End of Zodiac Age is the semifinal quest of the Main Story. It is obtained by talking to Celeborn in Lothlorien after completing the previous quest, Dark Knight. The quest involves several subtasks in order to open the Icy Realm and ultimately find Hashmalum, the leader of the Zodiac Braves.
Objective
This quest has many steps to be able to complete so it's broken up into smaller sections. TLDR is as follows:
- Go to the northern icy gate.
- Go to Lothlorien and speak Celeborn and then with Talon.
- Bring the Shimmering Pendant to Talon.
- Go back to the northern icy gate for access to the Icy Realm.
- Kill Mateus and Demesne in the northern part of the Icy Realm.
- Use the Winter Key to unlock the southern icy gate.
- Kill Hashmalum.
Step 1: Checking the Gate
As Hashmalum is knowingly hiding out in the Icy Realm, first point of order is seeing if there is a way inside. To this end it is necessary to approach the northern gate to the Icy Realm, causing a disembodied voice to tell you that only those who know the name of their queen may pass. Speaking "Demesne" immediately opens the gate.
This scene can be triggered at any point in the game, and if its triggered before getting the quest, this step is skipped entirely. Otherwise it is necessary to proceed and talk with Celeborn after the gate has been opened. If you approach the south gate of the Icy Realm, you will be told that unlike the other gate, a key is required to open it.
Step 2: Speaking with Talon
Celeborn and Galadriel next direct you to Talon, a night elf druid of the talon in Lothlorien who may know more about how to get inside the Icy Realm. He is located just to the east of Celeborn. However, he will be reluctant to help you, as he claims that "Galadriel is not his queen", but upon being pressed by you, he says that he is not referring to the queen of the Icy Realm either. Either way, the quest is at an impasse without Talon's help.
Step 3: Convincing Talon to help
Getting Talon to help is accomplished by showing him that you have the blessing of Dana. To that end, you must bring the Shimmering Pendant to him. You must first kill Lady Nashj at the statue on the Naga Islands to obtain the Maiden's Eye. Click on Dana to make the Phantom Village quests available on the island, which are only accessible by having the Maiden's Eye in your inventory. You can speak to Dana again. If you've already spoken to Talon as part of the main quest, she will give you the Shimmering Pendant. Take the pendant to Talon and he will agree to help.
WARNING: If you speak to Dana after you have completed two of the four Phantom Village quests before speaking to Talon, it will not be possible to get the Shimmering Pendant without giving the Maiden's Eye to Dana to begin Illusions to Illusions. Note that getting the Shimmering Pendant without destroying the Maiden's Eye grants you access to the Naga Islands special hunts of Mephorash and Melaiduma after defeating Dark Fact.
Step 4: Opening the Northern Icy Gate
Talon can be found standing next to the northern icy gate. Talking to him there will have him name the winter queen, Demesne. The gates open but Talon reverts to his original form of an ice troll. He joins the party as an allied character, providing several supportive spells.
Step 5: Facing Mateus and Demesne and Opening the Southern Icy Gate
Exploring the Icy Realm will lead you to eventually face the king and queen of the realm, Mateus, the Zodiac Brave of Ice, and his wife Demesne, the Winter Queen. Approaching them will begin battle with them. When defeated, if he is still alive, Talon will leave the party, and Mateus will drop the Winter Key which can be used to open the southern icy gate.
With the Winter Key from Mateus in hand, the closed off southern section of the Icy Realm can be accessed from the Barrens. This allows you to confront Hashmalum.
Note that if you complete the quest Haunted Tree you can order Oaka IV to cut trees to the southern section of the realm, allowing you to optionally skip this step.
Final Step: Fighting Hashmalum
At last Hashmalum can be engaged in battle in front of the Demon Gate. Hashmalum alone should not be too difficult by now, but upon draining his HP he summons Belias to his side, who fully heals him. At this point they start battling you together, and trying to kill Hashmalum will only result in Belias healing him back to full HP, so taking out Belias is necessary.
If you have skipped Step 5 and Mateus is still alive, he will join the battle along with Demesne at this point when you're about to kill Belias and fully heal him. Like Belias with Hashmalum he will continue to do this whenever Belias drops to 0 HP, so he needs to be defeated first. Mateus and Demesne are the exact same as in their own duo fight. Once Mateus is down, it's time for Belias again.
But now when you're about to kill him, Gafgarion will suddenly reappear and heal both Hashmalum and Belias to full HP and cover them. He will quickly go down to powerful area of effect attacks that hit all 3 of them, but should still not be underestimated. Once Gafgarion is dead, both Belias and Hashmalum lose their cover status, and now it's time to put down Belias for good.
Once Belias is killed, Hashmalum has lost his final layer of defense and can now be killed, completing the quest. However, just as he is struck down, his summoning of the demon Echele is complete and he enters the world. Echele absorbs the power of the Zodiac Braves and walks to the top of the mountain, initiating the final storyline quest, Advent of Ice Age.
Rewards and Unlocks
- 9999 EXP and 9999 Gold
- the Demon Slayer title raising all stats by 10 passively.
- Progression on World Liberation which unlocks a Celestium shard.
Quest Cinematics
End of Zodiac Age
