PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 37: Yum Yum Island

(A/N: Like Reverse City, Yum Yum Island was retroactively added to the Arcane River in the RISE update as level 215 content in order to bridge Chu Chu Island at level 210 and Lachelein at level 220. Yum Yum Island continued setting up Kaling as an antagonist in the Grandis storyline and established a timeline regarding when the Alliance sent their advance guard that caught up with the Adversary during the events of Esfera. The storyline also received a revamp in the NEXT update, which made some minor story changes to be consistent with the Shangri-La storyline.

Similar to Reverse City, Yum Yum Island is technically an optional area, which means that future content is set up so that it’ll create conditional exclusive dialogue depending on whether or not you completed this area. However, I’ll be treating it as canon that we did go to Yum Yum Island, and I’ll add all the conditional dialogue for both completing and not completing this region in the author notes of those relevant sections.)

As the Adversary began making preparations to leave Chu Chu Island, they were contacted by Chief Lyon, who asked them to meet him at the outskirts of the village, as he had a favor to ask of them. There, he explained that behind Chu Chu Village, there was a forest filled with mushrooms, which the townspeople stayed away from because of its distance from the village. However, he revealed that a few days ago, they had heard an incredibly loud roar from the forest, which had caused a quake so loud that they had feared that all of Chu Chu Island was going to sink. Because of this, he asked the Adversary to visit Yum Yum Island in order to investigate the source, as well as to see whether Chu Chu Island was in any danger.

At Lyon’s request, the Adversary traveled to Yum Yum Island, where they began wandering around the deserted field of mushrooms. Just as they noted to themselves that no one appeared to be there, they were approached by a chameleon with a chicken-like comb and wings. Though the Adversary realized that the chameleon's mixed appearance was similar to the other Erda fusions of Chu Chu Island, they also began to feel as though it seemed vaguely familiar. The chameleon immediately noticed that the Adversary didn’t have a blue button on them, explaining that all the residents of Yum Yum Island had one, and that those who didn’t were outsiders.

(A/N: Hoyoung has exclusive dialogue here, in which he notes that the button seems familiar. Taotie adds that the energy in the button feels familiar, though he can’t recall what it is. At the time that this story was released, people believed that it was because the button contained the energy of another one of the Four Perils, as it’s later revealed at the end of the storyline that the person responsible for the events of Yum Yum Island is Kaling, who wears a blue button identical to the one worn by the creatures of Yum Yum Island.

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 reveals that the familiar energy is actually because these buttons are imperfect Godspheres. The Godspheres, also known as the “spear of god” in KMS, are the Seal Stones that the elders created in Odium to create Adversaries in order to face the Ancient Gods. Eons later, Freud used their scattered power to create the Seal Stones, which are identical to the Godspheres, with the only difference being the name that he gave them. During the Shangri-La storyline, it’s revealed that the buttons on Yum Yum Island were Kaling’s attempts to create a Godsphere in order to complete her experiment for Darmoor, which involved the Four Perils being combined with a Godsphere and a Vessel to create an immensely powerful Adversary.)

Just as the Adversary began to question the chameleon about the strange ongoings on the island, a horde of Bunshrooms and Monkeyrogs suddenly appeared and surrounded the pair. The Adversary mistakenly believed that the creatures were friends of the chameleon, though the chameleon revealed that the monsters were dangerous, for which he urged the Adversary to run while he held them off. However, the Adversary replied that they would fight alongside him, asking him to handle the rear while they took the front. As they began fighting the monsters, the chameleon introduced himself as Caster, noting that the Adversary seemed to be quite powerful.

After the pair defeated the horde of monsters, one of the Monkeyrogs told Caster to give up his pointless ways and live according to his instincts. Lamenting his lost friendship with the Monkeyrogs and Bunshrooms, Caster told the Monkeyrog that they should all just mind their own businesses before the horde got in trouble with the Adversary, whom Caster called his new friend. After the horde retreated, the Adversary asked Caster why they had seemed so hostile, noting that they had the same blue button as him. Just as Caster began explaining that he had a greater goal than the others, he suddenly stopped to look at a small flower about to bloom.

Upon blooming, a small three-headed puppy with wings appeared, with Caster wondering whether the puppy was the match that Bappy had been waiting for. He explained that Bappy was one of the residents of his village, and that he was searching for his match made in heaven. He also told the Adversary that he, too, had someone that he was searching for, and that he and Bappy were working together to find them both. He revealed that he could vaguely remember a sun in his distant memories, and that he was searching for his sun. (A/N: For the few people who watch Boruto, this sounds exactly like Mitsuki simping for Boruto.)

The Adversary noted that the sun sounded like someone very important, to which Caster explained that he believed that the sun was the one who had created everyone on Yum Yum Island, noting that the buttons were round like the sun. However, he admitted that he had no idea what he would do once he met his sun, though he remained certain that he would figure it out once it happened. He then brought the Adversary and the puppy, Puptail, to his village, where he introduced the Adversary to Bappy - a parrot dressed as a clown.

Upon seeing Puptail, Bappy asked Caster whether the puppy was a newly-born creature. Just as Caster began talking about Puptail, they heard the puppy barking and turned to see that Puptail had climbed to the top of a tall mushroom. Caster urged Puptail to come down, claiming that he would hurt himself, though Bappy noted that Puptail would be fine with his wings. However, Caster retorted that Puptail’s wings were far too small to allow him to fly. Though he attempted to bring Puptail down, the puppy remained just out of reach and barked happily, with Bappy noting that Puptail’s three heads meant that his bark was three times louder than a normal puppy.

Caster then gave up on trying to bring Puptail down and instead introduced Bappy to the Adversary, who once again had a strange feeling that they had met Bappy before, just as they had with Caster. Bappy then greeted the Adversary and asked them whether they liked parties, explaining that he was planning to host one soon, and that he wished to extend them an invitation. Caster shook his head at Bappy inviting the Adversary to a party that hadn’t happened in years, to which Bappy noted that it was Caster’s fault for the party’s delay, as he couldn’t throw it until Caster had found him his match made in heaven.

Though Caster asked Bappy whether Puptail wasn’t his match either, Bappy reminded him that his match was colored blue. Upon hearing this, the Adversary began thinking about Bappy being red, his match being blue, and his love of parties, noting that everything was starting to feel too familiar. Recalling how the people of Chu Chu Island had been born from the Erdas of different creatures mixing together, they suddenly remembered how the Bunshrooms had been fusions of Mushmom and bunnies, while the Monkeyrogs had been fusions of Balrog and monkeys.

Suddenly, they realized that Bappy must have been created from the fusion of Pierre and a parrot, noting how Pierre had been a clown who threw tea parties and split into his red and blue halves. They also realized that Caster must be a fusion of Von Bon - a chicken who wore the same monocle that Caster carried around - and a chameleon, as the Adversary recalled seeing chameleon’s in Von Bon’s garden within Root Abyss.

Thinking back on Puptail’s three heads, they realized that Puptail must also be a fusion of Horntail and a puppy. The Adversary was shocked to realize that Yum Yum Island was filled with creatures born from the Erdas of the most powerful monsters in Maple World. Suddenly, they thought back to Chief Lyon and the strange symbol on his cape, which they realized was identical to Damien’s curse mark. However, they noted that Lyon didn’t wear a blue button, and that he must have simply been influenced by Damien after his passing in Maple World.

(A/N: The Demon has some exclusive dialogue here that adds on to the generic script. He notes that Lyon is nothing like Damien and realizes that after Damien died at the Dark World Tree, parts of him trickled into the Arcane River as Erda, which resulted in the creation of Lyon.

Later on, we also encounter a couple of other monster fusions. Piabees come from Pianus and bees, Lytones come from Lyka and stones, Stonepy come from Stumpy and stones, Kumpiders come from Zakum and spiders, and Squirrelnons come from Manon and squirrels.)

Upon recalling Caster’s words about how the sun had created them, with the buttons being round like the sun, the Adversary began to suspect that the people of Yum Yum Island had not been created naturally like the people of Chu Chu Island, which meant that someone had intentionally created them by mixing together the Erdas of Maple World’s strongest creatures. Noticing the Adversary’s expression, Caster and Bappy both asked them whether they were okay, to which the Adversary - realizing that the creatures of Yum Yum Island were far weaker in their new, hybrid forms - decided to see how things went, believing that there was no reason to needlessly antagonize the others when they appeared to be friendly.

After the Adversary dismissed their silence as them merely being lost in thought, Bappy asked Caster why he had brought them to the village. Caster began to answer when he suddenly stopped and realized that he hadn’t even asked them about their intentions, with Bappy chastising him for his rudeness towards their party guests. The Adversary then explained that they had come to investigate the large roar on the island from a few days ago, to which Caster explained that there had been a commotion in Fungos Forest, which the villagers were too afraid to enter. However, he noted that it had sounded as though something huge had awakened there, with Bappy adding that it fortunately hadn’t affected his party preparations.

Caster then realized that since they were searching for more newly-awakened creatures, it would be beneficial for them to investigate Fungos Forest as well, noting that the Adversary being able to handle their own against the Bunshrooms and Monkeyrogs was proof that they would be fine in the forest. Bappy then asked Caster to find his match made in heaven inside the forest, to which Caster asked him whether his instincts were pointing towards any particular region. However, Bappy replied that he couldn’t be sure, as his instincts were pointing him all over the place, for which he asked Caster to trust his enormous eyes.

The Adversary then whispered Caster why Bappy didn’t just look for his match himself, with Caster whispering back that Bappy was busy preparing for his party. Bappy then asked the pair what they were whispering about, to which Caster immediately denied saying anything before suggesting that they head out. As they prepared to leave, the Adversary asked Caster why he and Bappy seemed so different from the Bunshrooms and Monkeyrogs. Caster explained that for him, finding his sun was more important to him than anything, though he admitted that the other monsters seemed to have an instinct for causing chaos, and that he was able to suppress those urges for the sake of finding his sun, just as Bappy had done to find his match made in heaven.

With no flowers left in Mushbud Forest, Caster led the Adversary to Illiard Field, where the Adversary was surprised to find giant Lytone monsters. Though Caster noted that they were impressive, he explained that the Lytones weren’t actually alive, and that they had an entirely different nature altogether. He then asked the Adversary to thin out the number of Lytones so that they could examine the nearby flowers. Upon finding no flowers blooming, however, Caster suggested that they try somewhere else.

Moving forward into a field of Stonepy monsters, the pair were surprised to find that Puptail had followed them from town, barking happily. After clearing out the Stonepy monsters and finding no flowers blooming, Caster suggested that they go even deeper towards a place where he had never entered alone before, though he added that things would be fine with the Adversary and Puptail with him. The group then arrived in a field filled with flowers, fighting off a swarm of Piabees which had arrived to attack. With none of the flowers blooming, however, Caster realized that they would need to enter Fungos Forest after all.

On their way, however, they encountered a flower that began blooming open, out of which emerged a blue version of Bappy named Muppy. As Caster marveled over how identical Muppy appeared to Bappy, the Adversary recalled painful memories of fighting Pierre in Root Abyss when he had split into two. Caster then greeted Muppy and revealed that his other half had eagerly been awaiting him, and that he was preparing a party in celebration. Muppy expressed his excitement about the party before noting that Caster had a blue button on him. He then wondered whether Caster was the one who had wandered in and out before, though he noted that the person he was thinking of had a bigger button on them.

A confused Caster replied that it was his first time in the area, though he suddenly realized that the person Muppy was talking about might be his sun. He eagerly asked Muppy which way the person had gone, though Muppy noted that it didn’t seem right to call them a sun, as there was a great darkness around them. He added that they had also said something very strange while he had been sleeping inside the flower, revealing that they had called him a useless failure when they had inspected him.

At Caster’s shock, Muppy noted that he didn’t know who that person was, though it had seemed rather harsh of them to call him a failure. He added that if it wasn’t Caster who had come to see him, it must have been someone who had been born before either of them, which made him wonder whether calling him a failure had been their way of bragging about being older than him. Upon hearing Muppy’s words, Caster was distraught upon realizing that the sun hadn’t wanted him, and that he was simply a failed experiment for someone else that they had actually wanted.

Furious at the revelation that his creator had rejected him, Caster was engulfed by a great wave of anger, forcing the Adversary to fight him in order to knock him back to his senses. After being knocked unconscious and waking up, Caster apologized to the group before rushing toward Fungos Forest. While Muppy waited at the entrance, the Adversary and Puptail ran after Caster, where they found themselves in the depths of the dark and ominous forest. With no trace of Caster in sight, the Adversary began wondering which way they should go upon finding a fork in the road.

Puptail began barking, attempting to direct the Adversary towards the path on the right. The Adversary noted that Puptail could sense a bad energy on the right path, but though the Adversary also felt an ominous aura, they also noted that the energy seemed to have little substance to it, whereas it felt as though there was a stronger power slumbering on the left path. The Adversary decided to take the path on the left and fought through the creatures along the way, hoping that it would reduce the danger to Caster if he was indeed in the area.

At the end of the path, the Adversary was shocked to encounter an enormous flower, which they noted was far bigger than any of the other ones which they had seen before. They realized that the flower had engorged itself by drawing in all of the surrounding Erda, giving it an immense and terrible presence. Suddenly, however, the flower bloomed and revealed a giant, dragon-like monster. The Adversary wondered whether it as a Nova or a dragon of Leafre before realizing that it was Afrien, the King of Onyx Dragons.

(A/N: The Heroes have some slightly different dialogue in the way that they realize that the creature is made of Afrien’s Erda. It’s nothing significant, but the wording is changed enough to make it clear that they personally recognize Afrien. For Evan’s dialogue, Mir will address the creature as ‘ancestor’, just as he does with Afrien, and asks if it’s really him.

Nova classes also get some exclusive dialogue, in which they first mistake the creature for a Nova before realizing that its energy is completely different from normal Nova, as the creature has a dragon face, whereas the Nova have human faces. Afrien’s fused form actually does look pretty humanoid, with the exception of his dragon face. His armor and color scheme make him look similar to Magnus, and it actually makes me wonder whether this was the fusion of Afrien and a past Kaiser.)

The creature roared loudly and demanded to know whether the Adversary was the one who had woken him up before attacking. As the Adversary fought the creature, they were shocked to note that a portion of Afrien’s immense power had been carried over into this creation. (A/N: The Heroes get some exclusive dialogue here, in which they note that despite the creature’s power, it’s still nowhere near Afrien’s strength.) Though they refused to be defeated by him, the creature’s strength began to overwhelm them, forcing them to collapse before him. As the creature launched an attack to finish them off, Caster suddenly appeared and took the blow in the Adversary’s place.

The creature then declared that yet another insignificant being had appeared. Angered upon being called ‘insignificant’ like his creator had done, Caster flew into another rage and rose up to fight the creature off. Together, the Adversary and Caster managed to defeat the creature, who was shocked to have been beaten. Claiming that his will could not be taken away, the creature disintegrated away, leaving behind his blue button. The Adversary picked up the button and noted their shock at the fact that such a powerful monster could be made in such a way. As the button disintegrated in their hands, they were disturbed to realize that anyone, both their allies and enemies, could be reborn, and that there was no telling how powerful they would be.

They then turned to see that Caster was still in a rage, unresponsive to their attempts to calm him down. Suddenly, however, Chief Lyon arrived and knocked out Caster as he landed, causing Caster’s button to fall off. As Caster awoke and came back to his senses, he looked down to find that a massive claw made with evil energy had manifested out of the button. Laughing that the claw was nothing like the cute claws of cats such as himself, Lyon swiftly brought down his staff on the button, shattering it and dispelling the evil energy inside it.

(A/N: The claw attack is the same one that Kaling uses, powered by one of the Four Perils. Hoyoung and Lara both have exclusive dialogue, which has them recognize the hand. For Hoyoung’s dialogue, Taotie also adds that he now remembers the energy as being what Kaling had unleashed at the Temple of Time during Hoyoung’s level 200 quest. Both Hoyoung and Lara then wonder what Kaling is scheming.

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.

It’s explained in the Shangri-La storyline that only someone who can fuse with a Godsphere can destroy the buttons, which contain a trace of a true Godsphere’s power. The creations on Yum Yum Island that Kaling made were intended to be Vessels who can hold a Godsphere’s power, although all her Godspheres and Vessels were failures. However, the fact that Lyon could destroy one might mean that he’s a successful Vessel, although the funny thing is that he was created naturally in the Arcane River, rather than through Kaling’s experiments, similar to how the Adversary was made organically, rather than the Adversaries created through experimentation in Odium.)

Lyon noted that he had never expected such a dark place to be so close by, adding that one would have never even known about it without going there. Meanwhile, Caster began laughing in relief, realizing that the button had never been the sun in the first place. The Adversary then asked Lyon what he was doing in the forest, to which Lyon explained that he had come in search of them after hearing another loud roar from Yum Yum Island.

Upon noticing Damien’s mark on Lyon’s cape, Caster realized that it was shaped just like a sun, meaning that Lyon was the sun whom he had been searching for all along. Lyon asked Caster whether they knew each other, noting that Caster seemed strangely familiar, even though he couldn’t recall where exactly they had met before. The Adversary then recalled that they, too, had thought that the symbol on Lyon’s cape had been a sun when they had first seen it, noting that Caster believing Lyon to be his sun and creator had likely been carried over from Von Bon being created by Damien.

Just then, Puptail began barking and led the others towards the other side of the forest, where he had originally been trying to lead the Adversary. There, they discovered a group of smaller flowers which had already bloomed. Caster noted that there were quite a number of flowers, with Lyon adding that the energy felt even worse than on the left side of the island. Upon seeing the flowers, the Adversary realized that the creatures which had been born from the flowers had already left a long time ago, and that there was no trace of them remaining. Caster wondered what the purpose behind the flowers was, adding that the flowers appeared to be in a strange state.

The Adversary realized that though the flowers still gave off an eerie aura, they seemed less powerful than the ones which they had seen before. Because of this, they told Caster that the flowers weren’t something that they needed to worry about. Nevertheless, they noted to themselves that the Arcane River was home to many different Erdas which had fused together into new Erdas, which meant that it wasn’t unusual for there to be creatures mixed from the Erdas of powerful beings.

However, they also realized that it wasn’t normal for the buttons to belong to Erdas which had been mixed together organically, leading them to suspect that someone was artificially fusing together different Erdas together in order to create some type of powerful creature. They noted that the Afrien fusion, despite having immense strength, had been weaker because it had just been born and hadn’t been able to control its power properly. However, they realized that whoever was creating these creatures would be able to do so again, and that the monsters born from such experiments would be extremely formidable.

(A/N: Hoyoung and Lara both have exclusive dialogue here, in which they note that they hadn’t expected Kaling to go so far. For Hoyoung, Taotie adds that Kaling is really something else and suggests that they be more careful.)

Caster then interrupted the Adversary’s thoughts and suggested that they head back to the village with Muppy, adding that he didn’t want to stay in such a dreary place any longer. At the village, Bappy was thrilled to be united with his match made in heaven at long last, with Chief Lyon inviting the people of Yum Yum Island to visit the others on Chu Chu Island whenever they wished. The Adversary was pleased to see that everything had worked out in the end, as they had been worried about the townspeople’s old memories resurfacing after being reunited. Caster then thanked the Adversary for their help and gave them several Arcane Symbols as a reward, with Bappy throwing his party in honor of finding Muppy.

(A/N: The Demon has a few exclusive lines of dialogue before he leaves, in which he silently says that if he ever sees Damien again, then he hopes that Damien will be able to live a better life like the people of Chu Chu Island do.)

As Bappy’s party finally took place, the Adversary noted to themselves that though no damage had occurred, the events on Yum Yum Island hadn’t been a trivial occurrence. Because of this, they decided to send another letter to the Alliance in order to update them on what had happened. Soon after, Cygnus and Neinheart arranged a meeting in Ereve with Claudine, Edea, and Grendel the Really Old. Neinheart finished describing the Erda experiments on Yum Yum Island to the others, with Edea noting that she had no idea what the true intentions behind the experiments could be.

Neinheart reported to Cygnus that the Alliance had no record of any of the Black Mage’s Commanders or followers having such powers, making him believe that it could be a new enemy working for the Black Mage. However, Cygnus replied that they couldn’t do anything about identifying the unknown enemy, and that all they could do was to send the Alliance into the Arcane River as soon as possible in order to help the Adversary. Neinheart then asked Grendel about the status of enchanting the Rue Ore, to which Grendel reported that the first imprinting had just been done, adding that it was quite fascinating magic.

However, Grendel added that only three such stones had been finished, and that it would still take some time for the entire Alliance to mobilize. Neinheart replied that it would be enough, as the advance party’s goal was reconnaissance and communication, as well as creating a gateway for the rest of the Alliance to follow. He then introduced Ollie of the Thunder Breakers, explaining that she was a talented member of the Cygnus Knights whom he wished to recommend as a reconnaissance scout. After Ollie introduced herself, Claudine presented Shubert, a Blaster and communications expert, explaining that Neinheart could leave communications to the Resistance, as they had quite a bit of experience in the area.

Finally, Edea explained that though she wished to join the advance party herself in order to create a gateway, her duties in Pantheon meant that she would need to send someone else in her place. Because of this, she presented Melange to go in her stead, noting that his work with imprinting magic onto the Rue Ore spoke to his skills. Cygnus then thanked the trio for volunteering for the expedition, noting that they would soon catch up to the Adversary and open the path to the Black Mage at long last.

Meanwhile, Kaling arrived at the left side of Fungos Forest, where she was surprised to find that the Afrien fusion had unexpectedly awoken in the short time that she had been away. Realizing that even her strongest creature had been defeated, Kaling declared that all of her creations had been failures in the end. Having been unable to achieve her goal, Kaling decided that she had no reason to remain on Yum Yum Island and decided to move on to her other plans elsewhere.

(A/N: At the time that this storyline came out, people assumed that Kaling wanted to create a substitute Peril after she lost Taotie to Hoyoung.

Please note: the following text contains major spoilers for the Shangri-La storyline. If you don’t want spoilers, skip to the next section.

Like I mentioned in earlier author notes, the Shangri-La storyline later reveals that the experiments on Yum Yum Island were meant to create a Vessel and Godsphere for her Adversary experiments, although all of her creations are deemed failures in the end.)