Black Mage



The Black Mage, formerly known as the White Mage, is a recurring evil entity that threatens Maple World, and is also the Transcendent of Light. He is known to cause mass events related to other classes, specifically the Heroes.

As the main antagonist of the Maple World, the Black Mage is the one who threatened the world before the time of Altaire Camp and was sealed away by the Heroes. Freud died from his injuries while the rest was cursed and encased in ice. It was also said that the curse wiped out their memories, although this only affected Aran.

He currently resides beyond the Gate of the Present at the Three Doors map of Temple of Time. Once the player passes through the Gate, he enters a new Dimension created by the Black Mage known as the Arcane River, where he lies waiting at the end of the river.

Early Life
A long time ago, before Victoria Island and Ossyria were separated, the boy who would become the Black Mage was born in Edelstein. When he was just a boy, he was abandoned by his family in the snows of El Nath. The mages who studied in the Tower of Magicians found him collapsed in the snow during a blizzard and nursed him back to health. They soon discovered that the boy was a magical prodigy, who surpassed his teachers in knowledge and ability at an alarming speed. A few years later, the boy - now eighteen years old - was to receive his magician name during his coming-of-age ceremony. However, he shocked everyone present by demonstrating his use of light magic, which was forbidden to study, as the elders knew that light and dark magic were two sides of the same coin. When admonished, the young man asked them who they were to decide what was forbidden and what wasn't. That night, the elders used their powers to look into the future and saw that if the boy were to continue researching the light, he would destroy the world. Horrified by what they saw, elders went to confront him and kill him before he could fulfill his destiny. However, the young man was waiting for them and easily countered all their attacks. Realizing that they had come to kill him, he told them that he had learned their "final lesson" all too well and slaughtered them before leaving. Realizing that he could never study the light while the people of Maple World feared its power, he resolved to lift the prejudice against light magic.

He became a nomad who used light magic to save villages across Maple World from monster attacks. His reputation slowly grew, and the grateful people whom he saved gave him the name "White Mage", for his platinum white hair. On one occassion, the White Mage saved a village in Leafre, where a young Freud gave the mage a coin, proudly declaring his intent to become a magician like the one who had saved them. Over the years, he continued traveling the world, writing books, slaying monsters, and passing down his skills. He established a laboratory in the Nihal Desert, upon which the city of Magatia would be founded decades later. His actions successfully lifted the general fear of light magic, and the world soon saw him as their savior. However, the White Mage was still unsatisfied, realizing that his actions were not enough to realize his ultimate goal: to attain salvation to Maple World. Believing that if he were to research the ultimate light that he could fix the world's imperfections himself, the White Mage gathered several followers who shared his ideals and created an organization known as Aurora. His last words to the people of Maple World were: "The ultimate light can only be found in the ultimate darkness". With these cryptic words, he and his followers went into exile in the Forest of Peace.

The Ultimate Light
Over the years, the White Mage began to study dark magic, believing that he could find the ultimate light in the heart of darkness. He encountered two spirits of darkness, whom he granted human forms in exchange for their knowledge about dark magic. The spirits agreed, and the White Mage gave them human forms and named them Orchid and Lotus. He also met the fairy queen Ephenia, who realized that he was not like the humans she loathed. The queen developed a soft spot for the White Mage, which soon blossomed into infatuation. In the White Mage's absence, monster attacks became more rampant than ever. A mogul from Ariant named Hatsar hired a mercenary to find the White Mage, hoping that the magician would destroy the monsters interfering with his business. Three months later, the mercenary traced the White Mage to Ellin Forest, where they encountered Ephenia. The fairy queen gave them the location of the White Mage in exchange for killing the poachers who were defiling the graves of fairies. As the mercenary went on their way, they encountered a young girl named Arin, who was hunting for dark creatures called Omens that had killed her family. The mercenary took her under their wing, and together they sought the White Mage. Three months later, the pair were lost in the Forest of Peace and were attacked by Omens. However, the White Mage appeared and destroyed the monsters before taking them to the Aurora Great Temple. The mercenary and Arin decided to stay in the Great Temple and helped Aurora with its research on the ultimate light. The mercenary grew curious about the White Mage, who described himself as "a man of towering ambitions" - one who would not rest until he found the ultimate light. There was a voice that spoke to him, constantly telling him to fix all the imperfections of the world, and he would not rest until the world attained salvation.

Soon, however, Arin soon grew tired of Aurora's lack of action against the Omens and headed out to defeat them herself. When the mercenary found her, she was barely conscious and tried to warn the mercenary about something suspicious regarding the Omens and the White Mage, who had spent the last month locked inside his laboratory without food or drink. The mercenary then put the pieces together - that the Omens began appearing right around the time that the White Mage began his research, and that their numbers had multiplied when the White Mage had locked himself away to research without interruption. When the mercenary confronted the researchers of Aurora, they confessed that they had known the truth about the Omens, but that the White Mage was at the final stage of his research. The mercenary forcibly opened the door to the White Mage's laboratory, where they looked in horror at what he had become.

The Ultimate Darkness
The White Mage had finished his research and realized a truth that shook him to the core. He believed that everything he had pursued had been impossible all along, for the world was little more than an experiment, with humans as the chess pieces. He concluded that there was no ultimate light, for as long as there was light, there was also darkness. However, he saw that there did exist an ultimate darkness. He raged against the voice that had compelled him, telling it that if he was not allowed to have the goal of perfecting the world, then "I reject the fate that you gave me" - and in that moment, he finally awoke as the dark Transcendent of Light.

The White Mage cast aside his light and embraced the power of dark magic, leaving behind only a small ball of light. He then slaughtered nearly all of the mages of Aurora before confronting the mercenary. He told the mercenary that the world was beyond salvation because it was predestined by a higher power to fail. He offered the mercenary power and a place by his side so that together they could destroy the world he believed to be doomed and create one that would not fail as this one had. The mercenary refused, saying that the White Mage did not deserve the title he held, and gave him the new name "Black Mage". Disappointed, the Black Mage killed the mercenary and left the Forest of Peace, intent on destroying Maple World.

The Seven Commanders
Now awakened as the Transcendent of Light, the Black Mage set about recruiting powerful allies who could help him attain his goals:
 * 1) Orchid and Lotus - The two spirits of darkness whom he gave human form were the first to join his forces, becoming the Wing Masters that would wreak havoc on Maple World.
 * 2) Guwaru - Once the Great Spirit of the forests, it is unknown what his reasons were for joining the Black Mage, but there is strong evidence he was corrupted by the Black Mage.
 * 3) Hilla - Once the the shamaness of Azwan, she betrayed her kingdom in exchange for eternal beauty and youth
 * 4) Von Leon - The Lion King who sold his soul to the Black Mage to exact revenge on those who killed his beloved wife, Ifia, though in reality he was blackmailed by the Black Mage, who killed Ifia and framed the Cygnus Knights.
 * 5) Arkarium - The High Priest of Rhinne, the Goddess of Time. It is unknown what his reasons were for joining the Black Mage, but he betrayed Rhinne and went to become one of the Black Mage's most loyal.
 * 6) The Demon - A demon-human hybrid who escaped Tynerum with his family and lived in Leafre. He joined the Black Mage in exchange for his family's safety when the Black Mage took over the world.
 * 7) Magnus - A Nova from another dimension called Grandis. He was exiled by his people and swore loyalty to Grandis' Transcendent of Life, Gerand Darmoor. After being fatally injured during Darmoor's war of conquest, Magnus travelled to Maple World and swore fealty to the Black Mage in exchange for greater power.

Attacking the Transcendents
As he gathered his allies, the Black Mage approached Rhinne and asked her to join him in his quest to create the perfect world. When the Goddess refused, the Black Mage sieged the Temple of Time with his commanders. Foreseeing her defeat and unable to change her own future, Rhinne created a child that would inherit her power before the Black Mage could take it for himself. With the help of Arkarium and the Demon, the Black Mage sealed Rhinne away and stole the powers of the Transcendent of Time. Using her power, he created a pocket dimension called Mirror World, in which he sealed the child of the Goddess to prevent it from claiming the powers of time. He also approached Alicia, the World Tree, and asked her to join him. When she refused, the Black Mage attacked her. However, she escaped and took refuge in Root Abyss, where she spent the next several centuries recovering from her injuries.

Sealing Kritias
With the power of the Transcendent of Time, the Black Mage had become twice as powerful. In the kingdom of Kritias, King Hekaton had undergone a failed ritual to become immortal, using the power of a girl named Tana. Sensing Tana's power, the Black Mage arrived just as Kritias fell, and used the powers of the Goddess in order to seal the kingdom away in a pocket dimension, where Tana would be trapped until he required her once again.

Fall of the Onyx
The Black Mage heard stories about the powerful Onyx Dragons of Leafre, as well as the magician who had formed a Spirit Bond with their king, Afrien. That magician - a child whose village he had once saved as the White Mage - had grown up to become Freud, the Dragon Master. The Black Mage approached Afrien and asked him to join his quest to conquer Maple World. When Afrien refused, the Black Mage destroyed the entire Onyx species, save Afrien and his egg.

Assassinating the Empress
Empress Aria, the ruler of Maple World, sought a peaceful resolution to the conflict against the Black Mage. When the Black Mage sent two envoys - Lotus and Orchid - to Ereve for a peace conference, Aria gladly accepted. However, the conference was a trap. Orchid laid waste the land of Ereve as Lotus brutally murdered the Empress in cold blood.

The Heroes of Maple
In response to the threat of the Black Mage, Freud and Afrien gathered five brave heroes to unite against the darkness that threatened Maple World: a pirate whose true name is forever lost to history; Aran, the polearm warrior; Mercedes  the queen of elves; Luminous, the mage of Aurora and the light cast aside by the Black Mage; and Phantom, the master thief who swore revenge on the Black Mage after the death of Empress Aria, the love of his life.

The Demon's Betrayal
Having taken over nearly all of Maple World, the Black Mage ordered Arkarium to destroy Leafre, including the forest where the Demon's family lived. When the Demon heard of the Black Mage's betrayal, he turned away from the Black Mage. Sending his servant, Mastema, with a letter to the Heroes about his betrayal, the Demon stormed into the Temple of Time and confronted the Black Mage. Although the Demon fought fiercly, destroying several of the Black Mage's magical barriers, he was nonetheless defeated.

The Final Battle
When news reached them of the Demon's betrayal, the Heroes took the opportunity to take the fight to the Black Mage. Freud, Afrien, and Mercedes rushed in first to battle the Black Mage, but were soundly defeated. Seeing little other choice, Freud cast a spell to temporarily stop time and asked Luminous and the pirate hero to seal the Black Mage away in time using the power of the Seal Stones. To use the spell required the sacrifice of a person's time, which the pirate hero provided. Luminous activated the five seals around the Black Mage, and Freud unfroze time. Luminous then engaged in combat with the Black Mage, baiting him to use his full powers in order to turn the powers of time that he had stolen from Rhinne to catalyze the spell. The plan worked, and the seal spell activated. However, the Black Mage attempted to break the seal with his power. To prevent this, Luminous rushed forward and made physical contact with the Black Mage in order to push him back. This contact resulted in dark magic from the Black Mage to flow into Luminous, who was created from the same power as the Transcendent of Light. With the parting words "The darkness you took from me will consume you", the Black Mage was sealed in time. However, he unleashed a final curse upon the Heroes, causing them to become frozen in ice, except for Freud since Afrien took the curse in his place.

Dimensional Schism
Though the Black Mage was sealed away, Freud knew that his commanders would try to release him. He cast a spell to prevent anyone traveling further back in time than the point at which the Black Mage was sealed. This proved to be effective, as Arkarium traveled back in time to the point right after the Black Mage was sealed in order to break the seal on his master. Though he managed to break part of the seal, the Silent Crusade managed to stop Arkarium and free Rhinne, who had been sealed by the Black Mage centuries ago.

The Return
After Arkarium's attempt to free his master, the Black Mage's seal began to weaken. Over time, the Heroes began to break free of their frozen prison one by one. Orchid, intent on reviving Lotus, who was in a coma after Phantom exacted his revenge on the Wing Master, founded the Black Wings. To gather followers, she lied and said that the purpose of the organization was to revive the Black Mage. Because of these ominous events, Empress Cygnus - the new ruler of Maple World - created the Cygnus Knights and the Maple Alliance in order to stop the Black Wings. One Alliance member - an Explorer - accidentally broke the seal on the Black Mage while investigating the Temple of Time. Now revived, the Black Mage left the Temple of Time and caused mass havoc across Maple World, destroying Maple Island and Victoria Island. He visited Luminous and possessed his friend, Lania. When Luminous drove the darkness out of her, the Black Mage personally appeared before him and said that the time when they will meet in battle is approaching. In addition, the Interdimensional Portal appeared in Victoria Island after the Black Mage and the powers of time he stole were freed, creating a pathway to Grandis.

Old Commanders and New
Of his old commanders, Hilla, Arkarium, and Von Leon were the only three to return to his side. The Demon had betrayed him, Magnus left for Grandis, Orchid was intent on reviving Lotus, and Guwaru was recovering after Magnus had backstabbed him. An elf named Lucid, who had the power to manipulate dreams, stumbled across the Black Mage's dreams. He offered her anything she desired in exchange for her loyalty, and freed her from the ice that all the elves were frozen in. Additionally, the Demon's younger brother Damien had survived the destruction of Leafre and joined the Black Mage to bring back his mother, who Arkarium had preserved in time. Finally, a scholar named Will agreed to join the Black Mage after being given control of Mirror World. He also released Kritias from its prison, knowing that his powers of time would soon disappear. He then ordered his commanders to siege Kritias to prevent the Alliance from learning about Tana's existence.

The World Tree and Zero
The Black Mage tasked Damien with finding the World Tree. Damien located Root Abyss and corrupted the guardians of Root Abyss to imprison her. However, the Alliance managed to free her and place her under the protection of the divine beast of Ereve, Shinsoo. In response to the threat of the Alliance, the Black Mage opened the Gate to the Future and asked Lucid to create an illusion where Cygnus went mad with power after finding the World Tree and the Black Mage took over the world. This vision caused a great deal of infighting between the Alliance, allowing Damien to attack Ereve and kill Shinsoo to kidnap the World Tree. At the same time, the child of the Goddess - now split into Alpha and Beta - escaped Mirror World as the awakened Transcendent of Time and were met by the commanders, who informed the twins that the Black Mage planned to merge Maple World and Grandis and asked them to become the Transcendent of Time for two worlds. The twins asked them for time to explore the two worlds, to which the commanders obliged.

Black Heaven
After betraying Orchid, Gelimer approached the Black Mage and offered Lotus' body, which he had cybernetically augmented, for him to possess. The Black Mage agreed and made him a new commander. He constructed Black Heaven, an immense warship, which Lotus' body would control, and attempted to use it to destroy the Alliance. However, Gelimer betrayed the Black Mage and tried to use Black Heaven to bomb the land with retoxin gas, which would allow him to mind-control all the people of Maple World. With the combined effort of the Alliance - particularly one Alliance member - Gelimer was defeated and killed. Furthermore, the Alliance member was revived from near death by the power of the final Seal Stone, with all the others having been destroyed by the Black Wings. With this, the final restraint on the Black Mage's power was removed. When Arkarium and Hilla reported news of this, the Black Mage commented that "Destiny's axis has been twisted. A new archenemy has been born, with the Seal Stone in their arms". He then sends Damien to execute the next part of his plan.

Heroes of Maple
Damien uses the power of the Transcendence Stone to become the new Transcendent of Life, replacing Alicia. However, the Heroes of Maple gathered together once more and defeated Damien. The effects of Damien's power have corrupted the World Tree, as well as the life force of Maple World. Alicia, revealing that it would normally take 1,000 years for everything to return to normal, decides to scatter her life force across Maple World in order to fix the damage that Damien had inflicted. This was all according to the Black Mage's plan, who tells Hilla and Arkarium to open the Gate to the Present.

The Erda Flow
The Alliance began to investigate the Gate to the Present and learned that the Black Mage was stealing the Erda - the building blocks of reality and the source of life - from Maple World and Grandis, which were slowly merging into one. What was more, they learned that if the Black Mage used the Erda to create a new world, then Maple World, Grandis, and Earth (FriendStory) would cease to exist. The Alliance sends all their forces to explore the Gate to the Present, where the Black Mage had created the Arcane River: a river of Erda created by the convergence of the three worlds, with an excess caused by the absence/sealing of Transcendents, with the Black Mage waiting at the end.

The White Sun and Black Moon
With the Gate to the Present open, the Black Mage orders Arkarium to escort a mysterious girl named Tana through the Arcane River, where the player encounters them in Morass. Arkarium eventually discovers that Tana has the power to control Erda and tries to steal her power for himself. However, Tana's power becomes too much to control, and the player helps Tana escape Arkarium's custody. Arkarium is severely weakened and goes to the Black Mage of the past to ask for another chance. The Black Mage of the past tells him "I am not the one you seek. The Black Mage commanded me to relay this message to you: You have done well. Rest.", killing him.

The Black Mage then sends Will, who had experience containing a Transcendent, to capture Tana and bring her before him. It is revealed here that Tana is Aeona, Grandis's Transcendent of Light. Will succeeds in subduing Tana and begins a ritual to allow the Black Mage to take Tana's power and become the Transcendent of Light of both Maple World and Grandis, with the powers of both light and darkness. This is where the player discovers the meaning behind the Black Mage's quote "The ultimate light can only be found in the ultimate darkness": Light and Darkness are metaphors for Creation and Destruction, and the Black Mage's goal is to destroy the world and create a new one in his image.

The player attempts to rescue Tana, but is tricked into weakening Tana's power. Will attempts to kill the player, who is then rescued by a masked person. When the player asks the masked person why they chose to save them, the masked person tells the player "To destroy him... I need to create an "font color="red">adversary ." The player realizes that it is in their hands to stop the ritual by facing off with Will, and after defeating him, Will reminds the player that the only way to stop the ritual is to kill Tana. The player is about to, but hesitates, which causes the ritual to succeed and begin the process of creating a new world: Tenebris.

Tenebris
After the success of the ritual, the group sent to investigate Esfera (Ollie, Melange, Shubert, and the player) meet up with Neinheart, and retreat back to Ereve before Esfera is destroyed. Neinheart and the player end up split up from the others, where the player notices massive chains throughout Ereve. Neinheart escorts the player to the Sky Ferry, explaining that soon after the player departed for Arcane River, massive chains started to appear throughout Maple World, pulling it toward the Arcane River. He shows the player the Scroll of Prophecy, found in the Black Mage's laboratory in Magatia, revealing that the Black Mage has the ability to see destiny. He also explains that Empress Cygnus had nightmares of the White Mage telling that the future could not be changed, and that annihilation was the only salvation of the world. Cygnus speaks to Shinsoo, who gives Cygnus the last of her power, as well as the encouragement, to take on the Black Mage. Neinheart declares that the time to act is now, and has the Alliance set up base at Ereve's Outpost, where they travel to Tenebris and take on the Black Mage directly, with Cygnus and Neinheart taking charge of a giant airship they name the White Spear.

Moonbridge
The Alliance first heads to Moonbridge in the skies above what was once Esfera in order to face off with the Black Mage in the newly formed Black Sun. While there, they encounter various monsters being created out of the Erda stolen by the Black Mage. Eventually, they reach the source of these monsters, a massive eye in the sky, which is eventually defeated after various struggles thanks to the player, as well as Cygnus, who destroys the core of the monster. Right as the Alliance is about to head into the Black Sun, Ollie goes missing, having been blown away by the core exploding. She is eventually found and rescued by the Flying Fish, and returns to the White Spear.

Ollie, having been exposed to the core's residue, explains that she saw a vision of the Black Mage's past, back when he was still the White Mage. The White Mage had entered the divine realm, where he saw his goals of a perfect world in reach, but is held back by chains, representing the Overseer controlling him. It is at this moment that the White Mage makes it his goal to break free from these chains, and turns into the Black Mage.

Labyrinth of Suffering
The Alliance enters the Black Sun, where they first end up in the Labyrinth of Suffering, controlled by Hilla. She plays mind games with the Alliance, especially the player, in order to keep them trapped in the Labyrinth. The player finds a way to the Core of the Labyrinth, where they encounter a Cygnus Knight named Azalin, who tags along and berates the player repeatedly. Azalin is revealed to be Hilla in disguise when she is stopped from stealing the player's soul by the masked person from Esfera. Hilla retreats, and the player eventually ends up in the Labyrinth's Deep Core, where Hilla reappears to battle the player. Hilla then summons the undead soul of Lotus under her control, causing the masked person to return and reveal herself as Orchid. Orchid confronts Hilla, furious about what she has done to Lotus, while the player passes out. The player eventually hears a voice of encouragement (which varies depending on your class), and wakes up with the encouragement to defeat Hilla once and for all.

Meanwhile, back at the Outpost, Neinheart and Grendel discuss what they have learned about the Black Mage. The Black Mage wants to attempt a Genesis Ritual, which requires 3 elements: the power of Creation (taken from Aeona/Tana), the power of Destruction (the Black Mage's darkness), and a massive quantity of Erda (obtained from the formation of Arcane River). The Black Mage had invaded Maple World to gather commanders and followers, and eventually create the hero who would ultimately defeat him. Neinheart also realizes that the Black Mage's ability to see destiny allowed him to manipulate events to work out in his favor; he knew that Arkarium would become jealous after praising the Demon for his work, which caused Arkarium to destroy the Demon's home out of envy. This in turn caused the Demon to betray the Black Mage and aid the Heroes in sealing the Black Mage. The sealing of the Black Mage, as well as Rhinne, allowed him to eventually create the Arcane River for his Genesis Ritual.

Limina
After the defeat of Hilla, Orchid explains to the player that she obtained her new powers from Guwaru, who also allowed her to disguise herself. Orchid's goal is revenge, since the Black Mage has been manipulating everyone and using them like puppets in his grand plan, which included the death of Lotus. Guwaru lends Orchid powers of the Transcendents, and tells Orchid to lend the power to the player when the time is right. Guwaru then communicates through Orchid's mask and tells the player it is up to them to defeat the Black Mage, but Orchid becomes impatient with the player, viewing them as too weak to face off with the Black Mage. She breaks the mask and heads off to face the Black Mage herself. The player then ends up in the waterfalls of Limina, taking the broken mask with them and chasing after Orchid, but not before getting swarmed by strange monsters. The player talks to Guwaru, who explains that the monsters are born with the untamed powers of creation, that attack anyone who comes close to their source of vitality.

After fighting some more monsters, Guwaru tells the player to destroy the Genesis Crux, a seed that will grow into a new world while destroying their world, and tells the player to escape the path before losing communication with the player. The player runs into Orchid, who attempts to stop the player from reaching the Black Mage, but the two are then confronted by the Elite Bosses. The two team up to take them down, and the player defeats their leader Guard Captain Darknell. Orchid then sees the Black Mage's final creation: the Luminous Giant, a massive creature that can use the Light of Annihilation to turn anyone in its way into Erda and destroy them, and realizes she cannot take it down alone. She returns to the player and teleports them to the White Spear, where they are trying to attack the Luminous Giant.

Neinheart explains the Path of Destiny to the player: The Black Mage's goal is to create a world without Transcendents, having defeated 3 of them to achieve that goal (Rhinne, Alicia, and Aeona), while keeping them from passing on their full power. As a Transcendent himself, he could not battle the other Transcendents himself, so he recruited Commanders, who had their own goals, to help him achieve his goals while convincing them that their goals aligned with his, without revealing his true intentions. Grendel explains that there are many different decisions and choices that affect one's fate, and the Black Mage was able to figure out the exact decisions to alter destiny in his favor. With a single sentence to Arkarium many centuries ago, "The Demon is worthy of my gift.", he was able to create a new destiny, and manipulate everyone into producing his desired future.

The player, doubting their free will, is unsure what to do at this point, but Cygnus reveals that the player is not the adversary of the Black Mage, but the Adversary of Destiny, and gives the player words of encouragement. The player goes to defeat the Black Mage once and for all on an airship which is destroyed, but the Flying Fish shows up to bring the player to the Giant's Heart, where the Black Mage is. The Flying Fish is then hit with the Light of Annihilation, turning it into scattered Erda, and the player faces off with the Black Mage's knights, the Aeonian Rise and the Tanadian Ruin.

During and After the Battle
The player defeats the two knights and faces off with the Black Mage himself. After defeating him in his physical form, he teleports the player to another universe, where Orchid has been fighting the Black Mage in his new form: a god-like being made of light. Once defeating him in this form, the Black Mage sends them to a place made of black and white, where he is about to create the Genesis Crux. Orchid gives the player her power and passes out, and the player fights the Black Mage.

At the end of the battle, the Black Mage creates the Genesis Crux. The player fails to destroy it at first, and the Black Mage teleports inside the Crux. The player is about to give up, but then hears Tana's voice, who encourages them to continue. Cygnus, worried about the player, leads the White Spear into the Giant's Heart, where she provides an opening for the player to defeat the Black Mage once and for all. After the Black Mage is defeated, the player, having been hit by the Light of Annihilation during the battle, bursts into scattered Erda as Orchid teleports herself and the White Spear outside of the Giant's Heart.

The player wakes up in the afterlife (represented by the Erda Flow), where they meet the White Mage, who talks with the player and says that the two of them share a bond in their long-lasting struggle. The White Mage thanks the player for ending the battle, explaining that he could not end himself as he was a Transcendent, having wanted to do so for centuries. He became mad with power, desperately creating an adversary to break the chains of destiny, and that occurred once the player refused to kill Tana at the end of Esfera. This makes the White Mage realize that he lost sight in the value of life with his goals, and sends the player back to the real world, where they are greeted and thanked by the Alliance. The war is now over with the Giant defeated, and everyone hit by the Light of Annihilation comes back to life. The player also says goodbye to Orchid, who reveals that she only has 100 years of life left as a result of using her powers without Lotus; Orchid decides to live her life like a normal human.

Occurrences

 * 1) In the pre-release quests of Pirates, they came to Victoria Island to warn the people about the resurrection of the Black Mage.
 * 2) The Black Mage tried to persuade Afrien, Freud's companion, to join him, but the offer was turned down, stating that the Onyx Dragon's power was not meant for evil.
 * 3) He took control of Zakum and Horntail, making them a lot stronger and fiercer.
 * Edelstein is the place where the Black Mage was raised, and went to Magatia to study alchemy. The Black Wings used Verne Mine as a base to resurrect the Black Mage, and took over the city.
 * 1) The Black Mage altered the entire Victoria Island, causing a cataclysm and chaotic change.
 * 2) Von Leon, whose wife was murdered on the same night the Cygnus Knights marched to El Nath, was crazed for vengeance and pledged himself to the Black Mage to one day get his revenge.
 * 3) In the future, the Black Mage lures Cygnus and her knights into a trap, corrupting them, which causes them to turn evil. However, Shinsoo of the present states that that is only a dream created by the Black Mage with the Dream Stones.
 * 4) During the time the Heroes fought against the Black Mage, Aran's friend, Hudak, succumbed into his own pride and became the Ice Knight, working for the Black Mage, but was ultimately defeated by Aran who claimed he was a "pile of armor and weapons with no honor at all." Hudak was then sealed inside the Ice Knight's armor for all of eternity. In present day, whenever a group of Maplers find the armor, Hudak possesses one of them, turning them against their friends, but Hudak would never win another victory.
 * 5) The Black Mage betrayed the Demon, breaking his promise on not laying a finger on the Demon's family. The Demon discovers his master's betrayal and turns against him. The Demon did not know that his brother, Damien, would become a commander of the Black Mage, and thought that he had died in the ruins of his home.
 * 6) When it was confirmed the Black Mage would rise, the Explorers, Cygnus Knights, Heroes, and Resistance forms an alliance to stand ready for battle.
 * 7) Arkarium, a faithful commander to the Black Mage, traveled from the present to the past and attempted to unseal his master right after the Heroes defeated the Black Mage.
 * 8) Hilla, another faithful commander to the Black Mage, betrayed Azwan by selling it and its citizens out to her master. In return, Hilla was granted numerous powers including necromancy.
 * 9) The Silent Crusade was created by the Cygnus Knights many generations ago, intended to collect information about the Black Mage.
 * 10) Luminous is, in fact, the "light" the Black Mage cast aside, which explains why he became tainted so easily.
 * 11) The Black Mage finally breaks free from his seal and personally invades Lania's Home, tainting both the area and Lania with darkness. After Luminous frees Lania and she goes unconscious, the Black Mage shows up and mocks Luminous for "killing" his friend. Luminous swears to defeat the Black Mage once and for all, but he says he won't be able to and leaves. Luminous acknowledges this, knowing he has to get stronger in order to challenge his greatest enemy.
 * 12) The Black Mage's unsealing is theorized to have caused the Interdimensional Portal connecting between Grandis and Maple World to appear in the Six Path Crossway.
 * 1) A girl with the power to control dreams, Lucid accidentally stumbled into the Black Mage's consciousness. The Black Mage gave an offer of granting her whatever she wishes - if she worked for him. Lucid later becomes responsible for the events of Twilight Perion, manipulating present day Maple World's dreams of foreseeing it.
 * 2) After the Explorers mobilize against the Black Wings, they discover the presence of the Black Mage in the Temple of Time's Gate to the Present, where one of the pillars Luminous used to seal the Black Mage has broken. The explorers attempt to use a Seal Stone to fix the pillar, but the Black Mage tempts them and breaks free from the seal, then warns them that they will face much suffering that lies ahead before vanishing. The Black Mage then proceeds to lay waste to Maple Island, the birthplace of all Explorers, to intimidate them. It is only their combined efforts that drives away the Black Mage's shadow and restores Maple Island to its original state.
 * 3) After the Black Mage captured Rhinne, she shed her tears to create a child and a successor, who would later be known as Zero. However, the Black Mage was aware of this and tasked one of his commanders, Will, to split the child into two beings and seal them off in the Mirror World, and keep the two halves separate to prevent them from regaining full power. Unfortunately for the Black Mage, the two halves eventually reunite and proceed to find a way to escape their prison. However, this is all according to the Black Mage's plan to merge Maple World and Grandis together to become the Transcendent of both worlds.
 * 4) The Grand Athenaeum reveals the past of the Black Mage. Formerly known as the White Mage, he tried to make the world a better place and needed power to do so, but as the world continuously grew into turmoil, the White Mage eventually realized he must submit to darkness and vanished without a trace. A wealthy merchant from Ariant named Hatsar tried to hire the White Mage, and so sent an intrigued mercenary to find him. Ephenia, a fairy queen who trusted the White Mage, informed the mercenary that the White Mage went deep into the darkest depths Ellin Forest. After reluctantly recruiting an orphaned kid named Arin, who wishes to seek revenge on an unknown dark monster named Omen for killing her parents, the two eventually find the White Mage and discover that he is working with the Aurora in studying the light. After hearing the White Mage's ambition in finding the truth behind the light, the mercenary stays with the Aurora to aid in their research. Meanwhile, Arin leaves to continue taking her revenge on the Omens, but finds an astonishing truth behind them before being knocked into a coma. As the mercenary waits for Arin to awake, they realize that the Omens have been appearing since the White Mage disappeared to research. The mercenary rushes to confront the White Mage, only to discover that his research is complete: there is no ultimate light, but an ultimate darkness. The mercenary chases after the White Mage, passing by a crystal ball of light that was shed off, and tries to fight the newly formed Black Mage but is defeated and killed in the end; Arin cries at the mercenary before all fades to black.
 * 5) There were actually six heroes. The last hero, Shade, was completely forgotten in present day and switching between Maple World's and Grandis's dimensions force everyone to forget him, an event caused by Lucid.
 * 6) In Black Heaven, it is revealed the White Mage gave Orchid and Lotus human bodies and named them. In the ending of Black Heaven, Cygnus uses the final Seal Stone to heal the player, removing the last restraint on the Black Mage's power. He also appears briefly in the epilogue talking to Arkarium, entrusting his plans to Damien.
 * 7) In FriendStory, he appears as the White Mage, as the main antagonist and is one of the few characters present who is actually native of Maple World (as opposed to being a counterpart of one). He creates the Motes and the Troublemakers, and is also the main focus of the fifth chapter, where he poses as a student teacher with unearthly physical beauty that enchants the female students and turns the male students into squids. He confronts the player - possibly part of his goal - at the end of the chapter.
 * 8) Later in FriendStory, he confronts Kinesis, the confrontation causing the young hero to temporarily lose control of his psychic abilities, creating a sinkhole that destroys a large portion of Seoul, sending Kinesis and thousands of civilians though a dimensional portal. The villain's goal here still remains unclear.
 * 9) At the end of the Heroes of Maple Blockbuster, Hilla reports to the Black Mage that his goal of splitting the Transcendence of Time into two (Zero) and the Transcendence of Life being scattered to the world has been achieved (the World Tree bound to Transcendent Stone). The Black Mage replies that it is time to "Allow them to come here." The Black Mage was probably referring to the Arcane River.
 * 10) In the Arcane River quest and 5th Job Advancement, it is revealed that Arcane River is an area created by the Black Mage, by merging both the Maple World and Grandis. The Black Mage is said to reside at the Door of Present, at the end of Arcane River.
 * 11) In the Vanishing Journey questline, it is revealed that Kao, the amnesiac temple keeper is actually the player from the future. He fought the Black Mage at the end of the River but was defeated. The reason was because he did not have the crucial power, as he was deceived by Lano, Aruma's Underling. He returned to the past using his leftover powers to warn the player about Lano.
 * 12) Just before Kao's Death, Kao tells the player that since he was not deceived by Lano, unlike Kao, the player protected his power from Aruma and can receive the "Crucial Power" known as Arcane Symbols and Arcane Force. The player now has to adventure through Arcane River to meet different monsters and collect Arcane Symbols to grow in power, until the end of the river where the Black Mage is waiting.

Continuity Errors

 * 1) In Aran's storyline, the Black Mage was said to have trapped the five Heroes in ice and erased their memories. However, Aran was the only one to have her memories erased, and instead of being encased in ice, Freud died while protecting Afrien and his egg.
 * 2) According to Evan's storyline, Aran helped Freud escape the Black Mage with Afrien's egg. However, the Silent Crusade and Luminous' storyline nullifies this; Freud did not attempt to escape at all, nor did he actually have the egg.
 * 3) In Big Bang, the Black Mage was resurrected by the Black Wings and caused destruction to Victoria Island, causing cataclysm and chaos. Ironically, the "destruction of Victoria Island" made traveling in Victoria Island much easier. However, in the following content updates, it is said that "the revival of the Black Mage is coming soon". Also, in Mercedes's storyline, it is revealed by Orchid that the Black Wings does not have the intention to revive the Black Mage. It is also not possible to have been done accidentally, since reviving the Black Mage requires a lot of power. However, the Black Mage himself does appear at the end of Luminous' storyline.
 * 4) In Chaos, the Black Mage opened a crack to the future. This is not possible since the Black Mage was still sealed at that point.
 * 5) It's possible (by the player's discretion) to take the FriendStory storyline and confront his White Mage form as early as level 33, even though the quest where he is freed can only be taken by an Explorer of level 70 or higher. It's also not explained how he appeared as the White Mage.

Webtoon
Nexon has commissioned the author and artist to make a webtoon called Black Mage: Origin, which serves as a prologue of the Black Mage's story.
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 1
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 1 (English)
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 2
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 2 (English)
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 3
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 3 (English)
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 4
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 4 (English)
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 5
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 5 (English)
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 6
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 6 (English)
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 7
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 7 (English)
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 8
 * Black Mage: Origin - Part 8 (English)

Trivia

 * The Black Mage shares many similarities with Gerand Darmoor, Grandis' Transcendent of Life. Both are evil Transcendentd of their world, had robbed their world's Transcendent of Time's powers, and Magnus is both of their servants. Whether or not this is coincidental is unknown.