Lumine

"Am I OK? Of course. Now that you've defeated Sigma, I suppose you're satisfied. Thanks to you, the plan has gone smoothly."

- Lumine

Lumine (ルミネ) is a new generation Reploid and director of the Jakob Project that X, Zero, and Axl encounter in Mega Man X8, as well as secretly the game's main antagonist.

Appearance
Lumine appears as a young male Reploid with long lavender hair, most of it styled into a half-moon motif with a fringe covering one half of his face, which features gold eyes, but no eyebrows. His armor is of a slim design, having a white and dark purple color scheme with green hexagonal accents and a large blue jewel on his chest. Lumine also lacks a helmet with the intention of giving him a more human appearance and has a slight feminine figure.

His final form is based on an angel in direct contrast to Sigma's demonic final appearance. Lumine's armor changes and he gains a helmet similar to Zero's, his skin turns pale white, and his hands become claws. He also gains a unique set of wings, with four large compartments, connected to him by thin appendages. Lumine's overall design and abilities, along with his voice, invoke feelings of him being a transcendent or divine being, not limited to any specific form or gender.

Personality
Lumine normally maintains the façade of a benevolent yet eccentric leader. At first, he seems rather calm and somewhat talkative, albeit somewhat emotionless. In this sense he also seems incredibly intelligent, as he is able to tell what others are thinking as well as provide highly-detailed explanations. He appears very confident in the New Generation Reploids such as himself.

However, these qualities belie the fact that he has truly gone mad with ambition. Upon revealing his true intentions to the Maverick Hunters, his tone changes drastically to something more wicked, followed by maniacal laughter. He arrogantly derides X, Zero, and Axl for being outdated Reploids who have no place in the future. He claims to have manipulated Sigma, showing he is a patient and cunning strategist, and also crushes Sigma's remains with his foot, showing how little he cares for others. After he is defeated his body is shown in a kneeling position, with his face stuck in an insane smile.

Mega Man X8
X first meets Lumine while investigating an accident at the Jakob Orbital Elevator. After X sees the New Generation Reploids who transformed into Sigma to survive the accident, Lumine explains the situation and tells him he has nothing to worry about. He then introduces himself as the lead supervisor of the Jakob Project.

At the end of the opening stage in Noah's Park, Vile appears, having kidnapped Lumine. He explains to the Maverick Hunters that he and his fellow Mavericks now control the Jakob Elevator before departing with Lumine in hand. It then becomes a major goal for the Hunters to rescue Lumine.

Lumine is next seen in the Sigma Palace on the Moon. In Easy mode, after beating Sigma, the game ends as Lumine emerges from the shadows, with the significance of this not being revealed, though the ominous silence implies his true nature. After vanquishing Sigma in Normal or Hard mode, Lumine reveals that Sigma has "fulfilled his purpose," and that it was in fact he who had manipulated Sigma, and not the other way around. Lumine claims to have used Sigma's endless ambition, vision, and leadership to accelerate the supremacy of the new generation Reploids. Upon revealing himself as the leader of the new "turn-Maverick-at-will" generation of Reploids, as well as the true mastermind behind the events of Paradise Lost, Lumine tries his hand at defeating the Maverick Hunters.

After being beaten the first time, Lumine explains to X, Zero, and Axl that the Copy Chips included in the new generation are composed of hundreds of old model Reploids, including Sigma. He also mentions that Axl, as a prototype, is incapable of becoming like Sigma, and that Sigma did not turn insane despite being infected by a virus, but rather rebelled of his free will; he nonetheless implies that the new generation Reploids has even less restraints in becoming willing Mavericks than Sigma ever did. He also taunts X and Zero for being outdated and ridicules their attempts at stopping the future from marching on, with X in particular being tremendously affected by Lumine's speech. Axl, however, fires a shot at Lumine to shut him up, encouraging X and Zero to ignore his discouraging words. Lumine claims that because "Reploids, along with humanity, have irrevocably changed" the three Hunters are no longer needed in the new world, and engages them in combat.

Lumine expresses disbelief at his final defeat, but then claims that it's already too late to stop what has begun, and also implies that it will take far more to stop the future than just fighting more Reploids like Lumine before drawing his last breath. Afterwards, Lumine's body flings out a tentacle at Axl (who approached it to investigate his remains), managing to implant a pinkish object in Axl's head crystal. Zero slices the tentacle off, which disintegrates upon being severed, and X destroys Lumine's body with a charged shot.

Despite his defeat however, his final words continued to haunt X and to a lesser degree Zero. X in particular was disturbed by Lumine's claims about awakening and evolution for future Reploids, although Zero reassured X by stating that despite what Lumine claimed, evolution isn't "becoming Sigma", and that even if Lumine was correct regarding his final words regarding the old reploids such as themselves being "destined for the scrap heap" when the evolutionary step occurs, they'd still need to fight, only that time they'd also need to fight against their destinies and not just against Mavericks. Zero himself also pondered whether Lumine's claim about Sigma's permanent demise meant there's no longer a reason for him to fight.

Etymology
Lumine is Latin for "light." The name was most likely chosen as a reference to Lucifer, as per the ever-popular Origen-Tertullian interpretation: named Lucifer ("light-bearer") as one of God's best Archangels in the beginning, afterwards fallen and best known as Satan ever since. This namesake's likelihood is further supported by the subtitle of the game and the name of his final attack, Paradise Lost, which was an epic poem written by John Milton that covered the fall of humanity and the angels, specifically Lucifer.

Power and Abilities
Lumine is possibly the most powerful antagonist in the Mega Man X series, far above the likes of Sigma and the X-Hunters for fighting Mega Man X, Axl and Zero at the same time and holding his own very well. This makes him arguably one of the the most powerful reploids of the era alongside X and Zero. He is also very intelligent much like Sigma, capable of manipulating the likes of him.

First Form
Lumine will levitate throughout the room surrounded by eight colored orbs—the same colors corresponding to the transporters in Gateway, and thus the same powers of the Maverick in said transporter. Among his random taunts, Lumine will eventually summon an energy surge, and one of the small colored orbs will float above him and descend back down into his chest, granting him the Overdrive attack and weakness of the corresponding Maverick.


 * Wave Wall (8 DMG): Summoning Earthrock Trilobyte's power by absorbing the orange orb, Lumine will jump down into the right corner and create purple crystal walls. They'll travel across the top and bottom of the screen attempting to crush the character against the side wall.


 * Cube Falls (8 DMG): Using Gravity Antonion's power by absorbing the purple orb, Lumine will summon large portals (up to three at a time) and proceed to rain huge blocks from above in a set pattern.


 * Snow Eisen (4 DMG): With Avalanche Yeti's power by absorbing the white orb, Lumine will blast cold air to the top of the screen, causing large floating snowflakes to fall. If Lumine's health is low when he summons them, they will keep falling for the remainder of the battle.


 * Earth Crusher (8 DMG): Using Optic Sunflower's power by absorbing the yellow orb, Lumine fires tracking beams before unleashing large laser beams from above. Lumine will drop his raised arm seconds before a beam fires, making him a good visual indicator.


 * Youdantotsu (16 DMG): If Lumine summons the power of Bamboo Pandamonium by absorbing the green orb, he will perform a powerful thrust attack. Stay on the floor as he hovers over to a corner, then quickly jump or dash away to avoid.


 * Death Energy (8 DMG): Using the power of Dark Mantis by absorbing the black orb, Lumine performs a massive swipe attack; he'll float up to the top middle of the screen before initiating the attack.


 * Thunder Dancer (8 DMG): Summoning Gigabolt Man-O-War's power by absorbing the blue orb, Lumine unleashes a massive electrical attack from above. Watch for where the blue sparks appear on the floor and stay in the gaps to avoid major damage, or use Crystal Wall to focus the electric rays at the wall.


 * Flame Tornado (6 DMG): Using Burn Rooster's abilities by absorbing the red orb, Lumine will stand in the center of the room and fire a stream of flames from his hand, creating fire pillars to cover each wall of the room. Simply stay behind Lumine as he sets one corner of the room ablaze and jump over him as he does the other. The flame pillars are a permanent addition to the battlefield.

Final Form
After defeating his first form, Lumine transforms into a seraph-like form, assuming the appearance of a winged Reploid. The confrontation takes place out on a large platform before a golden cloudy backdrop. His attacks will keep players on their guard at all times and many can be difficult to dodge due to their space constraining properties. Also, Lumine does not have any specific weaknesses to exploit in this form, leaving it up to the player to decide what the best weapons are in regards to their play style and choice of characters.

Lumine will begin on the right of the screen (where he positions himself for the majority of the battle) before flying low across the screen; he will make a low pass across the platform after performing many of his attacks. Lumine will keep repeating the same attacks until he has been damaged enough to trigger his Overdrive desperation move.


 * Refrain (6 DMG): Once Lumine floats back on screen, his wing tips will glow before emitting four thick laser beams that fire on a single point on the ground. One can move to the left edge of the platform as far as possible to avoid the attack or leap into the air, using Axl to hover and Zero's double-jump to avoid the beams.


 * Legato (4 DMG): Once he charges up flames around his body he'll spread his wings again as the tips glow white. Each one will expel a small laser beam into the air. The beams streak down in sets of two, homing in on the character, so keep dashing back and forth to avoid the barrage as they hit the floor.


 * Bel Canto (6 DMG): After descending back down into the arena, Lumine will charge up energy in his hands before emitting a circular barrier of energy crystals around himself. The yellow bolts will slowly expand out as they rotate. Once the bolts reach the edge of the screen, Lumine will send out another ring as he pulls the first slowly back towards himself.


 * Gravé (4 DMG): Lumine fires pulses of yellow crystals up off screen. After a second, several horizontal rows of crystals (in sets of five) will fall straight down from above in a set pattern, followed by several more rounds. Once they've all settled into the ground, each set will travel back up the screen.


 * Unison (4 DMG): Lumine will fire a pulse of crystals horizontally off the left side of the screen, causing several individual rows of crystals to slowly move into the screen from both sides at varying height. Once the screen is full they will stop briefly before traveling back the way they came.


 * Oratorio (2 DMG):

Overdrive

 * Paradise Lost: After Lumine has lost enough health to trigger his desperation move, he will open a dimensional rift and say "Paradise Lost!" (the subtitle of the game). In that, the sun is destroyed, the sky begins to darken, and the player must defeat Lumine before the screen completely darkens (approximately 30 seconds), or they will lose a life and have to start the entire end game battle sequence again starting from Lumine's First Form. In this phase, Lumine covers himself up with his wings, invulnerable to attacks, and must be struck three consecutive times with guard breaking attacks to open them. After every hit through his defense, Lumine will quickly teleport to another area on screen. However, it is still possible to guard-break Lumine twice before teleporting under certain conditions (such as the characters using Special Weapons that have guard-break capabilities for example).

Dialogues
*The following scene takes place when starting a new game.

Voice from Speaker: There has been an accident on board the No.4 descending container. All personnel...

X: This is X. I’ve encountered an accident while on patrol of the Orbital Elevator... Dispatch rescue Mechaniloids immediately...

X: Si... Sigma!?

Lumine: To protect ourselves from damage during the accident... We had to copy a sturdy Sigma Body. We new generation Reploids enjoy complete and total immunity to all viruses... So even copying something as dangerous as Sigma provides no risk.

X: Who are you?

Lumine: I’m Lumine. I’m the director in charge of the Elevator, and of the Jakob Project. X: Oh, Lumine. Are you OK?

Lumine: Am I OK? Of course. Now that you've defeated Sigma, I suppose you're satisfied. Thanks to you, the plan has gone smoothly.

Axl: But Lumine, weren't you just used by Sigma?

Lumine: Used? I don't think so. You see, he merely helped my plan along...

(Lumine begins to power up.)

Lumine: The new generation Reploids have been awakened, and the new world is at hand! X: Lumine! What are you doing? Don't tell me you've gone Maverick, too...

Lumine: Maverick? You don't really think that's the case, do you? That's why you can't finish me off, right? You don't have it in you...

X: .........!

Lumine: The copy chips we new generation Reploids possess... They were derived from data from hundreds of old model Reploids. That means, of course, that Sigma was also included in the mix. Do you understand what I'm getting at here?

Axl: Copy chip? Sigma? Does that mean that I'll go nuts like he did?

Lumine: Sorry, but prototypes like you don't have the specs to cause something like that. Besides... Was Sigma really crazy?

Axl: .........?

Lumine: He rebelled against your world. But he had his reasons... The rest of us new Reploids could turn like that at any moment...

Lumine: This decision to wage battle against the old world was made consciously. In other words... We possess the power to go Maverick at will! (Lumine begins to chuckle.) X... Do you really have what it takes to stop us? You're merely tools of the humans. Tools of the old world... You think you can stand up to those of us who have evolved this far? (Lumine begins to laugh.) The world is changing! Therefore it's only natural that evolution take its course. Now, line up to be exterminated!

(Axl shoots Lumine with his pistol.)

Axl: Don't let him get to you, X. He's the enemy.

Lumine: Enemy. Ally... This issue isn't so black and white. Reploids, along with humanity, have irrevocably changed. The nature of their existence has also changed. You are not needed in our new world!

Zero: You can babble all you want, but we're not going to let you get away with this! Lumine: Unbelievable... You may have defeated me, but it's too late to stop what's already begun...

Axl: I'll take on plenty more like you, if that's what it takes.

Lumine: Ha ha ha. You really don't have a grasp of the situation, do you? Oh well... You'll find out soon enough...

X: .........

In-battle Quotes

 * "Hmmhmmhmmhmm..." (laughs randomly throughout battle)


 * "Come on." (floating around or performing an attack)


 * "Farewell." (performing an attack)


 * "It's useless." (if he is attacked during an invincibility frame)


 * "Taste destruction." (performing an attack)


 * "You've made me angry."(using his Overdrive attack)


 * "Give up now." (floating around or performing an attack)


 * "You're through!" (performing an attack)


 * "You're doomed!" (performing an attack)


 * "You're all...doomed..." (when his first form is defeated)

Trivia

 * The attack, Paradise Lost, is the subtitle of Mega Man X8, as seen in the game's intro movie and the ending credits.


 * Lumine's second form has a seraph-like appearance, similar to the second form of other bosses like Copy X, Albert, Sera and Elpizo. In fact, one can hear some snippets of Copy X's theme in Lumine, foreshadowing that even if the Sigma Virus was gone for good, there will still be problems in the world.


 * The name of all of Lumine's attacks in his second form, minus Paradise Lost, are all terms from either music or opera.


 * Lumine is the first antagonist to best the main antagonist of the respective series, a second one possibly being Albert towards Model W, though this is still debatable.


 * Lumine is one of the two antagonists shown to have copying abilities (the other being Albert), as he can use the powers of all eight Mavericks of the game due to his copy chip.


 * There are several dialogue errors in the conversation between Lumine and the Hunters. For instance, after defeating Lumine's first form, he'll say: "They were derived from data from hundreds of old model Repolids". The word "Reploids" is misspelled.


 * It is debatable if he was in control of Sigma or rather just planned to overthrow him by gaining his trust and permission to make the new generation Reploids, although his response to Axl's reaction about whether he was used by Sigma suggested the former to be the case.


 * Lumine is one of the most gender ambiguous characters in the Mega Man franchise alongside Commander Yammark from Mega Man X6, and Sage Harpuia, Elpizo and Cubit Foxtar from the Mega Man Zero series. This ambiguity stems from the fact that while he is male, Lumine not only looks partially female, but is even voiced by a woman in both Japanese and English, which is a voice acting trick often done to disguise an ambiguously designed character's gender.


 * Just prior to dying for the final time, Sigma upon being defeated asks in disbelief how X, Zero, and Axl could even beat him, before promptly saying "you couldn't...". This alongside Lumine's prompt crushing of his remains head afterward seems to imply that Lumine may have weakened him somehow.