The cast and players that act out the tragedies in The Epic of Zektbach.
Warning! All spoilers are off.
open/close all folders
Ristaccia Wielders
Shamshir Zamouk
The World's Strongest Warrior
Born in the city of Amuss in the Kingdom of Azuelgatt, Shamshir is a famous warrior known for her grace as a dancer both on and off the battlefield. She succeeded her father as the general of the Azuelgatt Army, and gained further infamy after gaining the Ristaccia sword, la Colada d'el Cid. While she secured her country's future by winning the war declared by the Holy Kingdom of Noigllado, she soon discovers that the Ristaccia's nature imparts both prosperity and ruin in equal measure.- Blood Knight: She really loves fighting. However, she makes a point to never attack civilians.
- Dance Battler: Her father is a military commander-in-chief and her mother a famous dancer. Shamshir combined these aspects into a distinctive dance-like fighting style. While this made her renowned across the country, in the OVA it also put a huge target on her when the Ristaccia's corruption caused people to go berserk and start attacking bystanders randomly using her battle dance.
- The Dog Bites Back: After being freed by A'milia, Shamshir is finally able to pay L'erisia back for forcing her to kill her countrymen and Lien.
- The Dragon: She's made an unwilling one to L'erisia, the consciousness behind the Ristaccia, and is made to hunt down and kill Transcendental Beings like Lien.
- Forced into Evil: Ristaccia makes her its puppet and uses her to kill everyone in the capital town square and later Lien.
- Heroic Suicide: In the OVA, she is willing to face execution if it means saving her country from the power of la Colada d'el Cid. The Ristaccia in her blade has other ideas...
- Lady of War: As graceful, dignified, and calm on the battlefield as she is on the dancefloor.
- Leitmotif: Shamshir Dance.
- Meaningful Name: A shamshir is a type of curved sabre, the same type of sword that la Colada d'el Cid is.
- Named Weapons: She wields a sword called la Colada d'El Cid.
- One-Woman Army: She took down half of Noigllado's army single-handedly.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Her eyes turn red when she's under Ristaccia's control.
- Semi-Divine: Once she's saved by A'milia, she becomes a Transcendental Being able to see past L'erisia's memes and view the world without illusions, thus giving her control over her own fate. This allows her to join A'milia in the fight against L'erisia.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: All her efforts to save Azuellgatt was doomed the moment she found la Colada d'El Cid.
- Stripperiffic: Her battle outfit, which also overlaps with Bedlah Babe.
- Unwitting Pawn: To the Agiona, as Chapter 3 reveals. Shamshir's slaughter of Azuellgatt allowed the Agiona to stage a coup against Emperor Rhineland of Noigllado. With his death, they installed Matin Catorce as a Puppet King.
- Where I Was Born and Razed: The Ristaccia forces her to destroy not just her hometown, but her entire country.
- Would Not Shoot a Civilian: Mentions in the OVA that she would never attack an innocent person, despite her love of fighting.
Matin Catorce
The Last Twin of Hope
Born in Novarista, the capital city of the Holy Kingdom of Noigllado, Matin ascended as empress at fourteen-years-old. She is the older twin sister of Nox and a descendant of Lien Clewing. Although she wields the Ristaccia sword, Trisagion, and is the face of the Trisagion Cult, she ultimately represents the corruption of her empire and must choose between her people and her brother.- All-Loving Hero: She seems incapable of hatred and can't conceptualize anyone, even her enemies, as evil. Deconstructed, as her extreme kindness makes her naive and easy to manipulate. Reconstructed when this same quality allows her to resist the Ristaccia and reach out to Nox.
- Cain and Abel: Abel to Nox's Cain while the latter is under Ristaccia's influence. Although Nox hates her and wants to kill her, she only loves him and wishes to "save him from his hatred."
- Despair Event Horizon: Her most loyal knight, Falo, performing a Heroic Sacrifice to save Nox causes her such despair that she becomes weak to the Ristaccia's corruption. Thankfully, Nox reaching out to her prevents the situation from getting worse.
- Family Theme Naming: Matin is French for "morning", while her brother's name means "night", enforcing their duality motif.
- Half-Identical Twins: Subverted. They have the same hair and eye colors, and it is Nox's similarity to Matin that catches her loyal knight's attention. Nonetheless, they wear different clothing and hair styles, and Nox intentionally grew his hair out so he'd look more like Matin.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Part Humina, part Rufina.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Her hair is platinum blonde and she has an alturistic heart.
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: The defining part of her character. It even protects her from the Ristaccia's corruption.
- King Incognito: She pretends to be a commoner named Lucis so that she can meet with Nox.
- Left-Handed Mirror: She's right-handed, mirroring her left-handed brother.
- Leitmotif: Blind Justice ~Torn Souls, Hurt Faiths~, which she shares with her brother.
- Meaningful Name:
- Matin is French for "morning", matching her theming as the "positive twin". Aligning with this is the name of her commoner identity: Lucis means "light".
- Catorce is Spanish for "fourteen", which is how old the twins are during Chapter 3.
- Named Weapons: She wields Trisagion, the Sword of Hope.
- Polar Opposite Twins: The "positive twin" to her brother's "negative twin", representing hope and light against his despair and darkness. She's a Spoiled Sweet princess while he's the leader of La Résistance. Their being polar opposites was part of L'erisia's efforts to keep them separate.
- Puppet Queen: The members of Agiona purposefully keep her ignorant of the poverty and oppression faced by her subjects, and are the ones who really hold power over the country.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Lives a fabulous life, due to being royalty. When she discovers that she has a brother, she immediately begins to pray for him and search for him. As well, she fights in the war against the Novaria rebels.
- Semi-Divine: After her Sibling Fusion, she and Nox become a Transcendental Being able to see past L'erisia's memes and view the world without illusions, thus giving them control over their own fate. This allows them to join A'milia in the fight against L'erisia.
- Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: Matin, our heroine, is dressed in a more modest ball gown. Our villainess Carla is Ms. Fanservice.
- Separated at Birth: Despite Noigllado being a patriarchal society, Matin was kept as the heir apparent due to her ability to wield Trisagion. Nox was abandonned and adopted into a peasant family.
- Sibling Fusion: A weird example. The twins were originally one individual who were split into two by L'erisia to prevent them from transcending. Once they're both freed of the Ristaccia's influence, their minds merge together to reform their original identity but they still retain two bodies.
- Spoiled Sweet: Grew up in a lavish palace with all her needs met, yet she has nothing but goodwill toward everyone regardless of social status. When she learns of her kingdom's poverty, she becomes sympathetic to La Résistance.
Nox Catorce
The Last Twin of Despair
Born in Novarista, the capital city of the Holy Kingdom of Noigllado, Nox is the legitimate heir of the empire but was abandoned and exiled for his inheritance of the Ristaccia sword, Tyrfing. He is the younger twin brother of Matin and a descendant of Lien Clewing. He was adopted by the royal sword instructor, Adhuk, and lived a peasant's life in the countryside. His impoverished upbringing led him to becoming the leader of Novaria, a resistance movement against the Agiona, the true ruling elite of Noigllado.- Pragmatic Hero: Although characterized by his hatred, it drives him to fight for justice and on behalf of the kingdom's oppressed. He's not afraid to get his hand dirty and commit a variety of crimes if it means that the people of Noigllado will one day live in peace.
- Bad Powers, Good People: His ability to wield Tyrfing caused Agiona to fear he would grow up to be evil. They were wrong, as he grew to have a strong sense of justice and desire to set things right. Subverted in that his sense of justice and strong feelings of hatred made him easily corruptable by the Ristaccia.
- Cain and Abel: Cain to Matin's Abel, when the Ristaccia amplifies his hatred and resentment to the point he wants to kill Matin for representing a corrupt empire and tricking him as "Lucis".
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: He wears his hair long, in a braid. Justified, as it's his way of connecting with his long-lost sister.
- Family Theme Naming: Nox is Latin for "night", while his sister's name means "morning", enforcing their duality motif.
- Good Is Not Soft: An active fighter for justice, but he doesn't have a problem with killing people he thinks are corrupt.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Part Humina, part Rufina.
- Half-Identical Twins: Subverted. They have the same hair and eye colors, and it is Nox's similarity to Matin that catches her loyal knight's attention. Nonetheless, they wear different clothing and hair styles, and Nox intentionally grew his hair out so he'd look more like Matin.
- Happily Adopted: He dearly loves his foster family. The death of his foster sister, Aime, is part of what pushes him off the deep end during Chapter 3's climax.
- Hate Plague: The Ristaccia's influence becomes this for him, as it fuels his hatred and despair. This drives him to more extreme acts of violence and makes him increasingly hostile toward Matin, to the point of eventually trying to kill her.
- Important Haircut: Initially, he grew out his hair to look more like his sister, as a way of feeling closer to her and as a sign of respect, knowing that she wasn't responsible for Noigllado's corruption. Once he reaches his Rage Breaking Point, he shears off his braid and announces Matin as his sworn enemy.
- Irony: Matin's Incorruptible Pure Pureness makes her naive and easy for the Agiona to manipulate. However, this ultimately gives her a resistance to the Ristaccia, while Nox succumbs far more easily.
- La Résistance: He's the leader of Novaria, the Anti-Noigllado Alliance.
- Left-Handed Mirror: He's left-handed, mirroring his right-handed sister.
- Leitmotif: Blind Justice ~Torn Souls, Hurt Faiths~, which he shares with his sister.
- Meaningful Name:
- Nox is Latin for "night", matching his theming as the "negative twin".
- Catorce is Spanish for "fourteen", which is how old the twins are during Chapter 3.
- Named Weapons: He wields Tyrfing, the Sword of Despair.
- Official Couple: He eventually marries Hannes.
- Polar Opposite Twins: The "negative twin" to his sister's "positive twin", representing hatred and darkness again her kindness and light. She's a Spoiled Sweet princess while he's the leader of La Résistance. Their being polar opposites was part of L'erisia's efforts to keep them separate.
- Rage Breaking Point: He's had to shoulder a lifetime of injustices and the responsibility of leading a civil war with a high body count. But the final straw ends up being Aime's death and learning of Matin's deception as "Lucis", leading to him succumbing fully to the Ristaccia and going berserk.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes are red when he's under Ristaccia's control.
- Semi-Divine: After his Sibling Fusion, he and Matin become a Transcendental Being able to see past L'erisia's memes and view the world without illusions, thus giving them control over their own fate. This allows them to join A'milia in the fight against L'erisia.
- Separated at Birth: Despite Noigllado being a patriarchal society, Matin was kept as the heir apparent due to her ability to wield Trisagion. Nox was abandoned and adopted into a peasant family.
- Sibling Fusion: A weird example. The twins were originally one individual who were split into two by L'erisia to prevent them from transcending. Once they're both freed of the Ristaccia's influence, their minds merge together to reform their original identity but they still retain two bodies.
Hannes Farrugia
The Saint who Hunts Sin
Born from a virgin on the isolated island of Fallarien, Hannes was hailed as the Holy Daughter of the Spring of Lourdes. Her pious and peaceful life would soon be turned upside-down by recurring nightmares and the discovery of the Ristaccia sword, Apocalypse.- Barred from the Afterlife: Sort of, in the sense that she is damned to a singular existence forever, unable to move on in one way or another. Because she was born from the Ristaccia itself via the Spring of Lourdes, A'milia is unable to save her from its curse. What this means for her when she dies is unknown (if she can die at all), but "Apocalypse ~Memento Mori~" indicates that Hannes never finds peace because of this.
- Black Swords Are Better: Has one, to fit with the more gothic feel of her story. It's also a super-empowered godly weapon.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Unlike Shamshir, who's conscious but unable to resist the Ristaccia's influence, Hannes is wholly under its control. Despite interpreting the Ristaccia's voice as that of "God", Hannes initially refuses to kill the people of Fallarien and has to be possessed into doing so. Afterwards, she doesn't remember what happened, even though she's still holding Apocalypse.
- Gender-Blender Name: Hannes is usually a masculine name, short for Johannes.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Initially true, at least until she found Apocalypse.
- Hearing Voices: The "evil" variety. She interprets the Ristaccia's influence as the voice of God, urging her to purge "sinners".
- Leitmotif: Apocalypse ~dirge of swans~
- Missing Mom: Her mother died shortly after giving birth to her.
- My God, What Have I Done?: She is implied to feel this in the "Overture ~Ristaccia~" music video.
- Mystical Pregnancy: She is the daughter of a virgin who was impregnated with her by drinking from the Spring of Lourdes.
- Named Weapons: Her sword is called Apocalypse.
- Nun Too Holy: Subverted in that she is genuinely pious and kind, as one would expect a nun to be. It's just thanks to the Ristaccia's influence that she kills everyone in Fallarien and a couple people in Galukia. Her spirituality inspires the people of Megiddo to begin worshiping her.
- Official Couple: She eventually marries Nox.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Her eyes are red when she's under Ristaccia's control.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: She's named after the Apostle John, who is traditionally considered the author of the final book of the Christian Bible, known in Greek as Apocalypse. In-universe, the people of Fallarien say her name means "savior".
- Where I Was Born and Razed: The Ristaccia possesses her to kill everyone in Fallarien.
Gijiri
The Snake God
Born in Jakotsu, Masinowa, Gijiri lived in poverty and faced oppression as a Kagachi-jin, a child of the snake god Kagachi. He clawed his way up the social ladder, eventually founding the Sazaragi Agency, an organization dedicated to exploring the world and uncovering its mystery. He wields the Ristaccia sword, Ame no Hoakari.- The Aloner: After Malchut destroys Masinowa, he becomes a hermit dedicated to researching the Ristaccia in hopes of finding closure.
- Did Not Get the Girl: He never convinces Misakuya to see past his Kagachi heritage.
- Go Out with a Smile: When A'milia takes away his immortality, he ages to death instantly. During that moment he has a peaceful look on his face.
- Fantastic Racism: Double whammy on the receiving end. He is one of the Kagachi-jin, people of the Snake God Kagachi, who have been oppressed for a long time by the mountain people, the Yamaji-jin. On top of that, he was born in Jakotsu, an extremely poor Kagachi village in which all the inhabitants have the status of "filth."
- Hiding Behind Your Bangs: His bangs further hide his snake-like right eye, on top of the eyepatch.
- Inconsistent Spelling: His name can also be written as Giziri, due to the lack of "ji"/"zi" distinction in Japanese.
- Katanas Are Just Better: Ame no Hoakari is a super-empowered godly weapon and a katana.
- Leitmotif: Masinowa ~Kagachi~
- Love at First Sight: He became infatuated with Misakuya the moment he saw her, as she was the loveliest person he had ever seen. However, his attempts to approach her got him beat up because of their differences in social standing.
- Magical Eye: In the "Kagachi" music video, he uses his snake-like right eye to inflict insanity on his persecutors.
- Mark of the Supernatural: All Kagachi-jin are marked by a snake sigil. Gijiri has his on his back. His right eye also has the vertical pupil of a snake.
- Murder by Mistake: When he attempts to kill Malchut, Kukaru takes the hit for her. Even worse, Gijiri was trying to save Kukaru from Malchut.
- Named Weapons: He wields the sword Ame no Hoakari.
- Nominal Hero: Him educating himself and emulating the Yamaji-jin could have proven that the discrimination against the Kagachi-jin was unjustified and inhumane. However, he primarily does so in an attempt to woo Misakuya, a nobleman's daughter. When that fails, he burns down Jakotsu.
- Out of Focus: Despite being built up during his backstory arc, Gijiri is the least prominent of the Ristaccia wielders. Chapter 5 primarily focuses on Malchut, and he's mostly only indirectly responsible for what happens. Even at the end of the series, he's unable to transcend due to selling his soul to Kagachi, and thus can't join A'milia against L'erisia.
- Really 700 Years Old: Selling his soul to Kagachi makes him immortal and unaging. He comes to regret this.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: He goes through all the trouble of becoming educated, clean, with good clothes and good manners, only for Misakuya and the other Yamaji-jin to reject him regardless.
- Stop Being Stereotypical: He criticizes his fellow Kagachi-jin for allowing the Yamaji-jin to treat them as inferiors, doing nothing to disprove or improve their situation. Unfortunately, as Gijiri learns, nothing the Kagachi-jin do will ever make the Yamaji-jin accept them.
- Where I Was Born and Razed: He burns down Jakotsu to free himself of his heritage and turn over a new leaf in his life.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: After living for about 740 years, he gets tired. Luckily, A'milia takes his immortality away and he ages to death.
Other Protagonists
Lien Clewing
The World's Most Intelligent Being
Debuted in: Chapter 2
Born in Ridenburg in the Holy Kingdom of Noigllado, Lien was raised in the Royal Library and grew up to be a mathematical prodigy. Upon finding a note from his Disappeared Dad, he heads to Olivie Ruins, where he meets and is transcended by Sigma. He somehow passed his Rufina genes and Mark of Intelligence on to Matin and Nox Catorce.- Born Winner: Technically anyone can become a Transcendental Being, but it seems that a favorable genetic heritage plays a large part in it. Lien lucked out by inheriting from the intelligent and genetically gifted Rufina race.
- Disappeared Dad: His father was kidnapped by future Agiona member, Rouven, for experiments.
- Good with Numbers: Being a math prodigy ends up being incredibly useful when the Ristaccia allows its users to see reality as defined by formulas and processes. In being able to do so, he gained the ability to see the ultimate truth of the world.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Part Humina, part Rufina.
- He Knows Too Much: He's killed by a Ristaccia-controlled Shamshir since his transcendence and knowledge of the ultimate truth would allow him to rebel against L'erisia.
- Identical Stranger: Bears an uncanny resemblance to Joah.
Word of God states that they are two different people. - Leitmotif: ZETA ~The World of Prime Numbers and the Transcendental Being~, which he shares with Sigma.
- Meaningful Name: Lien is French for "link" A clewing is a ball of yarn or thread. This reflects his ability to link together pieces of information to solve any mystery. It could also be a pun for String Theory.
- Mystical Pregnancy: Appears to have had a hand in creating one, as Matin and Nox are his descendants but they aren't necessarily his. The narration only states that he influenced "a child in gestation".
- Semi-Divine: The second Transcendental Being to be born after Joah, gaining the ability to see past L'erisia's memes and view the world without illusions, thus giving him control over his own fate. Unfortunately, this got him killed by Shamshir.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He ultimately doesn't figure heavily into the overarching plot, but his actions led to the birth of the Catorce twins, who would aid A'milia in his stead.
- Teen Genius: Fourteen-years-old and a mathematical prodigy. His intelligence allowed him to pass Sigma's tests and become a Transcendental Being.
Malchut
Kingdom
Born on the Island of Turii, Malchut is the oldest of the ten Star Children (星の民 hoshi no tami, which can also be translated as Children/People of the Planet). The Star Children maintain the balance of the world by acting as a counter to the Ristaccia. When a Child reaches fifteen years of age, they are ritualistically drowned to allow for the next Star Child to be born. Thus was Malchut's fate, and yet it wasn't to be. "Rescued" by Kukaru, she was taken to Masinowa, causing chaos to begin erupting around the world.- Apocalypse Maiden: That she didn't die when she was supposed to broke the world's balance, killed the rest of the Star Children and their sacred tree, and empowered L'erisia. She's also somehow interfering with Kukaru's Kagachi-jin sigil just by being around him, which is slowly killing him.
- Emotionless Girl: Because emotions are an aspect of the Ristaccia, Star Children don't have any. Kukaru being killed in front of her caused Malchut to feel her first emotion: despair.
- Green Thumb: Her powers seem to be linked to the sacred tree of Turii, which she unintentionally summoned to destroy Masinowa and defend herself from L'erisia.
- Heroic Suicide: She was willing to die so a new Star Child could be born, and was thus quite shocked when Kukaru saved her.
- Hivemind: With the other Star Children prior to exposure to Ristaccia.
- Leitmotif: Turii ~Panta rhei~ and Malchut's Song
- Like Brother and Sister: Her relationship with Kukaru grows into this.
- No Biological Sex: Prior to exposure to the Ristaccia, which turned her female.
- Power Incontinence: Gaining self-awareness and an individual identity made her susceptible to the Ristaccia's corruption, on top of the inherent struggle that comes with. This made her unable to manage her Emotional Powers.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: She is named after the tenth Sephiroth of the Kabbalah.
- Self-Sacrifice Scheme: She was supposed to kill herself to let a new Star Child be born and keep balance in the world. Unfortunately, Kukaru was there...
- Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Kukaru's death caused her to realize her first emotion, which in turn awoke and caused her Green Thumb power to run wild and destroy Masinowa.
Supporting Cast
Σ / Sigma
The Rufina Memeplex
The Rufina were one of the Eight Ancient Races of Aria Te'Laria. In an attempt to understand the Ristaccia, they condensed their consciousnesses into a computer program, thus bringing all their people together as one static entity. This database was used as the foundations from which Sigma was created, a "memeplex" or cultural aggregate of Rufina individuality, perceptions, and beliefs. She is to be the guide for Transcendental Beings.
- Assimilation Plot: The result of one between the Rufina.
- Crystal Spires and Togas: Despite being an AI, Sigma wears a toga and holds a shield and spear. This implies that the highly-advanced Rufina had an Greek theme.
- Elemental Hair Composition: Her "hair" is made of lightning, fitting for an AI.
- Foil: To L'erisia. They're both constructs born from computer programs containing all of a people's consciousness. For L'erisia, this was the Ouroboros Ark that contained the memes of the original humans. For Sigma, this was the database that contained the memes of the Rufina, who were born when Aria Te'Laria was created. The key difference is that the Ouroboros Ark was meant to be a static representation of humanity that would be eternally preserved. Joah was a Spanner in the Works when he created L'erisia. On the other hand, Sigma was intentionally created from the Rufina database to guide Transcendental Beings.
- Gratuitous Greek: Her own name and the Lane of Zeta in which she resides are both named after letters in the Greek alphabet. It fits her technological and mathematical nature.
- Leitmotif: ZETA ~The World of Prime Numbers and the Transcendental Being~, which she shares with Lien.
- Meaningful Name: Sigma notation in mathematics uses Σ to mean "sum up". Sigma is indeed the sum of the Rufina race.
- Mind Hive: She possesses the condensed minds of the entire Rufina race, distilled into an individual aggregate.
- One-Letter Name: Her name can be stylized as the Greek letter Σ.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Despite her role as a guide for Transcendental Beings, her only mentee is Lien. It's due to her actions that Lien was even born, which in turn allowed the Catorce twins to transcend and side with A'milia. Afterwards, she disappears from the story, even though her goals would have aligned with A'milia's.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After Lien's death, she's never seen again. Because she's a memeplex, it's likely that she was annihilated after L'erisia's defeat.
Falo Credere Etincelle
- The Champion: Matin's. He's more than just her protector and is entirely dedicated to her well-being. He's the one who told her that she had a brother at all and followed her orders to find Nox. He also assisted her during the civil war against the Novaria rebels.
- Hidden Depths: He has expert knowledge of flowers and medicinal herbs.
- Intergenerational Rivalry: With Adhuk, his former mentor. Personally, Falo doesn't seem to have anything against Adhuk and may even agree with his cause. However, Matin comes first and Falo will do anything to support her, including participating in the civil war as a way of getting Matin to her brother.
- Taking the Bullet: Twice. He protects Matin from Nox, being fatally injured in the process, and then uses his dying moments to protect Nox from Carla for Matin's sake.
- Undying Loyalty: To Matin. He knew how much pain Nox's death would cause her, and sacrificed himself to save Nox, even though Nox was trying to kill Matin at the moment.
Adhuk Neuendorf
- Beware the Nice Ones: A kind man who adopted Nox and two orphans, yet he threatens to kill Falo because he is a royal guard and therefore the enemy of Novaria.
- Continuity Nod: He is Adnowell Neuendorf's son. Adnowell was a leader of the Noigllado army during the campaign against Azuelgatt in Chapter 1.
- Defector from Decadence: The decision to abandon an infant Nox in favor of Matin, despite his objections, cause Adhuk to leave the Agiona. Years later, he leads Novaria with his foster son.
- Good Is Not Soft: He won't hesitate to take out people he deems a threat to Nox and the Azuelgatt refugees.
- Inconsistent Spelling: Adhuk or Adhuc?
- Intergenerational Rivalry: With Falo, his former student. Because he sides with Nox and the Anti-Noigllado Alliance, he sees Falo's loyalty to Matin as complicit in Agiona's corruption.
- Papa Wolf: He's very protective of Nox and calls Falo out for not understanding Nox's grief over Aime's death.
- Riches to Rags: He gave up his life among the Noiglladoan upper crust to raise Nox as a peasant. He seems happy with his decision though, as it allows him to be with his foster children.
- Undying Loyalty: To Nox. Initially his loyalty was due to Nox being the true heir of the throne, and his disgust at the decision to abandon an infant for being unable to wield Trisagion. After raising Nox, his loyalty has transformed into parental protectiveness.
Misakuya
- Fantastic Racism: Her only reason for rejecting Gijiri is that he is Kagachi-jin.
- Hate at First Sight: In contrast to Gijiri, she was immediately disgusted by him from the moment they met and later tells him to never look upon her again.
- Hope Spot: When an older Gijiri finds her again to show her how he's bettered himself, she's initially impressed... only to fall back on old ways of thinking and reject him anyways.
- Must Make Amends: It's implied that she came to regret her treatment of Gijiri later in life and resolved to "make peace with the people of Kagachi". This is reflected by her son Kukaru, who has both Yamaji-jin and Kagachi-jin heritage.
- Sheltered Aristocrat: It's clear that much of her bigotry is just her echoing what she was taught, and the fact that all the adults in her life enforced the rule that Kagachi-jin were trash. It's only when she's older that she is able to reflect on herself and seemingly move past this.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Her refusal to see past her prejudices is what motivates Gijiri to go off the deep end and burn down Jakotsu, so that he wouldn't be held back by his heritage.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Downplayed. Her design is clearly meant to invoke the archetype to make her contempt for Gijiri and general nastiness all the more jarring. She's later implied to have moved past her family's bigotry and have a child with a Kagachi-jin, straying from in-universe traditions.
Kukaru
- Accidental Misnaming: The only word Star Children can say is "Milia", which is used as a friendly form of address. Malchut says this to Kukaru to express her feelings of friendship, but he misinterprets this as her name.
- Child of Two Worlds: He has both Yamaji and Kagachi ancestry.
- Fiery Redhead: He has reddish-brown hair and has an impetuous, feisty personality. It's this hotheadedness that led him to jump in to save Malchut, without understanding what was going on.
- Like Brother and Sister: His relationship with Malchut grows into this.
- Mark of the Supernatural: All Kagachi-jin are marked by a snake sigil. Kukaru's right eye also has the vertical pupil of a snake, so he covers it like Gijiri does.
- Taking the Bullet: Is killed by Gijiri when the latter tries to kill Malchut. Gijiri was trying to save Kukaru.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Thanks to him "rescuing" Malchut, he ends up distorting the balance of Aria Te'Laria.
- Upsetting the Balance: Him rescuing Malchut threw off the balance of the world and allowed chaos to wreak havoc once more. It's implied that his punishment for doing so is to die slowly in Malchut's presence as he tries to befriend her and teach her about the world.
Agiona
In General
Left to right: Carla, Rouven, Zalieri, Matthias and Lyudmil
A group composed of Noiglladoan nobility, originally implemented to keep the Emperor's power in check, but slowly took that power for themselves. They are the true governing body of the kingdom: Empress Matin Catorce is just a figurehead.
- Arc Symbol: An Ouroboros sigil is used as the Agiona's symbol. It's later revealed to have been Foreshadowing towards the Ristaccia's true nature and the original purpose of the Ouroboros Ark.
- Arc Villain: Of Chapter 3. Their ousting of the previous emperor, exiling of Nox, installing of Matin as a Puppet King, and perpetration of Noigllado's class war is what causes the conflinct the twins face.
- Evil Chancellor: Five of them.
- Government Conspiracy: Their subjugation of Noigllado's lower class and decadence is kept a secret from Matin, as maintaining her trust in them makes her easier to manipulate.
- Only One Name: None of them seem to have surnames other than Rouven Kenpfert.
- Regent for Life: Since Matin is only fourteen-years-old, they're the ones who advise her and make the big decisions. Of course, they were never going to allow her actual governing power, only making it look like she did.
- The Smurfette Principle: Carla is the only woman in the group.
Zalieri
- Beard of Evil: An Evil Chancellor with a full beard and mustache.
- Classy Cane: Has a cane with a carved snake coiled around it, reflecting the Agiona's Arc Symbol.
- The Emperor: Though not in title, Zalieri is Noigllado's true ruler and the Big Bad.
- Evil Old Folks: The oldest member of Agiona and it's leader. He's the one who lead the coup against the previous Emporer and is thus responsible for Noigllado's current corruption.
- Evil Wears Black: The most prominent member of a group of Evil Chancellors and he wears all black.
- Hidden Agenda Villain: He supposedly established a "grand plan" years in the making, based on "ancient documents". It likely has to do with the Ristaccia.
- High-Class Glass: A member of the top nobility and wears a monocle.
- Intergenerational Friendship: A villainous example. Zalieri, an old man, is friends with Matthias, who looks to be in his thirties-to-fourties.
Matthias
- Beard of Evil: A smaller beard and mustache than Zalieri, and the one who schemes to keep Agiona's corrupt rule in place.
- The Dragon: To Zalieri, as his co-conspirator.
- Evil Wears Black: The second-most prominent member of a group of Evil Chancellors and he wears all black. He goes a step further by also having black hair.
- Intergenerational Friendship: A villainous example. Matthias, who looks to be in his thirties-to-fourties, is friends with Zalieri, who is an old man.
Rouven Kenpfert
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Wears glasses, engages in unethical human experiments.
- Mad Doctor: A very cruel man who will perform horrible experiments on people just to further his pharmaceutical and neuroscience research. He even kidnapped Lien Clewing's father just for his research.
- Only One Name: The sole aversion for Agiona, based on the information given about them thus far.
- Sadist: Enacts cruel psychological torment on unwilling test subjects with a happy smile.
- Team Killer: He eventually kills Lyudmil, deeming the latter unworthy of being saved.
Lyudmil
- Beauty to Beast: Is slowly happening to him due to his illness.
- Berserk Button: Usually distinguished and refined, any mention of religion or God will cause him to snap and lash out.
- Flat-Earth Atheist: Does not believe in the Ristaccia religion.
- I Just Want to Be Beautiful: Wants to achieve perfect beauty.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He had shoulder-length blond hair and is quite preoccupied with his appearance.
- Loving a Shadow: He becomes obsessed with Hannes as his illness begins messing with his mind, since she completes all his requirements for perfect beauty. But it's clear that he only loves her for her looks, since he disregards her status as a nun to chase after her.
- Masking the Deformity: He wears a half-mask to hide the effects of his illness.
- Sanity Slippage: A symptom of Dorukuma is declining mental faculties and memory loss. His grasp on reality worsens to the point that Rouven is able to convince him that Hannes was a hallucination.
- Unfriendly Fire: Is killed by Rouven.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Rouven eventually develops a potential cure for Dorukuma, but doesn't test it on Lyudmil as the Agiona decide he isn't worthy of saving.
Carla
- Dark Action Girl: Is skilled in martial arts from Masinowa..
- Just Toying with Them: Her usual modus operandi. She lets her victims fight back until they can't anymore and/or she gets bored of them.
- Murder by Mistake: Accidentally kills Falo when he takes the bullet for Nox. It's hinted that she may have had feelings for Falo.
- Red Baron: She's also known as the "Spider Woman" for the way that she toys with her prey, allowing them to escape and capturing them over and over until they give up.
- Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: Matin, our heroine, is dressed in a more modest ball gown. Our villainess Carla is Ms. Fanservice.
- The Vamp: Uses her body as one of her primary weapons, the other being martial arts.
Cosmic Forces
L'erisia
The Crimson Angel
The physical embodiment of Ristaccia and the series' Big Bad. Originally a computer program created in pursuit of Immortality, containing all mental and cultural processes that defined human consciousness, L'erisia was created when Joah decided to unleash her influence upon Aria Te'Laria. This event gave the Eight Ancient Races self-awareness, thus beginning the story.- Abstract Apotheosis: Inverted. She primarily existed as simply "meme," that is, emotions and self-awareness. Her current form was given to her by Joah.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: Of Ristaccia and consequently she is the embodiment of self-awareness, emotions and culture, collectively known as "meme".
- As Long as There Is Evil: As the embodiment of human nature and information theory, she can never truly be vanquished. This is supported by A'milia's Tragic Keepsake, indicating that even the God of Order isn't immune to meme.
- Big Bad: She's responsible for everything bad that happens throughout the stories.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Despite her antagonistic nature, she isn't evil or malicious. As a universal presence and cosmic force, she's merely doing what she's made to do. After all, a computer can't discriminate consequences for its users.
- Creepy Child: Takes the form of a young girl and is behind all the disasters and tragedies that the characters suffer.
- Demiurge Archetype: She keeps the world trapped in her cycle of prosperity and ruin, and crushes anyone who starts questioning the truth and knowledge that she defines. Transcendental Beings are the greatest threat to her, as they are able to perceive the ultimate truth of the world and rebel against her, so she sends Shamshir to kill them. Hannes, who is directly born of the Ristaccia, is barred from transcending/enlightenment and essentially trapped in the material world, unable to ever find peace.
- Deus est Machina: A computer AI and the functional god controlling Aria Te'Laria.
- Foil: To Sigma. They're both constructs born from computer programs containing all of a people's consciousness. For L'erisia, this was the Ouroboros Ark that contained the memes of the original humans. For Sigma, this was the database that contained the memes of the Rufina, who were born when Aria Te'Laria was created. The key difference is that the Ouroboros Ark was meant to be a static representation of humanity that would be eternally preserved. Joah was a Spanner in the Works when he created L'erisia. On the other hand, Sigma was intentionally created from the Rufina database to guide Transcendental Beings.
- God of Chaos: Her role as the personification of chaos, illusions, and change.
- Good Colors, Evil Colors: A villain associated with red or magenta. The Ristaccia is the same color and people under her influence gain red eyes.
- Hoist by Their Own Petard: She separated Matin and Nox to prevent their transcending. However, because they're not Transcendental Beings, Shamshir can't kill them. This allows the twins to perform a Sibling Fusion and truly transcend.
- Leitmotif: L'erisia ~Primal Logic~
- Mind Hive: She possesses the condensed minds of the original humans, distilled into an individual aggregate.
- Mind Virus: Human sentience itself is the mind virus, gifted by the Ristaccia, and it can manipulate the very thing it enables. It feeds on negative emotions, turning people into bloodthirsty destroyers. Through its influence, Shamshir was Forced into Evil, Hannes was Brainwashed and Crazy, and it affected Nox like a Hate Plague.
- Nature vs. Technology: The technology to A'milia's nature, as an AI that defines the world through formulas and mathematical processes.
- Older Than They Look: Despite looking like a child, she has existed as long as Ristaccia. She is actually even older than that, having existed as long as human sentience.
- Unluckily Lucky: The Ristaccia grants great prosperity to its wielders, but also incurs an equal amount of ruin. Shamshir both saved and slaughtered her country. Matin and Nox struggled with systematic corruption and opposing ideals. The Ristaccia saved Hannes' community, and then condemned her to kill them all. Gijiri facilitated in disturbing the universal balance by taking Kukaru to Turii, accidentally killed the person he was trying to protect, and caused Malchut to destroy Masinowa.
A'milia
The Sealer
Following Malchut's confrontation against L'erisia, the former was sealed into a lotus flower. This flower was found by a tribe that renamed themselves the Milians, after the constant whispering emanating from the flower. They took care of it for 600 years, until it finally bloomed. Out emerged a transformed Malchut, now with a new body and a purified mind. She aligned herself against L'erisia as the representation of order and instinct.- Anthropomorphic Personification: She is the personification of nature, instinct, and order.
- Big Good: She enables people to trascend, which allows them to understand the world without illusions and control their own fates. She frees Shamshir, Matin, and Nox of L'erisia's influence, and stifles the corrupting power of the Ristaccia.
- Deity of Human Origin: Once a mortal Star Child, now a god who can go toe-to-toe with L'erisia.
- Emotionless Girl: Becomes this again as a consequence of gaining a "purified mind", since emotions are one of the Ristaccia's aspects. However, her Tragic Keepsake indicates that she still has some emotional sentiment left, otherwise she'd have no reason to keep such a thing.
- God of Order: Essentially what she becomes by opposing L'erisia.
- Good Colors, Evil Colors: A hero associated with green, as a representation of nature. The Catorce twins have green/teal eyes and are two halves of a Transcendental Being. Hannes also has green eyes, hinting at her allegiance to A'millia despite being a spawn of Ristaccia.
- Leitmotif: The Sealer.
- Meaningful Rename: Milia was what Kukaru thought her name was. It's also what the Milian tribe named her flower. She renamed herself A'milia to honor both.
- Mystical Lotus: Fitting for her rebirth, she emerges from the lotus flower she was trapped in 600 years ago.
- Mystical White Hair: Gains this to signify her ascension into godhood.
- Nature Spirit: She association with plants is further emphasized in her new form, signifying natural instincts.
- Nature vs. Technology: The nature to L'erisia's technology, as a Nature Spirit-born Physical Goddess that enables people to see the world as it really is.
- Tragic Keepsake: Her circlet is made from the tassel that Kukaru wore.
Other
Joah
The Creator
Debuted in: Chapter 6
First mentioned in Chapter 2, he doesn't appear until Chapter 6's PV, where L'erisia sees a vision of him. He was the creator of L'erisia and the true instigator of the story of The Epic of Zektbach. Joah (pronounced "Yoah") was one of the original humans of Earth, who uploaded their consciousnesses into the Ouroboros Ark in their pursuit of Immortality. By being preserved in an eternal, static state, humans would be allowed to live forever, in a sense. Under mysterious circumstances, Joah awoke from this stasis and gained individuality. Rebelling against this immobile, meaningless existence, he created L'erisia and corrupted the Ouroboros Ark. This resulted in Earth being reset and Aria Te'Laria being born, unleashing self-awareness unto the new Eight Ancient Races.
- Ambiguous Situation: How exactly he was able to awaken from stasis and create L'erisia is unknown. Perhaps there was A Glitch in the Matrix? Or maybe L'erisia altered his data to wake him up and get him to free her, which would mean that he never willingly revived her if true.
- Anti-Villain: His actions would cause all the tragedies and suffering that happen throughout the series, but he didn't have malevolent intentions. He felt that culture, emotions, change, individuality, and chaos were necessary parts of human nature and that the Ouroboros Ark could not truly be preserving humanity if it rejected these essential components. It was part of what he thought would allow humans to truly be alive.
- Assimilation Backfire: He was part of humanity's Assimilation Plot as an attempt at immortality. He was unhappy existing this way and thus awakened L'erisia, the embodiment of human sentience.
- Demiurge Archetype: Although as the creator of L'erisia, Joah could be comparable to Sophia, the goddess of wisdom and mother of the Demiurge. Nonetheless, he does have some Demiurge characteristics, being the creator of Aria Te'Laria and the one to trap the Eight Ancient Races under L'erisia's rule to begin with.
- Greater-Scope Villain: He's long dead by the time the main story begins, but it's due to his actions that L'erisia and the world of Aria Te'Laria exist at all.
- Identical Stranger: Bears an uncanny resemblance to Lien. Word of God states that they are two different people.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: His name is based on the biblical Noah, who famously built an ark to save his family and the world's animals from a divine flood.
- Semi-Divine: Because he lived before L'erisia's influence, he is considered the first Transcendental Being, less because he's between the mundane and supernatural and more because he predates the dichotomy.
- Spanner in the Works: His unprecedented awakening and actions completely derailed the purpose of the Ouroboros Ark. In a way, he also retroactively messed up many a persons plans before they were made or even born, since his creating the Ristaccia allowed an unforseen godly force to muck with everything.
