F A N T H E O R I E S
Joachim's Fate After LoI
by Xanatos
I'll first draw attention to his death scene in general. Normally, in the Castlevania series, a vampire, once killed,
will fade into a dust like form usually after being hit by sunlight (I.E. Most of Dracula's forms) However, Joachim
seems to erode into a vapor like form, which common myth tells is a vampire's principle method of escape if all other
forms were broken. Second, I don't believe he would have died from the normal Whip of Alchemy. It can't even harm Walter
until it is formed into the Vampire Killer, and while some may argue that Walter was an exception, and that the Whip was
already powerful enough to deal with lesser creatures, Joachim was not a weakling, and could not be classed in the same
ranks. I'll return to this in a moment.
Second, and the main key of my theory, is the three orbs that surround Joachim's room during the fight. I believe that
those orbs were more than to just generate a barrier so that Joachim could not be harmed. Rather, I view it as both a
protection, and a greater lock than the Dark Palace of Waterfalls ever was. I view that the orbs were indirectly tied to
his life force, which explains how they reformed during the fight, and that they not only kept Joachim from harm, possibly
so that he could never take his own life, but they also prevented him from teleporting out of the area in the first place.
One would argue that "Surely, he could have shattered the orbs himself." However, I feel as if Walter had predicted this,
and constructed the orbs in such a way that they could not be shattered by any weapon that had been wielded by Joachim, thus
locking him inside the cavern. Leon's assault on the orbs, and his weakening of Joachim's life force itself, gave Joachim a
way out. Realizing that if he forced the orbs to believe he was dead, he played up his final moments, forming himself into a
mist like form, evading the detection of the orbs, and subsequently freeing himself from his prison.
Now, normally, he would have recovered, and attempted to take on Walter himself, but the fight with Leon had damaged him more
than he would have been able to deal with, and thus avoided the fight.
This is just a theory, but I follow it as it seems more respectable then his "death" at a non powered whip.
