DIE FOR YOU

DIE FOR YOU music video was published by the VALORANT YouTube page on 22nd November 2021 in collaboration with the singer Grabbitz, as a preface of the first VALORANT Champions Tournament. It was animated by The Line, a London-Based animation studio.

The contents of the music video cannot be interpreted as fully canon to VALORANT lore, however, they do provide an insight into some characters.

## Synopsis

The video takes place at Split, where Brimstone, Sage, and Phoenix attempt to retake B site, where a planted spike is being guarded by Ω-Chamber. In the heat of battle, all the Agents have a flashback, where they travel through their subconscious and confront their greatest fears. Within these flashbacks, they all meet a person who represents their player, who guides them through their trial.

## Plot

The video starts off showing Brimstone with a *Judge* and Sage with a *Phantom* entering site, crossing a smoke after taking a fight in B Garage, Split. They quickly push to backsite. Sage witnesses Brimstone in pain due to an injury from gunfight. Soon after, Phoenix enters the site with a Sheriff. Instead of coordinating with his team, he activates *Run it Back* and rushes in. He attempts to defuse the planted Spike, but gets caught off guard by Chamber, who is sitting with an *Operator* on B Heaven. As the bullet is heading for Phoenix, time freezes and Brimstone goes into a flashback.

Brimstone finds himself in a world filled with red fog, where he finds a girl putting forward her hand. Before he can react, a colossal spherical object appears above his head. He falls to his knees, attempting to hold it up by himself, but clearly struggles. The girl once again offers her hand to help. Brimstone tries to to accept it, but he breaks apart from the effort before he can. As the dust settles and the fog clears, he is shown to be alive, now shaking hands with the girl.

In Phoenix's flashback, a boy is seen passing a bright orb to Phoenix, which seems to greatly stimulate his powers. Using it, he creates 6 ghostly fire-clones of himself, and then extinguishes them all. However, the flames start to go out of control, culminating in a giant flaming figure appears in front of him. It is blindingly bright, and its face is contorted in rage. It screams, exploding, as its flames engulf Phoenix completely. The screen goes dark, and Phoenix passes the orb back to the boy. They stand before each other, at peace.

Sage's flashback occurs in a colorful garden, full of flowers and plants. A boy is seen holding the garden on his hands. As Sage watches, the garden turns dark and the plants die. She attempts to use her powers and heal one of them, but she fails and the plant dies. This causes a swarm of crystals of erupt from her hand, growing rapidly. The growth completely engulfs her, and Sage gets crystallized. Her fingers clench and her brow wrinkles with concentration as she tries to break out. Steadily, cracks begin to form along the crystal, and with a defiant yell Sage shatters the cage that is holding her. Finally, Sage's is seen with her position switched with the boy: she is holding up the garden while the boy sits in it contently.

The flashbacks end, with us returning to the point where they started, with Phoenix (with *Run it Back* activated) being shot by Chamber. Sage heals Brimstone and, enraged, runs in to confront Chamber. Chamber takes a shot at Sage, but misses - Phoenix has revived and puts up *Blaze* to block Chamber's vision, saving Sage's life. Phoenix throws the Defuser over to Sage, and she rushes in towards the Spike. The video ends with the flashback characters being shown as the ones controlling the Agents, with Sage's character leaping in for the Defusal.

## Lore Breakdown and Theories

Brimstone carrying the large sphere presents imagery that reflects that of the Greek titan Atlas, who was condemned to hold the heavens for eternity. This represents how Brimstone sees himself as the only one who should have the burden of responsibility in regards to saving the world.

Phoenix's urge to act in every situation is represented through large fiery copies of himself that he creates. They ultimately consume him, which highlights the uncontrollable nature of his actions through his radiant abilities.

Sage believes that it is her responsibility to fix everything, not understanding that fate is not in her control. The flower sage tries to heal is also a similar color to that of Omen's cloak, which could mirror how she attempts to help him and the balance of life and death overall.

## Gameplay Dissonance

The defuser is shown to be an item that is passed from Phoenix to Sage, rather than being something everyone on the team has.

## References

* Lore Breakdown by Cynprel Go
* The Line's page on *DIE FOR YOU* Go