome asks whether they really have to talk about something so cringey.

Adele asks him whether it’s an unpleasant memory for him, to which Jerome clarifies that he just gets embarrassed when he thinks back on how immature he used to be back then. He explains that he had done something to get the guards on his case that day, after which he had made his wish and she had appeared like magic.

He tells Adele that upon seeing her, it felt like the whole square had disappeared, which was how he knew. He then quickly clarifies that he had meant to say that it was when he knew that she was the legendary knight. Adele replies that she had thought him to be a bratty kid, and that it’s hard to believe that she would become his knight.

She then notes to herself that the more she worked alongside him, the more she could see why it was that the Uprising followed Jerome. She realizes that he wants the best for Ristonia from the bottom of his heart, and that he’ll make a fine king someday. She then asks him how his royal education is coming along, to which Jerome tells her that it’s going well, and that he has Boo to cheer him on for when it becomes difficult. He adds that he owes it to her to make the most of it, since she’s saved his life. He then tells her to take care before ending the call.

Hoyoung recalls how he had first left the Hermitage with Taotie, thinking that he might be able to do some good as he tracked down the fiends. He then realizes that his whole journey started because he broke Taotie’s seal and decides to talk to Taotie about old times. He tricks Taotie into coming out by pretending like they’re under attack, after which he begins reminiscing about how their meeting had led to them traveling in another dimension.

Taotie replies that it’s unlike him to be sentimental and asks if he’s fallen under a spell. Hoyoung laughs that it’s good to stop and reflect every now and then, as running forward with one’s eyes set straight ahead only makes them tired and miss the scenery around them. Taotie then recalls how weak Hoyoung used to be, as he only had a big mouth and no strength to back it up.

However, he admits that Hoyoung has overcome his weakness and has become stronger through facing adversity, and that he’s become a halfway decent sage. Hoyoung asks him if he’s really only halfway decent, to which Taotie replies that he’ll categorize him on the bottom rung of “good” if he hunts down all the escaped fiends. After bickering and reminiscing with Taotie, Hoyoung feels warmth in a way that only traveling with someone as grumpy as Taotie could bring.

Lara notes that a lot has happened to her and asks the Mountain Kids if they remember when she first touched the bell. She tells them that she had trusted them then, and that she trusts them now, as she knows that they’ll never steer her wrong. She tells them that she had promised her grandmother that she would find the answers to her questions and remember her calling, adding that she’s learned so much since then, as she’s made friends with Gri and everyone else, and she’s learned more about the bell.

However, she adds that more than that, she’s learned how big the world really is, and how many different kinds of people live in it. She notes that it’s been a big ride, but she’s glad that she’s started her journey. She also adds that she knows that she’ll make the bell ring again. Thinking back on her experiences, she feels her heart grow with a gentle warmth.

Zero will need to return to Pietta in their temple. Pietta explains that she remembers every detail of meeting Alpha, even having dreamed of it while trapped as a statue. Benedict adds that he couldn’t believe that there were two Children of the Goddess. Beta notes that she hated being locked up, and that being outside is much better.

Pietta then notes that it must have been difficult for Beta, for while the priests had been unconscious as statues, Beta had been awake the entire time. Beta tells Alpha that she had always tried talking to him and asking him to save her, as she had known that he was part of her. Alpha apologizes to her for not saving her sooner, to which Beta replies that they’re together now, which is all that matters. Alpha thinks to himself that he hadn’t thought that he would be so happy because while all he used to see was the hurt and betrayal, he now feels okay.

Kinesis calls Jay and begins reminiscing about the good times that they had together. Jay notes that Kinesis never gets so sentimental and asks what’s happened. Kinesis merely laughs, to which Jay recalls the late nights that Kinesis had him pull, as his superhero duties were a full-time job for them both.

Kinesis asks him to think of the times before that, to which Jay recalls all the pranks that Kinesis had pulled on him when he had thought that Jay had merely been a computer geek. He also recalls how he had asked Kinesis to talk to a girl named Lin whom he had liked, only for Kinesis to end up dating her instead. Kinesis then laughs awkwardly and says that it might be better to focus on the future before hanging up. He then thinks to himself that it’s nice to talk to Jay every now and then.

Kanna will need to meet with Mouri Monotari in Momojigaoka, where he notes that her strength has returned. He explains that he’s nothing short of amazed at her fervor, adding that both Sokoku and Maple World will remember her name. He tells her that he’s thankful for her dedication, as her loyalty was unexpected, and that he’s glad that she’s on his side.

Hayato will also need to meet with Mouri Monotari in Momojigaoka, where he explains that he’s been watching him fight for Maple World, and that his dedication is impressive. He adds that he hopes that Hayato can call him an ally, and that the two of them have a great future together. He tells Hayato to continue his quest while he himself will ensure that they go down in history.

Beast Tamer will need to meet with Bluffing Tom in Arboren, where he’ll wonder for a moment who she is before smelling the Kobold perfume made by his mother that Chase had put on herself during her class storyline to infiltrate the Kobold stronghold. After noticing her ears and tail, he recognizes her as Chase and notes that she seems to be doing well.

Chase asks him whether she still smells that bad before Tom tells her that he’s sure that she must be aware about the rumors going around town that he’s been talking to the Kobolds. Chase asks him whether he’s still out there lying again, though Tom changes the subject and asks her whether she’s had any love interests lately. The two will then chatter away until Tom tells her to come back and tell him about her adventures. This entire dialogue was honestly really disjointed and made very little sense to me, but I’m guessing that it’s a byproduct of how butchered her storyline was.)

After speaking with their mentor, the traveler returned to the Memory Keeper, who confirmed that their memories had returned. The Temple Keeper then gave them permission to go down the Road of Regrets. At the end of the path, they defeated Lilynouch the Ice Knight and received permission to proceed down the Road to Oblivion.

However, the traveler found the path blocked once again, and so they returned to the Temple Keeper. He explained that Lilynouch was fiercely loyal to Rhinne, to the point that he had frozen his emotions so that regret would never cause him to fail a mission. The Temple Keeper believed that Lilynouch must have frozen the traveler’s emotions as well, and since those with frozen emotions could not feel regret, the Road of Regrets would not allow them to pass.

He suggested that they visit the Sorcerer, whose concoctions might be able to help them. The Sorcerer sold them a potion that could thaw their emotions, though he charged them a hefty fee. After paying him, he gave them the potion and warned them about the side effects. The traveler drank the potion, which immediately drained their health and mana. (A/N: That’s putting it mildly, it basically kills you.) After recovering, however, they found that their emotions had thawed, and so they proceeded down the Road to Oblivion. At the end of the road, they defeated Lyka, the Guardian of the Temple.

The Temple Keeper then gave the traveler permission to go into the deepest part of the temple, but the traveler found that they could not pass. They asked the Temple Keeper whether their oblivion had been burned away by Lyka’s flames, but the Temple Keeper told them that such a thing was impossible. He speculated that the only thing that could be wrong was that the Goddess’ Promise had been broken and asked them to see the Record Keeper in order to determine whether the Promise still held, explaining that they may need to wake Rhinne from her sleep if it had been broken. (A/N: Do these people even know that Rhinne is trapped in Mirror World? They keep talking about her being perpetually asleep as though she’s just in her bedroom waiting for her alarm to ring.)

The Record Keeper explained that long ago, the Goddess had gifted humans with oblivion, the power to forget. He confirmed that the Promise had not been broken, and that the traveler still having their oblivion was proof enough.

(A/N: The Gate of the Past tells a pretty depressing story about the story of life. It starts out verdant and happy as we make happy memories in our childhood. Over time, however, our emotions freeze up as we lose our youth and become consumed with regrets. In the end, we’re overtaken by oblivion and forget everything in our old age. I was really creeped as a kid by how nihilistic it seemed, but as an adult, the concept of oblivion being the ability to forget now seems a lot less disturbing.

From the context of the human lifecycle, it’s almost like the idea of reincarnation, in which you forget everything about your past life so that you can make new memories and make up for old regrets. Within this game, cases like Lucia and Lania or mortal Transcendents like the Black Mage and Darmoor confirm that living things reincarnate in this game, making the Temple of Time’s story of life one about a cycle of rebirth, rather than eternal damnation. Also, this is unrelated, but when the game calls the Black Mage or Darmoor mortal, it means that they started out mortal at birth, but they still gain immortality upon awakening as Transcendents.)

The Record Keeper speculated that there must be another force preventing the traveler from accessing the deepest part of the temple and sent them back to the Temple Keeper, believing that he would know what to do. After the traveler explained what had happened, the Temple Keeper speculated that the Record Keeper had been intentionally vague, since he was forbidden from sharing the secrets of history. He then concluded that the reason that the traveler could go no further was because the intruder had set up a barrier to prevent anyone from entering. He then asked the traveler to collect materials from the Gate of the Past in order to construct a Marble of Chaos, which could break the force field.

After the traveler brought the materials, the Temple Keeper crafted the marble and explained that the barrier had been nullified, though he wondered what the intruder wished to do in the Gate of the Past, as the temple prevented the past from being changed. He then realized that the intruder could be trying to take the Mirror of the Goddess. He explained that the mirror could not be moved by humans, and that incorrect use would result in severe consequences. Because of this, he asked the traveler to stop the intruder at any cost.

The traveler used the Marble of Chaos to enter the Dusk Temple in the Twilight of Gods, representing one of the earliest points of history. (A/N: The Dusk Temple is explained in Zero’s storyline to be a domain of the old gods who had existed before Rhinne. It’s unknown whether these are explicitly Ancient Gods, as Zero’s storyline predates that lore, but it lines up with everything that we know about them.) There, the traveler found the intruder, Kirston, speaking aloud to himself that with the Mirror of the Goddess, he could summon the Black Mage. Just then, Kirston felt a strange energy emanating from the mirror, which he realized was completely different than that of the Black Mage.

Out of the mirror, a powerful monster named Pink Bean appeared and caused the statues in the temple to attack the traveler. The traveler defeated the statues and then proceeded to fight Pink Bean. After a difficult battle, the traveler was able to force Pink Bean back into the mirror, though Kirston managed to escape. (A/N: Pathfinder gets exclusive dialogue right before the fight, in which she recognizes Kirston from the visions that she had received from the relic.)

After defeating Pink Bean, the traveler returned to the Temple Keeper, who was shocked by Kirston’s audacity to use the Mirror of the Goddess. He explained that the mirror allowed one to physically move the past, but that only the Goddess herself was capable of it. Nevertheless, he thanked the traveler for stopping Kirston.

(A/N: There’s a misconception that stemmed from GMS about Pink Bean being a Transcendent. In Zero’s storyline, there was a mistranslation of the original KMS dialogue about the Dusk Temple, which erroneously claimed that it had once been the sanctum of Transcendents of Time who predated Rhinne. Because of this information, along with the idea that Kirston was attempting to move the past with the mirror, people mistakenly assumed that he had inadvertently summoned Pink Bean, a past Transcendent, while trying to summon the Black Mage, a current Transcendent.

This misunderstanding ended up creating a mountain of erroneous information being spread around involving Pink Bean being a Transcendent of Bean World. Pink Bean is a non-canon class who was first released as an April Fool’s Day joke, and he occasionally gets re-released every so often as an event. His backstory involves him being tricked by his nemesis, Black Bean, causing him to be stranded in Maple World. Just to clear the record - there’s nothing to suggest that Pink Bean is a Transcendent, not even as part of his non-canon storyline.)

Gate to the Future:

(A/N: The Gate to the Future is one of the biggest missed opportunities in the game. While I think that it’s a great concept for us to enter the future and realize that we’re going to lose everything, the storyline was added far too early into the game’s history for it to remain impactful after all these years. Henesys and its citizens had a higher significance to us when the game was smaller in scope, but in the present day, we have so many characters and storylines going on in parallel that seeing a ruined Henesys only works if you have the nostalgia factor from having spent a lot of time grinding and doing town quests there during the pre-Big Bang era.

The Gate to the Future and Twilight Perion both depict the corrupted Cygnus Knights and Resistance, but I feel that the writers failed to explore the concept to its full potential. This storyline was the perfect place for classes to get exclusive dialogue that reveals their fate. We could’ve had the Heroes be corrupted and explored the darker aspects of their personalities, like Mercedes becoming a second Ephenia who believes that elves are superior to humans, or a dark Aran whose moral code as a warrior has become warped into her attacking innocents and enemies alike just to prove that she’s stronger than anyone.

Aside from characters, I think that they really should’ve continued releasing more parts of Victoria Island instead of just stopping at Perion. I would’ve loved to see future Sleepywood and gotten the chance to fight an unsealed and overpowered Future Balrog. We’ve had some pretty interesting discussions about it on the lore server, so feel free to click the link and join if you’re interested as well!)

Centuries ago, Lucid had used her powers to erase her existence from the minds of all the elves and had decided to spend the rest of her life inside a perfect dream, oblivious to the passage of time. However, even she had been affected by the Black Mage’s curse on the elves, trapping her in ice. Unlike the other elves, Lucid’s powers had caused her to remain painfully aware that she was asleep, and she soon came to view her dreamscape as a prison. Though she longed to awaken from her dream, she felt the centuries slowly pass with no hope of escape. In desperation, Lucid projected her consciousness as far as it could go, allowing her to inadvertently stumble into the Black Mage’s subconsciousness.

Sensing Lucid’s presence, the Black Mage recognized her talents and promised her eternal life and the chance to see the new world that he would create in exchange for her loyalty. To hear that such a powerful being needed her was all that Lucid desired, and so she readily accepted his offer. The Black Mage freed Lucid from the ice and ordered her to create a false future in the Temple of Time, one in which he reigned victorious after Empress Cygnus betrayed the people of Maple World. Lucid broke into the Temple of Time and used her powers to manipulate the Gate to the Future, creating the dreamlike illusion which the Black Mage had asked her to make.

One traveler heard the rumors of the attack on the Temple of Time and decided to investigate. They entered the Gate to the Future and immediately heard the distant voice of Shinsoo, who sounded as though she was trying to tell them something. Upon going deeper inside, the traveler was stopped by an older Big Headward, whom they recognized as the hairstylist of Henesys.

Big Headward immediately became suspicious of the traveler, as no one should have been able to remember his old life aside from the other townspeople. Because of this, he brought them before Chief Alex, whom the traveler remembered as Chief Stan’s runaway son. Alex asked them if Cygnus had sent them, which the traveler denied and instead explained that they had known each other in the past. Unable to remember them, Alex began asking them a series of questions in order to determine the truth, but he was shocked when they were able to recall details that only someone who knew him well could have known.

Though he still couldn’t remember them, Alex decided to tentatively accept their story and asked where they had come from, as Cygnus’ attack had cut them off from the rest of Maple World. As they couldn’t reveal that they had come from the past, the traveler made up a story that they had been knocked unconscious and had woken up in Henesys. They then asked Alex about what had happened to Henesys, to which Alex explained that Cygnus had sent her Knights to attack Maple World after she had been corrupted by the Black Mage. As remembering the past was too painful for him, he told them to get the rest of the story from Athena Pierce.

Upon meeting the traveler, Athena was relieved to know that there were survivors beyond Henesys. She told them that Cygnus had taken an interest in the World Tree, which she believed to be the key to defeating the Black Mage. Upon finding the World Tree, however, she had realized too late that it had been a trap set by the Black Mage, who had then corrupted her and the people of Ereve. With both Cygnus and Shinsoo having fallen to evil, the divine power of the Empress was lost to them, causing Ereve to crash down upon Maple World. Cygnus had then sent her corrupted Knights to conquer the rest of the world.

(A/N: Although it was probably envisioned as a literal tree, I like the fact that they introduced the World Tree even as early as back then in the game. I do wish that they had done more with the idea of Cygnus being obsessed with the World Tree, as it feels like a missed opportunity not to have them refer to events of the Gate to the Future when Alicia is discovered in Root Abyss.)

After hearing the struggles of the townspeople, the traveler decided to stay and help them. Upon hearing rumors of a ghost haunting the town, the traveler discovered the spirit of Chief Stan. Though they seemed vaguely familiar to him, Chief Stan nevertheless asked the traveler to prove themselves by defeating the Mutant Snails outside town.

After they proved their good intentions, Stan thanked them and explained that the monsters had been keeping him on edge, which was likely why the townspeople could sense his agitation, but he promised to settle down so that he didn’t scare them anymore. Next, the traveler helped Jay collect Mutant Snail Shells, which he wanted to study in order to learn how the Black Mage’s magic had mutated the monsters in the area. They then gathered Mutant Mushroom Caps for Camila, who used them to prepare meals for the townspeople.

Soon after, Camila asked them to find her husband, Utah, who had gone missing while scouting. They found Utah in the Creepy Humming Forest Trail, where he asked them to tell Camila that he would be home soon. After letting her know, they returned to help Utah, who asked them to find a marble that Camila had given to him when they were kids.

The traveler brought the marble to Utah and proceeded deeper into the forest, where they found Anne, Dr. Betty’s daughter, who asked them to help her defeat Mutant Tinos. They also helped gather Mutant Tiru Feathers for her to craft more arrows, after which she told them that Jay needed help with something.

Back in Henesys, Jay asked them to gather Mutant Tiguru Feathers in order to help him with his research on dark magic. He then told them that Big Headward had been looking for them. Big Headward asked them to eliminate the Mutant Slimes, and after they returned, he asked them to collect Pig Oil so that he could style his hair better. (A/N: What kind of priorities does this man have in the middle of a war?)

Soon after, Camila told the traveler that Utah had finally returned home and asked if they could collect Mutant Pork so that she could make him a hearty meal. After helping Camila, the traveler learned that Utah wanted to restart his family’s pig farm in order to have a steady source of food for the town. The traveler then captured several Mutant Ribbon Pigs in order to help Utah get started.

Utah thanked the traveler and gave them a shining object which he had discovered in the forest as a token of his appreciation. Unsure of what it was, the traveler showed it to Athena Pierce, who was startled to see that it was a Dream Fragment. She immediately began acting strangely, mistakenly claiming that Cygnus had conspired to attack Maple World, rather than the Black Mage, and insisted that it would be a waste of time to look into it. (A/N: This is likely Lucid’s dream instinctively reacting to our attempts to learn the truth, resulting in Athena behaving out-of-character in order to throw us off-track.)

As Athena couldn’t help them, the traveler decided to bring the Dream Fragment to Neinheart in the real world. Neinheart was intrigued by their discovery and told them that one of his informants had given him a report on Dream Fragments, which explained that they were related to a follower of the Black Mage who had the power to create dream worlds. The traveler wondered why an element of a dream world would be in the Gate to the Future and began to suspect that something was off.

Some time later, Alex told the traveler that he had received reports of movement at the Knight Stronghold. Upon investigating, the traveler discovered that security had gotten much tighter than usual. Alex suspected that Cygnus was planning to launch an attack and decided that they needed to cripple her forces before she could execute her plan. In order to infiltrate the stronghold, Alex asked the traveler to obtain an emblem from one of the Cygnus Knights. With the emblem, Alex told them to launch a surprise attack on the stronghold by defeating Official Knights A and B. Alex was pleased by the successful attack and told them that he would soon reach out with more instructions.

Soon after, he asked the traveler for a personal favor and explained that ever since he and Jay had lost their parents, Jay had grown obsessed with becoming more powerful, and as a result, he hardly ever smiled. In order to help lift Jay’s spirits, Alex asked them to find a Cheery Book, which was said to make one bust up laughing with a single paragraph. (A/N: Literally who else but Lucid would include something like this in a dystopian future.) The traveler stole one from an Official Knight B and brought it to Jay, who smiled slightly after realizing that Alex had been worrying over him.

Some time later, Alex told the traveler to obtain a report from their undercover informant. The informant told them that he had no news to report and explained that he would contact them himself in order to prevent his cover from being blown. After the traveler returned back to Henesys, Chief Stan’s spirit told them how much he regretted that he had never expressed his love to Alex while he had been alive, and so he asked them to find a letter that he had written to Alex, which detailed how much he loved his son.

After learning that a Knight who had attacked Henesys had taken it, the traveler found it in the hands of an Official Knight C and brought it to Alex, who was touched by the letter and thanked the traveler for finding it. Camila then told them that Anne and Big Headward were arguing once again and asked them to collect gloves from Official Knight D’s and bandanas from Official Knight C’s, with which she made gifts to reconcile the two. She then explained that Utah had injured his shoulder while wrestling with one of the pigs on their farm and asked them to bring pauldrons from Official Knight E’s in order to help keep him safe.

Some time later, Alex gave them a new mission to ambush the Advanced Knight A’s while the Knights were running drills. After completing their mission, they helped Jay obtain a Superior Magic Wand from Advanced Knight B’s so that he could wield the powerful magic that he had been researching. Big Headward then asked them to bring back a Superior Bow from Advanced Knight D’s so that he could give it as an apology gift to Anne. Soon after, however, he explained that Anne had been making fun of him, since her weapon was now better than his, and so the traveler obtained an Ornate Sword from Advanced Knight E’s to give to Big Headward.

Some time later, the informant asked the traveler to covertly let Chief Alex know that he had discovered where Neinheart was being held. Alex immediately asked them to rescue Neinheart, and so the traveler infiltrated the stronghold and entered the secret grove, where they defeated the guards surrounding Neinheart’s cage.

Neinheart thanked the traveler for rescuing him, but he explained that he wanted to stay, as his absence would only make things worse for the people of Henesys. He added that he might also be able to do some good from where he was and asked them to tell Alex of his decision. He also begged them to stop Cygnus, claiming that she was beyond saving, and requested that they weaken the knights’ power base before Cygnus could launch her siege on Henesys. After thinning out the Advanced Knights, the traveler reported back to Neinheart, who was relieved to hear the news.

Soon after, the informant reached out and explained that it was getting harder to deliver messages, as the Knights were beginning to suspect him. Because of this, he asked the traveler to locate the Cygnus Garden in his place, where Cygnus and her Chief Knights resided. After discovering its location, the traveler reported back to Alex and told him that they would need a key to get in. Alex vaguely recalled something about a key that Stan had once told him, although he was unable to remember what it was.

The traveler then asked Stan’s spirit, who told them that they would need to create a Dream Key, and that Jay would know how to make one. Jay explained that the Dream Key was created by the stones of the Elemental Spirits which protected the Cygnus Knights. The traveler told Alex what they had learned, after which he asked them to craft a Dream Key in order to enter the Cygnus Garden and eliminate Cygnus and her Chief Knights.

At the Hallowed Ground, the traveler obtained stones from the five elemental spirits - Dawn, Blaze, Wind, Night, and Thunder - which they used to craft a Dream Key and enter the Cygnus Garden. They then engaged in a fierce battle against Cygnus, Shinsoo, and the Chief Knights, ultimately defeating them and ending Cygnus’ reign of terror on the future Maple World.

Just then, they heard the voice of the real Shinsoo telling them to wake up from the dream. Shinsoo then explained that the world inside the Gate to the Future was nothing more than a dream planted by the Black Mage in order to demoralize the people of Maple World by showing them a ruined future.

Birth of an Alliance:

(A/N: Almost every class storyline written so far converges at this point. Just for the record, these storylines include: Explorers, Cygnus Knights, Aran, Evan, Mercedes, Luminous, Resistance, Demon, and Xenon. The only exceptions are the Grandis classes, which join the Alliance some time after its formation. This was actually one of my favorite sections to write because it felt so satisfying to have each classes’ Alliance quest fit seamlessly into the next. I complain a lot about how this game has a lot of plot holes, but I have to admit that the writers did a pretty decent job with this one.)

While continuing their training, the Cygnus Knight was contacted by Neinheart, who explained that the Empress was on the brink of making an important decision. Before she did, however, she wanted the counsel of each of her knights, and so all the Cygnus Knights had been ordered to return to Ereve immediately.

The Knight reported to Cygnus, who thanked them for returning to see her. She told them she was afraid that despite everything they had done, the Black Mage’s threat continued to grow. She also confessed that she hadn’t been as strong of a leader as Maple World needed. With the Black Wings still holding Edelstein and rumors of Orchid’s return, their enemies continued to grow stronger while the rift between Ereve and the Resistance was wider than ever, with even the Explorers beginning to lose their trust in her.

She had also heard rumors from the Temple of Time that people were calling the Cygnus Knights traitors. Because of this, she was crestfallen that she had failed to earn the trust of Maple World and asked them to go to the Temple of Time in order to meet with one of her agents, Della, and collect her report on why the Cygnus Knights were being called traitors. She told them that once she had heard the source of the rumor, she would decide on the future course of the Cygnus Knights.

After traveling to the Temple of Time, the Knight met with Della, who told them that inside the Gate to the Future, Cygnus had sent the Knights to attack the people of Maple World, resulting in her being known as the Axle of Evil. However, she noted that something seemed off, as not only would Cygnus never betray her people, but Shinsoo’s voice had also seemed strange there as well. Because of this, Della was planning to go back inside to investigate, but told them to give her report to Cygnus. The Knight returned to Ereve and gave Della’s report to Cygnus, who was shocked at the future that awaited her.

After some time, Cygnus asked Neinheart to arrange a royal meeting between herself and Mercedes.

(A/N: It’s not specified whether she meets with Mercedes before or after getting the report from the Temple of Time, but I think it makes more sense for it to be after hearing the rumor because she doesn’t tell the Knight what specifically she’s planning to do in order to regain the trust of the people, meaning that she likely spent some time deliberating and then asked for Mercedes’ counsel on the strongest idea that she came up with.)

At the meeting, Cygnus asked Mercedes for her counsel, not only as a fellow royal, but also as someone who had once faced the Black Mage. She told Mercedes that she had been recently plagued by nightmares, and that she had come to realize that the Cygnus Knights couldn’t defeat the Black Mage alone. However, she also realized that they would be unstoppable if the rest of Maple World stood alongside them. Because of this, she was planning on creating a worldwide alliance and asked Mercedes for her opinion.

Mercedes confessed that it would be difficult to accomplish if the people of Maple World couldn’t look past their differences. However, she told Cygnus that despite it being difficult, it was what Maple World needed. She explained that centuries ago, she had been forced to watch Maple World fall to ruin because its people couldn’t look past their own selfish desires. In the present day, however, she believed that Cygnus could bring about a new era of strength to defeat the Black Mage, and so she supported Cygnus’ decision. Cygnus thanked Mercedes for her insight and invited her to the upcoming conference that she was planning to host.

Around the same time, Teo reached out to the Explorer and told them that long ago, Kyrin had asked him to keep an eye out for any strange pieces of wood adrift. Recently, he had found such a piece of wood while fishing, and as he couldn’t leave, he asked them to take it to Muirhat, a crewmember of the Nautilus, as Muirhat likely wouldn’t let them see Kyrin. (A/N: Not even if you’re a pirate too? That’s a bit sad.)

Sure enough, Muirhat stopped them from seeing Kyrin and demanded to see the ominous relic. After brushing some sea moss off the wood, Muirhat discovered a strange carving and took the Explorer into a private room in order to investigate further. After removing the rest of the moss, several tree-like monsters manifested and began to attack the Explorer, who managed to defeat them.

Muirhat recognized them as Guwaru’s Vestiges and, believing that they had a connection to the Black Mage, asked them to show the relic to Kyrin. Upon examining it, Kyrin immediately recognized the carving as Guwaru’s symbol and told the Explorer that Guwaru was one of the Black Mage’s Commanders, adding that he was also the strangest and most wild of all the Seven Commanders.

As the relic’s untimely appearance gave her a bad feeling, she asked them to bring it to Athena Pierce while she prepared the Nautilus crew for possible attack. Athena was surprised to see the relic and wondered why Guwaru’s mark would appear in present day. Though she hoped that it was merely a coincidence, she also realized that they couldn’t afford to ignore it, and so she decided to purify the relic of its dark aura and told the Explorer to cover their eyes. After a flash of light, a dark spirit was exorcised from the relic, confirming Athena’s suspicions that it was a warning from Guwaru that the Black Mage was returning to Maple World.

Soon after, Cygnus summoned several Knights and told them that, despite how difficult it would be, she strongly believed that forming an alliance would be the best thing for Maple World and asked them to tell Neinheart of her decision. After being informed that Cygnus had made up her mind, Neinheart asked the Knights to invite the other major powers of Maple World to the upcoming conference.

(A/N: In the Alliance prequest for the Cygnus Knights, you’re only allowed to choose one faction to invite between the Resistance, the Explorers, and Aran, while the rest are presumably sent by others. Because of this, I’m assuming that Neinheart chose three knights to send the invitations simultaneously. This lines up as well, because Claudine doesn’t recognize you from your time in Edelstein, and so this likely means that a different Knight gave her the invitation.)

The first Knight was asked to invite the Explorers’ Guild by giving Neinheart’s letter to Athena Pierce. As she had lived through the Black Mage’s tyranny, Neinheart hoped that she would understand the necessity of the conference. In Henesys, Athena thanked them for the invitation and told them that she would see them at the conference.

Meanwhile in Edelstein, Claudine reached out to the Resistance member and told them that Vita had gone missing. As she doubted that someone in her frail condition could have destroyed the cell door, Claudine feared that the Black Wings might have discovered the Secret Plaza. She begged them to go to the Verne Mine in order to see whether Vita had gone there. She also asked them to convince Vita to come back, if possible, believing that Vita would listen to a close friend.

The Resistance member rushed to the Verne Mine, where they found Vita standing at the entrance with a dazed expression. Vita then monotonously declared that all enemies of the Black Wings must be destroyed and summoned Black Wings henchmen to attack the Resistance member. After defeating them, the Resistance member tried to snap Vita out of her daze, but nothing that they said seemed to work.

Just then, Gelimer arrived to see what was causing Vita’s delay. The Resistance member demanded to know what he had done to Vita, to which Gelimer replied that ‘the creature’ had completed its mission and was awaiting its next orders. The Resistance member snapped at Gelimer not to treat Vita like a robot, to which Gelimer clarified that she wasn’t a robot, but rather, a perfect brainwashed slave. He explained that he had called her back, as it had been some time since he had given her a check-up, but he was pleasantly surprised that she had brought the Resistance member along as well.

Though he yearned to use them as his new lab rat, he knew that Hiver wouldn’t allow it. However, he still decided to run one small experiment and told them to take the road behind the mine to his lab, promising to return Vita if they made it. He also warned that the guards would be dangerous and recommended that they bring as many friends as possible for backup.

The Resistance member rushed back to Claudine and explained that not only was Vita innocent, but Gelimer had also been using her for his schemes. Claudine apologized for suspecting Vita, but she told them that it was too dangerous to go after her, since she couldn’t spare any agents to back the Resistance member up. After arguing back and forth, Claudine finally agreed to let them go after Vita, but she warned that no one would be able to rescue them or Vita if things went wrong. Claudine then wondered to herself whether she should have accepted the Cygnus Knights’ help earlier.

Around the same time, a second Knight arrived to deliver the Empress’ invitation to Claudine. They found her in her public guise in Edelstein, but she refused to read the letter, claiming that the Cygnus Knights had nothing to say that she wanted to hear. However, the Knight was persistent and Claudine agreed to read the letter if they did her a favor. She told them to go into the Verne Mine and look for a laboratory there, explaining that they would find a cave hidden behind the mine and told them to listen for a voice.

(A/N: She stops herself halfway while saying the name of who to listen for, but the person is most definitely Vita. It’s not clear whether this is set when Vita first breaks out of her cell or when Gelimer challenges the Resistance to come rescue her, but it makes more sense for Claudine to verify that Vita is alive before the Resistance member goes to rescue her, and so I’m placing it accordingly. Claudine also begins to have her crisis about whether she should have accepted the Cygnus Knights’ help at this point, and so I feel like she would be more likely to read the letter if she were already inclining towards reconciling with the Knights.)

The Knight followed Claudine’s instructions and arrived at Gelimer’s lab, where they heard Vita’s voice. After confirming with Claudine that they had heard a voice, she agreed to read the letter and told them that she would discuss the proposed alliance with the other Resistance leaders.

Meanwhile, the Resistance member entered Gelimer’s lab, where they found Vita locked up, though they were glad to see that she had come back to her senses. Vita admonished them for having come after her, explaining that Gelimer had wanted as many Resistance members to arrive in order to finish them all off at once, which was why he had told them to bring friends. She reminded them that she was Gelimer’s test subject, and that even if she were to escape with them, her presence would only cause more trouble for the Resistance.

The Resistance member told her that they didn’t care about any of that, as the only thing that mattered to them was that she was their friend. They told her not to blame herself for the situation, reminding her that it was all Gelimer’s fault. Vita was touched and called them a good friend, but she explained that she couldn’t go with them, as Gelimer had rigged a bomb in her cage, which would kill her and anyone around her once it detonated. However, she told them that she had a town return scroll that she had hoped to use in order to return back to Edelstein, but as she didn’t want to cause any more trouble for them, she had resolved to stay in the lab and die alone.

Though seeing them made her miss Edelstein and all her friends in the Resistance, Vita knew that she was a danger to everyone around her as long as Gelimer controlled her. The Resistance member pleaded with her that that they could undo the brainwashing, and though Vita conceded that they could try, she believed that it would be too dangerous. She told them that she would be happy as long as she could save them, and that she was counting on them to defeat the Black Wings. She then made the Resistance member promise not to let Gelimer do to anyone what he had done to her, after which she thrust the return scroll upon them, teleporting them away right before her cage exploded and killed her.

The Resistance member returned to the Secret Plaza and sadly told Claudine what had happened. Claudine immediately blamed herself, believing that she should have kept a closer eye on Vita and realized what Gelimer had been up to. She also regretted that she had been too prideful to accept the Cygnus Knights’ help, as she had believed that the Resistance could have taken down the Black Wings on its own, though in the end, Gelimer had still beaten them and Vita had paid the price. She then asked the Resistance member for some time alone to reflect, adding that they likely needed the same.

A few days later, Athena called the Explorer to Henesys and told them about the letter she had received from Ereve. While she was happy to hear the news about a new alliance, she was concerned that it would place restrictions upon the Explorers, believing that it wasn’t the Explorers’ Guild’s place to ask their members to follow those restrictions. However, she added that she also couldn’t stand by and watch Maple World fall to chaos, and so she asked them to send her confirmation of attendance to Cygnus. Cygnus was pleased to hear Athena’s decision and added that she hoped to see them at the conference.

(A/N: There’s a small inconsistency where Athena had already told the Knight that the Explorers would join them. I pass it off as her giving an informal yes to the Knight and then grappling with the issue before sending the Explorer to give her formal reply.)

Around this time, a third Knight arrived at Rien, where Neinheart had instructed them to find his sister Lilin, explaining that, in addition to the Explorers and the Resistance, they also needed to invite others who could garner respect for their cause. He believed that the legendary hero Aran could boost their alliance’s legitimacy through her status.

The Knight delivered the letter to Lilin, who was pleased by the news and told them to expect Aran at the conference. She immediately contacted Aran and asked her to return to Rien. There, she excitedly showed Aran the invitation that the Cygnus Knights had given her and explained that it was proof that Ereve had recognized Aran as a true hero. Believing it best that Aran went with someone who recognized her as a hero, Lilin suggested that she ask Athena Pierce to accompany her, as she was a well-respected figure in Maple World.

Aran asked Lilin if she would also come to the conference, but Lilin was unsure about whether she ought to be there. While she debated about going, Athena agreed to accompany Aran and told her that Mercedes would also be there. As Aran had lost her memories, she asked Athena who Mercedes was, to which she merely told Aran that Mercedes was a friend. Soon after, Lilin told Aran that she would come with them as well.

Some time later, Claudine reached out to the Resistance member and told them that she had been thinking about the Black Wings’ motivation for everything that they had done. Though Gelimer presented himself as a regular scientist, she believed that he was hiding a dark secret. As she wanted to know what Gelimer was hoping to gain by experimenting on live humans, she asked the Resistance member to go back to Gelimer’s lab in order to look for clues. There, they found part of his research diary and brought it to Claudine.

After reading it, she realized that Gelimer was trying to make some sort of superhuman by using magic in order to make ordinary people stronger. She then read them a passage from the diary: “Upon completion of the experiment, the subject appeared to be successful. Visually it appeared to be an exact replica of The One. I named it Vita, thinking it would be my greatest achievement. However, after multiple tests, I am now certain the experiment was a failure. It exhibits no extraordinary capabilities. It is, in fact, a quite ordinary human female. The subject will be purged during the next clean cycle. I must go back to formula.”

(A/N: Although it’s not completely clear on what Gelimer’s goals were with Vita, she seems to be a host body for Lotus’ consciousness. Gelimer knows that Lotus’ body is far superior to that of a normal human, since it was created by the Black Mage, and so he seems to be trying to replicate Lotus’ constitution by experimenting on Vita. However, she doesn’t have any powers, which is to be expected, since Lotus’ power came from being a Spirit of Darkness, and later the Wing Master powers that the Black Mage gave him to replace his original spirit powers.

I also have to wonder why Vita was described as an exact replica of Lotus if she was female. If it’s true that she’s a perfect replica aside from gender, it makes more sense that she should look like Lotus’ twin, Orchid. Based on all the inconsistent pronoun usages with Lotus’ storyline, I wonder if he was originally concepted as female before they decided that he would be male.

Regardless, it’s unknown whether these experiments were merely a front to deceive Orchid, or whether they actually had a role in his Xenoroid project. There’s a quest in Xenon’s storyline which suggests that Gelimer had been using alchemy in his Xenoroid research, and since it’s clear that Vita and the other experiments in the Verne Mine had been augmented with magic, I wonder whether he was using Vita and the others as test subjects for him to perfect his alchemy techniques so that he could apply them to his Xenoroids.)

Based on the note, Claudine realized that Gelimer was likely taking orders from someone else. She was also troubled by the reference to ‘The One’ and asked them to go back to the lab in order to find the other parts of the diary. Upon returning to the lab, the Resistance member heard Gelimer talking to Orchid. He was telling her that there was no need to check up on him in person, promising that his research would be finished soon. However, Orchid snapped at him, claiming that Arkarium’s plans were well under way, and that she couldn’t let him beat her and Lotus.

(A/N: This is likely a reference to Arkarium’s plan with the Mystic Gates. The exchange makes it seem as though she and Lotus are planning to do something for the Black Mage, and that they’re competing with Arkarium to finish it. This might be because Nexon hadn’t settled on the whole backstory of the Black Wings. We know for fact that she betrayed the Black Mage after Black Heaven, but we don’t really know whether she had still been affiliated with him prior to that, as it sounds like the Commanders had just left her to do her own thing, as though she were a little kid playing in a sandbox while the adults were doing the real work.)

She reminded Gelimer that he had claimed that he had only been waiting for Vita to finish her mission, to which he explained that there had been complications, and that it wasn’t easy creating a creature as powerful as what she was asking for, though he promised that he would have it ready soon. She told him that he had better be right, as it was the very reason why she had formed the Black Wings in the first place. Gelimer was taken aback at the news, as well as the Resistance member, who realized that Orchid was the founder of the Black Wings. (A/N: This is a continuity error, as Gelimer already knew from the beginning why Orchid had founded the Black Wings.)

Gelimer told her that if she had spent so many years waiting, then a few more days wouldn’t make a difference. He assured her that once he finished, the resulting creature would be more powerful than herself and Lotus put together. Just then, they heard a noise coming from where the Resistance member was hiding, who realized that it was time to leave.

After returning back to the Secret Plaza, they explained the situation to Claudine, who told them that it was huge news, as they now knew that the founder of the Black Wings was also a Commander of the Black Mage. She explained that when the Resistance had first been formed, they had no intention of fighting the Black Mage, but she now realized that to face one was to face the other. Claudine then called the Resistance member to a secret meeting with the other Resistance leaders. She explained that the reason why they were gathered was because the Resistance had been invited to a Continental Conference in Ereve in order to prepare for the Black Mage’ return.

Though many of them were in favor of blowing off the Cygnus Knights, Claudine asked them to remember Vita, as well as the knowledge that the Black Wings founder was a Commander. Elex reminded them that they had previously decided that the so-called founder didn’t exist, but Claudine assured him that Orchid definitely existed, and that she had been proven to be a Commander by the Resistance member’s intel. She explained that the purpose of Gelimer’s experiments was for Orchid to create a superhuman monster, and that it was all for the larger purpose of reviving the Black Mage. She then wondered what could drive someone to such evil, and what it was about the Black Mage that inspired such loyalty.

Brighton commented that it sounded like Claudine believed that they should join the alliance. Claudine told him that it was a difficult decision, but if the Black Mage was involved, they needed all the help that they could get. Elex asked whether they could trust Cygnus, while Brighton asked if the Resistance was really so weak that they needed to ask their enemies for help. Claudine reminded them that they weren’t ready to face the Black Mage, and though they couldn’t trust Cygnus, they had no other choice. She added that she didn’t want another tragedy like Vita’s to befall upon them again.

Belle took Claudine’s side and asked the others whether they hated the Cygnus Knights so much that they couldn’t look past their anger to fight the Black Mage. Elex agreed that though he didn’t like the Knights, they needed to defeat the Black Wings. Checky added that they could always leave the alliance if Ereve turned on them. Brighton begrudgingly agreed, and with a unanimous vote, they agreed to attend the conference.

Claudine then asked the Resistance member to deliver their response to Ereve. Cygnus greeted them in earnest and told them that she was looking forward to their attendance. Back in Edelstein, Claudine also called the Demon and Xenon separately and informed them of the Continental Conference, which she asked them to attend as members of the Resistance.

Meanwhile, Evan and Mir arrived in Edelstein in order to get revenge on Hiver. Mir suggested storming the Verne Mine and attacking all the Black Wings inside, but Evan told him that he didn’t want to attack random people just because they worked for the Black Wings, reminding Mir that they themselves used to be part of the Black Wings until recently.

They decided to go undercover in order to learn Hiver’s location and asked a watchman named Bavan where Hiver was by making up a story that they owed him money. Bavan agreed to contact Hiver in exchange for Nependeath’s Honey from Orbis. After bringing him the honey, Bavan told Evan that he had arranged for Evan to meet Hiver in the Verne Mine.

Inside the mine, however, Black Wings henchmen ambushed them and Evan realized that Bavan and Hiver had set up a trap. After defeating the henchmen, a strange woman arrived and had a stand-off with Evan, though she quickly realized that he was a civilian and disappeared. Evan and Mir also realized that she was likely an enemy of the Black Wings and left to go confront Bavan.

In town, however, they recognized Claudine as the same woman from the mine. After confronting her, she told them to meet her in Edelstein Park if they wanted to question her. There, they both realized that they were on the same side, and so Evan asked if he and Mir could team up with her. However, Claudine told them that she couldn’t trust them yet, as they might be a spy or might be too weak.

In order to have them prove themselves, she told them to take the secret route to Gelimer’s laboratory and bring back Black Wings emblems from his henchmen. After they brought the emblems back, Claudine told them that even though they might have gotten them from their commanders, she felt as though she could trust them, not only because of their actions, but also because of the intelligence that the Resistance had stolen from the Black Wings, which detailed their dealings with the Onyx Dragons. She told them about the upcoming Continental Conference and asked if they wanted to accompany her, to which Evan and Mir happily agreed.

Some time later, Agent N reached out to Luminous and told him that Cygnus had found out that they were working together, and that she wanted to meet with him. Luminous traveled to Ereve to meet with Cygnus, who asked him if he had been surprised by her invitation. He told her that he was surprised that she even knew him in the first place, as few seemed to remember the events of his time. Cygnus explained that her family had always watched and waited, but added that it wasn’t the reason why she had asked him to meet.

She told him that she was planning on forming an alliance in the hopes of uniting the various factions of Maple World, despite their differences. Though there had only been five who had stood against the Black Mage centuries ago, she told him that there were hundreds who stood together in the present day. Luminous was impressed by Cygnus’ resolve and told her that she reminded him of Empress Aria, adding that he wondered what Phantom would think of her. Believing that her cause was noble, he asked her to call upon him whenever she was in need of his power.

After receiving unanimous confirmations, the First Continental Conference took place and the Maple Alliance was officially created.

Twilight Perion:

Soon after the formation of the Alliance, the Black Mage ordered Lucid to create yet another illusion to sow discord amongst the members of the Alliance. Lucid expanded her illusion of the ruined Victoria Island to include a destroyed Perion and spread that vision in the form of a nightmare that all the people of Maple World continually experienced whenever they slept.

In order to solve the crisis, the Alliance held an emergency conference, which was attended by the top leaders of the Alliance, as well as the traveler who had first entered the Gate to the Future. As the Resistance and the Cygnus Knights bickered amongst themselves, Athena Pierce attempted to keep the peace and moved the discussion forward to the nightmares about the Gate to the Future that plagued the people of Maple World.

(A/N: There’s a cutscene here that shows different groups of people in Maple World being affected by the nightmares. One of those groups is the elves in Elluel and it’s shown that many of the elves have been freed from the ice. However, this is a continuity error because the Heroes of Maple blockbuster confirms that only the elders and Moonie, the child who was kidnapped by Orchid in Mercedes’ storyline, have been freed.)

Grendel pointed out that such a level of dream control would be next-to-impossible for even the most powerful magicians. Athena explained that the Silent Crusade had already attempted a remedy, though she added that it wouldn’t be enough. She asked the Alliance member who had first entered the Gate to the Future to speak with the warriors of Perion. There, Dances with Balrog shared his premonition of the future with the Alliance member and told them that he feared that it would soon come to pass.

After reporting back to Athena, the Alliance member was tasked with finding proof in the Gate to the Future that Dances with Balrog’s vision was only an illusion. In Twilight Perion, the Alliance member learned that the warriors of Perion had been killed by the Black Mage’s army, and that the survivors had been enslaved by the Resistance, who had betrayed the Alliance. The Alliance member returned to Dances with Balrog and told him about what they had seen. As their experience matched his vision, Dances with Balrog accepted that his vision was false future created by the same one who had created the Henesys Ruins.

Soon after, the Alliance member returned to Ereve and described the future that they had seen, which shocked the Resistance. As they continued arguing with the Cygnus Knights, Athena did her best to hold the peace and explained that the people of Maple World had gone half-crazy from insomnia, brainwashed into believing the false future. Grendel believed that they were suffering from dream addiction and asked the Alliance member to gather rare Lucid Matter from Twilight Perion in order to stop the nightmares.

The Alliance member successfully obtained Lucid Matter and brought it to Grendel for his cure. They then decided to stay and help the people of Perion suffering under the Black Mage’s rule. They first obtained Fresh Sap from the Swollen Dark Stumps for Christopher, the exhausted beginner Explorer who was still just as clumsy in the future. Next, they obtained Giant Firewood from Swollen Dark Stumps and Swollen Axe Stumps for River. They then went to see Wrestles the Wolves, the son of the late Dances with Balrog, who asked them to hunt the Swollen Axe Stumps and Pillaging Wild Boars terrorizing his people.

(A/N: A lot of Perion and its NPCs are based on the novel “Dances with Wolves”, which is where Dances with Balrog and Wrestles the Wolves’ names come from. The novel is about a soldier from the Civil War finding himself stranded in the wilderness before coming to live with a tribe of Lakota Sioux people, after which he takes the name Dances with Wolves. Dances with Balrog’s name in KMS and JMS is actually Stands with Open Fist, which is a reference to a character named Stands with A Fist in the novel.

Stands with a Fist is the white adopted daughter of the tribe’s medicine man and her story was actually adapted into Ayan’s backstory in the game. While the quests detailing Ayan’s backstory have now been removed, the gist of it is that Ayan is actually Bruce’s daughter in Henesys. At a young age, she was attacked and injured by a Golem, which caused her to lose her memories and forget her past. She ended up being found by the warriors of Perion, who brought her to live with the tribe, which is why she’s the only white person in Perion. Bruce came to believe that the Golems killed his daughter, which is why he decided to dedicate his life to researching the Golems in the Golem Temple.

This backstory was slightly modified several times through the game’s history, as an earlier iteration actually said that Mushmom attacked Ayan, and that Bruce was studying the wildlife of Henesys in general as a result, rather than just the Golems. Regardless, the rest of the backstory is still the same, which is that Bruce eventually discovers that his daughter is actually alive. He then asks you to give Ayan a toy sword from her childhood in order to jog her memories. After Ayan gets her memories back, she asks us to give Bruce a letter from her, after which she and her father end up reuniting.)

Wrestles the Wolves then asked for them to help Sophia feed the town, which had recently been hit with a famine, and so they brought her Giant Porkchops from the Giant Boars. The Alliance member then caught the attention of Elex, who ordered them to bring Strong Armor Fragments from the Pillaging Iron Hogs as materials for the giant statue of the Black Mage being constructed at the top of the village. Next, Claudine ordered them to find Strong Wild Boar Teeth from Pillaging Fire Boars in order to turn them into gift shop items.

Soon after, Wrestles the Wolves summoned them and explained that his father’s secrets of how to protect his people had been lost in his final battle. The Alliance member then decided to return to the Henesys Ruins, where they reunited with Chief Alex. When asked how Dances with Balrog had kept his people safe, Alex suggested asking the spirit of Chief Stan, who explained that Dances with Balrog had a special flute that could chase away monsters.

The Alliance member returned to Twilight Perion and told Wrestles the Wolves about the flute, who recognized it from the stories of the elders as Pachamama’s Quena, which had been taken by Ghostwood Stumpy. The Alliance member recovered the flute for Wrestles the Wolves, who asked them to deliver it to the Tribal Refugee Camp, the home of the weak and the old members of the tribe, as they needed the protection more.

The Alliance member brought the flute to Ayan, who thanked them and asked them to collect Cursed Planks from the Sinister Wooden Masks in order to build fences. Next, they met with Blackbull, who asked them to prove their strength by hunting Sinister Rocky Masks. Soon after, Grendel contacted them with an idea about how to find the mysterious Dream Master and asked them to find Slumbering Fragments, which were reflections of the Dream Master’s subconsciousness within the scope of the dream that enveloped the Gate to the Future.

The Alliance member collected the Slumbering Fragments and delivered them to Grendel, after which they continued to help the people of Twilight Perion. Stands with Bulls asked them to ask his granddaughter, Hard as Stone, what she wanted for her birthday. She explained that she wanted to see her grandfather again and asked to hear his stories about the great warriors of Perion. The Alliance member gathered War Journals stolen by the Sinister Steel Masks and delivered them to Hard as Stone on her grandfather’s behalf.

Soon after, Elex ordered them to bring Thick Cursed Plates from the Sinister Steel Masks in order to continue construction on the Black Mage statue, though he intended to pocket the materials for himself. Claudine then ordered them to collect Radiant Ancient Rubble and Radiant Dark Rubble for her gift shop. After helping them, Ayan contacted the Alliance member and asked them to check on Manji in the Spirit Zone, who asked them to take care of the Golems, as well as a reformed Ghostwood Stumpy.

He then asked them to collect the Warrior Hearts from the spirits of Perion’s warriors and return them to Blackbull, who used them to hold a memorial service. Grendel then contacted the Alliance member and explained that he had used the Slumbering Fragments to form a Piece of Memory, which the Alliance member used to view Lucid’s memory of meeting the Black Mage within his dream. Just then, a Wightmare appeared and drove them out from his master’s dream.

(A/N: The image that we see of Lucid in this quest actually shows her as a human girl. This was the first iteration of what she was concepted as before they changed her to be an elf in Shade’s storyline. The concept of there being a follower of the Black Mage who could manipulate dreams was first established in 2010 during the Chaos patch, which released the Gate to the Future. Three years later, Twilight Perion came out in January 2013 during the Cygnus Awakens patch, which is when we see the image of a human girl who had stumbled into the Black Mage’s dreamscape.

Interestingly, Lucid was first named and retconned as an elf in Shade’s storyline, which came out in December 2013 of that same year, meaning that the decision to make her an elf was fairly last-minute. Lucid’s appearance was quite different in Shade’s storyline, which actually featured her wearing a green and black checkered dress, as well as long lavender hair that covered her eyes with her bangs. Three years later in 2016, Lucid’s design was updated to her current look with the release of Lachelein, which was also her introduction to the wider MapleStory community who hadn’t played through Shade’s story.)

Back in the real world, Grendel explained that dream manipulation was a benign form of magic, and that the Dream Manipulator was likely an ordinary girl who had been warped into a dark sorceress by the Black Mage’s influence. Athena then thanked the Alliance member for their help and explained that the Alliance would begin investigating the Dream Master immediately. She also warned them that the Black Mage was likely displeased by the formation of the Alliance, meaning that he would be recruiting more Commanders in the future to stop them.

Traces of the Commanders:

Having grown much stronger, the Demon decided that it was time for him to start his investigation on who was commanding the Black Wings. He first infiltrated the Verne Mine and destroyed the Guard Robots in order to thin their numbers. Moving deeper into the mine, he defeated the Guard Robot L monsters and created a hole in their monitoring of Gelimer’s laboratory.

However, even after searching the laboratory and the Power Plant, he was unable to find any clues about the leader of the Black Wings. Just then, he felt a dark energy coming from Eleanor the Black Witch’s room. Before investigating it, however, he decided to first search the rooms of the other officers. (A/N: I have no idea why they bother mentioning that there’s something suspicious in Eleanor’s room if he never even investigates it in the end.)

He began investigating Francis’ room and decided to read his diary. As he opened it, overpowering magic emanated from its pages, nearly causing him to drop it. He was surprised to know that the Black Wings had such extraordinarily powered members.

(A/N: This is the only confirmation that we get that Francis is much more talented than he seems. Given that his last chronological appearance was at the end of Black Heaven, I’m hoping that he’ll have gotten a glow-up and mastered his powers before taking Grandis by storm.)

Flipping through the pages, he read through Francis’ lovesick musings on Orchid and even found a photo of her that Francis had discreetly taken. He realized that Orchid was leading the Black Wings, but he wondered why Lotus wasn’t in the photo, as the two were normally inseparable.

Some time later, Mastema told the Demon about a new lead that she had discovered, explaining that there was a secret book on Dark Alchemy in Magatia. She told him that she had visited Magatia many years ago, where she had heard rumors about its researchers’ hidden alchemy techniques that supposedly allowed them to draw on darkness itself.

She explained that there were two alchemical societies in Magatia, the Zenumists and the Alcadno, and suggested that he start by questioning the Zenumist President, Carson. She also told him that she had found another way to restore her true form through alchemy and asked him to bring her Purple Liquid while he was in Magatia, which would allow her create a potion that could transform her into whatever she most desired. (A/N: She really should’ve paid attention to the wording of this.)

In Magatia, the Demon asked Carson about Dark Alchemy at the Zenumist headquarters. Carson was shocked that the Demon knew of its existence, as the subject was a closely guarded secret. He asked the Demon to reveal his identity, to which the Demon merely replied that he hunted and destroyed dark artifacts of the Black Mage. Carson told him that he did know about Dark Alchemy, but he explained that someone had just stolen his Forbidden Book of Alchemy.

He noted that the Demon was different from the ones who had stolen the book and asked how he had heard about it, as it seemed strange that so many people were looking for it all of a sudden. The Demon explained that as a hunter of relics connected with the Black Mage, he had followed the rumors of Dark Alchemy to Magatia.

When the Demon asked what the thieves had done, Carson told him that he wasn’t sure who the thieves were, but their magic had been strong enough to stun him, open the safe, and escape. However, he explained that the Zenumists only had half of the book, while the Alcadno held the other half in order to keep the secret safe. He was worried that if the thieves were to steal the other half of the book, they would gain access to Dark Alchemy, and so he asked the Demon to stop them.

The Demon rushed to the Alcadno headquarters, only to find a magician hypnotizing Maed, the Alcadno President, into giving him the other book. The Demon rushed to attack the magician, who was overwhelmed by the Demon’s strength. Though he managed to get away, the Demon noted that the magician had been injured, and so he couldn’t have gotten far.

Carson then arrived and asked Maed what had happened. Maed told Carson that he had been hypnotized into giving the other half of the book to the thief. The Demon then asked what was written in the Forbidden Book of Alchemy, as he might be able to help. Maed told the Demon that the Forbidden Book of Alchemy contained the most powerful secrets of Magatia’s founder.

Those who had come after the founder had been told to keep its contents secret at all costs, and so they had split the book into two. Maed explained that Dark Alchemy wasn’t used for attacking or defending, but rather for making or destroying magical substances, adding that it had the power to alter the very flow of Maple World’s magic. He then begged the Demon to recover the book.

(A/N: While the White Mage isn’t directly the founder of Magatia, he practically pioneered the field of alchemy and his research was so influential that alchemists who came after him built the town upon his foundations, both figuratively and literally, as the town was built directly above his underground research laboratory. Based on what we know about the properties of Dark Alchemy, it’s cool to see that the White Mage had an interest in researching the powers of creation and destruction, even before he had become the Transcendent of Light.)

Maed gave the Demon a Magic Tracking Compass that would allow him to track the magician’s whereabouts. He told the Demon that it seemed that the magician was heading west of Magatia into the desert, warning him that the magician would likely escape if he made it to Ariant. The Demon rushed after the magician and caught up to him in the Desert of Red Sand.

Hiding behind a tree, he watched the magician regroup with two others, one of whom appeared to be their leader. The leader immediately sensed the Demon’s presence and told the magician that he had been followed. As the Demon prepared himself for battle, the magician warned the leader that the Demon was powerful. Noticing that they had set up a portal, the Demon realized that they were planning to make their escape through it. He threatened them to return the book, but the magicians refused and told him that they couldn’t afford to fail their mission and risk Arkarium’s wrath.

This intrigued the Demon, who asked them what Arkarium wanted with the book. Once again, they refused to tell him, though they did mention that the book had originally belonged to the Black Mage. One of the magicians then grew careless and boasted that they would use Dark Alchemy to destroy all the Seal Stones and revive the Black Mage.

(A/N: They’re likely talking about the five Seal Stones that make up the actual Seal of Time, as the other Seal Stones that the Black Wings are searching for aren’t really keeping him sealed. However, the Black Heaven storyline does reveal that even after the Black Mage gets unsealed, the remaining Seal Stones innately channeled the desire of the people of Maple World for the Black Mage not to return to power, which limited his strength until the final Seal Stone was used to save the Adversary.)

Having heard all that he needed, the Demon easily dispatched the three magicians and recovered the book. He then returned to Magatia and gave the book to Maed, explaining that the thieves had been servants of the Black Mage, and that they would likely return to steal the book. Maed told the Demon that he and Carson had come to an agreement to destroy the book, as it was too dangerous to lose and too difficult to keep safe, which the Demon agreed was the wisest choice. Still, Maed wondered what the true purpose of Dark Alchemy was and why the founder had left them with such a powerful and dangerous tome.

On his way back from Magatia, the Demon picked up some Purple Liquid from a Rurumo for Mastema and returned to Edelstein. With the Purple Liquid, she created a potion that would allow her to turn into what she most desired, but after drinking it, Mastema transformed into the Demon from when he had been a Commander. Fortunately for her, the effects of the potion quickly wore off, though the Demon was nevertheless amused.

Meanwhile, Agent N informed Luminous that the Omega Sector agents had discovered a crack in time inside Helios Tower in Ludibrium, and that they believed that the Black Mage was behind it. Luminous went to investigate the crack in time in the Time Control Room, emerging centuries into the past in Ellin Forest.

(A/N: I honestly doubt that the Black Mage had anything to do with this crack in time. Most likely, it’s just the result of time collapsing in Ludibrium because of the consequences of Rhinne stopping time there. The Omega Sector agents also seem to be a bit behind, as the crack in time appeared some time ago. This exchange is meant to lead into the regular Ellin Forest theme dungeon, but given that it makes almost no sense for anyone but the Explorer to complete it, I’m assuming that Luminous doesn’t start the storyline and doesn’t defeat Ephenia, and instead just directly investigating the dark energy that Perzen mentions.)

He made his way into Altaire Camp, where the refugees immediately recognized him. One of the magicians, Perzen, informed him that dark energy lingered inside the forest, which he suspected had something to do with the Black Mage. He then gave Luminous a scroll that would take him where the energy was concentrated.

Upon using it, Luminous was transported to the Forest of Spirits, where he found that he unable to sense the darkness anymore. He then encountered Guwaru’s Vestiges, and after defeating them, he proceeded further into the forest until he met an uncorrupted Guwaru.

Surprised, he asked Guwaru how he was still alive, as he had believed that Magnus had killed him during the final battle. Guwaru explained that he could not be killed, as he was a part of the world itself. Luminous asked him where the Black Mage was, but Guwaru merely replied that he neither knew nor cared.

When Luminous asked Guwaru whether he was still a Commander, Guwaru explained that when Magnus had destroyed his body, it had severed the Black Mage’s hold on his mind, meaning that he was no longer loyal to the Black Mage. He told Luminous that in many ways, he was the same Guwaru whom Luminous had encountered on the battlefield, but in many ways, he was not. He then added that he sensed the Black Mage within Luminous, who explained that he had absorbed a trace of the Black Mage’s darkness.

Guwaru noted that the light and darkness within Luminous were resonating, which was something that he had never seen before in all his existence. As Luminous felt too similar to the Black Mage, Guwaru asked if they were related. Luminous admitted that he had darkness within him, but he claimed that he surely couldn’t be as similar to the Black Mage as Guwaru claimed. Guwaru told him to believe what he wanted and asked Luminous to leave him, as he needed to continue his work.

(A/N: This is the last chapter of the Silent Crusade, along with the Arkarium prequest. I placed this here because this chapter is set after the Alliance is formed, and because I feel like Arkarium’s plan to use Dark Alchemy to destroy the Seal Stones ties into his prequest, which has him attempt to destroy the Black Mage’s seal.)

Elsewhere, the Crusader received a letter containing a ticket and a signature from Lora, who wrote that she was waiting for them at the Dangerous Cave. After using the ticket to teleport there, Lora greeted them and explained that Krag had found something while investigating the Lion King’s Castle, and so he had summoned reinforcements to look further into it. However, this meant that there was a shortage of Crusaders available to investigate the Mystic Gates, and so she had called them in order to deal with the Mystic Gate that she had uncovered, though she warned that they might encounter a Pianus, the King of the Sea.

After the Crusader defeated Pianus, Lora told them that she needed to send a report to Starling. The Crusader asked where Starling was, to which Lora explained that Starling was investigating a new Mystic Gate in Leafre. The Crusader decided to reinforce her and traveled to Leafre, where Starling greeted them and thanked them for helping Lora. She explained that a new Mystic Gate had popped up in Wyvern Canyon, and that she was certain that Leviathan was hiding inside. The Crusader went to the valley in order to investigate the Mystic Gate and successfully defeated Leviathan.

Just as Starling began to congratulate them, she received a scrambled message from a Silent Crusader. Though she was unable to decipher it, she determined that it had been sent from the Resting Spot of Memory in the Temple of Time. The Crusader decided to investigate and arrived at the Resting Spot of Memory, where they were surprised to see Wence, the merchant from their warehouse. Wence explained that he had sent the message because he needed backup.

The Crusader realized that Wence wasn’t just a merchant, but a veteran Crusader as well, one even more legendary than Krag. Wence told them to go to Memory Lane and defeat the Dodo inside the Mystic Gate. After defeating Dodo, the Crusader returned to Wence, who explained that ever since Rhinne had been sealed, time had grown distorted and strange monsters had begun appearing in the Temple of Time.

(A/N: This might contradict with the Temple of Time questline, as the three bosses that he’s likely referring to predate Rhinne’s sealing, not to mention that all of them have been established as guardians of the temple, not intruders.)

He then told the Crusader that they had just defeated one of the three most powerful among them and asked them to go to the Road of Regrets and defeat Lilynouch inside the Mystic Gate. After defeating Lilynouch, they returned back to Wence, who asked them to defeat Lyka inside the final gate.

Once they defeated Lyka, the Crusader returned back to Wence, who explained that the reason that he had made them complete the trials was because Krag had told him that the Crusader had unparalleled skill, and so he had wanted to see for himself. He also told them that Krag had needed them to eliminate the Lich inside the Mystic Gate during their first meeting because he had found traces of the Black Mage at the Lion King’s Castle, where he was still investigating. He also revealed to them that the Silent Crusade was a secret organization that had been formed by the former Empress many generations ago, adding that they were secretly part of the Maple Alliance, and that their purpose was to collect information on the Black Mage and to prevent disasters before they happened.

(A/N: This last part is the Arkarium prequest. Interestingly, Zero gets to skip the entirety of this prequest and face Arkarium directly. They also get some exclusive dialogue in which Arkarium is amused to see them and says that they can talk about teaming up after proving themselves to him, which is a reference to the offer that the Commanders give them at the end of their storyline to help the Black Mage in exchange for becoming the Transcendents of Time in both Maple World and Grandis.)

Soon after, the Crusader met with Bastille at the Silent Crusade headquarters when Starling arrived and explained that something strange was happening at the Temple of Time. She told them that time was rippling outward, as though someone had created a crack in time. Bastille realized that Arkarium was the final piece of the puzzle, and that his messing with time could have dire complications. He took the Crusader to the Temple of Time in order to investigate, where they discovered a hidden part of the temple.

Upon entering, the Crusader was greeted by the spirit of Rhinne, who explained that Arkarium was trying to break the Black Mage’s seal by traveling to the past, and that he had drawn energy from the Mystic Gates in order to create a crack in time. She then asked the Crusader to travel back to the past and stop Arkarium. The Crusader explained to Bastille what had happened, and Bastille agreed that they needed to stop Arkarium. He instructed them to go to the past, where Crow and Starling would meet them soon.

Upon arriving, the Crusader met Crow, who told them that he felt an unpleasant aura in the area. He explained that he and Starling had entered the crack in time together, but that they had gotten separated. The Crusader went ahead to find Starling while Crow continued to investigate. They went deeper into the forest of Corrupted Wyverns and discovered an injured Starling.

She explained that she had gotten separated from Crow and had dropped in the forest, where she had been fighting off the Corrupted Wyverns, though their numbers had overwhelmed her. She then asked them to finish off the monsters while she gathered her strength. After they defeated the monsters, Starling told them that she was impressed by how strong they had gotten, and as she couldn’t go on, she asked them to finish her mission.

As they continued forward, they discovered an unconscious Aran and Maha floating next to her. (A/N: The character model used in this quest is actually a male Aran, but I’ll continue using female pronouns, since that’s her canonical gender.) Maha explained that Aran had been cursed by the Black Mage, and so he was planning to take her to Rien’s frozen lands in order to slow down the curse.

However, Maha had broken while Aran had been fending off the Black Mage’s army, and so he was too weak to take her there. He asked the Crusader to find his broken pieces to repair him. The Crusader defeated the Corrupted Kentauruses and recovered the missing pieces of Maha. He thanked the Crusader and told them to find Afrien.

(A/N: Several Heroes get exclusive dialogue while talking to Maha that replaces the regular script.

For Aran, after encountering Maha floating over her unconscious past self, she expresses her shock at seeing him, while Maha is shocked to see two Arans and wonders whether it’s another trap of the Black Mage. Aran tells him that she’s come from the future after traveling back through the crack in time created by Arkarium. Maha is relieved to hear that Aran came from the future, as it means that she won’t die from her injuries in the present.

He then tells her about his plan to seal her past self on Rien and asks her to collect the broken polearm pieces. After Aran collects them, he thanks her and jokes that it seems as though his master really can be useful once in a while. Aran retorts by asking him whether she needs to remind him who the boss is around here, to which Maha tells her not to get grumpy with him, adding that she’s just not seeing things from every angle.

After he asks her to find Afrien, Aran notes that what had been a brief moment in time for her must have been centuries to him. She then apologizes to him, regretting that things could have been different if she had been stronger. Maha then blesses Aran with one of her old skills, which you obtain after completing the quest. The skill is called “Regained Memory”, which increases your Attack Power by 5%, your Defense by 300, and your Speed by 10. You also get a chair called “Chair of Aran the Guardian”.

For Evan, after encountering Maha floating over an unconscious Aran, he expresses his shock at seeing Aran knocked out, while Maha mistakes Evan as Freud and wonders in surprise how he’s become so much younger. Evan explains that he’s not Freud and introduces himself and Mir, to which Maha notes that it seems strange, as their energies are nearly identical to those of Freud and Afrien.

After introducing himself, he tells them about his plan to seal Aran on Rien, as well as the fact that he’s too weak to take her there. When Evan asks him whether there’s anything that he and Mir can do, Maha tells them that he knew that they were good people, just like Freud and Afrien, and asks them to collect his broken polearm pieces. After they collect the pieces, Maha asks them to find Afrien, adding that Mir ought to know Afrien fairly well.

For Mercedes, after encountering Maha floating over an unconscious Aran, she expresses her shock at seeing Aran knocked out, while Maha is relieved to see Mercedes safe and asks her how she had managed to escape the Black Mage’s curse. Mercedes tells him that it’s a long story, and that the short answer is that she hadn’t, as she’s been recuperating from the curse for some time now. Maha is confused by her words, though he dismisses it as her being cryptic as usual.

When he laments that Aran is still unconscious, Mercedes reassures him that Aran’s strength will return in time, as she’s seen it with her own eyes. Maha asks her why she keeps saying weird things as though she’s been to the future, after which he tells her that if she’s going to say things like that, then she might as well help him while she’s at it.

He tells her about his plan to seal his plan to seal Aran on Rien, as well as the fact that he’s too weak to take her there. Mercedes assuages him by telling him that everyone knows how much he loves Aran, to which he shushes her, explaining that he can’t have his reputation getting ruined. After she collects the broken polearm pieces, Maha asks her to see Afrien, explaining that Freud ought to be with him.

Phantom and Luminous unfortunately don’t get any dialogue. Shade does get some dialogue later on, but not with Maha.)

The Crusader went deeper into the forest, where they discovered Afrien, along with an unconscious Freud and Mercedes. Afrien sensed that the Crusade had come from the future and explained that he and the other Heroes had fought the Black Mage, capitalizing on the fact that the Demon had fought and weakened his former master in retaliation for the deaths of his family.

He told the Crusader that the Black Mage had cursed the Heroes, and that he had taken the curse in Freud’s place, which would only lift when the seal broke, though he added that he and Freud had created the seal to last until the end of time. He added that the curse had also affected the Onyx Dragons, making it so that no more of their descendants would ever be born. He explained that he had protected Freud from the curse on the Onyx Dragons by taking it fully in his place, in exchange for his promise to keep the last Onyx Dragon safe, which had been safe from the curse in the egg.

However, he told the Crusader that the egg had been lost during the fight with the Black Mage, and that he was concerned that it may be in danger from the corrupt monsters of Leafre. The Crusader found the egg deep in the forest and brought it back to Afrien, who thanked them and explained that Freud would keep the egg safe once he awakened.

He then explained that Mercedes had been gravely injured during her battle, and that she was slowly dying. The Crusader offered some of their vitality, which Afrien used to create a crystal that would restore Mercedes to health. (A/N: Sadly, Mercedes gets nothing if you save her while playing as a Mercedes.) Afrien thanked them for their sacrifice, but explained that he had felt a dark presence for a moment. He told them that the energy was concentrated in the Temple of Time and asked them to ensure that the seal on the Black Mage still held.

(A/N: Similar to the conversation with Maha, several Heroes get exclusive dialogue while talking to Afrien that replaces the regular script.

For Aran, Afrien recognizes her and notes that she looks well. Aran greets Afrien and replies that it’s been a while. Afrien agrees with her, adding that it’s been several centuries in her case, revealing that he knows that she’s come from the future. He asks her how she managed to go back in time, as he had believed that such a feat would be impossible. Aran explains that she had come through a crack in time created by Arkarium, and that she hadn’t expected to see him while working to stop Arkarium’s plot.

Afrien then tells her that while she may already know, there was a young Onyx Dragon who had survived the Black Mage’s curse while inside its egg. As the egg had been lost during the battle, and as Leafre was filled with dangerous monsters, he asked Aran to find it and return it back to him. After Aran brings the egg back, Afrien thanks her and explains that her courage provides a powerful shield. He adds that even after centuries, he finds himself in admiration of her, explaining that the Onyx Dragons owe her a debt that they can never repay.

Aran tells him that there’s no need for such a sappy thanks, as friends help one another. Afrien then tells her that the child was meant to be protected by Freud, though he fears that she and Freud may never meet again, as such events were simply not to be. However, Aran replies that it’s enough that she got to see him one more time.

He then tells her that they need to see to Mercedes’ safety, whose energy is fading. Aran offers to lend her strength to Mercedes, to which Afrien calls her noble as always. After Aran heals Mercedes with the crystal, Afrien thanks her and explains that the Heroes will awaken one day. He then asks her to investigate a dark presence at the Temple of Time.

For Evan, Afrien greets him as his future friend, explaining that his great knowledge as an Onyx Dragon had allowed him to determine that Evan was from the future. He then greets Mir and silently notes to himself that the last descendant of the Onyx Dragons has grown significantly. He then tells them that the hands of fate truly are out of their control for him to be asking his future successors for a favor. He then asks Evan to recover the missing egg, causing Evan to realize that inside the egg is Mir.

After Evan finds the egg, Afrien explains that he’ll give it to Freud to protect until it hatches. He then gives his blessing to Evan, which you obtain after completing the quest. The skill is called “Inherited Will”, which increases your Magic Attack and all stats by 10. Evan thanks Afrien for his gift, after which Mir notes that he gets a strange feeling while looking at the egg, as his heart beats faster each time that he does. Evan is also shocked to realize that he was the one who had saved Mir in the past, though he keeps it secret from Mir.

Silently, Afrien notes to himself that though it seems like a bizarre coincidence, such a great moment makes him believe that every struggle that they had faced in the past was worth it. He then passes on a chair that Freud had often used during his travels, which gives you a chair called “Chair of Evan the Guardian”.

After blessing Evan, Afrien adds that Evan’s help is still needed to save Mercedes, to which Evan notes that Mercedes seems to be in even worse condition than Aran and offers his strength to heal her. Afrien extracts some of Evan’s health and notes that Evan’s strength is incredible and an easy match for Freud, adding that he can feel the power of the Dragon Master inside him. After Evan heals Mercedes with the crystal, Afrien thanks him and explains that the Heroes will awaken one day. He then asks Evan to investigate a dark presence at the Temple of Time.

For Mercedes, Afrien is shocked to see her and asks how she managed to travel back in time, as he had believed it to be impossible. Mercedes explains that she had come through a crack in time created by Arkarium, and that she hadn’t expected to see him while working to stop Arkarium’s plot. Afrien then asks Mercedes to save the last child of the Onyx Dragons, causing her to wonder whether the child is the dragon that travels with Evan.

After she brings back the egg, she asks Afrien whether Freud will take over its safety. Afrien tells her that he hopes for Freud to awaken soon so that he can protect the egg, to which Mercedes reassures him that the will of the Onyx Dragons continues in the future. He then explains that she will need to use her strength to reawaken, causing Mercedes to wonder what he means, as she’s already awakened from the curse. Suddenly, she realizes that Afrien is referring to helping her past self regain consciousness.

Afrien asks her whether she remembers anything about the past from before she arrived, to which she replies that she doesn’t. He then takes a portion of her strength and creates a crystal, which he tells her to touch her past self with gently, warning her that causing her past self to see her would create a ripple in time that would cause grave repercussions for her. After Mercedes heals her past self with the crystal, Afrien thanks her and explains that the Heroes will awaken one day. He then asks her to investigate a dark presence at the Temple of Time.

For Shade, Afrien doesn’t recognize him and asks him who he is. Shade is shocked to find Afrien so weak and explains that he’s come at Maha’s request. Afrien asks him whether Maha and Aran are well, to which Shade reassures him that both of them are fine, and that Maha had taken Aran to be sealed away on Rien.

Afrien notes that Shade seems strange, and that while it may be because of his own weakness, he can’t sense anything from Shade at all. Shade asks Afrien whether he’s okay, to which Afrien explains that he and the other Heroes have been weakened from the Black Mage’s curse. He adds that the curse will lift once the Black Mage breaks free, for which he prays that he and the other Heroes will stay lost forever, as they had made a tremendous sacrifice to seal him away.

After Shade finds the lost Onyx Dragon egg, Afrien asks him to help Mercedes, whom Shade notes looks exactly as she had on the day when he had last seen her. Afrien extracts a portion of Shade’s strength and notes that it’s quite astonishing, as the energy inside him is quite unique. Just as he begins to say more, he stops himself and gives Shade the crystal. After Shade heals Mercedes with it, Afrien thanks him and explains that the Heroes will awaken one day. He then asks Shade to investigate a dark presence at the Temple of Time.)

The Crusader headed towards the Temple when they met Bastille, who unexpectedly began to attack them. After defeating him, Bastille came to his senses and realized that Arkarium had possessed him. He decided to head back and ensure that the other agents hadn’t been compromised, leaving the task of defeating Arkarium to the Crusader.

They continued deeper into the forest and met Tamil, who had the power to transform people into dragons. Tamil told them that she would transform them in exchange for defeating the monsters that were trapping her there. (A/N: Tamil is the grandmother of Corba, the NPC in present-day Leafre who transforms you into a dragon in order to get to the Temple of Time.) After defeating the monsters, Tamil transformed them into a dragon, allowing them to fly to the Temple of Time.

Upon arriving, they were met by the spirit of Rhinne, who confirmed that Arkarium was trying to break the seal. The Crusader asked why Arkarium didn’t just prevent the seal from being created in the first place, to which Rhinne explained that Freud had created a barrier to prevent anyone from traveling back further than the point when the Black Mage had been sealed. She then asked the Crusader to stop Arkarium before he succeeded. The Crusader arrived at the entrance to the Black Mage’s throne room, where Arkarium was quietly muttering incantations. The Crusader halted Arkarium, who was enraged that his work had been disrupted.

After a fierce battle, the Crusader managed to defeat him and returned to Rhinne, who explained that they had only defeated a clone of Arkarium, whose real self had had fled back to his hideout in the Dimensional Schism, but as most of his power had gone into creating the Crack in Time, Rhinne explained that it was the perfect opportunity to defeat him.

The Crusader returned to the present and met Bastille, who confirmed that no other agents had been compromised by Arkarium. The Crusader told him of their battle with Arkarium’s clone and what Rhinne had said about Arkarium’s weakness. Bastille then told the Crusader to enter the Dimensional Schism and stop Arkarium. After a fierce battle, the Crusader succeeded in defeating Arkarium and forced him to abandon the Temple of Time.

By defeating Arkarium, the Crusader also freed Rhinne from her seal in the Dimensional Schism. Rhinne thanked the Crusader for freeing her, explaining that though she hadn’t fully regained her powers yet, she soon would in time. She told the Crusader that over the centuries, the Heroes had slowly begun returning one-by-one as a result of the Black Mage’s seal weakening from Arkarium’s manipulations. Warning that the Black Mage would soon return, she asked the Crusader to get stronger, adding that she would also prepare in whatever way she could.

(A/N: I’m headcanoning that we freed Rhinne’s soul, while her physical body remains trapped in Mirror World, since it doesn’t make sense otherwise why she’d be sealed twice. I’d imagine that it would be similar to how Alicia’s soul is in the Tower of Oz, even while her physical body exists separately, and later gets destroyed.)

Neinheart soon reached out to Mihile and asked him to meet with Della at the Temple of Time. There, Della explained that another crack had opened in the Temple of Time, which led to the past, as well as an altar, where she had briefly seen Arkarium and Rhinne before she had been chased off by the monsters nearby. Mihile decided to help her investigate and discovered the secret passageway into the Dimensional Schism near a fountain by the Three Doors.

Della then asked him to break Arkarium's wards, and so she told them to obtain Lambent Essence from Neinheart and combine it with Dragon Warrants from the monsters of Leafre. In Ereve, Neinheart gave Mihile a Light Catcher and instructed him to capture the elemental spirits in the Hallowed Ground to create the Lambent Essence. Mihile then brought the ingredients to Della, who explained that the Dragon Warrants weren't for the spell, but simply to help boost her courage.

Mihile then entered the Dimensional Schism and defeated the corrupted monsters before using the Lambent Essence to break Arkarium's barrier. After breaking the barrier and thinning out the monsters, Mihile confronted Arkarium and defeated him, forcing him to retreat. He then returned back to Ereve, where Neinheart asked him to bring back a Stained Soul, which contained Arkarium's corruption. As Arkarium now existed out of time, Mihile was able to confront him once again and defeat him in order to obtain the Stained Soul.

Mihile brought back the soul to Neinheart, who believed that the corruption of the soul might be the key to undoing the Black Mage, though he doubted that it would be so simple. To reward Mihile for his efforts, Neinheart taught him a powerful skill called Noble Mind, which Mihile strengthened by collecting more Stained Souls from Arkarium.

Master Thief Phantom:

Not long after the First Continental Conference, Hilla made her move to destabilize the newly-formed Alliance. Posing as a noblewoman, she publicly made a claim that she was the true heir to Ereve. With Shinsoo away for unknown reasons, an emergency Alliance conference was held in Ereve, where Hilla would testify for her right to the throne.

(A/N: Given that Shinsoo never leaves the Empress’ side, it’s strange that they never bothered to explain her absence. Since Hilla insisted on holding the conference during this time, I wonder if she or the other Commanders had done something to grab Shinsoo’s immediate attention, although I have no idea what situation would warrant Shinsoo going in place of the Cygnus Knights.)

Phantom, who had been largely underground since waking up from the ice, decided to publicly reveal himself for the first time in order to defend Aria’s heir. Together with his butler, Gaston, they devised a plan to reveal Hilla’s treachery and save Empress Cygnus. On the day of the conference, the Lumiere anchored itself directly above the Knight’s Chamber while Phantom infiltrated Ereve, which was on high security because of the number of high-profile world leaders gathered in one place.

He then disguised himself in a robe and talked his way through the inner security. Hilla then appeared before the royal court and Neinheart began questioning her about her claims. In the crowd, Phantom hid himself and listened to the Senators discussing Hilla’s apparent ownership of Skaia, the treasure of Ereve.

(A/N: It’s a common misconception that Skaia is the Seal Stone of Ereve. The Seal Stone of Ereve, also known as Shinsoo’s Teardrop, has been around in the game since Aran’s release and has been called the treasure of Ereve ever since its introduction. In contrast, Skaia was created for Phantom’s storyline and has no lore significance outside his story.

While Skaia is also referred to as the treasure of Ereve, it was actually just a common jewel that Empress Aria favored. Aria had heard stories about Phantom robbing the corrupt nobles and had wanted to meet him, but as Ereve had no treasures worth stealing, she had spread rumors about Skaia’s supposed magical properties in order to lure him to Ereve.)

Hilla began explaining the legend of Skaia, which was said to hold many powers, with one being that it glowed only in the hands of one descended from the Empress’ bloodline. Irena countered that there were no historical records of Skaia’s powers, but Hilla replied that the people of Ereve were the only ones in Maple World who had seen pictures of the gem, and so she claimed that their own knowledge of Skaia’s appearance would allow them to see that her gem was real. Hawkeye responded by saying that jewels could easily be forged, but Hilla countered by telling him that as he hadn’t been alive centuries ago, his opinion on the validity of the gem was of no importance.

(A/N: Literally none of Hilla’s arguments would hold up in a real court of law, and yet Neinheart and the Chief Knights keep letting her dominate the argument. I definitely wouldn’t have expected Neinheart of all people to be this bad at discourse.)

Hilla then argued that the reason why Cygnus was so frail was because she was being overpowered by Shinsoo’s strength, as only a true Empress could handle Shinsoo’s power, insinuating that Cygnus had been stealing Shinsoo’s power for herself. Cygnus agreed that she was too weak to handle Shinsoo’s power and admitted that she had been frail ever since childhood.

Shaken by Hilla’s argument, she began to doubt herself and told Neinheart that that she couldn’t ask the people of Maple World to fight on her behalf if she truly didn’t have any real authority or qualifications. Hilla then proposed a test to determine the true Empress and demonstrated that Skaia glowed in her hands. She then challenged Cygnus to see if it would glow in hers as well.

When Skaia failed to glow in Cygnus’ hands, the Chief Knights reassured her that the legitimacy of the jewel itself was dubious, and that Shinsoo would reveal the truth when she returned. Neinheart added that the Alliance was the foundation for a new era in Maple World, and that Hilla could be scheming to place doubt on her position.

Hilla lauded Cygnus for her wisdom, despite her young age, but urged her to make the right decision and cede the throne. Just then, Phantom appeared from the balcony and halted the proceedings. He then began to systematically counter Hilla’s arguments one by one. First, he reminded the audience that Empress Aria had no children, with only a niece left to carry on her bloodline.

(A/N: I have no idea why he brings this up when Hilla never claimed that she was directly descended from Aria’s children. I almost wonder whether the writers added that line just to disprove any theories that people might’ve had about Aria and Phantom having a secret lovechild.)

Secondly, he countered Hilla’s claim about Cygnus’ frailty and explained that it was because only an adult Empress could fully accept Shinsoo’s power, which was why Cygnus remained so weak. Finally, he dismissed Hilla’s gem as a fake, revealing that the true Skaia was in his possession before jumping from the balcony before the astonished crowd. Hilla was utterly shocked at Phantom’s unexpected appearance, whereas Mercedes and Athena Pierce were overjoyed to see their old comrade return.

(A/N: I wonder if Luminous was in attendance at this conference. We didn’t get to see him in the animated cutscene because obviously his character hadn’t been created yet, although I doubt that he would be as pleased as Mercedes and Athena to see his old rival.)

Phantom threw a card to shatter the fake Skaia before unleashing a series of powerful skills to deter Hilla. Realizing that she had been beaten, Hilla shed her disguise and decided to back off, but not before warning them that Maple World was already in the Black Mage’s hands. As the crowd celebrated Phantom’s heroics, he approached Cygnus and immediately saw the resemblance between her and Aria. He then told her that he preferred her with a smile, something that he would tell Aria frequently, and vanished in a flash. After he disappeared, Cygnus found that Phantom had placed the real Skaia in her hands, thus returning it back to its rightful owner after centuries of safeguarding it.

(A/N: I always see people who say that Phantom and Cygnus should end up together, but those people also need to be reminded that Cygnus is literally a child and doesn’t become an adult until Tenebris. In my mind, Phantom looking out for Cygnus has always been because he views her as the child that he and Aria never had, and shipping him with Cygnus, even as an adult, makes him feel like a creepy child groomer who has a countdown for the day that she turns 18.

The translators who did the GMS localization don’t help with this because the GMS dialogue has him tell both Cygnus and Aria, “I prefer a woman with a smile on her face,” while the direct KMS translation of what he says is more along the lines of, “Your smiling face fits you the best,” which removes the inherent flirtiness from it. This weird trend of lewding kids like Lucid and Cygnus or shipping them with adults probably comes from people not reading the dialogue, and since the art style makes everyone look around the same age, people probably just assume that everyone is an adult.)

Back on the Lumiere, Phantom sighed in relief that it had only been Hilla whom he had faced and thought to himself that if any of the real Commanders had been there, he would have been in serious trouble. (A/N: Get wrecked, Hilla. It’s a bit ironic, considering that Hilla will go on to become the strongest Commander during the events of Tenebris.) He then congratulated Gaston on a job well done, as his butler had used laser lights to trick Hilla and the audience into believing that the powerful skills which he had been using were real.

Gaston cautioned Phantom against provoking a Commander in his weakened state and suggested that he continue his training. Phantom followed his advice and began training against the monsters in the training rooms of the airship, but he soon returned to Gaston in a huff and complained about how difficult it was to fight while being weak.

Gaston was amused and told Phantom that he had already taken the liberty of buying a potion that held accumulated strength. Though Phantom drank it all, he found that he had barely gotten any stronger. Gaston laughed and told him to take pride in his own strength by training more. After another round of training, Phantom returned once again to complain to Gaston, who told him that Christiane, one of his intelligence gatherers, wanted to give him a report on her assignment.

At the information deck, Christiane told him that she had finished investigating the Black Wings and had learned that a Black Wings member named Stephan was selling Black Wings hats. As her team hadn’t been able to learn much about the Black Wings’ actions, Christiane explained that she had obtained a hat and gave it to Phantom, hoping that he could learn more about the Black Wings by infiltrating their ranks.

In Edelstein, Phantom decided to get information from the watchmen in town. He first talked to Leonore, who mistook him for a grunt and ordered him to find her ring. After he recovered it, Leonore told him that she had joined the Black Wings in order to get away from the people who had loaned her money to buy the ring. She herself wasn’t sure of what the Black Wings did, but she added that she was glad to be away from the loan sharks. Next, he spoke to Wonny, who ordered him to tell Belle to take care of the Strange Signs. Belle told Phantom that the signs frightened her and begged him to take care of them in her place.

After defeating them, he returned to Wonny, who had noticed that Phantom had done Belle’s job for her. He told Phantom that helping the townspeople wasn’t something that a Black Wings member did. He explained that he had lived in Edelstein for most of his life, and that he had seen good people turned into something that they weren’t. He cautioned Phantom that being a Black Wings member meant being a scumbag and warned him to watch himself around the other Black Wings.

(A/N: The Edelstein town quests reveal that Wonny has joined the Black Wings in order to keep an eye on his girlfriend, Gabrielle, the former Council President’s daughter who’s being held hostage by the Black Wings in the Verne Mine. Though the people of Edelstein know that he’s not truly one of the Black Wings, Wonny still feels disgusted with himself for all the things that he has to do in order to keep up the ruse that he’s a loyal watchman, as he feels terrible about hurting the people of his hometown just so that he can keep Gabrielle from harm.)

Phantom then went to see Bavan, who asked him to bring back a Snake Leather Bag, after which he congratulated Phantom for trying to climb up the ranks, adding that he himself was hoping to reach the upper echelons of the organization in order to get the real benefits. Phantom quickly realized that none of the watchmen had any idea about the purpose of the Black Wings, though he felt that Bavan might know something about the upper ranks. However, Bavan merely dismissed Phantom as lazy and compared him to Stephan, the watchman who had a business selling Black Wings hats.

Phantom went to see Stephan, who offered to trade information in exchange for Batteries from the Patrol Robot S monsters. He then told Phantom that the high-ranking officers of the Black Wings were rarely in Edelstein, as most were away on missions in order to collect resources and artifacts. He mentioned that it was possible to encounter the founder of the Black Wings, who was working to extract a great deal of energy from Edelstein, but he added that the chances of meeting them were astronomical, and instead suggested that he speak to Le Tierre the secretary in order to learn more.

Inside the Verne Mine, Le Tierre asked him to prove himself by defeating Safety First monsters. She then told him to wait inside a nearby room, where she would introduce him to the Black Wings officers, whom she promised would promote him for his work. Inside, however, he found Black Wings henchmen waiting to ambush him. After defeating them all, he wondered what he had done to make Le Tierre suspicious, though he quickly dismissed the thought and returned to the Lumiere, where he asked Christiane to locate a Black Wings officer.

Some time later, a member of the intelligence team named Colette informed Phantom that she had found a lead and told him to speak with Tru in Lith Harbor. Phantom remembered Tru from the time that they had worked together to find the Seal Stone of Victoria Island and went to meet him at his shop.

Tru greeted him and began reminiscing about their old adventure together, laughing that he never would have guessed at the time that Phantom was one of the legendary Heroes. Getting to the point, he told Phantom that he had been gathering information on the Seal Stones ever since their adventure. Phantom told Tru that he had heard that someone had almost stolen the Seal Stone of Victoria Island from Aran, but Tru explained that it had been difficult for Aran to protect both the Seal Stone of Victoria Island and the Seal Stone of Ereve.

(A/N: This doesn’t make much sense, since Aran never tried to save the Seal Stone of Ereve besides just giving Neinheart a warning, and no one was trying to steal the Seal Stone of Victoria Island during her storyline either.)

He then told Phantom that he had been tracking Puppeteer Francis, and that he had discovered that Francis had made himself a hideout in the Golem Temple. Phantom infiltrated the hideout and attacked Francis, who was easily defeated. Francis began crying that he was taking a break from the Black Wings because he kept failing all his missions and getting beaten up all the time.

Phantom demanded that Francis answer his questions, but when Francis refused, Phantom beat him up once again. When Francis began crying harder, Phantom realized that he couldn’t get any information out of Francis in his current state, and so he attempted to placate the Puppeteer by offering to fix the puppet that he had broken by collecting Golem Cores.

After repairing Francis’ puppet, Phantom asked him what the goal of the Black Wings was. Francis was dumbfounded and asked why Phantom had beaten him up, only to ask something that anyone on the street could have answered, and told him that the Black Wings were trying to revive the Black Mage. Phantom asked him why reviving the Black Mage required extracting so much energy from Edelstein, to which Francis replied that he didn’t know much aside from what Le Tierre had told him about needing energy in order to revive the Black Mage.

Phantom then asked why the Black Wings were collecting the Seal Stones, as they should be useless without the Black Mage unsealed. (A/N: This line has retroactively become a plot hole with the Explorer revamp, since the Black Mage has obviously been unsealed at this point.) Francis told him that they needed to collect all the Seal Stones in order to bring the Black Mage back, but Phantom grew irritated at his answer and told Francis to stop lying, explaining that the Seal Stones didn’t have that kind of power. Francis whimpered that he was telling the truth, as the information had come straight from the founder of the Black Wings.

When Francis refused to tell him any more, Phantom attacked him yet again, but even after being defeated, Francis refused to reveal the founder’s identity, though he accidentally let it slip that she was a woman. (A/N: Phantom holds the record for having beaten up Francis the most out of any class.)

Phantom deduced that the founder couldn’t be Hilla, as the Black Wings weren’t skeletons, and that it couldn’t be Magnus or Guwaru, since they were men. He deduced that the Demon wouldn’t have rejoined the Black Mage, Von Leon never left El Nath, and Arkarium was too old. Through the process of elimination, he came to a single conclusion: Lotus.

(A/N: Honestly, he could’ve eliminated most of them just based on the knowledge that the founder is a woman. I’m guessing that it was because the writers wanted to take the chance to reveal the identities of the original seven Commanders. It also doesn’t make much sense that Phantom’s conclusion was Lotus, but I’m guessing that he likely realized that it was Orchid and then jumped to the next conclusion that her real goal likely had something to do with Lotus. This is also the first time that Magnus and Guwaru were mentioned in the game, which actually predates their initial appearance in Luminous’ storyline.

While Nexon revealed that they only formed an official story team after Tenebris, I have strong suspicions that there’s been an unofficial story group since Phantom’s storyline. A while back, Nexon explained that they used to draft stories by dragging regular employees into the writing room and having them make up lore.

My theory is that around the time of Phantom’s storyline, a handful of employees who liked the story became the de-facto group of people called in to develop the lore, which is why there was a notable shift in the amount of foreshadowing and effort placed into the story, especially when you consider that Kaiser and Angelic Buster’s storylines introduced the overarching lore about the Overseers and the Transcendents in the very next patch after Phantom’s. Additionally, Phantom’s storyline is where the writers started laying the groundwork to tie together the lore about the Seal Stones and the real purpose of the Black Wings, which all came together in Black Heaven.)

Feeling a small amount of pity for Francis, Phantom brought him more Golem Cores for his troubles and then asked what he would do once the Black Mage returned. Francis told him that he would ask the Black Mage to make him the King of Ludibrium, allowing him to rule a kingdom of puppets, and vowed that he would recover the Seal Stone of Victoria Island in order to do so, claiming that he already knew where it was.

Phantom then left the Golem Temple and shook his head at the foolishness of the Black Wings in thinking that the Black Mage would share his power, as Phantom knew him to be a being who only sought the destruction of Maple World. He wondered why the Black Wings would want the Seal Stones, as they were only a safety net in case they couldn’t defeat the Black Mage. He was sure that Orchid must have known about their purpose and wondered whether she was using the Black Wings for her own purposes.

Recalling how Francis had revealed that he knew where the Seal Stone of Victoria Island was, Phantom realized that Tru may be in danger and returned to Lith Harbor in order to warn him. He told Tru how he had beaten the information out of Francis and asked if the Seal Stone was still safe, to which Tru explained that he had given it to Aran to safeguard in Rien and promised to warn Lilin about a possible Black Wings attack, adding that he would reach out if anything came up.

Phantom then returned to the Lumiere and told Christiane about what he had learned. Christiane suggested that if Orchid really was using the Black Wings for her own purposes, then they might be able to make a truce with the Black Wings. Phantom doubted that they could ever become allies, but Christiane reminded him that if the Black Wings executives were withholding such critical information, then it would only be a matter of time before the infighting started, which could be an opportunity for him to negotiate an alliance. Until then, she recommended that Phantom continue his training, as his future enemies would undoubtedly be stronger than Francis.

After continuing his training, Phantom believed that he was strong enough to use some of his more powerful skills. Though he didn’t have a teacher anymore, he remembered that he had compiled notes from his original training and had left them in secret vaults around Maple World. To get the skills that he needed for his current strength, he entered his vault in Orbis.

There, he found that the lock on his vault had remained untouched, making him disappointed in the thieves who had appeared over the centuries. Upon realizing that he didn’t have the key to unlock it, he broke the lock and entered his vault, where he began rummaging through some of his old treasures. (A/N: Some of his treasures include the world’s first meso, the only existing Reverse Miracle Cube, the first edition of “A History of Ribbon Pigs”, and a copy of “The Great Mushroom Uprising”.)

He then found his notes and began reminiscing about his old teacher, Raven, who had emphasized the importance of learning a skill twice in order to remember it. He wished to himself that Raven would have taken his own advice and learned how to defuse a bomb twice, recalling that his death had been a sad day for everyone.

(A/N: I’m really interested to know about Raven and his troupe that Phantom joined. While they have the opportunity to tell a lot of major backstories in the Grand Athenaeum, I wish that they had a Not As Grand Athenaeum, where they can present interesting side stories that don’t have much to do with the main plot.)

Soon after, one of Phantom’s maids, Marguerite, learned that he had given a lavish bag to Bavan and threatened to go on strike unless he brought her one as well. After finding another Snake Leather Bag, Phantom gave it to Marguerite, who thanked him and gave him an elegant chair as a gift.

(A/N: There’s a bit of a continuity error in this exchange, as both Phantom and Marguerite talk as though Phantom had given the bag to another woman, even though he had given it to Bavan. I like to think that she assumed that he had given it to some other woman and he had gone along with it in order to avoid having to tell her that he had given the bag to someone like Bavan over her.)

Soon after, Tru contacted Phantom about a mysterious ship sailing towards Rien. Though he had already warned Aran about it, he wanted to let Phantom know as well, in case she needed backup. Phantom rushed to Rien and defeated the Black Wings henchmen in town before finding Lilin and Aran. Lilin told Phantom that Aran had taken care of most of the invasion herself, though she thanked him for his help. When Phantom asked whether the Seal Stone was safe, Lilin explained that she had locked it up in the Rien Library.

She then told Phantom that she wanted to ask him a question about the Heroes, which Aran couldn’t answer because of her amnesia. She asked him if the people of Maple World from centuries ago had known about the Heroes and their actions in fighting the Black Mage. Phantom told her that the Heroes had been very well-known and asked Lilin why she wondered such a thing. Lilin told him that she knew that the Heroes had to have been well-known, but given that it was the case, she asked him why the Heroes had been forgotten.

A surprised Phantom asked her to elaborate, and so Lilin explained that despite the Heroes having taken down one of the worst villains in Maple World, there wasn’t a single record of their victory, which she found strange, even after taking into account that it had happened centuries ago. She told him that the Rien Clan had a record of every feat and accomplishment of the Heroes, but the rest of the world had no knowledge of both the Heroes and the Black Mage, as though they had all been wiped from the history book.

Phantom decided to look into it, claiming that even if someone had been erasing the Heroes from history over centuries, there had to be a few clues that they couldn’t have covered up. Before he left, he asked if she would be alright in Rien, to which Lilin explained that between Aran and the penguin warriors, Rien was one of the safest places in Maple World. She assured him that if things got too bad, she would give the Seal Stone of Victoria Island to the Alliance for safekeeping.

Phantom then returned to the Lumiere and told Colette about what he had learned. Colette promised him that she would scour Maple World for any untampered record of the Heroes in order to find any leads. Soon after, Colette reached out to Phantom and told him that even after thoroughly investigating, she couldn’t find a single record of the Heroes. While she continued her search, she told him to seek out Alcaster in El Nath, who was ancient enough to have been able to remember the Heroes.

Phantom went to see Alcaster, who told him that he had been living in El Nath for over 300 years. Though he hadn’t been born during the time of the Black Mage, he explained that his old teacher had lived during that era, and that his teacher had told him about the legend of the Heroes. Alcaster added that ever since Cygnus had come into power, she had made the Heroes much more well-known, as they had been virtually forgotten before then. He also told Phantom that his master had left behind a diary in his laboratory, which he believed might have more details about the Heroes, and so he sent Phantom to the fifth floor of Orbis Tower in order to recover it.

While searching the laboratory, Phantom encountered Black Wings henchmen and managed to defeat them. Realizing that the diary was missing, he returned to Alcaster, who was surprised that the Black Wings had broken into the laboratory. He wondered why they would have taken the diary, as it held no information besides personal musings.

Phantom asked if there was anything else in the laboratory that could have been of interest to the Black Wings, such as formulas, schematics, treasure maps, or jewels. Alcaster told him that the only jewel in the laboratory was a worthless gem that his master had referred to as a Seal Stone, explaining that he himself had found no use for it in his incantations or alchemy, and so he had left it alone. Phantom realized that the Seal Stone of El Nath was exactly what the Black Wings had been after, and that he had let it slip out of his hands.

(A/N: This part of Phantom’s storyline conflicts with Evan’s storyline. It’s implied in Evan’s storyline that the Seal Stone of El Nath is hidden in the basement of the Chief’s Residence, though they only say that an important treasure had been hidden there, giving some wiggle room to interpret that it may have been some other artifact. Given that the Black Wings had some interest in the elven treasure Mistelteinn, it’s possible that they were after a similar relic, even though everything about Evan’s storyline suggests that it should’ve been a Seal Stone.)

Alcaster was surprised that the Black Wings would steal something so useless and believed that they might not have taken the diary after all. Phantom returned to the laboratory for another search and successfully recovered it. He brought it to Alcaster, who realized that the diary was an incomprehensible mess. (A/N: Sounds like me taking notes in class.)

He lamented that he wouldn’t be able to tell Phantom more about the war from 300 years ago, explaining that most people were unaware of the war, despite how all of Maple World had once struggled under its influence. He added that it was only thanks to the efforts of people like Athena Pierce that peace had returned back to the land.

Phantom thought it surprising that the shy girl who had followed Mercedes into battle had grown up to become a great leader, though he also remembered that she had been helpful during the battle against the Black Mage. Alcaster told him that much had been lost when the war had descended upon them, and that the records of that time seemed to have vanished in flames, as though they were kindling for that unwanted battle. He mused that the war had taken much from the people, including the past, and hoped that the young would never have to face such horrors again.

Phantom then returned to training around Maple World until Colette reached out to him again and suggested that he visit the library in Helios Tower, where every piece of text in Maple World was said to exist. She explained that if no record of the Heroes existed there, it would confirm that someone had been tampering with history.

At the library, Wiz the Librarian told him that the records on the Black Mage and the Heroes were still in-house, but he warned that they wouldn’t be easy to find, since unpopular books were usually relegated to the library vault. Phantom went to the vault to search for any books on the Heroes, but instead found several books on the shelf precisely burned in a way that left the other books untouched. Just then, Black Wings henchmen appeared and began to attack Phantom.

After defeating them, he returned to the main library and told Wiz that someone had been burning his books. To his shock, however, Wiz began to attack him. After being beaten back to his senses, Wiz seemed to have no recollection of the past few minutes, as though his body had not been his own for a moment.

Phantom recalled seeing something strange shooting out of Wiz when the librarian had been knocked out and wondered what sort of magic could cause someone to become possessed. Moreover, he wondered how despite Helios Library having books on every topic in Maple World, a fire would start under the only books that pertained to the Heroes.

Phantom was certain that someone was tampering with the history of Maple World, and that they seemed to be able to possess others. Though a seduction spell would be simple enough to control someone, Phantom noted that the entity had taken Wiz over from the inside. He returned to the Lumiere and told Colette everything that he had learned. He then ordered her to switch focus from investigating historical records to instead looking into whatever force had possessed Wiz.

After the incident at the library, Phantom continued his training and soon grew strong enough that he decided to relearn some of his stronger skills. He went to his secret vault in Ariant, where he noted that the city was still the same desolate wasteland of rich oppressors that he had left behind centuries ago in order to become something more.

At the entrance of the vault, he discovered dust and realized that someone must have broken inside, as his vaults were airtight. There, he discovered Dust Dwarves and defeated them all in order to enter the vault. After finding his notes, he reminisced about the old days when he had first devoted his life to taking down the rich, throwing away his old name and becoming Phantom for the sake of it all.

Soon after, Colette contacted Phantom and told him that she had discovered that Wiz had been controlled through spirit possession, which allowed a soul to enter another person’s body, explaining that the strange entity that Phantom had seen fleeing the scene was likely a soul. She told him to go to Sleepywood and meet the Rememberer, who was an expert in spirit possession.

The Rememberer was shocked to see what he described as an unholy terror on Phantom’s back and asked him what he had gotten mixed up in, as there was a terrifying burden on his back, invisible to Phantom. He told Phantom that he would make a charm to weaken the creature, though he added that Phantom would need to talk to it and make it go away on his own. In order to help make the charm, Phantom entered the Cursed Temple and collected Tauromacis Blood. The Rememberer then crafted the charm and told Phantom to use it at a Shaman Rock.

After Phantom activated the charm, he was teleported to a cave, where he found an unconscious Mu Young and the soul of Lotus hovering over him. Lotus greeted Phantom and explained that though his body had remained comatose for centuries, his soul was able to roam free. Phantom told Lotus that he was surprised to see him alive after their battle at the Temple of Time.

Lotus replied that he couldn’t die while knowing that Phantom and the other Heroes were running around free. He confirmed that he had been the one who had possessed Wiz, explaining that he had discovered the power to possess others after his soul had left his body. To demonstrate it once again, he possessed Mu Young’s body and began to fight Phantom. After being defeated, Lotus released Mu Young and commended Phantom for having regaining more of his strength.

Before Lotus left, Phantom asked if he had been the one erasing the Heroes from history. Lotus was amused that Phantom had discovered his scheme and told him that he had been erasing records of the Black Mage, with the Heroes’ erasure being incidental. Phantom asked what Lotus was planning, to which Lotus merely told him to figure it out himself. With that, Lotus disappeared and Phantom was sent back to Sleepywood.

(A/N: I don’t really know why exactly he’s been doing this in the first place and they never really explain it either. I doubt that the Black Mage had given him the orders, and so I’m guessing that Lotus did it so that the Alliance wouldn’t have any information to help them face the Black Mage. The idea that Lotus was destroying key historical records was brought up in the revamped Dual Blade storyline during the same patch that released Phantom, which incorporated Lotus’ actions with the backstory on the Dual Blades. I’ve included those events in an earlier section, as well as an explanation about the plot holes that got opened up with the changes.)

Phantom wondered whether Orchid knew that Lotus could possess people, though he was more interested in knowing why Lotus had been destroying historical documents. Though he briefly wondered whether Lotus had caused the war 300 years ago, he told himself not to jump to conclusions. Based on what he had learned, Phantom knew that Lotus’ physical body was comatose somewhere in Maple World, and so Phantom decided to destroy Lotus’ body in order to get rid of his soul.

Knowing that he and Orchid were inseparable, Phantom surmised that they would still be close together and concluded that Lotus’ body was somewhere inside the Verne Mine. As there were too many enemies in the mine, Phantom told Christiane to analyze the Black Wings headquarters for weaknesses. As Christiane continued working, Phantom wondered whether the massive amounts of energy that Orchid was harvesting was related to Lotus.

Soon after, Christiane contacted Phantom and told him that all the energy being harvested in Edelstein was coming from the Power Plant, which was being funneled into a single point inside the mine. She explained that there were rumors that Orchid’s room was deep inside the Power Plant and offered to look into it. Phantom told her that there was no need, as he would go himself in order to destroy Lotus.

Christiane warned Phantom that it would be dangerous and cautioned him against charging into a zone full of enemies for an unsubstantiated rumor. Phantom told her that he had a gut feeling that there was something more to it, and reassured her that if Lotus wasn’t there, then he would simply take down Orchid instead. Christiane told him that he was behaving strangely and rushing in without thinking, to which Phantom darkly told her that she didn’t know him as well as she thought, and that he would do what needed to be done.

(A/N: Phantom is one of the most emotionally complex characters in the game, and he’s one of my favorites. While he’s normally a happy-go-lucky showoff, he can just as easily flip to having stone-cold murderous intent. His dark side is scarier than that of many of the villains.)

Phantom rushed to the Verne Mine and infiltrated the Power Plant. Past Orchid’s room, he found a hidden laboratory, where he discovered Lotus’ comatose body floating in a tank. Phantom mocked Lotus about how far he had fallen compared to the time when he and Orchid had ransacked Ereve. Though he admitted that he wasn’t one to attack a defenseless foe, he added that he was also smart enough to recognize an opportunity when he saw it. Just as Phantom was about to kill him, Lotus’ soul possessed Phantom and seized control of his body.

An amused Lotus asked Phantom whether his senses had been so dulled that he would fall for such an easy plot, musing that it was possible that Phantom had merely been fooling everyone into thinking that he was as clever as he claimed. He explained that possession was difficult to perform, as only the weak-minded were susceptible to his powers from a distance. Knowing this, he had manipulated Phantom into coming close to his body, where he could easily possess him. He told Phantom that he knew that the thief would fall for his trap, as once he had his sights set on revenge, he had a one-track mind that couldn’t see the bigger picture.

With that, he forced Phantom to leave Edelstein and travel to Ereve. There, Lotus had Phantom approach the garden where Cygnus was resting. Phantom immediately realized that Lotus was planning on having him kill Cygnus, thus eliminating the leader of the Alliance and turning the world against him. Cygnus spotted Phantom and approached him, glad to have a chance to see him again after he had stopped Hilla.

Phantom struggled to remove Lotus’ hold on his body, but when he realized that he couldn’t stop himself, he desperately let out a silent plea for help. Just then, the spirit of Empress Aria appeared, much to Lotus’ shock. Aria explained that while she didn’t have the power to destroy him, she could drive him out of Phantom for good. With that, Phantom regained his senses and awoke to the sight of Aria’s spirit.

Aria gently scolded Phantom for being as bull-headed as ever, and for being so blinded by his quest for vengeance that he had never bothered to move on with his life, reminding him that he used to be smarter. She then told him that as the Empress of Maple World, she wanted to thank him for everything that he had done, explaining that she owed him a debt of gratitude that no one could begin to repay. As a mere woman, however, she apologized to him for leaving him with such a heavy burden to carry.

She likened him to an uncaged bird singing in the night when they had first met, though he was now trapped in a cage of unending conflict. However, she reminded him that neither of them asked for the fates that they had been given and asked that there be no more apologies or sadness between them, as she was proud to leave Maple World in his hands. She added that her words weren’t meant just for him, but for Cygnus as well, and asked him to share them with her, as there was no future without her leadership. With that, she disappeared for the last time and left Phantom alone.

(A/N: This entire scene, from the moment that Lotus possessed Phantom to Aria’s appearance, is what got me invested in the lore of the game. Even though there are still so many other well-written stories out there, Phantom’s storyline is still really special to me after all these years and without it, it’s likely that this website might never have been written in the first place.)

Reflecting on Aria’s words, Phantom was ashamed that in spite of his talk that he wanted to follow in her footsteps, he had just been using her ideals as an excuse for getting revenge on Lotus and Orchid. He realized that it was the reason why he hadn’t wanted to join the Alliance in the first place, as he had known that they wouldn’t approve of his goals. In the end, he realized that he wasn’t the kind of fighter that they needed, and that he didn’t deserve to be called a hero. Despite it all, however, he knew that Aria had still trusted him and he realized that he couldn’t betray that trust.

Cygnus then approached Phantom and told him that she was glad to meet him again, adding that she was sure that he had had his reasons for denying her the chance to thank him the last time that they had met, though she also added that she had something important to tell him. She explained that centuries ago, only five people had been brave enough to stand up against the Black Mage, but in the present day, there were hundreds willing to fight alongside him.

She asked him not to carry the burden of the fight on his own, reminding him that he had allies if he was willing to trust them. Phantom conceded that Cygnus had a compelling argument, as the Alliance could have helped him during his last few missions. He agreed to join the Alliance, adding that they could benefit from the greatest thief in the history of Maple World.

Soon after, Phantom decided that it was time to relearn his most powerful skills, and so he traveled to his vault in Leafre, which contained his most treasured possessions, many of which were simple keepsakes. He approached the voice-activated Guardioso, which was unexpectedly unable to recognize his voice and proceeded to attack him as an intruder.

After destroying it, Phantom realized that its warranty had expired just the day before, meaning that he would need to spend another fortune in order to replace it. Nevertheless, he entered the vault and found his notes behind a magnificent portrait of Aria. He reminisced about his first encounter with her, when he had written her a letter in order to tell her that he would be coming to steal Skaia, claiming that it would be his greatest achievement. He fondly remembered how he had never expected that Aria, rather than being a pushover, actually had a will of steel, which had caused him to fall in love with her.

Shortly after having recovered his notes, Phantom decided that he wanted a mount in order to ride in style. As the only mounts centuries ago had been horses and large monkeys, he wanted something spectacular in order to show off his wealth in the modern age. He went to speak with Gaston about it, who revealed that he had already ordered a top-of-the-line car. However, because there had been some delays in its shipping, he recommended that Phantom check on the manufacturer in Magatia.

There, he spoke with a Zenumist named Bedin, who explained that he had accidentally broken the Lidium engine while installing it and sheepishly asked if Phantom could provide the sum to buy more Lidium, as he had spent all his money on the broken engine, though he promised to pay him back as soon as he could. (A/N: Well that was a lie, there’s 10 million mesos that I’m never getting back.) After Phantom gave him the money, Bedin finished constructing the car and gave it to Phantom, who named it Rolls.

Root Abyss:

In the shadows, the Commanders of the Black Mage continued their schemes in their master’s absence. Of the old Commanders, only a handful remained: Von Leon allowed the Commanders to use his castle as a base, Arkarium had already tried and failed to revive the Black Mage through the Mystic Gates, Hilla had made her move to overthrow the Empress and failed, Orchid remained largely inactive as she continued trying to revive Lotus in secret, and Magnus, Guwaru, and the Demon had betrayed them.

However, two new Commanders had joined their ranks. Lucid continued her work to tear the Alliance apart with the Gate to the Future while Damien continued to gain influence with the half-blood demons of Tynerum in order to raise his own army. (A/N: It’s never stated whether Lucid ever attended the Commander meetings, although I’m sure that the Commanders were aware of her status and objectives.)

During his first meeting with the Commanders, Damien was approached by Von Leon, who told him his story. Damien was intrigued to learn that Von Leon was a kindred spirit, as they had both lost loved ones and had chosen the path of revenge. Von Leon then unexpectedly told Damien that some things were impossible, even for the Black Mage.

Damien was surprised and asked Von Leon why he was so interested in him. Von Leon ignored the question and asked Damien whether he had ever felt as though what he was doing might be pointless. Damien retorted that Von Leon was one to talk about stopping his quest for vengeance, adding that there was no going back for either of them after having sold their souls to the Black Mage.

However, Von Leon simply told Damien that even if his mother were to return to life, Damien’s tainted soul wasn’t fit to be anywhere near her. He explained that he was sure that Damien had expected as much, but added that to be so close to something without being able to touch it was a fate worse than death. (A/N: This scene is revealed after you defeat Damien during the Genesis Weapon liberation questline.)

Soon after, the Commanders learned the location of the World Tree and Damien was tasked with recovering her. He and his army traveled to Root Abyss, where he discovered Alicia slowly regaining her powers. Rather than capturing her then, he told Alicia that he needed her at full strength and placed a seal on Root Abyss in order to prevent her from leaving. To guard her, he created four Seal Guardians: Von Bon, Pierre, the Crimson Queen, and Vellum.

(A/N: Alicia and the four Seal Guardians are based on characters from Alice in Wonderland. Alicia is Alice, Von Bon is the White Rabbit, Pierre is the Mad Hatter, the Crimson Queen is the Queen of Hearts, or possibly even the Red Queen, and Vellum is the Jabberwocky. Given her love of literary references, as seen with the Tower of Oz being based on the Wizard of Oz, I really did think that Alicia was the original creator of the Seal Guardians, and that Damien had simply corrupted them. However, the few references that exist online suggest that Damien had created them himself.

Zero‘s storyline reveals that the Commanders had planned for some unknown person to become the next Transcendent of Life, although their plans are disrupted when Damien goes rogue and attempts to steal Alicia’s power for himself. The Damien webcomic reveals that Arkarium has been keeping him in line by promising that the next Transcendent of Time after Rhinne would join the Black Mage and turn back time on his mother’s corpse, which Arkarium claims to be preserving with his time powers, although we later learn that her body was actually an illusion.

When Alpha and Beta meet the Commanders at the end of their storyline, Damien comes to realize that they have no intention of joining the Black Mage, which is when he decides to become the next Transcendent of Life himself by finding the Transcendence Stone, as Arkarium had claimed that only a Transcendent has the power to bring someone back from the dead.)

Word soon reached the Alliance that a previously uncharted area in Sleepywood had appeared. Neinheart summoned an Alliance member and asked them to investigate. While investigating, they fell deep below Sleepywood into Root Abyss and woke up to find Alicia standing over them. Alicia told them that she wanted to leave, but the Alliance member told her that they needed to stay and investigate the area. Alicia explained that they were in Root Abyss, and that it wasn’t a place where they would want to stay.

She told them that they should leave together, and so the Alliance member found several exits around Root Abyss and told her that she could leave using them. Alicia explained that she had already tried many times to leave using those exits, but she had found that they didn’t work for her. The Alliance member then tried the exit and discovered that it worked for them.

Upon finding that they could leave, the girl gave them a scroll and explained that she had brought it with her because it was meant to allow one to return to the nearest town. However, she told them that it didn’t work for her, and so she asked them to try it. Though the Alliance member noted that the scroll was ancient, they found that it worked for them. They returned to let Alicia know, who wondered whether she would be stuck in Root Abyss forever.

The Alliance member asked her how she had ended up in Root Abyss in the first place, as it didn’t seem like a safe place for a little girl. Alicia explained that she had created Root Abyss centuries ago in order to recover her powers. Confused, the Alliance member asked who she was, and was shocked to discover that she was the World Tree. Alicia explained that a demon with an eyepatch had appeared and had tried to kidnap her, and that he had created four mysterious doors before he left.

Just as the Alliance member decided to investigate the doors, they found themselves suddenly transported before Vellum, who threatened the Alliance member to back down. Realizing that the eye-patched demon was Vellum’s leader, the Alliance member told them that the Demon was their ally, but Vellum grew furious and told them not to mention the betrayer’s name. After threatening them with a powerful attack, Vellum sent them back to Alicia.

(A/N: The Demon gets some exclusive dialogue with Vellum that takes the place of the generic script. Vellum calls the Demon a disgraceful traitor and asks if he believes whether he can challenge “his” will. Vellum introduces himself as His Majesty’s Seal Guardian, causing the Demon to conclude that Vellum is working for the Black Mage.

The Demon demands to know whether Vellum is here to steal the World Tree’s power and asks if the Black Mage had put him up to it. Vellum claims that no one can order “him” around, and that everything happens in accordance to “his” desires. The Demon asks if he’s referring to the demon with the eyepatch, but Vellum angrily tells him to be silent, claiming that the Demon doesn’t deserve to speak about “him” after turning away from them.

As Vellum begins to drop rocks on him, the Demon declares that he’ll get what he wants out of Vellum one way or another, to which Vellum scoffs at the Demon’s claim that he could overpower him before shooting a fireball attack. He then mocks the Demon for falling to his knees after such a paltry combat, adding that the rumors of his power have been greatly exaggerated, after which the dialogue returns back to the generic script, which has Vellum threaten the player before teleporting them back.)

The Alliance member decided to return to Ereve in order to let Neinheart know what they had discovered. Neinheart was pleased to know that the World Tree had been located, but he was less happy to learn about the Seal Guardians. He decided to mobilize the Alliance against the Seal Guardians in order to free the World Tree. With the Alliance member’s help, they were able to defeat the Seal Guardians and brought Alicia back to Ereve, where she was absorbed inside the gemstone on Shinsoo’s forehead for her safety.

(A/N: I really wish that they had explored Neinheart and Cygnus’ reactions to finding the World Tree, especially given that it was the reason why Cygnus was corrupted in the Gate to the Future.

The Tower of Oz storyline takes place around the same time that the Alliance was mobilizing in Root Abyss. The Tower of Oz lore isn’t very significant, but the gist of it is that Neinheart tells the Alliance member that an underwater tower has been discovered in the far, northern reaches of Maple World, where they’ve also discovered Alicia’s soul. Neinheart is curious about why Alicia’s soul is there when Alicia is currently sealed in Root Abyss and sends the Alliance member to investigate.

Alicia’s soul explains that she had split from her main body in order to protect the Tower of Oz while her physical body healed in Root Abyss. However, the Black Mage’s influence has corrupted the guardians of the tower over time, and so she asks the Alliance member to defeat the guardians by taking Stupid Pills, as the tower blocks out anyone above a certain intelligence so that the unintelligent monsters in the tower can remain safe. I think that “Stupid Pill” is one of the worst GMS localizations in the game and I vastly prefer KMS’ original name, which was “Hazy Stone”.)

Nova Alliance:

Kaiser and Angelic Buster’s adventures in Maple World soon caught the attention of the Alliance, and Neinheart reached out to Kaiser for an important discussion. Kaiser recognized the Cygnus Knights from the stories that he had heard about them ruling Maple World many years ago and agreed to hear him out.

(A/N: Just like with Von Leon’s storyline, the writers during the earlier half of the game’s history used to use the term ‘Cygnus Knights’ in stories set centuries ago. Obviously, there shouldn’t be any stories about the Cygnus Knights from long ago when they’ve only been formed in the present day. Instead of having Kaiser recognize the term ‘Cygnus Knights’, they could fix it by having him instead recognize the word ‘Ereve’ and have him recall that Ereve is the capital of Maple World.)

After arriving in Ereve, Kaiser asked Neinheart why there were so many knights around them and warned that he didn’t like traps. Neinheart laughed and asked Kaiser to excuse the knights, as they took their security very seriously. As Kaiser didn’t feel evil energy from them, he decided to trust Neinheart and asked why he had been summoned.

Neinheart explained that the Cygnus Knights fought against the Black Mage, and that they had recently formed a worldwide Alliance against him. He told Kaiser that he wanted to invite him to join the Alliance, as Kaiser was both powerful and a champion of justice. To Neinheart’s surprise, Kaiser didn’t immediately accept, explaining that he had never heard of the Black Mage, and that as a representative of the Nova, he needed to deliberate with his people first.

Just then, Shinsoo addressed Kaiser and told him that he looked just like Magnus. Kaiser immediately grew suspicious and demanded to know how she knew Magnus. Shinsoo told him to relax and explained that Magnus had been a Commander of the Black Mage centuries ago, and that she had merely noted how strange it was that they looked so similar. (A/N: Don’t be racist Shinsoo, not all Nova look the same.) Kaiser was surprised to hear that Magnus had been in Maple World, though he realized that it could very well have been possible with the Interdimensional Portals in Maple World and Grandis.

Shinsoo added that she didn’t know much about Magnus, but she recalled that he had been terribly arrogant. She added that he had only cared about power and defeating his enemies, and that he had vanished soon after the Black Mage had been sealed. Kaiser asked when the Black Mage had been sealed away, to which Shinsoo told him that it had been a few centuries ago. Kaiser explained that the Nova didn’t know much about Magnus, but they could be sure that he had only taken over Heliseum a few decades ago, and so the timeline didn’t seem to fit. (A/N: This is because time flows slower on Grandis, and so a few decades on Grandis is equivalent to a few centuries on Maple World.)

When Shinsoo asked how he knew Magnus, Kaiser introduced himself as a Nova from Grandis and told her that Magnus was an exiled warrior of the Nova who had returned to conquer their capital. He added that Magnus was the great disgrace of their race, as well as his eternal enemy. Kaiser then realized that the Alliance and the Nova had a common enemy in Magnus, who had served both the Black Mage and Gerand Darmoor.

After Kaiser explained who Darmoor was, Shinsoo realized how dire the situation was on Grandis and offered to extend help to the Nova. Kaiser told her that he would discuss the matter with the Council and return with his response. He then returned to Pantheon and spoke with Beldar, explaining everything that had happened to him on Maple World.

After learning about the Alliance’s invitation, Beldar asked if the people of Ereve were trustworthy and powerful. Though he couldn’t speak for their power, Kaiser told him that that the Cygnus Knights could be trusted. However, Beldar replied that trustworthiness alone wasn’t enough for the Nova and asked if he had found any Transcendents. Kaiser told him that he hadn’t, but Beldar remained convinced that there was a Transcendent on Maple World who could help them. Nevertheless, he admitted that they could use any help that they could get. Kaiser then told him that he had heard about the Black Mage, who was a corrupt Transcendent that the people of Maple World were fighting, similar to Darmoor.

Beldar was shocked at the unexpected news, explaining that he had hoped to ally with a Transcendent, but not one who had fallen to evil, and asked for Kaiser’s assessment of the situation. Kaiser told him that they couldn’t join with anyone as bad as Darmoor and believed that the Alliance would make good allies.

Beldar explained that the Council had hoped to launch the attack on Tyrant’s Castle as soon as possible, meaning that they needed reinforcements quickly. He hoped that with the Alliance’s firepower, they would be able to attack very soon. He congratulated Kaiser for his good work and told him that he would reach out after speaking with the Council.

Soon after, Beldar contacted Kaiser and told him that the Council had decided in favor of joining the Alliance, despite the dangers of going to war against two Transcendents, and asked Kaiser to deliver their reply to Ereve. Neinheart was pleased by the good news and told Kaiser that he would begin formalizing the arrangement.

Kaiser soon contacted Angelic Buster, who was surprised to see him. She asked him how his time in Maple World had been going, and so he explained that he had been busy training and getting stronger. He then told her that she reminded him of another girl whom he knew who looked exactly the same as her.

Angelic Buster tactfully changed the subject and asked if he had found any warriors to help the Nova. Kaiser explained that he had encountered the Maple Alliance, which the Council had decided to join. In exchange for helping the Alliance defeat the Black Mage and the Black Wings, the Alliance would help the Nova reclaim Heliseum.

Angelic Buster was surprised at how mature Kaiser had become after learning that he had successfully negotiated an alliance. Kaiser then asked how she had been doing in Maple World, to which she merely replied that she had been doing well. Kaiser told her that his heart felt warm, as though he was seeing a piece of home after meeting her.

He then asked if she had made any allies, to which she vaguely mentioned that she hadn’t made too many. Kaiser told her that she didn’t need to justify herself and added that he hoped that Tear was doing as well as she was. He explained that he kept thinking about how Tear was doing alone in Pantheon after Velderoth had left and wistfully told her that he missed the old days together.

Angelic Buster accidentally let it slip that she also missed those days, to which Kaiser asked if she had a friend like Tear back home. Angelic Buster told him vaguely about Kyle and Velderoth without specifying their names, prompting Kaiser to ask more about her life back in Pantheon.

The two then spent many hours talking together about their time in Pantheon and Maple World. At the end of their reminiscing, Kaiser told her that she was a light for the Nova, and that he hoped to be as inspiring as her. Angelic Buster was touched at how considerate and mature Kaiser had become, and the two then went their separate ways. Soon after, Francis contacted Angelic Buster and tried to recruit her into the Black Wings. However, Angelic Buster attacked Francis and told him that the Nova were allied with the Alliance.

(A/N: I think this is the first time that you get to beat up Francis without actually attacking him, as we’re only told through the dialogue that Angelic Buster hits him. Based on what Francis says and thinks, it seems like the reason why he wanted to recruit her was because she was pretty and her pigtails reminded him of Orchid, whom he’s infatuated with.)

Shortly after, Beldar contacted Cadena and explained that the Council had recently approved of a union between the Nova and the Maple Alliance. He then asked if she would be willing to join the Alliance, explaining that if she did, then the Alliance would be able to contact her directly with new information, rather than her constantly needing to check-in with him.

Though Cadena had a feeling that joining the Alliance would be bothersome, she nevertheless accepted the offer, as she believed that it would be beneficial to be informed about important developments more promptly. After agreeing to join, Beldar sent her to Ereve in order to finalize the paperwork. There, Neinheart greeted her as the Hero of Justice, and though he expressed his surprise that Cadena didn’t appear to be a Nova, he nevertheless welcomed her into the Alliance.

Meanwhile, Kaiser 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 in this guide.

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.)

Cygnus Awakens:

(A/N: There’s a mount quest and 4th job advancement quest which I added here before the main Cygnus Awakens storyline, as they take place before it anyways and there wasn’t anywhere else to keep them.)

Neinheart reached out to the Cygnus Knight and told them that they needed to upgrade their mount, explaining that it was unbefitting of them to still be riding a Mimiana as an Advanced Knight. He then sent them to Kiridu in order to learn enhanced monster riding. Kiridu told them that Mimiana could become a more powerful creature through shedding, though he added that it would require a special formula used for the dragons of Leafre. After obtaining the Concentrated Formula, the Knight fed it to Mimiana, which molted into Mimio.

Some time later, Neinheart told them that he had received word that members of the Black Wings had been spotted around The Grave of a Wrecked Ship in the Deep Sea of Aqua Road and asked them investigate. When the Knight arrived, they encountered Wightmares, who laughed that the Black Mage would soon return. Just as the Knight began to attack, they fell into a deep sleep and found themselves in a dreamscape.

(A/N: This is similar to the place where you end up upon entering the Gate to the Future, except without the two portals to the Henesys Ruins and the Mutant Tino Forest. Also, these Wightmares are affiliated with the Black Mage and Lucid, not the Black Wings.)

Just then, Hawkeye arrived and woke the Knight up, explaining that he had found them knocked out. After the Knight explained what had happened, Hawkeye recommended that they return to Ereve and inform Neinheart, reassuring them that he would continue investigating in their place. Though Neinheart was dubious of the Knight’s story, he trusted Hawkeye to find the details and told them to report to the Empress.

To their surprise, the Knight found Cygnus in a deep slumber. When they touched her, they were transported to the dreamscape once again, where they found Cygnus looking in a mirror, with the Future Cygnus from the Gate to the Future staring back at her. Just then, the mirror was shattered open and Cygnus was knocked out. From the other side, the Future Cygnus appeared and attempted to attack her. The Knight fought off the Future Cygnus, causing the real Cygnus to awaken, transporting them back to Ereve.

Cygnus thanked the Knight for reviving her, but when they assured her that she could count on them, Cygnus told them that she wished that she could be of greater help, lamenting that she was too weak. The Knight told her not to say that, adding that she was a huge help just by serving as their Empress. Cygnus asked them not to share her doubts with the other knights or with Neinheart, as she believed that they would only worry needlessly.

The Knight then gave her Neinheart’s report, and when Cygnus opened it, she laughed and explained that it was actually Neinheart’s recommendation to promote them, adding that Neinheart’s words were positively glowing. Cygnus then promoted them to Captain Knight.

(A/N: Cygnus actually promotes you to Chief Knight, but she does this again for your level 200 quest too. Since the medal you get for 4th job is called Captain Knight, I’m gonna go with that so that the promotion to Chief Knight isn’t duplicated.)

Some time later, Neinheart reached out to the Knight and told them that Kiridu was looking for them, as there was a problem with Mimio. The Knight met with Kiridu, who explained that their advancement to Captain Knight posed a problem. Though Mimio grew stronger as its master did, even Mimio had its limits, and its health was quickly deteriorating as a result. Kiridu placed Mimio inside a special incubator, hoping that it would help it recover. To his shock, however, Mimio began weakening even faster. Realizing that there was no other choice, Kiridu instructed the Knight to take Mimio to Shinsoo, whose power had created every mount in Ereve.

Shinsoo told the Knight that Mimio had grown tired from its constant battles alongside them and asked them to let Mimio go. The Knight refused and began arguing with Shinsoo, claiming that they would not let go of their dear companion. However, Shinsoo soon helped the Knight understand that Mimio was in pain, and that selfishly holding onto it would only make it suffer more.

Reluctantly, the Knight agreed to give Mimio up, and Shinsoo used her power to send it back to where it came from. To her surprise, however, Mimio returned back to the Knight’s side on its own. Shinsoo explained that the Knight’s attachment to Mimio combined with its strong will had allowed it to manifest itself without her power. She then gave it the new name Shinjo, declaring that it no longer needed her power to stay in the world.

Some time later, Neinheart gave the Knight a special assignment to serve as part of the security detail to protect Empress Cygnus at the next Alliance meeting, which was to be the first Alliance meeting held outside Ereve. Neinheart had agreed to the change in location because Cygnus needed to learn more about Maple World, which could not happen if she always remained in Ereve.

However, he refused to compromise her safety and reminded the Knight that security needed to be iron-clad. The Knight met Cygnus and her court at the Station to Ereve on the Six Path Crossway. Just as they were about to head to the Alliance meeting, Neinheart saw that Kiku had arrived, and that he was injured.

Kiku told them that Ereve had been attacked. He explained that Shinsoo was fighting off the invaders, but that the situation seemed bad. Neinheart asked Kiku who had attacked Ereve, to which Kiku said that it was an unknown man with grey skin and purple hair. Cygnus decided that she would return along with the rest of the Chief Knights.

They wondered whether it was a good idea, but Neinheart said that the attack on Ereve could be a decoy to draw the Chief Knights away from Cygnus. He decided that they would all return to Ereve and postpone the Alliance meeting. Neinheart wondered what the enemy’s goal could be in attacking Ereve, if not a trap. He wondered whether they were after the World Tree, but thought that fighting Shinsoo just to take the World Tree was too risky a plan.

(A/N: It’s not strictly Neinheart’s fault since he has no way to know the strength of the enemy, but I feel like he grossly underestimated the strength of a Commander, especially Damien in particular, by mistakenly conflating the strength of a Black Mage Commander to a Black Wings officer.)

Meanwhile, Damien successfully defeated Shinsoo and shattered the jewel on her forehead before extracting Alicia, who had regained her full Transcendent powers. Alicia immediately noticed that Damien’s half-blood ancestry meant that he had a human body which was completely unfit to handle the strain of his demon powers. She warned that he would eventually be consumed by his power and ultimately be destroyed if he continued, though Damien merely dismissed her words.

(A/N: Unlike Damien, the Demon won the genetic lottery and got both demon powers and a demon body with wings. It’s said that having wings is pretty rare, even for pure-blooded demon, and that wings are an indication of having great strength. Damien has been compensating for his weakness by branding monsters across Maple World and draining their power through his mark of corruption, which we saw during Stone Colossus.

One thing that I really like about this game is its consistent use of themes and symbolism. Throughout the story, we can clearly see the duality of symbiosis vs parasitism. The Adversary derives their power from the people they protect. Seal Stones can only be used by a population. Cygnus’ authority comes from people choosing to follow her, not because she has a throne. Heroes are strong because their power is freely given by others who believe in them, giving a level of purity and divinity to their strength.

In contrast, we have the parasitic relationship between the villains and their sources of power. Damien brands his targets and drains their power for himself through their parasitic mental link. Tyrants like Areda, Darmoor, or even the Black Mage have to subjugate and manipulate in order to keep their authority. Special types of Specters like Gilmore in the Cernium storyline have the power to kill Ancient Gods and Transcendents just like the Adversary, but their power comes from being stuffed with countless Specter souls.

In every case here, we can see that each example of symbiosis has its parasitic foil, like with Cygnus and Areda. This central theme is the most apparent in the case of the Adversary vs Specters. The Adversary can kill gods because countless souls choose to support them. For Specters, this support is forcibly taken by seizing those souls for themselves.

The power is still the same, but whereas the Adversary’s is divine and righteous, Specter power is insidious and inhuman, like the kind you get by selling your soul. It’s something they’ve been leaning into a lot more with the Grandis lore lately and I really appreciate the effort of the writers to not only tell a good story, but to add themes and symbolism to elevate that story into something even better.)

Just then, the Knights arrived in Ereve, only to find the entire island in ruins. For an instant, they saw Damien smirking in front of Shinsoo’s body before he teleported away with Alicia. The Knights rushed ahead and found Shinsoo lying motionless, causing Cygnus to burst into tears and cry over Shinsoo’s body. (A/N: Contrary to popular belief, the game mentions multiple times that Shinsoo never actually died.)

Suddenly, a surge of power welled up inside her, causing a large water barrier to envelop around herself and Shinsoo. Mihile rushed forward in an attempt to save the Empress, but found that his attacks did nothing. Neinheart was shocked at the sight of Cygnus constructing a barrier with her own power, and not with Shinsoo’s, which he had believed to be impossible. Within the water barrier, Cygnus experienced an awakening and a transformation. With her new powers, she touched Shinsoo’s body and restored vitality to the divine beast.

Over the next few months, the Knights rebuilt the city after Damien’s attack.

(A/N: It’s interesting to note that Neinheart knows Damien’s identity at this point. Given that the Demon doesn’t learn who the new Commander is until the Heroes of Maple blockbuster, I wonder if he just doesn’t bother to ever look through the Alliance’s intel. There have definitely been instances in his questline where he would have benefited by asking the Resistance or the Alliance for intelligence before rushing into personal missions.)

Neinheart spoke with the Knight and explained that after Cygnus’ awakening, her new power meant that the Cygnus Knights, who drew their strength from her, also became stronger. He told them that he would have preferred that Shinsoo fill them in on the details, though that was no longer possible, as Shinsoo had left Ereve soon after Cygnus had saved her life. He wondered how the Empress was taking it, as the two had never been separated since her coronation. He then asked them to go see the Empress, as he believed that it would make her happy.

Sure enough, Cygnus was pleased to see the Knight and commented on how different Ereve was. She told them that she hadn’t been feeling like herself as of late. She explained that her powers had awakened when she thought that Shinsoo had died, though things were now much different. She also explained that Shinsoo had once told her that her descendent would be the one to awaken, but against all expectations, it had been herself. She told the Knight that she didn’t know how this twist of events would turn out and confessed that she felt unstable.

She explained that she was afraid of whether she had caused her awakening to happen and wondered if that had driven Shinsoo to leave her. Though she felt guilty, she told the Knight that she still didn’t regret what had happened, as her awakening had allowed her to both save Shinsoo and give strength to the Knights. She decided that she wouldn’t ponder on whether she was the cause, and that she believed that Shinsoo would one day return to guide her. Until then, she vowed that she would use her power to bring peace to Maple World.

Soon after, the Knight heard Shinsoo’s voice calling to them. Shinsoo asked them to come find her, claiming that they deserved to know the truth. The Knight followed Shinsoo’s call to Leafre, where they found the divine beast waiting for them. Shinsoo asked them if they knew about the Transcendents who maintained balance over life, light, and time. She then explained that there was a fourth Transcendent who was destined to be born in the future.

Shinsoo also explained that her true purpose was not to guide Cygnus, but to ensure that the fourth Transcendent would one day awaken. She told the Knight that Maple World was not yet ready for its fourth Transcendent, which was why Cygnus’ descendent had been fated to be the fourth. However, because of Shinsoo’s defeat at Damien’s hands, the latent powers of the Transcendent had awakened within Cygnus, though Shinsoo feared that the Empress was too young to handle her Transcendent powers.

She explained that the turn of events had changed everything, as Cygnus had imperfectly awakened. Though she could use some of her Transcendent powers, she was not fully one of them. Shinsoo told the Knight that she didn’t know what would happen to Cygnus, and that she feared that Cygnus wouldn’t survive unscathed. She explained that she had left Ereve in order to find a way to either suppress and revert Cygnus, or to complete Cygnus’ awakening so that she could help Cygnus before she got hurt.

Shinsoo told the Knight that she realized that Cygnus was likely worried and confused, adding that she was sorry that she could not be at Cygnus’ side. She then asked the Knight if they would watch over Cygnus in her stead, believing that they had the strength to do so. She then gave the Knight her blessing, granting them a new power that would allow them to better protect their Empress. (A/N: This is the quest you have to complete in order to gain the Call of Cygnus skill.)

Wings of Brilliance:

(A/N: The placing of this story has been messed up by the Explorer storyline revamp. Originally, all Grandis classes had their storylines take place before the formation of the Alliance, making it simple as to where they belonged in the timeline. However, the Explorer revamp forces the Alliance to be formed after the unsealing of the Black Mage, meaning that the Grandis classes join the Alliance after the Black Mage is freed.

This creates a continuity error, as the dialogue in all the Grandis classes’ storylines state that the seal on the Black Mage hasn’t yet been broken. However, even if we were to place these storylines before the Black Mage’s unsealing, there’s still a continuity error that gets created because Illium and Ark both meet Kaiser in Pantheon, even though Kaiser doesn’t return to Grandis until right after Cygnus asks the Nova to join the Alliance.

This created a problem for me because I realized that there would a continuity error created no matter whether I placed them before or after the Black Mage’s unsealing. Since either placing creates a plot hole, I’ve decided to move out the storylines for all Grandis classes released after Kaiser, Angelic Buster, and Cadena, and place them before the seal is broken, as it balances the number of sections set before and after the Black Mage’s unsealing.)

On Grandis, in the pocket dimension of Sanctuary, a Verdant Flora boy named Illium was studying the history of the Flora with the help of his robot, Ex. Illium needed parts for his machines, but since the Verdant Flora were isolated in Sanctuary, his only hope was to use the Crystal Gate in order to enter the outside world, though he knew that attempting to leave Sanctuary was punishable by imprisonment. Illium briefly considered using a flash bomb to sneak past the guards around the Crystal Gate, but he ultimately decided against it.

However, Ex interpreted his words as a command and launched a flash bomb on the guards. Though he was startled by Ex’s unexpected actions, Illium used it as an opportunity to sneak past the blinded guards and made his way to the Crystal Gate. Just as the guards regained their sight, Illium entered the Crystal Gate and arrived in Savage Terminal. He was shocked to learn that the Verdant Flora were hiding in a scrapyard, but Ex pointed out that it was the ideal place for them to hide. Illium then began hunting Hedgehogs in order to obtain the parts that he needed.

Meanwhile, Agate, the headmistress of the Crystal Academy and the disciple of the God of the Verdant Flora, arrived in Savage Terminal and asked two of her fellow Verdant Flora, Darius and Curly, whether they had seen anything during their patrol. (A/N: I’ve mentioned this in an earlier section, but the word ‘God’ refers to his caste rank, not him being an actual god. The God of the Verdant Flora is also known as the Ancient Master, which you might see me use occasionally.)

Curly reported that he had overheard a conversation earlier about someone having sighted a High Flora in Savage Terminal. Agate grew concerned and asked if the rumor was true, but Curly believed that it was likely a Verdant Flora because their wings had been reported to be mechanical, making the others realize that someone had illegally left Sanctuary. Agate asked Darius to investigate and to ensure that their safety hadn’t been compromised.

Just then, one of the Crystal Gate guards contacted Agate and reported that a child had just left Sanctuary. After a brief investigation, they confirmed that the missing child was Illium. Agate told the others that she would find Illium and ordered them to wait for her in Sanctuary. She soon found Illium and Ex being attacked by a group of Hoodlums. Ex was worried that Illium’s vitals were critically low, but just then, a flash of light emanated from Illium that defeated all the Hoodlums and knocked out the exhausted boy.

Agate took Illium and Ex back to Sanctuary, where the boy woke up to Agate and the guards standing over him. Agate asked Illium how old he was, to which he responded that he was 153. She noted that the mytocrystal on the back of his hand was faint for his age, and that his wings lacked magical aura, meaning that the power that he had exhibited earlier had been much greater than he seemed capable of. Agate told him that leaving Sanctuary was forbidden and asked if he was prepared to accept the consequences.

When Illium apologized to her, she asked if he even knew who she was. Ex answered for him and explained that she was the Seeker of the Verdant Flora and the Headmistress of the Crystal Academy, and that accompanying her were Darius, the Guardian of the Verdant Flora, and Curly, the Engineer of the Verdant Flora. Agate was impressed by Illium’s engineering abilities and told him that because of his young age and his mechanical aptitude, she was willing to let him off with a warning. However, as punishment, he would begin courses at the Crystal Academy, much to the shock of both Illium and the guards.

Later on, Ex told Illium that it was hardly a punishment, as many dreamed of attending the prestigious Crystal Academy. Illium asked what had happened before he had been knocked out, to which Ex explained that Illium had had a magical overload, and that the resulting explosion had defeated the Hoodlums. The next day, Illium and Ex met Agate outside the Crystal Academy. She gave them a tour of the facility and told Illium that while he didn’t seem to possess control over his mytocrystal, he still possessed power, however unstable. She explained that she had brought him to the Academy so that he could learn how to control his powers in a safe environment.

Illium then went to his first class, where he was surprised at how many students there were. Though he was afraid of social interaction, he decided to engage in class nonetheless. Professor Kalsat then began his lecture about the different types of mytocrystals. The first crystal he showed was grossular, a green crystal used to treat wounds and recover health. Next, he showed a red crystal called pyrope, which had explosive power, but was difficult to extract mana from.

Throughout the lecture, Illium tried to answer the professor’s questions, but he spoke very quietly in order to avoid attracting attention. When Kalsat asked about a third type of crystal, Ex grew frustrated by Illium’s reticence and loudly answered that it was obsidian, which was difficult to find and held dark magical energy, which one should be cautious of. Kalsat was impressed by Ex and told the class that for the rest of the lesson, they were to collect grossular shards from Green Grossular monsters. Having little magical power, Illium took much longer to collect the shards and became late to return to class.

For his next lesson, Illium went to magical combat training, led by Professor Andrada. The students took turns attacking a dummy, but when Illium’s turn came, he was only able to use a weak physical attack. Andrada instructed him to gather the mytocrystal energy inside his wings and transfer it to the mytocrystal on the back of his hand in order to launch a magical attack. When he realized that Illium had no wings, he encouraged the boy to find other ways to use magic, even if they were unorthodox. Illium then used one of his mechanical javelins to attack the dummy, causing it to explode. The other students were awestruck by his attack and wondered how he had done it. Andrada was impressed and then instructed the class to eliminate practice robots in the combat training room. Though Illium was unable to meet his quota of robots to destroy, Andrada accepted his work nevertheless.

As Illium and Ex moved to their next class, Agate spoke to them telepathically and asked how classes were going, explaining that she could communicate with him through the lights. Knowing that he was struggling, she told him not to be discouraged and offered private tutoring lessons after school in order for him to be able to catch up with the rest of his class.

After Illium’s next lesson ended, two students named Dean and Sinaria approached Illium and introduced themselves. Dean was curious about Ex and why Illium had no wings, as well as why the mytocrystal on his hand didn’t glow. Illium was overwhelmed by Dean’s rapid-fire questions, which Sinaria interpreted to mean that Illium didn’t want to talk to them. As they left, Illium called out that he really was happy to have met them, adding that he had just been nervous. A girl named Carnelian then introduced herself and explained that Dean was generally overenthusiastic. With that, she left for her next class and Illium left for his.

Illium’s third class was on Gate Creation and taught by Professor Citrine. She explained that the mana that the Verdant Flora drew from mytocrystals was used for their spells, and that one application of it was the creation of Crystal Gates. She explained that Sanctuary existed within a Crystal Gate, and that it served as a virtual space created with magic, which was why the sky was perpetually dark and filled with crystalline shapes. Though the Crystal Gate was extremely useful in hiding themselves from the High Flora, she explained that construction of a gate was quite difficult.

For their first class exercise, Citrine asked them to get into pairs of two. Illium was quite flustered at having to interact with others, but despite his best efforts, he was unable to find a group. (A/N: I can relate to Illium on a spiritual level.) Just then, a boy named Morian approached Illium and suggested that they team up, since they were the only two without a group. After everyone found their groups, Citrine told them to collect Amethyst Shards for their gates. Illium and Morian struggled to gather enough shards and eventually returned late to class, where Citrine told them that she expected further improvement in the future. After class ended, Ex guided Illium to the Headmistress’ office so that he could begin his lessons with Agate.

Outside the office, Illium overheard Darius asking Agate what she had been thinking by rewarding Illium for behavior that could have endangered all the Verdant Flora. He warned her that Illium’s actions could have resulted in their discovery, or worse, the loss of the Elder Crystal, and suggested that they strengthen security around it by stationing more guards. Agate assured him that the Elder Crystal was safe before greeting Illium, whom she had noticed standing outside. With that, she asked Darius to take his leave.

After he left, she asked Illium if he had overheard everything, which he sheepishly confirmed. Ex then explained that some of the students had behaved unfavorably towards Illium, but Agate reassured Illium that it would get better with time. She told him that he was special because he was the only one to have overcome his limitations so spectacularly, and she encouraged him to believe in himself and train hard.

For their lessons, she had Illium attack larger practice dummies with his javelin. After successfully defeating them, Agate told him that he would grow more powerful with practice. Illium asked if it would be possible for him to become as strong as her, to which she promised him that with his talents, he had the ability to surpass her. Over the next few months, Illium continued to practice under Agate’s tutelage, fondly considering his lessons with her to be the best time that he ever had at the Crystal Academy. With her help, Illium grew much stronger and honed his unique style of fighting in the absence of his wings. (A/N: As someone who used to tutor a lot in the past, Agate was a role model for the kind of teacher that I wanted to be.)

One day, Illium left Agate’s office and decided to head to the library for his studies. Just then, he heard somebody shouting for help. He entered the training room and found Dean being attacked by haywire training robots. After Illium and Ex rescued him, Dean thanked them and apologized for his behavior in the past. Illium accepted his apology and even helped Dean recover his belongings from the training robots. After Dean left, Ex told Illium that someone had tampered with the training robots and warned him that no one in the Crystal Academy was safe. Illium assured him that they would tell Agate during their lessons tomorrow.

The next day, Illium was studying history in Professor Lutil’s class. Sinaria summarized their last lesson on the Flora Civil War, in which Prince Gerand Darmoor had nearly wiped out the Verdant Flora and had banished their God. In exile, their God had helped the Verdant Flora recover their power by creating mechanical wings, which allowed them to draw mana and channel it through the mytocrystals on the back of their hands.

(A/N: Sinaria actually got this backwards. The Verdant Flora and their God were first banished for conspiring to share their power with the commoners. In exile, their God developed their mechanical wings and created the Elder Crystal. Eventually, they were framed for the murder of the God-King by Prince Darmoor, which was the catalyst for the Flora Civil War. The exact details of the Flora Civil War always seem to vary between sources, but I’m going off of the Ancient War webcomic that Nexon had officially commissioned before Illium was introduced in the game.)

Professor Lutil told the class that the God of the Verdant Flora was the hero of their race, and that the annual Festival of the Gods was intended to honor him and bring hope to their people. She reminded them that the festival would be held at the end of the semester, and that the Crystal Academy would be responsible for organizing a grand display of lights and magic.

As the end of the semester approached, the students were tasked with creating sculptures. Ex helped Illium construct his sculpture by directing him to gather Pyrope Shards. As Illium and Morian finished gathering their shards, they heard someone crying. They discovered Carnelian, who told them that Dean had transformed her crystals into candy. Illium and Morian gave her some of the crystals that they had gathered, which she was greatly appreciative of. After making up the difference, Illium and Morian returned to class, where Lutil reminded them to display their sculptures in the town square.

Next, they went to their Crystal Gate class, where Citrine explained that those who hadn’t finished their homework would need to stay after class. She then told everyone that after the lesson, they would be able to create a small Crystal Gate to hide in. She instructed them to gather Obsidian Shards, which were held in the classroom, since they were dangerous. After gathering their mytocrystals, the class succeeded in creating a small Crystal Gate that allowed everyone to enter. After class was over, Morian was required to stay behind since he hadn’t finished his homework.

Agate then contacted Illium and told him that their lesson would take place at the Sanctuary Entrance. At the entrance, Illium and Ex overheard some soldiers saying that there were rumors that Specters had managed to get through. However, their superiors had managed to stop the intruders and had moved the Crystal Gate as a precaution. As Illium began to look around for Agate, the guards asked him to help them extract mana from nearby mytocrystals. Illium harvested Sanctuary mytocrystals and brought them back to the guards.

Just then, Agate appeared and thanked the soldiers for their hard work. Illium asked her if they were in danger from the Specters, but Agate assured him that nothing would happen as long as they stayed vigilant. After their lesson, Illium began to head back to the school. Just then, Morian arrived and told him that he had just finished his private tutoring lesson with Professor Citrine. He asked Illium if he wanted to get food, but Illium told him that he wanted to start on his sculpture.

Illium and Ex went to the lab and got started on their sculpture using the Pyrope Shards that they had gathered in class. Illium was determined to do his statue justice, as the festival felt much more meaningful to him as of late. He told Ex that when he was younger, he would visit the Festival of the Gods every year and look at the mysterious lights. However, his time with Agate and the others had taught him to appreciate the lights as testaments to their efforts. After gathering more materials, he continued to work and soon created a mechanical statue.

Just then, Darius appeared and scoffed at Illium’s efforts, calling him a low-level engineer. He ordered Illium to throw away his project immediately, claiming that it was an affront to the Gods of the Flora. Ex attempted to console Illium by telling him that the Verdant Flora had regained their magic by combining mytocrystals and technology, and so in all likelihood, the Gods of the Flora would have been pleased by Illium’s unique creation. Illium thanked Ex and decided to continue enhancing his project with rarer metals.

After improving his statue further, he sensed a crystal glowing nearby. As he approached it, the light that it gave off in response to Illium’s presence significantly increased. Against Ex’s recommendations, he touched the Elder Crystal, causing a strong magical reaction. Just then, Agate appeared and chastised Illium for using Academy crystals without permission. After she left, Illium wondered why Agate had been unnecessarily harsh. Unbeknownst to him, Darius had been watching in secret.

Soon after, Illium finished the rest of his sculpture and was pleased by his final product. At the Festival of the Gods, everyone was unanimously impressed with Illium’s creation, which combined mytocrystals with technology flawlessly. After the festival was over, Illium was inspired to enhance his sculpture and transformed it into another robot named Machina.

(A/N: One of Illium’s fourth job skills combines Ex and Machina into a robot named Deus. The names of these three robots are a reference to the phrase “deus ex machina”, which literally means “god out of the machine”. The meaning of the term came from Ancient Greek theater, in which actors who were portraying gods would be lifted by machines and placed on stage, after which they would abruptly resolve the conflict in the play.

Although the phrase has come to refer to any sort of plot device that appears out of nowhere to fix the problem in a story, I believe that the writers had its literal translation in mind when they had made up those names, as Illium eventually fuses with the God of the Verdant Flora using the Elder Crystal, thus making him the “god out of the machine”, which also references his aptitude for engineering.)

Just then, Illium heard a disturbance and went outside to see what was going on. He was shocked to find that the tampered training robots from the other day were attacking the Crystal Academy. Outside, the Crystal Gate had opened to allow Specters to invade Sanctuary. Curly reassured the soldiers that if they defeated all the Specters, they wouldn’t be found out. However, Darius appeared and opened several more Crystal Gates. Curly asked Darius how he could have betrayed his people, to which Darius explained that he would rather destroy everything than see the future tainted by the abominations created by engineers such as Curly.

Agate and the other professors rushed to the school entrance, where Darius told Agate that all of it could have been avoided if she had only handed over the Elder Crystal to him without a fight. The other professors tried to tell Agate that it was too late to save Sanctuary, but Agate refused to give up hope. She ordered the students to take shelter from the Specters, just as Illium rushed outside to see the situation. He told Agate that he could help, but Agate told him that he could do more good by protecting his friends.

The students then rushed into the school and barricaded themselves inside, but Specters still managed to enter the halls. The students then watched in amazement as Illium single-handedly drove back the Specters with the help of Ex and Machina. They all wondered how Specters could have entered the school and briefly wondered whether the professors had been defeated. However, Illium refused to believe it, claiming that Agate was stronger than that.

Just then, a wounded Agate arrived and Ex noted that her magic was dangerously out of balance, likely from excessive energy expenditure. Against Illium’s protests that she needed healing, Agate opened a Crystal Gate for the students to escape through. All the students disappeared through the gate except for Illium, who continued to stay behind. He asked Agate if she was coming with them, but just then, Darius appeared with the Specter army. Illium jumped in front of Agate, promising to protect her. However, Darius began charging up an attack that Ex noted would be fatal to them, and so Agate pushed Illium aside and blocked the attack single-handedly. Darius was shocked that Agate still possessed such power in spite of her exhaustion and immediately retreated.

Severely drained, Agate collapsed on the floor, and with last bit of strength that she had left, she gave Illium the Elder Crystal, explaining that it was the relic of her master, the last God of the Verdant Flora, and that it was the last remaining key to unleashing his power. She told Illium that the door to the Sanctuary of the Ancient God awaited him in a different dimension and tasked him with finding it in order to awaken the Elder Crystal’s power. With her dying breath, she entrusted the fate of the Verdant Flora in Illium’s hands and reminded him that no matter what anyone else said, he was special.

Just then, a horde of Specters arrived and surrounded Illium. Ex detected an immensely powerful force radiating from the crystal and warned Illium that he was detecting a foreign consciousness within the relic. (A/N: The foreign consciousness is because the God of the Verdant Flora had imprinted his personality and powers into the Elder Crystal.)

Against Ex’s recommendation, Illium grasped the Elder Crystal in both hands, allowing its power to flow through him. Illium’s appearance and personality then fused with that of the God of the Verdant Flora, turning his dark hair, which normally covered his eyes, short and snow white, and from his back grew radiant blue wings. With his new powers, he easily destroyed the Specters around him and promised his fallen teacher that he would master the powers of the Elder Crystal in order to protect the Verdant Flora and defeat Darmoor.

He and Ex then rushed outside the Academy and found Morian and Sinaria trapped beneath rubble. After rescuing them, the trio fought their way past Specters until they met Dean and Carnelian. Illium explained what had happened with Agate and the Elder Crystal and told them that they needed to survive and carry out Agate’s final wish. They gathered the rest of the students and rushed to the main Crystal Gate. Morian noted that there was something off about the gate, but the students nevertheless jumped through it and arrived in Savage Terminal.

However, the Crystal Gate suddenly collapsed, cutting them off from Sanctuary. The students wondered whether they would ever be able to reach Sanctuary again, but Dean rallied them together and vowed that they would return to Sanctuary together as the Verdant Flora Youth Expedition. Illium was pleased that everyone had agreed to follow him and told them that, together, they would find the Sanctuary of the Ancient God.

(A/N: Although all the students in the Academy escape with us, most of the unnamed students kind of just disappear and the only people whom we ever see again are Morian, Dean, Sinaria, and Carnelian. I’m sure that everyone is canonically there with us, it’s just that they’re suffering from extra syndrome and have faded into the background because the developers don’t bother to include their NPCs anymore.)

As he was the only one who had been outside Sanctuary before, Illium led them around Savage Terminal. Just then, a group of Roving Hoodlums approached them and mistook them for High Flora, who had been recently sighted around Savage Terminal. The Hoodlums decided to rob the students, but Illium managed to defeat them all. He then demanded that they tell him everything that they knew about the other dimension. The terrified Hoodlums told him that the Nova would know more about it and begged him to let them go.

Illium then took his friends to Pantheon, where they marveled at the strange architecture. Just then, Beldar spotted them and, mistaking them for High Flora, ordered the knights to arrest the children. The students explained that they were Verdant Flora, but Cartalion retorted that the Verdant Flora had been wiped out by Darmoor during the Fall of Aboris. Beldar added that the Verdant Flora were said to have nursed a vicious hatred for the High Flora, which had caused Darmoor’s awakening as the Transcendent of Life and had brought destruction upon them all.

Illium and the students protested that those were merely rumors, and that the survivors of the Verdant Flora had been in hiding for ages. Ex also added that unsubstantiated rumors were a foolish means by which to judge others. Irritated, Beldar told them that Heliseum didn’t need the Verdant Flora’s interference to survive. Morian pointed out that since they were all victims of Darmoor, they should be united against him. Cartalion then told Beldar to calm down and asked what they were all doing in Pantheon. Illium told him that they were looking for the other dimension, and that they would leave Pantheon as soon as they could, to which Cartalion ordered them to leave before sundown.

Meanwhile, Kaiser had overheard the entire exchange and let Kylan know about what had happened. (A/N: As I’ve mentioned at the beginning of this section, Kaiser can’t have been in Pantheon at this time, since he’s supposed to be out exploring Maple World.) Kylan invited the students to the Great Temple and explained how Kaiser had mentioned that they were looking for information about the other dimension. He asked why they were looking for it, to which Illium responded that he was looking for an object that might be able to prevent Darmoor from causing further destruction. As their goals were united, Kylan told them that he would assist the students in going to the other dimension and asked them to bring him Gravi Stonegar Magic Stones.

After giving him the materials, Kylan began to tell them about the other dimension when Beldar and Cartalion arrived. Cartalion reminded them that they had been ordered to leave Pantheon immediately, but Kaiser then stepped in and explained that the students had offered to help him with his mission. He told them that with the Magic Stones, the Interdimensional Portal had become much easier to activate. Beldar was still suspicious of the students, but Kylan told him that he believed them to be trustworthy. He then explained to Illium and the others that they would find the other dimension beyond the portal and cautioned them to take care. With that, the students entered the portal and emerged in the Six Path Crossway in Maple World.

Upon arriving, they encountered Pilot Irvin, who asked them if they wanted to go to Gold Beach. Carnelian asked him if he could answer a few questions instead, but Irvin told them that he was busy and suggested that they ask Chief Stan in Henesys. The students went to see Chief Stan, who was amazed at their brilliant wings. They asked him if he had ever heard of the Sanctuary of the Ancient God, to which he explained that he had heard of the Temple of Rhinne, the Goddess of Time, in Leafre.

However, he added that Rhinne was a goddess of Maple World and doubted that she was also the God of the Verdant Flora whom they were looking for, though he hoped that they would be able to find him one day. Having reached a dead end, Illium suggested that they all split up to look for clues. As the Crystal Gate in Professor Citrine’s class that the students had all constructed together in class still remained, they decided to use the classroom as their hideout.

After splitting up, Ex recommended that Illium first start his search in Gold Beach. However, even after thoroughly investigating Gold Beach, they were unable to find any trace of the Sanctuary of the Ancient God. Soon after, the students heard a rumor about the glaciers of Rien melting and decided to investigate.

(A/N: Although any class can complete the Riena Strait theme dungeon, Illium’s Alliance quest has Neinheart reach out to him and explain that Lilin, his sister, had told him about how Illium had helped save Riena Strait. Since no other class is directly mentioned to have completed Riena Strait, I’m assuming that canonically, Illium and his friends are the ones who completed it. Unlike the Gold Beach storyline, Riena Strait has an actual impact on the lore during the events of Black Heaven, and so I’ll cover it in detail.)

Illium went to speak with Lilin in Rien, who explained that the water levels were rising, and that all of Rien would soon be underwater. She told him that the Penguins, Malamutes, and Seals had all put aside their differences and had started working together to save Rien by studying the islands that were most affected. She added that they could use Illium’s help and told him to ask Puro the penguin to ferry him to the Glacial Observatory. Upon arriving at the observatory, the leader of the investigation, Putan, was less than impressed to see the kind of help that Lilin had sent. Nevertheless, he apologized for being rude and believed that Illium had to be a brave warrior for having crossed the glaciers in such terrible weather. He told Illium that he would need a boat to navigate the waters and instructed him to ask Dachi for one.

Dachi asked them to bring back good lumber from the ocean in exchange for using his boat. With Helmsman Tanya manning the wheel, Illium collected good lumber from the ocean and brought it back to Dachi. Having gained access to a boat, Illium returned to Putan for his mission. Putan explained that Frostwitch Barbara was likely the culprit behind the melting glaciers, as she had been sighted at all the sites of glacier problems. He told Illium to go to Ice Station 1 and see if there was anything that he could do to help. After traveling there, Illium met Pushki, who told him that he was researching ways to capture Frostwitch Barbara. He asked Illium to help by eliminating the Ammonite Grumpils and Fish Grumpils.

After defeating them, Illium returned to Pushki, who heard a woman screaming nearby. Illium and Tanya sailed west of the glacier, where they spotted a young woman surrounded by Grumpils. After saving the woman, she introduced herself as Nora the Explorer. (A/N: Meanwhile, Dora the Explorer was found dead in a ditch.) She explained that she had been studying the permafrost layer on the glaciers when the Grumpils had begun to attack. Illium then told her about the situation with Frostwitch Barbara and the people of Riena Strait.

Nora explained that the permafrost showed definite signs of natural degradation, meaning that the melting glaciers had to be the result of rising temperatures. She added that the Grumpils were most likely thawing out, rather than being summoned with magic. She also wondered why a witch would want to raise the sea level around her own area and felt as though something wasn’t adding up. Because of this, she decided that she would help Illium with his mission. They then returned to Pushki, who asked them to bring his Wind Change Report to Putan.

Putan was pleased by the report and asked him to help Alviola next. Alviola asked Illium to go to Ice Station 2 and speak with her brother, Alvesh, who told Illium that the Malamutes had a keen sense of smell, and that monsters in the Ice Station were releasing a toxic stench that was interfering with his duties. Illium defeated the Corruptor Barrels and Polluter Barrels, for which Alvesh thanked him and asked Illium to bring back his Tracking Report to Putan. After receiving the report, Putan was able to pinpoint the location of Frostwitch Barbara and asked Illium to defeat her. However, after sailing to Barbara’s house, Illium was surprised to find her surrounded by baby animals and began to doubt that she was an evil witch.

Nora asked Barbara if she was the one causing the rising sea levels, but Barbara explained that she couldn’t use that sort of magic. However, she added that she was the one saving all the baby animals around her from drowning as the water levels rose. She tasked them with finding large fish to feed the babies, after which Illium asked Barbara why she continued to help the animals when they hated her. Barbara explained that in the past, the Seals, Malamutes, and Penguins would fight all the time, but unexpectedly, they had united by turning on Barbara, even though she had only been saving their young. Though she had initially been upset, she had decided that having them united against her was a better sort of peace than having them fight each other.

Illium sailed back to the Observatory and told Putan that Barbara was actually good. Confused by what to believe, Putan concluded that the Seals must be the culprits, as he had gotten reports that Seals had attacked his Penguin warriors. He asked Illium to investigate the Seals and discover the truth. Illium spoke with Dachi, who explained that the Seals were innocent and asked him to investigate Ice Station 3. There, Illium met with Dabo, who explained that he had seen some of the Seals sneaking around the base and asked Illium to defeat them. However, even after Illium defeated them, Dabo was unsure that the problem had been solved. He asked Illium to defeat the Walruses inside the base and to find any evidence of their treachery.

Inside the base, Illium discovered Black Wings henchmen disguised as Seals and Walruses and obtained Garbled Commands from them, which Dabo told him to bring to Putan in order to prove that the Seals were innocent. Putan was ashamed to have suspected Barbara and his allies and asked them to find someone who could translate the Garbled Commands in order to solve the mystery. Illium brought them to Nora, who recognized that the code originated from Edelstein. She explained that the perpetrators were looking for a huge power source, and that they wanted to use the currents under the glaciers for a strong turbine.

With the coordinates from the report, they sailed towards the Glacier Cutter Base. There, Illium defeated the Warmer Bots that were melting the glacier. After returning, Nora continued to decipher the Garbled Command and theorized that there were robots deeper inside the base that were hauling off chunks of ice. Illium then went on to defeat the Shaver Bots and brought back their Glacier Core Fragments. Nora recognized the fragments as having the ability to freeze anything and realized that the culprits must have big plans to need so many.

Meanwhile, Black Wings henchmen reported that Illium had discovered their base. Their leader, Admiral Martini, decided to retreat, rather than give his enemies the satisfaction of capturing them, and ordered them to destroy all evidence on the base in ten minutes. The Black Wings then detonated the base and the explosion was felt by Nora and Illium. Illium rushed to the base center, where he encountered a Demolisher. (A/N: You later encounter thousands of Demolishers during the events of Black Heaven.)

Illium managed to defeat it, but he realized that the rest of the evidence had been already destroyed. He returned to Nora, who was pleased that they had stopped the Black Wings from melting Riena Strait. They returned to the observatory and reported back to Putan, who thanked them for their help. For their last mission, all the animals went to Frostwitch Barbara’s house to apologize. Lilin then arrived at the observatory and thanked Illium for his help. She told him that she had learned that even if people disagreed on things, working towards a common goal brought out the best in them, especially if it protected the ones they loved. Illium was happy to have helped, though he was disappointed that they hadn’t learned anything about the Sanctuary of the Ancient God.

(A/N: There are supposed to be a lot more quests in Illium’s storyline that have you go through Gold Beach, then Kerning City at level 45, Riena Strait at level 50, Sleepywood at level 67, Ariant at level 85, the Lion King’s Castle at level 115, Leafre at level 120, and finally the Golden Temple at level 130 in order to find the Sanctuary of the Ancient God.

They’re meant to trigger when you arrive in those areas, but for some reason, I haven’t been able to have them start. I won’t cover them in detail because I haven’t personally experienced them and there aren’t any videos of them online, but from what I’ve heard from the people who did do them, the quests are basically just small cutscenes with no lore impact.)

Soon after, Carnelian reached out to Illium and told him that she had made a new friend who had seen something similar to the Crystal Gate. They traveled to the Relic Excavation Camp in Perion, where Carnelian introduced them to Shuang, an archeologist working at the camp. Sinaria wondered whether the Crystal Gate could really be found in such a dust pit, but Carnelian snapped at her to not insult Shuang’s work. Illium then told everyone to calm down and asked Shuang if she had seen anything like the Crystal Gate before.

Shuang led them deeper into the excavation area where she had last seen the gate, but she was surprised to find it missing. They decided to wait for a while to see if the gate would appear, but after waiting for some time, Shuang asked them to help her with her work until the gate appeared. She explained that progress on the excavation had been slowed because of the monster attacks and asked Illium to defeat Wooden Boards and Rocky Masks. After helping Shuang, Illium and the others returned back to where they had been waiting.

Soon enough, a Crystal Gate began to manifest before them. Dean stepped towards the gate, but it refused to open for him. However, it reacted to Illium and opened so that only he could enter. Illium then stepped into a white void filled with fog, where a large crystal glowed with power. From the void, he heard a voice telling him that he stood on hallowed ground, and that though he was weak and incomplete, the power of the Elder Crystal lay within him and with the Verdant Flora. With that, the power of the Ancient Master surged within Illium and pushed him outside the Sanctuary back into Maple World.

As the other students rushed to see if he was okay, Illium confirmed that he had indeed entered the Sanctuary of the Ancient God. Sinaria excitedly asked him how they could get there, to which Illium told her that it had concealed itself, preventing him from reentering without searching for it again, much to Sinaria’s annoyance. However, Carnelian pointed out that they had made progress. Illium thanked his friends for all their help in reaching the Sanctuary of the Ancient God, even if for a brief moment.

Some time later, Neinheart contacted Illium and his friends and explained that he had heard about them from his sister, Lilin, who had mentioned how they had been helping people around Maple World, and how they had even helped her with the problem in Riena Strait. He then asked if they would be interested in meeting him in Ereve.

After Illium arrived in Ereve, Neinheart told him that the Empress wanted to meet him. Cygnus then greeted Illium and explained that she wanted to recruit him into the Maple Alliance. Illium was surprised by her request, as he was from another dimension and wondered what he could do for Maple World. He also felt that it was unwise to fight for a different world, rather than for the Verdant Flora.

Cygnus responded that she had heard from Kaiser that the people of Grandis were fighting against Gerand Darmoor. Illium told her that Darmoor was responsible for massacring his people, and that he was the sworn enemy of the Verdant Flora. Cygnus then asked if he knew that Magnus, the Nova traitor and a follower of Darmoor, had served as a Commander of the Black Mage.

Illium was surprised to learn that Darmoor’s reach had extended even to Maple World. Cygnus told him that both Darmoor and the Black Mage were evil beings who threatened the peace of both Grandis and Maple World, and that they needed to be stopped. She added that in exchange for his support, the Alliance would fight alongside him to liberate Grandis as well. Illium told her that he needed to discuss it with his friends first, and that he would give his answer soon.

Back at the hideout, Illium heard his friends’ opinions. Sinaria was against the arrangement, as she believed that they didn’t have time to meddle with outsiders’ affairs. However, Morian believed that the Alliance seemed powerful. Sinaria countered that they could become strong themselves and called him a coward for not believing in Illium.

Illium told Sinaria that she was being harsh, and that with the Alliance’s resources, they could find the Sanctuary of the Ancient God faster. Upon hearing this, Sinaria immediately changed her stance and agreed to join the Alliance. (A/N: Sinaria really isn’t subtle at all.) Illium and the others then returned to Ereve and told Cygnus that they would join her. She was pleased by their decision and officially welcomed them into the Alliance.

Soon after, Sinaria reached out to Illium and told him that she had learned that the Crystal Gate had recently appeared in Ereve. She urged him to rush over before the others so that he could catch it before it vanished. Illium arrived alone in Ereve and found Sinaria communicating with someone through a receiver. He overheard her saying, “…there’s no problem… trust me… for the future… Verdant Floras…”

Just then, Sinaria spotted Illium and led him to where the Crystal Gate was rumored to be. Ex noted that there was unusual energy in the area, but Sinaria dismissed it as energy from the Crystal Gate. Illium arrived to find a horde of Specters that rushed to attack them. He defeated them and pressed forward, but Sinaria quickly rushed ahead and told him to follow.

Just then, more Specters surrounded him and Illium realized that it was a trap. Suddenly, both Ex and Machina were forcibly powered off. Without the support of his machines, Illium fought off the Specters alone and barely managed to defeat them. After the Specters disappeared, Ex and Machina were both able to power on again. Sinaria then appeared and angrily asked Illium why he hadn’t followed her, explaining that the Crystal Gate had vanished. After he explained that the Specters had laid an ambush for him, Sinaria told him that the enemy had likely tried to lure them out by creating a fake Crystal Gate, which Illium found plausible.

(A/N: Illium can be a bit dumb sometimes, but then again, he’s also a middle-schooler fused with the consciousness of a several-thousand-year-old magical prodigy, so maybe his big brain and small brain energies collided against each other and turned him into an idiot savant.)

The Boy Who Became a Specter:

On the moon of Verdel, three nomads named Salvo, Zippy, and Ferret were searching for useful material buried in the sand. Suddenly, they came across an unconscious Ark lying in the desert and took him back to their refuge. Several days later, Ark awoke and found himself tied to a rock. He noticed that his Flora wings had been shorted out, and that his left arm was large and monstrous.

He noted that the camp was around twenty people in size and briefly considered breaking his bindings and making a run for it. However, he decided to try to reason with his captors first. Just then, Salvo arrived and discovered that Ark had woken up. He then announced to the whole camp that the ‘monster’ had awoken. Ark was surprised that they considered him a monster, and the caravan, in turn, was surprised that he could talk. However, they noted that his arm looked just like the other monsters who had attacked them previously.

Ark tried to convince them that he meant no harm and asked them to untie him. The nomads asked him to prove that he wasn’t a monster by explaining who he was and why his arm was like that. However, Ark had no memory of who he was, and so he couldn’t explain anything to them, other than the fact that the only memory that he possessed was of a nightmare in which a voice had called him ‘Ark’, which he assumed to be his name. Zippy, the leader of the caravan, believed him and asked everyone else whether they thought that Ark should be released. However, some members of the caravan were still suspicious of Ark. As the nomads debated amongst themselves, Ark wondered whether he ought to follow his original plan and make a break for it.

Just then, an alarm began to sound as the ground started rumbling. Zippy warned the nomads that the monsters had returned and told everyone to prepare to defend the camp. Just then, a horde of Specters charged into the refuge. Zippy apologized to Ark for the misunderstanding and released him so that he could escape. Ark and the other nomads managed to evacuate to the outskirts of the refuge, where Zippy reassured everyone that they could build another shelter. They asked Ark what he planned to do now that he was free and invited him to join them. Just then, they realized that one of the children was still missing. Ark decided that the people of the caravan were good, and since they didn’t consider him a monster anymore, he thought that it would be a good idea to travel with them until he regained more of his memories.

With the Specters closing in, Ark decided that he would find the missing child while the rest of the caravan escaped. He arrived at the camp and rescued the child, Mar. Just then, Specters appeared and surrounded the two. With his muscle memory from his time as a soldier, Ark managed to thin their numbers down. As he fought, he felt a dark power taking hold of his body. Unable to resist, he was torn between a desire to protect the innocent and a thirst for carnage. Nevertheless, he was successfully able to retrieve the child and brought it back to the caravan.

A few days later, the nomads were in the process of rebuilding their shelter. Ark, who had fallen unconscious after the battle, awoke in the camp, unable to recall anything that had happened after the strange power had overtaken him. Zippy then gave him a tour of the new shelter and thanked him for his help, offering to pay him back however he could. Ark asked him if there was a way off Verdel, but Zippy replied that he wasn’t sure. He told Ark that he and the others weren’t on Verdel by choice, explaining that they were nomads on a search for paradise until one day, when their ship had been pulled into Verdel by a strange vortex. (A/N: This vortex was the result of the failed ritual which had partially transformed Ark into a Specter.)

Upon waking up, they had found themselves trapped without their ship in the wastelands. Determined to survive, they had scavenged for parts and food in order to create their shelter. Zippy hoped that in time, they would be able to recover their ship and resume their search for paradise. He explained that Ferret was always looking for ways to track their ship’s signal.

Ark then told Zippy that he had decided to stay and help the nomads. Zippy apologetically told him that they hadn’t even found a way to pay him back for saving Mar, though he added that they did need the help. Ark laughed and told him that helping each other benefited them all. Zippy then asked him to help find medical supplies to treat the wounded and told him to collect Dried Tree Husks from the Desert Mushes south of camp.

After bringing Zippy the husks, Ark went to speak with Salvo about how he could help with gathering food. Salvo asked him to collect meat from the Ferocious Desert Mushes. After Ark helped collect the food, he spoke with Ferret and collected Crumbled Rocks from the Sand Tortoises in order to create armor and to rebuild the shelter. Ferret then asked him to put the extra material in storage.

As he finished putting the rocks in storage, he noticed Mar trying to sneak out of the shelter. He tried to tell Mar to stay in the shelter, but the boy simply laughed and ran away. Ark decided to follow him in order to make sure that he wouldn’t be in danger and chased him south of the shelter, when Mar stopped and asked him to collect Crushed Crystals from the Crystal Sand Tortoises for a secret project. After he collecting them, Mar led him to his secret hideout, where he showed Ark all the shiny objects that he had gathered. Next to the shiny objects, Ark discovered an enormous crystal hollowed-out and filled with technological parts installed inside. He immediately realized that he had seen the crystal before.

Suddenly, he was overtaken by one of his memories. He recalled the day when he and Albaire had been assigned to the Western Front after graduating from the academy, where they had stood before the same hollowed-out crystal, which he recalled was actually a spaceship. Ark had told Albaire about how they would be real soldiers once the mission was over, but Albaire had pointed out that they were already real soldiers, having pledged their lives for the peace of Grandis.

Just then, Brigadier General Limbo had told them that they were ready to move out. Ark and Albaire had begun talking amongst themselves about how Limbo had done much good and how they hoped that they could be like him one day, with Ark marveling at how they had already been assigned to such an important base. Snapping back to reality, Ark realized that Albaire was the one who had been in his nightmare. He returned to the crystal several times afterwards, but he was unable to recall anything more from his past. However, he was certain that there was a way to escape Verdel using the broken crystal, provided that they could repair it.

Soon after, Ark told Zippy that the crystal was linked to a transport, and that they could likely activate it by finding its broken pieces. Zippy was glad to hear the good news, as it would give hope to the caravan. Ark, Zippy, and Ferret went to the crystal, where Zippy showed Ferret the hollowed-out section of the crystal and explained that the ship would work if they could find the crystal energy shards that fit into it. Ferret tuned in to the crystal’s signal, allowing him to find complementary signals that would reveal the locations of the shards.

Zippy decided to form a recovery team composed of Digs, Grit, Ferret, Salvo, and Ark. Back at the refuge, Zippy told Ark that he would gather rations, weapons, and armor from the other caravanners and asked Ark to help Ferret and Salvo in the meantime. Ferret told Ark that it would be inevitable that they would get separated, and so he explained that he wanted to make a signal device so that they could find each other. He told Ark that he needed to make a new one for him, as well as to repair his own, and asked him to find Decent Crystals from the Crystal Hermit Crabs north of the refuge. After Ark collected them, he gave them to Ferret and then went to see Salvo, who asked Ark to find Exploding Eyeballs from Bomber Hermit Crabs in order to make demolitions.

Ark then went to check in with Zippy, who told him that Ferret had pinpointed the crystals’ locations. They decided to find the piece at the location closest to the refuge first in order to get an idea of what they were dealing with, and so Ark and Ferret went out beyond the refuge in order to find the shard. As they arrived at the location of the first shard, Ark noticed a tall structure in the distance and felt something nagging at the back of his mind, though he couldn’t recall what it was.

Just then, Ferret dug up the first shard and the pair brought it back to the refuge. With the first piece recovered, the recovery team made their way to the refuge border, where Zippy and the other nomads sent them off. Ferret planned out their trip and explained that they would first recover the second piece that was closest to them, after which they would grab the final piece before circling back around to the transport.

Soon after they began the expedition, they found themselves in a sandstorm, which interfered with Ferret’s signals. Ferret believed that the nearby Gale Foxes were causing the sandstorm and asked Ark to take care of them. After defeating the foxes, the group made their way further in, when they were stopped by an even bigger sandstorm caused by Ferocious Gale Foxes.

After fighting past the foxes, they pushed forward and soon found the signal coming directly below them. Salvo used his demolitions to reveal the second piece, but the strength of his bombs caused the ground to cave in. The team and the buried crystal fell into a large cavern system beneath the sand. Ark and Ferret found themselves separated from the rest of the group, but Ark revealed that he had managed to grab the second piece as they had been falling. They made their way deeper into the cavern in order to find the rest of the group and found themselves surrounded by Sand Helm monsters. As Ark hunted the monsters in order to clear the way, he felt a sense of familiarity about the creatures.

After moving forward, they reunited with Digs and Grit, who had found the exit directly above them. Before leaving, Ferret told them that they needed to first find Salvo and asked Ark to defeat the Sand Armor monsters blocking the way. They moved forward and found Salvo before heading towards the exit. However, Ferret noted that something was off about the signal.

Ark was suddenly consumed by a memory of the High Flora army striking down the native species of Verdel, whom Ark recognized as the Sand Helm and Sand Armor monsters. Ark recalled how he had grown disillusioned with the battle, realizing it was little more than a massacre. He then recalled Albaire feeling shocked when Ark had confided to him that he wanted to desert. Albaire had told Ark that nothing great came without sacrifice and had told him to get it together, reminding him that their actions were for the greater good.

Ark forced himself to return to reality and told his worried comrades that he was fine. As they left in search of the final piece, Ark felt his memory growing clearer and his old feelings rushing back, recalling all the atrocities that he had committed in the name of peace. The team then made their way back up and traveled to the third signal, where they found themselves at the remnants of a base, which Ark realized was the tall structure that he had spotted while searching for the first shard. Salvo used a controlled explosion to reveal the third crystal, just as Ark recalled that the structure was the same High Flora base which he had once been stationed at.

Surveying the ruins, he felt a sense of disillusionment at what the so-called ‘War for Peace’ truly looked like. Suddenly, he had a memory of himself spying on a meeting, in which Limbo had been told by a lieutenant of the enemy’s plan to attack their base that night. Limbo had told the lieutenant that he had done well to report it. He had then said that there was incredible knowledge contained in the Abyssal Source, revealing that he could transform into a Specter at will. Ark recalled how he had been shocked to see Limbo’s true form, and that he had resolved to warn the enemy that the High Flora were prepared for their attack.

Back in the present, a meeting was taking place at the Aboris Royal Palace between Gerand Darmoor and his Apostles. Limbo reported that everything was proceeding according to schedule. One of the Apostles admitted that they found the situation entertaining, as the vortex from the failed Specter ritual had finally dissipated, with their scouts reporting that there would be little resistance from Verdel’s current inhabitants. They noted that it was good news, considering that Limbo’s last attack on the moon had been a failure. Limbo told them that one of his colonels would soon arrive on Verdel in order to ensure that everything went smoothly.

Back on Verdel, Ark told the others that he had remembered that the spaceship near the refuge drew power, which was why the Specters had been drawn towards it, as they wanted more of the same power. He then realized that that the people of the caravan, who were in close proximity to the spaceship, were in danger. Salvo wondered whether they could outrun the Specters and power the spaceship for their escape, but Ark replied that it would take too long to get the power source running and instead suggested that they split up into two teams. While he, Salvo, and Digs set up a defense line, Ferret could take the crystals in order to start the ship. Ferret then began running towards the ship as Ark struggled to hold off the Specters.

As Ark continued fighting, he found himself losing control and transformed into his Specter form. He then heard a voice that told him that something important must be happening if Ark had finally realized that he needed the Specter’s power. Ark recognized the voice as that of the Specter inhabiting his body. The Specter told Ark that he could trust it to take control. However, Ark resisted and told it that he could never trust it. The Specter asked if Ark wanted to save his friends and explained that he didn’t have much of a choice if he did, to which Ark resolved that he would use its power while retaining full control of himself. After learning to control the Specter power, he rushed to reinforce his friends.

Meanwhile, the defensive line was breaking down as Salvo and Digs were forced back by the arrival of High Flora soldiers. Ark fought through the Flora forces and saved his friends from Albaire, who had just arrived on the scene. Ark confronted Albaire, who revealed that he had been promoted to Colonel, and told him that the War for Peace was a lie. Albaire asked why it mattered, to which Ark replied that it mattered to the people of Verdel.

Albaire told Ark that it was sad to see him like this, as he had hoped that Ark would have changed his mind after his first betrayal. He then ordered Ark to step aside, claiming that he hadn’t come for him. When Ark refused to move, Albaire told him to reconsider siding with the ‘barbarians’ out of a misplaced sense of pity, telling him that he could still walk away if he didn’t interfere with his mission. Ark asked what mission Albaire was referring to, to which Albaire told him that it was the same mission that they had always had, which was to remake the galaxy in the image of the High Flora, adding that unlike Ark, he didn’t turn on what he believed in.

When Ark told him that he was committing a massacre, Albaire dismissed him and claimed that it wasn’t his problem if the other races refused to accept the superiority of the High Flora. Ark asked what had happened to their shared dream of bringing peace to Grandis and demanded to know how many innocents needed to die in the name of his mission.

The two then engaged in a fierce battle, but Ark noted that Albaire hadn’t even opened his wings at all throughout the fight, meaning that he was only using a small fraction of his power. Nevertheless, Albaire soundly defeated Ark, even after he transformed into his Specter state. As Albaire walked away, he told Ark to accept that he was weak, and that his grand ideals couldn’t save anyone, warning him once again not to get in the High Flora’s way again.

As Ark began to lose consciousness, he recalled a memory of when he and Albaire had graduated military school. Ark had told Albaire that they could finally bring peace to Grandis, though he had confided that he was afraid, and that he even had nightmares. Albaire had then told Ark that he had made a promise to protect those who mattered to him, which included Ark. He had then sworn to Ark that he would always be there to protect him, even if Ark was the worst soldier on the battlefield.

Ark had laughed that Albaire wouldn’t even make it to Colonel without his help, to which Albaire had said that it was a good thing that Ark would never abandon him. (A/N: Don’t mind me, that’s just the sound of a thousand knives stabbing me through the heart.) Though Ark had thought that Albaire had been joking at the time, he realized that Albaire truly had protected him, finally remembering how Albaire had interrupted the Specter ritual, despite how he couldn’t understand why Ark had betrayed him.

As Albaire walked away, Ark asked what had happened to him. Albaire replied that he wasn’t the one who had changed, to which Ark pointed out that the Albaire he remembered had wanted to protect people. Albaire merely shrugged and said that he supposed that the War for Peace was a lie, just as Ark himself had said. (A/N: I really want to believe that Albaire hasn’t given up on his dream, and that he’s working from the inside to destabilize the High Flora army. I feel like he’s keeping his promise to protect Ark by making him stay out of it in order to keep him safe.)

Ark was filled with regret, wondering whether things would have been different if he had just spoken to Albaire first before choosing to betray the High Flora. As Albaire disappeared in the sandstorm, Ark remembered their promise to always protect each other. (A/N: If Albaire is a gay disaster, then Ark is the house of cards that got blown away by said disaster.)

Back at the ship, Ferret had Zippy gather the caravan, explaining that he had lost contact with the recovery team. Ferret then activated the power source, just as Ark was discovered and brought back the ship. Suddenly, the life energy began draining out of Verdel’s surface. The caravan barely managed to take off, though they were successfully able to fly to Savage Terminal.

Some time after landing, Ark awoke and the others told him how they had barely managed to escape Verdel, as the moon’s entire life energy was being drawn out. Ark realized that the High Flora’s mission had been to extract even more power, causing him to wonder what purpose it served. The caravan then told him that they were happy to stay in Savage Terminal and asked Ark what he planned to do. Ark explained that he had a new mission, and that he had decided to gather more information before leaving.

However, he offered to help the caravan before he left. Zippy asked for a way to hide the power crystal, as it was drawing monsters towards them, and so Ark brought them scrap metal in order to disguise the crystal. He also brought Wiggling Tails from Mutant Nutrias at Salvo’s request in order to ensure that the caravan had enough rations. Ferret then boosted Ark’s communication device so that they could speak regardless of distance. They then said their goodbyes and Ark went his separate way.

(A/N: Since Ark is now a vagabond with the destruction of Verdel, he doesn’t have a return skill to his starter town. Instead, he gets a skill that allows him to use the communication device in order to speak with different caravan members, each of whom gives a different buff.)

Meanwhile at Aboris, another meeting was taking place. One of the Apostles asked if the plan for the Western Front had finally been completed, noting that there had been interference this time as well, with only minimal power to show for it. They added that the first time the ritual had been disrupted, it had destroyed the moon’s entire surface, and with the second failure being nearly as disastrous, they felt that it was time to cut their losses. However, Limbo was pleased to know that Ark was still alive after so long.

On Savage Terminal, Ark decided to head into the Black Market in order to find information about Grandis. There, he found Market Hoodlums attacking Coney. Ark intervened and fought off the Hoodlums. Coney then thanked him and asked how he could repay Ark back, citing the Shadowdealer code to always ensure that favors were repaid. Ark asked about the High Flora’s activities, causing Coney to suddenly look down at his feet. He stammered that all he knew about the High Flora was that they had taken over most of Grandis. Ark realized that Coney was troubled by the topic, and so he decided to instead ask Coney about the status of the war, to which Coney explained that there hadn’t been a real war since Grandis had fallen to the High Flora centuries ago.

(A/N: This is almost certainly a continuity error, as Kaiser and Angelic Buster’s storylines confirm that the Flora Civil War ended only decades ago on Grandis. Most likely, Nexon forgot that time moves slower in Grandis, and so they confused the decades that had passed on Grandis as the centuries that had passed in Maple World.)

Coney also told Ark about the Nova and their plan to retake Heliseum, for which they were recruiting people from Maple World. Just then, Cadena arrived and confronted Ark about attacking Coney. Coney clarified that Ark had actually saved him, but Cadena still looked at Ark suspiciously and took Coney back to their hideout. Ark then decided to investigate the Interdimensional Portal and traveled to Pantheon, where he was surprised to see how peaceful it was, as he had been expecting an active battlefield. Suddenly, he felt his power being drained and collapsed on the ground. He was awoken by Kaiser, who was alarmed by Ark’s ears and arm. (A/N: See the notes at the beginning of Illium’s section for more details, but Kaiser being in Pantheon is a continuity error in the new timeline.)

He, along with Cartalion, Beldar, and Fenelle, took Ark to the edge of the Protective Shield, where they began to question him. Beldar noted that Ark had Flora ears, but no magic wings, and suspected that he was related to the last group of Flora children who had come to Pantheon recently. Cartalion pointed out that Ark’s arm was definitely Specter, noting that he had been weakened by the Protective Shield, which was intended to keep Specters out, and wondered whether Ark was in league with Magnus.

Kaiser countered that Ark would have known about the Protective Shield if that were true, which Fenelle agreed with. Ark then explained that he was a deserter of the High Flora army, and that he now fought against them. Though he explained his situation, Beldar still didn’t trust him, but Fenelle told them that Ark’s auratic vibration was tranquil, and that she sensed that he had a strong will to do good.

With Fenelle's approval, the group agreed to allow Ark to travel through the Interdimensional Portal and left Kaiser to escort him there. Along the way, Ark asked several questions about present-day Grandis. Kaiser began to explain how the power of the Nova relics created the Protective Shield around Pantheon that protected them from Magnus and the Specter army. He told Ark about how Magnus had betrayed the Nova and killed the former Kaiser before seizing Heliseum in the name of Darmoor.

He also told Ark about how Magnus had crossed dimensions to Maple World after being injured by the former Kaiser, after which he had sworn loyalty to Maple World’s corrupt Transcendent of Light in order to heal his injuries and attain greater power through both the Black Mage and by draining the life force out of Guwaru, the Great Spirit of Maple World. Regarding the Interdimensional Portal, Kaiser explained how several had been formed when Darmoor had stolen the powers of Chronica, and that it was said that he had even used one to travel to another world. He also explained that the Nova had recently begun exploring Maple World after reactivating the Interdimensional Portal in Pantheon.

Kaiser then led Ark to the Great Temple, where he traveled through the Interdimensional Portal and met with Chief Stan in Henesys, who directed him to see Athena Pierce. She welcomed him as a new traveler and suggested that he help people around Maple World during his travels, giving him a few requests to choose from. (A/N: These are just the theme dungeons from levels 30-60.)

Some time later, Ark felt the Specter’s power crawling through his body, causing him to lose consciousness. He awoke in the Abyss, where the Specter welcomed him back. Ark was surprised, as he had thought that the Specter had vanished after he had overpowered it in Verdel, but the Specter explained that it was a part of him, and so it would never go away. Ark asked what the Specter was, to which it began explaining about the Abyss, which was the source of all knowledge in the world. Though it was difficult to access, there were paths available to those determined to seek it out, claiming that Ark was one of those people.

Ark told the Specter that he couldn’t remember the Abyss, to which the Specter explained that Ark had been able to remember very little after waking up, as it was the price for gaining the knowledge of the Abyss. However, it told Ark that he was special, as he had been able to escape the Abyss, rather than having his body and soul taken, which would have completely transformed him into a Specter. Because the process had failed, the Specter explained that it shared Ark’s body, rather than fully consuming him.

It explained that a normal Specter never truly died, as it merely returned to the Abyss. However, because it shared Ark’s body, the Specter revealed that it would die as soon as Ark did. As Ark refused to give it control and continued throwing himself into dangerous situations, the Specter explained that it was in its own interest to keep him alive, revealing that it was the reason why it had brought him to the Abyss, as it intended to give him more power. After Ark regained consciousness in the real world, more of the memory of his failed transformation began to return, along with the cost of seeing what lay in the Abyss. He wondered if the Specter had called him a special case because Albaire had interrupted the ritual, though he had no way of knowing for sure.

(A/N: I wonder whether there’s any relationship between the Abyss and the divine plane that the White Mage visited just before he awakened as the Transcendent of Light. The White Mage’s goal was to find “infinite knowledge that would complete humanity”, which sounds exactly like what’s contained in the Abyss. Earlier in this section, Limbo was pleased to know that Ark was alive. This is because Ark is possibly the only living being who’s gazed into the Abyss and gained its knowledge while still retaining his mind and body.

We don’t know much about how partial Specters work, as Limbo, Ark, and possibly Mr. Hazard are the only three known beings who share a body with a Specter. However, it seems like the way that Ark was turned into a partial Specter is unique, and it’s heavily implied that the memories of whatever he’s learned in the Abyss still exist in his mind, with one of Ark’s 5th job skills even allowing him to access traces of those memories.

Most likely, Limbo is after Ark in order to extract those memories for himself. Specter lore seems to be the focus with the Grandis story lately, as it was revealed in the Cernium storyline that Specters have the power to kill Ancient Gods. I’m sure that we’ll learn a lot more about how Ark’s story ties into the greater lore in the near future.)

Some time later, Ark felt a strange energy in Sleepywood and decided to investigate. There, he met Kaiser, who told him that he had already investigated the area and had found no traces of the High Flora. Ark then discussed with Kaiser about the looming threat facing Maple World. Kaiser told Ark that though he hadn’t found any trace of the High Flora, his trip hadn’t been a waste. He then told Ark that he would contact him soon. (A/N: Kaiser later contacts Ark to let him know about the fight to retake Heliseum.) As Ark grew stronger, Athena Pierce reached out to him and invited him to join the Maple Alliance. He then traveled to Ereve in order to meet with Neinheart and Cygnus, who formally welcomed him into the Alliance.

The Sage’s Apprentice:

On the moon of Cheong-woon, in the Hermitage at the foot of Mount Songyu, a tiger Anima named Hoyoung was reading a book about the legendary sage, Tai Yu, who had sealed away the Four Perils, powerful fiends who had once threatened the peace of Grandis. (A/N: The Four Perils come from Chinese mythology. Their names are Hundun, Qiongqi, Taowu, and Taotie. Taotie, in particular, is especially relevant to this storyline.)

Tai Yu’s origins were mysterious, with some saying that he was descended from the heavens, while others claimed that he was a monster himself due to his inhuman strength. It was said that he could blow away a whole legion of monsters with just one swing of his fan, and that he possessed many other powers, such as shapeshifting and creating clones of himself. Even in spite of his strength, however, Tai Yu was extremely humble and would only refer to himself as “a simple wanderer”.

After Hoyoung finished reading the last volume of the series on Tai Yu, he wondered what to do next, as he had gotten bored of reading and sleeping all day. (A/N: Must be nice having free time.) He also wondered where his Master had gone, as he should have returned long ago. His Master had been called away on urgent business and had left Hoyoung in charge of the Hermitage while he was gone. Before he had left, his Master had warned him to stay away from the other side of the mountain.

Hoyoung decided to go to the training grounds and finish the training exercises that he had been putting off. He collected Stiff Wooden Blocks from the Pine Nuts in the training grounds and carved the symbols for ‘Heaven’, ‘Earth’, and ‘Humanity’, which were meant to represent the sky, the land, and mankind. He recalled that the intent was to help him understand that he existed between the sky above and the land below. With this understanding, he attempted to cast magic, but he failed once again. Just as he began lamenting that he was still unable to use real magic, the ground suddenly began to quake and he heard a strange voice calling to him.

Hoyoung followed the voice, but he was unable to find its source. Suddenly, he realized that he had gone to the other side of the mountain, where his Master had forbidden him to go. However, the voice called to him again and he followed it to a Stone of Sealing. The voice inside the stone asked Hoyoung to free him in exchange for a wish. Hoyoung asked for the ability to use magic in exchange for the voice’s freedom. He found a warding talisman on the rock and realized that it would be simple to remove it, supposing that whoever had put it there must not have been too serious about keeping the voice trapped.

However, Hoyoung knew that the monster trapped inside the stone must be dangerous and he doubted that it could give him magic so easily, and so he decided to play a trick on it instead. Meanwhile, the monster planned to possess Hoyoung upon being freed, allowing him to cast magic as its puppet. Hoyoung lifted the talisman just an inch in order to get the monster’s hopes up and then let it fall back into place again, laughing at the monster’s foolishness in thinking that he was a gullible child.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew off the talisman that Hoyoung had accidentally loosened, causing the Stone of Sealing to shatter. From the stone emerged Taotie, one of the Four Perils. Hoyoung realized his mistake and formulated a plan to reseal Taotie. He laughed and told the monster that he couldn’t possibly believe that it was Taotie. He then asked Taotie to prove that he was truly one of the Four Perils by moving the mountain, claiming that the real Taotie could easily accomplish such a feat.

Taotie easily lifted the mountain, but Hoyoung continued to subject him to more tests. Eventually, Taotie tired himself out and Hoyoung took the chance to use one of the talismans that he had stolen from his Master’s desk to reseal him. However, Hoyoung accidentally sealed Taotie inside himself, but his weak magical mastery meant that he was unable to seal the fiends that Taotie had devoured, causing them to be unleashed upon Grandis.

Taotie, who had been reduced to a tiny creature, was furious that Hoyoung had released all the fiends that he had devoured over the ages. He then granted Hoyoung the power to use magic and explained that it was to help him track down and catch all the creatures whom he had let loose. With his newfound ability to use magic, Hoyoung read through some of his Master’s notes that contained basic spells.

Armed with new skills, Hoyoung decided to head into town in order to find clues on the fiends. Based on the stories that he had read about Tai Yu, he decided to head into the tavern in order to hear rumors about any of the released fiends. He overheard two patrons, Ironhide and Willow, talking about the resurgence in monster activity, and how the town’s private investigators were looking for answers. Ironhide mentioned that the private investigators were expensive, but that their efficiency had made them local heroes.

Suddenly, Ironhide began choking on a fish bone, and after clearing his throat with a drink, he decided to order another. Hoyoung noticed that the tavern seemed to be out of the particular drink that Ironhide had ordered and formulated a plan to impersonate a server. He obtained distilled spirits from Sikhye Crocks and brought them to the patrons so that they would continue their conversation.

Ironhide then mentioned that the head monk of the temple on the outskirts of town had recently passed away, and that he had been replaced by a younger monk who was simply known as the Handsome Monk, as according to many women, and even a few men, he was easy on the eyes. (A/N: This is Nexon winking at us and saying, “Look, the gays exist in the game, are you happy now? What, marriage? This is all you get, don’t ask us for anything ever again unless you’re willing to go MVP Red for it.”)

Though he was both handsome and kind, there were rumors that the Handsome Monk had sequestered himself in the temple, leading people to believe that he was praying for the safety of the town. Hoyoung wondered whether the Handsome Monk had been forced into seclusion because of the fiends that he had accidentally let loose into Grandis and decided that his next course of action would be to become a private investigator. Taotie grew annoyed by Hoyoung’s antics, claiming that he had yet to witness Hoyoung’s actions matching his bravado.

He explained that he had loosened the seal on Hoyoung’s magic enough for the energy to trickle out, but he added that he wouldn’t tamper with it any further, telling Hoyoung that he would need to do it himself from now on. (A/N: You learn this later in the story, but Hoyoung’s master was the one who had placed the seal on his magic in order to ensure that Hoyoung’s limitless potential wouldn’t grow out of control.)

Hoyoung then went to the Information Broker Bureau, where a woman named Kaling greeted them. Hoyoung saw that she had Anima features, a blue left eye, and a yellow right eye, with the right eye’s sclera colored black.

(A/N: The sclera is the white part of the eye. While Kaling appears to be an Anima, Lara’s storyline confirms that she isn’t one. Kaling’s color palette, mismatched eyes, and umbrella suggest that she was based on Neo from RWBY.)

Hoyoung greeted her by calling her a kid, which annoyed Kaling, who snapped that she was simply short. After interviewing Hoyoung, Kaling concluded that he was a rookie and told him that she was only looking for qualified candidates. Hoyoung protested that he was capable of handling a case, to which Kaling replied that he could pay a fee of 100 million mesos in order to expedite his application.

(A/N: This is a small grievance but I wish that Grandis had its own separate currency from Maple World. While it would be impractical to implement in the game, it doesn’t make sense for them to have coincidentally named their currency ‘mesos’ and I doubt that they would’ve just adopted Maple World’s unit of currency after such a short amount of time.)

Hoyoung attempted to negotiate by asking her to assign him cases, with the commission being put towards the expedite fee, but Kaling denied him, explaining that it would be against the rules. Hoyoung then decided to trick her by telling her that he would need to turn her down and hoped that another legendary sage would help her. This intrigued Kaling, and Hoyoung followed up by taking out his Master’s fan. Kaling immediately recognized the fan as authentic and agreed to hire Hoyoung. When he asked why she had a sudden change of heart, Kaling explained that no ordinary sage could have gotten their hands on such a fan. However, she told him that she would still charge him the expedite fee and told him that he could pay it down on his own time.

For his first mission, Kaling assigned him to help another private investigator named Farasi. Farasi immediately recognized him as a fellow Anima and told him that since he had been living in the mountains, he likely didn’t know where the Anima stood in the world at large. She explained that the Anima usually lived in seclusion and hid their animal features when venturing abroad, adding that she herself was an Anima from the sea, and that she had carefully styled her hair to cover her Anima ears, though she admitted that she couldn’t hide her blue hair or skin. She told him that hiding his ears and tail may save him avoidable trouble, though she added that she couldn’t force him to listen. With his new magic, Hoyoung invented a spell that would allow him to make his Anima features disappear and reappear at will.

Farasi then tasked him with investigating the town, as she was busy and Hoyoung needed to get familiar with the area. She told him that there had been an increase in reports of jars being shattered and told Hoyoung to look into it, and though she wondered why it even warranted an investigation, she directed him to defeat the Broken Sikhye Crocks for clues. Hoyoung found broken jar pieces on the monsters and brought them to Farasi.

He told her that he had already examined them and had found animal feces on the pieces, and that judging by the breakage of the jars, the culprit was fairly large, but the feces were abnormally small in proportion. Farasi decided that they could rule out monster involvement, jotting it down in the case files, and decided to move on to the next one.

For his next assignment, Farasi gave him a case from a local farmer named Mr. Mark, who had reported that his fully-grown gourds were disappearing, with some even rolling away on their own. After investigating, Hoyoung returned with some of the gourds. He pointed out teeth marks that had likely come from an animal and explained that the gnaw patterns showed large incisors, likely belonging to rats. He theorized that the gourds moving around on their own were likely rats who had chewed their way inside.

Farasi wondered if the rats had also been the ones who had broken the jars. Hoyoung believed that it warranted further investigation, to which Farasi told him that she had run across something similar in one of her previous cases, though she couldn’t remember what it was. She then decided to take him out for lunch, though Hoyoung protested that she shouldn’t be hungry when he had been the one doing all the work.

Over the next several months, Hoyoung continued to work with Farasi on small-time cases. During one of their lunches, Farasi asked him why he had decided to become an investigator. Hoyoung told her that he had always aspired to become like the sages in his stories who traveled the world and helped people. Farasi replied that she had once felt the same way. Hoyoung asked her what had changed, but Farasi replied that she would tell him some other time. (A/N: Sadly, she never does.)

She then told him that she had good news for him and explained that he had been given a new case, one which was actually serious and necessitated real detective work. Hoyoung went to see Kaling, who told him that the case involved a theft and a mysterious disappearance, as shiny objects had lately begun to disappear from the temple near the town.

A few days ago, some of the temple’s trainees had gone missing as well, and Kaling explained that the client who had filed both requests suspected that the incidents were connected. Hoyoung asked Kaling if she thought that the cases were indeed connected, but Kaling told him that he would see when he met the client for himself. She told him that the client was a trainee who lived at the temple, and that he would be waiting at the temple entrance for him.

Hoyoung met the trainee at the temple and noticed that he was wearing a fancy necklace. Initially, he hadn’t thought that monks wore such extravagant jewelry, but seeing it helped him understand the link between the thefts and abductions. The trainee noticed that Hoyoung was eyeing his jewelry and showed its glistening surface, explaining that it was meant to reflect one’s face, which was the mirror of the soul.

He told Hoyoung that the pendants meant a great deal to the monks, and that he couldn’t imagine that anyone would have allowed theirs to be stolen, including the trainees who had been abducted. Hoyoung marveled at the responsibility that they carried, with Taotie pointing out that it must be a foreign word to Hoyoung. (A/N: I love all the little exchanges that these two have in this storyline.)

The trainee then began telling him the details of the case, explaining that a monster would appear when the temple was quiet, usually stealing something shiny before disappearing again. Those who had disappeared along with the monster were fellow trainees who had been standing watch at the time of the incidents. Hoyoung asked if there were any clues to help identify the monster, but the trainee explained that the only witnesses had been the abducted.

Undeterred, Hoyoung began his investigation at the site where the abductions had taken place. As they walked there, the trainee mentioned that soon after the abductions had started happening, the temple had begun having rat problems. Hoyoung then fought the Sewer Rats and discovered a black feather, a ring-handled wooden board, and a crumpled note that the rats were carrying, which he brought back to the trainee.

Hoyoung noted that based on the size of the feather, the monster had to be gigantic, possibly even large enough to carry off a trainee by itself. He then showed the wooden board to the trainee, who recognized that it matched the color and pattern of the door at the rear of the temple grounds. There, they found a large footprint, which Hoyoung noted to be bird-like.

The trainee realized that the rear gate led to the highest mountain in the area, meaning that the bird monster must have taken the missing trainees there. Hoyoung then opened the crumpled note, which said: “It was an animal… A beast! Flee while you can!” Hoyoung believed that the trainee who had written the note had known what was coming, and that they had tried to warn everyone else.

Just then, Taotie told him that he recognized the monster that they were facing and explained that the monster was a giant magpie, which was obsessed with hoarding all that glittered and shined. However, Taotie added that the magpie was afraid of bells, having once flown face-first into a large bell. Hoyoung realized that it explained why the magpie only came to the temple grounds when it was quiet. He then told the trainee what he had learned and asked him to show them the shrine’s largest bell, which helped Hoyoung formulate his plan to deal with the magpie.

(A/N: Much like how the Four Perils are based on Chinese mythology, there are lots of references to Korean folktales in Hoyoung’s storyline. The magpie monster and the bell are based on a story called “The Magpie that Repaid a Favor”. The gist of it is that a scholar saves some magpie chicks from a snake by killing it. That night, the wife of the snake transformed into a woman and tried to kill him in revenge.

The scholar claimed that he was just trying to save the chicks, and so the snake wife, who understood his feelings as a mother, gave him one chance to live if he could ring a bell at the top of the building by midnight. The scholar was unable to reach the bell, and just as the snake wife was about to kill him, the bell started ringing. The scholar then discovered that the mother of the magpie chicks had repaid the scholar’s kindness by smashing her fragile body against the metal bell in order to make it ring, though the effort ultimately killed her.)

He and Taotie climbed to the top of the mountain, where they encountered the magpie sitting in a nest full of shiny objects, along with one of the trainees. As the magpie flew to attack, Hoyoung unleashed a gust of wind from his fan that caused the shrine bell to ring, which weakened the magpie and caused it to return to its spirit form.

As the spirit rushed away, Hoyoung chased after it and accidentally fell off the mountain. As he plummeted to the ground, he tried to summon his Master’s Nimbus Cloud. Focusing on the heaven, earth, and humanity trigram, Hoyoung successfully summoned the Nimbus Cloud, allowing him to chase after the spirit through the air. Taotie successfully consumed the spirit and regained a portion of his power.

Over the next few months, Hoyoung continued to take on advanced cases involving the escaped fiends. As he grew more famous, Taotie also grew stronger by consuming the fiends. (A/N: I like how Hoyoung is completely unconcerned about when his master is coming back, despite the fact that it’s probably been nearly half a year. He’s like the freshman kid at college realizing that his parents aren’t around to supervise.) Hoyoung quickly became the talk of the town, with the Handsome Monk even coming out of seclusion after the recovery of the missing trainees.

Taotie told Hoyoung that all but one of the fiends in the area had been hunted down. However, the last fiend had an elusive presence that allowed it to hide from Taotie, a fact which frustrated him, as he had thought that he had recovered enough of his power to sense any monsters in the area. Meanwhile, Hoyoung went to meet Farasi for lunch as usual. Farasi told Hoyoung that she was planning to retire after her current job, as she wanted to think about her future plans. Hoyoung agreed with her, claiming that he also didn’t plan on staying an investigator forever.

After lunch, Hoyoung left for his new case, promising Farasi that they would have a proper goodbye later. He reported to Kaling, who told him that a Faceless Monster had appeared in town and instructed him to speak to Ironhide in the village. Ironhide told Hoyoung that the Faceless Monster had first appeared several months ago, back when people had only caught glimpses of it wandering around, as though it were lost.

Recently, however, it had started stealing from the town, which had caused the townspeople to grow concerned. Ironhide was worried that since the monster had stolen from his neighbor the day before, it would likely target his house next. Hoyoung decided to set a trap for the monster by collecting Gourd Vines from the Chunky Striped Gourd monsters. After having his magic clones set the trap, Hoyoung waited for the monster on the roof of Ironhide’s house.

Soon after, the Faceless Monster, which was really just a normal man without his face, got caught in Hoyoung’s trap. Though the monster managed to escape, it dropped some of the stolen items that it had been carrying. Hoyoung was surprised that the monster had seen through his trap, as he hadn’t been able to sense a strong spiritual aura from it. Just then, Taotie emerged and told Hoyoung that he could sense something.

Hoyoung asked if Taotie recognized the Faceless Monster as one of the fiends that he had consumed, but Taotie explained that it wasn’t the monster that he was sensing, but something in the bag that it had dropped. Hoyoung opened the bag and found stolen mojo dolls. (A/N: These basically look just like voodoo dolls, except they’re meant to ward off evil.)

Hoyoung recognized the dolls as the same ones that the Handsome Monk was making and having the trainees hand out to protect people from misfortune. Taotie suddenly realized that the dolls were hanging from every house, which was why he was sensing the energy no matter where they went in town. Hoyoung asked if he knew where the monster was hiding, but Taotie told him that they would likely learn everything that they needed once they found the one who had made the dolls.

Meanwhile, Farasi was finishing her last mission by investigating the temple. Suddenly, a trainee emerged and told her that the Handsome Monk would be delighted to have her for dinner. Back in town, Hoyoung began to grow suspicious about the Handsome Monk and decided to go to the temple. As they flew there on the Nimbus Cloud, Hoyoung wondered whether he would be allowed to see the Handsome Monk since he was an outsider. Furthermore, he suspected that the trainees would pose a problem if they were in on the conspiracy. Just then, he spotted one of the trainees getting down on all fours and eating off the ground while squeaking like a rat.

Hoyoung infiltrated the temple, where he discovered rats all around the area. He asked Taotie whether the last fiend was a rat, but Taotie explained that he wouldn’t eat a rodent monster, as such lowly cuisine was beneath him. (A/N: Yeah Hoyoung, don’t you know that Taotie only eats fiends with at least three Tangyoon stars?) Hoyoung then found a locked door, which he believed to be suspicious. Suddenly, he saw a rat scurrying across with a key, getting lost amidst the many other rats with keys. Unable to keep track of which rat had the right key, Hoyoung defeated them all and took all the keys that they were carrying, trying each one until he found the right key.

Inside, he found the trainees tied up and asked them what had happened. One of the trainees, the same one whom Hoyoung had encountered on his first mission, explained that the rats had captured them. He told Hoyoung that the trainees whom he had rescued from the magpie monster were rats who had shapeshifted themselves to look like the monks, and that the rats had locked them up in the storage room. He then explained that even though he had managed to evade the magpie, the rats had eventually gotten him too. Each of the trainees told him that when they had regained consciousness, they had found themselves tied up in the storage room. Furthermore, they had realized that their faces had been stolen as well.

However, the trainee added that it was more than just their faces - the mirrors of their souls - that had been stolen. He explained that the spiritual powers that they had honed through their training had also been stolen, preventing them from being able to fight back or escape. Hoyoung wondered why the Handsome Monk hadn’t done anything, as he was meant to be upstanding and powerful. The trainee then revealed that the Handsome Monk was the one controlling the rats, and so Hoyoung decided that he would make his way into the inner sanctum and confront the Handsome Monk.

As Hoyoung made his way deeper into the sanctum, he found another locked door blocking the way. Just like before, he hunted down the rats and collected their keys in order to find the right one. Arriving at the sanctum entrance, he found two rat trainees guarding the way. Hoyoung used his powers to shapeshift into a trainee in order to get past them. The trainees told him that he was late to the service that the Handsome Monk regularly conducted. Suddenly, one of them realized that if he were truly a rat, he would have known about the service.

Hoyoung managed to talk his way out of it, tricking the rats into letting him enter. Upon arriving, however, Hoyoung was dumbfounded to see that the service was nothing more than a disco club. Hoyoung then saw the Handsome Monk, whom Taotie explained was a Monster Rat who had stolen the face of the real Handsome Monk. However, unlike the regular rats, the Monster Rat had the ability to use magic. Taotie suspected that the Monster Rat had been siphoning chi from those who had hung his dolls on their houses.

Just then, the Monster Rat addressed his subjects and congratulated them on completing the first stage in their plan, which was to spread the life-siphoning dolls throughout the town. With their first objective achieved, he told them that it was time to move to the main phase of their mission. In three days, when the full moon would rise, the cursed power woven into the dolls would ensorcel the residents and turn them into his puppets. However, he explained that his ambitions surpassed Cheong-woon Valley, vowing that they would surge forth and cross over to the continents beyond the sea, allowing them to take over the world.

(A/N: I’m not sure whether he’s talking about taking over the whole moon of Cheong-woon or the entirety of Grandis. I would’ve liked to see Darmoor’s reaction when an army of rats would begin swarming Aboris.)

As the rats cheered for their master, the Monster Rat told them that he had brought a special guest and presented a captured Farasi. Hoyoung then revealed himself to the rats and ordered the Monster Rat to transform back into a spirit for Taotie to consume. The Monster Rat was confused, but it decided to eliminate Hoyoung anyways, as he had seen too much. As Hoyoung rushed to attack, the Monster Rat trapped Hoyoung inside a purple ball of magic and bounced him around the room. Realizing that he was no match for the Monster Rat, Hoyoung used the Ultimate Sage Skill: Thirty-Sixth Stratagem, which was to simply run away.

Back in town, Taotie grew annoyed and asked what Hoyoung’s plan was to deal with the Monster Rat. Hoyoung reassured him that he was formulating a plan, though he was really just planning to leave town in order to save himself. He rationalized that if the rats’ goal was to slowly leech the villagers’ life force, nothing bad would happen to them or Farasi right away, and that the other private investigators could deal with it instead. He told himself that he had never signed up to put his life on the line for the town when he had started, though his heart still felt heavy with guilt nevertheless. He went to order lunch, but he found that he had no appetite.

He then asked Taotie if he would be alright with hunting down the other fiends in the countryside and then coming back to Cheong-woon Valley later. Taotie told him that he didn’t mind the order in which he devoured the fiends, so long as he got them all, but he was surprised that Hoyoung cared about what he thought. Hoyoung then told Taotie to forget about it, after which he thought to himself that he knew that monster-hunting would eventually bring him face-to-face with genuine danger, but even in spite of that, he wasn’t sure of what to do. Taotie silently wondered whether Hoyoung was afraid of his foe, or whether it was fear of his own weakness.

Hoyoung then told Taotie that it was time to execute his plan. As he headed to the Information Broker Bureau in order to give an update on the Handsome Monk case, he encountered a group of thugs beating up a poor beggar. As he approached them to put a stop to it, Taotie grew annoyed at Hoyoung getting sidetracked. Hoyoung himself wondered why he always felt the need to leap into such situations, even when they didn’t concern him.

Nevertheless, he defeated the thugs and forced them to retreat. As the beggar had fallen into a stupor, Hoyoung went to get mineral water from the Jar of Stagnant Water monsters. As he gave the water to the beggar, he was shocked to see that it was actually the Faceless Monster, who thanked Hoyoung and called him a great sage.

The Faceless Monster began to explain what had happened to him. His troubles had begun months ago, several days before a day of ill omen when the earth had pitched and heaved, and the waters had surged. Against his master’s instructions, he had thrown his nail clippings out, as he had seen no harm in it. He explained that their town had a legend that the king of rats lurked in the shadows, waiting to eat nail clippings.

Once it had done so, the one who had thrown them out would lose their face and the Monster Rat would walk amongst the people, wearing the stolen face as his own. He revealed that he was the true Handsome Monk, but as he had lost his face and his powers, he had become a wanderer in a beggar’s guise.

Before becoming a beggar, however, he had hidden himself in the temple storeroom for several days after having lost his face, which was when he had recalled his master’s wisdom on the Monster Rat: should one make it regurgitate the nail clippings that it had eaten, one could reclaim their face. The Handsome Monk explained that he had confronted the Monster Rat, though it had become too strong for him to fight against. Realizing that it was because of the mojo dolls, the Handsome Monk had tried to get rid of them, which was when the townspeople had reported him to the Bureau as a thief.

(A/N: The story of the Monster Rat is also based on a Korean folktale called “The Rat Transformed into a Man.” While there are many variations of the story, the gist of it is that a rat eats the nail clippings of a man and transforms into him. It tricks everyone in his house into thinking that it’s the real master of the house, to the point that even the town’s magistrate rules that the real master is fake and expels him from the house. Eventually, the man receives some advice and returns back home with a cat, which transforms the rat into its real form and eats it.)

Just then, Taotie spoke to Hoyoung and explained that the Monster Rat posed little significance. Under ordinary circumstances, even if the Handsome Monk had lost most of his powers, he still would have been able to handle it on his own. The fact that he had lost meant that the Monster Rat was getting help from someone or something else.

Hoyoung asked if one of the fiends who had escaped from Taotie was fueling the Monster Rat with power. Taotie told Hoyoung about the Flea Monster, which could split into multiples of itself, draining other creatures’ life force and sharing the energy with its host. The Handsome Monk then asked if Hoyoung would help him defeat the Monster Rat, but Hoyoung told him that he still hadn’t decided whether he was willing to put his life on the line.

He then decided to play a game with the Handsome Monk in order to let fate decide his course of action. Hoyoung picked up a stone and shifted it around between his hands, telling the Handsome Monk to pick which hand held the stone. The Handsome Monk picked the left hand, which held nothing. Seeing the Handsome Monk’s disappointment, Hoyoung told him that they would play another round. After twenty-nine rounds, the Handsome Monk finally won. Hoyoung realized that he had let the Handsome Monk win because if he were to have simply left without looking back, his conscience would have been heavy forever.

After formulating their plan, Hoyoung and the Handsome Monk went their separate ways in order to take their positions. At the temple entrance, Hoyoung and Taotie found a thick purple miasma hanging in the air. Hoyoung forced his way into the temple and defeated the rats that attacked him. Inside the sanctum, he confronted the Monster Rat, who explained that once the full moon had fully risen, Hoyoung and everyone else in the town would fall under the thrall of the rats. Hoyoung and the Monster Rat then engaged in battle.

As the Monster Rat gained the upper hand, Hoyoung begged for mercy. The Monster Rat laughed and told him that it was too late for mercy, but as it launched its attack, Hoyoung revealed himself to be a clone, with his real self attacking from behind. He swiftly hit the Monster Rat’s back, forcing it to regurgitate the Handsome Monk’s nail clippings, which caused the Monster Rat to transform back into its true form.

(A/N: Hoyoung is basically Naruto with his Shadow Clone Jutsu and Goku with his Nimbus Cloud, although his personality definitely leans more on the side of Naruto, not to mention that Taotie being sealed inside him is just like how Kurama is sealed inside Naruto.)

Meanwhile in town, the investigators of the Bureau were fighting off the villagers who had transformed into rats, with the thick purple miasma covering the entirety of the town. Suddenly, the Handsome Monk appeared, and with his face and powers restored, he cast a spell to turn the rats back into people. On top of the Bureau roof, Kaling surveyed the battle and spoke to herself that it had been a bold move on Hoyoung’s part to hire every private investigator in the Bureau, though she hoped that he wouldn’t complain about the bill.

In the temple, the Monster Rat lamented that its handsome form had been taken away. Without its stolen powers, Hoyoung easily managed to defeat it. The Monster Rat claimed that it would one day succeed in conquering the world, but Hoyoung replied that even if it were to conquer the town, the moon, or even the whole Grandis system, none of it would bring it peace. As the Monster Rat rushed to attack, Hoyoung’s counterattack successfully pried the Flea Monster off the Monster Rat, transforming it back into a regular sewer rat. The Flea Monster then turned into a spirit, which Taotie immediately consumed.

A few days later, the town gradually fell back into quiet peace. Hoyoung, disguised as a trainee, was disappointed to overhear that the villagers believed that the Handsome Monk had solved everything himself. Taotie asked Hoyoung why he didn’t simply publish his own account of what had really happened. Hoyoung told him that it ultimately didn’t matter, as even Tai Yu would occasionally work behind the scenes. He laughed to himself, wondering if he had finally earned the chance to use Tai Yu’s catchphrase, “I am but a simple wanderer”.

He then told Taotie that he had been eavesdropping at the tavern in order to pick up more leads, but it seemed as though there were no more fiends in town. He realized that he would likely need to venture outside Cheong-woon Valley in order to find the other fiends, but he decided that he would first start learning new spells. Taotie pointed out that he would need to return to the Hermitage unless he planned on creating new spells himself. However, Hoyoung showed him a spellbook which he had stolen from his Master, which he then read through in order to learn more advanced spells.

(A/N: After you solve the case, you can visit Willow, one of the bar patrons and a wandering poet, who can impart Grandis’ foreshadowings. True to their name, the foreshadowings are Easter eggs that hint at characters whom we’ll meet in the future, and whom Willow has encountered in her journeys.

The first foreshadowing is called “An Anima I Encountered”:
“It’s generally understood that the Anima aren’t fond of fighting. But I did encounter a noble exception - an Anima performing as a gladiator in a coliseum. Their skill in taunting their opponent and making a fool of them showed that not only were they a skilled combatant, they actually enjoyed it. Of course, they were concealing their features, so I couldn’t tell which animal they took their lineage from. But there was no mistaking their wild movements. Only someone with the keen senses of an animal could pull off those kids of athletics.”

While we don’t know anything about this character yet, I’m hoping that we’ll be getting them as the Anima warrior class.

The second foreshadowing is called “The Princess’ Castle”:

“In my wanderings, I came to an ancient castle, complete with a grand garden that looked pretty as any painting. A princess lived there, attended by many servants. But the princess never sets foot outside her castle, preferring to remain within. Even I don’t know when the City Gates will open. Still, I enjoy walking around the castle grounds, whenever I find myself in the area.”

I honestly have no clue about what this is a reference to, although it’s possible that it might be a city in the realm of the sages. We learn about it later in Hoyoung’s storyline, but the realm of the sages is a special area from which the sages of Grandis, such as Tai Yu, maintain the peace of their world. Hoyoung’s Hermitage is part of the realm of the sages and it’s possible that this castle might be related to it.

The third foreshadowing is called “A Mechanical Body”:

“In certain places, technology has advanced far enough that people can replace parts of their bodies with synthetic parts. But the knowledge necessary to create such technology is considered a great secret, and very few people know how to do it. The rumors say there’s even someone who went as far as to replace their entire body with synthetic parts. Do you think that means they’d get a mechanical brain, too? How would they know they were still themselves?”

This one is strongly implied to be about Senya Angler, a member of the Angler Company whom we meet in Detective Rave’s Case Notes.

The last foreshadowing is called “The Boy Who Didn’t Age”:

“One day, on my travels through Grandis, I got hopelessly lost in the forests near Pantheon. I had no idea where I was, and wondered if I might actually die out there… Thankfully, that didn’t happen, because a young boy - a magician - appeared and saved my life. He might’ve grumbled a bit, sure, but he did heal me. As soon as I had recovered, he used his magic to send me away. I never got to ask his name, and I don’t know that I could find that particular area of the forest again even if I tried.”

That boy is strongly implied to be Melange, an extremely powerful magician who was sent by Darmoor to infiltrate the Arcane River expedition and spy on the Adversary and the Alliance during the events of Esfera and Tenebris.)

Armed with new powers, Hoyoung decided to make a final round around town in order to pick up leads before heading out, which would give him a chance to say goodbye. He first went to the Information Broker Bureau in order to see Farasi, to whom he apologized for leaving her behind the first time that he had encountered the Monster Rat.

Farasi accepted his apology, explaining that it had been a clever plan to pretend to flee and return when the Monster Rat least expected it. Hoyoung admitted that he had fled for real, surprising Farasi, who realized that Hoyoung really had planned on leaving her behind. However, she quickly forgave him and explained that she had been rescued by the other investigators, whom she had heard had all been hired by Hoyoung, and so she told him that even if it had been indirectly, it was thanks to him that she had been saved.

Hoyoung then told her about his encounter with the real Handsome Monk and their plan to defeat the Monster Rat. He also told her that he was planning to leave town and then asked Farasi what her plan was once she stopped being an investigator. She told him that she was planning to go back to the sea, just as she had told him before, though she admitted that her dreams had fallen by the wayside long ago.

At Hoyoung’s sad face, she told him that just because a dream had fallen by the wayside, it didn’t mean that one couldn’t find it again. She explained that she was returning to the sea in order to pick up her old dreams, or to perhaps even find a new one. Hoyoung told her that he would miss their lunches together, but Farasi pointed out that he was leaving as well. Hoyoung realized that they were both packing up and moving on with their lives, but he hoped that they would meet again one day. He told her that even if they didn’t run into each other, they could leave letters with the tavern keeper in order to tell each other how they were doing.

(A/N: Kinesis really needs to introduce cell phones to this deprived world. It’s always strange to me that there aren’t better forms of communication in worlds that have magic. Granted, it seems like Maple World had a huge Industrial Revolution after the White Mage left the foundations of alchemy in Magatia, but it still seems like most of Maple World’s forms of communication are still by letter, even after they develop hologram technology.

Grandis seems to have hologram technology as well, with the concept of holograms in the game first being introduced in Kaiser and Angelic Buster’s storyline, which makes me wonder whether Maple World got their hologram tech from the Nova. I feel like Grandis being more technologically advanced ought to mean that communication should be easier there, but at the same time, Grandis is under a dictatorship, and so communication might be pretty hard to do, especially in poorer regions. Plus, given that the Anima are meant to be in hiding, it makes sense why Farasi might try to stay under the radar and not carry technology that would let the High Flora track her down.)

After saying their goodbyes, Hoyoung went to see Kaling, though he was less than enthusiastic about the debt that he still owed her. Kaling calculated Hoyoung’s final bill to be a figure that nearly bowled him over. He realized that it was almost as much as he had to his name, but he knew that there was no way that he could talk his way out of it. After paying her with nearly everything that he had, Kaling confirmed that his account was clear. She then amusedly revealed that the private investigators would have taken action on their own, even if he hadn’t hired them.

At Hoyoung’s surprised face, Kaling laughed and explained that it was part of the private investigators’ code to defend the town in times of crisis. Hoyoung put up his bravado act and told her that it had been a preventative measure to ensure that all his bases had been covered. He then gave her the rest of his money and asked to buy whatever information about the outside world that he could with the amount that he had. Kaling then pulled out several scrolls and presented them to Hoyoung.

The first scroll was a guide to Grandis, which explained the three major races of Grandis: the Flora, the Anima, and the Nova, with the Flora being the most populous race. It also detailed the three Transcendents: Gerand Darmoor, Chronica, and Aeona. Finally, it detailed Chronica’s whereabouts to be in the Chronica Sanctuary, where Darmoor had imprisoned them and stolen their power, and also offered no information on Aeona’s status or whereabouts.

(A/N: I guess that they finally decided to use gender-neutral pronouns with Chronica starting with this storyline, since they probably don’t want to commit to it in case they change their minds. I’m always dubious when the game says that the Flora are the most populous race when the Cernium storyline reveals that the majority of the Flora army is composed of common mercenaries because there aren’t enough Flora to fight as soldiers.

At the same time, the Flora have been committing mass genocide of the other races, and so even though there aren’t that many Flora, there are probably even fewer members of the other races. The signature on this scroll shows that this information had been gathered by Young Swordsman K, Kaiser’s alias. I’m guessing that most likely, Kaiser and the other people who had given these scrolls had done so in exchange for other information from the Bureau.)

The second scroll detailed the history of the Flora, namely the Flora Civil War and the awakening of Gerand Darmoor as the Transcendent of Life. It also mentioned that around that time, the Anima had disappeared without a trace, with only the Nova in Pantheon fighting back against Darmoor’s forces. (A/N: This was gathered by Curious Girl AB, Angelic Buster’s alias. Hoyoung calls Darmoor a huge tool when he reads this scroll.)

The third scroll was information about the Interdimensional Portal, namely its creation and the fact that several existed in Grandis, with the most well-known being in Pantheon’s Great Temple, which connected to Maple World. (A/N: This was gathered by Anonymous Young Man A, Ark’s alias. Hoyoung speculates that his Master has gone to Maple World.)

The fourth and final scroll detailed Maple World, namely that one could get to Pantheon from Savage Terminal in order to access the Interdimensional Portal, and mentioned the rumors that the Black Mage might soon escape from his seal. (A/N: This was gathered by Brawler C, Cadena’s alias.) Based on the scrolls, Hoyoung realized that he needed to first make it to Savage Terminal in order to reach the Interdimensional Portal. Kaling told him that Maple World was far away, but wished him luck on his journey, promising that she would see him again. As Hoyoung left to see the Handsome Monk, Kaling spoke to herself that once she had her eye on something, she never let it out of her sight, no matter where it went.

At the Temple Entrance, Hoyoung greeted the Handsome Monk and jokingly asked if he was really a rat. The Handsome Monk stammered that he was exercising great caution in disposing of his nail clippings, but Hoyoung laughed and told him that he had only been teasing. He then explained that he wanted to say goodbye, and to thank him for all his help. The Handsome Monk replied that it was he who was in Hoyoung’s debt, and that he prayed for Hoyoung’s well-being on his path.

Hoyoung confessed that when his heart had been wavering, meeting the Handsome Monk had helped him realize that he already knew what he had wanted to do, deep down. He added that if he hadn’t met him on the road, he might not have had the courage to follow through on it. The Handsome Monk explained that it was in Hoyoung’s nature, as he had the spirit of a hero. After saying their farewells, he returned to the town. Taotie was annoyed that it had taken Hoyoung so long to finish his business, but Hoyoung then explained that they were heading to Maple World. When Taotie asked why Hoyoung thought that the escaped fiends would be there, Hoyoung jokingly replied that it was Taotie’s job to find them.

Hoyoung then found Sosori, who was capable of crossing great distances in the blink of an eye. With Sosori’s help, they crossed over to Savage Terminal, from which they took a portal to Pantheon. At the Great Temple, Hoyoung encountered Fenelle, who recognized Hoyoung as an Anima. She told him that they had seen an increase in the number of heroes who had come to the Interdimensional Portal for training, but Hoyoung was the first Anima who had ever visited them.

Hoyoung explained that even if another Anima had come through, they likely would have hidden their animal features, and so Fenelle might not have recognized an Anima if she saw one. He then asked her what he had to do in order to cross over to Maple World, to which Fenelle told him that she wanted to look into his soul in order to see if he aligned with good or evil.

She sensed that Hoyoung didn’t differentiate between good and evil in the methods that he used to accomplish his goals, though his will itself cherished that which was good. (A/N: I wonder if she also sensed Taotie sealed inside Hoyoung. Given that Taotie also goes through a moral transformation in this storyline, maybe she sensed that Taotie was also good at heart.) She then explained that Athena Pierce was the de-facto representative of Maple World’s Explorers and offered to let her know of his arrival in advance. After she contacted Athena Pierce, Fenelle activated the portal and allowed Hoyoung to pass through.

Hoyoung and Taotie were surprised by how quiet and peaceful Maple World seemed in comparison to Grandis. Hoyoung told Taotie to remain on the lookout for any of the fiends who had escaped. He then went to Henesys in order to meet Athena Pierce. At the Bowman Instructional School, Athena greeted Hoyoung and explained that starting out on his adventuring career required building relationships. She then suggested that Hoyoung help out some of the locals. Hoyoung noted that it seemed peaceful in Henesys, and that he was surprised that people needed help there.

Athena explained that even though Henesys was a quiet town, Maple World itself was a vast place, and that there was more trouble lurking out there beneath its idyllic exterior than Hoyoung would first suspect. She then gave Hoyoung several case files and told him that he could choose any of them to help out with. (A/N: These four cases are 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.)

Soon after, Taotie sensed a fiend at the Ellinel Fairy Academy. After forcing the fiend out of the Mole King, Taotie swallowed it. He explained that it was an Ant Monster, which used to dig tunnels deep in the earth and stir up trouble. He noted that it was interesting that it would possess a mole monster. Hoyoung asked if it meant that Taotie always ate troublemaker spirits, but Taotie explained that sometimes he devoured gentle spirits, or even spirits that Hoyoung might consider cute.

Soon after, Taotie sensed another fiend in the Swamp Region and directed Hoyoung there. Hoyoung was surprised to find a portal, which Taotie explained had been created by the fiend distorting the surrounding space, as it had gained much more of its old strength. Inside the space, they found the Crocodile Bird monster. After Taotie swallowed it, Hoyoung asked how many fiends Taotie had consumed. Taotie told him that he had consumed well over a thousand, meaning that Hoyoung had much more work to look forward to.

Some time later, Hoyoung felt that it was time to add new spells to his arsenal. Taotie suggested that he look at one of the spellbooks that he had stolen from his Master’s library. However, Hoyoung explained that the spellbook which he had used last time was the last volume that he had brought with him, meaning that he would need to use the Nimbus Cloud in order to return to the Hermitage. They returned to Cheong-woon, where Hoyoung spent hours circling Mount Songyu. He wondered whether the Hermitage had sunk into the ground, or if his Master had returned and erased the old path. (A/N: You learn this later, but the Hermitage actually exists in the realm of the sages. Once you leave, the only way that you can re-enter is through invitation if you’re not a true sage.)

Hoyoung then had the idea of entering the Hermitage through his dreams and reading the spellbook that he needed. He then fell asleep, with all his memories of life at the Hermitage swirling in his head. As he dreamed, he felt the scenery of the Hermitage unfold around him. He felt that it was too vivid to be a dream, as though he really was at the Hermitage. After finding the spellbook, he read through it and awoke, recollecting all of the spells that he had read. Taotie then gave him a rare compliment for his unorthodox solution.

Some time after learning the new spells, Taotie found traces of another fiend in the Ant Tunnel Square in Sleepywood. They found the Talisman Monster possessing a Zombie Mushroom and Taotie explained that the fiend only appeared in dark places. Hoyoung then had the idea of lighting the cave in order to weaken it. After lighting candles around the area, Hoyoung was able to defeat the fiend, allowing Taotie to consume its spirit.

As Hoyoung grew stronger, Athena Pierce reached out to him and invited him to join the Maple Alliance. Hoyoung traveled to Ereve in order to meet with Neinheart and Cygnus. Hoyoung felt as though Neinheart was gauging his skills, and so he attempted to prove himself by stealing Neinheart’s pocket watch and appearing behind him. Neinheart laughed, but warned that he would be less than amused if he did something like that to the Empress. With that, Cygnus formally welcomed him to the Alliance.

Hoyoung then continued to travel Maple World until Taotie sensed another monster in Ariant. At the town, they continued chasing rumors until they learned that a dried-up cactus had drained an entire oasis. In the desert, they encountered a warp in space created by the Sand Monster, which Taotie believed had possessed the cactus, Deo. After Hoyoung defeated it, Taotie emerged to consume the Sand Monster’s spirit.

The Knight and the Prince:

Centuries ago, Adelaide had been banished into the Void by Veronica, where its magic slowly carved her soul into a hundred and eight pieces. Over time, she felt her memories slip away, bit by bit, and she feared that soon, she would vanish completely. On the moon of Ristonia, a young man named Jerome was being chased by the Count’s guards. As he found himself surrounded, Jerome denounced the guards’ honor, claiming that their only allegiance was to the highest bidder. Just as the guards advanced on him, he made a desperate wish for help to the knight statue at the fountain square.

In the darkness of the Void, his voice rang out and a golden light shined through, shattering Adelaide’s chains and freeing her from the Void. She appeared before Jerome, who marveled that she was just like the knights from the old stories. When he asked her to save him, Adelaide claimed that she didn’t know him, as he wasn’t in the few memories that she had left. Just as the guards were about to attack, however, Adelaide heard a voice from the knight statue proclaim that her calling was to protect the crown and urged her to pull forth her blade. She then recalled her ability to wield swords from the Aether, after which she defeated the guards before escaping with Jerome.

As they hid, Adelaide heard the guards refer to Jerome as a petty thief, yelling out that it would be better for him to turn himself in and pay for his sins. When Adelaide confronted him, Jerome stammered that she hadn’t heard his side of the story yet. He added that he couldn’t afford to get caught and told her that she would also get arrested with him if they surrendered. She conceded that the guards would consider her to be his accomplice, and that it wouldn’t do to get caught while her memories were in a haze. Jerome told her to split up once he created a diversion and asked her to meet him at the fountain on the bell’s fifth toll.

After they escaped, Adelaide hid in a deserted plaza and recalled that the knight statue at the fountain had a voice which seemed to know her, just as she felt old power flowing into her. As she wanted answers immediately, Adelaide decided to go after Jerome instead of waiting for the designated time. She found him attempting to break into a building when he suddenly lost his footing.

As he began falling, Adelaide shot a rope attached to an aether blade onto the building, allowing Jerome to grab onto it as he fell. She then watched him climb into the building through the window and quickly leave. Jerome was surprised to see her and defended his actions by explaining that he was returning a stolen item to its rightful owner. Suddenly, they heard a voice from the building marveling at the return of their family heirloom. Jerome explained that the family heirloom had been stolen by corrupt nobles.

He then asked if Adelaide would serve as his knight in order to help him return the rule of justice to Ristonia. Adelaide told him that she didn’t have time to get involved in other people’s business, as she needed to discover who she was and why she had ended up in Ristonia. Jerome offered to help her find her memories, explaining that she could help him drive out the corrupt nobles while she traveled around the city to look for clues about her past.

He told her that it had been nearly a decade since the nobles had filled the power vacuum after the king’s death, with the royal family having collapsed soon after. While the nobles lived in opulence, they exploited the citizens by not only raising taxes, but also by slashing wages and protections for laborers.

However, Jerome explained that it had been the legendary knights who had legitimized the king’s claim to power, as he was just a man without their backing. Though Adelaide protested at his insistence that she would serve him, Jerome took her lack of denial as agreement. They disguised themselves in robes and began to retreat to his base.

On the way, Adelaide began to explain what was left of her memories. Jerome was surprised at how little they had to go on, but he promised that he would ask his friends to look into it, as they were masters of investigation. Adelaide then agreed to help him, but only until she regained her memories. Jerome asked how she could be so cold, as she had the power to save an entire kingdom.

He then remembered that he had meant to give her something and bestowed a knight’s token, a necklace which he explained was a family heirloom, and told her that she could sell it for a handsome price if she decided that she couldn’t trust him. He then realized that he had never asked for her name. When Adelaide told him her name, Jerome replied that it was too long to shout out in the middle of an emergency, and so he decided to call her Adele against her protests. He also told her that since his name was long as well, she could call him Jerome for short.

At the fountain, he swore that he would use her power for the purpose of saving Ristonia. Adele then decided to play along until she got her bearings. After swearing their oath, Jerome welcomed her to Ristonia, Grandis’ capital of art and culture. On the way back to his hideout, they found the way blocked by back alley cats.

After defeating them, they arrived at the hideout of the Uprising, a revolution that Jerome had created in order to overthrow the corrupt nobles. There, one of the revolutionaries told Jerome that someone had been tearing down their fliers that denounced the nobles. Jerome told them not to worry, as they now had the support of a legendary knight. Adele was less than impressed by their small rag-tag militia, but she decided to entertain Jerome nevertheless.

Jerome explained that his goal was to become the king of Ristonia and restore the kingdom to its former glory. He aimed to do so by eliminating the greedy nobles who plagued the people, Count Cedric in particular. He told Adele that before the royal family had collapsed, Cedric had been low-ranking royalty who had quickly risen to become the most powerful of the nobles in the absence of the royal family. As he was telling his story, Adele saw a flash of light and began to warn him of a possible attack. Jerome looked up to see a small creature floating about and laughed, explaining that the creature was named Boo, and that he had the power to transform into different kinds of objects. He then raised a toast for Adele joining their ranks.

(A/N: One thing that I find strange about Ristonia is that everyone here seems to be human. Given how unique the life forms seem to be on Grandis, it’s a bit strange that everyone on Ristonia is so human-like, especially when it’s been emphasized how everyone from Grandis finds the people on Maple World to be unlike anything that they’ve seen before.

At the same time, we’ve seen one possible instance of an Anima in Maple World - Rondo from the Explorer storyline. Since Maple World and Grandis used to be the same world before the Overseers separated them, it’s possible that several humans might have been cut off from their homeland, and vice versa for the Anima, when the dimensional barrier had been created, leading them to evolve and establish their own separate cultures over time. Similarly, it’s also possible that some of the human-like people on Grandis might be Anima hiding their animal features in order to blend in with the crowd and avoid detection by the High Flora.)

As the Uprising celebrated, Count Cedric marveled at his own beauty from within his residence. His manservant, Simon, was less than impressed by his master’s soliloquy, reminding him that there was much to be done. Cedric told Simon that he trusted him to take care of those trivial matters on his own. Simon explained that he had taken care of them by staying up all night, but that this particular matter was something that only Cedric himself could address.

He gave Cedric a document and asked for his signature, to which Cedric made it known how sick and tired he was of giving signatures. Simon added that he had managed to find three of the rare paintings that Cedric had asked for, but told him that the rest would be difficult to track down. Suddenly, the Count’s guards arrived and reported that they had encountered a suspicious individual who had the power to wield floating blades. Cedric immediately recognized the description as being that of a legendary knight and asked Simon to investigate the matter for him.

The next day, Jerome found that Adele had been standing all night at the fountain square. She then saw two men beginning to play the bass and violin and decided to investigate, believing that they were wielding weapons. Jerome laughed at the fact that she had never seen an instrument before and told her that she would have the chance to get used to modern life by helping him with his missions, explaining that the musicians could help them get information about Count Cedric.

At Adele’s confusion, Jerome told her that it was said that if one wanted to hear about the latest gossip, they only needed to listen to the music on the streets. Adele watched as Jerome went to speak with the musicians for a few moments before returning. He told her that the musicians had lost their motivation because they hadn’t been getting any tips, likely because the people walking the streets had been taxed dry, and so Adele defeated Town Square Pot monsters in order to collect Ristonian Silvers, which she used to pay the musicians.

(A/N: Something that I found weird in Hoyoung’s storyline is how everyone seems to use mesos as currency in Cheong-woon. I like that Ristonia has its own form of currency, although it’s weird that the High Flora never standardized the money on Grandis, especially given the fact that them being fascist means that they would have a heavy emphasis on nationalism.)

After tipping the musicians, they played a song that revealed Count Cedric’s obsession with the royal arts festival. Jerome told Adele that the festival was an event where artwork from all across Grandis was exhibited, with the highlight of the festival being the artwork presented by the Ristonia royal family. Jerome wondered why Cedric was so obsessed with the festival while his kingdom collapsed around him, speculating that there could be some ulterior motive beyond just showing off.

(A/N: Something cool that you can uncover through Ristonia’s musicians is by talking to a musician named Emile. He offers to let you try his piano and you can make different sequences of three notes, which you can choose between ‘Do’, ‘Re’, and ‘Mi’. He then sings different songs based on the sequences that you play. These songs are very similar to the foreshadowings of Grandis that you can learn from Willow in Cheong-woon, as all of them are Easter eggs that allude to future content in the game. However, whereas only Hoyoung characters can unlock Willow’s foreshadowings, any class can play the songs in Ristonia.

Playing Do-Re-Do has him sing a song called “A Sword for One”:

“I will become a sword for my lord.
Even if thorny paths await me
I’ll gladly move forward.
For one person and one person only,
I will become a sword for my lord.”

This song is likely about Adele herself.

Do-Re-Re plays a song called “The Mysterious Tower”:

“Explorers who dream of riches and treasure
Are drawn to mysterious places.
They’d do well to remember
There is no reward without risk!
You there, be careful!
Oh no, you’re already eaten!
You’ll never escape.
You might lose your life.
But oh, just think of the gold!
Step aside!
I’ll be the first to the treasure!”

It’s possible that this song refers to Karote, the Unending Tower.

Re-Re-Mi plays a song called “The Silent Sea”:

“There’s a sea to the south
Of which the sailors whisper.
Some whisper with fear
But I feel naught but wonder.
The sea reaches for me
And everything disappears.
How deep is this sea?
I cannot say.
Does it continue forever?
I want to see! I always wonder!
What secrets does the sea hold?
And where has it taken the sailors it’s claimed?”

It’s speculated that the song either refers to the forgotten sea that bridges Maple World and Grandis after their fusion, or an entirely new area of Grandis that might be similar to Aqua Road.

Mi-Do-Mi plays a song called “Wait, Bunny, Wait”:

“I saw a bunny in the moonlight.
Hoppity-hop!
Let’s follow.
And before we know it, the world all around us
Transforms to an alien landscape.
I’m watching you, bunny!
His tail is charming.
But don’t be fooled!
See! His leg is flying at you!
Even if I cannot go back, I don’t mind.
Hoppity-hop!
Please, just once
Tell me about your world.
Is it full of moonlight?
Take me with you. Hurry!”

No one knows yet what this song refers to, although it’s possible that it might have something to do with Cosim, a member of the Angler family who seemingly turned against them. Cosim wears a bunny ear headband and his name is KMS is Lepus, which is the Latin word for ‘hare’. Our first meeting with Cosim was in Detective Rave’s Case Notes, in which he wears a hazmat spacesuit with galaxy patterns inside the helmet, which might relate to the alien landscape.

The final sequence, Mi-Re-Do, plays a song called “An Unreachable Love Song”:

“When I was young, my mother told me
Stories of the man with the silver hair.
A gallant knight, with sword of white,
Whom I had never met before.
But to his legendary tale,
I lost my very heart.
His righteous chivalry
Held endless charm.
Yet we can never meet.
He and I, we’re parallel.
This love can never be.”

Once again, we have no idea what this could refer to, although it’s possible that it might be a character that we’ll meet in the future, or perhaps even a new class. I also wonder whether it has any relationship to the princess in one of Willow’s foreshadowings who locked herself in her grand castle.)

After learning all that they could from the musicians, Jerome decided to look through the newspapers. As he struggled to explain newspapers to Adele, she allowed him to continue, even though she knew what they were, as she found his flustered gesticulations entertaining. Jerome noticed her laughing and asked her what she was laughing at, to which Adele lied and told him that she had a tickle in her throat. Though Jerome didn’t believe her, he told her that whatever the reason, it was nice to hear her laugh.

(A/N: Adele and Jerome are one of my favorite romances in the game, along with Phantom and Aria, Ark and Albaire, Tana and Jean, and Lara and Gri. I have it in my head that Jerome is probably around the equivalent of 19 in human years, while Adele is probably the equivalent of 20-21. There are a lot of parallels between them and Tana and Jean. Jean would read stories to Tana about a knight and a princess, with Jean being the knight and Tana the princess. This is actually reversed for Jerome and Adele, as Adele is the knight, while Jean is later revealed to be a prince.)

After Adele collected the Ristonian Dispatch from the Monstrous News Machines, Jerome was disappointed to see that it was filled with unflinchingly positive propaganda for the Count. (A/N: I like the implication here that people have to fight the news machine monsters every time they want a newspaper.) However, Jerome noticed that there was an advertisement about an old painting, and though it didn’t reveal the author’s identity, it had a peculiar description of the painting. Jerome noted that it only described the back side of the painting, meaning that the person who had placed the advertisement didn’t know what the front looked like.

He also realized that the address given for inquiries was Cedric’s old residence, which he speculated was to ensure that the general public couldn’t trace the advertisement back to him. Jerome found it suspicious that someone in Cedric’s position should feel the need to cover up something as mundane as buying a painting, and so he decided to visit some acquaintances whom he believed might know more about the painting. As he wanted to go alone, he asked Boo to show Adele around the city in the meantime.

Boo signaled Adele to follow him by dashing away. As she chased after him, several of the residents noticed that a hooded figure, who was really Count Cedric in disguise, was tearing down Jerome’s fliers that criticized him. The residents confronted Cedric and asked if he was one of the Count’s bootlickers, and Cedric used the experience to reaffirm his belief that the reason why he was hated was because the people of Ristonia were jealous of his beauty. (A/N: This man has officially lost the plot. Simon needs a raise.)

Suddenly, Adele arrived and found the residents accosting Cedric, who was still in disguise. Unwilling to get caught up in another chase like last time, she decided to scare off the men with a few flashy strokes of her blades. Cedric instantly recognized Adele as the legendary knight from his guards’ report.

After the men had been scared off, Adele left and ignored Cedric’s requests for her name. Cedric then interpreted what had happened to mean that his legendary knight had finally appeared in his moment of distress. Just then, Simon arrived and chastised Cedric for leaving the house and needlessly tearing down Jerome’s fliers, thus putting himself in danger. As Cedric was escorted back home, he swore to prevent Adele from leaving him again.

Back at the hideout, Adele returned with Boo, where Jerome introduced her to his colleagues, Brook and Laddie. He told her that they were experts in acquiring information, and so he had asked them to look into her past. Based on the information that she had provided about her memories, they concluded that her memories could only be about the Flora Civil War, which had happened centuries ago.

While they continued to look through old manuscripts about the war, they also learned about the painting that Cedric was looking for. They explained that the painting was being stored in the basement of an antiques store, and that they had also found a way inside. However, they told Adele that she and Jerome would need to investigate the painting that very evening, as it was scheduled for sale the next morning.

Jerome told Adele that he knew that some of their actions might not sit right with her, but he assured her that it was all for saving their kingdom, as he could never forgive himself for not doing everything in his power to save Ristonia. He then asked if she would still be willing to break into the shop with him, to which Adele accepted.

That night, they broke into the basement and found the painting that Cedric was after, which appeared as though it had been ripped by hand from a larger work. Jerome suspected that Cedric intended to reunite it with the rest of the work, which was likely why his advertisement didn’t mention anything on the front of the painting, as he may not have even known what was on it.

Jerome realized that they wouldn’t be able to learn any more until the painting was reassembled, and so he placed a tracking device on the back of the canvas. As Jerome moved to put the painting back in its frame, he sneezed from the dust and fell backwards, causing a sword to fall down. Adele found the sword to be oddly familiar and recognized it as a practice sword.

She was then flooded with a memory of her youth, in which she recalled sparring with a girl. (A/N: This was her and Veronica fighting at their swordsmanship school from when they were young.) As Adele reached out to help the girl up, their sword instructor chastised her for showing empathy towards her opponent.

As the girl got up with tears in her eyes, she told Adele not to be a show-off, venom dripping from her words. Adele then heard Jerome trying to wake her up. He asked her if she was alright, as she was clutching the training sword tightly. After Adele told Jerome about the memory that she had remembered, Jerome suggested that they return back to the hideout, as they had learned all they could.

A few days later, a hooded Jerome met a hooded Adele in front of the fountain, where he told her that he hadn’t had any luck browsing the antique shop or the royal archives for any objects that might help Adele regain her memory. Despite their lack of fortune, Adele could still feel that there was energy somewhere in Ristonia that matched that of the training sword, and so she was certain that it was hidden somewhere nearby. Jerome then realized that they hadn’t yet checked Cedric’s residence and believed that a relic of the Flora Civil War might be in his extravagant collection.

They returned to the hideout, where Brook and Laddie greeted them and reported that they had finished their investigation. They explained that the tracking device which Jerome had placed on the painting seemed to be indicating that it was in Cedric’s residence. Laddie added that all the advertisements for the paintings had disappeared from the local papers, likely meaning that Cedric had found all the pieces that he was after.

Laddie then told them that Cedric’s residence had once been an outbuilding of the royal palace, where the king used to store his cherished artworks, sculptures, and other baubles. It was also rumored that the king had constructed a secret treasure vault somewhere inside the outbuilding. Regarding infiltrating the residence, Brook told them that a known secret passage located on the west side of the square was said to lead to the residence, though no one had ever been able to get it open.

Based on their intelligence, Jerome formulated a plan of infiltration. He told Adele that they would enter through the secret passageway, as there was no other way to get in without raising an alarm with the tight security. Though Brook was hesitant, as the passageway had never been opened before, Jerome was adamant, claiming that it would ensure that the Count would never expect it. He told them that he, Adele, and Boo would infiltrate the residence, while Brook and Laddie would have a special assignment.

Jerome, Boo, and Adele then headed over to a manhole near the Western Square, where they struggled in vain to open it. They soon noticed an inscription written on the cover: “The knights pledge to their liege their final breath, only at that last gasp is their watch ended. Only thence are they carried beyond by the waters of dusk.” Jerome quickly realized that it was a riddle referring to the fountain with the knights’ statue, but he realized that they had missed their chance, as it had already turned on and off earlier.

However, Adele thought that it was unlikely that the passage would only open at a specific time and noticed that below the inscription was a raised illustration of the female knight from the fountain, with her spear looking as though it could be rotated. Adele turned the spear towards the direction of dusk, causing the manhole to open. (A/N: I refuse to believe that not a single person could have figured out something this simple until Adele came along.)

The trio then climbed down the passageway and soon found another passage covered in moss. Adele climbed up alone and threw down a rope for Jerome. They continued on to find a space filled with Torchlighter monsters. They ducked into another passageway in order to avoid the monsters and soon reached an abandoned corridor, where Jerome noted that they were directly below Cedric’s residence. He suspected that the secret passageways had been built for the royal family and their servants long ago and suspected that the entrance to the outbuilding had to be nearby.

After some searching, they came across three doors covered in brambles. Adele thought about cutting the brambles with her swords, but feared that the debris may hit Jerome, and so she gathered embers from the Torchlighter monsters in the previous passageway and used them to burn down the brambles. Jerome tried the middle door first and found that it was locked, and that it had two keyholes.

They then entered the door on the left, where they found several old chests. Inside the chests were bats that Adele cut down, after which they discovered the first key. They then entered the door on the right, where they discovered more chests. As Jerome and Adele split up to look for clues, Adele opened a chest and discovered an old glove, the same kind worn by knights of the royal family.

Upon touching it, she was consumed by a memory of her hunting down and executing a former Knight of the Einherjar, whom she had accused of abusing his station as a knight and dishonoring the God-King. As Adele had put her blade to the traitor’s throat, the knight had seen Veronica nearby and had pleaded with her for mercy, claiming that they were friends.

However, Veronica had merely told him that the decision wasn’t up to her, but rather, it was the platoon leader’s duty to mete out judgement. With no hesitation, emotion, or thought of mercy, Adele had swiftly brought down her sword and killed the traitor. Veronica had noted that Adele had coldly passed judgement without a second thought, but Adele had told her that she had merely fulfilled her duty as a knight, with no thought of vengeance.

Meanwhile, Jerome found the key and came over to Adele, who was standing frozen in thought. She was shocked by the memory and the realization that she had carried out an order to kill someone. Though she knew that she had been carrying out justice, she still felt a strange sense of guilt about telling Jerome what she had seen, and so she refrained from mentioning it.

Jerome told her that he had found the key and asked her if she was alright, but Adele dismissed his concerns and told him that even if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t allow it to get in the way of her mission. They then returned to the corridor and used the two keys to open the middle door, which led to a treasure room filled with gold, jewels, and even the king’s crown.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled as the door sealed itself shut. Jerome noticed that a nearby hatch was the only way out, but realized that it was locked. After searching the treasure room, he picked up the crown and read the inscription on it: “Those who would seek the crown must learn to sacrifice the few for the many. Art thou worthy of the throne?” He told Adele that based on what he had read about the royal family, the hatch was a revolving door designed to let a single person through and never open again.

Adele thought that since Boo could transform into an object, Jerome could slip outside with Boo, leaving her to use her full power in order to tear down the door. Jerome told Adele that if he wanted to become the king, he would need to sacrifice for the greater good. However, he refused to go along with the choice laid out before him, claiming that a king led, not followed. He then placed several jewels in the hatch, keeping it stuck halfway, allowing the trio to escape together. Adele was impressed and began considering that Jerome was indeed a worthy heir to the crown.

After going through the hatch, they found themselves inside the Count’s residence. Because of the high security, Jerome instructed Boo to sneak past the servants by taking the form of random objects along the way in order to get to the other side of the house and cause a distraction. With Boo’s aid, they were able to make it to the Count’s study, where they hid behind the curtains and lay in wait. There, they overheard Simon telling Cedric that based on the restored painting, a key was needed to awaken the Ancient God. (A/N: Most of the newer classes and storylines created after the Black Mage arc seem to involve awakening the Ancient Gods. Most likely, this is a hint towards Darmoor’s larger plans beyond just remaking all life.)

Cedric mused that there wasn’t much time left until the arts festival, but he hoped that it would give them an opportunity, as he believed that there would likely be a High Flora officer in attendance. He instructed Simon to continue searching for the key in the meantime. Simon asked if his plan was wise, as according to the painting’s interpretation, meddling with the power of the Ancient Gods would bring about a great calamity in Ristonia, the kind that would destroy the entire kingdom.

Cedric dismissed his concerns, claiming that he was only handing the key to the High Flora, and whether they chose to awaken the Ancient God was none of his business. He vowed that he would do whatever it took to secure his standing, as he could never survive living as a peasant. Adele wondered who the Ancient God could be and why they were awakening them if it meant Ristonia’s doom. She also wondered whom they intended to turn the key over to. (A/N: I mentioned that they wanted to give the key to the High Flora, but they don’t specifically namedrop them in the conversation, which is why Adele wonders this.)

Suddenly, Boo transformed back into his usual form, unable to hold his disguise any longer. Simon and Cedric immediately discovered them and called for security. Jerome gave Brook the emergency signal and moments later, flares were sent up from a nearby building. Adele immediately grabbed Jerome and jumped out the window to the opposite rooftop. Jerome, flustered at being carried bridal-style by Adele, told her to put him down. At his insistence, Adele put him down, but ordered him to stay behind her at all times. Adele then fought her way past the guards, escorting Jerome safely to a faraway rooftop. Suddenly, she felt faint and passed out, as though she had returned back to the Void.

Some time later, she awoke on a boat with Jerome, who explained that he had snuck past the guards while carrying her and sailed away. Adele was dazed, wondering if her time in Ristonia had been an illusion, and whether she was still trapped in the Void. Jerome asked Adele what she was thinking and told her that she sometimes seemed as though she were a thousand miles away, as though he and everything else weren’t real. However, he insisted that he was real and told her that though he knew that it was hard for her to have awoken centuries after her time, he would still be there for her and added that she was always free to make a home in Ristonia.

He then laughed and asked if he was being too sentimental, though he assured her that though she carried a large weight on her shoulders, she was not alone. His words caused Adele to smile for the first time since they had met, and Jerome told her that he hoped that she would have more to smile about in the future. (A/N: Get yourself someone who looks at you the way that Adele and Jerome look at each other.)

A few days later, Brook and Laddie returned to the hideout and told Jerome that they had been unable to find the key. However, they did find a strange article in the newspaper about the arts festival, in which Cedric had revealed in an interview that he had discovered a work that would reveal shocking secrets from the kingdom’s past. Knowing that Cedric planned to sell the key, Jerome vowed to stop him. Brook and Laddie told them that they had managed to obtain a pair of invitations to the festival and explained that it was a masquerade ball.

While they prepared to infiltrate the event, Cedric marveled at the thought of the legendary knight being in his home to Simon. He concluded that Adele was being forced to aid Jerome, whom he called a ruffian. Simon, however, told Cedric that he had personally investigated Jerome and discovered that he was the last prince of Ristonia. Cedric was taken aback, as he believed that there was no one left with blood ties to the throne. Realizing that Jerome would likely try to steal his crown, Cedric told Simon to hasten his efforts in finding the key.

On the day of the arts festival, Jerome, Boo, and Adele made their way to Cedric’s residence. Adele was feeling distracted by her earlier vision of the Void, terrified at the thought of her reality being stripped away at any time. However, she forced herself to focus, telling herself that after their mission, her duty as a knight would end, and she and Jerome would go their separate ways. Just then, Boo flew away on his own. Jerome explained that Boo usually did whatever he wanted and told Adele that he needed to meet up with Brook and Laddie in order to ensure that the preparations were complete. He handed Adele a mask and told her to enjoy herself in the meantime.

Adele made her way into Cedric’s residence and examined the art pieces. She encountered a knight’s token and read that it was identical to the pendants presented to the knights who had defended the previous God-King centuries ago, modeled after the Einherjar, the gate to the royal palace. (A/N: In Norse mythology, the einherjar are the warriors who’ve died and gone to Valhalla, where they prepare for Ragnarok, the end of the world.)

Suddenly, Adele was consumed by one of her previous memories. She recalled her knighting ceremony, in which the God-King had presented a token to each of the knights, and Adele noted that he appeared to be a strong-willed but benevolent ruler. The God-King had then told them that above all else, he entrusted them with the protection of the Einherjar. Adele also recalled thinking how, though she and the other knights had sworn to give their lives to the God-King, their oath would be broken on the field of battle. Adele noted that the plaque read that the man in her memory was the previous God-King and wondered if that meant that he had passed away.

She then realized that the masquerade was about to start and went to wait for Jerome in the ballroom. Soon after, a masked Jerome approached her and asked for a dance, explaining that they needed to blend in. Though Adele told him that she didn’t dance, Jerome laughed that he would teach her and pulled her to the dance floor. Seeing Jerome dressed up made Adele admit to herself that he was rather dashing, and that it was hard to believe that he was the same naive boy whom she had been following around.

(A/N: For male Adeles, Jerome won’t insist on dancing after Adele replies that he doesn’t dance, instead settling for making small talk in order to try and blend in. I will never forgive Nexon for not allowing male Adeles to dance with Jerome, especially when male Adeles will still check Jerome out and call him dashing anyways.)

As they danced, Jerome told Adele that he had been meaning to tell her something about his family. Just then, Adele was pulled away by a masked Veronica. Though Adele was unable to remember her, Veronica clearly made it known that she remembered Adele, mocking her for her memory troubles from her imprisonment in the Void. Adele demanded to know who she was, but Veronica told her that it wouldn’t be fun to simply give away the answer.

Adele threatened her, claiming that she could strike her down in an instant, but Veronica merely mocked Adele for always thinking with her sword, asking if she really planned to attack her in front of a crowd. She told Adele that there was no point in fighting with her in her weakened state, and that the next time they met, she wanted Adele to have recovered her full strength. With that, she vanished into the crowd.

(A/N: Veronica dances very sensually with Adele in this scene and it really makes me believe that she has romantic feelings for her, especially given how aggressive she gets when it comes to Adele. Adele is probably clueless and wonders why Veronica behaves so spitefully towards her, unaware of the fact that Veronica is just a salty lesbian.)

Just then, Cedric announced that the exhibit presentation would begin momentarily. Jerome told Adele that when the lights went out, they needed to grab the key and escape. Brook and Laddie cut the lights and Jerome rushed to the stage in order to grab the key. However, he realized that behind the curtain wasn’t a key, but a painting of his father, the last king of Ristonia.

Worried about the lack of signal, Adele decided to pull Jerome out. Suddenly, the Count’s guards surrounded the two and put metal shackles on their wrists. After Cedric told the guards to take them away, the lights came back on and Cedric revealed the painting, explaining that it depicted the folly of the late royal family, which he claimed had driven the kingdom to financial ruin.

Back in the Count’s room, the guards tied up Jerome and Adele before leaving. Adele asked Jerome why he hadn’t told her about his true identity, to which Jerome explained that it would have complicated matters, and that it wasn’t a title that he was proud of either. He apologized for dragging her into his mess and told her to escape when the first opportunity presented itself, even if it meant leaving him behind. Just then, Cedric and Simon arrived. Cedric told Adele that he was freeing her from Jerome’s clutches, but Adele told him that she would never serve as his knight. Irritated, Cedric had Simon take Jerome away.

Meanwhile, Boo snuck past the guards and arrived to free Adele by turning himself into a key. Adele then broke through the window and climbed out from the Count’s residence. Adele followed Boo on the trail to Jerome when Boo suddenly stopped at the fountain. Adele then heard a voice coming from the knight statue, telling her to rekindle the flames of her oath. (A/N: I have strong suspicions that the voice belongs to the Ancient God that they’re trying to revive in Ristonia.)

Adele was then consumed by yet another memory, one of a fierce battle between the Knights of the Einherjar, with half defending the gate and half attempting to break through. As the defenders faltered before the enemy’s might, Adele recalled herself denouncing the enemy for betraying all that the knights stood for. Upon regaining consciousness, Adele felt power flooding into her, granting her new strength. She wondered whether the memory meant that she had failed to protect the God-King and vowed not to fail Jerome in the same way. As the glow of the statue faded, a strand of light slipped from her closed palm and charted a winding course to the north.

Meanwhile at the old keep, Cedric was attempting to obtain the key to awakening the Ancient God. Realizing that it could only be activated by one with direct royal lineage, he forced Jerome to open the grate that hid the key. Back in the town, Adele met up with Brook, Laddie, and the rest of the Uprising. They told Adele that the Count had taken Jerome to the old keep and Adele immediately rushed to free him. Along with Boo, she fought her way up the tower past the guards. As Cedric approached Jerome to execute him, Jerome silently pleaded for Adele to rescue him, just as he had first wished at the fountain.

Sure enough, Adele reached the belltower, where she declared that she had come to fulfill her oath to her liege, Jerome, the last prince and rightful heir of Ristonia. Cedric dragged Jerome to the top of the spire, leaving Simon to deal with Adele. After a surprisingly longer battle than expected, Adele managed to defeat Simon and rushed after Cedric. On the ground, the Uprising succeeded in defeating Cedric’s guards.

Just as Adele advanced on Cedric, she felt the Void pulling at her once again, causing her to collapse. Cedric was impressed by Simon for having weakened a legendary knight and told her that once he delivered the key to the High Flora, his throne would be safe at last. He then threw Jerome over the edge of the spire and walked away. With the last of her strength, Adele jumped after Jerome and grabbed onto him, barely floating in midair with her burnt wings.

(A/N: One thing that I really don’t like about the Flora classes is that all of them have lost their wings, except for Illium. I know that it’s probably to make him feel unique, but it’s getting to feel really contrived for Nexon to keep making excuses about why literally every playable Flora class other than Illium can’t use the one feature that they’re known for, especially because Flora wings are so nice to look at. I feel the same way about Cadena and Kain as well.

One of the best parts of shifting the story focus to Grandis is that we can explore unique non-human races. Making non-human classes change their features to look human just for the sake of simpler character designs, or whatever the reason is, makes it feel like we’re losing out on one of the main selling points of Grandis instead of just keeping the focus on Maple World, especially since there are still so many unexplored story threads left to cover there. I would absolutely kill for some Flora wings as Cash Shop capes with customizable colors.)

Jerome told Adele that even though he had told her to save herself, he was glad that she had come back for him. Suddenly, fireworks began to burst in midair. Jerome laughed at Adele, who thought that they were under attack, and explained what they were. Looking at Jerome’s smile, Adele realized that she never used to smile before she had met him, and she felt that being with him gave her hope that even someone like herself was worthy of happiness. (A/N: If I die, I want it written on my grave that it was because of how cute these two are.)

A few days later, Cedric crawled his way towards the fountain square, where High Flora soldiers awaited him. Cedric lamented his fall from power after having squandered all of his fortune on the arts festival and hoped that with the key, he would be able to clear his massive debts and return to the throne. At the sight of Veronica approaching, Cedric marveled at her beauty, believing that it rivalled his own. Unimpressed, Veronica demanded that he hand over the key to her immediately.

Cedric opened the box containing the key, but to his shock, it was actually Boo, who had taken the form of the key. As Boo flew away, Cedric pleaded to be given a few more days to set things right, but Veronica ordered her soldiers to take Cedric away. Just then, Simon approached and told Veronica that she could do with Cedric as she saw fit, as he was unable to protect him any longer. Veronica then tasked Simon with recovering the key, telling him not to fail as Cedric had. (A/N: Simon 100% deserved this promotion after all he had to deal with from Cedric.)

Some time later, Adele and Jerome arrived at the fountain square, where they found a newly-built monument. Jerome explained that it was called “The Heroes of the People”, funded by the people of Ristonia after hearing how the Uprising had stood up to the Count. Adele asked what had happened to the real key, to which Jerome explained that he had pickpocketed Cedric while he had been talking. He told her that he planned to take the key far away from Ristonia in order to keep it out of the wrong hands, adding that they could say their goodbyes after the Uprising’s celebration.

Back at the hideout, Jerome’s comrades reported that they had successfully redistributed the riches of the nobles who had deserted town. Brook and Laddie asked Jerome to take them with him, but Jerome told them that they needed to stay behind and lead the Uprising in his absence. He then asked them to give Adele the results of their investigation. The documents which they had discovered detailed the races of Grandis, as well as information on the Transcendents. It also listed that Gerand Darmoor was currently the reigning God-King of the High Flora. Adele realized that he must have been the successor of the old God-King whom she had once served, but she couldn’t recall having ever heard of him.

(A/N: This part is interesting because it doesn’t make sense that Adele has never heard of Darmoor when he was the Prince of the High Flora. Even a commoner would have known that Darmoor was the God-King’s son. What’s also interesting is that she doesn’t recognize his family name either. This is assuming that surnames are passed down in Flora culture the same way as they are in human culture, meaning that she should have recognized the connection between the two that way.

This means that either surnames aren’t passed down in Flora culture or Darmoor is a chosen surname, maybe something that he gave himself after ascending the throne. I guess that the other explanation is that she hasn’t regained her memories of Darmoor at this point, but I’m really hoping that it isn’t the case because it feels way too contrived that every class who’s ever met Darmoor in the game, such as Ark and Adele, has conveniently lost their memories of him in order to keep them just as in the dark about him as all the other classes.

Also, this isn’t strictly related, but something interesting to note is that every record in the game has continued to refer to Darmoor as the Prince of the High Flora throughout the Flora Civil War, even though he killed his father centuries before its end. As it’s too consistent to be a continuity error, it’s likely that Darmoor wasn’t officially crowned as the new God-King until the end of the Flora Civil War.)

Reading about the Flora Civil War, Adele wondered if the battles that she had witnessed in her memories had been part of the war. (A/N: It’s actually the battle that took place right before the old God-King was killed. You could technically consider it to be a part of the Flora Civil War if you consider it to be the first battle, rather than the battle that incited the war.) She also read about the Interdimensional Portals, details about Maple World and the Black Mage, and rumors of children with pointy ears and wings having recently been sighted in Pantheon.

She also read about the Knights of the Einherjar, who were said to have protected the seat of the God-King, though the practice had ended with the reign of the last God-King. It also mentioned that the Knights had vanished when most of them had been killed in the same insurrection that had resulted in the death of the God-King.

Adele hoped to learn more about her past by looking into the fates of the Knights of the Einherjar. She was able to recall that she had once been a knight, and that she had fought in the Flora Civil War before being sealed away. (A/N: Again, she’s only technically correct about this if you consider the murder of the God-King to be part of the Flora Civil War, rather than simply its catalyst.)

After absorbing the information that she had read, Adele told Jerome that she planned to head to Maple World in order to seek more information about her past. Jerome was sad that they wouldn’t see more of each other, but he told her that he was going on his mission alone because his time with he had taught him that he needed to learn how to fend for himself if he hoped to ascend the throne. He also told her that Brook and Laddie had connections both within and beyond Ristonia that would help her in her search for her lost memories. He asked her to keep the knight’s token that he had given her, telling her that he would ask her to serve as his knight when he was ready to be king.

After saying their goodbyes, Adele headed to the town square in order to seek Torbil, who could transport her to Savage Terminal, which was her stop on the way to Pantheon. Keeping in mind that Brook and Laddie had warned her that Pantheon was hostile towards the Flora, she arrived outside the Protective Shield, where Nova soldiers immediately surrounded her. Cartalion, Beldar, and Fenelle arrived to meet her and demanded to know her purpose. Adele told them that she had come to use the Interdimensional Portal, but Cartalion and Beldar believed that she had an ulterior motive.

Fenelle then requested to speak with Adele alone and escorted her to the Great Temple. There, she asked Adele once again why she had come to Pantheon. Adele explained that there was something in the other dimension that she needed. To her surprise, Fenelle asked if she was searching for her past and recited a prophecy made several days ago, “A knight will emerge from the dark, and with the light as their compass, make their way to the sanctuary of the dragon.” Adele admitted that she had been locked away in the Void for countless years until she had woken up recently in Ristonia, explaining the broad strokes of her adventures there.

Fenelle apologized for further delaying her journey and asked to see if Adele’s heart was filled with good intention. Fenelle sensed that Adele had a noble heart, perhaps relentless in the face of injustice, but one that would never harm the innocent. She then gave Adele permission to enter the Interdimensional Portal, instructing her to meet with Athena Pierce.

Before she left, Adele asked if anyone else from Grandis had already traveled through the portal. Fenelle cryptically replied that she would discover the answer on her own in due time. After arriving in Maple World, Adele headed to Henesys and met with Athena Pierce, who encouraged her to help the people around her while adventuring. (A/N: As always, she gives the four basic theme dungeon requests.)

Some time later, Adele received a letter from Fenelle, who wrote that while the Nova had been investigating Adele, they had also discovered an old item in their possession which was connected to the prior God-King. She also wrote that she had asked Angelic Buster to deliver the item to her. Adele went to the Heliseum Hideout in Pantheon, where she met Angelic Buster.

After introducing herself, Angelic Buster warned that though she was unsure whether Adele used to work for Gerand Darmoor, she would need to choose a side after recovering her memories and recommended that she pick the Nova over Darmoor. She also told Adele that her people had been brutally massacred by Darmoor, and that anyone who served him was her enemy, adding that she hoped that Fenelle wasn’t wrong about Adele. With that, she delivered the item and left. Adele examined the item, a helmet of the Knights of the Einherjar, which triggered a memory. She recalled the night of their knighthood ceremony, in which their captain had explained their responsibilities to protect the Einherjar.

As Adele continued to grow stronger, she soon felt the voice from the knight statue at the fountain square calling out to her. The image of the fountain filled her mind, with the voice commanding her to answer the call. She was flooded with a memory of the last battle between the Knights of the Einherjar, in which Adele defended the Einherjar against an unknown enemy. (A/N: This enemy is Veronica.) Her enemy proclaimed that Adele had been sentenced to death for the crime of defying the God-King, just as Adele called her enemy a traitor. After the memory faded into her mind, new power flooded into Adele, though she wondered whether the memory meant that she had been the one who had betrayed the God-King.

(A/N: Adele’s memories are a bit confusing as you play the storyline, especially since they don’t come back in chronological order. What happens here is that Gerand Darmoor got a faction of the Knights on his side to kill his father and Adele led the rest of the Knights to defend the old God-King. Veronica called her a traitor against the God-King because she considered Darmoor to be the new God-King, whom Adele is betraying by standing against him, which is why both we and Adele get confused about whether she’s betraying the God-King or not.)

Soon after, Athena Pierce reached out to Adele and asked if she would be interested in joining the Maple Alliance. Adele traveled to Ereve and met with Neinheart and Cygnus, who officially welcomed her into the Alliance. Some time later, Adele received a letter from one of her contacts in Maple World, who told her of a Verdant Flora boy who had been sighted in northern Perion. After chasing down rumor after rumor, she finally met the boy, Illium.

Looking at his blue mechanical wings, she was reminded of something from her past, though she couldn’t say what it was. Illium was initially suspicious of Adele, but after she gained his trust, he invited Adele to Sanctuary in order to chat. Illium told her that the High Flora had sent someone to hunt him down, though it didn’t seem like Adele was in league with them, as he doubted that Darmoor would send someone with burned-out magical conduits like hers. However, he wondered why her wings had burned out and why she had come looking for him.

After Adele told him about her adventures and her lost memories, Illium told her that her time serving the old God-King had happened very long ago, and so Ex explained that the God-King whom she had served had been a wise man of excellent character, though he had turned into a tyrant some years into his reign and had led a campaign of domination against the other races. Believing the Flora to be superior to all others, he had decided that it was their duty to ‘fix’ the other races. Adele thought to herself that the God-King she remembered would never have done such a thing, but somehow, she also felt that Ex’s words seemed to be true.

Suddenly, she was consumed by a memory of the God-King giving a speech denouncing the other races as savages, claiming that it was the High Flora’s responsibility to show them the way. Adele remembered the doubt that had seeded the Knights of the Einherjar as he commanded them to lead his armies into battle. Ex told her that the High Flora claimed that the Verdant Flora had murdered the God-King, adding that it was far from the truth. Adele asked who had killed him, to which Ex told her that it was unknown, though the Verdant Flora suspected that Darmoor was involved. Illium added that it was difficult to find out exactly what had truly happened, as none of the records agreed with each other.

(A/N: For example, the Nova were under the impression that Darmoor had been a vocal opponent of the Flora Civil War, and that the Verdant Flora had killed the God-King as revenge for the High Flora tearing out their wings and exiling them. I’m pretty sure that this is revisionism taking place because it feels way too convenient for Nexon to have planned out that these story conflicts were actually deliberate. Most likely, they decided to make it a plot point in order to cover up their continuity issues.)

Illium suspected that the answer lay in Adele’s memory of when the Einherjar had fallen and asked her to tell him what the truth was, as it would clear the name of the Verdant Flora. Adele recalled that she had only remembered red wings, meaning that it had been an internal fight between the High Flora. Illium thanked her for clearing the matter and transported her back to Maple World.

Before he did, however, he warned her that chaos was returning to Grandis. As she would need to pick a side soon, he hoped that they wouldn’t be enemies. After returning back, Adele wondered if Darmoor had planned everything from the beginning, as it was the Flora Civil War that had led to his awakening as the Transcendent of Life. She then wondered what he could possibly have been after that would justify going to such lengths.

Chaser of Darkness:

(A/N: I swear this storyline was confusing as hell when I first did it. I replayed it a couple more times, but it wasn’t until I saw the MSEA translation that it finally began to make sense. This is definitely one of the weaker GMS translations out there.)

On Savage Terminal, in Toolen City, a Drakas Regulator Sergeant warned a group of Biter thugs to vacate from the public facilities that they were illegally occupying. Kudan, the leader of the Biters, refused to comply and ordered his goons to throw a party. Suddenly, the lights went out and Drakas agents arrived to wipe out the Biters. Kudan was the only one who managed to escape, but suddenly, Kain arrived to intercept him. After a skirmish, Kain returned to the other agents’ location. Just then, he was contacted by Luska, the boss of the Drakas. She congratulated him on his work and invited him to dinner.

One year later, Kain had a psychiatric appointment with Dr. Y. Dr. Y asked him to rate his condition on a scale from 1 to 10, to which Kain replied with an 8. When asked how he felt about his work, Kain answered that though he didn’t enjoy it, he didn’t hate it enough to quit, admitting that there were moments that he sometimes did enjoy. Dr. Y then asked if Kain had any flashbacks from before he had begun his time with the Drakas. Reluctantly, Kain answered that he did. Just then, a signal beeped to summon Kain. Dr. Y told Kain that he didn’t want to keep him from his work, adding that vestigial memories were a common occurrence amongst members.

(A/N: The Drakas take away the memories of their members and force them to work in order to get them back. Drakas agents also get a choker placed on them that tracks their location in order to stop them from deserting. Despite it feeling like every class loses their memories, it’s really only Aran, Xenon, Kain, Ark, and Adele, unless you count everyone in the universe when it comes to Shade.)

After leaving, Kain met with the Regulator Sergeant, who told him that several criminals had escaped from detention and ordered him to recapture them. Outside, Kain met with a Regulator, who explained that he had been instructed to give Kain a Malice Stone. Kain crushed the Malice Stone in his hand, flooding him with familiar power, which he thought was strange, since it was his first time using one. The Regulator explained that Malice had three main characteristics: enhancing one’s physical traits, bonding them with darkness, and loading their weapons. With that, Kain subdued the Biters in the area, thus granting him 10 points by the company.

Just then, two Drakas agents, Illin and Vias, arrived to rendezvous with Kain. The Regulator then tasked him with stopping several of the fugitives who were heading for the rooftop. Illin and Vias told Kain that they would finish up on the ground so that he could go on ahead. On the rooftop, Kain was surprised to see two chameleon Anima children, Romina and Royce. At the sight of the siblings, he had a flashback of his younger self hugging an older girl on the beach. Kain then realized that he couldn’t bring himself to complete his mission. (A/N: The scene ends here because Kain loses his memory of what happens next, but he basically just hides them in his locker.)

The next day, Kain sat at the company bar, where the Regulator Sergeant asked him how his dinner with the boss had gone. Just then, Illin and Vias arrived and asked what kind of food he had. Kain explained that it had been a rare dish from out of town, though he didn’t remember how it tasted, as he couldn’t even recall taking a bite due to the awkward tension. He then realized that Luska hadn’t had any particular business to discuss with him and wondered why she had called him in the first place.

Just then, a group of new Drakas agents arrived and a Regulator explained to them that because they had defaulted on their debts, the company had extracted their memories as collateral until their contracts were fulfilled by serving as agents. A mission then came in for Kain, ordering him to subdue the new members as part of their initiation process, with a reward of 20 points.

After Kain defeated the new members, another member named Tirag arrived to goad Kain about why he worked so hard when he could settle into the company like himself. Kain told Tirag that he planned on leaving the Drakas, but Tirag mocked Kain’s belief that he could leave and pointed out that if the company was ruthless enough to steal its members’ memories in order to turn them into living weapons, then there was no way that they would ever let those weapons go.

After Tirag left, Kain went to pick up his gear from his locker, where he was surprised to see the two Chameleon Siblings hiding inside. Kain wondered how the girl was wearing his uniform when he was sure that he had been wearing it the day before. Just then, the Regulator Sergeant arrived to give him his next assignment. As they headed outside, Kain wondered whether he ought to report the siblings, but once again, he found that he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Outside, he regrouped with the other agents and the Regulator Sergeant explained that their objective was to capture the two Anima children, adding that he had given them clearance to question the citizens. Kain was surprised by their mission, but Illin reminded him of the briefing earlier, which had explained how the children had vanished off the roof while Kain had been chasing them the night before. Vias wondered why so many agents were being mobilized for the mission when the children were simple pickpockets, but the Regulator Sergeant explained that the siblings had allegedly stolen an important item from the base, and that the children had allowed themselves to be arrested in order to infiltrate the base in the first place.

Knowing that the siblings weren’t in the city, Kain pretended to interrogate the Biters by beating the information out of them. He then encountered a suspicious crow and decided to interrogate him. (A/N: The crow is the same species as Corbo and Detective Rave from Savage Terminal.) However, the crow revealed that he had a Malice Stone and crushed it, allowing him to escape. Kain then found a notebook that the crow had dropped, which contained detailed notes on Malice Stones. The notes indicated that Malice Stones were produced within the Drakas’ headquarters, and that Dr. Y had made a reference to the original.

Just then, an old woman named Amos arrived and told Kain that she would treat his injuries, calling it a gesture of thanks to the Drakas for protecting the town. Back at her shop, Amos told Kain that she knew that he was looking for the Chameleon Siblings. She explained that the siblings were thieves for hire, and that they occasionally worked with the Biters in exchange for food. Amos asked Kain to go easy on them, as they were just hungry orphans. Just then, the Regulator Sergeant arrived and asked Kain why he had left his designated search zone. Thinking quickly, Kain showed him the notebook and explained that he was chasing a lead. The Sergeant then ordered Kain to return to headquarters.

When Kain returned, he found Tirag rummaging through his locker. Tirag chastised Kain for keeping perishable foods inside his locker, and when Kain looked inside and found a half-eaten dumpling, he realized that the Chameleon Siblings had likely been eating there before they had escaped. Tirag then told Kain that he wanted to go over something, explaining that mainland Grandis was in the middle of a war. He then insinuated that they may be able to seize control of the Drakas and use the Malice Stones to profit off the conflict. However, Kain cut him off and told him to stop running his mouth, making it clear that he was uninterested in Tirag’s plan to overthrow Luska.

Irritated, Tirag told Kain that the boss wanted to see him after he finished being treated. Kain then told Tirag that he had already turned in the notebook, in case that was what Tirag had been rummaging through his locker for. An angry Tirag told Kain that if he was planning to get on Luska’s good side in order to leave the company, it wouldn’t work, adding that there was a good chance that she could have taken their memories any number of times after their initial memory wipe, likening them to her personal puppet show.

After Tirag stormed off, Kain went to see Luska in her suite, where she interrogated him about the children, as he was the last one to have seen them on the rooftop the night before. Kain reported that he had handed them over to the other Drakas, which was likely when they had escaped. She asked if he knew what they had stolen, but Kain told her that he knew nothing about it. Regarding the notebook, Kain explained that he had chased a suspicious crow using Malice, but that he didn’t know what was in the notebook that the crow had dropped.

Just then, a Regulator arrived to report a new development. Luska dismissed Kain, but he stayed nevertheless in order to ask why she had invited him to dinner the other night. Luska told him that it hadn’t been for any particular reason, but after hesitating, she told him that she had happened to take an interest in his story. She then asked Kain if he still planned on going home after his contract ended, which Kain confirmed, explaining that he was looking for something. The boss simply told him that she hoped that he found the person in his memories.

Kain then went to his locker, where he found the Chameleon Siblings hiding once again. He asked them if he had been the one who had hidden them the night before, but suddenly, he had an epiphany about what Luska had said to him about finding the person in his memories. He realized that though he had told the Drakas about where his memories had taken place, he had never told anyone about the person in them. He began growing suspicious of Luska and wondered what else she knew about his memories. He also realized that the Drakas had likely taken his memories of the night before, which was why he couldn’t remember anything about it.

Kain then told the siblings that he knew that they had returned for a purpose and struck a deal with them. In exchange for them disabling security, he offered to help them with their mission. Romina asked why he needed their help, as Drakas agents already knew how to hide in the shadows. Kain showed them his choker and explained that it would trigger an alarm if he went into any restricted areas. Just then, guard robots arrived in order to stop them. While the siblings worked on disabling the alarm system, Kain held off the guard robots. As they moved deeper into the facility, Kain asked what their target was. Romina explained that they were searching for the original Malice Stone, which the Drakas had copied in order to make all the others.

Kain then asked what they had stolen the night before, to which Romina explained that they had stolen a memory of someone eating food with a serious-looking woman. Kain realized that it was his own memory of his dinner with the boss. Romina explained that they had brought the memory to Kudan, who had rewarded them with food. They pressed on into Dr. Y’s room, where they found his research notes. Just then, Kain took the notes from them and ordered them to run from the arriving security force. He also told them to let Kudan know that he was willing to trade the research notes in exchange for his memory.

As Kain and the siblings escaped, Drakas agents stormed the laboratory. The Regulator Sergeant reported that all signs pointed to a Drakas agent being the culprit based on the number of robots taken out, but as the security system had been reformatted, it would be difficult to find the perpetrator. However, Tirag pointed out that if the culprit was amongst them, they would have been the last one to arrive, meaning that they merely needed to check the arrival time logs. He also added that the perpetrator was likely the same person who had leaked information on the Malice Stones, smirking knowingly at Kain. Just then, Luska arrived and explained that she had been the last to arrive, challenging anyone to accuse her of being the culprit.

One of the Regulators explained that a key card had disappeared from her room, and that they assumed that the culprit had used it to disable the security system. They then ordered everyone to remain still while they were searched, but the boss told him that there was no need and swung her sword at Guyu, one of Tirag’s accomplices. As Guyu fell, several Malice Stones fell from his pocket. Tirag was furious that Guyu had foolishly held onto the stones, as he had planned to implicate Kain as the information leaker as revenge for his refusing to join his rebellion. Kain immediately moved to ‘search’ Guyu and used the opportunity to plant the card key on him, which he then revealed to the others after he completed his ‘search’.

After the Regulators took Guyu away for interrogation, Tirag met with Illin and Vias, who had both agreed to join his uprising, and seethed how Kain had managed to get away once again. Vias told him that there was no time to worry about Kain, as they themselves were in danger of being eliminated. Vias added that the boss’s actions were likely a warning to deter them. Tirag then asked what had happened to the crow who had dropped the notebook, to which Vias assured him that they had taken care of him. (A/N: The implication here is that they had asked the crow to steal the notebook, but Kain’s interference had resulted in the notebook being dropped, which created a loose end for them.)

Illin protested that the boss was still likely to kill them, even without evidence, but Tirag then revealed that he had seen a choker around her neck when she had swung her sword at Guyu, meaning that she was a prisoner of the Drakas as much as they were. Back in her suite, Luska told the Regulator not to report the incident to upper management, even as the Regulator protested that there would no way to resolve the matter until Dr. Y returned a few days later to restore the security system. He told her that their priority should be to discard the experiment subject and move on to the next phase, but Luska merely ordered him to report that the project was proceeding smoothly.

Some time later, Kain arrived at Amos’ shop in order to ask her about the Chameleon Siblings’ whereabouts, as well as who Kudan was. Amos told him that the siblings worked for Kudan, who was building up a gang on the west side due to his grudge against the Drakas. Because the fog was so thick on the west side that it made breathing difficult, she told him that the only people who would live there were those who wanted to hide from the Drakas.

Kain then found the Chameleon Siblings outside Kudan’s hideout, as they weren’t being allowed to enter without the notes that Kain had taken from them. As they attempted to go inside, the guards refused to let a Drakas enter, and so Kain defeated the Biters in order to force his way inside. There, he found a large board with several notes and photos, including one of a large black dragon. Just then, Kudan arrived and recognized Kain as the one who had defeated him a year ago. Kain asked what the board was, to which Kudan explained that he had been researching Malice over the last year.

Kudan told Kain about the Ancient God, Satiras the Devil Dragon, whom a cult of Nova called the Black Nova had worshipped in exchange for the power of Malice. With their command over Malice, the Black Nova had once ruled all of Grandis through fear. However, after the fall of the Ancient Gods, the Black Nova had lost the power of Malice, causing them to be hunted down by the other races of Grandis whom they had once enslaved. The cultists had then begun the practice of cutting off their horns, tails, and wings in order to prevent themselves as being identified as Black Nova. Kudan also explained that without the Black Nova, Malice had disappeared from the world until someone had uncovered it and began to distribute it to the Drakas.

Kain asked what Kudan wanted, to which he explained that he wanted to become a dragon, metaphorically speaking, clarifying that he wanted to rule the city and command respect in the same way as the Black Nova and the Drakas. He then asked Kain for his payment, but he was irritated when Kain produced research notes, rather than the original Malice Stone. However, he asked if there was any information about how to extract memories, as he would need a means of controlling his men once he gained the power of Malice.

When Kain asked why he would want to use the same techniques as his enemies, Kudan mocked Kain by noting that he was proof that the methodology worked, claiming that it had taken away not only Kain’s memories, but even his anger. As Kain raised his weapon in clear anger, Kudan showed him the Memory Stone containing his memories and threatened to drop it if Kain didn’t behave.

Just as they prepared to swap the notes for the Memory Stone, a Drakas sting arrived to ambush them. Assuming that Kain had double-crossed him, Kudan kidnapped Royce and escaped. Romina begged Kain to save her brother and Kain reluctantly chased after Kudan by fighting past his guards. However, he discovered that Kudan had already been defeated by the Drakas. The Regulator then confirmed that ‘the original’ was safe and reported that they would prepare the reset protocol upon return. Suddenly, Tirag arrived and shot the Regulator, causing him to drop the Memory Stone. As it shattered, the memory of Kain’s dinner with the boss flooded into everyone’s minds.

In the memory, Luska was explaining her trick to keeping order amongst the Drakas by making them believe that they would be able to fulfill their contract after a year or so before she would wipe their memories again. A Regulator pointed out that it was already the sixth cycle that she had put the agents through and asked how many times she intended on repeating it. The boss replied that she would continue until the research was done, but the Regulator told her that sooner or later, Kain or one of the others would learn what she had done to them.

Luska simply replied that she would wipe their memories again, claiming that they were better off with the Drakas than they would be anywhere else. Revealing that she had fabricated memories for all the Drakas agents, Luska explained that she had done them a favor by giving them a dream to look forward to, which was more than what most people got. At the dinner table, Dr. Y approached Kain to extract his memories into the Memory Stone, just as Luska wished him a happy birthday.

Back in the city, all the Drakas realized that the boss had not only lied about giving them back their memories, but she had also given them flashes of false memories in order to motivate them. Furious, Tirag rallied the rest of the Drakas agents into confronting the boss about her actions. Meanwhile, Romina told Kain that Royce had been severely injured in the Drakas sting and begged Kain to save his life. He took them to Amos, who managed to save Royce from dying.

After confirming that Royce would live, Kain set off to regain his memories, but he was stopped by Romina, who begged him to stay, believing that he would get hurt without any Malice Stones. Amos then revealed that after going through the research notes, she had realized that Kain didn’t need a Malice Stone because he himself was the original template that Kudan was searching for.

Kain then recalled how the Regulator had said that the original template was safe before being shot and realized that he had been referring to Kain. He also realized that it was likely the reason why the boss had protected him and fabricated his memories. Suddenly, he had a moment of clarity, with the memory that he had recalled of himself being hugged by an older girl on the beach transforming into her hugging him amidst a burning village surrounded by soldiers. Along with his memory, the original Malice within him awoke. As Kain rushed to go after the boss, he felt pure hatred within his chest, though unlike before, it felt measured and focused.

At the Drakas headquarters, the insurrectionists began taking control of the building. As the Regulator Sergeant called for reinforcements, Tirag told him to surrender and explained that they wanted to overthrow the boss and replace her. Suddenly, a screen flashed and showed that the insurrectionists had seized control of the operations room and placed bounties on both Kain and Luska. As Tirag began to lead Vias and Illin to the boss’s room, Illin refused and claimed that Tirag only cared about being on top. Tirag told her that she could leave, but that her choker would stay on her for the rest of her life.

After Illin left, Tirag told Vias to become the new leader, as he was satisfied with merely being the muscle. Soon after they left, Kain arrived at the lobby, where the Regulator Sergeant advised him to retreat before the Drakas learned that he was there. Just then, several Drakas arrived and attempted to capture him for his bounty. Kain defeated them all and asked where the boss was. The Sergeant told him that she was on the top floor, though he warned that both her forces and Tirag’s insurrectionists would be after him.

On his way up, he ran into Illin, who told him that she had quit because she had learned that Tirag was planning to continue holding onto their memories in order to hold them hostage. She told him that all she wanted was to recover her memories and remove her choker. She then showed him a Regulator’s key card and explained that she was too weak to make it to the Medical Office where her memories were, and so she proposed an alliance with Kain so that they could both get their memories back. After fighting their way through the hall, they discovered that the door to the office was already open. Illin recovered her memories, but Kain only found a note from the boss that said, “If you want your memories back, come to me.”

As Kain rushed to the top floor, the boss held off the insurrectionists and managed to defeat Vias as well. Tirag then approached Luska and asked why she was on the roof. After she told him that she was waiting for someone, Tirag realized that she was waiting for Kain and concluded that he was the original template. He told her that she had gone soft on Kain, as she had continued allowing him to break countless rules, even when she had killed many others for far less. Just then, reinforcements arrived to capture Luska, who easily defeated them and Tirag.

Kain then arrived on the rooftop and Luska led him into her suite. Though Kain fought as hard as he could, Luska easily managed to subdue him. However, she soon collapsed and Kain realized that not only had she been severely injured since the rooftop fight, but she had still managed to defeat both him and the insurrectionists in her weakened state.

As he took back his Memory Stone, Luska asked him what he would do once he got his memories, to which Kain told her that he would go after the girl in his memories. She warned him that his memories were horrifying, and that even he wouldn’t know how to deal with them. However, Kain replied that they were nevertheless still his to remember. As his memories flooded back, he recognized the girl as his sister and realized that the hairpin that she wore was the same one that the boss wore, meaning that Luska was actually his sister.

Horrified, he asked Luska why she had enslaved him and the other Drakas. She explained that it was the only way that they could have lived. Kain then recalled the memory of themselves in the burning village, surrounded by soldiers. In his memory, Luska had begged the soldiers that they would do anything in order to be spared, to which a man with long, shaggy hair had given them two chokers. (A/N: This man is actually Dr. Y, and the implication is that he enslaved Luska and Kain into working for the Drakas, likely to gain the power of Malice inside the siblings.) As Kain hugged his sister in the suite, she told him to live freely with her dying breath, having been fatally wounded in the battle against Tirag’s forces. As she passed away, both their chokers fell off.

Kain then made his way back to Amos, where he told her that he planned on traveling the world in order to give context to his memories, which would hopefully help him regain the rest that were still foggy. He asked the Chameleon Siblings what they planned to do, to which they explained that they wanted to stay with Amos. Amos added that with the money that Kain had given them, they wouldn’t need to steal again. He then began to ask one more request of Amos, but she anticipated his question and explained that she had already convinced the community council to lay Luska to rest. With that, Kain took a boat to leave Toolen City and headed towards the nearby refugee camp. (A/N: The main city of Savage Terminal is revealed to be a refugee camp created by people who left Toolen City.)

Meanwhile, back at the hideout, a Regulator and Dr. Y approached Luska, who was still barely alive. The Regulator asked Dr. Y whether he would be able to extract death, to which Dr. Y explained that while he could extract memories or Malice or anything else, extracting death itself would be too much for him. Nevertheless, Dr. Y extracted something from Luska, allowing him to resurrect her.

(A/N: Dr. Y is highly likely to be an Apostle of Gerand Darmoor, especially given this seemingly OP power to simulate extracting death. Bringing someone back to life seems like something that Darmoor would be able to do as the Transcendent of Life, and so it might be that he gave Dr. Y the power to extract abstract concepts like death or memories. Dr. Y’s power to resurrect the dead seems to be a lot stronger than Hilla’s abilities. Whereas Hilla could only summon skeletons and spirits, even in her strongest form as Verus Hilla, Dr. Y can restore someone to perfect condition in their original bodies.)

Kain soon arrived at Savage Terminal and, following Amos’ instructions, he started searching for Coney. Soon after, he encountered a group of Market Hoodlums holding Coney hostage, as they had learned that Kain would be arriving after intercepting Amos’ letter to Coney. Kain managed to defeat all the Hoodlums, just as Cadena arrived to rescue Coney. Kain immediately felt a strange sense of kinship with Cadena when he saw her. (A/N: This is likely because they’re both Nova who removed their Nova features.)

Cadena took him to the Shadowdealers’ hideout and introduced him to Gen, who recognized Kain as the master Drakas, clarifying that by ‘master’, he meant that Kain was the last of the Drakas, and though Gen wondered whether he ought to get involved in the matter, he explained that he had promised Amos that he would help Kain. Kain told him that he was looking to travel, and so Gen recommended that he go to Pantheon and use the Interdimensional Portal in order to reach Maple World. He also recommended that Kain pick a new name in order to lay low. He also suggested that Kain try to change his speaking style in order to better hide his identity. (A/N: Gen suggests that we switch our name from Kain to our IGN, although future quests reveal that he’s really the only one who tries to get the name to stick, as virtually everyone else keeps calling us Kain.)

Kain then traveled to Pantheon, where the border guards halted him. Beldar and Cartalion greeted him and asked him for his purpose. Kain refrained from mentioning that he was a Black Nova, though he was intrigued to be in the homeland of his ancestors. He explained that he wanted to use the Interdimensional Portal, and so they escorted him to the Great Temple. Kain found himself to be socially awkward, as he was only used to dealing with assassins and criminals.

Just then, Fenelle approached him and, having felt the Malice inside him, recognized him as the descendant of the Black Nova and a disciple of the corrupted dragon. Kain asked if she was going to call the guards, but Fenelle explained that she had no reason to, as she had been waiting for him ever since an oracle had foretold his arrival. She told him that at first, she hadn’t been able to believe that there were any more Black Nova left after the purge. However, she reassured him that their clans’ blood feud had gone away with the Ancient Gods and told him that she believed that no one should have to pay for the actions of their ancestors. She then offered to answer any questions that he had.

When Kain asked about the Black Nova, she told him that she had only read one line in an ancient text that mentioned a Nova clan mesmerized by Satiras the Devil Dragon and his power of Malice, which described Malice as the ruthlessness to stop at nothing for one’s chosen goals. She supposed that Malice existed for a reason, as did all things. In regard to Maple World, she told him that it was a land of adventure, where its people were fighting against their corrupted Transcendent of Light, the Black Mage. With no other questions, Kain made his way to Maple World and sought out Athena Pierce at Fenelle's recommendation, who suggested that he help others around Maple World. (A/N: Same deal as always, she tells you to complete the four theme dungeons from levels 30-60.)

Some time after Kain began his adventures in Maple World, he was contacted by Romina, who told him that Amos wanted to speak with him. Kain returned to Toolen City and visited Amos, who caught him up on the situation in the city. She explained that the community council had taken over security, and that there hadn’t been any major incidents because of them. She also told him that the council had sent people to recover Luska’s body, but that they had discovered that it was missing. Amos explained that she had looked into the matter personally and was able to corroborate their findings. Kain wondered whether the company’s upper management had managed to get her body first.

Amos then gave Kain a note that the council had found in the building. Kain opened the note and found that it was from Illin, who had written to Kain that she knew how to get back to his hometown and asked him to meet her on the rooftop of the Drakas headquarters. Kain went to meet Illin, who noticed that Kain’s choker had come off. She told him that she couldn’t remove hers, meaning that she couldn’t return to her hometown, even though she had fully regained her memories, as she feared that the company would send the Drakas to attack it. She then revealed to Kain that he had written her a note before he had initially lost his memories for the first time.

Kain read the note and found that his past self had written coordinates. Illin told him that she had looked up the coordinates and had discovered that it was some out-of-the-way place by the moons of Grandis, meaning that he would need a ship to fly there. Illin told him that in exchange for the coordinates, she wanted an introduction to the Shadowdealers, whom she hoped could help remove her choker. Kain agreed to put in a good word for her and suggested that she find something valuable to sell them. She assured him that she had a plethora of information for sale. After leaving, Kain felt a sense of relief that he could go back to his home. However, he recalled the memory of his sister pleading for their lives and suddenly, fierce anger, infinite hatred, and murderous intent flooded his body, causing the Malice within him to strengthen.

(A/N: Kain has one of the weakest class stories in my opinion. The most interesting part about his story isn’t even him, it’s Dr. Y and his power to extract abstract concepts like memories or death. Kain is marketed as an edgy hitman and they tell us frequently in the dialogue about how much anger and hatred he feels, but there’s never any moment when we actually get to see that for ourselves. What gets pushed across instead is that he’s emotionally numb and has a soft spot for kids, making his edgy aesthetic just for show. It’s like they forgot that “show, not tell” is one of the most basic rules of good storytelling.

For me, Kain has less of a personality than Explorers, Cygnus Knights, and Resistance classes, which is ironic when they’re the ones who are supposed to be the generic classes. Luska was more of a compelling protagonist for me because of her struggle in keeping Kain safe while also being enslaved by Dr. Y, not to mention that her character design and fighting style in the animated video showing her fight with Kain was really cool and one of my favorite animated cutscenes in the game.)

Some time later, Athena Pierce reached out to Kain and told him about the Maple Alliance, explaining that both the Shadowdealers and Fenelle had strongly recommended him as a candidate. Kain wondered whether she had run a background check on him and realized that it would be helpful to be in touch with people who had that kind of intel. At Athena’s recommendation, he went to Ereve and met with Neinheart and Cygnus, who formally welcomed him into the Alliance.

Innocent Earthseer:

On Narin, a young sheep Anima girl named Lara was walking through the plains when she was stopped by three thugs named Tough-Looking Hyuk, Cheeky Myung, and Licky-lips Yeol, who demanded that she hand over her valuables. (A/N: These names made me viscerally uncomfortable, especially the last one.) She willingly handed over her few coins and a rice ball, making the thugs feel uncomfortable about taking such a pittance from a young girl. However, they noticed a golden bell that she was carrying and told her to give it up. Lara told them that she couldn’t hand it over, as she was on a journey to make the bell ring.

She explained that her village was said to have a purpose that needed to be fulfilled. Some time ago, she had been led by land spirits, whom she called the Mountain Kids, to a building in their village, where she had encountered the bell, along with an inscription that said: “One bright day, this bell will ring… to wash away the Sinners’ wrongs.”

When the elders had discovered that the bell shined for Lara, they had told her that long ago, they had once held trials to find the one with whom the bell would resonate, though they had given up after no one had been able to activate it. However, as the bell shined for Lara, they believed that she was the one who had been prophesized to make the bell ring again and fulfill the village’s purpose.

Meanwhile in Narin Village, a wolf Anima named Gri was stopped by the Magistrate’s guards, who reminded him of his outstanding fees. Suddenly, a Mountain Kid appeared near Gri, who used its presence to warn the guards to back off unless they wanted it to attack, though he knew that the land spirit was harmless. After the guards ran off, Gri noticed that the land spirit was following him, and he was reminded of the last time that he had seen the land spirits with his brother, Gru, when he was younger. (A/N: I really wish that they picked a different name for his brother, I can’t help but picture Gru from Despicable Me whenever they mention him.)

Gri then made his way to the outskirts of town, where he found the three thugs confronting Lara. Seizing the opportunity, he decided to con her into giving up her money by saving her from the thugs. However, the thugs realized what Gri was trying to do, and as they argued over who would get the money, the land spirit appeared before Lara, creating a strange glow that she recognized as being similar to the bell’s warmth. The glow then flooded her with a new understanding of the spirits. As the thugs advanced on Gri, Lara used her new command over the spirits in order to stop the fight.

After the thugs retreated, Lara thanked Gri, who told her that it was just one Anima looking out for another. Lara decided that they were now friends and introduced herself to him. Gri reluctantly reciprocated, wondering to himself when the last time he had ever given his name out was, as most of Narin Village only knew him as ‘street wolf’. Lara asked Gri if he could show her around town, to which Gri agreed, hoping to lower her guard so that he could swindle her.

In town, Lara and Gri encountered a girl named Rami, whose kite had gotten stuck in a tree. To Gri’s annoyance, Lara decided to help Rami and went to collect shoes from Sprout Silkworms in order to throw at the kite. When her plan didn’t work, Gri told her that they would need a ladder. Lara then asked Rami why she was flying a kite, to which Rami explained that she used to fly kites with her mother, who couldn’t remember those moments anymore. Lara reassured Rami that people sometimes forgot the important things in the chaos of life and resolved to find a ladder.

They encountered a man named Silvergrass, who told them that his ladder was in his home, but that he couldn’t go inside because he had lost a brooch which he had gotten for his wife for their wedding anniversary, adding that he couldn’t remember what it looked like either. Though Gri told her that trusting people blindly was foolish, Lara went in search of the brooch and found the carrot-shaped jewelry in the hands of Flower Field Bunnies.

Once again, Gri recalled Gru telling him that it wasn’t bad to put his trust in other people. Lara presented the brooch to Silvergrass, who gave her the ladder in exchange. To Gri’s amazement, Lara bravely climbed the ladder up to the roof, even though she had never climbed one before, as she was confident that Gri would catch her. When Lara slipped, Gri moved to catch her, but wind spirits suddenly appeared and stopped her fall. Lara then gave the kite to Rami, who promised never to get her kite stuck again. In order to help her keep the promise, Gri taught her how to fly a kite properly.

Gri then noticed Lara’s bell and asked her about it. Lara explained that it was her village’s treasure, and that it meant a lot to her, even though the bell didn’t ring. Seeing an opportunity to steal it, Gri offered to take the bell to a man who was good at fixing antiques. Since the man lived in a shady part of town, he offered to take the bell and bring it back to her. To his surprise, Lara readily trusted him and handed the bell over. Gri brought the bell to the sketchy merchant and asked how much the bell was worth.

The merchant used a magic detector, which shattered immediately, indicating that the bell possessed tremendous magical power. He urged Gri to return the bell to its owner, explaining that its pristine condition meant that it was important to them. Recalling Lara’s words about how much the bell meant to her, Gri felt guilty and decided to return it, though he fully expected her to have realized by then that she had been swindled. He returned to find her talking to the Magistrate’s guards, just as he expected, but as he came closer, he was surprised to find that Lara was arguing with the guards, telling them that Gri wasn’t a street wolf like they claimed.

After the guards left, Gri asked why she had handed the bell to him. When Lara explained that she trusted him as a friend, Gri came clean and told her that he had been trying to swindle her, and that he wasn’t a good person. However, Lara told him that if he didn’t believe her, then he ought to believe the spirits, explaining that they rarely approached anyone, let alone followed them, unless they were a good person. She added that though she called them ‘kids’, they knew more than her, especially about people’s energy.

She explained that the spirits were drawn to positive energy, which was like sunlight to them. Though Gri tried arguing that the spirits had made a mistake, Lara cited how he had run to catch her when she had been falling off the ladder, how he had offered to teach Rami how to fly her kite, and how he had come back to return the bell. (A/N: Lara is the greatest idea that Nexon has come up with in years. I’m so tired of all the generic, edgy classes in the game and Lara is like a breath of fresh air in contrast. I absolutely love her innocence and positivity, and her relationship with Gri is adorably cute.)

As Gri wondered himself why he had returned, Lara asked him why he didn’t hide his Anima features, explaining that her grandmother had taught her how to hide them, as they could sometimes scare people. Gri told her that he knew how to hide them, but he added that he didn’t care if people saw, as they already called him ‘street wolf’. Lara then wondered how else they could look into the bell, as the merchant didn’t know anything. Gri told her that the town had an antique shop, though there was a mountain of knickknacks to look through.

They arrived at Granny Dume’s antique shop, where Granny Dume confused Gri for his brother, Gru. She asked him if he was still trying to take back the antique that the Magistrate had stolen, to which Gri reminded her that he wasn’t Gru. While looking around the shop, Lara accidentally broke a bowl. To make up for it, Granny Dume asked them to find a toy that she had bought for her son.

They found the toy amidst the Flower Wing monsters, but Gri noted that the toy was quite old. They returned to the shop, only to find her adult son, Naru, behind the counter. Naru explained that he had asked for the toy when he had been a kid, but his mother had lost it shortly before his birthday. To apologize for the confusion, Naru allowed them to pick anything from the shop, free of charge.

While searching the shop, Lara and Gri encountered sun spirits, who presented a book to Lara. They opened the book, entitled “The History of Mysticants”, which had several pages torn out. From what they could make out, mysticants had been left in the world as a result of an unknown influence. They came in all shapes and sizes, making it difficult for ordinary people to recognize them. According to the authors of the book, mysticants existed independently of their wills.

The bell mysticant, however, had been created by the authors to embody their will and purpose, though the rest of the book was too torn to learn more about it. They also found a note signed from the Merchant Prince of the Back Alleys, who had written that he had borrowed the missing pages. As they left the shop, Gri found it odd that Granny Dume couldn’t remember him, even though she had been able to remember a much more distant memory of her son’s toy.

(A/N: Several other people whom we’d helped in earlier quests also seem to be suffering from unusual gaps in their memory, such as Rami’s mother not remembering that she used to fly kites with her daughter, as well as Silvergrass being unable to recall what his wife’s brooch looked like.)

While walking through town, they encountered the Magistrate, who demanded that Gri pay his dues. As Lara argued with the Magistrate, several river spirits drenched the Magistrate, as well as the contract which he had made with Gri. Furious, the Magistrate ordered his guards to arrest them. As Gri and Lara ran from the guards, a woman named Hannah helped them by hiding them in her studio. Hannah lied to the Magistrate that she hadn’t seen the two, to which the Magistrate reminded her of their agreement, and that, as her art patron, he expected a new painting soon. After he left, Gri and Lara came out and thanked her.

As Lara marveled at her paintings, Hannah invited them to come visit whenever they wanted. After they left, the guards found them once again and the pair spent the next several days running and hiding. During their misadventures, the Magistrate visited Hannah and threatened her to finish her paintings on time. She reminded them of her deal to only use one person per month for her plans, to which the Magistrate grudgingly agreed and left. (A/N: More on this later.)

Soon after, Lara and Gri ran into the three thugs whom they had met at the outskirts of town, who pledged their loyalty to them, recognizing Lara and Gri as the only two people to have crossed the Magistrate and gotten away with it. They explained that they had been inspired to rebel against the Magistrate and wanted Lara and Gri to lead them. Gri immediately protested, claiming that he was a lone wolf, and that he planned to leave the village once his debts were paid.

Lara then remembered that they also owed a debt to Hannah and decided to visit her studio in order to thank her. There, Hannah told them a bit about the Magistrate’s visit earlier, and how he had threatened to tear all her paintings to shreds, since he wasn’t satisfied by her latest work. Upon learning that Hannah had run out of paint, Lara offered to help collect the ingredients that she used to make it.

As Lara headed out, Gri told her that he would go on his own to collect some of the ingredients, as he worked faster alone. While Gri collected white petals, Lara collected pink and yellow petals from the Flower Field Bunnies and Flower Drift Bunnies. Soon after, Lara returned to the studio, but found that Gri had not yet returned.

As Lara watched Hannah paint, Hannah explained that she had been friends with Gri’s father, who used to be a calligrapher with excellent brushwork. After he died, the Magistrate had called ‘back taxes’ on his estate and had taken everything that Gri and Gru had. Gru had been determined to recover a particular keepsake that the Magistrate had stolen, and so he had worked for Hannah in order to earn enough money to buy it back.

When Lara asked if the brothers had been able to recover the keepsake, Hannah told her that soon after, Gri had had the worst day of his life when Gru had suddenly disappeared with all the money that they had, leaving Gri alone in debt. After hearing Hannah’s story, Lara felt a surge of emotion and decided to go after Gri, who had just finished collecting all the white petals.

Lara ran into him on his way back to town and told him that the reason why she believed in people was because her grandmother had once told her that as long as she held her faith, people would pull through in the way that she trusted them to. She promised Gri that the next time he was in trouble, she would help him through it.

Just then, they were approached by the three thugs, who presented a business proposal in order to make money. To Gri’s surprise, Lara seemed interested in the proposal, and when he asked why she needed the money, she explained that it was a secret. After learning that the thugs were attempting to swindle others, she told them to find a legitimate way to earn money. As they respected Lara for defying the Magistrate, the thugs readily agreed.

After the thugs left, Gri called Lara out for her naivety, explaining that morality wasn’t black and white, as he and the other thugs swindled people in order to survive, rather than because they didn’t know better. Lara acknowledged that she had been born in a happy home, but added that she was willing to learn about Gri’s hardships if he explained. Uncomfortable from Lara’s forwardness, Gri brushed it off, claiming that she didn’t need to hear his sob story and walked off. As Lara began to chase after him, she noticed a commotion on the street and rushed over, thinking that Gri was involved.

At the town square, Lara found the Magistrate and his guards threatening Arisol and her daughter, Rami, the girl whose kite had been stuck on the roof. The Magistrate gave Arisol one final warning to pay her taxes. After he left, Lara approached Arisol and asked if she was in trouble. Arisol explained that the Magistrate levied exorbitant taxes on the townspeople, and that if they were unpaid, he would take their homes and kick them out to the back alleys. When Lara asked how she could help, Arisol asked her to defeat the Sprout Silkworms and Flower Wings, as they were stealing from the townspeople. After helping Arisol, Lara continued to search for Gri.

Some time after Lara left to search for him, Gri arrived at the town square and encountered Arisol and Rami. Arisol thanked Gri for helping Rami with her kite and added that even Lara had helped them a while back. She also apologized on behalf of the town for rejecting Gri, telling him that it wasn’t his fault for what had happened to him.

She explained that the town was afraid of the Magistrate, and so no one had reached out to care for him when he had been left alone. Gri was suddenly reminded of Lara’s words about trusting others and the promise that she had made to him about helping him when he was in trouble. However, he shook off the memory and wondered why he was suddenly remembering it.

After heading to the back alleys, he ran into the thugs, who told him that they wanted to give up swindling others and to get back their original livelihoods before the Magistrate had kicked them to the streets. Gri told them that if they wanted their old lives back, they needed to take it for themselves, as they couldn’t expect someone else to stand up for them. As he made his way back to the town street, he ran into the Magistrate, who began to insult Gri and his brother.

Just then, Lara arrived and told Gri that she had learned a new trick from the Mountain Kids. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake as Lara commanded the land spirits to shake the ground, causing the guards to retreat in fear. However, the earthquake abruptly stopped when the Mountain Kids fell asleep, making Lara sheepishly realize that she still needed to practice maintaining her connection to the spirits.

However, she revealed that she had snuck the thugs and many of the townspeople through Hannah’s studio, all of whom suddenly appeared and began standing up to the Magistrate. Furious, the Magistrate ordered Gri to call off the mob in exchange for telling him where to find his father’s keepsake. However, Gri refused, telling him that he wouldn’t allow the Magistrate to pull any more strings. The Magistrate then threatened Lara, claiming that she had no right to meddle as an outsider. Lara then pointed out that the land was all connected, meaning that she couldn’t ignore injustice, no matter where it happened. (A/N: This reminded me of the MLK quote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”)

Suddenly, a river spirit appeared from the Magistrate’s clothes and Lara revealed that she had created the earthquake as a distraction so that the spirit could steal the Magistrate’s storage key. After the Magistrate was chased out of town, Lara and Gri went to the Magistrate’s storage room, though Gri told her that the keepsake wouldn’t be there, as the Magistrate had made it sound as though it was hidden somewhere else when they had chased him out of town. However, he noted with disgust how many treasures the Magistrate had stolen in his never-ending greed.

Lara told him that her grandmother used to say that such greed happened when wishes turned into obsession. When Gri asked how one could know when that line had been crossed, Lara explained that it happened when one started wishing that things would go better for them over others. Gri then asked Lara what she would wish for, to which she told him that she would wish for him to be free.

When Gri pointed out that they had already made it happen by chasing the Magistrate out of town, Lara decided that her wish would then be to make the hopes and dreams of the people who wanted the bell to ring to come true. She then realized that they ought to tell Hannah about what had happened, but Gri told her to go on ahead, as he wanted to help Lara learn more about the bell, since she had been too busy helping him. Once Lara left, Gri continued searching the storage room. One scroll in particular kept catching his eye, though he dismissed it as part of the Magistrate’s collection.

At the Dalbourde Studio, Lara thanked Hannah for allowing the townspeople to secretly pass through her studio in order to drive the Magistrate away. Hannah told Lara that thanks to her, she would be able to paint at her own pace and asked if Lara could help her with it by collecting a special type of water from Sunlight-Seeking Spheres in the back alleys.

After bringing her the water, Hannah asked if Lara had learned more about the bell. Lara told Hannah that the bell was a special type of mysticant, which intrigued her. Just then, Lara remembered the note in the book that she had found and decided to investigate the back alleys. There, she met the sketchy merchant, who told her that he had thrown the missing pages away. Undeterred, Lara hunted down the pages from the Gluey Leaf Flies over the next several days.

(A/N: The next scene with Gri and Hannah mentions that Lara has been out for a few days and this is the only place where I could see her spending time, since everything else is just dialogue, which is why I mention that it took several days.)

After finding all the pages, Lara glued them together and realized that there was an extra page from another book, which she held onto.

(A/N: For the longest time, I had no idea why that extra page was mentioned when it doesn’t play a role in her class story. Way after initially writing this section, someone on the lore server played through Burning Cernium on Lara and we find out that this page actually came from a book written in the Cernium Royal Library about the war between the Adversaries and the Ancient Gods.)

With the book restored, Lara learned that any sickness caused by a mysticant could only be cured by another mysticant, for which the bell had been created in order to react to other mysticants and purify their evils. Lara asked the merchant if he knew more about mysticants, since he had taken the book, but he replied that it was a secret. Lara then went after Gri, and as she left, the merchant breathed a sigh of relief that Lara was no longer around to keep prodding about his client.

(A/N: It’s not too clear in the GMS translation, but the KMS and MSEA translations make it clear that mysticants are cursed objects, and that the bell mysticant is unique because it was specifically created to destroy them. Lara’s level 200 quest reveals that a group of people known as the Sinners locked themselves in the realm of the sages as punishment for the crime of having forsaken their humanity, where it’s said that only the ringing of the bell can absolve them of their sins.)

Back in the studio, Gri asked Hannah if she had seen Lara. Hannah mentioned that Lara had been out for a few days, likely trying to find a way to ring the bell. She also confided to Gri that Lara seemed to be obsessed with the bell, and that she seemed to be trying to hide it from Gri. He dismissed her concerns, claiming that Lara was an open book, to which Hannah told him that he should come to the studio that night, as Lara had something special planned.

Some time after Gri left, Lara arrived and told Hannah that the bell reacted to evil mysticants. When Lara asked if Gri was okay, Hannah told her that Gri was planning to leave town soon and suggested that she leave him alone, as he had been through a lot. Hannah then told her that she had an idea on how to ring the bell and asked Lara to come later that evening.

When Lara arrived later on, Hannah showed her a paintbrush, with which the bell was subtly resonating. Hannah told her that the bell’s resonance meant that the brush was an evil mysticant, and so they needed to destroy it. She asked Lara to set fire to the brush while holding onto the bell, explaining that it would destroy the mysticant. Just then, Gri arrived and was shocked to find Lara burning the paintbrush, which was actually his father’s keepsake. Devastated and furious at Lara’s apparent betrayal, he stormed off, upset at himself for believing in Lara’s speeches about trust.

After Gri left, Lara felt utterly alone and realized that even the spirits had abandoned her. Hannah explained that because Lara’s heart had been broken and she had lost her innocence, the land spirits would not be drawn to her, as they only appeared before the pure of heart. She then revealed that the brush was completely unharmed, as mysticants couldn’t be destroyed in such a manner, and that the brush had the power to gouge out happy memories and paint them on a canvas.

Due to her arrangement with the Magistrate, she would take a memory from one person every month in order to paint it for the Magistrate, which was why so many people in town were missing crucial memories. Back in the village, Gri was brooding when the spirits began to flock around him and drew him towards the antique shop. There, Granny Dume gave him a stuffed wolf doll that he had asked Gru to buy long ago, explaining that Lara had saved up enough money to buy it for him.

Inside the wolf’s mouth, Gri found a letter from Gru, which explained that the reason why Gru had been trying so hard to find the keepsake was because he had realized that the brush was an evil mysticant that needed to be destroyed. Realizing that Lara hadn’t betrayed him, he rushed to the Magistrate’s storage room, where he opened the scroll that had caught his eye earlier. Inside, he found a painting of himself and Gru playing with the land spirits. Gri realized that the fact that he remembered that moment was because it had come from Gru’s memory, meaning that his brother hadn’t abandoned him, but rather, he had been kidnapped by the Magistrate and Hannah.

Gri rushed back to the studio, where Hannah was demanding that Lara give her the bell. Just then, Gri arrived with the spirits and reaffirmed his trust in Lara, who realized that the spirits hadn’t left her heart, but that her heart had left them. Having made her heart whole once again through her renewed faith, Lara regained her affinity with the spirits and used her powers to fight Hannah. However, the evil energies of the mysticant strengthened Hannah, who easily defeated both Lara and Gri.

As Hannah moved to kill them both, Lara offered herself and all her happy memories in exchange for Gri’s life. Realizing that Lara had countless happy memories, as well as the fact that she was an outsider whom no one would ask around for, Hannah eagerly agreed. As Gri tried to stop Lara from sacrificing herself on his behalf, the bell resonated with both their strong desires to put the other forward, causing it to ring with an ethereal note. Its warm glow destroyed the brush mysticant and erased both Hannah and all of her paintings.

The next morning, Lara and Gri walked through town as Gri explained that his brother had gone to pay the Magistrate when he had been kidnapped for Hannah’s paintings. However, he told her that he was ready to let his brother go and asked where Lara would go next. (A/N: I really hope that Gru is actually alive. All the others people in the village whose memories were taken are still alive, but the fact that he was kidnapped might mean that all his happy memories were taken one by one until he either died or was left an empty shell.)

Lara explained that though she wasn’t sure, she was confident that traveling would help her uncover the mystery of the bell. She asked Gri if he would come with her, but he replied that he wasn’t sure what his purpose was with his newfound freedom and asked for some time to figure it out before he reunited with her.

After saying their goodbyes, Lara continued on her way when she encountered the shady merchant, who hailed her the Hero of Narin. He told her that the Shadowdealers knew nearly everything that happened in Grandis, and so they would likely be able to help her with the bell. He gave her a letter of introduction and directed her to Savage Terminal in order to meet with Gen.

As she headed out of town, the merchant’s client, Kaling, appeared and told him that his actions had disrupted her plans. (A/N: I’m guessing that Kaling learned that the brush was a mysticant and wanted to collect it before it was destroyed. She probably blames him because he gave Lara information about mysticants, which led to the paintbrush’s destruction.) However, she told him that she was willing to change the deal and asked if the bell was a mysticant. The merchant told her that he couldn’t divulge his clients’ information, though Kaling bribed him into revealing everything he knew about Lara and the bell.

Lara soon arrived in Savage Terminal and met with Coney, who introduced her to Cadena. Upon showing her the letter of introduction, Cadena grew furious and used her chain to tear it up, telling Coney that the letter was a contract with Mr. Hazard. Suddenly Gen arrived and diffused the situation.

After Cadena stormed off, Gen apologized for her behavior and explained that there had been a recent power struggle between the Shadowdealers, and though Gen had tried to clean up afterwards, the letter had seemed to slip by them. He took her back to his hideout, where he explained that Cadena was angry because Mr. Hazard had attempted a terrorist attack on the city. As the Shadowdealers dealt in equal transactions, he offered to tell her anything that she wanted to know as reparation for Cadena’s behavior.

Lara asked about the state of Grandis and learned that the Anima had vanished. She also learned about the Transcendents of Grandis, as well as the Overseers, who were said to have created the three worlds. Additionally, Gen told her about the Interdimensional Portal that led to Maple World, where Lara hoped to learn more about the bell. When Lara asked if he knew about the bell, Gen told her that their trade didn’t cover restricted information, as it was beyond the scope of their equal transaction. When he offered to sell the information at an exorbitant price, Lara told him that she didn’t have that kind of money and thanked him for his help.

She then went to Pantheon, where Tear and Kyle met her at the outskirts at Fenelle’s instructions. (A/N: I call her Tear here because she isn’t in her Angelic Buster form.) They escorted her to the Great Temple, where Fenelle looked into Lara’s heart in order to determine whether she was worthy of using the Interdimensional Portal. Fenelle sensed that Lara had a strong will and fully trusted others, which she considered to be both admirable and rare.

Having passed Fenelle’s test, Lara arrived in Maple World, where she was greeted by Grendel the Really Old, who had sensed the energy of her mysticant and invited her to Ellinia, as he was studying similar powers there. After she presented the bell, Grendel thought to himself that the bell had been crafted in antiquity by an ancient deity or something comparable. He then offered to introduce her to Athena Pierce in Henesys, who could help her on her journey. Athena suggested helping others during her travels in order to gain more experience with Maple World. (A/N: Athena gives the standard talk about the four theme dungeons.)

Some time after she began her journey, a sun spirit brought her a letter from Gri, who told her his theory that the bell had rung because of their willingness to sacrifice themselves, rooted in the thought that each was more important than the other. This understanding helped her grow closer to the spirits, thus increasing her powers.

Soon after, Athena Pierce contacted her and told her that Fenelle and the Shadowdealers recommended that she join the Maple Alliance. Lara traveled to Ereve, where she was officially welcomed into the Alliance by Neinheart and Cygnus.

Power Remembered:

(A/N: These are just a bunch of 4th job advancement quests for most Maple World classes grouped together with a couple of mount quests that happen around the same level, as well as a few Demon and Luminous quests that I couldn’t place anywhere else. It’s not to say that all these classes reach 4th job at the same time, but since there’s no definitive timeframe of when they take place, I thought that it would be easier to just group them into their own section for the sake of readability. I’ll do something similar for the Grandis classes in a later section as well, as those quests are set after the Black Mage’s unsealing.)

Aran:
As Aran continued her training, Lilin reached out and asked her to return to Rien, as Maha was behaving strangely. Aran rushed back to Rien and found that Maha was emanating dark energy. He explained that he had been frozen over the centuries, just as she had been, and that that the absence from his master had been too much for him, which had caused seeds of darkness to be planted in his heart. Though he had initially believed that the darkness would have gone away after Aran returned, Maha realized that its hold was too strong on him.

He begged Aran to defeat him and return him back to normal before he went berserk. Aran then fought Maha and managed to subdue him. Maha thanked her for her help and explained that since she had proven herself to be strong enough to contain him, it was an indication that he could safely restore her full power. He then bestowed all her old skills and explained that she would return to full power once she fully mastered them.

Soon after, Pucci reached out to her and asked if her wolf, Werewolf, which Aran had renamed Ryko, had been acting rebellious lately. He explained that wolves went through a type of puberty during their adolescent years, and that the ones who didn’t go through puberty failed to grow properly. In order to get advice about how to help Ryko through his adolescence, Aran first visited Nanuke at Snowy Whale’s Island, who offered to make a special formula for adolescent wolves.

After bringing her Lime Powder Bottles, Ink Bottles, Butter-Toasted Squids, and special Puberty Wolf Vitamins from Kenta, Nanuke prepared the formula for Aran, which she then fed to Ryko. Aran then went to see Scadur, who told her that she needed to let Ryko run wild in order to get the rebellion out of his system. After bonding with Ryko by riding with him through the cold fields of El Nath, Ryko soon grew to become an adolescent wolf.

After a long time, Pucci told Aran that a pack of wolves had shown up in Rien, having followed the rumors that she had picked up a lost wolf pup. Aran went to see the Head Wolf, who thanked her for taking care of Ryko, but asked that she return him back. Aran told him that Ryko was her friend, and so she couldn’t give him up. In order to determine whether Aran was worthy of keeping Ryko, the Head Wolf administered a test to have Aran fight his Wolf Underlings.

After she defeated them all, the Head Wolf was impressed by her power and allowed her to keep Ryko. However, he told her that they were Silver Wolves, who possessed Silver Blood. He explained that before becoming adults, Silver Wolves strengthened their hearts by drinking Life Water for Wolves, which was only found in their homeland. He warned that forgoing the ritual would result in serious consequences, and so Aran traveled to Leafre, the homeland of the Silver Wolves, and collected the Life Water for Wolves from the Skelegons, which Ryko then drank in order to evolve into an adult.

Evan:
While Evan and Mir continued their training, Mir unexpectedly began shedding again, after which he grew much larger and powerful, appearing much more like Afrien, with dark scales and four golden horns. Mir told Evan that his strength grew with the strength of his master, meaning that Evan had grown stronger as well.

Mercedes:
Mercedes’ vigorous training soon paid off, as the Great Spirit restored all of her power and explained that she would need to continue training in order to fully master the power of the Elven Ruler as she had once done centuries ago.

Luminous:
Luminous continued to strengthen his connection between light and darkness and succeeded in blending them together on a new level, allowing him to use even stronger skills.

Soon after, Agent N reached out to Luminous and told him that he might be interested to know that the Silent Crusade had recently discovered the Lion King’s Castle in El Nath. Luminous was surprised that Von Leon was still alive, as he had assumed that the Lion King had fallen bravely in battle. (A/N: It’s interesting that Luminous seems to respect Von Leon, even in spite of him being a Commander.) He went to speak with Vieren, who told Luminous to verify whether Von Leon was still an active Commander. After thoroughly investigating the castle, he concluded that Von Leon was not a servant of the Black Mage anymore, but rather, he was just a man whose heart and soul had been torn out.

(A/N: This questline is basically the instigator for the Lion King’s Castle storyline for Luminous, but since that questline has already been previously covered, I’m assuming that Luminous doesn’t complete it. Also, it’s weird that Von Leon is said not to be an active Commander anymore when he clearly hosts Commander meetings at his castle. Later on in this section, he even yells at the Demon for betraying the Black Mage. I wonder if he’s just become a meeting host instead of an active Commander, which might be why Luminous says that he doesn’t serve the Black Mage anymore.

It’s also possible that this is just a continuity error, as Von Leon is one of the Commanders whom Zero encounters at the end of their storyline. I honestly wish that we got a stronger version of Von Leon to fight instead of Guard Captain Darknell, as it would’ve been better to wrap up the story of an existing character instead of making up a new one last-minute. For reference, Darknell and the Elite Bosses had no lore about them until the Sharenian Knights chapter in the Grand Athenaeum was released two years later in the Awake update.)

Some time later, Vieren told Luminous that he had encountered an interesting phrase in one of the books in the Aurora library: “The ultimate light is the slumbering gold.” Vieren believed that the riddle referred to the Grand Augury of legend and suspected that it was hidden in the Golden Temple.

(A/N: As far as I know, this is the first reference to the ultimate light in the game, as the Grand Athenaeum, which shows the White Mage’s origins, came out much later after Luminous did. It’s interesting that it refers to the Grand Augury, also known as the Grand Crystal, which doesn’t really seem to have any significance to the actual ultimate light that the White Mage sought. I’m a bit disappointed that the Auguries had no significance in the overall story aside from helping Luminous stabilize his darkness.)

Luminous obtained the Grand Augury from Ravana inside the Golden Temple, and from the crystal came the voice of the Second Light Master, who recognized Luminous and called him the Starchild. When Luminous asked what the term meant, the Second Light Master explained the story behind the birth of the Black Mage and how Luminous had been born from the light cast out by the Black Mage, which had shot up into the heavens and landed back down, which was why the mages of Aurora had called Luminous the Starchild.

Luminous realized that Guwaru was correct in believing that he and the Black Mage were related, quickly becoming dejected by the revelation. However, the master told him that Luminous was everything good about the Black Mage in physical form, meaning that they were nothing alike. He then explained that he had an uncomfortable truth to share and asked for Luminous’ forgiveness in advance. He told Luminous that his close friend, Lucia, had been raised as the false Starchild so that the Black Mage would kill her in Luminous’ place. Luminous was shocked by the news, but the master promised that he had ensured that Lucia had been able to reincarnate and live a new, safer life.

With that, he disappeared and left Luminous with his conflicted feelings. Luminous went to see Vieren and told him that he blamed himself for the deaths of Lucia and the mages of Aurora. However, Vieren told him that it was no one but the Black Mage’s fault, causing Luminous to snap at him that he was the discarded remnant of the Black Mage, making them one and the same. As Lania consoled him, she was intrigued to hear the name Lucia, as it seemed very familiar to her. Even after Luminous left, she continued pondering over the name and why it seemed so familiar. (A/N: In case you couldn’t tell, Lania is the reincarnation of Lucia.)

Resistance:
In Edelstein, Headmaster Ferdi summoned the Resistance member back to the Secret Plaza for an emergency meeting. There, Claudine informed them that their instructor had gone missing while completing a mission, explaining that they had gone to investigate rumors of a new weapon that Gelimer was creating for the Black Wings. Claudine asked them to rescue their instructor and gave them a return scroll to the Secret Plaza so that they could quickly escape.

The Resistance member disguised themselves as a Black Wings member in order to gain access to the Verne Mine and made their way to Gelimer’s laboratory. There, they told Gelimer that they were a new member who was patrolling the area. Gelimer told them that an intruder had snuck into his laboratory recently, and so he needed more guards.

The Resistance member then offered to patrol the area for him. Gelimer suspected that they wanted to steal his experiment, but they managed to convince him by explaining that they wanted to prove their loyalty. Placated, he gave them a key card so that they could gain access to the laboratory where the new weapon was being stored.

Using the key card, they entered the laboratory and discovered a secret prison where their instructor was being held. Their instructor explained that they had discovered that the secret weapon was a Poison Gas Generator, but when they had tried to destroy it, the poison gas had overwhelmed them, leading to their capture. (A/N: This is likely an earlier iteration of the Retoxin gas that Gelimer was planning to use on Maple World in order to turn everyone into mindless puppets.)

At their instructor’s behest, the Resistance member managed to destroy the weapon and used the return scroll in order to transport themselves and their instructor back to the Secret Plaza. Some time later, their instructor told them that they had been impressed by their strength. Believing that they were strong enough to handle it, their instructor taught them the full extent of their combat knowledge.

Demon:
Mastema contacted the Demon with a lead on the demons whom he had met at Orbis, explaining that Roly-Poly 10 had sighted the robed demons in Ludibrium. When the Demon arrived, Roly-Poly 10 immediately began yelling at him and demanded to know what he had done to the King Block Golems. The Demon asked what Roly-Poly 10 meant, to which he explained that he had sighted the Demon putting a strange device on the King Block Golems.

The Demon assured him that he wasn’t the one responsible for what had happened, and that he was actually trying to find the culprit. Roly-Poly 10 still didn’t believe him and told him to prove that he wasn’t the one responsible by removing the MR Receivers placed on the Golems. After the Demon collected the receivers, Roly-Poly 10 decided to trust him and explained that he had asked the Demon to bring the receivers so that he could figure out the assailants’ location. After learning that they were in the Toy Factory, he asked the Demon to stop them.

The Demon arrived at the factory and found two demons talking. The robed demon was wondering if it was wise to have carried out their plan in Ludibrium, as they had been ordered not to waste their time with toys. (A/N: Unlike most of the other interactions with Damien’s army in this storyline, this incident at Ludibrium doesn’t seem to have any wider connections to other events in the game, such as how Eliza being corrupted in Orbis was tied with the events of the Stone Colossus.) The unrobed demon told his comrade to think and asked if he wanted the new Commander to worry about petty details, added that they would be rewarded for their actions.

Just then, the Demon revealed himself and demanded to know if they served the Black Mage. The unrobed demon was shocked to see the Demon and asked how he had found them, to which the robed demon snapped at his comrade about how he had already warned him once before about the dangers of leaving the Demon alive. The unrobed demon told his comrade to shut up, adding that the Commander didn’t need to know about it. Hearing about the new Commander intrigued the Demon, much to the unrobed demon’s embarrassment, as he was supposed to keep it a secret.

He decided to eliminate the Demon right then and told his comrade to go on without him. Despite the Commander’s orders, he decided that he would put an end to the Demon. However, the Demon defeated the unrobed demon, forcing him to retreat. (A/N: I find it hilarious that the unrobed demon said that the Commander didn’t need to know about it, but his death dialogue says, “I’m gonna tell the Commander about this!” as though he’s a five-year-old that got pushed at the playground.)

The Demon wondered who the new Commander was and resolved to stop them, as he didn’t want anyone else to suffer as he had. He wondered if there was anyone he knew who had the qualifications to become a Commander, but since he had been asleep for centuries, he realized that there was no one that he knew who was alive, and so he decided to ask Mastema. Mastema was surprised that there was a new Commander leading the demons, as she had thought that the demons had left Maple World after the Black Mage had been sealed away. With no other leads, the Demon decided that he would have to investigate himself.

Soon after, Mastema reached out to the Demon and asked how his training was going, to which he replied that he had hit a wall and asked if they could repeat the sparring session he had with her clone. (A/N: The Demon’s 4th job advancement is unique because while every other quest needs you to accept it, you have to decline when Mastema asks you if your training is going well. This is the moment where I express my superiority over the spacebar holders.)

Mastema told him that she doubted that sparring with her would help and instead suggested that he try sparring with himself. She explained that though the Temple of Time was normally the only place where one could tinker with time, she had heard news that something was wrong with time in Ludibrium and suggested that they go to the Path of Time at the Clocktower Bottom Floor.

There, Mastema stabilized a crack in time, as her cat form allowed her to move between dimensions, and she explained that he could use the crack in order to fight his past self. She also assured him that she had arranged it so that his actions in the past wouldn’t affect the future. The Demon then entered the Crack in Time and fought his past self in the Temple of Time.

As their battle progressed, his past self soon resorted to using his most powerful skills. Nevertheless, the Demon was able to successfully defeat his past self and returned to Mastema. He told her that fighting with his past self had allowed him to remember many of the skills that he had forgotten, and so the training had been a success.

(A/N: For the Demon Avenger path, Mastema suggests that he fight his inner rage and uses her power to send him inside himself, similar to meditation. However, she warns that the damage he sustains there will transfer to his real body. The Demon is then transported to the memory of his ruined home, where he defeats his inner rage and successfully completes his 4th job advancement.)

Some time later, the Demon received a strange letter written in an archaic style. The author had written that they knew that the Demon was looking for information about the Black Mage’s newest Commander and told him that they could provide it if he came alone to the West Leafre Forest. The Demon realized that it was an obvious trap, but since it was also an opportunity to gather information about the enemy, he decided to go anyway. He entered the forest, where he called for the author of the letter to show themselves.

A demon officer then appeared and claimed that the Demon was either brave or foolish for having come while knowing that it was a trap. The Demon replied to him that it was his chance to uncover information. The officer told him that he knew that leaving the Demon alone would become a problem for the Commander, to which the Demon asked who the Commander was and why demons like the officer were serving them. (A/N: I’m guessing that when he says demons like him, it means half-blood demons.) The officer replied that there was no point in telling him, as he wouldn’t live much longer. However, the Demon managed to eliminate the officer after a quick duel.

The Demon then continued his training and soon decided that, having grown much stronger, it was a good chance for him to confront Von Leon and get the answers that he wanted, as Alcaster had told him that only Von Leon knew the details of the final battle at the Temple of Time. He decided to use the secret passage from his days as a Commander, but after arriving at the Lion King’s Castle, he noted that it was in terrible shape and wondered if Von Leon had blocked off the secret entrance. However, he was able to find the entrance and used it to enter the Audience Room. Von Leon recognized the Demon and asked what he wanted, calling the Demon ‘the betrayer’.

The Demon scoffed his words, claiming that the Black Mage was the true betrayer for having killed his family. Von Leon told him that if that were true, then it was likely part of the Black Mage’s grand plan, and that the Demon was too blinded by anger to see. The Demon replied that he was surprised that someone who had offered their soul to the Black Mage after losing their own family would say that, adding that the difference between them was that the Black Mage had already betrayed the Demon, whereas the betrayal was yet to come for Von Leon.

His words angered Von Leon, who loudly asked what there was left for him to lose, as he had lost everything that he cared about. Seething with rage, he told the Demon that he had nothing more to say to him, as he had no interest in the disloyal. The Demon assured him that he would leave, but he first asked what had happened to the other Commanders. Von Leon merely told him to go to the Temple of Time in order to answer his own question there. He then ordered the Demon to leave and warned that if they met again, he wouldn’t hesitate to strike him down. After the Demon left, Von Leon blocked the secret passageway.

Clash of the Xenoroids:

As Xenon had become much stronger, he decided that he wanted to start looking more actively for clues about restoring his memory. In order to do so, he realized that he would need to go back to Gelimer’s secret laboratory. He returned to Veritas and spoke with Roo-D, who told him that according to the Resistance’s intel, the lab was closed. She added that most likely, Gelimer would have destroyed anything that would have been useful to Xenon.

Nevertheless, Xenon told her that he still wanted to go back. Roo-D told Xenon that she would accompany him and suggested that he tell Professor Dreamboat. The professor warned them that Gelimer would have installed traps and cautioned them to be careful. With that, he sent them to the entrance of the laboratory.

Upon arriving, they were surprised to find that it had been abandoned for some time. They also saw that Gelimer had installed new guard robots, as he knew that Xenon would one day return. After fighting their way through the defenses, Xenon and Roo-D arrived at the prison where Claudine had once been captured. As they proceeded deeper inside, a force field blocked the entrance to the testing center. Xenon broke through the barrier and continued into the lab.

There, they discovered the main control device, which Roo-D plugged into. However, she realized that the internal components were completely broken and asked Xenon to bring some parts from the guard robots in order to fix the device. After repairing the computer, Roo-D began to access the data, but Black Wings henchmen quickly appeared to ambush them while Roo-D was plugged in. As she couldn’t move, she asked Xenon to fight them off. He managed to defeat the henchmen while Roo-D gained access to the data.

Though most of the data had been corrupted, Roo-D managed to restore bits and pieces and learned that the data itself was mainly a series of numbers and test results, noting that it became less comprehensible the older it was. She explained that she had only been able to find words such as “Edelstein”, “Candidate”, “critical error”, and “obstacle removed”. Roo-D suspected that Gelimer had felt as though the Xenoroids didn’t fully obey him because of their memories. However, because he couldn’t erase them all, he had tried to overwrite their memories with his soldier programming.

Xenon asked if it meant that he would never get his memories back, but Roo-D reminded him that he had managed to remember some of his past, and so there had to still be traces of his emotions and memories within him. She suggested that they return to Veritas and ask Professor Dreamboat about it.

When Xenon continued to stand still, she asked if he was disappointed that he hadn’t been able to find anything useful. Xenon asked her if the emotion that he was feeling was disappointment, explaining that despite knowing that he may not find any clues, he had still kept hoping. Roo-D promised him that they would find another way and suggested that they go back to Veritas.

(A/N: Unfortunately for Xenon, he’s probably the only character in the game who can never get their full memories back. While other characters had their memories suppressed due to magic, the memories themselves still remain untouched in their minds. In contrast, Xenon had most of his memories physically overwritten by Gelimer, though some of them still remain.

His cybernetic brain probably works a lot like how computer memory works. On a computer, deleted data isn’t necessarily removed, but rather, it’s marked inaccessible with a special flag. That’s why it’s possible to recover deleted programs, as that flag is just removed and that segment of memory is made accessible again.

It’s highly likely that fragments of Xenon’s memory still persist and can be made accessible again, but the vast majority of his memories were overwritten with Gelimer’s soldier programming, and so there’s no chance for him to ever get them back. I was wondering whether Alpha and Beta might be able to use their powers to do a localized rewind on Xenon’s brain, but even then, it’s hard to say whether that would work, as it might just end up that Xenon’s current memories get erased in the process of getting his old ones back.)

After returning, they told the professor about the data which they had found. He assured them that he would review the data, though he recommended that Xenon rest, since he wouldn’t have any new missions until they finished analyzing. He also reassured Xenon that he had done his best, as it must have been extremely difficult for him to have faced his past.

Just then, Xenon realized that the laboratory had no data on Roo-D’s past either, and so he went to ask her if she was disappointed as well. She told him that she wasn’t disappointed, as she wasn’t curious about her past. She told him that she wasn’t completely disinterested, but she liked her life in Veritas much better than she did with Gelimer, and that it was enough for her.

Some time later, Nathania reached out to Xenon and asked for a personal favor. She explained that she was from Magatia, the home of all alchemists. Though the world of alchemy was split between the Zenumists and the Alcadnos, all the schools of alchemy were based on the mystic knowledge passed down in Magatia, with some of them even touching on the forbidden arts, and she explained that one of those techniques was life creation.

(A/N: It’s interesting to think just how much of a positive influence the Black Mage had on the world in spite of being a villain. The current infrastructure of Maple World, especially the free transportation that arose from advances in efficient fuel renewal from alchemy, can all be traced back to his influence.

On a side note, the MSEA translation of life creation is Dark Alchemy, which initially created a whole deal of confusion for me when I was using Shiang’s video as a reference, as Dark Alchemy was established to be the art of creating and destroying magical substances in the Demon’s storyline. Since the book on Dark Alchemy was also destroyed in the Demon’s storyline, I was very panicked about the chronology of Xenon’s storyline until I decided to play the GMS version myself to double check and found that it was just an issue with the localization.)

Nathania believed that Gelimer had incorporated the forbidden art of life creation with his scientific knowledge in order to create Xenoroids. To confirm her suspicions, she asked Xenon to go to Magatia and investigate. However, she explained that alchemists of the present day were very exclusive and cut ties off with others in order to research their art. As a result, it would be difficult for an outsider to find out more information. She gave Xenon two letters written to the presidents of the Zenumists and the Alcadno and assured him that if he were to give them her letters and mention her name, they would try to help him.

Xenon first went to see Carson of the Zenumists and gave him the letter. Carson was surprised to hear from Nathania, as it had been many years since she had last made contact. He agreed to share his knowledge, but swore Xenon to secrecy. He explained that the forbidden art had originally been created by the Black Mage, which was why its existence could not be revealed to the public.

He elaborated that Magatia was sustained by the remnants of the Black Mage’s research, and that most of them were guarded in secret. He explained that life creation was one such secret until someone had recently stolen it. Xenon was surprised to learn about its theft and Carson added that he believed that the thief was an alchemist, as there was no other explanation for the technique used to penetrate the alchemic protection on the document. Though the Alcadnos denied the charge, Carson believed that one of their members was the thief.

After leaving, Xenon was surprised to feel Beryl’s Pulse in Magatia. He wondered why she hadn’t come after him yet, as they could clearly both feel each other’s Pulses. He supposed that she was too preoccupied with something else, but wondered why she was even in Magatia to begin with. He decided to avoid her until he finished his mission and went to go speak with Maed of the Alcadno.

After giving him Nathania’s letter, Maed told him that the research on life alchemy had already been stolen months ago. He suspected that the Zenumists were trying to frame the Alcadnos and told Xenon that some strange men had been sighted around Magatia before the document had disappeared, and that the men had been clad in black and were dressed like rabbits. He suspected that the Zenumists had hired them in order to frame the Alcadnos.

As Xenon left the Alcadno headquarters, he was stopped by Han the Broker, who offered to sell Xenon the information that he was after. After Xenon paid the fee, Han explained that the men who had been sighted in Magatia were trained soldiers, not alchemists. The men had been able to find the life creation document, but they hadn’t been able to access it because of a powerful truth-concealing alchemy placed upon the document. When the soldiers had failed, their commander had arrived in Magatia and had finished the mission themselves.

Xenon realized that though the thieves were neither Zenumist nor Alcadno, the two factions suspected each other because no one except an alchemist could have undone the protection spell. Han the Broker added that the commander had met with Bedin, a Zenumist, and suggested that Xenon speak with him in order to learn what the commander had been after.

Xenon went to speak with Bedin, who asked him to find Scorpion Stings first. After Xenon brought them back, Bedin told him that the person who had spoken to him was actually a little girl. He explained that alchemists normally didn’t share their knowledge to those outside their circles, but the girl had appeared so pitiful that he hadn’t been able to help telling her everything that he knew.

Xenon asked Bedin what he meant, to which he explained that she had wanted to know about revealing concealed truths in order to save her brother, who was the only surviving member of her family. He had told her that he knew how to make a truth-revealing potion, but as his recipe would take a hundred years to craft, he had sent her to speak with Russellon of the Alcadnos.

Xenon went to speak with Russellon, who asked him to bring Homunculus’ Blood. After bringing it to him, Xenon asked about the truth-revealing potion. Russellon revealed that the Homunculus’ Blood was the truth-revealing potion, which was the same thing that he had told the girl. Russellon laughed at Bedin’s naivety in believing that the girl was harmless, as anyone who could defeat a Homunscullo and obtain its blood was clearly dangerous.

Russellon then asked for the blood that Xenon had collected as the price for the information that he had shared. He also gave Xenon some free advice and told him that secrets had a reason to be kept secret, and that once uncovered, he would need to pay the price, whether he liked it or not.

Xenon then returned to Veritas and told Nathania everything that he had learned. Nathania told Xenon that she suspected that the girl was Orchid. Because she had once been a Commander of the Black Mage, she would likely have known about her master’s influence in Magatia. She also realized that Gelimer had manipulated others in order to gain access to life creation so that he could accelerate his research.

She realized that they needed some sort of countermeasure against him and asked Xenon to go to her secret laboratory in Magatia, where he would find a document that contained information on the Black Mage’s research, which she hoped to use in order to create countermeasures against Gelimer.

She told him where to find her laboratory and explained that the entrance was password-protected, with the password simply being ‘password’. (A/N: I feel called out.) Xenon was able to find her notes, but just as he was about to leave, he sensed Beryl’s Pulse much more strongly. He suspected that Beryl had been sent to Magatia in order to collect more of the Black Mage’s research for Gelimer.

Having recovered the document, Xenon decided that he could finally confront Beryl, and so he went back inside the laboratory and waited for her to arrive. Beryl soon entered and was surprised to find that he hadn’t run. She then asked if he was ready to fight, to which Xenon told her that he had a question that he wanted her to answer.

Beryl agreed to hear him out if he surrendered, though she made no promise of answering. Xenon told her that he would never get caught by her, and with negotiations having failed, they engaged in a battle that Xenon ultimately won. Beryl was frustrated that she kept losing to Xenon and wondered if it was because he was the perfect specimen, whereas she was not. Xenon asked Beryl why Gelimer had sent her to Magatia, but Beryl snapped at him not to call their father by his name, claiming that Xenon had no right as a traitor.

Xenon was surprised to hear Beryl refer to Gelimer as her father, to which she explained that since he had created her, it meant that he was her father. Xenon told her that Gelimer wasn’t any sort of father, especially not to him, as Gelimer had kidnapped him and had turned him into a weapon, adding that he was sure that the same thing had happened to her. Beryl replied that who she once was didn’t matter, as she was now a Xenoroid.

Xenon was shocked to hear that Beryl didn’t care about who she once was, to which Beryl explained that it was because she wasn’t a failure like Xenon. He asked her what she meant, to which she explained that he was a failure because he had betrayed their father due to emotions and memory. However, she added that she couldn’t understand why their father wanted him back, and that Gelimer believed that Xenon was special, despite his betrayal. Because of this, he kept sending Beryl to find him and to return him intact.

She told Xenon that she could never forgive him for being a failure and a traitor, even though he was still being treated as Gelimer’s favorite. Xenon asked if that was the reason why she hated him, which surprised Beryl. He explained that he knew that she disliked him, even though Roo-D had told him that Xenoroids had no emotions. However, if she still felt such hate for him, it meant that she still possessed emotion. Beryl snapped at him to be quiet and told him that though she was leaving, the next time they met, she would fight with her full power, even if it meant destroying him against Gelimer’s wishes.

After she left, Xenon reflected on Beryl’s words. Unlike himself, she didn’t seem to want to become human and even denied that she had any human feelings left in her. He wondered why that could be, as her not wanting to be human made her more human than anyone. He then returned to Veritas and gave the document to Nathania. After he told her about Beryl’s appearance, Nathania wondered if it meant that Gelimer was working against Orchid in order to get his hands on the Black Mage’s research first.

Over time, Xenon regained much more of his old power. However, he was still uneasy about having learned very little about his past. He wondered whether there was something wrong with him, as Roo-D and Beryl were content with being Xenoroids, unlike himself. He wondered if he would ever get his memories back and decided to speak with Roo-D back in Veritas.

He asked her whether he should have never left Gelimer’s lab and thrown his old power away in search of memories that he would never find. Roo-D admonished Xenon and told him that if he had stayed, Gelimer would have turned him into a puppet, and that he could have even been ordered to destroy Edelstein if Gelimer had wished it. Xenon agreed that he shouldn’t regret escaping Gelimer, but he asked if it was strange that he was the only Xenoroid who seemed to be obsessed with his memories.

Roo-D replied that it wasn’t strange to want to remember, adding that everyone thought differently, even in the same situations. She also added that it was Xenon himself who had told her that being a Xenoroid was more than being a simple robot, citing the differences between him and Beryl. She explained that his desire to regain his memories made him more human than the rest of them.

She also added that getting his memories back was something that he had to decide for himself, and that if it was too painful, he could always stop searching. However, if he wanted them back, despite the pain, she would support him no matter what he decided. She also told him that the same was true for everyone else, reminding Xenon that by escaping Gelimer’s lab, he had gained colleagues and friends who would always support him.

As Xenon continued mastering his full power, Roo-D reached out to him and explained that Beryl had sent a message asking Xenon to settle their feud once and for all, and that she had threatened to destroy all of Edelstein if he didn’t show up. Roo-D warned Xenon to take care and told him that Beryl had sent them the meeting coordinates.

They traced the coordinates to Gelimer’s secret laboratory, which Roo-D noted was a poetic location for their confrontation. Xenon went to the laboratory, where Beryl was waiting. She told him that the laboratory was where they had both been born, and where they would have their final battle. She then told Xenon to come at her with his full power so that she could demonstrate her superiority over him.

After a fierce battle, Xenon managed to defeat her. Beryl begrudgingly acknowledged that she had been defeated and suddenly asked Xenon if he remembered how happy Gelimer had been when Xenon had been completed. She realized that he likely didn’t remember and explained that Gelimer had told her how every bit of research and every machine that he had ever built had been leading up to Xenon.

She also admitted that Gelimer had never once paid that kind of attention to her, which was when she had realized that the day would come when she and Xenon would end up fighting to the end. However, she told him that she never would have thought that he would betray them, and so she had continued to pursue him across the world. She had been furious that he had been stronger every time that they had met, for she had been sure that his emotions and memories would make him weaker. In the end, however, she admitted that both she and their father had been wrong.

Xenon was shaken by Beryl’s candid speech, but Beryl added that their encounter was likely the last time that they would ever face each other, explaining that because she had failed her mission, she would be marked as a defective unit and dismantled. Xenon was shocked, but Beryl told him that even now, he continued to taunt her with his emotions, as he ought to be happy that she would no longer pursue him.

Xenon replied that if he had known that she would be dismantled, he never would have come to fight her. He then pleaded with her to come back to Veritas with him so that he could show her that there was more to life than being the strongest. However, Beryl merely told him that she couldn’t betray Gelimer, adding that having failed the mission which she had been created for, she had to pay the price. Xenon told her that it didn’t mean that she had to die, but Beryl responded that a Xenoroid never truly died.

Xenon told her to stop blaming herself, but Beryl replied that his human logic was confusing. She explained that she was a Xenoroid, which meant that she must obey her command protocols until the end, and nothing that Xenon said could change that. Xenon told her that her actions were senseless, but Beryl replied that if that was true, then her whole life had been senseless, adding that she had been born to complete her mission, and that it was what she planned to do.

Xenon pleaded with her one last time for her not to go, to which she told him that they had fought since the day that they had first been created. Though she wondered if it would have been different if they had been normal humans, she suspected that it likely wouldn’t have changed, as it was what siblings did best. Xenon continued to plead with Beryl to stay, even as she turned her back to him, a sad smile on her face and a single tear falling from her eye. (A/N: I swear this ending hit me just as hard as Shade’s storyline.)

Xenon returned to Veritas in anguish and told Roo-D everything. He decided that he would storm the Verne Mine in order to find Beryl, but Roo-D stopped him and told him to think. She reminded him that there were nothing but Black Wings facilities at the Verne Mine, and as Gelimer had kept the Xenoroid project secret from even Orchid, he was likely hiding Beryl somewhere that no one else knew about.

Xenon asked what they could do, to which Roo-D told him that she and the others would look for Beryl. She hoped that since both Xenon and herself were missing, Gelimer would likely keep Beryl alive, as she was the only finished Xenoroid in his grasp. Xenon told Roo-D that he felt extreme torment, to which Roo-D explained that he was feeling devastation, adding that he had finally become human enough.

Xenon asked what Roo-D meant, to which she explained that when they had been forced leave Edelstein for the first time in order to avoid Beryl, he had felt disappointment over leaving his Resistance friends, but those feelings were nothing compared to how he felt now, meaning that he had developed his emotions. She also pointed out the irony in how he needed to lose something in order to feel something.

Xenon told her that if such pain was what being a human meant, then he didn’t want to be human anymore. Roo-D replied that being a human wasn’t always exciting, and that it would sometimes come with negative feelings like anger or sadness. Though Gelimer thought that weapons like themselves didn’t need emotions, Roo-D disagreed and claimed that though emotions didn’t help directly in fighting, they made them stronger nonetheless.

(A/N: For those wondering what happened to Beryl, it’s revealed in the Black Heaven storyline that Beryl was marked for dismantling, though she was ultimately saved and eventually became a member of Haven under the new name Bitterbot. She has a small reunion with Xenon after the battle at Tenebris, and though she doesn’t reveal her real identity, Xenon promises to visit her one day.)

Gelimer’s Betrayal:

In the Verne Mine, Orchid continued to lament over Lotus’ condition and demanded to know whether Gelimer’s experiments would truly bring him back. Gelimer assured her that Lotus would return in perfect form. He also proposed the draft of a massive airship that he was planning to build, Black Heaven, and convinced Orchid to approve the project.

Soon after, Gelimer moved Lotus from Orchid’s room to a new area of the laboratory called the Evolution Lab. There, he finished transforming Lotus into the perfect Xenoroid, making him far stronger than his prototypes, Xenon and Beryl. Orchid soon discovered the Evolution Lab and demanded to know why he had moved Lotus without her permission. She threatened Gelimer and reminded him that his experiments should have concluded months ago. Gelimer promised that Lotus would awaken imminently and demonstrated his claim by releasing Lotus from his pod.

Orchid was overjoyed to see her brother awaken, but she quickly grew confused when he wouldn’t respond to her. Gelimer then commanded Lotus to execute Program Alpha-97, which caused Lotus to turn on his sister and drain her half of the Wing Master powers. Gelimer revealed that he had succeeded in taking control of Lotus, who himself had the ability to control others, and explained that he had deliberately kept Lotus’ brain in hibernation, since his powers were all that Gelimer wanted. Severely injured, Orchid weakly asked Gelimer why he needed Lotus’ body. Gelimer explained that the Black Mage required a vessel, not another follower, and with that, he left Orchid to die and took Lotus with him.

(A/N: It’s surprising that Gelimer knows about Lotus’ ability to possess others, although I guess it makes sense when you consider that he’s been closely observing Lotus and performing experiments on him for years. In Black Heaven, Gelimer reveals that he wants to use Retoxin gas in order to turn the people of Maple World into mindless slaves, all of whom would be linked into a hive mind controlled by Lotus.

While I originally assumed that he’d link them through technology, it might actually be that he wanted Lotus to possess them all. Since Lotus can only possess weak-minded people from a distance, it’s possible that he wanted to use the Retoxin gas in order to weaken everyone’s minds for Lotus to be able to control them all at once.)

Soon after, the Resistance discovered the Evolution Lab and found an unconscious Orchid. Checky took Orchid into custody and brought her back to the Secret Plaza, where they nursed her back to health in order to interrogate her. However, Orchid’s condition was still too fragile, and so Claudine mobilized the Alliance in order to assess the situation.

An Alliance member arrived at the Secret Plaza, where Claudine explained what had happened and asked them to investigate the Evolution Lab in order to find out what Gelimer was plotting. In the Evolution Lab, the Alliance member activated a machine, which caused a hologram of Lotus to appear and explain the purpose of the Evolution System.

Just then, Claudine reached out to the Alliance member and gave them an emergency summons. Back at the Secret Plaza, she explained that they had accidentally allowed Orchid to escape, as they had underestimated her abilities in her injured state. The Alliance member suspected that she was at the Evolution Lab, and so Claudine gave them permission to follow her, though she warned them not to approach her, as she was still a Commander.

The Alliance member found Orchid at the Evolution Lab speaking with the Lotus hologram. She quickly realized that he was an AI created by Gelimer and grew angry, causing the last remnants of her Wing Master power to manifest. The AI detected Orchid as a threat and attacked her, immediately knocking her out.

The Alliance member took her back to the Secret Plaza, where Claudine treated her. She explained that though she had done all that she could medically, Orchid had fallen into a coma. Just then, Belle arrived from the Evolution Lab and explained her findings. She told them that the Evolution System had evolved by itself without any changes to its internal system and begrudgingly admitted that Gelimer was a genius, despite how much it pained her to say.

She explained that the system was capable of making its own judgements, allowing it to evolve into a stronger model on its own. Having recognized Orchid as a strong enemy, it had enhanced its own system to accommodate. Claudine told the Alliance member to learn how the Evolution System had changed itself and asked them to contact her if anything out of the ordinary happened.

Just then, Orchid called out to Lotus from her coma, surprising the group. Far away, Lotus shed a tear for the sister whom he had been forced to turn against. Gelimer was surprised to see Lotus crying, as he had believed that he had suppressed all of Lotus’ emotions and desires. As Gelimer set out to correct the behavior, Lotus also called out to Orchid.

(A/N: I really don’t get it whenever Nexon tries to spin Orchid and Lotus’ story into a tragedy. The first time that I did Black Heaven, I got so confused about why they were playing sad music when Lotus died. I don’t see how they can have Orchid and Lotus be sociopathic terrorists that killed and subjugated untold millions and then expect me to actually care whenever something bad happens to them.

I can completely sympathize with characters like Damien, who was tortured as a child and had his agency taken away, but Orchid and Lotus were completely in control of their actions from the beginning and at no point do they even show the slightest bit of remorse for what they’ve done, and so I usually just imagine dropkicking them off a building whenever the game pushes the tragedy angle.)

As the Alliance continued to use the Evolution System in order to learn more about it, the system recorded the combat data of countless Alliance members and imprinted it onto Lotus in order to have him analyze and enhance his own battle algorithms, thus making him even stronger. Soon after, Gelimer sought out the Commanders and presented Lotus’ enhanced body to them, claiming that it would be the perfect vessel for the Black Mage to inhabit.

Though the Commanders were plainly aware of Gelimer’s hidden agenda, they nevertheless accepted him into their ranks in order to use his talents, though they refused to make him a full Commander. With the support of the Commanders and free from Orchid’s oversight, Gelimer was in the perfect position to achieve his goals unobstructed.

Dimension Invasion:

With the support of the Alliance, the Nova were finally ready to launch their siege on Heliseum. With Edea appointed as the Supreme Commander of the Nova army and Piston as her second-in-command, their forces were able to push into Heliseum and establish the Heliseum Reclamation HQ. Soon after, Edea sent out a distress call and explained that there were strange creatures from Maple World swarming Heliseum.

One Alliance member answered the call and went to meet Piston, who was fighting on the front lines. He told them that he had discovered Gelimer and Hilla using a Crimson Interdimensional Portal to enter Heliseum. He recounted how he had overheard Gelimer assuring Hilla that with the success of his portal-generating device, Grandis would fall before them.

Hilla had then told Gelimer to relax and had suggested that they should spend time enjoying themselves, just as Magnus must have done. Gelimer had replied that the reports indicated that Magnus was powerful, and that he had also been a Commander like Hilla. However, Hilla had snapped at him that Magnus was nothing like her, claiming that Magnus couldn’t keep his allegiances straight if they were made of unbendable steel. She had also added that his intent to betray the Black Mage had been opaque to them all from the beginning.

The Alliance quickly mobilized its forces in order to stop Hilla and Gelimer from using the Crimson Interdimensional Portals to send their invasion army to Grandis. During the battle, Hilla managed to enter Tyrant’s Castle and confronted Magnus, where she gave him one final chance to explain himself. She asked Magnus why he had never bothered to attend the Commander meetings, even though he was alive and well, and asked if he opposed the Black Mage’s will. Magnus simply laughed and asked if the seal would be broken soon before congratulating the Commanders for all that they had accomplished thus far.

(A/N: It’s interesting to me that the Commanders had regular meetings in all the centuries that the Black Mage was sealed. I’ve always just headcanoned that they put themselves to sleep during that time because the Black Mage had ordered them to lay low and not cause trouble until he came back. The fact that they were all probably awake during that time makes me want to believe that with the exception of Von Leon being depressed in his castle, all the other Commanders bought a penthouse together and lived a sitcom life, complete with a canned laugh track.)

Hilla told him to keep his mouth shut, but Magnus was merely amused that he seemed to have struck a nerve. He reminded Hilla that he had never promised his utmost loyalty to the Black Mage and explained that Gerand Darmoor used very different methods than the Black Mage, adding that he wouldn’t embarrass himself further by continuing to play a part in such a ridiculous masquerade.

Hilla appeared genuinely upset by Magnus’ betrayal and, holding back tears, she told him that it was only right to call him an enemy, swearing that she would take back everything that the Black Mage had given him. Magnus sneered and replied that it should have been that way all along, as he could use a good fight. They then engaged in a fierce battle, the outcome of which was unknown.

(A/N: I always found the idea of Magnus and Hilla having unresolved romantic tension in FriendStory to be interesting. It’s nice to see that Hilla, at least, seemed to have some feelings for Magnus in the real world, and honestly, I like to think that Magnus getting under her skin was him flirting with her and reciprocating her feelings. And that’s such a cool coincidence because would you look at that, I’m also in love with both of them.

For me, Magnus and Hilla are just like a Fire/Poison Mage - hot but toxic. They’re literally the worst individually, but when you see them paired together, you can’t help but think, “God help me, these two are the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen in my life. I bet I could talk my way into a throuple with them. There’s no way this can end well, but what am I if not self-destructive?”

Getting back to the point, though, even though the outcome of their fight isn’t mentioned, it’s likely that Magnus won, since he’s still ruling Heliseum by the time that the Alliance launches its siege. This exchange between Magnus and Hilla is shown in a cutscene after you defeat Magnus during the Genesis Weapon liberation questline.)

Traces of the Black Mage:

With most of his power regained, the Demon decided to follow the lead that he had obtained from Von Leon and investigate the Temple of Time. He was hopeful for some meaningful answers, as the Temple of Time had once been the Black Mage’s stronghold and the place where he had once been sealed away. Before he headed out, Mastema asked him to obtain an Hourglass of Time during his mission, which had the power to transform one’s appearance into what they looked like in the past.

The Demon arrived at the Temple of Time and entered through the Gate of the Past. He continued onward until he encountered a hooded demon, who told him that he had been waiting, adding that he was honored that the Demon had come all the way just for him. The Demon asked the Commander who he was, to which he told the Demon that he would find out someday. He added that for now, he had something to give him.

He then passed on a locket, which the Demon recognized as his own locket that held a photo of his mother and Damien. (A/N: The locket fell out of the Demon’s pocket during his battle with the Black Mage centuries ago. Damien likely found it in the Black Mage’s throne room after the seal broke.) The Commander explained that he had felt as though he ought to give it back and told him to be careful not to lose the locket or the memories. The Demon asked the Commander why he had the locket to begin with, but the Commander chose to ignore the question and instead promised him that they would see each other again before disappearing.

Frustrated, the Demon decided to return to Edelstein, though he made sure to first obtain an Hourglass of Time for Mastema. Back at the Secret Plaza, he gave the hourglass to Mastema, who used it to successfully revert her appearance back to her demon form. Mastema then took the chance to confess her true feelings to the Demon, but just as she said the words “I love-“, the magic of the hourglass wore off and she returned back to her cat form.

The Demon then asked her to continue, but Mastema lost her nerve and instead told him that she had meant to say that she loved fighting on the side of good. The Demon agreed and told her that fighting the Black Mage had given him a new appreciation for Maple World, adding that he believed that they were doing the right thing.

(A/N: I hope that Mastema one day has the courage to finally confess, although I don’t know how much good it’ll do her if she’s stuck as a cat. The writers haphazardly rushed through giving a conclusion to the Maple World classes in the Aftermath cutscenes, and unfortunately, Mastema returning to her demon form wasn’t covered in them.)

Meanwhile, Angelic Buster continued to explore Maple World and collected Essence Stones from Drakes, Wild Kargos, Lioners, Star Pixies, and White Fangs, much to Eskalade’s delight.

(A/N: There’s literally no lore point to these quests besides getting your emblem, but since I guess they technically happened, I’ll still include them. I realize that this section is called Traces of the Black Mage, but since there’s nowhere else to keep these quests, I just decided to dump them here, even though they have nothing to do with the Black Mage.)

Soon after, Neinheart reached out to Kaiser and told him that the Alliance had discovered the Black Mage’s laboratory in Magatia.

(A/N: The Black Mage’s laboratory is the same laboratory that you enter at the end of the Magatia town storyline. In the town quests, the laboratory was said to have belonged to the Black Magician, which is the original GMS localization of the Black Mage’s name. Shortly after the Magatia town quests were released, the Black Mage was brought into greater focus with the release of pirates and Aran.)

Neinheart explained that the Alliance had found several interesting documents, and though he had already sent copies to the Nova, he wanted to show one particular document to Kaiser directly. After receiving the documents, Kaiser reviewed them and found new information on the Transcendents. He read that the Black Mage had cut off a part of himself that was imbued with light, and that he had embraced the darkness, putting him at odds with Rhinne and the World Tree. Kaiser was pleased to note that according to the documents, the Black Mage didn’t know the location or the identity of the World Tree. However, he realized that the Black Mage’s attempt to steal the Transcendent of Time’s powers was similar to how Darmoor had stolen the powers of Chronica.

(A/N: Most likely, these documents were written very soon after he awakened as the Transcendent of Light, probably while he was formulating his plan to destroy the Transcendents. At the time of writing these documents, he probably didn’t know who or where Alicia was. Later on, we learn that Neinheart ordered a more thorough investigation of the laboratory after the events of Black Heaven, which is when the Alliance found dozens of prophecies that foretold the events of major incidents like Black Heaven, Heroes of Maple, Esfera, and Tenebris. It’s highly likely that the laboratory was where the Black Mage mapped out the Path of Destiny.

His ability to see the future is somewhat distinct from most characters in the game. Characters like Cygnus or the Shamanesses of Azwan receive symbolic visions that they have to interpret, such as how Cygnus’ vision of Black Heaven was birds of light that fought against a giant of darkness. In contrast, from the way that the game describes the Black Mage’s abilities, it seems like he has little to no real precognitive skills. It’s more likely that he instead used complex mathematical formulas, his innate genius-level intelligence, and his enhanced powers as a Transcendent to manually chart out every single possible future based on every single relevant variable.

In Limina, Grendel mentions that the future is so incomprehensibly vast that mortals are physically incapable of perceiving it, aside from small fragments. However, it would make sense that a Transcendent - and particularly only someone with an IQ as high as the Black Mage - would have the ability to perceive an infinite number of futures and manipulate them. Because of this, the Black Mage’s prophecies are less his interpretations of future visions, and more just the events that he had already decided would happen.

On top of that, his prophecies themselves were also part of his plan, as he had purposefully left them behind so that the Alliance would discover them and know that their destiny was predetermined. He also left behind one particular sentence that would clue Cygnus and Neinheart in on realizing the importance of the Adversary at the time of Esfera, which would be the basis of their entire operation strategy in Tenebris: “Only the Adversary can counter immortality’s fate with the strength of a Seal Stone.”)

Kaiser returned to Pantheon and discussed the document with Fenelle. She noted that the main takeaway was how something strange seemed to happen when Transcendents used each other’s powers, as Darmoor’s use of Chronica’s powers had resulted in several Interdimensional Portals appearing all across Grandis. She also noted that Magnus had disappeared from Maple World after the Black Mage had taken Rhinne’s power.

Kaiser asked if it meant that the Interdimensional Portals appeared when other Transcendents used the power of the Transcendent of Time. Fenelle replied that it seemed to be the case and conjectured that Magnus had returned to Grandis when the Black Mage had used Rhinne’s power, which may have accounted for the time gap between him leaving Maple World and arriving on Grandis.

(A/N: Kaiser and Angelic Buster’s storylines laid the groundwork for the lore on Transcendents and suggested that Interdimensional Portals only appear when a Transcendent of Time’s power is stolen. However, all future mentions of the topic state that it’s the result of taking any Transcendent’s power, not necessarily the Transcendent of Time’s.)

Kaiser then pointed out that the Interdimensional Portal on Maple World had just been discovered recently. Fenelle reasoned that the power of time had likely been sealed away along with the Black Mage, but just then, she realized that the Interdimensional Portal reappearing meant that the seal on the Black Mage must have been broken, allowing for the power of time to form the Interdimensional Portal once again. Fenelle told Kaiser that the Alliance needed to be informed immediately and warned him that with Maple World facing the return of their biggest threat, and with the Nova preparing to launch their attack on Magnus, the situation had gotten much more serious.

(A/N: The Interdimensional Portal was introduced in the game during the Tempest patch, which also released Luminous, Kaiser, and Angelic Buster. These three class storylines were written with the intention that they interconnect, as Luminous’ final quest involves him meeting the Black Mage shortly after the seal breaks, which is meant to coincide with the Nova realizing the significance of the portal appearing.

While the writers may have intended for game updates to correspond to the progression of the in-game timeline, I found that this doesn’t hold up when I tried piecing together the chronology of the game, similar to how higher level content doesn’t necessarily take place after lower level content. Because of the constant retcons and continuity errors that get introduced in later updates, the chronology gets all jumbled up and it was honestly a nightmare trying to reconcile all the little details and plot holes while making this site.

In the case of the Interdimensional Portal’s appearance, the Explorer storyline and Xenon’s storyline are both set before the Black Mage’s seal is broken, but the portal already exists at that time. Now, rather than the portal’s appearance meaning that the seal has been broken, it’s essentially been retconned to mean that the seal has seriously weakened. Because of this, it now feels odd for the Nova to act like they’ve stumbled onto some sort of revelation when the Black Mage has already been freed for a long time now.

The Black Heaven storyline showed that the Alliance was keeping news of the Black Mage’s return secret from the rest of the world, even though there were plenty of rumors going around about it. I like to headcanon that since the Alliance was officially keeping silent on the matter, and since the Nova likely wouldn’t have heard the rumors when they’re based in Grandis, they probably never heard the news, and so they must’ve thought that they were the first people to figure it out.)

Soon after, Neinheart contacted Angelic Buster and explained that at Kaiser’s request, he was giving her the report that the Alliance had compiled on the Black Mage’s laboratory in Magatia. Angelic Buster read through the report, but found that was confused by some of the details. She asked Eskalade why the Overseers allowed people like the Black Mage and Gerand Darmoor to become Transcendents in the first place. Eskalade explained that Transcendents didn’t have to be good, but rather, they simply needed to bring balance to the domain that they ruled. As an example, he cited the Black Mage and explained that he was fated to be defeated, which would allow for the light to equalize itself.

(A/N: This explains why Luminous didn’t awaken as the new Transcendent of Light after the Black Mage’s death. As a Transcendent only awakens in response to a great imbalance of their domain, there would be no reason for Luminous to awaken when the light has just equalized itself

This would also explain the absence of a Transcendent of Light in Maple World prior to the White Mage. Mortal Transcendents reincarnate upon death, and so it’s likely that the White Mage’s past lives had the potential to awaken, but since the balance of light hadn’t fallen out of balance, they just kept reincarnating without ever becoming a Transcendent.

After the fusion of Maple World and Grandis, Tana satisfies the requirement for a Transcendent of Light, and so it’s highly unlikely that Luminous will ever awaken.)

Angelic Buster then asked why the Transcendents needed to get involved to begin with. Eskalade explained that Transcendents could be either immortal or mortal, but they were mandated to maintain a balance. Should one of the three domains begin to falter, so would the Transcendent that watched over it. Angelic Buster asked if that was why Darmoor had awakened as the Transcendent of Life during the Flora Civil War, but Eskalade replied that he didn’t know who Darmoor was, as he only had knowledge of events that had occurred before he had been trapped inside the relic.

(A/N: I’ve been told that Eskalade in MapleStory M is basically a giant nerd who gets really excited over research and stuff, similar to how he behaves here. If they revamp Angelic Buster’s storyline, I’d really appreciate it if they could change his personality to be more like this so that I don’t feel the urge to commit a homicide whenever he opens his mouth)

Angelic Buster then showed him the report that Kaiser had written up, which Eskalade found interesting. He told her that the main takeaway from the report was that Transcendents had a fascination for each other’s powers, which explained why Darmoor and the Black Mage had stolen the powers of their respective Transcendents of Time.

(A/N: This has been somewhat soft-retconned. While it hasn’t been strictly disproved, the Black Mage’s motivations for stealing Rhinne’s powers were part of his master plan to destroy all the Transcendents, rather than because he coveted her power, and I suspect that Darmoor is in the same boat.)

Angelic Buster then remembered Beldar's explanation on how the Interdimensional Portals had begun to appear after Darmoor had used Chronica’s powers. Eskalade told her that when a Transcendent used another’s powers, there would be some sort of negative side-effect, which could range between something simple like a physical backlash to something as severe as a disruption of the spacetime continuum. Eskalade told her that they would need to seek out the World Tree or Aeona in order to use their Transcendent powers against both the Black Mage and Darmoor and explained that according to legend, Aeona was said to live in the Sanctum of Light, a place where only light could reach.

Soon after, Tear collected more Essence Stones from Triple Rumos, Neo Huroids, Chao, and Ephenia, finally satisfying Eskalade’s appetite. (A/N: While you need to kill Chao and Ephenia to get these stones, her killing them would contradict with the Ellin Forest storyline, and so you can assume that she obtained the stones without killing either of them. Eskalade also gives you an emblem at the end of this questline)

Meanwhile, Ark received a letter from Francis, who invited him to join the Black Wings. Ark went to meet him at the Verne Mine and asked him how many others he had sent the invitation to. Francis explained that he had only asked him and another girl with pink pigtails, though he regretted that the Alliance had gotten to her first. Ark then hit Francis, explaining that something had instinctively made him do so, and refused Francis’ offer. (A/N: Ark gets a medal for being the last class to canonically hit Francis in a class storyline. Just like with Angelic Buster, it’s only said in the dialogue that he hits Francis, rather than us actually fighting him.) As he left the Verne Mine, Ark noted to himself that Francis didn’t seem truly evil and hoped that he would one day change.

Just then, he met Angelic Buster, whom he recognized as the same girl that Francis had described. After exchanging greetings, she gave him a report from Kaiser that detailed Maple World’s Transcendents. Ark read through the report and learned that the Black Mage had stolen the Transcendent of Time’s powers, resulting in the creation of the Interdimensional Portal. Ark realized that the portal’s appearance meant that the Black Mage’s seal was weakening. (A/N: This is a continuity error. Grandis class storylines were initially set before the seal breaking, but the Explorer revamp ruined everything.)

He also read that Transcendents who stole another’s power were weakened. He realized that Darmoor must have known the risks, which made his decision to steal Chronica’s powers even more confusing. He then wondered if Darmoor was planning to invade Maple World during a time of peace with the stolen power of time.

(A/N: This also happened to the Black Mage, who spent years recovering his full power while trapped in the seal. It says a lot about the Black Mage’s strength when the Heroes couldn’t even beat him centuries ago when he was at a fraction of his full power. In contrast, it says a lot about how strong we are to beat the Black Mage at twice his original strength in Limina.)

The Big Bang:

(A/N: I call this section the Big Bang, but it’s mainly just an homage. I’m not including most of the details that the Big Bang patch mentions due to the glaring continuity errors. The patch states that the Black Wings succeeded in resurrecting the Black Mage, who proceeded to rearrange Victoria Island. Since the first is blatantly false and the second just seems like a weak lore justification for the reorganization to Victoria Island, the only thing I’m including from the patch is that the monsters around Maple World grew stronger because of his return, explaining the origin of Chaos bosses.)

Athena Pierce summoned the Explorer back to Henesys and warned them that the Black Mage’s return was imminent. She then asked them to check on different towns across Maple World in order to ensure that nothing was out of the ordinary.

Warrior:
The Explorer checked on Perion and Mu Lung, where nothing was reported out of the ordinary.

Magician:
The Explorer checked on Ellinia and Magatia, where nothing was reported out of the ordinary.

Bowman:
The Explorer checked on Henesys and El Nath, where nothing was reported out of the ordinary.

Thief:
The Explorer checked on Kerning City and Ludibrium, where nothing was reported out of the ordinary.

Pirate:
The Explorer checked on the Nautilus and Orbis, where nothing was reported out of the ordinary.

Paths Converge Here:
After reporting back, Athena Pierce told them that the final place they needed to check was the Temple of Time, which was especially important, as it was the spot where the Black Mage was sealed. (A/N: Can we get an F in the chat for Maple Island, Ereve, Rien, Leafre, Edelstein, and Ariant, all of which were ignored.)

She explained that the Alliance frequently sent people to check out the Temple of Time, and though all of the reports normally came back negative, she had a bad feeling this time around. She told them that upon arriving at the temple, they would find three doors. She explained that only the Gate to the Future worked, as the Gate of the Past had been destroyed and no one had ever entered the Gate of the Present.

(A/N: The Gate of the Past was broken by Kirston when he summons Pink Bean. I wonder how the Heroes entered the Black Mage’s throne room if they didn’t enter through the Gate of the Present.)

The Explorer arrived at the Three Doors, but they were confused when they saw that the Gate of the Present was open. They decided to enter the door and walked through an oppressive hallway, where ruins of a fierce battle littered the ground, and soon arrived at the entrance of the Black Mage’s throne room, where the outer seal on the door was gone.

Inside the throne room, they were shocked to see the Black Mage frozen behind the Seal of Time, which they noticed was cracked and degraded. The Explorer inspected the five Seal Stones used to power the seal and discovered that one of them had been broken. They wondered whether replacing the broken Seal Stone with another Seal Stone would repair the Seal of Time, and so they returned to Athena Pierce and told her everything that they had learned.

Athena was surprised to hear that the Gate of the Present had opened to them, as well as the fact that the Black Mage had been sealed there the entire time, and that the seal was in such poor condition. They traveled together to the Temple of Time, where Athena was confused why the Explorer had said that the Gate of the Present was open when it was clearly closed.

When the Explorer told her that it was open to them, she realized that the door distorted spacetime in order to reject anyone not from Maple World. As the Explorer wasn’t originally from Maple World, the door had altered itself for them. The Explorer was confused by her words but Athena told them that they didn’t have to understand the logic and handed them the Seal Stone of Nihal Desert.

(A/N: This is by far one of the most confusing aspects of the Explorer storyline. The Explorer isn’t originally from Maple World, which Mai tells you in the tutorial, since you popped out of the Maple Tree. She explains that all the Explorers began to appear from other worlds, which was why Maple Island was able to develop. However, the Cannoneer’s storyline clearly shows that he was on an airship headed towards Maple Island, and Tess mentions that he also traveled to Maple Island in order to become an Explorer.

I mentioned this previously, but the original tutorial for the revamped Explorer storyline has you wake up in a black void, where you break through some chains and escape out of a door that looks just like one of the Three Doors in the Temple of Time. Knowing the whole debacle behind Kao trying to travel back in time, I almost wonder whether the Explorer escaped from the white void in the last stage of the Black Mage fight because they failed to stop the Black Mage and the Genesis Ritual succeeded in erasing Maple World and replacing it with the new world, thus making the Explorer not a part of Maple World. I haven’t thought too much about how that would fit with Kao’s storyline, but it seemed interesting to consider.)

She told the Explorer to use the Seal Stone to fix the Seal of Time, adding that they were Maple World’s only hope. The Explorer went back to the Black Mage’s throne room and attempted to fix the seal. Just then, the Black Mage awoke and ordered them to step away from the seal. Terrified, the Explorer spoke with the Black Mage, who promised them power if they agreed to serve him.

(A/N: I doubt that he had any intention of letting us serve him, but it would’ve been cool if we were able to become a Commander. If MapleStory had an alignment system, I could totally see us becoming a Commander and fighting the Alliance.)

The Explorer decided to ignore his words and instead focused on fixing the seal. However, the Black Mage grew furious and used his strength to destroy the seal. Having freed himself, the Black Mage promised that the price of the Explorer’s disobedience would break them before disappearing. The Explorer returned to Athena Pierce and told her what had happened. Realizing that the worst had come to pass, Athena told the Explorer to get some rest while she handled the situation.

As the Alliance began to mobilize in preparation, Agent N reached out to Luminous and explained that the Black Mage was on the move, likely near Lania’s home. He told Luminous that Agent O had just sent them the message, and though the other agents were on their way, he wanted to let Luminous know before they arrived. Luminous used the Aurora Prism to return to Lania’s home, where he found the entire forest warped with the power of darkness.

He saw Vieren nearby, who apologized weakly for having failed. Luminous asked him where Lania was, to which Vieren told him that he had no idea how the Black Mage had found them, but added that the Sentrobo had been destroyed. Though Agent O and Penny had managed to hide, Vieren hadn’t been able to stop the Black Mage from taking Lania. Vieren then attuned the Aurora Prism to the Black Mage’s location so that Luminous could go after him.

Luminous used the Prism to arrive in a different area of the forest, where he heard Lania calling out to him. He followed her voice and discovered her collapsed on the ground. Suddenly, she cried out as she was engulfed in a great wave of darkness. Possessed by the Black Mage, she began to attack Luminous with dark magic. Luminous used his powers to drive the darkness out of Lania, who collapsed motionless on the ground, just as the Black Mage himself appeared.

The Black Mage mocked Lania for her weakness, claiming that she had faltered before a mere sample of his power. Having both Lucia and Lania taken away from him, Luminous swore that the Black Mage would suffer for what he had done. The Black Mage asked if Luminous was shaken and called his compassion a rotten crutch. Disgusted with the Black Mage considering love a weakness, Luminous challenged him to a duel and promised to show him the power that love had granted him. However, the Black Mage refused, explaining that he wanted to save their final battle for another time.

After he vanished, Luminous was relieved to see that Lania had awoken, who revealed that she was remembering memories of being Lucia in her past life. She told Luminous that she had never blamed him for her death and told him to stop feeling sorry about everything. Though Luminous protested that she wouldn’t have died if it hadn’t been for him, Lania snapped at him and said that they were together again, and that it was all that mattered. However, she reminded him that no matter what, she was still Lania. With a weight lifted off his heart, Luminous told Lania that they should head home.

Soon after the Black Mage’s return, Maple World’s most powerful monsters were strengthened by his dark influence, including Zakum, Papulatus, and Horntail.

(A/N: The idea of the Black Mage corrupting and strengthening monsters into Chaos bosses holds up a little less well with bosses who appeared after the Black Mage’s unsealing, such as the Root Abyss bosses. It seems like they’ve established the nomenclature of bosses to have Chaos bosses refer to actual monsters, such as Zakum, Kalos, or Gloom, while humanoid bosses like Magnus, Seren, or the Black Mage are called Hard bosses.)

PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Saving Maple Island:

The Explorer received a distress call from Sugar, who told them that Maple Island was in trouble. They rushed back to Maple Island, only to find it in ruins. In Amherst, they met with Chief Lucas, who told them that the Black Mage had attacked the island, causing the Explorer to wonder why the Black Mage would attack Maple Island of all places. (A/N: The Explorer is honestly so dumb, like do they not remember literally five minutes ago when the Black Mage said that they would suffer for their disobedience?)

Lucas noted that the Black Mage could have easily destroyed Maple Island if he had wanted to, and the fact that he hadn’t made him believe that the Black Mage had an ulterior agenda. Just then, the Explorer asked where Sugar was. Lucas told them that she had fled towards Maple Tree Hill while the rest of the town had been busy putting out fires.

The Explorer rushed to the Maple Tree, where Sugar was desperately trying to stop it from burning down. She asked the Explorer to get a bucket from Lucas, which they obtained and filled with water. They returned to Sugar and used the water to put out the fire. They then noticed that Sugar’s hands were covered in burn marks and asked if she had been trying to put the fire out with her bare hands. After getting a refill of water, the Explorer gave the bucket to Sugar in order to treat her hands, but Sugar instead used it to put out the last of the fire.

Just then, Rondo, Tess, and Olive came in response to Sugar’s distress call, where they were shocked to find Maple Island in flames. The Explorer filled them in on what had happened with the Black Mage’s seal and his attack on Maple Island. Rondo was surprised that the Black Mage was real, as he had thought that the Black Mage was a story used to scare orphans like himself.

Olive was both disturbed and bemused that the Black Mage had destroyed the island out of petty revenge for the Explorer not obeying him. However, Tess believed that his other reason for destroying Maple Island was to intimidate the Explorers, who all started their journey on the island, though he was confused why the Black Mage hadn’t destroyed the island entirely, as new Explorers could still arrive and get to Maple World.

Sugar then reminded them that their first priority was still to save Maple Island. Tess recalled the story that Athena Pierce had told them about the Seal Stones, explaining that their original purpose was to restore ruined continents.

(A/N: Tess mentions that the Seal Stones were made by the Heroes 300 years ago, but there’s no way this is possible because of contradictions in Phantom’s storyline as well as the Tower of Oz storyline, which imply that the war against the Black Mage took place at least 800 years ago.)

They then wondered whether they could use the Seal Stone of Nihal Desert in order to save Maple Island. However, they were unsure of how the Seal Stone could be used in the first place. Tess reasoned that Athena didn’t know either, or else she would have used it to help them. He decided that they would need to ask the Heroes, as they were the original creators of the Seal Stones. Rondo was surprised to know that the Heroes were real too, expressing his excitement that he would finally be able to meet one.

Warrior:
Tess told the Explorer to seek out Aran and suggested that they go speak with Tru in Lith Harbor. The Explorer went to Tru’s shop and asked if he could arrange a meeting with Aran. After learning what had happened to Maple Island, Tru told them that he would have Aran meet them in Rien and instructed them to go see Lilin first.

In Rien, they traveled to Lilin’s house, where she told them that in order to meet Aran, she would need to test them. She first asked them what job Aran was. Next, she asked them what sort of weapon Aran used. Finally, she asked what gender Aran was.

(A/N: There are actually three options for this: male, female, and Aran. Lilin gets annoyed if you say Aran and asks you to choose between male and female. It’s funny because she uses male pronouns throughout the quiz but Aran’s gender is dependent on which answer you pick. I’m still gonna continue going with Aran being a woman.)

Just then, Aran arrived and greeted the Explorer, who asked her about the Seal Stones. She explained that she had lost her memories, and so she couldn’t remember how the Seal Stones had been created. However, she showed them the Seal Stone of Victoria Island so that they could compare the two. The Explorer noted that though both of them appeared identical, the Seal Stone of Victoria Island was cold, whereas the Seal Stone of Nihal Desert was much warmer.

Aran told them that she believed that each stone held the energy of its respective continent, explaining that the temperature difference was based on the region it had been made for. The Explorer asked if Maple Island had its own Seal Stone, but Aran told them that she wasn’t sure. She mentioned that the Black Wings had already obtained many of the Seal Stones, though she wasn’t sure of precisely which ones they had stolen. Apologizing for not being more helpful, she promised them that she would continue researching on her end.

Magician:
Tess told the Explorer to seek out Evan and explained that he was from a small farm near Henesys, which was where he recommended that they start their search. He also suggested that they talk to Evan’s brother, Utah, if Evan wasn’t home.

The Explorer went to the pig farm and met Utah, who told them that Evan was rarely at home ever since becoming a hero, though he told them that they were welcome to wait for him. The Explorer was surprised to learn that Utah was Evan’s older brother, as Utah’s relatively young age would mean that Evan was a child. They wondered briefly whether they were at the right place when suddenly Mir landed, with Evan riding on his back.

Evan welcomed the Explorer, who asked if he was the Dragon Master. Evan laughed and told them that they could just call him Evan, as Dragon Master sounded lofty. He asked the Explorer why they had sought him out, when suddenly, he grew afraid after assuming that they had come to kill Mir. The Explorer reassured him that they hadn’t come to hurt Mir and explained the situation on Maple Island. Evan gave his sympathies, but explained that it was his predecessor, Freud, who had created the Seal Stones, and so he couldn’t help them.

Just then, Mir pointed out that Afrien might know about them. Evan realized that Mir was right and decided to go ask him on Turtle Island. However, Utah interrupted them and explained that their noisy entrance had scared away his piglet. He then ordered Evan to find it. (A/N: You get a choice to either let Evan find the piglet or find it for him. If you let Evan do the work, you have to wait 3 minutes.)

After the piglet was found, Evan returned with files from Afrien detailing the basics about Seal Stones. The Explorer thanked him and added that he was a great magician, even in spite of being so young, to which Evan laughed and pointed out that they were around the same age. (A/N: This line is interesting, as it puts the Explorer’s age as being around a child.)

The Explorer opened the report and read that, in summary, a Seal Stone consisted of three components: a medium for the continent that would act as the core of the Seal Stone, five different powers to give the intent for how the power was to be directed, and a strong will to bring peace and prevent destruction to tie it all together.

Bowman:
Tess told the Explorer to seek out Mercedes and explained that she was the queen of elves, meaning that she could be found in Elluel. He also added that they should speak with Philius, the Elder of Magic, if they couldn’t find her. In Elluel, the Explorer met with Philius, who told them that Mercedes was away, though he invited them to wait for her.

While they were waiting, Philius asked them for a favor. He explained that Moonie, a child who had been kidnapped by Orchid, had been freed from the ice, and that he was often lonely, since none of his friends had been freed yet, and so he asked the Explorer to play with Moonie for a while. Moonie was amazed by the Explorer and asked them to recount stories of their adventures.

After hearing the Explorer’s stories, Moonie hoped to visit all the amazing places that the Explorer had been to. The Explorer told Moonie that he should have adventures himself, especially since he didn’t appear much younger than them. (A/N: This is another line that puts the Explorer’s age to be around the same as a young teenager.)

Moonie explained that ever since his kidnapping, he was afraid of most things. The Explorer asked if there was anything that made him feel brave, to which he asked them to play a new song on the Music Box so that he would feel brave. The Explorer obtained a Magical Score from Astilda, who explained that it would play the song written on their heart. (A/N: What’s cool is that the music box plays the RED Explorer theme.)

The upbeat theme made Moonie feel much braver, who thanked the Explorer. Just then, Mercedes arrived and thanked them for playing with Moonie. The Explorer told her about the Black Mage’s attack on Maple Island and asked about the Seal Stones. Mercedes gave her sympathies, but explained that since Maple Island didn’t exist centuries ago, the Heroes had never made a Seal Stone for it.

Mercedes apologized for being the bearer of bad news, but reassured them that with hard work, they could rebuild their island manually, after which she blessed them with Sylvidia’s protection. (A/N: She used to give the blessing of the Great Spirit in older character storylines like the Demon’s. I wonder why they changed her blessings to be from her unicorn instead.)

Thief:
Tess told the Explorer to seek out Phantom and explained that he traveled by airship, meaning that he would be difficult to find. He then explained that the Explorer’s best bet would be to go to Ereve, where Phantom had first made his public debut. As he was said to visit from time to time, Tess recommended that they speak with Empress Cygnus.

After explaining their story to Cygnus, she told them that she would dispatch some knights to Maple Island in order to help however they could. She then explained that she had no way of contacting Phantom, as he would come and go as he pleased. However, she mentioned that Phantom occasionally flew in the Lumiere above Ereve from time to time and suggested that they place a sign at the highest part of Ereve.

The Explorer went to the Small Bridge and created a sign that would draw Phantom’s attention. Soon after, Phantom arrived and the Explorer told him about the Black Mage’s attack on Maple Island. Phantom told them that the Black Mage was a vengeful being, and that he had attacked Maple Island in order to cause them pain, as well as to scare new Explorers.

He asked them if they were ready to become the Black Mage’s enemy, as well as what their drive was. After the Explorer told him their reasons, Phantom decided to see whether they had the power to back up their convictions. He then stole one of the Explorer’s skills and remarked that they had a number of useful powers.

Satisfied with their resolve, Phantom told them that he would answer their questions. The Explorer asked him how they could use a Seal Stone to restore Maple Island, to which Phantom told them that no one knew, as Freud was the only one who fully understood the Seal Stones. He added that without Freud or another magician who had spent years researching the Seal Stones, the Explorer would need to find another way to save Maple Island. With that, Phantom disappeared and stole the sign that the Explorer had made as well.

Pirate:
Tess told the Explorer to seek out Luminous, as pirates hadn’t been around hundreds of years ago. He suggested that they speak with Grendel the Really Old in order to find out where Luminous could be. The Explorer went to the Magic Library and explained what had happened to Maple Island to Grendel. Though he sympathized with their plight, Grendel wasn’t sure where Luminous was either. However, he explained that Luminous had recently placed a Light Barrier around Ellinia and offered to send the Explorer to the source of the barrier.

After being teleported to the forests of Ellinia, the Explorer continued their search for Luminous. However, they soon realized that they seemed to be walking in circles. After wasting much time circling around, the Explorer encountered the Sentrobo, which immediately began to attack them. (A/N: Luminous likely rebuilt the Sentrobo after the Black Mage’s attack on Lania’s home.)

The Explorer destroyed the Sentrobo in self-defense, and soon after, Luminous appeared. He demanded to know who the Explorer was and why they had destroyed the Sentrobo. They explained that they had sought him out and told him about the Black Mage’s attack on Maple Island. After understanding the situation, Luminous explained that the Heroes had made the Seal Stones as a safeguard in case they lost against the Black Mage. However, he regretted to admit that he never fully understood the nature of the Seal Stones. He also told them that Freud had discovered another way to use the Seal Stones, which was to add magical seals that drew upon the stolen powers of time.

The Explorer asked if it meant that they could use the Seal Stones to reseal the Black Mage, but Luminous replied that it wouldn’t work for multiple reasons. Firstly, Freud was the only one who had known how to add magical seals to the Seal Stones. Secondly, the power of time was so volatile that it would be dangerous to use again, especially since Maple World was on the brink of a time collapse. Finally, he doubted that the Black Mage would fall victim to the same trick twice. He also added that he unfortunately didn’t know how to use the Seal Stones to restore cities, as he had been frozen in ice from the Black Mage’s curse before he could test it.

Paths Converge Here:
Having completed their mission, the Explorer returned to Maple Tree Hill to rendezvous with the other Explorers. After everyone arrived, Tess compiled what they had learned from the Heroes and summarized it. First, there were multiple Seal Stones, but they were limited in power to the area they were created for, which meant that Maple Island would need its own Seal Stone. However, Olive pointed out that there was no Seal Stone for Maple Island, as it hadn’t existed when the Heroes had made the Seal Stones.

As they couldn’t think of any other options, Tess suggested that they take a break, since everyone was exhausted. As everyone went to rest, Olive told the Explorer that she had been thinking of ways to save Maple Island, but realized that the only means that they had was to rebuild by hand. She told them that the Alliance had sent them tools and asked the Explorer to pick them up from Athena Pierce.

In Henesys, Athena gave them the tools and explained that the people of Victoria Island had gathered the tools for Maple Island. The Explorer returned back home and distributed the tools to the people of Maple Island. They then went to Maple Tree Hill and gave seeds to Sugar so that she could restore the greenery.

Just then, Sugar felt an evil presence and told the Explorer to follow her. On the outskirts of Amherst, Sugar and the Explorer found Tess, Olive, and Rondo confronting the Black Mage’s Shadow. They told Sugar and the Explorer that they had been trying to fight the shadow, but that their attacks seemed to have no effect. The Explorer charged in to attack the shadow, but found that they were dealing no damage to it either.

The shadow then raised its hand to launch a powerful attack on the Explorer. Just as it fired, Sugar used her powers to protect the Explorer from harm. Following her lead, the others also lent their powers to the Explorer. Because of their support, the Explorer felt much stronger, though they realized that it still wasn’t enough.

Just then, they felt another power surging up inside them. From their Explorer Book, the Maple Leaf shot out and transformed into the Seal Stone of Maple Island. Simultaneously, the Goddess of Maple World appeared and bestowed her blessing upon the Explorer. Empowered by the collective strength of their friends and the Goddess, the Explorer fought the Black Mage’s Shadow once again and was able to defeat it for good.

(A/N: This seems to foreshadow the Black Mage’s defeat. The Adversary was only able to defeat a Transcendent because they held the divine power of a Seal Stone inside them, similar to how the Explorer was able to defeat the Black Mage’s shadow with the divine blessing of a Goddess.)

After defeating the shadow, the Goddess thanked the Explorer for saving Maple Island and explained that she had been watching them throughout their journey through Sugar, her avatar. Though the Goddess’ energy had been infused into the Maple Tree over time, as she had no physical body, she had sent Sugar after sensing something ominous brewing in Maple World. She then thanked them for saving both Maple Island and Maple World.

However, the Explorer pointed out that Maple Island was still in ruins. The Goddess told them not to worry, pointing out that their collective determination had been poured into the Maple Leaf, transforming it into the Seal Stone of Maple Island, just as the Heroes had done centuries ago. She explained that in order to restore Maple Island, they needed to channel their desire in the same way they had done to create the Seal Stone.

The Explorers poured all their hope for a rebuilt Maple Island into the Seal Stone, triggering its divine power to restore their home. With that, both the Seal Stone and the Goddess disappeared. The Explorers all congratulated each other on a job well done. Rondo asked Sugar if she would return back to the Maple Tree, since the island was saved, but Sugar replied that she would stay for a while until things settled down. With that, they exchanged their goodbyes and promised to stay in touch, even as they all went their separate ways once again.

Ellin Forest:

(A/N: Technically, any class can complete the Ellin Forest storyline, but it completely breaks if anyone except a generic class like the Explorers, Cygnus Knights, or Resistance play through it. Absolutely no one seems to recognize you if you play as one of the Heroes (although it makes sense in Shade’s case).

Tess can be found in both the Ellin Forest storyline and the Explorer storyline, and he refers to you as Kao in both of them, and so I’m going with the assumption that the Explorer is the one who canonically completes the Ellin Forest storyline. Even then, it’s weird that they don’t seem to acknowledge that they recognize Tess either.)

While continuing their adventures, the Explorer heard a rumor that a Crack in Time had appeared in Ludibrium, allowing one to travel into the past, and so they decided to check it out. Traveling to the past, the Explorer emerged into an unfamiliar forest. Deeper in the forest, they discovered a camp full of strange people. They encountered a fairy named Yuris and asked her where they were. (A/N: Elves are one of the three races of fairies, and Yuris is a half-elf. It’s also why she isn’t frozen, as the Black Mage’s curse only affects pure-blooded elves.)

Yuris greeted the Explorer as Kao and told them that Loha was looking for them. They went to the center of the camp, where Loha called out to them and asked them where they had been. She also warned them that Crawls with Balrog was going to starve if they didn’t take their job seriously. Thoroughly confused, the Explorer told her that they didn’t know who Kao was. However, Loha merely told them to stop joking around and ordered them to work with Tess in order to get the materials Sion had asked for. The Explorer went to find Tess, who told them that their joke about not knowing their own name was hilarious. He also asked them how they got the bruise on their face.

(A/N: I’m guessing that the Explorer was somehow bruised in transit to the past, or they just have mud or something that looks like a bruise which Tess notices, as the only other implication is that your face was somehow morphed to look like Kao’s face as it appeared at that point in time, which makes no sense.)

The Explorer decided to play along and asked what Sion wanted from them. Tess told them that Sion had asked for Moss Snail Shells. As he was on guard duty, he asked them to collect the shells and bring them to Loha. They brought the shells to Loha, who admonished them, as she had needed them to bring her something to make porridge for Crawls with Balrog.

She then told them that Athena Pierce was looking for them, and so the Explorer went to the Camp Conference Room. Athena recognized them as Kao, but the Explorer explained that they were from the future. She immediately understood and explained that it was clear that they were different. They then asked Athena which time period they were in, as the forest seemed familiar to Ellinia.

Athena was intrigued to learn the future name for Ellin Forest and explained that it had been several months since the Heroes had fought the Black Mage. She told them that she had led a group of refugees to Victoria Island, and that they had crash landed in the forest from a dragon attack instead of the southern plains.

However, she explained that she had heard from Perzen that the Heroes had successfully sealed the Black Mage away. The Explorer tried to tell her what happened in the future, but Athena stopped them, explaining that knowing the future may change things for the worse. She told them that, at the moment, they needed strong warriors to help explore and develop Ellin Forest and asked if they would help.

After agreeing to lend their support, Athena directed them to Perzen, who was working on a Barrier Stone. The Explorer went to see Perzen, who had learned from Athena Pierce that they had come from the future. The Explorer asked them who Kao was, to which Perzen explained that Kao was one of the people who had ended up in Ellin Forest with the refugees, and that the Explorer looked identical to them. The Explorer asked where Kao currently was, to which Perzen explained that Kao had disappeared shortly before the Explorer arrived.

(A/N: Most likely, Kao stumbled into the past while trying to warn their past self after failing to defeat the Black Mage and regained enough of their memories to remember that they needed to return to the present, and so they’ve likely left for the Temple of Time by now.)

Perzen then told them that the Barrier Stone that he was working on protected the camp from dark energy. However, the sheer volume of dark energy was causing the barrier to grow weaker, and so he was using the life force of monsters in order to reinforce it. He asked them to collect Forest Stones from the monsters so that he could strengthen the barrier. As the Explorer set out, they ran into Yuris again, who told them that she was having cravings for sweet and sour food. She asked them to go speak with Ellin, a fairy who was one of the original inhabitants of the forest, and ask for some fresh fruit.

The Explorer went to meet Ellin, who told them that she would help them in exchange for Moss Snail Shells. After bringing her the shells, she gave them a sweet and sour orange to give to Yuris. The Explorer brought it to Yuris, who suddenly realized that she wasn’t feeling the cravings anymore, though she pocketed it for the future.

She showed them the airship she was rebuilding and asked them for suggestions on its name. However, she hated all the suggestions that the Explorer gave and decided that she would go with her original idea of ‘Kyrin’. She told them that she was planning to name her daughter Kyrin once she was born, but told them not to tell anyone she was pregnant. She also mentioned that Athena Pierce was looking for them in the Camp Conference Room.

Upon arriving, Athena told them that it rained too much in the forest and wondered whether they ought to relocate to a place with better weather. She added that Ephenia worried her as well. The Explorer asked who Ephenia was, to which Athena explained that she was the Fairy Queen, and that she wasn’t on friendly terms with the people of Altaire Camp.

She then changed the topic and explained that the able-bodied warriors of the camp were searching for a new land for them to move to. She asked them to check on Shadrion in the south in order to get his assessment of the situation. On their way, Tess asked them to bring him Tree Trunks, since he couldn’t leave his post to get them himself. The Explorer went to the south forest, where they encountered Shadrion. He told them that the south forest was endless, and that it would take years to cut down enough trees. He joked that alternatively, they could all live in treehouses.

Before they left, he asked them to defeat the Tree Rods in the forest, since Lohd wasn’t around. The Explorer defeated the Tree Rods and collected Tree Trunks for Tess. They then returned to camp and gave the trunks to Tess and gave Shadrion’s report to Athena Pierce. Athena was worried about the lack of ability for them to expand and asked them to check on Lohd near Mushroom Hill. On their way, Loha asked them to go check with Sion if Crawls with Balrog had liked her Snail Porridge.

The Explorer went to Sion, who told them that Crawls with Balrog had a high fever. She then asked the Explorer to get medicine from Loha. Loha realized that there was no medicine left and asked them to check with Perzen. After explaining the situation, Perzen told them that it would be fine, as he had foreseen that Crawls with Balrog wasn’t destined to die. (A/N: During the Tenebris expedition, Grendel the Really Old mentions that there are people gifted with the ability to see parts of the future. The Shamanesses of Azwan, Cygnus, and Perzen appear to be some of them.)

As Crawls with Balrog had likely gotten poisoned from traces of poison in the snail shells, he explained that the poison could be neutralized with another poison, and so he asked them to get Black Mushroom Spore from Mossy Mushrooms. The Explorer went to Mushroom Hill, where they met Lohd. He told them that the region had low hills and few trees, making it easy to build a town there. He then noted that the Explorer hardly looked any stronger since the last time that he had seen them, and so he gave them a challenge to hunt the Mossy Mushrooms.

As the Explorer defeated the monsters, they also collected the Black Mushroom Spores from them. Lohd was impressed and reminded them that they needed to depend on their own strength. For instance, he explained that he respected Athena Pierce for what she had done, though they disagreed on many things. (A/N: Lohd will eventually go on to become the first Dark Lord. It’s possible that even the title of Dark Lord comes from his name, Lohd. Their disagreements led him to found Kerning City, whereas Athena founded Henesys.)

He explained that he couldn’t follow someone blindly and emphasized the importance of remaining true to one’s own convictions. He told them that he would report back to Athena himself so that they could focus on their own mission. The Explorer then returned to Perzen and gave him the antidote ingredients. However, Perzen told them that he would keep them for another time, as Crawls with Balrog had beaten his fever on his own. The Explorer then went to check on Sion and Crawls with Balrog and saw that he had indeed become well on his own.

Sion then asked them to check on her soulmate, Rius, who had gone exploring in the western forest, explaining that she was worried, since he hadn’t contacted her in several days. The Explorer sought out Rius, who told them that he had been caught up in his work of collecting Forest Stones for Perzen’s barrier, but as he had grown curious about how they worked, he had forgotten to contact Sion. He asked the Explorer to help him with his research by collecting Rubble from the Stone Bugs.

After collecting the rubble, they gave it to Rius, who told them that he would return back to Altaire Camp and suggested that the Explorer do the same. Upon arriving back, Loha thanked them for collecting the antidote ingredients earlier and gave them a new task. She reminded them about Duru, who had been wounded by a boar, making him unable to do anything except managing the supplies. Though she hadn’t fully believed him when he had first told her about the boar, many others had seen it since then, and so she had sent Kanderune to investigate the Boulder Mountain.

She asked them to find out what Kanderune had learned, and so the Explorer went to Boulder Mountain, where Kanderune told them that he had tracked a large animal near the caves in the area, though he first needed to figure out which one was its den. While he had the Explorer there, he asked them to help clear out the boars that had been attacking the refugees.

After clearing out a good number of them, Kanderune was impressed and told them that he would finish up. He added that while the Explorer had been thinning out their numbers, he had found the den of the giant boar and asked them to defeat the wild boar, Chao, as well as the Violent Primitive Boars inside. The Explorer defeated Chao and brought its tusk back to Kanderune, who was highly impressed. He told them to return to camp and tell everyone that Chao had been defeated. He also gave them the tusk to show Loha as proof.

After showing her the tusk, Loha was extremely pleased and gave them a heartfelt congratulations. She then told them that Yuris had been looking for them. Yuris complained to them that the humid weather was interfering with her machines, though she had managed to construct a communication device for Ellin so that she could ask her for more fruit directly.

She asked them to ask Ellin which color the device should be, but upon asking her, Ellin told them that she had more important matters to deal with. She explained that even the Explorer and the members of Altaire Camp would be affected by it and asked them to warn Athena Pierce that they were in danger. She told them that, not too long ago, she had sighted a minion of the Black Mage in the Fairy Forest and had realized that it was likely the reason why the fairies had been acting strangely. (A/N: This minion is actually Kirston, who accidentally summoned Pink Bean and corrupted the Pathfinder’s relic.)

She had then found out that Ephenia had joined forces with the Black Mage, and that she was planning to contaminate Victoria Island with poison in order to eradicate all humans. The Explorer rushed back to Altaire Camp and told Athena what Ellin had told them. Athena was shocked that Ephenia could agree to such a plan, as she was the queen of fairies. Though she acknowledged that fairies had little love for humans, she refused to believe that they had reason to join the Black Mage. She then told them that, as a fellow fairy, she would need proof before she turned on Ephenia.

Just then, Perzen arrived and convinced Athena that Ephenia was indeed a threat. He explained that his prophecy also matched the situation and told her that he would take a stand if she didn’t. Perzen then asked the Explorer to defeat the Ancient Fairies and Shining Fairies in order to stop them from spreading poison.

After defeating them, Perzen asked them for a final favor to defeat Ephenia. The Explorer went to the deepest part of the Fairy Forest and defeated Ephenia. They returned to Perzen with news of their success and also gave him all the Forest Stones they had collected during their missions, which would help fortify the Barrier Stone. Athena Pierce then thanked them for all their help and hoped that their time in Ellin Forest had helped them with their journey.

(A/N: I’m adding the Explorer 4th job advancement here because it happens right after and I don’t wanna make it its own section, since it’s so short.)
Soon after, the Explorer grew strong enough to attract the attention of the Chiefs of El Nath. They recommended that the Explorer undertake the test for their 4th job advancement in Leafre. In the Forest of the Priest, the Explorer encountered the Explorer Priests, who explained that the Explorer had ascended to the highest of their ranks.

They told the Explorer that they would conduct an examination to see if they were worthy of learning the strongest skills they could teach and asked the Explorer to defeat the monsters Manon and Griffey, and to obtain the Heroic Star and Heroic Pentagon from them. After defeating the two monsters and obtaining the objects, the Explorer returned to the Priests, who bestowed their knowledge upon the Explorer. They reminded the Explorer that their new strength was meant to help others, and that it was their duty to lead Maple World into the future as a hero.

The Forgotten Hero:

(A/N: I kid you not, I literally forgot to include Shade while making my outline and only remembered him after I finished Illium’s section. The curse is real.)

After being erased from Maple World, the forgotten hero fell into a state of non-existence. Centuries later, the instant that the Black Mage’s seal was broken, he materialized on the moon of Vulpes in Grandis.

(A/N: It’s never fully explained why Shade awoke in Vulpes. One explanation is that Maple World and Grandis have been slowly merging ever since Alicia, Rhinne, and the Black Mage were sealed away. Thus, Shade awoke in Grandis, which was slowly becoming the same realm as Maple World, similar to how Alpha and Beta appear in Grandis instead of Maple World after breaking free from Mirror World. Another explanation could be the exact opposite - that Shade awoke because he fundamentally could not exist within Maple World, and thus, he was pushed across dimensions to the nearest world of Grandis.)

He awoke to the sight of Pointy-Ear Fox Anima children poking and prodding at him. The bravest, Moonbeam, asked him how he had arrived in their territory. He explained that he was a human who had come from the Temple of Time, but Moonbeam replied that she had never heard of either of those terms.

The hero then noticed that there were two moons in the sky and realized that he was somewhere completely different from Maple World. He also realized that nearly all of his strength had been drained. The children concluded that the hero’s ignorance meant that he was stupid, and so Moonbeam decided to take responsibility for him.

Back at Fox Point Village, Moonbeam explained that the elders were opposed to her bringing a stranger into the village, and so she asked him to speak with her grandfather, Silver, who was their chief. Silver realized that without ears or a tail, the hero was likely unable to take care of himself. He took pity on the hero and decided to take him in, allowing him to stay in an abandoned house in the village. He then asked the hero what his name was.

The hero tried remembering the name that Freud had given him, but Silver assumed that he was struggling to name himself and decided to come up with a good name for him. Silver suggested the names ‘Mystery’, ‘Oddity’, and ‘Muddle’, but Moonbeam rejected all of them and decided that she would name him, since she was the one who had discovered him. Because he was dark and mysterious, she gave him the name Shade, which she explained was the perfect complement to Moonbeam.

(A/N: We never actually get to learn his original name, nor do we learn whether the name that Freud gives him was a nickname or whether Shade just didn’t have a name at all prior to meeting Freud, similar to how Mihile had no name in his original storyline before Cygnus gave him one. In KMS, the name that Moonbeam gives him is actually Eunwol, which translates to ‘hidden moon’. While she calls him Shade in GMS because ‘Shade’ is a complement to ‘Moonbeam’, her reasoning in KMS is because she recalls how humans came from a world with only one moon, rather than two, and so she names him ‘Eunwol’, which means ‘hidden moon’.

The five Heroes of Maple have their names spell out MAPLE with Mercedes, Aran, Phantom, Luminous, and Evan, while the five Explorers in the Explorer storyline spell out STORY with Sugar, Tess, Olive, Rondo, and You, the player. Sadly, Shade doesn’t get to have his name fit into either phrase, although he could maybe be an empty space between MAPLE and STORY, since he’s the forgotten hero.)

After receiving his new name, Shade decided to visit his new house. Despite his new life, he wondered what had happened to his friends. Given that he was still alive, he wondered whether it meant that the seal on the Black Mage had failed. However, he refused to believe that the other Heroes would have given up so easily, and so he assumed that they were hiding out somewhere, waiting to get back together. He decided that he needed to focus on getting his strength back first so that he could join them.

After inspecting his new house, he returned to Silver, who told him that it was time to meet the neighbors. He explained that it was their tradition to give rice cakes to new neighbors, and so he gave Shade some old rice cakes to distribute to the other Anima. The Anima in the village were pleased to receive the rice cakes, but gave several back-handed compliments about Shade’s lack of ears and a tail. They also gave Shade new clothes in order to make him look more presentable. After greeting his neighbors, Shade returned to Silver, who explained that the last step was for him to pray to the Fox God.

(A/N: Watching the Anima infantilize Shade for his lack of fox features is hilarious. It’s also the only bit of humor that we get in the story until it makes us spiral into becoming emotional wrecks. The Anima use male pronouns for the Fox God, but we learn during the Fox Valley theme dungeon that the Fox God is actually a girl named Sino. I’ve mentioned this in an earlier section, but the Fox God isn’t an Ancient God. More likely, she’s just a powerful spirit who watches over the Pointy-Ear Fox Anima. I also had the idea that Sino could be a type of demigod, born from an Ancient God and a mortal.)

Shade was escorted to the Fox Tree by Moonbeam, who prayed for the Fox God to watch over Shade, whom she called weak and vulnerable. At Moonbeam’s insistence, Shade also prayed to the Fox God. Suddenly, a light engulfed Shade and filled him with strength. Moonbeam explained that it was the Fox God’s blessing, which would allow him to use the power of the spirits. Moonbeam then taught him the basics of how to use his new power and explained that it would be useful to him for hunting and taking care of himself.

(A/N: It’s interesting how the Fox God, a deity of Grandis, seems to favor Shade, who hails from Maple World. I hope that it’s something that they explore in the future. There’s actually a theory that Shade is a fox Anima just like Moonbeam, and that he lost his memories before being sent to Maple World at a young age, which might be similar to what happened with Rondo.

We know from Hoyoung’s storyline that many Anima know how to conceal their animal features in order to avoid attracting unwanted attention. The theory is that Shade’s Anima features were hidden before he lost his memories, which is why he grows up without a name or a family and believes that he’s human, and why the Fox God blesses him, as she would recognize him as an Anima. Personally, I think that it’s a bit far-fetched, although it’s interesting to consider.)

After returning back to the village, Moonbeam decided to teach him how to hunt. She joked that failure meant starvation, but she promised that she would still feed him, even if he failed. First, Shade hunted for Dried Caterpillars and Spotted Wings. Because he was opposed to eating such foods, Moonbeam had him hunt for Sparrow Eggs. After he returned, Moonbeam told him that the adults had prepared a gift for him, as the village had a tradition of giving gifts to baby foxes after their first successful hunt.

Shade went back to his house and found their gift of raw liver. He tried to eat it, telling himself that people ate raw fish, but found that he couldn’t stomach it. Nevertheless, he decided to thank the Anima by lying that he had eaten it. However, he noted that the villagers seemed cold when he thanked them.

Silver explained that he was meant to have given a gift in return to the villagers. Since he believed that Shade had already eaten the liver, and since Shade was too weak to get large gifts, Silver suggested for him to bring Mouse Tails. Shade brought the tails to Silver, who promised Shade that he would distribute them to the villagers on his behalf so that he could clear up why Shade hadn’t initially gotten them any gifts.

Suddenly, Moonbeam approached him and demanded to know why he was covered in cuts, asking if anyone was bullying him. Shade explained that he had been hunting for Mouse Tails, which upset Moonbeam, who told him that she could have done it for him so that he wouldn’t have gotten hurt. She then told Shade that she hated him and ran off towards the Fox Tree. Confused by what he had done wrong, Shade decided to go after her.

At the Fox Tree, Shade apologized to Moonbeam for getting hurt and worrying her. Moonbeam told Shade that she was the one who had hunted the liver herself, and so Shade had no reason to hurt himself while trying to get gifts for the other villagers, who hadn’t done any of the work. Realizing that he was still too weak, even with a spirit, Moonbeam decided to give him her own spirit.

Against Shade’s protests, she transferred her guardian spirit to him, explaining that she had promised to protect him. She reassured him that she was strong, even without her spirit, and that Shade could protect her if she ran into trouble. However, she made him promise to keep it a secret from the other Anima.

Back at the village, Silver told Shade that he had heard that Moonbeam had given him something special and explained that she would get extremely attached to certain people, likely because she had lost her parents at a young age. He asked Shade to take care of Moonbeam just as much as she cared for him. He then added that it was time for Shade to undertake his coming-of-age ceremony, which would allow him to be acknowledged as a true fox.

He told Shade to speak with the villagers in the town and obtain five marks of certification from them. First, Timber asked him to defeat Red Poison Frogs and Green Poison Frogs. Next, Compass gave him a quiz about the Pointy-Ear Foxes. After passing the quiz, he took Patience’s test to defeat the Delinquent Chicks and Brook’s test to defeat Punk Chicks. Finally, he approached Moonbeam, who gave him her certification without having him do anything. (A/N: Moonbeam is that one friend who always lets you copy her homework.)

With five marks of certification, Silver proclaimed Shade to be a true fox and one of their kin. He told Shade that the villagers had prepared another gift for him and asked him to go home and see, promising that the rule of gifting back to the villagers didn’t stand for his own coming-of-age ceremony. Back at his home, Shade found that the Anima had prepared fox ears and a tail for him. Shade hated this gift as well, as he didn’t want to lose his identity while in the unfamiliar world.

Months later, a girl named Sniffs came to Shade’s house and explained that something bad had happened. She told him that it was raining, but when Shade didn’t understand the significance of her words, she told him to speak with Silver. At the village square, Silver explained that rain meant that a fox Anima was crying somewhere. He added that it took more than a few tears to bring such a downpour and added that he was especially worried because Moonbeam was missing. As no one in the village was crying, he suspected that the rain was indeed because of Moonbeam. However, he explained that she had never cried once since losing her parents, and so he suspected that something very bad had happened to her.

Shade decided to go after her and went to the Fox Tree, where she had last been seen. There, he found Moonbeam’s pet, Soufflé, all alone and realized that without her spirit, Moonbeam was in danger. He went into the forest to find her, where he fought his way through tigers and discovered Moonbeam being held captive by the Tiger Chief, who wanted to marry her.

After he defeated the Tiger Chief and took Moonbeam back to the village, Silver thanked him profusely. He explained that even though he had acknowledged Shade as a fox, he had still thought of him as an outsider. However, Shade’s heroic actions had made Silver consider him a member of his own family.

Because of his bravery, he and the other villagers had prepared yet another gift for him. Shade reluctantly returned home, but he was pleasantly surprised to find a hand-crafted medal. He then experienced a surge of emotion and wondered whether it was what it felt like to have a family. Thinking back to his fight with the Black Mage, Shade realized that it felt like a dream from long ago and wondered whether he even wanted to return to Maple World if he were to find a way.

Several months later, Shade found that the village was much more restless than usual and wondered if something had happened. He asked Moonbeam about it and noted that she seemed much more standoffish than usual. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Moonbeam started crying and apologized to him before running off. Shade asked the villagers what had happened, but they told him that it would be better for him to hear it directly from Moonbeam herself. Finally, he asked Silver, who explained that Tumbleweed had returned back to town.

After learning that Moonbeam was crying, Silver realized what the problem was. He explained that Tumbleweed was the owner of the house that Shade was staying at and suggested that he ask Tumbleweed to get the full details. He reassured Shade that Tumbleweed had likely just come to pick up a few things, and that Shade wouldn’t need to vacate the house.

Shade then went to speak to Tumbleweed, who recognized him as a human and asked if he was from Maple World. Shade asked him how he knew about Maple World, to which Tumbleweed explained that though he had never personally been there, he had heard that the Interdimensional Portal in Pantheon allowed for travel between Grandis and Maple World.

Shade realized that Moonbeam likely knew about the portal, and that she had been trying to hide it from him. Though he loved his new life in Vulpes, Shade desperately wanted to see what had happened to Maple World after his fight with the Black Mage, and so he decided that he would return back to Fox Point Village once he had seen Maple World with his own eyes.

Realizing that Moonbeam was still worried for him, even after having given him her spirit, he decided to try to put her at ease by bringing her a gift of Hyena Fangs. He brought the fangs to Moonbeam at the Fox Tree, where Moonbeam asked if he had heard everything. She explained that she had always known that he would leave one day, as his scent was of the wind. She explained that she had given him her spirit because she didn’t want him to leave. By having Shade promise that he would protect her, she had hoped that it would make him stay by her side.

Shade told her that he had a friend, and that his friend was the first person to have ever helped him. At the time, Shade had told him that he didn’t have a reason to live, but his friend had then told Shade that he didn’t have a reason to die either. That friend had also promised that they would get through the tough times together. Shade explained that before arriving at the village, his friend’s face was the last one that Shade had seen. He told her that his friend was likely in pain and blaming himself, thinking that Shade was gone, and so he needed to go back to see the ones who were waiting for him so that he could tell them that he was alive. However, he promised to return to Moonbeam once it was all over.

(A/N: The friend in question is Freud. A lot of subtext in Shade’s storyline makes it seem like he might’ve had feelings for Freud. Even with a platonic reading of their relationship, Shade feels like a kicked puppy that keeps following the first person who shows him basic human decency. He’s very similar to Moonbeam in the sense that both of them get heavily attached to certain people and base their entire existence around them, indicative of some pretty severe codependency issues.

Moonbeam is willing to give up her guardian spirit, which is considered sacred to her people and integral to her safety, to a complete stranger whom she’s gotten attached to after several days. Shade gets so attached to Freud, and the other Heroes later on, that he practically throws himself on the executioner’s blade because he has such little regard for his self-worth that suffering a fate worse than death isn’t just the obvious choice, but the only one that even crosses his mind. It’s a tragic contradiction that he fixates on a singular thing to keep living for while also being psychologically unable to care about himself.)

Moonbeam asked Shade if she was a friend who was just as important to him as his friends from Maple World were. Shade promised her that she was, to which Moonbeam explained that the fox Anima called such people ‘companions’. As she and Shade were companions, she told him that he was bound to come back to her. She also told him that she would miss him greatly while he was away and made him promise to come back soon.

With that, they carved a mark of companionship on the Fox Tree. As they had made their promise under the Fox Tree, she explained that Shade was sworn to keep his promise in the name of the Fox God. With that, Moonbeam told him that she was hungry and raced back to the village. However, Shade noted that the rain still showed no signs of stopping. (A/N: It cost Nexon zero dollars to not write this story and plunge me into the depths of sadness.)

Back in the square, the entire village came to send Shade off, except for Moonbeam. Silver told him that Moonbeam wouldn’t come out of her room, since she didn’t want to watch him leave. Given the heavy rainfall, he suspected that she wouldn’t stop crying anytime soon either. Tumbleweed then gave him a scroll that would take him to Pantheon, instructing him to tell Cartalion that he had come on Tumbleweed’s behalf, which would be enough for Cartalion to take care of him.

Arriving at Pantheon, Shade noted that it was much different from Vulpes. The Nova, as descendants of dragons, also reminded him of Afrien. After finding Cartalion, he explained that he had come on behalf of Tumbleweed. Cartalion immediately grew belligerent and explained that Tumbleweed had conned him into drinking to the point of blackout, after which Cartalion had woken up alone with a huge tab that Tumbleweed had incurred in Cartalion’s name.

Nevertheless, he apologized for being rude and asked how he could help. After learning that Shade wanted to travel to Maple World, Cartalion directed him to the Great Temple, where Shade entered the Interdimensional Portal and emerged in Henesys. Though he realized that everyone in town was human, he still felt that something was different.

At the center of the town, he found Chief Stan and asked him about Maple World. Stan immediately grew annoyed, as he thought that Shade was playing a joke on him. When he realized that Shade was being serious, he gave an in-depth explanation about Maple World and asked him to bring his Maple Map. After a long search for the map, Shade obtained it from Bruce in the Golem Temple and brought it to Stan.

After seeing the new geography of Maple World, Shade recognized Ossyria. Stan explained that Athena Pierce had come from Ossyria as well, and told him to speak with her at the Bowman Instructional School. Shade recalled Athena as the little girl who would follow him and the other Heroes around. He remembered that she had been heading to Victoria Island by airship and had likely settled down. He also wondered whether she would know anything about Mercedes. Arriving at the Bowman Instructional School, he was surprised to see that Athena was an adult.

Athena, in turn, was surprised by his words and took it to mean that Shade was surprised that she hadn’t been cursed by the elves. She explained that she had been lucky to avoid the curse, adding that the centuries which had passed since then were enough time for an elf to mature. Shade was utterly confused by her words, as he recalled that the day that they had faced the Black Mage was the same day that young Athena had gotten on the airship to Victoria Island.

Athena realized that Shade had been cursed by the Black Mage and explained that it had been centuries since he had been sealed away. She then explained the story of how the Heroes had successfully sealed the Black Mage away, and how they had been cursed to be frozen in ice soon after. Shade was shocked to learn that centuries had passed, as it had only been one year since he had awoken in Vulpes.

(A/N: This is weird because one year on Grandis is equal to ten in Maple World. This would mean that a whole decade should have passed in Maple World since he woke up, which can’t be possible. I’ve mentioned this before, but it seems like Nexon has forgotten about this plot point after initially revealing it in Kaiser and Angelic Buster’s storyline.

The only other way that this could be possible is that ever since Maple World and Grandis had started fusing, the rate at which time passes in both worlds has begun to synchronize, which I think is actually a good way to write this off, since it’ll remove any confusion about why the Alliance members who go to Grandis don’t age slower than they would on Maple World, and likewise with Grandis classes aging faster on Maple World.)

Shade then asked what had happened to the other Heroes, to which Athena explained that all the curses had lifted on the five Heroes. As they had gotten weaker from the curse, they were roaming Maple World in order to rebuild their skills. Shade was thankful to know that his comrades were alive, as he told himself that he would have lost his mind if he were the only one alive.

He asked Athena if Freud was still studying dragons in Leafre, as he wanted to meet his best friend immediately. Athena tried to find a way to tell Shade about Freud, but as she couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth, she instead told him that it would be too dangerous for him to go to Leafre at his current strength and advised him to train in Victoria Island for the time being, promising to let him know if she heard from any of the other Heroes.

Some time later, Athena reached out to Shade and told him that she had kept the truth about Freud from him. She explained that she originally hadn’t wanted to tell him the truth after he had already been so overwhelmed with the knowledge of centuries having passed, but as he had adjusted and gotten settled into his new life, Athena felt that it was the right time to reveal that Freud was dead.

The news shocked Shade, who was under the assumption that the Heroes had been frozen in ice. Athena told him that Afrien had taken the curse in Freud’s place, meaning that he hadn’t been frozen. As hundreds of years had passed since then, she explained that it was unlikely that Freud could have survived for so long.

(A/N: I refuse to believe that Freud, the mage who casually remade the Seal Stones and created a new universal law to prevent time travel before the Black Mage was sealed, was incapable of extending his lifespan when people like Grendel and Alcaster could easily do it. Freud’s power levels are so huge that there’s a theory out there that Freud is actually Chronica, Grandis’ Transcendent of Time. It’s a pretty interesting read, which I’ll link here and an addendum to the original post here.

While we’re on the topic, there’s also another theory that the God of the Verdant Flora, the one who created mechanical wings for the Verdant Flora, as well as the Elder Crystal, is Chronica. The main two things that we know about Chronica are that Darmoor stole their powers and sealed them in the Chronica Sanctuary.

It was revealed in the Grandis: Ancient War webcomic, which detailed the Flora Civil War, that shortly after Darmoor awakened as the Transcendent of Life at the final battle, he sealed the God of the Verdant Flora inside the mytocrystal on the back of his hand, which might count as him stealing Chronica’s powers.

In Illium’s job advancements, he enters the Sanctuary of the Ancient God and speaks with the consciousness of the God of the Verdant Flora, who says that both he and the Sanctuary exist “beyond time”. Given that his consciousness seems to be trapped inside the Sanctuary, as well as the fact that Chronica’s sanctum is called the Chronica Sanctuary, it’s speculated that the Sanctuary of the Ancient God might be the same as the Chronica Sanctuary, and that the God of the Verdant Flora is Chronica sealed away inside.)

Athena added that after the other Heroes had been cursed, Freud had roamed the world and told the story of the five Heroes, but she wondered why he had never mentioned Shade. Shade was overwhelmed by the news, unable to believe that he would never see Freud’s smile again. Athena told him that Afrien had awoken from his curse and offered to send Shade to see him.

Shade was teleported to Turtle Island, where he encountered Evan and Mir. When Evan asked why he had come to the island, Shade explained that Athena had sent him to see Afrien, which relieved Evan, as he was worried that Shade was a treasure hunter. Evan told him that Afrien was unwell, and that he had fallen into a deep sleep. He then introduced himself as the new Dragon Master and Mir as Afrien’s child.

(A/N: I guess that Mir learned the truth about his ancestry after all, as Afrien had originally asked Evan not to tell Mir about his parentage because he thought that it would only make Mir sad to learn that his father was soon gonna die.)

Shade noted that Evan resembled Freud, as they had the same kind eyes that became crescent shaped upon smiling. (A/N: Yep, Shade and Freud were just a couple of best bros. Memorizing intimate details like the shape of your bro’s face when they smile is completely, 100% platonic.) Evan was pleased to hear Shade’s words, as becoming a great Dragon Master like Freud was his dream. Shade encouraged Evan by saying that he believed in him. He then told Evan that he would come back later to meet Afrien, as he didn’t want to meet an Onyx Dragon while they were feeling down. In his mind, he realized that Afrien was likely depressed because Freud was no longer a part of the world.

Evan apologized that Shade had come so far for nothing and offered to send him back to the Six Path Crossway. After returning back, Shade refused to accept Freud’s death until he got some closure, such as seeing Freud’s grave or meeting someone who had witnessed Freud’s death. He still believed that Freud was alive, at least to him, and supposed that if Freud was out there, he would be by the ocean, recalling how much Freud had loved watching the tides.

Shade decided to write Freud a letter and send it out in a bottle. After writing his letter, he went to the edge of Gold Beach. (A/N: You get to write the contents of Freud’s letter before sending it.) He then voiced out all his pent-up feelings about why Freud had left him out of his stories, wondering whether it was because of the gruesomeness, or whether it was because of Freud’s guilt for letting him sacrifice himself. By venting out his frustrations, Shade was able to let his feelings go and came to realize that being left out of the story was probably for the best, as he realized that people calling him a hero would be too much for him to handle in its own way. With that, he threw the message in a bottle into the sea.

Soon after, Athena reached out to Shade and asked if he had met Afrien. Shade explained what had happened on Turtle Island, to which Athena explained that Afrien had been getting worse ever since the curse had been broken. She then told him that it would be best for him to go to Elluel if he wanted to meet Mercedes, as she stopped by every now and then in-between traveling. She sent Shade to Elluel, having told Philius about him already. In the town, Shade met Philius, who welcomed him to their city. He explained that the curse of the Black Mage had already been lifted, and that Mercedes was in the Royal Chambers.

There, Mercedes greeted him as an old friend and asked him how he was. Shade told Mercedes that they hadn’t been able to say their goodbyes on the day when they had faced the Black Mage and asked what had happened after the battle. Mercedes began to stumble over her words and abruptly changed topic, asking him to check out Elluel. Shade told her that Elluel was a beautiful place and asked if the others ever came. Mercedes replied that everyone had already been to Elluel, and that Shade was the last one left.

Shade told her that Freud had always wanted to see Elluel, to which Mercedes explained that Freud had stopped by recently. She then asked him how long he had been asleep, as everyone else had awoken a while ago. Shade was surprised to know that Freud had been to Elluel, to which Mercedes explained that Freud had asked about him, as he had wondered what had been keeping him. Shade began growing suspicious, realizing that there was no way that Freud could have been there. He then decided to test Mercedes by asking if she remembered the special sandwich that she and Aran had made.

Mercedes immediately replied that she recalled how much Shade had liked it. Shade then told her that he had misremembered, and that they had actually made spaghetti that was so sweet that he hadn’t been able to eat it. Mercedes awkwardly laughed and told him that it had all happened a long time ago while calling him ‘Shade’. Shade then called her out, explaining that Mercedes shouldn’t know his new name, and that Freud was missing. Mercedes grew irritated by Shade’s perceptiveness and revealed herself as Lucid. (A/N: Canonically, this is the first time that Lucid is shown in the game, although her design is different from her Lachelein look.)

Lucid told Shade that it would have been better if he had stayed in her dream and moved on, thinking that he had met Mercedes. Shade recognized her ears as elven and asked why she was imprisoning the elves in her illusion. Lucid told him that it wasn’t his business and explained that she had been having fun in Elluel, though Shade’s interference had put a stop to it. She then promised that she would pay him back with an unimaginable nightmare before disappearing.

Shade realized that if his meeting with Mercedes had been a dream, then the other elves must still be asleep. He rushed outside and found Philius in a disturbed sleep. He tried shaking the elder awake, but as Philius was an enchanted sleep, Shade decided to get water from the Fairy Fountain, as Mercedes had once told him that it could wash away all bad things. He returned with the magic water and sprinkled it on the elders and Moonie, causing them to wake from their dreams. Philius thanked him for his actions, but he explained that Mercedes was away, though he promised to let him know when she returned.

Soon after, Athena reached out to Shade again and thanked him for his actions in Elluel. She told him that Aran had returned to Rien and began to explain the warrior’s condition, but she then decided against it, as she felt that it was best for him to hear it from Aran herself. At the Rien port, Lilin greeted Shade and told him that Athena had let her know that he was coming. She told him that Aran was at Riena Strait, and so Shade took a boat and sailed past the debris in the water before docking on the island.

(A/N: The island where Shade lands is the same place where Admiral Martini’s ship was docked in the Riena Strait storyline. I’m guessing that Aran and the others finished cleaning up the remnants of the Black Wings base after Martini ordered the Black Wings to destroy it.)

He then encountered three penguins who refused to allow him entry. After surviving a dangerous snowball fight, Shade tried to explain that he had come to see Aran. However, the penguins assumed that he was trying to kidnap Aran and decided to test him to see if he was worthy of seeing her. They told him to guess which igloo they were hiding in, and as they continued popping between igloos, Shade grew frustrated until Aran finally arrived to stop the penguins.

Shade then asked if she remembered him, but Aran explained that she had lost her memories, though she was trying hard to get them back. Shade told her about the last time that they had seen each other in the Temple of Time, when she had told him to go on to fight the Black Mage while she covered him. Aran realized that they must have entrusted each other to watch their backs, and as warriors only showed their backs to their friends, she asked if they had been friends in the past.

Shade told her that they were, but Aran apologized and explained that she still couldn’t remember him. However, she promised that she would come find him once her memories returned, to which Shade told her that he would be waiting. He also shared one of his memories of her and Mercedes making lots of food. Though most of it hadn’t been good, he promised that he would eat her cooking again if they ever got the chance, though he asked her to use less sugar next time.

After he spent some more time training around Maple World, Athena Pierce reached out to him and explained that she couldn’t locate Phantom. She told him that for obvious reasons, Phantom was difficult to track down, and she wondered how he could be so well-hidden yet so flashy at the same time. Shade realized that it would be easier to wait at a place where Phantom was likely to visit, and so he decided to go to Phantom’s secret vault in Orbis.

There, he discovered that the lock had been broken. He realized that Phantom couldn’t have been the one responsible, since it was his own vault, and so he suspected that it had been a burglar, though he noted that there were no signs of robbery. (A/N: Ironically, it was Phantom who broke his own lock for his 2nd job advancement, since he had lost the key.)

He then decided to go to another one of Phantom’s vaults in Ariant. Inside, he found a large lock on the door and wondered how he would get past it. Remembering that Phantom would always tell him to ask for help if he needed money, he decided that Phantom wouldn’t care too much about a lock, however expensive it was. (A/N: Can Phantom be my sugar daddy friend too?)

After breaking in, he found Phantom’s stash of gold. On a shelf, he also found a box that he remembered had contained something valuable. (A/N: It’s his notes on his 3rd job skills.) However, he found that the box was empty, making his realize that Phantom must have already passed through.

He then traveled to Phantom’s final vault in Leafre, where he found a voice-activated Guardioso. Shade was hesitant about destroying the Guardioso, as it was much more expensive than a lock, but to his surprise, the Guardioso recognized his voice and let him in.

(A/N: Phantom actually destroyed the original Guardioso for his 4th job advancement, meaning that this one is a replacement. Ironically, the first Guardioso didn’t recognize Phantom’s voice when he tried to enter his vault for his 4th job advancement.)

He entered the vault and realized that the reason why Phantom had placed such a strong defense in the Leafre vault was because of the large portrait of Empress Aria that he had hung up on the wall. Just then, Phantom arrived and recognized Shade as the intruder who had been breaking into his other vaults. After a small skirmish, Shade told Phantom that he was taking his joke too far. Phantom was confused by what he meant, to which Shade told him that Aria’s portrait would get ruined if they kept fighting.

Phantom immediately put his guard up and asked how he knew about Aria. Annoyed, Shade told him that Aran had already played the memory loss card. Realizing that Shade knew Aran as well, Phantom asked if the Black Mage had sent him. Shade could tell from Phantom’s eyes that he truly didn’t recognize him, but he wondered how Phantom had only forgotten him and not Aria or Aran if he was also suffering from memory loss. Confused and hurt, he decided to retreat in order to figure out where everything had gone wrong. He wondered whether Phantom was playing a cruel joke on him, but he decided that he would visit Luminous first before confirming his suspicions, and so he asked Athena Pierce to locate Luminous for him.

Some time later, Athena reached out to him and explained that Grendel the Really Old had seen Luminous not too long ago. Shade went to Ellinia and met Grendel, who mistook Shade for a new Explorer. After finding out that he wanted to see Luminous, Grendel hoped that it wasn’t about some world-threatening doom again. Grendel told Shade that he didn’t know where Luminous lived, but he explained that there was a girl who lived with Luminous, and that she would regularly visit the Magic Library.

Just then, Lania arrived and greeted Grendel as ‘Grandpa Grendel’, explaining that she had come to borrow a history book, since Luminous wanted to learn more about Maple World’s history. Shade then introduced himself as an old friend of Luminous, which excited Lania, who asked him all about Luminous on the way back to her home.

As they arrived at Lania’s home, she was intrigued to know that Luminous and Phantom hadn’t gotten along from the beginning. She asked if they had been enemies in a previous life, but Shade told her that he felt as though Luminous and Phantom were fairly close and fought just as brothers would. Just then, a horde of Lupins arrived and Lania lamented that she hadn’t brought the Sentrobo with her. Shade told her that he would take care of it and defeated all the Lupins.

As they moved closer into the forest, more Lupins appeared. Just then, Luminous arrived and defeated them all. Lania introduced him to Shade, asking if he recognized his old friend. Luminous was confused, claiming that had never met Shade before, but Lania told him that Shade had told her stories about the Heroes from centuries ago. Just like Phantom, Luminous immediately put up his guard and demanded to know what Shade was after.

Devastated that Luminous didn’t recognize him either, Shade apologized to Luminous for having burdened him the most, as Luminous was the only one who could have activated the seal. He added that that he didn’t want to go through the same experience again, as twice was more than enough. He told Luminous that he was glad to find him happy, even happier than the last time they had seen each other, and told Lania to take care of Luminous before leaving.

Lania called after Shade, but Luminous tried to stop her and explained that Shade was a stranger. However, Lania reproached him and explained that such sad, longing eyes couldn’t be directed towards a stranger. Back in Ellinia, Shade recognized that the anger in Luminous’ eyes was the same as that in Phantom’s, meaning that both of them truly had forgotten about him. He then wondered whether the sacrifice that he had offered for the Seal of Time hadn’t been his life, but rather, his very existence, which he realized would explain everything, as his existence being erased would be why Freud had only told the story of five Heroes, and why Athena didn’t remember him at all.

(A/N: This has been mildly retconned by the Heroes of Maple blockbuster, which revealed that Freud was aware that there had been six Heroes, as he knew that an element of the spell that he had devised required a living sacrifice. However, he forgot everything about Shade beyond the fact that there had been someone who had given up their existence. Since he couldn’t remember anything about Shade, and since he likely never expected that Shade would have still existed after his sacrifice, it might explain why he had only told the story of five Heroes, rather than six.)

Shade then realized that even if he had been erased from everyone’s memories, there should still be some sort of hole in their memories, meaning that they should at least know that someone had filled those gaps in their minds, even if they couldn’t remember who. In order to confirm his theory, he went to the roof of the Lion King’s Castle, where he found a time capsule that he and the other Heroes had made. Though they had promised to open it together, Shade hoped that they would understand why he had opened it himself.

Inside, he found Phantom’s contribution, a scroll from Luminous, a whetstone that Aran had used to sharpen Maha, one of Afrien’s scales, and the token of the Ruler of Elves, though he wondered whether Mercedes had meant to put it in there, as he assumed that it was quite important. (A/N: For some reason, Shade uses male pronouns to refer to Aran here. At this point, I’m convinced that Aran is just genderfluid. We also sadly don’t get to find out what Phantom put in there.)

He then found his own contribution, a photograph of all six of them. He remembered that the others had told him to put his most prized possession inside, and so he had put in a photo of his only friends in the world. However, upon looking at the photo, he was shocked to find that he had been erased from it. He left the Lion King’s Castle distraught, finally accepting that he had been erased from Maple World.

Believing that the others would only see him as a threat, he decided to return to Vulpes, where he knew that at least the villagers would still remember him. He returned to Fox Point Village, but to his surprise, Silver treated him like an outsider and told him to leave immediately. Shade was shocked, but he hoped that it was because Silver was experiencing memory problems because of his old age. However, when he met the other Anima, they also treated him as a stranger and tried to chase him out of the village.

Shade wondered whether Moonbeam still remembered him and asked Silver where she was. Silver assumed that Moonbeam had led him into the village and explained that ever since she had lost her connection to the spirits, she would sit by the Fox Tree and stare off vacantly into space, as though she were possessed by a ghost. Shade realized that it was still raining because of her sadness and wondered if her sitting by the Fox Tree, the last place where they had been together, meant that she still remembered him.

There, he met Moonbeam, who asked him who he was and why he didn’t have fox ears or a tail. Dejected, Shade told her that he had come to see his friend. Moonbeam asked if his friend lived in their village and realized that he probably meant Tumbleweed, who knew many people from Maple World. Shade then looked at the Fox Tree and found that even the mark of companionship that they had carved on the tree had disappeared.

Moonbeam told Shade that he was strange and added that she doubted that he fit in anywhere. She wondered if he was just like her, as she had been rejected by the other Anima because she had lost her guardian spirit. She explained that she couldn’t even remember how it had disappeared, and so she had assumed that the Fox God had taken it away for her bad behavior, for which she had been praying to the Fox God every day in order to ask for her spirit back.

Shade asked if he could make a wish to the Fox God as well. Moonbeam told him that the Fox God might not grant his wish, since he wasn’t a fox, but added that it couldn’t hurt to try. Shade then wished for the power and courage to put everything back into its place. Suddenly, power emanated from the Fox God’s statue and filled Shade.

Moonbeam got excited and told him that the Fox God would grant his wish, though she wondered about her own. Shade then told her that though she couldn’t remember, she had lent him something important. Though he wished that he could give it back, it wouldn’t leave him, and so he supposed that he would have to first finish what he had started. He then apologized and told her to wait a little longer.

Moonbeam was confused, as she couldn’t remember lending him anything, but she noted that he smelled familiar, just like the wind. Shade then took his leave, utterly defeated. He realized that no one would ever remember him, no matter where he went. As he didn’t belong in Maple World or Grandis, he felt as though there was nowhere for him and he began to wonder why he even existed.

Though crippled by the realization, he decided to investigate further into why everything had gone wrong. He wondered whether the Anima had forgotten him after a certain period of time or immediately after he had left Grandis. He decided to speak with Athena Pierce in order to see if she could help him again. He went back to Henesys and began to explain the situation to Athena. However, she interrupted him and asked him who he was. Shade immediately realized that Athena had forgotten him yet again.

Piecing together everything that had happened to him, he concluded that everyone had forgotten him when he had moved between worlds. Lost and confused, he decided to return to the Temple of Time, the place where everything had begun. At the temple, he met with the Temple Keeper and asked about the Gate of the Present. The Temple Keeper explained that the Black Mage had been sealed there until recently, but that no one had entered since the seal broke. Shade asked if there was any way for him to enter, but the Temple Keeper told him that the Gate of the Present only opened to those who were not part of Maple World.

Shade realized that since he had been erased, the door may still open to him. He approached the Gate of the Present, and sure enough, it appeared open to him, confirming his suspicions that he truly wasn’t a part of Maple World any longer. (A/N: This is the second time they mention the Gate of the Present opening to those not a part of Maple World, with the first being the Explorer. I wonder whether the Explorer had come from a different world or if they had been erased from Maple World like Shade.)

Upon passing through, he entered the Black Mage’s stronghold, where lingering traces of darkness manifested as Omens. He fought his way through and entered the throne room, where he defeated a Master Omen. He then examined the broken Seal Stones all around and supposed that he should be thankful that his sacrifice had kept Maple World safe for centuries, though he felt that it was a small comfort after everything that he had been through. Though he didn’t regret his choice, he wondered if he could have made the same decision after knowing what the consequences would be.

After leaving the Temple of Time, Shade continued to wander Maple World until he suddenly began to feel unnaturally drowsy. After falling asleep, he had a terrible nightmare of Moonbeam and the other Anima running in fear of him, the five Heroes looking at him with anger in their eyes, and Freud crying out to him as he sacrificed himself to power the Seal of Time.

Suddenly, he was transported to a dreamscape where he encountered the Black Mage, with Lucid floating beside him. The Black Mage laughed and told Shade that the only reason why he still existed was because, as a Transcendent, the Black Mage was still able to remember him. He then asked Shade if he would make the same choice again, knowing what it had cost him.

(A/N: This nightmare sequence was actually an animated video. In the video, the Black Mage only asks him whether he would make the same choice again, knowing what it would cost him, but Shade mentions the part about the Black Mage remembering him in the dialogue after the video.

An interesting parallel between Lucid and Shade is that the Black Mage is the only one who remembers them both, as Lucid had erased her existence from the memory of the elves, meaning that no one ought to remember her centuries later, aside from the Black Mage. Shade and Lucid are actually fairly decent foils to each other as well.

Like Shade, Lucid also fixates on people and devotes her entire self to them, first with Mercedes, and then with the Black Mage. The major difference between them, though, is that while Shade’s devotion is more selfless, Lucid’s is more possessive. Even while Shade was fixated on helping the Heroes, he had genuine care for the people of Maple World and wasn’t just helping them because that was what Freud or the others wanted. In contrast, Lucid created a music box as a gift for Mercedes, but she wanted it to be an exclusive thing between them and she was frustrated when Mercedes decided to share it with the people of Elluel.

Similarly, whereas Shade throws his life away for the sake of his friends, Lucid throws hers away in response to being rebuffed. When she learns that Mercedes chose Athena to accompany her in battle, Lucid erased herself from the minds of the elves and withdraws from the world, choosing to go to sleep forever.

Erasing all traces of herself from the world and regressing into an eternal sleep almost sounds like a coded form of suicide, especially in the mind of a little girl who can’t fathom the concept, and almost exists in contrast to Shade’s perseverance to go on, though it’s important to note that their difference in maturity is also an important factor in their behavior.

Fortunately, she does grow past some of these tendencies by the events of Lachelein, which actually show that she’s going against the will of the Black Mage, the person whom she’s devoted herself to, and she seems to have an active interest in preserving Maple World after learning that the Black Mage’s new world will be devoid of anything.)

Shade then awoke with a start and wondered if it had really been just a dream, as the Black Mage had felt so real. He also noted that Lucid had been in the dream as well and wondered if she had created the nightmare as payback for his interference in Elluel. Thinking back to what the Black Mage had said, Shade wondered if it meant that he was only alive because of the Black Mage and realized that if the Black Mage were to die, Shade would die with him. He then laughed grimly and wished that it worked in reverse. (A/N: Someone please get this man some help.)

He realized that he had always been prepared to sacrifice himself ever since the day of the final battle, and that if he could give his life to rid the world of the Black Mage, he would gladly do so again. He then resolved that he would live to see that future through, making it his singular goal to defeat the Black Mage.

(A/N: Me and several other people have made a theory regarding Shade’s curse and how Lucid relates to it. You can find the full theory here, but the gist is that time magic and dream magic are similar, if not the same, based on how the game links together the ideas of time, space, dreams, and reality together. Because of this, Lucid using dream magic to erase herself from the minds of the elves is similar to how Shade’s existence was erased by the sealing spell. As a result, Lucid is the only one who can remember Shade because they were both erased from existence in the same way.

There are several holes in the Black Mage’s claim about him being the only person to remember Shade because of his existence as a Transcendent. Alicia was said to have met the Heroes, but she doesn’t remember Shade after the Black Mage gets sealed, as she references the “five Heroes” to Ryude after the war. Lucid also remembers Shade in Lachelein, even though he crossed dimensions several times in-between now and then.

Because of this, it’s likely that it’s Lucid - not the Black Mage - who remembers Shade, and that her claim that only the Black Mage, as a Transcendent, can remember him was false information that she attempted to make Shade believe. In this way, the purpose of her nightmare is to hurt Shade by making him believe that he’s ensuring his own demise by eliminating the Black Mage, forcing him to constantly live with the knowledge that fated to walk into his own destruction.)

Soon after, he decided to seek out Empress Cygnus, as he hoped that she would know more about the Black Mage. He went to visit her in Ereve and told her that she resembled Aria, adding that it must have given Phantom a start. Cygnus was intrigued that he knew about Aria and Phantom. Shade explained that they were old acquaintances, and that he had no love for the Black Mage, just like the other Heroes. He then told her that he had come to see if she could share any information about the Black Mage with him.

Cygnus told him that she would help however she could, in exchange for Shade lending his support to the Alliance. Shade was surprised and told Cygnus that she was very trusting, as it was a big leap from sharing information to cooperating. Cygnus told him that even though she was young, she could tell honesty when she saw it. Shade was impressed and agreed to join the Alliance, thus gaining access to their intelligence network. Shade then continued his training in Maple World for some time.

Eventually, he learned about the Grand Athenaeum, which was said to hold all the world’s records, and so he traveled there in the hope that it held clues on the Black Mage. There, he met Thales the Librarian, who asked him to give him keywords about the topic that he was interested in so that Thales could recommend books to him. Shade told him to look up the Black Mage and Thales explained that he had found 3849 results with titles such as “The Sealing of the Black Mage”, “Commanders of the Black Mage”, and “Appearance of the Black Mage”. Shade asked him to narrow it down to the Black Mage’s resurrection. Thales found only one book on the topic, but told him that it wasn’t available to the public, and so he asked if Shade had another search in mind.

Shade then asked him to search for the Seal of Time. Thales found a book about the Seal of Time and briefly perused it himself in order to learn that the Seal of Time was what had sealed the Black Mage. He then found a book called “The Black Mage and the Five Heroes”, explaining that it likely held everything that Shade was looking for. He then asked if there was anything else Shade wanted to search. Shade then whispered his old name to Thales, who began to look for any records of him. Suddenly, Shade told Thales to stop looking for him, as he decided that even if there was a record of him in the library, he wouldn’t dwell on the past any longer.

(A/N: This last part is Shade’s level 200 quest. Originally, I had placed it in the section with all the other classes’ level 200 quests, but I realized that section is set after Heroes of Maple. Since this quest has Mercedes unable to recognize him, it wouldn’t make sense to place it afterwards, and so I’ve just moved it here. This isn’t to say that Shade got to level 200 before everyone else, but more just that these events need to be placed here in order to make sense.)

After hearing that Mercedes had returned to Elluel, he decided to see her, even though he knew that she wouldn’t recognize him. There, he introduced himself to her as a simple traveler who had always wanted to visit Elluel. Mercedes greeted him and as they spoke, she noted that he seemed familiar, as though he were someone that she ought to know. Shade then took his leave and decided to head back. Just as he had thought, the visit to Mercedes had hurt him and he began wondering why he even wanted to get stronger.

He then realized that he had only tried to grow stronger because of the guardian spirit that Moonbeam had given him, and so he decided to return it back to her. He returned to Vulpes, where he found Moonbeam at the Fox Tree. Moonbeam immediately smiled and told Shade that he looked just like her guardian spirit.

Shade was surprised, as he believed that he possessed Moonbeam’s spirit, but Moonbeam then summoned her new spirit and demonstrated that it looked identical to Shade. She explained that after praying to the Fox God for so long, she had finally received a new guardian spirit after losing her old one.

Just then, Silver arrived and confronted Shade, whom he believed to be an outsider. However, Moonbeam told him not to be mean to someone who looked just like her guardian spirit. Silver was surprised and told Shade that there was a legend that the guardian spirit of a Pointy-Ear Fox Anima took the shape of the one whom they most longed for, and that such spirits were said to be more powerful than any other.

Moonbeam expressed her doubt, asking how she could long for someone whom she had never met. Silver asked Shade whether he had ever met Moonbeam before, to which Shade explained that he had borrowed her guardian spirit, and that he had come to return it. However, Moonbeam had no recollection of it and told him that she didn’t need another guardian spirit.

Seeing that Moonbeam was happy, Shade told her that he hoped that one day, she would remember that he meant as much to her as she did to him. After heading back to Maple World, he was pleasantly surprised to find that his guardian spirit had changed to take the form of Moonbeam.

(A/N: Finishing Shade’s level 200 quest actually enhances your Hyper Skill that summons your guardian spirit. On top of getting extra buffs, the elemental spirits are replaced by Moonbeam, the person whom you miss the most.)

The Spider King:

Will was a magician and a scholar who was deeply interested in the Black Mage and his goals. While the Black Mage had still been sealed, the Interdimensional Portal had appeared in Maple World and Will had grown increasingly curious about its role in the Black Mage’s grand design. Through his research, he had learned that the Interdimensional Portal was an aberration that occurred when a Transcendent stripped the power from another Transcendent and used it.

He had concluded that the Interdimensional Portal was a sign of collapse, and that if left unchecked, Maple World and Grandis would destroy one another. Though he had initially wondered whether it was part of the Black Mage’s plan to destroy Maple World, he hadn’t been able to believe that simple destruction was all that the Black Mage had planned, as there were far simpler methods to destroy the world.

He had noted that the Black Mage had deliberately introduced countless variables into his plan, despite knowing that they would get in the way of his goal. Will had pondered endlessly about the Black Mage’s goals and had wondered whether it was ambition, a thirst for immortality, intellectual curiosity, or simply a desire to plunge Maple World into chaos. He soon began to grow frustrated when his research simply brought him back to the beginning.

Just then, however, that thought triggered an epiphany. He decided to look back to the beginning when the Black Mage had been the White Mage, before he had become the Transcendent of Light. Will successfully finished his research and concluded that the Black Mage’s goal was to create a new, perfect world that was free from the influence of the Overseers. He also realized that the Black Mage’s sealing was part of his plan, and so he became certain that the Black Mage would return.

After the Black Mage’s seal was destroyed, Will sought him out and became one of his most loyal Commanders, intent on satisfying his intellectual curiosity by seeing the new world that the Black Mage planned to create. With the spider-like powers he received from the Black Mage, Will became known as the King of Spiders.

(A/N: Will’s backstory is revealed in a flashback that we see after defeating him in the Genesis Weapon liberation questline. We also learn that Will became the Black Mage’s sole confidante, and that after the events of Mirror World, the Black Mage told Will about another goal of his, which is that he wanted something more than just the creation of a new world. This was unfortunately butchered in GMS, which erroneously stated that Will had come to suspect that the Black Mage was aspiring for something more than Genesis, which he had been keeping secret from Will.

The reason why the writers gave Will spider powers is likely because the cobwebs that spiders spin look just like cracks in a mirror, alluding to his role as the keeper of Mirror World.)

The Elite Bosses:

In the ruins of the Sharenian palace, Commander Kellad and his squad had spent countless years trapped in a time-loop created by the devil Ergoth Dunamis. Over time, his squad had grown insane from sleep deprivation and had soon turned on Kellad, believing that he had manipulated them into following him because he had sworn to Prince Sharen IV that he would revive him with the Rubian. Realizing that it was too late for his squad, Kellad had ordered Quieg, the only loyal member of his squad, into attacking the others.

After his squad killed each other, Kellad saw that Prince Sharen, who had been lying dead on the floor moments ago, had gotten up on his own. Sharen asked Kellad if he had ever seen an illusion before, and when Kellad told him that he hadn’t, Sharen asked how Kellad could be sure that he, the prince, wasn’t an illusion, or his allies, or perhaps even all of Sharenian.

He told Kellad to look up at the sky, where Kellad was surprised to see that the halo around the sun had vanished, indicating that the spacetime of Sharenian and the outside world had fallen back in sync. Prince Sharen explained that Ergoth’s curse had weakened as the subjects of Sharenian died and revealed that Ergoth’s power wasn’t to turn back time, but rather to create a false reality in order to imprison Kellad and his knights, entrapping them in nothing more than a mirror that he had created of the real Sharenian.

He told Kellad that time had continued to pass at the same rate in the real world, meaning that it had been centuries since Ergoth had trapped them. In the real world, Sharenian had fallen the very same day that Ergoth had first been summoned. Atop the ruins of Sharenian, Ergoth had built a prosperous devil empire, though even that had fallen at the hands of a band of adventurers, leaving just Ergoth and the false Rubian that he guarded. (A/N: This is a reference to the events of the original Sharenian Guild PQ, which has now been removed from the game.)

He explained that King Sharen III had formed a contract with Ergoth to have him protect the Rubian, though Ergoth had betrayed him immediately after being summoned. Kellad then raised his blade at the prince, telling him that he wasn’t so foolish as to believe such a lie. Sharen then cited how he had once asked Kellad why everything beautiful faded. He recalled how Kellad had explained that just as the beauty of a fluttering petal was because of its fall, so too did the beauty of life stem from its brevity.

Sharen told Kellad that he had been right, as Sharenian and the lives of its people were beautiful because they had been fated to end. At the prince’s words, Kellad fell to his knees and asked what he and his knights had even been fighting for over the centuries that they had been trapped. Sharen then reminded Kellad of the promise that he had made to protect Sharenian until the very end, so long as a single soul remained.

With Prince Sharen still alive, Kellad’s oath required him to remain bound to serve Sharen, the sole survivor of Sharenian. Prince Sharen then gave Kellad the Rubian and told him that he could use it to revive his comrades. (A/N: I mentioned in an earlier section that the Rubian has no powers, but you’ll see why it does in a bit.)

Kellad then escaped the world of illusion, where the real Ergoth was waiting for him. Having fought Ergoth over and over for centuries, Kellad easily killed him and took the Rubian. Soon after, five Explorers - Mogg, Khalid, Juli, Coleman, and Freya - arrived at the ruins of Sharenian, intent on finding lost treasure.

There, Kellad greeted them and told them his story. He then used the Rubian on the Explorers and told them to claim the treasure that they had come seeking: the treasure of eternal life. With the power of the Rubian, Kellad fused the Explorers’ physical bodies with the souls of his fallen comrades:

Mogg the Warrior Explorer fused with Hardin to become Mogadin the Black Knight.
Khalid the Magician Explorer fused with Ain to become Khaliain the Mad Mage.
Juli the Bowman Explorer fused with Ryan and became Jurai the Vicious Hunter.
Coleman the Thief Explorer fused with Quieg, a robotic Arcane Construct of Sharenian, and became CQ57 the Rampant Cyborg.
Freya the Pirate Explorer fused with Ed and became Freyd the Bad Brawler.
Kellad fused with the fallen body of Ergoth Dunamis and became Guard Captain Darknell.

Darknell and his knights then pledged eternal loyalty to Prince Sharen, who revealed himself as the White Mage in disguise.

(A/N: As these events are now happening in the present day, the White Mage has already fallen, and so this is actually the Black Mage choosing to appear in the form of the White Mage. Since the White Mage looks pretty similar to Prince Sharen, I’m guessing that he was hoping to subliminally influence Kellad’s weakened mental state in order to manipulate him into servitude more easily.

Though we don’t know at what point he decided to start impersonating Sharen, the fact that the events of Sharenian predate his birth implies that he became aware of the time loop after becoming the Black Mage. He also infused his Transcendent powers into the Rubian, as otherwise, it really was just a common gem all along.

In KMS, Darknell’s name is actually Dunkel, which is the German word for ‘dark’. I feel like this fits better than Darknell, as it matches the portmanteau that all the Elite Bosses get by combining their names, with Dunkel coming from ‘Dun-’ in Ergoth Dunamis and ‘-kel’ from Kellad.)

Darknell and his knights then became known as the Elite Bosses, pledged to serve the Black Mage as his eternal servants. Some time later, Hilla and Will had a conversation about the purpose of the Elite Bosses. Hilla accepted that over the course of hundreds of thousands of battles and pledges, a soul could be refined into one of incredible power. However, by mixing in the power of a Transcendent, the Black Mage had created monsters and asked what use he could possibly have for such unthinking puppets.

Will told her that given the Black Mage’s ability to see the future, he had likely created such powerful monsters because he had anticipated that an enemy with similar strength would one day arise, to which Hilla told him that she could scarcely imagine such a foe. Though he didn’t tell her, Will also realized that it meant that the Elite Bosses would be unimpeachably loyal to the Black Mage, incapable of betraying him under any circumstances.

Soon after, the Black Mage entrusted Will with ensuring that the child of Rhinne would never awaken as the new Transcendent of Time. Inspired by Ergoth’s ability to create a perfect replica of Sharenian, Will recreated the dimension in which the Black Mage had trapped Rhinne and her child into what he called Mirror World, a replica of Maple World.

However, Will soon realized that he was unable handle the immense power of Rhinne’s child. In order to weaken them and to corrupt them with his influence, he split the child into two beings. He trapped the girl inside the Child of the Goddess’ own temple and brainwashed the boy into serving him and his Shadow Knights, who had been tasked with keeping the boy trapped inside Mirror World.

Shadow Alchemist:

(A/N: The events of this section are from the Shadow Alchemist chapter of the Grand Athenaeum, which serves as a direct prequel to Zero’s storyline. It’s actually very impressive how perfectly the events of this story transition into the start of Zero’s class story.

When you start this chapter in the Grand Athenaeum, Zero gets some exclusive dialogue. When Zero talks to Skylark Rita in order to be sent into the book, Skylark Rita tells them that it should be an interesting experience for them and adds that they’ll soon see when Alpha and Beta express their confusion.

The scene then cuts to a small sequence set towards the end of the chapter, in which Fang - the protagonist of this chapter - speaks to the Alpha in the story and calls him Eight, to which he’ll reply that his name is actually Nine. Alpha will then express his surprise that he’s seeing himself in Shadowvale and wonders why he doesn’t remember any of it.)

In Mirror World, the Child of the Goddess had been split into a boy and a girl. The boy served as part of the Shadow Knights under Will’s command, while the girl was imprisoned in the Umbra Temple, a corrupted version of the Child of the Goddess’ Temple. However, the boy soon encountered his counterpart in the Umbra Temple, where the Shadow Knights stopped him from freeing her and wiped his memories. This repeated seven times in total, with the boy being given a new name each cycle until he became known as Eight.

During a Shadow Knight meeting, Will and his second-in-command, Lyra, went over their strategy, which was to make Eight, whom they called the Impure One, believe that they were defending their town of Shadowvale, though their true goal was to stop him from getting close to the Umbra Temple.

(A/N: I’ve complained before about how unimaginative Nexon is with their names, like how they named the Sanctuary of the Ancient God similar to the actual Ancient Gods, or how they refer to both the Flora Civil War and the war between the Adversaries and the Ancient Gods as the Ancient War, but Zero’s storyline takes it to a ridiculous degree. We have three different Shadow Knights in the game: Will’s Shadow Knights, the Shadowknight guild from Masteria, and the Shadow Knight who serves the Black Wings. We also have Shadowvale from Mirror World and Shadow Vale Forest from Tynerum. Would it really kill them to try being original for once?)

After the meeting, a Shadow Knight alchemist named Fang asked the medic, Milo, about the outside world, as those memories had been lost to them after arriving in Mirror World. (A/N: Fang is the character you play as in the Shadow Alchemist storyline. Canonically, Fang is male, though the character who plays through his story in the Grand Athenaeum is the player’s gender.) Milo told Fang that Mirror World seemed more realistic than the real world, and though he felt that being a medic was boring, he still enjoyed Mirror World, except for having to deal with Keene, a fellow Shadow Knight.

Just then, Keene and another knight named Seamus arrived. Keene began to mock Milo for being useless in fighting, but Seamus told him to be quiet and asked Fang and Milo to return back to Shadowvale before the Darklings appeared. He also warned them to take their Shade Neutralizer in case they met the Darklings so that they wouldn’t get cursed and transform into Darklings themselves.

Milo was dejected that they wouldn’t be able to collect their quota, but Fang told Milo to return back while he collected the rest of Milo’s ingredients for him. Fang then collected Moonlight Mushroom Powder from the Darkling Stumps and put them in his backpack. Having finished his task, he decided to explore the area uninterrupted instead of heading back. Further into the forest, he encountered Eight fighting Darklings and marveled at how perfect his swordplay was, though he told himself that he shouldn’t idolize Eight, as he was the Impure One.

The next day, Fang finished crafting Shade Neutralizers and took them to the Shadow Knight meeting. There, Lyra gave Eight a mission and told him that he would be promoted to S-class if he succeeded. As everyone moved out, Eight asked Fang if he could hand over some neutralizers before he left. After giving them to Eight, Fang watched him walk away when suddenly, Will appeared and knowingly told Fang about the irony of the deceiver envying the deceived, adding that Eight’s work as a fighter must be glamorous compared to Fang’s role on the medical corps.

Though he understood Fang’s feelings, Will emphasized the importance of their mission and reminded Fang that there was no room to harbor doubt. He also warned Fang that the Shadow Forest’s curse was getting stronger and told him to stay away from local vegetation or wildlife. After Will left, Milo told Fang to meet him at Field 2-A.

Once Fang made his way there, Milo told him that they needed to clear out the Shadow Axe Stumps, as the monsters were making it difficult to harvest silk mushrooms. Fang defeated the monsters, but just as he was about to start harvesting, he found a rare floatstone butterfly and began to chase after it. He followed it to a pile of ruins with primroses growing all around them. Though he knew that Will had warned him to stay away from wildlife and vegetation, his curiosity got the better of him and he decided to examine some of the glowing golden fruit growing from the flowers.

He grew mesmerized by the aroma and, in a trance, he accidentally ate one of the fruits. Just then, Milo arrived and told Fang to return to the village. Fang, now lucid, realized that he had accidentally eaten one of the fruits and worried that he would transform into a Darkling. He went into the library, just as Keene called after him, asking for him to make him something to drink. Just then, Keene noticed Eight walking by and ordered him to make a cup of tea and to bring something to eat.

Inside the library, Fang began researching primroses and found that they bloomed at night and withered in the morning. He read that there had once been a girl who had thought that the moon was more beautiful than anything else. A kind fairy had noticed the girl’s devotion and had ensured that she would be reborn as a beautiful flower, which the fairy had named primrose, thus ensuring that the moon’s beauty would be reflected in every primrose blossom.

Just then, Eight entered the library and found Keene’s cup of tea, which he spat into in order to get back at Keene. He then noticed Fang watching him and jokingly threatened him not to say anything. He then made Fang find some peanuts for Keene, which he obtained from the Darkling Blobs in the basement. Eight then noticed that Fang was reading about primroses and began questioning him about it. When Fang began to behave suspiciously, Eight took the book and told him that he would think about whether he would tell anyone about it.

After he left, Fang decided to report to Will and went to his office. Just as he was about to confess what he had done, he noticed a detailed board and asked Will about it. Will explained that it was a schematic for a mirror that could show one’s true self outside of Mirror World, as he knew that Fang had lately grown curious about the outside world. He told Fang that it was a reward for his hard work and explained that it would likely be ready by the next cycle, though he added that it was conditional on Fang not making any mistakes. Hearing this, Fang lied and told Will that he had nothing to report.

Soon after, all the knights arrived at the briefing, where Fang wondered about what would happen, since Eight knew about the primrose. Just then, Eight requested to Lyra that Fang be paired with him for his next meeting, as he wanted a medic nearby in case his injury from his last meeting worsened. Fang and Eight made their way to the field, where Fang asked why Eight had really asked for him. Eight explained that Fang was the only one whom he could trust, since they both had secrets. With that, Eight forced Fang to complete the mission for him by hunting Darkling Boars.

After Fang returned, Eight showed him the plant guide from the library and asked if Fang could make a Potion of Truth. Fang was surprised to see that the page that detailed how to brew a Potion of Truth was filled, as it had been blank when he had last read it, making him wonder whether someone had written it in as a prank.

Dejected, Eight told Fang to put the book back in the library. The next day, Fang returned to the library in order to review the page on the Potion of Truth. As he read through it, he was confused by one of the ingredients: a handful of moonlight. (A/N: I believe that this is the origin of the name for the moonlight mechanic in Will’s boss fight.)

Just then, he realized that the text for the Potion of Truth was written in his own handwriting. Before he could investigate any further, Keene arrived and ordered Fang to make medicine for his sprained wrist. As Keene complained about how awful the taste of the medicine was every time he drank it, Fang realized that Keene had been repeatedly injured on every supply mission that he could remember. Keene was confused and asked when else he had gone on a mission, to which Fang reminded Keene that he had said that the medicine tasted terrible “every time” he drank it.

Just then, Eight arrived and told Keene that he was taking Fang on a new mission before sending Keene off on a fake task. He then asked Fang to bring him spiney puff bush sap before they left. Fang obtained some from the Darkling Bloons in the storage room and gave it to Eight, who then pranked Keene by having a bucket of sap fall on his head when he opened the door.

As they fled the library, Fang noticed that new information had appeared in the plant book. Before he could examine it, Will appeared and asked for Fang to meet him in his office. Just as Fang was about to leave, Eight asked Fang if he had ever noticed that no one in the Shadow Knights ever seemed to notice any strange occurrences like Fang had observed the night before and told him that they should pay close attention to anyone who did notice things out of the ordinary.

As Fang headed out, he wondered whether Will was one of the suspicious people that Eight had mentioned, though he told himself that he didn’t want to believe it. In Will’s office, Fang told him everything that had happened, including the recipe for the Potion of Truth. Will told him that he himself had encountered the recipe in his research, and that it had taken him a long time to find an alternative for the ‘handful of moonlight’ ingredient, though he added that he had never tried using it.

Fang wondered if Will had also considered using a primrose and asked why he had never tried it. Will replied that it seemed pointless after a while to use alchemy to reveal the truth and asked Fang if he thought the practice to be strange. (A/N: It seems like there are a bunch of different potions out there that force someone to reveal the truth. Both Xenon’s storyline and the Magatia town quests reveal that the most simple and effective method is to just use Homunculus' Blood.)

Fang then recalled how Eight had asked him to remain vigilant about whether anyone else had noticed unusual things. Before Fang left, Will reminded him that questioning their purpose on the mission was considered treason. He warned Fang that Eight would try to get to the Umbra Temple, and that he would use the Potion of Truth to bait Fang into helping him. After Fang left, Kyson and Lyra arrived and asked Will if they should be worried by Fang’s determination to get to the truth. Will told them that he would have been worried if it weren’t for the fact that primrose was only a flower, and that its connection to moonlight was merely a fairytale.

After Fang left, he encountered Milo, who told him that Eight had left a message saying that he would be expecting Fang at Field 2-C-1. Before Milo left, he confirmed with Fang about whether he was taking the Shade Neutralizer. After Fang arrived at the field, Eight told him to hunt Darklings for their mission. Fang wondered why Eight thought that he could handle it, to which Eight replied that he believed that Fang was strong enough to the point that he wondered why the Shadow Knights were wasting Fang’s strength on grunt work for the medical corps.

As Fang took the Shade Neutralizer, he wondered why it tasted strange. Nevertheless, he finished hunting the Darklings and returned to Eight. He then showed Eight that the leftover Shade Neutralizer had turned into water. Eight then realized that the primrose fruit which Fang had eaten served as a Potion of Truth, which had revealed the hidden truth that the Shade Neutralizer was nothing more than water, meaning that there was no danger of turning into a Darkling without it. Eight then led Fang to the primrose plant, where he revealed the other ingredients for the Potion of Truth.

As Fang finished brewing the potion, a horde of Darklings appeared and began attacking them. As the two fought them off, Eight noticed that the Darklings were after the primrose plant. Eight pressed forward, but Fang warned him that they needed Shade Neutralizer. However, Eight told him that the neutralizer was a lie meant to brainwash them.

After defeating the rest of the Darklings, they heard a woman’s voice calling to them and Eight asked Fang to accompany him into the Umbra Temple. Fang recalled Will’s warning about not trusting Eight, but he told himself that if the Shade Neutralizer was a lie, then Will might be lying about Eight being a threat as well. Just then, he realized that a Darkling had taken the primrose plant. Though Eight told him to forget about it, Fang reached for the stem of the primrose.

The moment he touched it, however, the shadow curse began to take over. He then decided to turn back, telling Eight that his threats wouldn’t work on him anymore. Eight apologized for making it seem as though he was trying to use Fang and told him that he wouldn’t force him to come to the Umbra Temple.

The two then returned back to town, where Fang reflected on Eight’s words and his affirmation of friendship. He then realized that their friendship was all that mattered, and that everything else was a lie. Just then, he noticed that the plant book was writing itself again. After reading it, he concluded that what had happened to his hand wasn’t a curse, and that the truth behind everything was in the Umbra Temple.

Fang headed to the temple alone and fought his way past the Darkling Guards. Once he reached the deepest part of the temple, he found that the so-called monster of the temple was nothing more than a sleeping girl. Suddenly, Will arrived and confronted Fang, who asked Will for the truth. Will then showed him the mirror that he had completed, which could show one’s true self outside of Mirror World. Upon looking into the mirror, Fang realized that he was actually a Darkling created by Will in Mirror World. (A/N: It can be assumed that all the other Shadow Knights are Darklings as well.)

Fang confronted Will about lying to them about the outside world, but Will reassured Fang that he could still make it happen if Fang followed his orders. A few hours later, Eight himself arrived and fought his way into the Umbra Temple before facing Will. Will then revealed the truth about Mirror World - that the Shadow Knights had been created in order to keep him trapped, and that the endless time-loops and monster hunts were all a ruse to keep him distracted so that he could never awaken as the Transcendent of Time.

Just then, Fang arrived and Eight asked him if what Will had said was true. Following Will’s orders, Fang hesitantly told Eight that it was all true, and that Eight needed to drink the brainwashing Shade Neutralizer. Eight told Fang that he trusted him and readily drank the neutralizer, causing him to lose his memories again. As he was unable to recall his own name, Will told him that his name was Nine, and that he was a member of the Shadow Knights.

Once they returned back to town, Will thanked Fang for his help once again. Fang was surprised to know that it had happened before, and so Will explained that though Fang’s choices varied each time, he always ended up helping Will reset the cycle. Fang then returned to the library, where he found a note from Eight telling him that he was going to the Umbra Temple.

Eight had also revealed that the reason why he was always able to tell when Fang was nearby was because he had an unusual scent, which Eight had eventually learned was primrose. He also found that Eight had left behind an evening primrose as a gift. Unable to handle his guilt, Fang decided to put the primrose in a nearby drawer. However, when he opened the drawer, he found several other primroses that he realized had been from previous cycles. Fang began to feel ashamed that Eight had called him a friend each cycle, and that he had betrayed Eight each time in response.

Resolved to fix his mistake, he headed to Will’s office, where he asked if Will had been responsible for the book. Will replied that he had planted the book, but that Fang himself had added the notes in previous cycles, except for the last page, which Will had written himself. Fang recalled what had been written on the last page: “Once the seed has been planted, doubt grows like a weed. In the end, it chokes the mind entirely. No potion in the world can stop it. But if you distract the mind with a single anchor of truth, the roots of doubt will never truly take hold.”

Fang realized that he himself served as the anchor for Nine, and that as long as Nine trusted him, he would drink the neutralizer every time. Fang called Will out on all his lies, including the lie that Will would make him real. Will asked if Fang truly believed that he would allow him to leave Mirror World. Fang replied that his plan wouldn’t work, as Will couldn’t even control his own illusion.

Will suddenly grew angry and shot out a long spider leg to crack the ground in order to intimidate Fang, threatening him to do exactly as he said. (A/N: This was a big jumpscare moment in the story with the way that the music abruptly stopped and a giant pointy spider leg slammed into the ground.) Like a switch, Will returned back to normal and apologized for letting his emotions get the better of him. He then told Fang to return back to his quarters, where Milo would bring the neutralizer. He added that Milo had made an especially big contribution in the last cycle, and that he would be rewarded for it.

Rather than going back to his quarters, however, Fang realized that he needed the Potion of Truth in order to figure everything out, and so he resolved to go to Moonflower Hill. As he attempted to make his way outside town, he was stopped by Seamus and Keene, who told him that they were under orders to eliminate him if he tried to leave Shadowvale.

However, Fang quickly defeated them both and continued towards the hill. There, he began to brew the Potion of Truth. Though he learned that the primrose itself wasn’t a proper substitute for moonlight, it gave him the clue that he needed to find the truth. (A/N: They don’t explicitly confirm what this ingredient is, but it’s implied that it might be water holding the reflection of moonlight.)

Just then, Will arrived and noted how impressed he was that Fang had learned how to harness moonlight. However, he asked Fang if he knew what would happen if he went through with his plan. Fang told him that he already knew that he would take on his true Darkling form, but added that he was still resolved to bring the potion to Nine. Will then used his magic to attack Fang, who was quickly defeated. As Fang collapsed on the ground, Will stood before him holding the red Shade Neutralizer and the blue Potion of Truth.

(A/N: This is a Matrix reference where Neo is offered a red pill that would reveal the truth or a blue pill that would allow him to remain ignorant. The colors are switched in what they do in this storyline, as the red potion brainwashes him and the blue potion reveals the truth.)

Will then laughed and smashed the bottle of Truth Potion on the ground before giving Fang one more chance to drink the neutralizer and starting a new cycle, promising that he would ensure that Fang would get everything that he wanted if he were to return to being his old self again, as long as it was limited to within Mirror World.

Unexpectedly, Fang refused and crawled to the puddle of Truth Potion that had spilled on the ground. Upon drinking it, he transformed back into his true Darkling form before retreating in search of Nine. Disturbed by Fang’s unexpected choice and his inability to have anticipated it, Will consulted with the Black Mage, who told him that it would now be difficult to keep Nine subdued. Though Will told himself that he had exceeded expectations in keeping the Transcendent of Time imprisoned, he couldn’t shake his sense of unease.

Meanwhile, in the forest, a Darkling Fang appeared before Nine, whom he called Eight, and told him to go to the Umbra Temple, just as he disappeared forever. Nine was shaken that he hadn’t been transformed into a Darkling after having come into contact with one without having taken the Shade Neutralizer. He then realized that the neutralizer was a lie, and so he resolved to find the truth in the Umbra Temple.

(A/N: The storyline ends with a quote that says that there’s a folktale about how no one can tell a lie while standing in moonlight, and so if there’s a secret that you want revealed, then you should seek out moonlight, which provides answers, no matter how cruel.

Zero gets some exclusive dialogue at the end of seeing this story in the Grand Athenaeum. Alpha realizes that Fang had been trying to tell him that the neutralizer was fake all along, and that thanks to him, they were able to escape Will. Alpha will then feel sad that he forgot the only friend that he ever had, but Beta consoles him and reminds him that it wasn’t his fault, and that there was nothing that he could’ve done.)

Mirror World:

Because of Fang’s warning, Nine began to grow suspicious about the Shadow Knights’ true motives. He secretly began dumping the Shade Neutralizer that Will gave him into the bushes, which helped him realize that the neutralizer was only meant to brainwash him. After going to the Umbra Temple on Fang’s instructions, he found that there was no Darkling master, but only a young girl who looked just like him.

Some time later, Nine returned from a successful Darkling hunt and was promoted from a cadet to an official Shadow Knight. He then asked if he could switch assignments with Keene and purchase supplies from the towns outside of Shadowvale. However, Will forbade him from doing so and explained that their mission to protect the world from the Darklings was too important for Nine’s combat skills to be wasted on supply runs. However, as an apology, he allowed Nine to take the rest of the day off.

Though Nine pretended to understand, he realized that Will and the other Shadow Knights were doing everything in their power to keep him from leaving Shadowvale. Soon after, Lyra reported a Darkling force arriving and assigned Nine to intercept them. (A/N: So much for our day off.) Nine then realized that the Darklings only seemed to appear when the Shadow Knights needed him occupied. After taking the Shade Neutralizer bottle from Will, he secretly dumped the potion into the bushes before heading out.

Nine quickly completed his mission and made his way to the Umbra Temple once again, where he marveled at how everything still looked the same since his last visit. He also wondered whether the Darkling who had led him there in the past was still around. (A/N: I like how cohesive they made the Shadow Alchemist prequel with the original Zero storyline, especially with how they made throwaway lines like this much more impactful.)

As he attempted to wake the sleeping girl in the temple, he noticed that one of the statues in the room had briefly twinkled. Upon examining it, he felt as though the statue were almost real, as if it had been a person who had been turned to stone. He then found a scroll at the statue’s feet and picked it up before heading back to Shadowvale.

In the library, he read the scroll and learned about the three Transcendents of Maple World. He also read that the world held a secret that even the Transcendents didn’t know, and while Rhinne and Alicia had been content in their roles, the Black Mage had been too curious for his own good, and the steep cost of digging into the secrets of the world had corrupted him, leading him to sow a path of destruction and pain across Maple World until he had been sealed away by brave Heroes.

He then read about how Rhinne had attempted to create a new future by creating the Child of the Goddess, whom the Black Mage and his underling, the King of Spiders, were searching for.

(A/N: The secret of the world is the existence of the Overseers, whose existence the Black Mage had learned about upon entering the divine realm, after which he had fallen to evil in his attempt to free the world from their influence. While Zero’s story laid the groundwork for the Black Mage’s future goals, a few things ended up getting retconned over the years. The secret of the world is something that the Transcendents were said to be unaware of, but all the Transcendents are said to be able to hear the voice and will of the Overseers in the Esfera storyline.

Additionally, the scroll mentions that the King of Spiders is helping the Black Mage search for the Child of the Goddess, which suggests that Will was a Commander centuries ago. However, his Genesis weapon liberation cutscene confirms that he wasn’t even alive centuries ago and only became a Commander after the Black Mage was unsealed.)

Overwhelmed and confused by the information, he realized that he needed to awaken the girl for answers. Once he went outside, however, he found the Shadow Knights in the middle of a meeting, where they told him that Will had ordered them to attack the Umbra Temple and destroy everything inside.

As the knights began to move out, Will pulled Nine aside and told him that he was planning to keep him on the sidelines for the battle. Nine protested that he was ready, and so Will agreed to allow him to join the mission, provided that he drank his Shade Neutralizer. Realizing Will’s plan, Nine relented and told Will that he would be content with staying on the sidelines.

Once the Knights headed out, Nine attempted to chase after them, but he was stopped by Keene at the town border. Nine easily defeated Keene and continued to the Umbra Temple, where he encountered Kyson, Seamus, and Lyra, who attempted to convince him to surrender. However, Nine easily forced his way through and attempted to wake the girl.

Just then, Will himself arrived and engaged in a battle with Nine. Their fight caused the glass container to shatter, making the girl fall to the floor. Defeated by Will, Nine desperately reached out towards the girl and touched hands, causing her to awaken. With both Children of the Goddess reunited, the power of time awakened within them, returning the Umbra Temple back to its original state and freeing all the priests from their stone prisons. The Umbra Temple then disappeared into a space between Mirror World and Maple World, preventing Will and the Shadow Knights from entering.

Now safe from Will, Nine and the girl learned from Pietta, one of the priests, about the history of the Transcendents and how both the Black Mage and Rhinne had been sealed away. She also explained that the limitation of the Transcendent of Time was that they could change the fate of anyone but themselves, and that Rhinne had created the Child of the Goddess in order to keep the power of time from the Black Mage. (A/N: Pietta actually incorrectly says that the limitation on the Transcendent of Time is that they can see the future of every world but their own, but she states the correct limitation in all future mentions of the topic.)

When Nine asked why there was a female version of himself, Pietta told him that Will had somehow found a way to split the Child of the Goddess into two in order to weaken them, though she couldn’t say why their genders were different. Knowing that they needed names, the girl decided to name him Alpha and called herself Beta. Alpha told her that he had already decided to name himself Zero as a way to represent him breaking free of the cycle of brainwashing, but Beta told him that their names were final, much to his annoyance.

Pietta then told them that they were in a prison created by the Black Mage called Mirror World, which cut them off from Maple World, the source of their power. However, she explained that their awakening had resulted in a portal to Maple World opening. Alpha and Beta attempted to enter Maple World, but they quickly realized that they were invisible there, as they hadn’t regained their powers.

(A/N: Zero is unique because they start out at level 100. When Zero first came out, you were stuck in Mirror World grinding in their special dungeons until the end of the story at level 180, as you couldn’t gain any EXP from the outside world. While I love how Zero’s skill chains get built upon over time and actually make it seem like you’re getting stronger, the bad map layouts in the Mirror World dungeons were such a chore to get through when your skill chains were still incomplete, which helped sell the idea of Mirror World being a prison. That restriction was modified soon after Zero’s release, and so all you have to do now is to complete Chapter 2 of the story (Mirror World Ariant) before you can start getting EXP in the outside world.)

Pietta told them that Will had shattered the Goddess Teardrop, which contained the power of time, and had spread its pieces across Mirror World. Though she wished that the priests could help them, she explained that they weren’t trained in martial combat, and that their extended lifespans were tied to the temple, meaning that they wouldn’t last long outside of it. In order to get a better understanding of where the Goddess Teardrops could be, Alpha and Beta decided to return to Shadowvale in order to find a map of Mirror World.

A priest named Benedict accompanied them to the outskirts of Shadowvale and taught them the basics of using their Transcendent powers in tag-team combat. They then fought their way through Shadowvale into the library, where they found Milo. Though he had been told that Alpha was a traitor, Milo believed that it was all a misunderstanding and allowed them to pass, claiming that they would see each other again one day.

The twins then found the map and brought it back to the temple, where Benedict’s brother, Cassius, used the power of dowsing in order to find the Goddess Teardrops. Using the dowsing technique, Cassius also discovered that the Goddess’ relic was somewhere in Mirror World. Pietta explained that Rhinne had used an hourglass relic to channel her powers and told them that the relic would allow them to double their strength. Cassius then sent them to search for the relic in Leafre.

(A/N: Mirror World is an imperfect replica of Maple World, and as such, the town storylines and the character dynamics of its residents are different from their Maple World counterparts. For example, Freud and Evan both exist in Mirror World, despite the fact that Freud had died centuries before Evan was born. I won’t be covering the Mirror World town storylines here, as they’re just filler quests used to help Zero level to 180.

I’m currently working on a new part of the website that covers every storyline in the game outside of the main story and GMS-verse, which will include all the Mirror World town quests. Once I finish, I’m anticipating that this site will cover virtually every single story in the entire game, including all town quests, theme dungeons, party quests, overseas-exclusive content like the original JMS Silent Crusade storyline, and as many event stories as I can find online, such as Strange Stories and Wondroid.

For obvious reasons, this is going to take a massive amount of time to finish. I’m about halfway done with it as of August, but I’ve been taking a break from it to work on other a few other personal projects, since I’ve been feeling the burnout from this site lately. I’m hoping to come back to it by the start of January and to try and get it released in the first half of 2023. Luckily, KMS only drops lore 2-3 times a year, and so I’m still planning to update the site with new story updates within a day or two of it being released in the KMS test servers.)

In Leafre, Alpha and Beta met with Chief Tatamo, who told them that he had never heard about such an object as the relic before. However, he explained that a baby dragon had disappeared from Leafre, and that the Halflingers had discovered a monstrous dragon when they had chased after it. He also told them that a young man had offered to fight the dragon, though he hadn’t returned since heading out to face it. With no other options, the Halflingers had decided to ask Afrien for help, and so Tatamo asked them to speak to Afrien on his behalf. He added that since Afrien was wise, he might know about the relic as well.

Outside Afrien’s cave, they encountered a baby Mir, who allowed them to enter after passing his test. (A/N: He just asks a random math question and asks you to say that he’s the best dragon ever.) Inside the cave, they encountered a slumbering Afrien, whom Mir explained was busy preparing to make a Spirit Pact. Because Afrien couldn’t be disturbed, Alpha and Beta asked Mir about the relic, which he explained was in the possession of Horntail.

Back in Leafre, Mir decided to test their strength before he would allow them to face Horntail by ordering them to hunt Beetles and Dual Beetles in the Western Minar Forest. After proving themselves, Mir directed them to Horntail’s cave, where they fought Horntail in order to obtain the relic. Suddenly, Freud appeared and ordered them to step away from Horntail, claiming that it was a baby dragon. Having spent the whole day trying to calm it down, Freud was upset that Alpha and Beta had ruined his hard work and ordered them to leave the cave until Horntail calmed down. Frustrated, they returned to the temple and told the priests what had happened.

Some time later, they returned to the cave and found Horntail still crying. Freud suggested that they sing Horntail a lullaby, as his sleep spells could give Horntail nightmares. However, Alpha and Beta began singing so terribly that Freud yelled at them to stop and checked to see if Horntail’s ears were bleeding. (A/N: This is me every time I try to sing. The priests later tell them that Rhinne had a melodic voice, which clearly wasn’t hereditary.) Freud then suggested that they ask a Halflinger named Pam to help them. In Leafre, Pam told them that she had once obtained a rare music box from the Fairy Queen, though it had since broken.

(A/N: This music box is the same one in Elluel which Lucid had made for Mercedes. Usually, people refer to Ephenia as the Fairy Queen, but I guess since elves are a type of fairy, Mercedes could be considered the Fairy Queen in Mirror World. Originally, my first thought was that Ephenia might have a similar music box. However, if you click on Pam’s music box, it says that it plays Elluel’s most popular tunes. Though this is likely because the asset was copied and pasted from Elluel, it does lend credence to the Mirror World Fairy Queen being Mercedes instead of Ephenia.)

Pam asked them to find Harp Feathers and Blood Harp Feathers, which they used to fix the music box. They then used it to put Horntail to sleep, after which Freud agreed to answer their questions. He introduced himself as a magician who had begun studying Horntail at the behest of the Halflingers. After melding with its mind, he had seen Horntail’s memories of when it had been a small baby. Horntail had discovered the relic in the forest, which had caused it to rapidly age into a full-grown dragon. Having absorbed the relic, Horntail had been chased out of Leafre until it had found the cave, where it had been hiding ever since.

The twins then returned to the temple and explained the situation to the priests. Pietta told them that anyone who touched the relic without the Transcendent of Time’s protections would suffer the Curse of Time. She told them that only the relic’s owners could lift the curse on Horntail, but the fact that the relic hadn’t immediately reacted to them meant that it was upset at them for having left it alone for so long.

(A/N: This sounds just like how Maha had behaved with Aran during her 2nd job advancement. It’s a neat connection because we later learn that just like Maha, their relics have spirits of their own, Lapis and Lazuli.)

Pietta told them that in order to lift the curse, they would need to offer a substitute sacrifice and suggested that they seek help from a magician, as doing so with only the power of time was nearly impossible. The twins sought out Freud and asked for his help in transferring the curse from Horntail to themselves. Though Freud warned that it could damage them, Alpha reassured him that they would be fine, as the curse had the same signature as themselves.

Freud asked them to bring him a Kentaurus King Horn and a Manon Feather, while he would provide a Leviathan Scale from his storeroom. Together, they were able to successfully absorb Horntail’s curse, turning it back into a baby dragon. Freud then told them that he would help assimilate Horntail back to its normal life before continuing his research.

(A/N: The baby dragon that Horntail turns into is an exact copy of the sprite used for Nine-Spirit’s child from the Leafre town quests. Nine-Spirit is one of the three Great Kings of Leafre alongside Horntail and Afrien. Horntail stole Nine-Spirit’s egg, which you have to recover from him in the Leafre town storyline and bring back home, after which it hatches and gives you a blessing that temporarily increases your stats, similar to how Shinsoo gives you a blessing if you talk to her in Ereve.

The only issue I have with them copying the sprite is that Nine-Spirit’s child has one head, while Horntail is supposed to have three. While I like how many Easter eggs they added in Zero’s storyline, I do wish that they would have actually made some new assets in places where it would’ve made sense to add them, like making an actual baby Horntail sprite.)

Having reclaimed the relic, the twins returned to the temple and wondered whether they might see Freud again in Maple World. (A/N: Yeah… about that.) Pietta then told them that the relic possessed its own ego, and so it would need its owner to prove their worth in order to be wielded. Alpha and Beta then entered twin parallel dimensions and met the spirits of their relics, which had split into two. While Beta fought Lapis, Alpha fought Lazuli. After defeating them, the spirits acknowledged their strength and possessed their swords, enhancing the strength of their weapons.

(A/N: It’s nice to see the concept of a spirit-possessed weapon reintroduced in the game. Up until Zero’s storyline, we only had Maha for Aran. Later on, we also get the Spirit of Vengeance inhabiting Damien’s sword.)

With the twins having obtained the relics, Cassius began the dowsing ritual and felt the power of time in five locations across Mirror World. The first location he sensed was Ariant, which he warned was a place whose people ostracized foreigners in its Maple World equivalent. They arrived at Ariant Castle, where they found Prime Minister Shah Mar welcoming Gold Richie and his gift of a blue, teardrop-shaped gem.

Shah Mar then told Gold Richie that the Queen had invited him to stay at the palace. The twins then learned from a dancer named Sirin that the queen had put the gem in the audience room, and so they decided to steal it, believing it to be the Goddess Teardrop. Sirin told them that they would need to bring a gift to the queen in order to gain access to the audience room and suggested finding Deo’s Fruit from Deo, as the queen coveted them for her skincare routine. They presented the fruit to the queen and saw the large gemstone in a display case, with Shah Mar standing nearby.

They returned to the temple and told the priests that they had located the Goddess Teardrop. In order to help them steal it, the priests suggested that they take advantage of Ariant’s political climate and asked them to observe their surroundings carefully. Back in Ariant, they learned from Sirin that Master Thief Phantom was planning to steal the blue jewel.

She told them that there was a group of sisters who worked part-time at the western Ariant tea house, and that they were extreme fangirls of Phantom. There, the twins met the three girls, who explained that they actually hated Phantom for stealing their family fortune, and that they were working at the tea shop in order to gather information on him.

They then asked Alpha and Beta to bring a Thief Crow’s Key in order to prove themselves worthy of being allies. (A/N: The Thief Crow comes from Aran’s 3rd job advancement, during which it steals the red gem on Maha.) After bringing them the key, the sisters told them where Phantom’s hideout was, as well as the password to enter: ‘Open Sesame’. Inside the hideout, they were surprised to find that it was actually a den of Thief Crows, with a man named Ardin trapped inside. After they defeated the Thief Crows, Ardin told them that they had been tricked by the sisters just as he had, and that the sisters actually worked for Phantom. (A/N: They’re actually his maids aboard the Lumiere.)

Ardin told them to meet him and the Sand Bandits at their hideout. There, their leader, Jano, told them to leave, claiming that Ardin had been foolish to invite outsiders to their group. During their argument, the twins learned that the Sand Bandits were planning to raid the palace. Alpha attempted to convince Jano that their goals aligned, and so Jano asked them to be tested by Sejan and Eleska. Sejan asked them to put up anti-queen posters in Ariant square, while Eleska told them to defeat a Desert Giant.

After proving themselves, they agreed to help the Sand Bandits in exchange for the blue gemstone, though Jano warned them that Phantom was also planning to steal it. While they were waiting for the raid to begin, they entered a scorpion hunting contest held by SagaT. After catching several scorpions, SagaT expressed his impressment and told them that Shah Mar had started the event in order to effectively deal with the scorpions when the king and queen had ignored the problem. He explained that he and Shah Mar used to be friends, and that he was intrigued how Shah Mar continued to appear young, even while everyone around him grew old.

When they went to Shah Mar in order to collect their reward, they learned from him that he was waiting for someone to visit Ariant one day, and that he had worked hard to become Prime Minister so that the person whom he was waiting for would be proud to know him when the time came. On the day of the raid, Jano told them that they would use Phantom’s arrival as a distraction to make their move. Once the time came for them to escape, a small team would start a small fire in order to create chaos. That night, the Sand Bandits infiltrated the palace while Alpha and Beta were on lookout.

Suddenly, Phantom appeared behind them, having already stolen the blue gemstone. They began to fight Phantom for the teardrop when, all of a sudden, the castle was set ablaze. They learned from Phantom that only Shah Mar had been in the palace at the time, and so Alpha and Beta had to make a choice to either save him or pursue Phantom.

Beta then sensed the power of time and realized that she was still sensing it back at the palace. They rushed back and found that the power of time was radiating from Shah Mar, making them to realize that he had been the Goddess Teardrop all along. Having been recognized by his masters, Shah Mar transformed into a gem, which Alpha and Beta brought back to the temple.

(A/N: At this point, Zero characters can start grinding in the outside world, although you still need to complete the storyline if you want to max out your link skill by collecting all the Goddess Teardrops.)

Cassius then performed the dowsing ritual again and discovered that the second Goddess Teardrop was in Henesys, though he explained that he wasn’t familiar with the area. (A/N: This is because all the priests were sent to Zero’s Temple centuries before Henesys was founded.) In Henesys, they met a girl named Rina, who told them that her friend, Maya, had a fever, and that she needed Mushmom Caps in order to make Maya a tincture.

After helping Rina, they asked her if there was anyone in town who never got older. Rina told them that there was such a boy named Larelle and asked them to speak with Chief Stan about him. However, Stan refused to tell them any more information, which confirmed their suspicions that Larelle was the Goddess Teardrop. From what it sounded like, Alpha and Beta believed that Larelle had done something to the town, which was why he had been ostracized. In order to get more information, they decided to speak to the children in the town and met Evan, who led them to the Henesys Fork away from the adults in order to talk freely.

There, Evan told them that Larelle had shown up in Henesys a long time ago, and that the townspeople had grown scared when he had continued to stay the same age. Additionally, strange events would always happen around Larelle, particularly with temperature. He told them that a few days ago, Larelle had summoned a monster, which had scared the townspeople, as the monster had injured several people, including Maya. They went to Larelle’s house, where they defeated an ice cube monster inside. Alpha noted that the monster had clearly been created by the power of time.

They then found Larelle’s diary, which revealed that he had spent many years waiting for Alpha and Beta to come. In their absence, the power of time had begun to grow uncontrollably inside of him, which had resulted in him accidentally creating the ice cube monsters. They realized that Larelle was likely being kept isolated somewhere in Henesys and asked Evan, who told them that Stan and Mark had been with Larelle the last time that Evan had seen him.

The twins went to see Mark, who asked them to hunt Mixed Golems, Icy Mixed Golems, and Flaming Mixed Golems in order to help him with his guard duties. He also asked them to find a pearl from a Pearl Oyster in Gold Beach. After bringing it to him, he accidentally let it slip that he was planning to use it to propose to Rina, though he asked them to keep it quiet from Chief Stan, who treated Rina like a daughter. In exchange for keeping his secret, Alpha demanded that Mark tell them where Larelle was.

Mark reluctantly told them that Larelle was in a cave near the Northern Forest Path. Inside the cave, the twins were shocked to find Shadow Knights guarding the area. Alpha immediately retreated, as he believed it unwise to reveal themselves to the Shadow Knights until they regained more of their power. However, Beta argued that Larelle needed their help, and that they couldn’t wait to save him. Back at the temple, Alpha vented his frustrations to Pietta, who told him that Beta felt kinship with Larelle, as they had both experienced isolation in their imprisonment.

He then learned that Beta had decided to go after Larelle herself and rushed after her. Alpha then apologized to Beta and agreed to help her rescue Larelle. Together, they defeated all the Shadow Knights, including Lyra, and made their way to Larelle. Larelle thanked them for rescuing him and explained that he had been the one who had asked Stan to take him away for the safety of the town. He asked them to give Stan his apologies for leaving, after which he willingly agreed to come with them. Larelle then transformed into a gem, which they took back to the temple.

Cassius then used dowsing to discover that the third Goddess Teardrop was located in Mu Lung. Upon arriving in town, they met So Gong, who mistook them for monk trainees and put them through an examination. For their first test, they met with Mr. Do, who tested them on their knowledge of Mu Lung. After receiving his Proof of Training, they returned to So Gong, who sent them to No Gong’s training center.

After receiving the next Proof of Training, they went through So Gong’s final test, which was an obstacle course designed by Do Gong, which had them make it across a river. Having passed the training course, So Gong recognized their skills, though he mentioned that Aran had finished the lesson in only half the time.

He then sent them to Wu Gong to be registered as official monks. There, they felt the power of time radiating from Wu Gong and realized that he was the Goddess Teardrop. However, he refused to come with them, claiming that he had made a good life for himself in their absence. Confused, they returned to the temple and told the priests what had happened. Pietta told them that the Goddess Teardrop should have been drawn to them like a magnet and suspected that it was a side effect of them being in Mirror World.

They returned to see Wu Gong, who told them to eliminate Tae Roon for their next test. After returning, they attempted to argue with Wu Gong to come with them, but the panda simply went to sleep. However, when Alpha attempted to kidnap him, Wu Gong awoke and told him that he was a light sleeper. The twins then went to see Mr. Do in order to ask him to make a sleeping draught.

After bringing him Ginseng Water and Bellflowers, Mr. Do brewed the sleeping draught for them. They returned to Wu Gong and tricked him into drinking the potion, but their kidnapping attempt was stopped by his friend, a cub named Tae Soo. In all the commotion, Wu Gong woke up and grew angry at the twins for what they had done to him.

With no other choice, Alpha seized Tae Soo and Beta threatened to drip the young panda in a vat of hair-loss potion if Wu Gong refused to come with them. Wu Gong reluctantly agreed to come with them, but asked for some time to get his affairs in order. When they came for Wu Gong, however, So Gong told them that both Wu Gong and Tae Soo had been abducted, adding that he believed that it had been the work of several tourists wearing red. Alpha and Beta went after them in the Misty Forest, where they encountered several Shadow Knights. After fighting their way through the knights, the twins found Wu Gong and Tae Soo tied up and knocked out.

Suddenly, Milo appeared and explained that he only wanted to talk. He attempted to convince Alpha to lead the Shadow Knights, as both he and several other Shadow Knights believed that Will had lost his focus after Alpha had defected. He released Wu Gong and Tae Soo and told Alpha to seek him out once he had made his decision.

Back at the temple, Beta asked Alpha what he was planning, as he still hadn’t told the priests about his encounter with Milo. Alpha confided to Beta that it seemed like a good idea to join the rebel Shadow Knights so that they could search for the Goddess Teardrops uninterrupted, or perhaps to even fight Will himself. However, when they returned to Milo, Alpha ultimately refused to join and told Milo that he had new allies that needed him. Milo then showed his true colors and brought backup, claiming that Will had offered to promote him to Chief Knight if he managed to capture Alpha.

After defeating Milo and the other Shadow Knights, Alpha briefly contemplated taking Milo’s life as punishment, but Beta convinced him to take the high road and hand Milo over to the infamously strict Mu Lung legal system. Some time later, they went to see Wu Gong, who thanked them for saving him. He agreed that it was best for him to leave Mu Lung, as Tae Soo had almost gotten hurt.

However, he wanted to leave something for Tae Soo to remember him by, and so he asked them to see Mr. Do. After bringing him a Thousand-year-old Bellflower, Mr. Do used it to create a strength potion. Wu Gong left the potion and a letter behind for Tae Soo and agreed to come with them, after which he transformed himself into a gem.

Soon after, Cassius located the fourth Goddess Teardrop in Edelstein. Alpha and Beta noted that all three Goddess Teardrops had blue hair, and so they were confident that that they would be able to recognize the next Goddess Teardrop on sight. Before they left, they noted that Cassius seemed rather depressed. (A/N: This is important later in the story. I also realized that I don’t mention his brother Benedict as much, but that’s mostly because he’s the temple’s resident himbo who mainly serves as comic relief.)

After arriving in Edelstein, they were stopped by Belle, who told them that she needed to inspect them because of the recent crimes in town. When they asked her if she had seen anyone with blue hair, Belle told them that the Council President’s daughter, Gabrielle, had been kidnapped by someone with blue hair.

They went to the council chambers, where they encountered Wonny listening in on the meeting. He told them to go to Streetlight Row in order to talk more, where they encountered Belle in her Resistance outfit with a horde of jaguars. After defeating the jaguars, they confronted Belle for having Wonny lead them into a trap. Belle accused them of being friends with the kidnapper, but Alpha convinced her that they only wanted to talk with the kidnapper. Belle agreed to let them talk with the kidnapper in exchange for helping the Resistance capture him.

Back in town, Wonny apologized for tricking them and explained that he needed to be sure of their loyalties. After learning how to get to the Secret Plaza, Alpha and Beta met with the Resistance and were briefed about the plan. First, they would get into the power station, where they would destroy the power generator, which would allow the Resistance to rescue Gabrielle and give the twins enough time to confront the kidnapper. After executing the plan, Wonny escaped with Gabrielle, while the twins confronted the blue-haired kidnapper, a man named Arsen.

Arsen refused to come with them, explaining that he was planning to obtain enough energy so that he could sever his ties to the Transcendents and live his own life as a human. Shocked, they returned to the temple and told the priests about Arsen’s plan. Pietta explained that since the Goddess Teardrop was part of the Transcendent of Time, it was impossible for him to separate himself unless the Transcendents themselves were to disown him completely. Suddenly, Beta noticed that Cassius was missing, though Benedict told them that he couldn’t have gone far, since the priests couldn’t stay outside the temple for long. (A/N: Cassius disappearing is also important later on.)

They returned to the Secret Plaza, where Checky told them that Arsen was absorbing a huge amount of energy. He asked them to find him Shining Rue Ore so that he could conduct a precise reading. With the ore, Checky learned that the power plant was sapping up all the energy in Edelstein, and that it would soon explode if left unchecked. Belle attempted to stop Arsen herself, but Alpha and Beta convinced her to let them handle it. They went to confront Arsen, who showed no signs of stopping his plans. Alpha then offered to disown Arsen in exchange for stopping the power plant.

Arsen was surprised at Alpha’s decision, but Alpha explained that Arsen wasn’t worth saving like the other Goddess Teardrops, who had all chosen to follow them because they had known that it was the right thing to do. As they shook hands to complete the separation, Alpha noticed a spider tattoo on Arsen’s wrist, just as an explosion occurred that severely injured Arsen. After taking him to the hospital, the twins returned to the temple and explained that Arsen had been human all along, and that the power of time which they had felt hadn’t been from inside him.

They returned to Edelstein to investigate Arsen and met with Surl, who was the first one to have seen Arsen when he had first arrived in town. Surl told them that he had noticed that Arsen had been covered in dust from Rocky Road, and so Alpha and Beta decided to investigate the area. There, they discovered Shadow Knights guarding the area. After dispatching the guards, they found an operations report that covered all the Shadow Knights’ activities in Edelstein.

From the report, they learned that Will had indoctrinated a test subject, Arsen, into believing that he was a Goddess Teardrop that hated the Transcendents’ hold over him. Will had released Arsen in Edelstein, where Arsen had kidnapped Gabrielle in order to draw out the twins. As Arsen’s mental state had appeared unstable, Will had injected a new dose of brainwashing serum to suppress his memories. However, when Arsen’s false power of time had come into contact with the real thing, an explosion had been triggered.

The twins then went to see Arsen in the hospital, but they were stopped by Claudine, who told them that Arsen wasn’t in his right mind, due to his brainwashing. As Arsen had received irreparable damage from the brainwashing, Claudine recommended that they erase his memories in order to save him. She asked them to obtain Poison Concentrate from the Poison Gas Generator in the Verne Mine, which she used to make a medicine that would erase his memories. After Claudine gave the medicine to Arsen, Alpha sadly wondered whether any of it would have happened if he had just stayed in Shadowvale.

They returned back to the temple, where they reflected on the difficult setback that they had faced. Nevertheless, they decided to move forward and asked Cassius where the next Goddess Teardrop was, which he determined was in Magatia. As the twins arrived in Magatia, Beta asked Alpha if he thought that it was strange that the Shadow Knights had known exactly where to find them.

Alpha grew concerned, realizing that Will likely wouldn’t have made a fake Goddess Teardrop if he hadn’t been certain that they would have gone after the one in Edelstein. As they wondered whether they were walking into a trap, a woman named Rachael approached them and introduced her as the Goddess Teardrop, though she told them that the locals called her the Time Alchemist.

She explained that she wanted to test them in order to determine whether it was worth going with them, and so she had them fight separately in a special dimension in order to test their individual combat skills. During their tests, she attempted to goad them into believing that they were better apart. Even after they passed, Rachael decided to test their intelligence. However, the twins first returned to the temple in order to tell the priests about the latest development. As they all believed that Rachael was a fake Goddess Teardrop, Alpha and Beta decided to keep their guard up when they returned.

For the next test, Rachael teleported them to a replica of Orbis Tower within her dimension. For each question they answered right, she would transport them to the next level. However, if they got the question wrong, she would summon monsters. She also added that she would send them to the top if they learned the secret of the tower. As the two struggled to reach the top, Beta figured out that the secret of the tower was that it was infinite, as it didn’t exist in a physical space.

Impressed, Rachel sent them to the top, where Alpha asked her to prove that she was real and told her to hold hands with him. Rachael then revealed a spider tattoo on her wrist and told them that Will had sent a message: “You never see what’s right under your nose”. She warned them that the mark of the spider signified one who had been corrupted by Will before vanishing.

The twins then returned to Magatia to speak privately, as they couldn’t trust that there wasn’t a traitor amongst the priests. Alpha noted that the priests could track their location by dowsing for the power of time, which might be how the traitor could have been telling Will about where they were. Beta noted that Arsen and Rachel both had tattoos of spiders on their wrists and decided to ask the priests to show their wrists.

Back at the temple, all the priests showed their wrists, which were completely clean. However, when Alpha found Cassius’ dowsing rod on the ground, he picked it up and discovered a spider mark on it. (A/N: This is why Cassius had been disappearing and why he had seemed unusually depressed, as he’s been sneaking off to work with Will.)

Cassius immediately fled the temple, thus cementing his guilt. Benedict went out in search of his brother, though unlike Cassius, he returned for regular check-ins, since the priests couldn’t exist outside the temple for long. Benedict soon returned, unable to find his brother, and was devastated by his betrayal. Alpha and Beta decided to return to Shadowvale in order to find Cassius, though the priests warned them about how dangerous it would be.

They found Cassius near the outskirts of Shadowvale and confronted him, telling him that they could have rewarded him once they arrived in Maple World if that was what he had been after. However, Cassius grew frantic and begged them not to go to Maple World, explaining that the danger of the Black Mage was too great.

When Beta asked if he believed that they couldn’t handle the Black Mage, Cassius truthfully told them that he believed so, as the Transcendent of Time had already once fallen to the Black Mage, even with the full power of time from the Goddess Teardrops. Realizing that there was no way for them to remain safe in Maple World, Cassius had betrayed them to Will in order to prevent them from returning to Maple World and being targeted by the Black Mage.

As the Shadow Knights approached, Cassius attempted to sacrifice himself in order to protect them, but Alpha and Beta fought the knights off themselves. However, as Cassius had spent too long outside the temple, he faded away. After returning to the temple, Alpha, Beta, and the priests mourned Cassius, but continued to move forward in his memory. Though he had his own dowsing rod, Benedict asked them to find Cassius’ dowsing rod as a keepsake.

After bringing it to him from the pile of Cassius’ things from when he had faded away, Benedict used it to find the next Goddess Teardrop, which was located in Ludibrium. Benedict explained that Ludibrium was built around a large clock tower, and that Rhinne had stopped time in the area at the request of its king. Pietta added that time had been shattered into fragments as a result, which had caused concern amongst the priests.

Upon arriving in Ludibrium, they were surprised to instead find themselves in the Temple of Time, where they viewed a memory of the past, in which Tigun the Advisor had requested on behalf of the King of Ludibrium that Rhinne stop time in the kingdom, though Rhinne had warned him that it would cause time to shatter, and that attempting to restart time would have dire consequences.

(A/N: Rhinne takes the prize for being the most useless Transcendent ever. Her one job was to keep the balance of her domain and she couldn’t even do that right. Her decision to freeze time in Ludibrium while knowing full well that it would put Maple World on the brink of temporal collapse is so bizarre to me. It’s later suggested that the reason why she caved in was because she loved Maple World and couldn’t say no to its people, but at the same time, my brother would also ask me for ice cream for breakfast when we were kids, and I still had the sense to say no. It says a lot about Rhinne when a twelve-year-old who still didn’t know how to how to tie his shoes would’ve made for a better Transcendent. Also, just in case anyone was wondering, I know how to tie my shoes now.)

Suddenly, time fractured and shattered the memory, causing them to fall deep below the clocktower into a strange space. There, they defeated a Thanatos, which they recognized as the gatekeeper. Beta realized that the many doors in the area likely led to spaces created by broken time. They entered the door that radiated the most power of time and began climbing the clocktower, where they met the final two Goddess Teardrops, Hera and Mera, who told Alpha and Beta that they would come with them, but that they still had important duties to fulfill.

They transported the twins to the town, where they explained that Mirror World’s Ludibrium was in danger of having its pieces of time collide with each other, which they had been using their fractional power of time to prevent. They asked Alpha and Beta to use their powers as the Transcendents of Time in order to stop time in Ludibrium, just as Rhinne had once done.

Alpha and Beta returned to the temple and explained the situation, as well as the memory that they had seen of their mother. When Alpha asked if they could see Rhinne in Maple World, Pietta sadly explained that once they awakened as the new Transcendents, Rhinne would disappear, as two Transcendents couldn’t exist in one world. (A/N: This poses an interesting question about the fates of Alicia and Darmoor, as well as Alpha/Beta and Chronica, since Maple World and Grandis are now one.)

Saddened by the revelation, Alpha and Beta returned to Hera and Mera, who instructed them to eliminate the flow of time in both the past and the future. They entered the east tower of the past and traveled to the Korean Folk Town, where they drew out the power of time from the people and contained it inside a bottle. (A/N: Cool detail: the monsters created by them drawing out the power of time are the same type of ice cube monster that Larelle summoned when he lost control of his time powers.)

Next, they went to the west tower of the future and arrived at Omega Sector, where they drew out the power of future time. With time having stopped, the Goddess Teardrops were free to join them. Before they did, however, Beta suggested that they visit Rhinne through the crack in time in order to speak with her. Mera agreed to lead them to the Goddess, though she warned them that it would be dangerous.

They then entered the past, where they found a memory of the Record Keeper telling the Goddess that history seemed to grow thinner. He then asked her if Maple World would soon end, to which Rhinne replied that her own future was set in stone, adding that not even the Transcendents lived forever. Next, they entered a memory in which Rhinne chose Benedict, Cassius, and Pietta as her priests who would serve the Child of the Goddess. Finally, they entered a memory of Arkarium attempting to attack Rhinne.

The two immediately rushed to her defense and managed to defeat Arkarium before speaking to Rhinne. They asked her why she worked so hard to save Maple World, to which she explained that she loved Maple World and hoped that they would care for it as she did. Alpha then asked if she regretted creating them, but Rhinne avoided the question and instead warned them that every being had the power to change their own future, except for the Transcendent of Time.

Forced out of the memory, they returned to Ludibrium and successfully collected the last Goddess Teardrops, which they brought back to the temple. Pietta then told them to activate their true powers with the Goddess Teardrops and escape Mirror World. However, they instead found themselves in the Dusk Temple and found Pink Bean nearby. Wondering if it was part of the ceremony, they defeated Pink Bean and noted that he wasn’t using the power of time, as though he had come from another world.

They returned back to the temple, where Pietta explained that the Dusk Temple was a place of old gods who had existed before Rhinne had become the Goddess of Time. She urged them to try again, which resulted in them being transported to the Mirror World Control Room, which had screens that displayed several persons of interest, including themselves and the Black Mage. There, they met Will, who explained that they stood in the same area where the Black Mage had sealed Rhinne. He revealed that he had constructed the control room in order to manipulate her powers and showed them a sealed Rhinne.

(A/N: This has always been a weird plot hole because the Silent Crusade storyline shows Rhinne sealed in ice in the Temple of Time, whereas Zero’s storyline shows her being sealed away in Mirror World. Since the Silent Crusade was originally JMS content that was later adapted by KMS, I’m assuming that Zero’s lore takes precedence.)

Will explained that he had split them in two, not only as a matter of convenience, but also to subject them to his influence in order to corrupt one of them, which had thrown the powers of time out of balance. He also revealed that they could never awaken as Transcendents unless the corrupted one were to be killed.

Frustrated, they returned to the temple and explained what Will had told them. Pietta reluctantly told them that it was the best choice for the corrupted vessel to die. (A/N: Given how much she dotes on them both, this was such a shock to read.) When Benedict was shocked by her words, Pietta told him that she had been tasked with guiding the Child of the Goddess into becoming a Transcendent, and that she couldn’t waver.

Hoping not to face such a grim reality, however, Pietta entreated them to visit Mirror World’s replica of the Temple of Time and speak with the other priests there. At the temple, the Temple Keeper suggested that they speak to the Memory Keeper, who may know something about their corruption. When they explained the situation to him, the Memory Keeper told them that they needed to destroy the corrupted one and offered to help identify them. Though Alpha was furious with the Memory Keeper, Beta calmed him down and told him that they needed to understand the problem if they were to find their own way to fix it.

The Memory Keeper then told them to hunt Dodo and obtain its shard, which could offer a glimpse into the past. They used the Shard of Recollection to remember many of their happiest memories. However, the Temple Keeper told them that their dark past had been overwhelmed by nostalgia for the time that they had enjoyed, and thus, he couldn’t see far back enough to when Will had corrupted them.

They returned to the Temple Keeper, who suggested visiting the Sorcerer, as he had spent a lifetime trying to remove his regrets. The Sorcerer believed that their corruption stemmed from regret and asked them to collect a shard from Lilynouch. Using the Shard of Regret, they viewed their past regrets of not having been able to save Arsen, Rachael, and Cassius. However, they agreed that their regrets were because of the decisions that they had made, not because of the corruption. As their past regrets had been forgiven, the Sorcerer explained that he could no longer help them.

The Temple Keeper finally suggested that they visit the Record Keeper, who had recorded countless memories from ages past. The Record Keeper told them to find a shard from Lyka in order to find memories that they had lost to oblivion. After hunting Lyka, they obtained the Shard of Oblivion. Upon using it, Alpha viewed one of his forgotten memories.

In the Umbra Temple, he saw himself speaking with Milo, who called his past self Seven. Alpha watched Seven make his way into the deepest part of the temple, where he found Beta. Suddenly, Will appeared and convinced Seven to leave Beta, calling her a corrupted being. However, Alpha realized that Will had full intent to wipe Seven’s memories once they returned to Shadowvale. Alpha then returned to the Temple of Time, where Beta told him that she had only seen the empty flow of time. Alpha kept the knowledge that Beta was the corrupted one to himself, intending to purify her in order to prevent her from being destroyed.

Some time later, Beta took Alpha to the deeper parts of the Temple of Time, where she confronted him and explained that since she had been asleep in the past, she hadn’t been able to view the memory shown by the Shard of Oblivion, meaning that it had to have been Alpha’s. She surmised that Alpha was keeping the truth that she was the corrupted one and told him that for the good of Maple World, he needed to kill her.

When Alpha refused to fight her, Beta attacked him in an effort to force him to defend himself. Alpha managed to defeat her, but refused to finish her off. He then suggested that Will had manipulated them into thinking that she was the corrupted one when it was really himself, and that if she were killed, he would remain the sole corrupted vessel, unable to become a Transcendent.

United once again, they returned to the temple and told Pietta that they refused to hurt each other, regardless of who was corrupted. Alpha then suggested that they fight Will, believing that defeating him would lift the corruption. They arrived at the Mirror World Control Room, where Will amusedly told them to watch what happened when an unstable entity attempted to become a Transcendent.

Suddenly, Rhinne teleported out of her containment chamber and poised herself to attack. Will explained to the shocked twins that it was in her nature as a Transcendent to prevent incomplete and corrupted beings such as themselves from stealing her powers, adding that she was likely eating away at her own life force in order to move against her bindings.

Suddenly, however, Rhinne attacked a surprised Will and explained that though it was in her nature to stop any corruption to her own power, it was a mother’s instinct not to harm her own child, which was far more powerful than the calling of the Transcendents. After forcing Will to retreat, Rhinne cleansed both Alpha and Beta of their corruption and told them that they needed to escape Mirror World in order to become the next Transcendents of Time. She explained that the Black Mage had used her powers to create Mirror World, and that as long as it existed, she would remain the only one with access to the power of time. As two Transcendents couldn’t exist, Rhinne told them that she would need to die in order for them to inherit her powers.

They all returned to the temple, where Rhinne explained that Will was attempting to use her power to revert all time in Mirror World. She told them that it was their chance to defeat Will and destroy Mirror World, which would release her power for them to become the next Transcendents of Time. Before they left, Beta whispered a plan to Alpha that would save Rhinne, to which he agreed.

They then confronted Will, and after a fierce battle, they managed to defeat him, causing Mirror World to be destroyed and allowing them to awaken as the new Transcendents of Time. However, following Beta’s plan, they recreated Mirror World as soon as it was destroyed, allowing them to resurrect Rhinne in the form of a child. As Mirror World had been created through Rhinne’s power, they told her that she would be bound to stay there, although Rhinne gladly accepted the arrangement.

(A/N: Alpha and Beta awakening as the new Transcendents of Time is a weird issue in the game. While the game claims that they’re Transcendents, almost nothing in the lore actually supports this. At the beginning of the Convergence storyline, it’s said that there are no Transcendents left in Maple World after the death of the Black Mage, which directly contradicts Zero’s existence.

The current working theory of the fandom is that Alpha and Beta being split is the reason why they don’t count as proper Transcendents. The way that the game presents Transcendent lore is that Transcendents don’t necessarily need to die in order to be counted as absent, but rather, they just need to be incapable of performing their jobs. All three Transcendents being sealed away centuries ago, for instance, triggered the fusion of Maple World and Grandis, despite the fact that all of them were still alive.

Because of this, people speculate that much like how Alicia’s life force was scattered across the world, Zero being split and weakened means that the universal laws governing Transcendent powers have determined that they’re not capable of performing their full Transcendent duties, which would explain why all the Transcendents of Maple World are said to be gone after Tenebris.

Nexon probably regrets making Zero a Transcendent now that the story direction has gone in such a way that all the Transcendents in the game are inevitably going to be killed. It would’ve been easy for them to have thrown in a line in Tenebris explaining why they don’t count as real Transcendents anymore just to clear things up, but they’ve remained silent on the matter for so long now that we just have to treat this theory as all-but-canon.)

Alpha and Beta then entered the portal to Maple World, but unexpectedly, they hit something between dimensions, forcing them to arrive in Pantheon instead. As Cartalion confronted them, they asked to know whether they were in Maple World, to which Fenelle told them that they were in Grandis, not Maple World. Suddenly, another intruder arrived and asked them to follow him, promising that it wasn’t a trap. He led them to a space between dimensions, where they were shocked to find the Commanders of the Black Mage: Arkarium, Damien, Hilla, Gelimer, Lotus, and Von Leon.

(A/N: Although Gelimer is standing with the others, he hasn’t been made an actual Commander. This is also the last time that we ever see Von Leon, as he’s sadly never mentioned again.)

The Commanders offered an alliance with the new Transcendents, claiming that they could help Alpha and Beta become the Transcendents of Time of both Maple World and Grandis. Arkarium explained that Maple World and Grandis were slowly merging, which was all according to the Black Mage’s plan. He told them that only a Transcendent of Life, a Transcendent of Time, and a Transcendent of Light could exist in a given world, with a new Transcendent being created as a replacement should one disappear, though Hilla added that the circumstances could be less than ideal, such as how Alpha and Beta had been split in two.

However, should a world lose all its Transcendents, it would become unstable and would fuse with another world in order to regain its stability. Because the Black Mage, Rhinne, and Alicia had all been sealed away, Maple World had attempted to restore its balance by seeking to merge with Grandis. Hilla explained that the world merge would have stopped if the Transcendents were to have returned early on, but after centuries, Maple World was moving on pure inertia, meaning that even the return of the Transcendents wouldn’t stop it. She also added that as Maple World was much larger than Grandis, their imminent collision would be interesting to watch.

She then explained that the Black Mage planned to become the Transcendent of Light of both Maple World and Grandis and asked if they would agree to join him. Alpha asked who the new Transcendent of Life would be if he and Beta were the new Transcendents of Time. Hilla told them that she didn’t want to spoil the fun, but added that the Transcendent of Life had already been chosen.

(A/N: As Damien stealing Alicia’s powers was a betrayal on his part, him becoming the next Transcendent of Life obviously wasn’t the plan, and so we never find out who the Commanders had chosen as their candidate.)

Hilla then told them that they only needed to oust Chronica, Grandis’ Transcendent of Time, in order to gain full power over that world. She also reminded them of Rhinne’s fate when she had refused to obey the Black Mage. In order to buy time, Alpha told them that they needed time to think on the Commanders’ offer, as they had only just become the new Transcendents, and so they wanted to learn more about Maple World and Grandis before they could make a decision.

Hilla accepted their proposal, claiming that it wasn’t a pressing matter. Though Damien called them arrogant fools, Arkarium assuaged him by joking that Alpha and Beta were merely living up their role as the Transcendents of Time by asking for more time. (A/N: Damien gets angry because Arkarium had him believe that the Black Mage would convince the new Transcendent of Time to use their powers in order to rewind time and bring his mother back to life.)

Alpha then asked why they weren’t angry at him and Beta for killing Will, to which Hilla explained that they operated on the principle of ‘survival of the fittest’, and hinted that Will wasn’t gone for good. With that, the Commanders disappeared and the twins returned to the guide who had met them in Grandis.

The guide then revealed himself as Cassius, who now possessed a spider-web mark on his face. He explained that the Commanders had brought him back to life, and that he had allied with them in an attempt to help Alpha and Beta, claiming that the Commanders wanted to give them a chance to achieve more than they could on their own by allowing them to become the Transcendents of two worlds, which would allow them to easily defeat the Black Mage. He then asked them to think on his words before sending them back to Maple World.

Having bought some time for themselves, Alpha and Beta began to explore Maple World and Grandis in order to gain allies and to prepare themselves to face the Black Mage. (A/N: Much like with Von Leon, the writers have forgotten that Cassius exists too. I really hope that he shows up and gets involved with all the stuff with Chronica in the Grandis story.)

Fight for Azwan:

At the behest of the deceased citizens of Azwan, the Alliance launched its forces in order to liberate the city from Hilla. They succeeded in taking back Azwan and driving Hilla out, thus gaining access to the lost city’s countless treasures. After Hilla’s disappearance, it was believed that she had left Maple World for good.

(A/N: This is supposed to be Fight for Azwan, which was removed from the game. Hilla being driven from Maple World forever comes from the Labyrinth of Suffering storyline, in which the Adversary is surprised to see Hilla and voices aloud their surprise because they were under the impression that she had been driven from Maple World for good.

Originally, I thought to place this section after Phantom’s storyline, since Fight for Azwan was released in the same patch as him and it made sense for those events to happen in parallel. However, if we take Hilla leaving Maple World for good literally, that would place this section right after Zero’s storyline, which is canonically the last time that we ever see Hilla in Maple World. Hilla does appear one more time before Tenebris in the Dimension Invasion storyline, but that technically happens on Grandis.

Realistically, the whole thing about her leaving Maple World for good was probably meant to be interpreted as her going underground. Technically, that interpretation would allow for this section to still be placed after Phantom’s storyline, since her cameo in Zero’s storyline was an isolated incident that no one in Maple World would ever know about.

However, I generally try to refrain from ordering sections based on personal speculation. Obviously, some storylines don’t have any indication of when they take place, which means that I have to take some liberties, but if they do offer some idea of chronological placement, I try to go with those, even in cases like this where it doesn’t necessarily have to be taken literally.)

Soon after, an Alliance member met a wandering mystic who told them a rumor about an elixir of everlasting youth that Hilla had left behind in the ruins of Azwan, as well as the fact that Queen Areda of Ariant had already sent people on a mission to obtain it. (A/N: The wandering mystic is a disguised Hilla.) The Alliance member traveled to the ruins of Azwan, where they met an Alliance soldier named Gardin.

Gardin was exasperated to know that the Alliance member had been sent by the wandering mystic, whom he explained had been spreading rumors of the elixir all across Maple World, causing droves of people to swarm the ruins. He then suggested that the Alliance member visit Medina, the Shamaness of Azwan, though he warned that she would appear different from what they might expect.

Inside the castle ruins, the Alliance member encountered Medina, whom they were surprised to see was a ghost. Medina explained that Iason, the ghostly King of Azwan, had been reluctant to allow foreign armies to come to Azwan, and so she had been looking for help on her own. She told the Alliance member that the rumor of the elixir had been causing people to pour into Azwan, and that she believed that Hilla was trying to amass her forces in order to bring an evil scheme to fruition.

Fearing that the same fate as Azwan would befall Ariant, Medina told the Alliance member how Hilla’s quest for everlasting youth had caused the ancient kingdom to fall into ruin, as well as the fact that she likely planned to use those who sought immortality for her own schemes. She then directed the Alliance member to Longorias, the Prime Minister, who tasked them with tracking down several trespassers who had been accessing the underground passageways.

The Alliance member entered the passageways and cleared out a horde of grave robbers before encountering two soldiers. Realizing that they were different from the grave robbers, the Alliance member hid behind several boxes and began to eavesdrop. They then overheard the two soldiers, who had been sent by Queen Areda, discussing whether the elixir of everlasting youth was actually real. The pair agreed that it hardly mattered when Areda would claim it for herself after using them to do her dirty work. Then then shuddered at the thought of having to serve an immortal Areda for all eternity.

One of the soldiers suggested that he ought to drink the elixir instead, claiming that he was much better looking than Areda. However, the other soldier claimed that he himself was more handsome. The two then began to bicker as the bewildered Alliance member wondered why the two guards were arguing about who looked better when they were identical twins.

Just then, a third identical guard appeared and claimed that his face was the one that was truly handsome, causing the Alliance member to realize that they were triplets. The third soldier then reported that he had found the elixir. The Alliance member began to head out to let Medina know what they had discovered, but they were quickly spotted by the triplets. After defeating them, the Alliance member picked up the elixir and noted that it had been marked with ancient Azwan writings.

The Alliance member brought the elixir back to Medina, who sensed Hilla’s evil energy within the potion. She then translated the inscription as, “The loss of beauty across this fair world so saddens me. I have in my possession the power of immortality, which I shall grant to only the most beautiful souls,” noting that it had also been signed by Hilla herself.

After analyzing the components of the potion, however, Medina learned that it actually extracted obsession and insanity that hid inside the drinker’s heart. She then thanked the Alliance member for preventing Hilla’s scheme from coming to fruition and asked them to let the Alliance know about the potion.

The Alliance member spoke with Gardin, who thanked them for the information and promised to place more guards around the passages in order to prevent anyone else from entering. Two days later, however, Hilla entered Ariant Castle while disguised as the wandering mystic and presented the elixir to Areda. Giddy at the prospect of eternal beauty and youth, Areda promised Hilla all the riches in the world before sending her away. As she walked away, Hilla smirked and shed her disguise, claiming that, “From Ariant… it will begin again…”

(A/N: This storyline got a pseudo-conclusion in the Labyrinth of Suffering storyline. The reason why I say pseudo-conclusion is because it raises more questions than it answers. While stumbling through the labyrinth, the Adversary is plagued by visions of despair, in which their allies in Tenebris and the people of Maple World are suffering. One of these visions has them view a conversation between two citizens of Ariant - SagaT and Ahmad - who are being forced to work like slaves.

Ahmad tells SagaT that everything had fallen apart once Areda had found the Elixir of Youth, causing her greed to grow insatiable. The Adversary is surprised because they believed that they had given the elixir to Medina. Ahmad then says that many people have begun to leave the city, causing the situation to worsen for those who remained.

However, SagaT reveals that the people haven’t left, but rather, Areda has imprisoned them in the palace in order to drain their vitality, as she has to keep draining youth from others in order to maintain the effects of the elixir. The scene then flashes to a corrupted Areda being consumed by dark energy as she tells herself that she has to keep draining life, causing the Adversary to realize that she’s really draining Erda.

The canonicity of this vision is left up to your interpretation because for the most part, every vision inside the labyrinth is an illusion created by Hilla in order to break you. However, this vision seems to be pretty plausible based on what we know happens at the end of the Azwan storyline. Personally, I believe that this one is actually true because all the other illusions of Maple World’s people suffering are stripped away at the end of the storyline and it’s revealed that they’ve been fighting all along, with the exception of this vision.

The only thing I don’t like is that we never figure out whether the people of Ariant are saved or not. The whole situation in Ariant has been weird to me from the beginning because of how not a single person in Ereve thought to themselves, “Hey, maybe as the federal government of this world, we should do something about one of our states falling under authoritarian rule.”

To an extent, there’s a fairly reasonable explanation for that. My headcanon has always been that in the centuries since Empress Aria’s death, the authority of the Empress has become almost ceremonial at this point. Ereve has a Senate, but I’d wager that there’s a limit to the kinds of laws that they can pass.

By the time that Cygnus is coronated, the people of Maple World have lived without an Empress for over 800 years. Cygnus started out with no army, no authority, and no visibility. On top of that, she was probably somewhere between 5-8 years old when she became Empress. Even with Neinheart to help her, she’s struggled with an inferiority complex her entire life where she thinks that she’s not worthy of being Empress, which means that she’s probably terrified of having to be assertive in enforcing the laws of Ereve. She probably doesn’t want to send the Cygnus Knights to overthrow Areda and risk looking like a tyrant, and Areda definitely isn’t going to listen to Cygnus because there’s no way that she’ll take the words of a child seriously.

However, the thing I don’t understand is why Cygnus still hasn’t intervened in the present day. The fact that nearly every citizen in Ariant has been kidnapped by the queen should be a national-level emergency, even with the fight against the Black Mage going on. It just comes off as completely irresponsible of Cygnus to ignore what’s going on in Maple World when she’s literally the sole ruler of the whole planet and a good chunk of her constituents are having the life sucked out of them.

The probable reason for this is that the writers didn’t feel like resolving all the problems in the town storylines because the KMS director wanted the story focus to shift to Grandis. I love the Grandis story and everything, but there’s no good reason that they couldn’t have wrapped up the problems in Maple World the same way that they resolved all the Maple World class storylines in the Aftermath cutscenes.

Personally, I’m hoping that these problems resurface somewhere along in the Grandis story. There’s a strong implication that Darmoor has been planning to invade Maple World, and it would be really cool to see people like Areda or the remnants of the Black Wings allying with Darmoor, similar to how the High Flora allied with the terrorist group Ebonstar in order to seize Cernium.)

Siege of Heliseum:

(A/N: Y’all can’t even begin to fathom just how much I suffered while doing the Heliseum prequests over and over again for every single Grandis class while also taking notes on the whole thing. I spent almost two months just on this section alone, and good god, those might have been the longest two months of my life. I’ll spare you the misery and the melodrama, but I honestly deserve a goddamn medal for this. And maybe a vacation to KMS headquarters so that I can give the story team a piece of my mind.

Kaiser, Angelic Buster, and Cadena, in particular, were some of the longest prequests just because of how much extra story there was. At the same time, these quests built upon and expanded their class stories in a much-needed way, especially with Cadena, and so I consider those quests to be an integral part of their storylines.

I initially tried to weave together all the individual class storylines in the same way as I did with Aran and Evan’s, as well as with Kaiser and Angelic Buster’s, but I realized that it was too convoluted, and so I decided to keep them separated. However, Kaiser, Angelic Buster, and Cadena’s storylines do fit pretty well together, which you’ll see from the dialogue, and it’s possible to glean from the dialogue at which points they intersect.

There are three main parts to the Heliseum storyline: the battle to push into the city, figuring out how to enter Tyrant’s Castle, and the final assault on Magnus and the three Guardians of Heliseum. Kaiser, Angelic Buster, and Cadena have a unique story for the first two parts.

The second part, which involves figuring out a way to break into the castle, is also unique to them, as the generic story for all other classes skips it entirely. However, every class has the same storyline for the third part. The generic story for the first part doesn’t mesh well with Kaiser, Angelic Buster, and Cadena’s stories, and so I’d take its canonicity with a grain of salt because it really just exists for other classes to say “I participated.”

A fair warning before we get into it - while the Heliseum storyline is genuinely funny at times, it doesn’t shy away from reminding you that the majority of the plot is comprised of fetch quest after fetch quest. As such, you’ll notice that the writing in this section is basically “he got the thing, and then he got the other thing, and then he killed some other thing, after which he got one more thing.”

I’ve made multiple efforts to try to rewrite this section in order to make it sound less monotonous, but the problem is that this is a fundamental issue of the storyline that no amount of clever writing on my end can fix, not to mention that it’s excruciatingly boring for me to waste hours doing it when I’m already so burned out from drafting this ridiculously long section. Hopefully you can understand when I say that I’ve done the best that I can do.)

After defeating Hilla’s forces in the Dimension Invasion crisis, the Heliseum Reclamation HQ continued pushing forward towards Tyrant’s Castle.

Generic Story:
(A/N: This story applies to every class who isn’t Kaiser, Angelic Buster, or Cadena. It’s a bit strange because the rest of the Grandis classes are treated as people from Maple World.)

One member of the Alliance was summoned to Pantheon, where they met Beldar. He told them about the Nova’s goal to reclaim Heliseum and explained that the Heliseum Reclamation HQ was in danger of being overwhelmed by Magnus’ forces. The Alliance member made their way towards the dimensional door to Heliseum, where they met a soldier named Tiron, who explained that the Specters had launched an aerial attack on the Heliseum Reclamation HQ. He asked them to speak with Edea and Piston at the Commander Barracks, as well as to protect as many soldiers as possible from the Specter attack.

After defeating the Specter invaders, the Alliance member met with Edea and Piston, who thanked them for saving the base. Piston told the Alliance member that the Specter Battle Hounds had played a major role in the enemy attack and asked them to defeat the monsters. After defeating the Specter Battle Hounds, the Alliance member returned to see Edea, who told them that they needed to open up the supply lines and asked them to defeat the Specter Shieldbearers in the Forest of Choices.

With the Forest of Choices opened up, Edea asked them to check with the quartermaster, Harpoon, about their supply problem. Outside the tent, the Alliance member met Harpoon, who introduced himself and his twin brother, Maroon, as well as their younger sister, Karin. Harpoon explained that he and Maroon had chopped off their horns on different sides in order to help people tell them apart.

(A/N: I’m guessing that the Nova don’t have nerve endings on their horns, kind of like hair or fingernails on humans, since cutting off her horns was a huge source of trauma for Cadena. Most likely, they just chopped off the superficial parts of their horns, while Cadena cut her horns from the roots.)

Harpoon then asked them to collect Dinogoth Shoulder Meat in order to restock their rations. After collecting the meat, they returned back to Harpoon, who thanked them and told them that Edea was looking for them. Edea asked them to go to the Lush Forest, where a wise sage named Eurenth lived, and instructed them to get his advice on their next assault strategy. The Alliance member abruptly Edea if she had ever dated Eurenth, to which Edea snapped at them to leave, shaking her head at the things that the people at the base said.

(A/N: There’s literally nothing in the way that Edea was describing Eurenth that insinuated that she ever dated him, unless this is just a bad translation job on GMS’ part.)

At Eurenth’s hut, the Alliance member attempted to ask for his help, but he refused to entertain them. However, he told them that he would speak with them if they brought Dinor Sirloin from the Twisted Forest Border. After bringing him the meat, Eurenth lamented that they were useful, which meant that he couldn’t give them a hard time like a certain Nova Guardian. He then asked them what they wanted to know.

(A/N: This exchange implies that the generic story takes place after Kaiser meets with Eurenth. Like I said before, though, I personally don’t treat the generic story as canon because everything that we do here is a condensed version of what Kaiser, Angelic Buster, and Cadena do in their quests, which means that everything we’re doing here would be redundant and pointless if it’s already been done before.)

The Alliance member told him that they wanted to know how to infiltrate the enemy lines, to which Eurenth recommended that they seek out a group called the Grandis Shadow, though he warned that they would demand a fee.

(A/N: This might be a translation error, as they’re actually supposed to be called the Shadowdealers. The other explanation is that this is an alternate name for the Shadowdealers, or perhaps the name of the Heliseum branch of the Shadowdealers specifically.)

Eurenth gave the Alliance member a D-03 Transmitter and told them to go north until they found an empty lot free of monsters in order to use the communicator. Before they left, Eurenth’s pet Kaloong named Popo asked them to bring it food, as Eurenth didn’t feed it. They brought back Dinoram Tenderloins for Popo, who thanked them.

They then went deep into the Forbidden Forest and used the communicator. A Shadowdealer named Tonero picked up and demanded to know their identity, as the transmitter ID code belonged to Eurenth. After learning that they were an off-worlder helping the Nova, Tonero arrived to greet them and asked for Dinodon Sharp Fangs in exchange for his information. After bringing him the fee, he gave them an envelope with all the information that they needed and told them to bring it to Eurenth.

Before they could return, however, the D-03 Transmitter began to ring. When the Alliance member answered it, a Shadowdealer named Romero told them to meet him back at the clearing. There, he told them that he would trade valuable information in exchange for Dinoram Claws. After bringing him the claws, Romero whispered several secrets in their ear.

As soon as Romero left, the transmitter began to ring and Tonero once again told them to meet him at the meet-up spot. Annoyed that Romero was interfering in their trade, Tomero had decided to steal Romero’s next deal and asked them to bring him Yellow Speeyor Torn Fur Coats. In exchange, Tonero whispered more secrets in their ear and sent them to Eurenth. Back at his hut, Eurenth gave them the envelope that Tomero had given him and asked them to bring it to Edea.

After looking over the information, Edea told them that they would need to launch their major offensive as soon as possible. In order to prepare, she asked them to collect Sparkling Specter Stones from the Specter Miners who had monopolized the ores from the mountains, cutting off the Nova supply of ores for their weapons and armor. After returning with the ore, Edea received a sudden message and told them that it was the right time to strike. She explained that she was planning on using a massive lightning spell to destroy the Specter army and asked them to defeat the survivors once it had been activated.

In a fierce battle in the downtown district of Heliseum, the Alliance member struggled with repelling the Specter army until Edea successfully finished casting her spell, sending a massive lightning storm to decimate the Specter army. With Magnus’ forces in shambles, the Alliance was able to push forward and establish a new base camp in Downtown Heliseum. Edea thanked them for their support and explained that HQ had enough supplies to hold their own, though they would need help to assault Tyrant’s Castle in the future.

Kaiser:
Kaiser was summoned back to Pantheon by Beldar, who told him that the Heliseum Reclamation HQ was under attack by Specters. He asked Kaiser to lead a small support squad in an effort to crush the Specter forces while they were distracted. At the edge of the Heliseum Reclamation HQ, Kaiser met Tiron, who told him that the Specters had ambushed them and trapped their forces. Kaiser fought off the Specter invasion and rescued Piston and Edea.

Back at the base, Edea told Kaiser that their supplies were running thin and asked him to speak with Piston about what he could do to help. Piston told him that the Specter Battle Hounds had been scouting to find their HQ and asked Kaiser to defeat the Battle Hounds, as well as to bring back their horns. After completing his mission, Kaiser returned to Edea, who asked him to eliminate the Specter Shieldbearers in the Forest of Choices.

During the battle, Kaiser defeated the Warrior Specter leading the Shieldbearers and returned with a Specter Commander Badge. Edea was impressed by Kaiser’s skill, as only Specter generals carried such badges. At Piston’s request, Kaiser allowed him to borrow the emblem to show the troops that they were making good progress.

Piston then asked Kaiser to work with Harpoon in order to resupply their rations. Harpoon asked Kaiser to get Dinogoth meat for the camp. After returning, Harpoon told Kaiser that Piston was looking for him. Before that, however, Maroon asked Kaiser to help escort the supply lines by defeating the Dinorams in their way and to recover any lost supplies.

After helping Maroon, Kaiser went to see Piston, who told him that they were in the process of reconstructing an ancient weapon called the Blue Dragon Cannon. He then told Kaiser to meet Cartalion in Pantheon in order to discuss the details. In Pantheon, Cartalion told Kaiser that they had been building the Blue Dragon Cannon in secret for several months and stressed the importance of the weapon to Kaiser, telling him that it was a last resort that would need to be dismantled after they were finished using it, as the weapon was too dangerous to fall into the wrong hands. He told Kaiser to speak with Beldar about how he could help finish construction. Beldar asked Kaiser to collect Animal Oil as fuel for the weapon, which he collected from the Red Speeyors.

With the necessary fuel, Beldar told Kaiser that the Blue Dragon Cannon was ready and asked him to take it from Cartalion and bring it over to Edea. At the Heliseum Reclamation HQ, Edea told him that Tiron and Angelic Buster had found the location of a Specter supply base and asked him to launch the weapon.

Though Kaiser was unsure of how to use it, Edea told him that he needed mental clarity in order to allow the spirits of the past Kaisers to help him wield it. Kaiser went to see Tiron, who told him that Angelic Buster had helped him get the coordinates to their target. After getting the coordinates, Kaiser successfully fired the cannon onto the Specter base.

He returned to Edea, who congratulated him on his mission and asked him to see Eurenth, whose information could help them push forward into the central regions. She also gave him a cookie to give to Eurenth as well. Kaiser delivered the cookie to Eurenth, who immediately spat it out and told Kaiser that Edea had poisoned it. (A/N: You’ll get more context about this later, but basically Edea is unhinged and she’s everything that I want to be when I grow up.)

Though he realized why Edea had sent Kaiser to his hut, Eurenth planned to make him pay for having forced him to eat the poisoned cookie. First, he made Kaiser collect firewood from the Red Speeyor monsters nearby. Next, he had Kaiser collect Dinoram Tenderloins for him. Finally, he had Kaiser use the firewood and meat to cook steak for him, claiming that the former Kaiser was an exceptionally good cook.

Just then, his pet, Popo, told Kaiser that it would help him cook for Eurenth in exchange for food and blankets. Kaiser brought back Dinoram Tenderloins and Blue Speeyor Fur Coats for Popo, who gave him a batch of special spices. Kaiser used the spices to cook a steak for Eurenth, who was thoroughly impressed by Kaiser’s cooking skill. In exchange, he gave Kaiser a D-03 Transmitter, which would allow him to contact the Shadowdealers. He explained that the Shadowdealers were ruthless, and that they would do anything for money, claiming that they had handed the secret of creating Vision Bombs to the High Flora.

(A/N: Vision Bombs were briefly mentioned in Cadena’s story in a throwaway line about how Mr. Hazard sold Vision Bomb tech to the High Flora. We’re yet to see Vision Bombs in the actual game, but the fact that they were mentioned in Cadena’s storyline, which was released five years after the Heliseum prequests, makes me think that it’ll pop up in future Grandis stories.)

Kaiser went to the Shadowdealer Meet-Up Spot and used the transmitter. A Shadowdealer named Tonero picked up and demanded to know his identity, as the transmitter ID code belonged to Eurenth. After Kaiser introduced himself, Tonero arrived at the meeting spot and asked to trade Dinodon Sharp Fangs in exchange for the information that Kaiser was seeking. After bringing him the fee, Tonero gave him an envelope with all the information that he needed and told him to bring it to Eurenth.

Before he could return, however, the D-03 Transmitter began to ring. When Kaiser answered it, a Shadowdealer named Romero told him to meet up back at the clearing. There, he told Kaiser that he would trade valuable information in exchange for Dinoram Claws. Once he finished, Kaiser brought the claws to Romero, who gave him another envelope full of information.

As soon as Romero left, Tonero returned and told him that he would give a third piece of information in exchange for helping Romero, his brother. After Tonero left, Romero returned and traded his final piece of information, as well as his own D-02 Transmitter, in exchange for Kaiser’s D-03 Transmitter. Kaiser reluctantly agreed, remembering the promise that he had made to Tonero to help Romero.

Kaiser then returned to Eurenth with the information, who told him that it would be useful to Edea. However, he was displeased that Kaiser had lost the D-03 Transmitter. He took the D-02 Transmitter from Kaiser and offered to make him a new D-03 Transmitter in exchange for Blue Speeyor Tom Fur Coats. With the coats, Eurenth was able to create a new D-03 Transmitter for him.

Eurenth then gave him the envelopes to give to Edea. While she looked over the information, Edea told him that Maroon needed his help. Maroon asked him to bring Dinogoth Shoulder Meats and Blue Speeyor Fur Coats. After helping Maroon, Kaiser returned to Edea, who asked him to collect Sparking Specter Stones from the Specter Miners.

After he returned, Edea told him that she had received an urgent message that the Specters had kidnapped Captain Tiron. Kaiser rushed into the battlefield and single-handedly destroyed the Specter forces in order to rescue Tiron. Edea then told him that they were ready to attack the Specter army, explaining that he would be the bait that would lure them into the valley, where she would obliterate the Specters with a lightning spell. Following the plan, they were successfully able to retake Downtown Heliseum, allowing them to move their base forward.

Having taken the city, Edea told Kaiser that their next target was Tyrant’s Castle and asked him to speak with Piston and Tiron about the status of the operation. Piston told Kaiser that they didn’t have enough forces to directly engage the Specters in a full-scale war and recommended that they try to strengthen their forces. Tiron added that there were a large number of Specters in the city and suggested that they try to chip away at Magnus’ forces with guerrilla tactics.

After reporting back to Edea, she asked him to break into the castle while they reinforced the camp, as the guards would never expect a lone soldier. She warned him that two of the three Guardians of Heliseum, Victor and Treglow, had been unable to be rescued when the capital had been lost, meaning that they were now under Magnus’ control. She asked him to get the details from Eurenth and gave him another poisoned cookie to bring to him, claiming that she would burn Eurenth’s hut down if he didn’t eat it. (A/N: Again, an actual icon.)

At Eurenth’s hut, Kaiser gave the cookie and relayed what Edea had told him. Eurenth expressed how much he regretted teaching her magic, though he agreed to give Kaiser the information that he sought after eating the cookie. He explained that Edea, Victor, and Treglow had once been the three Guardians of Heliseum.

Victor was a renowned painter, whose work had a huge influence on the Nova people. He had come from a long line of artists and his father, who was said to have seen works from other dimensions, had named his son ‘Victor’ in the hope that the line would continue. However, Victor had eventually fallen in love with a dead woman and had painted his masterpiece in her image.

Learning of a magical canvas that could bring art to reality, he had spent his life attempting to find it. Knowing that Victor would easily fall under his influence if he obtained it, Magnus asked Darmoor to find the canvas. He then used it in order to bait Victor into becoming his servant. However, Darmoor had cursed the canvas so that when Victor painted the woman, it spat out a doll in her form and trapped Victor’s soul inside the painting, leaving his body as a puppet for Magnus, after which Victor was forced to paint minions on the cursed canvas that brought them to life.

Eurenth then explained that Treglow was a genius scientist who was particularly adept at chemistry. Though he had become a guardian, Treglow had secretly wanted to make an artificial creature, which was a taboo among Nova scientists. Magnus had pretended to be a merchant and had sent a spy to support Treglow’s research and build an amicable relationship with him. Magnus had been able to obtain rare materials from other worlds for Treglow, though no one knew how Magnus had the ability to travel to other worlds.

(A/N: The implication that they were going for was likely that Magnus had been using the Interdimensional Portal to travel back and forth from Maple World. The problem with this is that the Interdimensional Portal is one-way, meaning that you’d need a second portal in order to get back. This creates a continuity error with this line because Magnus was said to have brought materials from Maple World before the fall of Heliseum, which can’t have happened, because the Interdimensional Portal on Maple World only appeared shortly before the Black Mage was sealed, which was many years after the fall of Heliseum.)

Though Treglow had been close to finishing the artificial creature, Magnus had sabotaged the experiment just before the invasion of Heliseum, which had caused a huge explosion and had left Treglow mad with grief. The sabotaged experiment had resulted in Treglow creating twisted creatures, and in his madness, he had declared them his greatest success before offering them to Magnus for his army.

Finally, Eurenth explained that the third Guardian, Edea, had a foul temper, though she was perhaps his greatest student. However, he explained that he had expelled her because she had destroyed all his possessions, blown up houses, and forced him to eat her poisoned cookies. Though she seemed to be cool-headed, Eurenth was convinced that she would reveal her true nature one day.

(A/N: Honestly, I’m pretty sure that this is a biased account from Eurenth. You’ll see later in Angelic Buster’s section, but this man is a pedophile and a perv, and I don’t even want to imagine the kinds of things that he tried to get Edea to do when she was younger and more impressionable as his student. All the stuff that she did to get back at him is more than justified in my opinion. If anything, we should look up to her as a role model. Always remember, the next time that someone tries to touch you without consent, poison them and cause extensive property damage on their uninsured home.)

With that, Kaiser asked him for an envelope with the information that Edea had requested, but Eurenth decided to put Kaiser to work because of the cookies that Kaiser had brought from Edea. He then told Kaiser to bring him Yellow Speeyor Fur Coats and Dinodon Sharp Fangs from the Forest of Coexistence. His pet, Popo, also asked him to bring Dinoram Tenderloins, as Eurenth refused to feed it. After Kaiser finished the two tasks, Eurenth wrote a letter for Edea that described the curse that Victor and Treglow were under, as well as what powers they possessed.

Kaiser then returned with the letter to Edea, who thanked him. Suddenly he heard a strange noise and went to investigate at the city border. There, he encountered Velderoth leading an army of Specters. He immediately transformed into his Kaiser form and confronted Velderoth. Velderoth called Magnus ‘Lord Magnus’ and told Kaiser that he had sought out Magnus after seeing how easily he had defeated them, adding that unlike Kaiser’s unique awakening, Magnus could bestow power to anyone.

Kaiser tried to reason with Velderoth, but his old friend refused to listen, instead challenging him to single combat and claiming that he would leave with his Specters if Kaiser could best him. After a fierce battle, Velderoth acknowledged Kaiser’s strength and retreated, promising that he would soon deliver Kaiser to Magnus.

After Velderoth left, Edea told Kaiser that it had been a reckless decision to fight him, as it could have been a trap. Kaiser was disturbed by how arrogant Velderoth had become and wondered what Magnus had done to him. He decided to chase after Velderoth, though Velderoth was able to hide and escape amidst the thousands of Specters.

Kaiser then returned to Edea, who mused that Velderoth had a weak will, despite being unmatched in battle skill. She acknowledged Kaiser’s distress about his friend becoming a traitor, but told him that he would likely need to fight Velderoth again, as he had become Magnus’ third Guardian of Heliseum.

She then explained that according to Eurenth’s information, Magnus had learned the secrets of the Nova royal family’s defenses, and that he was using a similar seal to guard the path to the throne room. She told him that they would likely need the Shadowdealers’ expertise to undo the seal and asked him to see Tonero.

Tonero told him that Treglow was their first obstacle, and that he needed Red Speeyor Stalks in order to analyze his creatures. Kaiser brought the materials to Tonero, who told him that he would begin his research immediately. Kaiser then went to see Romero, who proposed another deal with him. He asked Kaiser to bring him Specter’s Deadly Poison from the Guerrilla Specters.

With the poison, Romero created a special reagent that he asked Kaiser to drink. Kaiser instead proposed that he would pay Romero to drink it himself. Romero drank the reagent and immediately began turning purple. He asked Kaiser to bring the Specter’s Deadly Poison to Tonero, with which Tonero was able to create an antidote for Romero.

Tonero explained that Romero’s alchemical knowledge was lacking before noting that the Specters’ poison was the result of Treglow’s chemical knowledge. After giving Romero the antidote, Kaiser went to find Edea, who asked him to speak with Fenelle about how they could undo the ancient Nova seal on the castle gate.

Fenelle told Kaiser to speak with Anor and Kylan for the information about the unsealing ritual. Kaiser obtained a Harvesting Guide from Anor that explained how to extract life energy. Back at the Great Temple, Kylan told Kaiser that the Nova seal ritual used on the castle was based on life energy, meaning that Life Spark was the core of it all, though he didn’t know how to extract it.

Kaiser passed on the information to Fenelle, who told him that she would investigate. In the meantime, she told him that Beldar needed to see him. Beldar told Kaiser that there were signs that the Specter army was planning an aerial attack. Kaiser rushed to Piston, who told him that a letter from Velderoth had arrived. Upon reading the letter, Kaiser learned that Velderoth wanted to fight one-on-one again, and that he was prepared to pull out the entire Specter army if he lost. Though Piston warned him that it was a trap, Kaiser felt responsible for Velderoth’s fall and decided to accept his challenge.

Kaiser made his way towards the castle and fought his way through the Specter army. At the castle entrance, Kaiser wondered where Velderoth was, as only Specters had greeted him. Fearing that it was a trap, he rushed back to the Downtown HQ, where Edea told him that while he had been gone, Angelic Buster had learned that the enemy was planning an all-out attack. Angelic Buster had managed to fight off the attackers, but Piston had been wounded, though she assured him that Piston would make a full recovery.

Kaiser went to see Piston, who told Kaiser not to blame himself for what happened. He also told Kaiser that he had convinced Angelic Buster to put on a show for them alongside Edea. He asked Kaiser to help convince Edea to participate by getting enough signatures from the army. Kaiser convinced Harpoon, Maroon, and Tiron to gather support from the soldiers, which left Edea with no choice but to concede. Together with Angelic Buster, they put on a show that proved to be a massive hit with the Alliance.

After the show, Edea told Kaiser to see Fenelle about getting the information about the unsealing ritual. Fenelle told Kaiser that they needed to observe the reactions of the materials and the life energy used on the seal. She gave him her research notes to bring to Edea, who asked him to help Tonero while she looked it over. However, Tonero explained that the Shadowdealers hadn’t received proper compensation for helping the Nova yet and asked him to perform some tasks as payment.

First, Kaiser helped a Shadowdealer named Gallero collect Morrow Tree Sap from Full Moon Hill and eliminate Guerrilla Specters. Next, he helped Tonero obtain Specter Candy from Guerrilla Specters, which was said to improve the Specters’ concentration and awaken their latent powers. (A/N: I wonder if Ark could benefit from this.)

Finally, he helped Romero obtain Battle Hound Broken Horns and Tamer’s Whips in order to surpass Tonero as top trader. Intrigued by their relationship, he asked Gallero about them. Gallero explained that his brothers, Tonero and Romero, had been friends from a young age, though Romero had always been jealous of Tonero’s abilities.

Kaiser then returned to Romero, who asked him for more Battle Hound Broken Horns and Tamer’s Whips, as well as Specter Candy in order to keep his spot as top trader. After Kaiser finished the task, Gallero told him that Romero had accidentally flooded the market, and that Romero would lose his profits. In order to help Romero, Tonero secretly purchased Battle Hound Broken Horns and Tamer’s Whips in order to increase their value. He then gave Kaiser a gold pouch and asked him to convince Gallero to buy Romero’s entire stock for a profit. Gallero successfully bought the stock and gave Kaiser a cut of the profit.

Tonero then told Kaiser to find Specter Wrenches from Specter Engineers for the unsealing ritual. After he brought them back, Tonero explained that the wrenches contained a special mineral that could only be found on select regions across Grandis, which the Heliseum Reclamation HQ had been stealing from Specter Engineers in order to mine. As the Shadowdealers weren’t experienced with refining ore, he asked Kaiser to go to Ardentmill in Maple World and speak to Cole.

Kaiser asked Cole if he could extract the minerals out of the Specter Wrenches. Cole replied that he could and told Kaiser that he would send the minerals to Tonero as soon as he could. Kaiser returned to Heliseum, where Tonero told him that the shipment had arrived just before Kaiser himself. He then gave Kaiser another assignment from Edea, which was to collect Sparkling Specter Stone, Welding Goggles, and Hard Back Horns.

Kaiser returned with the ingredients, but Tonero then told him that a new Specter agent had appeared, which was much stronger than regular ones. He asked Kaiser to eliminate the new Power Specters and bring back their Hard Back Horns. Kaiser brought them back and explained that the Power Specters resorted to brute force, and so they could be eliminated with some strategic skill. Tonero then told him about a report from Tiron about the Specters launching a small-scale attack. Kaiser intercepted their forces and successfully drove them back before returning to Edea. She told Kaiser that the enemy forces were at a disadvantage, which was an opportunity for them to route the remaining Specters back.

Kaiser was successful in rerouting the Specters and returned to Edea, who told him that Cartalion had arrived to replace Piston as commander while Piston was injured. Cartalion asked Kaiser to infiltrate the castle in order to thin out the enemy numbers for the exhausted Nova troops. He gave Kaiser a Specter disguise made by Eurenth and his own D-02 Transmitter and sent him to Tyrant’s Castle.

Kaiser successfully infiltrated the castle and contacted Cartalion, who asked him to learn the abilities of the high-ranked Specters in the castle. Kaiser learned the battle tactics of the Warrior Specters and collected Specter Cubes from the Magician Specters. Tiron then contacted Kaiser about how to escape, explaining that there was a secret tunnel behind the center golden ornament in the Castle Foyer.

After escaping, Kaiser met with Cartalion, who told him that Edea had perfected the unsealing ritual, and that it was his responsibility to protect her from Specters while she opened the castle doors. Kaiser successfully defended Edea, who blasted open the castle door. Kaiser then stormed the castle and fought his way past the guards.

Having secured the perimeter, Edea told him that their final objective was to secure the rest of the castle. She also told him that because of his accomplishments, he had been promoted to General, though Kaiser was reluctant about the appointment, since he preferred to work on the field. Edea told him that he needed to undergo a trial called the Proof of Greatness and asked him to speak with Cartalion and Piston.

For his first trial, Cartalion told him about the wisdom of generals, explaining that they needed to be able to make quick decisions in battle. He then gave Kaiser his second trial and asked him to speak with the townspeople about their troubles in order to understand what it meant to be defenseless. Kaiser helped Tiron get new magnifying glasses for his code deciphering by lending him money and helped Romero with the side-effects of his poisonous reagent by bringing him Specter’s Deadly Poison to mix another antidote.

Having passed the second trial, Cartalion gave him the final trial of defeating the Warrior and Magician Specters and bringing proof of his deeds. Having passed all the trials, Cartalion officially approved Kaiser’s promotion to Knight Captain. (A/N: Knight Captain and General are used interchangeably in this storyline.) Kaiser then went to seek Edea for her insight and the two discussed the merits of him fighting on the front lines. Edea told Kaiser that she would speak with Cartalion about supporting him in his role as General so that he could continue his solo missions.

Angelic Buster:
Angelic Buster learned from Beldar that Kaiser had gone to the Heliseum Reclamation HQ, and so she decided to go after him. On the way, she encountered Tiron, who told her that a Specter ambush had resulted in many of their troops being killed. Though Kaiser had fought them off, Tiron explained that there were more Specters arriving through the back in order to cut them off.

As she fought off the Specters, Edea followed her out of concern, but she was impressed by Angelic Buster’s power and asked her to meet at the Commander Barracks. There, Edea told her that they needed to break the enemy’s defensive stranglehold and asked her to defeat the Specter Battle Hounds.

Angelic Buster defeated the hounds and brought back their horns as proof to Piston, who thanked her and then asked her to defeat the Specter Shieldbearers. After taking them down, she returned back to Piston, who asked her to help Harpoon. Harpoon told her that Kaiser had been helping them with their food shortage and asked if she would help clear up the supply routes. In order to help him out, she defeated the Red and Blue Speeyors along the route. Next, she helped him steal shields from the Specter Shieldbearers for their troops.

With the supply route problem fixed, she went to report to Piston and asked where Kaiser was. Piston explained that Kaiser had gone to Pantheon with the Blue Dragon Cannon. She returned to Pantheon and met with Cartalion, who told her that they were experiencing problems with the weapon. Beldar then approached her and asked her to deal with the once peaceful Dinogoths, who had grown violent ever since the Specters had begun destroying their home.

After she returned, Beldar informed her that Kaiser had already left for Heliseum with the Blue Dragon Cannon. She then went after him and managed to catch up with him. Kaiser told her that the Specters were behaving oddly, and that he suspected that they had learned that the Blue Dragon Cannon was being moved. Though she offered to team up with him and deal with them, Kaiser asked her to ensure that the cannon reached Edea while he covered her. (A/N: This is a minor contradiction to Kaiser’s storyline for the Heliseum prequests, in which he personally delivers it to Edea.)

She brought the cannon to Edea and explained the situation to her. Edea asked her to help Tiron scout for potential targets for the weapon while Kaiser finished dealing with the Specters. When she met Tiron, he explained that he had been chased off by Specter Battle Hounds while spying on the enemy. In sympathy, she went to defeat the Specter Battle Hounds in order to get revenge on his behalf.

After returning, she realized that Tiron was too young to be in such a dangerous occupation and decided to take over scouting duties for him. (A/N: I’m like 99% sure that he’s the same age as her, if not older.) She snuck into enemy territory herself and discovered the location of their base, which she reported to Edea. However, Edea told her that Kaiser had already fired the cannon on the coordinates that Tiron had provided.

Believing that Tiron had gotten the coordinates incorrectly while running for his life, she decided to fire the cannon using the coordinates that she had found. (A/N: The prompt has you enter your three favorite numbers and three least favorite numbers for the coordinates.) She then excitedly told Edea that she had fired on the Specter base, but Edea looked at the coordinates and angrily told her that they had nothing to do with the Specter base.

She then ordered her to check with Tiron in order to find out what exactly she had blown up. However, Tiron told her that she had fired in the middle of a secret Specter supply base and hit a powder keg, completely obliterating the base. (A/N: LUK isn’t even her primary stat, but I bet that your favorite thief class could never.)

She reported the news to Edea, who forgave her and then asked her to hunt down the fleeing Specters who were attempting to escape the cannon volley. After she returned from her mission, Edea told her that with the Specters in disarray, it was the perfect time for training. She then asked her to see Eurenth, whom she described as a great sage of Grandis.

(A/N: I have this semi-crack theory that Eurenth comes from the realm of the sages, and that he either left or was exiled.)

After arriving at Eurenth’s hut, she was subjected to his leering gaze, which also allowed him to learn her true identity. He explained that his ability to see the heart of things was what had allowed him to become a great sage. Eskalade was dubious about Eurenth’s skills and believed him to be a fraud, but just then, Eurenth revealed that he was able to perceive Eskalade’s soul inside the relic. After Angelic Buster introduced them, they began speaking about the old days and bonded over their taste in young women.

(A/N: I want the record to clearly state that the people who wrote this are not only my thirteenth reason why, but also my twelfth, eleventh, tenth, ninth, eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth, fourth, third, second, and first.)

Eurenth then agreed to train her to efficiently use Eskalade’s full power. He turned her over to his pet, Popo, who began training her concentration by asking her to hunt Dinorams and bring back their claws as proof. After training, Eurenth had Angelic Buster do the laundry while he and Eskalade went over potential redesigns for her outfit, which featured a significantly shorter skirt length.

(A/N: If you were one of the writers who worked on Angelic Buster’s storyline and you’re reading this: please jump into moving traffic.)

Having finished her training, Eurenth gave her a D-03 Transmitter and told her to go to the Secret Merchant Meet-Up spot in order to learn from the Shadowdealers. She spoke to Romero, who told her that she would need to stock up on products in order to become a real Shadowdealer. He first had her collect Tamer’s Whips from Specter Tamers. Next, he told her to collect Inkwell Coins, though she had no idea how to obtain them.

Suddenly, her D-03 Transmitter rang and Tonero spoke to her, explaining that Romero had been tricking her into helping him and instead suggested that she team up with him in exchange for fair compensation. He then had her collect Dinodon Sharp Fangs and gave her a Merchant Crew Gold Pouch, which he explained was tradable with any Shadowdealer.

After he left, Gallero called her on the transmitter and explained that he had information about Tonero and Romero in exchange for the Gold Pouch that she had. He explained that the two brothers used to be best friends until the gap between their sales records had started widening, causing Romero to begin scheming in order to escape being number two. She noted that they sounded just like Kyle and Velderoth and decided that she would try to fix their relationship. (A/N: Angelic Buster: “I can fix him!” Narrator: “She, in fact, made him worse”.)

Gallero suggested that they interrupt Tonero’s supply chain in order to help Romero catch up. In order to do so, she defeated Dinodons, thus preventing the sale of their Sharp Fangs. Next, Gallero gave her a Merchant Crew Gold Pouch in order to buy the bad stock that Romero had. On her way, she realized that she had lost the gold pouch and spent some time hunting it down from the nearby monsters.

With the gold, she was able to buy back Romero’s bad stock. Hoping that she had helped reconcile their differences, she called Tonero, who accused her of manipulating him for money. She attempted to explain, but he told her that she would only be able to make it up to him in exchange for Dinoram Claws. After bringing Tonero his claws, Romero called her and accused her of teaming with Tonero to ruin him.

After she explained the situation with Gallero, Romero concluded that Gallero was using his feud with Tonero in order to get to the top. After conferring with Tonero, he got back to her and explained that Gallero was using her in order to take the top spot, but this realization had helped him reunite with Tonero. They then asked her to help them defeat Gallero by defeating Specter Miners and stealing their Sparkling Specter Stone before Gallero did. Next, Tonero asked her to collect an Illusory Gold Pouch from Eurenth and trading it with Gallero. When she went to collect it from Eurenth, however, he demanded that she call him “Your most darling and handsome Eurenth” in exchange for the pouch.

(A/N: In the text prompt where you have to type it in, the default text says, “Why are all old men so GROSS?!” If I could talk to Angelic Buster from across the screen, I’d tell her that it’s because the old men writers thought to themselves, “Hey, you know what would be a great idea? Let’s make a character and have her be the exact same age as our target demographic. Then, let’s put her through the wringer of sexualization and misogyny to show our young player base exactly what’s in store for them in the real world.”

Then, they’ll high five each other and say, “Isn’t pedophilia the most hilarious thing ever? We’re so funny. We should get a raise,” or something to that effect. I’d also tell Angelic Buster that I’m down to beat Eurenth to death with a sledgehammer together. I’m pretty sure that her third job skill “Heavenly Crash” is a giant pink version of that anyways.)

After she reluctantly said the words, she traded the pouch with Gallero, who initially laughed at her foolishness, though he soon realized that the money had faded away. For helping reconcile them and taking down Gallero, Tonero made her an honorary member of the Shadowdealers. (A/N: Step aside Cadena, there’s a new Hero of Justice.)

After helping Tonero, Angelic Buster went to see Edea, who told her that preparations for the full-scale assault on the central regions were nearly complete. Edea asked her to help by defeating the Specter Miners and reclaiming the ore that they had stolen. She also helped Maroon stock up on Blue Speeyor Fur Coats and Animal Oil. After returning, Edea told her that Tiron had been abducted by the Specters.

Angelic Buster went to investigate the last place he had been spotted fighting, where she defeated the Specter Battle Hounds in the area. However, she was unable to find any trace of Tiron and returned back to the base, where Edea informed her that Kaiser had rescued him while she had been away.

Edea then asked her to help Maroon get Tiron back into fighting shape, as he still seemed shell-shocked. Maroon asked her to collect Battle Hound Broken Horns so that he could make him a hearty meal. With the horns, Maroon created a rather disgusting meal and asked her to deliver it to Tiron, who graciously ate it in spite of its taste.

Next, she met with Edea, who briefed her on a trap that they intended to lure the enemy into. With Kaiser serving as bait, she asked Angelic Buster to sweep in from behind and trap the Specters in a pincer attack. After Angelic Buster herded them all to the valley, Edea shot a powerful lightning spell that obliterated the Specter army.

Next, Angelic Buster defeated the fleeing Specters as part of the Nova counterattack. After returning back to base, Edea told her that she had found a weakness in the Specters’ ranks, explaining that besides a few commanders, most Specters were unintelligent. Because of this, Edea believed they could pressure the Specters into a trap.

Soon after, the Nova were able to push forward to Downtown Heliseum. Edea told Angelic Buster that she had sent Kaiser to find Eurenth and gather intelligence on the castle interior, and so Edea asked her to speak with Piston in the meantime. Piston asked her to defeat the Specter Miners and Specter Shieldbearers in the city. Next, he asked her to bring Dinogoth Shoulder Meat, Dinodon Fangs, and Yellow Speeyor Torn Fur Coats for Harpoon and Maroon.

She then decided to visit Eurenth, as she hoped that Kaiser would be there as well. However, Eurenth told her that she had just missed Kaiser, though he gave her the same information about Victor and Treglow that he had provided to Kaiser. In exchange for a written letter with the intelligence about Victor and Treglow, she gave Dinoram Tenderloins to Popo, as Eurenth never fed it, and brought Yellow Speeyor Fur Coats to Eurenth. (A/N: You find out that Eurenth is 650 years old in this quest, which absolutely does not help his case.)

Eurenth then realized while she had been finding fur coats for him that he had already sent Kaiser with the letter. Annoyed, she returned to Edea, who told her that something major was happening at the castle gate. There, she witnessed Kaiser facing off against Velderoth. After their battle, she went to speak with Edea, who told her that it was likely that Velderoth had been made the third Guardian of Heliseum. She also explained that they needed to find a way to break into the castle and asked her to contact the Shadowdealers.

Angelic Buster spoke with Romero, who told her that they were planning to distribute antidotes for Treglow’s chemical traps and asked her to collect Specter’s Deadly Poison from Guerrilla Specters. Next, she went to help Tonero, who told her that Romero was foolishly trying to create an antidote with only the poison. He explained that they would need a component of the antibody that resisted the poison and asked her to hunt Hard Back Horns from Power Specters, which were immune to Specter poison.

Tonero then began researching the chemical agents and learned that Treglow was using a chemical which couldn’t be obtained in Grandis, realizing that it was the reason why no one had been able to make a successful antidote. He suspected that Magnus had brought it back from Maple World. He also discovered that there was a flower called the Coated Hyssop Flower carried by Specters in the central region and asked her to collect some.

On her way there, Piston also asked her to eliminate the Specter Tamers, Specter Miners, and Specter Shieldbearers in the central regions. She brought the flowers to Tonero, who began to use them to make his antidote. He told her that Romero had allegedly succeeded in making his antidote with only the poison and asked her to pay him a visit. Romero asked her to drink the antidote in order to test it out.

(A/N: You can either choose to drink the antidote yourself or make Romero do it. Either way, you need a cure for the flatulence that it causes, which you can help Tonero make by bringing him Specter’s Deadly Poison. I would recommend that you drink the antidote, as it’s required to get the story achievement for Angelic Buster. I didn’t find out until later and now I’m annoyed that I’ll need to redo the Heliseum story on a new Angelic Buster in order to get it.)

Soon after, Edea told her that Kaiser had given them a direct path to launch a counterattack and asked her to defeat the Power Specters and Specter Engineers. Next, she spoke with Tiron, who asked her to intercept some of the Specter messages. She returned with the intercepted messages, though Tiron found that they were encrypted.

They brought the messages to Edea, who managed to decrypt them and learned that the Specters were planning to seize the Central Region and trap Kaiser. To counter them, Edea planned to use Angelic Buster, who seemed to be a wild card to the enemy, and had her attack the Specters from behind in order to scatter their ranks.

Though they managed to succeed, Piston was badly wounded. Angelic Buster visited him in the clinic, where he asked her to perform a show for him with Edea. She returned to Edea and spent three hours persuading her to go on stage together. After Edea agreed, Angelic Buster helped Harpoon and Maroon collect Sparking Specter Stones for decoration and Specter Wooden Shields and Specter Wrenches to build the stage. With the stage and decorations ready, Angelic Buster and Edea gave a largely successful performance.

Cadena:
Cadena received a message from Gen asking her to meet in the Back Alley. There, he told her of an opportunity to settle her grudge with Magnus and explained that the Nova were planning to launch an attack on Heliseum. After she expressed her interest, Gen told her that he would contact the Heliseum branch of the Shadowdealers and gave her a D-03 Transmitter. He told her to speak with Beldar in Pantheon and reminded her, above all, to never reveal her true identity.

In Pantheon, Beldar told her to meet with Tiron at the Transitional Dimensional Door, where he would guide her to the commanders. There, Tiron told her that Specters had attacked the base, and that Edea and Piston were trapped inside. Cadena fought through the Specter forces and reached Edea and Piston.

Edea was impressed by her unorthodox tactics, but wondered about Cadena, since she didn’t seem like a Nova. Cadena explained that her story was complex, but she added that she was committed to taking down Magnus. Edea welcomed her to the land of dragons and asked for her help in aiding the Heliseum Reclamation HQ. Piston first asked her to defeat the Specter Battle Hounds, which had largely been responsible for finding their base.

Next, Edea asked her to attack the Specter Shieldbearers in order to secure their supply routes. With their front lines stabilized, Edea asked her to help Harpoon get supplies. Harpoon asked her to obtain Dinogoth Shoulder Meat for the soldiers. To help get strong wood for armor, Cadena suggested that they obtain some from the Specter Shieldbearers.

Next, Harpoon told her that the supply route was too far away, and that the enemy camp was slowing them down. Cadena offered to destroy the enemy camp in order to open up their supply lines. With the enemy forced to retreat, Harpoon told Cadena that they would be able to open up a new supply route. Piston congratulated her on her work and explained that they were planning to use the Blue Dragon Cannon in order to attack the Specters.

He told her that they had reached a setback while constructing it and asked her to help Cartalion, as he knew that Cadena was experienced with weapons. Cartalion and Beldar asked her to collect Animal Oil from the Red Speeyors in order to help the weapon run. After she brought the oil, Beldar told her that the ancient schematics were too faint to read, and so they weren’t sure of what to do in order to finish construction. Unsure herself of what to do, Cadena decided to call the Heliseum branch of the Shadowdealers, as Gen had told her to contact them if she ran into trouble.

At the Secret Merchant Meet-Up spot, she used the D-03 Transmitter to contact Romero, who arrived and gave her the updated schematics. When Cadena asked about payment, Romero explained that the Heliseum branch had an understanding with Gen, who had saved them a while back. She brought the schematics back to Beldar, who excitedly showed it to Cartalion.

With the new schematics, they were able to finish constructing the Blue Dragon Cannon. While construction on the weapon was happening, Cadena contacted Coney and asked him to meet her at the Back Alley so that he could help her add the Blue Dragon Cannon to her arsenal. Coney took the schematics and set to work on adding the extra modifications which Cadena had asked for.

(A/N: This is the backstory for one of Cadena’s 5th job skills called the Apocalypse Cannon, which is a reforged version of the Blue Dragon Cannon combined with Shadowdealer tech.)

At the Heliseum Reclamation HQ, Edea told Cadena that the Blue Dragon Cannon had been largely successful in helping them with their counterattack. With their next move being retaking the city center, she asked Cadena to gather intelligence for their next move. She asked Cadena to speak with Eurenth and learn what he knew about the region.

At Eurenth’s hut, Eurenth found Cadena to be familiar, but he nevertheless told her to leave him alone. Even after being threatened, Eurenth refused to speak, and so Cadena decided to call the Shadowdealers. Tonero met her at the meet-up spot and told her that Eurenth may speak to her if she gave him a gift. Cadena gathered Yellow Speeyor Fur Coats and brought them to Eurenth, who simply took the gift and fell asleep.

Frustrated, Cadena returned to Tonero, who suggested that she gather Dinodon Ribs for Eurenth’s pet, Popo. Cadena gathered the ribs and brought them to Eurenth, who ate them all himself without sharing them with her or Popo. Cadena once again returned to Tonero, who decided to pull his failsafe - a limited edition, hand-stamped figurine of Angelic Buster, though Tonero secretly told her that the hand-stamp was from a Yellow Speeyor, making it a counterfeit. After she brought it to Eurenth, the sage began scribbling like a madman and quickly gave her the letter to give to Edea in exchange for the figurine.

With Eurenth’s intelligence, Edea was able to devise a plan to draw the Specters to one spot, where she would finish them off with a single blow. While Kaiser drew the enemy out and Angelic Buster provided rear support, Edea tasked Cadena with disrupting the enemy’s communications with explosives. However, she explained that the enemy used explosive signals to quickly dispatch orders, which was why there were explosives piled up throughout Heliseum’s forests.

Edea wanted to take advantage of those explosives, but since they were spaced too far apart, there was no way to detonate them all at once without alerting the enemy. However, Cadena formulated a plan to deal with it using her royal crest. She went to the Nova royal family’s secret passageway near the barracks at the Twisted Forest Border, where she placed the crest into a rock, which lit up and revealed a passageway.

(A/N: I’m really glad that the writers gave Cadena a unique script for the Heliseum prequests, as it gave her storyline some much-needed development. For a while, I used to have mixed feelings about Cadena and her story. To give some background, there were rumors that Cadena was originally designed to be the fabled Resistance thief class before the KMS director made a push for the Grandis story to be put into focus. If we compare what her role in the Shadowdealers is with what her role in the Resistance would’ve been, it’s easy to see that both of them are really similar in terms of aesthetics and character background.

With the context of what possibly went on behind the scenes, it seems like the writers wrote her new story fairly last-minute to account for the abrupt change, and at first to me, it felt like her being the Nova princess was tacked on as an afterthought in order to give her some sort of connection to Grandis.

In her class story, her being the Nova princess has next to no actual significance. It’s brought up for ten seconds during her fight with Mr. Hazard, and at first glance, it feels like absolutely nothing meaningful would’ve changed if they’d removed that detail. Even after the events of Tenebris, Cadena makes it absolutely clear that she has no interest in taking back her throne because she’s vowed to herself that she’s going to leave her past behind.

My initial feeling was disappointment because it felt like a wasted opportunity to not add some narrative tension between Cadena and Kaiser in terms of who gets to be the face of the Nova resistance, with Kaiser being the established Guardian of the Nova and Cadena wanting to retake her birthright and lead her people herself.

However, Cadena eschewing the throne falls perfectly in line with her character. At her heart, Cadena is deeply traumatized and her entire story arc revolves around her trying to find meaning in all that trauma. She tried escaping her past by completely reinventing herself with a new name and she even went so far as to cut off her Nova features in her quest to become someone else entirely. Because of this, it wouldn’t make sense for Cadena to want the throne back with the weight of her family’s death and a bloodsoaked crown hanging over her head.

Despite how interesting it would be for Cadena and Kaiser to butt heads, I think it makes the most sense for her character arc to develop like this, and in a way, I kinda appreciate the fact that Cadena not having much of a stake in the lore means that there can be a greater focus on her personal journey in her trying to find some meaning in all the violence that tore her life apart.)

As she entered the passageway, Cadena reminisced about how she used to hide in the passageway when she wanted time alone. She recalled that the adults would use them to travel under cover, and that she never expected that the passageway would be used for a siege. She also remembered that there were three entrances to the secret passageway, all of which passed through the forests of Heliseum.

She first went to the Forest of Choices and detonated the explosives before quickly moving to the Specter Mine Zone and the Specter Forward Base. Having detonated all the explosives, she returned to the battlefield and joined in the fight. With her aid, Edea was able to destroy all the Specters with a powerful lightning spell. Pressing their advantage, they pushed out the enemies in the central region in order to make it their new base of operations.

Having taken the downtown market, Cadena spoke with Piston, who asked her to rendezvous with Tiron. Tiron told her that they would be working together to defeat the rest of the enemies in the western district. They first took down the Guerrilla Specters in the Downtown District. As Cadena moved to the next area, she found scribbles on the wall that spelled out “leaving home”. They then fought off the Specter Engineers, where she found another scribble of two dragons, an adult and a child, with the words “where the moon and stars dance”.

Finally, they reached the last area and fought off the Power Specters. There, she found a doodle of someone wearing a crown and a small, happy dragon, with the words “sleep with a smile” written on it. After Tiron left, Cadena suddenly recalled the location hinted by the drawings and headed to a secret tunnel that she had discovered as a little girl, which she would retreat into whenever she got in trouble. She wondered why the drawings still remained and felt as though someone had wanted her to find them.

Inside the secret tunnel, she found a box filled with old memorabilia, such as a slingshot, a wooden sword, a bouquet, and a letter. She recalled how she had gotten the bouquet and written the letter to her mother as a surprise, which she remembered had been the day before Magnus had sacked Heliseum. As the scent of the flower filled her nose, she turned away, reminding herself of her oath to never look back. (A/N: Little details like these did a great job of adding to Cadena’s personal journey with her being forced to confront the past in the face of her decision to leave it all behind.)

Just then, Edea messaged her to return immediately. She told Cadena that they had played into the enemy’s hands, and that the Specters had set up a trap for Kaiser. While Angelic Buster held the rear, she asked Cadena to strike at the enemy’s flank. Cadena successfully helped push back the enemy, though Edea told her that Piston had been injured. Cadena went to speak with him at the Pantheon clinic, where he told her about the concert that Angelic Buster and Edea were performing. At the concert, Cadena also performed tricks, such as knife juggling. After the concert was over, Edea told Cadena that she would contact her once the seal on the castle was broken.

Illium:
(A/N: All Grandis classes besides Kaiser, Angelic Buster, and Cadena are treated as though they come from Maple World because they’ve all been given the generic storyline that I covered at the top of this section. These classes typically have a class-exclusive quest to initiate the Heliseum prequests, followed by a class-exclusive quest after retaking Downtown Heliseum.)

Kylan summoned Illium to Pantheon and told him that Beldar had requested aid from the Maple Alliance about reclaiming Heliseum. Illium noted that Beldar didn’t trust him, but Kylan told him that Beldar might see the Verdant Flora in a different light if Illium were to help the Nova. Illium went to see Beldar, who told him that though he still didn’t trust him, he trusted Kylan’s recommendation.

He asked Illium to meet with Tiron, who would escort him to Edea and Piston. At the Transitional Dimensional Door, Tiron told Illium that the Specters had launched a surprise attack, and that Edea and Piston were cut off from the rest of the soldiers. Illium fought off the invaders and reached the commanders (A/N: The rest of this storyline is the same as the generic one, with the rest of this section taking place after securing downtown.)

Some time after pushing to Downtown Heliseum, Morian contacted Illium and told him that Beldar wanted to speak to him. In Pantheon, Beldar told Illium how Edea had mentioned that he had been helpful in reclaiming Heliseum, for which Beldar wanted to offer his deepest gratitude and apologies for mistrusting Illium and the other Verdant Flora. He admitted that the Nova records of the Verdant Flora revealed a dark history, but that Illium’s actions had proven that their histories were biased. He welcomed the Verdant Flora to visit Pantheon whenever they wished and implored them to let him know if they ever needed the Nova’s help.

Ark:
Kaiser contacted Ark to let him know about the good news that he had mentioned during their encounter in Sleepywood and asked him to come to Pantheon. He reassured Ark that the barrier wouldn't affect him as much, since was stronger now, though he warned that Ark would still feel weaker. In Pantheon, Kaiser told him that he had convinced the Council to allow Ark to join the Heliseum Reclamation HQ, though he added that not everyone had agreed. Even though he knew that Ark didn’t have bad intentions, Kaiser explained that he still needed proof that the Nova would be safe, since it was his responsibility as the Guardian.

However, he then added that Ark’s lack of hesitation to help those in trouble served as proof enough to him. He also told Ark that though he hadn’t been able to tell him before, the people who had arrived in Pantheon earlier had been Verdant Flora, adding that Ark may encounter them soon. Ark was hesitant about the news, as he was worried about how the Verdant Flora would take his presence as a High Flora. Nevertheless, he went to Pantheon and met Beldar, who directed him to meet Tiron. Tiron told him of a surprise attack by the Specters and asked Ark to help. (A/N: The rest of this storyline is the same as the generic one, with the rest of this section taking place after securing downtown.)

After helping retake Downtown Heliseum, Ark met with Cadena and introduced himself, reminding her that they had met before in Savage Terminal. He explained his situation to her, and though she still didn’t fully trust him, she acknowledged that his actions to help the Heliseum Reclamation HQ, as well as having saved Coney during their first encounter, was enough to make her believe that at the very least, he wasn’t a follower of Magnus. As they talked, Cadena told him about how Mr. Hazard had nearly destroyed Savage Terminal while making a weapon for Magnus. After Cadena left, Ark realized that the High Flora’s reach was long enough to have even reached Savage Terminal.

At Eurenth’s hut, Ark met Angelic Buster and told her about how Kaiser had recommended him to join the Heliseum Reclamation HQ. She told him that she was grateful for more allies, as it had taken a lot of people to help breach the city. He asked her who else had helped retake Heliseum, to which she replied that she had only heard of the Maple Alliance, the Hero of Justice, and another person who looked similar to Ark. Realizing that it was likely a Verdant Flora, Ark asked if she knew where they were. She pointed him to the City Center, where he encountered Illium.

Though he was nervous, Ark shared his story while Illium occasionally asked questions politely. He also listened to Illium’s story about the Verdant Flora, and how Darmoor had recently discovered their home. Illium told Ark that it had been his master’s dying wish that the High Flora be stopped and hoped that they would meet again.

Soon after, Beldar summoned Ark back and apologized for his behavior, noting that it must have taken great strength and courage on his part to help. He explained that he now believed Kaiser’s word that Ark had good intentions and invited him to visit Pantheon or call on the Nova for help if he ever needed it.

Adele:
Adele received a letter from Fenelle asking for her aid in retaking Heliseum. She traveled to Pantheon and met Beldar, who told her that though he didn’t trust her, he was willing to work with her because of Fenelle’s recommendation. He told Adele to meet Tiron, who told her about the Specters’ surprise attack. (A/N: The rest of this storyline is the same as the generic one, with the rest of this section taking place after securing downtown.)

After taking Downtown Heliseum, Beldar summoned Adele back and apologized for his behavior, calling her a true friend of the Nova.

Kain:
Kain received a letter from Gen, who wrote that the Nova were planning to retake Heliseum and asked him to assist them, as the Nova were one of the Shadowdealers’ biggest clients and their loss would affect the Shadowdealers. In exchange for access to the Shadowdealers’ intelligence network, Kain agreed to help the Nova. Kain met Beldar in Pantheon, who recognized him by the new name that Gen had given him. (A/N: This is just the IGN of the player.) He told Kain to meet Tiron, who told him about the surprise attack from the Specters. (A/N: The rest of this storyline is the same as the generic one, with the rest of this section taking place after securing downtown.)

After taking Downtown Heliseum, Beldar summoned him back and thanked him for his help. He told Kain to tell Gen that there wouldn’t be any more issues in their future dealings, and that he didn’t need to worry about picking up the tab. He also told Kain that Fenelle had sent her best wishes and had asked him to tell Kain, “Memories and Malice are one. You will find both, whether you want them or not.”

Lara:
While on her travels, Lara was approached by Kain on behalf of the Shadowdealers, who told her that the Nova were preparing to retake Heliseum. Kain was surprised that Lara readily accepted his request without even considering stipulations, payments, or even details. He connected her with Beldar in Pantheon, who explained their situation and asked her to meet Tiron. Tiron explained that the Specters had launched a surprise attack on the base. (A/N: The rest of this storyline is the same as the generic one, with the rest of this section taking place after securing downtown.)

After taking Downtown Heliseum, Beldar summoned her back and thanked her for her help.

Hoyoung:
Hoyoung received a letter from Fenelle asking for his aid in retaking Heliseum. He traveled to Pantheon and introduced himself to Beldar, who was surprised to see an Anima not in hiding. He told Hoyoung to meet Tiron, who told him about the surprise attack from the Specters. (A/N: The rest of this storyline is the same as the generic one. Unlike the other classes, Beldar doesn’t thank you after helping secure the downtown district.)

Paths Converge Here:
(A/N: This latter part of the Heliseum storyline is the same for all classes.)

Some time later, the Alliance member returned to see if Edea required more help. She greeted them and explained that they needed to defeat the Knights of Magnus in order to fully retake Heliseum. She explained that Magnus had three Knights: Treglow, Victor, and Velderoth. Though she believed Victor and Treglow’s power to be roughly comparable, she felt that they should target Treglow’s laboratory first, as he had access to more information. For their first mission, she asked them to defeat the chemically-enhanced creatures called Purple Reagent Rocks and asked them to bring back their Broken Flasks so that she could study them. She also gave them a D-02 Receiver in order to communicate with her if needed.

After they returned, Edea told them that she would examine the flasks while they completed their next mission. She explained that there was an underground passageway that led to Treglow’s laboratories, which had three floors ever since the old days in Heliseum. She asked them to defeat the Warrior Specters and Magician Specters in his laboratory and then communicate their status with the receiver.

After they defeated the Specters, Edea instructed them to reach the second floor of the basement. The Alliance member arrived at the second floor, where Edea told them that Treglow would be located on the third floor and instructed them to defeat the Purple Reagent Rocks and Red Reagent Rocks. The Alliance member then pushed their way to the laboratory entrance, where they found the door locked. They reported it to Edea, who told them that she had expected as much and asked them to regroup at the Downtown Black Market.

Back at HQ, Edea told them that Treglow’s locks were sealed with a high-level chemical agent and asked them to check with the Shadowdealers, who were well-versed in chemistry. As Treglow was a prominent figure during the old days, she explained there was likely a great deal of documentation on his research, and so she contacted Tonero to investigate.

Tonero told them that Edea’s experiments were nearly successful, but added that she needed a reagent in order to complete the formula. He finished crafting it and told them to give it to Edea, who then asked them to use it in order to enter Treglow’s room. They poured the chemical on the door, successfully opening it. Edea told them that as there was no way to free him from Darmoor’s control, they would need to defeat him by force.

After defeating Treglow, the Alliance member returned to Edea, who told them that Treglow’s real body was likely elsewhere. (A/N: It’s possible we might meet him during the mainland Grandis storyline.) They also showed her a dragon-claw shaped seal that Treglow carried. Edea explained that it was a fragment that the Guardians of Heliseum held before Magnus had taken over, suspecting that the other knights had the other parts.

For their next mission, Edea tasked them with defeating the high-ranking Specters and the other creatures guarding Victor’s room, as well as bringing back samples. In Victor’s workshop, the Alliance member defeated the Red Totem Staff monsters guarding his room and brought back Ragged Cloths for Edea. She noted that Victor had the ability to materialize objects with the power of a magical relic.

After investigating them, she sent her findings to the Nova captains so that their troops could deal with Victor’s creations. She told the Alliance member that Victor would likely have his workshop door locked just like Treglow and asked them to investigate the door to the second floor. As they made their way up the stairs, they suddenly found themselves falling off the steps.

They explained the situation to Edea, who began to investigate. She called them back and explained that the staircase device utilized the three primary colors of light, which Victor knew about as a painter. She suspected that by mixing the three colors, Victor was able to use transparent light in order to make the staircase disappear.

Back at HQ, Edea told them that Victor’s creations utilized the same magic as the staircase, meaning that the Alliance member could extract the Light Essence inside of them and craft something that would allow them to force their way into his workshop. After they defeated the Red Totem Staffs and brought back their Creation Essence, Edea crafted a Distorted Light Essence that would allow them to climb the staircase.

After reaching the next floor, Edea told them to defeat the Red Totem Staffs and Blue Totem Staffs in order to enter Victor’s room. The Alliance member fought through the defenses and reached the door to Victor. Edea then contacted them and explained that Victor existed without a body, trapped in a magical canvas. The Alliance member was able to defeat Victor and returned to Edea with the second seal.

With both Treglow and Victor defeated, Cartalion moved his troops to Heliseum in order to reinforce them. He asked the Alliance member to thin out the Specter forces guarding Velderoth. After defeating the Warrior Specters, they returned to Cartalion, who thanked them and asked them to help Edea. Edea told them that she was investigating the seals and asked them to speak with Fenelle at the Great Temple.

Fenelle told them that she had discovered how the relics were combined and asked them to tell Edea that they could figure it all out if they knew what materials were involved. The Alliance member returned to Edea and reported Fenelle's findings. She asked them to continue pushing towards Velderoth while she investigated the seal relics. They defeated the Magician Specters guarding the path to Velderoth and recovered a letter written by Magnus.

After they showed it to Edea, she determined that it was encrypted and told them to show it to Tiron, who had experience with enemy codes. When Tiron was unable to decipher it, he had them give it to Tonero, who determined that it wasn’t a code, but rather, it was a special paper that absorbed all ink until orange juice was poured on it. With that knowledge, Tiron finished deciphering the code and told them to bring it to Edea.

Just then, Cartalion approached them and requested for them to ask Edea about Velderoth as well. Edea told them that they would be able to make the key to reach Magnus after obtaining the final seal from Velderoth. Once the Alliance member fought and defeated Velderoth, they brought back the final seal to Edea and told her that Velderoth had been smiling before he had disappeared, making them wonder if he was still alive.

Edea dismissed their concerns, telling them that they would be able to defeat him again if needed, but she asked them to speak with Tiron to confirm their suspicions, as Tiron had been near the area when their fight was happening. Tiron told them that he had seen one injured person leaving Heliseum in a hurry, though he hadn’t gotten a good look at them.

They reported back to Edea, who was concerned that they didn’t know about Velderoth’s whereabouts. (A/N: Okay but she literally didn’t care a minute ago though.) However, she successfully fused the relics together and gave it to the Alliance member so that they could enter the throne room. Using the relic, the Alliance member entered the throne room and, after a fierce battle, forced Magnus to retreat, though the Alliance member was highly suspicious that he hadn’t been using his full power. During the fight, Magnus also lost control of Guwaru’s power, allowing it to flow back into him on Maple World.

The Alliance member returned to Edea, who thanked them for helping the Nova take back Heliseum. During the battle, Magnus also lost Kaiserium, which was reclaimed by Kaiser. After Edea helped him remove Magnus’ curse on the blade, he was able to wield the legendary blade of Kaiser once again.

(A/N: It’s unknown what this means for Magnus, who had stolen Guwaru’s powers in order to restore his lifespan, which had been cut short by the former Kaiser’s attack, even with Darmoor treating his injuries.)

Following the battle, Cadena tearfully left flowers on the throne for her family, telling herself that even if her family were to somehow come back, things would never be the same, and that she would never be who she was before. She resolved to stay on the path that she had committed herself to, hoping that she would one day make sense of why she was the only one who had survived.

(A/N: Honestly, the writers did a phenomenal job with how they handled Cadena in this storyline. I like that despite her finally defeating Magnus, which is meant to be the culmination of the goal that she’d set for herself at the start of her storyline, it doesn’t actually give her any closure. Usually, beating the main antagonist of your story is supposed to feel momentous or celebratory, but here, it only feels hollow and pyrrhic. It’s a good reminder that you can’t erase trauma just by being rid of the things that caused it.

I’m usually pretty wary of how media depicts trauma because of how they often simplify it as something that you can just overcome by confronting the root of it and living happily ever after, which is rarely ever true. Sometimes, you’ll never get closure no matter what you do, and even when you’re doing everything right, you might come out feeling even worse. I think that media really needs to move past the idea of characters overcoming trauma and never having it be a problem for them again because not only is that blatantly false, but the people who consume that media end up getting the wrong message.

A lot of times, people describe overcoming trauma as a road, as though it’s a journey of some sort where you can point at yourself and say, “Look, I’m halfway to the finish line.” I think that analogy is pretty reductionist because in my experience, the road to recovery is almost never linear. For every day that you’re going forward, you’ll have some where you’re running in circles, and some where you’ll find yourself going backwards. You can’t divorce yourself from trauma by crossing some magical finish line because you can’t remove something that’s now become a part of you, no matter how much you wish it wasn’t.

For me, I like to view coping with trauma as a thermometer. The goal isn’t to reach a finish line, it’s to stay warm enough for as long as possible. Some days, you’ll feel like there’s a fire in your head that you can’t put out. Other days, you’ll shut down as though you’re buried six feet deep in a snowfield. Thermometers are sensitive like a hairpin trigger and even something as small as a thought can affect the reading.

But eventually, you figure out how to dress for the seasons and the weather gets more bearable every year. Even then, though, trauma can still creep up on you, even if you thought that you were long past it all, and that’s perfectly okay. Your progress isn’t defined by outrunning the things that hurt you. Even accepting that you’ll never know peace is a form of closure in itself. Just like what Cadena said earlier, finding meaning in all the things that were once senseless is the closest thing there is to moving forward.

This was probably a really heavy way to close out this ridiculously long section, but I think that it’s an important PSA to anyone who needs to hear it, and also because it’s a topic that’s very personal to me. With that being said, this is a website about a happy mushroom game, so I’ll end on a positive note - here’s a link to one of my favorite MapleStory meme videos of all time.)

Power Regained:

(A/N: Similar to one of the previous sections, this is a consolidation of all the 4th job advancements for Grandis classes and any storylines that happen between their 4th job advancement and their level 200 quests. Just like before, this isn’t to say that every Grandis class has their 4th job advancement at the same time, but since we don’t have a concrete timeline, I thought that it would be simpler just to group them together. I’ll also be grouping together all level 200 quests in the section right before the start of the Arcane River storyline, which takes place right after.)

Kaiser:
While training, Kyle heard the voice of the previous Kaiser calling to him. The former Kaiser told him about his battle with Magnus and how he had sacrificed himself in order to help the survivors of Heliseum escape to Pantheon. He also explained that Magnus had only been able to survive his attack through Darmoor’s power, to which Kyle mentioned that he had heard that Magnus had traveled to Maple World in order to restore his lifespan, which had been cut short, even with Darmoor’s treatment.

(A/N: The former Kaiser sacrificed himself using Ancestral Prominence, Kaiser’s Hyper Skill attack. Thankfully, the power of game mechanics saves us from dying every time that we use it in the game.)

The former Kaiser then transferred his Essence into Kyle and promised to contact him again once Kyle was ready to become a Grand Kaiser. With the former Kaiser’s Essence, Kyle gained full mastery over his Kaiser powers and enhanced his ultimate Kaiser form.

Angelic Buster:
As Tear continued to master her powers, Eskalade formed a new contract with Tear, allowing her to tap into his full powers and become the ultimate idol of the battlefield.

Cadena:
When Cadena had last been taught new skills by Gen, she had been told that she would need to develop her own techniques in order to surpass his teachings. Sure enough, Cadena successfully created her own skills to use in battle, allowing her to surpass her teacher.

Illium:
At the Sanctuary hideout, Illium and the other students discussed their findings on the location of the Sanctuary of the Ancient God. Carnelian reported that she had befriended several people at the Aquarium, and that they had told her about something glittering in the Deep Sea. There, they found a Crystal Gate that once again only allowed Illium to enter.

Inside, Illium arrived in the Sanctuary of the Ancient God, where the voice of the Ancient Master told him that those who were bound by time’s shackles could not enter, and that only Illium, as the Chosen One, had been permitted to enter the sanctuary. He explained that though Illium’s time hadn’t yet come, the time of the crystals had arrived.

He then transferred his full power into the Elder Crystal before sending Illium back to Maple World. Illium then told his friends about what had happened, and though most of them were impressed that Illium was the chosen one of the Verdant Flora, Sinaria was intrigued to know that the crystals were awakening.

Some time later, Sinaria contacted Illium and reported that a Crystal Gate had been sighted in Minar Forest, and so the students all split up to search the area. Illium, Sinaria, and Morian searched the Burning Forest with Deus and Ex, but they were unable to find any trace of it. Suddenly, a horde of Specters arrived and Sinaria rushed towards them. Illium warned that it was too dangerous, but he was shocked to see that the Specters obeyed her.

Just then, Darius arrived and stood beside Sinaria. He greeted Illium and told him that once he took the Elder Crystal and presented it to Gerand Darmoor, the Verdant Flora and the High Flora would reunite and achieve glory and power comparable to that of the ancient Flora, allowing them to rule all of Grandis. As Illium moved to attack, Darius used his magic to freeze him, Morian, Deus, and Ex in place.

Darius then revealed that he had allowed Illium and the other students to escape Sanctuary, as he needed the Elder Crystal’s power to mature while Illium trained in Maple World. Sinaria then told Illium that there was only one future - that which recognized the Flora as the superior race - and implored him to see that she and Darius were working for the future of the Flora. Darius added that he had underestimated Illium, as he could never have imagined that Illium was the heir to the God of the Verdant Flora’s power. He invited Illium to join them in creating a new future for the Verdant Flora, claiming that they would be unstoppable together.

However, Illium refused and told Darius that his vision of the future went against everything that Agate and the others had given their lives for. Realizing that he couldn’t convince Illium, Darius attempted to seize the Elder Crystal for himself. However, Illium broke free of Darius’ spell and defeated the entire Specter army with his full power.

Furious, Darius vowed that he would never give up and disappeared with Sinaria. Some time later at the Aboris Royal Palace, a High Flora Priest reported to Gerand Darmoor that Darius had failed them and asked what could be done. Darmoor replied by saying, “The meaningless struggle of immature life… What a pathetic existence.”

(A/N: GMS actually has a completely different line that Darmoor uses: “The struggles of life can sometimes be difficult to see…” This is hands-down the worst translation in the entire game, not only because it’s completely different from the original translation, but also because it leaves absolutely none of the impact that the original line gives, and so I refuse to acknowledge that he ever says this. Fortunately, they have him use the actual line in the Cernium storyline.)

Ark:
Ark felt the growing influence of the Specter inside him and decided to confront it in the Abyss. The Specter greeted him and asked if his visit meant that Ark had agreed to wield its full power. However, Ark ignored it and instead asked why he was only a partial Specter. The Specter told him that there had been complications during his corruption, as someone outside the Abyss had interfered. It also added that there was a problem with Ark’s soul, which couldn’t be consumed like others, almost as though it had an impurity.

It explained that Ark’s soul had protected him from its influence, which had resulted in his partial Specter state. It then imparted more of its power into Ark before awakening him back to reality. Ark was satisfied to know why he was only half-Specter, but he realized that he needed to figure out what was wrong with his soul, as the Specter inside him wasn’t content to merely co-exist with him.

Hoyoung:
Hoyoung continued his training and soon felt that it was time for him to learn more of his Master’s spells. Just like before, he fell asleep and arrived at the Hermitage in his dreams. However, he was unable to find the next volume of spell books until the spirit of his Master appeared within his dream.

Hoyoung explained everything that had happened with Taotie to his Master, but to his surprise, his Master wasn’t angry, as he explained that Hoyoung was already paying for the trouble that he had created. Hoyoung asked his Master why he had blocked him from entering the Hermitage, but his Master explained that the Hermitage dwelled within the realm of the sages, where only those who were granted permission could gain entry.

He told Hoyoung that his role as a Master had been ordained by the elders from the realm of the sages, and that he had been entrusted with making right what had gone awry in the outside world. He explained that many years ago, when Grandis had been embroiled in chaos, he would spend his days upon the fields of battle, until one day when he had encountered an infant Hoyoung abandoned in a ruined town. Taking pity on the child, he had raised Hoyoung as his own, but when Hoyoung had asked to learn magic, he had sensed the limitless energy within the boy.

As Hoyoung was both wild and unpredictable, he had decided to seal away Hoyoung’s powers in order to keep him from harming himself. Hoyoung asked why his Master hadn’t just told him, to which he explained that Hoyoung would have grown negligent in his training if he had believed success to be impossible simply because it didn’t come easily. To apologize for hiding the truth, he transferred the knowledge of his final spells to Hoyoung and told him that from now on, Hoyoung would need to create his own spells.

With his new powers, Hoyoung and Taotie traveled around Maple World and Grandis in order to catch the other fiends. In El Nath, Hoyoung captured a Wolf Monster, which had hidden inside a powerful creature called the Snowman, as it was afraid of conflict.

(A/N: Fun fact about the Snowman, he’s a field boss that looks like a giant Yeti wearing skis and a giant Hector on his head. The El Nath town quests reveal that the Snowman is the child of the Spirit of Snow and a human. The Snowman has the heart of a human, but the looks of a monster, which caused people to run away from him.

The Spirit of Snow felt sorry for her son and froze an entire mountain range for him, which was how El Nath was made. He’s normally a gentle creature, but during the El Nath town storyline, a statue of his mother, the Spirit of Snow, gets damaged, causing him to go on a rampage. We have to fight him and fix the statue in order to calm him down.)

After catching the fiend, Hoyoung and Taotie had a snowball fight, which ended in a draw when neither refused to yield. Next, they captured a Book Monster, which had possessed King Sage Cat. Taotie explained that the Book Monster was bad at making friends, and in order to avoid loneliness, it forced others to stay by having them solve challenging riddles. After answering countless riddles, Hoyoung convinced the Book Monster to emerge from within King Sage Cat, after which Taotie immediately consumed it.

In Wyvern Canyon, Hoyoung heard rumors that Leviathan, the master of the canyon, had disappeared. Believing it to be the work of a fiend, Hoyoung and Taotie tracked it to the Warped Path that it had created. Taotie explained that the fiend was a Lizard Monster, which could blend in with its surroundings. Hoyoung formulated a plan to feign ignorance when he entered the Warped Path in order to get the Lizard Monster to drop its guard and deactivate its camouflage to attack them. Sure enough, Hoyoung was able to force it to release Leviathan, allowing Taotie to consume it.

Some time later, Hoyoung heard stories about aliens in Omega Sector and convinced Taotie to visit under the pretense of hunting for fiends. Hoyoung was thrilled to find proof of aliens after being beamed up to their mothership, where they found the Magnet Monster possessing Chief Gray. He was surprised to know that the Magnet Monster made its hosts even weaker, as opposed to the other fiends. Even after consuming it, Taotie noted that Chief Gray’s body aches likely wouldn’t go away, as they came from old age. Hoyoung then asked how much body pain Taotie had because of his age, much to Taotie’s annoyance.

Soon after, Taotie sensed another fiend in Savage Terminal and teleported Hoyoung to the Scrapyard, where they found the Frog Monster bathed in toxic waste. Taotie explained that the Frog Monster sought the most disgusting place that it could find, which allowed it to become the very essence of filth over time. Having grown up near vegetation and clean water, Hoyoung nearly passed out from the stench and quickly defeated it before it became too much for him to bear.

Some time later, Taotie teleported Hoyoung to Fox Valley in Vulpes, where they encountered a Cocoon Monster. Taotie explained that it was in the process of maturing into an adult insect fiend. The Cocoon Monster noticed Taotie and told him that it almost hadn’t recognized him because of how small he had become, much to Hoyoung’s amusement and Taotie’s irritation.

Taotie then asked the fiend where its brothers were, explaining to Hoyoung that the Cocoon Monster had two brothers, and that the three siblings were seldom seen apart. The Cocoon Monster explained that it had lost them when they had fallen into Fox Valley, and that their timidity prevented them from searching for each other.

Taotie told Hoyoung that because of the siblings’ bond, he needed all three spirits to be present before he could consume them. Hoyoung then found its brothers and reunited the siblings. As the siblings happily spoke with each other, Hoyoung recalled how he used to ramble to his Master as a child, who would always patiently listen whenever Hoyoung wanted to talk. Satisfied at being together again, the three Cocoon Monsters willingly allowed themselves to be consumed by Taotie once again. Taotie then told Hoyoung that there was just one more fiend left to find.

Adele:
While training around Maple World, Adele heard the call of the knight statue in Ristonia. She received a vision of the glowing statue, which helped her recall one of her hidden memories of being sealed away into the Void for her alleged betrayal of the God-King. Adele was disturbed by the memory and wondered whether a betrayer such as herself deserved a second chance. Nevertheless, the last of her power flooded into her as the voice of the knight statue told her that there was light still inside of her.

Some time later, Brook and Laddie reached out to Adele and told her that they had recovered an old banner of the God-King, which a Shadowdealer would deliver. Adele went to Savage Terminal and met Coney and Cadena. Recognizing her as a High Flora, Cadena refused to deal with Adele and left Coney to complete the transaction himself.

Coney apologized for Cadena’s behavior, explaining that Darmoor had recently sent his henchman, Mr. Hazard, to turn the core of Savage Terminal into a bioweapon. Between the key to Ristonia’s Ancient God and the conspiracy at Savage Terminal, Adele wondered what Darmoor was up to. She then took the banner, triggering a hidden memory of her moral dilemma about following the God-King in an unjust war. After witnessing the memory, Adele wondered whether that was the reason why she had betrayed her liege.

Soon after, she decided to seek out Ark, the wingless High Flora boy whom Illium had mentioned. She met Ark at the Temple of Time and asked him why he had come to Maple World, to which Ark explained that he wanted to investigate why Gerand Darmoor wanted to link Maple World and Grandis, believing that Darmoor wanted something that he could only find in Maple World.

He then shared his experience as a High Flora soldier on Verdel and how his betrayal had resulted in the Specter ritual that had transformed his arm. Ark’s story of desertion helped Adele recall the memory of her own refusal to follow the God-King into battle, who had then thrown her into prison. She told Ark that she would like to visit Verdel, but Ark explained that the entire moon’s surface had been destroyed, though he would reach out to her if he found a way to return.

Some time later, Adele heard about Kaiser and believed that since he was a reincarnating entity, he may know something about the old God-King. She met with Kaiser in Minar Forest, where he told her about how Magnus had betrayed the former Kaiser. The conversation triggered a memory of Veronica visiting her in prison, where she had mocked Adele and had told her to expect company that night, adding that there was still time to change her mind.

Soon after, Ark contacted her and explained that he had obtained coordinates to Verdel from an old friend. (A/N: Despite the fact that the entire life energy of the moon was drained in Ark’s storyline, it somehow looks to be perfectly fine when they arrive.) Together, they arrived on the ruined surface of the moon and made their way to the High Flora military installation, where Adele recalled how some of the Knights of the Einherjar had freed her from her prison, just as Veronica had said, and had asked her to join them in their revolt against the God-King. She also remembered how she had refused to betray her liege and cut them down before rushing to his defense. Adele then realized that she had never betrayed her oath to the very end.

Kain:
Kain was contacted by Gen, who told him that they had found a path to his hometown. Kain asked what had happened to Illin, who had given him the coordinates to his hometown in exchange for an introduction to the Shadowdealers. Gen told him that Illin had a plethora of information, though it was hard to meet with her because of her choker, which allowed the Drakas to track her location.

Kain told him that with the Drakas gone, it shouldn’t be a problem, but Gen revealed that the Drakas still existed. Kain then traveled to his hometown, where he erected a grave for Luska. He then recalled a memory of Luska telling him about the fall of the Black Nova and how they still kept their Malice. He also recalled how she had led him through a prayer that no one would ever use Malice again. Kain apologized to Luska's grave for using Malice against her wishes, adding that he had no choice. His surge of emotion caused the Malice inside him to build, strengthening his powers.

Lara:
In Maple World, Lara received a letter from Gri, who asked if she would join him in searching Hannah’s old studio for clues about mysticants. Lara arrived early at the Dalbourde Studio, where she encountered Kaling. As they began talking, Gri arrived and warned Lara to stay back. He confronted Kaling, explaining that the villagers had described how she had been snooping around the studio for days.

Kaling replied by asking what the two of them had done, as it was something to take note of when a mysticant was destroyed. She asked to see the bell, but Gri told Lara not to give it to her. Lara asked Gri why he was so worried, as Kaling was a fellow Anima. However, Gri told her that Kaling wasn’t an Anima, as he couldn’t detect an Anima scent from her. Kaling then unleashed the arm of a powerful fiend and had it close its fist around Lara, completely smothering her.

(A/N: We learn later in Hoyoung’s level 200 quest that this fiend is one of the Four Perils, which Kaling has in her possession, just like how Hoyoung has Taotie.)

In its grasp, Lara sensed an inauspicious power that sought to swallow the entire world. She called upon the spirits to help free herself from Kaling, who recognized that Lara’s bell had been created by the sages of Grandis. After cursing the sages for their continued interference, Kaling decided to leave, though she warned Lara that she always took what she wanted in the end. Having grown closer to the spirits through the encounter, Lara was able to strengthen her powers.

Detective Rave’s Case Notes:

(A/N: This is one of those storylines that establishes conditional exclusive dialogue in the future. If the player completes this theme dungeon before Hotel Arcus, they receive exclusive dialogue in future Grandis storylines that reflects this.)

A traveler received a flyer from an Angler Company Lab Tech bot, which explained that they had won a luxury tour package and instructed them to claim it in Savage Terminal. Though they were suspicious, the traveler nevertheless went to Savage Terminal, where they were surprised to see how filthy the town was.

(A/N: Classes who have been to Savage Terminal in their level 1-30 quests get exclusive dialogue, in which they instead note how the city never changes. These classes are Cadena, Illium, Ark, Kain, and Lara.)

Just then, the Lab Tech bot arrived to greet them and asked them to press a button for the welcome event. Upon pressing it, the bot shot out a rocket that blasted a ship out of the sky, causing it to crash nearby. The traveler ran to the crash site, where they found an escape pod surrounded by several thugs led by a man named Toole, who began interrogating them about why they had attacked his office. (A/N: If the player is Cadena, one of Toole’s thugs will tell him that we’re famous around these parts, which surprises Toole.)

After the traveler explained the situation, Toole realized that they had fallen for his luxury tour scam. He then introduced himself as the head of the travel agency which had sent the flyer before charging them an exorbitant fee. When the traveler pointed out that the flyer had mentioned that the trip was free, Toole explained that though the trip itself had been paid for, the traveler still needed to cover the cost of repairing their building after they had destroyed it. When the traveler refused to pay the fee, the thugs came forward to attack, but the traveler soundly defeated them.

Just then, a girl named Senya climbed out of the escape pod and greeted everyone. She explained that she was worried about the precious cargo aboard the crashed ship. Upon learning that the cargo was valuable, the thugs determined that the ship had crash-landed in the Scrapyard. Toole decided to take advantage of the situation and ordered the traveler to recover the cargo, claiming that it was their fault for crashing the ship in the first place.

On the way to the Scrapyard, the traveler encountered Corbo, who warned them to keep away from the area, as she had seen several shady people there. The traveler explained their deal with Toole, to which Corbo expressed her amazement that they had fallen for the luxury tour scam. Nevertheless, she told them to use the garbage pile to climb over the metal fence in order to reach the Scrapyard.

There, the traveler found the crashed ship and began searching it when several hoodlums arrived to claim the ship as their property, as it had fallen in their territory. The traveler began to fight off the hoodlums when they were interrupted by Detective Rave. Exasperated by his usual antics, the hoodlums decided to leave. Rave greeted the traveler and learned that they were trying to open the ship door. He suggested that they use the nails on the Hedgehogs in order to pry it open.

Upon opening the door, they found that all the cargo had gone missing. Rave recommended that they give up, as missing items in Savage Terminal were usually unrecoverable. When the traveler refused to give up, Rave decided to help them with the case. Based on the clues present, he deduced that the culprits were several children or small-sized species and led the traveler deeper into the Scrapyard in order to find them. There, they encountered several young hooligans in their hideout.

After learning that the children had sold the cargo, Rave warned that they had stolen from the Angler Company and threatened to tell the Company that the children had lost the cargo if they didn’t tell him what they had done with it. The children agreed to tell him in exchange for the traveler defeating the Foul Ooze Waste monsters.

After defeating the Foul Ooze Waste monsters, they learned from the children that the cargo had been shipped to the Black Market, and so they decided to meet with Corbo before heading there. Corbo warned them against involving themselves with the Angler Company, but Rave refused to listen and asked Corbo to track down whoever had tricked the traveler into firing the missile, suggesting that she investigate any unlicensed, modified Lab Tech bots.

The two then continued on and met with an arms dealer named Plunk. They noticed that Plunk was surrounded by several mutant fish, which Rave recognized as Gloogers. He told the traveler that the Gloogers had come from the sewers, as their numbers had increased exponentially lately. The traveler then attempted to distract Plunk while Rave looked at his ledger, but they were caught almost immediately.

Just then, the Gloogers grabbed Plunk’s merchandise and ran away. Plunk ordered Rave and the traveler to recover his merchandise and the two set off after the Gloogers. They found the Gloogers captured by another group of thugs. In order to scare them off, Rave told them that the parts that they were stealing belonged to Plunk. The thugs ran off in different directions, and so the traveler had to track them down in order to recover the parts.

Rave then deduced that the parts they had found were part of Senya’s cargo, though the other parts had likely been sold off. They returned to Plunk and told him that the parts had come from the Angler Company in order to scare him. Though Plunk retorted that he himself had witnessed the end of the Company, along with the Angler family, he was nevertheless terrified by the prospect of their return. Rave convinced him to reveal where the other parts had gone so that the Angler Company wouldn’t intervene.

The traveler then asked about the Angler Company, and so Rave explained that it was a national-level arms dealer company that traded in advanced weaponry. The company’s influence had been immense and their reputation for being cruel and ruthless had made them one of the most feared groups in all of Grandis. However, the Company had reportedly met their end with a cataclysmic explosion at their headquarters. Despite their disappearance, their technology resurfaced occasionally, along with rumors of their existence in the shadows, making their technology both expensive and hard to offload.

Rave then decided to visit Antuin and asked the traveler to find Gusto in order to recover the missing parts. Gusto agreed to hand over the parts in exchange for them finding the Scratched Cast Iron Plates that the Dangerous Nutrias had stolen from him. Rave and the traveler then brought the parts to Plunk, who began to assemble them together. Rave told the traveler that they would need to formulate a plan to rescue Senya, as neither Toole nor Plunk would cooperate with them. They returned back to Toole, where they reported to Senya that her cargo had gone missing, adding that they were on the case.

In order to help solve the case, Rave and the traveler asked Senya several questions. Senya explained that she belonged to an environmental organization called Sea Lantern, which traveled around the world to reclaim polluted places. (A/N: Sea Lantern, Angler, she really couldn’t have been any less subtle.)

She told them that the cargo was for a powerful cleaning device that could boil the impurities out of any substance. She also explained that her escape pod should have sent a distress signal to her colleagues, who had just responded that they were on their way. Rave then asked if Senya had any enemies, as it seemed that someone had planned for her ship to crash.

Senya divulged that she had received a few threats from people who didn’t appreciate the work that she did. Having finished their questioning, Rave and the traveler left to continue their investigation. Back in the city, Rave pointed out Senya’s mission to the traveler, explaining that her goal of removing pollution, while initially appearing to be noble, was actually harmful to Savage Terminal, whose power came from processing polluted sea water. He suspected that more than a few people would try to fight Senya’s efforts because of it. He also added that all the wildlife in Savage Terminal, such as the Gloogers, would go extinct without the pollution to which they had adapted.

Corbo then arrived and asked Rave to leave the culprits alone if he knew that their actions against Senya were for the best. However, Rave replied that Savage Terminal would be better off without the culprits in any case. Exasperated, she told Rave that she had finished investigating the Lab Tech bots in the area, and that she had been able to pinpoint a bot whose signals had dropped at the Brawl ‘n’ Bash Club immediately after the incident. Rave realized that Mr. Hazard’s cronies were behind the plot, as the club had once been Mr. Hazard’s headquarters, and so he decided to head to the Black Market, believing that the culprits would close in on Plunk after hearing that he wanted the parts back.

At Plunk’s shop, several of Hazard’s old cronies, led by Maroni, closed in on Plunk and the device that he had assembled. Claiming that he would soon own the whole area, Maroni seized the device and walked away. Rave and the traveler arrived at the Black Market, where Gusto told them that Maroni had already come by, though he had left without any altercation. Rave then began wondering whether Maroni would have crashed Senya’s ship just for the purifier machine, or whether he wanted the cargo because of its connection to the Angler Company.

They went to the Brawl ‘n’ Bash Club, where they learned that a major arena match was happening, with Maroni using the prize of an Angler Company weapon to recruit more people to his gang. Maroni then approached them and suggested that they leave, as Rave had made many enemies throughout Savage Terminal.

The traveler asked what Rave had done, to which he explained that Rave had opened cages for the animals which Maroni had illegally captured and returned stolen goods to their owners. To make up for it, Rave offered the traveler as a brawler in the fight. Maroni accepted Rave’s offer, provided that the traveler pick a fight and win in the ring. The traveler entered the ring and fought off nearly every opponent that they encountered, impressing Maroni.

(A/N: Cadena has some exclusive dialogue here. When Rave offers up Cadena as a contestant, Maroni vaguely recognizes her and notes that she’s infamous enough to draw some attention to his arena match. The writers honestly did a pretty terrible job with Cadena’s exclusive dialogue in this theme dungeon. Since Maroni was one of Mr. Hazard’s subordinates, he definitely should’ve recognized Cadena immediately. Plus, wouldn’t he have some sort of grudge against Cadena, since she was the one responsible for taking down his boss?)

Maroni then told them to bring Wiggling Tails from the Specter Stray Dogs as an entrance fee, after which they were allowed in. Inside, they spotted the device under a cloth and Rave revealed that he had set bombs around the perimeter. He told the traveler to turn the device on and transmit it to Toole while he distracted everyone, as Toole would likely sell Senya on the black market if he didn’t receive it. (A/N: Well this got dark pretty fast.)

As the fight began, Rave distracted everyone and the traveler fought off Maroni’s cronies. Just then, Plunk arrived with several Lab Tech bots in order to get revenge on Maroni for stealing the device from him. Rave used the chaos in order to power on the weapon, which immediately vanished without him doing anything. He realized that someone else had planned it out, as the weapon’s disappearance would make Toole believe that they had taken it for themselves.

Just then, Corbo arrived to bail them out and Rave asked her to extract Senya before Toole sold her into human trafficking. When Corbo asked what was in it for her, Rave reminded her that when they had been brought to Savage Terminal as slaves, they had been saved by someone else. Corbo reluctantly agreed to save Senya while Rave and the traveler escaped into the sewers, where Rave believed the device was.

Upon finding the weapon, the traveler asked how Rave knew where it would be, to which he explained that Corbo had reported that the signal for the Lab Tech bot which had shot down Senya’s ship had been lost at the Brawl ‘n’ Bash Club, which had led him to deduce that the signal hadn’t stopped, but rather, it had disappeared when it had gone underground to the sewers, which matched with an entry that he had found in Plunk’s ledger.

The traveler realized that it meant that Plunk had sold the Lab Tech bot which had shot down the ship. Rave then noticed a mysterious person wearing a spacesuit and a helmet that contained galaxy patterns that obscured their face, as well as a bunny ear headband worn over the helmet. The strange person, Cosim, explained that the weapon had always been meant to arrive in the sewers.

Upon lifting the sheet off, Rave realized that the device wasn’t remotely close to a purifier. Cosim explained that Senya had been waiting for the device to be assembled in order to activate it. On the side of the device, the traveler found the symbol of the Angler Company and realized that Senya wasn’t part of Sea Lantern, but rather, she was Senya Angler, a member of the Angler family.

Rave then realized that Corbo, whom he had sent after Senya, was in danger. Just as Rave and the traveler resolved to chase after Corbo, the device suddenly activated. Cosim explained that if the gas within the device reacted with the polluted seawater, the entire ocean would become acidic and cause everyone to boil to death, effectively wiping out Savage Terminal.

Meanwhile, Corbo arrived at Toole’s office, where Toole learned that the weapon had disappeared. His thugs moved in to capture Senya, who revealed that she had a cybernetic arm, which she used to effortlessly defeat Toole and all his men. As Corbo moved to quietly escape, Senya noticed her and told her about the purpose of the device, explaining that it would leave behind a perfect source of energy after Savage Terminal’s destruction. With an hour before the device activated, she offered a cup of tea to Corbo while they waited.

Meanwhile, Rave told Cosim that he would evacuate the people and save Corbo. He then asked the traveler to work with Cosim in order to stop the device. However, Cosim explained that the Gloogers had taken the buttons and parts off the machine, and so the traveler hunted down the Gloogers in order to recover them. As the water levels began rising, Cosim urged the traveler to escape while he dealt with the device.

Back in Toole’s hideout, a Lab Tech bot reported that Senya’s return ship had arrived. Just then, Rave arrived to save Corbo and Toole. He proposed an alliance with Toole to save Savage Terminal, explaining that Senya had a remote that could stop the device. Just as Toole agreed, Senya announced that she was running low on energy and asked the Lab Tech bot how many times the transporter could be used. Upon learning that it could be used two more times, Senya offered one of them a place in the Angler family in exchange for fighting the other two.

Toole immediately accepted, but Senya told him that she wanted to pick Rave instead. When Rave refused, she extended the offer to Toole, who told Rave and Corbo that Savage Terminal would be beautiful once it was cleaned. Rave then revealed to Toole that the weapon would actually turn the waters to acid. When Senya confirmed his statement, Toole realized the damage that she would do and refused to come with her.

Seeing an opening, Rave rushed forward and slashed her cybernetic arm. As the two began to fight, the traveler ran through the rising sea levels. The Gloogers who drank the water mutated into larger, aggressive variations and attacked the traveler. As the traveler made their way across town, they overheard the various thugs and hooligans of Savage Terminal realizing that Rave had been telling the truth.

Back in Toole’s hideout, Senya easily defeated Rave. When she asked why he had gone to such lengths, Rave explained that the person who had saved him and Corbo from slavery had once said, “No one is born evil. An evil world makes evil people, and evil people make an evil world. Only those who rise above it can break the cycle.” (A/N: I have a strong suspicion that either Cosim or Tai Yu is the one who saved them.) Those words had motivated Rave to never give up on the people around him.

Just then, the traveler arrived and Rave claimed that they were now invincible. Though Senya wanted to test that notion, she told them that she was running low on power, and so she transported herself back to her new ship, taking the remote that controlled the device with her. However, the water levels suddenly began to recede as the traveler realized that Cosim had powered off the device, but to everyone’s surprise, they found the device being carried by a group of Gloogers towards them. The traveler remembered Cosim’s warning that the device would explode if moved.

Just then, Rave revealed that he had stolen the remote when he had attacked Senya’s cybernetic arm and used it to teleport the device onto Senya’s ship, which exploded in the sky. On the city skyline, Cosim noted that the Angler Company had returned, and that Gerand Darmoor's Apostles were making their move. Cosim then wondered whether it was time to see the ‘oldsters’ above.

(A/N: This is a reference to the elders from the realm of the sages, which Hoyoung’s master, Tai Yu, is part of. Cosim actually says Disciples instead of Apostles, but I’m assuming that this was a translation error. Lara gets some exclusive dialogue in this scene, in which Cosim will also note that there’s a child in possession of the bell mysticant while noting the return of the Angler Company and the Apostles making their move. While it’s never actually said who scammed the player into shooting down Senya’s ship at the start of the theme dungeon, it’s strongly implied to be Cosim.)

Fox Valley:

A traveler received a leaf airplane letter from a young Anima boy named Maru, who was hoping to recruit them as a Fox Point Ranger on Vulpes. They arrived at Fox Point Village, where they overheard the villagers talking about how Maru had pranked them. At the top of the Fox Tree, they found Maru sleeping.

(A/N: A couple of classes get exclusive dialogue here. When Explorers arrive at Fox Point Village, they notice that the Anima villagers look similar to Rondo. Grandis classes see that the villagers have fox ears and tails, and they wonder whether they’ve stumbled across a hidden village of fox Anima.

On the other hand, when Shade gets Maru’s letter, he wonders what the point of him going is when no one is going to remember him, but he decides that it can’t hurt. Spoiler: it does, in fact, hurt greatly. When he arrives at Fox Point Village, he notes that it’s still raining, meaning that a fox is crying somewhere, which is implied to be Moonbeam.

Shade gets some exclusive dialogue at the end of this theme dungeon that changes depending on whether he’s finished his level 200 quest or not. Depending on the dialogue, it could be the case that the rain isn’t actually being caused by Moonbeam, making it a bit of a continuity error, although you could also interpret that the rain is being caused by Maru.)

In his dream, Maru was speaking to an Anima girl named Sino about the most recent prank that he had pulled. Sino told him that the Fox God must like him, even after all the pranks that he had pulled. Suddenly, Sino began to grow unnaturally tired and left to go fall asleep. Maru followed Sino across the clouds, where he found her missing. Just then, a great roll of thunder and lightning boomed, with the Fox God appearing before Maru just before he awoke with a start.

(A/N: Despite her name, the Fox God is almost certainly not an Ancient God, as they’re all meant to be dormant while the Transcendents are still around. Similar to how Rhinne is worshiped as the Goddess of Time, it’s more likely that Sino is a powerful spirit whom the fox Anima worship as a god. I’ve also had it in my head for a while about the idea of an offspring of an Ancient God and a mortal, and it’s possible that Sino might be a demigod of some sort too. If nothing else, I really hope that we get a unique demigod class for Grandis, similar to how we have Zero as a Transcendent class.)

After he woke up, he noticed the traveler watching him and learned that they had gotten his letter.

(A/N: Hoyoung gets exclusive dialogue here, in which he introduces himself as a sage and explains that he had gotten Maru’s letter. Maru then sniffs Hoyoung and realizes that he smells familiar, causing him to realize that Hoyoung is a fellow Anima. He explains that Hoyoung is the first Anima that he’s met from outside the village, and so he decides to test Hoyoung’s strength. For some reason, Lara gets no exclusive dialogue here, and so Maru treats her like she isn’t an Anima.)

He then decided to test them by measuring their skills and transported them to Blossom Valley, where an Anima boy named Lumps was surrounded by Noxious Froggies. After defeating them all, the traveler approached Lumps, only to find that he was actually Maru in disguise. Maru then made them an official Fox Point Ranger and tasked them with carrying out the Fox God’s will to protect the village.

The traveler asked how Maru knew the Fox God’s will, and so Maru explained how he had been saved from Vicious Squirrels long ago by the Fox God, who had made him promise to keep himself and the village safe. Ever since then, he had been able to see the Fox God in his dreams, with whom he would often talk and play with. (A/N: Maru doesn’t know that Sino and the Fox God are the same person at this point in time.)

Maru then gave the traveler their first official mission, which was to collect Flutterbuzz Powder in order to create a sneezing powder to prank the villagers. Before the traveler set out, however, Maru told them that they needed fox ears so that they wouldn’t scare the villagers. (A/N: Shade gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he recalls how the villagers had given him fox ears as a gift and wonders whether it’s time to use those, although he never does.)

When the traveler asked Maru why he couldn’t have asked a friend to help him, Maru explained that he had tried recruiting the other children, but he had been left alone, since they didn’t want to hang out with him because of his pranks, though he explained that the pranks were meant to be training for defending the village.

With no one to play with him, he had sent the leaf airplane and had asked the Fox God to let it reach someone who would be his friend. Feeling pity for him, the traveler agreed to collect Pom Puff Leaves in order to create fox ears for themselves. The two then spread the sneezing powder on the villagers, which angered them, but made Maru laugh.

Once they returned to the top of the Fox Tree, they heard thunder and saw that a massive storm was brewing. Maru attempted to warn the villagers, but they dismissed his words as another prank. The traveler and Maru then attempted to make their way across Fox Valley and fought their way past the Spiney Puff Bushes in order to get there. Maru then showed them a tiny tree, which he believed could act as an umbrella to shield the village.

He then had the traveler gather Nettled Squirrel Tree Nuts and Vicious Squirrel Tree Nuts in order to make magic fertilizer, which caused the tree to grow large enough to shield the village. However, the storm suddenly grew larger and a lightning blast completely destroyed the tree. Realizing that the town was going to be flooded, Maru decided to evacuate the villagers to the top of the Fox Tree. They led the frightened villagers to safety, who realized that Maru had been telling the truth.

However, the water levels continued to rise, and so Maru decided to go see the Fox God in order to ask for her help. He and the traveler encountered ferocious Snowy and Stormy Stjartmes while climbing up and fought their way past them. As they kept climbing, Maru lost his footing and hurt his hand, and so the traveler carried him the rest of the way until they reached the domain of the Fox God. However, they were stopped by the Sky Guardian and his Cloud Guardians, who refused to let outsiders through.

(A/N: Hoyoung gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he notes that the domain of the Fox God has the same sort of smell as the Hermitage. The Sky Guardian is surprised to see him and asks him why he went down to the outside world, suggesting that he recognizes Hoyoung as a sage and wonders why he’s left the realm of the sages.

While we’re on the topic of the Sky Guardian and the Cloud Guardians, shortly after the end of the Black Mage update, a new animated short was released about Magnus in order to hype up the Darmoor arc. That short featured a battle that the former Kaiser and Magnus were fighting in together. What’s interesting is that the two of them were leading the Nova army in a battle against the Cloud Guardians. It was a bit hard to see because the scene was so dimly lit, but there was one shot that clearly showed dozens of dead Nova and Cloud Guardians lying in a pool of blood.

In that battle, Magnus was seen flying away and leaving Kaiser alone and surrounded by the enemy. I have no clue why the Nova were fighting against the Fox God’s forces, and I honestly have no speculations that come to mind, but I do feel like Magnus abandoning Kaiser might be the event that caused him to be exiled by the Nova.)

With no choice, they fought the Guardians and forced their way through. While the traveler held the Guardians off, Maru encountered the sleeping Fox God and woke her up. The Fox God was shocked that she hadn’t seen the storm coming and immediately used her powers to stop the flooding. Maru then thanked the traveler for their help and sent them back home. Meanwhile, Sino discovered a dark sigil belonging to Gerand Darmoor’s Apostles and realized that her blocked vision and the storm had been caused by the same thing. She then decided to go chat with the elders ‘up top’ in order to discuss what had happened.

(A/N: Just like with Cosim in Detective Rave’s Case Notes, this is a reference to the elders from the realm of the sages. It’s unknown who the sigil belongs to, but considering the devastating storm, it’s possible that it belongs to Havoc, the First Apostle of Lightning. Havoc’s lightning is red, but it could be that the writers hadn’t settled on that detail until the Cernium storyline. Most likely, however, this is the work of a new Apostle whom we haven’t met. Lara gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which the Fox God notes that the energy in Lara’s bell seemed very familiar. This is because the bell had been created by the elders.

Shade gets an exclusive scene at the end of this storyline, in which he decides to go visit Moonbeam, as he thinks that it doesn’t feel right to just walk away now that the crisis is over. While he’s heading from the Fox Tree to the village, Maru is recruiting the other Anima children to the Fox Point Rangers. The children ask Maru where Shade is, to which he tells them that Shade has already gone back home.

If Shade has finished his level 200 quest, Maru notes that Shade looks a lot like Moonbeam’s guardian spirit, to which Moonbeam says that Tumbleweed has mentioned that her guardian spirit looks a lot like people that he’s met in Maple World, as they all have no ears and no tail. However, Moonbeam also notes that Shade seemed very familiar. Moonbeam’s guardian spirit takes on the form of Shade - the person whom she misses the most - even if she doesn’t remember him or why she misses him.

If Shade hasn’t finished his level 200 quest, Moonbeam offers to help with the rebuilding efforts, though she adds that she doesn’t know whether she’ll just get in the way, since she doesn’t have a spirit. Regardless of whether you’ve completed the level 200 quest or not, the dialogue converges here and the kids head out in order to help the adults rebuilt the village.

I mentioned at the beginning of this section that it’s still raining for Shade when he arrives at the village. The intention behind it was that Moonbeam is crying because she lost her guardian spirit, but the fact that it’s still raining even when she has a new spirit creates a continuity error. It’s possible to explain it by saying that Maru was crying because he has no friends, but most likely, it’s probably just an oversight on the writers’ part.

Shade then arrives as soon as Moonbeam and the others leave, after which he goes back to the Fox Tree and carves another mark of companionship on it, just as he and Moonbeam had done right before he went to Maple World for the first time, though he knows that the mark is going to disappear when he goes back. However, he decides to take comfort in the fact that everyone is safe now, and the fact that he’ll always remember them, even though they won’t remember him.)

Friend Story:

(A/N: I really wish that this would’ve been a fun, non-canon side story, but it was added into canon with Kinesis’ release and was cemented into the lore with the Heroes of Maple blockbuster. Personally, I’m not a fan of this because of how strange it is that everyone in Maple World and Grandis apparently has an equivalent in FriendStory, not to mention the issues that arise between Earth and Tynerum as the third world created by the Overseers. The game refers to Earth as Friends World, but there’s no way in hell that I’m calling it that.

The events of FriendStory and Kinesis’ storyline take place in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. There’s a lot of ambiguity in regard to whether these two storylines take place before or after Black Heaven. I’ll go into more detail about this in Black Heaven, but for the purposes of chronology, I’ve decided to have them be set before the blockbuster. The Reverse City storyline confirms that the Adversary is the protagonist of FriendStory, but since this isn’t technically part of the Adversary narrative that begins with the Arcane River, I’ll continue referring to us as a traveler.

FriendStory is the third most traumatizing section in this guide behind the Heliseum prequests and Black Heaven, not only because of its length, but also because all the maps in which you need to hunt monsters have an abysmally low drop rate, not to mention that there are only ever six monsters that spawn every ten seconds, making FriendStory one of the most needlessly long storylines to complete. FriendStory is divided up into six chapters and a prologue, with the first part here being the Prologue: The World Beyond the Closet.

When I wrote this section, I had a vague idea of what happens in FriendStory from reading about it, but I hadn’t actually played it before. For the same reasons that I described above, getting through this storyline was borderline torturous, and so I made a bunch of stupid author notes to keep myself amused and sane, which I decided to keep here because why not. So have fun having access to my unfiltered 3am thoughts formed at the precipice of madness.)

In Ereve, Empress Cygnus had a dream of a different version of herself on Earth, which she recounted to Neinheart and the Chief Knights. Meanwhile, the Cygnus from Earth recounted a similar dream that she had of herself on Maple World to Neinheart, who told her that a new transfer student would be arriving soon. Elsewhere, the student who would be transferring to Shinsoo International Private School was pulled into Maple World through a dimensional rift in their closet. (A/N: POV: you’re so deep in the closet that you fell right into Maple World.)

Some time later, a traveler received a cell phone and a call from someone asking them to come to the Closet House in Henesys, where they met the transfer student and Elwin the Barrier Master.

(A/N: The student is the same gender as your character. If the player is Kinesis, when the transfer student talks to him, he’ll get really confused about the student saying that he’s from another world, since Kinesis is from that same world too. Just as he starts telling the student that he recognizes their school uniform, the Maple Administrator will pop in and tell Kinesis that FriendStory is content from his world, seen through the eyes of someone from Maple World.

She then starts getting meta and tells us that if we play FriendStory as Kinesis, it’ll cause major paradoxes. She admits that we can still go through with it anyways, but she warns that Kinesis will behave abnormally because of the nature of the script. I tried playing FriendStory on a Kinesis just for fun after going through it once on my Hero, and this was honestly one of the most hilarious things to ever happen to me in the game. I’m convinced that the Maple Administrator, Spiegelmann, and Cody are secretly the three Overseers.)

Elwin explained that he was Grendel’s student, and that he had accidentally summoned the student from another dimension while tinkering with the dimensional barrier. Elwin told the traveler that he was trying to fix his mistake, but the student was refusing to return to their world, claiming that they enjoyed Maple World far more than Earth.

(A/N: Once upon a time, I saw a post about some guy who was too busy playing MapleStory to hang out with his girlfriend. I like to think that Nexon based this character on him. “Sorry babe, I know this is the third time that I’ve cancelled our dinner plans, but you just don’t get it, I don’t have time for real world obligations, I just popped my fourth totem.” If you’ve ever been the girlfriend in this situation: end it. Your man has set the bar so low that it’s gone past the mantle of the earth. I promise you, nothing good has ever come out of dating a MapleStory player.)

The traveler attempted to convince the student to return home, but to no avail. Elwin pointed out to the student that even if their parents didn’t notice their absence, their school definitely would. The student asked if there was any way for them to continue staying in Maple World for a few days, and so Elwin asked the traveler if they would attend school in the student’s place until they were ready to return home, though he warned them not to use their powers.

After the traveler arrived at Shinsoo International School in Seoul, the transfer student called them on their phone and told them to purchase a school uniform. Once they obtained a uniform, Elwin called and told them that Shinsoo International Private School was a school set up by the Shinsoo Corporation, which was run by a rich family who had sent their heiress and only daughter, Cygnus, to study there.

The traveler arrived at the school, where they met Cygnus and her chauffeur. Though Cygnus didn’t recognize the traveler, she told them that her handkerchief had been blown into a tree. The traveler climbed the tree and returned it to Cygnus, who was impressed by their skills and exchanged numbers with them. After Cygnus left, her chauffeur told them to stay away from Cygnus, believing that they were planning to pretend to be her friend and then stab her in the back, as many others had done to her in the past.

The traveler then went to their first class, which was taught by Dean Stan. Their first day passed by quickly and the traveler found the new lifestyle to be much different from their usual adventures in Maple World. Soon after, the traveler met Francis and exchanged numbers with him. Francis told them that he had captured footage of dark blobs falling from the sky during the recent earthquake. Though most people had brushed it off, Francis believed that there was a secret behind the earthquake.

Just then, a hoodlum began to bully Francis and asked the traveler if they knew how to fight, claiming that he was also a transfer student, and that he needed a partner to help him terrorize the school. (A/N: The story never actually reveals the bully’s name, but people in KMS think that he might be Tofu from Gold Beach. Personally, I don’t think that they look anything alike, and so I’m just gonna treat him like a generic character.)

When the traveler refused, the bully told them that he would meet them behind the school to fight. At the back of the school, the bully was waiting for the traveler to arrive when he heard a voice that said, “Your hunger for violence... Yes, this will do. Your desire… I will feast upon it!” Suddenly, a Fistfight Troublemaker was created, born from the desire to triumph through strength. The traveler quickly defeated the Troublemaker and saved the bully.

Just then, Elwin called, having seen the whole thing with his magic, and told them that he had warned them not to use their powers. He then asked them to come back to Maple World, as Grendel wished to speak with them. Back in the Closet House, they explained the situation to Grendel, who told them that they had discovered a parallel dimension full of the same people from Maple World that led completely different lives. He also added that the great magicians of Maple World had been aware of the parallel universe for some time, though they had never opened a portal there before. (A/N: It makes sense that this world must have been known, as the Transcendence Stone somehow ended up there.)

Though Elwin was pleased to know that he had managed to open a portal somewhere that even the greatest magicians hadn’t, Grendel berated him, claiming that opening the portal had allowed the two worlds to affect each other, possibly in disastrous ways. Elwin suggested that they return the transfer student back home, but Grendel told him that the evil energies of Maple World had already affected the parallel universe.

The traveler then recalled what Francis had said about the dark blobs and wondered if those were the evil energies that had arrived from Maple World. Grendel told the traveler that as they had already established themselves as a student, they would need to stop the corruption of Earth. He then introduced another one of his pupils named Lily, a Manipulation Magician and Elwin’s younger sister, who agreed to help the traveler and Elwin.

(A/N: This is the beginning of Chapter 1: Cygnus and the New Kid.)

In Cygnus’ office at Shinsoo International School, Cygnus gushed to Neinheart about the transfer student she had met, whom she called the ‘new student of fate’. Meanwhile, the bully overheard Cygnus gushing over the traveler. As he was also a transfer student, he assumed that he was the one whom she was talking about.

(A/N: Interestingly, Cygnus obsesses over you regardless of your gender. The writers who worked on FriendStory decided to be chaotic good and make a great number of characters into bicons, which I’ll point out throughout this section. Mushroom Castle was also released in the same update as FriendStory, which features Princess Violetta falling in love with the player regardless of gender, as both she and her father are totally down for us to marry her. The writers decided to keep up the same energy of making everyone on Earth bi with Kinesis and Yuna, who both canonically date each other no matter whether you make a male or female Kinesis.

I think that these decisions might’ve been too controversial for Nexon because after Kinesis’ storyline, all future storylines decided not to explicitly make queer characters and instead opted for some very heavy subtext. The classic example is my two favorite disaster gays, Ark and Albaire. Lucid is also strongly implied to have romantic feelings for Mercedes, and potentially the Black Mage, depending on how you interpret her need to be needed by powerful beings. I’m also pretty sure that Veronica is both in love with and simultaneously hates Adele, because why else would the game showcase the two dancing like lovers when the writers explicitly made it so that male Adeles can’t dance with Jerome during the masquerade ball cutscene?)

Back in the city, Elwin called the traveler and told them to meet him outside the front gates of the school. There, they met Elwin in the form of a dog, who told them that he was trying not to stand out. He then urged them to do the same by refraining from using their powers so that they could covertly find the monsters spawned from Maple World’s dark energies.

Just then, Cygnus called them and asked them to come to her office in order to finish their transfer paperwork. At her office, Cygnus introduced herself and explained that there was no principal because her family had allowed her to manage the school, as they believed that it would be like a management course for her.

After learning their name, she felt that it was familiar, though she quickly dismissed the feeling. Cygnus then officially welcomed them to the school after finalizing the paperwork. Cygnus then told them to meet the dean at the Staff Lounge, where Dean Stan told them that the school had a zero-tolerance policy of fighting and gave them a final warning because of their fight with the bully. He also gave them the class president’s number and told them to call him in order to have him set them straight.

However, when they called Neinheart, the class president, he immediately hung up on them. On the second call, he picked up and apologized, as he believed that all unknown numbers were scam calls. (A/N: This is such a mood. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I get so many robocalls from scammers impersonating the Chinese Embassy and I don’t know how to make them stop.) He asked the traveler to meet him at the library, where he told them that he knew about everything that happened in the school and warned them to stay away from Cygnus. As punishment for their fight, he assigned them cleaning duties on the upper floors.

As the traveler began cleaning, several other students offered to help in exchange for not being beaten up in the future. Bemused, the traveler went to the school roof, where they met Lily in cat form. She explained that the dirt around the school was likely being caused by another monster inside a nearby portal, which she asked them to enter in order to defeat it. Inside the portal, they encountered several Motes and obtained Bizarre Dust Balls after defeating them. Lily explained that the Motes appeared to stay hidden, though larger Troublemaker monsters may not be far behind.

Just then, Mihile, Hawkeye, and Eckhart appeared and recognized the traveler as the one who had beaten up another student. (A/N: Mihile gets exclusive dialogue here, in which he wonders why one of them looks just like him.) All three of them tried recruiting the traveler to their clubs, though all of them were rejected. Undeterred, they exchanged numbers and left the traveler to report back to Neinheart. However, Neinheart told them that he knew that they had used the other students to clean up on their behalf and warned the traveler that they were now on his list.

Meanwhile on the roof, Mihile, Hawkeye, and Eckhart were discussing the traveler and how Cygnus was infatuated with them. Just then, the bully arrived and claimed that he was the transfer student whom Cygnus loved. He then declared that as the ruler of the school, he claimed the school rooftop for himself, though the three completely ignored him and decided to leave. Only Eckhart remained long enough to fight the bully at his request and utterly defeated him before catching up with the others. Just then, Areda the Chief Executive arrived to meet her son and advised him to fall in with Cygnus in order to rule the school, rather than to fight his way through.

(A/N: In Maple World, Areda is the self-obsessed Queen of Ariant. The real Areda from Maple World has no known children. If the bully is Tofu, then Tofu has no relationship to Areda in Maple World, and if the bully is an original character, then he doesn’t exist outside of Earth.)

Meanwhile, Cygnus called the traveler and offered to show them around town, telling them to meet her at the school entrance after school. On their way there, they overheard several students gossiping about them. The traveler was exasperated to hear the talk about them, as they were meant to remain inconspicuous. As they were making their way to the school gates, Cygnus was arguing with her chauffeur, who refused to drive her around with the traveler, as she was to have dinner with the board members that night. However, Cygnus ordered him to cancel the dinner and to make up an excuse to her parents before leaving.

Soon after, the traveler arrived at the school gates, where the chauffeur asked if they had seen Cygnus, who had stormed off earlier. When they called Cygnus, she told them that she had slipped out the back door in order to lose her chauffeur and told them to meet her there. The two then made their way around the city, where they encountered Oz and Irena at a food truck. Oz asked Cygnus if she could pay for them, as they had forgotten their wallets. However, the vendor refused to accept the check that Cygnus wrote, and so the traveler decided to pay for everyone.

(A/N: I guess mesos are just a universal form of currency if they’re accepted on Grandis and Earth too. If I could just reach across the screen and grab all the money that I get from farming, I’d be rich enough to buy Nexon and fix the game. No more lag, no more plot holes, and no more toxic work culture.)

Oz and Irena thanked them and gave them their numbers, promising to pay them back. Oz recommended that they check out a tarot card reader on the other side of the overpass. There, they ran into Neinheart, who told them that the card reader specialized in romance, which flustered Cygnus. Inside the tent, they met Cassandra, who told them that they had shared a previous life in another world, where Cygnus was an Empress and the traveler was a warrior who protected her. Cygnus immediately recalled the dream that she had of Maple World and told the traveler that they were perfect for each other. (A/N: She’s really down bad, isn’t she? Is this the part where I tell her about my deep-rooted commitment issues?)

They then decided to take the bus to another part of town, which was thrilling for Cygnus, as she had never taken public transportation before. After getting off, they encountered Elwin in his dog form, when all of a sudden, the chauffeur appeared to escort her back. Elwin then told the traveler that the Motes were back and asked them to take care of it.

(A/N: If you’re replaying FriendStory, there’s a hidden quest that you can unlock here. If you talk to Elwin, he’ll point out a random lady and call her beautiful. You get presented with the choice to call him a pervert or the option to say, “Pervert! I’m gonna call the police!” The first option will result in the story continuing as it normally does, but the second option will result in a special cutscene.

Our yelling will call over officer Athena Pierce, who asks us about the pervert. A shocked Elwin will ask us to make something up, and so we tell Athena that the pervert was someone wearing a black cape and wrapped up in chains. Athena will ask us in disbelief that someone with such a peculiar description could run 500 meters away in the three seconds that it took her to notice our yelling.

Though she doesn’t believe us, she’ll exchange numbers with us in case we find more suspicious people, as we seem like we’re not from around here and we don’t seem to know how to use smartphones either. After she leaves, Elwin will get mad at us for getting her attention and tells us to stay away from the police, claiming that they only complicate things, especially sharp cops like her. Following this quest, he’ll proceed with asking us to deal with the Motes like he does in the regular story playthrough.

Mercedes gets some exclusive dialogue during this scene, in which she immediately recognizes Athena Pierce and says her name aloud. Officer Athena will ask Mercedes how she knows her name, to which an embarrassed Mercedes reminds herself that they’re not on Maple World. Athena will then note that since Mercedes is a student at Shinsoo International School, it would make sense that she would know her name.)

After dealing with the Motes, the traveler returned to Elwin, who told them that he suspected that someone was trying to target Cygnus, as he had heard a voice earlier that had cursed Cygnus and had promised to get her soon.

The next day, Cygnus met with Oz and Irena for lunch when the bully arrived to flirt with Cygnus. Irritated, Irena pummeled the bully and warned him to watch himself before all three of them left. Just then, Areda arrived and berated her son for his ineptitude. She then decided to handle the situation herself. After school, Cygnus met with Neinheart and told him that she had overheard a rumor that she had kissed someone with crazy hair, whom she interpreted to be the traveler, though she was confused why anyone would describe the traveler as having crazy hair. Neinheart promised to investigate the matter and called the traveler, asking them to meet him at the school roof.

There, they found Neinheart with Irena, Hawkeye, Mihile, Eckhart, and Oz. Neinheart explained the rumor to them and said that though they all agreed that the rumor referred to the bully, he doubted that the bully was clever enough to have started it, which made him suspect that someone was trying to discredit Cygnus.

Neinheart asked the traveler to obtain the bully’s student records, telling them that they needed to covertly obtain them, since the records were off-limits to students. They went to the Staff Room, where Elwin met them and explained that the Motes had appeared and swept away the student records. The traveler defeated the Motes and obtained the records, which they took to Neinheart.

Neinheart learned that the bully was Areda’s son and he explained how, one year ago, Areda had met with Cygnus and had learned that not only had Cygnus built Shinsoo International School right next to another school, but she had also bought the bus system to ensure that the students could commute in order to prevent her school from being torn down. (A/N: That neighboring school is the School for the Gifted, which Kinesis attends.)

After leaving the meeting, Areda had cursed Cygnus for her intervention, as she had wanted the school to be demolished for her plans. To get revenge, she had resolved to have Cygnus marry her son in order to gain control of Shinsoo Corporation. However, Neinheart had witnessed her tirade after the meeting and had learned about her plans, though he hadn’t told Cygnus about it because of how ridiculous it was.

However, now that Areda was making her move, Neinheart decided that he had no choice but to tell Cygnus. The group then went to her office, but they were surprised to find that she wasn’t there. The traveler called Cygnus, who told them that she was out getting a latte. She told them that she would meet them later and hung up, as her phone was dying. Believing her to be in danger, Neinheart ordered everyone to search for Cygnus.

The traveler went to Sunset Lot, where they met Lily in her cat form. She told them that she had seen Cygnus pass by a moment ago, and that she had also finished studying the Bizarre Dust Balls and had learned that Motes were created by dark emotions such as hate, jealousy, and envy. The Motes grew larger as those dark emotions were at their peak, which transformed them into Troublemakers.

She suspected that someone’s dark feelings towards Cygnus were creating the Motes and asked them to eliminate the monsters before they spread further. As they fought their way through the Motes, Cygnus was confronted by the bully, who attempted to flirt with her. (A/N: This kid literally says, “After all, I know you want this great big…”, although he thankfully doesn’t complete his sentence. I thought this was supposed to be a kids’ game.)

Unexpectedly, the bully got on his knees and apologized for being creepy, claiming that it wasn’t what he wanted. Disturbed, Cygnus walked away as Areda appeared and berated her son for giving up. Just then, the traveler arrived and demanded to know where Cygnus was. The bully suddenly declared that he was done with Cygnus, claiming that he liked Irena instead after she had beaten him up. (A/N: I’m not gonna kinkshame, but please for the love of god, can everyone stop being thirsty for just ten minutes?)

He told Areda that he wanted to be a regular student without getting involved with her plots, but Areda yelled at him and called him a disappointment for wanting to be normal and wasting the gift of ‘good looks’ and charms that he had gotten from her. She then cut him off and disowned him before sending him away. Suddenly, Areda was consumed by a strange green aura, spawning a Greedy Troublemaker, born from obsessions with money.

(A/N: Before defeating the Troublemaker, there’s a secret quest that you can complete if you’re replaying FriendStory. Instead of clicking on the Troublemaker NPC to fight it, enter the rightmost map instead, where we’ll find Cygnus waiting for us. We’ll try telling her to leave because it’s dangerous, but Cygnus is determined because she’s set everything up perfectly. She’ll then kiss us before telling us to keep it a secret between just the two of us if the player is male, or by saying that it’s a secret between two girls if the player is female, after which she’ll run away. We then get a special title for completing this hidden mission.)

The traveler then defeated the Troublemaker, allowing Areda to return to her senses. A few days later, police officer Athena Pierce came to see Neinheart and Cygnus and reported that her investigation had revealed that Areda had been trying to take over the school. (A/N: It’s strange that Athena’s Earth counterpart still has elf ears when she should be human.)

She told them that she had found deeds and investor contracts at Areda’s home, as well as several slashed photos of Cygnus, and that she had learned that Areda had been trying to build a shopping mall in place of the school. Back in the Closet House, Lily congratulated the traveler for helping out with the Motes. She told them that it was better that they stay close to Cygnus, as there seemed to be a connection between relationships in Maple World and Earth.

(A/N: This is the start of Chapter 2: Orchid and the Stalker.)

Some time later, Francis arrived in the second-year classroom in order to leave his confession of love for Orchid to find. (A/N: Bro we literally just ditched the thirsty dude, why did we pick up another?) Soon after, Orchid - a successful teen pop star - arrived and found the love letter, though she ordered her manager to deal with it.

As he left with the letter, Orchid suddenly changed her mind and asked him to bring it back. Upon reading it, she was shocked to find that it sounded like a stalker’s note. Soon after, Neinheart called the traveler and asked them to meet him in Cygnus’ office. There, he told them that a stalker had placed a threatening letter on Orchid’s desk.

The traveler recognized Orchid as being with the Black Wings and Neinheart confirmed that she was indeed signed by Black Wings Entertainment. Though he conceded that she had a terrible attitude, he nevertheless asked them to recover the letter. After obtaining it, they brought it back and everyone agreed that it was clearly a threatening letter.

Oz asked them to find a fingerprinting kit in the science lab, where they encountered Elwin in dog form. Elwin told them that they would need Aluminum Dust and a Brush, which they could obtain from the Motes. With all the pieces of the kit obtained, Oz told them to give her time to find the culprit.

The traveler went back to the first-year classroom, where they told Francis about the threatening letter that Orchid had received. Francis was shocked to hear that the ink had been smeared, making it appear as though it was a stalker letter. Realizing that everyone believed him to be a psychopathic criminal, Francis passed out from fear. Soon after, Neinheart called the traveler and congratulated them on sweating Francis out. They returned to the office, where they found Francis surrounded by Neinheart and the club captains.

Francis told them that his nervousness made his palms sweaty, which had smeared the ink, and proved that he hadn’t meant to threaten Orchid by showing an old draft of the letter. Everyone present agreed that the original letter was cringeworthy, but not stalker material, and agreed to help him woo Orchid. To help him understand how to word love letters properly, the traveler went to the library in order to find a good romance novel. There, they met Elwin, who told them to eliminate the Motes that had stolen the books from the romance section. After the traveler brought the books back, Francis promised to read them and make a better love letter.

The next day, Francis left a new love letter for Orchid, but his sweaty palms once again made the letter seem like a threatening stalker had written it. As Dean Stan threatened expulsion and police involvement for the culprit, Francis fainted once again in class. (A/N: Please just arrest him so that I won’t be subjected to his simping anymore.)

Some time later, the traveler received a call from Nurse Hilla, who asked them to keep an eye on Francis, since her shift was over. In the infirmary, Francis asked them to find pills for him to feel better, even though the traveler cautioned him against taking random drugs. Just then, Elwin arrived and suggested finding fake medicine to use as a placebo for Francis, such as laxatives, which they obtained from the Motes.

After taking the laxatives, Francis began telling the traveler about why he had fallen in love with Orchid. He compared himself to the Greek mythological figure, Pygmalion, whose only love was a statue, just as he himself only loved his figurines. (A/N: Francis, I’m saying this for your own good: go outside and touch grass. And then stay there.) However, he explained that he had fallen in love with Orchid one day when he had found her standing in the rain. As he finished recounting, Oz and Irena arrived and told Francis how cringeworthy his story was.

(A/N: There’s a hidden quest that you can complete here. While fighting Motes during any part of this story, there’s a chance that they’ll drop a love letter that the bully wrote to Irena. If you find it before this moment, you can give it to Irena, who hates it. However, she notes that he did come around to being alright, despite still being creepy. She decides that she’ll tell him that he has no chance whatsoever and thanks us for bringing her the letter. We then get another unique title from completing this quest.)

Undeterred, Francis asked the traveler to find a photo of Orchid for him. They went to the original transfer student’s house and found a poster of Orchid, which they brought to Francis. (A/N: The original transfer student is the one whom you’re standing in for.) However, Francis demanded an actual photo, and so they went in search of Orchid.

The traveler learned from Cassandra that Orchid was on her way to a photo shoot. They caught her at the front gates and took a photo of her, but realized it was blurry, and so they ran after her to the city center. They then took another photo, but something came in the way of the shot, and so they continued chasing after her once again.

They followed her to the Drizzling Strolling Path, where they met Lily in cat form. She warned them that Orchid’s dark emotions were calling in Motes, adding that she feared that it would cause another Troublemaker to appear. After fighting their way through waves of Motes, the traveler finally found Orchid standing in the rain.

They quickly took a good photo of her and began to leave when Orchid confronted them, believing them to be her stalker. She told them that she had known all along that the letters weren’t threatening, as she had been able to read past the smears. She then took them to a park and told them that her brother, Lotus, had collapsed there three years ago. (A/N: How much do you wanna bet that FriendStory Phantom ran him over?)

She explained that the girls had loved Lotus and had been nice to her in order to grow closer to him, but when Lotus had suffered from his accident, they had turned their backs on her. Once she had become a pop star, however, those same girls had come flocking around her, and so she behaved coldly because she believed that everyone was fake like them. However, the traveler told her that there were bound to be those who liked her as she was, which caused Orchid to grow intrigued by them and exchange numbers.

(A/N: After getting Orchid’s number, there’s a special hidden quest that you can complete by calling Orchid consecutively for 30 days straight between 8-9pm UTC. You can’t miss a single day or else you’ll have to start all over again from day 1. As you progress through the calls each day, Orchid starts slowly opening up to you. She’ll tell us a little bit about how Black Wings Entertainment is overworking her, how she sometimes visits a comatose Lotus in the hospital, and she’ll occasionally let it slip accidentally that she’s falling in love with us, which allows me to add her to my list of bicons.

There are a few neat tidbits that we learn from her calls, like how Gelimer is the president of Black Wings Entertainment, and that she’s going to star as the villain in a movie called Black Heaven. She then makes a meta joke about how someone as beautiful as her can never be hated by the audience no matter how evil a villain she’s playing, which is a reference to how the writers started rewriting Maple World Orchid as a cute tsundere antihero who makes all the characters in the story conveniently forget that she’s responsible for half their trauma.

On the 29th day, Orchid will ask us if we’ve ever been in a pillow fight before and admits that she’s never been in one, though she claims that she would hit us repeatedly and asks us if we’d let her. On the last day, she tells us that her number got leaked, and so she won’t be able to answer our calls for a while. At the end, you get a special pillow fighting chair that has Orchid hit us with a pillow while Oz and Irena pillow fight in the background.)

The next day, Lily called them and explained that calming Orchid down had kept Troublemakers from manifesting.

(A/N: Phantom gets some exclusive dialogue during this part. When Lily notes that we handled Orchid well yesterday, Phantom will reply that he has no intention of being friends with Orchid, explaining that he had simply been playing along. He notes that Lotus seemed to have gotten into a car accident on Earth, but just as he begins to describe the fate of Maple World’s Lotus, he decides to stop talking about it, claiming that it isn’t a good memory.)

The traveler then returned to Francis and gave him the photo of Orchid. They also told everyone about what they had learned from Orchid in the park, which moved them. Francis then gave them his next love letter and asked them to deliver it to Orchid so that it wouldn’t get smudged. (A/N: Or you could use a printer instead of a pen like a normal person.) They found Orchid in the music room, who was pleased to see them with a love letter. (A/N: If the player is female, Orchid will tell them that she feels strange receiving a love letter from another girl.) However, her face turned dark once they explained that her real stalker was Francis.

Just then, Oz called and asked if they had delivered the letter, as Francis was already waiting for her on the school roof. They rushed over, where they found Oz and Irena watching Orchid and Francis. There, Orchid brutally rejected Francis and began walking away when Francis asked why she didn’t want to date him.

Orchid told him that he only wanted her because she was famous, and that he knew nothing about her. However, Francis told her that he didn’t care if she was famous, and that he had fallen in love with her when she had been a stranger crying in the rain, which was the moment when he had decided that he wanted to save her.

However, Orchid told him that she didn’t need to be saved, and that she wanted a friend, not a white knight who wanted to fix her. (A/N: An actual progressive take on gender roles? In my MapleStory? Have the writers finally left the early 2000s?) As the traveler went to console Francis, they felt dark energy emanating from him, just as Elwin arrived to warn them. Francis then spawned a Forever Alone Troublemaker, born from unrequited love. They immediately fought off the Troublemaker, returning Francis back to his senses.

Oz and Irena then took him to the school infirmary and called the traveler to come see him. There, everyone began consoling him, though Francis refused to give up and resolved to find the right way to approach Orchid. Everyone was impressed by his dedication until he revealed his Orchid doll. He explained that he had realized that he had put Orchid on a pedestal instead of treating her like an actual person, and so he had decided that he would practice talking to the doll in order to get better at talking to her.

(A/N: This is not the worst method that I’ve heard of in my life. If you’re replaying FriendStory, there’s an alternate ending that you can unlock by choosing a different dialogue option. After Orchid rejects Francis, he’ll collapse on the floor in sadness. As he starts crying, we get the choice to leave him alone or comfort him. Leaving him alone will result in the regular ending, but comforting him will unlock the secret ending. We’ll attempt to make him feel better, but our words make things worse and cause the Troublemaker to pop up.

After we defeat it, the next scene in the hospital will go completely differently if you decided to make him feel better. As everyone consoles him, Francis will explain that he’s moved on from Orchid, as he’s now instead in love with us. He cites how we took good care of him over the last few days, how we delivered Orchid’s letter for him, even while knowing that it wouldn’t work out, and how we stood by his side when he was in pain from being rejected. He remains convinced that it was part of our complex plan to have Orchid reject him on purpose so that we could lift him back up ourselves.

Following this horrible alternate timeline, we go back to the Closet House, where Lily finds the situation absolutely hilarious. She jokingly tells us that we should’ve given him a chance because he’s cute in his own way, though he’s thankfully now gone back to simping for Orchid again after we thoroughly beat him up. Since Francis falls for us regardless of our gender, I guess he’s also one of the few explicitly bi characters in the game, although I’m excommunicating him from this small list of people because I refuse to be affiliated with him like this.

The next part is Chapter 3: Hilla and Magnus Sittin’ in a Tree. I can already tell from the title that the thirst of this world has not been quenched.)

Some time later, two students were flirting with each other when Hilla the nurse and Magnus the PE Teacher arrived to stop them, as dating wasn’t allowed at school, and took each to their respective offices. Soon after, Hawkeye and Mihile were discussing what had happened between Hilla and Magnus with the traveler and Neinheart. Hawkeye brought them and Francis to the school rooftop, where he declared that they were now the Shinsoo School Players Club, and that they needed to hook up Hilla and Magnus so that they wouldn’t interfere with dating at the school.

(A/N: You know what, maybe I’m on board with this. If people can date each other, that means some of them might finally get together and stop their pining. Speaking of dating not being allowed at school, there’s a hidden mission that we can do by finding three hidden couples scattered across the school. There’s one on the rooftop, one near the bus stop, and one at the back of the school. After catching the students, we get a special title for completing the hidden mission, although we feel bad for doing it.

During Hawkeye’s explanation about the players club, he calls us “a crew of real men out for a good time”. If the player is male, we’ll say that this isn’t really what we signed up for. If the player is female, we’ll ask him who he’s calling a man.)

He then asked the traveler to find out what Magnus and Hilla thought of each other. The traveler learned that Magnus couldn’t stand Hilla because of her temper, and that Hilla had no opinion on Magnus. They returned to the school rooftop, where everyone reported that Magnus and Hilla would frequently argue. Hawkeye then suggested changing the environment around them in order to subliminally make them fall for each other by spreading photos and rumors online. After taking out-of-context shots of the two, the traveler pinned the photos at the front gate, hallways, and staff lounge.

Neinheart then suggested starting subtle rumors of the two, such as them both getting sick at the same time. However, Hawkeye took it too literally and asked the traveler to collect Flu Virus bottles from the infirmary. There, Elwin told them to collect the bottles from the Motes. After collecting the bottles, they mixed the virus into Hilla’s mug and Magnus’ water bottle. Soon after, both Magnus and Hilla were spotted with flu symptoms in the hallways and the rumors began flying. (A/N: And that was how COVID-19 started on MapleStory’s Earth.)

However, Neinheart told them that they needed Magnus and Hilla to take action themselves. Francis suggested an online tool that he had found, which took the first two letters of one’s name, converted them into numbers, and found the difference. He explained that there was a match if the difference was the same as the difference between one’s age and their crush’s age. Hawkeye decided to humor Francis and asked the traveler to get chalk, which they obtained from the Motes. They then drew the math problem on all the chalkboards across the school.

Just then, Cygnus called and asked them where everyone was, as no one seemed to be around lately, making her wonder if they were doing anything secret. The traveler then got the idea to pique Magnus and Hilla’s interest by getting them to talk about each other. They went to see Dean Stan to ask about Magnus and Hilla’s common interests, but he simply told them that the only thing that they had in common was that they fought with each other, and that they were close in age.

He suggested that they ask the security guard, who might know whether they got along better outside of school. Ericsson the security guard told them that Magnus and Hilla were perfect opposites, even down to their schedules, and suggested that they ask Orchid, who may have seen more. However, Orchid simply yelled at them for never calling and stormed off.

The traveler decided to ask Irena instead, who told them that trying not to think about someone would make one think about them more. The traveler then went to see Magnus in the staff room and insinuated that it was fate that he and Hilla always ran into each other and argued. Next, they went to see Hilla in the infirmary and asked whether she was in her early twenties.

Hilla blushed and said that she was nearly thirty, to which they told her that it was easy to find true love around thirty and pointed out that she and Magnus were around the same age. The next day, everyone began talking about how Orchid remembered everyone’s face except for Hilla’s and Magnus’, and how it must be fate. They then noticed how Hilla and Magnus hurriedly walked past each other without saying a word.

Neinheart told them that it was common for people to fall in love during times of crisis and suggested that they get Magnus to the infirmary. The traveler went to the front gates and borrowed soccer balls from Velderoth to kick at Magnus, but Magnus proved too strong for them. (A/N: Magnus loves throwing meteors at us so much, it’s high time that we throw some back at him.) The traveler fled the scene before Magnus could spot them, after which Francis called and asked what had happened. Upon learning that they had failed, Francis asked them to come to the science lab.

As soon as they arrived, Elwin rushed to them and explained that Francis had passed out while making a chemical, suspecting that the Motes had something to do with it. After hunting down the nearby Motes, they returned to Francis, who awoke and gave them a chemical to give to Magnus to drink.

They then tricked Magnus into drinking the chemical by telling him that it was a power drink, after which Magnus immediately fell unconscious. They took him to Hilla before locking the infirmary door and cutting off the power supply. Neinheart then looked through the surveillance camera, where they saw Hilla tenderly caring for Magnus.

The next day, Neinheart told them that they needed to get a love confession by organizing a private location, romantic music, and a special event. The traveler discovered Fountain Park and let the others know that it was the perfect place. They then tricked Magnus and Hilla into coming by telling them that a teachers’ outing was happening. There, they began playing romantic music, which finally prompted Magnus and Hilla to kiss.

Just then, however, Arkarium arrived and confronted the pair, asking if the rumors about them dating were true. Hilla and Magnus immediately began to insult each other while denying it before storming off. Arkarium then began wallowing in his misery about being single, inadvertently summoning a Born Single Troublemaker, born from eternal loneliness. (A/N: FriendStory Arkarium is definitely an incel, change my mind.)

While the others tracked down Magnus and Hilla, the traveler quickly defeated the Troublemaker and brought Arkarium back to his senses. Soon after, everyone returned and reported that Hilla and Magnus had discovered them. Though they had failed to set them up, everyone admitted that it had been a fun effort before leaving. A few days later, however, Hilla and Magnus still found themselves thinking about the other.

(A/N: There’s an alternate ending that you can trigger if you’re replaying this chapter. When Francis is about to play the music, he’ll say that his hands are sweaty and asks us to play it for him. Normally, we’ll tell him to play it himself, but if you’re replaying this chapter, you can choose to play the music yourself.

The rest of the story then proceeds the same, but at the very end, we get a bonus scene that has Hilla with her hair down inviting Magnus to the movies, which he accepts, confirming that they’re still dating in secret. At the end of this cutscene, we also get the ability to call Hilla. Technically, her number is already in our phone, but we can’t really call her properly until we unlock this ending.

This is the start of Chapter 4: Cassandra’s Tales of Totally Shocking Stuff. I’m begging you, Nexon. Please let the thirstiness end here. I’m too emotionally unavailable to relate to this.)

Some time later, several students gathered in a classroom to hear one of Cassandra’s scary stories. She told them a story about a student who had come to school at night because he had forgotten his cheat sheet the night before his test. He had gone to the music room to pick up his bag, where he had begun hearing a piano. Just as he had grabbed his bag, he had heard a voice telling him not to go, offering to play the piano for him. He had then remembered the story of the ghost in the piano room and how the ghost would play the piano all night until its hands bled.

Fearing that something terrible would happen if he heard the full song, the student had immediately run away and the piano had stopped the moment that he left the room. However, when he had tried taking a book out of his bag, a red hand had burst out and grabbed him. When someone asked what ended up happening to the student, Cassandra told them that he had passed out and had been found on the floor, after which he had moved away a week later.

Some time later, Neinheart called the traveler and asked them if they believed in ghosts. He explained that he didn’t, but he added that a strange rumor had been going around, and so he asked them to come to Cygnus’ office. There, Neinheart explained that Cassandra had been spreading rumors about ghosts and asked them to talk to her about it.

(A/N: Bless Cassandra for switching up the narrative. I forgot how much being in high school feels like a prison. Also fun fact: Cassandra is based on the character of the same name from Greek mythology, who was cursed by Apollo to divine prophecies that would never be believed. This storyline takes inspiration from her story, specifically about all the ghost stories that she tells.)

Upon arriving in the classroom, Cassandra told them that she felt a strange aura coming from them and declared that they weren’t from this world. She then laughed and explained that she was only joking before asking if they had come to hear a scary story. As she never repeated the same story twice, she told them to ask Oz about her most recent one, as Oz had heard the whole thing.

Oz told them about the ghost of the music room and asked them to investigate what was really going on. They went to the music room, where they met Elwin in dog form, who told them that it was probably the Motes. The traveler then found suspicious recorders and piano music on the Motes. They returned to Oz and told her that it was just a prank, which she was relieved to hear. Soon after, Neinheart arrived and told Cassandra to stop spreading false stories, showing her the recordings in order to disprove her words. Irritated, Cassandra swore to make Neinheart eat his words. That night, Neinheart found that the lights didn’t work and the bookshelves were moving on their own, toppling right onto him.

The next day, Cygnus called the traveler and told them about what had happened to Neinheart. They both went to the infirmary, where Hilla told them that his only injuries were a stubbed toe from when a book had hit it. Neinheart suspected that Cassandra was behind the incident and asked the traveler to investigate in his place. In the classroom, they found Cassandra telling a new story about the secret of Shinsoo International School’s Old Building.

She explained that even though the building was off-limits, it was easy to break into. A student had once been dared to touch the front gate when they had heard a voice saying, “It hurts… Go away…” (A/N: That voice belongs to me, slowly dying while finishing this storyline.) The voice had driven him mad and all he could think about was escape. When he had come back home, he had taken his shoes off and had found that they were covered in sticky blood.

One of the students in the crowd then shared that they had heard a rumor that the school had been built on an old graveyard without permission. Oz then asked the traveler to check out the old building for themselves. There, they found Lily and Elwin, who told them that more Motes had gathered around the old building. After defeating the Motes, they found large ketchup bottles and realized that it was yet another trick.

Just then, Ericsson the security guard arrived and chased them off. The traveler then went to see Oz and told her that it was yet another prank. Oz confronted Cassandra about spreading false stories, though Cassandra kept claiming that she was only saying what she had heard. Angry at the way that Oz had spoken to her, Cassandra vowed to teach her a lesson. That night, Oz found that the lights didn’t work in the science lab, just as the room caught on fire. The next day, Cygnus called the traveler and told them about what had happened to Oz.

(A/N: If you’re replaying this chapter, there’s a special interaction that takes place on our way to the infirmary. We’ll run into Lilin, who asks us where the infirmary is. We can choose to ignore her or offer to walk her there. If we offer to walk her there, she’ll decline and ask us to just tell her where it is. After we tell her, she asks if we know the student president, Neinheart, and whether we’re a friend of his.

We tell her that we’re friends with Neinheart, although he’d probably say differently. She then tells us not to mention that she was here, after which she’ll storm off, although we’ll still get Lilin as a contact in our phone. Aran gets some exclusive dialogue when she meets Lilin, in which she notes that the girl, whose name she doesn’t know, looks a lot like Lilin from Maple World.)

They went to the infirmary, where Hilla told them that only the tip of Oz’s hair had been burned off. Cygnus wondered whether Cassandra had hexed Oz and Neinheart, but both Oz and Neinheart refused to believe it. Oz then asked the traveler to expose Cassandra for the fraud she was.

(A/N: If you’re replaying this chapter, you can complete a hidden mission around this part. If you talk to Oz, she’ll complain that she couldn’t go to the cafeteria because she was embarrassed by her burnt hair, and so she’ll ask us to buy her a Spicy Rice Cake Skewer, a Sandwich, and a Fish Cake from the food stand. Following this, we get a special title for completing this hidden mission.)

They went to see Cassandra and found her telling yet another story about how Ericsson wouldn’t say a word all day until midnight, when a baby could be heard crying somewhere in a low shrieking voice somewhere in the school. She revealed that inside the abandoned building, Ericsson would use a demon ritual to summon ghosts.

However, the students told Cassandra that her story was weak and demanded evidence. Just then, Elwin called and told the traveler that he had heard baby cries from the old building. The traveler went to the entrance of the old building, where Lily told them that Elwin had run away in fear. They entered the school and covertly followed Ericsson, where they found him feeding stray cats. Just then, Ericsson caught them and explained that he had been keeping the stray cats safe in the old building, and that they cried when he was gone. He also asked them not to tell anyone, as it was against school policy.

After Ericsson left, Lily and the traveler noticed a camera flash and saw someone going upstairs. They fought through several Motes on their way and found Cassandra on the roof. After confronting her, they learned that she had been taking fake photographs in order to make her stories seem real. Though she admitted to have been behind the recorders and the ketchup bottles, she swore that she hadn’t done anything to hurt Neinheart and Oz. Just then, one of Cassandra’s fans appeared and told her that everyone knew that her stories were fake, but that she was impressed by Cassandra’s creativity. She then admitted to causing the incidents with Neinheart and Oz in an attempt to avenge Cassandra’s honor.

When Cassandra asked in horror why she had done something like that, a dark aura began emanating out of Cassandra’s fan as her dark thoughts manifested a Two-Faced Troublemaker, born out of conflicting emotions. After the traveler defeated the Troublemaker, Lily used her manipulation magic to remove those memories from Cassandra’s fan. The next day, Cassandra called the traveler and asked if they would come hear her story, claiming that it was a special one. There, she showed everyone the photo that she had taken of Ericsson and the cats and told them the true story, rather than making it seem scary.

(A/N: If we talked to Lilin during the story replay, there’s a bonus scene that plays here. Cygnus will meet with Neinheart in the infirmary, where she’ll ask him why he’s still wearing his bandages when he’s fully healed. Just then, Lilin - who had previously asked us for directions to the infirmary - will arrive. Neinheart is glad to see his sister, although Lilin shuts down his attempts at being friendly and explains that she only came to see if his foot is healed yet.

Neinheart tells her that it should be better soon before asking why she’s here so early, sternly adding that he hopes that she didn’t skip class. Lilin retorts that she’s not here to talk about herself, as she’s just here to check on him. She adds that he’s had his bandages forever and tells him that he should go back to the doctor. Cygnus then hesitantly interrupts and introduces herself, to which Lilin replies that she knows who she is and calls Cygnus “Miss Shinsoo-moneybags-whatever”.

Neinheart tells Lilin to mind herself, to which Lilin will tell her brother to mind himself, adding that she’s not the one crushing on Cygnus. Neinheart will be shocked, and even Lilin is surprised that she let it slip, as it seems like she hadn’t meant to. She then awkwardly decides to leave, hesitantly adding that it’s nice that he has lots of friends now. After she leaves, Cygnus expresses her surprise at Lilin’s personality, to which Neinheart explains that they’ve never gotten along.

Cygnus then realizes that Neinheart had been wearing his bandages on purpose, to which Neinheart explains that Lilin wouldn’t want to see him unless he had lied about still being injured. Nevertheless, Cygnus notes that Neinheart is grinning and asks him why. Neinheart replies that it’s because it’s been a while since Lilin had called him her brother. This is one of the few instances where I really want to see a continuation of FriendStory.

This is the start of Chapter 5: Students in Crisis. It’s me. I’m the student in crisis. Originally, this was the final chapter in FriendStory until Chapter 6 was added as an expansion. Chapter 5 very much feels like a season finale in this slice-of-life series, with Chapter 6 being more like an OVA.)

Some time later, Oz and Irena visited Hugh Head the tailor, who told them how there had once been a boy who had attended Shinsoo International School years ago, and that he had been so handsome that every boy around him had turned into a squid in comparison. (A/N: God help me, the thirstiness is back. At this point, I see no choice. I’m gonna repeatedly throw my character off the school roof until the fall damage does me in.) However, Oz and Irena told him that his story was ridiculous, though Hugh stuck with it and explained that the handsome student was getting a degree in education in order to become a teacher. Irena told him that she wanted to see that student in person, as she couldn’t believe that anyone was really that attractive.

Just then, Cygnus came into the store. After hearing the story of the handsome student, she confirmed that he was real, and that he was joining the faculty soon as a student teacher. Soon after, Neinheart called the traveler and asked them to come to the office immediately, too lost for words. There, they were shocked to find that Hawkeye had turned into a squid. Neinheart explained that yesterday, a girl had rejected Hawkeye after she had explained that ever since she had met the new student teacher, she had found him so attractive that every other boy looked like a squid in comparison.

After Hawkeye had gone to see the student teacher, he had returned to them as a squid. As 911 refused to take him seriously, Neinheart decided that they needed to investigate the student teacher themselves. (A/N: 911 is a GMS localization, as Seoul obviously doesn’t have 911 as their emergency number.) He gave the traveler a lesson plan and asked them to deliver it to the student teacher, hoping that it would give them an opening to learn more. The traveler went to the staff room and gave the lesson plan to the student teacher, who wondered whether they had met before.

(A/N: I knew that the White Mage was gonna be in this story, but I absolutely did not expect him to have a whole three-piece suit and an impeccable haircut. Because of that, I’ve decided that from now on, I’m the only person who’s allowed to simp in this godforsaken storyline because after all the suffering that I’ve been put through, I, and only I, deserve this right.

There’s also a hidden mission that you can complete here if you’re replaying FriendStory. If we talk to Hawkeye, he’ll complain about being the only squid. He then gets the idea that we should take a photo of the White Mage and show it to Neinheart, who’ll turn into a squid after comparing himself to the White Mage.

The GMS localization also has Hawkeye say: “That’ll teach Mr. High-and-Mighty! ‘Stop treating women like objects, Hawkeye!’' ‘Learn some common human decency, Hawkeye’ What a jerk.” I cannot properly express my affront at the GMS localization team for slandering Hawkeye’s good name like this.

After we take the photo and show it to Neinheart, he’ll get confused by why we’re showing it to him. Hawkeye will then get mad and ask Neinheart why he hasn’t turned into a squid. Neinheart will then proudly proclaim that he’s been voted Most Popular and Most Sophisticated two years in a row, and so he has high self-esteem. Hawkeye will then once again lament that he’s the only squid. We then get a special title for completing the hidden mission.)

After returning back to the office, Neinheart determined that the traveler was the only person who could resist the White Mage’s charm and tasked them with keeping an eye on him, as well as to figure out how to reverse the squid transformation.

(A/N: When Neinheart says this, our character wonders why none of them ever do anything, and honestly, where’s the damn lie? If we go by the hidden mission, he’s immune enough to put in work for once too.)

Elwin then called and told them that the situation with the White Mage had gotten well out of control, as things like people transforming into squids didn’t normally happen on Earth. Elwin explained that he had detected a massive surge in dark energy, which had enveloped the entire school, adding that it had gone far beyond simple Motes or even Troublemakers. He believed that it was the reason why the squid transformations were happening, and why no one seemed to realize that it was anything more than casually odd. While he contacted Grendel, Elwin told the traveler to stay alert in order to determine the source of darkness.

Some time later, Dean Stan ordered the traveler to come to the staff lounge, where he told them that the school was in uproar. He then asked them to investigate a new organization called the SCRS. The traveler learned that the squids had formed the SCRS, the Squid Civil Rights Society, in order to demand equal treatment from the female students. They also learned about the other side called the PSTL, the Pale Student Teacher Lovers, who were demanding an end to the squids’ discrimination against the White Mage.

(A/N: A little known fact is that I’m actually the founder of the PSTL, but that’s the kind of lore that the game just isn’t ready for. On a more serious note, they refer to the White Mage as the Pale Student Teacher in this storyline, but I’ll be referring to him as the White Mage for consistency within this guide, as I don’t want to make it seem like they’re two different people.)

The traveler reported back to Stan, who decided to shut everything down. Just then, Elwin called the traveler and told them to head over to the library. There, Elwin explained that three Dust Zones had appeared at once, and that he feared that the students’ love for the White Mage was destroying the fabric of reality. (A/N: Damn, look at the raw power that I possess.)

At his behest, the traveler cleared up the Motes in the library, the science lab, and the music room. They then went to the school roof, where they found Ephenia, the PSTL president, bullying one of her members. After she left, they found Lily in cat form, who told them that Ephenia frequently bullied the members of her club, and that she was worried that everything was leading to something major like a final battle.

The next week, Dean Stan announced that the White Mage would be holding one-on-one mentoring. In Cygnus’ office, Neinheart told the traveler that the new trend had been to get a one-day date pass with the White Mage, who was considering opening a slot on the weekends for his mentoring sessions. He then tasked the traveler with obtaining the weekend pass in order to destroy it, hoping that it would stop the craze that was taking over the school. (A/N: I have a better idea. Why don’t I take the pass for myself and fight anyone who gets in my way?)

The traveler went to the third-floor classroom and ran into Ephenia, who was organizing a competition to get the weekend pass. She had hired a man in a dog suit named Kemdi, who administered a quiz for the pass.

(A/N: Kemdi used to be an NPC in charge of minigames before he was removed from the game. His quiz is honestly so brutal. I would highly recommend using a guide for this because it asks the most random questions, like whether it’s true or false that Lake Baikal is in the USA. It’s actually false, Lake Baikal is in Russia.)

The traveler successfully answered the most questions correctly, infuriating Ephenia.

(A/N: Stay mad Ephenia, I’m the only one legally allowed to simp for him around these parts. If we’re replaying the chapter, we get a special dialogue with Kemdi, who gives us a bonus question in exchange for the White Mage’s number. Thankfully for me, this question is really easy to answer because the answer is just the bonus dialogue, “Kemdi”.)

Neinheart then arrived amidst the confusion and tore the pass into several pieces, claiming that it should still be good for each person. As everyone rushed to cash it in with the White Mage, Dean Stan arrived and mandated that there would be no dating between students and teachers.

Eventually, it was the White Mage’s last day as a student teacher and the PSTL members gave him a grand sendoff with many tears. After he left, Lily called the traveler and told them that the original student whom they had switched places with wanted to talk to them. The traveler returned to the Closet House, where the student explained that they were ready to switch back.

In order to complete the switch, Lily explained that she needed to remove the traveler from the memories of all the students. When they asked about the Troublemakers, Lily told them that the Magician Association would take over protecting the other world, as they had safer ways of keeping watch over the border between worlds. She allowed them to call one person to say goodbye to before she erased everyone’s memories. (A/N: You get to choose the person to call.)

After the call, Lily went to the school entrance and cast the spell to wipe everyone’s memories. She then headed back to Maple World with Elwin and told the traveler to come back once they were ready. As the traveler took one last look at the school, they suddenly received a phone call. The traveler was surprised, as the memory wipe meant that no one should remember their number.

The voice on the other side told them that he wanted to speak with them before they left, as he wanted to know about the traveler’s identity, powers, and the world that they belonged to. He told them to take the bus to Sunset Lot, where they encountered a horde of Motes that they fought through. Upon defeating them, they found the White Mage waiting for them. Inexplicably, the traveler was unable to recognize him beyond realizing that he seemed familiar.

At the same time, in Hugh Head’s shop, Hugh was telling Oz and Irena that the handsome student had black hair and tanned skin, confusing the girls. Just then, Blackbull walked into the stop and Hugh introduced him to them as the handsome student who was to begin his student teaching. Cygnus and Neinheart then walked in and told Oz and Irena that when they had contacted the White Mage’s university for his credentials, they had been told that there was no such student who had ever been enrolled there. Neinheart also told them that he had found all the letters and flowers that the students had given to the White Mage in the trash.

(A/N: Well that explains a lot. My toxic trait is simping for people who care about me even less than I care about them. The implication here with Blackbull being the handsome student is that he was the actual student that Hugh Head was talking about, and that Cygnus just assumed that they were the same person because the White Mage had falsified his educational history. She saw that he was an alumnus of her school, and after seeing how handsome he was, she made the assumption that he was the student from Hugh Head’s story.)

Back in Sunset Lot, the traveler realized that the White Mage didn’t belong on Earth, to which the White Mage replied that he could say the same thing of the traveler. He pointed out the traveler’s strange behaviors, such as talking to Elwin and Lily in their animal forms and hunting Motes, claiming that no one on Earth did such things. The traveler demanded to know his identity, to which he merely replied that he was a student teacher, just as they were a transfer student.

Claiming that he couldn’t give his secrets away, he told them that it had been fun watching them and learning about the world that they had come from, as well as their powers and the strange occurrences in the city. The traveler asked how he could remember them after the memory wipe, to which he asked if they had thought that it was a coincidence that the barrier between their worlds had been opened. He explained that a door between realms could not be opened only from one side, and that if Elwin had been able to open the door, it was only because he had also opened the door from his side.

(A/N: In the GMS localization, the White Mage’s explanation about how Elwin opened a portal was made a bit vague. He tells us that Elwin was only able to open the door because he had unlocked it for him, which doesn’t really explain how a random magician could’ve torn a hole in the fabric of spacetime when the only time that we’ve seen that happen is because of a Transcendent stealing another Transcendent’s powers.

The original KMS explanation makes a lot more sense because it shows that for non-Transcendents, breaching a hole between dimensions can only happen through a coordinated attempt from both ends of the barrier, which is difficult to do when you can’t communicate with the other side while the barrier exists.)

Promising that they would meet again, he left the traveler a Squid Troublemaker as a parting gift, one custom-made by the White Mage. The traveler defeated the Troublemaker, surprised that the White Mage was able to summon one on his own. They returned to the Closet House, where they explained everything to Grendel. After hearing their story, Grendel realized that the dark energies on Earth had been invited in. He explained that there were shared elements between Maple World and the other world, and that the people of Earth would soon face a similar evil to the one on Maple World.

When Lily asked whether they had the right to interfere in the problems of another world, Grendel decided to take it under consideration, as he felt that it may be their responsibility to stop the threat of evil from Maple World threatening another world. He also suggested that they could always send the traveler back to help, as they needed a hero to combat such a villain. A few days later, the original student returned to the school and introduced themselves, just as the traveler returned back to school and greeted Neinheart and Cygnus, with Lily having restored everyone’s memories.

(A/N: Finally, we have Chapter 6: Damien and the Spirit of Rock, the last chapter of this torturous saga.)

Some time later, Boogie went to Cygnus’ office and ran into Neinheart. She tried asking Neinheart whether it was too late to sign up for the upcoming contest at the festival, though her timidity made it hard for him to understand her. Neinheart then brought her the necessary forms in order to sign up. That night, Boogie went to the music room, having forgotten her sheet notes, where she encountered Damien and his band practicing. (A/N: His band members are human versions of the Root Abyss bosses.) She also heard them trashing her song after having found her sheet notes. The next day, the traveler encountered several fans of Damien on the way to school. Neinheart then called the traveler and explained that there was a disease going on around school.

On their way to school, the traveler ran into Elwin in dog form and discussed the strange people whom they had met on the street. Elwin suspected that the new transfer student had something to do with the strange trends. In Cygnus’ office, Neinheart told everyone that the disease of rock and roll had infected the school after Damien had transferred in. (A/N: The Demon gets exclusive dialogue here, in which he expresses his shock that Damien is alive in this dimension. He then wonders whether he might be able to see Damien again in this world.)

Just then, Cygnus and Mihile appeared in full rock aesthetic, which proved Neinheart’s point. (A/N: Okay but they look really good like this. Can everyone in this game get a rock and roll makeover?) Hawkeye then suggested that they make their own band in order to beat Damien, though Irena was less than enthusiastic about the plan. Exasperated, Neinheart asked the traveler to find Damien in order to learn about his goals.

In the third-floor classroom, they were shocked to find Mihile, Cygnus, and several other students who had all trashed the room and turned it into a rock hall. They learned that Damien was practicing at the Old School Building, where Elwin told them that the Motes had taken over the abandoned classrooms.

However, he explained that these Motes had been spawned from the infected students, and that fighting the Motes may hurt their friends as a result. In order to circumvent this, Elwin gave them a musical weapon made by Grendel in order to vaporize the Motes. After fighting their way to the roof, they encountered Oz, Hawkeye, and Eckhart. Just then, Damien and his band revealed themselves atop a makeshift stage made up of stacked-up desks.

(A/N: If the player is the Demon, Damien will be momentarily shocked upon seeing the Demon’s face, wondering if they’re his brother. However, he quickly dismisses the thought, telling himself that there’s no way that’s possible.)

The traveler and Damien then engaged in a rock battle, though Damien’s sound overpowered theirs. Damien revealed that they were using the school as a stepping stone in order to move on to bigger heights. They also made fun of Boogie, claiming that she had no talent. Just then, Irena appeared and claimed that Damien’s band was weak, vowing that she would decimate them. She and Damien then made a bet that the losers would have to moon the entire school. (A/N: What kind of stupid bet is this? Actually, nevermind. I forgot that this is a high school.)

The next day, Oz called the traveler and told them to come for practice on the school roof. While determining which song to perform, Irena asked them to collect music sheets from the music room so that they could practice each song. In the music room, the traveler found Damien speaking with Neinheart about the order of appearance for the bands in the contest. After he left, Neinheart told them that Damien would routinely transfer to schools and dominate the music scene for a month before moving on. The traveler then collected the music sheets from nearby Motes.

Just then, they heard a terrible noise coming from the roof and realized that it was the band playing. With the sheet notes, the band began practicing for hours, though they didn’t improve at all, with several staff members even coming in to let them know that they were awful. Frustrated, they decided to book a practice room, though they realized that they needed money for it.

They went to see Hugh Head, who offered them a job using a sewing machine. As none of them had any experience with one, the traveler attempted to use it and accidentally destroyed a pair of pants in the process. Just then, Damien arrived and demonstrated how to properly use a sewing machine in order to outclass them. Neinheart then called and told them to go to Sunset Lot for a part-time job.

There, they encountered Elex leading a construction crew and asked for an opportunity. He told them to lift sacks and called over Damien, who had started working part-time there, in order to show them how. Unwilling to be outclassed again, Irena attempted to lift all the sacks and fell in the process. (A/N: After realizing that there are no open jobs left, Hawkeye says, “No jobs. Absolutely no jobs. Thanks, Obama!” I think this is my favorite GMS localization ever.)

Dejected, they decided to go to Granny’s food stand, where they found Damien working there as well. After his shift was over, Damien walked away and the others noticed that his fingers were bandaged up, showing his dedication to practice. Upon learning that everyone was willing to give up, Irena apologized for selfishly dragging them into the situation and told them that she would work out the bet with Damien herself. After she walked away, they realized that Irena was dejected because she was graduating that year, and that it was her last chance to leave a mark. Feeling ashamed, they decided to make it up to her.

The next day, Neinheart called and asked what they had been up to, as Elex had complained about their actions at the construction site. The traveler asked him about where Irena was, to which he replied that she would soon be dropping by the infirmary. There, the traveler met Neinheart and Boogie waiting for him. Neinheart asked them to get fever medicine, as Hilla had stepped out. After the traveler recovered it from the Motes, Neinheart administered it to Boogie, just as Irena arrived.

At Neinheart’s insistence, Irena decided to tell the traveler the truth. She told them about how she had comforted Boogie about graduation by telling her that they could make good memories before they left by performing her song at the festival. After hearing how Damien had trashed her song, she had decided to outclass him in the concert in order to avenge Boogie.

The other members of the band then arrived and agreed to help as well. Boogie also agreed, provided that Irena perform her song. Over the next month, the band spent all their time practicing and improving, elevating Boogie’s song to new heights. With their new sound, they successfully cured Cygnus of her rock fever and took a group photo.

On the day of the festival, Hawkeye called and told the traveler to meet in the auditorium. At the front of the school, the students were enjoying the festival and rumors were flying that Irena’s band would face off against Damien’s. In the auditorium, the band was nervous about performing when they noticed that Boogie was missing. Just then, Stan arrived and ordered someone to help collect pamphlets from the library.

The traveler decided to help and took back the pamphlets from the Motes. As they made their way back to the auditorium, they heard Damien’s bandmates discussing how Boogie had run off. The traveler asked Damien what his problem was, to which he explained that he had devoted his whole life to music, adding that the traveler couldn’t expect to be the hero with clever one-liners. (A/N: I’d take clever one-liners over magical Adversary powers any day.)

After the band found out about Boogie, Irena realized that she would be at the Drizzling Strolling Path, as she always went there when she felt upset. There, the traveler found Lily, who told them that several students had been possessed by the Motes. After freeing the students, they found Boogie and put Irena on the phone. Irena told Boogie that she would support her decision no matter what. The traveler then returned to school, where Damien and his band gave a spectacular performance.

Though it was time for their band to perform, Irena kept holding it off in the hope that Boogie would come. Sure enough, Boogie came to cheer Irena and the rest of the band on. With Boogie’s support, Irena and the others gave an even better performance that won the contest. Realizing that he had lost, Damien’s anger caused the ground to quake as he summoned a Proud Troublemaker, born from the unwillingness to lose.

(A/N: If the player is the Demon, right before the Troublemaker appears, Damien will express his shock that he lost and say something like, “If I don’t become a rock star and meet my brother…”, suggesting that FriendStory Damien is estranged from his brother in some way. If the player is a female Demon, Damien will say “sister” instead of “brother”.)

Lily and Elwin immediately used their magic to blind everyone, giving the traveler enough time to defeat it. After Damien came back to his senses, Irena told him that she would cancel the bet as long as he apologized to Boogie. Damien refused to apologize, claiming that her band’s performance was inferior. However, he admitted that Boogie’s song wasn’t half-bad before walking off.

A few days later, Cygnus asked Neinheart if he had a version of Boogie’s song that had been sung by Boogie herself. Neinheart told her that there was a sample track that Boogie had submitted with her registration. While searching for it, Cygnus realized that Boogie had submitted it after the deadline, though Neinheart amusedly denied knowing about it before admitting that there were things more important than rules, such as making memories. (A/N: Mercifully, we’re finally done. Despite how much I hated everyone’s thirsting, FriendStory had a certain charm with its cast and I definitely wouldn’t mind more chapters.)

Hero of Seoul:

Due to the barrier between Maple World and Earth thinning, a high-school boy from Seoul gained the power of psychokinesis and decided to use his new skills to become a superhero, giving himself the name Kinesis. Kinesis began to make a name for himself by intervening to rescue people, and his popularity soon grew online. Together with his tech-savvy friend, Jay, and his girlfriend, Yuna, Kinesis began learning to control his powers.

Some time after gaining his abilities, Kinesis ran a training program created by Jay in order to assess his capabilities. After finishing the program, Jay told Kinesis that Yuna was looking for him at school. There, Yuna - as well as Jay, remotely - reminded Kinesis to keep his identity secret, as he had a tendency to veer towards the spotlight. Yuna then asked him to collect signatures to renovate the gymnasium, reminding him that he was the president of the student council. While he collected the signatures, Kinesis was amused to learn about the various rumors that the media was posting about his true identity.

Jay then contacted Kinesis regarding the monsters which he had fought a few days ago and asked him to return back to their hideout. There, Jay told Kinesis that he had been tracing an anonymous user known only as WM, who kept posting blocks of text and code. Jay explained that he and several other hackers had attempted to decode them, but they had soon noticed that the timestamps on WM’s posts lined up with the appearances of the strange monsters. Because of this, WM had gained a cult following, with many believing that he was some sort of prophet.

(A/N: Once again, the lore that they won’t tell you is that I’m the founder of that cult, and this time, I’m also claiming presidency before Ephenia can.)

Jay explained that he had been able to decrypt WM’s code because he had realized that WM was using a local TV broadcast to encrypt the messages, which was why his non-Seoul colleagues hadn’t been able to figure out the encryption. However, Jay noted that it had been exceedingly simple to decrypt the code once he had understood the missing element, almost as though WM had wanted it to be uncovered.

With the decrypted text, Jay had been able to learn exactly when and where the monsters would appear and told Kinesis that the most recent post suggested that the next attack would be that night at Kinesis’ school, the School for the Gifted. Though he advised Kinesis against going, believing it to be a trap, Kinesis insisted on rushing in without a plan.

Inside the school, Kinesis found several students being terrorized by Motes. After fighting them off, Kinesis asked Jay about what kind of monsters the Motes were, to which Jay replied that there were rumors of dust monsters at a nearby school. (A/N: This is a reference to the events of FriendStory at Shinsoo International School.) Jay asked Kinesis to collect whatever remnants the monsters left behind, and so Kinesis collected Twisted Dust Balls while continuing to save the students.

As he moved through the school, Kinesis started getting the feeling that someone was watching him. Suddenly, his head began throbbing and he soon blacked out for a moment, causing him to lose control of his powers, resulting in the desks and chairs levitating around the classroom. After waking up, he dismissed it as him being tired and decided to return back to the hideout. On his way, he encountered a black cat on the street and decided to take it home before naming it Nero. He then gave Jay the Twisted Dust Balls from the Motes and left him to analyze them.

The next day, Jay told him that he was mystified by the Motes, as they seemed to be like ghosts, even though he knew that it wasn’t possible. Nevertheless, he explained that he had found another code from WM. Kinesis immediately asked Jay to direct him to where the next attack would happen.

However, Jay replied that he knew that Kinesis was hiding something, as he had lost the uplink with him last night at school, even though the Psy-Limiter had shown a spike. Kinesis explained that he had passed out and had momentarily lost control of his powers, which immediately worried Jay. He began telling Kinesis that he didn’t feel comfortable sending him into the field in such a condition, but suddenly, an emergency news report announced that an unknown assailant was attacking people at random in Seoul’s Hannam subway station.

Against Jay’s recommendation, Kinesis rushed to the scene and defeated the Motes attacking people on the subway. As he made his way through the subway cars, he encountered several Troublemaker monsters. After defeating them, he contacted Jay to report in. Jay told him that Nero had gone missing, which worried Kinesis. Kinesis waited for the subway cars to stop moving so that he could get off, but he quickly realized that the subway wasn’t stopping at all.

Suddenly, an announcement broadcasted that regular service on the train had been interrupted and advised caution. Just as Kinesis’ head began throbbing again, the White Mage appeared before him. (A/N: He’s wearing a trenchcoat, what impeccable drip.) The White Mage greeted Kinesis and called him special, explaining that Kinesis was the first human of their world to have gained abilities from the other, unlike the traveler from Maple World who had come to Earth already with powers. The White Mage’s eyes then turned red as he explained that Kinesis was the catalyst that he had been looking for. The White Mage then used his powers to cause a massive sinkhole to manifest around Kinesis, dragging in everything within a large radius of the city.

Soon after, Yuna rushed to the hideout and met with Jay, who reassured her that Kinesis hadn’t died in the sinkhole, but rather, he had been sucked inside it. He told Yuna that the sinkhole had appeared to have caused everything within its radius to go missing, rather than being destroyed. At Yuna’s disbelief, Jay told her that though she may not have noticed, he hadn’t merely been playing heroes with Kinesis.

He then asked her whether she had heard about the theory that their world was shrinking. Yuna explained that she might have read it somewhere in a scientific magazine, to which Jay replied that it wasn’t merely a conspiracy, but rather, it was an actual phenomenon that scientists had carefully observed. He explained that it was more correct to say that their world was being absorbed by another.

Jay revealed that while the changes were so subtle that most people didn’t feel it, their world might disappear entirely in the near future. He explained that in the midst of unknown forces absorbing their world, Kinesis had simultaneously developed powers that defied all known laws of physics. Yuna then realized that Jay had been helping Kinesis with his powers in order to gather data, rather than to humor Kinesis’ theatrics of being a superhero.

(A/N: Earth slowly fusing with Maple World strongly supports the idea that it’s the third world created by the Overseers. I am once again asking for Nexon to get rid of the Goddess of Tynerum and move her to Earth so that we can finally put a rest to the pointless ambiguity of which one is the real third world. If it’s true that Earth is the third world, it’s highly likely that the White Mage is a Transcendent of Earth.)

Meanwhile, Kinesis awoke at the Magician Association headquarters in Ellinia, where he met a wolf magician named Three Moon. (A/N: Fun fact, Three Moon’s name in KMS is Owl, like the sound of a wolf howling.) To his surprise, Nero appeared and transformed into a girl, who introduced herself as Nella Medionel Roonia, which she explained meant ‘half-child of the sacred moonlight’ in the ancient tongue. As she began explaining how she came from an important magician family, Kinesis laughed and continued to call her Nero, much to her annoyance.

Nero then told him that she had tried to stop him from meeting the White Mage, but she hadn’t been able to successfully tail him. When Kinesis expressed his confusion, she told him to wait for her master, Grendel the Really Old, to arrive and explain everything. While they waited, Three Moon asked Kinesis to help prepare dinner.

Nero led Kinesis to the forest, where he collected bird eggs from the Sparrows and firewood from the Axe Stumps. When Grendel still didn’t arrive after dinner, Three Moon recommended that Kinesis and Nero search for Grendel and advised them to meet with Fanzy. Upon meeting with Fanzy, however, the two were told that Grendel had just returned to headquarters.

Back at the Magician Association, Kinesis was officially introduced to Grendel, who explained that the White Mage of Earth had exploited Kinesis’ powers in order to create a massive sinkhole in Seoul. Upon seeing Kinesis’ shocked expression, he agreed to answer any questions that Kinesis had. Grendel first told Kinesis about the Magician Association, explaining that the organization had been created in order to establish a unified center of research that could be shared with all magicians in order to prevent knowledge from being lost, such as when the Black Mage had first devastated Maple World. (A/N: This sounds a bit like the Mage Tower that had taken in the White Mage as a child.)

He told Kinesis that he had many apprentices, including Nero, and that he had sent magicians to keep tabs on Kinesis’ world once they had become aware of it, with Nero being chosen to watch over his city. (A/N: I love how Grendel just decides to keep calling her Nero, even when she calls him out on it.)

Kinesis asked Grendel why the Magician Association had brought him to Maple World, to which Grendel explained that the sinkhole had kept growing larger while Kinesis remained inside of it, which had made it necessary to extract him. Once Kinesis had been brought to Maple World with the combined powers of all the Magician Associations’ summoners, the sinkhole had ceased to expand.

However, the laws of physics had stopped working inside the sinkhole, making it impossible to assess the damage, though he promised Kinesis that Yuna and Jay were safe. He then told Kinesis that he would need to remain in Maple World until he mastered his powers for his own safety, as well as the safety of his friends.

Grendel added that the Magician Association was equally curious about Kinesis’ powers, as psychokinesis was extremely rare in Maple World, despite how common magic was. Grendel noted that he found it strange how Kinesis had developed his powers when Earth lacked even the most basic magic, but added that the White Mage was capable of seizing Kinesis’ powers and pushing them to untold heights.

However, he explained that the Magician Association could help him control his powers, as Nero had been the one responsible for helping him regain control of himself the night before at school with her Restraining Magic. He also told Kinesis that the White Mage of Maple World had performed the unthinkable centuries ago in their world, and as Maple World and Earth were linked, it was likely that similar events would be mirrored on Earth.

Having had all his questions answered, Kinesis began training with Nero in order to master his powers. For his training, Nero had him collect tails from Evil Eyes and Cold Eyes, as well as to fight Curse Eyes. While training, Kinesis encountered several talking brooms, which Nero explained had been enchanted by Elwin after he had been inspired from a TV show that he had watched on Earth. (A/N: This was a fun callback to Elwin from our adventures in FriendStory.)

Having gained more control of his powers, Grendel agreed that it was safe for Kinesis to return to his own world. After reuniting with Jay and Yuna, Kinesis learned that several people had gone missing in the sinkhole, and that they were likely on Maple World. Kinesis resolved to rescue them and went to visit Three Moon.

(A/N: What I find interesting is how turbulent the world merge between Earth and Maple World is compared to Maple World and Grandis. During Zero’s storyline and Will’s Genesis Weapon liberation flashback, it was mentioned that Maple World was much larger than Grandis, and both Hilla and Will speculated that the collision would destroy both worlds.

However, the two worlds fused seamlessly during the events of Convergence, with pretty much no adverse side effects. In contrast, the fusion of Maple World and Earth seems a lot more violent, with a giant sinkhole devastating Seoul, as well as people being sucked into Maple World or even trapped between dimensions, which you’ll see later.)

With Three Moon’s help, Kinesis was able to rescue the missing people at Ellinel Fairy Academy, Gold Beach, the Swamp Region, and Riena Strait. Kinesis then returned to the Magician Association, where he discovered that all the missing people had stayed behind in order to thank him. After they left, Kinesis began feeling guilty for having caused the disaster, but the magicians reassured him that the blame lay solely with the White Mage.

Kinesis then asked about the other missing people, to which Three Moon explained that the rest of them were stuck in the dimensional crack between Maple World and Earth. Kinesis then realized that the missing people would snap back to Earth if the source of the sinkhole were stopped. Elsewhere on Earth, the White Mage was walking in the crowded streets, where the billboard broadcasts announced the return of the missing people. The White Mage was pleased that Kinesis had grown faster than expected, though he decided that he could wait no longer.

Meanwhile, Kinesis continued to develop his powers and was sent by Nero to the Excavation Site in order to keep training. Some time later, Jay contacted Kinesis and told him that Yuna had seemed depressed lately. Right after Kinesis headed for school in order to find her, Yuna returned back to the hideout. Suddenly, a Troublemaker smashed through the window and kidnapped her. Jay immediately called Kinesis and explained the situation. Kinesis rushed after Yuna and ran into Nero, who led him to the subway. Kinesis began chasing after the Troublemaker and fought his way through the powerful Omens.

(A/N: Omens being made by the White Mage of Earth is interesting because his Maple World counterpart inadvertently created them while researching light and dark magic, which might suggest that the White Mage of Earth is on the path to awakening as the Transcendent of Light, if he hasn’t already.)

Kinesis caught up to the Troublemaker at the edge of the sinkhole, where it jumped inside with Yuna. Realizing that it was a trap, Kinesis and Nero went to see Grendel in order to plan out their next move. Soon after, news reports began covering an unexplainable tornado that had formed in the sinkhole, which had resumed expanding with no signs of stopping. At the Magician Association, Grendel explained that the properties of the sinkhole had changed ever since the tornado had manifested. Kinesis asked what the White Mage wanted, to which Grendel explained that he was attempting to merge their worlds.

(A/N: The image shown during Grendel’s explanation depicts Earth, Maple World, and Grandis, which may indeed suggest that Earth is the third world that the Overseers created, rather than Tynerum.)

Though their worlds were separated by dimensional barriers, Grendel explained that certain conditions could break them and create a pull towards each other. Jay asked what would happen if the worlds merged, but Grendel replied that no one knew and suggested that perhaps only a god could perceive the result. Kinesis realized that his powers had been born from the first intersection of Maple World and Earth, and that his psychokinesis stemmed from the shattering of the dimensional barrier. He then wondered whether he was the first of many others who would develop such powers.

Three Moon then tasked Kinesis with preventing the dimensional cracks from collapsing in order to save the people trapped inside them. Kinesis first went to Aqua Road to stabilize the cracks. Soon after, Three Moon summoned him back to headquarters and gave him a letter from the Empress, who invited him to join the Maple Alliance. Kinesis recognized Cygnus from Shinsoo International School, as the two had collaborated for inter-school events many times in the past. He then met with Cygnus in Ereve and joined the Alliance.

Some time later, Three Moon sent Kinesis to stabilize the dimensional cracks in the Nihal Desert, after which he told Kinesis to continue training in order to close the sinkhole once and for all. After training and honing his skills, Kinesis maxed out his Psy-Limiter, which made Grendel believe that he was finally ready to face the sinkhole. Kinesis and Nero made their way to the sinkhole, where the powerful tornado was still blowing. Inside the sinkhole, Kinesis fought his way through the Omens and reached the eye of the storm, where he was shocked to find Yuna as the source of the tornado.

Kinesis then saw that the White Mage had appeared and demanded to know what he was. The White Mage called himself a liberator who had given the gift of freedom to their world, such as how he had liberated the power of the tornado from inside Yuna. He explained that Kinesis had given him no other choice, as he had needed to create another catalyst in order to help him in the absence of Kinesis' power. He also added that by choosing Yuna, he had ensured that Kinesis would return back to Earth as well.

Kinesis vowed to defeat the White Mage, who merely laughed at his confidence. He told Kinesis that people loved him for his noble deeds and asked how long it would last, explaining that power was both feared and hated. With the breach between the two worlds growing, the White Mage told Kinesis that there would be more people with powers appearing, and that not all of them would be heroes.

Kinesis told the White Mage that he sounded as though he had been around forever, to which the White Mage conceded that perhaps he had, claiming that his current incarnation was not his first life. The White Mage then asked Kinesis if he had ever wondered about the reason for his own existence. He claimed that he knew why he himself existed, before clarifying that he remembered why.

(A/N: I couldn’t find a good way to phrase this sentence, but the White Mage first asks if Kinesis remembers why Kinesis himself exists. He then goes on to say that he knows why he himself, the White Mage, exists, before clarifying that he remembers why.)

The White Mage explained that he existed to break down barriers, and that he had been brought into existence in order to fulfill a great purpose to this end. However, Kinesis told the White Mage that he was merely hiding behind fancy words, claiming that he was really just a coward who hid behind his plots before calling him the worst kind of villain.

The White Mage merely laughed and told Kinesis that he had a friend who had once told him something similar. He then told Kinesis that everything that had transpired was a test to see if Kinesis had the strength to stand at the final stage in another world. The White Mage then disappeared and left a Master Omen in his place, which Kinesis managed to defeat.

(A/N: There are couple of important points that we learn about the White Mage and his goals during his conversation with Kinesis. The White Mage being able to remember his past lives heavily suggests that he’s a mortal Transcendent, as mortal Transcendents reincarnate upon death if they don’t awaken as a Transcendent in that life.

It’s also strongly suggested that the White Mage of Earth is aware of the Black Mage of Maple World, and that they might even be in contact with each other. When he says that he wants to see if Kinesis can stand at the final stage of another world, he’s almost certainly talking about the final battle against the Black Mage at Tenebris, which means that he’s aware about the Black Mage’s plan on some level.

Since he’s also been testing Kinesis throughout his storyline in order to make him stronger, we can also interpret it to mean that he’s grooming Kinesis as an Adversary who can defeat the Black Mage at the final stage of Maple World’s conflict. Because of this, we can reasonably assume that the White Mage is an element of the Black Mage’s plan to create the Arcane River and destroy the Transcendents of Maple World.

We know that the Arcane River was created from the Erdas generated in the collision of the three worlds, and that its existence is said to be a phenomenon representing the convergence of those three worlds. We can see this clearly in Vanishing Journey, where you can find elements from Maple World, Grandis, and Earth, such as broken mushroom houses from Henesys, portions of the buildings in Pantheon, and all of Reverse City. The Black Mage began fusing Maple World and Grandis by sealing away himself, Rhinne, and Alicia, which caused Maple World to begin fusing with Grandis in order to reestablish its natural balance.

Meanwhile, the White Mage is attempting to fuse Maple World and Earth by opening a portal at the same time as Elwin, after which he used Kinesis - and later Yuna - as a catalyst to accelerate the fusion of their worlds, which would give the Black Mage the Erda that he needs to create the Arcane River, as well as to make Kinesis strong enough to be an Adversary who can complete the Black Mage’s plan to destroy himself and break the Overseers’ hold on Maple World. Simultaneously, Maple World’s energies have begun to seep into Earth, causing people to awaken with magical powers, which the White Mage is planning to use for his own unknown purposes.

There’s also one more interesting thing that the White Mage tells Kinesis, which isn’t strictly related to his plans. In the GMS translation, when Kinesis calls him a coward who hides behind his plots, the White Mage laughs and tells him that it’s not the first time that he’s been called that. In the original KMS translation, however, he tells Kinesis that a friend had once said the same thing to him. Since the life events of characters from Earth correspond to that of their counterparts, based on what we know about the White Mage’s life, it’s likely that the friend whom he’s referring to is the Earth equivalent of the mercenary who met him in the White Mage chapter of the Grand Athenaeum.)

Nero then used her containment magic on Yuna to stop the tornado and took her back to the hideout. There, Grendel congratulated Kinesis on closing the sinkhole, though he added that the barrier between their worlds had become irreparable, meaning that Earth would soon become consumed by Maple World. However, Grendel mentioned that it wasn’t the first time that something like that happened, speculating that it had perhaps all been planned centuries ago by the Black Mage.

Grendel then told Yuna that she now had the power to control the wind. Yuna’s surprise caused the wind in the room to start swirling until Nero told her to calm down. Grendel explained that the failing barrier between the two worlds meant that more and more people would soon find themselves with similar powers. Kinesis then decided that he would create his own organization, similar to the Magician Association, in order to help them learn to control their powers and use them for good, which would prove the White Mage wrong.

(A/N: Earth lore is probably something that they’re gonna pick up once the Grandis story is over, although GrandisStory probably won’t be ending anytime soon with the dozens of unresolved plot threads there still are. When Grandis was first introduced to the game, they added some basic lore with Kaiser and Angelic Buster during the Tempest patch, and then they left it alone for a good five years until they picked it back up in the Nova update. Since then, they started seeding more Grandis lore periodically with new classes and new theme dungeons, which slowly built up the Grandis story in the background, even while the main Maple World plot continued developing primarily.

If that model is anything to go by, I’d wager that in the next couple of years, they’re gonna start releasing more Earth classes and storylines to gradually introduce some more plot threads, so that when the Grandis story gets wrapped up, they’ll have a decent number of pieces to play around with in order to keep up the momentum of the story, rather than having to start over from scratch.

If I could have one wish for the Earth lore to come true, I’d love for the main villain of the Earth story to be a corrupt Transcendent of Time, which would complete the set of an evil Transcendent of Light and a Transcendent of Life being the antagonists of their respective arcs. Even putting aside how aesthetically pleasing that would be, the Transcendents of Time have historically been next to useless, as literally all they ever do is just have their powers stolen by someone else and then get sealed. Zero is the closest thing that we have to a relevant Transcendent of Time, and even then, the game has retroactively made them an imperfect Transcendent who doesn’t count as a real one because of them being divided, just so that they can continue existing in the game while simultaneously allowing Nexon to continue with its narrative of destroying all the Transcendents in the game.

It really wouldn’t be too difficult to introduce Earth’s Transcendent of Time as a villain, either. All these weird duplicates of characters from Maple World and Grandis could easily be explained away as copies made by the evil Transcendent of Time in some sort of enhanced version of Mirror World, with the White Mage and possibly even Darmoor being Mirror World Transcendents created to serve them. Earth lore is so vastly underdeveloped that the writers could honestly go in literally any direction that they want.)

Black Heaven:

As part of a mission to spy on the Black Wings, 10 Boogies was dispatched to Edelstein in order to infiltrate the Verne Mine. When she didn’t return, however, Neinheart organized a rescue operation led by one of their most reliable Alliance members, who flew in an airship to Edelstein with three Piyo siblings, Dolphi, Gupi, and Lepi.

The group parachuted down near the entrance of the Verne Mine and fought their way through the Black Wings’ guard robots, as well as Dargoth the Giant. They opened a large electrical panel and scaled up the wires to the room where 10 Boogies was being held. After being freed, 10 Boogies revealed that they had walked into a trap. Suddenly, the lights turned on, revealing hundreds of androids and a gigantic Pulverizer that chased them through the Verne Mine. Barely making it out of the exit, they jumped off the edge of a cliff onto their airship and returned to Ereve.

The next day, the group was escorted by Neinheart, who congratulated them on the successful mission and explained that 10 Boogies had uncovered vital information about the Black Wings’ plan. At the Conference Pavilion, the Alliance member and Neinheart met with Cygnus and Athena Pierce in order to go over what 10 Boogies had unearthed. Athena confirmed to the Alliance member that while the news was classified, the Black Mage had indeed returned. When they asked why the Black Mage hadn’t made his move yet, Athena told them that it was the Alliance’s theory that the Black Mage hadn’t fully regained his powers.

As the Black Wings had been created to revive the Black Mage, she emphasized the importance of defeating them in order to delay the Black Mage’s rise to power. Neinheart then explained that in the past, the Alliance had been able to interfere with the Black Wings’ smaller operations. However, the Black Wings had recently begun to use codes in order to communicate through the Edelstein newspapers. 10 Boogies had managed to solve Gelimer’s latest message that said ‘Black Heaven is ready.’ Cygnus wondered what Black Heaven could be, to which Neinheart explained that there was only one person who would know.

Neinheart then arranged a meeting with the Resistance at the Secret Plaza in order to see Orchid, who was still in a coma after being attacked by the Evolution System. The Resistance members joked that perhaps hitting her would cause her to wake up, prompting an argument between them and Cygnus, who believed that Orchid deserved to be treated with respect. Claudine intervened and told Cygnus that everyone in the Resistance had last loved ones because of Orchid, and that they would not allow her any sympathy.

(A/N: This blockbuster is the beginning of how Cygnus’ character has been horribly mishandled by the writers. Throughout the story, Cygnus has been depicted as a paragon of goodness filled with kindness and compassion, which in itself isn’t a problem. The actual problem here is that the writers don’t understand that compassion and empathy are two different things. Compassion is feeling sorry from a distance, whereas empathy is a deeper understanding of someone else’s pain through having experienced it firsthand. It’s the difference between reading about something vs having lived it.

Throughout the first half of the story, Cygnus has been accused by the Resistance of being an observer, watching the suffering and injustice of the world from afar, and they’re not wrong to think this. Granted, she has perfectly good reason to keep her distance. Her body is extremely frail and she’s just too important of a figurehead to lose. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that she’s never once left her perch of safety while children in Edelstein as young as her have been enlisting and getting killed for the sake of the Resistance.

However, Cygnus’ character hasn’t remained static - she’s experienced the feeling of loss firsthand when she thought that Damien killed Shinsoo. Her partial awakening as a Transcendent-in-reserve wasn’t just an awakening of her power, it was also her awakening to the harsh reality of the world and it symbolizes a loss of her childhood innocence so that she can grow into her role as a mature leader. By all accounts, her character arc has reached a point where she should be able to empathize with all that the Resistance has been through.

Cygnus getting up on her soapbox of a moral high ground and blindly preaching mercy to a person who doesn’t deserve it directly contradicts her character development. What Cygnus demonstrates here is a regression of her empathy back into generic compassion, and it strongly reminds me of the concept of toxic positivity.

Toxic positivity is the belief that you should always remain positive no matter what. It’s an unhealthy outlook because you’re basically telling people to repress their negative feelings, making it so that feeling anything other than positivity is their own fault for not “choosing” to be happy. It flatly denies any chance for you to process the valid negative emotions that you’re feeling, and it shames you not just for being unable to rise above those emotions, but for having experienced them at all.

Here, Cygnus is essentially telling the Resistance, “Hey guys, I know that Orchid placed your town under a dictatorship and ordered the slaughtering of all your loved ones, but we shouldn’t even think about the idea of wanting revenge, or even joke about it. In fact, we should always be golden paragons of virtue all the time and repress anything that would make someone think otherwise.”

The Resistance has honestly done way more for Orchid than they had to. From what we’ve seen, they’ve treated her with civility and there’s no indication that they’ve ever done anything more than joke about knocking her awake. I can perfectly understand why the Resistance would be pretty damn annoyed at a sheltered, privileged kid who’s never once gotten her hands dirty telling them what they should or shouldn’t be feeling about the leader of a militant cult that ruined their lives.

In contrast to Cygnus, JMS has created everything that Cygnus ought to be with Princess Sakuno, who has a perfect balance of empathy, compassion, and backbone. Cygnus and Sakuno are extremely similar in how they’re young leaders of their alliances, how they’re both kind and just, and how they have great mystical power hidden within them. However, Sakuno isn’t crippled by bad writing and actually acts like a leader instead of a preacher. In the Sengoku storyline, Akechi Mitsuhide is responsible for murdering her family and kidnapping her for Oda Nobunaga’s Demon King ritual.

Akechi and Sakuno strike a deal to work together during the Asura Crisis, and at the end of the storyline, he comes to visit Sakuno and asks if he’s been absolved for killing her family. Whereas Cygnus would’ve blindly forgiven him, Sakuno tells him that his crimes are unforgivable and swears that once Oda Nobunaga has been defeated, she’ll personally chop off his head herself.

This is the kind of development that I wanted Cygnus to have, and what her character arc should’ve been leading up to. Now, rather than her actually feeling and processing things like a healthy human being, she instead disrespects the Resistance by invalidating their feelings and experiences with her insensitive moralizing. Later on, her personality ends up doing a complete 180 in Tenebris and beyond, in which she almost starts to behave like a dictator, but I’ll complain about that when we get to those sections.)

Grendel the Really Old then arrived with a magic mirror, which would allow one to access another’s memories. The Alliance member entered through the mirror and arrived into Orchid’s psyche. There, they encountered a rabbit-like creature that served as Orchid’s memory guide. The guide led the Alliance member through Orchid’s memories, which were being guarded by Pop Jelly monsters.

The Alliance member first encountered the memory of Orchid and Lotus being granted human forms by the White Mage, in exchange for helping him in his research on darkness. The memory keeper explained that it was around then that things had started to go wrong, as Lotus had begun turning cold after becoming human.

They then entered the next memory, in which they witnessed Lotus and Orchid standing over a dying Aria. As they watched Aria slowly pass away, Lotus told Orchid that he had known all along that humans were weak. Orchid reminded Lotus that he had decided not to kill the Empress, to which he asked her whether he was feeling sorry for Aria, whom he called a ‘toy’. Orchid told him that she didn’t care about whether Aria died, though she pointed out that he wouldn’t be able to ‘play’ with her again if he killed her.

However, Lotus replied that he was getting sick of playing with Aria, adding that humans were far too fragile. Suddenly, Aria weakly spoke and asked them why they were helping the Black Mage when they had once been pure spirits. She told them that it wasn’t too late yet and asked them to stop their mischief and take care of the world. However, Lotus merely noted that it was impressive that she was still managing to talk. As the memory faded away, the memory guide told the Alliance member that Lotus had crossed the line by killing Aria under the guise of a peace conference.

(A/N: Phantom gets some exclusive dialogue after watching Lotus and Orchid kill Aria. While the memory keeper tells him about Lotus crossing a line, it suddenly stops and asks Phantom if he’s okay, noting that he’s starting to look a bit scary. Phantom pauses for a moment before apologizing and asking the memory guide to keep talking.)

The memory keeper then took the Alliance member through the next memory, which it explained was extremely painful for Orchid. They then witnessed the aftermath of Phantom’s battle against Orchid and Lotus in the Temple of Time. As Orchid attempted to revive a comatose Lotus, Phantom told her that Lotus had taken Aria’s life, and that he needed to pay. Furious, Orchid vowed that she would make him pay for what he had done to her brother.

However, Phantom merely replied that he didn’t have time for her, as his friends were still fighting the Black Mage. He then told Orchid to mark his words that the world wasn’t their playground, and that he would personally see to it that there would be no place left for them. After Phantom teleported away, Orchid continued checking on Lotus’ condition, vowing that she would bring him back, no matter how long it took.

As the Alliance member continued delving deeper into Orchid’s most painful memories, the flood of emotion caused her latent Wing Master powers to activate, causing many of the objects in the Secret Plaza to float with her gravity abilities, much to the shock of the Alliance. The memory guide then led the Alliance member into the last memory that they could view, explaining that it would be too dangerous to stay any longer than that.

Inside the memory, they witnessed Gelimer getting Orchid’s approval to build Black Heaven, a giant airship with the power to destroy Maple World. Upon reporting back to the Alliance, Neinheart and Claudine both agreed that they needed a robust defensive plan. However, Cygnus disagreed and told them that it was their chance to show Maple World that the Alliance could protect them. She then proposed that the Alliance meet Black Heaven in air combat.

Elsewhere, Gelimer finalized preparations with Arkarium and Hilla and petitioned to gain the coveted position of Commander upon the success of his mission. After Gelimer left, Hilla confided to Arkarium that though Gelimer had called Black Heaven a tiny airship, there was nothing tiny about it and she wondered what Gelimer, whom she called a madman, had in mind.

Soon after, messenger birds were sent to all corners of Maple World and heroes gathered to heed the Empress’ call. Hundreds of members of the Alliance boarded Phantom’s airship, the Lumiere, which had been upgraded to become battle-ready for the fight against Black Heaven.

(A/N: Each class gets a class-exclusive cutscene at the very start of Act 2. This was the second most traumatic experience for me while writing this guide, next to the Heliseum prequests. Barely a handful of people posted playthroughs of Black Heaven, and subtracting the duplicate classes and the people who unhelpfully held spacebar instead of showcasing the dialogue like a playthrough is meant to do, I ended up having to replay Act 1 twenty-one times in order to transcribe every class-exclusive cutscene.)

Explorer:
The Explorer met with Sugar, Tess, Olive, and Rondo on Maple Tree Hill in order to catch up before the operation. They told the Explorer that, as space was limited on the Lumiere, they wouldn’t be able to come and fight alongside them. However, the Explorer promised to fight harder on their behalf and received buffs from each of them, just like when they had saved Maple Island.

Dual Blade:
In the Secret Garden, Lady Syl gave a speech to the entire organization. She told them that the Dual Blades had been born out of a simple misunderstanding, but since then, they had resolved the matter and were now on good terms with the Dark Lord. However, she reminded them that they couldn’t forget their roots, adding that the operation was their chance to show all of Maple World why the Dual Blades existed. She commanded them all to achieve victory, claiming that it was high time that they came out of the shadows.

Later on, she called the Dual Blade and gave them another mission. In the impending battle, she believed that their enemies were the same ones whom her parents had fought. Though she wanted to slay them herself, she didn’t know if she could endure their mental attacks, and so she asked them to strike her down if she became possessed. Hesitantly, the Dual Blade agreed to her request. (A/N: This is a reference to how Lotus possessed her and forced her to kill her father and Tristan, which led to her feud with the Dark Lord.)

Cannoneer:
The morning of the operation, the Cannoneer told Monkey that they had been fighting together for a long time, and that he knew that they would always remain best friends. However, as he couldn’t guarantee their safety on the mission, he offered to leave Monkey behind if it wanted. However, Monkey shrieked at the Cannoneer, who interpreted it as Monkey wanting to stay. When Monkey shrieked even more, the Cannoneer laughed that he was just kidding and told Monkey that he couldn’t fight without it anyways. He then decided to test their luck before heading off by rolling a die, which landed on 1, much to his dismay.

Pathfinder:
The Pathfinder went to visit Brie in the Karuppa Town, where Brie told her that she had explained the situation with the relic to the other townspeople. With all their misunderstandings cleared up, Brie told the Pathfinder that she was welcome to visit whenever she wanted. She also thanked the Pathfinder for all her help, as the town would have still lived in fear of the ruins without her intervention. The Pathfinder then headed out to Ereve, as she felt that she couldn’t turn her back on Maple World, even though she had initially felt as though the threat of the Black Wings wasn’t her problem.

Cygnus Knights:
The day before the operation, Empress Cygnus addressed her knights and told them that Gelimer was on his way to Henesys. Though she warned that the battle would be difficult, she also reminded them that they were the guardians of Maple World as Cygnus Knights, rallying them behind her banner.

Mihile:
(A/N: This scene for Mihile takes place a few hours after the events of the paragraph above.)

The night before the operation, Mihile found Cygnus standing atop a cliff, gazing at the sky. As he approached her, Cygnus noted that Mihile seemed anxious, though he denied it. She reminded Mihile that she knew him better than that and asked if there was anything that he wanted to talk about. Mihile told Cygnus that the Alliance had never been in an aerial battle before and he wondered whether they were sufficiently prepared. Cygnus told Mihile not to worry, as their Alliance was the strongest that Maple World had ever seen, having even the support of the legendary Heroes who had sealed the Black Mage.

She added that the real question was whether they were prepared to sacrifice in order to win. Mihile told her that the Cygnus Knights weren’t afraid of sacrifices, to which Cygnus told him that she was. She feared losing even a single person and asked Mihile to promise that everyone would return. Mihile, ever loyal, immediately promised and vowed that the Cygnus Knights would always be at her side. Cygnus then told Mihile that she was glad that she could always count on him.

Resistance and Xenon:
The night before the operation, Claudine gave a speech to all the members of the Resistance in the Secret Plaza that they would be fighting against Gelimer, whose forces were heading for Henesys. She gave everyone the choice to back out if they were afraid or unwilling to fight, but she reminded them that the battle would be a turning point in their struggle to free Edelstein.

In the name of freeing their city, all the members of the Resistance rallied together to fight. Later that night, Claudine told the Resistance member that they had already done so much for the Resistance and emphasized that their safe return was the highest priority so that they could all celebrate Edelstein’s liberation together.

Xenon:
(A/N: This is an exclusive scene for Xenon that takes place after Claudine gives her speech to the Resistance forces, in place of the conversation she has with the Resistance member.)

Soon after giving her speech to the Resistance, Claudine met with Roo-D and Xenon. Roo-D told Xenon that she suspected that the battle would end things with Gelimer once and for all. When Xenon remained quiet, she asked what was on his mind. Xenon wondered what had happened to Beryl, adding that he didn’t want to hate her, no matter how many times she had attacked him. Claudine pointed out that Beryl had only been following Gelimer’s orders, and that she was a victim too.

Xenon supposed that if he hadn’t met Claudine, he would have been following Gelimer as well. He resolved that he would take out Gelimer himself, as he didn’t want anyone else to go through what he and Beryl had. Claudine warned Xenon to be careful, as Gelimer was likely planning something awful. Roo-D also added that Xenon wasn’t the brightest either. However, Xenon reassured them both that he had changed, and that he wouldn’t let things slide next time around.

Demon:
The day before the operation, Mastema found the Demon at the ruins of his old family home in Leafre. She asked whether it was true that he was joining the battle, which the Demon confirmed, explaining that he needed to free himself of his mistakes. Mastema told him that she wished that she could help him if only she had her old body back, though the Demon told her not to worry about it, as it was his burden to bear.

He believed that it was a good opportunity, as he would be able to save many lives on the front lines so that no one would have to suffer the loss that he had, even if it cost him his own life. Mastema cut in and told him not to say that, reminding him that she was like his family and asked him to come back safely. Taken aback, the Demon promised to return for her sake.

Aran:
The morning of the operation, Lilin was overseeing Aran’s training exercises. She told Aran that the battle was the perfect opportunity to see how well her training had paid off. When Aran stopped to agree, Lilin told Aran that she hadn’t been told to stop. Aran continued practicing her polearm swings until she hit 835 before Lilin finally told her that it was good enough.

As Aran collapsed in fatigue, Lilin told Aran that she expected her to reach 1000 after boarding the Lumiere, though she added that it was a shame that she couldn’t come with Aran and watch her fight. She then told Aran not to wear herself out, as it was her first aerial fight. Aran laughed and asked Lilin whether she was worried about her, to which Lilin reminded Aran that she sometimes got overeager and told her to hurt the enemies, not herself. She then warned Aran that if she hurt herself, her training regime would be increased to 10,000 polearm swings a day. (A/N: Given what happens to the player character at the end of Black Heaven, RIP Aran and her arms.)

Evan:
The day before the operation, Evan visited his family’s farm in Henesys, feeling bad that he would constantly show up and disappear, unable to even say goodbye to his parents most of the time. He met his family and decided to explain the truth about his constant absences, telling them that he had become a hero, and that he was going to war. However, his parents didn’t take him seriously and simply laughed it off as Evan being melodramatic about doing his farm chores.

Before he left, his mother gave him some steamed potatoes to share with his friends. (A/N: Evan and his steamed potatoes become a running joke in both Black Heaven and Heroes of Maple.) As he headed out, Utah caught up with him and told Evan how proud he was of him. He then gave Evan a limited edition copy of Angelic Buster’s first album and shamelessly asked him to get it autographed.

Mercedes:
The morning of the operation, Mercedes found Danika and noted that she seemed to be having fun. Danika told Mercedes that it was time that she did her part as the Elder of War and asked Mercedes if she was glad to be fighting alongside the other Heroes. Mercedes told her that she was, though she wished that everyone was as strong as before, as not only had the curse left them weaker, but Freud was also gone. Danika reminded her that they had Evan in his stead and asked what he was like.

Mercedes noticed Evan in the crowd asking Angelic Buster to sign the limited edition copy of her first album, as per Utah’s request. To answer Danika’s question, she hesitantly admitted that he resembled Freud, unable to find anything else to say about him. She added that she felt bad for Freud even just comparing him to Evan, which Danika noted seemed harsh. Just then, Evan found Mercedes and offered her steamed potatoes that his mother had made, much to her annoyance.

Phantom:
The night before the operation, Phantom found Cygnus standing atop a cliff, gazing at the sky. Phantom noted that Cygnus seemed nervous and asked if she was afraid that the Alliance would lose. Cygnus reassured him that she was confident that they would win, and though she admitted that she was afraid of how many they might lose, she also knew that she couldn’t afford to show weakness as the Empress.

Phantom told her not to burden herself with everything, telling her that her worried look didn’t suit her at all, and that he preferred to see her more relaxed, which made Cygnus laugh. He told her that they could rest after the battle and promised to come back and see her, before disappearing in a flash. (A/N: I’m just gonna add a PSA here that Phantom isn’t flirting with Cygnus, and that she’s also a minor.)

Luminous:
The day before the operation, Luminous went to visit Lania, who was overjoyed to see him. She cooked Luminous’ favorite mushroom soup and Luminous decided to stay the night. The next day, Luminous began to head out when Lania stopped him and made him promise that he would return home safely. (A/N: Yet another PSA that Luminous and Lania strictly have a familial relationship, and that he’s practically raised her since she was a child.)

Shade:
The night before the operation, Shade stood alone atop a cliff gazing at the sky. He lamented that he had no one to hang out before the final battle, even though he had expected as much. Even though the other Heroes didn’t remember him, Shade was grateful to be alive fighting alongside his friends. As dawn approached, his thoughts turned to Moonbeam and he wondered how she was doing.

Kaiser and Angelic Buster:
As Angelic Buster was about to board the Lumiere, she ran into Kaiser. After exchanging greetings, he explained that he had gone back to Pantheon in order to see Tear before the mission, but he had found that she was out. He asked Angelic Buster if she had gone to see anyone back home, to which she explained that she had a close friend, though her friend wouldn’t recognize her in her current form. Kaiser asked how someone couldn’t recognize the same person even with different hair and clothes, claiming that it only happened in comics.

Both she and Eskalade silently sighed at his cluelessness before she changed the subject and asked if he was disappointed that Tear wasn’t there. Kaiser told her that it was fine, as he had left something for her at their hideout. She asked if it was a sparkling rock, which got Kaiser’s attention, as only he and Tear knew about how he collected shiny rocks for her. He then noticed that Angelic Buster’s voice sounded like Tear’s, leading him to mistakenly conclude that she and Tear were secretly friends, believing that it explained why they had so much in common, much to Angelic Buster’s relief and annoyance.

Cadena:
The day before the operation, Cadena met Gen in the Back Alley. There, she told him that she was moving on, and that she wanted to say goodbye. Gen asked if she was still determined to go, to which Cadena replied that there were enemies to fight wherever she went, and that she believed that she could help people this way. She told Gen to consider it as the Shadowdealers expanding their territory, as there was a lot of potential in Maple World. Gen told her that it seemed like she could take care of herself, given her recent battles, and wished her luck, reminding her to take care, since he couldn’t save her a third time.

(A/N: The first time that he saves her is when he takes her in after Magnus conquers Heliseum, while the second is when he saves her from Magnus after they inadvertently meet during a trade right before she leaves for Maple World.)

Just then, Coney arrived with the Papyrus Brothers and the Popoh bird. Coney asked Cadena why she hadn’t told them about her leaving, as they were supposed to have each other’s backs. Regardless, he told Cadena that she would do great in the battle, as she was the hero of the day. Cadena simply laughed and explained she was just looking for a worthy opponent, to which Coney told her that it didn't seem as though she had found one yet. With that, the Shadowdealers bid Cadena farewell.

Kain:
As Kain was about to board the Lumiere, he ran into Cadena, who asked him whether he had any friends to meet up with before the battle. Kain curtly told her no, which annoyed Cadena. She reminded him to pull his weight, to which Kain simply told her to do the same. As he walked away, an irritated Cadena thought to herself that she knew that she didn’t like the look of him.

Illium:
On the day of the operation, Illium was about to board with Ex and Machina when Dean, Carnelian, and Morian caught up with him. Illium told them that he had hoped to sneak away without anyone noticing. Carnelian told Illium that she had been paying too much attention not to notice and asked him to be careful.

Dean asked if he was sure that the Verdant Flora ought to get involved in someone else’s war, but Illium told him that he couldn’t ignore the Alliance’s call for help, adding that they would need the Alliance’s help eventually too. Ex also chimed in that Illium’s magical skills would be further improved through the experience. Illium’s friends then told him to come back safely and to bring back food. Illium laughed and told them to contact him if they learned any more about the Sanctuary of the Ancient God.

Ark:
As Ark prepared to head back into battle, he was happy to feel his determination to protect others return. His thoughts then turned to the caravan and how they considered him a friend, making him hope that they had found the paradise that they were searching for. Recalling how Salvo had told him to follow his heart, he returned back to Savage Terminal and used the communication device that they had given him.

He was able to contact Salvo, Ferret, and Zippy, who told him that they were near the area. The entire caravan came to greet Ark and spent hours talking. Ark learned that they had yet to find their paradise, though they promised to let him know once they did. After saying their goodbyes, Ark was happy that they were doing well, and that between them and his friends from Maple World, he had much to protect.

Adele:
Feeling homesick before battle, Adele let Jerome know that she was returning to Ristonia, as she was feeling unsure of herself. Back at the Uprising hideout, Jerome told her that the Alliance was lucky to have her on their side, and that he trusted that whatever Adele decided was the right choice. Hearing Jerome’s voice and the lively chatter at the hideout lifted Adele’s spirits.

Jerome told her that if she ever needed help, he was always available for her. Adele thanked him, she but told him that she didn’t want him getting involved, since it wasn’t his battle to fight. However, she told him that speaking to him had given her strength and told everyone to take care. As she left, she vowed to herself that she would return safely, as she was still honor-bound to protect Jerome once he became king.

Hoyoung:
Before the battle, Hoyoung returned to Cheong-woon, feeling nostalgic for the town where he had first made a name for himself. There, he ordered a large bowl of rice soup before he committed himself to defending Maple World. He asked the tavern keeper if she had seen Farasi, or if she had received any notes from her, but the tavern keeper told him that she hadn’t. Hoyoung was dejected that their paths wouldn’t cross that day, as it was difficult for him to visit frequently.

Just then, Farasi arrived and greeted him. As they ate lunch together, they caught up and Hoyoung learned that Farasi had been traveling the seas, looking for a new dream to spark her passion. After explaining that he was about to protect Maple World, Farasi warned him to be careful, though she laughed at Hoyoung’s bravado. As he set off, he recalled how it was because of Farasi that he had learned the joys of helping others and hoped to eat lunch with her at the tavern again one day.

Lara:
As Lara was about to board the Lumiere, Gri arrived to see her off. As they exchanged pleasantries, Gri asked if she was okay with everything going on, as she had gotten involved in heavy stuff. He asked her about her calling to make the bell ring, to which Lara explained that though making the bell ring was important, she had realized that helping people was part of her calling as well. Gri laughed and told her to take care of herself before she climbed aboard.

Zero:
Alpha and Beta arrived in Ereve in order to watch the Alliance board the Lumiere. Alpha then told Beta that they should head back, as he believed that they weren’t obligated to fight, and that they needed to focus on training to fight the Black Mage. However, Beta told him that the Alliance may lose without their help, and that they would be stuck alone in a world with only monsters. Realizing that she had a point, Alpha begrudgingly agreed to help, though he strongly suspected that Beta only wanted to ride the airship.

(A/N: Zero is the only class that doesn’t join the Alliance. This is because unlike the Transcendents of Grandis, the Transcendents of Maple World don’t get involved in the affairs of mortals, much like Rhinne and Alicia. However, it seems like they do join the Alliance by the time of Tenebris, since they’re called members of the Alliance during the storyline, although this could be because Nexon just didn’t write class-exclusive dialogue for them.

Additionally, while these classes aren’t canon, I’ll still include them for the sake of completion. I’ve also added these to the GMS-verse section of the lore site.)

Jett:
The night before the Black Heaven operation, Jett returned aboard her spaceship and met with her crew. Kelm told Jett that there were rumors of a war happening in Maple World and asked whether she was getting herself involved. When Jett was surprised that they had heard about it, Abbes added that they routinely intercepted transmissions from across the planet, allowing them to be even more informed than her about what was going on.

Jett confirmed that she was planning to fight, as the ones pushing the war were the Black Wings, who had forced Burke to betray her. However, Kelm pointed out that since she had recovered the full power of the Core, she ought to go back to clearing her name. Abbes agreed, adding that since they had just come to Maple World for Burke and the Core, there was nothing keeping them there anymore.

Jett pointed out that Burke was the only one who could’ve proven her innocence, adding that she didn’t want to return to being a fugitive with a high bounty on her head. Abbes then asked why she would want to draw attention to herself in that case, as many people would notice her if she were to join the war, with the possibility of rumors spreading off-world. Kelm conceded that he sympathized with her desire for revenge, but noted that it would be bad for her image if people on Cerberus were to learn that all her actions on Maple World had been solely for vengeance.

Jett agreed that the bounty hunters of the universe would all converge on Maple World, but explained that she wasn’t acting merely out of revenge, but because she viewed Maple World as the home that she never had, as she had never felt like Cerberus or her ship were where she truly belonged. She added that the people of Maple World had been incredibly kind to her when she had been powerless without the Core, but Kelm and Abbes pointed out that there were other ways to repay their kindness without involving herself in the war.

Jett retorted that there would be nothing left if the Black Wings won the war, and that her duty to uphold justice across the galaxy was still valid on Maple World. Hearing her conviction changed her crewmates’ minds, who promised to support her decision and intercept anyone who might learn about her location if she were to be discovered during the war. They then claimed that if Maple World was her home, then it would be their home as well.

Kanna:
Several days after the operation to rescue 10 Boogies, Princess Sakuno addressed the entire Sengoku alliance. Sakuno explained that a few days ago, she had received a letter from Neinheart that Maple World was being confronted by an incredible menace, and that the entire Alliance was moving to combat it. She added that Neinheart had also closed his letter with a request for help from the Sengoku Warriors. She then told the soldiers that even though Maple World wasn’t their home, they had learned to appreciate it, as it had much of the beauty and tranquility of their homeland.

In the name of the Matsuyama clan, Sakuno then ordered the Sengoku Warriors to claim an honorable victory over the Black Wings. Motonari, Shingen, and Kenshin immediately moved to mobilize their troops as Sakuno took Kanna aside and explained that Empress Cygnus had bestowed a special mission upon her.

She told Kanna that Cygnus valued her spirit and powers, and so the Empress wished for Kanna to join her on the front lines. Though Kanna was grateful, she began asking whether her place was Sakuno, though the princess reminded her that it was a great opportunity for her to bring honor to the Sengoku Warriors. Kanna then swore on her family name of Ayanokouji that she would bring victory.

Hayato:
Several days after the operation to rescue 10 Boogies, Princess Sakuno addressed the entire Sengoku alliance. Sakuno explained that a few days ago, she had received a letter from Neinheart that Maple World was being confronted by an incredible menace, and that the entire Alliance was moving to combat it. She added that Neinheart had also closed his letter with a request for help from the Sengoku Warriors. She then told the soldiers that even though Maple World wasn’t their home, they had learned to appreciate it, as it had much of the beauty and tranquility of their homeland.

In the name of the Matsuyama clan, Sakuno then ordered the Sengoku Warriors to claim an honorable victory over the Black Wings. Motonari, Shingen, and Kenshin immediately moved to mobilize their troops as Sakuno took Hayato aside and explained that Empress Cygnus had bestowed a special mission upon him. She told Hayato that Cygnus valued his courage and skills, and so the Empress wished for Hayato to join her on the front lines.

Though Hayato was grateful, he began asking whether his place was with Sakuno, though the princess reminded him that it was a great opportunity for him to bring honor to the Sengoku Warriors. Hayato then swore by the name of Battoujutsu that he would bring victory. Sakuno approvingly noted that he wouldn’t let her down.

She then admitted that her heart was beating faster ever since the Empress had called upon him and wondered whether it was jealousy. An embarrassed Hayato began spluttering as Sakuno laughed at his expression, telling him that Shingen had suggested that it would help relieve his tension. She then told Hayato to travel safety, reminding him that he was her sword.

Beast Tamer:
The day before the Black Heaven operation, Chase and the Critter Champs returned home to Arboren, as Chase wanted to meet her friends and family from Canopy Town before the battle. The town was overjoyed to see Chase after so long and greeted her as a hero. Chase was surprised to see everyone prepared for her arrival and asked her grandmother how everyone knew that she was coming. Granny Rosanna explained that Eka occasionally flew in and told the town about her adventures, though Eka had warned them to keep it a secret. Eka was irritated with Rosanna divulging how much she secretly cared about Chase and dismissed Chase’s gratitude.

(A/N: Right after this, there’s a dialogue error where Eka accidentally gets Rosanna’s line. When Chase says that she needs to get going, Eka says, “I know you do, my precious baby. Don’t let anyone get the better of you out there!” and it’s hilarious to see Eka say this with her tsundere personality.)

After saying her farewells, Chase had Eka fly her straight to Ereve for the Lumiere’s launch.

(A/N: Interestingly, Beast Tamer is the only class in which we skip the tiny scene where we board the Lumiere, instead just cutting to the cutscene of the airship taking off and continuing with Act 2. It’s likely because Eka probably just flew us directly aboard to Lumiere, but it’s still a bit sad that we don’t get to walk past the cheering crowd.)

Paths Converge Here:
(A/N: Kinesis is the only class who doesn’t have an exclusive cutscene. At first, I thought that this was because Kinesis was released after Black Heaven and the writers were just too lazy to make one for him. However, virtually every other class that was released after him got a class-exclusive cutscene, which makes me strongly believe that the implication here is that Kinesis’ story hasn’t chronologically happened yet.

This implication creates a major contradiction with the Adversary storyline, as Black Heaven is the event that resulted in the creation of the Adversary in the first place, meaning that there’s no way that Kinesis could be the Adversary if his story happened after Black Heaven. I’ve spent a long time debating whether I ought to keep FriendStory and Kinesis’ story in between the two blockbusters or move them right before Black Heaven. For the sake of ensuring that each class has equal chance of being the

On Cygnus’ command, the Lumiere took off and headed to intercept Black Heaven. The Alliance member ran into Athena Pierce, who told them that Neinheart was looking for them on the main deck. On the way, a Resistance soldier asked them to help recover the hardtack and star sugar rations which had been stolen by Scrounging Sparrows, for which he blamed the Cygnus Knights for leaving the rations on deck. While hunting down the sparrows, the Alliance member ran into Brighton, who asked them to help diffuse an argument between the Resistance and the Cygnus Knights about the stolen rations.

After recovering the rations, they arrived at the main deck and delivered them to Kyrin, hoping that it would be enough to restore peace between the Resistance and the Cygnus Knights. Kyrin noted that the fog around them was unusually thick and felt that it was unnatural. In the conference room, they found Claudine and Cygnus discussing the fog and how the Black Wings would likely attack in the cover.

After reporting to Cygnus, she told them that Neinheart had warned her earlier about Baroq the Master of Disguise, who would likely be up to his old tricks in order to cause chaos. He recommended that they play along and try to get him to slip up. Having not seen Neinheart since then, Cygnus asked the Alliance member to check up on him. While searching for Neinheart, the Alliance member encountered Neinheart standing over a wounded doppelgänger of himself, along with several unconscious Cygnus Knights.

The Alliance member immediately recognized that the standing Neinheart was the fake one, as the real Neinheart couldn’t win a straight fight on his own. Realizing that he had been caught, Baroq immediately transformed back into himself and engaged the Alliance member, who managed to defeat him. However, Baroq then transformed himself into Cygnus in an effort to prevent them from hitting him. As they struggled to decide whether to hit the fake Cygnus, Hiver teleported behind them and knocked them out before tying them and Neinheart to a barrel.

(A/N: You get to choose whether to hit her or not. The dialogue box will keep prompting you a couple more times if you click on the option to hit her, although you’ll ultimately just continue to debate on whether to hit her on not, after which Hiver hits you.)

After they awoke, the Alliance member worked with Neinheart to break the barrel and hurried to warn the rest of the Alliance. In the hallway, they found that the Lumiere had already been boarded by Black Wings androids, which had defeated the soldiers posted in the area. As they fought through the androids, they encountered Athena Pierce fighting the androids alone and regrouped with her.

Athena sensed an evil energy in the next corridor, where they ran into Eleanor the Black Witch. After fighting her off, they arrived at the deck, where Cygnus told them that the Black Wings were dropping androids onto the deck from above. The Alliance member grouped with the Piyo siblings and began to fight off the androids on deck.

(A/N: Each class gets a unique line of encouragement from Athena Pierce as they rush into battle.

For Explorers, including Special Explorers and Jett, Athena tells them to show their enemies their skills as an Explorer.

For Cygnus Knights, Athena tells them to show their enemies the power of the Cygnus Knights.

For Mihile, Athena tells him to show their enemies the power of a Chief Knight.

For all Resistance classes, including the Demon and Xenon, Athena tells them to show their enemies the power of the Resistance.

For Aran, Athena tells her to show the enemies the power of a hero.

For Evan, Athena tells him to show the enemies the power of a Dragon Master.

For Mercedes, Athena tells her to show the enemies the majesty of the queen of elves.

For Phantom, Athena tells him to show the enemies what happens when they touch a thief's property.

For Luminous, Athena tells him to show the enemies the power of light.

For Shade, Athena tells him to make the enemies remember his name.

For Kaiser, Athena tells him to show the enemies the will of his sword.

For Angelic Buster, Athena tells her to show the enemies the power of an idol of the battlefield.

For Zero, Athena tells Alpha and Beta to show the enemies their strength.

For every other class - Cadena, Kain, Illium, Ark, Adele, Hoyoung, Lara, Kinesis, Hayato, Kanna, and Beast Tamer - the default dialogue is Athena telling them to show the enemies their power. In GMS, Kanna actually gets a unique script, in which Athena tells her to let the spirits take their enemies. There’s also a bug in GMS that has Hayato get the same line, even though Athena explicitly calls the player “Kanna” during that script.)

From the sky, Baroq returned in his own fighter plane and engaged the Alliance member, who was able to crash his ship. Just then, Hiver arrived in a large airship, which they recognized as Black Heaven, and began firing rockets at the group, who struggled to dodge the firepower. As more androids landed, the group continued fighting them off while directing all their own firepower at Hiver’s ship, which they eventually succeeded in destroying.

They returned back to the main deck and reported their victory to the Alliance leadership. Just as everyone began celebrating the destruction of Black Heaven, a dark shadow loomed over their heads as they looked up, horrified, at the real Black Heaven, which was hundreds of times larger than both the Lumiere and the airship that they had struggled to take down.

With hundreds of the smaller airships that Hiver had been flying surrounding Black Heaven, Athena ordered the Lumiere to immediately pull back and retreat into cloud cover. That night, Claudine pointed out that the Alliance had been reckless, and that they should have had clearer plans. Neinheart remarked that their plan had been sound, based on the given information, and snidely asked what the Resistance had been doing all the time while Gelimer had been constructing Black Heaven.

As tensions continued to rise, Athena attempted to maintain the peace. Just then, the Alliance member heard a noise and began to investigate. They discovered dozens of puppets sent by Francis the Puppeteer, who had infiltrated the Lumiere in order to search for Orchid. After engaging Francis, the Puppeteer managed to escape to the deck.

As the Alliance member reported to the leadership about Francis’ infiltration, they discovered him attempting to flee in a barrel on deck. After getting captured, Francis demanded that they release Orchid, claiming that she was helpless after her powers had been stolen by Lotus, and attempted to trade the blueprints for Black Heaven in exchange for her release. Neinheart accepted the offer and took the blueprints, though he told Francis that he could only see Orchid after the war was over. He then ordered Francis to be detained.

Throughout the night, the Alliance leadership developed a strategy to combat Black Heaven. With the blueprints they had obtained from Francis, Neinheart was able to identify two critical weaknesses in Black Heaven: first, its massive size would inevitably create blind spots to attack; second, it only had one centralized power source. Neinheart was curious to find out what exactly could be powering such a large airship. With those two weaknesses in mind, he devised a plan to infiltrate Black Heaven and destroy the power source.

While the Cygnus Knights protected the Lumiere and the Nautilus handled the head-on air attack to draw the Black Wings’ attention, Belle, Brighton, Checky, and the Alliance member would infiltrate through the blind spot on its side. Just then, Mihile rushed into the meeting room to warn them that the Black Wings had launched a wide-range ballistic attack. As the entire airship shook and received heavy damage, Cygnus asked the Alliance member to assess the situation on the deck. There, they met Brighton and Belle, who told them that they had received a direct hit to the underside.

To help the soldiers on the lower deck, the Alliance member and Belle left Brighton to handle things on the upper deck before heading downstairs. There, they rescued the Alliance soldiers who had been knocked out from the heavy smoke in the room while also holding off the androids that had infiltrated the ship. After the soldiers left, the Alliance member heard a voice from the prison room and found Francis trapped amidst the burning wreckage.

As they attempted to rescue him, a Resistance soldier arrived to report that enemies had taken over the Pilothouse, causing the ship to list. Though the soldier warned against freeing Francis, the Alliance member nevertheless opened the cage to free him before heading to the Pilothouse, leaving the soldier to guard Francis. At the Pilothouse, they defeated the Black Wings henchmen attacking the soldiers before struggling to get the ship back in control until Kyrin arrived to take over.

They returned to the prison, where they found the soldier defeated and Francis missing. The soldier told them that Francis had asked him to tell the Alliance member that he was sorry for escaping, but that he needed to see Orchid. The Alliance member then went to the top deck, where they rendezvoused with Belle, Brighton, and Checky for their mission. Claudine gave them a signal flare to fire off once they landed on Black Heaven so that the main force could be sent in. Upon arriving at their vehicles, however, they found that the Black Wings had destroyed them.

Checky asked them to bring him Dented Steel Plates, Junky Bolts, and High-Efficiency Fuel from the androids in order to make the necessary repairs, as well as to make a few upgrades. The four then flew through the enemy combatants and managed to arrive at the landing point on Black Heaven. (A/N: To this day, I have never successfully completed this dumb minigame.) Just then, Gelimer’s voice rang out to let them know that he had been expecting them. Belle, Brighton, and Checky suddenly crashed into the shields around Black Heaven, immobilizing them in place, just as several cannons shot them down.

The Alliance member rushed back to the Lumiere and informed Claudine about the missing Resistance leaders. She immediately ordered all missions to be aborted so that they could find their missing allies. The Alliance forces scattered out and located Belle and Brighton falling, just as a large Black Wings airship shot them down, much to Claudine’s horror. Aboard the control room of Black Heaven, Gelimer laughed at the foolishness of the Alliance as Lotus’ operating system efficiently targeted and shot them down. Back in Edelstein, Orchid was able to feel Lotus’ immense pain from being forced to obey Gelimer, causing her to awaken from her coma.

At the Pilothouse, the Alliance member and Claudine returned to Neinheart and Cygnus. Though Claudine wished to continue searching for her allies, Neinheart told her that they couldn’t afford to sacrifice anyone else. This promoted an argument between the two, with Claudine claiming that the Cygnus Knights never put themselves at risk like the Resistance did. She then accused the Alliance member for being the reason why her friends had been shot down, claiming that Gelimer had been able to discover their plans thanks to Francis being freed.

Though she understood that she couldn’t withdraw the Resistance from the Alliance, she still held the other three accountable for their actions. She also demanded that the Alliance member be put on tribunal to answer for their actions. Soon after, the Alliance member stood before a jury of Cygnus Knights and Resistance members, with Claudine, Athena Pierce, Cygnus, and Neinheart serving as interrogators.

After defending themselves, the Alliance member was placed on probation, though this decision sparked an argument amongst the jury. Realizing that there was only one way to keep the peace, the Alliance member agreed to exile themselves. As they began to leave, Cygnus approached them and asked if it was true that they were leaving. She told them that it wasn’t their fault, to which they explained that everyone could focus on the fight if they took the blame. Cygnus replied that though she couldn’t stop them, she asked them not to go too far.

(A/N: I also failed this minigame several times because this game didn’t allow me to have a lawyer. There are two different sets of exclusive dialogue that replace the player’s scene with Cygnus.

For Resistance classes, including Xenon and the Demon, Claudine approaches them and tells them that she can’t let them leave like this. She explains that they’ve broken the Resistance’s rules, and that, as a member, she still can’t understand why they would have mercy for a Black Wing. She reminds them that members of the Resistance are civilians, not soldiers, and that they’re all people who’ve lost family and friends to the Black Wings, including Belle, Checky, Brighton, and herself, which is something that they already know, since they’re one of them. She tells them that losing someone is the bond that brings the Resistance together, regretfully adding that she’s now lost them, too.

That last line is supposed to be taken more harshly than regretfully, as Claudine is more angry than sad during this conversation. When she says that she’s lost us too, it’s supposed to be Claudine viewing us as a traitor, rather than viewing us as a friend that she’s losing in the fight.

For Phantom, Cygnus approaches him and asks if it’s true that he’s leaving, pointing out that the Lumiere belongs to him. Phantom tells her not to make such a face, reminding her that what matters the most is the Alliance’s victory. He notes that everyone can focus on the fight if he takes the blame, to which Cygnus replies that though she can’t stop him, she asks him not to go too far. Phantom then tells her to take care of the Lumiere before leaving.)

As they flew back to Ereve, they learned that the Cygnus Knight who was escorting them was actually one of Francis’ puppets in disguise. Through the puppet, Francis thanked them for freeing him from prison and explained that he was betraying Gelimer and freeing Orchid. To make up for escaping and putting them on trial, Francis told them that there was no traitor who had leaked the Alliance’s plans to Gelimer.

He revealed that Black Heaven was being controlled by Lotus, who had been turned into a Xenoroid by Gelimer. Lotus’ own powers, along with the other half of the Wing Master powers that he had stolen from Orchid, allowed him to effortlessly maintain control over Black Heaven, which was like an extension of his body. Because of this, there were no weaknesses or blind spots anywhere in the ship. However, he also revealed that there were no troops stationed aboard Black Heaven, as they were being summoned from somewhere else. This helped the Alliance member realize that there was a way to infiltrate Black Heaven and immediately turned the ship around to set sail for Edelstein.

The Alliance member arrived at Edelstein’s Scrapyard, where they found the Piyo siblings tailing them on Cygnus’ orders. They gave the Alliance member a letter from Cygnus that said, “I still have faith in you. Please stick with me! Until the day we win this war!” They made their way deeper into the Scrapyard, where they found several androids searching for a fugitive android. Though they attempted to sneak past the androids, the group was caught and they were forced to stand off against the enemies.

Suddenly, the fugitive android named One-Eye helped them escape and brought them to a hidden camp. He explained that he was on the run because he had human feelings, which was grounds for being scrapped. One-Eye then introduced them to his wife, Three-Hands, who asked them how they had come to the Scrapyard.

After learning about the situation, One-Eye told them that the only way to enter Black Heaven was by scaling the central tower in the middle of the Scrapyard, which teleported androids straight onto the ship. However, he explained that the teleporter scanned for a special computer chip that only androids possessed. One-Eye agreed to make an android helmet for the Alliance member, just as their daughter, Bitterbot, came to tell them that their efforts were futile, though she reluctantly agreed to help them.

The Alliance member collected the necessary parts for the helmet, just as the enemy androids discovered them, forcing the group to abandon the refuge. One-Eye finished constructing the helmet, allowing the Alliance member and the Piyo siblings to scale up to the teleporter. As One-Eye and his family watched them, Bitterbot claimed that they still had no hope of defeating her father and took off her helmet, revealing herself to be Beryl. (A/N: I thought that this was a cool way to show what happened to Beryl after she lost to Xenon. It’s sad how Gelimer just threw her away after how much devotion she showed to him.)

At the inspection station on Black Heaven, the Black Wings immediately discovered that the Alliance member wasn’t an android. As the Alliance member continued to fight off the Black Wings forces, Dargoth himself arrived to capture them. However, the Alliance member proved to be too strong and defeated him. With his defeat, Eleanor arrived to finish them off, though she was also defeated.

With no choice, the Black Wings brought in a Demolisher, though they were shocked when the Alliance member seized control of it and blasted through the defenses. (A/N: The Demolisher is the final boss in the Riena Strait storyline. We encounter a lot more of them in this story.) Having created a hole in the shields, the Alliance member fired the signal flare. Aboard the Lumiere, the Alliance had sustained substantial damage and Neinheart asked a demoralized Cygnus whether to press on or turn back. Suddenly, they all saw the signal flare and realized that the Alliance member had given them an opening.

Aboard Black Heaven, the Alliance member was being chased by an immense Pulverizer, which cornered them at the edge of the ship. Suddenly, Claudine arrived aboard her flying vehicle and began shooting at it. She told the Alliance member to flee while she covered them, just as cannons began firing at her. Claudine struggled to keep her craft afloat until the cannons were destroyed by Checky, Brighton, and Belle, who had miraculously survived Gelimer’s attack.

With their combined firepower, the Pulverizer was easily destroyed. The Alliance member, who had been knocked out in the explosion, awoke to find that the Alliance had boarded Black Heaven with the help of Pilot Irvin. Claudine told them that the Piyo siblings had explained how the Alliance member had risked their life to give an opening and apologized on behalf of everyone for doubting them. Meanwhile, Francis managed to infiltrate the Secret Plaza in Edelstein and successfully rescued Orchid, who immediately set off to save Lotus and destroy Gelimer.

Cygnus told the Alliance member that the advance team had already boarded Black Heaven in order to secure access to key areas. Though she wished that she could say that the Alliance member had done enough, Cygnus acknowledged that they were the Alliance’s best chance at winning the battle. Promising to return safely, the Alliance member entered Black Heaven with Irvin and Neinheart, who had already plotted the most direct route to the core. They met up with Claudine, Belle, Brighton, Athena Pierce, and the Piyo siblings and took the elevator down.

Along the way, Irvin told them that over fifty years ago, he had been an officer in Edelstein’s air force, working alongside Admiral Martini and Gelimer, who had been a military scientist. After learning that Martini had commissioned experiments on living subjects, Irvin had left the military in protest, though Gelimer had stayed behind in order to pursue his dream research. Belle asked if his dream was to construct Black Heaven, but Irvin explained that Gelimer specialized in medicine and biotechnology and had little interest in machines. Irvin felt responsible for not doing more to save Gelimer and asked them to do their best to stop him.

The group continued traversing through the labyrinth of Black Heaven and eventually ran into Orchid and Francis. The Alliance was shocked to see Orchid, whom they had believed was still in a coma. Likewise, Orchid was furious to see the Alliance member, to which Francis asked her whether she knew them. Orchid angrily claimed that she recognized them as the one who had looked inside her mind.

Neinheart and Claudine were both confused by Orchid’s extreme reaction, causing them to wonder what it was that the Alliance member had seen. Though the Alliance member tried to explain that they had merely seen her memories, Orchid refused to believe them and angrily ordered Francis to fight them on her behalf, as she had no powers left.

(A/N: The Demon gets some exclusive dialogue here. When Francis asks Orchid if she knows the Demon, she explains that she knows him very well and calls him a traitor to be fighting on the Alliance’s side. She asks him whether he has no pride left and declares that they’re now enemies. She then orders Francis to fight him on her behalf.

Phantom also gets some exclusive dialogue here. When Francis asks Orchid if she knows Phantom, she asks how she could ever forget Lotus’ archenemy, to which Phantom points out that Lotus is also Aria’s archenemy. Orchid notes that they’ve finally met again, sarcastically adding that their reunion is as pleasant as she had expected. She then orders Francis to fight him on her behalf.)

Neinheart attempted to keep the peace when Gelimer appeared on a monitor and showed Lotus to Orchid in order to rub in the fact that her brother was now his puppet. Lotus, detecting the intruders, manifested a Pulverizer to drop down onto the elevator, scattering the group on different levels. The Alliance member and Orchid both fell on the same level together, after which Orchid got up and noted with distaste that the Alliance member had survived, angrily wondering why she was always stuck with them.

The Alliance member got up and noted that it was just the two of them, to which Orchid once again asked why she was stuck with them, of all people, adding that everything seemed to be going badly. She then ordered them to stay behind, as she didn’t want to deal with them. She then proceeded ahead and pushed a red button that opened the glass panel in her way. Upon letting go of the button and moving forward, however, the panel immediately slid back down.

The Alliance member pointed out that two people were needed to open it, as there was another red button on the other side of the panel. Orchid snapped at them that she had already known that, to which they explained that at the moment, they both had the same goal to escape, reminding her that she needed to get to Lotus. After a pause, Orchid relented and ordered them to push the button.

With the Alliance member holding the button down, Orchid made it to the other side. The Alliance member patiently waited for her to push the button on her end, adding that trusted her. Orchid stopped and considered for a moment, after which she pushed the button and allowed them to follow. After the Alliance member crossed over, she demanded to know what they were looking at before telling them to lead.

(A/N: Phantom gets a completely different scene for this part. After Orchid notes with distaste that Phantom survived, she angrily wonders why he, of all people, is here. She then orders him to stop where he is if he doesn’t want to make her mad. After she presses the button and finds that it doesn’t work, Phantom tells her that she’s being ridiculous, as it’s obvious that two people are needed to open the door.

Orchid gets annoyed at Phantom, who asks her whether she wants to settle their score right then and there, adding that he wouldn’t mind. Orchid asks him whether he’s going to attack her, to which Phantom replies that though he wants to, he’s not the type to pick on the powerless. She then replies that he’ll regret it if he doesn’t attack her now, vowing that he’s next after she finishes dealing with Gelimer.

However, Phantom angrily tells her to stop acting like she’s in charge, reminding her of the state that she’s in. He then warns her not to push his patience any further, adding that she should be grateful that Aria had forgiven her. He then tells her to hurry up, as they both have business to attend to. After a pause, Orchid relents and orders him to push the button.)

The two continued traversing their way to the core until they found another glass panel blocking their way. Just then, however, a Repairoid began taking portions of the pipes for the mechanism and flying away. The Alliance member and Orchid chased after the Repairoid and encountered a horde of them. With Orchid unable to fight with no powers, the Alliance member defeated the Repairoids and took back the pipes, which they used to repair the mechanism. The pair then opened the door together and continued forward.

As they walked along, Orchid demanded to know what the Alliance member had seen inside her memories. The Alliance member explained that they had seen her and Lotus in the past, from when they had been spirits up until the present. Orchid asked them whether they had seen anything strange, to which they replied that they hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, Orchid remained convinced that they were lying, adding that she was only staying with them until they escaped.

(A/N: Phantom gets exclusive dialogue that replaces this conversation. When Orchid asks him what he had seen inside her memories, he tells her that he had seen Aria’s last moments, adding that he had seen her, Aria, and Lotus in the memory. After a pause, Orchid tells him that he’s the worst for invading her mind, adding that there was no one who wouldn’t be mad about being violated in such a way.

Phantom replies that they had no choice, though Orchid retorts that she doesn’t believe him, which Phantom dismisses. As they reach the end of the juncture, Orchid warns him she’s watching him, and that she’s only staying with him until they escape. Phantom retorts by asking her who’s watching whom, to which Orchid sarcastically calls him a cheeky thief and tells him to lead.)

After reaching the next juncture, they discovered that another Repairoid had stolen the pipes for the mechanism of the next door. After the Alliance member recovered the parts and repaired it, the two worked together to open the door and move ahead. Orchid joked that she could get used to them doing her bidding, to which the Alliance member jokingly asked her whether it meant that she was starting to trust them. An annoyed Orchid then asked them what they were starting at before ordering them to lead on.

(A/N: Phantom gets exclusive dialogue that replaces this conversation. When Orchid tells him that she could get used to him doing her bidding, Phantom tells her that she should be at least a tiny bit grateful, to which Orchid sarcastically laughs and retorts that he ought to be a comedian. When Phantom deadpans that he’s not joking, Orchid replies that she’s not in the mood and orders him to just keep moving.)

The pair then continued through the juncture and soon reached the next door. The Alliance member pressed the button to open the door, allowing Orchid to reach the other side. As they waited for her to let them through, however, Orchid paused for a moment before unexpectedly declaring that they were through. Suddenly, Francis rushed over, grateful that he had found her at last. Francis was surprised to find the Alliance member, who was surprised by Orchid’s sudden betrayal.

Orchid reluctantly told them that she was going to save Lotus, and that she wanted them to stay out of it. She explained that she couldn’t trust the Alliance when they treated Lotus like some kind of monster. (A/N: Can’t imagine why.) She then ordered Francis to follow her, to which Francis apologized to the Alliance member, explaining that his heart belonged only to Orchid. As the Alliance membered called after her, Orchid hesitated for a moment before admitting that they hadn’t been half-bad during their time together, after which she left them with hordes of androids that began surrounding them.

(A/N: Phantom gets exclusive dialogue that replaces this conversation. After Orchid crosses to the other side, she declares that they’re now done and tells him to be on his way. Phantom yells Orchid’s name in frustration, to which she tells him not shout, reminding him that they both knew that they only needed each other until one of them didn’t. Phantom notes that this is how Orchid returns favors, adding that he should have known.

After Francis arrives, Orchid tells Phantom that when she thinks of Lotus, she feels like she should tear Phantom apart, though she adds that she’ll hold back, at least for now. She then tells Francis to follow her, to which Francis apologizes to him and tells him that his heart belongs only to Orchid. As Phantom calls after her, Orchid hesitates for a moment before telling him that she has one more thing to say, which is that he hadn’t been half-bad during their time together, after which she leaves him with the horde of androids.)

The Alliance member was left overwhelmed by the hordes of androids attacking them until the rest of the Alliance arrived to save them. As they chased after Orchid and Francis, Neinheart began to wonder what Black Heaven had been built so largely for, as it didn’t hold the android army, which was being teleported as needed from the Scrapyard. As they arrived near the core, Neinheart’s question was answered when they found that thousands of large bombs were being stored in the area, guarded by Xenoroids modeled after Xenon and Beryl.

(A/N: Xenon gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he notes that the Xenoroids guarding the area are like his brothers. However, Athena Pierce tells him not to be swayed.)

As they proceeded deeper into Black Heaven, the Alliance member, Neinheart, Claudine, and Athena Pierce fought past the Xenoroids that attacked them. Claudine and Athena also used their whip and arrows, respectively, in order to bring down several platforms that had been raised up, which was cutting off their route forward.

(A/N: When Athena brings down the platform with her arrow, Claudine will normally say that they should’ve used her arrows from the start to bring down the platforms, to which Athena will tell her that her whipping had been quite amazing, too. If the player is Mercedes, Mercedes will instead praise Athena as the greatest bowman of Elluel, to which Athena will proudly say that she’s learned from the best.)

Deeper into the ship, the group noticed that strange green gas was permeating the further in they went, requiring them to wear gas masks. They soon found themselves in Gelimer’s lab, where a dying Admiral Martini begged them to stop Gelimer and his mad plans. He explained that he had been dying from an incurable illness, and that Gelimer had offered a solution. However, he told them that he now saw that Irvin had been right to leave. As Martini passed away from the toxic fumes, Neinheart noted that Gelimer must be quite ruthless to backstab an ally.

The group then began searching Gelimer’s lab and obtained several research notes. They learned that Gelimer had been researching the Seal Stones after learning that Orchid had ordered the Black Wings to find them. Upon learning about the incredible power of the Seal Stones, and the fact that the Black Wings had collected all the Seal Stones except for the Seal Stone of Ereve, he had attempted to use them as an energy source. However, he had failed to harness their power, as the Seal Stones would only grant the wish of a population.

His research had also led him to conclude that as long as even one Seal Stone existed, the Black Mage couldn’t fully regain his powers, as the collective desire of the people of Maple World to keep the Black Mage from regaining his strength was being channeled through the Seal Stones, acting as a restraint on his power. He had also learned that Freud had created the Seal Stones centuries ago and noted that the more that he learned about the Seal Stones, the more nonsensical it sounded that the desire of human beings could somehow be turned into power.

(A/N: In the Cernium storyline, it’s revealed that the Seal Stones were originally created by the Overseers, which explains why it seems incredible to Gelimer that Freud could’ve created such powerful objects that operated outside the realm of logic. However, the Cernium storyline also states that Freud didn’t actually create the Seal Stones from scratch. After the fall of the Ancient Gods, the power of the Seal Stones scattered across the three worlds and lay dormant. Freud just extracted that power and refashioned them back into gemstones, after which he gave them the name ‘Seal Stones’.)

They also found Gelimer’s research on Lotus and how Gelimer had coveted the powerful body that Lotus had been granted by the Black Mage. It detailed how he had lied to both Orchid about promising to return Lotus to her, and to the Commanders about promising to alter Lotus’ body to serve as a vessel for the Black Mage. In order to power Lotus and Black Heaven, Gelimer had taken over the Verne Mine and ordered Admiral Martini to obtain coolant from Riena Strait.

After Lotus had been completed, Gelimer had forced him to steal Orchid’s power in order to obtain the complete Wing Masters’ power so that he could launch Black Heaven. He also detailed how he had created the Evolution System to imprint combat data onto Lotus, making him stronger as he received more data.

They also uncovered information on the bombs aboard Black Heaven, which contained a chemical agent called Retoxin that could turn humans into obedient puppets, all of whom would be controlled in a hive mind by Lotus. They then found a map that listed the targets that Black Heaven would bomb and realized that Gelimer’s goal was bombardment, rather than invasion.

(A/N: Gelimer wasn’t able to use the Seal Stones as a power source for Lotus because the Seal Stones only grant the wish of a population, but I actually think that there was a chance that he could’ve fused Lotus with a Seal Stone if he were to have succeeded in his plan to turn Maple World into a hivemind with his Retoxin.

During the era of the Ancient Gods, before the Overseers had created the Seal Stones, mortals had no means of stopping the chaos of the gods because only a god has the power to kill another god. Because of this, the only way that mortals could hope to stand up to the gods was by using their holy relics, which contained their divine power. Unfortunately for them, the relics worked on a similar principle as the Seal Stones, which is that they’ll only awaken for someone whom the people have unconditional faith in.

For example, the holy relic of Mitra the Sun God is a sword named Azor. Azor will only awaken in the hands of Mitra’s Chosen One - someone who has the full support of all of Mitra’s followers. Because of this, there was no way for someone who wanted to kill the gods to use the relics, which only awaken in the hands of the most devout followers of the gods.

In order to trick the holy relics, researchers attempted to fill host bodies with countless Specter souls from the Abyss. In doing so, the relics would sense the host body radiating with the energy of those souls, and they would mistakenly believe that this energy comes from countless souls from across the world lending their unconditional faith to that person.

Most of these experiments failed because the host bodies were unable to resist being taken over, resulting in the Specter souls possessing them and transforming them into monsters. These failed experiments are the same Specter mobs that we fight in the game. Some of them were probably created during the era of the Ancient Gods, but many of them were created from the High Flora purging other races, including the Anima.

However, the researchers eventually succeeded in finding host bodies who could retain their minds and bodies, which allowed them to hold countless Specter souls inside them. Those special Specters could then trick the holy relics into awakening, allowing them to use the gods’ own relics against them.

Because of the similarities between the holy relics and the Seal Stones, it’s extremely likely that just like the relics, the Seal Stones can only pick up energy, not intent, meaning that they should only be able to pick up the fact that a person holds the support of the people, not how that support was won.

Because of this, it’s entirely possible that once Gelimer used his Retoxin to turn Maple World into a hivemind, he could’ve ordered the people to have unconditional faith in Lotus, which would allow Lotus to fuse with the Seal Stone and become an Adversary, after which Gelimer could’ve had Lotus kill the Black Mage so that he could rule the world himself.

Despite the fact that he spent such a short time working with the Commanders, Gelimer somehow ended up getting more done than the rest of them combined. If the Black Mage didn’t have everyone stuck on the Path of Destiny, Gelimer might’ve ended up becoming the most powerful being in the world in another timeline.)

Neinheart realized that Cygnus had been right to make the Alliance meet Black Heaven in the air, rather than form a ground defense like they had originally planned, as she had experienced a vision of the future, in which she had seen a giant whose head had blocked the sun and whose foot had crushed entire towns. However, she had also foreseen shining birds charging at the giant, whose bright lights wiped it away.

Neinheart then told the Alliance member and Athena Pierce to stop Gelimer while he returned with Claudine in order to formulate a plan. Athena and the Alliance member took the elevator up to the core, but Gelimer anticipated their arrival and broke the elevator, causing Athena to fall many levels below.

Though separated, the Alliance member pressed on alone and found Lotus hooked up to Black Heaven. They engaged in a fierce battle, with their fight causing Lotus to break free from his connections to Black Heaven and use his full Wing Master powers against them. Nevertheless, the Alliance member managed to defeat him. Furious, Gelimer ordered Lotus to get up and continue fighting. As Lotus continued powering up, the Alliance member realized that he was overexerting himself to breaking point.

Just then, Orchid arrived and hugged her brother in order to calm him down. She asked Lotus to go back to becoming a Spirit of Darkness with her, explaining that the Black Mage could give them back their original forms once his full power returned. Lotus told Orchid that his soul had spent centuries roaming Maple World trying to get his voice to reach her.

Though, at first, he had only wanted revenge against Phantom for what he had done to them, he had begun changing after Gelimer had forced him to hurt her. He asked Orchid if she would continue living as a human for a bit longer together when Gelimer, unable to abide his creation rebelling against him, used his kill switch on Lotus.

(A/N: This blockbuster tried really hard to get me to care about Orchid and Lotus, and somehow I think they succeeded in making me hate them even more. These two helped wage a war of terror on the entire planet, were responsible for the murder of millions of people, assassinated the head of state under the pretense of peace negotiations, subjugated an entire town under authoritarian rule for years, ordered the kidnapping, torture, and mutilation of countless children for unethical experimentation, and somehow all of that is just supposed to get swept under the rug because Orchid is sad.

I don’t hate Orchid and Lotus as characters in and of themselves. I think that they make for excellent villains specifically because of how evil they are. Despite being in human bodies, they still consider themselves spirits, and so they feel absolutely nothing when they kill ‘lesser’ life forms like humans. In fact, they even seem to derive some pleasure in toying with their prey.

The Wing Master webcomic showed how Orchid and Lotus slowly tortured Aria to death and expressed disappointment when she died too quickly. The only feeling that Orchid expresses after watching Aria die is that they didn’t get the chance to ‘play’ with her more. The two of them are absolute sociopaths who don’t have a shred of empathy for anyone except each other, which makes them great, complex antagonists.

However, I just can’t just get behind the idea of them as tragic figures because everything bad that ever happened to them was literally just the consequences of their actions. There’s nothing unfair or tragic about terrorists who killed thousands of people getting exactly what was coming to them. It feels so tone deaf on the writers’ part to have Gelimer be based on Nazi scientists, and to be coded as a pedophile with the teddy bear that he carries and how he kidnaps and experiments on the bodies of children, but then somehow the person who ordered him to do all of that gets a narrative free pass.

I will say that Orchid post-Black Heaven is a much better character because after she’s lost everything that mattered to her, it feels like she’s actually paid for her actions, and so allying with her doesn’t feel as jarring. However, the writers even managed to mess that dynamic up with the way that Orchid starts lowkey flirting with the Adversary at the end of Limina, although I’ll complain about that when we get there.)

As Orchid continued holding onto her dying brother, the Alliance member made their way to the control room in order to stop Gelimer. However, Gelimer released Retoxin gas into the room, poisoning the Alliance member and leaving them unable to fight. He then showed them a view screen of Black Heaven looming over Edelstein as he released his bombs.

(A/N: This is likely a continuity error because both the Cygnus Knight and Resistance class-exclusive cutscenes in this blockbuster said that Gelimer’s first target was Henesys. I personally rationalize it by thinking that the Alliance met Gelimer near his launch point at Edelstein, thus preventing him from leaving Edelstein airspace and forcing him to change his plans.)

In the air, the Alliance struggled to detonate the bombs, but they found that there were too many for them to handle. Just as the bombs were about to fall on the city, Orchid used the last of the Wing Master power that Lotus had given to her before his death in order to levitate the bombs back into the air around Black Heaven before causing them all to detonate at once. Meanwhile, in the control room, the Alliance member struggled to stand as Gelimer mockingly dangled the antidote in their face. Though the Alliance member struggled to fight, Gelimer easily managed to defeat them.

(A/N: The main Resistance classes gets some exclusive dialogue here. After Gelimer defeats them, he asks them what it is that makes fools like them struggle so much. He explains that he had only wanted to make them better, and to raise them up from their primitive ways. However, the Resistance member calls him out and tells him that he had made Vita cry. However, Gelimer merely asks them whether he’s supposed to know a ‘Vita’, causing the Resistance member to curse him for his callousness.

Xenon also gets some exclusive dialogue here. After Gelimer defeats him, he notes that emotion had gotten the best of Xenon, who had charged in like a fool. He adds that he had built Xenon to be better than that and asks him why he had betrayed him, as Xenon was supposed to be his masterpiece. Xenon retorts that neither he nor Beryl are his toys, to which Gelimer asks who Beryl is.

Xenon is shocked by his words, and after a moment, Gelimer laughs and notes that Xenon is referring to the failure that used to call him ‘father’. He jokes that at least she had known how to follow orders, though he begins laughing once again at the thought of Beryl calling him ‘father’, claiming that she couldn’t even see what a failure she was. Upon seeing Xenon’s face, Gelimer tells Xenon not to look at him like that, explaining that if there was anyone worthy of calling him ‘father’, it would have been Xenon himself, though he emphasizes that Xenon no longer has that right anymore.)

Gelimer then told the Alliance member to beg him for the antidote, though he then laughed and shattered the antidote on the floor.

(A/N: You get the choice to beg him for the antidote, or to refuse. Regardless of your choice, Gelimer will shatter the antidote on the floor. Xenon gets some exclusive dialogue when he makes his choices. If you choose to beg, Gelimer will call you pathetic to the very end. If you refuse, Gelimer will tell you that there is no cure, and that there’s no hope for him, either.)

Declaring that he would never stop until his great work was finished, Gelimer ordered his Xenoroids to restrain the Alliance member and self-destruct as he began boarding his escape pod. Unexpectedly, however, the Xenoroids developed survival instincts as they realized that Black Heaven was about to crash. They climbed onto the escape pod and begged their father to save them as he attempted to get them off. Using the last of their strength, the Alliance member crawled to a lever and pulled it, causing the escape pod to take off. In the sky, Gelimer attempted to cancel his self-destruct command, but the Xenoroids soon exploded and killed Gelimer in the process.

(A/N: Xenon gets some exclusive dialogue when he pulls the lever, in which he apologizes profusely to his fellow Xenoroids, whom he calls his brothers, as he knows that they’re going to die once they self-destruct.

Personally, I think that the writers did a fantastic job with handling Gelimer’s death. Him dying in the same way that he killed Vita - in a confined space rigged to explode - is perfect poetic justice.)

With the Retoxin flooding their system, the Alliance member struggled to escape Black Heaven, which was slowly breaking apart. Unexpectedly, Orchid arrived and carried them outside, though she was angry at them for having defeated Gelimer without her. They reached the upper deck, where Athena Pierce, having survived her fall, took over for Orchid.

Orchid told Athena that it was likely too late for the Alliance member, who would become an emotionless zombie if the Retoxin didn’t kill them. However, she confided to them that Lotus had been happy in his final moments to be free of Gelimer before she walked away. Athena and the Alliance member hopped off Black Heaven and landed on the deck of the Lumiere.

Elsewhere, Francis found Orchid and begged her to escape with him, though Orchid silently watched the wreckage as she bid farewell to her brother. Black Heaven finally crashed atop the Scrapyard as the Alliance escaped triumphant. However, their celebration was short-lived when they learned from Athena that the Alliance member would most likely die from the Retoxin, causing the Piyo siblings and many others to mourn.

(A/N: The Resistance classes, including Xenon and the Demon, get some exclusive dialogue, in which Claudine yells out their name in mourning alongside the Piyo siblings.)

Just then, however, Cygnus declared that the Alliance member would be fine and pulled out the Seal Stone of Ereve, the final Seal Stone in existence. Cygnus explained that though no power was strong enough to bring back the dead, there was still hope for the Alliance member, who was still breathing.

(A/N: The Seal Stone of Ereve being called the final Seal Stone in existence implies that the others were destroyed by the Black Wings. The idea that people can’t be brought back from the dead hasn’t yet been directly contradicted, but it seems strange that the Transcendent of Life wouldn’t be able to do something like that.)

Neinheart cautiously asked Cygnus if she understood what it meant to use the last Seal Stone. Cygnus affirmed that she knew that its destruction would remove the final limitation on the Black Mage’s power. However, she reminded them all that Freud had created the Seal Stones in order to help them protect what was most precious to the people and asked whether they all valued the Seal Stone more than the Alliance member. With the full support of the Alliance, Cygnus used the final Seal Stone in order to save the Alliance member. Unbeknown to them all, however, the Seal Stone recognized the Alliance member as one who represented the will of the people, causing it to choose them as its Vessel.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Alliance member spoke with the leaders of the Alliance as they returned back to Ereve. Athena told the Alliance member that she would return back to Henesys, as she needed to train more bowmen to defend Maple World. She told them that she looked forward to everyone gathering again, though she hoped for it to be under happier circumstances. The Alliance member told her that they would stop by the next time they were in Henesys, to which Athena jokingly told them that elves never forgot a promise.

(A/N: Mercedes gets some exclusive dialogue that replaces the last part of the conversation. When she tells Athena that she’ll come visit, Athena tells Mercedes that she’ll be waiting.)

The Alliance member then spoke with Claudine, who told them that the Black Wings were done for, as their leaders and their power base had been demolished, with a free Edelstein being only a step away. The Alliance member asked her what she would do once Edelstein was freed, to which she told them that she had never thought of it before.

Claudine explained that she was considering listening to what Irvin had once told her to start dating before telling the Alliance member that she had told Irvin about Gelimer and Martini’s deaths. She explained that he had simply noted that it had been quite appropriate, adding that he likely needed time to process. She then thanked the Alliance member for everything before saying goodbye.

Next, the Alliance member spoke with Neinheart, who told them that he was glad that they were safe. The Alliance member began pointing out that he didn’t look happy, to which Neinheart cut in and told them that his expression was his happy face. However, he then reminded them that the Seal Stone had been final restraint on the Black Mage’s powers, and that its destruction meant that the Black Mage was completely free, meaning that the final battle for Maple World was drawing near.

The Alliance member began to apologize, to which Neinheart told them not to be sorry, as after thinking about it, he agreed with the Empress' decision. He told them that they could no longer rely on seals and barriers, as they needed to settle things once and for all, for which the Alliance needed them. The Alliance member joked that it sounded like he was planning to keep ordering them around, to which Neinheart merely laughed.

Finally, the Alliance member spoke with Cygnus, who told them that though she was glad that the war was over, she was sad that they would have to say goodbye again. However, she added that she had a feeling that their goodbye wouldn’t last long, for while Gelimer was gone, the Black Mage was still a looming threat to Maple World. She then told them that whatever the reason, she looked forward to meeting them again.

(A/N: Mihile gets an exclusive script with Cygnus that replaces the regular dialogue. Cygnus tells Mihile to have a safe trip, to which he tells Cygnus that he’ll be back soon, once he learns of their enemy’s plan. He then pauses, causing Cygnus to note that he seems sad. Mihile explains that he may be gone for awhile, causing Cygnus to agree that it is indeed sad. However, she replies that they’ll be together again, if Maple World is in danger, as she knows that they can always count on him, just like during the Black Heaven crisis. She then tells Mihile that she looks forward to having their great knight back again before affectionately calling him her great knight.)

The Alliance member then climbed aboard their airship, and with the Piyo siblings sending them off with many tears, they returned back home. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the battle, the defective androids who had once been hunted down by Gelimer created a new home for themselves called Haven amidst the ruins of Black Heaven in the Scrapyard.

As the people of Maple World celebrated the Alliance’s victory, Arkarium reported Gelimer’s defeat to the Black Mage, though he added that Gelimer’s death had been assured when he had approached them with deceit. However, the Black Mage ignored his words and instead told him that the shape of destiny had been twisted, and that a new Adversary had appeared with the power of the Seal Stone.

(A/N: There are two variations to what the Black Mage says. In the original Black Heaven cutscene, he says “The axis of destiny has been twisted. A new Archenemy has been born, with the Seal Stone in their arms.” However, in a different promotional cinematic for Tenebris, he instead says, “The shape of destiny has been twisted. A new Adversary has appeared with the power of the Seal Stone.”

The word ‘Archenemy’ is the direct translation of the Adversary in Korean, but the GMS localization later chose to use the word ‘Adversary’ during Esfera and beyond, which is the term that they’ve decided to stick with. I’m hoping that they change the Black Heaven text to say ‘Adversary’ in order to have it match with the current usage. For the purposes of this guide, I’ve decided to use the quote from the Tenebris promotional video because it sounds a lot cooler and uses the term ‘Adversary’.)

Arkarium offered to handle them personally, but the Black Mage forbade him from intervening, instead tasking Damien and his demon army to carry out their next move. Meanwhile, deep in the Forest of Spirits, Orchid and Francis sought out Guwaru. Orchid then asked Guwaru to give back her original powers as a Spirit of Darkness, as she had used up her Wing Master power that the Black Mage had given her.

(A/N: With the end of Black Heaven, I also wanted to talk about a couple of Easter eggs that you can find. These Easter eggs can be obtained by accessing secret areas throughout Act 5 during a repeat playthrough. If you’re interested in where they are, PirateIzzy made a handy guide for where to find them, which you can take a look at here.

The first three Easter eggs are Gelimer’s research diaries. The first entry talks about him successfully making a miracle drug created from Orange Mushroom extract and Stone Colossus saliva. With clinical trials being a complete success, he believes that all of Maple World will fall into his hands.

In the second entry, he’s frustrated because the drug - which is supposed to cure baldness - doesn’t work on him, even though it worked on everyone else. He briefly considers selling the drug and making a fortune, but he then realizes that if he does, he’ll be the only bald person left, which causes him to curse the world. GMS actually omitted the part in which he considers selling the drug when they were localizing it.

In the final entry, he realizes that the side effect of his miracle drug is that it causes people to lose their emotions. He takes his immunity to the drug as a sign that he’s meant to weaponize it and rule a world of perfect rationality. More importantly, he believes that doing so will ensure that he’ll never be mocked for being bald again. The drug is pretty obviously supposed to be Retoxin, although it makes you wonder why Gelimer needed a gas mask if he was immune to its effects. I like to think that he needed it because of the massive quantities of gas, which would be lethal to anyone.

The next four Easter eggs are notes from a Black Wings boss. The first entry has him note that Black Heaven is quite large, and he wonders what he should do during the hour-long elevator ride just to go to the cafeteria.

The second entry has him realize that he should use the opportunity to get closer to Bonnie, who works in the next lab over. As he had been thinking about how to strike up a conversation with her, he decides that spending an hour together in an elevator should be enough for them to get closer to each other.

The third entry has him fume that Gelimer, whom he calls ‘Baldie’ had been in the same elevator as them, causing them to stand awkwardly in silence for a whole hour. He also notes that Gelimer had been eyeing his luscious fur, speculating that Gelimer has a fur complex because of his baldness, especially if he knows that everyone calls him ‘Baldie’ behind his back.

The final entry has him repeatedly spam the word ‘Baldie’ and express his anger that Gelimer had made Bonnie get off the elevator when it had gotten full, even though it was common courtesy that Gelimer, as someone who had gotten on later, should have been the one to get off in order to make room. He then notices that there’s a camera on the ceiling monitoring what he’s typing.

The last three Easter eggs are recordings from an android. The first entry has the android note that he had been plucking fur from one of the Black Wings rabbits. It notes that he feels bad for doing so, adding that the rabbit was crying and mumbling ‘Bonnie’ over and over again. The GMS localization used female pronouns to refer to the rabbit boss, who’s supposed to be the one who made the notes from the last Easter egg.

Since Korean doesn’t really have gendered pronouns, the rabbit boss technically never had their gender specified in the text, and so it’s entirely possible that the rabbit boss could’ve been a woman simping for Bonnie. However, this is KMS we’re taking about, and I’d be fairly surprised if they would ever explicitly have gay romance outside of queerbaiting.

The second entry has the android note that he doesn’t have any hair, and neither does his father, Gelimer, which makes him wonder whether this is what they call hereditary.

The final entry has the android note that he can’t stop thinking about the female android that he had seen, with a smooth face and soft LED lights. He wonders whether this feeling is love, adding that he regrets discovering emotions. He recalls the boss rabbit who had been crying and saying “Bonnie”, which makes him wonder whether “Bonnie” is the name of the emotion that he’s feeling.)

Heroes of Maple:

(A/N: There were two small prequels that were released during the lead-up to the blockbuster’s release. The blockbuster is divided into four acts, along with Act 1.5, which is a bridge between Acts 1 and 2. The first prequel that was released for Heroes of Maple was Act 0: Freud, The Last Record. It was a short animation that Nexon commissioned from a webtoon artist.

While the animation was never adapted into English, the summary is that after the Black Mage was sealed, Freud divined the future with the last remaining Shamanesses of Azwan and created a prophecy: “As the final battle approaches, the unshackled wolf will devour the World Tree.” Freud believed that the other Heroes would be able to stop the impending threat, and so he decided to leave the future in their hands. He was also certain that his successor would be stronger than him, and so he decided to seek out the Sanctum of Abraxas in order to help them.

Along with this animated short, there was also a second prequel released before the blockbuster in the form of an event called “Dark Decree”. The event starts out with Neinheart calling us to Ereve, where he explains that the Alliance has intercepted some messages from the demons of Tynerum. He tells us that the demons have been dormant for so long that it worries him that they’re starting to resurface.

After helping him decipher the first message, we learn that the demons are planning to attack Elluel in order to keep Mercedes distracted from what they’re really doing. Because of our warning, Mercedes and Danika intercept and defeat the demons near Ellinia, since the demons don’t know exactly where Elluel is. Mercedes notes that the demons were trained warriors and fears that something bad is about to happen.

The next message reveals that the demons are planning to trick Aran, whom they call a ‘simple meathead’ in their letter, by leaving behind an ancient grindstone and setting up a trap. For some reason, GMS also uses male pronouns to refer to Aran in this letter, which is a bit ridiculous at this point when Aran is literally being established as female in this blockbuster. But regardless, thanks to our warning, Aran is able to avoid their trap and defeats them, and she makes it clear that she’s annoyed about being called a meathead.

The third message reveals that the demons have become aware of Phantom and his skills, and so they’ve set a trap for him by making up a story about the rare Death Jewel of Nihal Desert. Even though we warn him, Phantom is already aware that it’s a trap because there’s no jewel in the world that he doesn’t know about. After he defeats the demons, he tells Gaston that he only took the bait because he wanted to know why the demons wanted to lure him. His information network then deduces that, based on their other attacks, the demons are after the Heroes.

The fourth message reveals that the demons are planning to attack Lania, as they’ve learned that she’s close to Luminous. Because of our warning, Luminous is able to put up an illusion around Lania’s home to protect her. However, he realizes that the demons might not be after the Heroes, and that it’s possible that the Heroes are just obstacles between them and their real goal.

The fifth message reveals that the demons are after Evan and Mir, as they’ve sensed the power of the Onyx Dragons in Henesys. Evan rushes home to his farm, only to find that the demons got caught in the wolf traps that Utah had left out. Utah, who doesn’t know that the soldiers are demons, tells Evan that the demons’ faces are so pale that they almost look blue.

Because of this, he mistakenly believes that they’re starving, and so he decides that he’ll give them a stern talking-to about trespassing before giving them some eggs and potatoes. He then begins lecturing the demons and asks them if they even understand how much effort goes into making those eggs and potatoes, to which the demons beg him to stop talking, as this is the 178th time that he’s repeated the same line. They believe that Utah is a master interrogator and start begging for mercy. Meanwhile, Evan realizes that if the demons have reached his home, then something bad must be happening.

The sixth message reveals that the demons have become aware of Shade. Though they don’t know who he is, they do know that he’s someone with significant power that’s on-par with the Heroes, as well as the fact that he trains in Mu Lung. The message orders the demons to meet Shade in Mu Lung and persuade him to join them, and to destroy him if he refuses. Neinheart is surprised because he realizes that the demons have expanded their focus to people outside the Heroes and wonders whether they’re just after powerful people, rather than the Heroes themselves.

In Mu Lung, Shade defeats the demons and wonders whether their appearance is an opportunity for him to be able to finally reunite with his friends. However, he then berates himself for dreaming of a reunion when the world is being threatened and calls himself selfish. Nevertheless, he can’t help but think to himself that he misses his friends very much.

The seventh and final message reveals that the demons have been ordered to go to a specific area in southern Leafre, which the “great one” had said is where everything had begun. The message then orders them to secure that location because the “great one” will be visiting it soon. Neinheart immediately realizes the significance of the location, after which the Demon contacts him and requests that he be allowed to handle the matter personally, as the location marked in the letter is his old family home.

The Demon then returns to his ruined family home and sees that there are signs that someone has already come and gone. He then wonders who else would come there when the house is only significant to him. He decides that he’ll come back to visit again because he has a bad feeling about it all, unaware that Damien is secretly watching him in the distance. The Demon later does return back to his family home during Act 1.5, where he also reunites with Damien.)

Through his connection to Afrien, Mir felt that something was wrong on Turtle Island. Evan and Mir went to investigate, where they found Damien’s demon army in the area. As they snuck past the demons and headed to Afrien’s cave, they fought past Murukuns with Damien’s curse mark on their foreheads. (A/N: Murukuns are monsters native to Rien, which Aran fights during her tutorial.) They continued to push forward and soon encountered a penguin named Pushki being attacked by the Murukuns.

(A/N: Pushki was first seen in the Riena Strait theme dungeon, where we encounter him at Ice Station 1. All these references to Rien hint at Turtle Island being somewhere nearby, which is funny when you consider that the trip to Rien is 30 seconds, while the trip to Turtle Island is 15 minutes.)

After being rescued, Pushki explained that the demons of Tynerum had swept in and quickly conquered Rien. He told them that he had managed to escape, and that he had learned that the demons had come to Turtle Island for Afrien. Evan asked if the demons had taken any other prisoners, to which Pushki replied that they had captured Lilin and several other penguins. After telling Pushki to head for safety, Evan and Mir pressed onward and scaled a large cliff, where they found a cave at the top. Looking down from the precipice, they were shocked to find an entire encampment of demons below.

The two then entered the cave and found several baby spiders crawling across the ground. Upon hearing a noise, they looked up and saw a large mother spider, which began to attack them. As they fought, Evan noticed that the spider bore the same mark of corruption as the Murukuns. Suddenly, the spider smashed down from the ceiling, causing the ice floor to break.

Evan fell several levels below, and in the process, he was inadvertently separated from Mir. Though he wasn’t used to solving problems without Mir, Evan realized that he needed to learn to be more independent and pressed forward until he reached a large wall blocking his path. As he struggled to determine the best way to move forward, Aran and Shade unexpectedly arrived and greeted Evan.

(A/N: Later on, during some dialogue that pops up in small yellow boxes while we fight past the demon soldiers, we learn that Aran and Shade met during Black Heaven and became sparring partners. I’m convinced that Aran and Shade are secretly dating because it just feels too perfect for the guy who no one remembers to not be dating the girl who remembers no one. I’m also convinced that Shade had a thing for Freud, and since he’s clearly not over him, I can imagine how awkward date nights might get:

Shade: “So, what do you like to do?”
Aran: “I love training, and fighting the Black Mage.”
Shade: “Oh… Freud used to love fighting the Black Mage.”
Aran: “Oh… neat. What about you?”
Shade: “I like stargazing. Freud used to love stargazing too.”
Aran: “Wow, that’s… pretty interesting.”
Shade: “…”
Aran: “…”
Aran: drinks water
Shade: “…Freud used to drink water.”
Aran: “Okay, check please.”)

Aran used her polearm to smash through the ice wall, allowing the three to push forward. They soon encountered a demon officer ordering his troops to throw Lilin and the captured penguins off the edge of the cliff. Aran and Shade quickly dispatched the demons and freed the hostages. Just then, Mir found the group and told them that he had overheard some soldiers talking about how they had captured Afrien in order to corrupt him.

With Lilin and the penguins heading for safety, Evan and Mir led Shade and Aran towards Afrien by fighting their way through the demon soldiers. As they got closer to Afrien, the large mother spider reappeared and began attacking them. With their combined teamwork, the Heroes were able to defeat it. Suddenly, its children crawled forward to defend their mother. Though Aran believed that they ought to kill the baby spiders, Shade believed that there was no need. (A/N: Evan has to tie-break and you get the choice to either spare them or kill them, neither of which affects the story or gives any extra dialogue.)

After dealing with the spiders, they continued onward and found Afrien trapped in a net of icicles and corrupted by Damien’s mark. Afrien greeted them, and though Aran pointed out that the mark would soon kill him, he assured them that he would end things on his own terms. He then told Evan that he needed to share a memory that he had originally planned to show when Evan was older, though he added that there was no time to delay any further.

Through Afrien, Evan was able to speak with Freud, who explained that he had placed a small piece of his spirit inside Afrien’s mark of the Spirit Pact. He told Evan that he had foreseen that the Black Mage’s army would soon consume the World Tree, and that he had prepared something to stop them. Evan asked if he was talking about the Seal Stones, to which Freud explained that it was both more important and more dangerous than the Seal Stones, and that only Evan, as his successor, could find it.

Freud then transmitted the location of where they needed to go through their mental link. He also told Evan that he could rely on the support of the other Heroes to aid him in his quest. After their mental link ended, Afrien explained that he had been holding on for so long in order to ensure that the message was sent, as Freud had told him that it was of the utmost importance. Suddenly, his mark of corruption began glowing as Damien appeared. Damien confronted the Heroes and explained that the power of his curse mark was such that he grew stronger as Afrien’s corruption grew deeper.

(A/N: We encounter Damien’s mark of corruption several times in previous storylines, such as Stone Colossus. The mark of corruption allows him to control the beings whom he places it on, as well as to augment his own power with theirs. Given the sheer number of beings with his mark of corruption, you can imagine how powerful Damien has become, similar to how strong Lotus had become with the massive amounts of energy that the Black Wings had harvested over the years for him.)

Shade asked Damien how he could commit such atrocities for power, to which Damien told him that it was humans who had taught them that weakness was a sin when they had driven out the demons from their homes. Damien then offered Afrien new vitality in exchange for striking down the Heroes, which Afrien immediately refused. Suddenly, he began roaring in pain as the corruption continued to grow deeper. Furious, Aran charged at Damien, who blocked Maha with his sword.

As Damien prepared to finish them off, Afrien used the last of his power to sacrifice himself in order to teleport the Heroes close to the cave entrance, though the effort ultimately killed him. Fighting through the demon army, the Heroes managed to escape the cave, which was collapsing as a result of Afrien releasing his full power. After reaching safety, Evan swore that he would avenge Afrien and carry out Freud’s will by stopping the demon army.

Aran and Shade promised to come help him after finding a way to fix Maha, which had been branded by Damien’s mark of corruption after clashing with Damien’s sword. Evan then set off to find Luminous, Mercedes, and Phantom in order to recruit them to his cause. Meanwhile, back at the demon camp, Damien confronted a captured Alicia, who told him that he had crossed a line by corrupting Afrien and warned him that the other Heroes would be coming for him. However, Damien revealed that he had intentionally provoked them in order to gather all his enemies into one place.

In order to track down the other Heroes, Neinheart gave Evan a small airship piloted by a guide named Kiriru. (A/N: You can visit the Heroes in any order that you want, but I’m ordering them based on how they appear on the list.) Evan first traveled to Elluel in order to find Mercedes, where the elders asked him to wait until she returned. Mercedes soon arrived with Leaves of Winter, hoping that it would help the elders lift the Black Mage’s curse on the elves. Upon learning that she had guests, Mercedes found Evan and Mir waiting for her.

Mercedes was surprised to see just how much Evan resembled Freud and took them to the Fairy Fountain in order to talk, where Evan told her about Freud’s message. Though Mercedes sympathized, she told him that it was her responsibility as the Ruler of the Elves to free her people, and so she needed to prioritize that over anything else. After Evan and Mir left, however, she noted that though his speech and mannerisms were completely different, there was still a piece of Freud in him. Ultimately, she decided to help Evan, as she felt that she couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

Next, Kiriru took them to Magatia, where it was rumored that Phantom was planning to steal the Jewel of Magatia.

(A/N: In the Black Heaven post-credit images, we see that Phantom has gone completely bankrupt as a result of making repairs to the Lumiere, which had sustained heavy damage during the battle. Phantom is probably working overtime to steal as much as he can in order to financially recover from his losses.)

That night, Evan and Mir spotted him atop a roof and chased after him, though Phantom managed to give them the slip. As they continued searching the town, they spotted a man who looked just like Phantom flirting with a woman and, knowing that Phantom was a master of disguise, Evan had Mir roast the man with his fire breath. Upon realizing that the man wasn’t Phantom, Evan began apologizing profusely.

As Mir turned away to look somewhere else, Phantom covertly appeared and teleported himself and Evan away. Atop a tall roof, Phantom scolded Evan for making a scene and almost ruining his plan to steal the Jewel of Magatia. However, Evan told Phantom that they had more important matters to discuss and told him about Freud’s message.

Though Phantom appreciated that Evan wanted to carry out Freud’s will, he explained that he saw no reason why he himself should get involved. Nevertheless, Evan continued attempting to persuade Phantom before turning back. After a successful heist, however, Phantom ultimately decided to help Evan, as he was curious to see whether Evan was truly Freud’s successor or merely a pretender.

Finally, Evan traveled to Ellinia, where he and Mir found Luminous. On their walk back to Lania’s house, Evan attempted to persuade Luminous to join his cause, though Luminous plainly refused, claiming that he didn’t agree with Freud’s methods. He called Freud’s plan a fantasy, adding that a vague prophecy that assured victory with the reunion of the Heroes without any semblance of a plan was a fool’s errand. He also pointed out that he didn’t trust an amateur magician such as Evan to be able to lead the Heroes.

When Evan protested, Luminous told him that Onyx Dragons grew with the might and capability of their owners and pointed out the difference in size between Mir and Afrien. Though Evan attempted to argue, Luminous chalked up his arguments to be merely words. He then lifted the fog around them, revealing a horde of knocked out demons, and told him that for all of Freud’s faults, Luminous had still trusted him to know when he was being followed, asking Evan if he had even realized when Luminous’ magical trap had been sprung. Though he acknowledged that Evan was a Dragon Master, he claimed that Evan had no business filling in Freud’s shoes before turning him away.

(A/N: Lania arrives right as he says this and invites us in. We get the choice to either leave or come inside, although the scene still cuts to the same one no matter which choice you make.

While there are some ideas that I really like in Heroes of Maple, the writing for this blockbuster is pretty questionable at best. So many people in this storyline behave out-of-character, a lot of lore gets needlessly retconned from past storylines, and the writers completely fail to deliver on the themes that they present in the story. Some of what I’m talking about can be seen here with Evan.

In past storylines, Evan has consistently been said to be a prodigy on the same, if not greater, level of Freud. In the Silent Crusade storyline, if Evan goes back in time and talks to Afrien, Afrien will say that Evan’s strength is no less than that of Freud. Evan’s original level 200 quest had Afrien recognize that Evan and Mir are already stronger than Freud and Afrien were at their age, and that their bond is even stronger than his own bond with Freud.

With the Heroes of Maple update, Evan and his power levels were retconned and heavily nerfed. His level 200 quest was changed to Evan and Mir just having two sentences where they realize that they’ve become true successors to Freud and Afrien. Him being equal to Freud gets retconned into things like Luminous pointing out Mir’s smaller size corresponding to Evan being magnitudes weaker than Freud.

Having the Heroes compare Evan to Freud and having Evan being insecure about being worthy of inheriting Freud’s will isn’t a problem, but what was the need for the writers to erase Evan’s achievements and strength just to force that narrative in the blockbuster? Evan feeling like he’s not good enough would’ve worked perfectly fine with him being canonically just as strong as Freud - imposter syndrome can happen to anyone, even if you’re one of the most talented people in the world.

There’s no good reason why the writers had to specifically go out of their way to tear Evan down by removing references to his strength and inventing “proof” that he’s not good enough to be Freud’s successor through retcons like the size of Onyx Dragons being proportional to their masters’ strength, which wasn’t mentioned anywhere in Evan’s class story. It’s really unfortunate to see Evan go from someone who was meant to be even stronger than Freud to “the weakest of the Heroes” as the blockbuster put it.)

Later that night, Lania found Luminous looking through Freud’s research. She asked him whether he disliked Evan, to which Luminous told her that it wasn’t that. He begrudgingly admitted that Freud was the only magician whom he could never keep up with and added that Freud’s shoes weren’t easily filled. However, Lania merely laughed and told him that she could tell that he had already made up his mind to help. Luminous huffed that he had little interest in dealing with Phantom, though he admitted that he more so just hated having to leave her behind again.

Evan and Mir soon returned to Ereve, where Neinheart told them that the demon army had surprised them by striking at Rien, rather than southern Leafre, and so he had redistributed the Alliance forces in order to address the threat at the western front in Ossyria. He also thanked them for saving his sister, Lilin, and apologized for what had happened to Afrien, adding that they were trying to avoid full-scale war in order to minimize further casualties.

He asked Evan where he was planning to travel next, but when Evan told him that it was confidential, Neinheart coyly mentioned that one should bring sufficient water if they were traveling somewhere hot. At Evan’s surprise, Neinheart explained that he had merely checked which documents Evan had accessed at Ereve’s library, though he warned that the enemy would be able to discover Evan’s plans just as easily as he had.

Meanwhile, the Demon returned to his burned family home in southern Leafre while tracking down the new Commander of the Black Mage. After defeating the demon soldiers, he cornered the Commander, claiming that he would unmask them at last.

(A/N: The Demon’s storyline has him chase after Damien upon learning that the Black Mage has a new demon Commander, though he has no idea that the Commander is his brother. This event is the culmination of that plot point.)

To his surprise and horror, the Commander removed his hood and revealed himself as Damien. Damien kept his distance from the Demon, feeling ashamed, and explained that his latent powers awakening was the cause for their mother’s death, and so he had sworn loyalty to the Black Mage in order to gain the power to make amends for what he had done.

(A/N: I’ve said this before, but it was actually Arkarium who killed his mother, which caused Damien’s powers to awaken and destroy the building. Arkarium just tricked Damien into believing that it was his fault.)

Damien asked his brother to join him in destroying the humans who had forced them back to Tynerum, as well as to bring their mother back to life. However, the Demon instead attempted to persuade Damien to stop his quest for revenge, claiming that it would only destroy him. Damien then told him that their mother’s death was as much his own fault as the fate of the half-blood demons was the Demon’s.

He told the Demon that all the weak demons who had moved to Leafre had been exiled back to Tynerum after the Black Mage had been sealed away, all because the Demon had been a Commander. There, they had all suffered at the hands of the pure-bloods, as only the strong ruled in Tynerum. However, Damien added that he wasn’t weak anymore, and that he would accomplish what the Demon never could.

The Demon tried to convince Damien that their mother’s death wasn’t his fault and implored him to see that it wasn’t too late. However, Damien told him that it was too late, right before he attacked the Demon and knocked him out. As he walked away, he voiced aloud that he had only wanted to see his brother again and asked the Demon not to hate him.

Damien then led the demon army to victory by conquering the Rien Archipelago, with the Alliance locked in battle to reclaim the fallen land. Meanwhile, Evan and Mir traveled to the Nihal Desert in order to follow Freud’s will. Though Evan waited for the other Heroes, he soon became discouraged when no one came. Mir cheered Evan up by telling him that they could do it alone, which Evan readily agreed to. As they pressed on in the torrid desert, Evan found himself trapped in quicksand and fell deep beneath the sands into a large underground space filled with glowing rocks.

Mir flew down to catch up with him and asked if they had found the ruins of Abraxas. He then began wondering what Abraxas even was. Evan explained that in the beginning, all things were animate - from the stones and the trees, to the rivers and oceans, to the sun and moon. There had once been 365 gods inhabiting 365 creations, each living in accordance to their own 365 laws.

However, the Ancient Gods had soon begun to quarrel over their domains and laws, ushering in a great age of chaos. To restore order, the world had been reborn under the three laws of light, life and time. In the new world, the Ancient Gods had dwindled in power and had ultimately been forgotten, save for Abraxas the Watchful God, who had been tasked with watching the graves of the Ancient Gods after the creation of the Transcendents.

(A/N: In Gnostic practices, Abraxas is considered the supreme deity who rules over the 365 spheres, or heavens. This is likely the inspiration for the 365 Ancient Gods, as well as Abraxas’ significance as the only god permitted to remain awake in the era of the Transcendents.

Evan’s explanation about the era of the Ancient Gods got me thinking about the concept of Erdas and how they relate to all things being animate, and based on that, I came up with a theory to explain those properties. From what we know about Erdas, they’re the basic building blocks of reality, existing as pure, formless power that makes up both living and non-living matter. Based on how we’ve seen Erdas and their relationship to memory in the Arcane River, I’d hypothesize that somewhat similar to atoms, Erda is comprised of energy surrounding a nucleus.

This nucleus would likely contain a trace of memory, which defines the properties of what that Erda is meant to be, such as a rock, a tree, or a person. The nucleus would retain knowledge about itself in its current lifecycle, and as Erdas undergo a constant cycle of creation and destruction, which recycles them into new forms of matter, the nucleus would add more traces of memories of its new forms, creating a sort of chain of memories about all the different forms that it’s had.

In the era of the Ancient Gods, it was said that all things were animate, including non-living matter, such as stones and water. This could be because the Erdas, which retain traces of their old memories, eventually begin oversaturating. As a result, the Erdas would start to behave not only as what they currently are, but also as what they’ve once been. Non-living matter would start taking on the properties of its component Erdas’ old forms that were once animate. This disordered amalgam of sentient matter might even be part of the primordial chaos that the Overseers sought to correct.

After the Transcendents were created, we know from the Temple of Time questline that the Goddess’ Promise was created by Rhinne, and potentially all other Transcendents of Time. The Goddess’ Promise gifted people with oblivion: the power to forget. Broadening this principle, we could describe oblivion as a special field that Erdas pass through during their reincarnation cycle. The Goddess’ Promise would erase the nucleus of the Erdas, leaving them as blank slates at the time that they reincarnate into something new.

In this way, Erdas will only ever be able to hold the memories of their current incarnation. This erases the problem of non-living matter gaining sentience and also makes it so that living things can’t remember their past lives. One of the few exceptions to this rule that we’ve seen is Lania, who was reincarnated from Lucia. However, the Second Light Master of Aurora told Luminous that the mages of Aurora had artificially reincarnated her with light magic, which is later shown to be a rudimentary form of Erda manipulation, which could explain why she didn’t pass through the field of oblivion.

Following the creation of the Transcendents, it was explained that Erdas flow through the World Tree during their reincarnation cycle, meaning that the management of the Erda cycle is now relegated to the Transcendent of Life. After Alicia scatters her life force at the end of this storyline, the Black Mage began stealing the Erdas from their natural lifecycle before using them to create the Arcane River. As a result, the Erdas of the Arcane River are free to create new amalgams spontaneously, such as the fruit-animal hybrids of Chu Chu Island, rather than having their next lifecycles directed by Alicia.

Going by this theory, it can also be said that the Erdas themselves embody the three laws of light, life, and time. They cycle through creation and destruction (light), they make up all living and non-living matter (life), and contain memories of their existence (time). This could also be used to explain why the Overseers chose those three laws over all others to govern the universe through things like the Goddess’ Promise. Additionally, memory and matter being intrinsically linked also gives more symbolic significance to the theme of losing and regaining memories that many characters exhibit.)

Evan and Mir soon continued onward and encountered several spirits of the ruins, which they defeated before pressing ahead. After arriving at the entrance to the Sanctum of Abraxas, they discovered that the door would neither open nor break. Suddenly, a large golem manifested and began attacking them for intruding upon the ruins. Upon finding that their attacks did nothing, Mir believed that it was under some sort of spell.

The golem, whose name was Kapus, then told them that he was immortal, and that he had been tasked ages ago to guard the sanctum by order of the king. A surprised Evan asked him whether he was talking about the lost king of Azwan, which Kapus confirmed, explaining that even if the kingdom had fallen to ruin, the power of the king was eternal, adding that they could not hope to defeat him with their mere magic.

(A/N: GMS made a pretty big localization error by claiming that Kapus had been ordered to guard the sanctum by “Azwan the Lost King”, which made people believe that there was a King Azwan who had ordered Kapus to guard the sanctum ages ago. In reality, however, Kapus is really just talking about King Iason, the last king of Azwan, who had been betrayed by Hilla.)

Just then, Mercedes arrived and began to fight Kapus with Evan and Mir. With their combined power, the Heroes were able to defeat the golem. As Mercedes attempted to finish him off, Evan stopped her and asked Kapus whether they could instead receive permission to enter the sanctum, just as Freud had. Upon learning that Evan was Freud’s successor, Kapus asked a riddle: ‘What is long in the morning, short at noon, and long again at night?’ (A/N: Mercedes says, “Um.. I don’t think I should say it,” proving that even as a queen, her mind lives in the gutter.)

Evan successfully answered that it was a shadow, allowing them to pass with Kapus’ blessing. After entering the sanctum, Mercedes snapped at Evan for interfering with her trying to finish Kapus off and told him that she didn’t take orders from him. However, when Evan humbly acknowledged her, rather than having his pride hurt, Mercedes gained a newfound respect for him. As they continued on, they were caught in one of the sanctum’s traps as hordes of monsters appeared.

Just then, Phantom and Luminous arrived and defeated all the monsters before setting the others free. Phantom had made a wager to see who could defeat the most monsters, and though Luminous had told him that he was uninterested, they quickly got into an argument about who had won. As the two continued bickering, the group made their way deeper into the sanctum, where they found murals engraved on the walls depicting the Transcendents, the fall of the White Mage, the sealing of the Black Mage, and the prophecy of the unshackled wolf devouring the World Tree.

(A/N: The mural with the six Heroes sealing the Black Mage has Shade’s image cracked beyond recognition to the characters, even though it’s really easy to distinguish Shade’s appearance from a player’s perspective.)

Upon realizing that the ruins far predated the events in the mural, Mercedes realized that the sanctum had been enchanted to record events as they happened. They then continued onward, where they found themselves in yet another trap as sand and treasure filled the entire room. Phantom unhelpfully joked that it was his fault, as he had once wished to be buried in treasure when he was a child. Evan then remembered Kapus’ riddle and noticed two statues and a carving on the wall. He told Luminous to cast a shadow on the statue, which lined up with the carving.

Phantom then copied Luminous’ light magic skill to cast a light on the other statue, much to Luminous’ annoyance. With both shadows lined up on the carving, several slabs protruded from the wall, allowing them to climb out before the sand and treasure buried them. (A/N: This proves that Phantom can canonically steal any classes’ skills, even if he can only steal Explorer skills from a game mechanics perspective.)

They soon arrived at another sealed door and read that the treasures of Abraxas weren’t allowed to leave the area. Luminous immediately blamed Phantom and told him to relinquish the treasures, prompting another argument between them. To their surprise, however, Evan and Mir revealed that they were the ones who had pocketed some of the gold. After they put back the treasure, the door opened, leading to a ravine in the Nihal Desert, where the ancient relic of Abraxas, a large airship called the Eye of Abraxas, awaited them.

Suddenly, they heard a rumbling sound and turned to find that the demon army had come after them. As the Heroes struggled to defend themselves, Shade and Aran finally arrived and held off the demons while Evan attempted to activate the relic. Though he struggled to do so, Luminous helped Evan by coaching him to quell his self-doubt, allowing him to activate the Eye of Abraxas. With the doors open, the Heroes quickly boarded the airship and took off.

In the air, the Heroes were surprised to find a projection of Freud, who explained that the real Freud had left him as a sort of message in a bottle for them. He then revealed to the other Heroes that Shade had once been their comrade, and that he had sacrificed his existence in order to enact the Seal of Time. As Freud’s knowledge was only limited to knowing that there had been a sacrifice, with all his specific memories about Shade being erased, he was unable to recall Shade’s true name, and so he asked the pirate what to call him, to which he told Freud to call him ‘Shade’, explaining that the name had been given to him by a dear friend.

The Heroes then spent a long time catching up with Freud before he told them about what they needed to find. He explained that he had learned about an object called the Transcendence Stone, a powerful relic which he had located with the Eye of Abraxas. However, he had been unable to find a way to reach the dimension where it was hidden, and so he had sealed Abraxas’ relic such that only his successor could awaken it.

(A/N: Although the relics of the Ancient Gods have no power while the Transcendents are still around, it makes sense that the Eye of Abraxas would still work, since Abraxas is the only Ancient God permitted to be awake.)

After the trace of Freud vanished, the Heroes mourned him before unanimously electing Evan to be their new leader. Meanwhile, Arkarium met with Damien in the Temple of Time, claiming that the Black Mage wanted a progress report. However, Damien called his bluff and told him that the Black Mage had more important things to do than to follow up with him.

Annoyed at his insolence, Arkarium conjured Damien’s mother, frozen in time, and reminded Damien that he was the only thing keeping her from oblivion. However, Damien merely laughed and replied that he was more in the Black Mage’s favor than Arkarium was, as he was the one in possession the World Tree.

(A/N: I wonder what kind of leverage Arkarium even has over Damien at this point. He kept Damien under control all these centuries because he claimed that the Black Mage would convince the new Transcendent of Time to turn back time on his mother’s corpse, but since Alpha and Beta have clearly sided with the Alliance as of Black Heaven, I don’t know why he expects to be able to keep Damien in his pocket by bringing this up. Damien is also well aware of this fact, as it’s the reason why he chose to betray the Black Mage and become the Transcendent of Life himself.)

At the demon camp on Turtle Island, Alicia continued persuading Damien to give up his quest for vengeance. She told him that much like Hilla betraying her kingdom and Von Leon selling his soul, there would be a price for Damien in exchange for the Black Mage’s power as well. Though she conceded that he grew stronger by absorbing the power of others through his mark of corruption, she also warned that there was a limit to how much his body could handle.

Damien simply laughed and told her that she was in no position to worry about anyone but herself. Alicia asked if the other Commanders knew about his plan, to which Damien told her that he was keeping it from them, especially Arkarium, as they wouldn’t simply stand by and watch. Alicia then pointed out that even though Arkarium had betrayed the Transcendent of Time, he had known his limitations as a mortal and had never tried to absorb her powers.

(A/N: The only reason why Arkarium didn’t try to do it is likely because the Black Mage was literally standing right next to him and ready to take it for himself. He had no problems trying to take Tana’s Transcendent powers in Morass for himself when the Black Mage wasn’t there to stop him. To be fair, though, he had no idea that she was a Transcendent, although I doubt that would have changed anything, even if he had known.)

Alicia told him that it still wasn’t too late to stop, but Damien simply replied that it wasn’t just his fight anymore. He then left to get a report from his officers, who told him that they were still at a standoff with the Alliance. The officer also reported that they had lost many elite soldiers, with half of them having fallen at the hands of the Heroes, and that he was worried about their supply lines being cut off.

Damien reassured him that the war wouldn’t last much longer before turning to address his entire army. He reminded them about his promise when he had led all the half-blood demons out of Tynerum that he would lead them and create a new world to rule. He then told them that he would be personally leading an expedition and ordered them to be ready for battle upon his return.

After the battle at the Sanctum of Abraxas, there was a temporary halt to the fighting as both sides regrouped. The Alliance quickly moved to fortify their defenses and to protect the displaced civilians. Meanwhile, the Heroes came up with a plan to obtain the Transcendence Stone, which Evan had discovered to be on Earth.

Though Freud had been unable to pierce through the dimensional barrier centuries ago, the actions of Elwin and the White Mage of Earth had broken it down, allowing the Heroes to travel across dimensions in the airship. Even though they had the advantage of being the only ones who knew about its location, they also realized that it was vital that they succeed on their first attempt before the demon army learned where the stone was.

Evan suggested that they negotiate with the people of Earth, as Grendel had some connections with several of them. However, Shade pointed out that they had nothing nearly as valuable as the Transcendence Stone to offer in exchange. Without being able to take it by force or negotiate, Phantom told them that their only option was to steal it.

They discovered that the stone was inside the recently built Cosmic Museum in Seoul, whose opening gala was taking place in a week. Over the next several days, Evan formulated a plan that involved Phantom, Mercedes, and Luminous disguising themselves as party attendees in order to locate and extract the Transcendence Stone.

On the night of the gala, Mercedes and Luminous moved into place, while Phantom began conversing with the attendees in order to learn where the Transcendence Stone was. While speaking to them, he learned about the recent sinkhole incident, and how everyone had already learned about the existence of a separate world, despite authorities attempting to keep it secret, as well as the fact that several unique objects were going to be displayed in the museum through the work of Dr. Lim.

Dodging through several women who attempted to get his number, Phantom made his way to Mercedes and rescued her from her own flirt, though Phantom joked that he was mainly acting to save the man before Mercedes shot him with her bowguns in annoyance. Just then, Dr. Lim appeared on stage and began giving a speech for the museum’s inauguration.

He explained how he had first proposed the theory of alternate dimensions, which had been proven correct with the sinkhole incident. He explained that he had also theorized that Earth and the other dimension had originally been one world before being split apart by a higher power, with the sinkhole incident indicating that the two worlds were attempting to merge back together.

(A/N: While FriendStory and Kinesis’ storyline suggested that Maple World and Earth were being merged together, the blockbuster explicitly put forth the implication that the two worlds used to be one before being split apart by the Overseers, just like what had happened to Maple World and Grandis. Because of this, I think that we can treat Earth being the third world as almost all-but-canon.)

With the sponsorship of Director Oh, Dr. Lim explained how he had traveled the world and found many rare artifacts that he believed had come from the other world.

(A/N: Dr. Lim shows several relics from Azwan and the Golden Temple during this part. Something interesting to consider is that many of Maple World and Grandis’ different areas, names, aesthetics, and mythologies are directly drawn from different cultures in the real world. Some examples of this are Sleepywood being based on the jungles of Cambodia, the Golden Temple being based on Indian culture, Cheong-woon having inspiration from Korean folklore, etc.

While the out-of-universe explanation is that these are just creative inspirations, given the fact that Maple World, Grandis, and Earth were originally one, it could explain why Earth’s mythologies and culture have shaped both Maple World and Grandis, as well as why Maple World and Grandis share a common link in the evolution of their races, such as elves and Flora being identical, apart from their wings, and Nymphs and Celestials being similar, with the exception of Celestials having feathered wings in place of their ears. Even the dragons of Grandis evolved into humanoid hybrids, whereas the ones on Maple World remained monsters and instead evolved into different types of dragons, such as Wyverns and Drakes.

When Pathfinder first came out, I thought that having an Explorer who actually does exploring and hunts for ancient artifacts was a really cool idea because it would’ve been an opportunity for Nexon to delve into the ancient history of Maple World, as well as to explore links between the shared history of Maple World and Grandis. When I ended up playing her story, I was fairly disappointed that we learned almost next-to-nothing about Maple World’s history, but I’m still hoping that they’ll one day circle back to it.)

Dr. Lim then explained that his greatest discovery was an object that he had named Infinitasium, which caused radio waves and magnetic fields to distort in its presence, as well as having its mass change each time that it was measured. He concluded that it was an object which defied the laws of physics, and that he had decided to put it on display in the Cosmic Museum for the public. Phantom and Mercedes immediately realized that the object was the Transcendence Stone and decided to make their move.

According to the information that the Magician Association had obtained for them, they learned that they needed two access cards in order to enter the secured area where the Transcendence Stone was being held. Phantom intuitively felt that Director Oh and Dr. Lim each had one, as security was always the same, regardless of which world they were in. Evan and Phantom then had Mercedes flirt with Dr. Lim in order to keep him occupied while Phantom used his disguise kit to impersonate Dr. Lim. He then approached Director Oh and asked for his access card so that he could see the Infinitasium. Next, he disguised himself as Director Oh and approached Mercedes and Dr. Lim in order to swipe it from Lim’s pocket.

After Phantom obtained the cards, Evan gave Luminous the all-clear to begin the next phase of the plan. In the utility tunnel, Luminous dodged through laser beams and reached the power supply in order to kill the lights. He then rendezvoused with Phantom and Mercedes before they all slipped into the high-security room amidst the chaos.

However, a woman who had been flirting with Phantom accidentally ran into them. In order to keep her quiet, Mercedes raised her bowguns at the woman, much to Phantom and Luminous’ shock. Just then, Dr. Lim arrived and found Mercedes holding the woman at gunpoint. He and the woman immediately ran and called for security, shouting that there were burglars in the museum. Realizing that they had little time, the trio continued onward towards the artifacts room.

(A/N: There’s a Crimson Balrog skeleton on display there as well. It’s cool because it shows the actual proportion between our characters and the Crimson Balrog, which is about as large as a T-Rex.)

As they moved closer, Evan told them that there was a problem with the signal because of the way that the Transcendence Stone interfered with radio waves. Cut off from communications with the Eye of Abraxas, the trio fought their way through the security drones and reached the Transcendence Stone. As they marveled at its immense aura, Luminous suddenly reacted to the stone and fell unconscious.

Upon waking up, he immediately told them that they needed to destroy it. He explained that as he had been created from the light cast off by the Black Mage, a piece of the Transcendent of Light’s power was tied to his own. He realized that the stone’s power was reacting to the Transcendent power within him, causing the balance of power within himself to shift. He theorized that with the stone, one could control or even destroy a Transcendent’s power.

(A/N: It’s possible that the Transcendence Stone might’ve been created by the Ancient Gods as a weapon to use against the Transcendents. The Ancient Gods were defeated by the Adversaries at the end of the Ancient War, after which the Overseers created the Transcendents, whose mere existence forced the gods into dormancy, with the exception of Abraxas. There’s a small window of time between the Transcendents being brought into existence and the gods being sealed away, during which the Transcendence Stone could’ve been created.

Most likely, the Transcendence Stone was created by the gods so that their followers could avenge them, as it was said in the Cernium storyline that many of their followers hated the Transcendents for what they had done to the Ancient Gods. In that case, it would make sense why the Transcendence Stone ended up on Earth and why the Overseers separated it out from Maple World and Grandis, as Earth is the only known world where magic doesn’t naturally exist.

Since the Overseers can only interact with the universe through the Transcendence, and since the Transcendence Stone interferes with their powers, it’s possible that the Overseers couldn’t outright destroy the stone, and so the next logical option would be for them to put it in a place where none of the Ancient Gods’ followers would be able to get it and use it against the Transcendents.)

Mercedes wondered why Freud had been searching for such a dangerous object, to which Luminous revealed that he often had arguments with Freud because of the Dragon Master’s many radical beliefs. During one such conversation, Freud had told Luminous that he believed that the concept of the Transcendents was unjust because of the way that they monopolized so much power.

Luminous had likened it to a king ruling a kingdom, but Freud believed that the world should be governed by the courage and wisdom of everyday people, rather than a single entity whose power could be corrupted, claiming that the day would soon come when people would grow capable of ruling themselves.

(A/N: Freud’s belief in self-governance is the central thesis of this game. Throughout the story, we’ve seen that all the struggles of humanity are a direct result of higher beings asserting their power over mortals - first with the Ancient Gods ruling with impunity, then with the Overseers tethering humanity to a fixed destiny that leaves them incapable of rising above their shortcomings, and then with Transcendents like the Black Mage and Darmoor throwing the world out of balance by using mortals as pawns for their own purposes.

Free will and destiny are something that we, as a species, collectively struggle with every day. When we find ourselves in an adverse situation, we’re stuck wondering why we’re being made to experience it, whether it could’ve been avoided if we had made a different choice, whether what we choose would’ve even had any impact at all, and because we naturally crave simplicity, if we conclude that we’re not at fault for what’s happening to us, we can’t help but simplify the complex system of causality into the idea of our agency being taken away by some single entity, whether that’s a person, a higher power, a force of evil - anything that we can target with all the feelings of unfairness and anger overflowing in us.

I think that the root of the entire debate about fate and free will is finding and coming to terms with the degree of how much control we have over our own lives. Sometimes, we might cling to the idea of destiny because we need the hope that there’s a better future waiting for us. Other times, we’ll try our hardest to change ourselves because we refuse to accept that the hardships in our lives are immutable. In both these cases, our conception of free will is always based on which interpretation will allow us to have more agency over our lives.

Because human beings are naturally tenacious and predisposed towards carving out their own path, almost every culture believes in the idea that we’ve been given free will. In particular, many cultures will even incorporate mythology into their belief that free will is a god-given right through stories that involve the gods themselves presenting human beings with the gift of autonomy. In Greek mythology, for example, Prometheus was a Titan responsible for gifting humanity with fire, which gave them the ability to survive on their own without depending on the gods.

This idea of humans being given their own means of salvation is echoed in how the Overseers gifted mortals with the Seal Stones - a symbolic representation of free will itself, as it’s through the will of the people that the power of the Seal Stones activate. The Seal Stones are the greatest demonstration of Freud’s belief that humans have the capacity to govern themselves. In spite of the Overseers making humanity unable to break from their path towards self-destruction, the people of Maple World were nevertheless able to put their own selfish interests aside and work together, allowing their shared willpower to change destiny itself.

The Seal Stones - originally created with the name “spear of god” - having the power to destroy higher beings represents how the free will of individuals is enough to serve as a weapon that can pierce through the idea of a predetermined fate, demonstrating that people are indeed capable of ruling themselves without the need of gods or Transcendents or even kings. I think that by the end of the game, we’ll have gotten rid of all the higher beings in the universe and finally create the perfect world that the White Mage had dreamed of, born from the courage and wisdom of everyday people, just like Freud had believed.

The idea of having free will is honestly one of my favorite themes, both in the game and most stories in general. Knowing that your life is shaped only through your actions, not by some indomitable higher power, gives the reassurance that you already have everything that you need to change your life. Throughout the story, we watch all these characters rise above their hardships and create a better destiny for themselves, which shows that through our own choices, we have the power to be more than just the sum of all the bad things that have happened to us, and that our lives are ours alone to reshape into something meaningful to us.)

Luminous believed that it was too dangerous to take the stone to Maple World, but Mercedes argued that it was precisely why they couldn’t leave the stone as it was. Phantom then wondered whether Freud was right about the world being better off without the Transcendents. Luminous argued that the Transcendents were necessary to maintain balance, to which Phantom asked if the Black Mage was Luminous’ idea of balance. Luminous begrudgingly admitted that the Black Mage was an exception, but Phantom retorted that many people had lost their lives because of that ‘exception’, with the world being in danger once again because of their poor excuse for a seal.

Luminous snapped at Phantom for insulting their efforts and claimed that Phantom hadn’t even helped them at the final battle, as he had gone rogue in order to seek petty revenge. Immediately, he realized that he had crossed a line when Phantom’s face went dark at Luminous’ insinuation that Aria’s death was a petty matter. Phantom retorted that Aria wouldn’t have died in the first place if the mages of Aurora had never started their ludicrous research. Mercedes attempted to keep the peace between the two, but tensions had grown high enough that the two began fighting.

(A/N: This is another instance of the writers having no idea how to write their characters. This argument between Phantom and Luminous was completely pointless and forced, as though the writers had just decided that they wanted the two of them to fight and gave some half-hearted excuse to instigate it. The start of their argument wasn’t a problem, but the way that it devolved into petty squabbling and a fist-fight made absolutely no sense to me.

Phantom and Luminous obviously bicker and make petty insults, but not when the fate of the entire world is at stake. We’ve clearly seen in the past that they know when it’s time to argue and when it’s time to take things seriously. What started out as a well-founded debate about what to do with the Transcendence Stone somehow devolved into stupid, one-dimensional name-calling for absolutely no reason other than the fact that the writers wanted to create pointless drama because they had it in their heads and wanted it to happen, even if doesn’t make any sense.

These people aren’t first-graders fighting on the playground - they’re adults who are more than capable of using their big boy words. How did we go from “Do we have the right to destroy the Transcendents and upend the natural order” to “Nuh uh, you’re useless, you didn’t even participate!” And the thing that’s even stupider is that after Luminous crosses the line by insinuating that Aria’s death was a petty matter, he immediately realizes that he was in the wrong, but then he has the audacity to get mad about Phantom making a perfectly valid point about Aurora being responsible for the Black Mage.

Luminous is supposed to be a rational, level-headed man in his twenties or thirties. Anyone with an ounce of maturity would’ve taken Phantom’s retort, especially after accepting that they were in the wrong about it. What exactly was Luminous’ justification in getting mad here? He crossed a line, Phantom made a completely valid point, Luminous himself knows just how shady Aurora is after learning that they set Lucia up as a pig for slaughter to be killed in his place, and you’re telling me that in spite of all this, he’d somehow get offended enough to start punching Phantom in the face?

If they really wanted a fight that badly, at least have it be because of the Transcendence Stone. Luminous himself mentioned that the Transcendence Stone was shifting the balance of power inside him - why not have his darkness overtake him and force Phantom and Mercedes to fight him in order to help him stabilize himself? It would’ve at least made his inner darkness have actual significance instead of being a first job problem that never gets mentioned again. Inventing contrived reasons to make characters fight and behave out-of-character is a terrible excuse just for the sake of forcing an idea that’s inconsistent with their personalities.)

Meanwhile, Aran and Evan were waiting aboard the Eye of Abraxas and began discussing Shade’s curse, which had prevented him from being able to travel to Earth with them. Just as Evan resolved to find a way to fix Shade’s curse, Mir spotted the demon army traveling on flying birds and heading straight for them. Realizing that they were completely surrounded, Aran and Evan made their stand. However, Evan quickly realized that the demons weren’t targeting them, but the airship itself.

Back in the museum, Mercedes was able to put a stop to Phantom and Luminous’ fighting when Damien himself appeared. He revealed that he had branded Maha with his mark of corruption when they had crossed blades on Turtle Island, allowing him to track them as easily as the other creatures that he controlled. He then seized the Transcendence Stone, claiming that he would use it to steal the power of the Transcendents for himself. Though the three used their strongest skills, they were unable to stop Damien from escaping with the stone. Worrying for Evan and Aran, they fought their way through the demons in the museum and made it outside, only to find the airship crashing down.

Back at Turtle Island, Arkarium and his minions arrived to confront Damien, believing that he was about to betray the Black Mage with the Transcendence Stone. Arkarium then used his powers to freeze Damien in time, explaining that it was a failsafe that he had set up centuries ago. He also revealed that Damien’s mother’s body was an illusion created to blackmail Damien, claiming that he would never have used his power to preserve a mere human. He also explained that he himself had killed her, rather than her death resulting from Damien’s awakening.

As Damien seethed in rage, Arkarium told him that he had only taken Damien in as a tool to break his brother. Though he conceded that Damien had been useful over the past centuries, Arkarium had realized that Damien had outlived his usefulness, and so he had decided to end him, but not before forcing him to reveal where the World Tree was.

To his surprise, however, Damien began laughing and revealed that he had already consumed her. He explained that he hadn’t taken the Transcendence Stone to destroy the Black Mage, but rather, he had used it to become the new Transcendent of Life. With his new powers, Damien effortlessly broke free from Arkarium's binding spell and utterly destroyed him.

(A/N: Although Damien has access to the powers of the Transcendent of Life, at no point in the story is he an actual Transcendent. All he did was absorb Alicia’s powers inside the Transcendence Stone, which only allows him to use them as long as he’s in possession of the stone. If he were to lose the Transcendence Stone, he would also lose access to Alicia’s powers.

I mentioned in the last section that there was a possibility that Gelimer could’ve turned Lotus into an Adversary and had him kill the Black Mage. Damien taking the Transcendence Stone is another example of an alternate timeline in which he could’ve stolen the Black Mage’s powers and destroyed him. In Limina, it was revealed by Grendel that Gloom’s core contained potential futures that would’ve led to the Black Mage failing to create a new world, with most of those futures coming about as a result of the Commanders themselves interfering with his plans, which we can see through these alternate possibilities for Lotus and Damien’s life choices.

Lotus and Damien actually have quite a number of parallels to each other - their respective close sibling relationships with Orchid and the Demon, the way that Lotus is a spirit with the body of a human and Damien is a demon with a fully human body, the way that they amass large quantities of energy via the Black Wings or the mark of corruption, and the way that they respectively lost their free will to Gelimer and the Spirit of Vengeance.

These similarities highlight how, despite the fact that these two came from very different walks of life, both of them had their destinies altered such that they ended up suffering the exact same fate. Just like how there were alternate timelines in which they could’ve killed the Black Mage, there were also timelines in which Orchid and Lotus could’ve lived happily together as spirits if the White Mage had never met them, and how Damien could’ve lived happily with his family if the Black Mage had never started the war that led to his family being torn apart.

The Demon being the Adversary explores this idea by showing how he and Orchid, the last survivors of these two parallel sibling pairs, work together to defeat the Black Mage and face the spirits of their departed brothers in the Labyrinth of Suffering. It also highlights the narrative of the Black Mage manipulating destiny and erasing every possible outcome in which the Demon and Orchid could’ve been happy, making it so that Damien and Lotus have their individuality and feelings erased - first by being artificially placed on the same life path headed towards their own destruction, and then by being ultimately reduced into stepping stones for sufficiently traumatizing their siblings into playing right into the Black Mage’s plan.)

Back on Earth, Evan managed to crash the airship into a river so that it wouldn’t crush anyone on the ground. Though the Heroes were dismayed at their failure, Evan urged them to press on and recover the Transcendence Stone. Shade pointed out that according to the prophecy, Damien had likely already consumed the World Tree and become the Transcendent of Life.

However, Evan believed that Damien had absorbed so much power that he had likely become unstable, making it the perfect time for them to strike. He told them that the Transcendence Stone was a double-edged sword, capable of doing terrible things in Damien’s hands and serving as a weapon against the Black Mage in the right ones.

As they began preparing to cross over to Maple World, Neinheart mobilized the Alliance to protect the civilians from the demon army’s assault. Suddenly, Claudine arrived and told him that Athena Pierce had reported that all the trees across the world were withering away, as though the life force was being drained from them. Upon arriving at Victoria Island, they found a fierce storm raging around the withered World Tree, prompting Neinheart to summon reinforcements from the neighboring regions.

In Henesys, Athena Pierce oversaw the evacuation of the citizens, including Evan’s family. Upon learning that their son was fighting Damien, they grew worried until Athena reassured them that he had become a great hero. Though the people of Henesys wanted to stay and protect their town, Athena told them that though she appreciated the gesture, it was the Alliance’s job to keep them safe.

After having returned to Maple World, the six Heroes fought their way past the corrupted spirits of the World Tree and scaled atop its poisoned branches. (A/N: In the blockbuster, you can only choose Evan and two other Heroes for the fourth act because of the limitations of the blockbuster’s mechanics. However, I believe that it doesn’t make sense for them to leave anyone behind, and so I’m assuming that all six of them (plus Mir) fight together.)

On their way, they ran into the Demon, who told them that he would bear the responsibility to stop Damien, not only as a fellow demon, but also as his brother. He climbed to the top of the World Tree and confronted Damien, who had grown mad with power. In an effort to help Damien see the error of his ways, he told Damien the truth about their father. He explained how the pure-blood demons had once conducted terrible experiments to steal the powers of a Transcendent, resulting in Tynerum becoming a desolate wasteland.

(A/N: Just when I thought that we could conclude that Earth is the third world, they have to go and tell us that Tynerum had its own Transcendent. If Nexon could do me this one solid, please just fix your own lore so that I can stop making author notes about how you should fix your own lore.)

Because their father had spoken against the plan, he had been banished from Tynerum and exiled until his dying day. He implored Damien to see that the demons had met their end in their pursuit of power, but Damien suddenly attacked the Demon and claimed that he had succeeded where the others had failed.

Soon after, the Heroes reached the top of the World Tree and found the Demon severely injured. With no choice but to fight, the Heroes engaged in a fierce battle against Damien and his new Transcendent powers. They managed to push him back and urged him to surrender, claiming that he and his demon army had already lost. Just then, the monstrous Spirit of Vengeance emerged from Damien’s sword and possessed him, augmenting Damien’s powers into something even stronger. However, the Heroes were able to best him and forced the spirit out of Damien.

Evan rushed to grab the sword, but even as the others warned him to stay back, the Spirit of Vengeance consumed Evan. In Evan’s psyche, he heard the Spirit of Vengeance using Mir’s voice to persuade him into accepting the power for himself, claiming that he could go from being the weakest of the Heroes to surpassing even Freud himself. However, the real Mir was able to reach through to Evan, giving him the strength needed to force the Spirit of Vengeance out of his body.

Just then, the Demon got up and explained that the Spirit of Vengeance was the combined spirits of all the demons across millennia who had driven themselves to ruin in pursuit of ultimate power, along with the countless innocents who had lost their lives to that greed. He moved forward to put an end to the Spirit of Vengeance, which told him that its link to Damien meant that destroying it would kill Damien as well. However, Damien told his brother to finish it, having come to his senses, and called his death atonement for everything that he had done. Mournfully, the Demon destroyed the Spirit of Vengeance and took Damien’s body away to bury at their ruined home.

(A/N: I’ve had some pretty interesting discussions with some people on our lore Discord about Evan choosing to accept the power of the Spirit of Darkness. Evan’s entire character arc has been centered around filling the massive shoes of Freud and he’s developed a pretty strong inferiority complex as a result. I would’ve been very interested to see Evan go down a dark path where, instead of feeling inferior, he just feels jaded and resentful towards everyone who dismissed him as a discount Freud.

By choosing to accept the Spirit of Vengeance’s power and going down a dark path, Evan would essentially be deciding that he doesn’t care about inheriting Freud’s legacy or what the other Heroes think of him, as all that matters to him is destroying the Black Mage however he sees fit. Additionally, by going off on a completely different path as Freud, he’d be making it so that the Heroes can’t compare them anymore because he’s now taken an extreme measure to prove that he’s his own person and not just “the guy who kinda looks like Freud”.)

With Damien’s ambitions ended, Alicia’s spirit emerged and congratulated the Heroes for saving the world once again. However, when Evan asked how long it would take for the life force of Maple World to return, Alicia estimated that it would likely take a thousand years. When they asked whether anything could be done to expedite it, she told them that with her physical body destroyed, her powers were tethered to the Transcendence Stone, which they could use to scatter her power across Maple World.

Though Luminous worried that it meant that she would cease to exist, she reassured him that she would only be in a different place. She told the Heroes that Damien had inflicted his misfortune upon Maple World in the most piteous way and asked them to take care of the world so that the same misfortune wouldn’t befall it again. With that, the Heroes shattered the Transcendence Stone, allowing them to scatter Alicia’s life force across Maple World, restoring vitality to the withered lands.

(A/N: GMS did a bad job with its translation and kept the fate of the Transcendence Stone ambiguous, making me and a lot of people believe that it still existed somewhere. Because of that, I kept wondering why they didn’t use the Transcendence Stone in order to destroy the Black Mage during Tenebris, although I later checked the original KMS storyline, which explicitly mentions that it was destroyed.

This blockbuster is basically over and I’m still fairly unimpressed with it. Aside from the all the other issues that I mentioned, the last major problem that I have with it is the way that the writers treated the demon army. Throughout the entire story, we’ve seen the theme of Damien being a product of his circumstances with how his anger and his rage was created from being manipulated by Arkarium and by being forced into a life of slavery in Tynerum, just like the thousands of half-blood demons in his army.

Even the Spirit of Vengeance was the combined fury of all the demons and their victims who lost their lives over centuries of violence. The obvious message of this story, and a very large message of the overall game itself, is the idea of breaking this cycle of generational trauma that keeps echoing and bleeding into the present. This is a great theme that never once gets followed up on in a meaningful way, and a big reason for this is because the blockbuster was just so short - it’s two entire acts shorter than Black Heaven and the condensed runtime makes it impossible to explore everything.

The writers created a great explanation for Damien’s actions, except there’s no resolution to any of it. After Damien dies, Alicia asks the Heroes to take care of the world so that other people like Damien won’t inflict their misfortune upon it. So what exactly does the Alliance do for all these demons who were trying to escape their terrible lives in Tynerum? Send them back into slavery, of course! Because why bother taking accountability for the fact that their ancestors were the ones who kicked the peaceful demons back to Tynerum centuries ago in the first place?

Sometimes, this game does a remarkable job with exploring themes and symbolism. Other times, it treats its characters and settings like they’re a bubble that you can just pop once you’re done with them. It’s the same thing with subplots like Ariant - they’ve gone out of their way several times to highlight just how much the people of Ariant are suffering, but you’ll never see them actually do anything about it for this very reason - the writers will use it as a plot device until they don’t feel like acknowledging that it exists anymore.)

Several days later, Neinheart and the Cygnus Knights traveled to the Sanctum of Abraxas in order to capture the last of the demon forces. To Neinheart’s surprise, Lilin arrived and explained that she had come to see the ruins. Neinheart told her that he was glad that she wasn’t hurt, though Lilin merely dismissed his words. She then asked if he regretted the day that he had left Rien to find the Empress, while she had remained behind to wait for the Heroes.

He told her that though he didn’t regret his decision, he was wrong about one thing. He explained that he had initially believed that the Heroes were merely legends, and that those who waited for them were afraid to take responsibility for their own lives. However, told Lilin that he had come to realize that no matter how much time passed, it would always remain a fact that the world needed heroes. The two then gazed upon a new mural depicting the Heroes saving the World Tree.

Meanwhile, Arkarium slithered back to headquarters, having transferred his life force to a snake form before Damien had destroyed his body. Upon seeing him, Hilla laughed and told him that things were going smoothly without him. Arkarium demanded to know if there was a plan that he was not aware of being put into motion, though Hilla merely asked if Arkarium had really thought that the Black Mage hadn’t been aware of what he had been planning.

She told him to consider his snake form a punishment for his jealousy before reporting to the Black Mage that his plan was continuing smoothly, and with the Transcendent of Time imperfectly split and the Transcendent of Life scattered across the world, they were ready for his next orders. The Black Mage then told them to allow the Alliance to enter the Gate of the Present, where he awaited them on the other side.

Soon after, Arkarium slithered up the stairs to the Black Mage’s throne, fuming at Hilla’s declaration that he was being punished, rather than the Black Mage merely allowing him to rest. Gathering his power, he transformed back to his human form and appeared before the Black Mage, who ordered Arkarium to bring Tana to him. Arkarium protested that Tana couldn’t even control her own powers, but the Black Mage told him not to presume to judge what he couldn’t understand. As he turned to leave, Arkarium seethed that he would not allow that ‘stupid girl’ to go anywhere near the Black Mage, vowing to finish things for good.

(A/N: This scene of Arkarium getting his new orders is shown after you defeat him in the Genesis Weapon liberation questline. The rest of the section below comes from the Black Mage: Origin webcomic that was commissioned by Nexon.)

Some time later, Evan was helping his family harvest potatoes. When his attempts to use magic to harvest the potatoes resulted in them being set aflame, Evan realized that he needed to practice his magic in order to become strong enough to face the Black Mage. Luminous agreed to tutor Evan and began teaching him the complex theory behind magic. However, Evan, being unable to keep up, began wishing that he had been born with natural talent. However, Luminous warned him that overwhelming talent could corrupt a person.

To demonstrate his claim, he took Evan to the ruins of the Aurora Great Temple in the Forest of Peace and told him the origin of the Black Mage and how he had fallen to darkness. Evan asked Luminous what the point of even trying was if such a powerful mage could fall to ruin. Luminous reassured him that if humans could turn from brilliance to shadow, then even a regular child could attain greatness, pointing out how Evan had ascended from a simple farmhand to the Dragon Master. His faith renewed, Evan eagerly agreed to continue studying under Luminous in order to become stronger.

Return of Kritias:

(A/N: Although this is a level 170 questline, the reason why I placed this section here is because the Black Mage orders Arkarium to bring Tana to him at the end of Heroes of Maple, and so I’d assume that this is the point in time that Kritias would return. While making this website, I’ve found that ordering the chronology by level is highly unreliable before the Arcane River storyline.

For example, Twilight Perion is level 180 content, but the lore suggests that it’s set immediately after the Alliance is formed, which is level 75 for most classes. The Tower of Oz storyline was originally set at level 140, and now at level 200, but it’s said that the Tower of Oz takes place at the same time as the events of Root Abyss at level 125. All this goes to show that the only time you should rely on levels as a guide for story placement is for the Arcane River and beyond.)

Neinheart contacted an Alliance member and explained that a kingdom had suddenly appeared near Leafre, where a castle was floating upside down in the kingdom’s sky. He asked them to investigate the area in order to determine what kind of place it was and why it had suddenly appeared. The Alliance member arrived at the southwestern barracks, where they encountered Commander Isaac.

Isaac believed that the Alliance member was a spy and asked them to prove their loyalty by defeating the floating weapons around the area and bringing them back to him. After returning with the weapons, Isaac received a message from General Blundell requesting the Alliance member’s presence. In the northern barracks, Blundell told the Alliance member that he was being extra cautious of the floating weapons because of their sudden appearance, as well as a large golem who had taken over the floating castle.

(A/N: This golem is actually King Hekaton fused with the castle after the interrupted Ascendency ritual, which made him immortal, though at the price of losing his humanity. KMS, MSEA, and JMS used to have him as a massive boss that a hundred players could fight together before the content was removed. Personally, I wish that Hekaton was reintroduced as the final boss of this theme dungeon on a smaller scale, maybe even by making it similar to the Gollux fight.)

Learning that the Alliance member had come from Ereve, Blundell asked if the priestess had sent reinforcements to Kritias. However, he was surprised to learn that the Alliance member had come to investigate on behalf of Ereve what the kingdom was, as Empress Aria had personally visited Kritias several days ago. This, in turn, surprised the Alliance member, as they believed that Cygnus was the priestess of Ereve. They noted to themselves that the idea of the Empress gathering support to fight the Black Mage sounded right, but everything else was all wrong, as though Kritias was from a completely different era.

(A/N: Priestess seems to be another term to refer to the Empress. Orchid also referred to the Empress as the Castellan in the Demon’s tutorial, as did Mercedes and Athena Pierce in Mercedes’ storyline.

Several classes get an alternate script in response to Blundell’s explanation that Aria had visited Kritias several days ago.

Phantom gets some exclusive dialogue, although his dialogue is pretty much just identical to the generic script, with the exception that he’ll use the word “Empress” instead of “priestess”. There are also some exclamation marks wrapped around parentheses in his dialogue that look like this (!!), and I’m assuming that it’s meant to suggest that his heart skipped a beat when he heard Aria’s name.

He and all the other Heroes except for Evan then get some more exclusive dialogue, in which they think to themselves that they’d been having doubts ever since hearing the name “Kritias”, but after hearing the whole story, they’re now sure that this place is the same kingdom that the Black Mage had annihilated hundreds of years ago. They then wonder why the kingdom that had vanished into thin air centuries ago has appeared now all of a sudden. I appreciate the fact that Aran also gets this dialogue because it does a good job of subtly showing that her memories really are starting to come back as she gets stronger.

The Demon also gets an alternate script, in which he recognizes Kritias as the place that the Black Mage had attacked alongside Leafre centuries ago. However, he’s confused by why it’s here now because Kritias was meant to have been completely wiped off the map. General Blundell mentions that Aria had visited Kritias several days ago, which means that there’s no way that Leafre and Kritias’ destruction could refer to the Black Mage’ final orders to destroy all of Ossyria, as this would mean that Phantom joined the Heroes less than a week before they sealed the Black Mage.

We know that the Black Mage had explicitly promised the Demon that he would spare southern Leafre, where the Demon’s family lived, and so we could interpret Leafre and Kritias being attacked as all of Leafre except the southern part being destroyed. This would make it so that it’d be possible for Aria to have visited several days before Kritias’ fall, and there wouldn’t be a bottleneck on how long Phantom would’ve been with the Heroes. The Demon being surprised that Kritias hadn’t been wiped off the map could just be because he saw the Black Mage sealing it away and assumed that its disappearance meant that it had just been destroyed.)

Blundell suggested that they talk to a scholar in town named Beatrice, who was a professor at Ranheim Academy. At the academy, they told Beatrice about how Kritias felt like it had come from another era. Beatrice explained that Kritias had seemed chronologically off ever since the Black Mage had invaded, after which the castle of Trueffet had begun floating upside down in the sky.

While Beatrice investigated the cause, the Alliance member spoke to an academy student named Chen, who was paranoid that the fall of Kritias had happened because he had forgotten to do his homework. In order to finish his work, he asked the Alliance member to help him collect Basic Magician’s Cloth from the Basic Magicians outside, after which he suggested that they talk to Bianca.

Bianca gave them an anti-magic container and asked them to collect anti-magic fragments from the burning weapons. After collecting the pieces, they brought it back to Bianca, who decided to create a weapon with the anti-magic and gave them the container as thanks. She then suggested that they ask Hirrel, the town clerk, about Kritias’ history.

In the town square, they explained the situation to Hirrel, who incorrectly concluded that the Alliance member had come from the future before realizing that the Black Mage had frozen Kritias in time. He gave them a copy of Kritias’ history and asked them to take it to Ereve, as well as to bring back a history of Maple World in order to find out what they had missed.

In Ereve, Neinheart was intrigued that the textbook seemed new, though its contents were centuries out of date. He explained that nearly all references to the war against the Black Mage had been destroyed, including all records of Kritias. He told them that he could only recall one mention of Kritias in Ereve’s library, which had simply stated that the Black Mage had removed Kritias from existence in order to make an example out of it.

(A/N: The records of the war against the Black Mage being destroyed is likely because of Lotus, who had been erasing all historical mentions of the Black Mage in the centuries that his soul had wandered outside his comatose body.)

Neinheart then gave them a copy of the history of Maple World to bring back to Hirrel and asked them to continue investigating what the Black Mage wanted with Kritias. After receiving the book, Hirrel asked the Alliance member to learn more about the floating castle by speaking with the people who had fled from it before the castle had begun levitating. After learning that the royal family and their servants were staying at the inn near the marketplace, the Alliance member decided to head over there and investigate.

Inside the inn, they encountered the royal princess, Miriam, who seemed to be in discomfort. Just then, her maid, Parma, stepped in and told them that they needed to request an audience with the princess in order to speak with her. Parma then put the Alliance member through a rigorous screening process by asking them to bring Intermediate Magician’s Cloth from the Corrupted Intermediate Magicians and Broken Shafts from the Burning Rage monsters, though they quickly realized that Parma was making up the screening process as she went. Though she admitted that they had passed, Parma told them that the princess was tired, and so she couldn’t hold an audience.

As they began to leave, Ian the serving boy suggested that they buy a Fancy Handkerchief for the princess so that Parma would run off, allowing them to speak with Miriam. Sure enough, Parma went to place the handkerchief on the princess’ bed, leaving the Alliance member alone with Miriam. The Alliance member was surprised to find that Miriam spoke in an undignified accent, which was quite unbefitting of a princess.

Miriam then asked them to find her Worn Wooden Comb that she had dropped in the forest, as it was a gift from her father. They obtained the comb from the Burning Vanity monsters and brought it to Miriam, who then decided to tell them the truth. She explained that she was a maid who was pretending to be the princess in order to keep the real princess safe. (A/N: This reminds me a bit of Padmé’s handmaidens from Star Wars.)

The Alliance member realized that though Miriam wasn’t the real princess, the maids wouldn’t have let the real princess out of their sight, meaning that she had to be somewhere nearby. They decided to speak to the other women in the town and interrogated Parma, Nita the armor seller, Beatrice, and Bianca, all of whom denied being the princess. Just as they reached a dead end, Michelin the court chef asked them to bring a famous cookbook called 100 Palace Dishes from Hirrel. Hirrel asked them to obtain Black Spellbooks from the Corrupted Advanced Magicians in exchange for the book, which they brought to Michelin.

Michelin thanked the Alliance member and told them that the princess was right about them being a true hero. They questioned Michelin about the princess’ identity, and though Michelin would not reveal the truth out of regard for the princess’ safety, he pointed them to a man named Bernhardt. Bernhardt told the Alliance member that according to Beatrice, the monsters outside Kritias were people’s darkest feelings given physical form. He asked them to defeat the Permeating Terrors and Permeating Anxieties outside, after which he told them that he was on a top-secret mission to guard the princess.

Now sure that the princess had to be close, the Alliance member went to speak with a masked person named Cantor, who was the only one with whom they hadn’t spoken yet. Cantor gave them a flower vase and instructed them to pour it on Bernhardt in order to uncover the truth. Upon pouring the water onto Bernhardt, Parma and Ian appeared to see what the commotion was about. Ian gave Bernhardt a handkerchief to dry himself with, and the Alliance member immediately realized that it was the same handkerchief that they had given to Parma for the princess.

Ian then revealed herself to be Ione de Kritias, the true princess. She apologized for not having revealed the truth earlier, explaining that she didn’t know who to trust. She told them that when the Black Mage had invaded Kritias, her father had ordered an evacuation of the city when a dazzling light had engulfed the castle, causing it to lift into the air and vanish in the clouds. She explained that she had no idea where her father was and suspected that the Black Mage was holding him prisoner.

Ione wondered why the Black Mage had invaded Kritias and why the castle was floating in the sky. The Alliance member suspected that the Black Mage wanted something unique to Kritias, to which Ione began to suspect that he may have been after Kritias’ magic, as the kingdom was famous for Ranheim Academy. She then asked them to speak with Hirrel and Beatrice about Kritias’ history and magic.

At the town hall, Hirrel told the Alliance member that he couldn’t read the Black Spellbooks that they had given him earlier because of an encryption spell. In order to decipher the text, he asked them to bring the books to Beatrice. Beatrice asked them to bring Magic Orbs that the Corrupted Advanced Magicians carried, which she used to learn that the spellbooks made references to a powerful pentacle. She suddenly had an epiphany and asked them to bring her Tower Fragments from outside of town to confirm her theory.

With the fragments, Beatrice was able to confirm her suspicions that the floating castle of Trueffet was the center of a large pentacle created by the Black Mage, believing that it was the reason why he had invaded Kritias and why he had returned Kritias back into the present. Knowing that Kritias wasn’t ready to face such a threat, Beatrice asked them to return to Ereve and ask for reinforcements.

The Alliance member explained the situation to Neinheart, who was surprised to learn the truth about the Black Mage’s plans for Kritias. Believing that the Black Mage planned to use the pentacle as a weapon against Maple World, Neinheart resolved to mobilize the Alliance in order to prevent it from being completed.

(A/N: There originally used to be this thing called Kritias Invasion that you could do after finishing this storyline. It involved the Alliance defending Kritias from the Black Mage’s Commanders and their forces, with two Commanders being chosen at random between Magnus, Hilla, Arkarium, and Von Leon. From a story perspective, it never really made sense for Magnus to be there when he had already left the Black Mage’s service centuries ago.

The thing about the pentacle ended up having no relevance to the story and is most likely a dropped plot thread. Kritias was released during the RED patch, which was also the same patch that released the original Explorer storyline and Zero. These three storylines laid a lot of the groundwork for the Black Mage’s ultimate plan, as the Explorer story introduced the Goddess of Maple World, depicted the Black Mage’s resurrection, and expanded the lore on the Seal Stones.

Zero’s storyline revealed that the Black Mage had discovered the “secret of the world”, which had led to his fall, and it also revealed that he planned to fuse Maple World and Grandis in order to become a Transcendent of two worlds. The secret of the world was later revealed in Tenebris as the White Mage learning that the Overseers kept the world anchored to a fixed destiny, which I think was probably always intended, since the concept of the Overseers had existed for a couple of years before the RED patch came out.

Given that these two storylines had major plot points that factored into the final story, I’m strongly convinced that Kritias was meant to play a larger role in the overarching lore. The RED Explorer music video, as well as the promotional animation for Morass, both showed the Black Mage using the castle of Trueffet as his stronghold. Based on that, I have a strong suspicion that Kritias and the spell circle were meant to tie into the Genesis Ritual, and that this was later changed to take place in Tenebris some years after Nexon came up with the 5th job advancement and the Arcane River storyline.

While this story was obviously intended to take place much earlier at the time of its release, the new lore about Tana being trapped in Kritias fits pretty well with the Kritias Invasion being removed, since it doesn’t make sense for the Commanders to invade and distract the Alliance from entering the Arcane River. Although the pentacle was likely the precursor for the Genesis Ritual, we can potentially explain it away by saying that it was part of Hekaton’s Ascendancy ritual, which the people of Kritias wouldn’t know anything about, since he kept it secret from everyone except his researchers.)

Pinnacle of Power:

(A/N: As I’d mentioned in a previous section, this is just a consolidation of all the level 200 quests for every class. As always, this isn’t to say that every class reaches level 200 at the same time, but it’s easier to just have them all lumped together in the same section, since there’s no way of knowing where their absolute placement in the chronology is.

The only exceptions to this are Shade’s level 200 quest, which I already covered in his class story section, since it would create a continuity error if it were placed after Heroes of Maple, and Mihile’s level 200 quest, which I covered in his class story, which is set before the main story. There are several references to a new power awakening in each of the classes, which is just the Hero’s Echo skill for Maple World classes and the Exclusive Spell skill for Grandis classes. While not every class has an explicit mention of them awakening with a new power, they still get the skill regardless.)

Explorer:
The Explorer grew to reach the highest level of power and soon heard the Statue of the Goddess calling to them in Orbis. There, the Goddess spoke to them and bestowed her blessing upon them in order to help them protect Maple World.

The Explorer grew to reach the highest level of power and soon heard the Statue of the Goddess calling to them in Orbis. There, the Goddess spoke to them and bestowed her blessing upon them in order to help them protect Maple World. Soon after, the Priests of Leafre recognized the Explorer’s strength and gifted them the Red Draco, a mount which only gave its loyalty to those who were strong enough.

(A/N: The Goddess mentioned in this quest isn’t the Goddess of Maple World. The Goddess of Maple World was created for the Explorer storyline in the RED update, but there were always references to some sort of deity called the Goddess, even before the Big Bang update. It seems that the people of Orbis worship someone named Minerva, who’s depicted as a Nymph in all her statues.

The pre-Big Bang lore suggests that characters like Minerva and Lakelis, both of whom instigate various party quests in the game, are part of the Goddess race, but despite Minerva appearing as a Nymph in her statues, all the members of the Goddess race have identical human NPC sprites, with the only difference being their color palettes. The Goddess race has literally never once come up in the main story, and so they remain a point of confusion in regard to the new lore about the Ancient Gods and the Goddesses of the three worlds,

I have this headcanon that the Orbis Goddess is the Nymph form of the Goddess of Maple World. During our 5th job advancement, we see that the Goddess of Grandis has three different forms, each being one of the three major races of Grandis - the Nova, the Flora, and the Anima. I like to think that the Goddess of Maple World can also present herself in a different form for each of her races, such as humans, fairies, etc. If I had free reign on deciding the lore for myself, I would retcon the Great Spirit whom Mercedes speaks with during her job advancements into the elf form of the Goddess of Maple World.)

Pathfinder:
(A/N: This is an additional quest that Pathfinder gets on top of the regular Explorer stuff.)

After attaining full power, the Pathfinder thought to herself that a long time had passed since she had become completely free of the curse, meaning that she could now freely control the power of the relic. Believing that it had the power to protect everyone, the Pathfinder hoped to one day become the true owner of the relic’s full power.

Cygnus Knight:
Cygnus reached out to the Knight and told them that despite Shinsoo having left Ereve, the divine bird had told her about the Knight’s exploits and strength. She invited the Knight to Ereve, where she reminisced about how clueless the Knight had been during their first day of training in Ereve, and how they had now become on par with the Chief Knights. She then told the Knight that she and Shinsoo were both in agreement to have them become the sixth Chief Knight.

Mihile:
(A/N: As I’ve mentioned, this has already been covered in a previous section, since it chronologically takes place before the main story.)

Resistance:
Headmaster Ferdi contacted the Resistance member and thanked them for their dedication and hard work since the start of their Special Training. He then asked them to come back to Edelstein for one last session. There, Ferdi reminisced with them about how they had been a clueless rookie at the start of their training. However, Ferdi told them that since then, they had proven themselves time and time again. Though they had nothing left to learn from Special Training, he reminded them that they still had much to learn, not from a teacher, but from the world. As thanks, he taught them a powerful skill to aid them until the day that Edelstein would be freed.

Xenon:
Claudine reached out to Xenon and asked him to return to Edelstein. There, the Resistance instructors gave him a formal welcome party to make up for their awkward first meeting.

Demon:
The Demon soon returned to full power and vowed to destroy the Black Mage, believing that it was his responsibility to ensure that no one would ever experience the pain that he had. As he felt his desire to protect and atone for his sins, new power flooded into him.

Aran:
Maha reached out to Aran through their mental link and asked her to return to Rien. There, he told her that though she still didn’t have all her memories, she was worthy of receiving his blessing, which signified the full return of her powers.

Soon after, Maha told her that he could sense an incredible force trailing her and asked if there was someone extremely powerful with her. Aran returned to Rien and Maha immediately recognized that the energy was coming from Ryko, who had grown strong as a Silver Wolf alongside its master.

He told her that the wolf was ready for its awakening, but when Aran told him that she didn’t remember how to do it, Maha used his powers to awaken the wolf for her. He then told her that Ryko was the strongest wolf in history, even stronger than the one that she had ridden centuries ago. He explained that the wolf that she had ridden in the past was also called Ryko, and that he had thought that she had given him the same name deliberately.

Evan:
Mir soon felt Evan’s soul growing stronger and resonating with his own. Through the power of the Spirit Pact, they gained a new power that signified that they had become the true successors of Freud and Afrien.

(A/N: Before the Heroes of Maple update, Evan and Mir would meet Afrien, who would explain that Onyx Dragons were only at half their strength when the bond between master and dragon wasn’t in harmony, although their power would skyrocket when they do grow in sync. He tells them that they’re a lot stronger than he and Freud were at their age, which shows just how tightly they’ve bonded. He then gives them the Hero’s Echo skill, explaining that their strong spirits quality them to use it, just as Freud once had.)

Mercedes:
Mercedes was summoned by the Great Spirit, who bestowed her blessing to signify that Mercedes had returned to full power. Her return to strength also meant that Sylvidia grew much stronger.

(A/N: They make no references to any of the elves awakening after she returns to full power, which is a bit dumb when it was literally said that the elves would awaken after she regains her full strength. If they ever end up revamping her storyline, I wish that we’d see a few more elves awaken. This plot point gets resolved in her Aftermath cutscene, which shows all the elves thawed out after the Black Mage’s death.)

Phantom:
In celebration of Phantom’s return to full power, Gaston ordered a new car for Phantom called Royce, which was an upgraded version of his old car, Rolls.

Soon after, Cygnus asked Phantom to visit her in Ereve and told him that while organizing the things left behind by Empress Aria, she had found Aria’s diary, and that she had felt that Phantom ought to have it. Though most of the diary had been damaged, Phantom learned that Aria had also resented the selfish royals of Maple World and had been glad to hear whenever Phantom targeted them. He was surprised to learn that she had wished to meet him, but as Ereve had no real treasures to offer, she had made up the rumor about Skaia in order to draw him out.

Luminous:
Lania called Luminous back home, where she jokingly asked him why he only came when she invited him. Before he could respond, she laughed and told him that she already knew that it was because he was on an important mission. She then explained that she had been remembering some old memories of when she had been Lucia, and how they would stroll together through Harmony.

Shade:
(A/N: As I’ve mentioned, this has already been covered in a previous section, since it chronologically takes place before Heroes of Maple.)

Kaiser:
The spirit of the former Kaiser reached out to Kyle and asked him to come to the Great Temple. There, he congratulated Kyle on achieving the rank of Grand Kaiser even faster than he had. He then bestowed his blessing upon Kyle, granting him the final piece of Kaiser’s power.

Angelic Buster:
Eskalade congratulated Tear on reaching full power and Tear thanked Eskalade for helping her, even in spite of his lechery. Eskalade then offered to form a final contract with her, which would create the ultimate dragon bond between them. He also confessed that her transformation had nothing to do with accessing his powers, but that he simply did it because he thought Tear looked attractive in her outfit. Tear laughed and told him that though she had already figured it out long ago, she had learned to accept it, and that she even liked how cute she looked in her outfit. With that, they formed their final contract, allowing Tear to wield even greater power as Angelic Buster.

Cadena:
Through her vigorous training, Cadena felt her power getting stronger. However, she still felt as though there were powers still inside her that were yet to be unlocked. By concentrating on her past experiences, new power flooded into her body as she felt herself grow stronger through those experiences.

Kain:
Gen contacted Kain and told him that they had found a lead on someone who could take care of the choker on Illin. However, he explained that Illin had rushed off to meet with them before the Shadowdealers could vet the source. Believing it to be a trap, Kain rushed to the old Drakas headquarters, where the meeting was supposed to take place. There, he found Illin dead on the roof. To Kain’s shock, he saw Luska approaching him silently. Aghast, he asked her how she could still be alive after she had died in his arms, but Luska ignored his question and merely identified him as her target.

Kain realized that her memories had been stolen once again, but Luska corrected him and explained that she herself had requested for them to be erased, as it was the only way to escape death. She told him that her past self had been too weak to survive, and so she had killed her in order to grow stronger. (A/N: “I’m sorry, but the old Luska can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ‘cuz she’s dead.”)

Kain reminded her that they were family, and that she had made the ultimate sacrifice to protect him. However, Luska interrupted him and explained that she already knew that she had died for Kain and asked if he would die for her. When Kain told her that he obviously would, she asked him to prove it and raised her sword to attack him.

Suddenly, Dr. Y arrived to stop her and told her that that would do, congratulating her for passing her condition check. Luska ordered him to move, but Dr. Y told her that he couldn’t allow her to kill Kain, as her post-mortem Malice condition was an entirely new field of study, and that Kain was as essential as she was to study it.

After Luska walked away, Kain demanded to know who Dr. Y really was and what he had done to his sister. Dr. Y responded that for her own personal reasons, Luska had requested the change in order to become stronger. He then told him that between Luska, who had abandoned her past, and Kain, who chased it, he wondered which sibling would come out stronger.

Illium:
Ex told Illium that something was happening to the Elder Crystal and suggested that they move back to Sanctuary. There, a sudden flash of light emanated from the crystal and imbibed new power into Illium, marking him as the true owner of the Elder Crystal.

Ark:
As Ark returned to full power, he felt the Specter’s power flowing through his arm. The pain knocked him unconscious and transported him to the Abyss. There, the Specter asked Ark whether he had enjoyed using its power, claiming that he was much stronger because of it. It explained that the intoxication of bloodlust on the battlefield was what sustained it. Ark asked the Specter why it had summoned him, to which the Specter told him that as they were now one, it grew stronger when Ark’s power grew.

Because of this, the Specter finally believed that it was ready to confront him so that it could seize control of his body in order to prevent Ark from endangering both their lives, as Ark constantly forced them into dangerous situations that could kill them both. Ark then faced off against the Specter and managed to best it.

The Specter was surprised by Ark’s strong will and decided to back off, though it promised to return the next time that Ark’s will wavered. As Ark returned from the Abyss, he felt a new power and a vague memory returning to him, though he couldn’t fully recall the details. (A/N: This is likely a memory that he gained of the Abyss.)

Adele:
As Adele continued regaining her powers, she grew more confused and wondered why she had been called to take up her blade after having spent so long in the Void. She decided to return to the knight statue in Ristonia for answers, but the statue remained silent. Suddenly, she saw a paper airplane sailing down to her and opened it to find a letter that asked her to meet atop the tallest spire at the bell’s sixth toll.

There, she encountered Veronica and several High Flora soldiers. Veronica reminded Adele that at the masquerade ball, she had promised that they would meet again. Now that Adele recognized her and had returned to full strength, Veronica invited her to face off again. Suddenly, Adele found herself being dragged back into the Void, where she felt the magic that had carved her soul into a hundred and seven pieces. There, she found the 108th sliver of her soul, which told Adele that it was her fate to stay in the Void for eternity as punishment for having failed their lord.

Adele then raised her blades and fought the phantom, but no matter how many times she defeated it, the other Adele told her that her imprisonment was the only way to atone. Adele told the phantom that she couldn’t stay, as she had made an important promise. However, the Void began wiping away her memories and she soon discovered that she couldn’t recall what that promise was.

As she collapsed on the ground, the pendant that Jerome had given her clattered on the floor. Seeing the pendant, Adele was able to recall memories of Jerome and the oath that they had sworn together. Suddenly, the fountain’s voice rang through the darkness and triggered another of Adele’s hidden memories, allowing her to recall that it was Veronica, not herself, who had betrayed the God-King. She then used all her strength to pull herself out of the Void. Veronica was shocked and angered that Adele had freed herself and used her magic to deflect Adele’s blades. Laughing that Adele was still no match for her, she declared that her business was over.

Just then, Jerome arrived, and Veronica told him to look after Adele before vanishing. Adele and Jerome then went to the fountain, where she told him the full truth behind the death of the God-King. Adele warned Jerome that Darmoor was committed to unearthing the ancient power that Jerome’s key unlocked and asked him to be careful. They then parted ways, leaving Adele to wonder whether she had unearthed all the memories because of the mysterious statue. She then sensed that its light had awakened a new power within her, granting her greater strength.

(A/N: The way that the game frames Adele’s realization about the events of how the former God-King died was honestly really stupid. Throughout all her flashbacks, we see that the God-King was a terrible person and even Adele herself recalls feeling a great deal of confusion about whether her oath is more important than the lives of countless innocents, to the point that she was imprisoned for refusing to follow him.

But the first and only thing that Adele cares about throughout her whole story is whether she had betrayed the God-King or not, and when she breathed a sigh of relief that she protected him until the very end, I had to stop and do the blinking guy GIF at my screen. For the entirety of this quest, I was waiting for her to put two and two together, but the way that the game framed it, they make it seem like it’s a point of celebration that Adele chose to go down fighting to protect a genocidal maniac.

To be honest, I don’t think that Adele had even a tiny bit of character development throughout her entire story. All that her storyline did was establish her as an extremist who might’ve had some moral qualms about having to commit ethnic cleaning herself, but when it came down to it, she was perfectly willing to defend space elf Hitler, knowing fully well what he was about to do.

Despite her cute interactions with Jerome where she starts believing in him and his mission to help people, the majority of her quests after level 30 are the same repetitive thing where a Grandis class makes a cameo and tells her that she has to pick a side, with literally nothing coming out of it. Her class story culminates in her rejoicing that she defended a fascist tyrant with her last breath, and at no point does she ever stop and reflect on what that must have said about her as a person.

You’d think that there would be a scene at the end of this where she resolves to atone for what she did, or even her realizing that an oath to a leader isn’t as important as her duty to protect the people, but nope, she just goes on without having learned a single thing. It really makes me question what the writers were hoping to do with her character. I’m sure that they might’ve intended to make her relationship with the God-King be more like, “I can fix him if I can just talk to him,” except they forgot that they already had her talk to him and he threw her in prison.

The whole coup that Darmoor led against his father seemed like it happened when they were on the cusp of war and there was no chance left to change the God-King’s mind. The writers might not have intended for it, but the fact still remains that they made it so that when push came to shove, when the only choices were to stop the God-King or allow him to destroy Grandis, Adele chose to defend a fascist over countless millions, with her not even feeling an ounce of regret about it, which is a bit disturbing when she’s supposed to be a protagonist.)

Hoyoung:
Hoyoung traveled to the Temple of Time, where the final fiend awaited him. After Taotie consumed it, his full power and original form returned. As Hoyoung cautiously asked what came next, the ground began rumbling and Taotie told Hoyoung that they weren’t alone. Hoyoung asked if it was another fiend, which Taotie confirmed, though he admitted that it wasn’t one that he had consumed, and that it felt strangely familiar.

Unexpectedly, Kaling appeared before them and told them that she was a collector of monsters, and that she had her sights set on a particular monster in the possession of someone else. Hoyoung realized that she was referring to him and told her that Taotie had already swallowed the monster that she wanted.

Kaling grew irritated and told him that it was Taotie himself who she was after, claiming that he deserved someone who wouldn’t hesitate to unleash his destructive powers. However, Hoyoung refused to hand Taotie over, claiming that despite Taotie’s destructive powers, he was Hoyoung’s friend, which surprised Taotie.

Frustrated, Kaling used a mysterious power to create a demonic hand that engulfed Hoyoung and began draining his life force. Taotie asked Hoyoung why he didn’t just let her take him, to which Hoyoung replied that he couldn’t afford to let Kaling seize control over his destructive power. He asked Taotie to help him, but Taotie explained that he was still bound inside Hoyoung, and so he couldn’t use his powers against her.

However, he recognized that Kaling was using another one of the Four Perils against them and told Hoyoung that he could cancel out its power, though he couldn’t guarantee that Hoyoung would survive the process. Nevertheless, Hoyoung told him to do it, and so Taotie used his powers to free them from Kaling’s grasp. However, Kaling recognized that Hoyoung was barely able to stand after Taotie had used his powers, and so she decided to press her advantage and moved to attack.

To everyone’s surprise, however, Hoyoung’s Master appeared as an astral projection and blocked Kaling’s attack. Kaling was shocked and angered that a true sage had appeared. She declared that she could easily defeat his astral projection, to which Hoyoung’s Master used his powers to teleport Hoyoung to the Hermitage. After Hoyoung awoke, he asked his Master what he was doing there. His Master explained that before leaving on his journey, he had implanted a copy of his soul inside Hoyoung in case his apprentice ran into real trouble.

Hoyoung asked his Master where he was, to which his Master explained that it was confidential information. He apologized for leaving Hoyoung to fend for himself, but explained that there was a great darkness that loomed over the outside world. He then asked Hoyoung whether he would choose to leave the Hermitage to face that darkness, or to remain safe inside.

After considering it, Hoyoung told him that he couldn’t stand by when people were in danger anymore. His Master was pleased by Hoyoung’s answer, though he added that their time was growing short before his apparition would disappear. Before he left, he gave Hoyoung a special spellbook and told him to give Taotie his best regards.

After he left, Taotie revealed that Hoyoung’s master was actually Tai Yu, the legendary sage who had sealed away the Four Perils. Hoyoung was awed to know that his master was the same sage whom he looked up to. Though Taotie was irritated to know that Hoyoung was the apprentice of the man who had sealed him away, he begrudgingly agreed to continue traveling with Hoyoung, as a small part of him had secretly grown fond of the boy as well.

Hoyoung then opened the spellbook and read that his master had written, “I look forward to the day I get to hear all the tales of your journey,” and that his Master had also included a strange spell that augmented Hoyoung’s power.

Lara:
Through Lara’s adventures, she was able to strengthen her connection to the spirits. Suddenly, she sensed a strange energy emanating from the bell, sending her into the memories of someone in pain. She witnessed a tormented shade lamenting that it couldn’t feel anything anymore. The shade berated itself by asking if it had really thought that someone who could make the bell ring would appear, answering its own question by saying that it hadn’t.

The shade told itself that though they may have won the war, they had all been unable to preserve themselves in the process. It then noted that if having humanity meant having empathy for others, then it wasn’t even human anymore. Just then, another shade appeared to console the tormented shade and told it not to think like that, promising that they could still do it.

However, the tormented shade pointed out that the consoling shade’s eyes had changed, with several rings appearing around the shade’s iris. The tormented shade realized that the corruption had reached the consoling shade as well. As the consoling shade began to cry in hopelessness, the tormented shade noted that it was right after all, and that their plan had failed.

It lamented that the bell would never ring, and that they would be devoured by the despair that they had created. However, it spoke aloud that if someone who could make the bell ring really did appear, then it requested that they help make them all see why they should continue to believe. Suddenly, Tai Yu broke through the dark memory and noted that it seemed that someone had broken their promise. Lara immediately sensed a holy power inside Tai Yu and wondered who he could be.

Tai Yu told Lara to step aside, claiming that she could not withstand the power of the bell. However, Lara replied that she had a message to give him and explained that she had made the bell ring. She then addressed the shades and told them that though she didn’t know what it was that had hurt them so badly, she vowed that she would save them from it.

Tai Yu then took Lara back to safety and admonished her for her recklessness, explaining that she had been trapped inside a memory filled with hatred, and that the power of the bell could have gone sideways and consumed her. Lara apologized and asked who he was, to which Tai Yu replied that he was just a simple wanderer, and that he had come from the realm of the sages.

He then asked her why she had done something so reckless, to which Lara explained that the bell had spoken to her, and that it had felt incredibly sad. She added that in the depths of all that despair, she had sensed definite sadness, and that she hadn’t wanted to turn her back on the shades. Upon hearing her explanation, Tai Yu realized that her innocence was likely why the bell had responded to her in the first place.

Realizing that Tai Yu knew about the bell, she asked him to tell her who had created it. Tai Yu explained that according to legend, the bell had been created by the Sinners. Lara recalled that the sanctuary writings had mentioned the Sinners when she had discovered the bell: “One bright day, this bell will ring… to wash away the Sinners’ wrongs.”

Tai Yu then explained that the Sinners had committed an irredeemable sin, for which they had been imprisoned in the realm of the sages. Lara asked what sin they had committed, and who had imprisoned them. Tai Yu replied that the Sinners had committed the crime of forsaking their humanity, and that they had chosen to imprison themselves in the realm of the sages as atonement. He added that the bell was their only chance to cleanse their sins, though many had given up hope that it would ever ring.

Lara told Tai Yu that if there were people out there who saw her as a ray of hope, then she wanted to become that hope for them and respond to their faith. Upon seeing that the bell had turned warm in response to Lara’s words, Tai Yu was amused that she was just as incorrigible as his apprentice. When Lara asked who his apprentice was, Tai Yu told her that he was a wanderer as well, and that she would likely cross paths with him one day.

He then decided to take his leave and allowed her to keep custody of the bell. Lara asked if she would meet him again, to which Tai Yu told her that they would, once she gained more skill with the bell. After leaving, Tai Yu noted to himself that his interference was sure to cause an uproar in the realm of the sages, though he admitted that there was plenty of blame to go around and shook his head at the ‘old codgers’ there.

Zero:
(A/N: Zero doesn’t have a level 200 quest.)

Kinesis:
Three Moon reached out to Kinesis in order to congratulate him for achieving full mastery over his powers. To commemorate the occasion, he gave Kinesis a blessing imbued with the power of the guardians of Maple World, hoping that it would aid Kinesis in his journey.

The Arcane River:

(A/N: From here on out, the story presentation of the game shifts from a series of parallel stories into a singular journey made by the Adversary. I have some very strong thoughts about the Adversary storyline, so apologies in advance for what’s inevitably gonna be a long, drawn-out rant. If you just want the stuff that’s actually relevant to the story, feel free to skip to the last paragraph of this author note.

I think that the Adversary storyline is the stupidest thing that Nexon has ever come up with in its long history of stupid decisions. When I say the Adversary storyline, I don’t mean the concept of the Adversary as it exists in the lore. My issue is the way in which the writers have chosen to present the Adversary as the singular protagonist of the entire overarching story.

The Adversary and their journey through the Arcane River is the culmination of nearly two decades worth of story buildup. We’ve followed the journeys of dozens of characters, each of them having their own personal struggles, characterizations, and motivations, and this fight with the Black Mage was supposed to be the final crucible through which all these characters are meant to be pushed to their limits. The entire point of the Alliance’s siege on the Black Mage was that they’ve mobilized every single asset and every single hero that they’ve ever gathered in order to have them work together to save the world.

The Adversary storyline summarily killed any chance of giving a proper conclusion to these characters by creating a generic template of a protagonist, effectively sweeping the personal journeys of every single class under the rug, as though none of it mattered. Not only that, but every class is now subjected to the same canned dialogue that doesn’t even fit the personality of the vast majority of classes. We get characters like Kain talking like they’re twelve years old, saying things like, “Hi, Mr. Fishy!” and completely killing any sense of immersion that might’ve existed.

My biggest question to Nexon is this: what exactly is the point of classes even existing as characters if you’re just gonna act like every class except the one that we’re playing as just as well might not even exist? If I decide to make an Evan, for example, I sure as hell expect to keep playing as an Evan throughout the game, not have him be spiritually killed off and overwritten by someone who functionally has no backstory, no personality, and no proactiveness to do anything beyond what he’s been told.

To an extent, this is a problem even in class stories, but at least in those class stories, it feels like we’re playing as an actual person. Here, our character is so vacant and unresponsive that it feels like we exist solely to be talked at by other characters and react to their instructions by killing things, with no semblance of having any thoughts or opinions of our own.

If my hypothetical Evan goes to Sellas, he’ll just sit there and vacantly listen to Ollie talk about how she had to overcome people’s low opinions of her through hard work and perseverance, because at no point did the writers think it appropriate to have him actually bond with her in a meaningful way through his own experiences with the Heroes thinking him to be unworthy of succeeding Freud. A good 70% of the Adversary storyline is exactly like this, with the other 30% admittedly being a decent character arc for the generic protagonist that we’re now playing as for the rest of our lives.

On top of that, unlike what we occasionally get in class storylines, the Adversary goes through their journey without interacting with a single class in the game. In fact, other classes don’t even exist as far as the Adversary narrative is concerned. My hypothetical Evan defeated the Black Mage all on his own and every other class in the game just sat there twiddling their thumbs on the sidelines, or at least that’s what I’m assuming, since we don’t even get told whether all these other people got to make any meaningful contributions in the most important fight of their lives.

If only one character can be the Adversary, then at that point, why not just pick and choose two other classes to accompany us as NPCs? Evan could’ve gone through the Arcane River journey alongside Kaiser and Illium, since all three of them are supposed to be chosen one type leaders inheriting a great legacy. Luminous and Ark could’ve been grouped together because they both have corruptive forces that they’re fighting to keep under control. All these different class pairings would’ve let our characters actually feel like organic people, not to mention that their dynamics and backgrounds can play off of one another for character development and worldbuilding.

You don’t even need to have those groupings be consistent, either. If Evan gets Kaiser and Illium, then Illium could get the Explorer in his own team for when he’s the player. The writers already made it so that there’s no true canonical Adversary anyways, that means there’s no need to maintain canonical groupings, either. That way, they wouldn’t need to be locked into only grouping certain characters with one another, allowing for a variety of permutations for a particular character, as well as ensuring that new classes can still get paired with older classes.

It’d be more work to do something like that, but if this is a culmination of close to twenty years’ worth of so many other people’s time and effort in laying the groundwork of this conclusion, I think it’s only fair and respectful to them that the current writers honor the work put into it by taking ownership of the story and giving at least some sort of proper conclusion instead of taking the easiest possible way out.

Writing scripts for different group pairings might be a bit of an ask, but making unique scripts for individual classes definitely isn’t. And if they still can’t do that, the barest minimum is at least writing out three or four different generic scripts for the classes with overlapping personalities so that edgy classes will at least stop acting out-of-character with peppy and positive dialogue.

Instead, they opted to make a generic protagonist and their terrible solution to sprinkling in traces of individuality is by adding exclusive dialogue. When classes get exclusive dialogue in the Adversary storyline, it’s like they suddenly switch back into themselves for a couple of sentences, and then abruptly switch back to the Adversary script like they’re two completely different people, because for all intents and purposes, they practically are different people.

My other main problem with exclusive dialogue is how inaccessible they’ve made it, despite the fact that it often holds very important bits of lore. For example, they revealed that Havoc, Darmoor’s Apostle of Lightning, is a pure-blood demon in a single line that only the Demon gets in Burning Cernium. For people who enjoy the story, speculation is pretty damn important when this game releases updates so sparsely. Being a fan of MapleStory’s story is literally like having a TV show that releases an hour-long episode twice in a whole year.

It’s not like they won’t eventually reveal this information once it becomes relevant, but given how slowly Nexon puts out its story content, we’d be lucky if half the story threads introduced get resolved, or even acknowledged, ten years from now. It’s really because of that, more than anything else, that it seems ridiculous to me that they gatekeep lore by expecting us to get several dozen classes to level 260+ for a small breadcrumb.

It makes me even more frustrated that they act like they can just pass up that job of sharing lore to the community when so many high-level players just hold spacebar, which only makes it a dozen times more difficult for people interested in the story to even access the regular story, let alone all the exclusive dialogue.

That’s primarily the reason why I created this site to begin with, and why I’m so committed to maintaining it with as much detail as possible, as I want the complete story, or at least as much as I can get my hands on - exclusive dialogue and all - to be available to everyone so that they don’t have to scour the depths of the Internet for it like I did.

I’ll still give some credit to Nexon here, though. Their implementation of story replay is going to make it a lot easier to go back and access exclusive dialogue, especially since you can access the highest level content that you’ve unlocked with any class, not just the one that you played it on. I only wish that they’d let us replay class stories and theme dungeons too, since there’s exclusive dialogue outside of just the Adversary storyline.

And now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, back to the main point. I’m starting this section out with the amnesiac Temple Keeper storyline. While it can be done much earlier, I’m placing it here because the Adversary needs to be the one who completes this quest. Also, even though we don’t realize that we’re the Adversary until Esfera, I’ll continue referring to us as such in order to distinguish us as the specific protagonist of these events.)

While exploring the Temple of Time, the Adversary encountered a Temple Keeper who asked them for help, as they had gotten lost.

(A/N: They use male pronouns for Kao in the amnesiac Temple Keeper storyline, but they use gender-neutral pronouns during the events of Vanishing Journey, since Kao’s gender is the same as the player’s gender. I’ll continue to use gender-neutral pronouns to refer to them both, so apologies in advance if it sounds confusing.)

The Adversary gave them directions to the Three Doors and soon encountered them standing near the head Temple Keeper when they returned. The head Temple Keeper thanked the Adversary for helping the amnesiac Temple Keeper. The Adversary asked him whether the amnesiac Temple Keeper was new, to which the head Temple Keeper explained that the amnesiac Temple Keeper kept getting lost in the temple while trying to find their old memories. He told them that the Temple Keepers had found them in the Gate of the Past with their memories missing and had decided to take them in. The Adversary then agreed to help get the amnesiac Temple Keeper’s memories back.

The Temple Keeper sent the Adversary to the Memory Keeper, who explained that the memories which the amnesiac Temple Keeper had lost were the innocent childhood memories that defined who they were, and that the amnesiac Temple Keeper would need to retrieve those memories on their own in order to get the rest of their memories back. The Adversary returned back to the amnesiac Temple Keeper and told them what the Memory Keeper had said. After realizing that they would need to find the memories on their own, the amnesiac Temple Keeper dejectedly thanked them.

Just as the Adversary was about to leave, the Temple Keeper pulled them aside and told them that he had a plan to help get the amnesiac Temple Keeper’s memories back. He asked them to visit the Sorcerer, a greedy man who was adept at making potions. The Sorcerer offered to sell them Tinglebrain Potion, which he believed could help the amnesiac Temple Keeper get their memories back. The Adversary brought him Shards of Recollection and Pieces of Memory and paid the fee in exchange for him brewing the potion.

They brought the potion to the amnesiac Temple Keeper, who eagerly drank it. Suddenly, a flood of memories filled their mind, allowing them to recall a dark forest, tents, fairies with beautiful wings, and someone with glasses scolding them. (A/N: Kao is remembering their time at Altaire Camp. The person scolding them is Loha.) However, the memories vanished in a flash, leaving them still unable to recall their old memories.

Frustrated, the Temple Keeper asked the Adversary to see the Record Keeper, who had recorded all events of the past. The Record Keeper explained that he had been awaiting their arrival, but he added that he couldn’t help. He told them to return to the Temple Keeper and to tell him precisely that the amnesiac Temple Keeper had ‘lost their time’. The Adversary told the Temple Keeper what the Record Keeper had said, but the Temple Keeper was confused by the Record Keeper’s words and decided to give up.

The Adversary asked him what the Record Keeper had meant, to which the Temple Keeper replied that he wasn’t sure, though he wondered whether it might mean that the amnesiac Temple Keeper had actually come through the Gate of the Past, rather than merely being a vagrant whom he had found wandering in the halls. As the Adversary approached the amnesiac Temple Keeper to tell them about their failure, the amnesiac Temple Keeper excitedly told them that they remembered their name, Kao. They then removed their hood and, to the Adversary’s shock, revealed that they had the exact same face.

Some time later, the Adversary was contacted by the Memory Keeper, who told them that those who served the Temple of Time had figured out a way to transcend one’s limitations, and he invited them to see him in order to learn how. After they arrived, he asked them whether they were aware of the Erda Flow, the energy that made up the world.

After the Adversary voiced their confusion, the Memory Keeper explained that Erdas were the basic building blocks of reality, constantly undergoing a cycle of creation and destruction. However, he told them that the Erdas had lately been disappearing from the world. He then taught them how to perceive Erdas, allowing their consciousness to meld with that of the Erda Flow.

Suddenly, the Adversary heard the voice of the Erdas, who explained that they had once flowed through the World Tree in their cycle of creation and destruction until her life force had been scattered across Maple World. With her disappearance, the Black Mage had been able to steal the Erdas from their natural flow, pulling them into the Gate of the Present. They suspected that the Black Mage wanted to use the Erdas to create a new world, though they warned that it would mean that Maple World would be destroyed in the process.

(A/N: This is a pretty major inconsistency in the writing for the Arcane River storyline, as the knowledge that the Black Mage was planning to create a new world was meant to be a secret until Esfera. Although the Arcane River was marketed as the final chapter of the Black Mage arc, it’s pretty clear that there was no overarching plan for its writing, as seen with how pointless two-thirds of the whole thing was.

Morass and Esfera were really the only areas with any actual substance to their story, and I’m pretty sure that they were also written alongside Tenebris by a different writer, which explains why it seems like the knowledge about the Black Mage’s plan to recreate the world was retroactively treated like some sort of secret revelation, since I doubt that the new writer who took over would’ve paid attention to a 10 second conversation in a job advancement.)

In order to accept their power, the Erdas told the Adversary to seek out the three Goddesses. After returning back to the Temple of Time, the Adversary told the Memory Keeper that they had spoken to the Erdas. The Memory Keeper was surprised to learn this, as he had never been able to communicate with the Erdas in all the time that he had observed them. He realized that the Adversary had a grander fate than he had initially suspected and believed that the Erdas wished to bestow their power upon them.

As the Goddesses acted as the conduits between the Erdas and the people of their respective worlds, he explained that they would be able to help. He told them that after the fall of the Ancient Gods, the Goddesses had used the Erdas to create the three worlds and taught a select few humans, elves, demons, and dragons about how to manipulate the Erdas. (A/N: I said this at the very beginning of the guide but the Goddesses creating the worlds is contradicted by other storylines that say that the Overseers did.)

He then sent them to the Temple Keeper for judgment, who determined that they were strong enough to face the Goddesses. The Adversary first went to the Bowman Instructional School, where they found a Horizon Portal that sent them to the Goddess of Maple World in the Erda Flow. She told them that few had come this far and explained that if they learned to control the Erdas within themselves, they would unlock a new power. Before she aided them, however, the Goddess asked what it was that they cherished most in the world.

(A/N: Each class gets two options to choose between, although neither affects the overall story.

Explorers get to choose between their friends or the people of Maple World.

Cannoneer gets to choose between Monkey or his true love, whoever they end up being. Monkey will point to himself when Cannoneer is choosing and he’ll either shriek happily or angrily depending on whether Cannoneer chooses him or not.

Dual Blade gets to choose between the Secret Garden, where he first learned the art of the sword, or his friends whom he’s journeyed with.

Pathfinder gets to choose between the promise that she made to Athena Pierce to explore undiscovered places, or the new friends that she’s met while exploring.

Cygnus Knights get to choose between Empress Cygnus or the Chief Knight who trained them.

Mihile gets to choose between Empress Cygnus or his fellow Chief Knights.

The main Resistance classes get to choose between Edelstein and the Resistance, or the promise that they made to Vita to make a better world.

Xenon gets to choose between Edelstein and the Resistance, or his old friends from his hazy memories.

The Demon gets to choose between his old family home - the place where he made his only happy memories of Maple World, or Mastema. Mastema gets very flustered if you choose her.

Aran gets to choose between the other Heroes or Lilin.

Evan gets to choose between the people of Henesys or Mir. He’s also the only member of the Heroes who doesn’t get the option to pick the other Heroes, probably because he’s barely interacted with them outside the Heroes of Maple blockbuster.

Mercedes gets to choose between the other Heroes or Elluel and the elves.

Phantom gets to choose between the other Heroes or Empress Cygnus. His reasoning for Empress Cygnus is that the most important thing to him is preserving the Empress’ bloodline, and with Aria gone, Cygnus is the only one left to carry it on, for which he vows that he’ll do anything to help her.

Luminous gets to choose between the other Heroes or Lania.

Shade gets to choose between the other Heroes or Moonbeam.

Kaiser gets to choose between Tear or those whom he protects as Kaiser.

Angelic Buster gets to choose between Kyle or everyone whom she helps as Angelic Buster. After the player makes their choice and finishes explaining their reasoning to the Goddess, Eskalade will interrupt and ask if he’s one of the choices. Angelic Buster will reassure him that he’s precious to her, although she’ll think to herself that she completely forgot about him, which he absolutely deserves.

Cadena gets to choose between her old memories of her castle and her family, or her fellow Shadowdealers.

Kain gets to choose between his childhood memories of Luska or his new memories made from adventuring. For the second choice, he explains that the more that he tried recalling his past memories, the more pain and Malice came with them. However, after leaving Toolen City, he’s made new friends and all his memories of his time in Maple World are happy, and so he wants to protect the world in order to ensure that those memories won’t turn to into regret or loss like his old ones.

Illium gets to choose between Morian, Ex, and Machina, or the people of Maple World. Despite only naming those three people for his first choice, his dialogue if you pick that option has him also mention Dean, Carnelian, and Sinaria.

Ark gets to choose between his new friends or his promise to an old one to end the tragedy in the world. For the second option, he tells the Goddess that even though Albaire may have given up hope, he vows that he won’t, and that before they meet again, he’ll prove that determination can make all the difference when it comes to protecting the ones that he cares for. They’re hyping up Ark and Albaire’s reunion so much and I can already guarantee that it’s going to absolutely devastate my fragile psyche.

Adele gets to choose between her promise to Jerome or her commitment to chivalry. For the second choice, Adele tells the Goddess that as a knight, she won’t abide corruption and wrongdoing before her, and that nothing can justify sacrificing innocents for one’s ambitions. Didn’t really seem to matter to her a few sections ago when she celebrated defending a man who was literally ready to do exactly that, but go off, I guess. Then again, Darmoor also organized a coup to kill his own father because he was about to wipe out all life, and then Darmoor goes and does the exact same thing, and Veronica and the other Knights of the Einherjar also seem to be totally chill with Darmoor’s war, but not his father’s, so maybe hypocrisy is just a High Flora tradition.

Hoyoung gets to choose between dreaming of the blue sky or the bond of the outside world. The description for both is a bit vague, but the first option is basically his dream to become a sage and surpass even Tai Yu, while the second option is basically all the things outside the Hermitage that he’s come to love, like food, people, etc.

Lara gets to choose between her calling to ring the bell or helping all the people that she’s met.

Zero gets to choose between Alpha/Beta or the priests who helped them at the temple.

Kinesis gets to choose between Yuna and Jay, or himself. Even the Goddess is shook if you choose the second option and she asks him about his reasoning. Kinesis tells the Goddess that he’s learned that he can’t protect others if he can’t protect himself. Kinesis is an absolute legend for deviating from the usual protagonist script.)

After hearing their response, the Goddess gave them the Arcane Stone of Maple World, which she explained would help them gather the ambient Erdas within their own body once the stone was awakened.

Next, the Adversary traveled to Pantheon and used the Horizon Portal inside the Great Temple to meet the Goddess of Grandis.

(A/N: Her form varies depending on your class. For all non-Grandis classes and Nova classes, she appears as an ancient Nova, which is more dragon-like, similar to how Eskalade appears. For Anima classes, she appears as a rabbit Anima. For Flora classes, she appears as a Verdant Flora, although her blue wings are natural, not mechanical. Each of the Grandis classes also get some exclusive dialogue with Goddess of Grandis.

For Kaiser, the Goddess greets him and asks if he’s come to raise his power to the next level.

For Angelic Buster, the Goddess explains that she’s been watching her progress intently and notes that she’s done well to protect and grow her power.

For Cadena, the Goddess greets her and notes that though Cadena was born to royalty, she’s chosen a darker path, adding that she knew that Cadena would come to her seeking more power.

For Kain, the Goddess greets him and notes that he’s survived his tribulations and has emerged from the darkness.

For Illium, the Goddess greets him and asks if he’s come to unlock more of his mytocrystal’s power.

For Adele, the Goddess greets her and notes that she’s overcome her hardships and has discovered a new calling.

For Ark, the Goddess notes that his determination is strong, even in the face of chaos.

For Hoyoung, the Goddess greets him and explains that she’s been monitoring his performance for some time. She notes that it seems that he and Taotie have developed what she can only assume to be some tentative form of friendship.

For Lara, the Goddess notes that she’s the one who will wash away the wrongs of the Sinners and bring unending goodness.)

The Goddess greeted the Adversary and asked them to prove their strength by defeating Magnus. She sent them into an illusion of Tyrant’s Castle, in which the Adversary successfully bested the conjured Magnus before returning back to her. Impressed by their strength, the Goddess gave them the Arcane Stone of Grandis.

Finally, the Adversary returned back to Maple World and went to the base of the Dark World Tree, where the remnants of Damien’s army who had accepted defeat fought against the rest of their comrades, who had become possessed by the vestiges of the Spirit of Vengeance. They took the Horizon Portal at the Deserted Camp and found the Goddess of Tynerum, who told them that if Maple World was a world of rules and order, then Tynerum was a world of chaos and uncertainty. She explained that the demons had played as shadows did in candlelight for a very long time.

(A/N: The Demon gets some exclusive dialogue, in which she notes that he should know what she’s talking about well, since he’s a demon himself.)

She added that though she had no interest in the affairs of Maple World, the balance between the worlds had to be maintained by defeating the Black Mage. She then tested them by sending them back to the Deserted Camp and asked them to find the Horizon Portal, which she had moved to one of the three branches atop the Dark World Tree. (A/N: I’m so glad that this stupid quest is gonna be gone with the Destiny update.) After surviving the corrupted demon soldiers, the Adversary successfully found the Horizon Portal and returned to the Goddess, who gave them the Arcane Stone of Tynerum.

The Adversary then returned to the Memory Keeper, who activated the Arcane Stones and used them to awaken a new power within the Adversary. The Memory Keeper then asked the Adversary if they remembered Kao, the amnesiac Temple Keeper. He explained that the priests of the Temple of Time had entered the Gate of the Present in order to explore the Arcane River, a river created from pure Erdas, and that Kao had gone with them in search of their memories.

Because of the purity of the Erdas, he told the Adversary that only those who possessed Arcane Power could fight the Erda monsters. When the Adversary expressed their confusion, the Memory Keeper told them to see for themselves and instructed them to fight the Happy Erdas.

(A/N: Yeah no I’m good, I’d rather throw myself off a building. There’s a whole damn timeline where us not having Arcane Power led to the world being destroyed, and yet this Temple of Time employee - whose literal job is to observe those exact moments in time - is really gonna do me like this. Where’s the option for me to say “I believe you” and he gives me the stupid symbol without requiring my squishy mules to die before we even take one step towards the Black Mage? It gets to the point that random strangers will offer to carry me because the sight of me charging in and dying for the seventeenth time in a row like I’m a level 10 noob stuck in Orbis is too pathetic for anyone with dignity to watch.)

The Adversary found that the Happy Erdas were extremely difficult to fight and returned to the Memory Keeper, who explained that the reason why they were struggling to face the Erdas was because the power of the body and the power of the soul were different. He told the Adversary that only by tapping into the Erda Flow could they wield the Arcane Power to face high-purity Erda monsters.

He explained that by forging the Erda within themselves into an Arcane Symbol, they would be able to use the symbol as a protective mark, which would allow them to call upon the Arcane Power within the Erda Flow without their energy being sapped away upon contact. He gave the Adversary a basic Arcane Symbol and explained that strengthening it would allow them to wield more Arcane Power and deal more damage to the monsters of the Arcane River.

Vanishing Journey:

(A/N: Something cool that you can see is that the Vanishing Journey contains objects from Maple World, Grandis, and Earth. This is because the Arcane River was created as a result of the Erdas that rubbed off from the collision of these three worlds, allowing elements from each of them to manifest across the Arcane River.)

Upon visiting the Nameless Town, the Adversary was surprised to find that it was inhabited by Erdas that took humanoid forms, all of whom mistook the Adversary for Kao and cursed them for destroying their memories. They found Kao nearby, who explained that it was because of them that the townspeople had lost their memories. (A/N: English needs better gender-neutral pronouns. I meant to say that Kao believes themselves to be responsible.)

Kao also warned the Adversary not to fall into the Lake of Oblivion at the outskirts of town, as it would cause one to forget all their memories. They explained that the townspeople had been slowly losing their memories due to their proximity to the lake. Because of this, they had created the Tree of Memory, where they hung precious memories so that they wouldn’t be forgotten.

Kao explained that they had approached the tree, hoping that they could find their own memories there, but upon touching it, all the memories hung on the tree had been scattered. As a result, the townspeople had stopped their daily activities and had even halted the boat that could cross the Lake of Oblivion.

The Adversary then met with Legato, the chief of the village, and offered to help restore the villagers’ memories. Legato told them that the Erda monsters in the area held their memories and asked them to collect their happy, sad, raging, and joyful memories. After collecting the memories from the Erdas, the Adversary hung them back on the Tree of Memory.

With their memories back, the villagers were able to resume their normal lives and the oarsman returned to ferry people across the lake. Legato told the Adversary that he had been curious about whether Kao’s memories were amongst the recovered ones, but he had found no trace of them when he had checked. However, he explained that the Fountain of Reflection, somewhere beyond the Nameless Town, had waters which reflected one’s past, though he wasn’t sure whether the fountain was still there, since everything within the Vanishing Journey seemed to fade away in time.

Kao decided to accompany the Adversary across the lake after learning about the fountain. They met Kima the oarsman, who ferried them across the lake on a large paper boat. On the other side of the lake, they climbed a large cliff and found themselves in a desolate forest with burning blue flames all around them.

Just as they were about to cross an enchanted bridge, they were stopped by a girl named Rino, who told them that the bridge was an illusion created by the blue flames of the Extinction Zone in order to trick them into falling off the cliff. She then offered to guide them to both the Fountain of Reflection and the end of the Vanishing Journey.

In order to cross the Extinction Zone, she told them that they would need to ride the Flame Birds and asked the Adversary to collect Solid Claws from Stone Erdas, Sticky Oil from Blazing Erdas, and Hard Shells from Soulful Erdas in order to prepare themselves to ride the birds. While the Adversary collected the materials, Rino escorted Kao to the Fountain of Reflection.

At the fountain, Kao regained their memories and learned that they were the Adversary from the future, and that they had fought the Black Mage at the end of the Arcane River, but had ultimately lost because they didn’t have the ‘crucial power’. In order to change the future, they had used all their power to travel back in time to warn their past self, but they had lost their memories in the process.

They also recalled that Rino was a follower of the monster, Arma, and that she was planning to feed the Adversary to her master. Kao attempted to warn the Adversary, but Rino pushed them off a cliff and created a doppelgänger to take their place.

Meanwhile, the Adversary returned back with the materials and asked Kao if they had recovered their memories. Kao told them that their memories were slowly resurfacing, though the Adversary noticed that Kao didn't appear to feel any excitement about it. The Adversary then blew on the Hard Shells to summon the Flame Birds, fed them Solid Claws to tame them, and applied the Sticky Oil so as not to fall. The Adversary took off first, followed by Rino. As the fake Kao began to climb aboard their bird, the real Kao managed to climb back up the cliff and defeat the doppelgänger before climbing aboard the bird.

The three then began to fly across the Extinction Zone and Rino, believing that Kao was still a doppelgänger, told them that she could escort them back home before she escorted the Adversary to the end of the Vanishing Journey. Suddenly, Kao swooped toward Rino on their Flame Bird and pushed her off. The Adversary swooped after Rino and managed to stop her fall before they landed at the entrance to the Cave of Repose. Rino told the Adversary that the end of the Vanishing Journey was at the end of the cave.

The two then pressed on, with the Adversary harvesting Tranquil Solvent from the Tranquil Erdas and Lantern Erdas in order to dissolve the Slaws blocking their path. Just as they reached the end of the cave, an injured Kao suddenly appeared and told the Adversary that Rino was leading them into a trap.

Kao revealed that they had learned the truth about Rino from the Fountain of Reflection, as well as how they had lost their memories in the first place. However, Rino smiled sinisterly and summoned Arma to finish them off. As Arma launched his attack, Kao jumped forward and took the attack in the Adversary’s place. Their sacrifice allowed the Adversary to defeat Arma once and for all, after which they carried Kao’s fading body out of the cave.

At the waterfall, Kao explained that they had one last important thing to say. Kao explained that both of them had succeeded in changing the future through the Adversary surviving Arma with their power intact. Kao told the Adversary that they needed to obtain the Arcane Symbols, the crucial power needed to defeat the Black Mage that Kao had failed to obtain. Kao also explained that the Adversary would encounter Erdas of all shapes and sizes across the Arcane River. Though many threats existed in the shadows, there were also just as many allies who would help them on their journey. Kao then vanished, leaving behind their Arcane Symbol.

Reverse City:

(A/N: Reverse City was retroactively added to take place between Vanishing Journey and Chu Chu Island, likely to bridge the level gap between the two areas. The Arcane River storyline began the tradition of having new story areas released every five levels, and so Reverse City being set at level 205 creates an intermediary area between Vanishing Journey, which is level 200 content, and Chu Chu Island, which is level 210 content.

Reverse City was added three years after Vanishing Journey in the RISE update, which was the beginning of the first phase of the continental Grandis storyline. Along with Yum Yum Island and Sellas, Reverse City was made to set up future Grandis content by introducing T-Boy as an antagonist, as well as to remind people that Earth is sadly still a thing.

One thing to keep in mind is that Reverse City, along with Yum Yum Island and Sellas, isn’t actually a required story area to keep progressing through the game, meaning that it’s functionally similar to a theme dungeon more than anything else. Because of this, future storylines are set up so that they trigger conditional exclusive dialogue depending on whether or not you cleared these areas, which is also true in the case of several other theme dungeons like Fox Valley or Detective Rave’s Case Notes.

While this means that it’s not absolutely canon that the Adversary completed these storylines, for the purposes of this guide, I’m running with the assumption that we did. In future sections, I’ll be sure to put in the author notes what exclusive dialogue plays out in those specific moments if you didn’t happen to do these optional theme dungeons or story areas.)

Before the Adversary could continue on their journey, Chief Legato asked them to return to Nameless Town. He showed them an old walkie-talkie emitting garbled sounds and static and explained that it had washed up on the riverbank from a nearby city. The Adversary recognized that the city didn’t come from Maple World, though it looked familiar nevertheless. Legato told them that the flow of the river had been disrupted in the city and asked them to investigate. (A/N: Kinesis has some exclusive dialogue here, in which he realizes that there might be someone from Earth who needs his help there.)

Upon entering the city, the Adversary realized that everything was upside-down, with even the ceiling having become the floor. A stranger with a computer screen face welcomed them to Reverse City and introduced himself as T-Boy, the most normal person in Reverse City. However, he added that no one would argue if he introduced himself as the city’s most dangerous person and used his gauntlet to levitate the Adversary in mid-air before crushing them with strong gravitational force.

As his gauntlet began to overheat, the gravitational force increased in power, though T-Boy was completely unconcerned, merely claiming that there was something appealing about uncontrollable power. He told them that power and control weren’t so important as something else, but before he could explain what it was, a girl named Rasol arrived and told T-Boy to leave.

However, T-Boy merely laughed and asked what she planned to do in order to make him go. Just then, the gauntlet announced that it was about to overheat. As it began counting down, Rasol begged him to shut it down, though T-Boy only laughed as the countdown reached zero. At the last possible minute, T-Boy shut the gauntlet down and claimed that it had merely been a prank.

As the Adversary fell unconscious, T-Boy declared that he saw great things in their future before leaving. After T-Boy left, Rasol carried the unconscious Adversary back to her town. Upon awakening, the Adversary saw that the people in the town were all Erdas, though they had many more human features than the ones in Vanishing Journey.

A man named Alamo explained that one day, T-Boy had shown up out of the blue and had turned the entire city upside-down, forcing them to live like sewer rats in the subway tunnels, where they didn’t get even a single ray of sunlight. Alamo then asked why the Adversary had come, and so the Adversary showed the townspeople the walkie-talkie that had washed up. Rasol realized that it belonged to Barr Granger, a man who had helped the people of Reverse City.

Rasol began to escort the Adversary to Barr, explaining that he was an overworlder who had come from another world, though he had gotten trapped along with the city when it had been sucked into the Arcane River. (A/N: Kinesis has some exclusive dialogue here, in which he realizes that Barr comes from the same world as him.) Thanks to Barr, the people of the town had learned to survive after T-Boy had forced them into the subway tunnels. She showed them one of Barr’s books, entitled “Surviving in the Jungle” with the author blurb stating, “What matters most to the survivor isn’t skills or knowledge. It’s the will to live.”

(A/N: This is foreshadowing for Limina, in which the Adversary is only able to awaken the Seal Stone after abandoning the mindset that they need to sacrifice themselves, and instead focus on their will to survive.

Kinesis gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he notes to himself that he’s never heard of the book before, and that the cover doesn’t inspire confidence, either.)

On the way, they encountered Erda Rats, which Rasol explained were normal Erdas that had changed shape after encountering the rats in the tunnels. The Adversary wondered whether Rasol and the others in the town were also Erdas that had changed shape to resemble the humans from Earth. Rasol asked them to hunt the Erda Rats for their Blue Rat Meat and Montos for their Purple Rat Meat in order to bring it to Barr. She then showed them a flickering screen that depicted a sunset, explaining that since she had been born in the tunnels, it was the closest thing that she had to seeing a real sunset. Just then, Barr arrived and the Adversary showed him the walkie-talkie.

(A/N: If the player is Kinesis, Barr will note that Kinesis comes from the same world as him, although he also notes that Kinesis isn’t like him, likely referring to the fact that Kinesis has superpowers. He asks Kinesis if he’s come to return the walkie-talkie, to which Kinesis tells him that it’s not the only reason, as he’s on a mission to return people from their world back home. Barr then replies that Kinesis has wasted a trip by coming all this way, which transitions back into the generic script below.)

However, Barr told them that he didn’t need it anymore and refused to take it back. Suddenly, the tunnels began to shake and Rasol realized that it was T-Boy working on something. She asked Barr if she could borrow his map, but he refused to give it up. She and the Adversary then went into the tunnel system alone and found that it was a giant labyrinth.

Rasol explained that Barr’s map was the only thing that could help them navigate the area, adding that he was keeping it safe from T-Boy. Inside the trains, they found several machines that appeared to be part of a laboratory. Just then, a T-Drone detected their intrusion and summoned attack drones. Rasol was impressed by how easily the Adversary took down the drones and wondered why T-Boy had been able to defeat them if they were so strong.

Continuing on, they found several sensitive materials that the drones were attempting to wipe. The Adversary hunted down the drones and collected T-Boy’s research notes. They then proceeded deeper into T-Boy’s laboratory, where they found what appeared to be a gravity machine that burned Erda for fuel. According to the research notes, they learned that T-Boy planned to harvest Erda from the upstream of the Arcane River and use extinction accelerators to create more Erda upon depletion of the river. With the Erdas, he planned to concentrate gravity above the city in order to create a black hole.

(A/N: If you look closely at some of the monsters in Reverse City, you’ll notice that some of the robots are using the Erda rats as power sources, just like what T-Boy mentioned in his research notes about using Erda as fuel.)

Just then, a T-Drone appeared and started a video call, showing T-Boy’s computer face on its display. Rasol asked T-Boy why he was attempting to create a black hole, but he refused to answer and instead ordered the T-Drone to turn on the prototype extinction accelerator. T-Boy then sealed the doors and ended the video call, trapping them inside.

The Adversary prepared to bust down the doors when Barr appeared and told them that the doors were specially reinforced. However, he explained that the train cars had manual door overrides and managed to open the door for them to escape before the extinction accelerator exploded. After they escaped, Rasol asked Barr if he had already known about T-Boy’s plan.

Barr admitted that T-Boy sometimes visited to borrow his books and frequently talked to himself while doing so. He told them how T-Boy was the only one who read and appreciated his survival books, and that he had suggested that Barr’s next book should be about how to survive a black hole, which was how he had indirectly revealed his plans.

Upon learning what T-Boy was about to do, Barr had raised his gun at T-Boy, but had found that he was unable to muster the courage to pull the trigger. Rasol asked Barr how he could have let T-Boy walk away after learning that T-Boy was about to effectively trap them in the city forever and ensure that Barr could never return home. (A/N: Kinesis has some exclusive dialogue here, in which he notes that though he could just send Barr back home himself, he decides to let things play out for now.)

Barr told them that the surface wasn’t as good as they believed, but Rasol was determined to stop T-Boy and headed back to the town. Barr then called the Adversary much braver than he was after learning that they were going to help Rasol. The Adversary gave Barr back the walkie-talkie and told him that they had heard human voices from it.

(A/N: You also get to choose how you motivate Barr by telling him either that you’ve run away from fights before, but that you choose to be brave now, or that you’ve never run from a fight, and though that might make you brave, there’s more to be afraid of in life than just fighting.)

The Adversary returned to the town and found the townspeople debating about whether they should stay or head to the surface. Many believed that they couldn’t fight T-Boy without Barr’s help, but Rasol told them about the Adversary’s power and how they could help the town. Though Alamo told Rasol that she couldn’t expect a stranger to fight for them, Rasol revealed she had grabbed some of the many Arcane Symbols in T-Boy’s research lab and offered them as payment.

Just as the Adversary agreed to help, Barr arrived and offered his map of the subway. However, Barr told Rasol to stay out of the fight. He then told the Adversary that they could ignore the extinction accelerators, since the only thing that they needed to destroy in order to win was the gravity machine. Barr then told Rasol that he needed her help in order to defeat T-Boy. He taught her how to disable the extinction accelerators and gave her T-Boy’s research notes and the map, asking her to also evacuate the townspeople before T-Boy found their refuge.

The Adversary and Barr entered the train system, where they encountered a T-Drone and many combat bots. Barr explained that some of the bots even had their own anti-gravity units, powered by living creatures like the subway rats. From the T-Drone, T-Boy’s computerized face appeared and told them that he had cut power to the train and switched the tracks to have the train crash. However, Barr revealed that he knew how to restore power, outwitting T-Boy once again. Barr asked the Adversary to collect drone parts in order to build his override. After obtaining the parts, the Adversary defended Barr while he continued building.

As they continued onward, they found that it was nighttime on the surface. Barr told them that he and his friends used to watch the sunsets while the gate between the Arcane River and Earth was still open. He explained that when the gate had first opened, he and his friends had worked together to find survivors and send them back to Earth, and that they had planned to go back themselves after saving everyone. However, he told the Adversary that there had been an accident that had prevented him from returning along with them. (A/N: Kinesis has some exclusive dialogue here, in which he notes with guilt that sending the displaced people of Earth back home is supposed to be his job.)

Just then, a T-Droid arrived and T-Boy laughed, telling Barr that the truth was that he had been left behind. He then told the Adversary that they and Barr were two of a kind, as the townspeople had abandoned them, just as Barr’s friends had left him, asking whether the townspeople even cared about them. (A/N: Here, you can either say that they do, or you can say nothing.)

T-Boy claimed that while the townspeople called the Adversary a hero, they were simply using them. However, he reassured them that he understood both the Adversary and Barr, as all three of them were outsiders to their very core, adding that it was lucky that they had found each other. Laughing that he had even brought them a gift, T-Boy summoned a wave of battle drones before disappearing.

After fighting through the enemy drones, the pair began hopping to the next car when T-Boy himself arrived to confront them, rather than through his T-Drone, explaining that he had only found the empty refuge after sending his drones to find the townspeople. Barr then revealed how the townspeople had already deactivated his extinction accelerators and escaped. Though T-Boy was surprised, he claimed that it would make no difference, as he would simply make more once he eliminated them both.

Barr retorted that it wouldn’t be easy to get rid of them both, to which T-Boy asked him what he meant by ‘both’, and whether it was him trying to prove a point that he finally had a friend whom he could trust. He laughed and claimed that it would simply end as it had before, with Barr being left alone and abandoned by his new so-called friend.

Sticking up for Barr, the Adversary retorted to T-Boy’s provocations by pointing out that he kept going on and on about how they and Barr had no real friends, but they then claimed T-Boy was the real lonely one, adding that even if they and Barr were losers, it took one to know one. Stunning T-Boy into silence, the Adversary continued on that they were starting to understand his plan, explaining that if he were to turn the whole world upside-down, then that would mean that he would finally get to be the normal one. They then added that his plan was so childish that it was bordering on pathetic.

(A/N: The way that this dialogue is presented is that we can pick and choose one of the two retorts to say first, although we’ll automatically continue on with the second one no matter what. I wrote them in the order that they were presented, since we end up canonically saying both of them anyways.)

Irritated, T-Boy decided to start up the gravity machine without supplying sufficient power, which would cause it to go critical and explode as if it were a giant extinction accelerator, resulting in the destruction of the entire city. The shocked Adversary retorted that T-Boy was insane, as the explosion would kill him too, to which T-Boy merely laughed and replied that it sounded like a fun time, adding that the three of them were about to have a real blast.

The Adversary realized that they needed to take T-Boy out immediately, but Barr replied that it wouldn’t help, and that they needed to dismantle the gravity machine. T-Boy then laughed that they ought to hurry to the tower and offered to help by causing the train to speed up to three times its original velocity. As the T-Drone issued a warning to decelerate in order to avoid derailing from the impending track curvature, T-Boy claimed that according to his calculations, they would crash straight into M Tower.

Barr immediately told the Adversary to grab seat cushions to lessen the impact, as they had no time to stop the train. T-Boy then told them that he had told them before that power and control didn’t matter, as the only thing that was important was sending a message. The Adversary asked him what he was talking about, to which T-Boy told them that he was telling them to remember his name, adding that he was T-Boy, and that he was the one who was about to turn their whole world upside-down.

After the train crashed into M Tower, the Adversary struggled to stand up, just as an injured T-Boy appeared and used his gauntlet to begin crushing them, just like when they had first met. Suddenly, Barr appeared and pointed his gun at T-Boy, claiming that he had realized that T-Boy wasn’t really there, and that the person standing before them was just another drone, while his real body was somewhere safe and far away, which would explain why T-Boy wasn’t being affected by the city’s reversed gravity.

Barr then called T-Boy a coward, claiming that he didn’t even have the guts to face real danger with his life on the line. After a pause, T-Boy, with his damaged vocoder, asked him what difference it made, to which Barr explained that it meant that he wouldn’t feel any guilt about pulling the trigger, now that he knew that he was only shooting a drone. Barr then shot T-Boy in the face, shattering his computerized helmet.

As the Adversary recovered from T-Boy’s attack, Barr came over to check on them, explaining that the real T-Boy was never in Reverse City to begin with, which was why he had been so unconcerned about destroying the place. The Adversary noted that it was easy to play the daredevil from the comfort of one’s secret lair, after which they headed off to destroy the gravity machine.

Meanwhile, a wounded T-Boy addressed Barr and told him that it wouldn’t change anything, as the gravity wouldn’t come back, and the sun wouldn’t rise, with the entire city going up in flames. However, he claimed that he could still help, revealing that there was a personal teleporter in his chest compartment that had enough power to send one person back to Earth. (A/N: This teleporter is the same model that Senya had in Detective Rave’s Case Notes, which Rave used to teleport the exploding purifier device onto Senya’s ship.)

Barr asked T-Boy why he would make such an offer, to which T-Boy told him that he had seen footage of the day when Barr’s friends had left, and that he had learned that Barr had chosen not to go back home because of the overwhelmingly negative reviews that his survival books had received. (A/N: Some of those reviews were straight up cyberbullying. One person said, “I hear the author got sucked into another dimension. Good riddance!”) T-Boy laughed at Barr’s indecision, claiming that even though he now finally had a way back home, there was no one there who wanted him back.

Meanwhile, the Adversary reached the gravity machine and managed to destroy it. However, they were surprised to find that the countdown had not stopped. T-Boy then laughed and asked if they had really thought that attacking the machine would be enough to stop it. (A/N: As the gravity machine continues counting down and the Adversary attempts to stop it, Illium and Mechanics have some exclusive dialogue, in which they’ll say that their mechanical expertise is more general, rather than the specialized knowledge needed to stop the gravity machine.)

To T-Boy’s surprise, however, Barr chose to help the Adversary, rather than go home, because Rasol had managed to contact him and had helped him to conquer his fears, reminding him that even if his friends didn’t like his books, they must still like him as a person, adding that it took courage to open up to others. Barr had then recalled the advice that the Adversary had given him about being brave, after which he had decided to go back and help them.

Barr told the Adversary that he would take the machine and jump, and with the city being upside-down, he would reach the sky, so that the machine would be high enough that the explosion wouldn’t kill anyone. As he jumped off with the machine, he heard the voices of his friends speaking to him through the walkie-talkie, telling him that they were still awaiting his return. Just as the machine exploded, he used the teleporter to return back to Earth. With the explosion of the gravity machine, the dimensional gate to Earth opened up once again.

Some time later, the townspeople found a newspaper that had washed ashore, which showed that Barr had returned safely back to Earth, and that his new survival book on Reverse City was poised to become a bestseller. Because of this, even his earlier works were beginning to get noticed and Barr was growing famous. (A/N: Kinesis wonders whether Jay will pick up a copy of Barr’s book for him.)

Though the city remained upside-down, Rasol was relieved that Barr had managed to return home. She also added that with T-Boy’s defeat, they could safely view the sunset. She then gave the Adversary her Arcane Symbols as payment for their help, though she added that T-Boy’s robot body had gone missing. She also explained that she had found a broken piece of his mask stained with blood, causing them to realize that T-Boy had been there in person all along.

Elsewhere, T-Boy was escaping in his spaceship when he was contacted by his sister, Senya Angler. He warned her not to tell their father about his failure, though Senya merely laughed and told him that she would consider keeping his secret. Senya then told him to take off his mask, which she found ridiculous, revealing T-Boy’s wounded face from Barr’s gunshot. Senya asked T-Boy what he thought of the Alliance’s pet hero, to which T-Boy told her that he believed that they’d be able to use the Adversary.

(A/N: When Senya asks T-Boy about the Adversary, her dialogue will change depending on the player’s gender. If the player is female, she’ll ask T-Boy whether he fell for us. If the player is male, she’ll just ask whether he thought that we were cool.)

Chu Chu Island:

(A/N: As much as I love how cute Chu Chu Island is, it’s a colossal waste of time that could’ve been better spent building up the overall story. Most of the other regions of the Arcane River do something to test the Adversary by putting them in situations that force them to strengthen their determination and resolve. Vanishing Journey, for example, sets up the idea that the Adversary has already once failed to save the world, which eats away at the back of their mind and culminates in their choice to save Tana in Esfera, in which they have to decide whether to risk repeating history by saving her or giving the world its best chance at survival by taking her life.

Other regions like Lachelein are a literal nightmare that we have to break free from, while Morass makes us relive the fear and pain of Tana’s most traumatic memories. In contrast, the biggest stakes in Chu Chu Island are whether the friendly giant is going to like our sandwich or not. Chu Chu Island does absolutely nothing for the overall story, and it’s honestly a complete waste of an area that could’ve instead been used to improve the pacing of the Arcane River storyline.

One of the biggest problems with Tenebris is that it haphazardly rushed into a mediocre conclusion and forcibly made everything wrap up in an inorganic and contrived manner. The story that they presented was very clearly half-baked, not to mention that they didn’t even bother to address the dozens of unresolved plot threads that, even to this day, are still being completely ignored. Given that the writers made the moronic decision to turn not one, but two whole areas - Chu Chu Island and Arcana - into filler content, it’s not hard to see why. I really don’t mind having filler areas as breathers from the constant tension of the story, but if a full third of your story is filler, to the point that you have to severely compromise the quality of your decades-in-the-making finale, then that’s obviously a glaring problem.

If they wanted to keep some of the light-hearted atmosphere, it would’ve been nice if they’d explored the idea of the Erda fusions by adapting some of the ideas introduced in Yum Yum Island and showing us some of the fallen Commanders and other villains of Maple World, which would’ve given an excuse for cute character designs, and it would’ve gotten us to reflect on all the enemies that we’ve faced in order to get here. It also would’ve flowed nicely into the idea that later gets introduced in Limina about the Black Mage using and discarding them as tools.)

After helping the townspeople of Reverse City, the Adversary continued on their journey to the end of the Arcane River. At the cave exit in the Vanishing Journey, they jumped down a waterfall, where a Flying Fish caught them as they were about to fall into the water. They thanked the Flying Fish and wondered if they were one of the allies that Kao had spoken of.

They then asked the Flying Fish to lead them straight to the Black Mage at the end of the Arcane River, but they soon found the path blocked by a large stone giant. The Flying Fish then dumped them onto the ground before flying off. The Adversary approached the stone giant, Muto, who declared that he was hungry. When he refused to step aside, the Adversary gave him several sandwiches, which Muto found delicious. Though he was still hungry, the Adversary had no more food left to give him, prompting Muto to throw a temper tantrum.

Just then, a large lion theatrically jumped in and accidentally knocked the Adversary out with his staff. He then took the Adversary back to the village, where he hit them again in order to wake them back up. After they awoke, he introduced himself as Chief Lyon of Chu Chu Island. The Adversary asked who the people of the village were, but Lyon couldn’t remember, nor did he know who the Black Mage was when the Adversary accused him of being the Black Mage’s servant. He explained that the townspeople had no recollection of their past, and that he had volunteered to lead them as chief.

(A/N: Most of the life forms in Chu Chu Island are fusions of different types of Erdas, such as animals and food, or animals and monsters. You learn this later on, but Chief Lyon is a fusion of Damien and a lion. You can infer this even before we’re told in Yum Yum Island because his cape bears Damien’s curse mark. This is because the Erdas, which normally get recycled and reincarnate into new life, have been taken out of their natural lifecycle, forcing them to fuse inside a smaller pool of Erdas that flow within the Arcane River.

There’s one interesting interpretation based on this that I do like about Chu Chu Island as an area, although not enough for me to change my mind on its existence being completely pointless. Someone on Discord pointed out that Chu Chu Island can be taken to symbolically represent Damien and his endless hunger for power, with the monsters being food fusions, as well as Chu Chu Island itself being named after chewing food, which is made more apparent in how other regions spell Chu Chu as Chew Chew.

In a way, Chu Chu Island can be viewed as Damien’s hunger for power finally getting sated after he broke free from the Spirit of Vengeance’s control and made the choice to allow the Demon to end his life at the Dark World Tree. In the wake of him choosing to turn away from his obsession with power, he finally gets the chance to know peace, as he enters a spiritual form of heaven in the form of Chu Chu Island - a land of plentiful food and happiness where his hunger can finally be sated, which lies in stark contrast to how Damien had been starved and tortured for most of his life as a slave in Tynerum.)

Lyon then told the Adversary that Muto was the protector of their village against a giant monster named Gulla, who resurfaced every ten days in order to eat anything in sight. In exchange for being protected from Gulla, the townspeople would regularly prepare food for Muto. However, Muto had recently grown picky about his food and had stopped fighting Gulla. As the Adversary’s food had been accepted by Muto, Lyon proposed an alliance to help feed Muto so that the giant would move aside and allow the Adversary to continue through the Arcane River.

The Adversary then met Master Lyck, an anteater wearing a broccoli hat. Lyck was the master chef of Chu Chu Island, though his personality left much to be desired. (A/N: Master Lyck is basically the Gordon Ramsey of MapleStory.) In order to create his signature dish, Lyck ordered the Adversary to obtain Sweet Hooves from the Pinedeer. After obtaining the hooves, Lyck created the dish, but the Adversary was repulsed by the taste.

Upon learning that Muto had liked the Adversary’s sandwiches, Lyck took the remainder of the sandwich and tasted it before declaring that it was a travesty. After the other townspeople also agreed that the sandwich was disgusting, the Adversary attempted to argue that they and Muto had different tastes from the others. Lyck then told them that they should make their own dish for Muto if they were so confident.

As the Adversary began thinking of how they could make a meal with the ingredients around the island, they suddenly smelled something delicious and found a girl named Simia cooking a dish for three chicks named Pibik, Pimi, and Pidol. The chicks explained that they had been exiled from the village for having unusual taste, and that they had eventually met Simia, who would cook dishes that they loved. Simia told them that she worked as a kitchen hand for Master Lyck, though he never let her cook anything.

The Adversary asked Simia if she would help prepare a dish for Muto, who had developed unusual taste like the Pi siblings. Simia decided to make a sandwich, as Muto had seemed to like the last one, and asked the Adversary to collect ingredients after they named the dish. (A/N: You get to make up the name of the dish by choosing three adjectives amongst the prompts.) With the natural ingredients around the island, they were able to create substitutes for the original ingredients and even added special ingredients to give it extra dimension. For their special seasoning, Simia asked them to obtain a Slurpy Fruit from the dangerous Slurpy Tree.

On the day that Gulla was set to attack, Simia and Master Lyck brought their dishes before Muto, who loved Simia’s food enough to protect them from Gulla. He then revealed that even though he had hated Lyck’s dishes from the beginning, he would still eat them in order to protect the townspeople. Lyck then apologized to both Muto and Simia for his arrogance and promoted Simia to an official chef. Muto then agreed to move aside so that the Adversary could face the Black Mage.

Before the Adversary left, Pidol gave them an Arcane Symbol and explained that though the people of Chu Chu Island had lost the memories of their origins, he could sense that the Adversary was under the guardianship of a great power. He also told them that when he had sensed that they possessed an Arcane Symbol, he knew that he had to give them the one that he had found. (A/N: There’s a running joke in this storyline that ever since Pidol hit his head, he frequently cycles between talking intelligently and acting dumb.)

Simia revealed that they occasionally stumbled across Arcane Symbols, which appeared more frequently in the wake of Muto’s fights with Gulla. (A/N: This is likely because their fights stir up Erdas, allowing them to coagulate into Arcane Symbols.) The townspeople explained that they were unable to leave the town, as an invisible barrier held them back. However, they were satisfied with their lives in the village and bid the Adversary farewell.

Yum Yum Island:

(A/N: Like Reverse City, Yum Yum Island was retroactively added to the Arcane River in the RISE update as level 215 content in order to bridge Chu Chu Island at level 210 and Lachelein at level 220. Yum Yum Island continued setting up Kaling as an antagonist in the Grandis storyline and established a timeline regarding when the Alliance sent their advance guard that caught up with the Adversary during the events of Esfera.

Similar to Reverse City, Yum Yum Island is technically an optional area, which means that future content is set up so that it’ll create conditional exclusive dialogue depending on whether or not you completed this area. However, I’ll be treating it as canon that we did go to Yum Yum Island, and I’ll add all the conditional dialogue for both completing and not completing this region in the author notes of those relevant sections.)

As the Adversary began preparations to leave Chu Chu Island, they were contacted by Chief Lyon, who asked them to come back to the village. He explained that behind Chu Chu Village, there was a forest where the mushrooms grew wild. Because of its distance, the townspeople stayed away from the area. However, a few days ago, they had heard an incredibly loud roar, along with a quake which had made them believe that all of Chu Chu Island was sinking.

He asked them to go to Yum Yum Island to investigate the source and to determine if Chu Chu Island was in any danger. As the Adversary began wandering around Yum Yum Island, they encountered a chameleon with a chicken-like comb and wings, which seemed vaguely familiar to them. The chameleon, Caster, saw that the Adversary didn’t have a blue button that identified them as a resident of Yum Yum Island.

(A/N: These buttons are the same as the one worn by Kaling, who’s responsible for the events of Yum Yum Island. Hoyoung has exclusive dialogue here, in which he notes that the button seems familiar. Taotie adds that the energy in the button feels familiar, though he can’t recall what it is. This is because the button contains the energy of another one of the Four Perils.)

Suddenly, a horde of Bunshrooms and Monkeyrogs surrounded them. Though Caster told the Adversary that he would hold them off, the Adversary replied that they would fight alongside him. After defeating the enemies, one of Monkeyrogs told Caster to give up his pointless ways and live according to his instincts before retreating. The Adversary asked Caster what had happened between him and the others, as they all wore the same buttons. Caster began explaining that he had a greater goal when he suddenly stopped to look at a small flower about to bloom.

Upon blooming, a small three-headed puppy appeared out of it and Caster wondered if the puppy was the match that Bappy had been waiting for. He explained that Bappy was one of the residents of his village, and that he was searching for his match made in heaven. He also told the Adversary that he had a distant memory of a sun, which he believed had created them all. He pointed out that their buttons were round like the sun as well, and that he was searching for his sun while helping Bappy find his match. (A/N: For anyone who watches Boruto, this sounds exactly like Mitsuki simping for Boruto.)

Caster brought the Adversary and Puptail to the village, where they met Bappy, a parrot dressed as a clown who loved fancy parties. The Adversary suddenly realized that all the residents of Yum Yum Island were based on dangerous monsters that came from Maple World, with Bunshrooms coming from Mushmoms, Monkeyrogs coming from Jr. Balrogs, Puptail coming from Horntail, Bappy coming from Pierre, and Caster coming from Von Bon. They also realized that Lyon was made from Damien’s Erdas, though they recalled that Lyon didn’t wear a button like the others.

(A/N: The Demon has some exclusive dialogue here that adds on to the generic script. He notes that Lyon is nothing like Damien and realizes that after Damien died at the Dark World Tree, parts of him trickled into the Arcane River as Erda, which resulted in the creation of Lyon

Later on, we also encounter a couple of other monster fusions. Piabees come from Pianus, Lytones come from Lyka, Stonepy come from Stumpy, Kumpiders come from Zakum, and Squirrelnons come from Manon.)

The Adversary began to suspect that the ones wearing buttons had been artificially created by someone mixing powerful creatures of Maple World. Despite the fact that those monsters had once been quite fearsome, the Adversary noted that the creatures of Yum Yum Island didn’t have the same strength, and so they decided to let things play out, as there was no sense in making enemies of them needlessly.

They then asked Caster about the strange roaring from a few days ago. Caster told them that it had likely originated in Fungos Forest, and so the Adversary resolved to go there and investigate. Bappy then asked them to find his match made in heaven there while he prepared the welcoming party for his match.

The Adversary then asked Caster about the instincts that the Monkeyrog had mentioned. Caster explained that while the other monsters only wanted to create chaos, he and Bappy were able to repress their base instincts so that they could find what they were looking for. Caster then suggested that they go to Illiard Field, as there were no flowers left in Mushbud Forest.

In Illiard Field, Caster asked them to eliminate the Lytones in order to prevent them from interfering with the flowers blooming. However, when none of the flowers there bloomed, Caster suggested that they move on to a different area. They then checked the area full of Stonepy monsters, though they didn’t find any blooming flowers there, either. They continued on and soon found a field full of flowers, though they first had to fight the Piabees that surrounded them.

Eventually, they found a blooming flower, out of which emerged a blue version of Bappy named Muppy. Muppy was pleased to know that his other half was looking for him. He asked Caster whether he was the one who had visited him while he had been inside the flower, although he added that Caster’s button was smaller than the one that he had seen the person wearing.

Believing them to be his sun, Caster asked what the person had said. Muppy recalled that the person had said, “Such a failure.” Caster was distraught to learn that the sun hadn’t created him because he was needed, but rather because he was merely an attempt at a bigger masterpiece. He was suddenly engulfed by a wave of anger, forcing the Adversary to knock him out. When Caster awoke, he immediately ran off towards Fungos Forest.

The Adversary, Muppy, and Puptail followed him and found that Fungos Forest was completely devoid of light. They fought through the monsters, which seemed like they had only been created to fight, and soon reached a fork. They decided to head left and fought through Kumpiders and Squirrelnons until they reached a humongous flower. The flower soon bloomed and revealed a giant, dragon-like monster. The Adversary wondered whether it was a Nova or a dragon of Leafre before realizing that it was Afrien, the King of Onyx Dragons.

(A/N: The Heroes have some slightly different dialogue in the way that they realize that the creature is made of Afrien’s Erda. It’s nothing significant, but the wording is changed enough to make it clear that they personally recognize Afrien. For Evan’s dialogue, Mir will address the creature as ‘ancestor’, just as he does with Afrien, and asks if it’s really him.

Nova classes also get some exclusive dialogue, in which they first mistake the creature for a Nova before realizing that its energy is completely different from normal Nova, as the creature has a dragon face, whereas the Nova have human faces. Afrien’s fused form actually does look pretty humanoid, with the exception of his dragon face. His armor and color scheme make him look similar to Magnus, and it actually makes me wonder whether this was the fusion of Afrien and a past Kaiser.)

As they began to fight, the Adversary quickly found that a portion of Afrien’s immense power had carried over into this creation. (A/N: Once again, the Heroes have some slightly different dialogue that has them note that despite the fusion’s power, it’s still nowhere near Afrien’s strength.) As Afrien launched a powerful attack, Caster jumped in front of the Adversary and took it in their place. Afrien then declared that yet another insignificant being appeared, angering Caster once again, as he refused to be called a failure. With an enraged Caster and the Adversary working together, Afrien was defeated, leaving behind only his button.

As the Adversary picked up the button, it crumbled into dust in their hands. They were disturbed to know that both their allies and their foes could be revived in such a manner, with no way of telling which side they would be on, nor how powerful they would be. They then saw that Caster was still consumed by anger and attempted to calm him down when suddenly, Chief Lyon appeared and knocked him out, causing the button that Caster wore to fall. From the button, a massive claw appeared with ominous energy, though it was destroyed by a swift strike from Lyon’s staff.

(A/N: The claw attack is the same one that Kaling uses, powered by one of the Four Perils. Hoyoung and Lara both have exclusive dialogue, which has them recognize the hand. For Hoyoung’s dialogue, Taotie also adds that he now remembers the energy as being what Kaling had unleashed at the Temple of Time during Hoyoung’s level 200 quest. Both Hoyoung and Lara then wonder what Kaling is scheming.)

Lyon explained that he had heard a roar from Afrien and had come to help. Caster then saw Damien’s sun-like mark on Lyon’s cape and realized that Lyon was the sun whom he had been looking for. (A/N: Caster recognizing Chief Lyon as his sun, aka his creator, is because Lyon was created from Damien, who originally created the Root Abyss bosses that Caster, Bappy, and Muppy were made from.)

Just then, Puptail barked at them and led them to an even larger flower, which had already bloomed. The Adversary noted that whatever had hatched from it had been gone for a while, and that not a single trace of it remained. Caster noted that as the flower was much larger, it likely meant that whatever had hatched from it must be far stronger than the monster that they had faced.

The Adversary immediately had a bad feeling about whoever was using Erda to create and control new beings. Though the Afrien fusion hadn’t been mature enough to control its powers, the Adversary noted that its potential had been incredible. They realized that something similar could happen again at any time, and that such creatures could easily become powerful enemies.

(A/N: The giant creature that hatched from this flower is likely the same one whose roar had prompted Lyon to ask the Adversary to investigate Yum Yum Island. Hoyoung and Lara both have exclusive dialogue here, in which they note that they hadn’t expected Kaling to go so far. For Hoyoung, Taotie adds that Kaling is really something else and suggests that they be more careful.)

With no more leads, they returned back to the village and introduced Muppy to Bappy, who threw a party in both their honors. Castor then thanked the Adversary for their help and gave them several Arcane Symbols as a reward. Believing that they had no time to inform the Alliance about what they had learned, the Adversary hesitantly decided to move on.

(A/N: The Demon has a few exclusive lines of dialogue before he leaves, in which he silently says that if he ever sees Damien again, then he hopes that Damien will be able to live a better life like the people of Chu Chu Island do.)

Though the Adversary continued on their journey without informing the Alliance, Neinheart was nevertheless able to learn about the Erda experiments on Yum Yum Island told Cygnus that they had no record of any of the Black Mage’s Commanders or followers having the kind of power. (A/N: Most likely, the Temple Keepers exploring the Arcane River have been keeping the Alliance in the loop regarding what’s been happening.) Cygnus replied that they couldn’t do anything about identifying the unknown enemy, but they could send the Alliance to the Arcane River as soon as possible in order to help the Adversary.

Neinheart decided to inform the Resistance and the Nova about their discovery, hoping that their allies could help them gather additional information. Cygnus asked if the advance party was ready, which Neinheart confirmed, adding that they had one Cygnus Knight and one Resistance member ready to head out. Just then, Ollie of the Thunder Breakers arrived to report in. Neinheart then told Ollie and Cygnus that Pantheon was scheduled to send in a magician so that the advance party could find a way to move through the Arcane River soon.

Meanwhile, Kaling arrived at Fungos Forest and saw that the Afrien fusion had both hatched and been defeated while she had been away. She then decided to wrap up her experiments there and move on to her other plans.

Lachelein, the Dreaming City:

Having finished investigating Yum Yum Island, the Adversary decided to continue on their journey. Climbing aboard the Flying Fish, they headed deeper into the Arcane River and eventually found themselves floating in a canal. Suddenly, they felt a wave of drowsiness come over them, causing them to fall asleep atop the Flying Fish. They soon woke up in a vibrant nighttime city with music and fireworks. They were surprised to find other humans in masquerade masks and decided to talk to them. The masked people seemed abnormally thrilled to be taking part in the festival and emphasized just how much fun they were having.

Just then, a person in a plague doctor mask, Protective Mask, realized that the Adversary was from the outside world and warned them that the city was dangerous. Suddenly, two Dreamkeepers appeared out of nowhere and dragged the Adversary away. They brought the Adversary before Lucid and put them in line behind another citizen, whom Lucid transformed into a butterfly with a snap of her fingers.

She then greeted the Adversary and welcomed them to Lachelein, the city of dreams and illusions, where there was no sadness or pain. (A/N: Lachelein comes from the German word ‘lächeln’, which means ‘smile’.) She then snapped her fingers to transform the Adversary into a butterfly, but she was surprised when nothing happened, causing her to realize that they were the honored guest whom she had been awaiting.

(A/N: Mercedes has a slightly modified version of this scene. Since Lucid recognizes Mercedes, she already knows that Mercedes isn’t part of her dream, and so she snaps her fingers already knowing that nothing will happen. When Mercedes realizes that she didn’t get transformed, Lucid mocks her for being surprised. Mercedes then wonders who Lucid is, noting to herself that it feels like she ought to remember Lucid, despite being unable to.

Shade also has a slightly modified version of this scene. Similarly with Mercedes, Lucid recognizes Shade, which confirms that Lucid is unaffected by Shade’s curse. The reason for this is unknown, although we’ve speculated on the lore server that dream magic is somehow related to time magic, as both Freud and Lucid used magic to erase someone’s time, with Freud erasing Shade, and Lucid erasing herself. You can read the whole theory here, and while I’d highly recommend checking out the full version, I’ll try to condense it down here (which, in retrospect, wasn’t really much of a condensation at all, so sorry in advance).

Throughout the game, time magic has been linked to the idea of dreams, space, mirrors, and reality. Mirror World was created from the power of time and exists as a space where Will made an imperfect replica of Maple World with his memories, which is basically what a dream is - random memories sliced together as the brain attempts to process them.

Mirror World was based on the Sharenian time loop created by Ergoth, which is another link between dreams and time. Hoyoung can also enter the space of Shangri-La directly through his dreams, and there’s also a popular in-universe belief that Maple World is merely Rhinne’s dream. This, along with a few other examples, suggests that time magic and dream magic are both manipulations of aspects of reality itself. Because of this, we could say that Shade’s curse stems from object impermanence, which is the idea that if a thing cannot be perceived, then it doesn’t exist.

What this means is that Shade is essentially his own anchor to reality, and when he crosses dimensions and leaves a particular space, the properties of that space will erase all extraneous traces of his existence from within itself, similar to how some computer languages will automatically erase and free up the memory taken by a variable when it stops existing within a particular scope of the program.

Similarly, Lucid erased her existence from the memories of all the elves, effectively making it so that no one in the world remembers her, just like Shade. Since she was also erased from the space of Maple World, it means that she would exist outside of that space, and as a result, when Shade’s curse triggers from his object impermanence, she wouldn’t be affected by that space erasing all traces of him, as she’s no longer part of the world. This would also mean that theoretically, Shade should be able to remember Lucid if she were to cross dimensions too, unless she were to deliberately erase his memory with her dream magic, such as what she did to him after they first met.

In Shade’s class storyline, Lucid gave him a nightmare as revenge for him stopping her from manipulating the dreams of the elves. In that nightmare, the Black Mage tells Shade that as a Transcendent, he’s the only one who still remembers Shade, meaning that he’s the only thing anchoring Shade to existence. Because of this, Shade comes to believe that he’s going to disappear as soon as the Black Mage does.

Despite this claim, however, there are two major holes in the Black Mage’s story. First, the Black Mage claims that only a Transcendent can remember Shade. However, the Winter Bard storyline - which was released well after Shade came out, and even showed him in the background as one of the people who gathered at the Dragon Master’s Tower - had Alicia reveal that she had helped the Heroes fight the Black Mage, meaning that she must have known about Shade. However, she tells Ryude that she had helped the “five” Heroes, meaning that she doesn’t remember Shade, even though she’s a Transcendent.

You could argue that she did know about him and omitted him from the story, similar to how Freud chose to tell the legend of the five Heroes, despite knowing that there must have been a sixth hero who had powered the seal, but there‘s really no good reason why she would need to censor herself when she was talking to Ryude’s corpse, not a living person who would get confused by her mentioning a sixth hero.

The other hole in the Black Mage’s claim is that he’s the only person in existence who remembers him, which means that he’s Shade’s only anchor to reality. However, Lucid still clearly remembers Shade, even though he’s gone back and forth between Maple World and Grandis multiple times after first meeting her. What this means is that there’s no way that the Black Mage can be his only anchor to reality - if he even needs an anchor outside himself at all - as Lucid still remembers him. Because of this, I strongly believe that Lucid - not the Black Mage - is the only person who remembers Shade, and that all the stuff that the Black Mage had told him was just fake information that Lucid had made up on her own.

In the case where Shade is the Adversary, the Black Mage appears to remember him in Limina, likely because he - just like Freud - knew about the nature of the sealing spell and surmised that the fact that he couldn’t recognize the Adversary standing before him meant that it had to be the sacrificed hero, as otherwise, there would be no way that he wouldn’t recognize the most important piece in his plan when he’s been aware of every major variable and development across the timeline.

Lucid being the only person who fully remembers Shade without the need of an indirect reminder like Freud also reframes the context of Shade and his trauma. The nightmare that she gives him isn’t just some scary dream where he sees the Black Mage - it’s her deliberately feeding him false information that the Black Mage, as a Transcendent, is the only person who can remember him, making it so that by killing his greatest enemy, he’s ensuring that he’s also killing himself.

Shade has been suicidal for quite a number of years, even before his existence was erased. He was a wanderer with no loved ones, no home, and no desire to keep living until Freud gave him a reason to be alive. His only source of happiness in the world was that he had found a family in the Heroes, the first and only people who ever cared about him in his long life devoid of love, whom he gave everything that he had, even as he believed his own life to be next-to-worthless.

After being left fundamentally incapable of ever having a lasting bond with anyone ever again, he comes to believe that he would simply be better off dead, but after having found a life worth living, there’s a resilient part of him that wants him to survive and reclaim that happiness again. What Lucid does to him with her nightmare is cripple his desire to stay alive by showing that he’ll never be able to have that happiness again for as long as he lives. Just when he’s finally starting to care about himself again, she manipulates him into believing that he’s going to disappear once the Black Mage is gone, meaning that he’ll never get to live a proper, peaceful life with the Heroes or Moonbeam after the war ever again.

Shade is now caught in this horrible cycle of guilt, as he doesn’t want to disappear, but the cost of him choosing not to fight is that the Black Mage will continue threatening the entire world. He starts hating himself because he thinks that he’s being completely selfish for not wanting to die, as he equates this with him wanting the Black Mage to keep hurting innocent people, and because of his long-standing suicidal ideation, he’s trapped in this warped type of thinking that having found a desire to keep living was a mistake all along, and that he should’ve killed himself long ago in the first place.

At the same time, it’s clear that no matter what, the part of him that wants to live won’t go away, and no matter how much he hates himself, he can’t go back to who he was before, as the memories of Freud, the Heroes, and Moonbeam keep reminding him that he was happy with them once, which drives him to protect them so that they’ll keep being happy, even if it won’t ever be with him.

As a result, he’s now committed himself to defeating the Black Mage, knowing that he’s effectively committing suicide once again to save his friends, just like he did when he had first sacrificed himself to seal the Black Mage, when he had believed that he would stop existing by powering the seal. This time, however, he’s absolutely sure that he’s going to die, and that he’s going to die in the most miserable way possible - alone and afraid, disappearing without a trace, with not a single person who will ever remember him or how much pain he had put himself through for them all to live a happy life.

What’s even worse is that he’s doing this while knowing that once he dies and leaves their world for the afterlife, his existence will be erased for the last time and not a single person will ever miss him or mourn him, as no one will even remember the sacrifice that he had made for them. This idea is something that gets carried throughout Shade’s exclusive dialogue in Tenebris, as the entire battle is him coming to terms with the fact that he only has hours left to live, and that he’s not going to live to see the next day.

If I’m being honest, I’m extremely appalled by what Lucid did to Shade. Taking someone in mental crisis who’s actively going through one traumatic incident after another, tearing open their fresh wounds, and then pouring salt all over it just to gleefully watch them relapse back into their suicidal tendencies is actually one of the most sickening things I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Regardless of whether or not the Black Mage being Shade’s anchor was a lie, Lucid intentionally fed him this information, knowing that it would hurt him in the worst possible way.

While Lucid might’ve gone through a lot of trauma herself, trying to egg on a suicidal man to kill himself when he’s trying to find a reason to live isn’t something that can be excused in any capacity. I’ve seen Lucid’s actions as a Commander excused before on the basis that she’s “crazy”, which I personally think is a very damaging form of reasoning for several reasons.

First of all, people love to casually throw around the word “crazy” in any situation where someone with a hint of trauma starts behaves irrationally. There are plenty of perfectly well-adjusted people who might just be upset for a valid reason, and then they get slapped in the face with, “Did you forget to take your meds? Let’s check in with the doctor to see what he thinks,” just to invalidate everything that they’re feeling. I honestly hate how much the word “crazy” has become synonymous with mental illness and the idea that people are solely defined by it.

On the flip side, we get people who like to treat mentally ill people like these delicate little flowers with all the agency of an infant. It’s a nice thought to be sympathetic towards someone going through a rough time, but the idea of excusing someone’s actions just because they’re mentally ill is rooted in the toxic reasoning that mentally ill people can’t possibly be held to the same standards as “normal” people because the implication is that they’re all somehow incompetent or disabled in their ability to comprehend logic and morals.

Being mentally ill is highly traumatizing, and people who suffer from it experience significant changes in their emotional state, which affects how they behave, but as much as I would love to get a free pass for saying and doing things I normally wouldn’t when I’m not well, that’s not how the world works. There’s an old adage that mental illness isn’t your fault, but it is your responsibility, which is very much true. It’s frustrating and unfair, but you can’t just say “it wasn’t my fault” and magically make it everyone else’s job to deal with the consequences of your actions. People can, and probably will, forgive you for what happened, but at the same time, no one is obligated to forgive someone just because their actions were understandable.

On another level, there’s insanity, which is a level of mental illness in which you’re physically incapable of discerning reality. This is basically what people really mean when they say that someone’s too “crazy” to be held responsible for what they do. The idea of holding someone responsible for their actions while insane is a highly complex issue, but personally, I would argue that while you’re not responsible for your actions, it’s still your job to hold yourself accountable for them.

In Lucid’s case, she’s definitely mentally ill, but she’s not insane. She has a grasp on reality and she very clearly understands the difference between right and wrong because she fully knows and acknowledges that she’s hurting the people of Lachelein by trapping them in a nightmare. The only “craziness” that she’s ever really demonstrated is an impaired ability to regulate her emotions, which is actually fairly consistent with borderline personality disorder, but there’s nothing to suggest that she didn’t perfectly well know what she was doing when she convinced Shade that he’s gonna die a miserable death when he’s fighting to stay alive.

At the same time, however, she’s a traumatized child with absolutely no support system whatsoever. She might be responsible for her actions, and you could make an argument that she should be punished for it, but I think it’s a bit unfair to treat her solely like a criminal. Personally, I think there’s merit in the idea of reformative, rather than retributive, justice by giving her the intensive therapy that she needs and letting her make reparations for all the harm that she’s caused. I really hope that the writers find a balanced way to handle the situation that doesn’t blindly absolve her, but also doesn’t treat her like a criminal.

But anyways, getting back to the original point before I got completely derailed, the exclusive dialogue that Shade receives is that Lucid greets him and asks if he remembers her, reminding him that she had promised that they’d meet again. Shade is confused by who she is, to which she jokes about how ironic it is that he can’t remember the one person there who can still remember him, which transitions back into the generic script below.)

Just then, Protective Mask arrived and created a distraction to help the Adversary escape. As punishment for allowing them to get away, Lucid transformed the Dreamkeepers into butterflies. Protective Mask then took the Adversary back to the hideout, where they met Protective Mask’s ally, Gray Mask. Gray Mask told the Adversary that the girl whom they had met was Lucid, who had the power to manipulate dreams.

He explained that Lachelein was a giant prison created from her dreams in order to keep everyone inside, where they were forced to enjoy a festival that never ended, brainwashed into believing that none of it was strange. He told the Adversary that he and Protective Mask were the ‘awakened ones’ who had awoken from Lucid’s dream. Knowing that their existence put her dream in jeopardy, Lucid had sent her Dreamkeepers to hunt them down.

The Adversary asked if they could escape the city, but Gray Mask explained that the fog surrounding the city prevented anyone from leaving. He told the Adversary to try it for themselves, but warned that falling into the river would tear them into their component Erdas. Sure enough, the thick fog pushed the Adversary back to the city’s edge no matter how many times they attempted to get through.

(A/N: The properties of the Arcane River seem to change from area to area. The waters in the Vanishing Journey cause you to lose your memories, while the waters in Lachelein tear you apart. However, the other parts of the river seem to be perfectly safe, as the Morass and Sellas allow you to even breathe underwater.)

After they returned back to the hideout, Protective Mask told the Adversary that they needed a mask in order to blend in. Gray Mask told them to obtain materials from the Paper Bag Alley Citizens. The Adversary collected the materials and gave them to Gray Mask, who began to work on making the mask for them. However, he asked them to fight the Wood Board Alley Citizens, who were disturbing his work with their noise.

After the Adversary returned, Gray Mask handed them the finished mask. Protective Mask then offered to form an alliance, as freeing the people of Lachelein from Lucid’s dream would also allow the Adversary to continue along the Arcane River. After accepting, Gray Mask told them that their mission was to protect the awakened ones and liberate the city from Lucid. He asked the Adversary to return to the city and locate the other awakened ones in order to bring them back to the hideout.

After speaking with the townspeople in the main street, the Adversary determined that Shrimp Mask was an awakened one. They began persuading Shrimp Mask to come with them when the Dreamkeepers arrived. The Adversary grabbed Shrimp Mask and fled back to the hideout while Protective Mask ran in the opposite direction to trick the Dreamkeepers.

The Adversary then calmed Shrimp Mask down and asked if he remembered anything from the time that he had been brainwashed. Shrimp Mask told them that he could recall a sound that had come from an old music box, which he had last heard in the Noisy Market. Gray Mask believed that awakened ones couldn’t hear the music box because the device maintained the dreams of the townspeople. Just then, Protective Mask arrived and told them that he would take care of the music box.

(A/N: They use male pronouns to refer to Protective Mask in the Lachelein storyline, but you find out later during the Convergence storyline that Protective Mask is actually a projection of Mercedes that Lucid subliminally created in order to save her from her nightmare. I originally used gender-neutral pronouns for Protective Mask at first, but it became really messy, since I’m also using gender-neutral pronouns for the Adversary. I’ll use male pronouns for Protective Mask in this section, since that’s what he and everyone else seem comfortable using, but just bear in mind his true identity while it’s going on.)

The Adversary began gathering information about the music box while Protective Mask kept watch for the Dreamkeepers. They learned that Circus Mask was lamenting about the disappearance of his true love, a chicken named Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s owner, Stylish Mask, told them that chickens returned back to their friends when threatened, and so the Adversary began attacking the nearby Gallinas and Galluses in order to lure out Elizabeth.

Soon enough, they were able to get Elizabeth to return home. Having helped Circus Mask, the Adversary asked him if he had heard the music box, to which he gave a nonsensical answer, although Protective Mask was able to determine that Circus Mask was telling them that the music was coming from the direction of the river’s source.

Along the way, they met Huge Watermelon Mask, who asked them to shatter Angry Victory Plates and bring back their pieces in exchange for the music box’s location. He then told them that the sound had come from Pie Mask, who asked them to shatter Crooked Victory Plates and bring the pieces back as proof. After they returned, Pie Mask suddenly turned into the music box and Dreamkeepers began arriving at the scene.

While Protective Mask held them off, the Adversary destroyed the music box, breaking the dream and causing the Dreamkeepers to fade away. All the people in the Noisy Market then awoke from Lucid’s dream and Protective Mask was filled with a surge of memories. He recommended that they keep the awakened ones in the Noisy Market, as the Dreamkeepers couldn’t exist in the area, since the dream had been broken there. They decided to head back to the hideout and Huge Watermelon Head also volunteered to come along with them.

Meanwhile, a Dreamkeeper reported to Lucid that the Adversary was breaking the illusion of Lachelein, though he was quickly transformed into a butterfly for failing to stop them. Lucid wondered whether the Adversary was the one chosen by the Black Mage, or if they had come for her. However, she believed that it changed nothing and invited them to continue clinging onto their false hope.

Back at the hideout, Protective Mask explained that the dream would collapse once enough citizens escaped, and that they needed to destroy the remaining music boxes for that to happen. He explained that Lucid’s memories had flooded into him when the first music box had been destroyed, from which he had learned that the music boxes kept Lucid’s dream from collapsing upon itself.

He then asked Huge Watermelon Head if he remembered anything before he had awakened. Huge Watermelon Head told them that he remembered seeing Lucid, who had been saying “Where is the nightmare?” Gray Mask realized that even though Lachelein was a dream that she had created, there had to be elements that even she couldn’t control and believed that it was the key to defeating her. Huge Watermelon Head added that he had heard a second music box near Lachelein Ballroom just before he had awakened.

As they made their way to the ballroom, Protective Mask asked the Adversary who they thought the residents of Lachelein really were, as the Arcane River was a newly-born world. Protective Mask believed that the people of Lachelein were Erdas shaped into human form and blinded by a dream of being human.

He wondered whether Erdas had souls, and whether struggling to live was proof of a soul, before telling the Adversary to forget about it and instead focus on the mission. Just like before, the Adversary attempted to interrogate the citizens, but they were stopped by Piper Mask, who told them that they needed a flashy mask to pass the dress code. They collected materials from Angry Masquerade Citizens for Piper Mask, who created a fancy mask for them.

While speaking with the townspeople, Stylish Youth Mask asked them to defeat the Insane Masquerade Citizens for him. As thanks, he suggested that they speak to Dark Mask. Dark Mask revealed that he was an awakened one, though he still felt trapped, since they were all still inside Lucid’s dream. He refused to help them and instead tried to leave, ignoring Protective Mask’s suggestion that he blend in amongst the ones still dreaming. Protective Mask then went off after him and the Adversary ran after the two.

The Adversary quickly found Dark Mask and Protective Mask being surrounded by waves of Dreamkeepers. Dark Mask explained that Protective Mask had gotten injured trying to protect him. Though Dark Mask believed that they were done for, Protective Mask told the Adversary that the Dreamkeepers around them seemed weaker because of the destroyed music box at the Night Market. The Adversary told him that they would hold the Dreamkeepers off, prompting Dark Mask to ask if they were the nightmare that Lucid was looking for. He explained that though he didn’t know where the music box was, Masquerade Mask often talked about hearing music.

While the Adversary held off the Weakened Dreamkeepers, Dark Mask was able to escape. Protective Mask then told them that they needed to return to the Lachelein Ballroom. Regarding their conversation about whether Erdas had souls, Protective Mask told them that it didn’t matter, as he needed to face Lucid, even if it meant that he didn’t come back. The Adversary asked what the nightmare was, to which Protective Mask explained that the Adversary was immune to Lucid’s power, since they weren’t part of her dream, meaning that they were the only one who could stop her.

They then arrived at the ballroom and found Masquerade Mask, who told them that she wanted to impress everyone with her dancing skills. Protective Mask noted how Lucid’s subconscious thoughts were reflected in the characters that she had created in Lachelein, including her strong need to be appreciated by others. The Adversary then hunted the Red Dancing Shoes in order to bring a pair to Masquerade Mask. After giving them to her, she transformed into the music box. Immediately, Dreamkeepers arrived to apprehend them. The Adversary quickly destroyed the music box, causing the Dreamkeepers to vanish and allowing everyone in the ballroom to awaken from Lucid’s dream.

Protective Mask was then consumed by more of Lucid’s memories, which weakened him as Lucid’s hold on the dream slipped further. At the clocktower, Lucid decided to take drastic measures and sent her butterflies across Lachelein. Protective Mask felt her power and realized that Lucid was causing Lachelein to rapidly expand and consume the entire world. One by one, the citizens of Lachelein began transforming into Dreamkeepers, including Gray Mask and the other awakened ones.

With no other choice, Protective Mask pushed himself and the Adversary into the Arcane River, where the Dreamkeepers would not follow. Lucid was pleased to see them fall, believing that they would decompose into Erdas. (A/N: If the player is Mercedes, Lucid will say, “Goodbye, my queen,” after we fall in. For male Mercedes, Lucid will instead say, “Goodbye, sweet king.” If the player Shade, Lucid will say that she’ll remember him.) However, when Protective Mask saved the Adversary from touching the river at his own expense, Lucid witnessed how Protective Mask had survived unscathed and realized that he was the nightmare that she was searching for.

Protective Mask also realized this and told the Adversary that since he was neither human nor Erda, he had survived the fall into the Arcane River. He also realized that it was the reason why he alone could peer into Lucid’s memories and why he was the only one who grew weaker as the dream weakened. Dejectedly, Protective Mask told the Adversary to leave him alone to grapple with the revelation that he was a soulless illusion created by Lucid.

However, the Adversary told Protective Mask that the way he had worked to save people and his drive to keep living was proof that he was alive. Protective Mask, after a pause, told the Adversary that the final music box was at the clocktower. The Adversary raced up the clocktower and fought through the Dreamkeepers and Gargoyles, whose defeat helped turn the transformed awakened ones back into themselves. Along the way, they received an Arcane Symbol from Gray Mask, who had discovered it while transformed as a Dreamkeeper.

At the top of the clocktower, they faced Lucid herself and demanded that she free the enslaved people of Lachelein, who were unhappy no matter how many times they went through the motions of enjoying themselves. However, Lucid refused, claiming that the gesture would be enough if she could change the Black Mage’s mind.

(A/N: Shade gets some exclusive dialogue in which he asks Lucid why he can’t remember her. Lucid replies that she might have played around with his memories and adds that it wouldn’t be fun if he knew everything. It then transitions back into the generic script that has Shade say that no one is happy in Lachelein.

Mercedes also gets some exclusive dialogue right before demanding Lucid to free the people of Lachelein. Mercedes tells Lucid that she’s certain that she’s met Lucid somewhere before and wonders why she still can’t remember. Lucid replies that it doesn’t matter, as Mercedes means nothing to her anymore.

Mercedes then asks whether this is all part of the Black Mage’s plan and demands to know how Lucid can still follow him, as his victory would mean the end of the world as they know it. She then points out that no one in Lachelein is happy and asks Lucid if this is the world that she wants, which transitions back into the generic script that has Lucid say that she doesn’t care if they’re happy, as the gesture is enough if it’ll change the Black Mage’s mind.)

The Adversary was taken aback, as they believed that Lucid was a loyal Commander. They asked what the Black Mage was planning, but Lucid merely told them that they couldn’t begin to comprehend his plans. She then sent several butterflies at them, but Protective Mask arrived to warn that Lucid’s dreams were carried on the dust from the butterflies. However, Lucid told them that it was too late and dragged the Adversary into her dream world.

From the real world, Protective Mask explained that he was immune to Lucid’s dream because of his gas mask and helped walk the Adversary through breaking free of Lucid’s dream. With Protective Mask’s help, the Adversary was able to defeat Lucid in her dream world, causing it to collapse. Furious, Lucid unleashed her true power and created butterfly wings for herself, shattering the clocktower.

Within the air, the Adversary faced Lucid, and after a fierce battle, they managed to defeat her once and for all. Protective Mask explained that with Lucid’s defeat, the dream of Lachelein would fade away and the fog surrounding the city would lift, though it would mean that he would also disappear. However, he told them that he had no regrets, as he had fulfilled his purpose of protecting the Erdas of Lachelein.

As the fog slowly began to clear, the Adversary found several Subconscious Cracks, which had formed as a result of Lucid’s dream breaking. (A/N: The memories in these cracks can be viewed as they appear intermittently throughout the storyline, with the final crack appearing after you defeat Lucid. However, I’m covering them all at once here so as not to break the flow of the story.)

By stabilizing them with Dream Fragments, the Adversary was able to view Lucid’s memories of her past. In the first Subconscious Crack, the Adversary witnessed a young Lucid and Athena Pierce being trained by Danika in Elluel. After their training session, Athena asked Danika whether she could show off what she had learned to Mercedes, who would be returning back soon. Danika told her that Mercedes would see them tomorrow, after which Athena and Lucid began heading off. Though Athena was quite excited to show her skills to Mercedes, Lucid was rather nervous.

Later that night, Lucid began practicing her archery skills, though she grew frustrated when she was unable to shoot properly. Wishing that she were gifted like Athena, Lucid began growing tired and fell asleep. In her dreams, she found herself hitting every target perfectly, with Mercedes acknowledging her skills.

Blushing from the praise, Lucid felt pride in herself as Mercedes commended her for her progress, adding that she couldn’t wait to see what Lucid could do with Dual Bowguns. Lucid noted to herself that she felt incredibly happy, and that she never wanted to wake up. Suddenly, however, she awoke and found herself back in the training field.

Though she knew that she had only been dreaming, she also felt that everything had been too real to be an ordinary dream. She then realized that she herself had woven the dream, and that she had been in complete control of everything. She proudly noted that though archery was a skill that anyone could learn, the ability to control dreams was something that she alone possessed.

The next morning, Lucid presented a beautiful music box to Mercedes, which she claimed would give sweet dreams to the listener. As the other elves gathered to listen to the music, Mercedes was impressed by Lucid’s creation and told her that it may just become Elluel’s greatest treasure. However, Lucid was frustrated upon seeing everyone else enjoying the music, as she had intended for it to be a gift only for Mercedes. As she had been hoping for an even bigger reaction from Mercedes, she decided that she would create something even more spectacular and perfect, as she wanted it to be something exclusive between herself and Mercedes.

In the second Subconscious Crack, the Adversary saw all the elves seeing Mercedes off as she left to fight the Black Mage. Lucid grew worried that she might be seeing Mercedes for the last time and decided that she would go with her. Just then, Athena stepped up and declared that she would accompany Mercedes, causing some of the other children to speak up as well. Mercedes thanked them for their bravery, though she told them that it was her duty to protect them, not the other way around.

That night, Lucid followed Mercedes and Danika as they headed off, intent on joining them. To her shock, however, she discovered that Athena had gotten there first. Lucid watched in horror as Mercedes agreed to let Athena accompany them, even giving her the Mistelteinn for protection. Filled with despair, Lucid ran off in tears, feeling as though no one in the world cared about her.

In the third Subconscious Crack, the Adversary found Lucid somewhere remote, deciding that if no one cared about her anymore, then she would remove herself from their memories, declaring that she didn’t need any of them. After erasing herself from the minds of the elves, Lucid immersed herself in a dream world of her own making, completely isolated from the outside world.

Oblivious to the passage of time, Lucid was unaware of the Heroes finally sealing the Black Mage away, as well as his final curse upon them. With the destiny of the elves being tied to Mercedes, all the elves were frozen in ice, including Lucid. Because of her abilities, Lucid’s mind remained awake, and her dream world quickly became a prison. Though she attempted to weave happy dreams for herself, such as ruling the elves as their queen, she remained aware that it was merely an illusion. Crafting one dream after another, Lucid soon began wishing that she wouldn’t wake up again.

In the fourth Subconscious Crack, the Adversary saw how, over the centuries, Lucid grew increasingly desperate to be saved from her prison and eventually projected her mind as far as it could go. Unexpectedly, Lucid touched the consciousness of the Black Mage, who promised her eternal life, infinite knowledge, and a new world. As a child who had never even left Elluel’s borders before, Lucid grew enticed by the Black Mage’s offer.

To hear that such a powerful being needed her was all that Lucid desired, and so she took his hand without hesitation. Feeling like her mind was about to burst from all the new things that the Black Mage had offered to show her, Lucid used her augmented powers to break free from the ice and become one of the Black Mage’s Commanders.

In the fifth Subconscious Crack, the Adversary watched the Alliance bicker amongst itself, with Claudine confronting Cygnus, claiming that her scouts had entered the Gate to the Future, in which they had seen Cygnus and her knights turn on the people of Maple World. Cygnus attempted to remind Claudine that the vision of the future was a fabrication created by the Black Mage, though Claudine remained unconvinced.

While Athena Pierce attempted to keep the peace, Lucid watched in amusement as the Black Mage’s plan to waver the Alliance’s willpower continued smoothly. Though the Alliance had realized that it had just been an illusion, the seeds of doubt had been planted in their minds, which she hoped to further reinforce with the nightmare that would soon come forth.

In the Black Mage’s throne room, Lucid reported to the Black Mage that a new world was about to unfold. Curious about what sort of a world he was planning to create, Lucid asked him to show her a glimpse of what he was hoping to bring about. The Black Mage then showed her a vision of ultimate darkness, causing a shocked Lucid to realize that there was absolutely nothing in the new world that the Black Mage planned to make - and most importantly, not even the Black Mage himself would exist.

(A/N: This is another case where it was shown to the Adversary that the Black Mage is planning to create a new world, even though we’re surprised to learn it in Esfera. I guess you could technically interpret the concept of a new world loosely by having the Adversary take it as the Black Mage turning Maple World into a realm of darkness, rather than him literally making a new world from scratch.)

Upon realizing that the Black Mage sought to end his own existence through the Genesis Ritual, Lucid grew shocked and saddened, as the Black Mage was the center of her world. Hoping to change his mind, Lucid chose to betray the Black Mage and created Lachelein in the Arcane River. By creating a festive city with no sadness or pain, Lucid planned to grow her dream beyond the Arcane River and envelop the world, believing that showing the Black Mage the joys of life would be enough to convince him not to end his own life.

(A/N: Lucid simping for the Black Mage made me immediately think of that one meme with the dudebro on Snapchat.

Black Mage: vents about how much he wants to die
Lucid: “Nooo don’t kill urself ur so sexy aha”

Lucid might actually be the messiest person I’ve ever seen, like even more so than me, which is saying a lot. Between her unresolved abandonment issues, her infatuation with people five times her age, her own coded suicidal ideation, her trying to bait people into killings themselves, and her trying to fix a mass murderer’s suicidal tendencies with “don’t be sad, be happy :D”, like girl, come on - pick a struggle.

Originally when Lachelein was released, people thought that Lucid’s plan to change the Black Mage’s mind was because she wanted to convince him not to destroy everything and instead make a world filled with happiness and joy. After the Genesis Weapon storyline was released, it was revealed that Lucid was shocked not because the world that the Black Mage would create was empty, but because he himself didn’t exist in it. However, the Adversary doesn’t have that context when they see these memories, and so they just think that the Black Mage wants to make a world of darkness.

Also, for the record, GMS localization is actual garbage that completely omitted Lucid’s motivations with a bad translation. I feel like I complain every other section about how bad the localization is, but it really is the worst thing ever. The fact that you have to go to KMS and somehow have the means to translate the original Korean text in order to learn important lore things is an embarrassment to the quality of GMS.)

In the sixth and final Subconscious Crack, the Adversary watched Lucid holding a glass of wine as she celebrated the completion of Lachelein. (A/N: I guess we can add on “underage drinking” to Lucid’s list of evil, heinous crimes too.) Suddenly, however, Lucid felt a wave of drowsiness, causing her to collapse and fall unconscious. Inside her dreamscape, Lucid sensed that something was wrong and decided to leave. Suddenly, several Wightmares appeared and amusedly asked where she was going, laughing that they were the ones who had called her.

Lucid dismissed them as fragments of her imagination and attempted to banish them, though she was shocked when nothing happened. The Wightmares laughed that she wasn’t in control anymore, and that she was now trapped inside her own dream. As the Wightmares cackled that she would be trapped inside a nightmare forever, Lucid fell to her knees in horror.

Suddenly, she awoke back in Lachelein, feeling chills running down her spine. After realizing that she had lost control of her own dream, she suddenly began laughing maniacally and invited her nightmares to swallow her whole, though she entreated them to follow her obediently until she could successfully change the Black Mage’s mind. She then added that until the whole world was shrouded in sweet dreams, the festival needed to go on.

Meanwhile, back in the present, Lucid grew increasingly consumed by her nightmares as she continued trying and failing to reach the Black Mage’s mind. Nevertheless, she persistently attempted to reach her master, who had once saved her from despair, as she believed that it was her turn to save him from his own despair, even if she became trapped in her own nightmare as a result.

Within the darkness, Lucid cried out and apologized to him for her betrayal, explaining that she had only acted because she had been afraid of losing him. Suddenly, Lucid managed to reach the Black Mage’s subconscious, and though she didn’t know whether it was because her heart had reached him, or whether it had simply been pure coincidence, she was overjoyed at having finally reached him nevertheless.

Before the Black Mage was able to detect her presence, Lucid quickly sensed that there was a disturbance inside his unconscious mind. Peering deeper inside, Lucid sensed a faint, yet intense memory filled with sadness and relief, which had soon turned into unbridled hatred. Just then, however, the Black Mage became aware of Lucid accessing his memories and pushed her out of his mind, leaving her trapped in her own nightmare forever with the knowledge that the person who had meant everything to her had abandoned her for good.

(A/N: The scene of Lucid being abandoned by the Black Mage is seen after you defeat Lucid during the Genesis Weapon liberation questline. The memory that Lucid accessed was the moment that the White Mage had entered the divine realm, with his emotions corresponding to how his pain and sadness had turned into relief upon reaching the ultimate light, right before his relief had turned into pure hatred for the Overseers and what they had done to humanity.)

Mysterious Forest of Arcana:

(A/N: Just like with Chu Chu Island, this storyline is also mainly filler and could’ve instead been removed and replaced by something that would’ve helped the pacing of the Arcane River storyline as a whole. Arcana seems to be based on the Forest of Spirits that Orchid, Lotus, and Guwaru come from, making it possible that it was created from the Erdas of spirits from Maple World and Grandis.)

With the fog around Lachelein slowly starting to lift, the Adversary was able to make it past the edge of town, where the Flying Fish awaited them. Hopping aboard its back, the Adversary left Lachelein and began flying over the Arcane River. Soon, however, they ran into a large Vortex of Light that pulled them in and threw them in the middle of the forest of Arcana.

There, the Adversary encountered a mysterious light and began following it. They soon encountered a Small Spirit crying by himself. They approached the spirit to comfort him when suddenly, dark Water Spirits appeared and began attacking. The Adversary defeated the spirits and returned to the Small Spirit, who told them about the large Spirit Tree in the center of the forest, which had once resonated with the Song of the Forest and had sheltered the spirits from danger.

However, the Song of the Forest had grown silent, causing the Spirit Tree to wither, after which discordant spirits had begun to manifest. As the tree withered, it had become shrouded in an evil stench, and the Vortex of Light had appeared shortly afterward. The Adversary asked about the Song of the Forest, which the Small Spirit explained had been created by the Songblooms that grew around the forest.

The Small Spirit believed that the Spirit Tree would restore itself if the Song of the Forest were to play once more, but he explained that he had been unable to restore the Songblooms. Just then, a mysterious Wind Spirit appeared and offered his help. The Small Spirit asked him to carry them down the cliff to the Floral Flute. After gently setting them at the foot of the cliff, the Wind Spirit flew off.

The Small Spirit told the Adversary that they would need to collect the life force from the wild spirits in order to breathe life back into the shriveled Floral Flute. The Adversary collected Essences of Water, Sunlight, and Earth from the nearby spirits, which briefly revitalized the flute before it shriveled up again. They attempted to revitalize it once again with more essence, though it still had no effect.

The Small Spirit then began crying, causing the Wind Spirit to appear once again. The Wind Spirit told them that one of the Whispering Flowers might know how to help before vanishing once more. After searching through the forest for the right flower, the Adversary found a Whispering Flower, which told them that the Floral Flute thrived on moonlight, and that the greatest amount of moonlight fell on the highest place in the forest.

The Adversary told the Small Spirit what they had learned, but the Small Spirit explained that the Floral Flute was too big to carry. He instead suggested cutting a trimming from the Floral Flute plant and planting it at the spot with the most moonlight. After planting the cutting atop the highest point, the moonlight revitalized the withered cutting and allowed it to bloom, creating a beautiful sound.

The pair then went to the Spirit Tree in order to see its status, though they discovered that it still remained silent. Undeterred, the Small Spirit led the Adversary to the heart of the forest, where he told them that they would need to ask the Tree Spirits for their help in navigating through the maze. As they proceeded deeper into the forest, they found the same mysterious light that had led the Adversary to the Small Spirit and followed it until the light split into two paths.

The pair decided to split up in order to cover both paths, and as the Adversary continued alone, they soon felt their strength being drained. Several Tree Spirits then appeared and demanded that the Adversary return their friend, believing the Adversary to be the same stranger who had appeared some time ago.

Just then, the Small Spirit appeared and created a bright light to distract the Tree Spirits, allowing the Adversary to escape. They returned to the heart of the forest, where the Wind Spirit returned and told them that he had seen the missing Tree Spirit somewhere nearby before vanishing once again. They began to search for the Tree Spirit and found him being corrupted amongst the wild spirits.

The Adversary took the lost spirit and fought through the corrupted Snow Cloud Spirits and Thunder Cloud Spirits in order to bring him back to the other Tree Spirits. There, the Tree Spirits transferred some of their energy into their comrade in order to stop the corruption. The Small Spirit then told the Tree Spirits about his mission to revive the Songblooms in order to restore the Spirit Tree and asked about the Bramble Harp. However, the Tree Spirits told him that his efforts were pointless, as they believed that the corruption was too deep to undo.

Just then, the trail of light reappeared and the Adversary followed it to the withered Bramble Harp. The Wind Spirit then popped in and told them that a large tree that responded to sound was blocking the Bramble Harp from feeling the starlight in the sky. The Small Spirit believed that the tree might move if they made enough noise on the other side.

In order to do so, the Adversary collected the crystallized Deathcries of the Toxic Spirits and Volatile Shrieks of the Volatile Spirits. By smashing the crystals, they were able to create a large noise that caused the tree to move aside. Just then, the Tree Spirits arrived and demanded that they stop, claiming that there was no hope of reviving the forest. When the Adversary and the Small Spirit refused to give up, the Tree Spirits created vines in order to trap the pair as punishment for ignoring their warnings.

Just then, the Tree Spirit whom they had rescued arrived and told the other Tree Spirits that the Bramble Harp was beginning to bloom. The rescued Tree Spirit freed the Adversary and the Small Spirit and thanked them for rescuing him. He explained that the other Tree Spirits were behaving aggressively because they felt guilty for failing their duty to protect the Spirit Tree.

He apologized on their behalf and noted that the Adversary was nothing like the stranger with the terrible aura who had passed through the forest earlier. He explained that a calm yet powerful aura of immense evil had appeared not long ago from the stranger. As the stranger had passed through, everything in her wake had vanished and transformed into something else. Though she had only been walking by, her mere presence had resulted in the corruption that plagued the forest. He added that others had followed behind her, though he didn’t know how many.

(A/N: The corruption in the forest was caused by Tana, who’s being escorted to the Black Mage by Arkarium.)

The Adversary and the Small Spirit then went to Marimba Lagoon, which they found had completely dried up. The Small Spirit explained that when the lagoon used to be full, the dew that collected on the blossoms would drip onto the surface of the lagoon, creating a calm concerto of water. At the base of the lagoon, they found a large rock obstructing the water flow. They broke through the rock and found a new passageway.

Upon entering, they discovered a vast cave, where a Rock Spirit was trapped under brambles. After being freed, the Rock Spirit told them that he had been swimming underground with his brothers when a large wave had swept them away. They found the Rock Spirit’s brothers trapped in brambles up above and realized that they were blocking the water.

The Rock Spirit told them to find seven of his ten brothers scattered throughout the cave so that the Adversary could stack them on top of another and climb up to free the other three. After rescuing the scattered brothers, the Adversary was able to save the trapped ones, allowing the water to flow back into the lagoon. Just then, they heard a rumble as the Wind Spirit returned and warned them that the Spirit Tree was in trouble.

They fought their way out of the cave and found the Spirit Tree completely engulfed by the evil aura. The aura began to spread outward, creating corrupted spirits that began attacking them. As they fought the spirits off, a massive spirit with much darker energy appeared. After the Adversary defeated it, the massive spirit shrank in size and revealed itself as the spirit of the Spirit Tree, the Spirit of Harmony.

The Spirit of Harmony’s memories revealed how he had tried to reach out to the other spirits during the time of peace, and how he had been too shy to talk to them. When the corruption had begun to spread, the Spirit of Harmony had attempted to seal the corruption in order to protect the other spirits, causing him to become corrupted himself and lose his strength, which had resulted in the Spirit Tree withering.

As all the spirits gathered to apologize to the Spirit of Harmony for not noticing how he had sacrificed himself, the Song of the Forest began to play and restored life throughout the forest. In the distance, the Adversary noted that the Vortex of Light had disappeared, meaning that they could continue on their journey. Before heading out, they said goodbye to the Small Spirit, who thanked them for helping him restore the Song of the Forest and gave them an Arcane Symbol as a token of his gratitude.

Morass, the Swamp of Memory:

Having restored balance to the forest of Arcana, the Adversary continued riding the Flying Fish across the Arcane River. Unexpectedly, however, the Flying Fish began swimming towards the bottom of the Arcane River into a strange coral reef. The Adversary wondered where they had gone, to which the Flying Fish explained that they were at the edge of the Arcane River.

The Adversary expressed their shock that the Flying Fish could suddenly talk, to which the Flying Fish explained that he had gained the ability to speak, since they were near the Morass, where the Erdas were more concentrated. He then introduced himself as the Will of Erda, a proxy for the Erdas created to save the world, just like the Adversary.

(A/N: In a sense, the Flying Fish is almost exactly like Sugar, who was created as a proxy by the Goddess of Maple World in order to help the Explorer stop the Black Mage. Since the Erdas are what make up everything in the world, including Sugar, and since it’s been hinted that the canonical Adversary is a Hero, it almost feels like in a symbolic way, Sugar is still standing by our side through the Flying Fish. It also opens up an interesting question of whether the Goddesses of Grandis and Tynerum (or potentially Earth, if they finally decide to retcon it like I’ve been begging for years) are able to create mortal avatars of themselves in order to help the people of their respective worlds.)

As they headed closer towards the Morass, the Adversary was surprised to find Xenoroids around them, which were much stronger than the ones that they had fought before in the past. The Flying Fish explained that the Erdas in the Morass could mimic the memories of others as a survival technique, adding that they could become their enemy’s greatest fear if needed. Because of this, the Erdas were able to manifest themselves as Xenoroids from the Adversary’s memories of Black Heaven. The Adversary then fought past the Xenoroids, though they found that the Erdas would simply manifest anew upon being defeated.

(A/N: Although it would’ve been cool if each class got a unique enemy based on their own worst fears, I like the idea that Black Heaven is the thing that gives every class more PTSD than anything else in their individual storylines. It makes total sense why, since we were in a high-stress environment filled with heavy casualties, Francis, getting publicly court-martialed, mandatory jump quests and minigames, fighting a fully-powered Lotus, replaying Act 2 two dozen times for exclusive dialogue, and literally being on the verge of death before being revived with the Seal Stone.

If I were in the Morass, the Erdas there would probably manifest as a stack of several hundred pages that still need to be proofread and edited. One day, this site will be free of spelling and grammar mistakes. Sadly, today is not that day. Fortunately for me, Sacrix does a great job of being my unofficial editor by catching a good number of typos during his lore readings, at the cost of outing my inability to spell to the wider universe.)

The Flying Fish then told the Adversary that Tana was nearby, whose power was strong enough to affect even him. They quietly proceeded ahead and found Tana standing with Arkarium. Tana’s hair began oscillating between dark and light, and Arkarium noted that her mental state was deteriorating. In extreme pain, Tana asked who she was and why she was hurting. Arkarium reminded her that her name was Tana and explained that the Black Mage was waiting for her, and that he was offering to stop her pain in exchange for sharing her power with him.

Tana was able to recall that the Black Mage was the one who had sealed her away, though Arkarium told her that it had been for her own safety, as freezing her in time had stopped her from feeling unbearable pain and eventual madness. He then told Tana that they had gone over the same information many times, adding that they didn’t have time to go over it again.

The Flying Fish urged the Adversary to get Tana away from Arkarium, promising to explain later. As the Adversary confronted Arkarium, Tana lost control of her powers, causing the river current to grow stronger. Just as Arkarium shielded himself, Tana’s powers resulted in a widespread explosion, which the Adversary and the Flying Fish barely managed to escape. In the distance, the castle of Trueffet from Kritias manifested, causing Tana to grow shocked at seeing her old prison. As she wondered how it could have appeared, Arkarium told Tana that her powers had allowed it to manifest.

Some distance away, the Adversary was surprised to see Trueffet, to which the Flying Fish explained that it was a distorted plane of existence created from Tana’s memories. Though they were able to see it as it existed in her mind, it was really just a living coral reef that had been transformed. He explained that Tana’s memory had overridden everyone else’s, which was why the Xenoroids had disappeared.

He also revealed that Tana’s power exceeded that of the Black Mage. Because of her unparalleled ability to control the Erdas, the Black Mage had ordered Arkarium to bring her before him so that he could exploit her powers. The Adversary asked if Tana truly wanted to help the Black Mage destroy the world, to which the Flying Fish explained that she likely didn’t know what she was doing, as the Black Mage was taking advantage of her weakened mental state.

The Flying Fish then cautioned the Adversary not to lose themselves in Tana’s memories while inside the Morass. Immediately upon entering, however, they were both swept away into Tana’s memories of Trueffet in Hekatonian Year 52. In Trueffet Square, the Adversary’s body was changed to match that of Shey, a young man hoping to become a priest at the Temple of Time. Though the Adversary was able to remember their true self, they noted how their body and voice continued playing automatically through the memory. (A/N: I’ll refer to Shey whenever the memory loop is playing and refer to the Adversary whenever their mind overrides their body from the Morass.)

Just then, a thief named Jean stole Shey’s money and ran off. After getting caught, Jean threw the money to the alley cats, laughing that he always had a backup plan. While Shey collected his money back, Jean headed back to town, where he saw Tana watching a large anti-magic stone being lifted on a pulley. Deciding to pickpocket her, Jean snuck up behind Tana, but just as he reached out his hand, Tana grabbed him and told him that she hadn’t expected him.

(A/N: She says this because she becomes aware of the memory loop and is surprised to see Jean again, as he was killed by King Hekaton in the actual timeline. You’ll see that some events here are changed as a result of the Adversary’s influence in the memory loop, though it’s important to note that none of the events that are changed here actually influence the past, as this is just an imprint of Tana’s memories, not actual time-travel.)

Tana pushed Jean aside, just as the pulley rope broke, causing the anti-magic stone to shatter and vaporize everyone in the vicinity. Jean and the other survivors then watched in horror as Tana’s form rematerialized into a figure with white hair and glowing eyes.

(A/N: The symbol that appears in her eyes while she channels her powers is actually the Equilibrium symbol for Luminous, which is also the insignia of Aurora and the diamond-like pattern on both ends of his Shining Rod. When Tana was first revealed in a teaser image for Arcana, this symbol was what first led people to theorize that she had some connection to the Transcendent of Light, with many guessing that she was either Aeona or created from Aeona, similar to how Luminous was created from the Black Mage.)

The memory loop then flashed forward two years, and the Adversary suddenly heard the Flying Fish’s voice urging them to snap out of it. The Adversary quickly regained their senses, though they were temporarily dazed from having been immersed in Shey’s memories. The Flying Fish explained that they were inhabiting someone from Tana’s memories. He told them that Tana was a prisoner of the Morass, just as they were, and warned that those who became trapped in the Morass would remain stuck in the memory loop, eventually becoming Erdas themselves. Just as he began telling the Adversary how to escape, his voice faded away and the memory loop resumed, set two years later.

(A/N: At this point, the Adversary retains full control over themselves, but I’ll continue referring to them as Shey when they’re participating in the memory loop so as not to break the immersion, and switch back to calling them the Adversary when something outside of that happens, such as the Flying Fish communicating with them. Shey is now a fully-fledged priest, having spent the last two years studying at the Temple of Time.)

Back in Trueffet, one of the researchers asked Shey to pick up a late shipment for the memorial service created for those who had been killed two years ago by the anti-magic stone. At the market, Shey found the merchant being harassed by gangsters. The merchant loudly proclaimed that Shey was a priest from the Temple of Time and advised the thugs to leave. The gangsters decided to back off, but not before stealing the merchant’s apples.

After Shey recovered the apples, he asked the merchant whether he knew anything about the crystal disaster and its survivor. The merchant wondered why Shey was asking about it, as the event had happened while Shey had still been in town, before he had left for his studies. However, he told Shey that he didn’t know anything and advised him to ask someone else.

Shey then met a woman selling pottery, who asked him to teach the gangsters a lesson first. After beating them up, Shey returned to the woman, who told him that the people of Trueffet called the survivor an Angel of Death, and that the soldiers had taken her away, never to be seen again. She mentioned that Jean had also been asking about her, though he hadn’t been seen in several days. Suddenly, Shey noticed that there was a glowing journal in his bag and decided to look at it later.

(A/N: His journal glows and updates with new information periodically, but just like the cracks of memory in Lachelein, I’ll cover all the details at the end of this section so as not to break the flow of story.)

The woman then told him that a researcher was looking for him. After meeting the researcher, Shey was told that the High Priest had arrived, and that he had gone to the observatory. There, Shey was surprised to meet Arkarium, the High Priest. (A/N: At this point in time, Arkarium is much younger and still remains loyal to Rhinne.)

The memory loop then flashed forward and the Adversary found themselves in a dungeon. They realized that Tana and Arkarium had to have known each other from centuries ago and suspected that they must have been connected to the sealing of Kritias. Inside one of the research labs, they found Tana shackled inside a large spell circle, with researchers conducting tests. Tana asked Shey if he knew who she was, as no one remembered her and she remembered no one, with all that was left to her being her name and a faint memory of wanting something. However, she noted that Shey seemed vaguely familiar before crying out in pain.

(A/N: Once again, this seems to be the result of her partially being aware of the memory loop and recognizing Shey from when they had briefly met in the actual past. The line about there being something that she had wanted was omitted in the GMS dialogue, which is really dumb because what she wanted was like one of the most important parts of her character development, and it was meant to tie into the Adversary’s pivotal choice in Esfera.)

One of the researchers explained that they were testing her daily in order to see if they could transfer her regenerative power to others. They told Shey that upon failure, the test recipients vanished, though Tana’s power enabled her body to restore itself perfectly every time. Shey expressed that it seemed inhumane, but the researcher told him that regardless of how Tana appeared, she wasn’t human, but rather, she was merely an inanimate object with no emotions, desires, or memories. In order to explain it better, he told Shey to obtain his research journal from the lower dungeons, where another researcher had dropped it while running out in fright.

Inside the dungeons, Shey fought the strange shadows in the room and obtained the research journal, from which they learned that Hekaton had ordered for hundreds of test subjects to be experimented upon in order to learn the secret of immortality, with Tana being Subject No. 618. Believing that Tana held the key to overcoming death, the researchers had eagerly believed that they had begun the ascent to reach the divine.

While experimenting, the researchers had learned that memories were tied to the body, rather than the soul, as Tana kept losing her memories each time that she repaired the injuries that the researchers had repeatedly inflicted on her body, leaving her with only the faint memory that there was something that she had wanted. After a year of experimentation, the researchers had grown frustrated that their efforts had yielded no results. They had believed that there might have been a clue in her memories, though she couldn’t even remember her name anymore.

With no other choice, the researchers had risked using more extreme methods by forcing Tana beyond her regenerative capacity through fatally wounding her. During the experiment, however, Tana had gone berserk and had unleashed a flash of light, just as she had done on the day that the anti-magic stone had broken, causing six of their best researchers to vanish without a trace. After she had regenerated her body, she had then spoken aloud and told them that she remembered that her name was Tana.

Shey returned to the lab and learned that the former High Priest had written the entries before resigning, claiming that they had overstepped their bounds as mortals. Arkarium then entered the room and began a new test, which he deemed as a success after the test recipient received only moderate damage during the transfer process. The Adversary then wondered whether Arkarium was aware of being trapped in the memory loop.

After the experiment, the memory loop flashed forward and the Flying Fish’s voice told the Adversary to hide. Shey witnessed Jean break into Tana’s prison and attempt to rescue her. When he found that he couldn’t break her chains, he continued returning to her each night, reading to her and attempting to befriend her, though Tana’s lost emotions had made it difficult to read whether she was being positively affected by his efforts. However, Shey had noted a single, particular change in Tana, which was that she would occasionally look up at the ceiling from time to time, waiting for Jean to climb down and visit her.

The memory loop then flashed forward again, and one of the researchers asked Shey to bring Red Reagent from the dungeons for the experiment. As Arkarium conducted the experiment, King Hekaton himself arrived and berated him for his slow progress, ordering the researchers to raise the intensity. Tana’s power levels quickly reached critical as she unleashed a flash of vaporizing light, which King Hekaton miraculously survived, though the researchers noted a strange distortion in his spirit, causing them to realize that his body was no longer human.

(A/N: The implication here is that Hekaton has experimented on himself so much that his body is no longer human, which had allowed him to survive Tana’s vaporizing light when normal people couldn’t.)

Hekaton then ordered Arkarium to succeed in his experiment by tomorrow, which he declared would be the day of his Ascendancy. One of the researchers then noted that tomorrow would be their last day in the dungeons, as no matter what the outcome of the Ascendancy ritual would be, it was assured that Tana, one way or another, would disappear. The memory loop then flashed forward to that night, where the Flying Fish told the Adversary that the next memory was important.

The Adversary watched as Jean entered Tana’s prison, but uncharacteristically, Tana told Jean to stop visiting her, claiming that she had lost interest in the book that he normally read to her. However, Jean merely laughed and told her that she was terrible at lying. Tana, who had been lying to Jean in order to drive him away so that he wouldn’t miss her when she disappeared, then recalled the words of the researchers - that tomorrow, she would die no matter what.

As the realization sunk in, Tana’s psychological state began deteriorating as she repeated the researchers’ words about her not being human. As her powers began spiraling out of control, Tana’s eyes and hair oscillated between their glowing and normal states as she began screaming in pain. A shocked Jean asked Tana whether she was okay, to which Tana incoherently replied that she was in excruciating pain and begged for it to stop. Though Jean continued reassuring her that she would be fine, Tana’s power continued building up as she warned him to get back.

Though the Adversary attempted to intervene, the Flying Fish told them to stay back, explaining that Jean was fated to survive until the day of the Ascendency. As Tana’s mental state continued deteriorating, she suddenly recalled the faint memory of what it was that she had wanted so desperately that it was the only thing that she could remember, other than her own name. As the memory came back to her, she realized that what she had wanted more than anything else was to die.

Upon realizing this, however, Tana immediately grew terrified at the thought of dying, for while her death was assured to happen tomorrow, it wasn’t what she wanted anymore. As Tana’s power threatened to overwhelm her, Jean pulled Tana into a hug and promised that he would stay by her side no matter what, claiming that he needed her as much as she needed him, and that they should always be together. Tana told Jean to stay back, as she didn’t want to hurt him, but as Jean continued holding her close to him, promising to always keep her safe, Tana was gradually able to regain control over herself and calm down.

Nevertheless, Tana told Jean to stop visiting her, as it wasn’t safe for him. However, Jean replied that she didn’t know how the story that he had been reading to her ended. He explained that the princess was rescued by a brave knight, to which Tana told him that he wasn’t a knight, though Jean pointed out that she wasn’t a princess, either. He then told Tana that he would get her out of her prison, as it was now his turn to save her, just like how she’d saved him from the anti-magic stone years ago.

To the Adversary’s surprise, Tana gave Jean a small smile that the Adversary, in their mind, noted had warmed Shey’s heart with her first display of emotion. However, Shey had also noted that fate was cruel, as though it had been purposely designed to act in such a way, with each story and each person fitting into each other like individual cogs in a machine. He then thought to himself that the final product was slowly taking shape, appearing in an unbelievable form as the end of Kritias closed in.

The Flying Fish then told the Adversary that Jean’s rescue attempt would fail in the end, triggering the fall of Kritias. He urged the Adversary to help Jean successfully escape, as changing the story was the only way to draw out Tana’s consciousness. He added that he would soon become trapped in the Morass of Tana’s memories and told the Adversary that it was up to them to break everyone free.

In order to change the memory, the Adversary asked Jean to meet them in the dungeon, telling him that they needed his help to save Kritias. Jean asked them to first find a special gift that he had lost in the dungeons. After searching, they found a necklace made with an anti-magic stone. Jean told the Adversary that he planned to unchain Tana and use the stone in order to break their way out. As the researchers normally dropped the magical barrier over the castle during their experiments, he believed that they could use that moment to break Tana free.

They fought through the monsters in the dungeons and arrived at the Restricted Area in order to obtain the key to Tana’s shackles. The Adversary then asked Jean how he had managed to enter the dungeons, to which Jean told them that he had assumed that it was they who had left a note about the secret passageway. The Adversary wondered whether Shey had left the note in between the flash-forwards, and so they lied and confirmed that they had indeed left the note for him, despite knowing nothing about it.

Just then, Arkarium approached them and proposed that they work together to free Tana, as his powers as a Guardian of Time allowed him to foresee that Hekaton’s Ascendency would unleash untold horrors upon Kritias. They entered Tana’s prison, where Arkarium told her that she would not survive the Ascendency, as failure meant that she would be trapped forever in an endless loop of disintegration and reconstitution.

Shey, with his own limited precognition as a Priest of Time, was able to see that Jean’s plan would work, though the Adversary knew that Shey was wrong. As the Ascendency preparations began, Jean infiltrated the lab and told the Adversary that the purple eye on their head was getting darker. When they voiced their confusion, Jean noted that it was the same mark that they had left on the note.

The Adversary realized that it was Arkarium’s mark and turned around to find Arkarium in his present-day form, who then trapped the Adversary inside a magical prison. He revealed that as a former Guardian of Time, he was strong enough to not be trapped in the past. Explaining that he had possessed Shey in the past in order to interrupt Jean, he decided that he would do it himself this time, since the Adversary was in control of Shey’s body.

He then made Jean’s presence known, causing the guards to immediately arrest him. Realizing that Jean was the key that Arkarium had told him about, Hekaton ordered his guards to kill Jean. At the shock of Jean being stabbed, Tana’s resistance levels plummeted as Hekaton prepared to become immortal. Unexpectedly, however, Tana instead shattered the anti-magic necklace that Jean had given her in order to stop the ritual.

Arkarium told the Adversary that he had only allowed the memory loop to play through in order to learn why the ritual had failed centuries ago. He then trapped the Adversary inside a pocket dimension before kidnapping Tana. After breaking free, they found Jean collapsed alone upon the floor. He then revealed himself as the Flying Fish, who had been inhabiting Jean’s body throughout Tana’s memories. He told the Adversary that there was still one more magical seal where Arkarium was taking Tana in order to steal her powers for himself.

Upon going outside, they found Hekaton transfigured into a giant monster, having become immortal at a terrible price. They felt Shey’s mind registering how Kritias had been swept forward in time by a dark force. (A/N: Shortly after stealing Rhinne’s powers, the Black Mage used the power of time to drag Kritias of the past into his present.) The Adversary then fought through the soldiers, who had been transformed by Tana’s influence, and arrived at the magical seal where Arkarium was. (A/N: The soldiers’ weapons are the same disembodied weapons that you fight in present-day Kritias.)

Arkarium revealed that his past self had thought that Tana’s powers were eternal youth and immortality, but the Black Mage had taught him that her true power was the ability to manipulate the Erdas. Claiming that Tana’s shell of her former self wasn’t worthy of the Black Mage, Arkarium planned to steal her powers for himself.

The Adversary fought Arkarium and his minions, but they were unable to defeat him fully. Suddenly, Jean appeared and hugged Tana, helping her control her powers. Though Arkarium scoffed at her abilities, he soon found himself a victim of his own hubris as Tana effortlessly vaporized Arkarium and all of his forces. Tana then realized that Jean wasn’t truly himself, which the Flying Fish sadly confirmed. However, he warned them that Black Mage of the past, created from Tana’s memories, would soon arrive in order to seal Kritias in time.

The Adversary asked why the Black Mage’s forces had invaded Kritias centuries ago, to which the Flying Fish explained that it was to cover up any evidence of Tana’s existence. He advised that they leave immediately, since the Black Mage created by the Morass, though not as powerful as the real one, would still be incredibly dangerous.

The three of them finally escaped the Morass and arrived at the bottom of the Arcane River. To the Adversary’s surprise, the Flying Fish was still stuck in Jean’s form. The Adversary began searching for Tana in order to convince her not to join the Black Mage, but Jean told them that it was no use, as only the destruction of the world would bring an end to her pain.

Just then, Jean felt something in his pocket and found an Arcane Symbol, which he gave to the Adversary. In the distance, Tana briefly considered stopping them in order to prevent them from thwarting the Black Mage, but when she saw the Flying Fish in the form of Jean, she decided against it and walked off.

(A/N: Tana’s story makes me really sad in the same way that Shade’s does. There are a lot of parallels between her and the White Mage as the Transcendents of Light of their respective worlds, and amongst some of their shared traits is the fact that both of them had wanted to die in order to escape their fates. The White Mage’s death, for him, was quite impersonal, because he saw himself and everyone else as just cogs in a grand design, and so he never viewed his own life as something particularly meaningful beyond the salvation that it could offer the world through ending it.

Tana, in contrast, lived a very small, intimate life that was only ever filled with herself and few others. She spent most of her life alongside her sister, Aeona, and she had to go through the trauma of having to accept that her sister had gone insane, and then killing her, and in doing so, killing the only person in the world who ever cared about her. After that, just like the White Mage, she learned the truth about the Overseers and their chains of law that threatened to drag her down into slavery, just as they had done to her sister.

Similar to the White Mage, Tana’s strong willpower allowed her to resist the Overseers and rebel against them, but unlike the White Mage - who had his convictions and a strong drive to see them through - Tana had nothing except the pain and suffering that continued haunting her no matter where she went. It’s a bit ironic that the White Mage, having awakened with the power of destruction, sought to create a better life for the world, whereas Tana, who awakened with the power of creation, sought to destroy her own.

For me, Tana’s life - and the Morass storyline as a whole - is a metaphor for trauma and mental illness. The Morass reshapes itself to become your greatest fear - for the Adversary, it was their traumatic memories of Black Heaven, and for Tana, it was her traumatic memories of her imprisonment and torture in Kritias. Everything about the Morass, from the music, to the atmosphere, to the monsters, conveys a sense of hidden fear. A morass is a marsh or a swamp, but it’s also a word that refers to a confusing and overwhelming situation, similar to the moments that shape our trauma.

Inside the Morass, we’re confronted by shadows on the wall, monsters that represent our hidden fears - with the disembodied Kritias weapons, such as the Permeating Terrors or Frozen Anxieties, being our darkest emotions, like anxiety, rage, and terror, given physical form - and Erdas that shape themselves into things from the most horrifying moments of our lives. Within that Morass, Tana continues this theme of mental illness through a lot of the subtext in her life, specifically in regard to her powers and her relationships to others, which opens up a different interpretation of her life through that lens.

On one level, Tana hearing the voices of the Overseers and feeling compelled to obey them sounds akin to auditory hallucinations, but that idea of feeling compelled to obey their commands can also be interpreted as a feeling of being trapped in an inescapable destiny and all the pain that it brings. Mental illness can quite often make it feel as though you have no power or agency over your life, as though the universe or the gods or some higher power is working to keep you trapped, similar to the Overseers attempting to take away Tana’s free will and control over her own life.

Her instability and her inability to control her powers can also be taken as a metaphor for some of the more destructive aspects of mental illness. When she loses her grip on her sanity, she quite literally explodes and takes anyone in the near vicinity with her, which is something pretty relatable to people who experience things like anxiety or manic episodes, who often end up saying or doing things that hurt others.

In the immediate aftermath of Tana’s explosive bouts, she also starts losing her feelings and memories, which sounds a lot like the haze of numbness and difficulty thinking associated with low moods following those anxious or manic episodes. After the loss of her memories, Tana ended up getting completely dehumanized by the mages of Kritias, who viewed her as an object instead of a real person, and that idea of not feeling like a living thing sounds very reminiscent of feelings associated with depression.

Going by this interpretation of Tana being mentally ill and self-destructive, it adds up with the idea that she had come to Kritias with the intention of killing herself. When she arrives in Kritias and saves Jean, she deliberately chose to stand in the way of the anti-magic stone in the hope that she might finally be able to die and put an end to her suffering. When Hekaton imprisoned her and ordered his mages to experiment on her, she likely didn’t resist because she knew that if Hekaton stole her Transcendent powers, it would finally allow her to become mortal and die.

During those years, she was trapped in a nightmare and experimented on by being tortured and injured, and it came to the point that she lost everything that made her a person. What’s important to note is that she didn’t simply have a desire to die - she only had a faint memory of wanting to die. Her agency was stripped from her so completely that she wasn’t even allowed to have the capacity to want anything anymore - she was left with just a brief memory of a time when she still had that fundamental right to have opinions about her own existence.

In the midst of all that darkness, Jean was able to shine as a light in her life when she needed it most. When she thought that she would never be saved, Jean came into her life at the most unexpected moment and changed everything by making her care about herself again. Jean spending time with Tana gave me the same vibe as someone helping a person who’s going through a very rough patch, and what I really loved to see was that even in spite of her being emotionless and unresponsive, he never once gave up on her in all those years.

Despite the mages of Kritias stripping her of her humanity, Jean was able to counteract that by treating her with dignity and love. Even though the other mages didn’t notice, Shey was able to see Tana’s emotions slowly returning with the way that she’d look up at the ceiling to see if Jean was coming, which shows that she was slowly able to start having wants and feelings like every living thing deserves to have. With her memory of wanting to die erased in her mind, Jean was slowly able to help her find meaning in her life again, and she started believing that being alive was worth something.

The night before the Ascendency ritual, Tana starts having a mental breakdown upon realizing that she’s going to die tomorrow. In spite of barely having any memories or emotions, she starts feeling terrified because after all the time that she’s spent with Jean, she’s realized that she doesn’t want to die anymore - because for the first time in her life, she’s met someone who genuinely cares for her and wants nothing in return.

I think that there’s something very raw and powerful in the idea that in spite of wanting to die so badly, when you’re finally faced with the real possibility of it happening, the terror that you feel is something both unexpected and liberating because it shows that in spite of all your pain, there’s still a small, resilient part of you that still keeps alive our natural instinct to hope and to choose to persist.

Jean then stays with Tana through her breakdown and promises that he’ll stay with her no matter what, and that he won’t let anything happen to her, which gives her the strength to finally care about herself again after spending countless years of having given up on herself and any chance of thinking that she’ll be anything other than an object for someone else to use. That, more than anything else, made me really sad, because it’s clear that Jean was the best thing to ever happen to her, which makes it even more tragic and unfair that Tana had to watch the only source of happiness in her life bleed to death on the floor right in front of her.

Overall, I think Tana might’ve had one of the worst lives in the game and I really hope that the writers give her a decent ending because there’s nothing that I hate more than characters who solely exist as narrative punching bags just to squeeze out emotions from the audience. Even Shade, who had a similarly tragic life, ended up getting a happy ending, which means that there’s no reason why Tana shouldn’t, either.)

Meanwhile, Arkarium, whose body had been destroyed, transferred his life force into his backup snake body, just as he had done when Damien had used Alicia’s powers to destroy his body. Badly damaged, Arkarium awaited the Black Mage of the past, believing that Rhinne’s power would allow him to enter Kritias of the past and restore his powers. Just then, the Black Mage of the past appeared and told him that the real Black Mage had commanded him to say, “You have done well. Rest.” The Black Mage’s echo then killed Arkarium, who had finally outlived his usefulness.

(A/N: Arkarium also has a really bad habit of thinking that he’s stronger than literal Transcendents and then getting utterly demolished as a result. In fact, Arkarium’s story can basically be summed up in a single line: “How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man?!”

The writers couldn’t make up their minds with how they wanted the Black Mage to invade Kritias. Here, Arkarium is under the impression that the Black Mage physically traveled back into the past to invade Kritias after he stole Rhinne’s power. However, both times that Shey refers to this event, both in-game and in his journal, he talks about Kritias being swept into the future by a current of time, which dragged Kritias of the past into the Black Mage’s present when he stole Rhinne’s powers.

I don’t really understand the mechanics of how he would pull a kingdom from the past and magically overwrite its present-day version, but since Shey mentions it happening twice, while Arkarium only mentions the Black Mage going into the past once, I’m personally gonna choose to go with Shey’s explanation, especially because I don’t like the implication of there being two Black Mages in one time period.

I have very similar gripes with the idea of afterimages in the Genesis Weapon questline, but I feel like things start breaking if you can conveniently just have two Transcendents with their full powers existing in the exact same moment just by going back in time. The Black Mage wanted to lose from the beginning, but depending on Darmoor’s ultimate goal, he could’ve just pulled copies of himself from other points in time to have a bunch of clones who have the powers of both life and time, and in that case, he wouldn’t even need his Apostles.)

Meanwhile, in the distance, the Adversary noted that Trueffet hadn’t disappear as expected. Jean noted that he still had to find a way to restore his true form in order to take the Adversary to the Black Mage. He decided that he would return to the Morass in order to find a solution, believing that there had to be a clue to reverting his form there.

(A/N: I mentioned earlier that I’d cover all the parts of Shey’s journal at the end, which I’ll do here.

The first entry has Shey talk about Tana reforming after the anti-magic stone shattered.

The second entry has Shey talk about Jean after first seeing him visit Tana. Shey recalls the last words that Jean had said to him before he left to study at the Temple of Time: “If I had died in that accident… would anyone have missed me?” Shey speculates that as an orphan with no home or family, Jean’s greatest fear was being forgotten, which is likely what had sparked his compassion for Tana, who remained forgotten and imprisoned in the dungeons.

The third entry has Shey explain that the people of Kritias viewed Hekaton as a benevolent king, whose strength, wisdom, and compassion surpassed even his extensive magical knowledge. Under Hekaton’s leadership, Kritias had entered a grand renaissance. Over time, however, Hekaton had grown weak and frail with age, causing his mind to grow warped by fear, turning his benevolence into cruelty. As even the advanced magical knowledge of Kritias couldn’t stop his aging, Hekaton’s lust for immortality turned him into a monster. Shey adds that he could scarcely recognize Hekaton after returning back to Kritias and seeing him in the dungeons.

The fourth entry talks reveals that every test subject that they had used as recipients of Tana’s magic had rejected her power, causing them to vanish. Later on, one of the researchers had discovered the monsters in the dungeons, and he had learned that though the test subjects’ bodies had been destroyed, their souls had remained, with the monsters being those souls’ vain attempts at reforming bodies that they could never again inhabit. The researchers had been sickened, but they had nevertheless chosen to seal the dungeon and continue experimenting for many years, creating countless more monsters doomed to eternal suffering.

The fifth entry is written right after the failed Ascendancy ritual, which had nearly destroyed all of Kritias. Soon after, the power of time had pulled Kritias into the future by the Black Mage, who had decided to invade after learning about Tana’s existence. Hekaton, in his final moments, regained his humanity and ordered the evacuation of the castle of Trueffet, after which the castle had lifted into the sky.

The sixth and final entry has Shey explain that with Kritias in ruins and countless lives sacrificed, he can’t call himself a priest anymore. Because of this, he chooses to exile himself and spend the rest of his life atoning, adding that while he knows that atonement is impossible, he believes that spending his life consumed with sorrow is the only fate that he deserves.

This is the end of the actual Morass storyline. Everything below is a prequest to unlock Morass dailies.)

Some time later, Jean called the Adversary back to the Morass. At the town square, he told them that he was planning to store his power while looking for a way to regain his old form. He asked them to collect Memory Slivers from the monsters around Trueffet, as the Memory Slivers were capable of gathering and clarifying scattered memories. After obtaining them, the Adversary returned to Jean, who thanked them for their help. He explained that the Memory Slivers felt like a buzz from an energy drink, but on a galactic scale. (A/N: I’ll have what he’s having.)

The Adversary joked that they should find wings for Jean so that he could carry them on his back. They then wondered how Tana had been able to move on, to which Jean supposed that she had used her power to control the Erdas in order to push herself along on an Erda path or an Erda tugboat. The Adversary suggested following her trail of Erdas, as they may be able to pick up clues with their own basic command over the Erdas.

(A/N: I really like that the writers remembered that our 5th job skills are just basic Erda manipulation. Although we can’t manipulate Erda on the same scale as a Transcendent, we still have the ability to do some pretty cool things. Kaiser can temporarily manifest his past lives by drawing out their Erda, while Hoyoung can summon weakened echoes of beings that might possibly be Ancient Gods.

It seems that our ability to use skills is restricted only by our imagination. As a Hero main, while I love how awesome Worldreaver is, it does feel a bit lame that while other classes can summon literal gods, my primary ability is to summon one, singular extra sword. At least let me summon a couple dozen like Adele can. Just because I’m the canon Adversary doesn’t mean that my imagination is as lackluster as theirs.)

The Adversary and Jean went to the Leaning Tower, where Tana had last been seen when Arkarium had tried to steal her powers. They fought through the thralled soldiers in their way and reached the broken magical seal. There, Jean felt Tana’s overwhelming power, though he noted that it was merely an echo. He doubted that she had gone through that way, as the tower was merely a haven for her displaced rage. They returned back to the town square, where Jean believed that they could track her down by finding the traces left by her.

In order to find traces of Tana, they went to the research lab, where Jean believed that they would find a clue, as she had been there the longest. Just then, a researcher appeared and told them that no one ought to be in the lab anymore. He explained that he was the only survivor of the failed Ascendency, and that he had been there ever since. In order to atone for his sins, the researcher looked after the bodies of everyone else so that the failed experiments didn’t corrupt them. (A/N: Shey also survived the Ascendancy ritual, although I guess the researcher probably didn’t see him after he went into exile.)

In exchange for helping him, the researcher offered to tell them about that fateful day. The Adversary fought the Red Shadows and Experiments Gone Wrong in order to make the laboratory quiet once more. During a final sweep of the area, they found a sealed door with strange light streaming through it. Just then, several shadow monsters appeared and the Adversary fought them off before turning back to the door.

Unable to force it to open, they returned to the researcher in order to ask him about it. The researcher had never heard of such a door, but noted that pieces of the anti-magic stone that had exploded had been gathered and sealed nearby. Jean wondered whether Tana had passed through it, but the Adversary doubted it, explaining that it was covered in cobwebs, as though it hadn’t been touched in years. (A/N: This is the door that later takes us to Esfera.)

Moving back to the main topic, Jean asked the researcher about what he had seen. The researcher explained that he had seen Tana heading towards the outskirts of Trueffet. Jean feared that she might have met the Black Mage of the past, who may have pointed the way to the real Black Mage to her. Asking if they intended to follow Tana, the researcher requested that they give her his apologies for the unforgivable crimes that he had committed.

At the outskirts, they found several thralled soldiers along the way. After fighting past them, Jean asked the Adversary to collect Memory Glass in order to examine the traces of memory around them. With the Memory Glass, Jean was able to discover where she had gone and led the Adversary to a large dimensional gate that Tana had created. They attempted to enter the gate, but were forced back to the outskirts of the Morass. After recovering from the blast, the Adversary was shocked to find Jean lying face down nearby and gathered Memory Slivers from the Xenoroids in order to revive him.

After waking up, Jean noticed that Trueffet was slowly disappearing, as everything was slowly returning back to the way it was in the absence of Tana’s influence. As it would mean that they’d lose Tana’s trail, they rushed back to the outskirts of Trueffet, where they fought past the evaporating Erdas, which were remnants of the thralled soldiers. Back in the town square, Jean asked the Adversary to help keep the Morass together until they found where Tana had gone, explaining that he would naturally return to his Flying Fish form after Trueffet disappeared.

(A/N: Unlike most dailies in the Arcane River and mainland Grandis, it seems like the dailies in the Morass canonically happened, which might be why we had a whole prequest backstory to unlock them.)

Esfera, the Origin Sea:

Some time after Tana’s disappearance, Jean contacted the Adversary and explained that several suspicious people had arrived in the Morass looking for something. He added that the group had been heading towards the dungeons, and that he would look into what else they had been up to. The Adversary went to the dungeons, where they found a Cygnus Knight, a Resistance member, and a strange magician trying to open the sealed door with light pouring out that they had found earlier.

The Resistance member offered to blow the door open, but the Cygnus Knight argued against it, reminding him that their priority was to meet the Adversary first. The Adversary then approached the group, who all introduced themselves. The Cygnus Knight introduced herself as Ollie, a Thunder Breaker assigned to the Arcane River in order to protect and provide guidance.

(A/N: Chronologically, we were first introduced to Ollie at the end of the Yum Yum Island storyline, in which she reported to Neinheart and Cygnus before leaving with the expedition team, but this was her first actual appearance in the game. Cygnus Knights get exclusive dialogue here, in which Ollie tells us that it’s an honor to be able to help us, adding that we’re someone that she’s only heard of before. She then says that she’s been practicing hard in order to distinguish herself.)

The Resistance member introduced himself as Shubert, who had been tasked with keeping the communication lines open to HQ and keeping their gear running, as well as providing demolition services.

(A/N: Shubert is a Blaster. It’s a bit ironic, given that he used to work underwater in a submarine. The main Resistance classes and Xenon get some exclusive dialogue here, in which he explains that he’s heard a lot about us whenever he’d go to the Resistance headquarters, and so he’d been hoping to get the chance to work with us even just once.)

He then woke up the sleeping magician, who introduced himself as Melange, which was short for Melangioruiana.

(A/N: They used to refer to Melange with female pronouns until they went back and corrected it during the release of Tenebris.

Grandis classes have exclusive dialogue here, in which they note that they’ve never seen anyone of Melange’s species before in Grandis. Adele gets some additional dialogue, in which she wonders whether Melange’s species appeared during her time in the Void.

Personally, I think that Melange’s race was wiped out either by Aeona or Darmoor himself. Based on how powerful Melange is, it’s highly likely that he’s an Apostle of Darmoor. The Apostles draw inspiration from the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, and since we all know what ended up happening with Judas, it’s highly likely that one of Darmoor’s Apostles is fated to betray him in a significant way.

My personal headcanon is that Melange is working for Darmoor with the intention of betraying him as revenge for wiping out his race. I have no idea whether that’s how it’s gonna pan out, but regardless, it should be pretty interesting to see which one of Darmoor’s Apostles is gonna turn out to be the Grandis version of Judas.)

Ollie explained that Melange was a magician from Pantheon who could create a dimensional gate back to HQ. The Adversary was surprised to know that the Alliance had even sent out someone from Pantheon, adding that they hadn’t expected this kind of support.

(A/N: Grandis classes get exclusive dialogue in place of this line, in which they instead note that they hadn’t expected to see Alliance soldiers in the Arcane River, and especially not from Pantheon, as they know how bad the situation over there currently is.)

Ollie told them that in Maple World, the Alliance was gearing up for a full-scale operation against the Black Mage, which she added had been years in the making. The Adversary then looked at the sealed door and asked if it was the reason why they had come to the Morass. Ollie clarified that though the team had been looking for the Adversary, Melange had examined the door and had learned that the power of the Transcendents was sealed behind it.

Suddenly, the door opened, causing a powerful force to start drawing them in. Shubert barely managed to call their airship before they were all sucked inside. Their ship was quickly pulled into the currents and began ascending vertically, causing it to launch out of the Arcane River and float in the air above Esfera. (A/N: Esfera is the Spanish word for sphere, referring to the Black Sun and White Moon that will eventually fuse into Tenebris.)

In the distance, a masked figure clad in black and white saw the ship resurface and used their powers to blow it up, scattering the group. The Adversary and Ollie were separated from the rest of the team and wondered what had caused their ship to explode. The Adversary suspected that some sinister force was behind it and wondered if it was linked to the large Black Moon in the sky, where they could sense the Black Mage’s presence. The Adversary then noted to themselves that their long struggle against the Black Mage was finally coming to an end.

(A/N: Grandis classes get some exclusive dialogue, in which they note to themselves that defeating him will also take them one step closer towards defeating Gerand Darmoor, which will allow Grandis to know peace once more.)

Before they headed out to search for Shubert and Melange, Ollie gave the Adversary a letter from Neinheart, which she hoped would answer a few of their questions. However, Neinheart had simply written that he would only be able to answer their questions by linking to the secure Alliance communication network. The Adversary wondered how Neinheart knew about the Origin Sea, to which Ollie explained that Neinheart had grown obsessed with learning about the enemy’s plans after the World Tree incident.

In order to regroup with the others, Ollie planned to fire off a flare until she realized that she had dropped it. They then saw an Ahtuin monster running off with it, and so the Adversary hunted down the flare from the flock of monsters. After getting the flare back, they realized that it was wet and unusable, and so they collected white firewood that grew off the backs of the Atus monsters in order to dry it. Ollie then fired the flare and received a response from Shubert and Melange.

They found Shubert and a sleeping Melange setting up a base camp in the ruins of their ship. Shubert began telling them that the uplink had been damaged in the fall, just as Melange awoke and told them that something was wrong with the sky. He pointed out that there was no sun, which bothered him.

Ollie was confused by his words, and so Melange gave her his staff, which was able to play back memories. They followed the staff’s magic towards an area rich with memories, where Ollie told the Adversary that as per the instruction manual that came with the staff, they needed to charge it by defeating monsters so that it could absorb the magic released by them.

(A/N: Someone on the lore server described Melange’s staff as a “violence powered murder staff”, which is how I’ll be mentally calling it in my head from now on. We also learn here that Ollie had always wanted to be a magical girl ever since she was little, with her yelling out, “In the name of love and justice!”, right before using the staff.)

The Adversary hunted Bellalions in the area, activating the staff and allowing them to see a memory of Will with a captured Tana, whose memories and sanity had finally returned. Ollie was surprised to see Will, as he was the only Commander whom the Alliance knew nothing about, since he had never been seen in Maple World. She added that the only records of Will had been obtained in a special library, meaning they had no intel on his actions or abilities.

(A/N: Most likely, the library that she mentions is the Grand Athenaeum, which has the Shadow Alchemist story that serves as a prequel to Zero’s storyline.

The Heroes get some exclusive dialogue here, in which they note that the closer they get to the Black Mage, the more Commanders they find that hadn’t been there centuries ago. All the Heroes except Evan wonder how long the Black Mage has been laying the groundwork for all this and note that they need Freud now more than ever. Evan instead wonders whether they’ll be able to make it through and asks himself what he would’ve done at a time like this if he were Freud.

The Demon has similar dialogue, in which he notes that new Commanders are appearing one by one as he gets closer to the Black Mage. He realizes that the Black Mage has grown stronger, but he also notes that things will be different this time, vowing to succeed for Damien’s sake.

Zero also has some exclusive dialogue, in which Alpha and Beta tell Ollie that they know Will personally. They note that Will looks different from how they remember, as he used to hide behind a friendly façade, though he’s now taken off that mask. Alpha and Beta then think to themselves that they’ve always wondered where Will had gone ever since the day they escaped Mirror World before they start wondering what he’s scheming.)

They then watched as Will cast a spell on Tana in order to transform her into the sun of the new world. Just then, a mysterious portal appeared, from which a powerful laser beam was shot at Will. Just as Will dodged it, he lost his hold on the glass coffin containing Tana, which fell into the Origin Sea. Ollie and the Adversary realized that Tana was the sun that Melange had been talking about and wondered what Will was up to.

Just then, Will himself arrived and launched an attack on the Adversary. Ollie immediately came between them and blocked the attack with her sword. Will merely laughed and told Ollie that he had come to see the Adversary, adding that he was reminded of the words which had inspired him, “The ultimate light can only be found in the ultimate darkness.”

He told them that they could only face him after learning the truth behind his words, after which he disappeared. After he left, Will thought to himself that he didn’t expect ‘the child’ to have gotten involved, though he believed that it would change nothing. Nevertheless, the experience brought back unpleasant memories for him.

(A/N: The child that he’s referring to is Orchid, the masked figure. The unpleasant memories that he’s experiencing are most likely from when he failed to prevent Alpha and Beta from awakening as the Transcendents of Time. Will really can’t catch a break from handling Transcendents, first with Zero, and now with Tana. Ironically, he’s faced this same situation before with Fang. Just like how Orchid is a Spirit of Darkness, Fang was a Darkling, with both of them intervening at different points in time to stop Will from succeeding in carrying out his plans with Zero and Tana.

I remember back when Esfera first came out, people had a lot of different theories about who the masked figure could be. A lot of people correctly guessed that it was Orchid because the way that the masked figure destroyed the Alliance ship was exactly like how Orchid destroyed the Retoxin bombs in Black Heaven.

However, there was also a popular theory going around that the masked figure was Cassius from Zero’s storyline, as Cassius had been revived by the Commanders and it would’ve made a lot of sense for him to show up in Esfera with Will. Honestly, I really wish that the masked figure had ended up being Cassius just so that his story could’ve been resolved. I think that if they wrote it well enough, they could’ve had both Cassius and Orchid show up in Esfera, which would’ve let them kill two birds with one stone.

Zero also gets some exclusive dialogue while encountering Will. When he first appears, Alpha and Beta start threatening him to back down, to which he laughs and says that he had only come to say hello. When they demand to know what he’s planning, Will tells them not to be impatient and jokingly suggests that they catch up over a cup of tea. The dialogue then transitions back into the generic script that has him talk about the ultimate light and the ultimate darkness.

After that, he tells Zero that though he normally enjoys the anticipation, this time feels special to him, adding that it might be because of them. He then calls Zero an incomplete Transcendent split in two and tells them not to make him wait for too long before disappearing. That last line adds more weight to the idea that Zero isn’t a proper Transcendent.

I mentioned it before in Zero’s section, but the story direction shifted during the Arcane River storyline such that the endgame of the overall story is heading in the direction of all the Transcendents being destroyed. It’s almost certain that Zero was never originally intended to be considered a defective Transcendent because of their division, as Rhinne never says anything about it, but given that the Black Mage’s plan to destroy the Transcendents was said to have succeeded with his death, I really can’t see any other way around reconciling that fact, other than accepting that Zero isn’t a real Transcendent.

The Heroes also get some exclusive dialogue here. After Will disappears, all the Heroes except for Luminous consider Will’s words about the ultimate light and the ultimate darkness, after which they wonder whether Luminous knows anything about it. However, Luminous has nothing intelligent to say on the topic, as he just wonders aloud, “Ultimate light and ultimate darkness…” and leaves it at that.)

The Adversary asked Ollie if she was alright, as she had been wounded by Will’s attack. Ollie quickly told them that she was fine before changing the subject and asking what Will had meant by the ultimate light and the ultimate darkness.

(A/N: Luminous just says “…”, while every other class notes that Will must be trying to tell them something, as Commanders don’t just speak nonsense. You’ll find that a majority of Luminous’ exclusive dialogues in Esfera don’t reveal anything meaningful, which is very frustrating when he should’ve had the most amount of dialogue with all the lore being dumped about the Transcendent of Light in this storyline.)

Just then, Shubert called and asked for a status update. After hearing about the situation, Shubert told them that he had fixed the transmitter for short-range communication, though he needed lubricant for the long-range array. The Adversary collected Animal Fat from the Bellalis monsters nearby and returned to Shubert, who was able to patch together a barely working array. They connected with Neinheart at HQ, who asked them for a status update. Ollie told them that only the Black Moon appeared in the sky, and that Tana had sunk into the Origin Sea. Just as the communication uplink fizzled out, Neinheart managed to tell them to protect Tana and stop Will’s ritual.

Before they headed out, the Adversary asked Ollie about her injury. She showed them that she had patched it up with bandages and then told Shubert that should the situation turn dire, he needed to prioritize saving the Adversary. The Adversary began to protest, but Ollie told them that they were the one fated to fight the Black Mage. They then headed out and found that the waters had slowly grown dark and purple.

Just then, Melange caught up and explained that Tana had touched the power of the mirror, causing it to flow throughout the Origin Sea. He also told them that creating a sun through the power of Mirror World made it hard to break from the outside, but since Will’s ritual had been interrupted by the masked figure, the power was flowing out with the Erdas.

Melange decided to head back, but he reassured them that they didn’t need to worry about Will for the time being, as he was threatened by Tana’s Mirror World. Ollie was confused by what he meant, and so he clarified that as long as Tana continued exerting her power, Will couldn’t access the power of the mirror himself, as the two powers opposed each other.

Shubert then chimed in through the communication device and told them that it sounded similar to radio interference, in which two signals broadcasted on the same wavelength. Melange warned them that even though Will was weaker without the power of the mirror, he still possessed enough strength to be a formidable threat. After Melange left, Ollie felt her injury sting, though she hid it from the Adversary.

As they continued onward, the pair encountered several Aranya spiders sent by Will. (A/N: Along with Esfera being the Spanish word for ‘sphere’, 'araña is the Spanish word for ‘spider’. Aranya, as well as Aranea, are spelled the same way that the word is pronounced.) After thinning out their numbers, the Adversary found Ollie listening to something in the distance. She told them that it sounded like a fight, and so they headed over to find several Aranea spiders fighting Keepers of Light and Darkness. As they watched the Keepers pull back, Ollie supposed that they were Tana’s creations.

The Adversary then noticed a grave below them in the water and wondered if it was also a fragment of Mirror World. They suggested to Ollie that they use Melange’s staff on it in order to see if they could learn more about Tana from the memory. They then hunted the nearby Aranea spiders in order to charge it. Using the staff, they saw a memory of Tana and her sister coming into existence inside the Radiant Temple, being told to only follow the voice. They also witnessed Tana’s sister hearing the voice of the Overseers and being granted the title of Aeona, with Tana being passed over as the reserve.

(A/N: Grandis classes have some exclusive dialogue here, in which they recall rumors that Aeona had once faced Gerand Darmoor, although we can’t be sure whether they’re referring to Tana or her sister, as Tana later claims the title of Aeona.

Both Tana and her sister have honestly had it rough from the very beginning. The mages of Kritias viewed Tana as an object after she lost her memories and emotions, but right from her very creation, both she and Aeona were dehumanized by the Overseers. Their names - Aeona and Tana - aren’t even names, but rather, they’re just titles that label them as the Transcendent of Light and a Transcendent-in-reserve. From the moment that they were brought into existence, their identities were basically just the purpose for which they were made. To the Overseers, they’re not even real people - they’re things that were assigned identifiers based on what utility they serve.)

Ollie immediately recognized the name ‘Aeona’ as that of Grandis’ Transcendent of Light. She told the Adversary that they had just seen the Temple of Light, adding that she couldn’t believe that she had seen Transcendents with her own eyes. She noted that both of them had seemed just like normal girls and asked whether the girl on the right had been Tana. The Adversary recalled that Tana had power over Erda itself and wondered whether that was the power of the Transcendent of Light.

(A/N: There are a few minor changes to this script for the Heroes. For Luminous, Ollie omits the line about it being incredible that she had seen Transcendents with her own eyes, instead just noting that both girls had looked normal and wondering if the one on the right had been Tana.

The following line, in which the Adversary speculates about Tana’s power over the Erdas, is very slightly changed for Luminous, who notes that Tana has incredible power over Erda and wonders if it’s connected to the power used by the Transcendent of Light, rather than wondering if her power over the Erda itself is the power used by the Transcendent of Light.

All the Heroes except Luminous then get exclusive dialogue, in which they wonder whether the light that Tana uses is different from the light that Luminous uses, although Luminous, once again, has nothing to say on the topic.)

Just then, a Light Executor appeared and explained that light and darkness were merely analogies. He led them closer towards the mirror’s power, where Keepers of Light surrounded them. The Light Executor told them to charge the staff with the Keepers of Light, but when Ollie asked whether it was okay for them to attack his own people, he merely told them that he followed only the voice.

After charging the staff, they used it on a bookshelf in the ocean, where they saw a memory of Tana reading a book about the Transcendent of Light. As she got to the part that detailed why an awakened Transcendent could only wield one of the two powers of light and darkness, Aeona appeared and destroyed the book.

Aeona told Tana that she was tired of the Executors, who put her on a pedestal as a Transcendent, though she claimed that they really just used her instead. She then sarcastically told Tana that the reason why they only get one of the two powers was so that no one would be able to recreate such a boring book again.

She noted that Tana’s life as a reserve seemed much nicer, as she wasn’t stuck with a power that she never wanted, and she wasn’t forced to do anything against her will, as she could simply live as herself. Though Tana was confused, Aeona asked her sister to enjoy her share of life as well before leaving. After she left, Tana used her powers of creation to restore the book and read that the reason why an awakened Transcendent only held one of the two powers was because their reserve held the other.

(A/N: This would have been the perfect place for Luminous to have exclusive dialogue that reveals him to be the reserve for the Black Mage.

The way that Aeona was presented in these flashbacks made her seem like she was an antagonist, given the way that she behaved, which is an interpretation that never really sat right with me. I’ve always seen her bitter and cutting personality as a result of her being heavily traumatized from having her free will stripped from her and being forced to wipe out countless races, including children, and the fact that there wasn’t a single person in the world that she could talk about it with, as Tana had no idea what she was doing, and the Executors couldn’t care less about how she felt or what she wanted.

You can tell from the way that she spoke just how much Aeona hated her existence, especially with the way that she’d seen through all the pomp and glamor of being worshiped as a Transcendent and realized that she was little more than a slave. I think that looking past her superficial resentment, you can see that she really did care about Tana in her own way. Destroying the book and telling Tana to keep enjoying her life for both of them seemed like her just trying to keep Tana safe from getting caught up in the Overseers and their manipulations, rather than because she had a bad attitude.)

The Adversary and Ollie then understood that the Transcendent of Light had the power of either creation or destruction. Based on that information, Ollie figured out what Will had meant about the ultimate light and the ultimate darkness, realizing that the Black Mage’s goal of achieving the ultimate light through the ultimate darkness was destroying the world and recreating it.

(A/N: Like I’d mentioned previously, the Adversary should’ve already known this when the Erdas told them about it, as well as when they witnessed Lucid’s memories in Lachelein. This is most likely an oversight on the writers’ part, but it’s kinda funny how shocked our reaction is at something that we’d been told multiple times before. We can be sure that the Adversary isn’t a mage because we clearly have no stats put in INT.)

Having served his purpose, the Light Executor told them where to find Tana. Ollie asked why he was helping them, to which he explained that it was Tana’s will, as the enemy of an enemy was his friend. He then led them closer towards Tana, where he told them to defeat the Keepers of Darkness in order to weaken the forces of Mirror World. Ollie was concerned that Will would be able to use his powers if Tana’s power was weakened, but the Light Executor reassured her that the Keepers were only a portion of Tana’s power, while the Executors held the most substance.

After getting past the Keepers, Ollie contacted Shubert and told him that they had reached the area where Tana had sunk into the ocean. The Adversary operated a pulley system tethered to Ollie, allowing her to dive deep into the Origin Sea and recover Tana, who was sleeping inside a glass coffin.

As they prepared to take Tana back to the base camp, Ollie’s bandages came off from the water, revealing a spider mark from Will’s attack. The Light Executor immediately recognized Will’s mark and, believing Ollie to be a threat, summoned more Light Executors to destroy her. The Adversary managed to defeat them all and began to help Ollie up when Will arrived.

(A/N: Zero gets exclusive dialogue here, in which they recognize the spider mark on Ollie.)

Ollie contacted Shubert and told him to extract Tana while she held off Will for the Adversary to escape. Though the Adversary told him to instead extract Ollie while they defended Tana, Ollie told the Adversary that her real mission was to protect them. Nevertheless, Shubert listened to the Adversary and extracted Ollie back to the base camp.

Will then launched a powerful attack on the Adversary, which surprised them, as they had believed that Will was weaker because of Tana’s power. However, Will explained that they themselves had weakened Tana’s power when they had fought off the Light Executors attacking Ollie, as the Executors held more of her power than the Keepers. He then laughed that Ollie was merely a pawn to sacrifice in the Adversary’s place. When the Adversary expressed confusion, Will explained that they were the great Adversary, the only one with the power to face the Black Mage, and that the obvious choice was to sacrifice others to save them if necessary.

He then called out for the masked figure, who was hiding in the shadows, to reveal themselves. He told the masked figure that he had seen through their plan of trying to have him use the power of Mirror World by fighting with the Adversary. He then gave the masked figure a choice between saving the Adversary and stopping the ritual before throwing the Adversary into the Origin Sea.

The masked figure immediately moved to save Adversary, allowing Will to escape with Tana. The Adversary asked the masked figure why they had saved them, rather than Tana, to which the masked figure replied that in order to destroy the Black Mage, they needed an Adversary.

(A/N: To absolutely no one’s surprise, GMS once again did a bad job with localization and mistranslated this line as Orchid instead saying, “To destroy him… I need to create an Adversary,” which makes no sense when the Adversary was already created during Black Heaven.)

The masked figure then teleported them back to the base camp. In the sky, they saw that Tana had become the White Sun next to the Black Mage’s Black Moon. Shubert told them that though Ollie had been recovered, the poison in her system was spreading. Melange added that it was an enchanted poison that only the creator could cure. He told them that Will was inside the White Sun, and that the only way inside was through a mirror that Will had created, though Melange warned them that it was a trap.

Just then, Neinheart contacted them and, despite the static, they were able to make out that he was warning the Adversary not to act hastily, and that support would be there soon. He also emphasized that the Adversary’s survival was the main priority. Remembering Will’s words about Ollie being a pawn, the Adversary asked Neinheart if he had ordered Ollie to protect them. When Neinheart didn’t reply, they decided to go after Will themselves. Neinheart managed to convey that there was still a way and asked them not to hesitate when the time came to make a choice, just as the signal cut out.

The Adversary and Melange then went into Mirror World, where they found that Tana’s power had transformed the whole place into a replica of the Radiant Temple. In order to learn the purpose of the ritual, Melange told them that they needed to examine the memories in the space. They soon encountered Light Executors, which Melange explained had lost their names and forms. He told the Adversary that the Executors were a minor race of Grandis that had left in search of the domain of the gods, though they had been mocked by the other races for it.

(A/N: Grandis classes get exclusive dialogue here, in which they note that Melange’s explanation is completely new to them, and that they don’t think that anyone alive has ever seen the Executors before.)

After charging the staff, the Adversary witnessed a memory of Tana confronting Aeona for having destroyed seven races of Grandis. Aeona had replied that she couldn’t help it, as it had been her job. Believing that her sister had gone mad with power, Tana had decided to stop her.

Melange told the Adversary that unlike the Transcendents of Maple World, the Transcendents of Grandis were actively involved in shaping their world, and that Aeona specifically had left no trace of her actions, making it possible that even more than just seven races had been destroyed. He was also curious about her word choice, which implied that she seemed to have destroyed those races against her own will.

(A/N: All Grandis classes will ask Melange if there were more races in the past that they never knew about. When Melange tells them about the Transcendents of Grandis, he also precludes his explanation with a disclaimer that they might already know what he’s about to say.

Kain get some more some exclusive dialogue during this part, in which he wonders whether it’s possible that the Black Nova might have been one of the people that Aeona had wiped out. This line is interesting because it introduces the possibility that the Overseers sending Aeona to destroy those races might not have been random after all.

The Black Nova were technically just a cult, not a separate race from the Nova, but the cultists worshiped Satiras, who gave them a portion of his own power in the form of Malice. We know that the Overseers wanted to get rid of the Ancient Gods because their power and influence created chaos and unpredictability, and we also know that the Overseers weren’t just satisfied with defeating the gods - they wanted absolute certainty that the gods would never be able to influence the universe again, which is why they created the Transcendents to suppress them.

Since we know that the Black Nova kept a portion of their Malice, even after Satiras was sealed away, it’s possible that the Overseers sent Aeona to destroy them in order to ensure that not a single trace of the Ancient Gods or their power would remain in the world. If that’s the case, then it might just be that the other races that Aeona destroyed had also been given power from other Ancient Gods, similar to Satiras and his Malice, and that the Overseers had wanted to get rid of them entirely, which is why Aeona was said to have left no traces of her actions, as she had likely used her powers of destruction to completely and utterly wipe them all out, with the rare exception of the hidden Black Nova village where Kain and Luska were later born.

It also reframes the context of why the Transcendents of Maple World were said to have played a passive role in shaping their world. From what we know, the Ancient Gods didn’t seem to have had much influence on Maple World in the past, as the only gods that we know about are Abraxas and the god of the Karuppa, whose sacred tree was used to carve Pathfinder’s relic. Abraxas is a special case because he was just a watcher over the graves of the other gods, while the god of the Karuppa’s relic lost its power until Kirston partially restored some of it by rewinding time until he hit Freud’s time barrier, which corrupted it with Kirston’s curse magic.

In both cases, the gods never left any tangible trace of their power after their disappearance, and so it makes sense why the Transcendents of Maple World were passive, as there’s nothing for them to actually do. When the White Mage reached the divine realm, he was angry when he learned that the Overseers were actively trying to force him to do nothing to help the world. His belief was that the Overseers were apathetic to the suffering of the people, but when you consider that the Overseers’ definition of order is just maintaining a predictable future, rather than stopping war and death, it makes sense why they would be trying to keep the Transcendents from doing anything, as they’ve already achieved their ideal future without the gods.)

They then moved on to charge the staff on the Dark Executors and witnessed the final memory of Tana having killed her sister, causing the Transcendent of Light’s power to flow into her - the Transcendent-in-reserve. Because of this, the Executors proclaimed that they had made a mistake, and that Tana was actually Aeona, the Transcendent of Light. Tana immediately began to hear the voice of the Overseers and realized that her sister was correct when she had told her that it was impossible to free herself of those chains. However, she vowed that she would still live as herself no matter what, even if it destroyed her.

(A/N: Given the fact that Aeona couldn’t properly explain what she meant by it being her job, it’s likely that she was physically incapable of explaining that the Overseers were forcing her to obey them, especially if she couldn’t properly clarify the fact when she was right about to be killed because of it. The fact that Tana was able to kill a Transcendent suggests that she exists on a comparable level of power to one, as Darmoor mentions during Cernium that only gods have the power to kill other gods. It does bring up the question of why Luminous doesn’t have the power to kill the Black Mage if he does happen to be a reserve, although that can probably be explained away as him being mortal, while Tana was created to be immortal.

A bigger plot hole that opens up is why the Overseers would allow someone like Tana to exist as a reserve in the first place when they can’t control her. The reason why they removed the Ancient Gods and killed the Adversaries that they commissioned was because they wanted to remove every variable capable of influencing the universe on a large scale. With the Transcendents having their free will overridden, the Overseers effectively became the only beings capable of shaping destiny, which is exactly what they had wanted from the beginning.

As a reserve, Tana exists outside the Overseers’ control, as she’s not a Transcendent and her free will can’t be overridden. If Tana had really wanted to, she could’ve gone rogue and killed all the other Transcendents in the universe, which would’ve completely destroyed the Overseers’ system. The reason why the powers of light and darkness are separated is likely because giving a Transcendent the power to both create and destroy at once is too risky, as seen with what the Black Mage is planning to do.

It makes sense to separate out the powers, but that runs the risk of giving half the power to a being who can’t be controlled, which goes directly against the Overseers’ modus operandi of having absolute control over everything. The likely answer is that the Overseers were relying on the Executors to keep Tana trapped in the Radiant Temple, as we can see from the flashback that the Executors tried to stop her from killing Aeona after she learned the truth about the seven races, suggesting that they were capable of turning against Tana if she went against the Overseers’ will, despite being her servants.)

With the final memory, Melange was able to conclude that the Black Moon and White Sun would fuse, allowing the Black Mage to gain the power of both creation and destruction. The Adversary then vowed to stop the ritual by defeating Will. Melange told them that Will was inside a Mirror World within Mirror World, though he added that he couldn’t come with them, as he didn’t have the power to fight Will inside the mirror.

(A/N: Zero gets some exclusive dialogue here. Alpha notes that they can finally take on Will face-to-face. Beta adds that it had taken quite a while for them to reach this moment and asks Alpha if he’s nervous. Alpha admits that he is, as he’s gone through the cycle of brainwashing so many times at Will’s hands. However, he notes that he’s not alone now, to which Beta agrees and says that they’ll always be together.)

The Adversary then entered the mirror alone and confronted Will, who was impressed that they had actually come to face him. However, he added that the ritual had gone too far, and that the only way to stop it now was to kill Tana. The Adversary realized that killing Tana was what Neinheart had meant about the choice that they would have to make. However, they resolved to both defeat Will and save Tana, and engaged in battle against the Commander.

As the Adversary continued fighting Will, their battle took them deeper into Mirror World, finally leading them straight into its heart. After a fierce battle, the Adversary successfully bested Will, who was impressed by their strength. As a reward, he cured Ollie of the poison and asked what they would do next. The Adversary then turned to find that Tana was unconscious and in terrible pain.

Though the Adversary knew that they needed to kill Tana in order to stop the Black Mage, they nevertheless struggled to take her life. As they battled between their reason and their instinct, Tana suddenly called out to Jean in her dream to save her. Upon hearing Tana begging to be saved, the Adversary, against all odds, chose to spare her life instead.

Will, for once, was utterly shocked and asked the Adversary if they understood what the consequence of their actions would be. The Adversary told Will that they understood that the Black Mage would gain the power of the Transcendent of Light from two worlds, but they nevertheless reaffirmed their belief that they could still save everyone, including Tana.

(A/N: The Adversary’s choice to save Tana here strongly ties into the events of the Morass storyline, especially with the idea that Tana had been suicidal for a long time before meeting Jean. By now, the Adversary has had a significant glimpse of Tana’s life. They’ve seen the tragic way in which she was forced to kill Aeona, believing that she’d gone mad with power and needed to be put down, only to find that in doing so, she lost not only her sister, but her freedom as well.

They’ve also seen the way that the price of her resistance to the Overseers led to a lifetime of excruciating pain, as well as the fact that for the entirety of her life, she’s been used and exploited by everyone around her - first by the Overseers, then Hekaton, and now the Black Mage. All the while, she’s kept losing everything and everyone who matters to her, and at this point, she’s lost so much that there’s no one left in her life who still cares about her.

When Tana calls out to Jean in her dream, it’s because he’s the only person in her life who’s ever stayed and tried to help her. It was because of him that she was able to care about herself again, and his promise that he would make sure that she wouldn’t disappear is something that stayed with her long after his death. Even her being asleep right now in a glass coffin and begging to be saved is meant to parallel Snow White and her prince, which mirrors the fairy tale that Jean would read to her about a brave knight rescuing a trapped princess.

Her calling out for him to save her, even though he’s dead, is what ultimately makes the Adversary realize that they just can’t take her life when that’s all that she has left to take. At this point, Tana, in spite of all the trauma and suffering that she’s experienced in her life, has nothing left except her will to live, but she also knows that there’s no one left who can help her when she can’t help herself. Here, the Adversary’s choice isn’t just sacrificing one person for the many, it’s their choice to stay true to their commitment to protecting everyone, no matter the cost.

During Black Heaven, Mihile gets an exclusive scene with Cygnus, who makes him promise her that every single person will make it out safely in the battle. While this line isn’t common to every class, it’s an idea that gets thematically echoed throughout the Adversary’s journey. In Tenebris, we see this idea that the Adversary harbors the weight of what being a hero truly means, which is their belief that they have to save everyone no matter what. While that’s not presented as something erroneous, what is erroneous is that the Adversary is convinced that they have to be ready to end their own life so that everyone else can live.

The way that I personally see it, the Adversary sees a lot of themselves in Tana. The destiny of being an Adversary was forced onto us when the Alliance made a wish on the Seal Stone to save our life, which is something that we never asked for. This isn’t to say that we’re unhappy about this, because for one thing, we don’t even know that we’re the Adversary yet, and for another, even when we do learn about our destiny, we accept it gladly because it means that we have the power to save the people we love.

But the problem is that somewhere along the line, we’ve come to believe that it’s our duty to be the embodiment of a perfect hero who can save every single person on our own. The Labyrinth of Suffering storyline exposes a lot of the burden that we’ve been secretly carrying, which is that we’ll do absolutely anything to keep the people we care about from getting hurt - we’ll throw ourselves in harm’s way as a body shield, we’ll irreparably traumatize ourselves, we’ll even force ourselves to stop wanting to be alive if that’s what’s keeping us from giving up everything that we possibly have for the sake of everyone else.

Even though our desire to be a hero is something that we truly believe in, ever since we were saved at Black Heaven, we’ve been psychologically rewiring ourselves to stop feeling like we matter. We’re charging in from area to area completely alone, hurting ourselves over and over again without caring about what happens to us, all because we think that it’s worth it if it means that we can stop the Black Mage before he hurts anyone else. But as we find out in the labyrinth, there’s a part of us that resents us for what we’re doing to ourselves, and we start pushing back against this toxic mentality that our destiny as a hero has to end in our self-destruction, eventually culminating in us finally abandoning this belief and awakening the Seal Stone.

In regard to Tana, we’ve seen that she’s struggling to escape a destiny that she never wanted either, and we’ve seen that her only desire left is to stay alive. All around her, everyone has their own selfish agendas about how they want to use her. The Black Mage wants to take her powers for himself, and the Alliance only cares about putting itself and its own survival over whatever happens to her. In choosing to save her life, the Adversary is making the choice to advocate for her right to live when no one else will.

Our decision to spare her life is an affirmation of our commitment to not only embody the ideals of a savior and an Adversary, but it’s also us implicitly recognizing the pain of having our choices taken away from us and choosing to give one back to someone in the same position. We see ourselves and our feelings of helplessness in her, and just like how the Alliance made the selfless choice to save us at the cost of letting the Black Mage return to full power, we’re now making the same selfless choice to save her at the cost of letting the Black Mage double his strength, giving her the chance to live just like we were. And just like her, we also have that same desire to live, but whereas we’ve suppressed it and accepted that we have to die in order to save the world, we believe that just because that’s our destiny, it doesn’t have to be hers.)

Suddenly, Tana disappeared as Will laughed that though he admired the Adversary’s conviction, the ritual could not be stopped anymore. As Tana’s power had faded, Will regained full control over Mirror World and summoned a horde of spiders to destroy the Adversary before disappearing.

As the Adversary struggled to face the endless onslaught, Ollie appeared to defend them. She explained that it was Cygnus, not Neinheart, who had tasked her with protecting them. She told them how Cygnus had told her that the Adversary was strong, though they tried to shoulder the burdens of the whole world. Though no one in the Alliance was as strong as the Adversary, Cygnus believed that their numbers gave them strength, and that even the weakest member had an important role to play.

Just then, a dimensional portal appeared in Mirror World and Neinheart arrived with the Chief Knights in order to finish off the spiders. The Adversary apologized to Neinheart for their reckless decision, but Neinheart told them that there was no need to apologize, as he already knew what the Adversary would have done.

Melange then found a book that Will had left behind and picked it up before creating a portal to the base camp, allowing the Alliance forces to escape the White Sun before it fused with the Black Moon. (A/N: This book contains key information about the Black Mage, his prophecies, and his goals, which Melange later takes back to Darmoor at the end of Limina.)

Meanwhile, Will retreated into the deepest recesses of Mirror World in order to prevent Melange from following him. Though Will wished that he could have presented the Adversary to the Black Mage, he took comfort in the fact that he would be able to witness the time of Genesis. He eagerly expressed his excitement to be able to witness the creation of a perfect world free of shackles and unchecked powers with his own eyes.

Just then, however, the masked figure arrived and confronted Will, who was shocked that they were able to follow him into the deepest part of Mirror World. The masked figure told Will that he could not escape, to which Will, realizing that he had no choice, decided to settle their feud once and for all. As the two began fighting, the White Sun was absorbed by the Black Moon, transforming it into the Black Sun, Tenebris, and creating a massive storm that slowly began to grow throughout the area. Having gained the power of both creation and destruction, the Black Mage sent massive chains into the waters, pulling Maple World closer into the Arcane River and absorbing the Erdas within the Origin Sea in order to begin the Genesis Ritual.

Sellas, Where the Stars Rest:

(A/N: Following Reverse City and Yum Yum Island being added in the RISE update, Sellas was retroactively added to the Arcane River in the Awake update as level 240 content in order to bridge Esfera at level 235 and Moonbridge at level 245. While Sellas doesn’t seem to have any significant connection to the rest of the story at this time, I personally feel like it’s one of the best-written stories in the game.)

Some time after the fusion of the Black Moon and White Sun, Neinheart contacted the Adversary and told them that the Alliance was running an urgent, special operation before advancing on Tenebris. On the way to the base camp, they ran into Shubert, who seemed to be dropping something into the water.

(A/N: Shubert is dropping the dog tags of his fellow crewmates, who all perished long ago in a diving accident. The writers did an impeccable job with the details in this story, all of which add a lot more meaning to the story without saying a single word. You can hear three plops in the water, one for each dog tag.)

As Shubert murmured a solemn goodbye, the Adversary approached him and asked what he was doing. Shubert hesitantly told them that it was nothing before explaining that he was taking care of something before returning back to Edelstein, as the operation in Esfera was now over.

He then led them to the base camp, where Neinheart and Ollie told the Adversary that they were planning a recovery operation for a shiny, unknown object that Tana had dropped while Ollie had pulled her out of the Origin Sea. As it belonged to the Transcendent of Light, Neinheart believed that it had some significance, and so he wanted to recover it in case it would help them in the fight against the Black Mage.

Neinheart asked Shubert if he would reconsider helping them, but Shubert told them that he had experienced enough of the sea. However, he was unhappy to know that Ollie was joining the expedition, as she had barely recovered from Will’s attack. Neinheart then led them to the Jellyfish, a submarine that Shubert had once been stationed on, which had been recovered by the Resistance.

The Adversary was surprised that they needed a submarine, as they had been able to go on foot in the Morass at the bottom of the Arcane River. Neinheart explained that the environment in the Origin Sea was changing, which necessitated a submarine. Unexpectedly, Shubert agreed to pilot the Jellyfish. Neinheart was pleased by his change of heart and gave him command of the mission, as he was a veteran of Edelstein’s diving unit.

As they dove into the waters, the team was surprised at how clean the waters were, unlike what Ollie had experienced while pulling up Tana. Over the comms, Neinheart explained that the sea had been murky because of Tana, and that the waters were now clear because she had been extracted some time ago. He then explained that they had installed a sonar system that was calibrated to search for high-energy points.

Upon checking the sonar system, they detected a high-energy point nearby and put on diving suits in order to search on foot. Shubert noted how the older models of diving suits were heavy and made his arms hurt while practicing hand signals. Ollie was interested in learning the hand signals, and so Shubert asked the Adversary to clear out the Veritate monsters while he taught her. (A/N: You can already tell that this entire storyline is just gonna be us third-wheeling Shubert and Ollie.)

After the Adversary returned, Shubert was still unable to pinpoint the signal. He suspected that the echolocation that the monsters used was interfering with their sonar, and so he asked the Adversary to take out more monsters while he taught Ollie signals with light. After the Adversary took care of the monsters, the signal cleared up, allowing them to head to the source, which they found to be a piece of debris that had come from a propeller broken off from an Alliance transport plane.

As Shubert looked at the sonar, several Volar monsters began grouping together. Shubert asked the Adversary to chase them off before the monsters began to attack. After clearing them out, the Adversary boarded the Jellyfish and Shubert prepared to return to the base camp, as the sonar was coming up empty.

Ollie asked Shubert about how he had mentioned that he could boost the signal power. Shubert told her that he wasn’t willing to do so, as it would waste valuable oxygen and battery power while they were in uncharted territory. However, he conceded that Ollie had a point in that the object that Tana had dropped could be useful and agreed to search a bit longer. However, he gave them the caveat that if he boosted the sonar and still didn’t find anything, they would immediately return to the base camp.

In order to boost the signal, they needed to attach an antenna on the top of the Jellyfish, for which one person needed to boost the others up. Ollie found a cup full of sticks made for drawing lots, which Shubert uncomfortably recognized from his time on the Jellyfish. He hesitantly explained that they were made to decide who was stuck with cleaning duty, with the person who drew the red-marked stick being the one who lost. After drawing lots, Shubert was chosen as the one on the bottom, but as he was the only one who knew how to install it, the Adversary and Ollie both hoisted him up.

(A/N: The sticks were also used when the Jellyfish was sinking during Shubert’s last mission, in which the crew drew lots to determine which of them would board the only escape pod. Obviously, we know that Shubert was the one who was chosen to live, while everyone else drowned, which gives a new meaning to what he says about the person who draws the red-marked stick losing.)

Shubert attached an antenna on top of the Jellyfish to boost the signal and immediately detected multiple contacts swarming around them. Suddenly, they were hit by an unknown object, causing the lights to flicker on and off, during which Shubert momentarily saw an unknown diver standing in the cockpit. Around him, he saw ship debris and began having a panic attack, unable to breathe.

(A/N: Panic attacks are in my top five of least favorite feelings ever. While this is all happening, we get a look into Shubert’s thoughts about his past. He recalls his three crewmates: a sailor who was an excellent cook, another who was an expert with harpoons, and one who had been looking forward to meeting his newborn triplets. He then wonders what their hopes and dreams meant to the monster that consumed them. These three crewmates were the ones whose dog tags Shubert dropped into the sea at the beginning of the storyline.)

After he recovered, Ollie pointed out the sinking ships and proposed that they attempt a rescue. However, Shubert vetoed her idea and told her that aside from the fact that there were no other Alliance operations planned for that day, any airships falling from the sky wouldn’t sink so deep that fast. He conjectured that the sinking ships operated similar to how the Erdas manifested as illusions in the Morass, though Ollie pointed out that Tana’s influence had created the Morass, which made her wonder how the Alliance ships were being created.

Shubert decided to end the mission and return to the base camp, as the submersible was under enough stress already. Just then, the Jellyfish broke down and Ollie suggested salvaging parts from the debris.

(A/N: GMS added some extra dialogue that wasn’t part of KMS, which had the Adversary mention that the ships outside are just illusions, to which Shubert says that the ships in the debris field are, in a sense, more ‘real’ down in Sellas, which doesn’t really make any logical sense at all. As Ollie pointed out, Tana is the only person who’s ever influenced the Erdas on such an immense scale as creating an entire fleet of sinking ships. It’s possible that Tana’s relic, which the team was sent to find, was able to channel some of her powers of creation in order bring Shubert’s memories to life.)

While Ollie and the Adversary hunted down parts, Ollie told them that she was worried about Shubert and believed that he was hiding something. However, she decided against asking him, as she had faith that he would tell them if it was critical to the mission. The Adversary asked Ollie if Shubert had ever talked about his past in the diving unit.

Ollie told them that she hadn’t heard anything about his past before Neinheart had mentioned it, and that she found it disappointing that he had never shared things with her in the same way that she had with him, wondering if it was because he didn’t trust her. Recalling how Shubert had only volunteered to join the mission after learning that Ollie was part of it, as well as how he had taught only Ollie critical hand signals, the Adversary believed that Shubert wanted to keep her safe.

As the Adversary continued clearing monsters for Ollie to recover debris, Ollie told them that she had made up her mind. She explained how, after the Black Heaven incident, she had seen the Adversary standing next to the Empress, and how she had promised herself that she would fight by their side. Though people had laughed when she had told them about her dream, she had continued persevering until she had been picked for the advance party to the Arcane River, which was when people had started noticing her.

(A/N: Ollie is one of my favorite characters in the game specifically because she’s both remarkable and ordinary. Throughout this game, we’re so used to being powerful and being surrounded by powerful people that everyone else is just seen as a background extra. Ollie is a refreshing take on characters who aren’t inherently powerful but become important because of the sheer amount of dedication and hard work that they put into what they do.

At first glance, she isn’t someone that you’d expect to be significant because she doesn’t have the charisma or the abilities of the player, but after hearing about how she had a dream and realized it through her own effort, you can’t help but root for her as an underdog. As players, we can relate to her because most of us are ordinary just like her, not prodigies like the Adversary. I’ve only known Ollie for one and a half storylines, but if anything happened to her, I would kill everyone in this world and then myself.)

Ollie believed that if she continued doing her best, Shubert may see her differently, just as the others had done, and that he might decide to share his thoughts and feelings with her. Back on the Jellyfish, Shubert had been overhearing everything that Ollie had been saying through the radio. He began wondering whether he had been too on edge during the trip and told himself that the past wouldn’t repeat itself again.

Meanwhile, Ollie and the Adversary returned with several parts, among which Shubert found an old battery that they could use for the submarine. He also told them that a stationary object had been sending steady pulses while they had been gone, and that he suspected that it was the object that Tana had dropped. He then approved one final expedition to find the object and asked Ollie to tether herself to the outside of the Jellyfish in order to scare off the monsters who could break their searchlight.

The Adversary told Shubert that they felt like they should be doing Ollie’s job, but Shubert told them to save their strength for later. Though monsters weren’t a threat to the Adversary, Shubert explained that the sea was a threat to them all. He added that he was also teaching Ollie an important lesson, as one only understood their true size when facing something huge.

He then told the others that their backup plan was to transfer the backup battery’s power to the escape pods in case of an emergency. Just then, a distorted distress signal reached the Jellyfish’s comms, claiming that they were the Jellyfish, and that their unit had been wiped out. Outside, Ollie told them that she could see the target, and that she was heading towards it against Shubert’s protests.

Just then, a massive quake damaged the ship, and when they looked outside, they found that Ollie’s line had been cut. Shubert was furious that the past was repeating itself, believing that the same creature which had destroyed his diving unit had gotten Ollie and turned her into a star. When the Adversary asked what he meant, Shubert explained that when divers didn’t return, they were called ‘stars’, though Shubert had never known the reason behind the name until he had seen the lights from the apparatus of all his friends sinking into the abyss.

He believed that unlike himself and the other divers who all faded like the plentiful, common stars, the Adversary was special and had the power to save Ollie. The Adversary put on diving gear and headed into the abyss, where they were swallowed by an enormous glowing whale, which they believed to be the personification of the sea itself. Inside the whale, they encountered a figure in a diving suit and decided to follow them.

As they fought through the monsters nearby, they picked up several dog tags scattered across the ground and felt the memories of the Edelstein diving unit. They were able to witness how the team had drawn sticks to determine who would be the sole survivor, with Shubert being sent to safety in the only escape pod. (A/N: We pick up exactly three dog tags, which are the same ones that Shubert dropped at the beginning of the story. During the flashbacks, we also see Shubert holding four dog tags: three of his crewmates’ and his own.)

The Adversary eventually reached Ollie and the two found the mysterious diver. From the diver’s hand signals, Ollie was able to determine that they were asking the pair to come closer, where they found a copy of the Jellyfish created from Shubert’s memories. Using its communication channels, they were able to contact Shubert aboard the real Jellyfish and asked for help, explaining that the monster which had swallowed them was a whale, not the sea itself as he believed.

Shubert then unleashed a powerful attack with his Arm Cannon to destroy the whale, revealing that it had merely been thousands of jellyfish that had come together to form a whale as a defensive tactic. As they rose to the surface by riding the jellyfish, the Adversary found a glowing red necklace that had belonged to Tana and took it back to the base camp.

(A/N: Going by Shubert’s explanation about stars, stars are basically just the souls of those who got consumed by the sea. As the whale is meant to be a manifestation of the sea, the glowing whale that we encounter in Sellas is really countless small souls that became part of the sea by forming the whale, including the souls of Shubert’s crew, whose echoes help us survive.

What’s even cooler is that the glowing stars are actually just tiny jellyfish, which help us escape the sea. In a sense, it’s like the souls of Shubert’s crew are helping us rise up to the surface. While this is all happening, the comm system activates, replaying the last message that the crew had sent about sending its best and brightest to the surface before asking for him to be taken good care of.

I really love how this storyline respectfully handled Shubert’s PTSD and how it reframed the whale from being the manifestation of Shubert’s trauma into it being the memory of his crewmates breaking the cycle of history from repeating itself in his mind.)

Back at the surface, Neinheart determined that the jewel on the necklace had been broken from a larger piece. He realized that Tana had cherished it so preciously that she had taken it with her, even as she had wandered without her memory. Based on that alone, he believed that it had significance enough that the Alliance would continue to investigate it. He noted that the necklace was glowing brightly and speculated that if it was emitting light in response to its owner, then there was hope that they would one day be able to reach her.

(A/N: The necklace is almost certainly the same one with the anti-magic stone that Jean gave to her in Trueffet, which Tana broke in order to disrupt the Ascendency ritual. I speculated earlier that it’s been imbued with the power of creation, similar to how the Genesis Weapon has been imbued with a small portion of the Black Mage’s powers of creation and destruction.

Neinheart’s line about how they might be able to reach Tana if her necklace is lighting up in response to its owner might be a reference to something that Eskalade tells Angelic Buster in her class storyline, which is that the only thing known about Aeona is that she lives in the Sanctum of Light, which is a place where only light can reach. Most likely, it’ll factor into Darmoor sending Melange to find Tana after Limina.)

Moonbridge:

With the fusion of the Black Moon and White Sun, a storm zone was created over the Arcane River that grew stronger with each passing day, eventually making its way to the Esfera base camp. Knowing that the time had come, Neinheart ordered all Alliance forces in Esfera to return to Ereve in order to prepare for the final battle against the Black Mage. As the moment of destiny approached, a divine light spoke to the Adversary, telling them that only the hope of heroes could stand against evil. It then asked them to be the one who stoked the flames of that hope.

Meanwhile in Esfera, Shubert contacted the Adversary and Ollie and told them that he and Melange had finished evacuating the Temple Keepers. As they began their next mission to clean up the monsters in the area, Ollie told Shubert to focus on the outskirts while she and the Adversary took care of the inner area. The pair then split up to take care of the last of Will’s spiders before returning back to the base camp, where Shubert and Melange had already regrouped with Neinheart.

Neinheart told them that the Alliance forces had been moved to the Outpost, and that he had remained behind in order to escort them there. He asked Shubert to teleport them to the Sky Ferry in Ereve, but Shubert’s miscalculations resulted in the group being scattered across Ereve instead. The Adversary was taken aback by the enormous chains that had shot down from the sky into the ground. Neinheart explained that not long after the Adversary had departed for the Arcane River, immense chains had begun to appear across Maple World, pulling their world closer into the Arcane River.

Before he could continue explaining, several Wandering Soot Glare monsters appeared and began to attack. After fighting through them, the pair encountered Kiriko, Kizan, and Kidan patrolling the area. They reported that the Soot monsters that had begun appearing around Maple World had finally reached Ereve.

As they continued onward, Neinheart resumed his explanation. He told them that the Arcane River had been created from the collision of the three worlds, which drew them all ever closer, and that dimensional collapse had reached critical levels, which had resulted in the chains and monsters appearing. As all of existence would cease to be if the Black Mage succeeded, he emphasized how imperative it was that they stop the Black Mage once and for all.

He then led them to the Conference Pavilion, where he explained that after he had resolved to look deeper into the Black Mage’s past following the Black Heaven incident, the Alliance had recovered the Scroll of Destiny from the Black Mage’s laboratory in Magatia.

(A/N: Ollie says during the Esfera storyline that Neinheart had grown obsessed with learning about the Black Mage’s plans following the World Tree incident, not Black Heaven, although it could be that Neinheart decided to start his investigation after Black Heaven and grew even more obsessed after the World Tree incident.)

The Scroll of Prophecy had led Neinheart to believe that the Black Mage had the power to predict events before they became reality, as he had foreseen not only the creation of the Adversary, but also the Arcane River and the fusion of the Black Moon with the White Sun. Recalling how their actions had led to the Black Mage’s ritual succeeding, the Adversary fell silent in shame, but Neinheart told them not to blame themselves, as he respected the lengths that they would go to in order to save a life. Reminding them not to get caught up in the past, he showed them the final prophecy written on the scroll:

They who cross the breath of twilight and turn towards the sun,
on broken wings will be crushed and undone by despair.

A light whose brilliant glory is lost
will face the soul of the world whilst steeped in mire and rot.

A crimson tear will spawn a giant that swallows hearts,
and when determination is swallowed by the deepest dark,

a new destiny will be written, a destiny apart.

(A/N: The first stanza refers to Moonbridge, the second refers to the Labyrinth of Suffering, and the rest is for Limina. There’s also an alternate version of the prophecy written in the Black Mage: Origin webcomic:

The first adversaries will be lost to time.

When the fallen throne rises once more
the final adversaries will reach the sea of beginnings.

Once darkness swallows all and the end approaches
A new destiny shall be written!

The original line in Korean was actually, “The first adversaries will be encased in ice”, referring to the Heroes. The word ‘adversaries’ is likely only used loosely, as the actual title of Adversary refers to someone who’s bonded with a Seal Stone, which isn’t the case with the Heroes.)

Neinheart explained that he had been able to interpret most of the other prophecies in the scroll based on what the Alliance knew of the Black Mage, but he added that the final prophecy was still unclear. He was uneasy about the prophesied new destiny, as a destiny written by the Black Mage could only end in disaster.

He explained that after finding the scroll, he had sent letters to summon the leaders of the Alliance, where they had all agreed to make a final stand against the Black Mage. He began telling the Adversary that the Empress had been uneasy about the decision, but before he could continue, more monsters suddenly appeared. The Adversary quickly defeated the monsters, allowing them to press on to the Empress’ Resting Spot.

Neinheart then continued that Cygnus had been having dreams of the Alliance’s destruction ever since finding the scroll, though no one knew whether it was because of stress or her ability to see the future. He admitted that he had been surprised to see her strong will collapse, after which she had decided that she needed to meet with Shinsoo before resuming her duties. The Cygnus Knights had then set out towards Leafre, which was Shinsoo’s last known location.

(A/N: Shinsoo was last seen in Leafre after summoning the Cygnus Knight and granting the Call of Cygnus skill during the Cygnus Knight storyline.

Cygnus’ nightmare was part of a promotional animation for Tenebris. It starts out with Cygnus running through the woods, which leads her into Esfera. There, she’s shocked to find hundreds of Alliance soldiers lying dead on the floor, with the White Mage floating in front of Tenebris. He tells her that what she’s seeing is her destiny, adding that the future has already been written and can’t be changed.

He then tells her to accept her reality. As he turns to face her, he morphs into the Black Mage and tells her that annihilation is the only salvation for the world before launching his chains at her, causing her to wake up. That’s all that was included as a cutscene in Moonbridge, but the actual promotional animation goes on to include an Alliance meeting where Neinheart and Cygnus explain that the Black Mage is going to end the world. They then send letters to call all their heroes in Maple World, Grandis, and Earth to action.)

After finding Shinsoo, Cygnus had told her about the prophecy and her nightmares, as well as her fear of leading the Alliance to its destruction. Shinsoo had helped Cygnus realize that their efforts hadn’t been for nothing, and that the Black Mage’s prophecy wasn’t certain. She had then bestowed the jeweled diadem upon her forehead to Cygnus, which had shrunk to fit on her wrist like a bracelet.

Shinsoo had explained that though she had the power to protect the weak, she no longer had the strength to use it. Because of this, she had believed that Cygnus was the only one who could use that power to protect the Alliance. She had also reminded Cygnus that she was the light of hope who could pull others from the depths of despair.

(A/N: This would’ve been the perfect place to elaborate more on Cygnus’ role as the fourth Transcendent, especially since one of the Cygnus Knights’ 5th job skills, “Empress Cygnus’ Blessing”, evolves into “Transcendent Cygnus’ Blessing”, which enhances the original skill. Since Shinsoo had been granted the power to watch over the the Empress’ bloodline until the time came for the fourth Transcendent to appear, it’s possible that the bracelet that Cygnus received might have some aspect of the fourth Transcendent’s power, although they never really say much about it.)

Immediately after returning from Leafre, Cygnus had sent letters to all members of the Alliance, announcing the great expedition into the Arcane River. Just as Neinheart finished explaining, they arrived at the Sky Ferry, where the Adversary cleared up the remaining monsters before they flew to the Outpost.

At the Outpost, a large floating island in its own right, Neinheart showed them the White Spear, a massive airship that would serve as the Alliance’s flagship, modeled into a spear to symbolize their will to carve out their own destiny. He also told them that a mysterious divine light had appeared at the center of the Outpost, and that Shinsoo had told them that they would be ready to face the Black Mage once the divine light transformed.

He explained that with the final battle approaching, the light had recently reacted to the determination of the Alliance and formed the three Goddess Statues, depicting the Goddesses of Maple World, Grandis, and Tynerum.

(A/N: I have no idea what the divine light is, but given that it forms the Goddess Statues, it might be the combined will of the Goddesses formed to help drive the Alliance to victory. The light also talks to us periodically throughout the Tenebris storyline, particularly in the Labyrinth of Suffering, and takes on the voice of someone close to us.

During the original Tenebris event, the progression of the divine light’s transformation into the Goddess Statues, as well as the expedition to Tenebris, was all part of the Journey of Destiny, which progressed with the amount of determination collected by the players on their servers. Neinheart’s explanation about the transformation of the divine light alludes to the original story event, although the permanent area storyline skips straight to the formation of the Goddess Statues for the sake of story progression.)

Just then, Shubert, Melange, and Ollie found them and apologized for the mishap in teleporting them to Ereve. After they headed back to their delegations, Neinheart took the Adversary to meet Cygnus, who was dressed in full battle armor and carrying her own sword. She thanked the Adversary for their instrumental role in pushing forward through the Arcane River and asked them to lend their strength once again for the Alliance.

After reaffirming their dedication to Alliance, the Adversary was escorted by Neinheart back to the center of the Outpost in order to wait for Athena Pierce to arrive. While waiting, they went over the Adversary’s experience in the Arcane River, and how they had bested Commanders Lucid, Arkarium, and Will in their journey.

He also told them that there was one more thing that the Alliance had found in the Black Mage’s laboratory: a writing that said, “Only the Adversary can counter immortality’s fate with the strength of a Seal Stone.” Though Neinheart didn’t want to immediately trust it, given who had written it, he felt that they needed something to believe in while waging war against a god. (A/N: They refer to the Black Mage as a god, but it’s important to note that he’s not an Ancient God at any point in this story. ‘God’ is just a term meant to show just how immense his power has become.)

Just then, Athena Pierce arrived from helping with the disasters affecting Maple World, as the three worlds were suffering from dimensional collapse. Because of this, Neinheart had assigned her to remain on Maple World in order to protect the people, rather than having her accompany them to Tenebris. He then told the Adversary that the divine light, which had transformed into the Goddess Statues, responded to the collective determination of the Alliance, and that it also activated the gems in the Goddess’ hands.

Athena Pierce told the Adversary that she planned to distribute emblems of the Alliance to each ship before departing in order to boost morale. She gave the Adversary their own emblem and asked them to give one to Kyrin aboard the Nautilus before returning to the White Spear. Aboard the Nautilus, they gave Kyrin the emblem, as well as a letter from Athena Pierce reminding her that they were all in the fight together.

(A/N: I thought this was a nice callback to Athena’s history with Kyrin after she ran away to find her father Destonen.

Pathfinder gets some exclusive dialogue when Athena asks her to give the emblem to Kyrin. Athena realizes that the Pathfinder is about to embark to save the world and explains that it’s a new feeling entirely. She notes that the Pathfinder always manages to surprise her each time that she shows up looking more mature. She then adds that she’s looking forward to reuniting once the fight is over)

Meanwhile, Athena found Edea arriving and gave her an emblem, thanking her for the Nova’s help. Edea replied that she should be the one thanking Athena, as the Alliance had played a major role in retaking Heliseum. She then confessed her worries about the Black Mage’s influence in Grandis and added that she needed Athena to remain in Maple World and lead the soldiers in her place while she was away at Tenebris. Elsewhere, Neinheart gave Claudine an emblem. Claudine told him that though they had their differences, they were all committed to fighting together.

Back at the White Spear, Cygnus told the Adversary that the emblem of the Alliance represented their mutual trust and the courage to stand against evil. She showed them the jewel on her wrist that Shinsoo had given her and explained that as commander, it was her duty to nurture that trust and courage, adding that she was determined to do just that. (A/N: Cygnus Knights get exclusive dialogue here, in which they vow that they’ll protect the Empress with that same determination.)

Cygnus then announced that it was time to launch all Alliance ships to Tenebris. Hundreds of smaller ships launched alongside the White Spear, including the Lumiere and the Nautilus, and headed straight into a large portal that would take them into the Arcane River. Soon after, Neinheart reported that they were passing over the Esfera base camp, which had vanished without a trace. He told the Adversary that they would soon be arriving at Moonbridge, which was the Alliance’s name for the path that bridged Esfera with the Black Moon before it had become the Black Sun.

As they entered Moonbridge, Kyrin reported that the Nautilus had encountered heavy fog. Neinheart suddenly realized that the “breath of twilight” from the prophecy referred to the dense fog, from which enemies were emerging. Edea sensed a powerful soul in the fog and recommended that they wait and prepare. Cygnus then ordered all the ships to hold while they investigated the new threat.

In order to assess the nature of the threat that they were facing, Neinheart asked the Adversary to obtain samples from the Soot Beasts and Soot Talon monsters. The Alliance member returned with Wicked Soul Remains, which Edea analyzed, allowing her to learn that a dark entity within the fog was crafting the monsters from pure Erda.

Edea also told them that the fog was surrounded by a powerful barrier, as though the entity had formed a shell around itself. Claudine suggested focusing their firepower at one point, but Edea told her that they would need to clear the enemies between them and the barrier, or else the blast wouldn’t be strong enough.

Claudine decided to launch a surprise attack, which she explained was the Resistance’s specialty, so that the Nautilus could spearhead the attack while the Nova defended the rear. Neinheart asked the Adversary to help the Resistance forces, which were planning to draw the enemy’s attention to one spot by setting off massive explosions. While Checky and the Adversary snuck past the enemies, the rest of the Resistance herded the monsters towards a central area.

Checky then set off an explosion to destroy the monsters while the Adversary cleaned up the stragglers. With the Resistance ships safely out of the way, Cygnus ordered the White Spear to send out a massive blast that pierced a hole through the fog. As the airfleet pressed forward, more monsters began appearing and Claudine feared that they would be overtaken before reaching the fog. The Adversary helped the Resistance clear up their ship deck and returned to the White Spear to report their status before heading back to the Resistance airship again.

As the airfleet reached the fog, a Nova soldier saw a giant chain flying straight toward them. He attempted to defend himself, but found that the chains had disappeared. He then saw dozens of eyes staring at him before they too disappeared, leaving him to wonder whether it had all been an illusion. Unbeknownst to him, a strange substance had fallen onto the deck of his ship.

On the Resistance deck, a soldier reported similar incidents to Claudine, who sent Belle, Checky, and Brighton to investigate before receiving a report that the White Spear had ordered reinforcements to defend the Nautilus. Claudine told the Adversary that the Nautilus had requested for them, and that they had claimed that the Adversary’s presence alone would be sufficient. (A/N: We’re basically a one-man army at this point.) Aboard the Nautilus, Kyrin asked the Adversary to handle the monsters while Edea analyzed the situation.

After they finished, Kyrin decided to recommend to Cygnus that they take a more defensive formation with the fog thickening. Kyrin asked the Adversary to help escort the ships nearby and sent them to the main deck. One of the soldiers on deck told them to take charge of a convoy to help defend an escort ship in trouble.

As the fog grew even thicker, a Resistance soldier reported a large collision between ships. The Adversary saw that a massive chain had wrapped around one of the ships and rushed to save them. There, they saw several injured soldiers and decided to sever the chain holding the ship. They fought through the monsters on board and found a weak spot in the chain. Though they managed to destroy it, they were surprised, since the soldiers had mentioned thousands of chains and eyes, none of which the Adversary had encountered.

Aboard the White Spear, Neinheart recommended that they maintain their current speed in order to make it out of the fog. Several hours later, the White Spear emerged out of the fog and found Tenebris floating ominously above the clouds. A soldier reported that the chain attacks had stopped, and that they had heard positive reports from the other airships. Neinheart then told Kyrin to pull the Nautilus into the clouds and set sail straight ahead toward Tenebris, after which the White Spear would follow.

The Adversary then returned to the Nautilus, where Kyrin thanked them for their help and asked them to return to the White Spear. There, Neinheart told Cygnus that he estimated that they would reach Tenebris in an hour. However, Cygnus’ thoughts turned to the prophecy as she wondered whether they had truly defied fate.

Just as the Adversary returned, the storm began to grow and caused the White Spear to tilt. Kyrin reported that there was something up ahead and Cygnus ordered the White Spear to take point in order to provide cover for the fleet. Edea reported that she sensed a great evil just beyond the fog, where the giant monster Gloom appeared. From its eye, a large laser beam shot out and destroyed the majority of the fleet. Cygnus immediately used Shinsoo’s gemstone to create a giant shield, which repelled Gloom’s attack enough for the White Spear and a few nearby ships to survive.

After Gloom laid waste to the fleet, it closed its eye and retreated back into the fog. Most of the Alliance fleet had been destroyed and had been swept into the void, with only the White Spear and a handful of other ships surviving. As the soldiers’ morale began dwindling from fear, the Temple Keepers rushed to heal the wounded, though they soon assessed that many would need to return home.

The Adversary surveyed the damage and listened as the soldiers were consumed by fear. At the deck, they met Cygnus, who told them to prepare for a new mission to save their allies before the fleet could press on. Realizing that the pressure of command was taking its toll on Cygnus, they provided encouragement, hoping to boost her spirits.

Neinheart then arrived with Edea’s report, which stated that Gloom’s next attack would happen in twelve hours, giving the remnants of the fleet enough time to reach Tenebris. However, Cygnus pointed out that they would be ill-prepared to fight the Black Mage with their meager forces and resolved to regroup with the others in order to face Gloom together.

Neinheart asked the Adversary to search the nearby wreckage for survivors, and to help as many heroes as they could. Aboard Edea’s ship, the Adversary watched her take care of the chain monsters. She asked them to bring Void Fragments from the Crushing Glare and Burst Glare monsters nearby, with which she triggered a reaction with the monster remnants, allowing her to learn that the chain remnants were acting as homing beacons for the enemy to pursue them.

They then fought through the monsters in order to destroy the remnants, thus preventing the enemy from learning their location. They were then able to reach the survivors and rescue them, bringing them safely back to the White Spear. With Gloom’s next attack nearing, the Alliance formulated a plan to amplify the White Spear’s laser with magic in order to break the barrier protecting the core. The Adversary then volunteered to destroy the core once it had been exposed.

Just then, Gloom sent a wave of monsters to attack the White Spear, preventing it from focusing its laser on Gloom’s eye. Aboard the deck, Cygnus resolved to be the one to protect others, rather than being protected, and her powerful determination allowed her to summon a large shield to defend her allies.

However, Gloom’s attack easily shattered the shield, and she found that she was unable to summon a new one. Though she prayed to be granted the strength to protect everyone, the shield had lost its light as Cygnus fell into despair. Around her, she saw the morale of the soldiers dwindling as Gloom came closer to the White Spear.

Just as she lost hope, she recalled the Adversary’s encouragement and remembered the sacrifices which had led the Alliance to where they currently were. By inscribing those sacrifices upon her heart, Cygnus regained the determination to use her power. She then created a powerful light that served as a beacon for the ships lost in the fog.

Meanwhile, the Adversary reached Gloom and weakened its eye as the White Spear fired its laser, opening the path to the core. Upon destroying the core, the Adversary was consumed with the malevolent thoughts of Gloom, preventing them from moving, just as the core began to collapse. Cygnus then personally headed to the core, where she found the Adversary and rescued them before the core exploded.

Back on the White Spear, the Temple Keepers healed the Adversary as Ollie came to congratulate them. She showed them a box, inside which a fragment of the core rested, and explained that she had been tasked with bringing it back to the Outpost for analysis. As it had been formed from the Black Mage’s soul, Ollie hoped that they could learn something from it. Several hours later, however, the Alliance was preparing to advance upon Tenebris when a soldier reported that the core fragment had exploded during transport, and that Ollie was missing.

(A/N: At the end of the Moonbridge storyline, Cygnus Knights get an extra quest with Neinheart, who asks them if they had seen the light that the Empress had wielded to block Gloom’s attack. He notes that her power was much stronger than what she had used to save Shinsoo after Damien’s attack.

He reminds us that the Cygnus Knights’ power is directly linked to that of the Empress, to which we note that we can feel a surge of strength within us. Neinheart explains that though he doesn’t know what this means for the future, the boost in power is nevertheless helpful for their current situation. Following this conversation, Cygnus Knights’ 5th job skill “Empress Cygnus’ Blessing” gets upgraded into “Transcendent Cygnus’ Blessing”.)

Labyrinth of Suffering:

As the fog around Moonbridge lifted, Ollie was rescued from the core fragment explosion by the Flying Fish, which had regained its original form after being stuck as Jean in the Morass. After dropping her back off at the White Spear, the Flying Fish told Ollie that it would be back when it was time before it flew off.

Soon after, Ollie met with the leaders of the Alliance aboard the deck of the White Spear. Claudine asked Ollie if she was alright, as she had been exposed to the souls pouring out of the core fragment. 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 soul, had allowed her to see the Black Mage’s past, back 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 world complete and free of irrationalities and evil, which he called the Divine City.

(A/N: The Divine City is a reference to a book called The 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, except GMS made the dumb decision to omit what’s essentially the central thesis of his life’s ambition.

Before I jump into it, I want to give the disclaimer that I have absolutely no knowledge or background in philosophy, and so everything that I’ve written is through me spending the better part of two days trying to understand the main concepts, which means that while I’m fairly confident in what I’m about to say, there’s a chance that some of this might be inaccurate. I’m always looking to keep everything on this site as accurate as possible, so if you happen to find any mistakes, don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know.

Jumping back into the City of God, the context for its writing is that after the sack of Rome in 410 AD, many Romans believed it to be a punishment from the gods for forsaking their traditional Roman religion in favor of Christianity. Augustine wrote the book in order to reassure them that converting to Christianity wasn’t a mistake.

The first half of the book was a scathing critique of paganism and an assertion that the fall of Rome had been because of moral decay, while Christianity had actually been one of the few things that had helped them. The second half of the book outlines two conceptual societies - the City of God and the Earthly City, which have been interlocked in conflict from the beginning of time until the end. The City of God is described as a state of salvation for those who place their faith in God, while the Earthly City is one in which people revel in superficial pleasures.

A lot of the concepts regarding the White Mage and his personal journey can be found in Augustine’s principles. He explains that the two cities are in conflict not just spiritually, but through politics and military as well, with God intervening to guide the actions of the people of His city to victory against the Earthly City and those who’ve sided with the Devil. He believes that as a result of the original sin, humans are fundamentally evil and need to be ruled by government to prevent them from selfishly hurting other people.

However, he also believes that even people from the Earthly City inherently desire peace, and since there are so many different people with different needs and desires, the role of government should be limited in order to not trample on people’s lives, and that it should only exist to guide people towards peace. At the same time, however, he also believes that in order to achieve peace, violence is both needed and justified if it means stopping a greater evil from taking over, citing how the sack of Rome was needed to purge the moral decay by the roots so that it could become part of the City of God.

Within the context of the game, the Earthly City corresponds to Maple World in the time of the White Mage, in which the world was filled with violence from monster attacks, insular nations ruled by selfish aristocrats who profited off suffering, and endless civil wars that killed and displaced countless innocents. It was suggested that during this time, humanity was on an imminent course for annihilation, as the moral decay of the world was too deep to repair through conventional efforts.

Because of this, the White Mage sought to save the world by bringing them to the City of God - which isn’t a physical city, but a state of mind that eschews hedonistic pleasure in favor of wisdom and knowledge. He believed that this would complete humanity and evolve them into beings that could finally know the peace and freedom of the gods.

However, this is where the game subverts Augustine’s thesis by showing that the City of God never existed to begin with. The framework of his assertion is still there - that there are higher beings that intervene in the world for the sake of maintaining their divine will, but the nature of those beings is nothing like the benevolence of God that Augustine knows. Far from acting to bring people to the City of God, the Overseers actively manipulate the world to deny it salvation by keeping it anchored to the Earthly City. When the White Mage declares that there is no ultimate light, he’s saying that there fundamentally is no City of God because the existence of an absolute good can’t exist if God himself is corrupt.

Augustine’s belief in evil is that it was created through humans corrupting themselves with the free will that they were given by God, as God being a source of absolute good means that nothing in creation can inherently be evil, and so evil was created by the human soul through warping its own nature. However, bringing this into the context of the game, if the Overseers are the absolute authority of the universe, and their purpose is to actively keep humanity anchored to evil, then accordingly, it would mean that ultimate light doesn’t exist, ultimate darkness does exist, and everything in creation is inherently flawed because of this, which is what led the White Mage to believe that salvation lay only in the destruction of God.

Even after he awakens as the Black Mage, you can see some of Augustine’s principles in play through his actions - borrowing the power of the gods in order to grant himself permission to initiate his divine war against evil, embracing and justifying violence for the sake of stopping a greater evil, purging humanity in a war of genocide to wipe out the moral rot, and a regard for the free will of beings by using the Seal Stone as his tool to destroy the Overseers.

The absence of a City of God in the game brings up the question of how humans can find salvation after rejecting the divine. Personally, I think the key difference in the game is that unlike real life, there was no original sin in the story, which means that humans aren’t fundamentally evil in accordance to Augustine’s reasoning. Augustine’s work actually inspired another philosopher named Thomas Aquinas, who ironically came to the exact opposite conclusion - that humans are inherently good, and that it’s possible to be happy and peaceful in the Earthly City, even if absolute happiness isn’t possible, which, in the context of the game, is a direct rebuttal to the White Mage’s philosophy and something that he admits to the Adversary in Limina.

Between 1259 and 1265, Aquinas wrote a series of four books as part of a collection called Summa contra Gentiles, in which he explained that absolute happiness isn’t possible because the world is filled with too much selfishness. He believes that God had created humans with the intent that they would come seeking His perfect knowledge and be completed, giving them absolute happiness and pleasure on an incomprehensible level.

However, he makes a distinction between perfect happiness, which he calls beatitudo, and imperfect happiness, which he calls felicitas. This is a refutation of Augustine’s principle that humanity is inherently evil and incapable of natural goodness. He cites Aristotle’s natural virtues and explains that along with the virtues of God, humanity is capable of attaining happiness on the mortal plane. However, he emphasizes that people have a natural drive to become complete, and that felicitas will eventually stop feeling like it’s enough, as no matter how happy people are, they’ll always feel like there’s something missing, which is their desire for beatitudo.

In context of the game, Aquinas’ writings acknowledge the White Mage’s belief that the world is imperfect and even goes as far as to justify his search for the ultimate light as a natural instinct of a being who seeks to be completed. However, his belief that humanity is inherently good refutes the idea that people are relegated to misery because an imperfect happiness, while not absolute, is founded on the basis that human beings choosing to be virtuous can create a worthwhile existence, even while trapped in the Earthly City.

Within the context of Augustine’s writing, Cygnus and her government are perfect because of the lack of infringement on people’s wills and a capacity to intervene and fight when a greater evil appears. Taking the ideas that humans are neither inherently pure good or pure evil, and given the existence of the gods as corrupt, it supports the idea that humans should have the capacity to govern themselves in adherence to their virtues, rather than live under the rule of murderous and indolent gods.

The Adversary’s victory over the Black Mage is a refutation of Augustine’s belief that humanity is sinful because of their free will, and the existence of the Seal Stone as a relic created by humanity through reclaiming the corrupt power of the Overseers inside the heart of the world, remodeling it to awaken on a new set of conditions that embrace collective willpower, and creating a new type of demigod in the form of the Adversary, who exists as a unique amalgam of mortal and god, is a redefinition of divinity by placing its value in being flawed, rather than in an absolute good or evil to strive towards.

It adopts Aquinas’ belief that imperfect happiness and peace is possible to replicate in the Earthly City, and goes further to show that its imperfection is in itself an attainment of their ideals, as the drive to seek greater happiness - when applied with virtue - is what drives humanity closer to completing itself on its own merits, rather than by placing importance on abstract, unattainable, and flawed ideals like ultimate light or a City of God, as there’s no truth to be found in the constructs of a god without sanctity.)

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 Aeona 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 to 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 Earth 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 the survival of the three worlds. 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 that 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. Neinheart told the Adversary that it would be their responsibility to serve as the vanguard of the Alliance and to 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 the Alliance would collapse without its leader if she were to fall during the front charge, to which Cygnus then asked Neinheart why he was so willing to put the Adversary at the front if it was so dangerous.

(A/N: At this point in time, Cygnus has reached adulthood and has claimed the full power of Shinsoo. Her new personality lies in stark contrast to her happy, compassionate childhood self. There are quite a number of jaw-dropping moments like these where she acts out-of-character in both Tenebris and beyond. I’m sure that the writers probably wanted to demonstrate her being older and more mature, but it still feels really weird to see Cygnus behave like this. There’s one moment in Limina, in particular, that I absolutely hated, which you’ll see fairly soon in the next section.)

Cygnus reassured Neinheart that she wasn’t scolding him, but she pointed out that she could most effectively lead the fleet from the front, as well as provide better support, since she knew more about the fleet’s capabilities. She also added that if she used her command to keep herself safe, the Alliance would lose its trust in her. Neinheart reluctantly agreed to her plan and told the Adversary to watch their flank.

(A/N: Several classes get exclusive dialogue here, although sadly, Explorers, Adele, 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 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 was 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.)

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 had a terrible feeling that they would never see the Adversary again.

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. 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, which heavily suggests that all the classes in the game were technically present at Tenebris, and that the writers made it so that we not only don’t talk to a single one of them, but also that they did absolutely nothing significant, just so that the writers could make their generic protagonist more important than anyone else in the universe. Was it really that hard to add just one exclusive scene for each class where they meet another class NPC?

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.)

The ship then crashed in the Labyrinth of Suffering, where the Adversary awoke to find that several crewmembers, including Melange, were missing, and that communications were still down. The Adversary decided to climb up the wall to find their bearings and saw that all of Tenebris was an immense maze.

Suddenly, the walls began growing even taller, knocking the Adversary back on the ground. With few options, they decided to headcount the members present in order to find who was missing, after which they would recover any supplies from the destroyed ship before heading out to search for the others.

They picked up several barrier stones and placed them at natural choke points in order to defend against unknown threats. They were also able to salvage rations and flares, though one of the Resistance soldiers noted that damage to the ship had been focused on the most critical parts. The Adversary then tried to use one of the flares to signal the fleet, but found that they were unable to light it.

The group then obtained a long rope, which they planned to tie to the ship while holding the other end in order to prevent themselves from getting lost in the labyrinth. The Adversary organized three groups and warned them not to stray too far from the ship. (A/N: Anyone who’s ever seen a horror movie knows that this is a terrible idea.)

Some time after the three groups set out, the Adversary decided to use another flare to signal the groups to return. As the flare reached the sky, it mysteriously vanished, as did the next one that they used. With no more flares and no other options, the Adversary decided to look for the groups themselves.

Suddenly, a wounded Nova soldier ran screaming towards them, 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. They followed the rope through the maze and found the clothes and weapons of the missing crew. As they began searching for clues, 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. 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 encountered and destroyed a Labyrinth Core, after which they found a door that unexpectedly led back to the crash site. There, they found only the wounded Nova soldier tied up, with the Temple Keeper assigned to watch over him gone. (A/N: If we chose to have someone stay with her, they’re also gone.)

The soldier chuckled, telling the Adversary that everyone had trusted them and asked 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.

(A/N: Zero 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.

Evan also 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.)

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, where they fought past the Despairing Wing and Despairing Blade monsters.

(A/N: These are meant to be fallen Nova and Cygnus Knight soldiers, which have been revived by Hilla. While it may seem like all these Alliance soldiers are dead, all the fallen soldiers that we fight in the labyrinth are 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. The rest of the Alliance is still outside attempting to land the fleet.)

Proceeding deeper in the labyrinth, the Adversary found an unconscious Alliance soldier ensnared in roots. After cutting her 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 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 said that they seem a little distracted.

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 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.

After all the class-exclusive dialogue happens, there’s another piece of exclusive dialogue that occurs if the player has completed the Azwan storyline. Azalin notes that when she thinks about it, the Adversary really does tend to be wherever things are going wrong. She points out how they had driven Hilla from Azwan, and how they had gone after the Black Mage’s Commanders, whom they had taken out one by one.

The Demon gets some exclusive dialogue during this part, in which Hilla asks him how it had felt to take out the Commanders, since they had once been his comrades. She notes that he must have a cold heart, as she can’t think of how else he could have killed Damien, his own brother, with his own hands. However, she then adds that she didn’t mean anything by it, as she’s simply stating facts.

The Demon’s dialogue then converges back to the regular exclusive dialogue, in which Azalin says that though some of the Commanders have disappeared completely from Maple World, there are others whom the Adversary has merely slowed down.

If the player hasn’t completed the Azwan storyline, Azalin will instead just note that things haven’t really gone according to plan.)

Azalin told the Adversary that they had all been depending on the Adversary to lead them through the fight. However, she told them that they only had to look around in order to see what their situation was. She explained that she had been expecting it, as 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 they would return to 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. She asked them to collect traces from the monsters while she found a new path forward. Though they felt that something wasn’t right, the Adversary collected Burning Black Souls from the monsters. Just as they began heading back, however, they began hearing a voice warning them about danger. Believing that it was all in their head, the Adversary ignored the voice and brought the souls back to Azalin, who then claimed that she was unable to find any clues from them.

(A/N: There are two different voices that the Adversary hears in the labyrinth. One of them is a dark voice that Hilla created to unravel the Adversary, while the other is the voice of the divine light that accompanies the Adversary on their journey. You can generally tell which voice is which depending on their actions, as the dark voice usually manifests as people crying out for help in order to bait us towards danger, while the divine light is meant to help us by steering us away from danger. As our psychological state begins deteriorating in the labyrinth, the divine light begins getting muffled and the dark voice grows louder, eventually consuming us with despair and causing us to lose the will to live.)

The Adversary continued onward, choosing several forks in the road until arriving at 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. (A/N: Once again, all these bodies and monsters are just illusions.)

The Adversary and Azalin then snuck past several Despairing monsters before encountering 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.

The Adversary was horrified to know that the monsters they had been fighting were fellow Alliance soldiers. Azalin then attacked one of the monsters, telling the Adversary that they needed to move forward. Filled with regret, the Adversary fought past the Alliance soldiers, their heart filled with disgust at killing the very people whom they were sworn to protect. As they continued cutting down their allies, the Adversary wondered in anguish what they were supposed to do now.

(A/N: The Demon has some exclusive dialogue in place of the Adversary feeling disgust at killing the people whom they were sworn to protect. He wonders whether he can kill them easily because of the darkness in his past and berates himself for being unable to do even just one thing right and atone for his sins. He realizes that he’s never really moved on, not even by a single step. He then wonders whether he was just never meant to protect people.)

Azalin impatiently told the Adversary to hurry up before leading them to another juncture, where the Adversary was shocked to find that they were once again too late to have saved the Alliance soldiers lying dead on the floor. Azalin asked the Adversary whether death followed them wherever they went, or whether they were simply that unlucky. She suggested that they turn back before things got worse, just as the soldiers reanimated into monsters.

After fighting through them, Azalin noted that the Adversary seemed exhausted, snidely remarking that it was understandable when the monsters that they had just cut down had been their allies not so long ago. Overwhelmed and upset, the Adversary snapped at her to be quiet, to which Azalin asked them why they were yelling at her.

The Adversary apologized, explaining that they were tired, to which Azalin agreed to watch over them while they got some sleep. However, the Adversary’s dreams were filled with a voice of despair as Alliance soldiers were reanimated into monsters, forcing the Adversary to accept that there was no way to bring them back. The Adversary then awoke with a start, after which Azalin led them deeper into the labyrinth towards an altar.

Just as the Adversary was one step away from the altar, a curse sigil activated to engulf them. Suddenly, a portal opened, from which a powerful laser beam broke the curse sigil as the masked figure from Esfera appeared. Frustrated, 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 cursed the masked figure for interfering in their affairs, first with Will and now with her. However, she then laughed and explained that she had actually been meaning to kill them and stop them from meddling.

(A/N: Zero gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which they note that they knew that something had been off, as there’s no way that anyone could know that they were Transcendents, or that they had met the Commanders immediately after escaping Mirror World, as only one of the Commanders would have that information. Hilla laughs and asks if they had only just realized that, to which Zero demands that she put their twin back as they were, referring to the previous Zero-exclusive dialogue, which mentions how it feels like their twin has disappeared, despite them being right there.

The next line in the dialogue is dependent on which twin you’re playing as, but there’s a funny typo in GMS, in which you’ll either say, “Put the Alpha back the way they were this instant!” or “Put the Beta back the way they were this instant!”, to which Hilla will reply, “Why must I?” This whole exchange feels like the writers put the Korean text directly into Google Translate and pasted whatever came out. Hilla will then tell Zero that they should’ve sided with the Commanders when they had first been given the offer.)

The Adversary was shocked to see Hilla, believing that the Alliance had defeated her at Azwan and driven her from Maple World. However, Hilla merely laughed and told them that there was no way that she would have been defeated after a single battle when destiny itself was being written at Tenebris. The Adversary then demanded to know what she had done with Azalin, to which Hilla mockingly called out for help, demonstrating that she had been Azalin all along. She explained that she had broken their ambitions, but she had left their reason alone for this very moment.

(A/N: When the Adversary asked where Azalin was, I once again banged my head on my desk at the writers reaffirming that the Adversary really is an idiot. The line in which Hilla says that she broke their ambitions but left their reason alone was actually a lot more savage in KMS, and I strongly feel that they should’ve kept it like that in GMS. In KMS, she basically tells the Adversary that she had dampened their willpower, not their intelligence.)

The Adversary demanded to know why she had made them go through the labyrinth and kill their allies with their own hands. Hilla replied that it was because they were a fool, claiming that all humans were fools, wallowing in their helplessness and clinging to the coattails of their betters. She explained that when humans found an inkling of power, they would try to turn on those whom they once revered.

She then laughed and asked the Adversary if they had thought that she would simply leave Maple World, never to return. Upon seeing their shocked face, she told the Adversary that their fate was to fall into an ever-deeper quagmire and wander for all eternity, adding that it was high time that they stopped struggling and accepted it.

She then laughed at the masked figure for attempting to hide their identity from her. Claiming that they were too weak to handle her, she warned them to leave before she destroyed them. With that, she disappeared, claiming that she was eager to see what the Adversary’s soul was made of. With that, she disappeared and left the Adversary and the masked figure alone.

(A/N: If the player is the Demon, right before she leaves, Hilla will say that she ought to show him something interesting for old times’ sake, since he’s betrayed the Black Mage. She then uses her power to pull Damien’s soul from the afterlife and mockingly asks him how it feels to be reunited with his beloved sibling. The Demon angrily demands to know what she’s done, to which Hilla jokingly tells him that she had thought that he had wanted to see Damien again, adding that he’s making his beloved brother sad.

She tells him not to look so unhappy to see his brother, as Damien has come such a long way for him. Upon seeing the Demon’s anger, Hilla laughs and says that it seems that he still has a little spirit left in him after all. She then warns him not to do anything rash unless he wants another fight with his brother, after which she disappears and takes Damien’s soul with her.)

The Adversary asked the masked figure why they had saved them again, but the masked figure simply berated the Adversary for needing to be rescued so often. They then warned that there would be no more second chances before they vanished as well. Suddenly, they began hearing a dark voice inside their head filling them with terror. Believing that they were going insane, the Adversary began running through the labyrinth in an attempt to escape the voice.

As they stumbled through the core, the Adversary encountering more and more fallen Alliance soldiers. As they began cutting them down, the dark voice in their head manifested as those same Alliance soldiers cursing the Adversary in resentment for their failure to protect them. Unable to stop the voice from ringing in their head, the Adversary continued pushing forward in a desperate attempt to stop the voices from screaming with accusations towards them.

Facing dead-end after dead-end, the Adversary’s mental state gradually began deteriorating as they faced an endless series of guilt and frustration. As they made their way through the labyrinth, they continued encountering Alliance soldiers dying before they could do anything to stop it and transforming into undead monsters. Nevertheless, they willed themselves to believe that the monsters were merely illusions, and that the rest of their comrades were alive somewhere else.

Just then, however, the voices inside their mind were accompanied by visions of a destroyed Maple World. The Adversary began seeing images 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.

Though the Adversary desperately clung to their belief that it was all an illusion, their fatigue continued clouding their battered mind, which was filled with the inescapable negative thoughts from the dark voices in their head. (A/N: I can’t believe that Nexon actually had a phone call with my psychiatrist about how to personally attack me as much as possible throughout this storyline.)

Soon, they discovered another Labyrinth Core and destroyed it, after which they proceeded deeper into the maze. As they passed out from their exhaustion, they experienced 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.

Just then, a mysterious voice broke the Adversary free from the vision, calling out to them and reminding them not to forget about their allies. The Adversary then awoke in the deepest part of the labyrinth, where they realized that there was no escape. As they fell deeper into despair upon realizing that they were trapped alone, with all their allies dying because of them, a dark light appeared and began luring them deeper into the labyrinth.

Navigating the endless maze, the Adversary continued watching more of their allies die before their eyes, transforming into monsters that they had no choice but to cut down with their own hands. After destroying another Labyrinth Core, the Adversary experienced another vision of an enslaved Ariant, in which SagaT and Ahmad worked laboriously under Areda’s rule. Ahmad told SagaT that everything had fallen apart once Areda had found the Elixir of Youth, causing her greed to grow insatiable.

(A/N: If the player has completed the Azwan storyline, the Adversary will express their surprise that Areda has the Elixir of Youth, as they had given it to Medina in Azwan.)

Though Ahmad believed that many had left the city, worsening the situation for those who remained, SagaT revealed that the people hadn’t left, but rather, Areda had been kidnapping and draining their youth in order to maintain the effects of the elixir. The vision then flashed to the palace, where Areda was consumed by the obsession and insanity drawn out by the elixir, which compelled her to gather life energy, which the Adversary realized was Erda.

The Adversary was then plagued by more visions of flaming wreckage raining down on the people of Henesys, dragons swarming the Halflingers of Leafre, and monsters marching on El Nath as Orbis Tower collapsed. As the sounds of the people screaming and dying relentlessly pounding in their heads, the Adversary began losing their faith in their purpose as a hero, believing that they had no right to call themselves one when they had allowed everyone around them to die painfully and miserably. They then realized that there was no way that they could save the world when it was already being destroyed because of their weakness and their failures.

Nevertheless, with the last of their willpower, they forced themselves to make one last attempt at escaping the labyrinth and fought through the monsters, only to find themselves right where they began. Believing that Hilla wished for them to be driven to insanity, the Adversary attempted to go on, but found that they had no energy or will to keep moving.

With the heavy air smothering their lungs, the Adversary felt complete helplessness as they found themselves unable to even move anymore. As their vision darkened, their last thoughts turned towards them weakly wondering to themselves why it had to be them who was being forced to suffer. Finally admitting defeat, the broken Adversary chose to let go of everything and collapsed at the Altar of Desire, where Hilla, sensing that they had finally lost their will to live, appeared to reap their soul.

Nevertheless, the Adversary instinctively mustered the last ounce of will that they had left and began to fight Hilla in a desperate, half-hearted struggle for survival. As they continued battling, Hilla admitted that she was impressed by their tenacity, even while exhausted and hopeless. Hoping to make matters more interesting, she used her powers to drag Lotus’ soul from the depths of death.

As he began attacking the Adversary, the masked figure appeared once again to block his attack, chipping their mask and revealing Orchid underneath. Orchid furiously demanded to know what Hilla had done to her brother. Hilla was amused to see Orchid 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.

Overwhelmed, the Adversary collapsed, despite Orchid’s urges to get up. Hilla then summoned more monsters and told Orchid that for old times’ sake, she would grant one more chance for her to leave. As the Adversary lost consciousness, Hilla declared that she would live forever in the Black Mage’s new world as his chosen.

In the darkness of the Adversary’s mind, they began wandering aimlessly, wondering where they were. In the distance they were able to vaguely hear the sound of Orchid and Hilla fighting in the real world. Suddenly, they began to feel their memories fading, causing them to start wondering where they were and what they were doing there. In their memories, they recalled seeing a girl, whom they were barely able to remember was Cygnus. (A/N: Main Resistance classes and Xenon will instead recall seeing Claudine, rather than Cygnus.)

In the distance, they also heard Orchid’s voice from Black Heaven asking them, as they succumbed to Gelimer’s Retoxin, whether or not they felt cheated by meeting such a shabby end, and what good such an end was for them just to save others. Hearing Orchid’s voice, the Adversary was able to recall that they had been fighting Hilla, and that Orchid had also been there.

After considering Orchid’s words, they faintly declared that it wasn’t unfair, nor had it been all for nothing. As they began recalling their purpose, they remembered that they were on their way to face the Black Mage. Suddenly the divine light appeared in the darkness, from which a voice began speaking to them.

(A/N: Each class gets a slightly different script when they talk to the mysterious voice, with the identity of the voice being unique to each class as well. With the exception of Cannoneer and Ark, every class initially doesn’t recognize the voice’s identity until the very end of the dialogue.

For regular Explorers, the voice of Sugar asks them why they risk their life to save others. The Explorer tells her that it’s because everyone is that precious to them, to which Sugar asks them why they care so much for Maple World, and what their purpose is. The Explorer replies that Maple World is the home where their loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Sugar asks them if they can remember what they need to do now, to which the Explorer begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that they couldn’t protect anyone. They add that there’s nothing that they can do, and that they’re completely helpless. They then ask what else they can do, to which Sugar tells them to open their eyes and see for themselves, explaining that even if Hilla covers their eyes, she can never cover the truth.

She asks them to open their eyes, pick themselves up, and do what they have to do, reminding them about the maple leaves drifting in the sky. She then tells them that all roads exist inside their heart, and to never forget that. As the voice fades away, the Explorer recognizes the voice as belonging to Sugar.

For Dual Blade, the voice of Lady Syl asks him why he risks his life to save others. The Dual Blade tells her that it’s because everyone is that precious to him, to which Lady Syl asks him why he cares so much for Maple World, and what his purpose is. The Explorer replies that Maple World is the home where his loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Lady Syl asks him if he can remember what he needs to do now, to which the Dual Blade begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that he couldn’t protect anyone. He adds that there’s nothing that he can do, and that he’s completely helpless. He then asks what else he can do, to which Lady Syl tells him to open his eyes and see for himself, explaining that even if Hilla covers his eyes, she can never cover the truth.

She asks him to open his eyes, pick himself up, and do what he has to do, reminding him that they are the Dual Blades, and they’re united as one right behind him. She then tells him that all roads exist inside his heart, and to never forget that. As the voice fades away, the Dual Blade recognizes the voice as belonging to Lady Syl.

For Cannoneer, the voice of Monkey shrieks, causing a surprised Cannoneer to wonder how Monkey got there. He tells Monkey that Maple World is loved and cherished by all, and that all that he had wanted to do was to protect their precious world where he had made so many memories. Monkey then shrieks at him, to which the Cannoneer notes that everyone is already dead, and that he couldn’t protect anyone.

He adds that there’s nothing that he can do, and that he’s completely helpless before asking what he’s supposed to do. Monkey shrieks back at him, to which the Cannoneer realizes that Monkey is telling him to open his eyes. Monkey then shrieks again, which the Cannoneer interprets as Monkey wanting him to search his heart before adding that he’ll try to keep their mission in mind.

For Pathfinder, the voice of Athena Pierce asks her why she risks her life to save others. The Pathfinder tells Athena that it’s because everyone is that precious to her, to which Athena asks her why she cares so much for Maple World, and what her purpose is. The Pathfinder replies that Maple World is the home where her loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Athena asks her if she can remember what she needs to do now, to which the Pathfinder begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that she couldn’t protect anyone. She adds that there’s nothing that she can do, and that she’s completely helpless. She then asks what else she can do, to which Athena tells her to open her eyes and see for herself, explaining that even if Hilla covers her eyes, she can never cover the truth.

Athena asks her to open her eyes, pick herself up, and do what she has to do, reminding her that she’s the one to find the path amidst the darkness. She tells the Pathfinder that fear doesn’t suit her and asks her to believe in herself, and to have courage. Athena then tells her that all roads exist inside her heart, and to never forget that. As the voice fades away, the Pathfinder recognizes the voice as belonging to Athena Pierce.

For Cygnus Knights and Mihile, the voice of Empress Cygnus asks them why they risk their life to save others. The Knight tells her that it’s because everyone is that precious to them, to which Cygnus asks them why they care so much for Maple World, and what their purpose is. The Knight replies that Maple World is the home where their loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Cygnus asks them if they can remember what they need to do now, to which the Knight begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and they have nowhere to go back to, as everyone - all the knights who had placed their faith in them - have been killed right before their eyes. They add that there’s nothing that they can do, and that they’re completely helpless.

They then ask what else they can do, to which Cygnus tells them to open their eyes and see for themselves, explaining that even if Hilla covers their eyes, she can never cover the truth. She asks them to open their eyes, pick themselves up, and do what they have to do, reminding them that all roads exist inside their heart, and to never forget that. As the voice fades away, the Knight recognizes the voice as belonging to Empress Cygnus.

For the main Resistance classes, the voice of Vita asks them why they risk their life to save others. The Resistance member tells her that it’s because everyone is that precious to them, to which Vita asks them why they care so much for Maple World, and what their purpose is. The Resistance member replies that Maple World is the home where their loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Vita asks them if they can remember what they need to do now, to which the Resistance member begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that the place where they used to laugh and sing is no more, with everyone whom they had shared their time with being gone. They add that there’s nothing that they can do, and that they’re completely helpless. They then ask what someone like them can do, to which Vita tells them to see the world with their own eyes, explaining that even if Hilla covers their eyes, she can never cover the truth.

She asks them to open their eyes, pick themselves up, and do what they have to do, reminding them that all roads exist inside their heart, and to never forget that. She then tells them that she cherishes their moments together and everything that they've done for her. As the voice fades away, the Resistance member recognizes the voice as belonging to Vita.

Originally, all the Resistance classes - including Xenon and the Demon - used to hear Claudine’s voice, although this was later changed so that the main Resistance, Xenon, and the Demon each get their own unique voices. It makes sense for the main Resistance to get Vita and Xenon to get Claudine, since Xenon and Claudine were closer as childhood friends, while the main Resistance classes were closer to Vita, with Claudine being more of a job instructor than a friend to them.

For Xenon, the voice of Claudine asks him why he risks his life to save others. Xenon tells her that it’s because everyone is that precious to him, to which Claudine asks him why he cares so much for Maple World, and what his purpose is. Xenon replies that Maple World is the home where his loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Claudine asks him if he can remember what he needs to do now, to which Xenon begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that the place where they used to laugh and sing is no more, with everyone whom they had shared their time with being gone. He adds that there’s nothing that he can do, and that he's completely helpless. He then asks what someone like him can do, to which Claudine tells him to open his eyes and see for himself, explaining that even if Hilla covers his eyes, she can never cover the truth.

She asks him to open his eyes, pick himself up, and do what he has to do, reminding him that they're the Resistance, that they're united as one, and that they've always got his back. She then tells him that all roads exist inside his heart, and to never forget that. As the voice fades away, Xenon recognizes the voice as belonging to Claudine. He's then surprised, as he had been sure that Claudine had been killed. Nevertheless, he begins pondering on Claudine's words about opening his eyes, which leads back into the regular script of him awakening the power of the Seal Stone.

For the Demon, the voice of Damien asks him why he's fighting so hard for people that he doesn't even know. The Demon tells him that it’s because everyone is that precious to him, to which Damien asks him whether Maple World is really that precious to him. The Demon replies that Maple World is the home where his loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Damien notes that it's quite curious to hear him say that after he had turned his back so easily on his own people. After a pause, the Demon explains that it's the very reason why he had fought so hard, as he had wanted to protect everyone. However, he laments that he's failed again and adds that there’s nothing that he can do, and that he's completely helpless. He then asks what's left for him to do, to which Damien tells him to open his eyes and see the truth for himself, reminding him that all roads exist inside his heart.

He then calls the Demon 'brother' and tells him that he'll be watching over him. As the voice fades away, the Demon recognizes the voice as belonging to Damien. Just like the main Resistance, the Demon originally got the voice of Claudine, although they later significantly reworked the Demon's exclusive dialogue throughout this area and gave him a lot more unique lines.

For Aran, Mercedes, and Luminous, the voice of Freud asks them why they risk their life to save others. They tell Freud that it’s because everyone is that precious to them, to which Freud asks them why they care so much for Maple World, which is nothing like their home, and what their purpose is. They reply that Maple World is the home where their loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Freud asks them if they can remember what they need to do now, to which they begin to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that they couldn’t protect anyone. They add that there’s nothing that they can do, and that they're completely helpless, as even before, they had barely managed to seal the Black Mage, who had still come back in the end. They then ask what else they can do now, to which Freud tells them to open their eyes and see for themselves, explaining that even if Hilla covers their eyes, she can never cover the truth.

Freud asks them to open their eyes, get up, and do what they have to do, telling them to keep moving forward, just as they had done before. He then tells them that all roads exist inside their heart, and to never forget that. He adds that the memories of them all will live on forever, and that he'll always be with them. As the voice fades away, they recognize the voice as belonging to Freud.

Personally, I wish that Aran got to speak with Lilin, as Aran has a much closer relationship with her in her story, and also because we've literally never once seen Aran have a one-on-one conversation together with Freud before.

For Evan, the voice of Freud asks him why he risks his life to save others. Evan tells Freud that it’s because everyone is that precious to him, to which Freud asks him why he cares so much for Maple World, and what his purpose is. Evan replies that Maple World is the home where his loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Freud asks him if he can remember what he needs to do now, to which Evan begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that he couldn’t protect anyone. He adds that there’s nothing that he can do, and that he’s completely helpless before sadly realizing that he'll never see his family in Maple World ever again. He then asks what else he can do, to which Freud tells him to open his eyes and see for himself, explaining that even if Hilla covers his eyes, she can never cover the truth.

He asks Evan to open his eyes and tells him that he has to get up and do what must be done. He then reminds Evan that he's the Dragon Master and asks him to have a little faith in himself before telling him that all roads exist inside his heart, and to never forget that. As the voice fades away, Evan recognizes the voice as belonging to Freud.

For Phantom, the voice of Empress Aria asks him why he risks his life to save others. Phantom tells her that it’s because everyone is that precious to them, to which Aria asks him why he cares so much for Maple World, and what his purpose is. Phantom replies that Maple World is the home where his loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Aria asks him if he can remember what he needs to do now, to which Phantom begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that he had once again failed to protect them. He adds that there’s nothing that he can do, and that he’s completely helpless. He then asks what else he can do, to which Aria tells him to open his eyes and see for himself, explaining that even if Hilla covers his eyes, she can never cover the truth.

She asks him to open his eyes and tells him that he can get up and do what he must do. She then reminds him that all roads exist inside his heart, and to never forget that. As her voice fades away, she also adds that she'd thought that his smiling face fit him best, too, causing Phantom to recognize the voice as belonging to Empress Aria.

GMS has completely butchered Aria and Phantom's dialogue throughout this game’s history and I absolutely hate them for it. In GMS, Phantom originally tells Aria, “I prefer a woman with a smile on her face," and here, Aria tells him, "One more thing, a smile wouldn't hurt either," which somehow drained every ounce of romance from the most romantic story in this game.

In KMS, Phantom originally tells Aria, "Your smiling face fits you best," and here, Aria reciprocates his words by saying, "One more thing, I thought that your smiling face fit you best, too," which utterly destroyed my fragile psychological state that's already been under siege this entire storyline. I can’t believe that GMS really omitted this exchange and replaced it with something so insipid. At what point is it okay to start demanding monetary reparations from Nexon about being scammed out of entire chunks of nuance like this?

For Shade, the voice of Freud asks him why he risks his life to save others. He tells Freud that it’s because everyone is that precious to them, to which Freud asks him why he cares so much for Maple World, and what his purpose is. Shade replies that Maple World is the home where his loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Freud asks him if he can remember what he needs to do now, to which Shade begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that he couldn’t protect anyone. He adds that there’s nothing that he can do, and that he's completely helpless, as even before, he had barely managed to seal the Black Mage, who had still come back in the end. He then asks what else he can do now, to which Freud tells him to open his eyes and see for himself, explaining that even if Hilla covers his eyes, she can never cover the truth.

Freud asks him to open his eyes, get up, and do what he has to do. He tells Shade that he remembers him, and to never let them change his mind. He then tells Shade to keep moving forward, just as he had done before. He reminds Shade that all roads exist inside his heart, and to never forget that. He then adds that the memories of them all will live on forever, and that he'll always be with Shade. As the voice fades away, Shade recognizes the voice as belonging to Freud.

For Kaiser and Angelic Buster, the voice of Fenelle asks them why they risk their life to save others. They tell her that it’s because everyone is that precious to them, to which Fenelle asks them why they care so much for Maple World, as it's nothing like Grandis. They reply that Maple World is the home where their loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with happy memories.

They explain that the people of Maple World had come to Grandis and had helped save them when they had needed it most, and that it’s now their turn to help them. Fenelle asks them whether they remember what they need to do next, to which they begin to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that they couldn’t protect anyone. They realize that they'll never be able to return to Maple World, adding that there’s nothing that they can do, and that they’re completely helpless.

They then ask what else they can do, to which Fenelle tells them to open their eyes and see for themselves, explaining that even if Hilla covers their eyes, she can never cover the truth. She asks them to open their eyes, get up, and do what they have to do. They realize that what they need to do now is to get back up and keep moving forward, as Maple World cannot fall while Darmoor still remains, for which there's no time to despair. Fenelle proudly notes that they've matured and reminds them that all roads exist inside their heart, and to never forget that. As the voice fades away, they recognize the voice as belonging to Fenelle.

Cadena has a completely identical script to Kaiser and Angelic Buster's dialogue, with the only difference being that the voice belongs to her parents. Originally, even that used to be identical to Kaiser and Angelic Buster, but the writers eventually changed it because Cadena and Fenelle have a grand total of thirty seconds of interaction. Weirdly enough, her parents call her Cadena, even though that’s not her birth name.

For Kain, the voice of Luska asks him why he puts his life on the line for the faceless masses. Kain notes that it's a good question and wonders about it himself. Luska then asks him why he sticks his neck out for Maple World, as it has nothing to do with him. Kain notes that while she's right, it’s something that only used to be true. He explains that he's now learned why so many people love Maple World, as he's experienced that love for himself.

He tells Luska that Maple World is home to both his loved ones and all his new memories. Luska notes that he has happier memories now, rather than the painful memories of the past. However, Kain then begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, realizing that amidst all the loss and failure, everything has gone horrible again. He explains that he's just as helpless as he had been as a child, and he wonders what he could ever do about any of it.

However, Luska reminds him that he's not helpless and tells him not to give up now. She tells him to open his eyes and see for himself, explaining that the truth is right there in front of him, and that he just needs to open his eyes. She asks him to get up, brush himself off, and do what has to be done before telling him to go on, live his life, and do what he wants, reminding him that he's free. As the voice fades away, Kain recognizes the voice as belonging to Luska. What Luska tells him towards the end of their exchange are her last words to him just before she dies.

For Adele, the voice of Jerome asks her why she risks her life to save others. Adele tells him that it's just her duty as a knight, to which Jerome asks her why she cares so much for Maple World specifically, which isn't a part of her charge. Adele replies that she fights to save the weak, and that she doesn't need another reason. Jerome asks her if, in that case, she knows what she needs to do now, to which Adele begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that she has nowhere to go back to. She adds that despite all her convictions, she's completely helpless.

She then asks what someone like herself can do, to which Jerome asks her whether what she had seen is true and tells her to see for herself, explaining that even if Hilla covers her eyes, she can never cover the truth. He then asks her to open her eyes for now, and to get up, brush herself off, and do what has to be done before addressing her as his knight. He then reminds her that all roads exist inside her heart, and to never forget that. As the voice fades away, Adele recognizes the voice as belonging to Jerome.

For Illium, the voice of Agate asks him why he risks his life to save others. Illium tells her that it’s because that everyone is that precious to him, to which Agate asks him why he cares so much for Maple World, which is nothing like his home. He replies that Maple World is the home where his loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with happy memories.

Agate asks him if he can remember what he needs to do now, to which Illium begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that he has nowhere to go back to. He adds that there’s nothing that he can do, and that he's completely helpless. He then asks what else he can do, to which Agate tells him to open his eyes and see for himself, explaining that even if Hilla covers his eyes, she can never cover the truth. She asks him to open his eyes, dust himself off, and do what he has to do, reminding him that all roads exist inside his heart, and to never forget that. As the voice fades away, Illium recognizes the voice as belonging to Agate.

For Ark, his inner Specter asks him why he's going out of his way to save random people. Ark tells it that it’s because everyone is that precious to him, to which the Specter asks him whether Maple World really is that precious to him. Ark replies that Maple World is the home where his loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

The Specter then tells Ark to reach out to it, claiming that it'll make it happen. However, Ark refuses, to which the irritated Specter asks him how he can still refuse in such a situation. It then tells him that it doesn't want to disappear either, and so it tells him to open his eyes, see the truth for himself, and to follow the road inside his heart.

Out of all the dialogues, this one takes the cake for being the stupidest one. Every other class hears the divine voice manifest as someone close to them, which motivates them at their lowest point, but of course Ark just has to get the parasite inside him. I will die on the hill that the voice should've been Albaire encouraging him instead. Just let the man hear his boyfriend's voice, Nexon - he's been through enough.

For Hoyoung, the voice of Tai Yu asks him why he risks his life to save others. Hoyoung tells him that it’s because everyone is that precious to him, to which Tai Yu asks him why he cares so much for Maple World, which is nothing like his home. Hoyoung replies that Maple World is the home where his loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with happy memories.

Tai Yu asks him if he can remember what he needs to do, to which Hoyoung begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that he has nowhere to go back to. He adds that there’s nothing that he can do, and that he's completely helpless. He then asks what else he can do, to which Tai Yu asks him if that's really what he had seen and tells him to open his eyes and see for himself, explaining that even if Hilla covers his eyes, she can never cover the truth. He asks Hoyoung to open his eyes, get up, dust himself off, and do what he has to do. Calling Hoyoung his dear disciple, Tai Yu reminds him that all roads exist inside his heart, and to never forget that. As the voice fades away, Illium recognizes the voice as belonging to his Master.

For Lara, the voice of Gri asks her why she puts her life on the line for the faceless masses. Lara replies that people can't live all by themselves, and that sometimes, one had to be ready to risk everything, even their life. Gri then asks her why she sticks her neck out for Maple World, as it has nothing to do with her. Lara explains that it's not like that, as Maple World holds all their memories.

Gri asks her if, in that case, she knows what she needs to do now, to which Lara begins to say hopelessly that she couldn't protect anyone, and that so many people have died right in front of her. She then wonders whether she'll still be able to go on in spite of it all, to which Gri replies that it goes without saying. He then asks her whether she's ready to give up in that case before telling her to open her eyes and see everything for herself.

He explains that the truth is right there in front of her, and that she just needs to open her eyes. He then tells her to get up, brush herself off, and do what has to be done before adding that though he may have given her a hard time about being naive, he believes that she can still smile bigger and brighter than anyone else he knows. As the voice fades away, Lara recognizes the voice as belonging to Gri.

For Zero, the voice of Rhinne asks them why they risk their life to save others. Alpha and Beta tell her that it’s because everyone is that precious to them, to which Rhinne asks them why they care so much for Maple World, and what their purpose is. Alpha and Beta reply that Maple World is the home where their loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Rhinne asks them if they can remember what they need to do now, to which they begin to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that they couldn’t protect anyone. They add that there’s nothing that they can do, and they wonder whether it's because they’re only half a Transcendent, rather than a full one. Rhinne tells them to open their eyes and see for themselves, explaining that even if Hilla covers their eyes, she can never cover the truth. Addressing them as her children, she asks them to open their eyes, get up, and do what they have to do, reminding them that all roads exist inside their heart, and to never forget that. As the voice fades away, Alpha and Beta recognize the voice as belonging to Rhinne.

For Kinesis, the voice of Yuna asks him why he risks his life to save others. Kinesis tells her that it’s because everyone is that precious to him, to which Yuna asks him why he cares so much for Maple World, which is nothing like his home, and what his purpose is. He replies that while Maple World is certainly a strange place, it's also the home of everyone that he knows and all his friends, calling it a precious place that holds all their memories.

Yuna asks him if he remembers what must be done, to which Kinesis begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that if Maple World has fallen to such ruin, then it means that there's no hope for Seoul. He then asks if there's anything that he can do in the face of such odds. Yuna points out that giving in to despair isn't like him and tells him that even if Hilla covers his eyes, she can never cover the truth. She asks him to open his eyes and keep going, reminding him that all roads exist inside his heart, and to never forget that. She then adds that she'll always be here for him. As the voice fades away, Kinesis recognizes the voice as belonging to Yuna.

For Jett, the voice of Burke asks her why she risks her life to save others. Jett tells Burke that it’s because everyone is that precious to her, to which Burke asks her why she cares so much for Maple World, which isn't her home. Jett replies that Maple World is the home where her loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Burke asks her if she can remember what she needs to do now, to which Jett begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that she couldn’t protect anyone. She adds that she has nowhere to go back to, as everyone has been killed right before her eyes. She adds that there’s nothing that she can do, and that she's completely helpless before asking what else she can do.

Thinking about fulfilling Burke's revenge and finding a way to return home, she wonders what someone like herself can do when she couldn't even protect what's most important to her. Burke then tells her to see the world with her own eyes, explaining that even if Hilla covers her eyes, she can never cover the truth.

Burke asks her to open her eyes, pick herself up, and do what she has to do before asking her not to make him owe her again. He explains that in his eyes, she had never been helpless and reminds her that all roads exist inside her heart, and to never forget that. As the voice fades away, Jett recognizes the voice as belonging to Burke.

For Hayato, the voice of Princess Sakuno asks him why he risks his life to save others. Hayato tells Sakuno that it’s because everyone is that precious to him, to which Sakuno asks him why he cares so much for Maple World. She points out that it isn't Zipangu and asks what makes him fight for it. Hayato replies that Maple World is the home where his loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

He adds that it's also where his lord lives, and that for her, he'll do whatever he must to protect it. The GMS dialogue actually had Hayato incorrectly refer to his lord as 'him’. Sakuno asks him if he can remember what she needs to do now, to which Hayato begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that he couldn’t protect anyone. He adds that there’s nothing that he can do, and that he's completely helpless before asking what else he can do, adding that he's failed yet again.

Sakuno then tells him to see the world with his own eyes, explaining that even if Hilla covers his eyes, she can never cover the truth. She asks him to open his eyes, pick himself up, and do what he has to do. She calls Hayato her sword and reminds him that he simply needs to eliminate everything that gets in their way. She reminds him that all roads exist inside his heart, and to never forget that. She then tells him to be sure to return, adding that she's waiting for him. As the voice fades away, Hayato recognizes the voice as belonging to Princess Sakuno.

For Kanna, the voice of Tsuchimikado Haruaki, Kanna's master, asks her why she risks her life to save others. Kanna tells him that it’s because everyone is that precious to her, to which Haruaki asks her why she cares so much for Maple World. He points out that it isn't her home and asks her why she would go so far. Kanna replies that Maple World is the home where her loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Haruaki asks her if she can remember what she needs to do now, to which Kanna begins to say hopelessly that everyone is already dead, and that she couldn’t protect anyone. She adds that there’s nothing that she can do, and that she's completely helpless. She then asks what someone like herself can do, to which Haruaki tells her to open her eyes and see for herself, explaining that even if Hilla covers her eyes, she can never cover the truth.

He asks her to open her eyes, get up, dust herself off, and do what she has to do, reminding her that the way of the Spirit Walker is to think not of themselves, but of the peace of the world, and that their path only concludes at the end of the Spirit Walker's life. He promises Kanna that her spirit will not fail her and tells her that all roads exist inside her heart, and to never forget that. As the voice fades away, Kanna recognizes the voice as belonging to Master Haruaki.

For Beast Tamer, the voice of Eka the hawk asks Chase why she risks her life to save others. Chase tells her that it’s because everyone is that precious to her, to which Eka asks her why she cares so much for Maple World, and what her purpose is. Chase replies that Maple World is the home where her loved ones live, and that it’s a precious place, filled with all their memories.

Eka asks her if she can remember what she needs to do now, to which Chase begins to say hopelessly that everyone - all the people who had put their faith in her - are already dead. She wonders what someone like herself can do, as she couldn't even save her comrades, to which Eka sharply tells her to wake up and see the world with her own eyes, explaining that even if Hilla covers her eyes, she can never cover the truth.

Eka then tells her to open her eyes, pick herself up, and do what she needs to do right now, reminding her about the strength that she has in her heart, adding that the power in her heart can overcome any fear and danger for the sake of others. She then tells Chase that all roads exist inside her heart, and to never forget that.

Chase recalls having the courage and the heart of a hero, to which Eka declares that their hearts won't change, and that they'll stand strong and move towards that bright future together. As the voice fades away, Chase recognizes the voice as belonging to Eka, and all the other Critter Champs along with her.

Chase and Cadena are the only people who have multiple people being part of the voice, although in the case of Chase, it’s explained that Eka is the one primarily speaking, while the others’ presence is just there in the background. In the case of Cadena, it’s not clear whether both her parents are talking, or if it’s something like Chase’s situation, in which it’s just one person talking and the other is just there in the background.

You have absolutely no idea how excruciatingly painful it was to find these dialogues by looping story replay over and over again for each class, checking them against the KMS text for accuracy, serializing them, and compiling them into this section. If this isn’t a testament to my psychological instability, then I don’t know what is. In any case, I suffered immensely so that you don’t have to, so you’re welcome. And also a huge thanks to people on the lore server for helping lighten the load immensely.

The voices belonging to the characters’ loved ones makes me believe that the divine light does belong to the Goddesses, as their connection to their respective worlds might allow them to manifest the people whom the Adversary cares about, both living and deceased. I guess that it doesn’t work in Ark’s case, though, which is one more reason why I think that they should really change his voice from the Specter to Albaire.)

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 regained consciousness as the Seal Stone activated from their powerful determination.

Awakening back in the labyrinth, Hilla was genuinely shocked when she sensed the divine power of the Adversary emanating from within them. The Adversary told Hilla that they had been broken because they had tried shouldering the burden of everyone upon themselves. Hilla attempted to slash at them with her scythe as they spoke, but Orchid immediately used her own powers to stop the attack.

(A/N: I love how Hilla doesn’t even bother to entertain the typical protagonist speech. Orchid says something like, “How dare you?!” when Hilla tries to slash at you, allowing us to successfully have our protagonist moment.)

The Adversary explained how they had realized that they had never been alone, even in spite of how Hilla had tried to trick them into believing otherwise, and declared that they refused to fall for her manipulations any longer. As they stood with Orchid once again, an enraged Hilla used her powers to pull Damien’s soul back from death.

Nevertheless, the Adversary successfully defeated Hilla, who was shocked to find her power and youth disappearing, leaving her as an old, withered hag. She wailed and vanished in black flames, leaving behind the final Labyrinth Core. The Adversary then turned to Orchid and asked her how she had managed to appear in the first place.

(A/N: Although it’s heavily implied that Hilla died here, some people think that her death animation looked more like a teleport animation, and so I’m choosing not to definitively say that she died until we get some explicit confirmation. Personally, I think that she straight up withered into dust after she lost her immortality and youth.

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 the 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: I absolutely love how well-written this storyline was. If someone were to ask me about the high points of the game’s writing, this is probably the storyline that I’d point to. I love the way that the Adversary is slowly broken down and unraveled by Hilla over the course of the story. It’s not even just the idea of being stuck in an endless labyrinth filled with monsters that’s scary, it’s a slow deconstruction of the Adversary themselves and everything that makes them important, just like what happened to Kao.

The Adversary is a vessel that harbors the collective willpower of the people, and their destiny is tied to that of their world, which is an idea that’s been continually reinforced throughout the game. Beings who hold immense power both shape and are shaped by the people whom they represent. The Cygnus Knights gain strength through the Empress, and the Empress is affected by the state of her Knights. Fairy rulers like Mercedes and Ephenia have their destiny tied to their subjects, meaning that what happens to one of them happens to them all.

Because of this, the Black Mage’s plan revolved around honing the determination of both the Adversary and the Alliance through forcing them to overcome tests of resolve. In Moonbridge, we got to see how Cygnus’ leadership abilities were drawn out under duress, as well as how all the individual soldiers of the Alliance responded to the fear and uncertainty of their situation by working together in order to survive, rather than giving up when the odds seemed insurmountable.

With the Alliance’s determination strengthened, the second phase of his plan was to sharpen the Adversary’s resolve by placing them in the most difficult situation that they could possibly be in, just like how the Alliance was in Moonbridge. The Black Mage intended for the Adversary to overcome the darkness inside their own mind, and in doing so, their determination would be strengthened enough to match that of the world. Because of their symbolic link, one can strengthen the other, and likewise, the weakness of one affects the other.

The Adversary is arguably the strongest mortal in the world, with the power to stand against immortal beings like the Ancient Gods and the Transcendents. Physically, there’s almost no way to overpower them, and so Hilla chose to break them by eroding their will to wield the immense power that they possess, thereby eliminating them without even needing to lift a finger in combat.

Her plan revolved around the understanding that there’s nothing more brittle or more pliable than the human mind. Under the wrong circumstances, we forget just how much we’re capable of under the right ones. Hilla, who believes that humans are fools incapable of rising above their despair, becomes the perfect enemy of the Adversary by weaponizing her faithlessness to cut away their faith in themselves.

Throughout the storyline, the Adversary’s resolve is slowly chipped away bit by bit, unraveling them by stripping them of their leadership, their composure, their resolve, and their very identity. From the beginning, the Adversary is placed in an uncertain situation in which they know that their leadership is the only thing keeping things together. Because of Hilla’s illusions, the Adversary is made to believe that their own judgement calls to separate the group and lead them into enemy territory is what led to everyone disappearing and dying.

Before the Adversary is isolated and cut off, the last soldier remaining plants an idea that slowly creeps into their thoughts throughout the story, which the idea that the Adversary isn’t a hero at all. While this might seem like a fairly simplistic idea, the Adversary’s perception of themselves as a hero is, quite literally, their entire identity. Out-of-universe, it’s because we’re a protagonist stand-in template for the player’s class, and in-universe, it’s because our character arc revolves around this idea that we exist only to save the world.

At the end of Black Heaven, the Adversary was revived by the final Seal Stone in existence, which means that the world willingly chose to revive them at the expense of allowing the Black Mage to return to full power. What this means for the Adversary is that they’re living with the knowledge that the entire world is now in jeopardy simply for their sake, and they now have to bear the burden of making sure that this decision that placed billions of people in jeopardy for the sake of saving one person wasn’t a mistake.

As a result, the Adversary mistakenly internalizes the Alliance’s faith in them as an expectation - that they have to defeat the Black Mage no matter what, because the entire world crippled itself on the assumption that saving them was worth losing the guarantee that the Black Mage won’t regain his full power. Our obsession with saving every single person comes from the fact that we’re harboring the burden of being that perfect hero that we think the Alliance expects us to be, and every life that gets cut short is our fault for not being strong enough to save them when none of them would’ve died in the first place if the Seal Stone hadn’t been used to save us, letting the Black Mage regain enough strength to kill everyone.

On top of that, the Adversary has repeated and compounded this costly decision by choosing to save Tana. They acted impulsively on their core belief that they have to save everyone, and the consequence of this was that not only has the Black Mage returned to full power, but now he has twice his original strength and everything that he needs to destroy the world was just handed to him by us on a silver platter.

We’re so riddled with guilt and fear that we’re prepared to risk everything that we have just to make sure that we don’t make any more mistakes, and we’re prepared to sacrifice every last shred of our existence so that no one else has to. And slowly, this all-encompassing idea starts overtaking our identity, which makes us stop seeing ourselves as a person, and instead, we see ourselves as just an ideal. We’re the Adversary of the Black Mage. We’re the hero who’s supposed to save the world. We’re the savior who has to save everybody, no matter how much of ourselves we lose in the process.

We’ve reduced ourselves into a set of characteristics that we have to embody, because it doesn’t matter what we want to be, it’s what the world expects us to be. And by the end of it, we suffer from psychological collapse because after losing everyone in the labyrinth, we’ve now failed to be the one thing that we were supposed to be, and we start sinking into the despair that in the end, every risky decision ever made about us amounted to nothing except that many more bodies to bury.

In a sense, the Adversary starts to dehumanize themselves, seeing themselves as only a function. From a certain point of view, it’s actually a clever way to give an in-universe reasoning for why every class has their personality overwritten with one so vacant, although I’m like 99% certain that there’s no way that Nexon actually intended for this, since the Adversary is just as boring in most of the Grandis storyline, with the exception of Cernium, which was also a masterpiece of a story.

Throughout the labyrinth, however, the Adversary has this idea of themselves as a hero slowly deconstructed. Their mental state deteriorates, not simply because they have to watch their friends and allies die, but because it was supposed to be their job to stop it. Their entire identity is being a hero, and heroes are supposed to be saviors who don’t let a single person die on their watch. Instead, they allowed everyone to crash in the labyrinth, they allowed everyone to get separated and disappear, and they allowed everyone to be killed. And at this point, it’s not only the fact that we failed to save everyone, it’s that we’ve failed to save anyone.

What makes it even worse is what happens right after - not only has the Adversary let all these people die, but after those soldiers resurrect, the Adversary now has to kill each and every one of them with their own hands. They’re supposed to be a savior, and here they are staining their hands with the blood of the very people whom they had sworn to protect. Not only have they fractured the trust placed in them, but they now have to live with the knowledge that all these soldiers who died can’t even be put to rest, as they’re now cursed to have their souls endlessly defiled by the Adversary, cut down over and over again.

In this way, the Adversary stops seeing themselves as a hero because they’ve broken every single promise that they’ve ever made. When they finally lose their will to live, it’s because they’ve lost everything else that came before it. They’re not a hero or a savior anymore - they’re not anything, really. Having destroyed their sole purpose for existing with their own hands, they now have nothing that drives them to want to stay alive anymore, and it’s with this knowledge that they fall into complete despair until the divine light speaks to them.

The destinies of the Adversary and the world are tied together, and this is the best example of this. In their darkest moment, the voice of the world itself, and the people most precious to them, calls out and supports them when they can’t support themselves. The world shares its determination with the Adversary, lighting up their own determination once again.

In the Ignition Cygnus Knight animated short, Cygnus makes an analogy that a lone candle can’t light the darkness alone, but when it lights another candle, and when that candle lights more, the collective brightness of all the candles is enough to melt away the darkness. I think that analogy works well for what’s happening here, in which the Adversary, who once ignited hope in the world, now has their own candle reignited by the world, in turn.

At the beginning of the storyline, Melange mentions that all roads exist in the Adversary’s mind, which is echoed by the divine light. The labyrinth itself becomes a metaphor for the darkness inside the Adversary’s mind, and it’s through navigating and overcoming that fear that they find the way out in the physical maze. Something that Melange also mentions at the beginning of the story is, “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.” The red thread comes from the idea of the red thread of fate, which binds two soulmates together across space and time.

Here, the idea of the red thread is used by Hilla’s “lying hand” as a sort of puppetmaster, trying to make the Adversary believe that their destiny is to fall into darkness. In a broader sense, it’s also the idea that the Black Mage has trapped them into a predetermined future. By cutting the “red thread that binds”, the Adversary is essentially defying destiny, corresponding to how the Seal Stone activated from their powerful determination when they regain their faith in themselves.

I love this storyline so much, not only because of how well-made it was, but also because of the message that it gives of finding hope in hopelessness. I think it does a really great job at depicting a particular flavor of depression with all the ruminating, negative self-talk, and the high-energy panic falling flat into an inability to feel anything at all.

It’s also an incredibly long storyline, which I think adds to the idea of despair and being trapped in an endless maze, although I’ve seen a lot of people talk about how tedious this prequest is. I can definitely see that, although I’d probably sit through this storyline on every character if I could. I think that overall, Nexon needs to make all storylines skippable by default because not everyone is interested in the lore, and that’s totally understandable. I love the lore and I still hold spacebar on most quests that I’ve done before.

The only thing that I find annoying is when people start saying how Nexon needs to stop making long stories at all. First of all, shut up, I just get two new storylines per year, and so they’d better be over an hour long with how infrequently they drop. Second of all - my dude, you’re playing an RPG with the word “story” in the title, what the hell did you think you were signing up for? I can promise that you weren’t the victim of false advertising. I really need Nexon to add a story skip feature just so that I can finally stop seeing the incessant whining on my Reddit feed.

But anyways, Labyrinth of Suffering was amazing but also draining. I’m gonna go wallow in melancholia for a bit before Limina.)

Limina:

(A/N: Limina is the plural form of Limen, which is what the region is called outside GMS. Limen is a Latin word that means ‘threshold’, which not only refers to us standing at the threshold of where the Black Mage awaits us, but it also refers to our world standing at the threshold of Genesis and the new world that the Black Mage will create.

At the time of its release, Limina was quite possible the worst conclusion to a story that I’ve ever seen. The pacing was ridiculously rushed, half the cast was completely out-of-character, the Black Mage’s motivations were poorly explained, they literally plagiarized the Thanos snap for the sake of a cheap pop culture reference, and then they magically undid all the deaths in the battle, killing any sense of narrative tension.

Never in my life had I seen such a clumsy and haphazard mishandling of a conclusion before, or at least not until Game of Thrones season 8 came out a year later. I stopped playing the game halfway through high school so that I could focus on studying, but I still followed new story content all the way into college. When Tenebris was released in KMS, I knew that it had a terrible reception, but I tried avoiding spoilers until I played it for myself, after which I understood exactly why everyone hated it.

I was so done with Nexon that I quit following the story altogether for a couple of years until I visited one of my friends who was getting into the game. That friend knew how much I was into the story in high school, and so they started asking me about the plot of the game, which is when I finally caved in and decided to catch up on everything that I missed. Ironically, my friend asking me about the story is what eventually led me to making this website in the first place, as this project actually started out as a short summary that I wrote on Google Docs for them.

I’m glad that I decided to come back to the lore, as the Grandis story is extremely well-written and cohesive. With an actual story team in place, the writers have now been going back and retroactively making changes to the Tenebris storyline in order to fix a lot of the mistakes that were made at the time of release. Although some mistakes are fundamentally tied to the plot and can’t be fixed, a lot of the dialogue changes that they’ve made have definitely salvaged the story and actually turned it around from god-awful to fairly decent, and so I think that Nexon deserves some credit for that.)

At the Labyrinth Core, Orchid told the Adversary that they were still as weak as they had always been. The Adversary was surprised to see Orchid, believing that she had lost her Wing Master powers. She revealed that she had gone to see Guwaru in the Forest of Spirits in order to reclaim her original power as a Spirit of Darkness, as she had learned that the Black Mage had manipulated events for centuries, including the events which had led to Lotus’ death.

She explained that Guwaru had agreed to grant her power, but only on the condition that she lend her strength to the Adversary at the final battle. Guwaru had also given her a mask to hide her identity from those who would take revenge on her, which would also allow her to communicate with him. Guwaru’s spirit then manifested from Orchid’s mask and told the Adversary that they were the deciding factor in the final battle.

Just then, the Labyrinth Core began to glow and the Adversary asked if it was because of Hilla’s defeat. Guwaru explained that the core contained the power of the Transcendents, and that the Adversary had been chosen to end it all. He then instructed them to use the power of the Adversary to destroy the core. The Adversary attempted to muster the same determination that had allowed them to defeat Hilla, but found that they were unable to call forth the divine power.

Frustrated, Orchid told Guwaru that she had known all along that the Adversary was weak and used her power to destroy the core herself. Orchid then shattered her mask, severing communications with Guwaru, and decided that she would defeat the Black Mage herself. As she teleported away, the labyrinth collapsed and left behind a cascade of waterfalls.

Several Alliance soldiers then found the Adversary and told them that a rescue team was on its way, since communications were back online. The Adversary was relieved to know that all the fallen Alliance soldiers had merely been illusions created by Hilla. The soldiers then told the Adversary that they had orders to regroup, but the Adversary refused and instead told them to let Neinheart know that the masked person from Esfera was Orchid, and that they were going after her. They then took the remains of Orchid’s mask and headed after her, just as strange Transcendion monsters began appearing from the waters.

(A/N: All these abstract creatures in Limina are meant to be the first life forms of the new world. Personally, I’m really curious to see what type of world the Black Mage would have made, and I guess that Will wanted to see the same thing too.)

Though the connection was fading, the Adversary contacted Guwaru with the mask and asked whether the Black Mage had sent the strange monsters. Guwaru explained that the creatures had sprung from the raw power of creation, and that they would recognize the Adversary as an intruder while in Limina. As the Adversary fought past the monsters, they took care to hide from the Erda Surge that occasionally washed away all the monsters.

After reaching the base of the waterfall, they began scaling it as they asked Guwaru how Orchid had destroyed the Labyrinth Core. Guwaru explained that she hadn’t destroyed the core, but rather, she had merely compressed it into a different space with her gravity powers. The Adversary was surprised that she had done it without her Wing Master powers, to which Guwaru explained that she was eating away at her own life force in order to forcibly channel her original powers as a Spirit of Darkness in her human form.

The Adversary then asked whether anyone besides themselves had the power to defeat the Black Mage, pointing out that Orchid had managed to destroy the Labyrinth Core, even without the divine power. Guwaru explained that it wasn’t possible for anyone else to face the Black Mage, and though Orchid didn’t want to believe it, he knew that she would come to realize it when she actually faced the Black Mage herself.

Guwaru told them that the Black Mage was planning to create the Genesis Crux, a seed from which the new world would blossom and replace what came before. As the power of the mask faded, Guwaru warned them that only the power of the Adversary could allow them to step off the Path and destroy the Genesis Crux.

After Guwaru’s voice faded away, the Adversary caught up with Orchid and told her that they needed to work together. However, Orchid refused and pointed out that not only had they failed to stop Will, even with his hands tied by the ritual, but they had also squandered their chance to kill Tana, which had allowed the Black Mage to gain the power of creation. She told them that they were weak because they had everything to lose, unlike herself, who had already lost everything when Lotus had died.

(A/N: Phantom gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he tells her that she can’t act like she’s the only one who’s lost something, reminding her that she’s the one who took all that he held precious. Orchid just glares at him in annoyance in response to his words.)

Orchid then gave them one final chance to reconsider, but when they refused to back down, she challenged them to make it to the top of the waterfall. As the Adversary started following her, she created a black hole to swallow them and began shooting lasers as they continued ascending past the monsters.

Just as they approached the top levels of the waterfall, Orchid unexpectedly stopped. Suddenly, the five Elite Bosses appeared to prevent them from reaching the Black Mage. Unwilling to entertain them, Orchid teleported away and left the Adversary alone. Furious, the Elite Bosses began chasing after Orchid, with the Adversary following suit. The Adversary continued ascending the waterfall while fighting off the Corrupted Warriors spawned by the Elite Bosses. Along the way, they also managed to take out the Bad Brawler, the Mad Mage, and the Black Knight.

At the top of the waterfall, the Adversary found Orchid taking down the Rampant Cyborg and the Vicious Hunter. Though she wouldn’t admit it, she was impressed that the Adversary had finished the other three off so quickly. The Adversary then saw a large orb, from which Erda water was pouring, which they recognized as the Genesis Crux. Orchid immediately told them to step aside, claiming that they were of no use until the power of the Adversary awakened within them.

Suddenly, the Genesis Crux activated and began absorbing the Black Sun, turning the waters crimson red. As darkness fell upon them, Orchid told them to stay where they were and teleported away. As the Adversary began trying to follow her, Guard Captain Darknell himself appeared. He told them that he was impressed by how far they had managed to come, but warned that they would not lay a finger upon his master as long as he was standing.

(A/N: I’ve mentioned this before, but I really wish that instead of the Elite Bosses and Darknell, we got an augmented Von Leon in order to give some closure to his story. The Elite Bosses have been around since 2013, but Darknell was created specifically for the Tenebris storyline as their leader. It just seems a bit dumb to me that the writers have sidelined Von Leon so much in the story that they’d rather invent a new character to serve as the leader of the Elite Bosses when Von Leon is already a knight and an established Commander.

While I really like the concept of Darknell and the Sharenian storyline as a whole, it’s nevertheless symptomatic of a fundamental problem with the current story, which is that literally everything in existence just has to be tied to the Black Mage. This game was originally created without an overarching story, and it existed as a place that you could just explore and have your own adventures in, and most of it was just a bunch of different towns with their own unique histories.

Most people don’t do town storylines anymore, but El Nath has such a rich and vibrant history that makes it one of my favorite towns in the entire game. It has so much folklore about its spirits, a war started by an evil organization called the Tarheeds who were wiped out by Rex the Hoblin King and his army of monsters, who, in turn, were then sealed away by a legendary mage named Heinrich. They have stories about Zakum possessing a town and forcing them to build its statue before slaughtering them, an evil priest named Riche who turned them all into his undead army, the Book of Ancient having forbidden magic that was used in a war from 300 years ago, and so many other cool details.

There’s so much more to the game than just the Black Mage and it’s really fun to see all these places that we visit having a real history, and that they and all the NPCs there aren’t just reduced to being pretty background details. Maple World used to feel like an actual place, and it was a setting where you could tell such a diverse range of stories that weren’t limited to just a single narrative. Nowadays, rather than feeling like you’re in a new and unique world, it just feels like you’re reading about characters, while the world around you is just an accessory piece.

The lore about Sharenian used to have a magical quality to it because of how all our exposure to it was through ancient ruins. The Golems in Henesys, the Cursed Temple in Sleepywood, and the Ant Tunnels beneath Victoria Island were all remnants of the old Sharenian kingdom, and at the time, we only knew that it was the earliest point of Maple World’s history, long before the Black Mage existed. Piecing together the history of the oldest civilization in Maple World through doing quests and finding little details in the maps and monster designs made it feel like we were actual explorers of Maple World, uncovering forgotten knowledge like a real historian.

Now, the story of Sharenian is just another part of the Black Mage’s master plan, just like the rest of Victoria Island. Because of the constant retcons, Victoria Island was now split by the Black Mage, Ellin Forest was colonized by the survivors of the Black Mage’s purge, the lore about Balrog, Sleepywood, and Kerning City got retconned into Tristan’s fight with Balrog being just a cover story for investigating Lotus’ spirit rewriting history, and the feud between the Dual Blades and the Dark Lord is just a byproduct of Lotus possessing Lady Syl.

It starts feeling like literally nothing in history could’ve organically happened on its own - everything just has to be related to the Black Mage or his Commanders, or else it’s not even worth mentioning. Like I really just wish that they’d leave at least some of the original story alone and let the world actually feel like it’s more than just a cog in the Black Mage’s giant design. El Nath has such a cool history of things that happened, for example - even though it’s not related to the Black Mage, you could tell such an interesting story with the Tarheed and Hoblin war, or with the Book of Ancient and the war from 300 year ago.

Instead of forcing Sharenian into the Black Mage narrative for absolutely no reason, they could’ve just used Von Leon - who already exists as part of the Black Mage’s lore - and actually give his story a proper conclusion. He’s already such an interesting, complex character with how he was betrayed by his own people, how he lost everything that mattered to him, and how he spends his days filled with regret over the acts of evil that he committed.

In my mind, I would’ve imagined that Von Leon would’ve wanted the Black Mage to succeed in making the new world, either because Ifia would be alive in that new world, or because he’s given up on life without her and he’s hoping that the destruction of their world will result in his death, freeing him from the curse of immortality that the Black Mage placed on him that keeps him alive and emotionally distraught. Since Von Leon wasn’t present at Tenebris, I’d assume that with the Black Mage’s death, the curse on him that allows him to turn into a monster and infinitely resurrect from battle should have vanished, meaning that he should have returned to being a regular human again.

While the obvious, depressing outcome is that Von Leon ends up killing himself because of his unending grief, I really hope that if they do address him again, they don’t go for a needlessly forced tragedy and actually capitalize on the depth of his character. If his curse is gone and his soul can be repaired through atonement, I like to hope that he’ll one day be able to see Ifia’s spirit again and actually get some closure to his pain. I ended writing a whole fanfic, which I’ll shamelessly plug here, where Lara helps Von Leon fix his soul and move on, while Lara herself comes to terms with her trauma from being the Adversary.)

Darknell then summoned the five Elite Bosses and his Corrupted Warriors before engaging in a fierce battle with the Adversary, who managed to defeat him and his forces. Meanwhile, Orchid appeared some distance away from Tenebris and saw that the Genesis Crux had absorbed the Black Sun, causing it to glow brightly.

The crimson waters that flowed out of the Genesis Crux began staining the Origin Sea red, out of which burst forth an enormous giant whose heart was the Genesis Crux. Shocked by its appearance, Orchid realized that Guwaru was right when he had warned that she couldn’t handle the Black Mage alone.

Back at the Genesis Crux, a defeated Darknell warned the Adversary that they would not escape the Light of Annihilation. Just as he fell, the Genesis Crux began quaking and the Adversary was knocked to the ground, unable to move. Orchid then reappeared and told them to warn the Alliance that they were still on the Path.

She then teleported the Adversary back to the White Spear, where they found the Alliance bombarding the giant with their cannons, though their barrage seemed to have no effect. They soon ran into Neinheart, who was relieved that they were safe. He explained that the next part of the prophecy, “A crimson tear will spawn a giant that swallows hearts,” had come to pass, with the giant serving as the Black Mage’s declaration that he had become a god. Neinheart then ordered all Alliance forces to clear a path for the Adversary to return to the Genesis Crux.

Just then, more monsters began appearing and the Adversary helped the Alliance soldiers clear up the deck. After returning, they told Neinheart what Orchid had said about the Path and asked him to explain what she had meant. Neinheart began by telling them that the Black Mage’s ideal world was one without Transcendents. In order to achieve this, he had not only defeated Rhinne, Alicia, and Tana, but he had kept the first two from passing on their powers while absorbing the latter.

Neinheart was intrigued that he had managed to do so under the most unfavorable conditions. Bound by the laws of the Overseers that even he could not break, the Black Mage was unable to battle the other Transcendents directly, which was why he had recruited the Commanders to aid him. However, the Commanders had their own agendas, and so the Black Mage had needed to manage them carefully in order to ensure that they wouldn’t turn against him to advance their own goals.

In order to do so, he had needed to convince the Commanders that their goals aligned with his, while simultaneously hiding his true intentions from them. The Adversary then recalled how Damien had planned to betray the Black Mage by stealing Alicia’s powers, while the Heroes had stood against him. Though none of the parties involved had supported his goals, the Black Mage had still been able to emerge victorious.

Neinheart then recalled what the Black Mage had told Cygnus in her nightmares: “Your fate is sealed.” Though he had initially believed that the Black Mage had merely been boasting, Neinheart had come to realize that the Black Mage was speaking literally, referring to the Path of Destiny. Neinheart told the Adversary that Grendel’s analysis of the core fragment would soon be completed, allowing them to find the missing element in the puzzle.

Just then, an Alliance soldier reported that one of the Resistance ships needed immediate reinforcements. As the Adversary headed over to help them, Neinheart contacted the ship and told Belle to take point on the assault. Belle grew furious at Neinheart’s orders, as not only was their ship damaged, but Neinheart was also keeping the White Spear and its escorts out of firing range.

As she and the other Resistance leaders began demanding to speak with Cygnus, Claudine arrived and told them that they needed to follow orders in order to win the battle. Neinheart thanked her and explained that reinforcements would soon arrive. The Resistance leaders were outraged to find a single one-man ship arriving until they realized that the Adversary was aboard.

Claudine assigned the Adversary to the starboard deck, where they rescued the soldiers and stopped the monsters from destroying the ship’s cannons. After helping the Resistance retake the ship, the Adversary received orders to return back to the White Spear in order to get Grendel’s analysis of the core fragment.

As they headed out, Claudine briefed the other Resistance leaders on Neinheart’s plan to have them get as close as possible to the giant and fire directly into its heart. The Resistance leaders were taken aback by Cygnus’ plan, as she never usually put them in such a dangerous position, but Claudine told them that they needed to trust that she had a good reason. They then began firing on the giant, damaging its exterior and leaving it exposed.

As Claudine ordered a retreat back to the White Spear, a massive wave of light emanated from the Genesis Crux. The soldiers who were caught in the Light of Annihilation immediately scattered into Erdas. (A/N: I still can’t believe that they actually plagiarized the Thanos snap for this storyline.) Dumbstruck by their heavy losses, Claudine ordered a ship for her to see Cygnus immediately.

Back on the White Spear, Grendel told them that he had finished his analysis of the core fragment. However, the signal began fading out and Grendel’s hologram disappeared. The Alliance soldiers told the Adversary that monster emissions generally messed up the communications. The Adversary then defeated the monsters aboard the ship, bringing communications back online.

They then asked Grendel to explain what destiny the Black Mage had in store for them. Grendel noted that he could tell that the Adversary was afraid that the Black Mage’s destiny would swallow them whole and lead them to ruin. He explained that mortals tended to regard fate with a mixture of awe and fear because of how unpredictable the future was.

Though there were some mortals who could see the future, such as the Empress, Grendel explained that they could only see fragments, rather than the full scope and the process by which their vision would come to pass. Though the future was determined by the present, there were so many variables in any given present, such as fate, chance, and free will, that countless futures were constantly being created and erased.

Grendel claimed that it was impossible to process such vast possibilities, likening it to a two-dimensional creature perceiving a three-dimensional world. However, he revealed that the Black Mage had somehow managed to perceive destiny, allowing him to change it. Grendel cited how the Black Mage’s choice to praise the Demon had set off a new destiny by putting Arkarium on the path to destroy the Demon’s family, which had resulted in everything that had happened, from Black Heaven, to Damien, to Aeona, thus placing the whole world on the Path to Genesis.

Though he conceded that everyone had behaved according to their own free will along the way, he explained that they hadn’t realized that the Black Mage had been influencing their decisions. He then showed them the core fragment from Gloom and explained that within the fragment were futures that had once existed before being erased by the Black Mage.

Having examined the timelines within the fragment, Grendel noted that the single great constant was that the ones who had done the most damage to the Black Mage’s grand design had been his own Commanders. He added that the only Commander who had fully known the Black Mage’s plan and had embraced it was Will, while the other Commanders had inevitably betrayed him in order to ensure their own survival.

Grendel pointed out how the Black Mage had manipulated events perfectly, such that the Commanders would serve him until they were defeated by the Alliance before they could interfere with his plans. The Adversary asked whether it was possible to stop the Black Mage after having learned of the Path, but Grendel pointed out that even the fact that they had realized the existence of the Path was part of the Black Mage’s plan. He then told them that he could see no action that would allow them to change the fate laid out by the Black Mage.

As the Alliance prepared to counterattack, the Adversary was left speechless. They began wondering what the purpose of fighting was if their fate had already been determined. Cygnus then snapped them out of it, telling them that now wasn’t the time to doubt themselves. The Adversary asked if Cygnus had known about the Path, to which she told them that she did, admitting that she had kept it from them because she was afraid that they wouldn’t have come as far as they had if they had known.

Cygnus then told them that they were the Adversary, but asked if they knew what they were the Adversary of. The Adversary replied that they were the Adversary of the Black Mage, but Cygnus revealed that they were actually the Adversary of Destiny. The Adversary then recalled what Neinheart had told them about what the Black Mage had written in his research, “Only the Adversary can counter immortality’s fate with the strength of a Seal Stone.”

Cygnus explained that they were the one piece on the board whom the Black Mage couldn’t control, which was why he was trying to make them lose hope in order to prevent them from emerging victorious. She then had them board a one-man ship straight into the Genesis Crux and ordered them to return safely. As they headed towards the Black Mage, Cygnus ordered the fleet to close ranks against the giant in order to provide an opening for the Adversary. She then ordered the Chief Knights to the deck before having the White Spear push forward to support.

Just then, Claudine boarded the White Spear and demanded to know what Cygnus was doing. She claimed that Cygnus had never been a coward before and asked how the Cygnus Knights could cower in the rear while ordering the rest of the fleet to head into annihilation. Cygnus refused to answer her and ordered Claudine to return to her ship.

However, Claudine demanded to know Cygnus’ motives, claiming that the Resistance was dying without knowing why. Cygnus then threatened to throw Claudine in the brig if she didn’t listen to orders. Furious, Claudine declared that Cygnus was still a frail little girl under her armor before pinning her and demanding to get answers. As Cygnus winced in pain, Claudine was shocked to see that Cygnus was wounded, causing her to realize that she had been fighting on the front lines the entire time. Realizing that Cygnus had been risking her life as much as everyone else, Claudine decided to listen and returned back to her ship.

(A/N: This was one of the stupidest parts of the whole storyline. Cygnus’ strategy was to send the Adversary to the Black Mage before doing a suicide run with the White Spear to pierce the giant’s heart, which is why she wanted Claudine to leave the ship so that she wouldn’t be in danger. There was absolutely no reason why she couldn’t have told Claudine about any of this. I’m convinced that this was some last-ditch effort on the writers’ part to force a needless conflict between the Resistance and the Cygnus Knights just for old time’s sake. It reminds me of a very similar subplot that took place in The Last Jedi, which was also just as stupid.

If anything, this conflict should’ve been moved to Moonbridge, which would’ve fixed the pacing and given Moonbridge an actual purpose besides just setting up the atmosphere. The Adversary is currently right about to face the Black Mage in their final confrontation - thematically, the Alliance should have already overcome their internal conflict and stood unified against their enemy at this point. Moonbridge was the setting that tested the Alliance’s resolve, and it makes a lot more sense to have the Resistance and the Cygnus Knights butt heads there, rather than the entirety of its plot being us swabbing the ships like a glorified deckhand.

Even within the context of this dialogue, there’s no reason why this should’ve been made into a problem in the first place. Claudine’s whole issue with Cygnus was that she’s putting the Resistance in danger and keeping the Knights safely in the rear - all Cygnus had to do was acknowledge that the Resistance is being put in danger and explain that the Knights are also going to put themselves in just as much danger by charging straight into the heart of the giant. I’m so tired of this stupid trope of misunderstandings coming from a lack of communication.

What I hate aside from the fact that the writers felt the need to create pointless drama was how Cygnus behaved here. Not only does she refuse to tell Claudine anything, but she literally threatens to throw her in prison for not blindly obeying her orders like some kind of dictator. Ever since Black Heaven, the writers have been unable to properly write Cygnus’ character and it really shows. I think the fact that she hardly appears in the Grandis story might just be for the best at this point.)

Meanwhile, the Adversary’s ship was sustaining heavy damage and threatening to fall apart at any moment. Just as it exploded, the Flying Fish arrived to carry the Adversary the rest of the way. It flew them through the heavy bombardment and managed to bring them straight to the Temple of Darkness. Critically wounded from the heavy fire, the Flying Fish told them that the world wanted them to win so that they could all survive, just as it scattered into Erdas. From the Throne of Darkness, the Black Mage addressed the Adversary and told them that their path had always been preordained.

(A/N: Each class gets exclusive dialogue in response to the Black Mage’s words:

Explorers vow that they’ll transcend the destiny that he’s created for the sake of Maple World.

Cygnus Knights and Mihile vow that they’ll transcend the destiny that he’s created for the sake of the Empress and for Maple World.

The Resistance classes and Xenon declare that they’re the Resistance, and that they reject his path.

The Demon has two dialogue paths depending on their branch. They both start out by saying that it’s time for them to part ways once and for all. Demon Slayer will tell the Black Mage that he’ll use the same power that he once wielded for the Black Mage to destroy him. Demon Avenger will instead say that he’ll use the power of rage to destroy the Black Mage. The dialogue then converges here for both of them, with the Demon then saying that it’s not just for him, but for Damien too.

Aran, Phantom, and Mercedes vow that they’ll transcend the destiny that he’s created to put an end to their long history.

Evan vows that he’ll transcend the destiny that the Black Mage has created. He then prays to Freud to watch over him before telling Mir that they’re staking it all on the honor of the Dragon Master and the Onyx Dragons.

Luminous declares that he’s been waiting for this day for a long time. For everything that the Black Mage has done to Maple World and to the members of Aurora who followed him, Luminous vows to put an end to the Black Mage’s twisted thoughts, and to make the Black Mae regret leaving him behind that.

Shade thinks to himself that he doesn’t know what will happen if the Black Mage disappears, as he himself might disappear too. However, he reminds himself that it isn’t about him before vowing that he’ll transcend the destiny that the Black Mage has created to put an end to their long history.

For Zero, Alpha and Beta vow that they’ll transcend the destiny that he’s created. They declare that Maple World is no longer his to toy with, and that for everything that he’s done at the Temple of Time, to Rhinne, and to the Temple Keepers, they vow to stop him as a Transcendent for the sake of Maple World.

Most non-Maple World classes vow that they’ll transcend the destiny that he’s created for the sake of everyone who calls Maple World their home. The only exceptions are Kain and Lara.

Kain declares that he’ll transcend the destiny that the Black Mage has created, adding that his Malice doesn’t follow a preordained path. He then vows that he’ll fight for the sake of Maple World.

Lara vows that she’ll transcend the destiny that the Black Mage has created, just like when she had followed the Mountain Kids to the restricted sanctuary, which had proved that she had always had the choice to step off the beaten path. The sanctuary that she’s talking about is the one in her village, where she first discovered the bell.

This dialogue is a bit weird because the wording makes it sound like she’s saying that finding the bell was never meant to be her destiny, even though she’s mentioned several times in her storyline that she believes that it’s her calling to make the bell ring. I think that what the writers had meant to say was that she had come across the bell through her own choice to enter the restricted sanctuary, and that her destiny was something that she had decided for herself because she had chosen to accept her calling, not because someone had handed her the bell and told her to make it ring.)

The Black Mage then used his power to create his two knights of light and darkness, the Aeonian Rise and the Tanadian Ruin.

(A/N: In non-GMS translations, these knights are called the Aion of Creation and the Yaldabaoth of Destruction, which are figures of good and evil in Gnosticism. I prefer these names over what we got in GMS because Aeona and Tana are titles that refer to the Transcendent of Light and their reserve, not the power of light and darkness.)

After the Adversary defeated the knights, the Black Mage got up from his throne and addressed the Adversary, claiming that he had seen a world constricted by chains in the name of balance, an indolent god, and mankind that had lost the meaning of its own existence. He then invited them to approach and meet their destiny.

The Adversary then began fighting fiercely against the Black Mage. As their battle intensified, an unknown energy burst forth from the Black Mage and swallowed the Temple of Darkness, transporting them into an ethereal, galaxy-like realm, where the Adversary was surprised to find Orchid. Orchid revealed that she had been fighting the Black Mage from within the inner realm the whole time while the Adversary had been fighting him from the material world. She explained that her attacks seemed to have no effect and conceded that the Adversary would have to end things after all.

(A/N: Phantom gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he asks Orchid if she’s suggesting that they fight alongside each other. Orchid starts stammering while trying to justify herself, but Phantom adds that saving the world seems like a good reason to fight together. Orchid then smiles slightly and says that he’s right, and that they should just go with that explanation.)

Suddenly, the Black Mage manifested before them as a powerful being of light, having become a god in his own right. Orchid told the Adversary that it was time to fight, both for her to get revenge and for them to save the world. Together, they fought the Black Mage and his godlike powers of creation and destruction. The overwhelming energy from their battle soon engulfed everything in the surrounding area and created a void of black and white.

Orchid told the Adversary that Genesis was about to begin, after which the world would be erased. She then told them that when the Black Mage was weakened, they would need to summon up the power of the Adversary in order to deliver the final blow. The Adversary was unsure about their ability to do so, but Orchid told them that they had failed to destroy the Labyrinth Core because the Seal Stone inside them only activated off of powerful determination, adding that they needed to be ready to sacrifice their own life if needed.

Suddenly, Orchid collapsed on the ground, having expended all her energy. Without her support, the Adversary faced the Black Mage alone, and after a fierce struggle, they managed to weaken him. After getting the upper hand, the Adversary checked up on Orchid, who warned them that the Black Mage needed to be stopped before he entered the Genesis Crux.

The Adversary then attempted to summon all of the determination within them, focusing on their willingness to sacrifice themselves for everyone else. To their shock, however, the Seal Stone remained inert and unresponsive to their thoughts. Just then, the Black Mage mocked them for believing that they had escaped the Path of Destiny. Declaring that they would not live to claim the true power of the Adversary, the Black Mage entered the Genesis Crux, leaving the Adversary aghast that even this very moment had been preordained.

As the time of Genesis approached, the Adversary lamented how, even at the end, they had been unable to escape the Path. Just then, a formless white light appeared and spoke with Tana’s voice, telling them that they had indeed escaped the Path, just by a single step. She reassured them that they did have enough determination to see things through.

However, she told them that the world was crying out that it didn’t want to disappear, and because of that, it would not lend its power to the Adversary, who was ready to kill themselves for the sake of victory. Her words helped the Adversary realize that they had been prepared to sacrifice themselves all the while that they had faced the Black Mage, but what they had instead needed to believe was that they needed to survive and save everyone, including themselves, not to give up on themselves and die for the sake of a world that wanted them to live.

(A/N: This is one of my favorite messages in the game, a lot of which was sadly omitted in the GMS localization. A lot of stories emphasize that true commitment can only be demonstrated by the willingness to give up one’s own life, but few ever really say that your own life is worth just as much as everyone else’s, and that you shouldn’t throw it away carelessly. I think that it takes a special kind of courage to lay down your life, but I also think that the idea of dying for the greater good is an idea that’s almost been weirdly romanticized in a sense.

Self-sacrifice has been deified for a long time in our society, and we can see it in our media, our religion, and our cultural values. However, I feel like there’s an undercurrent that’s taken root in the idea of self-sacrifice, which is a somewhat toxic emphasis on minimizing yourself for the sake of others. Obviously, there are moments when sacrifice is unavoidable, but I think that something has gotten lost in translation in what’s actually being conveyed through the depictions of sacrifice that we see in media lately.

In a way, self-sacrifice is framed as more of a duty than a choice. Heroes depicted in media are presented as these paragons of virtue who are always willing to lay down their lives for others, and I feel like there’s almost something damaging in showing a person who only ever does the right thing without hesitation, even if it means giving up everything that they have.

I think that the glorification of self-sacrifice without a second thought instills a belief that you don’t really matter at all. It’s true that self-sacrifice is one of the greatest acts of service that we can do, but I think that its importance comes from the fact that you have a choice of whether or not you want to do it. It’s common for heroes to be portrayed as absolutely selfless because all the selfish parts of them have been abstracted from sight.

As a result, the takeaway becomes that there’s no question of whether we’re willing to sacrifice or not. It’s no longer a choice when you think that there’s just one option. Consequently, we internalize the belief that in order to be a good person, we have to rid ourselves of the idea of “I want”. Subconsciously, there’s a rewiring of our morality that keeps us thinking that being selfless and sacrificial means hurting ourselves over and over again for the sake of someone else’s comfort.

Most of us will obviously never be in a situation in which we have to die for the sake of others, but this type of mentality still pervades in everything else that we do - social obligations, work, and relationships. The need to be a good person is so great that we tell ourselves that it’s okay that we’re carving out pieces of ourselves for others. We start seeing pain as just the symptom of our selflessness. After a while, we don’t feel comfortable being whole anymore. Somewhere along the way, putting ourselves last went from a bad habit to a compulsion. Sacrifice stops being a choice and instead becomes a product of our conditioning.

That’s why I think that depictions of sacrifice like what happens in this storyline are important in order to break that mentality. I think that remembering that you matter as much as the people that you care about is an important distinction that changes the connotation of what sacrifice means. What gives meaning to sacrifice is that you always have the choice to say no and walk away. Sacrifice inherently comes from the feeling of “I want”, not the absence of it. If you don’t think that what you want is important, you’re not really giving up anything at all.

This idea is also the culmination of the Adversary’s own character arc. Throughout the storyline, the Adversary constantly tells themselves that they have to take on the heaviest burdens because they’re the strongest. When they found out that the Black Mage was at the end of the Arcane River, their first instinct was to rush in alone and take him on by themselves without even thinking of contacting the Alliance for help.

They’ve been hailed as a hero so many times that they’ve made it their entire identity, and it’s the same idea of, “I am a hero, which means that I have to be strong for everyone else. I have to do everything alone and put myself through the hardest and most traumatic situations without question.” They’re so willing to believe Orchid when she tells them that they have to be ready to die for the world because that thought just comes to them without instruction at this point.

They’re so shocked that their determination to die isn’t enough because they forgot that they first changed destiny by refusing to take Tana’s life. They were willing to let the Black Mage become practically undefeatable because they had the conviction that they would never give up on trying to save everyone, no matter the odds.

Through all of their trauma, the Adversary has subconsciously decided that they’re expendable, and that their life only has meaning if they can save everyone, even if they have to die in the process. And in the moment when the Adversary is so desperately channeling their desire to end their own life, it’s Tana who comes back to help the Adversary by reminding them that they have to live, just like how they helped her live when she finally chose survival over wanting to die, and in the process, the Adversary finally remembers the value of their own life and chooses to survive too.

That mindset - the determination to protect all life, including our own - is what finally awakened the Seal Stone. At its core, the Seal Stone is an object that will only ever work for a population, and the Adversary is nothing more than a Vessel embodying the world’s deepest desire. The Adversary’s mindset and the world’s determination need to be synced in order to activate its power. At this point, the entire world wants to not only win, but they want the Adversary to come back to them safely, just as their desperate wish to save the Adversary’s life at Black Heaven was what had resulted in the Adversary becoming one in the first place.

Because of this, the Seal Stone will fundamentally never awaken if the Adversary was only determined to die, no matter how good their intentions, because the world cares about them so deeply that that they refuse to allow the Adversary to give up on themselves, just like how the Adversary never gave up on them. It’s a level of pure symbiosis capable of channeling divinity itself, answering the artificial machinations of a god with a human instinct to survive, which is just a fancy way of saving that the Power of Friendship™ always saves the day.)

As the divine power flowed through the Adversary, the Genesis Crux began to shake. Orchid, having regained enough of her strength, reappeared to teleport them to safety. Back at the Outpost, the gems in the hands of the Goddess Statues responded to the collective determination of the Adversary and the Alliance, transforming the gems into three large swords whose tips touched each other, from which a brilliant ray of light shot forth and traveled all the way to Tenebris, where it destroyed all the monsters on its path towards the giant’s heart.

Realizing that the time had come, Cygnus ordered the fleet to pull back so that the White Spear could proceed alone. The flagship then pushed forward through the path that the beam of light had cleared and pierced through the giant’s heart, allowing them to enter the black and white void where the Genesis Crux was.

Meanwhile, Orchid teleported herself and the Adversary to the deck of the White Spear. Cygnus then told the Adversary that it was time to end the battle. The Adversary jumped off the deck of the ship and fell straight through the giant’s heart into the black and white void. With the power of the Adversary, they summoned the divine blade and entered the Genesis Crux, plunging their sword straight through the Black Mage’s heart.

(A/N: The divine blade is identical in appearance to the ones held by the Goddess Statues, with the exception that it was created magically and glows silvery-blue. This blade is also where the name “spear of god” comes from, which got bizarrely localized as the Godsphere in GMS. The name “spear of god” is probably intended to be stylized, as the blade that we summon is a sword, not a spear. Personally, I like to interpret this to mean that the canonical Adversary is supposed to be a Hero, as the iconography of a one-handed sword is associated with that class in the game.

Swords are usually associated with the idea of knighthood and chivalry, whereas spears are much more primordial, being associated more with Greek heroes and legends from a time before knights. While it makes sense for the divine blade to physically be a sword for the sake of suggesting a canonical Adversary, calling it a “spear of god” instead of a “sword of god” invokes a sense of grandness through the imagery of Adversaries being these legendary demigods, reminiscent of Hercules or Achilles. It also ties into the idea behind the White Spear, which was created as a symbol of the Alliance’s commitment to carving out their own destiny, as well as Cygnus’ declaration that they would become the spear that would pierce the gods themselves.)

Orchid and Cygnus rushed into the void and congratulated the Adversary for killing the Black Mage. To their shock, however, the Adversary scattered into Erdas and vanished.

(A/N: Shade gets some exclusive dialogue here as he scatters into Erda. He thinks to himself that this is really the end for him, and as he disappears, he breaths a sign of relief that he’ll finally be with Freud again.)

As Cygnus fell to her knees in anguish, the Chief Knights reported that the giant was moving and urged her to retreat. As the giant closed up and trapped the White Spear inside, Orchid asked Cygnus to allow her to use the ship’s power so that she could get them out. Meanwhile, Claudine and Neinheart watched in earnest as ten minutes passed since the giant had fallen silent.

Troubled by the White Spear’s disappearance, Neinheart weakly suggested moving fire away from the heart so as not to harm the White Spear, though Claudine reminded him that he was the one who had been against that idea before. She snapped at him to get it together so that the soldiers wouldn’t see him so distraught, adding that she was worried about Cygnus and the others as well.

Suddenly, the White Spear shot straight through the giant’s heart, with Orchid amplifying the ship’s power, and Neinheart ordered covering fire for them to escape. Cygnus reported that the Genesis Crux had been destroyed, causing the soldiers to begin cheering. However, she struggled with how to break the news that the Adversary had been destroyed.

Meanwhile, in the Erda Flow, the Adversary awoke and wondered whether they had died before finding that the White Mage was standing before them. (A/N: When we first see the White Mage, most classes will say, “The White Mage?!”, but Luminous will instead say, “…Oh. It’s you.” I can’t stop laughing at how completely underwhelmed he sounds at finally meeting his deadbeat dad.) The White Mage explained that their body had been annihilated, and that their soul would dilute and disappear after some time. He then congratulated them on their victory, explaining that they had saved the world.

The Adversary asked why he had appeared before them if the battle was over. The White Mage replied that he only wanted to share a few words, as he had been waiting to speak with them for a long time. The Adversary was surprised that he had been waiting for them, to which he explained that they were the only one who could save him from the prison of immortality.

He noted the irony that the very nature of a Transcendent prevented them from destroying themselves. The Adversary then realized that his ideal world without Transcendents also included erasing himself. The White Mage confirmed their suspicions and explained that it was the very reason why he had needed them.

(A/N: Zero gets exclusive dialogue here, in which he notes that only a Transcendent could stand against him. He explains that the other Transcendents had simply accepted their fates, whether they were their original fates, or the ones that he had set upon them. He adds that he knew that Alpha and Beta would turn away from that, or at the very least, that they would fight back.

This line is extremely confusing, as Transcendents are incapable of killing each other. I think what he means is that only someone as strong as a Transcendent could stand against him, whether that’s another Transcendent or a mortal with a Seal Stone. Zero being able to kill the Black Mage likely either stems from them not constituting as a proper Transcendent, or from the Seal Stone allowing them to override their limitations as Transcendents.

The White Mage talking about Zero resisting their fate is told from the perspective that Zero is the Adversary, and so it retroactively means that the White Mage’s plan had always revolved around having Zero destroy him from the very beginning, and so his exclusive dialogue was written to match this setting. In actuality, there’s no canon Adversary, and so I wouldn’t take anything from this exclusive dialogue with much weight, as its inclusion isn’t worth the mental gymnastics that we need to do in order to make it all fit.

Luminous also gets exclusive dialogue here, which is similarly told from the perspective that he’s the Adversary. The White Mage explains that Luminous has always had the power to face him, as he was once part of the White Mage and the light itself. He then reveals that he had deliberately chosen not to destroy Luminous upon their separation, despite having had the power to end him right there. He explains that in a sense, Luminous was the light that he had sought, as Luminous had his own destiny. He notes that Luminous has just seen that destiny through, adding that he’s always believed in him.)

The White Mage revealed that as a result of their actions, they had shattered the fate that had bound them both. He explained that the axis of fate had been tilted the moment when they had refused to take Tana's life. He then asked what had led them to make that decision, to which they replied that it had been because Tana had cried out for help, and that she hadn’t wanted to disappear.

(A/N: Shade gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he says that he had thought that he’d been prepared for his fate too, but when the moment had come, he had realized that even in spite of being prepared, he had realized that he still didn’t want to disappear, just like how Tana hadn’t either, and so he couldn’t do that to her.

Kain also gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he says that Tana hadn’t wanted to disappear, just like his sister, Luska.

Lara also gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which she says that Tana hadn’t wanted to disappear, and that it must have been the same for Gri’s brother, Gru.

Through some stupid convoluted thought process, GMS somehow managed to localize, “Because she asked for help. She didn’t want to disappear,” to “I couldn’t take her life, no matter the cost. That’s not what a hero does. Our doom wasn’t certain. And as long as there was a way to save her and everyone else, I had to try.”

First of all - where the hell did they pull those extra twenty-seven words from? Second of all - how is it that even with those extra words, they couldn’t even manage to properly capture the nuance of something that could be conveyed in ten? In KMS, you have the Adversary’s motivations being something as simple and powerful as just, “She didn’t want to die,” because that’s all the motivation we needed.

We saw just how miserable Tana’s life was, and how she was constantly being used and exploited by other people, whether it was the Overseers, Hekaton, or the Black Mage. We saw how Jean was the only person in her life who cared about her, and how she called out to him for help in Esfera, even after he died, because in her mind, there was literally no one else in existence who would ever care about her enough to help her again.

Her desire to be saved, and our desire to save her, both came from the same primal human will to live, and the simplicity of saying, “She asked for help,” is supposed to convey just how instinctual that desire to live was. It didn’t need any long-winded heroic explanation - it’s completely self-explanatory because anyone hearing that would immediately understand what the Adversary means, because it’s an instinct shared by all living things, encoded intrinsically into our design.

GMS’ localization not only cuts out that entire nuance, but it just has to make everything all about us. The focus in GMS is on us deciding what a hero would do, us weighing pros and cons about what it would mean for the world, and it takes away from the fact that this isn’t about us - it’s about Tana, and it should’ve been about Tana after she’s spent centuries being a plot device for everyone else’s needs.

In KMS, we acted simply because we wanted her to live, and having us go into this whole explanation in GMS about how we spent all this time thinking about ourselves and what it means for us to kill her, rather than us just saying that we acted instinctively because we care about her, makes it so that we end up becoming just another person who saw her as a tool for our own personal agenda, whether that was for saving the world, or even just us using her as a stepping stone for our own character development as a hero or whatever.)

After a pause, the White Mage told them that life was precious because it was finite, and that, having lost sight of the value of life, he believed that he wasn't qualified to realize his grand ideals. The Adversary suddenly felt a strange sensation as their body began disappearing from their fingertips, to which the White Mage told them that it couldn't have been stopped for long.

The Adversary then asked him why he had kept fighting if they had already won when they had changed fate in Esfera. The White Mage replied by asking what they had felt as they had walked the Path of Destiny, when they had begun to question their own free will. After considering it, the Adversary replied that they had felt despair, powerlessness, and perhaps anger, to which the White Mage replied that it was enough. As the Adversary began disappearing from the Erda Flow, the White Mage told them to never forget their anger.

(A/N: As the scene fades out, the White Mage bids the Adversary farewell by referring to them with a special title that’s unique to their job:

Explorers (including Special Explorers): Explorer of Legend. This is actually a mistranslation of the actual KMS title, “Brave Explorer From Another World”, which refers to how the Explorer isn’t from Maple World.
Cygnus Knights and Mihile: Brave Knight of the Empress
Main Resistance and Xenon: Bold Liberator of the Shadowed City
Demon: Resilient Soul
Aran: Undying Warrior
Evan: Heir of the Great Mage
Mercedes: Ruler of the Elves
Phantom: Thief of Destiny
Luminous: Light of the World
Shade: Forgotten Hero. After he gives this title, the White Mage tells Shade, “Be at peace. She will remember you now,” with ‘she’ referring to Moonbeam.
Kaiser, Angelic Buster, Cadena, and Kain: Descendent of Dragons
Illium, Ark, Adele: Mystic of a Distant World
Zero: Transcendent of a New World
Kinesis: Hero of the Mysterious World
Hoyoung, Lara: Conqueror of Destiny

Additionally, while these classes aren’t canon, I’ll list them here in case anyone is curious, although I’ve added them in the GMS-verse section:
Jett: Far-flung Avenger
Hayato: Honorable Warrior
Kanna: Fated Master of Spirits
Beast Tamer: Hero of Nature)

Back on the White Spear, Neinheart began to mourn the loss of the Adversary when Claudine suddenly saw something shooting out of the giant’s heart. To their surprise, they saw the Adversary flying back on the Flying Fish. Claudine immediately ordered covering fire, allowing the Adversary to land on the White Spear. The Adversary then greeted Cygnus and told her that they had returned safely, just as she had ordered. As the soldiers began cheering for the Adversary, Neinheart told them that the giant seemed to be decomposing back into Erdas with the destruction of the Genesis Crux.

The Adversary then noticed Orchid preparing to slip away, who claimed that she didn’t want to hang around with Claudine glaring at her. The Adversary asked Orchid if it was true what Guwaru had said about her shortening her life by using her powers without Lotus. Orchid confirmed that she only had about a century left, and that she planned to live as a regular human. She then smiled, affectionately calling them a dummy, and told them that she would see them around before leaving.

(A/N: The Adversary’s conversation with Orchid was beyond stupid. I actually felt my IQ drop while reading it. Orchid has been responsible for something bad happening to literally every Maple World class in existence, and here she is smiling and joking and acting all tsundere.

Why are we not doing anything more than barely tolerating her existence? Did Phantom forget that she literally tortured Aria to death? Did the Resistance just stop caring that she enslaved their town and had Gelimer kidnap and kill Vita? Does Xenon just not mind that Orchid is the person who funded the research that mutilated his body and irrevocably stole his memories? Literally none of this makes sense to me.)

The Adversary then asked the Flying Fish if the battle was finally over. The Flying Fish confirmed that it was and told them to climb aboard so that they could say goodbye to everyone. Around them, the soldiers who had vanished into Erda from the Light of Annihilation returned back to life with the giant decomposing.

(A/N: The idea behind the Light of Annihilation was that the Black Mage had used the power of destruction to destroy the Alliance members in order to keep pushing the Adversary to their limits, as well as to bring them to the Erda Flow at the very end of the battle, and then he used the power of creation to restore them back to life, as he had only needed them to temporarily ‘die’ in order to motivate the Adversary. I still think that it’s dumb because it cheapens the levity of all the sacrifices made during the battle by all of it just being magically undone.)

Pleased to see that everyone was safe, the Adversary waved goodbye before leaving on the Flying Fish. After getting some much-needed rest, the Adversary soon returned back to the Outpost, where Neinheart greeted them and asked if they had gotten some rest after defeating the Black Mage, to which the Adversary replied that it had been ages since they had been able to sleep as well as they had.

Neinheart replied that it was good to hear, as the Alliance would be needing the Adversary at full strength. The Adversary was surprised and asked if there was something wrong. Just then, the other leaders of the Alliance arrived, causing the Adversary to realize that Neinheart had merely been joking.

(A/N: Each class gets a unique script for this part.

For Explorers, Athena Pierce, Grendel, and Kyrin arrive and congratulate the Explorer for all that they’ve accomplished. They reminisce about how curious and wide-eyed the Explorer had been when they had first met, and how much has changed since then. If the Explorer is a warrior or a thief, Athena Pierce will tell them that their job instructor couldn’t make it, though they send their best regards. Dances with Balrog, the Dark Lord, and Lady Syl got completely sidelined from the entire story and I’ll forever be salty about it.

For the Cygnus Knights and Mihile, Neinheart tells them that everyone in Maple World is grateful to them, adding that it’s thanks to them that the Alliance was able to rally around Cygnus, who led them to victory. Cygnus agrees and notes that it’s thanks to them that they were able to gain everyone’s trust and unite as one.

Claudine then admits that they were reliable, to which Neinheart laughs that if Claudine is saying that, then they must already know what everyone else is thinking. As Claudine bickers with Neinheart, Cygnus laughs and notes that Claudine and Neinheart seem to be getting along well, to which both of them are flustered into silence.

For the Resistance classes and Xenon, Claudine proudly calls them a valued member of the Resistance. She explains that everyone else has already returned to Edelstein, and though they had all wanted to go back with the Resistance member, she hesitates before explaining that they had needed someone to stay and clean up. Neinheart laughs and tells Claudine to be honest, reminding her that she had insisted that she would stay and meet with the Resistance member on behalf of everyone. Claudine gets embarrassed, though she quickly recovers and tells the Resistance member that it’s time to go home, as everyone is waiting.

For the Demon, Neinheart tells him that all of Maple World owes him a debt that can never be repaid. Claudine adds that no matter what he did in the past, he’s always been at the Resistance’s side. Cygnus tells him that he no longer lives under the shadow of the Black Mage, and that he’s a valued member of the Alliance.

She then asks what he’ll do now, to which he says that he’s not sure. He thinks to himself that there’s nowhere to go home to and no one that’s waiting for him. Cygnus then tells him that no matter where he goes or what he finds, the Alliance will always be there for him. The Demon is overwhelmed by the overwhelming support of everyone and jokes that this is one way to make new acquaintances.

For all the Heroes except Evan and Shade, Neinheart tells them that everyone in Maple World is grateful to them. Cygnus notes that they’ve been keeping Maple World safe for so long, and now they’ve saved the world from the greatest threat that they’ve ever faced. She then thanks them and vows that the Alliance will continue protecting the world that they’ve given everything to save.

For Evan, Neinheart tells them that everyone in Maple World is grateful to them. Cygnus thanks Evan for everything that he’s done for them. Athena Pierce then adds that she’d never thought that he’d grow so much, to which Evan laughs in embarrassment and says that he still has a lot to learn. Cygnus smiles and tells him that he doesn’t need to be so modest, as he’s already the hero of the Alliance. Athena agrees with Cygnus and adds that they have no doubt that he’ll become a great Dragon Master, and perhaps even greater than Freud.

For Shade, Neinheart tells him that all of Maple World owes him a debt that can never be repaid. Cygnus adds that they’ll never forget his part in the battle, or his sacrifice. Neinheart agrees and calls Shade a hero for the ages. Shade is lost for words and chuckles awkwardly before thanking everyone. Cygnus then asks Shade what’s next for him, which causes Shade to think that he hadn’t even thought about that.

He then wonders to himself what heroes do once their villains are gone before supposing that he should be happy that he’s still alive to wonder that. He then thinks to himself that there must be more before telling Cygnus that he’s planning to go on a quest to find himself. Cygnus then wishes him a safe and fulfilling journey.

For Zero, Neinheart tells Alpha and Beta that all of Maple World owes him a debt that can never be repaid. Cygnus explains that the world has found peace thanks to the two of them, adding that they’ve done so much. She then asks what they’ll do now, to which they reply that they’re planning to sleep for a few weeks. They also think to themselves that they need to think about what they’ll be doing from now on. Cygnus then tells them that they’ve done just as she’d hoped.

For all Grandis classes, Neinheart tells them that all of Maple World owes them a debt that can never be repaid. Cygnus adds that the Alliance’s allies in Grandis played a major role in bringing peace to Maple World, for which they have her utmost gratitude. Edea notes that they were fortunate enough that the situation on Grandis was quiet enough for them to come. She adds that there’s no telling what will happen next, though this was a nice enough break. Cygnus then promises that Maple World will be there when Grandis needs help, just as the Adversary was there for Maple World.

For Kinesis, Neinheart tells them that everyone in Maple World is grateful to them. Grendel adds that he was surprised when Kinesis had arrived on Maple World, but he believes that Kinesis has grown a lot. Cygnus then asks him what he’ll do now, to which Kinesis replies that he’s going to visit his friends, as he hasn’t seen them in a while. He then laughs that they’ll know why once he tells them. Cygnus then tells him that a lot of other people on Maple World will miss him too.

For Hayato and Kanna, Neinheart tells them that all of Maple World owes them a debt that can never be repaid. Cygnus adds that peace has been brought back to Maple World because of people from other worlds like them, for which they have Cygnus’ utmost gratitude. Princess Sakuno then arrives, much to Hayato/Kanna’s surprise, and replies that they stand together as one Alliance.

She explains that Maple World has accepted them, and so it’s only right for them to return the favor. She then turns to Hayato/Kanna and notes that they’ve saved the world yet again, adding that she couldn’t be prouder. Cygnus thanks Sakuno and promises that the Alliance will be there when the Sengoku Warriors need help, just as Hayato/Kanna and the Sengoku Warriors have done. Sakuno replies that she doesn’t need a reward for helping her comrades, though she adds that she appreciates the sentiment.

For Beast Tamer, Neinheart tells her that all of Maple World owes her a debt that can never be repaid. Cygnus thanks her once again for everything, while Athena Pierce tells her that she had never imagined that she would grow to such heights, adding that it’s truly impressive. Chase replies that she still has a long way to go, adding that she’s just happy that she could fight alongside the five Heroes. Cygnus tells Chase that she’s already a hero to all of them, and that she can enjoy the feeling a little, to which an awestruck Chase marvels at the fact that she’s now considered a hero.)

Meanwhile, at the Aboris Royal Palace, Melange presented the book that Will had dropped in Esfera and recited the Black Mage’s prophecy of the final battle to Gerand Darmoor. Melange noted that Darmoor must be pleased to have received such a useful book, as well as to have detected the seed of the new world that the Black Mage had left behind. Darmoor then ordered Melange to find Aeona and the Seed, claiming that all would be ‘there’.

(A/N: I was so shook when this was first revealed, I never expected Melange to be a traitor. Originally, Melange said that he had found a way to thwart destiny, not that he had detected the seed of the new world. This was changed a few months after Tenebris was released, although for some reason, it still hasn’t been changed in GMS.

The GMS localization makes it sound like the Seed is the Tower of Oz, which is what the Seed is called outside GMS, and it’s also where Alicia’s soul remains after her physical body was destroyed. Because of this, a lot of people in GMS speculated that Darmoor wants Alicia’s soul, and the fact that he said that “all would be there” likely meant that Tana would somehow be in the Tower of Oz too.

However, it’s clear from the KMS translation that Darmoor really just wants the seed of the new world, which probably refers to the Genesis Crux, and that honestly makes a lot more sense when you consider that Tana had emerged from the Genesis Crux to help us, explaining why she and the seed of the new world would be in the same place.

The end of Limina also marks the end of the Black Mage arc, which spanned for roughly eleven years from 2007-2018. GrandisStory officially began a year later with the Glory update in 2019, which we’re currently in the midst of. There’s no telling how long it’ll last, but given how many open plot points there are, I can easily see it lasting for at least five to ten more years at minimum.

I have very mixed opinions about the Grandis storyline, but I’ll complain about it later. For now, I’ll end this section with a bittersweet sendoff for Maple World and its horrendously mishandled finale, and a huge thanks to KMS for protesting vocally enough for Nexon to retcon it into something that can be barely considered passable. To commemorate it, here are my feelings on the Maple World vs Grandis debate in the form of a meme video.)

PART IV: AFTER THE DEFEAT OF THE BLACK MAGE

Aftermath:

(A/N: Most of these cutscenes are canonically set the day after the events of Tenebris, although you’ll see that some of them actually take place somewhere between a few days to a few weeks later. Each of them assumes that your class is the Adversary, but since I don’t want to assume that any one class is the canonical Adversary, I’ve changed any references of a class defeating the Black Mage to them just helping defeat the Black Mage.)

Explorer:
At Maple Tree Hill, the Explorer met with Tess, Olive, Rondo, and Sugar. As the avatar of the Goddess of Maple World, Sugar thanked the Explorer for saving Maple World and apologized for leaving them with such a heavy burden. Olive asked Sugar if she would disappear, since the Black Mage had been defeated. Sugar told them that she had fully expected to return back to the Maple Tree, but her continued presence meant that there was still more for her to do in order to ensure Maple World’s safety.

The Goddess of Maple World then manifested before them and explained that Maple World had not yet reached harmony, as a destructive Transcendent still threatened both Maple World and the Other World. (A/N: I’m not sure whether she’s referring to Grandis or Earth here. Obviously, the destructive Transcendent is Darmoor, who threatens Grandis, but only Earth has been called the Other World in other storylines.) However, she told them that, just as a simple Maple Leaf had defeated the Black Mage, so too would the determination of the people protect Maple World, adding that her blessing would always be with them.

After she vanished, Sugar told them that she was glad to know that she would remain with them, though her continued presence signified that the world was still in danger. Olive, Tess, and Rondo headed out to prepare for the next big adventure, leaving the Explorer and Sugar alone. Sugar told them that they had been through a lot together and showed them past memories of all that they had accomplished. The two then made a promise to meet again one day with the others under the Maple Tree.

Dual Blade:
(A/N: This is an exclusive scene for Dual Blades that plays after the regular Explorer cutscene.)

In the Secret Garden, Lady Syl commended the Dual Blade for his role in defeating the Black Mage and for bringing honor to the Dual Blades. The Dual Blade told her that he had merely fulfilled his duty, but Syl told him that he had done far more than that, having inspired her to move the Dual Blades out of the shadows. She admitted that she had even started visiting the Jazz Bar in Kerning City from time to time, having buried the hatchet with the Dark Lord. She then told the Dual Blade that she looked forward to hearing of his next victory.

Cannoneer and Explorer Pirates:
(A/N: This is an exclusive scene for Cannoneer and Explorer Pirates that plays after the regular Explorer cutscene.)

Aboard the Nautilus, the pirate met with Kyrin, who was surprised to find them standing quietly while waiting for her. She told them that their awed silence reminded her of her first sailing adventure, during which she and her crewmates had spent ages listening to their captain wax philosophical about the pirate life.

She added that being a pirate hadn’t always been as glamorous as it was in the present day, as technology had been much more rudimentary back then. However, she explained that she had been determined to be out on the open seas and recalled how she had felt true freedom the first time that she had stepped foot on the Nautilus. Because of that, she had vowed to do whatever it took to protect that freedom. With that, she decided to set sail for their next destination. (A/N: I love how you have no dialogue in this entire scene. For Cannoneers, Monkey cheers excitedly at the end, but that’s basically it.)

Pathfinder:
(A/N: This is an exclusive scene for Pathfinder that takes place a few days after the regular Explorer cutscene.)

Deep in the ancient ruins of Partem, the Pathfinder mused to herself that she had believed that the Black Mage’s defeat would have lifted the ancient curse, though she found that it still remained. She wondered why she had even come back to the ruins, as she had combed the area for answers many times.

(A/N: This line confused me for a while because Pathfinder’s storyline was about lifting the curse on the relic. However, someone helped clarify that the curse itself still exists on the relic, it’s just that she’s lifted the effects of the curse on herself by becoming the weapon’s true owner. The curse itself is still in effect, with her skills branding her targets with the curse mark.)

As she turned to leave, Brie appeared and greeted the Pathfinder, asking about her latest adventures. She was awed to learn about the Pathfinder’s role in the battle against the Black Mage and told her that she had always known that the Pathfinder would do amazing things. Realizing that she had started babbling again, Brie decided to leave the Pathfinder alone after telling her that she hoped to see her again.

Though she hadn’t found any answers, the Pathfinder realized that her trip to Partem hadn’t been for nothing. With that, she decided to prepare for her next adventure in Grandis as she thought about all the undiscovered relics there. (A/N: It’s funny because finding relics of the Ancient Gods is exactly what we’re hoping to do in continental Grandis.)

Cygnus Knights and Mihile:
In Ereve, Empress Cygnus addressed her Knights and thanked them all for their bravery. She then asked if they were willing to continue following her in the fight against evil, which garnered a rallying cry for Cygnus.

(A/N: Each branch of the Cygnus Knights (except Mihile) gets exclusive dialogue here.

For Dawn Warriors, Mihile thanks the player for protecting the pride of the Empress and jokes that he could stay up all night talking about them.

For Blaze Wizards, Oz tells the player that their passion was like a big, blazing fireball and laughs that she wants to eat grilled sausage.

For Wind Archers, Irena tells the player that they had brought a breeze in the storm and hopes that the wind of good fortune will surround them in the future.

For Night Walkers, Eckhart tells the player that he’ll skip the greetings and tell them that they had exceeded his expectations, and that they had fought well.

For Thunder Breakers, Hawkeye tells the player that he was impressed with their performance and laughs that it was all thanks to his training.)

Neinheart personally thanked the Cygnus Knight for their dedication and asked if they would honor Ereve with their support in a time of peace. The Knight told Neinheart that they considered it the highest honor to serve the Empress for as long as they were needed.

Mihile:
(A/N: This is an exclusive scene for Mihile that takes place directly after the events of the paragraph above.)

At the Conference Pavilion, Mihile reminded Cygnus that she had come to visit him when he had been a child and asked if she had known then that he would someday become one of her Knights. Cygnus told him that she did, and that she had first noticed him long before then. She explained how she had watched him struggle in a life harder than that of most adults, though he toiled on without complaint, even while surrounded by cruelty on all sides. When their eyes had met for the first time, she told him that she had seen great determination and hope in his eyes as he stood to be a light in the darkness, even then.

She then told him that, back then, she had been young and frail and unproven, a mere child with a grand title, and asked why he had decided to believe in her. Mihile told her that, though he had been a nameless orphan, it hadn’t mattered to her. He explained that when she had given him a name and had put her trust in him, he had been reborn. He told Cygnus that it was because of her that he was who he was and vowed to believe in her until the day he died.

Resistance:
(A/N: This cutscene is common to all Resistance classes, including Xenon and the Demon.)

At the Secret Plaza, Claudine gave a speech to the entire Resistance, reminding them of everything that they had accomplished, from driving out the Black Wings to rebuilding the Edelstein Council. She then presented the Resistance member, introducing them as one of the Resistance’s greatest heroes.

(A/N: Each Resistance class gets some exclusive dialogue here.

For Blasters, Elex proudly proclaims the player as his pupil and jokes that it seems that they’re wrong when they say that a pupil resembles their master.

For Battle Mages, Brighton tells the player that he had never thought that this day would come, but that he’s proud of them as their teacher.

For Wild Hunters, Belle tells the player that from the moment they had chosen the path of the Wild Hunter, she had known that they would do great things.

For Mechanics, a tearful Checky adamantly states that he isn’t crying, and that he’s just proud of the player before asking why his mask is wet.

For Xenon, Claudine honors him as the last member of the Mesorangers, which is a reference to how he, Claudine, Belle, Elex, and Brighton would play as the Mesorangers when they were kids.

For the Demon, Claudine notes that the Demon had broken free from the Black Mage and joined the Resistance.)

After the assembly clapped for the Resistance member, Claudine told everyone that it was time to return to the city in order to celebrate. All the people of a free Edelstein cheered as fireworks lit the sky. Claudine then turned to the Resistance member and reminisced about everything that they had accomplished together.

With Edelstein finally free, Claudine told them that she had been considering what came next. She realized that they had the opportunity to bring freedom to other places and asked if they would continue to fight for the Resistance in the name of liberty. The Resistance member agreed without hesitation, making Claudine smile.

Xenon:
(A/N: This is an exclusive scene for Xenon that takes place the morning after the Resistance cutscene.)

The next morning, Xenon noticed a commotion happening in town and asked what was going on. From the townspeople, he learned that a robot had wandered over from the Scrapyard. He then ran into Bitterbot and recognized her from the fight against Black Heaven. Knowing that there were many lost robots at the Scrapyard, Xenon told her that he wanted to visit the Scrapyard one day in order to find Beryl.

Bitterbot told him that she could take him immediately, and though Xenon considered it, he told her that he was still needed in Edelstein. He recalled how, the night before, Claudine had reminded him about the promise that he had made to her many years ago to take back his dagger from her once Edelstein was freed and she didn’t need it anymore.

Xenon had protested that he still didn’t have his memories and couldn’t remember who he was to her, but Claudine had told him that she could remember enough for the both of them. Xenon then told Bitterbot that he would like to visit her. Bitterbot replied that she would like that as well, and told him to take as much time as he needed, after which she headed back to the Scrapyard.

(A/N: I hope that Xenon does visit her one day and learns that she’s actually Beryl. It’s actually really sad that he’s the only class who won’t ever get his memories back, as Gelimer overwrote large portions of his memory with his soldier programming.)

Demon:
(A/N: This is an exclusive scene for the Demon that takes place a few days after the Resistance cutscene.)

In southern Leafre, the Demon returned to his ruined family home with Mastema and felt many awful memories resurface. He went to Damien’s grave, where he recalled how a young Damien had once asked him if they could live a quiet life away from the war and all their troubles. At the time, he had believed that it was just a naive child’s wish, but he realized now that Damien had it right all along.

He spoke aloud to Damien that they should have lived away from it all, though he had realized it far too late. Though he had finally avenged Damien by helping defeat the Black Mage, he noted that he still couldn’t feel at peace because it still didn’t change the fact that nothing he ever did could bring Damien back, and that, without him, he had no reason to keep fighting.

Mastema then interrupted and told him that he did have a reason to keep fighting, telling the Demon that he should live for himself and for her. Reminding him that the world needed him, she urged him to fight for what he believed in on the side of good. The Demon wondered if he could really be happy fighting for what he believed in, to which Mastema told him that there was nothing holding him back anymore. The Demon soon realized that Mastema was right and resolved to put his time to good use.

Heroes of Maple:
After a large celebration party, Evan unexpectedly decided to visit Freud’s birthplace, where he found that the other Heroes were also there. Evan was surprised, as they had told him that they had ‘other stuff’ to do and had sent him off like a child. Aran laughed and explained that she had changed her mind, but that it had been worth the trip to see the baffled look on his face.

Mercedes told Aran not to make fun of Evan, reminding her that he had helped them save the world. Luminous noted that it appeared as though they all had the same ‘stuff’ to do. Just then, Phantom appeared in a flash and saw that they had beaten him, though he declared that the star of the show always appeared last.

Mercedes snapped that he was meant to be at another extravagant party, but Evan broke up the fight and told them that with Phantom, all the Heroes were there. As Phantom began smiling, Mercedes asked him what he was smiling about, to which he noted the irony of the grand Heroes who had defeated the Black Mage celebrating in an abandoned shack to mope about their long-lost companion.

Mercedes then suggested watching the moon and stars, which were visible from the broken roof. They wondered whether Freud had ever watched the sky as they had, but Phantom pointed out that there likely hadn’t been a hole in the roof while Freud had still lived there.

Aran mentioned that she recalled how Freud had many holes in his roof, and that he had been too lazy to fix them. (A/N: I love this little detail, as it pretty much confirms that Aran has finally gotten her memories back with the Black Mage’s death.) Shade countered that Freud wasn’t so much lazy as he was content with the feeling of a rundown cottage.

The Heroes then looked back fondly on Freud and his eccentric ways. Soon after, they all prepared to leave when Evan asked when they would see each other again. The Heroes reassured him that they were like family, and that they would see each other again at the next crisis, as they were Maple World’s greatest heroes. (A/N: Each of the Heroes has an individual cutscene that takes place some time after this.)

Aran:
In Rien, Aran arrived to visit Lilin, who was surprised to see her, since Aran was supposed to be at a party. Aran told Lilin that she’d already had her fill of fun and had figured that Lilin could use the company, as Lilin didn’t have a cat or any other pet. Lilin told Aran that she wasn’t a lonely, doddering old woman and told Aran that just because she had helped defeat the Black Mage, it didn’t mean that she could get lazy and fall out of shape, to which Aran laughed that she couldn’t let her gorgeously sculpted muscles go to waste.

Lilin asked if that meant that she had come to train, which Aran confirmed, adding that she wanted to thank Lilin as well, which took Lilin aback. Aran explained that even though everyone was giving her credit for helping defeat the Black Mage, her friends were the real reason why she had won, as their determination had given her the strength that she had needed.

She told Lilin that she had always been her biggest supporter and explained that she couldn’t have done any of it without her. Lilin was left speechless as she blinked back tears before telling Aran to get to training. Aran laughed and told Lilin not to pretend as though she wasn’t touched, as she could plainly see her tears. However, Lilin told Aran that she was mistaken, claiming that the wind had merely blown a snowflake on her face.

Aran smiled before heading out to train alone. After Aran left, Lilin spoke aloud that she would always need Aran, who had appeared to save the day just when she had been about to give up hope. She then added that she was grateful for every day that she got to spend with Aran. (A/N: I’m not crying, you’re crying. I was scared that Nexon wouldn’t do Aran’s story justice, but this might be my favorite one out of all the Heroes’ cutscenes.)

Evan:
In Henesys, Evan returned back to the farm and greeted his family. His mother told him that he had been gone for so long that they had been able to grow a new crop of potatoes to replace the ones that he had set fire to. (A/N: This is a reference to the Black Mage: Origin webcomic, in which Evan accidentally torches all of their potatoes while trying to demonstrate how he can use magic to harvest them. I’m deeply impressed that they actually referenced something in a webcomic within the game itself.)

When Evan told them that he had participated in a major battle, his father jokingly asked if he had single-handedly defeated the Black Mage with a fancy stick, chewing gum, and a heart of gold. Utah then appeared and asked Evan if he had gotten Angelic Buster’s signature, causing Evan to glare at him. (A/N: Utah asking him for Angelic Buster’s signature is one of the running jokes in his class-exclusive cutscenes. Fun fact, if you finish the Heliseum prequests, Edea will straight up give you Angelic Buster’s autograph. It’s worth like 100,000 mesos too.)

Back in Evan’s room, Mir noted that he could sense Evan’s feelings through their bond, and that he had picked up that Evan was worried about living up to Freud’s reputation. Though he understood Evan’s feelings, he pointed out that Evan had helped defeat the Black Mage with his own power, which was something that he should be proud of for the rest of his life. Evan thanked Mir for his words and realized that he did feel proud of himself after all.

Mercedes:
In Elluel, Mercedes was overjoyed to see that the Black Mage’s defeat meant that the curse on the elves had finally been broken. Mercedes welcomed her subjects back and began apologizing for her failure, though all the elves reassured her that she had done everything that she could to protect them.

Athena Pierce then told Mercedes that with the defeat of the Black Mage, she would return the Mistelteinn back to its rightful owner. Mercedes decided to leave it on display in Elluel as a reminder to their people about all the challenges that they had faced and overcome together. With that, Mercedes played Lucid’s old music box to start the celebrations, vowing that Elluel would forever be filled with the sounds of life and joy after centuries of silence.

Phantom:
Later the same evening that the Heroes had met at Freud’s house, Phantom decided to stop by Ereve. There, he watched as Neinheart found Cygnus wandering around the grounds alone. Neinheart asked Cygnus if she wasn’t enjoying the celebrations, but Cygnus told him that she was happier than she had been in a long time. However, the sacrifices and lives lost during the war were weighing heavily on her mind, and so she felt that it wasn’t right to celebrate.

At the same time, she knew that she couldn’t mourn their losses that night, and that she instead needed to put on a brave face for her people, who needed to celebrate. Neinheart smiled and acknowledged her wisdom, after which Cygnus told him that it was time to return to the party. As they left, Phantom noted that he was glad to see what a strong leader she had become, after which he returned to the Lumiere.

There, he met Gaston, who noted that Phantom was late. Phantom told him that he had an important stop to make and asked if the celebration preparations were ready. Gaston told Phantom that since he had been out for a while, everyone had gotten started without him. Phantom smiled and replied that he couldn’t fault them, as it had been a long time since they had reason to celebrate.

Gaston asked if the important stop he had made was in Ereve, as Phantom always had a ruffled expression after visiting. He then asked what Cygnus had told him, to which Phantom explained what he had witnessed, adding that he hadn’t spoken with her, claiming it hadn’t been the right time. After Gaston left, Phantom looked up at the moon and asked Aria if she was still up there watching over him. As petals fluttered around him, Phantom voiced aloud that he like to believe that she was, and if so, he thanked her.

Luminous:
At Lania’s house, Vieren told Luminous that despite having defeated the Black Mage and returning safely, he still seemed unhappy. He then asked what was the matter, to which Luminous reassured him that he was fine, and that he was certain that peace would last for a while. However, he explained that he was having mixed feelings about the Black Mage, noting that despite everything, the Black Mage had still been his other half.

Vieren asked Luminous how he had felt every time he had faced the Black Mage, to which Luminous replied that he had known that the Black Mage needed to be eliminated at all costs, and that it had reminded him of all that he had lost. When Vieren continued pressing, Luminous finally admitted that it had made him disgusted with himself for having come from the same darkness, adding that he couldn’t help but blame himself for everything that the Black Mage had done.

Vieren reminded him that the Black Mage was gone, and that it was time for him to fully accept himself at last. Luminous asked about the darkness still inside him, but Vieren told him that there was darkness in everyone, and that it was part of all of them. He then suggested that Luminous face another great darkness, rather than looking to his own. Luminous wondered whether he deserved to do so, to which Vieren assured him that he did, noting that he still had a lot to protect.

Just then, Lania arrived and told Luminous how glad she was to see him. Vieren pointed out how Luminous’ friends accepted him as he was and urged him to do the same. Luminous then thanked Lania for how she had always shown him such kindness and told her that knowing that she was awaiting him was what kept him going. He also wished Vieren all the best for the future, adding that Aurora’s will would begin anew from now on.

Shade:
After everyone left Freud’s house, Shade was left alone. He realized that the others likely had loved ones to see and considered finding some celebration to go to himself, though he decided against the idea, as Freud’s house was where he felt most at home. He recalled how he had believed that he would fade away after the Black Mage was defeated and how, for a long time, he hadn’t minded the idea, since no one would ever remember him. However, he found that he was glad that he hadn’t disappeared, asking aloud to Freud if that was a good thing like he believed. (A/N: Not me ugly crying that a two-dimensional pixel man doesn’t want to kill himself anymore.)

Kaiser and Angelic Buster:
At Eurenth’s hut, Angelic Buster ran into Kaiser, who told her that he was just leaving, as he had been looking for Tear and believed that he had just missed her. Upon hearing this, Angelic Buster internally cursed herself for not having come sooner. Kaiser then asked what she was doing at Eurenth’s hut. Angelic Buster lied and explained that she was looking for Tear as well, since she hadn’t seen her in a while.

(A/N: During the events of Black Heaven, Kaiser mistakenly concluded that the similarities between Tear and Angelic Buster meant that they’re secretly friends, which is why Angelic Buster makes up a story about not having seen Tear in a while, as it’s part of her cover story. I honestly can’t believe that they’re dragging out this superhero identity thing for so long, does she even have a good reason for keeping it a secret at this point?)

Kaiser told her that Tear was hard to track down, and that he worried about her. Angelic Buster told him not to, as Tear was doing great. When Kaiser pointed out that she had just said that she hadn’t met Tear in a while, Angelic Buster brushed it off by saying that even two days felt like an eternity for close friends.

Kaiser then decided to head out and asked her to say hello to Tear for him. As he began to leave, Angelic Buster felt bad and called after him, making up a story that Tear had asked her to tell him something in the hopes that it would get him to stay. Thinking of an excuse to keep talking, she told him that Tear had wanted to thank him for the sparkling rock at the Heliseum Hideout.

Kaiser asked if she had said anything else, to which Angelic Buster replied that Tear had been touched by the gesture. He asked if she had seemed happy, but he appeared even more sad after Angelic Buster told him that she was. Kaiser explained that it used to be the case that Tear would start crying after he would give her gifts and added that he loved the way that she smiled when she was teary-eyed with joy. He then told Angelic Buster that she was right about him not having to worry, as it sounded like Tear was doing fine on her own, and that she didn’t need him anymore.

(A/N: Kaiser and Angelic Buster cutscenes are usually funny, what is this flood of emotions that they threw at us?)

As he turned to leave, Angelic Buster called after him again and told him to keep waiting, as Tear might come by again. However, Kaiser told her that he didn’t need to, as it was enough for him to know that Tear was okay. After he left, Angelic Buster went to see Eurenth, who noted that she seemed to have a lot on her mind.

Angelic Buster told Eurenth that talking with Kaiser had reminded her of how weak she used to be, and how she would always cry over everything. However, she added that Kaiser hadn’t seemed to mind it, and that he had once even given her good advice when she had been really upset, which was that no matter how dark and stormy it might get, the sun always came to chase the clouds away.

Eurenth then asked her what she was going to do next, since she had now become a real hero. She replied that she was going to make her own celebratory rainbow at the end of a centuries-long storm in order to boost the people’s spirits as Angelic Buster.

Kaiser:
(A/N: This is an exclusive cutscene for Kaiser that takes place several days after the events of the paragraph above.)

In the Great Temple of Pantheon, Kyle met with the Former Kaiser, who asked him why he was visiting, rather than celebrating. Kyle told him that he was afraid that he lacked the conviction needed to be a hero to his people and asked if the Former Kaiser believed that he had what it took to be a great Kaiser.

The Former Kaiser asked why he doubted himself, to which Kyle explained that though they had defeated the Black Mage, they had lost many lives in the process, and he felt that if he had been stronger, he could have saved them. He worried that he wasn’t cut out to be a hero, especially with Grandis being threatened just like Maple World, and that he would be responsible for its destruction if he wasn’t strong enough like him.

The Former Kaiser replied that Kyle had more respect for him than he deserved. He pointed out his own failure to save Heliseum when Darmoor's forces had attacked, as he had arrogantly believed that he could protect the Nova himself, and that the cost of his hubris had been abandoning his people through sacrificing himself. However, he pointed out that Kyle’s actions in helping defeat the Black Mage had saved countless lives.

Kyle told him that many others had sacrificed their lives to help him do so, but the Former Kaiser explained that that was the difference between them, as Kyle was able to rally the people to his cause and have them fight alongside him with dedication through their faith. Kyle argued that it was the precise reason why so many had lost their lives, but the Former Kaiser replied that Kyle had taught them to believe in themselves.

He told Kyle that his responsibilities were more than just protecting innocent lives, and that above all, he needed to protect their spirits and inspire them to fight any evil that threatened their world. He explained that the Nova had remained strong thanks to the leadership of past Kaisers, and Kyle slowly began to understand his point.

Kyle recalled how Tear used to be scared and helpless until she had grown stronger and had become capable of standing up for herself. Though he had initially been sad that Tear didn’t need him anymore, he realized that she ultimately needed to believe in herself in order to be happy. He then vowed to lead others and teach them what they were capable of.

Cadena:
Cadena returned back to Gen’s hideout, where she reunited with Gen and Coney. Gen asked Cadena how her time in Maple World had been, as the look in her eyes made it seem as though she had finally reached the level of strength that she wanted. Cadena told him that though she wasn’t as strong as she wanted to be, she was now finally able to protect herself.

Gen told her not to be humble, as he had heard about her role in defeating the Black Mage. Though he wanted to praise her, he reminded Cadena that she had only taken care of the problem in Maple World, and that Darmoor's threat to Grandis would result in things being much worse than they had been in Maple World. Cadena told him that it was to be expected, as the people of Grandis weren’t as united as the people of Maple World.

To solve that problem, Gen suggested that Cadena reveal herself as the princess of the Nova in order to rally forces into fighting back against the High Flora, as well as to organize an alliance similar to the one on Maple World. However, Cadena told him that she had already torn off her wings, tail, horns, and even her old name, and that she had lost all her connections to the royal bloodline.

She also joked that leadership wasn’t her strong suit, and that she was content to leave it to Kaiser as the Nova Guardian while she took care of the business side like a true Shadowdealer. She then told Gen that she was planning to see the leader of the Shadowdealers. Gen warned her that it could be dangerous, but she replied that nothing excited her as much as playing with danger.

(A/N: GMS messed up on the translation for this part. Instead of having Cadena say that she plans to meet the Shadowdealer boss, she instead says that she’s planning to meet Hazard’s bosses, Darmoor and Magnus.)

Kain:
With the final battle over, Kain wandered around Toolen City, wondering where he could go with no home to get back to. He then smelled dumplings and decided to bring them to Amos and the Chameleon Siblings, who were glad to see him. The siblings were awed to hear about Kain’s role in the final battle and Amos asked what his next plans were.

Kain explained that he still needed to find his sister, Luska. He also added that he was worried about his Malice continuing to grow stronger and feared what that would mean if he were to face Luska again. Amos told him that they should pray that neither he nor Luska need ever use their Malice again, with the Chameleon Siblings also deciding that they wanted to pray with Kain. Kain then recalled a childhood memory of Luska leading him through a prayer that no one would ever use Malice again and decided to make that prayer again with the others.

Back at the abandoned Drakas headquarters, Dr. Y asked Luska how she was feeling. Luska replied that there were no issues, to which Dr. Y added that he was sure that she had heard the news about Kain. Luska explained that Kain was no threat to her, as her Malice was stronger than anything. Satisfied by her answer, Dr. Y told her that it was time to move on with the next phase of their plan.

Illium:
At Sanctuary, Illium finished recounting the battle against the Black Mage to the others. Carnelian was glad to know how Illium had played such a major role, as the Alliance would surely aid the Verdant Flora in return. Though Illium claimed that he hadn’t done it just to win their favor, he noted that he was glad to have made some allies, adding that he had grown fond of Maple World too.

The others agreed, having made many friends in Maple World themselves while searching for the Sanctuary of the Ancient God. However, Carnelian also pointed out that they couldn’t afford to grow complacent. Illium agreed, reminding them that Agate had entrusted him with the Elder Crystal, and with it, the future of the Verdant Flora. The others agreed that they needed to work together in order to make their dream come true.

Illium recalled how they had felt when their home had been attacked by Darius and told them that they couldn’t let anyone threaten Maple World or Grandis, even Darmoor himself. Morian asked if they could really take down Darmoor and return to their ancestral home. Illium reassured him that he was certain that they could and declared that their next destination was mainland Grandis, where everything had begun.

Ark:
As Ark slept, he had a dream of his cadet days with Albaire. (A/N: The caption for the setting says “in fondest memory”. I already know that this is gonna be so gay.) Albaire checked on Ark, who was still in bed, and reminded him that he was going to be late for training. He then noted that Ark looked pale and sweaty and asked if he was sick.

After checking Ark’s temperature, Albaire realized that Ark didn’t have a fever, but he decided to go get help anyways. Ark then called out for Albaire, begging him not to leave. Albaire laughed that he would only be gone for a minute, but Ark told him to promise that he wouldn’t leave, no matter what. Albaire then grinned and asked why he would ever leave Ark. (A/N: At no point was there ever a heterosexual explanation for this.)

Suddenly, Albaire’s eyes turned red and he began to speak in the Specter’s voice. He told Ark that they were in it together, and that he would always be with him. He then began to mock Ark for harboring hope, even at his lowest point. Ark then suddenly found himself in the Abyss, where the Specter scoffed that it hurt to know that he would rather spend time dreaming about his traitorous friend. (A/N: The Specter sounds like the toxic, jealous boyfriend who you want to leave, but can’t.)

Ark demanded to know why the Specter was interfering with his dreams, to which it explained that he had left it no choice, as he had blocked it out every other time. The Specter told Ark that the days he yearned for were long gone, and that the Specter was the only thing that Ark had left. It told Ark that he couldn’t survive without its power, and that his victory against the Black Mage was proof of that.

Ark refuted its claim and told the Specter that it wasn’t even close to the reason why the Alliance had won. He added that though he was stuck with the Specter, he didn’t have to like the situation, and he told it to stop trying to convince him otherwise, as he would have kept fighting even if he didn’t have its power. The Specter merely laughed and replied that Ark would come around eventually, jokingly calling him a friend.

Adele:
Adele returned to Ristonia in order to see Jerome, but she was disappointed to find that he wasn’t at the hideout. However, Brook and Laddie welcomed Adele and told her that they had heard the news about her role in fighting the Black Mage. They then gave her a letter that they had been meaning to give her, though they hadn’t been able to deliver it without knowing where she was. Adele briefly wondered whether it was a trick from Veronica, but after opening it, she found that it was from Jerome.

Jerome had written that he had been following the news about her, and that people everywhere were talking about her. He asked if she remembered how she had saved him at the spire and told her that it was the first time that he had ever seen her smile. He had vowed that day that he would keep her smiling by his side, but he knew that she would be in danger if he was always so weak that she needed to protect him. Because of that, he had decided that he would become a strong king whom no one would challenge.

He reminded her about the key that they had found that could awaken an Ancient God and supposed that it hid an amazing secret, considering how highly sought after it was by the High Flora, joking that it might unlock a power that could save the whole world. Until then, he asked Adele to take care of herself, as she was his only knight.

Adele was glad to know that Jerome was safe, though she wished that she could have seen him. To her surprise, Boo manifested before her and Adele asked Brook and Laddie when they had received the letter. They told her that they had received it ten minutes ago at the fountain square, where someone had given it to one of their members.

She immediately rushed to the fountain, but found no one there. Suddenly, the fountain began glowing and Adele heard the voice of the knight statue telling her to unburden herself of the past and to ignite the flames of her oath for her new liege, as deeper darkness was approaching.

Just then, Jerome was led to the fountain by Boo. Startled to see Adele there, he told Boo that he didn’t want to present himself to her until he became stronger. He then hoped that Adele would wait for him until then. Though he tried to slip away unseen, Adele watched him leave and silently promised to wait for him as well.

Hoyoung:
In Cheong-woon Valley, two children were talking about a mysterious sage claiming to be the disciple of Master Tai Yu who traveled across Maple World and Grandis and helped those in need. Though he had vanished after helping defeat the Black Mage, rumors continued to circulate that the sage still roamed from town to town.

On the roof of the tavern, Hoyoung listened to the children excitedly spreading his story and wished that they would go somewhere else, as they were making it difficult for all his potential customers to find him. Taotie then mocked Hoyoung for taking on petty cases and odd jobs, even after his reputation as a legendary sage had inflated.

Hoyoung laughed and reminded Taotie of the large serpent which had almost killed them in their last ‘petty’ job. Taotie seethed that if he had been able to use his full powers, the monster would have been a mere snack. He asked Hoyoung if he remembered Lord Choi’s offer, which would have given them a grand house with a host of servants and decadent food.

Hoyoung conceded that the spread was nice, but he told Taotie that he really only needed basic spicy soup. He also added that he didn’t see the need to get involved if evil spirits plagued those like Lord Choi, who milked the people of the province dry. Just then, two patrons in the tavern began talking about rumors that a new Transcendent was preparing for war in Grandis, as well as a warrior in Pantheon with dragon horns and a tail who was gathering forces to stand against them, though they wondered if even a Nova Guardian had the power to take on a Transcendent.

Overhearing their conversation, Hoyoung realized that there was someone else with animal ears and a tail making a name for themselves and supposed that they would easily become friends. Taotie clarified that the warrior sounded more like a Nova than an Anima. Hoyoung decided that he would help the Nova Guardian as a friend, against Taotie’s protests that they hadn’t even met yet for him to call them a friend.

Hoyoung then jumped off the roof and told the two children telling his story that he would be out traveling for a while. He then asked them to protect the town with the magic that he had taught them, to which the children protested that he hadn’t even taught them real magic and demanded that he teach them more than just tricks when he returned.

Taotie asked Hoyoung why he insisted on concealing his true identity, as he would have a whole throng of followers if he revealed that he was the legendary sage. Hoyoung replied that in his travels, he had learned that there was no need to chase after the world, but rather, he would be there to take action when the world needed him instead. He added that stories were best when they stayed as stories that could inspire and encourage. Before he left, the children asked for his name, to which he told them that he was but a simple wanderer, echoing his master’s words before him.

Lara:
Lara returned home to her village and greeted the elders, Salom and Dorry, who called over Lara’s grandmother, Sodam. Sodam asked Lara how she had been, to which Lara began explaining about everything that had happened to her, including the secret of the bell. Soon after, Lara returned to Narin Village, as she was eager to see the people whom she had met at the first stop in her journey.

There, she ran into Tough-looking Hyuk, Cheeky Myung, and Licky-lips Yeol. The thugs were pleasantly surprised to see Lara and asked how she was doing, and so Lara explained how she had discovered the secret of the bell during her travels in Maple World, and how she had helped the Alliance fight the Black Mage.

The thugs were impressed by Lara’s bravery, claiming that they would have been too afraid to fight a powerful Transcendent. However, Lara told them that she had only been able to do it thanks to the actions of everyone else who had helped her, including the people of Narin Village, and thanked the trio for helping her start out in her journey.

Just then, Gri appeared and greeted Lara, who told him how much she had missed him. Gri told her that he had heard the rumors of how she had fought the Black Mage, to which Lara replied that she had many stories to tell him. Gri noted that she was still as reckless as ever, though he grinned and added that it was part of her charm. (A/N: Please get married, I’m begging you.)

Zero:
At the Mirror World Temple, the priests congratulated Alpha and Beta for all that they had accomplished. They recalled how the twins had started off on the wrong foot, though Rhinne noted that they had ultimately been able to change Maple World’s future in a way that even she couldn’t. Alpha asked Rhinne how she could trust them so much when he himself barely knew what he was doing.

He admitted that he had helped defeat the Black Mage more for personal vengeance than anything else, though he felt that Transcendents were supposed to fight out of love for Maple World instead. However, Rhinne told him that what they were ‘supposed’ to be was far more complex, as Transcendents existed for a far greater purpose. (A/N: This is a reference to the fact that the Transcendents were created to serve as jailors to the Ancient Gods, which is revealed to them in the Convergence storyline.)

When Beta asked what she meant, Rhinne told them that it was important for them to discover the answer themselves, as she could only say so much.

(A/N: Can we, as a society, please move past this stupid trope of “I can’t tell you, you have to find the answers yourself”? Like the White Mage had absolutely no problem telling us in Convergence, there’s no good reason why Rhinne couldn’t either. Literally every problem in this story could be solved if people learned how to use their big boy words and properly communicate, and the same can be said for real life too.)

Pietta reminded them to take their time in loving Maple World, adding that even Rhinne had to grow into loving the world. She also told them that even though the Black Mage was gone, there were other threats to Maple World that would require them to fight again. Alpha and Beta vowed that after everything that they had done to save Maple World, they would continue to do everything in their power to protect it.

Kinesis:
At the Magician Association headquarters, Kinesis called Yuna and told her about the battle with the Black Mage. Though the Black Mage of Maple World was finally gone, Kinesis told her that the White Mage still existed in their world and asked her to keep an eye on things there. Yuna eagerly told him that she would continue practicing with her powers in order to prepare to face off against him one day.

Jay then asked Kinesis if he was still going to be gone for a while longer, which Kinesis confirmed, explaining that there were many loose ends to tie up. Jay noted how Kinesis had been gone for a while and asked if he ever got lonely. Just then, Three Moon and Nero arrived, ready to hear about the final battle, causing Kinesis to smile and tell Jay that it wasn’t so bad. As he prepared to hang up, he warned Jay to be careful and told him that as long as the White Mage was still around, nobody was safe.

(A/N: These classes aren’t canon, but I included them here for the sake of completionism. I also included these in the GMS-verse part of the site.)

Jett:
After the battle with the Black Mage, Jett returned to her crew, who were glad to have her back. They explained that Maple World was abuzz with stories of her role in defeating the Black Mage and joked that she must have gotten a huge bounty for it, to which Jett apologized for being away for so long. She then pulled out the Core and, staring intently at it, noted that she had been through a lot on Maple World, and that the planet was growing on her.

Clenching her fist around the Core, she noted that because of her experiences and the time she had spent with others, she had come to realize that having people that she could rely on was more powerful than any Core. However, she lamented that it had taken her too long to realize it, as so many good people had been lost in the war. Nevertheless, her crew eagerly told her that there would never be another hero like her, adding that she had done them all proud. They then asked what came next, to which Jett amusedly told them that there were still many criminals for her to hunt down and bring to justice.

Kanna:
Several days after the victory at Tenebris, Princess Sakuno addressed the Sengoku Warriors at Momijigaoka. She told the soldiers that when they had first joined forces with the Alliance, their goal had simply been to vanquish Oda Nobunaga, and that they never would have suspected that their battle would have taken them to Maple World, where they would meet new enemies and allies alike. Having fought with the Alliance, she proudly proclaimed that they had vanquished the Black Mage, whom she called the greatest evil of all. She then congratulated the troops for their dedication before presenting Kanna, whom she described as having led the battle with courage and honor.

As the soldiers cheered Kanna, Shingen noted that the time for celebration was upon them. Yukimura also proudly told Kanna that she had been impressive, and that he could learn much from her. Kenshin warmly told Kanna that she had become a blade of justice to cut down her foes, though Kanetsugu stubbornly reminded her that she still wasn’t as great as Kenshin. Haruaki then told Kanna that she had exceeded all expectations, even exceeding his wildest dreams.

Motonari proudly noted that the Sengoku Warriors were now feared and renowned worldwide, which was an excellent position for them. However, Sakuno then reminded the crowd that the path ahead was still difficult, as Oda Nobunaga, Akechi Mitsuhide, and the villains of Grandis were still enemies that they were yet to face. However, she proclaimed that their unbreakable bonds of unity would see them prevail the battles ahead. With that, she declared that they would celebrate their victory in Kanna’s honor.

Later that night, Kanna was standing amidst the cherry blossom trees when Haku pointed out Hayato standing on the castle balcony with Princess Sakuno. He then proposed that they sneak up and eavesdrop on the conversation, though Kanna scolded him for suggesting it, reminding him that eavesdropping was wrong, and that it would be rude to Sakuno. Haku pouted over Kanna worrying about Sakuno, asking when the last time was when she had tended to his needs by feeding him Star Candy. Amused, Kanna fed several pieces of candy to Haku, who was placated.

Just then, Haruaki found Kanna and approvingly noted that she was enjoying the party. He then commended Kanna, explaining that she had saved the world and honored the ways of the Spirit Walker in the process. He then asked how she had found her way when she had entered the heart of chaos, where evil flowed freely. Kanna admitted that it had been difficult, as there had been times at the darkness had been so great that she could no longer see the cycles of the spirit.

However, as she had continued stumbling blindly, a single light had pierced through the darkness, which had embodied the hopes, dreams, and determination of everyone who had been counting on her. As an afterthought, she added that Haku had helped as well, to which Haku wagged his tail and proudly proclaimed that he had indeed. Haruaki warmly smiled and noted that he couldn’t have done a better job himself. However, he added that her journey as a Spirit Walker was far from over, as there were still many evils in the world. With that, he excused himself, explaining that he was needed elsewhere.

Hayato:
Several days after the victory at Tenebris, Princess Sakuno addressed the Sengoku Warriors at Momijigaoka. She told the soldiers that when they had first joined forces with the Alliance, their goal had simply been to vanquish Oda Nobunaga, and that they never would have suspected that their battle would have taken them to Maple World, where they would meet new enemies and allies alike.

Having fought with the Alliance, she proudly proclaimed that they had vanquished the Black Mage, whom she called the greatest evil of all. She then congratulated the troops for their dedication before presenting Hayato, whom she described as having led the battle with courage and honor. As the soldiers cheered Hayato, Shingen noted that the time for celebration was upon them. Yukimura also proudly told Hayato that he had been impressive, adding that he had also taught him much. (A/N: English is a dumb language so just to clarify, Yukimura is saying that Hayato had taught him much.)

Kenshin warmly told Hayato that he had become a blade of justice to cut down his foes, though Kanetsugu stubbornly reminded him that he still wasn’t as great as Kenshin. Haruaki then told Hayato that he had exceeded all expectations, even exceeding Haruaki’s wildest dreams. Motonari proudly noted that the Sengoku Warriors were now feared and renowned worldwide, which was an excellent position for them.

However, Sakuno then reminded the crowd that the path ahead was still difficult, as Oda Nobunaga, Akechi Mitsuhide, and the villains of Grandis were still enemies that they were yet to face. However, she proclaimed that their unbreakable bonds of unity would see them prevail the battles ahead. With that, she declared that they would celebrate their victory in Hayato’s honor.

Later that night, Hayato found Sakuno in her chambers. Sakuno once again thanked Hayato for the crucial role he had played in their victory. Hayato dismissed her words, claiming that he had only done his duty, though he apologized for not being able to stay by her side during the battle. However, Sakuno waved away his apology, noting that he had far more important things to be worrying about at the time.

She then recalled how they had known each other for a long time, and how, even when they had been young, he would throw himself into danger without a second thought if he believed that it was right. She then proudly noted that in their adulthood, he had become the savior of Maple World and the hero of the Sengoku Warriors. She explained that by defeating the Black Mage, he hadn’t merely protected her, but the entire world.

She then told Hayato that he had always been her noble sword, and that she knew that he would continue to be so. Moved by her words, Hayato proclaimed that she was his light, and that the memory of her voice was what had saved him when he had been swallowed by the darkness. He then declared that his sword would always serve her. Sakuno graciously thanked Hayato and told him that if he was prepared, she had a new quest for him. She then asked Hayato to gaze up at the moon and tell each other stories of home. Though Hayato was flustered by her request, he nevertheless obeyed.

Beast Tamer:
After the battle with the Black Mage, Chase and the Critter Champs returned home to Arboren, where she visited the people of Stump Town and the people of her hometown, Canopy Town, who had traveled there to meet her.

(A/N: When she arrives, the people of Stump Town greet her with those speech bubbles that disappear after a few seconds. I was surprised that the speech bubbles have them call her the Adversary, rather than just her name. Even though every class is given credit for having personally defeated the Black Mage in their individual cutscenes, this is the first time that I’ve ever seen a class being explicitly referenced as the Adversary.)

After a large celebration and a sumptuous feast, Chase said her farewells and headed to the port. There, she told the Critter Champs how relieved she was that Arboren was as peaceful as ever. Arby joked that she wouldn’t call the extravagant party a sign of peace, though she added that it wasn’t every day that a true hero like her came through. Lai concurred and told Chase that only a true hero could have brought Maple World back from the brink of darkness.

Chase then confessed that after having met so many great people and facing down the greatest threat that Maple World had ever seen, she had realized that she could never be like the legendary Heroes of Maple because they had done everything by themselves, while she had learned that no one could save the world on their own, as it was a team effort.

She then told the Critter Champs that they were the real heroes and fondly called them her friends. Eka then corrected her, admitting that Chase was just as important to the team as them. Arby then asked Chase whether she remembered the day when they had first met. She explained that ever since Chase had freed her from her cage, she had always known that Chase would be a real hero.

Chase grinned and told the Critter Champs that they were right. She then swore as the hero of Maple World that she would always protect its people, adding that she could only do so with the Critter Champs’ help. The Critter Champs eagerly agreed as they all looked ahead for their next big adventure.

Paths Converge Here:
Soon after, the Adversary received a letter from Cygnus, detailing how the Cygnus Knights were busy helping with the rebuilding efforts. She asked if they would be willing to help out with a new mission, but as the information was sensitive, she called them back to the Outpost in order to discuss it. At the redesigned Outpost, they ran into Ollie, who told them that she was glad to see them again, explaining that the Alliance was busy defeating the last monsters in Esfera and capturing the Black Mage’s Commanders.

The Adversary decided to ask Neinheart about it, but Ollie warned that Neinheart had been in a bad mood for the past week. The Adversary met with Neinheart and immediately recognized that he wasn’t looking well. Neinheart told them that he had been completely overwhelmed, and that Ereve’s funds were low because of the war effort, meaning that there was hardly anything left for rebuilding Maple World.

Though he was at a loss for how to make up the deficit, he explained that Cygnus had an idea for how to do so. At the conference table, Cygnus greeted them and explained that rather than using armies, she planned to create a small, elite team composed of the Alliance’s most talented people and asked if they would be willing to be part of the Glory Guard, which the Adversary accepted without hesitation.

(A/N: With the end of the Aftermath storyline, here’s the Genesis Weapon liberation storyline. Before I get into it, there’s an important disclaimer that I’m obligated to mention here. I’ve gone back and forth with several people about the canonicity of the Genesis Weapon, and while I won’t say that the Genesis Weapon is non-canon, I also don’t believe that it’s strictly canon in an overarching sense.

What’s considered canon in this game is highly dependent on each person’s own individual playthrough of the story. For instance, while there’s a strong implication that an Explorer, and most likely a Hero, is the canonical Adversary, that’s all it is - an implication. At no point has Nexon ever come out and said that this is a hard fact. Because of this, the idea that there’s no absolute timeline in regard to which characters did what in the Adversary storyline is something that’s objective incontrovertible.

In the past several years, Nexon has consistently been making an effort to individualize the story experience. The Adversary storyline is set up in such a way that it’ll slightly modify its dialogue depending on whether or not you completed certain optional storylines. In the Hotel Arcus storyline, for example, the Adversary won’t recognize Senya if they didn’t do Detective Rave’s Case Notes. Similarly, in the Labyrinth of Suffering, we don’t recognize the Elixir of Life if we didn’t do the Azwan storyline.

What this means is that there’s no such thing as a “canonical” playthrough. If you didn’t do those storylines, the Adversary canonically didn’t do them, relative to your own playthrough, because the dialogue itself has been changed to validate your choice to skip those storylines. If you did do them, then those events are canon to that specific individual playthrough alone.

A few people I’ve spoken with disagree about this, but if I’m being perfectly honest, I still don’t get the argument for saying that completing everything is what canonically happened. Some video games have the creators come out and say things like “the good ending is canon” or “every story path happened in a different timeline”. Nexon hasn’t done anything of the sort, and on the contrary, they’ve bent over backwards to create unique dialogue in order to have the story make complete sense no matter which storylines you do or don’t do.

The idea that the Adversary canonically went to Reverse City or Yum Yum Island, to me, seems like a personal assumption that people are treating as a hard fact. That’s not to say that there isn’t perfectly good reason to believe this, since almost every video game in existence treats the player completing every storyline as canon, but that’s the key difference between those games and this one - Nexon hasn’t said what’s canon and what isn’t, and so claiming that there’s one specific playthrough that’s objectively canon is a factually incorrect statement.

In regard to the Genesis Weapon storyline, there are people who believe that whether or not we’ve liberated in the game, the Adversary canonically holds the Genesis Weapon in the Grandis storyline. Like I’ve mentioned before, Nexon has consistently been creating exclusive dialogue for every possible case in which we didn’t do an optional storyline in the Adversary’s journey. I find it extremely hard to believe that the Genesis Weapon questline just magically happens to be the one single optional storyline in the entire game that somehow absolutely had to have happened no matter what.

Not completing Detective Rave’s Case Notes is one thing, but if the Genesis Weapon is supposed to be this hugely significant plot point, why on earth would they make it one of the most inaccessible storylines in the entire game? If we didn’t meet Senya, you can easily course correct for that by having her quickly introduce herself to us, just like what happens in Hotel Arcus if you skipped that storyline.

But if we don’t have the Genesis Weapon, then what? Are we just supposed to close our eyes and play make-believe that we actually do have one? Will Neinheart drop by in the middle of the Darmoor fight and conveniently hand us one that he liberated on our behalf? It’s a huge stretch of my imagination to believe that they can create any sort of conditional dialogue for that situation if the Genesis Weapon is meant to be so pivotal to the plot that it absolutely has to be introduced into the story one way or another.

Like I said before, the canonicity of events is wholly dependent on your own playthrough. If you do have a Genesis Weapon, then canonically, the Adversary has it in that particular version of the story. But I would be extremely surprised if the Genesis Weapon plays any meaningful role whatsoever in the overall story, to the point that I don’t even consider it to be worth speculating about how it’ll factor into the plot. At most, I see them making one or two throwaway lines about Darmoor sensing the Black Mage’s power within us, and that’ll probably be the end of it, especially when the story direction of Grandis is already taking us towards massive levels of powercreep anyways, even without the Genesis Weapon.

With all that being said, however, I could honestly be completely wrong, and the Genesis Weapon might actually somehow end up becoming a non-trivial plot point in the future. Nexon is physically incapable of consistency, and so it’s entirely possible that they’ll make this extremely niche storyline canon and expect everyone to magically know what happened in it, but for now, I’m rolling with the assumption that even they can’t be this devoid of common sense by randomly contradicting their model of creating conditional exclusive dialogue, just for the sake of shoehorning in something that didn’t even need to be a thing in the first place.

For the purposes of this section, however, I’m assuming that the Adversary does liberate the Genesis Weapon, since I’ve been making the assumption that we do complete every optional storyline in the game. There are quite a number of glaring plot holes in the Genesis Weapon storyline, which makes me even more hesitant about seeing it as canon, but since we’ve already survived a few hundred plot holes from the start of the story up ‘til now, what’s a dozen more?)

Soon after the final battle, Neinheart reached out to the Adversary and thanked them once again for defeating the Black Mage and bringing peace to Maple World. However, he explained that even though the Black Mage was now dead, there were several questions that still remained. He told the Adversary that they had discovered something several days ago, and that the entire Alliance had come together in order to investigate it.

However, as the Alliance was experiencing certain problems that they couldn’t overcome on their own, he asked the Adversary whether they would help in the investigation efforts. After the Adversary agreed, Neinheart asked them to travel to Limina in order to defeat an afterimage of the Black Mage, which had appeared in the area.

(A/N: The concept of afterimages isn’t new to the game, as the idea was introduced way back in the Magatia town storyline, in which a ghost named Parwen sends you to an afterimage of an alchemist named Dr. De Lang in the past. While you can interact with Dr. De Lang, you’re basically just talking to an echo of something that isn’t there anymore, which means that you’re not really changing the past, similar to how things work in the Morass. We travel to what I’m assuming is the afterimage of the Temple of Darkness in Limina, since the actual area doesn’t exist anymore after the giant began scattering into Erda.

The way that afterimages work in the game is extremely nebulous, since there’s no defined way of how they form nor the extent to which they can interact with the physical world. I’m also not sure that I like the lore implications of there being a tangible copy of the Black Mage who looks and talks and thinks just like the real thing, not to mention that he has exact same power levels.

It seems really contrived to me for an echo to be able to perfectly replicate the strength of two Transcendents when Transcendent powers are both highly unique and highly regulated, especially since the Black Mage’s echo in the Morass was said to be weaker than the real thing. If you can have a replica of yourself at your most powerful stationed somewhere, what’s stopping literally anyone from making afterimages of themselves for their own purposes? Darmoor wouldn’t even need Apostles if he could just make twelve copies of himself having the full powers of life and time.)

The Adversary then entered the Temple of Darkness, where they encountered the afterimage of the Black Mage. After defeating him, the Adversary traveled to Ereve, where they found Neinheart and Grendel awaiting them. Noting that the Adversary had defeated the Black Mage’s afterimage, Neinheart explained that it served as further proof of their strength, which meant that they were ready to see what the Alliance had discovered. He showed the Adversary a chest dripping with dark energy, explaining that after the Black Mage’s death, Alliance members investigating the area had discovered some type of weapon inside the giant’s heart.

Believing that the Black Mage had left it behind, the Alliance members had taken it back to Ereve, where Grendel had locked it away. Grendel told the Adversary that he had inspected the weapon in every possible way that he could, and that his investigation had led him to conclude that it contained incredible potential. He explained that it was called the Genesis Weapon, which contained the powers of creation and destruction that the Black Mage had wielded.

Neinheart told the shocked Adversary that the Alliance believed that the weapon had the power to face an even greater enemy, and that they hoped to take advantage of it as the catalyst that the Alliance needed in order to become stronger and defend their world against the coming threat. Grendel explained that in order to control something that strong, the wielder would need to become that much more powerful, as otherwise, they could never hope to wield such a weapon.

As only someone with the ability to control that power could wield the Genesis Weapon, Grendel told the Adversary that they were the first person that the Alliance had thought of. He then opened the chest and invited the Adversary to inspect the weapon. The Adversary was surprised to find that the Genesis Weapon looked identical to their own. Neinheart explained that he believed that the Black Mage had intended to leave the weapon behind specifically for them. However, he added that they needed to be cautious, as it was still a weapon created by the Black Mage.

He explained that he had asked them to defeat the Black Mage’s afterimage as a test in order to ensure that they wouldn’t lose control of the weapon’s power. Grendel added that there was one final test, though it would be administered by the Genesis Weapon itself. As the weapon was sealed with a mysterious strength, he explained that the Adversary would need to remove the seal in order to unlock its full potential.

Neinheart told the Adversary that both he and Grendel suspected that the key to unlocking the seal had to lie with the Black Mage and his Commanders, though he warned that they could be certain that anything to do with the Black Mage and his Commanders wouldn’t be easy. He then allowed the Adversary to think on whether they were willing to embark on such a dangerous mission, as they had already saved the world and defeated a god, meaning that the decision was theirs alone whether to return to the difficult path.

(A/N: Liberating the Genesis Weapon isn’t just difficult from a story perspective, but it’s also very grueling in-game. In order to successfully liberate it, you need to defeat Hard Black Mage a total of eight times, and you also have to defeat eight of his Commanders under specific conditions that weaken your overall damage. Since you can only clear the Black Mage boss fight once a month, it takes eight months at minimum to completely liberate the Genesis Weapon, assuming that you do everything perfectly.)

After considering it, the Adversary agreed to unseal the Genesis Weapon and claim the power within. Neinheart explained that according to Grendel, they could imbue the Genesis Weapon with Traces of Darkness by defeating afterimages of the Commanders. He told the Adversary that the Black Mage had given his Commanders power from the Traces of Darkness, and that the traces would appear in the place of the Commanders’ afterimages as soon as they disappeared. The Adversary then traveled to the Lion King’s Castle, where they defeated Von Leon’s afterimage.

(A/N: I have no idea why we’re fighting an afterimage of Von Leon when the living, breathing Von Leon is standing literally five feet away from him. I also can’t tell you why the writers didn’t think that having two Von Leons in the same room wouldn’t be an obvious problem. For the purposes of liberation, there are a few criteria for this boss fight. You have to fight Hard Von Leon alone with just the Genesis Weapon, your secondary weapon, and your Arcane Symbols. There’s also a 90% final damage reduction, and only the base stats of your equipment will be counted.)

The Adversary then returned back to Ereve, where Grendel greeted them and noted that they had successfully managed to imbue the Genesis Weapon with the Trace of Darkness inside Von Leon’s afterimage. After examining the weapon, however, Grendel explained that there was still a missing element. He speculated that they would likely need part of the Black Mage’s power in order to unleash the weapon’s strength.

Neinheart realized that the Adversary would likely need to face the Black Mage’s afterimage once again, and so he asked them to defeat the afterimage and obtain a Black Mage Remnant from within. The Adversary returned back to Limina and successfully defeated the afterimage, after which they traveled to the Dimensional Schism and obtained another Trace of Darkness from within Arkarium’s afterimage.

(A/N: For the purposes of liberation, you have to defeat Normal Arkarium with the same requirements as the Von Leon battle, with the only difference being that your final damage reduction is 75% instead of 90%.)

After defeating Arkarium’s afterimage, the Trace of Darkness inside him was imbued into the weapon, which the Adversary brought back to Ereve. There, Grendel extracted the magical power from within the Black Mage Remnant and transferred it inside the Genesis Weapon. Immediately after the power transfer, everyone nearby experienced a vision of Arkarium from shortly after the World Tree incident, in which he restored his human form after Damien had nearly killed him, after which the Black Mage ordered him to escort Tana through the Arcane River.

(A/N: I’ve already covered the full details of all the Genesis Weapon flashbacks throughout this website in chronological order, and so I’ll just summarize them in this section, rather than copying and pasting what happened in full, just for the sake of avoiding redundancy. If you want to know the full details of what happens in this flashback, see the end of the Heroes of Maple section.)

Neinheart realized that according to the memory, Arkarium had needed his staff in order to fully restore his powers after having barely survived his battle with Damien. Grendel realized that the staff’s power had likely been similar to that of the Black Mage, adding that the combination of the Commander’s power and the Black Mage’s power must have been quite potent. He then realized that it served as confirmation that in order to fully unseal the Genesis Weapon, they would need part of the Black Mage’s power through his afterimages, as well as those of his Commanders.

The Adversary then returned back to Limina, where they defeated the Black Mage’s afterimage once again and obtained a Black Mage Remnant. They then traveled to Tyrant’s Castle in Heliseum, where they defeated Magnus’ afterimage and obtained a Trace of Darkness from inside him, which was absorbed into the Genesis Weapon. (A/N: For the purposes of liberation, you have to defeat Hard Magnus with the usual restrictions. This time, your damage reduction is 50%.)

After the Adversary returned back to Ereve, Grendel began infusing the Black Mage Remnant’s power into the weapon, resulting in one of Magnus’ memories flowing into their minds. They witnessed the memory of Hilla confronting Magnus during the Dimension Invasion crisis, in which Magnus had told Hilla that the Black Mage’s will was quite different from the one whom he served. (A/N: If you want the full details of this flashback, see the Dimension Invasion section.)

Next, the Adversary defeated the Black Mage’s aftermath again and obtained the Black Mage Remnant, after which they traveled to the Scrapyard and defeated Lotus’ afterimage, from whom they obtained a Trace of Darkness.

(A/N: The requirements start easing up a bit from here. Your final damage reduction is now 20% and the criteria for only base stats counting and equipping only the Genesis Weapon, your secondary weapon, and Arcane Symbols have been alleviated.)

After the Trace of Darkness was absorbed into the Genesis Weapon, the Adversary returned back to Ereve, where Grendel transferred the power of the Black Mage Remnant into the weapon. Grendel noted that it had accumulated considerable power, and that it seemed like the first stage of that power was ready to be awakened. After he unlocked the first restraint on the weapon, the Adversary found that the weapon held the ability to use a portion of the Black Mage’s Transcendent powers of destruction, allowing them to summon the Tanadian Ruin.

(A/N: The Tanadian Ruin skill gives you a permanent final damage increase by 10%. Originally, it used to give a buff that activated when you attacked something, which increased your final damage by 15% for 30 seconds, with a cooldown of 90 seconds.)

Neinheart then told the Adversary that the next afterimage that they would need to face would be Damien’s, from whom they would need to obtain the Trace of Darkness.

(A/N: The Demon gets exclusive dialogue here, in which he’s shocked to know that he’ll need to face Damien again in order to obtain the Trace of Darkness left behind by the Black Mage. He wonders to himself if there’s really no way to break the cycle, noting that he doesn’t think that he could ever wash away the sins that he’s committed against his brother.

He thinks to himself that he doesn’t have the confidence to face Damien in the afterlife, as he feels that Damien would resent him for what had happened to him. He then wonders whether Damien would still consider him his brother when they meet again. Just like in FriendStory, the dialogue will say ‘sister’ instead of ‘brother’ if the player is female.

Neinheart then asks if there’s a problem and notes that the Demon looks angry, adding that it seems like he’d rather not fight one of his own kind. However, he reminds the Demon that he needs to find the Trace of Darkness that the Black Mage has left behind, though he admits that it’s a difficult decision, and that anyone would have misgivings.

He attempts to help the Demon cope with what he has to do by asking him to view it as him helping the people whom Damien had exploited to break the cycle and find peace. His words help the Demon change his perspective, giving him the resolve needed to face his brother again. After seeing that the Demon’s mind has been made up, Neinheart asks him to obtain the Trace of Darkness.)

The Adversary then defeated the Black Mage’s afterimage once again and obtained the Black Mage Remnant, after which they traveled to the Dark World Tree and defeated Damien’s afterimage. (A/N: The only requirements for this fight are that you need to defeat Hard Damien alone, and that you only have 5 lives to beat him.) After the Genesis Weapon absorbed the Trace of Darkness, the Adversary returned back to Ereve, where Grendel infused the Black Mage Remnant’s powers into the weapon.

(A/N: The Demon gets exclusive dialogue here, in which he notes to himself that the power that the Black Mage had tied to him seems to be loosening. He wonders whether he’s starting to feel free from what’s been holding him back, after which he wonders whether Damien is at peace now. He then hopes to himself that when they meet again, they’ll both be able to smile.)

As the Black Mage Remnant’s power was transferred into the weapon, everyone was able to see one of Damien’s memories, in which they witnessed his first meeting with Von Leon. In the memory, Von Leon had learned that Damien saw him as a kindred spirit, as both of them had lost loved ones and had chosen the path of corruption. However, Von Leon had merely told Damien that some things were impossible, even for the Black Mage, and that even if Damien were to bring his mother back to life, his tainted soul wasn’t fit to be anywhere near her. (A/N: If you want the full details of this flashback, see the Root Abyss section.)

Next, the Adversary defeated the Black Mage’s afterimage and obtained the Black Mage Remnant, after which they traveled to Esfera and faced Will’s afterimage.

(A/N: Just like with the Temple of Darkness, I can only assume that there was somehow a whole afterimage of the White Sun alongside Will, since you could only get to where he was through a Mirror World portal to the White Sun, and then through another Mirror World portal to where the ritual was taking place. The restrictions for this boss fight are that you have to fight Hard Will with a 10% increase in damage taken, including from HP attacks.)

After absorbing the Trace of Darkness inside Will’s afterimage into the Genesis Weapon, the Adversary returned back to Ereve, where Grendel infused the power of the Black Mage Remnant into the weapon. As the power transfer occurred, a memory from Will’s past flooded into the minds of everyone nearby, allowing them to learn how Will had become a Commander after the Black Mage’s unsealing, as well as the fact that while he had become the Black Mage’s sole confidante, he had begun to suspect that the Black Mage had secretly been planning for something more than Genesis. (A/N: If you want the full details of this flashback, see the Root Abyss section.)

The Adversary then obtained another Black Mage Remnant from the Black Mage’s afterimage, after which they traveled to Lachelein and faced Lucid’s afterimage, from whom they obtained another Trace of Darkness that the Genesis Weapon absorbed into itself. (A/N: For this boss fight, you have to face Hard Lucid, and the only potions that you can use are 50 Challenger’s Elixirs, which are basically identical to Power Elixirs.)

After Grendel transferred the Black Mage Remnant’s power into the Genesis Weapon, everyone was able to see a memory of Lucid after the Adversary defeated her in Lachelein. They learned that within the darkness of her mind, Lucid had desperately attempted to reach the Black Mage’s subconsciousness in order to reach him one last time. In the brief instant that she had entered his mind, Lucid had stumbled across a memory filled with pain, sadness, relief, and unbridled hatred. (A/N: If you want the full details of this flashback, see the Lachelein section.)

With only one Commander left to face, the Adversary obtained another Black Mage Remnant from the Black Mage’s afterimage and then faced Verus Hilla’s afterimage, from whom they obtained the final Trace of Darkness, which was imbued into the Genesis Weapon.

(A/N: In yet another exercise that wears out our suspension of disbelief, the labyrinth was erased and replaced by the waterfalls of Limina after the final Labyrinth Core is destroyed by Orchid, which means that you can’t have them both exist at the same time. Yet we now have afterimages of both places superimposed on top of each other in a way that magically lets you visit whichever one you want, even as the actual giant in Limina is decomposing into nothingness as we speak. If there was ever a moment for Lucid to us that this is all a bad, horribly-written dream, now would the time.

In any case, there aren’t any restrictions on fighting Verus Hilla. It’s actually even easier because you get to skip phase 1 and go straight into phase 2, meaning that her total HP is reduced by 25%.)

After the Adversary returned back to Ereve, Grendel used the last Black Mage Remnant to imbue the Genesis Weapon with the entirety of its power. He then fully broke the seal on the weapon, unlocking its full potential and allowing the Adversary to use a portion of the Black Mage’s Transcendent powers of creation, with which they could summon the Aeonian Rise.

(A/N: After fully liberating the Genesis Weapon, you get it fully scrolled with Spell Trace 15% enhancements for your class and 22 stars, both of which can’t be changed. However, you can still change the unique potential and epic bonus potential that it gets. The Aeonian Rise skill allows you to become invincible for 10 seconds, and when the skill ends, it unleashes a powerful attack.)

Neinheart congratulated the Adversary for fully awakening the power of the Genesis Weapon, explaining that he now understood why the Black Mage might have left such a weapon behind. He told the Adversary that while they had been fighting the afterimages of the Black Mage and his Commanders, the Alliance had been doing follow-up investigations regarding the memories that they had seen of the Commanders, adding that he was certain that those memories were the very reason why the Black Mage had left the Genesis Weapon with them.

He explained that there were four things that he had concluded from the memories. First, the Black Mage had desired for something more than Genesis. Second, Lucid had sensed great animosity from within the Black Mage’s subconsciousness towards someone. Third, there were some things that were impossible, even for the Black Mage himself. Finally, the Black Mage’s will was quite different from the one whom Magnus served.

Neinheart told the Adversary that the Alliance believed that the Black Mage’s desire for something greater than Genesis had stemmed from the animosity that he held towards some unknown being, and that he had trusted the Adversary with fulfilling what he couldn’t. Grendel noted that while the Black Mage might be gone, his plans hadn’t completely failed yet.

Neinheart added that what had transpired made sense, as someone as big the Black Mage wouldn’t have simply disappeared without leaving something behind. He noted that on top of that, disappearing without having fulfilled his purpose would have been an even more undesirable ending for him.

The Adversary was surprised to know that the Black Mage’s designs had extended so far, to which Neinheart told them that the Alliance would keep investigating in the meantime, as all they had to go on was speculation. As none of them knew of the Black Mage’s true intentions, Neinheart told the Adversary that he would contact them once he had more information, adding that they should also let him know if they discover anything else.

Convergence:

Some time after the defeat of the Black Mage, Neinheart summoned the Adversary to the Outpost, where he told them that the Alliance had found Will unconscious in the Origin Sea shortly after the Black Mage’s death. (A/N: This is likely because Orchid won their fight at the end of the Esfera storyline.) As Will had been the only Commander to know about and fully approve of the Black Mage’s goals, the Alliance had secretly relocated him to Maple World in order to interrogate him.

Though he had only recently regained consciousness, Will had appeared to be unexpectedly cooperative, to the point that Neinheart was growing suspicious. He asked the Adversary if they would be willing to visit Will, where Grendel the Really Old was questioning him. After the Adversary agreed, Neinheart escorted them from the Outpost to Ereve, where the Adversary pointed out the risk of keeping Will so close to the Empress.

Neinheart reassured them that Ereve was the most secure place in Maple World, though he added that it troubled him to keep such a great enemy there. However, he was confident that Will would be instrumental in helping them plan future battles. The Adversary asked what other battles there could be, to which Neinheart told them about Melange, who had disappeared shortly after the defeat of the Black Mage.

He then gave them a letter from Edea, which had been sent shortly after Melange had first joined the Arcane River expedition. Edea had written that she had finished investigating Melange, as per Neinheart’s request, and that though she normally considered Neinheart distrusting his allies to be ridiculous, she believed that his suspicions were right in Melange’s case.

She explained that Melange had initially claimed to be the disciple of a great magician, though she had later learned that he had been expelled for practicing forbidden magic. Furthermore, not only was Melange both highly skilled in several branches of magic and extraordinarily powerful, but he also had great knowledge about the Transcendents, far greater than that of the Alliance’s allies in Grandis.

Neinheart told the Adversary that because of Melange’s unusually vast knowledge, he hadn’t been able to afford risking losing Melange’s trust by taking him into custody, and so he had settled for keeping an eye on him. However, Melange had easily managed to escape the guards that Neinheart had sent to escort him to Ereve after the battle of Tenebris, and his whereabouts and plans remained a mystery.

When the Adversary learned that Neinheart planned to go after Melange, they asked if it would be safe to leave Will with fewer guards. Neinheart reassured them that as Will’s powers had been tied to the Black Mage, he wouldn’t pose a risk, especially with a Chief Knight assigned to his cell to keep him under constant surveillance.

Suddenly, the ground began to quake as the Adversary headed to the prison with Neinheart. There, they found Oz fighting Soot monsters, which she claimed had come from inside the prison. After helping her defeat them, they rushed inside and found Hawkeye fighting several more monsters. The Adversary quickly took care of them, after which Hawkeye reported that Will had done something to Grendel, causing him to vanish. Just then, an Alliance soldier arrived and reported that he had brought Grendel’s apprentices, Elwin and Lily. (A/N: We were first introduced to Elwin and Lily during the events of FriendStory.)

Elwin and Lily explained that when Grendel had first touched the core fragment from Gloom, he had seen the countless futures that led to despair, which had caused him to start sympathizing with the Black Mage about his dream of creating a world without such pain. Because of that, Grendel had gone to see Will, who had recognized that Grendel had touched the core. He had noted that Grendel must have felt what he himself had felt, though he had then corrected himself, explaining that Grendel must only feel regret and despair now that the Black Mage was gone.

Will had added that humankind was now doomed, trapped and relegated to languish from the laws that bound their broken world. However, Grendel had retorted that broken things could be mended, and that it was no excuse for the Black Mage’s plans, as he would have destroyed everything and everyone. He had added that despite everything, humans longed to keep living, which Will had agreed with, though he had replied that to people like himself and Grendel, choosing to live in such a way was shameful, and a fate worse than death.

Grendel had then told Will that he had seen the future that the Black Mage had chosen, in which he had intended for the Adversary to kill Tana. Will had confirmed that it was indeed the future which the Black Mage had intended, to which Grendel had replied that even that future had branched off into several other paths, though Will had claimed that such a thing wasn’t possible. Grendel had then explained that the Black Mage wasn’t the only Transcendent trying to overthrow the natural order, causing a shocked Will to wonder whether it was the work of Gerand Darmoor.

Grendel had then asked Will what the Transcendents were, and for what purpose they had been created. Will had laughed and replied that someone had once told him that truth was a sweet poison, and that it was sometimes better to avoid it. He had added that in that sense, there were no bigger fools than himself and Grendel, as neither of them could give up their insatiable hunger for the truth. Will had then taken out another core and given it to Grendel, who, upon touching it, had vanished in a flash, after which the Soot monsters had begun appearing.

Lily then told them that Grendel had been acting strange ever since he had touched the first core fragment, though it had been nothing like what had happened with the second core. Hawkeye asked Will what he had done with Grendel, to which Will replied that he had merely given Grendel a nudge in the right direction on the path laid out by the Black Mage.

He explained that if Gloom’s core was a simple array of futures, then the one that he had given Grendel was a core filled with thoughts. He explained that the core that he possessed contained the Black Mage’s innermost thoughts, plans, and his deepest despair. Neinheart then asked Elwin to create a dimensional gate to follow Grendel and told the Adversary to accompany Elwin and Lily. Elwin then used Grendel’s magical trace to create a portal to his location.

(A/N: Zero gets some exclusive dialogue here. Right before they enter the portal, Will asks them whether they know that the teeth of spiders contain a poison that can even stop time. He explains that though he normally enjoys the anticipation, he’s particularly excited this time.)

After entering the portal, the three found themselves in Lachelein. There, they met Protective Mask, who led them up the clocktower. He then told them that while he had been searching for Lucid, he had seen Grendel wandering inside. Upon tracing his path, they found themselves inside Lucid’s room, where they discovered Lucid in deep slumber.

Protective Mask then allowed them to peer inside Lucid’s dream, where they found Grendel speaking with her. To their surprise, they found Lucid addressing him as the Black Mage and telling him that the Alliance had begun investigating the Gate to the Future, after which she asked whether she should stop them.

Grendel then echoed the Black Mage’s words from the memory, telling Lucid to let it be, as it was the only way that the Alliance would learn fear. By witnessing the Second Future, they would learn about the lie of free will and begin to hate the chains of fate. Grendel then spoke in his own voice and realized that the Black Mage had intended to lose from the very beginning.

The Adversary also was surprised to learn that the Gate to the Future had been part of the Black Mage’s plan. Elwin then told Grendel to snap out of it, but Grendel merely exclaimed that he had to know more before teleporting away. Protective Mask then decided that he would rescue Lucid from her nightmare, realizing that her subconsciousness had created him for such an occasion.

Lily was surprised that Lucid had thought of such a possibility and realized that Lucid had hoped all along that someone would help her when she couldn’t help herself. Protective Mask then entered Lucid’s dreams, where she was drowning in a dark ocean, and took off his mask, revealing Mercedes’ face underneath. Protective Mask pulled Lucid out of her dark abyss and told the others that she would remain unconscious for a while longer, after which he would hand her over to the Alliance soldiers in the town square. With no more time to waste, Elwin created a new portal to follow Grendel.

(A/N: Mercedes gets some exclusive dialogue during this part. When Protective Mask rescues Lucid, Mercedes expresses her shock that Protective Mask is a projection of herself. Right before they enter the portal, Lucid calls out to Mercedes in her sleep, overjoyed that she came to save her from her nightmare. Lucid is still asleep at this point, and so she’s actually addressing Protective Mask, believing him to be Mercedes. The actual Mercedes then promises to return soon in order to bring her back home to Elluel.)

With no more time to waste, Elwin created a new portal to follow Grendel, which led them to Trueffet in the Morass. They continued onward, fighting past the thralled monsters, and found Grendel speaking with the White Mage. The Adversary was surprised to see the White Mage, as Tana’s memories of Trueffet were set after the White Mage had already fallen. Lily pointed out that Transcendents weren’t bound by time and space like they were, meaning that the Black Mage’s return to his original form before he died could have influenced moments in the past.

They then heard Grendel speaking as the Black Mage, who told himself that he could leave the task of removing Arkarium to his echo in the Morass. He noted that the process of achieving his goal was long and complex, as he was still on the path that the laws of the world had intended, though he also realized that the complexity and uncertainty of his situation may have given him a clue to escape that fate. With those words, Grendel disappeared once again.

Elwin attempted to open a portal to follow him, but the White Mage’s presence terrified him to the point that he couldn’t do so. Suddenly, the White Mage teleported before them, immediately scaring the trio. The White Mage reassured them that he wasn’t the Black Mage, and that they had nothing to fear from him. Lily asked what he had told Grendel, to which the White Mage explained that he hadn’t told Grendel anything, but rather, Grendel had realized the truth about the purpose of the Transcendents on his own.

The Adversary asked him to tell them what Grendel had learned, and so the White Mage told them that long ago, before the Transcendents had existed, the universe had been ruled by many unpredictable and uncontrollable gods who had their own independent aims and goals. In some cases, they had actively interfered in the world, resulting in an inevitable age of chaos.

In resistance, the world had desired order and control. Its will had forged chains of law that began suppressing the Ancient Gods, whose creations had gradually become insignificant as a result. Over long years, the chaos had gradually subsided, but the will of the world had not yet been satisfied, as there was a possibility that the Ancient Gods, who had been chained into an unnatural slumber, could still awaken someday, and the countless factors of causality that stemmed from this created countless futures, which spelled an uncertainty that would never end.

The White Mage explained that up until that moment, the future remained open, as it wasn’t something that could be predicted or manipulated. Because of this, the Transcendents had been created, whose mere existence suppressed the Ancient Gods from awakening ever again. Simultaneously, they had exerted tremendous influence on the universe, and as a result, uncertainty was eradicated, and the future became set in stone.

(A/N: Zero gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which they express their shock that they were used to manipulate fate, regardless of their own will.)

Lily was shocked to know that even the Transcendents were slaves to order and asked if Grendel had any more questions. The White Mage told them that Grendel had asked what would become of Maple World with the absence of the Transcendents, and that he had set out to confirm his suspicions. With their questions answered, Elwin created a new portal to follow Grendel.

(A/N: Several characters get some exclusive dialogue right before entering the portal.

Luminous asks the White Mage if the darkness that he had received from the Black Mage will disappear. The White Mage tells Luminous that the darkness is now a part of him and says that he’ll just have to learn to love that darkness, just as ‘she’ does, with ‘she’ referring to Lania.

Shade asks the White Mage if he knows how to remove the curse on him. The White Mage replies that he doesn’t know how, but he tells Shade not to worry, as he’ll shortly see that the curse will soon mean nothing. I’ll explain more about this in a bit.

For the Demon, the White Mage stops him and explains that there’s something that he needs to know before leaving. The Demon asks if it’s about Damien and Arkarium, which the White Mage confirms. The Demon explains that at first, he didn’t know who to hate between Arkarium, who had been the perpetrator, and the Black Mage, who had given the orders. However, he tells the White Mage that he no longer cares anymore, as neither Arkarium, nor the Black Mage and Damien exist anymore.

He explains that he doesn’t want to keep living in anger and regret, to which the White Mage is pleased to note that the Demon has made his peace with it. He then asks the Demon to keep moving forward, explaining that it’s the duty of those who survive.)

The White Mage smiled softly as they left before scattering into Erda. The Adversary then began considering what the Black Mage’s goals were, to which Lily offered to explain the principles of magic and the universe’s structure in order to help them understand. She gave them a situation in which two identical marbles were put in a box, which was then shaken. Based on the dimensions of the box, the shape and weight of the marbles, and the force and direction of the shake, it was possible to predict the path that the marbles would follow.

However, she then changed the situation to add more marbles with different sizes and weights, which would make it much harder to predict the trajectory of the original two marbles. In that regard, Lily equated the Transcendents as having removed the countless variables introduced by the Ancient Gods from the equation in order to make the future predictable, and explained that the mere existence of the Transcendents was what maintained order.

Soon after, the trio emerged into the Radiant Temple in Esfera, where the Adversary watched their past self rush into Mirror World in order to defeat Will. Lily realized that they were in the Morass, which had taken the form of the Black Mage’s memories of watching the Adversary in Esfera. They entered the mirror and fought through the monsters before reaching the moment when the Adversary had refused to take Tana’s life.

They then saw Grendel voice aloud the Black Mage’s thoughts that the Adversary had rejected their fate. He noted that the power of the Seal Stone - which he described as the power of chaos, the power to refuse control, and the power of the gods - was what had allowed them to do so. However, he added that the decision to use that power had been the Adversary’s alone.

(A/N: Here, Elwin expresses his surprise that the Adversary chose to spare Tana and asks them what they were thinking. You get the choice to say that you were having trouble thinking clearly at the moment, you thought that fighting would be inevitable anyways, or that you just couldn’t do that to Tana, although it doesn’t really make a difference which choice you pick because it just cuts back to Grendel’s dialogue no matter what.)

The Black Mage noted that it was, at once, a victory and a defeat, as it had demonstrated both the power of the gods and the will of the people. He noted that if the Adversary could defeat him - the last Transcendent of Maple World - then the universe would return to its original state. Suddenly, Grendel himself had an epiphany based on what he had heard from the Black Mage’s thoughts and disappeared.

(A/N: The line about the Seal Stone holding the power of chaos and the ability to refuse control is part of the original KMS dialogue that was omitted in the GMS localization, which only said, “The Seal Stone contained incredible power. Enough power to change destiny itself.”

What the Black Mage says here is very important. The belief that the Black Mage was always guaranteed to win no matter what is completely untrue. Despite all his planning and careful steering of the future, there was every chance that he would have failed. Like Grendel mentioned in Limina, even though the Black Mage influenced their decisions, everyone in the story always had their own free will.

The Black Mage’s strategy revolved around a highly sensitive fine-tuning of people’s emotions. He had to strike a perfect balance of making people scared of their future being predetermined so they would want to resist, but not enough that they would just give up. The Adversary was the critical element in his plan because they needed to be pushed to their very limits for the Seal Stone to activate.

The Black Mage did everything in his power to set up the conditions that would maximize, not guarantee, the chance that the Adversary would use their power to change destiny, but the crucial distinction is that no matter how well he planned, he’s only limited to manipulating the broad strokes of the future. He doesn’t have the ability to manipulate people down to their individual free will unless he’s personally interacted with them, like what he did with Arkarium and the Demon.

If the Adversary had been pushed just a little too far in the Labyrinth of Suffering, for example, they would’ve given into despair right there and his plan would’ve failed. Knowing this also makes you appreciate just how difficult fighting the Overseers was for the White Mage. Aside from the extreme balancing act that he had to do, he had to make the irreversible sacrifice of billions of lives, all on just the sliver of a hope that all the terrible things that he’s doing will actually mean something.)

As they prepared to follow him, Elwin realized that Will had dropped his book nearby and suggested grabbing it before Melange did. (A/N: I mean, this is the Morass, so it still wouldn’t change the past.) As Melange appeared, Elwin told him to stop, calling him a kid while doing so. This irritated Melange, who then unexpectedly grew self-aware and realized that he was a memory in the Morass, after which he cast a spell to make the three ignore him and find Grendel.

He then created a dimensional portal and the three found their legs moving on their own towards it. As Elwin passed him, Melange ordered him to stop and hit him in the head with his staff as punishment for calling him a kid before sending him on his way. Lily was surprised that Melange knew that he was in the Morass and was shaken that he had used magic that she had never seen before.

They then emerged in the waterfalls of Limina and fought past the monsters until the Erda Surge poured down, changing their setting to the inactivated Genesis Crux. Suddenly, the Crux began shaking and the waters turned crimson. They were then suddenly transported to the White Spear overlooking the giant before teleporting to the ship that the Adversary had used to reach the Temple of Darkness.

Just as the ship exploded, the scene changed to the Throne of Darkness, where the Aeonian Rise and Tanadian Ruin towered over them. As the twin knights slashed their blades, the scene changed again, sending them to the black and white void where the godlike Black Mage appeared before them, saying, “The answer is here. It is time to act.” (A/N: The Black Mage here is actually Grendel speaking aloud.)

Just as he launched an attack, the setting changed once again and they found themselves standing on a strange cliff with runic rock formations. At the center of the area was an indentation in the ground, where a round gem was embedded. There, they found Grendel, who told them that they were, quite literally, at the end of the world.

Grendel explained that his journey had helped him reach the answers that he had been searching for. He revealed that the Transcendents had changed the nature of Maple World by their very existence, and with their absence, Maple World could return to its natural state. When the Adversary expressed their confusion, Grendel asked Lily what had happened when Rhinne and Alicia had disappeared.

Lily replied that Maple World and Grandis had started converging as a result of the Transcendents’ disappearance. They all then realized that if the Transcendents’ existence had influenced the world, and that their absence had resulted in the two worlds’ convergence, it meant that Maple World and Grandis had originally been the same world.

(A/N: This is what the White Mage meant when he told Shade that the curse won’t matter. Since the two worlds will become one, there’s no dimensional travel between Maple World and Grandis, which means that no one will forget him if he goes back and forth between them. Technically, he still can’t travel to Earth, but I’m sure that after the Grandis arc is over, we’ll get a similar Convergence-style event that completes the fusion of Maple World and Earth that the White Mage set into motion.

This storyline also makes an interesting retcon with how the world merge works. In Zero’s storyline, it’s explained that a world without Transcendents will seek to merge with another world in order to maintain balance. However, from what we learn here, Maple World and Grandis were originally the same world, and they’re simply returning back to how they were always meant to be.

The lore presented here adds to the idea that the Overseers and their enforcement of order is an artificial construct, as they’ve essentially gaslit everyone into believing that keeping the universe separate is supposed to be the natural order, which the Black Mage is attempting to undermine with his plans. In reality, however, the Overseers are the ones who’ve been suppressing the true natural order. The world merge isn’t happening because Maple World is trying to maintain its balance, it’s because the Transcendents are no longer there to constrict it from returning to its natural state.)

Satisfied with their understanding, Grendel told them that the place that they were standing at marked the veil between the two worlds, which had grown paper thin without the Transcendents. To their shock, Grendel raised his staff and smashed the jewel in the center, causing massive spell circles to appear in the air. Their dissipation pushed away all the clouds and fog, resulting in a blinding flash of light.

As the light faded away, they were shocked to see that the sky was now filled with the thirteen moons of Grandis. They also saw a large city that hadn’t been there before, which stood at the other end of a sea that hadn’t existed either. Just as they began marveling at the convergence of Maple World and Grandis, a stranger approached them and introduced himself as Prince Carlisle of Cernium. Carlisle explained that he had been longing to meet them, and that he had crossed the forgotten sea in order to reach them.

(A/N: And just like that, one more person has been added to the list of people that I’d die for. If there’s something important that I’ve learned over the years, it’s that sometimes, you’ll like people because you’re so used to being an unpaid therapist that emotional unavailability is seen as a good thing when that person is just something for you to fix. And before you know it, you’re so used to seeing everyone around you as a project that you’ll wake up one day and go, “Why am I the only competent person in a fifty mile radius? When is it my turn to be fixed?”

But before you know it, someone as collected and capable as Carlisle will walk up to you and make you realize that there’s someone out there who actually knows what they’re doing. And this leads into a very important life lesson - if a prince ever tells you that he’s crossed a large body of water just to see you - you let him. You tell him that he’s more than welcome to try and repair you, but that there’s likely no structural integrity left to work with, and then you sit back and let someone else do all the work for once. Assuming that all these conditions are met, it’s a totally foolproof plan with absolutely no drawbacks at all. Out of the zero times that it’s happened, it’s failed zero times, which is a 100% success rate as far as I’m concerned.)

The Holy City:

At the border between worlds, the Adversary asked Carlisle how he knew that they would be there, as the sea hadn’t even existed until a moment ago. Carlisle laughed and told them that he had a friend who was well versed in theology and history, because of whom he had already known that not only would the seal break once the Transcendents disappeared, but that the Adversary would be there. He then explained that he wished to speak with the Alliance.

(A/N: The friend whom he’s referring to is Aaron, the High Flora librarian of Cernium. There’s an animated short about the backstory of how they decide to find the Adversary. Because of the unrest in Grandis, Carlisle and Seren ask Aaron about how to stand against Gerand Darmoor, even if it means plunging Grandis into war.

Aaron finds a prophecy about the defeat of the Black Mage in the ancient High Flora scriptures and explains that the Adversary is the only mortal who can stand against a Transcendent. He explains that with the death of the Black Mage, the Adversary’s next natural enemy is Darmoor, and so Seren proposes that they request the Alliance to help them, as the people of Maple World have shown to be able to unite against a common foe, unlike the squabbling factions of Grandis. Carlisle then vows to bring the Adversary back to Grandis, to which Aaron tells them that with the time of the Transcendents reaching its end, the future is in their hands.)

At an Alliance meeting at the Outpost, Claudine and the other leaders marveled at how unbelievable it was that Grandis and Maple World were now one. However, they acknowledged that the fusion of their worlds meant that fighting Darmoor, who had a similar goal to remake the world as the Black Mage, was now an even higher priority, though Claudine pointed out that they were still recovering from the war against the Black Mage and asked how they were supposed to fight Darmoor.

Neinheart then arrived with Carlisle, who reassured them that it wouldn’t come to that if they helped him. He told them that Darmoor was waging war against all of Grandis, and that though his army was formidable, resistance fighters had forced him to spread his resources thin. Because of this, Carlisle believed that Darmoor was far from capable of crossing the forgotten sea to Maple World.

(A/N: It definitely helps that Darmoor decided to start his war of genocide immediately after the Flora Civil War devastated the High Flora army. One thing that I find strange regarding the way that Grandis wages war is that despite Grandis being a planetary system, there don’t seem to be any interstellar battles, even though we’ve seen spaceships in past storylines.

I originally expected warfare to be more Star Wars-y with fleets of ships used for aerial and space battles. There definitely wouldn’t be any problem crossing the forgotten sea if they had transport ships available to fly their army to Maple World. I wonder if the Angler Company might have a bigger role in outfitting the High Flora army with fancy tech like that in the future.)

Edea asked Carlisle why he had come to see the Alliance, to which he explained that Cernium was on the verge of invasion, and so he had come to request that the Alliance take on Darmoor while the High Flora army was still weak. Claudine noted that it would be helpful to have new allies, especially ones who had an intelligence network on the High Flora army. However, Carlisle clarified that Cernium didn’t plan to join the Alliance, as they were only interested in protecting the holy land, rather than getting involved in a fight against a Transcendent.

Claudine was furious and demanded to know what kind of leader would abandon their allies just to save themselves. However, Cygnus told Claudine to calm down and reminded her that they couldn’t force everyone to join their fight. Neinheart concurred and added that they would be no better than the enemy if they were to ignore a request for help. However, Claudine and Edea both protested that the Alliance wasn’t prepared to fight in such a way, to which Neinheart told them that it was an opportunity to build a friendship with Cernium, which would not forget their aid.

Carlisle agreed and told them that as a holy land, Cernium was frequented by countless pilgrims, whose patronage had made the land quite wealthy. He explained that in exchange for the Alliance’s aid, Cernium would reward them handsomely. Though she conceded that it was a generous offer, Claudine pointed out that it wouldn’t do them much good if they didn’t survive the battle. Just then, an Alliance soldier arrived with urgent news for Cygnus, who adjourned the meeting and told everyone to consider what had been discussed in order to work out a plan the next day.

That night, Cygnus met with the Adversary and told them that the moment that the dimensional seal between Maple World and Grandis had been broken, ancient ruins and artifacts all over the world had lit up with an unusual magical glow, which Alliance experts believed to be the result of the Ancient Gods reawakening.

Cygnus told them that until now, the only one powerful enough to face a Transcendent had been the Adversary, who possessed the Seal Stone, which was why the heaviest burdens had always fallen to them. However, she believed that discovering how to use the power of the Ancient Gods would help the Alliance grow far stronger than they had been when they had faced the Black Mage.

(A/N: Kain gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he’s surprised to know that Satiras is waking up, and that Cygnus is suggesting that they use that power. He thinks to himself that many people had suffered because of Satiras’ power and he wonders whether it’s really a good idea to use it.

It’s strange that Pathfinder doesn’t get any exclusive dialogue here, since her relic holds the power of an Ancient God.)

As Cernium was a holy land of the Ancient Gods and their people, Cygnus believed that Carlisle’s offer was an opportunity to learn more about the Ancient Gods and their power. Because of this, she asked the Adversary if they were willing to be part of the reinforcements that the Alliance would be sending to save not just Maple World, but Grandis as well.

(A/N: Mercedes gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which she thanks Cygnus for what she did with Lucid. A flashback then plays, which is set shortly after the events of Convergence. In this flashback, Neinheart meets Mercedes in Lachelein and tries to take custody of Lucid. Mercedes protests and argues that as the elven sovereign, she’ll decide the fate of Lucid herself.

Neinheart asks Mercedes if she means to take Lucid to Elluel, which Mercedes confirms, explaining that Lucid is in unstable condition, and that she’ll keep Lucid safe until she regains consciousness. However, Neinheart replies that keeping an eye on Lucid with Elluel’s small forces is out of the question, as there’s no telling how much damage Lucid will cause if she manages to escape.

Mercedes vows that she’ll stop Lucid herself again if it comes down to that, and once again requests to have custody of Lucid until she regains consciousness. Neinheart tells her that she knows better than anyone else that she’s being completely unreasonable, noting that she isn’t acting like her usual self.

He then asks if something had happened while she had been rescuing Lucid, to which Mercedes explains that Lucid had been calling her name, adding that Lucid had been waiting for her to come save her for so long, crying alone in absolute darkness, where she couldn’t see or hear anyone. She tells Neinheart that she fully understands that Lucid deserves to be punished for her evildoings, but speaking not as a queen, but as her friend, she explains that she doesn’t want to make Lucid suffer anymore.

Neinheart notes that she’s presented him with a difficult decision, but though he fully understands how she feels, he adds that he’s still not at liberty to release someone who had once served as the Black Mage’s right-hand. Just then, an Alliance soldier arrives and gives Neinheart a message from the Empress.

Neinheart tells Mercedes that Cygnus has declared that Lucid’s fate will be left to Elluel. He then breathes a sigh of relief, adding that he wouldn’t have had the nerve to deny the request of someone who had saved the world anyways. However, he asks Mercedes that she thoroughly interrogate Lucid once she regains consciousness, to which Mercedes gives her word.

After Neinheart leaves, Protective Mask notes that it’s great news that Mercedes will keep custody of Lucid. Mercedes thanks him and asks what will happen to him now. Protective Mask explains that though he’s not sure how much longer Lachelein will remain, he plans to continue living there until it disappears. Mercedes then sees Lucid in Protective Mask’s arms and breathes a sigh of relief that Lucid is finally going home, noting that it must have been such a long nightmare for her. She then says that she hopes that there will be nothing but happy dreams for her from now on.

I’m really glad that Lucid’s story got some closure and I hope that she gets some much-needed therapy. Honestly, most people in this story are in dire need of a therapist, but I think that Lucid especially needs some because her psychological development has been extremely messed up because of the curse and her powers.

Even though some people believe that Lucid is mentally an adult, I would strongly disagree. Just because she’s been mentally awake during her imprisonment, it doesn’t automatically mean that she’s been mentally aging the same way that normal people do. Talking to others, having new experiences, and being exposed to new ideas are an extremely critical part of growing up, and Lucid hasn’t done any of that during her time in the ice.

Kids look to adults as role models of what maturity looks like while growing up, and these formative experiences are what ultimately teach them how to behave and interact with others in a healthy way. Lucid spent over 800 years looping through the same set of stagnant memories, and she didn’t even really interact with any adults - she interacted with a skewed illusion of what a child perceives an adult to be like, based on selective, biased memories that colored the way that she perceived their actions in the same way that kids don’t fully understand how adults think or behave without them properly explaining and teaching her what it means to be mature.

From all the flashbacks that we’ve seen, Lucid would routinely create dreams involving all the adults in her life bowing and scraping and worshiping her as a child queen, which is the exact opposite of how normal social dynamics work, all because she had a strong need to be needed by other people - especially when those people were extremely powerful and influential like Mercedes and the Black Mage - because it appealed to her ego that her existence was so significant that even the strongest beings in the world couldn’t get by without depending on her, which gave her a sense of control and security to her unstable identity and self-esteem.

She’s spent centuries dangerously feeding into her untreated mental illness, and by the time that she finally breaks free from the ice, it’s essentially like she’s breaking free from a chrysalis and becoming a butterfly, just like the butterflies that she uses with her dream magic. But the subversion of this idea is that instead of coming out older and more mature like how a metamorphosis normally works, she’s still just a kid whose mind turned inward on itself.

Just like her dream butterflies, her own evolution into adolescence is just an illusion that she’s created for herself where she dresses in new risqué clothes and drinks wine and does all the things that she thinks a powerful and autonomous adult does, but the reality is that none of it is real because she’s trapped herself inside her own mind where nothing changes or moves forward from her mental state of being a child who has too much power and the unrestricted freedom to use it impulsively like a toy and using other people as her personal playthings.

When Protective Mask, in the form of Mercedes, rescues her, it’s not just the fact that the most important person in her life saves her that’s significant - it’s that her deepest subconscious instinct created Protective Mask to save her when she couldn’t save herself. Everything about her dream world revolved around her unhealthy need to be the one in control and to awe all the powerful people around her, but Mercedes rescuing her is the small part of her mind that wants to move forward from her stagnancy and allow herself to be helped by someone older and stronger, rather than her childlike need that she has to be the one to make all the adults around her need her, a little kid, to help them.

On another note, Protective Mask’s conversation with Mercedes confirms that the Arcane River and all the people inhabiting it are soon going to disappear. The writers probably aren’t gonna to give us a chance to say goodbye to everyone, but I’m still gonna miss them all, especially the spirits from Arcana. Then again, maybe it’s for the best that we don’t give them a send off. I’ve already sustained too much emotional damage from saying goodbye to Renee and Leo in the Neo Castle event.

I also feel bad for the people of Reverse City because they were all just regular humans who accidentally fused with the Erda creatures in the Vanishing Journey. I hope that Kinesis takes them back to Earth before they disappear, since I’m sure that a lot of them still have families looking for them. For that matter, we could potentially even take all the people from the Arcane River back to Maple World and Grandis, assuming that they don’t need to be around the high-grade Erda of the river in order to sustain themselves. It’s a bit sad to know that we were only able to save our world at the cost of theirs.

Jumping back to the story, though, Shade also gets some exclusive dialogue here. After he accepts Cygnus’ request, he thinks to himself that before going to Cernium, there’s one place that he needs to visit first. He notes that if the seal between Grandis and Maple World really is gone, and if the two worlds have merged together, then he must be that much closer to getting rid of his curse. He then thinks to himself that there’s a lot at stake now, and that this small victory should be enough to keep him going.

He then travels to Vulpes and meets Moonbeam at the outskirts of Fox Point Village. Like always, she doesn’t recognize Shade and asks why he smells so familiar. She’s also surprised that Shade knows her name, and that he’s already aware that he looks like her guardian spirit. Shade then thinks to himself that he had thought that he had been ready to sacrifice everything when he had taken on the Black Mage, but he now realizes that there’s one thing that still weighs on him.

He realizes that dwelling on the past isn’t doing him any good, and that all he can do now is make new memories. He then introduces himself to Moonbeam and explains that he comes from a place where there’s only one moon. He tells her his name, and then asks her not to forget it. I can finally die in peace now that Shade is happy again.)

Several days later, Neinheart and Cygnus traveled to the border between worlds in order to see the Glory Guard off, which was composed of the Adversary, Edea, Hawkeye, and Checky.

(A/N: We get different combinations of job instructors on all our adventures with the Glory Guard, although both our companions will always be instructors for the same branch, like how Hawkeye and Checky are both pirates. I have no idea how they plan to integrate Mihile, since he’s both an established NPC and a class. They’ll probably need to have someone else fill the gap for Mihile characters, or just have Elex be the sole NPC who accompanies him. It’s also possible that they just might not have Mihile and Elex accompany the Adversary at all in order to avoid having to deal with that edge case.

I sometimes see people talk about the possibility of established NPCs like Seren or Edea being made into classes, and to those people, I have just one thing to say: there is absolutely zero chance that any NPC that shows up in the Arcane River story or beyond will ever become a class. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that there is no trajectory for this universe that exists that will ever result in a reality manifesting in which those NPCs become classes.

The reason why I’m sure of this is because of the stupid Adversary plotline, which makes it so that every single class is now forcibly funneled into Black Heaven so that they can become the Adversary and get thrown into the streamlined Arcane River story. There’s already a couple of continuity errors created by Mihile’s existence as a class and an NPC being in the same place at the same time. Nexon has been forced to bend over backwards in order to accommodate the existence of Adversary!Mihile in storylines like Karote. There’s no way that they’ll do it again.

More than anything else, Nexon is extremely lazy and constantly takes shortcuts. They hate having to put effort into writing more than one script, which is why we’re stuck with the generic Adversary protagonist and the occasional line of exclusive dialogue. There is absolutely no way in hell that they’re gonna create more work for themselves by having to micromanage NPC appearances and dialogue changes.

If they wanted to make an Edea class, for example, they’d have to rewrite all of Cernium from because there are a bunch of scenes that can’t work without Edea being a separate character from the protagonist. With that being said, however, there are definitely instances where an NPC could be made into a class. Yuna, for example, could definitely be a new FriendStory class because her story can take place after Kinesis’ story, similar to how Kaiser and Angelic Buster’s stories overlap each other without stepping on each other’s toes (for the most part). And I’m still on my crack theory bandwagon that Ismail, the last relic guardian of Pantheon who was only mentioned in the story, is gonna be the Nova magician class.)

Neinheart reminded the Adversary that above all else, their primary goal was to learn more about the Ancient Gods’ power. As neither the Resistance nor the Cygnus Knights were in a fit state to run additional missions, Neinheart explained that Pantheon would serve as the Alliance’s staging ground for reinforcements, with Edea taking command of the Glory Guard. Neinheart also told the Adversary that though Edea was a level-headed tactician, her deep resentment of the High Flora could hinder her objectivity, and so he asked them to ensure that she remained rational when engaging with the Flora.

Carlisle then approached them and reported that they had set up the magic in the seal to allow them to teleport across the forgotten sea. With preparations complete, Carlisle activated the spell and transported them to the outskirts of Cernium. After arriving, Checky marveled at their surroundings and noted that Grandis was a nice place. Edea agreed and added that she had always wanted to visit, which confused Checky, who had thought that Edea was from Grandis.

Edea explained that she was from Grandis, the planetary system. However, she revealed that Grandis took its name from the planet at the center of their system, which had many cities, cultures, and ecosystems, just like Maple World. She also explained that Verdel, Savage Terminal, and the others were all individual moons orbiting Grandis. Checky then joked that they could now also add Maple World to the neighborhood.

One of Carlisle’s knights then reported that they hadn’t arrived at the correct landing site, to which Carlisle asked if they had gotten redirected somehow. Just then, a horde of hooded soldiers surrounded the group and began attacking. Edea asked if they were Flora soldiers, but Carlisle explained that they were heretics who were enemies of Cernium’s god and faith.

Before the Adversary went into battle, Carlisle warned them that a strange, oppressive aura had settled over certain domains within Grandis, including Cernium, and that the aura interfered with the manifestation of one’s innate powers and abilities. However, Cernium had been able to discover Sacred Power, which was capable of counteracting the aura. He noted that it wasn’t the best time to go into detail about it and promised to convey their findings to the Alliance later. As the Adversary went into battle, they noted how much their power had weakened while fighting the soldiers.

(A/N: Although this is really the full extent of what we know about Sacred Power at this time, it’s likely that the oppressive aura has something to do with the awakening of the Ancient Gods. I’m curious about how Sacred Power itself will factor into the lore, as Arcane Power really had no actual significance to the story aside from the stuff with Kao.)

As they continued fighting, a woman appeared and dispatched the archers at the top of the cliff. Carlisle introduced her as Seren, the Guardian of the Holy Sword. With Seren’s reinforcements, they were able to defeat the heretics and arrive at the entrance to Cernium. Carlisle explained that when the Transcendents had been born, the Ancient Gods had faded from the universe.

With their disappearance, the Order of Mitra had been forced to disperse as the world fell into chaos. Many had resented the Transcendents for what they had wrought and had sworn vengeance against them, while others who had hoped that the Ancient Gods would return had gathered together in Cernium.

The Glory Guard marveled at how grand the city was, but noted how unnatural the landscape seemed to be. Carlisle explained that the entire countryside of Cernium had been shaped by the Ancient Gods, carved out in an ancient war between the divine, though many considered Cernium to be proof that the Ancient Gods were gone for good, as it was said that Cernium was the site of the final battle that had marked the end of the Ancient Gods and the beginning of the Transcendents.

Suddenly, a guard reported that more heretics had appeared. Carlisle was surprised that the heretics had come so close to the city and asked the Glory Guard for their aid once again. While Edea, Hawkeye, and Checky took care of the west, north, and east, the Adversary held off the enemies approaching from the south. After defeating the heretics, the Adversary realized that they had fallen too far behind the others. They rushed to catch up with them at the city gates, where they encountered Seren once again and took notice of the feathery wings on her head and back.

(A/N: They absolutely did not have to make Seren this radiant, but because they did, my skin is clear, my crops are watered, the sun is shining, my gear is 22*, and now, you’ll be just as blessed once your occipital lobe processes not only Seren, but the other love of my life, Carlisle, too. I’ve come to the conclusion that Cernium is objectively the best storyline because of these two. All the people who I simp for in this game have a bad habit of dying before their time, and so I’m praying that the writers do me this one favor and let them live.)

Seren told the Adversary that the others were waiting inside the city and escorted them to the city square. While walking, the Adversary overheard the people of the city whispering about them, many of whom noted that they were younger than expected. Seren and the Adversary found Carlisle speaking with the Grand Master, who told Carlisle that his father, the king, was resting, due to his illness.

Carlisle then introduced the Glory Guard and the Adversary to the Grand Master, who was underwhelmed by the Adversary’s ordinary appearance. He warned Carlisle that the Alliance could be lying to him, but Carlisle coolly asked if the Grand Master intended to question his judgment in front of guests. The Grand Master apologized, but nevertheless urged action, reminding him that the Alliance didn’t even share their faith.

After he left, Carlisle apologized to the Glory Guard for the Grand Master’s behavior and went to make preparations for their lodging. Edea noted that between a frail king, an upstart prince, an overzealous order itching to take over, and a group of heretics, their mission would likely be even more difficult than forming the Alliance itself had been. However, she conceded that Carlisle seemed competent in politics and decided to give him a chance to smooth things over.

She then asked the Adversary if they had overheard the people talking about them. The Adversary told Edea that the gossip must have been why Carlisle had insisted on an armed escort. Hawkeye and Checky then left to scout the city, though Edea was certain that they had gone sightseeing. She suggested that the Adversary also tour the city and help anyone in need in order to show Cernium the best side of the Alliance.

While wandering around the city, the Adversary encountered an old man, who was able to tell that it was their first time in Cernium. He told them that the Cernium royal family was loyal to Mitra the Sun God, and that they had made the entire castle a place of worship, which was the reason why Cernium had become a haven to those who believed in the Ancient Gods. He explained that the northern temple was devoted to Mitra the Sun God, the western temple worshiped Nerota the Dawn God, and the eastern temple honored Spisa the Flame God.

(A/N: Mitra is one of the twelve names of Surya, the Hindu sun god, whose mythology shaped much of the lore about Mitra. In Hindu mythology, there are twelve deities called the Adityas, who were the children of Aditi, the goddess of infinity. These twelve deities, including Surya, each represented different aspects of the sun, but over time, their names and attributes eventually became embodied by Surya alone, which is why Aditya, in singular, is one of the twelve names of Surya.

In the context of the game, the lore about Mitra is actually the exact opposite of Surya. Rather than there being multiple solar deities that eventually became embodied by one, Mitra started out as the singular Sun God until her followers scattered in the fall of the Ancient Gods. Over time, they began forgetting the origin of their beliefs, and as a result, the Order of Mitra split into three different sects that worshiped Mitra, Spisa, and Nerota, respectively, whom they believed were different gods, rather than the same one in different forms.)

However, he added that calling them temples was a stretch, as all that the priests had done was put up a few banners. The Adversary asked about the heretics, but the old man merely told the Adversary not to worry about them, as Carlisle was always vigilant about keeping Cernium safe. He then suggested visiting the temple of Nerota, where a small boy welcomed them as a pilgrim and began telling them about the temple.

He explained that Nerota was the god of dawn and dusk, and that the temple had been built centuries ago when Nerota’s Order had conquered Cernium. He also told them that the Dawn Priests met at the same time every day in order to pray to each other, as they believed that Nerota’s spirit lived inside everyone, and that they even prayed to their own reflections if they were alone.

He added that Nerota only appeared to those who possessed a tranquil heart, and that she appeared as a dark blue deer, with the sun rising between its antlers if one stared long enough without blinking, as the deer would disappear once they did. Because of this, the Dawn Priests trained themselves not to blink in order to prove their devotion.

Just then, there was a loud rumbling, to which the boy told the Adversary that the Flame Priests were about to begin their prayers, adding that the Dawn Priests hated it, since they felt that it was too loud. He then asked them to help take care of the seagulls in the western part of the city as payment for the information that he had shared.

After taking care of the seagulls at the western ramparts, the Adversary ran into Hawkeye, who told them that he had been roped into helping the boy as well. Just then, they noticed Seren surveying the heretics from the ramparts. Hawkeye told the Adversary that he had learned that only Celestials had wings like the ones that Seren had. From what he had gathered in the city, the people of Cernium were fond of Seren and believed her to be trustworthy, though her own Order seemed to hate her.

After Seren left, Hawkeye suggested that they speak with the Dawn Priest at the ramparts, as he felt that something was wrong. The Dawn Priest recognized the Adversary from when Seren had escorted them into the city. He then asked them to tell Seren that the Flame Priests’ pyrotechnics were disrupting the Dawn Priests’ morning prayers, adding that he suspected that the Flame Priests were deliberately trying to sabotage their dawn prayers.

The Adversary asked why he didn’t tell the Flame Priests himself, to which he replied that he had already warned them several times. He explained that if Seren spoke to them, they would have to listen to her, as she was the Guardian of the Holy Sword. At the eastern ramparts, the Adversary ran into the same boy from the temple of Nerota standing with the Flame Priests.

The boy greeted the Adversary and launched into an explanation about Spisa’s Sanctuary of Red Flames. He explained that the followers of Spisa had once been able to wield fire magic through the grace of the Flame God. However, they had lost their powers after the Ancient Gods had disappeared and most of Spisa’s followers had left the Order as a result. (A/N: This is extremely similar to how the Black Nova lost their connection to Malice after Satiras disappeared.)

Those who remained in Spisa’s Order had eventually learned to make exploding powder that worked similarly to their old powers. He then pointed out a Flame Priest scattering around the black powder in order to create explosions and explained that the Flame Priests believed that the better the blast, the more dedicated one was to Spisa.

Just then, Checky arrived and noticed the Flame Priests creating explosions. He excitedly joined in and used his gun to create a massive explosion that left the Flame Priests awestruck. However, the explosion created Fire Spirits that fled to the top of the ramparts, and so the boy asked the Adversary to help defeat them.

After taking care of the monsters, the Adversary met with Checky, who apologized for accidentally creating the Flame Spirits. The Adversary asked if he had seen Seren, to which Checky replied that she had been heading up the eastern ramparts. They told him about the Dawn Priests’ request, to which Checky explained that the Flame Priests had their own grievances. However, as it was a centuries-old disagreement, he doubted that they could solve it in a day.

The Adversary was intrigued to know that the feud had spanned centuries, to which Checky explained that Cernium was a holy land to several faiths, all of whom had been fighting over the city for a long time, even after Mitra’s Order had taken over, until Carlisle’s father had finally decreed that all Orders would share the land equally, thus bringing about peace. The Adversary then headed up the ramparts and ran into Edea and Carlisle watching a Flame Priest confront a Dawn Priest.

A court knight immediately threatened exile for both of them if they refused to break up their argument. Edea was surprised that the knight would threaten exile for mere name-calling, but Carlisle explained that between the heretics both outside and inside the city, he needed to be strict, so as not to lose control of Cernium. He elaborated that the heretics would slip into the city in small groups, disguised as ordinary citizens, in order to stir up trouble between the different Orders.

Soon after, Seren escorted the feuding Dawn Priest and Flame Priest outside the city gates, as they had been exiled for refusing to cease hostilities. In the city square, the High Priests of Dawn and Flame blocked her way and entreated her not to exile the priests, as the threat of the heretics had made it dangerous to be outside the city. Seren told them that it wasn’t her place to decide, as she was merely carrying out the will of the king in the name of Mitra, and by the authority of the Cernium royal family.

The High Priest of Dawn countered that Mitra was her god, not theirs, and the High Priest of Flame agreed, claiming that they shouldn’t be subject to the same laws as Mitra’s Order. A court knight told Seren that the mob was growing unruly and suggested retreating. Unwilling to be impeded, Seren ordered that the two High Priests be arrested.

After the incident, Edea told Carlisle that it seemed that he had more problems than he had originally let on. Carlisle replied that he had a solution in mind and escorted her and the Adversary to the palace. Unbeknownst to them, a hooded heretic had watched the entire exchange before slipping away. Carlisle took them before the Holy Sword Azor, where the Templars told him that Seren would be furious to know that he had brought outsiders, though they acknowledged his right to do so as the prince.

After sending the Templars away, Carlisle told them that Azor was the holy sword of Mitra, which was said to be able to summon a divine light that could smite evil. Edea noted that aside from its exquisite craftsmanship, she couldn’t sense any special power coming from it. Carlisle explained that all of the relics had lost their light after the era of the Ancient Gods had come to an end. However, with the Transcendents all but gone and the fusion of Maple World and Grandis, he believed that the light of Mitra would soon return to the sword.

Edea realized that the reawakening of Azor could inspire the people of Cernium to unite together. Carlisle told them that there was a prophecy amongst Mitra’s Order: “The glory of the heavens will be restored by the grasp of the Chosen One.” The Adversary then noticed that both Carlisle and Edea were pointedly staring at them. Edea told the Adversary that they were a special type of hero, the kind who could defeat a Transcendent, and asked them to take up Azor.

Upon touching it, the Adversary had a vision of themselves back at the border between Maple World and Grandis, where they heard the voice of Mitra telling them, “The sun’s flames will have vengeance.” (A/N: If the player is Kain, the mark of Satiras will appear over his head as Mitra says this.) Immediately letting go of the sword, the Adversary fell unconscious and Edea, in her attempts to wake them, zapped them with lightning.

After they regained consciousness, Edea asked if they had felt anything after picking up the sword, to which the Adversary told her that they had felt a huge surge of hostility emanating from the sword, as though it was furious that they had dared to touch it. Carlisle noted that it was safe to say that the Adversary wasn’t the Chosen One, but he added that Azor had never reacted in such a way before.

(A/N: Kain gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he wonders whether Mitra had recognized the power of Satiras inside him, or whether it was something else.)

Just then, Seren stormed in and immediately ordered them to leave, warning them that outsiders weren’t allowed. Edea told her that they didn’t mean any harm, but Seren immediately raised her sword at them. With no other choice, the three left the chamber and returned to the main hall. There, a court knight came up to Carlisle and showed him a pamphlet with a sigil that Carlisle recognized as that of Ebonstar, the heretics who were threatening the city.

The pamphlet claimed that the Ancient Gods had abandoned them all, and that Ebonstar rejected the evil carried out in the name of the gods, claiming that only the absence of the gods would allow the people to be free. It then warned them to flee Cernium, as Ebonstar would not rest until the memory of the gods had been wiped from the land.

The knight explained that such pamphlets had been posted all over the city, and Carlisle realized that it would only be a matter of time before it came to war. The knight also reported that a cache of black powder had been stolen from the Flame Priests, who were claiming that the Dawn Priests were the thieves. Carlisle told Edea and the Adversary that he needed to deal with the situation and promised that he would smooth things over with Seren.

In the meantime, he suggested that they continue looking into the Chosen One, though he asked that they keep their involvement as outsiders secret from the Order and recommended that they seek out his friend, Aaron, a librarian knowledgeable in history and theology, at the Cernium Royal Library. He confirmed to Edea that Aaron was trustworthy, though he asked her not to judge him by his appearance.

At the library, Edea and the Adversary encountered Aaron, and Edea immediately moved to attack, recognizing him as a High Flora. A knight arrived to assess the situation and Edea yelled for him to arrest Aaron, who asked her to calm down, explaining that not all High Flora were monsters. To prove his point, he manifested his wings, which they were shocked to find had been torn to shreds. He explained that he hated the High Flora just as much as the Nova did, and though he had attempted to tear his wings off out of disgust, they would nevertheless grow back.

(A/N: The Flora classes get some exclusive dialogue here. Illium tells Aaron that though he had thought that all High Flora were enemies, he realizes that it’s apparently not always the case. Ark and Adele note to themselves that Aaron seems to hate the fact that he’s a High Flora. They realize that his situation isn’t so different from their own, and that they might be able to empathize to a degree.

Although Aaron being Darmoor was meant to be a left-field plot twist with little to no foreshadowing, someone paying close attention to this scene would’ve picked up on something off about Aaron’s cover story, which is that Aaron’s wings keep growing back no matter. A major plot point about the Verdant Flora is that their natural wings were lost to them forever after the High Flora tore theirs out and exiled them, for which they needed mechanical replacements.

The fact that Aaron’s wings keep growing back directly contradicts everything we know about how Flora wings work, which is our one and only clue that something about him is off. As Darmoor is the Transcendent of Life, he could easily restore back parts of his body, and although I don’t think that anyone would’ve been able to leap to that conclusion on just that single piece of evidence, I still think it’s strange that Illium or even the other Flora classes wouldn’t have picked up on the hole in Aaron’s story.

On a completely unrelated note, I have so much respect for Nexon after knowing that the story team has decided that Gerand Darmoor - God-King of the High Flora, Transcendent of Life, and the game’s equivalent of Hitler - is canonically a femboy librarian twink.)

Though Edea was still wary, she admitted that she had overreacted. Aaron told her that he was used to it and suspected that Carlisle had failed to mention it as a joke. He surmised that they had come searching for information about the Chosen One and asked why they were interested. The Adversary told him that they were trying to find out more about Mitra in order to enlist her aid.

(A/N: Mitra is referred to as male in the Cernium storyline, but the Burning Cernium storyline reveals that Mitra is a goddess. For the sake of consistency, I’ll swap out all references to Mitra as male to being female.)

Aaron was intrigued that anyone would seek to form an alliance with the divine and realized that they were the Adversary. He told them that he had heard that they were planning to fight Gerand Darmoor, even if it meant plunging all of Grandis into war. Upon learning that they had made up their mind, he told them that he shouldn’t be surprised, as they had already vanquished one Transcendent.

Satisfied with their answer, he agreed to help them in their research and suggested that they start with the ancient writings about Azor. However, he warned them that the section that held the writings was haunted by ghosts. The Adversary fought through the ghosts and collected the relevant writings before bringing them back to Edea and Aaron.

Edea found that the prophecies all hit the same major points, but the details were impossible to pinpoint. However, all the writings agreed that Azor had always been wielded by a Celestial. Aaron explained that Celestials were demigods who had joined Mitra when she had descended from the heavens. After the defeat of the Ancient Gods, the Celestials had lost their powers and had been trapped on Grandis ever since.

Edea mentioned that she had heard that High Mountain, the home of the Celestials, had fallen some time ago and asked what had happened to the Celestials after that. Aaron explained that the surviving Celestials had scattered and gone into hiding, and with the exception of Seren, they were rarely seen anymore.

With so much information to process, Edea decided to focus on Azor’s reaction to the Adversary wielding it. The Adversary explained that it had been extremely hostile, to which Edea noted that since Transcendents were akin to gods, it was possible that Mitra was angry with the Adversary for having killed a fellow godlike being.

However, Aaron disagreed and explained that his understanding was that the Adversary carried the power of the Seal Stone. He then revealed that the Seal Stone had been created by the will of the world in order to seal away the Ancient Gods, and so it was more likely that Mitra had shown hostility towards the Adversary because they held the same power that had sealed her away.

(A/N: Kain gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he thinks to himself that the conflicting forces of the Seal Stone and the Ancient Gods’ power coexist within him, and that having these opposite powers inside him is dangerous.

The knowledge that the Seal Stones were originally created by the Overseers recontextualizes Freud’s creation of the Seal Stones in an interesting way. With the knowledge that the Seal Stones have divine power greater than that of the Ancient Gods and the Transcendents, it puts into perspective how Freud was so easily able to steal back the powers of time that the Black Mage had stolen from Rhinne in order to trap him with that same power.

The only time that we’ve ever seen a Transcendent’s power stolen is either by another Transcendent or through the Transcendence Stone, meaning that it shouldn’t be possible for a regular mortal to steal a Transcendent’s power through conventional means.

However, when you consider that Freud had used the Seal Stones, with the addition of Shade’s sacrifice, as a proxy for stealing the power of a Transcendent, it makes perfect sense as to how he was not only able to take that power, but also use it to seal away the Black Mage, reminiscent of how the Ancient Gods had been forced into dormancy.)

Both Edea and the Adversary were shocked to learn about the origin of the Seal Stones. Edea then realized that if the Order of Mitra learned that the Alliance’s champion wielded the same power that had sealed away their god, any hope of a partnership between the Alliance and Cernium would be lost, and so she asked Aaron to keep it to himself. She added that they would also need to be particularly cautious around Seren, who may threaten far worse than exile if she were to learn about it.

Just then, Seren herself arrived and told Aaron that she had come regarding her earlier request. She then noticed Edea and the Adversary and told them that she wanted to apologize for earlier. She explained that Carlisle had claimed that they were trying to find the Chosen One and added that though they were outsiders, the Order would be grateful for any help in finding the Chosen One after it had searched in futility for so long.

In order to aid their search, Seren told them that she had recently learned that High Mountain had continued to hand-pick the Chosen One, long after Azor had lost its light in the Ancient War, and so she had come to see Aaron for any information regarding it. After fighting through the library ghosts, the Adversary collected more writings on the Chosen One. They learned that the Order would carefully select every recipient of Azor, as each was a paragon of the Holy Knights devoted to their faith. Believing that the return of the Ancient Gods would allow them to recover Azor’s light, the Order would give a special emblem to the Chosen One.

In the writings, they also learned about a second, less ornate emblem, which Seren recognized as an emblem for the Templars of Mitra, revealing that she had one herself. She believed that there had to be other survivors of High Mountain, and that one of them must possess the emblem of the Chosen One. Edea pointed out that it would be difficult to find such a survivor, especially if they didn’t want to be found, but Seren remained hopeful that the Chosen One wouldn’t stray too far from Azor.

Edea suggested that Seren herself could be the Chosen One, but Seren told her that she didn’t have the emblem of the Chosen One. Edea countered that the only thing that should matter was that she had Mitra’s blessing, but Seren explained that she wasn’t worthy, as she was unable to even spread her wings, having been injured when she had brought the sword to Cernium long ago. Overwhelmed by her emotions, she decided to leave.

Edea then suggested that the Adversary head back to the city square, as she wanted to do more research. At the city square, the Adversary saw a hooded Ebonstar soldier and decided to follow him outside the city gates, though he managed to evade them. Amidst a field of swords, they encountered Seren and told her about the hooded man. Seren explained that she had seen him visit the field that they were in, though she had never actually met him. The Adversary asked what the memorial was for, to which Seren replied that it was for her fellow soldiers who had been slain in a battle defending Azor, of which she had been the only survivor.

She then recounted how, long ago near High Mountain, she and her fellow Celestials had been pursued by the enemy. Her commanding officer, Gilmore, had ordered her to destroy the bridge in order to slow down the enemy, though she and another Celestial named Roland had told him that the rest of their company would be trapped behind enemy lines.

When Gilmore had moved to destroy the bridge himself, Roland had drawn his sword and attacked him. Gilmore had reminded Roland that he was in charge and had ordered him to step aside. Roland had then told him that even while knowing that the operation was doomed, their soldiers had rushed into certain defeat without protesting because they had known the importance of protecting Azor, and so he refused to allow Gilmore to sacrifice their lives.

Gilmore had shouted that sacrificing themselves for Azor was their very purpose, and that to die was their mission. He had told them that they had been outnumbered from the beginning, which was why he had chosen to divide their forces. Outraged to know that they had merely been bait, Roland had called Gilmore a traitor and had moved to attack.

Though Seren had tried to break the fight, the two had continued fighting viciously. Between disobeying orders and engaging in outright mutiny, Gilmore had asked if Roland even knew who he was pointing his sword at. Roland had replied that he was pointing it at a religious zealot and had claimed that if someone like Gilmore was the Chosen One, then Mitra was not worthy to be his god.

Outraged at Roland’s blasphemy, the two had continued their duel until Seren had drawn her own sword and knocked theirs onto the ground, demanding that they stop before they revealed their position to the enemy. Gilmore had told Seren to stay out of it, warning that he would cut her down too. Once again, Seren had yelled at him to stop before the Apostle of Lightning found them.

Suddenly, their blades had begun crackling with red lightning as the Apostle discovered their location. Roland had yelled at Seren to get down, just as a giant bolt of lightning had struck down and knocked Seren out. Some time later, she had regained consciousness and had discovered that the bridge had been destroyed. Realizing that it meant that all the other Celestials had been killed, she had solemnly completed her mission by bringing Azor to Cernium alone.

Having told her story, she told the Adversary that she had heard that the Alliance didn’t follow any single religious order and asked how they felt when their brothers and sisters-in-arms fell in battle. (A/N: You get to choose whether to tell her that you felt loss and sadness, or that you’re still not sure how you feel about it.)

She then asked them to tell Edea that she was right that it would be too difficult to find another Celestial, and that they should think of another way forward. Suddenly, a white feather fluttered down from above, which they immediately recognized was from another Celestial. Meanwhile, the hooded Ebonstar man from the city square, who had been watching them in secret, turned to leave. (A/N: Later on, he’s revealed to be Roland.)

Soon after, the Adversary, Edea, and Carlisle found Seren praying to Mitra. Edea asked the Adversary if they were sure that the feather didn’t belong to Seren. Carlisle wondered whether it belonged to the Chosen One, but Edea asked how a Celestial could have made it into the city without being noticed. Carlisle surmised that it was likely in the same way that Ebonstar had been slipping past them. Edea then expressed her belief that Seren should be the Chosen One, not some stranger.

Edea told them that Seren believed that the Celestial who had the emblem of the Chosen One was hiding in Cernium, and that she was determined to find them. She asked Carlisle what his plans were, to which he explained that he was busy with the Ebonstar heretics in the city, whom he believed had stolen holy water from the Dawn Priests the day before.

Edea asked why Ebonstar would want holy water, to which Carlisle explained that it was a very effective medicine when used on its own, but when it was mixed with the Flame Priests’ black powder, it could create massive explosions. He then asked Edea if she would help him track down the Ebonstar operatives and asked the Adversary to guard Seren.

After Carlisle and Edea left, Seren returned from her prayers and went with the Adversary to the town square, where she met with the Flame Priests to ask for their help in finding the Celestial. However, the Flame Priests refused to aid her after she had arrested the High Priests. They found that the Dawn Priests held similar sentiments and the Adversary realized that Seren had lost much of her good standing with the people.

On their way through the square, the two ran into a little girl, who recognized Seren’s Templar emblem and explained that she had seen one just like it earlier on the ground. When Seren asked where it was, the girl replied that she had given it to a man who had claimed that it belonged to him. She described him as a nice man who had given her candy, emphasizing how good it was.

Seren got the hint and told the Adversary to get the girl some candy. Just as they returned to the girl with candy, her mother took her away and warned her that she shouldn’t talk to people like Seren. Without any further leads, Seren decided to give up for the day, but the Adversary suggested that they check the memorial site for clues.

Meanwhile, Carlisle and Edea learned about the location of the Ebonstar hideout from their contact, but found it empty upon arriving. While searching for clues, Carlisle found black powder scattered on the floor and believed that Ebonstar had changed its location. Noticing scorch marks, he believed that Ebonstar had also been experimenting with the new compound created by mixing the powder with holy water.

Edea then noticed a communique from the High Flora addressed to Ebonstar, which thanked them for placing explosives at the temples of Nerota and Spisa. It instructed them to use the explosion in order to incite a war between the Flame Priests and Dawn Priests, after which the High Flora army would arrive to deal Cernium’s deathblow. Edea also found another Celestial feather, causing them to realize that the Celestial whom they were searching for was in league with Ebonstar.

Having heard that she had become the Guardian of the Holy Sword, he asked if she had read the inscription upon Azor, written in the old tongue: “Alvationsay inway Andhay.” Though he admitted that he was rusty, Roland believed that it translated to “Salvation is in Cernium” and asked Seren if she had found her salvation.

(A/N: This is a variation of Pig Latin, which roughly translates to “Salvation in Hand”. The original KMS text actually says, “Take it, Salvation will be in Palma.” Roland believes that Palma is the ancient word for Cernium, which makes him believe that the inscription says, “Take it, Salvation will be in Cernium.” Later on, Aaron reveals that “Palma” actually means “hand” or “grip”, meaning that the inscription actually says, “Take it, Salvation will be in hand.”

The word “Palma” obviously has its root in the English word “palm”, and so the connection between the word “palm” and “hand” is immediate to anyone who knows English. “Palm” not being a Korean word makes it easier to have the word “Palma” reasonably be a word from a foreign, ancient language in the game, which better explains why Roland misinterpreted it as “Cernium”.

The alternative inscription that we got in Pig Latin is a GMS localization, which might’ve been changed because “Palma” doesn’t really work as well in English. However, I think that localizing it as Pig Latin is just as ineffective because literally any person on the street could decipher something so simple, which makes it feel strange that Roland would get the first two words right, but then completely butcher the third. It also feels really weird that GMS is insinuating that the people from the time of the Ancient Gods exclusively spoke in Pig Latin.)

Suddenly, Ebonstar soldiers surrounded them as Seren asked Roland what he was doing. Roland told her how sick he was of holy swords and gods, and asked why so many people had to lose their lives over a useless hunk of metal. He vowed that he would show the people of Cernium how meaningless it all was, declaring that they needed to free themselves from the gods in order to prevent such tragedies from happening ever again.

As Seren and the Adversary defeated the Ebonstar soldiers, Roland attempted to retreat when Edea and the court knights blocked his path and ordered him to surrender. Roland merely laughed and told them that it was too late, just as a large explosion was set off in the city. Roland told them that the two Orders would turn on each other and destroy the city unless the knights intervened, though that would leave the city defenseless when the High Flora army appeared at the gates.

Roland then spread his wings and took to the air, telling Seren that she could still escape before the city was destroyed. He warned her that Darmoor was sending his First Apostle, the same one who had destroyed High Mountain, before flying away. As Edea attempted to shoot a lightning spell at Roland, Seren stepped between them and asked her not to kill him.

Before Edea could argue, the knights reported that Ebonstar had breached the city, forcing them all to let Roland escape while they returned to the city square. There, Carlisle told them that he had been close to stopping the explosions, though he hadn’t been able to stop it in time. A knight then reported that Flora soldiers were climbing over the eastern ramparts. Edea told Carlisle that the Glory Guard would defend the ramparts while he rallied his troops. The Adversary and the others arrived at the eastern ramparts and fought off the Flora soldiers.

After defeating them, Hawkeye told the Adversary to get to the east city gate while he managed the ramparts. As the Adversary started heading over, Roland attempted to light a fuse that would destroy the eastern gate. Suddenly, Seren charged at him, forcing Roland to drop his torch in order to parry her attack with his own sword. Seren entreated him to open his eyes, believing him to be the Chosen One who would save Cernium.

Roland asked Seren how she could still believe in Mitra after everything that she had gone through. He asked if she could still remember High Mountain and its people in flames as bolts of lightning had fallen from the sky, reminding her of how the sun hadn’t dared to show its face that day. He told her that he had worried that she had become yet another power-hungry priest when he had learned that she had become the Guardian, but he had come to realize that she was still her same, naïve self. Just then, two Ebonstar archers shot Seren while her guard was down.

As she fell onto her knees, Roland picked up his torch and told her that Mitra wasn’t a god worth dying for. As he lit the fuse, Seren watched powerlessly as it reached the bags of black powder. Before they could be set alight, however, the Adversary arrived and cut the fuse before the spark could reach its destination.

They then fought the Ebonstar soldiers as Roland recognized them as the one who had killed the Black Mage, whom he called a godling. Seren told Roland to surrender, but he merely joked that he wouldn’t be a good Chosen One if he gave up so easily. As Seren warned that she wouldn’t hesitate to cut him down, Roland took to the air and rushed past Seren, who managed to wound him. As he collapsed in pain, he revealed that he still had his torch, which he dropped onto the bags of black powder, creating a massive explosion that killed him in the process.

At the ramparts, Hawkeye checked on Checky, who had briefly lost consciousness in the explosion. Checky told Hawkeye that it was a relief that they had managed to stop the enemy, but Hawkeye explained that they had merely defeated the first wave, pointing to a much larger force approaching. At the eastern gates, the Adversary found a black Ebonstar emblem that Roland had dropped before realizing that Flora soldiers had breached the city gate. Checky and Hawkeye arrived with reinforcements, but Seren noted that there was no end to their numbers.

As Edea arrived to check on Seren’s condition, Seren told Edea that she had long held onto the hope that Roland would be the one to restore Azor. When she had found out that he was alive, she had believed that he had come to fulfill the prophecy. Edea yelled that it was no time to wallow, as enemies were flooding into the city, but Seren told her that they had already lost, as there was no holding the city with the gate fallen.

Realizing that she was right, Edea told Seren to take Azor and escape while they held the Flora army off. As the Glory Guard reassured Seren that they would be fine, Carlisle arrived and told her that though it wasn’t time for the prophecy to come true yet, they owed it to the future to keep fighting. Realizing that Carlisle was right, Seren rallied the troops, who could sense the steel behind her voice as that of the Guardian whom they all believed in. The knights and the Glory Guard, against impossible odds, managed to stop the Flora army at the gates.

Some time later, Edea and Carlisle spoke at the city ramparts about their victory. Carlisle was pleased that the Orders had all been able to set aside their differences to achieve victory. Edea was surprised that the High Priests had been released, and that the exiled priests had been pardoned at Seren’s insistence. Carlisle told her that Seren had even gotten on her knees in front of her own Order, beseeching them not in the name of the gods, but the people of Cernium, not to throw the High Priests’ lives away out of spite.

Edea was worried that the Order would lose trust in her because of her actions, but Carlisle told her that when Seren had first arrived in Cernium, she had arrived with not only Azor, but all the swords of her fallen comrades, carried from halfway around the world. Because of that, he was confident that every single one of Seren’s men would risk their lives to follow her, even if she had knelt on behalf of a heretic. Edea told Carlisle that though she didn't put much stock in prophecies, Mitra would be foolish not to recognize Seren as the Chosen One.

Elsewhere, the First Apostle of Lightning, Havoc, told Gilmore, Seren’s old commander, that the people of Cernium still fought, despite having lost the gate, but added that it was precisely why he had Gilmore, who was revealed to possess the emblem of the Chosen One.

Back in the city, Carlisle and Seren began repairing Cernium and fortifying their defenses for the next wave of the High Flora army. Carlisle told Edea that he wanted to express his gratitude to the Alliance. Edea then gave the Adversary a Sacred Symbol, which contained Sacred Power that was tied to the Ancient Gods, and explained that Cernium had created it in order to counteract the strange, debilitating energy settling over the land. With it, the Adversary was able to utilize more of their true potential for the battles to come. (A/N: Hey Edea, you know what would’ve been really helpful? If you actually gave me the object that could make me stronger before the giant battle that nearly killed us all.)

The Chosen One:

As the battle against the High Flora army continued, the constant fighting began to take its toll on Seren. After one such battle, Seren had a flashback to the day that she had been knighted as a Templar, as well as her memory of the Apostle of Lightning devastating High Mountain. As she shouted in fear, Edea checked on her, as she was worried about how Seren was doing after fighting for days without break. Just then, they noticed that the Flora army was retreating, which boosted the troops’ morale. As they cheered for Seren, the Alliance, and the Adversary, the Grand Master of the Order of Mitra looked on in silence.

That night, at the Flora camp, Havoc’s aide, Avril, asked why he had ordered a retreat when he had the enemy backed into a corner. Havoc told her that they would have broken through if they had been able to, but the Adversary’s prowess had made it impossible. Knowing that the Adversary was capable of destroying a Transcendent, he told Avril that throwing more troops at them would be foolish. Avril reminded him that the power of the Adversary was different from pure strength, as even the death of the Black Mage had been because he had wanted to die.

(A/N: In the GMS localization, Avril’s dialogue was mistranslated as the Adversary having won because of their willingness to sacrifice themselves, which is like the exact opposite of why we won. It’s interesting that Avril, whose uniform suggests that she’s a colonel like Albaire, knows about the Black Mage’s real goal, especially since the Alliance didn’t figure it out until just recently. It adds weight to the idea that Darmoor and the Black Mage might’ve met and spoken at one point.)

Havoc snapped that he didn’t care how the Adversary had won, only that they were a threat to him. He then asked if she thought that she could take them on herself, to which Avril stammered that it wasn’t what she had meant, causing Havoc to smirk in satisfaction. He told her that no matter how much she disagreed, he didn’t want to provoke the Adversary and reminded her that they needed to focus on what Darmoor wanted. He then cursed Darmoor, wondering where he had gone and what he was doing, and called him a coward who had incited a war and had then left him to do the dirty work. Avril warned him to watch his mouth, as calling Darmoor a coward was something that he might live to regret.

Some time later, the Adversary met Edea at the city square, where she noted that they seemed well-rested, and that their wounds had mostly healed. She told them that Hawkeye and Checky were defending the ramparts while Carlisle and Seren were patrolling the city. The Adversary asked how they could help, and so Edea told them that they were short on medical supplies, for which the Dawn Priests needed an escort to harvest more ingredients outside the city.

Edea suggested that they help the Dawn Priests get the ingredients for the medicine and added that Aaron wanted their help with collecting overdue library books. Outside the city gates, the Adversary met with several court knights, who explained that Ebonstar soldiers were stopping them from harvesting ingredients.

After they fought off the soldiers, a Dawn Priest thanked them and explained that the ingredients would be helpful in creating medicine. The Adversary asked if the medicine might be able to heal Seren’s wings, but the Dawn Priest replied that there was no known medicine that could fix her wings, as Seren’s inability to spread her wings stemmed from her trauma after witnessing her people die on the battlefield. With that, the Dawn Priest gave the Adversary an overdue library book for Aaron, entitled “How the Ancients Measured Time”.

Deciding to take a peek at the book, the Adversary read how the principal form of timekeeping involved measuring the precise position of the sun. Though there had once been a number of terms to describe the sun’s position in the sky, many had been lost to time, leaving only “dawn”, “noon”, and “sunset” in modern day. The Dawn Priest then told the Adversary that the knights needed help at the western ramparts.

There, Hawkeye told them that the soldiers were running low on iron to repair their weapons, and that the Monster Gulls were trying to take the scrap metal on the battlefield for themselves. After the Adversary took care of the seagulls, the knights were able to collect the scrap metal and Hawkeye asked the Adversary to go to the forge in order to let Seren know. He also gave them an overdue library book from one of the soldiers, entitled “Mitra’s Emblem”. The Adversary read that Mitra was a goddess who had many facets.

(A/N: I really want to know how the translation team managed to mess up on Mitra’s gender in the very same storyline. Honestly, I could say the same about every character whose gender they messed up on. On one hand, Korean doesn’t really have gendered pronouns, and so it’s understandable to an extent why it would be hard to localize.

On the other hand, I’m pretty sure that we have these things called phones. They’re these really cool pieces of technology that you can use to call other people from all the way across the whole wide world. A little known fact is that they’re especially helpful if you have a question that can easily be answered through a ten second conversation with the KMS story team. Wild, I know.)

Though tranquil and quiet in demeanor, Mitra was also righteous and benevolent. However, in the face of injustice, her wrath was unparalleled. The Adversary then went to see Seren and told her that the soldiers had found more iron, taking a quick peek at her wings while doing so. She thanked them for letting her know and gave them a library book that one of the soldiers possessed, entitled “The History of the Order”.

The Adversary read how the Order of Mitra had undergone many divisions and reformations following the fall of the Ancient Gods, making it unclear the extent to which the current Order resembled that of its ancient origins. However, the Order had continued to hope for the return of Mitra throughout the centuries.

The Adversary then went to the library and met with Carlisle and Edea. They noticed that Edea was being possessed by spirits, for which Carlisle asked them to bring holy water. After she recovered, Edea explained that she had gone to the haunted section of the library in order to find several documents, but Aaron had asked her not to use her lightning attacks on the ghosts, as one spark could burn down the whole library and destroy the priceless ancient writings and artifacts.

Carlisle told them that the library was special to Aaron, who had found it abandoned when he had first arrived, and that he had restored it to what it was today. Edea was surprised that such a treasure trove had been abandoned, but Carlisle explained that no one had known its true value, since they couldn’t read the ancient language, as well as because they had been too busy keeping the peace between the different Orders.

He added that there had nearly been mass panic in the city when a High Flora had appeared, but that there had thankfully been no major incidents since then. After Aaron had introduced himself and explained that he had come to see the library, Carlisle had appointed him as its librarian and had allowed him to research uninterrupted, provided that he cleaned up and organized the place. He was impressed that Aaron had managed to catalogue tens of thousands of books in just a few short years.

He then asked the Adversary about what they had learned about Seren. The Adversary explained what the Dawn Priest had said about her wings, leading Edea to believe that Seren may still be able to use her wings if she got past her mental trauma. Carlisle told them that from what he had gleaned from Seren’s reports, it appeared as though some part of her had decided long ago that she would never spread her wings again, as though she had lost faith in herself.

He explained that after what had happened to High Mountain and the Celestials, people said that she was never the same again, as she blamed herself for failing to protect her people. Meanwhile in the town square, Seren was overseeing the melting of the enemy swords. She watched sadly as the blacksmith melted down Roland’s sword before leaving. ‘

Back at the library, Edea told them that emotional trauma wasn’t something that could be healed overnight. Carlisle agreed and added that even if Seren regained the use of her wings, it still wouldn’t guarantee that she could become the Chosen One. He then told them that he had to leave, but added that Aaron was coming back to help them in his place.

After Aaron arrived, Edea asked where they should start with their research. Aaron decided to start with the basics and explained that he would begin by explaining the creation of the holy relics. According to his research, everything that mortals considered to be supernatural, from the Overseers to the Ancient Gods to the Transcendents, were all a form of higher being that existed outside the physical limitations of the universe. Because of this, mortals were unable to truly harm them, which was why it had been said since ancient times that only gods had the power to challenge other gods. (A/N: The only exception to this rule is that Transcendents are unable to kill other Transcendents or themselves.)

Edea realized that it meant that in order to fight a god, one either needed to be a god themselves or use something containing their power, such as how the Adversary had used the Seal Stone to kill the Black Mage. Aaron confirmed her words and explained that the Seal Stone was a holy artifact imbued with the power of higher beings, and that it was now a proven threat to the very existence of the divine.

Edea then realized that other holy artifacts could potentially work like the Seal Stone and wondered if learning more about the Seal Stones would provide clues about Azor. Aaron pointed the Adversary to the section with more information about the Seal Stones and asked if they had been able to obtain the overdue books that he had requested, explaining that they ought to hold onto the books in order to glean more information from them.

He told them that individually, they were glimpses into the origins of things, but taken together, they told a story about how those who didn’t understand the past were doomed to repeat its mistakes. The Adversary then fought past the ghosts and obtained the documents on the Seal Stones, which they brought back to Aaron and Edea. They then read how, to defend against the Ancient Gods’ chaos, the will of the world had created the Seal Stones. The Seal Stones had then fused with beings called the ‘noble ones’, whose confrontation with the gods had begun the Ancient War.

(A/N: The “will of the world” is another way that the game refers to the Overseers, while the ‘noble ones’ are the vessels chosen by the Seal Stones, which resulted in the creation of the Adversaries.

The Heroes get some exclusive dialogue here, in which they realize that Freud hadn’t created the Seal Stones out of nothing. They then wonder whether he had drawn out the divine power that had permeated into the land after the end of the war.)

They also read that the Seal Stones could only be awakened by the will and determination of the people, and as such, the godly power contained within the relics could never be limited to a single individual. Furthermore, the Seal Stones themselves would choose their Vessels to bond with, similar to how the holy relics operated.

(A/N: Lara gets some very interesting exclusive dialogue here. Way back in her class storyline, Lara had a quest in which she collected pages torn from a book about mysticants. After finishing that quest, Lara realizes that she has an extra page that looks like it came from another book. For the longest time, I had no idea why that was mentioned, as it had seemingly never been brought up again. However, someone from the lore server was playing the Cernium storyline on their Lara and stumbled across this hidden gem of exclusive dialogue.

While reading the book, Lara realizes that the page that she found long ago came from this book. A River Spirit, which had been holding onto the page, gives it to Lara, who then begins reading about how countless experiments had been conducted on beings, with ‘contamination’ being the result of violating the laws of the world.

The author of the book writes that the contamination had gradually begun spreading to those who had observed the experiments, such as themselves. They write that the contamination had completely ravaged their bodies and minds, for which they had created an object containing the last shred of humanity still left in them. They then pray that all their sins be forgiven someday.

Edea realizes that the author of the book was one of the witnesses to those experiments, noting that she can’t believe that this was the price of playing God. She then wonders what had happened to the contaminated ones, to which Lara explains that they’re in the realm of the sages. When a surprised Edea asks Lara if she’s met them, Lara clarifies that she’s never met them before, though she’s heard their story before, causing Edea to marvel at Lara casually writing it off as though it were nothing.

Lara then adds that when the day comes that she can properly wield the bell, she’ll undo the contamination right away. When Edea remains silent, Lara asks her whether she’s happy to hear that, to which Edea clarifies that she’s just been thinking of what kind of effect the contaminated ones might have on them and asks Lara for her opinion. Lara replies that she had just felt bad for the people in pain, and that she hadn’t thought about any of that. Edea notes that that’s apparent and suggests that they move on to the next page. )

From the document, Edea concluded that the relic’s power went to whomever the people deemed worthy to wield it, which explained why the Chosen One needed the Order’s approval to take possession of Azor. She then noted that Seren already had the support of the followers of Mitra, Spisa, and Nerota, which meant that she satisfied the condition of Azor requiring the people’s faith to wield. She also realized that there was now a very concrete reason behind the romanticized stories of a noble hero saving the world.

Just as she wondered what Seren would do if she learned about the truth, Seren herself arrived. (A/N: I wonder if she subliminally knows that people are talking about her, given how many times this has happened.) Seren told them that she wanted to help find the Chosen One, as she felt that it was unfair to leave all the work to the Alliance.

When she learned that Edea had become possessed by the ghosts because she wasn’t allowed to use her lightning attack, she asked Aaron about the magical fire extinguisher, which could put out fires without using water. Aaron told her that it was meant as a last resort, as the device worked by removing all the oxygen in the area.

The four of them then searched the library for more information on the Chosen One and found a book that said, “When the scattered lights unite, the sun’s radiance shall descend from the heavens”, along with the same phrase that Roland had mentioned was written on Azor, “Alvationsay inway Andhay”, as well as a line that said, “The Chosen One will be revealed for all to worship. Only then will the people find their salvation.”

As they pondered about the meaning of the words, Edea told Seren that she should consider taking ownership of Azor herself, but Seren refused, claiming that she couldn’t spread her wings, and that she didn’t have the emblem. Edea told Seren that even prophecies needed help coming true and explained that the Nova would have been wiped out if they had waited for a prophecy to save them. Seren continued protesting and explained that taking Azor would be blasphemy without proper qualifications.

Just then, a knight appeared and told the Adversary, Seren, and Edea that they were needed at the palace, where Havoc had requested an audience. They rushed over to the palace hall, where they found Havoc telling Carlisle that he would leave Cernium alone in exchange for the Adversary.

(A/N: The Demon gets some exclusive dialogue when he first sees Havoc, in which he notes that Havoc seems both familiar and dangerous. Havoc is later revealed to be a pure-blood demon in a future exclusive dialogue, which explains why the Demon senses familiar yet dangerous power inside him.

Kain also gets some exclusive dialogue when he first sees Havoc, in which he thinks to himself that the Apostle leading the High Flora army reminds him of the past, though he notes that Havoc isn’t the same person who had attacked his village. The person who had attacked his village was Dr. Y, who had led the High Flora army to kidnap him and Luska. However, Kain doesn’t know that because Dr. Y had been unmasked at the time and he doesn’t know what Dr. Y’s face looks like.)

Carlisle immediately refused, but Havoc laughed and told him to think carefully, explaining that he held a valuable hostage before showing them the emblem of the Chosen One. He then augmented the deal and told Carlisle that in exchange for the Adversary, he would not only leave Cernium alone, but he would also give back the Chosen One. Carlisle once again refused, but the Grand Master stepped forward and asked Havoc to give his word that he would stand down after the exchange, shocking Carlisle and the others.

Havoc laughed and told them that he trusted that they would make the right choice before leaving. The Grand Master then ordered his knights to seize the Adversary as Carlisle attempted to reason with him. He reminded the Grand Master that they owed their lives to the Adversary and asked if he truly thought that it was Mitra’s will to betray them. The Grand Master argued that Mitra’s will was to protect the holy land and claimed that that same will was what had delivered the Adversary to them, as thousands of believers could be saved at the cost of the life of a single heathen.

Having reached an impasse, the Grand Master ordered Seren to seize the Adversary. Seren raised her blade and claimed that even though she was no match for the Adversary in battle, she would lay down her life if Mitra willed it. However, she told the Grand Master that she couldn’t hear Mitra’s voice and told him that until she did, she refused to believe that betraying an ally was the will of the Sun God. She then ordered the knights to lay down their weapons and work together.

Some time later, Seren met with the Grand Master, who reminded her that she had only been named the Guardian, not the Chosen One. Seren told the Grand Master that she couldn’t believe that Mitra would want her to betray an ally. Realizing that Seren’s mind was made up, the Grand Master ordered her to form a rescue party and recover the Chosen One from the High Flora camp. He also told her that Aaron had learned that Chief Knight Gilmore, her old commanding officer, was the Chosen One whom they had to rescue, which shocked Seren.

That night, Seren formed a rescue party composed of the Adversary, Edea, Checky, and Hawkeye. They were awestruck at how immense the encampment was, with Checky asking if there were really that many High Flora soldiers. Edea explained that most of the Flora army was composed of common mercenaries, with only officers and above being High Flora.

(A/N: If the player is Ark, he’ll give that explanation to Checky instead of Edea, since he used to be a soldier in the High Flora army. The reason for this is because most of the High Flora were wiped wiped out during the Flora Civil War.)

Edea then asked Seren why she had betrayed her Order, as it seemed unlike her. Seren explained that returning light to Azor was her calling, and that she would do whatever it took to make that happen. However, she told the others that they weren’t bound to her fate, and that she wouldn’t ask them to die for her, as she was content with fulfilling her mission alone. Edea reminded her that there was still another way and asked her once again to become the Chosen One, but Seren told her that she couldn’t do it.

Edea regretted that it would have been the perfect time to try something if she had agreed, explaining that mother eagles pushed their young off a cliff in order to teach them how to fly, and that she had been thinking about doing the same to Seren in order to help her spread her wings again, though she decided that it was a bad idea. Seren then told them that she would take the lead and headed down the cliff.

Checky asked Edea why she hadn’t stopped Seren if she knew that it was a trap, to which she replied that Seren already knew it as well, which was why she had insisted on continuing alone. They then split into three teams and pushed past the Flora soldiers deeper into the encampment. Meanwhile, Seren continued on alone and encountered Gilmore held in a cage created by a spell circle of strange red magic.

Gilmore asked Seren if she had come alone, to which she replied that her allies were keeping the Flora soldiers busy. Because of how brazenly the camp was being attacked, Gilmore realized that she had brought the Adversary, adding that he would have expected that the Adversary would have been the one to lead the rescue mission personally.

He then released himself from the cage, with Seren quickly realizing that he hadn’t been imprisoned at all. When she accused him of being a traitor, Gilmore clarified that he was merely using the Flora, whom he referred to as ‘low creatures’, into helping him restore his Celestial powers by delivering the Adversary to them. (A/N: I wonder what Darmoor would’ve said if he heard Gilmore say that about the High Flora. Given what we learn about Darmoor at the end of this storyline, he might not disagree.)

He then showed Seren the emblem of the Chosen One and told her that he planned to cleanse the land of heathens and create a true paradise of the gods. Feeling Seren’s hesitation, he pointed his sword at her and asked if she remembered what the High Flora had done to High Mountain and the Celestials.

Suddenly, Edea created her own contaminant spell to trap Gilmore and shot dozens of lightning bolts from the sky at him. As the Flora soldiers discovered them, Edea told the Adversary to cover their escape and to get the emblem of the Chosen One from Gilmore. The Adversary and Hawkeye defeated the arriving Flora soldiers and wounded Gilmore, who cursed them and declared that he was coming for Azor. Before the Adversary could grab the emblem, Gilmore created a protective shield around himself with the same strange red magic as more Flora soldiers arrived. With no other choice, Hawkeye and the Adversary retreated.

(A/N: Ark gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he recognizes Gilmore’s power as being very familiar. The reason for this is because Gilmore is a special type of Specter, although you’ll see for yourself later what this means.)

Meanwhile, Seren told Edea that the emblem of the Chosen One shined for Gilmore, meaning that he was the true Chosen One. Edea told her that she knew that already, to which Seren asked why Edea had attacked him anyways. Edea reminded her that Gilmore had vowed to destroy the holy land, not to preserve it. Though she knew that Edea was right, Seren nevertheless insisted that Cernium would fall the same way as High Mountain if Azor wasn’t reawakened.

Edea told Seren that from what she had read in the library, she believed that she knew how to activate a holy relic, explaining that all mentions of the holy relics mentioned a ‘noble one’, a ‘righteous one’, a ‘pure one’, a Celestial, and so forth. However, there was no mention of a Chosen One, meaning that the emblem could shine for anyone worthy of wielding Azor, including Seren. She then asked Seren to stop waiting for fate to step in and instead take action, as she was the best savior that Cernium could hope for.

Soon after, Havoc and Avril returned to the camp, where they found Gilmore still within the protective shield. Havoc laughed at the sorry state that he was in as Gilmore dropped the shield down. Gilmore angrily claimed that he would bring the sun’s fury upon Havoc after taking up Azor, though Havoc merely scoffed at his words.

Avril then asked what their next move was, to which Havoc replied that he was bored of waiting, and that he had decided to attack. Avril warned that he was wasting their forces, and that it would be better to starve the enemy out. However, Havoc reassured her that he would be dealing with the enemy personally and claimed that their faith wouldn’t save them from him, just as he awakened his demon powers and transformed.

Later that night, Seren prayed to Mitra in the chamber of the holy sword and hoped that the Sun God would help show her the way. She noted to herself that the sky was full of crimson clouds, and that it wouldn’t be long before Havoc attacked. She also knew that if Gilmore took possession of Azor, it would spell certain doom for Cernium.

The next day, Seren and the Grand Master announced to the people that the Chosen One had been found, much to the people’s amazement. However, the Grand Master warned that Gilmore intended to follow the will of Mitra precisely, meaning that he would not spare the non-believers in the city and urged all those who didn’t follow Mitra to leave the city by sundown. The followers of Nerota and Spisa were furious, demanding to know how Mitra’s Order could treat them in such a way after they had helped defend Cernium from Ebonstar.

As Seren turned away, she ran into Carlisle and the Glory Guard, who asked if she knew what she was doing by allowing Gilmore to take possession of Azor. Seren told them that she knew the consequences, but added that Cernium didn’t stand a chance without Azor and Mitra’s blessing. She warned that Havoc’s powers would cover the whole of Cernium with lightning, making it impossible to get anywhere near the chamber of the holy sword.

Checky reminded her that they had the Adversary, and so they didn’t need Azor to stop the Flora army. However, Seren warned them that though the Adversary was strong, Havoc was on a different level. Realizing that Seren was dead set on giving up, Edea told Carlisle that as acting commander of the Glory Guard, she was formally terminating the partnership between the Alliance and Cernium, much to everyone’s shock.

Carlisle urged Edea to change her mind, but she told him that she needed to keep the Alliance safe, which couldn’t happen if Gilmore took possession of Azor. As Edea walked away, the Adversary urged Seren once more that it wasn’t too late to take up the sword. Seren reluctantly agreed to try and took hold of Azor, which didn’t react at all, just as she had suspected.

In the city square, Carlisle urged the Adversary to speak to Seren one more time, claiming that she would listen to them as the Adversary. They asked how being the Adversary would make a difference, to which Carlisle told them that whereas Seren had failed many times and had lost everything, the Adversary had succeeded and saved their world, which made Seren respect them.

The Adversary asked the townspeople if they knew where Seren was, but none of them had any idea where she could be. However, all of them were worried about Cernium’s fate and their unanimous opinion was that Seren should be the Chosen One, rather than a stranger like Gilmore. A Flame Priest told them that the blacksmith was also looking for Seren. The blacksmith told the Adversary that he had seen her heading south earlier, likely to visit the memorial.

As the Adversary headed towards the memorial, the blacksmith gave them a small sword-shaped necklace and asked them to give it to Seren, explaining that she would understand its significance. On their way outside the city, the Adversary ran into Edea, who told them that Carlisle had given her new information. According to him, Seren had asked the Grand Master that she be relieved of duty when she had first arrived in Cernium with Azor many years ago. Edea had her suspicions about why Seren believed that she couldn’t be the Chosen One, and so she asked if she could accompany them to visit her.

At the memorial, Seren was pondering over what Roland had asked her about finding her salvation in Cernium. She silently replied to herself that no matter where she went, she could find no salvation. She voiced aloud that she should be used to losing everything that she loved, including her home, her old compatriots, her new friends, and even her faith.

Just then, the Adversary and Edea found her amidst the swords of her fallen compatriots. Edea told Seren that she understood why Seren refused to become the Chosen One, explaining that she believed that Seren was using her injury as an excuse. The Adversary added that the reason why she refused to accept that she could be the Chosen One and the reason why Azor didn’t react to her was because she had lost her faith in Mitra when Havoc had attacked High Mountain. They explained that she had likely lost her faith because at the very moment when she had needed Mitra the most, she had been abandoned by her god.

Edea then asked why she continue serving the Order of Mitra if her faith had been wavering. Seren told Edea that as the only survivor left, she felt that her comrades’ sacrifice in the name of Mitra would have been in vain if she had abandoned the Order. The Adversary then understood Seren’s predicament: she couldn’t be the Chosen One, but she also couldn’t leave the faith either, all because she couldn’t acknowledge that her people had died fighting for a god who had abandoned them. Seren then asked for them to leave her, adding that the light needed to return to Azor.

That night, the Glory Guard met outside the city gates, where Checky and Hawkeye were surprised to learn the reason behind Seren’s refusal to become the Chosen One. Checky noted that by refusing to become the Chosen One, Seren was merely repeating a cycle of mistakes. His words then triggered the Adversary to recall something that Aaron had said about how the overdue library books collectively told a story about how those who didn’t understand the past were doomed to repeat its mistakes.

The Adversary began looking through the books and found that the first book spoke about how the Order of Mitra had undergone many divisions and reformations. The second described how ‘dawn’, ‘noon’, and ‘sunset’ were the only three words that remained to mark the position of the sun. The final spoke of how Mitra possessed many facets, from being tranquil and quiet, to righteous and benevolent, to wrathful in the face of injustice.

Just as they reached an epiphany, Aaron appeared and saw that by the look on the Adversary’s face, they had reached the same conclusion that he had. He explained that after centuries of the people not hearing Mitra’s voice, they had gradually forgotten the very origin of their beliefs. Just then, Edea arrived and greeted Aaron, explaining that she wanted to ask that he come to Maple World with them, as he wouldn’t be safe in Cernium after Gilmore took possession of Azor.

Hawkeye interrupted and asked him to first finish what he had been explaining. Aaron asked them to recall the sun and its place in the sky at dawn, noon, and sunset. He explained that ancient worshippers had believed that the sun brought hope at dawn, justice at noon, and flaming passion at sunset. After the Ancient Gods had disappeared, the followers of Mitra had split into three factions, each worshipping the sun’s three different aspects. Over the centuries, those followers had lost sight of the truth and had forgotten that Mitra, Spisa, and Nerota were all facets of the same god.

The Glory Guard was shocked, as the revelation meant that all the holy wars and sacrifices had been part of an ultimately meaningless conflict. Checky also realized that Gilmore was wrong, as there were no non-believers in Cernium if all the different faiths ultimately worshipped Mitra. Aaron agreed, but he reminded them that a single seed of doubt could crumble the entire foundation of one’s faith, just as it had done for Seren.

Edea realized that the other sects would never accept it, as doing so would force them to acknowledge that every terrible deed that they had ever committed in the name of their god had been unjustified. However, it also meant that the Chosen One had been selected long ago, as the criteria for being chosen was that they needed to be worthy of the power, as well as to have the support of all three Orders, meaning that Gilmore was unworthy of awakening Azor without the full support of the Orders.

Edea then rushed to check on something, just as several Alliance soldiers warned that they needed to leave soon. Edea asked them to go on without her, as she would be back after checking something, and told Aaron that her offer to bring him to Maple World still stood. Aaron thanked her, but declined, as he wished to continue watching over the library. Though Edea wanted them to leave, Hawkeye told the group that they couldn’t go without her and decided that in her place, the Adversary would take up command.

With the authority as the new acting commander, the Adversary declared that the Alliance would aid Cernium once again and decided to defend the western ramparts while ordering Hawkeye and Checky to defend the eastern ramparts. After fighting off the Flora soldiers on the western ramparts, the Adversary received word that the eastern ramparts needed reinforcements. There, the Adversary was shocked to see that thousands of Flora soldiers stood at the eastern gates.

Carlisle arrived with the Flame Priests and Dawn Priests and thanked the Adversary for deciding to help Cernium. He explained that the Orders of Spisa and Nerota refused to acknowledge Gilmore as the Chosen One, and so they were choosing to help defend the city. They began their counterattack on the Flora army, but the sheer numbers of the enemy shook Carlisle’s confidence in being able to save the city.

Meanwhile, Avril was overseeing the battle when Ebonstar soldiers arrived at her command. She told them that on Havoc’s orders, they were to eliminate the Ice Witch Edea, as she was on the verge of discovering the true Chosen One. She then ordered them to tell Gilmore that he was to be sent out immediately. As the Alliance and Cernium continued fighting off the Flora army, Carlisle looked up at the crimson sky in fear and immediately ordered all forces to retreat. On the ramparts, Havoc’s powerful lightning bolts targeted all of Cernium and the Alliance’s foot soldiers and instantly vaporized them.

(A/N: The Demon gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he recognizes Havoc’s power as being that of a pure-blood demon. It’s interesting that a demon was able to make it all the way to Grandis, and it leads to speculation as to whether the demon race existed before Maple World and Grandis was split, leaving some stranded on Grandis after the worlds were separated, or whether Havoc somehow left Tynerum and arrived in Grandis later on.

Given that we don’t see many pure-blood demons aside from Mastema, it’s worth considering that Havoc could possibly be the Demon and Damien’s father if they decide to make that connection. Their father was exiled from Tynerum for speaking out against the pure-blooded demons’ experiments to steal a Transcendent’s powers, which resulted in Tynerum becoming the desolate wasteland that it is in the present day.

If it’s true that Havoc is the Demon’s father, he would have needed to have been exiled before the Demon was born, since he doesn’t recognize Havoc in this storyline. It’s possible that Havoc spent some time wandering Maple World after being exiled from Tynerum, after which he used the Interdimensional Portal to cross over to Grandis after it appeared when the Black Mage stole Rhinne’s powers.)

Meanwhile, a court knight arrived and warned Edea to immediately retreat, as lightning had stuck the palace and had started a massive fire. Edea told the knight that she needed ten more minutes and asked them to tell Aaron to use the fire extinguisher if she was not out in that time. Soon after, she found the book that she was looking for, which detailed how, in the time of the Ancient Gods, mortals had attempted to find a way to end the chaos wrought by the gods’ disregard for the natural order.

Their research had led them to investigate previously forbidden studies, but the horrifying beasts that they had spawned were abominations that despised humanity. Nevertheless, the inhumane experiments had continued until finally, after years of failure, they had succeeded in creating a monster with many souls contained within a single body. Against the will of the gods, those creations had been able to wield weapons containing the gods’ own power used against them.

(A/N: The creatures born from these experiments were Specters. Earlier in this section, it was explained that the relics of the Ancient Gods operate on a similar principle as the Seal Stones. Just like how the Seal Stones respond to the powerful determination of a population and choose Vessels who embody the will of the people, the holy relics will only allow those whom the people have faith in to wield them.

In order to circumvent this, the researchers in the time of the Ancient Gods attempted to fill a host body with countless Specter souls from the Abyss, which would trick the holy relics into thinking that the souls of the people are with the host body, when in actuality, those souls have been taken from the Abyss and artificially stuffed into them. As the relics can’t distinguish between the two, they’ll assume that those souls came organically from the people’s support, allowing mortals to kill the Ancient Gods with their own relics.

The book that Edea reads mentions that the countless failures resulted in the creation of horrifying beasts, which is likely referring to the normal Specter monsters that we fight. Most people who undergo the Specter ritual get completely taken over, which results in their soul being consumed so that the Specter becomes the sole host of that body.

We can assume that people like Ark and Limbo, and potentially Mr. Hazard, since we saw that he had Specter markings on his body, are prime candidates for becoming special Specters, as their souls being able to withstand the Specter takeover means that they can likely handle being filled with a lot more. I have some speculations about why the High Flora are reviving these ancient experiments, but I’ll save that for the end of this section.)

From the information in the book, Edea was able to confirm that Gilmore was indeed a fake Chosen One. Just then, Ebonstar soldiers surrounded her amidst the growing fire. With no need to worry about the library burning, Edea was free to use her lightning attacks on the soldiers. Meanwhile, the surviving troops evacuated from the ramparts to the city square. Carlisle realized that Havoc’s tactics were precisely how High Mountain had fallen and he wondered how Havoc had been able to engulf the entire city in a lightning storm. He then asked the Adversary to find Edea while the rest of them held the line.

In the library, Aaron learned from the court knight that Edea had gone missing, and that she had asked him to use the fire extinguisher in ten minutes, which had long since passed. Though Aaron wanted to use the extinguisher before the library burned down, he decided to go after Edea, as removing all the oxygen from the room with the extinguisher would kill her.

Soon after, the Adversary arrived and the court knight explained that Aaron had gone after Edea. After fighting through the Ebonstar soldiers, they caught up with Aaron and the two eventually found Edea, who told them that she needed to speak with Seren in the chamber of the holy sword. She warned the Adversary to keep their distance once they arrived, as the activated sword would channel Mitra’s consciousness, and since the Ancient Gods were hostile towards Adversaries, it would likely turn on them.

She asked them to help defend the city square and warned them to keep their distance from Havoc, since his strength was unknown, adding that it would be disastrous for the Alliance if they were to lose the Adversary. As the Adversary headed off, Aaron told Edea that he had translated the inscription on Azor, “Alvationsay inway Andhay”, and had learned that it didn’t mean “Salvation is in Cernium” like what Roland had said. Instead, it meant “Salvation is in your own hands”, as it was the people who needed unconditional faith, not the gods.

After Edea left, Aaron attempted to activate the fire extinguisher, but he found that the fire had broken it, meaning that it was too late to save the library. He then noted that the damage could now only be undone by a god.

(A/N: This is one of the few other hints that Aaron is actually Darmoor. Here, he’s suggesting that he himself is the god in question who can undo the damage. In GMS, this was instead localized as, “Only the gods can save us now,” which doesn’t really convey the intended meaning.)

In the town square, the Adversary told Carlisle about Edea’s plan and began to mobilize troops to hold the city. Meanwhile, the Grand Master found Seren praying before Azor and wondered whether the city could be facing its final moments, and whether its destruction was truly the will of Mitra. The other knights warned the Grand Master that they needed to leave the palace before it was destroyed, to which the Grand Master wondered how the Chosen One hadn’t shown up yet.

Soon after they left, Gilmore arrived and looked around at how such a once-illustrious palace had fallen to ruin, with storm clouds blotting out the sun and the High Flora swarming across the land like vermin. Seren asked what would happen once Gilmore became the Chosen One, to which he explained that he would begin a great cleansing of the land, starting with the Flora, after which he would remove the heretics and the cultists who had infested the city. Seren told him that the various Orders had finally made peace after centuries, and that she believed that it wasn’t necessary to expel them.

Gilmore laughed at Seren’s presumption that he would merely expel them and reminded her that every person had the choice to either worship the sun or be destroyed by its flames. As he walked past her to take Azor, Edea rushed in to see Seren. Gilmore drew his sword on Edea and told her that he would destroy her for sullying their sacred ground. Seren immediately drew her blade and parried Gilmore, yelling at Edea to run.

Meanwhile, the Adversary continued to defend the city square while dodging Havoc’s devastating lightning attacks. However, the Flora soldiers continued pouring into the city as the storm above them grew worse. Carlisle began cursing himself for having underestimated the Apostle. Realizing that Havoc needed to be stopped, the Adversary decided to face him themselves. Just then, Aaron arrived to stop them and explained that the time had come.

In the chamber of the holy sword, a wounded Edea watched Gilmore standing over Seren, her blade broken. As he prepared to strike her down, Edea used the last of her strength to create a magical seal around Gilmore, allowing Seren to deliver the final blow. Defeated, Gilmore dissipated into thin air as Seren lamented that Azor would never find its light with the Chosen One destroyed. Edea then revealed that Gilmore was a special type of Specter, filled with countless souls that had given him enough power to appear as though he was the Chosen One in an attempt to trick Azor into choosing him to wield the power of Mitra.

She then gave Seren the emblem of the Chosen One that Gilmore had dropped and told her that she had earned the trust of the people. Seren protested that the emblem didn’t glow in her hands and wondered what more everyone expected from her, as she couldn’t change basic facts. Just then, the Adversary arrived and told her that they understood what it was like to feel helpless, as they had been filled with doubt throughout the battle with the Black Mage, just as she was now, and explained that it wasn’t until the very last moment that someone had helped them see the light.

(A/N: This is actually a very rare case where GMS’ localization was better than KMS’ version. KMS just said that it wasn’t until the last moment that we realized what we were missing, with help from our friends. But GMS’ localization, in which we talk about someone helping us “see the light”, is a specific reference to Tana, the Transcendent of Light, who came out of the Genesis Crux and helped us understand how to use the power of the Adversary. I like GMS’ translation way better than the generic “my friends helped me” line that KMS had because it ties back to our character arc a lot better.)

Edea then told her that Aaron had properly translated the inscription on Azor and revealed to her that it meant “Salvation is in your own hands”. The Adversary asked her not to wait for the prophecy to fulfill itself, but to instead fulfill her destiny with her own two hands, while Edea asked her to try putting faith into herself for once. To Seren’s surprise, the emblem began glowing in her hands as she began to believe in herself again.

(A/N: This message is something that continues my favorite narrative in the story, which is the power of free will. It’s something that’s been pushed throughout the Arcane River storyline with the idea that people aren’t bound to their destinies, and that everyone has the power to change themselves. I’m not sure if the writers had intended for it or not, but this idea of the promise of free will being something that gets lost in translation is something that also happened in my favorite book of all time, East of Eden.

During the plot of the book, the main characters are reading the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible and are trying to reconcile a discrepancy in two different localizations of the Bible, specifically in regard to the word ‘timshel’, used in the original Hebrew text. The first translation that they consider is one in which ‘timshel’ has been translated as ‘thou shalt’. In the context of the Bible, it reads, ‘thou shalt rule over sin’. In this translation, God is promising Cain that he’s guaranteed to succeed in ruling over his sin. However, the other official translation localizes ‘timshel’ as ‘do thou’, as in, ‘do thou rule over sin'. This translation instead shows that God is ordering Cain to rule over his sin.

Because of this, the main characters are trying to figure out whether God has promised humanity that they’ll be saved, or whether humanity has been tasked with figuring it all out on their own. Eventually, however, they realize that the actual translation for ‘timshel’ is ‘thou mayest’, as in ‘thou mayest rule over sin’. This original translation is significant because it means that, rather than God giving a promise or a command, he’s instead given Cain a choice to rule over his sin. In this way, humanity has inherited the gift of free will from Cain, allowing their choices to determine their own worth.

This idea is echoed in the Cernium storyline with how the words ‘Alvationsay inway Andhay’ get mistranslated by Roland as ‘Salvation is in Cernium’. Seren, upon hearing these words, believes that the inscription on Azor supports her belief that she isn’t worthy of being the Chosen One because she’s lost her faith in Mitra. She realizes that if her salvation lies only in Cernium and the holy faith, it means that her deep-rooted trauma and guilt over being unable to save her comrades can only be forgiven by Mitra.

For her, this is basically a confirmation that not only will she find no salvation for the rest of her life, but that she doesn’t even deserve to be saved because she’s lost her faith in the one person in existence who can take away her pain. Because of this, she internalizes her trauma and psychologically cripples herself by ensuring that she can never spread her wings again.

On the surface, this reinforces her belief that she isn’t worthy of being ‘fixed’, and that her broken wings are her punishment for her broken faith. But beneath the surface, what she doesn’t consciously realize is that she herself is the one who’s holding herself back from being fixed, as she’s internalized the belief that she doesn’t deserve to be whole again after losing her faith in Mitra, which is reflected in the fact that she’s subconsciously severed her connection to her god by cutting herself off from her Celestial features, almost like an angel who’s lost her wings and fell from grace.

However, just like how the characters of East of Eden realize that ‘timshel’ means ‘thou mayest’, the true meaning of ‘Alvationsay inway Andhay’ gets revealed as ‘Salvation is in your own hands’, and just like in the book, the true meaning of the inscription on Azor is an affirmation to Seren that her salvation isn’t something that a god can give or take away from her. Here, she realizes that her salvation isn’t found through her faith in Mitra, but in herself, giving her back the agency and free will that she had believed that she didn’t have anymore.

Just as Cain was given the freedom by God to choose whether he wants to save himself by overcoming his sin, Seren is given the freedom by Mitra, through her inscribed words, that she has the choice to save herself. Much like how ‘timshel’ didn’t mean ‘thou shalt’ or ‘do thou’, Seren isn’t being given a promise that she’ll overcome her trauma, nor is she being ordered to do it - she’s been given the freedom of choosing to believe in herself again, with no strings or conditions attached on whether she succeeds or not.

I think that Cernium might actually have my favorite message in the entire story because of this, especially because of how realistic Seren’s process of overcoming trauma is. Her journey isn’t linear and structured - she stumbles and falls and gives up and tries again, and she’ll feel like she has no control over her life, which makes her even more frustrated because she just can’t accept everyone around her telling her that she does have the power to save herself.

She finds reasons - especially irrational reasons - to keep believing that she has no agency, and it traps her in a self-propagating loop that she subconsciously wants to break free from, but she just doesn’t know how, which makes her believe that her pain just has to be her punishment because she can’t make sense of why those feelings just won’t go away when everyone around her makes it sound like moving on is as easy as just wanting it.

Even the way that the people around her react to her trauma is so realistic, like how Edea gets frustrated by Seren refusing to try, and Seren feeling even worse because she doesn’t know how to fix herself and it feels like everyone around her is running out of patience, especially since they need a Chosen One now more than ever. Seeing Seren slowly regain her agency and realizing that her salvation lies in her own hands is almost tied with the Adversary rejecting their toxic belief in self-sacrifice as my favorite moment in the game, and it’s another reason why I love Seren so much.)

Seren then took up Azor, which glowed brightly and filled her with the divine power of the sun. Spreading her wings, she took to the skies and engaged in a colossal battle against Havoc. Their glowing figures clashed in the sky, with red lightning on one side of the sky and sunlight breaking through the clouds on the other. (A/N: Adding yet another layer of symbolism to this battle, Seren regaining her wings and facing Havoc, a pure-blood demon, is literally just an angel vs demon fight.)

The people of Cernium rejoiced at the appearance of the Chosen One, marveling at how the sun hadn’t abandoned them. Because of Seren, Havoc ceased his lightning attacks on the city, giving the united people of Cernium and the Alliance the opening that they needed to turn the tables on the Flora army. Havoc was soon defeated by Seren, causing him to crash down violently from the sky. With the Apostle of Lightning defeated, the Flora army was successfully repelled from the city.

A few days after the battle, the Adversary met with Carlisle in the ruins of the palace, where he told them that the Order of Mitra was to formally anoint Seren as the Chosen One in order to give the people hope before the rebuilding efforts began. He told them that Edea was in the library, likely apologizing to Aaron, as Aaron could have activated the fire extinguisher and saved the library if she hadn’t been trapped inside.

He also mentioned that Edea was angry with the Adversary for ignoring her warning during the battle and running off after Seren, as she was worried that Seren, the vessel of Mitra, may have attacked the Adversary instead of the Apostle of Lightning. However, he added that thanks to Seren’s indomitable will, even Mitra likely couldn’t turn her against her allies. In the library, Edea profusely apologized to Aaron for all the countless knowledge that had been lost, but Aaron told her not to apologize, as it was nothing compared to all the lives that they had saved.

(A/N: After Edea leaves, Aaron’s eyes glow red in order to hint at the fact that he’s actually an enemy. He then uses the power of time that he stole from Chronica in order to restore the library offscreen.)

Edea arrived to meet the Glory Guard and Carlisle as they watched the Grand Master formally recognize Seren as the Chosen One. To Carlisle’s surprise, Aaron arrived at the palace and approached Seren. The Adversary asked if Aaron wasn’t supposed to be there, but Carlisle explained that he had never seen Aaron willingly walk in to a crowd before. Aaron congratulated Seren and asked if she had heard the voice of Mitra since becoming the Chosen One. Seren told him that she hadn’t had that honor yet, to which Aaron offered to show her how.

Suddenly, Seren was consumed with divine energy as Mitra herself possessed Seren’s body. The audience was shocked at the devastating power that emanated from Seren, who declared that, “The wrath of the sun is upon you,” exactly like how she had done in the Adversary’s vision when they had attempted to wield Azor. She then turned to face the Adversary, recognizing the power of the Seal Stone inside them, and the two engaged in a fierce battle. (A/N: Unlike most other bosses, Seren doesn’t have a story mode fight and the actual battle happens offscreen.)

The shockwave of their battle wounded everyone in the audience, and the Adversary barely managed to win by shattering Azor. Seren, having regained her senses, was shocked at the destruction of the holy sword, just as Aaron approached the wounded Adversary. To everyone’s shock, he extracted the Seal Stone from the Adversary and told them that he had warned that it would only bring death, after which he shattered it. As he walked away, Edea asked who he really was, to which Aaron, his eyes glowing red, replied, “I am the one who tires of the folly of lesser lifeforms,” thus revealing himself as Gerand Darmoor.

Some time later, Seren met with the Adversary and explained that she was leaving Cernium in order to find a way to repair Azor. Before she left, the Adversary remembered the blacksmith’s earlier request and gave her the sword-shaped necklace. Seren recognized the metal as having come from Roland’s sword. Though she knew that a Templar shouldn’t carry such a thing, with Azor being broken and her leaving Cernium, she supposed that it didn’t matter anymore. She told the Adversary that she would cherish it and thanked them for everything, adding that she hoped that their paths would cross again.

Soon after, the Glory Guard returned to Maple World and the Alliance held a meeting to cover the shocking events that had transpired. Edea explained that they had tried to protect the Adversary, but Mitra’s power had badly injured everyone. She confessed that things could have been far worse if Seren hadn’t been able to take control of her body back.

Neinheart was surprised that the holy sword could have broken so easily, to which Edea echoed Aaron’s words and told him that only a god could destroy another god, and that Adversary and the Seal Stone were matched in power with Mitra and Azor, which was likely what Darmoor had intended all along. When Cygnus asked what had happened to Seren, Edea explained that Seren had left Cernium in order to fix Azor. She explained that after the Adversary had broken the holy sword, the city was in uproar, and it had been a miracle that they had been able to leave without getting hurt.

Neinheart summarized that they had learned nothing of the Ancient Gods, the alliance with Cernium had failed, and the Adversary had lost the power of the Seal Stone. Edea agreed that it was a disaster, but she explained that there was no way that they could have known that Aaron was Gerand Darmoor. Claudine asked why Darmoor had not only allowed the Adversary and the other Alliance members to escape, but he had also restored the library using the power of time.

Athena Pierce supposed that it meant that he didn’t consider the Alliance a threat anymore. Edea added that he was a Transcendent, and that there was no way to know what he was thinking. However, she noted that everything had seemed too well-coordinated for it to have merely been a move against the Alliance or even the Adversary. She also added that even though it may have been an act, she couldn’t help but think that it had something to do with what he had told her when they had first met, which was that he hated the High Flora more than anyone else, despite being born as one.

(A/N: Darmoor and his motivations are probably the biggest question in the Grandis story. His original motivation when Grandis lore was introduced in Kaiser and Angelic Buster’s storyline was that he was a proponent of peace and spoke out against the Flora Civil War, eventually becoming insane due to the sheer scale of carnage, after which he awakened as the Transcendent of Life and sought to remake life in order to establish true peace.

In future Grandis stories, we’ve seen a lot of evidence to suggest that, far from wanting the war to end, Darmoor was the one who had incited it to begin with. However, rather than making his original backstory non-canon, the writers have made it a plot point that there are several conflicting stories about Darmoor that don’t add up, which continues to add a level of mystery to what he really wants. I’ve made a running list of every open plot point about the Grandis story here, which I think should be helpful for speculation purposes.

As far as what I think about Darmoor’s goals, I think that it’s gonna go in one of two ways. The first is something that I’ve believed for a while now, although the more that the story develops, the less likely I think it is. That theory is that Darmoor and the Black Mage have been working together from the very beginning to destroy the Overseers and the Ancient Gods.

We know that Darmoor and the Black Mage have a shared link to each other through Magnus, who served the Black Mage and told Darmoor everything that he had learned in Maple World as a Commander. Ark’s storyline also suggests that Darmoor intentionally wanted to link Maple World and Grandis, and that, according to rumor, he had used one of the Interdimensional Portals on Grandis to visit Maple World, meaning that it’s highly likely that he’s met the Black Mage.

The Black Mage has wanted to destroy the Overseers from the very beginning by destroying the Transcendents, which would make it so that the Overseers can’t interface with the universe anymore. However, we also know from the Convergence storyline that not only was he aware that the Ancient Gods would return after the Transcendents’ death, but that he also considered them to be dangerous and harmful to the world.

Because of this, I’m certain that he wouldn’t have gone forward with his plan to destroy the Transcendents without having something in place to deal with the gods once they came back. I would speculate that if he and Darmoor are working together, his plan would’ve been to eliminate the Transcendents in Maple World before passing on the torch to Darmoor, who would deal with the Ancient Gods while taking care of the Transcendents of Grandis.

Jumping to a distant possibility, we could also speculate that Darmoor might pass on the job to a Transcendent of the third world, whether that’s the White Mage of Earth or someone else, to handle the Transcendents of that last world and potentially any other gods or threatening entities, which will ensure that with the elimination of all the Transcendents and the Ancient Gods, the universe will be finally free from the interference of higher beings.

We know that both the Black Mage and Darmoor have the same goal to remake the world, and I think that just like how the Black Mage’s plan to remake the world was a front to have the Adversary kill him, Darmoor’s plan to remake all life is also a front for his real goal. Darmoor has been committing genocide by wiping out races and forcibly converting many of them into Specters for his army. Personally, I believe that he’s mass-creating Specters in order to build his army of normal Specters, as well as to find hosts like Ark and Limbo who can become special Specters and wield the holy relics against the gods.

Adele’s storyline revealed that Darmoor is finding keys to reawakening the gods, which leads me to believe that he’s awakening the gods and finding their relics so that his forces can destroy them. I think that he might be planning to make an army and resume the Ancient War, except this time, he’s planning to destroy the gods once and for all.

However, I’ve recently come around to the opposite explanation, which is that Darmoor is being used by the Overseers to destroy the Ancient Gods. The main two things that make me believe that this is more likely is that during the Genesis weapon liberation questline, one of the things that the Black Mage had intended for us to learn in Magnus’ flashback was that Darmoor uses very different methods than the Black Mage, which suggests that their goals are nothing alike.

During the Esfera storyline, Kain got some exclusive dialogue that had him wonder whether Aeona was responsible for wiping out the Black Nova. The fact that both Aeona and Darmoor have committed mass genocide of multiple races might mean that both of them are being made to do it by the Overseers. Going by that assumption, Darmoor’s plan to destroy the Ancient Gods might be the Overseers using him as damage control after the Black Mage outmaneuvered them and caused the gods to wake up. It could that this time, they intend to kill the gods outright instead of just sealing them away again.

Both of these interpretations still have some holes to them, like why Darmoor stole Chronica’s powers, why he destroyed the Adversary’s Seal Stone, and why he hates the High Flora, but those questions are probably only gonna be answered in about 5-10 years when the Grandis story wraps up. Either way, I’m greatly enjoying the Grandis story so far and I’m looking forward to how it all plays out.)

Hotel Arcus:

(A/N: Without the Seal Stone, we’re technically not the Adversary anymore. However, for the sake of consistency, I’ll continue referring to us as the Adversary, especially since we’re on track to regain our power in future storylines.)

A few months after the events of Cernium, Neinheart reached out to the Adversary and told them that the Alliance had unearthed some new information about the Ancient Gods. He explained that a strange intruder had infiltrated Ereve a few nights ago. As the Chief Knights had chased after them, Neinheart had found a set of rabbit-like footprints leading in the opposite direction. He had then run into Cosim, the intruder, who had told Neinheart that some of the answers that the Alliance sought about the Ancient Gods could be found amidst the deserts of Grandis, after which he disappeared.

(A/N: We’re first introduced to Cosim during the Detective Rave’s Case Notes theme dungeon, in which he appears wearing a cosmic helmet filled with starry shapes and help us save Savage Terminal from Senya Angler. At the end of the story, Cosim decides to visit the ‘oldsters’ up top, a reference to the realm of the sages, as he’s disturbed by the return of the Angler Company and the Apostles of Gerand Darmoor making their move.)

As the Chief Knights returned, Cosim had overlooked them on a cliff, watching them speak with Neinheart. Cosim had then taken off his helmet, revealing his masked face, and spoke aloud that the Alliance should hurry, as their quarry was the slowest of all, but faster than the hare.

(A/N: Cosim’s name outside GMS is Lepus, which is the Latin word for ‘hare’. I have absolutely no idea why they changed this, as it’s meant to tie into his rabbit aesthetic, such as his bunny-ear headband and his rabbit-like footprints. In KMS, Cosim instead says that their quarry is the slowest of all, but faster than him.

Their quarry is Archelon, an Ancient God in the shape of an enormous turtle. Cosim’s line about their quarry being faster than the hare is very obviously a reference to the short story, “The Tortoise and the Hare”. Archelon’s name is derived from the genus of the extinct marine turtle ‘Archelon’, which is the largest turtle species to have ever been recorded in history.)

A few days later, Neinheart led Belle and the Adversary to a decrepit train station somewhere in the deserts of Grandis, explaining what had happened with Cosim along the way. Neinheart told the Adversary that he had no notion of what exactly they were intended to discover, adding that he highly doubted that such a decrepit desert train station was even still in operation.

Just then, the Adversary noticed a sign that pointed to Hotel Arcus. After considering it, Neinheart decided that they should investigate the hotel, as they had a responsibility to investigate any lead, no matter how unpromising.

(A/N: Wild Hunters get some exclusive dialogue here, in which they ask Belle why her jaguar, Black Jack, didn’t come with her. Belle explains that Black Jack had told her that jaguars are vulnerable in the sand. However, she then notices that our jaguar seems to be fine. The implication here is that Black Jack probably lied to Belle to get out of having to go to the sweltering desert.)

They soon arrived at the hotel, where they found a robot who introduced himself as Captain Archelon. As he poured them a drink, Irena revealed that she had already arrived at the hotel and told them that they were late.

(A/N: Just like how the Glory Guard in Cernium was composed of the two pirate instructors, Hawkeye and Checky, our mission to Hotel Arcus has the two bowmen instructors, Irena and Belle, to serve as our Glory Guard companions.

Wind Archers get some exclusive dialogue here, in which they express their surprise to see Irena. Irena greets us and notes that it’s our first time being dispatched on a mission together. The Ignition revamp for Cygnus Knight storyline retroactively creates a minor continuity error with this line, as Wind Archers travel with Irena to the Gate to the Future in their 4th job advancement, which would make this trip to Hotel Arcus their second mission together.

Lara also gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which Archelon recognizes Lara’s bell and notes that he’s seen it before, long ago. Lara is surprised and asks him whether he remembers when he last saw the bell. Archelon hits an error while attempting to access his memory circuits, to which Lara laughs and tells him that her grandfather would forget things all the time too.)

Archelon then offered to make them fried eggs and activated a Cookbot, which loudly proclaimed that it was engaging its egg preparation protocol and launched a fried egg on Belle’s face. Just then, a boy named Rusty appeared after hearing the noise and introduced himself as the hotel manager and mechanic, asking what had brought them all the way out to the desert. Neinheart explained that they were investigating traces of an Ancient God, but Rusty told him that he hadn’t heard about anything like that before.

Realizing that Cosim’s tip was likely a dead end, Neinheart decided to find the nearest Alliance base to get a transport back. However, Rusty warned that a sandstorm was coming and recommended that they stay indoors. Deciding that it would be best for them to rest, Neinheart booked four rooms for himself and the others.

The next day, the Adversary and the others found a note from Neinheart, which explained that he was heading back to the Outpost, as their fastest airship only had room for one, and that he was entrusting them with finding information on the Ancient Gods. Furious at Neinheart’s treachery, Belle punched a wall and created a massive crack. Hearing the noise and fearing that the marauders had returned, Rusty rushed over and yelled at the Glory Guard for trashing his hotel, demanding that they pay for the damage.

Belle tried explained that they didn’t have the funds to pay him, as their nations were teetering on the edge of bankruptcy after the war against the Black Mage, and asked if he could let it slide, promising that she would leave immediately to have Neinheart repay him. Irena reminded her that they needed to investigate the Ancient Gods, but Belle snapped and asked what Ancient God would want to live in such a wasteland.

Rusty agreed and told them that if an Ancient God were out in the desert, then he would have known about it, as he had spent his whole life in the hotel. In order to repay him, Rusty made the Glory Guard peel potatoes. Belle fumed that she was stuck doing chores while on a mission, but the Adversary reminded her that Rusty had threatened to tell everyone that the Alliance would rather run away than pay their debts.

Furious, Belle decided that she was going to head back to the Alliance, but in the lobby, she ran into Senya Angler wearing a cowboy outfit and followed by three Senyabots.

(A/N: If the player has completed Detective Rave’s Case Notes, the Adversary will immediately recognize Senya, who greets us and notes that it’s been a while before asking whether we’ve missed her. Otherwise, both the player and Irena will say that they recognize Senya from the Alliance reports.)

Though Irena and the Adversary immediately recognized Senya, a clueless Belle asked who she was. After being reminded by Irena about the Alliance reports, Belle recognized both Senya and the Angler Company. Senya laughed that she hadn’t realized that the Company’s reputation had made it all the way across the forgotten sea to Maple World.

Rusty then arrived after hearing the commotion and Senya introduced herself to him, explaining that she had come to buy the hotel. However, Belle called her bluff and told Rusty that Senya was from the Angler Company, which was still rumored to be active, despite having been wiped out in a massive explosion several years ago. From the Alliance reports, Belle read that Senya had recently been sighted in Savage Terminal, where she had been believed to be conducting acquisitions on the Company’s behalf, with T-Boy being one of her known associates.

Belle also read that Senya was currently regarded as missing and flagged report-on-sight, causing her to note that the Alliance considered her to be important. The Adversary then pointed out that Senya likely had some ulterior motive behind buying a run-down hotel in the middle of the desert and suspected that her plan had something to do with the Ancient Gods. Both Irena and Belle agreed that they needed to stop Senya from buying the hotel. They then spoke to Rusty and explained who Senya was, adding that he shouldn’t sell her the hotel.

However, Rusty told them that he would be crazy not to take her offer, as she was offering quite a lot of money, whereas they couldn’t even pay for the damage that they had done to the hotel. Irena asked Rusty why he hadn’t immediately taken the deal, to which he explained that he wasn’t sure why she would be offering so much money for a run-down hotel. Because of that, he was planning to sleep on the offer for a few days, and so Irena suggested to the others that they look for clues on the Ancient Gods in the meantime.

Rusty then explained that he had an old treasure map which might be useful to them, though he couldn’t remember where he had gotten it. He told them that the map also had something written on it, which Archelon helpfully supplied was, “It is the slowest of all, but the first to arrive.”

(A/N: The treasure map shows the outline of a giant turtle that encompasses the Arcus desert, which is a reference to Archelon’s true body buried beneath the sands.)

However, Rusty told them that he had lost the treasure map long ago, likely to the outlaws who frequently raided the hotel pantry when they ran out of food. As the trio headed into the desert, they discovered that a robot named Toogi was following them. Just then, the leader of the Ironshots appeared and warned that they were on Ironshot turf. Toogi then voiced that they were hotel guests, causing the Ironshot leader to back off, as the Ironshots weren’t permitted to touch hotel guests.

Belle asked him whether the Ironshots had ever stolen a treasure map, which he confirmed. He offered to give the map in exchange for them fighting off the Sandblade Marauders so that the Ironshots could expand into their territory. After fighting off the Marauders, the Adversary returned to the Ironshot boss, who told them that the Puxillians had seized much of the Ironshots’ territory, where the map had been left behind. As they moved to go find it, the boss realized that there must be a great treasure where the map led to and began to get aggressive.

The Ironshot gangsters then started to attack them, causing the Glory Guard to retreat. However, they soon realized that they had left Toogi behind. Belle wanted to go back for him, but Irena told her that it would be dangerous and claimed that broken machines could be replaced. Belle argued that no two robots were the same and rushed back in to save Toogi.

Belle was able to save Toogi and bring it back, but she found that Toogi had been damaged. Irena asked Belle why she had risked her life to save a robot, to which Belle replied that Toogi had only been in danger because of them. They then brought Toogi to Rusty and asked if he could repair the robot. Rusty told them that his robots were more complex than a typical machine, and that they were just as difficult to repair. Belle explained that she was an expert with machines, which she worked with every day for the Resistance.

However, Rusty told her that he had been building robots for his entire life, and that there was no way that she could fix something that was difficult for even him. Belle was annoyed at his words and attempted to argue, though Irena quickly shut her down. Rusty then told her that they would be able to find the part that they needed at the old drive-in theater in Puxillian territory.

The Adversary was surprised that there was a theater in the middle of the desert, to which Archelon explained that Rusty used to go to the theater all the time until Kelly, the other mechanic who had worked on the trains, had left the city. Irena suggested that Belle rest and recover from her injuries while she and the Adversary went. They then asked Rusty where Senya was, to which he explained that she had gone for a walk.

Suspecting that Senya was searching for something, Belle noted that they had an edge over her, as they knew where the treasure map was. She then asked the Adversary to look for the part that she needed to fix Toogi while they were searching for the map at the drive-in theater, vowing that she would fix Toogi on her honor as a member of the Resistance. (A/N: Resistance classes and Xenon get some exclusive dialogue here, in which they promise that they’ll help her fix Toogi too.)

As they headed into Puxillian territory, Irena told the Adversary that she felt bad that someone as young as Rusty was managing a hotel that no one ever came to.

(A/N: When we arrive at the theater, Irena asks us if we’ve ever been somewhere like this before. We can either say “once or twice”, to which she’ll say that she never pegged us for the social type, adding that it’s a first for her, or we can say “never”, to which she’ll say that she hasn’t been somewhere like this either.

The drive-in theater is actually playing an M-Force movie based on the events of the Omega Sector theme dungeon. In the Omega Sector storyline, Hoony is the Blue M-Forcer and a professional actor, and at the end of the storyline, he decides that he’s going to make a film based on their latest adventure. The Hotel Arcus storyline confirms that he did end up making that movie.

I thought that it was a bit strange that Maple World movies are playing in Grandis, especially since we later see that the same movie has been playing ever since Rusty was a little kid. I guess that it makes sense when you consider that the Interdimensional Portal has been around for quite a few years now, meaning that it’s entirely possible that Grandis might’ve adopted some of Maple World’s culture, just like how Maple World seems to have adopted Grandis’ hologram technology.

The Omega Sector storyline also revealed that Joey, the Green M-Forcer, markets the M-Forcers and even sells merchandise of them in order to fund the Omega Sector headquarters. Since we’ve seen in the theme dungeon that the aliens of Omega Sector buy their merchandise, it’s entirely possible that Joey also capitalized on the appearance of the Interdimensional Portal to expand his business to Grandis, which would explain why the M-Forcers are famous enough on Grandis that their movies are playing in a drive-in theater in the middle of nowhere.)

At the drive-in theater, they found that the Puxillians were actually primitive lizard creatures. With no way to communicate with them, the Adversary decided to fight off the Puxillians while Irena looked for the map. Their search took them deeper into Puxillian territory, where they found that the creatures had fashioned apparel from broken-down cars.

The Adversary realized that if the Puxillians could do something like that, then they were likely intelligent enough to communicate. They then sheepishly asked a Puxillian about the map, but the Puxillian pointedly ignored them for having attacked them. The Adversary then began fighting the Puxillians again when the Senyabots suddenly appeared to fight the monsters as well. The Senyabots explained to the confused pair that they were programmed to protect Senya’s friends from danger.

Using the robots’ arrival as an opportunity, Irena decided to search the Puxillians’ dens for the treasure map. The pair then found the map inside one of the abandoned cars that the Puxillians were using for their dens and opened it up. Irena found it strange that the map depicted an island when their surroundings were merely vast desert. They discovered that the treasure was located north in some area that was drawn on the map as a snake-like twisting shape.

Irena decided that they needed to speak with Rusty and headed back alone, even as the Adversary reminded her about the part that Belle had asked them to find. Just then, Senya arrived and greeted the Adversary, explaining that she had come to the Puxillian territory because she had heard that there were lots of broken machines in the area.

Senya told the Adversary that machines weren’t like people, as machines lost their value and were thrown away when they broke down. As people didn’t cherish their memories of all that the machines had done for them while they had still worked, Senya felt that she ought to pay her respects in their place.

(A/N: Senya’s words here give quite a lot of insight into how depressing her life actually is. As a cyborg, Senya is part machine and part organic, but despite looking and acting human, she doesn’t consider herself to be a real person. Her perception of herself as a machine stems from how her father views her as a tool first and a daughter as a formality.

The fact that she’s well-aware that she’s not loved by her father probably furthers the way that she dehumanizes herself. Echoing her father’s mentality that machines are discarded when they don’t work, she probably spends a lot of her time in fear that she’ll be his next victim and forces herself into perfectionism.

Although her paying respects to machines that break down is probably just a reflection of the empathy that she’s forced to suppress, part of me also can’t help wondering whether she’s saying this after having seen her father destroy one of her siblings if they happened to have failed a mission, in which case she might also indirectly be paying respect to those siblings. Something like this actually happens not too far in the future, which does end up shaking Senya considerably.)

Senya then offered to help the Adversary find the part for Toogi, and the Adversary began fighting the Puxillians again until she told them that she had already found it. Before she handed it over, however, she asked why they were trying to fix a robot. (A/N: You can either say that you think machines are important too, or that you feel guilty just leaving it in that state.) Senya then told them that she had figured out why Rusty hadn’t sold the hotel.

The Adversary suggested that it was because he didn’t know what she planned to do with it, to which Senya merely laughed and told them that her reasons were for her to know. The Adversary then decided to head back, but Senya told them that she would stay for a while, as it had been a long time since she had watched a movie.

The Adversary asked Senya what she was going to do with the hotel if she took ownership of it, to which Senya replied that she would use it to make the world a more beautiful place. She explained that it wasn’t so much about the hotel in its current state as it was what she could do with it, though she added that she wouldn’t elaborate until after she bought it.

The Adversary then returned to the hotel, where Archelon poured them a drink after noting that they seemed bored and alone. The Adversary asked him what kind of robot he was, to which Archelon merely replied that he was the captain. He then asked them how he could improve his services, as well as instructions on how to manufacture ‘love’ so that he could ‘brew with love’.

The Adversary attempted to explain that it wasn’t possible to manufacture love and elaborated that being able to give up something that was core to one’s identity was love. They then asked Archelon why Rusty hadn’t sold the hotel yet. Archelon told them that Rusty complained about wanting to leave the hotel five times a day, though he never followed through.

Just then, Rusty himself appeared and told the Adversary that Irena and Belle were in the garage. He then asked the Adversary if the people of the Alliance were Seekers, explaining that the guests who used to stay at the hotel long ago had called themselves Seekers - adventurers on the hunt for ancient artifacts.

(A/N: Pathfinder gets some exclusive dialogue here, which appears to have been changed over patches. The KMS video that I found has her note to herself that Hotel Arcus must be the place where adventurers like herself, who were fascinated by ancient relics, had once stayed. However, the GMS dialogue has her say two different lines back-to-back. In the first one, she wonders whether the artifact that the Seekers were looking for is the same thing that the treasure map leads to. In the second one, she wonders whether they were searching for artifacts like her relic.)

The Adversary then changed the subject and asked if he was planning to sell the hotel to Senya. Rusty replied by asking if they would want to run a hotel with no guests, though the Adversary noted that he didn’t seem like he meant it.

As the Adversary headed to the garage, Rusty told them to tell Belle that no one but he could fix Toogi. At the garage, Belle expressed her relief that they had finally returned. Irena apologized to Belle that she hadn’t been much help, to which Belle replied that it was concerning that she couldn’t even tell a crosshead screwdriver from a flathead. Irena retorted that though that might be common knowledge in a group obsessed with machines like the Resistance, it wasn’t something that the Cygnus Knights concerned themselves with.

(A/N: Cygnus Knights get some exclusive dialogue here, in which Irena asks us to agree with her. We respond by telling her not to bring us into it.)

The Adversary then gave the part to Belle, who was unable to determine how to even begin installing it. She explained that she had never seen a robot like Toogi before, explaining that its internal structure was incomprehensible. She added that she had checked the structure of the other robots as well, all of which were similarly complex. Because of this, she suspected that the robots were all artifacts of an Ancient God, though she added that it was merely a hypothesis.

(A/N: Mechanics get some exclusive dialogue here, in which Belle asks them whether they have any thoughts, as she figures that they’d know more about machines than her. They reply by saying that though they’re pretty competent with machines, Toogi’s design is different than anything that they’ve ever worked on.)

As she attempted to remove the damaged parts, she accidentally triggered a recording of young Rusty fixing Toogi long ago. (A/N: “Help me Archelon Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”) Though Toogi had no special features, Rusty had decided to make it a tour guide for hotel guests. The robot, mixing the words ‘tour’ and ‘guide’ had given itself the name Toogi.

Another recording then started, with a Rusty closer to his present age telling Toogi that he doubted that Kelly would stay for much longer, and that there would be no one left to look after the robots on the train once she left. Archelon had then told Rusty that it had been one month since the larger Rusty had disappeared and asked when he would return. Rusty had told Archelon that there was no coming back from where his father had gone. The Adversary realized that Rusty’s father had passed away, and that the remaining residents had abandoned the town.

Irena then realized that they had stumbled onto an important clue by learning about the train. She realized that the snake-shaped object in the treasure map was actually a set of train tracks. Rusty then arrived and was impressed to see that Belle had actually managed to fix Toogi, although he was less impressed when Toogi fell apart again.

He then told them that he finally understood what Kelly had said before she left – that there was a time for everything, including the robots, the hotel, and even herself. Though he could try to fix it and keep it going, everything eventually ended. Refusing to waste the rest of her life keeping the old robots working, Kelly had decided to leave. Rusty told them that he and Kelly had been romantically involved, but they had parted ways in the end. However, Archelon pointed out that Kelly would frequently mention that she and Rusty were just friends. (A/N: Can we get an F in the chat for my boy.)

Rusty shushed Archelon and told them that it seemed as though it was finally Toogi’s time. After everyone returned indoors, Senya arrived and decided to take a look at Toogi herself. Meanwhile, the Adversary asked Rusty if he knew about the train station, as it was likely where the treasure was. As they weren’t merely kids playing make-believe, Rusty decided to believe that their treasure hunt wasn’t just a fantasy and chose to tag along with them.

At the train station, Belle was irritated to know that the train never stopped and wondered how they would board it. To their surprise, they found Senya hanging onto the side of the train. She extended her hand for them to grab and helped them climb to the top of the train, where they asked Senya why she was helping them. Senya replied that she just wanted to be part of the team, though no one except Rusty believed her.

They then realized that they needed to get to the locomotive, just as the Conductorbots and Houndbots detected unauthorized passengers. Rusty explained that he had assumed that the robots on the train would have broken down without Kelly to maintain them, but they had merely gotten out of control. Suddenly, the Ironshot gang appeared and claimed that they had come for the treasure, while the Puxillians appeared and spoke unintelligibly, though Irena surmised that they had come for revenge.

The Senyabots then appeared and began attacking the Ironshots and Puxillians, and Senya told them to keep going while she handled the enemies. However, Belle begrudgingly remained with Senya, claiming that it wasn’t in her nature to leave an ally behind. While Belle and Senya handled the enemies up top, the Adversary, Irena, and Rusty arrived at the locomotive to search for the treasure.

Rusty told them that according to the movies that he had seen, hidden treasure was always in a secret compartment, and so he figured that it would be the result of pulling one of the three levers in front of them. After the Adversary pulled one of the levers, a secret compartment opened, just as Belle and Senya arrived. Inside the compartment, the Adversary pulled out a bomb, which immediately activated.

(A/N: The shape of the bomb looks somewhat similar to Lara’s bell, although there are still a few notable differences between them. It’s possible that their similar design could just be a coincidence, but the fact that Archelon recognizes Lara’s bell, and the fact that an important part of Archelon is contained inside the bomb makes me wonder whether there’s some relationship between the two after all.)

Meanwhile, the Ironshot boss and the Sandblade Marauders’ Overlord, who had also arrived, decided to team up and split the treasure, just as the haywire train robots chased after them. Suddenly, Archelon appeared out of nowhere and explained that he had arrived to retrieve Rusty. As he struggled to activate his combat mode, the Ironshot boss attacked Archelon and broke him. With the bomb about to detonate at any moment, Rusty grabbed it from the Adversary’s hand and threw it at the gangs. The Adversary grabbed Archelon and they all jumped off the train before returning to the hotel.

Senya began to work on fixing Archelon, though Rusty feared that it was his time, just like Toogi. To his surprise, Senya appeared and presented a perfectly repaired Archelon and Toogi, with both their quirks fixed as well, explaining that she had used the advanced technology of the Angler Company to fix them.

Grateful to Senya, Rusty decided to sell the hotel to her and told Archelon that Senya would be his new owner. The Glory Guard then watched the ownership transfer, dejected that they hadn’t able to stop the sale in the end. Belle was particularly upset, as there was no way that they could have done anything without making themselves look like the villains. Rusty apologized to them, though he told them that he had no reason to stay anymore.

An upset Rusty then took one last look at the hotel before he decided to head out to the drive-in theater. There, he found a Houndbot who had come all the way from the train. The Houndbot then dropped the bomb fragment into his hands, inside which he found a rusty screw. He asked the Houndbot if it wanted to play gunslinger like he used to in the old days, but he then told it that he wasn’t the captain anymore.

His words then took him back to a memory of his younger self watching the M-Force movie with Archelon, where he had struggled to define what ‘captain’ meant after Archelon had asked him. Just then, a stranger had appeared and had told Archelon that a captain was ‘a defender of justice who protected people’. The stranger had then introduced themselves as an old friend of Archelon.

They had told Rusty that Archelon used to be impressive in the old days and had explained that they had returned because they had believed that it was time, though they had realized that they would need to wait a little longer. They had then presented the treasure map to Rusty and had explained that there was nothing more precious in the world to Archelon, whom they had called their ‘screw-loose friend’. With that, the stranger had disappeared.

As Rusty recalled the term that the stranger had used to describe Archelon, ‘screw-loose’, the Ironshot boss came to take the treasure from Rusty when an augmented Toogi arrived and transformed into a Senyabot before quickly defeating both the Ironshot boss and the Houndbot. Shocked at what Senya had done to Toogi, Rusty feared that she had done the same to Archelon.

He began to rush over to the hotel, where Belle was demanding answers from Senya, asking why she had spent so much money buying the hotel when there were no clues about the Ancient Gods that any of them had uncovered. Senya told them that she didn’t know any more than they did, though that was about to change. She revealed that she had made some adjustments to Archelon after taking ownership of him, explaining that he was in charge of the most vital part of the hotel.

She then ordered Archelon to deactivate all the robots in the hotel and activate the hotel defense system. When Archelon failed to do the latter, she asked him to bring up the surveillance system, which he also failed to do. Irena realized that Senya hadn’t fixed the robots so much as made them subservient to her.

(A/N: Xenon gets some exclusive dialogue here, in which he asks Senya how she could do such a thing. He then tells her that he doesn’t care if she better at machines than anyone else, as she has no right to twist them for her own purposes.)

Just then, Toogi returned back, shocking the Glory Guard with its new appearance. Senya then ordered Toogi to attack them, but Toogi hesitated and explained that they were its friends. Senya realized that an outdated robot would always remain so at heart, no matter how refurbished it was. She then summoned her loyal Senyabots and ordered them to attack the Glory Guard.

As they fought the Senyabots off, Senya ordered the robots to self-destruct. She then thanked the Glory Guard for giving her the opportunity that she needed and ordered Archelon to initiate aggression mitigation protocol. As Archelon complied with the order, the ground began to shake violently. Senya revealed that the hotel used to be a fortress long ago, and that an ancient weapon was stored underground, with its key being Archelon himself.

From the ground appeared massive robots, who effortlessly defeated the Glory Guard. Rusty rushed to the scene and found the Glory Guard collapsed on the ground. The Adversary explained that Senya had used Archelon to summon the ancient weapons, whose armor had repelled all of the Glory Guard’s attacks. (A/N: These giant robots are technically relics of an Ancient God, which means that they fall under the principle that only a god can challenge another god. Since we don’t have the Seal Stone anymore, we’re basically just a regular person, and so our attacks are just as ineffective.)

Meanwhile, Archelon was attempting to resist Senya’s commands and override the ancient weapons, but he found that he couldn’t do so. When he refused to obey Senya’s orders to cease his attempts, she decided that she would simply destroy him and rebuild him again. She then had one of the ancient robots destroy Archelon, much to Rusty’s horror.

Rusty sobbed over a broken Archelon, claiming that he never should have sold him to a stranger. He then showed the rusty screw to Archelon and promised to fix him, just as Senya gave Archelon his final command to self-destruct. Archelon warned Rusty to get away, but Rusty refused, claiming that a defender of justice never abandoned their captain.

At his words, Archelon was able to regain control over himself and used the missing screw to instantly repair himself. He then declared that he had been asleep for long enough, and that it was time to wake up, warning Rusty and the others to be wary for falling debris. Archelon then held on to Rusty as an immense, fortress-like tortoise emerged from beneath the hotel. Archelon then ordered the ancient weapons to return to the ground. Senya was impressed to learn that the entire town had been built on top of a slumbering Ancient God, and that the old screw was the key to awakening him.

(A/N: The giant tortoise is Archelon’s physical body, which had been dormant ever since the Ancient Gods were defeated. The scene in which he pops out from the ground was an animated short that showed that he was massive enough to have lifted the entire hotel and all its surrounding buildings on its back. After that animated short, the hotel and everything else is back on the ground, and so I’m assuming that he went back underground offscreen.)

Rusty then told Senya that he wanted to use the card that she had given him, which was capable of buying anything, in order to buy back his hotel. (A/N: What kind of broken credit card is that?) Senya readily agreed, explaining that she had no use for a defense system that she couldn’t control. However, she was confused about how the robots could have defied her, as there was no one more skilled at manipulating machines than her.

Rusty laughed and asked why a robot that had never once listened to him after a lifetime together would ever listen to her. He told her that that was the meaning of family, where no one did what they were told, even as they all went through everything together. After a pause, Senya told him that his experience with family and hers had been very different. With that, she took her leave before the Glory Guard could stop her.

Back in the hotel, Archelon calculated an exorbitant cost for their final fees. Belle asked if there was a special discount for friends, but Archelon promptly replied that friendship had no monetary value. (A/N: Get wrecked.) However, he decided to take into account that the Adversary had helped him learn about love, allowing him to learn how to ‘brew with love’.

He explained that the human heart was something that he had long been curious about, which was why he had originally decided to live alongside humans. He explained that his robotic body had been constructed long ago by an old friend in order to ensure that he wouldn’t forget, as well as to ensure his awakening after his physical form fell into a deep sleep. The Glory Guard realized that Archelon had the consciousness of the same Ancient God upon whom the city had been built. (A/N: His friend is most likely the person who gave Rusty the map in the first place.)

Archelon then told Rusty that the hotel’s primary clientele, the Seekers, had returned. Belle asked Archelon what the Seekers were searching for, to which he replied that they were searching for ancient artifacts all over the world. As the Glory Guard discreetly slipped away, Rusty watched in amazement as dozens of new guests poured into the hotel. The Seekers marveled at how the hotel was still standing and how it looked just like how their families’ stories had described.

Some time later, Archelon gave the Adversary a Sacred Symbol and told them that he would give more in exchange for defeating the dangerous monsters around the desert in order to keep it safe for the Seekers, as well as to pay off their exorbitant fees.

If you’re still reading this, thank you so much for being as crazy as I am and reading over 600 pages worth of content. With the Destiny update happening in KMS at the time of this writing, I’m so excited to see where the story leads, and I’m even more thrilled that we’re gonna be getting new stories much faster. Based on what we’ve been told, the next stop for the Adversary and the Glory Guard is following the Seekers to Karote, the Unending Tower, where Guardian Kalos guards the path between earth and the heavens.

I have a strong suspicion that the tower is gonna lead us to the long-teased realm of the sages, where we’ll finally meet the people who’ve been tasked with safeguarding the realm of Grandis alongside Master Tai Yu. I’m also sure that, after running into Senya in Hotel Arcus, we’re bound to encounter Kaling, who seems to have some grudge against the sages.

Given that they’ve teased that Kalos has an important story that will lay the groundwork for the rest of the Grandis lore, I’m intrigued to see where it takes us. They’ve mentioned that there’s at least ten Ancient Gods we’ve yet to meet in the storyline, which I was so excited to hear. I’ve also heard that they’re gonna allow us to replay past storylines without doing the quests, which honestly would’ve been so handy while I was making this guide haha.

From what I understand, they’re making some changes and improvements to existing storylines in order to fix continuity, which we’ve seen already with the Explorer revamp. If anyone in Nexon is reading this, you’re more than welcome to use what I’ve written in this guide to fix any plot holes and continuity errors. It’d be a dream come true to be able to help the writers improve the story, so I’m always down to discuss the lore on the slim chance they ever ask me.

I’m definitely gonna keep updating this guide as new stories get released, likely a small summary of the main points when it comes out to KMS and then in-depth once it hits GMS. Sadly, my characters are weak and nowhere near the level at which I can experience the high-level stories for myself, and so I’d like to give my heartfelt gratitude to the people who post those videos on YouTube. Until then, I hope that this guide helped you gain a better appreciation for the story, no matter how small! Take care and I hope to be back soon!