"Rose of the noble castle...Power of Dios that sleeps within me...Heed your master and come forth!"

My conviction (and you may feel free to take this with a grain of salt) is that Anthy is the one alone who has the power to open the gates to the Castle of Illusion. It is she who sealed Dios' power away, and somebody had to keep it safe for him until such time as he recovered. Who better than the one who took it away in the first place? Every time she unveils the Sword of Dios, she insinuates as much that she is the true bearer of the Power of Dios with her speech.

I think that Akio is looking in all the wrong places for the path back to where he once was. He should be looking a little closer to his innermost circle, not at all the potential princes and noble hearts. Not at all the bearers of the Rose Seal who want the Power of Dios for their own selfish ends. Touga, Saionji, Miki, Juri, Nanami...all of them want the power promised in the Duelling game for their own satisfaction. Not even our noble Utena is the true bearer, though the fact that Dios must have chosen her to lead the way is readily apparent in her rematch against Saionji.

When somebody takes your power away from you, they must keep it or scatter it to the four winds, unless they have given it to somebody else. Considering Anthy knows the magnitude and potential of the Power of Dios, I highly doubt that she gave it to anybody, nor would she be so stupid as to throw it away like so much broken chattel. Perhaps Akio knows this, and seeks somebody that could convince Anthy to give them the full power she "inherited," so that the Champion of the Duels could then give it to Akio (after being manipulated into doing so without their full knowledge). Perhaps all of Utena's encouraging of Anthy to be her own person would have facilitated Akio's success, but not even the engaged could convince the Rose Bride to yield such awesome powers as that which Dios possessed.

After all, boys who aren't princes must become the End of the World, and what can lie beyond World's End?

I now invite you all to throw chairs and rotten produce at me. Thank you and good-night!