Even though there’s not gonna be a statement anytime soon from Netease about GenAi I do wanna share an old Video back in 2025 when I clutched a match against Alva
An impromptu analysis of Alva's Third Letter, what it reveals, what it implies, and what it could mean for the future.
The Letter is set during Game 11, with an Eye of Darkness cultist reporting to Alva about the actions of two of the Survivors, who are known to be Luca Balsa (Alva's student and quasi-adopted son) and Amanda Gaddis, a cultist abandoned in favor of her maternal figure Dogma. A conflict between parental figures and their children is the core of the Cult Game.
The cultist reports that someone had broken into Alva's room between controls and, though they had not obtain records detailing the ritual, they had stolen all records regarding the Het Arresthuis breakout that involved Dogma and Amanda.
Based off the disjointedness in the cultist's recollection of the patrol, Alva (and the player) can infer that the culprit was Amanda Gaddis, using her projection to form an "optical illusion" (which may be more supernatural, in the form of Joseph's technology). It is also stated that the second intruder (Amanda) has allied herself with the first intruder (Luca), confirming a suspicion implied since her Essence Video. It is determined they must be eliminated, which contends itself with Alva having spared Luca by not informing the Cult of his hiding place (Luca Fourth Letter).
As with Alva's Second Letter, Alva is praised as logical, with the cultist trusting he will figure out how Amanda's lantern works.
Confident on the two Survivors' downfall, the cultist notes that research materials Alva had were also disturbed, potentially implying Amanda investigated them for herself or Luca.
This research centered on several failed inventions, disregarding due to circumstance or prejudice, but all lost to time. It leads to the idea that "truth" and scientific objectivity cannot be created so long as human bias exists. Therefore, to create the closest simulacrum to it, Alva must disregard all human emotion.
This, supposedly, is why the Eye of Darkness chose him. However, based off the theme of the Manor Game, something else may happen.
Alva's Third Letter doesn't reveal much in terms of what happened in his Manor Game: The largest reveal is that Amanda and Luca allied together, something that was suspected since her Essence video (Feast on This Shore Essence Video).
However, in thematic resonance, there is something incredibly interesting going on with Alva's Third Letter.
Let's look at Alva and Luca's Deduction Stars: Diary of a Country Priest and Ben-Hur. Both films focus on Christianity, faith, and forgiveness, with Ben-Hur learning to forgive the men who wronged him and the Priest forgiving God on his deathbed after a crisis of faith.
What's interesting about this is that we see from Cage of Yesteryear, Alva is placed with the literally or metaphorically deceased*, implying that he "died" in some form in Game 11.
*Note: No one is implied to have escaped Oletus, not even escapees like Galatea or Kevin, so this is more a category for those who died literally/metaphorically in relevance to a Game, so Michiko and Mary are included in that their 'deaths' are relevant.
I think this emphasis on Alva the scientific, Alva the rational, is meant to highlight how this, too, is ultimately irrational. How it's a form of faith, just like Ann's piety or Amanda's vengeance or Luca's quest for validity. Science is a measurement and what is rational will depend on the culture. Therefore, relying on it as a dogma is doomed to fail.
We have already seen Alva the rational falter in Luca's Fourth Letter, where Alva has the chance to disclose to the other cultists he knows Luca's whereabouts, but chooses not to. The other cultist who figures this out, in Ann's Fourth Letter (possible Ann herself) is pitiful of Luca and does not believe it will benefit the Eye of Darkness to harm him. "Post-canon," we've also seen Alva do things like repair unsafe circuits in the Anniversary quotes, implying Herman's death (and his own and Luca's near-death) substantially impact him.
At the same time, Luca's story is the most scornful toward the concept of truth, with it being compared to Rashomon, a story where the truth is never discovered, but what people believe is the truth is more important. (Which is, in turn, supported by the likelihood neither Alva nor Luca attempted murder, but the Perpetual Motion Machine exploded, as it had done with Herman Balsa before). This calls into question the truth Alva is searching for.
Combining all of this together, I'm curious as to whether Alva remains "rational" in Game 11, or he will do something impulsive in an act of humanity, leading to a literal or metaphorical "death." We know Ann seemingly becomes one with the Darkness in the Ritual so that Dogma can succeed her. We also know Luca makes a choice to ultimately walk away from fulfilling his dream of science for a more uncertain path (Luca's Fifth Portrait).
I wonder if Alva does something either to cause this choice or in the aftermath of it, due to the theme of forgiveness permeating both characters. Perhaps Alva attempts to pull a "join me" and sacrifices himself so that Luca can take his place as the high priest. Perhaps he and Luca forgive each other and Alva either sacrifices himself to honor said choice or is metaphorically "dead" by rejecting the Cult. Either way we are seeing a buildup to some kind of confrontation that ultimately favors humanity.
It is most fitting, considering the god at play: The Eye of Darkness is implied to be the god Nyarlathotep, the most human of the Lovecraftian Gods. While in the Cthulhu Mythos, this is used to make Nylary the most malevolent, due to him understanding human morality and thus has the ability to be evil, the EOD does something more subversive: while they have the capacity for malice, as seen in whatever fascinating they have with Luca, they also show a certain... benevolence towards their followers most of the other IDV Gods lack, especially compared to Yidhra or the Goat. Ann becoming one with the Darkness is treated as something like a happy fate for her, where she leaves the material realm to be with a god who returned her piety. This emphasizes how "humanity" is both malicious and benevolent things, something that perfectly fits with Alva, a character capable of both great selfishness and great kindness.
