Light of the Nameless Star (名も無き星の光, Na mo Naki Hoshi no Hikari) is the ninth arc of Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu. It is preceded by Arc 8, Vincent Vollachia, and followed by Arc 10. In the web novel, the first chapter of Arc 9 was released on July 22, 2024, and its last chapter was released on November 27, 2025. It consists of 60 chapters and 2 interludes in the web novel, and it has four light novel volumes.
In the aftermath of the Great Disaster and in the wake of Priscilla's passing, the Vollachia Empire is set on the road towards recovery, ridding the country of the remaining zombies with the help of Spica and picking up the pieces of the destroyed empire to rebuild itself. No longer needed in Vollachia, the Lugunicans decide to return to their home country, all with their own individual tasks. One such task includes escorting Al to the Pleiades Watchtower so that he might read a certain Book of the Dead. However, shortly after arriving, Subaru finds himself in his worst predicament yet: captured and sealed away by Al. With his goal to rid the world of the cause of its apparent end, even if it makes him an enemy of the world, Aldebaran sets forward on his scheme with his companions to go to Kararagi and drop Subaru off of the Grand Mogolade Geyser.
A prologue depicting a scene with Petra and Meili that is not featured in the web novel is added.
Chapter 1
The narration stating that, other than Lupugana, each of Vollachia's major cities, including Garkla, Glarasia, Chaosflame, and Mezoreia, had all avoided destruction, was removed.
A prologue depicting a scene with Aldebaran and Echidna that is not featured in the web novel is added.
Chapter 2
The scene depicting Petra reading Subaru's Book of the Dead was edited and extended to fit the light novel.
Chapter 3
The scene depicting Petra reading Subaru's Book of the Dead was edited and extended to fit the light novel.
Chapter 4
The scene depicting Petra reading Subaru's Book of the Dead was edited and extended to fit the light novel.
The rings releasing Yae's steel threads were further described as killing armaments produced by Groovy Gumlet before the web novel establishes this in the chapters corresponding to the subsequent volume.
Yae mentions that even brushing against Jiranme poison can be fatal.
Chapter 5
The scene depicting Petra reading Subaru's Book of the Dead was edited and extended to fit the light novel.
In the quote that Aldebaran voices "Aldebaran-san" aloud, the adjective "gleaming" is added to make the clause become "Can you really stand losing to those gleaming stars".
A prologue depicting a scene with Aldebaran and Echidna that is not featured in the web novel is added.
Chapter 3
It is further clarified that Heinkel's actions on the night of the Royal Abduction Incident resulted in his "current state", rather than simply "the current Heinkel".
A prologue depicting a scene with Aldebaran and Echidna that is not featured in the web novel is added.
Chapter 1
Olbart's flashback dialogue is compressed from three separate quotes into a single quote that, while longer than any of the original three quotes individually, is shorter than they would be combined.
Chapter 2
Throughout the chapter, the brackets that were around the term “special allergy” were changed to only contain the word special, becoming “special” allergy.
A line stating that the essence of the shinobi was to obey commands without questioning too much and that only the shinobi's village chief, Olbart, disobeyed that idea, was removed.
The line mentioning the various things Yae had been trained to withstand, such as resisting poison and fighting in a near-death state, was compressed, now only saying that she survived hellish training where the bones in her body were broken and she had been subjected to near-death experiences by having her blood drained from her body.
A line stating Yae's that raw talent surpassed Olbart's and she could easily become the strongest shinobi with enough years of experience was removed.
Chapter 4
The description of Subaru's Book of the Dead as a special-grade cursed object, which may have been a reference to the concept from the Jujutsu Kaisen series, was changed to call it "a cursed object with circumstances difficult to explain".
Trivia
The theme of Arc 9 is Storms and Billows. This was revealed in Volume 40's afterword.
Arc 9 is Aldebaran's main arc, per the afterword of Volume 39. Accordingly, the author has referred to it as the Aldebaran arc in Volume 40's afterword and the Al arc through Twitter.
Contrary to popular belief, the arc has not been confirmed to center around the Felt Camp. In 2022,[1] the author indicated that the Felt Camp's spotlight would begin in Arc 10 (formerly Arc 9), although it is not known if these plans have been altered since then.
While no numbers were paired with the focus of later arcs, in 2022, the author confirmed that after Arc 7 (which was split into two arcs), the remaining arcs would have a spotlight on the Felt Camp, then the Crusch Camp, and lastly, all Royal Selection camps.[2]
As the original plan for Arc 7 changed and it was split into two separate arcs, it can be assumed that the author's original statements about Arc 8 now apply to Arc 9.
The author has said Arc 8 would have a situation where Subaru is unable to die in an unnamed battle.[3]However, this is not a confirmation that Subaru will be unable to utilize Return by Death in the midst of the unnamed battle.
As of February 13, 2014, Ton, Chin, and Kan were said to appear in Arc 8.[4]
In 2014, the author claimed that Arc 8 had the feeling of urgency within it.[5]It should be noted that this is not the arc's theme.
According to the author, Arc 8 or Arc 9 will feature the scene he wants to write the most.[6]
On February 14, 2018, responding to a question asking which arc that Petra would “shine the brightest” in, the author concluded it would likely be Arc 8.[7]
References
↑“As I’ve said before, the main arcs for Felt and Reinhard will be in the later half of the story, somewhere in 9, 10, or 11.” Re: Zero 10th Anniversary Space.
↑“Now the spotlight is on the Priscilla Camp, next is going to be the Felt Camp, then the Crusch one, and finally, all of them.” Re:Zero 10th Anniversary Twitter Space.
↑“I’m confident that the feelings of deadlock in Arc 5, despair in Arc 6, impatience in Arc 7, urgency in Arc 8, and tragic heroism in Arc 9 won’t lose out to Arc 3 and Arc 4.” Narō impression response on May 23, 2014, at 19:40 JST
