SPOILER (Theory) The Gateway Realm used to be part of the Silent Expanse

The Gateway Realm is a quest location that you go to during Fantastic Voyage. It closely resembles the Silent Expanse in its visuals and its mobs, but seems to have no direct explanation of its origin or even what the place is at all.

In the 2.0 update, it was reworked to look much, much cooler than it used to be, and I originally just kinda skipped over that. But after pondering the possible origins of this place, I wondered if there was any reason for this specific area to be completely reworked. I quickly realized that the quest was just outdated and I was overthinking it. But then… I started to overthink it even more. Which led me to believe that the Gateway Realm may have been part of the Silent Expanse at one point. Let me explain.

Part of the Nameless Anomaly’s lore is that it tears out parts of reality, leaving only void holes behind. It is said (i forgot where) that the Silent Expanse used to be larger, but since chunks of it were ripped away, it became smaller. This makes me think that the Gateway Realm is the lost area from the Silent Expanse.
I uh don’t really have a lot of proof, but there are some things that lead me to believe this.

There are bits and pieces of each region of SE in the Gateway Realm. There are some dripping toxins on the ceiling or floor, and some of the builds slightly resemble Void Valley. There are also many creatures and symbols containing eyes (obviously a lot of things have eyes normally too, but it is worth mentioning their prominence here).

A mob from the Nameless Anomaly, the Gaze from the Abyss, is present in both places. I’m not sure what this implies, if anything, but it does establish a connection in my mind. If the area of TNA is the Nameless’s domain, why is a mob from the Gateway Realm there? Maybe that’s because Greg consumed it and part of its home. It sort of makes sense that something in the Gateway Realm and TNA was dwelling in the Silent Expanse in the past.


There isn’t a lot of proof or evidence or anything, that’s why it’s a theory. Not a well-supported one, but a theory nonetheless. Let me know if there is anything I missed and what you think about this.

Also, this is my first real theory, so please forgive me if this whole thing is terrible.

Thank you for reading, have a nice day/night!

 

possibly true, things have an abnormal amount of eyes/ very large eyes and I have absolutely no idea the only other place with mobs that are stragely realated to eyeballs.
no idea at all.
absolutely not.

 

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interesting

 

Why are you liking my idiocy.
:( I am sadz.

 

I always thought (albeit without proof) that the Gateway Realm was a part of Dern proper, not necessarily SE. Before 2.0, the Gateway Realm didn't really resemble SE, but it was a lot darker, due to the overabundance of dark blocks like obsidian, and it was also entirely underground. It was also a lot more eerily quiet, since no mobs spawned there back then. It makes sense to remodel quest area to look like the Silent Expanse, but I don't think that would be enough to assume it was part of it specifically. It could be, but personally I don't think anything more can be said without certainty aside from "this place is associated with Dern", and I'm still going to believe its a part of Dern proper.

 

It is not part of The Realm of Darkness, though it is touched by it, as stated in the Wiki.

Several mobs spawned there.