The Ultimate Trial

“With the three Sentinel Trials completed, the ultimate trial awaits...”

―Mission Briefing

The Ultimate Trial is the fourth and final map of The Sentinel Trials saga, created by RoachTheIntelCollector.

Overview[]

The Ultimate Trial is a small map compared to previous maps. The map is set at a gladiatorial arena in the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt, and features two prominent areas; the first area being the spawn area, while the second is the large circular arena just south of spawn. The map features the least amount of perks and wallbuys in the entire saga, however utilities such as the Pack-a-Punch Machine and Mystery Box are still present in the map, being located on the center podium in the main arena and in the spawn area respectively.

The map also consist of four trial rooms that branch off of the center area. These trial rooms contain a fractured portion of a previous map in the Roach Chronicles, and features a boss fight with a previous character. Once all four trial rooms are completed, the final arena will open north of spawn, where the final boss fight will occur.

Story[]

Vindicta and Oracle soon step out of the portal in the middle of the desert. As the portal closes behind them, Oracle explains that the time for the ultimate trial has come. Mark questions if she will help give them clues in order to solve the trial, but Oracle explains that this time it is them that must discover what to do, saying they will know what to do when the time comes. Holding the three apparitions of the Sentinel Artifacts, Oracle combines them into one large physical artifact, giving it to Mac. Mac then activates the artifact, causing the ground below them to shake. Suddenly, a massive desert arena raises from the sand below them. Oracle then wishes the four good luck before disappearing. As zombies started to raise from the sand, the four readied their weapons one last time, with Jones saying that it was an honor to fight by their side. As the four fought around the circular arena, they discover four buttons on four pedestals around the center podium. Mac instructs the others to go to a separate button and press them at the same time. Once everyone got into position, Mac counted down from three before the four of them pressed their respective buttons. This causes four doors to open on the outer wall of the arena, each of them taking the form of a portal. While three of the portals were dimmed down in color, one of them was pulsating, which caught the attention of Simon, saying that that must be the portal they must go through. Agreeing, the four arm up before entering the portal.

Vindicta soon finds themselves in an underground chamber with a small forming rift near the center. Mark questions where they were, but Mac soon realizes where they are as the silhouette of the Soulless emblem formed in front of them. As Prima Materia soon encased the symbol, it manifested into none other than Xarcoh, the Soulless of Roach. Wearing his original black coat, Xarcoh at first questions what was going on before more Prima Materia surrounds him, corrupting his mind and forcing him to challenge the four to a fight. As Vindicta fought against Xarcoh, Simon questions Mac on who he was. Mac explains that he was Xarcoh, Roach's Soulless who formed after Roach removed his soul with the Harbinger in order to break a time cycle created by the Zero Arc universe version of Unit 14. As the battle raged on, Jones asks why they are fighting him in the first place. Stopping for a moment, Mac realizes that they are in Tunisia, the place where Xarcoh attempted to return to Limbo. This causes Xarcoh to pause for a moment as some of the Prima Materia surrounding him disappeared. Mark realizes that the fight wasn't about defeating Xarcoh, rather to understand how it came to be and what the repercussions of the aftermath would cause. Continuing with his story, Mac explains that despite Xarcoh's initial destruction, his newly formed soul escaped through the rift while Amici were imprisoned in the Fractured Realm. Mac then explains that Xarcoh would trigger a chain of events that somehow lead to what Vindicta were currently doing. Suddenly, Xarcoh collapses to the ground as the Prima Materia leaves his body. Xarcoh soon asks the four what this trial symbolized to them. Mac responds that it helped explain how things would eventually come to be. Satisfied, Xarcoh tells the four that they have passed the first trial room before fading away as a portal formed where he once stood.

Vindicta uses the portal to return back to the center arena, where the portal behind them disappears as the closest one to their right began to pulsate. The four then enter the portal before appearing on a side street in a city at night. Looking around, Mac spots that the moon was green, symbolizing the Green Eclipse that transpired during the Day of the Departed festival in 2017 in the Arc 1 universe. At that moment, a silhouette of Gruntijackal appears before them as Prima Materia manifests it into Gruntijackal while he was still in his spirit form. As Gruntijackal remarks that he was back yet again, he spots the Green Eclipse in the sky above along with the rift to the Fractured Realm. Having no memory of his botched attempt to resurrect himself, Gruntijackal claims he could resurrect himself with the rift before turning his attention to Vindicta, saying that he will destroy anyone who stands in his way. As zombies approached Vindicta, the four began to fight them off while also avoiding Gruntijackal's attacks. Mac explains to the others that this was Gruntijackal, an evil spirit who escaped from another universe, traveling to the Arc 1 universe in order to harness the Green Eclipse to resurrect himself, although his actions would unleash the horrors of the Fractured Realm onto the Arc 1 universe. Despite telling a part of the story, this had no effect on Gruntijackal. Jones explains that this trial didn't involve explaining how things came to be, rather it must be about something else. As Mac killed a zombie, he realized what he was doing. Mac soon tells them about the consequences of Gruntijackal's actions, saying it ruined lives, turning innocent people into the undead and taking away their futures for a time. Mac then realizes that they have been doing the same with the Sentinel Artifacts, saying that they are no different than Gruntijackal in this case. This causes Gruntijackal to stop as the undead around them faded away. Gruntijackal then tells the four that they have passed the second trial room before fading away as well, forming a portal where he stood before.

As Vindicta returned to the arena, they spotted the next portal having a dark aurora around it. As the four entered it, they arrived atop a dark tower below a massive dark hurricane. Mac explains that he doesn't recognize any of this, saying that if the trials are in chronological order, then this must've occurred before the Day of Medusa event. At that moment, the silhouette of the Cube of Darkness formed. Unlike the other two fights, darkness surrounded the silhouette, forming a masked man in front of them. Mac realizes that it was Erebus, the same entity that Umbra Ops defeated right before the Day of Medusa event occurred. Erebus soon charges towards the four, engaging them in a brutal fight. In the struggle, Erebus summoned the Harbinger. Shocked by this, Mac is able to lunge towards Erebus and is able to rip off his face mask, revealing Roach's face. Horrified, Mac realizes that Erebus was in actuality Roach himself. Mac begins to call out Roach's name, but Erebus denies that that is his name before separating Mac from the others. Mac questions Erebus, asking who he saw himself as. Erebus replies that he was an envoy for the darkness of the Dark Realm, saying that it is his mission to consume the universes in eternal darkness. Mac responds otherwise, saying that he was a protector of the universes, saying he would always put his life on the line in order to protect the ones he loved. Enraged, Erebus tackles down Mac, saying that it is his destiny to bring the end times. Punching Mac repeatedly, Mac says that he was sorry before sheading a tear, seemingly accepting defeat. Suddenly, Erebus began to struggle and he clenched his head and began to cry as well. Mac gets up and continues, saying that he never should've left his friends for retirement, saying that he could've prevented all of this. Erebus then collapses on the ground as he lets out a scream. Looking back towards Mac, he begins to cry some more, asking if it was truly him. Mac says that it was, saying that he was sorry for letting him fall into the darkness. Erebus gets up, saying that it wasn't his fault, saying that he had no control over the future, telling his friend that no matter what happened, he always knew that Mac would never truly retire, saying that they have gone through all of this trouble to undo something, trouble that has cost them more than anything they have ever done. Mac smiles before hugging his friend, telling Erebus that it was an honor to have him as a friend. Erebus responds by saying that his name was Roach before saying that they have passed the third trial room. Erebus then peacefully fades away as a portal formed where he stood. As the rest of Vindicta regrouped with Mac, they comforted him, saying that they still had one more trial room to go.

Returning to the arena, the four then enter the final trial room, where they appeared atop Shop 8. Mac then realizes who they would be fighting as the silhouette of the Goruxian symbol appeared before them as it summoned Master Ronin in his original form. Ronin is shocked at seeing Mac again, saying that it wasn't possible that he was still alive. Mac told him that he knew what this trial was asking for, saying that it wanted him to get revenge on the man that destroyed 75% of life on Earth. Ronin chuckled, asking if achieving revenge was actually worth the effort he was going through. As Ronin fought Vindicta, Mac called out Ronin as a hypocrite for his flawed beliefs, though Ronin justified himself, saying that Mac would never understand what it was like to suffer if he never suffered. Mac explained that suffering, while inevitable, wasn't something that needed to be enforced on others if possible, though Ronin refused to listen, claiming that it was those who cause it that deserve suffering the most. Tired of Ronin's words, Mac stopped fighting, much to everyone's confusion. Mac angrily yelled for Ronin to open his eyes, saying he was literally describing himself with his outlook. Before Ronin could counter, Mac advanced, saying that he understood the suffering Ronin went through, though he told the warlord that it wasn't something that he needed to equally respond with. Ronin asked what Mac was doing then if not getting his revenge, though Mac explained that he was undoing the suffering Ronin caused, explaining that all those innocent lives he took held no quarrel with him, much like the Aetherians before he provoked them. Ronin grumbled that the Aetherians were an obstacle for him to protect his people, though Mac told him that he was full of it, saying that Ronin had lost himself in his thoughts for power to the point where he no longer saw the difference between protecting and endangering, using the concept of revenge as hollow justification for getting more power. Enraged by his words, Ronin leapt towards Mac with a hidden dagger, though he quickly responded by shooting him in the chest. Mac explained that he understood it; the trial wasn't to get revenge on the man that caused his suffering, it was to reveal his errors and get him to admit it, something Ronin did with his hostile response. Ronin denies, though Mac tells him once again to open his eyes and reconsider his outlooks, saying that he sees what Ronin cannot admit verbally. A bitter Ronin solemnly told the four that they had passed the final trial room before dying of his wounds and fading away, creating an exit portal for the four to move onto the final trial room. As the last portal formed, Mac nodded to Vindicta, saying that no matter what happens, he would always be by their side.

Returning to the arena, Oracle freezes time, stopping the zombies momentarily. Oracle explains that they have done well, saying that the final battle awaits. Before Oracle disappeared again, Mac asked if the people they fought were real and not illusions. Oracle smiles, saying that it was really them, saying that the power of Prima Materia brought them back in order to test their courage. As Oracle once again disappeared, time continued as a gate to the north opened, revealing another part of the arena. The four then travel through the doorway and into a large square shaped arena. The gates soon closed behind them as the ground below them began to shake. Suddenly, Agent 14 emerged through the sand, having become heavily mutated as punishment for his actions back at Station 11. Agent 14 tells the four that this was all their fault, saying that Unit 14 deserved to have the Prima Materia for themselves. Mark tells Agent 14 that he was full of himself, saying that Unit 14 would've undoubtedly utilized Prima Materia into weapons. As zombies started to appear, Agent 14 tells the four that their long journey has come to an end before charging at the four. As the final battle occurred, Vindicta utilized the F-Space energy weapons against Agent 14, slowly destroying pieces of his limbs. As the more limbs they destroyed, the more Agent 14 would become enraged. As Agent 14 was down to his last limbs, Mac charged towards him alone. Jones questioned what he was doing, but Mac replies that he was ending it all. As Agent 14 charged towards him as well, Mac pulled out his Combat Knife before doing a flip in the air, landing behind Agent 14 and stabbing him through the back of the neck. Removing his knife, Mac and the rest of Vindicta watched as Agent 14 collapsed onto the ground and screamed one last time before exploding in a white blast, destroying him and the rest of the zombies.

Oracle soon appears once again, congratulating the four on completing the ultimate trial. Handing Mac a large vial of Prima Materia, she questions him on what he would do with such power. Nodding to the four, he replies that he would undo Master Ronin's deadly actions, brining back the people lost in the blast, as well as all of his deceased friends. Oracle smiles, saying that he has proven himself as a selfless individual with a heart of gold. Mac soon unleashes the Prima Materia from the vial, causing it to spread around the world, undoing all of Master Ronin's damage and resurrecting everyone lost in the blast. As this happened, some Prima Materia stayed in front of the group before manifesting into Gary, Doc, Rick, Chris, TJ, O'Ryan, Rook, and Roach. Mac runs over towards the others, where everyone groups up for a large group hug. Mac questions Roach if he remembered their emotional fight, to which he responds that he does. Everyone soon celebrated their victory as the sun began to set. After everyone was done celebrating, Roach utilized his teleporter device to bring everyone to the Arc 2 universe, where they met up with Novus. Mac thanks Novus and the rest of Vindicta for helping him on his quest, saying that it wouldn't have been possible without their help. With everything said and done, the heroes of the Arc 1 universe returned back to their universe, with Roach exclaiming that it was time to begin focusing on protecting the world from evils that would undoubtedly one day surface again.

Weapons[]

Starting Loadout[]

10/22
Strife
Combat Knife
4 Fragmentation Grenades

Off-Wall Weapons[]

Strife - 500 points
10/22 - 500 points
Saug 9mm - 750 points
MX9 - 1250 points
ICR-7 - 1550 points
Vapr-XKG - 1550 points

Mystery Box[]

ICR-7
Rampart 17
KN-57
Vapr-XKG
Maddox RFB
Swat RFT
Hitchcock M9
MX9
GKS
Spitfire
Cordite
Saug 9mm
Daemon 3XB
Escargot
M1927
Titan
Hades
VKM 750
Zweihänder
MOG 12
SG12
10/22
Auger DMR
ABR 223
Swordfish
Essex Model 07
Paladin HB50
Outlaw
SDM
Koshka
Strife
RK 7 Garrison
Mozu
KAP 45
Welling
Up-n-Atomizer
Unholy Hellbringer
Widowmaker
Cymbal Monkey

Power Perks[]

Human Shield - Withstand more damage, 2500 points.
Helping Hand - Revive faster, 500/1500 points.
Speed Loader - Reload guns faster, 3000 points.
Marathon Runner - Sprint faster and longer, 2000 points.
Stopping Power - Shoot faster and gives more damage, 2000 points.
Sugar Rush - ADS faster, faster mobility when aiming down the sights and increased hipfire accuracy on all weapons, 3000 points.
Blade Master - Melee faster and longer, 2000 points.

Easter Eggs[]

Main Quest[]

Complete the ultimate trial.

Songs[]

Nos Fideles by Jack Wall can be activated by igniting fires on all four of the wooden pillars surrounding the center podium.
Darkness of the Unknown by Yoko Shimomura is played during the battle against Xarcoh.
Tension Rising (Reaper's Revenge) by Yoko Shimomura is played during the battle against Gruntijackal.
The Dark Realm by Rio Hamamoto is played during the battle against Erebus.
The Final Battle by Nintendo is played during the battle against Master Ronin.
Final Boss Battle by Motoi Sakuraba is played during the final battle against the mutated Agent 14.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

This map has the most boss fights in a single map within the Roach Chronicles.
This map features the most music within a single map with six songs, beating out Excavation's five within the "Reformed History" saga.