The Monumental

Lore

On the top floor of The Nexus is a room full of dead Monumentals. They were a vessel-race endowed only with prophetic knowledge and lacking all consequence of emotion or personal-thought. Only one is still alive; he sits cross-legged on the floor, but his body has the appearance of being made of ceramic, like he is a living statue. The Monumental is the last surviving harbinger of its kind. It seeks to aid the adventurer into lulling the Old One back to sleep. The Monumental is the last pillar that sustains the Nexus and therefore the sanity of the world.

In the distant past, one who sought greater power awakened the Old One and a Demonic, colorless fog swept across the land. Heroes arose to fight the Demon scourge but by the time the Old One had been put back to sleep, half the world's population had been destroyed by the fog. To unite what little of the world remained, six archstones were given to the rulers of the remaining lands which allowed quick travel to the Nexus. To prevent the future rise of the Old One, it was imprisoned below the Nexus, and the Soul Arts (power derived from the soul of others) were banned. Those heroes who survived the quest became Monumentals, half-living beings tasked with preserving the fabric of reality.

As time passed, the archstones were forgotten by humanity and the Monumentals began to slowly perish. Now only one Monumental remains to aid the player in correcting King Allant's mistake in awakening the Old One. The Monumental opens a fissure (opening) in the Deep Fog to allow the player access to the outer rim of Boletaria. He guides the player through the journey to the Nexus and upon their death binds the player's soul to the Nexus. Only by destroying all the Demons, the Monumental claims, will the player be freed from the Nexial Binding. The Monumental encourages the player to allow the Maiden in Black to lull the Old One to sleep.

The Crestfallen Warrior theorizes that it is the Monumentals, not King Allant, which awoke the Old One on a "whim." They then enslaved any passing warriors with Nexial Bindings in a desperate bid to undo their mistake. If this theory is correct, King Allant was merely a powerful warrior who was seduced by the call of the Old One to be its servant and not the cause of Boletaria's demise. A line of the Monumental's dialogue which may support this is when he speaks of creating the Pantheon at the top of the Nexus to give "thanks to the brave and honorable warriors, who must fight to reverse our sin." This "sin" he speaks of may refer to the current awakening of the Old One, but it may mean instead that one of the Monumentals was responsible for the original awakening of the Old One in the distant past. It is also possible the last Monumental, desperate to find replacements, awakened the Old One to find warriors worthy of becoming new Monumentals to replace those who had died.

The pose of the Monumental and many of its facial features are modeled after statues of the Buddha.

Theories

Title of theory.

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Text of theory goes here.

Dialogue

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First encounter:
"Brave souls, who fears not death. I shall guide you to the Nexus. So that you may lull the Old One back to slumber."

After beating the Phalanx:
"We have long await'd you, slayer of Demons. I am one of the Monumentals. We preserve the fabric of reality. There is something thou need'st to know. Once, we too, a scourge of Demons faced. In the distant past. Under a benevolent rule the world was unite'd, owing to the soul arts. Until, a lust for power caus'd the awakening of the Old One. Across the land seep'd a colourless Deep Fog, and the world faced extinction at the hands of the Demons. Thanks be, we were able to lull the Old One back to Its slumber, yet only after the loss of innumerable souls, and half the world, lost…eras'd by the fog. In order to mend the fabric of what land still remained, we entrusted six elders with six precious Archstones.
One to the king of a small yet diligent land,
one to the king of the burrowers underground,
one to the wise queen of the great ivory tower,
one to the chieftain of lost and ill-fortuned souls,
one to the shaman of the tempest-worshipping shadowmen.
And the last to the great giants of the Northern Lands.
The Archstones were placed at nodes across the earth. We contain'd the Old One inside this Nexus, and banned the soul arts. Finally, we became Monumentals; half living sentinels of the fabric of reality. Alas, the othe Monumentals have perish'd, and only I remain."
(Text: By the power of the Monumentals, the four sealed Archstones have been released.)
"Now it is your turn. You must lull the Old One back to Its slumber, and seal it away for all eternity. If not, the Deep Fog will absorb all that we know. Have you the strength to accept this mission?"

• Yes: "Yes, we are fortunate indeed to have you. Now, go forth, and destroy every last Demon. The Old One, without Demons to feed it souls, will a new servant seek, and lure you to its bosom. We neutralised the Old One, and banned the soul arts. Then we spread the Archstones, and in order to mend reality, Monumentals we became. However, man's memory of history is o'er short, and before long he repeated his mistakes. The Monumentals perished, and the Archstones were long forgotten. And the short-sighted King Allant once again aroused the Old One."
• No: "Yes, I see. That is unfortunate. You should know that you will be imprisoned in the Nexus forever. Just like the poor candle maiden. You must destroy all the Demons if you wish to be freed from the curse of the Nexus. The Old One, without the Demons to feed its souls, will seek a new servant, and lure you to its bosom. You must lull the Old One back to slumber, for your own sake as well as for ours. After answering 'No' and beating two Archdemons? You must despise me. But remember, we Monumentals, too, are trapped within this Nexus. For we prevent your world from breaking apart at the seams. Please forgive me, but I wish to concentrate. 'Tis no easy task, being a Monumental."
• No (afterbeating three Archdemons): "……" (silence)

After beating an Archdemon:
"Have you received assistance from the Candle Maiden? She is a prisoner of this Nexus. It is her duty to lull the Old One back to slumber. That is why she helps those who hunt Demons, and that is why she has become a Demon herself… A soul is the essence with which living things comprehend the world around them. When one loses the Soul, one loses the mind; a land barren of Souls is absorbed by fog and banished to the infinite darkness. The Old One is a bottomless pit of Nothingness, with an insatiable appetite for the souls collected by its faithful Demons. The Old One's very nature cannot be fathomed by the living. The soul arts shall be lost once the Old One is lulled back to slumber. A soul is the essence of thought which is latent in all living things. You must never forget… The power that you now enjoy contradicts the essence of the soul, for it stems from Demon magic."

After ?:
"Have you visited the Pantheon at the uppermost floor? The Pantheon honours those like yourself who sought the Demon souls. Perhaps one day your soul, too, will be honoured in that same fashion. That is the most we can do to give you thanks. To give thanks to the brave and honourable warriors, who must fight to reverse our sins…"

After beating all Archdemons:
"You have destroyed all of the Demons. You soon shall hear the call of the Old One. Then, the candle maiden shall guide you below the Nexus, where the Old One awaits. She will lull the Old One back to slumber. That is, after all, her purpose."

When giving the friends ring (pure white character tendency):
"Take this. It will be of help to you on your quest."

When attacked:
*Laughs* "Cease, you are wasting your lifeforce. I am a Monumental. You cannot harm me."

Sources

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Friend's Ring
A mysterious blue ring given by the Monumental.
Increases attack power as a Phantom.
This mysterious ring supports camaraderie with others, since it's bearer aids warriors in other worlds and is aided by them. This was the wish of the last Monumental.
The Foe's Ring makes a matching set with this ring.

Blue Eye Stone
Proof you have been accepted by the Monumental
as a demon slayer. When you die and enter Soul
form, use this to send a Soul Sign. This item can
only be used in Soul form.
A Soul Sign is sent to other worlds, and you are
summoned from those other worlds as a Phantom.
If you succeed in helping the summoner defeat
a demon, you will regain your body.

Shard of Archstone
A shard scraped off of the Archstones that are scattered about in each area.
Sends the user back to the Nexus.
The Archstones that the Monumental entrusted to the elders have been forgotten, and are now left for the mice to gnaw at.

Maiden in Black Dialogue
The Monumental awaits thee, above. The Monumental will explain the Nexus to thee.

Crestfallen Warrior Dialogue
Have you met the last surviving Monumental?
Those fools revived the Old One on a whim.
And now they've trapped us here, in a desperate attempt to undo their mistake.
It's all a travesty, if you ask me.

Sage Freke Dialogue
Why, you have defeated all the demons, have you not?
This ghastly howl. The Monumental has spoken of it before…

King Allant Dialogue
Upon entering the Old One itself, Allant welcomes the player:
"You have been chosen by the Old One. Shall thou seek everlasting Demon souls? Or obey that naive Monumental? Whatever your choice, you are our first visitor. May you be welcome here."

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PREV: The Maiden in Black

NEXT: Worshipper of God

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