Shower thoughts on lore (spoilers)

[Nishtala]

So here is a list of questions/half-assed theories on Rejuv's yet to be explained lore in no particular order, because I literally was unable to form a coherent enough paragraph to piece these absolutely random thoughts together. Might not be accurate (I only played paragon once, and all I know of renegade is via youtube and the forums here), might be far-fetched, but I had to get all this nonsense out of my chest somehow. 

 

So yeah. Here we go.

 

1. I think Aevium (past) is a different version of Aevium's past. Where many events happened the same, of course, but the fundamental history of the world (Miera region) was different. I'm pretty sure this is also the conclusion Erin drew - because if both histories, despite being supposedly accurate, don't allign - the only possible answer is that they are different histories. 

This theory got more ground with this update because the metafictional asepct of past versions were heavily acknowledged as World Resets, such as Eizen, Renegade Talon's dialogue, that random kid npc at route 11 that talks about Akora shore, etc.

 

The problem then is the Cherry Blossom tree/Route Z conundrum, where a direct action in past!Aevium creates a direct and new branching path in present!Aevium. But the thing is, World Resets/Version upgrades need not erase actions in past "versions" - sure, the world snaps itself to fit into the "new version stories", but certain histories - and especially player-originated choices - remain the same. Metafictionally, this can possibly refer as to how save files "transcend" versions - even if the "world" changes, the player/interceptor's version of the experience remains consistent, even if that results in inconsistencies with the world. So an action made in a previous version's past can, in theory, still directly impact the current version's present. Not to mention that world resets aren't foolproof - inconsistencies always linger as remnants of what was.

 

And I think Kieran's shack in Valor shore also adds onto this - it has a map that says Aevium [alpha] - not Aevium [past]. And given alpha and beta in context of games, usually refers to alpha and beta test versions...

 

 

 

2. Based on the above and the existence of Rune/Huey, the Voidal Chasm is probably the space between versions, a literal void between one reset and the next. Or in other words, people can travel between different "versions" of the world via the void - given that destination version actually still concretely "exists", of course.

 

So I think the Bad Future world where Melia/M2/Protag characters were locked in? That's kind of the Void in its purest form. It's a garbage collection of world data left after M2's version of Rejuvenation, and all other previous versions of Rejuvenation, "ended" - where Karma dumps all the pixels and binary data away once the current "version" ends and the world is reset. This includes data that were not concretely "built", such as the Xen raid - it literally only exists as a concept despite M2 and protag each having "lived through" it, because no version of Rejuvenation so far had the Xen raid event actually implemented. Whatever Xen raid the two of them experienced, in the grand scheme of the "game", it means jack shit. The world never had a future because, quite literally, the future did not exist past that point. 

 

 

 

3. Speaking of garbage data and data corruption - Rift matter is the "corrupt data on life itself" mentioned in Adrest's data in Pargon. Dimensional Rifts are rifts in literally the rift in ley lines. Karma being able to force living beings into rifts is it artificially manipulating life data of an individual; Zetta can do this too but in the other way around, where he can rip open the ley lines then toss in the target pokemon to transform them into rifts. 

 

 

4. Kieran's shack in Valor has a symbol of the Ouroboros - or more specifically, a redux version of the ouroboros where there are two snakes each devouring each others tail. Obviously the most immediate link to this is how Renegade/Pargon routes seem to be seemingly causing each other to happen. But there is actually one other important ouroboros name-drop in the lore:

 

"The light within the belly of Ouroboros shall never cease, lest the flames be doused by the will of the suffering." from the Goldenwood Cave Mural. Given how the Ouroboros is traditionally associated with eternity via endless destruction and rebirth, I think the ourobors can also mean the cycle of world resets. Kieran shack's Ouroboros also has what seems to be the symbol of the core (Reveresed triangle, with circuit-like lines linking it with the two snakes) in the middle. I don't have enough info to go on with this particular train of thought, but there is something here.

 

 

5. Speaking of Kieran's shack - "Valor mountain is the portal". It seems a bit too... obvious to refer to the Forest of Time and the subsequent time crystal. Surely it has a bit more significance?

And also, the shack is very similar to that apartment in Kugearen where you can find the book to cure rift pokemon. Specifically, Aevium [alpha] and post-Calamity Aevium maps parallel each other; both have "the Creation" symbol, as well as the Garufa Inc. Symbol on the wall; and the creepy mood feels exactly the same. The question is then why would Kieran/Clear/Eden? leave a book to cure Rift pokemon for someone to find (if that's even theirs, of course, but those series of suits on the table in the apartment look way too much like their own...) - and why would Vitus' Gardevoir have the key to that place.

 

 

6. This has been bugging me so much - in the "soul recycle" part of Adrest's explantion within Zeight, there are a lot of familiar faces behind Variya. Specifically, I recognize Amber, Florin, Huey, Lavender, and maybe Ariana? What were their relationship to Variya? Could some of them have been the volunteers?

 

 

And also, Variya's hair is blond even though both she and adrest used to have green hair in the earlier flashback. The most consistent reason of people changing hair color to blond within the game is via the archetype's influence - but what exactly is the timeline here??