| “ | Please tell me how my power over all existence may be of small assistance to you this time, Son of Hades? | „ |
| ~ Chaos |
Chaos is the embodiment of the primordial void from which Nyx and all other Primordials arose. They offer boons to Zagreus which, unlike the instant boosts offered by the Olympian gods, trade a debuff for a certain number of encounters in exchange for greater power further down the line.
Chaos resides within the Chaos Gates sometimes found within chambers.
Chaos returns in Hades II and offers their boons to Melinoë in her fight against Chronos.
Characteristics and Personality
This primordial spectator is the keeper of secrets. They speak in a monotone and without emotion, and yet their voice seems to contain a multitude of separate voices of varying genders, all speaking in unison. Despite their eternal curiosity about existence, they have a distaste for 'small talk' and are impassive, content to merely watch Zagreus as he fights his way out of the underworld, never once trying to stop him. Chaos seems to derive amusement from this, perhaps out of boredom or sheer curiosity. They brand Dionysus as "the drunk," for his unpredictability and thus act as a source of amusement for them.
Chaos will make sensitive, critical comments about the people that Zagreus meets, sometimes having knowledge of secrets known to very few due to their eternal watch over reality. They seem to have a fairly low opinion of the Olympians believing most of them to be either too cocky or too presumptuous for their own good and that they choose to help Zagreus purely out of self-interest, rather than family loyalty. Composed, their decisions are mysterious, and Chaos doesn't like to be talked about unless they request it. When engaged in dialogue with another, often Zagreus, they will prompt the individual directly at the end of their statement by saying "Answer." Nevertheless, Chaos makes it known that they do not or will not compel the individual to answer, as that is their own choice to make.
Chaos also appears to greatly value concepts such as "free will" and "personal choice" perhaps believing them to be the only principles that truly matter. Unlike the Olympians who regularly try to manipulate Zagreus and Melinoë one way or the other whenever they offer them their boons and will respond aggressively whenever they make the "wrong choice", Chaos leaves the decision to accept or refuse their aid entirely up to them and has no problem with accepting said decision whichever it may be.
Chaos cannot be measured or quantified in any meaningful way. Furthermore, leaving their realm would potentially destabilize all of order and existence, so they just decide to watch. They were distant in their role as a parent to Nyx, much to her dismay, and after much reflection during the events of the game, they later reveal to Zagreus their remorse for this.
Chaos suggests they would miss Zagreus too, were his visits to their realm ever to cease, but also seems content merely to be an observer of reality, happily gazing eternally into existence from afar and alone.
They love their daughter Nyx, and regret being absent for most of her life. They also used to play hide-and-seek when they were still together.
Despite Chaos saying that they are content to ponder the possibilities of the world they created, Chaos is grateful for being able to see glimpses of it when Zagreus wears the Chaos Aspect of the Aegis.
Chaos doesn't care for material gifts and seems happy to be alone most of the time but will give Zagreus the cosmic egg in part because they want him to visit more. Combined with Chaos secretly missing Nyx (and possibly Chaos' other children as well), Chaos seems lonelier than they admit to.
While Chaos often expresses curiosity and interest when with Zagreus, with Melinoë their demeanor is a lot stricter and colder, instructing her only to speak when spoken to, and actively admitting they dislike her on multiple occasions. While they still offer their support, they seem less happy about the circumstances. This may simply be due to Nyx's disappearance leading to them becoming more withdrawn and melancholic, or might speak to the difference in the two siblings goals. Zagreus sought to disrupt, break free and cause chaos, where as Melinoë seeks to restore old order, reduce fighting and ultimately put an end to turmoil, which would be more contrary to Chaos' nature.
Physical description
While the other gods could pass for human, or at least human-like, it's immediately clear that Chaos is not of this world, yet even they have some human characteristics. Their skin is gray higher up on their body, gradually darkening to dark yellow further down, and then becoming featureless black and brown.
The closest Chaos has to "normal" in their appearance is their human head and torso. Bat-like wings are where their ears should be, and in the middle of their chest is a red stone or eye. Another large eye is on their forehead, and on that eye itself, two smaller eyes can be seen.
Where Chaos's abdomen and lower torso would be, and circling up their chest and behind their head, is a tangle of red-eyed, melted-together human heads, including one that's missing its upper half above the nose. Mixed in with this mass are a few bones, small plants (some with red leaves, some the same color of Chaos's skin), and a human fetus, eventually trailing down into a dark, indistinct shape. On the right side of their body is the edge of what seems to be a robe, which blends back into the mishmash of flesh and faces.
A starry background is seen behind Chaos, and behind their head are two shapes reminiscent of a human eye, one having many colors and the other gold, all symbolizing their existence outside reality as we know it while watching our reality from beyond. Held in Chaos's right hand, between their index finger and thumb and the size of a large marble in comparison to their hand, is the planet Earth.
In Hades II, Chaos adopted a more solid, human-like appearance, now with a full body and pale skin. Their face is slightly more androgynous, reminiscent of Nyx's, with long hair tied in a ponytail of silvery white with streaks of pink and golden. Said ponytail is adorned with a golden halo and burgundy flowers. The small "planet earth" held between their fingers is now an earring on their left ear. Chaos robes appear to resemble a modern suit with gold embroidery and trim, small eye-shaped buttons on the cuffs and two skull-shaped buttons closing at ther waist with a chord, the third eye was then moved from their forehead to the lapel and many face-like shapes still visible on areas around the shoulder and arm. An eye-shaped gem now addorns their chest which seem to simply be a cosmic-like void within their suit. A gray bat wing reminiscent of the ones from the Furies springs from their back. Chaos is now holding what appears to be their old form's severed head still attached to a spinal chord with a small fetus coming out of its mouth and another flower adorning the ear.
Background
Chaos is the first living and divine being of all. They're the anthropomorphic personification of the void, matter, universe, existence and reality. Chaos resides in the space between the surface and the underworld, where the walls are thin, and can only be accessed through the Chaos Gates.
Hades
They offer their own set of boons to Zagreus for their inscrutable purposes.
Zagreus has the ability to invite Chaos to the gathering of Olympians if he visits them before the party occurs. Chaos will accept, and state that while they cannot appear in full, they will still arrange to appear in some capacity.
Regardless of if they are invited or not, Chaos will state that they were amused by the gathering, and express appreciation for Zagreus’ continued visits.
Zagreus can also take part in a quest to reunite Nyx and Chaos. Knowing her parent has been helping the prince, Nyx thinks of reuniting after long years apart, and Chaos thinks of the same. Zagreus is instructed he must fix the Eldest Sigil so Nyx can reach Chaos, and once he achieves that, Nyx parts for a visit. From then on out, she may be found near her parent.
Hades II
Chaos was visited by Chronos, who asked Chaos for the location of the Three Fates. Chaos helped Chronos who, unaware of his scheme, used their omniscience to find the location of the Fates.
Chaos offers their boons to Melinoë when she reaches Tartarus to help her defeat Chronos once they had learn of the Titan's duplicity.
Affinity
Chaos' affinity gauge is maxed out at 8 
hearts. The 6th affinity gauge will be locked until Zagreus reunites Chaos with their daughter Nyx.
As of Early Access, Chaos' affinity gauge is maxed out at 7 
hearts. To earn Chaos' Trust, Melinoë must complete multiple Chaos Trials then talk to Chaos. They will praise Melinoë for choosing to participate in Trials and comment that their acquaintance with Melinoë was not a mistake. This unlocks the affinity gauge.
Codex entry
Unlocking the complete Codex Entry requires deepening Zagreus' relationship with Chaos.
Book of Shadows Entry (Hades II)
Trivia
- Chaos's symbol, five arrows spread in a fan, is a reference to Michael Moorcock's Symbol of Chaos. Normally having eight radial arrows, it has become a common symbol to represent the concept of chaos.
- The eldest sigil costs 3142
to unlock. That is exactly the number of gods believed to exist in Greek mythology[1]. - Chaos mentions enjoying watching Dionysus because, like Zagreus, they both find entertainment in Dionysus's unpredictable nature.
- When you murder enemies using Aegis' Aspect of Chaos, they will sometimes say stuff like "murder", "annihilation" and others.
- Alongside Eurydice, Hades, Hermes and Patroclus, Chaos is among the few characters to ever comment on someone else's keepsake, namely Nyx's.
Gallery
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Chaos Reward
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Chaos Symbol in Hades
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Chaos Symbol in Hades II
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Chaos Bond Forged Icon
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Decorative Theme, Infinite
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Chaos Codex Entry
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Chaos Book of Shadow Entry
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Chaos featured in the 'Origination' Arcana Card
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Chaos WIP Portrait in Hades II
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Illustration, 2022 by Jen Zee
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Chthonic Gods Poster: fangamer.com
Additional Notes
For additional information on Chaos that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Chaos (cosmogony)
References
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