| “ | You have lost, warlock. Your armada is destroyed. [...] Follow me warlock, and I will grant you a spell of unimaginable power. It's called TRILOTH, and with it, the world will bow before you! | „ |
| ~ The Shadow gifting Mesmeroth the power of TRILOTH, as well as its only spoken lines. |
| “ | Mesmeroth: It is an ancient being, part of the framework that underpins our world. It refused to let go of its power, and as the years went by, the Shadow corrupted every creature it could. With bridges like Shadowmaga, this Shadow extended its reach into the world of men. Archimedes: You were able to... just remove it? Mesmeroth: I think it has overstayed its welcome! |
„ |
| ~ Mesmeroth on the Shadow before ultimately destroying it. |
The Shadow, implied to be also known as Shadowmaga in its former physical form, is one of the two overarching antagonists (alongside Chronos) of Cornfox and Bros’s Oceanhorn video game series.
It is an ancient corrupt entity that existed at the time of Gaia's birth who wished to become part of the Streams of Creation with the goal of corrupting every creature it can. It presumably caused one of the Beacons (holders of souls traveling to Gaia from the Lost Realm) to crash, birthing the dark army of the Direfolk. Somehow, it went within the Guardian of the Realm’s mask, a mask that can make the holder witness the entire Stream of Creation with their own eyes. It possessed someone (or created a physical form) to become known as Shadowmaga, who started the Direfolk War to take over Arcadia. When Shadowmaga was killed by a young warlock, Mesmeroth, the Shadow would presumably give him powers and a connection to the Stream of Creation he didn’t have prior to putting on the mask and psychologically manipulate him to turn him against Archimedes’s plans for rebirth of the original world, leading him on his path to villainy. He would go on to gift him TRILOTH, the dark leftovers of the terraforming process of Gaia, to remake the world in his own image; however, Mesmeroth used his powers to bring the Shadow out of the mask and destroy him possibly to eliminate any vulnerability it might bring for him with it finding a new victim to its corruption. The corruption and dark powers would still stay with Mesmeroth as he took over Gaia, though; it particularly resembles his “Shadow Mesmeroth” form.
Appearance[]
The Shadow is black and humanoid, yet noncorporeal, with piercing red eyes which it gives the holder of the Guardian of the Realm’s mask. It also transferred its dark traits to its Direfolk spawn.
It makes flexible movements while moving, it’s evidence of being only a dark force of energy.
Personality[]
The Shadow is a highly mysterious figure in Gaia’s history; being the Bigger Bad behind the scenes throughout the series. It is regarded as an evil force which “poisoned the Arcadians’ faith,” according to Trin. Generally, it is a simple corruptor with no other motivation than bring the world to its and its victim’s knees. As evidenced by its corruption, it is probably quite charismatic, goading Mesmeroth and giving him the vision of the fate of Arcadia: a world made up of little islands across the sea and completely under his control.