#haden

inspired by: https://www.instagram.com/p/DW1mJ0XmSqX/?igsh=MWhxbHc0c2hoYWZpcQ==

Once safe, she explains she's been searching for a prophesied "Savior" meant to prevent a coming disaster. At first, she mistakes the Traveler for this figure, until it becomes clear the prophecy actually points toward the Abyss Sibling.

Later, under the stars, Direidyth wonders aloud if the sky is even real. That single remark makes the Traveler suspect she might know something about Teyvat's false sky.

The Traveler dreams of the Night Kingdom, catching a glimpse of their sibling speaking with the Lord of the Night. Doomsday and the birth of a "Savior" echo in the vision, leaving the Traveler unsettled. When they wake, they realize Direidyth had been holding their hand the whole time.

Natlan's guards confirm something odd. Instead of fighting, the abyss order has been found meditating.

Dainsleif appears and the Traveler joins him to attack abyss order strongholds. There they encounter an Iniquitous Baptist who reveals himself as Haden, Dainsleif's former master, whose real goal was to take Dainsleif's memories to feed the Loom.

(The way Haden said he had no memories left and asked Dainsleif to share some of his, hit hard. Even if it was a trap, I found myself moved by his longing for a lost nation 😢)

(Although now that I think about it... if he really remembered nothing, how did he know Dainsleif used to call him master? I was a bit too naive there 🥲 just like Dain)

The truth about Direidyth comes out. She is from Khaenri'ah 5 centuries ago.

The Abyss Sibling appears and explains what has been driving them all along. The paradox began five centuries ago when Direidyth showed proof that the Traveler was searching. Faced with the choice of staying to fight for Khaenri'ah or going to see their sibling, they chose the latter and that regret has haunted them ever since. For them, reviving Khaenri'ah is both a way to make up for that choice and the only chance to face the Heavenly Principles as an equal.

They also suggest that Istaroth might have made this meeting possible and explain how the loom of fate pulled everything together, with a fragment of Khaenri'ah overlapping Natlan under the Lord of the Night's permission, the abyss order's meditations feeding shared memories and Dainsleif's memories powering the process. Using an Inteyvat as the base, the loom produced the Atlas of the New World, a blueprint for Khaenri'ah reborn.

Direidyth's tragedy comes full circle. After the Cataclysm she was cursed into a Hilichurl, the same one the Traveler first saw asleep in the cave. Before her curse takes hold, Direidyth asks the Traveler for a memento, something she could show the Savior (the Abyss Sibling) if she ever found them. If the Traveler chooses not to give her a memento (the key) to avoid her pain, the Abyss Sibling throws their own spaceship key at her feet. Direidyth keeps it and, once cursed as a Hilichurl, she is the one who eventually leaves that same key in the cave where the Traveler finds it.

Before leaving, the sibling says that the next step will come at the end of the Traveler's journey.

Characters

Traveler: Aether

Direidyth: a girl from Khaenri'ah displaced in time, later cursed as a Hilichurl

Dainsleif

Haden: former master of Dainsleif, seeking to exploit his memories

Abyss Sibling: Lumine

Mavuika

Iansan

Citlali

Paimon