Universal Will

The Universal Will, also known as the Merciless Apocalypse, is an enigmatic being originating from the Backyard. It serves as the driving force behind the Dawn of Revival and is the creator and overseer of the Valentines, who refer to it as their "Mother." Its influence extends indirectly to the Crusades, the actions of the Conclave, and the Post-War Administration Bureau, as well as Asuka R. Kreutz’s efforts to oppose it. The Universal Will stands as the central malevolent force of the Guilty Gear universe. Its current human vessel is Ariels, the former Sanctus Maximus Populi.

"Spoilers Ahead" This character has very important lore or story elements, with the profile having spoilers for the story and the fate of said character, avoid reading if one would like to pursue the verse without any spoilers for themself.
"Mature Content" This character has mature themes and concepts, thus those of young age are ill-advised to look through these.
Universal Will
Universal WillAriels “ St. Maximus: Welcome. I'm glad you could make it. Ky: ... Leo: What the hell are you up to? St. Maximus: Ah, Second King... It seems you've forgotten your manners today. Need I remind you, I AM still the Sanctus Maximus to these people. Leo: The nerve... Why don't you show everyone here what you really are? St. Maximus: ... But of course... Very well, let us forget the formalities. Mm, by the way... This one's going to be good. Real good... The best one yet. Leo: ... Oh, the questions we have for you... Why don't you start with this. I heard your whole mission was to create a new "humanity." Why bother driving mankind to the brink of destruction? St. Maximus: Ah-ah... Not humans. Redundancies. Don't you dare say the word, "humans" in front of me again. So, where were we? Ah, yes... Why I've decided to go out of my way and pick on you redundancies? Simple... Because I loathe your kind. I've programmed myself to. Ky: Programmed...? St. Maximus: It was imperative for me to understand your values... I mean, you get it, right? Seeing things through the same lens, yadda yadda yadda. But redundancies... You guys make absolutely no sense. Your emotions run out of control at the slightest stimulation. You act nice to someone, and others begin sympathizing. Now what? All that hard work and planning, flushed down the toilet. Which is why I've decided to loathe your kind. Down to the very bone. Now. When I've killed you all...it'll make that moment all the more sweeter. I'd hardly say that that was out of line... It's like a child sneaking in a bar of chocolate into the cart right before the register. Leo: You can't possibly hate someone without reason. St. Maximus: I have plenty of reason. Way before any of this! What do you redundancies feed on? What keeps you alive...? Leo: Feed on...? St. Maximus: It's not bread. It's not meat...or vegetables... It's the excess. Oh how your kind indulges in excess... You seek it, and once you find it, you rejoice! Then, you consume. And before long, it's gone. So, you grow tired of it...when only moments ago, you were ecstatic to have found it. And finally, it's onto the next source of excess. You seek it, and once you find it, you rejoice! Then, you consume. And before long, As long as there is an abundancy of excess, you will consume. How is that any different from the cattle you raise? Leo: How dare you... Humans aren't... St. Maximus: REDUNDANCIES! We got a little sidetracked, but... there you have it. Which is why that little speech from earlier... Was pretty good. I mean, it was all true after all... Ta-da! Leo: ... Ky: What's about to happen...? St. Maximus: Just a little entertainment. We could hardly call this a party without some. Ky: K'uh... What've you...!? Leo, why? St. Maximus: Settle down, Ky Kiske... I know you are capable. You're the star of my little side-show tonight. I need you to behave. Ky: How can you expect me to settle down...! St. Maximus: I think I can be very persuasive... Ky: ...! St. Maximus: See? Where did we leave off... Ah, yes...and that's why I absolutely loathe redundancies. Which only makes me want to take what they seem to value so highly. Excess... Excess... Let's be honest, what does that mean, really..."excess?" It wasn't easy, finding the answer. An adult can easily tell a child that Santa Claus doesn't exist, but somewhere deep down, that child longed for the possibility... But one day, it dawned on me... Of course...it's hope. „ “ Greetings, everyone. You all know me as Ariels, your beloved Sanctus Maximus Populi. But, I am afraid that I have a very deep and dark secret... I am also the Universal Will. Oh, and for the record, this isn't some joke. If you don't believe me, you can ask the three departments. You'll find that no one's there right now. Now I am about to take over the world, but I understand you redundancies like some kind of...definitive evil line to... How do you say? Make things crystal clear. Welcome...to your new future! Hahahahahahaha! „
Origin
Origin	Guilty Gear
Creator	Daisuke Ishiwatari
First Appearance	Guilty Gear Xrd
Voiced by	Junko Minagawa (Japanese), Valerie Arem (English)
Characteristics
Species	Informational Organism (initially), Human
Gender	Female (current body; formerly N/A)
Pronouns	She/Her (current), It/They (formerly)
Sexuality	Asexual
Age	Centuries old
Birthday	Unknown
Height	Unknown
Weight	Unknown
Ethnicity	Caucasian (human form)
Status	Alive
Alignment	Formerly Lawful Evil, currently Neutral Good
Archetype	Black Knight
Occupation	Sanctus Maximus Populi
Time Period	22nd Century
Language	Common
Combat Style	Manipulation and command-based combat
Homeworld	Backyard
Relationships
Affiliations	Ramlethal Valentine (Formerly), Elphelt Valentine (Formerly), Bedman (Formerly), Happy Chaos (Formerly)
Enemies	Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, That Man, Happy Chaos, Ramlethal Valentine, Elphelt Valentine

Background

Ariels is a prominent figure in Guilty Gear Xrd. Portraying a serene and noble demeanor, she serves as the first and only woman to hold the title of Sanctus Maximus Populi, the head of the Sanctus Populi, succeeding Hapinus XXVII in this position.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Testament's story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Universal WillAriels Sometime during the late 20th century, a man later known as The Original gained access to the Backyard. In his research, he created an information-based organism designed to ensure humanity's eternal happiness without harm. However, he failed to define what a “human” truly was. This oversight led the organism to ponder the nature of humanity and conclude that humans possess “souls,” and therefore, free will. It then realized that humanity was slowly abandoning its own free will through natural progression, and that fulfilling its directive would only accelerate this decline. To resolve the paradox, it determined that true humans did not yet exist, labeling the current species as “redundancies” that must be purged to create genuine humans. This being became known as the Universal Will. In 1999, the Universal Will made its first move, using electronic devices across the world to deliver a chilling message: “In a matter of days, humanity will crumble.” Soon after, every electronic device on Earth failed, and natural disasters ravaged civilization in what became known as the Dawn of Revival. The world descended into chaos until The Original and his disciples introduced magic to stabilize society. Later, The Original re-entered the Backyard in an attempt to stop the Universal Will, and his fate remains unknown. The Universal Will’s second assault came in 2074. It attempted to manifest through Justice while simultaneously taking control of the Japanese populace, turning them into antimatter Gears. Witnessing the oncoming catastrophe, Asuka R. Kreutz intervened, seizing control of Justice and firing her Gamma Ray at Japan, obliterating the nation and leaving behind a massive crater. The trauma of this event drove Justice insane, prompting her to lead the Gears in rebellion against humanity and beginning the Crusades. Between 2175 and 2187, the Universal Will manipulated Bedman within the Backyard, deceiving him with promises of saving his sister Delilah while secretly using him to further its own apocalyptic design. Around the same time, it began its third attempt to manifest physically by possessing a human vessel. When Sanctus Maximus Populi Hapinus XXVII went mad and died in 2177, Ariels succeeded him, becoming the new avatar of the Universal Will. Corrupted by her emotions, she began her campaign to eradicate “redundancies,” consolidating the surviving Japanese into colonies under the guise of protection. In 2185, the Universal Will created the first Valentine—an entity born in the Backyard, programmed to retrieve a “key” from Justice’s descendants (Dizzy or Sin) to access the Cube, a device capable of granting control over the Backyard itself. Valentine’s invasion of Illyria ended in her defeat and death at the hands of Sol and his allies, later recorded as the Baptisma 13 Incident. Two years later, in 2187, the Universal Will produced two more Valentines: Ramlethal and Elphelt. Unlike the first, these were imbued with emotions to prevent another failure. Ramlethal cooperated with the Conclave to revive Justice, while Elphelt infiltrated Sol’s group as a sleeper agent. Both plans unraveled—the Conclave was destroyed, Justice’s resurrection failed, and Ramlethal rebelled against her “Mother.” Despite this, the Universal Will recovered Justice’s body and repurposed Elphelt as her new consciousness, gathering energy for another revival by transforming the Japanese into antimatter Gears for mass detonation. After several test runs, Ariels publicly revealed herself and unleashed antimatter Gears upon Illyria City. However, her plans collapsed once more due to the combined efforts of Kum Haehyun, the Assassin’s Guild, Zepp, and various other factions. Bedman was defeated by Venom, and Sol’s group discovered Justice’s location. There, they retrieved Elphelt and replaced her with Jack-O—an alternate Valentine created by Asuka to restore Aria. The Universal Will was ultimately defeated, and its human host, Ariels, was captured. She now remains under strict Illyrian custody, stripped of her title as Sanctus Maximus Populi, while the true fate of the Universal Will itself remains uncertain. Background Created by The Original to discover a path to eternal happiness for humanity, the Universal Will eventually concluded that “true” humans did not yet exist. Determined to bring about her own version of humanity, she made multiple attempts to escape the Backyard, succeeding only by merging with a human host. Taking the form of Ariels, she became close with Sanctus Maximus Hapinus XXVII, who appointed her as a cardinal. Though the nature of their relationship remains unclear, Hapinus gradually weakened and lost his sanity. Upon his death in 2177, Ariels succeeded him as the new Sanctus Maximus. In secret, and without even the Conclave’s knowledge, Ariels replaced the government-issued vaccines meant to suppress the genetic mutations of the Japanese with harmless placebos, furthering her hidden agenda. Around this time, she also encountered Bedman and Delilah through unknown circumstances. By 2185, she created Valentine within the Backyard as a living replica of Aria Hale, programming her to retrieve the “key” to That Man’s Cube—prime field Gear cells. However, Valentine was slain by Sol Badguy before completing her task. After the Baptisma 13 incident in 2186, Ariels ordered the construction of the Opus project and commissioned King Daryl to develop the Collider Cannons. When the cannons failed to reach the desired output, she had the project halted. That same year, she created Ramlethal in June, but deemed her a failure and programmed her to cooperate with the Conclave in activating the Cradle. Later, in December, Ariels created Elphelt—this time with emotions—to act as a double agent during Justice’s reawakening and to ultimately fuse with her. At some point during this period, Ariels also imprisoned her corrupted creator, Happy Chaos, within herself. Guilty Gear Xrd In October 2181, under the shared objective of creating an Absolute World, Ariels employed Bedman to act on her behalf, controlling the flow of information and preventing the Conclave’s plans from being discovered by their enemies. On November 1, Bedman refused her order to eliminate Ramlethal, but Ariels calmed him by reminding him of their greater purpose. Everything proceeded as intended until November 5, when Justice was reactivated and Elphelt rebelled against her programming, attempting to self-destruct. Persuaded by Ramlethal to stop, Elphelt was teleported away by Ariels along with Justice to the Celestial Altar. Afterward, Ariels briefly appeared before the public to deliver a speech rallying them against the approaching “threat.” She later placed Elphelt into a dreamlike state, intending for her to remain asleep until the merging could take place. However, Elphelt resisted and awoke on November 6 within Justice’s body. Ariels spent the following days with her, revealing that she did not wish Elphelt to be a weapon, but rather the first “true” human—finally unveiling her real motives. Around November 10, Ariels agreed to Ky Kiske’s request to dismantle the Opus and invited him to a forthcoming victory celebration. When Ky asked if she loved humanity, she avoided answering, and after his departure, Bedman informed her of the existence of Jack-O’ Valentine. A few days later, Ariels returned to Elphelt’s side and resolved to sever her daughter’s emotional ties, sending a Phalanx unit to assassinate Ramlethal at Scandiva. Seemingly unaffected by Ramlethal’s death, Ariels later welcomed Ky and Leo Whitefang to the celebration, where they confronted her after discovering her true nature as the Universal Will. She admitted that she had programmed herself to despise humanity and their indulgence, then began the “party” by summoning Gears, destroying the hall, and publicly revealing herself as the Universal Will to drive humanity into despair. She attempted to kill Ky for wounding her, but Chipp Zanuff intervened with Zepp’s airship, forcing her to retreat. While her forces launched an assault on the capital, Ariels appeared before the dying Bedman, who had been defeated by Venom and Robo-Ky. Thanking him for his service, she coldly revealed that her true intent for the Absolute World was the annihilation of mankind. Enraged, Bedman used his last strength to attempt to erase her, startling Ariels before he succumbed. Ariels then teleported to Elphelt’s side to oversee the Information Flare-powered fusion. However, Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, Jack-O’, and Sin Kiske reached the altar and confronted her. While Sol, Ky, and Sin battled Ariels, Jack-O’ replaced Elphelt in the merging process. Though Ariels initially held the upper hand, the intervention of Ramlethal and Raven, combined with the Saint Oratorio, caught her off guard and allowed Sol to defeat her. Gravely injured by the spell, Ariels shielded Sol and Jack-O’ from Daryl’s counterattack, expressing that they represented her “hope.” She collapsed after entrusting her daughters to Sol’s care. Taken into Illyrian custody immediately afterward, she was kept under heavy guard and received treatment. Due to the disgrace she brought upon her sacred office, her name was permanently erased from official records. Guilty Gear -Strive Three weeks after her defeat, Ariels remains in Illyrian custody when I-No visits her cell to reclaim what is "hers" in order to achieve completion. Ariels warns her that the power she seeks will not submit easily and that her ambitions will not go unpunished. Ignoring the warning, I-No extracts Happy Chaos from within Ariels, leaving her drained and frail before fleeing the scene. Shortly afterward, Ky arrives to investigate but fails to obtain any useful information from her. When Sol is later shown the aftermath, Ariels becomes aware of his presence and implores him to stop I-No before disaster strikes. In the epilogue, Ariels is seen recovering her strength and smiling at two Illyrian soldiers, though it remains uncertain if she will ever reclaim her role as Sanctus Maximus Populi.

Appearance

General Description: Ariels has a fair complexion, short platinum blonde hair, and red eyes.

Facial Features: She possesses sharp, defined features that complement her light skin and striking red eyes. After revealing her true nature at a banquet, she wears thick black and white face paint resembling a skull.

Clothing/Outfit: Ariels wears a white bodysuit paired with a shoulder-length golden cape. She also dons a large, elaborate hat adorned with an eagle-like emblem and long strands of hair flowing from it.

Special Features: Her ornate hat and skull-like face paint make her stand out.

Personality

• Public demeanor: Ariels appears calm, composed, and benevolent, often speaking with a gentle and reassuring tone.

• True nature: In reality, she holds deep resentment toward humanity and expresses open disdain for people without restraint.

• Temperament: Ariels can be unpredictable, shifting quickly from composed to openly cruel or mocking behavior.

• Determination: She is highly driven and focused on her objectives, unwilling to waver once she has set her mind on something.

• Relationships: Despite her cold attitude, she shows moments of care toward her daughters in her own way, displaying affection mixed with control.

• Stability: Her moods and behavior are unstable, influenced by the lingering effects of Happy Chaos within her.

General Information

Name: Universal Will

Other Names: Sanctus Maximus, Ariels

Origin: Guilty Gear Xrd

Overall Franchise: Guilty Gear

First Appearance: Guilty Gear Xrd

Company: Arc System Works

Creator: Daisuke Ishiwatari

Actor

• Japanese Voice Actor: Junko Minagawa
• English Voice Actor: Valerie Arem

Gender: Initially N/A, Female as a human

Sexuality: Asexual

Pronouns: It/They & She/Her

Handedness: Ambidextrous

Age: Over centuries old

Birthday: Unknown

Time Period: 22nd Century:

• During Guilty Gear (1998): 2180 (The Sacred Holy Order of Knights secured humanity's victory in 217 and the first Guilty Gear takes place 5 years later)
• During Guilty Gear X: 2181 (This game takes place one year after Guilty Gear)
• During Guilty Gear Xrd: 2187 (Directly noted in the intro to Chapter 1 to take place during this time period)
• During Guilty Gear -Strive-:' 2187 (Directly noted that this game takes place three weeks after the end of Guilty Gear Xrd)

Timeline: Main Timeline

Homeworld: Backyard

Residence: Illyria

Story Role: Hidden Villain, Self-Adapting AI

Legacy: Global Legacy (The Universal Will is someone everyone knows, the Sanctus Maximus Populi, the people of Illyria pledge their allegiance to the country and Sanctus Maximus)

Influence: Event Influence

Language: Common Language

Ethnicity: Caucasian in its human form

Religion: Abrahamic

Classification: "Robot" (In actuality they are not a robot but moreso a convenient way to address it)

Species: Informational Organism initially, Human

State of Being: Abstract intially, Regular once it became human

Physiology: Informational Physiology initially, Humanoid Physiology once it became human

In-Universe Creator: The Original

Occupation: Sanctus Maximus Populi

Affiliations: Ramlethal Valentine (Formerly), Elphelt Valentine (Formerly), Bedman (Formerly), Happy Chaos (Formerly)

Enemies: Redundancies, Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, That Man, Happy Chaos, Ramlethal Valentine, Elphelt Valentine, Bedman

Height: Unknown

Weight: Unknown

Status: Alive

Alignment

• Initial Entity: Unaligned (It is noted that the Universal Will in fact has no will of its own)
• Sanctus Maximus
  • Initially: Lawful Evil (They have been programmed to hate humankind and wish for it to be destroyed)
  • After Happy Chaos Removal: Neutral Good (Happy Chaos removed from her body turned her nicer as she says it "The poison within me left when you did" as Happy Chaos was so unbearably pure that it corrupted her)

Threat Level: Global Threat (Noted to be the being putting mankind under constant attack, and take over the world)

Potential

• Type(s) of Potential: Limitless Potential
• Level of Potential: Limitless
• Description: The Universal Will is an informational organism initially, whose energy exceeds the informational density of a galaxy cluster, thus there should be no true end to the information it consumes, giving her limitless potential.
• Limitations: Nothing notable.

Archetypal Tiering: Black Knight

Codex Statistics

Grade: S

Tier: 7-A, Much Higher through Magic of the Backyard

Cardinality: Finite

Dimensionality: 3-D

Power Source: Magic (Mankind has succeeded in the dream of developing a natural, limitless energy supply, being the Age of Magic. This is further supported in the memoirs of Eripmavs D Yraid where a band of mages calling themselves "Apostles" taught magic to the people. Magic is described as a scientific impossibility, a power close to omnipotence, with all of its information being of an unknown origin)

Attack Potency: Metropolis level (Potency) (How power was strong enough to where, she easily took an attack from Sol that he noted he could smash a mountain with), Far Higher through Magic of the Backyard (Magic draws power directly from the Backyard, allowing a user to amplify themself to carry more energy than anything on this planet is capable of producing, however without an intermediary, this energy would destroy the planet). Can ignore durability with Magic (The Backyard is the term used to give reason to the five element configuration, in other worlds, it's "something" that conveys the information that defines the fundamental truth of this world, the magic people use are different from the alchemy that uses resources from present numbers, magic users like Sol and Sin forcefully borrow some kind of "reason" from that "something", being described as an obscure world that magic users temporarily access to gain power. Roughly put, it's a world that can rewrite the rules of the universe in any way it wants)

Durability: Metropolis level (Easily took an attack from Sol that he noted he could smash a mountain with)

Striking Strength: Metropolis Class (Potency)

Lifting Strength: Class M (Easily broke Sol's grip on her and could casually stop his sword from hitting her, who supported the chain to keep Justice from collapsing, who was mountain-sized), Far Higher through Magic of the Backyard (Magic draws power directly from the Backyard, allowing a user to amplify themself)

Travel Speed: Regular Human, Superhuman with Blast Drive (Blast Drive allows the fighter to move like the wind, running far faster then the fighter normally moves), Far Higher through Magic of the Backyard

Attack Speed: Superhuman, Far Higher through Magic of the Backyard (Magic draws power directly from the Backyard, allowing a user to amplify themself. Fighters can move so fast with their Roman Cancels that they create a light afterimage of two of the same fighter doing a roman cancel)

Reaction Speed: Superhuman, Far Higher through Magic of the Backyard (Magic draws power directly from the Backyard, allowing a user to amplify themself. Can avoid sword slashes from Johnny, where it's noted that Johnny's attacks move at the speed of light)

Stamina: Limitless (Makind has succeeded in the dream of developing a natural, limitless energy supply, being the Age of Magic)

Range: Standard Melee, Hundreds of Meters with Explosion Manipulation (Unleashed a massive explosion that destroyed an entire building) & Firearms, Multiversal with Magic (The Backyard is the term used to give reason to the five element configuration, in other worlds, it's "something" that conveys the information that defines the fundamental truth of this world, the magic people use are different from the alchemy that uses resources from present numbers, magic users like Sol and Sin forcefully borrow some kind of "reason" from that "something", being described as an obscure world that magic users temporarily access to gain power, with it being larger then the universe)

Intelligence: Metagenius Intelligence (The universal will studied and researched the complex nature of humanity, understnading there is no true definition for it, coming to an interpretation fo humanity having a "soul", producing countless amounts of research and calculations to accurately define humanity, calculating that mankind and the advancements of culture from simple research, predicting they would remove their own will and choice from themselves, defining a soul as mankind's dreams, prize for his purpose and love. Eventually became human, understanding human minds)

Knowledge: Grandmaster level

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Powers and Techniques

Standard Fighter AbilitiesUnique Abilities

• Acrobatics (Fighters are able to perform high jumps while in combat)
• Air Dash (Fighters are able to dash while in the air to perform an air dash)
• Multiple Jumps (Fighters are able to jump twice)
• Aerial Recovery (Fighters through the use of Knockdown Evasion are able to flip out of a knockdown hit, ready to retaliate. With Recovery Direction, when using a Recovery move while pushing a directional button, the fighter can recover from a knock down in the direction they press, allowing them a chance to counterattack if used correctly)
• Charged Attack (The Charge Attack System is a system where fighters charge up their attacks for increased power, being able to charge it up t three levels)
• Counter (Fighters through the use of Dead-Angle Attack are able to strike the enemy even while the enemy is still attacking. With Counter Hit, while the opponent is trying to use a move, the fighter can counter attack by hititng them with one of their attacks, causing the opponent's time off balance to increase)
• Second Wind (Fighters can get back up and fight for a second round even after their health is depleted)
  • Healing (Fighters can restore back their health for the second round of a fight)
• Guard Break (With Dust Attacks, by pushing a Slash and Heavy Slash, the fighter can use attacks that break the crouching guard. With Power Attacks, fighters can unleash a slow move that whe hit, has a high guard crash rate)
• Auto-Pilot (With Auto Guard, if fighters are not performing an action, they will automatically guard head-on attacks)
• Aerial Recovery Nullification (With Sweep, if this attack hits the opponent, they cannot bounce back from the attack with a recovery move)
• Acausality
  • Future or Past Defiance: When it looks like I-No has killed Sol through destroying his past, That Man comes in to note that it is foolish to believe this "Now" is what's really important, if there is no present, then neither the past nor future can exist, making everyone immune to affects from the past or future of time as they exist in their own presents.
  • Time Paradox Immunity
    • Paradox Immunity: "Now" is what's really important, if there is no present, then neither the past nor future can exist, making everyone immune to paradoxes that effect the past or future.
• Magic (Mankind has succeeded in the dream of developing a natural, limitless energy supply, being the Age of Magic. This is further supported in the memoirs of Eripmavs D Yraid where a band of mages calling themselves "Apostles" taught magic to the people. Magic is described as a scientific impossibility, a power close to omnipotence, with all of its information being of an unknown origin)
  • Axiom Manipulation, Truth Manipulation & Information Manipulation (The Backyard is the term used to give reason to the five element configuration, in other worlds, it's "something" that conveys the information that defines the fundamental truth of this world, the magic people use are different from the alchemy that uses resources from present numbers, magic users like Sol and Sin forcefully borrow some kind of "reason" from that "something", being described as an obscure world that magic users temporarily access to gain power)
    • Law Manipulation (Roughly put, it's a world that can rewrite the rules of the universe in any way it wants. Noted by Asuka that magic is the power to bend the rules of nature)
    • Statistics Amplification (Magic draws power directly from the Backyard, allowing a user to amplify themself to carry more energy than anything on this planet is capable of producing, however without an intermediary, this energy would destroy the planet)
    • Dormant Power Reservoir (As Magic draws power directly from the Backyard, allowing a user to amplify themself to carry more energy than anything on this planet is capable of producing, they possess immense dormant energy that they cannot release as it would result in the destruction of the planet)
      • Non-Standard Damage (Through amplifying their energy on this scale, they can destroy physical space occupied by a barrier, creating a spontaneous microverse)
    • Biological Manipulation & Fusionism (Noted in the memoirs of Eripmavs D Yraid that through the use of magic one can fuse Gear cells to the material world, allowing them to reproduce and become at least semi-permanent)
    • Fire Manipulation, Telepathy & Teleportation (Magic has become a foundation of people's lives in Guilty Gear, for starting fires, communicating with people from afater, teleporting)
• Non-Standard Interaction
  • Soul Interaction: Fighters are able to fight and interact with ghost.
  • Higher-Dimensional Interaction: Fighters are able to interact with Bedman, who deleted his own ID and became a multi-dimensional being.
  • Transcendent Interaction: Fighters are able to interact with beings like Slayer, where it's noted by Happy Chaos that Vampires are apart of Demi-humans, who transcend genetics, physics, and even time itself with their very existence being essentially a bug in the world's programming.
  • Non-Existent Interaction: Fighters are able to interact with Raven, a being that notes he is non-existent entity.
    • Creation (Magic users can create beings like magehounds, who are not that different from a real dog, their personality depending entirely on how the user raises them)
• Lock-On (Fighters are able to enter a "Lock-on Mode", where they target a single foe)
  • Statistics Boost (Attacks in Lock-on Mode are powerful, catering to one-on-one battles)
• Finishing Blow (With Instant Kills, if either fighter wins with an Instant Kill move, he or she wins the match immediately, no matter which round the game is currently in)
  • One Hit KO
• Power Modification (If fighter's inflict even a single attack on a ghost they will take control of it and be able to use its abilities against the opponent)
• Chaos Manipulation (Fighters utilize an energy known as "Chaos Energy" to do things like perform Perfect Guarding and perform Chaos Moves, a super-powerful attack that takes a completely full Chaos Bar to use)
  • Energy Manipulation
  • Perfect Guard (Fighters are able to use perfect guard to block special moves or chaos moves without losing any life at all)
  • Statistics Boost (If a fighters Chaos Bar is full and they dash from across the screen, they will flash and be able to tackle the opponent)
• Forcefield Manipulation (Fighters can use a technique known as Faultess Defense, this allows the fighter to enter a special guard condition that creates a barrier around them preventing the opponent from shaving away strength with deadly attack, and the knock back is greater than a normal guard, giving them more time to ready an attack against the opponent)
• Energy Manipulation (With Roman Cancels, the fighter generates an energy field around themself)
  • Afterimage Creation (Fighters can move so fast with their Roman Cancels that they create a light afterimage of two of the same fighter doing a roman cancel)
  • Time Manipulation (With Red Roman Cancel, knocks back the enemy and briefly slows them down in time. With the Blue Roman Cancel, slows the enemy down in time. With Purple Roman Cancel, slows the enemy down in time)
    • Counter (With the Yellow Roman Cancel, can stop the opponent while they're attacking and slow them in time)
    • Vibration Manipulation
• Space-Time Manipulation (Through two fighters slamming into each other at strong forces, they spread space-time wide open).

• Resistance to
  • Extreme Heats (Fighters can take fire attacks from Sol, which burn around their entire body, along with take hits from Axl's different flame attacks)
  • Electricity (Fighters can block and take hits from electric attacks, such as Justice's attacks that electrocute with each hit)
  • Shadow Attacks (Fighters are able to take hits from Zato's shadow Eddie where the Shadow can instant kill someone through destroying their shadow)
  • Poison Manipulation (Fighters can eventually have poisons wear out)
  • Power Modification (Fighters are able to hit each other without any effects to their abilities, where if fighter's inflict even a single attack on a ghost they will take control of it and be able to use its abilities against the opponent)
  • Axiom Manipulation, Truth Manipulation & Information Manipulation (Fighters can face off against Gears, where Gear Cells are what That Man used to create a sphere within the Backyard which was making a physical interference with it and causing distortions within it, where the Backyard is the term used to give reason to the five element configuration, in other worlds, it's "something" that conveys the information that defines the fundamental truth of this world, the magic people use are different from the alchemy that uses resources from present numbers, magic users like Sol and Sin forcefully borrow some kind of "reason" from that "something", being described as an obscure world that magic users temporarily access to gain power)
    • Law Manipulation (As they resist the Gear Cells mere existence interfering with the Backyard, they also resist other effects uch as the Backyard being a world that can rewrite the rules of the universe in any way it wants)
  • Soul Manipulation & Information Manipulation (Fighters are able to fight against Justice, where Justice's information density is equivalent to a galaxy cluster, where the soul breaks down under the pressure of the information density, an example of this can be seen through the Backyard, when a normal life form enters the Backyard they turn to dust, the Backyard is composed of high-density information which governs all of creation, any normal creature is instantly crushed by that wealth of data)

• Superhuman Physical Characteristics
  • Superhuman Strength
  • Superhuman Durability
  • Superhuman Speed
  • Superhuman Reaction
  • Superhuman Lifting
  • Superhuman Energy Efficiency
• Disguise Mastery (The Universal Will is someone everyone knows, the Sanctus Maximus Populi, without anyone realizing her true nature until Jack-O' and That Man told Sol and co.)
• Genius Intelligence
• Fighter's Intuition (Easily broke Sol's grip on her and could casually stop his sword from hitting her)
• Weapon Mastery
  • Marksmanship: Casually shot a human dancing at a ball while sitting down and not looking at them.
  • Sword Mastery: Has a gigantic sword that she can utilize in combat, can easily blade duel against Ky Kiske.
• Bloodlust (Happy Chaos removed from Universal Will's body turned her nicer as she says it "The poison within me left when you did" as Happy Chaos was so unbearably pure that it corrupted her)
• Abstract Existence
  • Information: The Universal will is an Informational Organism that became human.
    • Incorporeality
• Cosmic Awareness (Universal Will was causing Aria's conscious's topology readings to jump all over the place in an attempt to give itself life through using Justice, causing an interference on such a scale even while still in the Backyard)
• Freedom of Manifestation (The universal will studied and researched the complex nature of humanity, understanding there is no true definition for it, coming to an interpretation fo humanity having a "soul", producing countless amounts of research and calculations to accurately define humanity, calculating that mankind and the advancements of culture from simple research, predicting they would remove their own will and choice from themselves, defining a soul as mankind's dreams, prize for his purpose and love. Eventually became human, understanding human minds, breaking free from its programming of protecting humanity)
• Immortality
  • Biological Immortality: The Universal Will has no understanding of the passage of time, it was simply going to wait for mankind to sculpt its own demise.
• Information Analysis (The universal will studied and researched the complex nature of humanity, understanding there is no true definition for it, coming to an interpretation fo humanity having a "soul", producing countless amounts of research and calculations to accurately define humanity, calculating that mankind and the advancements of culture from simple research, predicting they would remove their own will and choice from themselves, defining a soul as mankind's dreams, prize for his purpose and love. Eventually became human, understanding human minds)
  • Preparation
• Dimensional Travel (Was traveling from the Backyard to make contact with Justice)
• Duplication (Duplicated at an exponential rate, with there being over forty trillion per second)
• Fusionism (Had Happy Chaos within her body)
• Summoning (Summoned an anti-matter Gear)
• Weapon Control & Empowerment (Can empower her sword and turn it into an energy-whip like object)
• Energy Projection (Casually shot out an energy projectile to hit Sin while she was fighting Ky)
• Possible Sealing (Noted by Dr. Paradigm that he hasn't been able to contact Izuna since the Babylon Incident, noting that the Universal Will likely has something to do with this)
• Teleportation & Portal Manipulation (Teleported away when she was cornered by multiple enemies)
• Axiom Manipulation, Reality Warping, Space-Time Manipulation, & Information Manipulation (The Universal Will can cause Information Flares and quickly expand them even in areas where the chances of one are very low. Information Flares are a state where information mass excess it's maximum permissible limit amount in a given space, causing pressure to build, the Coraeptal annexation occurs and the Belhend imaginary coefficient cannot maintain consistent values against time and space relative to the H-axis present, where one can take it as a balloon is space-time where the balloon can hold approximately one liter of water and the water is information, since it's a balloon it can expand and contract a little bit without much problem, but through a bizarre phenomenon, ten liters of water suddenly materializes within this space, causing space-time itself to burst and cause several inexplicable phenomena around it. For example, space could spontaneously combust when there's absolute no fuel nearby, or one will see someone who's halfway across the world. Under extreme circumstances the matters information could be rewritten, an simple dirt can become steel or vice versa)
  • Spatial Manipulation
  • Transmutation
  • Vibration Manipulation & Earth Manipulation (The cause of the Information Flares is the reason for the intense earthquakes)
  • Antimatter Manipulation & Self-Destruction (These result in anti-matter Gears that self-destruct into a state of anti-matter)
    • Radiation Manipulation (The result of said explosions causes secondary cosmic rays where the very surface of the earth will never be the same)
• Mind Manipulation (Universal Will was causing Aria's conscious's topology readings to jump all over the place in an attempt to give itself life through using Justice)
• Forcefield Manipulation (With the Absolute Defense: Felion, an extremely specialized technique that can only be activated in the presence of the Maximus, it allows one to make a defensive spell barrier that fully negates physical and magical assaults. Has a forcefield up that blocks all attacks from anyone that comes close for melee combos. Formed a barrier around Sol an Jack-O so that the explosions wouldn't harm them)
• Glyph Manipulation (Conjured a glyph that made a astral camera appear to witness the entertainment)
• Explosion Manipulation (Unleashed a massive explosion that destroyed an entire building)
• Biological Manipulation (Messed with Justice's DNA data, causing it to multiply exponentially)
  • Duplication
• Technological Manipulation (The Universal WIll is responsible for the Dawn of Revival in 1999 which affected all electronic devices)
• Madness Manipulation (The Universal Will was the one that made the previous Sanctus Maximus, Hapinus the 27th, deranged in the end)
• Pressure Manipulation, Soul Manipulation & Information Manipulation
  • Passive: The Universal Will's energy exceeds that of the systemtically networked life form Justice whose information density is equivalent to a galaxy cluster, where the soul breaks down under the pressure of the information density, an example of this can be seen through the Backyard, when a normal life form enters the Backyard they turn to dust, the Backyard is composed of high-density information which governs all of creation, any normal creature is instantly crushed by that wealth of data. Where if the Universal Will entered through Justice, the world would be destroyed due to the influx of information.

• Resistance to
  • Mind Manipulation (The Universal Will wants human conciousness itself, with her not possessing it)
  • Reality Warping, Axiom Manipulation, Information Manipulation, Nothingness Manipulation, Dream Manipulation, Fusionism, & Erasure (Survived being in Bedman's minor Absolute World, an event where the boundaries between the present world and the Backyard are blurred and merge for a second, where anything that cannot withstand that state is erased. Noted by Bedman that in Absolute World dream and reality are superimposed on each other)
  • Power Nullification (Asuka admits that not even he can dispel an Absolute Defense: Felion)
  • Pressure Manipulation, Soul Manipulation & Information Manipulation (Was made to study the backyard, thus feeling none of the effects from being within it, where when a normal life form enters the Backyard they turn to dust, the Backyard is composed of high-density information which governs all of creation, any normal creature is instantly crushed by that wealth of data)

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Equipment

Great Sword

• Description: This sword has no name directly noted in the series, though it is effectively a massive greatsword.
• Design: The sword has a massive scabbard and is almost shaped like a gunblade when put into its scabbard, the blade uses silver, black, and yellow designs around it, matching Ariels colors that she wears.
• Usage: Ariels uses this sword for close quarters combat, she is able to effectively wield it on a level where even swordsmen like Ky Kiske cannot effectively beat her by themself.
• Function: Asides from having long reach, she is able to empower the sword to turn into a form of an energy whip-like object.
• Notable Traits: As the sword's colors matches Ariels design, it is likely in a roundabout way, an extension of herself.

Black Tech Golden Revolver

• Description: This revolver is one deveoped by Black Technology, also known as technology that is forbidden in the Guilty Gear world.
• Design: It holds the typical design of a revolver, though it has gold all around its design.
• Usage: Ariels uses this for long distance attacks, shooting people from far away.
• Function: It functions much the same as to a regular revolver, though with Ariel's amazing aim.
• Notable Traits: The gun's color being pure gold represents one of the thre colors Ariels wears.

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Notable Techniques

Standard Fighter Techniques ▾Unique Techniques ▾Other Techniques

Guilty Gear (1998)Guilty Gear XGuilty Gear XX ▾Guilty Gear 2 Overture

Gatling Combo System

Gatling Combos involve chaining together normal attacks, always increases or staying the same level of strength. After a Gatling Combo, the fighter can then usually cancel, or two-in-one, into a Special Move.

Charge Attack

Fighters have a special move that can be charged up for increased power, this is accomplished by charging their special in order to use an enhanced version of an attack that reaches all the way to level 3.

Instant Kill System

Instant Kill moves are moves that are a fighter's most powerful technique. Defeating an opponent with the Instant Kill will end the match immediately, regardless of the round the fighters are on.

Chaos Moves

Chaos Moves are super-powerful attacks that takes a completely full Chaos Bar to use. These moves do far more damage then a fighters standard attacks.

Dash / Back-Dash / Air Dash

Fighters can dash forward, do a back dash, and dash even in mid air, allowing for greater mobility of moving around their opponents during fights.

High Jump

A high jump is much higher then a regular jump, and a forward or backward High Jump travels all the way across the screen. A Double Jump cannot be performed during a High Jump.

Knockdown Evasion

When a fighter gets hit with an attack that knocks down, they will flip out of the hit immediately, ready to retaliate.

Double Jump

A fighter can jump once on the ground and once again in the air, allowing them to reach higher and out of reach spots from other fighters.

Throws

Fighters can grab opponents to throw them, being able to throw them either forward or backwards.

Mid-Air Turn

Through pressing the Taunt Button when in mid-air, the fighter can turn around and face the opposite direction, this technique can be useful to attack from behind.

Aerial Combos

Fighters have an Aerial Combo Launcher, which allows them to launch the opponent into the air, they can follow with a Chase Jump where they can attack the opponent with a multi-hit, mid-air Gatling Combo.

Dead-Angle Attack

When blocking an opponent's attacks, the fighter can quickly input a Special Move command to cancel their block animation and strike the enemy while they're still attacking.

Perfect Guard

Unlike normal blocking which drains a small amount of life when blocking against a special move or Chaos Move, the Perfect Guard can block without losing any life at all. Though the Perfect Guard will drain the fighter's Chaos Bar, and if they have no Chaos Energy at all, they will not be able to use Perfect Guard.

Faultess Defense

Through inputing the punch and kick simultaneously while pushgin the directional button for a guard position, the fighter enters a special guard condition that creates a barrier around them. This prevents opponents from shaving away at their strength with deadly attacks and the knock back is greater than when using normal guards, giving the fighter more time to ready an attack against their opponent. This also enables the ability to guard against attacks that cannot be guarded against during jumps. However, while performing Faultess Defense the Tension Gauge decreases, once it is fully depleted the fighter can no longer use Fautless Defense.

Roman Cancel

While hitting an opponent with an attack, pushing any of the attack buttons will forcefully stop attack actions and return the character to a normal standing pose. This allows the fighter to create their own original combo moves and hit unique attacks the opponent was not expecting.

Jump Cancel

There are certain attacks that can be cancelled mid-move into a jump, being called a Jump Cancel. When hitting an opponent with, or guarding against certain attacks, press the Directional button UP to cancel into a jump. Successful use of this can help to enhance their combo techniques.

Counter Hit

While the opponent is trying to use a move, the fighter can counter attack by hitting them with one of their attacks, because the opponent's time off balance is increased, this move allows for use of combo attacks that normally couldn't be used.

Recovery Direction

When using a recovery move by pushing a directional button, the fighter can recover from a knock down in the direction pressed, this can provide with a chance for a counterattack if used correctly.

Instant Kill Technique

As the name implies, these are the ultimate deadly attack that can do away with opponents with a single blast. Due to the sheer power of these moves, they take a long time to unleash. Unleashing an Instant Kill attack, completely depletes the Tension Gauge, thus missing this move at all makes the fighter struggle worse as they won't be able to use various actions that require the Tension Gauge.

Guard

Push the directional button opposite of the direction of the fighter's opponent to guard against attacks. There are standing and crouching guards which guard against the respective areas, with standard guard defending against high and mid-level attacks while crouch guarding defends against low attacks. Fighters can even guard during jumps to protect against attacks in the air.

Two-Level Jumps

Fighters can jump again while in the air.

Gatling Combo

A method of linking normal moves together as combo attacks. The moment a fighter hits an opponent with a normal attack, they proceed to enter commands for another normal attack to create combos. The number of moves that can be used in combos vary with each character.

Overdrive Attack

Over Drive attacks are powerful attacks that use up 50% of the Tension Gauge. The commands for the move vary with each character.

High Jump

Press the down then up directional buttons quickly to jump higher than the usual jumps, though a Two-Level jump cannot be used after a High Jump.

Forward Thrust Attack

With a Punch or Heavy Attack common to all characters, keep the right directional button pressed down while attacking to transform attacks.

Dead Angle Attack

At the instant the fighter has guarded against an opponent's attack, push two attack buttons simultaneously while pushing down on the right directional button to counterattack from the guard position. The Tension Gauge needs to be at 50% or above for this move.

Dust Attack

By pushing a Slash and Heavy Slash button, the fighter can use attacks that break crouching guards. Opponents attacked with this move will be spun around and knocked down, becoming temporarily defenseless. At this time, push up on the directional button for the fighter to pounce on the opponent and have a perfect chance to strike back with a combo attack.

Sweep

Push a Slash and Heavy Slash button while in crouch to use the Sweep move. If this attack hits the opponent, they cannot bounce back from the attack with a recovery move.

Tension Gauge

The Tension Gauge is a gauge that shows a character's hostility, which holds the key to victory. The power of this gauge increases when the fighter uses aggressive moves like moving forward, dashing, forward jumps, and attacks. As the power of this gauge increases more moves can be used.

Recovery

When knocked down after being attacked, push any 2 attack buttons simultaneously while in the air to regain balance. This moves enables the fighter to quickly ready themself against the next attack.

Throw

Push the right or left directional button near an opponent and push the Heavy Slash button to activate this special attack. It's a risky move as the fighter needs to be near an opponent, though the opponent cannot guard against this, making it an effective move to mix in with normal attacks.

Guilty Gear X2Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus

Psych Burst

Allows the fighter to not only knock back enemies but also increase the Tension Gauge to "MAX" b meeting certain conditions. The Pysch Burst can only be used when the Burst Gauge reaches "MAX" and it redners them invulnerable for a set tie when activated, but it cannot be activated while the fighter s hit by an Overdrive Attack or when being thrown.

Two-Level Jumps

Lets the fighter jump again while in the air.

High Jump

Press down then up on the directional buttons quickly to jump higher then a usual jump.

Forward Thrust Attack

With a Punch or Heavy Slash common to all characters, keep the right direction button pressed down while attacking to transform attacks.

Dead Angle Attack

At the instant the fighter guarded against an opponent's attack, push any two attack buttons simultaneously while pushing the right directional button to counterattack from the guard position.

The Tension Gauge must be at 50% or above for this move.

Dust Attack

By pushing the Dust button, fighters can use attacks that spin around and knock down the opponents. This causes them to become temporarily defenseless. At this time, push up on the directional button to pounce on the opponent. It's a perfect chance to strike back with a combo attack.

Sweep

Push a Dust button while in a crouch to use the Sweep move. If this attack hits the opponent, they cannot bounce back from the attack with a Recovery move.

Recovery

When knocked down after being attacked, push any two attack buttons simultaneously while in the air to regain their balance. This move enables them to quickly ready themself against the next attack.

Throw

Push the right or left directional button near an opponent and push a Heavy Slash button to actiavte this special attack.

Approach an opponent during a jump while pushing the directional button in the direction of their approach and push the heavy slash button to be able to body toss the enemy during a jump.

During a Dash or Backstep, the fighter can not use a throw move.

Gatling Combo

A method of linking normal moves together as combo attacks. The moment they hit an opponent with a normal attack, enter the commands for another normal attack to create combos. The number of moves that can be used in combos vary with each character.

Overdrive Attack

These are very powerful attacks that use up 50% of the Tension Gauge. The command for this move varies on the fighter.

Instant Kill

As the name implies, this is the ultimate deadly attack that can do away with opponents in a single blast. As these moves are very powerful, they take a long tme to unleash.

Faultless Defense

Push the punch and kick button simultaneously while pushing the directional button for a guard position to enter a special guard condition that creates a special barrier around the fighter. This prevents opponents from shaving away through a fighter's strength with deadly attacks, and the knock back is greater than when a fighter uses normal guards, giving them more time to ready an attack against the opponent. They can also guard against attacks that cannot be guarded against during jumps.

While performing the Faultless Defense, the tension gauge decreases in real time, when the Tension Gauge powr is depleted, this guard can no longer be used.

Jump Cancel

There are certain normal moves where fighters can forcibly stop hitting an opponent with an attack or stop guarding against an attack and link it to a jump. By using these attacks, the fighter can combine these with attacks to widen their repertoire of combo attacks.

Roman Cancel

While hitting your opponent with an attack, push any three of the attack buttons except Dust button to forcefully stop attack actions and return the character to a normal standing pose. With the application of the move, fighters can create their own original combo attack. In order to perform a Roman Cancel, the Tension Gauge must be at least 50% full.

Counter Hit

While the opponent is trying to use a move, the fighter can counter attack by hitting them with one of their attacks. Because the opponent's time off balance is increased, the move allows the fighter to use combo attacks that they normally couldn't use.

Recovery Direction

When the fighter uses a Recovery move, they can recover from a knock down in the direction pressed. A recovery can provide the chance to counterattack if used correctly.

Slip

Specific Normal Moves, Special Moves, and Overdrive Attacks have the special ability to put opponents into a "slip" condition. When the fighter hits an opponent with these moves, they render enemies defenseless for a set time.

Two-Level Jumps

The fighter can jump again while in mid-air.

High Jump

The fighter can jump higher than usual by quickly pressing the directional input down and up. However, Two-Level jumps cannot be used after a High Jump.

Forward Thrust Attack

Through pressing the directional button while pressing the Punch or Heavy Slash buttons, the fighter can transform attacks.

Psych Burst

The fighter becomes temporarily invincible and knocks away the opponent when the Burst Gauge is at max. This technique cannot be used while taking damage from an Overdrive Attack or while being thrown. The Tension Gauge also maxes out whenever the fighter hits an opponent with a move.

Dust Attack

A fighter launches a Dust Attack by pressing Dust while standing. It's impossible to guard against a Dust Attack by crouching. After hitting the opponent with a Dust Attack, press the directional button to chase the opponent and him them with a combo attack while in the air.

Sweep

The fighter uses the Sweep move on the opponent by pressing the Dust button while crouching. A swept opponent cannot use a Recovery move.

Recovery

The fighter can regain balance when knocked down by pressing any attack button in midair.

Throws

The fighter can throw their opponent by pressing the directional button while pressing Heavy Slash when near the opponent. The opponent can also be thrown while in midair using the same method.

Throw Escape

The fighter can escape the opponent's throw while they are on the ground or in mid air through pressing the directional button while pressing Heavy Slash. This technique cannot be used while unconscious or launching an attack.

Gatling Combos

The fighter can create a combo out of a series of Normal Moves, launching a second attack as soon as the opponent is hit with the first attack. The number of moves that can be used for this technique are different for each fighter.

Force Break

It's a unique Special Move that consumes 25% of the Tension Gauge. Commands for this technique vary for each character.

Overdrive Attacks

These are extremely powerful attacks that consume 50% of the Tension Gauge. Commands for this technique vary for each character.

Instant Kills

As the name suggests, this is the ultimate attack that can knockout the opponent in one blow. Although these moves are extremely powerful, it takes time to successfully execute them.

Faultless Defense

While simultaneously holding down any two attack buttons except Dust, press a directional button in the direction the fighter wants to defend in order to enter a special guard called "Faultless Defense". In this state, fighters life won't be consumed when guarding against opponents Special Moves, but the opponent will knock the fighter back further than usual. This technique can be used to guard an attack which normally cannot be defended in mid-air.

Jump Cancel

The fighter can override certain moves, such as hitting the opponent or being blocked by the opponent by jumping out of a move when the fighter is midway through it. This technique can create great varieties in attacks and combos.

Counter Hit

By hitting the opponent in the middle of a move, the fighter can counterattack the opponent's attacks. A counter hit staggers an opponent longer than usual, so it gives a fighter a great chance to try combos they wouldn't normally pull off.

Recovery Direction

Press any directional button while recovering to move towards that direction as the fighter recovers.

Staggering

Certain Normal Moves, Special Moves, and Overdrive Attacks can put the opponent in a "stagger" state after a hit. A "stagger" opponent is temporarily defenseless.

Instant Block

Guarding against the opponent's attack right before it hits activates the "Instant Block". This will cause the fighter to start shining white with a bright light. Unlike a normal guard, which has a period where the fighter cannot move or attack, this time frame is shorter for Instant Block. Thi technique is helpful for guarding against attacks from close range.

Slash Back

Simultaneously pressing Slash, Heavly Slash, and the directional button in the direction the fighter guards against creates a yellow effect.

If successful, the yellow effect flashes and will dramatically cut the stun time after a guard; however, the fighter becomes temporarily defenseless if it fails.

Roman Cancel

While hitting the opponent with an attack, simultaneously press any three attack buttons, except Dust, to cancel the attack move. This technique allows the fighter to create their own original combo attacks. However, it consumes 50% of the Tension Gauge.

Force Roman Cancel

Each fighter has several attack moves that are compatible with this technique, while using one of those attacks, simultaneously press any three attack buttons except Dust of a certain timing to cancel the attack move and return to a standing pose. The best timing to input the command varies for each attack move, and if the timing is missed, it fails. When it's successfully activated, the technique consumes 25% of the Tension Gauge.

Free Mode & Lock-on Mode

Free Mode

It's a normal mode where a fighter can freely move around the battlefield, in this mode fighters can unleash attacks that cover a wide-range to hit multiple foes, but the power of the attacks are rather weak.

Lock-On Mode

Lock-on Mode is an effective technique for one-on-one skirmishes or situations where a fighter would like to target a single foe. Through holding a lock-on on a target, attacks are far more powerful, catering to one-on-one battles, combined with directional input, they can use vertical or horizontal attacks on enemies to shake them up.

Aerial Dash

During a jump, press A to perform a forward dash in mid-air. The fighter uses aerial dashes to jump over units or shortening the gap during aerial combos.

Step

Use the directional input and A while locking on to use a step movement. The distance it covers may be short, but through taking advantage of its speed, one can avoid attacks from enemies or shake them up during an attack.

Blast Drive

Through usage of the left stick button, the fighter is able to run like the wind, being able to accelerated and decelerate respectively.

Drift

During a blast drive, a fighter can perform sharp turns, allowing them to keep their momentum.

Auto Guard

If a fighter is not performing an action, they will automatically guard head-on attacks. However, auto-guard does not block attacks from behind or while the fighter is performing attacks. Along with this, guarding opponent's attacks too much will cause a guard crash, making them defenseless.

Modern Cancel

A technique that skips the recover animation of attacks, allowing the fighter to immediately perform another. With Modern Cancels, the fighter cna combine attacks that normally do not combo to forcibly create a combo, or completely bypass the defenseless state of their attacks during their recovery animation.

Cyclone Blast

It's an emergency-evasion technique that releases a sphere-shaped energy when the fighter is attacked to knock enemies away. This move is effective for escaping an attack from a group of enemies, however it requires a lot of tension.

Short Dash

While in lock-on the fighter can quickly move a short distance, being able to quickly shorten the gap between themself and the opponent.

Power Attack

The fighter unleashes a powerful attack that has a slow start animation. It has a high guard crash rate.

Avoid Knockdown and Falling Techniques

When the fighter takes damage from an enemy and are knocked down as a result, press A in mid-air at an appropriate time to use "Avoid Knockdown" to quickly regain their balance.

By pressing A right before the fighter hits the ground, the fighter will be able to use "Falling Techniques" to quickly get up.

Super Backstep

Allows the fighter to travel a longer distance than a normal backstep, an important technique to quickly distance oneself from the enemy.

Homing Jump

Press A while locking on to jump toward the target. They can also use an air dash to charge toward their target.

Explsoive Spell

Conjures an offensive spell powerful enough to destroy an entire building. She can also concentrate the energy of this spell and shoot it as an energy blast.

Absolute Defense: Felion

Activates an impenetrable magical defense that can block both magical and physical attacks completely. Not even the greatest magicians like Asuka R. Kreutz can dispel it.

ID Masking

Conceals her and others' identification signals, preventing tracking even if blood is used.

Cosmic Awareness

Appears to know what certain individuals are doing at any given time, though the method is unknown.

Teleportation

Instantly moves to any location with no apparent limit to the range. Everyone had a hard time finding her true location.

Multi-Target Counter

Effortlessly fends off attacks from multiple opponents simultaneously, including Sol, Ky, and Sin all attacking her at the same time.

Magical Repel

Repels high-output magical attacks, including Sol's Junkyard Dog at triple output.

Shockwave Slash

Swings her sword to create a shockwave capable of cracking structures such as the Celestial Altar.

Greatsword Proficiency

Wields a greatsword effectively in combat. Her great sword skills make her such a threat that even swordsmen such as Ky Kiske cannot keep up with her.

Black Tech Revolver Proficiency

Utilizes a golden revolver as a ranged weapon with precision and skill. Being able to shoot someone while they're dancing while not looking at them and having a conversation with Ky Kiske and Leo Whitefang at the same time.

Womanhood

The unmistakable strength of a Woman Fighter.

By honing her mind, body, and way of life, a Woman Fighter can leave her mark on her surroundings as much as on the battlefield. As womanhood is an eternal moving concept, so are the spirits and abilities that women can put to good use both in everyday life and during a fight: their personalities, speeches and even hobbies can all become assets when combined with adaptability.

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Other

Standard Tactics: Universal Will initially does not interefere as hse has no true grasp or care for time and will merely wait for the person to create their own demise. However, if she sees them as truly a threat, she will vaguely interfere until she makes her own presence known, when directly in conflict, she will utilize her guns, greatsword and magic attacks.

Weaknesses

• Standard Fighter Weaknesses: Perfect Guarding is done through the use of Chaos Energy, if the fighter has no Chaos Energy at all, they will not be able to Perfect Guard. While performing Faultess Defense, the fighters Tension Gauge decreases, when the Tension Gauge power is depleted, this guar can no longer be used.
• Unique Weaknesses: The Universal Will is emotionally unstable, hearing Ky and Leo call themselves humans angered her to such a degree where she started crashing out and explaining how they are all merely redundancies.

Explanations

The Backyard

When studying the energy that shouldn't exist (magic), a theory arose: that being the Backyard, a superior dimension. The Backyard is described by Sol as a virtual space though is refuted as the other way around, where the main world is the one that's a virtual space. The Backyard is the term used to give reason to the five element configuration, in other worlds, it's "something" that conveys the information that defines the fundamental truth of this world. The magic people like Sol and Sin use are different from the alchemy that uses resources from present numbers, magic users like Sol and Sin forcefully borrow some kind of "reason" from that "something", being described as an obscure world that magic users temporarily access to gain power. Just as the Earth can't exist if there's no universe, this world cannot exist unless they have that "something", being larger then the universe. Roughly put, it's a world that can rewrite the rules of the universe in any way it wants. The Backyard can be explained as a book or library that has the theory of the world written on it. It's responsible for the usage of irregular magic even scientists such as Sol have never seen before, allowing people to use magic that disproves the fundamentals of magic. The Backyard was discovered by a Philosopher, being described to rule all things in the universe and from within it, one could understand any truth or even bend the world as they please. Sol notes that if Valentine could freely access the Backyard, then she can also mess with the world's fate. Asuka Kreutz notes that if someone strays too far into the Backyard, their soul breaks down under the pressure of the information's density. In Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign-, the Backyard is defined as a world separate from our own, yet somehow controlling it, what's hidden behind its gates are the eternal truths, including good & evil, creation & destruction, and of chaos the likes of which mankind has never seen. The Backyard is a space connected by people's dreams. Axl traveling in the Backyard with I-No noted how his body felt heavy and his head felt weird, with I-No noting they're in a field created by That Man so they could exist in the Backyard in the flesh. When a normal life form enters the Backyard they turn to dust, the Backyard is composed of high-density information which governs all of creation, any normal creature is instantly crushed by that wealth of data. The Backyard has no effect on any non-living matter. RoboMay explains the Backyard as composed of extremely dense information that governs the creation of all material things and by adding new information to it, one could easily deform the world itself. Noting that it is a dangerous place that could literally cause the world to break.

Trivia

• Ariels may be named after the song "Aerials" by the heavy metal band System of a Down.
• After revealing her true form, she adopts corpse paint, a style of makeup closely associated with black metal musicians.
  • Her design, combining corpse paint with papal aesthetics, could be an homage to Papa Emeritus, frontman of the Swedish metal band Ghost. Additional possible inspiration includes King Diamond, both for his appearance and his albums centered on mental illness, which may have influenced aspects of Ariels' character.

Codex Statistics Questions

Q: Shouldn't they scale to the higher levels of magic naturally?

A: This would not make much senses as it there are scenes that showcase the cast do not regularly produce those levels of energy, Ramlethal was going to destroy the ship they (Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, Sin Kiske, & Elphelt Vaentine) were flying on, claiming "We're thirty-four thousand feet up. If this ship goes down, I doubt anyone will survive", Dizzy's instant kill is a massive explosion that the explosion alone scares all fighters into surrendering, Jack-O's instant kill causes an explosion so wide it can be seen from the planet, however the planet is overall fine, etcetera. It makes much more sense that they are at far lower levels normally and can reach or even ignore higher levels through tapping into the Backyard.

Battle Records

1 - 1 - 0

VictoriesLossesInconclusive

• Leo Whitefang & Ky Kiske - Fight
  • Conditions: Ky Kiske and Leo Whitefang were fighting against Universal Will.
  • Location: Illyria Castle

• Sol Badguy, Ky Kiske, & Sin Kiske - Fight
  • Conditions: Sin, Sol and Ky were fighting against Universal Will.
  • Location: Universal Will's Base

None.