A Great Existence is a term used to describe a mysterious extraterrestrial/extradimensional being or class of beings that is at the center of the events and lore of Path to Nowhere. Very little is known for sure about the nature, origin, or details of the Great Existence(s), but this page will strive to speculate based on extrapolation from all the hints and shreds of information available in the game.
Overview
The term "Great Existence" is used by Parma several times, referring to the being that exists inside the core of entities such as an Inheritance, Corpus, or Corpseborne. When the Chief defeats both the Corpseborne of BR-004 and False Hamel of BR-001, they find a bubble of red flesh at the center of its body. When this core is breached, the Chief finds an extradimensional space like a black hole inside, and at the center of that black hole is an existence that appears to be a withered humanoid figure. A similar figure also appears when the Inheritance awakens in the crypt beneath Syndicate; a withered human arm emerges from its sarcophagus and is seen briefly before it assembles a larger monstrous body around it.
The Great Existences are closely tied to Mania. They seem to be sources of it, as the Inheritance in the crypt was the reason for the Mania crisis in Syndicate and they are necessary for the formation of a Black Ring, which are gateways to the realm of Deep Mania and the ultimate source of Mania in the physical world; the Corpus in BR-001 even refers to itself and the Chief as "the Source", though its meaning is ambiguous.
At the same time, the primary impulse of these Great Existences is to consume other sources of Mania. This is a process that allows them to gain power and evolve into greater forms by incorporating the individuals they eat into themselves. Straightforward examples of this are seen in the in-game descriptions of the "Skeletal Mutant" enemy (fought when the Inheritance awakens) and the "Molten Beast" enemy (the Corpseborne in Keylan Square), both of which state that their bodies are made from the remains of many Corruptors. More complex examples include Earl giving another Inheritance to the one that had possessed Zoya in order to strengthen it enough to call down BR-001 and evolve into a Corpus/Corpseborne, and the Chief's instinctive devouring of the great existences at the center of each Corpus they have defeated thus far.
The Underground seems to serve, or perhaps even worship, the Great Existence(s). Much of the terminology surrounding them has strong Christian religious connotations referring to the Sacrament of Communion. "Corpus" is Latin for "body", and the term "Deus Corpus", loosely meaning "body of god" has been used as well. Parma has also used the word "Host" to describe these beings. In many Christian churches, the "host" is the term used for the unleavened sacramental bread eaten during Holy Communion, and in some traditions it is believed to be the literal body of Jesus Christ. In the game's original Chinese, the character that has been translated as Host, 主, literally means Master or God. The consumption of the body of God in the Sacrament of Communion also has clear parallels to the way that great existences consume each other.
Origin
The Great Existences are extraterrestrial or extradimensional in origin, and probably first arrived on this planet in some form with the impact of the Perishing Star. The description of the Seed of Ill Omen mission refers to them explicitly as "aliens", and the Mirror System states that the Wandering Apostles are suspected to come from a different dimension. It is likely that their place of origin is the Deep Mania. The Singularity Crimebrand refers to the Black Ring as a "gate to a holy place,” and it is stated that Paradeisos believes that should any Black Ring ever intensify, it will forge a link to the Deep Mania.
The lifecycle of a great existence may begin with a "seed", though exactly what form this takes is unknown. Parma describes how the Underground typically nurtures these existences until they are powerful enough or otherwise prepared to be used in the creation of a Black Ring. However, other juvenile great existences do exist outside of the Underground's control such as the Corpus of BR-001, which found the Carnival and began the Black Ring without any prior detection or influence by them.
There are also possible hints that Great Existences might have existed on Earth before disappearing for a time, such as the Reunion Day Crimebrand and ancient murals in Whitesand which depict the Dreamflower descending from the heavens.
Goal
The ultimate goal of Great Existences is unclear. One possibility is that they want to return to extraterrestrial/extradimensional space from which they came. The WhiteSands Apostle Crimebrand describes how the Wandering Apostles in the Tide of Ashes all walk towards the DisSea. NOX also reveals in her interrogation that the souls of all people who die while infected with Mania become lost in the DisSea as well. Given that the DisSea is the place with the strongest connection to the Deep Mania, the congregation of these remnants of Mania-afflicted humans may reflect a desire to travel back through the gate to their home dimension. This could be the meaning of the Paradise Regained Crimebrand, allowing great existences to "regain" the "paradise" they fell from once; "heaven" (the Deep Mania) collapses unto earth in the form of a Black Ring. However, this is contradicted by Mantis, who believed after researching Apostles that the reason they sought the center of the DisSea was instead in order to make their existence in the real world more stable; clearly, this is in contradiction to the idea that they may be trying to leave the physical world entirely.
A second possibility is that the actions of the Great Existences on Earth are designed to prepare the way for the arrival or awakening of another, even greater existence that is still in the world that they originated from. This Existence (potentially the being referred to as the Host or the Source) may be represented abstractly on a number of occasions in game with a symbol of three vertical eyes; this depiction is seen clearly in the Soul Rift Crimebrand, which refers to attempts to "awaken the gods". Servant and In Host's Name also allude to the "return" of a being which will "descend" into our world through a Black Ring. Furthermore, in Eastia, the myth of the Azure Mender tells that a three-eyed god intended to descend from heaven to earth in order to enlighten human beings, but fell and knocked himself unconscious. Plagues and disasters fell through the hole in the sky but a hero created pillars of blue light to support the collapsing sky.
All that said, if their goal is to open this gate, and given that BR-000 has existed in the DisSea for at least 28 years, it is unclear why the intended result has not yet come to pass. The most direct hint we have comes from the Corpus of BR-001, who says that Parma told her that she is "going to wake up everyone. And on the day when we all wake, the Miracle will come." It is likely that all (or at least, some number) of Inheritances/great existences must be gathered in one place and consumed into a single being for the Miracle that is their ultimate goal to transpire. Parma implies that this is somehow related to a concept of "worthiness" or "eligibility", as he desires to create Black Rings out of individuals that possess certain traits, such as Zoya or Langley. This would also explain why Parma tells the Chief that he will stop standing in their way after they encounter each other in the Endless Carnival, as he realizes that the Chief's goals also result in these Great Existences being accumulated into a single vessel. Shalom theorizes that the Underground nurtures Great Existences by letting them absorb human Mania through their Black Rings for the purpose of then feeding them to the Underground Shepherd.
Shepherds
The humanoid beings referred to as Shepherds or SHPs seem to be closely related to the Great Existences, if not a kind of Great Existence themselves. Two Shepherds are known: the Underground Shepherd, and the Chief of the MBCC. When the Chief encounters another Great Existence, they instinctively, even involuntarily, attempt to devour each other, and the Corpus of BR-001 states that the Shackles' control over Sinners is the same as how a Corpus controls the Corruptors in its Black Ring. How and why Paradeisos would attempt to recreate a Great Existence through the Shepherd Plan is unknown.
Known Great Existences
- The Inheritance - at least three different Inheritances have been seen in the story so far. The first is the Inheritance in the Unclaimed Crypt. Later, when Parma ambushes Zoya and drives her Manic in order to begin BR-004, he states that the black cube he infected her with contained "multiple" Inheritances.
- The Corpus of BR-002
- The Corpus of BR-004
- Hamel (Corpus), the Corpus of BR-001
- The Chief
- The Underground Shepherd
The following entities may or may not be proper Great Existences, but are powerful extradimensional Mania entities that share some similarities with them.