How fascinating. So the Empire Dice Nero possesses is not his Ether Gear but a relic he obeys in order to escape the reality of defeat. Rather than purely using the Empire Dice according to his will, Nero instead follows the guidance provided by the Dice. Their relation is a transactional one with an equal cost balancing out the triumphant. Nero has continually chosen to pay the price in the face of that absolute victory. If the Dice possesses some form of sentience, did it have a reason for leading Nero to adopting Shura? And if so, does its awareness extend to the Shura’s intentions for Nero 1? How does the Empire Dice perceive the path to victory and where exactly did it come from?
Based on Ziggy and Nero’s conversations, it appears the Empire Dice is a relic from Mother. Even though Nero did not confirm it, he did not outright reject it as well. And considering the existence of many magical attributes appears sourced from Mother, there is genuine reason to believe the Empire Dice is one of Mother’s relics. Nero also hints at other relics similar to the Empire Dice that possess “singularly mystical powers”. What does that mean? Do the Dice derive their power from conditions and exist outside the normal spacetime flow? Is this how the Dice were able to disable the manipulation techniques of Lyra and escape the pull of Ziggy’s gravity? If the Empire Dice serve as the introduction to these type of relics, they have established themselves as tremendously powerful tools and weapons. I look forward to seeing more of these relics revealed and introduced. Would Shiki be considered a relic from Mother?
Nero has activated his Ether Gear and it appears to have something to do with his ability to evade and manipulate his placement in the space. Or was that also the effects of the Dice? How will Nero’s Ether Gear work in conjunction with the Empire Dice? The more this battle progresses, the stronger Nero is presented. The force Ziggy is up against is absolute victory. How will he go about claiming victory? Will he even end up victorious? On one hand, Ziggy has been developed as a major antagonist in Edens Zero, one whose relevance extends beyond the Aoi Cosmos Arc. But on the other hand, Nero possesses a relic that assures victory. What path exist for Ziggy that doesn’t involve his ultimate defeat? Will Ziggy be able to disarm Nero of the Empire Dice or will Ziggy wait until Nero has exhausted all the energy of the dice? With the use of the dice power appearing to be consequential, what happens when Nero has nothing left to offer? Will the final offering be his life? Or will the ultimate foil to the Empire Dice be Rebecca and her Cat Leaper abilities?
Shura’s arrogance was applied thick in this chapter but such a mindset is expected given his upbringing. Growing up as the Emperor’s son where he was positioned higher than others in terms of status created his ego. And became inflated through the lack of consequence imposed on his actions. Shiki can continue to voice his disapproval to Shura but such words falls flat within the mind of Shura who is driven by both his hubris and ignorance. Until Shura is overpowered and lying in disbelief on the floor, no words of sense and logic will get through to him. The manner in how Shura gloats about causing others grief, misery and trauma substantiates how blinded by his madness he is.
I was not expect Shura’s Overdrive form to look like that. Why does it resemble Nero? I thought Nero and Shura weren’t blood related. Could something else have caused the familiarity in their forms? Was Shura’s Overdrive form forced into manifestation by consuming or incorporating Nero’s DNA? Or does a persons Overdrive form depend on their mental image? If so, Shura’s Overdrive form could be an indication of a desire deep in his heart wanting to be like his father. Shura’s Ether Gear reacted with such a desire and generated the form he takes in Overdrive. This could add human tones to Shura’s monster imagery but at this point would it affect the readers feelings toward Shura? I doubt it. Especially after the cliff-hanger in this chapter. Shura pulled Shiki’s eye from his socket and crushed it… Ah, what a disturbing scene that makes avoid wanting to dwell on it lest I seek to heighten the nauseating nature of the moment. If Shiki really did lose an eye, it appears Rebecca is up and a time travel segment is in order. Still within this current timeline, I am very curious to see what Shiki will do now. Very much looking forward to the next chapter.
12Dimension 