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heademptysimirror · 22 days ago

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So...Fraud.

The eight layer of Hell, and the second to last level in Ultrakill. Even if we just have the teaser for now, there's already a lot of theories on what Fraud's gonna be like! Personally, I've been giving it a lot of thought lately.

Analysis/Theories under cut!

First off, the OST art for 8-1.

The cover is immediately...off-putting. Ultrakill has INTENTIONALLY avoided eye imagery for most of the game, the only exceptions I can think of being the death screen, the eyes in Gluttony, and the tiny one in the album art for A Heart Of Cold. So an eye that is MEANT to be the central piece is very weird. Not to mention the artstyle change from, say, Infinite Hyperdeath, Imperfect Hatred and even Violence.

They all very clearly show the themes of Ultrakill, using black sharp silhouettes on top of a solid color background. In contrast, the one for Fraud gives off a more "holy" vibe. It has light colors, soft strokes and not even a speck of black to be found. It's almost inviting.

8-1 "HURTBREAK WONDERLAND"

The mission takes place in some kind of manor, and a modern city. It looks normal, to some point. Too normal for a game like Ultrakill. Then again, the layer as a whole is based on deceit.

"TRUST NOT YOUR EYES.

TRUST NOT YOUR EARS.

THIS IS THE EIGHTH LAYER OF HELL.

THIS IS ULTRAKILL.

THIS IS FRAUD."

Watching the teaser, one of my first thoughts was "Hey, this looks a bit like 5-3!" So I played it to get in-game footage.

I know it may just be reused models to save time, BUUUT it's funny to me how people theorized on Fraud to mimick Heaven, and just how similar 8-1 is to the inside of the Ferryman's ship (a character heavily related to Heaven, that intends to show his gratitude towards it). It wouldn't surprise me if the Ferryman decorated his ferry to resemble Paradise on purpose. (We still don't actually know what Heaven looks like in Ultrakill, sooo...)

Then there's also plenty of stone statues shaped like a lion devouring a sun. In alchemy, that can represent the consciousness being overwhelmed by violent, frustrated desires (I'll retake this later). Or, it's used as a metaphor for aqua regia (the lion) dissolving gold (the sun). The sun itself is sometimes linked to the consciousness, the divine, or sulphur, too. Interesting how a screenshot focuses on a red skull, considering those are the ones which have the alchemical symbol for sulphur. With such emphasis on it, it makes me think there might be some parts of Fraud that are just completely corroded or ruined.

8-2

Stanley Parable?

Some sort of office/warehouse/factory. It continues that "urban" theme from the first mission. Not much to comment here for now with the lack of screenshots, sadly :(

(Though, the colors kinda reminded me of that bathroom at what seems to be the end of 8-1. Wonder what the deal with it is??)

Fraud - General

Non-euclidean geometry in a modern-esque, twisted yet beautiful city. In such a deep layer of Hell, you'd expect it to be a lot more grotesque, like its version in Dante's Inferno. And it's deceitfully pretty, clearly going for a liminal feel. We're going to be fighting enemies on top of buildings while the environment bends around us (So metal!!).

I'm really curious as to what the torture here is supposed to be. The normality of its looks could make you think about Limbo, where the torture was psychological.

"WE CAME IN" If that's a reference, then I'm completely oblivious to it. However, I'm assuming it refers to the inside of the TV in the room, which looks like it leads to the start of the level. In 1-4, the book's text tells us how Hank's experience in Limbo tempted him to "plunge deeper into hell". In Fraud, if the punishment is any similar to Limbo's, then there might be a similar situation. By "going in" the TV, you're progressing in the level, and eventually going deeper into the layer.

And again with the 5-3 parallels, there's the level names. "Ship of fools" and "Hurtbreak Wonderland". The ferry is a safe (if you ignore the enemies in the mission??) place amidst the raging sea of souls of Wrath. The city of 8-1 basically intends for you to feel comfortable, at least by its looks. And yet, 5-3's title directly tells you what to expect from the level, while 8-1's goes as far as to call it a wonderland.

Honestly, Fraud's got a lot of potential for a high scare factor. I'm betting it's going to have AT LEAST one moment in a mission, like the Mannequin jumpscare in 7-1.

(If it relies on psychological horror then I'm sold. And horrified. I'd hate the first playthrough and I mean this in the best way possible)

As for 8-S, no clue. I don't really know WHAT to expect since this is the first layer release I've been around for. I doubt we'd guess it, anyways. Unlikely because of how popular the prediction is, but it would be so funny if it was a building simulator. The PC gaming show had a bunch of those before the Ultrakill announcement and after it the views basically HALVED. I feel kinda bad because some of the games were genuinely cool-looking but really most of us were only there for the Fraud reveal.

One thing I don't see people talking about is that this is the last secret mission AND the last Testament if there's none in Treachery. The last of God's lore?? Maybe we'll finally learn just what happened.

Providence

A new enemy introduced in the teaser. As soon as it dropped, a popular theory was created:

Providence is NOT an angel.

It was presented as a new enemy, not as a new ANGEL enemy. And the statement seemed pretty solid, until more Fraud content was published in July 8.

Oh.

Despite confirmation from the official team themselves, I refuse to believe that's actually an angel. At least a regular one. They've told us multiple times not to trust our eyes or our ears, and that might as well be hinting at a lie they're telling!

Not to mention all of the evidence there is for the theory:

1. Providence's attacks use HELL ENERGY.

2. It has whole eye on its face. According to the Terminal entry for Virtues:

"Virtues are normally known to have a multitude of eyes, though for unknown reasons, these eyes are hidden or removed for ones that become wardens in Hell. Some have speculated this may be related to why almost all husks lack eyes, with the only verified exception being the previous Judge of Hell, King Minos."

Eyes in Ultrakill are scarce, and mostly associated with Hell Itself. What is an angel with eyes doing in hell? Unless Providence is not supposed to be there, then it just doesn't much sense. Even Gabriel's (hypothetical) eyes are covered.

3. Providence seems to lack that vibrant blue light Virtues and Gabriel emit in game. Supporting this theory, 6-2 Gabriel doesn't have that Holy Light (This is after the Council removes his Light) that he did in 3-2. Sure, the arena does have a blue light in his second phase, but that's probably just the glow of his wings.

4. If you look at the concept art for Providence, you'll see a lot of insect and flower designs, especially butterflies and moths. Those insects are commonly associated with disguise or change. Following the motif, there's also an idea for Providence to be based on the Tetramorph cherub, and for it to use its different faces.

And lastly, there's plenty of concepts for Providence to be made out of stone (the material a demon's exterior is made out of.

(Though these remained concepts for a reason, it might be helpful to consider them!)

5. There's statues in the image of Providence. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, since there's statues of Gabriel and what seem to be other angels around Hell. The thing is Providence is apparently a Lesser Angel. How important could it be?

(When getting footage, I found out the lion statue is also in Limbo. Funny being how Fraud might be comparable to Limbo, them being the first and second to last layers, respectively.)

With this in mind, there's different possibilities for Providence. The first is that it's really just a freaky angel or something. Second, a demon. Or third, a husk. Regardless of how biased I might have been at first for demon Providence, it being a husk could be even more interesting and more congruent with Ultrakill's themes. Imagine how absolutely horrifying it'd be to be forced to live as a twisted caricature of something you clearly aren't, in a place that pretends to be a utopia.

Perhaps it was Hell, or perhaps someone else, and that brings us to the last part of this post.

P-3 predictions

Important note : We've reached the segment with the least official proof. I should mention that most of this theory is based on the belief that the Act 3 layer that had a king was Fraud, although it might also work with Treachery. Still, this is all very speculative.

I feel like Fraud did go through some kind of change like Lust did when the angels left. However, I wouldn't really call it a renaissance. Minos focused on reforming his kingdom, Sisyphus trained an army, and perhaps this third king chose to do something similar to Minos, but not for the sake of his people. Rather, just to spite Heaven by copying it.

That being said, my candidate for the third Prime Soul is Theseus. Not only is he very associated with the Minotaur (that is associated with Minos), he also checks the boxes for being a Greek king in mythology, having some questionable actions, and being fraudulent/treacherous in some occasions.

As mentioned with the alchemy symbolism earlier, someone may have been frustrated and succumbed to a more brutal lifestyle. The angels' disappearance was the perfect opportunity to taunt the jailors. The Fraud layer transformed into a beautiful place, but only to the eyes of its king. The sinners were morphed into parodies of the gracious inhabitants of Heaven, eternally forced to behold what they could have been. The Council, utterly disgusted, sent Gabriel to get rid of the ruler, imprisoning him, you know the drill.

Since the kings in Hell seem to have known eachother, then that's a check, too. Theseus has a connection to Minos due to slaying the Minotaur in mythology.

(I wonder if the one who gave it to Minos is really the third prime soul. According to its data, was sculpted by "████ ██████" as a gift for the Judge of Hell in an attempt to find some kind of rapport. I tried looking for Greek kings that had six letter names and fit the "criteria" for a possible Prime soul, but no one really convinced me. That person might just be a random Hell resident.)

From what we've been shown of Fraud, it has a lot about change. The perspective changing, the environment shifting, the concept art of Providence alternating faces, and whatever else might come with the full level. And what is Theseus also known for? His paradox. If an object's parts are all replaced over time, is it still the same object, or a completely new one? Not only does it fit with the idea of Fraud being transfigured, but I think it would also be a really cool concept for Ultrakill's finale. After humanity went through so much horrible events, and did such horrific things, could it still have been considered...well, human?

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Aaaaand we're done! Is this overanalyzing it? Probably. Is it far-fetched? Completely. Albeit, I really really really needed to organize my thoughts, so here you go. I'm going to go bonkers when Layer 8 comes out. The last level with 4 missions is surely going to be pretty lore heavy.

#ultrakill #my art #v1 ultrakill #providence ultrakill #ultrakill providence #fraud ultrakill #rambles of the mirror maze #I'm so sorry if this is confusing to read this is the first time I've done this 💔💔#I'm still hoping for a Greater Angel in Fraud. Imagine if we get the gold arm from it!!#Please tell me if you spot any mistakes! ^^

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