Incredibly Cryptic Message in Hat Kid's Attic (Spoilers)

[Judasilfarion]

As pointed out in Boner Jones' guide
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1163147933
There are notes in a closet in the attic in Hat Kid's ship. The same guide deciphers the notes, but the message is, as stated in the title, incredibly cryptic. Now, in the comments to the guide there was a link to this YouTube channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBOM5vNf77zYPKK1S-6cD9Q/videos?disable_polymer=1

At first I was like "what the heck is going on here"

And then I realized that this has to be a channel made by the devs, because all of the videos contain a snippet of words written in the exact same cipher on the note in the closet in the attic. On top of that, there are time pieces and Hat Kid shows up at the end. Either that, or someone is playing a ridiculously elaborate hoax but I seriously doubt that.

After spending about an hour deciphering the messages, I got this:

THERE IS A STORY PASSED DOWN BY OUR PEOPLE

BEFORE TIME BEGAN

BEFORE SPACE EXISTED

THERE WAS NOTHING

A DARK VOID

BUT ONE DAY A LIGHT APPEARED AND WITH IT LIFE

BUT IS LIFE WORTH SAVING WHEN TIME TAKES IT AH AWAY

I HAVE CONTEMPLATED THESE WORDS FOR A LONG TIME

BUT WHAT IF I COULD STOP TIME

YOU ARE WORTHY TO HEAR MY STORY

I CLOSE MY EYES AND HEAR NOTES

EACH ONE IS A REFLECTION OF TIME

AND EACH NOTE HAS AN END

THIS IS THE WAY IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN

AS MASTER TEMPUS HAD ALWAYS TAUGHT ME

I SAW THE BEGINNING AND THE END

BOTH EXIST WITH A PURPOSE AND CANNOT EXIST WITHOUT EACH OTHER

STARING DEEP AT THE BLACKNESS OF THE VOID SHOWED ME ONE PATH

THE WARM GLOW OF THE SUN PIECE SHOWED ME ANOTHER

BUT WHAT IF THERE WAS A THIRD

A GREY MELODY

THICK LIKE FOG

WARM TO THE TOUCH BUT WITH A COLD EXTERIOR

THE PERFECT SONG

NEITHER TIME NOR END COULD TOUCH IT

I FELT IT ONCE

DURING THE TIME WAR

BUT I WAS TOO YOUNG

TOO DISTRACTED

BY THE TEACHINGS OF THE FOUNDERS

WILL IT HURT

DEEP DOWN I KNOW THE ANSWER

AND YET THE SONG KEEPS US GOING

I DREAD THE END AND HOLD TIME DEARLY TO THE POINT OF INSANITY

BUT I KNOW DEEP DOWN

THERE IS SOMETHING MORE

I SAW IT LONG AGO AND IT HAUNTED OUR THOUGHTS

IT ALWAYS HAS

THE PATH I TOOK WAS NOT BY CHOICE

LADY PUELLA

MASTER TEMPUS

IT WAS A FALSE PATH YOU GAVE ME

HENI (I don't know what this means, maybe I deciphered it wrong. It could be a name, though unlike the other names it doesn't appear more than once)

WHEN WE BECAME WHOLE I SAW LIGHT

HEARD IT

BUT WHY

WHY NOW

WHY HERE

WAS DEATH THE KEY

MASTER

WHY DID YOU LEAVE US

I LOOKED AT THE LIGHT

I QUESTIONED ITS MELODY

WHERE DID IT COME FROM

HOW CAN IT EXIST

THIS SPACE WHERE NEITHER TIME

NOR END CAN REACH US

IT LOOKED JUST LIKE MASTER

TALKED LIKE HER

FOUGHT LIKE HER

I TOUCHED AND WAS TOUCHED BACK

IT FLOWED LIKE WORDS IN A BOOK

IS THIS THE SONG I AM

I WAS

LOOKING FOR

THE TRUTH FILLED ME WITH RAGE

BUT NOW I FEEL FREE

PERHAPS DEATHS BLANKET GAVE ME TIME

AND YOUR SPIRIT GAVE ME THE END I WAS SEEKING

This part is in blue text, as opposed to the orange text in the rest of the videos. It could be another speaker.
//
CAVUS

PLEASE REMAIN BEHIND

WE HAVE MUCH TO DISCUSS
//


YOU EXIST

I EXIST

WE EXIST

SO LONG AS THERE IS TIME

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE AND END

I SAUGHT THE ANSWERS

AND EXISTENCE RESPONDED

WITH A SONG

THE MELODY OF LIFE

This is another part in blue text
//
CAVUS HAS BETRAYED US

HUNT HIM DOWN

AND TAKE BACK THE SUN PIECE

BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE
//


MY HOME

NO

JUST A MEMORY OF WHAT ONCE WAS

JUSTICE

YOU EXTINGUISHED MY LIGHT

PUELLA I SAW IT ALL

I SAW THE DREAMS OF MY PEOPLE

I WILL TRAVEL BACK

TO THE DAY YOU FOUND ME

I WILL STOP IT FROM HAPPENING

AND THEN NO ONE HAS TO DIE

I WILL STOP TIME ITSELF

NO MORE WILL THE SUN OR THE MOON CAST LIGHT ONTO THIS WORLD

IT IS OUR SONG

IT SINGS OF HOPE FOR YOU AND US

THIS IS MY STORY

I HAVE WAITED HERE IN THES DARK VOID FOR A LONG TIME

ALTHOUGH TRUTHFULLY

TIME HAS NO MEANING HERE

IN THE PAST I OFTEN WONDERED

WHAT GOOD IS TIME IF IT TAKES EVERYTHING AWAY

THAT IS WHY I WANTED YOUR TIME PIECE

IT HAS THE POWER I NEED TO FIX MY PAST MISTAKES

BUT YOU ARE STRONG

FAR STRONGER THAN I

YOU LOOK JUST LIKE MY MASTER

I HOPE SHE FOUND PEACE

LISTEN

WHEN YOU LEAVE THIS PLACE

I WILL RETURN TO THE DARKNESS

I WILL CEASE TO EXIST

THAT POWER YOU HOLD

IN MY TIMELINE

OUR PIECES BROUGHT RUIN TO THE WORLD

PERHAPS YOU WILL BE WISER

USE POWER FOR THE RIGHT THINGS

AT LEAST FOR THE THINGS THAT YOU BELIEVE IN

SO LONG AS WE ARE REMEMBERED

THE FIRE WILL NEVER BURN OUT

MOON CHILD

ALWAYS REMEMBER US

What could this mean? Well, in the last video Hat Kid is standing in front of a formless being, which I presume to be the narrator (the same being appeared in the "Waiting" video). It refers to Hat Kid as the Moon Child, so maybe she's from the Moon, with A Hat in Time taking place in another timeline. Maybe the narrator is from the planet, except in another timeline, where everything was destroyed because someone abused their power like Moustache Girl almost did.

The text mentions a being called Cavus and calls Cavus a traitor in 11:9 - Betrayal of the Sun, but in differently colored text. Maybe this is a different speaker, in which case the narrator could be Cavus. The narrator says that the teachings of Master Tempus and Lady Puella were false, so if the narrator is indeed Cavus then it would make sense. Furthermore, before the blue text shows up there is a pillar with what appears to be 3 red eyes and heavy rainstorms in the background. I think this is Master Tempus, since Tempus sounds a lot like "tempest", which means "a violent windy storm."

In 11:10 - Time's End, there's a black lump on the floor. The camera zooms in to show what appears to be Hat Kid, complete with really ominous music, except this Hat Kid has pitch black hair and clothing, and her one open eye is red. She's lying down with a black hat in front of her, which is blown away by the wind to reveal a shining, yellow shard (possibly a shard of the sun piece mentioned in the text). There is heavy rain and wind around her. This is a little more speculative than Master Tempus, but I think this may be Lady Puella. Cavus said that Hat Kid looks just like his master, and besides Master Tempus (who is a giant pillar with 3 eyes), Lady Puella was also one of his teachers. Even if she's not Lady Puella, I'll refer to her as such until we have more complete information. It's implied that they're working together, and we know that Master Tempus is after the Sun Piece. Maybe Cavus shattered the Sun Piece and the pair are searching for its shards. Afterwards, we see Lady Puella's silhouette standing in front of the sun, and floating in front of her is what seems to be a Sun Piece. We see her walk into a dark portal in two seperate videos, so she has the ability to teleport, possibly through dimensions.

Further evidence that the narrator is Cavus is in the 11:3 - The Sun video, which depicts a large box with a flaming plaque sitting alone in the void that reads:

AS PUNISHMENT FOR HIS BETRAYAL

ALL THOSE CONNECTED TO CAVUS ARE SEALED UNTIL TIMES END

MAY THEIR SUFFERING BE A REMINDER OF HIS SIN

AS HE ROTS IN THE VOID

There is a flaming mass at the top of the box surrounded by burning hands, which is implied by the plaque to be Cavus. The formless being that is speaking to Hat Kid also has a flaming effect, and has a similar shape and form to the mass at the top of the plaque. We know for a fact that the formless being is dying and alone, trapped in what appears to be an endless void, much like what is supposedly Cavus. With such overwhelming evidence I think it's safe to say that the narrator is Cavus, in which case Cavus has already failed, and is dead. The video fades to another perspective of the box, with more text on the side, but the text is too small for my eyes to read even on maximum resolution. Lady Puella's hat is lying next to the text, implying that it was she who captured and imprisoned Cavus.

In the 11:? Farewell video, we are given another perspective of the formless mass, and very significantly, it is holding what looks like an (flaming) umbrella. If this is Cavus, then I believe the first time we see Cavus is in the first video (the "Error") video, where the shadow of a cloaked man in a hat approaches a Sun Piece (they're too tall to be Hat Kid and Lady Puella). Hat Kid also wears a cloak and hat - But she also has an umbrella. This means Cavus is freaking huge! The only person taller than him is the Snatcher, and he's a ghost! Besides that, considering they have a similar manner of dress, and in his first line he refers to "our people", it is possible that Cavus and Hat Kid are related in some way. Maybe Hat Kid is a member of a race of time travellers like the Time Lords from Doctor Who, except with more hats, umbrellas and cloaks.

Besides being a sequel/DLC hook, it's also possible that this is Hat Kid's background story, and she is traveling through time to find Lady Puella and Master Tempus. Maybe Moustache Girl will use that time piece you did or didn't give her to help you as thanks for helping her fight the Mafia

Also, in the descriptions for all of the videos there are sequences of numbers. I have absolutely no idea what these numbers mean, but either many of the numbers are placeholders that mean empty space, or these aren't english words because there's no way you can form so much as a coherent sentence with strings of letters that long.

[Moe Magi Maxima]

It's interesting to note how, for the most part, the motives and actions of the author of this line up in parallel to Mustache Girl: a strong desire borne from naive ideals to right perceived wrongs resulting in the destruction of the world. Yet, after realizing how badly things turned out, the author seemingly only wanted one Time Piece to right their own, real wrongs. Yet, upon meeting the being implied to be who we know to be Hat Kid, sensed her to be the stronger in spirit, and decided to instead share his tale before making peace with mortality and moving on, as it were. That phrase: "At least for the things you believe in", may be the most mysterious thing said here, though. What could that mean, I wonder? What, or whom, would Hat Kid believe in?

I suppose time will tell if the remainder of the story this implies is capitalized on. As for possible DLC stuff, perhaps the levels would be tied to the choice made at the end, and the levels would have their own takes on post-final boss? Who knows? Seems like that would take a lot of work compared to the usual DLC fare, though, so take that with a heaping grain of salt.

As for the numbers, did you try matching them with their respective letters, like 1=A, 2=B, and so on?

[Pay Child Suport]

Also, in the descriptions for all of the videos there are sequences of numbers. I have absolutely no idea what these numbers mean, but either many of the numbers are placeholders that mean empty space, or these aren't english words because there's no way you can form so much as a coherent sentence with strings of letters that long.

ever tried using base64? seems like it uses hexadecimal

[Judasilfarion]

Originally posted by Tentacle Grape:

Also, in the descriptions for all of the videos there are sequences of numbers. I have absolutely no idea what these numbers mean, but either many of the numbers are placeholders that mean empty space, or these aren't english words because there's no way you can form so much as a coherent sentence with strings of letters that long.

ever tried using base64? seems like it uses hexadecimal

I tried converting them from hexadecimal to text, all I got were random symbols that don't mean anything


#
    #
 # 
 
!% ! %%


! 
   #%!#
%  !

  %!##
 
 "%   

They don't seem to follow any rule. In the "Waiting" and "Error" video the description only uses pairs of numbers seperated by spaces, while in the "Betrayal of the Sun" video it only has strings of variable length seperated by spaces.

Although, in the title of the "Error" video (Error 0xAiQb5guaAn01hrP1ac3M#3m0#ryC#0rrup#1ed2MA), besides the obvious fact that M#3m0#ryC#0rrup#1ed says Memory Corrupted, if you're using 1337speak you can read An01hrP1ac3 as Another Place

I found some more stuff and edited the OP

[Marcus Pumpkin]

The roach king stuff and the note in the closet are unrelated. Also, the note is confirmed to be a joke played by one of the devs.

[Ancey]

They removed the secret text in the closet. :(

[Toky]

Yeah, not sure if a modder would go that far, really feels like something made by the devs, I really would appreacite an update or a DLC that focus on the lore, though it would be weird to see this kind of shift in the atmosphere of the game. Great find, thanks for this.

[Pay Child Suport]

Originally posted by Halpenstance:

They removed the secret text in the closet. :(

no it's still in there.

[lathee]

One connection I noticed: The music in 11:6 Ritual of Cleansing is a much slower, more sombre rendition of the level theme for normal time rifts. Furthermore, the loading screens for them always depict Hat Kid as though she's "swimming" through broken time...

[lathee]

Did a quick Google, somebody managed to decipher the code in the video descriptions. The following is from a post by Robospike on Facepunch, but they stated they suck at ARGs and didn't specify who all this was from so here we go:




Here is all the descriptions, now for the actual content of the videos


Error 0xAiQb5guaAn01hrP1ac3M#3m0#ryC#0rrup#1ed2MA:
MASTER TEMPUS CAVUM HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO CALL ME H I AM SORRY MASTER I WAS WONDERING HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE SUNPIECE

Waiting:
I SAW A LIGHT TIME STOOD STILL WATER STOPPED FLOWING A FEELING OF HEAT SUDDENLY I COULD NOT FEEL MY BODY A BLACK MASS LUNGING AT THE LIGHT LOOKING FOR POWER MY PEOPLE LOOKED UPWARDS FLYING OBJECTS CROSSED US AS PEAR PIERCED THE SKY UNKNOWN PEOPLE WEARING CLOAKS LOST EVERYTHING TIME SEND
NOW WE WAIT

11:1 - The Founders
O FOUNDERS CREATORS OF TIME PROTECT US FROM THE DARK AND GUIDE US TO THE GOLDEN LAND O GUIDING LIGHT UNWORTHY ARE WE YOUR SONG IS ETERNAL THAT ONLY THE FOUNDERS MAY LISTEN O MOON CHILD BLESSINGS UPON YOU WE AWAIT YOUR ARRIVAL

11:2 - The Student
MASTER TEMPUS YOU WILL BE TAKING CARE OF THIS CHILD FROM NOW ON SHE IS TO BE YOUR STUDENT AND WILL ACCOMPANY YOU ON YOUR ASSIGNMENTS YOU WILL TEACH HER THE WAYS OF THE FOUNDERS HER NAME IS PUELLA FOR HER PROTECTION YOU ARE TO CALL HER H

11:3 - The Sun
M I FINALLY UNDERSTAND BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN I FORGIVE YOU YOU CANNOT CHANGE THE PAST NOT EVEN WITH THAT RELIC YOUR FOOLISHNESS CAUSED THIS THESE PEOPLE YOUR PEOPLE SUFFER BECAUSE OF YOUR SELFISH DESIRE AND NOW OUR TIMELINE IS DYING I AM HEADING TO THE CITY OF DREAMS MAYBE THE RUMOURS ARE TRUE FIND PEACE MY OLD FRIEND

11:4 - War
WE ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR REASONS MASTER TEMPUS BUT THE POINT REMAINS THEY ARE A THREAT TO US THEIR SUN COULD CHALLENGE OUR MOON THIS IS NOT RIGHT DO THEY NOT HAVE THE SAME RIGHT TO EXIST AS WE DO THAT IS BESIDES THE POINT WITH THAT POWER THEY COULD TRIGGER TIMES END MASTER TEMPUS YOUR DUTY IS TO PROTECT LADY PUELLA AND TEACH HER THE WAYS OF TIME SHE WILL BE IN DANGER IF WE DO NOT ACT THEREFORE IT IS IN YOUR BEST INTEREST I I UNDERSTAND

11:5 - Peace
LADY PUELLA THIS IS A WARZONE SO STAY CLOSE TO ME YES MASTER TEMPUS SUCH POINTLESS FIGHTING THE FOUNDERS HAVE GONE TOO FAR THEY HAVE GIVEN IN TO FEAR OVER A TIMELINE THAT MIGHT NOT EVEN HAPPEN HOW DO WE EVEN KNOW THIS WONT TRIGGER TIMES END MASTER LOOK A SHADOW STAY BEHIND ME WHILE I DEAL WITH THIS WAIT YOU ARE JUST A CHILD NO THIS ISNT RIGHT I WILL NOT KILL AN INNOCENT CREATURE IT IS ALRIGHT LITTLE ONE COME WITH ME I WONT HURT YOU MASTER ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS YES PUELLA I TAUGHT YOU TO FOLLOW THE CODE OF THE FOUNDERS BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD FOLLOW BLINDLY QUESTION EVERYTHING AND DO WHAT YOU FEEL IS RIGHT I WILL PROTECT THIS YOUNG SHADOW FROM HARM BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT I BELIEVE IS RIGHT IT IS OKAY YOU ARE SAFE NOW COME WITH ME FROM NOW ON YOUR NAME WILL BE CAVUS

11:6 - The Ritual of Cleansing
MASTER TEMPUS YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR THIS SHADOW IS DANGEROUS IT IS ONLY A CHILD I WILL RAISE IT TO FOLLOW OUR PATH AND HE WILL BECOME A STUDENT UNDER MY CARE THIS IS OUT OF THE QUESTION YOU ALREADY HAVE A STUDENT AND SHE WILL BE IN DANGER WHILE THAT THING REMAINS ALIVE WE HAVE KILLED THIS CHILDS FAMILY EVERY LAST SHADOW IS GONE WE HAVE THEIR SUN PIECE WE HAVE DONE ENOUGH THIS TIMELINE IS SAFE

11:7 - City of Dreams
THIS IS THE REALM OF DREAMS IT IS A PLACE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE EVERY DREAM THAT HAS EVER EXISTED IN THE WAKING WORLD CAN BE SEEN IN THIS PLACE ENTERING A DREAM WORLD IS DANGEROUS MY STUDENTS BUT IT IS AN IMPORTANT ROLE AS KEEPERS WE SERVE THE FOUNDERS AND IN TURN PROTECT THE TIMELINE BUT KNOW THIS YOU MUST NEVER ENTER THE DREAMS OF THE DEAD IT IS FORBIDDEN MUCH LIKE THEIR PHYSICAL BODIES THE MEMORIES OF THE DEAD ALSO WITHER AWAY YOU COULD GET TRAPPED OR WORSE FALL INTO THE VOID WHEN I WAS MUCH YOUNGER I SAW THAT DARKNESS UP CLOSE I STARED DEEP INTO ITS ABYSS AND FELT MY LIFE ENERGY BEING PULLED IT IS A COLD AND DARK PLACE OF NOTHING WE LOST MANY GOOD KEEPERS BEFORE THE FOUNDERS FORBADE ANY FURTHER VENTURES AND NOT ONE SINGLE KEEPER HAS RETURNED FROM THE VOID I TRULY PITY THEM BUT ENOUGH OF THAT LET US CONTINUE OUR LESSON TAKE OUT YOUR BOOK

11:8 - The Lies of Truth
THE DEATH OF MASTER TEMPUS IS A GREAT LOSS INDEED LADY PUELLA AS HIS FORMER STUDENT YOU WILL TAKE ON THE TITLE OF TEMPUS AND BECOME A MASTER YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR TRIALS AND WALKED THE PATH OF CLEANSING RETIRE TO YOUR QUARTERS WE WILL SUMMON YOU AGAIN SOON

11:9 - Betrayal of the Sun
THE FOUNDERS TOLD ME EVERYTHING YOU KILLED MASTER TEMPUS WHY WHY DID YOU DO IT CAVUS

11:10 - Time's End
O FOUNDERS CREATERS OF TIME LIED TO US DID NOT GUIDE US TO THE GOLDEN LAND KILLED MY MASTER ALMOST KILLED ME I KILLED I THE GUIDING MOONLIGHT THE TWISTED SUN ALL MEANININGLESS AGAINST THE POWER OF THE VOID

11: ? Farewell

[kazuma zazuma]

I'd like to point out that in City of Dreams, the song is actually reversed.
Plus, the last part of the song sounds similar to a Purple Time Rift. Could this mean something?
Click here to listen[www.dropbox.com]

[Pay Child Suport]

Who are you? ... Who am I?
I...remember...I had a student. No. Two students. They were like children to me.
We travelled across many dreams and learned much of the world.
But one of my students was different.
But one of my students was different. Almost like...a mirror. We took him from his home and... there was so much suffering.
I thought we would find peace together but... a darkness remained.
No, it was always there. A false light.
They sought power. Controlled events, planned all of this.
I sensed the truth, confronted them and they betrayed me... Killed me.
Suddenly... there was a flash of moonlight and I awoke here next to this flame.
It's strange, I cannot explain why but I know it is important. I must take care of it. It is small now but one day it will grow.
Until then I wait. For Time's Beginning.

Dammit Habboi, your mod level is giving me the creeps.

[Pay Child Suport]

Originally posted by D YellowMadness:

I looked up the definition of "puella".

puella f (genitive puellae); first declension. a girl, a lass, a maiden; a female child Parvola puella. A young girl.

I think it's pretty safe to say Puella is, indeed, the girl who looks like Hat Kid.

confirmed maybe?

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198065776960/screenshot/878630070086507279

[Pay Child Suport]

Originally posted by D YellowMadness:

Originally posted by Tentacle Grape:

confirmed maybe?

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198065776960/screenshot/878630070086507279

What's that from? Is that the mod someone mentioned? Who made the mod? Where can I get it?

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1224477425

it has secrets. the level is over 100mb if you're curious. and if you don't know who Habboi is, well, just keep it in mind for now.

[Pay Child Suport]

talk to one of the pillars

[Pay Child Suport]

^ yup. and make sure you only get the gold orbs on that 5th tower.