Route

Cosmology of TYPE-MOON
Key Terminology
Nasuverse
Root
Universe
Alternate History
Planet
World
Space Terminology
Dimension
Universe
Celestial Body
Archetype
Counter Force
Ultimate One
Earth
Time Terminology
Time
Alternate History
Quantum Time-Lock
Parallel World
Singularity
Lostbelt
Lost World
Timeline
World Terminology
Texture
Human World
Ends of the World
Reverse Side of the World
Inner Sea of the Planet
Imaginary Number Space
v
Also see World (disambiguation) for other uses of the term "World."

A Route: World (世界(ルート), Sekai(Ruto)?, localized as "Timeline"), also known as Alternate HistoryWP (違う展開の歴史, Chigau Tenkai no Rekishi?), is a sequence of historical Events (事象, Jishō?) that diverges from a known or established reality at a specific point in time, leading to a different future.

Characteristics

getting erased by the Culling during a .

Pruned Events getting erased by the Culling during a Quantum Time-Lock.

Time is a great tree where history naturally branches off into multiple possibilities, creating alternate realities called Routes. However, the universe contains a finite amount of energy. If alternate timelines were allowed to continue increasing without limit, their number would surpass the universe's capacity approximately every 100 years.[1][2] As such, the universe applies a principle known as the Law of Conservation of Events to preserve only a subset of routes.[1] The remaining ones are pruned in a process known as the Culling (伐採, Bassai?). This process usually takes place every 100 years during the Quantum Time-Locks.[1][2] As such, routes are usually classified in one of the following categories:

See Timeline for more information on every known alternate history in TYPE-MOON's shared setting.

Compiled Event

A Compiled Event (編纂事象(へんさんじしょう), Hensan Jishō?, localized as "Items Permissable to Revision" and "Chronicle Theoretical Phenomenon") is a timeline that hasn't been discarded by a Quantum Time-Lock and pruned by the Culling.[citation needed] In gaming terms, a Compiled Event can be considered the "Main Route," as opposed to a Pruned Event, which would be the "Bad Ending."[3]

Parallel World

A Parallel World (並行世界, Heikō Sekai?, also "Adjacent Worlds") is a timeline where actions and events that take place in its present can change the world in any number of ways. That proves such possibilities are alive, and that the world exists on the proper axis.[1] They constitute the primary type of Compiled Events.[citation needed]

Main article: Parallel World

Proper Human History

Proper Human History (汎人類史, Han-jinrui Shi?, lit. "Pan-Human History") is the name given to the Group of Parallel Worlds (並行世界群, Heikō Sekai-Gun?) that advance in adjacence to one another and fall under the Main Trunk (大幹, Daikan?, localized as "Primary Branch") of the Tree of Time.[4] Together they constitute the strongest, most stable timelines.[2]

Time itself is like a giant tree, however, only the trunk at the center can grow tall. While some branches may bear fruit, eventually, they reach their limit, and fall without reaching the future.[1] The Law of Conservation of Events enforced by the Quantum Time-Locks and the Culling makes sure that all the timelines that veered too far from Proper Human History get pruned.[1][2] As such, while there might be some discrepancies between the Parallel Worlds that form the Main Trunk, their futures are generally the same.[4]

According to Gilgamesh, the World of Fate/EX where BB originates from is two or three branches away from the World of Fate/Grand Order.[5]

During Cosmos in the Lostbelt, Novum Chaldea overused Extra Servant Classes that shouldn't exist like Ruler, Alter Ego, and Avenger.[6] Eventually, their Human Order Foundation Rank became E-rank,[7] causing Proper Human History to recognize them as foreign objects that shouldn't exist. To prevent the Storm Border from reaching Chaldea, Proper Human History shielded the Artic with the Wall of Humanity: Lord Camelot.[6]

Lost World

A Lost World (異聞世界, Ibun Sekai?) refers to a type of Lostbelt with the same strength as Proper Human History due to no longer being a "fantasy" and instead becoming "real". They are considered another type of Compiled Events.[8]

Main article: Lost World

Pruned Event

A Pruned Event (剪定事象, Sentei Jishō?, localized as "Items Designated for Removal" and "Pruning Theoretical Phenomenon") is a route that has become a Dead End, losing its potential to branch off into multiple Parallel Worlds. These timelines are nothing but solitary and singular, with a future as immutable as its past.[1] In gaming terms, they could be considered "Bad Endings," as opposed to Compiled Events, which are the "Main Route." However, there isn't anything necessarily evil about them.[3] Pruned Events are simply the result of civilizations making radically different choices than Proper Human History at some point, causing them to have very little resemblence in their present and future.[1] Some worlds may have crumbled by making all the worst choices. Others may have made all the right ones, and advanced too much, too quickly. In either case, they became excessively specialized, becoming Dead Ends whose outcomes are predetermined.[3] Furthermore, moving out of sync with the Main Route causes the timeline to stop being parallel, and in time, to greatly drift from it, losing most of its resemblance to Proper Human History.[1][3]

For all these reasons, Pruned Events are deleted every 100 years during Quantum Time-Locks through a process known as the Culling.[1][2] If Proper Human History was likened to a scroll, then a Pruned Event would be an independent scroll that was discarded once it stopped being useful.[9]

Known Pruned Events:

Lostbelt

Main article: Lostbelt

A Lostbelt (異聞帯(ロストベルト), Ibuntai(Rosutoberuto)?, lit. "Belt of Strange Tales") is an extension of a Pruned Event. They are the result of a Fantasy Tree selecting the point at which the event was pruned, and then, running a simulation of what would have happened if that Alternate History had been allowed to continue up to the modern day. By doing so, the Fantasy Trees effectively prove that history's existence, and the result is projected onto the planet itself. As such, the trees don't rewrite history, but rather, they create it. Ophelia Phamrsolone claims that not even a Chief God like Zeus that once ruled the entire planet could wield this kind of Authority on Earth in the present day, making her wonder what the Alien God's true nature actually is.[12]

Lostbelt Divergence Point Lost Depth Proper Human History resemblance Notes
Russian Lostbelt 1570 AD D Unlisted
Scandinavian Lostbelt 1,000 BC B+ Unlisted
Chinese Lostbelt 210 BC E E
Indian Lostbelt 11900 DV A C
Atlantic Lostbelt 12,000 BC A+ Unlisted
British Lostbelt 12,000 BC EX Unlisted
South American Lostbelt 316 Million years ago A++ Unlisted

Apra World

An Apra World (アプラ世界, Apura Sekai?), also called ApsarasWP Branch (アプサラス分岐, Apusarasu Bunki?), is a term used by Mysterious Executor C.I.E.L and the World of Fate/EX to describe an Ephemeral Branch (泡沫(ほうまつ)の分岐, Utakata no Bunki(Hōmatsu no Bunki)?). This is a type of Route different from a Singularity or a Pruned Event that collapsed on its own. They are branches extremely similar to true history, but much more successful. However, due to this success, they became transient existences and broke apart from the Tree of Time.[13]

Known Apra Worlds:

  • Moon Dubai - AI developed too quickly, causing Humans to develop eternal youth in the 21st Century.

Related Terminology

Law of Conservation of Events

The Conservation of Events (事象保存, Jijou Hozon?) is a principle used by the Universe to determine which timelines should be preserved. The universe's finite energy supply makes it impossible to sustain the Tree of Time's ability to branch off indefinitely.[1][2] Judging by the civilization of Earth alone, the Solar System would collapse within 100 years if the Parallel Worlds expanded without limits.[1] As such, the universe only preserves certain outcomes, those that will retain their potential to branch off in the next generation. Every 100 years, the universe prunes those that have diverged too much through a process known as the Culling.[1][2] The universe continues to expand towards a "future" that no one has seen before and that not even a Higher Order Lifeform could predict. Due to this, it has no interest in investing resources in a timeline whose outcome is "complete in and of themselves" or "finished." For these reasons, Pruned Events, which have become incredibly specialized, transforming into Dead Ends where their future is predetermined, are a prime target for Culling.[3] On the other hand, Parallel Worlds, which as their name implies, advance parallel to one another, share the same future with only minor discrepancies between one another.[4] As such, they are easy to maintain, while retaining the potential to keep branching off.

The Moon Cell applies the same laws as well. The Moon Cell is a self-updating observatory, which continues to record every incident and possibility on Earth. As such, Human Order Foundation governs the Moon just as it does Earth, tracking the various Spiritron Worlds and determining where their futures will come to an end. By the time Fate/EXTELLA takes place, the Solar System is no longer oversaturated with possibilities, so some people extrapolate that the universe can sustain their existence for the next 100,000,000 years.[1]

Quatum Time-Lock

Main article: Quantum Time-Lock

Realm of Infinite

The Realm of Infinite is stated to be neither a Compiled or a Pruned Event.[14]

Main article: Realm of Infinite

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Fate/EXTELLA - Dawn Arc; Chapter 1: Awakening on Thin Ice -Mare Melum, City of Lost Destiny-
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6
    [v] Fate/EXTELLA material - Encyclopedia: Quantum Timelock [Concept][T]

    Spiritron record anchoring band[1].
    A Quantum Timelock is a metaphysical event, it calculates the average “value” of each parallel world’s events, then locks past events down. A phenomenon that separates what was, and is, from what might be.
    Our universe allows for countless possibilities and creates many parallels worlds and histories with different developments.
    The universe has a finite amount of energy to spend maintaining each parallel world. Because the universe itself would expire if these realities were to expand without limit, it conserves energy by, excising worlds, at specific intervals, that have veered too far from the strongest, most stable timelines.
    The Moon Cell has concluded that the universe we perceive of, which should be unstable, is being stabilized across the present, past, and future by this culling process and by quantum time locks.
    The easiest way to visualize the process is to envision time as a giant tree, one that would grow indefinitely if left alone. The excision process is comparable to trimming the unneeded branches and leaving only the trunk of that tree.
    History that becomes a part of the “time lock”2 will not change, even if it is affected by the past and future. The incidents that occur during a time lock will, in fact, never change, no matter what happens.
    Even if one were to go back in time before the time lock to try and change history, once one reached the time lock, history would be forcefully restored to what was already registered there.
    In a universe with quantum time locks, the outcome that is registered in an quantum time lock will not change. A time traveler can only alter the “process” by which it happens, but never the “result.”
    For example, imagine that there was a war in Britain, and that the “result” that was locked in afterwards was that Britain was destroyed.
    Even if you could manage to travel back in time and affect history so that Britain flourished, the war ended peacefully, and everyone had a happy ending… the moment that history reached the time lock, it would cause whatever “corrections” were necessary to ensure that, despite your efforts, Britain was still destroyed.
    You might be able to change the lives of one, two, or perhaps even a handful of people, but you could not change the course of the vast river of human history.
    That is the “Quantum Time Lock,” also known as the “Foundation of Human Order” in the world of magecraft.
    On the other hand, it could be possible to deny human history from its foundations by destroying a quantum time lock through some great feat. But even with that method the most that could be done is deny human history beyond the destroyed quantum time lock.
    The ones who can determine the next coming quantum time lock are those living in the era. Past and future intervention cannot affect the quantum time lock.
    Archimedes’ goal in this game is to completely destroy the Moon Cell before the next quantum time lock, leading to a base world that would start from that precondition.
    While it is normally not something that could happen, to do that Archimedes continued to shift across worlds.
    If Archimedes were to completely shut down the Moon Cell before the setting of the next quantum time lock from his subjective perspective, he would achieve victory.
    Although Archimedes emerges victorious on several occasions, he is not able to destroy the Moon Cell in any timeline.
    While Archimedes was endeavoring to bring his plans to fruition, the Main Character was able to prove proved the route of a world that was average yet with the most potential to grow, and the quantum time lock was decided.
    And just like that, Archimedes’ plans went up in smoke.
    By the way, the timeline where the Main Character entered the titan’s cavern with Archimedes and was split into several pieces (right after the start of the main story of EXTELLA) is listed as “Quantum Time Lock A,” while the True Nero route ending is “Quantum Time Lock B.”
    No matter what Archimedes does within this timeframe, the final “result” has already been determined.

    [1]In the book, the term is printed as 霊子記録固定帯, however in-game (both Extella and FGO) 量子記録固定帯 is used. It is likely that 霊子 (spiritron) instead of 量子 (quantum) in the context of quantum timelock is a typo.

    霊子記録固定帯。
    一定の間隔で事象の平均値を固定化するタイミングの事。
    この宇宙は無数の可能性を許容し、多くの並行世界、違う展開の歴史を生み出している。
    しかしそれを際限なく行うと宇宙の寿命が尽きてしまう為、一定のタイミングで“もっとも強く、安定性を持ったルート” から外れた特例の世界（ルート）を伐採し、エネルギーの無駄な消費を防いできた。
    本来なら不安定な我々の認識宇宙を現在　過去　未来にわたり安定させているのはこの『伐採』と『記録带』によるものとムーンセルは結論づけている。
    放っておけば無限に枝分かれしていく時間という大樹から不要な枝を伐採し、つねに「幹」だけにしていく行為───というのが一番分かりやすいイメージ。
    固定帯となった歴史は過去　未来からの干渉をうけても不動のものとなるため、固定帯にある事象は何があっても変動しない。
    仮に、「固定帯」より過去に移動して歴史を変動させようと、その「固定帯」に到達すれば歴史は強引に復元される。
    霊子記録固定帯がある宇宙において、固定帯として登録された「結果」は決して変わらない。時間移動者に変革できるのはその「過程」だけとなる。
    たとえば「ブリテンが滅んだ」という『結果』が固定された場合。
    時間移動をして「ブリテンを繁栄させ、戦争を終結させ、誰もが幸福になった」という過程を成功させたとしても、歴史が固定帯に入った瞬間に「しかし、それでもブリテンは滅びた」という結果になる。
    一人や二人、何人かの人生は救えるかしもれない。
    しかし人類史という大きなうねりを変えることは決してできない。
    これが霊子記録固定帯、魔術世界では『人理定礎』と呼ばれるもの。
    逆に言えば、何らかの大偉業によってこの『霊子記録固定帯』を破壊できれば人類史を根底から否定する事が可能となるが、その方法でも「破壊した固定帯から先の人類史だけ」を否定するのが限界である。
    次に訪れる『霊子記録固定帯』の決定ができるのは、その時代を生きた者たちだけである。
    過去　未来からの介入では『霊子記録固定帯』に手を出せない。本作におけるアルキメデスの目的は次の霊子記録固定帯が訪れる前に『ムーンセルは壊れた』という結果を作り、その前提から始まる基本世界にすることだった。
    それは本来なら起こりえない展開だが、それを起こすためにアルキメデスはシフトを繰り返した。
    アルキメデスの主観において、次の霊子記録固定帯がかかる前にムーンセルを完全停止させてしまえば彼の勝利だった。
    しかしアルキメデスが勝利する結未はいくつかあっても、ムーンセル完全停止のルートだけは辿り着けなかった。
    そうしているうちにアルキメデスより先に「平均的かつ、今後もっとも広がりを持つ世界」のルートを主人公が証明し、霊子記録固定帯が決定。
    アルキメデスの計画は水泡に帰した。
    ちなみにエクステラ本編開始時、『主人公がアルキメデスと共に巨神の石室に入り、分割された』のが霊子記録固定帯Aである。
    真ネロルートエンディングが霊子記録固定帯Bとなる。
    もうこの間の時間においては、アルキメデスが何をどうしようと「結果」は決定したという訳だ。

  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4
    [v] Fate/EXTELLA material - Encyclopedia: Compiled Events and Pruned Events [Concept] [T]

    This is how the concept of parallel worlds operates in the Fate/EX series.
    It’s easy to understand if you think of Compiled Events as the “main route,” and Pruned Events as the “bad end” route.
    However, Pruned Events are merely worlds where many possibilities have been lost due to excessive specialization and drifting too far from the main route, so they are not necessarily bad or evil routes.
    If you were to divide these flows in terms of good and evil, a good flow would be a flow that is stable and most ripe with the possibility to give birth to other branches in the future,” while a bad flow is “a single flow that has become too radical and has no chance of changing its course because it has become a one-way street with nowhere else to go.”
    There have been Pruned Events that have progressed further than any world within the Compiled Events, including utopian worlds that were filled with hope and happiness. However, since those outcomes are “complete in and of themselves” or “finished,” there is no need to see them through to the end, and so they are “trimmed” at the stage where the requirements for a utopian world are met.
    The universe will not expend energy to create an ending where it already knows what will happen. This is because the universe continues to expand towards a “future” that no one has seen before, that not even a life form of a higher order could predict.

    To give an example using the fighting game Melty Blood, the TATARI route is the Compiled Event, while the Tohno household supreme Kohaku route is a Pruned Event, but I digress.

    『Fate/EX』シリーズにおける並行世界の運営概念。
    編纂事象はメインルート、剪定事象はバッドエンドルート、と考えると大変分かりやすい。
    ただし剪定事象は単に『メインルートから外れすぎて特化した結果、多くの分岐可能性を失った世界』なので、バッド（悪い）という訳ではない。
    善い　悪いに分けるとしたら、
    善い流れとは「安定した、今後も多くの派生を生む可能性に満ちた流れ」であり、
    悪いながれは「先鋭化しすぎた為、もう道を変えられない一本道の流れ」を指す。
    剪定事象の中には編纂事象にあるどんな世界よりも先に進み、希望と幸福に満ちた理想世界もあったと思われる。ただしそれは「それだけでもう完成し、終わるもの」である為、結末まで見る必要はなくなり、理想世界の条件が確定した段階で「剪定」されるのである。
    分かりきった結末の為に宇宙はエネルギーを使わない。
    まだ誰も知り得ない　どれほど高次の生命体でも見通せない“未来”のために宇宙は膨張し続けるのだから。
    さらに蛇足ではあるが、メルティブラッドという格闘ゲームで喩えるとタタリルートが編纂事象であり、遠野家琥珀無双ルートが剪定事象である。

  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Fate/Grand Order - Fate/Accel Zero Order, Prelude
  5. ↑ Fate/Grand Order - Gilgamesh's Voice Lines
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Fate/Grand Order: Ordeal Call - Ordeal Call Prologue
  7. ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Ordeal Call - Paper Moon: Inner World of the Imaginary Number Compass, Prologue
  8. ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Avalon le Fae: The Moment a Planet is Born, Section 14: Eve of the Decisive Battle (I)
  9. ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Ooku: Tokugawa Restoration Labyrinth, Prologue
  10. ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Succession Battle for the New Prime Species, Archetype Inception - Section 21: Wonderer
  11. ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Succession Battle for the New Prime Species, Archetype Inception - Section 18: Lights Out
  12. ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Olympus: Interstellar Mountainous City, Section 18: I Am the Thunder that Smites Stars (I)
  13. ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Archetype Inception: Succession Battle for the New Prime Species, Section 8
  14. ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Epic of Remnant - Shimosa: The Stage of Carnage, Section 15: Ultima Cantica: The Stage of Carnage, Onriedo (Ending)
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