The Amiverse Literary Universe

SYNOPSIS

Following a strained, apologetic reunion, Team Dalton ventures into the infamous Demon Realm for the next round of the tournament and special training under Vestera Hizoku himself. While traveling through the Demon Realm to the dragon's home, they learn more about the land they have feared, as well as the past of their demon teammate. The grueling training under Vestera strengthens them greatly, but also keeps them isolated as Yokouro and the Kage Lords continue to make moves in the shadows. When Dalton and his team realize their isolation, the trap is already sprung. Yokouro plans to recreate the Tournament Slaughter and has made sure that Vestera cannot interfere, leaving Team Dalton to try and stop a repeat of the catastrophe from four decades prior. But little do they know, their enemy has one final trick up his sleeve, and it's one that devastates the team so severely that Dalton turns his back on his destiny, unable to bear the pain of what he is expected to sacrifice to secure his victory over the threat to the five realms.

KEY CHARACTERS

Dalton Teban Top Ranked Guardian Keito DeVero Demon Guardian Eclipse Retani Top Ranked Guardian Mitoki Ecaep Top Ranked Guardian Hanyi Treneke Beast Guardian Vestera Hizoku Guardian Apprentice Yokouro DeVastes Demon Old Blood Lord Juki Kage Demon Old Blood Lord Rutu Kaneaka-Kage Demon Old Blood Lord Kreeanya Kage Juki's First Child Shina Kage Juki's Second Child Kaneuta Kage Juki's Third Child Jikia Topesca Trainer to Team Dalton Tarrena Topesca Jikia's Daughter Kanya Todac Keito's Adoptive Mother

DIMENSION GUARDIAN SERIES

The Guardian Tournament

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Blind Ambitions

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Fate

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Imbalance

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Scars in Time

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Continuum

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MILD SPOILERS AHEAD: The following information contains spoilers for the Amiverse.

IN-BOOK MENTIONED CONNECTIONS

BOOK_LINK D.E.M.O.N.

Even though the events of Inside are millions of years in the past by the time Dimension Guardian takes place, the demon species residing in the Demon Realm are all descendants of the bloodlines created during the D.E.M.O.N. Project.

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LORE_LINK D.E.M.O.N. Bloodlines

There is discussion through this book of the fourteen original demon bloodlines. This is related to the D.E.M.O.N. Project that was created in Inside.

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LORE_LINK Soul Classifications

In Chapter 13, Vestera expands on the way souls travel through the universe and the type of magic they possess. He also explains that Dalton, Eclipse, and Mitoki all have fragments of the same soul, which means they all shared a past life at one point. However, after a soul undergoes trauma, it can split and inhabit different individuals. Click here to learn more about soul classifications in the Amiverse.

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BOOK_LINK Pre-Second Shift Stories

In Chapter 18, Vestera explains the origin of the demon species to the Guardians of Team Dalton. His explanation of the "lack of connection" to the Balance and how humans were searching in darker and darker places for a connection to the magic of the universe is him directly explaining the state of Earth during the years of Roadside Paradise, the Second Revolution, The Coalition Trilogy, and Inside. His direct naming of the first demon is the same character mentioned in Inside as "Eina."

VISIT TIMELINE

DIMENSION GUARDIAN-SPECIFIC LORE

Realm of Demons

The most mysterious and dangerous realm in the collective

Dimension Protection Council

The governing body of the 5 connected realms in the Dimension Guardian series

The Overseer

The Overseer is heavily involved in the Dimension Guardian series under his demon lord names

Kage Family

One of the most powerful families in the Amiverse

MANUSCRIPT SECRETS (DEEP LORE)

Middle Dimension

The realm that connects the five together. The lore of how the realms are connected and interact

Realm of Darkness

The largest and most populated realm of the collective

Realm of Humans

The cornerstone realm of the collective

Realm of Light

The most advanced realm of the collective with the lowest crime rate

Realm of Beasts

The most undeveloped realm in the collective

D.E.M.O.N.

The D.E.M.O.N project that will eventually be born from the work of the Commission of the People

The Overseer

The Overseer is heavily involved in the Dimension Guardian series under his demon lord name

D.E.M.O.N. Bloodlines

Information on the overall progress of the D.E.M.O.N. project and how the Old Blood Lords came into being

Kaneaka Family

The first D.E.M.O.N. bloodline

Soul Classifications

Souls in the Amiverse have a wide variety of classifications, and under strain can split, leading to multiple people sharing the same past life

The Calamities

Before the five realms connected, there were decades of hardship that was dubbed "The Calamity Decades"

Amiverse Magic

This series is the truest-to-lore exploration of Amiverse magic

Order of Ruim

The Guardian Branch was based off a different structure of royal guards in the Realm of Light before the realms connected

Rian-Ik-Lo

The "Bloodline Killer" creature that emerged to destroy the Kaneaka Clan

SPOILERS AHEAD: The following information contains spoilers for the plot twist of Dimension Guardian.

OFF-PAGE GOODIES

Chapter 4: The strained reunion with Team Dalton is already full of pain, but it is also proclaimed by the author to be one of the cruelest exchanges she has between characters. The impact of what Dalton says during his rallying words to his team cuts far deeper if reread after finishing Book 5. There is a very specific reason Keito closes his eyes and leans against the wall when he hears what his teammates have to say.
Rutu's Bad Mood: In Chapter 11 (and beginning of Chapter 12), Rutu is clearly in a very bad mood as he is far shorter with the Guardians than usual and eventually just stops speaking to them entirely. While the Guardians think this is because they wandered into the forbidden wing of the Kage Palace, it actually has nothing to do with the Guardians. It is because he is sexually frustrated due to his injury, hence Juki's teasing about Rutu being "in a mood" and "he gets like that sometimes," before immediately returning to Rutu after the Guardians are escorted out of the palace.
Vestera's Inaction: In Chapter 14, Vestera explains to Dalton that if he had interfered with Juki's childhood torment, Juki would have never met Rutu. This is the overall plan of the Second Shift Nullvergence that he is describing. The Nullvergence started with Rutu's birth and completed twelve years later when Rutu met Juki for the first time. Extra Fun Fact: Once Rutu met Juki and the Nullvergence plan hit completion, the relief Vestera felt after thousands of years of planning actually put him into a coma for a full month. His body went into hibernation to recover from the stress.
All Will Be Well: In Chapter 15, when Vestera tells Dalton that all will be well with Jikia and Dalton feels uneasy about the statement, it's because his dragon magic is reacting to the mourning edge in Vestera's own magic. Vestera already knows that it's very likely Jikia will die very soon.
Kaneaka Pronunciation: Kaneaka is pronounced "kah-NAY-kuh." Similarly to the Kage name, this is due to the evolution of demon language after D.E.M.O.N.s escaped their confinement on Earth. The Kaneaka D.E.M.O.N. bloodline was half-owned by America and Japan just like the Kage bloodline, but when the species broke free of enslavement, they changed the pronunciation of their names as a means to cut ties with their previous bondage. This can be explored more in the Lore Archive under D.E.M.O.N. Bloodlines.
Kaneaka Inbreeding: Though it is joked about (rightfully) there were several cultural reasons that the Kaneaka Clan were so inbred that lead back to how the bloodline started from a brother and sister. Not only did this define what was considered acceptable breeding within the Kaneaka Clan, it also shaped their views on sex in general. This can also be explored more in the Lore Archive under D.E.M.O.N. Bloodlines.
Bloodline Killer: Rutu does give a lot of information about what happened to his family when the Kaneaka Clan collapsed, but when he says he does not know what happened, he is lying. He is very aware of exactly how the clan was killed, but the trauma of what happened creates a dissociative effect for Rutu (as will be seen in Book 6). This is why Juki puts his hand on Rutu's arm, to stop him from slipping into the dissociation as he recalls what happened. The only people (still living) who know the full truth of what happened to the Kaneaka Clan are Rutu, Juki, and Vestera.
Juki's Siblings: As stated in Book 3, there is already a very large cast in Dimension Guardian, and while it was possible to have Juki's siblings at the New Year celebration, it was ultimately cut because it bloated the story far too much and slowed the pace of the plot.
Shina: As it was never brought up organically in the novel because the main characters had no reason to know the information, it is not revealed on page that, in the beginning, Juki and Rutu actually had one daughter and two sons. Shina was born male but by the time of Dimension Guardian, she has fully transitioned from Sinan into Shina. Transexuality is not frowned upon in demon culture, as they are far more connected with the magic spectrum of souls and that sometimes the souls do not match the bodies they inhabit. This can be explored in the magic section of the Lore Archive regarding "masculine" versus "feminine" soul magic.
Sparring Fun: When Rutu says that he and Juki have a tendency to "take spars too far," he is not saying they get angry and try to seriously hurt one another. What he means is that sparring is a form of foreplay for them.
Royal Robes: Shina is actually the main designer of royal robes in the Demon Realm, which is why she so easily fusses over getting Rutu dressed properly for the ceremony. She has designed all the Old Blood Lord robes for the realm for the previous 2,000 years.
Kage Succession: Kree is the heir to the Kage Clan and will succeed Juki eventually as Old Blood Lord of the Kage Clan. However, the next in line is actually Kaneuta. Shina has not fully abdicated (she's third in line), but she would prefer not to sit on the throne and feels that both Kree and Kaneuta are better suited, so Juki restructured the succession to honor her wishes.
Kakuri's Plea: Kakuri's line "I know that you’re keeping constant watch over Father’s behavior" is very deliberate in Chapter 23 and is the first hint at one of the many twists to come in the following chapter. Due to the anxiety of the moment, the humans of Team Dalton do not take notice of the wording.
Chapter 26: SPOILER! When Team Dalton is strategizing with the other Guardians in Chapter 26, a demon puts his hand on Keito's shoulder that Keito shrugs off. With that touch, one of Keito's internal power limiters was rendered inert with a spell the other demon learned from Yokouro. This is the start of what makes everything else happen during the tournament fights and why Keito keeps touching his shoulder as he gets more and more anxious because he can sense that something has gone wrong.
Chapter 27: SPOILER! After Dalton declares to Keito that he is not going to let Yokouro recreate the Tournament Slaughter while they are alone in the hallway, Keito starts to say something but Dalton interrupts him, thinking he's going to spiral into panic again. Keito was actually about to tell Dalton the secret about how the Tournament Slaughter happened in that moment.
Chapter 28: BIG SPOILER! While it is said later that Yokouro and Keito cannot be consciously present at the same time in the body, when certain power limiters are rendered inert, Yokouro can force Keito to see what he sees when he is in control. This is why Keito feels that he was the one to slaughter everyone in the stadium. Even though it was Yokouro, he forced Keito to watch (though eventually that was what allowed Keito to regain control) and why Keito says "I did stop for you" to Sadee.
Chapter 28: BIG SPOILER! Shannon stabbing Keito's shoulder is meant to complete the first part of the spell that the demon in the team room started when he placed his hand on Keito's shoulder. The injury destroys the internal power limiter entirely and triggers the transformation.
Keito's Parents: BIG SPOILER! Keito's full lineage is finally revealed in Chapter 30. Keito states in Book 4 that his mother could not refuse the advances of his father because of the status difference between them, so he always assumed his father had forced his mother. However, Vestera says that Keito's father "seduced" his mother. Keito does not have the full picture of the relationship between his parents because the other Old Blood Lords agreed that it was better for Keito to think his mother had no choice. But the truth is that Keito's mother did fall very much in love with his father, and his father treated his mother very, very well right up until she was close to giving birth to Keito. He then staged a "scandal break" about her carrying his child and had her imprisoned. Keito's father did not use physical force, but emotionally manipulated Keito's mother for years to ensure Keito's birth.