[1.2] What Made Hollow Zero Erupt? - A Zenless Zone Zero Theory

[@Ashikai]

**NOTES & CORRECTIONS** - This was pointed out to me by lorespores on the discord (Zarozian and Jesse), but apparently in one of Piper's trust events, Enzo says that "soundwaves can protect against corruption." In light of this, I wonder if the Exaltist order would throw people into hollows as sacrifices for the greater good in order to make the hollows bigger so they could live inside them by leveraging some kind of frequency or song to prevent corruption. That'd be wild.

[@someoneinasia]

correction: we have no idea what happen inside a blackhole. with our current knowledge, all we can do is speculate but we don't know. our physics break down and incomplete. saying we can time travel inside a blackhole, that is just mumbo jumbo. we can however use blackhole gravity to time travel by orbiting near the event horizon, but only to the future and not to the past.

[@Josh-qt5zi]

So if Genshin is a storybook,hsr is moive the Sh had flim marking mofit with the scipt,classic moivecredit roll,Eilo is scipt supervisor,and that the Sh are mainly just actors almost all they actions are just acting

[@dungbeater4264]

​@@someoneinasia correction: we have no idea if a blackhole's gravity can be use to time travel even if by orbiting near the event horizon. Saying that is just mumbo jumbo. We can however use your mom's gravitational to pull planes back towards the ground.

[@Zarozian]

Oh yeah they also discovered that listening to music while fighting in the hollows slows the rate of ether corruption which was accidentally discovered by some guy who wanted to jam out while fighting in the hollow. Music is the first magic of the world after all! ;>

[@roulette_shark]

he might have invented it, but anby is the blueprint o777

[@Zarozian]

@@roulette_shark Inner Dialogue? NAY! INNER MUSIC! YEEE!!!

[@silverhawkscape2677]

Wait. So us getting "Artifacts" related to Music Actually Makes sense? DOESN'T this mean Anby singing the Background OST actually Helps her in Universe?

[@xrosslegends1279]

Is that a Re: Fantazio reference?

[@guarana-suquinho]

I have to wonder what would happen if someone started playing Doom Music 🤔

[@thebishna]

Consider this my official petition to call the Pre-Eridu civilization "Eridon't".

[@MarkTazo99]

I also vote for this

[@diazpramudita5165]

+1.

[@Cometsarecool]

Signed

[@geboaebo]

Alternatively, Eridid

[@devilsadvocate22289]

You have my vote!

[@butterknight1236]

This just made me realize why zzz makes music videos for characters compared to there other games

[@papacharlie-niner148]

A lot of stuff about agents is music-oriented. Examples: Jane's story is called "Undercover R&B." You can "audition" each new agent before you pull for them. The format of the "agent record" marketing promo is an album cover.

[@xemnasxiii3992]

@@butterknight1236 can't wait to get a moment in the story where the units will have to canonically fight while listening to their official track and we just get to listen to Caesar track while she's really embarrassed lol

[@NagaTales]

A little insight into the 'why' of the EN use of the term Overseer! "Overseer" is one of the three historically accepted translations, alongside "elder" and "bishop", for the Greek word "episkopos"; which is used in the New Testament to describe the senior-most office of the first century Church, just under the Apostles themselves. Which of the translations is preferred depends on denomination, but all three of these terms are interchangeable within the context of Christian church government. So the EN use of "Overseer" isn't out of place, given the CN use of the word "Bishop", and it's my opinion that it was likely chosen due to it being the most 'generic' of the three options so as to not evoke the more formalized and constrained imagery that "Bishop" carries.

[@pallingtontheshrike6374]

deep lore moment

[@Infelious]

I kinda wonder if "Overseer" is also a reference to Otto, in which case that might suggest their aims, such as to prevent someones death.

[@Macer84]

@@InfeliousThat actually is an interesting idea, considering that among the Void Hunters are Kiana and Mei it wouldn’t be all too unlikely that Otto, or someone like him, was involved. That being said, considering The Order’s goal of becoming one with the Hollows in order to reach some transcendent state, and the involvement of Elysia, I find it more likely that this Overseer is, if they are indeed someone we already are familiar with, KEVIN.

[@Truck-kun11]

Considering how long Hollows seem to have existed, it's no surprise to me that a faction that idolizes them would eventually emerge. Humans tend to fear and/or idolize what they see as a higher power, be it a natural disaster, a wild beast, or even other humans.

[@annazhang1434]

Wow when you said idolize, it just remind me that we have idol group in this game :o and their name...

[@silverhawkscape2677]

How long have Allows Existed because I'm getting the Impression of more than a Century now.

[@KallaTheYapper347]

The hollows feels like the abyss that managed to consume the majority of the planet.

[@knightofwisdom8851]

Yeaaa the abyss that succeeded.

[@karafizasea8217]

This makes me remember the achivement "midnight whisper" where you need to answer the payphone in the 6th street in the midnight. "The voice on other end of line sounds muffled and distorted, sounds like an old lady from centuries ago" Theres multiple dialogue from this interaction, and some of em are creepy, but its all from the same recipient who is searchig for someone names Hughes. Does this also proves that message can be send from inside to outside the hollow but itll end up at different time and place?

[@scarlett453]

Also, after you clear the event about Spacebar, you can actually pick up the payphone, and talk to Spacebar's mother. You tell her that her son wishes that he could have seen her one last time, you tell her that he didn't go down without a fight and she cries, thanks you for telling her this and she hangs up.

[@effortlessfury]

There are definitely multiple examples of time dilation throughout the main story and was wondering why they kept implying something going on there but never addressing it. Communications were received out of order more than once.

[@igorrodrigues2532]

The theory of the connection between music and hollows blew my mind. It makes perfect sense.

[@Zarozian]

Okay Sensory Sync is a new one for me....and given how the Sacrifice was able to possess and control and even fuse together technology. I wonder if it can also be controlled the same way.

[@asdf_asdf948]

We also get missions from various chapters out of order

[@papacharlie-niner148]

Fascinating speculation and meticulously argued. Easy sub. I particularly like how your speculation neatly connects the origin of Fairy and the mysterious people/entities behind Fairy with the overarching "Who Killed Eridu?" mystery. Fairy's lore video reads as a writerly red herring to me: superficially sinister as a misdirection, because later we will find out that, SURPRISE, these are really "the good guys."

[@Justin-Thyme]

So this whole thing would is a silent war between two factions (possibly) rooted in the old Civilization and New Eridu is the chess board. Hollows were the byproduct of the old Civilization's technology/research. The Order wants to push on, the other faction wants to stop them. Knowing Hoyo writing, I'd wager the Order is not a faction made of lunatics, but they probably have a reason. The other faction uses time travel to frustrate their plans. And somehow, a bunch of maids (and a Butler with a dreamy voice) are the only ones in the know in New Eridu.

[@francesleones4973]

@@Justin-Thyme That opens another theory: Could Victoria Housekeeping's so-called "Master" be part of a faction fighting against The Order?

[@Justin-Thyme]

@@francesleones4973 Maybe, maybe not. The real question is: did we really want cat girl gfs so bad we genetically engineered Thirens?

[@katharizo]

​The answer is always yes, to catgirls

[@GrieferBeyond21]

The points made about the W engines really blew my mind 😳 so the agents are just vibing to music while fighting?! That’s such attention to detail my the devs

[@silverhawkscape2677]

At this rate we need an Agent who is straight up a Music Idol and they are are the strongest agent we meet so far.

[@xrosslegends1279]

​@@silverhawkscape2677 The Virtual Idols?

[@igorrodrigues2532]

I still don't know how Ashikai manages to blow my mind in every video. But I never miss a single video.😅😊

[@patato4250]

Carole Arna POV: Trolley Problem - One set of tracks have 5 sacrificial lambs willingly tied and waiting for the trolley, the other is you, also tied and thus cannot pull any levers. What will your sudents do? They travel back in time and blow up the trolley causing a big ass hollow to spawn killing everyone

[@vsCelestia-nq5cr]

Yippee ZZZ vid , we are saved boys

[@Diabloto96]

You're really cooking with this one Ashikai, you blew my mind with the time travel

[@bob13559]

VERY EPIC VIDEO, PLEASE DONT GIVE UP ON ZZZ, I LOVE THESE

[@lilceasar]

The main reason why they used overseer and not bishop is that they are both interchangeable, they mean the exact same thing an overseer is just another name for a bishop

[@tkak4]

everything is starting to seem so much more interesting. cant wait to see where it goesss

[@nazmaniangamer]

Can I just say something?... I'm so glad you are covering ZZZ's lore... I thinks its also really good

[@svilenstefanov3053]

Apparently, the old civilization colonized the Moon and that's why there's a Hollow there too

[@shibepanic]

whoa what? could you tell me where you got that? genuinely interested

[@jasonrozay553]

@@shibepaniclook up at the sky, sometimes you can see it. Something happened to the moon but there’s a very visible hollow on it

[@LordHaragnok]

​@@shibepanic It's most obvious towards the end of the chapter 3 story when Lycaon jumps with the moon in the background.

[@sh4d0wfury]

Regarding translating bishop as overseer, in Honkai Impact Otto Apocalypse is called both Overseer and the Bishop of Schiksal.

[@Infelious]

I was thinking exactly this, maybe their Overseer is trying to revive someone too or maybe its describing that their Order runs like Schiksal.

[@Holmesay-hv4hg]

Wow this is now probably my fav video from you. A lot to unpack, both from a scientific and organization/lore standpoint and you were really clear and smooth about it. Thanks!

[@Voxet1]

holy! thats so in depth, id never thought of the music connection in game wtfffff

[@NixNeri]

This was super cool! I stopped playing zzz awhile ago but this make me really want to play again

[@Archetype_Angel]

Wow, thank you Ashikai. There was so much content that went over my head and I personally couldn't connect. Great video

[@dungbeater4264]

GREAT VIDEO!!!! I never knew there was so much detail in this game, that i have overlooked. I never even bothered with why the "discs" were just discs. The inclusion of music in the story and combat is so interesting.

[@russellpierce3987]

the 'sensory sync' bit is really cool to me because one of the only sort of justifications for humanoid robots is to potentially have a sort of 'shell' that people are able to just sort of log into to be other places without traveling, so it's actually one of the only kind of practical things that specifically humanoid robots are good for. not that humanoid robots need to have justification in a game but it's cool that the technology in the lore is semi realistic

[@katabwa2172]

When I first saw ZZZ trailers, I assumed it was a music / rhythm battle game. Surprise surprise. It looks like it is music related after all.

[@justinbailey1669]

Penacony battle theme is such a banger thank you for putting it in the background

[@renziorange]

This is one hell of a video. The quality is amazing and im just completely mind blown. Thankyou so much for such an amazing video. Cant wait for the future ones

[@Saturday_Jones]

I’ve been enjoying ZZZ lately and your videos bring more life to the game. Thank you for adding to my enjoyment

[@razanag]

I know that ZZZ lore video is not really popular, but i really love all your lore video ❤

[@krissy980]

7:10 The English translation is based off the Japanese translation so some details that would work straight from CN to EN get lost in the CN to JP step

[@papacharlie-niner148]

I didn't know that. That explains a lot, like how Lucy's JP dialogue is more consistent with her character than her EN dialogue. The EN localization for Lucy is a confusing mess. I'm not talking about VA performance, I'm talking about word choice. Is there someplace where I can learn more about ZZZ's localization process?

[@krissy980]

@papacharlie-niner148 from what I can tell hoyo does the translations themselves, you'd best do your own research form more info

[@ArtFenixAsordis]

FINALLY! A ZZZ lore video! Thank you, great job! Looking forward for more! :)

[@EYang-hl6hv]

shortest Ashikai video ever and it's still enough to break my brain

[@tite93]

All seriousness aside it's kinda funny that ZZZ, while not being centered around music or sounds in a straightforward way, does a lot more with that concept than Wuthering Waves, whose world is straight up built on sound waves being the source of global disasters and powerful abilities for playable characters

[@thechurchstore2386]

The only thing that gets me more hype than your genshin lore videos is your zzz lore videos. This universe is so interesting and brings up so many questions as I play through the game. Can’t wait for the next one!

[@asdf_asdf948]

By the way, the corona of the hollows pulsate vaguely in a way reminiscent of a sound visualizer.

[@banggobang5148]

23:01 "Belief is an incredibly powerfull force" This is a really true, powerfull and scary words..

[@WilkersonWhittle]

You make my favorite Zzz lore videos.

[@Nihilore]

yes! more ZZZ videos

[@Trnslts]

1:55 close enough, welcome back Seven Shus HI3

[@kyumesknack2]

I love your zzz theory videos so so much!!! Thank you for all your hard work!!

[@Hao-hi3yb]

Excellent take. This was both incredibly entertaining and insightful

[@guarana-suquinho]

Honestly, my reaction to this chapter was overall: Nett, we got information on the Outer Ring and that the hollows attack carbon, and then they just lore bombed us out of nowhere with Phantom lore! To just interrupt a very important information with another lore bomb! I was left wondering what just happened, also, I think that I now understand how the Ether corruption works.

[@justmatrix3402]

😄Thanks for the lore on the story. The way you look at it is definitely different from most. I think 1.3 and 1.4 will definitely explain a lot and Obsidian division in the future with their past.😊

[@DrEnzyme]

I'm gunna feed your paranoia about sound by telling you that wwise is one of the most popular audio integration software for games.

[@demonsofrazg]

Heck yea! Another ZZZ video!!!

[@chirb008]

There are so many hidden lore bits hidden here and there. Is like is simmering. I hope they bring more lore to the surface so people appreciate the story more

[@papacharlie-niner148]

I'll go a step further and speculate that Carole Arna is still alive, although in a story with time travel, dead/alive isn't as binary a state as we presume anyway. Your speculation goes a long way towards building the case for her innocence. It would be a waste, from the perspective of good dramatic writing, for that exoneration to be posthumous. Besides, ZZZ has gone for the easy happy ending in every story arc so far, so it's likely that (the reports of her death were greatly exaggerated) Carole Arna will be exonerated, rather than pull a "Darth Vader is your father" kind of reversal of the sibling's hopes and dreams. Even the dramatic tension created by Miyabi's declaration of vengeance against "all those responsible" (presumably, including the world's #1 Most Wanted, Carole Arna) is neatly resolved by identifying the real culprits as The Order and Carole Arna as the framed patsy. This also brings the story full circle, with Miyabi reprising her ancestor's role as the hero who saves us from The (new) Order's final boss.

[@AnonymousInternetUserLaine]

I am going to watch this video while stuffing my face with two gallons of buttered popcorn with cinnamon sugar. Praise be peak crack cinema

[@badpunking1883]

Another point in favor of ether being treated like sound is the fact that it's refered to as 'resonating'. I always thought it odd that this eldritch energy was being compared to soundwaves, but then again I haven't played enough side content outside the main story yet to notice the other stuff about music affecting ether.

[@Kova_xo]

I LOVE these videos, holy, such awesome story / clue threading!

[@BlazerMinecrafter]

ohhhh my gosh this puts a LOT of stuff i was confused on in perspective. the lore in this game is so cool

[@brainiac2977]

MORE ZZZ LOOOORE! THANK YOU ASHIKAI!!!

[@smashmonkey6304]

Something to add. We technically knew there was a faction that worshipped Hallows before the game came out. One of the datamined characters, Lucia, is from a cult faction. She was datamined with early versions of Caesar, Lucy, Grace and Lighter who have of course all been added. If you see a nun with big tatas, thats Lucia. Of course, she could have been cut, but given that all those other characters have released, its likely see will too.

[@ongkaizer5686]

I think the reason that Lucia doesn't appear now because Hoyo decide to introduce the order in game before her actual debut. Hoyo usually plan and develop many things since CBT and drop them years later after game released like Ayaka and some Inazuma casts, or introduce PV with characters that appear years later like Fatui harbingers/Black swan. So it's possible that they'll treat Lucia in the same way, especially that they've mentioned the order now.

[@lilianne959]

That was a really good video Ashikai, I'm really surprised by the amount of lore that was hiding in the game.

[@luzekiel9343]

Man your videos are amazing, you are pretty much nailing everything here.

[@TheNeoTaku]

Awesome more ZZZ!

[@jblitz200]

I never realized the w-engine disk drive interaction before of Course they play the music

[@jasonrozay553]

I finally found a quality zzz lore video 🙏

[@rexex345]

Small correction, Cherubim are the ones that sing praise to god, Seraphim are supposed to be gods enforcers/knights, the ones that guard him or go to do his smiting, you know, like say... Manipulating vision and then ordering the execution of a whole lot of civilians... Yeah Sarah actually fits pretty well in that sense.

[@jasonrozay553]

Medieval Christian theology places seraphim in the highest choir of the angelic hierarchy. They are the caretakers of God's throne, continuously singing "holy, holy, holy".

[@iMeg_]

WAIT A MINUTE... so the discs go into the w-engine?? like the w-engine plays them??? like HOLD ON, how did I miss lmao

[@papacharlie-niner148]

Don't feel too bad. If you think about it too much, you'll realize that there is no place for the wengine itself to go, if the wengine is big enough to hold CD sized discs. Even if they use micro discs only a couple of cm wide, the wengine is still too big to fit into, for example, Jane's weapon.

[@iMeg_]

@@papacharlie-niner148 nah, it actually makes sense. Those are drive discs, not like cd or vinyl, I just feel dumdum. I would love for them to show the agents holding the w-engine in a cutscene ngl, otherwise I'm not thinking too much of the deets

[@purepotassium]

Part of the reason they chose the word 'Overseer' could have come from a parallel with Schicksal, which is a an organization from Honkai Impact, which prominently features christian symbolism, and is led by an 'overseer'.

[@knightofwisdom8851]

Oohh I love these kinda hidden lore discussion videos,please cover them more,if you dont mind👍

[@TarnishedArt]

I’m genuinely so glad 🥲 and thankful for another Zenless theory! You are seriously the most thorough researcher and the most creative theorist in the gacha space 😭 It reminds me of good ol’ matpat (before retirement) The way you present the details in each video is so fun, the world of Zenless is phenomenal and i’m genuinely so happy to see theories and lore vids for it!

[@CrystalRubyMoon]

My mind was blown when you explained that the W-Engines play the Drive Discs. I'm so dumb I didnt even connect the two sdfsjv But hoonestly very cool of Hoyo to implement lore into gameplay!

[@devilsadvocate22289]

WOOOO ZZZ Lore Vid! Thanks for the good food, Ashikai!

[@edulz_]

Dear ashikai, you are my fav youtuber and zzz is my fav (not really, but I like it) game. Thanks for the video! May the gods and goddess of theory enlighten your way and may thy little toe stumble in the right ancient myths references :prayge

[@anubion46]

Wow! Didn’t release the game has so much lore juice already. Got goosebumps multiple times during the video

[@Bwooke]

this is such a great video

[@famimame]

The Prophecy mentioned. RAAHHHHH!

[@Zarozian]

Exaltist Order, Abyss Order, it's almost as if it's trying to tell us all cults and religions are there to just misguide humans and subvert humanity! ;>

[@Search720p]

It's kind of interesting how, as you went on, all I could think of was Dark Souls and its relationship to light and time. But rather than seeing the past or future it's possible to travel through time since light IS time. I wonder if since Hollow Zero is so old and large that it could be possible to navigate through it to time travel...

[@Search720p]

Thanks to all the "data" stored there.

[@idmss2663]

What if below Miyabi's ancestor was actually the overseer's body, that's why there is fabric floating from the ground

[@Abyssknight1387]

Badass vid, very entertaining as someone who has no prior knowledge. Subbed!

[@mythito5120]

7:10 The correlation between the two comes from The Bible, in 1 Timothy 3:1 it uses the Greek word ἐπισκοπῆς (episkopēs) which translates into English as Overseer or Bishop

[@sneakretster]

So uh, I'm gonna cook here for a second because hearing this stuff about the order and hollow worship and Sara potentially being part of this organization has just sent me on a brain blast I didn't think I'd have: Alright, so looking at Spacebar and his own degradation/loss of sanity from being trapped in a hollow for too long that ended up converting him into a follower of the order and he sought to leave the hollow... And then we examine how it's speculated that officer Bringer is in league with Sara and was the one who was talking on the phone with her after making the deal with Pearlman... Is it possible that the time when Bringer was lost in the hollow (that he *somehow* escaped from that ended up having him lauded as the "Hollow hero" by the people of his district and PUBSEC) he might've either been converted by Ether corruption in some way like what happened with Spacebar? Or he could've been saved by members of the Order and have been converted to their beliefs through their gospel? Which imo would explain his sudden change after the incident and why he's trying to cozy up to TOPS despite that not really seeming like something he'd do before now. Just a thought, and I'm aware I could be cooking garbage, but the thought occurred to me 🤷

[@holandazzz]

LETS GO MORE ASHIKAI ZZZ

[@Law-of-EnTropy]

Damn, i suspected The Order to be maim cause of the Hollow Zero eruption but i never would have thought it went this *_deep_*

[@catv_v]

Ashikai… I have conceived an idea most ingenious.

[@chiko5602]

ZZZ CONTENT LETS GOOOO

[@brentpayne2194]

I thought it might be worth mentioning there's an old leak from before ZZZ's release showing a nun as a playable agent. If she ever makes it into the game proper she might be tied to the Exaltist Order somehow.

[@calebjones7868]

Most people don't bring this up much but It's Highly implied if not confirmed that the Marionette bosses are the Ballet twins, and they do have some sentience left and I personally believe that whatever the Marionette Twins are and the Sacrifice is, are connected. Is it a coincidence that the blimp that "The Order" probably arranged was set on a path that gets close to the Ballet twins building? Maybe, but it would also make sense if "Sarah" or her boss arranged to sacrifice Pearlman for one of the beings they probably want to be like

[@Hesketh32]

More ZZZ let’s gooo

[@lilianne959]

I really hope they dive deeper into the lore in the upcoming updates. As much as I like the casual story, the hollows are by far more interesting.

[@ReelRai]

Yay ZZZ lore!

[@a_sagittarius]

I think the whole Ode/Hym and Overseer/Bishop comes from Honkai Impact 3rd and Schicksal born from a religious background but turned into the biggest anti honkai organization it is more likely they keep using similar words throughout the hoyoverse

[@annazhang1434]

This answer my curious about w engine! I keep thinking what is w engine exactly and why the artefact looks like a cd lol turn out its a mp3 player that you can insert into the weapon XD Also i didnt realize that song/music is important in this game, and they foreshadow it with anby from the beginning! Thats why she keep mumbling song in the hollow :o Thank you and pls keep covering zzz lore! Youre the only lore cc that i know to cover zzz lore 🥹

[@cokerderrick]

Ty for great video.

[@Dandy4ask]

17:43 the ten minute delay is because its impossible to broadcast from inside the hollow so it takes a long time

[@paolabochm3425]

Yeeei❤ thank you Ashikai

[@rexaliv8798]

Originally I thought that the Sacrifice was a bio/eather weapon created for a project that went wrong and somehow Khors got a tip or knew something that made him go try to stop it but coming too late and disappearing in the hollow possibly dead but I suppose a cult could have been created around the Hollows very easily

[@timogul]

The Order must be the Abyss Order. Also, I'm not sure that Hollows create literal time dilation. I think instead it's a matter of decryption lag, that Hollows scramble data, so any transmission out of a Hollow is junk, so it needs to be "decrypted" into a usable form. I think that generally this takes a lot of time, which would make it useless for real-time navigation.

[@Trime8istus]

based on the assumption of how hollow zero erupted. Maybe all those followers from the Order became Ninaveh? Design while she looks like a "collective hive mind" since all ethereals have that black hole in their heads (with exception of Pompey for some reason). I presume maybe Niniveh is the ethereal that all those followers become in the end?

[@ibelieveinwoozisupremacy8681]

wait until one day when ashikai mention deshret in zzz

[@CatDoodling]

Overseers might be a reference to Otto since he also had a lot of religious connotations