#victor kresnik | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mr-leach · 4 months

Text

So the thing about Tales of Xillia 2 is that while you are given choices to make and ultimately, a definitive path to choose at the end, the choices are, indeed, limited, and really, your path is fairly set in stone throughout most of the game. This is often--correctly--cited as a flaw in the game design, but I am a firm believer that even if the curtains are just blue, one can still find meaning in meaningless decisions made on the creative side, so hear me out:

[Tales of Xillia 2 spoilers ahead]

The lack of meaningful decisions throughout Ludger's journey and the ultimate dearth of choices to make nearing the end can, in a certain light, be seen as foreshadowing the fact that, ultimately, Chronos rigged the game from the beginning such that the choices the Kresnik clan would have to make would not only be extremely limited, but also, inherently, be awful no matter what.

Ludger's unique family situation also happens to give the player a window into the limited choices one can make long before the endgame rears its ugly purple foetus head; the members of his family that you encounter are, in fact, all in the process of choosing one of the three major pathways Ludger can take. While some prefer to refer to the three major endings as the "neutral" ending, the "bad" ending, and the "good" or "true" ending, myself and a few others I personally know have taken up the habit of calling them the "Victor" ending, the "Julius" ending, and the "Ludger" or "Elle" ending, respectively. The reason for this being, by trying to selfishly choose to save Elle over the world, you, in fact, make the same choice that Victor had made before you, killing your brother and father so that you can use your one wish to rescue the little girl you fell in love with from her fate as the key of Kresnik. Also, by choosing to save Julius, even if it means having to forsake everyone else, is exactly the choice Julius made when he decided to adopt Ludger and hide him from Bisley all those years ago. Or, you can instead choose to sacrifice yourself, save everyone, including Elle...by heeding Bisley's final words before he, too, sacrifices himself to buy you enough time to make the right choice.

Yeeeaaah, I got you! This post is about Bisley Bakur, sorry. I was gonna make a less generalized post about his role as a father so I could properly defend him against the ACTUAL Elympios' Worst Dad winner but then I started thinking about his MASSIVE role in the story and how salty I am that most people's impression of him is "mean nasty CEO guy who also happens to be your dad" when by all accounts he is extremely badass and integral to Ludger's successes throughout the trial. And yeah, I DO think that by choosing the Good/Elle ending, Ludger is, in fact, following in Bisley's footsteps. Allow me to explain:

The thing about Ludger is that all of this stuff is absolutely brand spanking new to him. One day he was a normal dude with a new job at the train station deli and the next he is the key to saving all of humanity from collapsing under it's own hubris. That's kind of a lot! And just in case he doesn't really feel like being a hero, the world's most powerful rich guy shows up to threaten to destroy his life if he doesn't step up and do what needs doing. The problem is, what needs doing is extremely morally wretched and could easily be described as mass genocide, and is thus incredibly emotionally taxing on top of taking a serious physical toll. Ludger has no context for anything that's going on and has to be coerced to even consider participating in it, and on top of that, everything is happening to him extremely fast. Meanwhile, Julius and Bisley know exactly what is going on, as both of them got to go through the exact same awakening journey a lot earlier and at a much more reasonable pace, and of the two, the only one who might be willing to explain this shit to Ludger is currently public enemy #1 and doesn't exactly have a lot of time to chat.

The thing is, while Bisley's need-to-know basis for informing Ludger of what's going on is actually just the norm for everyone in Spirius. Bisley never had access to all of the knowledge about the trial when he was an agent, and only became privy to everything there was to know when he became CEO of Spirius following his father's death. Julius only found out as much as he knows because he's a supergenious hacker and dug up the knowledge on his own. And the thing is that both of them, knowing everything, can agree that the less a person knows about it all the better, because actually, it's all horrible, all the way down, and requires superhuman mental fortitude to to remain sane about it enough to continue doing what needs doing so humanity won't all be turned into mindless living batteries for spirits to power their discmans with. It's miserable.

By a series of. Circumstances. Bisley himself was placed in the extremely bad position of having the key of Kresnik and reaching his final chromatus without having any of the waymarkers to Canaan, which technically wouldn't have been a problem if it weren't for the fact that Chronos doesn't like to play fair and showed up to wreck his shit. Bisley very nearly lost EVERYTHING. He lost his wife, the key of Kresnik, and one of the few chances he might have had to complete his life's mission. He learned that day that if he used his power much more, he would become a divergence catalyst. He had survived, only to be given the impossible task of shepherding a new generation of chromatus bearers--including his, at the time, 5 year old son--to their dooms, or else risk all of mankind being enslaved and robbed of their free will. Worse, he couldn't even pretend that this world might just be a fractured dimension: Chronos' meddling confirmed that this was, in fact, the prime dimension.

Like Victor, Bisley could have used his power to save what was left of his family and insulate himself from the horrors of the trial. Like Julius, he could have absconded his duty and run away, perhaps to Reize Maxia which was still sequestered from Elympios at the time, and hid from the rest of the clan. But Bisley, instead, chose to continue. There was the underlying motivation of getting revenge on the spirits, sure, but his core belief was that he had to be the one to do it, to save whatever poor soul might have to come after him. He was already strong enough, he already had the knowledge, he even increased the chances of it working by creating the Kudlak to locate and keep track of the fractured dimensions. He would have to do terrible things to succeed, set aside his own humanity, and become the worst kind of person. He would destroy himself for the sake of not forcing those who came after him to do so.

Now, again, the major difference between Ludger and Bisley is that Bisley knew all along what he was doing. Ludger did a lot of horrible things that, if he had known, there's a chance he would have avoided at all costs. His ignorance was what allowed his conscience to remain clear for the most part, at least until the reality of those revelations eventually came to light. Bisley had to made a more conscious decision to take up the terrible tasks ahead of him, including the decision to keep Ludger in the dark for as long as possible, while he still believed Ludger was the key. Like Abraham, he led his Isaac to the altar, and did not tell him of the sacrifice to be made until the moment of truth. And then God was merciful, and the goat appeared, and Bisley learned that Elle was the true key.

This is really the part that makes me want to defend Bisley as a dad. Like, setting aside the extremely wacko stuff surrounding him becoming a father in the first place (seriously Cornelia WTF) the SECOND Bisley learned that Elle was the true key, he does whatever he can to keep Ludger out of it. Clears his debts. Gives him a wicked promotion. Julius, too, has the charges on him dropped. Suddenly, he has a way to get to Canaan, stop Chronos, and end the trial for good, and also save the lives of his two children. And the thing is he probably doesn't expect to survive. Like for YEARS he knew he would likely become a divergence catalyst as soon as he definitively utilized his chromatus. He could save humanity AND his children, whom he loved unconditionally.

And really, the biggest tell...is how incredibly LIVID he is when Ludger arrives in Canaan. He knows what Ludger would have had to do. And like. He didn't even have to use his full chromatus to defeat Chronos. He was probably walking on fucking air at that point, and then Ludger shows up. And he KNOWS how strong Ludger is. He KNOWS one of them will die if they fight. He was SO close. He straight up tells Ludger that he's thrown his own life away, not just Julius', and he is MAD.

Then of course, when all is said and done, and he knows he will turn into a divergence catalyst...he takes a step back, and remembers that he was already at terms with sacrificing everything. He already decided it's more important to save everyone. He sets aside his selfishness one last time, warns Ludger to stop using his chromatus, and ends his own life to prevent the trial from ending before Ludger has a chance to make his wish.

I could go over Victor, I suppose, but really I think it's a no brainer. His actions did help in the end, but the motivation was entirely selfish. He was in the same place, having lost the key, the trial, his family, and Elle, and although he rightfully felt cheated, he couldn't at least live the rest of his life knowing it wasn't his duty to do anything more. He didn't have to sacrifice anything else, but he put his peaceful life, his friends, his family, and his actual child on the altar on the off chance that he could get a do-over. Like, what a dick. Seriously just live your nice rich guy life next to the gorgeous lake with your kid what is your problem you asshole.

Anyway I never know how to end these things but I hope you had fun, happy new year

#tales of xillia 2 #Bisley Bakur #Victor Kresnik #ludger will kresnik #I didn't proofread this so don't kill me please #Leach has Thoughts™️

6 notes · View notes

elympios · 4 months

Text

almost 5k of xillia 2 lore

Spoilers for all of Xillia 2, but is it really a spoiler if the game never even addresses it?

Some info overlaps with Taleslations’ post here which I recommend reading (they also have more stuff on Xillia 1).

I tried really hard to put this in some type of chronological order, but unless I list a specific year please don't take the order of events as canon. There are also some points at which the lore blatantly contradicts itself, but I am treating all lore as equally canon (no matter how much it annoys me).

That said, this is NOT an exhaustive resource, and I may have overlooked some details.

Sources:

PG = Perfect Guide

OWG = Official World Guidance (which includes five short stories)

SB = Scenario Book (more specifically, the “Family” short story, which has been partially translated here by yume-x-hanabi, who also provided me with the raws)

20th = Tales of Series 20th Anniversary Encyclopaedia

MG = Manga by Ryu Naitou (technically a different continuity but not much in this adaptation actually contradicts game lore)

Thank you to Temple of Tales for their full text datamine which made finding NPC dialogue a lot easier

Anything that isn’t explicitly cited is from the game, from the PG timeline on page 727, or I forgot to source it. Feel free to ask me for specifics, since I did read the vast majority of this via machine translation, and the game’s NPC dialogue is easily missable.

Thanks to @lastthroes and @yume-x-hanabi for their help <3

Milla Kresnik (~2000 years ago)

The Kresnik clan in Elympios descend from the members of Milla Kresnik’s clan who did not escape to Rieze Maxia with Maxwell in Primia 2011, and did not abandon Origin’s Trial. While Milla Kresnik is usually referred to as “progenitor”, “founder”, and “ancestor”, and the Kresnik clan are commonly referred to as her descendants and scions, it’s not exactly explained if anyone is literally related to Milla Kresnik, or if they’re using those words figuratively. All that is confirmed is that the Kresnik, Bakur, and Marta family lines are all descendants of the families within the original Kresnik clan 2000 years ago.

The Bakur and Marta families are both known branches of the Kresnik clan, but even for them the Chromatus ability is rare (PG 791, PG 795). The Kresnik surname has become common due to the old prestige associated with it. Some individuals, like Rideaux, belong to families that have no living connection to the main Kresnik branches, and thus aren’t aware of the significance of their watches (PG 741).

(Personally I headcanon them as all being loosely related, solely because it gives us this very funny family tree for Ludger’s family. And because for a power that only manifests for “one in thousands” of people… The odds sure seem to go up when both parents are part of the Kresnik clan…)

(Unless otherwise indicated, the information is cited from the first OWG short story.)

During Milla Kresnik's era, the Bakur family founded Spirius to complete the Trial (PG 728). However, Milla Kresnik is eventually betrayed by her clan, who sought to exploit the power of spirits for financial gain and the right to the wish that Origin would grant upon completion of the Trial. In the ensuing fight, she creates the very first Fractured Dimension, nicknamed by Spirius as the "Progenitor's Fractured Dimension".

Fractured Dimension No. 1

A world where the Kresnik clan never fragmented and the Schism was never created. As that world's Divergence Catalyst, she spends decades with her family collecting the Waymarkers.

Now an old woman, Milla Kresnik eventually sees the collection of all five Waymarkers. As her grandson Kurt Will Kresnik's powers surpass her own, it is his life that is used to create the Waymarker of the Strongest Chromatus. This Waymarker is delivered to Milla by Kurt's fiancée and mother of his unborn child, Lara Lalla Travis. Upon assembling the Waymarkers, Chronos appears and asks for something to serve as proof of their pact, referring to the phrase said by spirits before they cast artes. Although anything could be used as proof, Lara, devastated over her fiancé's death, assumes Chronos means yet another human sacrifice, and kills Milla with her sword.

In this moment, Milla realises her world is Fractured, and the Trial would never able to be completed since the Land of Canaan only exists in the Prime Dimension. She asks for Lara's life to be spared, and dies believing that someone in her clan in the Prime Dimension will one day complete the Trial, humming the Hymn of Proof.

The Divergence Catalyst inside of her transfers to Lara's unborn child, who would never be born in the Prime Dimension, since in the Prime Dimension, Lara Lalla Travis' family were part of the Kresnik clan who left for Rieze Maxia. As a result, this Fractured Dimension develops the lore that the creation of the Soul Bridge requires a human sacrifice.

(Remember Xillia 1 lore, where the House of Travis carry the middle initial "L." such as Nadia L. Travis. These are holdovers from Elympios' middle names. See Taleslations' post here.)

Contradiction: In the Perfect Guide, the creation of the Soul Bridge is instead described as the soul of a Level 2 or higher Chromatus user entering the cycle of reincarnation to unlock a path to Canaan (PG 725) and makes no reference to Chronos or any "proof" whatsoever.

Bisley, Cornelia, and Claudia (30-15 years ago)

In the present day, the Bakur family is the leading branch pursuing the Trial.

Primia 4275

Marvin Orta Kresnik, the head butler of the Bakur family, is joined by his daughters in service to the Bakurs. Cornelia Wi Kresnik (20) becomes a tutor, and Claudia Il Kresnik (16) becomes a maid. Bisley is 13 years old at the time. A year later, Cornelia (21) is discovered to be the Key of Kresnik.

Primia 4277

Julius Wi Bakur is born out of wedlock to Bisley (15) and Cornelia (22).

Teenage Julius later recounts that Claudia (18 when Julius is born) is the one who looked after him, and he recalls her cooking tomato pasta for him, and that his feelings for her might have been like that of a lover. (SB)

Primia 4282

Bisley's father dies and Bisley becomes CEO of Spirius at the age of 20. He marries Cornelia, legitimatising 5 year old Julius. (OWG 36, PG 727)

Primia 4283

One year after their marriage, Cornelia is targeted by Chronos for being the Key of Kresnik. Bisley used Cornelia's Key power to fight him, but Cornelia dies at 28 from the use of this power. It is implied Bisley reaches a Full Chromatus in this battle, earning him the title of "Victor" as well as the Waymarker of the Strongest Chromatus Bearer. Bisley seals his Chromatus away to avoid becoming a Divergence Catalyst (PG 738). As he wants to complete the Trial himself and can't do that if he becomes a Waymarker (PG 740), he instead uses other people to search for Waymarkers and destroy dimensions.

At some unspecified point in time, Bisley establishes the Department of Dimensional Affairs, a secret unofficial department that is unknowingly the source of Spirius' top innovations, heavily implied to have been taken from Fractured Dimensions. The department's purpose is to destroy Fractured Dimensions, with those of a Level 2 Chromatus or higher being specifically tasked to seek for the Waymarkers and the Key of Kresnik (PG 729). The department uses a machine called the Kudlak, developed by Bisley, to detect Fractured Dimensions. This replaced the prior method of using spyrix. To the public, its purpose is to eventually control the weather. It can be seen inside the Spirius HQ.

Experts in Spirius' numerous fields are known as agents, and the top-most agents are given ranked titles via a system divised by Bisley. The only rank explicitly named is "Crown", which is known to the public and viewed as the highest ranking of agent. Julius is the only named person with this rank. There is, however, a hidden rank even higher than the Crown, "Victor", which is held by whoever holds the Waymarker of the Strongest Chromatus Bearer. In the Prime Dimension, the rank of "Victor" belongs to Bisley.

At some unspecified point in time, a female Crown Agent from Spirius manages to infiltrate Milla Kresnik's Fractured Dimension, and sends back information about the creation of the Soul Bridge, but communication ceases and she never returns. Fractured Dimension No. 1 eventually gains too high of a depth to be accessed even by a Level 4 Chromatus (see "Chronos Limit"). (OWG 163)

Speculation: Given Bisley is credited with the Victor/Crown/etc ranking and he became CEO 23 years ago, and Rideaux and Julius learn about the Soul Bridge 15 years ago, it can be inferred the above occurred between 23 and 15 years ago, but that's just my speculation. Don't think too hard about how this got replicated in other Fractured Dimensions. Also don't think about how Cornelia died in other Fractured Dimensions either when there is only one Chronos in all of existence. (OWG 63)

Primia 4284

Claudia falls pregnant with Ludger, whose father is Bisley. She discovers her son will have a Chromatus due to an ultrasound showing the watch. With her father’s Marvin's help, she disappears and goes into hiding, believing that Bisley will use Ludger for his Chromatus. Marvin also leaves the Bakur family’s service (OWG 41, PG 727). It isn't said who is taking care of Julius in the interim, though he is still living with Bisley (20th 476). This is also the year the Zenethra falls into Rieze Maxia, so sometime before this Julius may have met with Alvin.

Primia 4285

Claudia gives birth to Ludger, who shares her hair and eye colour, and remains in hiding with him for the next five years. Julius is 8 years old. As Lara Mel Marta is said to be Ludger's age, it can be assumed she was born around this time as well (PG 797).

Note: Some accounts say that Ludger's silver hair is inherited from Bisley, which is one reason why Victor dyes it black. In the short stories, Ludger's hair is instead said to be similar to Claudia's. Could be both though!

Primia 4288

When Julius is 11, he meets 12 year old Rideaux, and activates his Chromatus and starts destroying Fractured Dimensions. At some point he suggests to Rideaux that since the Fractured Dimensions are doomed to be destroyed, they can do anything they want while there (OWG 164). They begin games to see who can kill more Fractured denizens.

Primia 4290

When Julius is 13, he realises the limitations of his Chromatus power, comes to believe that Bisley sacrificed Cornelia, learns about the Soul Bridge, and possibly the truth of the Divergence Catalysts (20th 467). He unintentionally finds where Claudia is hiding with Ludger. It is ambiguous if Claudia realises who Julius is, but Claudia mistakes him as working for Bisley to take Ludger away, and so attacks Julius with a blade. Julius kills her in self-defence (OWG 41, PG 727). Ludger witnesses his mother’s death and suffers amnesia, forgetting everything about his life with her (PG 740). Claudia dies at the age of 31.

According to the game, Julius did not immediately adopt Ludger after killing Claudia. There are 11 destroyed Fractured Dimensions between the log where he implies killing Claudia and the log where he decides to adopt Ludger. It could be inferred that Ludger was with Marvin during this time, and Ludger simply forgot who he was when they met again during the game.

According to the “Family” short story in the Scenario Book, the Soul Bridge is never a factor in Julius adopting Ludger, Julius takes him in immediately, partially out of obligation to Claudia, and partially just to keep him hidden from Bisley so he won’t find out about Ludger’s watch.

According to Rideaux’s account in the game, Julius left Bisley’s custody after Cornelia’s death. He would have been 6 when it happened, but the 20th anniversary explains that it was because, around the time he learned about Ludger, he discovered Cornelia’s death was allegedly due to Bisley sacrificing her.

After deciding to adopt Ludger, Marvin helps Julius alter their family registry, marking Ludger and Julius as his foster children (PG 727) , with Ludger being listed as an orphan abandoned at Zorya General Hospital and adopted from Rodo Private Orphanage (OWG 168, credit: yume-x-hanabi).

Julius changes his name from Julius Wi Bakur to Julius Will Kresnik, though Rideaux still remembers and enjoys calling him by his old name to make him mad (OWG 163).

Speculation: It is unclear if Ludger's middle name was changed as well, since Julius and Elle both inherit their mother's names, so Ludger might have been "Ludger Il Kresnik". Alternatively, it may have always been "Will".

Ludger and Julius (15 - 3 years ago)

The two move into Freres Apartments together. Ludger enrolls in school and Julius continues working as an agent in the DODA. It is unclear if Julius had a formal education outside of working for Spirius. Ludger's school costume and the landlady refer to Julius having gone to school, but the “Family” short story outright says Julius doesn’t go to school as a teenager and the 20th anniversary describes Julius as working at an age that couldn’t be called adult (20th 445). Due to Julius' work, Ludger is often left alone at home (SB).

At some point, Julius suffers a burn to his hand after protecting Ludger from a boiling pot. He begins wearing a glove to hide the scar.

Primia 4292

When Julius is 15 and Ludger is 7, Julius starts wearing fake glasses:

In the "Family" short story, he does it partially on Rideaux’s suggestion that he hide the expression in his eyes. After scaring Ludger and seeing his reflection in Ludger's eyes, he starts wearing glasses so he'll look less scary and blend in better.

In the OWG short story, Rideaux derisively wonders if Julius is wearing glasses to impress a girl, and has no idea where they came from.

Julius also becomes an official agent of the Spirius Corporation (PG 727) and joins the Communications Department.

Ludger burns his hands while trying to cook pasta for Julius, causing Julius to realise how much Ludger cares for him. Julius decides instead to protect Ludger from the Trial.

Note: In the "Family" short story, this unfolds differently, instead of burning his hands, Ludger cuts his hands practicing to make dinner and has been hiding it using a glove that matches Julius'. In that adaptation, Julius has told Ludger about Claudia's cooking, and the two compare Ludger's pasta to hers. Julius also meets a future Fractured version of himself who talks to him about Ludger.

Primia 4293

(Unless otherwise indicated, the information is cited from the second OWG short story.)

When Julius is 16 and Rideaux is 17, they are assigned to destroy Fractured Dimension No. F41BF together.

In this world, 8 y/o Ludger is still living with Claudia and has all his memories, making him the Divergence Catalyst. Rideaux is completely unaware of Claudia’s connection to Julius, only reporting that Prime Claudia is listed as dead. When he attacks Claudia, she attempts to defend herself with a knife. Julius intervenes, but when Rideaux suggests killing Claudia and making Ludger watch, Julius beats him unconscious and then goes to kill Fractured Ludger. When Rideaux awakes, Julius is bleeding from his eyebrow, a wound that eventually becomes a scar. It’s unknown if it was Fractured Claudia or Fractured Ludger who attacked him.

Julius falsifies the information on this dimension and lists Claudia as the Divergence Catalyst.

It’s worth noting Fractured Ludger is implied to be humming the Hymn of Proof, suggesting Claudia taught it to him, and thereby suggesting Julius also learned it from her side of the family. Fractured Claudia is also seen carrying ingredients to make tomato pasta.

Primia 4297

At the age of 20, Julius becomes the Director of the Department of Dimensional Affairs (PG 727). Publicly, he remains affiliated with the Network Development Division inside the Communications Department. He is eventually credited with helping develop the GHS, including its portability, apps and the tracking system.

At some point, Ludger dyes his hair partially black in order to look stylish. (OWG 24)

Primia 4302

When Ludger is around 17, Nova accidentally gives him a gift that she meant to give to Julius. Assuming Nova had confessed to him, Ludger confesses to her in turn but is rejected, causing him to run away from Home. Julius finds him with Rollo, and the two adopt him.

Victor and Elle (~10 years ago)

(Unless otherwise indicated, the information is cited from the third OWG short story.)

In Fractured Dimension No. F41DB, Ludger lives a similar life to Prime Ludger. He recounts that as a child, Julius found a cicada shell and gave it to him, telling him it was a lucky charm that protects children.

Primia 4305 (F41DB)

At 20 years old, the Ludger of this world meets a violet-eyed girl named Elle, who has been commanded by an unknown person to seek the Land of Canaan. They collect the Waymarkers together, and like Prime Ludger, he befriends Jude and the party. However, the final Waymarker lies in Elle's home world, another Fractured Dimension with a depth of 254 and a deviation of 0.05. Ludger is presented with an unknown choice that did not happen to Prime Ludger (OWG 62), and his choice results in violet-eyed Elle's death, but he successfully retrieved the last Waymarker. Ludger subjectively believes that Elle died hating him, and frames himself as having betrayed her.

Despite collecting the five Waymarkers, he is unable to reach the Land of Canaan due to being in a Fractured Dimension. He quits being an agent and transfers to a normal department in Spirius, heedless of Bisley, Jude, and the others' attempts to resolve their situation. He falls into a deep depression, but finds hope again after meeting and falling in love with Lara Mel Marta, a woman who has the same violet eyes as the Elle he lost. When they go on their first date, he has the title of managing director.

Note: There is nothing in Xillia 2's lore itself that states that violet-eyed Elle is another Fractured Ludger's daughter, or that Victor knew his child would be Elle if he married Lara, unlike Prime Ludger. Maybe he named her after the Elle he travelled with, maybe he always knew, or maybe he didn't know until she grew up to look identical to his first Elle. It's never really said. Tales of Asteria goes the route that violet-eyed Elle is Ludger's daughter, but it also has a much more different setup where she coexists in the same world as green-eyed Elle (which itself is a whole can of plot holes).

Primia 4307 (F41DB)

At the age of 22, they're married and Elle Mel Marta is born with the powers of a Key of Kresnik and a Chromatus watch, the location of which is unknown (PG 738).

Jude and the party wish to use Elle's power to negotate with the Prime Dimension, while Bisley believes the power of the Key could stop their world from being destroyed, and that for the sake of completing the Trial, Elle should be handed over to the Prime Dimension. Ludger argues against using his newborn child, and in turn Bisley uses his political and business connections to force everyone to his side, such as threatening Jude's spyrix production. Although Julius attempts to mediate between Ludger until the end, he remains most concerned for Ludger as his brother. While Jude and the others don't necessarily agree with Bisley, they can't say that he's wrong either, similar to the events of the Julius Ending (OWG 62). Ludger believes that everyone thinks he can just have another child if he loses Elle, but as Lara is unable to bear another child after Elle, this is not possible. He also holds a grudge against Julius for something he said.

During negotiations between Ludger and Jude and the party at Ludger's house at Lake Epsilla, Bisley ambushes them with a special team of agents to take Elle. Ludger tries to kill Bisley in return, but is stopped by his friends. Without hesitation, Ludger kills Jude, Alvin, Leia, Rowen, Elize, Julius, and Bisley. Gaius is the sole survivor, and retreats with heavy injuries. Ludger sinks their bodies to the bottom of Lake Epsilla.

In this fight, he reaches Level 4 Chromatus, inheriting Bisley's Waymarker as the Strongest Chromatus User. This deviation causes him to be possessed by the Divergence Catalyst of F41DB, which had previously possessed something else (OWG 62). He also begins transforming into a Divergence Catalyst himself due to his overuse of the Chromatus. He takes Julius and Bisley's watches (PG 738), and after giving his watch to Elle, is using Bisley's watch when he fights against the party in Chapter 12. He renames himself to Victor, after the rank he's achieved.

Victor dyes his hair black to avoid association with Bisley, as well as cutting ties with the clan/family, and to prevent Elle from recognising him (OWG 61). The mask that he uses to hide his Catalysation contains an arte that prevents F41DB's Divergence Catalyst that is possessing him from revealing itself (OWG 62).

Having deposed Bisley, Victor takes full control of Spirius and becomes the new CEO. He uses the DODA's resources to recalculate the location of violet-eyed Elle's Fractured Dimension relative to the Prime Dimension, concluding that the coordinates of his own relative to the Prime Dimension is a depth of 254, and a deviation of 0.05, identical to the coordinates between F41DB and violet Elle's world. He supposes that she may have been aiming for the Prime Dimension when she landed in F41DB instead. He also infers that there's a difference in time between F41DB and the Prime Dimension.

After the massacre at Lake Epsilla, Lara's mental state deteriorates. She has memory lapses, such as reliving her first date with Ludger, before remembering the massacre and rambling about Victor's murders. The picture on Victor's shelf with the two of them and a younger Elle was taken in a moment where she was in a better state (OWG 62). She dies when Elle is too young to remember her. Afterwards, Victor decides to send his daughter to the Prime Dimension, just as violet-eyed Elle was.

Rollo dies at an unspecified time after Lara's death. Due to Elle nicknaming him Tatty for his tatty fur changing, she doesn't recognise him in the Prime Dimension. Victor buries him in the backyard, and his tombstone is visible in-game.

Present Day

Primia 4304

During the events of Xillia, Spirius continues collaborating with the Elympion government on the Otherworld Reactor Project in order to retrieve the lost Waymarkers in Rieze Maxia. However, after Jude and Milla dispel the Schism themselves, they change their stance from anti-Rieze Maxian to pro-Rieze Maxia. Around the same time, Marcia, who had opposed the Otherworld Reactor Plan, becomes Chancellor, and her pro-Rieze Maxian government has a good relationship with Spirius (PG 728).

The events of the "Bipolar Crossroads" manga occur.

Ludger fails the Spirius entrance exam at the age of 19. He begins having nightmares of Julius killing him (MG).

Primia 4305

After having submitted over 100 job applications, Ludger finally lands a job at Trigleph Station's cafeteria (PG 729).

Some time before Ludger becomes an agent, Fractured Dimension F41DB is detected by Spirius in the Prime Dimension. It's given the nickname "Victor's Dimension".

The agents who attack Victor at the start of the game do so after being misinformed that Victor is the Key of Kresnik (PG 736). The shock of witnessing this attack triggers Elle's Key of Kresnik powers and causes her to jump into the Prime Dimension (PG 737) due to her will to reach the Land of Canaan for Victor's sake. As the Land of Canaan only exists in the Prime Dimension, her powers draw her there.

Speculation: Given that Victor in F41DB already has control of his version of Spirius, and that F41DB is already known to Prime Spirius, it's possible the agents who attacked Victor were from the Prime Dimension.

Sometime before Ludger's first day, Vera suspects Julius of tampering with the family registry. With Bisley's approval, she investigates (OWG 168) and ultimately corrects it. This draws Julius' attention, who boards the Striborg train outside of his duties as an agent (PG 737), in order to bribe or force her to secrecy, causing Rideaux to alert Bisley and Vera that Julius is acting suspiciously. However, this fails, and Bisley becomes aware of Ludger's existence (OWG 35, PG 737).

Chapter 1

In the Fractured Dimension that Elle unintentionally draws Ludger and Jude into on the Striborg Line, Fractured Julius is the true perpetrator of the terrorist attack and hijacking. In this world, Ludger admired Bisley, who won Ludger over to his side. Despite Julius' warnings, Ludger refused to listen to him and the two of them became estranged. Julius finally decides to collude with Exodus to assassinate Bisley. The dimension seems to be of a high depth due to its time difference. (OWG 62, PG 741, MG)

Ludger's job offer at the station is rescinded due to the Oscore attack (you will never believe what is the ONLY piece of lore to address this directly, credit to kikaromi and neoncaptor).

Chapter 15

It is speculated that Rideaux may have created Fractured Dimension No. F432E (999 998), but the details are unknown. (PG 732)

Julius' Fractured Dimension is speculated (OWG 51) or confirmed (PG 732) as No. F432F (999 999). It is a world without Elle.

Ludger Ending

Ludger has become the CEO of Spirius and meets 20 year old Lara Mel Marta, the new chairwoman of the Rugen Consortium, who has succeeded the position previously held by her grandfather (PG 797).

Miscellaneous

Ludger’s sword motif is due to his favourite brand being “Blade Union”. They are the manufacturers of the swords he’s given during the Spirius examination, since the company works with Spirius (OWG 69). In the Ichiban Kuji manga story, Julius also buys him mugs from that brand. Tangentially, the swords on Bisley’s suit are due to the sword motif of the Kresnik clan. (PG 709)

According to unused NPC dialogue, Julius got into communications technology in order to speak more with Bisley. (Japanese fans have corroborated this line’s existence in-game, but it’s impossible to access that NPC at this point in the game, and I can’t replicate it even on a JP disk. It could probably be hacked in if you edited your save position, but I haven’t tried yet.)

Do you know why Julius took such an interest in communications technology? It’s because he wanted more chances to talk with his busy father! Isn’t that just the sweetest thing?

ユリウスが通信技術に興味を持ったきっかけ、知ってる？忙しいお父さんと、もっとお話がしたかったからなんだって！　泣けるわねえ～

Keys of Kresnik are automatically Chromatus users, and thus are born with Chromatus watches (PG 731). As mentioned earlier, it’s unknown where Elle’s watch is, and the same source acknowledges that violet-eyed Elle’s watch is also unknown (PG 738).

Ludger’s watch is brass. Julius’ is silver. Bisley’s is gold. Rideaux’s is platinum with a red accent. Its suggested their appearances have to do with their owner’s personalities. (OWG 62)

The “Chronos limit” is a distance at which the power of the Primordial Great Spirits breaks down. This is why it is impossible to enter Fractured Dimensions with a depth above 255 (recall that depth measures distances between dimensions). It is speculated that this is why violet-eyed Elle couldn’t reach the Prime Dimension and was instead lost in F41DB, since her dimension relative to the Prime Dimension is calculated by Victor as having a depth of 508. The deviation is immeasurable. (OWG 163)

As mentioned earlier, the Soul Bridge is created when a Level 2 Chromatus user or higher dies and enters the cycle of reincarnation, unlocking the path from the inside (PG 725). Once the Trial is completed, the soul that created the Bridge joins the cycle of reincarnation normally. The souls of Divergence Catalysts are also returned to the cycle of reincarnation. (OWG 63)

Though never shown, female Chromatus users and male Keys of Kresnik exist (OWG 63).

Below a Level 2 Chromatus, one can only enter dimensions up to a depth of 100. Since Waymarkers are usually in high-depth dimensions, this is why all Level 2 Chromatus users are focused on finding Waymarkers. By Chapter 14, the only people left with that level of Chromatus are Ludger, Julius, Rideaux, and Bisley.

Yamamoto speculates (as in, this is not meant to be taken as official canon), that depending on how the wish to destroy Fractured Dimensions was executed, Fractured Dimension No. F4240 (1 000 000) may have been created by Ludger or Elle and remain in existence through their respective endings. (OWG 63)

#tales of xillia 2 #ludger will kresnik #julius will kresnik #elle mel marta #victor (tox2)#fractured elle

27 notes · View notes

lxdg3r · 8 months

Text

victor

#tales of #tales of xillia #tales of xillia 2 #ludger will kresnik #tales of xillia 2 victor #tox2

38 notes · View notes

kikaromi · 1 year

Text

youtube

Since the previous video was already a honking 26 minutes (and I forgot my Victor was Affinity 10), here's the other original Xillia 2 Characters' EX Home Dialogue!

#Tales of Asteria #Tales of Xillia 2 #Bisley Karcsi Bakur #Fractured Milla #Victor Will Kresnik #[I dunno what Victor's tag is outside AO3 so eh.]#['Kika Muzet and Gaius are X2 characters'. Rays also told me Dohalim is an X2 character. Bite me :U]

6 notes · View notes

ofstarsandskies · 7 months

Note

[for ludger!] Julius won't appear and terrify her for this right? Hopefully! "Here ya are, one cool dagger for ya! Made from the finest of materials from my forge! I usually engrave bun buns into the blade but for you I did a kitty cat and oh here is one for Julius too!" She even packaged them in cute pink boxes! "No take backs either!"

@pastel-lapin || A gift for the bros

Whilst vacuuming around the couch, Ludger heard the chime of his doorbell. Upon answering, he met someone who he thought would never step near his apartment again. "Good morning, Mana!" Just in case a certain someone was on her mind, Ludger'd assure her, "No need to worry if my brother's watching-- he's out buying Lulu new exercise toys. Quality time with his second favorite person is top priority."

Mana handed him two pink boxes: one for him, one for Julius. Ludger set Julius' on the counter to test how this new blade felt in his hand. Sturdy yet lightweight, perfect for a concealed backup weapon. And as promised, close to the handle was a happy cat on the prowl. He'd have to call the Elle from the Festival and tell her his new knife matched hers (though he'd have to one day ask why hers were all engraved).

"Thank you for thinking of us, Mana. I know it must've been tough coming to our door after the swearing incident; Nii-san puts up a front of level-headedness and rationality, but he'll knee jerk react the moment I'm involved."

#pastellapin #v;; Winnego Morderca #a;; Muffled Truths #[Kitty knives for ALL the Kresniks!]#[Except Victor. He'd >:T at it.]

0 notes

etrobeauty · 1 year

Text

GET TO KNOW THE MUN.

Tagged by @hoshiszora

what’s your phone wallpaper: Squall and Rinoa. Cloud and Aerith for lockscreen. last song you listened to: Call of SIlence. currently reading: Light Novel of Unnamed Memory Vol2 & Eighty-Six Vol 4. last movie: Hello World last show: Code Geass, what are you wearing right now: Clothes piercings / tattoos?: Ears. glasses ? contacts?: Glasses technically, but got too adjusted without it. last thing you ate?: Seaweed. favorite color(s): Lavender, rose pink, burgundy. current obsession: Light novels and Tales of Vesperia do you have a crush right now?: No. favourite fictional character: Lightning, Lena(Eighty-Six), Victor Kresnik(ToX2) Erwin Smith(AOT), Aranea Highwind(FFXV), Squall (FFVIII), Yu Kanda(D.Gray Man)

Tagging: You. Go.

#yall got so many fictional favorites.#this aint even quarter #OOC #mun stuff

3 notes · View notes

larkawolfgirl · 2 years

Text

Not with a Bang (Kresnikcest)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: Major Character Death Category: M/M Fandoms: Tales of Xillia, Tales of Series, Tales of Xillia 2 Relationship: Julius Will Kresnik/Ludger Will Kresnik Characters: Ludger Will Kresnik, Julius Will Kresnik, Lulu | Rollo

Summary: [Julius End] Ludger has made his choice, for better or for worse. He isn't going to go out with a whimper or a bang. If he is going to die, it is going to be in the arms of the brother he made this choice for.

Read on ao3

Ludger understands Victor now. Victor was willing to kill off his friends in order to protect Elle. This isn't the same, but it's a strange reflection. In essence, Ludger is damning Elle, but Ludger has had just enough time to learn to love his daughter while he has known and loved Julius for what might as well have been his entire life. He understands why Victor could tell the world to shove it; if it means saving his brother, he's fine watching the world burn.

It's a painful ordeal, murdering his friends. It would be easier if Julius helped, but he understands that too. This is his decision and his alone. It is painful but not challenging as it should be, fighting off eight opponents at once. Unlike him, they don't have the resolve to take the life of a friend. Although they were fine with the idea of killing the stranger their friend calls brother. One by one his friends fall, and by the end of it his face is wet with both blood and tears.

He crouches down by Julius, touches over him to make sure he's still safe. His hand stays at his darkened hand, an injury beyond repair. His face is wet again.

The thumb of Julius’ good hand swipes at his cheek. “You must be in so much pain.” It's the first thing he's said since asking Ludger to kill him.

He is, in more ways than one. How did things end up this way? “I had to,” he says, his voice brittle.

“Oh, Ludger. Whatever will I do with you?”

Their hands are still on each other and Julius’ eyes lack any fear or judgment, only hollow acceptance. Ludger realizes he understands his decision because he is the same. He would burn the world, along with himself, for Ludger's sake.

Ludger presses a kiss to his lips, not caring what anyone thinks. For the first time, Julius must not either because the hand on his cheek stays put and his lips move with his.

People are giving them horrified looks and whispering but that should be expected when the ground is still littered with bodies, so what harm is one more added offense?

Ludger refuses to let his hand go the entire long trudge home.

There they are met at their door with a paper sack full of tomatoes and cheese with a note signed by Nova. Ludger is glad that she did not wait around for them because even though he knows this could be his last time seeing her he does not think he is in any shape for pretenses. Not to mention he is still covered in the blood of his friends.

He only takes enough time to place the sack on the kitchen counter before he rounds on Julius and pushes him hard against the front door. Julius meets his gaze, mouth opening to say something, but Ludger smashes their lips together before he has the chance. He’s desperate, more desperate than he has ever felt before. Julius always had reasons on the tip of his tongue for them to hold themselves back even behind closed doors, but Ludger is not in any mood to listen to them, not anymore. There may not even be a tomorrow at this point.

Rollo rubs his soft fur against their legs begging for attention, but he ignores him entirely because Julius’ hands are gripping at his shoulders and he is kissing him back just as desperately.

“Ludger,” he finally breathes when Ludger lets him.

“Julius,” he whispers back, pushing even closer which nudges Rollo in the process. The cat gives an annoyed yelp as Julius sighs. He moves one hand from his shoulder to his cheek once more. “You’ve grown so much. I always thought I had to protect you, but look at you now.” Ludger lowers his eyes, but Julius stoops his head down to catch his gaze. “You have made your own chooses, for good or for bad. I always did whatever I thought was best for you, but for today, what could very well be my last, I am going to make my own decision as well.”

Ludger’s chest flutters and he kisses him again. It’s sweet and savory all at the same time, the taste as well as the feeling circulating with his blood flow. He has murdered his friends, damned the world, and cut off his own future, but for the first time in his life, things feel right. It is a sick giddiness in his stomach churning along with lust. Julius is here and he is his, for once in full.

The hand on his cheek moves over his back down to the hem of his shirt to reach skin. Honestly, it's a simple contact but it's more than he's been allowed till now and he presses himself forward in response. Their bodies are meshed up against the door. Julius’ hand moves higher, lifting his shirt in the process, and Ludger nudges his leg between Julius’, swallowing his responsive groan.

His brother breaks their kiss to stare at him with heavy-lidded eyes. “Ludger.” The sound melts over him like rich chocolate and he wants to drown in it. If they must die, let it be from this.

“Brother,” he gasps back in a weak attempt at conveying his desperation.

It didn't matter if he truly understands or not, because he leads him by the hand to his own bedroom. Not bothering to shut the door, he pushes him down on the bed. “Brother,” Julius echoes, tracing his bad hand along the crook of his neck. Rollo batts at the edge of the bedsheets, but they both ignored him, gazes locked. “Do you have any idea how badly I have wanted this?”

Ludger smirks and catches a blackened finger between his lips. “I have a pretty good idea.”

The world doesn't end with a whimper or a bang. The end creeps in silently when the world is asleep. Not a single soul fights the inevitable. Two brothers lay wrapped in each other's arms, with a cat squished up against their legs. These two alone know of their imminent demise, but for them there is no fear, no tears, not even a regret. For they are together, and together they shall be.

#my writing #kresnikcest #julius x ludger #ludger will kresnik #julius will kresnik #tales of xillia 2 #tales of xillia #tales #tales of #fanfic #fanfiction

3 notes · View notes