Birthday-Death Disease

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Birthday-Death Disease
Japanese	誕生日に死ぬ病
Rōmaji	Tanjōbi ni shinu yamai
Information
Habitat	The Abyss
First Appearance
Manga Debut	Chapter 6
Anime Debut	Episode 3

Birthday-Death Disease (誕生日 (たんじょうび) に死 (し) ぬ病 (やまい) , Tanjōbi ni shinu yamai) is a mysterious disease that occurs on the surface around The Abyss. A person falls horribly ill on their birthday, and by the end of the day they will have died, no matter what medical treatment they receive.

Description

Spoiler warning: The following section contains spoilers. Read with caution.

The disease was initially thought to be a rumor. Prior to Riko and Reg departing into The Abyss, eight children from the West District of Orth had already died on their birthdays. Later, Laffi recounts that a number of her regular customers had died on their birthdays, and Jiruo explains to Mio that five orphans had also passed away on their birthdays, with many more such cases throughout the community. It is a subject of great worry among the citizens of Orth.

The only known survivor in Orth thus far is Kiyui, who recovered in mere minutes, after he was taken out of The Abyss's vicinity and into the Caravan Fleet by Mio.

It is thought to be the cause of all the 2,000 year old Praying Skeletons found around a Burial Tower in the 1^st Layer. Underneath the tower is a tomb with even more Praying Skeletons, dating back 4,000 years; this leads into a secondary tomb with skeletons up to 6,000 years old.

According to Ozen, the reason for these mass deaths is unclear to the Delvers of Orth, saying that those who don't leave The Abyss when it goes around can only pray to be spared; thus it is theorized to be the reason for the praying skeletons' postures.

According to Srajo, the true form of the Birthday-Death Disease is, in truth, the "Breath" mentioned in the original scripture of The Song of Hariyomari. She also suggests that those who are what the original scripture calls "flawed" may be immune to it.

Symptoms

Kiyui was shown to have suffered a fever at the hands of the disease, with Mio noting that she might have otherwise assumed he had been poisoned, but victims are known to die from a variety of different ways.

Known Victims

• Kiyui
• Sherumi and Menae (Presumed)