#lads lore theory

[sylusbelovedart]

Fallen Angel/Demon Sylus Theory

Upon searching material for my fic, I came across new hints related to Sylus. I already shared them on Twitter but I wanted to make a long post here so it's easier for me to refer (will post on materlist).

1. Sylus apparence/how he is perceived by others

Lucifer/Satan is often misrepresented as this hideous looking beast with horns and a tail, whereas it has been said multiple times in the Bible that Lucifer (before becoming a fallen angel) was the most beautiful angel (his beauty is often underline in the Bible) and above many. He was a guardian cherub that had the ability to enter Eden (besides, Adam and Eve, no mention of someone else entering the Garden apart from those three). He was a leader and God’s favorite, until he rebelled against him and was chased from heaven.

(Which makes me think about Sylus’s relationship with Ever. Was he some kind of guardian or mentor for the children there ? Maybe he was one of the oldest who has been taken by them.)

But for some reasons, after becoming Satan, this aspect of him completely "disappeared". People kept making false sketches of him (what people did to Sylus too) and painted him only as a hideous beast, when he is first and foremost one of the most beautiful being ever created by God. And this is mostly because humans decided that what was ugly was bad and couldn't possibly be pretty and good (cf pretty privilege).

In Sylus' Myth, MC does point out that how people perceive, describe and present Sylus is not at-all what she sees, telling him he is much more handsome.

Source is from @/Lavender on Youtube since I don't have Sylus's Myth. Check out her channel !!

And because of Sylus’ misrepresentation through centuries, and even though he has a pure heart and soul, no one can really see him for who he is, because he was already pointed and painted as a bad guy and a beast.

No matter how Sylus might look (that man being handsome as fuck) and how gentle and protective he actually is, he will still be perceived as this big, bad beast, no matter how loving and pure his heart might be. Because humans consider that, what is unsightly and cursed can’t be beautiful and pure.

2. The dragon

Lucifer/Satan was descripted as a dragon multiple times in the Bible. At first, when Lucifer entered the garden of Eden to deceive Eve, he was often described as a "snake". But after God found out Adam et Eve’s sin, God cursed the snake to "crawl" which could possibly mean he used to walk (and some say he could even fly from earth to Heaven and into the Garden).

Far later in the Bible (at the end of it basically), it talks about Satan’s first fall refering to him as a dragon (which is also described as the "ancient serpent").

3. The meaning of the eyes

(To me, this is one of the predominant features in Sylus's character)

When Lucifer manipulated Eve into sin, he told her that eating the forbidden fruit would "open her eyes" and help her know what’s good and bad (and to understand and stand by his side Sylus, you have to step beyond what he calls "light" and "shadow").

The "third eye" is also linked to s@t@nic representation (similar to the eye of Aether). Sylus's power is lodged in his eyes and enables him to be see people desires and aren't the eyes "the window of the soul" ? It's one of the rawest and accurate way to know and understand someone. Perceiving peoples desires could really helps someone "know it all" (also the other terms used to call the "third eye") and could also explains how and why Sylus seems to know SO much.

In Sylus’s Myth, on our first encounter he talks about our eyes and what he likes in them : he sees hatred (the first act of hatred was commited by Caleb against his brother Abel), defiance (Eve and Adam defied God by going against his words and associate with the "snake") and greed (often linked with desire, which Eve first thought when she saw the apple)

4. The Dragon's Bind

Sylus was binded for 1677 and I always asked myself why such a specific number and what does it mean ? And it makes so confused because I can't find what this exact number might mean ? So I tried to divide the number and only found something consistent for the 1000 year (I have found other things for the 677 but I am not satisfied).

1000 years

In the Bible, Lucifer/Satan was thrown into the Abyss, bound once for 1000 years then realeased for a final battle and defeated again. Sylus was sealed into the Abyss, bound then released and defeated.

Source is from @/Lavender on Youtube since I don't have Sylus's Myth. Check out her channel !!

Then Lucifer/Satan would be "thrown into the lake of burning sulfur" as punishment. Sulfur is found in volcanic terrains where there’s heat and fire.

Does that ring a bell ?

Philos's state when Sylus went "mad".

Maybe it’s what should have waited Sylus if MC didn’t kill him. The world would have turned into his own punishment to make him remember what he has once done and what he has become. But by killing him and later cursing him, MC saved him from eternal death (living on a scarred earth where she would no longer live) and gave him eternal life (being able to reincarnate or meeting again in another life). Which makes it all the more painful and heartbreakingly beautiful when he kissed her forehead and trusted his soul to her.

5. Infold's official art

When I first made my thread on X, I didn't know this art existed. One of my oomf showed it to me and this is what I have to say on this.

The theme of fallen angel is very fitted for both Sylus and Caleb. Both of them being fallen angel makes sense. But I think the difference is that Sylus could be seen Lucifer that went against God and Caleb as one of the angels that fell after deceiving God. Like Sylus that constantly fights Ever while Caleb decided to join them to be able to protect the one he loves (even if he deceives them at the end, at least he knows he can protect MC). Basically, Sylus is the sin and Caleb the sinner.

Which makes me think about the theory where it was said that MC is not the "same" for every LI (like if you have a main, the others are just "random" guys). Depending on which guy you chose, MC won’t be "the same". Her personality varies from each Lis and kinda suits their own personality (but MC is still MC with her own struggle and personality)

So if for Caleb’s MC is Eve then Sylus’s MC could be Lilith ? Like Lilith was supposed to be Adam’s but she never loved him that way. Which might be why Caleb and MC relationship is complicated.

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P.s : Thank you for reading this far. I don't think this is finished and I still need to do some research but I have enough material to continue writing. So I might add a few things here and there but yeah... That's mostly what I wanted to say about Sylus. I hope I fed into your fallen angel Sylus as much as I fed myself !!

[linkons-most-wanted]

Another huge piece of supporting evidence here is actually Xavier's timeline and the fact that Sylus is Xavier's foil (knight/dragon, light/dark, police/outlaw, etc). The foils tend to have similar timelines to each other. Like Xavier, Sylus traveled back to Earth from a future Philos and has maintained one continuous lifespan and set of memories. Imo there's really no other way to interpret what we've been presented with.

Likewise, Zayne and Caleb are foils and both had regular human childhoods since MC met them during that time.

With Raf it's still unclear--he seems to reincarnate, since MC meets him when he's a boy in two different lives, but maintains awareness of his Lemurian identity. I'm hoping the 6th LI will shed some light there too.

Imo, the ages listed for Xavier, Sylus, and Rafayel are just "vibes" for the meta romance tropes, like, "how old do you want your boyfriend to be" for the main target audience. Even for Zayne and Caleb, it's not clear what year/month their age is referring to, and there's evidence that Caleb's exact age isn't even known since his experiment record lists him as 9-10 just like MC was listed as 7-8.

For Sylus specifically, given the way that Infold likes to twist the knife, I think the most likely explanation for after Beyond Cloudfall is that it took time for Sylus's energy to re-collect (since we see him dissolve into and out of mist in his current form) and by the time he could manifest in Philos again, Sorceress MC was already dead/gone.

Which is, in fact, what I went with for my Sylus POV prequel fic 😅 because I also needed more space pirating and cosmic pining. It's not canon, ofc, but it's as canon-compatible as I can make it based on what we have access to now, and I tried to pull on the same tropes and relationship beats that Infold tends to reach for. So if you're hungry for more, you'll probably enjoy it.

Elysium pretty much confirms what a lot of us have suspected about Sylus' official age — it's just a random number he picked out for himself. Not his true age.

Just think about it and you'll see what I mean about it not making sense.

So according to his profile, Sylus is 28 years old in 2048.

The N109 Zone gang wars took place in 2036, ie 12 years earlier. Which would make him 16 years old at the time.

Do you guys see what I'm getting at?

Are we supposed to believe that Sylus was 16 or younger in his anecdote?

Are you deadass telling me to buy for even a second that Sylus was hunting down intergalactic overlords for sport, conquering entire planets, and cementing his reputation as the most feared and wanted man in the history of an entire civilisation before legal drinking age? Before he'd be eligible to get a driver's license?

Are you expecting me to buy that this

or this

is basically a high-schooler??? A literal child???

Nah. I'm willing to suspend my disbelief on a lot of stuff but this?

Absolutely not.

Sylus is not 28.

Tbh though I never believed he was. I thought it was just a number he picked for the sake of creating an identity. Someone pointed out in a comment to one of my posts that it might actually be a reference to how old he'd be in dragon years rather than in human years, and I like that theory. Honestly, I've always figured that Sylus was not reincarnated or reborn, but rather resurrected/reassembled—the scar on his chest, as well as the fact that he retains all his memories of the past unlike MC or Zayne, strongly hint towards that being the case imo. So I think he's most likely been a fully grown adult for decades, at least, depending on when exactly his resurrection/reassembling took place.

Man, I need more Sylus lore... I need more info on his planet conquering days, his prison escape, the timeline of his first stay in the Oasis etc.

@/Paperfold

Anyway, I rest my case.

[rafayelogy]

DEBUNKING SOME MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT RAFAYEL’S LORE + THEORY

(may contain spoilers for rafayel’s myths “sea of golden sand” and “forgotten sea”, his main story branch “land of secret flames”, his third anecdote “siren’s song” and the memories “fragrant dream” and “your fragrance”)

• “lemuria was destroyed after the sea god’s ceremory”

this one is a very curious one to me since his myth explicitly states rafayel saved lemuria and the kingdom only sunk many years after his death

• “rafayel betrayed his people by choosing mc over lemuria”

ok, here is when i feel people get a little confused about what really happened with lemuria in the three different timelines (main story, forgotten sea and sea of golden sand)

i think it’s very complicated to take what we are presented in “sea of golden sand” at face value since what we see in the “forgotten sea” myth directly contradicts what we learn from it, for years lemurians believed mc stole the sea god’s heart in the coming-of-age ceremony what we know isn’t true and rafayel was the one who offered his heart to her

the true is we don’t know why the seas dried out, we don’t even know if mc really has the sea god’s heart since the myth invites you to follow rafayel’s skeptical perception on lemurians legends

we aren’t supposed to believe these legends, so we cannot really tell what rafayel did that angered the deep sea since, in “forgotten sea”, we only have the mention of a lie rafayel told the deep sea to save both lemuria and mc

i’ve seen many fans saying that rafayel is facing the consequences of his actions, however the main story lacks sufficient information about what happened to lemuria in that timeline, but one thing we can be sure of is that rafayel was just a child when it disappeared

claiming rafayel betrayed his people for mc isn’t just a simplification of his personal conflict but isn’t even canon accurate since not only he was just a little boy but the text clearly hints ever may be involved

• “rafayel had his scales and tail cut out by mc”

i keep seeing this being thrown around as a “sad rafayel fact” and i don’t know where people got it from

what i think happened is that people mixed information from two very different sources (rafayel’s “siren song” anecdote and the “fragrant dream” memory)

in his past, rafayel met a detective who is convinced he’s a merman seeking revenge after being deceived by a human woman, however, these claims are purely speculative and there’s no evidence to support the idea that this actually happened in any timeline

there’s also the 4 stars memory “fragrant dream” where mc has a dream in which she becomes a sea witch and rafayel appears to her in his merman form and requests a potion that would transform him into a human, the dream is heavily inspired by “the little mermaid” tale, making it difficult to fully discern which parts were merely a dream and which ones were based on real events

i personally believe it the dream could also be her brain processing trauma from when she was stuck as ever’s lab rat since the “ingredients” she asks rafayel are the same substances extracted from lemurians during the experiments and we know rafayel was also one of their victims

whatever the dream is complete or partially fictional, there’s one thing we can be sure of: mc never harmed rafayel, he’s the one who offers his scales and blood to abyss witch mc to be used in the potion so he could turn her back into human

+ my interpretation of their bond

in “forgotten sea” we learned that the bond serves two purposes: igniting the temple’s flame and allowing the sea god to access the tome of the sea god, where lemurian prophecies are recorded

since we know rafayel successfully ignited the flame and we saw him and mc using the bond to read the tome in both “sea of golden sand” and his main story branch, we can only assume rafayel and mc concluded the ceremony that day, they are bound, mc is the sea god’s follower

but then, what happened to anger the deep sea?

well, i believe mc was the one meant to give up on her freedom and autonomy to stay in lemuria with rafayel, however he fell in love with her and wanted her to be free as he himself felt trapped there, directly mirroring princess mc’s feelings in the “sea of golden sand” myth

his resolution to save his people and not condemn the woman he loved to a life of subservience was to pledge devotion to her, sacrificing his freedom for hers and his devotion to her was what ignited the temple’s flame

the lemurian bond symbolizes their love but also symbolizes control, in rafayel’s “siren’s song” anecdote, the detective who accuses his of being a siren and the responsible for the man is the audience’s death, he references something that seems to be similar to rafayel’s chest mark as an indicator of lemurians’ influence on humans

due to rafayel's love for mc, the sea god is now subordinate to a human woman, what obviously would displease the deep sea since we know from his main story branch, the deep sea spirit can take over rafayel’s body and mc is able to bring him back to himself through their bond

as long as their bond exists, the deep sea will never be able to use rafayel as its sea god, this could explain why the sea is angry at him and wants him to kill mc in “sea of golden sand”, their bond is the only thing granting rafayel freedom from the influences of the deep sea

(late editing because i just forgot crucial information ????)

tidal embrace, mc’s weapon that comes with god of the tides as companion has the following description: “a scepter symbolizing the power of sea god. it is unknown to all that the god had gifted his heart and authority to his eternal follower before leaving the temple.”

[dawnbreakersgaze]

After playing Love and Deepspace for a bit now, while going for a second play through this scene hits a lot harder after you learn the lore of the Lemurians and Rafayel specifically

Let's talk lore and theories below, shall we~

Knowing that Raymond should have died by now, and that he WANTS Zayne to ask why (coupled with the Lemurian skeleton) is pretty much a dead giveaway that he's harvesting them for his longevity. He seems smug that he's done what Zayne and his fellow Doctors couldn't, and then almost taunts that Zayne is being held back by staying at Akso.

What I didn't catch the first time, however, was that he's keyed into the area Zayne is researching (the Tower or whatever it is currently) on Mt. Eternal.

As far as I know, Xander Sciences isn't a name we've heard again (correct me if I'm wrong, this is why I'm replaying the whole story again, so I can try and catch the things I didn't understand the first time), but we know someone is after Rafayel specifically and this is a pretty good lead already.

The irony of it all though, is Raymond having the "cursed" painting that almost killed him.

Painted by whomst???

Why our dear darling God of the Sea himself 🐠 like what a tasty little piece of revenge lol. I can't remember if this painting was specifically made for Raymond (commissioned?) or a chance purchase, but my god it's kind of amazing on Raffy's part if it was purposefully done. Sending a booby trapped painting of the bloody death of your people to the man who's brutally harvesting them and displaying their remains in his home like a fucked up macabre museum piece. It's just 😚👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼 so perfect.

I won't lie, the whole chapter is so much more uncomfortable and creepy when you've got more context 😖

[munnmolads]

Was Rafayel actually captured by Ever? - Theory and Analysis

Especially after Death & Rebirth, a lot of fans are speculating if Rafayel was actually captured and experimented on by Ever. What does the game lore say about it? Spoilers for all of game's lore up to end of Death & Rebirth, including Rafayel's Anecdotes and World Underneath stories as well as some of this memories.

A quick note: I have to be honest, if it would be true in the game that Rafayel was captured by Ever, I might not like that for his story. I want to make it clear that even though this theory is getting popularity, my bias might be affecting how I'm reading lore for this theory and I'm trying to actively keep an open mind to every aspect. I don't mean to be a debbie-downer for anyone who enjoys this theory and wants it to be true! It's a fascinating theory and I can see why people believe it and for a while, I did too.

Lemurians are being hunted for experiments

We know from Siren's Song Anecdote and Micro Universe World Underneath story that Lemurians are actively being used as a experiments and their blood and scales are being harvested by Gaia Research Center.

I have theorized earlier that Raymond from Chapter 2 of Under Deepspace was using these Lemurian cells to extend his lifespan. It's not that hidden lore, but if you're curious about seeing those experiments hinted at in the game.

There's no doubt about Gaia Research Center being involved in these experiments, but was Rafayel captured at some point?

Now - I have to put us in MC's shoes now. The main story so far hasn't acknowledged the experiments that Lemurians have gone through. It is all information we as the players have got from the anecdotes and World Underneath stories, the MC has not got this information canonically yet atleast. It is completely reasonable for her to assume that Rafayel might have been in Gaia Research Center.

I'm also going to use Ever / Gaia Research Center kind of interchangeably, even though they aren't the exact same thing. I'm assuming that everything that Gaia Research Center has done, has been for Ever's iniative and purposes, and have been funded by Ever.

What supports Rafayel being captured by Ever / Gaia Research Center?

In addition to what I already mentioned about Lemurians being captured, there's nothing much concrete about Rafayel being one of the people who were captured.

In Addictive Pain anecdote, he shows paranoia about her being a bait for him and being captured:

Granted, his fear might come from actually being captured earlier in his life. It could also be backed up with him being a really good at getting untied when he wants to, as in being an escape artist as I have mentioned in a previous post:

[Thanks to Frappe for their video in Tipsy Invitation on Youtube!]

He himself also uses quite bit of language about getting trapped or MC laying a trap for him. This has been something I am quite interested in, so I might do a separate post on this if we don't get a direct answer soon to it what it might be about:

Adressing Your Fragrance

I wanted to make a separate point for Your Fragrance since I have seen it being used as one of the references to this theory. A lot of memories in this game have layers upon layers, so I wouldn't be surprised if Your Fragrance would be in that category. But I do want to point out that quite often it's quoted without context, and sometimes feels like some people might have even completely forgot what this memory is about outside of it's kindled.

When we look at it with the context that MC did come to his home to tie his hands and drag him to the perfume exhibition while wearing an enticing perfume, his nonsensical ramblings seem more rational. He fell for MC's perfomance of her leaving and catching his hands with his tie. "Them" is most likely referring Thomas and the people in the exhibition, and he's claiming that MC is trying to get him lowering his guard and 'lure' him to the exhibition.

But as I have mentioned, it's not the first time the memories would have more layers than one, so I'm really curious to see if this is one of the earlier signs of him alluding being trapped by Ever / Gaia Research Center. I didn't want to claim YF "proves" the theory because the lines have logical reasoning behind them with context, but it doesn't disprove it either.

Why I don't believe Rafayel was captured by Ever / Gaia Research Center

One real give away for me is that we don't have any solid proof about him being captured in the story. At this point, we have had pretty good foundation for others why they are being sought out by Ever, what Ever want from them and the impact that Ever has had on them. Xavier is having his evol supressed by his collar, Zayne is being pressured to join in the Fountain of Atei since he's the creator of the X-heart, Sylus for being the leader of Onychinus and Caleb having his arm replaced and microchip inserted in him, losing his memories and personality.

My point is that if he was captured, there should be more established interactions and story would have mentioned and be affected by his capture. This would be a huge turn of events in his story, and I just don't feel like the current content in the story would be adequade to support such big revelation. Rafayel's experiences and call backs to any lingering trauma about the captures seem to be more about his people rather than himself. He feels extremely strong sense of duty to his people and Lemuria.

So far we haven't heard any of his point of view being captured, and considering a lot of Rafayel's and MC's interactions like MC tying him down several times would go differently if she would trigger that trauma in Rafayel. Would he be really that fine with it if he had such strong trauma with being captured? This is why I think his trap / capture and this kind of master play is more about their relationship dynamic rather than an actual event that has happened to Rafayel previously.

Considering his strong sense of duty when it comes to Lemuria and how important Lemuria is to him, I feel his paranoia of getting captured stems from trauma that he has seen himself happening to his people. He actively seeks out revenge on people who have wronged Lemurians, so it's also fair for him to assume he's being hunted for it as well. He knows how important he is to Lemurians, and his actions alone can determine their future if they can return home or not - he has a really great responsibility to ensure he can do that. He also might have extreme guilt over not being able to protect his people, regardless if he would have been able to do anything about it.

This is more of a personal opinion(/rant), so please feel free to skip and jump to next headline if you aren't interested: In addition to the existing content not possibly being able to support it, his story so far is really interesting as it is. It doesn't need anything extra, and I'm worried it would actually diminish his story rather than enhance it. Does it really add anything to his story that he was captured himself? What would be the point of that? He already has clear motivations enough to work against Ever as his responsibility to Lemuria and hatred of what they have done to his people. I just can't yet see a benefit for this kind of revelation, when the flip side is that existing content might not support it well enough to have the desired impact. I don't want a revelation for the sake of getting it, I want it to have meaning for him, the relationship, the story and his overall character. I'll keep an open mind anyway and hope that story-wise it would be well excuted revelation so I can eat my words. I would rather be wrong and admit it being good, than right about it not fitting to the story.

What might happen in Rafayel's next story chapters?

Since Death & Resurrection so far has involved Sylus and Zayne, I'm curious to see if we will get new chapters for Rafayel and Xavier soon. We are clearly going more in the direction of investigating Ever and the guys' personal interests to Ever. I think we will learn more about these experiments that are being done to Lemurians, and as well if this theory is true or not.

Since there is also a clear indication from the story being closer to revealing more about the childhood memories from MC, it could be we get to know more about MC's and Rafayel's first meeting. We already have had a taste of that in Land of Secret Flames, but it's still quite shrouded in mystery what happened around that time and when it was. I'm going to do a separate post about that theme next.

Also, this theory is interesting in the sense that I would love to see him being captured in the future. The key difference to this is the timing - with MC being with him in present, it's much more impactful for their relationship and could develop his character differently, rather than trying to fit it in with his current content.

I think that would have interesting turns for the story, interactions in the future and enhance MC's and Rafayel's relationship in a fascinating way. It has been teased in Abyssal Chaos and in some other parts of the game that Rafayel might disappear... Oh the angst 😭

[kiiseru]

🐟

[calebdatabase]

All About MC's Evol and Aether Core Powers

For those curious about the role of MC’s powers and following terms throughout the story, this brief guide is for you! Sprinkled throughout this post, you’ll also find some of my theories on the direction of the story.

Here’s the five terms we go over:

Resonance Evol Aether Core Spatium Core Flux Nexus Flux Stabilizer

I decided to make this post, especially for myself because when I started diving into lore threads, I realized how lost and rusty I was regarding the main story. It was a given since the last time I played through the older chapters was a year ago.

However, I recently replayed the entire main story so here’s a little refresher on MC’s powers and other important terms I didn't understand immediately! It doesn't include everything but will mention examples for terms that helped me follow the story more easily.

The definitions are taken from in-game/the wiki and then are supplemented with quotes/references/trivia I selected to help me grasp them. This also means this post is chockful of spoilers across the board. If there are any discrepancies, feel free to amend them in the comments (I did my best to be accurate but I am human).

I hope this helps to shed some light and invite more people to dive into the lore!

Resonance Evol noun

1 An Evol that allows the owner to change their frequency to match another life form or object, as well as amplify or suppress another’s Evol

2 An Anhausen class Evol with an undetermined power level wielded by MC

Notes:

An Evol that allows MC to change her frequency to match another's by using the waves generated by her brain’s magnetic field

She can produce repulsive waves against certain people/things to avoid resonating with them

Rafayel explained that MC must open her heart to establish a ‘connection’ and share her power by amplifying or suppressing another's Evol at will 

Xavier stated this is the only Evol that can undo a lock on a Flux Nexus pillar and retrieve a protocore/Aether Core from within (how convenient??)

It also allows MC to resonate with evol imbued items such as Rafayel’s coral stone to draw out Wanderers, or his paintings to inspect them

As of Caleb’s Homecoming Wings story, MC’s Evol remains underdeveloped and suppressed likely due to her Aether Core’s powers being incomplete

She can also return Wanderer Protofields to their original state

MC can even resonate with other peoples dreams:

"It's as if she saw through time and space, through his dreams, to realize he's not the doctor." - Dawnbreaker Zayne

“There were times when I noticed him [Xavier] sleeping. I tried using my Evol to resonate with his dreams. But whenever I do, I get too nervous and fail.” – MC in Xavier’s anecdotes

One cannot simply force a resonance with any Evolver, the process is a two-way street:

Rafayel and Sylus were overly-eager and attempted to resonate with MC within a short time of meeting her but failed because she viewed them as strangers

Out of all the LI’s (besides Caleb), Xavier resonated with MC more easily during their initial encounter against the Luminivores, most likely because his light evol and her aether core powers are similar in form which possibly made it easier for her to match his frequency as both are described as ‘warm glowing light’

Examples of resonating successes/attempts:

Xavier

‘I sigh and place my hand over his [Xavier’s] heart. The waves caused by the resonance Evol ripple from my fingers– the fountain bursts into a shower of dazzling light, countless, tiny droplets scattering. The spectacle reminds me of fireworks as vibrant as an oil painting.’

– MC and Xavier create a distraction in Azure Square to escape the robots monitoring him

‘As chaos envelops my vision, only one warm force stays tightly connected with me. It flows steadily from my hand and gradually covers the world in a dazzling light. It overwhelms my senses…”

– MC resonates with Xavier to power the Traceback II starship together

“Weird… It feels like something is suppressing Xavier’s Evol, preventing a complete Resonance…”

– MC’s speculation on Xavier’s Evol suppressing collar preventing them from fully resonating

Zayne

MC: “I’ll help you suppress your Evol first. Tell me the area I should resonate with so you recover faster.”Zayne: “My left shoulder… A little lower…”

– MC helps Zayne recover by suppressing his Evol in his shoulder

Rafayel

“All right, I guess I was wrong. Tapping into the depths of someone’s Evol isn’t easy.”

– Rafayel after trying to resonate with MC by holding her hands and explaining the intricacies of her Evol to her (lmao)

Sylus

MC: “Even if you keep holding on to me like this, I can’t resonate with you. It’s not something I can do just on a whim!”

S: “After all that arrogance, it seems you can’t even control your own Evol.”

MC: “... At the very least it doesn’t want to be activated in front of you!”

– MC to Sylus who was attempting to force her to resonate with him by grabbing onto her 

Caleb

“Resonate with me!” Like a bullet, Caleb leaps after the plummeting Wanderer.

“Caleb!” The roaring hurts my ears as I reach out. I can only catch the wind he stirs. Warmth surges over me like a tidal wave, and I focus my energy on catching Caleb as he’s in freefall. Our resonance creates a large energy shield that manipulates gravity. It halts his descent.

– MC assisting Caleb during battle on Linkon Tower

“The only advantage I have is having part of an Aether Core in my heart. Since I can resonate with the energy… I should be able to sense its location.”

– MC on locating other Aether Cores with her Resonance Evol

Aether Core noun

1 A rare protocore fragment or crystal containing a powerful mysterious energy that can only be wielded by a select few Evolvers

2 A complete Aether Core has a stable aether barrier on its outermost layer, which utilizes the gravitational field to seal and contain all the core's energy, thus ensuring its internal balance and stability

“Their power comes from the very core of the cosmos. If fully awakened, they would spell disaster for the world. I know. You aren’t satisfied with my answer. But there are some truths you have to see and decide for yourself.”

– Xavier explaining Aether Cores to MC

“Rather than what’s already happened, I’m more afraid of what might come in the future. But right now, you terrify me the most. You used the power of the Aether Core this time. I’m worried about what you’ll do next.”

– Xavier to MC after she uses him as a conduit for her powers to feed Starfield Forest

“The Protocore energy in your heart has always been stable. It can form an invisible shield to protect your heart when you’re attacked. You also haven’t become as weak as other patients with Protocore Syndrome. In other words, it’s a power made just for you.���

– Zayne comforting MC about her Aether Core

Notes:

An Aether Core fragment like MC's can appear as a yellow protocore fragment emitting a golden glow

Its power surpasses that of a regular Protocore and attracts anyone aware of their existence

In the present timeline, it was first discovered in MC’s heart by Granny Josephine and the Gaia scientists while experimenting on her as an illegal child experiment

It’s implied that it was not welded to MC’s heart through surgery but rather appeared on its own or chose MC due to her innate strength

MC’s Aether Core power is described as “warm” and appears as a radiant golden light

It has it's own defense mechanism and can create a shield around MC's heart

It especially attracts those affected by Protocore Syndrome who want to devour it's power

When used in combination with the Resonance Evol, MC can sense the location of other Aether Cores within range

At full power, it can power an entire planet for centuries but only temporarily (Philos survived for some time on a past MC’s Aether Core)

According to Xavier, once fully awakened it can also cause mass destruction (hint hint Earth’s downfall and Philos’ 2.0 rise?)

MC can siphon it’s energy, resulting in the crystal vessel breaking after the process of absorption

MC’s aether core provides boundless energy and immortality across time and space

Sylus’ aether core within his eye allows him to see people’s true desires and possibly grants him immortality as well

A modified wanderer wielding a spatium core was able to invade Xavier’s mind and recreate a protofield based on his memories of Starfield Forest (by Soren’s influence)

Human vessels who can control and maintain Aether Core’s power are extremely rare

MC, Sylus, and Kevi are three of them and therefore are sought after by the powers that be (i.e. Ever Group, The Farspace Fleet, Philos Backtrackers, etc)

Other possible vessels:

Xavier who is arguably one of the strongest evolvers was able to act as a conduit for the massive transfer of MC’s aether core power while they were in Starfield Forest

Caleb will soon make this list once Ever fulfills the Fountain of Atei project, since he boasts himself as a better vessel than MC

My personal theory is that only powerful Evolvers who have an indomitable spirit can house and command the ability of an Aether Core

Sylus and MC have strong personalities and are always at the heart of the action

They are known to have endured an unfair amount of suffering throughout their lifetimes that fostered this grit within them

Sylus even considers them to be ‘kindred spirits’ due to all of their similarities and encourages her lust for power regardless of the timeline

Their Aether Core's caused a physical energy link to materialize between both of them, tethering their wrists together like a handcuff

Sylus mentions she’s predestined to commit crimes in the future– my power-hungry villain MC theory is for another time lol 

Kevi, a mere child, was able to withstand the rigorous test Lucius’ forces his experiments to undergo in order to determine if their suitable for 'adoption'

Kevi was also able to easily utilize the spatium core to hide from the fleet

While we don’t know a lot about Kevi, it’s undeniable that he has an intrinsic will to live and promising powers

I don't remember his Evol being mentioned but we'll learn more about him and the experiments in the future

Caleb’s story speaks for itself tbh

Man’s survived how many near death experiences, and endless experiments, lord only knows what tragedy he experienced in his Myth... and will experience in the future

He can literally create black holes and shift the cosmos so I think his powers rival Xavier’s (though I’d like to see Xavi’s powers without his evol suppressing collar on)

A list of places Aether Cores have been found:

The flux nexus in the N109 zone on Ever’s abandoned research facility

The flux nexus in the no-hunt zone at the beginning of the main story

MC’s heart

Sylus’ eye

Tome of the Sea God unlocked by Rafayel using MC’s blood

Inside a mutated Wanderer destroyed by MC and Zayne in Chansia Hospital

Wthin a modified Wanderer destroyed by MC and Xavier outside Starfield Forest

Kevi’s possession given to him by his parents who were fleet personnel

Probably other locations I can't recall

‘I grit my teeth and forge that power into a sharp blade. Slowly but surely, it cuts through the invisible barrier along with the spaceship. Space itself is ripped open, which creates tremendous energy fluctuations and tremors. In the distance, a massive shadow looms.’

– MC and Xavier resonating on Traceback II to force their way through the Spatium Core’s illusion created by a modified Wanderer

Spatium Core noun

1 A rare type of Aether Core capable of influencing space, even creating entirely new spaces

2 Takes on the appearance of a green irregular spherical structure; the core’s shards have partially reassembled, drawn together by some gravitational pull

Notes:

A newly discovered type of Aether Core fragment that emits a faint green glow and grants the owner the power to ‘recreate a plane of existence and overlap it with reality’, essentially creating an illusion

MC describes the energy emanating from the core as gentle waves brimming with power, and a light, warm glow

Kevi was given a fragment of the Spatium Core by his parents to create a hidden pocket of space near his home to hide in from the Fleet

MC was able to sense the energy trail of this Spatium Core when she first searched the area of Kevi’s home due to owning an Aether Core 

Xavier confirmed the Spatium Core’s ability is familiar to people from Philos, such as the ex-Backtracker Soren who used it to lure Xavier into a protofield illusion to drain his powers

It’s important to note that despite being in a different plane, what happens to the victims trapped inside of this spatium-created dimension is very real

When Xavier attacked Soren its implied that Soren took damage outside of the illusion

Xavier’s energy is actually drained by Starfield Forest and Traceback II when he and MC emerge from the illusion; he’s exhausted to the point where he needs to sit down and sleep

By the end of Homecoming Wings, Caleb and by association, the Farspace Fleet, are now the current owners of the center fragment

Caleb’s mission is still to collect all fragments of a Spatium core, while MC’s mission is to retrieve the last remaining fragment from him

With the combined man power of the Farspace Fleet and the Tuum Fleet, Ever will eventually butt heads with the Hunter’s Association for the remaining fragments (or Caleb will use MC to get to the fragments once he discovers the Association is in possession of the rest)

Flux Nexus noun

1 A stone pillar device that captures Metaflux and as a side-effect can serve as a source of fluctuations that attract Wanderers

Notes:

Protocores and Aether Cores can also be stored and retrieved from within the pillar with the use of MC’s resonance evol

In the early story, Xavier and MC discovered Onychinus stored a modified protocore within a flux nexus in attempts to summon a dangerous Wanderer (this was likely a misdirect to paint Sylus as the big bad when in reality it was Ever)

Can serve as a ‘power source’ for crystal-infested human-wanderer hybrids with ‘Protocore Syndrome’

Destroying a flux nexus can result in severing the connection between it and human-wanderer hybrids, a concept similar to cutting off a power generator (Sylus destroyed one when he was chasing someone down in the N109 zone and it resulted in this effect)

Lucius' experiments (Caleb, Viper, Kevi, a mystery young girl) recycled these flux nexus in Skyhaven as a gig for Ever and the Fleet, during their clean-up of failed experiments with protocore syndrome

Flux Stabilizer 2.0 noun

1 A device the size of a bottle cap that regulates the frequency of surrounding Metaflux fluctuations thereby stabilizing the Protofield and reducing the likelihood of Wanderer materialization

2 Also functions similarly to a Spatium Core allowing the user to recreate a plane of existence and overlap it with reality (this function is obviously only available to those who are aware of how to use it such as Philosians like Xavier, Jeremiah, Soren and subsequently Ever Group)

X: “Initial tests show it has a radio frequency chip that can resonate with Metaflux fluctuations.”

MC: “So this little thing is the culprit behind the RMFMA’s malfunction and even the tool Soren used to lure in the Wanderer.”

X: “Yes.”

MC: “Can you also use that device to… recreate a plane of existence and overlap it with reality? You mentioned earlier that this is something only ‘your people’ know about.”

X: “That’s right. But you know I don’t like illusion stuff.”

– MC and Xavier discussing Ever Group’s newest groundbreaking invention

Notes:

The concept of a flux stabilizer first makes an appearance at Akso Hospital early on when MC visited Zayne's office and questions if the device is broken when a Wanderer appears

However, as of the end of Prologue To Tomorrow, a new 2.0 version of the flux stabilizer has been revealed to the public

When Ever broadcasts this new device on television, MC doubts there would be any need for Hunters if they implemented his small device all over the city

MC and her teammates are skeptical of this groundbreaking device that is advertised to help humanity against the Wanderers, of course

Similar to a Flux Nexus, this device can also be used for nefarious means such as to lure Wanderers

I wonder if this device along with the existing flux nexus' are how Ever will summon and revive the moist dangerous Wanderers and cause the fall of Linkon City to push their Philos (2.0?) agenda

[mapsthewanderer]

Caleb’s sigil/crest- Tomorrow’s Catch outfit

What tf is that crest?!

- Another myth speculation

Yes, I’m talking about THAT sigil/crest. Aside from the obvious, which is that there are wings on the outside of the centre of the sigil:

I have spent too much time trying to figure out what tf those thingy’s are.

WELL LEMME TELL YA

FIRE TONGS! Not fire POKERS, BUT TONGS. WELL?! THEY LOOK LIKE BIRB CLAWS TOO omfg

A broken clock is right twice a day, right?

Please, anyone. Tell me that I’m seriously delulu, but this further confirms my suspicions on Caleb being some kind of fiery birb *breaks*

BECAUSE:

While fire pokers aren’t specifically a mythological tool associated with creatures like the Vermilion Bird or Phoenix in Chinese culture, fire tools in general do hold symbolic significance in fire-related rituals and spiritual practices. The Phoenix and Vermilion Bird, both deeply connected to the element of fire, metaphorically align with the ideas of transformation, rebirth, and renewal—concepts that can be associated with the act of tending fire using tools like fire pokers and/or tongs.

THAT CROWN THO

The crown throws me off bigtime, but I have concluded with the following:

There isn’t a direct or widely known historical connection between a three-pointed crown and the phoenix (Fènghuáng, 凤凰) or the Vermilion Bird (Zhūquè, 朱雀) in Chinese mythology, but there are some interesting symbolic parallels:

1. Three as a Sacred Number

In many cultures, the number three represents balance, harmony, and the connection between heaven, earth, and humanity. The Fenghuang and Vermilion Bird are both celestial creatures often associated with cosmic balance, so a three-pointed crown might symbolically align with them in that way.

2. Crest and Feathers

The Fenghuang and Vermilion Bird are often depicted with elaborate, flame-like crests on their heads. A three-spiked crown could metaphorically resemble this, especially if stylized to look like feathers or flames.

3. Imperial and Divine Associations

The Fenghuang is an imperial symbol, often linked to empresses and nobility in Chinese culture. Crowns, particularly ones with three points (which could symbolize heaven, earth, and the ruler), could conceptually fit within that framework.

Okey, so am I cooketh or cooking who knows but I will cry if he turns out being some kind of salty pirate. Jkjk I’m happy with more Caleb content BUT seriously…

If anybody out there have another opinion on what tf those thingies are, please let me know.

[sowrennie]

Okay so I’m currently in Love and Deepspace hell and now it’s everyone’s problem. I may not entirely ever understand what’s going on, but that’s okay I’m still going to give my two cents on what Caleb may bring to the table. Please correct me if I’m wrong😭

LOVE AND DEEPSPACE MAINSTORY SPOILERS AHEAD!

1. Ties to EVER

Hear me out here. I know this is a common speculation but I want to delve into it and lay out the facts where I can see them. We kind of know what EVER’s goal is, we also— according to the notes we collect— know where their investments lie. They play a dominant role in biotechnological developments, aerospace, Evol energy, and international trade. We also know that Caleb works as a fighter pilot for the Deepspace Aviation Administration. He attended the Aerospace Academy in Skyhaven: an artificial floating island above Linkon. From what I gather, Skyhaven is powered by a protocore— and EVER is known for their involvement and use of protocores in modification/advancement. With what is made known to us it’s safe to conclude that Caleb is an affiliate. It’s hard to say whether or not he knows about the aether core, assuming he does though, he knows that upon the experiments— MC is basically immortal. She would be an asset to their research, and goal of extending lives. I wonder if Caleb feeds them this information, but at the same time— I’m just… not fully sure, seeing his particular niche and all. It does feel like they have their eyes on mc, though… I don’t entirely remember, but in awaited revelry, doesn’t Sylus imply that Josephine and Caleb have malicious intentions…? That being said—

2. Caleb’s return..?

I have a speculation that, like many cases we see (albeit some failed ones), he’ll be resuscitated via protocore; EVER can’t lose a valuable asset, after all. It fits thematically, and can further establish Caleb’s character as a character foil to Zayne (who despite his regrets, feels that death is a necessary part of the human existence.) An apple a day keeps the doctor away and all! This is the first ML we know that actively has interacted with another, and I genuinely can’t wait for what this means for Zayne’s story, even if EVER isn’t behind Caleb’s heavily implied return. He’s still facing what should be a dead man, and ugh. I KNOW his emotions are going to pile up. Staring directly at the Mt. Eternal anecdote. This could be a stretch, but— Carter, Xander Sciences trying to rope Zayne into their projects over and over— MC is the perfect bait, and bringing Caleb back may establish MC’s direct involvement and have Zayne be enticed by proxy. Caleb does play the role of the forbidden (potentially), and this could be how that motif comes into play.

3. Snake Motif…

Okay so I have yet to do my research on this entirely, but like— I just think it’s so interesting that they released Sylus during the year of the Dragon, and then potentially Caleb, during the year of the Snake. That aside, though— the clear biblical connection between the snake and the apple and potentially being that lure— what snakes generally symbolize (mystery, deceit…), and I saw this floating around somewhere, but apparently in CN he calls the MC ‘little tail’? I’m so interested in what this could mean symbolically with all his apparent affiliations, buuut that’s for us to see.

I’m looking forward to that livestream and tbh idk if anything here made sense but I’m so normal about this game (even if I likeee barely understand it.) What are you going to do Caleb. What’s happening. I know this is different from what I usually post here but I NEEDED to yap or else I might go insane idk

What are you hiding.

[the-violet-diaries]

Broken Backstories: A Theory on the Past of the Wanderers in Love and Deepspace

Is it just me or has anyone ever thought about the bounty hunt Wanderer Heartbreaker's origin? Like, what would this tear drop-shaped creature have gone through to become what it is today? And what about the other Wanderers?

Maybe this is actually already true and i havent picked up on it yet because im just dumb, but here's my theory so far on the Wanderers in the game: They were once ordinary humans with ordinary lives that were unfortunate enough to come in contact with some type of disease or physical or mental obstacle in their lives that transformed them into these "monsters."

One of the best examples I can think of to compare this scenario with is the kdrama Sweet Home. The drama is set in a completely ordinary human world like ours. Some strange, seemingly transmittable disease causes people to start becoming monsters, turning Seoul into a complete dystopia.

It is later revealed, however, that all these demons were once human beings that reincarnate into the embodiments of their deepest and darkest desires or fears.

For example, the monster that can't see properly but has the sharpest hearing:

SPOILER:

An earlier scene shows Cha Hyun Su (Song Kang) trying to "distinguish the monster inside" before he himself gives in to the transformation.

This pattern or theme of a seemingly dystopian world where the battle is between humans and another species framed as "dangerous" by the humans is reoccurring in many books, shows, and movies. So, my thought process is that the same might apply for some Wanderers in LaDs, if not all.

I was fighting Hearbreaker, the tear drop-shaped Wanderer in Bounty Hunt the other day, and this entire idea just came to me and I literally cannot unthink it now. Like, it makes so much sense!

The battle seems ordinary at first, with a gorgeous amusment park-themed setting and nice bg music. But then the Wanderer up for bounty appears. A droplet of water, shedding tears and following you around with pain in its eyes as it begs for you to accept its love. Sound familiar? Yes, sadly, most of us can relate. The longing to be accepted.

And what is our mission? To get rid of it.

Now, im not trying to hate on the LaDs team or anything. I love bounty hunt and its something i play often. But i just find it sad that a bounty is placed above a harmless creature which clearly seems to be suffering from loneliness and, as the name suggests, heartbreak.

The other Bounty Wanderers each have their own distinct qualities. And the saddest part is that even if they may not have all once been human like MC, they are hunted and killed for their weaknesses, and will likely never recover.

Well, anyway, that was kinda weird i think i took that a bit too deeply that was just a quick idea dump lol. 😅😅 I may be misunderstanding some details but I've played LaDs for quite a long time so I'm not so sure because so far nothing much has been revealed regarding the origins of the Wanderers besides Ever and its affiliations but i may be wrong. there are so many other theories out there we'll just have to wait and see! but anyway I hope you guys enjoyed! lots of luv 4 u i know u need it ❤️❤️❤️

[syluss-karaoke-teacher]

Btw... I'm playing LADS in Japanese, and this probably doesn't mean much, but I'm pretty sure Sylus' Japanese VA says "Tartarus" instead of Tarus City 🤔

Which let me to another interesting pair of articles

And in the article about Aether as a substance, another familiar term arose:

Rafayel's Abysswalker anyone?

Anyway, it's almost midnight, Sylus took everything out of me today, and I'm mainly feeling like this meme 😅

Someone smarter than me can take this info and run with it, please!

[ishaslife]

Love and Deepspace : Is Caleb Evil?

My brain is a mess. I just want to make it clear that everything I say here is my opinion and things I want/wish from the game along with theories and evidence based on previous knowledge of lore and personalities. I also want to add that I hope that the people reading this are going to have prior knowledge of the game, basic lore as well as what happens to caleb. So, spoilers for all of that.

This is just me barfing onto the internet because the trailer and Caleb is all I have been able to focus on for the past few days.

So, I have loved caleb ever since I played the main story nearly a year ago and I really really hoped that he would come back as a love interest and here we are! So, when we first meet Caleb, you know, he comes off as the "protective, trustworthy, older friend to lover" archetype. We have known caleb, as the MC, since we were kids. And clearly, as is in every childhood romance, I assume Caleb has always liked us. He seems very protective over us in the main story too he almost seems scared, like the way he says, "Who's going to protect you if not me?"

Caleb's trailer had me shook, and I mean that. To be quite honest, I did not like it at first. I was so overwhelmed I didn't even know how to process it. I made a whole blog post on his character trailer, please check that out to read further or later on:

Now, the second trailer, for the main story and new patch that is: has him behaving very... Yandere? Idk how to describe it. It's very strange (in a good way) but I think that's how it's meant to be, Caleb IS possessive, and I think even more so than Xavier.

But my point being: do I think Caleb will be evil? No, I don't. I don't think any of the love interests will ever be inherently evil, this is just my take of course. The devs seem to handle relationships in this game with maturity to have a love interest that's absolutely batshit crazy. No main character in this game has come across to me as black and white, they are all morally grey and that's so amazing. Also, they wouldn't introduce Caleb as the protective type to only make him something entirely different.

I think like all the other LIs, Caleb will have his own fatal flaw.

He was a sweet boy, the boy we grew up with and he had dreams of being a pilot and that was a dream he fulfilled but... I'm sure that when Ever found out that this is the path he has chosen in life, he was recruited into the Farspace Fleet to spy on the MC. And that is the moral conundrum here, he is stuck between having to choose. Of course, he wants the MC, he always has but he likely knows the dangers of being basically forced to work for Ever and what will happen if he chooses to quit, not only to himself but also to the MC, a risk that he doesn't wish to take. Ever is is really fucking powerful after all, they could kill him if he isn't useful enough. He's stuck here now, it's like how idealism shatters when you realise how corrupt the system really is.

He's extremely soft in the trailer too and my heart goes out to him really, he seems like he's always suffering or in pain, it's like he's reaching for the MC but he never can because of what he needs to do for Ever.

This isn't here for any reason in particular apart from how fucking soft he looks? His eyes... Omg, just look at how he yearns for her. Also, he seems to have thing for holding her wrist?

Caleb seems like he doesn't want to do this, he says in the trailer, "this nightmare will be over soon," and "I'll make things right" so it's cleary something that takes an emotional toll on him.

Now, I don't think if he will be evil but I certainly think that he's been portrayed as that because he's quite literally working for this world's umbrella corporation and I believe, his whole mean demeanour is a farce, because, well double agent and also the mind control theory I presented earlier. If Caleb is a villain in the Astarion sense, nature vs. nurture. Like how, astarion isn't really a villain, he can be MADE a villain like every other person because of things they have been through, I think Caleb has had to grow some thick skin to deal with shit he's been put through and that makes him come off as mean especially since his conundrum seems to be knowing that he can destroy MC and yet he still wants her, because he loves her. Ugh, my brain is spiraling.

I don't think it'll be a toxic in the slightest. I think yes, he is gonna be very possessive but not so much so that he conflicts MC's personality and nature, also the nature of the game itself. With a game like this, it's difficult to have a LI that's completely evil and black and white because, all their characters are very fleshed out and I don't know why they wouldn't make Caleb so. Caleb's battle also seems to be that he thinks he's decieving MC, that he isn't who she thinks he is and that difficult for him to cope with, like he's been lying to her all their lives and that hurts. He almost sounds angry at the MC in the trailer.

He seems as though he's trying to de-establish (idk if that's a word) the relationship he had with the MC in the past as a brotherly figure and instead establish one where she sees him romantically. Or, he's mad at himself but that is rubbing onto the MC for thinking he's a nice guy, reliable and always expecting him to be the best when he isn't. It's almost as if he's crumbling under the pressure of having to be the best for HER and for her seeing the best in him. I see a guy with deeply ingrained psychological issues, he seems to have a very low opinion of himself and thinks that MC's perception of him is based on a lie.

Not to mention that their reunion is gonna be extremely emotional and likely even explosive on the MC's part because, what the fuck? He just up and left, made us think we're dead and now he's... Well... Just different. There's the whole bite mark on his hand too so I assume the MC got into a huge cat fight with him but he calmed her down?

Either way, no matter what happens; I hope that they'll do his character justice and not ruin him, even if he is made a villain. I have trust enough in the devs to handle their characters with maturity and I can only hope the same with Caleb.

[linkons-most-wanted]

LaDS Fanfic & Lore Resource

I am documenting all of the Love and Deepspace lore over on GitHub!

View the WIP project here (Project contains many untagged spoilers!!)

I'm using a free mapping program called Obsidian that's basically a red string board in app form. Everything!! is connected!! The lore is so detailed and it's been so satisfying to go through.

So far, I have the main story up through Long Awaited Revelry, plus all anecdotes and the Beyond Cloudfall myth. I wanted to go ahead and share even though it's WIP since I've already made so many interesting connections.

For example, the format is still a bit rough but this Main Story Timeline gives an approx month/year for every event in the main story. Based on multiple sources, the main story almost certainly starts in July 2048!

More info below

GitHub/Obsidian are easy to set up if you have a basic coding background, but I know it's not the most accessible. If there's enough interest, I'll consider paying to host it through Obsidian so it's more of a normal web page, it's not too expensive! You can still click around and read the project in GitHub, but the document links won't work.

If you maintain a wiki, please feel free to use anything from this project! Mainly why I didn't contribute to a wiki is I wanted to add a lot of commentary along the way, as well as only really tracking what's important for fanfic/lore theories. Take any commentary with a grain of salt, as I'm consistently updating it as I bring new pieces in.

Since the storytelling of the game is pretty non-linear, my hope is also that the summaries of the main story and anecdotes help folks more easily understand the story. The game likes to be mysterious at first, but it often becomes quite clear once all the pieces are revealed.

One of my favorite things about the lore is that it follows romance conventions more than sci-fi conventions, so "because love" is the reason behind a lot of canon decisions 🥹 But there's still a lot of sci-fi to enjoy!

Anyway, I hope you'll forgive me for the WIP and I hope this reaches the other folks who are as obsessive about the lore as I am!

[dawnbreakersgaze]

Y'all-

Is Sylus's necklace supposed to be MC's aether core heart?! Like it's obv not an exact heart, but it's got that vague shape you see in a lot of interpretive art.

Did everyone else realize this already and I'm just slow af? Bc I noticed this today during the tete-a-tete and I'm kind of shooketh rn

[munnmolads]

How did MC's and Rafayel's first meeting go? Theory and Analysis

Death and Rebirth gave new vital information about MC's past and it inevidably got me thinking about MC's and Rafayel's true first meeting in the game. When they met at the beach as children? What state Lemuria was at that point?

Spoilers for entirety of Rafayel's story and the main story in Under Deepspace, Land of Secret Flames and Death & Rebirth. Also, a TL;DR at the end.

This theory only touches the side on if they met on the current timeline as kids - my brainpower won't be enough for the 5D chess this game has if it would be in another timeline...

MC's childhood around the Chronorift Catasptrophe

I think we have to start from MC's own timeline since it's "most clear" at this point. Meaning, it still has quite a few gaps, but there starts to be a somekind of timeline of what happened during her time at the Gaia Research Center and when she got to home with Josephine.

I have summarized my points in a timeline, but just so you can see the dialogue and references to it, I have collaged them first with highlighted the important parts:

I'm not going into the details what the other LI's have done to help her since it's not truly relevant to Rafayel. To my understanding, this is the timeline of how her childhood with the details of which day was in question. Only thing that bothers me is that apparently MC was still years in Gaia Research Center before they

It's unknown which day exactly the Chronorift Catastrophe happened - I'm thinking about 43 since we don't have entries after 42, but it could be something in between 42-47. MC was found by day 49 and Josephine mentions about it being several days that she was missing after the Catastrophe. So, she was missing around a week.

All in all, her experiments took atleast 42 days (~1,5 months), and she started to stabilise at 134 days, so three months after her escape.

Possible timing for MC and Rafayel's meetings from her perspective

Before Death & Rebirth, I was almost certain their meeting happened before Chronorift Catastrophe. At this point, it seems quite impossible since to my understanding, MC was trapped in Gaia Research center the moment she got into this current timeline.

So with the information we currently have, there's 3 possible timings for their meeting:

During the week when MC was missing and got to the shelter

Sometime during those 3 months when she was still recovering

Much later than Chronorift Catastrophe, possibly early 2035

Now, we have to take into consideration that MC forgot Rafayel completely. It's not even the case of "You're familiar" (which reminded me of one of earliest theories/headacanons in my blog) kind of way - she has no recollection of it. According to Josephine's notes, she started to have better memory after 3 months after Chronorift Catastrope, which makes me believe number 3 is out of the question by that logic, but I'll come back to it later.

Number 2 is quite likely, but from the small bit we know of their conversation at the beach, Rafayel mentions "we have known for a day". To me, this means atleast some significant time from the day, like atleast a few hours. This is a long time to be away from home as a small child, since MC was around 7-8 years old at this time. it seems less likely since someone like Josephine or possibly Caleb would have come looking for her.

Number 1 seems most likely to me when we think about the circumstances during that time from her perspective. MC was missing at this time, so no one was really missing her to come home, and it's in the timeframe when her memory was the worst.

But what about Rafayel and Lemuria? What state Lemuria was in this time?

In relation for Rafayel, there's an important even to think about when placing MC's and his first meeting in a timeline - when Lemuria got unearthed and discovered in December 31st, 2034. I will try to do a different theory on what happened back then some other time, but it is most likely the point when Lemurians had to flee Lemuria.

Since we know for sure that Chronorift Catastrophe happened in 2034 and Lemuria was unearthed in 31th of December 2034, it's more likely that MC's and Rafayel's meeting happened before Lemuria was discovered in 2034, depending on when the experiments happened. It could be that Chronorift Catastrophe and the earthquake happened at the same time, but it hasn't been mentioned specifically.

Option 1: Their meeting happened in 2034 before Lemuria was unearthed and discovered

The newest birthday event and card could allude that they met in the beach before Lemuria was unearthed. There's several points in the birthday materials about Rafayel talking about how pink is representing happiness and romance for him when he was a child, and before Lemuria disappeared, the ocean looked pink to him.

I can't have all the materials mentioning pink in this post because it's just too much, but here he talks about collecting pink seashells as a kid to make paint in Boundless Seas:

His birthday video specifically spoke possibly of the time when Lemuria was unearthed - I wonder if the inferno he mentioned would have been actually been from Chronorift Catastrophe?

I want to point out that this heavily relies on the birthday events and all other his childhood memories being from this current timeline. It could very well be that they aren't.

Option 2: Their meeting happened because Lemuria was unearthed

If we assume the pink theory about Rafayel being from other time than current timeline, it could be possible Lemuria being unearthed made Rafayel drift into the beach. If we look back on Nightly Stroll, Rafayel does make 2 different points about their meeting that might be true: 1. MC rescued him 2. He was "half-dead"/injured and waiting to die. He is a very unreliable narrator during Nightly Stroll, so it could be just part of his story he made up, but Rafayel does usually hide nuggets of truths in his lies.

He mentions about the deep sea becoming a prison for him. It could mean a metaphorical prison - he has a responsibility to save Lemuria, and that responsibility shackles him so that he feels he has to either choose Lemuria or MC.

In Land of Secret Flames's flashback memory, young Rafayel says "You awakened me", which has an interesting wording. It could imply that MC woke him up from his slumber, which is the Sea God's "death". It could be that Rafayel died at the beach before MC woke him up again, or that he was slumbering in the Lemurian ruins when the earthquake and the tsunami washed him to the shore.

What about MC's field trip to Hat Island? Could that have been a possible meeting place for them?

Possibly, but unlikely. The way how MC describes the trip sounds like a school trip, which would mean that she really wouldn't have had the time to sit in the beach talking to Rafayel for a day (or cuddle him if his annoyance at chapter 8 is telling anything...). Not to mention, she forgot about Rafayel, so why she would remember making the trip and not meeting a boy with scales in the island? Also they made a travel log, which would mean that she possibly would have written about it to her log.

I am ready to eat my words since there's some poetic sadness about Rafayel taking her to the place they were supposed to meet and she doesn't still remember them meeting there. No wonder Rafayel is upset - she remembers visiting some place as a kid but not remembering meeting her husband during that trip? Smh... /lh

Where did they could have met then?

So far we know that their meeting was in a beach, and so far I have assumed it was Linkon. This got me thinking though - if MC was experimented in the current N109 zone, how she would have got to Linkon as a small child if they met during the time she was missing? The distance from N109 zone and Linkon is quite big, even if we aren't completely sure how long it takes. I assume Josephine took her to live in Linkon.

The Lemurian ruins lie somewhere in Southeast of Linkon, which most likely is where Whitesand Bay is. I made a smaller post about it earlier, so you can read a bit more here. In Death & Rebirth, it has been specified in the opening chapters that MC drives to south from Linkon.

So I assume that the ocean from southeast of Linkon goes across to N109 zone, it's completely possible for Rafayel to drift to Whitesand Bay or a beach in the N109 zone. So for them to meet during the week of MC being missing, they might have met in the N109 zone. Most likely if they met later, it would have been Whitesand Bay since MC would have lived with Josephine and Caleb.

I tried to make more accurate map, but based on the visuals of the Hat Island, it's almost impossible to figure out which direction is which, so just take this map as a "general direction where everything could be". Most likely the distances are still quite great, so it's likely that Rafayel was pushed by the ocean to the beach where he got stranded.

TL;DR: What could be the options?

From earliest to latest:

MC and Rafayel met in the N109 Zone beach during the 7-day period after Chronorift Catastrophe when MC was missing.

MC and Rafayel met in Whitesand Bay after MC had moved to Linkon with Josephine (and Caleb) during the 3-month period when MC was slowly getting better memory.

MC and Rafayel met in Hat Island long after the Chronorift Catastrophe happened during a field trip. MC remembers going to the trip, but doesn't remember meeting Rafayel.

I'm actually really torn between all these options. Number 1 makes the most sense to me if we assume that Rafayel's stories about his childhood are from this timeline and Lemuria hasn't been unearthed yet. Number 2 makes a lot fo sense sense too, and it could be both before the earthquake or not. Number 3 makes most sense after the earthquake, because at this point it sounds like MC was having fairly "normal" life if she was on a school trip. I find it just bit difficult to believe she would remember the trip, but not Rafayel.

Of course, nothing prevents the options going together as in their meeting happened long after Chronorift Catastrophe, I just wanted to simplify the options for readability.

All in all, I'm putting way too much logic in this game 🫣 I want to delve deeper into the eartquake that is mentioned, because I find the wording around the topic interesting and how they dance around how vague it really is. Aaand assuming that their meeting at the beach actually happened in this timeline, and not on any other timeline...

[calebdatabase]

Why is Caleb called Donor 002?

*This speculation was drafted prior to Caleb's X-02 myth trailer

In this brief post, I’m riffing off of the Adam and Eve theory for Caleb x MC based on his anecdote that refers to him as “Donor 002” and her as “Subject 001”. This post lightly brushes the sibling controversy so if you’re sensitive to it, keep scrolling.

It’s a significant distinction between their roles to make, and I’m not sure if anyone’s fully connected their Donor/Subject roles as experiments to the Adam and Eve theory.

In the context of illegal experimentation, Caleb’s title in the documents implies that he donated something vital to MC. In the lens of the Adam and Eve theory, it’s arguably a process that symbolically mirrors the way God took one of Adam’s ribs and created Eve with it.

21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Genesis 2:21-23 KJV

(As someone who attended a private Christian academy never thought I’d be quoting the Bible for an otome game theory lol)

From what we’ve seen, Caleb and MC operate in a pair and have abilities to keep each other’s powers in check. Ever is known for targetting ‘twins’, such as Luke & Kieran, the 303 twins and Mia & Kevi.

Now while Caleb and MC are obviously not related, their sibling-like bond shares similarities to the aforementioned sets of twins, such as being able to sense each other’s presence, mental states and having a knack for ending up in proximity to the other.

I’m pretty sure Caleb’s joked about having telekinesis powers related to her. MC also brought up how Josephine tasked Caleb with protecting her when they were kids, likening their dynamic to the way “a ring system protects its planet”. Josephine wanted them to watch each other's back while they were originally programmed to destroy each other.

"We don't need to face the future alone, though. It's like how planets and their ring systems are born together... They'll also fade away together." – Teenage Caleb to MC

I suppose one question to ask is what exactly was Caleb forced to donate to be dubbed “Donor 002”? What was MC missing?

Was it blood, cells, or something more substantial like an organ? Possibly even Evol to assist the Gaia researchers revival experiments with her?

Depending on the answer the writers give us, there might be some merit to the controversy of them being related to a certain minor degree. Don’t come for me, it was Infold that put them in this sticky situation.

On the other hand, maybe the Gaia researchers really just siphoned his Evol for use in MC’s experiments somehow, who knows? Time will tell.