PART II: BEFORE THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 12: Master Thief Phantom

• (A/N: Please note that there’s currently a plot hole created in the Milestone revamp that places Phantom’s storyline before the formation of the Alliance, even though his class story is explicitly set afterwards.)

• In order to depose Empress Cygnus, Hilla posed as a noblewoman and claimed to be the true heir to Ereve and the possessor of Skaia, a legendary gem said to glow in the hands of the Empress’ bloodline. In order to save Cygnus, Phantom revealed to himself to the public for the first time since awakening from the ice. Phantom successfully exposed Hilla and her Skaia as fake, while returning the true Skaia entrusted to him by Shinsoo back to Cygnus.

• Hoping to investigate the Black Wings and their connection to the Black Mage, Phantom disguised himself as a Black Wings member and traveled to Edelstein, where he learned that the Black Wings were harvesting an enormous amount of energy. He also learned that most of the Black Wings were low-level grunts who had no idea about the Black Wings’ objectives or leadership.

• With the help of Tru - who had recruited Phantom’s help in the past to find the Seal Stone of Victoria Island for Aran - Phantom tracked down Francis, a Black Wings officer, and interrogated him in order to learn the truth about the Black Wings’ goals.

• From Francis, Phantom learned that Orchid was the founder of the Black Wings, though Francis was unsure why the Black Wings were gathering energy. Though Francis claimed that the Black Wings were gathering all the Seal Stones to revive the Black Mage, Phantom quickly realized that Orchid was lying to her officers, as the Seal Stones did not possess that kind of power.

• Soon after, Phantom learned that the Black Wings were attacking Rien in order to take the Seal Stone of Victoria Island. As he rushed to stop them, Aran was sent to Rien by Tru, where she faced off against Orchid and her forces. Before Orchid could fight Aran personally, she quickly sensed Phantom’s arrival and decided to retreat, believing that she couldn’t handle two Heroes with her powers weakened without Lotus.

• After helping Aran fend off the invaders, Phantom learned from Lilin that the story of the Heroes was shrouded in mystery, with almost no surviving records of their battle against the Black Mage, despite it being a major event in Maple World’s history. Phantom resolved to look into this personally, while Lilin decided to sent the Seal Stone of Victoria Island to Athena Pierce for safekeeping.

• Following Lilin’s belief that someone had been erasing records of the Heroes, Phantom met with Alcaster in El Nath, where he learned that the Black Wings had recently stolen the Seal Stone of El Nath. He also learned from Alcaster that there had once been a great and terrible war from 300 years ago, with records of that battle being erased completely.

• He then traveled to Helios Library, where he discovered that someone had burned all the books about the Heroes and the Black Mage, and that they had possessed Wiz the Librarian in order to attack him. After driving the entity out of Wiz, Phantom decided to switch his investigation from the erasure of the Heroes to the force which had possessed Wiz.

• In Sleepywood, Phantom discovered that the spirit of Lotus was the one responsible for destroying records of the Black Mage and the Heroes, as well as possessing people in order to do so. Driven by vengeance, Phantom rushed without thinking into the Verne Mine, hoping to destroy Lotus’ body. However, he quickly realized that Lotus had led him into a trap, as Phantom’s close proximity to Lotus’ body meant that Lotus - who was normally only able to possess the weak-minded from afar - could take control of his body.

• Lotus forced Phantom to travel to Ereve in order to kill Cygnus, which would remove the Alliance’s leader and make Phantom a criminal. Before he could complete his plan, however, the spirit of Empress Aria appeared and drove Lotus out of Phantom’s body. After an emotional reunion, Aria asked Phantom to put an end to his quest for vengeance and become the hero that Maple World needed.