Eternal Pitfall (久遠の陥穽 Kuon no Kansei) is a "secret method" (秘法 Hihō) devised by ancient Flame Haze to banish the God of Creation to the Rift Between Both Worlds. It is regarded as such from the considerable amount of efforts required to operate despite being based on simple principles.[1]
The method itself is not a single Unrestricted Spell, but rather a collaboration between multiple Flame Haze through multiple spells.[2]
Background[]
Eternal Pitfall is based on two things: acceleration of phenomenon and sensory deprivation.
It is done through a simple principle of Rift Crossing, but in reverse, by forcibly transfer the target into the Rift Between Both Worlds, and cut off that individual's resonance (共振 Kyōshin) which is essential for navigation; the resonance is comparable to both a lighthouse which indicates the destination to swim to, and a thick towrope which forcefully pulls oneself through the sea, aka the Rift Between Both Worlds. Those sent there with no resonance with the Crimson Realm, even Gods themselves, are bound to wander for eternity. Thus, it is considered to be the ultimate kind of banishment.[3]
Before the Ceremony[]
The method was proposed when there was a dispute among Flame Haze prior to the day of the ceremony to create the Great Binding Chain. While some of them wanted to crush the ceremony head-on, others including Khamsin aimed for a cautious plan that ensures victory against the Snake of the Festival and his servants. They finally agreed on the latter as they reached the day of the ceremony.[4] Fortunately, the God of Creation gleefully allowed his kind's nemeses to come witness the ceremony against his Mediator's doubt.
The Binding of the God[]
Flame Haze intervened the creation of the Great Binding Chain the moment they had confirmed the occurrence of world-scale tremor. They started the assault which suspended the Priestess' work and momentarily stopped the ceremony's initiation. Many were slain by the General, who was protecting girl who was the crux of the ceremony.
Multiple Flame Haze near the tremor then committed suicide; by doing that, they had given a direction to the flow of this tremor back towards Crimson Realm.
Other Flame Haze then engaged enemies around the ceremonial ground, enforcing both sides to exercise Power of Existence; these actions accelerated the tremor's size considerably.
Eventually, the Snake of the Festival, who has extremely large existence, started to get dragged away from human world, comparable to someone breaking a bridge made from muddy sand by their own weight. As the God of Creation was dragged into the Rift, several Flame Haze dealt the finishing blow by using Unrestricted Spell to bind him and cut off his resonance. By the time his Servants realized what was happening, it was too late to save their leader.[5]
Aftermath[]
Many Flame Haze were caught in the secret method along with the Snake of the Festival and trapped inside the Rift Between Both Worlds, becoming the Colored Silhouettes. Among these shadows were the Singer who Disperses Darkness and Nam who still wandered the Rift thousands of years later.
Ironically, the contracts between these fallen Flame Haze and their contracted Crimson Lords still remained; the Snake of the Festival then used their self-replenishing Power of Existence as power sources for creating and maintaining the Path of Pilgrimage. The path was later used to guide his substitute and his followers back to retrieve his main body.
According to Khamsin, a minor distortion would remain permanently where the Eternal Pitfall once occurred. NorthAir, who worked on closing the Rift and saw the God of Creation's prematurely thwarted Unrestricted Spell came to understand the true nature of the Power of Existence and Distortion[2]; he kept this revelation between himself and his future disciples. Later, one of the Four Gods, CenterHill, revealed this truth to other Flame Haze during the Second Great War for the sake of the New World Xanadu.
Trivia[]
- Khamsin comments that this method is now impossible to succeed, and he would not even dare to do it again even if he was told to.
References[]
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Light Novel Volume 17 page 144
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Shakugan no Shana Light Novel Volume 20 page 130
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Light Novel Volume 17 page 144-145
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Light Novel Volume 20 page 127-128
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Light Novel Volume 20 page 129