[3.4] The Lore of Lantern Rite - Genshin Impact Speculation

[@Ashikai]

**NOTES & CORRECTIONS** - Many of you pointed out that Cloud Retainer actually built a trebuchet and not a loom. It still looks way more like a loom to me, but the trebuchet WOULD make way more sense. Still looks like a loom... - A lot of people keep asking why I didn't mention Ningguang in this video. The argument seems to be that she is full of phoenix and star references and while that is somewhat true, I removed her from the script because I thought she confused the main points in the video more than she assisted. For example, the tattoo on her leg isn't a phoenix (like many assume), but it seems to be a red squiggly. If this is some kind of phoenix symbol, I'd love a source for it because I can't see it personally. She does however have a phoenix on her namecard and her jade screen, but I don't think it actually has anything to do with HER so much as it does her STATUS. Looking at Ningguang's constellations and kit, you'll see she's full of Star references, but rather than say she's referring to starDUST, it's better to say it's a reference to the Qixing since the Chinese name for the office is "Seven Stars of Liyue." By the same token, the phoenix appears to be a symbol of nobility, therefore status - something she covets. Apart from these two small things (and I guess the fact she can use Memory of Dust?) she doesn't have much thematically in common with Guizhong so I decided to leave her out in the interest of time and focus. There's also the whole "Ningguang is a reincarnation of Guizhong" theory which was and still is EXTREMELY popular, and I didn't want to address that can of worms at all. - The comments made about Hu Tao and Venti's involvement in the quest are just my opinion about how they FELT to me, not necessarily a reflection on the importance of the role they played in the quest.

[@DavidJohnson-ib1dh]

I can see the argument for a "trebuchet" (they mean a catapult not a trebuchet). You can interpret the large horizontal lower beam as having a catapult's shovel. But it can't be because (1) the circle isn't in the right place to be an axle, but is in the right place to be the rotatable storage of the finished bolt of cloth on a loom and (2) there's no rope connecting the catapult arm to anything above it to give power to the "spring", nor anything below it to act as a winch. Plus a catapult wouldn't have multiple separate ropes, but that is what a loom would have. 100% it's a loom.

[@ChimeraLotietheBunny]

Still this is a neat video

[@blue_shift_1462]

I'd say it'd be a catapult, like others say, not a trebuchet, as in real life, trebuchets were a vastly superior seige weapon, and therefore, I'd argue that zhongli would side with a trebuchet over a ballista.

[@TheDarKris]

Holy crap the theory that the rite of parting was actually for Guizhong and not Rex Lapis sounds so solid and it blows my mind 🤯

[@talisa222]

I was ALWAYS laughing at this man being so religious and intense about executing what was essentially his own funeral. It made a little bit of sense because he was extremely powerful and no doubt has some ego, plus I pinned it on his valuing tradition highly, but this makes SO much more sense as to why he ran the Traveller across the nation of Liyue to prepare such a proper ceremony. Wow. Such a great theory.

[@erikboncoref.7020]

This one was extremely suspicious, I always thought why was it all designed for an old lady if Rex Lapis was a male, but with this explanation it all makes sense

[@glyphgraph8436]

Remember when we offer the perfume for the rite, and it's all for women according to Ying'er? And Zhongli just laugh it off when we ask him if Rex Lapis is a woman.. Because it is an offering for a woman, not for him.. (i'm just saying this out of memory so it's probably not that accurate)..

[@DarkbladeDuelist]

For me, I cried when we did the Rite of Parting because I thought that it was for Zhongli and I was saddened by his "retirement". And after her explanation, I cried again for Zhongli but this time it was because of the implication of him saying goodbye to Guizhong. Like, saying goodbye to her was to say goodbye to Rex Lapis in a way; so with the Rite of Parting, Zhongli could now be free to be just Zhongli, consultant to Wangshang Funeral Parlor and no longer Rex Lapis, Cheif of the Adepti.

[@mimitogami]

But my question is, why not do it sooner?

[@marar8045]

I did feel the same with Venti feeling like an afterthought, but he wasn’t really. The whole plot was set in motion by him. It’s a reminder that he’s always there in the background. Also, that awkward comedy at the end was gold. Poor Xiao trying to pretend that the two most important archons for him are just guys he just met.

[@Vael221]

Yeah I actually really loved Venti showing up for a cameo (even if I wanted more) because it really helps to show how the world is alive even when we aren't doing something big and dramatic. Plus the teasing and awkward interactions between Xiao-Venti-Zhongli were amazing.

[@Reydriel]

It just adds to the "Venti is sus" feeling as always lol

[@silverhawkscape2677]

Yup. As soon as I heard wind, I knew Venti was there. Also he got free win at all the Statues of the Seven as well.

[@Vika-kz9sq]

Venti: teyvat tour cameo I really want him to meet with Nahida tho. It would be fun and interesting to see his reaction to dentro archon not remembering him, while he knew them well. Based on this we will see how deeply sus Venti is.

[@nox6687]

Guizhong's dress being similar to Lumine's could lend credence to the "Twins are Ancient Teyvatians" theory. Because the Traveler's clothing is supposed to be strange and foreign. So maybe it's less like someone walking around in a spacesuit, and more like someone walking around in a toga; it's so far out of fashion that it's bizarre to see it in the modern day. Guizhong was interested in Ancient Khanreiah, so maybe she picked up on more than just their technology.

[@amari7782]

Except it’s practically confirmed that their not from teyvat at all otherwise it wouldn’t make sense for the traveler to learn the language and the statements of them being from beyond the stars etc wouldn’t add up

[@vergiltasev7108]

@@amari7782 It's possible with Irminsul's erasures, Celestia's censorship of the ancient past and just the natural passage of time. Plus languages change over time and some even disappear. If you left earth and came back after thousands of years, you will be in somewhat the same position as the traveler. We just know that Irminsul regards the traveler as a currently unknown entity and that they came to Teyvat before the beginning of the game but it's not confirmed where they originate from.

[@EimiShahrizai]

@@vergiltasev7108 Yeah this is a theory I have as well. I think it's entirely possible they are pre Irminsul, as my assumption was that Irminsul was created by the Primordial One, but Teyvat as a world existed before it was reordered and the Dragon Sovereigns were defeated. So if they are from before it was planted, it would have no memory of them. It would also better explain how they are so able to wield the elements if they were originally from Teyvat.

[@vergiltasev7108]

@@EimiShahrizai Right, it's curious how these supposed aliens are so well attuned to the ways of this closed off world that has it's own laws and even better than a majority of its current inhabitants. And their innate elemental control could be a result of how the world was more elementally rich back then.

[@mynameisntactually]

ive always wandered why when lumine went to khaenriah getting destroyed in the trailer, she looked so sad. maybe it was their home?

[@DeathByRadish]

I get the feeling that sandrone has multiple puppet bodies resembling dead gods/people from the past that she uses. It's a common anime troupe of an antagonist who can shape shift into someone beloved to throw off the protagonist emotionally. (Envy from FMA, Sasori from Naruto etc.) It's right up genshin's alley to use that concept later.

[@MoonlitReload]

Man, I can't wait for a Genshin Murder Mystery Among Us Arc-

[@LitoraLee]

I have my own crack theory that in genshin, memories are equivalent to power and Gods are unable to truly die unless forgotten about completely. Now, what if, Sandrone puppets are made from both the remains and memories of "dead" gods. They don't just resemble the dead gods, but ARE the dead gods with fragmented memories.

[@joshhallam6342]

Honestly I kinda expecting Sandrone to be another experiment of Dottore considering Scaramouche also Zandik has an big passion on the Kheanri'ahian ruin guard also I feel like they are settling on her downfall as well cause Scaramouche the Former 6th rank who rank higher than her pretty much press the control-art-delete button in the Isumal tree 3.3 trying to change history which ultimate he can't do and now everything up to that ponit still happens just that everyone remember thing weirdly-differently now Sandrone don't know that there was an 6th rank in fauti and he had been defeated by the travler and Nahida and was discarded from the fatui after that currently

[@DeathByRadish]

I also think the memories= strength thing might be true because we've seen that with the aranara. But then what about people like wanderer who has been forgotten by the world? Is he much less powerful now? Also makes the traveler's ability to retain memories more significant. But if the god puppets retain their memories however fragmented I don't think they'll be controlled so I don't think they have memories or personalities but are just being controlled 24/7 by sandrone.

[@manuelaparcedo417]

on the topic of Sasori, I'm a believer the actual Harbinger isn't the female puppet, but much like Sasori is hiding inside the bigger robot and uses the puppet as a weapon (much like Sasori used the Kazekage).

[@nishankcariappa7185]

The eerie part is that we also ended up fixing the Guizhong Ballista during the Rite of Parting even though it wasn't Zhongli who led us there.

[@dorkamolnar8609]

Zhongli and Guizhong being similar to Lumine and Aether just makes me believe in the theory that one of the twins will die even more. Like, Nahida-Rhukkadevata, Ei-Shogun,.... One of the two ceased to exist in all the cases. (I'm on crack theory without actual braincells).

[@_black_bird]

Maybe our playable character already went through, well, something, maybe that's the reason we're not in Irminsul

[@ElliFong]

Also Zhongli being one of the potential descender

[@Agnisuriya]

Twins dying not happening since they only fckin feature aether as mc in every promotional video, art, cut scene's in official handles there's no fckin way they'd like to do something like killing lumine she's less likely to die normally so yeah a kill no no

[@LEGENDARY_KING]

@@Agnisuriya they could "kill" mc as blackbird suggested. Maybe we were erased that is why we're not in irminsul??

[@NaughtyNitrax]

maybe a stretch but venti could also count, he's taking the form of his dead friend, so they look the same as if they were twins

[@salceds]

Finally something about Cuijue Slope that placed freaked me out and it saddened me that nobody talks about it

[@joshuafriday9748]

Madam Ping is a Koi. Her adeptus title is Streetward Babbler (Koi often in trafficked areas, and always moving their mouths to look like they are talking), Koi are part of the carp family, come in a variety of colors, and Madam Ping is usually located near the Assembly Hall and it's many decorative ponds filled with fish and flowers, and surrounded by both silk flowers and glaze liliies

[@ara_ara-]

Feesh granny

[@jhonatanboodram2109]

Ita actually streetward "rambler"

[@SgtGrub]

The more I think about Guizhong and the dumbbell and the circumstances of her death, the more I get the impression that she may share the same fate as Orabashi. It's not too hard of a stretch to think that she, one of the most intelligent beings in Teyvat, stumbled across some sort of Celestial secret and made an enemy of them. Plus the implications of Zhongli being made to end her in the same vein as Ei putting down Orabashi are just heartbreaking.

[@xaero07vsxaero69]

Speculation: What if ZhongLi willingly gave his gnosis to the Cryo Archon because he too wanted war with Celestia. That bell Guizhong didn't want him opening was finally opened. What if it revealed dark secrets. Like him being used as a tool to end her. Given their relationship and it's many parallels, he would've gone to war. Guizhong didn't want that which was why she told him not to open it. What if he ended his contract/obligation with Liyue for more selfish reasons? Oh my god. It brings even more depth to his character and the story!

[@bluffcat.]

@@xaero07vsxaero69 I'm begging for this to happen it's so dark and adds the perfect closure for both of them

[@MyMilho]

although i agree that venti and hutao would have their own highlighted quests, I saw the little dinner hutao threw up to her friends kinda like a parallel to how guizhong threw dinner to her friends the whole time and she was the soul of the party, kinda like hutao was on the event, and it makes more cute how zhongli likes hutao maybe because she resemble his old friend 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

[@cryptnymph]

oh my godddd that's so sad and sweet...

[@RenaDeles]

Also it kind of ignores how basically this entire event was set in motion by Venti, I agree I would have liked more time with him in front of the camera but he was basically filling a similar role to Ayato in the Irodori festival

[@gabrielad8597]

For me that shipps Guizhong and Zhongli and Hu Tao and Zhongli, this event was awesome making the cool pararel bewteen those two girls!

[@hotfrenchbread7059]

Also with Hu Tao hinting that she may know of Zhongli's identity, it could be that she invited Venti and Xiao for Zhongli so he could spend lantern rite with his friends too.

[@emanatingauras4017]

Cuijue Slope being a memorial to Guizhong is very interesting- "Cuijue" literally means "jadeite ring", with the "jue" type of ring specifically referencing a pennanular ring (ring with a notch) from China that carries various important symbolic meanings: 1, of decision-making, resolution, and perhaps by extension a promise or contract; 2, of separation and leaving because of the notch symbolising incompleteness; 3, of educated, gentlemanlike wisdom. These all sound suspiciously related to Guizhong. In particular "separation and leaving", given that her name literally means "return to the end" or "leaving".

[@Chaffee738]

I just assumed that the Yakshas successfully contained the Guizhong fallout. Crazy to think that the Cuijue Slope might be it. And to think we were concerned that we were like unleashing some terrible disaster by unlocking the tomb (which reminds me, doesn't it also contain Khaenrian machines?) The Lantern Rite this year finally clarified how much the adepti knew about Morax's identity as Zhongli! It's funny that they knew Morax has a human form and even what it looks like and the clothes that only he can wear but Zhongli hid himself well enough.

[@coleydevo4421]

In honkai, the herrscher of earth transforms into the herrscher of stars. Kind of fun connection to zhongli and guizhong if your stardust theory is correct

[@vergiltasev7108]

Oh, now it fits more what the HoE did in the previous era. Also the zhongli and guizhong connection is cool, yeah!

[@FluffyWaffle33]

Honestly this actually puts more depht to the liyue archon quest, specially on the reactions of the adepti to us delivering the news. They knew it but because we were mere strangers then, there was no reason for them to be open to us about it. It's a fascinating thought honestly

[@rigel0207]

Cloud Retainer, pretending to grieve Rex Lapis : "D!E TO THE HARBOR!!!"

[@9990zara]

about the stone dumbbell: i wonder if it's a case like nabu malikata and king deshret, where guizhong knew forbidden knowledge and by opening the dumbbell, zhongli would acquire it as well. maybe she had counter measures for the divine retribution that would come, and thus told zhongli to forget about it upon her death so that he doesn't unintentionally cause liyue to be nuked? or perhaps she was expecting zhongli to take so long to open it that the heavenly principles wouldn't care lmao (this is all a bit of a reach btw, I'm just drawing parallels since it's curious the stories are so similar) that does lead me to wonder if her death during the archon war was planned much like orobaxi's or nabu malikata's. i do find it sus that most of the gods that likely had knowledge or ties to the ancient civilization seem to have died during or before the archon war.

[@9990zara]

(btw i think we'll know more about guizhong on zhongli's story quest 3rd arc, maybe even open the stone dumbbell)

[@hotfrenchbread7059]

In the world quest that talks about her death, it was mentioned that "black dust choked the heavens-" which could be an indication of corruption. If whatever forbidden knowledge she learnt corrupted her, it would make sense why her dying words were 'don't open the dumbell'.

[@Stellalun_a]

Your theory about the Cuijue Slope makes so much sense. I always wondered why the sky became so dark there. And the music is so ominous, somber and oppressive, it makes sense for a place where a god died. The 9 pillars are probably there to prevent the pollution from her death to spread and the area becoming corrupted like the Tatarasuna.

[@jacquelinemise5219]

I think Guizhong being the goddess of dust refers to how in literature they refer to dust as the mortal world. Therefore, she was the goddess of the mortal people, weak but crafty and always striving for development.

[@natandeeudomwongsa4187]

To add on to the cast of characters with a starry cape, Tartaglia in his foul legacy transformation also have a starry cape

[@meisstupid]

He learned Foul Legacy from quote, ‘Rather, it was taught to him by that solitary girl who dwelt in the darkest corners of the universe’ But who is that girl? What if it’s actually Guizhong?

[@cottoncandyFRIZZ]

@@meisstupid it was skirk, who is someone else i doubt she is related to guizhong since guizhong has said that she isnt a fighter

[@ToscaTee]

@@meisstupid it’s skirk

[@Jonny5Fails]

One thing I find really interesting is that every archon seems to have a counterpart. Venti and Istaroth, Zhongli and Guizhong, Raiden and Makoto, Nahida and GLR (or Scaramouche, now).

[@meisstupid]

I’m pretty sure Nahida’s counterpart is Rukhadevata because she’s Nahida’s sun to Nahida’s moon

[@moonstone3054]

@@meisstupid I think they meant GLR as in "greater lord rukkadevata"

[@GeneSysFNLT]

About Seelies being angels. I don't know how much of a stretch this would be, but the Hypostasis cubes have angelic names, right? And there's also that one theory that Susty keeps *literal souls* encased in her cubes. So...what if the Hypostases are just Seelies trapped in cubes, for a reason we don't know yet? And of the souls trapped in Susty's cubes. They might not be human souls, but the souls of the Seelie Court. This is assuming that the Sustainer's not actually malicious, but just doing her job to "save" the Seelie from total annihilation.

[@TheVermilliaFamily]

They don't have angelic names: their names are the Hebrew alphabet. But, the original Bible was in Hebrew, so...

[@GeneSysFNLT]

@@TheVermilliaFamily I do know that there are angelic names within Genshin. If it's not the Hypostases, I believe it's the cardinal directions. But I'm certain the Hypostases and the cardinal directions are connected. Iirc, it was through the writing on the alchemic circles. That, and the Hypostases were designed after Evangelion's Ramiel. There's also the connection between the Archons (who have demon names), and their Hypostasis counterpart. The Hypostases may not actually have angel names, but they definitely have an angelic motif.

[@mon_moi]

the seelie = angel connection has some depth outside of Genshin lore. Seelies are the good fairy folk from Scottish folklore, and in both Scotland and Ireland, fairies were sometimes described as descended from fallen angels. The concept of Seelie courts as well as their resemblance to will-o'-the-wisps and their tendency to help you find treasure are also present in Scottish folklore. This, I think, is the strongest evidence behind Seelies being equivalent to angels

[@grassina3]

@@TheVermilliaFamily Angels names are technically in Hebrew. El means god, and angel means messenger of god. MichaEL, RafaEL, UriEL, GabriEL, the list goes on

[@lambdanebula8473]

If the Twins are connected with Zhongli and Quizhong, it would make sense why the latter pair are described as having descended, and if you like me chose the Aether to be the traveler, it would make sense why Quizhong is said to have descended first just like Lumine descended first. I will say, it spells bad news for Lumine's survival at the end of the story, which some people have said is already in question, but that aside, Zhongli does seem to have indepth knowledge about what makes descenders special. He says the traveler could act as a "backup" for the history of Teyvat, and thus acts as a witness. If Zhongli fulfilled the same role, it would make sense why he understands it so well, and it would also make sense why he acts as such a font of knowledge about everything in Teyvat and it's history. Obviously, however, Zhongli and Quizhong do seem to be recorded in Irminsul which would seem to contradict their being descenders, though I'm not certain about this at all. Lumine being recorded as a native of Teyvat, rather than a descender, would suggest that it is possible for descenders to begin being recorded in Irminsul, which may have happened with Zhongli. However, if my theory about all that is correct, it would also mean that when events occur that rewrite history, they would affect everyone who is recorded regardless of whether they were originally a descender, which in turn means Zhongli would no longer serve as a backup for the history of Teyvat, since his memory would be rewritten along with everyone else's, and that would explain why the traveler is needed to become a witness as well. I will say though, I have been working on the assumption that the twin definitely is a descender, but for some reason started being recorded in Irminsul anyway, probably due to the actions of Celestia during the cataclysm (or shortly thereafter). However, it may actually be the case that the twin genuinely is from Teyvat while the traveler was created afterwards from the Twin, like Eve from the story of Adam and Eve, or simply the traveler was created entirely artificially. Something like that. The only problem with this is that the Traveler distinctly remembers their homeland. It's certainly possible their homeland is Teyvat, but those memories would suggest they shouldn't even be considered a descender, unless those are implanted memories. That's the only thing that makes sense. I don't know. I personally think they are from another world entirely and the twin's data was simply entered into Irminsul, probably through the use of the loom of fate, but it is something to think about. One last thing I wanted to mention, there is a story about a traveler and the seelies. In one version, the traveler even marries a seelie. If Zhongli is a descender, like the traveler, and acting as a witness means traveling around and learning the history of Teyvat, he would fit that role perfect, and he's certainly old enough. If Quizhong is a seelie, that would also make a lot of sense. Now you're thinking "Well, if Quizhong is a seelie, how can she also be a descender", and to that I answer, the twin likely is a descender who, through some method, has become a Teyvat native. Something very similar could've happened with Quizhong. We know events that rewrite history have happened many times and a descender being recorded as a native, I think is one of them. Without a doubt, the cataclysm almost definitely involved at least one of these events (which is likely what ended it). That's likely why we see stories about the seelies that seem to have a lot of parallels but also have a lot of little differences. Right now we simple don't have enough to go off of to draw specific conclusions, but there is a lot that points to the idea that the traveler is filling the same role Zhongli once filled.

[@Ali-cya]

So there might not be 4-5 Descenders, but many and Irminsul acts as a sort of gatekeeper that keeps them more or less tied to the world one way or another after some time, interesting theory.

[@viision127]

Ever since people pointing out about Guizhong and Sandrone. My mind immediately shifted to "Oh fountaine is really gonna be interesting." This is something to keep in mind for the future patches~~

[@elizabethchambers9137]

Fontaine was always going to be interesting, especially with the improvement Hoyo has made with its writing recently. But yeah, Sandrone does mean that we'll probably get answers sooner rather than later and I'm hyped. But then I was already hyped anyway because 'french steampunk water region' is my dream aesthetic area anyway lol

[@sixteenthbluemoon7606]

Imagine we outright get Ace Attorney shenanigans with the court portions of Fontaine tho lmao

[@ViperDivinity]

Its either do or die if her design specifically made to look like Guizhong or Hoyoverse just lazy

[@chuuwife]

​@@sixteenthbluemoon7606 and we did

[@silverstuff1146]

I actually ended up connecting Zhongli not to Aether but to Dain due to the end of the Travail trailer and the erosion themes and the similar flower themes at play. Guizhong being a god connected to both stardust and alchemy is a little bit sus due to the alchemy table dust you need to buy from the paimon shop to turn one element type stone into another and the whole existance of the Masterless Stardust also available to use as a currency in the paimon shop for the free monthly reset wishes.

[@jyll]

I love how so many discussions, speculations, and theories prior to this year's Lantern Rite are taking more shape and making more sense now. I remember seeing many people speculate that Guizhong was a phoenix or a seelie, that the place where the Nine Pillars quest takes place was burial ground and the ruin was kind of like a tomb, and that the Rite of Parting we did was for Guizhong and not Rex Lapis. Amazing.

[@erikboncoref.7020]

Wow, excellent video! Guizhong has always intrigued me as a character, and having not just this lore dump about her but also your amazing compilation/exposition is always appreciated. About the similarities between Guizhong/Zhongli and the Twins, Wei released a video in which he shows up that Zhongli could actually be a Descender, because of several reasons: 1- You cannot give his true name (Morax) to Wanderer (he shows that Barbatos and Buer can be used with no problems), because the game says "name unavailable" and doesn't allow to even give a reply from the nihilistic munchkin 2- In his character stories, he doesn't recognize Nahida as one of the original Archons remaining, which wouldn't be possible if he was conditioned by Irminsul 3- He knows that history can be changed and asks you (an outsider) to become the repository of memories of Teyvat's history, so he's conscious of the possibility of changing things in Irminsul and altering the way history is remembered 4- As you yourself showed, the description of his apparition is as "he descended" instead of "he appeared" or "he was created" I know this might come in as too insistent from my behalf, but it's still something that might give some food for thought? Anyways, keep up the excellent work, go on at your own pace, and many regards from Italy!

[@ashla2187]

no no ur right and u should be louder bc the more evidence i find to support that zhongli (and by extention guizhong too) are descenders, the less evidence i find to deny it. like there are always hints that scream from the beginning in the smallest of details but being as we are halfway through the genshin story now, and the decided to drop descenders on us THEN show us guizhong. very quite suspicious. most suspicious. like the fact that zhongli was the first banner of 3.0 with tighnari makes me think they want more people to look at zhongli's details closer.

[@meisstupid]

I’m betting here somewhere in 2023, there will be a Zhongli Archon Quest. Because who descended after Guizhong? That’s right, Morax

[@chadsanchez8097]

wait, nahida told us that there have been only four descenders so far. The traveller, alice, Phanes (primordial one) and one unknown person. The abyss sibling doesn't count bcs she said that they're not descended and are in truth native to teyvat, which confused everyone and we still dont know why. But with that point made, the unknown descender could possibly be zhongli or guizhong... But, there could be more descenders, because the ones that have been listed so far were only 4, and also, listed by the fatui. And since fatui is fatui, we cant completely rely on what data they have. And there could be more descenders who are unlisted.

[@alguien908]

You came to a similar conclusion I did about Sandrone and Guizhong, Sandrone is not Guizhong but the former could have been created in the image of the latter. I theorized that Sandrone looks like Guizhong because she is an artificial puppet made by Dottore after reverse engineering Scaramouche, precisely because he wanted to recreate one of Teyvats most renowned engineers as an assistant so that he can contribute to the Fatui cause easier (or to put it in another way, so he can experiment freely while his puppet makes actually useful stuff) and Guizhong just happened to be exactly that. Fantastic video!

[@SiliconOneFour]

I absolutely loved this video! I hadn't even considered the similarities between Glaze Lilies and Nilotpala Lotuses, and it's got my mind going with so many thoughts. I had thought of the idea the Cuijue Slope had some relation to Guizhong a while back, and I'm so glad that there's more evidence to the connection now. As for the Sandrone connection, once I realized she may be a puppet, everything just connected, and I was so glad to hear your thoughts are similar. I'll probably have to message you on Twitter at some point, all my thoughts are making me go insane lmao. Thank you for the amazing video though!

[@TheAkrillion]

PLAYABLE CLOUD RETAINER!! PLAYABLE CLOUD RETAINER!!

[@johnb1145]

Yeah, you could argue that Kazuha had his final character quest in the islands timed event; he's literally so at peace with himself that he could die, yet there was no problem making his and the rest of the characters quests in that event timed.Not to mention the whole map region!

[@aranara_song]

The insignia in the center of the room in Cuijue Slope also kinda resembles Guizhong's clothing, the little simbol on her arm!

[@aranara_song]

symbol*

[@akiraokami]

There's another thing about Guizhong that bothers me, at the start of the game we learned that the Gods don't really die when we had to fight Osial, at the time we could have argued that maybe Osial was just too strong and could only be sealed, but then we find out through Guoba that no, the Gods can never truly die. Yet we have Makoto, Guizhong, Havria, Nabu, King Deshret, Orochi and Decarabian, Gods who are all (as far as I'm aware) confirmed dead, what is different about their deaths? With Makoto we know that her soul was still lingering around With Nabu and Deshret we know about the corruption that also eventually claimed the life of Rukadhevata but she seems to have avoided being completely destroyed by creating Kusanali. So for 3 of the confirmed dead we know that there was some unnatural events involved, but for the others, we have no explanation for why those particular Gods have not been reborn.

[@meisstupid]

Osial was never actually killed, but sealed away

[@0bserver00]

Also more hint to pin sandrone to guizhong. Remember childe voice line said sandrone look at him as if she want to murder him and he don't know what he did... yeah childe attempt to revive osial and drown entire liyue is probably it.

[@snakeinthereeds]

The flowing star cloth also appears on Tartaglia's Foul Legacy form as a cape.

[@killerslayergamer9292]

The connection with ashes to ashes dust to dust reminded me of Albedo. I always wondered what Rhinedottir did with the Heart of Naberius, but I would love if Rhinedottir was the one that made Sandrone using Guizhong as the model. Not only does it mean that Sandrone is Albedo's sister, but also means Rhinedottir could be a fatui harbinger.

[@shadowatch4767]

I used to think Menogias was Capitano, but knowing that Menogias was a fashion designer I'm now certain of it. I mean, have you seen the Fatui outfits? Somebody has to design all that villain aesthetic garb, and only Zhongli's tailor could be up to that task. - I say facetiously.

[@hazaubel6532]

I knew it wouldn't be a Guizhong video without sandrone lol 😂

[@sureyeah3678]

i realized where this video is going just as she mentioned Phoenix

[@LoveCherry78]

11:23 this place has haunted me since 1.0 when I discovered Guizhong, it was way too suspicious. The only way to unlock this quest was to get all the geoculous and obtain all the Stone of Rememberance and its description is kinda sus too. The treasure we get at the end was a ring AND a 5* Noblesse Oblige flower. After 2 years of waiting Guizhong lore is here, the lack of Zhongli involvement in it was disappointing though. But like you said i hope its a teaser for future story quest.

[@DonKangolJones]

🎉 This video is right on time. Running through Liyue in the early days, you couldn’t escape Guizhong’s aura, but we knew so little. I really appreciated seeing her colleagues all deal with her tragedy and their mourning of her in different ways. You got a real sense for her as a person finally. She felt like a person ripped from everyone far too soon. Side note: Cloud Retainer becomes more entertaining each time I see her.

[@kaathleenfrozone]

I also thought that the Rite of Parting wasn't just for Zhongli specifically because of all those things you mentioned such as the Glaze Lilies and mature perfume. Also, Act II of Farewell, Archaic Lord Archon Quest is entitled "Guizhong".

[@christleybarton6561]

Regarding the destruction that should have happened after Guizhong's death, I think it's answered in the same shot we see. The Yaksha have some kind of ritual or barrier going, probably to contain the backlash and karma her death would have generated

[@Vulpes_minor]

It is interesting that each nation has a theme of having three gods that have had a lot of influence in the story we know. Decarabian, andrius, and Venti in Mondstadt. Zhongli, guizhong, and gouba in Lijue. Ei, Makoto, and Orobashi in Inazuma. Deshret, goddess of flowers and rukkhadevata in Sumeru. In Lijue and Sumeru, the relationship between the gods seemed to be pretty good. I am very curious to know what caused the archon war to break out. Sometimes, it just seems that it just happened out of the blue.

[@aspillust]

celestia provoked the war artificially maybe? like they created the problem for the gods to fight over and made up the whole archon thing as a solution/prize?

[@acanthafiore]

It's a shame that the Lantern Rite wasn't actually centered around Hu Tao with Xiao and Yelan. The Guizhong lore and cutscene were great... but that shouldn't have been dropped in a limited time event >:u The real fomo isn't with the rewards, it's the random SIGNIFICANT lore bombs. And even when it's lore we already know about, the limited events somehow manage to make it more entertaining, ex. Kazuha's past being shown in the Golden Archipelago event.

[@serenitysilvermoon]

IDK why Hoyo loves giving us epic lore dumps on limited time events. Look at Scara's introductory event too

[@anonded]

Guizhong's dress being similar to Lumine and Zhongli's earring being similar to Aether is stylistic foreshadowing/reference to how Guizhong descended into teyvat before Zhongli just like how Lumine and Aether.

[@ResNullium]

I was mindblown by the reinterpretation of the Cuijue Slopes and the Rite of Parting. Thanks for the vid Ashi!

[@navydavy]

Ogg hi Res! 🕊️🎐

[@ResNullium]

@@navydavy hi there!

[@bagirute112]

Its also neat that Ninguang is somewhat like Guizhong . Not that she is reborn Guizhong or is her but she has Phoenix plastered all over her and her constallation looks like balista plus she uses them during defence scenes, she also has dust hair, not to mention glazie lilies also her thing. But Ninguangs color pallete is more like Zhonglis but birdlike. Its like Ninguang represents Gui's morality about people since Gui loved people and related to them but she also carries some of respect to gods (something zhongli is all about ). It takes a whole new meaning when Ninguang and Qixing become Liyue "rulers" after Rex alpis "passing". Its all so interesting to wonder about.

[@AmapolaMystery]

Just a random thought, but I feel that what makes this all the more interesting is the frequent theming of Liyue with a balanced scale, which carries on to Ningguang's desk decor

[@meisstupid]

Maybe it’s the ‘new Dragon and Phoenix’. Instead of Zhongli and Guizhong, it’s a combination of the two with Ningguang acting as Rex Lapis and the Qixing being Guizhong

[@Jehphg]

all that said she does wear Guizhong's colors in her new skin, which hyv described as an indigo dress based on glaze lilies, and Guizhong is also described as a girl dressed in indigo with long flowing sleeves who fought off some assailants in the guizhong plains at some point (with a sword!) so Ning still checks the boxes even for this

[@mythogenesis4788]

Guizhong being a Seelie is an interesting theory. It would be more interesting if each region has a major Seelie character in their documented history given their interactions with human settlements. The goddess of flowers is essentially proven to be a Sellie, so I’m excited to know others😊. And now I have a tangent theory: I HEAVILY believe that Decarabian was a Seelie. (Especially given he was the ruler of Mondstadt, the MOON KINGDOM which resided in a land covered in white). In fact, his marriage to a human woman followed by his decline and fall from kingship may be directly tied (I doubt she would have married him if he didn’t show love for her during courtship, and he made a greenhouse dedicated to her beloved cecelia blossoms). And while I won’t go as far as to say his marriage is the one that led to the downfall of the Seelie kingdom, the timing being during the archon war when many known Seelies were believed to have fallen is suspect.) Amos, his lover, is INCREDIBLY similar in appearance and demeanor as Honkai’s Cecelia, mother of Kiana (who also bears resemblance to the Sustainer-but that’s not a big connection in Genshin verse). My argument is that Amos being such a striking resemblance to Cecelia down to the signature two plumes in her hair (and who is German and based very deeply in the principles of finding strength in unconditional love and GI loves twisting its expies’ narratives just a enough that it’s ironic) means that her husband, Decarabian, may actually be an expie of Seigfried. Seigfried in Honkai verse is a kind and brave god-level warrior descended from the single most powerful human being capable of weilding Ice and Fire. His ancestor is currently the greatest threat to humanity after he abandoned hope, love, and all other emotional shackles and turned to attempting genocide of the weak as the “logical” route of preserving humanity from a cosmic threat (sound like Celestial intervention, anyone?) if the sustainer is his “daughter,” and the Dendro archon is a confirmed expie of his relatives Theresa and Kallen, then it may be a pattern that his bloodline are setting blueprints for deities in general if not celestial entities. Why is this significant? Because Kaeya ALBERICH is based on a character in Norse mythology and Wagner’s opera who was bested in the end by the fearless warrior Seigfried (a warriors raised by magical beings who came to know true emotion and vulnerability in loving a human woman). So if this source inspiration material ties Kaeya’s family to Decarabian (re: Seigfried in this theory), then how is the Alberich clan meant to be challenged by a fallen god? Well Honkai Seigfried’s bloodline was infused with the blood and power of ancient god-like beasts giving them dragon-like traits when activated (think Vishap people). This is how they are so powerful. Now, what dragon-like being do we know that has ties to Old Mondstadt, Venti, Ice wind and fire, and uses storms as a means of protection AND subjugation of the people of Mond? Dvalin. And I’m going to stop there because my next tangent is Durin, Dorian/subject 2, and potential alchemical tampering with the cycle of death and rebirth.

[@bmo3778]

Zhongli making us gather objects related to Guizhong, and framed that they were gifts for Rex Lapis, was very similar to Hu Tao. She made us and Luocheng make preparations for an exorcism to rid the spirit that haunted him, which turned out to be just to attract Big G, coz she gave up and didn't know where to look.

[@bmo3778]

did she learn that from him, or the other way around? the Wangsheng parlor are filled with wise people

[@catsrambling]

Idk why but Guizhong's lore just makes me emotional. Perfect video, I'd love to go a lot more into deep with this!

[@soulblade3291]

Agreed.

[@ava_240p5]

I'm thinking that there might be a chance Guizhong may have created Sandrone as a sort of mechanical replica of herself, if Sandrone is a puppet of sorts. Just a little thought! Also the rite of parting being likely for Guizhong is so heartbreaking 😭

[@protagkun8859]

You are criminally underappreciated and I wish more people would find you and watch your videos 😭

[@akixyl425]

My take from this is that the moon sisters are phoenixes and that Paimon might not only be a seelie but could even be a reborn moon sister which could be the moon we see and it remains unchanging because Paimon hasn't come to a point in her potential where she can change the phases we see while NPCs remain unaffected. That would also expain why she has the line of "Is it another Paimon?" while fishing bc she has latent memories that there are supposed to be more moon sisters. If so, that could present the question of why they haven't been reborn yet. Unless they have and we either haven't met them yet, or we have and its Dain and Susty. Also a contender for moon sister imo would be Damslette in the Fatui since she too has a wing motif and triggers Tartaglia's unease

[@LunnVic]

Although I had a timeline for Xiao's life and I concluded he had to be older than they say, I always thought he killed Guizhong following order of his former master so seeing him there in the video with his hero clothes also destroyed my theory hahah And talking about Zhongli.... I LOVE how every little detail about his design speaks about grief, from his own name, Menogia's clothes, his line about the wine, the rock-puzzle... So each day is even more fitting that his archon mission was about saying goodbye, even his 2 character quest are about grief (havria and their people, Azhdaha...). I don't know what to think about the Rite of Parting being for Guizhong, but having Grief (or Overcoming grief/Honoring the death) as the main theme of Zhongli, It is quite possible that his contract with the Taritsa is related yo this. Thank you for the video! PS: I thought the SAME about Guizhong's place of death! It HAS to be there, even with the yaskhas columns to keep watch of the miasma!!! (TELLING that to complete this quest you needed to update all Morax statues.,...)

[@xaviermanagreve6234]

A small detail I've seen mentioned here and there is that they keep Zhongli's eyes covered for every scene he appears in during those 'painted' cutscene, even in the first scene when he appears front on. Could that be referencing something or is it just an artistic choice because he's not the main characters for those scenes?

[@alch3mist07]

i think it's a stylistic choice to make him seem more like Rex Lapis, The Leader, rather than someone relatable. In all those cutscenes he was there as ''the figure of authority'', not as Morax/Zhongli the individual.

[@czaldyv]

Ashikai’s obsession with nilotpala lotus part 3 😂

[@Pastel_Donutz]

Genshin Impact is such a beautiful story. It’s so detailed, it’s amazing.

[@cigarafterkiss]

the way they value the lore and attention to detail is admirable really

[@zaram7391]

I just love love LOVE Guizhong and her lore! It really amazed that you said the rite of parting was intended for her not Rex Lapis. Also thw Phoenix mentions were pretty fascinating. What i was thinking when i saw her death cutscene was that her death has got to have some connections to celestia! Bc guili assembly was so strong to be invaded by other gods. The secret she wanted Zhongli to solve probably had connections with forbidden knowledge and the history of teyvat. I genuinely believe that the solving of the dumbbell will be a part of archon quest. It has always been something i wanted to discover more lore about

[@JohnCivor]

It's fascinating too that now the one who wields a homa symbol (staff of homa) is very close to zhongli. And now theres a chance that guizhong is still alive if it's true that she is a phoenix... This is very copium but I hope it's true.

[@hazaubel6532]

Ngl i am wheezing at the loom vs weapon scene lol

[@HighLevelPlayer]

I think you are 100% on the mark about this year's Lantern Rite's lore being related to Sandrone's appearance in Fontaine. The Fontaine arc could be very interesting.

[@mkl_dvd]

I've talked about the Rite of Parting with someone and here's my theory: the very first Rite of Parting was held for Guizhong soon after her death. All of the symbols were chosen specifically to honor her. Afterwards, they became a standardized part of the tradition for every Rite of Parting.

[@icephoenixlala]

Guizhong & Rite of Parting connection is so profound, I almost cried

[@selinaliu5948]

The point on Guizhong being the God of Dust (尘王魔神 chen wang mo shen), and dust = ash is pretty interesting if we look at it in Mandarin Chinese. The characters for dust (灰尘 hui chen) and ash (灰 hui) have overlap (edit: 灰hui and 尘 chen as individual characters both mean dust. I had to look it up because I’m diaspora). So 👀

[@banggobang5148]

I- i can't believe how sweet Zhongli is...

[@eisflamme2438]

Its not really a phoenix with the dragon, its a Fenghuang. Yes, its often called Chinese phoenix, but it has no Assoziation to fire or burning to ash. Xiao has ties to the Fenghuang and might be one, wich woud make him and Zhongli the Bird-dragon duo.

[@seonsunnysunshine]

But developers already explained Xiao's design origins, and his Chinese title (General Alatus/General Jinpeng) confirms he's a Peng, smth close to a garuda and not a Fenghuang.

[@eisflamme2438]

@@seonsunnysunshine I know, the golden peng. But he has so many Fenghuang traits.

[@whatismyadjectiveiconfused]

I think from design wise it's Guizhong who is the fenghuang. When I saw her short dress with long sleeves and long bow, she looks like a bird. Some pictures also feels like she's flying. Since she's Zhongli's co ruler I think it is to symbolizes her status as the empress. Since fenghuang is the symbol of empress, whereas dragon is the symbol of emperor. There's no adepti form more befitting Zhongli's co-ruler than a phoenix

[@sofarsogood8680]

What if in the stone dumbbell , a collection of guizhong's knowledge and memories, and one of those memories is just her confessing love for zhongli. Thus, the reason why she seems want zhongli to open it but told him not to do so after that

[@Junnie99]

First of all, THANK YOU for covering this year's Lantern Rite

[@lilbirdmuse8938]

Makes me hope we’ll get to see the fallout of Makoto somewhere within the Khaenri'ah bit we get into, unless it’s a past only sorta thing.

[@wordsmith6154]

Another thing about Zhongli and Guizhong's relation to Lumine and Aether is their color schemes. Lumine has a duller shade of blonde hair and her dress has brighter colors, most of it being white. Guizhong is the same with her hair being a dull brown and her clothes being of bright/dull colors of whites and blues. Aether has a darker shade of blonde and his clothes have darker colors, most of it being black. Zhongli also has darker hair, and his clothes are also pretty dark as well. The haircut is also the same with the long ponytail for both Aether and Zhongli and the long locks in front and shorter hair in the back with Lumine and Guizhong.

[@OneRadicalDreamer]

I love that more and more the theme of cycles/samsaras connect things in indirect ways. Given that the twins *MAY* have a 'primordial' connection to Teyvat, it could be that Teyvats fashion sense stems from that long lineage lol

[@aelfgernon7729]

A possibility I thought of while watching this video: what if Sandrone was the thing in the box that Zhongli was supposed to open, then not supposed to open. And she was a puppet made in the image of Guizhong. This could explain the line about the box containing all her knowledge.

[@alizardperson]

The theory of Sandrone looking up to Guizhong is EXACTLY why I thought they looked similar and you worded it perfectly!

[@AzaratheDragon]

Its kinda sad if you read the whole extent of Memory of Dust's description. Despite being told by Guizhong to forget about opening it, Zhongli continues to try after her death. I know a lot of people like to theorize she knew forbidden knowledge, and she has is stored in the MoD, and she wants to let Zhongli know as well. It just doesnt seem like a Guizhong thing to do, to just, ruin her friends lives by forcing them to get hit with the god's insta murder hammer in the form of forbidden knowledge. But im of the opinion, its just a puzzle box, and its empty. There isnt actually any knowledge inside. "" "This is the mark of our pledge, and it is also my challenge to you." "All my wisdom is hidden within this stone dumbbell." "If you can unlock it-" Many years passed, and he was never able to unlock that dumbbell, nor would he ever learn what might have followed that sentence. "" She never specifies how that knowledge will be passed on once its been opened, only that that MoD has to be unlocked. Maybe shes got the other copies of Six Pygmies in there, but I honestly think its empty and she would have just told Zhongli whatever she knew, or answered any questions he could think to ask. Which is more her speed, we were told she very much enjoying talking and hanging out with her friends, teasing them to distract them, but being a good friend nonetheless. I can see her teasing him about how long it took him to open it, it such a simple puzzle. And then they would talk about whatever wisdom comes to mind. But, it would be quite the unintentional cruel joke if he managed to get it open after her death only for him to find it empty. So tell him to forget about it, spare him that pain. Can you imagine, he finally gets it open and has the Zuko moment. "Wheres the rest of it? This cant be it!" Except its literally empty. Hes spent all these years fiddling with it, and finally gets it open, and theres nothing. There never was anything. And alone somewhere, he just quietly breaks down, because he'll never know what it was she was going to tell him.

[@meisstupid]

Or maybe he knows, but he reworks the puzzle every time to either keep her memory alive or the knowledge is too dangerous to ever be revealed

[@susurakocy_art]

Okay but the last part with Sandrone and the details of The Rite of Parting pointing that it all was for Zhongli to have a proper send off for Gui - all made me cry >

[@devilchildmike4]

Honestly, in regards to the Nilotpala Lotus/Glaze Lily thing, and the event hinting future story quest thing, I was more driven towards the similarities between the "effect" of their deaths. Without the context or certainty of historical accuracy, we know that the GuiZhong's death was likely a major shift in ZhongLi's character arc (Memory of Dust, formation of LiYue harbour, his pledge to the people etc), and the plate Weapon Ascension mat in Sumeru talks about "(King Deshret's) fervent affections (being) well within the calculations of the Lord of Flowers". So not doubting either of their motives, but both of these Goddesses died, influencing a living God they had a close relationship to, possibly in a way that manipulated current events (LiYue Harbour and search for Forbidden Knowledge). Just believe that this is the link between event and story quests, though I think that Irridescence Tour is going to be a fun Fontaine thing too.

[@tartagliasjigglydworshipper]

Venti is not an afterthought. if people paid attention, Venti was the one that point Dvorak to Liyue. either Venti knows about Ping helping Dvorak's ancestor or he has foreseen a future where Dvorak will host a music festival. either way, Venti gave him the direction and got wine for himself lol

[@JonathonDey]

I love the right of parting theory. It's so melancholy and beautiful. It also makes a ton of sense.

[@anyanP]

Honestly, I agree on Sandrone being somewhat of Guizhong's puppet, whether she was made in her image or by her. This is what makes most of sense for me

[@cucumbercytus]

And what if fatui found her small part? After all you can't fully kill a god in genshin

[@nyx626]

I read a theory that the big boy puppet with sandrone is Guizhong's creation and he created a puppet in her likeness

[@dianabaranowski6305]

Or maybe it was literally like a phoenix thing and she was born again from her ashes/dust

[@tartagliasjigglydworshipper]

@@dianabaranowski6305 that's probably saved for Murata. "Incandescent Ode of Resurrection"

[@devilsadvocate22289]

God, this video was sooo good! I love the little tidbits that you added to give context to a lot of the symbolism and detail in Guizhong’s story. Now I feel the need to visit her memorial to investigate and pay my digital respects. 😮

[@Sui0Generis]

I think the thing, or what's left of it, that Morax and the Yakshas were trapping in an energy seal was the thing that killed Guizhong and it was the Chi of Yore. i wouldn't be surprised if it was the reason why Morax ripped it to pieces and created a whole village from its body parts and trapped its core in a nearby mountain for eternity. Such brutality compared to what he did to osial and azhdaha may indicate that it was done out of extreme anger or revenge. Also, Qingce village is located in the north part of bishui plain which was said to be soaked with its blood. Bishui plain is next to Cuijue Slopes where Guizhong died, and Cuijue Slope is next to Guili plains where Guizhong and zhongli lived. I think when the war broke out, Chi waited for morax to go after osial or some other god, then it went to kill guizhong in morax's absence. Chi knew it couldn't deal with the strength of morax with the intelligent guidance of guizhong so it waited for her to be alone. Morax fought it in Cuijue Slope that's why it has a lot of gigantic pillars which looks very much like zhongli's elemental skill. The fact that it's also located in a canyon sized crater may indicate that zhongli also used his elemental burst. Chi then fled north to where Qingce village is located now and met it's deserved demise there at the hands of a heartbroken god. Additionally, according to Roald the Adventurer, Qingce village, whose terraces were formed from its scales was named after the ancient name of the sea monster now called Chi. Lastly, when you finish the quest in Qingce village, you get the "Crouching Dragon, Hidden Chi" achievement which may describe how Chi's core was hidden in a mountain and Morax was in his dragon form crouching as he wept for Guizhong's death. I hope we get a quest where we get to destroy the core as a final act of avenging the death of Guizhong. It's possible to make Qingce village part of an important quest because i think Fontaine is located north of Qingce village. I'd love to pass by there on the way to meet the Hydro archon. If Mihoyo confirms that it was indeed Chi who killed Guizhong, all the pieces would fit together seamlessly and would make perfect sense.

[@Jnxd184]

3rd year waiting for them to bring attention to Qiqi, maybe next year :')

[@minglifeng2862]

Well I’m happy because I want playable Sandrone she is the one Harbinger that caught my eyes and she wasn’t one of the most popular Harbingers before this. I’m so happy now lmao.

[@InactiveTwig]

I loved the stardust part of the theory! It fits in almost perfectly with my personal theory about guizhong being related to the Herrscher of Rimestar (their color palettes are the same)

[@cadenceblackburn9205]

i really did not expect gui zhong to look like that lol

[@usalisa3656]

I'm not very convinced that Guizhong's a seelie, we have been blessed with so much lore on seelies since 3.x that to me it contradicts a lot of theories including this one. We have learnt thanks to the Aranara that the Goddess of Flowers was a Seelie, and Nilou hinted that GoF supposedly had horns. What amazed me in Lantern Rite was that we were once again given a hint regarding what seelies looked like: I don't remember at which point exactly, but Traveler and Paimon wondered what fairies looked like in Fontaine's folklore, and we were suggested to respond something like "they may have wings" and "they way have horns". It would have been completely shallow if we could only suggest wings. But horns? Who would, in their rightful mind, think that fairies could have horns? I thus think that your theory (I can't remember in which video) on the fact that seelies did have horns is true. Add wings like the ones we can see on their ghost. Which I think is even more fascinating, as wings are related to angels, while horns are to demons.

[@Ashikai]

Yeah but I will point out that the goddess of flowers, and haagenti are both based on deities or demons that are related to or are actually bulls.

[@hisao-1428]

Ash but what do you think about that certain chapter in the Records of the Gallant named "Dust" and the mysterious maiden who wields a sword and also smells like Glaze Lilies who was seen even after the time frame of Guizhong's death?

[@Ashikai]

Sus

[@hisao-1428]

@@Ashikai indeed ma'am very sus indeed. Imagine if guizhong was still alive haha no way silly me, she's surely dead, copium bottle already finished on signora. (*cries*)

[@Noah-rd8xe]

Guizhong: a phoenix Phoenixes: rebirth So guizhong might become playable

[@mystrknwital9146]

I didn't expect you to come up the same theory as me with Sandrone. I was thinking sandrone might be a puppet with the image guizhong and zhongli actually made a contract with that in mind. After all, he did mention it was something personal.

[@borbborbb]

the Loom/Ballista decision reminds me of how the city of Athens supposedly got its name, with Athena bringing forth olive trees from the tip of her spear and poesidon either a salt spring or a horse. i dont know enough to understand why olives were thought more important than a horse in those tellings

[@Jazzatic2011]

Also as someone who plays casual and just completed the archon quest of the rite passage. Piamon doesnt shut up about how weird it is that rex would like the “old ladys” perfume. Seeing someone else indicate piamon seems to be there to ask questions that are not being asked or covered otherwise. Yeah. It almost seems like dropping hints. Also I look up all the time in that area where black dust is. I never got why it was like that before but this makes sense. Haven’t done the story or quests over there yet. What I think is interesting is you said she descended before zhongli. Which makes me wonder cause theres theory on zhongli being connected to primordial one. Which im starting to think too since out of all the archons (note i dont have innazuma yet) but a tiktok made me realize hes holding a cube and everyone else has a sphere. Sure we’ve always though geo is a square but when you think on it the only other character who holds a cube in game is the heavenly sustainer in the intro.... seems sus. Lastly.. yes I just realize guili is a combination of the 2 names 🤦‍♀️ but maybe part of the reason Zhongli had the rite of parting was because they co-ran the area. And if zhongli is out then its time for him to also say goodbye to the other leader who he had always ruled with. That makes so much sense to me. Cause to us, who are new to the area, we view it as the ruling archon dying and leaving the rule of the region. Yet to someone like Zhongli, who, if arriving after her, would have only ruled together. (After their initial spat lol) The custom is theres two of them. To make it the peoples ruling, there has to be an acknowledgment that theres neither of them to rule. It makes sense that the “God of contracts” would carry things out as they initially were, until the time to hold a rite of parting. Makes me wonder if the initial contract was to the primordial or celestia one as some speculate, or if it was to Guizhong and what would happen if one died.

[@Tekato1]

Cant believe they set all that lore up for Zhongli and Guizhong only to end it at "They were just Besties".

[@pokemonmaster1505]

Menogias is a fashion icon

[@Ethan-yd4gn]

THE RITE OF PARTING THING WOULD MAKE SO MUCH SENSE LIKE THIS. God I really hope that's the case because that would be some really crazy planning on Hoyo's part and would be a such an amazing tie in. Only thing left is to make all of these limited time event stories permanent 👁👁

[@genznnGaming]

First of, an amazing video as always and looking forward to more. I love the theory that rite of parting being about sending off guizhong but something feels off 1. There must be more to the contract since it involved gnossis exchange 2. The adepti did not really show real emotions and sadness for a actual final good bye, at the time i expected that to be the case since they at some level know that morax is not really dead, i feel for Guizhong they would be more sad especially ping

[@genznnGaming]

Apologies for comment rant/spam

[@Ashikai]

This was something he organized on his own so again this is my personal opinion, but it definitely sounds like Ping at least had already made her piece a long time ago, and that cloud retainer probably isn't ready yet. Everyone kind of grieves and processes at their own rate so I kind of saw this as just Zhongli's thing.

[@jfrzb]

If Zhongli opens the Memory of Dust all of her knowledge will be his. Then she backtracks when she is dying. If you think about it another way, the knowledge is not in the Memory of Dust. It is Guizhong herself who contains that. She is maybe implying something. That's why she told him to forget it. It is useless even if Zhongli opened it, because at that time she is already dead.

[@keiryeleison2933]

Maybe Guizhong knows about the forbidden knowledge and sealed it in the memory of dust to prevent the destruction of Teyvat. That's why she doesn't want Zhongli to solve the puzzle anymore.

[@soaringaegis]

Fascinating lore as always! Also, I wanted to point out the pronunciation of Cuijue Slopes should be something like "Tsuei jueh" in Mandarin. Always enjoy your content!

[@Zarozian]

A new Ashikai lore speculation video really makes my day and I just wanted you to know this cause I know you read all the comments 😂

[@cvrlo_]

I just watched this and when you said the place of her death, I actually had goosebumps. It is the only place that does that for no particular reason! Like it makes actual sense! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[@Yoshimitsuzero]

This year's Iridescence tour was just a tease of Fontaine's event. Dvorak mention that the tour is going through many issues just before he tells his ancestor's story. Hope Cloud Retainer will be playable at least 5 years from now. 🤡 One can hope.