PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 33: 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. 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. 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, which is why I was surprised that this pre-Big Bang quest was left untouched in the Destiny revamp instead of being reworked into the Goddess of Maple World lore.

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 they had been during their first day of training in Ereve, and how they had now become on par with the Chief Knights.

She then explained that she and Shinsoo were both in agreement to have them become the sixth Chief Knight. She told the Knight that they were a star in a world of darkness. When the sun shone, the stars hid, unneeded, but when darkness bloomed, as it did with the threat of the Black Mage, the stars became their guide. Cygnus then asked the Knight to visit her more often, as Ereve felt lonely with Shinsoo gone.

(A/N: Something that I thought the Ignition revamp would fix was Cygnus promoting us to Chief Knight at both 4th job and at level 200. They did update the dialogue for this quest, which makes it even weirder that they didn’t catch this.)

Mihile:
(A/N: While Mihile obviously reaches level 200 before the Cygnus Knight, this quest is explicitly set after Cygnus’ awakening, as Shinsoo is said to be in Leafre during this quest.)

Shinsoo’s voice reached out to Mihile, telling him that he had proven his place besides the Empress as her protector. She explained that though the light inside him had grown from a spark to a brilliant star, there was still something that he needed to learn about the connection between the Knight of Light and Shinsoo’s Teardrop. Through her power, Shinsoo summoned Mihile to her hidden resting spot in Leafre, where she began telling him the truth.

She explained that before the invasion of the Black Mage, when Empress Aria had still lived, Freud had come to Ereve in order to make a request. He had shown her the Seal Stone of Ereve, which he had explained held the power to restore the world as a failsafe in the event that the Black Mage succeeded in destroying it.

With the Seal Stones imbued with the power of time, Freud had hoped that they would be able to restore Maple World to the way it was, and so he explained that he had been hiding several all over the world, with the one that he had been presenting to Shinsoo being meant for Ereve. (A/N: This flashback confirms that Freud had distributed the Seal Stones before Phantom joined the Heroes, since Aria is still alive at this point in time.)

Shinsoo explained that she had accepted the Seal Stone from Freud and had agreed to become its keeper. She then explained that soon after, Empress Aria had lost her life to Lotus and Orchid, who had also killed many of the Noblesse, as well as her protector, the Knight of Light, and had destroyed his Soul Shield. In the tragedy, however, the light had still persisted in the form of the Knight of Light’s protégé, who had taken on his master’s mantle as the next Knight of Light.

As Shinsoo had grown too weak to protect the Seal Stone without a living Empress to claim her power, she had instead reforged the Soul Shield and had placed the gemstone inside of it. Having shed many tears for Aria on that sad day, Shinsoo had also given the Seal Stone a new name - Shinsoo’s Teardrop - in memory of Aria’s death.

Since then, it had been the Knight of Light’s duty to guard the Seal Stone, until Chromile’s death had broken the chain. However, centuries later, a new Empress had returned to lead Ereve, with Mihile’s actions securing the Seal Stone’s safety as well.

(A/N: If the player has completed Black Heaven before this quest, Mihile gets some exclusive dialogue. Shinsoo tells Mihile that he carries Shinsoo’s Teardrop within him now, with its power touching him, blessing him, and becoming a part of him. In response, Mihile tells Shinsoo that it changes nothing, as he’s still the Knight of Light, and he’s still committed to protecting the Empress, Ereve, and Maple World. Otherwise, Mihile’s response is the regular dialogue below.)

Mihile told Shinsoo that with or without the Seal Stone, he was still the Knight of Light, and that he was still committed to protecting the Empress, Ereve, and Maple World. Shinsoo was pleased by his dedication and sent him back to Ereve, where Cygnus gave him a token made from Chromile’s broken Soul Shield.

(A/N: The token is just his level 200 medal. This quest actually made me really like the idea of Mihile being the Adversary. The Knight of Light has always protected the Seal Stone of Ereve, and after Mihile relinquishes the Seal Stone to Cygnus, it’s poetic that it still finds its way back to him after Cygnus uses it to revive him during Black Heaven. The Seal Stone goes from being cradled within the Soul Shield to within Mihile’s own soul, allowing him to serve as a protector of not only the Seal Stone, but all the people whose hopes are channeled through it.)

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 and told her that it was time to get back the rest of her memories and a final skill. He instructed her to come to Rien, as it would require her to make physical contact with the polearm directly. There, Maha reminisced that despite having lost her old memories and power, watching her train diligently to get them back had made him convinced that no matter how much had changed, she was still her old self. He noted that she had grown even stronger than before, with her ability to use his power without directly wielding him being proof.

However, he told Aran that in order to unlock her final skill, she would need to touch the polearm. Upon doing so, Aran had a recollection of the day of the final battle, when she had gotten injured just before the Heroes had left for the Temple of Time. In her memory, she witnessed all the Heroes – including the empty shape of someone whom she knew had been there, despite being unable to remember him, supporting her weight on his shoulders.

She recalled how the Heroes had urged Aran to keep herself safe after she had thrown herself into danger to protect the refugees. Aran had apologized to them, to which they had told her not to, instead telling her to remember that they all had each other’s backs, rather than Aran always being the one to put others behind her as she protected them. Having internalized that final lesson, Aran was given one final skill by Maha, who asked her to use it to defeat the Black Mage once and for all.

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 so, 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 qualify 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 stopped being popsicles 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:
The Fox God brought Shade to Vulpes, claiming that she had a gift for him. Shade immediately noticed that it wasn’t raining, though he wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or saddened by it. He then met with Moonbeam, who recognized him from his last visit, and eagerly showed him her new guardian spirit, which took on Shade’s appearance, causing him to wonder whether it was a gift from the Fox God. Moonbeam explained that her guardian spirit had suddenly taken on a new form before asking him where he came from, and why her spirit looked like him.

Shade explained that he came from a place with only one moon, and that he had no idea why her spirit looked like him. Moonbeam replied that according to her grandfather’s stories, some guardian spirits took on the appearance of the person one missed the most, and that such spirits were more powerful than any other. She then wondered in bemusement whether she had been missing him all the while, despite having only seen him once.

Moonbeam then explained that she didn’t have any close friends, and that her parents had died at a young age, even as the fox Anima lived closely with their families all their lives. Because of this, she had never been able to relate to her peers when they had talked about their family ties, which had made her feel estranged from the other foxes. However, she smiled and told Shade that her guardian spirit would now be her close friend at her side, which meant that she wouldn’t have to be lonely anymore.

Upon hearing Shade’s relief, Moonbeam noted that his scent was of the wind, which meant that he would likely be leaving soon. Though Shade thought to himself that he didn’t want to leave Moonbeam, he noted that he still needed to honor his promise to keep Maple World safe. Moonbeam then asked him to at least tell her his name, to which Shade told her that his name had been given to him by someone that he missed dearly, and that he would share it with her on the day that he could be with that person again.

As he left, Shade noted to himself that if the legend was true, his guardian spirit would gradually begin to resemble Moonbeam as well. Soon after, the Fox God reached out to him and asked whether he liked the gift. Shade thanked her and explained that Moonbeam’s new guardian spirit looking like him had put her at ease, and that it had ensured that she wouldn’t be lonely. The Fox God then gave Shade one more gift, transforming his guardian spirit to take on Moonbeam’s appearance in response to his longing for her.

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 Angelic Buster for reaching a new height in her power, to which she happily noted that she felt more confident than ever. Eskalade noted that thanks to her diligent training and his excellent guidance, she had mastered his powers. Angelic Buster agreed and told him that it was only because of him that she had come so far, for which she thanked him sincerely. She then noted that, having unlocked all his power, it was now up to her to keep growing stronger. Eskalade then explained that thanks to her unexpected growth, he had managed to create a new power to bestow upon her, which he presented to her as a final gift.

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 and the infinite knowledge inside of it.)

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.)

Khali:
Nile contacted Khali and explained that with the help of some new investigators, they had increased their scope of investigation to outside Erimos. Because of this, he told Khali that they had come across someone interesting and asked her to meet with them. In Toolen City, Khali and Nile met with Kain, who explained that he had heard her story from Nile. Nile told Khali that Kain was interested in Ypsilon, who had the power to extract things.

Kain revealed that in Toolen City, he had met someone - Dr. Y - who had the same power to extract. A surprised Khali asked Kain what kinds of things Dr. Y had extracted, to which Kain explained that he could extract everything – memories, Malice, and even death. Upon hearing that Dr. Y could extract death, Khali explained that everything that Ypsilon had extracted had been absorbed into him, and that regardless of what it was, it would still have an effect on him, even if he were to quickly store it somewhere else.

She told Kain that she found it hard to believe that Ypsilon would save someone by extracting death, knowing that he would have to risk dying himself. Kain explained that he believed that rather than extracting death itself, Dr. Y had been extracting the damage which would have led to death instead, adding he had hadn’t seen the revived person die with his own eyes.

(A/N: GMS was a little nebulous about the idea of Luska dying, as they had Dr. Y erroneously claim that because memories and Malice could be extracted, it meant that death could be extracted too. However, in the KMS dialogue, Dr. Y claims that extracting death would be too much for him to accomplish. Nevertheless, the fact that Dr. Y had attempted to extract something out of Luska in order to bring her to life always made me think that he had underestimated his abilities, and that he had actually succeeded in extracting death out of her.

There were a bunch of things that happened in Kain’s story that suggested Luska dying, such as her choker falling off as she dies in Kain’s arms, as well as Dr. Y himself saying that Luska had died, which makes part of me think that Luska dying was supposed to have happened, and they later changed it when people began complaining that Dr. Y was far too broken, since truly reviving someone in a way that’s more than just summoning their souls like Hilla is supposed to be a Transcendent-level power. Although it’s highly likely that Darmoor gave Ypsilon part of his Transcendent powers, similar to what he did with Kaling in Shangri-La, I think that the writers wanted to add some definite limits to the kind of power that Ypsilon has.)

Khali told Kain that Ypsilon had extracted life force and magic, which had made her believe that his goal was to become strong enough to challenge Darmoor, the God-King, himself. However, she noted that if Dr. Y was the same person as Ypsilon, then it meant that the purpose of his extracting wasn’t simply to live longer or to become stronger.

Kain agreed, adding that Dr. Y’s goals wouldn’t be so simple. He also pointed out that Dr. Y wouldn’t need something like someone else’s memories in order to grow stronger. As they were facing many uncertainties, Khali asked Nile to keep investigating. Meanwhile, Dr. Y arrived in Erimos and removed his mask, revealing Ypsilon’s face underneath.

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 that 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 still 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 he 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 contamination 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.

(A/N: Please note: the following text contains major spoilers for the Shangri-La storyline. If you don’t want spoilers, skip to the end of the author note.

The Shangri-La storyline confirms that the Sinners are the elders of Grandis. The war that the tormented shade spoke about was the war to defeat the Ancient Gods eons ago. The elders had created Odium as a laboratory where they conducted experiments to create Adversaries as weapons to destroy the gods. These experiments were atrocities that took away the Adversaries’ free will and humanity, stripping them of their memories, their love, and their goodness, reducing them into empty shells devoid of anything except a desire to fulfill their given purpose.

This lack of humanity that the Adversaries suffered from was known as contamination, which slowly began spreading to the elders themselves. In order to stave off the contamination, the elders created the bell mysticant, which would only ring for someone with an immeasurably pure heart. When no one could make the bell ring, the elders sequestered themselves in Shangri-La, the realm of the sages, in order to stop their corruption from spreading. Before they left, they gave the bell to Lara’s village in order to find someone who could ring the bell and wash away their sins. At the end of the Shangri-La storyline, you also learn that the memories that Lara had viewed in this quest belong to Wushuai, the horse Anima elder.)

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.