No Game No Life: Zero 2017

The Great War begins 6,000 years ago

The Great War erupts across the world as Old Deus and rival races clash over the Suniaster. The Suniaster is meant to reveal itself only to the strongest being, granting godlike power. The conflict devastates the planet and drives humanity to the brink of extinction.

Riku's last colony under siege

Riku leads humanity's last colony as the world crumbles. The war's toll leaves the settlement fragile and constantly targeted. A Demonia attack costs another life and haunts Riku with nightmares and guilt.

Discovery of the Ex-Machina

In a ruined Elvish hideout, Riku discovers an Ex-Machina severed from its hive-mind because it cannot grasp the human heart. The machine's vast logic is frightening, yet it challenges him to a chess game, and he loses. They decide to cooperate so she can learn about humanity.

Shuvi is named

The Ex-Machina designates herself Schwarzer, but Riku names her Shuvi after the color of her hair. Their alliance begins with a wary mutual respect as they learn from one another. The unlikely pair forms a bond amid a world tearing itself apart.

Confronting the human cost

Shuvi's questions about the number of deaths force Riku to confront his own deeds. The stark truth creates tension, but it also deepens Shuvi's understanding of his trauma. The exchange cements their partnership as they continue their work.

Plan to pit rival races against each other

Together they devise a plan to manipulate stronger races into fighting one another, using Shuvi's machinery and the energy of the spirit circuit to redirect power. The aim is to breach the planet's core and seize the Suniaster for themselves. The plan marks a turning point from survival to strategic rebellion.

Riku's proposal

Before the mission advances, Riku formally proposes to Shuvi, showing his commitment despite their differences. Shuvi, who has already destroyed Riku's last home, accepts the bond as a necessary partnership. They prepare to face the dangers ahead together.

The break-in begins; Shuvi seeks the Suniaster

The plan sends Shuvi toward the Suniaster to save Riku's life. She confronts Jibril in a brutal battle and is mortally damaged. Before dying, she reconnects with the Ex-Machina hive mind to marshal their aid for Riku, and she sacrifices the rest of her body, protecting his wedding ring.

The final clash and the Suniaster's rejection

The engines of war slam toward the core as Old Deus and the races unleash their weapons. The Suniaster manifests before Riku but rejects him, and his arm dissolves as he reaches for it. He prays to a God of Games to end the war, a plea that awakens something extraordinary.

Tet becomes the One True God

Tet materializes, grants Riku's final wish in death, and seizes the Suniaster. He uses it to become the One True God and to remake the world, choosing the rhythm of play and strategy over violence. The world is reimagined where games define power and order.

Return to the present

Back in the present, Izuna and Tet sit down to a game of chess. The wager is food, and the game itself becomes a lens for memory and revelation. Tet begins to recount the origins of the world while Izuna listens.

The origin tale unfolds

Tet walks Izuna through the six-thousand-year history of Shuvi, Riku, Corounne, and the Suniaster. The story links the ancient war with the present dynamic and hints at the legends within their world. Izuna sees the echoes of Shuvi and Riku in the modern figures she encounters.

Reincarnation clues

Izuna notes remarkable parallels between Shuvi and Riku and the later pair Shiro and Sora, suggesting reincarnation across lifetimes. Stephanie, Corounne's direct descendant, keeps a necklace engraved with the names Riku and Shuvi scratched into its surface. The threads of fate tighten as the present mirrors the past.