Topic: Question regarding battle of 1999/Aria of Sorrow

[crisis]

Just a random thought I had the other night, it might’ve been explained but I don’t remember. So why did Julius leave the Vampire Killer in the castle in 1999? The threat of Dracula has been neutralized thanks to the Hakuba clan sealing the castle in the eclipse. Why didn’t he say to himself “okay let me hold onto my family’s ancestral weapon just in case” or nobody suggest that to him?

[X]

From what I remember Julius left it in the castle to help further weaken Dracula's powers since both he and the castle are connected. But when you really think about it, it seems like a wasted plot point as it was never followed up in the game's story.

[Scarlet starlet]

I have always thought the holy whip was the centerpiece of whatever sorcery the hakubas put on the castle. The magic itself wasn't THAT important, it could have simply offered the means to use the vampire killer in a new, lethal way. This is why julius had to relinquish it in in my headcanon

I wonder why no one reached Julius after the whole ordeal was over. Did they really left him wandering in amnesia for 30+ years? Did they think he was dead or something?

[Mysterii]

To me, it seems as though since they believed that since Dracula was permadead, they didn't feel the need to remind Julius that he was a Belmont.

[GuyStarwind]

Yeah, I thought it just weakened the castle further. Who knows? There's a lot to that story which is a "who knows".

Kind of a random side note. First time playing AoS, I thought Julius was trapped in the castle that was trapped in the eclipses and that's why he lost his memories because he was just wandering in a giant castle alone for all those years and it made him a little crazy. Unless that's what the story was and I was right the whole time?

[AlexCalvo]

Yeah, I thought it just weakened the castle further. Who knows? There's a lot to that story which is a "who knows".

Kind of a random side note. First time playing AoS, I thought Julius was trapped in the castle that was trapped in the eclipses and that's why he lost his memories because he was just wandering in a giant castle alone for all those years and it made him a little crazy. Unless that's what the story was and I was right the whole time?

Nope, still wrong.

[Shiroi Koumori]

What I personally believe is that Julius' memory is also part of the ritual along with the whip that is why he's an amnesiac.

[X]

It was mentioned in-game that he suffered an accident which brought about his amnesia. Most likely it happened after the battle with Dracula when Castlevania started to collapse while they were escaping. Alucard would have been the only one strong enough to rush an unconscious Julius out of harm's way. Once everyone was clear of the castle the final stages of the ritual would've taken place and then Castlevania was sealed away.

[GuyStarwind]

Nope, still wrong.

Ha. That's what I thought.

It was mentioned in-game that he suffered an accident which brought about his amnesia. Most likely it happened after the battle with Dracula when Castlevania started to collapse while they were escaping. Alucard would have been the only one strong enough to rush an unconscious Julius out of harm's way. Once everyone was clear of the castle the final stages of the ritual would've taken place and then Castlevania was sealed away.

I'm sure you're 100% right. It's been forever since I've played AoS.

[X]

I'm sure you're 100% right. It's been forever since I've played AoS.

Well, don't quote me on this one with a 100% but thanks anyways, lol. Julius stated his accident that caused his amnesia. Everything else I mentioned is all conjecture but it makes sense in my mind.

[theplottwist]

In english he says that it was to weaken Dracula's spirit and magical power. But in japanese he says the whip was used to break Dracula's soul from his magical power. Subtle difference but still a difference.

[crisis]

I wonder if it was Saint Germain that suggested the idea to them? Being that he couldn’t interact directly... Maybe Julius wanted to take the whip but Germain said to leave it in order to “maintain balance” so to speak. Otherwise why else would he even be there? I dunno, the rules he abides by are weird & anything regarding his role in 1999 will be pure speculation at this point

[X]

I have doubts that he would mention that to Julius. He's a time traveler, merely observing; touching nothing, changing nothing. He's forbidden from interfering in any and all historical events. The idea of leaving the whip behind could have come from other sources instead. Alucard knows more about Dracula and Castlevania itself so he could have brought up the suggestion. Julius himself might have know about this as well via his ancestral knowledge. It's obvious St. Germain would known but as mentioned above; time traveler. The Hakuba priests would have absolutely no knowledge as they first showed up in 1999 and have never encountered Dracula or his armies before. Any knowledge they have would be limited to eastern mythology/demonology. Specifically of Japanese origin. Unless IGA actually fleshed out that part of AoS story (which I don't think he had) then all we can do is guess.

[zangetsu468]

It makes sense that Julius left the VK behind in context. the way I interpret it is Castlevania itself is a 'Creature of Chaos', which exists in both the astral and physical realms, so to speak. Leaving it in there is like stuffing bulbs of garlic into an ordinary vampire's open wound.

@ Plottwist The VK was used to destroy Dracula completely, so while the Japanese translation is subtly different, the VK being "used to separate Dracula's soul from his magical power" sounds to be referring to the final battle mores o than the act of leaving the VK behind.

This actually came up in a topic I posted in 2015. https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/index.php?topic=8229.0
Again, thanks to Plottwist for pointing out Julius' character description in DoS:

Julius Belmont:
A descendant of a clan of vampire hunters, he wields a generations-old whip named "Vampire Killer."  He lost his memory when he defeated Dracula in 1999, and only regained it during last year's incident.  He now assists the Church in their undertakings.

"When he defeated Dracula" is still arbitrary, but it gives a much better understanding or timeframe of when/why this occurred.

The most straight forward response as to why is that the Hakuba Ritual potentially merged both the VK's Memory to Julius' memory.. Since we aren't privy to the inner workings of the Hakuba Ritual, the world may never know.

I interpret Julius destroying Dracula, sealing the VK into the throne room where Dracula resurrects (maybe in the coffin/ altar itself) and then fleeing the Castle. When the window between astral and physical realms had shut and Castlevania was completely removed from the physical world, Julius' mind was so strongly interwoven with it that it blanked.. In AoS he mentions something to the effect of awakening in the hospital and  not remembering his name which is why he goes by "J", he also mentions whenever he hears the name 'Dracula' he has a negative reaction.

Whether it was a byproduct of the ritual to preserve the identity and future lineage of the Belmonts isn't clear, but the memory loss appears to not be intentional imo. It seems more circumstantial to both defeating Dracula and being separated from the VK.

[comeau]

Aside from what's already been said in this thread regarding the use of the Whip to sever Dracula's soul from his magical power:

Why didn’t he say to himself “okay let me hold onto my family’s ancestral weapon just in case” or nobody suggest that to him?

I think it'd be reasonable to say that, in-universe, they didn't expect to have to deal with the castle reappearing ever again - and at that point, with Dracula presumedly dead for good, the Belmont bloodline would've effectively served their lifelong purpose in combatting him.

I might be assuming that, though, since Arikado was making visits to the Shrine for at least 10 years prior to the events of AoS - which seems to imply that he might've been testing the integrity of the seal placed upon the castle, just in case.