The Tower of Heaven (楽園の塔 Rakuen no Tō), also known as the R-System, is a taboo Magic Item[1] that can be used to revive a deceased person.[2]
Description[]
The Tower of Heaven, or the eighth tower of the "Resurrection-System" is a Magic Item that allows any person to restore life upon someone who is deceased at the cost of someone else's life.[2] For protection purposes, the construction of the tower has been forbidden by the Magic Council since ancient times. However, a cult of Dark Mages wishing to revive Zeref began working on it years ago. The cult kidnapped children and adults alike and forced them into slavery so that they could construct the tower for them.[3] Thankfully, the cult was defeated through the effort of Erza Scarlet.[4][5] However, possessed Jellal Fernandes continued the construction after blackmailing Erza and forcing her to leave the tower.[6] By the year X784, he had completed the tower and was ready to use it. In order to complete the use of it, though, he needed a sacrifice with a tremendous amount of Magic Power so he chose to use Erza as a sacrifice to revive Zeref.[7]
Localization[]
The Tower of Heaven was formerly located on a small island on the coast of the Caelum Kingdom south of Fiore.[8]
History[]
Originally, the R-System was designed by Zeref himself to resurrect his deceased younger brother. He was, however, urged to abandon this idea by teachers at the Mildian Magic Academy due to its forbidden nature and not helped by the need for a human sacrifice.[9]
In the present, the towers of the R-System were a series of structures that Dark Mages tried to construct and use them in order to revive the most powerful Dark Mage in history, Zeref. A cult that worshiped the Black Arts invested a large sum of money to initiate the building of the R-System. Originally, there were 7 towers, but the Magic Council put an end to their construction, though they never found the eighth tower off the coast of the Caelum Kingdom.[10] The cult kidnapped many people in hope of using them as slaves to complete the tower,[3] using inhumane methods of discipline to keep them in line.[11]
However, the reign of the cult came to an end because of a slave revolt in the year X776. It all started when a slave named Erza Scarlet was punished for the accusation of leading an escape attempt. She was being tortured, losing her right eye as a result. Another slave and a friend of hers, Jellal Fernandes, came to her rescue and saved her, but he was captured by the prison guards. Distraught at his capture, Erza led a revolt[12] to save him successfully,[4] but by that time Jellal had already been brainwashed by Ultear Milkovich, who he thought to be Zeref. Ultimately, Jellal blackmailed Erza and forced her to leave the tower and kept all the other slaves at the tower albeit with much better conditions and decided to finish the tower and use it to revive Zeref.[13]
Exterior Design[]
With its twisted body and sporadically jutting sides, the Tower of Heaven appeared very chaotic and asymmetrical. The bottom and main body of the tower were comprised of overlapping and intertwining lengths of metal tubes which wound together from the ground and straight up into the sky. These giant pipes were held together through a series of smaller tubes which linked the main sections as well as many differently sized and shaped golden decorations which looped over and around the frame of the tower, adding to its unruly presentation. Around the main form of the building a twisted staircase wound, rising around the tower and leading to the throne room at the top.
The already mentioned throne room also added to the disorderly nature of the building, appearing as a giant green sphere encased in a crystal. The surface of the sphere was uneven and blotchy, being decorated with several red eye-shaped symbols, marked in a circle just above the rooms circumference. Additionally, a large amount of sharp crystals were protruding from the green sphere, each one of them pointing randomly from the room and appearing to have been literally grown through the sides of the walls. Keeping these crystals in place was a detailed metal band, which ran around the length of the room. Right at the very top of the tower, another little metal structure protruded, this being a twisted golden cone.[14]
After the destruction of the main body of the tower, all of the metals present on the surface of the building completely disappeared, leaving the tower completely comprised of Etherion-charged Lacrima. This gave the tower a very spindly appearance, with just one main trunk of Lacrima shooting into the sky and a few limbs protruding irregularly from it.[15] When the tower began to reject a large amount of Magic power inside of it, these spiny extensions (as well as the whole tower) began to deform, with Lacrima seeming to melt and re-harden into blotchy growths and giving the tower a more smooth, rounded and almost lumpy appearance.[16]
In complete contrast to the anime's erratic take on the tower, the manga portrayed the Tower of Heaven in a much more orthodox way.
The Tower of Heaven was straight, neat and very symmetrical. The entire building was comprised of many differently shaped sections stacked one upon the other, many of these segments being built from brick and containing large windows and doors. The first floor was octagonal in shape, having no windows or doors. On top of this portion was a much more detailed level, this one having long pillars upon which balconies sat as well as huge windows. The third floor had a very castle-like appearance with four cylinder-shaped corners with pointed cone roofs. In the middle of this square section sat another octagonal level, this one accommodating a curved roof which flowed in a convex fashion from the ceiling. The already mentioned room was also quite odd in shape, being square, but with its walls slowly growing in a trapezoid-like fashion as it proceeded upward. Finally, as the top level, the tower had a cylindrical room, a few tall and dark spines sticking straight up from the top to complete the building in all of its glory. Around the base of this massive structure sat quite a few far smaller, rounded towers, which dotted the coastline of the island, with a staircase leading from them to the base of the main tower.[17]
When the tower was struck by Etherion, it lost the entirety of its symmetrical appearance, also becoming completely comprised of Lacrima. In this form, the tower fluxed inwards and outwards from its base to its tip, being completely overridden with huge chunks of crystals that jutted randomly to sides. The smooth, straight walls also changed, becoming bumpy and uneven, mostly due to the Lacrima appearing to melt in several places and run down the sides of the tower, forming large stalactites which dripped from various sections of the building. Surrounding the tower in different places were series of ribbon-like rings, circling the building and hovering in place.[18]
Magic and Abilities[]
Resurrection System: Suggested by its name, the R-System or "Resurrection-System" allows any person to restore life upon someone who is deceased.[2] However, using this ability requires a high cost. Namely, to complete the process, an enormous amount of Magic Power is required, 2.7 Billion Edeas to be specific.[18] Such a high amount of Magic Power can't be possibly produced by a single Mage, nor even by the combined Magic Power of all the Mages in the continent, as stated by Erza Scarlet. The only thing that can produce that kind of energy is Etherion, a Magic weapon of mass destruction owned by the Magic Council.[19] After receiving the energy it needs to be activated, the tower transforms into its complete form: a giant Lacrima[20] crystal that is blue in color.[15] However, even in its complete form, it is not ready to use until it receives it's second activation requirement: a human sacrifice. The person who is sacrificed must have Magic Power that is on par with, or at least very close to, the level of Magic Power of one of Ten Wizard Saints.[21] The body of the person is then fused with the Lacrima. After fusing with the Lacrima, the body is broken down and reconstructed into the body of the person that the R-System is meant to revive.[22]
Known Prisoners[]
Notable Events[]
During the year X784, Jellal Fernandes had his subordinates, who, along with him, happened to be Erza's childhood friends. They kidnapped Erza Scarlet and brought her to the tower to be used as a sacrifice to revive Zeref.[7] However, Erza broke out of the cell[23] and met up with her guildmates (Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, and Happy) as well as Juvia Lockser.[24] Natsu and co. had come to the tower to rescue Erza.[25] Upon meeting each other in the tower, they all went throughout it, determined to fight and defeat Jellal and his forces to stop his plan. In addition to his subordinates: Simon, Shô, Millianna, and Wally Buchanan, Jellal had also hired Trinity Raven, a group consisting of three powerful assassins from Death's Head Caucus to assist him in his devious plan.[26]
Natsu and Gray fought Fukuro. Natsu was defeated, consumed, and almost digested by him, but Gray stepped in and saved him.[27] Meanwhile, Lucy and Juvia fought Vidaldus Taka, another member of Trinity Raven who was defeated through the use of the Unison Raid.[28] At last, Erza fought and defeated the leader of Trinity Raven, Ikaruga. After her defeat, Ikaruga revealed that the Magic Council was planning to use Etherion to destroy the Tower of Heaven. In order to stop him, Erza went on to face Jellal.[29]
Destruction[]
Jellal and Erza fought and eventually Erza began overpowering him. Once she defeated him, instead of killing him, she pinned him down and said that she planned to die there with him once Etherion was fired at the tower. Jellal convinced Erza that he had given up on his plan and that he wished to die with her as well. The two Mages then hugged as the Council fired Etherion at the tower. After the blast, Erza was surprised to see that she and Jellal were still alive. At that moment, Jellal used Bind Snake to bind Erza and he explained that it was his plan to have Etherion to be fired at the tower because he needed a lot of power to activate it. Jellal then pushed Erza into the tower's Lacrima walls in an attempt to sacrifice her. However, Natsu Dragneel arrived and saved her just in time.[30] After defeating Jellal, Natsu collapsed from exhaustion and Erza was determined to save the others so she attempted to fuse herself with Lacrima in order to stabilize it. However, the tower still was destroyed, but there was no explosion as it shot up into the sky, and thus, it was gone, leaving behind a massive crater. Erza, however, was not killed in the explosion because Natsu had managed to save her and himself from death.[31] However, it was likely Jellal the one that pulled Erza out of the Ethernano and prevented the tower from exploding.[32]
Fights[]
- Tower of Heaven Slaves vs. Tower of Heaven's Guards & Magic Troops
- Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster & Juvia Lockser vs. Tower of Heaven Guards
- Natsu Dragneel & Happy vs. Wally Buchanan & Millianna
- Natsu Dragneel & Simon vs. Fukuro
- Lucy Heartfilia & Juvia Lockser vs. Vidaldus Taka
- Gray Fullbuster vs. Fukuro
- Erza Scarlet & Shô vs. Ikaruga
- Erza Scarlet vs. Jellal Fernandes
- Natsu Dragneel vs. Jellal Fernandes
Trivia[]
- Although the kanji (楽園の塔) for Tower of Heaven translates to Tower of Paradise, the official English distributors of Fairy Tail refer to it as the Tower of Heaven.
References[]
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 78, Page 4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 88, Pages 7-8
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 80, Page 14
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 81, Pages 9-20
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 82, Pages 2-4
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 82, Pages 14-17
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Fairy Tail Manga: Chapters 75-78
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 78, Page 3
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 436, Pages 5-7
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 78, Pages 2-3
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 80, Pages 15-16
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 80, Pages 14-22
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 82, Pages 2-19
- ↑ Fairy Tail Anime: Episode 33
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Fairy Tail Anime: Episode 39
- ↑ Fairy Tail Anime: Episode 40
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 76, Page 18
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 94, Page 10
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 93, Page 9
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 94, Page 9
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 97, Page 10
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 95, Page 9
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 78, Pages 18-19
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 80, Page 5
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 78, Page 5
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 84, Pages 17-18
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapters 85-90
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapters 85-87
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapters 90-92
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapters 93-95
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapter 95-100
- ↑ Fairy Tail Manga: Chapters 101, Page 21