I have an insane theory that will change your perspective on the past, present and future of the dark aether storyline

I want to preface that none of the blue meth Walter cooked was consumed in the making of this theory. I'll include a TL;DR at the very bottom for those who don't have the time to read the full thing, but I strongly encourage you to do so as I'm going to Mr. Rofflewaffles levels of story dissection. You will not be disappointed. In fact, if you enjoy the cod zombies lore but haven't felt the story has been all that strong this year, I'm willing to bet this can revitalize your passion for it.

I'm going to start with one word that will be the recurring theme through this analysis: corruption. It's stated in the earliest days of the universe that keepers harnessed pure aether energy in hopes to drive creation through its power. We learned of the existence of the dark aether with the Shadowman's description of "the dark place" and "the realm beyond", which we also learned was what drew the keepers to become corrupted into what would be the apothicons, beings hell bent on using the power of the aether not for creation, rather for destruction. But I propose the first of many philosophical questions through this theory: if the creation of the apothicons themselves was through the dark aether, which has existed just as long as the aether, what was the true source of evil that brought about the corruption of beings as powerful as the keepers in the first place?

This question is the basis for the theme of corruption that ties into not only the aether storyline, but also the now dark aether as well as chaos storylines. I believe there is an entity, which we will refer to through this theory as the 'elder god', who has existed since before the universe itself and embodies the deepest depths of the dark aether. We know from the Shadowman's dialogue that the apothicons were "shown the truth" by forces even they couldn't understand. One of the biggest elements currently being pushed with the dark aether storyline is the concept of evolution. The idea that this dimension is responsible for the legitimate re-writing of biology itself into something sinister, taking beings as advanced as keepers and becoming something much more primal in nature. The dark aether forces anything inside to adapt to its chaos, but what's to say there isn't a cosmic force driving the very nature of this realm?

The apothicons themselves have a lovecraftian, eldrich-like identity to them. Similarly, we experience apothicon-like creatures appearing more and more through the new dark aether storyline. First we find the mimics, who can replicate just about anything we see in gameplay, then the abominations, which conveniently begin appearing when the Forsaken is making its ascension and look eerily similar to the margwa, and finally the aether worms, which I think are much more important to the future of the story than what some might suspect and will get into later.

What I believe is that through the forced evolution of the keepers to apothicons, their existence in the old universe and subsequent return to the dark aether during the events of Tag Der Toten are the source for the evolution now occurring outside of the dark aether. Think about it, of all the creatures they could bring back from the aether storyline, why parasites specifically? The same creature that was introduced with the Shadowman in the first map that brought the apothicons into existence. I don't think that's a coincidence. The release of the apothicon-esque creatures also seems strangely specific, like the abomination returning with Liberty Falls, the center point for the outbreaks occurring, and then mimics with The Tomb, the same map that brings back elements of the story that began Primis' arc with Origins and the largest space of the dark aether we've gotten yet in BO6. But with Shattered Veil's release, we now have confirmation of the group on the human side that has influenced history as we know it, the Order.

We know the Order has existed within the chaos and dark aether storylines, now intertwined, for millenia, and they use the sentinel artifacts to enact their use of prima materia for their own selfish gain. But you may be wondering, didn't the gods use the sentinel artifacts to create trials and determine who was strong enough to survive them? To that I say you're correct, but then why does each sentinel trial we see in BO4 invoke corruption of anything and everything consumed? Almost as if the prima materia meant to be used for creation can be altered due to it being a malleable, responsive substance and, according to alchemy, "is the key first point through physical and psychological transformation."

The sentinel artifact is a vessel capable of utilizing prima materia but in a sense also acts as a gateway for the transfer of energy across dimensions. From what we've learned of prima materia, it is the primordial substance for all life and would have been subsequently used by the keepers for creation in their use of aetherial energy. We also know that element 115 is considered a refined but extremely unstable form of aetherial energy. By this knowledge, does it not make sense that element 115 is a purified, corrupted form of prima materia used by the apothicons themselves to spread that chaos as we saw in Revelations? If element 115 was what corrupted the known universe in the aether storyline, and subsequently through the corrupted sentinel artifacts in both the chaos and dark aether storylines, it would make sense that the element is an extension of the dark energy created by the elder god itself.

I know what you may be thinking, but DON'T LEAVE!! ✋️

It's this energy that the Order has used since we first see them in IX with the High Priest and lastly with Von List's ideological successor to the Order within Vanguard. We all know Vanguard isn't a good game, but the lore that stems from it may play a crucial part in understanding exactly what we need to know for the future of the dark aether story. Von List bonds with Kortifex through dark rituals passed down by the Order, indicating there is an integral connection between Kortifex and the Order across the eras of time. Since the High Priest's control over the Order in IX, they had been devoted through their rituals to an all-powerful deity, which the High Priest specifically refers to as the "greater darkness."

Just like the keepers' corruption into apothicons led by the Shadowman, the Order's original ideal of putting other mortals through trials in the name of Olympian gods soon became an embrace of power to control humanity by serving this greater darkness. This is further backed by Alistair Rhodes' own recordings of sentinel artifact texts in which he hears voices as if speaking to him through the artifact itself and beginning to question his own sanity. We also see in an audio log on Shattered Veil that Josiah Shem, a prominent member of the Order, refers to "the deathless one" which aligns directly with Kortifex' title.

Also in Shattered Veil, we are required to get the antler carving as the ritual item for Josiah Shem's liminal space, and S.A.M. refers to a 'Native American god of death'. According to Native American culture, this lines up as an antler is a representation of death and transportation. It is entirely plausible that the corruption of the sentinel artifacts was responsible for allowing Kortifex to become the underlying representation for gods of primordial chaos across mythologies in ancient history, thus using human beliefs to influence them over time. This would explain the Order's deep obsession with devotion to a being of absolute darkness and the impacts it had throughout the Chaos storyline, in particular with Ancient Evil. Even a demigod as powerful as Perseus succumbed to the corruption of the artifact's trial in a prima materia-infested underworld with snakes the size of titans. Considering the gods slumber in Olympus according to Medusa, it makes sense the ancient relics they once used would become more easily corruptible.

This is where shit really goes off the rails. I think Kortifex was originally built to be a champion in the elder god's image, similar to Víðarr, son of Odin for example. Why I introduce this concept is because this elder god, while all powerful in its own dimension, likely desires a herald that it can use to enact its will and prepare reality for its eventual arrival. Consider why Kortifex would specifically be deemed the most powerful god of the dark aether. His abilities are particularly similar to the Shadowman, after all. The keepers are more than likely the first beings to ever cross into the dark aether and may have served as the ultimate inspiration in an elder god's creation of a deity, especially with how advanced they had become in their own dimension. Inadvertently, that would mean Primis were responsible for awakening an eldrich being due to their responsibility for Monty and the Shadowman's existence in the first place. This will have lasting repercussions I'll cover shortly that tie into MWZ and the BO6 ending going into BO7.

Kortifex' defeat in The Archon is a catalyst for the building blocks being set in stone over time. Once Kortifex was banished back to the dark aether, there's reason to believe the elder god, like other beings in mythos that are disgusted by what their deities could not achieve, cast Kortifex out and leaves him in a weakened state, allowing for another being to take his place in the hierarchy. This brings me to Zykov and his eventually victory over the gods of the dark aether. Zykov was the first canonical non-keeper to enter the dark aether and survive through sheer determination, and I think this caught the attention of the entity.

Genuinely, how could a mere human like Zykov become so powerful that he could overthrow the gods of the dark aether? Even if he was consuming things within the dark aether and adapting for ages, his ability to ascend to such dramatic levels seems a bit too extreme for him to do solely on his own. What if the elder god became obsessed with understanding the human brain and was then drawn to this dimension further? First through Primis' ultimate sacrifice, and second over the course of the Order's reign through history from the shadows. Then to see this one man defeating demons of the realm it didn't think possible? It would make sense to utilize a human that could corrupt those from the inside, thus have Zykov as its new herald, given the power necessary to overthrow the gods and become the Forsaken. But he is still only one piece of a larger puzzle.

In Mauer Der Toten, we got to see how much of an impact the Forsaken had on Valentina, slowly corrupting her more and more until she evolved into what we fought against in the bossfight. Then we get to the big facility to defeat the Forsaken, and while we think Samantha ultimately saved the universe from the Forsaken's wrath, what if we were meant to win but only in the short term? We still have the Forsaken as the announcer in BO6, even tho he's supposedly fully contained along with Samantha within the same containment device Eddie has used to harness S.A.M. This containment device is extremely important. We learned in Shattered Veil that S.A.M. wants to become Samantha, but why do you think that is? If S.A.M. wants to be Samantha, why would she go about inducing outbreaks on the world to achieve her goals?

My prediction is the containment device, with the power of the sentinel artifact, allows for the creation of the perfect dark aether vessel due to the combination of the Forsaken and Samantha, two powerful beings who have been exposed greatly to that dimension now technically existing outside it. The threat of them existing outside the dark aether is even more prominent when you think about the Forsaken's consumption of power including those of Kortifex as the deepest source of the dark aether. The Forsaken has already proven to persuade and influence a multitude of characters throughout CW, he very well could have made a significant impact on S.A.M.'s AI processing over time to essentially control her from the inside and influence our entire journey through BO6.

But then you may ask, what about Samantha? What's her role now that she is stuck inside the device? While we know she was in the dark aether for a prolonged period, her ability to create portals and her precognition make her an anomaly compared to what generally occurs in the dark aether. By re-entering the dark aether, Samantha may very well have unlocked the part of her mind holding back the powers she had as a child, which she demonstrated during Alpha Omega. If she regained those abilities, that would be essentially linking her back to the original aether universe, an element that could play a part in the power the elder god wants combined with the Forsaken, thus sending the Forsaken out on earth to force Samantha's hand and have them captured together. S.A.M. will surely play a massive role in DLC4, so I'm sure we will get more clarity on how exactly she functions and how much of a hold the Forsaken has on her.

With all this theory of powerful entities chosen to enact the goals of an eldrich being, this is a good time to bring up the Construct's purpose. From what we've learned of it, it is a primordial monolith that is suspected to have existed since the dawn of the universe, choosing its champions to utilize its power through trials. Sounds similar to the sentinel artifacts huh? They parallel each other in a lot of ways, but unlike the artifacts, the Construct I believe acts as the stabilizer for the dark aether itself, the sort of "middle man" between the elder god, who doesn't exactly have a physical form, and the beings within its realm. It's through the Construct that entities such as Kortifex and the Forsaken have been able to ascend to such dramatic power levels that they can break through the dark aether.

But we still have what is likely the most important piece of the puzzle: the Shadowsmith. We know both the Shadowman and Monty were banished to the dark aether at the end of Tag, but since that point their existence has been a complete mystery. While we have only learned of one shadowsmith thus far, audio logs indicate towards the idea of there being multiple. Panos has referred to this mystery entity as a shadow benefactor, and it seems the shadowsmith we see at the end of MWZ pulling Ava through the mirror is also the one communicating directly with Panos. I'm inclined to believe this shadowsmith is none other than a combined identity between the Shadowman and Monty. We already know the Shadowman was the main apothicon corrupted by the dark aether, so what do you think could happen when Monty is corrupted too?

In a very recent discovery as part of the impossible EE players have been trying to solve for years, it's pretty much confirmed Monty was actually a human named John Dee, the creator of Enochian magic and well known as a de-resurrectionist, before his ascension to godly power. (The max level 35 in BO3 zombies during each prestige is deresurrectionist..) Similarly, the Shadowman, while not as much evidence is shown, was likely Edward Kelley, John's alchemical associate. Considering how these two were basically two sides of the same coin, it's reasonable to believe their connection could have resulted in a blending of the two identities into one.

We don't know much yet about the Shadowsmith, but we can get ideas based on the 'shadow benefactor' relation to Panos. The being is referenced as a 'he', someone who Panos supposedly went to university with and, according to Panos himself, has established mastery over the dark aether, and should he succeed become the benefactor's 'agent'. Sound familiar? Just like the warden who's dark past was exploited by the Shadowman, we're similarly seeing Panos being influenced by using his past to alter his thought process while he's subjugated to the dark aether. It may very well be possible that if other shadowsmiths exist and work alongside the main one, I'm willing to bet they include the most dedicated of the Order's members like the High Priest and Josiah Shem, who could have ascended into the dark aether through rituals. Thinking deeper, you could even consider the Order as the earthly manifestation of what the Shadowsmiths represent, utilizing the dark aether to alter the course of history. But there's still some questions this poses. Why would the Shadowsmith go after Ava in the future, and what role will he play at Janus Towers?

I believe this ties back to the Forsaken's "defeat" when he showed the BO6 crew's deaths and an evil Samantha painted on the wall as a result of their victory in CW. Also tying back to the containment device Samantha and the Forsaken are inside, this may be the exact variable needed to be put in place unknowingly by our crew for the Shadowsmith to have as many assets as possible to ensure a long term victory. Treyarch has pushed the concept of Project Janus throughout BO6, and according to mythology, Janus is the manifestation of duality and gateways, but I think they're hiding important details for what Janus will truly mean by the end of the BO6 lifecycle. As I had mentioned earlier, the sentinel artifact itself acts as a gateway for the transfer of energy, and with the use of prima materia it would make sense Richtofen would want to use this to get his wife and son back. So why on earth would he need massive nuclear reactors like what we see with Janus Towers if he could likely accomplish his goal with the artifact, the prima materia from liminal spaces, and Josiah Shem's device?

As established in Tag, Eddie and Samantha are the only remaining figures from the previous universe brought into a new world. It's all but confirmed that this will have repercussions with the future of the story, but we still don't have confirmation as to why Eddie retained memories from the house in ways Samantha never did. I think Samantha's connection to Eddie through the old universe is what gives the Shadowsmith a link to both using Samantha's conciousness within S.A.M. That way, he can influence Eddie to create the towers, taking advantage of his need to do whatever it takes to get his family back. There's rumors these towers will implode at the end of the main quest, thrusting at minimum everything in the region into the dark aether. Considering the power coursing within S.A.M. and the energy coursing through the nuclear reactors, these factors will likely result in the Shadowsmith's emergence. By influencing S.A.M. to use the sentinel artifact to create her Samantha body just as Richtofen predicts, the body will be used unknowingly by an S.A.M. no longer in control, now working as a conduit to channel the corrupted energy of prima materia and give the Shadowsmith, a direct gateway between both dimensions. In other words, the underlying meaning of Project Janus. This ties back perfectly to the representation of the evil Samantha painting above our dead BO6 crew during Forsaken.

Ava's role is still largely unknown in the story after being thrust into the dark aether by who we can basically assume is the Shadowsmith, but she thinks it's her mother Samantha right before being pulled in. If my prediction is right that Samantha's body would be used as a conduit by the Shadowsmith, this cutscene would make more sense especially with her disappearance being directly in Liberty Falls and how easy the Shadowsmith took her. With her purpose unclear, it proposes some questions. Is her connection to Samantha a key element in the conduit process? Or, and this may be a stretch, her being pulled from the future is, just as Monty learned from Richtofen, an insurance plan to ensure the Shadowsmith's security. We saw how Monty took advantage of Richtofen's blood vials to create an endless cycle to remain in power. Perhaps her existence is meant to provide a similar outcome should the end of BO6 be a catalyst for the future we see in MWZ.

Everything the Shadowsmith does may very well be a trial of the Construct itself, and should he be victorious, become the new Archon. We can finally tie this all back to the apothicons' continued existence in the dark aether and evolution ultimately leading to the aether worms we see in MWZ. Considering the apothicons are presumed the first beings to become corrupted and evolve within the dark aether, it only makes sense their existence would influence the evolution of creatures in the dark aether over time. With their leader as the Archon, they could become far more powerful than anything they accomplished in the original Aether storyline. We see old statues in maps like The Tomb and Shattered Veil for doppleghasts and the other forms of evolution, which would indicate this process has existed far longer than the current story through BO6. We can even tie forms of evolution all the way back to IX and Ancient Evil with the infamous blightfather. Just like the vermin we see tearing themselves out of zombies in BO6, this same process was done by the blightfathers and all the elemental zombies in the Chaos maps from BO4.

I believe this evolution is building to the aether worms we get in MWZ. Think about it, of all the things they could have shown us in Shattered Veil, why would they give us a statue room buried deep under the mansion with stone figures of natives praying at the base of an aether worm? (Look at the picture on slide 2) Keep in mind, these are the same natives praying to their 'god of death' referenced with the antler carving. These creatures play a key role in the destruction occurring on earth during the MWZ timeline, well after the death of our BO6 main crew. I included a picture of the lovecraftian entity Azathoth on slide 3, who is basically God within that mythos. Can you see all the similarities with the apothicon creatures, and in particular the aether worm? This evolution resulting in aether worms I believe to be the closest evolutionary manifestations to the elder god's presence outside its dimension in the form of an apex predator. Just like in chuthulian lore, should this eldrich god rise from the dark aether, it would mean the end for all life as we know it, and the aether worms represent how close it could be to descending upon reality. Ultimately embodying the meaning of 'Have faith in Chaos', the MWZ timeline represents a future in which the Shadowsmith's plan is victorious, and it will take everything this crew has through the end of BO6 and the BO7 story to prevent this dark future from ever seeing the light of day.

I want to thank each and every one of you who took the time to read through this batshit theory. I spent quite a bit of time dissecting the lore from each of the storylines we've gotten across zombies, so I'm happy to discuss any and all thoughts or opinions you all want to share!

TL;DR:
Everything comes back to corruption, not just of people, but of purpose, energy, time, even evolution itself. The keepers were the first to fall, drawn into the dark aether and twisted into apothicons not by accident, but by design. That design comes from something older than the aether: a primordial elder god, a being buried in the fabric of the dark aether, rewriting life through chaos. This same corruption spread through the sentinel artifacts, infected the Order across history, and ultimately led to champions like Kortifex and later Zykov, chosen for his will to survive and remade as the Forsaken. Everything from element 115 to prima materia, even the Construct itself, serves the entity’s plan to open the door between its world and ours.

The Shadowsmith, likely the final fusion of Monty and the Shadowman, is the key to bringing this story together. He’s manipulating S.A.M., Richtofen, and Ava to push Project Janus forward, turning Janus Towers and the corrupted sentinel artifact into the ultimate gateway for his arrival and fulfilling the project's true meaning. At the end of that path are the aether worms — the apex result of the apothicon evolutionary chain, physical manifestations of the elder god’s presence through the Construct. The future we see in MWZ is the result of what happens when the Shadowsmith finally breaks through. BO6 and BO7 in particular will ultimately be crafted on the shoulders of the aether story as the dark aether and chaos storylines come crashing together, all while key elements of the original story start to break through with massive repercussions.