Victory blinds one to the shadow of failure and desire eludes sight from the light of prudence yet desperation empowers recklessness with the weight of resolution. As Shiki and Ziggy are cornered in their respective battles, their loses become solidified in their opponents minds creating a blind spot for Shura and Nero. The weight of the convictions challenging them crash down on them like the reality they chose to ignore. What an absolutely spectacular chapter filled with thrills, twists and terrifying possibilities. Will Rebecca come into play or will the battle be decided in the current reality with the participants present? The resistance Shiki’s offers Shura suggest that Rebecca may not need to use her Cat Leaper abilities.
Shura, as shown before in his previous fight with Shiki, utilises his gravity in a completely offensive and aggressive manner whereas Shiki applies his gravity more defensively. The contrasting nature of their gravity applications creates the conflict between the two forces where imbalance exist. Shura does not know how to use his Gravity the same way Shiki does and vice versa for Shiki. At the end of it all, the victor will be the one not with the greater force of gravity but one with the greater weight of determination. Shura has already been shaken by Nero’s comments he assume are bluffs but with so much at stake how will such thoughts play within his mind during his battle with Shiki. What will motivate him going forward? The prospect of victory is now but a potential possibility hinging on whether Nero performed what he said he did.
Turning to Nero, I believe he really transported the explosives originally on Nero 1 to Nero 66. Nero suspected such a betrayal from Shura and the fact that explosives were kept on Nero 1 that could be remotely detonated in the first place is such suspicious reality. Why keep the explosives on Nero 1 when they represent such a risk? Nero didn’t get to where he is by being ignorant and oblivious but rather his cautiousness is what helped him stay ahead of his enemies. This is why I believe Nero in his claim of having transporting the explosives on Nero 1 to Nero 66. The fact that Nero revealed his Ether Gear during his battle with Ziggy lends further weight to his statements. I had suspected in the previous chapter that Nero’s Ether Gear had something to do with evading or manipulating his placement in space but I honestly did not connect his powers to being able to teleport objects elsewhere within the universe. His Wormhole Ether Gear makes so much sense now and it is such a dangerous ability. Can he apply the effects on other living organisms? Or is it limited to just himself and inanimate objects? Would Ziggy constitute as being a living being or an inanimate object that is programmed to move? With Ziggy in his current state, can he even mount a subsequent fight back after being dismantled? Would be interesting to see Ziggy use his gravity to fight Nero as many parts.
That lost eye of Shiki’s is such a concern because it was crushed by Shura. There is no healing that eye. Will Shura progress through the rest of the story with just one eye? Or will Sister and Weisz design an artificial eye that Shiki can use? Or will Rebecca actually end up reversing time? There are so many possibilities in play currently. I personally would prefer if Rebecca doesn’t reverse time for this arc climax as overuse of her ability cheapens its effect and value. Rather, I would like the deaths to stay as they are and for the current combatants to bear the scars and injuries they will sustain during this battle. Shiki proceeding on his adventure with a lost eye will be a constant reminder of the type of people currently in the universe and how it is inevitable that some may be beyond saving. A reality that Shiki will constantly need to reconcile with his heart and desires.
Rebecca and Pino can now attempt to stop or destroy the All-Link system now that Shiki is holding off Shura. Would Pino releasing an EMP shut the All-System down or has Nero implemented safe measures in the All-Link system as well? Excited to see what happens. Very much looking forward to the next chapter.
12Dimension 
October 14, 2021 at 7:55 pm
You know, as it is right now, Cat Leaper is already pretty powerful. So assuming Rebecca is getting her Overdrive this time, what could be the improvements seen in her powers? She can already leap through time itself and rewind 90 seconds of it, using reverse. Considering that the All-Link System has been already activated, could it be possible that her Overdrive will allow her to change time (especially reverse) of non-organic objects, similar to Ultear’s “Toki no Arc” from Fairy Tail?
I want to believe that Mashima-sensei is not going to rewind time for this arc. This chapter kinda made it clear that he’s aware of how much weight the Nero 66 arc possesses in the development of his characters – especially Shiki, wich is a relief, considering how dull MC can be underdeveloped.
The outcome of this war is at the corner and this is how I believe things will turn out: the EZ Crew successfully stops the All-Link and Shiki defeats Shura; Nero loses as well, the Aoi Cosmos falls into Ziggy’s hands and this is going to be the beginning of his Mechanical Revolution; Nero put too much in line to defeat Ziggy, and just like his son, his plans are about to get crushed; since the EZ Crew is going to be pretty much beat up after all of this, they are going to have to leave Aoi, and that’s how we’ll get to the next Cosmos.
And who knows, maybe in the next saga they’ll have to prove Homura’s innocence in Creed’s death. They are already associated with Elsie and Ziggy, defeated Draken Joe and will possibly stop the All-Link. Their rising power is most likely to be considered a threat to Interstellar Union Army, so they might set sights in destroying the EZ Crew.
October 17, 2021 at 6:21 pm
Thanks for the comment. Rebecca’s Overdrive application is indeed fascinating. Using reverse time on non-organic objects would be amazing. Rebecca’s powers have reminded me of Ultear’s powers since their reveal and I love that since Ultear is one of my favourite characters from FT.
If Rebecca’s control over her powers increases with Overdrive, it may also allow her to target what “space” to apply the time altering ability to. Or to extend whose consciousness she can bring back to a past point (the whole ED crew). Or allowing her to reverse time to a further point in the past. Another possibility is since Rebecca was able to transport her consciousness to the future after her training, Overdrive could allow he to jump back and forth through the past, present and future. Truly an agent that reduces the applicability of time.
Also with Ziggy, he is such a wild card. It hard to nail down what exactly will happen to him. A lot of mystery has been wrapped around him. Ziggy will try to push machine superiority but it will be the Edens Zero crew that helps keep the spark of hope alive for the coexistence of Living Beings and Machines.
Another wild card is Elsie, who has yet to appear. She may try to stop Nero or end up assisting him (against Nero) due to a debt she feels she owes him.
I’m actually very curious to see how this arc ends. Several possibilities exist for ends.
October 20, 2021 at 3:45 am
You’re welcome. Honestly, the possibility of her being able to target a specific space would be pretty neat and tie well with all the symbology of her’s and Shiki’s power being “connected.” Beyond cool.
Ziggy has been incredibly well constructed as the main villain and certainly part of his awesomeness is the improbability his character holds.
I just have no idea how (if) Elsie’s gonna appear here. It is completely plausible, but her presence would bring more chaos to this arc, wich is pretty much full of it. Regardless, if we were to jump into the Kaede Cosmos next, a spark between her Justice would be very much welcome. And she’d definitely aid Nero in kicking Ziggy’s butt (or head lol).
Nero 66 has been consistently good, so a good ending is all it needs to wrap the major plot points of the Aoi Cosmos Saga.