Rebelión



"Grovel in Fear. Fall into Despair. For in that case, I shall tell you. My name is Rebelión."

- Tagline

Summary
Rebellion: Labyrinth of Roses (反乱：バラの迷路) or just Reblión is a metaseries project developed by VenomElite. Basically, it is the revitalization of the Kanza Collection which uses the story “Rebellion” as the foundation, with a primary focus on the complexity of its characters. Currently two novels are being written by Ven, Chapter Black (章黒) and Chapter White (章白) which expands upon backstory of the main series. The main series chronicles the return of the Knights of the Fallen Empire and their rebellion against God with the main characters caught in the middle of the mass murder and carnage they bring, learning of the mystery of the Labyrinth of Roses - home to the “Beheading Princess”.

Setting and Plot
Rebellion takes place in a dark fantasy version of our world, approximately 1200 years in the future. During the climax of the Great World War (an over-the-top combination of World War II and the Cold War), a collective group of soviets, nazis, and shogun gather to perform a terrible ritual. They will sacrifice entire nations just to gather souls to fuel their spell. They are “preparing to revolt against All Creation, against God himself”. To do this, they require an immense number of souls. “Alchemy, magic, forbidden arts, all shall be taught to you. Feed the Beast with the souls of this universe, and all of Creation will be yours.” These terrible words are of genocide of countless worlds. For all fear the demons in black, white, and blue - the fallen angels, kings and queens of death and devourers of souls. They are the cult known to few - Aul Saurunem, otherwise christened as the Knights of the Fallen Empire.

Fast forward a thousand years into the future, in the city of Tokyo-to (basically future Tokyo), Myeato is a 14 year old boy who can visualize various metaphysical phenomena ordinary people cannot see. He wanders the streets with his two best friends Joineth and Rio, in search of meaning in their ordinary lives. Myeato, keeps having visions of a girl with sweeping rosé-colored hair that no one else can see. He does not believe that she is an ordinary spirit, a yokai, or even an angel, but something extraordinary. However the description of this entity, according to Rio, matches that of the “Beheading Princess”, believed to be a daughter of the Royal Family sealed within the Labyrinth of Roses because anything she touches loses its head under a Crimson Moon. However in spite of the alleged danger, Myeato and his companions discover the lost Labyrinth of the Princess - only to discover a great, unfathomable power within it. At the same time the greatest nightmare has been realized, for the Knights of the Fallen Empire have returned to complete their cultist ritual which requires the mythical kingdom Shamballah, which is said to have the greatest soul density in the universe.

Their goal is simple when spoken - summon Shamballah from the city of Tokyo-to as the final sacrifice to bring Lucifer into the physical universe (which will bring about its destruction). The only ones who can stop it are the mere children who take up the sword to defend their world. Winter has come, and the rarest cherry blossom variety are in bloom. Myeato tries to rebuild his life, but finds himself in the terrible nightmare, and is forced to use the same dark magic as his enemies. Can Myeato will protect what is dear to him from the unbelievable power of Fallen Empire? He like most of the other characters, do not know that all of this is a romance opera on an unprecedented scale. Such terror has dragged the world into its darkest age, now there is only an Endless Night - the Crimson Moon is out - the Labyrinth Rose has bloomed - the stage is set for the most grandiose of all tragedies - “Rebellion”.

Storyline
The storyline of Rebellion is very expansive, mostly in the form of backstory. The main story is divided into five story arcs (six if you count the Common Arc) - four of them which are centered around one of the four main female characters and capitalizes on their relationship with the protagonist. Each story arc is thirteen chapters.


 * Common Story Arc - Basically, follows the story of Myeato, Joineth, and Rio as they are as secondary school freshman. Myeato’s ability to perceive supernatural phenomena is explored. This arc focuses on Myeato meeting Amy Liu in the Labyrinth of Roses and becoming bonded to her just when the Fallen Empire returns.


 * Aisha’s Story Arc - Takes place one year after the events of the Common arc, follows Aisha's attempt to rebuild her relationship with Myeato because of her resurfaced romantic feelings for him. Aisha is constantly possessed by Amy Liu and thus affected by her curse.


 * Shaneylle’s Story Arc - Takes place two and a half years after the Common arc, where the ending of Aisha’s arc never happened. It follows Shaneylle’s struggles as a teenage mother and the Fallen Empire are out to kill her for her betrayal. Myeato defends Shaneylle’s honor and pride which strengthens their friendship.


 * Amy Liu’s Story Arc - Takes place two and a half years after the Common arc, where the ending of Shaneylle’s arc never happened (well, it happened but part of it was reset by Satanael.) Focuses on Myeato and Amy Liu’s bond, which becomes at its most powerful when they start developing a romantic connection. It concludes with a crossover with Tsubaki Blue’s story “Shin Amatsu Minaka Nushi”, which results in a bad ending.


 * Breanna’s Story Arc - Takes place four-five years after the Common Arc, some of the events of Aisha and Shaneylle's arc happened but the ending of Amy Liu’s arc never happened. It follows Princess Breanna, her relationship with her father as well as her secret infatuation with Myeato since she was younger. Her “Coming of Age” ceremony triggers the largest gathering of the Knights of the Fallen Empire to date.


 * Final Arc - Takes place five-six years after the Common arc. Basically, Aisha’s arc never happened, Shaneylle’s arc happened (sans its ending) and Amy Liu’s arc happened (sans its ending). Most of the events of Breanna’s arc also happened but the romance between her and Myeato is cut out, instead it's replaced with the romance he and Amy Liu developed during her story arc (they are “married” in this arc). In this arc Myeato assumes his most powerful incarnation yet, finally capable of ending the tragedy “Rebellion” once and for all….(right?)

War God - Prequel story arc which takes place 15 years before the events of the main story. It follows the last leg of the Great World War, with Myeato's father, Victor, as the protagonist. Vic is leader of the Resistance, who meets a gentle maiden named Claudia, who becomes the Bride of Dracula. This prequel is canon because it is directly related to the Common story arc (and every arc follows the Common arc).

Chapter Black - Prequel arc that tells the (general) backstory of the original Knights of the Fallen Empire, how they formed, the meaning of their astrology, etc. The common focus is Satanael and his history with the Armella Family spanning hundreds (if not thousands) of generations back.

Chapter White - Prequel arc that tells the backstory of Amy Liu (which is never really explored in the main series, not even in her story arc. What we get is remnants from Shaneylle's backstory). This book explores the nature of the Curse of the Crimson Moon, the True Ancestors, and Amy Liu’s hereditary birth name as well as the symbolism behind the color rosé, death, and strawberries.

Power of the Verse
Similar to its predecessor, Rebellion is one of the strongest representatives of Japanese fiction. There is a heavily influence from several mythologies including (but not only) Vedic, Chinese, Greek, Egyptian, Kabbalah, Norse, Slavic, Native American, Japanese, etc. As well as the Nihon Shoki, Kojiki, Hesiod’s Cosmogony, One Thousand and One Nights, Gilgamesh (epic), and many others as seen in the types of special abilities and incantations for said abilities found throughout the series.

Rebellion is one of the most powerful universes, where the cornerstone of its power and hax lies in soul manipulation + ESP. In other words, characters are able to absorb souls into a “Soul Relic” and use that to perform Black Alchemy (soul transmutation) and convert those souls into a vast range of abilities such as dark magic, elemental manipulation, several forms of regeneration, and even space, time, void, and conceptual manipulation as well. Even ordinary humans that awaken their Heaven's Eye become capable of perceiving and outright interacting with higher dimensional/dimensionless entities and this only increases as the progress through the reijutsu formula (a blend a dark magic and black alchemy) created by the god Pluto (Satanael).

Powers in-universe rely on the perfection of the soul and blends the cosmological concepts of Buddhist, Chinese, Indian, and Arabic mythology. Despite the fact that the gods can change the world dramatically, from the physical dimensions of the general multiverse, to the metaphysical principles and cosmological laws, the overall cosmology uses the concepts of the Anātman, Dharma, Nameless Tao, Beyond Reality, and the Samsara. Characters can range from any level, being higher in attack potency yet low or even humanlike durability without their souls (glass cannons are especially common). There are city, mountain, large island, country/continent, and small planet busters that are common within its bottom echelon. Series caps at virtually omnipotent, fully transcendent beings who are themselves regarded as a singularity with an endless, multidimensional universe within itself.

Verse Terminology
霊 (Soul) - The true eternal essence of a being. Belonging to the Great Outflow and constantly cycled through reincarnation or long hibernation. Souls here, can be used for dark alchemy and transmutation to achieve tremendous power and everlasting life. More souls - more power and the closest you are to God through perfection of Zen.

精神船舶 (Soul Relic) are the objects (weapons, jewelry, accessories, etc.) that are the divine placement for souls. Indeed, a Soul Relic can be anything, even another person (in rare cases). This is the primary tool for soul transmutation.

霊術 (Reijutsu) - cosmological law developed by Naraku Satanael. Essentially the principle of universally perfecting the mind, body, and soul. Ultimately, this allows you to transmute souls into magic. The key to mastering Reijutsu is soul quality. This is an immensely complex yet natural system. Only the primarily gifted can even master the seven types of zen, while only elite few once every yajra cycle can achieve the eighth zen (a right determined by birth - ascension to godhood).

禅 (Zen) - the innate connection to the Great Outflow - the home of all souls and source of all natural phenomena in the universe, even dimensional space. Thus all things (regardless of how complex) can be perceived through Zen, but this requires mastery of the seven levels of Zen. Zenkyoku (禅極) refers to this technique.

姫様 (Hime-sama) - basically “princess” in Japanese. Normally the status of a young woman or noble birth in our world. Also, it is the status of divine birth, belonging to the highest bloodline. The Armella Princesses are an example.

極 or 极 (“Pole”) - essentially a “point” or cardinality. Direction, or measurement - the equivocal term of “dimension”. This term is used a lot throughout the story to refer to dimensionality.

Explanation
Carried over from it's predecessor, in Rebellion there is a concept called “Za” (座) which is described as being “complete/absolute nothingness” beyond all duality and nonduality. Apparently, "Za” is merely the name to describe 「　」(quoted empty space, equivalent of " ") that which literally cannot have a name due to its unknowable nature. Thus the concept of the “Za” is that it is "non-conceptual” whereas it doesn't have an unequivocal definition that passes from one state of apparent definition to another. Beyond truth, reality, and everything else.

According to Princess Momo, 「Za」 is not a being nor a place. When Kiba asks Momo what exactly is "God”, she states:

「あなたが神だと言いましょう. あなたの望みは世界を変えることでした. 地球、水、火、風はない神席に到着するまで、あなたは無限に拡大し始めるでしょう. 無限の空間の次元も、無限の意識の次元も、無限の無限の次元も、知覚も知覚もない次元でもない. 無限でもなくてもなく、無限でも無限でも、無限でもなくてもゼロでもない. 天国ではなく、地獄ではありません. ここやそこにはいない. ちょうど「ない」.

“Let's say you are a Outflow, and you expanded throughout the world. You would begin to infinitely expand until you've reached the a point, where there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor wind; neither dimension of infinite space, nor dimension of infinite consciousness, nor dimension of infinite nothingness, nor dimension of neither perception nor non-perception; neither infinite being, nor non-being, nor one, nor infinity, nor zero. Not heaven, not Hell. Neither here nor there. Just ‘not’.”

「しかし、あなたが神であり、あなたの欲望が自分自身を変えるだけであれば、あなたは世界と世界のすべてから完全に独立するまであなた自身を満たすでしょう. あなたは一人で完全です. しかし、あなたが内向きに拡大しているだけなので、あなたは神席に着くことはできません. 」

“However, if you were a Law and your outflow was only expanded within yourself, then you would fill only yourself until you become completely independent of the world and everything in it. You are complete all by yourself. However because you are only expanding inwards, you cannot be God.”

"Za” is not a place, it cannot be reached by foot, flying, or meditating. It is some kind of ultra-dimensional “space” / pole that cannot be explained in any language. Roughly speaking, it is a "concept” that lacks the definition or conceptualization of anything.

In Rebellion, a person who fills 「　」 with their dharma becomes the Godhead, and the multiverse is its body, all phenomena, souls, and concepts flow from them, including devas /spirits / other gods. This is called the “Great Outflow”.

Supporters
Sera Loveheart: Ibfeel honored to be the artist of this verse. I know there is still a lot you want to flesh out and create a new identity with this series, so I will support you by helping you realize your vision.

Naidō Gods:
Satanael, the Endless Night

Lucifer, the Falling Star

Ammako-Omikami-hime

Zantetsuken, the Infinity Slayer

Main Characters:


Myeato Urusaki

Joineth Kagura

Aisha Kazumi

Rina Asahina

Kiba Inumara

Armella Imperium:


'''Heizen, the Emperor of the Rebellion

Selena, Empress of the Fallen Empire

Veltaro, the Elder Prince

Kurai, the Younger Prince

Shaneylle, Heiress of the Eternal Throne

Amy Liu, Princess of the Crimson Moon

Harmony, Daughter of the Morning Dawn

Breanna, Priestess of the Falling Star

Nimue, Lady of the Nameless Mist

Samaria, Red Beauty of Embrace'''

Imperium Knights of the Fallen Empire


Yehova, the Lord God

Iblis, Daemon of the Night

Thrud Raikiri, Goddess of the Storm

Izana Nami, the Flames of Yomi

Shuradōhime, Soul of Gehenna

Samael, Black-Eyed King of Shadows and Terrors

Haleyanna, She who Wrote the Diary of Torture

Azrael, Ruby-Eyed Queen of Ash and Flames

Lady Babylon, Seductress from the Depths

Igor, Puppeteer of the Dead

Astaroth, White-Eyed Queen of Chaos and Disharmony

Pluto, Lord of the Underworld

Soldat (Ordinary Soldiers)

Hesiod’s Theocracy:


'''Zeus, Lord of the Storm

Neptune, First Lord of the Seven Seas

Mars, Legend God of War

Sophina, the Valiant Holy Warrior'''

Valhalla


Odin, Allfather of the Hall of the Slain

Thor, Roaring Hammer of the Skies

Sandora Kingdom of Egypt:


Saru, the Baboon King

King, Wanderer of the Sand

Osiris, Great Teller

Xin Empire:


Momohime, Taikyoku Princess

Shiro, Prince of the White Realm

Makai (Underworld/Demon World):


Yukino, the Beautiful Nightmare

Raan, Dark Prince of the Demons

Ancient Beings:


Dracula, Lord of Darkness

Garuda, the Shogun of Apocalypse

Frankenstein’s Monster, Depraved Monstrosity

Wolfman, the Original Werewolf

Gedō Gods:
Sakra Devanam, the Supreme Ultimate

Staff/Credits
Scenario Writer/Developer: VenomElite

Character Design: Sera Loveheart

Translations and Summaries: Tsubaki Blue

Credit to the original artists of ALL artwork NOT drawn by Sera.

Credit to all musicians.

Special thanks to Sera Loveheart, Tsubaki Blue, The Reclusive One, Lady Alice, Matthew Schroeder, Promestein, CrossverseCrisis, The Everlasting, Dragonmasterxyz, Colonel Krukov, Byakuya “Sebonzakura” Kuchiki, TISSG7Redgrave, AkuAkuAkuma, and Ultima Reality for contributing to this project, inspiration, and/or supporting me.