Application
PLAYER
Name/Handle: Ashka
Contact: e-mail: ashka_chan@wp.pl
Personal LJ: ashka-chan
CHARACTER
Name: Ruca Milda
Series: Tales of Innocence
Canon: AU
Age: 15
Timeline: Right before the battle with Mathias (final boss)
History:
Ruca was born in a rich merchant family from the Imperial City of Regnum. Being the only child and thus the only heir he spent most of his time studying so one day he’ll be able to inherit and lead his father’s company, just like his parents wished him to do. He was the top student of his class, but due to his timid nature he was always being bullied or teased by his classmates. Because of this, he became quite introvert and preferred to spent most of the time in his own room reading books, believing that he is only causing trouble to people around him.
For a rather long time Ruca saw himself in his dreams as an arch-demon Asura, the general of Sensus, a person that ruled all over the Heaven (Devaloka). Asura was a magnificent leader, fearless and invincible what made Ruca wish he could be someone like that too.
Ruca’s life suddenly changed when he met Iria, a girl, who ran away from her village, chased by a religious organization, Arca. The leader of Arca, Mathias, believed that Iria knew where the power known as Manifest is, but Iria herself denied it. When Arca believers tried to kidnap the girl, a strange power awakened within Ruca, allowing him to save Iria. It turned out that the power was the Devic Artes, that only Fallen could use. The problem was, Fallen were feared greatly by other people and so Regnum established a law to catch them. Since Ruca used his powers to stop Arca, he couldn’t stay in Regum anymore and had to escape before the soldiers came after him. Later it turned out that Iria is also a Fallen, or actually, an Avatar (as they call themselves). Iria explained to Ruca that Avatars, in their past life, were those who lived in Devaloka, the ones known as Devas or gods. Devaloka was destroyed in the Fall, causing the world to lost its balance and Naraka (Earth) to slowly fall apart, devastated with catastrophes and wars. The Fall was also the reason why Avatars started to appear. They were souls of Devas reincarnated on Naraka. The strange dreams Avatars had were scattered memories of their previous life, which also meant that Ruca used to be Asura in the past. According to what Mathias told Iria earlier, the key to find the Manifest lies within Iria’s past life memories (to Ruca’s great shock Iria was Inanna, Asura’s lover) and that power of Manifest is necessary for Arca to create the Utopia. In the end Ruca and Iria decide to travel together in order to look for other Avatars and try to find out more about the Manifest.
The journey to Naos, where Iria wanted to meet with a rumored “Holy Maiden” ended with both Iria and Ruca caught by strange people, who called themselves the Grigori and had the ability to seal Devic Artes of Avatars. Unable to fight back Ruca and Iria were transported to Avatar Laboratory, where they met two other Avatars, Spada and Chitose. While Chitose willingly decided to join Arca, because it grants protection to all its followers, the other three (or actually mostly Spada and Iria) refused and were taken to see Oswald, surprisingly, the high officer of Regnum’s military that also seemed to have connection with Arca. Seeing that Ruca, Iria and Spada (who turns out to be Durandal, the sword of Asura, in his past life) are capable of fighting, Oswald forced them into the military, sent them to the battlefield and ordered to defeated Garam’s troops.
At the battlefield Ruca was at first extremely afraid, hoping that there was a way for them to avoid fighting Garama soldiers, but the more he fought the more he became fond of the feeling of defeating his enemies - the power of Asura started to be too much for him and made him lose sight of himself. Only after Iria scolded him for killing people and laughing like maniac while doing it, he recovered from this state and promised never to allow something like that to happen ever again.
Soon, Regnum’s camp was set on fire and attacked by mercenary Ricardo. After short battle he let Ruca and others escape, even though, being the Avatar, he was Hypnos ,the enemy of Asura. Ricardo stated that he is not interested in his past, which made Ruca hope, that if they ever meet again, they might be able to convince the mercenary to help them.
After escaping from the camp they headed to Naos, only to find out that the Holy Maiden Ange was taken to Naos Base, because she tried to save the Church from bandits and used her powers, destroying the Cathedral in the end. Upon leaving Naos to search for Ange, Ruca had some second thoughts about being Avatar. At first he was happy that he became powerful and met his comrades from the past, but he realize that the memories could take the better of him and made him forget about who he is right now, just like it was with Avatars-soldiers from the battlefield. The memories from the past became a burden to him. Because of being an Avatar he couldn’t came back home, there was no place in this world that could accept them. Despite this, he still felt homesick, but after talking to Iria and Spada about their reason for continuing this journey, he understood, that he can’t just whine about how miserable his life seems to be to him. He promised Iria that he’ll stay by her side and do everything he can to help.
Inside Naos Base they found something horrifying. Captured Avatars were used there for experiments with some kind of new weapon. As it was later revealed, their lives where energy source for it. The thought that someone could use Avatars like that made both Ruca and Iria angry. Later, it turned out that Holy Maiden Ange was also used in the experiments, but they manage to save her and convince her that she shouldn’t be blaming herself for what happened to the Cathedral in Naos. Eventually Ange joined them, revealing that in the past she was Orifiel, the strategist.
They tried to escape from Naos base, but they were stopped by Ricardo, who this time was sent to bring Ange to a person named Albert. Ange persuaded him with valuables and so Ricardo joined the group as Ange’s bodyguard.
After some time they headed to Regnum again to look for more information. Splitting up, Ruca was to search in the house district. As he approached his home he heard his father threatening the soldiers who came looking for him. Soon soldiers left and Ruca heard how much worried his parents were about him and that they believed he had a reason for not coming back, yet they wished he would return. For the very first time Ruca realized how much they actually loved him. He was then approached by Eddy and Nino, his classmates that always bullied him. To Ruca’s surprise they also were worried about him and even helped him escape from soldiers. Unfortunately, this caused a commotion and Ruca had to hide in Spada’s base, in the sewers. In there he met Hermana, a little girl orphaned because of the war. The group was soon back together and while helping Hermana they found a memory circle, a device that could return the memories of their past. After stepping on it and witnessing a scene from Devic Era, Hermana also turned out to be able to see it, stating that she is Vrtra, the dragon who raised Asura.
Traveling all over the world they tried to find other memory circles, but with each one they had even more questions than answerers. What Ruca knew, was that Asura tried to reunite Devaloka and Naraka and for some reason he needed the Manifest to do so. Everything they learnt led them to believe that it was the Overlord, leader of Sensus and Mathias’ past life who destroyed Devaloka, using the Manifest. This caused Ruca to blame Mathias for making lives of Avatars the way they were: lonely, miserable and without the place that would accept them. After encountering Chitose in Ashihara, she said it was in fact all Inanna’s fault and that Inanna betrayed Asura, but Ruca refused to believe that and protected Iria from Chitose’s attacks, saying that he doesn’t trust neither Arca nor Chitose.
Soon Ruca started to have even more doubts, wondering who actually was Overlord and what was his connection to Asura, or how he obtained the Manifest. To make things worse, first Ricardo betrayed them in favor of his older brother from his past life, then Ange, swallowed by Orifield’s guilt for not being able to protect his student Himmel, tried to make it up to Albert (who was Himmel) and even fought against Ruca and others to protect him. Even though she knew Albert wanted to sacrifice her to unleash the power of the Manifest. Ruca believed that both of them had their own reasons. He forgave Ricardo, after the mercenary saved them and realized that his brother is not the person he used to know. Ruca also tried to make Ange understand that she shouldn’t be blaming herself and suffering because of something that happed in her past life.
After some time it was revealed that the Manifest is hold into the Sky Castle. The party tried to get there before Mathias, but unfortunately they were too late. Moreover the truth behind the Fall was revealed. Believing that uniting Devaloka and Naraka will cause chaos and wars, Inanna took Durandal and stabbed Asura in the back, when he was about to activate the power of the Manifest. Betrayed by his beloved, Asura in his rage broke Durandal in two and killed Inanna, the three of them died together and became the statue in Sky Castle. It seemed that the power of Manifest no longer controlled by anything, destroyed Devaloka.
Hearing all of this Ruca broke apart. He could no longer hear his friends’ voices, swallowed by the feeling of betrayal and guilt. He could think only about that it was his fault that the things looked like that, that the world was the way it was now. Completely broken he came to Mathias’ side, but he didn’t actually listened to her and soon his own power gone wild, causing the Sky Castle to fall apart. A wish to disappear was stuck in his mind.
When he woke up, Ruca saw a dark space with the Overlord and Asura standing before him. After listening to both of them for a while (mostly to Asura) he came to realization that he has his own life now and the bonds he formed with his friends were not something that was created because of the past.
When Ruca woke up, he saw injured Chien (previously a member of Arca) that helped him to get to Sania village, where Ruca’s friends were. Chien wanted to leave, but Ruca, worried about his injures told the boy to come with him. As they approached Sania Iria welcomed them. Ruca apologize to her for everything and told her it was all his fault, but she refused to take his apology, saying that he never did anything to apologize for. Reunited with his friends they decided to head to the Tower of Dawn to stop Mathias from using the Manifest to destroy the world.
After they left Sania, Hermana remembered that in fact Devaloka wasn’t destroyed, but it was not completely reunited with Naraka. The reason was that both Asura and Inanna killed someone they loved the most, the sacrifice activated Manifest, but since they wished for the opposite Devaloka was only in half united with Naraka. When Iria started to say that it was her fault after all, Ruca cheered her up and said the exactly same words she told him when he felt it was his fault. They all agreed that those memories where actually something to help them fix the mistakes they did long ago, but they couldn’t forget that they are completely different from their past life now and they shouldn’t be bound to it.
After getting to the Tower, the group had to fight Hasta. The psycho-killer didn’t stand a chance against this time, but after his death, Ruca asked his companions if they don’t feel sad for him. They answered that they’re happy they won’t have to see Hasta ever again. After this Ruca said that he doesn’t feel anything, what led him to conclusion that Hasta didn’t mean anything to him (which also means, that despite that Hasta tried to kill him earlier, Ruca didn’t hate him).
After Hasta, appears Oswald, that claims that he’ll be the one to get the Manifest, which he’ll use to become a god. He fight the team with the new model of Gigantess, which was powered with Thanatos’ (Ricardo's older brother's) remains. That shocks everyone, especially Ricardo and Ruca. After Oswald is defeated, Ricardo hopes that Thanatos will be finally able to rest in peace.
After all those battles, only the last boss remains - and that is Mathias.
NITEO: After setting off to the Tower of Dawn, Ruca mysteriously finds himself in Nesreca. To the very end he couldn’t get used to this place, as well as he couldn’t accept the idea of being anyone’s “toy”. The depressing surroundings made Ruca again withdrawn and prone to get homesick. The death of one of the residents, Sasuke, socked him greatly and made him realize just how hopeless their situation was.
It should be noted that Ruca offered his help (to Allen), if anyone would ever need medical treatment. He was also thinking about learning healing spells, in order to be of a better use to everyone.
Another thing is, that to be able to read the books form the library, he asked Lavi of a help, since the language used in Ruca’s world - Naraka is completely different. Lavi promised to teach him in exchange for the information about Ruca’s world.
Introverted by nature Ruca didn’t made any “friends” (like I noted later he has trouble with defining “friendship”) in Nesreca, but he started to bond with a few people.
Personality:
Ruca is a shy, kind-hearted and good-manner boy from a rich family. Being an only child, his parents (especially his father) expect him to one day inherit the family company, while in fact Ruca’s true wish is to become a doctor in the future. Regardless of which he actually chooses in the end, Ruca has to study a lot. And he loves to study, to the point that he thinks school and tests are fun. Oh, did I mention his hobby is reading books? Also, as expected from the top student he is, he has no problem grasping the current situation, or talking about complicated things, or even explaining everything in his own worlds. He can also remember a lot and even keeps track of all the battles the group fought. However, when it comes to sports he is definitely lacking.
Another thing is, that due to his timid nature he was always bullied and teased by his classmates, leading him to believe that they actually hate him and he is nothing but troublesome to other people. This caused him to became introvert as he stared to isolate himself from others (in fact he was completely unaware he’s doing that).
It was Iria who made him realize that he was the one always pushing everyone who cared about him away. She brought him out of his isolation and became his first friend.
Also, at the beginning of the game Ruca believes that everything he does has an impact on others and often apologize whenever someone around him is angry (thinking that he is the one responsible for it). Since he didn’t make any friends before his journey, he has somewhat vague idea about ‘friendship’ (at one point he even says that the word ‘friend’ sounds awkward to him), but as the time progresses he starts to understand the meaning of it. He is also very quick to take the blame on himself and has a tendency to stay in the back, as well as being somewhat selfless. He is always trying to consider feelings of others.
Ruca is very awkward around people, especially strangers. He’s usually polite with everyone and, having a rather passive nature, he rarely argues over anything. He also might be a bit too quiet, because he thinks more that he speaks. Or it would be better to say that he sometimes thinks too much about something to the point that in the end, he can’t bring himself to simply say it (like when he tried to think of a nickname for Iria only to eventually came to conclusion that “it’s rude to suddenly give a nickname to someone”). As the time progresses though, influenced by his friends, he starts to be a bit more open.
Ruca doesn’t think too highly of himself, believing that he is rather troublesome and weak. He admired Asura and for a really long time he wished he could be as strong and powerful as him, until he understood that he should focus on the life he has right now instead of always trying to chase after his past life’s shadow. On the side note: the fact that he uses a broadsword is also because he wanted to be more like Asura.
Ruca is a also very accepting and forgiving person. No matter how badly he would be treated by anyone, he would never hate them. He is also willing to forgive a lot and believes that people have their own reason for acting the way they are. His kindness and the fact that he was raised in a wealth, makes him also a bit naïve and dense, especially when it comes to dealing with people (the best example of it is when Hasta - the psycho murderer - asks him to step closer, because there’s something he wants to tell him).
Another thing is that even thought Ruca doesn’t want to worry anyone, it is pretty easy to tell if there’s something bothering him. He often sighs when worried or drops his shoulders when he feels defeated. He’s easy to make cry and prone to get homesick. He’s also a bad liar. Oh, and never allow him to tell jokes. They’re all pretty bad.
Despite all the weaknesses, if Ruca puts his mind into something he will do it. He just needs a bit cheering up sometimes. His friends are the power that makes him keep moving forward.
It would be also important to add that Ruca doesn’t like to fight and resolves to using force when there’s absolutely no other way. He would much more prefer to talk and convince the other side that fighting is unnecessary. He is well aware of the fact that in the world such as Naraka this may not always work, but his kindness and the idea that everyone deserve to be given another chance makes him try to talk to them anyway.
+Old Love Never Dies
Ruca developed a serious crush on Iria, since the two of them where apparently lovers in their previous life. He somehow desperately tries to get close to her and doesn’t understand why she gets angry at him so often. Iria is also most probably the only person, Ruca will argue with. It may be more for a reason, that he feels he can be honest with her, more than anything. The two seems to share a strong bond and they care for each other a lot. Ruca admires Iria for her strong will, but he also wishes to be able to protect her from harm.
+"Don’t you think the word “friend” sounds awkward?"
Even though at first they don’t get a long too well, Spada and Ruca quite quickly became friends. The two actually share a close, brotherly-like bond. You could probably say that it’s impossible, since Ruca is a honor student and Spada is pretty much a completely opposite of him - he’s a delinquent that doesn’t care about school and things like that. And yet, it’s always Spada who tries to cheer Ruca up or gives him advises.
Although Spada and Iria both work together to bully Ruca from time to time, they also both care about him a lot. Just as much as Ruca cares about them. Those two are his dearest friends... his very first friends and he would never want to lose them.
Ange is yet another friend of Ruca. He views her as someone kind and knowledgeable and will always ask her if he has any difficult question. In fact he can talk with Ange about complicated things for long hours to his friends’ (especially Iria’s and Spada’s) dismay. Another things is that he does realize Ange is not as perfect as she seems, yet he still thinks about her as someone really admirable.
When it comes to Ricardo - Ruca sees him as a “responsible and reliable adult” figure, to the point that he even states that he wonders if he will also be such a reliable person in the future. This is also a reason why Ruca tends to trust Ricardo with everything - he even tells the mercenary that he trust him with piloting the airship, without asking if Ricardo has ever pilot one before. In other words, Ruca somewhat naively believes that Ricardo can do everything.
The last member of the team is Hermana and, what should I say - Hermana is simply the sister of everyone, and so, also Ruca treats her like a little sister. Or at least he tries to, because the truth is, Hermana, being reincarnation of Asura’s, well... mother, just seems to love mothering Ruca or worrying about him most of the time.
Abilities/Additional Notes:
ABILITIES:
+Devic Artes
Ruca’s timid nature greatly contrasts with his enormous power. Even though he looks like a weakling, he actually has enough strength to successfully wield a broadsword and even perform various aerliel combos (which are the majority of his attacks). Another thing is, that he can also use fire-based magic, starting from a simple and weak spells like Fireball up to unleashing a violent Meteor Storm upon his enemies.
All of this thanks to the Devic Artes, or actually, the power of his previous life - Asura. With them, Ruca is much stronger than he originally should be (it should be noted that when his powers are sealed, he is back to his weak self and unable to even lift his sword).
He’s also able to make himself and/or his allies even stronger, as well as to slightly heal himself.
Full list of artes:
Base Artes:
魔神剣 (Demon Fang)
- launches a projectile shockwave at the enemy
剛招来 (Coil)
- temporary increases his attack power
崩襲剣 (Havoc Blade*)
- swings his sword down with great force
弧月閃 (Crescent Strike)
- carves a crescent moon with his slash
裂空斬 (Tempest Strike)
- attacks the enemy with a spinning aerial combo
真空破斬 (Void Tempest)
- strikes in all directions at once
集気法 (Center)
- restores a little HP to himself
Master Artes:
剛・魔神剣 (Fierce Demon Fang)
- unleashes a powerful shockwave
弧月双閃 (Twin Moons*)
- performs Crescent Strike twice in succession
崩昇襲斬 (Rising Havoc*)
- follows up Havoc Blade with a crushing blow
鳳凰天駆 (Rising Phoenix)
- bathed in flames, descends upon the enemy
火炎裂空 (Blazing Tempest)
- bathed in flames, performs Tempest Strike
Arcane Artes:
絶空魔神撃 (Demonic Void)
- combines Demon Fang and Void Tempest
熱破旋風陣 (Searing Gale)
- strikes with a flame-imbued Void Tempest
烈風月華衝 (Tempest Moon*)
- combines Tempest Strike and Crescent Strike
魔王炎撃波 (Infernal Torrent)
- unleashes a powerful flaming slash
鷹爪烈風剣 (Tempest Eagle*)
- combines Rising Havoc and Tempest Strike
鳳凰天翔駆 (Razing Phoenix)
- takes flight bathed in the flames of the phoenix
Divine Magic:
ファイアボール (Fire Ball)
- launches a ball of fire at the target
イラプション (Eruption)
- causes a volcanic eruption beneath the enemy
シャープネス (Sharpness)
- temporary increases one ally’s attack
エクスプロード (Explosion/Explode)
- causes an enormous explosion beneath the enemy
AGシャープ (Accuteness/AG Sharp/Aggregate Sharp)
- temporary increases all allies’ attack power
スパイラルフレア (Spiral Flare)
- launches a mass of swirling flames
メテオスウォーム (Meteor Storm/Meteor Swarm)
- summons meteor that blanket the field
Mystic Arte:
魔王灼滅刃 (Infernal Overlord*)
天を統べる覇者の証 ! 魔王灼滅刃 !
(The proof of supreme ruler of Heaven! Infernal Overlord!)
- takes the form of his past life to perform a penetrating attack
+Good Memory
Ruca has a incredibly good memory, that allows him to remember all the battles the team fought, information he read in the books as well as things other people told him. It’s not a strange thing, when he quotes someone. He even sometimes uses the things the others told him to his own advantage.
+To become a doctor
Rucas greatest wish it to become a doctor in the future, and due to this he has some medical knowledge.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
-Despite the fact that he doesn’t like to do it, and thinks that nobody deserves to die, if he sees no other option, he will kill his enemy. He doesn’t seem to see anything wrong with killing monsters though.
Third-Person Sample:
The dreadful scenery before him looked nothing like the Tower of Dawn.
No, he was pretty sure that there is no a place such as this in the whole Naraka. And yet it was familiar.
He remembered being here just a few hours ago after all. In this time a lot of happened though. They defeated Hasta once and for all and stopped Oswald’s new Gigantess model. Ruca still couldn’t believe that Oswald -the high officer in Regnum’s army went as far as to use the remains of Thanatos as a source of the machine’s power.
But it was no longer important. The Gigantess was destroyed and hopefully, Thanatos was able to rest in peace.
And for now only one thing was left to do - defeat Mathias and reclaim the Manifest. It was the final battle.
So why was he here again? He couldn’t stay here. Not at the time like this!
But by now, he was well aware that he couldn’t do anything.
First-Person Sample Journal Post:
[The video shows a silver-haired boy with a giant sword strapped to his back. He looks a bit tired and small scratches and injures can be seen on his face and hands.]
I can’t believe I’m here again...
[His shoulders drop, almost in defeat, but in fact he’s more upset about being here again than it shows.
He really shouldn’t be here.
Not now, when he was about to end all of this once and for all.]
I can’t stay here...
[He couldn’t do anything. And he knows perfectly well about this.]
Name/Handle: Ashka
Contact: e-mail: ashka_chan@wp.pl
Personal LJ: ashka-chan
CHARACTER
Name: Ruca Milda
Series: Tales of Innocence
Canon: AU
Age: 15
Timeline: Right before the battle with Mathias (final boss)
History:
Ruca was born in a rich merchant family from the Imperial City of Regnum. Being the only child and thus the only heir he spent most of his time studying so one day he’ll be able to inherit and lead his father’s company, just like his parents wished him to do. He was the top student of his class, but due to his timid nature he was always being bullied or teased by his classmates. Because of this, he became quite introvert and preferred to spent most of the time in his own room reading books, believing that he is only causing trouble to people around him.
For a rather long time Ruca saw himself in his dreams as an arch-demon Asura, the general of Sensus, a person that ruled all over the Heaven (Devaloka). Asura was a magnificent leader, fearless and invincible what made Ruca wish he could be someone like that too.
Ruca’s life suddenly changed when he met Iria, a girl, who ran away from her village, chased by a religious organization, Arca. The leader of Arca, Mathias, believed that Iria knew where the power known as Manifest is, but Iria herself denied it. When Arca believers tried to kidnap the girl, a strange power awakened within Ruca, allowing him to save Iria. It turned out that the power was the Devic Artes, that only Fallen could use. The problem was, Fallen were feared greatly by other people and so Regnum established a law to catch them. Since Ruca used his powers to stop Arca, he couldn’t stay in Regum anymore and had to escape before the soldiers came after him. Later it turned out that Iria is also a Fallen, or actually, an Avatar (as they call themselves). Iria explained to Ruca that Avatars, in their past life, were those who lived in Devaloka, the ones known as Devas or gods. Devaloka was destroyed in the Fall, causing the world to lost its balance and Naraka (Earth) to slowly fall apart, devastated with catastrophes and wars. The Fall was also the reason why Avatars started to appear. They were souls of Devas reincarnated on Naraka. The strange dreams Avatars had were scattered memories of their previous life, which also meant that Ruca used to be Asura in the past. According to what Mathias told Iria earlier, the key to find the Manifest lies within Iria’s past life memories (to Ruca’s great shock Iria was Inanna, Asura’s lover) and that power of Manifest is necessary for Arca to create the Utopia. In the end Ruca and Iria decide to travel together in order to look for other Avatars and try to find out more about the Manifest.
The journey to Naos, where Iria wanted to meet with a rumored “Holy Maiden” ended with both Iria and Ruca caught by strange people, who called themselves the Grigori and had the ability to seal Devic Artes of Avatars. Unable to fight back Ruca and Iria were transported to Avatar Laboratory, where they met two other Avatars, Spada and Chitose. While Chitose willingly decided to join Arca, because it grants protection to all its followers, the other three (or actually mostly Spada and Iria) refused and were taken to see Oswald, surprisingly, the high officer of Regnum’s military that also seemed to have connection with Arca. Seeing that Ruca, Iria and Spada (who turns out to be Durandal, the sword of Asura, in his past life) are capable of fighting, Oswald forced them into the military, sent them to the battlefield and ordered to defeated Garam’s troops.
At the battlefield Ruca was at first extremely afraid, hoping that there was a way for them to avoid fighting Garama soldiers, but the more he fought the more he became fond of the feeling of defeating his enemies - the power of Asura started to be too much for him and made him lose sight of himself. Only after Iria scolded him for killing people and laughing like maniac while doing it, he recovered from this state and promised never to allow something like that to happen ever again.
Soon, Regnum’s camp was set on fire and attacked by mercenary Ricardo. After short battle he let Ruca and others escape, even though, being the Avatar, he was Hypnos ,the enemy of Asura. Ricardo stated that he is not interested in his past, which made Ruca hope, that if they ever meet again, they might be able to convince the mercenary to help them.
After escaping from the camp they headed to Naos, only to find out that the Holy Maiden Ange was taken to Naos Base, because she tried to save the Church from bandits and used her powers, destroying the Cathedral in the end. Upon leaving Naos to search for Ange, Ruca had some second thoughts about being Avatar. At first he was happy that he became powerful and met his comrades from the past, but he realize that the memories could take the better of him and made him forget about who he is right now, just like it was with Avatars-soldiers from the battlefield. The memories from the past became a burden to him. Because of being an Avatar he couldn’t came back home, there was no place in this world that could accept them. Despite this, he still felt homesick, but after talking to Iria and Spada about their reason for continuing this journey, he understood, that he can’t just whine about how miserable his life seems to be to him. He promised Iria that he’ll stay by her side and do everything he can to help.
Inside Naos Base they found something horrifying. Captured Avatars were used there for experiments with some kind of new weapon. As it was later revealed, their lives where energy source for it. The thought that someone could use Avatars like that made both Ruca and Iria angry. Later, it turned out that Holy Maiden Ange was also used in the experiments, but they manage to save her and convince her that she shouldn’t be blaming herself for what happened to the Cathedral in Naos. Eventually Ange joined them, revealing that in the past she was Orifiel, the strategist.
They tried to escape from Naos base, but they were stopped by Ricardo, who this time was sent to bring Ange to a person named Albert. Ange persuaded him with valuables and so Ricardo joined the group as Ange’s bodyguard.
After some time they headed to Regnum again to look for more information. Splitting up, Ruca was to search in the house district. As he approached his home he heard his father threatening the soldiers who came looking for him. Soon soldiers left and Ruca heard how much worried his parents were about him and that they believed he had a reason for not coming back, yet they wished he would return. For the very first time Ruca realized how much they actually loved him. He was then approached by Eddy and Nino, his classmates that always bullied him. To Ruca’s surprise they also were worried about him and even helped him escape from soldiers. Unfortunately, this caused a commotion and Ruca had to hide in Spada’s base, in the sewers. In there he met Hermana, a little girl orphaned because of the war. The group was soon back together and while helping Hermana they found a memory circle, a device that could return the memories of their past. After stepping on it and witnessing a scene from Devic Era, Hermana also turned out to be able to see it, stating that she is Vrtra, the dragon who raised Asura.
Traveling all over the world they tried to find other memory circles, but with each one they had even more questions than answerers. What Ruca knew, was that Asura tried to reunite Devaloka and Naraka and for some reason he needed the Manifest to do so. Everything they learnt led them to believe that it was the Overlord, leader of Sensus and Mathias’ past life who destroyed Devaloka, using the Manifest. This caused Ruca to blame Mathias for making lives of Avatars the way they were: lonely, miserable and without the place that would accept them. After encountering Chitose in Ashihara, she said it was in fact all Inanna’s fault and that Inanna betrayed Asura, but Ruca refused to believe that and protected Iria from Chitose’s attacks, saying that he doesn’t trust neither Arca nor Chitose.
Soon Ruca started to have even more doubts, wondering who actually was Overlord and what was his connection to Asura, or how he obtained the Manifest. To make things worse, first Ricardo betrayed them in favor of his older brother from his past life, then Ange, swallowed by Orifield’s guilt for not being able to protect his student Himmel, tried to make it up to Albert (who was Himmel) and even fought against Ruca and others to protect him. Even though she knew Albert wanted to sacrifice her to unleash the power of the Manifest. Ruca believed that both of them had their own reasons. He forgave Ricardo, after the mercenary saved them and realized that his brother is not the person he used to know. Ruca also tried to make Ange understand that she shouldn’t be blaming herself and suffering because of something that happed in her past life.
After some time it was revealed that the Manifest is hold into the Sky Castle. The party tried to get there before Mathias, but unfortunately they were too late. Moreover the truth behind the Fall was revealed. Believing that uniting Devaloka and Naraka will cause chaos and wars, Inanna took Durandal and stabbed Asura in the back, when he was about to activate the power of the Manifest. Betrayed by his beloved, Asura in his rage broke Durandal in two and killed Inanna, the three of them died together and became the statue in Sky Castle. It seemed that the power of Manifest no longer controlled by anything, destroyed Devaloka.
Hearing all of this Ruca broke apart. He could no longer hear his friends’ voices, swallowed by the feeling of betrayal and guilt. He could think only about that it was his fault that the things looked like that, that the world was the way it was now. Completely broken he came to Mathias’ side, but he didn’t actually listened to her and soon his own power gone wild, causing the Sky Castle to fall apart. A wish to disappear was stuck in his mind.
When he woke up, Ruca saw a dark space with the Overlord and Asura standing before him. After listening to both of them for a while (mostly to Asura) he came to realization that he has his own life now and the bonds he formed with his friends were not something that was created because of the past.
When Ruca woke up, he saw injured Chien (previously a member of Arca) that helped him to get to Sania village, where Ruca’s friends were. Chien wanted to leave, but Ruca, worried about his injures told the boy to come with him. As they approached Sania Iria welcomed them. Ruca apologize to her for everything and told her it was all his fault, but she refused to take his apology, saying that he never did anything to apologize for. Reunited with his friends they decided to head to the Tower of Dawn to stop Mathias from using the Manifest to destroy the world.
After they left Sania, Hermana remembered that in fact Devaloka wasn’t destroyed, but it was not completely reunited with Naraka. The reason was that both Asura and Inanna killed someone they loved the most, the sacrifice activated Manifest, but since they wished for the opposite Devaloka was only in half united with Naraka. When Iria started to say that it was her fault after all, Ruca cheered her up and said the exactly same words she told him when he felt it was his fault. They all agreed that those memories where actually something to help them fix the mistakes they did long ago, but they couldn’t forget that they are completely different from their past life now and they shouldn’t be bound to it.
After getting to the Tower, the group had to fight Hasta. The psycho-killer didn’t stand a chance against this time, but after his death, Ruca asked his companions if they don’t feel sad for him. They answered that they’re happy they won’t have to see Hasta ever again. After this Ruca said that he doesn’t feel anything, what led him to conclusion that Hasta didn’t mean anything to him (which also means, that despite that Hasta tried to kill him earlier, Ruca didn’t hate him).
After Hasta, appears Oswald, that claims that he’ll be the one to get the Manifest, which he’ll use to become a god. He fight the team with the new model of Gigantess, which was powered with Thanatos’ (Ricardo's older brother's) remains. That shocks everyone, especially Ricardo and Ruca. After Oswald is defeated, Ricardo hopes that Thanatos will be finally able to rest in peace.
After all those battles, only the last boss remains - and that is Mathias.
NITEO: After setting off to the Tower of Dawn, Ruca mysteriously finds himself in Nesreca. To the very end he couldn’t get used to this place, as well as he couldn’t accept the idea of being anyone’s “toy”. The depressing surroundings made Ruca again withdrawn and prone to get homesick. The death of one of the residents, Sasuke, socked him greatly and made him realize just how hopeless their situation was.
It should be noted that Ruca offered his help (to Allen), if anyone would ever need medical treatment. He was also thinking about learning healing spells, in order to be of a better use to everyone.
Another thing is, that to be able to read the books form the library, he asked Lavi of a help, since the language used in Ruca’s world - Naraka is completely different. Lavi promised to teach him in exchange for the information about Ruca’s world.
Introverted by nature Ruca didn’t made any “friends” (like I noted later he has trouble with defining “friendship”) in Nesreca, but he started to bond with a few people.
Personality:
Ruca is a shy, kind-hearted and good-manner boy from a rich family. Being an only child, his parents (especially his father) expect him to one day inherit the family company, while in fact Ruca’s true wish is to become a doctor in the future. Regardless of which he actually chooses in the end, Ruca has to study a lot. And he loves to study, to the point that he thinks school and tests are fun. Oh, did I mention his hobby is reading books? Also, as expected from the top student he is, he has no problem grasping the current situation, or talking about complicated things, or even explaining everything in his own worlds. He can also remember a lot and even keeps track of all the battles the group fought. However, when it comes to sports he is definitely lacking.
Another thing is, that due to his timid nature he was always bullied and teased by his classmates, leading him to believe that they actually hate him and he is nothing but troublesome to other people. This caused him to became introvert as he stared to isolate himself from others (in fact he was completely unaware he’s doing that).
It was Iria who made him realize that he was the one always pushing everyone who cared about him away. She brought him out of his isolation and became his first friend.
Also, at the beginning of the game Ruca believes that everything he does has an impact on others and often apologize whenever someone around him is angry (thinking that he is the one responsible for it). Since he didn’t make any friends before his journey, he has somewhat vague idea about ‘friendship’ (at one point he even says that the word ‘friend’ sounds awkward to him), but as the time progresses he starts to understand the meaning of it. He is also very quick to take the blame on himself and has a tendency to stay in the back, as well as being somewhat selfless. He is always trying to consider feelings of others.
Ruca is very awkward around people, especially strangers. He’s usually polite with everyone and, having a rather passive nature, he rarely argues over anything. He also might be a bit too quiet, because he thinks more that he speaks. Or it would be better to say that he sometimes thinks too much about something to the point that in the end, he can’t bring himself to simply say it (like when he tried to think of a nickname for Iria only to eventually came to conclusion that “it’s rude to suddenly give a nickname to someone”). As the time progresses though, influenced by his friends, he starts to be a bit more open.
Ruca doesn’t think too highly of himself, believing that he is rather troublesome and weak. He admired Asura and for a really long time he wished he could be as strong and powerful as him, until he understood that he should focus on the life he has right now instead of always trying to chase after his past life’s shadow. On the side note: the fact that he uses a broadsword is also because he wanted to be more like Asura.
Ruca is a also very accepting and forgiving person. No matter how badly he would be treated by anyone, he would never hate them. He is also willing to forgive a lot and believes that people have their own reason for acting the way they are. His kindness and the fact that he was raised in a wealth, makes him also a bit naïve and dense, especially when it comes to dealing with people (the best example of it is when Hasta - the psycho murderer - asks him to step closer, because there’s something he wants to tell him).
Another thing is that even thought Ruca doesn’t want to worry anyone, it is pretty easy to tell if there’s something bothering him. He often sighs when worried or drops his shoulders when he feels defeated. He’s easy to make cry and prone to get homesick. He’s also a bad liar. Oh, and never allow him to tell jokes. They’re all pretty bad.
Despite all the weaknesses, if Ruca puts his mind into something he will do it. He just needs a bit cheering up sometimes. His friends are the power that makes him keep moving forward.
It would be also important to add that Ruca doesn’t like to fight and resolves to using force when there’s absolutely no other way. He would much more prefer to talk and convince the other side that fighting is unnecessary. He is well aware of the fact that in the world such as Naraka this may not always work, but his kindness and the idea that everyone deserve to be given another chance makes him try to talk to them anyway.
+Old Love Never Dies
Ruca developed a serious crush on Iria, since the two of them where apparently lovers in their previous life. He somehow desperately tries to get close to her and doesn’t understand why she gets angry at him so often. Iria is also most probably the only person, Ruca will argue with. It may be more for a reason, that he feels he can be honest with her, more than anything. The two seems to share a strong bond and they care for each other a lot. Ruca admires Iria for her strong will, but he also wishes to be able to protect her from harm.
+"Don’t you think the word “friend” sounds awkward?"
Even though at first they don’t get a long too well, Spada and Ruca quite quickly became friends. The two actually share a close, brotherly-like bond. You could probably say that it’s impossible, since Ruca is a honor student and Spada is pretty much a completely opposite of him - he’s a delinquent that doesn’t care about school and things like that. And yet, it’s always Spada who tries to cheer Ruca up or gives him advises.
Although Spada and Iria both work together to bully Ruca from time to time, they also both care about him a lot. Just as much as Ruca cares about them. Those two are his dearest friends... his very first friends and he would never want to lose them.
Ange is yet another friend of Ruca. He views her as someone kind and knowledgeable and will always ask her if he has any difficult question. In fact he can talk with Ange about complicated things for long hours to his friends’ (especially Iria’s and Spada’s) dismay. Another things is that he does realize Ange is not as perfect as she seems, yet he still thinks about her as someone really admirable.
When it comes to Ricardo - Ruca sees him as a “responsible and reliable adult” figure, to the point that he even states that he wonders if he will also be such a reliable person in the future. This is also a reason why Ruca tends to trust Ricardo with everything - he even tells the mercenary that he trust him with piloting the airship, without asking if Ricardo has ever pilot one before. In other words, Ruca somewhat naively believes that Ricardo can do everything.
The last member of the team is Hermana and, what should I say - Hermana is simply the sister of everyone, and so, also Ruca treats her like a little sister. Or at least he tries to, because the truth is, Hermana, being reincarnation of Asura’s, well... mother, just seems to love mothering Ruca or worrying about him most of the time.
Abilities/Additional Notes:
ABILITIES:
+Devic Artes
Ruca’s timid nature greatly contrasts with his enormous power. Even though he looks like a weakling, he actually has enough strength to successfully wield a broadsword and even perform various aerliel combos (which are the majority of his attacks). Another thing is, that he can also use fire-based magic, starting from a simple and weak spells like Fireball up to unleashing a violent Meteor Storm upon his enemies.
All of this thanks to the Devic Artes, or actually, the power of his previous life - Asura. With them, Ruca is much stronger than he originally should be (it should be noted that when his powers are sealed, he is back to his weak self and unable to even lift his sword).
He’s also able to make himself and/or his allies even stronger, as well as to slightly heal himself.
Full list of artes:
Base Artes:
魔神剣 (Demon Fang)
- launches a projectile shockwave at the enemy
剛招来 (Coil)
- temporary increases his attack power
崩襲剣 (Havoc Blade*)
- swings his sword down with great force
弧月閃 (Crescent Strike)
- carves a crescent moon with his slash
裂空斬 (Tempest Strike)
- attacks the enemy with a spinning aerial combo
真空破斬 (Void Tempest)
- strikes in all directions at once
集気法 (Center)
- restores a little HP to himself
Master Artes:
剛・魔神剣 (Fierce Demon Fang)
- unleashes a powerful shockwave
弧月双閃 (Twin Moons*)
- performs Crescent Strike twice in succession
崩昇襲斬 (Rising Havoc*)
- follows up Havoc Blade with a crushing blow
鳳凰天駆 (Rising Phoenix)
- bathed in flames, descends upon the enemy
火炎裂空 (Blazing Tempest)
- bathed in flames, performs Tempest Strike
Arcane Artes:
絶空魔神撃 (Demonic Void)
- combines Demon Fang and Void Tempest
熱破旋風陣 (Searing Gale)
- strikes with a flame-imbued Void Tempest
烈風月華衝 (Tempest Moon*)
- combines Tempest Strike and Crescent Strike
魔王炎撃波 (Infernal Torrent)
- unleashes a powerful flaming slash
鷹爪烈風剣 (Tempest Eagle*)
- combines Rising Havoc and Tempest Strike
鳳凰天翔駆 (Razing Phoenix)
- takes flight bathed in the flames of the phoenix
Divine Magic:
ファイアボール (Fire Ball)
- launches a ball of fire at the target
イラプション (Eruption)
- causes a volcanic eruption beneath the enemy
シャープネス (Sharpness)
- temporary increases one ally’s attack
エクスプロード (Explosion/Explode)
- causes an enormous explosion beneath the enemy
AGシャープ (Accuteness/AG Sharp/Aggregate Sharp)
- temporary increases all allies’ attack power
スパイラルフレア (Spiral Flare)
- launches a mass of swirling flames
メテオスウォーム (Meteor Storm/Meteor Swarm)
- summons meteor that blanket the field
Mystic Arte:
魔王灼滅刃 (Infernal Overlord*)
天を統べる覇者の証 ! 魔王灼滅刃 !
(The proof of supreme ruler of Heaven! Infernal Overlord!)
- takes the form of his past life to perform a penetrating attack
+Good Memory
Ruca has a incredibly good memory, that allows him to remember all the battles the team fought, information he read in the books as well as things other people told him. It’s not a strange thing, when he quotes someone. He even sometimes uses the things the others told him to his own advantage.
+To become a doctor
Rucas greatest wish it to become a doctor in the future, and due to this he has some medical knowledge.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
-Despite the fact that he doesn’t like to do it, and thinks that nobody deserves to die, if he sees no other option, he will kill his enemy. He doesn’t seem to see anything wrong with killing monsters though.
Third-Person Sample:
The dreadful scenery before him looked nothing like the Tower of Dawn.
No, he was pretty sure that there is no a place such as this in the whole Naraka. And yet it was familiar.
He remembered being here just a few hours ago after all. In this time a lot of happened though. They defeated Hasta once and for all and stopped Oswald’s new Gigantess model. Ruca still couldn’t believe that Oswald -the high officer in Regnum’s army went as far as to use the remains of Thanatos as a source of the machine’s power.
But it was no longer important. The Gigantess was destroyed and hopefully, Thanatos was able to rest in peace.
And for now only one thing was left to do - defeat Mathias and reclaim the Manifest. It was the final battle.
So why was he here again? He couldn’t stay here. Not at the time like this!
But by now, he was well aware that he couldn’t do anything.
First-Person Sample Journal Post:
[The video shows a silver-haired boy with a giant sword strapped to his back. He looks a bit tired and small scratches and injures can be seen on his face and hands.]
I can’t believe I’m here again...
[His shoulders drop, almost in defeat, but in fact he’s more upset about being here again than it shows.
He really shouldn’t be here.
Not now, when he was about to end all of this once and for all.]
I can’t stay here...
[He couldn’t do anything. And he knows perfectly well about this.]