#dgm 232

Hello everyone! Just wanted to put this out here that this was originally a theory that I posted on reddit. After it got a bit popular, I decided to post it here. Many people have already asked questions, but, I’ve answered them on the reddit page if you want to look it over. Anyways! I just wanted to let you all see it, as I am VERY happy with this theory: 

Okay, so if you can’t tell by that title, I feel like I figured out D.Grayman. And this isn’t like my other posts where my theories may have one or two leaps of faith, this is a post that literally fits with EVERY clue given throughout the ENTIRE manga and makes more sense than any of the other theories I came up with. Are you ready? You better be, cause I’m fucking certain that I’m about to spoil the entirety of D.Grayman for you. Oh yeah, and I’m not lying, this theory is THICC, so be prepared for a read. … Are all the spoiler-ees gone? Are ya’ll ready to hear this bombshell? If the answer is yes, then let’s get started. Okay, so the entirety of this theory revolves around a character that is INTEGRAL to this series. And I’m not talking about Allen, I’m talking about Road. Road is a character that Hoshino has stated herself that “If Road told everyone everything she knows, D.Grayman would end.” She’s important, and here’s why: Road has been around since the beginning of D.grayman, before even MANA, as she is stated to be, and I quote, “the eldest Noah.” Which means that she has been around since before Mana became the Earl. You know what that means, right? It means that she has been around since the time Past!Earl touched that tree. “But Sweetcreems!“ you say "What does that matter?” Well I’ll tell you. It has been established since the very beginning that Road’s relationship with both Nea and Mana is a bit different than that of the other noahs. As Tyki said himself, she was the one who guided the Earl through it all, and, that she has ALWAYS been there for him. So we know that she cares deeply about the Earl, but, we also know that she cares deeply about Nea. As she is the only one besides Mana, who killed Nea, that survived Nea’s slaughter of the rest of the Noah clan. And that’s no coincidence, that is because Road is someone that means a lot to both Mana and Nea, beyond just the typical Noah relationship. “Oh, I know what you’re going to say, Sweetcreems.” You start with a huge smug grin across your face. “You’re about to say that Road and Nea were lovers. After all, Sheril has been pulling his teeth out to figure out Road and the 14ths relationship.” “Haha,” I laugh, “sorry but you are completely wrong.” You want to know why? It’s because Road is much, much, older than we think she is; of course, this has already been stated numerous times in the manga. During one of their gatherings, she even admits that she has stayed in her little-girl form for over thirty years. But, what that implies is that she is still far, far older than Nea or Mana. As we see that she served as an integral figure of support in both of their lives. When Nea was standing over Mana’s body, she stepped in and protected Mana, cradling his head. Sure, you could say that she was doing this to protect her family. But, if she and Nea were lovers, you’d think that she’d be a bit more hesitant about jumping into the fray. After all, wouldn’t she care more about her lover than just another member of the family? “But…but… she loves Allen, who has Nea’s genes inside of him, so that means they MUST be lovers, right?” Sorry, detective, but again you’re wrong. As Road was never attracted to Allen because he acted like Nea. Ever since Nea was first introduced, it has been made painfully obvious that he is a far, far different character personality-wise than Allen ever was. He’s crueler, still hates humanity, and is willing to kill his family to get what he wants. Does that sound like Allen at all to you, because it shouldn’t. Heck, Cross even admits that, since Mana’s death, Allen has been wearing “Mana’s mask.” And that he “Has started talking like Mana.” Allen was NEVER like Nea, but it’s also obvious that he isn’t exactly like Mana either. From the few scenes we’ve seen of Mana, and of Allen, we know that Mana was still a far-more goofy (obviously, because he was insane) person. Allen still carries some of that toughness as his time as Red with him, as Hoshino has shown us numerous times with both his stubbornness, and his high temper when it comes with his friends. So Road doesn’t like Allen because he acts similar to Nea, hell, if that theory held any ground, it’d be more likely that she was lovers with Mana, and it isn’t like she’s attracted to him because she knew that Allen was Nea’s host. As, when she hallucinates Allen as the Earl in the ark, she had already kissed him. Up until the ark, she had no idea that Allen was Nea’s host. It wasn’t until after he finally started piloting the ark that she finally started piecing things together. So, if she isn’t Nea’s or Mana’s lover, then what the hell IS Road? Well, are you ready? Come closer. Okay, so here’s the kicker, Road IS NEA AND MANA’S MOM! Now, don’t leave yet, because that isn’t really the case. In reality, her true identity is none other than Katerina Eve Campbell. The woman who has been heavily implied to be close to Past!Earl, and the same person who adopted Nea and Mana when Past!Earl split into two. This would explain why Road cares so much for both Mana, and Nea, it’s because she was the person who raised them! To further prove this theory, let’s take a look at some of the things we know: (POST REDDIT EDIT: A friend on reddit told me that, according to the Gray log, KEC and Road have different birthdays. However, with how well the rest of this fits, it could very well be the two different birthdays are: 1.) when KEC was actually born, and 2.) was when she created Road. Which would make sense given how completely obscure Road’s past actually is.) -Road has maintained her same girlish form for over thirty years. However, we know that it isn’t her TRUE form. She states herself that the reason she kept this form is “because she liked it.” And that’s it. -We also know that Road Kamelot isn’t her true name. The Kamelots, and her as a result, is a fabricated family to serve as a cover for the noahs. And while Sheril and Tyki both have accurate first names at least, that doesn’t mean jack for Road. Who we know for a fact had her name completely changed when she joined the Kamelots. -When Katerina Eve Campbell was killed by the Earl, it was HEAVILY implied that she did, in fact, survive. If you don’t believe me, go onto the wiki page, follow the link to the corresponding chapter, and read it yourself. -In one of the more recent chapters, Allen has been told to “visit the Campbell mansion and to find Katerina.” There, he was told he would find answers. And remember what Hoshino said? That it was ROAD who was the person who had all of the answers? -Sheril was even told that Road didn’t die. Tyki states that it was more like Road’s dreams just broke. Which would make sense, given that Road’s true body isn’t the little girl persona she uses, but instead, is Katerina’s who I’ll bet anything is LYING IN A BED DREAMING. Road is the only one that we know for A FACT isn’t using her true body. Even when Lavi wins her game and stabs her, she doesn’t die. And when Apocryphos punches her, all that happens is her dreams get disconnected from her main body. That would explain why, when Wisely talks to Road in the carriage, she says “this is the best form I can maintain right now.” That doesn’t sound like she’s talking about her actual body, because her actual body, the Noah of D-R-E-A-M-S is in the Campbell mansion. So, now we know that Road is - in all likelihood - Katerina Eve Campbell, the woman who raised both Mana and Nea. Who, after she was injured by Mana when the dude went insane, retreated her actual body back into Campbell mansion. That’s the relationship that Sheril is trying to wing-out of Bookman. As, during his stay with the Noah family, Bookman WAS THERE during that scene where Nea was standing over Road and Mana. In one of the chapters, we see a younger him in the mansion. During that scene where Nea was obviously trying to kill Mana, Road cradled Mana - a person she had raised - like a baby. Protecting him like a mother would do for her child. That’s why she seems to be an outlier where she is both on Mana’s side and Nea’s side. It’s because she is, it’s because she had been there since the beginning. When Tyki told Road that she “had been with the Earl since the beginning.” That was Hoshino foreshadowing that Road is Katerina. For, as we obviously have seen, she knew Past!Earl before he separated. ———[PART 2, why the hell does Nea want to kill everybody?]————–

Now it’s time for the fun stuff to really begin. So, now that we know that Road is Katerina Eve Campbell (I’m just going to call her KEC for short now) what does that get us? Well, to answer that question, we first have to understand why Nea is trying to become the Millennium Earl. We know that he still hates humanity, as he only worked with Cross out of a feeling of necessity, and still wants to carry out the Millennium Earl’s mission. However, for some reason, he still wants to kill Mana, but why? The answer to this question is honestly quite simple, it’s because he’s the one that actually wants to complete the Earl’s true mission. But what do I mean by that? Well, the answer for this comes in the form of Nea’s disciples, and, in his mirror - Tyki - who we’ll get to later. Before we get into that, however, I’m going to remind you all of what Road said before she disappeared in front of Allen. “Nea… fought for Mana… but that’s, supposed to be, a secret.” Why did she say that? How could Nea be fighting for Mana when he so obviously wants to kill him? And also, why did he have to kill the majority of the Noah Family to try to do whatever it is he needed to do? Well, since we now know that Road is - in fact - KEC, we can assume that the reason Nea is trying to kill Mana is to free him from his suffering. We’ve seen since the very beginning that Mana was the weaker out of the two of them, he was always the weak one, the one who was sick. And therefore, also had the weakest mind. It’s obvious that, when Mana started to become the Earl, he went insane and became - as Nea puts it - a puppet of destruction. To free him from his suffering, Nea wants to kill Mana and become the Earl. And, by doing so, fulfill the Earl’s true purpose. What is his true purpose? Well that’s where his disciple Cross, and his mirror Tyki, come in. Let’s start with Tyki: -Hoshino has laid it on pretty thick that Tyki is similar to Nea in almost every way. In looks, the way he talks, everything about him just SCREAMS Nea. But, if that’s the case, then that has to mean that Nea is similar to Tyki. And, that therefore, both of them share a “light and a dark side.” Nea, even though we’ve seen him as cruel, we know can be a caring person. As he was for Mana and KEC in the past. -Even though Tyki also wants to see an end to humanity, he also seems to care for them, as he has his own little troupe of friends that he hangs out with frequently, and that he obviously cares for. Now it’s time for Marian Cross, how does he fit into all of this, and why is it that he wants to see Nea’s dream fulfilled? The answer to this question comes in the form of his innocence. In which I’ll just put one word: -Judgement As we have seen before, innocence - and especially the anti-akuma weapons name - reflect their wielders. Allen has the Crown Clown as he used to be a clown, Krory was seen as a vampire, and got a weapon to reflect that. Mugen is a Japanese term for dream ( 夢幻 ), which reflects Kanda’s never ending dream of the Lotus. The dark boots, while they fly like butterflies, are also repeatedly referenced earlier in the manga as “heavy, and not at all comfortable.” Which reflects Lenalee’s earlier view as innocence being the chains which bound her to the Order. So, with all of that, we come to the question: why is Cross’s innocence called Judgement? The answer is it directly aligns with Nea’s goal. Both Cross, and Nea, both have seen the dirtier side of humanity, and want to fix it. And Cross wants to help him achieve that goal because, what Nea wants to do, is not completely destroy humanity, like Mana does, but reform it instead. By having Cross’s innocence be named Judgement, Hoshino is trying to show us that Cross agrees with this sentiment. And that, he too, wants to get rid of the bad side of humanity. This could also tie into why Bookman seems to have allied himself with Nea in the past, for, throughout his entire life all he has seen is never ending war. Let me explain, when the Earl tried to destroy humanity all of those years ago, he caused Noah’s flood, which destroyed most of the planet but, as we all know, beget the Noah family. If his plan really was to completely destroy humanity, then why is it that the NOAH FAMILY, who SUFFERED DIRECTLY FROM THE FLOOD, chose to HELP THE EARL? Wouldn’t it make more sense if the only human survivors decided to, you know, fight the dude that tried to kill them all? The answer is no. As, if we refer back to what Road said all the way back in the beginning of the series: “God also wants humanity to be thrown in the pit of fire.” and, that they were “the true apostles chosen by God himself.” Based on those lines, we can safely assume that the noahs goal is not to drive humanity to extinction. But instead create a new race of sinless humans, like noah in the Old Testament. This would also explain why there are several noahs, like Tyki and Sheril, who - even though they say they want to destroy humanity - still have humans they care about. For Tyki, it’s his troupe. For Sheril, it’s his faux family and wife. What the noahs always wanted to destroy was not humanity as a whole, but just the sinful humans. This is where Nea’s “puppet of destruction line comes in.” He refers to both Mana and Allen as “puppets of destruction” because they both can’t see that each side has its own merits. What the current Earl, Mana, wants to do is completely eradicate humanity and cast God out to the darkness (which, as I’m sure I don’t have to explain to you, wouldn’t make any sense considering Road has stated that she sees the noahs as God’s true chosen apostles.). In that case, the Earl is a puppet of destruction because, in his insanity, he’s taken his drive to destroy too far. And now wants to destroy everything, including God. The reason Nea calls Allen a puppet of destruction is for a similar reason. As his purpose in life is, technically, to destroy akuma, even though he doesn’t really know what the akumas true purpose is. All exorcists and the Order see akuma as creatures to be destroyed, even though that isn’t really the case. As we’ve seen with Eliade, akuma can have feelings - if they want to - for other people. They can love, hate, fear, and detest other people. They are, in affect, humans. As Kanda has stated earlier in the series “suffering is the path that will lead us to salvation.” (which seems to be an extremely common theme in D.Grayman) Akuma serve a different purpose than just being mindless murder machines. As, the true purpose of akuma is to be an integral part in humanity freeing itself from sin. Just think about the process: -Akuma start off as EGGS, with a chain tying the soul to them -They then slowly morph and change, with every iteration having the soul they were made with becoming more and more fused with the akuma body. -Then, in the forth iteration of an akuma, they grow wings and a halo, and the soul is now almost completely part of the machine. And, as several people have stated, they look angelic. It’s very possible that akuma are supposed to be the next stage in the ascension of a human. And, by mindlessly destroying them, exorcists are freeing the souls from the suffering that will lead to their salvation. So, in summary: -Nea wants to kill Mana to free him from insanity, this is what Road means when she says he “fought for Mana.” -Nea wants to fulfill the Noah’s true purpose, which, as Road alluded to herself, is to undergo another purging of sinners, thus ushering in another era of humanity. They are God’s true apostles, and the ones who will expunge the sinful sub-humans from the world. Mana, the puppet of destruction who is insane, just wants to destroy everything, including God. -And finally, akuma are definitely an important step in this “ascension process.” ———[PART 3, who the hell is Allen? And what’s the deal with Tyki and Sheril?]———————- Now this is the part of my theory that I am most proud of, as, even if some segments of this theory are proven to be false (in which case, I’d be shocked) I am almost certain that this is completely right. As Hoshino has foreshadowed every single part of the theory that I am about to describe. Before we cover Allen, however, we first need to focus on the two black sheep in the noah family, Of course, I am talking about Tyki and Sheril. These two have been repeatedly shown as parallels to the two halves of Past!Earl which Road (KEC) raised. However, there is an issue that I am shocked nobody has noticed by now: and that is, Tyki and Sheril are BROTHERS. Like, actual brothers. They didn’t just meet after becoming noahs, they are both actual siblings. However, in that case, how in the world are they both so damn similar to Nea and Mana? For continuities sake, let’s get the parallels out of the way first: Tyki: his parallel is obviously Nea. -They both look the same -Have been stated multiple times by Road and Wisely that he “reminds them” of Nea. -And, as I’ve established above, both share a different view of humanity than the Earl (Mana) does. Now Sheril: Who’s parallel is Mana. -First, he has long hair similar to Mana’s. -He’s much more crazy than his brother Tyki, which is an excellent parallel to Mana and Nea’s relationship. -And he is obviously attracted to Road. Which would make sense, as, in the past, Road seemed to serve as a crutch of sorts for Mana. There are numerous panels where we see her cradling Mana, which suggests this. And, as I’ve already established above, she’s KEC. But this is where things get weird. The thing is, Hoshino has established that these similarities are important, and not coincidences. As Tyki, with every passing chapter, seems to be becoming more and more like Nea. However, there is also another factor to this that really drives these strange similarities home: that Road seems to care for Tyki and Sheril a LOT. -When Allen sliced Tyki in two, she went ballistic, and nearly skewered him and everyone else. Even when Skinn died she didn’t go THAT crazy. And, since the very beginning of the manga, it has been established that she has been close to Tyki. Oh yeah, and did I mention that, when she was cradling Tyki in the ark, she was holding him in the EXACT SAME WAY she held Mana all that time ago in the Campbell mansion. -When it comes to Sheril, however, the connection is a bit less obvious. However, she definitely has a soft spot for Sheril, as she agreed to become his adoptive daughter. Remember, she didn’t have to do this, she could’ve just changed forms and live by herself. But she didn’t do that, instead, she literally joined Sheril’s faux family. The more important facet of this is Sheril’s unnatural attraction to her. As far as we know, there haven’t been any other mention of Noah’s falling THAT-HARD for another member of the family. Hell, when he was interrogating Bookman, Fidra and Tyki were both shocked by just how much Road’s disappearance affected the man. He sees Road in a similar way that Road sees Tyki. Granted, Road doesn’t love Tyki like Sheril loves her. But all of this establishes that there’s a connection between the three of them that simply makes them closer than the other noahs. Except for one person, of course, and that’s the Earl. And this is the reason why: Now, when you read this, I want you to keep in mind Road’s age. And, even when Nea and Mana were young, she was KEC, and was far older. Old enough to have kids. Now, I want you to keep in mind that Sheril and Tyki are both relatively-young. Both of them HAVE to be thirty or less as the Noah family needed time to rebuild after Nea killed all of them. And, after just looking at them and their actions, it’s obvious that they’re both thirty, or under. (POST REDDIT EDIT: A kind soul on reddit told me that Sheril and Tyki are both thirty-four and twenty-seven. However, that changes nothing, as it would still put them within the thirty-five year gap between Nea’s death and the present) Which means, they were both born at the same time, and then both just HAPPENED to become noahs who are just like the two halves of Past!Earl. And they both have a strangely-closer connection to Road than the other noahs. You want to know why? It’s because Tyki and Sheril are Road’s actual kids. Nea and Mana weren’t her kids, they were just the two halves of Past!Earl. And, as we already know, Road is definitely old enough to have children. Especially during the time after Nea’s attack. This would explain: A.) Road’s connection with Tyki, why she held him exactly like she did Mana, and why she went near ballistic when Allen cut him in two. B.) Why Sheril is so attracted to her, because, even though he’s the noah of desire, he’s being affected by Mana’s own feelings of admiration towards Road, who has been with the Earl since the very beginning. And, as I’m sure you all can remember, why he seems to be so batshit crazy. Just like Mana. “A-ha! I’ve got you now, Sweetcreems!” You yell as you rapidly start to type your response to disprove this theory. “You said yourself that it’s almost impossible for Nea and Road to be lovers, since she is KEC. And, since - if Tyki and Sheril were her kids - they’d have to be born after Nea’s death, there’d be no way for her to actually have kids.” “Ha! You just sit down you uneducated swine!” I scream as I pimpslap you. “Because there IS a person who is the proper age to be Tyki and Sheril’s father, AND who was around after Nea’s death!” You want to know who that is? Well I’ll tell you, it’s Past!Allen baby! Past!Allen, for those of you who don’t know, is a person who looks like Allen that Nea referred to in one of his flashbacks. He was also heavily implied to be a close personal friend of Nea’s, one of the few that was actually human, and was a person who was almost definitely Bookman’s dead apprentice. Past!Allen is also the one who agreed to take Nea’s memories upon his death, and, after some lines spoken by Nea, is almost confirmed to be Allen before he became, well, you know, Allen. We know that Past!Allen was exceptionally close with the noah family. As he managed to convince Nea to give him his memories, and it is Past!Allen that Mana eventually named his dead dog over. We also know that, given his level of education and other clues, that he was Bookman’s dead apprentice. And was there with Bookman when they were tagging along with the noah family for records. Now, all that stuff above is information pretty much already known by the community. However, this is where my theory comes in. Remember, earlier in this post when I was discussing how the “Road and Nea are lovers theory” doesn’t hold ground? Because she could have no idea, at the time, that Allen was the 14ths host? You do? Good. Because the reason why Road loves Allen is because he reminds her, obviously, of Past!Allen. Think about it: -Their personalities are very similar, as Past!Allen was a massive influence on Mana, who then passed those traits down to Allen when he was traveling with him. -Both Allen and Past!Allen have similar white hair.

(((((POST REDDIT EDIT: Hey, last edit of this theory.  Before any of you hound me about Past!Allen’s hair color, let me say that Past!Allen’s hair color depends on the format you’re reading.  Me and a few buddies on reddit did a deep dive into the manga and physical versions, which I have, and found the following:  In the magazine version, Past!Allen has slightly darker hair.  However, in the volume/other versions, he has lighter hair with a slight etching.  Basically, what this is telling us is that Hoshino isn’t consistent with Past!Allen’s hair color.  However, after a bit of talking and going through alternate versions and the majority of the panels in which we’ve seen him in.  All of us agreed that Past!Allen’s hair color was light, but not snow white.  Note that this would still work with this theory.  As Road would’ve been attracted to someone with light-colored hair, which would still fit with Past!Allen and Allen.  As Nea, Mana, and the current Earl all have black hair.)))))

Going back through time…

To the place of his, of Allen’s beginning.

Tried my hand at translating a few pages~

Me reading dgm 232:

Last few chapters of D.Gray-man are called 'Saying Goodbye to A.W.' and the most recent one (231) is called 'Farewell to A.W.'.

For quite a long time I was anxious what that could mean - will Allen die? Will be be devoured by Neah? Will he disappear?

But then I reread 232 chapter, and I had an idea.

Throughout the whole manga we kinda-but-not-really get to know Allen. We cannot say we actually know a lot about him, quite the contrary. But we know about the mask he wears - the mask of Mana, as we can call it. The mask is Allen Walker. Not real Allen, but a safe alternative made by him to protect himself.

But now thing are beginning to change, and Mana is no more a safety for Allen (because Neah, because Earl, and even Cross), and his mask starts slipping. He started showing more emotions, he even showed a bit of actual grief for Tim (a shout out to this post).

He even wants to openly talk about his past to Kanda, which he never did before (nothing before Cross).

What does it mean? His mask starts to break. There's more of real Allen, while created by him Allen Walker is no longer needed/wanted.

Allen Walker can be gone, and real Allen can appear.