This is a timeline for the Zero Escape series.
Note: It is currently unknown what year the Latin Journal was written. It has a date of December 29, but no specified year. It could be written 2028, 2029, 2030, etc. As such, please don't put it under a certain year until this information is known.
1888[]
- Sometime during this year, a German expedition became lost while exploring an area of the South Pole. They stumbled upon a weird device which resembled a tree root with two pods. The device was carefully transported to their homeland and researched in secret. They uncovered that was capable of transporting things through spacetime and was subsequently called "transporter". However, the device was not made by man but it came from a distant planet or some alternate world.
1904[]
- In April, copies of Phi and Delta arrive (presumably in Germany or Europe) via transporter from 2029 following D-END 2.
1905[]
- Ten months after arriving by transporter, another copy of Phi is sent to 2008.
1912[]
The Titanic sinks.
- April 14, 1912 - The RMS Titanic sinks, killing 1500. Dashiell Gordain survives the tragedy and his trauma causes him to become obsessed with everything related to the Titanic.
- Sometime during this year, Gordain purchases All-ice from a black market auction in New York months later.
1916[]
The Gigantic.
- Gordain buys the Gigantic and hides All-ice on there.
1920[]
- Left is murdered.
- According to Akane, some glycerin that was en route to England by ship was discovered to have crystallized during the trip. Naturally, scientists worldwide wanted to research this new, crystallized form of glycerin, and began asking for samples of the seed. A seed is, of course, a sample of the original crystallized substance. With a seed crystal, further crystallization of glycerin would be a simple matter. However, something very strange happened. Not only did the glycerin encouraged by seed crystals begin to crystallize, nearby samples did as well. It didn't end there. After that day, all glycerin in the world began to crystallize naturally when cooled to less than 64 degrees. Before that day, no matter how glycerin was cooled, it refused to crystallize. But once the crystallization had begun, it was almost like all the glycerin in the world was communicating in some way that humanity can't sense.
1930[]
- Free the Soul is founded by a 26-year-old Delta to show humanity the truth and the way to salvation.
1931[]
- Gordain dies of unknown causes.
1945[]
- After the German loss in World War II on April 1945, American troopers confiscated the transporter device and stored it in an U.S research facility.
1977[]
- Gentarou Hongou is born circa this year.
1982[]
- Seven is born circa this year.
1987[]
- Hazuki Kashiwabara is born circa this year.
2003[]
- Light Field is born circa this year.
- Aoi Kurashiki is born circa this year.
2006[]
- Junpei Tenmyouji is born on February 8.
- Akane Kurashiki is born on February 17.
- Nona Kashiwabara and Ennea Kashiwabara are born circa this year to Lotus.
- Sigma Klim is born on June 4.
2007[]
- Maria is born circa this year.
2008[]
- Phi is transported from 1905 to this year at 10 months of age. She arrives in America and is adopted by an old couple who are researchers.
2009[]
- Sometime during this year, Delta obtains the transporter device from the American research facility.
- In November, Clover Field is born.
2011[]
- Around this year, the snail begins its chain of events. This is the "murder of 17 years ago" story mentioned in Zero Time Dilemma. Akane's and Aoi's parents die. It's also possible this year Mira claimed her first victim, implied to be Eric's mother. Akane's father is wrongfully sentenced to death for the crime which he did not commit, and her mother killed herself in grief of her husband's death. This may have also been when the original Sean died.
2012[]
- Junpei and Akane become students at the same elementary school, eventually befriending each other.
2018[]
Akane crying outside the dead rabbit hutch.
- Akane and Junpei were tasked with taking care of the school's pet rabbits and had to clean the hutch every morning. During the first semester, on the final day before summer vacation, Akane came to the hutch to find that all of the rabbits were killed, traumatizing her greatly and making her cry. This incident horrified and traumatized Akane for life, showing the violence, brutality and cruelty humans were capable of.
Akane with Junpei.
- In June, 12-year old Junpei and Akane meet for the final time on a hill overlooking the sunset. Junpei gives her a doll as a farewell gift.
- In October, eighteen children are kidnapped by Cradle Pharmaceutical and Gentarou Hongou for the research of the morphogenetic field.
- In November, the First Nonary Game occurs. In some timelines, Akane dies in the incinerator, but thanks to Junpei in the future, she survives in at least one timeline. Thanks to a detective named Seven, he saves the children on the Gigantic and rows the boat away from the sinking Gigantic. The kidnapped children are returned to their homes once the game is over.
- Hazuki Kashiwabara begins investigating her children's kidnapping, but doesn't find any successful leads so she eventually gives up.
Children being kidnapped by Cradle.
The First Nonary Game.
Seven rows the boat away from the sinking Gigantic.
2020[]
- Sigma found a dead frog, but doesn't know what to do with it.
2021[]
- Soporil is created with the extract of different roots, including the root of a plant of the Mandragora family. The method by which it was made was described as extracting and purifying an alkaloid from a variety of mandrake. Soporil is a huge hit and its success causes Cradle Pharmaceutical to become a very wealthy company. Akane and Aoi, who have taken stock from Cradle, also become wealthy from their investments.
2024[]
- In April, Junpei enrolls into college and rents Apartment 201.
2026[]
- March 15, 2026 - The body of a young female was found in a park in Roseville. The chest was ripped open and the heart entirely removed. The victim's name was Virginia Bailey, age 28.
- May 22, 2026 - The body of a male was found in a trash can near a residence in Sacramento. The victim's name was Jeffery Foret, age 37. His body was just like Virginia's, with the heart completely gouged out.
- July 29, 2026 - Another body was found. It's rumored that these people (along with 15 other ones) have been killed by a serial killer called "Heart Ripper".
2027[]
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The players of the 2nd Nonary Game.
- November 1, 2027 - Events of Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, the Second Nonary Game. Alice gets a tip that those responsible for her father's kidnapping may be hiding in the Nevada desert. Akane and her organization kidnap the participants of the Nonary Game. They play the game and Junpei saves young Akane in the incinerator, nine years in the past. Afterward, Akane and Aoi go on the run. Alice joins Clover and the others, but they don't catch Akane and Aoi. Junpei begins searching for Akane himself.
- Clover, Light, Ennea, and Nona join the SOIS.
2028[]
- Throughout 2028, Reverie Syndrome occurs in many people and victims increase towards the end of the year. It is heavily implied that this is due to innate espers subconsciously pulling information about the upcoming destruction of humanity from the morphogenetic field.
A scared Clover kidnapped by Free the Soul.
- Sometime in 2028, Clover is trained as an SOIS agent. She is tasked with infiltrating and investigating a Myrmidon cloning lab. Alice is assigned Clover's commanding officer. Unfortunately, Clover is immediately captured and imprisoned in the facility, which turned out to be fake. By the time Alice arrived to rescue her, many of the facility's members had already fled, but Clover was still alive. However, off to the side was a corpse, heavily covered in bruises. It was Alice's father, who was beaten to death. According to Clover, his last words was "I love you... Alice." and he had carved them on his chest. These words fueled Alice's desire to avenge her father and end Free the Soul.
- Sometime in 2028, Junpei spent a year trying to find Akane to no avail. He quit school and joined a small detective agency, risking both his life and his morals dealing with the dirty, dangerous criminal underground. He sneaked into places involved in human organ trafficking and witnessed people die. He realized humans weren't as beautiful as he thought and seeing all of this darkened Junpei's outlook on life and humanity, and took a severe toll on his mental and emotional health. He also turned towards drinking to block out the pain and memories. At some point in time, he worked with Seven to destroy Free the Soul's headquarters. Eventually, he got intel from his detective firm that Akane joined the Dcom experiment and he used "force" and "coercion" to force his way in.
- December 18, 2028 - Sigma's girlfriend breaks up with him for unknown reasons (in actuality, Crash Keys did it).
- December 22, 2028 - Alice and Clover are in Los Angeles, California, planning to attack the Myrmidon headquarters on Christmas Day, but they are kidnapped by Akane for the Nonary Game: Ambidex Edition. She takes them to her organization's (Crash Keys) headquarters and places them in cold sleep in treatment pods.
Sigma, before being abducted by Zero.
- December 25, 2028 - In California, Sigma is knocked out by Soporil in his car. His consciousness is pushed to January 25, 2074, and his 68-year-old consciousness occupies his body in the present time. Phi's consciousness also switches places with her future consciousness. Akane joins Sigma and Phi, but her consciousness isn't from the future so she hasn't experienced the Radical-6 outbreak. The three of them infiltrate the Mars Mission Test Site (Dcom) in Nevada after using Crash Keys to hack the admin server to include them. Six others have joined the Dcom experiment for their own reasons: Junpei, Mira, Eric, Carlos, Diana, and Q.
- December 26, 2028 - Sigma attempts to tell everyone that six billion people will die, but is ignored and almost sent into confinement. Phi tells Sigma that they shouldn't mention the future to anyone. Sigma, Phi and Akane search the facility but can't find any signs of Radical-6.
- December 27, 2028 - Carlos, Mira, Eric and Diana talk.
- December 28, 2028 - Akane and Junpei seriously talk for the first time after the events of 999.
- December 29, 2028 - Sigma and Diana talk for the first time. By this time, Phi and Diana talk and bond.
- December 30, 2028 - Everyone meets again, but Sigma, Phi and Akane reluctantly await the events of tomorrow, unaware of what is to come.
The players of the Decision Game.
- December 31, 2028 - The events of Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma take place. Zero kidnaps the players at Dcom and forces them to play the Decision Game, and also brings in a mysterious boy: Sean, who no one recognizes. During the Decision Game, Phi, Sigma and Akane attempt to prevent Radical-6 from escaping, as well as try to survive the Decision Game. In one timeline (leading to Virtue's Last Reward), they end up causing the Radical-6 outbreak, and Sigma loses his arms and his right eye attempting to save Diana.
Millions of graves for the deceased.
- (In the D-END 1 and C-END 1 timeline) The disease escapes and spreads around planet Earth like wildfire and an estimated 6 billion humans are dead. Bodies began to pile up as people kill themselves by any means, even in groups. Nearly every single town and city on the planet has thousands - hundreds of thousands - of bloody, rotting corpses in giant piles and mountains. It becomes a literal hell on Earth with humans killing each other for food and water just so that they don't starve to death. Most forms of transportation are rendered useless as roads, streets and highways become blocked by crashed vehicles, meaning food can't be distributed and many starve. The few humans who survived the outbreak were locked away by the government in underground shelters. Only a handful of people know that this tragedy was Free the Soul's doing, and it remains this way.
- "Pretty soon the bodies started to pile up. Some people would take a dive off a building or shoot themselves in the head. You know, the classics. But for some it was poison, or fire, or asphyxiation, or the noose... Plenty of people jumped in front of trains or cars. One pilot on a passenger airline drove his plane into the ground. Most forms of transportation ground to a halt pretty fast. That meant food couldn't get distributed, and thousands of people who weren't even infected died from starvation. Everywhere you went there were just... piles of corpses, covered in flies and rats and crows. I don't know what Hell's like, but I imagine it's a lot like that."
- — Tenmyouji on the Radical-6 outbreak
- (In the CQD-END 2 timeline) After activating the Force Quit program, all 9 players SHIFT back to the outcome where they won the coin toss. They are met by Delta outside of the facility. He explains that nobody will die in the game and Radical-6 will not be released, but that the Religious fanatic will kill 8 billion people in the future. The group argues that the future is not determined in that way, and Delta smiles, saying that encouraging that attitude and making them aware of the situation without killing anyone was his true goal. He tosses a gun to Carlos, telling him that he is free to kill him if he wishes to, and he will not use his powers to interfere with that choice. The game ends before it is revealed if Carlos fires or not, although it is implied in the epilogue files that he did not shoot Delta.
2029[]
- Early 2029 - Survivors of the Radical-6 outbreak contact each other to discuss how to get rid of Radical-6 and decide purification is the best option by roasting the surface of Earth. They plan to blow up eighteen annihilation reactors at the same time.
- April 11, 2029 - Phi, months after experiencing the failure at the Mars Mission Test Site, arrives at Akane's headquarters and asks to be put into cold sleep in a treatment pod.
- April 12, 2029 - In the evening, Akane attends Free the Soul's ceremony.
An antimatter plant explosion kills millions.
- April 13, 2029 - Young Sigma's consciousness returns to his younger body, and his older consciousness goes back to the B. Garden, where Akane just hit him with a knife. Young Sigma finds himself in Akane's headquarters, where she is wearing a gas mask and a Free the Soul robe. The treatment pods containing Alice, Clover, and Phi are there. Akane tells Sigma that on the next day, he and the treatment pods will go to the Moon in a shuttle, and he will spend the next 45 years researching cloning and AI programming.
Humanity plans to eradicate the virus by blowing up 18 antimatter plants simultaneously. However, by doing so, the dust fallout blots out the sun and causes a nuclear winter, killing millions of lives including plants and animals. The human population on Earth severely decreases, ending the Radical-6 pandemic.
Earth consumed by a red dust cloud.
- "You ever heard of a nuclear winter? Well, that's basically what we got. The explosion threw a ton of crap up into the stratosphere, where it joined up with smoke and ash from all the fires. It blotted out the sun for seven years. Plants withered, and animals died by the millions. The few humans who were left banded together to survive. They were rough times."
- — Tenmyouji on the Antimatter Plant Explosions
- April 14, 2029 - The shuttle arrives on the Moon with Akane, Sigma, Alice, Clover, and Phi on board. They all go to Rhizome 9 (by 2074, 54 rhizomes exist). Phi, Alice and Clover are still in treatment pods, and are stored away for 45 years.
- May 2029 - Diana follows Sigma to the Moon, following the D-END 1 timeline. Living together, they researched genetics and studied various subjects like quantum mechanics, cosmology, biochemistry and artificial intelligence.
- November 16, 2029 - Phi and Delta are born in the D-END 2 timeline. Phi was given her Brooch and Delta was given Diana's Bluebird necklace, and then transported to the year 1904.
2032[]
- After three years of living with Sigma on the Moon, Diana dies. Her health began to deteriorate due to the low gravity of the Moon, which led to a circulatory illness. Overwhelmed by grief, Sigma would eventually work on Luna.
2036[]
Earth's polluted red sky from nuclear fallout.
- In approximately this year, the nuclear winter ends. The sky cleared and the Sun came back, and life begins to slowly return. Earth wasn't quite back to normal though - there is still quite a bit of dust and ash in the air, but it's livable for the human survivors. Earth's atmosphere also still appears red.
2038[]
A bottle of Axelavir.
- Axelavir is synthesized from several survivors who built up an immunity to Radical-6.
2052[]
- Kyle Klim is born circa this year as a cloned son of Sigma.
2057[]
- Luna is completed this year, 25 years after Diana died and Sigma began working on her. Luna is presented to K as a mother figure, but he repudiates her.
2064[]
- Quark is born circa this year and found abandoned by Tenmyouji.
2070[]
Quark and Tenmyouji.
- Quark begins helping Tenmyouji with his job.
- Kyle Klim and Akane Kurashiki meet in approximately this year.
2071[]
- Quark discovers that he is adopted.
2074[]
The players of the Nonary Game: Ambidex Edition.
- January 23, 2074 - Quark and Tenmyouji leave Earth to go to the Moon.
- January 25th - 27th, 2074 - Events of Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward, the Nonary Game: Ambidex Edition. Older Sigma's consciousness and Phi's post-Mars-mission consciousness switch places with the ones from December 25, 2028. The Nonary Game: Ambidex Edition begins. The Radical-6 slows down the players' perception; they do not realize time is spanning several days.
- January 27, 2074 - (in the Phi END timeline) Akane has been wearing K's armor. K is revealed to be Kyle, a clone of Sigma, who has been kept in cold sleep since the beginning of the Nonary Game in this timeline. Sigma learns that his body is 67 years old, but his consciousness is from the past. Akane attacks Phi with the Myrmidon knife, making Phi and Sigma's consciousness jump back to the past to April 13th, 2029.
- Metafiction; non-canon timeline: Five hours later, someone awakens in Kyle's body. The real Kyle's consciousness has been sent to the past to join Phi and Sigma in their mission to prevent the Radical-6 disaster. The consciousness currently in Kyle's body can come and go as it pleases, and it too will go to the past to save the world, as it is the only one capable of stopping Free the Soul. Alice and Clover also plan on returning to 2028 using a method similar to Schrödinger's Cat.