Vessel of Anima

The Vessel of Anima is a form of power that exists in the Xenosaga series.

Origin and purpose
The power of Anima is possessed by chaos, who acts as the failsafe for the universe. In the time of Lost Jerusalem, chaos instructed Mary Magdalene to divide up his power, which was done into the 12 Vessels of Anima. The Vessels of Anima were buried by Mary's followers within Rennes-le-Château, along with the body of Mary. This was done in order to hide them from Wilhelm. The Vessels of Anima would later be recovered by Wilhelm before Lost Jerusalem was swallowed up by a local matter shift. The Vessels of Anima are among those holy relics that Ormus takes responsibility for safeguarding, although it is unknown if they were involved with the original hiding of them from Wilhelm.

The Vessels of Anima have the ability to change shape based on the era they are in as well as the situation under which they are used. This could include as the forms of E.S.-like robots, but also weapons or something else. In the current era during which the game takes place, they are used in the creation of the E.S. humanoid mobile weapon units. E.S. can only be piloted by individuals who possess the factor to enable them to be a Testament. One of the roles of Program Canaan was to seek out such individuals. By using a Vessel of Anima, an E.S. is able to link to the and obtain power from the Upper Domain. This provides E.S. units with far more power than other weapons.

The Vessels of Anima were stored on Miltia within Labyrinthos and were used as part of link experiments with the Zohar. During Episode III, the party makes its way to Labyrinthos in order to steal several of them, believing they can use their power to return to their own time.

In order for Eternal Recurrence to take place, all 12 Vessels of Anima must be awakened. During the course of Episode III, various Vessels of Anima are collected by the Testaments as their respective E.S. are destroyed such that they can be used for this purpose. The final five Vessels of Anima are recovered once the party makes their way to the room where Zarathustra is stored within the Underground Ruins on Michtam. After Shion and the others reject Eternal Recurrence, the Vessels of Anima are reunited into one form and return to chaos' body as he tries to perform a matter shift to Lost Jerusalem.