Submitted by Pie

What if the Grandmaster were not a physical person but rather a being (or beings) trapped in a separate plane and it is the duty of Ouroboros to unlock the plane and incarnate the Grandmaster?

Before we hop into this theory I would like to thank the Kiseki Wikia for helping in my research and other Kiseki Crackers whose theories I researched and drew from, specifically Aliseyun, Gu4n, and Yotaka.

This theory is meant to discern the identity of the Grandmaster as well as the purpose of the Orpheus Final Plan.

The Warring Gods

Let us start with a look at the Black Records. The first entry tells of a war between two powerful and opposing gods. After the war there are only two things remaining: their kin and the Great Power. It has been previously theorized that the gods are two Sept-Terrions and the kin are the other five. However, let’s step back and look at the context of the Black Records. They tell the exposition and advent of The War of the Lions, so I think it is unlikely that they would mention all seven Sept-Terrions. Rather, imagine if the gods were to be taken a little more literally. Two “celestial titans” sounds more like beings with great power than societies with access to two Sept-Terrions. Keep this in mind as we move on.

Planes, Physical Manifestation, and Keys

Bear with me as I move on to something seemingly unrelated as it all comes together in the end. We know of the existence of other planes. This has been confirmed by Phantasma and by Emma’s comment about McBurn’s sword, Angbar, which ought not to be able to exist in their “plane.” These planes are able to house memories and personalities of people past and present, just like Celeste, and I think that Ouroboros has the power to take and place these “shadows” of people in the planes since Campanella mentions in Star Door 14 that it would be a waste to steal the Jaegers’ memories. I think that these shadows of people can be accessed in more than one way, which would explain the apparition of Crow at the end of Trails of Cold Steel II. Maybe Ouroboros still has use for Awakeners in these planes beyond their deaths and Class VII was unknowingly able to access a plane through the Old Schoolhouse, which is said to be very similar to Phantasma. In fact, maybe even Vita is responsible for Crow’s memories as she is the Witch of the Abyss, the Abyss being the seventh plane of Phantasma. Again, keep this in mind as it all comes together.

I believe that there is a rare and awesome power out there that is able to make a physical manifestation of objects in the planes. This power can be used for good like a dragon giving Mary the Happiness Stone or for less than good like Kernviter and Angbar forged by Divergent Laws. Back to the Divine Knights where the real crack starts. If the Great Power is a Sept-Terrion left behind by the warring gods, then I think that the Divine Knights kin that act as keys to unlocking the Great Power. What does that mean the Great Power is? After the battle of the gods, it is said that their empty shells were lost. However, what filled those shells could have retreated to another plane. The Great Power left behind may be an access point to a higher plane, but not just any plane. It accesses the plane that the warring gods are trapped in after after their mutual defeat. The Divine Knights are able to access these planes which merits their use of the Spirit Path. The Spirit Path, however, only shows a fraction of their power to dimensionally travel, which is fitting since the Divine Knights are only fragments of the Great Power.

The Grandmaster

The idea that the gods are trapped in a plane would explain how Campanella broke the fourth wall in Star Door 14. Ouroboros would have to had inside knowledge of the planes and even the doors, and as Campanella is the right-hand man of the Grandmaster, he would have the knowledge coming from the Grandmasters themselves. You read right, I said Grandmasters. I believe that the Grandmasters are the two gods trapped in the planes.

The Orpheus Final Plan

The existence of two non-physical Grandmasters could be possible given the information at hand. We know the myth of Orpheus going to the underworld to save Eurydice and that the self-consuming serpent of Ouroboros represents the dawn of a new age. Likewise, I believe in a carnation and a resurrection combined. The Orpheus Final Plan is meant to free both of the gods that are trapped in the plane accessed by the Great Power and unlocked by the Divine Knights which explains the need for an Awakener, even if he or she is just a copy in a plane like Crow. This also explains the symbol on the Grandmaster’s column in Star Door 14 and the origin of the Divergent Laws, divergent meaning the two opposing gods, which together forge in their plane the most powerful weapons we have seen and then manifest them in the physical plane. They need the use of the Sept-Terrions because astronomical power, like the ability to manipulate the elements, time, and space, will be needed to incarnate two gods from the plane in which they are trapped.

If you are not a fan of the popular Ein or Aidios Grandmaster theories like me, then hopefully you can get behind the idea that the Grandmasters are not a person but powerful beings not manifested in the physical world.