PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 10: Siege of Heliseum

• Under the leadership of Edea, the Supreme Commander and strategist of the Nova army, Nova began fighting the Specter army in an effort to break into the city.

• Hoping to find more allies, the Nova asked Kaiser to request the Alliance for their assistance in the battle. Neinheart decided to send a small team of elite Alliance soldiers in order to reinforce the Nova, who crossed over to Grandis through the Interdimensional Portal.

• In order to push through, the Nova utilized an ancient Nova superweapon called the Blue Dragon Cannon, with Cadena restoring the faded schematics with the help of the Shadowdealers. With the weapon complete, Cadena made several modifications to the original design and created the Apocalypse Cannon, which had been enhanced with Shadowdealer technology for her own personal use.

• During the campaign, the Nova recruited the help of a wise sage named Eurenth, who had gone into exile after the Nova had refused to listen to his counsel about the imminent invasion of Heliseum decades ago. With Eurenth’s reluctant help, the Nova learned about the materials needed to repair the broken Blue Dragon Cannon.

• The Nova also employed the Heliseum branch of the Shadowdealers, who provided specialized knowledge and materials to repair the Blue Dragon Cannon in exchange for a hefty fee.

• While pushing into the city, the Nova discovered that Magnus had filled the city with Specters, who wandered mindlessly without any apparent purpose. Because of this, Edea concluded that Magnus had no interest in the city, but rather, he had locked himself in the throne room in order to take the power of the Outrigger, a holy relic that the Ancient Gods of the Nova had given to their people.

• During the battle to enter Tyrant’s Castle, the Alliance and the Nova began facing two of the three Guardians of Heliseum: Victor and Treglow.

• Victor had been a painter whose fiancée had passed away from illness. Driven mad with longing, Victor had shut himself away in his room, painting furiously, until Magnus had anonymously sent a magical canvas, which could bring anything painted on it to life. Victor had obsessively painted his fiancée, though the canvas would only create a doll each time. Eventually, Victor’s soul was bound to the canvas after growing dependent on it, after which he had killed himself in order to put an end to his pain, leaving his trapped soul to endlessly paint new minions for Magnus.

• Treglow had been a genius scientist and chemist, whose achievements had been celebrated by the Nova. Taking advantage of his insatiable thirst for recognition, Magnus had used his spies to send him rare books and materials from the High Flora in order to fund his research. Eventually, Magnus had sent Treglow a cursed chemical, which had caused him to lose his mind. Having gone mad, Treglow offered his loyalty to Magnus and created twisted creatures for his army.

• Though Edea had been the third Guardian, she had escaped Heliseum during its fall. The Alliance soon learned that Magnus had replaced Edea with Velderoth, who had joined Magnus in order to become stronger than Kaiser. Though Velderoth attempted to challenge Kaiser in battle, Kaiser was able to defeat him, though he was deeply disturbed about the fall of his former friend.

• Eventually, the Nova were able to break into the city and launched their final assault on Tyrant’s Castle, where they defeated the three Guardians of Heliseum. Though Victor and Treglow were both killed, Velderoth managed to escape in the battle.

• (A/N: If you’re playing as Angelic Buster, there’s an important exclusive scene where she reveals her identity to Velderoth during the fight against him. However, rather than standing down, Velderoth grows even more furious that both Kaiser and Angelic Buster were handed free power, leaving him as the only one who got nothing. It’s also shown that Edea has figured out her identity as well.)

• The Alliance then discovered Magnus, who, for decades, had been attempting to steal the power of the Outrigger, though the Ancient Gods of the Nova - sensing that Magnus had betrayed his people - continued rejecting his attempts. Furious, Magnus resolved to kill every single Nova in the world if it was required to finally claim the power.

• The Alliance fought against Magnus, who lost his hold on the stolen powers of Guwaru, allowing them to flow back to Guwaru on Maple World. After being defeated, a mysterious vortex pulled in both Magnus and the Outrigger, causing them to disappear. Magnus also lost his cursed Kaiserium, which was reclaimed and restored by Kaiser.

• Following Magnus’ defeat, the Nova reclaimed Heliseum and officially joined the Maple Alliance.