Paradiso (Bayonetta)

Paradiso is a dimension that features in Bayonetta.

History

Paradiso was the the dimension of Angels and a realm of the afterlife. According to Temperantia, long before the universe came to be, the first Armageddon came which split reality into three different realms; light, dark and chaos. This was seemingly the origin of the realm of Paradiso which embodied the aspect of the light. It was during this battle that those who rebelled against the light claimed dominion over the darkness. Since that time, the denizens of Paradiso had but one goal; to resurrect the Creator and reuniting the Trinity of Realities. To that end, they intended to make use of the Eyes of the World which had been placed in the body of an Umbran Witch and a Lumen Sage.

Around 500 years ago, the angels of Paradiso attempted to bring about the resurrection of their Creator Jubelius. However, they suffered from the ineptitude of their Human cohort Balder who was unable to finish the revival. Despite this being the case, they made use of the Sage to wipe out the Umbran Witches thus removing what the angels believed was a stain from the mortal realm. In the words of Sapientia, the Sages helped in the formation of the witch hunts that purged the Umbrans from the lands. This would help orchestrate events in the future by using the town of Vigrid as a staging ground from which angels could gather in strength and bring about their plans to resurrect the Creator.

In the modern age, Paradiso began its plans in order to see their efforts come to fruition. This involved sending numerous Auditio to test Bayonetta who had awakened after centuries of sleep. This was because she possessed one of the Eyes of the World and the angels sought to reunite the two pieces in order to bring about a new wave of creation by awakening Jubelius.

Overview

In appearance, Paradiso was a heavenly dimension of light that was the home of the angels. The realm consisted of many different Spheres that were populated with different ranks of Angels. The highest ranking and most powerful of the angels were known as Audito whilst another supreme power was held by the Dea. The rankings of the angels was divided in accordance to the Hierarchy of Laguna.

In the Middle Ages, those who were spiritually powerful believed that Paradiso held a Divine Will for all which led to the development of heavenly logic. This in turn led to the development of the Cardinal Virtues which in turn classified Paradiso's Divine Will into four broad groups. On occassion, these Virtues manifested themselves into physical beings of great intention and were known as Laguna.

The various classes of beings native to Paradiso included:

• Affinity : members of the lowest rank within the angelic hierarchy within the Third Sphere. Resembling large humanoid bird-like beings, these servants of Heaven descend on wings from their realm and were believed to be guided to their destinations by the golden halo that shined above their heads. It was said that some humans with deep faith were capable of sensing the presence of these angels who were felt close to their hearts and the Affinity in turn were stated to had been responsible for lighting the path for lost souls. The Affinity equipped themselves with a number of religious articles and weapons that enhanced their combat skills thus allowing them to strike down those they believed contained a sullied heart.
• Beloved : ranking sixth in the angelic hierarchy and residing within the Second Sphere, the Beloved was both a spiritual being but one whose duty was also the destruction of the enemies of Paradiso. Though they were considered low in the ranks of angels, they were far more powerful compared to humans and even those with spiritual powers rarely met such beings. Their battle prowess meant that they were well known for their skills in combat with their exploits known from many demonic battles.
• Fortitudo : a being quite high within the angelic ranks as it was a manifestation of one of the Cardinal Virtues of Paradiso. This laguna inspired as well as awed the masses in addition to embodying courage and fortitude. Fortitudo was a terrifying monstrous looking being with a central human shaped head on its chest with two dragon-like heads sprouting from its top. Flying in the sky, this being was capable of summoning lava from the very earth itself and easily held the capacity to destroy entire cities.
• Grace and Glory : consisting of the twin escorts of the Creator, these powerful angels each embodied a different element. Grace was sheathed in flames whilst Glory was empowered by lightning with both of them being a wild appearance which led to them being depicted commonly as gods of war. They were noted for heroically leading the armies of Paradiso into battle with their sharp claw-like arms being symbols of their ferocious nature. It was due to Grace and Glory that humanity became aware of the great spiritual power connected to twins.
• Fearless : these angelic beasts of the Second Sphere were one of the Dominions. They were large four legged beasts with wings and a beak-like mouth giving them the appearance of griffons. Their tails consisted of a trident which it was capable of shooting out of its body and retracting allowing it to spear potential enemies from a distance. They were nearly three times the length of a human being and physically quite powerful.
• Harmony : these denizens of Paradiso were flying creatures that resembled like sea dwelling manta with multiple eyes on their heads. They were inhabitants of the Second Sphere and thus fell under the ranks of Dominions. Their long wings contained two halos on each and allowed them to glide through the air. In addition possessed two hands for use in battle which they used in combination with their speed to charge at an opponent to grapple them. They also made use of their tails to spear their enemies from a distance.
• Ardor : these elite warriors were members of the Third Sphere and thus were Principalities. They were humanoids with a helmeted bird-like head with a single halo over it but were far larger than normal humans and were coated in armor that had an organic look to it as if it were part of their bodies. Their weapons consisted of a large sword and a shield that was capable of expanding from its original state into a full circle thus providing them a level of defense.
• Inspired : angelic beasts of the First Sphere consisting of Thrones. These were dragonic looking serpents capable of flying through the air at high speeds and were much larger than humans. They typically flew through the battlefield and attempted to use their speed as well as brute force to kill their opponents.
• Joy : Seraphim of the First Sphere, these were female angels that were the most human in shape and form and were capable of disguising themselves as mortals. Much of their flesh was shown except their eyes which were shielded by a helmet and wearing a loose form of clothing as well as shoes. They possessed four wings that stretched from their head and appeared as long hair but also served the purposes of being a whip. Joy's were able to use all four wings as whips making them deadly in close quarters in addition they were capable of shooting out razor sharp feathers from them as well as made use of a large golden sword.
• Temperantia : another high ranking gigantic angel similar to Fortitudo.
• Irenic : these were Principalities of the Third Sphere and resembled modern motor vehicles.
• Braves : similar to the Beloved, these were Cherubim of the First Sphere and were much more powerful than their Third Sphere counterparts. They were smaller than Beloved's but far more aggressive as well as immune to the effects of Witch Time. A common identifying factor was red coloured parts in their armor.
• Kinship : a member of the Powers and thus of the Second Sphere. These angels resembled flying rowing boats with the face of the Kinship fixed at the front of the vessel along with its wings. Numerous oars were spread across its hull allowing it float through the air. At its back was a box shaped structure which was actually a container for missiles capable of being fired out and tracking moving enemies. From their races, they were also able to fire golden beams of light at targets.
• Golems : not so much an angel but rather an occult device. These mechanical beings resembled large spheres that attempted to flatten opponents by slamming into them. Composed of dozens of smaller blocks, they were able to re-arrange their bodies to form new shapes such as dragonic heads or bird-like creatures or even a pair of hands to squash foes. A key component was a glowing purple ball of energy typically residing in the center of the head of the creation.
• Iustitia : a higher ranking angel that resembles a collection of floating heads where long vine-like tentacles emerge from their mouths through which they attacked opponents from underground. The majority of the tentacles contained large thorn covered pods that were capable of either bashing foes or opening up and dropping corrosive purple liquid. One of the tentacles, however, contained another angelic looking head.
• Sapientia : another large Auditio angel resembling a monstrous insect with large wings, two large arms with vicious claws as well as a maw full of teeth. Attacking from the water, its actions were more akin to a sea dwelling beast as it constantly went underwater as well as striking randomly in order to drown its targets.

Paradiso was also divided into numerous locations such as the Graveyard of Remembrance.

Tied to Paradiso were the Alfheims that were secret rooms in the dimension that were used by angels for gatherings and to hold banquets.

Inhabitants

• Jubileus the Creator :

Notes

• Paradiso was created by Hideki Kamiya where it featured in the setting of the Bayonetta series.
• The design of Paradiso such as the different Spheres seems to indicate that it was largely based on the writings of The Divine Comedy.

Appearances

• Bayonetta:

External Links

• Bayonetta Wiki Entry

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