Post-DoC, is Chaos still part of Vincent?

[Jairus]

Something I'm wondering about (and which has to do with another story of mine) is whether Chaos is still part of Vincent after the events of DoC. I know Chaos has returned to the planet, but what does that mean? Does it mean it's dormant until Vincent has need of it again and it's still inside him? Or is it now completely separate from him and he can no longer change into it? Is he still immortal, or did that go away, too?

 

[Odysseus]

I'd like to think that Vincent was able to move on from his past after DoC, which would be symbolically represented by Chaos leaving him. I assume he's still immortal, Nanaki's OTWTAS story implies that the reason Nanaki is headed to Midgar in the 500 years later scene is as part of an annual meeting he has with Vincent, who would still be alive by then. I don't think his immortality was because of Chaos anyway, that was all Hojo I believe. There aren't definitive answers to these questions though I don't think.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Well.. Vincent says Chaos returned to the planet...

And he's not the Planet

So no, Vincent no longer carries that transformation. As OTWTAS shows with Nanaki, Vincent still carries an unusually long lifespan so he continues to live centuries after DC.

 

[Jairus]

Oh ok. But could Chaos ever return to Vincent? Does he still have the protomateria embedded in him, or is that gone, too? Can he still transform into Galian Beast?

 

[Odysseus]

The protomateria was removed from Vincent by Roso, and I don't believe he ever gets it back, does he? I assume Gallian Beast, Death Gigas, and Hell Masker were all implanted into Vincent by Hojo. Only Chaos was retconned into being because of Lucrecia, and was given a larger lore purpose than just "Monster Vincent can transform into" so I assume the other three still work.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Chaos has always had something to do with Lucrecia, even in the OG. The way you get Chaos, Vincent's final limit break and Death Penalty, his ultimate weapon, is to go to Lucrecia's cave, fight ten battles and then go back to her cave. And you need Vincent in your party. This also triggers the flashback about Lucrecia's role in Sephrioth's story.

Kinda have to wonder why Lucrecia would bring Vincent's gun and... something... about Chaos with her to the middle of nowhere...

 

[Makoeyes987]

The protomateria was removed from Vincent by Roso, and I don't believe he ever gets it back, does he? I assume Gallian Beast, Death Gigas, and Hell Masker were all implanted into Vincent by Hojo. Only Chaos was retconned into being because of Lucrecia, and was given a larger lore purpose than just "Monster Vincent can transform into" so I assume the other three still work.

He did, the whole scene with Shelke/Lucrecia putting it in him was that glorious cutscene before he went and fought Omega.

 

[Jairus]

So since he does still have the protomateria, which according to the wiki allows one to call upon the power of Chaos, would that mean that Vincent could still do so after DoC, calling Chaos back from the planet?

 

[Makoeyes987]

No... The Protomateria is part of Omega and Chaos. It would presumably go back to the planet with them, since it's part of the system of controlling the two. The Protomateria is used to control Omega and Chaos, not summon them.

 

[Odysseus]

He did, the whole scene with Shelke/Lucrecia putting it in him was that glorious cutscene before he went and fought Omega.

Yeah okay I remember this now. Shelke hacks the life stream to do it, or something. Man, DoC was so anime, I love it.

 

[Jairus]

No... The Protomateria is part of Omega and Chaos. It would presumably go back to the planet with them, since it's part of the system of controlling the two. The Protomateria is used to control Omega and Chaos, not summon them.

The wiki also said that Lucrecia infused Chaos into Vincent to keep him alive. So if he's gone, how is Vincent able to survive?

 

[Odysseus]

I believe that means "to help him survive the fatal gunshot from Hojo," not to keep him alive indefinitely.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

No... The Protomateria is part of Omega and Chaos. It would presumably go back to the planet with them, since it's part of the system of controlling the two. The Protomateria is used to control Omega and Chaos, not summon them.

We really don't have an answer to this one. Lucrecia and Grimoire found the protomateria years before Chaos was ever inside Vincent, so I personally have trouble seeing the materia going anywhere even now that Chaos has seemingly left him. It's not like neither it nor Omega could be remade, leaving the protomateria bereft of purpose.

Really, almost all of our post-Dirge questions are impossible to answer. I personally like to think that Vincent now ages once again, the same as Shelke is supposed to -- but I don't have any way of knowing if that's true.

 

[Jairus]

So the only thing we really know about Vincent post-DoC is that he can't turn into Chaos again. Could Chaos ever emerge again on its own and return to Vincent, since apparently the protomateria can't summon it but just controls it?

 

[Odysseus]

If you're asking these questions relative to a story you're writing, then the answer to that is really up to you. There's no saying one way or the other. If you want Vincent to use Chaos again, go for it.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Agreed. There's nothing currently in canon to refute it, so do whatever you want with the setting.

 

[Jairus]

Thanks, that does help. In earlier versions of the story, he did have the ability to turn into Chaos, but I had begun writing them before DoC ever came out or was even made, that's how long ago it was, lol. There was one scene in particular late in the story that was pretty reliant on Chaos, so I'm glad I can still keep it. I like to try to be as consistent with canon as I can while adding my own touch to it where possible, and I know a lot of you guys know more about the game lore than I do, which is why I ask questions like this. I appreciate the feedback, thanks again!

On the subject of his transformations, from what I understand, Galian Beast is one he can do more at will, while Chaos just pops out on its own when it's needed?

 

[Odysseus]

Going by dirge, I'd say that's accurate. Don't sell my bois death gigas and hell masker short though.

 

[Jairus]

Lol yeah, I know he has them, too. Just for written story purposes it's always seemed easier to me to manage one or two rather than four.

 

[Odysseus]

That's fair.

 

[Theozilla]

Was there never any clarification in any Ultimania or dev interview regarding whether Vincent still contained Chaos? As I could easily see the statement "Chaos returned to the planet" as meaning Chaos is dormant inside of Vincent until it is naturally awoken by the Planet at the end of its lifespan just as much as it meaning that Vincent was completely excised of Chaos when he used it to destroy the incarnation of Omega Hojo-Weiss summoned in DoC.