Ghost

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The Ghost (Japanese: ゴースト, Gōsuto) faction is the enemy of the Samaar Federation in Xenoblade Chronicles X. The Ghost faction and Samaar Federation are two interstellar alien civilizations which formed on the basis of their member species' common physical composition. Ghosts are the biological weapons used by the faction. The actual name of the faction itself is unknown, and there is no information about the xenoform species within it.

Overview

Ghosts are purple and organic in appearance. Every Ghost contains a core of antimatter, which has the potential to do serious damage if destroyed. (When matter and antimatter come into contact, they annihilate each other and their masses are converted to radiative energy, producing an explosion.) There are a few known types of Ghosts: the normal Ghost, Ghost Large, Ghost Gigantic, Battleship-type Ghost, and God Ghost. A Ghost Large can transform between a humanoid form and a flight form. The Ghost mothership resembles a comet and appears twice as large as the Samaar Federation mothership. Although unidentified, it has the characteristics of a Ghost so it may itself be one. If so, it would be the largest known lifeform in the universe of Xenoblade Chronicles X.

The Xenoblade Chronicles X Special Edition artbook contains artwork of a Battleship-type Ghost and describes their anatomy. Xenoblade X: The Secret File - Art of Mira‏‎ contains concept art of Ghosts drawn by Yoko Tsukamoto. All four known types of Ghosts from the opening of Xenoblade Chronicles X are shown and identified. It also includes the God Ghost and the humanoid form of the Ghost Large, neither of which ever appear in the game. It does not include the Ghost mothership or give any information about the faction. The text notes that the glowing feature in the center of a Ghost is alike to the one on the back of the Ares, but the word for this glowing feature is blacked out.

Story

The Ghosts are described as "the universe's corrective system" and are a force of nature that indiscriminately attacks anything nearby. Their appearance is often accompanied by dematerialization events: constantly-expanding black holes that eventually grow and consume entire worlds and universes. Elma believed them to be the true angels of the apocalypse described in humanity's ancient religious texts. The Ghosts appear to be an omnipresent threat, capable of appearing in any universe where a threat is detected.

The Ghosts appear to be drawn to the use (or misuse) of the Conduit's power- they attacked the ancient people of the Samaar Federation due to the Samaarian scientist, Void, distilling the power of the Conduit into cores that powered the Ares Prime. In retribution, the Samaarians destroyed the Ares and imprisoned Void for creating it, which caused their attacks to stop.

Long after, the people of Elma's home planet reconstructed the Ares Prime using records and relics left behind by the ancient Samaarians. When Void and his Ganglion army attacked Elma's home planet to retrieve the Ares Prime and its cores, the Ghosts appeared amidst the ensuing conflict, accompanied by dematerialization events. Elma escaped the destruction of her planet and universe, and brought the Ares Prime to Earth in 2026 as a gift to spur on humanity's science to help combat the Ganglion.

An army of Ghosts fought the Ganglion in a battle that took place over Earth in July of 2054. The army was composed of many Battleship-type Ghosts surrounding a mothership. While the Ghosts attacked the Ganglion in the atmosphere, their lasers also hit Earth. Ghosts which fell to Earth by Vita and the Ganglion's attacks caused explosions when they landed, annihilating large swathes of the surface. Eventually, there was an enormous explosion above Earth that destroyed the planet, as well as the entire universe it resided in.

The Ghosts pursued the humans who evacuated Earth in an apparent attempt to destroy them, likely due to their possession of the Ares Prime. In 2056, the Ghosts caught up with the White Whale and attacked it. They phased through the outer shell of the residential sector, but Al, along with Elma, fought them off using the Ares Prime. The hull was severely damaged, and the ship broke apart as it fell toward the planet Mira which suddenly appeared.

During the conflict above Mira, Al and the Ares Prime were pulled into and trapped within the rift between worlds. As a result, the Ghosts did not continue their attack on humanity after their crash landing on Mira. However, after the retrieval of the Lifehold Core, Al and the Ares Prime reappeared on Mira, causing the Ghosts to resume their attack on humanity. The Ghosts' resumed attack also caused dematerialization events to begin consuming Mira, causing humanity to formulate a plan to use the power of the Ares Prime to escape to a new universe, as the destruction of their current one at the hands of the Ghosts was all but inevitable.

Following the defeat of Void on Volitaris, the dematerialization events began to rapidly accelerate, and the Ghosts began to swarm the White Whale 2, but were held at bay by Cross in a manner similar to Al's defense of the White Whale above Mira. As the dematerialization events consumed all of Mira, humanity was able to use the power of the Ares Prime to escape to a new universe.

Miran Archives

"A unknown enemy force that manifests itself wherever dematerialization occurs. Present at both the destruction of Earth and of Elma's homeworld, they are harbingers of ruin. According to Elma, Ghosts have no apparent will of their own, and are, in essence, the universe's corrective system."

Description

"An unknown force that manifests itself whenever dematerialization occurs. Though their true nature is shrouded in mystery, the light that ghosts give off turn their targets into salt. Ghosts have no apparent will of their own, their actions more suggestive of a force of nature inorganic in origin.

They are surrounded by by a constant energy field capable of nullifying virtually all types of damage, from physical to ether. Each ghost possesses multiple heart-like organs which control this field: if taken out, it will dissipate, leaving the main body open to attack."

List of Ghost enemies

Trivia

• "Ghosts" are mentioned in the lyrics of the theme "Black Tar".
• The Battleship-type Ghost is the only type of Ghost with an official English name.
• The original concept of the Ares Skell exactly matches the design of the Ghost ships; both are dark purple with surfaces covered in many orange eyes.
• The designs of the Ghost ships are similar to those of the Gnosis in the Xenosaga series.
  • Their ability to turn targets into salt is also similar to the Gnosis' ability to turn whoever they touch into salt.
• The spheres they have on their chest and shoulders are very similar to the spheres Ouroboros' bodies have.

Gallery

Concept Art: Ghost Large (humanoid form)

Concept Art: Ghost (normal) and Ghost Gigantic

Concept Art: God Ghost and Ghost Large (flight form)

Concept Art: Battleship-type Ghost

A Ghost battling the Ares pilot over the ocean of Mira.

A Ghost in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition

A Ghost turning a BLADE into salt