Moebius



Moebius is a faction and main antagonistic force of Xenoblade Chronicles 3.

Characteristics
Moebius are Consuls who can assume a monstrous, demonic-looking transformation, much like Ouroboros. Unlike Ouroboros, however, Interlinking is not required to transform. In order to survive, Moebius must take life from other s bound by Flame Clocks. A notable characteristic of Moebius are their infinity-shaped Irises. Their cores are vulnerable to attack, and if it is destroyed, the Moebius dies. Moebius can also Interlink with another Moebius as seen with O and P. When someone becomes Moebius, they inherit memories of their past lives within Aionios. Individuals can only be revived as a Moebius once. Once they die, they are considered dead permanently, unlike the Kevesi and Agnian humans and such, most of Moebius are afraid of death. According to N, Moebius is the will of the world. The core philosophy of Moebius is the "endless now"; the eternal cycle of Aionios.

Story
The first Moebius encountered by the party is D at who was fought off by Noah and Mio who Interlinked for the first time thanks to Guernica's efforts. After his defeat, D projects an infinity symbol in the sky which is seen by K, P and N, marking the party enemies of Moebius before departing.

The next Moebius the party encounters is K at Eagus Wilderness. After the party defeats Ethel (who was under the control of the Consul), the black fog interfered with the Iris, allowing Ethel to break free from his control. Enraged, K attacks the party in his Consul form at first. When he is defeated, he transforms into his Moebius form and proceeded to harvest from Colony 4's Flame Clock to heal himself. In response, Noah unsheathes Lucky Seven to destroy it, cutting K off from his healing source. Without the Flame Clock, K is swiftly killed by the party.

After the mudpuppet of Isurd is defeated by the party, J makes his appearance who turns out to be Joran. J reveals that he has become Moebius after his death who gave him the power to take people memories and recreate them into his mudpuppets before attacking the party. Although defeated, J is satisfied, thanking the party before departing.

N later sends O and P, as well as giving Ethel and Cammuravi new Ferronises to destroy the party, but when the two broke free of the duo's control, they drain the lives from both Ethel and Cammuravi, resulting in their deaths. O and P later decides to battle the party personally, by Interlinking, but were defeated, resulting in their annihilation for Interlinking too long.

When the party reaches the Annihilator at Keves Castle, D and J attacked them again. It is at this moment that D reveals his face to the party after temporarily disengaging the Interlink. D mostly targeted the traumatized Eunie during the fight, but in his arrogance, allows the party to destroy the Annihilator, before fleeing.

When the party reaches Keves Castle's Throne Room, the party comes face-to-face with N for the first time when the Queen of Keves directly engages the party. After the "Queen" is revealed to be an imposter, the party escapes Keves Castle during the Lost Numbers' ambush.

When Shania betrays the party during their escape from Li Garte Prison Camp, N and M ambush and defeat the party who then imprisons them in the Ivory Gaol until the eclipse which coincides with Mio's Homecoming. After her Homecoming at the Ascension Grounds, N then tries to execute the party, only for M who turns out to be Mio, alive and well to stop him, and that M has committed suicide by the latter's Homecoming. Distraught over M's death, N attacks the party in a rage, only for Noah to draw the Sword of Origin from his Ouroboros form and defeat him. X then unleashes the false Queen of Agnus upon the party which they also defeat, and in a last resort, uses Agnus Castle's Annihilator in an attempt to destroy the City (which failed due to it being under Aionios thanks to Mio's warning). Mio then takes the party to Hope's Rest where the City used to stand, revealing that N has became Moebius by the leader, Z, just to revive M as one by killing the City's inhabitants. It is there is where the party identifies Z as their true adversary.

When Mio determines that Miyabi is alive after an experiment went wrong, the party found her at a rebuilt Colony Omega under Y's control in addition to a reborn Mwamba, Hackt, and Cammuravi, who they all freed. Enraged, Y attacks the party in his Moebius form and is swiftly defeated, cryptically warning the party that he'll be watching them before escaping.

When party is about to wake the real Queen of Agnus, Nia from her slumber, she is attacked by D and J, under Z's orders. The party manages to reason with Joran only for D to forcibly Interlink with him and attack the party, but he falls after Joran decides to sacrifice himself to create an annihilation event to kill D. Fortunately, Nia, due to her nature as a, survives the assassination attempt and reveals to the party that Z and Moebius are responsible for how Aionios came to be.

Trivia

 * Moebius's role is similar to Solaris in Xenogears.
 * Both are the main antagonistic force who manipulate both sides during war of their respective games.
 * Moebius's symbol is a, commonly used in mathematics to represent infinity.
 * Moebius is likely named after s, a type of loop with only one side and one edge which can be constructed by forming a loop from a strip of paper with a half-twist. (Moebius is the alternate spelling of Möbius when an umlaut is unavailable.)
 * Möbius strips have been used in popular culture to represent endless cycles, especially those that repeat "with a twist". Moebius's goal of the Endless Now can be likened to this.
 * When viewed from certain angles in 3D space, a Möbius strip can look like a lemniscate, the symbol of Moebius.