S5E08b: I Am Anathemus

After so long apart, it is finally time that I tell you all the truth that has remained hidden from your eyes...

Plot Summary
Stepping through the doorway, the Anathemites, alongside Aurion and Wicker, find themselves in a strange dream-like space. A realm filled with distant, chaotic imagery, and rooms floating around the void. To Aurion and Wicker, it was merely strange; but to the Anathemites, it was the place where it all started.

Driving this home was the old portrait gallery, which floated past them. The painting that depicted their stalking at the hands of the Nihilius-controlled Reimu was even still there, though it hadn't changed at all since they last saw it. The portrait gallery appeared to be empty from the entity at least, so they steeled themselves and re-entered the gallery.

There they found that alongside the old moments of their lives being shown on the walls, new ones had been added as well, depicting the more recent events of their lives (such as their showdown against Nihilius). The paintings depicting events they should not remember were also still there. As the Anathemites pondered over this, a voice spoke to them. It was the same entity that had been watching over them during both their Manifestations and their Awakenings, as well as the same one that had saved their lives and the lives of the Vulture on Baur. It beckoned to them, and the painting depicting N-Reimu disappeared, being replaced by another door.

On the other side of the door was a very strange place, with chunks of it being replaced with shunks of locations familiar to them, alebit on an individual basis. That is to say, each person standing there, including Aurion and Wicker, observed something else, as even the fragments changed around. A wall could sit next to a distant mountain. However, one thing remained constant throughout it all: a tall black pillar, with blue runes orbiting it at various levels. At the base of this column was an entity that had no form; it instead, much like the room itself, took on whatever form each of them had a preference for. It even said they could change its appearance by just thinking about it really hard.

The entity apologized for waiting so long before it could meet with the Anathemites, but it explained it wanted to grab them when no one else was around. Ultimately, it became a bit impatient, which is why Aurion and Wicker were dragged alongside them.

The entity then went on to introduce itself as none other than Anathemus Himself, albeit just one of the many facets. It said they could refer to him as Guardian if they so wished, as its specific job was to oversee and protect the Dream.

After the initial shock, it was pointed out that, if Guardian was Anathemus, why He was bothering to view them becuase He was supposed to hate them. Guardian admitted that when they woke Him up, he was a bit crabby.

Despite this revelation, Guardian assured them that they were not Gifts, nor would he ever make anyone such. While He was fully aware of the Nihilius Clan, he did nothing to aid them. The Anathemites' coming into being was just the actions of a groggy, confused god.

He then went on to explain that the Anathemites were copies, but at the same time they weren't. He said that, the memories of their own personal experience, and homeworlds, those were all still theirs. Terminos was still T-Arachnos, Oneiros was still O-Arachnos, and Lynna was still the same Olyn. It was the memories that they couldn't have possibly developed, like The General's Head attacking Gensokyo in Hellgate 2 Part III; those were the memories of their original selves.

Guardian elaborated. He said that the portrait gallery, as well as the bizarre space it was found in (which he said was distinctly not the same as "Escherland") was known as the Edge of the Dream. It was the boundary between the Dream world and Reality. The Gallery was, in fact, not a gallery at all, but just a form Guardian forced it to take in order to make it comprehensible to anyone who viewed it. The Gallery's true purpose was to take in information from the real worlds, process it, and then dispense it into the Dream. Because Anathemus is omnipresent even as He sleeps, He still sees all. The Gallery is essentially His window to the waking world.

For instance, He observes all the different Arachni from across the Omniverse, and all that information on their various selves is funnelled into the Gallery, where it then is spread across the Dream. The Gallery does this for essentially everyone and everything in existence.

The Guardian confirmed that this indeed meant that, while they weren't copies of the entities they thought they were, they were indeed Dream copies of their many real counterparts. Both of their homeworlds, and even the lost first one, were in fact worlds of the Dream. This was why they had memories they couldn't have; they were memories of the real thing. This was also why Techquestria was black and frozen when they attempted to return: Anathemus was still half-asleep, so it was only a memory.

He did assure Aurion and Wicker that they were still real, however. And because of that, the two of them should be able to manipulate the Dream as they want, since they are doing something equivalent to having a lucid dream. It simply is that it isn't their dream.

Guardian said that the entire reason he wanted to see them was because of what they are. What they call Anathemites exist and have existed for some time, albeit it miniscule amounts. An "Anathemite" is merely nothing more than a being of the Dream crossing over into Reality. As such, they inevitably learn of the truth, at which point the Guardian takes them in, and recruits them as protectors of the Dream.

The group was unsure of why Anathemus, facet or no, would care so much about the Dream. After all, it wasn't real, and in addition, He was supposed to hate everything. Why would He protect the Dream? Furthermore, they asked that, since protecting the Dream meant prolonging it, and therefore delaying His rampage, there would be no reason at all for Him to protect it; if anything, He should want to expedite the process.

Guardian was forced to confess that his existence as a facet was different from the others. He was actually a facet that was working against the rest of Himself.

To this end, Guardian linked the protection of the Dream to the protection of the real world. So long as the Dream remained, Anathemus would never wake up. Guardian claimed that it was because of His actions throughout the eons that He never did.

Nihilius and Valis were then brought up. Terminos, hesitantly, asked if Valis was right about the Dream and what happens when it ends. Guardian assured them that, no, it is far less terrible than Valis claimed. First of all, Valis neglected to mention to his followers that any afterlife in the Dream would be taken as well. More importantly, however, was the simple fact that no one would feel anything. It would be quiet and painless. Guardian likened it to time simply freezing. They were already mental contructs, so going from a dream to a mere memory of a dream was hardly much different; just one moved while the other did not.

Another question was posed. If the Anathemites were beings born of the Dream, why did Valis have the ability to overpower them so easily? And why was his Clan sharing the name with the entity that claimed he was a loyal servant?

Guardian explained that Nihilius and Valis were both two of the Dream's oldest creations. When they elevated themselves from mere ideas, Nihilius was given the purpose of essentially cleansing the Dream. Valis, however, was envious, and wished to have that job himself in order to quench his own destructive thirst. However, Valis was no match for Nihilius, and failed numerous times. Even after Valis tapped into the power of the Dream Engine, which essentially gave him absolute authority over the entire Dream as it was equal to lucid dreaming, he was still no match for Nihilius. Defeated, Valis left the Dream and decided to cleanse the Waking world instead, naming his cult after his "brother" in order to spite him.

Privately, though, Guardian wondered if that was truly the case, or if Valis was always meant to be the scourge of Reality, just as Nihilius was the scourge of the Dream. Though, unlike Nihilius, Valis didn't seem to be aware of that possibility. Regardless, Guardian considered both to be threats to the Dream. He, as well as his followers, had clashed with both entities across the ages.

Oneiros wondered why he would bother recruiting those like themselves, given how often they tend to screw up and behave violently when they shouldn't need to. Guardian admitted that they were not His first choice, but entities that cross over are so rare, even on such a massive timescale, that He must take what He can get.

He also gave them a warning about their powers. While their re-entry into the Dream would restore their full powers, He told them to avoid using them too much. The constant use of Nihility, especially at the scale they had been using, can lead to permanent scarring of the spacetime continuum. Such displays of power should be reserved for only when necessary, otherwise the results could be catastrophic. Guardian went so far as to claim that it was their constant use of Nihility that had weakened Universe 17's borders so much that Nihilius was allowed to follow them.

He likewise gave a warning to Aurion and Wicker. While their existence as beings of Reality entering the Dream would give them full control over it, even bypassing use of the Engine, doing so too much would be wresting control away from Anathemus. Should that happen too much, it might disturb Him and wake Him up.

Guardian also said that technically, Anathemites can't die. Because they are projections of nothing, when they die outside of the Dream, whatever afterlife system is in place won't be able to do anything with them. As such, they tend to just regenerate. The only reason they seem to "die" after the third death is because the Guardian summons them before the immortality starts going to their heads. He confirmed that this is indeed what happened to Executor, who was even now working on his mission. A mission Guardian wanted the rest of them to assist with.

Guardian was aware of the current war between the Alliance and the Sayans. However, He foresaw that, despite their union against the enemy, the Alliance will be defeated. He saw the Alliance make a mighty push against the Homeworld, only to fall into a trap. The Sayans would manage to take control of the [i]Head,[/i] and destroy virtually the entire assault force. From there on, the Sayans would be unstoppable, and within a period of five years, everyone within the Alliance, including even The General himself, would be Sayanized.

Guardian said their loss was because of the Sayan's noted immunity to Nihility, and even use of it. He explained that some time ago, unknown to him due to the nature of dreams, another entity had done what Aurion and Wicker did. That is to say, a being of Reality crossing into the Dream. However, unlike them, this entity partially fused with Anathemus, and Nihility began to run through their systems. This entity was none other than the Sayan Queen, though if it was the current one the Guardian he did not know.

Regardless, upon her intrusion, Guardian created the Sayan Extermination Units. This was essentially a rewrite of the Dream, something he injected into the Gallery to force certain histories to include being turned into Exterminators. He had chosen SDM and the many Dream equivalents, which explained the bizarre conversation Executor and Hellgate had many years ago.

In fact, that Hellgate was part of their mission. Now that the war had broken out, Guardian has begun the process of activating the Exterminators, preparing them to aid the Alliance in the homeworld assault. However, three Exterminators were unresponsive. They were both of the fused Hellgates (who were also Group Leaders, so their absence was a major problem) and Terminos' Factory, the one who had been sealed by Patchouli.

Guardian said the reason the Factory was not responding was fairly obvious, and that they would return to Techquestria in order to find a way to break the curse Patchouli had placed on him. The Hellgates, however, would be more difficult. Guardian believed their immense power, their own journey to the Real world, as well as the simple fact that they are a fused being was giving them a strong resistance to the call of the Exterminators within them. To compound the matter, Guardian had no idea where the Hellgates were. He only knew they were still amassing god auras.

Regardless, he opened a doorway that would lead back to Techquestria, Terminos' home. He advised them to start with the Factory, suggesting they find a way to move to the lower layers of the dimension and attack the curse directly. For the Hellgates, he assumed they would encounter him before long. He did inform them not to tell anyone of the truth about their existence. Anathemites were almost always created by accident; beings who stumbled into the Edge unintentionally. Guardian wanted to keep it that way, and allow the Dream denizens ot carry on their normal lives.

Before sending them on their way, however, Guardian offered them some assistance. They saw the Dream Engine activate, and soon a mechanical horse stood before them: Executor. Or more specifically, Executor's body, with the mind of his Exterminator in full control instead. Guardian explained that Executor himself was off activating the other Exterminators, so their reunion would have to wait. Unit 117 was still capable of combat, however, and Guardian could communicate to them through it.

As they stepped through the door, Guardian left them with a warning. They had all been gone a long time, so the world may be different from how they remember it...

Soundtrack

 * 1) Special Opening Theme - Main Theme (Buck Bumble)
 * 2) Path to the Truth - Face Shrine (Bullet Philharmonic Orchestra)
 * 3) I Am Anathemus - The Last Judgement (Super Robot Wars 3)
 * 4) The Guardian - Mantis' Hymm (Metal Gear Solid)
 * 5) That Which Should Not Be - Nightmare (Nox Arcana)
 * 6) Unit 117 - The Incomplete Stone (Nier)

Trivia

 * This was the first episode to air after the split.
 * The name "I Am Anathemus" has several meanings:
 * It refers to the Guardian Himself, who is a facet of Anathemus.
 * It refers to the Anathemites, as being Dream copies makes them projections of Anathemus' own sub-conscious.
 * It ironically does not refer to Executor and his iconic speech to Terminos, an intentional deception by SDM.
 * This was one of the longest episodes on record, getting a relatively early start and ending at a time most others don't even reach.
 * SDM had been planning this episode since shortly after Season 3 began.
 * The Guardian's apology for waiting so long was a slight nod to SDM's own inability to fit in this episode until much, much later.
 * SDM had been looking for a reason to justify this episode happening and rejoining with the abandoned plot the Anathemites were in before being thrown to EQ4. It wasn't until he began developing the Sayan storyline that he found a way to bridge the two otherwise-unrelated storylines: Using the Exterminators that he originally planned as a foreshadow to a storyline later on had the Anathemites followed his plot.
 * Because the concept of a race of "Sayans" started as a joke, he had no qualms about making a storyline about them in an RP he ahd already determined to take place in Anathemus' Dream. However, as the story progressed and they left the Dream, he was forced to make the Sayans "real" in order to create the aforementioned link.
 * The concept of living in Anathemus' Dream had been around as early as Season 2, but its planned reveal never came to pass. The plot of this episode is in fact a successor to the original idea.
 * The use of Buck Bumble and GB were special one-time openings, as both songs relate to the Anathemites:
 * Buck Bumble was a song "accidentally" posted during Season 3 where it started a tradition of playing songs before runs. After the run, SDM revealed that he had actually posted the song intentionally out of mischievousness, and that his justification of posting it "accidentally" was a lie.
 * GB held a place in the hearts of the players for its oddly-fitting lyrics.
 * The use of "Face Shrine" was an intentional nod to Link's Awakening, the fourth entry in the Legend of Zelda series. It specifically refers to the Face Shrine dungeon/mini-dungeon where the truth about the island is revealed to the player. SDM acknowledges the game as being an at-the-time unconscious influence that he later embraced when re-discovering the game.
 * He goes on to claim that the entire Dream arm of the Mythos was based entirely on that same existential fear the game instilled in him due to his young age.
 * SDM had to hide the fact that the entire first half of the XRP was set in the dream for five years.