It's been quite some time since my last theorycrafting, and due to immense amounts of time, we will now gather what, in the least will be an info-dump, and with high hopes, a winrar bestowed.
Various characters within the Warrens have shown knowledge about the cycles as we know them, knowledge varying on the immensely useful, to the near complete useless(looking at you Proxxy). At this point in the story, we know how Oric has kept himself alive for so long, what he has put his Sinister Siblings to, and the task he has effectively bestowed upon himself; yet what we don't seem to know is the WHY aspect, WHY does he want to kill his siblings, WHY does he wish to be so ambiguous? It is these questions which I hope to answer.
Oric, since we had first glimpsed him as Ciro, began his antagonistic and enigmatic operations. He displayed knowledge of what was said, in a room which he didn't occupy, taunting Ciro with mention of how badly the battle went, smiling all the way through. Even going so far, as to admit he is screwing with Ciro. All went well in the encounter, until Spira conveniently let slip that this white-haired actor was none other than Oric.(big surprise)
It is during this conversation, that Oric let slip mention of the cycles. Stating that he has to "spend all that energy glaring evilly at them", further strengthening his goal of trying to get Ciro to Antagonize him, as well as imply that he would have used the "energy" for something else, likely more taunting.
Once Ciro tries to follow Oric, as Oric takes leave, Oric changes his attitude completely; getting philosophical with a character who has shown herself to be self/loot-centered as well as uncaring about the world around them; describing a prison, in which some character is unable to move inside unkempt conditions, scared, and mostly alone, developing what can only be described by me as psychological trauma, as life around them became centered solely around their life in the prison, and the prisoner knows nothing else.
Riltia, seemingly knowing of the answer, describes the solution. The figure, knowing nothing but the prison, must recreate it, in order to "nurture" their damaged psyche and have a semblance of what the prisoner would consider a "life", as there is no living without the prison.
You are
this guy and/or girl. You have traveled for some time from your land, the
Kingdom of Haria, to the dungeon you now stand in: the
Warrens of Oric the Awesome. You do not know who
Oric the Awesome is, but if he's so awesome, he probably has awesome loot, too.
Al, you're under arrest by the juris... by the... for...
How has no one noticed this!? I didn't see it until I walked over here but it's the size of a few hundred houses!
Why did you say this was "extremely sensitive" property?
Huh?
What does that mean? "Extremely sensitive?"
That's what I was told to protect. This area. If I knew there was something like this in it...
I can't see anything inside it. I'm afraid if I jump ship I'll get zapped. It looks like lightning around the barrier. But I can't just ignore what I heard.
Al, do you know about the Harian Royal Prison?
No.
We lock... we lock up people who can do this. Things like this. Create something from nothing. Throw lightning. Turn invisible. That was my old job.
And this still surprises you.
I'm just a soldier. I'm not supposed to question the things I see.
Most every human which we've seen in the Warrens, which has revealed their backstory and given clues as to where they lived, has seemingly lived within the Kindgom of Haria, a place where people who display magical power, become imprisoned for life, unless, like Yaos, you were too power and dangerous to keep in a cell, in which case, exile was your punishment. In the case of Ciro, the memory of Haria is seemingly implanted or even possibly a remnant of a past life once lived, manipulated to become Ciro's "past".
Oh, I didn't lock them up. I just guarded the locks.
Weren't you afraid they'd just throw lightning through the locks or somethin and escape? Weren't you afraid to die then?
I don't like it when there's a lot of noise and movement and disruption. I like tomorrow to be the same as today and yesterday. Getting paid to make sure that happens was nice.
Why'd you quit?
I didn't quit. I was transferred.
There was more gold in a job yelling at bleach-blonde men in the middle of the night than in a job protecting incredibly powerful prisoners?
I didn't have a choice. The prisoners were relocated.
As stated by Wilford, the prisoners under the Kingdom of Haria were eventually transferred to the location of the portal, Wilford's job changing from guarding locks, to guarding an area from trespassers. Whether Wilford's job was to protect a facility( new prison location), or the portal, is unknown to us as well as unknown to Wilford.
It is reasonable to assume, Oric, or at least someone he had known(possibly someone very close to him if it isn't himself he is talking about), had been part of the Harian Royal Prison, as a prisoner, forced to endure capital punishment for empowerment or magic; until the events told in by Wilford, and escape from the "Land of Haria" itself occurred.
Once upon a time, the Devil herself looked around and said: "Sheeeeeeeeit, if we keep eatin everything, there won't be nothin left! Yo, Devil Jr., find someone smarter 'fore we run out." That someone is the Thief. You may know him as Oric the Awful.
Not long after the Thief found the Warrens, a little cherub approached him and told him he'd been chosen to rule over the place... at a price. See, the Thief had to find some way to fuel the entire underworld, as it needed power to keep moving and consuming. He came up with a genius plan: use HIS cohorts as batteries! A tense alliance was formed between the Devils and the humans.
The Thief was trusted with an unbelievably powerful Soul Star. It granted him dominance over the Devil and ALL her sinister siblings. He could manage them, tell them exactly what they needed to do to run the place HIS way, under threat of retaliation. There were three such Soul Stars, but that's another story.
However... after the first run of his 'experiment', the Devil told him: they know what they need to do, meaning the Thief himself was no longer needed. Keeping him alive was a useless power drain for no return. He'd been fired.
The Thief, gazing up at the quick and permanent death between the Devil's teeth, simply said: "No."
With an impossible strike of his spirit hammer, the Devil's arms were sliced off, a wretched scream erupting from her thousand yard throat. The Thief ascended to Level Seven and SLEW the Devil's sibling there. He ascended to Level Six and SLEW the Devil's sibling there. By Level One, all that remained of this once-powerful race was the crying, mutilated Last Devil herself. The Thief offered her a trade: use the soul power my system grants you to do as I please, and I'll keep you alive. Thus the Last Devil watched over (and became the conduit for) ALL souls passing through her once-powerful dungeon.
The Thief took her minions - her cherubs - as tribute. Just as allegedly immortal as their elders, the cherubs helped watch over the dungeon, ensuring all went according to the Thief's plans. None dared to face Oric's Hammer. The end.
As told by Cain, Oric, once in the Underworld, was given a soul star. Said Soul Star, resembles a "gavel" (as said by ffs in theorycrafting but who reads about those amiright), and gives Oric the ability to both manage the
Original Sinister Siblings, and if they didn't listen to him, he would be able to retaliate against the insubordination. The Seraphs decided to betray Oric because they viewed him as a waste of resources on their food supply once all the infrastructure and jazz was set up for the Cycles. Though betraying one of the only guys able to actually wound and kill you might seem like a bad idea, they did it anyways and he killed all but one. The Last Seraphim, as she is called, became absolutely subjugated.
And so we re-arrive at mention of the cycles. For those who might be unaware, or just for the sake of me rambling on about things, As stated by Cain
"He came up with a genius plan: use HIS cohorts as batteries!", and so Oric made his Cohorts, later known as the "SIX SINISTER SIBLINGS OF ORIC THE AWESOME" effectively batteries. Meant to scrounge Soul Charge due to their measly existence. The Two Unknown Angels in Riltia's revival were contemplating screwing with the cycles, where one of them had basically gone fully rogue, and revived a Riltia.
You have a feeling of Deja Vu.
You feel like you have done this before.
Many.
Many.
Many times before.
Oh, you remember. You remember quite a few things.
You entered through a hole in the ceiling. It was probably there before. Probably.
In a normal cycle, Target gets revived from the previous, a blank slate. This blank slate has an inability to talk, and soon meets up with Sixth Sibling allying with her likely more often than not. The two go on an adventure unto DL2, where they either continue the adventure until they get to the Boss Room of DL2, or get sent to the Underside. Eventually the Party becomes strong enough to face Second Sibling in the Boss Room, and likely wins more often than not. From there, the Party continues the adventure across the Dungeon, experiencing pressure from the various siblings, occasional pressure from the Angels, and constant antagonizing behavior from Oric. Eventually Target dies. When Target dies, all dead siblings are brought into the LSS's and re-educated.
NOW THAT THE LENGTH EXPLANATION IS OVER WITH, LET US GET THROUGH THE REAL MEAT OF THE THEORYCRAFTING!
As it is known, all non-Illborn within the Warrens must maintain adequate levels of Soul Charge, lest their souls become "Corrupt", and their bodies twist into a mockery of what the creature once was.], incorporating nonliving materials as well as harboring strange passions. Riltia for example, had an uncanny attraction towards Ciro in this form! None of that awkward romantics here, just completely yelling your loved one's name repeatedly, for all the world to hear, as your tunnel your way through the "earth". Coming off that strange tangent, Oric, as a being with a Soul Star requires the Soul Charge from previously living beings in order to sustain himself, and his dominance over the Cherubs. Logically, this would mean that Target would have to die in one of the Cycles. This is ONE reason why Oric wants Target dead.
Oric, slayer of the Truly Sinister Siblings of the Last Seraphim, and the one who wounded her, must keep her and her Cherubs quelled. It is likely, over the cycles, her wounds could have partially or completely healed. Oric, must be diligent to keep his methods of suppression, well maintained, in order to keep a she-beast such as her down; and even then, as Betweenford says, she is free from her bondage. And, in order to supply the machine, the chains, and the lights with power, it is likely they run off of a plentiful power Source in the Warrens, Soul Charge, most harvested from Siblings, which, I will state once again, necessitates Soul Charge.
The Thief was trusted with an unbelievably powerful Soul Star. There were three such Soul Stars, but that's another story.
Oric has basically established a routine amongst the cycles, and the introduction of one of the ULTIMATE WEAPONS appearing has basically upset the balance Oric has established. Oric, usually interested in messing with Ciro's Head, in the MIDDLE OF AN ULTIMATUM, gave up on said Ultimatum in order to establish his right to rule over Ecco, who plans to execute his grandiose plans, and now has a potential method of actually executing them. This doesn't explain why Oric wants to kill Target in of itself, but feeds into my next point, as Oric may feel distress over the interference of the Ultimate Soul Stars.
BIOGRAPHICAL:Name unknown.
Age unknown.
Gender unknown.
Species is Human.
PASSIVE:ERROR: CLEARANCE TOO LOW.
You are this guy and/or girl. You have ¦š☺♣◘•¼ for some t CIIIIIIIIRRRRROOOOOOOime donɐıʇןıɹnow what to ¦-•••• for, but you're pretty sure that if he's so awesome, he probably hasIIIII AAAAMMMMM FFFFRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEE awesome loot, too!