Belcrant (ベルクラント Berukuranto?, "Bergland") is a massive, sword-like superweapon in Tales of Destiny. Protruding from the aeropolis capital of Dycroft, Belcrant yields immense power and serves a pivotal role in the game's plot.
History
Past
Around 1,000 years prior to the events of the story, the Aetherian king Kronos used highly-advanced Lens technology to create Belcrant, a large Lens energy cannon powered by the Eye of Atamoni, which granted it the capability of pulverizing the surface world in an instant, flipping the crust into the air to form a floating continent known as the Aethersphere. Although this system was originally a peaceful one, designed to evade the effects of a comet that collided with the planet and plunged it into an ice age by clouding the atmosphere with dust, Kronos eventually used Belcrant as a weapon to crush the earth and leave those considered inferior behind, which led to the Aeth'er Wars.
During this conflict, a split between the populace resulted in a split of races: the people allowed to migrate to the Aethersphere became known as the Aeth'er race, while those left behind came to be known as the Er'ther race. The immensity of Belcrant's power threatened the Er'ther people and allowed for a one-sided affair in the war until a group of Aetherian scientists became disgusted with their people's behavior and descended to the Er'ther Lands for the sake of aiding the Er'ther people in fighting against the Aetherians. Swordians, Lens technology developed by the Aetherian scientist Harold Berselius, became to the key to the Er'ther people's success, and a group of combatants known as Swordian Masters used these sentient swords to defeat Kronos and expel the Aethersphere, along with Belcrant, into the depths of the ocean.
Role in the Plot
During the game, Hugo Gilchrist mirrors Kronos's historical actions by using the Eye of Atamoni to revive the Aethersphere, its aerial cities, and Dycroft, which yields Belcrant. In four phases, he manages to use the Eye of Atamoni's power to charge Belcrant and fire it at the planet's surface, shattering the crust and elevating the debris into the sky to form the forgotten Aethersphere once again. When Stahn Aileron and his companions assault the restored Belcrant, they find Hugo in the control center, his mind warped by the lingering spirit of Kronos, who managed to survive by housing himself within the Swordian Berselius.
Once the group defeats Hugo, Kronos uses the Eye of Atamoni to transmutate Hugo's body into his own original form. Even in this body, however, Hugo shows some remaining signs of resistance, holding Kronos back from killing his daughter, Rutee Katrea, and detaching Belcrant from the Aethersphere to allow the group to escape, before Kronos reasserts control and banishes Hugo's persona completely. The superweapon returns to the sea, now rendered inoperable without the Eye of Atamoni to power it. The Eye is later destroyed when the group uses their Swordians to overload it and use its energy to rupture and destroy the Aethersphere entirely.