A very rough estimation of the timeline of the Zenless Zone Zero universe, incorporating historical records, dialogues, and hearsay. A constant work in progress; take information given with a grain of salt. Since time is progressing in-game, with the Fall of the Old Capital happening 10 years prior in 1.0 but 11 years prior in 2.0,^[1] the years will be updated accordingly.

References are provided as much as possible. Notes expand on the deduction and reasoning used to draw certain conclusions, which can be read either by hovering over (desktop-only) or clicking on the note. Some specific types of notes found on the page:

• Lore Discrepancy: When information provided in the game is self-contradictory, retroactively changed, or contradicts information from outside media (such as HoYoLAB posts or YouTube videos), it is considered a lore discrepancy. This is different from a translation discrepancy, in which information is contradictory or misleading due to inaccuracies in localization. In the case of a lore discrepancy between in-game information and outside media, the in-game information always takes priority.
• Translation Note: Used when the original Chinese text and then official English localization do not match, or if something is clearer in Chinese. In the case of a translation discrepancy, the original Chinese text always takes priority.
• Assumptions: To make sense of the lore — which the miHoYo writers often deliberately obscure by withholding critical information until later versions, giving contradictory evidence, and scattering information across various item sets — editors will sometimes make assumptions to determine the order of events or connect pieces of lore together. However, they may be obsoleted and proven incorrect by new lore and story. These notes serve as a disclaimer, and expand on the editors' reasoning for their conclusions.

If you have any proposed changes for the timeline, please leave a comment and cite your evidence.

Old Civilization

• Qingyi was created.^[2][3]
• Billy Kid was created.^[4]
• Banyue was created.^{[5][Lore Discrepancy 1]}
• Aria was created.^{[Lore Discrepancy 2]}

• Hollows started appearing after a great war took place.^{[Note 1]}
  • First Hollow Disaster.

Eridu Era

From ~140 years ago to 43 years ago

• The church of the Exaltists was created.^{[Assumption 1]}

• The city of Eridu was founded thanks to the efforts of the seven Void Hunters:^[6]
  • Vike, Dan and the leader of the Falkenhayn Mercenary Troupe repelled the Black Wall 37 km back.^[6]
  • "Sunbringer", the CEO of Marcel Group, destroyed the "Hive Lord" Hollow in the sky, and created the Bangboo.^[6]
  • "Swordmaster" took down the Exaltist Overseer,^[6] wielding Tailless.^{[Assumption 2]}
  • "Joyous", Ace of Investigation Guild, navigated the Divine Maze, setting the start of hollow investigation and concept of Proxies.^[6][7]
  • Professor Arche discovered the common characteristics of Hollows.^[6]

• Roscaelifer was founded by Sunbringer, being the utopia of the Bangboo.^[8]

• The mystics sect of Yunkui Summit was founded.^{[Assumption 3]}

• Helios Academy was founded by Professor Arche.^[6]

• The first "Tour de Inferno" took place in the Outer Ring.^[9]

From 42 years ago to 11 years ago

• Leisha Christie worked at the White Waves Hospital as a maternity nurse.^[10]

• Billy Kid was found by Appon and his mentor inside the Lost Tech Ruins, sold to Caesar's Father, named, and taken is as a member of the biker gang Calydon.^[4][11]

• After a failed operation, Banyue was left abandoned inside Lemnian Hollow.^[12]

• Part of Fairy's operational data was temporarily activated without a formal agreement, so that she could command a unit of A-H0L0 Type Intelligent Tactical Construct - Mirage Archer Units, including Aria.^[13]

• Belobog Heavy Industries was founded by Khors Belobog.^[14]
• During a Hollow expedition, the parents of Grace Howard, both researchers, disappeared and were presumed deceased^[15]
  • Grace Howard was later adopted by Khors Belobog, her parents' friend, who raised her as a daughter.^[15]
• Anton Ivanov joined Belobog Heavy Industries.^[16]
• Khors Belobog started working on "The Prototype" and showed it to his young daughter Koleda Belobog^[17]
• Ben Bigger joined Belobog Heavy Industries as a frontline mechanical operator.^[18]

• Banyue was found by a "sage"^[12] from Marcel Group,^[19] who rewrote the programming within his Core to function like a Logic Core.

• Justin Bringer was promoted from being a frontline officer to being an Inspector and commanding officer in General Chop's precinct.^[20]
• Inspector Bringer took part in a mission inside a Hollow, where he gave up his own anti-corruption equipment to save as many civilians as possible, including a child named Zhu Yuan.^{[Assumption 4]} While he was succumbing to corruption and his wounds, he happened to witness an Exaltist "miracle", which later converted him to the cause, and granted him the Creator's healing.^[21] His miraculous return granted him the title of "Hollow Hero".^[20]
• Following his impressive feat as the Hollow Hero, Inspector Bringer was later transferred to the Public Security Headquarters in Janus Quarter.^[20]

• Banyue was retrieved from the Hollow by Ning Shu, who brought him back to Failume Heights.^[22]

• The two street-roaming orphan sisters Yijiang and Yixuan were taken in by the eleventh-generation High Preceptor of Yunkui Summit.^[23]

• Because of his Ether Aptitude Regression Syndrome, Asaba Harumasa was abandoned by his parents at the best hospital in the city before he even learned how to talk properly.^[24] He was then taken in by his master, a doctor member of a "power player"-backed research^[25] on Ether Aptitude-boosting drugs.
• Harumasa was taught by his master how to draw a bow and wield a blade, among other life skills.^[24]
• Harumasa's master grew fond of Harumasa, secretly switching his reasearch to find a cure to Ether Aptitude Regression Syndrome instead. When the investors found out, and his master refused to perform the final experiment on Harumasa, they made him disappear inside a Hollow, letting him corrupt into a Thracian.^[25]

• Wise and Belle were taken in by Carole Arna at the Helios Academy.^[26]
• Eous and the Hollow Deep Dive System were created by Carole Arna.^[26]
• Wise and Belle were given their special smart crystalline lens implants.^[27]

• A young Hugo Vlad was sold by his mother to the Ravenlock Family.^{[28][Assumption 5]}

• Both Yijiang and Yixuan were exceptional disciples, and when the eleventh-generation High Preceptor died after overusing the Qingming Sword during a dangerous mission,^[29] Yijiang became the new High Preceptor.^[30]

• All A-H0L0 Type Intelligent Tactical Construct - Mirage Archer Units, including Aria, were decommissioned and left abandoned in the Hollows.^[31]

• "Spacebar" joined the Defense Force as part of the Diamond Division.^[32]

• A Sacrifice is sealed inside the monument at Pioneer's Memorial Plaza.^[33]

• Aria awakens from her slumber in the Hollows upon hearing Cersea's singing, giving her the desire to sing as well.^[34]

• "Spacebar" came across a rally being held by "The Order."^[35]
• The night before the disaster, Khors Belobog disappeared with the company's money, trying to get The Prototype ready and stop the Plaza's Sacrifice from being retrieved.^[33]

Fall of the Old Capital

• Hollow Zero started expanding rapidly.
• Carole Arna saved Wise and Belle from the disaster, while they themselves managed to salvage Eous and the HDD.^[26]
• Carole Arna is abducted by the Exaltists.^[36]

• Miyabi's Mother became a sacrifice to Tailless.^[37]

• Members of the New Eridu Defense Force, including the Lyre and Nemesis squads, are sent in to Hollow Zero to repel the Ethereals, however are quickly overwhelmed and receive no reinforcements.^[38]
• Members of the Agamemnon Squad are also sent in, believing they are protecting civilian convoys.^[39]

• Zoe, a sniper for Nemesis Squad, attempts to retreat after her team is wiped out, coming across Lyre Squad, who are severely corrupted. At the request of Charon, Lyre Squad's leader, she rescues Trigger, who had been hit in the face by an Ethereal and had her eyes corrupted.^[38]
• "Spacebar" succumbed to corruption and perished, leaving behind his journals and laptop.^[35]
• Eridu Defense Force is wiped out, except for the Obsidian Division.^[40]

• Yunkui Summit were dispatched inside Hollow Zero to try to contain the disaster. By the time Yixuan arrived at Hollow Zero, all her seniors had died,^[41] and Yijiang sacrificed herself to the Qingming Sword in front of Yixuan in a desperate attempt at saving her sister and New Eridu,^[29] leaving Yixuan as the last surviving disciple of Yunkui Summit and thus new High Preceptor.^[41]
• 2 members of Agamemnon Squad, Isolde and Orpheus (codename Magus) are saved by Yijiang's sacrifice, after the rest of their squad perishes, however Orpheus is left with severe disabilities and health issues.^[39]

• A Companion of Hollow Zero engulfed the Tiger Thiren settlement, with Ethereals killing 98% of the population. Ju Fufu was one of the few survivors, saved by a group of Yunkui Summit mystics who arrived within half an hour for search and rescue.^[42] Based on the dates registered in the Yunkui Summit archives, it can be speculated Ju Fufu was Yixuan's disciple from before the Fall,^{[42][Lore Discrepancy 3]} which makes her Yixuan's most senior disciple.^[43]

• Ye Shiyuan witnessed his family being consumed by Ether corruption.^[41]
• Banyue saves Ye Shiyuan and Ye Shunguang, after being tasked to do so by their parents.^[22]

• Shiyu Pillars were detonated to create The Chasm and stop Hollow Zero from engulfing the whole city.^[26]

• The young child Astra Yao is rescued and brought to a makeshift shelter, where she was soothed by one of Joran de Winter's songs on the shelter's speaker; hit by the realization of how great the power of music is to soothe hearts, she decided to become the songstress of the New Eridu era.^[44]

• A 10 year-old Yidhari Murphy escapes the Darkwater Research Facility thanks to her parents' sacrifice, and is found by Pompey on the edge of the Outer Ring Hollow.^[45]
• An 8 year-old Komano Manato loses his family during the Fall and ends up wandering Waifei Peninsula, until he meets the White Heart gang, who exploit him for their own gains and eventually abandon him again.^[46]

• Sunna, a child at the time, manages to evacuate with her family, before the disaster reached them.^[47]

• Upon witnessing the destruction of the Old Capital, Cecilia begins suffering from PTSD and wishes to retire, which her Agency refuses.

New Eridu

From 11 years ago to 8 years ago

• Cecilia's Agency hear of Aria and her singing, with Aria becoming Cersea's voice-double.^[34]

• The sisters/replicas Soldier 11, Anby, and Twiggy were created by the Defense Force - Silver Squad under the Obsidian Division.^[48]
• Orphie is cloned from Orpheus, for the purpose of being her assistant.^[49]
• Before passing away, Orpheus has her consciousness uploaded into a weapon, becoming the Intelligent Construct known as Magus.^[49]
• Magus becomes the Captain of a newly formed Obol Squad.
• Only half a month after the Fall, Seed Sr., an N.E.D.F Intelligent Construct, finds an uncorrupted child in the ruins of Hollow Zero. This encounter triggers his Iron Order self-defense system, however he chooses to dismantle and override this in order to save the girl, causing irreparable damage to his logic core in the process.^[50]

• Pan Yinhu roamed the streets of New Eridu, scraping by with odd jobs.^[51]

• Cecilia retires, with Aria beginning to lead a normal life as an Intelligent Construct.^[34]

• Hugo was used by his father to stir competition among his other heirs, with Serena Ravenlock being the only person inside the manor to treat him humanely.^[28]
• Serena got poisoned by her siblings in an attempt to frame Hugo and have him sent away or killed, but their father instead praised the cruelty and rewarded Hugo for murdering his own beloved sister.^[52]
• Hugo caught the ringleader responsible of Serena's death and almost beat him to death.^[28]
• After escaping from the Ravenlock manor, Hugo was taken in by Jack and a young Von Lycaon, who were phantom thieves abiding by the oath of never taking someone's life.^[53]
• After Jack's passing, Hugo and Lycaon founded Mockingbird together.^{[54][Assumption 6]}

• Vivian Banshee was adopted by Landon, a member of The Exaltists, and became friends with his daughter Dina.^[55]

From 8 years ago to 3 years ago

• Ah-Deh is corrupted in the (Hollow) Timesworn Hills and ends up creating Little Lucia, due to the memories of him playing hide-and-seek with Lucia. Soon after he becomes the Wandering Hunter, staying in the Hollow playing hide-and-seek with Little Lucia.^[56]

• Wise and Belle vowed to become Proxies in the hopes of uncovering the truth behind the Fall of the Old Capital.^[26]
• Wise and Belle set up their "Phaethon" proxy account on Inter-Knot.^{[38][Note 2]}
• Wise and Belle move to Sixth Street and start managing the Random Play video store.^[38]
• Wise and Belle became acquainted with Shepherd.^[38]
• Wise and Belle became acquainted with Trigger through a commission given to them by Shepherd.^[38]

• Sunna, along with her childhood friend Nangong Yu, form the Angels of Delusion, built around Sunna's dream.^[57]
• Aria joins the Angels of Delusion as the lead singer, after being invited by the other 2 members.^[34]

• Zoe, suffering from severe PTSD after what she witnessed during the Fall of the Old Capital, decided to take revenge on the Defense Force and its survivors, blaming them for what happened to Nemesis Squad.^[38]
• Trigger, with the help of the Proxies Wise and Belle, figured out what Zoe was doing and put an end to it.^[38]
• Trigger joins Obol Squad, a newly created squad within the Defense Force, whose goal is to uncover the truth about the Fall of the Old Capital.^[58]

• Cissia is almost caught by Promeia of the Sweepers while scavenging for food, but flees.^[59]

• Big Daddy took up residence in the Outer Ring and became acquainted with Caesar's Father, becoming a member of Calydon.^[60][61]
• Caesar's father disappeared and Calydon was disbanded.^[61]
• Big Daddy adopted Caesar and founded the Sons of Calydon.^[61]

• Due to his failing logic core, Seed Sr. applies and gets accepted into Obol Squad, hoping that the other members can help look after and raise Seed after he passes away.^[62]

• Ye Shiyuan and his sister Ye Shunguang joined Yunkui Summit.^{[63][Note 3]}

• Nekomata was taken in by the Red Fang Gang under Miguel Silver, after having been a street-kid orphan for most of her life.^[64]
• Ukinami Yuzuha, then referred to solely as "ES-07", was held captive and experimented on as part of "Project New Leaf" by Porcelumex's co-CEO Ferox.^[65]

• Hartman Ravenlock orchestrated the murder of his brother and nephews to take over the Ravenlock Family, with Mockingbird coincidentally being in the same building, as Hugo too was plotting to assassinate his father. However, when faced with the opportunity, Hugo hesitated and did not wound him mortally, so his scared father locked all people present in the hall, and threw all the possible suspects that he was not familiar with in the nearby Hollow disaster. Taking advantage of the situation, Hartman killed the remaining family members, who were found by Hugo.^[28] Seeing Hugo surrounded by the corpses and believing he was the one to have killed his own family (going against Jack's oath), Lycaon announced he was going to leave Mockingbird in favour of serving the Mayflowers,^[66] and he subsequently lost his legs and an eye while trying to save the trapped civilians from the nearby Hollow.^[28]

• Vivian discovered the truth behind Landon's serum and exposed him in front of his followers, which lead to an altercation where he accidentally shot himself.^[67]
• Vivian left the Exaltists, Camille and a few other members kept following Dina,^[68] while the majority was taken to Waifei Peninsula by an Exaltist official called Mevorakh.^[69]
• Vivian wandered without a home and worked many part-time jobs until "Phaethon" responded to one of her messages, giving her a reason to keep going.^{[55][70][Assumption 7]}

• Harumasa attended Public Security Training Academy with Seth as a junior,^[71] and later graduated with outstanding merit.^[72]
• Miyabi and Zhu Yuan studied at the Public Security Training Academy together.^{[73][Note 4]}

• During a visit to the Porcelumex research facility with her father Lionel Thymefield and her grandfather, Alice Thymefield lost one of her Magic Sailor Boo hairpins.^[74]
• Staying behind to look for the hairpin, Lionel Thymefield uncovered the truth of human experimentations behind Porcelumex, getting mortally shot while rescuing the orphan Ukinami Yuzuha.^[75] His death was then staged by Porcelumex as a car accident followed by a fire,^[74] so that the actual cause of death could not be identified.
• With ES-07 lost, Project New Leaf went bankrupt, and Ferox turned to the local Exaltists official Mevorakh to strike a deal with them in order to access their technology. Once the parnership between Porcelumex and the Exaltists stabilized, Mevorakh ascended to the position of Overseer, and declared human experimentation on unwilling subjects to go against the Creator's will.^[69]

• Nicole is adopted from the orphanage, however is later found on the streets again, where she made the acquaintance of Miyabi by scamming "Tailless" from her, only to later give the katana back.^[76]
• Asaba Harumasa and Miyabi both became Executive Officers within H.A.N.D.,^[77] with Harumasa joining a certain ace division in HSO.^[72]
• A member of the Defense Force called Tsukishiro Yanagi gained Oni blood during an operation against the Oni rebels and became Soukaku's guardian.^[78]
• Miyabi singlehandedly took down Lerna inside the Argos Hollow, earning herself the Void Hunter title and medal.^[77]
• Miyabi founded Hollow Special Operations Section 6 with Defense Force soldier Yanagi and H.A.N.D. Executive Officer Harumasa.^[77][79]

• The Silver Squad was sent on a suicide mission in order to kill all replicas minus one and cut the costs; Anby took Soldier 11's place since the latter got injured during training the night before.^[80] Silver Squad was wiped out, with Anby as the only known survivor of the mission;^[81] Unbeknownst to the Defense Force, Twiggy too survived under the rubble, only to be found by Hollow Raiders and get sold on the black market as merchandise.^[48]
• Upon her return to the Silver Squad base, Anby was ordered to finish the job and kill Soldier 11, the last replica besides her. In order to save her sister, Anby slit her own throat instead, and her body got discarded in the ruins of the Old Capital.^[81]
• Nicole Demara found Anby near the ruins of the Old Capital and took her in, giving her the "Demara" surname and founding Gentle House together.^[81][82]

• Piper and Burnice joined the Sons of Calydon.^{[Note 5]}
• Luciana de Montefio planned her own kidnapping to escape her oppressive family, ending up with Caesar and the Sons of Calydon in the Outer Ring.^[83]
• Lighter is found by Big Daddy and taken in by the Sons of Calydon.^[84]
• Billy leaves the Sons of Calydon.^{[Note 6]}

• Billy joined Gentle House.^{[Note 7]}

• Soldier 11 joined Obol Squad.^[58]

• Pan Yinhu became a Hollow Raider.^[51]
• During a Hollow raid, Pan Yinhu came across Yixuan, who he attacked only to get quickly defeated. After being taught a training routine and being fed, Pan Yinhu followed Yixuan to join Yunkui Summit.^[51]

• New Eridu Public Security officer Zhu Yuan was promoted to leading the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team.
• Qingyi and later Seth Lowell joined the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team under Zhu Yuan.^[85][86]

• Koleda willingly assumed control of Belobog Heavy Industries once she became of age and brought it back from disrepute and financial ruin.^[14]
• Ben was promoted from a mechanic to financial and asset management director of Belobog by Koleda.^[18]

• Nicole became one of only a handful of people to know who "Phaethon" truly is, knowing Wise and Belle personally.^{[Note 8][Assumption 8]}

• Hugo reformed Mockingbird after taking in an errant Vivian.^[87]

From 3 years ago until the Prologue

• Komano Manato adopts A-Cing and A-Yuet.^{[88][Assumption 9]}

• Cecilia becomes the vocal-coach and manager of the Angels of Delusion.^{[citation needed]}

• Wise and Belle, under their Proxy alias "Phaethon", became renowned "Legendary Proxies" on Inter-Knot.^{[Assumption 10]}

• Soukaku joined H.S.O.S.6 under Yanagi's guardianship.^{[Assumption 11]}

• Alowyn Mystik perished as a result of a failed expedition inside Arpeggio Fault.^[89]

Notes

Assumptions

Lore Discrepancies

References