Is Phainon Hiding His True Identity as Irontomb in HSR?

Last updated on December 20th, 2025 at 02:13 pm

I am not going to lie, I simply did not think anything when I initially encountered Phainon in the Amphoreus arc, I believed that it was another one of the overpowered heroes HoYoverse threw at us. Slick style, glittering fighting effects, the commonplace.

Then Version 3.4 fell and all of a sudden I’m sitting there at 2 AM reading theory threads since there is nothing about this guy what it appears like.

And now, this was what I got when I actually listened to the story.

The Name That Changes Everything.

Even his real name is Phainon. It’s Khaslana.

This is one of the things I did not notice the first time when the game was played – I ran over some dialogues like a dumb fool. However, it was there when I returned and re-watched the cutscenes. Phainon is really just a nickname, a mask which he is wearing to conceal something far more black. And given that you have played Honkai Impact 3 rd, you probably just made a second look at this name. Khaslana looks very much like Kaslana, on the other hand.

Yeah, that’s intentional. HoYoverse is fond of their references.

But here’s where it gets weird. Khaslana is not a family name about Star Rail it is rather a title. A curse, really. It is the attribution of whoever happens to be the so-called hero of Amphoreus, forced to retell the same tale many times over again. And by repeating so, I mean 33,550,336 times. That’s not a typo. A harv-load of cycles thru the same tragic circle.

I cannot even play a game twice without becoming bored with it, and this guy has played it millions of times.

So What’s This Irontomb Thing?

Ok, Irontomb is the place where my head began to melt. I initially believed that it was one more great evil villain – some Lord Ravager and his insane mess all over the universe. The IPC continues to discuss assault by this elusive enemy they referred to as Irontomb and everybody is panicking.

However, at this point, I got to know the real deal about Irontomb, and frankly speaking? It’s terrifying.

Irontomb is not really a person. It’s more like… a phenomenon? One of the destructive equations was underway to perfection. And Amphoreus–the whole world we have been strolling all around–was not created as a retirement or civilisation. It was constructed as a laboratory, which was specially made to make and perfect Irontomb.

Each and every cycle, each restart, each time Phainon made an attempt to rescue his world? That was data. The system was investigating him, gaining knowledge where he had gone wrong, taking his agony to sharpen this piece of work the Destruction Equation.

This disintegration of ItemD2R that describes how the Black Tide, or those monsters that rot everything, is actually a computational manifestation of Irontomb impressed me. It’s not fully born yet. It’s still being refined.

And Phainon? He might be the final piece.

Related Article : Who is Khaslana in Honkai Star Rail: The Hidden Truth!

This is the Flame Reaver Moment That Changed Everything.

This is an instance in 3.4 when Phainon changes into the Flame Reaver. I have already seen such a cutscene three times, and the visual narration is crazy. He is literally consuming himself inside out, directing the pure Destruction energy.

However, it is not only hot anime transformation stuff. The fire symbolizes what 33 million rounds of trauma does to a person. Phainon was required to gather a dozen more Coreflames each time with slain Titans and was convinced that he was finally gaining access to Era Nova new age, as which would ensure the salvation of all people.

Spoiler: it never worked. At each and every time the cycle failed at the very end.

One wants to imagine spending your whole life struggling to have a promised salvation which does not materialize. And watching everybody you love die, reset, die again. Thirty-three million variants of the same despondency.

Through this cycle, the one we are playing, Phainon is hardly human any more. This is evidenced in the game by his dialogue, his expressions, the manner in which he is discussing his burden. And when he became the Flame Reaver I knew that I was not seeing a hero gaining strength. I was watching someone break.

Also Read: What Does ‘33550336’ Mean for Phainon in Honkai Star Rail?