Prehistory - The First:
Imperial China - The Successor:
"I am truly sorry... Neither of you deserved this fate. My time draws near, and I shall join you both before long... Until then, rest peacefully..."
— The Master's internal monologue after his dojo is attacked and two of his pupils are killed
"Shifu? SHIFU!!!!!"
— The Earthen Heart Successor crying out to the Master after he passes on.
Near Future - The Outsider:
In a long-forgotten place — Babylonia
The king was forged with fists of steel, and the heavens quaked
To defeat and destroy the evil that now comes
Furious and righteous, lead the way!
Hearts aflame with purpose true, call him to the fight
The king of kings, Steel Titan — we'll give him our all!
The king was forged with fists of steel, and the heavens quaked
To defeat and destroy the evil that now comes
Furious and righteous, lead the way!
Hearts aflame with purpose true, call him to the fight
The king of kings, Steel Titan — we'll give him our all!
— Go! Go! Steel Titan! (English)
Middle Ages - The Lord of Dark:
"Inherit our cause. Keep the faith. Forgive."
"Naught remains. Alone. Utterly alone. Cast out. Unloved. Outside the grace of gods. The Archon's Roost, they call this shrine of death. Yet nowhere do I spy our Lord of Dark. His throne sits empty, wanting for an heir... Did I not do all that was asked? Did I not serve and seek my fair and just reward? And for my deeds, they damn me. Name me demon. And who am I to deny it? Demon, then! Renouncing former ties and titles! And in their place, I claim... The Lord of Dark. Odio!"
— Oersted, chapter end
Final Chapter - The Dominion of Hate:
"O foolish child."
("For love's facade he fights...")
("To elder's will life bound...")
("In shadow guides his kin...")
("From hero's fame he flees...")
("On power's throne he sits...")
("In anger finds his strength...")
("Whose heart bleeds more than flesh...")
"Whose faith in men endures despite their sins."
"O child, now come and see... Their true design."
("For love's facade he fights...")
("To elder's will life bound...")
("In shadow guides his kin...")
("From hero's fame he flees...")
("On power's throne he sits...")
("In anger finds his strength...")
("Whose heart bleeds more than flesh...")
"Whose faith in men endures despite their sins."
"O child, now come and see... Their true design."
— Oersted/Odio summoning the heroes to his time
"O man... A slave to appetites. A beast. Nay, lesser still... For hunger drives a beast. To fight, to kill, to feed. Survive. Naught else. But man... He's more complex. More fool. More mad. His hunger knows no end. The world's his meal. I'll teach him manners, then. Restraint. Respect. He's drunk on vict'ry, spares no thought for them who suffered for his spoils — but soon he shall! I weep for you, my brothers. To the last... You stayed the course. Pursued your hearts' desires. With eyes unclouded. So close, but alas... Like me. Deprived — nay, robbed of just reward. Disgraced and dubbed the villain. Sland'rous lies. A winner's justice! Hist'ry bent to whim! The losers silenced, stripped of voice and claim... and stricken from the page! If that's the game... I'll play along. Cross time and space and stand... For we the damned. Rewrite the tale. Just so! Your statues seven are my ink and quill. With magic potent, singular... Pure hate! I'll take up arms. Assume the guise we share. For we are Odio... and we will win!"
— Oersted/Odio's speech if chosen as the protagonist
"Not yet. Not yet! Your fight is not yet done! For even I should falter here and now... My hate! My boundless hate shall transcend time! Hark! Look you now on hatred's multitude — on Odio and his many faces! You know them well. From ancient past, the beast! From distant future, maddened slave of men! In peace they plot and craft their prophet false... In war they worship lords ambitious, cruel! The windswept wastes yield monstrous men-at-arms! The highest peaks hide villains murderous! For violence shall ever be your wont! My hate is yours, and yours is mine. To share, a history, so long as men yet live! Now sing our name! Embrace us! Odio!"
— Oersted's speech before awakening Odio's stone idols
"Are these my hands, stained black with blood and sin? What wickedness I've wrought. And all for what?"
— Oersted/Odio's words after defeating Sin of Odio. What follows next depends on the chosen hero.
Pogo:"Aieee!"
Earthen Heart Master: "Shifu, Lei/Yung, Yung/Hong! This one's for you!"
Oboromaru: "Dawn may banish even the darkest night!"
Sundown Kid: "That's enough out of you. No more."
Masaru: "I never lose, and together... we're unstoppable!"
Akira: "Nothing's impossible when you're too stubborn to surrender!"
Cube: (beeps confidently)
— The one liners each party member gives after the Sin of Odio incapacitates the initial party.
Pogo: "AIEEE!" (Proceeds to hug Oersted)
Oersted: "...Such passion. Nay. 'Tis love. <chuckle> A boundless love... I wanted that once. Once upon a time..."
Yun: "Maybe... Maybe you asked too much yourself. When we struggle... When we're lost and don't know what to do... There are choices to make. Paths to take. We can wish that it were easier or different... But, in the end, it's what we make of it that matters."
Oersted: "...Perhaps... Perhaps you've struck upon a truth. When tested — sorely tested, I...I failed. I ran. Rejected trial and choice. And chose..."
Lei: "Hurts to say it... But you remind me of me. The old me... I saw what others had and hated them for it. Wondered why they deserved so much and I so little. But I had it all wrong. Most of them hadn't gotten where they were just by asking for it. And what little they've done was only a fraction of what they'd tried to achieve. That's just how it goes. We don't always get what we want. Sometimes what we wanted was never ours to take. And sometimes all we can do is try to be better. Do the best you can and hope that it's enough in the end! Maybe that doesn't make much sense but...but...<sigh> I've made a lot of mistakes. Still do, from time to time..."
Oersted: "...To strive for something more. A better self... I too have made mistakes. I turned my back. By men abandoned, thus abandoned men..."
Hong: "I...I think I understand... I've been judged. Mocked by men. I thought about doing the same. Hurting them. Hurting others. But I couldn't. I know that pain. Others shouldn't."
Oersted: "...Heh... <chuckle> So simple. Earnest. True... For them as well... They wronged me. Wounded me. Revenged in kind. Nay. Far worse. 'Twas in fear and ignorance they struck. But I, in bitterness and spite. <sniffle>"
Oboro: "Once, I would have obeyed orders without question. Taken a man's life without regard for the reason. But no longer. We who wield the power of life and death... Wield not the power to shape the world and its people as we see fit. And though there is great risk, there is great reward to be found in trust and mercy. Ryoma shared with me this wisdom. And the sorrow that follows if it is ignored. That a blade unsheathed must draw blood."
Oersted: "...The world... Belongs to no one man. Indeed... By love and trust... And faith... We will be saved. Wise, wise words. Spoken by another. Who...?"
Sundown Kid: "I've been on my own for a while now. Left it all behind. My life. My people. But as the nights've added up... All that time out there in the cold and the dark..." (Spins gun) "I've come to miss the warmth of good company. And a home to hang your hat..."
Oersted: "...A sentiment I share. Such hate I've nursed... And solitude I've sought. And yet... and still... (sigh) For all their faults, I miss them so, so much."
Masaru: "Nothing wrong with wanting more. Wanting to be better. The best even. But that can't be everything. The struggle. The fight. The pursuit of power — you can't let it cost you your soul. When the dust settles — when you're old and weak — that strength of spirit's all you'll have!"
Oersted: "Indeed... For power comes in many forms... Oh, how was I so blind? The fault was mine. A weakness deep... Within my broken heart..."
Akira: (Grabs Oersted by the collar) "...Know what your problem is? You blamed everyone else. Said it was them or gods or fate that made you what you are. But it was YOU! Just you! Yeah, people can suck. We can be selfish -- look out only for ourselves. But if you focus only on the bad -- judge them at their worst, well... You've already made up your mind, haven't you?" (Drops Oersted) "Everything else is just an excuse!"
Oersted: "...Aye... Maybe so. I sought out nothing good. Expecting guilt... And just cause to condemn..."
Cube: (Stands in front of Oersted)
Oersted: "How strange. A construct without heart or soul. Whence comes compassion? Whence arises love?"
(Cube shakes his head at Oersted and gives him some yellow flowers, nods at the other party members, and spins around.)
Oersted: "If not from these... Perhaps... 'Tis what you lack. In absence, value understood... Indeed... I dwelt on it much. Once upon a time..."
(Cube shakes his head at Oersted and gives him some yellow flowers, nods at the other party members, and spins around.)
Oersted: "If not from these... Perhaps... 'Tis what you lack. In absence, value understood... Indeed... I dwelt on it much. Once upon a time..."
In every heart the seed of dark abides. The makings of a lord when watered well... With hate. Sweet hate. She springs eternal. Sings... All-tempting draught. We'll drink of her again.
— Oersted's final words to the party
