Main Characters:
Cain Cray: One of the central characters of Fate's Cross and the father of Kalyana 'Kid' Zeal. He was once upon a time a belligerent warrior mage from the ancient kingdom of Zeal, with an unmerciful fury towards those that abused their power, but a generous will towards the downtrodden. Circumstances would see him die in battle, with consequences across time nobody could have foreseen. However…
The sacrifices of the previous timeline's version of his future daughter changed his fate, surviving the Fall of Zeal and transported from Antiquity to the present day with his wife Schala. In the years since, Cain has become a radically changed man, far more willing to compromise and put faith in others. When the machinations of Lynx threaten to uproot all he has come to hold dear, Cain joins the vanguard once more, unknowingly being guided towards his true destiny…
Action Dad - Age and fatherhood have not diminished Cain's ability to kick ass in the slightest.
All Your Powers Combined - As one who has mastered the Sixth Gate, Cain has access to all six major elements, and can combine them for some of his Techs.
Beard of Awesome - Sports an impressive chin strap these days, clearly inspired by his father-in-law.
Berserk Button - Despite having chilled out over the years, there are still ways to bring out Cain's old fury; chief among them threatening his family.
The Chosen One - As revealed after defeating Arvis' resurrected shade on the Black Omen, Cain was chosen by the Entity long ago to be the one that destroys Thanaton. This ends up being the reason why said dark god took great pains to prevent any incarnation of Cain from existing.
Combat Pragmatist - Cain is not afraid to fight dirty, as one of his critical animations is that of a telling low blow. Hell, this is the basis of his Explosion Rune Tech, where he slaps the magical equivalent of a sticky grenade on a foe, kicks them into a crowd of enemies, and watches the ensuing fireworks.
Good Is Not Soft - Even after all his Character Development up to this point, Cain refuses to pull his punches out of principal.
Good Old Fisticuffs - Still Cain's preferred fighting style
Heroic Sacrifice - After defeating Thanaton, Cain stays behind in the Sea of Dreams to ensure that the essences of Thanaton and the Entity are reintegrated back into Zurvan. Thankfully, the 'sacrifice' part doesn't stick, as the credits show Cain eventually returning to his family and allies.
Hot-Blooded - Tackles all his troubles with an over-enthusiastic amount of gusto.
Infinity +1 Sword - The Preserver Gauntlets, acquired after purging Hatred's Shade from the Masamune.
The Mentor - Becomes this to Serge, offering encouragement and advice throughout his journey.
Mythology Motifs - Continues the influences of Hindu mythology from Fate's Trigger. After years of Character Development and his new role as a father, Cain's aspects become more in line with Vishnu, the Preserver. His ultimate weapon is even called the Preserver's Gauntlets to drive the point home.
Playing With Fire - In spite of being able to use all six elements, Cain is a red innate, and most of his skillset involves fire.
Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs - Owing to his years of experience at this point, he can perform Phantom Rush from the start.
Scars Are Forever - Still has the scar over his left eye even after all this time.
Shaming the Mob - Does this to the Faeries after the Dwarves are driven off of Water Dragon Isle. Instead of calling them out on blaming humans as a whole, Cain recounts his own personal struggles with hate, grief, and revenge, and calls for the Faeries to turn their grief and anger towards those actively making others suffer. Since he knows from personal experience what they are going through, and can thus empathize more than others can, it works.
Sir-Swears-a-Lot - Even after fifteen years, Cain is still as foul-mouthed as ever.
Team Dad
Took A Level In Kindness - As we saw in Fate's Trigger during the Invasion of Guardia, Cain showed definite signs of this after a few years of (being a father). By the time of Fate's Cross, one would be hard-pressed to believe that the resident Team Dad was once a violent anti-hero in his youth.
Ultimate Blacksmith - Cain ended up inheriting Melchior's business as a weaponsmith after he and Schala decided to remain in 1000 AD. During the final arc, he, Zappa, and Zhao combine their talents to forge the best equipment in the story.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom - It's revealed in the Masamune sidequest that Cain left his hatreds and grudges behind in the Ocean Palace. Unfortunately that hatred came to reside in the Masamune, gaining in strength until it became its own entity after the conflict with Porre, usurping Masa and Mune as the blade's spirit and enacting a bloody rampage for the last fifteen years. Whoops!
World's Best Warrior - Cain ended up developing this reputation in the aftermath of the Seige of Guardia in no small part due to stopping Garai's Suicidal Charge during the war. Because of this, many people during Fate's Cross end up recognizing him
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Serge: A young man from El Nido's fishing village of Arni. A kind yet quiet boy, he has a tendency to 'go with the flow' in life. However, this attitude occasionally leads to him being cajoled into certain situations by other people, and he's generally too nice to say 'no'. As a child, Serge was attacked by a powerful panther demon. Unlike the original timeline, the demon's poison could not be healed by Marbule's Sage. Desperate, his father Wazuki brought him to the Zenan mainland at Miguel's suggestion. There, Serge would be healed by Schala Zeal.
On the return trip home however, their ship would be caught in a terrible storm. Serge's memories of what happened after are hazy at best, only that he found himself back in Arni, alone…
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Kalyana Isabel Zeal (AKA: Kid): Daughter of Cain Cray and Schala Zeal. A rough-speaking tomboy with a predilection towards getting into trouble, she nonetheless carries a heart of gold. Although she makes a living as a thief, she makes sure her targets are the greedy, corrupt sort. Several years ago, her 'Big Sis' Lucca's orphanage was attacked by Lynx, forcing the inventor into Guardia's protective custody and causing Kid and her family to go on the run.
Since that day, she longs for when she can bring that beast to justice, but at least she has her family in this timeline to temper her fury…
Adaptational Heroism - In the altered timeline, due to Cain's presence during the escape from Viper Manor, Kid never takes Riddel as a hostage. Also because of the butterfly effect from her father's survival, she never becomes bitter and resentful enough to want to see the world destroyed.
Adaptational Modesty - Played with. Due to El Nido's temperate climes, Kid's outfit is more or less the same as in the original timeline, but she now wears a pair of Modesty Shorts under her skirt/wrap (at both her parent's understandably fervent insistence).
Adaptational Nice Girl - It's made abundantly clear that the altered timeline smoothed out many of the original Kid's rough edges. She has a much more Just Like Robin Hood approach to thievery, she's much nicer in general due to her family's positive influence, and although she still has a spicy temper and doesn't suffer idiots, she's much more understanding of her allies' quirks.
Badass Adorable - She'll rob you blind, but she's a cutie.
Berserk Button - In spite of her better fortunes in this new timeline, Lynx is still this for her, for justifiable reasons. And unlike the original, she gets a chance to vent her frustrations on both Dark Serge and FATE.
Daddy's Girl - Like her mother was for Alphard, Kid adores the ever loving hell out of her father, and considers him the coolest person ever.
Determinator - Once Kid puts her mind to something, nothing and nobody can stop her.
Devious Daggers - Still has one as her Weapon of Choice. One of her new Techs and the Dual Tech Z-Strike with Serge has her dual wielding them.
Energy Weapon - Her Hotshot Tech returns, though it's been renamed Hotshot Mk1, implying the existence of another model. Indeed, Hotshot Mk3 appears as a Triple Tech between Kid, Lucca, and Cain.
Full Name Ultimatum - Played for Laughs. Kid knows she's in trouble when any member of her family drops her full name, and gets appropriately flustered.
Hot-Blooded - Restless enthusiasm, inherited from her father. This and her general youth tends to land Kid in dangerous situations requiring Cain or Serge to bail her out, but it also makes her a Determinator.
Perspective Flip - In this timeline, the rescue of Serge and Poshule from Karshe and the Shaker Brothers is played from Kid's perspective.
Spared by the Adaptation - This version of Kid doesn't go through nearly as much shit as her original counterpart. Both of her parents and Big Sis Lucca survive Lynx's orphanage fire, and she never ends up brainwashed to become his follower after the body swap. She still gets poisoned by Lynx, but Schala arrives in Guldove in short order with the cure, and she's still forced to relive the trauma of the fire, but Serge pulls her out of it like in the original timeline.
Video Game Stealing - Her Pilfer Tech makes a return, and she has a Dual-Tech with her father that guarantees a 100% success rate as long as the enemy has an item to steal.
Wave-Motion Gun - Kid's Hotshot Mk3 Triple-Tech ends up being one of these, incinerating an entire line of enemies.
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