2007-2010 (Early Game-Big Bang)

July 2008: Temple of Time

(A/N: The Temple of Time was added at the same time as Ellin Forest. However, Ellin Forest had no quests upon initial release, instead just existing as a training ground. Kao’s story - which was the focus of the Ellin Forest theme dungeon - was created and added several years later, meaning that Kao’s Temple of Time quests didn’t exist at the time of its release either. Because of this, the only quests that existed in the Temple of Time when it first came out were the Pink Bean prequests.)

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.

(A/N: In the Temple Keeper’s idle dialogue, he’ll say that the Goddess is asleep. He explains that from the moment that she was born until now, and forevermore, her slumber will continue. He then speculates that even the lives that we live begin and end within her dreams. This is the origin of the in-universe belief that Maple World is merely a dream of the Goddess.

Rhinne’s lore was expanded upon in the Demon’s storyline, which explained that the Black Mage had stolen her powers and sealed her away. For a long time, Rhinne was just known as the Goddess of Time until Zero’s storyline confirmed that she’s the Transcendent of Time. At the time that the Temple of Time was released, there have been several people referred to as ‘Goddesses’, such as Minerva and Lakelis of the Goddess race. Though the people of Orbis revere Minerva, she and the other members of the Goddess race don’t have any significance to the story and don’t have any notable powers.)

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. I included the dialogue for every class in the chronologically ordered part of the website, but since the purpose of the release order section is to avoid spoilers, I’ll instead present this dialogue in the sections for each class story. Something to keep in mind is that it’s not possible for every class to have canonically completed this quest, as the Pink Bean prequest is explicitly set before the Black Mage’s unsealing and several class stories take place afterwards.)

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: With Zero’s storyline, this line makes less sense after it gets revealed that Rhinne is sealed in Mirror World, making it impossible for the Temple Keepers to reach her.)

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. 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 the earliest point of history. 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.

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: Kirston, Pink Bean, and the Mirror of the Goddess are things that were never fully explored. Nexon did pick Kirston back up much later, although there isn’t that much more that we learn about him. Pink Bean got a very nebulous lore explanation in Zero’s storyline, which honestly raises more questions than it answers. His class story is also non-canon, and so there still isn’t much that we know about his significance in regard to why he was summoned instead of the Black Mage.)