For those who forgot about those, remember the cubes from chapters 10-15, that were EX fights that actually were decently tough at the time of release, with question marks for names and nonsensical strings of attacks that looked like someone was mashing on a keyboard?
These guys?
Well, those attacks weren't nonsensical at all, as you might recall. In fact, each one of them was their own cipher/puzzle, that would lead to solving the true name of each cube instead of just their ??????? in varying strings.
The names in question were tied to space programs:
New Horizons
Jupiter (with accompanying mini-cube Ulysses)
InSight
OSIRIS-REx
Artemis
and
Syncom 3 (we'll get to this one later)
In any case, I never would have been able to crack a single one. I'm not exactly a puzzle guru. But I am good at stringing together niche canon knowledge and coming up with Deep Lore Cuts, and that's the topic of today's rant: Who Made The Cubes?
Now, those still remembering Dragalia's lore might remember that they abruptly brought back the cubes and branded them as 'Xenos' terminals'.
But, let me float you this thought:
Originally, Phares might have been the one they were intending on pinning the cubes to (and still potentially could have even in canon).
This thought, though initially crackish in nature, has just enough evidence to make one seriously consider an even grander conspiracy in Dragalia's world, so buckle in!
The first thing we need to consider is when the cubes were made. I had initially thought before this that the cubes could have been more of the 'ancient tech' that was slumbering around the continent. However, we don't actually have any comment that I can recall that actually says that. As such, they are free to be a modern invention, which again frees up the possibility that Phares could have created them under the Progenitor's influence.
There's more to this than just feasibility, though.
Let's look at one noted aspect of his character:
(Soumarhea notes that in the original Japanese, he adds a third sentence to this that essentially boils down to 'It's good for your brain!' which is not relevant at all but is charming)
And as we know, the cubes notably had some wonky puzzles built-in, varying from Caesar Ciphers to the Vigenère Cipher to unicode emojis spelling out a pictogram.
Most suspiciously, chapter 13's cube key was tied to hieroglyphics from Ancient Egypt.
What was a very quiet part of Phares' character, that they idly noted in his 'fun facts' character sheet much later on?
Talents: ancient languages
Hmm...
This is all a bit suspicious already. Let me add in some more ??? elements to this whole situation.
The final cube was essentially the final test. It used all the previous cubes' ciphers in its own. It rewarded you, in part, with this text:
FIRST, I EMBARKED INTO THE GREAT UNKNOWN.
BUT ONCE THERE, I LOST MY WAY.
SECOND, I TRIED CALLING OUT. BUT NO SOUND CAME.
THIRD, I SPIED A GREAT TOWER. IT MADE ME LONG FOR COMPANIONS TO PLAY WITH.
SO DESPITE MY LIFE OF SOLITUDE, I MADE MYSELF SOME FRIENDS.
LET US CONTINUE ON TOGETHER, PLAYING FOR ALL ETERNITY.
This is where my conspiracy brain kicks on, because I'm here to claim that this might be applicable to Phares, in addition to the more overt connection of Syncom3.
Ahem...
FIRST, I EMBARKED INTO THE GREAT UNKNOWN. - The notable catalyst for... everything regarding Phares was that he died. Could that be construed as the 'Great Unknown?'
BUT ONCE THERE, I LOST MY WAY. - The second part of that catalyst was that he couldn't even die quite right, revived by Xenos. In a sense, he's 'lost his way' to even true death.
SECOND, I TRIED CALLING OUT. BUT NO SOUND CAME. - Phares is highly aware (according to Xenos) about Xenos' presence. Could he have attempted to communicate once he realized he was possessed?
Alternatively, we know that Phares didn't exactly like being possessed; The Blood That Binds started from Phares trying to recreate Alberius to try to shuck his possession onto. It could be that Phares wanted to/tried to call for help, but was unable to express it/receive any aid.
THIRD, I SPIED A GREAT TOWER. IT MADE ME LONG FOR COMPANIONS TO PLAY WITH. - Chapter 13, where Phares decides to secret himself away, seems to possess some structures that could be described as 'towers'.
SO DESPITE MY LIFE OF SOLITUDE, I MADE MYSELF SOME FRIENDS. - Phares is a noted loner in the fam despite being perfectly able to be social. Furthermore, the first thing he does once freeing Beren is take him here, to better use the ancient tech here. I'd also like to note one of his lines (again pointed out by soumarhea, ''Beren and I shared an otherness—a burning solitude.'')
LET US CONTINUE ON TOGETHER, PLAYING FOR ALL ETERNITY. - Phares spends the most of his time in the main story before he is freed messing with, -playing with, -others, with Beren at his side. I'm pretty sure he at least once uses the word 'playing' verbatim to describe his actions, as well.
Not exactly a smoking gun, but some more food for thought for sure.
Then, we have to look at where and how the cubes were positioned in the story. They pop up from chapters 10-15... a period where Phares was notably starting to gain presence/steam in the main campaign. In fact, after 14, I'd imagine that it wasn't too hard to guess that Phares and Beren would end up serving as the latest Big Bad, especially after their direct takedown of Morsayati. The classic 'bigger villain takes down the smaller one to show how big of a threat they are' display.
This makes it all the weirder how abruptly they disappear from the main campaign for many chapters on end... until you consider the fact that Nedrick was wholly the director's invention. It's far too easy to see how the Nedrick plot had to be inserted, leaving any Phares plans or arc to be cut+paste for later when he randomly steps in again.
The cubes were also seemingly intended as something important - if they truly were just silly little puzzles they added on a whim, then I'm not sure why they felt the reason to bring them back as 'Xenos' terminals' (again as Phares regains relevance) or for the cast to remember their mere existence.
This could have easily been a 'what the heck are those?' moment, but no, the party is familiar with the cubes:
This makes me think that they always had ties to something in canon, and presuming Xenos wasn't always in the 3 writers' scripts (a bold guess, I know)... the biggest connection is to Phares.
I also might like to suggest that Phares miiiiiight have left these cubes for Euden as a sort of test or hidden message he wanted to say but couldn't bring himself to do so in-person.
The cubes, notably, appeared in an order the exact reverse of Euden's pacts with the Greatwyrms.
His went Wind-Water-Flame-Light-Shadow, and the elemental cubes went Shadow-Light-Flame-Water-Wind.
More concretely, the first cube puzzle's solution was tied to two numbers above all others, as again pointed out by soumarhea:
2...and 7.
In other words, Phares and Euden's positions in the family. We also know that Phares considers Euden 'talented' in some unknown way, and seems to like seeing what he can do. His earliest actions in game are, in part, poking Euden with a metaphorical stick to see what he does and cheering him on all the way.
The cubes are also notably non-hostile. Even if you walk directly up to them, getting the ! of 'notice' from them that signals 99.% of the game's enemies to attack, they will not move nor attack until you strike the first blow.
That's an... oddly permissive design, were they purely just an evil deity's minion. It's not as though they only activate when attacked, either, as again, they're fully aware of you when you first move in the boss fight. And I would generally expect things of that nature to blast everything within a certain radius to stop anyone from messing with them.
Perhaps they were intended in part more as quiet records of secret messages Phares wanted to communicate/record but not say freely instead of beat-em-up targets by Euden.
For more minor, least-likely to be relevant observations from both willofwinnie and soumarhea:
-Phares has a bit of an odd connection with 'things in the sky'. There's Uranus, a heavenly body, but he also notably was in possession of a device called a 'World Ark', which kinda reminds one of the ark in canon, the people living in the sky. Potentially related to the 'things in the sky' the cubes referenced?
-The chapter 11 cube is keyed to Laxi and Masculas' names as the key to unlock the solution. Xenos... really has 0 reason to use these names. Phares, as a human living in a singular world with a smaller outlook and closer ties to Chelle+her archaeology efforts, has better reason than most to know and place any importance in their names.
-We know Phares has been to at least 3 of the places where cubes were found: Clave Loy'elune, Lake Reeve, and of course Sol Alberia. The first cube is found almost immediately after encountering him in Clave Loy'elune, to boot.
So, uh... yeah. I may not have definitive proof where Phares says 'haha yeah I made the cubes, you caught me', there certainly is a number of very odd coincidences that seem like they could point to him as the creator.
The biggest and only point I can really think of against this theory is the sheer number of cubes that seem to be present when Xenos finally attacks with them. While Phares is an Industrious Young Lad Schooled In Many Fields, I'm not sure he'd be casually making as many as seem to be shown.
This, however, could be potentially explained by the decision to reframe them as 'Xenos' terminals' coming so late in canon, if they truly were trying to excise Phares' possible participation in their creation. Or perhaps Phares had felt compelled to make them from Xenos' influence, Xenos trying to rebuild an army of them or something.
