lull.

I hope today is gentle with you, and if it isn’t, remember to be gentle with yourself ❤︎

just monika ♡

✦ SUN, MOON AND ASHES: THE EVOLUTION OF PHAINON ✦

We are excited to share our research artbook analysing the costume design of Phainon from Honkai: Star Rail.

This artbook explores three forms of Phainon:

Phainon

The Flame Reaver

Khaslana

Through semiotic analysis, mythological parallels, and an empirical study, we examine how costume becomes a visual text of fate.

Read the full artbook for free:

✨ What's inside:

• Full costume analysis

• Historical and mythological references

• Empirical study with 10 respondents

• 90+ pages

Authors: Zozulya P.V., Mazurova V.N.

Tomsk State University, 2026

Non-commercial research project. Characters and game content ©HoYoverse.

P.s. Initially, this artbook was not conceived as a book at all.

It all started as a simple learning task — we only had to make 3-4 turns to demonstrate. A small project. A few pages. Nothing else.

But when we started studying Phainon's design—his cape, shoulder pads, and the symbols hidden in every detail—something clicked. We realized that 3-4 reversals would not be enough. There was too much to say.

And then I just... I couldn't stop myself 😅

What started as a cool project turned into months of research, semiotic analysis, historical background, empirical research, and more than 90 pages of layout. I found myself staying up until 3 a.m., correcting kerning, checking translations, and rereading sources for the tenth time to make sure I understood the difference between paludamentum and paenula correctly.

This book is proof that sometimes a small idea, if given free rein, can turn into something you never expected.

ɴᴇᴡ ʏᴏʀᴋ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ: "ᴘʜʏꜱɪᴄᴀʟ ʙᴏᴏᴋꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴇᴡꜱᴘᴀᴘᴇʀꜱ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴄᴏꜰꜰᴇᴇ-ꜱᴛᴀɪɴᴇᴅ."