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Gongora is the main antagonist of Lost Odyssey. A powerful sorcerer, he is one of the five Immortals sent to investigate the source of their world's decay - unfortunately, he becomes twisted by his own emotions and tries to remain in this world to become its ruler. To do so, he sealed the memories of his fellow Immortals before plotting to construct a colossal magic engine called Grand Staff. With this, Gongora planned to access and destroy the Tower of Mirrors, separating the two worlds and leaving him to rule over mortals for all time.
History[]
Arrival[]
When his homeworld began to mysteriously erode, Gongora joined Kaim Argonar, Seth Balmore, Ming Numara, and Sarah Sisulart in travelling to a parallel world to investigate the cause. Using the Tower of Mirrors, the quintet came to the new world and slowly integrated into their society, learning that their world's decay was caused by the raw power of human emotion reacting with the latent magic energy of the worlds. They also discovered that time flowed differently in the other world, with one of their years being equal to a thousand human years; moreover, they were incredibly resilient against the dangers of the human world. These traits combined made Gongora and his allies nearly impossible to kill as long as they remained in the other world, leading to them being labelled "Immortals."
Unfortunately, Gongora's time among mortals caused him to become corrupted by his own emotions, giving him a taste for conquest and a lust for godhood. He thus began scheming to separate the human world and his homeworld, leaving him to rule over the former without interference from the latter. However, Gongora knew that his companions would oppose his ambitions - thus, they had to be removed. Since they were also Immortals, Gongora knew that he could not kill them; instead, he decided to erase their memories. To this end, he arranged various horrific disasters and traumas to drive his former allies to despair, putting them in a state where he could erase their memories and put them in positions for later use.
Actions in Uhra[]
By the start of the game proper, Gongora is a member of the Uhran Council, leading the efforts to develop magic-based technology. His masterwork is Grand Staff, a colossal magic engine that will supposedly revolutionize society; however, it is noted to be leaking magic energy and corrupting the local wildlife into monsters. Learning that Kaim and Seth have been sent to investigate the problem, Gongora personally assigns Jansen Friedh to accompany them. He secretly gives Jansen a magic pearl which can induce further amnesia, offering to triple Jansen's pay if he uses it on Kaim or Seth if either Immortal appears to be regaining their memories. Unbeknownst to Jansen, Gongora also implanted him with "Spy Eyes", tiny lenses that allowed the evil Immortal to see things through Jansen's eyes.
With the trio busy at Grand Staff (and later, Numara), Gongora manipulates Tolten, the well-meaning but naive Prince of Uhra, in a bid to reinstate the monarchy. To this end, Gongora sends his puppet, Councilman Roxian, to attack Tolten with mud dolls, forcing the prince to kill him in self-defense. After personally killing the head of the Council, Gongora sets up a global broadcast wherein Tolten announces his intent to assume the throne as the new king of Uhra - and, having been deceived by Gongora's facade of sincerity, he makes Gongora his second-in-command. At some point, Gongora also implants a Spy Eye on Tolten for future use.
First Resistance[]
With his plans in full motion, Gongora travels to Experimental Staff - the testing bed for Grand Staff - in order to cannibalize its parts for his ultimate magic engine. While overseeing operations from the Glass Chamber, he was struck by a telepathic command from the Immortals back in his home world, demanding that he return to them. As Gongora shook off the message, his onetime investigation team arrived to confront him (now joined by Cooke, Mack, Ming, and Sarah). His attempts to manipulate them further proved to him that their amnesia was fading - however, some of their memories were still being blocked. Claiming that the other four Immortals were traitors to their original mission, Gongora engaged them in battle; despite the party's strong resistance, he laughed off their attacks before defeating them instantly with his Pain Surge spell.
Tolten arrives at the end of the battle, horrified to see the aftermath. Gongora explains that the party was "a threat to your Majesty's life" - although Tolten is unconvinced upon seeing the Queen of Numara and two children among the fallen, Gongora convinces him to leave them and return to Uhra. On his way out, Gongora secretly sets Experimental Staff to self-destruct, hoping to finish his enemies off by drowning them in the sea. Unfortunately for him, Lirum's spirit revives Cooke and Mack, who then revive the others in time to escape the sinking fortress and return to Saman.
Rising Power[]
Shortly afterwards, Gongora establishes a deal with King Mars of Gohtza, promising to give him the knowledge and materials to build a Grand Staff of his own. Tolten leaves Gongora in charge of Uhra while he leaves to discuss the proliferation of magic engines with Queen Ming and King Mars. Seeing an opportunity, Gongora publicly announces that Tolten was assassinated by the Gohtzans; with no offspring or relatives to the former King, Gongora "reluctantly" declares that he will succeed Tolten as King of Uhra.
With the crowd riled up and baying for vengeance, Gongora boards Grand Staff to meet with seven of the most powerful sorcerers in the land. He "tests" their loyalty by striking them down in turn with his magic - when one resists, Gongora furiously destroys him outright. The other six sorcerers are revived and empowered as Gongora's Dark Acolytes, who subsequently help him launch an attack on Gohtza with Grand Staff's power. This attack decimates a huge portion of the Gohtzan military and freezes many of the citizens, including the King. However, Gongora failed to defeat his main enemies once again - Kaim, Sarah, Cooke, and Mack survived the attacks on their respective trains, Tolten's attending sorcerer activated an emergency transport to send his king back to Uhra (with Seth being brought along), while Ming and Jansen used their magic to survive the freezing aftermath of Gongora's magic attack.
Back in Uhra, Gongora officially announces that Tolten chose him as successor to the throne of Uhra. To formalize his kingship, he planned to sacrifice a group of recently-captured pirates - including Sed, the mortal son of Seth. Before the execution could be performed, Uhra suddenly came under attack by a force of Gohtzan troops hidden underground by King Mars in case Uhra reneged on their end of the deal. Tolten and Seth managed to free Sed and escape the city in the confusion while Gongora summons a multitude of magic beasts to annihilate the Gohtzan military. Gongora then boards Grand Staff and flies it back to the Sea of Baus.
To the Tower of Mirrors[]
The Immortals and their allies soon stormed Grand Staff, but they failed to meet up with Gongora before he left in the upper half of the colossal machine. The party successfully escaped the sinking base aboard the White Boa, defeating Gongora's acolytes in the process. When a large beam of magical energy emerges from the ocean, the party realizes Gongora's plan: using Grand Staff's power to align the stars with the Tower of Mirrors, he intends to destroy the mirrors and break the link between the worlds of mortals and Immortals.
En route to the Tower of Mirrors, Gongora finds himself confronted by the heroes once again after they used the Nautilus to infiltrate the remains of Grand Staff. After another debate over ideals and his own growing madness, Gongora reveals that he can possess Jansen's body via a magical "contract" they made when the latter worked for him. In this fashion, Gongora used Jansen like a puppet against the party until he tires of their resistance and ends the fight himself. As he mocks Kaim's continued defense of the strength of the bonds between mortals, Grand Staff collides with the Tower of Mirrors; Gongora promptly releases Jansen and escapes to the Tower as his onetime invention begins to fall apart. From there, he patiently waited for his foes to arrive, planning to end their existences before finally putting his plan into motion.
Final Battle[]
When the party reached the Tower of Mirrors, Gongora opened a portal to the Immortals' world, releasing a light that immediately began weakening his mortal foes. He explained that the light coming from the mirrors simulated the time-accelerated environment of the Immortals' homeworld; as such, he and his former companions had effectively become mortal. He also revealed the final steps of his plan - with Uhra under his control and Gohtza eliminated, he only had to defeat his fellow Immortals (which conveniently included the Queen of Numara) and shatter the mirrors to finally attain "The Throne of the Gods"; eternal, uncontested rule over the human world.
To test his enemies, Gongora first summoned a Luminous Magic Beast to attack them. When the heroes overcame it, Gongora unleashed the full extent of his own power, transforming into a darker, monstrous form with which to battle the other Immortals. The fight seemed hopeless as Gongora continuously increased his power by drawing power from the mirrors' light, but the Mortals banded together to create a shield of darkness in front of the mirrors, covering the light and weakening Gongora enough for the Immortals to defeat him at last.
After the battle, Gongora was severely weakened, but the Mortals find themselves trapped in the barrier as the deadly light of the mirrors begins to eat through their shield. As the Immortals futilely searched for a way to save their friends, Gongora recovered from his previous beating and announced that he had won; the only way to save the Mortals was to break the mirrors and complete his plan. With victory within his grasp, what little remained of his sanity seemed to come undone; he deliriously ranted about having storage tanks of magic energy everywhere (to use as backup weapons following Grand Staff's destruction) and threatened to seal his foes' memories forever; however, he was tackled and restrained by an enraged Seth, who ordered Kaim to break the mirrors so she could trap Gongora on their home world. After a moment's hesitation, Kaim reluctantly destroyed the mirrors by throwing Gongora's staff into them, opening the path between worlds one last time. Gongora could only scream in fury and dismay as Seth forced them both through the portal, trapping them in the Immortals' world forever as the Tower of Mirrors crumbled.
It is unknown what happened to Gongora after being returned to his world, but he was likely punished by the other Immortals for his evil deeds.
Battle[]
Gongora is fought three times over the course of the story; however, only the final fight is a true boss battle. The other two fights are semi-scripted and cannot be won - the party must simply survive for a set number of turns.
Battle 1: Experimental Staff Glass Chamber[]
In your first encounter with Gongora, you don't even need to attack him - in fact, using anything more elaborate than a standard attack will only cause him to mock your efforts. Instead, focus on buffing your defenses with All-Barricade, Generate, and Cover (if available).
On his turn, Gongora will alternate between casting Forceus and Prisma, dealing moderate to high damage to either one person (Forceus) or the whole party (Prisma). As long as at least one caster is spamming Zephyr(a) every turn, you should be able to endure the assault. On his fifth turn, Gongora will cast Pain Surge, instantly defeating the party and ending the battle.
Battle 2: Grand Staff Control Room[]
When the party confronts Gongora in Grand Staff, the villain uses his magic to puppeteer Jansen against his friends. Similar to the battles with the Obsidian Miasma and the Old Sorceress, you cannot allow Jansen's HP to hit 0 - as such, your best option is to defend and heal exclusively. Make sure you've removed all counterattack skills from your party to ensure that you don't accidentally attack Jansen.
The Gongora-possessed Jansen will only attack with basic Black Magic - nothing really threatening, even without your defensive buffs and healing. After a few turns, Gongora will once again end the battle automatically, this time using Meteor Impact to defeat the party in one fell swoop.
Final Battle: Tower of Mirrors[]
Gongora will start things off by summoning a Luminous Magic Beast to fight you. Once you've taken it down, he'll transform himself into a more demonic form and engage your Immortals in battle.
Initially, the battle is once again scripted, with your mortal party members using various "Support" skills to counteract the effects of Gongora's attacks. You can get by simply by defending, but feel free to attack the villain a few times - note that his element and type will change between turns, so you might want to get used to switching your rings around to get maximum damage.
After cycling through Breaks, All-Stone, Wall Break, Pain Surge, and Meteor Impact, Gongora will use Light Absorb, initiating a cutscene. Once it ends, the real final battle will begin.
Gongora uses most of the attacks he used in the first phase of the battle, but his Pain Surge and Meteor Impact are greatly weakened - nonetheless, keep your buffs up and have Ming and Sarah ready to heal. If your Immortals are all equipped with the "Ailment-Proof" skill, the fight becomes much less of a headache - they'll negate Gongora's multi-target ailment-inducing spells and his newest skill: Manipulate, which temporarily turns one of your characters against you. Once again, keep an eye on his element and type and switch your rings around to maximize your damage output - after enough of a beating, Gongora will fall and you'll complete the game!