Hethereau

Overview

Hethereau is the sprawling supernatural metropolis that forms the entire open-world setting of Neverness to Everness. Unlike traditional fantasy RPG worlds built around forests, dungeons, and medieval villages, Hethereau is a thoroughly modern city. Its streets are lined with highways, convenience stores, residential neighborhoods, and neon-lit commercial strips. Beneath this urban exterior, however, the city is plagued by supernatural disturbances known as Anomalies, phenomena that defy common sense and can range from mildly strange to genuinely horrifying.

The Bureau of Anomaly Control is the government organization responsible for managing both Anomalies and the people who possess supernatural powers (Espers). Players are recruited by the Bureau and assigned to Eibon Antique Shop, a small business in the Bridge District that doubles as an anomaly hunter crew. From there, players investigate cases across Hethereau's districts, uncovering the deeper mysteries behind the city's supernatural activity.

City Design

Hethereau is designed as a seamless open world with no loading screens between districts or indoor and outdoor spaces. The city can be traversed entirely on foot or by vehicle, and the transition between normal urban environments and supernatural alternate spaces happens in real time without any interruption. The world uses Unreal Engine 5 with Lumen global illumination and Nanite virtualized geometry to render the city at a high level of visual fidelity.

NPCs throughout Hethereau follow daily routines. Residents walk the streets, gather in groups to chat, pull out their phones, and react dynamically to player actions. Traffic AI governs vehicle behavior on the city's road network, with realistic collision physics applying to both NPC vehicles and the player's own car. The city feels alive in a way that reinforces its modern urban setting.

Districts

Hethereau is divided into four known districts, each with its own character and gameplay significance. Two of these districts were available from the first closed beta test (CBT1), while two more were added during the Containment Test (CBT2) in July 2025, expanding the explorable city to approximately 1.5 times its original size.

Each district has its own visual identity and architectural style. Furniture styles available for purchase are exclusive to different districts; northern areas of the city tend to have fancier, more upscale options compared to other neighborhoods.

Dynamic Day-Night Cycle

Hethereau features a full day-night cycle that continuously shifts the visual atmosphere of the city. Daytime presents the metropolis as a bustling urban environment with pedestrians, traffic, and normal city routines. Nighttime darkens the streets and alters the mood, with neon signs and streetlights becoming the primary light sources. NPC routines change based on the time of day, and certain encounters and events are only available during specific hours.

Dynamic Weather

The weather system cycles through multiple conditions that have both visual and gameplay effects:

Supernatural Transitions

One of Hethereau's defining features is the way Anomalies can seamlessly transform the surrounding environment into a surreal, creepy alternate version of the city. These transitions happen in real time without loading screens or visual cuts. Normal streets, buildings, and the skyline warp into twisted, otherworldly versions that reflect the anomaly activity in the area. The technology behind these transitions allows the game to maintain its seamless open-world design even during the most dramatic environmental shifts.

During anomaly events, the atmosphere can shift from a calm urban evening to a nightmarish supernatural landscape within seconds. This creates a constant tension between the familiar comfort of the modern city and the lurking danger of Anomalies breaking through.

Points of Interest

Key locations within Hethereau include the Eibon Antique Shop (the player's home base in Bridge Crossing), the offices and facilities of the Bureau of Anomaly Control, the Pink Paws Bank (where Chiz works as a banker), and numerous convenience stores, restaurants, and residential buildings that can be explored freely. The city also contains various anomaly hotspots where supernatural disturbances are more likely to manifest.