| “ | I want to believe in the light of human beings' will. | ” |
chaos is a playable character in the Xenosaga series, with an origin shrouded in mystery. He is first met on the Elsa as a member of the crew but described as being somewhat the protector of the ship. His personality is kind and gentle, with a philosophical wisdom and maturity which betrays his external appearance. Most people, even complete strangers, express how calming and soothing his presence is, often opening up to him completely, as was the case with Allen.
However, for all his cheerfulness and seemingly carefree attitude, chaos is commonly described as having a near perpetual melancholy expression stemming from some unknown anxiety and unfulfilled state. He is in fact the failsafe of the universe, the human incarnation of the power of Anima, and existed 6000 years ago under the name Yeshua. At that time he was a disciple of the man known as the Messiah along with his partner Mary Magdalene. They attempted to save the universe at various times, until Mary gave up her life to divide his powers.
Biography
The power of Anima
The power of Anima is paired with the Power of Animus possessed by Mary Magdalene, this power of Anima holds the function of failsafe for the universe, in order to destroy the lower domain of the universe if ever the lower domain is near collapse by itself and to destroy the higher domain in the process, it can also control to some extent the Relics of God.
chaos, or rather at this time Yeshua, is the human incarnation in the real number domain of the Universe of the power of Anima existing in the imaginary number domain from the lower plane of the universe. His existence is then similar to the one of Mary Magdalene, Wilhelm, the Testaments, and by extension to the existence of the Gnosis. Both he and Mary appeared simultaneously in their current form, never having been children. They are supposed to have appeared directly in the region near of Jerusalem due to their brown skin, unlike Wilhelm who would have appeared near of Rome due to his white skin.
Ancient Lost Jerusalem Era
Yeshua (Yeshua, spelled יֵשׁוּעַ (Yēšûă‘) in Hebrew, is believed by some scholars and religious groups to be the Hebrew or Aramaic name for Jesus) and Mary on Earth in an extremely ancient era worked as disciple for the one known as the Messiah. They were all (Yeshua, Mary, the Messiah and their followers) persecuted by Wilhelm, who as Guardian of the Lower Domain, saw them and their power as a threat to the life of the lower domain. Indeed, Anima being the failsafe power which must destroy the lower domain, in order to protect the whole universe. Considering the Followers and Mary all had the ability to react with the Anima of Yeshua (also similar to the capacity of the Testament and most Party Member), Wilhelm feared the failsafe's activation, so he then persecuted the Messiah and all the others.
chaos looking over Mary's body
Yeshua helped Mary and those following her in the construction of Zarathustra, and his Anima was the main energy used to start it in order to try to save the universe by accessing the Upper Domain of the universe. Yuriev would later attempt to act in a similar fashion, but for more selfish reasons. However, both Yeshua and Yuriev failed, and Zarathustra ended up falling into Wilhelm's hands while the situation for the universe got worse.
Even though very little is known about his life from this time, he knew the previous incarnation of Shion Uzuki, who was called the Maiden of Mary, and the previous incarnation of the characters having a Shining Will and possibly some others. Yet, due to their actions, his Anima came near to activation, and in order to prevent the destruction of the lower domain by the power of Anima, Mary divided the Yeshua's power into 12 vessels, but doing this cost her life and her consciousness to be scattered across the UMN.
Yeshua chose, with those who followed her, Rennes-le-Chateau to keep Mary's body intact within a coffin and to hide the vessels from Wilhelm. At this moment, Yeshua took on the identity of chaos.
Modern Lost Jerusalem Era
Little is known on what chaos did after those events, the only sure thing is that he also left Earth when humanity had to escape from it. It is known that Wilhelm controlled Humanity since those time and apparently chaos didn't have much way to oppose him without his powers. Nevertheless it's said that when Wilhelm went to Rennes-le-Château to take the Vessels of Anima, he was unable to take Mary's body due to the possible existence of a safe guardian, who wasn't there any more when Shion entered the place: it can be theorized that chaos spent most of his time at Rennes le Chateau and is the one who stopped Wilhelm from taking Mary's body, since he disagreed with the Eternal Reccurence Wilhelm was planning.
Pied Piper
In this episode, chaos helps Jan Sauer in the shadows
Xenosaga I
chaos as he appears in Episode I
He has the ability to destroy Gnosis with a touch. chaos can also survive for an indeterminate length of time within the vacuum of outer space. He is also capable of teleportation, an ability only possessed by the most powerful beings in the Xenosaga universe, such as the Testaments. This is demonstrated when he appears on the Elsa's bridge without the door opening (taking KOS-MOS off-guard) and when he disappears from a room while Cherenkov enters through the only door, reappearing further down in the Elsa's hangar. He also exhibits psychic powers and, according to various people, superhuman strength. The full extent of his power and abilities is unknown. According to the ODM, chaos always wears gloves and his bodysuit as a method of restraining his power, as his power emits from his skin, and from his hands in particular. (In Episode I his power stats rose as his gloves became thinner, with his most powerful set of gloves being tattered and full of holes, hence their name, "Holey Gloves", most likely a pun on Holy Gloves).
chaos joined the Elsa Crew two years prior to the events of Episode I. He is described in the ODM as the one who ensures the safety of the crew during their travels. In that respect, it could be said that chaos is ship security, as he certainly serves that function. But he also serves in many other ship tasks, such as several in-flight functions and the moving of cargo. Essentially, he is a jack-of-all-trades.
chaos appears unaffected by physical aging, as is evidenced by the fact that he has the same physical appearance during the events that take place in the main story of Xenosaga, as well as during the time of the Miltian Conflict, Pied Piper, and even during the days of Christ.
Xenosaga II and Others
chaos in Episode II
In Episode II, Episode III, Pied Piper, and Xenosaga I&II, he is referred to as Yeshua, which is said to have been the Aramaic name for Jesus of Nazareth (Jesus' mothertongue was most likely Aramaic). It is also a shortened form of Yehoshua. The implications of chaos having some "divine" significance are scattered all throughout Xenosaga. The Anima Vessels, which are half of chaos, are also referred to as the "body of God." The database also calls chaos' power the "power of God."
It is speculated that chaos is in some way connected to Wilhelm, president of Vector Industries. Wilhelm is the only person who seems to truly know chaos, as well as recognize his significance in the greater scheme of things. In turn, chaos seems to be the only one who truly knows Wilhelm, as Wilhelm states in Episode III that chaos is the only one who can define him. It is also interesting to note the diametric opposition between the two characters, both physically and in terms of personality. Wilhelm has red eyes and pale skin, while chaos has green eyes and dark skin. Wilhelm is directly engaged in just about every aspect of the conflicts that take place within Xenosaga. On the other hand, chaos maintains a passive role, and seems content with following the path of the games' other protagonists.
Much of chaos' history is clouded, but it is known that 6,000 years ago, he was one of the disciples of a man that Ormus would come to worship as their Lord and Messiah. During this time, chaos was still known as Yeshua, and performed miracles in that man's place. Exactly what happened during this time period and why it happened, is unknown. However, there may be clues in Nephilim's mention of chaos teaching humanity long ago, and the reaction of Anima to the scriptures about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (The suggestion of chaos as Jesus, as well as a traditional Jesus figure, seem to be yet another of Xenosaga's Gnostic touches. In Gnosticism, Jesus is actually two separate beings, a divine aeon Jesus, and a human Jesus. Xenosaga however never directly asserts that chaos is an aspect of Jesus. In the only depiction pairing the two, chaos is standing with Mary Magdelene while they witness Jesus giving a sermon. It is possible that chaos may be a prophet, or disciple, or that he may be one of the many angels said to have accompanied Jesus.)
Lemegeton is represented in the material world as words, but it is actually a wavelength energy. Lemegeton can only be understood and spoken by chaos (Anima), and when recited, they can access and control the Zohar. Through the Zohar, energy from the Higher Domain of U-DO can be accessed. Humans are unable to speak the "words", however the ancient people and future researchers such as Grimoire Verum were able to create programs from Lemegeton to control the Zohar. This was used in all Relics of God that made use of the Zohar's energy, such as Zarathustra and Omega. The Song of Nephilim is an incomplete translation of Lemegeton. People of the Zohar, whose wills resonate strongly with Anima due to their special bloodline, are also capable of controlling the Zohar, with the strongest among them capable of communicating with U-DO. In this way, the power of Anima is also seen as a proxy between humans and the power of the Higher Domain. (Only those who resonate purely with Anima are capable of controlling it, while those who resonate passively with Anima lead to dispersal.)
Xenosaga III
chaos in Episode III
In Episode III it is revealed that chaos is the human incarnation of Anima, a power derived from the collective unconscious of humanity and present since the beginning of the universe in this dimension. Anima is a force that appears to be behind the theme of Will to Power and individuality. This is the antithesis to the convergence and unity theme behind the power of the Animus.
Long ago at the beginning of the universe, certain wills of humanity resonated purely with Anima. According to the database, these were past incarnations of consciousnesses that are capable of being Testament, which includes the player characters of the Xenosaga Series. These wills began a chain reaction throughout the collective consciousness, resulting in the dispersal of consciousnesses, a phenomenon that led the universe towards destruction. The dispersing wills that reject the collective consciousness are commonly called Gnosis when seen in the real world. Eventually, the increasing dispersal of the collective consciousness would lead the universe to collapse.
To counter this, Anima also possessed a failsafe function. When consciousnesses of rejection-- those that desire dispersal-- exceed critical mass, the imaginary number domain collapses, which causes the collapse of the real number domain and, as a result, leads to the collapse of the entire universe, swallowing up the upper domain. This is the universe's desperate, dangerous situation. When a breakdown or error is produced in one part of a system, the "failsafe" is the function that keeps the effect from spreading to the entire system. It is for the sake of ensuring safety. In other words, it is thought that the Failsafe is the system that keeps a problem produced in one section of the universe from spreading its ill-effects to all the world. If that's the case, then it is thought that the function of the universe's Failsafe is something for the sake of avoiding the collapse of the entire universe, including both upper and lower domains.
To save chaos' life, and to prevent the destruction, Mary used her power of Animus to seal away the power of Anima into the twelve Anima Vessels. Mary did this by separating chaos' soul in two, into the Anima power and the Will of Anima, which is the failsafe. Then the Anima power was divided into the twelve Anima Vessels. While separated from his Anima power, chaos' failsafe ability could not ignite.
However, as long as Anima existed, the consciousnesses of the universe would continue to disperse until the universe was slowly destroyed by collapse. Wilhelm chose Eternal Recurrence to avoid this. By using Zaruthustra he planned to perpetually rewind time to the past, living in an eternal cycle. This prevented both the collapse through dispersal and the destruction of wills by the failsafe. But this meant living the same lives over and over again.
At the end of Episode III, chaos rejected the Eternal Recurrence, deciding to trust in the wills of humanity to change the future. He realized his power might be used to save the universe with the help of human wills who wish for it. His final cryptic instructions to Shion and friends was to lead humankind back to Lost Jerusalem. He states that the key to saving the universe could be found on Lost Jerusalem, yet does not elaborate on what this means. Although chaos believes they will likely all meet again on Lost Jerusalem, given how long it would take to travel there, this may be hinting at future incarnations.
After the awakened KOS-MOS restored his power to him, To slow the destruction of the universe and allow humanity more time to find Lost Jerusalem, chaos gathered the gnosis (the rejecting wills of humans) into Nephilim and performed a dimensional shift to Lost Jerusalem. Although chaos believed he would disappear with the release of his power, his consciousness lived on, as the consciousnesses of the universe still desired his existence. He still remains as the failsafe of the universe, although his future form is unknown.
After saving the Elsa by holding open one last U.M.N. gate to allow them to escape the shockwave of the dimensional shift, he is last heard speaking to KOS-MOS as she drifts through space. His last words: "I guess both you and I still exist in this world, after all. As long as people... as long as the universe desires it, we will continue to exist. We haven't finished what we have to do yet. So, until then, sleep well, KOS-MOS."
Personality
He is very mysterious when he appears, but is kind and gentle, with a philosophical wisdom and maturity which betray his external appearance. Most people, even complete strangers, express how calming and soothing his presence is, often opening up to him completely with their problems, as was the case with Allen, and Canaan who wishes in Episode III that chaos could be his creator. Rarely does he seem upset or stressed out, taking almost everything in stride, his easygoing and contemplative nature is such that Jr. even accuses him of being "so slow."
Although he often says that he doesn't like to fight, he nevertheless does so to protect others and to help his friends, most of his attack being based on the 'Holy' element.
Relationship
Mary Magdalene
chaos and Mary
Mary Magdalene, the incarnation of Animus, is described as having being close to Yeshua when she was alive. There is many speculation on the nature of their relationship, the most common being that of a lover one, though few thinks it could be that of a sister/brother one. Nephilim mentions Mary being vital to chaos and Wilhelm is convinced that Yeshua's death is the last thing Mary wants to happen.
They both followed the man known as the Messiah in ancient past, thinking his words were the best possible for humanity, somewhat risky since it activated fastly Anima due to the Apostle. After having failed with Zarathustra, Yeshua's power, when they became near to activate and to destroy the lower domain, were divided by Mary. As a result, she lost her powers and died after having done this. Yeshua chosed Rennes-le-Château to protect her body and kept an eye on her body during his time on Lost Jerusalem.
He immediately saw Mary in KOS-MOS the first time they met. In the animation it is hinted he is the one allowing to KOS-MOS to use her full power, Mary's Animus, to destroy the Gnosis when she is in blue eyed mode the first time. Right before she saves the Elsa from being burnt, she says to him in passing "Relinquish your pain, unto me", that chaos recognize as being Mary Magdalene's word. When Shion sees Mary in her coffins at Rennes-le-Château, chaos is the one guarding it once more.
Wilhelm
An enemy—though their connection cannot be confirmed, they know of each other, and Wilhelm refers to chaos as "Yeshua," a Hebrew name common a thousand years ago. Wilhelm throughout the games seeks to control or stop chaos's failsafe power from being used. Chaos and Wilhelm disagree on how humanity will be saved. Wilhelm holds to the Eternal Recurrence, while Chaos eventually sees the flaws of the continual recreation, the Gnosis being an example of this. Chaos and Wilhelm do not desire each other's destruction but rather each others non-interference.
Shion
When chaos meets Shion on the bridge of the Elsa, he is immediately polite to her, Allen, and KOS-MOS, as he is with most people throughout the series. When asked by Matthews about what they should do with the passengers, he replied that they should ferry them to their destination, Second Miltia. After they were forced to strike down Cherenkov, he comforted the distraught Shion. Nephilim also implies that Shion is important to chaos in the Encephalon, though he does not respond. If this were true, it may be due to her connection to Mary.
Trivia
- Late in Xenogears’ second disc, there is a flashback scene that shows a number of Zeboim-era individuals who have the same outfit as chaos in Episode I. They also have the same hair color.
- In official artwork, he is sometimes portrayed with six white angel wings.
- His name is always deliberately written in the lowercase, this is a direct contrast to KOS-MOS's name which is always written in upper case, and is Greek for "Order."