#honkai lore notes

Disclaimer: this is not an in-depth summary of the story.

Rather, this post will go through a single conversation to show people the depth of lore hidden in Durandel's VN… and maybe convince you to consider reading it if you want to expand ideas for Hoyo lore.

Since I'm not going to be covering the story here, there will be events and things referenced that I won't be giving anything but a brief explanation of, but even without knowing all the details... I think the lore will speak for itself

I guess the most important thing to know before reading is that two people (Valkyries) from the Honkai Impact 3rd world - Durandal (Bianka) and Rita - have used a device called a Genius to travel to a new world… universe… thing ... which we will simply refer to as a world for the context of this post...

Onward!

***

First, it mentions how there are different versions of people across different worlds. Not super mind blowing if you’re familiar with hoyo lore… but good to cover the basics of the hoyo multi-verse lore.

Bianka: Uh… can I ask a question now? Darwin: Go ahead. What’s the matter? Bianka: Just now… you said your last name was Darwin, right? It wouldn’t be the one from “Origin of the Species”… Darwin: Oh, you mean my dad? Indeed, before I left that world he was planning on writing such a book. Darwin: I’m happy to learn that his book changed people’s worldview for the following century. Bianka: Oh… you’re his “daughter”? Bianka: But in that case, wouldn’t the “Origin of the Species” you read be the work from a different world’s Professor Charles? Darwin: Nope. As far as I’m aware, from all known worlds, there is only one Darwin who published “Origin of the Species”, married and had children, who is my father.

***

Then we revisit an earlier event in the story where the High Priestess is converted into data in the Sea of Quanta (and its not a good experience for her I can tell you that...). This part of the story (the Zarathustra portion) is so incredibly lore heavy... and the fact Zarathustra connects to Genshin, Honkai, and Star Rail....

Anyways, what should be focused on here (aside from the Sea of Quanta data portion) is the acknowledgement of Different Universes

Bianka: Huh? Bianka: Then just like the “High Priestess” of the Yucatan, you spent so long in the form of data in the Sea of Quanta that it resulted in an apparent time leap? Darwin: …It’s essentially different. Bianka: But… in your case we can’t use “Different Universes have different starting points and different flows of time” as an excuse! Darwin: Because that’s not the case. And I’m not immortal like the “snake” you met.

***

But then things get REALLY SUPER INTERESTING because now we're talking about people who are copies of others.... (Theory of Forms intensifies), but also... it covers the results of death and how these copies are a result of the world's structure

(The term Star Whisperer is also an important concept but that is also out of scope for this junk post)

(Edit from original post: the Ether Anchor is kind of like the core/backbone of the world…)

Darwin: The reason why there is a time contradiction in what I said is-- Darwin: I’m a Star Whisperer born from the death of someone. A mere copy. Bianka: “Born from death”? “Copy”? What are you talking about? Darwin: The real “Anna Charles Darwin” died of illness at the age of 10. Darwin: The one standing in front of you is just an afterimage inherited from the Sea of Quanta. Bianka: ……？！ Darwin: Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m a ghost or a spirit. This is just the result of applying the Ether Anchor’s ability of “copying the world” on “people”.

***

Theeeeeennn we start talking energy shenanigans.... Selene designed to put Honkai Energy under control to use it for creating new Negentropy....

(I'm going to stop highlighting things at this point I trust if you've read this far that you want to find the goodies and I don't need to convince you further)

Darwin: Be it the achievements of civilization or intelligent life, they are ultimately an amount of “Negentropy”. You can use the “Ether Anchor” as a “medium” to “balance” the "Negentropy". Schrodinger: …And Negentropy and Imaginary Energy - That is, Honkai Energy - are associated with each other. Schrodinger: In theory, we could indeed do the opposite: Use Honkai Energy under control to create new Negentropy. Schrodinger: -That is the basic principle behind the “Selene”. Darwin: Haha, as expected of Dr. Schrodinger, who proposed the theory behind Negentropy - You already seem to understand what I’m talking about. Bianka: Well, what are you talking about? Schrodinger: ……

***

Our next topic is energy manipulation to copy things out of thing air.... (*looks at teapot and puts adepti energy into super sus category*)

Additionally, the Ether Anchor (the "backbone" of the world they're in) is "salvaging info from the sea of quanta"... hm...

Schrodinger: Valkyries, do you know the power of the “First Herrscher”? Bianka: You mean the “Sovereign” of Anti-Entropy? He can copy all kinds of mechanical devices, Sacred Relics and even Divine Keys out of thin air, right? Schrodinger: A good summary, but if we’re being technical… he doesn’t make those copies out of “thin air”. Schrodinger: On the contrary: By manipulating the Honkai Energy stored in his body he creates reason, making constructs out of something similar to “Negentropy”. Schrodinger: Generally speaking, Honkai Energy is almost impossible to control - but he is a herrscher, a superpower beyond human comprehension. Schrodinger: Miss Darwin… Your “Ether Anchor” has a similar power, but you can’t manipulate it as you wish, correct? Darwin: Hmm… To be more precise, the “Ether Anchor Point” can’t be controlled at all. Darwin: It, by itself, is “salvaging” information that can be restored from the Sea of Quanta - An ocean of data.

***

This next portion is covering why the two characters from the Honkai world are able to appear in this world as themselves instead of as copies

Darwin: Those two Valkyries there must have gone through the experience of being informatized and later rematerialized. Darwin: - That is a specially targeted “salvage”. Darwin: This type of “salvage” is always happening in the “present continuous”, therefore their souls and consciousness also remain the same - Even if they show up on the other side of the world, they are still themselves. Darwin: But the information of “Anna Charles Darwin” is already “past perfect”, the Ether Anchor just happened to read this vanishing data from the Sea of Quanta and restore it. Darwin: …That’s why I can be sure I’m just a copy of a historical figure. Darwin: Perhaps there is a more complex mechanism out there that can truly revive the dead - But this world’s “Anchor” can not.

Anyways... that's all for now!

Read the VN!! (it’s available in CN and EN… not sure about other languages)

There's collective consciousness, Alice, Zarathustra, snake-y things, people turning into dragons... and much more!