Chapter Text
MC Detailed changes:
- Lumine
A Near Pureblood β-type Reyvateil. The second generation of Reyvateils that are born directly from the Reyvateil Origin series and Humans. Considered as one of the most competent Reyvateils in Ar Tonelico’s Server with high blood purity and strong bonds with her Contractor (Aether). Her Hymn code is: LUMINE_FEHU_EOLIA_ARTONELICO
During the ending of Genshin Impact, she overused her power to revive Teyvat's World Tree aka Leyline Tree. After that, for a specific reason refused to Sing and sealed her voice. She still keeps her lifelong contract with Aether but due to many things closed her heart to him.
As the former Princess of the Abyss Order, she is seen as ruthless and borderline tyrannical as she doesn't care about the means towards the end. But those who look at her closely would see that Lumine hasn't lost her caring heart and that her current negative disposition is coming from sheer desperation. She holds the people of Khaen'riah and The Abyss dear to her heart as they were her mental support while she was separated from Aether. If Dainsleif and Khaen'riah hadn't supported her when they came across each other, Lumine would have sung [Sublimation] in despair..
She is currently living with Aether in Monstadt and helps him when he takes on requests from the Adventurer’s Guild. As the former leader of Abyss Order, Lumine has become rather wary of the people of Teyvat in general so she tends to hide behind Aether’s back when meeting with those unknown to her. Lumine rarely leaves Aether's side for such a reason. She slowly learns that she has done more than enough for Teyvat so there is no need for her to think even more about it.
Lumine is generally kind and meek compared to Aether. Gets attached to others easily and there are times she would get in trouble from it, Aether always saves her from such trouble though. So, even if subconsciously, Lumine is heavily dependent on Aether. This dependency has been molded into love and with Aether as her foundation, Lumine becomes stronger and has the will to do things she otherwise wouldn’t
- Aether
Is Lumine's partner as her Knight (Contractor). He has a dormant Reyvateil gem but since he is a male, Aether can't use Song Magic. However, even if he alone can't use Song Magic, he is capable of amplifying Lumine's Song when singing with her. Aether is well-versed in Wave Technology, Hymmnos, and Grathmelding (The Alchemy equivalent in Ar Tonelico) so he is capable of rebuilding Dive Machines and many other gadgets that originate from Ar Tonelico even if he currently cannot go back there.
He realized that Lumine is closing off her heart and he doesn't blame her for it. Instead, he is knocking on it slowly to have Lumine reopen her heart to him. He knows that Lumine still loves him in a roundabout way as they still have their contract in effect. Aether doesn't mind that Lumine doesn't use Song Magic since he is more worried about her condition than anything.
Aether spends his time in Genshin’s main story helping people while looking for Lumine. When he found out that Lumine was the Abyss Princess, at first he was depressed by it since Lumine didn't come to him for help and even pointed her sword at him. He eventually got over it though and started investigating what Lumine was trying to do. He had a feeling that Lumine was planning to use [Reincarnation] but wasn’t sure until she started singing it.
Currently living together with Lumine in Monstadt. Aside from taking care of Lumine, Aether is taking requests from Adventurer Guild and Akatsuki (Dawn) Winery from time to time. Because Aether defended Lumine’s actions no matter what she had done as the Abyss Princess, he had to give up the title of Honorary Knight, and currently has a bad relationship with Knights of Favonius in general. The reason he still stays in Monstadt is that the Akatsuki (Dawn) Winery and Albedo prevented him from moving away.
Aether is, at his core, a horrible person especially put side by side with Lumine. His affection is all for Lumine so what he feels toward Teyvat is sketchy at best. He doesn't want to betray those he knew but if Lumine is put on the other side, he'll throw aside everything to be with her. Aether is considerably cunning and possessive as he naturally made Lumine unable to live without him. It is unknown how Aether and Lumine ended up together since no one is brave enough to ask.
- Lilac
Lumine's Mind Guardian. The image used for her is 'Bride' and 'Princess'. The flower that she has is Lumine's hair accessories turned into a bouquet and she also wears pure white wedding dresses. She is energetic and shows a great adoration toward Aether as she would go as far as siding with Aether rather than Lumine's actual mind Persona’s inside the Cosmosphere.
She was formed when Aether gave Lumine a bouquet of wildflowers when they were still around 4 to 5 y.o. during their birthday and at that time he promised Lumine that he'll protect her from any harm that might comes forever. As long as Lilac remains as Lumine's Mind Guardian, Aether is considered by Lumine as the perfect shield of her heart.
Q&A Section:
- Why did Lumine bother to save Teyvat (objectively speaking)?
In Ar Tonelico, Reyvateil is limited to the area around their tower, if they got too far then they'll turn into liquid form (Imagine getting Instrumentality-ed in Evangelion). So for a Traveler Reyvateil like Lumine, she needed to plant her consciousness inside the other dimension's World Tree as a Proxy Server to link with Ar Tonelico Tree Server. It is possible because all Trees are connected in the Sea of Quanta.
So yeah, if something were to happen to Teyvat's World Tree (Leyline Tree), Lumine will die immediately because her last proxy server is dimensions away from Teyvat. Sure she still has time and energy to sing one song (normally [Ryuse]) but after that, she is a goner. Lumine could’ve just made Vanessa’s Tree or The Frostborn Tree as alternative Proxy Server, but considering that Teyvat was going to be destroyed without the World Tree, connecting through a lesser tree is meaningless
- The Relationship of Reyvateils and their Contractors
There are many interpretations about the relationship between Reyvateil and Contractor, and it depends on each case. Some choose to keep it as a partnership in work and those who make it into a marital vow. These contract variations would greatly affect the capabilities of a Reyvateil.
For those who treat it as work, it is possible to change either Reyvateil or the Contractor since it is just a job. The side effect is that the Reyvateil won't be able to use varied Songs and is generally weaker since the bond between the two sides are rarely that deep and Song Strength is dependent on how strong the emotions the Reyvateil feels when singing. At most, it is around a level 1 or 2 Cosmosphere. But because of the nature of it being contract-based, it is easier to adapt in a work environment that doesn't need high-level Songs.
For those who treat it as a marital vow, being contracted is similar to getting married. Reyvateils in this type of contract are incredibly strong and with sufficient capability could change the landscape with ease, albeit it is restricted to the scarce β-Reyvateil and Origin-types. Those who are bound in this contract usually develop up to level 9 Cosmospheres and level 6 at the very least. For this reason, the pair is usually involved in a line work that needs high-level Song’s (ex: Being a Sea of Quanta Traveller)
Due to the nature of Reyvateils themselves, when one applies for a marital bond, marital law is somewhat ignored for Third Generation Reyvateils and completely ignored for β-types and Origin types. This is because β-types and Origin's songs when filled with negative emotions could cause small to world-threatening calamities and it has been proved by history from time to time. Inbreeding between β-type and Origin-type would also result in Reyvateils with high blood purity in which even a newborn Reyvateil could be capable of using varied Song Magic. However, the birth rate is really low so the Government gave a push to birth better quality next-gen Reyvateil rather than inbreeding in marital law.
Lumine and Aether were recorded under the Marital Vow contract.
- Aether can sing in Hymnos!?
Yes, he can. Heck, anyone with the knowledge to use the language and pour the emotion into it can sing in Hymmnos. It is just hard for a human to do anything with the Song they crafted because their DH-wave quality is lower than even the weakest Reyvateil, maybe only about 1/100 of the weakest Reyvateil, so even if they sing a proper Song Magic the World Tree can't process their dynamic H-wave input toward the Server.
Aether is a bit different as not only does he possess the strong recess genes of a Reyvateil, he and Lumine emit similar DH waves that can coexist as one bigger wave because Aether is Lumine's twin brother. Thus if Aether sung together with Lumine, they would create a pseudo-Synchronicity Chain, a phenomenon when two Reyvateil sung in a duet for the same song and thus increasing the Symphonic output of a Song Magic. This phenomenon happens because the Ar Tonelico Server thinks Lumine is duplicated into two and it adapts by duplicating the Symphonic output. As a result, it would amplify the effect of Lumine's Song Magic even if in reality it is Aether who is singing.
Upon such findings, Aether used to have to go to the Wave Experimentation Laboratory and undergo experimentation for his talent. The result of the experimentation is giving him a job and title of a 'mirror' Reyvateil for Lumine as he can only amplify Lumine's Song Magic and not others’ and that his talent can't be replicated in a normal way as it is something that would come randomly from the Song Server. Still, it doesn’t change how Aether can't cast Song Magic on his own as he is male and the Y chromosome is hindering the Reyvateil Core’s development. But if he sings a Hymn, the Tower would respond accordingly by giving him the 'angelic' voice of Reyvateil when singing Song Magic and processing the meaning of the song as well as giving clarity to it so the meaning is understood by the listeners even if the listener itself can't understand the language.
- So the Whopperflower incident?
Aether simply didn't bother to sing seriously.
- Who is living inside the Cosmosphere and how do the levels work?
A Cosmosphere is a personification of whatever the Reyvateil wants both consciously and unconsciously. It is usually assembled out of the experiences and memories of the Reyvateil themselves and the aesthetics are based on what the Reyvateil feels. It is the world made by and that exists for Reyvateils.
The world itself could be rather blurry on lvl 1 but as you go deeper, the world becomes more detailed and those that live there become closer and closer to real life. It is because the deeper the level, the easier it is for Reyvateils to 'unconsciously' put effects inside their Cosmosphere. And because of the realistic effects, there are many cases of Divers who are under the influence of the Reyvateil involved, unable to leave because they think that the Cosmosphere is the 'real world' and the real world is 'imaginary'.
What exists in the upper layer still exists in the lower levels, but the function of the place likely differs by each level it is assigned into. For example, The Cathedral that has existed ever since Lumine's Cosmosphere level 1 might have the same shape at lvl 2 or 3 but in lvl 3 it might be perceived as a school.
The same thing could be applied to the being inside the Cosmosphere. Most of the Cosmosphere is filled with the personification of Song Magic that the Reyvateil knows but aside from Song Magic Personification, there are others as well like people or animals or even mythical creatures like Dragons, Elves, Chimeras, etc. It is because the beings living in the Cosmosphere are a reflection of the Reyvateil's mind and are in no way a reality. For people who appear inside though, sometimes it does reflect the real personality of the said person even if the said 'person' has a completely different name. For example: In some levels of Lumine's Cosmosphere, Diluc exists. But since it isn't real Diluc, he won't respond to being called 'Diluc' as his name is dependent on the role he has in the said level. He could even be called 'Batman'. If Lumine sees Diluc as mainly grumpy though, then the Diluc inside her Cosmosphere would be grumpy as well.
- What happened in the last part of Genshin’s story? (Totally my imagination)
First things first, all of the Archons used their power and life to keep Teyvat still floating around even if the Leyline Tree is dying. So yeah all of the Seven (Venti, Zhongli, Raiden, Dendro Archon, Hydro Archon, Pyro Archon, Tsaritsa) are dead in this story.
Lumine, who turned to the other side during the fight against Celestia told Paimon and Dainsleif who awakened as Leyline Tree protectors to leave the matter of reviving the trees to her. She then sang [Reincarnation] and since the song includes having the new tree spreading its root toward the entirety of Teyvat, every citizen of Teyvat heard her singing [Reincarnation] even if they didn't understand wtf she was singing about. Aether joined in the middle after he understood that Lumine doesn't have enough Symphonic Energy to sing and survive.
After the song finished, Lumine fainted as the Tree started to go into hiding for its safety, bringing Paimon and Dainsleif along with it since they're bound to the Tree now as Caretaker and Protector. Paimon said goodbye and sent the two to Starfell Lake. Lumine didn't wake up even after they reached the ground so Aether panicked as it was right after singing [Reincarnation] which is too taxing for Lumine's crippled body.
Lumine did quite a number on Teyvat. She kinda used the Abyss to partially revive the Demon God to terrorize the land. Naturally many people died as well and many sustained lifetime injuries. Lumine’s attack toward Monstadt made Varka the Boreas Knight and head of Favonius Knights lose his arm and broke the nerves in his feet. She also shows her face and introduces herself as the Princess of Abyss so she is a well-known villain. And so, when Aether comes back with Lumine, Lumine is rightfully hated by the Knight of Favonius who threatened to kill her or put her in prison for her whole life.
Aether, of course, was pissed beyond words. He understands the hatred directed toward Lumine and he knows that Lumine deserved it to a certain degree. But even if he knew that the KoF wasn't exactly wrong, he still chose Lumine's side without so much as batting an eyelid. Amber, Albedo, Lisa, and Kaeya (before he quit) did some things here and there to secure the twin a place to stay and some people who heard Lumine's singing were hesitant to hate the girl since they instinctively felt that if Lumine hadn't sung at that time, they would've died which makes Lumine their benefactor at the same time.
Lumine was unconscious for a week and in that time, Aether contacted Cyno, Ayaka, Lynette & Lyney, Ningguang, Pulcinella, and Iansan to speak about what happened during the fight against Celestia and also what happened to the Archons. Including how if the nations decide to antagonize Lumine then he is going to do all he physically can to destroy Teyvat since what Lumine treasures is not the current people of Teyvat and is the people of Khaen'riah who are now purified and have returned to the Reincarnation cycle. As long as the Tree remains intact and the land isn't damaged, who lives there doesn't concern him.
Well, the other nations kinda complied since there was no need to prolong the hostilities since they are in shambles as the Archons are all truly dead. Also, contrary to popular belief, not many understand that Lumine and the Princess of Abyss and the Heaven's Voice are the same people so when they saw the Abyss Order's monstrosities disappear with the Song, many believed that the Abyss Order is no more. Those linked with Aether personally knew and Aether vowed to keep Lumine from doing sketchy things so there is that.
Lumine reawakening after using [Reincarnation] isn't exactly smooth sailing either as she would continue to be unresponsive for the whole month. The reason for her vegetative condition is between physical damage and mental damage that she got from 500 years of neglect and the recoil of singing [Reincarnation]. So she is fully dependent on Aether for the first month, not that Aether minds it. During that period, Aether is caring for Lumine from a to z as he also reprograms Lumine by channeling her with the power from the roots of the Leyline trees, bringing Lumine's consciousness back.
Aether and Lumine's stay in Monstadt has both the KoF and Adventurers Guild glaring daggers into their backs. Mostly because of Aether’s 'I don't give an F' attitude toward the two organizations. Aether's relationship with Guild is now mended after Lumine is truly awake and now the two made an Adventuring Party consisting only of them where the two would casually solve the request without even trying. The two's relationship with the Order is still as bad as usual albeit it is more on the two sides glaring with each other.
A bit spoiler of latter part of the story from this point on
- About Lumine's Lullaby
Lumine's lullaby basically has Genshin Title screen song as the BGM. She made it on the spot seeing Aether in so much pain she wished with all her heart that the song would ease his pain. It isn't a Song Magic and is just song sung in Hymmnos thus the name.
For anyone who realize it, the song doesn't contain emotional sound at all. It is because Lumine doesn't meant the as a command or manipulation of Leyline Tree dynamic DH-waves as the song is more of a 'prayer' to herself borrowing the sound of the Leyline Tree to process her thoughts and calm her turbulent heart so she could synch her waves with Aether's wave.
This is done because Lumine by nature knows that the fastest way to fix the dissonance in Aether's wave is by copy-pasting her base wave into Aether. Lumine is Aether's partner down to the tecnical term so she has the backup data of Aether's wave when he is healthy. Lumine simply didn't do that for the past 3 days because her 'conscious' (lvl 1-5) and 'unconscious' (6-8) is fighting over which will is stronger and whether they truly want to serve Aether for more time to come and it resulted in the condition where she [can't] sing.
Lyric:
Slepir marfo yor ween lyrnya nuih
(Sleep my dearest into the peaceful night)
Siss lusye den yosyua sos yor
(The light is gone I'll comfort you)
en yorr na chs nnoi yanje
(So you'll never be alone)
Hymme yorr slepir en tek lyrnya dor
(So close your eyes and drift to the land without pain)
- Why Lumine's Persona and Cosmosphere has negative disposition?
First thing first, Cosmosphere is simulation world that access the psyche of Reyvateil if you checked Terminology before this. In addition to the condition of Reyvateil's souls it'll also simulate the world based on who dive to them and is usually based on what the Reyvateil wanted to show to their Diver. That's why even if Lumine actually doesn't know what happened when Aether dive into her, she can imagine how she would treat Aether if he went inside since it is ultimately herself.
But, to be fair Cosmosphere actually doesn't change this drastically because of mood swings. For example, one day Lumine saw Aether having a date with some other girl. Lumine is angry at Aether of course but she keeps her lips shut and doesn't confront him then Aether dive into level 4 of Lumine's Cosmosphere. Which Persona will come out? School Lumine or Dark Lumine? If Cosmosphere is actually dependent on mood, it would be someone like Dark Lumine who will appear. Like, it is obvious that Lumine is angry and want to beat Aether up at the time. But in reality, the one who will appear is still School Lumine. Her speech or movement pattern might be adjusted into more passive-aggresive than the OG School Lumine but it is still the same persona.
Why is that? It is simple actually. Even if one's mood changes so easily, soul doesn't change just because of trivial accident. If one were to change the condition of Soul, there is a need of an accident that shakes a Reyvateil to their core. Example, torture Aether to death in front of Lumine and kill him in the end. If one were to do that, Lumine will mentally break for sure to the point her Cosmosphere shatter into pieces. In this condition, if one were to try to Dive into her, the Cosmosphere will turn out like level 4-6 or plain inaccessible since Lilac will prevent entry in fear that any attempt of Dive will further damage Lumine's Soul.
Lumine's current condition is similar to the example. When she was firsg separated from Aether her Soul hasn't undergone any change and retain the same layout as before Lumine and Aether entered Teyvat. Lumine's Cosmosphere start breaking when she failed to activate [Sublimation] and then it progressed after Sustainer separate her from Aether. Lumine just loves Aether that much to the point any harm to him is going to hit her directly with critical hit. If, at hypothetical case, she is reunited with Aether shortly after Sustainer separate them, Lumine's Cosmosphere would remain stable despite she still failed to prevent the Calamity. She will feel sorry and regret about being unable to prevent the tragedy but her soul won't suffer any scratch.
The nail on the coffin for Lumine breaking actually happen after the two got separared since Lumine actually open a remote access to the Ar Tonelico server to make sure of Aether's survival. Ar Tonelico Server has the capability to track those recorded in it albeit limited to whether they're alive or not. Aether is recorded in the Song Server after he did the Completion Rite. At any rate, the result of Lumine's search showed an ever changing 0 and 1. It basically means that the Song Server deemed that Aether should be dead since his life value is 0 yet it will flicker to 1 at times as if he is still alive. It translates to something like "Aether should be dead yet he is actually alive so Server can't give accurate search result".
In short, it is all the fault of Mihoyo Celestia for separating Aether and Lumine!
- Why Lumine can still use Song Magic despite being Mute?
Song Magic is indeed power that base itself on Oral activation. But, the so-called 'voice' that we listened in Song Magic is actually not the Singing Voice of the Reyvateil herself and instead, it is the voice provided by Song Server. That is why Reyvateil actually has no need to be actually good at singing to be able to use Song Magic, since when they 'sing' the process actually goes like the Reyvateil pinging the Song Server and send energy + activation detail of Song they want to use and then the Song Server would do the rest. Reyvateil can also read Hymmnos without learning since they have Hymmnos vocabulary bank inside their mind since the time they awaken as Reyvateil.
I tried to dig up on this specific topic as well and the answer is that by theory even mute Reyvateil can cast Song Magic. The singing part is actually to help Reyvateil express the emotion behind the Song instead being the actual command for it thus the theory. The thing is, Reyvateil turning mute is like an extraordinary case and that it never happen in Ar Tonelico game itself. There is a record but based on it, the reason why Mute = Unable to use Song Magic was because being mute means that something happened in the mentality of the Reyvateil thus preventing them to focus on sending their emotion to Song Server. If they can send the H-wave toward the Song Server, using Song Magic while being mute is possible theoretically speaking. There is higher resistance on the activation so it results in lower output.
- You mentioned Leyline/World Tree a lot but what is exactly its problem with the people of Teyvat? Are they evil? What is the base concept of their existence?
The World Tree aka Leyline Tree is actually made from 3 concept mixed into one. These 3 concept come Genshin actual lore, Ar Tonelico lore, and my original one.
Genshin lore part of the tree is its existence and how it connects with other dimension. This will go back to Honkai lore since Mihoyo themselves said that they exist in the same multi-verse even if they're not directly related to each other in the theme. Just imagine the connection of Genshin/Honkai like Fate stay night and Fate Apocrypha where they use the same ritual process for Holy Grail War. Honkai and Genshin's condition is more or less like that. Mihoyo just want to decrease the budget needed on game development by reusing a part of models/design from their other game
Ar Tonelico part of the story is about the existence of 'Will of Planet' or in this story case 'Will of World Tree'. In Ar Tonelico, the planet Ar Ciel itself is sentient being so it holds emotion and mind of its own albeit most of the time they won't appear in front of humanity or care about whatever they do since the dimension where they live is so different. So unless the Will of Planet decided to show itself, humanity can't perceive them nor they even realized about the existence of Will of Planet.
Even if the Will of Planet and humanity seemingly detached from each other, at the same time, the condition of the world depends on these Will as humanity and all living being basically live on top of their body. So when the Will bear animosity toward living being, they'll try to eliminate them for real in which Ar Tonelico 3 last boss is actually Ciela who has enough of humanity fucking up the world that it is literally dying. Well, even if it sounds like a tough place since the living depend on the Will of Planet's whim, they're actually rather reasonable though as long as they're convinced that humanity is serious and made honest effort to live in harmony with the Will of Planet. It appears in the language that the Will of Planet used to communicate with Ra Ciela. It made no sense language-wise since you can string together random alphabet and it is actually a words. Anyway the highest emotion in Ra Ciela (the language) is 'love' since all translated sound of common Ra Ciela always contains 'love'. In simple way, the Will of Planet are very forgiving.
And last is the Original part where I write it on my own whim is about the process of rebirth and what happened after that. I already mentioned in Setting (1) about how the game end in this story and I'll elaborate it a bit more. The [Reincarnation] is basically three-steps process song that has the function to absorb Emotional Wave which creates the dimension before then converting the absorbed Wave into Symphonic power which would then passed through Universal Tree to give birth to the new World Tree (Leyline Tree). For further protocol exchange explanation, read Setting (1).
In this story, the process itself is faulty because the emotion Lumine gathered for 500 years all across Teyvat is still not enough to wake Leyline Tree up from its stasis condition and it would have failed somewhere after Lumine sang/execute the 3rd Processing Command of the [Reincarnation] Song Magic. It happens because the people of Teyvat simply doesn't have strong enough emotion to save themselves from impending doom of Dimensional Collapse. It can't be helped since most people don't even know that the very world they're in is in the brink of destruction so not many bring out the primal emotion of dead-flight that exist inside them (will to survive in face of death is just that strong). It is kinda based on Ar Tonelico 3's Kurogane thesis on how to trigger stronger emotion by the means of trauma/shock/a moment of explosive motion.
Tl;dr just read Kurogane Wave Theory of Ar Tonelico 3/Qoga to understand the concept behind this.
Anyway, since it is failed to doom at that rate, Lumine decided to use extra external source of power to fulfill the minimum requirements. These external stuff are split into three and is taken by Lumine at the order of the life of the Archons, second is the Abyss as realm in entirety and not just Abyss Order, and the last is Lumine's life force. Each energy is siphoned during its respective process (ex: when Lumine execute 1st processing command, she takes Archon's life etc). Lumine used these three source to balance Positive emotion (Archon generally want to protect their nation) vs Negative emotion (Abyss hatred and the curse that run on their blood turning them into moster) vs Neutral emotion (Hymmnos Extract is a rigid process and Lumine is basically tired of all the shit so at that time she just used her life force). Aether started meddling when Lumine is about to begin the 3rd process, thus Lumine surviving the whole Song Magic.
The new Leyline Tree that got reincarnated in this forceful way to collect energy naturally have a basic design flaw in its creation. The biggest flaw is that the Will of Leyline Tree are currently filled with animosity against living being (mostly those alive in Teyvat) because a big part of it stems from the emotion that created Abyss. The Positive Emotion that the Archons tried to bring balance in the scales but even so Abyss Negative Emotion is stronger. It result to the Will automatically spill the excess animosity into animal, plants, or elemental being that depend on the leyline. It turned those being into violent monster as the elemental balance inside them collapsed, wrapping their appearance into something else. But because it is born out of the Leyline Tree, the monsters aren't exactly thought to be a threat by the world and are accepted as parts of cycle of life. Well it isn't exactly a threat when kept on certain level and only then Reyvateil at Lumine's caliber need to readjust the leyline flow by thinning it out to normal level.
So is the World Tree evil? No. Why they're so angry? Blame Celestia most of the time they're at fault. Why is it so complicated? Will of Planet is basically 'God' equivalent in Ar Tonelico universe and the people basically live on top of their body so whether the world die or live is based on their decision.
- The Black Hole/Crumbled level 4 and why is it formed?
By common Wave Theory application Level 4 of Cosmosphere is supposed to be the reason of a Reyvateil current conflict that can be seen in surface level. For Lumine it was her relationship with Teyvat through Khaen'riah. With the revival of Leyline Tree, it is somewhat resolved and thus level 4 crumbled in such way. What Lumine herself doesn't realize is that she actually has another problem that the level 4 can't map exactly and thus the stratum exist as mere space with School Lumine hanging out.
Having a Destroyed level isn't exactly a good sign either since Cosmosphere is basically visualization of mental condition. To have one level destroyed even before Diver getting in would meant that the Reyvateil is sick in the mental health sense and it will usually affect their performance daily. At worst it'll lead to permanent sleep mode where the Reyvateil is biologically alive but their mind is shattered in pieces to the point they can't wake up. Lumine's condition after singing [Reincarnation] is basically this since she is 'biologically' alive but her heart was in sleeping mode so she doesn't open her eyes.
- How many Lumine are there in this story????
Largely speaking there are 3 side of Lumine in the whole story. First is Real Lumine who is mute and the one living in real life, Second is Cosmosphere Lumine which is also called as Overall Will of Lumine, and the last are Protocol Lumine that is basically Lumine's creation (Lumine making Lumine inside Lumine, basically).
Real Lumine is just as its words suggested, the one outside of Cosmosphere and is the 'real' real Lumine who has all the human right to live. The other Lumine are simply reflection of her thought or the program she made that only exist inside the Song Server. But she is prone to the changes made by Cosmosphere Lumine because her Cosmosphere self is the frame for her personality.
Cosmosphere Lumine is as the words described, Lumine who live inside Cosmosphere. They're divided into 9, each living in a stratum/level that they manage. They represent the emotional factor of Lumine as Reyvateil and a Human so any change made to them will reflect to the real Lumine whether it shows as a subtle change or a prominent one. They're then grouped into two which are Higher/Surface Consciousness and Deeper Consciousness. The Higher one would show easily in the Real Lumine as it is the frame for how she acts in real life. It consists of level 1-5 Cosmosphere. The Deeper are Lumine's thought that is usually hidden deep inside her heart and it rarely surfaced in Lumine's action (when they do it is 75% will turn to a disaster). They occupy level 6-9 Cosmosphere. Each of these personality has their own will as individual since they rules over different aspect of Lumine's mentality but at times they would be moving under the same motive and it would be then referenced by each Persona as Overall Lumine Consciousness' decision. The simplest example is how Aether gets to dive deeper and deeper inside Lumine's Cosmosphere even if the Level Persona is trying to have Aether dead and refuse his visit in one way or another.
The last is Protocol Lumine which is Lumine who appear in ??? Level. Her appearance take hold of Lumine's former level 5 (which is the collab clothes) and is made by level 9 Lumine around 400 years ago as a backup program and also antivirus in a way. Protocol Lumine didn't tell it to Aether yet but during Aether's absence, she was the one who did the maintenance to Lumine and prolong her life until present time when normally it is Aether's job. Because of her nature as AI at best, she actually holds no particular emotion toward Aether. Her personality frame is of the OG level 5 though so she holds an affection toward Aether albeit it is actually just a surface level action and not what she truly 'feels'.
- What are the names of all 9 Lumine?
1st level Lumine
2nd level Witch Lumine
3rd level Doll Lumine
4th level School Lumine
5th level Dark Lumine
6th level Night Lumine
7th level Moon Lumine
8th level Star Lumine
9th level "Lumine"
All of these name are based on Aether's convenience and not the actual name of each Cosmosphere Lumine that Lumine decided on her own. They all refer themselves as Lumine and when they point to another Lumine in another level, they call them as 'Level (put level) Lumine'. They do agree that the name for level 9 Lumine is "Me who loves Aether the most".
- What happened with Paimon and Dainsleif in this story!?
A lot. I'm a follower of Paimon being God of Time while Sustainer is God of Dimension so they're a part of one whole and thus the reason why they look a lot like each other. It is a headcanon of course.
Anyway since Sustainer and the other Celestian died before this fic even start, Paimon ended up becoming the last remnant of Celestia. Because Celestia is partially the reason why the older Leyline Tree become withered, the current Leyline Tree take Paimon so she can pay for the sin of her nation. Even if the reason is to pay for the sin, the current Leyline Tree actually didn't do anything to Paimon in particular except becoming a helper for the Leyline Tree to fix the dimensional crack of Teyvat. Between the break time, Paimon shares her story on her journey in Teyvat with Aether to Leyline Tree. Because Paimon's 'story' shows a lot of the 'good' in the people of Teyvat, the Leyline Tree's animosity isn't as high as it is supposed to be if normally left alone. Paimon did it without knowing about how her story actually helps the Leyline Tree judgement on the people of Teyvat though.
Dainsleif himself is actually written before 1.4 stuff come out so at first I was under impression he was a Celestian too (which he isn't since he is Khaen'riah people instead) so I need to change a bit of his setting. He has the same curse as the other Khaen'riah people but due to unique nature of the curse, when the purification happened with [Reincarnation] only the curse part of Dainsleif that was purified and he returned into normal human. So Dainsleif would actually start to 'age' again if not for Leyline Tree's involvement. The Leyline Tree saw him fit as protector since he is the last protector of Khaen'riah and what the current Tree needed is those kind of absolute safety net.
Dainsleif himself who, in one way or another, learned that Khaen'riah's original goal was to restore the Leyline Tree accepted the role. He thinks that as the last survivor of Khaen'riah from the Calamity 500 years ago, he need to continue the original goal of his nation in the place of those who have fallen and those he failed to protect. He is doing rather well with Paimon so he become more relaxed compared to the time he is running after Abyss Order and Celestia in extension.
- Aether's Reckless Swordplay background
Aether doesn't really give a name to his sword-style since it is rather free form. In fact, if any of traditional sword-style user saw Aether's style they will start shouting and call Aether with names for Aether's technique is a heresy in a way. Aether's sword style is really just 'As long as enemy is dead then it works' style.
The basic and teaching of the fighting style itself is a style he learned from his father in which the latter called it as 'Shield'-style. But unlike its name, it is meant to be a teaching where the user would be able to stand no matter what was thrown to them while effectively eliminate the enemy so it leans more on offense than an actual defense. It is almost similar to how a street brawl looked like. For that reason, there is no need to care about technique or the mean as long as the user is capable of standing in the end.
The naming reason itself is because the style is used by a Knight to protect the Reyvateil who is singing behind them. To protect the body and heart of the Reyvateil, the Knight isn't allowed to die just so easily and should stand to reassure their Reyvateil that everything is okay to protect their heart. Reyvateil is utterly defenseless during the time they're Singing so prolonging a fight isn't exactly the best way to go for a Knight.
This style isn't something that just anyone can learn even if the teaching itself is normal especially the surviving until the end. As a Vanguard, Knight is expected to get hurt during a fight even if it is just a mere scratch. One need to train their mentality to be able to stand looking like there is nothing wrong even if one were to be shot by hundreds of arrow. But they shouldn't completely cut off their sense of pain etc because Knight should never be a lifeless shell or else they won't be able to link their hearts with Reyvateil.
Aether's answer to this is to shift between two modes of himself which is normal and berserk. First is the normal Aether. It is the face he uses in the game where he is being helpful, always smiling, while a bit playful at times. It is personality that he based on Lumine's personality and basically how he view Lumine most of the time. During a battle he'll never lose his reason and would fight according to what is needed while putting Lumine's safety as his highest priority.
The second is Berserk mode. It isn't like Aether would let out some weird aura or something, this isn't Dragonball lol. It is called like that because Aether purposefully cut his other mind function (especially pain) and focus
only on killing/destruction the foes in front of him. He would use all of his arsenal without minding about cost and would fight even over the capacity of his body when needed. During this condition, Aether's recognition on friend/foe is blurred out so he didn't use it too often.
- Lumine 'Freeform' Swordplay background
Lumine isn't natural-born fighter unlike Aether since she is Reyvateil. Why is that? It isn't difficult anyway, Reyvateil simply isn't used to fight with their body since their role is as supporter that got protected by the Vanguard rather than fighting on the front line. So compared to Aether who learned swordplay still he is still kid, Lumine only start practicing sword-play after she undergone installation process to become a Sea of Quanta Traveler.
Lumine was first taught by another instructor to give her the basic lesson on how to hold weapon so her swordmanship was elegant and just like how it is written in manual book. But after few relatively safe dimension, Aether start teaching Lumine swordplay even more. The reason is that Aether realize how Lumine's sword is coming straight from textbook so, while it isn't exactly bad, depending on the situation it will only endanger Lumine herself. Of course Aether won't let anything like that happen in the first place but it is better to be prepared.
While teaching on how to improve her swordsplay, Aether also teach Lumine all sort of martial arts so in case Lumine doesn't have weapon lying around to use during an emergency, Lumine won't be rendered to be completely helpless. He also teach her how to mix weapon+martial arts during the fight, making the fighting style itself 'unseemingly' and 'dirty' but hard to predict since Lumine can simply ditch her weapon without turning into damsel in distress.
For records, Lumine never ever won against Aether in their training.
-Rhinedottir? Gold? Alchemy????
I'm the follower of the theory that Rhinedottir (Albedo's teacher) is Alchemist Gold who come in the story of Khaen'riah's falls. I'm rather sure she is a part of the long-living Race so I'm sure she is still alive somewhere, maybe in Abyss with the Twin right now. After all in 1.4 the Twin is looking for the original Ruin Guard core to be able to control the Fallen God who lost against the Original Seven Archon in Archon War.
The Alchemy part is slightly made up especially the essence for restoring Leyline Tree. I think it is plausible for it to do so since Albedo is capable of reviving the branch that comes out the Leyline Tree in his idle animation. Added with the lore of Durin in the Festering Desire and Dragonspine Spear weapon story where he is shown to have an 'innocent' trait and how his reason of creation is at first intended to see at the 'beauty' of the world by its creator, so I think Khaen'riah is onto the secret of Celestia and thus the Celestia wipe them off the map.
I'm not the follower of the weird opinion that Venti and Zhongli is helping Celestia to destroy Khaen'riah during the Calamity. Venti is obviously in Monstadt and fighting Durin before he got poisoned by Miasma and sleep again for 500 years until present time. Zhongli himself has his own trouble since during Calamity, Liyue was attacked as well so he is supervising the Milelith and Adepti who was fighting the Abyss that come out from Chasm. First Gen Seven Archon really, really, and I mean REALLY, care about their people and nation that they get rather overboard with it. The only one who can beat those two in term of caring about their nation is only Tsaritsa.
Celestia do have the people of Monstadt and Liyue in their hand so Venti and Zhongli can't rebel directly or else their beloved people will be killed.
- What is this about the 5th and 6th Dimension and the logic behind it?
Okay, so in EXA_PICO and Surge Concerto there is some Dimensional stuff going on. Like, seriously how did anyone create a fucking continent with just song and emotion? How did it even materialize!? Tell me developer!!!
For anyone wondering about technical stuff for the reason why Song Magic have the capability to do what they did, Surge Concerto series which is technologically more advanced than Ar Tonelico folks excplain it in detail. Surge Concerto is having Dimension-bending planet-making plot basically and no, it isn't a joke.
So to begin with there are more than 1 Dimension for the world. It ranges from 1 to 7 and possibly even more but no one can't perceive it so you can think of it as don't exist. I'll briefly
explain it below from 1-7. The rule of thumb is that being that exist in the higher dimension is capable of bending the law of Dimension below them.
1st to 3rd Dimension is basically Dot, Line, Volume in that rate. Human perceive things from 3rd Dimension sense so we never truly look at the dimension before that. But even if we don't 'perceive' it consciously, we properly know of the existence in our subconsciousness. So don't think of it too deeply. 4th Dimension is a Physical realm that we're living in what you see, sense, etc are basically the thing that exist in your dimension below. 5th Dimension is a realm above the physical and it is realm of "Emotion" or "Metaphysical" where human's five sense can't perceive it through any normal means. The 6th Dimension is the realm of "Possibility" it can be easily thought but not fully understandable to be realm of "Time". The 7th Dimension is called as "World".
I write above that the 5th Dimension is the realm of Emotion aka Metaphysical and by now you would realize that I speak so much about Emotion and its shenanigans in as well as its importance in this story. Because Emotion exist in 5th Dimension, it is capable of bending reality in the Physical realm aka 4th Dimension. The thing about 5th Dimension and the realm above it is that Human's can't 'see' it. Because they can't 'see' then they can't use the power in it even if they wanted to do so. So humanity created tool that can 'see' this Dimension and eventually use it to their convenience. This 'tool' that humanity created is what will eventually known as Reyvateil. Reyvateil is sensitive to the change in 5th Dimension but even they can't perceive it completely despite capable of harnessing its power. It is because at the end of the day they're being of 4th Dimension. Reyvateil worked as a 'translator' that changes thing from 5th Dimension to something that humanity can see with their naked eyes.
The 6th Dimension is where World Tree do its job because they're overseeing the Physical and Metaphysical Universe and is capable of seeing all the road that an Universe take, be it in the past, present, or future. It contain countless path and countless possibility and the World Tree would commonly direct it to one with highest survival. Humanity could fuck it up though since even the World Tree from 6th Dimension also has limit on perceiving all the possible outcome of event and how it affect each other added with how Humanity as something from 4th Dimension would be clueless on what is happening in the Dimension above them.
The World Tree itself is in the 7th Dimension which is "World" where it is basically outside of the outsider. Well imagine the relationship is like Genshin and the player. Genshin and its world is in the 4th Dimension while us, player are seeing them from outside and capable of messing up with the character living there, change the fate of the npc, choose the ending in Hangout event based on our decision, redo the event, move the time faster, etc. so for the people of Teyvat, we (player) are being of 7th Dimension. The World Tree is basically a being that is like that as well. It is also the reason why Aether and Lumine made a point to not mess with Leyline Tree and have good relationship with it because the thing supervise Teyvat as a whole and is basically the battery of the world. If it dies then Teyvat will die along with it.
- Why there are two Lilac now!?
Lilac is only one, what do you mean? Joking. Okay, in all seriousness, the Main frame Lilac is what is counted as the 'real' Lilac. The Sub frame that accompany Aether from level 1 to 5 is actually just a part of Lilac that is there as substitute for the Main frame because Lumine's Overall Will is trying to hinder Aether in all ways possible. It is connected to how Lilac's main job as Mind Guardian is to guide diver (just Aether though) around the Cosmosphere safely. So if Lumine tried to disconnect Aether from reality by force, Lilac's existence is her biggest hindrance.
In other to bypass the safety lock, Lumine unconsciously created Sub Frame Lilac.
There are two reasons why Main Frame Lilac managed to reappear. First is because Aether dive into level 6 and beyond. Level 6 and beyond are what is counted as subsconciousness so even if Lumine want to hinder Aether by erasing Lilac, she can't do that since she can't control what is happening there. The second reason is simply because Lumine accepted Aether's existence inside her. Level 6 and beyond are based on Lumine's humanly nature and it would shows Lumine at her worst personality. So, accepting Aether meant that Lumine is willing to show Aether her negative side and the Main frame Lilac is a show of that since Lilac is the 'real' Mind Guardian.
So in short Main Frame Lilac is the 'real' Mind Guardian of Lumine's Soulsphere while the Sub Frame is just a 'fake' Lilac that got loaded because there is always a need for Mind Guardian to exist inside Cosmosphere.
- Aether and Lumine's Family
Tree (Totally Original for this story)
Their family actually only start from the Twin's Grandma who is the Continent Administrator Reyvateil, her name is Stella. She has lived for 200 years when she find someone who create Marital Vow with her which become the Twin's Grandpa, Hubert. After 10 years their first children is the twin's Father, Rain.
After giving birth to Rain, Stella started her retirement progress. The Reyvateil that take her place is a Pure β-Reyvateil born from her DNA which will become the twin's Mother named as Eolia. Eolia was born around the same time as Rain so they become close friend and Rain saw through the installment process of Eolia to become the new Tower Administrator (spoiler: It is horrible). Rain then enter the knighthood that protect Eolia and when he become the head of it, he proposed a vow toward Eolia in which she accept.
Eolia fast Marital Vow was met with all sort of trouble since at that time Eolia only become administrator for 10 something years while her development takes more than that. The opinion that approve of the Vow are more prominent because Rain is Stella's direct son, so even if he is not a Reyvateil, his blood purity is high it is a blessing in itself. Because the twin's Grandpa doesn't have high blood purity in the first place the Approve opinion simply doesn't want to sully the bloodline even more.
Well, a lot happened and then Aether and Lumine born as twin since the last few hundred years. With Aether unique ability and Lumine high purity blood added with how Aether is Lumine's partner, the continent basically hit some jackpot. After all if Lumine and Aether has girl, she would have at least 70% purity which is already high for β-type and even if it is guy, the recess gen is still high. So the continent won't be troubled of Reyvateil for at least 1000 years.
A similar ruckus happened when Aether and Lumine made their vow but because they're the first daughter-son of Eolia, they have more flexibility in role. After all Eolia can still create more 'spare' to eventually become the future Tower Administrator even if something were to happen to Lumine.
Aether and Lumine's childhood story is written in the Song Of Beginning.
Terminology
- Reyvateils
A race that exists solely to sing Song Magic. They started as a created lifeform made to manipulate dynamic H-waves to perform 'magic' in Lumine and Aether's homeworld. Reyvateil are made so that whenever they start singing, even if they are beaten half-dead or have a sword pierced through their body, the Reyvateil would keep on Singing until they need to stop or the Song is completely sung. Except for those who are genetically reformed or through adequate training, Reyvateils generally don't have good physical condition and need a Contractor to protect them while singing.
Reyvateils are all female. This is because the Y chromosome present in males is pushing the gem/core of the Reyvateil aside and so they can't develop the Triangular Granular Node that acts as the hearts of a Reyvateil. The emotional range of a female is considered to be wider and as Songs are dependent on it, no one truly bothered on making Male Reyvateil. Because Reyvateils would marry male humans, it is now rather common to have recessive Reyvateil genes.
The Reyvateil population itself isn't that widespread and they only amount to one-tenth of the whole population in Lumine and Aether's birth world. It is because creating a Reyvateil is similar to the way of creating a Homunculus, which needs a whole lot of funds. Somewhere enough to buy 10 years’ worth of food supply to an entire continent. But each Reyvateil is only fertile once every 10 years even if the pregnancy period is similar to that of a human. Third-generation aside, Reyvateils are a long-living race with the capability to live for a few thousand years when maintained carefully, albeit the only example for a long-long-living Reyvateil is the Tower's Administrator. After one Reyvateil has decided on one Marital Contractor, they would adjust themselves to their Contractor and when the Contractor dies the Reyvateil is rarely capable of making another Contractor. Cloning is the most common way to preserve a stock of Reyvateils but even with a perfect clone, the capability of the clone would be 50% lower than the Original.
So, it is considered an especially rare occasion for Reyvateil to birth twins like Lumine and Aether.
- Song Magic
The act of shaping dynamic H-waves, in reality, to create a magical phenomenon through the help of Song Server. It is somewhat similar to binding Elements using a Vision but Song Magic has more freedom since they're not limited to only one element. The only thing limiting the Song Magic is the Reyvateil's latent capability and their own imagination to create songs.
Song Magic can be both destructive and supportive at the same time but one thing that is known is that the longer the song lasts, the bigger the affected area and the power. A Song that is used to directly affect the Tower/World Tree is called a Hymmnos [Extract] and is indicated with the code [EXEC] in their title if the Reyvateil is coming from Ar Tonelico’s server or Harvestasha while in Infel=Phira Server, [EXEC] is called as [METHOD] albeit the power and scale are the same. [Extract] song effects are either catastrophic or miraculous, as in it could erase a universe and revive it at the same time even if there is a need for a long preparation.
[Extract] songs can only be sung by high-ranking Reyvateils, usually Pureblood β-type and up to Origin. If there is a non-pureblood β that can sing Extract then that Reyvateil probably has a high purity of Reyvateil genes. Lumine is this as her purity is 90%, a more common range purity for β-type ranges around 50-70%.
Under the level of a [Extract] song is Hymmnos [Words]. They're the most common Song Magic that all Reyvateils can use and are created based on the Reyvateil imagination inside their Cosmosphere. The official database for each [Words] Song Magic consists of [EXEC]/[METHOD] in its title but it would be added with code [HYMME] then the official Song Magic title in Hymmnos. Unlike [Extract], [Words] have a higher degree of variation and even if the effect of Song magic is similar to other Reyvateil they can sound completely different from each other. For this reason, Reyvateils would assign a different name to refer to their Song Magic in the common tongue (ex: Fairy Dance official title is EXEC_HYMME_LYAFRE/.#Lumine extracting).
- Cosmospheres
The subconscious world of a Reyvateil. It is a world of the psyche that is created based on Reyvateil's psychological condition and it would be best described as the emotional turmoil of one's Reyvateil. It also shows the way the Reyvateil sees the world and how they feel deep in their heart. The Cosmosphere is also the place to create Song Magic with the help of the Diver. Certain Reyvateil can make songs on their own without the help of a Diver but it is widely believed between Reyvateils that singing for the sake of someone will produce a higher effect than not.
Cosmospheres have many levels in theory but in practice, one can only go as deep as level 9. It is because after level 9 Reyvateil simply can't emit the frequency needed to create the layout. Not to mention that the Diver can't emit a dynamic H-wave strong enough to enter the mind of Reyvateil no matter how strong the bonds between the two are. If one were to try, there is a risk of breaking the mind of both the Diver and the Reyvateil involved as it is simply the limit of the physical body that made Cosmosphere beyond level 9 exist only in theory.
- Diving
An act of entering the Cosmosphere of a Reyvateil. Done using machinery that is strictly used to link two psyches together and it is simulated through the World Tree as its main server and the Reyvateil's Cosmosphere as the field (imagine it like a personal server of SAO Aincrad). The Reyvateil herself doesn't bear any memories of what happened in the Cosmosphere nor do they know what their psyche does to the Diver. Diving is considered to be embarrassing from the Reyvateil so asking permission is a part of common manners.
The dive itself is done for various reasons. The most common reason is to create Song Magic since the Cosmosphere is a place with ample H-waves used to create Song Magic. Other than that there is a medical purpose which is when a Reyvateil gets affected by Virus or some other unforeseen reason that makes the Reyvateil have an eroded mental state and it results in unstable DH waves. Even if it is limited to the Reyvateil Origin that acts as Server Administrator, one would Dive for the sake of entertainment as well.
- Paradigm Shifts
A phenomenon where the Diver brings a Reyvateil’s H-Wave to a certain peak because of the changes they made. It makes the Reyvateil's latent waveform ascend into a higher frequency. It also matures the Reyvateil as an individual as well as increasing the strength of the songs they make. It also elevates the Diver as well as making the Diver become closer to the Reyvateil and so the two sides mature together both in mind and relationship.
- The Installer Port
A tattoo that is placed somewhere in the body of a Reyvateil used to install a song from a Hymn Crystal or do things with a Grathnode Crystal. The Installer port is considered a window to peek into the heart of Reyvateil so staring at it is considered rude and also causes embarrassment. The place itself varies but they're never placed in a truly sensitive place (ex: breasts) when the Reyvateil feels danger, the Port instantly moves to another place.
It is considered the 2nd most embarrassing point for Reyvateil only below having someone Dive into their Cosmosphere. Showing one's Installer port is like showing your naked back to the other party.
- Grathnode Crystals
A convenient crystal that can function as medicine and also increase the ability of a Reyvateil. Partaking in one inflicts great pain akin to drinking poison to the Reyvateil so administering one needs compliance and understanding from the Reyvateil in question or else it'll be taken as a crime. Exceptions are given when it is used to save lives though.
- Noise
Bugs or viruses that erode a Reyvateil's mind given form inside the Cosmosphere. Mindless creatures exist only to destroy the Reyvateil from inside out and it is one of the Contractor's roles to rid Reyvateil of this Noise. Because the fight happens inside Reyvateil's Cosmosphere, the Diver should be careful to not damage the mind of Reyvateil. If the Diver is favored by the Reyvateil, the Personification of Reyvateil would appear to help the Diver to purge the Noise from inside their mind.
- Triangular Nuclear Loop (TNL)
The hearts of Reyvateil. Its working is similar to what human has but it is much more mechanical as it is one of the reason why Reyvateil can let out stronger Dynamic H-wave compared to Human, making their Song Magic more potent. In Ar Tonelico the game, it is usually set to work for 150 years before shutting down. It is set like that in fear that Reyvateil might goes out of control after living longer than the set time. It can be depleted much faster if Reyvateil used too much energy past the natural recovery rate of their Telomere, making their life shorter.
I made some original concept where this core makes Reyvateil much more fragile since there is a need to do a check up to make sure that their TNL works properly. It should be done at least once per month or lesser or else there is a fear of Noise infection that the Reyvateil can't handle on their own. Infection of Noise at smaller scale is going to make the Reyvateil feels uncomfortable but at severe case, it might make their TNL goes awry and eventually broke, ending their lives.
Lumine's TNL is a special one as it has the capability to self-recharge on its own as long as she is linked with the Universe, called as Self-Regeneration Triangular Nuclear Loop. Because of its mechanism, in theory Lumine can actually live forever in its truest meaning. But this TNL is still in experimental stage and there are only 5 in production. It is because this TNL is very delicate to the point there is a rather high chance it'll broke and goes berserk from time to time even with a proper maintenance. Because of its experimental nature, the Reyvateil who has it must have their Contractor already diving to level 9 so the two have gone through the linkage ceremony with their host server AND said Contractor must have high knowledge on Wave Technology in case accident occurs.
Due to this requirements, as far as Lumine and Aether knows, there are only one other pair who have their Reyvateil's TNL exchanged to Self-Regeneration Triangular Nuclear Loop. They never passed each other since their departure from Ar Tonelico and it isn't like Aether and Lumine wanted to meet them either.
Aether actually keep a hold of the common Triangular Nuclear Loop with set timer of 150 years in the case Lumine decided to stop going on a journey and wanted to settle down. Lumine doesn't know that Aether has it.
- Telomere
TNL parts that provides energy for Reyvateil to keep on moving. It also act as limiter and timer for each Reyvateil. It can't be charged naturally but one can charge it by the means of donor from another Reyvateil. Not many actually do it though.
In this story original setting, Lumine's one, just like her TNL is capable of self-recharge. The down side is that it'll take a lot of World Tree's energy, around 10% of the total energy a World Tree has. 10% isn't that much? No, no, it is actually quite a lot you know. Imagine that there are 5 Reyvateil in Lumine's caliber living in Teyvat, they'll take 50% of World Tree's energy that would normally used for balancing the dimension. This is why Lumine's [Ryusse] Song Magic actually contain asking permission toward the World Tree as she is going to take a good chunk of their energy just by existing. Only World Tree that has enough to host the two that'll open the gate.
Exception does exist however. Certain World Tree would open up their gate even if they're having trouble in maintaining their dimension. It is usually done by World Tree that has shitty Administrator or shitty resident that reduce their Energy in an alarming rate. Because those inside their dimension are too stupid to fix stuff, they need outsider help to clean up the mess. This is the case on why Lumine and Aether entered Teyvat. The Old Leyline Tree's request are actually [Sublimation] followed by [Reincarnation] since it has enough of Teyvat's shitty attitude. Well, Celestia is dirtier than the Leyline Tree predicted though and the game scenario happened.
- D-Cellophane
I ended up never mentioning it by words in the story so far but this is basically DNA data that can be installed and uninstalled, usually containing certain data regarding the purpose of Reyvateil and Song Magic that they needed for the purpose. It also contain growth number that control the Reyvateil growth limit. It can't be set to be too detailed like setting the exact size of Reyvateil's breasts or their height down to exact centimeters.
When Aether mentioned that 'saving the world through the meant of reviving World Tree' is hardwired into their very being, he is talking about having D-Cellophane installed into him and Lumine. Yes, even Aether who isn't a Reyvateil. That's why both Lumine and Aether has the tendency to do what they can to save the world as it is indeed their program. But since the D-cellophane doesn't specify 'how' or setting the morality of her action, like what Lumine do with Abyss Order, is still according to the program since Lumine's action isn't translated as 'destroying the world' and it is translated to be 'extracting Symphonic energy in order to activate [Reincarnation] protocol' instead.
The D-cellophane that was installed into Lumine and Aether are of different kind even if it actually works as pair and the purpose is relatively the same thing. Lumine's one has [Ryusse], [Sublimation], and [Reincarnation] installed to it but she doesn't have the Activation Key to actually activate the Song Magic. The Activation Key of each songs are installed in Aether's D-cellophane. That's why Lumine actually needed Aether to be around to actually use these Song Magic so even if during their 500 years separation Lumine would think that she wanted to [Sublimation] Teyvat in spite, she can't do it in reality.
This is an extra stuff but Lumine and Aether has their D-cellophane installed for the sake of turning into Traveler so they're actually not born with it. In fact Lumine was planned to be turned into Tower Administrator in another continent before the two decided to join the Sea of Quanta Project. Anyway, the installation process hurts a lot even dying sounds painless in comparison.
Song Magic List
- [Ryuse] aka EXEC_HYMMNOS=RYUSE/.#Lumine_Extracting
Simply speaking it is Dimension hopping song magic. The title means 'Song of The Traveller'. The song doesn't exist in the game of Ar Tonelico and is something that I made. Also since both Aether and Lumine are going to stay in Teyvat the song won't be sung by Lumine anymore.
The song itself works by creating a portal toward the next world as it runs a program to scan the World Tree on the next world they're going to. This is done to make necessary adjustments in the body of Travellers so the body is capable of surviving the world they transferred into even if they go to a world with extreme climate. After doing the world scan and adjusting the Traveller's physical form, it would then manifest physically as a pair of Light Wings that the Travellers have. Only after that, the two would be transferred from the world they're in to the next world using Flip flop conversion to the coordinates of the next world.
[Ryuse] is a modern and small-scale version of [Harmonics] that was derived from the ancient song found in Singing Hills. But [Harmonics] is said to be a song to summon terrestrial beings coming from different planes of existence but present-day scholars can't find the answer to what kind of 'being' is summoned by [Harmonics]. The only thing that they know is that the Singing Hills would be playing the song melody from time to time but without a Reyvateil to sing the Song, the Song remains incomplete.
.... Well, [Harmonics] is the opening song of Ar Tonelico 1 until 3 or Qoga if we're talking about the NA release. It depends on your preference but if we're talking world lore then [Harmonics] Song Magic could actually originate from Ar Nosurge OP and.... the song is actually a spell to summon Player aka Us into the game, and I meant it in 4th wall breaking way. Harmonic Eolia even kindly told us the binary address of the First Tower.
Ar Tonelico 1 - Harmonics Eolia
https://youtu.be/G7UUQdITN2U
Ar Tonelico 2 - Harmonics Frelia
https://youtu.be/eFjSu2X8gG8
Ar Tonelico 3/Qoga - Harmonics Tillia
https://youtu.be/iCQ5c2z4hr4
Ar Nosurge - Harmonics Pre=Ciel
https://youtu.be/gIO6EAvqDWE
In case you're bored and actually read this until this part, here is the song step by step process:
1. Song start by searching nearest available World Tree, defaulted to one not visited yet. On paper it is possible to return to the world visited before but no one do it because it is a waste of energy.
2. Scan the World Tree property that was found during (1) and ask permision to be recognized as a guest to the world toward the World Administrator or the Will of World Tree itself. When rejected go back to (1) if accepted proceed to next step.
3. Scan the biometric value of the Traveler involved for the jump and create a backup of the data in the SH Server. It also send ping toward the Administrator of SH Server of the Reyvateil involved that the Reyvateil Traveler is still alive out there.
4. Adjust Traveler's Biometric value according to the condition of the destination World. This is usually the most painful part when the dimensional value of one to other is way too different. When going to a World with similar working, there will be no major change.
5. Executing flip flop conversion from one world to another. Turning the value of Traveler in current world to 0 and then converse the value to 1 in the next world.
6. Dimensional Travel succeed.
- [Sublimation] aka EXEC_SUBLIMATION/.#Lumine_Extracting
A song that is used to separate body and soul to gain pure the Emotional energy of one's soul. It makes the song target feel strong nausea and headaches before rendering targets unconscious. Those who become unconscious would have their souls siphoned by the World Tree's roots for transfer and the affected would effectively die in the end. It is because [Sublimation] protocol doesn't include the process to return the soul to its body after succession (not that there is a way to do so).
The Song begins with cutting off the connection of the World Tree of the respective world with the world itself to prevent the tree from using its power excessively and taking an administrative role to the World Tree. After cutting off the connection, the song would proceed to break the link between the body and soul of every living being in the whole world through the roots of the World Tree spread around. After the process of breaking the link is completed, the soul would be absorbed by the World Tree's roots and transferred toward the Singer in the form of pure Emotional energy which could be used to perform another high-energy song. For that reason, this song is normally used in tandem with [Reincarnation] or [Ryuse] when Travellers reach a world on the brink of destruction and they need Symphonic Energy to either revive the world or just run away to the next.
If you're curious about how [Sublimation] sounds in general, well the image is from Ar Tonelico 2 EXEC_over.METHOD_SUBLIMATION. And yes, if anyone actually listens [Sublimation] is a love song:
https://youtu.be/G8YOoQ-Py88
Ah but if Lumine was experiencing a flood of negative emotions, [Sublimation] would sound something like this:
https://youtu.be/zKpp1S9JpCk
The song process itself is like this:
1. Take administrative control of World Tree. Usually done after overriding the current Administrator of the respective world when there is any (aka eliminate them in one way or another). When Sublimation is taken, usually the World Tree is dying already so the Will inside it are inactive or has no intention to keep 'singing' aka prolonging their life.
2. Cut the World Tree connection with the World under its jurisdiction. It is done to prevent the diminishing power from World Tree flowing to the world under their control excessively.
3. Executing administrative command to all of being that have soul in the aforementioned world/dimension to relinquish their soul to the administrator. It is done forcefully when the other side refused to do so. What happened in the surface is basically Apocalypse.
4. Harvested soul then brought toward the World tree through the root spread all across the world.
5. Sublimation completed. At this point Reyvateil would start singing [Ryusse] or [Reincarnation] to make use of the harvested Symphonic Energy. It is because the high density of Energy will overload Reyvateil's Nuclear Triangular Loop and in turn kill them so immediate usage of another Song is a must.
- [Reincarnation] aka EXEC_REINCARNATION/.#Lumine_Extracting
World-scale Song Magic used to revive the world that was installed to Traveler Reyvateils as a part of their set program and is considered as a song that is better to never be sung. The reason is that the Symphonic Energy used to activate it is something that can't be fueled by one Reyvateil so activation of the Song would be dangerous even for the Reyvateil involved. Worst case scenario is that the Reyvateil will die in the process from using up too much Symphonic Energy to activate the song so the energy backfired and killed the Singer instead.
The conditions to activate [Reincarnation] is as follows: a. The world is on the brink of destruction either by disaster or the wilting of World Tree or other unforeseen reasons b. Enough Symphonic Energy is amassed to repair the world. Could be gathered by using the emotion of the locals who wish strongly for salvation c. A Reyvateil who is willing to sing the Song and pay the price.
When Lumine decided to sing [Reincarnation] for Teyvat, she started her plan with becoming the Abyss Princess. She then wreaked havoc in Teyvat because by putting the world in direct danger the emotions and prayers created would be amplified and yet even after 500 years worth of preparation, Lumine still lacks a tad bit of Symphonic Energy. The reason for the lack of energy is because the war with Celestia didn't last long enough for the people to feel danger and then Lumine herself used her power to fight Celestia and Aether consequently.
Lumine is of course aware of the lack of Symphonic Energy to sing [Reincarnation] and lived to see the result but decided to sing anyway. The lacking energy would be taken from the residue of the fight against Celestia and she could just use her own life to fill the lacking energy if she used every last bit of her life. It won't be enough to erase all the dangers and curses in Teyvat but it'll be enough to bring the Leyline Tree to maturity and lift the curse binding the Hilichurls and the Abyss. What happens after that is up to the world to decide.
The reason why Lumine is still alive is that Aether stepped in and helped on fueling the Symphonic energy she lacked and thus even if Lumine might only have a drop of energy after the singing process, she can recuperate by using the energy gained from the rebirthed Leyline Tree.
The song image is Ra-Ciel Reincarnation from Ar Nosurge.
https://youtu.be/o8tiJ8oHfao
The process is like this:
1. Song start with scanning the whole world if any of its people is still remaining. If there are people then they'll be informed to put their emotion toward the reincarnation of the world.
2. Collecting the Symphonic Energy from the World into Singing Hill. If taken from people, this will contain the basic frame for what kind of world that the reincarnated one will looks like. When there is no survivor in the world, then Reyvateil will use the other existing dimension as the basic template.
3. Reyvateil send a ping toward the Greater Dimensional Tree in the center of Sea of Quanta to register the soon to be born Tree as a part of the family.
4. If there is still a lack of energy, here the Reyvateil would be using external source to continue the Reincarnation. It could be someone else's life or the life of Reyvateil themselves.
5. The New World Tree would bud in the 4th Dimension and will grow larger to encompass the whole Dimension that the old World Tree used to manage before its death.
6. The Will of World Tree is born and will talk with the Reyvateil involved on what kind of 'promises' that will bound the world and the World Tree with its world. The common frame of Will of World Tree will be known here, whether they're initially having positive or negative emotion toward the current or the past world.
7. The World Tree depart to the 7th Dimension and planted its root there. At this point the process of Reincarnation is finished and if at (4) the Reyvateil singing Reincarnation used their own life force to fuel the song until their Telomere run out of energy, they died after this process is over.
8. Reyvateil sings a song to inform the people that the new World Tree is born safely. It also contains hymmn of blessing toward the world, usually