| “ | I must protect Shion, no matter what. Wilhelm's will is irrelevant to me.
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” |
Mary Magdalene, also known as Mary of Magdala, Maria and Mariam, was a woman who lived about 6,000 years before the events of Xenosaga on Lost Jerusalem during the time of Jesus Christ as his partner.
Mary Magdalene traveled with Jesus as one of his followers. She was present at Jesus' two most important moments: the crucifixion and the resurrection. Mary supposedly once washed his feet with her hair.
There is much mystery surrounding Mary. Was she married to Jesus as wife, girlfriend, or just a follower? Did Jesus and Mary have a child? Was she a sinful prostitute, or a virgin? All of these are debated mysteries with no clear definite answers, perhaps lost in the flow of time.
Mary is a central figure in the series' plot. She appears in Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra, though she can be considered as having appeared before through KOS-MOS's blue-eyed mode in the previous games.
While Mary's physical body may be dead in the Real Number Domain of the Lower Domain, her consciousness still resides in the Collective Unconscious, also known as the Imaginary Number Domain of the Lower Domain. KOS-MOS' true purpose was to become Mary by reviving her consciousness, even though it partially failed.
Mary Magdalene also shared a close relationship with Shion Uzuki, who was her Maiden in an ancient incarnation. Additionally, she had a relationship with chaos (Yeshua) who incarnates the contrary of her power as an antithesis and is possibly her lover.
Appearance
Mary Magdalene is a young Middle Eastern woman with dark skin and long black hair (Mary Magdalene's hair is depicted as being long, likely because of the story of Mary Magdalene washing Jesus' feet with her hair and tears).
Shion Uzuki awakens Mary Magdalene.
She resembles KOS-MOS and T-elos. Like T-elos, she is dark-skinned but her hair is also brown, an inversion of T-elos' white. Her eyes are blue, which is her trademark when her consciousness awakes in KOS-MOS.
Mary always wears a clear blue gown, and is the only character from the scene of the old Lost Jerusalem to not wear the same things as Yeshua. Even though they come from the same place, her skin is slightly darker than his.
Personality
| “ | Will feeling pain make me complete?
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” |
God is a girl
Mary Magdalene in Xenosaga.
Mary Magdalene is caring, kind, and gentle. She wants to protect those she loves and the universe above all else. It is possibly why Wilhelm is convinced Mary will start the Eternal Recurrence, because he would think it's the only way to save the universe. Not doing so would lead to Shion and Yeshua's death.
Mary Magdalene is also an opponent of Wilhelm's Ormus, which is a perverted and corrupt church and religion.
Biography
The power of Animus
Mary created the 12 Vessels of Anima.
The power of Animus is complemented by the power of Anima possessed by Yeshua. The power of Animus is able to control the power of Anima itself, as well as controlling the Relics of God. Animus is a necessary part of the universal failsafe function and is also at the core of the Eternal Recurrence function.
Yeshua's Anima power was divided into twelve relics known as the Vessels of Anima by Mary Magdalene on Lost Jerusalem in ancient times to protect the universe from dissipation. This is because the Vessels of Anima are required to activate the Zohar. However, this process cost Mary her life. After Mary Magdalene's death, her followers hid the Vessels of Anima at Rennes-le-Château, while the Zohar was hidden at Lake Turkana in Kenya.
Mary is the human incarnation in the real number domain of the universe of the power of Animus existing in the imaginary number domain from the lower plan of the universe. Her existence is then similar to the one of Yeshua, Wilhelm, the Testaments, and by extension to the existence of the Gnosis. Both she and Yeshua appeared simultaneously in their current form, having never been children.
Lost Jerusalem Era
Mary listening to Jesus on Lost Jerusalem.
Six thousand years ago, Mary and Yeshua were disciples of Jesus. Mary, Yeshua, Jesus and their followers were persecuted by Wilhelm, who as Guardian of the Lower Domain saw them and their power as a threat to life in the Lower Domain. Since Anima is the failsafe power which must destroy the Lower Domain in order to protect the whole universe, and considering that the followers of Jesus and Mary all had the ability to react with Anima (similar to the abilities the Testaments and most party members), Wilhelm feared the failsafe's activation. As a result, he persecuted Jesus and his disciples.
Mary is also responsible for the construction of Zarathustra; she wanted to use it in order to save the universe from destruction (similarly, Dmitri Yuriev will later attempt to act with for his partially selfish intentions), but she failed. Zarathustra ended up falling into Wilhelm's hands while the situation for the universe degraded.
Mary Magdalene cries in sorrow.
Even though very little is known about her life, she was extremely close to the previous incarnation of Shion Uzuki, who was called the Maiden of Mary, and of chaos, at this time known as Yeshua. Shion is required to release the power of Animus, meaning both Mary and Shion need to exist for this power can be used to its full extent. Nevertheless, Shion (as the Maiden) died in front of Mary, who at that moment had lost all of her power by dividing Yeshua's Anima, rendering her helpless. This is apparently the biggest regret in Mary's life.
Death
In order to prevent the destruction of the Lower Domain by the power of Anima, Mary divided the power of Anima into twelve Vessels of Anima. Doing this cost her her life, but not before she saw Shion's death. Mary's death caused her consciousness to be scattered across the Imaginary Number Domain (the Collective Unconscious), which the U.M.N. would later be built upon.
Mary Magdalene's tomb - Rennes-le-Château.
People who cared for Mary chose Rennes-le-Château to hide her body from their enemy Wilhelm. They also chose this place as a location to store Mary's body in a coffin full of flowers. Six thousand years later her body would still be intact. Her followers also hid the twelve Vessels of Anima here.
Even though Wilhelm succeeded in stealing the Vessel of Anima before Lost Jerusalem vanished, he, for mysterious reasons, failed to take Mary's body and had to wait for Rennes-le-Château to appear in space to retrieve it during Episode III.
Saint of Ormus
The religious cult began to worship Mary Magdalene as a saint.
KOS-MOS Project
Wilhelm, in order to initiate the Eternal Recurrence, required the power of Animus. In order to do this, he needed two elements: the body of Mary resting at Rennes-le-Château and the Maiden of Mary's reincarnation, Shion Uzuki, who is needed for Mary to fully use her powers and to revive Mary's consciousness, as well as a body to complete Mary's revival.
Kevin Winnicot with the KOS-MOS Archetype.
Due to the body being impossible to reach, an artificial vessel is created for her consciousness using the resources of Vector Industries, Kevin Winnicot and Shion Uzuki: KOS-MOS. Her consciousness must progressively awake inside of her through her bond with Shion Uzuki, one of the co-creators of KOS-MOS. KOS-MOS is connected to the U.M.N., and Wilhelm and Kevin hope they can revive Mary's consciousness from the U.M.N.. Kevin designed KOS-MOS' source of power to be from U-DO by using the original Zohar as a door. This is ironic because Mary Magdalene used her power to prevent humanity from accessing the Zohar.
To intensify the bond between Shion and KOS-MOS, KOS-MOS' original creator, Kevin, arranged to die at the hands of KOS-MOS' archetype. This left Shion the task of creating KOS-MOS' final form, as well as making KOS-MOS her only link to Kevin.
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
KOS-MOS changes eye color in Episode I.
Throughout the games, Mary's consciousness occasionally awakens; it is most obvious when KOS-MOS' eyes turn blue, similar to Mary's eye color. During these occasions, KOS-MOS displays emotions and is more powerful than usual, but no one notices her eyes or human-like personality during those moments (prior to her final awakening in Michtam's underground in Episode III). Mary's consciousness awakened many times in the series, usually in extreme situations where her power was required for the party's survival.
Xenosaga Episode I HD Cutscene 085 - X-BUSTER!!! - ENGLISH
Mary Magdalene using X-BUSTER against a fleet of Gnosis attacking the Elsa.
The first occurred when the Elsa was attacked by Gnosis in Episode I; KOS-MOS didn't understand what was happening to her and said "Will feeling pain make me complete?". Shion, however, was unable to hear Mary's voice in the vacuum of space. She then used her X-Buster to absorb an entire Gnosis fleet, astonishing Shion and all those who saw it, as this ability was not in her original function. In the anime adaption, chaos is shown as the one who allowed Mary to access her full power. During this awakening, the Zohar Emulators in the Durandal's quarantine hanger began acting up, implying that Mary's awakening is somehow related to the Zohar.
The second time was at the end of the same game, when she saved the Elsa from being incinerated. She met chaos before she turned into her blue-eyed state. He tells her to wait, but she answers "Relinquish your pain, unto me.", which chaos, surprised, recognizes immediately as being words Mary said him when she was still alive. He once more used his own power to fully awaken Mary's consciousness, protecting the Elsa from being destroyed and materializing gigantic ethereal wings on KOS-MOS.
Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse
Mary Magdalene deterring Voyager.
She made only a single appearance in Episode II; hearing Shion's cries for help, her power allowed KOS-MOS to activate without a battery. She used her powers combined with those of E.S. Dinah to destroy the fleet attacking Shion and saved her from being destroyed by Voyager in his E.S. Dan.
T-elos Project
Xenosaga III HD Cutscene 002 - Testament (Ancient Temple Tomb) - ENGLISH
Mary's body in Rennes-le-Château.
After retrieving Mary's body at Rennes-le-Château with the assistance of his Testaments, Wilhelm feared that Mary's consciousness had changed inside of KOS-MOS and was no longer the original Mary; as such, he ordered the creation of a "clean" vessel using Mary's body. Being the CEO of Vector, Wilhelm ordered Vector and Kevin Winnicot (Roth Mantel) this task. T-elos was created, with the purpose to destroy and absorb KOS-MOS, thus awakening as the true Mary.
Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra
Xenosaga Episode III - Chapter 3 - KOS-MOS vs. T-elos - KOS-MOS vs. T-elos
Mary reawakens during T-elos' fight.
Following this, Mary's consciousness didn't awaken again until her first meeting with T-elos at Rennes-le-Château in Episode III. T-elos used a Phase Transfer Cannon on KOS-MOS, heavily damaging her. When T-elos approached Shion, a faint glimpse of Mary Magdalene is seen surrounded by a shining aura. When T-elos attempted to finish KOS-MOS off, Shion screamed "STOP IT!" while her pendant was glowing, causing Mary Magdalene to briefly re-awaken in KOS-MOS, transporting Shion, KOS-MOS to a subconscious representation of Old Miltia from Shion's memories.
Mary's power later allowed the fourth version of KOS-MOS to start when Voyager threatened Shion.
After Shion exhausted herself fighting Voyager, she fainted. She had a dream of meeting Joachim Mizrahi at the Beach of Nothingness, and seeing Mary Magdalene surrounded by pink flowers.
Resurrection of Mary Magdalene
She Who Resembles KOS-MOS
Mary Magdalene and Jesus in Shion's vision.
| “ | What is this feeling? Is it... anger? despair? No. You're sad, aren't you? KOS-MOS? Are those tears? Why? Why are you crying? I see... You've lost sight of yourself, just like me. You don't know who you are anymore. You don't even know where you stand, and you feel alone. I understand. Let's find out, together. Alright? Let's try and find out... who I am, and why you are here. Let's look for the answers together, KOS-MOS.
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” |
Mary Magdalene appears before Shion.
In the underground of Michtam, Shion collapsed when they arrive at a sealed door before awakening at Rennes-le-Château, where she saw chaos with his clothes from 6,000 years ago looking at Mary's casket. When Shion opens it to see Mary, she experiences visions of Mary and Yeshua in ancient times. First, both of she and Mary were listening to the Messiah with the other disciples. Mary is seen on her knees behind Yeshua, who was at a door; Shion felt Mary's sadness and anger. Finally, Shion sees Mary holding a dead body (most likely Shion's past life) and crying. Shion hugs Mary and awakens in Michtam with a blue-eyed KOS-MOS.
KOS-MOS vs. T-elos (Underground Ruins)
T-elos recombines with KOS-MOS.
There, T-elos appeared and revealed KOS-MOS's true identity. She tried to destroy KOS-MOS to absorb her, but failed and was absorbed by KOS-MOS instead. At this point, KOS-MOS was not Mary even though her blue-eyed form told Shion right before attacking T-elos that she was Mary and not Mary at the same time. Kevin later stated that KOS-MOS was a failure, considering she didn't awaken Mary's will as it was originally, and instead, awoke as something new and different, described as Mary and not Mary at the same time.
Though KOS-MOS awakened as Mary Magdalene as a result of T-elos' defeat, Mary's original memories and characteristics have undergone a transformation, leading to the creation of an entirely new personality which is both Mary and not Mary at the same time. This is fundamentally analogous to Sakura's transformation into MOMO.
Rejection of the Eternal Recurrence
Shion Leaves Kevin
Mary Magdalene saves Allen from Kevin.
Mary/KOS-MOS rejected Wilhelm's will when she protected Allen Ridgeley from being killed by Kevin, claiming Wilhelm's will was irrelevant to her, astonishing Kevin and bringing Shion to their side after she sided with Kevin. She asked Shion, "Is this what you really want? Do you really want to betray everyone? Doesn't this make you sad?" Kevin ordered Mary to stand back, but Shion prevented Kevin from hurting Allen any further. When Shion left Kevin, Mary and Allen smiled in relief.
Xenosaga III HD Cutscene 336 - Maiden of Mary (Zarathustra's Hall) - ENGLISH - REGULAR MODE
Mary doesn't intervene in Shion's torture.
In Zarathustra's room, Mary/KOS-MOS was unable to disobey Wilhelm's order, and gave him the pendant he needed to give her for Shion to not suffer eternally. But, KOS-MOS destroyed the pendant before giving it to him, rejecting the Eternal Recurrence and stated that her name is not Mary, but KOS-MOS, her eyes becoming red. At this point it's unknown if both Mary and KOS-MOS exist in the same body as two separate entities and KOS-MOS took over her body, if Mary gave her power over the body, or if KOS-MOS is Mary having renamed herself KOS-MOS having changed her personality and possibly having merged with KOS-MOS's OS.
KOS-MOS's torso drifts to Lost Jerusalem.
Mary's will unified Anima and gave it back to chaos, then gave her Animus power to Nephilim Verum. It is not clear within the confines of what is shown if she transfers the spirit of Mary, or merely the Animus power. Together with Nephilim, KOS-MOS and Abel, chaos attempts to bring those wills back to Lost Jerusalem, back to the origin of time. KOS-MOS sacrificed herself in order to protect chaos and Nephilim while they worked. Her body was last seen drifting near Lost Jerusalem, as chaos told her to sleep well.
Relationships
Jesus
Mary Magdalene was very close to Jesus. Some suspect she was Jesus' wife or girlfriend. Mary Magdalene was a follower of Jesus.
Shion Uzuki
Shion embracing Mary Magdalene.
Shion is the Maiden of Mary. Nephilim states that her existence is vital to her during Xenosaga Episode I, and later speaks of how close they were, laughing and crying together. They were always together in Lost Jerusalem, and both of them are necessary to fully use the Animus, Shion being an Animus-resonant consciousness. Unfortunately, Shion died in front of Mary, who was unable to save her. Mary still regrets this event even after her revival in KOS-MOS.
Shion was also necessary for Mary's consciousness to awaken inside of KOS-MOS; as such, Wilhelm orchestrated the events leading up to Shion becoming the one in charge of the KOS-MOS Project to create a special link between herself and KOS-MOS. KOS-MOS always protected Shion during the game, it was the only thing that no order given to her could change, at first this was due to orders from Kevin, but eventually also due to Mary's consciousness.
Yeshua
Mary Magdalene and Yeshua listen to Jesus.
Yeshua, the wielder of Anima, now known as chaos, was described as being close to Mary. There are many speculations on the nature of their relationship, the most common being that of lovers, though many others theorize that they had a sibling-like relationship -- a view that is more consistent with their interaction and gnosticism's view on male-female relations. Nephilim says that Mary is vital not only to Shion, but to chaos as well when they dive in KOS-MOS' Encephalon. Wilhelm, trying to get Mary's support after KOS-MOS destroyed the pendant, says that in refusing the recurrence even Yeshua will die and asks if she really wants that.
Yeshua leaves Mary Magdalene.
They both followed the man known as the Messiah in the ancient past, thinking his ideas were the best for humanity, which was dangerous since it quickly activated Anima due to the Apostle. After failing with Zarathustra Mary divided Yeshua's power when they almost activated and destroyed the Lower Domain. As a result, she lost her powers and died shortly after having done this.
Yeshua immediately sees Mary in KOS-MOS the first time they met, while KOS-MOS notices he is not a human being. As seen through KOS-MOS' eyes, she start recording and scanning chaos when they first meet. She even seems to act a little more human around him. She shifts her weight as she stands and seems almost nervous after meeting an old friend after so long. In the animation it is hinted he is the one allowing KOS-MOS to use her full power, Mary's Animus, to destroy the Gnosis. Right before she saves the Elsa from being burnt, she says to him in passing "Relinquish your pain, unto me", something that chaos recognizes as being Mary Magdalene's word.
Wilhelm
He is the one who persecuted her and her friends on Lost Jerusalem. Even though they were enemies their purpose ultimately is the same and they don't seem to have hatred for each other. Wilhelm was convinced Mary would start Eternal Recurrence, likely based on her desire to protect the universe and the Recurrence being the only apparent way, but KOS-MOS stepped in and stopped the Recurrence from starting.
Fiora
Fiora and KOS-MOS / Mary Magdalene.
Mary Magdalene met Fiora from Xenoblade Chronicles in Project X Zone 2. They fought together as allies.
Quotes
- "Shion, right now I am Mary, and at the same time, I am not Mary. Wasn't it you who said that the heart changes, from one moment to the next?"
- "I don't know what will happen... by merging with T-elos, and becoming the true Mary. I don't know what the fulfillment of that duty will bring."
- "Listen, T-elos! If your existence... will bring harm to my friends in any way, then I will be forced to stop you!"
- "I'm sorry T-elos, but this is goodbye."
- "You're almost there, Allen. It's all right, Allen. I, too, understand your feelings. I can feel your pain. And, I can also feel Shion's pain."
- "Shion, please tell me, is this what you really want? Do you really want to betray everyone? Doesn't this make you sad?"
Trivia
Xenosaga Alle spezielle DVD - Xenosaga III Trailer 2
Episode III trailer.
- In a trailer for Episode III, when Shion opens Mary Magdalene's coffin, she finds KOS-MOS. In the final version, Shion finds Mary Magdalene.
- One of T-elos' attacks is called "MAGDALENE 16", a reference to Mary Magdalene.
- In the Episode III database entry for "Maiden of Mary", it implies that Shion's previous incarnation was the Maiden of Mary Magdalene played some supporting role in Mary's abilities. It also implies Shion's affinity with the Zohar doesn't originate from the blood she inherited from her mother Aoi, so much as it is a peculiarity of Shion herself, from the emotional bond she shared with Mary during the Lost Jerusalem era.
Xenosaga III HD Cutscene 313 - Nephilim's Guidance (Crystal Room) - ENGLISH - REGULAR MODE
Nephilim speaking to Shion about Mary.
- In Episode III, Nephilim claims that Mary Magdalene was able to seal a room on Michtam (Abraxas) with the power of God and her will, presumably to prevent Zarathustra from falling into humanity's hands.
- The Japanese version of the game uses her alias Maria.
- The music heard during Mary's past is Hepatica #2 and is Hepatica (KOS-MOS) when T-elos is ultimately fought.
- The flowers surrounding Mary when Shion sees her crying are "cosmos", the same flower having served to name KOS-MOS.
- Due to T-elos's hair color being an inversion of Mary's, T-elos can be interpreted symbolically as an Anti-Mary.
- If Mary Magdalene truly existed as a real-life historical figure, there is a very slim chance she would actually have blue eyes, which Xenosaga uses as an artistic interpretation. It is probable that her eye color would be brown or hazel.
Gallery
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
Xenosaga: The Animation
Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra
