Protective Mask
| Protective Mask | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hometown | Lachelein |
| Current Residence | Lachelein |
| Gender | Male (Has Mercedes's face while unmasked) |
| Affiliations | Lucid Adversary Gray Mask |
| Enemies | Lucid (formerly) |
| Status | Alive |
Protective Mask is a subconscious manifestation created unconsciously by Lucid as a failsafe to save her in the event that she needed to be saved from her own nightmare. Protective Mask helped the Adversary free the people of Lachelein from Lucid's dominion, and later saved Lucid after she was trapped within a nightmare, revealing that his true face was that of Mercedes, whom Lucid idolized greatly.
Story
A Festival of Nightmares
After becoming a Commander of the Black Mage and creating the illusion within the Gate to the Future, Lucid was curious to see what kind of world the Black Mage was planning to create. She asked the Black Mage to show him a glimpse of what he was hoping to bring about, to which the Black Mage showed her a vision of ultimate darkness, causing a shocked Lucid to realize that there was absolutely nothing in the new world that the Black Mage planned to make - and most importantly, not even the Black Mage himself would exist. Upon realizing that the Black Mage sought to end his own existence through the Genesis Ritual, Lucid grew shocked and saddened, as the Black Mage was the center of her world. Hoping to change his mind, Lucid chose to betray the Black Mage and created Lachelein in the Arcane River. By creating a festive city with no sadness or pain, Lucid planned to grow her dream beyond the Arcane River and envelop the world, believing that showing the Black Mage the joys of life would be enough to convince him not to end his own life.
In order to change the Black Mage's mind, Lucid used her powers to create Erda citizens, who were forced to enjoy the festivities of Lachelein against their will. Simultaneously, however, a part of Lucid's own subconsciousness unknowingly created another manifestation made not from Erda, but projected from Lucid's own mind. This manifestation was created from Lucid's unconscious desire to be saved from her own inner darkness, for which it took on the face of Mercedes, the one whom she idolized the most. This entity appeared in Lachelein as one of its many citizens and became known as Protective Mask, named after the gas mask that he wore that protected him from Lucid's dream magic. However, Protective Mask was unaware about his origins and believed himself to be yet another citizen of Lachelein who had been enslaved by Lucid. He eventually came to believe that he was one of the 'awakened ones', who had woken up from Lucid's dream. Protective Mask eventually discovered another awakened one named Gray Mask, with whom he became allies with as they sought to free the others in Lachelein.
Helping the Adversary
After the Adversary arrived in the city during their journey to reach the Black Mage, they were captured by the Dreamkeepers and brought before Lucid. In order to save them, Protective Mask arrived at the scene and created a distraction to help the Adversary escape. Protective Mask then took the Adversary back to the hideout, where they met up with Gray Mask. Gray Mask told the Adversary that the girl whom they had met was Lucid, who had the power to manipulate dreams, and that she had tasked her Dreamkeepers with finding awakened ones. After the Adversary learned about Lachelein, they found that they couldn't escape from the city due to the fog surrounding them. Protective Mask then offered to form an alliance, as freeing the people of Lachelein from Lucid's dream would also allow the Adversary to continue along the Arcane River. The Adversary agreed and began working with Protective Mask to locate other awakened ones. After speaking with the townspeople in the main street, the Adversary determined that Shrimp Mask was an awakened one. They began persuading Shrimp Mask to come with them when the Dreamkeepers arrived. The Adversary grabbed Shrimp Mask and fled back to the hideout while Protective Mask ran in the opposite direction to trick the Dreamkeepers. The Adversary then calmed Shrimp Mask down and asked if he remembered anything from the time that he had been brainwashed. Shrimp Mask told them that he could recall a sound that had come from an old music box, which he had last heard in the Noisy Market. Gray Mask believed that awakened ones couldn't hear the music box because the device maintained the dreams of the townspeople. Just then, Protective Mask arrived and told them that he would take care of the music box.
The Adversary and Protective Mask began questioning the citizens and soon discovered the music box, which had taken on the shape of a citizen named Pie Mask. As Dreamkeepers began arriving at the scene, Protective Mask held them off while the Adversary destroyed the music box, breaking the dream and causing the Dreamkeepers to fade away. With the destruction of the music box, the citizens in the Noisy Market awakened from Lucid's dream, while Protective Mask was filled with a surge of memories. Protective Mask then recommended that they keep the awakened ones in the Noisy Market, as the Dreamkeepers couldn't exist in the area after the dream had been broken there. After returning back to the hideout, Protective Mask explained that the dream would collapse once enough citizens escaped, and that they needed to destroy the remaining music boxes for that to happen. He also explained that Lucid's memories had flooded into him when the first music box had been destroyed, from which he had learned that the music boxes kept Lucid's dream from collapsing upon itself. After speaking with the other awakened ones, Protective Mask learned that one of them recalled seeing Lucid, who had been asking, "Where is the nightmare?", causing them to realize that even though Lachelein was a dream that she had created, there had to be elements that even she couldn't control and believed that it was the key to defeating her.
In order to find the other music boxes, Protective Mask and the Adversary decided to head to the ballroom. Along the way, Protective Mask asked the Adversary who they thought the residents of Lachelein really were, as the Arcane River was a newly-born world. Protective Mask explained that it was his belief that the people of Lachelein were Erdas shaped into human form and blinded by a dream of being human. He wondered whether Erdas had souls, and whether struggling to live was proof of a soul, before telling the Adversary to forget about it and instead focus on the mission. Their investigation led them to finding another awakened one named Dark Mask, who attempted to run away and escape Lachelein against Protective Mask's suggestion that he try to blend in. Protective Mask began running after him, with the pair quickly getting surrounded by waves of Dreamkeepers.
Protective Mask attempted to defend Dark Mask, causing him to become injured as the Adversary arrived. The Adversary told Dark Mask that they would hold the Dreamkeepers off, prompting Dark Mask to ask them whether they were the nightmare that Lucid was looking for. After Dark Mask escaped and the Adversary defeated the Dreamkeepers, Protective Mask told them that they needed to return to the Lachelein Ballroom. He then brought up their earlier conversation about whether Erdas had souls and told the Adversary that it didn't matter, as he needed to face Lucid, even if it meant that he didn't come back. The Adversary asked Protective Mask what the nightmare was, to which he explained that the Adversary was immune to Lucid's power, since they weren't part of her dream, meaning that they were the only one who could stop her.
The pair then arrived at the ballroom and found Masquerade Mask, who told them that she wanted to impress everyone with her dancing skills. Protective Mask noted how Lucid's subconscious thoughts were reflected in the characters that she had created in Lachelein, including her strong need to be appreciated by others. After they helped her, Masquerade Mask transformed into the other music box. As Dreamkeepers rushed to the scene, the Adversary destroyed the music box, causing the Dreamkeepers to vanish and Protective Mask to be consumed by more of Lucid's memories, weakening him as Lucid's hold on the dream slipped further. At the clocktower, Lucid decided to take drastic measures and sent her butterflies across Lachelein. From afar, Protective Mask felt her power and realized that Lucid was causing Lachelein to rapidly expand and consume the entire world, with all the citizens of Lachelein transforming into Dreamkeepers.
With no other choice, Protective Mask pushed himself and the Adversary into the Arcane River, where the Dreamkeepers would not follow. Lucid was pleased to see them fall, believing that they would decompose into Erdas. However, when Protective Mask saved the Adversary from touching the river at his own expense, Lucid witnessed how Protective Mask had survived unscathed and realized that he was the nightmare that she was searching for. Protective Mask also realized this and told the Adversary that since he was neither human nor Erda, he had survived the fall into the Arcane River. He also realized that it was the reason why he alone could peer into Lucid's memories and why he was the only one who grew weaker as the dream weakened. Dejectedly, Protective Mask told the Adversary to leave him alone to grapple with the revelation that he was a soulless illusion created by Lucid.
However, the Adversary told Protective Mask that the way he had worked to save people and his drive to keep living was proof that he was alive. After a pause, Protective Mask told the Adversary that the final music box was at the clocktower. The Adversary then raced up to the top of the clocktower, where they faced Lucid herself and demanded that she free the enslaved people of Lachelein, claiming that they were unhappy no matter how many times they went through the motions of enjoying themselves. However, Lucid refused, declaring that the gesture would be enough if she could change the Black Mage's mind. The Adversary was taken aback, as they believed that Lucid was a loyal Commander. They asked her what the Black Mage was planning, though Lucid merely told them that they couldn't begin to comprehend his plans. She then sent several butterflies at them, just as Protective Mask arrived to warn that Lucid's dreams were carried on the dust from the butterflies. However, Lucid told them that it was too late and dragged the Adversary into her dream world.
From the real world, Protective Mask explained that he was immune to Lucid's dream because of his gas mask and helped walk the Adversary through breaking free of Lucid's dream. With Protective Mask's help, the Adversary was able to defeat Lucid in her dream world, causing it to collapse. Furious, Lucid unleashed her true power and created butterfly wings for herself, shattering the clocktower. Within the air, the Adversary faced Lucid, and after a fierce battle, they managed to defeat her once and for all. Protective Mask explained that with Lucid's defeat, the dream of Lachelein would fade away and the fog surrounding the city would lift, though it would mean that he would also disappear. However, he told them that he had no regrets, as he had fulfilled his purpose of protecting the Erdas of Lachelein.
Saving Lucid
After the battle of Tenebris, the Adversary, Elwin, and Lily arrived in Lachelein while chasing after Grendel the Really Old, who had gone on a mission to learn more about the Black Mage's plan. There, they met Protective Mask, who led them up the clocktower. He then told them that while he had been searching for Lucid, he had seen Grendel wandering inside. Upon tracing his path, they found themselves inside Lucid's room, where they discovered Lucid in deep slumber. Protective Mask then allowed them to peer inside Lucid's dream, where they found Grendel speaking with her. To their surprise, they found Lucid addressing him as the Black Mage and telling him that the Alliance had begun investigating the Gate to the Future, after which she asked whether she should stop them.
Grendel then echoed the Black Mage's words from the memory, telling Lucid to let it be, as it was the only way that the Alliance would learn fear. By witnessing the Second Future, they would learn about the lie of free will and begin to hate the chains of fate. Grendel then spoke in his own voice and realized that the Black Mage had intended to lose from the very beginning. The Adversary also was surprised to learn that the Gate to the Future had been part of the Black Mage's plan. Elwin then told Grendel to snap out of it, but Grendel merely exclaimed that he had to know more before teleporting away. Protective Mask then decided that he would rescue Lucid from her nightmare, realizing that her subconsciousness had created him for such an occasion. Lily was surprised that Lucid had thought of such a possibility and realized that Lucid had hoped all along that someone would help her when she couldn't help herself. Protective Mask then entered Lucid's dreams, where she was drowning in a dark ocean, and took off his mask, revealing Mercedes' face underneath. Protective Mask pulled Lucid out of her dark abyss and told the others that she would remain unconscious for a while longer, after which he would hand her over to the Alliance soldiers in the town square. With no more time to waste, Elwin created a new portal to follow Grendel.
Soon after the fusion of Maple World and Grandis, Mercedes arrived in Lachelein and met with Neinheart, who informed her that the Alliance would be taking custody of Lucid. However, Mercedes argued that as the queen of elves, Lucid's fate rested with her. After an intense debate, Neinheart was informed by an Alliance soldier that Cygnus had given Mercedes custody over Lucid. After Neinheart left, Protective Mask arrived and noted that it was good news that Lucid would remain with the elves. Mercedes thanked him and asks what would happen to him now. Protective Mask explained that though he wasn't sure how much longer Lachelein will remain, he planned to continue living there until it disappeared. Mercedes then noted Lucid safely in Protective Mask's arms and breathed a sigh of relief that Lucid was finally going home, noting that it must have been such a long nightmare for her. She then spoke aloud and hoped that there would be nothing but happy dreams for her from now on.
NPC
Lachelein
Hideout
| Protective Mask | |||
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| Quests involved | [Lachelein] A Mask of Your Own | ||
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| Location | Hideout | ||
Lachelein Main Street
| Protective Mask | |||
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| Location | Lachelein Main Street | ||
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Noisy Market
| Protective Mask | |||
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| Location | Noisy Market | ||
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Bright Ballroom
| Protective Mask | |||
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| Location | Bright Ballroom | ||
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Occupied Dance Floor 1
| Protective Mask | |||
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| Location | Occupied Dance Floor 1 | ||
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Nightmare Clocktower
| Protective Mask | |||
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| Location | Nightmare Clocktower | ||
| Notes | Talk to Protective Mask in Nightmare Clocktower to be teleported to any of the following locations:
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Lucid Waiting Map
| Protective Mask | |||
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| Notes | Click on Protective Mask at Nightmare Clocktower [Easy Mode, Waiting Map] to be teleported to Nightmare Clocktower [Easy Mode] to fight Lucid [Easy Mode]. Click on Protective Mask at Nightmare Clocktower [Normal Mode, Waiting Map] to be teleported to Nightmare Clocktower [Normal Mode] to fight Lucid [Normal Mode]. Click on Protective Mask at Nightmare Clocktower [Hard Mode, Waiting Map] to be teleported to Nightmare Clocktower [Hard Mode] to fight Lucid [Hard Mode]. | ||
Convergence
| Protective Mask | |||
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| Location | None | ||
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Gallery
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NPC Sprite of Protective Mask (Dreamer / GO WEST!: Dreaming Lachelein Event) -
NPC Sprite of Protective Mask (Vlessing Winter Event; MapleStory N only) -
NPC Portrait of Protective Mask -
NPC Portrait of Protective Mask (Dreamer / GO WEST!: Dreaming Lachelein Event) -
NPC Portrait of Protective Mask, revealed to be a projection of Mercedes (Dreamer / GO WEST!: Dreaming Lachelein Event) -
Protective Mask saving Lucid from her own dream -
Protective Mask's identity revealed
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