PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 7: Mastery of Power

(A/N: Following the story team’s new chronology ordering in the Milestone update, this section is meant to be a consolidation of all 4th job advancements, as well as any quests that take place between the Alliance quests and the final level 200 quests for Maple World classes. The only exceptions are the Explorer job advancement, which was already covered in Ellin Forest, and the Cygnus Knight job advancement, which chronologically takes place later. 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, as well as any quests that take place in-between 4th job and level 200 for Grandis classes in the Nova Alliance section.)

Aran:
As Aran continued her training, Lilin reached out and asked her to return to Rien, as Maha was behaving strangely. Realizing that she couldn’t hear Maha’s voice in her head either, 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 then begged Aran to defeat him and return him back to normal before he went berserk.

Aran then fought Maha and managed to return him back to his senses. Maha thanked her for her help and explained that their connection had now strengthened even further, enough so that she could now use his full power without having to wield him directly. He then bestowed all her old skills and explained that she would return to full power once she fully mastered them. Just then, Lilin rushed over worriedly and asked Aran what had happened. Aran and Maha both laughed as they realized that Lilin hadn’t been able to see Maha, prompting Aran to recount everything that had happened.

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.

Phantom:
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.

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.

Shade:
As Shade continued to train and grow stronger, the Fox God called to him and summoned him to her domain, where she worriedly asked him why he hadn’t returned to Fox Point Village, and whether the Anima had refused to hear his story. Shade explained that with the Anima unable to remember him, he had taken the opportunity to finish his business on Maple World first by defeating the Black Mage.

The Fox God explained that after she had given her power to him, she had fallen into a deep slumber, which showed how strong and precious that power had been. However, she told him that she had done so gladly, as she recognized him as a fox under her protection and cared for his happiness. She then asked Shade whether defeating the Black Mage was how he would be happy, to which Shade explained that he wanted to protect everyone, and that after protecting Maple World, where his old ties were, he would return to Grandis, where his new ties were.

The Fox God accepted his wishes, though she noted that he still ought to see Moonbeam, even from afar, as he would miss her for a long time if his business took him many years. She then teleported him to Vulpes, where it was still raining. There, he met with Moonbeam, who, despite keeping her distance, noticed that Shade had sad, longing eyes. Shade, in turn, asked Moonbeam why she was crying, and whether it was because she was afraid, to which Moonbeam replied that she had no idea why she was crying.

After a pause, Shade noted that even if old memories faded, new ones could still be made. He then told Moonbeam that he would make a promise before walking away, leaving Moonbeam confused by his words. As he walked off, Shade spoke aloud to himself that after it was all over, he would come back and dry her tears. After returning back to Maple World, Shade’s strong determination strengthened his bond with the spirits.

Cygnus Knight:
(A/N: Although the Cygnus Knight 4th job advancement takes place later, there’s still a mount quest that takes place around here.)
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.

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:
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.

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.

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.

(A/N: Poor Mastema, thankfully the Demon was pretty dense here, but imagine having your crush almost exposed like this.)

Soon after, 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.

Soon after having regained most of his power, 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.)

Xenon:
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.

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.)

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 Angelic Buster continued to master her powers, she noted to Eskalade that until recently, Magnus had been the strongest enemy that she knew. However, after exploring Maple World and learning more about the dangers that it faced, she told him that there may soon be a day when she might need to face an even stronger foe. Eskalade asked Angelic Buster why she was feeling so serious, to which she replied by explaining that she had thought that she would need to grow stronger in order to face stronger enemies. She then asked him how many more followers she needed to unlock more of his power, recalling that he had once mentioned that she would need 10,000.

When she noted that she might need to hold a concert in order to boost her reputation, Eskalade told her that she was already strong enough to gain a reputation through her skills as a warrior, adding that since they weren’t in Grandis anymore, she could even boost her reputation as Tear. Upon seeing her confusion, he explained that the reason why he had given her a new identity as Angelic Buster to use his powers was because the people of Pantheon knew Tear to have no magical powers.

However, Angelic Buster revealed that she had already known that she could have used her powers as Tear in Maple World and explained that the reason why she had continued using her identity was because she didn’t want Kaiser to worry about her, as well as the fact that she genuinely enjoyed singing as Angelic Buster and seeing people enjoy her music. Eskalade laughed and noted that she had a wonderful personality before granting her the last of his power, noting that the conditions for inheriting his power had been fully met with her being renowned as the idol of the battlefield wherever she went.

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.

(A/N: There’s a pretty interesting theory out there that the God of the Verdant Flora - the one who created mechanical wings for the Verdant Flora, as well as the Elder Crystal - is actually Chronica, Grandis’ Transcendent of Time. 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.

We also see here in Illium’s 4th job advancement that the God of the Verdant Flora claims 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.)

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.

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.)

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. (A/N: The Odium storyline confirms that Hoyoung has been entering the realm of the sages through his dreams during his job advancements.)

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.

Adele:
While training around Maple World, 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.

Soon after, 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.

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.

(A/N: Despite Gri’s claim, it’s shown in the Odium storyline that Kaling has always had her Anima features, and without giving spoilers about future content, it’s possible that Gri doesn’t pick up an Anima scent on Kaling because of certain magical changes that have happened to her. Before I jump into the spoiler version, I want to give a disclaimer to skip past this author note if you don’t want to see spoilers for Odium or Shangri-La.

In the Odium storyline, it’s shown that Kaling had her Anima features even before becoming contaminated. The Shangri-La storyline adds on to this and reveals that all the researchers were Anima who worked alongside the elders of Grandis. There are two possible explanations to explain why Kaling doesn’t have an Anima scent. The first is that the Overseers, who blessed the elders and the researchers with divine power, made it so that the sages of Grandis are a higher level of beings, distinguishing them from Anima. The second is that Kaling’s contamination is masking her Anima scent.)

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. In the Shangri-La storyline, it’s explained that Tai Yu had left Hoyoung at the start of his storyline because he had been tasked with investigating why the seals on Taowu and Qiongqi had been broken. Because of this, we can surmise that Kaling has them both in her possession at this time.)

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.

Khali:
Some time later, Nile contacted her and explained that he had found something while going through her birth father, Jad’s, house. As she would be in danger of being discovered by the Zealous if she were to come to the city center, he explained that he had left the items at Jad’s house in the storage box under the window.

Khali arrived at Jad’s house, where she found it strange to know that it was where she had been born. While exploring the house, she found her old crib and noted that it felt as though no time had passed since the day that she had been born. She then discovered the things that Nile had found – a stack of old letters from her father, Anan, written to her birth mother, Tasha.

In the first letter, Anan wrote that he had sent her money to repay her for saving his life, though he hadn’t expected her to be offended by it. He explained that he was grateful for the unexpected hand that she had lent him, as he had heard the rumors about her circulating amongst the Priests. He added that he would never have expected for her to have saved the life of a High Priest like him.

He also wrote that his wife was very sick, and that according to rumor, a mysterious flower that grew on the cliff that Tasha had saved him on would cure the illness. Though he had known that it was likely a superstition, he had gone anyways, as he had been desperate enough to take any chance that he could to save his wife. He added that he was grateful that Tasha had caught him when he had been about to fall and asked whether there was a way for him to reciprocate her favor. (A/N: I’m not gonna question why someone who has wings would be in danger of falling off a cliff.)

In the second letter, Anan congratulated Tasha on her pregnancy and explained that his wife had recently gotten pregnant as well, which he believed to be a miracle. He wrote that though his wife’s body hadn’t fully recovered from the illness, she was looking forward to the day that their child would be born. He noted that Tasha’s child would be born around the same time as his own and added that her child would be mature and full of energy, just like her. He also explained that the crib that he had sent with his letter wasn’t a gift to her, but to her child, adding that he hoped that their children would be good friends, despite their different castes, just like he and she were.

The final letter was addressed to Jad, in which Anan wrote that Khali was growing up strong and well. He noted that Jad must want to see her, though he hadn’t yet visited. He explained that Khali was quick on her feet, just like Tasha, and that Rasha was always eager to catch up to her sister as well. He noted that though they weren’t related by blood, it was clear that the two were sisters, as they were very much alike.

He explained that though his wife had passed away, Khali and Rasha were growing up happily, and that they were relying on one another. He then added that the reason why he had written was because he wanted a weapon for Khali to use - one that was light enough that she could use without it slipping from her grip while running quickly. As it had been many years since Jad had seen Khali, Anan offered to bring Khali to the weapon store so that he could meet her. (A/N: The knowledge that Jad knew that Khali was his daughter since the start of her class story really recontexualizes the scenes in which she arrests him.)

After reading through the letters, Khali found a book that Tasha had written about her fighting techniques, dedicated to her soon-to-be born child. By reading the book, Khali regained more of her power and mastered more advanced skills.