#zenless lore

are they clones of the two? and were joyous and sunbringer actually siblings?

in the honkaiverse, there is a distinction between entities with and without a "soul". in ZZZ, there is a test to determine whether a machine can be considered as having one. logic cores allow for this possibility, and the logic cores of AI-enabled machinery pass the test.

the honkai is a corruption of the soul, and souls are the driving force of the universe. without corruption, they would stagnate and merge into something erasing individuality; with corruption, they are tested and pushed to improve and evolve. the more advanced a civilization becomes, the more honkai it will...have(?). it's how the very basis of the universe is maintained— by trimming and maintaining the Imaginary Tree and neither allowing it to overgrow nor wither and fall into the Sea of Quanta.

in ZZZ, analog technology is safe from corruption (by ether) because it inherently lacks sentience. therefore, to preserve...anything, it must be recorded onto tapes and such. a film reel can be rewound, but a digital file cannot be retrieved once it's deleted or corrupted.

there is a reason that the size of a hollow is directly correlated to the number and power level of ethereals within it. after all, ethereals are formed from corrupted souls. the more corruption, the bigger the hollow. the more the honkai spreads, destroys, and corrupts.

every soul has a specific resonance, and certain things have similar resonances, such as tiger thirens. this is ether resonance, and it is also what determines ether aptitude. it's why sound waves can affect and ward off corruption, and why phaethon/yixuan can "resonate" with ether and manipulate it.

the higher one's ether aptitude, aka the stronger the soul, the more resistant they are to becoming an ethereal. it's like with a dying star— the ratio of {the energy within it} to {the external pressure containing said energy} determines whether it will collapse in on itself & become a black hole... or shine.

every being with a soul that enters a hollow or is exposed to ether for extended period of time will eventually become an ethereal. if this were not possible, it wouldn't count as having a soul.

the Will of the Honkai, which is what i believe The Creator to be in ZZZ, wants to embrace humanity and bring the universe closer to finality. the nature of reality is an increase in entropy, aka the amount of disorder and uncertainty in a system. more chaos means More Stuff Can Happen.

those with souls have free will and the ability to choose between good and evil. therefore, the more Possibility, the more chaos... souls increase entropy. however, because of this free will and desire to choose their fates, they always fight against increasing levels of uncertainty and disorder. it is this very fight that drives the universe forward.

she somehow gave the proxies eye implants that were meant to connect them with the HDD and her bangboo, Eous.

she took them in and was like a mother to them... but in the way that the exaltists saved yuzuha ("if we hadn't taken her in, she would've starved to death") and master saved harumasa (a child left behind, doomed to become an ethereal due to his condition, and master was creating a serum for him).

"the deceit and exploitation were real, but so was the care and kindness."

we don't know wtf that was at the end of 2.2, when she appeared in the miasma. the proxy suggests that she might not have necessarily said all of those things.

i wonder if seed (flora) died or was near death, and was revived by receiving something like...a logic core? if that's even possible for humans.

she can affect electrical signals and resonates especially with intelligent constructs and beings with logic cores. she somehow survived the hollow disaster, when previously the twins were thought to be the only survivors from helios academy. perhaps she was given a similar augmentation that helped her survive it, thanks to the academy.

she also remained uncorrupted even after spending a significant period of time in the hollow, alone. having a life force based on the human heart/soul alone would be too weak for this to be possible. plus, she wants to eat flowers, and thinks that they can be nourished with mechanical substances like oil.

if any human were to have such augmentation, it would probably be a student from helios academy. they were the top research institute in new eridu, with the founder creating a groundbreaking system that allowed for electrical signals to move between the hollows and the regular world. belle and wise's ocular implants are the result of the academy's latest advancements in this type of technology.

💠💠💠💠

... it could also also be really meaningful for this to be the case. like... seed sr. seemed to have always been with her, like she had become one with him. he clearly had a soul, and that soul extended beyond his logic core. it breaking did not make his soul disappear, imo.

as for why this wasn't apparent/clear before? seed jr. was suppressing her emotions and powers. she was very out of touch with herself, and didn't know it was even possible for him to "live on" in other ways.

then there's the fact that her name is just Seed. not seed jr. or flora... Seed.

💠💠💠💠

lastly, to drop the bombshell: what sparked this was another part of alice's trust event where she was investigating paranormal rumors. one spoke of a "ghost girl", who would speak if a number was dialed on the mysterious payphone on 6th street.

(+ carole arna, hollow zero, helios academy & the exaltists)

i still wonder if professor Arche is the Creator... arche entered hollow zero to seek out the truth but hasn't returned for an entire era, discovered the common characteristics between hollows, created the H.D.D. system, and founded helios academy.

if the gate to the final domain is in the center of hollow zero, and arche is depicted as venturing to its center... maybe they are in the final domain. maybe they are the creator, the...architect. and maybe their goal is/was to find a way for humanity to transcend the hollows.

furthermore, if the final domain also holds something carole arna seeks, what if she was also looking for her predecessor? arche? just like phaethon, venturing into hollow zero to find her "teacher".

and. "arche" means beginning or source... and in hollow zero is the gate to the final domain... the beginning and end. origin and finality. (with the hollows representing limbo, the in-between of origin and finality... nihility.) the creator and the ender. the one who will bring about a ~new future~ for the world.

also, alice said this in a trust event. referencing the giant hand that took carole arna away, and also an obscure piece of lore: there is supposedly a crystal door in the center of hollow zero that can transport someone through time.

presumably implying that carole did open the gate to the final domain, and that's why she was dragged into that "other world" by the giant white hand.

btw btw.

alice's teaser trailer just came out and i recognized some of it as looking like one shot from vivian's teaser! it shows part of her backstory (that's never covered in-game), where she attends an opulent school with at least some other girls, all wearing uniforms.

1) parallels in aesthetic choices

2) same girl?? & fancy tea drinking

3) practically identical outfit.

plus, where would vivian have learned her noble etiquette and mannerisms? certainly not from the exaltists, or from wandering around the streets homeless, spending a long time penniless and relying on part-time/odd jobs... (maybe from hugo or from experience infiltrating high society events with him, but this would make even more sense.)