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lady-lilly-gray · 4 days ago

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Where is the Heart of Innocence?

Buckle up, Buttercup; this one’s a bit of a doozy.

This is a theory I’ve been wanting to flesh out since I last reread the series, and it came up in the discord server a few days ago. From (in my opinion) least to most likely, I will make a case for each bit of innocence we have seen in the story thus far, however far-fetched they are.

Housekeeping 1: Exclusions from my analysis

Any fragment of innocence that has already been destroyed “on screen” (Yeegar’s, Daisya’s, etc.)

Apocryphos: If his purpose is to protect (re: absorb) the Heart then it must be a separate entity

Judgment: Apocryphos would not have left the Heart behind when taking Cross’s body.

Housekeeping 2: Whilst I don’t believe this theory myself, there is the possibility that the Heart does not really exist and was either made up by the Earl to justify the destruction of Exorcists and/or innocence; or made up by the Order as a way to bait the Earl out into the open. But I’m not going to delve into that right now.

Housekeeping 3: Where to place Grave of Maria

This fragment lives on inside the body of its previous (possibly initial) accommodator

If the “Maria” is Katerian Campbell theory is true, this would add a nice layer of irony

If the Cross = Past Lavi theory is not true (I don’t think it is) this could be a reason for Cross’s connexion with Allen (if Allen isn’t the Heart)

As a weapon, it possesses both defensive and offensive capabilities

The reason I don’t know where to rank this is because, if memory serves, Apocryphos was the one who removed Cross’s body (see: Judgment) but has since (if I remember right) spoken of finding/absorbing the Heart. If so, would Apocryphos not have absorbed Maria then and there?

Caveat one: does Apocryphos know where the Heart is or will he just sense it; and thus, would he be able to sense Maria’s innocence when not actively being enchanted by Cross

Why kidnap Cross (re: keep him alive) in the first place

Caveat two: We don’t actually know the current whereabouts of Grave of Maria

Caveat three: Did Cross even have Grave of Maria with him/nearby when he was taken?

So, who/what does that leave us with?

Least Likely

The fragment collected at the beginning of the Phantom G arc:

(I, admittedly, forget if this is in the manga or exclusive to the anime)

It shows signs of sentience (disembodied hand)

Introduced shortly after Rouvellier brings the Heart back up in regards to the war

It is generally introduced in a major turning point in the series (HQ relocating following the breech of the old headquarters/the use of the Ark by the Order)

Winters Socalo (Madness):

It would be ironic since he is portrayed as cold-hearted

Innocence gave him a new lease on life (a new heart, if you will)

Bookman Sr. (Heaven Compass):

The irony of having to remain neutral in a war that is partially fixated on the Heart

I feel like he knows who/what the Heart is, because of his records, so I feel like he would have said something (at least to Lavi), or chosen not to work with the Order. Lavi’s been his apprentice long enough that he doesn’t necessarily need the extra guidance in the mission.

Hevlaska:

Sentient, like Apocryphos

Mysterious, prophetic/in charge of “reading” accommodators

Could tie into the idea of the Heart “knowing” the other fragments.

Froi Tiedoll (Maker of Eden):

He has powerful creation magic

He’s a sweetheart, always looking out for his “children”

Re: the other fragments being like the children of the Heart

Suman Dark:

There is an arc dedicated to him being rejected by his innocence, but we don’t know what happened to it

Is this the fragment that went on to choose Chaoji?

If this is confirmed in-universe that may be a further argument, as it would be the first fragment we have actually met multiple accommodators of

Excluding Artificial Exorcists; but how “different” are the new bodies sharing a brain with past accommodators

Re: does the “Helix” lie within the soul?

Chaoji Han (Arm of Baptism):

Despite spending time around his innocence fragment, it does not seek him out until other fragments of innocence are in danger (re: the Heart protecting its own)

This could, however, be taken as a sign of regular fragments protecting the Heart, if the Heart does belong to Allen, Lena, or Lavi, whom he was protecting

Klaud Nine (Lau Shimin):

She is a general; therefore a powerful accommodator

Takes on the two main forms of innocence

Lau Shimin is a parasite type that is commanded more similar to an equipment type (as opposed to using enchantments, like Grave of Maria)

Would align with the traditionally “feminine” nature of a heart

We see her truly mourn her students who were killed by the Noah

Possible

Arystar Krory III (Teeth)

It would explain whatever the hell happened to him after the Jasdevi fight in the arc

Kanda has regenerative powers; what’s Krory’s excuse

He is intrinsically connected to an Akuma; but not a Noah

Only person we’ve seen who can neutralise ingested poison

Parasite types and Seconds have only (at least to our knowledge) neutralised exterior exposure

Vampires have been historically linked to hearts

Prior to Dracula the typical method of drinking blood was directly from the heart

They are also linked to immortality which would tie into the “original innocence” and the duration of the Heart/innocence in general

There’s also a lot of narrative emphasis put on Krory being a vampire, despite him explicitly denying such a label (He’s just a guy!)

Noise Marie (Noel Organon):

Phrases such as “Love is blind” and “Listen to your heart” come to mind

Whilst he is able to fight, he is usually in a defensive position

A way for the Heart to protect itself

Would align with his gentle nature

Has almost died multiple times; and was almost part of the Second Exorcist Programme

Would the experiment have worked on the Heart?

The Kanji for his anti-akuma weapon’s name is literally “Saint’s Psalms” so why would Hoshino make a point of having the Furikana be something different

Re: something that means “Birth Organ” (like a heart?)

Yes, I know that the Katakana (オルガン) would be exclusively used in reference to the musical instrument, but the implicit cognation is still there

Timothy Hearst (Tsukikami):

I literally just mistyped his family name as “Heart”

He is introduced in the first arc following the resurgence of the Heart being mentioned

He has a sentient form of innocence, though not corporeal like Apocryphos

Tsukikami only communicates with his accommodator

If Timothy is the Heart, I wonder if Tsukikami knows that, and if he’s shared that information with Timothy

Possession abilities

If he gets strong enough, could Tsukikami possess a Noah?

Lavi (Iron Hammer):

It would be ironic because he’s meant to stay neutral

But, unlike Bookman Sr., he seems to actually have some kind of internal turmoil over this required neutrality

He’s the only one of the main four who has not had a power up (yet?)

This could be the Heart’s way of protecting itself (re: not drawing too much attention to itself)

It’s also possible that the other powerups are caused by a “desire” to protect the Heart, and that the Heart itself does not possess the same ability to evolve as the other fragments do

It would tie into Past!Lavi’s relationship to Allen/Neah

re: being an important part of bringing down the Earl, as its narratively set up to do; or protecting Neah, as Apocryphos clearly doesn’t want it to do

To that extent, are we even sure the Heart is a “good” force?

To what extent is “reincarnation” a part of the Bookman clan

That is, is it similar to the “awakening” of the Noah Genes?

Chaoji was protecting him when his innocence finally responded to him

Alma Karma:

He’s Kanda’s heart

We have seen him wielding innocence in the recent past, and know he was an accommodator in his past life, but there’s no mention of his innocence in the present day

What happened to that fragment when he was comatose?

Was his innocence fused with his body/destroyed when he became an akuma; or is it still in the Order’s possession

And why not mention it at all in the present, despite Alma drawing attention to innocence on his deathbed

Re: asking Kanda not to use his innocence on him because he doesn’t deserve to have his soul saved

Could this have messed with the powers of the Heart/affected the other fragments, as destroying the Heart supposedly voids all fragments. Kanda (presumably) passes out immediately after Alma’s death; we don’t see if his innocence was left behind

If Alma’s innocence was left behind and was, in fact, the Heart, could Kanda tell?

Could this have contributed towards Kanda returning to the Order?

He’s had a lasting impact on the narrative since his appearance/death

Unlike more macguffin-esque Exorcists such as Yeegar and Suman

The general association with Lotuses (rebirth) that tie into the Heart as a life force

Probable

Allen Walker (Cross/Crown Clown):

Again, Chaoji was protecting him when his innocence came to him

It would be the obvious choice, as he is the main character; but also linked to both sides of the war

For this reason, I don’t think the series will go this direction

Re: going against typical shounen tropes is a running thing in this series

Would the Earl (re: Mana) be able to kill Allen and/or Neah for the sake of the war?

If so, why didn’t he kill him in the first place? (an age-old question in the fandom)

Campbell twins: one is the body, one is the soul (heart)

Why was the Earl reborn in the first place, and why was he split into two beings?

It could not be destroyed by Tyki, despite us seeing him use the same exact method on other fragments

And that fragment literally fused with Allen’s heart to protect him

To protect Neah?

Bringing back the question of the Allegiance of the Heart/innocence, we know that innocence is the only force which can destroy akuma/do harm to a Noah; but can we be sure that, prior to the split, the innocence was not once in harmony with the Clan of Noah. We know that innocence and Noah genes can coexist within a body—there’s not evidence that Allen’s innocence causes harm to Neah.

To that end, what reasons has the Earl for destroying the Heart besides it being an easy way to take down the Order

Lenalee Lee (Dark Boots):

She’s Allen’s heart

She’s been on the back burner for a bit and was put out of commission for quite a bit of time; maybe I’m being too occidental in this view, but I’m sus of why a female mangaka would reduce a female character with strong potential to little more than a Mary Sue

Comparatively, two other female shounen mangaka, Katsue Kato (Blue Exorcist) and Yana Toboso (Black Butler), did something similar with Shiemi and Lizzie; and both girls were later “redeemed” and have since had more of an active role in the plot; so it wouldn’t be a shounen subversion, per se, to equate the Dark Boots crystallisation with Lena’s “redemption” to set her up to be much more of an active role in the plot (like being the Heart)

She is the first person proposed in canon to be in possible possession of the Heart

Although this makes me think it less likely

The fight with Eshi is the first canon instance (we see) of a fragment of innocence protecting its accommodator

Even though this happened around the same time as Allen’s confrontation with Tyki, but I’ll get into that later

Once again, Chaoji was protecting her when his innocence awakened

The Dark Boots are the first anti-akuma weapon to crystallise

Mugen’s crystallisation could have been a response to such, as a way of not making the Heart stand out by being the only “new” type of anti-akuma weapon

Back to the point of the “Heart” having a female connotation

She is the only female character in the Main Four

She is the first Exorcist (besides Allen) whom we, the reader, meet

Why not have it be Kanda (i.e. the first whom Allen meets)

Yu Kanda (Mugen):

Boy’s got more plot armour than Allen at this point

“Cold hards, warm heart” personified (bordering on Tsundere)

His regenerative ability; but also that of Mugen

It’s implied he used the same type of weapon in his past life

Mugen takes some of the wielder’s life-force to power up, which only really works with Kanda because of his Seconds seal

To that point, Apocryphos refers to Kanda as “Mugen’s accommodator” which implies that such a weapon has existed before (re: outside of present!Kanda’s lifetime)

Although, one could argue that Apocryphos referring to Mugen by name means that it is not the Heart

Mugen is, possibly*, the only only anti-akuma weapon we have seen that has always taken on the same form (implicitly, per Apocryphos’s knowledge of its name)

*I was convinced this was true of the Dark Boots too, but then when I reread the series I saw no mention of it??? Am I insane? Was this something mentioned exclusively in the anime? Is it in one of the Komlin arcs I always skip on rereads?

Mugen (六幻) means “six forms”—we’ve thus far only seen five

What is the sixth form, and how might it relate to the Heart

This is something I will go into in my “Final Battle” theory

He is the only exorcists we’ve seen who has been able to suppress his synchro rate

The Order knew immediately upon Allen reaching full synchronisation

This could be Mugen’s way of keeping itself under the radar (re: the Heart not drawing unnecessary attention to itself)

Most Likely

Miranda Lotto (Time Record):

The only exclusively defensive anti-akuma weapon we’ve seen

It protects other (i.e. the Heart protecting its own)

“The Destroyer of Time” prophecy actually being a reference to taking down innocence

In my “Final Battle” theory I’ll go more in-depth about how/why I think all innocence will have to be destroyed before the war is officially over

The caveat of her magic prolonging life, but not being able to revive the dead

Not only a narratively great way to not make her too OP for a side character with a very unique ability, but it also can be in reference to innocence no being restored once it’s been destroyed (either individually, or by the destruction of the Heart)

Like girl has some seriously powerful innocence

Keeping a whole town in a time loop

Which is actually similar (or at least a FOIL to Road’s power)

Speaking of, she is introduced in the same arc the Noah Clan is first introduced

And even without a true anti-akuma weapon she is able to wield the innocence

In order to protect Allen and Lenalee… which we’ll come back to

Lala:

Lala is the only example (that I can think of) of innocence creating sentience in another being (excluding Apocryphos, who is made of pure innocence)

Mater as a Chekhov's Gun

Back on my Final Theory Post bs, I think the final confrontation will take place in Mater, and Lala’s innocence being the Heart could tie nicely into this, especially if Allen has to destroy it; it would be narratively intriguing to have him destroy the innocence in the same place he took Lala’s her “life” when Guzol died

Mater literally means “Mother” in latin (which is why I don’t like the translation of the town being “Martel” in the manga; but the english translator also though Hoshino-san was a man in early volumes so I take everything with a grain of salt)

Also, her innocence as a Chekhov’s Gun

This is the first fragment of innocence Allen obtained/the first mission he went on

It hasn’t been mentioned since it was recovered

But Mater was brought back up (shortly after Neah fully awakened)

Could this be a set up to reintroduce this fragment into the mix?

The innocence literally acts as Lala’s heart.

There is a conversation to be had here about the connexion between the soul and the “helix” to explain why Lala wasn’t quite the same after having the innocence restored to her before Guzol’s death

But Lilly, isn’t it possible we just haven’t met the Heart yet?

Yes; but, if the Heart of Innocence truly exists, I think having it be some random person/fragment we haven’t been introduced to yet would be stupid at best and a cop out at worst. Thus, I’m not even entertaining this idea beyond acknowledging it as a possibility.

Last, but certainly not least, the theory I came to when I first read the manga, and the one I’m sticking to until proven otherwise:

The Heart is not a single fragment; specifically, it is comprised of two pieces

(see also: those 2014 tumblr era pictures of two human hearts forming one love heart)

So which pieces are they? The fragments synchronised with Allen and Lenalee

Allen’s innocence could not be destroyed like the other fragments

But the Noah’s search to destroy the Heart implies it is destructible; so why didn’t Allen’s innocence disappear entirely when crushed by Tyki? Because it was only half the heart; and, in this theory, both halves would have to be destroy simultaneously in order to destroy the Heart/all fragments of innocence

The destruction of the Heart meaning the destruction of all innocence is dangerous

Innocence is constantly evolving throughout the series. So, the division of the Heart into two distinct fragments could be an evolutionary safety net to protect all the fragments from sudden annihilation

Why do Allen and Lenalee seemingly have a telepathic connexion?

Could it be because their innocence fragments are intrinsically linked?

And to that point; Lena almost dying at the hands of Eshi is around the same time (possibly at the same moment) as Allen’s confrontation with Tyki. Their telepathic link could have been the Heart sending out a finally push of power to protect its other half

For the LenAllen shippers (like myself) it does have a nice Soulmate-y implication

#sorry not sorry this is 3k #also sorry not sorry for typos i'm Very Sick and my head has been throbbing for 2 days straight oops #read more so as to not spam the tag #even though I've basically been doing that all week #I will single handedly keep this fandom alive even if it kills me #shut up lilly #d gray man #dgm #dgm spoilers #I guess? I reference the Helix #dgm theory #let's chat

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