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 that X, Zero, and Axl encounter in Mega Man X8. At the end of the intro stage, Vile "kidnaps" Lumine and takes him away. After vanquishing Sigma in Normal or Hard mode, Lumine reveals that Sigma had fulfilled his purpose (thus, Mega Man X8 is considered "the end of Sigma"), and that it was in fact he who had manipulated Sigma, and not the other way around.

In the first round, Lumine will be 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. When he absorbs an orb, he will gain the Overdrive attack and weakness of the chosen Maverick.

After his first form, players are transported to "Heaven's Gate", where Lumine transforms into his Seraph form. He does multiple attacks, and in Overdrive he, after a few seconds, says "Paradise Lost!" (the subtitle of the game). In that, the sky begins to darken, and the player must defeat Lumine before the screen completely darkens, or they will lose a life and have to start the entire end game battle sequence again.

First Form
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 will try his hand at defeating the Hunters. He'll waste no time in using his DNA-copying abilities to mimic the attack patterns of the eight Mavericks. Floating around the room for the entire battle, the eight colored balls spinning and rotating around him represent each of the Mavericks. Naturally with the Maverick's special attacks comes their weaknesses, so use the proper weapon depending on Lumine's current attack form. Don't bother attacking Lumine as he glows, shots won't penetrate. Instead, wait for him to stop glowing before attacking, but be quick as he'll sporadically glow on and off.

Among his random taunts he'll eventually summon an energy surge and if players watches closely they'll see a small colored sphere appear above Lumine before it descends back down into his chest. Whichever color it was represents the Maverick Overdrive attack style he's about to use (black - Dark Mantis, red - Burn Rooster, etc.).


 * Usually Lumine will start with Earthrock Trilobyte's Overdrive by jumping down into the right corner and creating the purple crystal walls. They'll travel across the top and bottom of the screen attempting to crush the character against the wall, so quickly jump up and over them to avoid damage.


 * Using Gravity Antonion's ability, he will summon large portals (up to three at a time) and proceed to rain huge blocks from above in a set pattern. Be observant to determine when and which one will drop to avoid taking damage.


 * If Lumine summons the power of Bamboo Pandamonium, stay on the floor as he hovers over to a corner, then quickly jump or move away to avoid his dash attack.


 * With Avalanche Yeti's power 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. Avoid or destroy them when necessary.


 * Dark Mantis' power will give Lumine a massive swipe attack; he'll float up to the top middle of the screen before initiating the attack. Stay on one side of him then instantly dash to the other as the purple wave appears to narrowly avoid it, then quickly dash back to the other side as he repeats the attack.


 * When Lumine uses Optic Sunflower's tracking beams, quickly dash away just before the beam fires. Lumine will drop his raised arm seconds before a beam fires, making him a good visual indicator.


 * Burn Rooster's power will give Lumine his flamethrower/fire pillar attack. Simply stay behind Lumine as he sets one corner of the room ablaze and jump over him as he does the other. Keep in mind that the flame pillars he produces won't dissipate, so the walls are now unavailable, reducing mobility.


 * If Lumine summons Gigabolt Man-O-War's power he'll unleash 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.

Lumine will continue to rotate between Maverick attacks, so be observant and try to remember his attack patterns. Also, try to conserve Life Tanks for the final battle, just remember to keep switching back and forth between Hunters as they take damage, as any red health bars that can be recover are certainly worth the effort. Finish Lumine to hear one final foreboding taunt before he reveals his last trick.

Final Form
Lumine's last encore will have him assume the form of a winged Reploid. Lumine's attacks will keep players on their guard at all times. The confrontation takes place out on a large platform before a golden cloudy backdrop. Lumine's weakness is X's Shadow Runner, Zero's Rasetsusen, and Axl's Black Arrow. All three are effective against him as he floats motionless in the air. During attacks Lumine will at times create a semi-transparent blue sphere around himself for protection, it must be hit with sustained fire to break through. Lumine will keep repeating the same attacks until he has been damaged enough.


 * 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. Quickly jump over him as he passes to avoid damage.


 * Once Lumine floats back on screen, his wing tips will glow before emitting thick laser beams that fire on a single point on the ground. Move to the opposite edge of the platform as far as possible to avoid the attack completely. Afterwards, he will fly across screen.


 * After ascending 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, try to slip through the gaps to avoid damage. Once the bolts reach the edge of the screen Lumine will send out another ring as he pulls the first slowly back towards himself. Once again try slip through the gaps. Lumine is vulnerable during the duration of this attack, so this is, if possible, a great opportunity to inflicts some damage. After all of the crystals have returned to him, he will immediately begin his next attack.
 * Using X's armors or having the Shock Absorbers developed for Axl and Zero will certainly prove useful, to avoid becoming stunned if hit.


 * 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. Afterwards, he will fly across the screen again.


 * Watch out when 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, at which point they can be tricky to avoid (unless their position and pattern has been memorized) as they pass back up out of the floor. Lumine will collect the crystals and then fly across screen.
 * Axl's hover works well in staying airborne while waiting for the crystals to appear.
 * While this attack is in motion, Lumine will be totally defenseless, so try to damage him as much as possible.


 * Eventually with enough of his health gone Lumine will fire a pulse of crystals horizontally off the left side of the screen, and several individual rows of crystals will then 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. Stand in and dash through the gaps and jump over the crystals to dodge, attacking Lumine when possible. After Lumine collects the crystals again, he will fly across screen.
 * Axl's hover works fairly well in staying airborne above the lowest rows.

Lumine will continue these waves of attacks until his health has been drained enough to trigger his final Overdrive attack, "Paradise Lost". In this phase, Lumine covers himself up with his wings, invulnerable to attacks, and must be struck repeatedly with guard breaking attacks to open them. Use Zero's Z-Saber Combo (or T-Breaker and/or Sigma Blade, if available), Axl's rapid fire (especially Ray Gun), or X's charged shots to pierce through his defenses and damage him. If X is equipped with his Icarus Armor, use the fully charged shot to knock his guard down fully in one shot. After every hit through his defense, Lumine will quickly teleport to another area on screen. Luckily, even if he did teleport, his defense may still be down. Use the "Double Attack" if the meter is full, for a high-ranking victory. Players must be quick, however, as there's a time limit; the screen grows darker for every second (up to approximately 30 seconds), and as soon as the screen goes completely black, it will be an instant defeat, and the entire end battle sequence must be repeated (back to Sigma).

Appearance
Lumine appears as an androgynous Reploid with long lavender hair, most of it styled into a half-moon motif with a fringe covering one half of his face and features gold eyes, but no eyebrows. His armor design is of a sleek design with a white and dark purple color scheme with green accents and a large blue jewel on his chest. In his final form, his armor changes and gains a helmet similar to Zero, his skin turns pale white, and is hands become claws. He also gains a unique set of wings with four large compartments connected to him by thin limbs. The overall design and abilities of Lumine along with his voice invoke something of a transcendent or "divine" being, not limited to any one specific preference, form or gender.

Personality
Lumine's personality isn't explored deeply, however in his short appearances he has shown instances of multiple personalities, though it maybe more accurate to say that they change drastically between each other. First, Lumine can be rather calm and somewhat talkative (mainly while he's explaining something). In this sense he also seems incredibly intelligent, as he is able to tell what the characters are thinking as well as provide a highly detailed explanation.

However, despite his "positive qualities" he has shown some traits of madness. This being when he reveals his plans to the Maverick Hunters and his eyes shine red (which is considered a symbol of evil or madness), his tone also changes drastically to something more wicked, followed by maniacal laughter. After he is defeated his body is shown in a kneeling position, with his face resembling insanity. Further evidence of how twisted his mind could be is when he stands before Sigma's remains, and starts to crush them with his foot, showing that he may be sadistic, and that he cares nothing about the ones he use, making him also cruel.

Dialogues from Mega Man X8
*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 Repolids 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..."


 * "Come on."


 * "Farewell."


 * "Taste destruction."


 * "You've made me angry."


 * "Give up now."


 * "You're doomed!"


 * "You're all...doomed..." (defeat quote)

Music


Trivia

 * Lumine is based on Satan (formerly known as "Lucifer") from the epic poem Paradise Lost, while Sigma's current form is "Belial Sigma", named after Belial, one of the rebel angels that followed Satan in the rebellion against God.
 * The attack, "Paradise Lost", is also 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, and Sera.


 * 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 the eight Mavericks of the game due to his copy chip.


 * There are several dialogue errors in the conversation between Lumine and the Hunters. 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.