I ask, with resolve. Saving your world means destroying this world. You will have killed all of the Yaga that are living in this Russia. And so, I ask! So I inquire! What right do you have!? What right do you have to order all of the Yaga that live on this vast land to die! Answer me! If you cannot answer, then that is itself the answer! I will not lose, I will not retreat! I will protect this world!
—Ivan the Terrible
Full title: "Lostbelt No. 1 - Permafrost Empire, Anastasia [The Grand Duchess of the Beast Nation]".
After three months' time to recover from the assault on Chaldea, the Shadow Border must leave Imaginary Number Space to resupply and discover what has happened to Earth while they hid. They emerge in Russia as Anastasia and her forces are the only link they have to find their way back normal space. They discover a harsh and empty, wintry Lostbelt; its people barely scraping by, the strong killing off the weak to survive.
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Tropes:
- All for Nothing:
- Despite the Resistance Army helping Chaldea to defeat Ivan, they all have to disappear in order to save humanity from oblivion. Naturally, they betray Chaldea once they learn of this.
- It's made clear by the other Crypters that this Lostbelt is destined for failure. Not that it stops Kadoc from trying anyways.
- Analogy Backfire: Atalante Alter warns her army not to harm any children, otherwise she'll turn them into porcupines. The Yaga troops are more preoccupied with trying to figure out what the heck a porcupine is, than heeding her threat.
- Arc Villain: Despite Kadoc being the Crypter for this Lostbelt, he and his Servant, Anastasia, aren’t the main enemy; Ivan the Terrible instead takes center stage as the main threat.
- Big Damn Heroes: Just as the protagonist is going to be attacked by an Oprichniki, Musashi shows up and saves them.
- Big Eater: The Yaga as a species are this, the average Yaga eats 10 times more than the average human and can only survive 3 days without food compared to a human who can survive 7 days. Koyanskaya states it's due to being mixed with Demonic Beasts that they can even survive in the Lostbelt but they aren't energy efficient as a result.
- Big Storm Episode: The entire Lostbelt is stuck in a never-ending blizzard at -100 degree tempatures. Da Vinci even states the storm has energy comparable to a nuclear bomb.
- Both Sides Have a Point: Mash uncomfortably realizes that the Yaga loyal to Ivan and the ones revolting against him both have a point. The loyal Yaga correctly state the only reason the Yaga are even alive is because Ivan created them by mixing Demonic Beasts with humans but the Yaga revolting are correct that Ivan is a complete dictator whose Oprichniki and taxes are slowly killing them.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Salieri at first thinks he's Mozart due to Kadoc erasing his memories, he's not happy when he regains his memories. The truth is more complex, Mozart actually cursed Salieri to act in his stead and Salieri willingly forgot to listen to Mozart's last wish.
- Cavalry Betrayal: Following the reveal of what happens if the Tree of Emptiness is destroyed, the Resistance Army betrays Chaldea and one member tries to to put a bullet in the currently despairing protagonist, and Patxi ends up Taking the Bullet to snap them out of it.
- Central Theme: Strength, sometimes allegorical as talent, mainly under An Aesop that you gain nothing from seeking it above all else. Both Kadoc and the Yagas in general have their mindsets unhealthily locked in a pointless pursuit of strength that drives them to just surviving instead of truly living. Avicebron is horribly riddled by regret of his own desperate search for power back in Fate/Apocrypha. Salieri and Amadeus actively discuss the concept of talent and how the former can never achieve anything by trying to express skill instead of expressing his feelings. Minotauros is stronger and more imposing than Asterios but lacks his other self's humanity which leads him to be blindsided by tricks and only able to feel jealousy at his other self's experiences. Anastasia sacrificed much of her memories and emotions for greater power, yet it is that remaining emotion (specifically love for Kadoc) that motivates her actions and her Taking the Bullet moment. Ivan the Terrible became the most powerful Yaga in existence with strength to match Divine Spirits, and yet it is the protagonist's compassion and pity for him and his Lostbelt's fate that reminds him of what he found so beautiful about his wife Anastasia and lets him realize what his people gave up in the pursuit of survival and strength.
- Cherry Tapping: Adam's Golem Punch Skill typically deals 10,000 points of damage, but it cannot be used to knock out Ivan during the mammoth boss battle, and will leave him with 1 HP if the player attempts to do so,thus necessitating this trope.
- Classical Hunter: The entire Yaga race is essentially forced into this role as it's the only way to get food.
- Cliffhanger: The story ends with a message from the Sea of Estray received by the Shadow Border asking them to come to the location of the coordinates enclosed by the message, the current location of the Wandering Sea.
- Crapsack World: It sucks to live here. The Endless Winter with winds as strong as walls and temperatures as cold as negative 100, farming and breeding animals is impossible and demonic beasts trying to kill you that are the only food source, along with the fact that the Yaga are so obsessed with survival that they turn against their fellow kind just to see another day in this miserable world that shows no signs of getting better, and the fact that "to survive" and "to live" are two completely different things, with the World deciding that this timeline has reached its end, thus pruning it. It was even worse near the beginning, as the Yaga hadn't fully figured out how to properly hunt Demonic Beasts, so they were forced to resort to cannibalism to survive.
- Darker and Edgier: While the prologue set the tone for Cosmos in the Lostbelt quite nicely, this chapter really hits home on how grim things have become and will stay for some time. From the start, Chaldea enters into a world of death ruled by a tyrant where only the strong survive and things like love and happiness have long since been forgotten. Unlike the Singularities which ended with the day saved and everyone happy, the Lostbelts require Chaldea to commit mass genocide to fix the situation. Oh, and they have to do this six more times if they want to restore Proper Human History. It gets so bad the protagonist comes within a hair's width of giving into total despair.
- Endless Winter: The major divergence is the Ice Age caused by an asteroid 450 years ago, with blizzards as a near-permanent fixture of the landscape.
- Enemy Mine: Kadoc, Anastasia, and Kotomine assist Chaldea in fighting against Ivan in the Climax due to their own agendas.
- Everyone Can See It: Many characters talk about Kadoc and his Anastasia's feelings for each other.
- Everyone Has Standards: While the Yaga are willing to kill their friends and families to survive, they refuse to resort to cannibalism. Patxi reveals that early on in their species history they did partake in cannibalism but now see it as a sin the entire species must live with.
- Failure Is the Only Option: Koyanskaya and Kotomine know that no matter what Kadoc, the Yaga, or Chaldea do, the Lostbelt is destined to end in failure.
- Final Boss: Kadoc's Tree of Emptiness, "Orochi", as it needs to be taken down to destroy the Lostbelt.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: Even if you already have Avicebron in your roster the Protagonist will still say he's a new Servant to them.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Seeing Ivan the Terrible in person completely shatters Patxi's spirit, convincing him that Resistance Is Futile and to sell out the location of the Rebel base.
- Gray-and-Gray Morality: The Lostbelt residents are ultimately trying to survive in an unjust world, while Chaldea seeks to restore their own that was unjustly erased. Ivan the Terrible makes it clear in his last stand, where he sacrificed so much to save and protect his people. Not even servants summoned by the Counter Force to protect human history are exempt. Atalante Alter and Mozart both end up aiding the Crypters because they couldn't bear to see the Yaga sacrificed, and their conflicted nature influencing the Yaga and Salieri.
- Heroic BSoD:
- When the protagonist learns that to save Proper Human History means to destroy the Lostbelts, they completely freeze up, willing to let a Yaga kill them.
- Patxi breaks down and leaves the Resistance after returning to Smolensk and finding his mother was stoned to death after he escaped arrest.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- Avicebron uses himself as “Adam’s” core so that Chaldea is able to combat the absolutely ginormous Ivan on his Mount.
- Patxi also sacrifices himself to protect the protagonist from being killed by the Resistance Army as they try to stop Chaldea from destroying the Lostbelt.
- Home Field Advantage: The closer to the Capitol and Ivan they are, the stronger the Oprichniki become.
- I Owe You My Life: The Yaga loyal to Ivan state that while things are undeniably rough, the only reason they're even still alive is because Ivan made them by fusing humans with Demonic Beasts.
- Inherent in the System: It's made clear repeatedly that no one's really at fault for how the Lostbelt turned out since it was caused by a freak meteor impact. Even Ivan's actions were born out of desperation to ensure humanity survived in some way. But nonetheless, the world has no future anymore and that's why it was pruned once and it must disappear once again.
- Jerkass Has a Point: After arriving in the Lostbelt Holmes had planned on investigating with the protagonist but Goredolf ordered Holmes to stay on the Shadow Border, stating the Shadow Border is the last bastion of humanity thus they can't let it go unguarded. Despite the obvious self-interest, Holmes admits Goredolf is right, if the Shadow Border is destroyed then humanity is doomed. Goredolf's later decision to have Meunière investigate with the protagonist buddy is clearly based on his anger at Meunière calling him old but Meunière can't disagree with Goredolf's reasoning that he can't do anything when the Shadow Border can't move.
- The Last Dance: By the time Ivan confronts the protagonist and Mash for their last fight, he's clearly on his last legs, both from being separated from his mammoth and taking a beating from Anastasia to the point he gets Blood from the Mouth. But such is his will to survive that he forces himself to fight them, if only to save his people one last time in his dying moments and determine if the heroes truly are willing to make the sacrifice of this world for theirs.
- Living Is More than Surviving: The struggles of the Yaga are shown as this, as their constant struggles just to survive have instilled into them an unhealthy Might Makes Right mentality that has left them unable to successfully and truly live, making their timeline set to be pruned.
- Made of Iron: The Yaga are pretty durable by human standards with Koyanskaya joking they're immortal. Patxi states they can't die from blood loss due to having a Healing Factor that not only heals cut arteries but automatically replenishes their lost blood. Salieri states he has to behead them for a confirmed kill and Kotomine states that they're so tough that the Oprichniki have trouble torturing them because of their physical dexterity. That said they can die from starvation or with enough force.
- Medieval Stasis: Due to the extreme Death World the Yaga live in, this Lostbelt's technology has been frozen since the asteroid struck 450 years ago. Holmes notes Patxi's gun was cutting-edge 450 years ago with the only modifications made to kill Demonic Beasts. Patxi even states the Yaga don't know how to build houses and have been stuck in houses built before the asteroid arrived, making repairs to their homes if damaged.
- Mercy Kill: Salieri ends up killing Mozart because the latter wore himself down to the bone by putting Ivan to sleep.
- Might Makes Right: Almost to a disturbing degree. Because they are obsessed with surviving at all costs, anything that can be considered detrimental to their survival is mocked, as Patxi's "bizarre" affection for his senile mother is laughed at, with even himself confused as to why he'd do so much for someone who is a burden. Taken to the extreme during the last few chapters, where after learning that the destruction of the Tree of Emptiness means the redeletion of the Lostbelt and all who live within it, they betray Chaldea. Even when it's been made clear by the other Crypters that this Lostbelt is destined for failure.
- Mother Russia Makes You Strong: When an asteroid hit the Earth 450 years ago and sent the Earth into a new Ice Age, Russians were the only people capable of surviving in the cold while the rest of the countries gave up and perished. That being said, about 90% of the Russian population died out eventually, leading Ivan to merge the rest of the population with magical beasts to create the Yagas. It is deconstructed, as the Yaga are now so obsessed with "survival," they have no idea how "to live," turning against their fellow kind just to see another day in a bleak Death World that shows no signs of getting better.
- Mythology Gag: Avicebron still remembers his time in Fate/Apocrypha and will refer to it from time to time.
- He states how odd it is to hear Atalanta thanking him since they were on opposing teams in the Great Holy Grail War.
- Avicebron is uncomfortable if the protagonist decides to call them professor, saying he lost the right to ever be a mentor, referring to him betraying Roche, his master, who also called him professor.
- Pet Monstrosity: Both Billy and Beowulf had trained up a "messenger bird" that is actually a baby Shantak bird named Shanshan (Think Shantak-kun).
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: The Yaga named themselves after Baba Yaga, a witch from Slavic folklore who kidnapped and ate children, due to them resorting to cannibalism early on in the species' existence.
- La Résistance: The Chaldea group eventually join up with the Resistance Army which has been opposing Ivan the Terrible's rule even since the Lostbelt's creation, currently led by Atalante Alter.
- Social Darwinist:
- As Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star established, the universe runs on this principle by using the Quantum Time Lock system. Only the worlds with the most potential for advancement are allowed, called Proper Human History. The losers, where timelines diverged too much and reached their conclusion, are pruned from existence. This Lostbelt is one of them, a world where eternal winter ensures that humanity will never escape Medieval Stasis.
- The Yaga as a whole have adopted this mindset to a pathological level to survive in the Lostbelt. Only the strong can survive and hunt, while the weak are left behind. Yagas will think nothing of killing and stealing from the weak and will do so in a heartbeat regardless of any emotional attachment if it means being able to survive one more day. About the only line they won't cross is outright cannibalism, but they did do that when first becoming Yaga, serving as their names origin, and great shame.
- Taking the Bullet:
- Patxi takes the bullets of several Yaga resistance members to save the protagonist, urging them to fight on for Proper Human History and makes these sacrifices mean something.
- Anastasia throws herself in front of Billy's shots at Kadoc, bleeding out while telling him she still believes he will do great things.
- Talking Is a Free Action: Averted; Billy had his gun trained on Kadoc and warned him against any funny business, so when Kadoc starts invoking his Siris Lights anyway Billy opens fire before he finishes.
- This Cannot Be!: Kadoc has this reaction when the protagonist defeats his servant Anastasia after he spent the entire Lostbelt lording how he was the protagonist's superior.
- Tragic Monster: Minotauros, a version of Asterios who has abandoned his true name and fully become a human-eating monster. Even then, he barely remembers Euryale, and as he is slain by Beowolf, he finally remembers her, stating he wanted to see her smile once more and is jealous of his Proper Human History counterpart for knowing her.
- Ultimate Life Form: Ivan the Terrible is repeatedly mentioned to be this, having fused with the most powerful Phantasmal Beast in Russia (itself considered an apex life form from a time before humans walked the earth) and spending centuries accumulating power to the point he's called the ultimate Yaga, if not having surpassed them to be a new life form altogether. It's pointed out he's actually become an equal to Divine Spirits.
- Virtue Is Weakness: Played with, but ultimately subverted. In this Crapsack World, strength and survival are considered a far greater priority than sentimentality, and many Yaga subscribed to this view. However, the Resistance under Atalante Alter are noticeably filled with Yaga who rejected this, as they couldn't bring themselves to leave behind their loved ones. Kadoc and Anastasia, despite both of them on the surface embracing strength, notably care for one another and actually do their best when their dreams and hopes are on the line. Even Ivan himself, the mightiest being in the Lostbelt, acknowledges in his dying moments that he found such sentimentality one of the most beautiful things about his first wife, and admits that the fact they were forced to sacrifice such kindness and empathy to survive in this hellhole was likely the final nail that sealed their world's fate.
- Wham Line: Mixed with Armor-Piercing Question. Ivan the Terrible asks the protagonist why they want to destroy the Lostbelt, and if restoring Proper Human History is truly worth killing every Yaga. It's enough to push them into a massive Heroic BSoD over what they have to do, and only Patxi's sacrifice pulls them out of their despair.
- While Rome Burns: Rather than go with Chaldea and escape being erased, Salieri chooses to stay and comfort the Yaga by playing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" on his piano as the Lostbelt returns to nothingness.
- Wolf Man: All of the Yaga are this, being a fusion between wolf and man in order to survive the harsh climate of their world. Holmes makes the distinction to Goredolf that they aren't werewolves, but are more akin to Chimeras.
I'll never forgive you, for as long as I live. You know why? Because thanks to you, I now know there's another, happier world out there. So stand up, dammit. Stand up and fight for it. Go on and brag about how you can smile in your world, and tell us why it should be the one to survive. Be proud. Hold your head up high, and fight for your weak little world.
...Don't you dare go losing to a world like this, a world whose only virtue is strength!
...Don't you dare go losing to a world like this, a world whose only virtue is strength!
—Patxi (From "Heretical Yaga")
