Chapter 18: The Ring of Chaos

Chapter 18: The Ring of Chaos (18章　三年の歳月 18-Shō San-nen no Saigetsu, "Chapter 18: Passing of Three Years") is the eighteenth chapter in the storyline of Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Regaining consciousness after an unknown event, Pit must investigate what happened during his absence.

Land Battle
Pit awakens from his slumber, confused regarding his whereabouts. He attempts to communicate with Palutena to no avail, and slowly begins recalling his recent fight with the Aurum. He notices a ring on the ground, and contemplates the reason why the name "Chaos Kin" is cemented in his mind. Suddenly, a young girl's hand reaches out and grabs the ring, lifting the object up and observing it curiously. As Pit comes to realize that he currently resides within the ring, the girl places the ring on her finger, granting Pit control over her movements.

As Pit tries to make sense of the situation, he spots centurions flying down to a war-torn town. He decides to use the girl's body to investigate—however, he accidentally trips, causing the girl to drop the ring on the floor. With no body of his own, Pit begins to panic, but a dog walks up to the ring and picks it up in its mouth, giving Pit control over its movements as well. Traveling the rest of the way to the town in the dog's body, Pit witnesses his own body flying overhead, shooting at something unseen below. Though this only makes him more confused, he presses on regardless, traveling through the wreckage of the town.

Shortly after he encounters Magnus, who he finds fighting off hoards of centurions on his own. Pit tries to call out to him, but as he is currently using the body of a dog, the man fails to hear him. He then starts walking away, prompting Pit to run after him and hop onto his back. Pit shoves the ring into Magnus's face until he finally takes it, though Magnus quickly loses interest and tosses it behind him. Pit begs him to take the ring as he starts walking away, and after a few moments, Magnus seems to have a sudden change of heart when he turns back and takes it after all. Magnus places the ring on his finger, and as Pit rejoices, Magnus takes notice of the angel's voice.

Now having control over Magnus's movements, Pit points out their ability to communicate with one another, prompting Magnus to question why Pit isn't in his own body. Pit is unsure of the answer and points out how it was only recently that the two fought in Dark Lord Gaol's Castle together. Magnus reveals that this event actually occurred three years prior, coming as a huge shock to the angel. He then explains that one day, Palutena's Army vanished, leaving the Underworld Army to wreak havoc. Once Palutena's Army reappeared, they began attacking the humans they swore to protect, leaving mankind to fight off both armies on their own. Magnus tells Pit that they must defeat Pit's Body—a task that he had initially set off to do before Pit's reappearance—and the two press on through the town, fighting off both Underworld troops and Palutena's Army along the way.

Intensity Gate
A level 6.0 Intensity can be found in the alleyway with Centurion Knights, which leads to the upper level of the previous room. Here, the player will gain access to a Treasure Box, and will encounter two Skuttlers and a Skuttler Mage on the way back.

Zodiac Chamber
In the area with a hot spring and a Souflee, a Zodiac Chamber can be found to the left, which contains the Aries Armor.

Boss Battle
Pit arrives on a large platform, where his own body silently lands before him. Magnus tells Pit to defeat the impostor while being careful not to kill him in the process, and the battle initiates shortly after.

During the battle, Pit's Body fights exactly as Pit would when equipped with a bow—he can use melee, ranged, dash, and charge attacks. As such, he is also capable of dodging and toppling over like Pit can in battle. This makes the fight relatively straightforward: Pit's Body will take advantage of Magnus's melee-only battle style and keep a safe distance away, shooting at Pit with ranged attacks. The player must look for an opening and get in close enough to use melee attacks, which will slightly alter Pit's Body's strategy. At this point, he will dodge out of the way and attempt to use more melee attacks; however, if Pit strikes him hard enough to send him flying across the stage, Pit's Body will revert to using ranged attacks until the player bridges the gap between them again.

Post-Boss Battle
Once Pit's Body has been defeated, Magnus places the ring on Pit's finger, causing it to shatter. He then proceeds to gently shake Pit awake, and Pit immediately hops to his feet and strikes a pose in celebration. After thanking Magnus for his help, Pit calls out for Palutena's assistance, to which he is granted the Power of Flight and promptly whisked away.

Air Battle
As Pit expresses his gratitude to Palutena, Viridi reveals herself to be the one directing his flight path instead. Pit questions Palutena's absence, and the goddess of nature decides to simply show him the situation rather than explaining.

She sends Pit in to witness the ruins of Skyworld, and a large projection of Palutena emerges from behind her temple soon after. She states that the gods can change just as everything else does, declaring her disdain for humans before launching several floating islands at the angel. Insisting that Palutena is being manipulated, Pit orders Viridi to send him in closer, to which she complies—however, he collides with a massive force field surrounding the temple. While he complains that Viridi intentionally let him collide with the barrier, the goddess of nature extracts him from the battlefield, transporting him to one of her own residences.

Weapons
The following is a list of weapons most commonly obtained in this chapter.


 * Guardian Orbitars
 * Bullet Blade
 * Magnus Club

Trivia

 * This is the only chapter to be played in the order of Land Battle, Boss Battle, and finally, Air Battle.
 * At the beginning, when the Ring of Chaos is shown against the black background, the player can move the Circle Pad to make the ring shake slightly.
 * The track that plays during the Air Battle contains a remixed excerpt from Chapter 12's Air Battle music.
 * This is the only chapter whose boss is not displayed in the credits; instead, the girl, the dog, and the Ring of Chaos are shown to represent the chapter.