▲ 368 r/SunbringerMains
Mommy Eldreda (@uixyRe)
source: https://x.com/uixyRe/status/2104529972065099856 , english tl: by me
u/Ash1347 — 4 days ago
▲ 54 r/ZZZ_Discussion
PHAETHON THEORIES: WHAT ARE THEY?
These theories draw on the work of other creators, be sure to check out their videos! (This will be pretty long)
Back in 1.0, we saw that specific animation where the text reads:
- In The End
- It's All Come To This…
- Rewind <<
- Eridu’s Tragedy (Mirrored in the original)
- I Won’t Give Up
And right after that, Hollow Zero expands.
I think this implies they ultimately failed to save New Eridu, but somehow managed to rewind the timeline. This is where things get interesting: they are probably from a different timeline that merged with the current one. We already saw hints of this issue in child Ye Shunguang’s introductory dream. We also saw it with Sarah, who somehow has no records filed anywhere. A shadow resembling the leader of the Falkenhayn Mercenary Troupe is also present in Sarah’s case, though I don’t know why yet.
In one of the future timelines, we actually triumphed over the Hollow before. However, there were likely still unresolved issues, so they didn't give up and rewinded the timeline once again.
We also saw the promise made 10 years ago in the 2.7 "Nightmare" animation. The promise was:
“…We’ll become the Helios … seize … We will conquer Hollow …We ..Phaethon… Icarus..”
There are clear parallels here to Greek mythology. In short: Phaethon falls from the sky with his chariot, while Icarus falls from the sky with his artificial wings, just as we see in Vivian’s Prophecy. People often connect the Sun-God with the Sunbringer, but there is no concrete evidence for that beyond the "Sun" motif. What we can say is that if Phaethon isn't cautious, they will meet the same fate as Phaethon and Icarus in myth. We can directly link this to rewinding the timeline whenever Hollow Zero expands.
The black hole symbol must also represent something crucial about Phaethon. It could symbolize Closed Timelike Curves (associated with real-world black holes, allowing time to rewind), or it could represent a dying star collapsing and rebirthing as a black hole with every failure.
The alchemy theory also fits the game's lore remarkably well. The Helios Academy logo features an alchemical symbol, and "seizing the sun" is an alchemical term for completing the Magnum Opus. We saw the word "seize" earlier:
“…We’ll become the Helios … seize … We will conquer Hollow”
This also mentioned as Helios’s ambition, Belle/Wise is already know the what is “the grasping the sun”.
In alchemy, the Philosopher’s Stone was the perfect substance, which later fractured and created the imperfect world we currently live in. To return to perfection, one must undergo four distinct stages in a process called the Magnum Opus. One of the designations of the Magnum Opus is the Chariot of Phaethon, which ties directly back to the Proxies. I won’t recap the entire video by detective dice (a theory by Namelessonne on YouTube), but it’s a good video. Completing the Magnum Opus grants omnipresence across all time and space, which is likely how they are able to rewind time.
Edit: I will also add this image, if you are someone still isn't convinced with alchemy explanation. This is from 1.4 main story.
They "lent" the name Pyrois for now, but why only lend it instead of giving it outright? This is probably because our true name might not actually be Pyrois. In alchemical theory regarding the Magnum Opus (Chariot of Phaethon), they represent two opposing parts of the alchemical trinity: Man, Woman, and God. By combining all three, they become the ultimate being. Wise is associated with the Sun (representing the masculine/alchemy), while Belle is associated with the Moon (representing the feminine).
When these seven principles are bound together, they create the "chemical Marriage" between entities, merging them into the ultimate being: the Rebis. "Marriage" here simply means a sacred union or mixture. We were told that the Proxy siblings possess similar powers, but one of them has yet to awaken theirs. This so-called fusion could simply mean merging their ethereal counterparts together: Wise as the male, Belle as the female, and Pyrois (or whatever the fused state will be called) as God, completing the trinity.
Finally, the word "Prophet" is written on the back of the Proxies' phones (visible on their dynamic wallpaper). There's also "The Prophecy" questline (the 1.0 hidden quest), where the Prophet misleads you (The Hero) into completing the quest under false pretenses. In this quest if you want to see true ending, normal ending and secret solo ending you will need to complete it 3 times. Is this an allusion to time travel of Phaethon. If the Prophet is actually the Proxies, does that mean Phaethon is the real villain? LOL. I don't know the exact connection yet, but it is definitely a BIG lead.
Sources I used:
BigFatHobgoblin from youtube comments in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb4rh7MOF6c
DingleBobTV - Phaethon | The Protagonist Everyone FAILED To Understand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K98JIdypsR8
detective dice - The Answer to Every ZZZ Mystery Is... Alchemy? | zzz lore
u/Ash1347 — 13 days ago