 Spoiler Alert!
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| The details below contain SPOILERS, you may want to view this after completing the storyline in-game. |
The World Heart is the original Godsphere created by the Overseers. Its power is the template upon which both the Godspheres and the Seal Stones are based on.
Properties and Use
Power Absorption
As a holy relic created by the Overseers to suppress the Ancient Gods, the World Heart has the power to strip a god or a godlike being, such as a Transcendent, of all their power. Furthermore, the World Heart - if depleted of its power - can also absorb the power of a higher being and claim it as its own.
In order to activate this ability, one of two conditions must be met by the user of the World Heart:
- The user must defeat a higher being, allowing the World Heart to drain that being's power against their will. One instance of this was when the Adversary defeated Kaling, at which point the World Heart absorbed Darmoor's Transcendent powers bestowed to her. If power is absorbed through this condition, it appears that the target will disintegrate and vanish.
- The user must make a pact with a higher being, in which they swear to inherit the will and beliefs of that being in exchange for power. An example of this was when the Adversary made a pact with Shinsoo to save Cygnus, causing her to willingly surrender her power into the World Heart. Unlike the first method, it appears that making a pact with a higher being allows for that being to choose how much power they wish to surrender. Furthermore, surrendering their full power allows them to retain their form, rather than disintegrating.
Use of Absorbed Power
The World Heart is capable of using the power claimed from a god or a godlike being. One instance of this was when the World Heart created a divine shield around the Adversary using Shinsoo's power during their battle against Reina. Additionally, the World Heart maintains any pre-existing magical bond involving the being whose power was drained. An example of this was seen when the Adversary, through Shinsoo's power inside the World Heart, was able to utilize Shinsoo's mental link with the Empress in order to telepathically speak with her.
Activation
Very little is known about the conditions to awaken the World Heart's true power. Despite having the most expertise with using the World Heart, the elders are unaware about how to awaken its full power, and were unaware about its ability to absorb power (in addition to draining it) from higher beings. Based on their own research, the elders have determined that unlike the Godspheres and Seal Stones modeled off the World Heart, the World Heart itself does not respond to the collective will of the people.
During the Adversary's mission to Carcion, they began learning how to consciously wield the World Heart by using their own will and determination to consciously absorb power, rather than the World Heart reacting independently of them. Despite the Adversary gaining more mastery over the World Heart, they have not yet learned how to awaken the World Heart's full power.
Users and Vessels
As the World Heart does not respond to the will of the people, it is unknown how it determines a worthy wielder. Despite the Adversary being its current owner, the World Heart frequently acts on its own in response to detecting divine power. Nevertheless, there have been instances of the World Heart implicitly recognizing the Adversary as its user, such as when it used Shinsoo's power to create a protective shield around the Adversary in order to save them from Reina.
If fused with a Vessel, the World Heart appears to drain the Vessel of all their power, as seen with Hundun, leaving them dependent on the power cycling through it in order to remain alive. Unlike the Adversaries of Odium, who were forcibly fused with the Godspheres, Hundun - like the Adversary - was able to retain his ego and sense of self. It is unknown whether this is because of a property of the World Heart or whether it has a different cause.
History
The Ancient War
The World Heart was created by the Overseers in order to quell the chaos of the Ancient Gods. The Overseers bestowed it upon the elders, who mass-produced weaker imitations called the Godspheres, which they fused with Vessels in order to create Adversaries. After a long and protracted war, the Adversaries successfully defeated the Ancient Gods. Following the end of the war, the World Heart's power permeated deep into the continents of the different worlds.
Soon after, the elders realized that they were unable to handle the immense power of the World Heart. In order to ensure that no one would misuse it, the elders hoped to deplete its power. They forcibly fused it with Hundun, the strongest of the Four Perils, and enslaved him as the power source of their laboratory, Odium.
They then created mechanical Constables and sentinels, such as Guardian Kalos, in order to ensure that no one would enter Odium. With Hundun and the World Heart powering such a vast and complex mechanical defense system, the elders hoped to keep the World Heart safe, while slowly depleting its immense power over the span of many ages.
The Seal Stones
Eons later, Freud extracted the World Heart's power, which had permeated into the continent, and used it to create his own form of the Godspheres, which he called the Seal Stones, as they had been created with the intent of sealing the Black Mage.
Odium
During the siege of Odium, the Adversary encountered Hundun in the heart of the laboratory. There, they learned that he was in possession of the World Heart, which Hundun called the last Godsphere of Odium. Wanting an end to his suffering, he chose to give the World Heart to the Adversary, who was seeking a new Seal Stone in order to face Darmoor.
After Hundun surrendered the World Heart, he immediately passed away, as he had been dependent on the the World Heart's power after it had drained him of his energy. The Adversary, realizing that the World Heart's power was nearly depleted, decided to visit the elders in Shangri-La, hoping to ask for their help in restoring its power.
Shangri-La
With Tai Yu's help, the Adversary traveled to Shangri-La in order to meet the elders. However, the elders refused to help the Adversary upon learning that they had defied the will of the Overseers by retaining their humanity and avoiding their death upon fulfilling their purpose and killing a god, which was meant to be the destiny of all Adversaries.
Soon after, however, Kaling invaded Shangri-La with her Perils. The Adversary fought Kaling in combat and managed to defeat her. The World Heart then reacted to the fragment of Transcendent powers that Darmoor had given to Kaling, causing it to absorb her strength and restoring part of its power.
After the Adversary defeated Kaling, they returned back to the elders, who told them about the World Heart and its properties. As the elders were unaware about the conditions needed to awaken the World Heart, the Adversary decided to begin a new journey to find out how to awaken it, as well as to face Ancient Gods and Transcendents to absorb their power and restore the World Heart completely.
Arteria
After Reina kidnapped Cygnus and took her aboard Arteria, the Adversary met with Shinsoo, who bestowed a portion of her power to the Adversary in order to help them rescue the Empress. Using Shinsoo's power, the Adversary was able to establish a mental link with Cygnus in order to learn her location aboard the battleship. During their fight against Reina, the World Heart created a divine shield around the Adversary with Shinsoo's abilities. Following the battle, the Adversary met with Shinsoo and a comatose Cygnus in Leafre, where Shinsoo surrendered the remainder of her power to the World Heart.
Carcion
In Carcion, the World Heart reacted to Darmoor's power permeating in the waters of Carcion, which had mixed with the divine power of the Ancient God, Keira. During this time, the Adversary began attempting to consciously use the World Heart's power, allowing them to extract the infected divine energy inside the Anima of Carcion. Following the mission to Carcion, the Adversary met with Keira and learned of the two conditions required to absorb the power of a god: to defeat them, or to make a pact with them.