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Black Myth: Wukongtells the story of the Destined One, a monkey who embarks on a journey to earn Wukong’s title. When you first start your playthrough, you’re guided forward by an old monkey, and that character doesn’t show up again until the very end.
That final meeting left many players with a lot of questions, since the actions this monkey takes put him in a thin line between ally and foe. While we have no concrete answers, there are a few visual elements that point this old monkey towards only a few options that make his identity make sense.
Spoilers for the ending of Black Myth: Wukong!
The Old Monkey In Black Myth: Wukong
The old monkeynarrates the story of Wukongto a crowd of monkeys, and then gives one of them a handmade willow staff so they might begin their journey,initiating them as a Destined One.
We don’t know if the Destined One is chosen before or after the old monkey gives them the staff.
His in-game description says that the old monkey always narrates the story of Wukong at that summit, regardless of whether there’s anyone there to listen to him.He’s often reluctant to send the Destined One off, but he always does so anyway.
This all confirms, at the very least, thatthere have been several Destined Onesin the past, something confirmed by other dialogues in the game,like the first encounter with Bajie.
Bajietells the Destined One that he’s met the old monkeyas well, hence why he knows that the final Sense of the Great Sage is where the journey started.
The Old Monkey In Wukong’s Stone
The final boss of the game is Wukong himself, or rather,the fighting spirit left in his mind.
He begins the fight asthe stone monkey he started his life as, and later becomesthe martial master he became, until he is defeated and the Destined One becomes his equal.
Once the fight is over,all the Senses are merged with the Destined One, the old essence of Wukong disappearing andleaving only the Golden Headband behind.
The old monkey then slowly appears, picks the Headband up, andtries to place it on the Destined One’s head, although he seems to do so in an almost reluctant way.
During this final segment, the old monkey hasa floating cloth band or shawl around him, something that often signifies asort of divinity or buddhahood.
Who Is The Old Monkey?
The game presents theold monkey as a mystery, offering four possible interpretations of who he is in his in-game entry.
Since the game is outright telling us these theories, we cansafely consider them false, but it is still worth going over them.
Bodhisattva Guanyin
Bodhisattva Guanyin isclosely related to the Golden Headband. However, Guanyin seems to be present in the story in other ways, and seems likea far too busy deity to be constantly monitoring Wukong’s stone.
Patriarch Bodhi
Patriarch Bodhi is Wukong’s first masterlong before his Journey to the West. There isn’t much in favor or against this character, other than the fact thathe wanted nothing to do with Wukongonce the teachings were over.
Wukong
The game presents Wukong himself as a possibility, something Bajie alludes to when the old monkey guides him and the Destined One through the mind realm. The old monkey rejects this interpretation, and while he could be lying, we can interpret this to mean thathe isn’t the former Wukong nor is he his mind.
Just an old monkey
The game finally presents the possibility of the old monkey just being that, an old monkey. This is clearly false due to the character having that floating shawl that signifies divinity, making him more than a mere monkey.
However, since these are false, there are other theories regarding the old monkey’s identity. The three biggest theories are that he is eitheran agent of Buddha, theTang Monk, or a yet to be exploredaspect of Wukongthat we as players never attained.
The Old Monkey As An Agent Of Buddha
Based on his actions alone, you could assume thatthe old monkey is working against Wukong, wishing to keep the Great Sage trapped forever.
Since there will always be those that seek his power, the Heavenly forces might have put an agent toclosely guard Wukong’s mind, trapping any other monkeys that are strong enough to become the next Wukong.
This, of course, doesn’t quite narrow downthe identity of the old monkey, but it does explain his allegiance.
The reluctance he keeps showing might just be him feeling sorry for his monkey brethren, having to trick them into becoming Wukong only to trap them inside the stone forever more.
The Old Monkey As The Tang Monk
From the many characters inJourney to the West, the two considered to be the main characters areWukong and the Tang Monk.
However,that Monk is nowhere to be seenin the game, something odd for such a major player in the previous story.
He went into hiding, but where? Well,he might be that old monkeythat guides others into becoming like Wukong.
However, the Tang Monk from the end of Journey to the West wouldn’t want to seehis friend trapped forever in a stone.
The Old Monkey As The Victorious Fighting Buddha
The theory that, for now at least, holds the most ground, is thatthe old monkey is the buddhahood of Wukong.
While he claims he isn’t Wukong, this could mean, as previously stated, thathe is neither the old Wukong nor is he an aspect of his mind.
But Wukong did attain buddhahood, a state of enlightenment that exists beyond his bloodlust and fighting spirit.
What the old monkey might be waiting for isfor a Destined One who becomes more than what Wukong was, seeing the cycle for what it is and breaking the chains.
