Asat Pramad backstory & Nihilux speculation (4.3)
(The post was written by two people, so we/us is used in the post and we don't have a big ego)
Meant to post this on the new trailer release, but technical issues got in the way. The post contains our analysis of Asat Pramad's Improv trailer and how it fits in with the first Planarcadia trailer. The post may contain some mistakes. If you saw a typo, no you didn't.
TLDR; We think that Asat and Nihilux are Aha's masks, representing Masked Foolds and Mourning Actors. Akivili became Nanook. Asat plans to shift Trailblazing path into Destruction to kill Trailblazing, while Nihilux is trying to prevent that by backstabbing Destruction.
aka Ahavili doomed yaoi
Asat/Aha journey (mainly Improv Tour Trailer: “Death of the elation”)
1.1 Enroute with Masked Fools against Rubert's I Empire
Followers of Elation started a riot after the fall of the Union, infecting Rubert's computer system with a troll virus called the "Philosopher's Poison" and overthrowing the local robot army. (From Wiki of Laurel Wreath, where it happened)
Also possible link to Stellaron Hunters, which may explain how Asat knew about Trailblazer.
1.2. Enroute against Oroboros
\"Follow Aha and shut that gigantic beast's mouth\" - Asat Pramad, Death of the Elation
Presumably, at the same time Aha took Oroboros’ aftertaste (4.3 storyline).
1.3. Enroute becomes disappointed with Elation
\"Is Aha dead? Over time, he lost his smile as well...\" - Asat Pramad, Death of the Elation
Enroute loses his belief in the Elation, that falied to save everyone, at the same time as Aha loses his smile. It is possible that then Mourning Actors got Aha's blessing.
1.4. Enroute boards Astral Express with intention of saving Elation and becomes Isee
\"Once I start Trailblazing, the stars will bring answers\" - Asat Pramad, Death of the Elation
Enroute, now known as Isee, hopes that Trailblaze can achieve what Elation could not. It supports the theory that Asat is Aha/his mask, as Aha also boarded the Astral Express and travelled with Akivili, as we know from Pompom's complaints.
![\"Yet all he [Isee] witnessed, was people turning paradises into hell\" - Asat Pramad, Death of the Elation](https://preview.redd.it/1tajf860wtah1.jpg?width=2279&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=912367790b826ab2dd89e54f553afbe85a61417b){kind=link}
Yet as Isee travels with the Astral express, he continues to witness the horrors and begins to lose his belief in the Trailblaze, yet he keeps travelling with them.
1.5. Disappearance of Akivili
from \"Death of the Elation\" trailer
Pictured as cracking of the Trailblaze. Chaos on the Astral Express ensures.
1.6. Squid Game on the Astral Express
from \"Death of the Elation\" trailer
The first appearance of the dice that will become Asat Pramad's head! We are not told where exactly it comes from, but it is likely connected to the Destruction.
Our first clue would be the colour - gold, famously associated with Nanook. But also - with the Trailblaze! We will be coming back to that link.
Secondly, the story is supported by the descriptions of the relic set "As Navigator Isee Sees It".
The boots are described as The Navigator's tailor-made leather boots, rumored to possess a special magical power that guides their wearer to every place where they're decidedly not welcome, which again confirms that Isee is no other than Enroute. Must be fun to be a trailblazer, when this is your navigator's special skill.
More interesting here is the ring, that contains the said dice, and lore that goes with it.
...Everything has gone to hell. Complete chaos. Three Nameless left the day before yesterday. Yesterday, five companions fought over the candidacy for the next Navigator during a warp, and a few others tried to dismantle the Express's core engine and take it away. And today? A murder on one of the cars... Finally, the Navigator [Isee] assembled the Nameless. He invited us to play a game, a test of courage, to settle the race to become the next Navigator. - from a Diary of an unnamed Nameless
From which we know that problems started right after the death of Akvili, and Isee organised an existing the chaos into a death game. Not much better, but it confirms that Isee used the die to give game missions to the trailblazers and punish (kill) those who broke the rules.
1.7. Enroute survived and saw Nanook on Adlivun
from \"Death of the Elation\" trailer
Isee travels to the World's End, where he sees newly "birthed" Nanook. This is when Isee's head becomes replaces with the die and he loses his belief in the Trailblazer too. Most likely that is when he takes his current name - Asat Pramad.
Why did he even go to there? Well, it seems like Akivili himself has lead him there. When Isee asked Akivili why can't he find answers he seeks, only more questions, Akivili simply pointed to the distance where nothing existed, yet where all answers seemed to lie hidden (from Navigator's Astral Chart Uniform).
The records of Isee on Adlivun state, from Navigator's Deep Space Mirror:
"Stargazing Log: No. 14758
Date: Amber Era ████
Observation Target: Adlivun
I witnessed the galactic arm crumble like fragile glass, countless stars extinguishing in silence, as if embers in the wind.
Like a painting, all impurities wiped clean, leaving only silent emptiness. Golden radiant flames█cannot be gazed upon█cannot be spoken of█
Golden blood█flames█destruct█ion██birth███answer█appears█?"
At that point, the stargazing logs came to an abrupt halt.
That day also left an irreparable crack on the lens, and the light in the eye behind that lens dimmed completely."
All that leads us to the point where theory about Akivili being "reborn" starts to come together.
- He attempts to destroy his past, the Astral Express and Trailblazer (point 6).
- And when Stella/Caelus first boarded the Astral Express, it was Nanook who gazed upon them and granted us the path of Destruction.
- Also, in the Improv Tour Trailer: "Binge It All! The Truth After the Battle of Irontomb!" Nanook is shown without his legs, which could be referring to him losing his ability to travel (abandoning Trailblaze). And, you know, Aha saying that they lost their love, refering to the same thing, which is Akivili's death.
1.8. Aha loses his head in fight against Oroboros
Headless Asat, headless Aha...
From forementioned "Binge It All! The Truth After the Battle of Irontomb!" we know that Aha grieved Akivili's death and that's when he threw himself at Oroboros (who is described as a seprent) and lost his head.
- When the simulated Aha entered Simulated Universe: Unknowable Domain and confronted Polka Kakamond, THEY claimed that THEY missed the Trailblazer (as Akivili) so much that THEY lost THEIR head.
- "A Tale from the Morrowen Kingdom" is about how Aha lost THEIR head when confronting a serpent. (both from wiki)
While we believe that Akvili did not die for good, he changed after becoming Nanook, and Aha is mourning the Akivili he knew. This could also be the time when Mourning Actor got their blessing (we really know too little about them to know).
1.9. Aha/Asat destroy the Astral Express
from \"Death of the Elation\" trailer
Pom-Pom says it’s Aha’s fault, and we see in the "Death of the Elation" trailer Asat blows up the express. Which is also an act of destruction (Aha alings with destruction), and further solidifies that Asat is Aha's Mask.
SUMMARY: Asat, who is Aha's mask, went from Elation to Trailblaze to Destruction in a search of a way to save the world (sorta). Key moments in Asat's and Aha'a timelines correlate (loss of smile, travelling on Astral Express, loss of head). Akivili "died" and then was "reborn" as Nanook, after which set on destroying his past (the Trailblaze). Asat found out about the "rebirth" and Aha mourned Akivili so hard that hen lost his head. Asat, now aligned with the Destruction, blows up the Astral Express and crushes it into Planarcadia.
Asat’s plan
2.1 Start AE journey again
\"...yet they push the Trailblaze to its demise\" - Asat Pramad, Death of the Elation
We see the him looking at the picture of Himeko. And, from the moment they met, he gives her an Astral Express toy, eager to tell her his stories. He planned from the start to make her start the express again.
from \"Death of the Elation\" trailer
2.2 End it with Destruction again
\"What a splendid joke!\" - Asat Pramad, Death of the Elation
After Himeko's picture, he looks at the evil Trailblazer and blows up the Astral Express in the next scene. Which may allude to Trailblazer choosing path of destruction. This is also where it connects to the "Binge It All! The Truth After the Battle of Irontomb!" improv trailer yet again.
“Will they die again?” - Will Trailblazer who was prevoiusly referred to as Akivili die again, bringing the end of Trailblaze path? To revive, we watch a truly elating add, and then get "Welcome again to Trailblaze" pop-up. Dying implies Trailblaze ending, and revival implies continuation of Trailblazer. Which is similar to Akivili’s fate, if he did in fact become Nanook.
SUMMARY: Asat set off Astral Express using Himeko, and plans to finish the path of Trailblazing using Caelus/Stelle, repeating Akavili's fate.
And finally, we can bring Nihilux into the mix!
3. Nihilux’s connection to all this and her plans
Asat was a Masked Fool, and refers to himself as ‘Fool’ even in his trailer. Nihilux tells us in the plot that she was/is a member of Mourning Actors. In a way, each of them is a mask to represent Aha's two sides, his two major followers' ideals. Masked Fool Aha Asat and Mourning Actor Aha Nihilux.
3.1. Living crisis even in Planarcadia
From 4.0, we know that the only building that still belongs to Murata family is where Furbobo Weekly is located (so there is a fair chance that Ryusuke/Asat lives there, when he stays in Planarcadia). Nihilux is the first president of Furbobo Weekly, and something makes me doubt that she pays rent.
Ashveil is living in a fridge in Furbobo Weekly (which is cold just like Inkfold Hermitage, and lowkey “Ashveil lives in fridge in Furbobo weekly” is just like “Oroboros’ remains are sealed within AHAtopia"). How did Asat know so fast that Ashveil realized the truth about the shadow? Maybe because he was always keeping Ashveil close. And there is a possibility that Nihilux and Asat are allies.
(Random thought that Asat is technically the most successful Lord Ravanger, as he is landlord of Nihilux/Aha)
3.2. ‘Mouring widow’ Aha, who misses THEIR Akvili
\"When stay paths' converge once more\" - Binge It All! The Truth After the Battle of Irontomb!
And "stray path's converging once more" could very easily refer to the time Aha and Akivili spent together on the Astral Express. Nanook also says that he wants to see Aha smile again, which means that he already saw Aha happy. Which yet again supports that Nanook was Akivili.
3.3 Mouring Aha stabs Nanook
from \"Binge It All! The Truth After the Battle of Irontomb!\" improv trailer
That could mean that Nihilux (or Nihilux with Asat) will betray Nanook to revive Akvili (which also explains why watching the ad revives us).
SUMMARY: Nixilux represents Mourning Actors side of Aha and aims to save the Trailblazer and possibly revive Akivili by backstabbing Nanoon. She may or may not be involved with Asat Pramad.
EXTRAS
Fun things I found while doing research for this that are not directly connected to this theory
4.1 People with the golden rose -> Himeko
Collage of screenshots from \"Death of Elation\" and image of Himeko
During "Death of the Elation trailer" we see a kid and other people recieving a golden rose, while at the start of the trailer the red rose that Asat held in his hand turned gold when he gave it to the kid. As Asat says the he wished to bring happiness to the unfortunate, the gold rose may symbolise his attempts to save these people. Yet we know, that Asat (Enroute back then) was nit satisfied with his results.
If we turn to colour symbolysm agaim, red rose would synmolyse Elation, while gold - Trailblaze/Destruction.
It's worth noticing, that Himeko's first design features multiple gold roses, while Himeko Nova has none.
4.2 Abundance, Voracity and Elation trio
Navigator's Deep Space Mirror (from relic set "As Navigator Isee Sees It")
Stargazing Log: No. 14089
Date: Amber Era ████
Observation Target: Oris System, Flavor Source Star
In this civilization where eating is equated with beauty, the more you consume, the more resources you obtain. To cram in more food, stomach expansion surgery has somehow become trendy among the locals. Now the more outrageous the foodcasting, the more it triggers a frenzy of imitation.
I remember now, there was once a Fool who brought a never-ending piece of flesh to the famine-stricken Orisians. Unsurprisingly, boundless Elation turns people into beasts...
Flesh of abundance (Shuhu or another emanator) -> local culture naturally growing into voracity -> all facilitated by elation
Very similar to what is happening on Planarcadia.