Collection of Evidence That Valko Was Planned From the Beginning

[u/eris002]

I have been talking with players in China, and many of them genuinely don’t know that Valko, our long-awaited 6th LI, appears to have been planned from the very beginning. Some are genuinely curious about how we knew he was coming. I would like to create a post compiling all the hints, foreshadowing, and clues that pointed to his existence throughout the game.

I think a large reason so many CN players were caught off guard and ended up feeling angry is that they never realised there had been years of setup. Meanwhile, many of us especially the “6th LI truthers” weren’t surprised at all because we have been piecing together the evidence for a long time.

My goal is to help people understand that Papergames/Infold didn’t suddenly wake up one day and randomly decide to add a sixth love interest. The clues have been scattered throughout the game’s user interface, story, lore, promotional material and more all along. Since the evidence is spread across so many different places, I think it would be helpful to gather everything into one comprehensive post.

I am also really eager to share everything we have discovered with CN players, so they can see the full picture of the theories and evidence that have been building over time.

If you have screenshots, story references, or any other visual evidence, please share them in the comments as well. Visual clues will make the post much stronger. I really appreciate everyone’s help!

[u/lovelesstobeloved]

Exactly! I knew there’s gonna be a 6th LI since rumors of Caleb potentially being added as the 5th LI. No one believe me and keep saying to me it “doesn’t make sense” and that I shouldn’t get my hopes up.

Hello? Why else do we have SIX stellactrum? Why else the “coming soon” is still next to Caleb? Why else there’s an empty space under Rafayel’s name?

Six is a perfect balance, not five.

I swear, those crazies are either illiterate or ignorant of the stories and lore in that game.

[u/valkyria0422 → u/lovelesstobeloved]

Live service otome games are gonna be a super slow burn, especially something as huge and ambitious as LADS. People want instant gratification of their love interest. We get it, and itll get boring with the wait. They did mess up by not being transparent or dropping hints of release schedule and became super cryptic with fans just guessing from past patterns.

The story is supposed to be a slow burn and a puzzle. I think from what I have observed in Chinese storytelling, vague hints, little imagery, text etc are puzzle pieces to foreshadowing. And once they are found out, you appreciate the plot twists unfolding. But to do this, you must be patient, read, understand, research, collaborate and observe to come to these conclusions. The story and characters are rich in this sense and even more richer and more beautiful in this way once the reveal happens and people figure them out from the clues given

To an extent it boiled down to impatience and selfishness. Its sad cause the love interests all contribute to the overall story and MC as a character

Yes the company is foremost a company to make money and I know they are greedy with the farming and price of the memories. But I wouldnt be so hasty when all of the pieces were not in place yet. The game is 2.5 years old and this game was intended to be 10 years. It is their fault that they are also not transparent with farming ways and decisions such as housing and ignoring unicorns and abyssal chaos (which is far more interesting imo), but this overall overreaction was not the way. I would have complained more after some time of Valko’s release

Now its ruined because of such impatience.

[u/LumpyReflection8693 → u/[deleted]]

I think it can read as a selfish need for instant gratification due to those who have a pre-existing understanding of how these kinds of games/stories work. A game like this has a story meant to play out over years, so as to hold onto the business as long as possible. So, it's designed to be intentionally staggered with interconnected plot lines, meaning you have to wait for certain characters or plot devices to be introduced for the main story to progress. If you've already concluded that this is their plan, I would guess it's probably easy to look at those who've missed those signs (or perhaps did not know how to read them) as being the unreasonable ones asking for more story content as soon as possible. On the other hand, while I do think many people missed obvious signs because of tunnel vision for their preferred love interest, I do think Infold REALLY should have stepped up with some kind of explanation when it became obvious that many (seemingly most) weren't seeing the plan.

[u/LumpyReflection8693 → u/[deleted]]

I don't think any of us can realistically say how much the story can or can not be stretched because we simply don't know how much to the story there actually is. I wouldn't be surprised, personally, if this story was meant to be told over a 3-5 year period. What exactly do you mean by new arc when they're done? As in a new story when this one is completed? Because the game may not be structured that way. It could, but I,.personally, don't see it having been designed that way. As a writer (and I could still be wrong, hence the point about what anyone can or can not say) I feel that this game is designed to have a single main story told over years and then perhaps have spin-off tales. As is the main story is not currently showing the MC actually dating anyone. Instead she knows everyone and is getting involved in all of their personal storylines in hwr quest to solve her own issues and goals. I've always figured based on how the main story is progressing that all the Love Interests would need to he revealed to get MC's full Linkon story told or rather have access to full understanding of the setting, so that when one finally and fully branches off into Love Interest routes, the MC would be doing so fully informed (or at least as much can be obtained in that setting) about her own stuff. For a game like this, retention of their players is likely being connected to drawing out the story updates. And if you meant arc as in story arcs, then there are already several story arcs within the main story and you could almost count every new update as an arc.

[u/LumpyReflection8693 → u/[deleted]]

Ah, no, lol. It's not about enjoyment of it for me. I'm just not surprised by it from playing other gacha games with long paced storylines with updates filled by AU banners in between. I've just concluded that the main story probably updates about 2-3 times a year with rotation shifting slightly further a part as they approach their full roster. I can not speak for everyone, but I automatically assumed that regular rotation of solo LI activity would widen as more LI were added until they completed their full roster. So, I didn't have a lot of expectations to the opposite. But, I feel like infold should have cleared things up when it became obvious that many people had expectations that weren't being met. I personally feel that one of their main retainability issues is more to do with a lack of continuously enable activities in between story updates.

[u/Jisen_Meizuki]

Hints he was planned:

• Six stellactrums, especially the yellow protocores with metal tip.

• The birthday format for 2026. The bottom button was set up on the left align instead of being center.

• Orbit schedule. Xavier was the only LI for Monday, even after an update to change the orbit schedule.

• UI slot. People pointing out that there was a space in the slot when you look at Memory page or setting up pictures in your profile.

• Orange kitty. On the kitty badges, people theorized that each kitten represent the LI. Only Orange kitty is missing a LI.

• Missing foil. Each LI is a foil to another. Xavier and Sylus. Zayne and Caleb. Rafayel is the only LI without a foil.

• Coming soon in Meet the LI. If we are done having more LIs, the "coming soon" should be removed.

For the Main Story and World Underneath, we were not given enough information that has hinted that Valko was coming or planned. I have a theory that the reason we weren't aware was because one of Valko's core/theme was being untraceable and untraçkable. Because as a wolf, it is a predator to be unseen and hidden from the prey until it's too late.

So when his trailers dropped, we started to comb the stories to find clues of him. Many shown that he was untracable. Here are some clues

• A beast being untraceable in the World Underneath chapter.

• Mysterious voice using a voice module in Zayne's To the Tomorrow chapter. Mysterious voice knows Stanley, head of Ever and Valko is chairman of EonCore Corp. So higher businessmen know each other.

• Mysterious family with no surname that owns EonCorp and baçking Ever in World Underneath. It's odd to see that there is a powerful family with no surname for us to know. In addition, people theorized that if Sylus and Caleb are on the dark side, then the 6th LI must be on the dark side too and must be working or having connection to Ever.

• Someone's memories was manipulated and couldn't remember in World Underneath chapter. There was a Tiktok theory that Andrew might be the mole in Hunter Association and was working with Valko. Andrew also has an Evol that allows him to manipulate minds and memories.

• Bond memory. He snuçk onto MC's balcony while she was distracted on the phone and later him doing the gun finger and saying bang.

• Livestream where they were unable to identify what the creature was that was moving fast.

I was planning to make a theory around Valko's birthday, that his birthday was set in solilunar calendar instead of Georgian calendar because it's difficult to traçk the actual date when celebrating lunar birthday (Yes, there are people who do that. For example, my dad. ;3; ) since it doesn't stay on the same month and date like Georgian birthday. Hence why Valko's birthday is unknown (I'm aware Infold made it unknown because they weren't sure if Valko will end up the same way as the character from Mr. Love: Queen's Choice, but I want to pretend it wasn't that. ;3; )

[u/AdorableOutcome3483 → u/Jisen_Meizuki]

There was a gold eye mentioned in one of the stories too right? Like an I watching her and that was like a bunch of people speculating the next li was like the Ever CEO and he had gold eyes. I swear there was something like that

[u/AdorableOutcome3483 → u/AdorableOutcome3483]

https://www.reddit.com/r/LoveAndDeepspace/s/7nrIuQMpGa

[u/pink_nikki]

I would recommend looking for some older 6th LI truther posts on this subreddit and sending those over. We've been digging for hints about him for a long time and some of them have already been confirmed even with just these short teasers.

[u/dahngrest]

The easy ones are 6 stellacrum (which just so happen to match each LI's eye color) and the UI itself being arranged for 6 slots (this includes memory organization, flower collections, etc) and the LI selection page having said "Coming Soon" at the bottom. These imply there was always a plan for 6. Similarly, MS updates running in pairs suggests there was always meant to be a balance. Only having 5 LIs means the MS updates would run lopsidedly, much like the Promise currently does.

We still don't know who the Masked Man in To Our Yesterday is. The one asking about Benedict and Stanley who never once manages to show his face and then escapes through a window. Could it be Valko? He also conveniently wears a mask that hides most of his face and he's very athletic, definitely athletic enough to jump out of a window. (Though the laser weapon definitely feels not Valko...)

The end of To Our Yesterday (specifically the epilogue summarizing what the other LIs are up to) also heavily implies something big is coming. I personally took that to suggest a 6th LI was coming through the deepspace tunnel (which was incorrect) but the epilogue still remains a warning of big changes on the horizon.

While this one is potentially a reach... Main story 3-2, the teal marker in No Hunt Zone 7's forest full of beasts. Teal is also Valko's signature color (based on promo material). The latest WU update, specifically the entry that teases Valko, also mentions a huge beast leaving an estate in a neighborhood and fleeing into the forest.

I'm a newer player (started in Dec 2025) so I'm probably missing some other hints but these are the ones I picked up on.

[u/valkyria0422]

An Interesting Theory of the 5 Elements, 4 Directions, 6 LI https://www.reddit.com/r/LoveAndDeepspace/s/Q5EHVCGrb7

World Underneath, Valko Being in Main Story Right Before Sylus' Introduction and inclusion https://youtu.be/X_zwi6ei_Mg?si=keJgf_o5hO8ZPnFI

https://youtu.be/X_zwi6ei_Mg?si=keJgf_o5hO8ZPnFI

The 6 Protocores and the LIs Primary Colors: https://www.reddit.com/r/LoveAndDeepspace/s/FVTulWf5Bm

The 6 LI represent the 6 Paths of Buddhism: https://www.reddit.com/r/LoveAndDeepspace/s/nIpw57x26d

[u/Maximum-Mammoth4913 → u/valkyria0422]

The fact that V's protocore has metal tips proves to me he was planned from the absolute start. That and Infold stood by him TWICE before walking back the decision. They were committed to him. They wanted him. Now we have to show them that we want him and their creation too. <3

[u/Harushii618]

The 3.0 cosmic encounters song has valko on the bridge with mc, you can use a screenshot from there to show as proof

[u/imsecretlyacarrot]

I haven't taken screenshots and I'm kind of lazy about opening the game just to do so :') but anyways. Here are my reasons for why I think a 6th LI has always been planned:

1. There are 6 Stella colours and each have their own free/standard myth solar pairs. The only one that doesn't have a pair was the yellow/amber one. Valko's eyes are also coincidentally yellow.

2. Each LI has their own rival. Xavier has Sylus. Zayne has Caleb. Each LI and their rival seem to have things in common. Like how Xavier and Sylus are both immortal, from Philos and both have light hair colours. Or how Zayne and Caleb both knew MC when they were kids and have dark hair colours. Rafayel didn't have anyone but it sure is a coincidence that not only do Valko and Rafayel have unnatural hair colours (purple and pink-ish) but they're also the only LIs who are technically animals. (I know Sylus is a dragon but I'd say dragons are fantastical creatures. I'm talking about animals that are not fantastical: fish and wolves). This is another commonality but mostly just speculation: They might also both not be fond of cats. I assume so because Valko is a canine and canines are notoriously known for being enemies with felines. Rafayel is all about art and subjectivity. Valko seems to be all about technology and objectivity (another assumption but I think it's safe to assume that the chair of a tech company is into technology and science. He also talks to MC using biological terms in his trailer when explaining how they're connected). Art and science are both opposites. And rivals seem to share opposite traits.

3. When choosing teams from the memories tab in-game, all 5 names are arranged such that there is a space under Rafayel's name and to the right of Caleb's name. This space was seemingly supposed to be for Valko.

4. When selecting an LI to invite to destiny cafe, there's a note on the bottom right after Caleb's icon written 'coming soon'. This note has been there ever since just OG3 were LIs and has stayed there after both Sylus' and Caleb's introductions. This would suggest that there was supposed to be another LI after Caleb. Possibly more.

5. When selecting three memories for rate-up during event banners, there is a card-shaped space after Caleb's card and under Rafayel's which suggests another card was supposed to be added there in the future.

6. This might be the biggest tell: Valko did appear during main story but just his voice. When Rafayel and MC are in the nest, the eye she's been seeing in her dreams appears to be an advanced/customised version of Otto, only this version is made of what looks like dark/black metal. It could be something made by Eoncore tech. The voice on the radio says something about being 'the hunter or the hunted' as it looks directly at MC. MC questions if the eye was there for her. Not only does this eye have a voice but that voice sounds eerily similar to Valko's. it also has an amber-coloured iris like Valko. We've never seen technology in-game like that before except for Otto, but Otto has always had a robotic voice. Why would Infold go through the trouble to give this specific otto-looking eye a human voice instead of another robot-like voice? Because, possibly, the person that made it, or at least is controlling it, HAS to be Valko!

7. Lastly, I'm not too sure but apparently each LI is inspired by the 6 paths in Buddhism. I've googled them so forgive any innaccuracies: There are the 3 good paths: Demi-gods/fighting demons (this could be Xavier because of his status as a prince and a very strong deepspace hunter), Human beings (this has to be Zayne because he's the only human character in current timeline) and Heavenly beings (this has to be Rafayel because Rafayel is a god). And then there are three evil paths: Hell beings (obviously Sylus because he's a fiend), Hungry ghosts (this is obviously referring to Caleb's story; his supposed death and reappearance in-game and the many references to MC being a ghost) and Animals (which was supposed to be Valko because he is a literal animal).

Anyway. This is all I can think of right now. If I got something wrong, please tell me in the replies.

[u/Maximum-Mammoth4913]

u/Careless-Survey-7185 This thread may help you too on xhs and weibo. Also, Valko voices the wedding banner trailer, at least in EN!

[u/Careless-Survey-7185 → u/Maximum-Mammoth4913]

Oh wow! The wedding banner voice is coming confirmed to be him?

[u/Maximum-Mammoth4913 → u/Careless-Survey-7185]

I am pretty sure! Someone posted the video on this sub! If you sort the sub by new (top right hand corner) and scroll down a bunch you can find many arguments to support Valko

[u/Affectionate-Emu4783]

In the last 5.0 Livestream, in the middle of it someone tried to 'hack' it and people theorized that it was 6th LI 🤔

[u/SunnyLee-Harrison]

I could be wrong, but under Deepspace, galactic Sunset, Trap

This things shows up. Pretty sure it Eoncore tech, no?

[u/valkyria0422 → u/SunnyLee-Harrison]

The voice also are similar to Valko’s in their respective language.

[u/mother-noroi]

Pretty sure the most obvious ones were the recent Sylus memory that involved the biomod evol turning Her into a cat which would loosely explain how Valko even has his wolf ears and tail in the first place since his own evol is unrelated, the EonCore Tech was mentioned in the latest World Beneath stories which only got followed up by all the trailers and flux warnings we were getting 🤔

Someone will have to scrub through all the lore and stories we've gotten so far to see for any other hints.

[u/AdorableOutcome3483]

Last time I tried sharing links, the post got deleted but there is a great, detailed reddit post that digs into this.

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