Julius Will Kresnik

Julius Will Kresnik
Information
Appearance	Tales of Xillia 2
Hometown	Trigleph
Age	28
Height	5'11" / 180 cm
Race	Human
Occupation	Spirius Corporation Employee
Weapon	Castor Twins
Japanese Voice Actor	Toru Okawa
English Voice Actor	J. Michael Tatum
Character Designer	Miyuki Kobayashi

Julius Will Kresnik (ユリウス・ウィル・クルスニク, Yuriusu Wiru Kurusuniku^?), birth name Julius Wi Bakur (ユリウス・ウィ・バクー, Yuriusu Wi Bakuu^?), also localized as Julius Kresnik, is a non-playable character in Tales of Xillia 2. He is the older brother of Ludger Will Kresnik, who will do anything in his power to protect him from Bisley Karcsi Bakur.

History

Past

Julius was born as the son of Bisley Karcsi Bakur and Cornelia Wi Kresnik (コーネリア・ウィ・クルスニク^?) during Primia 4277 but, born out of wedlock, Julius went unrecognized by Bisley until the age of five, when his father turned twenty and married her. Julius was taken care of by Claudia Il Kresnik (クラウディア・イル・クルスニク^?), his aunt and maid of the Bakur house, in his mother's place. Cornelia was the Key of Kresnik and, for that reason, she was targeted and killed by the Great Spirit Chronos when Julius was just six. One year after Cornelia's death, Claudia vanished out of a sudden, making it unknown who took care of Julius from then on. Julius began working from a very young age out of a desire to live up to his father's expectations. Julius activated his chromatus for the first time four years after Cornelia's death, at the age of eleven, reaching the level two and destroying seven fractured dimensions before his next birthday hit. It was at this age that Bisley also took Rideaux under his wing, and Julius and Rideaux met. The two of them would engage in competitions through the next years to see which one of them could destroy more dimensions, sometimes slaughtering whole towns and their habitants to not have to locate the divergence catalyst, and other times regardless of the location of said catalyst and making a game out of killing instead, arguing that those worlds would be destructed regardless. This was in part caused by the high pressure that Julius was placed under.

At thirteen, Julius fell into despair due to the great expectations that the Kresnik clan had placed upon him and, feeling like a complete failure after being unable to activate a full chromatus or locate the Waymarkers or the Key of Kresnik, Julius went so far as to consider letting himself degenerate into a divergence catalyst. It was around this time that he learned from Rideaux about the human sacrifice for the soul bridge to reach Canaan and, from undisclosed sources, of how the origin behind fractured dimensions were chromatus users, and of Bisley's involvement in his mother's death, the latter which led Julius to believe that Bisley had sacrificed Cornelia. It was at this age that Julius also found Claudia by chance, who had given birth to Bisley's son and Julius's half-brother, Ludger Will Kresnik, while living in hiding at the outskirts of Trigleph. Claudia mistook Julius as Bisley's subordinate and, thinking that he was there to take Ludger to Bisley, attacked him in an attempt to protect her son. The fight got Claudia accidentally killed by Julius instead, and Ludger lost all his memory up until that point from the shock of witnessing his mother's death. The guilt born from this incident is one of the reasons why Julius is so secretive about telling Ludger the truth. Julius agrees with Claudia's disappearance and secrecy, and goes as far as to believe that Ludger exists because Bisley wanted to have a more talented son after he saw how limited Julius' chromatus ability was.

Julius felt indebted to Claudia because she was the one who took care of him as a child, but he also saw this as a chance. He took Ludger with him to Marvin Orta Kresnik, his grandfather, who adopted the two and altered the family registry to hide Ludger's existence from Bisley. The two of them became foster brothers with the surname "Will Kresnik", a composite of Cornelia's and Claudia's surnames. Bisley didn't care that Julius had ran away from home and renounced to the Bakur name, so long as Julius continued working as an Agent. At fifteen, Julius finally became an official Agent for Spirius Corporation, steadily destroying fractured dimensions, opposite Rideaux Zek Rugievit, so that Bisley would use the other as the soul bridge to the Land of Canaan. Julius's original plan upon seizing Ludger was to use his watch, which allowed him to reach a higher Chromatus level, for his own gain and survival. But one day, after noticing that Julius was losing weight, a seven years old Ludger presented Julius with a warm meal upon his return home. Seeing how Ludger had hurt his hands for the sake of cooking for him, and extremely touched by the kind gesture displayed by his half-brother, Julius chose to protect Ludger even if he ended up dying in the process. By the age of sixteen, Julius had stopped his murder games with Rideaux due to Ludger's large influence on him. Julius rose to the position of Director of the Department of Dimensional Affairs at twenty.

Unfortunately, after an undisclosed year, Julius's chromatus advanced to the point where he started to transform into a divergence catalyst, which caused him pain periodically and significantly impeded him in battle, both which are notable through the game's events. Though Julius initially started to wear a black leather glove on his left arm to hide the burn he received one time that he was trying to protect Ludger from a scalding pot, and Ludger also believes that he wears it for this reason, the glove ends up being used to cover the discoloration of the transformation.

Normal artwork for Tales of Link.

Tales of Xillia 2

Julius is in charge of his brother's entry exam to Spirius Corporation, but he orchestrates a no-win situation with a bystander and a monster that results in his brother's failure, all in the name of protecting Ludger from Spirius. In consequence, Ludger spends the next year sending over a hundred resumes to different companies, with Julius being the one taking his picture for them every time, until his brother finally manages to get a position at the Trigleph Station's cafeteria. The day that Ludger was going to start working, Julius discovers that Vera had realized that the family registry had been tampered with, and that she had corrected it and was going to inform her boss Bisley. He then attempts to buy her silence by boarding the Stribog Line train that she is on, but fails to do so before Vera communicates what has happened to Bisley and the later becomes aware of Ludger's parentage. Not wanting Ludger to be dragged into the clan's fate, and disregarding his position or the fact that Ludger's actually watching, Julius then tries to assassinate Bisley but fails due to Bisley easily dodging him and the commotion caused by Exodus.

Julius is then forced to go into hiding when Bisley falsely brands him as the mastermind behind the Stribog Line terrorist attack. He spends the rest of the game in the run, avoiding both Spirius and the police alike, which is only possible because he was the one who originally created the GHS tracking system and owns the master code. In the meanwhile, Ludger is blackmailed into becoming an agent of Spirius after Bisley and Rideaux force an exorbitant debt on him, and is tasked with finding and catching Julius as, in Bisley's reasoning, it is more likely that Julius will drop his guard around him. Ludger then follows different leads through Marksburg and Helioborg trying to find Julius, but without much luck. He also takes a hold of a log that Julius himself recorded of his actions and, optionally, Ludger can also collect the rest of Julius's data disks.

Julius does not show up again until Chapter 7, following Chronos's introduction in F4216, where he suddenly appears to protect Ludger and the group from the Great Spirit's attacks. Chronos recognizes Julius, referring to him as "the seeker", and Julius asks for Ludger's watch. If Ludger agrees, Julius upgrades his chromatus to level 3, deflects Chronos's attack, and then drags him from the fractured Elympios into Rieze Maxia through a portal formed from Chronos's power. If Ludger refuses, Ludger is the one who accidentally deflects Chronos's attack and then drags Julius through the resulting portal. Either way, the two brothers are separated again.

The group catches up with Julius in Nia Khera, where he listens as Vera calls and inform Ludger that one of the Waymarkers necessary to enter the Land of Canaan is likely in that dimension, and that they are to retrieve it. Julius, who is at this point trying to pass the Trial in Ludger's place to spare him, interrupts the call and demands Ludger's watch. Ludger, frustrated by Julius's behaviour, hurls the watch to the ground. Before Julius can grab it, Elle Mel Marta, a girl traveling with Ludger, takes it instead and refuses to hand it over, saying that it is her father's watch and that Ludger's fused with it. Chromatus watches have unique designs, and the comment clues Julius in that not only Elle is a fractured future version of his brother's daughter, she's also the Key of Kresnik, the only person able to bring matter between dimensions. Julius attempts to do something, but the pain of his catalyst transformation stops him, and then a fractured version of Milla Maxwell interrupts. Julius's actions do not go unnoticed, however, and Alvin and Rowen keep him under watch next.

Later, Julius joins the group in facing off against the divergence catalyst of the dimension, Muzét, but is incapacitated by pain during the actual fight. He can only watch as Ludger finishes the job, and as Elle accidentally brings the fractured Milla back into the prime dimension. Depending of Ludger's choices, Julius can be the one to break out the truth of what has happened to Milla or not. In the prime Nia Khera, they are met by Rideaux, who orders Ludger to bring Julius. Ludger can either subdue Julius or face Rideaux, though Rideaux eventually gets the better of Ludger and forces Julius to surrender to protect Ludger.

Chromatus artwork for Tales of Link.

Julius is taken back to Spirius but eventually makes his escape once more while stealing the Waymarker. During Chapter 9, Ludger catches up with Julius in a fractured dimension with a Waymarker, where Julius tries to get Ludger to give him Elle and walk away from the fractured dimension mess. After seeing Ludger's resolve to protect Elle, Julius hands him the Waymarker he stole, and disappears after the dimension is destroyed.

Julius does not appear again until Chapter 13, upon the retrieval of all the Waymarkers, thus summoning the Land of Canaan. He is hurt, having been distracting Chronos off so the Great Spirit would leave Ludger alone and he could collect the Waymarkers. He later protects Ludger from Chronos again, and the two of them are teleported elsewhere.

Julius appears again for Chapter 14, saving either Jude Mathis or Milla Maxwell depending on Ludger's choices. This is also the person that he communicates his plan to first. Julius also leaves a letter to Ludger in their shared apartment. He then meets Ludger at Marksburg, where Julius reveals that, to reach Canaan, they need to use a soul bridge formed from the life of a Kresnik clan member. Julius then offers his own life after one final duel with Ludger.

If Ludger refuses to sacrifice Julius because he loves him too much, the "Julius Ending" is achieved. In this ending, Ludger takes Julius's watch and activates chromatus level 3, wielding its might against his former teammates who attempt to do what Ludger will not. Julius only watches in horror as Ludger kills the entire party by himself. At the end, covered in the blood of his friends, Ludger smiles at him. Julius initially believes that everything was done in vain but eventually comes to believe that a world with Ludger is what he desired in the end. The two then walk away from the harbor to enjoy their last moments together.

If Ludger agrees to Julius's wish, the two brothers have one last duel. Both activate their chromatus transformation at the very end, and their mystic artes meet. In this final clash, Julius realizes and accepts that Ludger has surpassed him, and Ludger's mystic arte overcomes his. Julius then becomes a divergence catalyst, forming a fractured dimension of his own. In this dimension, life progresses as normal, with all of Ludger's friends steadily advancing in their respective fields, and the fractured Ludger is a very popular and well-known chef. The prime Ludger watches as Julius sees his fractured self off before confronting his brother. Julius knows what comes next and hands Ludger his watch. Ludger then is forced to kill Julius, who hums the Hymn of Proof, the lullaby that the two shared, as he dies.

Appearance and Personality

Cut-in image for Tales of the World: Reve Unitia.

Julius has short, light brown hair on the top of his head, with short, darker brown hair on its back and sides. One of his eyebrows has a scar from an injury that he received at sixteen during the destruction of F41BF, when he had to kill a younger version of his brother that was possessed by that world's catalyst. Julius has blue eyes and wears rectangular glasses, though they don't actually have a gradation as his vision is perfect. His attire consists of a white shirt, light blue vest, and white coat with blue underlining. The clasp of his bolo tie is meant to resemble a cat's face, as well as the color of Rollo's eyes. He also wears dark blue pants and white shoes. On his left hand, Julius wears a black glove that he initially used to hide a burn that Ludger accidentally inflicted upon him when they were younger, but its current purpose is to disguise his advancing transformation into a divergence catalyst. On the right hand, Julius wears a thumb ring that is meant to give him a leadership air. The metallic parts at the end of his belts are shaped like shields, a recurrent theme in Julius' design and character conception.

Julius is very skilled, but his good abilities as a Spirius agent don't translate into good homemaking skills. After he left the Bakur house and became independent, and rather than hiring a maid, instead Julius relied on delivery food and cleaning services among others. Spirius paid high, so Julius could afford these type of services, living in a big apartment, and later a daycare center for Ludger. The landlady and some neighbours ocassionally helped too. Eventually, as he grew up, Ludger decided to take care of the house. Julius is an avid tomato fan, and his favorite food are Ludger's dishes with this fruit, especially pasta marguerita. He hates eggplants.

Julius is also very popular, and his fan club can be found often reunited in front of the Spirius building. Julius seems to be on friendly terms with Balan, though Balan admits to not know be able to tell much about Julius, and was unaware of the fact that he had a brother. By the time of Tales of Xillia 2, Balan also hadn't seen Julius in half a year. According to Rideaux, Julius has no friends. His lack of deep relationships outside Ludger is noticeable through the game's events, a time that Julius mostly spends on the run. Though this can be easily chalked up to Julius' double life as a DODA Agent, or to him not wanting to get close to others to protect Ludger's identity, it is remarkable that this does not seem to change in the ideal world that he created in Chapter 15 upon finishing his transformation into a divergence catalyst. Despite Julius' animosity towards characters like Rideaux or Bisley, both of them are seen safe and sound in said world, in front of Spirius HQ and at the station respectively. This dimension is a world where Elle, who Ludger wants to protect, does not exist. Nova and Vera, Rideaux and Bisley, and Jude's friend group, also do not recognize Ludger upon speaking to them.

Julius is highly secretive about his true motives and work he does at Spirius Corporation even to Ludger, something which puts Ludger down. He is also very protective of his brother, even going as far as to use himself as a shield when Chronos attempts to kill him. He strongly despises Bisley, doing anything he can to prevent his arrival at the Land of Canaan.

Fighting Style

Cut-in image for Tales of Xillia 2, regular attire.

As a dual blades wielder, Julius shares the same fighting style as Ludger. This is because Ludger actually imitated Julius out of admiration for him. He specializes in quick slashes and counters. However, whereas Ludger is able to expand his arteset, Julius's is abysmally low, consisting of only seven in the original game.

Cut-in image for Tales of Xillia 2, chromatus attire.

As a member of the Kresnik clan and chromatus bearer, Julius was born with a silver pocket watch. He uses it to enter a level 2 chromatus, aiding himself with Ludger's brass pocket watch to achieve level 3, except for Chapter 15 that he's able to achieve level 3 without said aid. Under this transformation, however, Julius' arteset does not change. He does have a mystic arte, Ritual of Devastation, which he can also use under the chromatus.

In Tales of the Rays, Julius's arteset is expanded upon. He is given a small portion of twin sword artes used by Ludger and Victor, as well as a few, new original artes.

Other Appearances

Tales of the Rays

In Tales of the Rays, Julius is exoflected into Tir Na Nog, making his first appearance in "Off-Season Holiday - A Very Kresnik Christmas" event, alongside Ludger. He later plays a role in the tenth chapter of "Fairy's Requiem"

Trivia

Status image in Tales of the World: Reve Unitia.

• Julius's model can be acquired as a "Transformation" type costume for the party by buying it from the vendor in the Illusionary Darkness for 50 Ancient Bells. His shop option is called Waymarker Pioneer (道標の探索者, The Waymarker's Seeker^?), clearly based on the nickname that Chronos gave him.
• Julius is sometimes called Glasses Guy (メガネのおじさん, Megane no ojisan^?) by Elle. Because the Japanese term is associated with middle aged men, Julius does not like this, and it makes him protest that he's still in his twenties in the Japanese version. His glasses can be worn as an attachment.
• Julius's trademark weapon are Castor Twins dual blades which he wields in all of his crossover appearances.
• Ludger's school outfit DLC description claims it to be a hand-me-down from Julius. The landlady, during a sidequest, also says that Ludger used to wait for Julius at the swings to return from school. Julius, however, admits to a very young Ludger that he has never gone to school in the Tales of Xillia 2 Scenario Book. Considering that Bisley was private tutored, and that Julius was already destroying fractured dimensions at eleven, it is likely that the story about Julius going to school is a cover-up lie.
• In an early draft of the game, Julius was actually Carolina Kresnik, Ludger's mother. Despite the change, his overprotectiveness of Ludger might be a remnant of this.
• The reason why Julius kept working at Spirius, instead of taking Ludger with him and going into hiding somewhere faraway, was because he was acutely aware of the immense power that Bisley and Spirius held. Thus, knowing that he would never be allowed to escape from them, Julius used himself as a shield for Ludger's sake. Ludger realizing what Julius had done for him and the extent of this choice is, according to his Diary entry about the matter, one of his main motivations behind his actions during the Julius Ending.
• It is unknown at what age did Julius' degeneration into a divergence catalyst started, but one of his idle animations include him clutching his left wrist during Ludger's examination in Primia 4304, after he's tasked him to kill some monsters.
• An early game sub-event has, in the English version, the landlady saying that she has watched Julius and Ludger struggling and trying to make the best of our their lives, and that they didn't have it easy as kids, just to finish with a remark about how Julius always had girls over and how that must've made things easier for him. This is very different from the Japanese version, in where the landlady says instead that she knows better than anyone the real character of the brothers, and that the fan club stalking Julius around the apartment was hugely bothersome. In the first floor of the fractured version of the Frères Apartment during Chapter 15, a female neighbor also complains that Julius's groupies were hanging outside again and that she's sick of it.
• The animated sequence of Chapter 15 shows Julius' pocket watch with a cover again, even though it was missing last time that it was seen during Chapter 13, and it disappears again the next time that the watch is seen during Chapter 16.
  • Julius does not wear his leather glove during the flashbacks that Ludger has of their life together in the same sequence, and his left hand is normal. It is unknown whether this is on purpose or another continuity error.
• Julius's catalyst transformation in the Julius Ending originally didn't cover up to his cheek, as shown by the storyboards. This was changed for the final game.