The Master of the Valley

"I know now... that this was the Master of the Valley."

- The Boy recalling his discovery of the Master.

The Master of the Valley is the true antagonist and final boss of the 2016 video game The Last Guardian. A mysterious entity, the Master hides itself in the tallest tower (the Citadel) of an ancient castle (the Nest), where it controls an army of magical hollow knights and winged beasts known as Tricos to capture a boy and a Trico he frees from the Master's control.

Appearance
The Master appears as an immobile black orb covered in green like-markings similar to the tattoos on the Boy. The Master is protected by a metallic cage and a shield of dark energy to repel and stun anyone who came too close.

History
No one can decide what the Master even is, where it came from, or how long it possessed control over the Nest, but given how old the Nest is (according to legend) the Master has likely been around for a long time, maybe just as old as the Nest. In charge of the Nest, the Master sends forth its Armored Tricos to capture human children to be brought back, and the Armored Knights capture the few that try to escape within the Nest. Once the children are brought to it, they are given over to the Master and consumed to sustain its immortality.

However, this all changes when one of the Tricos is struck by lightning on its way back to the Nest carrying a boy, breaking its horns in the process, severing its connection to the Master's control. Despite being hostile to the Boy at first, Trico soon accepts the Boy's care and helps him make it through the Nest, protecting him against the Armored Knights who pursue the duo to capture the Boy. The Master eventually sends another one of its Armored Tricos after the Boy and Trico, where it nearly succeeded in killing Trico due to its armor giving it an advantage, but the Boy manages to drop a minecart on top of its head, breaking its horns and freeing it from the Master's control.

The Master is not seen until near the very end of the game, when the Boy and Trico make it to the top of the Citadel and discover the Master, where it summons all remaining Armored Tricos into the area. While most of the flock fly around the Citadel to prevent the two's escape, the ones on top of the Citadel either chase after the Boy or attack Trico for attempting to defend the Boy from the hoard, one severing his tail. Luckily, the tail is thrown into the Master's chamber. Even severed the tail can still shoot lightning, and the Boy uses the Mirror to destroy the Master once and for all. The control over the Armored Tricos broken, they uncontrollably fall to their deaths from the sky and Citadel as the Sun sets over the Nest, the evil rule for many years finally ceased.

Personality
The Master is an evil being with little concerned for the lives of others and seems most concerned with keeping itself alive by consuming human children. Despite its short appearance and unknown origin, the Master is shown to be pure sadistic, showing no mercy for obtaining the Boy in any way possible, and goes as far as to use its Armored Tricos to brutally attack and almost kill Trico just for protecting the child.

Trivia

 * The Master's appearance of an orb symbolizing evil is identical to Yami from Okami.
 * The Master shares similarities to the Queen from Ico.
 * They are both main antagonists and final bosses of games produced by Team Ico.
 * Both have henchmen made of magical designed to capture the main characters.
 * Both seek the life force from a younger being in order to make themselves immortal (The Master the Boy, the Queen her daughter Yorda).