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The anime ends at a critical point in the story, the eclipse. Guts is being held down, forced to watch Casca being raped by Femto. In the manga (volume 13), Skull Knight bursts through the sun above the scene and attempts to strike Void with his sword. He is repelled and escapes with Guts and Casca on horseback. Femto is about to attack them, but stops himself. Later, Skull Knight drops Guts and Casca off at Godo's hut in the mountains so they can recover. When Guts awakens, Casca has lost her sanity and regressed to child-like behavior. In despair, Guts escapes the cave and laments the loss of his friends. As night falls, Guts is haunted by spirits. Skull Knight appears and tells him the nature of the new world he is living in, thanks to the brand on his neck. Guts rushes off to protect Casca. He finds her in the middle of birth to a demonic child. Casca was pregnant with Guts' child when Femto raped her. The result is a deformed child that chose an evil nature, and posesses supernatural powers. Guts gathers equipment at Godo's and sets off on his lonely quest for revenge, leaving Casca behind. |
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Each Ceremony begins using the Beherit to summon the God Hand. Blood, tears and strong will have all been used to activate Beherits, though the exact moment of activation is up to the Beherit and Causality. There are three levels of Sacrificial Ceremonies (Shoku, in japanese). The first two ceremonies follow similar rules and patterns. The third will be elaborated in detail afterward. The First, more common occurance is the Sacrificial Ceremony that marks the birth of an Apostle, or minion of God Hand. The Second, less common (every 216 years) occurance is the Eclipse ceremony which marks the birth of a new God Hand. Each of these ceremonies take place within the Nexus of worlds. To an outsider, it appears as a great tornado. Humans caught within an eclipse are typically marked for sacrifice and branded. During these ceremonies, the God Hand offer the summoner the ability to achieve their dream at the price of their most cherished love. The fear and anguish of a branded one's death is nourishment for the newly born Apostle/God Hand. The Third, even less common occurance (every 1000 years) is the Reincarnation Ceremony. These occur outside the Nexus and mirror events of the previous Eclipse (God Hand birth) ceremony. During this ceremony, a being of divine ego (i.e. a God, God Hand) can take fleshly form. In the most recent ceremony, Griffith was reincarnated from his spiritual, God Hand form, to flesh. |
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The Brand marks those sacrificed to God during a sacrificial ceremony. Branded humans reside in the Interstice between the Human and Astral worlds. Ghosts hunger for the flesh of the branded at night. In response to strong evil, the brand will bleed. Around an apostle, the blood would only trickle out. Around a God Hand, the brand would shoot blood out in huge gushes. |
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Godo and Rickert supplied Guts with his arsenal. The Dragon Slayer was forged by Godo long ago. He never intended it to be wielded properly, however. The repeating crossbow was modified by Rickert to fit Guts mechanical arm. The arm-cannon was invented by Godo. Rickert gave Guts the bag full of exploding mini-grenades, and the throwing knives. [In Volume 17] Godo re-forges the Dragon Slayer and makes several minor adjustments to Guts armor. Berserk's Armor was given to Guts by Flora (volume 25). |
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Yes. Femto is the spiritual form of Griffith's ego, after he is reborn as the fifth God Hand at the eclipse (volume 13). Even further down the line, Femto becomes reincarnated as Griffith Reborn (volume 21), using Guts/Casca's demonic child as a fleshly vessel. Each incarnation (Griffith, Femto, Griffith Reborn) has the same mind. |