[MAJOR SPOILERS] The True Story of the Lich

[Phineus]

As you may know, the Lich is the true last boss in the game, encountered in the Bullet Hell (Sixth Chamber), but, unlike many bosses, the lich has a big backstory.

I gattered the information given by the ammonicon, The Blacksmith and the definition of 'Lich'

1- First of all, Lich is a legendary Undead mage, that achieved immortality. That is why it's appearence is of a rotten corpse. The Gungeon is a trap, that doesnt let most adventurers exit, that happened to the Ledge Goblin, for example. The Lich living inside the last floor of the gungeon might lead to the assumption that he achieved immortality thanks to the gungeon itself.

2- The Blacksmith tells us her and her sister's story. She was hired by a powerful wizard obsessed with guns, that disappeared when the great Bullet struck and created the Gungeon.
She also refers to a 'gun', that the Wizard was working on. That gun might be the Gun that can Kill the Past, which is supported by the intro

3- In the Keep of the Lead Lord (chamber 1), there's a painting over the fireplace, depicting a man with wizard clothes holding a bullet-like thing. That could be the Bullet That Can Kill the Past, which the Blacksmith is able to craft. That means that the Gundead adore the Wizard, keeping paintings of him. Another thing that suggests it is the statue of a man with the same clothes as the wizard in the painting at the beggining of the gungeon, that always has lit candles around it, meaning that the Gundead often bring candles to the statue.

That leads to the assumption that the Powerful Wizard is actually the Lich, and also leads to the question: "If the Wizard wanted to change the past, what exactly was he trying to change? that's possibly answered by the Blacksmith quote:

"I think he was worried that Guns would make the magics of the old world obsolete"

3- Now lets read the Ammonicon entry for Lich:
"Gungeon Master
Though banished to Bullet Hell, the Gundead know him to be the immortal master of the Gungeon."

"Banished" is a interesting word to use. That means that he was defeated. By who, though?
Let's now read the entry to the Riddle of Lead, a item that is unlocked by defeating the LICH

"A relic of the first hero to master the Gungeon, whose skill attracted the envy of Kaliber herself. Bestows unreasonable courage in the face of danger, and the luck to survive it."

The first hero to master the gungeon. It being unlocked by defeating the Lich might mean that he was the first hero to master the gungeon. It also says that it attracted the envy of Kaliber (A Goddess). That might answer the question of who banished him to the Bullet Hell. it was Kaliber herself.

The reason Kaliber cursed him was her Envy.

The ammonicon also refers to a "Dark Power" (You can find that in the ammonicon entry to the Kill Pillars and the Shelletons).
It can be argued that the Dark Power is referring to Kaliber, but it actually refers to the Lich, which can be reinforced by the Shelleton entry:

"Shelletons are hellish servants to the dark power that was banished to the 6th Chamber."
What was banished to the 6th chamber? yep. the Lich.

This is my theory. If you have something to add, another theory, of proof that this theory is wrong, i'd love to read your comments.

Edit number One: Corrected Grammar errors

Edit number Two: Added information and expanded the theory

Edit number Three: Added and edited information

Edit number Four: Added Information

Biggest contributor: Carrier Pidgeons

Additional information: Revolvenants studied ammomancy under the "Creator of the Gungeon himself (AKA the Lich)
The Great Bullet also struck a long time prior to most of the events in the game

[Carrier Pidgeons]

The gun is clearly the Gun that can Kill the Past, but I think you're underplaying the effect of Kaliber in this entire story, and it is entirely plausible that the Hero and the Wizard are seperate.

The Lich was originally the first person to defeat the Gungeon, that is certain (RIddle of Lead, the Hero Statue, and the appearance of the Lich phase 1). However, it seems that Kaliber turned the individual into the Lich, as opposed to him being the Lich beforehand (IE the Shelletons, similar to phase 3, being bound by a "Dark Power", similar to the "dark power" of the Kill Pillars, which the last one is a statue of Kaliber. These lead to the assumption that the Lich is equally bound / controlled by Kaliber, as well as the Statue being that of a man, not that of the Lich; he came in mortal.)

While the Wizard and the Hero could be the same, the disappearance of the Wizard could equally be due to the creation / use of the Gun, paradoxes aside. The Hero could be just a random hardcore Joe who wanted to change his past.

I would assume that the Lich was in fact cursed by Kaliber into becoming the Lich, then bound to Bullet Hell; it would explain the entrapment, the result of the jealousy, and why his forms are quite monstrous and similar to the form of Bullet Hell (Phase 2), as they are of the same origin. It would also explain how, on defeat, his life is "reset" by the Gun and why he seems more human once defeated; the curse is broken, he can die and challenge the Gungeon again, much like every other character upon death.


Of course, I love the idea of a cursed hero instead of a cursed "villain" of sorts, which warps my judgement, but I really would like to see him as a character, changing his past to defeat Kaliber; While he cannot change the past prior to the Gun's creation or something along that line (according to the Blacksmith), he could return to its creation and have a REAL showdown, theoretically.

Edit: The Lich being an undead mage could easily be attributed to Kaliber's magic, as the Old King is equally undead / "lives on forever", though the Crestfallen Undead sort of fellow in the Breach says he (Old King) is dead, doesn't he? The same individual says that Kaliber is behind much of the happenings in the Gungeon (Kill Pillars) and seems very unhappy upon the defeat of the Lich, possibly meaning he has knowledge of his past or is frustrated by Kaliber, or any number of things.

[Phineus]

First of all, i never estated that the Hero was the Lich beforehand. I dont know what led you to the assumption that i wrote that.

About the Gun the blacksmith refers to, it is very possible that it's the Gun that can Kill the Past, but it also has a possibility of being the Gun that shot the Great Bullet, which can, though, be wrong, of course, which would lead to another theory i'm currently thinking about (gotta use my free time).

Although the idea of the Lich turnining into a playable character is very cool, it sounds like something for a DLC, if not, it's pretty Unlikely that it will be added. (But who knows? maybe the Devs will give us that gift)

Thank you for adding to the thread! i'll edit the what i said about the Gun, showing that its a lot more likely that it refers to the Gun that can Kill the Past

[Carrier Pidgeons]

Personally, I rather have two backstories, one dealing with Cadence, Ox, the Blacksmith, and the Master of the Keep, and another dealing with Kaliber, the Hero, and (possibly) the Crestfallen blue fellow. If the Master = the Hero, they would be connected, although it may arguably take away from both.

Forgot to address: While it can be argued that the Lich caused the temporal anomaly that traps people within the Gungeon, it can be argued that it was instead Kaliber and the existence of the Gungeon itself; an "all or nothing" sort of deal, exactly like what the Hero statue says; Kill your Past, you've already damned your future. It could also be argued that the creation of the Gun itself caused a temporal break from the rest of the world, allowing for people to technically live unlimited lives, such as how they are doing within, though all of this is conjecture at best. There is not enough information on the Ledge Goblin's time skipping phomena to attribute it correctly to anything.

[Carrier Pidgeons]

The blacksmith referring to the Gun that shot THE Bullet, is unlikely. She says the Bullet came when he was working on that gun, which I assume to be the Gun that can Kill the Past. Her knowledge of how to make the Bullet that can Kill the Past and understanding that she cannot use that Gun makes me assume this. The fact he was working on the GtcKtP (Gun tht can Kill the Past) when the Bullet hit also makes it unlikely he was working on the gun that fired the massive bullet, destroying his own keep.

I thought you meant that the Lich was it beforehand because of the "immortality from the last floor" bit. If so, he would have had to have been a Revolvenant, taking the first steps towards Lichdom, right?

I assume by the "sudden" transformation that it was due to Kaliber, as otherwise he would've had to have been pretty warped beforehand, which isn't evident from the Hero Statue.

[Phineus]

About the Old King, i think the Statues of Kaliber (or the last phase of the Kill Pillars) that are in the room might lead to the assumption that he is BLESSED by Kaliber, achieving Immortality.

About what you said that the Dark Power is related to Kaliber, the ammonicon entry for the shelletons points that its actually related to the Lich (which used magic before he became a immortal being cursed by Kaliber

[Phineus]

The Revolvenants studied Ammomancy "Under the creator of the gungeon itself" That is Lich, that built what was there before the Great Bullet struck. The Revolvenants Looking like the Lich is probably because of that. So, the Lich wasnt a revolvenant

[Phineus]

Also, id like to not put too much of theoretical phisics in the theory, because 1st, its just a game, and 2nd, English isnt my first language, so i dont have too much knowledge about the meaning of more complicated words, unluckly.

[Carrier Pidgeons]

I thought the blue fellow in the Breach (who talks about the bosses you kill) spoke of the Old King as the Dead King; if blessed by Kaliber, then he's undead, similar to the Lich. His appearance would tend to confirm this, as he looks pretty dead for a bullet.

Interesting bit about the Revolvenants; just opened up the game to browse the ammonomicon.
I do wonder whether Kaliber would have cursed everyone connected to the Lich, though. Pure conjecture.

[Phineus]

I'm actually not sure, some ammonicon entries (Ashen shotgun Kin for example) Leads to the assumption that Kaliber (or Lich) wants anyone that enters the gungeon dead.

I dont think Kaliber comes as far as to hate anyone connected to The Lich

It also may be interesting to point out that:
1st: Skullets are reanimated by revolvenants (based on the ammonicon entry)
2nd: Gummies and Spents lived at the same age that the Old King ruled

That means that the Gungeon existed for a LONG time. So, Cadence and the Blacksmith are VERY old, and dont age up

[Carrier Pidgeons]

Strange; the Gungeon appeared to exist before the Bullet hit, according to everything. I always figured the Bullet itself contained the Gungeon (IE 6 chambers within a bullet).

[Phineus]

Originally posted by Carrier Pidgeons:

Strange; the Gungeon appeared to exist before the Bullet hit, according to everything. I always figured the Bullet itself contained the Gungeon (IE 6 chambers within a bullet).

From what i know, there was something (probably some kind of dungeon or castle) owned by the Wizard, and it was where Cadence and the Blacksmith worked at

[Phineus]

hmmm. I just realised two more things: Firstly, the Gunsingers, ammomancers and gunjurers might be the citzens of the planet. I realised that thanks to the intro and the ammonicon entries. i also know now that the Gun that Can Kill the Past WAS made by the Lich. edits incoming

[Carrier Pidgeons]

Well, the was the Castle, which was destroyed by the massive Bullet. The Castle itself was five? chambers, and then upon creation of the Gun, the Wizard was sealed within the Sixth by Kaliber, as that was the last time the Blacksmith ever saw him.

I always assumed the Wizard was corrupted by Kaliber, as the Kill Pillars and his third phase have similar eyes (until his final phase is defeated). I assumed it was indicative of him being 'cursed' in some way until his defeat, at which point the "reset" kicks in.

[Phineus]

Originally posted by Carrier Pidgeons:

Well, the was the Castle, which was destroyed by the massive Bullet. The Castle itself was five? chambers, and then upon creation of the Gun, the Wizard was sealed within the Sixth by Kaliber, as that was the last time the Blacksmith ever saw him.

I always assumed the Wizard was corrupted by Kaliber, as the Kill Pillars and his third phase have similar eyes (until his final phase is defeated). I assumed it was indicative of him being 'cursed' in some way until his defeat, at which point the "reset" kicks in.

The Theory that the Lich is saved from the curse and is reset is the one i believe too.

I think that the castle had 4 chambers (the Hollow is basically a bullet graveyard, which i find unlikely to be present in the Wizard's castle (the gundead didnt even exist before the Bullet struck) And the Bullet Hell is acessed by a anomaly, so i dont think it was present in the Wizards castle) the Bullet probably had the 4th and 6th chambers? i dunno. even the game doesnt say much about this.

[Phineus]

i like to think that the School of gunjurer is outside the gungeon (since the gunjurers, gunsingers and etc are probably citzens from the planet that the Gungeon is in) if not, its probably in the Hollow (the chamber where the gunjurers, gunsingers and ammonancers are most common at)

I'd also like to point that the Kill Pillar's final phase is, indeed, like you said, A statue of Kaliber (Shambling Round's ammonicon entry confirms that). The Statues are apparently modified each time one of the other statues is destroyed (The soul possessing the previous statue goes to the remaining statues, increasing their power) that means that the statue of kaliber is formed when the 4 Bullet Heroes' souls are together. I think that means something, but i dont have an idea of that it is.