Hell Is Us prefers to keep things unclear. While some storylines and puzzles are fairly simple, there’s satisfaction in solving them without much help. Usually, you’re never completely at a standstill, because the game provides tools to assist, most of the time anyway.
Some puzzles can be a bit more difficult because you might not have a clear starting point. The Enlightenment Mystery is one such challenge. Depending on when you start collecting clues, you might feel more lost than expected. You can’t finish it all on your first try, but the rewards are worth the effort.
How to Start the Enlightenment Mystery
When you enter the Acasa Marshes, its many secrets become yours to uncover, including the Enlightenment Mystery. The problem with this puzzle is that it involves exploring the entire marsh, including areas you don’t have access to until later in the game.
There’s a helpful clue in the marshes around the village. If you have the right password, you can go further into the mystery earlier than expected.
The main goal is to open a special door in the area. Go to Jova’s town and find the well at the center. Climb down into the sewers and navigate around until you find a large, locked wooden door with five symbols around it. You’ll need more clues to open it, so let the hunt begin!
Getting The Symbols Notebook
To solve the puzzle, you need to find the symbols scattered across the marshes and use them to unlock the door. But without knowing where these symbols are or how they look, it’s tricky. There’s a useful hint in the marshes near the village.
Leave Jova from the north and head for the small outpost. From there, you should see some ruins to the east, behind a fence. Along the path, you’ll spot a sparkle on the ground—the clue. Before approaching it, eliminate the Lymbic Entities that emerge from the marsh—they’re easy to defeat since they’re regular enemies.
Picking up the item gives you the Notebook – Symbol Research. Its pages show the same symbols found on the door beneath Jova’s well, along with descriptions. These symbols are:
- U-shape
- Lightbulb
- Cartwheel
- V-shape
- Eye
The notebook also describes whether the symbols are dotted or solid, which becomes clearer once you start matching them in the game.
Finding The Five Symbols
In the marshes, five locations contain torch setups with a symbol beneath each. Activating the correct torch in each spot opens the door in Jova if done correctly. Here’s where to find each one and which torch to activate.
Tip: These locations are dark, so turn on your flashlight to see better.
Symbol #1 – Near ON Peacekeepers
Travel to the southern monument. At the base, stairs lead inside, where you’ll find stranded ON Peacekeepers and a locked Lymbic Door. Opposite the door are the torches. This first symbol is the Lightbulb. You need to activate the Solid Lightbulb—the one on the left with smooth rings around the shape. Light it up to complete this part.
Symbol #2 – Beneath Pathem Abbey
Next, head under Pathem Abbey. You can access this only after reaching Act Two, which happens after placing the Keystone of Grief in the Lymbic Forge. When it’s unlocked, find the torches near the area where Jaffer might be present. Here, the symbol is the Cartwheel, and the required torch is the Dotted Cartwheel, located to the right of the exit. Light it to finish this step.
Symbol #3 – Vigil Training Grounds
Located northeast of the marshes, near the Hermit and the crash site, these grounds need to be unlocked by solving the Martial Lineage mystery—hit the four pillars in the correct order, counter-clockwise. Inside, find the torches with the U-shape symbol. Activate the Dotted U-shape on the left wall to proceed.
Symbol #4 – Cave Beneath Observation Post
This cave is in the marsh outside Jova, near the ON Outpost, and next to the place where you first found the Symbol Research notebook. Although you usually get the password for the gate here as part of the story, you can open it anytime. Inside, find the vault with the V-shape symbol. Activate both v-shaped torches—solid and dotted—located here to continue.
Symbol #5 – Jova Sewers
In the sewers under Jova, beneath the locked door and near the initial discovery point, you find the last torches. The final symbol is the Eye, and you need to activate the Solid Eye torch on the left. Doing so triggers a rumble, indicating the symbols are correctly aligned.
Entering the Door
Once all five symbols are correctly activated, a rumbling sound confirms the puzzle is solved. Head back to the door—you’ll see it open, revealing plenty of items inside, including the Twin Axes of Grief, the Polearm of Ecstasy, and the Crucible of Fire passive relic.
With that, the Enlightenment Mystery is complete.
