Nayuta no Kiseki occupies an odd place in the Kiseki series, and fans tend to think of it as an enjoyable outing but not part of the same world as the ‘mainline’ Kiseki storyline. This theory builds on my previous theory (posted to this site under the title ‘The Wizard of Ouroboros’) and includes new hints from Hajimari no Kiseki.

Please note this post includes endgame spoilers for Sen IV and Nayuta as well as partial spoilers for Hajimari.

To briefly summarize the original theory, the continent of Zemuria is in fact the lost continent of Lexandria from the world of Nayuta no Kiseki, transported into another dimension by Aidios to save it and its people from the catastrophe that tore a gaping hole out of the planet, and the Grandmaster is in fact a Mythos like Signa and Creha.

Hajimari no Kiseki, when announced, spurred renewed musings about possible links to Nayuta, given the similar font used in the title logos and the similar jewelry worn by the Grandmaster and by Nayuta’s heroine Creha.

To start, here is a list of similarities/differences and possible links I have noticed in the two game universes. I have referred to the games and to the Kiseki wiki’s timeline in compiling this (non-exhaustive) list.

1. Both stories use the same currency (mira) and the same measurements (selge, etc). They do not have the same religion or the same calendar (which could indicate either different histories, or that they’re unrelated). Both worlds have magical crystals which respond to 7 different types of light or magical energies. Incidentally, Nayuta was released in 2012, after Ao and before Sen.
2. Mishy, the mascot character of Zero no Kiseki’s Mishelam Wonderland theme park, is an entirely fictional character in Zemuria, but appears as a real—though vanishingly rare—animal in the world of Nayuta. It could be an animal that has gone extinct on the Zemurian side, but which still exists in the original world.
3. Nayuta Herschel comes from a family of natural historians and helps found a museum on his home island. A person by the same last name founded a museum in Heimdallr. If you visit his house in Heimdallr, you’ll find a globe on the desk. This item is surprisingly rare in Zemuria and indicates an interest in the world outside the continent.
4. Towa Herschel’s S-Craft in Sen no Kiseki 2 recalls the seasonal magic of Nayuta.
5. All versions of the Reverie Corridor have remarkable similarities to Terra, such as The Illusory Hills, a special bonus area in the True Reverie Corridor in Hajimari, presents the same atmosphere as Terra, with dreamlike natural vistas populated by cute monsters and empty of humans, and with occasional buildings that recall the Ruins Tower that was Nayuta’s first stage. The gate to this area even looks very like the gate in Nayuta’s backyard that leads to Terra, with a glowing white portal with a rounded top surrounded by greenery. The Hills have variations based on the time of day, but there appears to be a change of seasons as well, as the same area will have trees with green leaves and grass or autumnal red leaves and snow. (One area even looks like a particular stage in Nayuta, with an overhanging ridge stop a frozen lake.) Players can activate teleports in these stages that appear as a shining red pillar of light on a metal platform, much like in Nayuta.
6. Terra means Earth in Latin. Zemlya means Earth in Russian.
7. Ouroboros Enforcer no. 1, McBurn, has blue hair with red streaks and wears ties in his hair and around his neck and glasses. He also carries a broadsword. Notably no other characters do the hair tie thing quite the same way (residents of Nord wear hair ties but in a different style.) Presumably the red streaks are from the mixing and the blue is his original color. Apparently he came into existence in 1156, about 6 years after the Orbal revolution and after the creation of the Bracer Guild. He seems ageless but looks about in his twenties. He also has a rather polite speech pattern when he’s not high on fighting spirit/the power of unquenchable demonic flames from the Outside. McBurn also refrains from fighting people who can’t hit back, possibly scruples retained from his original self.
8. Nayuta has blue hair with ties in it and, as an aspiring scholar, could very well end up using glasses at some point. Most of his swords are broadswords. He looks up to someone who wears ties around his neck (Signa) and together they founded a general handyman service which finds cats, fights monsters, delivers people’s lunches, etc. Basically a small-scale Bracer Guild. I don’t recall if his age is ever given but he looks about 14.

Finally, Hajimari tells us created dimensions can alter someone’s knowledge or memories when they enter.

A few caveats, evidence that points the other way, or nowhere in particular:

1. One of the dolls for sale in Celdic looks like Noi.
2. Kondo has said in an interview that the use of the name Herschel is similar to Tezuka’s star system (in which the same characters reappeared in different stories in different roles, like Hollywood stars acting in different movies.)
3. There is a group of islands far to the south of Zemuria that looks rather like Remnant Island.

And now for the fun part (or in other words, the crack part of this crack theory.)

Assuming the previous theory is correct and Zemuria is actually the destroyed continent of Lexandria from Nayuta’s world transported into another dimension (possibly even the Outside) by a Mythos or group of Mythos named or led by Aidios. This would be a separate faction from Zext – while Zext worked on stopping the war, evacuating people from the Earth, and restoring the planet, Aidios simply removed the continent she was on from the game board. They both gave their projects names in honor of the Earth. The border between the real world and Zemuria is still permeable: people who go to the end of the world wind up in Zemuria, only with their memories altered.

Nayuta’s parents, or just his dad, wound up in Heimdallr and ended up having more kids (one of them being Towa’s parent.) Nayuta, having stayed behind, saved the world, and getting cabin fever, goes to explore the new area created by the restoration of the planet and also see if he can find any clues about his parents. He winds up in Zemuria too, but around Leman area. To make a living, Nayuta carries on the same general services career he had with Signa, and ends up helping found the Bracer Guild. 6 years later, now an adult and working on a way to get home with the Epstein Orbal experiments, he ends up possessed by an Outside being and McBurn is created. McBurn keeps wearing his hair ties as a habit without realizing where they were from. Without access to his original memories, when McBurn realizes his true nature, he mistakenly concludes the human side was just a regular Zemurian.

Meanwhile Nayuta just happens to have friends who are determined, dedicated, long-lived, and capable enough to continue searching for survivors for centuries after the destruction of their civilization. 50 years would not stop them from looking for Nayuta – and the Grandmaster, seeking to save the world and with only a few years left to do it, would probably jump at the chance to acquire the Mythos’ Lightwings…