The King (In Stars and Time) (2024)

The King is the main antagonist of the indie RPGs START AGAIN: a prologue and In Stars and Time. He is a mysterious man from the Forgotten Country, wanting to freeze all of Vaugarde in time as genuine thanks for taking care of him, keeping them safe as he sees fit.

Personality[]

The King is protective yet obsessive, wanting to keep Vaugarde safe in his own twisted way, ignoring the fact that his actions are causing more harm than good. He is ruthless, having no qualms in harming or killing others, even children, just to get his way. Though he describes himself as merciful, his actions prove otherwise, and the cast's cutting words to him only show how self-centered his goals are.

Despite his villainous traits, The King genuinely loves Vaugarde, his goals stemming from fear of losing his home a second time. Even then, he is still affected by his amnesia, even risking his own life to remember his country. He also shows politeness, act or not, being cordial with Siffrin specifically. He tries a diplomatic approach to get the cast to back down, resorting to violence when it's clear they've made up their mind.

The King's most notable trait is his perpetual sadness, spending almost all of his time onscreen in tears as a result of his fears and tragedy. Though, he is able to snap out of it when necessary.

Biography[]

Background[]

The King, not yet named so, was born in the Forgotten Country, living there until he finds himself on a beach in Vaugarde without his memories from there, the previous country having been erased from everyone's mind. He was taken in and cared for there, eventually settling in Corbeaux.

Learning to love Vaugarde, he wanted to freeze it in time to prevent it from being the same fate as his country, using Wish Craft to make a wish that would allow him to do so, which ended with him gaining Time Craft. Beginning his quest, he made his way to the House in Dormont, spreading his Curse to almost everyone, barring Mirabelle, from within before being locked in. He gives himself the title of The King after realizing that he's disregarding everyone's will except his own.

START AGAIN: a prologue[]

The heroes make their way to the King through the House, confronting him. The King tries to convince the crew to stop fighting him, but he fails, and they fight. In most endings, the King succeeds in wiping out the whole crew before Siffrin (who later becomes Loop from the latter game) loops back.

In the True Ending, the crew succeeds in beating The King, telling him off for his crimes before killing him. This doesn't end the loops.

In Stars and Time[]

The story follows the same beats as START AGAIN until after the King first wipes out the crew, except for following a separate Siffrin than in START AGAIN and The King asking Siffrin if he remembers their country before the fight. After this, the heroes are able to find a book containing a protection spell for Mirabelle, which makes beating the King easier than in START AGAIN.

After it's reestablished beating the King doesn't end the loops, Siffrin works to understand the situation he's in. He starts with learning about the King, eventually learning through documents of the King and asking him upfront, that they come from the same country. He comes to fully understand the King's motives and past as similar to his own, even possibly killing himself with exhaustion along with the King when trying to remember their home. Unfortunately, when trying to use what he learned to redeem the King, he and the rest of the crew are tricked into letting their guard down before the King freezes them all. He reveals he figured out about Siffrin's ability to loop back through time. He starts to slowly kill each of Siffrin's friends in front of him in order to break him into leaving him be, though only getting as far as Bonnie before Siffrin loops back. This heavily damages both Siffrin's psyche and he loses his ability to emphasize with the King. Though, he still needs to go through the King and ask him questions to learn more about his situation, begrudingly and fearfully.

This continues until the final loop, where Siffrin fights the King one on one, fully broken by the loops. The King goes all out, talking with Siffrin about his situation, having deduced what is happening to him. He freezes Siffrin in time, leaving him to fight with his own issues before the crew comes and saves him. The King tries to kill them all, but his attack is reflected on him by Mirabelle. He is frozen in time, his reign ended for good, but not before remembering his country.

Quotes[]