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Xenoblade Chronicles 3, for all its foibles, has done an excellent job of tying up the story first introduced in 2010’s Xenoblade Chronicles. At first, you don’t know why there are recognisable landmarks and characters popping up all over the place; but the final act soon reveals how everything’s connected. Indeed, that late-stage plot twisting is essentially the gimmick of the entire franchise, and it’s a complex timeline to follow!
As such, we thought we’d lay it all out in one place. For clarity and brevity, we will only focus on the narrative introduced in the Xenoblade Chronicles saga specifically, since the original Xenogears and other ‘Xeno’ games are somewhat separate from the yarn being spun in Xenoblade Chronicles 1-3 and X.
Updated Jun 09, 2025 by Bobby Mills: Well, the release of Xenoblade X’s Switch port certainly came out of nowhere, didn’t it? Like an Immovable Gonzalez guarding a treasure chest, you never see ‘em until it’s too late. All the same, the game’s here, and its new final chapter has some minor, but still significant, ramifications for the Xenoblade timeline. We thought we’d add it, as well as nipping and tucking the article a little. Enjoy!
A fair warning to Homs and Telethia everywhere: there will bemajor spoilers in this articleconcerning every corner of the Xenoblade franchise.
How The World Was Formed
Who Were Aiodos And Klaus?
The world of Xenoblade Chronicles was, essentially,created by accident many years ago. In the games’ universe, the real Earth exists, and in a flashback we learn of an item called the Conduit. This item was discovered in Africa byleading scientific organisation Aoidos (pronounced ‘oi-doss’), and upon investigation, the Conduit was found to have the power tocreate or open a pathway to a new universe.
The humans were studying the Conduit on several space stations, one of whichhosts a supercomputer to protect the Conduit called the Trinity Processor. It is on this particular base, the ‘First Low Orbit Station,’ that we learn of anambitious and resentful worker named Klaus.
There is apparent in-fighting between some of the scientists, and one daya rebel faction known as the Saviorites attacks the base, giving Klaus the chance he wanted to switch on the Conduit.
When he does this, he and one other person –Klaus' colleague, a female scientist called Galea– are transported through the tear the Conduit opens,trapping one half of Klaus' personality in a parallel universewhile leaving the other, more corporeal half of him in the space station.
What Did The Conduit Do?
The half of Klaus that is torn from himself is transported to the world of Xenoblade Chronicles 1, which we will eventuallyknow as Bionis and Mechonis.When he arrives in the new dimension, the part of him that used to be Klaustakes on the name Zanza, while Galea becomes a figure known asLady Meyneth. Both of these two have no physical form in this new universe, but they lord over their respective domains of biological and technological life.
The other half of Klaus that remains in the space station around Earth eventuallybecomes the figure we know in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 as ‘the Architect.‘Due to the Conduit’s activation, the Earth was pretty much destroyed, and is covered witha sea of cloudsbelow which no people dare to venture.
With that, we establishtwo timelines that will now run concurrently: there is the original universe where Earth is located, and the new universe where the planet of Xenoblade Chronicles 1 is. Put simply, Xenoblade 2 takes place on the remains of Earth, while 1 doesn’t.
The Events Of Xenoblade Chronicles 1
What Was The New World Like?
Thanks to some space-time tampering andthe Conduit reacting with the Trinity Processor in a funky way, both Zanza (Klaus) and Meyneth (Galea) were empowered to divine levels, able to create entire civilisations in their halves of this new world – thusdrawing comparisons to being gods, both revered and feared by the populace.
Due to the nature of how they ended up there, the game explains that Zanza and Meyneth lacked a true form, and as such,they had to find a way to insert themselves into something. The result is the creation of two gigantic, mobile landmasses called the Mechonis and the Bionis.
Mechonis and Bionis aretwo leviathan mecha structures standing in the middle of a desolate ocean. With these beasts, Zanza and Meyneth set themselves up as rival creators. While not initially antagonistic, the two eventuallyvie to become the dominant one.
Now we have two civilisations,one of metal and one of nature.
Meyneth created Mechonis and brought about the life ofthe Machina race. Meanwhile, Zanza created Bionis and brought about the life ofthe Telethia race.
From the evolution of the Telethia, two more races would be introduced to the Bionis in the form of the Giants andthe feathered, humanoid High Entia. With this, we start to see societies and cities rise.
At an undetermined point in time, Zanza also createdthe Homs, otherwise known as humans, on the Bionis. These Homs live in Colonies and fear the Mechon.
The High Entia creates their capital city, Alcamoth, while the Machina build their mechanical city Agniratha. In these early stages of the world, it seems Zanza created life on Bionis becausehe needs the Ether released from them when they die to sustain himself. For a time, peace is shared between the Mechonis and Bionis.
Who Were Arglas, Egil And Zanza?
As the world develops, two key figures appear,called Arglas and Egil.Arglas, a Giant, hails from the Bionis, while Egil was created on the Mechonis.
There’s not a ton of information in the game about the time that passes, butArglas and Egil become fast friends.The two of them are seen to enjoy each other’s company, and both wish fora continued peaceful existencebetween the Bionis and Mechonis.
Egil eventually grew curious and wanted to see what was outside his limited life on the Mechonis, with designs on starting a new, more tolerant world. Ever the controlling perfectionist, Zanza didn’t want Egil to do this, sohe created a weapon called the Monado. Exerting his formless influence, Zanza used the Monado to call to Arglas, and swiftytricked and possessed him.
With this weapon and in total control of the powerful Arglas,Zanza started a war with the Mechonis.
It was before this war that Zanza named three people, his ‘disciples,’ to follow him and do his bidding:Dickson(a Giant who could switch into Hom form),Alvis(a manifestation of Ontos, one of the cores of the Trinity Processor), andLorithia(a High Entian with an eye on the Alcamoth throne).
As the war wages between the Bionis and the Mechonis,Zanza and Meyneth eventually reach a stalemate. People and machines are exhausted and killed on both sides, forcing the large bodies of the Bionis and Mechonis to stop fighting so they can recover.
While he is still under the control of Zanza, Arglas isimprisoned by the High Entia in the aptly-named Prison Island above the Erythia Sea.The Monado, which contains a part of Zanza’s essence, is also sealed away.
Even though Meyneth and Zanza were out of action,Egil wouldn’t let up. He creates a race of robots called the Mechon and orders them to kill everything on Bionis without question, ensuring that Zanza never recovers.
At the same time,Zanza’s three chosen disciples now conspire to bring him back and free Arglas.
What Happened With Shulk And The Monado?
Disguising himself as a human, Dickson has settled in Colony 9. In a bid to revive Zanza, he plans an expedition torecover the Monado from where it is being kept locked away.
Upon finding the Monado, the defences around ittrigger and kill everyone in the expedition team, leaving only Dickson alive. It seems that Shulk was one of the people travelling to Ose Tower to find the Monado. When he died, Dicksonimplanted a part of Zanza’s soul from the Monado into Shulk,as a means of waking Shulk (and therefore Zanza) up.
As the events of Xenoblade 1 play out,Shulk is chosen by the Monadoand swears to avenge every Mechon after they raided his home in Colony 9, seemingly killing hisfriend and love interest Fiora.She later turns out to be alive, albeit a tad roboticized.
During this adventure, Shulkmeets Alvis, who is, again, a part of the Trinity Processor that was sucked into the tear when the Conduit was used.Alvis doesn’t reveal this until the end of the game.
At the climax, it is revealed Shulk was being manipulated by the piece of Zanza inside of him the whole time.Zanza is eventually awoken when Dickson kills Shulk to release his soul; but he’s soundly defeated by Shulk (who is revived and now wholly himself) and his friends.
As part of the supercomputer keeping the Conduit in check, Alvisgrants Shulk the creation power that was once bestowed upon Zanza to forge a new world.Shulk wishes for a world without gods to influence or mess with things. His wish is accepted, andthe whole world is reset, creating a brand-new universe where all who had perished in the war are alive again. Happy ending, eh?
What Happens In The Future Connected DLC?
A DLC story released for Xenoblade 1 shows uswhat happens after the whole world reset. It follows Shulk and Melia Antiqua (one of his friends, the new ruler of the High Entia) as they hear reports that the old High Entia capital of Alcamoth has been found again.
The ending of this isimportant to the story of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Shulk returns home, but Melia stays in Alcamoth and begins the effort of rebuilding it in this new reality. With her people returned, she leads them as their Queen, and eventually rises to become one of the most prominent figures on Bionis.
The Events Of Xenoblade Chronicles 2
What Is The World Of Xenoblade 2 Like?
As mentioned,the events of Xenoblade 2 play out concurrently with Xenoblade 1, both of them ending at the same time in the series’ overall lore.
There is a prequel DLC campaign to XBC2,entitled ‘Torna: The Golden Country.‘We won’t be giving it its own entry here, as it deals less with the overarching storyline and is morea character study of a handful of supporting faces from the game’s plot.
In short, Torna looks atthe personal history Mythra has with Addam, an ancient hero – as well as Lora, a Driver whose tragic death serves as the motivation for Jin, a rogue evil Blade in the main game.
When the Conduit was used, Earth was destroyed. The only one left is the half of Klaus that wasn’t sent to the other universe. While that half of Klaus became Zanza,the half that stayed on Earth was called the Architect.With Earth in ruins, the Architect uses the same power of creation granted by the Trinity Processor to rebuild the planet.Earth becomes known as Alrest, and its civilisation is located in the Cloud Sea.
During the creation process, the Architect usedcrystalised memories of the old Earth to create this new one.He spread them from the heavens, and these crystals would become known asCore Crystals.
These crystals created new lifeforms on Alrest, bringing forth civilisation. One such race spawned through this was theTitans, docile leviathans that can swim through the Cloud Sea.Thus, Alrest begins to flourish, and life builds around (and upon the backs of) these Titans.
Similarly to how Alvis was a piece of the Trinity Processor, two other parts of the processor,Logos and Pneuma, were transformed into Core Crystals and placed somewhere on Alrest. Once born, Logos takes on the nameMalosand tries to kill all life on Alrest. Pneuma, on the other hand, becomesPyra and Mythra, two halves of the same person.
Who Were Rex And Pyra, And What Was The World Tree?
An undetermined number of years in the future of Alrest, we meetthe sky salvager Rex.
During a routine mission, he is asked to helpPyra, a being known as a Blade. These Blades are effectively a weaponised race that can beused by Drivers (such as Rex)if they resonate with a Blade’s Core Crystal. Doing so lets them use this person as a weapon in fights.
Pyra turns out to be a particularly important Blade, an ‘Aegis’,being a segment of the Trinity Processor known as Pneuma. As Rex tries to keep her safe, they embark on a journey to the World Tree, where paradise is said to exist as it’s the home of the Architect. The Blades, it transpires, werecreated by the Architect to collect data so he could monitor how Alrest progresses.
It is eventually revealed to Rex thatPyra is Mythra, and therefore Pneuma. She was hiding her true identity to keep herself protected from Malos. As Rex and the party reach Klaus the Architect,he informs them he is about to die. At this time, Malos takes control of a mech that used to belong to Aiodos, known as Artifice Aion.
Rex and Pyradestroy Aion and beat Malos.At the exact same time in Xenoblade Chronicles 1, Shulk islanding the final blow on Zanza.
With Klaus’ death, the World Tree begins to crumble. To save everyone,Pneuma sacrifices herselfand stops the world from being destroyed. Doing so splits her two aliases apart for the first time. NowMythra and Pyra are two separate individuals.
With this,the Conduit is no more. Both halves of Klaus (Zanza and the Architect) have been killed. The world is now free from the grips of the Conduit and can continue according to its own course.
The Events Of Xenoblade Chronicles 3
How Did Aionios Come About?
After the events of both Xenoblade 1 and 2,Empress Melia and Queen Nia are leaders of their respective worlds and nations. Nia is a feline character we meet in XBC2, a close friend and eventual lover of Rex, but it is currently unknown how she became the Queen of Alrest.
After the events of XBC2, it comes to the attention of Melia and Nia thattheir respective worlds are being brought together.This is perhaps due to the destruction of the Conduit, trying to rectify the action that birthed the first game. With these two worlds on a crash course, Melia and Nia find a way to talk to each other, and they construct a plan to stop this event.
What Were Origin And The Freeze?
The worlds merging will destroy both of them, which is something they don’t want.Melia, on Bionis, and Nia on Alrest decide that each world will create one half of an ark they call Origin.
The purpose of Origin is tocollect the data and living soulsof everything in each world and store them in what is effectively the ‘cloud’. Not to be confused with the Cloud Sea, of course. After the worlds merge,they can survive the impact, and their worlds will revert to being individual entities.
The plan didn’t work out as expected. Thecollective fear of the unknownharboured within all the souls inside Origin birtheda malevolent, virus-like entity, which soon took on the humanoid form Z. Z creates an organisation known as Moebius to freeze the worlds right before they merge, so that humanitynever has to face the consequences of the future and can instead enjoy an ‘endless now’.
Essentially, this kiboshes the plan enacted by Melia and Nia,creating something of a pocket dimension where the worlds of Xenoblade 1 and 2 are smooshed together.This is why we seeMechons, Blades, Shulk, Rex and so on appear in Xenoblade 3.
In the game’s DLC campaign, ‘Future Redeemed’, we actually get to seean adult Rex and Shulk in the early days of Aionios.We learn they were both respected figures who became friends, and hada sizable brood of children(Shulk with Fiora, and Rex with Pyra/Mythra) who star in the campaign.
What Were Keves And Agnus?
With Origin under the control of Moebius, Z decides to repopulate this time-locked world and keep it in an endless cycle of violence. This world they create iscalled Aionios.
Z creates the two nations ofKeves and Agnus,and populates them with people pulled from the data of Origin, whoare repeatedly rebirthed when they die. These two factions are at constant war, and each one borrows designs from the first and second Xenoblade games.Keves, where our lead Noah is from, is based on the world of XBC1.
Keves and Agnus are thus propelled into an eternal conflict to perpetuate the existence of this time freeze,which is kept in place by items called Flame Clocks. Similarly to how Zanza needed Ether to sustain himself, the freeze feeds off the dead clones to fill Flame Clocks, which thensustain Origin in keeping time still.
Vowing to put an end to this meaningless cycle of death,Noah and the rest of the party (Mio, Eunie, Lanz, Sena, and Taion) enter Origin and defeat Z.
With Z’s death, the freeze is stopped, andthe original plan thought up by Melia and Nia goes into action.Aionios is reset; the worlds of Bionis and Alrest are saved, butthey are separated. This means thatNoah, Eunie, and Lanzremain on Bionis whileMio, Sena, and Taionare returned to Alrest. It’s a bittersweet victory, but the reason behind it is to live full lives and be free from control.
Before they are split asunder,Noah and Mio, who have fallen in love, share a kiss.The game ends without us knowing if Noah will ever see Mio and the others from Alrest again, although a post-credits stinger gives at least some hope.
With this, Aionios is no more, andthe separate worlds of Bionis and Alrest are no longer fused, nor are they in danger of merging again. Klaus’ legacy is definitively in the past.
The Events Of Xenoblade Chronicles X
What Happens In Xenoblade X?
You don’t need to know quite as much about Xenoblade Chronicles X for the purposes of the timeline, as it’s largelyits own disconnected entry– but given the additions of the Switch’s Definitive Edition,we’re including it for completeness.
In a universeentirely separate from Bionis or Alrest, their version of Earth is destroyed, and a few surviving humans escape aboard massive ark ships. One of these,the White Whale, crash-lands on themysterious, uncharted planet of Mira.
The survivors establish a makeshift city calledNew Los Angelesand begin working to recover scattered life-pods and technology from the crash; all while fending off Mira’s dangerous wildlife and defending against alien forces, the Ganglion, still pursuing them. There are afew recognisable species and NPCs from the Xenoblade universe,like the Nopon, hanging around to boot.
Players take on the role ofa customizable character who joins BLADE: a task force responsible for exploration and securing the future of the human colony. As the story progresses, the group uncovers that Miraisn’t just a random planet; it’s a teeming mass of alien energy that’s preserving humanity.
It’s revealed thatall the people of the colony are actually just human consciousnesses inserted into robotic shells, ‘Mimeosomes’,and that the consciousnesses arekept in a ‘Lifehold’ aboard the White Whaleto await deployment. However, the crash wiped out the database, and hence, Mira itself is somehow keeping everyone alive.
How Does The Definitive Edition Wrap Up?
The Definitive Editionputs paid to years of speculation on this front. Alois “Al” Bernholt, a pilot thought lost during Earth’s fall, resurfaces and discusses theexistence of an ‘interdimensional realm’through which he was able to see other worlds. It’s implied, if not outright stated, thatAl is another manifestation of Ontos from the Trinity Processor,thus explaining his similar name to Alvis.
The power of the Conduit, then, is what was keeping the Lifehold database alive, and Al speculates the colonists might be able tomake a leap to another dimensionto escape the alien nasties of Mira. A lot of battles against warring faction members later (far too complex to get into here),a ‘White Whale 2’ is constructed– and humanity, their alien allies, and Mira’s genetic legacy launch aboard it, successfully warping to an unknown frontier.
