Xanadu

Xanadu
Japanese	無何有鏡（ザナドゥ）
Rōmaji	Zanadu
Debut (Anime)	Shakugan no Shana Final Episode 24
Location Statistics
Type	Realm

Xanadu (無何有鏡ザナドゥ, Zanadu) is the world created by the God of Creation Snake of the Festival, his organization Bal Masqué, and Yūji Sakai's assistance. It is born from the accumulated wishes of Crimson Denizens for a paradise where they will no longer be required to devour humans for their survival and live in peace with their former adversaries, the Flame Haze. Xanadu is overflowed with unlimited Power of Existence and included with a law prohibiting the devouring of humans during its creation.

Appearance

This New World (新世界, Shinsekai) is essentially a parallel world; an exact replica which meticulously mirrors the old world of its vastness, liveliness, and everything without a single deviation. However, this is not entirely correct, as there was no Misaki City in Xanadu because it had to be left out due to the requirements for creating Xanadu itself. Also, neither of Crimson Denizens nor Flame Haze were included among the things that were replicated; this is due to the wish of Crimson Denizens being "the world where humans live" (人間の居る世界, Ningen no iru Sekai). Replicated humans also have no memories about the Truth of This World and anything regarding the Crimson Realm; this creates chaos among Outlaw staff which both Flame Haze and Orderists, the previously contracted Crimson Lords from the Crimson Realm, have to step in to support them.

Background

With the existence of Xanadu in the rift between the Human World and the Crimson Realm, it becomes the barrier between two worlds, blocking the route to the Human World; Crimson Denizens from Crimson Realm cannot pass through Xanadu and come to this world anymore. Conversely, after the disappearance of the Heaven Stairs (天梯, Tentei), Crimson Denizens and Contracted Crimson Lords in the old world cannot return to the Crimson Realm. The method to safely cross over to Xanadu from there is yet to be discovered; currently, there is a risk of drifting in the Rift Between Both Worlds for eternity, like the God of Creation once did, if one tries to return to the Crimson Realm.

Despite the unlimited Power of Existence for them to manifest and the law forbidding devouring humans, some Crimson Denizens like newcomers hailing directly from the Crimson Realm don't follow it. This leads to many conflicts between them and both Flame Haze and Crimson Denizens from the old world who want to protect this new world that is made for them.

Gallery

The path which leads to Xanadu Xanadu in its 'egg' form, which its premature form.

Trivia

• Xanadu was the capital city of the Mongol conqueror Kublai Khan's Yuan Dynasty in China. After Marco Polo visited the city in 1275, it became symbolic of a paradise, similar to Avalon and Shambhala.
• Taken from a famous Chinese philosophy text, Zhuangzi, the term 無何有鏡 (Mukayū-kyō, Mirror of Not-Even-Anything) is a wordplay of 無何有郷 (Mukayū-kyō) or 無何有の郷 (Mukayū no Sato) which literally mean "Not-Even-Anything Village" or generally translated as "paradise". The two words have the same pronunciation in Japanese, but author intentionally switches the word "village" with "mirror" to refer to how Xanadu is the duplicated world that would become a "paradise".

See Also

• Rift Between Both Worlds