Imperial Knights How to become an Ether Knight

Kagura’s store page promises that you can become an Imperial Knight — specifically an Ether Knight, the strongest order on the continent — on every story path. That is not a title screen option. It is a mid-game ritual gated behind Seikuri Village, the Spirit Cave, and Mud Poison. This page is the “how to get / how to become” answer for that search.

You still pick a route first. The ritual exists on Route 1, 2, and 3; the dungeon you clear to unlock the basement mage is the part that moves.

What Ether Knights are in this story

Ether Knights are the empire’s elite. Luna Ashley was one. Tear Lamley still is: lightning techniques, loyalty, and a mandate to cut rot out of the court even while she kills the empire’s enemies. Diana starts as a civilian adventurer because House Ashley has already been branded a failed line. The guild rank, the Spirit Cave, and the emperor’s approval are the in-fiction paperwork that lets a second daughter stand in that order.

Depending on the route, “working for the empire” and “striking against its darkness” are both still Ether Knight stories. The class is the same toolkit; the politics around it are not.

Route 1 unlock (the one first-time players hit)

Follow the walkthrough until:

1. Protea and the catacombs are done.
2. Tear sends you home, then Seikuri Village opens.
3. Talk to the chief in the east house.
4. Buy Poison Rings in Seikuri.
5. Clear Spirit Cave and defeat Mud Poison.
6. Report to the emperor in Maldonia.
7. Tear peels off toward the castle underground — unequip her.
8. Talk to the mage in the castle basement to run the ritual.

If the village is missing, you skipped a Tear conversation after the lord’s night event in Silved. If the cave is missing, you skipped the chief. If the mage will not offer the rite, Mud Poison is still alive.

Routes 2 and 3 also visit Seikuri / a matching mid-game dungeon, then return to the throne and the same basement mage. Do not steal Route 1 room order into those files.

Hair color: gold or silver

The mage asks whether Diana’s Ether Knight hair stays gold (original) or becomes silver. Japanese charts and English testers agree:

• No story branch. Endings, Tear’s arc, and the final boss do not care.
• Some CGs recolor. That is the entire mechanical impact.
• Pick the look you want on the character you stare at for three campaigns.

If you are album-completing, you need both colors across files. Keep a save in the basement before the prompt.

What actually changes in battle

Ether Knight is a power spike, not a new game mode.

• Diana’s skill list picks up lightning / order techniques in the same family Tear already uses.
• Stats jump enough that old North Road packs become filler.
• You still have four slots, armor-break, Repair Kits, and cards. See combat.
• You still need a healer. Ether Knight Diana is not a Mina Heal replacement.

Players who rush the ritual under-leveled still wipe to Svalt’s demon king. The class is a tool; party composition remains the clear condition.

What does not require Ether Knight

• Guild rank-ups and costume changes.
• Recruiting Lysithea, Tear, Lea, Tania, Ellis.
• Card gacha and casino.
• Optional night jobs.
• Starting Routes 2/3 on New Game+.

You cannot skip the Spirit Cave and still get the ritual. There is no paid DLC that grants the class in the manor. DLC adds extra guild jobs and combat variants after you already have the tools.

Roleplay versus flags

Some players delay the ritual because they want Diana to stay “just an adventurer” for screenshots. Mechanically you only delay your lightning kit and the CGs that assume the new hair. The plot will still shove you toward the emperor; House Ashley’s recovery fantasy is the spine of Route 1.

If you care about the crest endings, cleanse or keep the crest after the ritual just as easily as before. Ether Knight status and crest status are independent flags. The checklist lists both.

If the ritual feels weak

1. Confirm you actually beat Mud Poison, not a cave trash pack.
2. Confirm Tear left and the basement mage is the one with the hair prompt.
3. Re-equip cards — some players dump the album when swapping costumes.
4. Hire Lysithea back from the mercenary board if she is missing.
5. Read Tear’s page for how lightning knights are supposed to spend turns.

The trailer sells the class in thirty seconds. The game makes you earn it with a poison turtle boss and a political report. Once the hair prompt is done, you are in the second half: revolutionaries, Svalt, and the castle. The walkthrough picks up from that report.