Sunbreak released at the end of June and many fans rejoiced over the fact that it appeared to fix a lot of the issues present in Monster Hunter Rise. The expansion also followed in the footsteps of 2019's Iceborne by having a Master Rank exclusive storyline and introducing a brand new hub area in the form of Elgado Outpost. Sunbreak also gave us one of the most interesting monsters the series has seen in a while. Gaismagorm serves as the expansion's final story boss and is found to be responsible for the mysterious events that have been happening during the plot. It's the usual Monster Hunter formula, but it comes with a new spin on things. Like most games in the series, the flagship monster-the gothic Malzeno this time around-is originally thought to be the cause of Elgado's problems, until the player slays him and Gaismagorm reveals himself. Malzeno uses small, parasitic creatures known as Qurio to suck the life out of other monsters and empower itself in the process. They resemble small winged leeches, but to Malzeno they are borderline parasitic, despite the symbiotic relationship they have with the Elder Dragon(Malzeno becomes empowered, but he also provides the Qurio with several substantial meals). By the story's conclusion, Gaismagorm is found to be the true host of the Qurio. Sunbreak's final boss not only maintains a symbiotic relationship with these creatures, he also actively controls them and uses them to aid him in battle. The exact origins of the Qurio remain unexplored, but they eventually found their way to Gaismagorm and have been serving the beast ever since. The question remains, however; where did Gaismagorm come from?
Fallen From Heaven
The residents of Elgado refer to Gaismagorm as the Archdemon of the Abyss, mentioning an old legend of a foul creature prophesised to rise from beneath the ground and lay waste to the world above. He certainly fits that description, as he emerges from a great crater out in the water and prepares to fulfil this prophesy. With him are swarms of Qurio, confirming that he is their true master and that Malzeno simply usurped their power for his own benefit, or perhaps Gaismagorm willingly granted these life-absorbing monstrosities to the flagship monster of Sunbreak. The thing is, Gaismagorm is also able to empower himself with the life absorbed by the Qurio, so it is entirely possible he allowed them to work alongside Malzeno knowing that he would inherit their power one day. The connection between Malzeno and Gaismagorm is clear, as is the inspiration behind both monsters. Sunbreak has a very prevalent western theme throughout when it comes to its locations, NPCs, and monsters. It's a counterpoint to vanilla Rise, in a way, where all the monsters were inspired by Japanese Yōkai, and the setting was reminiscent of Feudal Japan from real world history.
As for Malzeno, he has very clearly been designed with stories of vampires in mind. The most famous of these stories is Bram Stoker's Dracula, a tale of a Transylvanian Count who made a deal with the Devil in order to achieve immortality, thus turning him into a vampire. This closely parallels Malzeno, who is availing of the Qurio, creatures either given to him or stolen from the devilish Gaismagorm. Sunbreak's final boss is no doubt based upon Christianity's Satan, the fallen angel who was sealed away deep within the confines of Hell. Revelation 20:1-3 from the Bible states as follows; Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. The tale of the Archdemon follows a similar pattern, explaining that this terrible beast living deep underground will one day be freed.
Divine Beasts, With Grace Replete
Monster Hunter Rise follows the story of the Rampage, an event that happens every fifty years where droves of monsters in the ecosystem are driven berserk and end up laying waste to any nearby settlements. The source of this is discovered to be two powerful Elder Dragons dubbed the God Serpents; Thunder Serpent Narwa and Wind Serpent Ibushi. Every fifty years, the two monsters search for one another so that they can mate and reproduce. Their destructive powers cause violent storms, sending the local ecosystems into a frenzy and causing the Rampage. As I mentioned earlier, Rise's roster of monsters is based on Japanese Yōkai and old stories, and the God Serpents are no exception. Narwa was inspired by the Japanese thunder god Raijin, and Ibushi on the wind god Fūjin. They both have otherworldly appearances and give off the sense of being something a cut above most other monsters seen in the series before. Unlike Xeno'jiiva, however, the eldritch final boss of Monster Hunter: World who resembles an extra terrestrial, the God Serpents appear otherworldly in a godly and divine sense. They are truly meant to convey the fact that they are borderline deities and look as though they are not of this world. Throughout Sunbreak, there are hints that would suggest Gaismagorm may have counted himself among their heavenly ranks at one point in time. I'm not suggesting he was an Ibushi or Narwa, but it doesn't seem too far a stretch to think that there may have been other God Serpents outside of the two we know at another time in prehistory.
One of the most substantial hints comes in the form of the description of one of the materials that can be carved from Gaismagorm's body once he is slain. The monster material descriptions in these games are usually not meant to be taken too seriously, instead acting as over-the-top, hyperbolic flavour text. As an example, a material carved from Tetranadon-one of the weakest monsters in Rise-mentions possibly being made of souls. However, the description of the Archdemon Wingtalon in Sunbreak states that it shows no signs of the "divine heights" that Gaismagorm "once knew." It's entirely possible this is another throwaway description, but it feels too intentional to simply ignore. It isn't the only hint at Gaismagorm's origins, either. In the region where Elgado is situated, there is an anomaly that takes place every fifty years where enormous craters appear in the earth and swarms of Qurio come pouring out. Malzeno also shows up during these occurrences, hence why he is initially believed to be the cause, but it is Gaismagorm that is creating these huge holes in the ground so that the Qurio can run rampant and absorb life from nearby monsters. The fact that it is a fifty year gap between these events is another strange parallel with the Rampage, which also occurs every half century. It may possibly be a coincidence, but it also may not. Let's also take a look at Gasimagorm's general design. He does appear overall serpentine in appearance and he sports the same vestigial hind legs as Narwa and Ibushi. Gaismagorm also shares an incredibly similar mouth shape with the God Serpents, with jaws that open and unfurl to reveal the teeth within. It is worth noting that the God Serpents and Gaismagorm are the only three monsters in the game-and possibly the entire series-to sport this type of mouth design. This implies that Gaismagorm hails from a similar time period to Narwa and Ibushi, or that whatever primordial creatures they may have evolved from originated in the same place.
Sunbreak is definitely trying to imply that Gaismagorm has some relation to the God Serpents, even if it is as simple as him being from the same location or time period. The most obvious difference between Sunbreak's final boss and the God Serpents is that the former is not capable of flight, at least not in the same way as Narwa and Ibushi. During the fight, he briefly sprouts some strange red wings before letting off a large AoE attack that can devastate players, but that seems to be the extent of it. Also, Gaismagorm sports six limbs altogether while the God Serpents only have four. These are small discrepancies, but they are there all the same. There is possibly an argument to be made that instead of Gaismagorm having at one time been a God Serpent alongside Narwa and Ibushi, he may be one of their offspring. There has been much conjecture regarding what the result of the God Serpents' union would look like given that we never see their child in game. Most people seem to agree that their offspring would simply be more Narwas and Ibushis, but it is entirely possible a pregnant Narwa could give birth to an entirely new creature à la Gaismagorm. Personally, I believe that Gaismagorm may have been a sort of God Serpent himself at one time, a creature similar to Narwa and Ibushi with a level of power on par with theirs, but of a distinct species from them. Upon coming into the contact with the Qurio, he became corrupted and mutated, relying on his dark new powers that allowed him to absorb the life these parasitic creatures would suck from other monsters. As a result, he retreated deep underground where he could lie in wait, allowing the Qurio to do his bidding for him above, and the legend of the Archdemon of the Abyss was born.
One Story Ends...Another Begins
Like Satan, Gaismagorm became corrupted with power and ideas of domination, only to wind up hiding in the darkness away from the rest of the world. Malzeno is a more uncertain factor, having become reliant on his symbiosis with the Qurio long ago, but again there is a suggestion that this powerful Elder Dragon might not always have been this way. There may have been a point in time where Malzeno existed on his own terms, without the corruption of the Qurio, but it seems unlikely we will ever see that version of the monster. The Qurio are obviously old and very mysterious, with powers so alluring that they can enter into dark pacts with even the most powerful of Elder Dragons. But Gaismagorm was no simple Elder Dragon. He was a God Serpent, and he came closer than any other creature to controlling the Qurio. In the end, though, they had corrupted him completely, and his death, while resulting in most of the Qurio perishing, does not spell the end for them all. One solitary creature is seen abandoning the corpse of Gaismagorm, and Doctor Tadori implies that the cycle will continue to repeat itself, with the Qurio heading out in search of new prey...and a new host.
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