Many thanks to Bronze Frog of GameFAQS who has submitted this great theory to the site!

First off, I have a working hypothesis about Zoro-Agruga, the Dark Dragon and boss of Chapter 4 in Sen 1.

This will contain major spoilers for the Crossbell games, too.

The dragon was a Guardian sent by Aidios to help ease the passing of humans into the afterlife. If Ragnard watched the lives of people under the power of the Aureole and remembered their choices, then Zoro as a dragon in the country of darkness watched them in death, eased their passing (Outwards) and ensured that nobody’s spirit got caught in places such as Lohengrin Castle, where they would eventually transform into spectres or fiends.

Now we return to the old Crossbell.

When the first Demiurge wished itself out of existence, exact words ended up making all the difference. Given sentience, the treasure saw its body as the means by which it could interact with the world of Zemuria and by extension, how it was causing problems for the people.

And so, what actually happened during the Great Disappearing is that the body of the Demiurge was erased.

But what happened to the power of Mirage? The Demiurge didn’t wish for that power to be erased, but rather it was disappearing (accidentally) but into the same place where the Aions and Testa Rossa vanish things into.

And this is where things get metaphysical. If the reality of Zemuria is like the surface of a pond – then the place where things get Disappeared into is under the surface. Eventually they float back up to the surface of the pond, just like General Walter, and just like the Magic Knights from the War of the Lion.

And that is where the Power of Mirage found itself 1200 years ago. Removed from intellect, removed from a body, it was no longer really “alive”, but it acted on instinct – seeking to get back to the reality of Zemuria. However, it sought its original form.

And this is the start of how absolutely everything went wrong.

The place where things Disappear into is not at all nice, as Walter might one day be able to attest to. Trapped beings are desperate to get out, and have no fond memories of what was once. And are willing to do anything to not have to go back there.

And the power of Mirage being dropped into that location made waves. It was very disruptive, it shifted around the spirits and souls of the Gunnar and Albert armies left there, and in its desperate search to return to reality in its original form, it attracted Zoro, who sought the source of chaos.

One long, vicious spiritual struggle later, the power of Mirage possessed Zoro-Agruga’s body.

One mind of the dragon plus one monstrously powerful and aggressive spirit that sought the “materials” for the body of the Demiurge = new fiend, half insane and out of control.

However, I do not think the attack on Heimdallr was out of maliciousness or evil intentions. Think of the Forest God from Princess Mononoke – a powerful entity that wants something and doesn’t realize or see what’s actually happening until it gets what it wants. The power does not recognize humans as what it was made to serve – for now it only sees them as ingredients or materials to recreate its body. And the mind of the dragon can no longer really distinguish the spirits of the living from the spirits of the dead – it only sees the spirits of the living as those who are miserable and need to be able to “pass on.” And thus, hell is overrun and the dead seek to liberate the living for their precious life energy to emancipate the power of the Demiurge

Enter Emperor Hector the First and Testa Rossa. The dragon dies and severs the link between the power of Mirage and Zoro. And what else will the power do – except inhabit the stronger vessel to continue its work?

This throws the Divine Knight system out of whack. The seven knights are the key to resurrecting the Treasures in Erebonia – but until Testa Rossa is no longer possessed, this is not gonna happen. There’s a balance that is needed between the Knights, and the power of Mirage is screwing everything up when it got in, like a metastatic cancer. The Cryptids are a symptom of sorts you could say.

We return to Crossbell, and the Crois family, Ouroboros and Mariabell’s deal. Ouroboros didn’t take away KeA because they didn’t want her, and they didn’t want her power as the Demiurgos.

What they wanted – was to see if the Crois family could indeed create a vessel capable of withstanding an even greater power than what the original Demiurge possessed. And everything Mariabell does from there – including trying to get KeA to commit suicide – is to test the limits of what that body can and will withstand under stress.

Why?

Because as one of the Anguis, Mariabell will create a body for the power that possesses Testa Rossa. A hypodermic needle in the form of a little girl that will extract the power of the Treasure of Mirage.

And just like that, the original Treasure of Mirage is resurrected and goes to the Grandmaster, and Phantom Blaze proceeds with getting the other two treasures in Erebonia.

Now, the question is how do fights between Valimar and Ordine, and the other knights play into Phantom Blaze?

My own theory is that there’s no instrument to accurately measure when Testarossa is no longer possessed, no certain technology from Novartis to say that there are no lingering bits of Mirage in the Divine Knight.

And so, data is needed from the unblemished Divine Knights – measurements of power, speed, capacity, structural endurance, etc. From these fights, it is possible to extrapolate the original data for Testarossa – but as with mathematical extrapolation, more sets of data equals more accurate results. And just like with the Gospels, only the exact measurements will do in this case.

Now, there are many, many, many lingering questions that will have to be answered because of this long, rambling theory. Some of them include:

• What then is going to happen to the power that KeA wished away? And who is it going to return to?

• What is going to replace Zoro?

• How does the Hexen clan play into this enormous mess?

And of course, we have to see what will happen in Sen 3. What insane, bloodthirsty plan Mariabell will come up with in order to get what she wants, and if we’ll see a busted up and ruined Heimdallr just like we did in Sen 2’s opening?

But that can be for another time. Til we meet again!