Aion (Chrono Crusade)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aion is a fictional character from the anime and manga series Chrono Crusade, is the series' main antagonist. He started a revolution within the demon society, Pandemonium, stolen Pandemonium's Head and lead the Sinners and their operations. He is also the one who kidnapped Joshua Christopher and Fiore, with the intention to use them as well as the other Apostles to bring about the end of the world.
Contents |
[edit] History
Like Chrono, he was a high ranking devil within the demon society of Pandemonium. However, he had a desire to be free and fulfill his own ambitions. To this end, he recruited a number of demon followers and lead a revolution against the society to obtain Pandemonium's head. However, the Sinners were confronted by DeFaux and his men. Just as DeFaux was about to finish him off, Chrono interrupted, allowing the Sinners to escape while he massacred DeFaux's men.
Aion later seen in a western setting. Having been branded as a traitor within Pandemonium, Aion ripped off his horns, symbolizing his freedom (In manga, he took his own horn much later, at least 10 years before Chrno awake in Magdalene's tomb).
In a private conversation with Chrono Aion revealed his plans, where he declared Pandemonium a clown "who praises heaven and is merely God’s contractor". He also planned to manipulate mankind’s frailties with Pandemonium’s head and the power of Mary Magdalene in order to reverse the positions of Earth and Heaven and make themselves "complete".
With the completion of the pocket watch, the Sinners expected Aion’s plan to go into motion. However, Aion himself intended to do the opposite and then revealed Magdalene as a decoy sent by God to ruin their plans. He then ordered Chrono to dispose of Magdalene, which Chrono adamantly refused. Seeing his closest ally betray him, an enraged Aion fought him, causing Chrono to lose his horns and be left for dead with Magdalene. In manga, he ordered the kill since he suspected that Magdalene is corrupted by Pandemonimium's memory, afraid of the consequence and "something else".
[edit] Present Day
Aion appears again to Chrono in a form of a bald eagle and in the presence of Rosette Christopher and her brother Joshua, who had found Chrono's prison and became friends with him. Aion thanks Rosette for freeing Chrono and offers Chrono the chance to rejoin him once again, which Chrono bluntly refuses. Aion anticipated this, he comments how Rosette’s brother is enchanting before departing.
He appears again in Central Park during the breach of the Seven Wings seal in an attempt to capture Azmaria Hendric. Aion quickly dispatches Satella and Chrono and mocks Rosette, since he is the only link to finding Joshua, and killing him would mean killing the hope of seeing him again. When Azmaria agrees to go with him, a light caused him to fade away due to the barrier Azmaria created. The group later found out that this was an illusion; it was only his shadow.
He is later sighted in the underground catacombs where Satella was being held captive by a feminine devil worshiper. He reveals to her that he was the one that killed her entire family and her sister even though he abducted her. As Aion advances to sexually seduce Satella, Rosette and Chrono arrive at the scene in which Aion is held at gunpoint. Without hesitation, Rosette pulls the trigger but her shot has no effect on Aion. Aion then disappears.
Aion, with the remnants of his Sinners, appears to proceed with the Ritual of Atonement. After Rosette destroy the Sphere of Atonement and her body is weakened by a pillar of light, Chrono transformed into his true form and charges towards Aion. Aion is then intercepted by Joshua and the two confront each other. At this time, Aion gives Joshua the sword he used to release the miasma and both Joshua and Chrono fight. After Chrono ripped his horns off of Joshua, Aion leaves with Rosette.
In the manga there is no Ritual Of Atonement, rather The Sinners (Just Aion and Viede) fight Chrono. After Chrono recovers from the shot that nearly killed him taken from Joshua, Chrono explodes in rage and begins to rapidly absorb Rosette's life force while recovering and taking on his demon form. After destroying most of San Fransisco fighting Viede he finally stops when he realizes he's draining Rosette's life force. Soon after this event Aion stabs him in the heart with his sword and they go back to the fountain. When they return Fiore has disposed of a cannon (piloted by Father Gilliam) that was trying to hold Joshua in. After Aion begins to speak (Or rather taunt them) to the hero's, Father Remington jumps into the fight, but is overpowered by Aion. When he realizes he can't win, he tells Satella to take Azmaria as far away as they can, but before they can escape, Joshua turns Azmaria into stone and takes her away back to Eden along with Fiore, Genai, Viede and Aion.
After surveying the destruction of San Francisco, he begins to wage psychological warfare against Rosette. He tells her that mankind will look up to God for help but how God and heaven won’t answer them. He also says how her deepest desires were to help everyone who were suffering. Rosette momentarily breaks free from her broken state and questions him but falls under his sway again.
After Rosette’s awakening, Aion is seen with Rosette, who had taken the identity of ‘The Saint.’ In front of a huge crowd of people, he speaks for Rosette with a message of hope. Chrono appears from the e crowd only to be taken aback when Rosette’s blood touches his skin, burning him. While the people confront Chrono and Azmaria, Aion and Rosette take their leave.
Aion later confronted Chrono with Rosette in a destroyed church. Speaking for Rosette, he says that she wanted Chrono to give back her lost time.
[edit] Death
In Central Park, Aion served as a spectator while Rosette (who was still under the influence of Aion) and Chrono confronted each other. Chrono then took his horns and threw them at Aion who started to turn to stone. Rosette prepared to fire but the spell on her was broken. As Chrono cared for Rosette, Aion fatally wounded him with his own horn. Though Chrono was near death Rosette used the power of the pocketwatch to turn him into his true form, which instantly recovered him. As Chrono charged towards him to finish him off a bald eagle intercepted Chrono, who killed the bird. As the two devils charged at each other with a horn in one hand Chrono chopped Aion’s left and slashed him down the middle. As he was dying, Aion said the words of Christ, "Eloi, Eloi lema, sabachtani" ("My God My God, why have you forsaken me") before falling to the ground.
Even it was though Chrono finished Aion for good, he appears in the very ending of the series, revealing that he's immortal, born from Desire.
Long after the death of Rosette and Chrono, Father Remington traveled to St. Peter's Basilica on May 13, 1981. He is then bumped into by a person and falls to the ground. As he looks up he sees Aion walking towards the square. Remington extends his hand in a plea for Aion to desist, before gunshots are heard in the Square. This scene suggests that Aion may have influenced the real-life assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II, which occurred on that day.
[edit] Manga version
In manga, Aion's goal is to restart the world, a "new rebirth", by infecting the world using demon matter/ Legion. The demon matter will infecting the world living creature, turning them into demon, and terraforming at least half of the planet into demon's habitat. He planned it by poisoning Pandemominium using massive Astral Line power, redirected by Apostles. Joshua is needed with Chrno's horn, since only by using the demon's horn link with Pandemominium can be attempted. But if a demon trying to make contact with Pandemominium, he/ she will be controlled by his genetic, thus it is important that the person who made contact is not a demon.
When Pandemominium absorbing the Astral Line, all other horned demon became toxicated, to the point that they lose their intellect and losing to their instinct. Their body growth unproportionally, to the point that causing self destruct. The core responding by shutting down all control and line system, causing the core to entering "sleping mode".
By destroying the core of Pandemominium, the flow became unhindered, to the point that Pandemominium mothership will also begin to self destruct, and causing world's terraforming.
To retain his power, Aion using such a inhumane way, by sealing his unwilling contractor into Jewel made by Fiore, much to the chagrin of Rosette's party, especially Satella. He attached his own horn to a sword that he created as jewel holder, that has capabilty to nullify "demon's power".
He seems to consider this battle is a little personal, since his (and Chrono's) biological mother, a human named Lilith, is made into Pandemominium core. He knew it when he was going through "refinement process", a ritual made to make him fully demon, acceptable to rise to higher class, but ended abruptly when he deliberately accesing the deepest core of Pandemominium memory, realizing all truth behind Pandemominium, causing him to be outcast of demon society. He also actually hoping for everyone freedoms, stating that he hates the "chain made for humans" (politics, religion, etc) just like he hate the chain of genetics that binds demon into Pandemominium.
The last scene with Aion and his suspected death takes place when Chrono throw themselves at each other with swords at the ready. After this event Aion never appears in the manga again and almost certainly met his doom while fighting Chrono on Eden.
[edit] Behavior
Aion is more like a schemer than a fighter. He uses his allies like pawns to further his own ends and only sees them as such. It is suggested that the only person he treated like a real ‘friend’ was Chrono(In the manga, it was revealed that they were born from the same mother, a human named Lilith, who later became Pandemominium core, making them fraternal twins), and was enraged when Chrono refused to follow his order to kill Magdalene. He likes inflicting pain and suffering, especially towards Rosette, suggesting he is something of a sadist. Finally, he is an idealist in his own right and believs that raging war with God and heaven is necessary to accomplish his goal.
