endrance

I pledge everything I have to you.

Ah, Endrance. Endrance, Endrance, Endrance. When Haseo first met Endrance, there were only a few things the stylish Blade Brandier wanted in life: his crazy AIDA-infected cat, a worthy contender to satiate his crazy AIDA-infected epitaph, and the ability to crap rose petals in battle. These proved lofty goals for dear En, particularly when he had Project G.U. telling him that maybe supporting an AIDA-infestation wasn't the path to true happiness. At the forefront of that movement was Haseo, who frankly thought that Endrance needed a wake-up call stat, and preferably one not involving his mother's best cherry red Sunday hat.

Like so many characters Haseo encountered, the two showed an initial abrasiveness to each other. Endrance had little interest in anyone else, particularly if he didn't view them as "strong". Haseo retorted that he "hates people who look down on others", and vowed to defeat Endrance in the arena.

Haseo did win the Demon Palace Tournament, successfully defeating Endrance and his epitaph, Macha. This also destroyed Mia, the aforementioned crazy AIDA-infected cat, which sent Endrance into a deep depression. You'd think that'd be enough to end the relationship here, wouldn't you? Oh, how naļve you are, dear reader.

After Endrance cosplayed Aang from Avatar and sealed himself away in a block of ice, it fell on Haseo to bring him back to reality – well, as much "reality" as The World can be. To accomplish this, Haseo did what Haseo does best: duke it out in a boss battle, then have a very frank heart-to-heart. Haseo convinced Endrance to move on and fight for a bigger purpose than his own selfish and narrow-minded loneliness. It was slow to sink in, but once it did, it stayed: Endrance was officially a good guy.

And Haseo's new love interest.

No, really. From that point on, Endrance worshiped Haseo, at times to a frightening degree. I definitely spent a few quests with Master En wondering what exactly he was referring to as "…pretty…" and if it had anything to do with Haseo leading the party just out of earshot. Soon Endrance was pledging his undying devotion to young Haseo, making obtuse metaphors about their relationship, and fooling his first crazy villain just to help the Terror of Death save the day.

It may not seem like Endrance changed that much: instead of blind devotion to Mia, he's now blindly devoted to Haseo. However, I do believe that learning to work in G.U., a decidedly team atmosphere, did the Blade Brandier good. He was much more capable of standing on his own two feet, was certainly okay with being parted from Haseo, and even having competition for his "affection". Hey, it's a start, right?

Endrance is notable for being the only male character Haseo can marry in The World. Their ending goes something like this:

Haseo: Endrance...
Endrance: Ah...my heart was parched like a desert, but your thoughts filled it up. After all...when feelings are shared, there can be no lies.
Pi: Haseo, I...I never would have guessed.
Endrance: I can't hold back any longer!
Atoli: Noooooo! Haseeeeeeo!
Endrance: I want to prove these feelings...
Shino: I guess Haseo has found the Key of Twilight, too...
Endrance: Let's go to our own private world...

The "private world" is left up to our imaginations.

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