Summary

ROUND 3 is the third episode of the ALIEN STAGE series. It introduces Ivan, and shows bits of his past having grown up in the slums, being taken in by Unsha and his controversial relationship with Till.

Ivan pours out his emotions through a rock-style ballad, with Till slowly waking up after being subdued during the last round by the end of it. The episode ends with Ivan winning against his opponent, Marty, and teasing the next main character to show up, Luka.

Commentary

Ivan didn't have an easy childhood. Born in the slums, inside an illegal human factory, he faced the terror of death from an young age after being caught up in a dealer Segyein's anger. When he saw a shooting star in the sky over the Segyein's head while being dangled over the edge of the building, he experience a mixture of ecstasy alongside the fear of dying that stuck to him ever since.^[2]

After his near death experience, Ivan began thinking that death always followed him. When he was bought by Unsha, a wealthy Segyein, he was finally granted a comfortable lodging and food he always desperately wished for. For him, however, the meaningless of death still permeated his thoughts. Being quick-witted and clever, he chose to obey his owner without complaints as it allowed him to be comfortable while he lived.^[3]

Ivan had been curious about Till, which led him to luring Till into the crack in Anakt Garden. Seeing Till's tenacity and wish to protect Mizi, Ivan noticed something special in him. During that moment, Ivan realizes he could never be like Till or fully understand him, and his earlier curiosity instead becomes an obsession with the unknown.^[4]

Ivan's not sure if the meteor show that burst light across the sky, when he and Till tried to flee, was real or imagined. Nonetheless, it reminded him of the sight he witnessed as a child, but far more intense. ^[5]

Till was able to escape the warehouse because of Ivan, but he couldn't bring himself to leave Mizi alone, so he shakes off his hand and runs back. Ivan is saddened by the rejection, though he smiles bitterly like he somehow expected it. With the passage of time, his feelings involving Till bloom into a combination of anger an affection, and he even comes to forget when they in fact arose. The emotions that bundled together overtime become indecipherable, turning then into simple 'obsession'.^[6]

Black Sorrow was just something Ivan practiced, and the song doesn't fully represent him. However, at the last chorus, Ivan experiences a burst of longing as he remembers when his feelings first began, until he comes back to himself.^[7]

Trivia

• Marty's emotions are at their peak during his brief seconds of screentime in the video. Ivan's reach their highest when he remembers he and Till's escape attempt.^[7]

Notes

↑ In the artbook, Marty's score is 60. In accordance to the video, 68 will be used instead.

References

[1] Alien Stage Official Artbook Pg. 81

[2] Alien Stage Official Artbook Pg. 82

[3] Alien Stage Official Artbook Pg. 83, 85

[4] Alien Stage Official Artbook Pg. 86

[5] Alien Stage Official Artbook Pg. 87

[6] Alien Stage Official Artbook Pg. 88

[7] Alien Stage Album VOL.2