No Game No Life: Zero

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Together, Izuna and Tet look toward the future, ready to begin the game anew. The story promises that games and choices will continue to shape their world.