I just can't tell from what happened. Was the entire earth destroyed or was it the entire solar system like some people say?

no idea.... that ending has always been quite.... enigmatic to me

The explosion is BIG enough to end ABARA with merely two volumes.

Lol, indeed

The problem is that we don't even know where the story happens. What for a world is that, a piece of rock floating in space ? How big is it ? Has it an atmosphere ? Same for the white gauna "spaceship" on the last page, what is it supposed to be ?
IMO Nihei pushed the mystery a bit too far on that one. Or you're just supposed to take it for what it is, a mysterious world were obviously life isn't that fun, where there isn't much hope, if at all, a story that doesn't ends that well, to say the least, with two humans who can only have inbreds - hopefully they still have a gun with 2 bullets - and two black gaunas who are probably gonna get slaughtered in the next split of second.

Or could it be something more "subtil", some kind of metaphore ?
Maybe a critic of how humans often rush to use a technology without thinking of the drawbacks that may appear only far in the future (nuclear waste maybe ?) and then only the metaphor matters, not the settings.
Or a virus attacking an organism and a vaccine defending it ? (it just came to my mind, don't laugh )
Some also talked about Adam and Eve...

Imo its all related to the first pic of the chapter. The white and the black claw either "shaking hands" or lacerate each other. Depending on how you see that, you could guess about an ending in harmony or war.

@ the explosion: since we are in a Nihei universe, the explosion destroyed at least the entire solar system, if not more . But it seems, that the "world" was only this thing in space and that blew up for sure.

And for the metaphor, I agree with Falk's idea: "humans often rush to use a technology without thinking of the drawbacks that may appear only far in the future"

edit: looking it over again, i can say: No, I do not understand the end at all.

I think it's one of those things where "you understand it...but you don't."

"Rage Sense"

By this, I'm referring to when Kudou enters combat and has a flashback. After the flashback, he is hissing out steam, seems to be sprouting some kind of "wings" from his back and is fighting at a near god-like level.

EDIT:

Back on the topic of this "spaceship-thing"...

It only fuels my theories about ABARA and Suzumega being related .

Mmh indeed, I hadn't noticed the 2 claws.

And, reading the book again, I realise (or had forgotten) that Ayuta (well the big worm shaped Gauna with jaws under the face) seems to envelope and protect Nayuta and Kudou when disintegrating.

Which doesn't really help

...

In my opinion, I was certain that when she manifested into a white gauna, Ayuta seemed to become bent on the destruction of the humans and black gauna.

I was sure that she was trying to destroy the remaining 4th chronicle members in those final pages.

Isn't the barrier that is protecting Kudou and Nayuta made up of the appendages sprouting from his back?


If they are, that is another thing that I mean about him being god-like. He defended against a blast that destroyed the solar system.

That completely went over my head until just now.

My response is "... ..."

1) the solar system does not get destroyed. In fact, there is no evidence of a solar system or even the moon in the entire story.
Meaning. This story does not take place on earth, but instead an isolated island asteroid (an older seed ship).

2)Could the white gauna in the end frame be a final evolution of the white gauna ? Sprouting from the dead body of the giant gauna. The final evolution of the white guana being exactly like the black gauna (but white).

To me the ending is showing us the CYCLE of LIFE in this weird world.
The humans get to start again on their deserted seed ship (as stated, it has happened before)
The Gauna go through their reproductive cycle. ie. a large gauna infects and absorbs a population of humans, eventually evolving them into many final white gauna, which look exactly like the black gauna heros (their final, supreme form which the black gauna are based on, after human manipulationl).