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 lemniscate-shaped Irises; Moebius who are of Kevesi and Agnian origin have their Irises on their respective side, while pure Moebius have both. Their cores are also 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.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3
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 a Moebius lemniscate in the sky which is seen by K, P and N, marking the party enemies of Moebius, Keves, and Agnus 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 finds 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: Hijacking an ark called Origin (which its original purpose is to reboot the lives of the two worlds that comprises Aionios).

As the party collects five out of the six Origin metals needed to reach Origin, via the Boundary, Z sends C (later revealed to be Crys) after the party. He lures the party to Keves Castle, holding the last piece of Origin metal. There he met his end at the hands of the party. Before dying, Crys request Noah to send him off. After Crys's death, Z angrily declares to the party that the world he created is a benefit for humanity. Before heading to Origin, Mio reveals that humans can only be revived as a Moebius once; once they die, they are considered dead permanently.

With the last Origin metal obtained, Samon finishes building the Boundary, and with it, alongside several Lost Numbers ships stages an assault on Origin, prompting Z to activate its defense mechanism to repel the invaders. But the party manages to break through its defenses and reach Origin. Within Origin, the party came across some Droids, constructs that comprised of Moebius. Meanwhile, Z manages to goad N into taking up the Sword of the End, warning him that the "endless now" is threatened.

When the party arrives at the Eternal Prison, N confronts the party one more time as they are about to free Queen Melia, but is defeated, reuniting his spirit with Noah. After being freed, Melia reveals that Z is not even an individual, but a concept; a true Moebius, before returning to Keves Castle to weaken Z's power. The party then fights through his forces, X, and Y before finally coming face-to-face with Z in the Amphitheater.

After a lengthy battle, Noah plunges Lucky Seven into the stage, revealing Z's true form: Z∞. Before battling him, the party realizes the source of Moebius's power, and why they desperately seeks the "endless now": humanity's uncertainty of the future. The party then battle Z∞, and with the assistance of the recruited Heroes and the Queens, he is finally defeated. N and M's spirits then delivers the finishing blow to Z by sacrificing themselves, ending Z and Moebius once and for all. With Moebius gone, Origin functions as intended, separating Aionios back into the two original worlds.

Future Redeemed
Fifteen years prior, Moebius lost control of Origin to Alpha, where, inside the Amphitheater, Z is trapped. Z is first seen confronting Alpha alongside Shulk and Rex in which despite their combined might, fail to stop Alpha. Z later sends N to kill Alpha in the City, taking several Moebius scrabs with him. Upon arrival, he encounters his son Ghondor and Na'el, who then reveals her possession by Alpha to Ghondor. Just as N was about to kill the possessed Na'el, Ghondor took the hit, much to his shock. Matthew then arrives only to see his grandfather impaled by N's sword, telling him that the future is in his hands before causing an explosion that destroys the City.

After Matthew and A interrupted a battle between Nikol and Glimmer, Q and R, angered that their battle is ruined by the duo before recognizing the two as "Moebius hunters", much to their confusion. Q and R then transformed into their Moebius forms to attack Matthew and A but were killed by the latter who then destroyed their Flame Clocks, freeing the soldiers. While Nikol accepted that he can no longer take life, Glimmer is still desperate to die for her nation and fled from the party. Meanwhile, as the party searches for Glimmer, Z and N watches their progress on the screen of the Amphitheater.

After Glimmer was captured by the Liberators, she was in Iris range of a nearby Colony Eta, led by Consul W, who promptly gave him the location of the camp. When she met up with the Consul however, he decides to kill her, due to her being no longer bound by a Flame Clock. Shulk and the party saves her, with Shulk reminding W of the ceasefire between Moebius and the Liberators, prompting an enraged W to transform into his Moebius form and engage the party in revenge for killing Q and R. To amplify his power, he brought in another Ferronis from Keves and fused himself with it and Colony Eta's Ferronis, before focusing his attention on killing Glimmer. Rex later steps into the fray and together, they manage to defeat W by the combined efforts of Shulk, Rex, and Matthew.

At, N interrupts a battle between an Alpha-possessed Na'el and the party, with the intention of killing Alpha and by extension, killing Na'el. Matthew attempts to kill N with his Ouroboros power, but is stopped by A, who reveals that N is his flesh and blood. N then removes his mask and tells Matthew in exchange for eternal life by Z, he is task in protecting Aionios, before warning the party that he'll bar their way to Alpha to kill him before teleporting away.

True to his word, N later attacks the party at the, determined to kill Alpha first, but fails to stop the party's advance. Eventually, a clash between Matthew and N activates a memory from Origin, allowing the whole party to see a flashback of the City's destruction. After the flashback, N reveals that the people of the City are the source of Alpha's power, justifying his mass murder of the City's people. Angered, Matthew punches N, and he falls to his knees, offering no resistance. Alpha then seemingly vaporizes N out of nowhere.

N later saves Matthew and Na'el from Alpha while he tries to possess the latter, again justifying his actions to maintain the "endless now". N later assists the party in defeating Alpha, combining the power of the Sword of the End with Matthew's Ouroboros Knuckles, allowing the party to Interlink and finish off Alpha.

After Alpha's defeat, Moebius regains control of Origin in which it plummets into the Great Sea, destroying the Cent-Omnia Region. Outside, N and the future Founders go their separate ways, warning them that Moebius will defend the "endless now" to their deaths.

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.
 * C, F, N, M and T are the only Consuls shown without their Moebius forms.