Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

- Time Period: 2035
- Main Hero: Soma Cruz
- Antagonist: Graham Jones

Aria of Sorrow is the third Game Boy Advance entry. Its legacy will be that it was the first of the games to finally break the barrier and bring the series into future times. For now, the adventures of Soma Cruz follow up on the tale of the previous Jonathan Morris.

In 1999, the world prepared to welcome the turn of the century with a celebration--mankind would marvel at its progress as it breached the century mark. Those with evil hearts, though, would hold their own celebration, a festival to make good on a prophecy made by Nostradamus. As stated in part one of the multifaceted prediction, Dracula returned to this world and was just as soon defeated. This was possible because returning, too, to reclaim the Vampire Killer was the Belmont clan, which had been inexplicably absent ever since Richter's adventures back in 1797. It was a group of vampire hunters led by Julius Belmont that ultimately "sealed" Dracula's fate by destroying his spirit and finally ending his regeneration cycle by with the help of Hakuba Shrine priests sealing away the castle, the symbol of his demonic power, within the darkness of an eclipse (a strategy they came to formulate by studying the escapades of Brauner). Over the course of the next thirty-plus years, the Catholic Church did everything in its power to wash away any evidence of the event and any proof that Count Dracula or the Belmonts, once its ally, ever existed. Only those who lived underground kept alive the rest of the prophecy: "In the year 2035, a new master will come to the castle, and he will inherit all of Dracula's powers."

In the year 2035, in Japan, the people gathered together in anticipation of the first solar eclipse of the century. Soma Cruz, a high school exchange student studying abroad, and his childhood friend Mina Hakuba were on their way to the top of the Hakuba Shrine (which was owned by Mina's father) to get a better look at the celestial event. While they were climbing to its top, they noticed that the stairway felt longer than usual, as if some force was trying to keep them from their destination. Once through the actual shrine gate, Soma and Mina were rendered unconscious by the chaotic darkness surrounding the pitch black sun. When Soma awakened, he found himself within the confines of a castle; by then, Mina had already awakened and was surprised to see in her midst Genya Arikado, an acquaintance better identified as a cold-looking National Intelligence agent who often frequented the Hakuba Shrine. Genya explained to a confused and defensive Soma that they were actually within the eclipse, where Dracula's castle had been sealed, and not in Europe where the castle would typically emerge.

Before Genya could offer any further explanation, a pack of skeletal foes charged into the room; Soma instinctively took on an offensive, and upon slaying the pack's ringleader, a winged skeleton, he was overcome by an odd sensation. As Genya had expected, Soma absorbed its soul; from witnessing this act, Genya was now sure that Soma was the worthy subject he seeked--one with "dark power." Hence, Genya gave Soma an order: "Go to the Master's chamber." After some argument, knowing that resistance was futile, Soma finally agreed to leave Mina behind in the safety of the halls and head off into the castle's haunted interior.

Soma searched the castle far and wide, and his became a journey for enlightenment, a quest to find out who he truly was and what was really going on. His spirit only grew stronger: Along with the learning of new abilities, he mastered his power to absorb souls; he confidently destroyed all monsters in his path and collected their souls, thus harnessing them as new powers and destructive weapons. His meetings with other castle habitants helped answer some questions: Graham Jones, a missionary, recounted to him the legend of the vampire hunters sealing Dracula away in 1999. Yoko Belnades, a member of the church, relieved him with the knowledge that his natural "dark power" (as Genya coined it), as ruler and commander of the monsters, did not necessarily make him "evil." Yoko also warned him that Graham Jones, who he encountered earlier, may very well be the one to "inherit Dracula's power." And then there was Hammer, a soldier who was dispatched to investigate the shrine; after Soma freed Hammer from a boss' holding, the feisty soldier helped by supplying to him better weaponry. Finally, Soma met a man known only as "J" who had been suffering from amnesia since 1999; J came to castle in curiosity of the underground prophecy, in hope that he might regain his memory. From his meetings with the youth, J, too, came to recognize the dark power within Soma.

A second meeting with Graham proved Yoko's words to be true: Soma learned that Graham was born on the same day that Dracula was destroyed. It wasn't coincidence, Graham thought--he insisted that it was his destiny to inherit Dracula's power and become the dark lord incarnate! To belittle Soma's efforts, his insecurity prevalent, Graham claimed not to have harmed him during their previous meeting because he had no fear of the young man or the dark power that he possessed. Pouting that he would not allow Soma to rule, the somewhat jealous Graham exited to the castle's throne room. Word of this meeting was enough to make Yoko believe that Graham, though quickly gaining power, was now off balance and thus susceptible; when Graham learned of her presence, he eventually caught up with Yoko in the castle's depth and attempted to eliminate her. Soma arrived just in time to scare him off and save Yoko from any further damage. Genya, too, arrived at the scene and agreed with Yoko that Graham had absorbed the castle's power. He turned to Soma and again demanded that he hurry to the throne room, assuring him that Yoko, like Mina, would be taken care of. Soma, who was tired of being manipulated, scurried out of the caverns and intensified his efforts.

His final meeting was another with J, who by now had regained enough of his memory to remember that he, Julius Belmont, was the one that vanquished Dracula back in 1999. Soma informed Julius that Graham was indeed Count Dracula incarnate; Belmont, though, had a hunch that he was not. "Pray that my hunch proves to be wrong," Julius said, ominously. Belmont remembered one other thing, which spurned his new goal to locate the Vampire Killer whip, which he had sealed away in the castle, back then, as a symbol to further weaken Dracula's spirit essence and magical powers.

Soma finally arrived at the Master's chamber, the throne room within the castle keep. It seemed to be too late: Dracula's power was well within Graham's reach. Soma pleaded that Graham use his powers to let he, Mina and the others escape, but Graham had no such inclination, for he would instead use his powers to destroy Soma for what he felt was grand theft--that Soma had committed the unforgivable crime of "stealing" the souls of his demons. A battle commenced, and in the end, Graham could not overcome his adversary. "This cannot be! Does this mean that I'm not Dracula?!" a gravely dejected Graham uttered before his obliteration. Having now absorbed even Graham's powers, Soma finally came to realize the cold truth: It was actually he who was Count Dracula! Or was he? Genya again entered the picture to clear things up: He explained that he brought Soma to the castle because his and Dracula's powers were one in the same. So, using Soma as a host, he would teach the youth how to use his natural ability to absorb souls and spirits in hope that Soma, as "the Dark Lord," would gain entry into a sealed location where "only Dracula could go." This entryway, inhabited by a stream of chaos, was the source from where the Count's power was leaking out, and Genya needed Soma to breach this seal. Genya's plan, while dangerous, was dependent on Soma breaching the seal and forcing it closed before himself fully absorbing Dracula's power, in which case he would truly become the Dark Lord incarnate. Soma, his spirit weakening, quickly headed toward the sealed location.

The entryway opened as planned. It seemed like clear sailing until Julius Belmont arrived with the Vampire Killer whip in hand; as he had suspected, Soma was "the Dark Lord," the one he was destined to vanquish from this world. Refusing to heed Soma's words, he launched an attack with his legendary powers; though, they weren't enough to stop the determined Soma. Soma knew, however, that Julius was going easy on him, that he was holding back; Julius confirmed this theory, revealing that he held back because he sensed Soma's true spirit within. Before moving on to complete his objective, Soma asked a favor of Julius: He asked the old vampire-hunting master to kill him if he were to lose the final battle and thus become the reincarnation of the Dark Lord. Julius agreed to his request, hoping that it wouldn't be the case.

To a chaotic realm he traveled, and he dredged his way through to its point of origin. Though, Soma couldn't help but feel some doubt--after all, he had been lied to several times and couldn't anymore tell fact from fiction. Sensing his diminishing spirit, to show their support, Mina and the rest combined their abilities to psychically contact Soma with words of encouragement; this act of faith was indeed the reaffirmation he needed. He entered into the source, suppressing all doubt. In a battle for his life and the lives of his friends, Soma came through: He released the captured souls into the grasp of the chaos and thus destroyed it, resealing the castle in the darkness of the eclipse, ridding himself of the flowing power, and thereby transporting he and his friends out to the safety of the Hakuba Shrine. Outside, an unconscious Soma awakened atop the shrine in the arms of Mina. This he wanted Mina to know: While the fight was over, Soma knew that even though he would never change that somewhere deep down inside of him the spirit of Dracula lay sleeping. Much to his relief, Mina promised to always stand by his side, to again show her support should something bad ever happen.

The two good friends then turned their attention to the sky, where the eclipse was finally ending.

Page 19: Deep Burden | Back to Page 17