Recap / Genshin Impact: Archon Quest, Interludes

Genshin Impact Main Recap Index
Archon Quests: Prologue | Chapter I | Chapter II | Chapter III | Chapter IV | Interludes
Character Stories: Mondstadt | Liyue | Inazuma | Sumeru | Snezhnaya
World Stories: Mondstadt | Liyue | Inazuma | Sumeru | Miscellaneous

Act I: The Crane Returns on the Wind

Focus Character: Shenhe
Released: January 5, 2022 (v 2.4 "Fleeting Colors in Flight")
Minimum Adventure Rank: 28
Prerequisite Quest: "A New Star Approaches" (Archon Quest Chapter I, Act III)
World Effect: Adds the Jade Chamber as a warp point

Jade Chamber Rising

Months after the Osial crisis, the Traveler overhears Ningguang making an important announcement at Yiyan Temple confirming rumors that she is planning to build a new Jade Chamber. While the construction site has been chosen and most materials are already accounted for, Ningguang explains that she is missing three key materials—Sunset Vermilionite, a rare kind of Plaustrite, an ore with levitational properties; Wonder Cores, special devices to be used as the central mechanism of the Chamber; and Adepti Sigils, which are to be used to integrate the Chamber's mechanism with adeptal arts—with the incentive of hosting a private audience to the first three people who can submit the materials. After most would-be competitors left, the Traveler approaches Ningguang, to whom Paimon immediately asks for pointers about running a business before the Traveler can even begin asking for their sibling's whereabouts. Ningguang points them to the construction site at an abandoned mine near the Golden House before she takes her leave.

Afterwards, the duo see two men trying in vain to offer information on the materials to a silver-haired woman. The pair follow them to the pond in front of Bubu Pharmacy, where they hear them trying to extort money from her to cover their gambling debts, noting that she is apparently wealthy enough to try food from Liuli Pavilion, Xinyue Kiosk, and Wanmin Restaurant, then leave after only taking a bite. The Traveler and Paimon report the men, Scar Liu and Qiang the Brave, to a nearby Millelith, Zheng, who immediately arrests them.

With both men out of the way, the woman introduces herself to the duo as Shenhe, who thanks them for their intervention lest she end up killing both men, to Paimon's shock. Paimon recalls the two men's anecdote about her unusual eating habits, to which she admits she eats Qingxin, Glaze Lily, and Violetgrass, all medicinal herbs. After suggesting to Shenhe that she visit Bubu Pharmacy, Paimon wonders with the Traveler whether she is an adeptus, given her unfamiliarity with Liyue Harbor. In the Pharmacy, Shenhe orders a pound each of the herbs and immediately eats them, to the astonishment of the duo and Gui, the Pharmacy's herbalist. Though she finds the resulting concoction bitter, she claims this is her way to keep herself from being tempted to stay in Liyue Harbor and its delicacies, reinforcing Paimon's suspicions. Shenhe also claims that she is in the Harbor to assist with the building of the new Jade Chamber, albeit not as a competitor; nevertheless, she agrees to help the Traveler and Paimon out of gratitude for coming to her aid earlier, even as her offer of helping eliminate the opposition continues to shock Paimon. The group is approached by Baizhu, who has come to personally fetch supplies of wound dressing Ningguang bought, with Qiqi having already been hired to help. Asked about Sunset Vermilion, Baizhu claims almost all known ores have been mined, then points them to the Feiyun Commerce Guild, which might know more about it.

Seagaze Sunset

At the Guild's office in Feiyun Slope, the Traveler, Paimon, and Shenhe find Xingqiu coordinating with Xu about strange orders the Guild has received lately. Upon learning that the trio have joined Ningguang's competition, Xingqiu admits that the Guild only owns one piece of Sunset Vermilionite which it has also recently put up for auction, but discourages them from participating therein, as the ore is estimated to fetch as high as half a billion Mora, well beyond their means. However, he tells them the tale of Sea Gazer, a long-deceased adeptus and friend of Mountain Shaper, who is rumored to own an abode filled with rare treasures, including the Vermilionite; judging from books he read, Xinqiu deduced that the abode may be located in Lisha. Shenhe assures the Traveler and Paimon that Sea Gazer is a benevolent adeptus who did not mind intrusions into his domains, and encourages the Traveler and Paimon to follow her, even as Xingqiu notes Shenhe's resemblance to his friend Chongyun and warns the trio about the dangers inside adeptal domains.

At a pond on the western face of Mount Tianheng, Shenhe uses adeptal arts to reveal a Seelie that leads to Sea Gazer's abode behind a waterfall below. Inside, the Seelie seems to descend below a thick fog the trio could step on. With Shenhe's help, the Traveler and Paimon unseal special mechanisms creating the fog across three layers. After the final layer has been unsealed, the trio fall into a cave, where they resume following the Seelie until it stops next to a small shrine containing a large chunk of Sunset Vermilionite. Shenhe volunteers to carry the ore all the way to the construction site, asking the Traveler and Paimon to meet her later.

En route, the Traveler and Paimon can meet personnel from the Ministry of Civil Affairs who note that Keqing is at work at Guyun Stone Forest. Should the Traveler visit her there, she explains that Ningguang has commissioned her to build Guizhong Ballistae—or rather, their approximation thereof—in anticipation of something.

After some time, Shenhe arrives with the ore in tow, explaining to Baiwen that she is merely an assistant to the Traveler and Paimon. Baiwen is impressed at the talent the duo brought, as she appraised the Vermilionite as the largest gathered so far, then points the contestants to their nearby lodging before leaving. When Paimon asks Shenhe what she felt about being praised, Shenhe exhibits indifference, even some annoyance at being called an adeptus. Realizing Shenhe is tired, Paimon offers her to stay in the lodgings, then rejects her suggestion that she spend the night in the wilds to meditate. At the lodgings, Ju'an, the innkeeper, informs them that they arrived just in time, as there are only two rooms left; as one of them is still being cleaned, the Traveler and Paimon allow Shenhe to rest in the one already prepared while they dine away the time. The Traveler and Paimon then sight Cloud Retainer atop a rock overlooking the lodgings, and decide to pay her a visit.

There, Cloud Retainer reveals that Shenhe is actually a human who she first met when she was six, inside a cave fighting off the lingering remnant of a fallen god with nothing but a dagger. After finishing off the remnant, she took in Shenhe under her proverbial wing as disciple, training her in the adeptal arts. Unfortunately, Moon Carver divined that she also has a curse that frequently manifests as aggressive, nigh-murderous urges, which the adepti remedied by binding her soul with red ropes, albeit at the expense of dampening almost all her emotions. Cloud Retainer asks the Traveler to take care of Shenhe, even as she denies having come to look after her, merely that she is monitoring the Qixing's ability to respond to crises such as the one she and her fellow adepti detected lately, warning that they will not hesitate to retake the reins of Liyue should the Qixing be found wanting, before bidding the Traveler and Paimon to rest for the night.

The following morning, Shenhe informs the Traveler and Paimon that she saw them talking with Cloud Retainer, and apologizes to them for not having told them sooner about herself, as well as thanks them for accompanying her, before proceeding to continue the search for the two other key items Ningguang requested.

Bygones Times Like Dust Passing

The following morning, the Traveler can visit Qiqi at the docks at Chihu Rock, who claims to be helping evacuate cityfolk in preparation for a coming calamity from the sea, which Shenhe confirms if the Traveler also visits Guyun Stone Forest.

At the construction site, the Traveler, Paimon, and Shenhe find the under-construction Jade Chamber already floating through the Sunset Vermilionite they brought, as well as Beidou and another girl having also submitted the Vermilionite ore to Baiwen. Beidou introduces her companion as Yun Jin, the most famous opera singer in Liyue, who is also in the competition and is working with Beidou. Yun Jin proposes that she, the Traveler (with Paimon and Shenhe), and Beidou work together to be the three winners, and while Beidou returns to the Alcor to work with her crew, the quartet head back to Liyue Harbor to consult with Master Zhang, proprietor of Hanfeng's Ironmongers next to the local Adventurers' Guild. Yun Jin explains that she wanted to ask for Ningguang's permission to use her second Jade Chamber as the venue for her latest opus, The Divine Damsel of Devastation, based on a popular folktale about an adeptus fighting off an evil spirit.

At Hanfeng Ironmongers, Zhang, who claims to have also worked on the first Jade Chamber, explains that Wonder Cores are easy to create, but the ores required are rare: Starsplinter Iron, found atop Mount Tianheng but detectable only by Vision holders; and Subrosium, which is even rarer and is said to be only found using a special trick. The group head to Mount Tianheng where, after reminiscing how her father used to hike the mountain with her, Yun Jin describes the plot of her play, where a village in the mountain came under attack from a monster, who took a herb picker hostage and demanded that her husband sacrifice their child to it, and how a little girl stepped in and defeated the monster, for which the adepti took her in as one of them. As the Traveler notices the tale's similarity to Shenhe's past, the latter points out that the girl may not have been as brave as the story suggests, which Yun Jin defends by citing artistic license.

After the quartet find a pair of Starsplinter Iron, Yun Jin suggests asking locals for Subrosium. At an abandoned village west of the construction site, the group find an old man who quietly points them to the apparent location of Subrosium. Shenhe recognizes the man as Mingjun, who is surprised to find that her, a native of the village, alive after being presumed dead for years. While Shenhe and Mingjun exchange stories, with the former telling of an earlier visit to her hometown and her dismay at its forlorn state, and the latter noting her better disposition now that she has found friends, the Traveler, Paimon, and Yun Jin scour the village and find a notebook chronicling the struggle of a person who lost their spouse to illness, who in a fit of madness took a book from Mingjun about summoning a god to resurrect their loved one, who demanded that they offer their daughter—Shenhe—as a sacrifice, pointing that her curse may have caused the death of her other parent, and how ultimately they came to regret their decision to abandon Shenhe in a cave and committed suicide. Yun Jin realizes that The Divine Damsel of Devastation was an embellished account of Shenhe's past, that the child sacrifice and the girl who defeated the demon were both her, and rather than being forced to be a sacrifice Shenhe's father left her to her doom, leading her to suggest that her own father rewrite the opera's script once she gets home. Elsewhere, they find another notebook chronicling the fall of a branch family of exorcists, starting with the mother's death from an illness a couple weeks after they moved in, the daughter's disappearance, and the father hanging himself on a tree in the yard of their house, as well as the appearance of traces of an evil god that caused the village to be abandoned, which Yun Jin believes might be Shenhe's family. Finally, the trio find a paper of instructions for finding Subrosium, namely by standing in the middle of a lake south of Mount Tianheng facing the setting sun.

The trio return to Shenhe and Mingjun still exchanging stories, with the latter telling the former that he would annually offer flowers to the ruins of their old hometown and that he always wanted to apologize to her for failing to stop her father from summoning the evil god; Shenhe assuages his guilt, given that she no longer has strong feelings towards her father. After as Mingjun left, the Traveler, Paimon, and Yun Jin report back to Shenhe, with the latter apologizing for the embellishments in her opera, which Shenhe took in stride, admitting that she would have also wanted to be as brave as the girl in the tale and use her powers for good, which Yun Jin assures her that she will one day. The Traveler and Paimon can also encounter Xiao, who has also been informed by Ningguang of a threat from the sea, and has since been keeping vigil should the threat extend beyond Mount Tianheng.

Upon collecting the Subrosium, the quartet return to Hanfeng Ironmongers where they rendezvous with Beidou, who concedes that Suling, the Crux Fleet's resident blacksmith, has not seen a Wonder Core. Shenhe reveals that Cloud Retainer has sent her to Liyue Harbor to bring Adepti Sigils to Ningguang, as well as help her reintegrate to human society despite her own insecurities. Together Shenhe and Zhang forge the Wonder Cores and Adepti Sigils, which they then bring to the construction site.

Where the Heart Finds Rest

At the construction site, the Traveler, Paimon, Shenhe, Yun Jin, and Beidou submit the remaining materials to Baiwen, who declares them the winners, hence giving them the privilege to have an audience with Ningguang in the new Jade Chamber. At the entrance to the Chamber, Ningguang thanks the group for their hard work. First, she gives Yun Jin her blessing to have her new play grace the opening of the new Jade Chamber; after Yun Jin leaves to begin preparations, the Tianquan then entertains the Traveler; unfortunately, she still has little information on their sibling, so in their place Paimon asks for business advice, which Ningguang also preempts by warning her that not every financial advice works, though she is willing to provide financial aid in their time of need; finally, Ningguang turns to Shenhe, to whom she expresses her hope that the latter can one day find a reason to fit into Liyue Harbor. Beidou briefly reports to Ningguang that that preparations on the part of the Crux Fleet are also completed; after she left, Ningguang informs the Traveler, Paimon, and Shenhe that she built the new Jade Chamber for other reasons than being another vanity project, which will become clear once the Chamber has risen.

At Ningguang's cue, the Jade Chamber slowly rises into the skies, even as the skies over Liyue Harbor darken into a thunderstorm, and from the sea emerges another colossal sea dragon, who Ningguang identifies as Beisht, wife and follower of Osial, having been warned months prior by Beidou of her stirring; knowing that she harbors deep hatred against the Jade Chamber that defeated her mate, Ningguang built a new one to lure her out and defeat her without the adepti's help. Ningguang then fires the Guizhong Ballistae from the Jade Chamber at Beisht, followed by those at Guyun Stone Forest manned by a Millelith battalion led by Keqing and Ganyu, and those at the Alcor. In response, Beisht roars and summons a tsunami that threatens to engulf all of Liyue Harbor. The Traveler tries to lunge at Beisht, but she fires a beam of energy that knocks them back to a tall rock at Guyun Stone Forest. As Shenhe comes to their aid, she has a flashback both to her father's abandonment, but also to her first encounter with Cloud Retainer, who assures her that once she learns to use her powers for good she can truly become part of human society. Filled with righteous fury, Shenhe uses her adeptal arts to freeze the tsunami. As it shatters, Keqing uses the opening to resume fire on Beisht, forcing her to retreat beneath the waters, with Shenhe in hot pursuit.

In an underwater domain created by Beisht's escape, Shenhe is surprised to find that the recovered Traveler and Paimon has followed her, explaining that Beisht is severely injured from their attacks and is only being carrying on out of sheer hate; nevertheless, she accepts help from the duo, and together they defeat Beisht, who retreats for good, with Shenhe deciding not to follow her lest the domain cave in on them. Once the trio reach dry land, Shenhe reports to a newly-arrived Ningguang that Beisht has been dealt with and has retreated far away from Liyue; Zhengmao, a Millelith stationed with Keqing and Ganyu, reports minimal casualties on their front, and thanks Shenhe for her actions, which she takes as a sign that she has been accepted by her fellow humans.

After Zhengmao left, Ningguang notices Cloud Retainer monitoring the aftermath of the Beisht crisis. Despite claiming the operation only went smoothly due to Shenhe, the adeptus nevertheless expresses satisfaction with the Qixing's response, even having reverse-engineered the Guizhong Ballistae, and decides to continue monitoring the Qixing for the time being; noticing that Shenhe was happier in the outside world than the last time, she entrusts the Traveler with her wellbeing as she returns to the mountains. Ningguang encourages the trio to rest up before returning for the opening ceremony of the second Jade Chamber. Should the Traveler choose to, they can also talk to Keqing, who notes that, despite casualties being within the expected range, she still has a lot to learn from the experience.

Later that night, the Traveler, Paimon, and Shenhe visit the new Jade Chamber to celebrate its opening with the debut of The Divine Damsel of Devastation, which Yun Jin edited to incorporate anecdotes from Shenhe's story, having added a prologue where a widower summoned the demon in the vain hope of resurrecting his spouse, as well as an epilogue that shows the damsel, now a grown woman, returning to find her hometown abandoned but finding new friends who would help her use her powers for good. The performance ended, Yun Jin approaches the Traveler, Paimon, and Shenhe, and thanks them for giving her input on her work; however, some drunken guests try to hit on Shenhe, seemingly recognizing her as the damsel in Yun Jin's tale, to whom Shenhe threatens violence again, much to the Traveler and Paimon's consternation.

Act II: Perilous Trail

Focus Character: Xiao
Released: May 31, 2022 (v2.7 "Hidden Dreams in the Depths")
Minimum Adventure Rank: 40
Prerequisite Quests: "A New Star Approaches" (Archon Quest Chapter I, Act III); "Transient Dreams" (Imperatrix Umbrosa [Ei and the Raiden Shogun] Story Quest, Act II); "Rise Up, Golden Soul" (Taurus Iracundus [Itto] Story Quest, Act I); "Wherefore Did the Spiritstone Descend?" ("The Chasm Delvers" World Quest Series, Part 6); "A Teapot to Call Home: Part I" (World Quest)

The Unexpected Guest

Shortly after their first expedition into The Chasm, the Traveler and Paimon return to the Chasm Nail, where they fought Haftvad earlier. To their surprise, they find Yanfei inspecting the site, who in turn asks them not to disclose her whereabouts before immediately leaving. Immediately after, the duo are greeted by Itto, who has somehow made his way to Liyue, accompanied by a woman who he introduces as Kuki Shinobu, secretary and troubleshooter of the Arataki Gang, which Paimon interprets as Shinobu being the more competent of the two, to Itto's irritation. He asks the Traveler if they saw Yanfei, which Paimon nearly lets slip. Shinobu explains that, following the repeal of the Sakoku Decree, she is visiting Liyue, with Itto accompanying her despite her concern over his antics, to receive her law degree from Tongwen Academy, having been in Inazuma to visit her family shortly before graduation by the time the Decree was enforced a few years ago; at her cue, the duo mislead Itto as to Yanfei's whereabouts.

At the bottom of the Chasm Nail, the duo meet Yanfei anew, who explains that she is in The Chasm per the instruction of a will by a man who claims to have lost a magical artifact within. Suddenly an enigmatic woman approaches the group, who Yanfei introduces as Yelan, a good friend and personnel of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, who is also charged with monitoring The Chasm. Unfortunately for Yanfei, Itto has also tailed the group, Shinobu in tow, displeased at the Traveler's misdirection. Despite Yanfei and Yelan warning him that The Chasm is off-limits to the public, let alone a newly-arrived outlander like him, and against Shinobu's advice to pay them heed, an agitated Itto challenges Yelan to a duel. As the situation escalated, the ground beneath them shakes and crumbles, sending them falling even deeper.

When the group comes to, Yelan points out that her confrontation with Itto may have disturbed the elemental energy inside The Chasm and triggered the collapse. While Itto and Paimon get into a childish argument over both of them being considered the more foolish of their respective pairings (i.e., Shinobu and the Traveler), Yelan inspects the place, then warns the group against disclosing anything they saw within The Chasm. Yanfei then reveals that she is searching for the "Fantastic Compass," an artifact mentioned in the centuries-old will she found, which its author claims to have been given to a man who disappeared in The Chasm, even as she refuses to disclose anything about Yelan other than that she is a personnel of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

In the depths of the unknown parts of The Chasm, also known as the Chasm's Bed, the group comes across an entrance to an Abyssal Domain, from the geology of which Yanfei theorizes might date back thousands of years. The then group hears the voice of a man who the Traveler recognizes as Xiao, warning them to leave him be as he searches for someone. After their communication was cut off, and against Xiao's warnings, the group agree to find him.

Chasmic Maze

After solving the first maze they come across, which involved rotating platforms and defeating hilichurls and slimes, the group are surprised to find that they have returned to their starting point. Intuiting the presence of evil spirits keeping them in, Itto summons Ushi, the Arataki Gang's bovine auxiliary and exorcist, to inspect the area, only for him to fail to find anything, let alone an exit, with Yanfei noticing that wherever they came from has also been sealed. The group splits up to look for an exit, also to no avail, with Itto noting that he sensed the presence of some shadows moving to and fro. To calm their nerves down, Shinobu prepares a bonfire and some Lavender Melons to cook, during which Yanfei reveals that she first met Shinobu back when she served as substitute teacher for the latter's class. After a while, Yelan returns from her reconnaissance to warn the group to mentally prepare themselves for a lengthy stay, having noticed something strange about the place. Remembering that Xiao is also inside the Chasm's Bed, the Traveler tries calling out to him, but to no avail, leaving them to come to the same conclusion as Yelan. For now, hwoever, all they can do is spend the day talking with their companions.

Danger All Around

Later, Paimon complains over feeling like she has been stranded twenty days, despite the Traveler claiming they only felt like a day had passed. This made Yanfei realize that they have not eaten, drank, or rested despite having different perceptions as to how long they have been trapped, as though their physical states have been suspended, while the Traveler recalls their failure to summon Xiao. Afterwards, Yelan returns, claiming to have found a new path leading deeper into the Chasm's Bed hidden behind an illusory boulder.

The group comes across a maze consisting of six gravity-defying platforms arranged like the inside of a six-sided die, where they activate a series of runes from four of the platforms in order for a mechanism at the main platform to emit a beam of light that opens up a portal on the opposite platform; along the way, they hear Xiao seemingly confronting someone he does not want to fight. After clearing the maze, the group head to the portal and come across an illusion of Xiao, who warns them to get out of the Chasm's Bed despite Yelan asking him to rendezvous with her group before he is abruptly cut off. With little option but go ahead despite his warnings, the group agree to jump down the portal, with Itto going ahead of the rest.

Below, the group fail to find Xiao, but instead find another door. As ever, Itto tries to punch his way across, only later finding a mechanism to open it, to his embarrassment. Inside, Itto is met by Inazumans who accuse him of being a bad influence on the children and pelt him with beans, which Shinobu explains is an Inazuman custom to drive out bad luck, even as she is confused over the door seemingly leading to Inazuma. With Itto unwilling to reenter, Shinobu tries her luck, and finds her mother chiding her for reading books and instead urging her to join the Grand Narukami Shrine as a maiden; outside, she confesses that she studied in Liyue to escape familial pressure to carry out a family business she deems lucrative but restricting, leading Itto to intuit that the space beyond the door reveals the deepest fears of any who dare enter.

Yelan passes up on her turn, so Yanfei enters in her stead, where she finds a husband and wife arguing, revealing that her greatest fear is handling civil disputes, for no amount of objective analysis can match the emotional investment of both sides. Once again, Yelan declines to enter, claiming that, as an associate of Ningguang, she is privy to some of Liyue's greatest secrets, even subtly threatening to kill them should they learn too much. With the group agreeing to no longer press Yelan on the matter, the Traveler volunteers to enter the realm.

Inside, the Traveler finds themselves inside a platform underneath a starry array; the portal behind them disappears, though they find a way out, from which they fall back to the pond from which they fell from the maze they solved earlier. Returning to the party, they describe what they saw as the Abyss that took away their sibling. As Paimon claims to feel fatigued, Yelan and Shinobu note the anomalous nature of the Chasm's Bed, as though it is keeping them trapped by preying on their worst fears and slowly draining their energy, and conclude that they ought to retreat and regroup.

In the meantime, Shinobu confides to the Traveler that, despite the lawbreaking antics of Itto and the rest of the Gang, she'd rather put up with them than be restricted with a lucrative job as long as she is free to follow her heart's desire; meanwhile, Itto steels himself and Ushi for a long-term stay in the Chasm's Bed and having to face his fears; and they brainstorm with Yelan and Yanfei about ways to escape the Chasm's Bed.

Afterwards, Yanfei invites the Traveler for a private dialogue. She confides that she thought it convenient that the group saw Xiao at the same time the Traveler discussed him, and theorizes that the Chasm's Bed is an eldritch location where the laws of time, space, and logic do not apply, suspecting that they got in touch with Xiao through a spatial distortion, and that the door they saw earlier might have led to something more sinister, as though the Chasm's Bed is luring them into a trap. Nevertheless, she also suspects that it did not count on their ability to communicate with Xiao, hence its interruption of their conversation. Wanting to save Xiao before it's too late, Yanfei suggests to the Traveler that they keep using their imagination in the hope that they can contact him again. Using the illusion-breaking method she secretly learned from Yelan, Yanfei uncovers another part of the cave, at the end of which she, the Traveler, and Paimon find another rift from which they come into contact with Xiao, who they convince to rendezvous with them despite his concern over his curse affecting them. Xiao emerges from the rift, albeit badly injured, and they bring him back to camp, where Yanfei encourages him to rest.

While Xiao took a much-needed rest, the Traveler, Yanfei, and Yelan hold a private conversation, with Yanfei warning them of the eldritch nature of the Chasm's Bed and Yelan revealing that she found an illusion of the same kind of catalyst once crafted by her clan, suspecting that the Chasm's Bed seems able to read their minds to lull them into a false sense of security. Furthermore, on the condition that they keep what they hear confidential, Yelan reveals that she volunteered to be reassigned to The Chasm upon its reopening so she can continue investigating stories about a horde of dark beasts from Khaenri'ah which attacked the seven nations of Teyvat half a millennium ago, against which Rex Lapis and the Millelith barely held the line until someone distracted the monsters, and even then the forces of Liyue suffered several casualties, including two of her ancestors, one of whom went missing while the other was driven insane. This left the Traveler wondering what exactly happened during the Khaenri'ah Cataclysm, to say nothing of who Xiao was fighting and how they can escape the Chasm's Bed.

End of the Line

Afterwards, the Traveler returns to Paimon, who they inform that they have rescued Xiao while she was asleep. Asked by Yanfei what he is doing in The Chasm, Xiao confesses to her, the Traveler, and Paimon, with Ushi eavesdropping on them, that he is trying to ascertain the fate of Bosacius, oldest of the Five Foremost Yakshas, of which he is the last surviving member, who is the only one to disappear whereas their three other comrades-in-arms are known to have slain each other in a fit of madness from their excess karmic debts accumulated through fighting remnants of evil gods; he also admits that he came with little information save for a report about an unnamed yaksha luring the demons into The Chasm during the Khaenri'ah Cataclysm, hoping that said yaksha is Bosacius, who he unfortunately met under adverse circumstances and severely injured him. Yanfei suspects that all these may be related to her search for the Fantastic Compass, to which Xiao replies that they really heard his voice, also leading him to suspect that the Chasm's Bed is luring them into a trap, and proposes a plan to bring the group out to safety.

Yelan, who was eavesdropping, approaches the group to confirm their suspicions about the Chasm's Bed. Xiao then proposes sacrificing himself to bring the rest of the group out, over their protests, especially Yelan, knowing the gambit is not guaranteed to succeed. Itto interjects, having heard of the argument from Ushi, who defuses the situation by punching a hole through the cave so hard he is knocked unconscious from fatigue. While Yelan inspects the hole, Shinobu admits that Itto can be as self-sacrificing as Xiao, if only because he hates infighting, then tells Xiao that she concurs with Yelan that he cannot just sacrifice himself when there is still an opportunity for the party to get out whole, then asks him, the Traveler, Paimon, and Yanfei to go ahead of her, Itto, and Ushi. Yelan returns to confirm that instead of a way out, the hole led to another domain, but decides to press on anyways and reenters. After Xiao also goes ahead, Yanfei confides to the Traveler that Yelan has strong feelings against self-sacrifice out of survivor's guilt over having seen so many of her allies die in the past, then uses her adeptal art to install a barrier to protect Shinobu, Itto, and Ushi, before the trio head deeper.

The Traveler, Paimon, and Yanfei come across another distorted landscape dominated by a gigantic compass-like device, which Yanfei identifies as the Fantastic Compass, hovering above a portal. Yanfei then encounters Treasure Hoarders, and after defeating them, she posits that they are illusions of Hoarders sent after her by a disgruntled defendant who lost to her a few days ago, created by the Chasm's Bed to break the group's spirits. She finds a medium-sided copy of the Compass, the manipulation of which changes the portal's destination to another time and space, within which several Fatui emerge, with Yelan joining Yanfei in fighting them off, even as they hear the voice of a man apparently struggling to get out of the dungeon using the Compass.

Upon further manipulation of the Compass, the quartet encounter Xiao in another landscape beneath a blood-red sky, who refuses to let them help him in his fight against a malevolent entity he identifies as Bosacius, or at least his illusion, who seems to have mistaken him for an evil spirit. After defeating the phantom, Xiao exorcises it for good. Recalling the phantom's words, Xiao realizes that it was Bosacius who lured the evil spirits into The Chasm centuries ago, presuming that he remained anonymous because in his fit of madness he forgot his habit of announcing his name before going to battle, though being a yaksha he was drawn into The Chasm by the rumblings of war, where he fought to his last breath. As Yanfei and Yelan began to feel more exhausted, the group manipulates the Compass to reach their next destination, as Xiao bids a final farewell to his brother-in-arms.

Across the fourth portal, the group finds no enemies, but a note which, together with other ones they found in the domain, compile to read a record of the Millelith stranded inside the Chasm's Bed, led by Boyang and another yaksha, spending their final days keeping watch over the monsters trapped with them. Yelan notes that Boyang is one of her two aforementioned ancestors, specifically the one who disappeared, before urging the group to go deeper into the domain.

At last, the group comes across an Abyssal realm, which Yelan interprets as the Traveler's memory of emptiness. The Traveler then sights their sibling, and as they give chase, the sibling disappears, leaving in their wake a smaller version of the Fantastic Compass, which Yanfei suspects might be the genuine artifact, a point seconded by Yelan by noting it similarities to catalysts once used by her clan. The group retrace their way to Shinobu, Itto, and Ushi, during which Yelan deciphers any hidden message within the Compass, Xiao describes Bosacius as the most powerful of the Foremost Yaksha, and Yanfei wonders whether she can bring the Compass with her outside The Chasm.

At Tunnel's End, Light

Outside the domain, Yelan tells the other four that she found a note from Boyang describing his adventures in The Chasm. According to the note, he and his fellow thaumaturges were sent by the Qixing to take the Fantastic Compass to assist the Millelith against the creatures of Khaenri'ah, aided by a four-armed yaksha who, though mentally unsound, nevertheless proved to be an asset; later, Boyang and his brother Rongzhao discovered an underground palace that emits a force that seemed to suppress the powers of the creatures; Boyang then volunteered to lure them in and seal them while Rongzhao assists from the outside, even at the cost of him, the yaksha, and the Millelith being trapped within; and as the days go by, with the cave seemingly regenerating itself whenever they try to break through, the ranks of the Millelith dwindle until only he and the yaksha remain, and even then he, too, began to feel the deleterious effects of the latter's karmic debt. Yelan reveals that Rongzhao was the ancestor who returned with his sanity damaged from exposure to Bosacius' curse, given that none of the contingent hold Visions. Realizing that Boyang died inside The Chasm, Paimon begins to panic and accidentally knocks over the Fantastic Compass.

As Yelan and Xiao touch it at the same time, the orb at the center of the Compass lit up. Remembering that she found the will inside a book about an adeptus using a catalyst with his human friend to seal away demons, and given her half-human, half-adeptus nature, Yanfei tries to activate the Compass using both human thaumaturgy and adeptal arts; though its response is brief, she takes it as confirmation of the tale's account, more so after the Compass played a recording of two men citing an incantation of cooperation between adepti and mortals, who Yelan deduces to be Boyang and Bosacius. Meanwhile, the Traveler remembers the Chasm Nail falling onto Haftward during their earlier expedition, wondering whether or not its fall weakened the seal to the Chasm's Bed, as well as noting the absence of Abyss monsters.

The group reunites with Shinobu, Itto, and Ushi, to whom they relay their discovery. The Traveler suggests that Xiao, an adeptus, and Yelan, a thaumaturge, are their best candidates to use the Compass together to escape the Chasm's Bed, with Yanfei chiming in that if the Compass was used to create the seal, she can also reverse-engineer it to undo the seal.

As the group prepares to leave the Chasm's Bed, Yelan warns Yanfei that, given the illusory nature of the area, the Fantastic Compass might disappear once they reach the outside world, and as she wonders about the origins of The Chasm, the Traveler recalls having fought Haftvad, at which point Yelan reveals herself as their savior back then, before apologizing for the inconvenience she caused, even as Paimon assuages her guilt; she also muses that while the Chasm's Bed trapped them with hallucinations from five hundred years ago, the discovery of the Fantastic Compass seemed like a miracle borne from their collective desire to escape, as well as, according to Yanfei, the Traveler's strong desire to reunite with their sibling.

Yelan recites an incantation to activate the Fantastic Compass, while Xiao, wearing his yaksha mask, volunteers to maintain the flow of energy, creating a platform of pure light to lifts them up to the surface. Midway through, however, malevolent forces emerge, seemingly out to keep them trapped. As Yelan fights off the entities, Xiao reminisces on his meeting with Zhongli at Wangshu Inn—hence making him one of the few people to know that Zhongli is Morax in disguise—asking for his permission to visit The Chasm and verify Bosacius's whereabouts.

Even as Yanfei and the Traveler join Yelan in repelling the malevolent entities, they only grow in number and threaten to engulf the platform, forcing Xiao to further exert power over the Compass. Though the group manages to break through, with the Traveler seeing a faint light at the end, the platform begins to crack and Xiao's mask breaks, a sign that he cannot hold on for much longer, forcing him to use the last of his strength to teleport away the Traveler, Paimon, Yanfei, Yelan, Shinobu, Itto, and Ushi to safety, before the platform finally breaks, sending him plummeting back into the depths. As he falls, Xiao notices rays of Geo energy flowing into him, and the next thing he knows, he has joined the rest of the group on the surface, with Zhongli observing them from a distance before leaving, as he and Yelan watch the Fantastic Compass fade away.

Yelan thanks Xiao for bringing them out of the Chasm's Bed, even as she acknowledges that she cannot easily talk him out of the nigh-suicidal mindset he cultivated over the centuries, with Xiao thanking her back for her assistance, before leaving to check on further unusual activity, which Yanfei interprets as Yelan having given up on trying to sway him. Meanwhile, Itto has just woken up and is surprised to find that he and the rest of the group are already outside. Yanfei apologizes to him, Shinobu, and Ushi for getting them caught up in her troubles, which he dismisses by crediting her with bailing him out of prison after he got into trouble again in Liyue. To celebrate their newfound friendship, Yanfei offers Itto, Shinobu, and Ushi to taken them on a trip across Liyue Harbor and a dinner afterwards, though the Traveler declines the offer, citing other matters to attend to.

After the four left, the Traveler and Paimon return to Xiao, where they are met with Yelan, who has returned from her reconnaissance to report that nothing unusual is around. After jokingly threatening them to keep their discovery secret, she compliments them for their joint effort in The Chasm, even as she hints at future expeditions to further unlock its secrets and that she is aware of divine intervention during their escape, before leaving them be.

Once they are alone, Xiao invites the Traveler and Paimon to a vista near the temple of Pervases south of Mount Tianheng. There, he contemplates on his self-sacrifice gambit earlier, noting that yakshas like him are fated to die in the battlefield. The Traveler claims that he is lying to himself, leading Xiao to think that his nigh-suicidal lack of self-preservation may be his own form of madness borne of his karmic debt. The Traveler then tells him something Ushi told them before they parted ways, interpreted by Itto, about how he was used by Inazumans to exorcise demons before meeting Itto, with whom he has enjoyed a newfound sense of freedom ever since, which Paimon interprets to suggest that just because Xiao had dangerous powers does not mean he should drive away the people who genuinely care for him. These words reminded Xiao of his brothers- and sisters-in-arms—Bosacius, Menogias, Bonanus, and Indarias—who would often talk of settling down once the world was at peace, while he, then known as Alatus, bore no such thoughts, before contemplating on how, even with his strength, he still needed those of Yelan and the rest to escape the Chasm's Bed, as well as that of Rex Lapis when he fell behind.

Xiao and the Traveler then realize that during their escape they reeived a fragment of Bosacius's memory, and try to recall what they saw, namely a vision of Boyang and a largely senile Bosacius spending their final days inside the Chasm's Bed, where the former helps the latter remember that they allowed themselves to be sealed away with the beasts of Khaenri'ah. Even as Boyang admits to missing Rongzhao and his own family, Bosacius struggles to remember his, before he sees four shadows created by a makeshift fire Boyang prepared. He then recalls the horror of watching his brothers- and sisters-in-arms being driven mad by their karmic debts and killing each other, which give way to happier memories of the five Foremost Yakshas enjoying life. Finally, he recalls the name his brothers- and sisters-in-arms called him, as well as his purpose: he is Bosacius, and he has come to The Chasm to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Xiao admits that he has come to terms with his destiny to spend his life fighting, and tells the Traveler that he is opening up to them after Rex Lapis assured him of their trustworthiness, and now that he has learned of Bosacius's fate, he has also come to pay his respects to Pervases. The Traveler assures him that Bosacius, Boyang, and all the Millelith who sacrificed themselves are all heroes, a notion Xiao begins to warm up to, realizing that their sacrifice has made the world a slightly better place, and he accepts the Traveler's offer to aid him in his future battles.

Act III: Inversion of Genesis

Focus Character: Scaramouche / The Wanderer
Released: December 7, 2022 (v3.3 "All Senses Clear, All Existence Void")
Minimum Adventure Rank: 40
Prerequisite Quests: "Akasha Pulses, the Kalpa Flame Rises" (Archon Quest Chapter III, Act V); "A Strange and Friendless Road" (Acer Palmatum [Kazuha] Story Quest, Act I)
World Effect: Removes all character voice lines alluding to Scaramouche.

The Night-Bird Falls at the Curtain's Call

Weeks after Nahida's ascent to her rightful place as ruler of Sumeru, the Traveler and Paimon decide to visit her again at the Sanctuary of Surasthana and seek an update about the Traveler and their sibling. At the entrance to the Sanctuary, they overhear Aqaba, a scholar of the Akademiya's Vahumana Darshan, and Sawada, an Inazuman historian and novelist, debating the direction of their joint investigation about a series of mysterious events in Tatarasuna. Having heard of the Traveler's exploits, both men ask for an input, to which they can unfortunately offer little, stating that they also wanted to learn more about Tatarasuna.

Aqaba, who admits that his professor chose the subject, of which even Inazumans know little about, as a personal challenge for his students, reveals that recently some records were found in Tatarasuna about a swordsmith named Mikoshi Nagamasa who crafted a blade, only to throw it into the fire after slaying his servant Katsuragi for reasons unknown. Sawada, who has confirmed the historical existence of these characters from around four hundred years ago through a friend who works in the Tri-Commission, adds that the records also mentioned a kabukimono, an eccentric stranger with an unsual outfit and personality, who disappeared shortly before a series of misfortunes befell the island; furthermore, the mysteries surrounding Tatarasuna, long the center of Inazuma's metalworks industry, seem centered around a government official named Niwa Hisahide, scion to a branch clan of the Kaedehara, the last practitioners of the Isshin school of swordsmithing and swordsmanship, and that the kabukimono is not a human, but a puppet. The Traveler suspects that it might be Scaramouche, before motioning to Paimon not to say too much.

Sawada and Aqaba then allow the Traveler to read drafts of the former's novel, The Isle of Darkling Clouds, and the latter's essay, "A Brief Analysis of Possible Events of Historical Importance in the Tatarasuna Area," even as they continue to debate over the direction of their respective works, at which point the Traveler and Paimon think both men are just doing guesswork. Afterwards, the Traveler and Paimon discuss their suspicions about the kabukimono, before they sight Scaramouche walking past them, to their alarm.

The duo make haste towards the Sanctuary of Surasthana, where Paimon warns Nahida that Scaramouche has apparently escaped custody, only to realize that the Balladeer is also inside, and almost immediately they begin trading verbal barbs anew. Nahida explains that she struck a deal with him where he will help her scour for information within Irminsul, despite Paimon's misgivings in light of their hostile relations, with Scaramouche retorting that she—and by extension, the Traveler—would have gladly gotten rid of him but for Nahida's mercy. The Dendro Archon assures the duo of the fairness of the deal, just as she did with Dottore, citing that Scaramouche does not pose as much a threat as before, having spent much of his power during their battle, and that he fell out with the Harbingers following his defeat, even suspecting that the Fatui may have orders to dispose of him lest he divulge compromising information, hence she offered him protection in exchange for his cooperation. Nahida asks Scaramouche to join forces with the Traveler and Paimon, then turns to the duo and, citing that both the Fatui and Irminsul have records of their sibling, convinces them to agree to supervise Scaramouche, who has gone ahead, while he uses his remaining powers to sift through Irminsul for information on the Descenders, of which the Traveler has been classified as one; despite their apprehensions about the potential of him double-crossing them, the Traveler reluctantly agrees.

Inside Irminsul, now a more serene place without the pollution of forbidden knowledge, the Traveler and Paimon catch up to Scaramouche and bicker anew, before Nahida, communicating to them from the outside, asks them to strike a truce and concentrate on the mission. The Dendro Archon opens a path to the innermost levels of Irminsul, an otherworldly landscape bathed in blue light, where Scaramouche orders them to follow him closely, warning them not to touch anything they come across lest they risk tampering with the memories of Teyvat.

The trio reach a phantasmal tree symbolizing the heart of Irminsul. At Nahida's instructions, Scaramouche begins scouring its records, while the Traveler wonders whether he was as subservient to his fellow Harbingers as he is to Nahida. In the meantime, Nahida holds a telepathic conversaion with the Traveler and Paimon; after the latter two express surprise at Scaramouche's willingness to follow orders despite his hostile language, the Dendro Archon explains that she is helping the Balladeer confront secrets about himself. Remembering their and Haypasia's vision in Pardis Dhyai, the Traveler correctly deduces that Scaramouche's abrasive personality was shaped by the apparent betrayals of Ei, who deemed him unfit to hold the Electro Gnosis, a swordsmith who adopted him before turning on him upon discovering his nature, and a little boy who died too soon; in addition, they relay to her Aqaba and Sawada's discussion about Tatarasuna, to which Nahida reveals that their theory about the Furnace having been sabotaged was accurate. Scaramouche, sensing the private conversation, tells the Traveler that he has failed to glean information about their sibling, before noticing a strange sapling from the tree, which the Balladeer believes to be anonymous data.

Upon inspecting the sapling, Scaramouche, the Traveler, and Paimon had a vision of Niwa, supervisor of the Mikage Furnace, from the perspective of a Fontainean engineer named Escher, who compliments Niwa for his leadership, and Niwa in turn compliments his idea of repurposing Crystal Marrows, once used by the Shogunate to absorb dark energy during a calamity around a century ago, for forging weapons. The conversation took a dark turn, however, when Niwa confronted Escher over the latter's suspicious lack of concern over reports of medical and environmental hazards surrounding the Furnace, which grew so dire as to claim the life of a worker and necessitate Niwa to send the kabukimono to seek an audience with the Raiden Shogun; it also did not help that, for a supposedly lowly mechanic like Escher, the latter knew how to take advantage of the cautiousness of Niwa's second-in-command Nagamasa over such matters, given that he is still seeking to redeem the Mikoshi Clan's good standing with the Shogun after his adoptive youkai mother Torachiyo turned her sword against her lord in a fit of madness and was struck down for it. As Niwa resolves to enter the Furnace and repair it, even at great cost to himself, he demands that Escher reveal his true identity.

As soon as Niwa turned his back, "Escher" fatally stabs him and sarcastically compliments him for having suspected him from the start, as Niwa realizes that he is out to stop him from repairing the Furnace. "Escher," revealing himself as Dottore, explains that he is planning to manipulate the kabukimono into joining the Fatui by implanting Niwa's heart onto him, corrupted with his dying hatred towards "Escher," and convince him to absorb the dark energy around the Furnace. Refusing to give in and remembering that the kabukimono always yearned for a heart, Niwa asks Dottore to tell the puppet that he and Nagamasa always saw him as a human before he succumbed to his wound. Dottore then removes his "Escher" disguise and reports to Pierro, leader of the Harbingers, on the success of his infiltration, as well as introduces him to a puppet who they can either initiate into the Fatui should he prove useful or eliminate otherwise.

The vision ended, Scaramouche breaks into mad laughter tinged with despair, as Nahida reveals to him, the Traveler, and Paimon that she gleaned the information while she pried into Dottore's consciousness to make sure that he will go through his deal with her to kill all his segments in exchange for her surrendering the Electro Gnosis, summing up that not only did Niwa, Scaramocuhe's first friend, not betray him to begin with, but that Dottore killed him and then lied to him about said betrayal.

While waiting for Scaramouche to calm down, the Traveler, Paimon, and Nahida hold another private conversation, where the latter discloses what she knew about the kabukimono who would become Scaramouche. Around four hundred years ago, Katsuragi found him and took him in to live with the people of Tatarasuna, until Dottore discovered him in the course of his work and sought to experiment on him; to this end, he murdered Niwa, then extracted his heart, and placed it in a device that would serve as that of the kabukimono, who has just returned from Narukami empty-handed, before ordering him to absorb the filth in the Furnace, while the mechanic who assisted him claimed that Niwa fled in fear of punishment for the crisis at the Furnace, and that the heart which protected him from the filth belonged to a servant he killed in his escape; driven mad by Niwa's apparent betrayal, the kabukimono threw the heart in disgust and left Tatarasuna. Though the trio think Scaramouche's tragic past is no excuse for the atrocities he committed since, they cannot help but be appalled at Dottore twisting him into what he has become.

Afterwards, the Traveler and Paimon check in on a still-seething Scaramouche, who assures them and Nahida that the discovery of the truth about his past will not affect their current objective. While he failed to glean information on the Descenders from Irminsul, he nevertheless offers inside information from the Fatui about the Traveler's sibling, who according to Pierro was summoned to Teyvat and first appeared in Khaenri'ah, where the future co-founder of the Fatui used to work as royal mage. Scaramouche then erects a barrier around himself, the Traveler, and Paimon, hence cutting off communication with Nahida, then holds the Traveler's hand to telepathically ask them whether or not it is possible to change the past; though the latter remained silent, he took it as an affirmative answer, and immediately dives into Irminsul to erase all traces of himself and give all those who died because of him another chance at life. Afterwards, communication with Nahida was restored, who the Traveler and Paimon alert of what the Balladeer just did. In response, Nahida decides to conduct her own investigation, and teleports the Traveler and Paimon out of Irminsul for the time being.

The Traveler and Paimon find themselves in an inn, where they will have to stay until Nahida gets the situation under control. When the Traveler that Scaramouche tried to rewrite history by erasing himself, Paimon, fearing for the people related to him, panics and accidentally knocks a vase off the table, even as the Traveler privately fears that, in the worst-case scenario, everyone connected to the Raiden Gokaden, including their friends Kazuha, Ayaka, and Ayato will disappear, before deciding to sleep away the night.

The following morning, however, the Traveler realizes that Paimon has no recollection of Scaramouche, which they take as a sign that history was altered. Fearing the worst, they decide to visit Inazuma to find out what was changed.

A Dance of Destruction

Optional Prerequisite Quest: "The Firmiana Leaf Falls" (Custos Cypressos [Ayato] Story Quest, Act I)

The first place the Traveler visits on their return to Inazuma is the Amenoma Smithy, where they ask Tougo about the story of the Raiden Gokaden. According to Tougo, it was a group of five swordsmithing schools—Amenoma, Futsu, Isshin, Hyakume, and Senju—under the tutelage of the Raiden Shogun, of which only the Amenoma school is left until Kazuha's return from self-imposed exile revived the Isshin school; around four centuries ago, Niwa and a swordsmith of the Hyakume school sacrificed themselves to repair a catastrophic malfunction at the Mikage Furnace; unfortunately, the latter left behind an orphaned, newly-poverty-stricken son, who would grow to hate all of Inazuma and the Raiden Shogun for their perceived inaction, indoctrinating his vendetta into his clan through the centuries, until a hundred years ago the then-current head of the household took action by murdering anyone associated with the Raiden Gokaden until he was struck down by swordsmen from the Kaedehara and Kamisato Clans. The Traveler realizes that, though Scaramouche altered history, that still did not prevent Niwa's death, merely changing the circumstances thereof. They then ask Tougo about Kazuha, who the latter claims has just shared tea with him, which they take as a sign that he is alive and well.

Next, the Traveler visits the Kamisato Estate, where Hirotatsu, the estate's guard, informs them that both Ayato and Ayaka are away on official business, though he allows them to wait inside; there, they ask Furuta about the siblings, to which she replies that the Kamisato siblings continue to lead the Yashiro Commission, to the relief of the Traveler, knowing that not only are they alive, but have also retained their positions and remain their friends. In addition, had the Traveler met Ayato earlier, the elderly housekeeper would also mention him and Thoma often dining together.

Finally, the Traveler visits Tatarasuna, where they run into Xavier inspecting the Furnace. Asked about the story of Tatarasuna, the Fontainean engineer recalls the earlier malfunction, repaired with the help of another Fontainean engineer, albeit he does not recall anything about a kabukimono. The Traveler concludes that most of the changes only affected Scaramouche, while other details, such as "Escher"/Dottore's involvement, remain intact, and decides to report back to Nahida.

The Kabukimono's Finale

On the way to the Sanctuary of Surasthana, the Traveler and Paimon come across Aqaba and Sawada anew, who lament that they made little progress, even as the Traveler notices, upon re-reading their respective works, changes that edited out all mention of the kabukimono, before filling them in on what they learned about the tragedies that befell Tatarasuna and the Raiden Gokaden.

Afterwards, the Traveler reports back to Nahida, who claims to have no recollection of Scaramouche, to their alarm, remembering that changes to Irminsul also affect her like it did when she erased Rukkhadevata. To the best of their recollection, the Traveler fills her in anew on the story of Scaramouche. While Nahida muses that the Traveler, being an outsider to Teyvat, is immune to changes to Irminsul, the latter wonders whether or not Scaramouche interpreted their earlier silence as an affirmative, having hesitated to answer him out of fear of accidentally revealing Rukkhadevata's existence to Nahida and hobbling her anew with her insecurities. Nahida theorizes that, once he learned that he was never betrayed, Scaramouche let go of his past hatred and attempted to change history, even though all it did was merely alter the circumstances of Niwa's death.

To verify the Traveler's claims, Nahida retrieves a cube made of Dendro energy, which she reveals is a backup record of Scaramouche, albeit reinterpreted as a fairy tale. The story tells of a kitten carved from white wood and abandoned by humans who was adopted by a skulk of foxes, to the jealousy of a hideous monster draped in fox fur; when the monster put the foxes' home mountain to the torch, a gray fox volunteered to extinguish the fire, only for the the monster to kill it and turn its heart into a drop of water, with which it told the kitten to sacrifice itself; nevertheless, the kitten survived and the fire was extinguished, after which it befriended an injured little bird; unfortunately, the bird soon died, and the kitten left the mountain, angry at the world and threatening to destroy it. Afterwards, Nahida reveals that the backup was extracted by the Sages, presumably for the purpose of controlling Scaramouche had his apotheosis been completed; when she took control of the Akasha, she rewrote it into a fairy tale and sealed it away in her dreams to protect it from tampering, even as she remains unsure whether or not the alterations to Irminsul have affected the Harbingers. In the meantime, she encourages the Traveler and Paimon to take a break.

While eating snacks in the Grand Bazaar, the Traveler remembers Rukkhadevata's words that one cannot delete themselves from Irminsul without creating a paradox, having created Kusanali/Nahida for that exact purpose. They and Paimon then overhear a merchant giving orders to a young man in white, who the former recognizes as Scaramouche, now a volunteer drifter, to find a batch of Sunsettias stolen by a child. The Traveler and Paimon stalk the Wanderer, as they call the new Scaramouche, to the northwestern entrance of Sumeru City and are taken aback at his new, mellower personality. The Wanderer spots them, but fails to recognize them, though he admits to being a puppet when asked of it by the Traveler, who proposes to bring him to someone who knew who he used to be, but not before allowing him to return with the Sunsettias to his employer, who reveals that he sheltered the Wanderer after finding him walking aimlessly in the rain, and peacefully releases him from employment, knowing he has better things to do.

The Traveler and Paimon introduce the Wanderer to Nahida, who briefly mistakes him for a shugenja, an Inazuman pilgram; in turn, the Wanderer admits to knowing nothing about his past. The Dendro Archon explains that she, the Traveler, and Paimon do know of his past incarnation, and after the Wanderer assures her that he is willing to hear of it, however sordid it may be, Nahida fills him in on his actions up until the present, and even offers to show him his memories, which he resolves to confront.

Nahida transports the Wanderer, with the Traveler and Paimon to supervise him anew, to recreations of his past memories. First, they enter Shakkei Pavilion, where the Electro Archon placed the slumbering kabukimono, witnessing him wake up and be discovered by Katsuragi. Nahida explains that in the original history, after Dottore killed Niwa and then accused him of treason, followed by the disappearance of the kabukimono, Nagamasa, as the highest-ranking officer left, came under intense political scrutiny; out of loyalty to his liege, Katsuragi willingly took the blame, even forcing his liege to execute him. The group then moved into another room, where they overhear Katsuragi bringing the kabukimono to Nagamasa.

Next, the trio move into a rundown house, where they see the kabukimono living with a sickly young boy, who claims to have lost his swordsmith parents to the pollution of the Mikage Furnace. Nahida explains that, despite his promise to the kabukimono to be his eternal friend, he succumbed to the same disease soon after, which the kabukimono took to be his third betrayal.

Next, the trio move into a darkened hallway, where they overhear Pierro inviting the kabukimono to join the Fatui. Moving further leads them into a fog-filled room, which Paimon recognizes as the Delusion factory in Yashiori, where she and the Traveler had a run-in with the kabukimono, then known as Scaramouche. There they had a vision of Signora visiting him there, where he was assigned to oversee the Delusion production, even as she belittles him as little more than a pawn who, when not being experiented on by Dottore, is being sent to dangerous operations in the Abyss; in turn, Scaramouche retorts that she is never a good negotiator and warns her not to get too swayed by emotions, much less be lulled into a false sense of invincibility; before leaving, Signora bites back that he, too, is not above having emotions over returning to the nation where a century ago he killed dozens of swordsmen, and reminds him that he, sixth-ranking of the Harbingers, is only two ranks above her due to his ability to endure punishment.

Next, the trio move into Deus Foundry, where they find Scaramouche and Dottore discussing the project to turn the former into Sumeru's new God of Wisdom with Azar and another scholar who claims to represent the Amurta Darshan in lieu of its Sage, Naphis, who alongisde his Vahumana counterpart are the only ones opposed to the project. Azar informs the group that the process will permanently bind Scaramouche's body to the machine, which he considers not as bad as his time under Dottore, who in turn laments being unable to conduct experiments on him whenever he is sent to the Abyss and warns him to behave himself lest he destroy him, much to the discomfort of the trio.

Finally, the group reach the depths of the Foundry, where Nahida assures the Wanderer that even though he does not have a heart, the fact that he was able to experience emotions was enough for him to be considered human. In turn, the Wanderer asks the Dendro Archon to restore his memory of his past sins so he can confront them, if only so he could have a purpose in life, which the Traveler interprets as being related to Rukkhadevata's words that one cannot easily erase themselves from the world's memory, musing that facing past-life sins are also part of one's destiny.

As Nahida returns the Wanderer's memories to him, his past life flashes before him, from Ei's decision to set him free to the kindness shown to him by Katsuragi and Niwa. As his mind bears the pain of the influx of memories, the Shouki no Kami emerges and attacks the party. The Traveler tries to fight the machine god while the Wanderer is rendered immobile, but it proves too much and nearly crushes the Traveler anew. At the last second, they are protected by the Wanderer, having regained the same fierce expression and vorpal tongue he once had as Scaramouche and now wielding an Anemo Vision. After a fierce battle, the Wanderer defeats the Shouki no Kami, and though he has regained his vicious personality, it is clear to the Traveler that he has changed.

As Though Morning Dew

Back at the Sanctuary of Surasthana, Nahida welcomes back the Traveler, Paimon, and the Wanderer, who now refuses to be addressed as "Scaramouche," what with its associations with the Fatui. Though he failed to restore the lives of those who died because of him, he claims his trip to Irminsul was not entirely in vain, having erased himself from the annals of the Fatui. Furthermore, he deduces that Nahida may have deliberately left memories of his past life to allow him to recover them on his own and make him swear fealty to her; she admits as much, though she also points out that she allowed him to learn the truth, as otherwise merely controlling him would make her no different from Dottore, a notion the Wanderer downplays, claiming wise leaders like her attract competent helpers like him. Nahida then promises to continue helping the Traveler retrace their sibling's journey through Irminsul.

The Wanderer then turns to the Traveler and asks them their purpose for visiting Inazuma, to which they reply that they investigated the changes there; in response, he tells them that he now owes them for their efforts, and vows to repay the favor in the future, though Nahida tells him that life is not always a matter of transactions, and that while he cannot change the past, he can always look forward to the future, convincing the Wanderer to help the Traveler, Paimon, and Nahida from the shadows. Nahida then encourages the Traveler to give the Wanderer a new name to help him find a new direction in life, even as Paimon struggles to come up with a derogatory nickname.

After the Traveler gives him his new name, the Wanderer states his intent to make the Fatui pay for manipulating him, especially Dottore, while Nahida advises him that he needs to compose himself. The Wanderer then asks the Traveler to inform the surviving descendants of the Raiden Gokaden that he was responsible for their downfall, claiming they deserve to know the truth and that he is willing to accept whatever punishment they have in store for him. As the Wanderer left, the Traveler, Nahida, and Paimon notice how much he changed underneath his hostile façade, before adjourning for the day. Outside the Sanctuary, the Wanderer overhears Sawada pitching to Aqaba the ending to his novel, where Nagamasa lived to a ripe old age even as he remained haunted by the past, and smirks as he walks past.

The Traveler and Paimon return to their lodging, where they notice the broken vase, to the latter's confusion and leaving the former to wonder why it is still broken when the Wanderer has supposedly altered reality. The duo then hear the voice of a woman who warns them that the fate of Teyvat cannot be easily changed, even by one with godlike powers, beyond superficial details; nevertheless, she tells them that even if history cannot be changed, human hearts can, and that they ought to believe what they see. While Paimon expresses confusion about what she just heard even as she cleans up the broken vase, the Traveler interprets the woman's words to mean they should also trust their memories, leaving them wondering what awaits them in the future.