Sapphire Lilidew and Eden Blumenthal
"...Do you really want to see such a cute face enter such a violent world?"
— Casimir Bellerose, the question that started it all
How do you make a retcon without destroying the continuity of your series? By writing a spin-off in an Alternate Universe!
Cerberus High: Another Story is a Spin-Off novel of written by Paige O'Neal-Beedles, revolving around the events of an alternate Underworld separate from the one explored in the original Cerberus High novel where Casimir Bellerose's unorthodox ways lead to his archdemonship being stripped and his marriage being destroyed. But this is not his story. Instead, it's the story of his young daughter Rouge and her new life as Sapphire Lilidew.
Cerberus High: Another Story provides examples of:
- Alternate Self: Coupled with being in an Alternate Universe, this installment takes place fifteen years in the past. This causes a lot of characters to appear not only much younger but also different in the sense of alternate universes.
- Alternate Universe
- An Arm and a Leg:
- Requiem cuts off Eden's left arm containing Cerberus during their first fight.
- In Eden and Requiem's second and final battle, Eden loses the rest of his limbs after breaking free from the stone zombies which held onto him.
- And I Must Scream/Transflormation: In Requiem's utopia, Neia, Lita, and Akuji become fused with the Tree of Life. Eden is horrified to learn that purger children are still conscious in the state they were in.
- Big Bad: Requiem. He's the alternate universe counterpart of Rey who became the second-generation head of the Viscera Purgers instead of Neo/Neia.
- Bittersweet Ending: Eden dies after saving his world and it is revealed that he reincarnated Requiem, blessing the imp with a better life.
- Cheer Them Up with Laughter: Defeating Big Bad Requiem is too costly for the hero Eden. As he is Fading Away and using a tearful demoness Rouge as a Lap Pillow, he sends her a joking wink which makes her wink back, albeit very stiffly. This prompts them both to laugh, thus alleviating the heavy situation.
- Childhood Friends: Eden and Colombe's relationship is stated to have been this.
- Cosmic Retcon: With the combined power of Adam's White Onyx Blade and Kazuki's Hades: Raging Blood Burst, Eden erases Requiem's existence and undo all the damage he caused in the Underworld.
- Dead Guy on Display: After Nadia is murdered by Requiem, Akuji, and Neia, her body is hanged from the iron fence of someone's home with bullet holes riddling her by. Sapphire is the first to come across her and is naturally horrified believing this to be a sign directed specifically at her.
- Decoy Protagonist: Sapphire was treated like the book's protagonist until her death, which causes Eden to take up her protagonist role.
- The Hero Dies: Not only does Rouge die but Eden does as well at the end of the book.
- The '80s: Although not explicitly stated, since Cerberus High II takes place around 2015, this book is set in 1980.
- Ghost Town: Eden's hometown is revealed to be the abandoned town where Kazuki and Neo fought in the first book. It is abandoned in any other universe besides the one where the spinoff is set in, making those who live in it anomalies who aren't supposed to exist.
- Horned Humanoid: The demons of the Underworld.
- Light/Darkness Juxtaposition: Same as the first book but with this installment explaining that Oralee can't exist without Kazuki, due to light not being able to exist without darkness.
- Ominous Adversarial Amusement: When Requiem tells Eden that it's impossible to kill him Eden laughs after remembering that he has just the ability to defeat someone who is immortal.
- Riches to Rags: Blair and Rouge abandon their rich life with Casimir for their own safety and live out modest lives with new identities.
- Restart the World: After Vincent passed him the torch, Requiem made it his goal to purify the world and make a sanctuary his people could live happily in. He succeeds in this.
- Ret-Gone: Everyone in Eden's town gets wiped out by Requiem's universe reset. This is due to it being an anomaly that is not supposed to exist in any other universe.
- Secret Identity: Not wanting to be roped into Casimir's mess, Rouge and her mother leave Casimir and go under new identities. Rouge becomes a blond by the name of Sapphire Lilidew.
- Significant Anagram: The last name of Rouge's alias Lilidew is an anagram of " will die" making it " Sapphire Will Die" unscrambled.
- Taken for Granite:
- In Requiem's new world, all the demons have been turned into rocks.
- When the zombies restraining Eden become petrified on Requiem's command, Eden's remaining limbs turn to stone as well. Eden breaks free at the cost of becoming a quadruple amputee.
- Telepathy: Elysium Rouge and Eden use this to communicate with each other after the latter becomes deaf and mute.
- You Remind Me of X: When Eden is devastated when finding out the sheer gravity of Requiem’s universe reset, Elysium Rouge is reminded of Kazuki who fell into the same despair.
- Like a Son to Me: Why Elysium Rouge is unable to kiss Eden on the lips.
