PART I: BEFORE THE SEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 3: Sefirot’s Gardener

• As a result of the schism between the High Flora and Verdant Flora, the balance of life was broken on Grandis, allowing Darmoor to awaken as the new Transcendent of Life. Despite becoming a Transcendent, however, Darmoor’s perspective on life remained unchanged, as he believed that the High Flora were arrogant and selfish, and the Verdant Flora were equally as selfish, despite claiming to be different.

• Because of this, Darmoor believed that all worthless, selfish life forms needed to be purged, such that only true, noble lives could live and prosper in a world of paradise. Darmoor would come to believe that in contrast to most lives, a noble life was one which would truly and selflessly sacrifice themselves for others, which made them both rare and respectable.

• Over time, the God-King’s madness grew worse as he planned to incite a war of genocide against the other races of Grandis. His ambitions created dissent within the ranks of his royal guard, the Knights of the Einherjar. When the God-King’s most loyal knight, Adelaide, refused to follow him into battle, many in the Knights began rallying around Adelaide in resistance to the God-King. For this reason, the God-King imprisoned Adelaide in order to stop the rebellion from growing around her, though this delayed his war from happening. (A/N: Adelaide is Adele’s full name. Her liege, Jerome, calls her Adele for short after they start working together in Ristonia in the present day.)

• Soon enough, the God-King’s illness began physically warping him into a grotesque monster that grew even more powerful and belligerent as he absorbed magic. Hoping to cure his illness, several Knights of the Einherjar and Prince Darmoor traveled to Sefirot, the sanctum of Grandis’ Transcendent of Life, which remained empty after Darmoor replaced the previous Transcendent of Life.

• In Sefirot, Darmoor met a gardener named Asha, who tended to the garden with all her heart, as it was believed that the Transcendent of Life would return to the garden if it remained beautiful. During this time, Darmoor learned that Asha had similar beliefs as him regarding life, as Asha claimed that she needed to prune away the worthless parts of the garden before they dragged down the rest. He also began to suspect that Asha was an example of a noble life that he sought to preserve.

• In order to test his ideals, Darmoor secretly arranged for several Verdant Flora who resented their exile to come to Sefirot. During this time, the Knights who came to Sefirot discovered a tablet claiming that only the sacrifice of a noble life would catch the Transcendent’s eye. Darmoor tricked the Knights into believing that a Flora - as a member of the superior race - constituted as a noble life.

• However, the two Knights - each valuing their own lives in order to provide for their families - chose to save themselves and instead sacrificed the Verdant Flora who were lured to Sefirot. During this time, Darmoor secretly unleashed the restrained God-King, who began growing wild as he absorbed the magic of the garden and the Flora. Darmoor then observed that both Knights, rather than sacrificing themselves for their king, chose to save themselves, though they were ultimately killed in the process, confirming Darmoor’s suspicions that none of them were noble in the end.

• In the struggle, the garden was set aflame and began burning down. Asha, who had given her life to the garden, was fatally wounded in the fire. With the last of her strength, Asha recalled the words on the tablet about how the sacrifice of a noble life would bring back the Transcendent. For this reason, Asha prayed to the Transcendent that though her life was insignificant, she wished that the sacrifice of her life would save the garden.

• After Asha passed away, Darmoor appeared before her and used his powers to bring her back to life, revealing himself as the Transcendent of Life all along. When Asha asked Darmoor why he had saved her, he replied that it was because hers was the only life that had value amidst everyone else who had come to Sefirot, after which he asked her to come with him.