PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 35: The Arcane River

(A/N: From here on out, the story presentation of the game shifts from a series of parallel stories into a singular journey made by the Adversary. Personally, I think that the way that Nexon has handled the concept of there being a singular protagonist for the main story has been downright atrocious, specifically because of the way that they pretty much drop every single bit of characterization, personal struggles, and motivations of the class that we’re playing as in favor of a generic template of a protagonist, effectively sweeping the personal journeys of every single class under the rug, as though none of it mattered.

If that’s not bad enough, every class is now subjected to the same canned dialogue that doesn’t even fit the personality of the vast majority of classes. We get characters like Kain talking like they’re twelve years old, saying things like, “Hi, Mr. Fishy!” and completely killing any sense of immersion that might’ve existed. If I decide to make an Evan, for example, I sure as hell expect to keep playing as an Evan throughout the game, not have him be spiritually killed off and overwritten by someone who functionally has no backstory, no personality, and no proactiveness to do anything beyond what he’s been told.

The Adversary protagonist as a character is so vacant and unresponsive that it feels like we exist solely to be talked at by other characters and react to their instructions by killing things, with no semblance of having any thoughts or opinions of our own. If my hypothetical Evan goes to Sellas, he’ll just sit there and vacantly listen to Ollie talk about how she had to overcome people’s low opinions of her through hard work and perseverance, because at no point did the writers think it appropriate to have him actually bond with her in a meaningful way through his own experiences with the Heroes thinking him to be unworthy of succeeding Freud. A good 70% of the Adversary storyline is exactly like this, with the other 30% admittedly being a decent character arc for the generic protagonist that we’re now playing as for the rest of our lives.

The game tries to make some sort of an effort to remind us that we’re playing as a class by introducing exclusive dialogue that certain classes will get in relevant storylines, such as Kinesis getting exclusive dialogue in Reverse City or Ark getting exclusive dialogue with Limbo in Carcion, but the main issue with this is that when classes get exclusive dialogue in the Adversary storyline, it’s like they suddenly switch back into themselves for a couple of sentences, and then abruptly switch back to the Adversary script like they’re two completely different people, because for all intents and purposes, they practically are different people.

With all that being said, however, I’ll still give the story team a good bit of credit. The introduction of story replay has made it much easier to find exclusive dialogue in the game, and there’s a decent amount of it that’s been added in storylines to make the immersion factor even better. The NEXT update has also revamped the entire Arcane River storyline and created a cohesive narrative that’s fixed a huge number of issues that originally existed at the time of the Arcane River’s release, creating a story that actually feels linear instead of a bunch of random areas with little to no relevance to each other.)

The Adversary was contacted by the Memory Keeper, who told them that those who served the Temple of Time had figured out a way to transcend one’s limitations, and he invited them to see him in order to learn how. After they arrived, he asked them whether they were aware of the Erda Flow, the energy that made up the world. After the Adversary voiced their confusion, the Memory Keeper explained that Erdas were the basic building blocks of reality, constantly undergoing a cycle of creation and destruction. However, he told them that the Erdas had lately been disappearing from the world. He then taught them how to perceive Erdas, allowing their consciousness to meld with that of the Erda Flow.

Suddenly, the Adversary heard the voice of the Erdas, who explained that they had once flowed through the World Tree in their cycle of creation and destruction until her life force had been scattered across Maple World. With her disappearance, the Black Mage had been able to steal the Erdas from their natural flow, pulling them into the Gate of the Present. They suspected that the Black Mage wanted to use the Erdas to create a new world, though they warned that it would mean that Maple World would be destroyed in the process.

(A/N: This is a pretty major inconsistency in the writing for the Arcane River storyline, as the knowledge that the Black Mage was planning to create a new world was meant to be a secret until Esfera. Although the Arcane River was marketed as the final chapter of the Black Mage arc, it’s pretty clear that there was no overarching plan for its writing, as seen with how pointless two-thirds of the whole thing was.

Morass and Esfera were really the only areas with any actual substance to their story, and I’m pretty sure that they were also written alongside Tenebris by a different writer, which explains why it seems like the knowledge about the Black Mage’s plan to recreate the world was retroactively treated like some sort of secret revelation, since I doubt that the new writer who took over would’ve paid attention to a 10 second conversation in a job advancement.)

In order to accept their power, the Erdas told the Adversary to seek out the Goddesses of the three worlds. After returning back to the Temple of Time, the Adversary told the Memory Keeper that they had spoken to the Erdas. The Memory Keeper was surprised to learn this, as he had never been able to communicate with the Erdas in all the time that he had observed them. He realized that the Adversary had a grander fate than he had initially suspected and believed that the Erdas wished to bestow their power upon them.

As the Goddesses acted as the conduits between the Erdas and the people of their respective worlds, he explained that they would be able to help. He then told them that according to legend, the Goddesses had used the Erdas in the darkness of the beginning to sculpt a soul, and that it was said that their ability to manipulate the Erdas could be passed down.

(A/N: Before the Destiny update, the Memory Keeper actually explained that after the fall of the Ancient Gods, the Goddesses had used the Erdas to sculpt the three worlds, and that they had taught a select few humans, elves, demons, and dragons how to use the Erdas as well. The writers likely removed the part about the different races in order to avoid restricting themselves, since the Flora and Anima are also major races that weren’t mentioned.

The part about the Goddesses creating the three worlds has always been a plot hole because every other storyline in the game states that the Overseers were responsible for separating the three pre-existing worlds - once existing together as a mega-world - into their own dimensions. Worlds like Grandis were said to have existed during the time of the Ancient Gods, and so it would be impossible for the Goddesses to have created them after the Ancient Gods’ fall. I have no idea what they mean by sculpting a soul, but I’m assuming that it’s meant to be a plot point in the future.)

In order to speak with the Goddesses, the Adversary first went to the Bowman Instructional School, where they found a Horizon Portal that sent them to the Goddess of Maple World in the Erda Flow. The Goddess told them that few had come this far and explained that if they learned to control the Erdas within themselves, they would unlock a new power. Before she aided them, however, the Goddess asked what it was that they cherished most in the world.

(A/N: Each class gets two options to choose between, although neither affects the overall story.

Explorers get to choose between their friends or the people of Maple World.

Cannoneer gets to choose between Monkey or his fellow adventurers. Before the Destiny update, he originally got to choose between Monkey or his true love, whoever they end up being. I think that the reason why this got changed is because the writers wanted to standardize the choices for all Special Explorers to be between something unique to their story and their friends. Both before and after Destiny, Monkey will point to himself when Cannoneer is choosing. Before Destiny, he would either shriek happily or angrily depending on whether Cannoneer chose him or not. After Destiny, even if Cannoneer chooses his fellow adventurers, he’ll still include Monkey as part of that list, and so Monkey will shriek happily in either case.

Dual Blade gets to choose between the Secret Garden, where he first learned the art of the sword, or his friends whom he’s journeyed with.

Pathfinder gets to choose between the promise that she made to Athena Pierce to explore undiscovered places, or the new friends that she’s met while exploring.

Cygnus Knights get to choose between Empress Cygnus or the Chief Knight who trained them.

Mihile gets to choose between Empress Cygnus or his fellow Chief Knights.

The main Resistance classes get to choose between Edelstein and the Resistance, or the promise that they made to Vita to make a better world.

Xenon gets to choose between Edelstein and the Resistance, or his old friends from his hazy memories.

The Demon gets to choose between his old family home - the place where he made his only happy memories of Maple World, or Mastema. Mastema gets very flustered if you choose her.

Aran gets to choose between the other Heroes or Lilin.

Evan gets to choose between the people of Henesys or Mir. He’s also the only member of the Heroes who doesn’t get the option to pick the other Heroes, probably because he’s barely interacted with them outside the Heroes of Maple blockbuster.

Mercedes gets to choose between the other Heroes or Elluel and the elves.

Phantom gets to choose between the other Heroes or Empress Cygnus. His reasoning for Empress Cygnus is that the most important thing to him is preserving the Empress’ bloodline, and with Aria gone, Cygnus is the only one left to carry it on, for which he vows that he’ll do anything to help her.

Luminous gets to choose between the other Heroes or Lania.

Shade gets to choose between the other Heroes or Moonbeam.

Kaiser gets to choose between Tear or those whom he protects as Kaiser.

Angelic Buster gets to choose between Kyle or everyone whom she helps as Angelic Buster. After the player makes their choice and finishes explaining their reasoning to the Goddess, Eskalade will interrupt and ask if he’s one of the choices. Angelic Buster will reassure him that he’s precious to her, although she’ll think to herself that she completely forgot about him. This dialogue is a remnant from her original storyline, in which Eskalade was a lecherous pervert. Although he fully deserved it in her old storyline, it’s a bit sad that he’s forgotten in the new one, especially since he and Angelic Buster have a much better relationship in the revamp.

Cadena gets to choose between her old memories of her castle and her family, or her fellow Shadowdealers.

Kain gets to choose between his childhood memories of Luska or his new memories made from adventuring. For the second choice, he explains that the more that he tried recalling his past memories, the more pain and Malice came with them. However, after leaving Toolen City, he’s made new friends and all his memories of his time in Maple World are happy, and so he wants to protect the world in order to ensure that those memories won’t turn to into regret or loss like his old ones.

Illium gets to choose between Morian, Ex, and Machina, or the people of Maple World. Despite only naming those three people for his first choice, his dialogue if you pick that option has him also mention Dean, Carnelian, and Sinaria.

Ark gets to choose between his new friends or his promise to an old one to end the tragedy in the world. For the second option, he tells the Goddess that even though Albaire may have given up hope, he vows that he won’t, and that before they meet again, he’ll prove that determination can make all the difference when it comes to protecting the ones that he cares for. They’re hyping up Ark and Albaire’s reunion so much and I can already guarantee that it’s going to absolutely devastate my fragile psyche.

Adele gets to choose between her promise to Jerome or her commitment to chivalry. For the second choice, Adele tells the Goddess that as a knight, she won’t abide corruption and wrongdoing before her, and that nothing can justify sacrificing innocents for one’s ambitions. Didn’t really seem to matter to her a few sections ago when she celebrated defending a man who was literally ready to do exactly that, but go off, I guess. Then again, Darmoor also organized a coup to kill his own father because he was about to wipe out all life, and then Darmoor goes and does the exact same thing, and Veronica and the other Knights of the Einherjar also seem to be totally chill with Darmoor’s war, but not his father’s, so maybe hypocrisy is just a High Flora tradition.

Khali gets to choose between her family or the people that she met in her adventures. For her family, she explains that she had thought that she had lost everything when Rasha and her father were killed, leaving her only with fierce vengeance. However, she tells the Goddess that vengeance wasn’t the only mission left to her, as she also wants to ensure that what had happened to Rasha wouldn’t happen ever again. She adds that she doesn't want anyone to feel the guilt that she had when she had run away at the expense of leaving her father behind to be killed.

Hoyoung gets to choose between dreaming of the blue sky or the bond of the outside world. The description for both is a bit vague, but the first option is basically his dream to become a sage and surpass even Tai Yu, while the second option is basically all the things outside the Hermitage that he’s come to love, like food, people, etc.

Lara gets to choose between her calling to ring the bell or helping all the people that she’s met.

Zero gets to choose between Alpha/Beta or the priests who helped them at the temple.

Kinesis gets to choose between Yuna and Jay, or himself. Even the Goddess is shook if you choose the second option and she asks him about his reasoning. Kinesis tells the Goddess that he’s learned that he can’t protect others if he can’t protect himself. Kinesis is an absolute legend for deviating from the usual protagonist script.)

After hearing their response, the Goddess gave them the Arcane Stone of Maple World, which she explained would help them gather the ambient Erdas within their own body once the stone was awakened.

(A/N: This next portion takes place only if you’re an Explorer. I personally view it as additional proof that the Explorer really is intended to be the canonical Adversary.)

Before leaving, the Explorer asked the Goddess why she didn’t come back as Sugar anymore. The Goddess explained that she would answer their question by explaining why she had appeared as Sugar in the first place. She told the Explorer that it was the duty of the Goddesses to protect their worlds, and that she had been waiting for someone with the power to sense the Gate of Darkness, and to rid Maple World of it once and for all. (A/N: The Gate of Darkness is likely her referring to the Gate of the Present behind which the Black Mage was sealed.)

The Explorer was surprised to learn that they were the one whom she had been waiting for, to which the Goddess told them that she had come to witness the goodness not only in their heart, but the hearts of multitudes from around the world joined together for the sake of the world that they loved. She explained that mortals didn’t need someone to intervene for them, as they had always had the power to save themselves, and that she merely helped them where she could. She then asked the Explorer not to forget the goodness that lived within before sending them on their way.

After speaking with the Goddess of Maple World, the Explorer heard the mysterious voice calling out to them. The voice explained that the Explorer was the incarnation of his will, just as they were representative of his will, adding that it would be their final meeting, as the Explorer had awakened their full potential. The voice explained that he was a man who had given his heart to calm the chaos of his time, just as the Goddess had willed it. He then wondered aloud whether history remembered him.

The Explorer asked the voice whether he was the legendary First Explorer, to which the First Explorer expressed his surprise that the people of the present saw him as a legend, as he had been born merely as an ordinary human child. Though he had been an orphan, he had never been alone, as Sugar had always been beside him.

He explained that eventually, he had realized who she really was, but no matter how much they had enjoyed spending time together, she had always seemed sad, as though she were consumed with guilt. Eventually, he had realized that she had created him to save the world, and that she would have to watch him die in order to do so - a cruel fate that the Goddess herself had laid out for him.

(A/N: The GMS translation team has been doing a pretty bad job ever since the Destiny update. Whereas the KMS text has the First Explorer talk about the “cruel fate” that the Goddess had laid out for him, the GMS text merely says that they were both intertwined in their tragic fate. The GMS dialogue fails to properly capture the nuance of what the First Explorer is saying, as the original text suggests that he blames Sugar on some level for his destiny.

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 expands on the First Explorer’s words, as it reveals that the fate of every Adversary is to die after fulfilling their purpose by killing a god. It explains that the Overseers had believed that the Adversaries - beings who held unchecked and immense power to influence the shape of destiny - were a threat to order itself, as unleashing such powerful, uncontrollable beings into the world and allowing them to live after fulfilling their mission would plunge the universe into a second age of chaos, as though the Ancient Gods had never left. In order to circumvent this, the Overseers ordained that the Adversaries would meet their end after they fulfilled their purpose, ensuring that they would not be allowed to keep living after they were of no further use to the Overseers.

In regard to the First Explorer, Sugar had deliberately led him into fusing with a Godsphere, knowing full well that he would be killed after his purpose was fulfilled. The fact that he seems to blame Sugar in the original KMS text makes me think that he likely felt betrayed by her, since she probably glossed over the fact that choosing to fuse with a Godsphere would result in his premature death. Personally, I like to think that his problem wasn’t that he would be killed, since he was a hero who would’ve made that choice anyways, but rather, it was the fact that Sugar felt the need to lie to him in the first place and took away his right to choose his destiny for himself.

Given how close they both were, I can definitely see how the First Explorer might’ve taken the fact that even after knowing him so well, Sugar couldn’t even trust him to make the right choice on his own without sugarcoating (no pun intended) what would happen to him. However, this is all assuming that she didn’t tell him the truth until after the fact. It’s also very possible that she didn’t tell him until right before he became an Adversary, which is still technically lying, although it’s more understandable why she wouldn’t have told him before that. Somehow, I doubt that coming up to an orphan and asking them to die for the world in your very first meeting is gonna go the way you want it to.

There are a lot more questions to be asked about the whole thing, like where Sugar even got the Godsphere from when the Godspheres and the Adversaries themselves were all created by the elders in Odium, whether the First Explorer was created outside Odium, whether he was able to retain his humanity and sense of self, and whether he was the only Adversary that fought in Maple World, but those are questions that Nexon probably won’t be answering for a couple more years.

On another note, I’ve said in the past that the Goddesses are more like the spirit manifestations of their world, but I actually wonder whether they’re like the interfaces between the Overseers and mortals. The Overseers are abstract, formless beings who’ve been shown to look like giant nebulas in space, and so it would make sense that the Overseers, also described as the will of the world, would use the Goddesses, described as the spirits of their worlds, as mouthpieces to make their will known to humanity.

At the same time, the fact that the Goddesses seem to have some capacity to directly interfere in the world, such as the Goddess of Maple World manifesting as Sugar, likely means that the Goddesses are also their own beings with their own free will. If the Goddesses are the interface between the Overseers and mortals, then the Transcendents would be the interface between the Overseers and the physical plane.

Since the Transcendents were the only things created by the Overseers, they’re also the only beings that the Overseers can completely control like puppets, whereas they can’t directly override the free will of mortals, for which their only option is to ask nicely through the Goddesses in order to convince mortals to do what they want, like how Sugar aids the First Explorer and the Explorer, and how the Overseers were said to have somehow blessed the elders of Grandis and asked them to conduct their experiments in Odium, which I’d suspect is through the Goddess of Grandis.)

The Explorer asked about their power, to which the First Explorer explained that the power within them was a portion of his own power, which had been granted to him by “the ones who keep order”. Regarding their fate, the First Explorer told them that they were the one who had inherited his fate and asked that their good will be a torch to light the way.

(A/N: In the GMS dialogue, the First Explorer will instead tell us that our power flows from him, just as it flows to those who desire a safe, stable world and have the heart to bring it about. I have absolutely no idea why this was changed because “the ones who keep order” is a reference to the Overseers, whose power dwells within the Seal Stones. You’ll see in future sections that GMS has some stupid obsession with omitting important bits of lore in their translations.)

When the Explorer asked if their fate was to defeat the Black Mage, he told them that if the chaos of their time had begun with him, then it was. However, he told them that how their fate transpired depended on them, for while his will was their will, his choices were not theirs. Having answered all their questions, the First Explorer told them to walk the fated path with awakened power, as the chaos that had long since faded was gathering again.

(A/N: From here on, the story returns to being class-agnostic.)

Next, the Adversary traveled to Pantheon and used the Horizon Portal inside the Great Temple to meet the Goddess of Grandis.

(A/N: Her form varies depending on your class. For all non-Grandis classes and Nova classes, she appears as an ancient Nova, which is more dragon-like, similar to how Eskalade appears. For Anima classes, she appears as a rabbit Anima. For Flora classes, she appears as a Verdant Flora, although her blue wings are natural, not mechanical.

Each of the Grandis classes also get some exclusive dialogue with Goddess of Grandis.

For Kaiser, the Goddess greets him and asks if he’s come to raise his power to the next level.

For Angelic Buster, the Goddess explains that she’s been watching her progress intently and notes that she’s done well to protect and grow her power.

For Cadena, the Goddess greets her and notes that though Cadena was born to royalty, she’s chosen a darker path, adding that she knew that Cadena would come to her seeking more power.

For Kain, the Goddess greets him and notes that he’s survived his tribulations and has emerged from the darkness.

For Illium, the Goddess greets him and asks if he’s come to unlock more of his mytocrystal’s power.

For Adele, the Goddess greets her and notes that she’s overcome her hardships and has discovered a new calling.

For Ark, the Goddess notes that his determination is strong, even in the face of chaos.

For Khali, the Goddess greets her as the one who has overcome her vengeance in the tragedy of the desert.

For Hoyoung, the Goddess greets him and explains that she’s been monitoring his performance for some time. She notes that it seems that he and Taotie have developed what she can only assume to be some tentative form of friendship.

For Lara, the Goddess notes that she’s the one who will wash away the wrongs of the Sinners and bring unending goodness.)

The Goddess greeted the Adversary and asked them to prove their strength by defeating Magnus. She sent them into an illusion of Tyrant’s Castle, in which the Adversary successfully bested the conjured Magnus before returning back to her. Impressed by their strength, the Goddess gave them the Arcane Stone of Grandis.

Finally, the Adversary returned back to Maple World and went to the base of the Dark World Tree, where the remnants of Damien’s army who had accepted defeat fought against the rest of their comrades, who had become possessed by the vestiges of the Spirit of Vengeance. They took the Horizon Portal at the Deserted Camp and found the Goddess of Tynerum, who told them that if Maple World was a world of rules and order, then Tynerum was a world of chaos and uncertainty. She explained that the demons had played as shadows did in candlelight for a very long time.

(A/N: The Demon gets some exclusive dialogue, in which she notes that he should know what she’s talking about well, since he’s a demon himself.

I really hope that they move the Goddess of Tynerum to Tynerum, rather than Maple World, once Tynerum is released as an area. Currently, Crimsonheart Castle is the only accessible part of Tynerum, but you can only access it through the Dimensional Mirror in towns.)

She added that though she had no interest in the affairs of Maple World, the balance between the worlds had to be maintained by defeating the Black Mage. She then tested them by sending them to the Dark World Tree and having them defeat the demon soldiers that she summoned. After defeating the corrupted demon soldiers, the Adversary returned to the Goddess, who gave them the Arcane Stone of Tynerum.

(A/N: Originally, she used to kick you out and move the Horizon Portal to one of the three top branches of the Dark World Tree, after which you had to find her within five minutes. Literally everyone hated this because many classes simply couldn’t survive with the level 220 mobs and the anti-AFK mob that locked your potion use. Thankfully, it was changed with the Destiny update.)

The Adversary then returned to the Memory Keeper, who activated the Arcane Stones and used them to awaken a new power within the Adversary. The Memory Keeper then asked the Adversary whether they wished to hear about what had happened on the day that the Gate of the Present had opened. He explained that he had sensed a sudden anomaly within the temple, with the Temple Keeper and several Guardians of Time immediately rushing to the scene. There, they had seen the Gate of the Present opened, with several unknown people entering through it.

(A/N: During the Memory Keeper’s explanation, we see several illustrations that give more context to his story. When he first senses the door opening, we see an image of the Black Mage, Will, Lucid, and Verus Hilla entering the Gate of the Present. Soon after, the Temple Keeper and the Guardians of Time arrive and find Arkarium escorting Tana into the Arcane River.)

The Memory Keeper then asked the Adversary if they remembered Kao, the amnesiac Temple Keeper. He explained that the priests of the Temple of Time had entered the Gate of the Present in order to explore the Arcane River, a river created from pure Erdas, and that Kao had gone with them in search of their memories. Because of the purity of the Erdas, he told the Adversary that only those who possessed Arcane Power could fight the Erda monsters. When the Adversary expressed their confusion, the Memory Keeper told them to see for themselves and instructed them to fight the Happy Erdas.

(A/N: Yeah no, I’m good, I’d rather throw myself off a building. There’s a whole damn timeline where us not having Arcane Power led to the world being destroyed, and yet this Temple of Time employee - whose literal job is to observe those exact moments in time - is really gonna do me like this. Where’s the option for me to say “I believe you” and he gives me the stupid symbol without requiring my squishy mules to die before we even take one step towards the Black Mage? It gets to the point that random strangers will offer to carry me because the sight of me charging in and dying for the seventeenth time in a row like I’m a level 10 noob stuck in Orbis is too pathetic for anyone with dignity to watch.)

The Adversary found that the Happy Erdas were extremely difficult to fight and returned to the Memory Keeper, who explained that the reason why they were struggling to face the Erdas was because the power of the body and the power of the soul were different. He told the Adversary that only by tapping into the Erda Flow could they wield the Arcane Power to face high-purity Erda monsters.

He explained that by forging the Erda within themselves into an Arcane Symbol, they would be able to use the symbol as a protective mark, which would allow them to call upon the Arcane Power within the Erda Flow without their energy being sapped away upon contact. He gave the Adversary a basic Arcane Symbol and explained that strengthening it would allow them to wield more Arcane Power and deal more damage to the monsters of the Arcane River.