"Backlighting" is episode 303 of the Berserk manga series.
Short Summary[]
In the deepest recesses of his turbulent mind, Ganishka reflects on his lifelong darkened reality before the Skull Knight ambushes Femto atop the emperor-apostle's twice reincarnated form.
Long Summary[]
A series of flashbacks reveals key events from Ganishka's past.
As a child, Ganishka's mother clearly favors his younger brother and wishes for him to become heir to the Kushan throne. She poisons Ganishka, but he survives and, in revenge, murders his own brother. His grief-stricken mother soon after takes her own life.
Despite having political adversaries among the Kushan royalty and aristocracy, Ganishka manages to survive the "den of vipers" as he matures. When he meets his father, the reigning Kushan emperor, Ganishka notices unshakable fear and suspicion in him, instigated by Ganishka's presence. Later, during a royal visit, the emperor's elephant is driven berserk by a poison dart and throws him to his death — an assassination orchestrated by Ganishka and executed by another accomplice. Ganishka then eliminates his co-conspirator to tie up loose ends.
Following his father's death, Ganishka becomes the Kushan emperor but faces constant threats from political rivals. To solidify his rule, he instills fear by waging wars and dominating other nations. Though he marries and has a child, his continuous military campaigns keep him away from his family, whom he secretly fears in a similar fashion to his father's feelings towards Ganishka.
Years of war and his desire to rule the entire world culminate in a banquet held in his honor, where he is poisoned. His guards turn against him, revealing his son as the mastermind behind the plot. Despite being repeatedly stabbed, Ganishka survives long enough to reach an oddly-shaped stone given to him by a stranger years earlier. Sacrificing his son, Ganishka becomes an apostle.
In the present, lost in his thoughts, Ganishka perceives the world as a black, empty void. Suddenly, a light appears and expands before him, revealing a hand. The hand belongs to Griffith, who has assumed his released God Hand form as Femto. As Femto reaches out to touch Ganishka, a portal opens behind him, and the Skull Knight emerges, slashing at Femto's back with the Sword of Beherits.
Characters[]
- Ganishka
- Ganishka's mother, brother, father, and son (flashback)
- Femto
- Zodd
- Skull Knight