| “ | All sons of old gods, DIE! | „ |
| ~ Grandmaster Meio |
Grandmaster Meio (in Japanese: 冥王グランドマスター, alternatively Meiou/Meioh, meaning Lord of Darkness), better known as "The Grandmaster", is an evil otherworld entity with nearly godlike powers and intelligence. His origins, procedence and purposes are entirely unknown, and there are rumors he is not actually human but an alien lifeform. Grandmaster Meio appeared one day on Earth and waged war to claim it as his own in order to perform twisted experiments to achieve his greatest goal: to become a God by shaping up life to his heart's content.
He is the major antagonist of the Strider videogame series.
History
One day, Grandmaster Meio suddenly appeared on a war-torn Earth in the year 2042, and quickly settled himself on the Eastern side, usurping power in the Russia Empire and turning its capital city on the Kazakh Federation into his seat of power. He then used the empire's extended military and scientific power to wage war against the remaining nations of the world. The nations joined together to fight back, but after 5 years of conflict the Grandmaster's followers, led by General Mikiel and Captain Beard Jr. (a defector from the allied forces), managed to achieve victory and became the ruler of Earth. Using the most advanced science on the planet, he built a satellite station known as the Third Moon, from where he rules over the planet unopposed. He then established a new calendar beginning in the year 2048, "Meio Year 1".
Grandmaster Meio's greatest desire, however, is to become a God worshipped by all inhabitants of Earth. But this proved impossible for him, as there still exists rebel groups opposed to him and primitive tribes only able to worship him on a very basic level. In order to carry out his desires, he researched the lifeforms on the Amazon until he discovered the secrets of life, gaining the ability to control the power of creation itself, allowing him to summon any lifeform he desires with a raise of his hands.
He then proceeds to carry out the "Third Moon Plan", removing his station off the Earth's atmosphere using an Anti-Gravity Device in a way it'd burn off all life on Earth with thermonuclear weapons, so he could replace the old humans or "Sons of Old Gods" with a newly created humanity of his own design. In this way, he'd become the legitimate Creator God of Earth.
The reckless driving of his subordinates on Earth, however, would play against him when the rebel forces sought the assistance of the Striders. Assigned the mission to stop the Grandmaster, Strider Hiryu infiltrates the Kazakh Federation and brings its entire council down. Grandmaster Meio puts a bounty for Hiryu and sends assassins and bounty hunters after him, including the vicious Ton Pooh and the unmatched bounty hunter, the undefeated Solo. Hiryu defeats all enemies on his path and eventually reaches the Third Moon for a final confrontation against Meio. After a long battle, Meio is defeated for good.
In spite of his defeat, Meio's plans for Earth would continue on their own. 2000 years after his defeat, the planet is populated by a human race of Meio's creation and design. A cabal made up of corrupt world leaders and criminals rule over the planet from the shadows in Meio's absence, while plotting for his return. They find the Grandmaster's burial chamber, deep beneath ancient ruins, and send in a team to release him from his tomb, led by the traitor Strider Hien, who has sabotaged the Striders and caused their demise. Meio is set free once again to rule the world from a rebuilt Third Moon, where he continues to perfect his human lifeforms.
In his absence, however, the world Meio built has felt apart. Meio returns to a world wrecked by wars and overrun with genetic defects and diseases, and his humanity has nearly driven itself to almost extinction. Faced with this scenario, Grandmaster Meio decides to destroy the planet and seek a new world to restart his experiments anew. In order to carry this out, Meio uses his powers to create a massive artificial lifeform known as Caduceus, a giant creature capable of carrying the seeds of his created life and travel through space as they search a new planet.
A single survivor of the Striders, a young agent carrying the same codename of the legendary Strider who defeated Meio 2000 years ago, surfaces to oppose his plans once again. Fighting against all his subordinates and followers, HIryu reaches the new Third Moon and single-handedly defeats both Meio and Caduceus. Defeated, Meio wonders aloud if this Hiryu is the same man who once stopped his plans in the past, but receives no answer as Hiryu drives his Cypher through him, bisecting the evil dictator.
Powers and Abilities
Grandmaster Meio doesn't appear to hold any level of superior physical strength, and instead relies on his intelligence and vast powers to attack his enemies from afar. Among his known abilities, Meio has the power to levitate and move through the air at high speed, a variety of devastating energy attacks unleashed from his hands and the ability to instantly teleport from one location to another. But what's likely his best known ability is the power of creation, the ability to create organical "lifeforms" through lightning shot from his hands.
Meio is shown having an apparent unlimited control over his ability to create life. There seems to be no limit in the complexity or nature of the lifeforms, as he can produce both simple forms like fishes and more complex forms like dinosaurs and even humans, and he's also shown able to create mechanical creatures such as Lago and organic monsters like Caduceus. Using this ability in combat, Meio seeks to restrict his enemies' movement by filling out the area with several forms in constant movement attacking their target, which in turn makes Meio's own attacks harder to dodge.
Personality
The Grandmaster is evil, ruthless and very intelligent. Lacking in any sort of moral sense, he shows no respect for life and only sees it as a plaything for him to control and manipulate. He creates life only to further his own grandiose goals of godhood, and just as easily can decide to kill them all if they don't live up to his expectations. He truly despises the original human race, thinking of them as inferior beings created by "old gods" that have no reason to exist. Meio shows a great level of intelligence, being able to create both organic and technological wonders with apparent ease, and charisma to sway political and military figures to his side. Every subordinate of his is deeply loyal to him to the point they dare not say his name, instead calling him by pronouns or simply "The Lord".
Grandmaster Meio has an unhealthy obsession for total control and a limitless ambition. He was not content with simply ruling Earth, he needed total control of its inhabitants, for every living being on its surface to see and worship him as their only God. To see all life unified into worshipping him drives his ambition to create a perfect race to inhabit the planet. As a result, he's also constantly disappointed in his creation, feeling they squander the gifts he provides and finding them incompetent and easily disposable. Even his most loyal subordinates are inconsequential to him, and he will execute them if they fail at their orders. Meio will forever continue performing his experiments until his perfect race becomes a reality.
Grandmaster Meio is extremely arrogant and confident in his god-like powers. He believes himself a being that has evolved far beyond inferior notions like existence and believes this grants him the right to do as they please with life. His tendency to greatly underestimate others tends to become his unmaking, such as him leaving the Striders or Hiryu unchecked until its too late.
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