Or perhaps the opposite is the case. Zoss has forced the wheel to a halt, thrusting the cosmos into bloody stagnation.
Revolution to make the world spin once again.
Movement to be free of tyrants that see the infinite as something that may be grasped.
A massive merry-go-round where those who wish to grasp it and hold it still get flung off into the far nether darkness never to be heard or seen again. Wheeeeeee.
Zoss’s true power is figuring out what mean names to call people. That is how he found the names of god and why twinky boy here got so mad when he called him a little man who plays at sticks.
Depending on his awareness of other worlds, particularly hers, he might be making oblique reference to _Through the Looking Glass_. Or perhaps Abaddon is making the reference through Zoss. 🙂
Yes, when it comes down to it, Solly’s notion of royalty is as empty as Inkypoo’s. Though Zoss may be the only person with the perspective to see it that way.
Indeed, even as he regards Solomon David, Incubus and even Gog-Agog as pitiable and bound to the wheel’s rules, he does so equally and without true rancor. Zoss pitied them. I think the next necessary step is instead to empathize with them, and so become equals. That will take some doing, as Al-YISUN must still strive.
A Perpetually Inquisitive Supplier of Noodle Vending Ingredients
Off the top of one’s head, at least three of the Demiurges were the direct victims of their predecessors before their ascensions, the very enlightened God-Princes that Zoss empowered through his gifted keys before they fell to infighting.
Incubus, a starving war-orphan, Solomon, a humble local guardsman who lost his family and his meaning in the wake of the conquest of his world, and Mottom, an innocent girl taken by a rapacious ruler.
One cannot recall the motivation of the Dragon, beyond a Greed so great he murdered his own family to purchase his key, though one wonders at the circumstances of his Universe that would lead to such drastic action.
Overall, one can see why many of the Seven would have a rather extreme, personal, reaction to finally meeting the One face to face.
All-conʃuming, inexorable, yes, but it is no creature’s nemeʃis. Is the gale and river baʃin the enemy of the mountain, or is the mountain unaware that it is but a pile of rubble the gods decided to ʃtack eʃpecially high?
There are two ways a mountain is formed. First is when multiple great plates of the Earth crash into each other, rising up to the pinnacle in joint effort. The second is when land cuts away the Earth around it, leaving itself standing above.
What nonʃense! Craʃhing plates? Terra Mater has no need of plates, nor any diʃhes, nor cutlery–not even a deʃsert ʃpoon! No knives to cut away at herʃelf either. Why would She That Is All ever deʃire to play such fooliʃh sport?
Indeed, somehow attain your victory with overall entropy unchanged. It may not decrease, but it does not have to increase either, if it remains the same. Difficult, but allowable.
Entropy can be calculated, after a force has caused work to be done. It’s a measure more than the cause. Effectively the energy put in to a system, less the work done, gives us the entropy, just divide by temperature.
You could perhaps say that entropy is the opposite of how work is done; it is a measure of the energy input that isn’t able to do work.
Things may of course always be different in the world in which Allison finds herself.
One does recall a similar man who wore a red jacket and stood over a field of blades. However, if one recalls correctly, that man only stabbed his swords into the ground, and not onto himself.
That one attained his dream only to realize the full, horrifying scope of it – forced to end many lives in order to save several more, eternally bound by the collective despair of Man. Is it not understandable that he would seek to break his own destiny by killing his past?
Abaddon was saying on twitter the other day there was only one more book left in KSBD. I’ll be sad to see it go but it would be wrong to keep the wheel turning for its own sake, especially after a page like this one
Foolish Last-of-Pen, Favored of the Impure Snow Wolf
All good things must come to an end, as the adage goes, but then again so do all bad things. Taking the advice of the first Philosopher Peince to grace me with wisdom, I shall not cry because it is over. I will instead be pumped up for what is going to happen.
…Or something like that. My grasp on the ancient proverbs of misattributed wisdom grows weaker by the day.
It is always sad when you are reading a great book and suddenly realize that there is only a chapter or two left. But a truly accomplished author will fill those last chapters with gut-wrenching, tear-splashed pathos. I feel certain Abbadon will rise to this challenge and leave us all breathless.
This can be Zoss’ final lesson, the second to last title drop, and the end of book four out of seven.
None of these are mutually exclusive.
Be interesting to know what happens to dream Zoss, possibly at the hands of the dream stealer, to make him stop showing up once a book to drop the title.
Turns out you can only run on top of a spinning wheel so long before you inevitably lose your balance and find yourself crushed beneath the very thing you believed yourself the master of.
But perhaps there will one day be a place where there are no masters, with the wheel turned on its side as a table. A gentle place, ringed with blades so terrible as to repulse even the Royalty who lead nations of armies.
There’s half your problem right there, Zoss. Everybody and their mother wants to be the King of Swords. Nobody wants to be the King of Sensible Policy.
Even Solomon David, who runs the best empire of the seven, has to go all Samurai Seven and insist that his successor pass some absurd trial.
On the topic of Solomon David, he somewhat exemplifies Zoss’s “friendship is power” angle here. Of the seven Demiurges, he relies the most on Emissaries.
*I* would like to be King of Sensible Policy…rational, non-violent policies are the tools of my trade…but I suppose I am something of an unusual case, in this world where bank tellers wield chainsaw halberds and most news anchors are just Gog-Agog. Also, some might say my policies were always more spiteful than sensible. Ah well.
And yes, it is a sad thing indeed that even the most “sensible” of Emperors has made a great Bureaucracy, with even greater Bureaucrats, but his Pride demanded that he remain a true Tyrant in control of everything. A Bureaucracy which is beholden to a Tyrant is no Bureaucracy at all.
There ARE exceptions – those who know that they are only out for their own glory, without the slightest attempt at sensibility. Such people often reach the heights of powers, more’s the pity.
Hrmm… Reckon nobody is correct. Beside, what is sensible to one person might be downright unreasonable to another person. Guns come to mind, as well as babies, speech, money, religion, pollution… the list is really endless, as are the variations in sensibilities.
“Everyone thinks they are the King of Sensible Policy. They don’t see when they stop being that. There are no exceptions.”
– nobody.
Unless I miss my guess the panels are:
Temperence
Temperence Reversed (Wrath, Incubus’ sin)
The Devil (Incubus often appears in compositions that seem to reference this card)
Death (His talk of change and finality convinces me I got this one)
The Wheel (obviously, but I’m least confidant on this one.)
The Hanged Man
The Death Omen
The High Priestess
The Heirophant (Unless I missed my guess on 6, and that was the Heirophant)
However there is something to the theory that panels 6 and 8 together also form the two postures of the Temperence card.
idk, I’m not sure whether every panel in this page can be read as a tarot card, but I’m sure there must be more tarot references in the comic. Mammon’s word was the Tower, so that’s one for certain. Time to re-read!
“I see… you’re just a phantom. An echo of a traitor king that abandoned his kingdom.”
Zoss doesn’t deny it… and he was still sufficient to make you jump. Like, out of your chair. And break out in a cold sweat. Perhaps you should check your demiurgal demiunderpants for brown stains at the earliest opportunity. >:=)>
Indeed, Zoss speaks of a power beyond the realms of science, mortal comprehension, or even mastery. The power which The God Called “I” shall never know.
Zoss speaks to the most ancient of human powers, that which bent even the tigers and wolves to their will, the Power of Friendship. The power of The God Called “Us.”
Tꙩ be rꙩyalty is tꙩ be singular, perfect, as YISUN. Tꙩ be YISUN is tꙩ be incꙩmparably bꙩred. Destrꙩy this fate by destrꙩying the very idea ꙩf I, by instead becꙩming We, sꙩ that we are ALL-YIS-UN.
But if we become ALL-YIS-UN, then will we not all be bound to the wheel? Zoss claims that one alone cannot break the Wheel, but if we all become one, then we will all become YISUN once more, and the wheel will start again. How is that conducive to breaking it?
Is our crippled brother Metatron perhaps not only Ysun’s scribe, but also His Herald? Would everything return to Ysun’s singular existence if Metatron was to speak His Stolen Name? Has Zoss averted the End of All That Is, but was he unable to change the immutable indestructable nature of Angels? Will the True Key always end back in the hands of its True Wielder? This one ponders and ponders about the road Existence took: from Singularity, to Duality, to Multiplicity, to The Wheel… and as a son of Un, Master of All That Is Not, starts doubting the purpose of my own existence.
I kinda want to see Zoss fight someone, even if it’s just in a flashback. He’s supposed to be powerful enough that THE SEVEN are quaking in their boots at the mere mention of his name, but we haven’t really seem him DO very much. He just shows up on occasion to be cryptic.
Yeah there’s like, 1 panel of him pimp-slapping Metatron, but we don’t know much about Metatron either, so we’ve got no frame of reference. It’s all informed badassery.
Perhaps, but part of the point I think is that his power is unimaginable. He’s not omnipotent, but he’s so incredibly powerful that any opponent we see him fight at the height of his power wouldn’t be a good show of it.
In narrative terms he’s no longer a player outside of having philisophical discussions with our protagonist, ‘Alice.’
We don’t need to know how powerful he is in specific because any show of power would be underwhelming, but not only that; his power is no longer meaningful. His power now is only in his influence over Allison.
To make a reference to a sort of similar character; Yoda from the original trilogy is powerful. We can tell because he does something amazing, but also because he’s respected by other powerful people. His important power though is his influence on the protagonist, not his ability to lift up a ship. It might be cool to see him fight when he was in his prime, but it’s not really needed narratively.
TLDR; any show of power from Zoss would be underwhelming and narratively pointless.
On top of that, Zoss’s whole point is that his incredible power was ultimately utterly pointless. He, alone, could do little to truly change the true nature of the Wheel, no matter what techniques he mastered or secrets he unlocked. That it didn’t matter that he could beat up anyone he wanted, because Throne was still rotting and there was nothing he could do to fix it.
To show Zoss doing his thing at the apex of his power would be pointless, because it’d amount to going ‘yep, i sure was strong. i mean, i didn’t do anything because i’m still dead and all my works are naught but ruin and there was nothing i could do to stop it, but hey, that sure was cool!’
I didn’t say Zoss had to be at the height of his power- someone, ANYONE from his past that made a good show of it would be worth watching. Think of all the other characters we’ve gotten backstory on, like Meti/May/Incubus, Solomon-David, Cio, etc. Knowing something about the character’s past gives you context for their present, so they don’t just come off like an arrogant jerk who knows something you don’t and is having a laugh at your expense.
I think you’ve missed some bits showcasing just how potent Metatron Prime is. Even in his broken, bleeding, paralyzed state, his psychic voice alone can crush the mind of a lesser angel.
The one shot something on that level a single moment is no mean feat.
Once you have one punched your way through the armies of heaven itself, the only opponent that could offer a meaningful battle is The Great Enemy Called I.
Us never really savvied why the old man din’t kill Stoneyarse Wingface Metatron – after abusin him t’get the Names o course. All o the others got done in.
Unless praps he was wantin thum Thorny Spikies t’be inspired by ‘tron, and thums’d remove his Great Enemy for him, an break the cycle. An he’d’ve foreknown it an allowed it. Mebbe.
Strength beyond strength has given us another revelation and taken us beyond quite an achievement I do believe. I hope that’s correct anyway – and that I haven’t succumbed to boggledybrains or something.
Heartfelt congrats and gratitude and the raising of a glass of Lymphatic Sweet Wine for unleashing 501 stonkingly wonderful pages of art and story upon all us worthless supplicants. And may YisUn in their wisdom grant the fertility for many more to come into being.
Alas only one more chapter is the knowledgeable consensus and heavy implication from the pop-up text. One might have wished for a chapter with each demiurge before the grand dénouement, but one shall take whatever is to come, and gladly.
If only one it is to be, then may it be hundreds more pages long.
To truly save the world you must spread your flames to others and show them they too can stand proud. Basically the answer is friendship is magic and you should start spreading it.
He said “breaking”, not, “banishing” or “disintegrating”. Breaking something does not necessarily destroy its constituent parts! I think that in this case, “Breaking the wheel” most likely suggests the destruction of all the infrastructure which keeps the 777, 777 universes in their current shape. A terrifying prospect indeed, but one hopes that the Rising King will help a new shape take form in its place afterwards.
The wheel of power is the connection of those universes. The keys are gates, and it is through that connection they have power. Maybe to break the wheel one must divide the spokes from the hub.
Well that could be for a number of reasons. Fallibility of the artist (Solomon’s disappearing sandals show that no creator is perfect), perhaps the universe is not so perfectly divided as we had been lead to believe, or maybe the symbol of the wheel is sufficient without exactly reflecting the universes structure, or more likely the metaphor was misplaced on my part. Who can say?
Spot on metaphor, one was surprised to see 8 spokes when there’s so many sevens about. One shall go with symbol sufficiency, and that drawing 777,777 spokes was perhaps not practicable.
The wheel also may well refer to the cyclic nature of the universe’s creation and destruction, and Heaven/Throne’s whiplashing back and forth between totalitarianism and anarchy. This is what 2 Michael and 1 Metatron both fear, and what (I forget but it’s now X+1) Juggernaut Star has spoken of explicitly.
It may well be that Juggernaut Star shall end up an ally before all is said and done. The groundwork has been laid out for it, and now it sounds like in truth their goals are similar, but Juggy has been going about it all wrong.
I think in this case the Wheel is the apparent time loo pthat Juggernaut Star referred to in her tirade. Of which 1 Metatron seems to be either the architect or jailor. It’s insane, I wouldn’t be surprised if 1 Metatron wants to keep this sterile timeloop going forever.
I am suddenly overcome by the idea that Alison is gonna have a backstory reveal where it turns out she grew up under a single mother, and the Zoss is her father who left when she was young. The time difference explainable by a literal time difference, wherein the wheel runs far faster than Alison’s homeworld. Thus, she is quite literally his only true heir.
If you count only the swords that Zoss has sticking in his body, that’d be the Ten of Swords. Upright, that’s usually interpreted as “painful endings, betrayal, a crisis or loss”. Inverted, “regeneration, recovery and avoiding what seemed an inevitable end”. All of it sounds appropriate here.
And the Ten of Swords combined with the Wheel of Fortune could mean a couple things. It could mean the loss of a place of status, a retirement. It can also mean that a person is beaten and defeated, but that they will shortly be in ascension again – though not in a way exactly under their control.
Also there’s the King of Swords itself, which stands for “mental clarity, intellectual power, authority and truth”, but when inverted can also mean “misuse of power” and “manipulation”. All of which seem relevant. Especially because Zoss seems to be stating that the King of Swords needs to stand down. He doesn’t expect Alison to take his mantle and continue his work; he wants her to take a different direction, to something that he himself, as King of Swords, is not fit to do.
The question, of course, is what is that thing he wants Allison to do. But maybe he doesn’t really know himself, and that’s why he isn’t more specific (?)
The deceptive power of patterns is strong. Easy to count the four demiurges not yet challenged in their own realms and assume a volume for each rather than watching the years or the growth of the story
42 Fragments the Universe Beyond All Reintegration
Zoss calls on Allison to split the universe! No gods, no masters, self-determination and multiversal loneliness! In breaking, God’s centrifuge shall fling creation through the void like so many seeds thrown on a field; and like seeds free of their fruit, the worlds shall take root and grow! We love to see it (?)
Reminds me a whole lot of The Scattering from God Emperor of Dune. Humanity, so chained and burdened by the great Tyrant’s rule, suddenly exploding into the infinity of the galaxy, never to be chained by any single event, be it man or otherwise.
There is no strength in publicity and renown, if there is none to admire you. There is no strength in money if there is none to spend it on. There is no strength in the written law if there are none to govern. There is no strength behind the slashing blade if there are none to pierce. There is no strength in possession if there are none who will take you in. There is no strength in war if you have no one to wage it upon. You have no strength over others, other than the strength they give you themselves.
Err Zaid. Finish rescuing Zaid. Who is definitely not Zoss, and will certainly not travel back in time to start the whole cycle over again at some point in the future.
“Sooth’d with the sound, the king grew vain;
Fought all his battles o’er again;
And thrice he routed all his foes, and thrice he slew the slain!
The master saw the madness rise,
His glowing cheeks, his ardent eyes;
And while he Heav’n and earth defy’d,
Chang’d his hand, and check’d his pride.”
All come to Ash in the end. Even the Great Zoss knew this. The top of the Wheel is Fire, the bottom is Ash ever ground down flat to crush all Potential within. To break it means to toss all such away…
and perhaps something new will finally sprout from the Ash.
53 Provide Winter Air Through Green Carbon Lightning
One wonders if the inside of the Wheel has an inscription, much like a old tale I’ve heard before. “Just know, This too shall pass.” Words that brighten the darkest day, and blot the brightest sun all the same.
We all would sometimes like to believe that we can do everything by ourselves, that we surely must be mighty enough to handle it all by our lonesome but in the end it is a group effort.
She who flashed brilliant as the falling lightning brought me delicious presents from the waters.
Now from the flood be born a strong young hero.
May Uruvasi prolong her life for ever.
It’s hard to see how Zaid could have anything to do with being the heir at this point. We are more invested in some of the fighters pursuing Allison than we are with him. I think we’ve seen more panels with the Big Baby than with Zaid.
I really wish old man Zoss would be a little less cryptic. What does “break the wheel” mean? In-comic, “the wheel” usually refers to the Multiverse. Would he have Allison destroy the Multiverse? Is that what her fate is supposed to be?
I guess that might make for a better state of things, if only because that way homicidal tyrants and genocidal megawars would be confined to their own universe; also, all the yet unconquered universes would remain free. Still, if that is Zoss’ plan, it wouldn’t hurt for him to be a bit more explicit about it.
Maybe it’s been asked before, but I can’t help but wonder: what happened to Metatron’s curly locks? Did Zoss steal them when he pimp-slapped divine names out of him? IS THAT THE SOURCE OF HIS POWER?!
A wheel does little good when lying on its side on the dirt, stood upon by those who can think of it only as a slightly taller pedestal for their own misbegotten arrogance. Any aspiring master of infinity must be prepared to practice their unicycle routine – and be sure to work on a proper dismount technique, you’ll always need it sooner than you think.
So, Zoss calling her Alice here makes something I recently learned *delightfully* appropriate: Allison is an English version of the French name Alice. Which means “Nobility”.
I suppose it’s just to bad for the demiurges (and Six Juggernaut Star) that none of them knew French*, or they would never have let mere gender mislead them as to the identity of the Heir.
Lil bitty more delight fer tha – Ruth be compassionsome an mercifull, ie backwise ruthless. (leavin be, the bibli relation o Ruth to Solomon an David an all). An Wanda were a Princess frae Polish folklore, notesomely kind.
Noble, Kind, an Compassionate is us’ Allison Wanda Ruth.
Lady Redfingers, She who is Bone, Queen of the Calcified Fortress
So we basically got to the same Conclusion as in V for Vengeance – after a fashion.
One to break the system, one to rebuild. In this case one to master the rules and govern the system and the next one to break it, and perhaps a future one to rebuild later, who knows.
Allison! Like White Chain, you must learn: Solomon David is ruled by LAW.
And LAW SERVES.
If you choose well what it serves, it will correct the whole law. JUSTICE IN BALANCE will correct the whole law. PRIDE will bend it until the wheel crushes even diamond.
The wheel spins eternal, it is only by realizing that endings are but new beginnings that you can comprehend its true glory. Even this call to break the wheel is but part of the wheel’s turning. The wheel is not destroyed, merely reshaped.
The world must be destroyed so it may yet be recreated in the purging fire that is to come. The wheel continues to spin.
While the mortal world doubts and questions,
I know exactly what I am.
I am the ceasless wheel,
Atop a mountain of broken bodies.
You are strong child, but
I am beyond strength.
I am the end.
It just dawned on me that Zoss probably doesn’t know what Allison is supposed to do. In this page, he pretty much admits that, as Ruler of the Multiverse, he tried to find the right course and failed despite his best efforts. If he, with all his power and wisdom, could not see the right path for himself, how could he direct anyone else towards it?
Unlike Solomon, who wants an heir to take his mantle and continue his work, it looks like old man Zoss is looking for someone who will be able to find a different path; but this path is one that Zoss himself cannot see. He is trying to keep Allison from making he mistakes he made, but he cannot point her towards the right course of action because he doesn’t really know what it is.
Taking a break from my terror for a moment…
I had a thought. Auntie Maya. I think I can get over my fears long enough to hope to see exactly how she’s going to fit into this. One who’s name means “Murder the Gods and Topple their Thrones.”
If I’m reading things right, Zoss’s direction is unclear. If that mission is indeed to topple the natural order, would Maya assist? Still seek the key for whatever sinister purpose that might be? What’s she going to do with this?
Though I suspect it’ll be at least a partly aligned purpose if Allison decides to topple those who think themselves Gods. Not that I’d mourn those assholes.
Well shit, now the consideration of the bigger picture has me terrified again.
If this whole world with a really unique belief system and mythology ends with the message of the Power of Freaking Friendship, I am going to be very upset.
Zoss is very spider-like in his representation here. Mandible-like moustache, the gold on his head shining like eyes in the darkness, his cloak as spider fur, artificial hand with a rope thread as he stands on the wheel/web.
Is he calling her to start an uprising? Or am I interpreting this wrong.
Friendship broken with Royalty
now Revolution is my best friend
This is wisdom.
The real strength was the friends she made along the way.
Jesus Christ.
Revolution is holy change, after all. What better way to break the wheel.
Ironic. That the only way to stop the wheel revolving…is through Revolution.
Or perhaps the opposite is the case. Zoss has forced the wheel to a halt, thrusting the cosmos into bloody stagnation.
Revolution to make the world spin once again.
Movement to be free of tyrants that see the infinite as something that may be grasped.
Spin it so fast it shatters, like a washing machine with a brick thrown in
A massive merry-go-round where those who wish to grasp it and hold it still get flung off into the far nether darkness never to be heard or seen again. Wheeeeeee.
The Rising King must ascend at the head of an uprising.
Makes sense.
Burning Stars, indeed.
he’s just calling for Defeat Is Friendship and Friendship Is Magic, that’s all
But first, she must find the Elements of Strength…
…and Harmony.
With a touch of chaos thrown in
AND FIRE!!!! LOTS AND LOTS OF FIRE!!!
LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS OF TRAINS.
Only a total zero can beat a god-king yeah?
Nah, only everyone together can. You break the wheel by straightening things out.
“There is no strength in numbers, don’t make such misconception” says a song. Nobody who is knowledgable in the way of war would agree with it though.
Aside for maybe Solomon David, but “one” is also a number.
He waits in the great unsounded until *every* soul joins him. Then, we can build a better world.
That or he’s telling Alison she needs to pull a sword out of Cio’s chest.
Grant us the power to bring world revolution!
SEIZE THE MEANS OF DIVINITY. REDISTRIBUTION OF THE NAMES OF GOD.
UM YES
JUST DON’T START WITH ‘JAHORAH’ OR YOU AREN’T GOING TO GET VERY FAR
King Koss, Ultra-socialist.
Someone’ll be along in a moment.
Zoss’s true power is figuring out what mean names to call people. That is how he found the names of god and why twinky boy here got so mad when he called him a little man who plays at sticks.
Wheelburn is a terrible thing to endure.
Friend, you made me laugh. Thank you for your contribution unto these tomes.
When one stands at the pinnacle of all things, they find that there is not room to do much else without falling back to the ground.
It would seem Al-YISUN’s path shall be to tear down the mountain of rulership itself rather than take Zoss’s place on his prison of a throne.
I cannot more highly recommend a book on this theme.
Hope for the Flowers, by Trina Paulus
Did Zoss always call her Alice?
Yep. The first time they spoke Allison actually commented on it.
I assume it’s him mistaking “Allison” for “Alice-UN”, for cultural reasons.
It’s hilariously humanizing.
An nicelike echoes un uther, goin down yon rabbitty hole into strange world of madnesses.
Depending on his awareness of other worlds, particularly hers, he might be making oblique reference to _Through the Looking Glass_. Or perhaps Abaddon is making the reference through Zoss. 🙂
Yes indeed.
Hah. Incubus and Solomon David, identical brothers in folly so far as Zoss is concerned.
Delicious.
Best take
Yes, when it comes down to it, Solly’s notion of royalty is as empty as Inkypoo’s. Though Zoss may be the only person with the perspective to see it that way.
Indeed, even as he regards Solomon David, Incubus and even Gog-Agog as pitiable and bound to the wheel’s rules, he does so equally and without true rancor. Zoss pitied them. I think the next necessary step is instead to empathize with them, and so become equals. That will take some doing, as Al-YISUN must still strive.
Off the top of one’s head, at least three of the Demiurges were the direct victims of their predecessors before their ascensions, the very enlightened God-Princes that Zoss empowered through his gifted keys before they fell to infighting.
Incubus, a starving war-orphan, Solomon, a humble local guardsman who lost his family and his meaning in the wake of the conquest of his world, and Mottom, an innocent girl taken by a rapacious ruler.
One cannot recall the motivation of the Dragon, beyond a Greed so great he murdered his own family to purchase his key, though one wonders at the circumstances of his Universe that would lead to such drastic action.
Overall, one can see why many of the Seven would have a rather extreme, personal, reaction to finally meeting the One face to face.
VERY inconsiderate to draw this plot bomb just in time for me to catch up with the series, come on get it together. (Thanks for this)
Ah, entropy, that all-consuming, unbeatable opponent.
All-conʃuming, inexorable, yes, but it is no creature’s nemeʃis. Is the gale and river baʃin the enemy of the mountain, or is the mountain unaware that it is but a pile of rubble the gods decided to ʃtack eʃpecially high?
There are two ways a mountain is formed. First is when multiple great plates of the Earth crash into each other, rising up to the pinnacle in joint effort. The second is when land cuts away the Earth around it, leaving itself standing above.
What nonʃense! Craʃhing plates? Terra Mater has no need of plates, nor any diʃhes, nor cutlery–not even a deʃsert ʃpoon! No knives to cut away at herʃelf either. Why would She That Is All ever deʃire to play such fooliʃh sport?
You cannot attain victory against entropy. The trick is to attain victory alongside it.
Indeed, somehow attain your victory with overall entropy unchanged. It may not decrease, but it does not have to increase either, if it remains the same. Difficult, but allowable.
Entropy is how work is done. Without it, nothing happens.
Entropy can be calculated, after a force has caused work to be done. It’s a measure more than the cause. Effectively the energy put in to a system, less the work done, gives us the entropy, just divide by temperature.
You could perhaps say that entropy is the opposite of how work is done; it is a measure of the energy input that isn’t able to do work.
Things may of course always be different in the world in which Allison finds herself.
One does recall a similar man who wore a red jacket and stood over a field of blades. However, if one recalls correctly, that man only stabbed his swords into the ground, and not onto himself.
Are you talking about the man with white hair who could summon an alternate dimension with “Infinite Sword Accomplishments”? 🤔
He is a fool that lets the blade hold mastery over him, yet less so for having so many masters, they cannot wield him properly.
That one attained his dream only to realize the full, horrifying scope of it – forced to end many lives in order to save several more, eternally bound by the collective despair of Man. Is it not understandable that he would seek to break his own destiny by killing his past?
Truly, you are correct! (Even if that may not necessarily mean you are right). He did, in some form try to stab his multitude of swords into himself.
AH! He said the line. Roll credits.
Are you talking about Actually Satan?
The Actually is important, I feel.
Wait only one more title drop in the whole series? Does that mean there is only more more book?!
*panics*
Abaddon was saying on twitter the other day there was only one more book left in KSBD. I’ll be sad to see it go but it would be wrong to keep the wheel turning for its own sake, especially after a page like this one
All good things must come to an end, as the adage goes, but then again so do all bad things. Taking the advice of the first Philosopher Peince to grace me with wisdom, I shall not cry because it is over. I will instead be pumped up for what is going to happen.
…Or something like that. My grasp on the ancient proverbs of misattributed wisdom grows weaker by the day.
It was revealed yers ago. And if Abbadon follows his plans, the last one is going to be called “Breaker of Infinities”.
It is always sad when you are reading a great book and suddenly realize that there is only a chapter or two left. But a truly accomplished author will fill those last chapters with gut-wrenching, tear-splashed pathos. I feel certain Abbadon will rise to this challenge and leave us all breathless.
That might be too much of an assumption.
This can be Zoss’ final lesson, the second to last title drop, and the end of book four out of seven.
None of these are mutually exclusive.
Be interesting to know what happens to dream Zoss, possibly at the hands of the dream stealer, to make him stop showing up once a book to drop the title.
Take heart, for the end means many things. One of which is this: The way is opened for the next act of creation.
Turns out you can only run on top of a spinning wheel so long before you inevitably lose your balance and find yourself crushed beneath the very thing you believed yourself the master of.
But perhaps there will one day be a place where there are no masters, with the wheel turned on its side as a table. A gentle place, ringed with blades so terrible as to repulse even the Royalty who lead nations of armies.
There’s half your problem right there, Zoss. Everybody and their mother wants to be the King of Swords. Nobody wants to be the King of Sensible Policy.
Even Solomon David, who runs the best empire of the seven, has to go all Samurai Seven and insist that his successor pass some absurd trial.
On the topic of Solomon David, he somewhat exemplifies Zoss’s “friendship is power” angle here. Of the seven Demiurges, he relies the most on Emissaries.
It’s just a shame his fire oppresses instead of uplifting them.
*I* would like to be King of Sensible Policy…rational, non-violent policies are the tools of my trade…but I suppose I am something of an unusual case, in this world where bank tellers wield chainsaw halberds and most news anchors are just Gog-Agog. Also, some might say my policies were always more spiteful than sensible. Ah well.
And yes, it is a sad thing indeed that even the most “sensible” of Emperors has made a great Bureaucracy, with even greater Bureaucrats, but his Pride demanded that he remain a true Tyrant in control of everything. A Bureaucracy which is beholden to a Tyrant is no Bureaucracy at all.
“A Bureaucracy which is beholden to a Tyrant is no Bureaucracy at all.”
“When a ruler is above the rule of law, there is no law.”
Everyone thinks they are the King of Sensible Policy. They don’t see when they stop being that. There are no exceptions.
There ARE exceptions – those who know that they are only out for their own glory, without the slightest attempt at sensibility. Such people often reach the heights of powers, more’s the pity.
Hrmm… Reckon nobody is correct. Beside, what is sensible to one person might be downright unreasonable to another person. Guns come to mind, as well as babies, speech, money, religion, pollution… the list is really endless, as are the variations in sensibilities.
“Everyone thinks they are the King of Sensible Policy. They don’t see when they stop being that. There are no exceptions.”
– nobody.
Nice Tarot reference, and an interesting contraposition between Metatron and Allison’s faces. I’m sure there’s a meaning to it.
Unless I miss my guess the panels are:
Temperence
Temperence Reversed (Wrath, Incubus’ sin)
The Devil (Incubus often appears in compositions that seem to reference this card)
Death (His talk of change and finality convinces me I got this one)
The Wheel (obviously, but I’m least confidant on this one.)
The Hanged Man
The Death Omen
The High Priestess
The Heirophant (Unless I missed my guess on 6, and that was the Heirophant)
However there is something to the theory that panels 6 and 8 together also form the two postures of the Temperence card.
idk, I’m not sure whether every panel in this page can be read as a tarot card, but I’m sure there must be more tarot references in the comic. Mammon’s word was the Tower, so that’s one for certain. Time to re-read!
“I see… you’re just a phantom. An echo of a traitor king that abandoned his kingdom.”
Zoss doesn’t deny it… and he was still sufficient to make you jump. Like, out of your chair. And break out in a cold sweat. Perhaps you should check your demiurgal demiunderpants for brown stains at the earliest opportunity. >:=)>
The pup finds his courage when he realizes that the image of the old wolf can’t actually hurt him.
Yap yap yap.
“can’t actually hurt him” ?
Bold statement, I think.
It’s Zoss after all.
Incubus, better than anyone, should remember how dangerous dreams of demiurges can be. That’s his MO.
My little pony!!
Indeed, Zoss speaks of a power beyond the realms of science, mortal comprehension, or even mastery. The power which The God Called “I” shall never know.
Zoss speaks to the most ancient of human powers, that which bent even the tigers and wolves to their will, the Power of Friendship. The power of The God Called “Us.”
so basically he’s calling for uprising. will allison establish glorious luxury gay throne communism
“glorious luxury gay throne communism” might be one of my new favorite phrases I have ever read on the Internet.
I certainly hope so! And then she should change her name to Emperor Fabulous. And wear a feather.
I hope she is egalitarian enough to consider straight thrones.
Do you think she’d accept a throne of black glass, even if she knew it was carved from a death god’s penis bone?
Asking for a friend.
A death god’s black glass penis? There’s a story waiting to be told…
Tꙩ be rꙩyalty is tꙩ be singular, perfect, as YISUN. Tꙩ be YISUN is tꙩ be incꙩmparably bꙩred. Destrꙩy this fate by destrꙩying the very idea ꙩf I, by instead becꙩming We, sꙩ that we are ALL-YIS-UN.
But if we become ALL-YIS-UN, then will we not all be bound to the wheel? Zoss claims that one alone cannot break the Wheel, but if we all become one, then we will all become YISUN once more, and the wheel will start again. How is that conducive to breaking it?
It is like that Spiderman meme.
YISUN is the last thing YISUN would expect.
YISUN nobody, not even YISUNself
Is our crippled brother Metatron perhaps not only Ysun’s scribe, but also His Herald? Would everything return to Ysun’s singular existence if Metatron was to speak His Stolen Name? Has Zoss averted the End of All That Is, but was he unable to change the immutable indestructable nature of Angels? Will the True Key always end back in the hands of its True Wielder? This one ponders and ponders about the road Existence took: from Singularity, to Duality, to Multiplicity, to The Wheel… and as a son of Un, Master of All That Is Not, starts doubting the purpose of my own existence.
It turns out the true strength to master the multiverse is the friends we made along the way.
Also, fire.
Fire, and riding the lightning… everyone else is all “ponies” and I’m like “METALLICA BEFORE THEY BECAME DADS” over here.
“I found Rainbow Dash!”
Anyone else read Zoss’s lines in Mark Hamill’s voice?
Which mark Hamill voice variant? Luke, Joker, regular speaking?
TLJ Luke, also Master Eraqus from Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
“Power builds its own limits”
–BG summation of the Tyrant’s lesson
I kinda want to see Zoss fight someone, even if it’s just in a flashback. He’s supposed to be powerful enough that THE SEVEN are quaking in their boots at the mere mention of his name, but we haven’t really seem him DO very much. He just shows up on occasion to be cryptic.
Yeah there’s like, 1 panel of him pimp-slapping Metatron, but we don’t know much about Metatron either, so we’ve got no frame of reference. It’s all informed badassery.
Perhaps, but part of the point I think is that his power is unimaginable. He’s not omnipotent, but he’s so incredibly powerful that any opponent we see him fight at the height of his power wouldn’t be a good show of it.
In narrative terms he’s no longer a player outside of having philisophical discussions with our protagonist, ‘Alice.’
We don’t need to know how powerful he is in specific because any show of power would be underwhelming, but not only that; his power is no longer meaningful. His power now is only in his influence over Allison.
To make a reference to a sort of similar character; Yoda from the original trilogy is powerful. We can tell because he does something amazing, but also because he’s respected by other powerful people. His important power though is his influence on the protagonist, not his ability to lift up a ship. It might be cool to see him fight when he was in his prime, but it’s not really needed narratively.
TLDR; any show of power from Zoss would be underwhelming and narratively pointless.
On top of that, Zoss’s whole point is that his incredible power was ultimately utterly pointless. He, alone, could do little to truly change the true nature of the Wheel, no matter what techniques he mastered or secrets he unlocked. That it didn’t matter that he could beat up anyone he wanted, because Throne was still rotting and there was nothing he could do to fix it.
To show Zoss doing his thing at the apex of his power would be pointless, because it’d amount to going ‘yep, i sure was strong. i mean, i didn’t do anything because i’m still dead and all my works are naught but ruin and there was nothing i could do to stop it, but hey, that sure was cool!’
I didn’t say Zoss had to be at the height of his power- someone, ANYONE from his past that made a good show of it would be worth watching. Think of all the other characters we’ve gotten backstory on, like Meti/May/Incubus, Solomon-David, Cio, etc. Knowing something about the character’s past gives you context for their present, so they don’t just come off like an arrogant jerk who knows something you don’t and is having a laugh at your expense.
I think you’ve missed some bits showcasing just how potent Metatron Prime is. Even in his broken, bleeding, paralyzed state, his psychic voice alone can crush the mind of a lesser angel.
The one shot something on that level a single moment is no mean feat.
Once you have one punched your way through the armies of heaven itself, the only opponent that could offer a meaningful battle is The Great Enemy Called I.
Us never really savvied why the old man din’t kill Stoneyarse Wingface Metatron – after abusin him t’get the Names o course. All o the others got done in.
Unless praps he was wantin thum Thorny Spikies t’be inspired by ‘tron, and thums’d remove his Great Enemy for him, an break the cycle. An he’d’ve foreknown it an allowed it. Mebbe.
“You have outlived your usefulness”
“Your punishment is … eternal life.”
Strength beyond strength has given us another revelation and taken us beyond quite an achievement I do believe. I hope that’s correct anyway – and that I haven’t succumbed to boggledybrains or something.
Heartfelt congrats and gratitude and the raising of a glass of Lymphatic Sweet Wine for unleashing 501 stonkingly wonderful pages of art and story upon all us worthless supplicants. And may YisUn in their wisdom grant the fertility for many more to come into being.
Alas only one more chapter is the knowledgeable consensus and heavy implication from the pop-up text. One might have wished for a chapter with each demiurge before the grand dénouement, but one shall take whatever is to come, and gladly.
If only one it is to be, then may it be hundreds more pages long.
*HOOTS AND HOLLERS* YEEEEEEEAAAAHHH GOOD SHIT GOOD SHIT
Wait, what does he mean, “final”? Is this the last we see of Zoss? Tell me it isn’t so!
He do be King o Swords. He be wearin ten o thums in most regal fashion.
Wait, only one more title drop? So this is the second-to-last volume?
It would seem so, but then perhaps it is merely that the following volumes shall not drop their titles.
To truly save the world you must spread your flames to others and show them they too can stand proud. Basically the answer is friendship is magic and you should start spreading it.
Breaking the wheel….
As in, like, destroying the 777,777 universes?
He said “breaking”, not, “banishing” or “disintegrating”. Breaking something does not necessarily destroy its constituent parts! I think that in this case, “Breaking the wheel” most likely suggests the destruction of all the infrastructure which keeps the 777, 777 universes in their current shape. A terrifying prospect indeed, but one hopes that the Rising King will help a new shape take form in its place afterwards.
The wheel of power is the connection of those universes. The keys are gates, and it is through that connection they have power. Maybe to break the wheel one must divide the spokes from the hub.
One finds it strange that the wheel Zoss should be depicted bestride should have 8 spokes. One rather thought this one might have had seven.
Well that could be for a number of reasons. Fallibility of the artist (Solomon’s disappearing sandals show that no creator is perfect), perhaps the universe is not so perfectly divided as we had been lead to believe, or maybe the symbol of the wheel is sufficient without exactly reflecting the universes structure, or more likely the metaphor was misplaced on my part. Who can say?
Spot on metaphor, one was surprised to see 8 spokes when there’s so many sevens about. One shall go with symbol sufficiency, and that drawing 777,777 spokes was perhaps not practicable.
The wheel also may well refer to the cyclic nature of the universe’s creation and destruction, and Heaven/Throne’s whiplashing back and forth between totalitarianism and anarchy. This is what 2 Michael and 1 Metatron both fear, and what (I forget but it’s now X+1) Juggernaut Star has spoken of explicitly.
It may well be that Juggernaut Star shall end up an ally before all is said and done. The groundwork has been laid out for it, and now it sounds like in truth their goals are similar, but Juggy has been going about it all wrong.
I think in this case the Wheel is the apparent time loo pthat Juggernaut Star referred to in her tirade. Of which 1 Metatron seems to be either the architect or jailor. It’s insane, I wouldn’t be surprised if 1 Metatron wants to keep this sterile timeloop going forever.
Nothing can be destroyed, only Divided.
And tomorrow White Chain becomes a martyr and sets The Wheel aflame.
I am suddenly overcome by the idea that Alison is gonna have a backstory reveal where it turns out she grew up under a single mother, and the Zoss is her father who left when she was young. The time difference explainable by a literal time difference, wherein the wheel runs far faster than Alison’s homeworld. Thus, she is quite literally his only true heir.
Bah, such fixation on… blood. It is nothing.
An Heir of Blood would not be sufficient to produce the Wheel-breaking Sage King. Zoss needs an Heir of his Mind or Heart, one who wishes as he does.
…damn it. I REALLY need to stop getting blindsided by these freaking Homestuck references everywhere I go.
One does not simply escape the Homestuck.
Alison… I am your FATHER!? Oh god, please don’t.
I’m just here to relish the irony of speaking to the Unreligious Man.
How odd that I have never met one before.
Feh, none o’ these old kings can tell it straight. Always needin’ to be cryptic, these ones!
I suss he’s tellin’ Allison to start an uprising with some buddies, but hells if I know. Maybe friendship’s the best weapon in a war.
Can’t wait to see Alison finally kill 6 billion demons.
In the seventh panel: 21 of swords. I wonder what tarot this belongs to. . .
If you count only the swords that Zoss has sticking in his body, that’d be the Ten of Swords. Upright, that’s usually interpreted as “painful endings, betrayal, a crisis or loss”. Inverted, “regeneration, recovery and avoiding what seemed an inevitable end”. All of it sounds appropriate here.
Yeah and judging by the composition that does seem to be the intention. I’m just being funny.
And the Ten of Swords combined with the Wheel of Fortune could mean a couple things. It could mean the loss of a place of status, a retirement. It can also mean that a person is beaten and defeated, but that they will shortly be in ascension again – though not in a way exactly under their control.
Both would also make a lot of sense here.
Also there’s the King of Swords itself, which stands for “mental clarity, intellectual power, authority and truth”, but when inverted can also mean “misuse of power” and “manipulation”. All of which seem relevant. Especially because Zoss seems to be stating that the King of Swords needs to stand down. He doesn’t expect Alison to take his mantle and continue his work; he wants her to take a different direction, to something that he himself, as King of Swords, is not fit to do.
The question, of course, is what is that thing he wants Allison to do. But maybe he doesn’t really know himself, and that’s why he isn’t more specific (?)
Zoss’s expression in panel four: “Yes, boy, that is my point”
everyone’s surprised KSBD’s got one book left when it’s been running since 2013
The deceptive power of patterns is strong. Easy to count the four demiurges not yet challenged in their own realms and assume a volume for each rather than watching the years or the growth of the story
Abbadon previously suggested that there would be six books. He must have decided to omit or abridge some parts of the arc.
Zoss calls on Allison to split the universe! No gods, no masters, self-determination and multiversal loneliness! In breaking, God’s centrifuge shall fling creation through the void like so many seeds thrown on a field; and like seeds free of their fruit, the worlds shall take root and grow! We love to see it (?)
Reminds me a whole lot of The Scattering from God Emperor of Dune. Humanity, so chained and burdened by the great Tyrant’s rule, suddenly exploding into the infinity of the galaxy, never to be chained by any single event, be it man or otherwise.
There is no strength in publicity and renown, if there is none to admire you. There is no strength in money if there is none to spend it on. There is no strength in the written law if there are none to govern. There is no strength behind the slashing blade if there are none to pierce. There is no strength in possession if there are none who will take you in. There is no strength in war if you have no one to wage it upon. You have no strength over others, other than the strength they give you themselves.
Huh. It’s hard to see everything being wrapped up in one or two books, unless some major time skips are going to be involved.
I suppose Allison could finish rescuing Zoss, declare victory, and go home, leaving the multiverse to do what it wilt.
Err Zaid. Finish rescuing Zaid. Who is definitely not Zoss, and will certainly not travel back in time to start the whole cycle over again at some point in the future.
I think your first instinct was correct, finish rescuing Zoss from the cycle of destruction he started. Very astute of you.
Hm. Nicely done, Abbadon — the King of Swords become the Ten of Swords (panel 7). Very nicely done indeed.
And is Metatron therefore the Hanged Man? He’s always drawn head-down. Both the forward and reverse meanings of that card seem relevant.
I see a Ten of Swords. The dire tarot.
“Sooth’d with the sound, the king grew vain;
Fought all his battles o’er again;
And thrice he routed all his foes, and thrice he slew the slain!
The master saw the madness rise,
His glowing cheeks, his ardent eyes;
And while he Heav’n and earth defy’d,
Chang’d his hand, and check’d his pride.”
Kingdoms, empires, crowns, and swords…
All come to Ash in the end. Even the Great Zoss knew this. The top of the Wheel is Fire, the bottom is Ash ever ground down flat to crush all Potential within. To break it means to toss all such away…
and perhaps something new will finally sprout from the Ash.
What if the real ROYALTY was the friends we made along the way?
A thousand eyes can look, for one that can see…
A king is only such because they are carried aloft by their many subjects. Allison will rise above and be borne by those she trusts with her burden.
The sword is an ugly piece of metal and its adherents idiots.
Only the worst kind of idiot strives to be king.
What does that make a King of Swords?
An Idiot Sandwich.
All of the moments in which Zoss appears in feel so powerful, he has such an imposing presence and his dialogue is just CHEF’S KISS
One wonders if the inside of the Wheel has an inscription, much like a old tale I’ve heard before. “Just know, This too shall pass.” Words that brighten the darkest day, and blot the brightest sun all the same.
Huh. Incubus’ eyes have turned almost solid red.
That can’t be good.
A proper lesson for the world of a king of pride who will never give up his power willingly. The path of Ki Rata was always an empty one…
We all would sometimes like to believe that we can do everything by ourselves, that we surely must be mighty enough to handle it all by our lonesome but in the end it is a group effort.
She who flashed brilliant as the falling lightning brought me delicious presents from the waters.
Now from the flood be born a strong young hero.
May Uruvasi prolong her life for ever.
The Rig Veda/Mandala 10/Hymn 95
Is anyone else weirdly fixated on how uncomfortably wide Zoss must be spreading his legs in that panel where he’s standing on the wheel?
so, this basically sums up the fact that Allison is the TRUE heir? the great debate is over.
also, last book incoming.
I’m…scared.
It’s hard to see how Zaid could have anything to do with being the heir at this point. We are more invested in some of the fighters pursuing Allison than we are with him. I think we’ve seen more panels with the Big Baby than with Zaid.
Take a Bearing:
head for there-in.
Arms he’s wearing
Zoss sought mastery over the wheel, over the infinite worlds, to wield existence itself as a mighty warrior wields a sword.
But existence makes a very poor sword indeed, as it is pointless.
Pointless, but rather edgy.
Edgy, but prone to rust.
The holy trinity of physical damage types: Pointed, Edgy, and Blunt.
I really wish old man Zoss would be a little less cryptic. What does “break the wheel” mean? In-comic, “the wheel” usually refers to the Multiverse. Would he have Allison destroy the Multiverse? Is that what her fate is supposed to be?
Or is she to become the Khaleesi of the 777,777 Kingdoms?
I mean, she’s got the white hair and magic powers already xD
She could maybe break it up into unconnected kingdoms like Al-Yisun divided themselves
I guess that might make for a better state of things, if only because that way homicidal tyrants and genocidal megawars would be confined to their own universe; also, all the yet unconquered universes would remain free. Still, if that is Zoss’ plan, it wouldn’t hurt for him to be a bit more explicit about it.
Now I want a KSBD Tarot
With only one book left, I suppose we will all say a Farewell to Kings soon enough.
Zoss loves… POWER!
Zoss loves… ALICE-UN!
Zoss loves… Revolution.
You see, King of Swords, one person can only do a little violence. Many people can make a big violence. Like, five violence, at least. Maybe more.
One person can have little a violence. As a treat.
Maybe it’s been asked before, but I can’t help but wonder: what happened to Metatron’s curly locks? Did Zoss steal them when he pimp-slapped divine names out of him? IS THAT THE SOURCE OF HIS POWER?!
The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.
A single match can start a roaring fire. You just have to know when to light it.
Definitely when it’s getting a bit nippy. And especially if you need it to boil some water for example, too.
A wheel does little good when lying on its side on the dirt, stood upon by those who can think of it only as a slightly taller pedestal for their own misbegotten arrogance. Any aspiring master of infinity must be prepared to practice their unicycle routine – and be sure to work on a proper dismount technique, you’ll always need it sooner than you think.
Gog Agog has been practicing just that for centuries! But Solomon couldn’t be bothered…
Collectivism is magic. (Insert Soviet anthem)
So, Zoss calling her Alice here makes something I recently learned *delightfully* appropriate: Allison is an English version of the French name Alice. Which means “Nobility”.
I suppose it’s just to bad for the demiurges (and Six Juggernaut Star) that none of them knew French*, or they would never have let mere gender mislead them as to the identity of the Heir.
Lil bitty more delight fer tha – Ruth be compassionsome an mercifull, ie backwise ruthless. (leavin be, the bibli relation o Ruth to Solomon an David an all). An Wanda were a Princess frae Polish folklore, notesomely kind.
Noble, Kind, an Compassionate is us’ Allison Wanda Ruth.
Q: What is Strength?
A: To ask for help.
You keep friends nearby, and you ask for help when you need it, and you won’t just be strong. You’ll be unbeatable. Humdum.
So we basically got to the same Conclusion as in V for Vengeance – after a fashion.
One to break the system, one to rebuild. In this case one to master the rules and govern the system and the next one to break it, and perhaps a future one to rebuild later, who knows.
In plain terms; time to think outside the box. Time to stop following crooked rules and to find a way out of the cycle
Allison! Like White Chain, you must learn: Solomon David is ruled by LAW.
And LAW SERVES.
If you choose well what it serves, it will correct the whole law. JUSTICE IN BALANCE will correct the whole law. PRIDE will bend it until the wheel crushes even diamond.
The wheel spins eternal, it is only by realizing that endings are but new beginnings that you can comprehend its true glory. Even this call to break the wheel is but part of the wheel’s turning. The wheel is not destroyed, merely reshaped.
The world must be destroyed so it may yet be recreated in the purging fire that is to come. The wheel continues to spin.
While the mortal world doubts and questions,
I know exactly what I am.
I am the ceasless wheel,
Atop a mountain of broken bodies.
You are strong child, but
I am beyond strength.
I am the end.
Amazing lines,
One that masters the wheel cannot break it.
It just dawned on me that Zoss probably doesn’t know what Allison is supposed to do. In this page, he pretty much admits that, as Ruler of the Multiverse, he tried to find the right course and failed despite his best efforts. If he, with all his power and wisdom, could not see the right path for himself, how could he direct anyone else towards it?
Unlike Solomon, who wants an heir to take his mantle and continue his work, it looks like old man Zoss is looking for someone who will be able to find a different path; but this path is one that Zoss himself cannot see. He is trying to keep Allison from making he mistakes he made, but he cannot point her towards the right course of action because he doesn’t really know what it is.
It is as they say: A wise man knows that he knows nothing.
(Took him long enough to realize, though)
Cue You Say Run
Wait… just… a minute…
Who’s demons is Allison supposed to kill, anyways?
All the demons.
All of them.
Time to rip a bong and eat ramen with our Warrior of the Broken Sword.
All for the cause, Revolutionary Girl Alice
All for an army to break The Wheel
Taking a break from my terror for a moment…
I had a thought. Auntie Maya. I think I can get over my fears long enough to hope to see exactly how she’s going to fit into this. One who’s name means “Murder the Gods and Topple their Thrones.”
If I’m reading things right, Zoss’s direction is unclear. If that mission is indeed to topple the natural order, would Maya assist? Still seek the key for whatever sinister purpose that might be? What’s she going to do with this?
Though I suspect it’ll be at least a partly aligned purpose if Allison decides to topple those who think themselves Gods. Not that I’d mourn those assholes.
Well shit, now the consideration of the bigger picture has me terrified again.
If this whole world with a really unique belief system and mythology ends with the message of the Power of Freaking Friendship, I am going to be very upset.
Nay, my friend: the message is Revolution. Reach Heaven through violence. Murder the gods and topple their thrones.
Yes, topple the thrones, not place yourself upon them
Strange how a the wheel seen sideways looks like an open wound
Best get crackin’, girlie. You’ve got a a hundred and eight stars stars to make.
And six billion demons that ain’t gonna kill themselves.
Zoss is very spider-like in his representation here. Mandible-like moustache, the gold on his head shining like eyes in the darkness, his cloak as spider fur, artificial hand with a rope thread as he stands on the wheel/web.
Pity the spider is caught in his own web.
Anyone can cook!
Theory: We get a Solomon vs Zoss
Not only is he the king of swords, he has ten swords shoved in like the ten of swords
Beyond thrones. Beyond swords. There is more. Abdication is anointment, not of one brow, but of many. The Heir is not alone.