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Frozen Flame

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Frozen Flame
Frozen Flame2.png
Item Type Key Item

The Frozen Flame (凍てついた炎 itetsuita honoo?) is an item in Chrono Cross and Radical Dreamers: Nusumenai Hōseki. It is a piece of Lavos that separated from the organism during or after 65,000,000 B.C. Somehow, the artifact retained a kind of sentience, and was able to serve as a communicator between Lavos, deep inside the planet, and beings on the outside crust. It also was imbued with an incredible amount of magical power, the full extent of which is unknown. It is considered the "essence" of Lavos, and contacting it is analogous to communicating with the creature.

Chrono Cross[edit | edit source]

Emergence and Creation[edit | edit source]

In approximately 3,000,000 B.C., Early Humans made contact with it. Lavos communicated an evolutionary protocol through the Frozen Flame that evolved them to full Humans, giving them the biological foundation for the use of magic. The Frozen Flame was then probably used in the kingdom of Zeal, and played a role in its destruction. After Lavos destroyed Zeal, the Frozen Flame passed into legend as the greatest treasure of the world, capable of granting wishes and imparting immortality. It presumably lay untouched until 2,300 A.D. in Keystone T-1, when Belthasar located it and installed it in Chronopolis as its primary power source. After the Time Crash occurred and Chronopolis was thrown in the past, the legend of the Frozen Flame spread among the new inhabitants of El Nido.

Legend[edit | edit source]

Frozen Flame in Chronopolis.

The legend described the Dragon God's sealing the Flame, a great evil, in the Sea of Eden, when FATE had actually sealed the Dragon Gods up as the protector of humanity. FATE continued to rely on the Flame as its power source until 1006 A.D., when Serge was mauled by a panther demon. Schala caused a raging magnetic storm that blew him to Chronopolis, where the defenses were down; Serge then touched the Flame and became recognized as Arbiter by the Prometheus Circuit, which subsequently locked FATE out from accessing the artifact. His contact healed him and also corrupted the mind of his father, Wazuki. Intent on reestablishing access with the Frozen Flame, FATE shaped his father's mind and gave him the directive to kill Serge in 1010 A.D. This succeeded, allowing access once more; however, in 1020 A.D., Kid traveled back in time and saved him, causing the dimensions to split. Serge once again retained Arbiter status, even across dimensions. Meanwhile, the Sea of Eden in Home World reflected the fate of that dimension's future—destruction.

Serge finds the Frozen Flame.

It became the Dead Sea, though the Frozen Flame still lay buried in it. Lynx then used the legend of the Flame to goad Porre and the Acacia Dragoons to play into his plan; he succeeded when the Dragoons took up residence at Fort Dragonia and he switched bodies with Serge, allowing him access to the Flame. Porre had an explicit goal of finding the Frozen Flame, likely because Dalton wanted it and was still in command of the nation. Serge attempted to retrieve the Dead Sea's Flame in Home World, though FATE vaporized the entire area before he could gain access to it. Serge then challenged FATE directly at Chronopolis, defeating the supercomputer and nullifying the defenses of the time fortress. The Dragon God then reunited and stole the Flame, taking it to Terra Tower (possibly using it to raise the tower itself).It was then set atop a pedestal at the tower's top. After Serge battled the Dragon God, he approached the Flame, which seemed to radiate in light and engulf him. He escaped with his party; the fate of the Flame, at this point is unknown.

Ties with Dreamstone[edit | edit source]

See also: Dreamstone
Engraving of Dreamstone at Fort Dragonia

Dreamstone never appears in the game, but Ultimania claims Dreamstone and Frozen Flame are identical minerals. Interestingly, Frozen Flame is a shard of Lavos and the Dreamstone develops naturally within the planet; however, both minerals react significantly to the energy of Lavos. While Dreamstone certainly is powerful, it was in possession by humans long before the creation of Zeal in varying amounts, apparently without expanding their mind. The Frozen Flame, of course, is responsible for the abnormal growth of the human brain when it made contact with humans in 3000000 B.C., metaphorically "cultivating dreams," leading the "apes" out of the caves to create Zeal and begin modern civilization. The question becomes a matter of whether Masato Kato had planned the Frozen Flame's existence at the time of Chrono Trigger's completion.

One interesting possibility that would bring both Ultimania and the game's canon into union is that perhaps Lavos's shell, was constructed partly of Dreamstone, of which Frozen Flame is simply a very special mutation (an intelligence, vital-functioning organism) that crystallized upon impact with Tyranno Lair and the surrounding crater of magma. This is unable to be confirmed, however.

A wall engraving in Fort Dragonia depicts Dreamstone, with a human kneeling at it. However, considering that in the same scenes a.) Lavos is modeled to be a giant, falling sun, b.) the Dragonians include the two moons in the history, though it did not exist until Dinopolis came around with Chronopolis, the Dragonians apparently had no idea what the Frozen Flame, Lavos, or other artifacts of the human world looked like. The apparent Dreamstone is thus probably a stylized rendition of the Frozen Flame, since the mural allegedly depicts the event of human modification in 3000000 B.C. through the Frozen Flame.

Radical Dreamers[edit | edit source]

Frozen Flame in Radical Dreamers.

Sometime after the events of Chrono Trigger, Lynx acquired the rare, violet crystal and hid it deep within Viper Manor. Kid along with Serge and Gil attempted to steal the crystal by infiltrating the Manor. In the Treasure Room, a decoy of the crystal is found surrounded by a magical barrier. Gil disables the barrier only for it to shatter in his hands, sounding an alarm and sending several armed Goblins into the room. The party discovers the real crystal deep within the Manor, protected by Lynx. Confronting him, they learn that Lynx lured Kid to the crystal so he could unite it with the Chrono Trigger and thus gain immeasurable power. Porrean soldiers disrupt the confrontation and chase the party into a nearby forest. The fate of the crystal beyond this point is not revealed.