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Axiom Archive Cycle Records is the collection of in-game lore texts kept on the top floor of the Axiom Archive in Crimson Desert. The records consist of six volumes containing 107 individual entries, with each entry corresponding to one previous cycle of the world's time loop. Together they are the single most detailed in-game source for the long history of the abyss guardians' attempts to defeat Umbra, and they explain most of the main story's hidden context.
The records are physically located at the very top of the Axiom Archive, the floating domed library that sits in The Abyss and serves as Alustin's base of operations. To read them in full, players must work their way up through the archive's puzzle sequences. Although the building itself is accessible from Chapter 1, the cycle records only become available toward the very end of the main story, which is why the game's plot can feel disjointed on a first playthrough.
The records are organised into six volumes covering 107 cycles. Each entry treats one full loop of Pywell's history, recording the choices the guardians made that time around and the reason that loop ended in failure. The current playthrough is cycle 108, which is why no entry exists for it yet.
Volume | Notable Content |
|---|---|
Volume 1 | Origin of the abyss, formation of Umbra, and the early cycles up to roughly cycle 16, including the first time Cliff received the Force Palm and the first dispute between the guardians. |
Volumes 2 to 3 | Middle cycles. Includes cycle 17 (the failed attempt to ally with Kirush the Slayer), cycle 18 (the surfacing of Hex Marie as a dark reflection of White Crow), and cycle 25 (the first introduction of Mygu and Wusa). |
Volume 4 | Cycles 39 through roughly 66. Records the failed cycle 39 attempt to leave Pailune out of the conflict, the cycle 45 disaster that produced Gwyn, and the cycle 48 first mention of Marni. Also contains the cycle 60 to 66 experiments with Cliff's character traits and the eventual decision to strip him of most emotion. |
Volume 5 | Cycles 72 through 89. Covers the cycle 72 corruption of Caliburn by Umbra, the cycle 82 collapse of the Grey Mains under Dwayne and Shane, and the cycle 89 decision to seek Blackstar as a flying ally. |
Volume 6 | Final cycles approaching the 100th attempt. Documents the cycle in which Gwyn was first deployed as one of Master Du's trials. Ends just before the current cycle 108. |
The cycle records are the source for almost every plot element that the in-game dialogue does not state outright. The most important reveals include:
The world is in a time loop, currently on its 108th iteration. The guardians of the abyss have been guiding Cliff in some form across all of these.
Cliff's flat affect is a deliberate guardian decision following the cycle 66 conclusion that every emotion seems to lead him astray. Earlier cycles tried granting him confidence, then subtlety, then fearlessness, then heightened responsibility, and each time it produced a different fatal flaw.
In cycle 45 Cliff lost every Grey Main comrade. He adopted the name Gwyn and walked a darker path that left a fragment of him trapped inside Umbra, which is why Gwyn can persist across cycles.
In cycle 89 the guardians chose to deliberately injure Blackstar so Cliff could rescue him and earn his trust. Earlier attempts simply to mount the dragon failed.
In cycle 48 Marni was first noted as a complicating factor whose technology made the path to defeating Umbra harder.
Tallies of the previous 107 cycles also exist outside the archive itself, with copies kept in Gwyn's hideouts and at Master Du's cloister. These cross-references make the cycle count consistent across multiple in-game sources.
Players who want the full lore experience should visit the top floor of the Axiom Archive and read each volume in order. The records appear as interactive book objects on the upper shelves. They are not required for main-story completion, but missing them leaves most of the game's larger plot context unexplained. Several side-quest characters, including Kirush the Slayer and the eastern witches Mygu and Wusa, appear in earlier cycle entries before the main story ever introduces them, so reading the relevant volume before encountering them in person provides extra context.
Axiom Archive
Alustin
Master Du
Umbra
