PART III: AFTER THE UNSEALING OF THE BLACK MAGE

Chapter 38: 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.

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 preparations to leave Chu Chu Island, they were contacted by Chief Lyon, who asked them to come back to the village. He explained that behind Chu Chu Village, there was a forest where the mushrooms grew wild. Because of its distance, the townspeople stayed away from the area. However, a few days ago, they had heard an incredibly loud roar, along with a quake which had made them believe that all of Chu Chu Island was sinking.

He asked them to go to Yum Yum Island to investigate the source and to determine if Chu Chu Island was in any danger. As the Adversary began wandering around Yum Yum Island, they encountered a chameleon with a chicken-like comb and wings, which seemed vaguely familiar to them. The chameleon, Caster, saw that the Adversary didn’t have a blue button that identified them as a resident of Yum Yum Island.

(A/N: These buttons are the same as the one worn by Kaling, who’s responsible for the events of Yum Yum Island. 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.

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 gods. Eons later, Freud used their scattered power to create the Seal Stones, which are identical to the Godspheres, except that he gave them a different name. Kaling is trying to create a Godsphere in order to complete her experiment for Darmoor involving the Four Perils being combined with a Godsphere to create an immensely powerful Adversary.)

Suddenly, a horde of Bunshrooms and Monkeyrogs surrounded them. Though Caster told the Adversary that he would hold them off, the Adversary replied that they would fight alongside him. After defeating the enemies, one of Monkeyrogs told Caster to give up his pointless ways and live according to his instincts before retreating. The Adversary asked Caster what had happened between him and the others, as they all wore the same buttons. Caster began explaining that he had a greater goal when he suddenly stopped to look at a small flower about to bloom.

Upon blooming, a small three-headed puppy appeared out of it and Caster wondered if 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 had a distant memory of a sun, which he believed had created them all. He pointed out that their buttons were round like the sun as well, and that he was searching for his sun while helping Bappy find his match. (A/N: For anyone who watches Boruto, this sounds exactly like Mitsuki simping for Boruto.)

Caster brought the Adversary and Puptail to the village, where they met Bappy, a parrot dressed as a clown who loved fancy parties. The Adversary suddenly realized that all the residents of Yum Yum Island were based on dangerous monsters that came from Maple World, with Bunshrooms coming from Mushmoms, Monkeyrogs coming from Jr. Balrogs, Puptail coming from Horntail, Bappy coming from Pierre, and Caster coming from Von Bon. They also realized that Lyon was made from Damien’s Erdas, though they recalled that Lyon didn’t wear a button like the others.

(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, Lytones come from Lyka, Stonepy come from Stumpy, Kumpiders come from Zakum, and Squirrelnons come from Manon.)

The Adversary began to suspect that the ones wearing buttons had been artificially created by someone mixing powerful creatures of Maple World. Despite the fact that those monsters had once been quite fearsome, the Adversary noted that the creatures of Yum Yum Island didn’t have the same strength, and so they decided to let things play out, as there was no sense in making enemies of them needlessly.

They then asked Caster about the strange roaring from a few days ago. Caster told them that it had likely originated in Fungos Forest, and so the Adversary resolved to go there and investigate. Bappy then asked them to find his match made in heaven there while he prepared the welcoming party for his match.

The Adversary then asked Caster about the instincts that the Monkeyrog had mentioned. Caster explained that while the other monsters only wanted to create chaos, he and Bappy were able to repress their base instincts so that they could find what they were looking for. Caster then suggested that they go to Illiard Field, as there were no flowers left in Mushbud Forest.

In Illiard Field, Caster asked them to eliminate the Lytones in order to prevent them from interfering with the flowers blooming. However, when none of the flowers there bloomed, Caster suggested that they move on to a different area. They then checked the area full of Stonepy monsters, though they didn’t find any blooming flowers there, either. They continued on and soon found a field full of flowers, though they first had to fight the Piabees that surrounded them.

Eventually, they found a blooming flower, out of which emerged a blue version of Bappy named Muppy. Muppy was pleased to know that his other half was looking for him. He asked Caster whether he was the one who had visited him while he had been inside the flower, although he added that Caster’s button was smaller than the one that he had seen the person wearing.

Believing them to be his sun, Caster asked what the person had said. Muppy recalled that the person had said, “Such a failure.” Caster was distraught to learn that the sun hadn’t created him because he was needed, but rather because he was merely an attempt at a bigger masterpiece. He was suddenly engulfed by a wave of anger, forcing the Adversary to knock him out. When Caster awoke, he immediately ran off towards Fungos Forest.

The Adversary, Muppy, and Puptail followed him and found that Fungos Forest was completely devoid of light. They fought through the monsters, which seemed like they had only been created to fight, and soon reached a fork. They decided to head left and fought through Kumpiders and Squirrelnons until they reached a humongous flower. The flower soon bloomed and revealed a giant, dragon-like monster. The Adversary wondered whether it was 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.)

As they began to fight, the Adversary quickly found that a portion of Afrien’s immense power had carried over into this creation. (A/N: Once again, the Heroes have some slightly different dialogue that has them note that despite the fusion’s power, it’s still nowhere near Afrien’s strength.) As Afrien launched a powerful attack, Caster jumped in front of the Adversary and took it in their place. Afrien then declared that yet another insignificant being appeared, angering Caster once again, as he refused to be called a failure. With an enraged Caster and the Adversary working together, Afrien was defeated, leaving behind only his button.

As the Adversary picked up the button, it crumbled into dust in their hands. They were disturbed to know that both their allies and their foes could be revived in such a manner, with no way of telling which side they would be on, nor how powerful they would be. They then saw that Caster was still consumed by anger and attempted to calm him down when suddenly, Chief Lyon appeared and knocked him out, causing the button that Caster wore to fall. From the button, a massive claw appeared with ominous energy, though it was destroyed by a swift strike from Lyon’s staff.

(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 later suggested in the Shangri-La storyline that only someone who can fuse with a Godsphere can destroy the buttons, which contain a trace of its 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.)

Lyon explained that he had heard a roar from Afrien and had come to help. Caster then saw Damien’s sun-like mark on Lyon’s cape and realized that Lyon was the sun whom he had been looking for. (A/N: Caster recognizing Chief Lyon as his sun, aka his creator, is because Lyon was created from Damien, who originally created the Root Abyss bosses that Caster, Bappy, and Muppy were made from.)

Just then, Puptail barked at them and led them to an even larger flower, which had already bloomed. The Adversary noted that whatever had hatched from it had been gone for a while, and that not a single trace of it remained. Caster noted that as the flower was much larger, it likely meant that whatever had hatched from it must be far stronger than the monster that they had faced.

The Adversary immediately had a bad feeling about whoever was using Erda to create and control new beings. Though the Afrien fusion hadn’t been mature enough to control its powers, the Adversary noted that its potential had been incredible. They realized that something similar could happen again at any time, and that such creatures could easily become powerful enemies.

(A/N: The giant creature that hatched from this flower is likely the same one whose roar had prompted Lyon to ask the Adversary to investigate Yum Yum Island. 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.)

With no more leads, they returned back to the village and introduced Muppy to Bappy, who threw a party in both their honors. Caster then thanked the Adversary for their help and gave them several Arcane Symbols as a reward. Believing that they had no time to inform the Alliance about what they had learned, the Adversary hesitantly decided to move on.

(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.)

Though the Adversary continued on their journey without informing the Alliance, Neinheart was nevertheless able to learn about the Erda experiments on Yum Yum Island told Cygnus that they had no record of any of the Black Mage’s Commanders or followers having the kind of power. (A/N: Most likely, the Temple Keepers exploring the Arcane River have been keeping the Alliance in the loop regarding what’s been happening.) Cygnus replied that they couldn’t do anything about identifying the unknown enemy, but they could send the Alliance to the Arcane River as soon as possible in order to help the Adversary.

Neinheart decided to inform the Resistance and the Nova about their discovery, hoping that their allies could help them gather additional information. Cygnus asked if the advance party was ready, which Neinheart confirmed, adding that they had one Cygnus Knight and one Resistance member ready to head out. Just then, Ollie of the Thunder Breakers arrived to report in. Neinheart then told Ollie and Cygnus that Pantheon was scheduled to send in a magician so that the advance party could find a way to move through the Arcane River soon.

Meanwhile, Kaling arrived at Fungos Forest and saw that the Afrien fusion had both hatched and been defeated while she had been away. She then decided to wrap up her experiments there and move on to her other plans.

(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. However, as I said, the experiments on Yum Yum Island were meant for her to create a Vessel and a Godsphere for her experiments, although all of them were failures in the end.)