PROLOGUE
In a time now long past, mankind faced extinction at the hands of the “Black Beast”, a creature that appeared out of the darkness. The Beast was possessed by an awesome power, and it appeared that the time of man would soon be at an end. It was then, in humanity’s darkest hour, that six heroes of unknown origin came forward to defeat the Beast. They brought with them the ancient power of “magic”, which they freely shared with mankind. Turning their ingenuity to the formation of new, more powerful weapons, humanity discovered a process by which they could infuse their own technology with the power of ancient magic. It was in this way that humanity created the “Armagus” and discovered a power far beyond what magic or technology alone could have given them.
With this newfound power, mankind once again confronted the Beast, with the six heroes fighting alongside them. After many long, blood-soaked battles, the Beast finally fell, ending what would come to be known as the “First War of Magic”. The heroes who fought beside human warriors in the First War of Magic were immortalized for their deeds and, through generations, came to be known as the “Six Heroes”.
The Black Beast was defeated, and humanity breathed a sigh of relief, but their troubles were far from over.
Great flows of a substance that looked to most like a black fog began to pour from the corpse of the Black Beast, and before long it covered most of the Earth’s surface. It was quickly discovered that prolonged exposure to this black mist, later dubbed “Seithr”, was detrimental to humans. In an effort to avoid it, what remained of the human race retreated to cities built near the tops of mountains, known as “Hierarchical Cities”.
An organization was formed during the First War to regulate the use of the “Grimoire”, the Armagus training texts. This “Novus Orbis Librarium Armagus”, and the power it wielded with the Grimoire Armagus, brought about great advances across the spectrum of human technology. These gains threw mankind into a vast and all-encompassing reconstruction.
Decades have passed since the Librarium established itself as a dictatorship, and Armagus became the deciding factor in nearly all of humanity’s affairs. This led to a large socioeconomic gap between those who could wield the power of Armagus and those who could not. Tensions began to flare, and before long a rebel organization calling itself the “Ikaruga Union” appeared, defying the totalitarian authority of the Librarium. With the creation of the Ikaruga Union, angry thoughts became open hostilities, and the “Second War of Magic” began. It was this conflict, which also came to be known as the “Ikaruga Civil War”, that saw humans using the power of Armagus against one another for the first time.
The Second War came to a close with the destruction of the Ikaruga Union. The Librarium consummated its subjugation of the populace by issuing the following decree: “Whosoever chooses to defy the Novis Orbis Librarium shall be put to death, without exception.
INTRODUCTION
January, 2200AD
A week since the loop came to an end.
Having destroyed the Cauldrons, Ragna had fulfilled his initial goal.
However, there was still unfinished business in his books:
Defeat the real enemy, his revived nemesis Terumi.
Terumi kidnaps Noel, the Successor of the Azure, and amplifies the hatred and vengeance within her to awaken the Sword of the Godslayer, Kusanagi (μ-No.12-).
Ragna sacrifices his own arm to save Noel, but even that was a part of Terumi’s plan. In a small window of opportunity, Terumi nullifies Takamagahara.
It was all a part of their—
The NOL's highest commanding leader, the Imperator's will.
Later, Kokonoe restores Ragna's flesh...
...and he sets his course for the Federation's Hierarchical City: Ikaruga.
Little did he know, he would encounter the phantoms of time, the Chronophantasma, at his destination.
© ARC SYSTEM WORKS. Published by H2 Interactive Co., Ltd.