The Ancient One is the main antagonist of The Dark Pictures Anthology's third installment, House of Ashes. This is a common name for Balathu and Kurum, one of whom becomes a vampire after the prologue.
Appearance[]
The Ancient One takes the form of a vampiric Balathu/Kurum. It possesses appearances that can be seen on any other vampire humans. However, having lived longer than the others seen in the game, The Ancient One grows spines protruding out of their shoulder blades. Since The Ancient One is an infected form of Balathu/Kurum, they both share the same clothing and accessories.
Personality[]
The Ancient One seems to be more composed and collected than the other vampires, almost like a tactician, waiting for its prey to make the wrong move and to finally strike. The Ancient One can also be trusted by its fellow vampires and can show leadership, as shown when it gives vampiric Rachel a signal before the latter can move. While aggressive in nature, The Ancient One can show some comfort to others, as shown when it silences a dying Rachel before infecting her.
Biography[]
The Ancient One was the result of an ancient soldier who was infected by extraterrestrial parasites millennia ago that inhabited cosmic nomads. It has since then lived underground beneath the Zagros Mountains where it grew stronger than most of its kind, making it more resilient to its weaknesses, although it never found an escape to its prison, or its unending hunger. That was, until May 31, 2003, when it found new prey to hunt.
House of Ashes[]
| Chapter Appearances | |||
| Cursed | Absent | ||
| The Briefing | Absent | The Assault | Absent |
| The Raid | Absent | The Horror | Debut |
| Underworld | Absent | Enemy of My Enemy | Absent |
| Pazuzu | Absent | The Well | Absent |
| The Temple | Absent | The Ancient One | Appears |
| Breaking Up | Absent | Brothers | Absent |
| After the Fall | Absent | The City | Absent |
| Slayer | Absent | Strange Aeons | Absent |
| The Truce | Absent | The Vault | Appears (Possible Death) |
| Bloodbath | Cameo | Semper Fi | Determinant |
| The Signal | Absent | Daylight | Determinant (Possible Death) |
| The End | Absent | ||
Main Story[]
Act 2[]
When Rachel and Clarice try to climb up higher the chasm from the pit, a rock rolls down the cliff. The rock then stops at the point where the feet of The Ancient One steps on.
The Ancient One first makes a full appearance when the protagonists fight off the vampires in the sacrificial chamber of the temple. It attacks Nick as he was following Jason, being dragged away by one of the vampires. Nick is rescued by Eric, who blinded the Ancient One with a UV lamp, but he gets caught instead. However, Eric can also manage to escape - either on his own or with Rachel's help. The Ancient One can kill her by throwing a spear, and then infect her with a parasite.
After a while, The Ancient One again arrives in the sacrificial chamber, this time chasing Nick, Eric and Rachel (Eric can die and an infected Rachel can join The Ancient One before this chapter). It begins to chase the protagonists and leaves without finding them, or fights with them, but falls into a hole.
Act 3[]
If Nick decides to destroy the main motherlode and succeeds to plant the mines, The Ancient One will block his way to the exit and Nick will detonate the bombs. When the rest of the protagonists, having learned that he survived, run to save him or Eric abandons him, The Ancient One will grab him and start to throttle him. He always dies by being impaled by Salim or Nick, but before that he can break Nick's neck. If Nick fails to plant the mines, a vampire will rip his insides out. After the explosion, The Ancient One will be burned which is caused by the explosion.
If Nick backs down, The Ancient One will appear as Jason and Salim run to the elevator. It will throw a spear at Jason, but he can survive thanks to Salim.
If The Ancient One wasn't killed in the cocoon vault, he will make it to the surface during the eclipse and make one last attempt to kill the survivors. It begins to fight any two protagonists, knocking out the rest, and can kill them while the others are finished off by the vampires. Otherwise, the protagonists will finally defeat The Ancient One and kill it by putting a flare in its mouth or impaling it in the back with a spear.
Possible Deaths[]
| Chapter | Mechanism of Kill | Caused by | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Vault | Impaled | Salim | Nick advanced to the motherlode; Nick completed the Keep Calm segment; Eric acknowledges Nick's radio signal OR Eric is dead. |
| Nick | Jason found the Staked Woman secret and gave the stake to Nick; Same condition; At least a protagonist in the rescue team is injured; Nick completes QTEs to kill The Ancient One. | ||
| In Bloodbath, Jason chose to be foreboding and serious; Same condition; Nick completes QTE to kill The Ancient One. | |||
| Burned | Jason | Nick advanced to the motherlode; Nick fails the Keep Calm segment. | |
| Daylight | Any protagonist | Nick retreated OR Eric ignored his radio signal; Any protagonist succeeds to kill The Ancient One. | |
| Impaled by spear | Jason | Nick retreated OR Eric ignored his radio signal; The protagonist succeeds to kill The Ancient One. | |
| Nick | |||
| Rachel | |||
| Salim |
Killed Victims[]
| Chapter | Character | Mechanism of Kill | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Horror | Eric | Throat ripped out | Rachel does not save Eric; Eric fails the QTE while being grabbed. |
| Rachel | Impaled by spear with infection | Salim shoots the vampire attacking Rachel; Rachel saves Eric; Rachel fails the QTE to dodge The Ancient One's spear. | |
| The Ancient One | Eric | Throat ripped out | Eric and Nick successfully shut the door; Eric fails the Keep Calm segment; Nick fails the QTE to save Eric (Shared Story). |
| Rachel | Eric is dead; Rachel is uninfected; Rachel and Nick successfully shut the door; Rachel fails the Keep Calm segment; Nick fails the QTE to save Rachel (Shared Story). | ||
| The Vault | Nick | Neck snapped | Nick advances to the motherlode; Nick completes the Keep Calm segment; Eric acknowledges Nick's radio signal OR Eric is dead; Nick fails the QTE while being strangled. |
| Same condition; Jason, Salim, or Eric is still injured; Nick doesn't have the stake. | |||
| Same condition; Nick has the stake OR Jason chose to be foreboding and serious in Bloodbath; Nick fails the QTEs to kill the Ancient One. | |||
| Same condition; Eric is alive; Eric has a low relationship with Nick and ignores his radio signal. | |||
| Semper Fi | Jason | Impaled by spear | Nick retreated OR Eric ignored his radio signal; Jason chose to save Salim; Jason and Salim succeeded to fight the vampires; Jason fails QTE to dodge The Ancient One's spear. |
| Daylight | Eric | Eyes gouged out | Nick retreated OR Eric ignored his radio signal; Eric fails to fight The Ancient One in the hut. |
| Jason | Eyes gouged out | Nick retreated OR Eric ignored his radio signal; Jason fails to fight The Ancient One in the hut. | |
| Throat ripped out | |||
| Nick | Eyes gouged out | Nick retreated; Nick fails to fight The Ancient One in the hut. | |
| Throat ripped out | |||
| Rachel | Throat ripped out | Nick retreated OR Eric ignored his radio signal; Rachel fails to fight The Ancient One in the hut. | |
| Salim | Eyes gouged out | Nick retreated OR Eric ignored his radio signal; Salim fails to fight The Ancient One in the hut. | |
| Throat ripped out |
Trivia[]
Pictures[]
- The Ancient One appears in 2 pictures: Arisen and Thirst.
- In these cases, Kurum takes the role of The Ancient One.
Deaths[]
- The Ancient One is one of many characters in the anthology who can die from:
- Being burned. In The Ancient One's case, it can be burned by a fire caused by mines explosion or a flare.
- Impalement. In The Ancient One's case, it can be impaled by a stake or a spear.
- The Ancient One is one of many characters in the anthology who can kill the protagonists. In The Ancient One's case, it can kill every protagonists.
- The Ancient One is one of many supporting characters in the anthology who has a determinant fate.
Other[]
- The Ancient One is one of many characters in the anthology to have chapters named after them.
- The Ancient One makes an appearance in Dark Deception multiplayer spin-off, Monsters & Mortals as one of the two monsters.
- The Ancient One appears in Switchback VR as the boss of the final House of Ashes-themed level Into the Abyss.
- In both of these cases, Balathu takes the role of The Ancient One.
Trophies[]
- The Ancient One has 2 trophies associated with it:
- It shares with Nick the trophy "Heart to Heart".
- Its personal trophy is "Old Dog".
[]
| Protagonists |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antagonists | Alien Parasites • The Ancient One • Vampires | ||||||
| Supporting Characters |
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