The Epic of Zektbach



"If the thing called 'Word' is a kind of unlimited resource,then it is not only meaningless to choose words,but also impossible to create the epic poetry.

―Zektbach"

From Konami's BEMANI series, "The Epic of Zektbach" is a big story line set in the world of Aria Te'Laria where an object of power, namely Ristaccia, influences the world. There are eight Ristaccia pieces, collected by each eight races. The Ristaccia has given them conscience, emotions and knowledge. It has given them miracles, but soon it has also given them destruction as their thirst for knowledge overwhelmed them, starting the Ristaccia wars. After the wars, there are only two races left: The Humina and the Rufina. The Rufina, still curious of the power of the Ristaccia, made a memeplex of themselves by the name of ∑ then mysteriously disappeared from the world. The Huminas however are desperate for more power and miracles given by the Ristaccia, therefore forming the Holy Kingdom of Noigladdo. A person however rebelled against the rule, forming themselves a new country called the Azuelgatt.

The Epic of Ristaccia follows the story of each characters: Hannes, Matin, Nox, Shamshir, Lien, ∑, Malchut, and Giziri and how the power of Ristaccia influences them.

Originally, Zektbach is Tomosuke Funaki's pseudonym for producing fantasy-themed music mixed with electronica. Parts of the story are in music videos, character art, and Drama CDs. The next Zektbach album will include an OVA.

The stories in order:

 * Ristaccia
 * Shamshir Dance
 * ZETA - Prime and Transcendental Being
 * Blind Justice- Torn Souls, Hurt Faiths
 * Apocalypse- Dirge of Swans
 * Turii ~Panta Rhei~
 * Raison d'etre - Fated Cross
 * Kagachi

Tropes used in their works

 * Adaptation Expansion
 * Novel CD of Blind Justice expands on the life of the twins, Matin and Nox, and how they relate to each other
 * OVA of Shamshir Dance expands on Shamshir's story in Azuelgatt
 * Anthropomorphic Personification: Ristaccia is depicted as a young girl in a plain dress.
 * Art Shift: Art style of videos depend on the artist working on them (compare Apocalypse, Ristaccia, and Shamshir Dance)
 * Badass Normal: Matin doesn't have any
 * Cain and Abel: Nox wants to kill Matin; at first because she is just a puppet of the corrupt.
 * Crowning Music of Awesome: And how.
 * Crystal Dragon Jesus: As of now, there are three objects of worship: the "Ristaccia", the "Spring of Lourdes" and the Turii. From the three, only the Ristaccia and the Spring of Lourdes fits the trope.
 * The Spring of Lourdes contained a sword with a Ristaccia ruby. That may have been Hannes' sword.
 * Fantasy Counterpart Culture: While it is normal to have a medieval kingdom which politics revolves around religion, one may wonder how Arabic-themed Azuelgatt fit in the picture.
 * Far East: Wenkamui and Masinowa
 * Fantastic Racism: There are two adjacent places in Masinowa, one is called Zakotsu, which inhabitants were known summoning Kagachi, which turns a blood flow impure. The other place is Konohana, which is a huge and flourishing plantation set on a mountain. They are separated by a river and the only link between both is a bridge which only the Konohana can't cross.
 * The one time Konohana crossed, the entire village bowed down as their faces should not be seen.
 * Fantastic Ghetto: Zakotsu is a very poor village with soils so rough, there are only a few patch of flourishing field and they have no living livestocks.
 * Emotionless Girl: The People of The Stars are basically emotionless hiveminds because they do not have the influence of the Ristaccia.
 * E Equals MC Hammer: One may even wonder whether Zektbach(or at least Maya) really knows the equations they're throwing in "Ristaccia"
 * Maybe their world is a mathematics-based simulation program.
 * Gratuitous Italian: Overture: Ristaccia
 * A lot of people were arguing which language the music is sung until they see the lyrics.
 * Gratuitous English: Blind Justice- Torn Soul, Hurt Faiths. "...No can faith turn into illusion..."
 * Surprisingly Good English: Apocalypse - Dirge of Swans. Considering the fact that Yuu Tokiwa had both written and sung this song very well, it's fairly surprising. Points towards the lyrics and vocals.
 * Kill'Em All: The Ristaccia's instruction to Hannes is to do this to everyone in Fallarien.
 * My God, What Have I Done?: Hannes' face when she saw herself covered in blood in the Ristaccia video showed signs of this.
 * Gotterammerung: The Rufina, still curious of the Ristaccia, created a memeplex named ∑ then disappeared.
 * Half-Human Hybrid: Lien Clewing is a Humina, but after encountering ∑ and answer her 7 riddles, became a transcendental being that mixes a Humina and a Rufina
 * Half-Identical Twins: Nox and Matin.
 * Heroes Prefer Swords: Many of the main characters wield a sword with the Ristaccia piece affixed.
 * Hot Chick With a Sword: Matin, Hannes and Shamshir.
 * Killed Off for Real: Because the Ristaccia doesn't want Lien to know of its secrets.
 * Mind Hive: ∑ who has the accumulated knowledge of all the Rufina.
 * Mineral MacGuffin: There were 8 pieces of the Ristaccia, each given to each race.
 * Power Crystal: During the Great Ristaccia War, each were affixed in one sword of each race
 * Nice Job Breaking It Kukaru: Thanks to him "rescuing" Malchut, he ended up distorting the balance of Aria te'Laria.
 * Nightmare Fuel: Apocalypse ~Dirge of Swans~ can be a rather disturbing song. Especially when you read the story explaining the video.
 * Sibling Yin-Yang: Nox and Matin, to the point that even their histories are polar.
 * Self Sacrifice Scheme: Before the intervention of Kukaru, every 14 years there is a ceremony in Turii that will initiate the sacrifice of the oldest star child via drowning. This is to make way for the next star child, therefore balancing the power of Ristaccia.
 * The Empire: The Holy Kingdom of Noigladdo.
 * The Fair Folk: After the Great Ristaccia war, one of the only races that left were the Rufina.
 * The Smart Guy: Lien Clewing. He is a mathematician and a transcendental being who has the knowledge of the Rufina and even the Japanese language. One may scoff at this fact until they realize they are in a different world; that they are not in Earth.
 * True Art Is Incomprehensible: Without reading the stories, you can't get anything from the videos.
 * When Tree Attack:Malchut turned into a giant tree at the city of Masinowa, therefore destroying the city.
 * From the looks of the video, it looked like Malchut created the tree rather than transforming into one.