[history]
Luca Milda was the normal son of a merchant in Regnum who saw each day as "empty", as nothing aside from the usual happened. Under the guidance of his strict father and overprotective mother, he had been brought up to take over the family merchanting business and lived a quiet, easy lifestyle. However, this also caused him to have no sense of self, which made him an easy target for his classmates to bully. He became quiet and introverted, feeling like he was worthless. This day, he woke up from dreaming about Asura, the general of Sensus, defeating the reaper Hypnos who had snuck across Sensus lines to kill Asura. He went downstairs, was forced into playing soccer despite having no atheltic talent, and after his team lost he was sent to buy hot dogs. Beofre getting there, he was greeted with the sight of a deliquent being taken away by the police force, to the Fallen Research Facility; afte buying the hot dogs, he met Iria Animi. She was spotted by two people and ran, and Luca followed her in a fruitless attempt to tell her that no, that way wasn't the way out, that was to school field. They were assaulted by the two followers, and one of them grabbed Iria after asking about the Manifest.
When Iria was about to be taken away, he Awakened as Asura, the General Arch-Demon of Sensus. Mathias appeared, told the two about Arca's "Utopia" and how they need the help of the Avatars (referred to as "the Fallen" by the general public), and disappeared before anything can happen. After that, coupled with Luca's inner fear that they'd be caught and his family would get in trouble, Iria and Luca decided to skip town; outside of Regnum, they decided to go to Naos, where supposedly a maiden with magical healing powers resided. Luca learned that Iria was Inanna in her past life, who was Asura's lover. This fact, coupled with him being able to travel with "a cute girl", as he says, makes him giddy. On the way, though, they were intercepted by two Grigoris, which are descendents of Thanatos, a reaper, and his human wife. They were taken to a research facility, which is a fancy way of saying 'a place with labratories to experiment on Fallen in'. They listened to a conversation between a man named Oswald and one of the Grigoris, talking about the newest batch of Avatars and about Mathias and Arca.
There, they met two other Avatars: Chitose Cxarma and Spada Belforma. Luca felt he had some sort of connection to Chitose, though he didn't know why at the time. Before he could try to figure it out, he, Iria, and Spada were sent to another room to be tested. It was explained that those who were going to join Arca (like Chitose) didn't have to fight. Luca seriously considered it, but after seeing Spada's and Iria's objections to it, he couldn't. They faced regular humans who awakened as Avatars when they saw Luca and tried to kill him; at one point, he closed his eyes, and Spada ended up taking on the enemy himself in order to protect Luca. The three of them then had a nice moment, remembering Durandal, Asura's loyal sword, until Oswald interrupted and informed them they would be going to the Western Battlefield to fight against the Garam army.
They were shipped by train and, upon arriving, were informed that there were special barriers that made it impossible to escape. The three of them met Chitose again, who had a profound interest in Luca and whom Luca himself felt a strange connection to. Iria proceeded to get irritated, and their little reuniting was cut short by the commander telling them they were to report onto the battlefield immediately. As soon as they stepped onto it, Luca was suddenly devasted, realizing everything that had happened up to this point. Spada, being helpful as ever, saw this and gave Luca manly slap on the back, telling him to believe in his power and to fight to survive. Among the Garam soldiers were, of course, Avatars, who lashed out at them without a second thought; even a few of the imperial soldiers, who were supposed to be on their side, fought them because of their past grudges against Asura. As they continued to fight, Luca became more and more sure of himself, becoming intoxicated by the battle. They took a little break so Spada could explain the whole Devaloka and Naraka deal, while Luca slowly realized that "the Fall" of Providence could've been linked to the destruction of Devaloka. Another enemy soldier appeared and, instead of attacking them straight on like most other Ratio Avatars, he prostrated himself in front of Iria. Luca stepped in front of her, brandished his sword, and they fought the soldier.
When the battle was over, Luca laughed triumphantly, surprising both Spada and Iria; after all, he had been shaking not too long ago, and this was such a drastic change. He admitted to becoming caught in the moment and feared, for a second, that he enjoyed it too much, having felt like Asura the whole while. Chitose met them shortly thereafter and revealed that she had remembered that she was Sakuya in a past life, who had served at Asura's side with steadfast devotion and had loved him, and had hated Inanna for being able to be with him. This little lovefest was interrupted by fire coming from the base camp and they rushed towards it, and there they met Ricardo Soldato, a mercenary who had been sent to ambush the imperial army by Garam and had taken it to its knees is a short period of time. They were ready to fight him but were no match; Luca and co. realized that this was Hypnos the Reaper, and Luca tried to apologize for what had happened in the past. Suddenly, a strange man appeared, spouting nothing but nonsense. This was Hasta who, like Ricardo, was a mercenary who had been hired. Hasta distracted Ricardo long enogu for the group to escape, and the group and Chitose parted ways after Luca received a sweet good bye kiss on the cheek. They decided to try to head back towards Naos, as was the original plan.
Luca began to feel homesick, especially since the memories of his life as Asura had brought him nothing but misery. He longed to go home, and wondered why he'd even left the house in the first place. They reached Naos and, instead of finding the Holy Maiden, found the Great Cathedral destroyed and lacking any signs of life. Hartman, Spada's former butler, retrieved them and invited them to stay at his house, where he prepared them a scrumptious meal, gave Luca and Iria something to tease Spada about forever (Young Master) and told them what he knew about the Holy Maiden, Ange. It seemed she had destroyed the cathedral after a band of thieves had tried to come and take from it, and had turned herself into the local authorities when they came looking for her, and had been taken to the Naos Base. So they left Naos and headed towards there, with Luca dragging his feets and feeling as if this were all hopeless - they were, after all, just a group of kids against entire nations. Both Spada and Iria said they weren't going to go home; Iria couldn't, and Spada didn't want to. Luca was ashamed of his thoughtless complaints and, after given the chance to go home, and encouraged to do what he wanted, he decided to continue on with the two of them and to defend Iria with his own strength.
When they reached the Naos Base, they were shocked at what they saw; Avatars in giant test tubes, lined row by rows. Moving further in, they encountered giant machines which appeared to be some sort of new, advanced weapon to be used in the war against Garam. They were forced into a fight with one after it perceived them as a threat and, upon defeating it, found a girl in the same sort of test tube they had seen before on the back of the weapon. After freeing her, she revealed herself to be Ange, who they were looking for, and said it would just be better for Avatars to be controlled, because they brought nothing but pain. Spada strongly disagreed with this and told her what was important was what she wanted, and, moved by those words, she agreed to join them on their adventure. Luca had, by this time, recognized who she had been in her past life - Orifiel, the best strategiest of Ratio, admired by friend and foe alike for his sublime chilvary. This sweet little moment was thoroughly ruined by the appearance of Ricardo, who had been sent to collect Ange by an unknown benefactor; she paid him to be her bodyguard with a pendant, and so he joined the party was well.Before reaching the exit, they were stopped by a man named Gardel, whom they defeated and Ricardo let escape. They returned to Naos, found out that a man in Tenos was the one who wanted Ange, talked about the Manifest some and how it could totally destroy the world.
They decided to return to Regnum to see if they could find more information, and Spada suggested they meet at his hideout in the sewers since he used to hang there whenever he ran away from home. They split into teams to try and find out any information or if there were hiding Avatars, but came up with nothing, though Eddy and Nino showed a rare bit of care that surprsied Luca when they hid him from Regnum soldiers and distracted them, allowing him to get back to the hideout in safety, though he longed to check in on his mother and father after seeing them (through the window) being interrogated by soldiers. When they ducked into the hideout, however, they found it was in use by a young girl named Hermana Larmo, who thanked Spada for making such a great place to hide out and telling them if they helped her find this mushroom somewhere deep in the sewers, she'd have enough money fro mselling it off to buy a house and actually live somewhere nice with two orphans she had picked as her own, a boy named Mario and a girl named Rita. The party agreed and, after a hard time of the sewers, found the mushroom (though Coda had taken a bite of it). All of a sudden, a memory circle was activated and they regained the memory of Asura proclaiming the unification of the two worlds at the end of the Devic Wars. Hermana revealed she was the old dragon Vrtra in her past life, who had taken care of Asura his whole life and had been extremely lonely when Devaloka had fallen. Contemplating the memory circle, Ange and Luca discussed the memory at length (hours, that is), until the party was tired enough to go ahead and leave. Before they reached the exit they were stopped by a boy named Chien and his two dogs, who demanded that Hermana tell them where the Manifest was. The party fought and won against him, and through it it was revealed that Chien was the Guardian of the Manifest before the fall of Devaloka.
They were stopped outside by a merchant who had caught the orphans and wished to sell them into slavery in Galpos, and Hermana Awakened, scaring off one mercenary but not the other, who turned out to be an Avatar. Hermana and him fought, and she won; the merchant fled for his life, the mercenary revealed he had been in Vrtra's death in a past life, and promised to take care of the orphans while Hermana was gone. They decided that they would go to the Naos Cathedral's hidden library, where they learned about the different shrines; by this time, Luca, Ange, and Ricardo had realized what the Cathedral and the Regnum Cavern had in common, and that was that they were both places of worship. Deciding to set off to Ashihara first, they would make their way around the world to Galpos, Tenos, and Garam to see if there were memory circles there as well. They arrived in Ashihara shortly thereafter.
In Ashihara, they split to look for clues for where a place of worship may be. Luca was stuck with Iria, and after making a royal fool of himself by treating it more like a date rather than an information gathering mission, he was left by himself as Iria went to go gather information by herself. He retired to the Inn, where he found Chitose. He learned that Ashihara was where she was born, and that she had just returned to visit before she set off again. She was excited to see him again, and he was embarrassed about it, especially as he couldn't remember a time they had been a lone before. He soon remembered, though, that she had been Sakuya in her past life, and that Asura had been aware of her love and yet had chosen Inanna over her. He also learned that Mathias had been someone very close to him, and when he expressed concern over it Chitose knew he hadn't remembered enough. As Chitose was leaving, Iria came upon them, growing even angrier and, once she and Luca returned to the group's meeting spot at the port, revealed he'd been off flirting with girls instead of looking for information. It ended up that the other teams had found out much more, such as that the people of Ashihara had a custom of worshiping their ancestors as gods. The Royal Tomb, full of dead kings, seemed like a likely place for a memory to be.
When they arrived at the Royal Tombs, the gatekeepers refused to let them in. At that moment, a herd of Armaboars attacked the city, forcing its few citizens into their homes until it subsided. Ange, however, posed the suggestion of exterminating the beasts in return for their allowance into the tombs and, after discussing it with a man named Jiriochou (who turned out to be the King of Ashihara himself), they defeated the Armaboars and were granted access. They made their way in and encountered no obstacles through the difficult, twisting halls of the tomb meant to deter graverobbers and other thieves. Deep within the tombs, they encountered a mural that told of the creation of the world and the birth of the Devas. There had, at first, been no heaven nor earth, only the Primeval Giant, who was lonely. To end it, he formed the land from his body and the gods from his head. The gods prospered, yet some wanted more. They were banished to Naraka and became humans due to their overwhelming greed. In the corner, there was a mural that suggested that that priests in Naraka could, once upon a time, view Devaloka from Naraka.
In the mural were three Devas - two were obviously Inanna and Asura. The third, Luca realized, was Mathias' former incarnation - the Overlord, ruler of all Sensus. As they were pondering this, Iria found the memory circle and stepped inside it. It turned out to be something that she didn't want to remember - Inanna, frightened, attempting to persuade Asura not to use the Manifest. It answered none of their questions. However, as they were leaving, Ricardo noticed another mural and, upon the group reading it, learned that it was of the Overlord invoking the Manifest. Luca's anger welled up within him and cursed Mathias to the heavens. He thought that the Overlord, the ruler of Sensus, had used the Manifest to destroy Devaloka, and that it was his fault that their world was decaying as it was. He learned differently when Chitose stepped into their way while they were retracing their way out. She asked him to join Arca, Mathias's group, once more, and Luca refused her with great fervor, citing the Overlord's use of the Manifest as the reason. Chitose interjected, saying it was Inanna's fault that Devaloka had fallen; that she had betrayed and deceived Asura, and it had lead to the destruction of the heavens. She then proclaimed that if Luca stayed with Iria, she would betray him again. He didn't know if this was true or not, not having remembered enough to say, though he knew that he had made a vow to protect Iria - even if she didn't need it - and stepped forward to help protect her. At Chitose's defeat, she laughed and fled, saying that Iria would surely betray them.
The moment the left the tombs, the next ship to Garam was about to depart. They left Ashihara behind, arriving in the volcanic land before long. After some searching, they found that the Kelm Volcano was the place enshrined as the body of the god of the forge, Vulcan. They were warned by the townspeople and the guards that a psycho had gone in, one by the name of Hasta, and the group shrugged their shoulders and said they could take him. They were allowed to enter and, after much sweating and complaining about the heat (minus Spada, who was too busy thinking about his daddy-o Vulcan) they reached the memory circle. Hasta was nearby, and he stepped into the circle, triggering the memory of Asura and Durandal delivering the final blow to the evil spear Gaebolg. They suddenly, collectively realized that Hasta was the spear (due to his murderous and psychotic nature, both of which were requirements for being the incarnation of a murderous, psychotic living spear) and proceeded to fight him. They soon backed him into a corner, prepared to kill him no matter how pitiful he looked, when he pleaded for his life.
Like the dumbass he is, Luca stepped forward and let his guard down. Predictably, Hasta seized the opportunity and pierced him with his spear. He fled the scene, leaving Luca to die - and he would've, had the group not gotten to the inn as quick as they did. He slept for three full days, dreaming of Asura and him facing the guardian of the Manifest, Cerberus. His trial for getting it was to unify Devaloka and, having succeeded, he had come to claim the Manifest as promised. It could only be used with the Primeval Giant's will - “Two shall stand before me in devotion and faith, yet a single soul shall inherit my power.” At last, Asura had obtained the power to reunite the two worlds; instead, the eventual outcome was nothing like he had dreamed. Asura's world was destroyed instead of being born anew, and with this in mind Luca woke up with more questions than answers. He was overjoyed to see everyone worried about him, clustered around his bed; he had never felt a truer warmth of friendship, and his memories of the Devic Era paled in comparison. Or the pain - Spada hugged him twice, tight, and both hurt, but Luca felt only happiness at being liked enough to be worried over.
With Luca alive and well, they set off for Galpos, putting Garam behind them. They arrived by ship, with Iria and Luca seasick as usual, to the sweet smell of fruit orchards. Despite its island status, the fruit orchards of Galpos were widely known, though they were turned away from it and the chance of tasting some due to the raids of monsters lead by a boy and his two dogs (a description which immediately reminded them of Chien, the boy they had fought in Regnum's sewers) destroying and stealing the harvest. Perturbed as to why he'd be there, the group split up to look for clues regarding the chance of any religious spots in Galpos and united empty-handed; Galpos' traditions had been long-since forgotten, and they turned to the jungle for answers instead. Deep within the jungle they met an eccentric old hermit by the name of Pwo, who (once asked) told them of some ruins in the center of the forest - and about Chien. He revealed to them Chien's sobstory and why he stole from the plantations - Chien had been born into the world along with his two dogs, his brothers, and because of that the people had feared and treated him as if he was a monster. His hatred for humans grew with every passing day, stregthened every time the villagers chased animals from their homes - and thus the reason why he stole from the plantation; to feed those very same animals. Ange felt a great sympathy for Chien, who had been ostracized just because of his birth, and they trekked deeper into the jungle, where they came across a memory circle that appeared to be an altar.
The group witnessed an exchange between Asura and Orifiel; Asura seemed to be troubled by Cerberus' words ("Two shall stand before me in devotion and faith, yet a single soul shall inherit my power.") as he couldn't bring himself to accept the Sensus' interpretations of the words and spent every day struggling with the implications of having to take his beloved Inanna's life. Orifiel revealed that the Ratio had a very different take on the message; their interpretation suggesed that if there were another person who had become a part of one's very being, they could invoke the power as one. While Luca and the others didn't udnerstand just what Sensus' method was, they had learned to use the Manifest. Just then, Chien appeared before them and demanded the location of the Manifest. They told him he was making a mistake by cooperating with Mathias - however, Chien had no intetion of listening to such drivel and attacked the group, along with his canine companions. He fought with tooth and nail, like an animal driven into a corner - thoguh despite his beast-like ferocity, he was only a child and his strength soon failed him. As he fell to his knees, the group invited him to join them; without giving him a response, Chien shakily stood and disappeared into the jungle.
With the memorcy circle from Galpos under their belt they set out for Tenos - though it was delayed by having to take a ship back to Regnum and jumping on another heading for Tenos. For the first time in what seemed like ages, the group returned to Regnum. For once, they were earlier than the ship bound for their next destination, so the less seaworthy of the group decided to take the time to quell their seasickness in town. However, just as they were discussing their plans to reconvene at the harbor, they found themselves surrounded by members of the Imperial Army. All plans to break throguh were dashed when Ricardo raised his rifle to them; shocked by the sudden betrayal, they demanded answers and wre give nthem. Ricardo and Gardel had been brothesrs in the Devic Era - Hypnos and Thanatos respectfully - and ever since the encounter with him at Naos Base, Ricardo had been reporting the group's every move to him. It was then that Mathias appeared and, by the authority of Arca, invoked the name of the Inquisition (which no one was expecting) sentenced the group to lifetime imprisonment in Grigori Village. With no means of resisting capture, they were forced onto a ship and taken to their new prison.
They could immediately tell they had been taken a fair distance from Regnum due to the climate change and knew that, after many hours of rocking, they had finally arrived at the home of Gardel and his Grigori - the Grigori Village. Trapped in the village and unable to use their Devic Artes due to the inherent sealing ability of the Grigories, Luca and co. had no chance of putting up a fight. It almsot seemed as though they'd spend the rest of their lives as prisoners. Iria and Spada berated Ricardo for his betrayal, but Ricardo's facial expression remained unchanged as he departed from their company. All of the Grigori looked upon Avatars with the same scorn; the oppressive atmosphere depressed Luca, and he drearily wondered if they'd ever have a chance to go home. Meanwhile, Gardel informed Ricardo that he would be using a surgical technique to obtain the memories of the Devic Era from the prisoners as the only way to be sure that the Manifest was in safe hands was for him to take it himself, much like how one takes out a loan at the bank and steals money from the very same bank to pay back the loan. Ricardo objected to the surgical means, as there was no way of knowing if they'd ever return to normal.
The group explored the village, as small as it was, and bumped into Ricardo on the way back; he had prepared a house and even a meal for them. As they ate, they talked about their journey, their hometowns, and their dreams for the future, though all seemed bleak with the underlying tension of never being able to escape the village. They began to feel extraordinarily drowsy as they ate and, realizing that they had been drugged, succumbed to it. A Grigori confirmed they were asleep and prepared for the operation to take their memories. However, Ricardo had finally made his decision; he stole them back from the Grigori and carried them to the ship. As Grigori Village faded into a speck on the horizon, Luca and the others slowly awoke to find themselves on the deck of a ship, and Ricardo standing over them. Ricardo explained why he had betrayed them; he wanted to confirm if Gardel was truly Thanatos, Hypnos' older brother, and if he was still the same person who had given up everything for the sake of Naraka. He used the group for that purpose. He had found, though, that Gardel's love of Naraka had been perverted by excess and he was no longer the brother that Ricardo had once knew; a kind-hearted soul twisted by the fall of Devaloka into a man who looked upon everything as a threat to Naraka's peace. Ricardo knew that the Manifest would never lead Avatars to a peaceful future and had returned to them. Despite his betrayal, the group welcomed him back and set their course for Tenos. However, the shaking of the ship stopped them; Gardel had caught up. He told them he sought the Manifest to seal it; he would not allow the same power that destroyed Devaloka to destroy his beloved Naraka. Luca explained that they also wanted to prevent such a tragedy. Since their objective was basically the same thing, he suggest they work together; however, Gardel was having none of this funny business and stated he had no need for Avatars, just their memories.
Ricardo was disappointed to find what had become of his brother. Gardel inforemd them that he was not an Avatar, but the very same Thanatos that had descended from Devaloka ages ago. He unleashed his full power and, though the power of an Avatar cannot compare to the true power of a god, the group refused to yield. To protect the Manifest from Mathias, to fulfill their own dreams, they faced Gardel head-on and pushed him back. Through their perseverance, Gardel weakened and at last found he could fight no more. He prepared himself as Ricardo was set to deliver the final blow - but before Ricardo could make a move, a machine like the ones the group had seen in Naos Base appeared and targeted Gardel. The pilot was one of the Grigori who now served under Pigwald Oswald. Gardel took the full brunt of the attack and fell into the sea, and the machine turn its metaphorical eyes onto the group - his next target. While the Gigantess was far more powerful than the previous model from Naos Base, it was meaningless before the group's strength. As they sailed on, Ricardo scanned the dark sea for his brother, and found nothing but the waves.
They docked in the merchant town of Mamut, a town to the south of Tenos, as a barricade prevented them from actually getting to the snowy city. Mamut was a city on the boder of Regnum and Tenos, which lay much further north, past Lemures March and the northern battlefield. Trekking through the city, they noticed their way of talking was identical Hermana's, and she revealed that her parents, before she was an orphan, were traders from Mamut. They continued into Lemures March, whose thick fog made it difficult to see. The area was littered with evidence of the battles that had been fought there, and through the thick fog they saw a shape and heard a strange sound; it was a human corpse, shambling out to meet and greet them with its bones and weapons. The group fought off the corpse as they struggled to come to grips with the fact the dead were moving, an unheard of occurance. Judging by the corpse attire, they guessed the most obvious conclusion: it had died in a battle here. The front lines ahd only recently been moved from the marsh; until then, the marsh had been the battlefield. If the other stiffs had suffered the same fate, there were sure to be many more of the walking dead. Although all of them were in shock after seeing something so unbelieveable, Ange was particularly pained that the Fall had left the world in such a state, ripe for the zombie pickings. They moved slowly through the mud, slopping through it until they came upon a massive shadow in the thick mist. They moved closer to discern what it was and were horrified at what the saw; it was an amalgation of corposes acting as a single body. The writhing mass slowly approached them and howled in agony. As the foul, rotting dusk approached them, Luca and the others drew their weapons to fend it off however Ange, sensing something, stayed their weapons. The mass of corpses begged for release as they called out Orifiel's name. The corpses were moving because they thought they were still alive on Devaloka. When Ange revealed to them that they were, in fact, a giant, rotting mass of corpses, they were at last set free. The souls dissolved before their very eyes and returned to the earth forever.
Just then, Ange reclaimed one of Orifiel's memories. He stood before Himmel the Divine, Ratio's most revered Deva. Orifiel was charged with educating Himmel however Himmel had rejected the Ratio as close-minded and, fearing that he might betray them and join the Sensus, the Ratio had confined him. Orifiel had already allied himself with Asura and swore to Himmel that he would return for him. In the end, he couldn't fulfill that promise. As they had learned in Regnum Cavern, Himmel was executed just as Asura unified Devaloka. Profound regret welled up within Ange at this; she had never allowed herself to be swept away by lingerign emotions from the Devic Era yet, for the first time, she felt truly responsible for the events of the past. Meanwhile, Hermana strained to remember something that was just out of reach, something that had to do about the fact the lingering Ratio souls believed they were still on Devaloka. Hermana just couldn't get it out of her head.
A distant bugle call echoed across the northern battlefield as the group walked and discussed the end of the Devic Wars. As Inanna's memories started to return to her, Iria grew less and less involved with the conversation. She learned that Inanna had decided to betray the Ratio and stay with Asura, and that if the war ended and Asura obtained the Manifest he would surely use it. If he did, the "greedy gfallen gods" of Naraka would return to Devaloka, and it was something Inanna could not allow to happen. She sought some way to prevent him from using its power. As the war drew to a close, and Asura's victory neared, she spent every day thinking about nothing else. With these new memories, Iria grew afraid and worried; she was terrified she was going to remember something horrible, but nevertheless concealed her fear. As they neared the end of the ravaged battlefield, Hasta appeared before them. Everyone did their best to plug their ears as he rambled on and on about his typical psychomaniac spear life. It seemed that more of his divine power had returned; he was stronger than ever, which he proved in his really stupidly tough battle. Ricardo approached Hasta for the killing blow but alas, Hasta leapt up as if nothing was wrong and, after mentioning a job for Pigwald Oswald, fled the scene, this thus being his second time escaping alive after someone's said they were going to kill him. The group dreaded the thought of meeting him again though they knew, in their heart of hearts, they would, simply because their past lives tied them together. They left the northern battlefield with heavy hearts, in the northward direction of Tenos, a short if freezing journey (save for those wearing actual clothes).
As usual, the moment they arrived in the ever-cold Tenos, the party set about gathering information about local religious beliefs. They overheard that Albert's elite unit had left the city for some nearby ruins and, figure that was as good a place as any, they departed to them. They kept an eye out, as Albert was the one who paid Ricardo to kidnap Ange. The ruins laid to the far east of the city and, as per the usual tradition, the group immediately began searching all over the ruins for a memory circle. As they pressed onwards through the ice and snow, they discussed Albert and Ange recalled the image of a confined Himmel. Himmel agreed with Asura's decision to reunite Devaloka and Naraka; it was because of such thoughts that the Ratio elder council regarded him as dangerous. The Ratio elder council wanted to use the Manifest to cast down the Sensus from Devaloka and Himmel knew that to oppose them, he'd have to find comapnions who shared his desire. Orifiel was the only one that Himmel could truly depend on.
It wasn't before long before the group found the memory circle in the ruins. Hermana jumped right in, and they watched the Overlord addressing the Sensus population from a perch high above them, mere moments from the invocation of the Manifest. The Manifest needed two people to work, yet the Overlord's partner was nowhere to be seen. They wondered who it could be as Hermana remembered what happened as Devaloka collapsed. Vrtra watched Devaloka's final moments, yet the Sky Castle didn't fall. The Manifest had been invoked in it and even now, she thought some clue as to the location of the Manifest may remain in the castle. However, the group was at a loss as for how they could reach the castle floating in the distanct skies. While they were distracted with such, soldiers from Tenos had surrounded them for trspassing. As the group parted, a single young man walked forward; Albert, the man who had hired Ricardo to seek out Ange. Albert called out to Ange using the name Orifiel, and Ange immediately knew who he was; he had bene Himmel, the source of Orifiel's most profound regret. Albert stated we hoped Ange would fulfil her promise in this life and, without any resistance, Ange joined him. Luca and the others called out to her, but their words fell on deaf ears. They were determined to chase after her, but Albert's soldiers blocked the way, and Ange disappeared into the crowd. By the time they had fought their way through, Ange and Albert were nowhere to be seen. Whatever had caused Ange to act that way, they intended to take her back and, with that in mind, they returned to Tenos in pursuit. Ricardo guessed that they had gone to the munitions factory in the heart of the city; it was also the military headquarters, and Albert was sure to be there as well.
So they infilitrated the munitions factory. Unlike Regnum's facility based on Devic Artes, the factory here was based filled to the brim with cutting-edge steam-based technology. Within the factory, they witnessed an enormous vessel for the first time; it was an airship, made to sail the vast skies with the greatest of ease. Hermana spotted Albert and Ange about to board said airship, as Albert was going to take Ange to the Sky Castle to use the Manifest with him. Luca ran toward them and called out to stop Ange. The group demanded to know if Albert was working with Mathias to obtain the Manifest, but he made it clear that he was after it for hmself. He explained that the Manifest had destroyed Devaloka because its user had wished for destruction, and that he would use the Manifest to cast out both the Sensus and the people of Naraka. While Himmel had dreamed of seeing Devaloka and Naraka reunited in an ideal world,
Albert had decided the Ratio were onto something with their plan in the Devic Era, especially after seeing the stupidity of humanity and its wars; he came to believe the Sensus were mistaken in their desire to return Naraka to Devaloka, and that he was a fool to think the same. Ange was shocked when Albert revealed his object, and Luca told Albert that he'd never be able to use the Manifest with a partner who didn't trust him. Albert boldly proclaimed that as long as he had Ange, he could use its power however he wished. Luca was only aware of the Ratio inperpretation that stated that two people who trusted each other completely could use it; the other interpretation, the one that had been passed down through the Sensus, told a completely different tale. The Sensus believed that the Manifest could be invoked by sacrificing the user's most beloved - in other words, Albert would kill Ange to use it. The party drew their weapons to put a stop to Albert, but Ange stood in front of him to protect him.
The battle began as both sides, filled with sorrow and misery, began to fight. Each attack felt as though it were searching for something or reaching out to the heart of its target. In the end, Albert fell, exhausted, to a knee and Ange contintued to protect him, despite of the wounds she had sustained. She told the weary party how she had unable to protect Himmel as Orifiel (a sin she had been born with) and how she was going to do so now and if being sacrificed for Albet's ideals were her punishment for trying to save Himmel, she was willing to accept it. She continued though; Albert was free in this life, unlike Himmel, and he could change the world without having to rely on the Manifest. Just as in the past, Ange was the only one willing to butt heads with Albert. When he saw the same strength within her, Albert lost his will to resist and agreed that there was a way for him to change the world for the better without using such extreme means. Just then, Mathias appeared and revealed she had heard everything about the Manifest. Proclaiming her triumph, she made for the Sky Castle, with Luca and the others close behind on the airship Albert let them borrow.
The invocation of the Manifest had destroyed Devaloka, leaving only the Sky Castle. At long last, Luca and the others had entered the same realm that they had called home in their past lives. Statues of unusual creatures were scattered all around, and Hermana identified them as the remains of dead gods. The group now stood where no human had ever tred; Luca felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. The group could make out two figures in the distance. As they approached, they recognized the figures as Asura and Inanna - or rather, their remains. In Inanna's hand was the broken Durandal. The two had stabbed each other. Mathias, Chitose, and Chien appeared as the party attempted to come to terms with the unbelieveable scene. Mathias explained Inanna's betrayal and how, in his despair, Asura had destroyed Devaloka. As Mathias removed the mask and revealed her face, Luca let out an astonished gasp. From her face to her voice, she was the spitting image of Inanna. Mathias shed light upon the events of the Devic Era. The Overlord who reigned over the sensus was none other than Asura himself. When he was reborn, the conflicting halves of Asura's soul divided; one became Luca and the other Mathias. Mathias' face was proof of the depth of the grudge that Asura bore against Inanna; while she was born of Asura's despair and hatred, Luca was born of Asura's doubt.
It was then that Luca, Iria, and Spada remembered their final moments. As they prepared to use the Manifest, Inanna impaled Asura with Durandal. From the outset, Inanna had been ordered to assassinate Asura by the Ratio elder council; she had been sent to steal the heart of the Sensus general and then kill him before he got te Manifest. Both her and Durandal were sent to Sensus on this task. However, Inanna hadn't just stolen Asura's heart; she had fallen in love with him as well, and was prepared to betray Ratio to stay by hise side. However, eve nthen, Inanna couldn't stand to see humans return to Evaloka. With a terrible cry of regret at this reveal, Asura snapped Durandal in two and stabbed Inanna with the other half. The Manifest was unleashed and Devaloka was destroyed.
Faced with the truth, Iria struggled with the pain of her past betrayal. She blamed herself that Devaloka had been destroyed and tat the Avatars now suffered on Naraka. The one who blamed himself most of all - the one whom Mathias pinned the blame on the most - was Luca, though, and he felt a great despair claw at him. He couldn't bear to turn around and face any of this friends, now with the truth that he, as Asura, had destroyed Devaloka nad caused the world to fall into ruin, had been revealed to them. He allowed himself to be led away from them by Chitose at Mathias' order, who brought him to her side. Though his friends called out to him, he didn't reply, too full of sickness at himself and what he had caused. He stood wordlessly, lost in thought, as Mathias revealed she had been planning to destroy the world using the power of the Manifest, now that she had been reunited with her other half. Upon hearing that she meant to use the world to destroy it, rather than save it (as she had told him), Chien flew into a rage and attacked Matias, but was swatted aside like a fly. He revealed then that since Mathias and Luca shared one soul, they could never use the Manifest together; as the Guardian of it in his past life, he could tell. Chitose volunteered her life, though everyone could see it was meaningles; Chitose meant nothing to Mathias, and had only been used because of her love and devotion to Asura from her past life as Sakuya. The only way Mathias could see it use it, then, was for Luca to kill Iria and she told him to do so, in order to invoke the Manifest.
However, Luca was wrapped in his own little world of hopelessness and self-hate. All of his friends, save Hermana, had betrayed him - either in this life, or in his past life - and while he didn't care, honestly, about it (they were good people, he knew they were good people) he couldn't believe himself. He had destroyed Devaloka; he had caused everythign that was wrong with the world now, and it was something he couldn't forgive himself for. He wanted nothing more than to disappear - and Asura's power poured forth through that desire, and with Luca's thought that it was the only way he could help the world. It was then that Sky Castle began to shake with the force of his full power; Mathias and Chitose fled with the Manifest, leaving Chien behind, while Ricardo hurried the party despite Iria's attempts to reach Luca, whose power ran wilder and wilder as he fell further into despair, and they left him behind.
While trapped in his reverie he dreamt of a black space, wondering how he could ever make up for what he had done. Asura and the Overlord appeared in front of him, as if to plead their case; all Asura had wanted to do was create a better world and had destroyed it instead, while the Overlord ruefully repeated the same ideals Mathias held ("If this world ceased to exist, no one would have to suffer. There would be no cause for despair.") Luca argued with the Overlord, saying that he had had friends that needed him, and he had been happy - friends from his past life. The Overlord dismissed it as a ruse, while Asura replied to him that he had something greater than what he, as the general of Sensus and as the Overlord of the Sensus, had ever had - friendships he had formed in his own world, the friendships that were his and his alone. It brought Luca out of his depression, thoughts of his family and of Eddy and Nino, and of the friends he had grown closer and closer to over the course of his journey, swimming though his head. The friendships he had formed in the world that he had lived in--
Luca awoke to find himself alive, and back on Naraka - and with the company of Chien, who, even while heavily wounded, had carried Luca away from the wreakage towards the nearest village. They paused their journey when Luca stirred and, upon realizing where they were, decided they weren't too far from Iria's hometown of Sania Village. Nearby, Luca recognized the airship in which his friends had escaped in and implored Chien to go with him to the village, to which Chien grudgingly agreed.
Still, Luca worried over how he could ever face his friends, after what he had done, despite Asura's kind words.
When Iria was about to be taken away, he Awakened as Asura, the General Arch-Demon of Sensus. Mathias appeared, told the two about Arca's "Utopia" and how they need the help of the Avatars (referred to as "the Fallen" by the general public), and disappeared before anything can happen. After that, coupled with Luca's inner fear that they'd be caught and his family would get in trouble, Iria and Luca decided to skip town; outside of Regnum, they decided to go to Naos, where supposedly a maiden with magical healing powers resided. Luca learned that Iria was Inanna in her past life, who was Asura's lover. This fact, coupled with him being able to travel with "a cute girl", as he says, makes him giddy. On the way, though, they were intercepted by two Grigoris, which are descendents of Thanatos, a reaper, and his human wife. They were taken to a research facility, which is a fancy way of saying 'a place with labratories to experiment on Fallen in'. They listened to a conversation between a man named Oswald and one of the Grigoris, talking about the newest batch of Avatars and about Mathias and Arca.
There, they met two other Avatars: Chitose Cxarma and Spada Belforma. Luca felt he had some sort of connection to Chitose, though he didn't know why at the time. Before he could try to figure it out, he, Iria, and Spada were sent to another room to be tested. It was explained that those who were going to join Arca (like Chitose) didn't have to fight. Luca seriously considered it, but after seeing Spada's and Iria's objections to it, he couldn't. They faced regular humans who awakened as Avatars when they saw Luca and tried to kill him; at one point, he closed his eyes, and Spada ended up taking on the enemy himself in order to protect Luca. The three of them then had a nice moment, remembering Durandal, Asura's loyal sword, until Oswald interrupted and informed them they would be going to the Western Battlefield to fight against the Garam army.
They were shipped by train and, upon arriving, were informed that there were special barriers that made it impossible to escape. The three of them met Chitose again, who had a profound interest in Luca and whom Luca himself felt a strange connection to. Iria proceeded to get irritated, and their little reuniting was cut short by the commander telling them they were to report onto the battlefield immediately. As soon as they stepped onto it, Luca was suddenly devasted, realizing everything that had happened up to this point. Spada, being helpful as ever, saw this and gave Luca manly slap on the back, telling him to believe in his power and to fight to survive. Among the Garam soldiers were, of course, Avatars, who lashed out at them without a second thought; even a few of the imperial soldiers, who were supposed to be on their side, fought them because of their past grudges against Asura. As they continued to fight, Luca became more and more sure of himself, becoming intoxicated by the battle. They took a little break so Spada could explain the whole Devaloka and Naraka deal, while Luca slowly realized that "the Fall" of Providence could've been linked to the destruction of Devaloka. Another enemy soldier appeared and, instead of attacking them straight on like most other Ratio Avatars, he prostrated himself in front of Iria. Luca stepped in front of her, brandished his sword, and they fought the soldier.
When the battle was over, Luca laughed triumphantly, surprising both Spada and Iria; after all, he had been shaking not too long ago, and this was such a drastic change. He admitted to becoming caught in the moment and feared, for a second, that he enjoyed it too much, having felt like Asura the whole while. Chitose met them shortly thereafter and revealed that she had remembered that she was Sakuya in a past life, who had served at Asura's side with steadfast devotion and had loved him, and had hated Inanna for being able to be with him. This little lovefest was interrupted by fire coming from the base camp and they rushed towards it, and there they met Ricardo Soldato, a mercenary who had been sent to ambush the imperial army by Garam and had taken it to its knees is a short period of time. They were ready to fight him but were no match; Luca and co. realized that this was Hypnos the Reaper, and Luca tried to apologize for what had happened in the past. Suddenly, a strange man appeared, spouting nothing but nonsense. This was Hasta who, like Ricardo, was a mercenary who had been hired. Hasta distracted Ricardo long enogu for the group to escape, and the group and Chitose parted ways after Luca received a sweet good bye kiss on the cheek. They decided to try to head back towards Naos, as was the original plan.
Luca began to feel homesick, especially since the memories of his life as Asura had brought him nothing but misery. He longed to go home, and wondered why he'd even left the house in the first place. They reached Naos and, instead of finding the Holy Maiden, found the Great Cathedral destroyed and lacking any signs of life. Hartman, Spada's former butler, retrieved them and invited them to stay at his house, where he prepared them a scrumptious meal, gave Luca and Iria something to tease Spada about forever (Young Master) and told them what he knew about the Holy Maiden, Ange. It seemed she had destroyed the cathedral after a band of thieves had tried to come and take from it, and had turned herself into the local authorities when they came looking for her, and had been taken to the Naos Base. So they left Naos and headed towards there, with Luca dragging his feets and feeling as if this were all hopeless - they were, after all, just a group of kids against entire nations. Both Spada and Iria said they weren't going to go home; Iria couldn't, and Spada didn't want to. Luca was ashamed of his thoughtless complaints and, after given the chance to go home, and encouraged to do what he wanted, he decided to continue on with the two of them and to defend Iria with his own strength.
When they reached the Naos Base, they were shocked at what they saw; Avatars in giant test tubes, lined row by rows. Moving further in, they encountered giant machines which appeared to be some sort of new, advanced weapon to be used in the war against Garam. They were forced into a fight with one after it perceived them as a threat and, upon defeating it, found a girl in the same sort of test tube they had seen before on the back of the weapon. After freeing her, she revealed herself to be Ange, who they were looking for, and said it would just be better for Avatars to be controlled, because they brought nothing but pain. Spada strongly disagreed with this and told her what was important was what she wanted, and, moved by those words, she agreed to join them on their adventure. Luca had, by this time, recognized who she had been in her past life - Orifiel, the best strategiest of Ratio, admired by friend and foe alike for his sublime chilvary. This sweet little moment was thoroughly ruined by the appearance of Ricardo, who had been sent to collect Ange by an unknown benefactor; she paid him to be her bodyguard with a pendant, and so he joined the party was well.Before reaching the exit, they were stopped by a man named Gardel, whom they defeated and Ricardo let escape. They returned to Naos, found out that a man in Tenos was the one who wanted Ange, talked about the Manifest some and how it could totally destroy the world.
They decided to return to Regnum to see if they could find more information, and Spada suggested they meet at his hideout in the sewers since he used to hang there whenever he ran away from home. They split into teams to try and find out any information or if there were hiding Avatars, but came up with nothing, though Eddy and Nino showed a rare bit of care that surprsied Luca when they hid him from Regnum soldiers and distracted them, allowing him to get back to the hideout in safety, though he longed to check in on his mother and father after seeing them (through the window) being interrogated by soldiers. When they ducked into the hideout, however, they found it was in use by a young girl named Hermana Larmo, who thanked Spada for making such a great place to hide out and telling them if they helped her find this mushroom somewhere deep in the sewers, she'd have enough money fro mselling it off to buy a house and actually live somewhere nice with two orphans she had picked as her own, a boy named Mario and a girl named Rita. The party agreed and, after a hard time of the sewers, found the mushroom (though Coda had taken a bite of it). All of a sudden, a memory circle was activated and they regained the memory of Asura proclaiming the unification of the two worlds at the end of the Devic Wars. Hermana revealed she was the old dragon Vrtra in her past life, who had taken care of Asura his whole life and had been extremely lonely when Devaloka had fallen. Contemplating the memory circle, Ange and Luca discussed the memory at length (hours, that is), until the party was tired enough to go ahead and leave. Before they reached the exit they were stopped by a boy named Chien and his two dogs, who demanded that Hermana tell them where the Manifest was. The party fought and won against him, and through it it was revealed that Chien was the Guardian of the Manifest before the fall of Devaloka.
They were stopped outside by a merchant who had caught the orphans and wished to sell them into slavery in Galpos, and Hermana Awakened, scaring off one mercenary but not the other, who turned out to be an Avatar. Hermana and him fought, and she won; the merchant fled for his life, the mercenary revealed he had been in Vrtra's death in a past life, and promised to take care of the orphans while Hermana was gone. They decided that they would go to the Naos Cathedral's hidden library, where they learned about the different shrines; by this time, Luca, Ange, and Ricardo had realized what the Cathedral and the Regnum Cavern had in common, and that was that they were both places of worship. Deciding to set off to Ashihara first, they would make their way around the world to Galpos, Tenos, and Garam to see if there were memory circles there as well. They arrived in Ashihara shortly thereafter.
In Ashihara, they split to look for clues for where a place of worship may be. Luca was stuck with Iria, and after making a royal fool of himself by treating it more like a date rather than an information gathering mission, he was left by himself as Iria went to go gather information by herself. He retired to the Inn, where he found Chitose. He learned that Ashihara was where she was born, and that she had just returned to visit before she set off again. She was excited to see him again, and he was embarrassed about it, especially as he couldn't remember a time they had been a lone before. He soon remembered, though, that she had been Sakuya in her past life, and that Asura had been aware of her love and yet had chosen Inanna over her. He also learned that Mathias had been someone very close to him, and when he expressed concern over it Chitose knew he hadn't remembered enough. As Chitose was leaving, Iria came upon them, growing even angrier and, once she and Luca returned to the group's meeting spot at the port, revealed he'd been off flirting with girls instead of looking for information. It ended up that the other teams had found out much more, such as that the people of Ashihara had a custom of worshiping their ancestors as gods. The Royal Tomb, full of dead kings, seemed like a likely place for a memory to be.
When they arrived at the Royal Tombs, the gatekeepers refused to let them in. At that moment, a herd of Armaboars attacked the city, forcing its few citizens into their homes until it subsided. Ange, however, posed the suggestion of exterminating the beasts in return for their allowance into the tombs and, after discussing it with a man named Jiriochou (who turned out to be the King of Ashihara himself), they defeated the Armaboars and were granted access. They made their way in and encountered no obstacles through the difficult, twisting halls of the tomb meant to deter graverobbers and other thieves. Deep within the tombs, they encountered a mural that told of the creation of the world and the birth of the Devas. There had, at first, been no heaven nor earth, only the Primeval Giant, who was lonely. To end it, he formed the land from his body and the gods from his head. The gods prospered, yet some wanted more. They were banished to Naraka and became humans due to their overwhelming greed. In the corner, there was a mural that suggested that that priests in Naraka could, once upon a time, view Devaloka from Naraka.
In the mural were three Devas - two were obviously Inanna and Asura. The third, Luca realized, was Mathias' former incarnation - the Overlord, ruler of all Sensus. As they were pondering this, Iria found the memory circle and stepped inside it. It turned out to be something that she didn't want to remember - Inanna, frightened, attempting to persuade Asura not to use the Manifest. It answered none of their questions. However, as they were leaving, Ricardo noticed another mural and, upon the group reading it, learned that it was of the Overlord invoking the Manifest. Luca's anger welled up within him and cursed Mathias to the heavens. He thought that the Overlord, the ruler of Sensus, had used the Manifest to destroy Devaloka, and that it was his fault that their world was decaying as it was. He learned differently when Chitose stepped into their way while they were retracing their way out. She asked him to join Arca, Mathias's group, once more, and Luca refused her with great fervor, citing the Overlord's use of the Manifest as the reason. Chitose interjected, saying it was Inanna's fault that Devaloka had fallen; that she had betrayed and deceived Asura, and it had lead to the destruction of the heavens. She then proclaimed that if Luca stayed with Iria, she would betray him again. He didn't know if this was true or not, not having remembered enough to say, though he knew that he had made a vow to protect Iria - even if she didn't need it - and stepped forward to help protect her. At Chitose's defeat, she laughed and fled, saying that Iria would surely betray them.
The moment the left the tombs, the next ship to Garam was about to depart. They left Ashihara behind, arriving in the volcanic land before long. After some searching, they found that the Kelm Volcano was the place enshrined as the body of the god of the forge, Vulcan. They were warned by the townspeople and the guards that a psycho had gone in, one by the name of Hasta, and the group shrugged their shoulders and said they could take him. They were allowed to enter and, after much sweating and complaining about the heat (minus Spada, who was too busy thinking about his daddy-o Vulcan) they reached the memory circle. Hasta was nearby, and he stepped into the circle, triggering the memory of Asura and Durandal delivering the final blow to the evil spear Gaebolg. They suddenly, collectively realized that Hasta was the spear (due to his murderous and psychotic nature, both of which were requirements for being the incarnation of a murderous, psychotic living spear) and proceeded to fight him. They soon backed him into a corner, prepared to kill him no matter how pitiful he looked, when he pleaded for his life.
Like the dumbass he is, Luca stepped forward and let his guard down. Predictably, Hasta seized the opportunity and pierced him with his spear. He fled the scene, leaving Luca to die - and he would've, had the group not gotten to the inn as quick as they did. He slept for three full days, dreaming of Asura and him facing the guardian of the Manifest, Cerberus. His trial for getting it was to unify Devaloka and, having succeeded, he had come to claim the Manifest as promised. It could only be used with the Primeval Giant's will - “Two shall stand before me in devotion and faith, yet a single soul shall inherit my power.” At last, Asura had obtained the power to reunite the two worlds; instead, the eventual outcome was nothing like he had dreamed. Asura's world was destroyed instead of being born anew, and with this in mind Luca woke up with more questions than answers. He was overjoyed to see everyone worried about him, clustered around his bed; he had never felt a truer warmth of friendship, and his memories of the Devic Era paled in comparison. Or the pain - Spada hugged him twice, tight, and both hurt, but Luca felt only happiness at being liked enough to be worried over.
With Luca alive and well, they set off for Galpos, putting Garam behind them. They arrived by ship, with Iria and Luca seasick as usual, to the sweet smell of fruit orchards. Despite its island status, the fruit orchards of Galpos were widely known, though they were turned away from it and the chance of tasting some due to the raids of monsters lead by a boy and his two dogs (a description which immediately reminded them of Chien, the boy they had fought in Regnum's sewers) destroying and stealing the harvest. Perturbed as to why he'd be there, the group split up to look for clues regarding the chance of any religious spots in Galpos and united empty-handed; Galpos' traditions had been long-since forgotten, and they turned to the jungle for answers instead. Deep within the jungle they met an eccentric old hermit by the name of Pwo, who (once asked) told them of some ruins in the center of the forest - and about Chien. He revealed to them Chien's sobstory and why he stole from the plantations - Chien had been born into the world along with his two dogs, his brothers, and because of that the people had feared and treated him as if he was a monster. His hatred for humans grew with every passing day, stregthened every time the villagers chased animals from their homes - and thus the reason why he stole from the plantation; to feed those very same animals. Ange felt a great sympathy for Chien, who had been ostracized just because of his birth, and they trekked deeper into the jungle, where they came across a memory circle that appeared to be an altar.
The group witnessed an exchange between Asura and Orifiel; Asura seemed to be troubled by Cerberus' words ("Two shall stand before me in devotion and faith, yet a single soul shall inherit my power.") as he couldn't bring himself to accept the Sensus' interpretations of the words and spent every day struggling with the implications of having to take his beloved Inanna's life. Orifiel revealed that the Ratio had a very different take on the message; their interpretation suggesed that if there were another person who had become a part of one's very being, they could invoke the power as one. While Luca and the others didn't udnerstand just what Sensus' method was, they had learned to use the Manifest. Just then, Chien appeared before them and demanded the location of the Manifest. They told him he was making a mistake by cooperating with Mathias - however, Chien had no intetion of listening to such drivel and attacked the group, along with his canine companions. He fought with tooth and nail, like an animal driven into a corner - thoguh despite his beast-like ferocity, he was only a child and his strength soon failed him. As he fell to his knees, the group invited him to join them; without giving him a response, Chien shakily stood and disappeared into the jungle.
With the memorcy circle from Galpos under their belt they set out for Tenos - though it was delayed by having to take a ship back to Regnum and jumping on another heading for Tenos. For the first time in what seemed like ages, the group returned to Regnum. For once, they were earlier than the ship bound for their next destination, so the less seaworthy of the group decided to take the time to quell their seasickness in town. However, just as they were discussing their plans to reconvene at the harbor, they found themselves surrounded by members of the Imperial Army. All plans to break throguh were dashed when Ricardo raised his rifle to them; shocked by the sudden betrayal, they demanded answers and wre give nthem. Ricardo and Gardel had been brothesrs in the Devic Era - Hypnos and Thanatos respectfully - and ever since the encounter with him at Naos Base, Ricardo had been reporting the group's every move to him. It was then that Mathias appeared and, by the authority of Arca, invoked the name of the Inquisition (which no one was expecting) sentenced the group to lifetime imprisonment in Grigori Village. With no means of resisting capture, they were forced onto a ship and taken to their new prison.
They could immediately tell they had been taken a fair distance from Regnum due to the climate change and knew that, after many hours of rocking, they had finally arrived at the home of Gardel and his Grigori - the Grigori Village. Trapped in the village and unable to use their Devic Artes due to the inherent sealing ability of the Grigories, Luca and co. had no chance of putting up a fight. It almsot seemed as though they'd spend the rest of their lives as prisoners. Iria and Spada berated Ricardo for his betrayal, but Ricardo's facial expression remained unchanged as he departed from their company. All of the Grigori looked upon Avatars with the same scorn; the oppressive atmosphere depressed Luca, and he drearily wondered if they'd ever have a chance to go home. Meanwhile, Gardel informed Ricardo that he would be using a surgical technique to obtain the memories of the Devic Era from the prisoners as the only way to be sure that the Manifest was in safe hands was for him to take it himself, much like how one takes out a loan at the bank and steals money from the very same bank to pay back the loan. Ricardo objected to the surgical means, as there was no way of knowing if they'd ever return to normal.
The group explored the village, as small as it was, and bumped into Ricardo on the way back; he had prepared a house and even a meal for them. As they ate, they talked about their journey, their hometowns, and their dreams for the future, though all seemed bleak with the underlying tension of never being able to escape the village. They began to feel extraordinarily drowsy as they ate and, realizing that they had been drugged, succumbed to it. A Grigori confirmed they were asleep and prepared for the operation to take their memories. However, Ricardo had finally made his decision; he stole them back from the Grigori and carried them to the ship. As Grigori Village faded into a speck on the horizon, Luca and the others slowly awoke to find themselves on the deck of a ship, and Ricardo standing over them. Ricardo explained why he had betrayed them; he wanted to confirm if Gardel was truly Thanatos, Hypnos' older brother, and if he was still the same person who had given up everything for the sake of Naraka. He used the group for that purpose. He had found, though, that Gardel's love of Naraka had been perverted by excess and he was no longer the brother that Ricardo had once knew; a kind-hearted soul twisted by the fall of Devaloka into a man who looked upon everything as a threat to Naraka's peace. Ricardo knew that the Manifest would never lead Avatars to a peaceful future and had returned to them. Despite his betrayal, the group welcomed him back and set their course for Tenos. However, the shaking of the ship stopped them; Gardel had caught up. He told them he sought the Manifest to seal it; he would not allow the same power that destroyed Devaloka to destroy his beloved Naraka. Luca explained that they also wanted to prevent such a tragedy. Since their objective was basically the same thing, he suggest they work together; however, Gardel was having none of this funny business and stated he had no need for Avatars, just their memories.
Ricardo was disappointed to find what had become of his brother. Gardel inforemd them that he was not an Avatar, but the very same Thanatos that had descended from Devaloka ages ago. He unleashed his full power and, though the power of an Avatar cannot compare to the true power of a god, the group refused to yield. To protect the Manifest from Mathias, to fulfill their own dreams, they faced Gardel head-on and pushed him back. Through their perseverance, Gardel weakened and at last found he could fight no more. He prepared himself as Ricardo was set to deliver the final blow - but before Ricardo could make a move, a machine like the ones the group had seen in Naos Base appeared and targeted Gardel. The pilot was one of the Grigori who now served under Pigwald Oswald. Gardel took the full brunt of the attack and fell into the sea, and the machine turn its metaphorical eyes onto the group - his next target. While the Gigantess was far more powerful than the previous model from Naos Base, it was meaningless before the group's strength. As they sailed on, Ricardo scanned the dark sea for his brother, and found nothing but the waves.
They docked in the merchant town of Mamut, a town to the south of Tenos, as a barricade prevented them from actually getting to the snowy city. Mamut was a city on the boder of Regnum and Tenos, which lay much further north, past Lemures March and the northern battlefield. Trekking through the city, they noticed their way of talking was identical Hermana's, and she revealed that her parents, before she was an orphan, were traders from Mamut. They continued into Lemures March, whose thick fog made it difficult to see. The area was littered with evidence of the battles that had been fought there, and through the thick fog they saw a shape and heard a strange sound; it was a human corpse, shambling out to meet and greet them with its bones and weapons. The group fought off the corpse as they struggled to come to grips with the fact the dead were moving, an unheard of occurance. Judging by the corpse attire, they guessed the most obvious conclusion: it had died in a battle here. The front lines ahd only recently been moved from the marsh; until then, the marsh had been the battlefield. If the other stiffs had suffered the same fate, there were sure to be many more of the walking dead. Although all of them were in shock after seeing something so unbelieveable, Ange was particularly pained that the Fall had left the world in such a state, ripe for the zombie pickings. They moved slowly through the mud, slopping through it until they came upon a massive shadow in the thick mist. They moved closer to discern what it was and were horrified at what the saw; it was an amalgation of corposes acting as a single body. The writhing mass slowly approached them and howled in agony. As the foul, rotting dusk approached them, Luca and the others drew their weapons to fend it off however Ange, sensing something, stayed their weapons. The mass of corpses begged for release as they called out Orifiel's name. The corpses were moving because they thought they were still alive on Devaloka. When Ange revealed to them that they were, in fact, a giant, rotting mass of corpses, they were at last set free. The souls dissolved before their very eyes and returned to the earth forever.
Just then, Ange reclaimed one of Orifiel's memories. He stood before Himmel the Divine, Ratio's most revered Deva. Orifiel was charged with educating Himmel however Himmel had rejected the Ratio as close-minded and, fearing that he might betray them and join the Sensus, the Ratio had confined him. Orifiel had already allied himself with Asura and swore to Himmel that he would return for him. In the end, he couldn't fulfill that promise. As they had learned in Regnum Cavern, Himmel was executed just as Asura unified Devaloka. Profound regret welled up within Ange at this; she had never allowed herself to be swept away by lingerign emotions from the Devic Era yet, for the first time, she felt truly responsible for the events of the past. Meanwhile, Hermana strained to remember something that was just out of reach, something that had to do about the fact the lingering Ratio souls believed they were still on Devaloka. Hermana just couldn't get it out of her head.
A distant bugle call echoed across the northern battlefield as the group walked and discussed the end of the Devic Wars. As Inanna's memories started to return to her, Iria grew less and less involved with the conversation. She learned that Inanna had decided to betray the Ratio and stay with Asura, and that if the war ended and Asura obtained the Manifest he would surely use it. If he did, the "greedy gfallen gods" of Naraka would return to Devaloka, and it was something Inanna could not allow to happen. She sought some way to prevent him from using its power. As the war drew to a close, and Asura's victory neared, she spent every day thinking about nothing else. With these new memories, Iria grew afraid and worried; she was terrified she was going to remember something horrible, but nevertheless concealed her fear. As they neared the end of the ravaged battlefield, Hasta appeared before them. Everyone did their best to plug their ears as he rambled on and on about his typical psychomaniac spear life. It seemed that more of his divine power had returned; he was stronger than ever, which he proved in his really stupidly tough battle. Ricardo approached Hasta for the killing blow but alas, Hasta leapt up as if nothing was wrong and, after mentioning a job for Pigwald Oswald, fled the scene, this thus being his second time escaping alive after someone's said they were going to kill him. The group dreaded the thought of meeting him again though they knew, in their heart of hearts, they would, simply because their past lives tied them together. They left the northern battlefield with heavy hearts, in the northward direction of Tenos, a short if freezing journey (save for those wearing actual clothes).
As usual, the moment they arrived in the ever-cold Tenos, the party set about gathering information about local religious beliefs. They overheard that Albert's elite unit had left the city for some nearby ruins and, figure that was as good a place as any, they departed to them. They kept an eye out, as Albert was the one who paid Ricardo to kidnap Ange. The ruins laid to the far east of the city and, as per the usual tradition, the group immediately began searching all over the ruins for a memory circle. As they pressed onwards through the ice and snow, they discussed Albert and Ange recalled the image of a confined Himmel. Himmel agreed with Asura's decision to reunite Devaloka and Naraka; it was because of such thoughts that the Ratio elder council regarded him as dangerous. The Ratio elder council wanted to use the Manifest to cast down the Sensus from Devaloka and Himmel knew that to oppose them, he'd have to find comapnions who shared his desire. Orifiel was the only one that Himmel could truly depend on.
It wasn't before long before the group found the memory circle in the ruins. Hermana jumped right in, and they watched the Overlord addressing the Sensus population from a perch high above them, mere moments from the invocation of the Manifest. The Manifest needed two people to work, yet the Overlord's partner was nowhere to be seen. They wondered who it could be as Hermana remembered what happened as Devaloka collapsed. Vrtra watched Devaloka's final moments, yet the Sky Castle didn't fall. The Manifest had been invoked in it and even now, she thought some clue as to the location of the Manifest may remain in the castle. However, the group was at a loss as for how they could reach the castle floating in the distanct skies. While they were distracted with such, soldiers from Tenos had surrounded them for trspassing. As the group parted, a single young man walked forward; Albert, the man who had hired Ricardo to seek out Ange. Albert called out to Ange using the name Orifiel, and Ange immediately knew who he was; he had bene Himmel, the source of Orifiel's most profound regret. Albert stated we hoped Ange would fulfil her promise in this life and, without any resistance, Ange joined him. Luca and the others called out to her, but their words fell on deaf ears. They were determined to chase after her, but Albert's soldiers blocked the way, and Ange disappeared into the crowd. By the time they had fought their way through, Ange and Albert were nowhere to be seen. Whatever had caused Ange to act that way, they intended to take her back and, with that in mind, they returned to Tenos in pursuit. Ricardo guessed that they had gone to the munitions factory in the heart of the city; it was also the military headquarters, and Albert was sure to be there as well.
So they infilitrated the munitions factory. Unlike Regnum's facility based on Devic Artes, the factory here was based filled to the brim with cutting-edge steam-based technology. Within the factory, they witnessed an enormous vessel for the first time; it was an airship, made to sail the vast skies with the greatest of ease. Hermana spotted Albert and Ange about to board said airship, as Albert was going to take Ange to the Sky Castle to use the Manifest with him. Luca ran toward them and called out to stop Ange. The group demanded to know if Albert was working with Mathias to obtain the Manifest, but he made it clear that he was after it for hmself. He explained that the Manifest had destroyed Devaloka because its user had wished for destruction, and that he would use the Manifest to cast out both the Sensus and the people of Naraka. While Himmel had dreamed of seeing Devaloka and Naraka reunited in an ideal world,
Albert had decided the Ratio were onto something with their plan in the Devic Era, especially after seeing the stupidity of humanity and its wars; he came to believe the Sensus were mistaken in their desire to return Naraka to Devaloka, and that he was a fool to think the same. Ange was shocked when Albert revealed his object, and Luca told Albert that he'd never be able to use the Manifest with a partner who didn't trust him. Albert boldly proclaimed that as long as he had Ange, he could use its power however he wished. Luca was only aware of the Ratio inperpretation that stated that two people who trusted each other completely could use it; the other interpretation, the one that had been passed down through the Sensus, told a completely different tale. The Sensus believed that the Manifest could be invoked by sacrificing the user's most beloved - in other words, Albert would kill Ange to use it. The party drew their weapons to put a stop to Albert, but Ange stood in front of him to protect him.
The battle began as both sides, filled with sorrow and misery, began to fight. Each attack felt as though it were searching for something or reaching out to the heart of its target. In the end, Albert fell, exhausted, to a knee and Ange contintued to protect him, despite of the wounds she had sustained. She told the weary party how she had unable to protect Himmel as Orifiel (a sin she had been born with) and how she was going to do so now and if being sacrificed for Albet's ideals were her punishment for trying to save Himmel, she was willing to accept it. She continued though; Albert was free in this life, unlike Himmel, and he could change the world without having to rely on the Manifest. Just as in the past, Ange was the only one willing to butt heads with Albert. When he saw the same strength within her, Albert lost his will to resist and agreed that there was a way for him to change the world for the better without using such extreme means. Just then, Mathias appeared and revealed she had heard everything about the Manifest. Proclaiming her triumph, she made for the Sky Castle, with Luca and the others close behind on the airship Albert let them borrow.
The invocation of the Manifest had destroyed Devaloka, leaving only the Sky Castle. At long last, Luca and the others had entered the same realm that they had called home in their past lives. Statues of unusual creatures were scattered all around, and Hermana identified them as the remains of dead gods. The group now stood where no human had ever tred; Luca felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. The group could make out two figures in the distance. As they approached, they recognized the figures as Asura and Inanna - or rather, their remains. In Inanna's hand was the broken Durandal. The two had stabbed each other. Mathias, Chitose, and Chien appeared as the party attempted to come to terms with the unbelieveable scene. Mathias explained Inanna's betrayal and how, in his despair, Asura had destroyed Devaloka. As Mathias removed the mask and revealed her face, Luca let out an astonished gasp. From her face to her voice, she was the spitting image of Inanna. Mathias shed light upon the events of the Devic Era. The Overlord who reigned over the sensus was none other than Asura himself. When he was reborn, the conflicting halves of Asura's soul divided; one became Luca and the other Mathias. Mathias' face was proof of the depth of the grudge that Asura bore against Inanna; while she was born of Asura's despair and hatred, Luca was born of Asura's doubt.
It was then that Luca, Iria, and Spada remembered their final moments. As they prepared to use the Manifest, Inanna impaled Asura with Durandal. From the outset, Inanna had been ordered to assassinate Asura by the Ratio elder council; she had been sent to steal the heart of the Sensus general and then kill him before he got te Manifest. Both her and Durandal were sent to Sensus on this task. However, Inanna hadn't just stolen Asura's heart; she had fallen in love with him as well, and was prepared to betray Ratio to stay by hise side. However, eve nthen, Inanna couldn't stand to see humans return to Evaloka. With a terrible cry of regret at this reveal, Asura snapped Durandal in two and stabbed Inanna with the other half. The Manifest was unleashed and Devaloka was destroyed.
Faced with the truth, Iria struggled with the pain of her past betrayal. She blamed herself that Devaloka had been destroyed and tat the Avatars now suffered on Naraka. The one who blamed himself most of all - the one whom Mathias pinned the blame on the most - was Luca, though, and he felt a great despair claw at him. He couldn't bear to turn around and face any of this friends, now with the truth that he, as Asura, had destroyed Devaloka nad caused the world to fall into ruin, had been revealed to them. He allowed himself to be led away from them by Chitose at Mathias' order, who brought him to her side. Though his friends called out to him, he didn't reply, too full of sickness at himself and what he had caused. He stood wordlessly, lost in thought, as Mathias revealed she had been planning to destroy the world using the power of the Manifest, now that she had been reunited with her other half. Upon hearing that she meant to use the world to destroy it, rather than save it (as she had told him), Chien flew into a rage and attacked Matias, but was swatted aside like a fly. He revealed then that since Mathias and Luca shared one soul, they could never use the Manifest together; as the Guardian of it in his past life, he could tell. Chitose volunteered her life, though everyone could see it was meaningles; Chitose meant nothing to Mathias, and had only been used because of her love and devotion to Asura from her past life as Sakuya. The only way Mathias could see it use it, then, was for Luca to kill Iria and she told him to do so, in order to invoke the Manifest.
However, Luca was wrapped in his own little world of hopelessness and self-hate. All of his friends, save Hermana, had betrayed him - either in this life, or in his past life - and while he didn't care, honestly, about it (they were good people, he knew they were good people) he couldn't believe himself. He had destroyed Devaloka; he had caused everythign that was wrong with the world now, and it was something he couldn't forgive himself for. He wanted nothing more than to disappear - and Asura's power poured forth through that desire, and with Luca's thought that it was the only way he could help the world. It was then that Sky Castle began to shake with the force of his full power; Mathias and Chitose fled with the Manifest, leaving Chien behind, while Ricardo hurried the party despite Iria's attempts to reach Luca, whose power ran wilder and wilder as he fell further into despair, and they left him behind.
While trapped in his reverie he dreamt of a black space, wondering how he could ever make up for what he had done. Asura and the Overlord appeared in front of him, as if to plead their case; all Asura had wanted to do was create a better world and had destroyed it instead, while the Overlord ruefully repeated the same ideals Mathias held ("If this world ceased to exist, no one would have to suffer. There would be no cause for despair.") Luca argued with the Overlord, saying that he had had friends that needed him, and he had been happy - friends from his past life. The Overlord dismissed it as a ruse, while Asura replied to him that he had something greater than what he, as the general of Sensus and as the Overlord of the Sensus, had ever had - friendships he had formed in his own world, the friendships that were his and his alone. It brought Luca out of his depression, thoughts of his family and of Eddy and Nino, and of the friends he had grown closer and closer to over the course of his journey, swimming though his head. The friendships he had formed in the world that he had lived in--
Luca awoke to find himself alive, and back on Naraka - and with the company of Chien, who, even while heavily wounded, had carried Luca away from the wreakage towards the nearest village. They paused their journey when Luca stirred and, upon realizing where they were, decided they weren't too far from Iria's hometown of Sania Village. Nearby, Luca recognized the airship in which his friends had escaped in and implored Chien to go with him to the village, to which Chien grudgingly agreed.
Still, Luca worried over how he could ever face his friends, after what he had done, despite Asura's kind words.