PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 33: The Arcane River

• The Adversary was called by the Memory Keeper, who revealed that the Erdas - the building blocks of reality - were disappearing from the Erda Flow. The Adversary spoke with the Erdas, which revealed that - without Alicia to protect them - the Black Mage had taken them beyond the Gate of the Present in order to create the Arcane River.

• In order to face the high-purity Erdas within the river, the Adversary met with the Goddesses of Maple World, Grandis, and Tynerum in order to obtain the Arcane Stones, which would grant them the ability to manipulate Erdas just like the Goddesses.

• After passing the Goddesses’ trials, the Adversary awakened a new power within them, allowing them to use the power of Erda to create powerful new skills, with which they hoped to survive the Arcane River.

• The Memory Keeper also revealed that in order to build up Arcane Power, the Adversary would need to obtain Arcane Symbols - protective symbols that would allow the Adversary to draw power from the Erda Flow without their soul being pulled in.

• Having revealed that the Black Mage and his Commanders had entered the Gate of the Present, the Memory Keeper asked the Adversary to seek out Kao, the amnesiac Temple Keeper who had also gone into the Arcane River to find their lost memories.