PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 1: Saving Maple Island

• Finally free from the seal, the Black Mage used his powers to destroy Maple Island, causing black, unquenchable fire to burn the land. The Explorers rushed back home, where they learned that the Explorer had inadvertently let the Black Mage free.

• Tess immediately blamed the Explorer for their actions, causing them to lose their confidence in themselves. Believing that they didn’t deserve to be an Explorer, they attempted to flee the island with the other refugees.

• Just then, however, they all discovered Sugar being attacked by the Black Mage’s Shadow at the burning Maple Tree, which Sugar was fervently trying to protect. With Sugar’s life force being connected to the tree, Sugar slowly began to weaken as the tree burned down.

• Though the Explorer knew that Sugar could tell that they wanted to run away, they were surprised to know that she also believed in them. As their resolve to protect Sugar strengthened, a mysterious voice spoke to them and helped them hone their determination. Because of the strength of their willpower, the residual power of the Adversary within the maple leaf was awakened, allowing the Explorer to defeat the Black Mage’s Shadow.

• With no way to put out the black fire, the Explorer took out the Seal Stone of Victoria Island and focused on their determination to save Sugar, allowing them and their friends to use its divine power to repair Maple Island.

• The Explorer was then brought to the Erda Flow, where they met the Goddess of Maple World. The Goddess revealed that she had manifested as Sugar in order to stop a great darkness. Though she claimed that Sugar’s journey was at an end, she thanked the Explorer for stepping up in order to protect their home.

• After returning back, the four Explorers decided to make Maple Island their unofficial home. As they continued exploring, the Explorer encountered Rondo at the Interdimensional Portal. They learned that Rondo had been born with Anima ears, and that he was hoping to learn about who he was in Grandis. In Pantheon, the pair were overwhelmed by the Specters outside the city, for which they resolved to grow stronger together in order to learn the truth about Rondo’s ancestry someday.