History NightmareFuel / NoGameNoLife

You would think living in a world that makes decisions based only on playing games be a great place to live, the thing is you have to really pay attention to the rules, the ten pledges, and know that this world was created to end a CrapsackWorld that Disboard used to be and some of the games in question can have [[NightmareFuel horrifying effects and implications]].

** The first move by Blank. The first object they conjure is a ''freakin hydrogen bomb''. Which, of course, blows up, and leaves a wasteland behind. The siblings are saved by Jibril, and she herself is unaffected... It's both horrifying that Sora would summon the most destructive weapon ever created by mankind, and that Jibril shrugs it off like nothing.
** No atmosphere. It doesn't mean instant death, but [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum#Effects_on_humans_and_animals simply reading about what are the actual effects]] suffered by an human body left in a vacuum space can be pretty disturbing.

You would think living in a world that makes decisions based only on playing games be a great place to live, the thing is you have to really pay attention to the rules and know that this world was created to end a CrapsackWorld that Disboard used to be and some of the games in question can have [[NightmareFuel horrifying effects and implications]].

* The entirety of volume 6 of the light novels is this. The Great War had rendered humans into nothing more than a refugee population constantly on the run. The other races pay no heed to humanity's existence (not even as collateral damage) while the latter's entire population had been reduced to mere thousands. Putting this in context, Imanity at the time of Sora & Shiro's arrival was at its weakest state, but at least it was a kingdom of 3 million strong.

** The first move by Blank. The first object they conjure is a [[spoiler:''freakin hydrogen bomb'']]. Which, of course, [[spoiler:blows up, and leaves a wasteland behind]]. The siblings are saved by Jibril, and she herself is unaffected... It's both horrifying that Sora would summon [[spoiler:the most destructive weapon ever created by mankind]], and that Jibril shrugs it off like nothing.
** [[spoiler:No atmosphere]]. It doesn't mean instant death, but [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum#Effects_on_humans_and_animals simply reading about what are the actual effects]] suffered by an human body [[spoiler:left in a vacuum space]] can be pretty disturbing.
** ''Everyone'' was [[spoiler:killed]] during this game. Even if they were [[spoiler:resurrected immediately afterwards]], there is no mention that their sense of pain was removed at all (it was made clear that Jibril suffered at numerous occasions during the whole ordeal, and you can only imagine how Sora and Shiro felt with their perfectly normal bodies... And, well, there is also Stephanie, [[spoiler:who dies first, not understanding a single thing of what is happening, and who ended up burnt to a crisp]]). Between the aforementioned effects of [[spoiler:a vacuum space and the [[ApocalypseHow hypernova]]]], you can be certain this experience was everything but painless.

*** This is shown even further with volume 6 of the Light Novels and the BigDamnMovie. The animation delivers in how Jibril is in her home during the Great War, casually [[spoiler: ''killing'' Shuvi with no extra thought aside from wanting to collect Shuvi's head, all because Shuvi is a rarity in being a excommunicated Ex-Machina. She doesn't actively taunt Shuvi, no, but it's her actions in trying to bring Shuvi down that really hammers in the horror that could've continued had Tet not remade the world through Riku and Shuvi's efforts. Shuvi uses everything she has ''just to stay alive'', and Jibril is just '''bored'''. The ending of the battle only shows Jibril lamenting the meaningless effort in trying to get Shuvi's head, because Shuvi put up so much of a fight to where nothing was left to even collect, not even bothering to learn the Ex-Machina's name until the epilogue ''back in present day''.]]

* The Game of Reversi where the more pieces you lose the more of yourself you lose. And by that, we mean you can ''literally'' lose everything that is you, including your senses, your memories and even your ability to move any one of your limbs. When you lose it all, [[spoiler:'''[[RetGone you cease to be.]]''']] You don't die. [[spoiler:'''''[[FateWorseThanDeath Your entire existence is erased and not one trace of you will remain.]]''''']]
** The worst thing about all this? [[spoiler:''Sora actually experienced this.'' Everything went according to his plans and in the end all was well, but Sora still ceased to exist for a period of time. The light novel graphically describes how Sora gradually loses his memories, senses and motor functions. It gets to the point where he can't see or feel anything, his body is nearly completely paralyzed, and the only thing that still kept his confused and fragmented mind going was the unconscious drive to place his full trust in Shiro, who, by the end of his time in the game, ''he was only barely able to remember.'' The narration also makes it quite clear that '''it hurt like hell the entire time.''']] This game is the single most brutal and nightmarish thing we have seen thus far to ever grace Disboard. Due to the nature of the game, it was extremely difficult to create and even it could only barely meet its functions before running out of power and destroying itself.

** And they have a tragedy of their own: [[spoiler: ''because'' they are weapons created for war, they found themselves bereft of a purpose after the war ended and Tet forbid all forms of violence. DesperatelySeekingAPurposeInLife, as well as the answer to the meaning of their existence, they drifted everywhere for over '''six thousand years''', gathering as much knowledge as they could in order to find that answer, failing again and again to find it. And as it turns out, Azrael, the First Unit, has the right to order ALL the Flugel to '''kill themselves''' if she believes that there is no answer to their question. In other words, [[DespairEventHorizon if they believe that weapons cannot be anything other than weapons and that there is no meaning in continuing to live an empty existence without purpose,]] [[DrivenToSuicide then they're all better off dead.]]]]
*** Or so they were led to believe, [[spoiler:It turns out that the mass suicide is impossible due to the commandments, though the Flugel didn't know this for millennia]].
* Commandment #6: ''[[MagicallyBindingContract Any bets made in accordance with the Pledges must be upheld.]]'' While this ensures that nobody weasels out of a bet, it also carries the implication that once you've agreed to a bet, you '''must''' hold your end of the bargain, and the universe '''will ensure''' that you do. This means that bets like "if I win, you must do everything I command" or "you must pledge loyalty to me if you lose" can be seen as a form of MindControl, and the loser would have no choice but to comply. [[spoiler: Case in point, [[SuicidePact Azrael is prepared to order all the Flugels to commit mass suicide]] if she found out that Sora had forced Jibril to come up with an answer to why they still exist through a pledge because that would mean Jibril is merely following a command rather than acting on her own will.]]

** Also hammering in this fact is that during the BigDamnMovie, there is an early scene where Riku angrily starts [[spoiler: reciting the names of all the people he's had to send to their deaths while doing recon for the colony in front of Shuvi. Made worse when we saw a man earlier run to his death to this big, black slug-creature thing that isn't even ''recognizable'' from any of the beasts we see in the TV series. The beginning of the entire story even shows a child Riku witnessing the destruction of his home by the Ex-Machina and Dragonia, where he was only able to get out because someone shielded him, and the animation showed that same someone ''charred black and almost unrecognizable'' as an actual human.]]
** Even the injuries Riku and [[spoiler: the other Ghosts retain for the means of controlling the Great War are horrifying to see. Apparently because of the ash falling down onto the world, breathing it or even ''touching'' it is enough to hurt humans, because we see Riku cough and be ''covered'' in burns. Shuvi tries to help with decontamination solutions, but it doesn't stop Riku from suffering the loss of his left eye and arm by the second half of the movie.]]
*** Also, the entire battle between Jibril and [[spoiler: Shuvi can be seen as this, because of Shuvi's desperate attempts to hang on, only for her body to get destroyed more and more, and Jibril is just '''smiling''' through all this carnage...]]

** ''Everyone'' was [[spoiler:killed]] during this game. Even if they were [[spoiler:resurrected immediately afterwards]], there is no mention that their sense of pain was removed at all (it was made clear that Jibril suffered at numerous occasions during the whole ordeal, and you can only imagine how Sora and Shiro felt with their perfectly normal bodies... And, well, there is also Stephanie, [[spoiler:who dies first, not understanding a single thing of what is happening, and who ended up burnt to a crisp]]). Between the aforementioned effects of [[spoiler:a vacuum space and the [[ApocalypseHow hypernova]]]], you can be certain this experience was everything but painless. Gosh, these siblings have guts.

** The worst thing about all this? [[spoiler:''Sora actually experienced this.'' Everything went according to his plans and in the end all was well, but Sora still ceased to exist for a period of time. The light novel graphically describes how Sora gradually loses his memories, senses and motor functions. It gets to the point where he can't see or feel anything, his body is nearly completely paralyzed, and the only thing that still kept his confused and fragmented mind going was the unconscious drive to place his full trust in Shiro, who, by the end of his time in the game, ''he was only barely able to remember.'' The narration also makes it quite clear that '''it hurt like hell the entire time.''']] This game is the single most brutal and nightmarish thing we have seen thus far to ever grace Disboard. Due to the nature of the game, it was extremely difficult to create and even it could only barely meet its functions before running out of power and destroying itself. Thus, it is unlikely to make a reappearance.