Topic: Wait what. Was it actually that simple?

[Lumi Kløvstad]

So I beat my Lords of Shadow replay. It was tons o' fun. Moved on.

Which brings me to Alucard in Mirror of Fate. Alucard, and his stupid emo whip, "Dark Pain".

Never mind the fact that Nine Inch Nails seems to have named his weapon, the whip itself was crafted by Toymaker as a sort of "grim reprise" and a mockery of the original Combat Cross made by Toymaker's original teacher, Rinaldo Gandolfi. More importantly, it is said by the game to only reach its full power when wielded by a creature of the night, which in this context means vampire.

So what is this weapon doing at all in Dracula's Castle?

I can't believe it took me this long to put it together.

It just occurred to me that Dracula didn't just get his blood whip overnight -- the mere existence of the Dark Pain being made specifically for vampires seems to suggest otherwise. Dark Pain (most likely) served as an interim weapon that Dracula used whilst coming to grips with his new powers. When he fully developed his blood whip and mastered it, he had no further need for the physical device, and presumably had it stored away, where eventually the Ghost of the Mirror retrieved it so Alucard would have the means to reach and confront his father (confront, but not kill, because you know, fate and destiny and such).

Really, this much should have been obvious to me all along.

I'm slipping, guys.

[zangetsu468]

All of that makes sense, except for the end of LOS1, Gabriel absorbs TF1's power and crushes the combat cross with one hand... Part of the reason I stopped liking this series. LOS1 would've been much more successful if they stopped at 1 or repeated what made the first game great.

[Dracula9]

Doubt it. More likely he just had one made for Trevor once he turned him, since a dark creature wouldn't be wielding a Brotherhood weapon with as much efficacy (yes I know Gabe out-prayed the Paladin, but he gets a pass because Muh Chosen One, Alucard doesn't have that benefit).

Think about it. Once he got Forgotten's power, there's really no need for a measly chain in a stick anymore, regardless of how attuned to vampire power it might be. Forgotten's power was described as being quite literally capable of wiping the planet off the cosmic map, so I really don't think Gabe needed an adjustment period with a puny physical and earthly (keyword "earthly," as his Dracula weapons aren't exactly "regular" in nature) weapon. Only adjustment period I'd imagine he'd need would be to learn what he could do with his bitchin' new powers and how to weaponize them.

Blood/dark whip was probably the first thing he taught himself, in honesty.

[TatteredSeraph]

I was of the belief that when Gabriel crushed the Vampire Killer, a chnk of its power was absorbed into him, which combined with his control over his blood allowed for him to create the blood / shadow whip.

[Claimh Solais]

(yes I know Gabe out-prayed the Paladin, but he gets a pass because Muh Chosen One, Alucard doesn't have that benefit).

Oh, god, that scene was so damn cool. It's really too bad the rest of the game didn't live up.

I don't think MS thought too hard about the weapon's origins or not, but somehow I doubt it.

I agree with D9's theory about the Blood Whip and everything. They largely, to me, just seemed like physical manifestations of his power.

[Dracula9]

Oh, god, that scene was so damn cool. It's really too bad the rest of the game didn't live up.

My absolute favorite scene from 2, and one of the top scenes in the trilogy for me. It hits the lore in every sweet spot. It's really a shame indeed the rest of 2 didn't stack up.

[Lumi Kløvstad]

Doubt it. More likely he just had one made for Trevor once he turned him, since a dark creature wouldn't be wielding a Brotherhood weapon with as much efficacy

The hole I see in this theory is that he didn't even know Trevor existed until AFTER he very nearly killed him.

[Dracula9]

Except for the whole

once he turned him

thing.

[Lumi Kløvstad]

I dunno man. For some reason I feel like the Nine Inch Nails Whip existed before that point. I can't circle anything on a chart specifically that says it, but it's more like a gut feeling that I've had since I first played the game.