Origin
Prince Janus was born around 12,000 BC. in the Kingdom of Zeal. He was very dissimilar to his older sister, Schala, in terms of demeanor, and more closely resembled his mother, who was cold and distant. He had stronger magic than Schala and his mother, but ceased using it because of how his mother had changed. He was a very introverted child, with his sister and pet cat, Alfador, being his only friends.
Crono's party first meets Janus in Enhasa. He tells them that the "black wind howls" and that one among them will perish, and then walks away from the group. Later on, Janus and Schala converse. Janus mentions the black winds again, and Schala says that she feels "the foreboding" as well, though she tells him not to worry about it. She then gives him an amulet, saying that it contains her prayers. If something anything ever happens to him, it would keep him safe. She says she wants to remain with him, but their mother has other plans for her.
Hearing this, Janus gets quite angry and proclaims that their mother is not their mother anymore. He says that although she looks like her, she is not the same on the inside. Schala is then summoned by the Queen. She leaves him and asks for his forgiveness.
Later on, Crono and the party are imprisoned. As Schala and Janus enter, Janus comments that they are idiots. Schala says that she wants to help them, although Janus thinks that they will not be of any use and does not want her to get in trouble if she lets them go. Schala says not to worry and that they may be able to help Melchior. Schala then frees the group and tells them to flee from the palace and save the Guru of Life, as he was sent to the Mountain of Woe for opposing Queen Zeal's plans.
However, when the Prophet then enters the room, saying that he needs to put an end to them. Schala asks him not to do anything to them, so he concedes but tells Schala that she must cooperate with him. He then asks the party how they arrived. They show the Prophet and Schala the Time Gate they came through. The Prophet takes them in the Time Gate and forced Schala to place a magical barrier on it.
After the Mountain of Woe falls into the ocean, Dalton arrives and takes Janus and Schala to the Ocean Palace. There, they see their mother's ultimate plan come to fruition.
When the Mammon Machine was activated, it began absorbing too much power. Queen Zeal and Schala along with the three Gurus were the only ones at the Mammon Machine's activation. The Gurus warned about a dimensional vortex, power humans cannot control, and they would be dragged into a rift in time, yet the Queen persisted in activating the machine. Soon, Janus entered the room looking for Schala. Suddenly, the six were transported in front of Lavos. Gates then appeared and transported Belthasar, Gaspar, Melchior, and Janus to different times. Belthasar was sent to the Future, Gaspar was sent to the End of Time, Melchior was sent to the Present, and Janus was sent to the Middle Ages. c. 580 AD.
In the Middle Ages
Janus was found in Truce Canyon by Ozzie, who calls forth three Blue Imps. He and his Mystics would have slain him if Janus had not defended himself with magic, which human beings should not be able to use. Seeing how the boy's potential as being a greater wizard than himself, Ozzie took him in and raised him, grooming him to become the leader of the Mystics' army. It was during this time that he took the name "Magus," referring to his status as a powerful magic-user.
During this time, he grew vindictive and vengeful against Lavos and was eternally concerned over the fate of his older sister, Schala.
The War
His main reasons for starting his war against Guardia were left out in the English version; however, in the Japanese version, he stated his intentions of gaining the power to immensely increase his chances of defeating Lavos. Seeing his strong magic and strange appearance, most people took him to be a Mystic himself.
At the height of the war, he faced Sir Cyrus and his squire, Glenn. Cyrus wielded the Masamune, the only weapon capable enough of breaking through Magus' magical barrier. Even with this, he was no match for Magus' powerful magic. He died in combat and the Masamune was broken. Glenn tried to avenge his best friend but was struck by one of Magus' spells and transformed into an anthropomorphic frog.
He was attempting to summon Lavos during the war, and while the Mystics believed it was to help them win the war, Magus' real intentions were to summon Lavos so he could take his revenge on it.
The Battle at the Fiendlord's castle
Eventually, after Frog gains the Masamune, the heroes go to confront Magus in his castle. After fighting through his minions, they fight and defeat him. After hearing that he was believed to be trying to create Lavos, Magus informs the heroes that he was only trying to summon him. Lavos begins to wake up, and Magus tries to use his magic to send him back to sleep. Even he was not strong enough to kill Lavos when he awoke. The space-time distortion generated by Lavos' premature awakening created a massive and unstable Gate, which sucked everyone and the Keep in, scattering them through time.
Return to Zeal
While the heroes were sent to Prehistory, Magus was sent back to his own time era. During this time, because of his knowledge of the future, Magus was able to convince his mother Queen Zeal that he was a powerful oracle, and called himself the Prophet. When he appears on screen at this point, he is wearing a dark blue cloak that mostly conceals his appearance, but if one looks close enough they can see Magus' face, boots and hair were show.
His aim during this period was to bide his time until the point where Lavos appeared and kill it. He sets himself up in Zeal as a counselor to the queen, waiting for Crono and the others to arrive from the future. He went through everything he saw as a child, going through the motions until the battle at the Ocean Palace would give him another opportunity to destroy Lavos.
When the heroes appear, Magus, out of spite for them, convinces Zeal that they are threats that have to be eliminated, leading to a battle with Dalton's Golem. Whether the Golem wins or loses, the heroes are captured. Schala, however, is able to convince him to spare them, leading to them being sent through the time gate they entered in, after which Schala seals the gate shut. The heroes later return using the Epoch and enter the Ocean Palace where Zeal is trying to harness Lavos's power with the Mammon Machine. Magus was also there, knowing that Lavos would appear. After Lavos breaks into the Ocean Palace, Magus throws off his disguise and tries to fight it, but is quickly overwhelmed. Somehow, he survives. After Crono is killed off by Lavos, Schala opens a time portal that allows everyone to escape.
He is not seen again until the Elder says that he was looking for someone at the North Cape. Here, he reveals he is Janus (via flashbacks). He then mocks Crono's team for being defeated by Lavos. the player can then decide whether to fight him or not. If you decide to spare him, he joins the party by force. Regardless of choice, he mentions that Gaspar could help undo Crono's death. It is assumed he joins the team in hopes of a much better chance as a team of fulfilling his revenge against Lavos, now that all six of the members are affected by the events.
If Magus was spared
Magus rarely inserts his two cents for the remainder of the game with a few exceptions. In the scenario where Ozzie attempts to rule the Mystics on his own and continue the extermination of humans, Magus informs him that he was merely a tool used to his benefit. This angers Ozzie and causes him to denounce his former mentor. When Ozzie is finally defeated, he states that the past "is merely a dream".
If you confront Queen Zeal with Magus on the team, the music will then change to his own theme for the entire fight. Magus will then insult Zeal for being a tool to Lavos and believing in the immortality scheme. Zeal, not recognizing Magus as her own son from the future but as a false prophet, seeking revenge but was defeated by the team.
Upon defeating the Lavos Body within the shell, Magus and the entire party realizes Lavos's intentions: Lavos has controlled all of the events since its first encounter in the planet during the prehistoric time, especially all of life's evolution for its own chosen purpose (later confirmed in Chrono Cross). The party succeeds in defeating Lavos' true form.
When it is time to close the Time Portals, Magus doesn't speak a word when Lucca asks him if he was searching for Schala, hinting she is still alive.
During the DS version, if the party faces the Dream Devourer with Magus is present, he will react with shock upon seeing himself from the future. the future version of Magus returned to free Schala from Lavos after discovering he was revived by absorbing Schala. The other version of magus goes toe-to-toe with the Dream Devourer and is easily defeated. after the party "defeats" the Dream Devourer, Schala is able to send them to safety. after a brief conversation with the other version of him, Schala told him that he cannot save her, no matter how strong he is, but tells him to live a better life. Schala then teleports him out of Time's Eclipse. frustrated by this, he then gets rid of his memories while being teleported out and wakes up in the woods. He only remembers that he forgot something important and says he will find whatever it was.
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