Are Belle and Wise really the siblings we think they are, and what role did Carole Arna play in their upbringing?
Zenless Zone Zero’s Version 2.5 has once again dropped a wave of clues, teasing the background of the original Void Hunters, Carole Arna, the keys, and the Phaethon siblings.
Now, with all this new story information, it feels like we have more questions than answers. Still, a handful of details point towards some unsettling theories about Belle and Wise’s past, and the fate that may still be waiting for them. So while we wait for the Angels of Delusion to make their debut on stage, let's dive deep into the complex lore of Zenless Zone Zero once again.
The miasmic visions of Carole Arna
So far, only two people seem capable of answering questions about Phaethon’s origins: Carole Arna and Mayor Mayflower. The mayor has remained largely silent, aside from briefly commenting on the siblings’ eye implants in Version 1.6, and confirming that he was a friend of Carole Arna.
Carole herself has been missing since the fall of New Eridu, an event that was ultimately pinned on her. While we never see her directly at the Lemnian Hollow, Belle and Wise experience multiple miasmic visions showing fragments of her past.
Those visions don’t exactly help Carole’s case. If anything, they suggest that she was involved in something deeply questionable, possibly tied to the Creator or those responsible for Eridu’s collapse. One line in particular stands out: “Even if it means staining my hands with blood, I have to…”, a statement that suggests she was prepared to make decisions that would harm others, if it meant achieving what she believed was the greater good.
As the visions continue, we learn that Carole seems to know a great deal about the Qingming sword, and may even have been involved in its creation, along with other Void Hunter weapons such as the Hoshimi clan’s Tailless. Another vision references the cost of yet another weapon, though it doesn’t seem to be referring to the swords specifically:
“The cost of that weapon… will always be so heavy. But this is for the greater good… For the last spark of humanity… Someone has to make that choice, I know.”
Carole’s actions also appear to be heavily influenced by her desire to protect Belle and Wise. In one vision, she says, “You know why…for those two kids… I have to do it… It’s the only way to pay the least in exchange for the greatest.” She seems to be arguing with someone about the wider consequences of her choices, but her priority is clear: keeping the siblings alive.
As Belle or Wise continues through these visions, the connection becomes increasingly personal. Suspiciously, Carole also speaks about the “beginning of everything,” and the endless possibilities she witnessed, alongside “an end that could devour everything.”
She argues with someone again, insisting they’re wrong, before saying, “if….those children,” only for the line to cut out in static. This is followed by a clear declaration: “I have no regrets.”
Carole also appears to have foreseen the fall of Eridu, referring to the catastrophe that would claim countless lives. She then wonders how she will “be remembered in Eridu’s history,” even acknowledging the possibility of being labelled a “lunatic with bloodstained hands.”
At the very least, Carole seems tied to Eridu’s collapse, not for power, and not for the Creator alone. Many of her decisions also appear to directly involve the Phaethon siblings.
So who, exactly, are Belle and Wise in all of this?
While no theory here is airtight, there are a few key moments worth revisiting. As mentioned in our previous article on the Phaethon’s ultimate fate, one of the most important scenes is the vision Belle or Wise experience just before meeting Fairy.
In that vision, Belle and Wise are shown standing somewhere overlooking what appears to be the Shiyu Pillars. On closer inspection, the location matches the Scott Outpost, looking out towards the Shiyu Pillars and Hollow Zero.
Wise repeatedly calls Belle by name, as a rewind icon flashes several times. He then says, “In the end, it all comes down to us.”
Belle responds, “I won’t give up.”
Moments later, an explosion consumes them, and the vision ends.
If this scene represents their past, then it raises a major issue: both Belle and Wise are swallowed by the Hollow. By all logic, they shouldn’t have survived. Yet the miasmic visions suggest that Carole was actively searching for ways for them to “survive.”
So what did she do to make that possible? This ties neatly into the game’s Lore Teaser, released before launch, which opens with the line: “Here lies Phaethon, who in the Sun-god’s chariot fared. And though greatly he failed, more greatly he dared.”
In Greek mythology, Phaethon attempts to reach the sun and fails, only to be struck down by Zeus. If we apply this metaphor to Zenless Zone Zero, it’s possible that the Phaethon siblings tried to stop Hollow Zero, its own version of the “sun”, and were punished for it by Zeus, potentially represented here by the Creator. In that sense, they “greatly failed.”
If Phaethon already “greatly failed”, meaning that they didn’t survive, then it’s possible that the Belle and Wise we see now are duplicates of their original selves. That failure may also explain why Phaethon has now become the constant subject of conversation among entities like the four AIs, Jinni, Ghost, Yokai, and Fairy.
Thus, one theory we raise here is that the original Phaeton siblings may have died during Eridu's collapse, and the Belle and Wise we know now aren’t the original Phaethon.
What “cost” is Carole talking about?
If Carole truly wanted her children to survive, she may have crossed an ethical line that she knew she could never come back from. The miasmic visions hint that she was willing to do something deeply wrong, possibly using the same technology that created Void Hunter weapons.
Under this theory, Belle and Wise could be recreated versions of the original Phaethon siblings, rebuilt with tools and “powers,” including their eye implants, so they could succeed where the originals failed.
That idea gains weight when looking at the eye implants themselves. One Redditor noted that when Belle’s eye glows (as seen in the endin of Version 2.5's story content), it carries the same symbol as the Void Hunter symbol:
If that connection holds, then Belle and Wise’s implants have truly originated from the same technology used to forge Void Hunter weapons. Carole’s repeated references to “cost”, first with regards to the Qingming sword, then to an unnamed weapon whose burden “will always be so heavy,” now feel uncomfortably relevant.
The cost may have involved harm and destruction, and possibly the fall of Eridu. How so? As the new Belle and Wise are growing up in Helios Academy, something may have already been happening in the background, which may have eventually led to a great catastrophe later on.
Under this lens, the Phaethon siblings themselves may be the weapon, and they could be Carole Arna’s final attempt to finish what the original Phaethon could not, long after she herself is gone.
Still, there’s one important caveat. When Zhao encounters the first miasmic vision in Version 2.5, they note that not everything shown should be taken at face value. These visions aren’t clean recordings of the past. They’re fragmented, out of order, and often incomplete. Zenless Zone Zero has already shown a habit of misleading the player through half-truths and reframed memories, from Yidhari’s recollections of her parents, to the real reason that Banyue “abandoned” Ning Qian’s family.
So while the clues around Carole Arna and Phaethon are deeply unsettling, they’re almost certainly not the full picture. There’s still more to uncover, and chances are, the truth will hurt more than what we’ve seen so far, or lead to mind-blowing revelations that could acquit Phaeton's teacher of her possible offenses. For now, we can only guess what happens next.
If you liked this piece, check out our other article on the potential whereabouts of Zenless Zone Zero's missing Void Hunters!
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