After making that clear, she tells them to refocus. Skirk explains that those creatures feed on god remains. Some of those remains have been disturbed and even entire constellations seem to have dimmed in the sky and that is the same force that stole a fragment of the Traveler's soul.

She also mentions that 42 stars have died out in the past few months alone and that in Khaenri'ah people believed powerful individuals had corresponding Stella Fortuna. Even if that individual were to fall, their Stella Fortuna would not disappear but gradually evolve into a new constellation.

(Was that a confirmation of the Samsara's theory? The Traveler's endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth?)

Skirk leads them into her home, a secluded space in the Abyss where time flows differently than in Teyvat, one month there equals just one day in Teyvat.

She gives the Traveler a special Abyssal crystal to use a method called dream-mirroring so they can investigate what is happening inside the Traveler's dreams and trace the culprit through that mental and spiritual space.

Skirk then puts the Traveler through special training in three stages:

A sword trial breaking crystal pillars against the clock.

Then elemental drills that force you to avoid attacks and solve situations under pressure.

A reasoning trial that asks you to combine what you faced, decide fast and not let fear or doubt take over.

Between training sessions, dreams slide in and show pieces of Skirk's story, her home planet destroyed, harsh training under Surtalogi ("The Foul", one of the Five Sinners), the habit of suppressing emotions, how her life turned into pure survival...

After the final trial, while Paimon sleeps, the Traveler and Skirk share a more personal talk. She says she has already tracked the one who stole the fragment of the Traveler's soul but before going she admits they may not meet again and offers the same deal she once gave Ajax (Tartaglia's real name), to answer three questions.

<< For context >>

<< Back to the Story Quest >>

The Traveler asks if she is truly from Teyvat and admits that during dream-mirroring they saw fragments that seemed like they could be her memories. Skirk tenses, says she knew that could happen, though she thought her mind was sealed tightly enough to keep anyone out and then confirms she is not from Teyvat. She comes from a planet beyond the stars and has traveled between worlds, much like the Traveler but clarifies they are not the same because the Traveler is a Descender who shapes Teyvat's fate while she only passes through. Centuries ago Surtalogi opened the border between worlds and sent her there but Teyvat is not her home and one day she will have to return to the vast unknown.

The second question is about her goal. Skirk says she wants to grow stronger, close the gap between her and her master's power as soon as possible but first she needs to understand the source of her strength. To do that she must walk the road Surtalogi once walked and, at some point, find how to defeat him.

The last question is about Ajax. The Traveler says Tartaglia has been looking for her for years and asks if she will let him see her. Skirk sighs and explains his case is different. Before meeting Skirk, the Traveler had already learned from many people and developed his own technique so she only built on top of that. Ajax was a child, a blank canvas and children can only imitate their role models, which hides their own growth. When Ajax has enough strength on his own, she will allow a reunion. Until then she prefers the memory of his master to push him to reach his full potential.

The Traveler is not fully convinced since Skirk speaks as if it were a practical matter rather than an emotional one. They reflect on how long she has been in Teyvat and on how time flows differently in the Abyss. They recall that she said she does not form bonds with people here and they wonder if that distance is a choice or a form of protection.

With their 3 questions used up, they keep the doubt to themselves.

Before taking the next step Skirk asks them to wake Paimon and not to tell her about that conversation.

With that settled, the three step into an Abyssal domain to face the entity that stole the Traveler's soul fragment. During the fight the enemy targets Skirk, breaking through her defenses with a spike that carried the fragment.

She shatters the spike and returns what was stolen but the cost is steep and she falls into deep meditation to heal.

While she recovers, the Traveler is guided by the strange creature into Skirk's inner world. They find a river cracked and kind of frozen in place and as they move forward memories begin to surface.

One shows the discipline Surtalogi imposed on her, where there was no room for emotion, helping the Traveler see that much of her strength came from forcing herself to suppress what she felt.

Another vision shows the same doodle the Traveler once drew for Paimon at the start of their journey, proof that Skirk had known about them long before they ever met and chose to stay away.

Then a new memory unfolds, Surtalogi tells her that imitation is not enough, that he gave her fangs and claws and now she must learn to hunt.

Skirk asks if he wants her to travel alone between worlds and he says yes and tells her to make new friends, take her own path and rebuild a future from the fragments of her past. He warns they will still be in contact through the abyss but one day he will burn down whatever life she manages to rebuild, just like the fire that haunts her mind. When she demands to know why, his answer is that fear is the catalyst of human evolution. She has already tasted loss and fear that cuts into the bones but living beings tend to distance themselves from what hurts and with time fear becomes nothing but a fading memory.

That is why he gave her “the gift” of eternal fear, something that will either drown her in the nightmares of her childhood or drive her to defeat him no matter the cost.

Another memory shows Skirk as a child, hurting before Surtalogi and forced to train until her bones break and pushed to go on, again and again.

She asks why he saved her, saying maybe it would have been better to die than be hunted by that fire. Surtalogi replies that he has a plan for her and says it has been too long since he fought a battle that demanded everything so he will teach her all he knows in the hope that one day she will surprise him.

The next memory shows Skirk skipping class to explore, lying on a sunny hill, thinking about wanting to see the world and find treasures.

Strangers once came, people in strange clothes who called themselves merchants from a neighboring planet and spoke of friendship and cooperation. Her parents, her neighbors, the whole community welcomed them as guests, never suspecting what was to come.

Later an unknown army arrived without warning and wiped out the planet. Skirk had skipped class again so she survived the first strike but when she returned home there was only fire and ruin.

She would later realize they were killed because the explorers had found the planet had once been uninhabitable, yet there were signs its inhabitants had adapted to extreme heat and cold. That adaptability was seen as a threat and the outsiders chose to erase them before it could take root.

She survived only because, in the midst of the destruction, she crossed paths with Surtalogi.

Once they arrive at the highest point, they find Skirk.

The strange creature says she represents the emotions Skirk buried and that she can't keep denying them. Skirk tries to box them in, but cannot. Those emotions acknowledge the guilt she carries toward her people and toward herself and ask to be released.

Skirk remembers the melody her father played when they went to fetch water. She tells her emotions that if their wish is to stay with her, she will carry them to the end.

We then see Skirk walking with difficulty through a cold abyssal landscape while hands and voices try to hold her back, the people from her world, Surtalogi, guilt, fear... and through pain she breaks free.

Her younger self appears with an instrument and plays that song as a tribute. Hearing it, Skirk understands she can carry her memories without being destroyed by them.

In that moment the river in her inner world begins to flow again.

Skirk reconciles with her younger self.

When all the training and visions end, it's time to return to the abyssal space and reclaim what she lost.

Skirk, the Traveler and Paimon head to a hidden abyssal domain near the Chasm to face the culprit, Skofnungr, an ancient Khaenri'ahn noble marked from childhood by an incurable illness that left him weak and scorned by his people.

He met Surtalogi who urged him to fight for his life and used forbidden arts to heal him which bound them as master and disciple.

After the cataclysm the story twisted. With the curse of immortality upon the Khaenri'ah people Surtalogi offered to free him but Skofnungr rejected it and chose to bear that immortality to keep getting stronger certain he could become worthy.

To grow stronger, he fused the flesh of a weakened narwhal (Surtalogi's pet) into his body, which twisted him and granted corrupted power.

In this fight with Skofnungr we learn he is not a fragment thief but a disciple seeking to test himself against his master's pupil, Skirk.

The battle ends with Skofnungr defeated and he admits the curse of immortality lets many powers coexist in his body but it can't free him from the pain. He says he can't keep his sanity much longer and asks Skirk now to release him from the suffering.

Skirk answers that she can do it, not by killing him but by taking his consciousness and all the energy he consumed, smashing them to pieces and letting the impurities dissipate.

Under the curse of immortality his mind and body will regenerate but the process will be long and painful.

Skofnungr accepts and says maybe he will wake up in time to witness Skirk's great battle against Surtalogi and looks at the Traveler reflecting that at least she is not alone and with that he gives himself to his fate.

Skirk carries out the process destroying the corrupted consciousness and power and his body disappears.

The Traveler, Paimon and Skirk leave the domain and before parting Paimon asks Skirk if the stars she mentioned that had dimmed are back now. Skirk answers yes, that the power Skofnungr stole was returned.

At the end of the Story Quest the Traveler asks Skirk when they will meet again, she answers that fate will decide maybe they bump into each other on a street or meet on another planet and hopes that at the end of this journey, they will stand in a world reborn without war, pain or forced goodbyes, a place where new life can bloom.

And Skirk departs to her abyssal space.

Character Introduction

Skirk's Tales: Solitary Warrior

Reminiscence: Melodies Etched into Her Very Soul

Skirk's Character Song

I am honestly fascinated by Skirk's lore. Everything we've been given from 5.6 through 5.8 in Genshin Impact has been so rich and I'm still processing it all.

Skirk feels like one of the most intriguing characters we've met so far, not only because of her own story but because of how she reshapes what we know about the Abyss, Teyvat, the Five Sinners, what lies beyond the stars…

Tartaglia also gained new depth through her and even Surtalogi turned out to be a much more compelling character than I expected.

And then there are all the threads that remain open: her connection with Alice, her encounter with Dainsleif, her personal goal of becoming stronger... it feels like there's still so much more to uncover about Skirk and that makes it even more important not to lose sight of what we've already learned.

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