Profile
[ Character ] chaos
[ Canon ] Xenosaga
[ Canon Point ] Between Episodes II and III
[ Gender ] male
[ Age ] Technically, he’s been around since time began. But he looks about 18.
[ Birthday ] Technically N/A. We'll say he celebrates it on 12/25
[ Eyes ] Translucent Blue/Green
[ Hair ] Silver
[ Height ] 169cm (5'7")
[ Weight ] 53kg (117lbs)
[ Blood Type ] [unknown]
[ Voice ] Hoshi Souichiro, Derek Stephen Prince, Joshua Seth, Clint Bickham
[ Family ]
[ Other ] Often wears a skin-tight bodysuit with other clothes over it. And gloves. Always gloves
Note: Fair warning, this is chock full of spoilers as to the nature of the universe in Xenosaga, as it is central to chaos’ being.
[ Background/History ]
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
Our universe is made up of two separate, yet connected domains. The Upper Domain, though inhabited by a number of beings, cannot be perceived by the Lower Domain, the realm of mankind. The two Domains are essential to each other, and any occurrence that effects one, will effect the other as well. In the Lower Domain, it is split further into the Real and Imaginary Number Domains.
All human beings exist within the Real Number Domain of the Lower Domain. However, this is just their physical forms. Their consciousness’ exist within the Imaginary Number Domain, as part of the Collective Unconscious. However, the consciousness is bound by the body in the Real Number Domain, and knows nothing of the Imaginary Number Domain. When a person dies, their consciousness is freed from the chains binding it to the Real Number Domain, and it is freed to roam the Imaginary Number Domain. However, without the body to hide itself, the consciousness is bared for all to see, every flaw or vice as plain as day. Additionally, the pure existence of consciousness begin to be swallowed into the Collective Unconscious. An individual existence fears losing itself, and, if the fear is strong enough, the consciousness develops a rejecting power. These rejecting consciousness’, when they reach critical mass, the Imaginary Number Domain will collapse, taking the rest of the Lower Domain, and the Upper Domain as well, along with it.
To avoid this, when the Lower Domain came into existence, so too did the powers of Anima and Animus, which were produced from the Collective Unconscious. The power that the Anima holds is the function of “failsafe of the universe.” This Failsafe exists, so that if the rejecting consciousness’ reach critical mass, the power can ‘reset’ the Lower Domain, so that the damage cannot spread and destroy the entirety of the universe. In addition to the power of Anima, is also the power of Animus, which exists as a control of not only the Animus, but of the ‘relics of God’ as well. However, these powers only exist in the Imaginary Number Domain. And cannot interact directly with the Real Number Domain. To allow for perception in the Real Number Domain, the power of Anima actualized itself in the Real Number Domain, in a form that would become the being known as chaos. chaos, however, while being the form of the power of Anima, was not without his own consciousness, nor his own will.
The first recorded instance of chaos’ existence in the Real Number Domain was in what would come to be known as the first century AD. In this time, a human man known as the Messiah existed, and chaos, known then as Yeshua, was his closest friend and advisor. Also close to the Messiah was Maria, a woman who, like chaos, was the actualization of a Imaginary Number Domain power, she bearing the power of Animus. Maria, as the partner of the Messiah, and Yeshua, as his closest friend, performed many miracles under the Messiah’s supervision, leading people to him, and allowing him to guide their hearts. Just as the Messiah had his apostles, so too did Maria, the woman known only as the Maiden of Maria. Just as Maria’s power of Animus controls chaos’ power of Anima, the ability of the Maiden of Maria is to ignite the power of Animus, allowing it to be used.
Of the many things that Yeshua did while serving the Messiah, was to leave behind something that would come to be known as ‘Lemegeton’, or ‘the Word of God.’ These words, which are more of an incantation or chant, allows the Lower Domain to access the energies of the Upper Domain. However, these words cannot be pronounced by normal humans, limiting those who could use it.
Though the reasons for it are unknown, during this time period, to prevent (or at least postpone) the activation of the failsafe, Maria used her power of Animus to seal off Yeshua’s power of Anima, sealing it off in the twelve ‘Vessels of Anima’. In doing this, Maria herself lost her life. Her consciousness was scattered amongst the IND, and her body was entombed within a crypt in Rennes le Château, alongside the Vessels of Anima.
Bereft of his power of Anima, Yeshua nonetheless still possessed abilities far beyond that of a normal human, including agelessness, though he kept it hidden, even after Earth was sealed off by Wilhelm, the guardian of the Lower Domain, and humanity existed only in deep space, cut off from ‘Lost Jerusalem,’ as Earth would come to be called.
chaos’ role in history is unknown, until the events in the years T.C. 4667-9, when he guided a man named Jan Sauer away from certain death during a UMN dive. He did this to maneuver the man into place to oppose Wilhelm, who sought to utilize Zarathustra, a relic of God, to enact ‘Eternal Recurrence,’ and forever prevent the destruction of the universe by trapping time in an endless wheel. However, he remained in the shadows, leaving Wilhelm to control things from the foreground.
The next instance of chaos we see is in the year TC 4753. chaos appears wearing a military uniform, where he teams up with the realian named Canaan, to pilot a machine known as E.S. Asher, which Canaan claims that a ‘regular human can’t ride’. Their mission, which had to remain secret, was to descend to the war-torn planet of Miltia, and to rescue as many of the U.R.T.V. as they could. They fought an aerial battle, and chaos was forced to eject one of their weapons when it ran out of ammo, because it was unnecessary weight. Once there, chaos warned Canaan to close his mind to the mysterious ‘Song of Nephilim’ that was driving everyone who heard it mad; human, realian, and U.R.T.V. alike. In the end, aided by Captain Jin Uzuki, there were only two U.R.T.V. that they managed to bring out of Miltia. Unit 666, known as Rubedo, and Unit 669, known as Nigredo.
chaos hung around with Rubedo and Nigredo for the next twelve years, working for the ‘Kukai Foundation’ that they created, under the aliases of Gaignun Kukai (Nigredo) and Gaignun Kukai, Jr (Rubedo, stuck permanently in a 12-year-old’s body). While on a mission from them, chaos struck a deal with a former marine named Matthews, after winning multiple years’ worth of wages from him and his crew in poker. They had a cargo trip to make, and since they wouldn’t cancel the job, chaos decided he wanted to go to the exact same destination in the exact same time.
Enroute to their destination, while the crew (aboard the “borrowed” ship, the Elsa) thought that chaos would be passed out from the g-forces, he secretly slipped into the cargo bay to check the “educational software” they were delivering, and found illegal software was smuggled in it. He reported it to Captain Matthews, but too late, as they found themselves under attack from the Federation. chaos proposed a risky maneuver for them to escape: blow up an empty station near the UMN column, and during the static from the explosion, switch their data with another ship and slipping into the column to freedom. The Captain agreed, although, there was one slight problem: the owner of the station agreed to the plan, but the Captain would have to pay back the cost...
And thus, the Elsa (since it couldn’t be returned) became part of the Kukai Foundation’s fleet. chaos became an integral part of the crew, especially with his unique ability to defeat Gnosis (mysterious creatures seemingly existing solely to attack humanity, and that do not fully exist within the RND, and therefore cannot be attacked with normal attacks).
In the year TC 4767, the culmination of all of history would come together, and chaos would be forced to ‘take the stage’. The prototype battle cruiser Woglinde, on her maiden voyage, would pick up a mysterious object called a ‘Zohar Emulator’, while transporting the anti-Gnosis android KOS-MOS and her development team. However, the ship was attacked by Gnosis, and the entire fleet destroyed, save for those able to escape in life pods. One of them, occupied by KOS-MOS’ creator, Shion Uzuki, and her coworker Allen Ridgeley, along with KOS-MOS herself, found its way to the Elsa, where KOS-MOS forced her way on board, and chaos suggested that they take in Shion and Allen also, as well as Commander Andrew Cherenkov, who was hanging onto the back in a space suit.
The new passengers of the ship quickly learned of chaos’ unique ability against Gnosis, when one appeared on board and attacked Cherenkov, and chaos defeated it just by touching it. Things calmed down for a bit aboard the ship, until they again had to perform a rescue, this time of a young-girl model realian named M.O.M.O, and her guardian, the cyborg Ziggurat 8. They rescued them from a battle within a hyperspace channel, and when they emerged, they found themselves in the midst of a massive fleet of gnosis.
The group passed out, and when they awoke, they found themselves within a large gnosis ‘ship’ called a Cathedral Ship. They grew increasingly more worried, as they saw evidence that things inside the ‘ship’ had once been a part of the planet Ariadne, which had vanished during an experiment involving the Zohar Emulator. When they reached the core, they found not only the Zohar Emulator, but Cherenkov as well, who, because of his attack by Gnosis aboard the Elsa, became a Gnosis himself. The party was forced to fight him, and, after the battle, chaos found himself comforting Shion, who was torn between thinking that they killed Cherenkov, and that she herself would become like that, given her own contact with Gnosis.
After the battle, and they escaped the Cathedral Ship, chaos watched as KOS-MOS used a massive range Hilbert Effect, and then the Durandal, flagship of the Kukai Foundation and captained by Jr. (aka Rubedo), defeated the Gnosis and rescued them. chaos good-naturedly teased Jr. when they came aboard, and assisted the party when they were arrested because of meddling with records of the battle between the Woglinde fleet and the Gnosis, making it appear that the Durandal had attacked them. He aided the group in getting to KOS-MOS, who’s database could be used to clear them, and was pulled in along with the others when Shion attempted an Encephalon dive.
Within the Encephalon, chaos found himself at a park on Old Miltia, before the war, with Shion and Allen. They met up with a ghost-like young girl who identified herself as Nephilim, and told Shion that she (and the others) must accept the entirety of their memories, and return to Miltia, and that only KOS-MOS knows the reason, and that she must find her. After Shion left (with Allen following behind) to find their way out, chaos remained behind with Nephilim, who warned him that on this path he was following, there was no turning back, and asked him if this is what he really wanted. chaos replied to her that Shion was vital to ‘her’, to which Nephilim asked if she was vital to him as well, and ‘what will you do?’
When the group met up with the rest of the party, they found themselves at a church, and faced with a realian woman named Febronia, who seemed to know Shion as well. She led the party to the back, where they had to fight a monster whom to both Shion and Jr appeared as figments of their past. After they had done so and gotten the data from KOS-MOS’ database, and cleared their name, chaos met up with Allen, who was dealing with not being able to help Shion, and tried to comfort him.
Things were quiet for the next few days, until chaos heard a certain melody while working on the Elsa. No one else could hear it, but chaos could, and he knew that it was the Song of Nephilim, being played again after fourteen years. chaos, as with the others, raced to rescue the inhabitants of the Kukai Foundation from the Gnosis summoned by the Song, and then M.O.M.O, who had been captured by Albedo, and taken to a device also known as the Song of Nephilim. In the Song, chaos kept to the background, only speaking up to clarify to the others what Jr. and Albedo (who was Jr.’s twin brother) were, and later comforting both Jr. and M.O.M.O. while the Song of Nephilim is destroyed, and as Albedo uses the Y-Data he gleaned from M.O.M.O. to pull the Proto Merkaba out of the Abyss, and aim its weapon at the capital of Second Miltia.
chaos accompanied the group in the infiltration of Proto Merkaba, filling in some of the gaps in their knowledge over the data they found inside, and assisting in the defeat of Albedo (who fled), and Sophie Peithos in the core. After the defeat of Sophie Peithos, he fled the machine along with the others, but whereas the majority of the group went to the bridge of the Elsa to help monitor their escape, chaos stood alone in the hangar. As the Elsa shook as it was forced through Second Miltia’s atmosphere, Nephilim appeared to chaos to ask him what he would do, but before he could make a decision, KOS-MOS appeared before him and took it from him, exciting the hangar to use her energy shield to protect the ship. chaos made his decision, and his hands glowed with energy as he helped to protect KOS-MOS, as she protected the ship, as well as accompanying her to where the rest of the group was waiting after she reentered the ship.
When they landed on Second Miltia, chaos accompanied Jr, Ziggy, and M.O.M.O, as they took M.O.M.O. to the government offices. However, enroute, they were ambushed and had to escape the attack from three mechs. They were eventually rescued by the arrival of Canaan in the E.S. Asher, and delivered M.O.M.O. as instructed. chaos and Jr, having nothing to do, went shopping and wandering the city, where they ran into Shion, and were joined by Shion’s brother, Jin. Jin insisted that Shion return to their home, and invited Jr. and chaos to return with them. They stayed into the evening, and when Jr. was getting ready to leave, chaos asked if he could stay the night, which Jin graciously allowed. After Shion had gone to bed, chaos joined Jin on the porch, where the two of them had a meaningful conversation, though they barely touched upon the events of fourteen years prior, when they’d initially met.
The next day, chaos parted with Shion as he reported in for M.O.M.O’s analysis. When the analysis triggered the trap Albedo had left in M.O.M.O’s mind, chaos participated in the Encephalon Dive to save her, and, later, returned to the Elsa as they traveled to Old Miltia (which Albedo had unsealed), seeking the information that remained on the planet after the war.
On the way, the party aboard the Elsa (which included chaos, Jr, M.O.M.O, Ziggy, and joined by Jin and Canaan) joined up with Shion, KOS-MOS, and Allen, who had escaped from the Dammerung to go to Old Miltia as well, and then infiltrated and destroyed an Ormus Stronghold barring the way. They were picked up by the Durandal, who rescued the Elsa from being pulled into a black hole, and finished their trip to Old Miltia, with chaos making a cryptic remark about a land that had disappeared into the sea in a single night.
He accompanied the party deep within the Labyrinthos facility on Old Miltia, until they reach the very core, and find the original Zohar, as well as Febronia’s sisters, Cecily and Cathe. KOS-MOS destroys the system, killing the two realians (but releasing them from their imprisonment), as Ormus’ Patriarch takes control of the Zohar, and destroys the planet (after the party is able to escape, of course) with the Omega System. The party went into it, and, after watching the Patriarch defeat Albedo, defeated the him themselves. But even still they couldn’t reclaim the Zohar, as the Testaments of Wilhelm appeared, and reconstituted Albedo, who used the Zohar’s energy to link himself with U-Do, and create a space-time anomaly.
Jr. went off to the anomaly by himself, though chaos was there to comfort his friend after he was forced to take his brother’s life, loaning his body to Sakura’s consciousness, so that she could remind Jr. of his promise to her. chaos spoke briefly to Nephilim of what was to come, and then returned Jr. to the Durandal, before departing. He stood outside the Durandal, on the hull, and had a brief mental conversation with Wilhelm, to whom he told that he wouldn’t hold back any longer, as he watched the IND terminal of U-Do, Abel’s Ark, appear in the RND and absorb the Zohar.
A year later, chaos and Jr are piloting the E.S. Asher, along with Jin in the E.S. Reuben, and Ziggy and M.O.M.O. in the E.S. Zebulun, are investigating what appears to be a landmass, independent of any planet, floating in space, with the Elsa providing support. While they are investigating, Ormus forces attack, the Elsa was forced to dive toward the landmass, but fell into an imaginary pocket, and the three E.S. units lost contact with it.
chaos later met up with Shion on Fifth Jerusalem, and told her of the situation, but before they could discuss anything further, Shion passed out, so chaos took her back to her hotel room. While the group was still on the planet, getting prepared to go after the Elsa, chaos and Nephilim had a conversation while sitting on the top of some building somewhere..., regarding the inevitability of events, and chaos questioning his existence, and if he can make the decision to use his power, when it comes down to it.
In order to rescue the Elsa, they needed to recover KOS-MOS, who was due to be scrapped, from the military. chaos participated in this operation, though he stayed to the back and offered support. Once KOS-MOS was recovered, they broke through the hyperspace bubble to rescue the Elsa, and they were confronted by two of the Testaments on Rennes le Château, in a place where certain words in Ancient Aramaic were written. Their E.S. units wouldn’t respond to them, but the Testaments (revealed to be Lieutenant Virgil and Albedo) escaped, after leaving taunting words. They found, further in, a cemetery, which Shion had dreamt about, and then a mausoleum-type crypt, which had a number of graves marked with names... 12 graves, and marked with the names of the twelve E.S. units. Further back, they found a rough-hewn stone cross and a coffin, the same area that they had found a year earlier in KOS-MOS’ encephalon. However, before they could leave the area, they were confronted by KOS-MOS’ ‘replacement’, an android called T-Elos, whom chaos recognized. For though KOS-MOS was made to house a certain person’s consciousness, T-Elos was created of her body. That person... was Maria Magdalene.
The party blacked out after a large attack from T-Elos, and awoke to find themselves having been transported to an unknown planet. As they explored their surroundings, they found themselves noticing buildings in the distance that should have been destroyed on Old Miltia, as well as running into Lieutenant Virgil, but from long before he’d become a Testament. Virgil was injured, so they took him to the church where Febronia was, where they confirmed that they were on Old Miltia, 15 years earlier, at the start of the Miltian Conflict, as well as meeting a younger Shion.
At the church, they helped save Virgil’s life with a transplant from Febronia, and got hints on where the Elsa might be from the younger Shion. They headed to the location, where they found not only the Elsa, but also, aboard her, KOS-MOS, whose core had been destroyed, thus destroying her. For Kevin was the only one who could fix that. The Professor also informed them that, not only were the Vessels of Anima missing, but that their presence in the past could lead to an overload of heat energy, which could destroy if not the universe, but at least that region of space.
Shion had been able to recover data from the Kevin of this time, but as KOS-MOS was repaired, Voyager appeared on the ship, attempting to destroy her, and the party was forced to fight him. After the battle, the party and crew picked up their plans to escape back to their own time, especially as the time of the Miltian Conflict was coming near. They infiltrated the Labyrinthos facility, where they overheard things involving what U-TIC had intended to do with the Zohar and the Vessels of Anima. Eventually they made it to the storage facility holding the Vessels of Anima, and took the Vessels of the past to power the E.S. units. However, Asher’s was missing, and so chaos and Jr. were without a power source for their unit (Asher’s was missing, because it was being prepared for Canaan and chaos’ mission to rescue the U.R.T.V.s). However, the Professor had a solution, a generator originally designed for the Erde Kaiser. Jr. was dubious, but chaos reminded him that it was their only option. He also remained calm when Jr. began to freak out at the alarms sounding, alerting them that they had been discovered. The Vessels of Anima began to resonate with the wills of the party. chaos was worried about what would happen if the Vessels synchronized too much, but declined to explain himself to Jr, who overheard his musings. chaos worried about what Wilhelm was planning.
During their escape, the party was forced to fight against Weltall Omega Universitas, but was able to escape (sans Shion, who had run off to try to save her mother). The rest of the party learned that Shion had been captured by Febronia, who brought them the news at the Elsa. They were worried about how they could rescue her, but Jin reminded them that he, Jr, and chaos, who were all participants in the Miltian Conflict, knew the details of what was to happen, and that they could use this information to slip past guards to rescue the her. They were able to get to her, and then back out of the facility, though with the battle raging, Jr. was nearly crushed by a mech weapon falling from the sky (which had been ejected by chaos in the Asher, of the original timeline). They also heard the Song of Nephilim begin to play, and hurried to their objective, before it was too late.
The party made it to the church, trying to find the younger Shion, but arrived too late to save Febronia, who was killed protecting Virgil and Shion (who had run on instructions from Virgil). However, after they had escaped the church, they were confronted by the present-day Virgil, the Blue Testament. After a battle with him, Febronia’s spirit appeared to him, and they disappeared together. Shion was upset, but Jin reminded her that they had to save the girl, and they rushed back to Labyrinthos.
They reached the room of Shion’s mother, but not in time to save her parents. Her younger self’s grief forced her to connect with U-Do, summoning the Gnosis. chaos watched passively as Shion’s older self became upset, believing that her inadvertent summoning of the Gnosis is what caused the Universe to spiral towards destruction, even though chaos’ existence as the failsafe was what allowed the destructive spiral to occur. Abel’s Arc, responding to older!Shion’s emotional state, also appeared, in the space over Old Miltia. The party realized that this was not the events that had originally occurred, and chaos explained that this was not actually the Miltia of 15 years ago, but what amounted to an Encephalon of Shion’s mind, recreating and manipulating the events leading up to younger Shion’s summoning of the Gnosis, to achieve certain ends.
They were confronted by the Red Testament, who had been revealed as Kevin Winnicot, who attempted to lure Shion to his side, but KOS-MOS, as ordered by Jin, knocked Shion out and escaped back to the Elsa, who moved to pick up the others. The ship escaped, and they returned to their proper time, as did Abel’s Ark. They found out that Yuriev, Jr.’s father, was after Abel’s Ark, and went to Merkaba to find out from Sellers what his plan was. When the Elsa returned to the Durandal, however, Yuriev had taken control of the ship, and Jr. insisted that they go to try to rescue them. They were too late, though, and found few survivors of the massacre. They sent the survivors to escape to the Elsa, and went to confront Yuriev. Along the way, even chaos was surprised at the appearance of Citrine, U.R.T.V. #668, whom he didn’t even know still existed. They were able to defeat her, but not in time to stop Yuriev from activating the Zohar Emulators, and they were forced to retreat and escape in the Elsa. The docking mechanism was stuck, however, but chaos and KOS-MOS used their powers in tangent to break the lock, and the ship was able to escape.
While they prepared to go to Abel’s Ark and stop Yuriev, chaos ran into Canaan in the hangar, who asked him pointed questions about one’s own existence. chaos cryptically told him that while he would prefer to believe that he exists for the sake of the people around him, but he also recognizes that his existence does not necessarily make people happy. Canaan, reflecting on his own reason for existence, recognized that, as a realian, his purpose was defined by his creator. A creator that he wished was chaos, instead.
Within the Ark, the party fought the Gears from Xenogears mechanical units that were using the powers of the Emulators, to break the protection on the Core. After they defeated the mechs, the Vessels of Anima began to resonate, but not with them, with the Original Zohar, which was with Yuriev. chaos only watch while Jr. and Albedo, as well as Gaignun, defeated Yuriev for good, and Albedo told them that the Zohar and Abel and been sent to Michtam.
The Elsa traveled to Michtam, where the party disembarked from the Elsa to find the location of the Original Zohar, Abel, and of Zarathustra, the instrument of Eternal Recurrence, which slept deep within the planet. The journey to the core was wrought with battles, forcing difficult emotional battles, as well as the loss of Canaan. When they got down into the crystalline structures below the surface, they found more Aramaic writing, which M.O.M.O. was only able to translate some of, though the recital of the words caused chaos to look meaningly to KOS-MOS.
Shion rejected the others, believing that no one could save her, and she was thrown into a memory of the area of Rennes le Château, where chaos, as Yeshua, told her to open the coffin in front of the cross, where she found Maria’s body, and saw memories of Lost Jerusalem, of Yeshua and Maria, and of Maria’s feelings. When she awoke, Maria’s will, within KOS-MOS, had also awakened. The party was forced to fight T-Elos, who sought to claim Maria’s will herself, to create a complete being. All of the party, save chaos, fought against T-Elos, but, in the end, KOS-MOS was the victor, and KOS-MOS claimed that part of Maria that was within T-Elos, making her complete.
They received word from the Elsa that Gnosis were gathering at Michtam, and chaos explained that it was due to Maria’s awakening, and that, with her awakening, the key, Shion’s pendant, was all that was still needed. They entered within, where they were confronted by Kevin. Kevin spoke of his meeting with Wilhelm, and chaos spoke openly in response to Kevin’s comments, neither offering new information, nor hiding what he knew that needed to be spoken at this time. However, Kevin’s words reached Shion, and she moved to his side, and the party was forced to fight the most fun boss battle in the games against her, so that they could save the Universe, and not allow Wilhelm to enact Eternal Recurrence. Finally, Allen was able to convince her to turn from him, and to help them save the universe.
Wilhelm was waiting for them, and attempted to convince them one last time to join him, explaining how Zarathustra works, and addressing chaos as Yeshua, hinting to the others as to chaos’ true power. chaos only watched as Shion was tortured by Wilhelm, who wished for her to use the Key, his sealed powers making him unable to stand up to him. However, after Maria defied Wilhelm and declared herself not Maria, but KOS-MOS, chaos also accepted what it is he had to do, and decided to defy his own destiny, and accept the others’ decision to save the world they live in, instead of creating a new one, and encouraged the others to stop the out-of-control Zarathustra system, before it destroyed everything.
After the battle, Wilhelm asked chaos one final time if this what he intended, knowing full well the consequences, and chaos told him that he wanted to believe in the light of peoples’ will. chaos and Nephilim explained to the group what was really happening, why the Universe was turning to destruction, and how they would lead the rejecting wills back to Lost Jerusalem, to slow down the destruction, giving Shion and the others time to find a way to stop the destruction, and telling them to find their way to Lost Jerusalem, as well. KOS-MOS, using Maria’s power, unlocked the power of Anima from the Vessels and Zarathustra, which returned to chaos. She also unlocked the power of Animus, which went not to her, but to Nephilim, who was chosen as its successor. KOS-MOS remained behind as well, to protect them from the Gnosis who still rejected them. After dropping off the others where they could get to safety, Jin as well returned to protect Nephilim, Abel, and chaos. chaos could only watch as Jin fought insurmountable odds, unable to break his power away from the shift before it was ready. chaos looked back to tell Jin they were ready, and looked down in sadness to see that his friend had passed away. They enacted the shift, and then...
[ Personality ]
chaos, overall, has a very mellow personality. According to the Original Design Materials (ODM), chaos has a “Type 9” enneagram personality. Reading over the description International Enneagram Association’s description on their website, I very much agree with this analysis. The analysis, at its base, classifies chaos as “calm & quiet, giving peace-of-mind to others, passive, and distant”. This defines chaos’ outward appearance to a “T”. Throughout all three games, chaos serves as the quiet support to the rest of the party, and as their counselor when they need someone to talk to, or a shoulder to lean on.
The analysis, as explained by the ODM, also speaks to his “desire to protect the harmony among [his] companions”, and that this brings about a feeling of satisfaction. I am unsure if I would call it ‘satisfaction’, but chaos is ever the peacemaker, offering his quiet advice to help the group out of sticky situations. He almost always has an air of calmness, serenity, and tranquility, which allows for the others to find comfort in even just his presence. The guide also notes that he is able to “come into contact with every other person with a heart of friendship and love,” to which it can be seen that, save for those openly antagonistic toward the party, chaos does not show animosity toward anyone he meets in the games, and, even then, he remains calm, often urging the others back down to rational thought. It is rare that chaos shows anger, and that anger is slow to come. It often seems that chaos can and does accept just about anything.
Interestingly, the ODM’s analysis also touches to chaos’ passiveness, though also notes the influence he can have on society (in this case, the party). However, until he decides to ‘take the stage’ at the end of the second game, he contents to view the events in that passive state, rather than try to directly influence them, as Wilhelm does. He is not flawless, however, as his heart trembles when he runs into things he cannot accept (or, more precisely, things that are beyond his ability to influence, and that could be detrimental to the state of the universe, or to his companions), as well as being very hesitant to use his power, because that power’s existence leads to the destruction of the Dimensional Universe.
In the final section of the ODM’s analysis, it talks to how this stable, fulfilled personality is formed. This is the only section of the ODM’s analysis that I cannot embrace fully. This section speaks to the self equating oneself with the parental figure, to achieve that stability and such. However, as chaos was formed by the power of Anima taking a physical form in the RND, he does not have that parental figure to associate himself with. The power of Anima itself, I suppose, could be considered thus, though given that the power exists as the Universe’s failsafe, to ‘reset’ things, should the IND come to critical mass, I am unsure if it can be considered “stable” enough to fit this. However, it does note that the fulfillment from this relationship creates completeness and perfection, though the mysteriousness of this perfection is hidden, which chaos most definitely demonstrates, revealing little of himself or is abilities beyond what is required by the situation
The IEA’s analysis touches upon some areas not covered by the ODM’s report, as well as some that were, but in different manners.
The IEA’s analysis does touch upon childhood, but rather than the parenting, it reflects the individual’s relationship to others. It allows that there is not a single line that a “Type 9” will experience, but what it does say, about feeling like “they had to go along with the wishes of others”, can reflect in chaos his time in Lost Jerusalem, following the Messiah, and then having no choice as Maria sealed his powers. It also comments to this type “identify[ing] with others’ positions... and go along to get along”. chaos himself ‘went along with’ the way things were moving, until he realized that the party did not desire the end that Wilhelm was orchestrating, and chose to acknowledge this and actively participate. The analysis touches to him being able to “see many different points of view” while “[having] a hard time locating [his] own opinions, desires, or agendas”. chaos could clearly see the various sides at work (the Gnosis seeking separation, Wilhelm seeking Eternal Recurrence, Shion and the others seeking to survive in the world they had), but he chose not to take a role for himself, until he finally gave in and became active.
The IEA’s analysis continues, mentioning how he is more focused on others than himself (something which, I believe, was the intent behind many of Nephilim’s words to chaos, forcing him to ask questions of himself), and can have trouble dealing with knowing what they want (again, Nephilim seems to see this quite clearly, and pointedly asks him “what do you want?”).
Overall, chaos, inside and out, is a calm, peaceful man, who will get along with just about anyone. Internally, he may struggle with decisions that he would rather not make, though he is strong enough that most would never tell.
One thing, however, that is not mentioned in the personality analysis’, though it is in the games, is that characters have called chaos ‘slow’, due to his sometimes slower reaction speed. Most likely this is due to him considering all of the options, but, at the same time, sometimes he’s just... slow.
[ Specialties and Abilities ]
First and foremost, chaos is in possession of the power of Anima, which serves as the “reset button” for the Dimensional Universe. Part of this power does allow him to disperse gnosis at a touch. (Gnosis are the physical forms taken by souls of the dead rejecting the collective subconscious. It would be similar to unsent becoming fiends in Final Fantasy X).
For actual usage, chaos has a large number of skills and Ether spells at his disposal.
chaos' physical skills have an “aura” (or spiritual) property, and the power is emitted through his hands. He fights both close-range (for single targets) and long-range (for multiple targets). His short-range skills are similar to what you would expect of a martial artist augmenting physical strength with ki abilities (although chaos’ attacks use Ether, as opposed to ki. His long-range attacks involve him releasing a burst of his power, similar to a shockwave, or straight beams of Ether.
chaos has two “special” attacks, which are more difficult to use than his normal abilities. Both heavily rely on his high Ether abilities, and can do much damage.
For his Ether spells, chaos primarily has support skills. He can heal large amounts of health and recover status, as well as temporarily increase the stats of his allies. He also has resurrection spells and two stupid-powerful auto-life spells. Similarly, he also has spells that temporarily lower the stats of his enemies, inflict poison, seals spells, or cancel support spells. He does have offensive spells as well, utilizing the elements of Ice and Lightning, but they are not as powerful as his physical abilities.
chaos also has a natural ability to resist the G-virus, or crystalization, due to his nature, as well as being unreadable on computer sensors. He’s quiet enough to not be noticed when he doesn’t want to, but also has the ability to come and go from rooms without using the door.
A list of chaos’ skills, and descriptions of the appearances of some of them, can be found here.
[ Mech Information ]
Unit Name: E.S. Asher; Can pilot any E.S. unit
Pilot Position: Co-pilot (back), Weapons Control; Can pilot either position, or control navigation and weapons, if needed
Height: 15.12m
Weight: 21.5t
[ Miscellaneous Information ]
Some guides, incase this is all too confusing:
Xenosaga Episode I Database (GameFAQs)
Xenosaga Episode I Original Design Materials (ODM) (partial translation)
Xenosaga Episode II Official Complete Guide - Terminology (pages 52-63)
Xenosaga Episode III Database (GameFAQs)
Xenosaga Episode III Official Complete Guide - The Truth of Xenosaga
Xenosaga Episode III Perfect Guide
[ Canon ] Xenosaga
[ Canon Point ] Between Episodes II and III
[ Gender ] male
[ Age ] Technically, he’s been around since time began. But he looks about 18.
[ Birthday ] Technically N/A. We'll say he celebrates it on 12/25
[ Eyes ] Translucent Blue/Green
[ Hair ] Silver
[ Height ] 169cm (5'7")
[ Weight ] 53kg (117lbs)
[ Blood Type ] [unknown]
[ Voice ] Hoshi Souichiro, Derek Stephen Prince, Joshua Seth, Clint Bickham
[ Family ]
[ Other ] Often wears a skin-tight bodysuit with other clothes over it. And gloves. Always gloves
Note: Fair warning, this is chock full of spoilers as to the nature of the universe in Xenosaga, as it is central to chaos’ being.
[ Background/History ]
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
Our universe is made up of two separate, yet connected domains. The Upper Domain, though inhabited by a number of beings, cannot be perceived by the Lower Domain, the realm of mankind. The two Domains are essential to each other, and any occurrence that effects one, will effect the other as well. In the Lower Domain, it is split further into the Real and Imaginary Number Domains.
All human beings exist within the Real Number Domain of the Lower Domain. However, this is just their physical forms. Their consciousness’ exist within the Imaginary Number Domain, as part of the Collective Unconscious. However, the consciousness is bound by the body in the Real Number Domain, and knows nothing of the Imaginary Number Domain. When a person dies, their consciousness is freed from the chains binding it to the Real Number Domain, and it is freed to roam the Imaginary Number Domain. However, without the body to hide itself, the consciousness is bared for all to see, every flaw or vice as plain as day. Additionally, the pure existence of consciousness begin to be swallowed into the Collective Unconscious. An individual existence fears losing itself, and, if the fear is strong enough, the consciousness develops a rejecting power. These rejecting consciousness’, when they reach critical mass, the Imaginary Number Domain will collapse, taking the rest of the Lower Domain, and the Upper Domain as well, along with it.
To avoid this, when the Lower Domain came into existence, so too did the powers of Anima and Animus, which were produced from the Collective Unconscious. The power that the Anima holds is the function of “failsafe of the universe.” This Failsafe exists, so that if the rejecting consciousness’ reach critical mass, the power can ‘reset’ the Lower Domain, so that the damage cannot spread and destroy the entirety of the universe. In addition to the power of Anima, is also the power of Animus, which exists as a control of not only the Animus, but of the ‘relics of God’ as well. However, these powers only exist in the Imaginary Number Domain. And cannot interact directly with the Real Number Domain. To allow for perception in the Real Number Domain, the power of Anima actualized itself in the Real Number Domain, in a form that would become the being known as chaos. chaos, however, while being the form of the power of Anima, was not without his own consciousness, nor his own will.
The first recorded instance of chaos’ existence in the Real Number Domain was in what would come to be known as the first century AD. In this time, a human man known as the Messiah existed, and chaos, known then as Yeshua, was his closest friend and advisor. Also close to the Messiah was Maria, a woman who, like chaos, was the actualization of a Imaginary Number Domain power, she bearing the power of Animus. Maria, as the partner of the Messiah, and Yeshua, as his closest friend, performed many miracles under the Messiah’s supervision, leading people to him, and allowing him to guide their hearts. Just as the Messiah had his apostles, so too did Maria, the woman known only as the Maiden of Maria. Just as Maria’s power of Animus controls chaos’ power of Anima, the ability of the Maiden of Maria is to ignite the power of Animus, allowing it to be used.
Of the many things that Yeshua did while serving the Messiah, was to leave behind something that would come to be known as ‘Lemegeton’, or ‘the Word of God.’ These words, which are more of an incantation or chant, allows the Lower Domain to access the energies of the Upper Domain. However, these words cannot be pronounced by normal humans, limiting those who could use it.
Though the reasons for it are unknown, during this time period, to prevent (or at least postpone) the activation of the failsafe, Maria used her power of Animus to seal off Yeshua’s power of Anima, sealing it off in the twelve ‘Vessels of Anima’. In doing this, Maria herself lost her life. Her consciousness was scattered amongst the IND, and her body was entombed within a crypt in Rennes le Château, alongside the Vessels of Anima.
Bereft of his power of Anima, Yeshua nonetheless still possessed abilities far beyond that of a normal human, including agelessness, though he kept it hidden, even after Earth was sealed off by Wilhelm, the guardian of the Lower Domain, and humanity existed only in deep space, cut off from ‘Lost Jerusalem,’ as Earth would come to be called.
chaos’ role in history is unknown, until the events in the years T.C. 4667-9, when he guided a man named Jan Sauer away from certain death during a UMN dive. He did this to maneuver the man into place to oppose Wilhelm, who sought to utilize Zarathustra, a relic of God, to enact ‘Eternal Recurrence,’ and forever prevent the destruction of the universe by trapping time in an endless wheel. However, he remained in the shadows, leaving Wilhelm to control things from the foreground.
The next instance of chaos we see is in the year TC 4753. chaos appears wearing a military uniform, where he teams up with the realian named Canaan, to pilot a machine known as E.S. Asher, which Canaan claims that a ‘regular human can’t ride’. Their mission, which had to remain secret, was to descend to the war-torn planet of Miltia, and to rescue as many of the U.R.T.V. as they could. They fought an aerial battle, and chaos was forced to eject one of their weapons when it ran out of ammo, because it was unnecessary weight. Once there, chaos warned Canaan to close his mind to the mysterious ‘Song of Nephilim’ that was driving everyone who heard it mad; human, realian, and U.R.T.V. alike. In the end, aided by Captain Jin Uzuki, there were only two U.R.T.V. that they managed to bring out of Miltia. Unit 666, known as Rubedo, and Unit 669, known as Nigredo.
chaos hung around with Rubedo and Nigredo for the next twelve years, working for the ‘Kukai Foundation’ that they created, under the aliases of Gaignun Kukai (Nigredo) and Gaignun Kukai, Jr (Rubedo, stuck permanently in a 12-year-old’s body). While on a mission from them, chaos struck a deal with a former marine named Matthews, after winning multiple years’ worth of wages from him and his crew in poker. They had a cargo trip to make, and since they wouldn’t cancel the job, chaos decided he wanted to go to the exact same destination in the exact same time.
Enroute to their destination, while the crew (aboard the “borrowed” ship, the Elsa) thought that chaos would be passed out from the g-forces, he secretly slipped into the cargo bay to check the “educational software” they were delivering, and found illegal software was smuggled in it. He reported it to Captain Matthews, but too late, as they found themselves under attack from the Federation. chaos proposed a risky maneuver for them to escape: blow up an empty station near the UMN column, and during the static from the explosion, switch their data with another ship and slipping into the column to freedom. The Captain agreed, although, there was one slight problem: the owner of the station agreed to the plan, but the Captain would have to pay back the cost...
And thus, the Elsa (since it couldn’t be returned) became part of the Kukai Foundation’s fleet. chaos became an integral part of the crew, especially with his unique ability to defeat Gnosis (mysterious creatures seemingly existing solely to attack humanity, and that do not fully exist within the RND, and therefore cannot be attacked with normal attacks).
In the year TC 4767, the culmination of all of history would come together, and chaos would be forced to ‘take the stage’. The prototype battle cruiser Woglinde, on her maiden voyage, would pick up a mysterious object called a ‘Zohar Emulator’, while transporting the anti-Gnosis android KOS-MOS and her development team. However, the ship was attacked by Gnosis, and the entire fleet destroyed, save for those able to escape in life pods. One of them, occupied by KOS-MOS’ creator, Shion Uzuki, and her coworker Allen Ridgeley, along with KOS-MOS herself, found its way to the Elsa, where KOS-MOS forced her way on board, and chaos suggested that they take in Shion and Allen also, as well as Commander Andrew Cherenkov, who was hanging onto the back in a space suit.
The new passengers of the ship quickly learned of chaos’ unique ability against Gnosis, when one appeared on board and attacked Cherenkov, and chaos defeated it just by touching it. Things calmed down for a bit aboard the ship, until they again had to perform a rescue, this time of a young-girl model realian named M.O.M.O, and her guardian, the cyborg Ziggurat 8. They rescued them from a battle within a hyperspace channel, and when they emerged, they found themselves in the midst of a massive fleet of gnosis.
The group passed out, and when they awoke, they found themselves within a large gnosis ‘ship’ called a Cathedral Ship. They grew increasingly more worried, as they saw evidence that things inside the ‘ship’ had once been a part of the planet Ariadne, which had vanished during an experiment involving the Zohar Emulator. When they reached the core, they found not only the Zohar Emulator, but Cherenkov as well, who, because of his attack by Gnosis aboard the Elsa, became a Gnosis himself. The party was forced to fight him, and, after the battle, chaos found himself comforting Shion, who was torn between thinking that they killed Cherenkov, and that she herself would become like that, given her own contact with Gnosis.
After the battle, and they escaped the Cathedral Ship, chaos watched as KOS-MOS used a massive range Hilbert Effect, and then the Durandal, flagship of the Kukai Foundation and captained by Jr. (aka Rubedo), defeated the Gnosis and rescued them. chaos good-naturedly teased Jr. when they came aboard, and assisted the party when they were arrested because of meddling with records of the battle between the Woglinde fleet and the Gnosis, making it appear that the Durandal had attacked them. He aided the group in getting to KOS-MOS, who’s database could be used to clear them, and was pulled in along with the others when Shion attempted an Encephalon dive.
Within the Encephalon, chaos found himself at a park on Old Miltia, before the war, with Shion and Allen. They met up with a ghost-like young girl who identified herself as Nephilim, and told Shion that she (and the others) must accept the entirety of their memories, and return to Miltia, and that only KOS-MOS knows the reason, and that she must find her. After Shion left (with Allen following behind) to find their way out, chaos remained behind with Nephilim, who warned him that on this path he was following, there was no turning back, and asked him if this is what he really wanted. chaos replied to her that Shion was vital to ‘her’, to which Nephilim asked if she was vital to him as well, and ‘what will you do?’
When the group met up with the rest of the party, they found themselves at a church, and faced with a realian woman named Febronia, who seemed to know Shion as well. She led the party to the back, where they had to fight a monster whom to both Shion and Jr appeared as figments of their past. After they had done so and gotten the data from KOS-MOS’ database, and cleared their name, chaos met up with Allen, who was dealing with not being able to help Shion, and tried to comfort him.
Things were quiet for the next few days, until chaos heard a certain melody while working on the Elsa. No one else could hear it, but chaos could, and he knew that it was the Song of Nephilim, being played again after fourteen years. chaos, as with the others, raced to rescue the inhabitants of the Kukai Foundation from the Gnosis summoned by the Song, and then M.O.M.O, who had been captured by Albedo, and taken to a device also known as the Song of Nephilim. In the Song, chaos kept to the background, only speaking up to clarify to the others what Jr. and Albedo (who was Jr.’s twin brother) were, and later comforting both Jr. and M.O.M.O. while the Song of Nephilim is destroyed, and as Albedo uses the Y-Data he gleaned from M.O.M.O. to pull the Proto Merkaba out of the Abyss, and aim its weapon at the capital of Second Miltia.
chaos accompanied the group in the infiltration of Proto Merkaba, filling in some of the gaps in their knowledge over the data they found inside, and assisting in the defeat of Albedo (who fled), and Sophie Peithos in the core. After the defeat of Sophie Peithos, he fled the machine along with the others, but whereas the majority of the group went to the bridge of the Elsa to help monitor their escape, chaos stood alone in the hangar. As the Elsa shook as it was forced through Second Miltia’s atmosphere, Nephilim appeared to chaos to ask him what he would do, but before he could make a decision, KOS-MOS appeared before him and took it from him, exciting the hangar to use her energy shield to protect the ship. chaos made his decision, and his hands glowed with energy as he helped to protect KOS-MOS, as she protected the ship, as well as accompanying her to where the rest of the group was waiting after she reentered the ship.
When they landed on Second Miltia, chaos accompanied Jr, Ziggy, and M.O.M.O, as they took M.O.M.O. to the government offices. However, enroute, they were ambushed and had to escape the attack from three mechs. They were eventually rescued by the arrival of Canaan in the E.S. Asher, and delivered M.O.M.O. as instructed. chaos and Jr, having nothing to do, went shopping and wandering the city, where they ran into Shion, and were joined by Shion’s brother, Jin. Jin insisted that Shion return to their home, and invited Jr. and chaos to return with them. They stayed into the evening, and when Jr. was getting ready to leave, chaos asked if he could stay the night, which Jin graciously allowed. After Shion had gone to bed, chaos joined Jin on the porch, where the two of them had a meaningful conversation, though they barely touched upon the events of fourteen years prior, when they’d initially met.
The next day, chaos parted with Shion as he reported in for M.O.M.O’s analysis. When the analysis triggered the trap Albedo had left in M.O.M.O’s mind, chaos participated in the Encephalon Dive to save her, and, later, returned to the Elsa as they traveled to Old Miltia (which Albedo had unsealed), seeking the information that remained on the planet after the war.
On the way, the party aboard the Elsa (which included chaos, Jr, M.O.M.O, Ziggy, and joined by Jin and Canaan) joined up with Shion, KOS-MOS, and Allen, who had escaped from the Dammerung to go to Old Miltia as well, and then infiltrated and destroyed an Ormus Stronghold barring the way. They were picked up by the Durandal, who rescued the Elsa from being pulled into a black hole, and finished their trip to Old Miltia, with chaos making a cryptic remark about a land that had disappeared into the sea in a single night.
He accompanied the party deep within the Labyrinthos facility on Old Miltia, until they reach the very core, and find the original Zohar, as well as Febronia’s sisters, Cecily and Cathe. KOS-MOS destroys the system, killing the two realians (but releasing them from their imprisonment), as Ormus’ Patriarch takes control of the Zohar, and destroys the planet (after the party is able to escape, of course) with the Omega System. The party went into it, and, after watching the Patriarch defeat Albedo, defeated the him themselves. But even still they couldn’t reclaim the Zohar, as the Testaments of Wilhelm appeared, and reconstituted Albedo, who used the Zohar’s energy to link himself with U-Do, and create a space-time anomaly.
Jr. went off to the anomaly by himself, though chaos was there to comfort his friend after he was forced to take his brother’s life, loaning his body to Sakura’s consciousness, so that she could remind Jr. of his promise to her. chaos spoke briefly to Nephilim of what was to come, and then returned Jr. to the Durandal, before departing. He stood outside the Durandal, on the hull, and had a brief mental conversation with Wilhelm, to whom he told that he wouldn’t hold back any longer, as he watched the IND terminal of U-Do, Abel’s Ark, appear in the RND and absorb the Zohar.
A year later, chaos and Jr are piloting the E.S. Asher, along with Jin in the E.S. Reuben, and Ziggy and M.O.M.O. in the E.S. Zebulun, are investigating what appears to be a landmass, independent of any planet, floating in space, with the Elsa providing support. While they are investigating, Ormus forces attack, the Elsa was forced to dive toward the landmass, but fell into an imaginary pocket, and the three E.S. units lost contact with it.
chaos later met up with Shion on Fifth Jerusalem, and told her of the situation, but before they could discuss anything further, Shion passed out, so chaos took her back to her hotel room. While the group was still on the planet, getting prepared to go after the Elsa, chaos and Nephilim had a conversation while sitting on the top of some building somewhere..., regarding the inevitability of events, and chaos questioning his existence, and if he can make the decision to use his power, when it comes down to it.
In order to rescue the Elsa, they needed to recover KOS-MOS, who was due to be scrapped, from the military. chaos participated in this operation, though he stayed to the back and offered support. Once KOS-MOS was recovered, they broke through the hyperspace bubble to rescue the Elsa, and they were confronted by two of the Testaments on Rennes le Château, in a place where certain words in Ancient Aramaic were written. Their E.S. units wouldn’t respond to them, but the Testaments (revealed to be Lieutenant Virgil and Albedo) escaped, after leaving taunting words. They found, further in, a cemetery, which Shion had dreamt about, and then a mausoleum-type crypt, which had a number of graves marked with names... 12 graves, and marked with the names of the twelve E.S. units. Further back, they found a rough-hewn stone cross and a coffin, the same area that they had found a year earlier in KOS-MOS’ encephalon. However, before they could leave the area, they were confronted by KOS-MOS’ ‘replacement’, an android called T-Elos, whom chaos recognized. For though KOS-MOS was made to house a certain person’s consciousness, T-Elos was created of her body. That person... was Maria Magdalene.
The party blacked out after a large attack from T-Elos, and awoke to find themselves having been transported to an unknown planet. As they explored their surroundings, they found themselves noticing buildings in the distance that should have been destroyed on Old Miltia, as well as running into Lieutenant Virgil, but from long before he’d become a Testament. Virgil was injured, so they took him to the church where Febronia was, where they confirmed that they were on Old Miltia, 15 years earlier, at the start of the Miltian Conflict, as well as meeting a younger Shion.
At the church, they helped save Virgil’s life with a transplant from Febronia, and got hints on where the Elsa might be from the younger Shion. They headed to the location, where they found not only the Elsa, but also, aboard her, KOS-MOS, whose core had been destroyed, thus destroying her. For Kevin was the only one who could fix that. The Professor also informed them that, not only were the Vessels of Anima missing, but that their presence in the past could lead to an overload of heat energy, which could destroy if not the universe, but at least that region of space.
Shion had been able to recover data from the Kevin of this time, but as KOS-MOS was repaired, Voyager appeared on the ship, attempting to destroy her, and the party was forced to fight him. After the battle, the party and crew picked up their plans to escape back to their own time, especially as the time of the Miltian Conflict was coming near. They infiltrated the Labyrinthos facility, where they overheard things involving what U-TIC had intended to do with the Zohar and the Vessels of Anima. Eventually they made it to the storage facility holding the Vessels of Anima, and took the Vessels of the past to power the E.S. units. However, Asher’s was missing, and so chaos and Jr. were without a power source for their unit (Asher’s was missing, because it was being prepared for Canaan and chaos’ mission to rescue the U.R.T.V.s). However, the Professor had a solution, a generator originally designed for the Erde Kaiser. Jr. was dubious, but chaos reminded him that it was their only option. He also remained calm when Jr. began to freak out at the alarms sounding, alerting them that they had been discovered. The Vessels of Anima began to resonate with the wills of the party. chaos was worried about what would happen if the Vessels synchronized too much, but declined to explain himself to Jr, who overheard his musings. chaos worried about what Wilhelm was planning.
During their escape, the party was forced to fight against Weltall Omega Universitas, but was able to escape (sans Shion, who had run off to try to save her mother). The rest of the party learned that Shion had been captured by Febronia, who brought them the news at the Elsa. They were worried about how they could rescue her, but Jin reminded them that he, Jr, and chaos, who were all participants in the Miltian Conflict, knew the details of what was to happen, and that they could use this information to slip past guards to rescue the her. They were able to get to her, and then back out of the facility, though with the battle raging, Jr. was nearly crushed by a mech weapon falling from the sky (which had been ejected by chaos in the Asher, of the original timeline). They also heard the Song of Nephilim begin to play, and hurried to their objective, before it was too late.
The party made it to the church, trying to find the younger Shion, but arrived too late to save Febronia, who was killed protecting Virgil and Shion (who had run on instructions from Virgil). However, after they had escaped the church, they were confronted by the present-day Virgil, the Blue Testament. After a battle with him, Febronia’s spirit appeared to him, and they disappeared together. Shion was upset, but Jin reminded her that they had to save the girl, and they rushed back to Labyrinthos.
They reached the room of Shion’s mother, but not in time to save her parents. Her younger self’s grief forced her to connect with U-Do, summoning the Gnosis. chaos watched passively as Shion’s older self became upset, believing that her inadvertent summoning of the Gnosis is what caused the Universe to spiral towards destruction, even though chaos’ existence as the failsafe was what allowed the destructive spiral to occur. Abel’s Arc, responding to older!Shion’s emotional state, also appeared, in the space over Old Miltia. The party realized that this was not the events that had originally occurred, and chaos explained that this was not actually the Miltia of 15 years ago, but what amounted to an Encephalon of Shion’s mind, recreating and manipulating the events leading up to younger Shion’s summoning of the Gnosis, to achieve certain ends.
They were confronted by the Red Testament, who had been revealed as Kevin Winnicot, who attempted to lure Shion to his side, but KOS-MOS, as ordered by Jin, knocked Shion out and escaped back to the Elsa, who moved to pick up the others. The ship escaped, and they returned to their proper time, as did Abel’s Ark. They found out that Yuriev, Jr.’s father, was after Abel’s Ark, and went to Merkaba to find out from Sellers what his plan was. When the Elsa returned to the Durandal, however, Yuriev had taken control of the ship, and Jr. insisted that they go to try to rescue them. They were too late, though, and found few survivors of the massacre. They sent the survivors to escape to the Elsa, and went to confront Yuriev. Along the way, even chaos was surprised at the appearance of Citrine, U.R.T.V. #668, whom he didn’t even know still existed. They were able to defeat her, but not in time to stop Yuriev from activating the Zohar Emulators, and they were forced to retreat and escape in the Elsa. The docking mechanism was stuck, however, but chaos and KOS-MOS used their powers in tangent to break the lock, and the ship was able to escape.
While they prepared to go to Abel’s Ark and stop Yuriev, chaos ran into Canaan in the hangar, who asked him pointed questions about one’s own existence. chaos cryptically told him that while he would prefer to believe that he exists for the sake of the people around him, but he also recognizes that his existence does not necessarily make people happy. Canaan, reflecting on his own reason for existence, recognized that, as a realian, his purpose was defined by his creator. A creator that he wished was chaos, instead.
Within the Ark, the party fought the Gears from Xenogears mechanical units that were using the powers of the Emulators, to break the protection on the Core. After they defeated the mechs, the Vessels of Anima began to resonate, but not with them, with the Original Zohar, which was with Yuriev. chaos only watch while Jr. and Albedo, as well as Gaignun, defeated Yuriev for good, and Albedo told them that the Zohar and Abel and been sent to Michtam.
The Elsa traveled to Michtam, where the party disembarked from the Elsa to find the location of the Original Zohar, Abel, and of Zarathustra, the instrument of Eternal Recurrence, which slept deep within the planet. The journey to the core was wrought with battles, forcing difficult emotional battles, as well as the loss of Canaan. When they got down into the crystalline structures below the surface, they found more Aramaic writing, which M.O.M.O. was only able to translate some of, though the recital of the words caused chaos to look meaningly to KOS-MOS.
Shion rejected the others, believing that no one could save her, and she was thrown into a memory of the area of Rennes le Château, where chaos, as Yeshua, told her to open the coffin in front of the cross, where she found Maria’s body, and saw memories of Lost Jerusalem, of Yeshua and Maria, and of Maria’s feelings. When she awoke, Maria’s will, within KOS-MOS, had also awakened. The party was forced to fight T-Elos, who sought to claim Maria’s will herself, to create a complete being. All of the party, save chaos, fought against T-Elos, but, in the end, KOS-MOS was the victor, and KOS-MOS claimed that part of Maria that was within T-Elos, making her complete.
They received word from the Elsa that Gnosis were gathering at Michtam, and chaos explained that it was due to Maria’s awakening, and that, with her awakening, the key, Shion’s pendant, was all that was still needed. They entered within, where they were confronted by Kevin. Kevin spoke of his meeting with Wilhelm, and chaos spoke openly in response to Kevin’s comments, neither offering new information, nor hiding what he knew that needed to be spoken at this time. However, Kevin’s words reached Shion, and she moved to his side, and the party was forced to fight the most fun boss battle in the games against her, so that they could save the Universe, and not allow Wilhelm to enact Eternal Recurrence. Finally, Allen was able to convince her to turn from him, and to help them save the universe.
Wilhelm was waiting for them, and attempted to convince them one last time to join him, explaining how Zarathustra works, and addressing chaos as Yeshua, hinting to the others as to chaos’ true power. chaos only watched as Shion was tortured by Wilhelm, who wished for her to use the Key, his sealed powers making him unable to stand up to him. However, after Maria defied Wilhelm and declared herself not Maria, but KOS-MOS, chaos also accepted what it is he had to do, and decided to defy his own destiny, and accept the others’ decision to save the world they live in, instead of creating a new one, and encouraged the others to stop the out-of-control Zarathustra system, before it destroyed everything.
After the battle, Wilhelm asked chaos one final time if this what he intended, knowing full well the consequences, and chaos told him that he wanted to believe in the light of peoples’ will. chaos and Nephilim explained to the group what was really happening, why the Universe was turning to destruction, and how they would lead the rejecting wills back to Lost Jerusalem, to slow down the destruction, giving Shion and the others time to find a way to stop the destruction, and telling them to find their way to Lost Jerusalem, as well. KOS-MOS, using Maria’s power, unlocked the power of Anima from the Vessels and Zarathustra, which returned to chaos. She also unlocked the power of Animus, which went not to her, but to Nephilim, who was chosen as its successor. KOS-MOS remained behind as well, to protect them from the Gnosis who still rejected them. After dropping off the others where they could get to safety, Jin as well returned to protect Nephilim, Abel, and chaos. chaos could only watch as Jin fought insurmountable odds, unable to break his power away from the shift before it was ready. chaos looked back to tell Jin they were ready, and looked down in sadness to see that his friend had passed away. They enacted the shift, and then...
[ Personality ]
chaos, overall, has a very mellow personality. According to the Original Design Materials (ODM), chaos has a “Type 9” enneagram personality. Reading over the description International Enneagram Association’s description on their website, I very much agree with this analysis. The analysis, at its base, classifies chaos as “calm & quiet, giving peace-of-mind to others, passive, and distant”. This defines chaos’ outward appearance to a “T”. Throughout all three games, chaos serves as the quiet support to the rest of the party, and as their counselor when they need someone to talk to, or a shoulder to lean on.
The analysis, as explained by the ODM, also speaks to his “desire to protect the harmony among [his] companions”, and that this brings about a feeling of satisfaction. I am unsure if I would call it ‘satisfaction’, but chaos is ever the peacemaker, offering his quiet advice to help the group out of sticky situations. He almost always has an air of calmness, serenity, and tranquility, which allows for the others to find comfort in even just his presence. The guide also notes that he is able to “come into contact with every other person with a heart of friendship and love,” to which it can be seen that, save for those openly antagonistic toward the party, chaos does not show animosity toward anyone he meets in the games, and, even then, he remains calm, often urging the others back down to rational thought. It is rare that chaos shows anger, and that anger is slow to come. It often seems that chaos can and does accept just about anything.
Interestingly, the ODM’s analysis also touches to chaos’ passiveness, though also notes the influence he can have on society (in this case, the party). However, until he decides to ‘take the stage’ at the end of the second game, he contents to view the events in that passive state, rather than try to directly influence them, as Wilhelm does. He is not flawless, however, as his heart trembles when he runs into things he cannot accept (or, more precisely, things that are beyond his ability to influence, and that could be detrimental to the state of the universe, or to his companions), as well as being very hesitant to use his power, because that power’s existence leads to the destruction of the Dimensional Universe.
In the final section of the ODM’s analysis, it talks to how this stable, fulfilled personality is formed. This is the only section of the ODM’s analysis that I cannot embrace fully. This section speaks to the self equating oneself with the parental figure, to achieve that stability and such. However, as chaos was formed by the power of Anima taking a physical form in the RND, he does not have that parental figure to associate himself with. The power of Anima itself, I suppose, could be considered thus, though given that the power exists as the Universe’s failsafe, to ‘reset’ things, should the IND come to critical mass, I am unsure if it can be considered “stable” enough to fit this. However, it does note that the fulfillment from this relationship creates completeness and perfection, though the mysteriousness of this perfection is hidden, which chaos most definitely demonstrates, revealing little of himself or is abilities beyond what is required by the situation
The IEA’s analysis touches upon some areas not covered by the ODM’s report, as well as some that were, but in different manners.
The IEA’s analysis does touch upon childhood, but rather than the parenting, it reflects the individual’s relationship to others. It allows that there is not a single line that a “Type 9” will experience, but what it does say, about feeling like “they had to go along with the wishes of others”, can reflect in chaos his time in Lost Jerusalem, following the Messiah, and then having no choice as Maria sealed his powers. It also comments to this type “identify[ing] with others’ positions... and go along to get along”. chaos himself ‘went along with’ the way things were moving, until he realized that the party did not desire the end that Wilhelm was orchestrating, and chose to acknowledge this and actively participate. The analysis touches to him being able to “see many different points of view” while “[having] a hard time locating [his] own opinions, desires, or agendas”. chaos could clearly see the various sides at work (the Gnosis seeking separation, Wilhelm seeking Eternal Recurrence, Shion and the others seeking to survive in the world they had), but he chose not to take a role for himself, until he finally gave in and became active.
The IEA’s analysis continues, mentioning how he is more focused on others than himself (something which, I believe, was the intent behind many of Nephilim’s words to chaos, forcing him to ask questions of himself), and can have trouble dealing with knowing what they want (again, Nephilim seems to see this quite clearly, and pointedly asks him “what do you want?”).
Overall, chaos, inside and out, is a calm, peaceful man, who will get along with just about anyone. Internally, he may struggle with decisions that he would rather not make, though he is strong enough that most would never tell.
One thing, however, that is not mentioned in the personality analysis’, though it is in the games, is that characters have called chaos ‘slow’, due to his sometimes slower reaction speed. Most likely this is due to him considering all of the options, but, at the same time, sometimes he’s just... slow.
[ Specialties and Abilities ]
First and foremost, chaos is in possession of the power of Anima, which serves as the “reset button” for the Dimensional Universe. Part of this power does allow him to disperse gnosis at a touch. (Gnosis are the physical forms taken by souls of the dead rejecting the collective subconscious. It would be similar to unsent becoming fiends in Final Fantasy X).
For actual usage, chaos has a large number of skills and Ether spells at his disposal.
chaos' physical skills have an “aura” (or spiritual) property, and the power is emitted through his hands. He fights both close-range (for single targets) and long-range (for multiple targets). His short-range skills are similar to what you would expect of a martial artist augmenting physical strength with ki abilities (although chaos’ attacks use Ether, as opposed to ki. His long-range attacks involve him releasing a burst of his power, similar to a shockwave, or straight beams of Ether.
chaos has two “special” attacks, which are more difficult to use than his normal abilities. Both heavily rely on his high Ether abilities, and can do much damage.
For his Ether spells, chaos primarily has support skills. He can heal large amounts of health and recover status, as well as temporarily increase the stats of his allies. He also has resurrection spells and two stupid-powerful auto-life spells. Similarly, he also has spells that temporarily lower the stats of his enemies, inflict poison, seals spells, or cancel support spells. He does have offensive spells as well, utilizing the elements of Ice and Lightning, but they are not as powerful as his physical abilities.
chaos also has a natural ability to resist the G-virus, or crystalization, due to his nature, as well as being unreadable on computer sensors. He’s quiet enough to not be noticed when he doesn’t want to, but also has the ability to come and go from rooms without using the door.
A list of chaos’ skills, and descriptions of the appearances of some of them, can be found here.
[ Mech Information ]
Unit Name: E.S. Asher; Can pilot any E.S. unit
Pilot Position: Co-pilot (back), Weapons Control; Can pilot either position, or control navigation and weapons, if needed
Height: 15.12m
Weight: 21.5t
[ Miscellaneous Information ]
Some guides, incase this is all too confusing:
Xenosaga Episode I Database (GameFAQs)
Xenosaga Episode I Original Design Materials (ODM) (partial translation)
Xenosaga Episode II Official Complete Guide - Terminology (pages 52-63)
Xenosaga Episode III Database (GameFAQs)
Xenosaga Episode III Official Complete Guide - The Truth of Xenosaga
Xenosaga Episode III Perfect Guide