Z (Xenoblade Chronicles) (2024)

Character

Quote “Human desires can be... much likened to a river flowing. All humanity yearns for it... the endless now. That is why I'm here, you'll find.” — Z[src]

C

Z (Xenoblade Chronicles) [Edit] [Talk]

Z is the main antagonist of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. He, alongside X and Y are physical embodiments of the fears harbored by the souls stored in Origin. By repurposing Origin, Z managed to freeze the world in an absolute state of stability known as the Endless Now. As the purest embodiment of the frozen world, he serves as the final boss of Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

History[]

Birth[]

When Origin was completed to protect the worlds of Alrest and the Bionis from the annihilation that would result from their innevitable reunion, X,Y, and Z, manifested as the fear of the souls stored in Origin. This fear was born from the potential of the annihilation. As a result, the original Moebius wished to trap the world in an eternal stillness. To maintain this stillness, he orchestrated an eternal war, putting the youngest souls found in Origin and placing them in a never ending cycle of reincarnating child soldiers who would only live for ten years while yearning for nothing more than the death of those on the other side of the war.

Start of the Endless Now[]

Z's eternal stillness was almost immediately compromised as some soldiers would break free of the lies they were raised to believe and fought back against the tyranny of Moebius. Not much is known about the earlier years of Aionios. At some point the earliest known reincarnations of the original Noah and Mio fought Z in the early years of this new world. At that time Z seemed to not have yet created new Moebius as he was seen dispatching Noah's team by himself in the middle of a battlefield. Z probably started to turn some of the child soldiers who wished for the same world as the souls within Origin into Moebius after this point. Melia, the queen of Keves, was also captured at some point during these uncertain years. The next time we see Z it's during a more recent reincarnation of Noah. During this lifetime, Noah, Mio, and their team had managed to make it all the way to Origin's core as it appears behind Z in that scene. Despite their best efforts, Z wipes them all out while taunting Noah about the fact that he already had the exact same conversation with his past life before ending him and Mio.

Creating N[]

After both of these encounters, the next one we see is from a Noah who tried to live a normal life in the first City and had a child with his Mio before losing her to their limited lifespan. He would then die himself from the same curse not long after, leaving their child orphaned. After his death, this Noah found himself in Z's theater inside origin. Z told him about his role as the ruler of this world and offered him a world where he could live with his Mio for all eternity, the "endless now". At which point Z told him to slaughter the inhabitants of the first City to prove his loyalty. During that time, Noah, now reborn as the Moebius N, managed to kill most of the first City but he was driven back by a group of seven heroes who would go on to found the second City. Z deemed it enough and brought back Mio as Moebius M.

The end of Aionios[]

More than a thousand years later, Z was still going on about his eternal world. He is first seen after the party push back the Interlinked form of Moebius J and D. He comments on the fact that the other Moebius fighting over who would go next after the party are more noisy than the rabble at a feast. It is ultimately decided that K would be the next one to go.

Z is later seen observing Noah and Mio with N, Y, and X, as they start to understand the cycle of life by observing Armus of different ages. Z comments on the fact that this realization will in time leads to despair as they realize how precious each fleeting moment is and how the stasis of the world allows them to repeat without end. The other Moebius present then state that the eclipse is near.

When Sena and Lanz are about to successfully perform a suicide attack to take out N, he is saved by X who tell him that Z is the one who sent her as we briefly see Z watching them from his theater. Z is then shown to Noah in a story of flashbacks of his previous lifes detailed above. This is from these flashback that Noah becomes conscious of Z's existence. X returns with a damaged N to Z. She angrily complain about the fact that Noah has the Sword of Origin before storming out of the room. Y then agrees to confront the party next. Leaving Z alone with his screen.

The party eventually learn from Nia, the Queen of Agnus, that the original Moebius are responsible for the improper fusion of the worlds and time being stuck in the endless now. They also learn that the queen each have a "key" that allows them to control Origin and that Z is using Melia's body as a way to amplify his already great control over a machine he is technically part of. Z is then seen talking with N and C in the theater while watching C's past life as Crys. He makes a comment on N's Sword of the End before asking C if he wants to confront Noah, which he agrees to do to share his feelings.

After Crys is defeated, Z is seen watching the party, bitterly commenting that despite wanting to change the world for others, his world was designed for the benefit of all living things. As the party and the Lost Numbers approach Origin, Z watches them before activating the defenses of the machine. Using its incredible firepower to fight off every other colony and castle left in the world at the same time. Z plans to take everyone out and just clone them all back to restore his world to an uncompromized state. After the party slips through the defenses, Z manages to convince N to take back his sword and fight for the endless now as he activate the internal defenses of the station.

Once Melia is freed from her prison, she comments on the fact that X,Y, and Z are not people but the manifestation of humanity's fears and doubt about the future. Once the party reach Z, he watches them enter on the screen and ask them to come up on the stage to fight him, reminding them that they have done the same on multiple occasion in the past. He then explain that is presence as an embodiment of human nature is a proof that the endless now is what the species yearn for. That human sacrifices were necessary for maintaining what humanity desires and that it amuses him to watch them struggle before engaging the party in combat. After a first phase, Noah uses the Sword of Origin to break the illusion that is Z's body and reveal the true form of the Origin Core. Z then takes the form of a gigantic head made of pure Moebius energy. His appearance flickers to mirror each party member, revealing that Moebius is born of each and every individuals. The party persist as the Queens, their armies and the Lost Numbers are attacking origin. Z switches his form multiple time to that of X and Y, which are also part of the original Moebius. Finally in one final rage fit against the nature of the world he reverts back to the true origin of Moebius, an all consuming desire that can only be stopped by the remanants of two Moebius, N and M, who sacrifice themselves to stop Moebius once and for all. After Z's defeat, the core of Origin seems to be purged of its malfunction and is used to separate the worlds once more.

Battle[]