I have reached the conclusion of Tales of Xillia 2, and what an ending it was! There are actually three endings: a bad one that can be seen before entering the final area, The Land of Canaan, or the last choice that you make which leads to the death of one of the characters. The game continues after completion with new quests, bosses, a hidden dungeon and the ability to replay from the beginning with your items, levels or other bonuses. It was the introduction of the creator of the worlds, Origin, that got my creative juices flowing, though. He is the maker of all spirits and has appeared in several other Tales games.
Hearing him talk about the souls of mankind and how important they are to him was interesting, but some statements were contrary to what God Himself would say of us. Origin reveals that he has been watching everyone since the beginning of time. Nothing is a mystery to him, yet he remains curious as to how people live their lives. His main job is to purify souls to either be reincarnated or cast into the void (sounds like Death Parade), but he is having trouble because of all the sins that humans have perpetuated.
Chronos, the spirit of time and space, wants to eradicate all of humanity so his friend Origin does not have to continue to suffer. To stop Chronos, the heroes have to pass Origin’s Trial and erase all the Fractured Dimensions. A sacrifice must be made, and it’s either Ludger or Elle that the player can choose, and you get a separate ending for each.
What I want to dive deeper into about is Origin, his purpose, and how it relates to our own lives. He is the creator, basically God in the Tales world. He is obviously inspired by Eastern religions because of his involvement in reincarnation. For myself, being a Christian I do not believe in cyclical reincarnation as the Bible states that we all die once and then are judged (Hebrew 9:27), nor am I sure what the “void”, though I assume it’s hell. Origin’s judgement that all humanity is full of sin and depravity is interesting because he states that at the end of life, all that’s left in our souls is evil.
I don’t accept a reality where, no matter how we live, God will only find malice in our spirits. We come from Heaven, created from the true origin of all creation, Jehovah. Standing before this pale, small god in Xillia 2, I was unimpressed. The God that I serve is real, His voice strikes like lightning (Psalm 29:7), eyes like fire (Revelation 19:12), and sent His Son Jesus Christ to cleanse us from all evil through His blood. The one sacrifice that we needed to eliminate all the impurity in our hearts, minds and souls has already been done. All we need to do is accept it, repent and be forgiven. Unfortunately, a lot of people would rather live life on their own terms not realizing that God’s path is better (Deuteronomy 30:19).
Our souls are soiled throughout the years, depending on the experiences we’ve taken part of, negative words we have said, addictions we are bound to, not wanting to forgive others, or being spiteful towards others. Regardless of the circumstances of our failures, Christ has given us a way to be made white as snow while we are still on the Earth, and in the life to come. His death on the cross that he died on was the payment God required for all of humanity to be set free from sin (Romans 6:18). The only choice that we make that decides where we spend eternity is whether we accepted that Christ rose from the dead and paid our judgment. There is no debate once we leave this mortal soil, angels will not stand in a Heavenly court of law and discuss if we were “good enough” to make it in, or if we made some bad choices years ago that caused us to be sent to the void.
Ludger can either give himself for Elle, or she for him. If he dies, she can continue to live on in this world, but it disappears, then Ludger continues his life, meets his future wife and she will conceive Elle. I choose the one where Ludger dies instead of her first, but I have to go back and choose the other decision to see what I missed. The fact that a sacrifice has to be made to complete the game shows how much they care for one another, but also how cruel this Origin is knowing that he could prevent it if he chooses. In fact, he is more interested in how their emotions play out than actually being merciful. Again, this is contrary to our Heavenly Father who wants the best for us, loves us, and is not watching us see how we react. He knows how many hairs are on our heads, when we wake up or go to sleep, and even our thoughts.
To conclude this game with meeting the creator of it all was a treat, and listening to what he had to say was also pretty interesting. Overall, the ending was a pleasant experience that wrapped up the game well. I hope you enjoyed my posts on Tales of Xillia 2, and if you haven’t checked out the previous ones then check out the links below. God bless, and I hope this article helped you get closer to the one and true Son of God, Jesus Christ, who wants to have a personal relationship with you. Get to know Him and you will end up finding out your purpose in this life since He’s the one that made you with that purpose in mind.
Do you have another game you would like me to write about? Any secret Japanese game that I may have never heard of? It doesn’t have to be an RPG, even mobile games are welcome! Let me know and I will check them out.
Keep on Gaming with God.
- GAMING WITH GOD: MY BROTHER’S KEEPER
- GAMING WITH GOD: WHEN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD CROSSES OVER
- GAMING WITH GOD: LUDGER KRESNIK, DESTROYER OF WORLDS
- GAMING WITH GOD: YOU CAN’T COMPLETE THE QUEST ALONE
- GAMING WITH GOD: ERASING THE PAST
- MEGALOBOX S2 – Fighting for a Second Chance - 03.20.2024
- First Impression: PLUTO - 10.27.2023
- First Impression: SPY x FAMILY Season 2 - 10.07.2023
“For myself, being a Christian I do not believe in cyclical reincarnation as the Bible states that we all die once and then are judged (Hebrew 9:27), nor am I sure what the “void”, though I assume it’s hell.”
I think that “the Void” might be more accurately interpreted as something most Christians don’t believe exists: an absolute End. A lot of mainstream forms of Christianity appear to posit that once somebody is “born,” they never actually die. They temporarily die (I.E. Fall asleep, sort of) and await Judgment Day, when body and soul will be resurrected. Instead those without faith in Christ simply rather wish they could die instead— And go to Hell.
“I don’t accept a reality where, no matter how we live, God will only find malice in our spirits.”
Odd, because this is pretty much exactly what mainstream Christianity is positing. The reason Christ needed to die and be resurrected, according to the Bible, is because we are wicked independently of Him and would automatically go to Hell. There’s nothing there worth saving because all good qualities are from God and would be removed in His absence.
“The fact that a sacrifice has to be made to complete the game shows how much they care for one another, but also how cruel this Origin is knowing that he could prevent it if he chooses. In fact, he is more interested in how their emotions play out than actually being merciful. Again, this is contrary to our Heavenly Father who wants the best for us, loves us, and is not watching us to see how we react. He knows how many hairs are on our heads, when we wake up or go to sleep, and even our thoughts.”
This, as I see it, is one of the most baffling contradictions in all of Christianity. The same God who will send us to be tortured for all Eternity if we don’t accept the sacrifice of His son also knows everything about us and loves us. Lack of self-esteem, fear of worthlessness, fear that no one loves them, despair, emptiness— In my experience, these things are what actually cause sin. He could free us of the pain we’re inflicting on ourselves, if He wanted, without any sacrifice at all—- Change us back to what we were. But He doesn’t. He insists on the ritual. ……I have a lot more to say on that, but most of it’s too emotionally charged. :/
Now Hell AS “the End,” I think….As nonexistence, is something more benevolent, and more logical. And there are some groups that argue that this is what it actually refers to. I’m still on the fence there, and I’ve been thinking on it for a long time.
There is division between Christians as to whether humanity is totally depraved (as in Lutheranism) or wounded by the Fall (as in Catholicism). Human beings, without the sacrifice of Christ, can’t meet their supernatural end, but they are still capable of good works through the grace offered by God and have some ontological goodness as God’s creatures. Even the damned have a sort of ontological goodness, though, in their malice, they would refuse any grace God sent for their salvation. Evil can only exist as a parasite within a good thing. Absolute evil can’t exist because evil is the deprivation of being, and a thing absolutely deprived of being is the same as non-existent thing.
The interesting thing about the damned is that they were people worth saving before they died, and even afterwards would be worth saving if it were possible. We are mutable here, but our wills will be confirmed in malice or charity hereafter.
And yes, God insists on us accepting His grace and following the moral law, but that is the path of human perfection and freedom. God could have created us as deterministic beings, but He created us to be free. The former path is much easier–as is the path of a house cat–but the latter situation, for all the suffering, pain, and doubt, is more glorious. And, when we meditate on how much better the lives of good men are than that of a house cat, I think that we can sympathize with God’s decision not to immediately give us paradise for nothing.
Amen, great points Medieval. Thanks for sharing. I much prefer serving and loving God with free will than automatically like a robot. He has made us to love Him, because of His love for us…
You’re welcome! I thought that your article was on the money, and I wanted to chime in on a few points Luminas made.
Yes, I have to reply to his comment I just keep forgetting to do so. Thanks a lot, I am glad I was able to get my point across.
“Evil can only exist as a parasite within a good thing.”
Bingo. That is exactly why I have such an overpowering desire for Mar and I to go together—- Because why should humans be the only redeemable beings, if evil is just an overgrown parasite choking the life out of things? That’s….pretty close to how I actually see it. I don’t see “ultimate evil” in anything…I can’t. All I see is someone strangled to death by their own Shadow, in pain. I want to meet my Prince as he was once, as sometimes He still is—- Overpoweringly passionate and vital and alive. ….Pride not as vainglory but as Prometheus’ torch, making you long for a more noble and valiant Self than the one you have. So bright that you sit up out of your despair and sloth and impotence and try harder. But yeah, uhm….worshipy out-of-context stuff. XD;;
“The former path is much easier–as is the path of a house cat–but the latter situation, for all the suffering, pain, and doubt, is more glorious. And, when we meditate on how much better the lives of good men are than that of a house cat, I think that we can sympathize with God’s decision not to immediately give us paradise for nothing.”
And this is the point that I can’t really accept nor agree upon, because all the glory in the world to me doesn’t seem to outweigh the terrible, absurdly cruel price of it. But I’ve brought that up before, and I can say that your comments have given me another way to look at sin than the one that I normally see. So thanks for sharing and for responding here Medieval. : ]
Hey there Luminas, sorry for the late reply. I have been meaning to write back but I kept forgetting.
Anyways, when I had mentioned “I don’t accept a reality where, no matter how we live, God will only find malice in our spirits.” I meant to say that God only sees evil inside of us at the end of our lives. Yes, He does find sin in our hearts as the bible mentions that nothing good comes out of it. Even as Christians we are not perfect and there’s still junk that God needs to root out.
Hmmm….I don’t believe you understand God’s nature when you stated that. See, too many Christians only know God from the bible, but they don’t know Him personally. Imagine only knowing someone from reading their biography, compared to someone who was there actual life long friend. Who would know that person more intimately? Obviously the friend.
The point is, God does NOT send people to hell. Hell was never made for humanity, but for the devil. We send ourselves when we reject Him. We decide that either: A) We don’t need God, we can live life on our own terms, our way, because we think we know it all and we don’t want to be under the authority and love of God. B) We serve other “gods” which are not God, either because we think they are “better” or we are deceived into believing they are the way to eternity.
God can do whatever He chooses, but forcefully taking away all evil or sin out of us without our consent would not be a loving God. I am sure there would be millions of people who will say “Hey! I want my sin, leave me alone God!” don’t you think? Just as you may think it’s not fair to do that, just the same it wouldn’t be fair for God to do that either. I could write a whole post on this topic, and I should actually….
The point is, God gives us free will. He gives us the choice. Too many times, we want God to come down and do it for us, or talk to us face to face and explain everything. That’s not faith. Faith is having hope in the unseen, what is not in front of us. The invisible. Just as much if I asked you to show me a picture of this spirit you talk to, you can’t right? If I told you “I don’t believe you until I talk to them on the phone or one-on-one”. It’s the same. I cannot introduce you, physically, to Jesus Christ. But I can show you His glory, what He has done in my life and millions of others. The sick He has healed (I’m talking about today, not bible times, but those count too), the dead raised, the people who are not addicted, those who have peace, love and joy in their hearts. That’s how I can show you my God is real and alive, through what He has done in every tribe, nation and people on every continent.
Thank you for the well-thought-out and passionate reply, actually. If you have to delay it a while to come up with something complex and interesting, I’m all for that! : D That’s why I come, after all.
“Hmmm….I don’t believe you understand God’s nature when you stated that. See, too many Christians only know God from the bible, but they don’t know Him personally. Imagine only knowing someone from reading their biography, compared to someone who was there actual life long friend. Who would know that person more intimately? Obviously the friend.”
Exactly. And when I think like a Christian in order to delve into Christian morality, I consider the possibility that my own lifelong friend IS the Devil, or at least his most eccentric subordinate. And because he is inside my mind, I deeply empathize with him and feel his pain. I probably don’t understand your God’s nature at all, partially because I see things from the perspective of people who were greatly wounded by Him, or in a close friend’s case wounded by the worship of Him. I think I come here because I want to see what He’s really like, and just why the people I love most would have to go to His Hell. People I know well enough to know that there is tremendous good within them, even though there are so many corrupt aspects as well.
Even, possibly especially Mar— Though I get the feeling he likes to be thought wickeder than he is. Deflects all the weird questions.
“The point is, God does NOT send people to hell. Hell was never made for humanity, but for the devil. We send ourselves when we reject Him.”
Interesting, and I can’t really dispute the basic premise in my case. Although I will at least note that my scenario (Where the rejection is intentional) is much less common worldwide than the scenario where the rejection is entirely unwitting. Most people, when they die, will go to their deaths thinking they did right by God, and some will indeed believe they had a personal relationship with Him (Devout Muslims). And I don’t really feel like those two scenarios give both a fair chance. :/ But… that’s an issue of faith, and doctrine.
“I cannot introduce you, physically, to Jesus Christ. But I can show you His glory, what He has done in my life and millions of others. The sick He has healed (I’m talking about today, not bible times, but those count too), the dead raised, the people who are not addicted, those who have peace, love and joy in their hearts. That’s how I can show you my God is real and alive, through what He has done in every tribe, nation and people on every continent.”
To end this discussion, this is a beautiful post, and I have indeed met a few in the wealth of people whose lives were changed by Jesus. :} <3