Guilty Gear Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Ggxxacpr Steam Ky
Attention!
This article or one of its sections is incomplete and needs to be expanded further.
Please consider helping us out by adding all the necessary information.

The Arcanum is a book that contains 666 known spells discovered in the world of the Guilty Gear series. Six spells have been banned from the Arcanum, deemed too dangerous to be performed.

Story[]

Upon discovering the existence of the Backyard in the late 20th century, The Original laid the foundation for what would become the study of magic. When he realized his error in creating the Universal Will, he warned the scientific community of an incoming catastrophe, but only a few—those who came to be known as the Apostles—listened.[1] When his prediction came to pass in form of the Dawn of Revival,[2] only his disciples were prepared to provide swift relief to mankind.[1]

In order to restore human civilization,[2] they they helped the world adapt to magic. Though the early stages of magic research were difficult, the Apostles continued to push forward, expanding human knowledge of magic very quickly.[3] The results of that process were, presumably, published in the form of the Arcanum, but the original research that led to the book's creation remains in possession of the Apostles, nowadays known as the Conclave.[4]

Traits[]

Little is known about the Arcanum, only that it contains information about 666 spells, yet six of them have been banned, so in actuality there are 660 castable spells.[4] This set of spells are known by the term of Forbidden Magic (禁呪, Kinju?), and were deemed too dangerous to attempt, or about which too little is known. They involve incredible risk, or can cause horrible side-effects for the caster.[5] These spells are referred to as Forbidden Magic Spells[6] or Covenants of the Condemned[7][note 1] or Hell's Fall Techniques[8] (卑・泥獄墜法, Hi-Deigokutsuihō?), along with a cardinal number. Currently, only two of them are known:

  • The 5th Forbidden Magic Spell (卑・泥獄墜法第5法, Hi-Deigokutsuihō Daigo-hō?), also known as Life-Eating Shadow or Pact of the Shadows (蝕精影陣, Shokusei Eijin?), binds a Forbidden Beast to the caster's shadow, although using the shadow too much will erode the host's life force. The researcher who discovered the spell was so afraid of its effects he put a seal of protection on it that required anyone who cast it to give up their sight. It was used by Zato-ONE,[6] who became a host to Eddie.
  • The 6th Forbidden Magic Spell (卑・泥獄墜法第6法, Hi-Deigokutsuihō Dairo-hō?), also called Angra (アングラ, Angura?), is a spell that, upon casting, enables the user to freely manipulate and control their hair[9] by paying a steep, but unknown price. It was used by Millia Rage,[7] but it is unclear if she took the curse freely or if it was forced upon her.[9]

Otherwise, the current contents of the Arcanum are unknown. It can be assumed, however, that many of the playable cast's abilities are based upon the spells written here. Known spells or types of magic that could be written here include:

  • Element generation - Simply manifesting one of the elements to appear, e.g. cause fire,[10] or light up a small area.[11] Likely, Sol's Gun-Flame and Ky's Stun Edge are examples of this.
  • Seal - It is a form of magic that allows the user to imprison objects, or more commonly, people. The Barrier Prison, and its stronger form the Dimensional Prison, are magicks of this type.
  • Bind (バインド, Baindo?) - This type of magic immobilizes a target in a given spot.[12][13] Anji is able to use them.[12]
  • Barrier - Magic of this type enables the caster to produce a shield around something for whatever purpose, generally used as a protective measure. The most powerful known spell of this type is Absolute Defense: Felion, which can only be cast by the Conclave or the Sanctus Populi.
  • Float (フロート, Furōto?) - A spell that enables the caster to float in midair; it is not a difficult ability, but maintaining a state of floating through inertia and friction requires a lot of training and time to execute.[14] That Man is capable of casting it.[15]
  • Summoning - The act of calling forth objects or even living beings is possible, as demonstrated by May, Testament, Faust, and Baiken.
  • Spatial Deformation (空間歪曲の術, Yūkūkan Waikyoku no Jutsu?) - One of the most powerful types of magic, which can only used by those who fully grasp the theoretical underpinnings of magic and have a gift for information manipulation. Faust's abilities are believed to be of this type.[16] Raven also seems to have a certain mastery over Spatial Deformation magic, beating Faust.[17]
  • Teleportation - ...
  • Telecommunication - ...
  • Climate control - ...

Trivia[]

Notes[]

  1. The English version of GG World incorrectly says this is solely used as alternative name for Angra. In the Japanese version, the title is 卑・泥獄墜法, even though it only mentions Millia's spell. Other material, including the Complete Bible, uses the name for both the fifth and sixth spells.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 [GGWorld - "The Original"]
  2. 2.0 2.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Philosopher B"
  3. [GGWorld - "Apostle"]
  4. 4.0 4.1 [GGWorld - "Arcanum"]
  5. [GGWorld - "Forbidden Magic"]
  6. 6.0 6.1 [GGWorld - "Pact of the Shadows"]
  7. 7.0 7.1 [GGWorld - "Covenant of the Condemned"]
  8. Guilty Gear Codex, pg.59-60
  9. 9.0 9.1 [GGWorld - "Angra"]
  10. [GGWorld - "Components of Magic Production"]
  11. [GGWorld - "Artificial Light"]
  12. 12.0 12.1 Guilty Gear XX script § "Baiken Path 3"
  13. Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "The Alarm Always Rings Unexpectedly"
  14. [GGWorld - "Float"]
  15. Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Showdown B"
  16. [GGWorld - "Spatial Deformation"]
  17. Guilty Gear X Lightning the Argent § "???"


Advertisement