PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 36: Vanishing Journey

• The Adversary entered the Arcane River and emerged in the Vanishing Journey. With the Arcane River being created from the convergence of three worlds - Maple World, Grandis, and Friends World - the Adversary noticed elements of all three worlds in the Vanishing Journey.

• There, they learned that Kao had also entered the Arcane River in order to regain their memories. Kao revealed that there was a fountain at the end of the Vanishing Journey which reflected one’s memories. The Adversary decided to help Kao reach the end, hoping to learn more about the Arcane River in the process.

• Along the way, the two met a girl named Rino, who offered to help them reach the end of the Vanishing Journey. While the Adversary collected the necessary provisions to make the journey, Rino led Kao to the fountain, where they regained their memories and learned that they were the Adversary from the future.

• In their memories, Kao saw that Rino had tricked them, resulting in their Arcane Power being consumed by Arma, a monster who had cloned himself into Rino in order to draw the Adversary and consume their memories to sustain himself. Kao attempted to warn the Adversary, just as Arma appeared in order to drain their power. However, Kao sacrificed themselves in order to give the Adversary time to defeat Arma once and for all.

• As Kao lay dying, they revealed to the Adversary that in the future which they had come from, they had confronted the Black Mage at the end of the Arcane River, though they had failed because of Arma draining their Arcane Power. They then told the Adversary that they had seen a memory of them making a wrong decision when they had been faced with someone in great pain, for which they asked the Adversary not to be swayed by anyone else when the time came to make that choice. Having changed history by helping the Adversary survive, Kao’s body disappeared, leaving behind the Arcane Symbol of Vanishing Journey.

• Hoping to inform the Alliance about what they had discovered, the Adversary wrote a letter and folded it into a paper boat, which they sent upstream by pushing the Erda current with their power. The letter was discovered by the Silent Crusade, who brought it to Ereve. With massive chains falling upon Maple World due to the Black Mage’s influence, Neinheart decided to mobilize the Alliance to enter the Arcane River.